It's all about the experience

Our trip to Disney involved a lot of eating. Now that I have been able to weigh myself and see that I have gained 4 pounds, I can see just how much eating I actually did. I am totally frustrated with myself. But man, the food was good!



We ate at the Crystal Palace which I have already told you about. It was a beautiful restaurant, lots of flowers and glass and of course, Characters. Its easy to get distracted and not pay attention to how much you are eating .
Monday, we had lunch at Epcot at a Moroccan restaurant called the Restaurant Marakesh. The food was ethnic but very good. The meal came complete with a belly dancer. She was beautiful and the music was great too. It will be an experience that I remember for a long time. Rick, of course, loved the belly dancer.

At MGM, We ate at the Hollywood Brown Derby. The dessert (yes, I had dessert), was probably the best I ever had. Rick and I got two desserts and shared. Yum. It was one of those places where, if it hadn't been in a theme park, you would expect everyone to be in white ties and long gowns. But, we just went in in shorts and t-shirts and were very comfortable. Our waiter was wonderful. His name was Stanley and he was from the Ukraine. That's the cool thing about Disney world. You get to meet so many people from all over the world.

On Thursday, we ate at the Garden Grill at Epcot. Its a revolving restaurant. It revolves very very slowly and you can see different scenes of America. The dessert, farmlands, etc. Very cool. The food is served family style and the Apple dumpling is out of this world! It is also a character meal. We were able to see Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale. Rick had his head rubbed by Mickey and Pluto. It was really pretty funny. For some reason, all of the characters rubbed Rick's head. Like he was a buddha or something and they were rubbing it for good luck. lol. He loved it.

Here are just a couple more pics for you to enjoy.

Romeo and Edna

October 25

Today was our last day here at Disney World. I must say I am so sad to be leaving tomorrow. I love it here.

We arrived at Epcot before it opened and were there for the countdown. Its always so exhilarating to hear the countdown. We were among hundreds of people who swarmed Soarin’ first thing. Soarin’ is the most popular ride in Epcot now and everyone wants to ride it. It was amazing just getting to the ride. They even had a mariachi band at the bottom of the escalators to greet all of us into Soarin’. Disney has this big marketing thing going on now called The Year of a Million Dreams. So while we were waiting in line, they came around and handed us these cool cards on lanyards that were to be used as fast passes for the whole rest of the day! They said that they were giving away a dream of not having to wait in line for the rest of the day. It was awesome. We were able to walk right on Test Track and Mission Space and even Soarin’ again. Very cool.


Soarin’ is an awesome ride. I can so understand why people wait 90 minutes in line to ride it. Its like a hang glider ride through beautiful California. We loved it. Rick doesn’t like heights but it was so cool, he wanted to ride it twice! Go Rick!

After lunch, we went to the world showcase and began our quest for chocolate around the world. It was fun finding the chocolate at the different pavilions. We now have chocolate from Canada, the UK, France, Morrocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, Switzerland. There was no chocolate to be found in China, Rick says just as well, it would probably have lead paint in it anyway. lol. When we went to the American pavilion, I thought, what could be more chocolate America than a Chocolate chip cookie, right? Wrong! I got the chocolate chip cookie, it came in this nifty package but as I got to looking at it, I discovered that it was actually made in CANADA! Go figure. America even outsources its chocolate chip cookies!



At the Italian pavilion, we stopped to watch a street show. There are these “world showcase players’ throughout the park and they put on these comedies throughout the day. So we stopped to watch and the play was a spoof on Romeo and Juliet but it was called Romeo and Edna. And guess what? They picked me out of the crowd to be Edna!
It was great fun! I had to say the famous line, “Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?” I had to “platonic slow dance” with my Romeo and even play dead for the crowd (with my eyes rolled back and my tongue hanging out!). I loved it. The bad part is, I had the camera so Rick couldn’t take pictures! I guess we will just have the memories. They even gave me a little pin to wear that said “Honorary world showcase player”.

We have made so many incredible memories this trip. Disney does know how to do it up right. Rick has been wonderful. I can’t think of anyone I would have rather spent this fantastic time with. He really is an incredible man and I am so lucky to have someone like him. His jokes are a bit much to take when I am with him 24/7 ( and he is constantly joking). But I wouldn’t have it any other way.



Tomorrow we are off to spend a couple days with my mom and dad in Lake City.

Have a magical night!

Having a magical time

We decided to come down here to the clubhouse so Rick could do some things on the computer and so I can briefly write in my blog. The place we are staying is really very beautiful and we love it here. I'm not quite sure why they are so backward as to not have wifi in the rooms but here we are.


We are having such a good time here. Its rained every day which is just incredible because Florida has been in the middle of a draught for the entire summer and now that we are here, its raining. Its really been okay though usually we are at the parks until the early afternoon and it rains when we are done. The first day, we were going to go to the Magic Kingdom and we walked outside and it was drizzly. So we decided to go to Walgreens and buy some ponchos and still brave the rain. But when we got to the park it started raining even harder and my hood wouldn't stay up and we were getting drenched. I was so disappointed and I even told Rick that we should just turn around and come back to the condo. But then we were arriving just as the park was opening and they were having the countdown on the loudspeakers and my heart started racing and I got tears in my eyes and I knew there was no way I was turning back then. I was so excited!!!! We weren't in the park 5 minutes and it stopped raining. We got off Buzz Lightyear and it was beautiful! Ahhhhhh, what a great day it was. That place really is magical, even for a 41 yr old woman. It was great to see all the little kids getting excited about the rides and the characters but most of all it was wonderful feeling the excitement for myself! We had lunch at the Crystal Palace which is a character meal. Rick was very enthused about the great buffet, I was excited about Pooh and Tigger and Eyeore! It was so fun! I even twirled my napkin above my head as they had the parade through the restaurant.


There has been so much that has happened and life has been good to us this week. I'll write more soon. Rick is ready for his daily nap so I guess we'll go back to our room. Tomorrow, we are off to Epcot and we will finish our quest for chocolate around the world. Yum. I'm ashamed to tell all that we have been eating this week. Disney really has some incredible restaurants and hey, we are on vacation. Today we had lunch at Caseys famous hot dog place in the Magic Kingdom. I personally think Five Guys is better, but at Disney, its the experience, not necessarily the food that you pay for. So anyway, we are off to sleep off all of those calories!!



Have a magical day!

can you believe there is no wireless here? We can use it in the clubhouse but not here on the condo. I'll have to blog when i get home as its too hard to do so on my iPhone. Just know that we are having a Fantastic time ! Love love love Disney!!!

