God’s not in the mailbox

As it often does, the lunch time conversation turned to religion. We each talked about the different ways we were raised in our faiths, our pitfalls along the way, the different beliefs we’ve held over the years. I mentioned my disappointment over the fact that I couldn’t recall having one of those big faith moments that so many people have experienced. You know the ones – those moments when someone clearly hears God speaking, or sees Him in the everyday surroundings, or simply has a defining moment when His presence is undeniably felt. I said that maybe it’s a failure on my own part that I haven’t had one of those moments. Either way, it contributes to my struggle with religion.

I wanted to lighten the mood, so I relayed an experience I had just last night. I was reading. Mark was watching t.v. and opening mail. I hadn’t been minding my husband, but he caught my attention when I heard him say, “Oh that was freaky! This is freaking me out! Look at this!”

I looked up to find him holding a sheet of paper in front of me that looked like this:

“Just stare into His eyes,” Mark told me. “Stare at them for a few minutes and you’ll see them open!”

So I stared.

And I stared.

And I stared some more.

I could literally feel my heart sink. His eyes didn’t open for me. I was sure it was a sign of my failure to be strong in my faith.

“His eyes aren’t opening for me,” I sort of whined to Mark.

“Just keep looking. They’ll open.”

I stared more. I knew what this was. I’ve seen plenty of optical illusions in my time. I couldn’t make this one work.

“I can’t see it,” I said to Mark, feeling defeated. And then I Googled the image to see what my failure said about me.

I explained to my coworkers that I was relieved to see that according to Google, this illusion was unanimously seen as a scam. The picture comes to you by mail. When you see the eyes of Jesus open, you are amazed and filled with awe. And this will make you want to follow the enclosed instructions and send your prayer requests (and some moolah!) to the designated church, which only exists as a P.O. box. Some “pastor” is getting rich off this scam. But he’s getting nada from me because the miracle failed to materialize for me.

My coworkers wanted to see the image that had me so bothered, so after lunch, I passed on a link. Thus ensued the following instant message conversation:

I’d like to think God has a sense of humor. I sure hope so because this had me laughing harder today than I’ve laughed in … I don’t know … a long time! And I’ve really been feeling like I could use a laugh lately. My coworkers sensed my feelings of worry over a silly mailing and took it upon themselves to make me see the lighter side of it. And anyone who has coworkers like mine would surely feel blessed!

Have I learned anything from this experience? Yes. I can find God wherever I think I might find him. It doesn’t have to be where others tell me he should be found.

Life is Good – February 12, 2012, New Roomies and a Happy Dog

It’s Monday Eve already. Where do the weekends go?

Not much in the line of excitement happened this weekend. I bought a smaller wallet to fit in my smaller purse. The purse is relieved. It can be zipped now without straining. Also, Kacey came home from school again, this time to celebrate the birthdays of a couple of friends. She hitched a ride home with her new roommate.

YES, I said “new roommate!” I’ve mentioned before that Kacey was having some roommate troubles with the original roomie. I know I’m a little biased, but honestly, I think Kacey is totally easy to get along with. She’s easy-going and outgoing and most people seem to like her. And I don’t really think the original roomie didn’t like her. I think she just wasn’t used to sharing living space with another person. And she didn’t seem to catch on once she started college either, and this just made her seem rude and difficult to live with.

Meanwhile, while learning to navigate other aspects of college life, Kacey made friends. She became close with one girl in particular, Caitlin. I realized this when Kacey’s stories became filled with references to Caitlin. And it just so happens that Caitlin’s roommate just moved out. She wanted to get into the on-campus apartments. When a spot opened up, she left Caitlin alone in the room and Caitlin invited Kacey to move in with her. Voilà! Everybody’s happy!

See? They’re already doing goofy photos together:

Swapping smiles

So Kacey was home but she wasn’t really home, if you know what I mean. She’s a busy girl with a busy social life. And while she was busy celebrating friends’ birthdays, Mark and I went out for our usual every-other Saturday outing. We had dinner with our bowling pals at Acapulco. I had shrimp tacos. YUM! And then we bowled. I’m still trying to perfect my new skills. And they’re coming along. I’m a bit inconsistent but starting to figure things out. I got on a little roll in my first game and bowled a 188, so I was happy! And our team won all three games. We are way higher up in the ranks than we were at any given time last year. It’s progress!

