I'm sure most of you have already heard about the Provo Tabernacle. For those of you who haven't, and have no clue what I'm talking about, the Provo Tabernacle is a historic building in downtown Provo that was built in 1883 by the early members and pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was an absolutely beautiful building that held so much history and memories. Church meetings, concerts, and city events were held in this building. When living in Provo, my apartment was just a few blocks away, allowing a good number of our meetings to be held there. In fact, Russ and I went to a church meeting at the tabernacle in one of the first few weeks we were dating (proof below). We had run into a friend of Russell's, who apparently texted Russ "predicting" we were going to get married. Russ of course didn't tell me that at the time... it would have freaked me out. But hey, he was right. (And can I take a moment to point out those amazing mountains? sigh.)

ANYWAY.... back to the point... I was shocked and sad to hear that the building burnt down early Friday morning. It will be a miracle if they can salvage it. This morning I read of a story about the "Second Coming" photo of Christ by Harry Anderson that partially survived the fire. The entire photo was burned except the middle, where "coincidentally" Christ is painted. I thought this story was inspiring and thought-provoking. I think I may have gotten a few goosebumps from this picture.

image via

You can read the article here.

Complete coincidence or not, isn't that amazing? Seeing this picture was a perfect way to start off our Sunday. I love Sundays and the opportunity we have to stop and reflect on everything we have to be grateful for, because we all know we do not stop to do it enough. This picture is a great reminder to keep Christ the center of Christmas. Wow.

Divine Twine

It's been a day. You know those ones? The days when you wake up with really no expectations, but hoping for something great, and then the day just happens?

Work -- meh.
Traffic -- terrible.
A minor meltdown by yours truly -- inevitable.
Make dinner -- out of the question.
Alternative? Chipotle with husband. (Delicious).

Luckily, the future can only get brighter from here. I am taking the day off tomorrow and have a fun holiday party to look forward to. And also putting my Divine Twine to use. These pretty little rolls came in the mail this week, and just looking at those colors makes me a very, very happy girl.

I bought the twine from www.cutetape.com, a website filled with lots and lots of other fun supplies I would love to get my hands on sometime (aka: washi tape, stamps, labels, stickers, and more!)

Think of all the crafting possibilities! It gives a plain-o jane-o project some flare and personality. I even used the twine to complete some Christmas gifts. (Which I can show you post Christmas time... wouldn't want to ruin any surprises now would I?)

Here's to the little things that fill a blah/dreary day with color and happiness.

Good afternoon. My name is Russell.

My dream came true!!!! When the movie "Up" came out, I couldn't get over how funny the little "Russell" character is. It may or may not have been because my husband is named Russell and all I would envision is Russ as a little boy saying the very same thing. And then Russ was asked to help the Webelos in the Boy Scout troop at our church and my vision became a reality. He is required to wear the shirt, carry the book, the whole she-bang! It makes my day. Now only if we could get him a dog named Doug... or perhaps a bird named Kevin?

In case you are having a hard time remembering little Russell from "Up," I've included the following clip for your convenience. Enjoy!

Hot Glue Sundays

This is what happens when two girls get together on a Sunday evening who both have a crafty side they are forced to suppress for 40 hours of the week at their day jobs. We take glue gunning very seriously around these parts. I think Russell and Reagan may have enjoyed the evening just as much, if not more, than Sada and I did. While we created utter mayhem at our dining table, the guys got to build a shelf, watch football for hours on end, and grill hamburgers.


Everyone left the evening a happy camper, which may or may not have been enhanced by this bad boy I made below. I'll call it the Triple Chocolate Torte with homemade Caramel Sauce. Don't lick the screen, it won't taste the same.

Let It Snow!

These last few weeks have been really... interesting. Among other things going on, it has been annoyingly warm here in Texas. Needless to say, I've been finding it hard to feel the "Christmas spirit." It just doesn't feel right when you are driving in your car, listening to the Christmas song station, and you have your AC on and the window down.

I know some of you guys may be wishing your mounds of snow would melt, but I guess that's the whole "grass is greener" syndrome, eh? Poor Russ hears me gripe and complain about how much I miss the snow probably 3+ times a week. Have I mentioned that to you yet? I. MISS. THE. SNOW. Ok, got that out there. Well what did I walk out to yesterday morning?

