a couple of layouts

Did I ever mention that scrapbooking is great therapy? It is! Here are pics of 2 of the layouts I've done lately. The one with Rick is actually scraplifted from one of Courtney's layouts.




Hope you had a great day! Have a very happy Thursday!

The Bucket List

I've been thinking a lot about death and dying lately. With Ron's death, I have been reminded of how precious life is, how important it is to let those you love know you love them before it's too late. Ron always let all who were around him how much he cared. He loved well and was well loved. I hope that this weekend his kids realized how special he was in all of our eyes. I hope that they can remember that about this weekend... that their dad was an extraordinary man and he was very loved by many people and will be truly missed.

So, at the risk of seeming morbid...we went to see The Bucket List today. Probably not the best movie to see right after a friend dies, but I thought it would be more of a comedy. There were some funny parts in it, but a comedy, it wasn't. Its about a couple of guys(Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman--both wonderful actors) who meet in the hospital because they both have cancer. They develop a friendship and they both find out on the same day that they will each have 6 months and 12 months to live. So they create this list of things they want to do before they kick the bucket. And they do everything on the list. It is a great concept! So I got to wondering what it is I would like to do before I kick the bucket. So here is my list.


1. Sky diving with Chanel We've talked about it for years but just haven't.
2. Learn to belly dance
3. See Alaska
4. Go on Safari in Africa
5. Scuba dive
6. Spend a month in Europe
7. Donate a substantial amount of money to the Knoxville Alliance for the Mentally Ill
8. Bungee Jump
9. Be a Grandma
10. Wear a size 10 jeans
11. Visit NYC
12. Take my mom to Disney
13. Learn to sew
14. See Sienna graduate from college

There are probably so many more things, but you get the picture. Just something to think about.

Word from Liege

Well, I have had a sick feeling in my stomach since Monday, the day before Chanel left. I have been a nervous wreck but today I heard from her and miraculously my nausea has gone away! I'm posting her message to me. It sounds like she is managing herself just fine. She's already been flirting with a Belgian guy!


"Hey!

I am in Liege now! Everything has been going okay, it is hectic.

Everybody here knows french! Do you know why? Because the only
classes not taught in French are the MBA classes!!

So everybody around me speaks french, everybody in the city center
speaks french and i do not speak french.

Do you know how hard it is to get to a city where you have to take
three trains and one bus? tres dificil! Take how hard that is and double
it from not being able to speak the language.

so on the airplane, this belgian guy kept talking to me and i was so
excited because there was lots of room on the plane and so i knew i would
get my two seats to myself. but then this guy sat down and started
talking to me!! and i only got the seats to myself for a little bit when
i said i was tired.

but then i got here, and guess what else! my backpack broke! and now i
am trying to find a backpack that does not cost 100 dollars. i do
not like this weak dollar stuff, i have to double the price of
everything!

so then i finally found my way to the train station and got my ticket.
only i couldn't figure out where my ticket went or what train i got
on. so i am standing there and finally these people have pity on me and
say they are going to the same one and they help me get on the train
with my huge bag. it is tres dificil to get on a train with a huge bag
and then to find a spot on the train where you can sit with it.

and then once you are on the train, you must figure out how to get off
of the train at the right place.

and then once you are there, you must figure out where to go. but my
laptop is about to die so i will write more whenever i can!"
--------------------

Departures

Today has been tough, very tough. It was so icy here that there were over 200 wrecks in this area by 9 a.m. Rick was at work and called to tell me to stay home and then Sienna called to tell me to be careful. She said that there was a ten car pile up on Middlebrook right in front of her. She also said that she had been evading the ditch all morning on her way home from her BF's house. I always worry about them when they are out driving. So, I left for work about 9:30. I made it there without problems.

Rick called me about 10 to tell me that one of his very closest friends had been killed in a car wreck this morning. I mean, this guy, he and Rick have been friends for 25 years. They have been close, like brothers. So, needless to say, Rick is struggling. It was a tragic accident and he will truly be missed by many, many people.

So, at 11 I left work and went to help get Chanel ready. That girl is so scattered. It really makes me nervous with her going to Europe, as scattered as she is. We finally got everything packed and loaded up in the car. I was trying so hard to be happy for her but today, with everything going on, it was hard. We went to check her luggage and she weighed in at 50.5#. They let her slide with that. Really the weight of the bag should be less than 50#. Her backpack, I think weighed at least 20#. When you are moving across to another country for 7 months, of course, you want to take as much stuff as possible. It was hard consolidating her stuff into one 50# bag. Hopefully, once she gets an address I will be able to ship some stuff to her.

She does at least have a place to live now which makes me feel so much better. I was so stressed out that she wouldn't have anywhere to go once she got there. She was talking about living in hostels until she could find an apartment and we all know that hostels aren't the safest places to be. She's now arranged to live in the dorm on campus. I think that will be really fun for her. She's such a social girl that she will fit right in. And she is so smart that I bet she will be speaking fluent french in no time. Just as a side note, Belgium is divided into 3 sections there is a french side and a dutch side and some other language, I forget what. But apparently as a universal language, many of them speak english.