So I'm off to meet a mouse

Can I just say YIPPEEEEEE!! I am on vacation. woohoo! Yay!! This has been a heck of a week at work,( all 2 1/2 days of it ) lol. So I am just so happy to be off for the next 11 days. Disney world here we come!! Rick was off today so he got most of the laundry done so I could pack when I got home today. I've read 2 tour guides three times, I have a notebook full of notes, I have my travel journal all put together just waiting for pics and journaling, my camera batteries are charged up and I am so so excited!! I'm not really much of a planner but when it comes to vacations, I could quote the tour guides frontwards and backwards. Its funny how that works. Usually, in "real life", Rick is the planner and I am just a random kind of girl. Its just the total opposite when it comes to vacations. I turn into a planning junkie. I just think its so fun to read about and dream about the trip and all the fun things we will see and do. The kids used to love it when they were younger because I would get so excited about our adventures we'd feel like we'd already been before we even left the house. So, I'm off to another adventure at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. I'll try to blog while I'm gone and write about all of the magical memories that we are making.

Have a very happy day!!!!!!!

Friday night was Don's birthday. Happy Birthday Don! He seems a bit sensitive about his age, as I am, but at least we are all getting older together and that makes it so much better. We all went out to this great restaurant called Seasons. The food was wonderful! Here is a pic of Rick's dessert. He said it was the best cheesecake he has ever had. I had the creme brulee and it was the first creme brulee I've ever had but wow, it was delicious. You all will have to try this place.


Sienna's car is still not fixed. Apparently when the guy got all finished, it wouldn't start and it turns out, she needs a new engine. Ugh. He's agreed to put one in for free but that just sounds kind of fishy to me. Her dad is handling all of that for her so there is no telling what we will end up with. So, it's getting up 30 mins early for me again this week. *sigh* I do enjoy spending more time with her, I would just prefer it to be at about 9 am. I'm really not a morning person.

We leave for Disney is just 5 days. So very excited! We will get to see my Mom and Dad as well as my sister and nephews. She has 5 boys and its always fun to see them. Here is a pic of a layout I did of the 3 youngest one morning before school. I used the I *heart* Candy Town collection at SIS. It has been a very fun collection to use.

Have a happy Sunday!

Nice

Do you know how nice it feels to step into last year's jeans and have them fall off of you? So nice. I've spent the morning trying on my fall clothes, after all it is October and surely we will see some fall weather soon. None of my clothes fit. That is very good for my ego but not so good for my pocketbook (or actually Rick's checkbook : ) ) . Usually I dread getting into my jeans because I usually wear skirts in the summer and in skirts there is a lot of room to expand! Not this year. Leeann has been a great source of inspiration for me this year. We have started going to Water aerobics again. Got to get healthy. My blood pressure is screaming that at me. And so, I think I'll listen. I started on a new BP pill and my pressure is lower but definately not low enough. I suppose it will take some time.

Only 11 more days til Disney World!!!!!! Yay for us!

Happy Sunday.

"Welcome to your 40s."

That' s a quote from Rick the other day when I was talking to him about my headaches and my neck strain. It really is true that our bodies are not as resilient as we get older.

Remember a couple days ago when I told you about my blood pressure? Well today, I was on my way to work and I became so dizzy I couldn't drive. I sat there in my car in the Burger King parking lot for 30 mins. expecting that it would just pass. It didn't. I finally had to call work because at this point, I could not sit, walk or anything. There was no way I was going to work. Karen came and got me. (bless her). She took me to my Dr office and I was there the entire rest of the morning. We finally left about lunch time. The Dr.s and Nurses at Family Care Specialists were extraordinary. They were so kind. One nurse even took a warm cloth and wiped my face clean from where I'd been crying. There were mascara streaks all over my face, she said. My blood pressure was 210/140!!!! OMG. That's scary. It took 3 BP pills over the course of several hours to get my BP down and to get my dizziness to be better, enough that I could walk. I was getting kind of sick from the dizziness. It's better now though. My BP is down to 110/72 and my head is not spinning. I slept the afternoon away because after all of that, I was exhausted. I don't know what in the world would cause the BP to go so high. No one at the dr. office seemed to have any answers either. All the labs, EKGs etc were normal.

Rick has been the best nurse. I told him he went into the wrong career field. He said, "I'm a software guy." He took such good care of me. I love him for all he does for me and just all that he does for everyone in our lives. He is a kind soul.

I absolutely need to take care of myself! 210/140 is very dangerous and I hope to live for a very long time, so I really need to get it together. I am going to join the Y tomorrow. I'm hoping Sienna will join it with me. Leeann, Sienna and I are going to have a big time with Anna at water aerobics. Also, it is low salt, low fat and no caffeine for me. I'm turning a new page in this 40 year old book!!

Have a happy night!

I've got to get it together.

I had a physical last week and my blood pressure was 150/100! I've checked it twice since then and its been running in the 140/94 range. Not good. I have never had high blood pressure before and I am not going to start now! I've made a commitment to really watch what I'm eating again and to work out at least 5 days/week. I am getting older and I really need to take care of myself better. I went to water aerobics with Leeann yesterday morning. We really had a good time and i realized how much I have missed it! I felt so good when it was over. I love the water. But then, this morning I woke with a terrible headache on the left side of my head. It feels like I have injured my neck or something. The pain is making me feel sick to my stomach. I don't think its from the exercise but if its still hurting this evening, I will have to wait to go back to class. I even called in sick to work this morning and I rarely do that. I've spent a lot of time in my very cozy bed today.

Thanks for letting me whine a little.

Been working on some layouts

I'm going to try and post a few layouts from time to time. Scrapbooking is my passion so I'd like to share with you sometimes. I scraplifted this from SIS TV. The picture is of Rick when he was about 2. The journaling reads: If only I could have known you then. We could have grown up together and experienced so much more of life together. I would have loved to hear your childish laugh, to watch you climb trees and chase the puppies. But I am just so happy to know you now. We are so close it almost feels as if we have known each other forever.

old friends

I went to a conference today for work stuff. I was so dreading it. These things can be so boring and this one was but man, did I have a good day! I ran into some ladies that I had worked with at St. Mary's all those years ago. It was so good to see them! Two of them, Laura and Susan were my mentors when I first moved here to Knoxville. They have taught me all I ever needed to know about psych nursing. We really have some good memories together and I was just gushing with joy that I saw them today. So many relationships over the years that I have just sort of let go. It takes work to maintain a friendship and over time, people tend to lose touch. Its a shame, really. Seeing them has brought back a flood of memories, good ones. My time at St. Mary's was wonderful. The only reason I left there was for more money after my divorce. I have thought of all of them often and can I just say that I am so so happy that I saw them!!!! lol. We have promised to make a play date soon so hopefully I will do better at keeping in touch this time. I am going back to the conference tomorrow and I am absolutely looking forward to it!

