confessions of a quiet, quirky couple

Curtis and I are rolling merrily along with married life (PTL! Being married is awesome. I'm so glad God called us to it.) We're very much enjoying our Awesumn Rocktober dates and hermiting together. Work is great --we thank the Lord daily for providing so well with jobs we enjoy, a house to live in, and our perfect friendship in each other.
The only thing we seem to be dissatisfied with is finding a regular companionship in others --this has been bothering me a lot more than Curtis. We want close friends (the bible calls us to this kind of fellowship), but don't feel like we're living that out in the right way. That is probably a product of our not reaching out.
I've always taken a very long time to get to know and be comfortable around people, but I think something more has crept into my personality over the past few years. Being social is a struggle. I have a desire in me to have deep friendships with people, but feel overcome with a strange anxiety around people that I don't see everyday. Even if I've known you for a while, adrenaline rushes like crazy and I either get really quiet, or unusually energetic with very little to say. This can make for some awkward moments.
Curtis loves me and finds it endearing --I've been this way since he's known me-- and I'm grateful for that.
So, friends: If we seem aloof or reclusive at times, the truth is that... we probably would rather be alone... but! we also want to hang out with you. We'd like you to get to know us, and mostly, we'd really like to get to know you.
We seek your patience and grace in getting to know us! Once you look past the anxiety thing, Curtis and I are pretty dorky fun people. And I think that equals cool.
Yeah! ...that totally equals cool. :)

we're rocking the 'tober.

It's October! and although the weather doesn't quite feel like it yet, there are lots of other signs that autumn is here!

We see acorns on the ground outside our house!
Our home is filled with pumpkin spice candles, food, coffee, and tea!
I drink at least one cup of hot cocoa and one cup of tea a day!
Curtis is spending more mornings on the porch enjoying a pipe!
Our living room has been painted "Autumn Harvest!"

Wow...I just re-read what I've written so far and noticed how... exclamatory it is. I must truly be excited for the season.

This autumn has come with some new routines for teamShides:

Curtis has graciously accepted my request that he not only serves me as an awesome husband, but also as a trainer. I'm naturally very thin and I think it's a common misconception that I don't need to work out, but the truth of the matter is that while I'm not overweight, I'm also not very physically fit. My heart hasn't gotten a good, regular work out since I did A Chorus Line in 2009. ...Yeesh!
It's easy to get inspired to work out when Curtis spends roughly 3 hours of each day doing the same. I'm only working out for half an hour a day; running 3 days a week, lifting weights and focusing on abs 3 days a week.

That leads to our next new(ish) endeavor together: entering races. Curtis is currently registered for 3 races in the next 4 weeks. I will be running with him in two of them. TWO! ...Who am I?

I have developed an interest in cooking. I'm not attracted to recipes, though. One day I got tired of eating microwave food and sandwiches and decided to throw together some items that sound yummy together. This is fun and freeing because I'm the only one who eats my cooking, so there are no embarrassing consequences when I mess up. I've learned that it's best not to measure.