Merry Christmas!

Look at all the snow!

It's Snowing in Dallas!

Mom waiving hello!

Rich Cranberry Coffee Cake

A coworker of mine gave me this recipe. It is great! Yummmmm!

1-8 oz. package cream cheese (softened),
1 cup of butter,
1 1/2 cups sugar,
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
4 eggs,
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (divided),
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
2 cups cranberries,
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts,
confetioners' sugar.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture. Mix remaining flour with cranberries and nuts; fold into batter. Batter will be very thick. Spoon into a greased 10 inch - fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 65 to 70 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Lesson Learned...

The other day mom and I left to run a few errands in her van. About a mile from the house, I looked over to the dash board to see a bright yellow light. "What's the light for?" "Oh, it just means the tires are too low. We'll check it later." Later of course meant the next time mom fills up on gas. ///

Along we went. We went to Linens N Things to return a comforter and then to Belks to look at a new comforter. As we walked out of Belks I heard the sound...air blowing through a small hole in the tire and spitting the water on the tire. ///

The tire was almost flat! ///

How does a girl fix a tire? Call a guy. But there's where we ran into the second problem...no one had a cell phone. Mom's was at home, mine was dead. ///

Next question...Where is the closest Discount Tires? No sooner had the thought entered my mind that I saw the Discount Tires. Third Problem: it was after eight. They were closed. ///

Slowly, very slowly!, we made it to the nearest gas station to fill the tire up. I go to make a call from the pay phone and I run into the fourth problem and fifth problem. Fourth, no one had change to make a call. Fifth, I couldn't get the phone to work with my calling card. Surely it wasn't the operators fault! :) ///

Luckily the guy inside the store let us borrow a phone and sold us a can of quick tire fix. ///

Finally, we made it home. At every stop, I jumped out of the car to see how the tire was holding up. It did just fine and brought us home safe and soundly. ///

So the lesson learned...check your car when a warning light goes off.

Just for the record...

The eliptical machine kicks butt! I am going to hurt tomorrow!

Funniest Lines at Work

"It's hailing...the hail is just really, really small." Could that have been sleet? I think so. ///

"Do you have to join the military to get the military educational benefits?" Duh! ///

Me..."So why are you dropping classes?"
Student..."Well, my mom signed me up for the classes and never told me. I haven't been going to class all semester."

It's Chip!

I went to fold a little laundry and guess who I found?


It's Chip...taking a nap in the laundry!

Rusty got a hair cut!

The new do!

Anyone remember these games?

Belly Dancing...

Last weekend we took a trip down to Austin. It was a blast ....

So why did we go? Well, Candace has begun taking belly dancing classes at A&M. On Saturday, her teacher was preforming at a belly dancing bazarre. The bazarre actually began at 10 am and lasted all day. The day was to be filled with dance performances, lessons, and-to end the day-and Arabian dinner with another performance. ...

Saturday, Melanie, Leeza and I left at 7:30. We played all day...when we got to town, we went to UT and played around the campus for a while. They had a ton of area artisan's set up with their crafts. It was fun to see all of that. And I was good...I didn't splurge on any of the jewerly. ...

Afterwards, we went to the belly dancing bizarre. It was interesting and fun. When you walked into the building, you saw all sorts of things from Syria and Egypt. Some of the jewelry and costumes were gorgeous! We sat and wathced one performace and then had the chance to take a belly dancing class. Talk about exercise! After twenty minutes my legs hurt! After our lesson, we got to see Candy's teacher perform. She was good! ...

That evening we went to Dave and Busters. We ate and then had a skee ball contest...of which I had the lowest score. Not a shocker. Needless to say, we all had a good time.

Rusty wanted to drive.

Candace's car in UT country!

Quote of the day...

Sometimes you just have to trust that what you see isn't the whole picture. If nothing else, have faith that if you sit tight, the right course will become clear.

Fall Fun

Tonight was the big bonfire. The grandparent’s of a girlfriend live North of the Metroplex on a good amount of land. We decided to all head out that direction for a bonfire with hotdogs and smores. ///

We arrived at the farm around 7 pm. It was still light, but dark was coming fast due to an approaching storm. Once everyone arrived, we all climbed upon a large trailer filled with hay. Off we went into the wilderness for our bonfire. The hayride took us further and further into the land. We passed a few small farmhouses and lots of land before we arrived at our destination. Already a large stack of wood formed the bonfire. The guys set to work to light the fire and before long the flames were licking the trees above. ///

The evening went by quickly…we played ‘hide and seek’ in the dark, cooked hotdogs, made lots of smores and chatted too. ///

By about ten, the storm had come and we were all standing in the rain. A few of us had brought umbrellas so small groups huddled under an umbrella. Not long after the rain had started, we all climbed back onto the trailer and hay (now wet with rain) and headed back. ///

Once we got back to our cars, we headed back to town. Most of the group headed out for hot chocolate…never a bad way to end an evening. ///

Oh, I almost forgot about the costumes…the theme was ‘what do want to be when you grow up.” There was one outlaw, a cowboy, a bride, a mother, the first lady, Yankee pitcher, a farmer’s wife, Barbie, and several more that I can’t think of right now.

We have air!

After five days, the air conditioner has been fixed. Yeah! Thursday night the fan on the air conditioner went out. Dad took a look at it, but there was nothing that he could do. We needed professional help. We called to have someone come out, but it wasn't until Tuesday that our guy showed up. The only downside to the long weekend was the humidity. Over the past few days, the weather has mimicked the Amazon and its many jungles. The upside was the chance the fall asleep to the rain and crickets. At night, I felt as if I was camping...the gentle, warm, wet breeze coming through a screen with the crickets serenading me to sleep.

What the #$*! do we know?

