where in the world is carmen san diego?

Hi guys,

I'm writing from Birmingham, where the current average temperature is right around 100 degrees, not including the heat index. Nothing will ever be hot again after this. If you're not familiar with Birmingham, or Alabama in general, then you may not appreciate the levels of humidity they have around here. You basically can't step outside without some part of your body getting wet.

It's been a good couple of weeks. Today is Rhett's dad's birthday, so we'll be celebrating Austin-style (most likely) with a possible meat-and-three combination. I had never heard of meat-and-three (most signs have it "Meat n' 3") until I came down here. It basically means meat and three vegetables. It's the other food group for Southerners, besides barbeque (which they eat by the bucket loads) and sweet tea. Yeah, I know, steretype alert... but it's pretty funny. It is due to this charming diet that I now have the responsibility to start watching what I'm eating. I've gained a little weight this summer due to the sweet tea ALONE (every pitcher has almost three cups of sugar in it). Kind of a system shock for a girl who never even drinks pop...

In other news, Rhett has recently acquired a "new" Dodge Dakota pickup, dark blue with a white pinstripe and flared fenders from 2002. It has a V8 engine, which is more than Rhett was hoping for, so he's pretty pleased. His uncle Jackie runs an auto-parts shop on one of the more interesting sides of Birmingham, and this was the person from whom Rhett purchased said vehicle (ugh, grammar). Jackie always wears a black cowboy hat and boots, even when he's working on cars. I noticed in his office he had a duplicate of the one on his head, indicating there are more where that came from.

Anyway, the trucks great because a) Rhett now has something to drive, b) the truck has bench seats, and c) Rhett hauls stuff a lot, particularly large, unruly pieces of wood and junk, from his parents' house (which is currently under consruction) to the dump in Colombiana. So we're thankful for it, even if it did overheat 3 times in the past two days (no worries, though. Jackie fixed the problem).

Also, I'm really pumped because some girls here that Rhett went to college with have invited me to join a Bible study with them on Tuesday nights (ladies ONLY). I couldn't have hoped for that kind of friendliness so it means a lot to me that they've reached out.

For those of you whom I have yet to call back, I'm sorry it's taking me so long. It seems like the days are packed. I've been working on researching job and apartment opportunities down here (um, so that's news to some of you, I know), and it's taking up a fair amount of my time.

The reason I'll be sticking around Birmingham is because of Rhett's commitment to his parents to help them finish working on their house. I really appreciate his dedication in this. The house has undergone major, MAJOR repairs and they've been able to save a lot by hiring him to do much of the work. It's helpful because this way, everybody saves money and Rhett is constantly acquiring new skills. What it means for me, since I don't like being far away from Rhett, is semi-settling down in an apartment near by. I like the idea of getting one because I can have friends come visit, have people over, maybe even host Bible study some nights... also, getting a job is another important factor in life, and I'm currently working on applying for diferent positions at Samford and a hoity-toity preschool near by.

So, to those 4 of you who glance at this blog now and then, thanks for reading. I'm going to go work on my resume now...