 SNOW FOUND ME HERE IN TEXAS! It's a Christmas miracle!!!

Russ had slipped out of bed an hour or so earlier than I had and cut out and hung up snow flakes throughout our living room. I just about started crying (happy tears, of course) when I stumbled out of bed. What a thoughtful little surprise! 

Family Pictures

You know how after you get married the only legit pictures you have of your family is in a wedding gown and tux? Yeah, that's our house now. I had been wanting to get some updated pictures  (sans wedding dress, of course), so a few weeks ago my good friend Sada snapped some photos of Russ and me. Sada's my partner in crime at work, but is obviously a photographer on the side. I mean come on, how many CPA's take your family pictures, eh? We went up to the Antique Rose Emporium in north San Antonio, which turned out to be a great location for pictures. I'll stop talking and let you decide.

 Camille: "Are you hungry, too?"

Russ: "Of course. Do you want to go get some Chick-fil-a after this?"

Camille: "Yes. One spicy chicken sandwich for me! And don't forget the Chick-fil-a sauce"

Believe it or not, this picture was totally candid. I have decided that Russ and I are the goofiest people when it comes to photoshoots. We laugh nearly the whole time. At least we have fun... I think Sada did, too :)

I'm kind of digging this blue wall behind us. And of course Russ's squinty eyes :)

Doesn't this picture below just scream Texas? Well I happen to like it.

 

 I'm slightly obsessed with this one. How about those colors in the leaves? I have Sada and her Photoshop skills to thank for those.

 It's like we like each other.

And that's all for now, folks. Pretty good, eh? We literally have Sada to thank for everything... she took us from drab to fab. Thanks again Sada! (Check her out HERE).

San Francisco - In the City

You can all rest easy after this post -- it's my last post from our trip to San Francisco! Hip hip hooray! We spent Saturday playing tourists of the lovely city with just my family. I was particularly excited for this day, because I would go back to the area that I worked in and had a job at a few summers back. I'll be honest, it was a little bittersweet. I quit my job with PwC to marry the love of my life and move to Texas. Never once have I doubted that this was the right decision. But going back and seeing the job I "could have had" was strange. It was like a glimpse into the life I would have had without Russell. It would have been mega lonely and far less fun and happy, but no one can argue that it would have been in a really cool city working in a building overlooking the Bay Bridge. :) Ah, such is life.

The top right picture is the ferry building, or the heart of the Embarcadero Center. I would walk out of my building and this was my view. Absolutely beautiful! Russ was so cute and made me take pictures in front of "my building," so that explains that corny-ness. The bottom right is of Russ and I standing on the steps of "my building" overlooking the skating rink and ferry building. See the Bay Bridge in the background? I love that bridge.

The rest of the day we visited all the local must-sees, incuding: Fisherman's Wharf, the Boudin Restaurant (mmm.. bread bowls...), the famous sea lions (the reason why Stu is so happy in his hood), Lombard street, Golden Gate Park, North Beach, the beautiful tree in Union Square, and more! What a fun and enchanting city. I can't wait till I get to go back!

Creating Joy

I have been wanting to decorate the house from top to bottom with Christmas decorations... but as we all know they are quite expensive and money most definitely does not grow on trees. So, why not attempt a few DIY decorations? I bought some block letters from JoAnn's and a can of spray paint from Walmart, used my trusty spray-paint box, and bam! Instant Joy.

I'm still trying to figure out where to put them, but for now they bring some color to the opening from our kitchen to the living room. Other decorations I'm trying to find time to make include a Christmas tree skirt and possibly an advent calendar. I know, don't judge, those are supposed to be ready for the beginning of December, but hey, better late than never. I'll let you know if those every get accomplished.

In other news, we finally got our lights put up today. Only in Texas will you be dripping with sweat and getting eaten alive by bugs while hanging your Christmas light. I even got stung by a bee while helping Russell out. Mother Nature, are you listening? I wouldn't mind if a little holiday weather made it's way down to Texas. Thanks.

Santa Cruz, etc.

The day after Thanksgiving two of my little cousins, Ashley and Ashton, got baptized on the same day! It was such a fun and special day. I'm glad we got to share that day with the family.  The top right picture is a good handful of the McLaws women (me, Brittney, cousin Megan, Grandma, Aunt Lisa).