Today I got up and went to see a movie with Ari, What the #$*! do we know? The movie was based around quantum physics and the pursuit of knowledge…why do we exist and what are we to do? In so many ways, what many of these people believed is so close to what you teach Lord. And yet, they don’t see the big picture. What if there was an ultimate creator? What if we were created in him image? What if he loved us so much that he created us and gave us characteristics of himself? People see you as a God who created in order to be worshiped. Since people don’t understand God and do not seek to better learn about God, they have to create this other being who made everything or has all of this under his control…there isn’t a God, just the universe who is all knowing, or a Great Spirit. I have always found it fascinating to study you, to study what you have made, to study who we are…in the pursuit of knowledge we can come to know you better…the creator who made everything and who made me. It is easy to focus so hard on the universe and how it works, or the human existence and what it is, or the earth and the reality it provides us…that focus is actually lost. No longer do you see the whole, but only a part. God becomes lost in our pursuit to understand ourselves and the world around us. That is truly sad. God did not create us to worship him. Christ did not come to do something God could not do on his own. Christ did not come to condemn those who his father had made. God’s love was so great that he created in order to share his love. Everything he created was a gift to us. Yes, even the tree of life. In that gift, he gave us choice. Do we choose to live with Him or apart from Him? It was our choice. When we chose the second choice, God did not rearrange his plan. His plan has and always will be to be with his people, so Christ was sent. He came to bridge the gap that we had created… a gap between the Creator and creation. He came out of love for us…not to condemn as so many believe. We have been given so much….we have such a wonderful life to live…eternal life that begins here on Earth if we accept. And again, it is our choice. Out of love, he again allows us to choose…do we chose to be with our Creator or live apart from God?

Girls Night Out

Friday night was girls night out…well, with the exception of Craig (Cherissa’s gay coworker, who joined us for dinner). We ate at Patrizio’s…great Italian food with really good drinks. After dinner, it was Cherissa, her best friend and I who headed to La Madeline’s for dessert and wine. We all shared a fruit pizza with coffe or wine. The conversation moved between guys, health, sex, love, back to guys, jobs, careers, did I say guys? We talked until restaurant closed. It was so refreshing to spend time with sane, intelligent, straightforward women.

My place...

Well, there is a little bit of work to do, but this is where I live. It took a dozen tries before I got the funiture just where I wanted it. Right now I am still bringing in boxes from the garage, but I only have three more boxes to get. I've also been through every box in my room and am ready to go buy new storage containers, begin organizing and placing everything in its place. The next pictures you see will be a drastic improvement!

My walk in closet.

Where I sleep.

The view from the door.

I'm finally feeling better....

After a week and half of being sick, I am finally feeling better. Yeah! Though I only had a cold, it felt just as bad as the flu!

A few highlights from Corpus...

Tuesday night's fun: Dinner at the local Oyster Bar. We started off with oysters, shrimp (coconut fried, and peel and eat), and seafood quesadillas. Of course, I'm not a fan of shrimp or oysters, so I decided to wait until the main course. The main course was mesquite grilled chicken with steamed veggies and rice. It was so good to eat a great meal! Yumm! ///

Wednesday: The vendors arrived! I had gone to some of the preconference seminars and was able to take a sneak peak at the vendor booths. The best free bees...manicure set and a back pack. Of course, there was much more things...lots of pens, paper pads, post its, notebooks, calculators, calendars, letter openers, bags, and the list could go on. /// Wednesday night we were envited to a dozen shin digs...the night began with drinks in one of the lenders room, then we the TASFAA President's party to attend...there was a live brass band and, of course, more drinks and lots of food. After the president's party, another lender was taking us to dinner. The seafood restaurant we went to was closed especially for us and several other attendees. Again, there was enough food to feed an army...more shrimp, nachoes, fried mushrooms, salad, mahi mahi and more shrimp, and then there was dessert! So what did we do after dinner...two of my coworkers headed to the Padre Island for a beach party. My other coworker and I headed upstairs to the bar for drinks. Of course, that was only after I had decided not to attend the beach party, the party hosted by wells fargo, the other party hosted by costep, and a personal invitation for a night out on the town by one of our servicers.

Thursday: After the evening of parties, we all slept in. Sleep...hallelujah! The big party was thursday night....the costume party hosted by TG and TASFAA. Only through God's grace was the party not rained out. For food we were served my favorite...tex mex! Yeah to fajitas! (can you tell we ate a lot!) There were many good costumes, but the winners were Lucy, the Flinstones, and Scooby Doo and Gang. Also, we had a live band. They were great....music was played from the sixties, seventies, and eighties. As the decades changed, so did the singers costumes and dancing. It was a lot of fun!

Friday: Pam and I got up and headed to the beach. My coworker, Pam, had wanted to ride the hotel's tandem bike all week. We finally got the chance. And the best part of the day... leaving to come home!

A row of seagulls

The Lexington and a seagull

Me and Pam riding the tandem bike

Me on the Beach

View of the bay

View of Corpus From the Hotel Room

Corpus Christi

I left Monday, October 4th, for Corpus. Due to a huge thunderstorm making its way through the DFW area, I was awoken at six am on Monday. At 6:40 I gave up on sleep and decided to start the day. By eight am, I had finished packing and was ready to go. By nine am, I was on the road with my three coworkers. ///

The drive was long! Very long! We chatted for part of the way and I did finish one book on tape. One of my coworkers is a smoker so we stopped every two hours for her. The stops were very nice; they broke up the long car ride and gave me a chance to stretch and breath real air. ///

The most interesting aspect of our trip was our last stop for food. We stopped at a Mexican Restaurant. Though I thought it was questionable, Pam noted how many vehicles were parked at the restaurant...it had to be decent if so many people were there. The restaurant served authentic Mexcian food...not tex-mex but Mexican food. And let me tell you, there is a distinct difference. None the less, we did manage to eat a few bites and finally decided we would eat again once we had checked into the hotel. ///

At seven, we arrived at the Omni Bayfront Hotel and checked in. The first night all four of us would share one room. Never had a full sized bed looked so small! ///

After check in we made our way to dinner. We ate at Pier 49 overlooking the Lexington. The best part of dinner was our view...the Lexington was all lit up and it was gorgeous. The Lexington was encompassed by blue lights that made the ship glow. It was amazing to see such a large ship completely lit up with the waves knocking against the side of the boat. ///

Once back at the hotel, the girls headed for the hotel bar while I got ready for bed. After a long day in a car, the only thing I wanted was a hot shower and some sleep.

The Omni Bayfront Hotel

I'm back

I am finally back from Corpus Christi. Yeah! I had a great time and can't wait to tell more stories. Right now, I am heading to bed for a good nights sleep. :)

Tumble weed

Yesterday, I was driving down the road and saw a tumbleweed. I very much felt as if I was in a Western movie. How often do you see that in Dallas?

I'm gone...

Moday morning I leave for Corpus Christi and won't be back until late Friday night. All week long I get to attend the state association for financial aid advisors. I am hoping that it will be interesting and that my coworkers will not require too much extra grace. /// Though I will be staying on the beach at a four star hotel. Not bad. That I can deal with. :)

Bugs....