Tonight is SURVIVOR!! Woohoo!!! So, don't anybody call me between 8 and 9:15. I will be out of commission for an hour. Inevitably, Chanel will call. Rick and I used to make jokes about her always calling on Thursday nights between 8 and 9. Its like she has radar or something! But tonight I will not be answering the phone. It is the season premiere!

I couldn't sleep last night. We had Fuji's. It was so dumb of me to have Fuji's on a work night. For some reason, it always causes insomnia. But, I took an ambien and thought I would be able to sleep with that. I couldn't. So I got up about 12 and took another ambien and came in here to my office until I could get sleepy. Because of the ambien, I don't remember what I did last night but I sure could have gotten into trouble! I just now checked my email and apparently, I won the item I bid on on ebay. Hmmm, don't remember bidding on any items, but now I am the owner of a new scrapbooking book. Luckily it was only $11. And, I have just finished up a beautiful scrapbook that I am making for Chanel. Its one we started at CKU. I guess last night I decided to add some finishing touches to it. Bad move. One should not ink the edges of paper when one is in an ambien stupor. Far as I can tell so far, that was about the extent of my shenanigans last night. I think Rick is going to have to chain me to the bed at night. :-)

Have a happy Thursday!!

Lynchburg

Long day yesterday. We went to Lynchburg, Tennessee with our dear friends, Steve and Joanna. Steve thought it would only take 2 hours to get there but it ended up taking about 3 1/2. Long day. We had lunch there and then ended up having to wait an hour for the Jack Daniel's tour and then, it was so late, we just came home. Steve is a big JD connoisseur so it was fun. The county that Lynchburg is in is a dry county (go figure) so we weren't able to taste any. They did waft the smells our way and sometimes it seemed it was so potent one could get tipsy on just the scent. The time seemed to pass pretty fast. We always have a good time with them and Joanna doesn't like silence so she kept us entertained. :-) Our tour guide was a little weird. Every time he would say "Tennessee Whiskey" he would take his hat off. Before we knew it, whenever he would take his hat off, Steve would take his off and hold it to his heart too. It was pretty funny. It was quite the bonding experience between the two of them.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't get time to go shopping. I do plan to go shopping today because as I discovered yesterday, none of my jeans fit, and that's a good thing!

Have a happy Monday!

All I have to say tonight is...

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT??!!??!!!!!!!

Rick is not always known for his tact and you will understand what I mean in just a minute. I have been losing weight and had been working out pretty consistently until about 3 months ago and I just stopped. I have no excuses. I just quit doing it. I've tried and can do it for 2-3 days and then, the laziness sets in. You must know how much I love my bed! I do not want to get out of it to work out in the mornings because it is sooooo comfy. So, Rick has been very complimentary about my weight loss .Usually. Tonight, before bed, he was rubbing my arms and said....get ready... " You're getting pretty flabby. " OMG! Who says that to a woman? And my response was, "WHAT?!?!?" He said, "well, you are." He wasn't mean about it. He was just making an observation in his INTJ way. So, needless to say, I am getting out of bed at 6 a.m. tomorrow and walking with Leslie Sansone. I promise. ;-)

I'm excited already!

Just started a new book.
Getting prepared for our trip next month. You never can be too prepared for Disney World. Now, I have been to Disney at least 10 times and you would think that there would be no need to read the hundreds of books there are out there about it. But I learn something new every time I read this book. It is very cool to read and fantasize about what a blast we are going to have. We always do have a good time. We have learned to take our time and just mosey around the parks. We don't have kids with us anymore so there is not all of the pressure to hurry up and get to the next ride. Its amazing how much you can miss if you just run from one ride to the next. The way we do it, we get to take in a whole lot more. It is just an incredible, awesome place and I can't wait to enjoy it again. Only 6 weeks to go and I will be at my most favorite vacation spot in the world!

Rats!

This is the first photo I have ever had taken of the 4 of us together. It's hard to believe that we have all been together for 11+ years and we have never had our photo taken together.
We spent the day at Chanel's and as always it was a lot of fun. Sienna came with us and she had so much fun at lunch telling Chanel's roomates stories of Chanel's ditzy days. She is still pretty ditzy but when she was in high school, oh my goodness! It was a miracle she made it to college unscathed. It was fun for all of us to have a laugh but especially to watch Chanel laugh at herself.

We took Chanel a computer and Rick was helping her get it all set up. In this pic he is telling her "now this is a wireless mouse and when you lose this one, here is a wired one to replace it." LOL! He knows her so well.


And here is Chanel's pet. You may say,"gosh. It looks just like a rat" Well, that's because it is a RAT. a creepy, smelly rat. eeewww. I did hold him for about 10 seconds but he smelled so bad, I couldn't stand it. I had to give him back. She even told me that they took him to the groomers because of the smell and they told them "Sorry, we don't groom rats.' I think its hilarious that they even asked!

All in all, it was a great day. It was wonderful having all of us together for the day.

Hope you have a very happy Tuesday.

It's football time in Tennessee!!

I love football season! There's just something in the air during football time that puts everyone in an excitable, competitive kind of mood. We watched our first football game of the season last night and unfortunately, the Vols lost. I am an avid Gator fan and its a lot of fun to be a Gator fan in Tennessee, especially when the Gators are national champions. I try not to gloat but it's hard not to when I am a fan of the greatest team in the country. : ) See the link on the side. So, so proud!

We got Sienna moved into her new apartment and her old apartment is clean and ready to go. Sienna's new apartment is very nice. I really like it a lot. Her roomate seems to really like Sienna and I think they will get along just fine. I am happy that she is settling in. All of her neighbors seem very nice. There is an older gentleman who lives upstairs who really seems to be looking out for the girls and that makes me feel better. I hope she will be happy there.

Going to Chanel's tomorrow to set up her computer. She had her first week of grad school. Though she says there is a whole lot of reading, she seems to like it okay. She's a very smart girl and I think she will be fine. She keeps talking about moving to California though. I just need to try to keep her here until she finishes school.

Not a lot going on with me and I like it that way!!

Have a happy Labor Day!!!

Whew!

We're home from CKU and we had a great time. Whew! It wasn't quite what I expected and I was right, I wasn't able to keep up but it's all good. It was a lot of fun and we met some great people from all over the country. We are totally scrapped out though. We were so worn out at the end of the day we just couldn't face going down after dinner to crop more in the evenings. I never ever thought I could have scrapbooking overload but I definately do! Oh and the stuff! We got so much free stuff! They were handing products out left and right. Leeann won drawings 4 times!! What are the chances of that? She is a lucky girl!

