Sunday, September 14, 2014

Welcome Home, Paynes!

We are still settling in (read: there are boxes and messes all over our apartment still), but I think that we are going to be very happy here.

We are in Coralville, Iowa, which is to Iowa City what Orem is to Provo or Ypsi to Ann Arbor. It is very clean and bright here which is quite different that Ypsilanti where we were before. Ann Arbor was beautiful, don't get me wrong, and we mostly enjoyed our time there, but we are excited to be out of there in here in Hawkeye Country.

Some fun things of note since I don't know any history and not that much geography to share with y'all.

  • The classic rock radio station (which was the first thing I did when we got here and got all our stuff off the truck) on game days does not play classic rock during the game. They broadcast the Hawkeyes game as if it were Led Zeppelin or the Stones. This station also does GameDay Traffic Reports before the game starts. These folks are not playing around with their football.
  • I live even closer to the Target here than I did in Michigan. It's less than a ten minute walk. Also, the Target is attached to the mall. It's amazing and spells trouble for our budget. 
  • Our apartment complex has a fenced in area right across the parking lot from our front door that is just for pups! Majzy loves it! They have toys and poop bags and grass; it's the best. Consequently, Majzy can no longer be trusted walking on her own from the car to the front door or from the front door to the car. 
  • The Tractor Supply store where we get Majzy's food is right next door to the Adult Shop. Talk about one stop shopping. 
  • When we moved in, there were six baby bunnies living in the grass right outside our front window. They have grown up and moved on (I hope; there are a lot of dogs in this complex) but they were pretty much the cutest things I had ever seen.
  • I have had a sick tummy pretty much everyday we have been here. Apparently there is something in Iowa water that does not agree with me, but I have lost eight pounds so...just kidding, I'd way rather be heavy than be sick every night!
I think that's about it. When we have our mess cleaned up, I'll do a post (with pictures!) about our new home


Monday, September 8, 2014

I"m Still Here

It's been terribly hectic, but we have made it to Iowa! We are still settling. An embarrassing number of things are still in boxes and furniture is still in flux, but we have places to sit and sleep and that is pretty good.

Over the past two weeks I have been making a mental list of things that I would like to post to my blog so here is a brief list of things to come. Feel free to chime in to help me prioritize my posts.


  • Why Batman Forever is a Terrible Batman Movie
  • Several Things I Learned from Sam's Nursing Strike
  • Feminism + Comic Books
  • Hosea: My Old Testament Hero
  • Filing Cabinet Makeovers
  • My Yarn Wall 
  • Introduction to Our New Town
  • My Favorite Baby Products + Sam's Favorite Products
So, please, give me some direction and motivation! It will be fun to have blogging again (we didn't have internet for two weeks) for when David is playing Batman or I just don't want to do anymore house work.