Tonight when I got home, I decided to take a walk. I wanted to try a new routine that my pt had showed me yesterday. I was to start off with my usual warm up. After the warm, I was to stretch. Yeah, I've kind of skipped that part. And then I would use the first 15 to 20 minutes of my work out doing interval training....slow, fast, slow, fast, faster, slow again. For the last 15 to 20 minutes I would just walk at a good pace. When I was done, I was to stretch again. An amazing thing happened....I didn't limp home today as I had on Tuesday. Apparently, I wasn't stretching as much as I should. On the last leg of my trip, my muscles would start into their usual spasms making me limp home. ///

As I as on the last leg of my trip, I got to listen to all the bugs come alive. Some sounded as if they played a violin...a constant D# was held. Others sounded more like clicking...click, click, click...which the next tree would echo. It made me wonder if the bugs actually talked...the conversations are probably similar to us singletons...'Did Jon ever call you? Well that dog!' And on the other tree, 'Did Jane ever call you? Women!' ///

So the upside of my walk...I didn't limp home. The downside of my walk...I am covered with bug bites. I am not talking about one or two bites. I am talking about two dozen bites...I look like I have chicken pocks.

Our house...

September 5th was the last day at the house. After a huge brunch at IHOP, we all headed over to tend to a few last details. As we finished up packing and cleaning the house, I made one final walk through. /// The house was so different empty. We lived as a family almost ten years there. It's been so long that I don't even remember when we first moved in...when the house was last empty. /// Here are the last few moments in our house....

The empy master bedroom.

Ryan's room.

My bedroom...my bookshelves above my desk.

My bedroom...where my bed used to be.

The living room...where our couch used to be.

The empty den

New Sounds...

In our new home, there are many new sounds. Here are the few most notable...1. Dad snoring (now I am much closer to the master and can say that yes Dad snores...despite what he may believe). 2. our neighbors dog (our neighbor has a little cockerspaniel who likes to say hello to everyone and he always says hello more than once). 3. the sound of cars (I never realized how much noise that never made it through the tree to my second story room).

Why Women Take So Long in the Bathroom

My mother was a fanatic about public toilets. As a little girl, she'd bring me in the stall, teach me to wad up toilet paper and wipe the seat. Then, she'd carefully lay strips of toilet paper to cover the seat./// Finally, she'd instruct, "Never, never sit on a public toilet seat. And she'd demonstrate "The Stance," which consisted of balancing over the toilet in a sitting position without actually letting any of your flesh make contact with the Toilet seat. But by this time, I'd have wet down my leg and we'd go home. /// That was a long time ago. Even now in our more mature years, The Stance is excruciatingly difficult to maintain when one's bladder is especially full. When you have to "go" in a public bathroom, you find a line of women that makes you think there's a half-price sale on Nelly's underwear in there. So, you wait and smile politely at all the other ladies, also crossing their legs and smiling politely. And you finally get closer. You check for feet under the stall doors. Every one is occupied. /// Finally, a stall door opens and you dash, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter. You hang your purse on the door hook, yank down your pants and assume "The Stance." Relief. More relief. Then your thighs begin to shake. /// You'd love to sit down but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold The Stance as your thighs experience a quake that would register an eight on the Richter scale. ///
To take your mind off it, you reach for the toilet paper. The toilet paper dispenser is empty. Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on-that's in your purse. It will have to do. You crumble it in the puffiest way possible. It is still smaller than your thumbnail. /// Someone pushes open your stall door because the latch doesn't work and
your purse whams you in the head. "Occupied!" you scream as you reach out for the door, dropping your tissue in a puddle and falling backward, directly onto the toilet seat. You get up quickly, but it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with all the germs and life forms on the bare seat because you never laid down toilet paper, not that there was any, even if you had enough time to. And your mother would be utterly ashamed of you if she knew, because her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, "You don't know what kind of diseases you could get." /// And by this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, sending up a stream of water akin to a fountain and then it suddenly sucks everything do n with such force that you grab onto the toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged to China. /// At that point, you give up. You're soaked by the splashing water.
You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a Chicklet wrapper you found in your pocket, then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks. You can't figure out how to operate the sinks with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past a line of women, still waiting, cross-legged and unable to smile politely at this point. ///
One kind soul at the very end of the line points out that you are trailing a piece of toilet paper on your shoe as long as the Mississippi River! You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it the woman's hand and say warmly, "Here. You might need this." /// At this time, you see your man, who has entered, used and exited his bathroom and read a copy of War and Peace while waiting for you. "What took you so long?" he asks, annoyed... This is when you kick him sharply in the shin and go home. /// This is dedicated to all women everywhere who have ever had to deal with a public toilet. And it finally explains to all you men what takes us so long. ///
PS - The answer to the other question, why do women go in pairs. It's so the other woman can hold the door and hand you Kleenex.

The big day...

Saturday...the movers were coming at 9 am. My alarm clock was set for 7:30 am. The wake up calls wound up coming much earlier. I think Mom began the wake up calls at 6:30; I finally heard her at 7...way too early in my book. ///

By 8 am I was ready for the day and packing the last few items. I finished packing my suitcase and tore all the sheets and blankets off my bed (I made sure all bedding was folded and placed in my car. The last thing I wanted to do was search for sheets at 10pm! Another lesson Jen taught me!) My bedroom was now completely bare...no books, no posters, no bears, no cozy and warm blankets. The bathroom was also completely bare...the shower curtain had been taken down, the smelly shower gels placed in a box, all drawers were now empty of life. All that was left was memories stores away in boxes.///

At nine our help arrived...the movers arrived right at 9 am. Thank goodness for puntuality. Bill showed up about that time also and Grandpa followed shortly. ///

The work was beginning. All the loose items were carried into the kitchen. Boy, there was a lot! Melanie and I had boxed everything we put our hands on. I knew that I didn't want to carry our belonging piece by piece to the new home! Two bedrooms, one bathroom and the downstairs wasn't too bad since we had boxed most of it. The worse place was the master bedroom...mom and dad's room. Was anything boxed? Half of their room was not boxed!///

The movers began with the bigger boxes and large furniture. That was the only order I could see because no two boxes in one room were packed together. The movers were two guys, early 30s. Both were tall, but one was lanky and dark (it was as if he hid something or behind something). Melanie and I referred to the movers as creepy guy and nice guy. ///

So the morning passes with lots of work. By 11:30, Mel and I were starving. (Who could believe only 2 1/2 hours had passed since the movers showed up!) We took it upon ourselves to go get food. Off we went to Subway. Only nice guy specified what he wanted at Subway. Creepy guy wanted no food. Everyone else got whatever we ordered. But I was impressed that I remember Grandpa liked a club sandwich. ///

