Wedding Photos

For a lot more pictures, click the title link...note that these are up to the point that the pro took over and I had to start doing my job as maid of honor!


Heather - the beautiful bride!!


Sisters!


Sisters, again!


One more!


Heather & Mom


Summer, Jenni & Cara with Heather


Heather with Flower Girls


Heather's bouquet


Favors - Hershey miniatures


The Wedding Cake - chocolate inside....Yum!

It's over!

The wedding was beautiful and went off without a hitch! Thankfully. We are all very, very tired. I'm sure Heather and Phillip are still bouncing along on adrenaline and excitement for their upcoming trip, which is to......a fun-filled romantic week in Italy! They'll spend a few days in Florence, then a few in Venice before heading back to start married life.

Pictures to follow as soon as I get home and get them uploaded.....now off to pack up the car and head back to Dallas.

The Big Day

Well, today is the BIG DAY. My little sister's wedding...... We're all rehearsed, reception set up, everything organized, and now we just have to get ready.

Hair at 10:00
Makeup at 1:00
Dress and final touchups
Pictures at 5:00
Wedding at 7:00

Say a prayer for continued calm weather and relaxation!

Sleepless middle of the night

So, for the first time ever in my life that I can remember, I woke up about 3:20 this morning and COULD NOT go back to sleep. I don't have a clue what woke me, but I laid there for about 25 minutes trying to no avail to go back to sleep, then got up and went out on my tiny little patio to watch the rain. After watching the rain for a while, I decided to try again to sleep. Still wide awake. About 4:30, I turned on the light, got out my prayer journal and spent some time with God. Maybe that's what woke me! I think I finally went back to sleep about 5:15 - and my alarm started going off about 6:00. Blech. Should have just stayed up.....but there are far too many things that I need to get accomplished today so that I can head home tomorrow for Heather's wedding and I thought I needed more sleep than the 4 1/2 hours I already had. Hopefully, I'll be able to check everything off - and I won't forget anything (like Phillip's ring - Heather would KILL me :-)

Holiday Weekend

So, my parents decided kinda last minute to come to Dallas for the long weekend. Mostly they came to get away before the final push and craziness of this last week before the wedding. But they also came for Mom to help Heather with cleaning in the new house (where Phillip has lived for the last 18 months) and packing up her apartment. So, that is how I spent my three day weekend - helping Heather pack for her honeymoon (she doesn't know where she is going ..... watch here after Saturday if you want details) and pack up some final things in her apartment.

So, tomorrow another short week at work begins - then Thursday noon, it's off to Abilene!

Sailing

So, tonight I went sailing for the first time. It was a relatively short trip - but still, in a sailboat, on White Rock Lake. I liked it. I think I might want to do it again!

I've never really enjoyed lake/water sports. Mostly I think because I couldn't see if I didn't wear my contacts. And because I was afraid of losing one if I did! But now, thanks to the wonderful technology that is LASIK - I can do all kinds of new, neat things without being paranoid about contacts. Here are a few more on the list:

1 - motorcycle riding
2 - skydiving
3 - more sailing
4 - snorkeling (maybe?)
5 - traveling is definitely much, much easier!

Ok, so there's not a whole lot that I can think of that make the list. But still, it is a list.


Here's again is my recurring theme: PLEASE DONATE BLOOD! (gave a single of platelets today)

Tomorrow is Friday -- and a three day holiday weekend. Yippee!!

Back Home

So, I'm back in Dallas finally. There apparently was some weather (around Dallas) that kept us from even loading the plane in Houston. Thankfully, it was only about an hour's delay. The ride was fairly calm and we made it back just fine.

Tomorrow is back to work. Sorta back to my routine. But then there is the holiday weekend - and my sister's wedding is now just 10 days away!!!

Houston - day 2

So, I thought I had plans tonight for dinner with my friends Wendy and Weldon. We even talked yesterday (as we both sat in airports) to confirm. But, she called about 4:45 today and let me know that she was sick. Something she ate over the weekend on her 10th anniversary trip to Saint Lucia had not agreed with her. So, when I called her back to let her know that I got her message, we just talked for about 30 minutes - I gave her the scoop on my life and she gave me hers. So, hopefully, sometime later this summer, she can come up to Dallas or I can come back to Houston for the weekend and we can shop and hang and really catch up.

So, here I am, hanging out in a hotel room. Don't get me wrong - it's a really nice hotel room. But it is a hotel room - by myself. I've got magazines and the TV to keep me occupied, but it isn't quite the same as being with actual people who know and love me.

Mobile Blogging .... part 2

So, now I am in Houston....in a hotel room...learning how to surf the internet, check email and blog via my TV. Crazy technology. I love it!!!

So I was in Austin the beginning of last week for a conference. It was 18 CPE hours, but oh, so completely boring. I went through about 8 months of Journal of Accountancy magazines that had been stacking up on my desk at work, read the newspaper, did the crosswords and jumble puzzles...all in an attempt to stay awake listening to speakers.

Then I flew back to Dallas and worked for two days.

Thursday after work, my friend Kelly came to my house and we loaded up and headed to Saline Creek Farm (near the thriving metropolis of Grand Saline, TX) for a long weekend of scrapbooking, card making, and girl time with 16 other women from my church. It was so amazing. I've been wanting to go on one of the retreats for a while, but the scheduling just never worked out. This time it did, and it was great. We laughed, told stories, prayed, cried, and deepened relationships. All while scrapbooking!

So, we got back to my house yesterday about 4:00 - unloaded a car full of supplies in the almost 100 degree heat ---- what is up with that??? I got cleaned up for dinner plans, then came home and started packing again. And now, here I am, in Houston for another conference. This one, hopefully, will be better than last week's.

So, that is my excuse for not blogging the past week....just been too crazy!! It is now 12 days until my sister Heather's wedding. We're all counting down! I went to the tailor for a fitting for my dress this morning. I'll go back on Friday for a final fitting and then pick it up next Tues or Wed.