It's just always so good to spend time with family. Have I mentioned that family is what it's all about?

After the baptism and lunch, our family drove down to Santa Cruz. What a fun little town! It's right on the coast, south of San Francisco, and has fun piers to walk down, carnival rides galore, and super cute shops. It was quite chilly as it was right on the coast, but so, so worth it. And this is the town where I finally saw Harry Potter 7. Whew. My fandom is restored. (That bottom left picture is for you, Marcella. :)

A trip to Santa Cruz wouldn't be complete without visiting the local seafood restaurant. A fact you may or may not know about Camille is my aversion to seafood. I've matured a tad through the years, but still would rather not partake of creepy looking foods. In fact, when I was a little girl my dad once said he'd pay me $60 to eat one of those creepy fried Octopus things, and I refused. If only I would have known the power of $60... I would have endured the torment. Brittney, on the other hand, has always loved strange seafood entrees. To each their own.

Turkeys, Football, and Children

That title pretty much sums up our Thanksgiving day. We helped my mom make the most amazing orange rolls in Grandma's kitchen... and then us and the rolls high-tailed it to my Aunt and Uncle's -- the house of all the Thanksgiving action. Can I just say that my Grandma is absolutely beautiful?

Aunt Lisa did such an amazing job hosting Thanksgiving. She's a mom of 6 little ones, but still managed to throw together a coordinated, well-planned, and incredibly delicious meal. We even had two turkeys! One traditional, and one fried. Who here has had a fried turkey? It was my first, and I quite enjoyed it.

As I mentioned in the title, there were lots o' kiddos running around that house. You know how when there's a new toy everyone wants to play with it? Well Russ was the new toy this year. It was his first time being with all of the McLaws family, and the little girls especially seemed to take a liking to him. They prettied up his curly hair, and he was an awesome sport. I'm slightly obsessed with these pictures. The bottom left are Lisa's youngest -- the triplets. For every "cute" picture I took of them, they made me take a "goofy" picture. They like being goofy.

After the food was consumed and thoroughly enjoyed, we drove to the nearby park in the beautiful Palo Alto area and played a hearty game of football. I'm not necessarily a football player, but dang, I had fun. I think I even caught the ball once.

The bottom left picture is of our post-football activity. Back home for some gingerbread house making! Alea (another one of Lisa's cute kids), was my partner in crime with a vision in mind.

I was sad to see the day end. It encompassed everything a hearty American tradition should -- turkey, football, and family. How can one not be thankful?

Christmas Lights

It's December 1st and I'm feeling the Christmas spirit at full force. All I want to be doing is buying and/or making Christmas decorations, finishing up our Christmas shopping, or listening to Christmas music. Luckily the music part is one thing I can do here at work. In fact, I've had the James Taylor holiday Pandora station going for the last few days.

A special treat came out today. In fact, just about 10 minutes ago. I've been on the site all morning waiting for the official release. Coldplay, one of my favorite bands ever, released their Christmas song today, called "Christmas Lights." Now this is my kind of Christmas music. I got goosebumps while watching this video - it's so magical! I hope you like it. Bring on the holiday season!

San Francisco

Sorry for being MIA people. We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in the beautiful city by the bay. I love this city. My summer living and working in the city was such an awesome time in my life, and I love the fact that I have a legitimate reason to go back often. My grandparents and Aunt & Uncle both live in the bay area. We had a weekend filled with family, food, sight-seeing, reminiscing, football, and everything else that should happen when 30+ people hanging out in one house. More posts are to come... you are now forewarned of the mass amounts of pictures coming your way.

Hope y'all had as happy a Thanksgiving as we did. What a wonderful time of year.

It's Christmas Cards Time

You know you have become an adult when you start thinking about Christmas Cards. This thought has not crossed my mind up until this year, but being so far away down here in Texas means we cannot leave our family and friends in the dark! I have been trying to figure out what kind of cards to send out, but I was hesitant to run to trusty old Costco or Wal-Mart, considering they have a small selection of layouts. And then I heard about Shutterfly and their awesome selection of Christmas Cards. But here's the best part -- this holiday season Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards to those who blog about it. Easy peazy!

The only problem is choosing from all the different options! Some of the cards that caught my eye include:

If you were throwing an awesome holiday party or Christmas shin-dig, you could even order some creative invitations through Shutterfly as well. Geesh! The possibilities are endless.