Believe me, we needed all the luck we could get! The Opryland Resort is an awesome place. Its very expansive and we kept getting lost. I never did figure out how to get around. I left class early one day, without Leeann, and I seriously did not think I could find my way back to our room. Our first night there, we decided we wanted dinner at this italian restaurant, Ristorante Volare, we checked it out on the map and thought we knew just were we were going. Wrong. I think it was 30 minutes before we found the place. In a hotel. 30 minutes. Our map reading skills leave much to be desired to say the least. I never realized how much Rick takes care of when we travel (like map reading). So much that I just take for granted. Not any more. I think Leeann and I are both so blessed to have the husbands we do who usually just take care of everything for us. I really value that.


There were so many funny things that happened. I'll have to blog about some of them when I have had time to decompress a little. A couple of times we were just rolling with laughter. I can't think of anyone I would have rather had this experience with. I will treasure these memories for a lifetime.

More tomorrow!
Have a happy Monday!!

We're off tomorrow!! and I'm not even packed!

Off to CKU tomorrow. Going to meet some fun new people. Going to probably do things i have never done before and its really making me nervous. I'm trying to stay my own calm, laid back self but I'm getting a little anxious. I think it will be better once we are in the car and on our way. {{{deep breath}}}. Worried I am going to forget something. But seriously, it is going to be okay. We are going to have loads of fun. I am so blessed to be able to go with a 3 time CKU veteran, my very bestest friend, Leeann. I think our primary roles are to keep each other grounded. She's usually pretty anxious, I'm usually laid back. We're like Forest Gump says, like peas and carrots. Different but we complement each other so well. We're a great team.

I am going to miss Rick though. That's always the cause of such ambivalence when I go away. I miss him. He is my better half and without him, I always feel like I am missing something. I am, I'm missing him. It will all be okay though.

Now, if I can just go take a sleeping pill because I can't get my mind to slow down, I think I'll try to go to sleep now.

I won't have a computer at CKU so watch Leeann's blog. She'll keep you updated on the activities in Nashville.
Also, for those who don't usually read her post, read it this week she has a surprise for you!


Have a happy week!

California?

Everyone knows how much I love being a mom. My girls are terrific and I love them so much. But they have grown up and I don't mean to whine about it all the time but gosh, They are grown up! I am so lucky that Sienna is moving close to me and I think just in the last couple of months, she and I have become much closer in our relationship. She has turned into a lovely young woman and I just really like being around her. So, it will be good that she is going to live closer. I think that some boundaries will need to be established, for Rick's sake, but it could be fun!

So I just got off the phone with Chanel. We have an awesome relationship, but she has her own busy life and lately,well, she just doesn't have much time for me. She is 'in a relationship' with a guy who lives in California and she seems very happy with how its going. Instead of her calling me every day like she used to, she is on the phone with him and I'm a little jealous. Tonight, she announced to me that she just might move to CA. If she moves all the way to CA I am going to be a very sad momma! She really seems serious about this guy. I hope he is good for her. I was a little tearful tonight when she was talking about it. Its hard to imagine either of my girls moving that far away. We've just always been so close. Sad day.

The exciting thing is that there are only 3 more days til CKU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have packed and unpacked and repacked my supplies at least 3 times today, gotten my secret sis gifts ready, read all of the message boards twice,(just in case I missed anything), and have talked about it incessantly to anyone who will listen. Can you tell I'm excited?! woohoo!!

Have a happy Tuesday!

Oh the emotion!

We all know I am an emotional girl and sometimes I hate that. But gosh, this week has been incredible for me and it just makes tears come to my eyes to think about how lucky I am in this life. This birthday of mine....wow. Lubbed it. My family and friends have made me feel like a princess and I have to look around from time to time and ask myself what have I ever done to deserve all of this. Its indredible! I've received phone call after phone call with birthday wishes.

The gifts I have received are not only gifts you buy, they are gifts of love and caring and complete understanding of who I am. And with them what is so special is that everyone knows just the things I've been hoping for and they try to find a way to get it for me. I don't ask for much but let me tell you, people are listening when I am talking. And I sure do appreciate that,
Leeann even drove all over town trying to find this album that I wanted. She didn't find it but just that effort meant more to me than the album ever could have.

Spent the entire afternoon with Rick and my girls. 3 of my most favorie people in the entire world. I'm not just sayng that because they are my family, I'm saying it because I don't think I could live this incredibly happy life without my favorite people.
We went out to eat. Had Olive Garden.That is actually on the 'do not eat' list and of course, I ignored it again. But it was so good and the entertainment by the girls just made it all the better.

We went by the new house that Sienna plans to move in to. Its only about 10 mins from me and thats just close enough without being too close. We like it and we think she should take it but she is having 2nd thoughts again. I just want her settled and happy. Most of all I want her happy.

I loved just being with them. We played ARE YOU SMARTER THAN a 5th GRADER? Love that game but I am absolutely not smarter than a 5th grader and I am not ashamed of it!!!! Its a fun game to play.

Going with Don to the Bridal show tomorrow, Not sure how much help I will be but I am going to give it my all and I wiil try to attempt to keep him focused and settled. That's my job I think, to calm Don down. It should be fun. I'm sure he will keep me entertained. He's a pretty funny guy.

Sleep well.






Happy sunday!!!

41? Seriously?

This is a comment I heard from a coworker today when I told her that I was turning 41 today. She is about 25 and has no idea yet how that sounds to a woman as she gets older. It was like, "41 is so old," not a "man, you don't look 41!" kind of comment. (Okay, so I think probably I read more into it than was intended :-) ) Not to sound dramatic or anything but man, 41? I thought 40 was great. We always hear comments like "life begins at 40" so I thought 40 was pretty cool. 41....not so much. I mean, gosh, I have 2 grown children. I could be a grandma! Oh the agony!! lol!

I did have a great day today. Work was good then Leeann and I went to have pedicures together. It was nice to get pampered a little...together. Wish we could go away to a spa together and get pampered for an entire weekend, but I'll take an hour and a 1/2 on occasion. I'm not greedy. We really did have a good time.

The kids are coming tomorrow and I suppose we'll go shopping, because that's just what we do. We shop and we eat. Shop and eat, that's what we do and that's what we'll always do. lol. I remember when the kids were young, I used to home school them. When Chanel was about 8, I was trying to teach the kids about money, I would tell them they had so much money and they were supposed to cut pictures out of catalogs and see how much they could buy with the money they had. And it was all downhill from there. We have been spending money together ever since!

