Let's start this one off with something we all love: surprise presents. I've recently received two surprise presents that I am so thrilled about I just had to share with everyone. And, I'm quite inclined to think that if I hadn't made this crazy choice to move to Iowa I wouldn't have been gifted either of these items. So really, this move is already paying off! The first item of wonderfulness that entered my life is the ice scraper of all ice scrapers from my future brother-in-law, Dave. Check this thing out! It has the scraper side for, you know, scraping things (ice, I presume), and the other side has the industrial size brush head for the softer variety of snow. Then, on the back side of the big brush is a squeegee sort of gadget, which I can only imagine the number of things I will find to use that on. And, what you can't see is that the middle of the handle bar untwists allowing for the length of the whole gadget to extend, which is super awesome for short armed folks like myself! I haven't had the opportunity to use this bad boy yet, but rest assured that when the first snowfall graces us with its presence, I will be more than ready for it.

The other surprise gift I received is an item that I've had my eye on since before last Christmas and occasionally throw it's name out there to keep it fresh in John's mind. Apparently this paid off, since the other day the UPS truck dropped off a big box for me containing one of the greatest inventions for chill-prone loungers everywhere... the slanket! And now, being a proud owner, I can tell you that the slanket is everything I had ever imagined and more! Remember last time you were all snuggled up on the couch underneath your favorite super warm and soft fleece blanket and wanted to read a book or channel surf, but you couldn't because when you took your arms out they got cold? Not with the slanket, my friend! It's a blanket with sleeves so I'll never have cold arms while enjoying my favorite lounge activities! And just when it seemed like nothing could make the slanket any more awesome, they went and made the purchase of the pink one donate to the Save the Boobies (breast cancer research) fund! Internet high five to the slanket creators and corporation... you've really out done yourselves.

That's it for now. I've got some pictures and whatnot from this past weekend, but I figure I'll save those for another post. Not too much is new here... John is into his second full week of work and is enjoying it so far, and I'm still enjoying my free time while I continue with the job hunt. We both miss sunny San Diego and all of our friends very much! We hope you have a safe and happy Halloween!