At noon, lunch was delivered to everyone at the new house...Grandpa, Bill, mom and dad. Along with the sandwiches, we had gone to Tom Thumb for chips and oreos (made me think of Jen) and ice for drinks. Our first meal was serviced in the new den. ///

After lunch, Melanie and I went back to the old house. Most of the house was now packed into the moving van. All that was left was a living room full of boxes, lots of loose items, and a lot of cleaning to do. ///

Melanie and I had already divided up tasks...she would clean; I would continue to pack and move items downstairs and to the new house. It worked out perfect since I didn't want to clean and Melanie didn't want to box and move. Before too long everything was downstairs and Melanie was busy cleaning. ///

About that time grandpa came over. The two of us set out to move the remaining items. We started with the bigger boxes and loaded his truck as high as we could. Then we would drive the alley at 10 MPH in high hopes that nothing would be lost around a curve or bump. Three trips later, grandpa and I had moved all the remaining boxes and a large majority of loose items. ///

The new house was filling up fast. While grandpa and I drove back and forth unloading, the movers were also unloading. The furniture was being put in place and the garage was filling up with boxes. ///

By 4 pm the movers were done with their part...furniture was now disbursed around the house, boxes were stacked high in the garage, and the major appliances had been located and hooked up. The rest was up to us. Our to do list was still long...clean the backyard; gather mom's rock collection; pack, move, and clean the garage (luckily Ryan and Dad had done a major spring cleaning in the garage a week before), finishing moving loose items (which seemed to continue appear out of thin air!), finish cleaning the house and then clean the carpets. ///

Us kids continued to work at the old house while mom and dad did stuff at the new house. By 7 pm, we had minimal work left in the old house and an HUGE amount of work at the new house. We decided it was time to go home. ///

Once we all got over to the new house, we ordered Chinese. We demolished four large orders of chinese! We had four different entrees, egg rolls, steamed and fried rice, and fortune cookies. Amazingly, most of the food had disappeared in half an hour! Talk about being hungry! ///

For the rest of the evening, we all seemed to go our own ways. Mom worked on the kitchen, I worked in my room and the bathroom, Ryan worked in his room, Melanie moved boxes, and Dad worked on the master. ///

For a while I just stood in my room. Where would everything go? (I still can't answer that question.) Since I now had a wonderful walk in closet, I moved every box I could into the closet. Once I had clearned some space, I set out to move the furniture around. At first the bed went on the north wall and my desk went on the south wall, but that just didn't feel right. So I moved each piece to the opposite wall. My dresser finally was moved to the north wall beside my desk. My rocker was moved to the north wall beside my bed. And the rest of the furniture found a home too. ///

Now it was time to unload my car. In my car was my bedding, various last minute bathroom goodies, paperwork, suitcase, and a few other things. As soon as the bedding came out of my car, it went onto my bed. Though it was only nine, I was exhausted. It was my bedtime. ///

The end of moving day one had come. After talking about moving since autumn of 2003, we had finally actually moved. And for the most part we were in our new house.

The Day Before

Since there was so much to do, I had left work early. Shortly after 4 pm, I got home. I grabbed a bit to eat and sat and talked with Mom. By 5 pm I had changed and was packing. I still had a few things to pack in my bedroom and bathroom. While packing it had become a habit to watch Coyote Ugly. Good music, cute guy, and chic starting a new life somewhere different. The perfect movie to watch as I loaded all my belonging into boxes. ///

We all packed until 6:30. At that time our stomachs were telling us it was time to stop. Ryan and Dad went one way and us girls went another way. Mom, Melanie and I headed over to Mexigo's. The down time was spent planning the itenary for the next day as well as making a short Target list. After dinner, we headed to Target for celaning supplies, water and paper to line the new cabinets. ///

Before the evening ended, I had finished packing my room and bathroom. I also packed a suitcase for the next week...just in case choas were to break out and all clothing is lost (a trick Jen taught me). ///

Tomorrow was the big day!

We are moving!

I can't believe it! The day has come. It's sad and exciting. I have finished boxing my room. Everything I own is boxed and labeled. I can't believe my entire life is boxed up! Wow!

"You learn by living"

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Elenor Roosevelt, "You learn by Living"

What a Saturday!

The day began at 6 am in the pouring rain. When my alarm clock went off at 6 am, mom was already up. As I got myself around, Melanie went downstairs and made breakfast for all of us...scrambled eggs and toast with jam. It was good to have a nice warm breakfast on such a dreary day. ///

A few minutes before six, Melanie left for school. Mom and I were off next, and finally, Dad and Ryan with the Carmicheal's van. Mom and I stopped at Starbucks on the way, and Dad and Ryan stopped at the donut shop (Ryan waited until five minutes before we left to get up, thus missing the gourmet breakfast Melanie had prepared). ///

At 7: 30 Melanie calls to tell me that the highway is flooding so be careful. Wonderful! But despite the hazardous road conditions, we all made to her apartment safe and sound. ///

Melanie made it there before the rest of us, so she went to stand in the check-in line. She was to get the keys to apartment and her bedroom (she shares a suite with three other girls). One of her roommates was at the apartment so we got to go check it out. Melanie showed up around nine with the keys to her room. By the time Melanie had arrived, we had most of her things unloaded (three cars worth mind you!).

And then the drama began! None of keys worked. So there we are, boxes stacked high in the commons rooms with no way to move it all into her room.

Back she went to management. After much more drama, the complex decided to change the lock on Melanie's door. The door handle was removed and replaced. Apparently, the girl, who had previously lived in the apartment, had changed the lock and left no keys. The complex had tried to contact her but to avail. And they had not tried to get into the room at all!

When we opened the door we found a mess...the carpet was filthy, as were the walls and bathroom. The room had not been cleaned, painted or recarpeted as promised!

Back Melanie and I went to management. Within two hours they had a cleaning crew out. But much to out disappoint, the cleaning crew did not know how to clean. Mom and I had to reclean Melanie's room! After another talk with management, everything was set. Sunday the painting crew was to paint her room and Monday she is to get her carpet replaced. ///

How frustrating for Melanie. As on 8 pm Sunday night, she had not been able to print her class schedule (she can't hook up her computer until the carpet is replaced). Her room is also not unpacked or decorated, and she is exhausted!

So that was Saturday and the move into Melanie's first apartment. What an experience!

Here's Melanie in her new apartment!

I have bangs!