I'm excited to order my cards. The quality seems really great, as they are printed on high-quality card stock rather than the traditional slightly flimsy photo paper. You guys should all check this deal out. I'm a fan.

{Hey fellow bloggers! If you want to get 50 free Christmas Cards, too, apply here}

A Week of Thanks

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week!?!? When did that creep up so fast?? Either way, I'm so excited for this time of year. I know we are supposed to have a heart full of gratitude year-round, but I love how people around the world stop and take time to express gratitude especially at this time of year. I have so, so, so many things I am grateful for.

But rather than bore you all with a list of things I am grateful for, today I want to express my gratitude for my little brother. I look forward to his weekly emails and letters like a kid on Christmas morning. They're full of crazy Japanese stories, uplifting experiences from his mission, and funny Jace-isms. His optimism, faith, and perseverance is so inspiring. I hope to be like my little brother someday.

Being in Japan has apparently made Jace appreciate American food. He does love the food in Japan, but he has become especially obsessed with Navajo Tacos. He claims Mom used to make these all the time, but we are all a little surprised by this random obsession that he references nearly every week. I honestly don't remember eating these all the time growing up. But hey, whatever makes him happy. Look at that smiling face! I miss that goofy grin like no other. And man... I hope my little bro' doesn't show me up in the kitchen when he gets back. He's got that skillet flip down!

I am grateful for Jace and his example to me. I am grateful that I have a good relationship with my siblings. Family is really what it's all about, isn't it?

Now it's your turn -- What are you thankful for?

Betrayal

I feel like a terrible, terrible fan. I betrayed the very series I have claimed to love so many times. I have been anticipating the release of Harry Potter 7 for some time. Not only did Caitlin and I creepily chase after the man carrying the HP7 reels in Kings Cross Station while in London, but I flew to Florida to personally go to Hogwarts!!! And then what do I do when the actual movie is released? Nothing. I do not go. Ugh. How can I live with myself?

I'm not really sure what happened or why it never came to pass. Right now we are blaming it on the insanely crazy week we just got over, and the busy weekend filled with errands and friends. I guess those are pretty good reasons. Don't worry Harry, we will see you soon.

To make up for the poor allegiance I showed, we decided to watch the Half Blood Prince at home whilst eating the most amazing pumpkin cookies ever. This is not your average pumpkin cookie. The texture, white chocolate, and macadamia nuts puts these cookies in a whole different league. If you have a few extra cans of Pumpkin to use before the Christmas baking takes over, make them as soon as possible. Hmm... I guess it turned out to be a pretty good evening.

Mirror, Mirror

We have a new addition to our family! This has been a long awaited addition. We (and by "we" I mean "I convinced Russ somehow") have been wanting a nice camera for a while, and I guess it took being robbed to get us there. That and I am celebrating Christmas for the next few years early. :)  Thanks again, Russ! We figured while we were needing to replace the camera that had been taken from our home, we might as well get a camera that we actually love rather than another point-and-shoot that Russ would hear constant complaining about. (Have you started to catch on that Russ earns many points in heaven on a daily basis??)

The final decision was to go with a Cannon Rebel XS. It's nothing super-duper fancy (as far as DSLR cameras go), but after much advise from fellow camera-loving friends, this would be a great start to a complete novice like me. I know nothing about cameras or photography. I repeat -- nothing. Looks like I have a few manuals, books, and websites to read. And you, my readers, will get to witness me messing up learning how to take pictures. We've all got to start somewhere, right?

Goin' Public

That's right my friends. The day you have all been waiting for! Our blog is no longer "private," so hurry up and put us on your Google Readers! For those of you who don't use Google Reader, you should look into it. All you need is an account through Google, and it's the best way to manage and read all of your blogs without clicking through a million different links. It's all in one cohesive page. Only public blogs can be seen through Reader... Hence, my loud proclamation you see above! :)

And in closing, you guys have been kind of quiet these days... so I hope y'all continue to stop on over to our actual blog and leave us some friendly comments. I really do love to hear from you guys. That's my only request. Anyway, happy Reader-ing!

