New City, new things

new york city has so much to offer - specifically in food.  i feel famous when i walk past a restaurant or dessert boutique that was recently featured on the food network.  two weekends ago, cam and jane (jeff's fraternity brother and his wife) came to visit.  several times, jane said, "laura, you LIVE here!"  it's still hard for me to wrap my head around.

new food

jeff and i loved having cam and jane here with us.  if only they lived here!  it gave us an excuse to go out, spend money and enjoy the city.  we have been really good about not going out to dinner (at all!) since being here, so last weekend we splurged :)  we had some yummy nyc pizza at Patsys, followed by a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity (as seen in the movie "Serendipity"), stopped by Dylan's Candy Bar, saw "Mary Poppins" the musical, ate some Thai Food (my first time!), enjoyed family style Italian Food at "Tony's", went to church at St. Patrick's Cathedral (THAT was interesting) and enjoyed some time in Central Park.  Busy, fun weekend.  i love our city.

new fear

so, i've come to realize a new fear that has developed as i've grown to love NYC: i'm afraid that god will change my heart and i would WANT to stay here.  silly fear, i know.  but i can't imagine not living close to my family. yet, i'm beginning to think about what it would be like to live here, make a family here..... scary.  

new friends

jeff and i were blessed when we had dinner with annika and dan last weekend.  dan was a senior when jeff was a freshman at UM.  we recently re-connected with him at a friend's wedding last summer.  they live in brooklyn and had us over to hang out - it was so encouraging to meet another young, fun couple who loves the lord and desires to see Him glorified in this HUGE city.  

new internship

i started my internship a few weeks ago.  it's a lot of work.  please pray that God would teach me some time-management skills. i'm finding that i spend 6 hours a night on lesson plans - i don't think this is how it's supposed to be.  i am also beginning to look for jobs to begin after graduation in may.  please pray that God would guide my footsteps as i attempt to begin my career.  

new habit

marriage is awesome. jeff is awesome.  we recently started to do this thing called 'DTR' once or twice a week.  DTR stands for daily temperature reading.  it is an intentional way to spend quality time with your spouse.  here are the five questions we run through:

1.) praises and appreciation

2.) new information

3.) questions

4.) light complaint with a request for change (this helps jeff and i to NOT bear bitterness)

5.) hopes and dreams for the future

well, i'm getting tired (950 and ready for bed!)  so excited for my momma to come visit this weekend!

much love