I received a gift today from Leeann's mom and grandma. As I read the card, I got goosebumps! Her mom was thanking me for being such a good friend to Leeann. Now, I don't think I am in any way an extraordinary friend, (if anything, its the other way around, she is an extraordinary friend to me), but it was such a very, sweet gesture for her to send her thanks and appreciation and it really touched me.

Have a very happy Saturday tomorrow!

Wish I could capture this

I was just telling Rick yesterday that I have felt more clear this week than I have in a month or longer. I feel good. I want to socialize. My moods have been excellent. I'm not stumbling over my words and best of all, my mind is sharp. Now that's pretty significant. I wish I could capture this. Bottle it up and save it for a rainy day. The sad reality of it is, in another couple weeks, I will probably enter into the fog again and withdraw and not want to get out of bed for work. Its the nature of the illness. Just the way my life is. So for now, Yippee!!! Love this life!

Sienna is coming over tomorrow night. She will stay here so that she can get ready for the first day at her new job. This is a very exciting time for her. Once we get her working and into a new place here in Knoxville, I think she will be so much happier. It will be nice to have her settled. People are always happier if they are settled.

Went to a scrapbook crop last night. Nuthin' but scrapbookin' all night. Oh yeah. It was nice. I didn't get much done, I don't think I even got one entire layout done, but it is always so much fun chatting with other scrapbookers. We really are a nice bunch of people. I had my favorite scrapbook buddy right there by my side as always and it was great fun!

Have a happy Sunday!

Sabatoge!

" 5 Guys?" again
" You know, Marble Slab is just around the corner."
" We could get a CinnaBon while we're at the mall this afternoon."
" You should get a hot dog AND a hamburger, you'll be hungry."
" Burger King or McDonald's?"
"Lasagna?'
"Here. These hot wings are good."
"5 Guys? We haven't eaten there but once this week."-again with the 5 Guys!

Things I've heard just this week. And just from Rick. Ugh.

just to update you

I know everyone is wondering.....Rick loves my hair. I am so happy and relieved. He just doesn't like the smell of the hairspray. I never wore hairspray before. I'll have to figure something out about that.

Dr. Robertson is on vacation this week that means an easy week for me at work. Love that.

Have a happy Thursday, I know I will!

new do

This is my before pic.
I was talking to my mom last night and was telling her about my hair appt. today. She said, "well, you are getting to that age where you shouldn't wear long hair." Hmmph. Thanks mom. Despite what she said, I did get my hair cut today and its about 6 inches shorter but so cute! I don't think it looks matronly at all. Pam at Salone Divino did it and she was wonderful. She talked me through every step because she knew I was nervous. I think it makes me look less frumpy. I had highlights put in as well as a cut. I think it turned out beautifully. It's not a dramatic change but it's different. Rick practically forbade me to get my hair cut short. And now I've gone and done it. I hope he likes it.

Whew!

Today Sienna and I spent the whole day getting pampered. Well, Sienna got pampered and I got a lot of reading done! We started off getting her hair done. and man, what a difference. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the transformation. They wouldn't let me look until she was all finished and when I saw her, my jaw dropped. She must have had 10 inches cut from her hair! You can see how beautiful she is. For some reason, everytime I go in that salon, the hair stylists are trying to talk me into cutting and highlighting my hair. So, on Tuesday I'm going to do it. Rick is none too happy. He likes my long hair and doesn't want any of it cut off but I just feel so frumpy all the time, a new do might help.

So after the hair salon and lunch we went to Ross the Boss to their spa. I was pleasantly surprised to see how wonderful it was! It is so completely relaxing and totally classy. We met some really cool girls. Amy and Kimi. Love them. Sienna had her first massage. She was so totally relaxed and then we went for a spa pedicure. I am so hooked. I didn't even have the pedicure, I just sat with her and I came out of there completely chilled. I'm so looking forward to my birthday when Leeann and I can do the spa pedicure together. Of course, not sure ours will be so relaxing, we tend to talk alot when we are together!



We then went to Wasabis for dinner. Sienna had never been to a Japanese place where they cook at your table. I think she was impressed. and this time, no vegetables in the cleavage. Our guy this time was much more tame. I kind of like the other guy better, but Rick much preferred the guy tonight.

So that was our great day. Then for some reason, I have no idea why, when we got home,Sienna got mad and left. lol. That girl! who can figure her out? Anyway, I had a fabulous day.

I have a new friend.

I have a new friend! Rick has a friend from work who married a gal from Kansas about a year ago. She is very sweet but I had only talked to her at their wedding and had only heard Rick talk about her from what Don has said. Well, last week we saw them at Five Guys, ( I know! Bad Lisa) and we chatted a while. Well tonight, we happened to eat at Five Guys again, (bad, bad Lisa) and what do you know? They were there too! So we talked and guess what? She LOVES to scrapbook! Just like Leeann and I do! I really like her a lot and I hope that we can spend more time together. I've invited her to the crop next month. Scrapbookers are just so much fun to be around. It will be a good way for her to meet more people, CKU is only 36 days away. Yay for us! Should make lots of scrapbooking friends there.

Friendship is so important. Especially friendships between women. I really wish I would make more time to cultivate my relationships with the women in my life.

Sienna got her new job! I am very excited for her. I hope she is happy there. Planning on moving to Knoxville. I think she is planning on moving into an apartment with a friend. Maybe things will turn around for her now. I've made it very clear to her today that just because she would be living close to me, doesn't mean I will be doing her laundry! : )

We met Chanel's new boyfriend over the weekend. I liked him very much. He really seems to care a lot about her. He is very funny. I asked Rick if he liked him, and he said " Well, he's not gay, so that's a good sign." That's all he would say about it. But he really did seem to like him.

Hope you have a happy Thursday!

Wow, what a difference!

We went to Chanel's today and as I was downloading the pics from today, I ran across this photo of Chanel and me in her freshman year of college. We both look so totally different! I don't even look like the same person. And what is up with that short hair? What was I thinking?!! So now Chanel has graduated college and is an official adult now. Its amazing to think about all the changes we have both gone through in the last 4 years. I handed her her last rent check today, paid her insurance for the last time and declared her officially raised. And my, what a good job we've done! So so proud of her!

Chanel has a great apartment with lots of retro, vintage stuff in it. She found this hair dryer at Goodwill, cracked me up when she showed it to me. Thought Rick could use some time under the dryer. He's exclaiming, Wait! You'll mess up my hair!" lol

Going to Dollywood with Don, Leeann and Katie. yay for us!

Have a very happy Monday!

Yay for me!