Please be praying for my grandparents. My granddaddy (mom's daddy - almost 93) was in the hospital last week with severe stomach pain. While he was there, my grandmommy (mom's mom - 90) fell and gashed her hand and face and is literally black and blue all over. Please pray for smooth and speedy healing for both of them. And please pray for peace for my mom as she is dealing with that stress and the eternal last-minute to-do lists for the wedding.

So, now that I've caught you all up on my life, I guess I better get to catching up on your blogs that I've been missing! TTFN!

From Austin

Well, my first time to "mobile blog" - although not in the form that most probably would - from their phone or web-enabled PDA. But it is the first time that I've traveled with a laptop and the intention of plugging into high-speed hotel internet access. Amazingly, it was so very easy. Plug and play. Gotta love technology. Now, off to watch the Survivor finale and work til bedtime.

Another Double!

Well, I don't know what has happened, but my platelet count has been so good that I was able to give a double again today! Yipppeeee! I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but:

Please Give Blood!

It is so needed. And there is almost always a shortage. So, please, make it part of your regular routine to give blood.

The folks that work at the Baylor site of Carter Blood Care are so much fun. They poke fun at me and tease me and I dish it right back to them. It makes each experience an adventure for sure! Sadly, though, it is a small center. Which means that for them to have any career advancement, they must move on to another donor center. Will left a few months ago. I found out today that Alicia will be leaving at the end of May. And that the center coordinator, Mia, is contemplating moving on as well. These three folks are the ones that I know best. That know me and have fun with me when I come to donate. They remember what we talked about and what is going on in my life.

Unfortunately, they aren't moving to a location that is even remotely convenient for me. Carter has lots of locations all over the metroplex, but the one downtown at Baylor is by far the most convenient. I'd probably follow them to another center if it was feasible. But, it's not. So, I guess I'll have to start breaking in some new phlebotomists and forming new bonds.

I'll say it again: Please Donate Blood!!!

Mexican Food and Adopted Family

Over the past several months, I've started a new Tuesday night routine. I eat dinner with my good friend Martha, and often her daughters Jennifer and Jill. Martha is a second mom to me.

Several years ago, her husband Cullen was diagnosed with cancer and shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with breast cancer. My good friend Kelly and I took them dinner. But rather than just drop off the food, we ate dinner with them. It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

It has been almost 2 years since Cullen lost his battle with cancer. Between that first dinner at their house and the time that Cullen died, I developed a great relationship with Martha. When I say she is a second mom to me, she really, really is. She's my local mom and a great friend.

So, Tuesdays now have a sacred calendar item: Mexican food for dinner with Martha. We've varied locations (most recently we've enjoyed Casita Dominguez) and more often that not (at least recently), her daughters join us. It has been so great to get to know them better, too. It's kinda nice to have big sisters.

Martha, I love you. I cherish our friendship and value your place in my life and my heart. Thanks so much for being another mother to me!

Extended Family

You know, I so very often take my family completely for granted. I don't know why, I just think it is one of those little "forget your blessings" lies that Satan likes to weave into our lives.

My sister and I volunteered for this incredibly huge project at our family reunion two years ago - to take over the Family Tree. Now, that may not sound so scary, but the family on my dad's side is really big. And our reunion includes families that trace their common root to my great-great-grandparents. When you think about their generation and the next, that generally meant lots of kids. So, the Family Tree was designed and written down back in the 60s sometime and enlarged in the late 70s. Since then, the Family Tree that I know has been on a roll of butcher paper 3 feet high by 5 or 6 feet wide.

(I've been playing with my new digital camera ... here is a photo of the tree. A photo really doesn't do it justice, but maybe you get the idea.)


Well, as you can maybe see in the bottom half of the photo, the younger generations are marrying and having children and the tree is just getting too crowded. Plus, the lady that had been maintaining the information for the past 30+ years is getting older and just couldn't do it anymore. So, Heather and I volunteered to take on the project to redesign/reformat the tree and keep up with updates for the foreseeable future - which probably means most of the rest of our lives.

Lots of time and thought went into how we could keep the tree in a large format - but we're not graphic designers. In a perfect world, we could print something straight out of Legacy. But while it is a great freeware program, their reporting capabilities aren't very creative. And we haven't yet figured out how to do a gargantuan "organizational chart" and get everyone in the right place. If there was any way to use the hand-drawn tree and leaves, but have typed information, that would be fantastic - but again, it is labor intensive. So, we're still thinking on that.

For now, we decided to make a three ring binder - separated by each of the 9 major families that are my great-grandfather's siblings. After we spent quite a bit of time inputting all the information into Legacy, it was another huge undertaking in the spring of 2004 to actually create and type into PowerPoint all the family trees. But, the major work of creation is done. Now we are into maintenance.

We have offered the Family Tree Notebooks for sale and, for the first printing, offered people the option of having it mailed. So, last summer we spent a Saturday printing, labeling, and shipping several (I can't remember how many) notebooks. Last night Heather came over, we made sure that we had all the information updates that people had sent us through the year entered into Legacy and then on the trees in PowerPoint. Today, we spent about 4 hours at my office to print the last binders that will be delivered at the reunion on June 11 (both of us are going to have to miss the reunion this year - Heather will be on her honeymoon and I'll be in a friend's wedding).

The reunion is one of those love-hate things for me. While I love my part of this family, the reunion encompasses so many generations and levels of family I just don't know, that it is always a little awkward. So I kinda dread it, but then usually enjoy it. And now that Heather and I have such a major role in maintaining our information, it will really be glued to the calendar every year on the second Saturday in June.

So, back to paragraph one - I don't want to take my family for granted. Neither my extended family, nor my immediate family. I want to remember and cherish my heritage and history and ensure that I am expressing love and gratitude to those who came before. For today, I will be thankful that my great-great-grandfather immigrated from Germany to start a new life in America. That he settled up near Denton, Texas and farmed the land. That he had children (lots), who had children (lots), who are all my relatives.