This morning I woke up to sun and a temperature of nine degrees. Lucy wanted to go for a walk so I said, “What the heck!”

I bundled up with Under-Armour under my clothing and put Lucy’s suede coat on her. As usual, she was annoyed with the coat, but once we got outside and started walking, she forgot about it and just went about the business of exploring all of the new sights and smells. It was quiet out there. Not too many others were inclined to venture out this morning. We enjoyed having the neighborhood to ourselves for a change.

Later in the morning, Mark, Kacey, Connor and I ventured out to Ikea. Don’t you just love Ikea? Where else can you get so much for so little? We picked up a futon for Kacey and Caitlin’s room and a new comforter and duvet for Jake’s bed. I could have wandered around for hours looking at things and buying stuff, but the men-folk were too impatient, so we just got our necessities and got out of Dodge.

Before long, it was afternoon. Caitlin’s parents dropped her off at our house and we took the girls back to school. It was so much easier leaving my girl at school knowing she was going back with a new roommate and friend who she really likes. I think these last few months of school are going to be more like what she hoped her college experience would be.

"Welcome home. And say hi to Baby too!"

Lucy, as usual, was beside herself with joy to have us back home again. I indulged her with much petting and hugging and cooing over her cuteness. In return, she brought me her slobbery “Baby.” It’s good to be loved.

Life is Good – January 22, 2012

It was warmer this morning when we woke up. Twenty-two degrees! Lucy and I decided to go for a walk since it’s been a while. We headed out before sunrise and it was so quiet and peaceful. Did I say we walked? Lucy likes to run. She made me run a little bit too. It wasn’t so bad. I might try that again sometime soon.

There’s a temple along the route we took today. It looks really pretty in the pre-dawn morning.

Later in the morning, Jake and I went to the bowling alley. I have a friend who is not only a phenomenal bowler, she’s a bowling coach. She runs clinics to help others learn to bowl better. I nagged her for months to run a clinic at our bowling alley, and so she did. We spent three hours figuring out what we were doing wrong and what we were doing right. We practiced drills and honed our new skills. I am amazed at how much I didn’t know going into this but I’m excited to start working on improving my game. And it was really fun having Jake along with me. He keeps to himself too much sometimes, but we have our love of bowling in common. I’m really glad I convinced him to come along with me.

After bowling, it was time to return Kacey to school. Her long winter break is over. She wasn’t happy to be leaving Connor. Connor wasn’t happy to see her go. I was feeling sad she had to go back. But I keep reminding myself that college is a good thing for her; the right thing. As much as I love having her around, she has to grow up. We picked up her friend, Matt and brought him back to school too. They chatted and laughed in the back seat while we drove. I was glad Matt was there to take her mind off the sadness of leaving Connor.

It rained most of the day, so the roads were sloppy and a bit slippery. But we made it back to school safe and sound. Kacey’s good friend, Caitlin was already there and waiting for her. They were happy to see each other, which made it easier for me to drive away. My sister had come along for the ride, so I had some fun company on the drive home, making it hard to feel too down.

Besides, I give Kacey two weekends before she’s back home again. And I’m not complaining!

Life is good!

 

Life is Good – January 8, 2012

“Alex, go grab a bowl and just have some of your own!”

“No, no, I don’t want a whole bowl,” Kacey’s friend, Alex insisted as he grabbed another scoop-shaped tortilla chip and helped himself to some of the chowder that sat steaming in the bowl on the table in front of Kacey. And yet, he reached for another chip and dipped into her bowl again.

“Alex,” she laughed! “Just go get your own bowl!”

“No, I’m saving my appetite for dinner at Olive Garden, but I’ll be back afterwards and I’ll have some leftovers.” He reached for yet another chip and scooped another mouthful from Kacey’s bowl, at which point she went to the cupboard and got out a bowl for Alex.

Seeing that she intended to serve him his own portion, he insisted weakly, “I can’t eat a whole bowl.”