Thursday I went and got my hair cut...cut, not trimmed. I had not been to see my hairdresser since June, before the my best friend's wedding. My hair had grown! I had her take an inch off the bottom and add lots of layers. For some of the layer she cut three inches! The layers frame my face perfectly! The shorters layer (the bangs) come down to my nose. I love my new haircut!

The story behind a blessing...

It has been so busy at work! Non stop phone calls, students climbing out of the walls, and more paperwork to do in a month! Yesterday was especially busy, but today was especially quite...kind of like the quite before the storm. And being Wednesday, it is my night to work late. I was sure it would get busy tonight...I would get all the challenging students tonight when I was the only one in the office. But, quite to the contrary, nothing happened! I can count the phone calls and walk ins on two hands! I have only one answer for the amazing quite, slow evening...the chief police officer. ///

Shortly after five he walked into my room to make sure I was okay. "Just wanted to make sure no students were throwing staplers at you." From five until eight, he stopped by to check on me.///

It is so nice to have some one to call when things get rough. If a student starts yelling, call Ed. If a student barges in your office, call Ed. If a student threatens you , call Ed. If a student wants to be smart, call Ed. ///

Here's a big thank you to Ed, our police officer.

To be thankful for....

1. Sleeping in late in the middle of the week.
2. Walks in beautiful weather.
3. Mexican food.
4. My best friend is doing better.
5. Kind customers.
6. Police officers.
7. Relaxation.
8. Chic flics
9. A hot shower.
10. A new magazine.

My new office!

Here are the long awaited pics! This is my new office. I moved in on Thursday and, as you can see, there is still some unboxing today and decorating to do. ///

The plus side of my new office: I have a door to shut! It can be very quite or I can listen to the music department down the hall. Students leave me alone if I shut my door. ///

Bottom line: I love my office!

The view from the door.

The other view from my door.

Where I sit each day.

Where students will sit.

Forth Place

The U.S. men's archery team lost the bronze-medal match Saturday afternoon, giving them a fourth-place finish and ending the Americans' hopes of winning a medal in the sport at these Games.

Today on NBC Olympics...

The U.S. men's archery team, which won bronze in at the Sydney Olympics, advanced to the semifinals Saturday morning by defeating Italy. The team faces Chinese Taipei later today.

US Team is moving on!

Oh the drama....

Last night we get call a call from the hospital in Nachodoches, TX, where Grandmother has been all week. Teh hospital was discharging her and taking her by ambulence to Baylor Hospital in Dallas! ///

It looks like she has a rare heart defect. One of walls in her heart is extremely thick and has caused an artery to be too small. When ever her heart rate gets above 50, her heart pumps less and less blood. They have her on medication. ///

There were three options to help her: 1. To be taken into surgery to repair her heart and artery. 2. To install a pace maker. 3. To be placed on more medication. Right now she is on medication. Due to other health problems, she will no undergo any type of surgery at the moment. ///

So what happens now? For the time being she will stay in hospital and be monitored. If the medicine proves to help, then she may only need medication. If the medication does not do enough, the hospital will begin addressing other health concerns to prepare her for surgery. ///

The bottome line...we wait and see what happens. There is a good chance that grandma will not make it through this. It is hard to see family suffer and face the possibility of losing a family memeber.

Sad news...

Today Vic fell in the fourth round to Marco Galiazzo of Italy, who went on to win gold. He scored 108 while Marco scored 109. Even I feel the pain of defeat; but I only glimpse at Vic's pain. But he competed well and was a tough competitor to beat.

Boxing...

The house now has a 'Sale Pending' sign up. And we are boxing! I can't believe we are moving!

A few boxes in my room.

Boxing!

Health Updates...

Melanie recently went for her annual gyn appointment. After a brief conversation about Melanie's continuing problems, the docter decided to send Mel to a PT. There has always been a chance that our problems are muscular but no one has ever sent us to a physical therapist. ///

Well, good news has come from the PT. ///

According to the PT, Melanie's hips are out of line. Since her hips are out of line, the right hip is higher than the left hip. This means that one of her legs becomes shorter than the other. Well, that also means that her abdomin works in ways that it should not work. As a result, she feels pain. ///

That would explain why I can so easily pull my abdomin muscles. It also explains why my left leg has always seemed slightly shorter than my right leg...every time I buy a pair of jeans, my left pant leg drags...as if my left leg is shorter than my right leg! ///

Right now Melanie is working with the PT. I am waiting to see how Melanie does. I know I need to call and get referred to the PT but am slightly afraid. I hate doctors and I hate disappointing news. My mind races...what will the PT tell me? Will she be rude and mean? Right now I continue to wait and see how Melanie does, but it is great to hear this news!

All College Day

Today was our faculty/staff in-service day. It was also the first time that I met several of our financial aid staff from other campuses. ///

But before I get ahead of myself, what is All College Day? On All College Day, the college closes down. No students allowed. The day begins shortly after 8 am. ///

I met everyone in my department at 8:15. We met in our office and then walked down to the new conference center, where the fun would be held. They had drinks and breakfast foods sat out for us. Until nine, we mingled and I tried to catch up with friends I had not seen in a while. I was able to see my good friend Donna, who I used to work with. I also caught up with a few professors. ///

At nine, the president of the college started his hour presentation. He talked about the changes over the past year and those expected to come this next year. One of the changes that has recently occurred is the addition of a school mascot. We are now the cougars. For the announcement of our mascot, one of the departments had put together a video presentation. It was so cute! It showed the students voting for their mascots, the most popular choices (SUV's was among the choices), and the final decision with our new mascot logo. ///

After an hour of listening to the President we had a short break before reconvening. The second morning session was a time for awards and welcomes. Each year the college gives out faculty and tenure awards. The college also recognizes all new employees. About 100 new employees stood on the podium to introduce themselves. When the microphone got to me, I said my name, division, and location: "Hi. I am Stephanie with Financial Aid." ///

After the morning fun, we were provided a huge buffet lunch of fajitas. Over lunch I got to know the financial aid staff at our two other locations. So far I have worked with all of our staff, but had not met half of the staff. The financial aid advisers I met today were just as different as I had come to expect. And different may be too kind a word...One was the witch we have come to know her as...The other was more needed more mental help than we had thought. ///

After lunch, we each choose a session to attend. I choose to attend the one on 'Burn Out.' It was okay, not spectacular by any means. ///

The best part of the day was at 2:45....when the last session of the day ended. I got to leave work at 2:45 today. It was so nice to have an afternoon off and time to run errands. ///

And so that was my day. My first in-service day.