Wow!!!

Well, I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the service I received from DigitalEtailer.

I ordered my new camera (see yesterday's post) on Tuesday evening. Received an email on Wednesday asking me to call their customer service regarding my recent order. They were just confirming my shipping method - ground (cheapest, you know) - and letting me know that it would be next Tuesday before I received my camera. No problem. Got the email confirmation that my camera shipped on Wednesday - FedEx tracking number included.

So, Thursday I checked the shipping status. Surprise, surprise. They shipped it 2-Day air (which, if I had chosen that option, was an additional $10-15). So, this morning, before I really got settled in at work, our receptionist came into my office with a package! It's my camera!!!

No time to play with it at work, but I will definitely have some fun this weekend.

Decision made!

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5...now just waiting on FedEx to deliver my new toy!!

Digital Camera Dilemma

Ok, I'm about ready to jump off the cliff of digital camera ownership. But, I can't decide which one I want! Ideally, it will be a compact camera, with lots of megapixels, and lots of zoom. My parents have an Olympus C-765 UZ - it's a great camera - 4 megapixel, 10x optical zoom, small size.

But, they've had it for over a year -- so, is there something new and better on the market? I've been searching high and low. Scouring the internet for information. Asking everyone I know (at least that I know has some real knowledge about digital cameras).

One of my co-workers is a photography fanatic. Each Monday morning he sends out several new photos that he took over the weekend. Get him started and Marty will talk your ear off about digital cameras! Got some input from him. Filed a lot of it away as interesting, but not useful for me, because he is more of a professional than I am. Granted I took a photography class in high school and another one when I spent a month in Switzerland for summer school in college. But I don't really remember all the rules - aperture, shutter speed, etc.

So, I think I've narrowed it down. Either the Olympus C-765 UZ just like Mom & Daddy. Or the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 - 5 megapixel, 12x optical zoom, slightly larger camera. Is there anyone out there who has knowledge or opinions and wants to share??

My goal is to get it bought in the next week or so to be able to test it out and play with it over my many upcoming trips, weddings, etc so that I am really comfortable by the time the real reason for the purchase comes along: my trip to the Netherlands in mid-June!

Respite

Whew. It has been a crazy busy few weeks. But, all the major wedding showers are now behind me for both my sister and my friend Jenny.

Now I have a couple weeks to be "normal" - whatever that is. Then the craziness begins again.

I found out in the past few weeks that I am going to get to take a trip to the Netherlands in June for work. It is a trip that I have been wanting to take for several years. I can't wait!!! We'll be working in the office for a couple of days, then we are going on a "field trip" out on one of the well platforms in the North Sea. I'll definitely bring back pictures!! And finally, I'll have two days to explore in Amsterdam. A little mini-vacation. Counting the days!!!

Another death

I got another phone call telling me that the mother of another friend passed away this morning. Allyson's mom had fought with bone cancer and was in remission (I think). But, apparently chemo really can damage your immune system and she had a pretty bad case of pneumonia. Allyson got the call to come to ICU about 8:00 this morning, and about 9:00 her mom Caren passed away peacefully.

Please keep Allyson and her dad in your prayers.

Bonus

Just taking a moment to be thankful for the company for which I work. It is a family owned business -- not tiny, but definitely run like a family business in that they take care of their employees.

They are more interested (at least if you have a good manager) in you getting your stuff done, than policing every moment of your day.

They are interested in allowing us to volunteer in the community (even with time off during the work day).

They are interested in keeping employees happy and content in their jobs.

They pay pretty competitively.

And, the reason that I am really thankful today - they pay a BONUS if the company performs well. And since I work for the arm of our company that is in the oil & gas business, our industry has done really well the past couple of years (and is projected to do so for the next few as well).

So, as soon as I leave here today, I'm off to the bank to deposit my bonus check. I've been making a list, but I guess it is really time to start thinking of how I'll be saving and spending it!

Happy Friday blogworld.

One down....

Today was my sister Heather's first wedding shower. Whew. They got a lot of stuff. It was a great weekend at home, but I am tired! I didn't roll back into Dallas until about 8:00 tonight, which is much later than normal. So, I'm off to bed now, to prepare for another busy week. G'night.

More prayers, please

I got a phone call this morning from my good friend Heather. She was calling to let me know that the mom of another good friend (SarahB) died unexpectedly yesterday after a terrible fall. Please pray for Sarah and her husband Randall as they travel to Kerrville to be with family for the funeral - and more so as they come back home and begin moving through this terrible season of grief.

I have had several friends recently who have lost parents. Because my parents are still young (only 53), I assume that I will have them for a long time to come. I was reminded this morning that I need to cherish every moment and never hesitate to tell them that I love them. Because we are not promised tomorrow. None of us. Hug your children, parents and friends. Tell them that you love them and appreciate them. Don't let yourself take life for granted.

So, Mom & Daddy, I love you. I appreciate you. I can't imagine my life without you.

5Q4

Here we go on another version of "get to know this blog-writer." I read Donna's answers to questions posed to her and have herein accepted the continuation of her task - to interview four people based upon writings in their blogs.

Following are my answers to the questions she posed to me (warning: my fingers got really excited to be typing today and it's a pretty long post). I'd like to continue this interview process and will create questions for the first four people who comment and agree to be interviewed.

5Q4Jenni from Donna

Q1. You started your blog in August of 2004. You mentioned late in August that you could easily be addicted to reading and commenting on blogs. Seven months later, would you say that you read blogs as much as you did in the beginning? Would you say that overall the experience has been positive or negative for you?

A1. I would definitely say that I read as much as I did in the beginning. The thing is now, I have almost too many that I regularly read. I do have to be careful to not get swept away reading blog after blog. One of the first things I do when I get to work is check on my list of blogs and if I'm not careful, it can easily be an hour or more before I get refocused on work!