“I would like to eat my own dinner,” Kacey chided him while Connor laughed from the living room. She filled Alex’s bowl with a small helping of chowder and he sat down to eat with us. Connor was saving his appetite for dinner at his grandmother’s house, but asked if I’d make sure there were enough leftovers so that he could have some later on as well. I’d made a double batch. I assured him that would not be a problem.

Before our dinner was over, Alex’s dinner plans had fallen through, so he was free to enjoy the chowder without restraint. By now, the three have gone to Connor’s grandmother’s house so that Connor could eat his own dinner and they have returned again. I hear the distinct clanking of spoons in bowls coming from the kitchen. Where they are putting all of this food, I have no idea. But it sure feels good to have made something they enjoy so much!

The chowder over which everyone was making such a fuss was Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder. It was my first time making it and I can assure you that this recipe is going straight to the top of the family favorites list. The recipe come’s from Tara’s blog and I have just one word for it. Spectacular.

We ate ourselves into a stupor tonight. The chowder was so delicious, it was hard to stop, even once our stomachs were full. And we weren’t done eating once our bowls were empty. We capped off our meal with desert. Kacey was itching to make a chocolate cake earlier today and I suggested she try an icing recipe I’d found over at Emjayandthem’s. I have three words for this icing. To die for!

We were in food heaven. (Thank you for sharing your recipes, ladies!)

Of course, as you know by now, besides my New Year’s resolution, I’ve got extra incentive for all of this home-cooking I’ve been doing over the past week. My mom needs to gain some weight and I intend to help her do so. Not only am I trying to make home-cooked meals a routine at home again, I’m making sure that there’s always enough to share with my parents.

It’s been a crazy week with my mom in the hospital. My sister and I tag-teamed to make sure Dad had enough to eat and that things were taken care of around our parents’ house. We helped run errands and made sure that Dad got to and from the hospital every day. I can’t help but think what a blessing it was that Mom’s illness came on just two days before my parents’ planned departure for Arizona. How difficult it would have been for my parents, for my dad especially, if they were already settled in their winter home, so far away from their family when Mom got sick.

I’m also glad that I have plenty of vacation hours stacked up at work so that taking time off when necessary this past week was not a problem. And my boss was very understanding and flexible in allowing me time away from the office to help take care of things.

My mom is comfortable at home again. Her dog and my dad are glad to have her back. She’s got a new diet plan in which she will be eating lots of protein and fats. She needs to eat smaller portions more often over the course of each day, rather than trying to confine all of her intake into three standard meals. She’s all stocked up on Ensure shakes and protein powder. I’m going to do my damnedest to help her gain that fat layer she so desperately needs in her stomach. (And in the meantime, I think I’m going to have to work extra hard to keep my own fat layer from increasing!)

My mom is home. She’s feeling better. No one is hungry around here. Life is good.

New Years Day 2012 – Life is Good!

What a strange winter it’s been so far. For the first time in five years, we didn’t even have a white Christmas; Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I don’t miss those opportunities for driving, white-knuckled through snow-covered streets, worrying about spinning out due to a layer of ice underneath.

The skies have been gray for the past few days, but the air has been warm for this time of year. While running some errands yesterday, December 31st, I saw people coming and going in sweatshirts. No bulky jackets. No hats, no gloves, no scarves. Just sweatshirts. And get this! The local golf course was packed! Golfing in Minnesota in December! Strange.

Mark and I chose to stay home last night rather than go out to celebrate New Year’s Eve. We had a couple of offers to “do something” but I just wasn’t into it. I didn’t have much difficulty convincing Mark to stay home and watch The Help on DVD with me. (First time for him, second for me. Love this movie!) As we sat in our comfy family room chairs watching the movie by the warmth of a lovely gas-fueled fire in the fireplace,  Mark had a sudden outburst.

“Hey, look,” he said, motioning to a scene playing out in the darkness outside of our family room window. I looked and saw a shower of big, wet snowflakes falling steadily by the light of the street lamp just beyond our back fence. Winter had finally arrived. And as much as I haven’t missed the onslaught of snowstorms over the past couple of months, I realized I was feeling slightly excited that winter had finally showed up – however moderately.