I have really gotten into this ebay thing. I've sold some things and the more I sell the more comfortable I feel about listing even more stuff. I've kind of gone a little crazy. Leeann had a great idea that I should use the money I make from ebay for trips that she and I can take together. That idea has really motivated me. Rick is all for that idea! I am pretty ditzy when it comes to computer stuff and easily become frustrated but ebay makes it so easy to list things that even I can do it. Of course, I have had a little help from Rick and Leeann. The only problem is, my office is kind of small and I have ebay stuff everywhere and no table space to scrapbook!
Sienna came over the other night and wanted to scrapbook and I just found myself frustrated because I have no room. I tried to talk Rick into trading spaces with me but he wasn't biting. I've got to get myself more organized somehow. I hope that once I get all of these Denim Days sold, the ebay stuff will be at a minimum.

Sienna's birthday in on Friday. Its hard to believe she will be 19. We are going to have a spa day. I think she will like it. She's had a rough time of it these last few months. She needs to be pampered a little bit. Don't we all?

Rick is having his 2nd HD DVR installed today. ugh! We were just reminiscing about how nice it was on vacation when we didn't watch TV for a full week. We had more time to talk, and to read and to sleep. Now that we've got this new TV there's no way we will have that experience again until our next vacation ( which is in October, yay!). However, we only have 6 weeks until CKU! Im not sure that will be like a vacation. It sounds like there will be a lot of work to do, fun work though, just not "lounging at the pool" kind of fun. It will be great to go with Leeann. I really feel like we have become closer in this last year and I will be so happy to spend lots of time with her. She's one of my favorite people!

Going to Chanel's tomorrow. I sure do miss that girl. We used to talk on the phone almost everyday. Now, since we've gotten our Iphones she doesn't have a phone. She doesn't seem particularly interested in getting one either. She is a very popular girl and her phone was always ringing constantly. I think she welcomes the break.

Okay, I know this is a lot of stuff. Just wanted to catch you up on me for the week.

Have a happy weekend!

Love this girl! We had the best time at our crop on Friday. Nuthin' but scrappin' for 5 hours straight. Ahhhh, bliss. Though, it was tough to get a whole lot done because there was just so much chattin' going on. We met some very nice ladies. Its fun to spend time with women who have a shared interest. There's something special about fellowship with other women.

Tonight we went to Wasabi with Don, Leeann and Katie. I love Japanese food! It was fun to see Katie enjoy the show. I did have one of the most embarrassing moments of my life there however. You know how the chefs put on this little show and how they are always slinging little bits of food around? Well, our lovely chef decided to sling a bit of zucchini right into my cleavage! I know he did that on purpose. It wouldn't have been so bad if it were just us but there were 5 other people at the table watching me as I reached in to pick the food out of my cleavage. I was already pretty self conscious about that shirt and well, not sure if I will be wearing that again.

I was planning on going to see Chanel tomorrow but we've decided to wait until next weekend. I really miss that girl. She's always a complete joy to be with and I miss her. I'll go next weekend. It would be nice if she would get a phone so I could talk to her!! (hint, hint)

Only one more day off. I have to work this Monday. So dreading it. Not dreading the Monday so much as dreading the 5 day work week. I am so completely spoiled!

Have a happy Sunday.

Oh Happy day!

Can I just say that I have the greatest husband on this earth? This was the surprise Rick had waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Just let me tell you, this is the coolest thing I have ever seen! Its been a lot of fun. I'm glad I have 5 days off from work to play with it.






Sienna was left here alone yesterday so that she could go to a job interview. These pictures are what I found when I got home yesterday. She must have been bored. I had 28 pics like these waiting for me. Can I just say that the second one is a little creepy. : )

Have a good 4th!

Oh my gosh! What does this mean?!

Okay, its no wonder people have the impression of me that I am a total doofus much of the time. I really am pretty intelligent, I swear. But its times like tonight that I just have to laugh out loud at myself. Seems I do that a lot.

I really want an iphone. We are planning on getting one but Rick wanted to see how the reviews were going to be before buying one. He is always wanting to wait. I am a very impatient girl as I think we all already know. Its hard for me to wait for things. Well, we were watching the news tonight and they were saying that Apple's stock of the iphone had run out!!!!!! and I blurted out, "Oh No! What does this mean?!" Duh. I am always doing stuff like that, blurting out. We both laughed so hard that we had tears in our eyes! I think I should've been a blond.



Here are some of the layouts I've been workng on today. I spent the entire day in my scrapbook room. It was the perfect day!

Have a good night!

Hear ye, Hear ye.....

Well, for those of you who don't already know, ( I've been telling everybody), Leeann fell off her horse today. She was out there by herself and just fell, and got kicked in the head. I'm so glad she's okay. She called me this morning when I was at work and left a voice mail that there had been an accident and that she was going to the hospital and can I please come? So, 1 1/2 hour later, I get the message and am ready to go speeding out the door when I realize, hmmm, I have no idea what kind of accident, or where she is. I finally got a hold of Don and he told me where she was. Kudos to ParkWest ER. Usually you have to wait for hours and hours in the ER but by the time I got there, they had already been in and assessed, XRayed and gave her pain medicine. 15 mins later, they were discharging her. Very nice service. Big difference from our previous experiences with Parkwest ER. She only had a slight concussion. She did get pretty loopy with the pain meds though. I was so glad I was able to help out a little. Though it would be nice if we could stay away from hospitals for a while!

I' m actually considering going back to hospital work again. Just looking for a change for now. Or maybe home care, not sure. I'm feeling a little restless these days. I get like this sometimes...restless. Wish I could find something that I could just do from home as home is where I am the happiest. Maybe check into Legal Nurse Consulting again. There are many opportunities for nurses out there. Problem is, I'm very good at what I do and am not sure I can ever be this good at anything else. I've listed my first item on ebay this week. Who knows, maybe I could make a fortune doing that.

I'm kind of struggling with my diet this week. I won't even confess all the bad stuff I've been eating. I just have a little ways to go to my big goal. Its tough. Need to get back on track tomorrow.


Have a good night!

This is divine!

I know, Chanel, this is neither a fruit or a vegetable. Blame Leeann! You all have to try these! These have become my new scrapbooking necessity.

What a great day today!

I stole your pic Leeann. Thank you!!
I spent the day with Leeann and Katie at Dollywood and we had a wonderful time! I was kind of apprehensive about going to Dollywood since it was supposed to be 94 degrees today. We had originally planned to go to Splash Country but decided to do that next week instead. I love having Mondays off! Anyway, since it was going to be so hot, I thought Katie might have a hard time waiting in lines but she did so good! She was so patient and good natured about it, I was proud of her! Yay Katie!! And let me tell you, that kid is a thrill-seeker! She wanted to ride everything and more than once! She was my ride buddy. She wanted to sit next to me on the rides and it was great. She's so little though, I was nervous she would fall out. After the Tennessee Tornado I was afraid she would have a bruised handprint on her thigh because I was holding onto her so tight. Not an easy feat mind you, since we did the loop-de-loop at least twice(its hard to count when your eyes are squeezed shut!) I was scared to death! We made some great memories today, that's for sure! I hope that I can be an important part of Katie's life for a very long time.. I want her to be able to tell her children about all the fun memories we have made together.