The experience has definitely had positives and negatives. On the positive side, I have "met" so many new people and started to form relationships such that I feel I could call upon them when traveling through their towns - at least to say hello. Since I started out reading Mike Cope's blog, through the comments and connections made there, I feel somewhat safe with these new friends.

On the negative side, blogging is still (like email) a communication medium where emotions aren't shown clearly. Written words don't carry the tone and intent as do spoken words. I think it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of knowing each other and, if not careful, we can forget that we really don't know what the readers/writers are thinking or intending. I've been caught a couple of times hastily typing a harsh reaction to a negative comment - or assuming that I know the intentions of the commenter to be negative towards what I wrote. It is a side of this whole thing that I need to be more cautious of.

Also, it is somewhat harder to be completely free and write what I really want to because of the knowledge of some of the people who read. While I don't try to keep secrets, there are some secret parts of me that I might want to share, but am hesitant to blog about because of who I know to be in my audience. Don't know if that makes sense, but it is.

Overall, I'd definitely say positive.

Q2. Several times you have mentioned how important donating blood and platelets is to you. What was the impetus that made this so important to you?

A2. Well, I remember growing up that my dad donated blood regularly, and somewhere along the way he started giving platelets. The spring of my senior year of high school, I was able to give blood for the first time at a blood drive at my school. Earlier that school year, I had accompanied a close friend to Houston for a radiation treatment (she had cancer in her sinus cavity). I don't know if Emily ever had to have a platelet transfusion, but knowing personally someone who has gone through cancer treatments made the need more personal and real to me.

Most people don't give blood because they are too lazy to figure out how - not because they can't or are afraid. So, I have made a commitment to try and give as much as I can. Giving platelets is what I've chosen to do because they have a shorter shelf life than whole blood and they are so very critical in helping cancer patients make it. The process does take longer, but I think those three hours are spent in a more worthy manner by donating platelets than sitting at home watching TV.

Q3. Last year you were involved with your 10 year class reunion. What was the most surprising thing you discovered about your classmates? What was the most surprising thing you discovered about yourself?

A3. I think the most surprising thing that I discovered is that not too many of them had changed one bit. The people that I wasn't friends with in high school, I still wouldn't be friends with (for the most part). It was surprising that I had changed much more than I had thought. I don't have a lot of clear memories of high school, except that I was definitely not one of the "in crowd" and that I was much more of a goody-two-shoes than I would have thought. Over the past ten years, I have definitely grown into my faith and my opinions have shifted some. While I would still probably be defined by some as a goody-two-shoes, I think that moniker has definitely softened over the years.

I had a very interesting conversation with our class president at the reunion. If you had asked me in 1994 if I thought he was a Christian, I don't know what my answer would have been. But my impression was that he liked to party a lot and would be pretty much of a flake. Hunter and I had a great conversation and I came to realize that my perceptions of him from back then were pretty skewed. We may not go to the same denomination of church, but we are brother and sister in Christ for sure. It was an eye-opening revelation for me.

Q4. What caused you to start collecting thimbles? What was your first one?

A4. The spring of 1986 our family had our first actual family vacation (I wrote more about it here) planned to southern California - Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, Tijuana Mexico. My parents decided that they didn't want us begging for each and every overpriced (yet cheap) trinket and t-shirt as souvenirs. So, we were told to pick one thing. One thing of which we were going to start a collection. I think they gave us choices, but I can't really remember. So, thimbles were my choice. They are generally inexpensive and found almost anywhere. My very first thimble is a pewter thimble with the castle at Disneyland in red glass on the top. Since then I've collected them from all over the world. And I can imagine continuing this collection for many years to come.

Q5. Preparing for and having your Lasik surgery was very important to you, overall how satisfied are you with the results? Would you consider having any other type of optional surgeries?

A5. Overall, I am very satisfied with my LASIK results. It is not 100% perfect and I will probably have a little enhancement procedure done to get it closer to perfect, but it is so very much better that before. I cannot really put into words what a difference it is to just wake up and look at the clock without having to put on glasses. Or to lay in bed and watch TV without smushing my glasses into my cheek. I know that I will become so accustomed to this that I will in time take it for granted (like I do so many of God's other gifts to me!), but I don't want to. I want to remember and relish the eyesight that was given back to me because of gifts that God lavished on the surgeons and scientists to could figure out such a procedure!

As far as any other optional surgeries, I can't think of any right now that I would consider.

TGIF

I'm so glad that it is Friday. Headed out today to Stream in the Desert. My family has made it a tradition the past several years of going together since my sister helped plan Stream Abilene a few years ago. Hopefully it will be a good weekend of relaxation and renewal. Mike Cope is the featured speaker this year. Even though I get to hear him everytime I go home, I can never get enough. Highland is very blessed to have him as part of their family.

I mentioned it before here, but the next few weeks and months will be very, very busy for me. And I found out this week that I've got a tentative date for a work trip to the Netherlands at the end of June. I'm really looking forward to it - been wanting to go ever since I started working here. So the question is, does life ever really slow down? Seems like the older I get (I know, I know, I'm still a youngster!) the faster everything goes.

Happy weekend to you all!

Thimble case number three (the spaces are really tiny, though so very few of my thimbles fit)

The second thimble case....

My first thimble case....

The new thimble case - also from the Canton trip.

My new rocking chair - purchased on the Canton Trip!

Tuesday Morning Quiz

I got this from an email over the weekend.....thought it was interesting. See how you do! (I got 20 correct)

There are 27 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to the common place things of life. Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer! The average number of correct answers is 7.

Write down your answers and then check your answers (in the comments) only AFTER completing all the questions.

REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! - BE HONEST!!!

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE. Here we go!

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't laugh, some people don't know)

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15. What is on the back of a Canadian dime?

16. How many sides does a stop sign have?

17. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

18. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

19. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

20. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

21. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

22. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?

23. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord to turn them up and down?

24. On the back of a Canadian $1 coin, what is in the center?

25. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?

26. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

27. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

Home again

Whew. Busy weekend.

Friday - holiday from work! Got up and went to donate platelets. Gave a double this time! Please donate blood!

Friday afternoon - drive home to Abilene for Easter weekend. Took a passenger with me - one of the deacons from my church needed a ride because his wife and kids were visiting family in nearby Haskell, but he needed to work a little more before their weekend trip. It is always good to have someone ride along. Makes the trip go faster.

Saturday - accompanied my sister to the Clinique counter at Dillard's to practice makeup for her bridal portraits/wedding. Lunch, then various other wedding related errands. Grandparents came over for dinner, then relaxed watching tv.

Sunday - EASTER! - Val singing "Arise, My Love" at Highland. It has become such a tradition - it's really the main reason I go home for Easter. More relaxing, movie watching, and nap taking.

Today - THE PORTRAIT DAY. Hair at 9:00, makeup at 10:45, portraits begin at noon. Heather was beautiful. Seriously, she could do this modeling thing for real. Transfer from Tom's studio to Chapel on the Hill to the Performing Arts center. Funny stuff. I have some pictures, but she is adamant about the dress remaining a secret, so sorry, you'll just have to imagine.

Got on the road back to Dallas about 4:15. Home by 8:00 (after dropping Heather at her place and helping her remove the umpteen bobby pins and comb out her hair).

Now, I'm off to bed. G'night.

Slowing Down

Finally. Things at work are starting to settle back into some semblance of normalcy. And quiet. I think the auditors still have a few things to wrap up, but for the most part, they are done with me! Thank goodness! I am so ready to be able to get back to my normal routine.

It's a good thing, too. Because the next few months are going to be CRAZY in my "outside of work" life. Between participating in both my sister's wedding (Jun 4) and my good friend Jenny's wedding (Jun 11), all the showers that two weddings entail, two out of town conferences (for work, but they will be relaxing for me), and a weekend chock full of scrapbooking/card making/general overall craftiness, I think I'm going to be running in circles looking for my head. BUT, I think most of it will be fun. So, here we go, full tilt, spiraling off into summer.

For today, I'm just glad there is only one more day of work until a 4 day weekend!

More Prayers Needed

Without going into too many details, I found out last night that the 11-year-old niece of one of my good friends has been molested by her stepdad for the past two years. Please pray for peace, healing and eventually closure for all of the family as they sort through all the ramifications of this. It will be pretty hard for her older brother (16) to deal with as well, since he and the stepdad have become especially close over the past two years.

Eye Update

So, yesterday was my "one month" checkup (really it's been about 6 weeks) post-LASIK. I really am seeing well, but it isn't perfect. I'm 20/20 with both eyes, but 20/25 in each eye separately. And things at a distance are a little fuzzy around the edges. So, here's the beginning of the question: do I have an enhancement procedure done? I am so very pleased with the fact that my vision is SOOO much better than it was before LASIK. Included in the cost of this whole surgery deal are any enhancements done within the first year, so I have time to decide. I don't go back to the doctor until June, so I think I'll ride the next three months and see how we're doing. If I had to decide today, (even though anxious butterflies are filling my stomach) I think I'd do it.

Happy Weekend....and prayer request

What a beautiful, sunny, warm Saturday morning it is! Sadly enough my body woke me up at 6 am! What in the world?!? I only had 5 hours of sleep at that time! But I was able to laze in bed drifting in and out of sleep until about 9:30 when I decided enough is enough.

So, I jumped out of bed, put on my workout clothes and decided to take a walk. The area where I live has a great walking/jogging track in amongst the apartment complexes, along with softball fields, football fields, tennis courts etc. So, I grabbed my sunglasses and my cell phone and headed out.

This is where the prayer request comes in....last night when I got home I had a message from my friend Maria. As it was after midnight when I got home and she has two small children, I decided to wait to call her back until this morning while I was walking outside. Let me give you a little history. Maria and I were friends through middle/high school but completely lost touch when we graduated, even though we still lived in the same town for the next 5 years. We were from two completely different worlds and I went to college, she didn't. We reconnected last fall at our 10-year high school reunion. Her husband is the guy that she was dating in high school, but they didn't actually get married until about 7 years ago. Found out at the reunion that he is one of the managers at a strip club in my home town. That really concerned me and troubled me that Maria was okay with that. But, since we hadn't been friends for the last ten years, I let her know that I didn't really agree with that, but how could I judge her?

So, back to the prayer request. Maria's husband left her and the kids at the end of January. He says that he didn't love her anymore, and that to be honest he never really did. He's still around some for the kids, but apparently his job keeps him really busy so he's not really around that much. I had no words for Maria, except to listen to her. She is catholic, so I asked if she had talked to her priest. She had, but couldn't tell me what he said. Basically I think the gist of his advice was just keep hoping that things will get better. I asked her if Tido would go to counseling with her and she said probably not. Really, I had nothing to say. So, I asked her if I could pray for her right there on the phone and surprisingly she said yes. So, as I continued to walk I prayed for Maria, her two kids and Tido. I would ask that you add them to your prayers as well.

The weekend

Aaaahhhhhhhhh. The weekend. Finally. This week has been good, but seemingly interminable. I'm really ready for our auditors to finish up and leave me to my "normal" routine at work.

Tonight I enjoyed dinner with 25 of my friends from church in a combo bday party with my friend Allyson. We ate at Mattito's - a first for me. I'd seen it, but never been. It was pretty good. Then back to Holly's for homemade cake and coffee and GREAT conversation. I miss hanging out with these guys as often as we used to. I wonder what happened ... a few got married, a few more are dating/engaged. Did the rest of us just slide away into other things? Don't know. But I do know that it was so fun tonight with Marc, Maria, Brad, Laura, Allyson, Holly, Jack, Jenny, Jon -- the old gang (plus a couple new ones) reunited.