Can't Wait To Eat the Leftovers

{picture via}

Yeah, you know you want some. This picture, my friends, shows the Caramel Apple Crisp (w/homemade Caramel Sauce) that I took to dinner at some friends last night. It was as good as it looks. In fact, I was caught red-handed "cleaning the edges" of the pan in our dark kitchen before we went to bed. Yes, I was that girl. I got the recipe from my ultimate favorite recipe blog, A Hint of Honey. I heard about this blog from my friend Lindsay, and can honestly say every recipe I've tried of Jessie's is fantastic. I love her style, her pictures, and of course, her food. Too bad she lives in Virginia, otherwise I have a feeling that we would be friends.

Moving on, it's a Monday, and we all know how I feel about Mondays. But I'm actually feeling quite optimistic about the upcoming week. Nothing huge to report, but I am looking forward to the following:

• Haircut!!! Ooooo I love getting an update in this department. I'm not doing anything too drastic, but am 99% positive I will bring back the bangs. I just don't think the long flowy bang-less look works for me. I gave it a valiant effort.
• Harry Potter 7. Need I say more?
• Potentially making a large plunge with a big purchase. If said plunge occurs, I will share. Until then, you must wait in suspense.
• Christmas list-making, Christmas decoration-shopping, Christmas anticipation, Christmas everything! I'm feeling it early this year.
• Last full work week until Thanksgiving!
• Family pictures taken by the wonderfully talented Sada Lewis.

Here's to making the most of a Monday afternoon, and to eagerly anticipating eating leftover apple crisp tonight. Happy Monday everyone!

Girls Weekend

My mom and sister came to visit us last weekend! Having them here reminded me of how much I miss being able to see them all the time. Despite the minor set-back with the robbery, we still managed to have a fantastic girls weekend (plus Russ, of course).

Friday we started the day off with sleeping in and going for an awesome run in the park that is right by our house. It was a beautiful day in San Antonio. Mid 70's and sunshine. This is why people live in Texas, apparently. Russ had to work, but I took the girls down for the traditional San Antonio sight-seeing tour, including the Alamo, the Riverwalk (top right), Market Square, and we even ventured up to the temple in Stone Oak (bottom right).

Saturday took a little longer to get the day going as we were obviously trying to sort through the mess of being robbed, but managed to have a fun day up in Gruene (and the outlets, of course). We ate at the Gristmill, which is probably one of our favorite places in Texas so far. We had an awesome table down along the river (bottom left). And yes, Russ ordered the baby back ribs that you can see advertised on the table. Those ribs really do fall off the bone down here. After dinner we walked around the cute town of Gruene, and managed to pull Russ away from his beloved Texan treasures without any purchases (whew! That was close).

Thanks again Mom and Brittney for visiting us! We looooooooove visitors, and can't wait till the rest of our family gets to see where we live! (you know who you are.. hem hem... Natalie).

Be Kind

This quote has always been one of my favorites. Even though it's easy to get sucked up into your own little bubble we call life, it's good to be reminded to step out of the bubble time and again. As you can read in the previous post, things have been a little hairy around these parts. I have been stressed and worried -- two words that easily translate to "worrying only about myself."

Coming to work this morning and catching up on emails/blogs/etc. has reminded me that everyone is fighting their own battle. You may remember dear Sheri who is battling with cancer right now. Her daughter, Lindsay, touched on this idea perfectly in the latest Sheri update (click on link to read, it's a good one), and since I read her post I have not been able to get this quote by Plato out of my head.

Before I ramble too much longer, I just want to express my gratitude for everything we have been given. I am blown away at how blessed we are in so many facets of life. I am grateful for our families, friends, the Lord, our house (invaded or not), this holiday season, the cooler weather, and most importantly... life. Life is good, amidst the individual battles and all.

{Picture via}

Robbed

We got robbed Friday night. Worst. Feeling. Ever. Here's the story:

My mom and sister came into town on Thursday (great timing, eh?). Friday us three were out all day long shopping/site-seeing/etc. Russ came home from work at about 6 to drop off his stuff and change before meeting us for dinner. He left the house at about 6:45.

We arrive home after our long day at 9:45. The minute I walk inside I say out loud "it smells funny in here." My mom agreed. It wasn't a bad smell, just different. We go to the kitchen and start unpacking the various finds from our shopping excursions. At one point I go to the double doors in the kitchen/dining area and notice the back door is cracked open. I immediately rationalize and think "oh, mom must have gone outside for a second after we got home." I shut the door, lock it, and think nothing more. After about 15 minutes of being home, still no one has noticed anything. Next step: change into sweats immediately.