The aliens are coming!

Today it sounded as if aliens were coming...about to break down the wall and walk right into the office! ///

Right now the bathroom around the corner is under construction. Today the jack hammer was used a lot. ///

I kept thinking of the movie "The Signs." In the movie, after the aliens would land, they would scope out their surroundings. As they circled your house, you could hear the tapping of their claws against the wood of the roof. Each step they took brought the aliens closer to where you were hiding. Today, each time the jack hammer went off it made me think that the aliens were coming...each big boom was a sign that they were closer to breaking down the wall and capturing me.

Vic is moving on!

After Monday he is the only male American archer that will continue on. Tuesday he defeated another competitor! Saturday is the final competitions for the archers. Who ever wins Saturday takes the gold!

Day two at the Olympics

The Village

I saw 'The Village' by M. Night hymalion. It was great!/// I enjoy his movies for his story telling ability and his keen observations about society. /// The Village was a story about a group of people who had been brought together due to dramatic events in each of their lives. A counseling center is where they had first met. Each had lost a loved one in a terrible crime...one sister was raped and murdered, a husband was robbed and left for dead, a close friend was shot in the head. /// One of the men decided to build a village. It was to be away from civilization and the pain that civilization had brought each of them. The village was built at the edge of the city...in the forests. Anyone else who would wonder by the woods assumed the area was a wild life preservatory. Few knew what the woods really held...a self sustaining village. /// The turning point was when the people realized that in either existance...in the village or in civilization...ther would be pain, loved ones lost and crime. /// His movie left one thought in my mind...we cannot hide from pain. No matter how much we try to escape our pain and what brought it, we will again face pain. The question becomes, how do you chose to live with the pain that is in our lives.

I missed your call!

You called! Wow! So how are you doing? Are things going good? How is the new house? How is Stuart? Are you eating? Are you sleeping? Are you taking care of you?///

Like my blog? I am getting better and better at the blog thing. It's pretty cool. The only problem I have is finding time to write. Things are so hectic.///

Since Sunday, I haven't found much more time to pack. Of course, I forget that it is only Tuesday. I did get a few boxes packed yesterday. Time seems to be moving so much faster than it is.///

Tonight I went over to a girl friend's house to hang out. She called me at work to see what we wanted her husband to make for dinner. :) She never cooks so he had given us two choice. Chinese or Fajitas. I choose the Chinese because he is Chinese and his food is so good. We chatted and dug through her scrapbook stuff while he got dinner ready. After dinner we ate chocolate and scrapbooked. It was fun. ///

Tomorrow I get to sleep in! Yeah! Of course then I start to think...I really should get up and get my car washed, go to Target, run by the bookstore. Too much to do! ///

Each night I have something going on! I have over booked myself. Which isn't horrible, but since Tom is visiting, I need rest! I don't need to be trying out for the Olympic team! ///

So I have to cancel something this weekend. I either cancel a birthday chin dig or cancel the conference with Primerica. I lean towards the conference with Primerica. They have another conference in October with a woman that I would like to hear. I just hate to cancel because I know the guilt trip I will get. But I would rather cancel that, knowing I can do it another time, than ditch a friend whom I already told I would celebrate her 30th bday on Friday. Either way, I feel guitly and will get a guilt trip. I would rather a guilt trip be placed on me by another person...so I will cancel with Tracie at Primerica. ///

And work is so busy...but my boss is awesome. She walked in today and told us that the rest of the week we are to take it easy and not let the stress get to us. This morning it was me and her working in the back. She could tell how tired I was and she herself was tired. After seeing the rest of the advisors, she gave us permission to take it easy. That will be hard with payment deadline on the 12th. We get a ton of phone calls from students wondering where there money is. Since when do I just pass out free money? Plus our deadline for paperwork to be turned in was June 1st. What that means is that if you had all your paperwork done by June 1 and into our office, we would have your money in your student account by payment deadline...no need to pay for tuition up front or pay for books out of pocket. Right now I spend a lot of time with students who have turned in their paperwork after June 1st who feel they have the right to have money given to them by August 12th. Never mind that it was their responsibiliy to take care of paperwork or that they are now adults and are responsible for their own being. ///

Yesterday at work I sat down with one of our banks. As soon as this mad rush ends, I will be working with Wells Fargo. We have a huge number of students in default. You can look at the job as just a collection specialist. But I get the chance to teach students about budgeting and their finances. Together we will put together a budget and work to get their credit back in good standing. A side effect will be lower default rates. ///

Plus, I will soon begin implementing some new procedures at the office. I am very excited to get our office running smoothly! There is so much to do, but I can streamline! ///

Well, I'm off to get some sleep. I'll write more later. I can't wait to hear how things are on your end! Miss you!

A sad goodbye

Today I began packing. So much has already been packed, but to see my bookshelves become empty and my walls bare, makes the move so much more real. For ten years I have lived in this room and made it my own. It has been painted, shelves put up, furniture changed and rearranged for the perfect fit. ///

It is hard not to remember all the things that have happened over ten years. Ten years ago I was entering high school. On this same computer, I have typed many essays. In this same chair, I have looked out the window to say hello to the birds that call my windowsill home. And now, ten years later, I have graduated high school and college. I find myself working a eight to five job with the rest of the world. ///

As I have packed I have come across many memories. Each picture that I have wrapped showed some event in my life...camping with high school friends, vacationing in Maine, the Greek festival, the heights church group, my best friend's wedding. Each book represented a different time in my life...Jane Eyre became my favorite book in high school; my first bible given to me; Julie, the first book I read by Catherine Marshall which began an obsession...to collect all her books. ///

Soon my closet will be emptied. Each shelf will lose the life it has held...books that I could not let go of after college; clothes that should go to good will, but whom have brought such comfort that it would be a sin to betray such good companionship; and craft projects that continue to beckon me to finish them. ///

I find myself saying goodbye. I am no longer a young teenager. My life has changed and I am growing up. And as I find myself moving, I know that it will be many years before I call another place home for so long...for ten years. In this move, I follow my parent's to their new home. But soon, I will venture out on my own. At that time I will box my belonging...saying goodbye to some of my things, but still bringing many of my things with me. ///

Though it is exciting to embrace a new place...to make a new place my own...it will continue to be hard to say goodbye to this part of my life.





What ten years I brought into this room is now coming down and being taken out.

We have a new house!

