We're back!

We're back from an enjoyable jaunt around the country. We had a great time visiting family and friends in Ohio, diving in the Florida Keys, relaxing in the spa in Miami, and taking in the sites and seeing friends in Washington, DC. As soon as we get a moment away from school/work, we'll share more details and pictures from our little adventure.

Becoming Mrs. S

As I mentioned before, I have chosen to take George's last name while keeping my maiden name as a second middle name. The logistics have been far easier than I anticipated. Since my change is not entirely standard, I decided to get a court order to make it all official; that took less than an hour and less than $150. I was even more impressed with Social Security; it took me 16 minutes from pulling into the lot to leaving the lot, including dealing with a cranky government employee. My health insurance change was somewhat amusing as George had to first end our domestic partnership relationship before then marrying me. With just a few random accounts remaining, I feel fortunate that everything has transitioned so smoothly.

I'm also transitioning into my role as wife. As a girlfriend, I was the fun sidekick charged with getting to know this character I called my boyfriend. As fiance, I was the wedding queen. Now that I'm wife, I feel a lot of responsibility...not just for myself but for both of us. Although I'm not necessarily traditional and George and I don't really believe in traditional gender roles, I do feel a certain pressure to keep a nice home while taking excellent care of George (not to mention being professional Ms. S). I'm new to this, so I don't know exactly what my particular brand of wife will look like, but I'm excited to take the example given to me by my many excellent role models, mix it up with our values, and see how the whole thing evolves over time.

Just yesterday I reread my favorite article of all time (clipped and sent to me by my mother shortly after leaving home permanently and moving to California). This time, I have a little different perspective on it. It's right: I have a heck of a lot of choices and options in life. In all the people in the world, I have been blessed with the most amazing, loving husband. I picked him, and I would pick him again each and every day if given the choice. I am both excited and overwhelmed that I get to spend the rest of my life figuring out my role as his wife while we build a life, a home, and a family together. Before I know it, I'll really be Mrs. S.

Little Things

I'm happy to report that we are back to reasonable summer temperatures, so I will hereby terminate my whining mode.

In other random news, we discovered last night that George and I married without first sorting out our Starburst preferences. As it turns out, we are perfectly compatible! George loves orange, hates red and pink, and is ambivalent about yellow while I love pink and red, hate orange, and feel ambivalent about yellow. Bullet dodged. :-)

We're approaching the melting point.

Yes, we broke the record today. Seatac Airport recorded 103F (39C). I'm pretty certain it was warmer than that here in Kirkland since the noon news reported 103F (39C) in Kirkland at that time, and temperatures tend to peak at about 5pm here. The news has just reported a high of 107F (nearly 42C) in Redmond, the next town over. Don't worry...they're predicting some relief tomorrow: 99F (37C). :-)

How are we staying cool? Yesterday, I found my way onto an air conditioned bus (only 30% of Metro buses have a/c) for a ride to Seattle and back. I also found my way to our community's pool. By the end of the day, I'd started and finished my first pleasure reading of the summer: Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. George and I spent last night in a movie theatre with lots of kiddos watching Up and then enjoyed some nice cold ice cream. George has been staying cool during the day at work. Today, I joined him for the afternoon because temperatures in our house were hovering just below 100F (nearly 38C).

Giant sigh. We are so thankful that our wedding isn't this weekend!

On a side note, I had passport photos taken today...partly because I need them taken and partly so that I'll remember this day in the dead of winter. Passport photos are never glamorous, so I might as well be hot and sweaty. :-)

Global Warming

If you don't believe that there is a changing climate on this planet, you're probably in denial. You're also probably not in Seattle.

Typically, we have cool and grey conditions through June with summer arriving around 4th of July. We live for July and August in Seattle; for a few short weeks, we experience sunshine and lack of rain with temperatures in the high 70's (20 C) on a daily basis. This year, however, summer rolled into the region in mid-May and has been giving us temperatures in the 80's (26 C) on the regular basis. I could count on one hand the number of times we've had rain or grey skies since then. This week, our temperatures are flirting with the highest temperature ever recorded at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, 100F (nearly 38C). Most forecasts call for a new record temperature tomorrow. Do I need to remind you about our extreme winter weather last December?

I'm not complaining. I can deal with the heat and even enjoy having a longer summer than usual, but that's not the point. The point is that, over time, this is not the climate of the Seattle area. Our climate is most definitely changing, and I, for one, think it's high time that we make monumental changes.