Now, off to bed to enjoy sleeping in until the sun wakes me up tomorrow - whatever time that is. Then a day of I don't know what. I know these days won't last, so I'll cherish them while I can.

A New Day

Today is a new day and I am not going to let the stresses and upsets of yesterday spoil today. It is supposed to be sunny, beautiful and 70 degrees here in my corner of Texas today. Hooray!!!

Violated

Blecchhhh. I just got off the phone with a very helpful young man at my credit card company who informed me that someone managed to steal my card number from somewhere. Don't know where. Apparently they had my number but not the expiration date. After many attempts to use the card manually with varying expiration dates, they finally got lucky and guessed right. So, now I've got to cut up that card, wait for my new one, and then inform all the people that I have recurring charges of the new number when I get it.

Thankfully, this little session of 'identity theft' doesn't seem to be too far reaching or damaging. But it still makes me feel violated. Yuck.

Canton!!!

Today I made my second ever trip to First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX. It is a HUGE flea market that is only open the weekend before the first Monday of each month. My friend Kelly is the ultimate flea market shopper. She has a vision for creating such cute home decor with such random things. She has been to Canton dozens of times and is about the only person that I can imagine going with.

So, today, in celebration of my birthday, Kelly, my friend Jenny and I went to Canton! It was sooooo much fun. But I am completely exhausted. Canton is about a 1.5 hour drive, so we had to start early to make it there when the vendors opened. We arrived about 9:30 and got in the car to come home at 5:30. Crazy! We walked all over creation carrying so many fun purchases.

I made several purchases, but two things eclipse all the others. The first is a rocking chair!! I've been searching for one and wanting one for probably about 4 years. Finally, I found one that I love! Can't wait to sit and rock..... Also bought a new thimble case -- really it is an old type-set case. Probably will need to paint it, but the openings are going to be perfect for continuing to display my collection.

Anyway, I think I'll be off to take a hot bath before bed tonight.....I'm just so totally wiped out.

Fun with Books

I loved this little game....and yes, it is plagarized....from Karen.

1. Grab the nearest book
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it. Just grab what is closest!

from "What a Girl Wants" by Kristin Billerbeck:
"Thank you. I wasn't too sure about it at first." I'm running my hand down the back of my hair. We're in the city now and the traffic is just horrendous, but everyone is steering clear of us because Kevin obviously has nothing to lose in the game of insurance Bingo.

Blood Donation Reminder!

I had lunch with a dear friend today. Her mother in law is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. Her second round of treatment had to be postponed because her platelet count was too low.

This is why I donate blood and platelets. I was already scheduled for my platelet donation today before I knew about J's mother in law.

This is not a guilt trip or me trying to harass you into doing something if you don't want to. But so many people don't even think about donating whole blood, red cells, or platelets. The Red Cross has a website where you can find a donor location near you.....click to Give Life.

I also found a website that will send you an email reminder for several different health tests....if your excuse is "I forgot" this can help. Click here.

Tomorrow is Friday. Yippee!!!!

Happy Texas Independence Day

The Texas Declaration of Independence was signed on March 2, 1836.

Blogthings

Interesting website if you are a sucker for all types of random quizzes.....Blogthings

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What kind of blogger are you?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, if you look at the time, it is actually very early on my birthday. My good friend Dara was in town from Cali and I spent the evening with her and some friends hanging out and learning how to play Texas Hold-em Poker (plus a couple of other card games). I actually learned how to bet! And I won! (Pretend money, of course!) It was actually a very fun evening, but it is now nearly 3 am and I am pooped! Definitely will be tired for my actual birthday-day, but it was such fun to spend time laughing with friends.

Hope you all have a wonderful day today!

Last Meal

Elizabeth posted a great question in the comments to my last post.....so what would I choose as my last meal? Yikes. That is a really hard question. If I had to choose right this minute, it would be:

Cracker Crumb Chicken (which I *gasp!* neglected to mention in my list of favorites)
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Mom's homemade Quick & Easy Refrigerator Rolls
Upside Down Chocolate Pudding (with a tall glass of milk)

No veggies for me! He he he..... Anyone else have a thought as to what your request for a last meal would be?

Chunky Monkey

Just finished putting a batch of Chunky Monkey in the oven to bake.....yum. I know what I'll be having for breakfast this week!! (In case you are beginning to wonder if I've lost my mind, Chunky Monkey is my family's shortcut way of saying Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread.)

I've really enjoyed reading so many of your "100 Things About Me" or "I Never" lists, as well as enjoying reading Judy's favorite types of books lists. So, I'm going to do some more!

Today it is favorite foods - in no particular order - we'll see how many I can come up with!

1. Chunky Monkey
2. Buttery Caramel Quicks
3. Cinnamon Nut Coffee Cake
4. Cinnamon Pinwheels
5. Chocolate Chip Cake
6. Pizza - anytime, anywhere
7. Diet Coke
8. Pineapple juice
9. Steak
10. Eggs (cooked Daddy-scrambled) - with the optional additives of cheese and/or sausage
11. Spinach Artichoke Dip
12. Sausage Balls (especially mixed with poached eggs)
13. Biscuits and gravy (mom's homemade)
14. Poppyseed Bread
15. Strawberry Bread
16. Upside Down Chocolate Pudding
17. Strawberry Pretzel Salad
18. Chicken Salad from Hickory Street Cafe in Abilene, TX
19. Cheap boxed Macaroni & Cheese
20. Purple Juice Salad (a Trietsch family original recipe)
21. Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
22. Disgustingly Rich Potatoes
23. Corn Casserole
24. Jalapeno Corn
25. Kentucky Derby Pie

Okay - I think that's enough for now -- can you tell that I am hungry?!?

The Collection

Ok, I teased you and nobody guessed it. So here's the backstory:

Our family went on our first real family vacation in March 1986. Spring Break. At the time we lived in Lakewood, Colorado. The trip was to southern California - we did all the usual stuff: Disney Land, Universal Studios, Sea World. Plus we visited my great-uncle's avocado farm and ate kumquats straight off the tree.