The drama is coming to a close. We are buying a house that is just down the alley. The other day we signed the contract with Jon. Jon drove over to our new home, delivered the contract, and the old owners signed the paperwork! So what does it look like....well, it's a three bedroom, large kitchen, beautiful dining room, nice family room, large bedrooms, large bathrooms. My room will be huge with a walk in closet. Ryan will have the room next to me. Melanie will have the front room. Currently her room is the living room. It will be closed off, french doors put up, and a window put in above the french doors. Some time in the future the room may become a guest room or a living room again. Exciting!

Back yard

Master Bath

Kitchen View 1

Kitchen View 2

Front View

Dining Room.

Master Bedroom

The long awaited story....

So where did I leave off my story about the wedding?

Well, after we finished putting the favors together, everyone was hungry. Who wouldn't be about looking at bags of chocolate with no lunch yet? So we all packed up and headed to TGI Friday's (a favorite Sunday brunch restaurant...eating at the bar with chicken fingers and extra gravy! Yumm!). Lunch was good. I had eaten at 11 so wasn't starving, but I knew that I might not eat for quite some time. I ordered potato skins with a large glass of ice tea. The girls were so cute. They wanted exactly what I had just ordered to drink. As the waiter takes our orders, the girls follow my example and order a glass of ice tea. I wasn't really sure if they would even like a glass of ice tea made from the South. So did they like? Not really. We tried adding sugar but that didn't help. The girls are used to flavored tea. So another round of tea was ordered but this time they ordered peach tea. Much better!

At lunch I pulled out my speech that I was to make the next day. The only person I would let read it was Pam. She loved. She said everyone would cry, but I didn't think so. I had been thinking of that speech for a long time. I wanted everyone to laugh but also wish Jennifer a warm hasta luego. Not goodbye, adios, but hasta luego, until the next time.

After lunch we went to go bye some drinks for the reception and soon after I was racing through Richardson to meet the caterer with the drinks, napkins, and favors.

More to come......

The continuing house saga...

There have been several contenders for a new home and we have put a contract on three! The first home mom and dad looked at was empty. It needed a little work, but it was empty, at a good price, and workable. It had been empty for over two months! And the day before we go to put a contract on the house, someone else beats us to it! Unbelievable! So on the more homes. They looked and looked and found three houses that might work. The one on Dartmonth in Allen was okay, but after driving by it several more time and going to another house showing, that was nixed out. You didn't feel like you were part of a neighborhood and their was something wrong with the foundation. On to house number two. Nice home. So we sent in a contract. But it doesn't look like the owners really want to sell it. They are hagling and just won't take a contract. So we move down the street. We send a contract and then find out a contract was put on the house three days before! The realtor was kind enought not to tell the showing agency or any other realator! Can you hear the scarcasim!

So we are looking again. Friday a three bedroom, nice home went on the market. Mom and Ryan looked at it today. When Dad and I got home, we all went. Tomorrow morning Jon (our realotor sends in a contract). This house is two blocks away and you can actually get to it from our alley! Talk about an easy move!

The Circus

This weekend I went to the circus...Barnimum and Bailey's 'Greatest Show on Earth.' I had never been to the circus before. I as talking to dad before I went and he said it would be just like the circus on the movie Big Fish. He was right. It was really neat.

I saw elephants, horses, ponies, zebras, lionesses, and so much more. There were the clowns (though one ran the show...Bello with bright orange hair). There were motorcycles that drove in a big, steal sphere...a total of six fit in that sphere! Who would have thought that six motorcyles could drive in circles around a sphere and each other! And the gymanastics were amazing. Those people were in shape! We got to see people on trapezees (sp ?) and also saw a man walk a wire that one story above the ground! What a show it was.

The house is sold!

Saturday we had a young woman come by the house.  By Saturday afternoon she had put an offer on the table.  Wow!  Tuesday night, the contract was signed. 

Mom and Dad have continued to look for new homes.  As of Monday they thought they had found a new house.  They talked to our real estate agents.  Then come to find out, Monday night another family had put a contract on the house!  What are the odds.  The house they had wanted had been vacant for two months and all of a sudden people are interested!  Who thought that another person would put a contract down on the house!  Well, it happened.

So now the search for a new house.  If nothing can be found, apartment hunting here we come.  Though we are homeless for the moment, something wonderful will come along. 

I passed...

I passed my life exam.  Yeah! 

So what does that mean?  I can sell life and health insurace in the state of texas.  I have to send in the paperwork to the state of Texas to get my official license, but my office will do that for me.  Yeah!  I did it!

My next step is to get my mortgage license.  This month will be too busy to do take the review class and study for the license so it will have to wait until next month.  Right now I will continue to go to training classes...to learn about starting your own business, life insurance, long term care options, and all that fun stuff.  I am excited!  I can't wait to learn more and to begin working with families.  How neat it will be to sit down and help a family become financially independent!  I'll be able to educate people about their money.  What a great way to help people!

It's Tuesday

Well, the weekend has pasted and the new week has started.  The weekend was very busy.

Friday night I went to see Bourne Supremecy.  It was a good action film.  The best part of the evening was seeing friends.  I had not gone out with everyone in almost three weeks; plus, everyone is now back from Romania.  It was great to see everyone and to know they all made it back into the states safe and sound.

Saturday I met with my team at Primerica that I work with.  After morning training, where we looked over life insurance policies, I went out to lunch with the Regional VP and her family.  I had a good time.  I am really enjoying being part of a great team environment as well as being with people whose focus is helping others through good financial planning. 

Saturday and Sunday I spent a good portion of my time studying for the life and health insurance exam. I am ready to get it over with but anxious at the same time.  I have studied hard, but am still worried about how well I will do.  I take the exam on Wednesday morning and know that I will be very releaved to have it over.

Monday started too early.  Joey (our dog) continues to wake us up every morning.  I could have killed him this morning, but he still lives.  Anyway, Monday was a busy day!  Work was non-stop.  Just to go to the bathroom or lunch, you had to walk away.  Yes you were leaving a long line of students and yes you were leaving piles of work, but you have to have a break. 

Right now it is busy due to the beginning of the semester.  Students all want to know why their money is not in yet and each one is ready for a fight.  Can you feel the love? 

So that  was the weekend and the beginning of the week. 

TGIF!

It's Friday!  Halelujah!  This week has been a great week.  I am loving my new job and really getting a hang of it.  I have also spent the week studying for my life and health license test.  My studying is coming along, but you know that I'll keep studying.  And that is the plan this weekend...to study. 

