We just ate at a Chinese restaurant, and guess what?? Jim doesn't have a fortune! His cookie was empty, and mine said "Time to try something new!" Well, we'll see. Speaking of trying something new, when we sat down at the restaurant, the waiter came and asked what we'd like to drink. We said tea without thinking that we weren't in the south. He brought us hot tea and two cups. When Jim told him we wanted iced tea, he looked at him for a minute like he didn't have a clue. You know, one of those "what tha?" looks. He finally understood and brought us some iced tea. I thought it might be a language barrier or something, but then we went up to check out and the same Asian guy was speaking Spanish to some other customers. What a country!

We're in Detroit after taking a load from Battle Creek, Michigan to Warren, Michigan for the Mazda plant. We have a little bit of time off before we pick up another load in Fraser, Michigan on Monday morning and head for Buffalo, West Virginia, so we're going to look for a church to attend in the morning. I was glad that we weren't heading to Buffalo, New York because we've seen enough cold weather for awhile. Of course, it could be cold in West Virginia, too, but at least it's farther south. We passed a Texas Roadhouse a minute ago and it made us homesick.
:0( but it will only be a couple of weeks until we fly home for Christmas.

We've been picking up Christmas gifts here and there and had to box them up today and mail them to Mom's house since we're flying home instead of driving. We were standing in line at a Meijers service desk (Meijers is like a Super WalMart, only bigger, I think). Anyway, we were standing in line in front of a guy talking on his cell phone when we heard him say, "Pizza Frost? . . . what? . . . You're gonna have to spell it . . . Oh, Pizza SAUCE!" It was hard not to laugh out loud. I told Jim I could just see one of those little cartoon bubbles above his head coming up with all kinds of images for what Pizza Frost might be. He said he was standing there wondering what kind of frosting you could possibly put on a pizza!

It was good to hear from Troy Lilly today. Jim visited with him for awhile, and it's always good to hear from home.

After driving for the exedite industry for almost 6 months, we're looking at options for getting on with a company closer to home. Since the expediters run mostly in the Midwest, we're considering one of three or four major Texas companies. That would require at Class A license to drive a larger truck. Part of our decision is based on the classes that I will be teaching for WTC. We've thought about this avenue for some time, even before changing careers, because it is a means of staying in education and teaching (the good part) without all of the meetings, strict schedules, and other demands of teaching on site. Jim plans to look into some online teaching opportunities as well, since we could teach from just about anywhere. For now, though, he would drive and I would just ride along with him and keep up with the classes, help navigate, and do the paperwork for the truck. Living on the road hasn't been as difficult as sleeping while the truck is moving. Driving for a major as a solo would require that we shut down for 10 hours every day, instead of having to be ready at all hours like the team status has us do. It would also allow us to have paid life and health insurance and a 401k. Anyway, we're researching our options and will make a decision after the first of the year. We've really enjoyed seeing so much country, but also know the value of being close to family and friends. In being away for such long periods at a time, we've come to realize all that we've taken for granted. We also know that both of our Moms worry about us driving in bad weather and we'd like to be able to drive primarily in the southern states.

We're looking at a couple of properties that we hope to go see while we're home later this month, so maybe one of them will feel right and we'll buy it.

Hope this finds you all well and that your days are blessed.

Love to you all,
Jim and Sandy