Sienna stayed with me last night and we worked on her resume. We sent out at least 8 of them. I was happy she was taking the initiative to do so. I really am proud of her. She has had a lot to overcome this last year and she has really had to grow up in a short period of time. She is still having some difficulty but if she works at it, she'll be okay. I have to believe it. Both Leeann and Rick have told me basically that I need to let go a bit so I am trying to do that. Heck, when I was her age I was married and had a baby. Its hard to imagine now. I think with all the obstacles I had to overcome, I turned out okay. My girls wil too. I believe in them.

Have a happy Tuesday!

I am so stressed out!

If I have to hear, "well, they're adults now" one more time I am going to scream! I won't even go into it all on here but these girls of mine are going to have a hard go of it and I can't forsee anyway of stopping it. I have a sick feeling in my stomach and I can just feel things getting out of control but "they're adults now" so there is nothing I can do about it but love them and guide them as best as I can.

This is my hard week and I guess I'm a bit emotional but it will be okay in a day or two.

I remember

Okay, I've just been sitting here before bed reading everyone else's blogs and the recurring theme that I'm seeing tonight is Kids growing up. Now listen everyone, you know I've been struggling with this! Shame on you for bringing it up! I miss my girls. Rick doesn't really get it. I think for the most part he is glad to have me to himself and I love love love being with him but gosh! I'm a mom! I need my kids.

Sienna has been talking about moving to Cookeville with Chanel since she won't be going to school. That's an hour and a half away from me. There is also talk of her moving right down the road. That would be cool but maybe a bit close? Not sure yet. Chanel is talking about moving to Europe. If she were to do that, I would be devastated but I also want her to do what makes her happy. Its hard being a parent and letting go. Kids do grow up. I think my girls and I have become friends and I love that. Friends should want what makes each other happy but I can't help but be a little selfish in wanting them close by.

I am remembering all of the swimming lessons, the dance classes, the girl scout camping trips ( We Hated the tents but loved the cabins.) I'm remembering the baseball games in the front yard, the silly string, teaching them to sew. I remember the Easter egg hunts, the swings at the park, playing with the piniata at the birthday parties. ( We tried to use a plastic trash bag one year with a broom stick. It didn't work.) Most of all, I remember the love and the cuddling and the tucking into bed at night. I miss that, but hopefully someday (not too soon) I will have my grandchildren to tell all of those stories to.

Sweet Dreams!

Birthday fun

Today is Rick's birthday. We are going to do some great birthday things! Just what he wants to do. We are going to go right downstairs, plop down in our reclliners with a bag of popcorn and watch Star Wars. I can't wait!!!!!!!! ; ) That man does love to watch TV and even more so since we got all the new stuff. We were at the Apple Store today looking at Apple TV. (Thanks Don). We need one more way to watch! Its like the TV is a part of our family and we just can't wait to get home and see it everyday. LOL Its not quite that bad, but I had a very disturbing moment today. One of my patients was telling me how much she was enjoying walking everyday for exercise. I had been walking 3 miles a day to Walk Away The Pounds for months but haven't done it in a while and I just thought, "Huh, I sure do miss those girls on that DVD. Wonder how they are?." Like they were long lost friends or something! I seriously did think that and I seriously think I am losing it.

Just an update, Sienna sent Rick a Father's Day card in the mail. He was very happy with that. It really made him feel good. I am so proud!

Have a happy night!

I've never been much of a country music fan. I was raised on it. My dad is a musician. He plays the guitar, the fiddle, the mandolin and the banjo. That's how he and my mom met. He was in a band and was playing in a bar that she used to go to. Not that my mom's a lush or anything, she just liked to go and see the band play. I really enjoy bluegrass but just regular country music....I can take it or leave it. Well, this weekend in Nashville, John and Julie and I went to this little hole-in-the wall honky tonk. Sitting in the middle of the bar was a group of 4 singer/song writers. The tables and chairs were arranged all around them and man, those guys could sing! They each had songs they had written for different country music stars, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley and a couple others that I can't remember. One of them, Angela Hertz had a platinum record. I was just so in awe of their talent it gave me goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes. The name of this little dive was Douglas Corner Bar and Grill . The artists names were Angela Hertz, Wade Battle, Michael White and Aaron somebody. I can't believe I forgot his name! Some of their songs were, "I wouldn't waste a bullet" ( a love song. ; ) ) "How can something so small be so strong?","Little Freedoms". Love Love Love them. http://home.digitalcity.com/nashville/bars/douglas-corner-cafe/v-110878103

The conference was grueling. I hated it. It was fun to network. Surprisingly enough, I had a good time with John and Julie. I was a little worried about how Julie and I would carry on conversation for the entire 3 days since she is almost young enough to be my daughter but it wasn't a problem at all and I think we have become even closer friends. She is getting married in April and I was able to give her a few words of wisdom from our experiences with Chanel.

Speaking of Chanel, I was so proud of her for calling Rick for Father's day yesterday! I know the girls love him, but sometimes they are pretty self-absorbed to think about doing things like that. Even though Rick is not her father, it meant a lot to him that she called.

I spoke to my dad yesterday for Father's Day. We haven't been talking since vacation. We've both been a little mad at each other. But it was fine yesterday. The only comment he made was that it was good to hear my voice again. I want to have a close relationship with him, he just makes it hard sometimes. I understand that my parents won't be around forever so I want to enjoy them as much as I can while they are here.

Have a happy Monday.

Yay for Rick!!

Rick told me Saturday night that the TV stand exploding was going to turn out to be very expensive. I just kind of looked at him and said ,"huh?" I mean, TV stands aren't that expensive. Maybe $1000 at the most. We went to look for a TV stand at Best Buy on Sunday. And we came out with a TV!! The TV stand is on order. The TV is awesome. Just the one I wanted. (yep, I'm spoiled.) So, now with the TV, we have to have a home theater system and of course soon, HD DVRs. It has definately become a very expensive explosion. I am just so proud of Rick that we were able to go in there, pick out a TV within an hour and bring it home on the same day! So proud!

