Update / A Fear Overcome / Preview

Coming back to a pile of mail from a week of vacation, even in recess, has prevented me from many updates. Plus, we have a very fun houseguest... Felicity soon-to-be Holt, freshly from her two-month mission trip to Africa and surprise engagement in Paris, who cooked us a very fine traditional English Sunday meal today. So we've been having fun, shopping and Old Town Alexandria and the like.
One of the highlights was the girls talking me into doing something I never thought I'd do... especially considering my fear of needles and pain... but after months of pressure and a handmade graduation gift from a friend, I finally got my ears pierced! No one's worse for the wear, except for the nail marks on Sarah's hands. :-P What else are friends for, than to hold your hands in times of dexterity like that? Good times.
In spite of my online absence, I have had a lot of thoughts going through my mind... upcoming posts include a diatribe on romantic movies, thoughts on autumn (even though Kelly already stole THAT idea... :-P), and reasons why legislative recess is one of the best ideas in the world. Stay tuned…