One of the favorite memories: It was March. We lived in Colorado and mom only let us pack one pair of shorts, because it was March. So, all week long we are burning up at Disney, Universal Studios, etc because it was really hot. The treat was going to be to wear our one pair of shorts on Friday. What did we do on Friday? Drive south to San Diego, go to Sea World and the beach. What kind of weather was it? Cool and rainy. Did we have jackets? No, not really, just little windbreakers. Did we freeze? YES! It's great now to still give mom grief about that.

So, before we left for the trip, Mom and Daddy set out a few ground rules. One in particular was about what kind of souvenirs we would be able to get. They decided that we didn't need 87 t-shirts. Nor did they want us begging for each and every overpriced cheap toy. So, we had to start a collection. We could get one of whatever we chose to collect at each place. So, I decided to start collecting thimbles. They are pretty cheap and you can get them almost everywhere. Plus, they take up almost no space in a suitcase. Like I said, I have 172 in my collection right now and they are housed in about 3 square feet of wall space.

Some have come from random people, but most of them I have either purchased on a trip, or someone in my family has purchased for me on one of their trips. I have them indexed and catalogued so that I can remember when I got each one and where exactly it came from and who gave it to me. I started that catalogue in a yellow spiral notebook that I managed to keep up with from age 10 until college, when I computerized the list into Excel.

So, there it is. I collect thimbles. Any other collectors out there? Have a story to tell about what you collect or how the collection started?

5,000 and counting!

Wow! Over 5,000 hits to this little corner of cyber-space in such a few short months! Thanks for visiting, listening to my rants, sharing some of your day with me, and allowing me to share mine with you.

Survivor

I never thought it would happen. When my parents first told me that they were watching this new show, I thought they were nuts. I did watch the finale episode of season 2 with some girlfriends, because there was a cute guy from Texas in the finals. I tried to watch (I think) season 3, but couldn't get past the bickering in the first episode. I didn't get hooked until season 7. Now I'm addicted. To what, you may be asking yourself?

SURVIVOR

I'd love to go back and watch the first 6 seasons, just so I'll know what they were talking about during the All-Star Season (#8). But I won't buy them - maybe someone could loan me the DVDs?

Just as a note to myself, here is a listing of what has gone before:

Season 01 - Survivor: Borneo
Season 02 - Survivor: the Australian Outback
Season 03 - Survivor: Africa
Season 04 - Survivor: Marquesas
Season 05 - Survivor: Thailand
Season 06 - Survivor: The Amazon
Season 07 - Survivor: Pearl Islands Panama
Season 08 - Survivor: All-Stars
Season 09 - Survivor: Vanuatu

Anyway. Survivor: Palau premiers tonight. I can't wait.

20/20

Just returned from my 2.5 week checkup after my LASIK surgery.....and I can see 20/20 in both eyes! Things are still a little fuzzy around the edges (the letters weren't completely crisp on the wall), but it is HUGE improvement over my vision from a scant 3 weeks ago! Next followup appointment - one month from now!

100 Things About Me

I've read several of these that other people have written, plus I'm bored. So here we go:

1. I am the first born
2. I am stubborn
3. I have green eyes
4. I just had LASIK surgery to correct my very, very bad nearsighted vision
5. I am single
6. I live in an apartment (this line has been edited for my safety)
7. I love living in a big city
8. I like hanging out at home
9. I am bored right now
10. I love to read
11. I loved to read more in high school and college
12. Alias is my favorite tv show
13. I could live on pizza
14. I love the cheap boxed macaroni and cheese
15. I was valedictorian of my high school class
16. I have a Master’s degree in Accounting
17. I am a CPA
18. My lifelong dream is to be a stay-home wife and mom
19. I wear size 9 ½ shoes
20. I love to buy new shoes
21. I am a geek
22. I drive a silver Mazda 626
23. I have long hair – almost down to my waist
24. This Saturday (Feb 19, 2005) I am going to cut my hair – a lot
25. My younger sister is getting married in June
26. I have been to France
27. I have been to Switzerland
28. I have been to Mexico
29. I have been to Canada
30. I have been to the Philippines
31. I have flown through Tokyo’s Narita airport - but I don't think that counts as visiting Japan
32. My first plane trip was when I was 4 years old
33. I discovered that our house had been burglarized one Wed after church
34. I sing alto
35. I sang on the praise team at church for a while
36. I have one sister
37. I love to bake/cook
38. I hate to do dishes
39. I hate to put away clean laundry
40. I love to play hostess
41. I have a comfy red chair that I love to sit in
42. I still sleep in a twin bed
43. The curtains that hung in my nursery hang in my room now
44. I love to visit New York City
45. I have a Cookie Monster cookie jar
46. I subscribe to Mary Engelbreit magazine
47. I cross-stitch
48. I am a very organized person
49. I hate to clean
50. I love to sleep in on Saturday morning
51. My favorite is a stormy, thunderous rainy day curled up with a book or movie
52. I hate hot weather
53. I’ve lived in Texas practically my whole life
54. Except when I lived in Colorado
55. I want to visit Alaska
56. I played the viola in middle school, some of high school and some college
57. I’ve never had a boyfriend
58. I have a motorcycle license
59. I want to own a Harley-Davidson motorcycle
60. My parents have been married for 31+ years
61. My great-grandmother was 102 when she died
62. I met Tony Bennett
63. I met Dom Deluise
64. I would like to live in New York City, at least for a while
65. I want to visit San Francisco
66. I want to visit Seattle
67. I am planning a trip to South Korea and Thailand for Spring 2006
68. I love musicals
69. I listen to an eclectic mix of music
70. I sing along with most every song on the radio
71. I am waiting for the man of my dreams
72. I will wait as long as God takes
73. I can’t wait for heaven
74. I am a 10+ gallon blood donor
75. I am an organ donor
76. I am on the National Bone Marrow Registry
77. I want to be cremated when I die
78. Red wine, not white
79. Diet coke
80. CHOCOLATE!
81. I am a morning person (once I am up)
82. I turn into a pumpkin at 10:00 pm
83. I won best dressed female at my friend Heather’s Oscar Party last year
84. I was almost a leap-day baby
85. I have had two car accidents
86. I do my own taxes – but not anyone else’s
87. I’m on way too many committees
88. I am a blog-a-holic
89. I used to work for Arthur Andersen (before it blew up post-Enron)
90. I collect something unusual – but you’ll have to guess what
91. I currently have 172 in my collection
92. I love to watch ice hockey (but not on tv)
93. I do pretty well at Trivial Pursuit (the original edition)
94. I think I intimidate people
95. People intimidate me (but don’t know it)
96. I love my friend Heather’s custom made jewelry
97. I love dry wit and sarcastic humor
98. I have 7 cousins
99. My 7 cousins have 15 children
100. I am 1/4 German on my dad’s side (thanks to my sister for correcting my math!)