She has no one to meet her at the airport and she will have to take a couple trains and a couple buses to get to the city where she is going and then she has to figure out how to find the campus. All on her own. I think she will be fine, but I know its going to be stressful. And well, she is so distracted all the time, I worry for her.

So I held back the tears until she was just about ready to go through security and then I just couldn't. I so didn't want her to remember me as crying and actually, I think I held it together pretty well until she was on the other side of the security check. And then Rick called and I just broke down. Couldn't help it. But that only lasted about 10 minutes. Rick was so good. He is going through a really tough time and he offered to drive to the airport to get me. He is always so selfless. I love him. Of course I didn't let him come and get me. I just had to suck it up and be strong so I could comfort him since he would be on his way home.

So, its just really been a hard day. I will feel so much better when I know Chanel is there and settled.

A little too much time on my hands

This pic is a couple years old, but I like it. It was taken at the beach and we are both a little sunburned.

We have really had a nice weekend. Rick gave in and said we could go to Disney again this year. Yippee! He knows I would rather go there than anywhere else and he wants to keep me happy most of all, so we are going! We also booked our cruise for this year. That was fun. I made a dent in my scrapbook room and even scrapped some which was so nice. (and therapeutic)

Yesterday, Sienna called me and asked me to help her do laundry. Apparently, she finally made a path from the door to her bed by getting all of her dirty clothes off the floor. We went to the laudromat because we thought it would be faster that way. Now, this is one, single girl. We did nine loads of laundry and one of those loads was a double load in the big washers. sheesh, that kid has a lot of clothes. And believe it or not, when we took it back to her apartment, her closet was still so full that we couldn't even get the clean clothes jammed in there! She has a nice big closet. Somebody has a serious hoarding problem! I think its genetic, poor girl. Then, we proceeded to clean her room but she wasn't letting go of any of her clothes.At least her room was pretty clean. I got to meet her new roommate and her parents and I really like them a lot. I think it will work out great for both of them.

Rick was wanting to know whatever possessed me to go and help her yesterday. I just wanted to be near her. You see, Chanel leaves in 9 days and it just hit me this weekend so I had this need to be near my girls. Chanel will be gone until July and I just can't bear the thought of it. If I have been anywhere by myself this weekend, I have been crying. I even cried last night in the middle of Samantha Who. For those of you who don't know it, its a comedy. I couldn't even make it through dinner at Chop House tonight without tearing up. It's pitiful, I know. Its just tough, as close as we are, to know that she will be thousands of miles away for such a long time. I don't mean to be histrionic but dang am I going to miss her! I don't go back to work until Tuesday, I could really use the distraction. I'll just have to keep busy tomorrow.

Have a great night!

Happy 2008!

Happy New Years everybody. I've read over Leeann's resolutions and she has given me some ideas for my own so here goes.

1. Me: Improve my health which to me means lose 25# by eating regular food and not fad dieting. Exercise 4 days per week. I really need to get my tail out of bed in the mornings before work and just do it. No more excuses and no more whining.

2. My marriage: Date night, my treat ,once a month. Its time for me to treat Rick like the king he is. I also plan to tell Rick over and over that he is my hero and that I will love him into eternity. Also I need to stop whining. I am sure he will appreciate that.

3. My girls: Rick told me not long ago that I was too bossy with the girls. I'm going to stop. I am going to back off and let them make their own choices and try to zip my lips when I disagree with what they are doing. I'm going to try to refrain from giving them (or anyone for that matter) advice unless they ask for it. They are grown up now, they have to make their own decisions. I promise to either be supportive or keep my mouth shut.

4. My job: I really need to try not to whine so much about having to work a full 3 1/2 day work week. Again with the whining. Those of you who know me well, know just what I'm talking about. I really have it made at work and its time for me to realize that.

5. My family: Visit my parents more. Try to rebuild a relationship with my sister. Initiate more phone calls with Jim. I love talking to him, it just never seems to be a priority.

6. My best friends: I want to make it a priority to get together with Leeann at least once a month. I know that sounds easy but with our busy schedules, time slips away so fast. I want us to scrapbook or have pedicures or go shopping or just have coffee for 15 mins. Girl stuff. Then, I want the four of us to get together once a month to do couples things. We have such a bond and I think its important to cultivate relationships.

7. My other friends: Call them more, make our relationships a priority, Let them know how special I think they are and how much I appreciate their friendships.

8. Other stuff: Finish the scrapbook projects I already have started. I want to scrap at least 3 pages per month. I want to take sewing classes and a photography class. I want to totally reorganize my scrapbook room and figure out better storage options. I want to take down the wallpaper in my kitchen and in the downstairs bath and paint.

This is a pretty extensive list but I think I can do it! Have a happy new year!