This morning, we awoke to air that felt colder than it has in a long time and a nice blanket of snow over our world.

There wasn’t enough snow to really inconvenience anyone or make driving too difficult. There was just enough to brighten up the gray landscape that had settled here in recent months. It was just enough to bring the neighbors outside to shovel walks and driveways.

It was just enough to make Lucy Pie excited over having a brand new playground in her back yard and just enough to brighten my mood.

We’re in the midst of a nice, low-key, long weekend and it has afforded me the chance to breathe easy for a change. I stayed up late a couple of nights, something I don’t often do. And as a result, I slept late in the mornings, something else I don’t often do. I spent some time with my beautiful daughter, shopping the after-Christmas clearances and picking up a few bargains here and there. I’ve had time to read my book and time to watch a movie. There was time to talk leisurely on the phone with my sister and time to tackle chores here and there as I see fit. There has been time for real dinners and time to spend with my parents in these last days before they take off for Arizona for the rest of the winter. The gifts of time and leisure are such wonderful things!

It’s a brand new year, full of time and full of possibility. Life is good!

Life is Good – December 11, 2011

Best part of the past week?

Christmas shopping with my sister. Hands down.

My sister and I haven’t always liked each other as much as we do now. Growing up, we carried a healthy amount of sibling rivalry. When she moved out of the house to go to college, the ice finally started to melt. We grew closer when she got married, and even closer when she moved away and lived in Chicago for six years. Now she’s back home and I am happy to have her nearby again.

Cori and I went Christmas shopping together on Saturday. It’s not often that we manage to spend time together without kids, husbands and other family around. When we do, we have such fun!

I was planning to shop alone, but on a whim, called to see if she was free to join me. She has young boys and her life is very scheduled and busy, so I wasn’t getting my hopes up. I was thrilled when she said she could make it work!

The first stop on our shopping excursion was Fleet Farm. If you’re not familiar with Fleet Farm, it is a large store that sells hunting and fishing equipment, appliances, housewares, automotive goods, apparel, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, tools and farm supplies.

Did you get that? Farm supplies! Fleet Farm is Mark’s kind of store, not mine. And certainly not my sister’s. But we had things to buy that could be purchased there, so we ventured in.

I actually find myself at Fleet Farm several times a year, when I get stuck going there with Mark. My sister? Apparently has not been in a Fleet Farm in years. And to be truthful, for anyone who loves to shop, there are things to be found at Fleet Farm. You just have to put up with some things. Let’s just say there is often good people-watching at Fleet Farm.

We wandered all over, through housewares and pet supplies, clothing and exercise equipment. Of course, we had to make our way through the holiday section that is erected in the middle of the store every year. While in the holiday section, we stumbled across a display of Christmas music and movies.

“Hey,” Cori exclaimed! “I wonder if they have Fred Claus. My boys love that movie!”

“Fred Claus,” I asked?

“Yes, it’s hysterical! Haven’t you ever seen it,” she asked?

“No,” I laughed. I had a vague awareness of the movie but had never been motivated to see it. “Hey, isn’t Vince Vaughn in that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Hey, here it is! My boys are going to be so excited!”

“I love Vince Vaughn,” I said. But I wasn’t about to add the movie to my collection. Only certain movies make the holiday library in my house. A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause (one and two!), Elf, The Polar Express, A Charlie Brown Christmas,  It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas. Fred Claus did not sound like it fit with my collection.

My sister had other ideas though.

“Here,” she stated, taking charge and tucking a copy of the movie in my shopping cart. You’re gonna love it.

Now, I didn’t remember saying I wanted the movie. I didn’t remember asking my sister to add to my purchases. But I looked at the price tag – $9.99. What the heck. And we were having fun and being silly. I could buy a little something for myself.

My sister is such a goofball. She does things like this. Doesn’t even ask if I want the movie. Just assumes I do because she says I will like it. Of course I could have taken the movie back out of my cart and put it back on the shelf, but she was so excited about it she was calling her husband to tell him she’d found the movie. I figured I’d just go with it.