The kids were here yesterday. Chanel showed up unexpectedly and I was so happy to see her. We went swimsuit shopping for Sienna. She must have tried on at least 40 swimsuits and we finally found the perfect one. She is so cute in it. We had planned to go to Splash Country but she had to have a swimsuit first. You see, her ex-boyfriend is a lifeguard at Splash Country and she has to look her best when we go back there so that he can see what he is missing. He's an idiot anyway and I have no idea why she wants to impress him, but whatever, it was fun! We do love to shop together.

Chanel always makes me laugh. She is the kind of girl that everyone just loves to be around. I love that about her.

We were in Target yesterday and I saw after 15 secs that there was some make-up there that I just had to have so I quickly grabbed it up and tossed it in the cart. The kids sort of did a double take, I guess since I made such a snap decision, and Chanel said, "Mom! It's no wonder we are such impulse buyers, we got it from you!' I had to stop and think for a second about that comment. She's right, I'm sure they have gotten their shopping habits from me and I am not so sure that's a good thing. Once again with the guilt! Sorry to have failed you girls so!!! I'm so ashamed! lol. We definately have a good time shopping together. I think they will adjust.

I'm off to Nashville for the weekend. Leaving Thursday. Going to a conference on pain and addiction with Julie and John. NOT looking forward to it. 16 hours on that subject. I can't imagine sitting through all of that. I mean how much can be said about Pain Pill addiction? *sigh* I've gotten to where I love to spend time here in my little office on the weekends. I am going to miss that this weekend. So, anyway, I'll see ya'll when I get back.

Have a happy Wednesday!

There must have been an explosion

Today Rick and I just hung around the house. I love days like that! I worked on my CKU stuff, did a couple scrapbook pages, did laundry and caught up on a few things. We went out to dinner early this evening to Chop House. When we came home, we opened the door and there was shattered glass everywhere. In the kitchen, in the dining room, the living room, the closets, the bathroom.....everywhere! Millions of little pieces of tempered glass. Apparently the glass top of our TV stand just exploded! It had to have exploded. I'm telling you, glass everywhere. I just wanted to sit right down and cry. So, we've spent the last 3 hours trying to clean it all up. I'm glad we weren't home when it happened. Weird.

Sienna has officially lost her scholarships. That's scholarships with and S. I am so so frustrated with her. She says its because she had to work so much. I know its for many other reasons than that. The reason she had to work so much was because of the choices she made. She can't seem to understand that and I'm not being very effective in explaining it. She has told me this entire year that she hates school and now that she doesn't have her scholarships, she can't imagine not going to school in the fall. I'm just not sure I am up for financing something that she isn't really motivated to do. Like I said before, being a parent is hard. I want to do what is best without being too harsh. And I want her to learn a lesson from this experience. Not sure what we will do yet. Surprisingly, Rick hasn't been as harsh about it as I thought he would be. He's still keeping an open mind.

I've been getting pictures ready for CKU. Its been a trip down memory lane and it makes me cry! I really miss when the girls were little. I wasn't the best parent in the world then, I was dealing with my own mental health issues. I wish I could have a do-over. They are strong, resilient girls and they have turned out very well in spite of me. I'm proud of that.

Have a happy Sunday!

Natural Highs

Okay, I'm not much into all the forwarded mail I get and I definately think the chain letter thing is silly but this is great. Natural highs
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail or e-mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
12. A bubble b ath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Havi ng some one tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
24. Accidentally overhearing someone sa y something nice about you.
25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
26. Your first kiss.
27. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
28 Playing with a new puppy.
29. Having someone play with your hair.
30. Sweet dreams.
31. Hot chocolate.
32. Road trips with friends.
33. Swinging on swings.
34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
35. Making chocolate chip cookies.
36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
37. Holding hands with someone you care about.
38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change
39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
40. Watching the sunrise.
41. Getting out of bed ev ery morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
42. Knowing that somebody misses you.
43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

I hope that you all have many naturally high days. I know I definately do!

Have a happy day!

I am so sore! Man, I used muscles yesterday that I apparently haven't used in a very long time. Sienna and I had a great time at Splash Country. We rode the waterslides over and over. I was exhausted when I got home. We had a friend of mine and her 20 yr old daughter with us, you should have seen us old ladies trying to keep up! But we definately did. We finally did get them to float on the lazy river for awhile. I was very proud of us at the end of the day. Neither one of us got sunburned. I am actually working on a killer tan! I hope to go to Splash Country many times this summer.

Sienna sent me a message on Facebook today saying, "I am officially a college dropout." Her phone is broken and I have no way of getting ahold of her and I am going crazy! I think she may have lost her scholarship. If she has, I guess we have some decisions to make. Being a parent is Hard! I want her to succeed in life, but I want her to learn lessons too. If she has lost her scholarship, I just don't know what I will do. Rick definately has his opinions on the matter! I guess there will be a lot of conversations in the near future.

My weight loss has been kickstarted again. Yippee! I've even got Christy and Julie in on the 30 day challenge too. Its kind of fun!

Have a happy Wednesday. Yay for hump day!

Chanel

We were finally able to take Chanel out for her graduation/birthday dinner. We went to the Melting Pot. The dessert (yes, I had dessert) was divine! They have the best chocolate/peanut butter fondue. The whole meal took about 2 1/2 hours. I know that seems like a long time, and our butts did get sore, but just the experience of having that much time to chat with Chanel was wonderful. I really enjoy being with her. She has such a vibrant, fun personality. Anyone who has met her knows what a beautiful soul she is. She seems to be doing okay without Jesse and is planning to start dating again. Its been a big blow to her, but she's pretty resilient. I'm not a big religious person, but I think God knew what he was doing when he ended that relationship.

After dinner we took Rick home and Chanel and I went to a movie. We saw Miss Potter. It must not have gotten much publicity because I had never heard of it, but it was a very good movie. It was about the life of the children's book author, Beatrix Potter. It was a very touching story. I cried, but it doesn't take much for me to cry in movies.

Chanel and I are on another 30 day challenge. We both have specific goals that we want to achieve with our weight before the end of summer. We do better when we are challenging each other. Its good to have weight loss buddies. Its pretty funny though, she was talking to me about this weight loss challenge just as she was giving me a gift of a book called "365 reasons to Stop Dieting." I just had to laugh!

Tomorrow Sienna and I are going to Splash Country. I am very excited about that. I haven't seen Sienna since before vacation and I think it will be fun to spend some time together. The last time I went to Splash Country, Chanel woudn't use sunscreen and she left there with blisters from a sunburn. We will have to be careful. I think Sienna will be more cautious.

I am so looking forward to CKU in August. I have never been to a big scrapbooking thing before and it feels like I am going to Disneyworld or something, I am so excited! Spending 3 days with Leeann sounds wonderful. I love being with you, Leeann.

Have a happy Sunday!