I walk back into our bedroom and see the blinds are completely drawn and the window is WIDE open. A lot of times when we are home we crack the window for some air (especially now that the weather is nice). But it was open as wide as it could go. Again, I rationalize and think "wow, Russ must have been really hot when he got home from work." And then I look at the dresser and most of the drawers are cracked open. The master bathroom drawers - cracked open. Our bedside table drawers - cracked open. I go to close the window and realize the screen is gone. It clicked. Someone was in here. Before freaking everyone out, I run back into the living/dining/kitchen area and look on the kitchen table to find my laptop, where I know we had left it that morning. Gone.

"Russell....." I say in a loud, kind of crazy voice. I tell him to come back with me into the bedroom. Again, I didn't want to freak my mom and sister out if I was just jumping to conclusions. I show him the window and say "I think someone broke into our house." He looks down by his side of the bed and says "yes, my work backpack is gone." This backpack had his work laptop and secure ID badge inside. Gone.

We start running around the house like crazy. After a thorough investigation, we notice the following are gone:

• My laptop
• Russ's work laptop/backpack
• My 16 GB ipod (from my bedside table drawer)
• Our camera

Our windows have ADT stickers on them. When you open any door or window the house beeps. We are not paying for the service, but apparently that wouldn't have mattered because he still broke in with the stickers on. He didn't know we weren't paying. And plus, the beep probably freaked him out, and he was undoubtedly in and out within 60 seconds. So ADT would have called the cops and they would have showed up 15 minutes later? So what? He would have been long gone. We go onto the back porch and notice the even more disturbing part. Before attempting to open and break into our bedroom window, he first tried to pry open our kitchen doors with a crowbar. This guy was going to get in no matter what. The doors will need to be replaced. We called the cops who were really nice and helpful, telling Russ he needs to get a gun to protect himself.

In the end, it's just things that he took. Luckily we have renters insurance, and we are working with the insurance to get everything replaced. Russ is vigilant about backing documents and pictures up, which I am grateful for. But that's not the point. It's the fact that our "home sweet home" was penetrated and invaded. We immediately changed all of our passwords to everything online, seeing as he has my laptop with saved passwords. We all do it. You think you are safe in your home. Until you're not. I hate the fact that he dug through my drawers. I hate the fact that there was a thief who ran through my house, saw pictures of us, and still had the gall to steal from innocent bystanders. Russ went around our cul de sac Saturday morning to tell the neighbors. Most people he talked to told him they haven't heard of a robbery in this neighborhood the whole time they have lived here. Guess that's just our luck. We move in and two months later get robbed. C'est la vie, right?

I look forward to the day when I will be able to sleep soundly again. These last few nights have been rather restless. I now know that feeling safe is not a feeling you should take for granted. It should be cherished.

Lewis Elm

You know how when you move into a new place it seems to take forever until you have everything "put together?" It seems to be never ending, actually. Oh yeah, and kind of pricey. Why did no one ever tell you that decorating a house could literally clean your wallet out?

Needless to say, we have been attempting to budget and buy things on sale, re-purpose items we already owned, and even attempt some D.I.Y. projects. I have been wanting a simple, looooooong, black shelf for the bedroom for a while now. I have searched this massive city high and low, and the only shelf that seemed to fit the bill perfectly was from none other than West Elm. The Deep Picture Ledge was just what I wanted, except for the price tag, of course.

So on a whim we decided to make the Lewis Elm shelf, a literal recreation of West Elm's picture ledge.

We did have to buy a few tools, but I grew up with a father who never counts tools in the final price of a project. They are merely investments, you see. It seems Russ has inherited that trait. Here is a rough breakdown of supplies:

Wood: $3
Stain: $7
Wall Mounts: $2
Wood Glue: (already had)

Yup, that's it. Pretty straight forward. As I mentioned, I wanted it to be long. So we even added a foot onto the original West Elm's dimensions (theirs is 4 feet, mine is 5). Even better.

And how 'bout them vases? Remember them from long ago? I didn't mean to leave you hangin'. Anyway, we still have a ways to go with everything, but gosh darn... I think it's coming together!