I cannot believe how quickly time passes; last month marked one year of living in the Hill Country!  And it's been an amazing year filled with making new friends, working, settling in and learning the tempo and timing of living as a Texan.  These experiences have given me a greater appreciation for life, for my religion, the people I love and for people in general.  I don't know many states that can boast coastline, desert and plains... but Texas sure can!  And I've had the opportunity to see alot of this great state, thanks to a vacation with my best friend and the time in my life when I traveled in a semi-truck for a living and saw Texas from that vantage point.  For this weeks column, I thought I'd talk about some of the highlights of my time in the Hill Country.

   Meeting my friend Lori is the first thing that comes to mind.  Through her, I've learned to view my religion and hers from a different point of view.  She's also native to Texas and the Hill Country.  Her deep love for this area has impacted me.  Thank you Lori!

   The Texas coast; what a beautiful area!  And the resiliency of Texans is right there for all to see, as the rebuilding continues in areas impacted by hurricanes.  I enjoyed seeing Corpus Christi and the USS Lexington.  What a beautiful place the coast is!

   San Marcos and Austin are absolutely wonderful.  Austin scares me still; the thought of driving there is a little daunting, but that courage comes with time.  San Marcos is about the size of my hometown in Iowa - Iowa City.  But it definitely has that Texas flare to it that makes it even more special.

   But now I want to hear from you all as well.  If you have any questions/thoughts, etc that you'd like to see covered in this column, I'd love to hear from you! katsolomon1975@ yahoo.com