We shopped for hours, picking out just the perfect this and just the cutest that. We contemplated potential gifts and talked and laughed and the time passed quickly. We finished our excursion at a pet store where we had to pick up some dog food for my mom’s dog. (Not a gift. Just a favor for Mom.) The store was packed with shoppers and their animals. There were so many people with puppies, all more than happy to let us pet their dogs and get all mushy over their cuteness. Oh it’s a good thing I have a small house and yard and limited patience or I’d have a house full of cuteness!

My sister and I parted ways in the late afternoon. I hadn’t finished my shopping by a long shot, but I’d put a good dent in it and had fun doing it. This morning, I sent Cori a text message thanking her for shopping with me and telling her I’d had such fun. She replied, saying she had just been expressing that same sentiment to her husband and she thanked me for asking her.

Today, I did chores around the house, and just when I was feeling ready to take a break, I found Jake flipping channels on the t.v.

“Why aren’t there any good Christmas movies on,” he asked?

“Hey,” I said. “Just wait a sec!”

I ran to find my new copy of Fred Claus and brought it to the living room where Jake was waiting expectantly. I held the movie up for him to see.

“Fred Claus,” he asked?

“Yep. Fred Claus.“

And so we watched it together. And you know what? It was funny! I have a new Christmas favorite in my collection.

Life is good!

Life is Good – December 4, 2011

December is such a crazy month. It’s fast-paced and chaotic and I don’t want to miss a thing. At the same time, I want it all to slow down so I can revel in the beautiful ambiance of the season. But no matter what I do, the days march on of their own accord. All I can do is try to make the most of each one of them.

I have always loved Christmas time, always loved to make the most of the season. But I’m especially grateful for it this year. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, it’s no secret that I’ve spent the last half of this year in somewhat of a funk. My youngest child went off to college and I was at a loss.

I remember how hard it was to send my oldest off to school. During Brad’s freshman year, I cried every time he left home again after a visit. It took me a long time to get used to him being away for long stretches of time. It’s no wonder I was dreading Kacey’s departure.

I had known it was coming and had tried my best to mentally prepare for it, but there was no stopping the loneliness when she left. The house was suddenly too quiet. Kacey has energy and a spirit that are simply contagious. She’s like a whirlwind, always with a story to tell, always full of creative ideas, always on the go. She’s the one of my children who is always willing to share what’s going on in her world with me. My boys have a different kind of bond with their dad. Kacey and I have our own special bond. And I know how lucky I am to have such a bond with her. I listen to friends talk about the difficulties they experience in their relationships with their daughters. I hear stories of drama and tension between mothers and daughters. That’s not us. Kacey is all I could ever ask for and more in a daughter. So seeing her grow up and away from me has been hard.

It’s taken a few months and I’m happy to say that I’m starting to figure things out and finding a rhythm to this new way of life. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that besides all of the holiday activity, December brings winter break to the colleges. I am so looking forward to my children coming home for Christmas. I’m grateful that Kacey attends a school within a relatively short driving distance and she can and does come home often.

And I’m finding other ways to make my days less “funky” too. Who would have thought that planning meals and cooking dinners would be fulfilling for me? I recently revamped some of my cookware and kitchen utensils. Got a couple new cookbooks too. Funny how such simple changes in the kitchen make the act of preparing a meal more enjoyable.

There’s something else I’m doing this Christmas season that helps give me a sense of purpose too. I’ve landed a position on the unofficial fun committee at work.

The company I work for has experienced some ups and downs the last few years, largely due to the poor economy as well as the fact that the nature of the business has experienced drastic change. We now find ourselves moving forward again, slowly but surely, but only after several layoffs and the loss of many coworkers. Morale has been down, to say the least. There used to be a corporate events team to plan a little fun throughout the year. No more.

One day at lunch, a coworker and I were sort of mourning the loss of the days when there were holiday parties, company golf outings and various other little perks and bonuses sprinkled throughout the year.  Those days are long gone with the economy and while we realize there’s no need for extravagant extras, a little fun now and then would be nice.

During the course of our conversation, a plan developed and pretty soon we had a whole menu of fun, simple events that we could coordinate for the company so that we could liven up the workdays in December. We obtained management approval and were even awarded a small budget and it’s official. This week begins the Twelve Days of Non-Denominational, Politically Correct Holiday Fun!