Done!

I love that confirmation email that says "your tax return has been accepted by the IRS"!!! Whew. Another year done. Now just waiting for the direct deposit!

Thanks for all the encouraging words re: Valentine's Day. I appreciate it. I'd also appreciate your prayers for me and my (hopefully) future husband. That we will both be waiting for God's perfect timing and that we will be preparing ourselves to be the best spouse we can be. Thanks.

And no, I'm not pining away at home tonight. One of my single girlfriends from church invited several of us over for dinner tonight. So, I'm headed out! :-)

Waiting for confirmation

Well, it's done now.....for another year. Almost. I'm now just waiting for confirmation that the IRS has received my tax return. Then I'll wait a few days for my refund to be electronically deposited into my bank account. Yippeeeee! One more thing checked off the to-do list.

And yes, I do have plans for the refund already. Banking it for a trip to Asia next spring - Thailand, South Korea, maybe the Philippines again. Looking forward to planning that trip.

On another note, I like the new comment structure/features that Blogger has added. But what happened to being able to set font formatting in my post template?!?

A little girl of the 1970's

One of my good friends sent this to me today....it is too good not to share. I'm a little girl of the mid-late 70's, but most of these definitely rang true for me. Fun memories!!

YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S IF...

1.You wore a rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves, and the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other.

2.You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washed them down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.

3.You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.

4.You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.

5.You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades)that had metal wheels.

6.You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)

7.You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.

8.You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

9.You had either a "bowl cut" or! "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamil" because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair.

10.People sometimes thought you were a boy.

11.Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.

12.You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.

13.You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.

14.You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.

15.You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.

16.The swing set tipped over at least once.

17.You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.

18.You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). You also had a pair of salt-water sandals.

19.You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
20.You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.

21.Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket.

22.You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.

23.You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.

24.You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend.

25.Every now and then "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the movie, "Annie" will pop into your brain and you can't stop singing it the whole day.

26.YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!

27.It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!

28.You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or Rick Springfield?"

29.You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever

30.You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. Pot holders - I believe they were called "loom loopers"

31.You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!

32.You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.

33.You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Weekly Reader book club. Double score if it was a teddy bear dressed in clothing.

34.You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books.

35.You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.

36.You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.

Getting better and better.....

....my eyes continue to improve!!! Today I went back to the surgery center for another post-op check-up. And the verdict is.....20/30 Left, 20/20 Right!

One reason that my left was not quite 20/20 was that there were microscopic imperfections under the flap. These they could fix by smoothing out the cornea. Strange. So, Dr. Constable put a soft contact on my left eye, dropped some deadening drops in, and smoothed my cornea. I would liken it to smoothing icing, but I really don't know since I couldn't see what he was doing!

So, I go back in one more week to check on how this worked, but he said I could see improvement as quickly as tonight.

It is still so unreal to me that I can see without some sort of vision correction. I've been in glasses since 2nd grade and started wearing contacts in 6th. So, I've pretty much always been so blind. I am hoping that this awe, wonder and thankfulness won't go away. I don't want to take this gift for granted like I do so many other of God's gifts....

One week!

So, it has been one week since my LASIK surgery.....and I can still see!!!!!! It is truly amazing to me the technology that has been developed that can fix eyes back to "normal" and let us throw away our glasses and contacts! It still is a little weird to open up my bathroom cabinet and not see any contact solutions - or even my glasses case! (Although I haven't quite brought myself to throw away my contacts yet.)

So far, no complication or anything bizarre. I go back to the surgeon on Tuesday for my "one week" check up. I'm curious to know exactly how well I am seeing. But regardless of what the actual number is, I feel like I am seeing at least as well (quite possibly better) than when I was wearing contacts. And that is what my goal was - to be able to function normally, each and every day without correction. Yippeee!!!!

Yankee vs. Dixie

Click here for this little quiz.

As for me:
94% (Dixie). Is General Lee your father?

Yep. Born and raised Texan (well except for the 2 years in the mid-80s when I lived in Colorado). But I most definitely claim Texas as home.

Anyone else?

Quiz for Today

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Not sure if I completely agree with the assessment, but I do love Winnie the Pooh!

Thanks Bobbie for the link!

Blah

Today is a blah kind of a day. Chilly (40's), rainy, gray. I haven't wanted to work all day, but I did force myself to get a few things done. Now, I'm off for an evening of solace at home. I love nights where there is nothing planned!!

It is supposed to maybe snow tonight. Who knows if it actually will or not. Even if it does, most likely it won't affect things enough to get a snow day from work tomorrow. Although that sure would be fun!!

My vision is getting better and better. I had a yucky headache Sunday afternoon and all day long yesterday. I think it is because my brain was actually having to focus on re-learning how to focus. But today, things are pretty clear and sharp from both eyes and I've had no adverse effects (like dry or scratchy eyes). So, praise GOD, this LASIK thing worked! Yippeeeee!!!