But tomorrow I will meet the team I am to work with at Primerica.  I am excited.  I am talking to more and more people about what I am doing with Primerica.  I am excited with all the new financial information I am learning and look forward to seeing how I will be able to use it to help other people. 

But I am getting ahead of myself, tonight I am going to see the Borne Supremcy.  It doesn't have Hugh Jackman in it, but I think I'll live.  I look forward to meeting friends and hanging out.  I have not done that in a couple of weeks.  And it looks like tomorrow night we will go to Shakespeare in the park.  The last time I went was four years ago and it was an adventure.

At that time I was dating Josh and Lauri was dating Joe.  Any way, we all went to eat pizza for dinner.  Well, usually when I eat pizza, I get sick.  This was no exception.  We drove down to the park in a Jeep which was more than a bumpy ride.  So I was guaranteed to get motion sickness.  We had almost made it to the park, when I got sick.  Joe had to pull his Jeep over to the side of the road.  I jumped out of car and ran to the back of his Jeep.  I knelt down and revisted all of my dinner.  Needless to say, the rest of the evening was no too much fun.  Boy was I sick.  But, as I look back at that time, I can only laugh.  Now it is very funny.

Tomorrow night, I have high hopes that the same will not happen again.  First of all, no pizza!  And if I have, I am driving! 

Right now, I'd better get back to work.  TGIF!  :) 

The Last Few Days

I sit at my desk at work ready to take a break...so here I am.  So what has happened the last few days?  What good things have happened to me?

1.  Today I finally caught up on my sleep!  Yeah!  Though I went to bed at 11, I was able to sleep in to the glorious hour of nine am.  Which brings me to my next thought.
2.  A hip hip horah for days when I don't come into the office until 4 pm.  It is nice to know that I have two full days of work and then a half day.  What a great job I have!
3.  Talking to a long time friend who I haven't heard from in almost 7 months.  I decided yesterday that it had been too long since I had talked to Anita so I called her.  We chatted late into the evening.  There is nothing like the love of a good friend.

The Lakehouse

I had a great weekend!  And there are so many stories to tell. 
 
I left late Friday afternoon with Melanie and Dad.  Melanie had been dying to leave since noon on Friday.  She was even calling me before I left work.  'Are you packed?  When can we leave?  Will you be home at 5pm? '  Once I drove into the garage, it took Melanie only five minutes to load my car before she was ready to go.  Of course it took me more than five minutes.  
 
We got to the lakehouse around 8:30.  We unloaded the car and all found our rooms.  Leeza had already started dinner, chipotle.  Yumm!  
 
The surprise of the evening was dad walking into the lakehouse.  He had told Leeza that he was going to stay home with Mom.  When Leeza called to tell dad directions to the lakehouse and the gate code, we immediately called Leeza back asking for the same information.  Since Dad wasn't suppose to be with us, how would we know how to get to the house and through the security gate? 
 
Since there was one unexpected guest, bed assignments were shifted around causing the guys to lose there beds. But everyone was excited that Dad had made it.  
 
Saturday started at 6 am for almost everyone.  Melanie and I were the only ones to sleep past 6 am.  Since our room was on the otherside of the house, we had fallen sound asleep and were the only two who didn't wake up when Ryan awoke at 6 pm.  How did Ryan wake everyone up?  When Ryan woke up he went to the kitchen and made breakfast and then decided to watch some tv.  The thing is that the room where Candace, Tiffany, Ryan, Sean and Donny slept was in the upstairs loft...only two walls leaving plenty of open space for sound to reverberate.  No matter how quite you are, the sound echos through the quite house.
 
Once the crew was up, it was decided that it was fishing time and time to get the boat going.  The fishing went well but getting the boat going was another story.  For two hours Leeza and Pat tried to get the boat started.  Leeza was sure they had the wrong key so she searched the house for another key.  Pat, on the other hand, was sure he had the right key.  The key just wouldn't turn!  Finally, after much too do, the key that Pat had all along turned and the engine started.  Off everyone went! 
 
The rest of Saturday was spent tooling around the lake, barbequing, and relaxing.
 
Sunday everyone slept in but Ryan.  He was up before 6 am to fish.  This time everyone was so tired no one woke to the sounds of Ryan. 

Sunday was a lot of fun despite a few bumps in the day. 

Soon after the rest of us woke up we were on the water to go tubing.  Candace and Tiffany got a chance to go tubing before we had boat problems.  After a lot of work and Ryan working on the engine, we were able to start the boat and get the boat in reverse.  We made it into the cove before the boat completely gave out.  We dropped an anchor and decided to go for help.

Ryan and I jumped into the water to swim to our dock.  On the way we met our neighbors who were just putting up their wave riders.  They were gracious enough to go back to our boat and pull it into our dock.  Ryan and I continued to swim to our dock.  Talk about a long, hard work out.  But we finally made it back to the dock and then waited for the boat to arrive.

Once the boat arrived, Pat began working on the engine and before we knew it, the boat was in tip top condition.  This time Tiffany, Leeza, Pat and I went out on the lake. 

After lots of trial and error we finally figured out how to ride the tube with two people on it.  It was so much fun.  But let me tell you, when you fall off, it's a dramatic scene.  Arms flying, feet in the arm, then bam! you hit the water and drink half the lake.  Though the landings were rough, we would swim back to the boat, get back on the tube, and do it all over again!

We were on the lake until 3 pm when we decided to head back.  It was time to go eat.  Pat had been smoking ribs all day and it was time to eat! 

Melanie, Dad, and I left shortly after dinner while the rest of crew stayed one more day.  It was a great weekend and we were all sad to see it end. 

Weekend Wedding

The weekend if finally over and with that comes the close to the many events in Jen's wedding.

My weekend began at noon on Friday. I left the office and called Jen to see where she was and what I needed to do. My first errand was to run by Jen's parent's house and pick up the napkins for the wedding. The napkins were beautiful. Written in silver was Stuart and Jennifer, July 10, 2004.

I arrived at the hotel shortley before one and met Pam (Stuart's mom) and Caitlyn and Sabrina (Stuart's twin girls). Everyone was wonderful.

Jennifer to do list was a mile long! I don't know if she ever finished everything but we were able to make a dint. We began with the most important things and went from there. What was on that list? First we searched for missing documents and gathered things for the wedding the next day. We also finished the wedding favors...chocolate hugs, kisses and promisses were wrapped in teel and tied in a gold ribbon. Once finished we had a large box filled to the brim with wedding favors. That and the napkins would later be dropped off at the caters.

More to follow...

My first entry

I've wanted to begin a blog so here I am. Today I begin!