My Hero

This morning I got up early and met Keli for a brisk walk for some exercise. We went to this semi-ritzy neighborhood and pointed out the houses we liked as we passed them. I walked back home and was doing some leg lifts and such when I noticed a giant wasp. (Well, I guess wasps are all approximately the same size, but they’re giant to me.) He must have gotten in when I opened the door. He was flying around the fan and kept getting hit by it. I was convinced that this was making him angry and he was going to come after me and sting me whenever he got me in his sights. (I have a pretty bad phobia of being injected or stung. Plus, I have really bad reactions from insect and spider bites and stings.) I got up and scurried into the kitchen. Then Chase came to my rescue! He turned off the fan, grabbed a newspaper and started swatting at the wasp. Chase eventually got him to go out the door. I called Chase my hero, gave him a hug and got ready for work. The Abner trailer is safe once again.

Livin' it up... Trailer Style!

Chase & I are now residents at a trailer park. We are so grateful for the help we received from friends (from packing to loading & unloading to cleaning) during our moving process. We've spent two nights in our second home. One of these days we'll get everything unpacked and put away. Some of the wallpaper clashes with our decour, but I guess that just adds to the trailer charm.

Well, I guess it's time to get back to work!

Moon Shoes

Yesterday, Chase & I were sitting on the couch and heard this weird noise coming from outside. I pulled back the curtain and looked out the window to see a boy wearing Moon Shoes and jumping around on the sidewalk. I didn't know those things still existed! I remember (when I was in elementary school or something) them looking way cool on the commercials, but when a friend got some and I tried them out, they weren't really fun... at all...

I guess I could say something profound here about life and relate it to Moon Shoes or how things look awesome and turn out not to be, but I'll leave that to you. Feel free to leave your own profound comments here... or not.

Aviators

We went flying in a tiny plane today! Tim has his pilot's liscense and is studying aviation at SIU. He took us out for a bit. I'd flown before (although never on a plane this small), but this was Chase's first experience. We took many pictures and video taped to document this occasion. I might get a video up sometime in the future, but here are some of the pics (click on them to see larger):

It only took one guy to pull the plane out of the hangar... talk about tiny!

Tim made sure things were working properly...

Chase & his aviators...

Me posing with the tiny plane...

Plane gadgets!

Me inside the tiny plane...

Chase aviating in the aviators

Takeoff!

There's our church!

Chase took this photo of our shadow.

Getting ready to land...

Chase stretching out after the flight...

Our pilot Tim with Chase and the tiny plane.

It was way cool and pretty fun except I felt pretty sick about halfway through the flight. Tim's a great pilot. He made a pretty smooth landing. Next time I fly it'll probably be on our way to Poland this summer. I want to be sure to bring some ginger pills with me because according to Myth Busters, they really work on motion sickness.

Rent Application

Well, the manager of the trailer park called Chase today... This is my conversation with Chase on messenger following said call:

Chase: the trailer guy called
Chase: our...
Chase: application...
(pause)
Chase: was...
(pause)
Chase: not...
(slightly longer pause)
Chase: denied
me: you're silly

So we're approved! Chase will give our deposit tomorrow and we should be able to move in almost two weeks.

We're Moving!

Well, Chase goes today to fill out an application for our second home together. As long as everything goes according to our plans, we'll be moving into our friends Adam & Amber's old trailer very soon.

But, Alisha, you do live in Southern Illinois, aren't you concerned about tornadoes?!

No, no I'm not. While some may think it is more dangerous to live in a trailer in the case of a tornado, I don't think that will be an issue. For one thing, there is nothing proving that tornadoes are particularly attracted to trailer parks or that tornadoes find trailers more delicious than, say, a house or an apartment. Besides, if an F5 tornado comes along, chances are it'll destroy any house or apartment complex just as easily as it would a trailer. Also, I haven't seen any tornadoes since I've been here.


Well, aren't you worried about living in a trailer park? Isn't it easier for people to break into a trailer than it is a house?

Chances are, if someone really wants to break in, they're going to do it regardless of whether it's a trailer, apartment or house. All three have windows which can be busted with a rock, brick, armidillo or whatnot. If one was to break in, I would bet he (or she) would have a total disregard for whether or not he (or she) was to break windows. In fact, the apartment we live in now has quite large windows, one of which is a sliding door, that would probably be easier to break into than the trailer. Besides, we have several friends who live and/or have lived in this and the surrounding parks for two or more years; they haven't had any problems with crime.

But it's a trailer! Aren't you concerned that people might think of you as "trailer trash?"

Actually, I was hoping to use this as an opportunity to remain barefoot and pregnant for the rest of our stay in Southern Illinois... (Just kidding! While I may take the opportunity to walk around barefoot, I'd like to clarify that I am not yet pregnant and we have no immediate plans for that.) Yes, it is a trailer, but this and other trailers I've been in are nicer than the house Chase and I looked at a couple weeks ago. AND it is less expensive. AND we'll have our own washer & dryer. AND two bedrooms. AND two bathrooms. AND a deck. AND no upstairs neighbors stomping around, yelling at eachother keeping me from sleep. I am no more concerned about others thinking of me as trailer trash than I am of people thinking me crazy religious nut for going to Poland to tell people about Jesus.

Yeah, we'll be moving into a trailer very soon. If you'd like to help us move, let me know. We'd appreciate it very much... and we'll probably feed you. Chase is a kitchen wizzard....