Christmas time is here. I’m coming out of my funk. Life is good.

Life is Good – November 27, 2011

I almost forgot to blog my thankfulness, on this of all weeks! I wouldn’t have remembered at all if it weren’t for Abby’s Silver Liningness post!

It was a nice short work week, thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday and the Thanksgiving weekend proved to be a good mix of busyness and family, fun and relaxation.

Our family enjoyed a delicious and plentiful holiday meal together, complete with multiple tasty desserts. The pecan pie was so yummy it didn’t last long. When I complimented my brother on his pie skills, he mentioned he was going to make another pecan pie over the weekend and he promised to bring me a piece. And he did! And I ate it for breakfast on Saturday!

One really special thing about this Thanksgiving was that my parents were with us. Since they’ve been wintering in Arizona for the past several years, they are often already gone to their winter home by the time the holidays roll around. This year they decided to stick it out in Minnesota through Christmas before escaping to a warmer climate. We kids were happy to have them. The holidays just don’t seem quite right without Mom and Dad.

Oldest boy, Brad was missing from our holiday gathering. He and Heather were spending this Thanksgiving with her family, about an hour away from here. (The trade-off here is that we get them for Christmas!) But since Heather’s parents live relatively close to us, Brad and Heather paid us a visit for the day on Friday. They brought Dacotah with them and Lucy was a happy girl!

I love weekends like this one, when there’s extra time to enjoy the kids, the comforts of home, and the company of friends. We visited our friends, Paul and Megan on Friday night and enjoyed a crazy and loud game of cards. Megan sent us home with her copy of Bridesmaids, which we watched on Saturday night. For me, it lived up to its reputation for gut-busting, tears-running-down-your-face laughter. But about the time I was trying to catch my breath, I noticed Mark was just staring at television with a rather blank look on his face. Guess it’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

Doesn’t it seem like the long weekend just got here? And now it’s over already. That’s okay. There will be another one in about… oh… four weeks! And I need time to get ready for it!

Life is good!

Life is Good – November 18, 2011

How boring would life be without laughter?

Do you ever laugh so hard that your stomach muscles ache? Do you ever laugh so hard that you have tears running down your face?

Life is full of hurts and frustrations. It’s full of injustices and disappointments. Maybe that’s why it feels so good to laugh when an opportunity comes along.

I love to laugh. I laughed a lot this week.

Things that are just goofy make me laugh; things like this article, a worrisome, dramatic piece of journalism which ponders whether or not Tuesday will ever come to an end and casting doubt on whether or not Wednesday will ever get here, OH MY GAWD! (Thanks to Oscar for sharing this with me!)

Or what about those emails? You know the ones! They’ve been forwarded on by eleventy-hundred other people and inevitably land in your inbox. Sometimes I don’t even look at them. Rarely do I pass them forward. But once in a while, a goody comes along. Check out these graphs:And there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned juvenile game to spark a bunch of good belly laughing. We had a catered lunch at the office this week, consisting of Asian food. Of course, there were fortune cookies – enough to feed a small country – and these lasted throughout the week.

Have you ever played the fortune cookie game? It’s simple. Once you’ve cracked open your cookie, read your fortune out loud and add the words under the sheets to the end of your fortune. My little lunch crew  was entertained with this game as we enjoyed leftover cookies all week-long. I saved a few fortunes. Read these, and as you say them to yourself, add the words under the sheets.

Never underestimate the power of the human touch.

A woman’s thinking is quicker than her action.

Your problem just got bigger. Think, what have you done.

Your nature is harmonious and affectionate.

I swear, I am not making these up! (Yes. I admit it. I am a child.)

But my favorite source of laughter this week came from an instant message conversation at work between three coworkers and me. We were trying to resolve an issue with our project. I won’t even try to explain it. It was one of those had to be there sort of things and it went from silly to ridiculous in the course of ten minutes. It had us shrieking with laughter, tears running down our faces and stomach muscles convulsing, proving that while work is necessary and important, it can also be fun.

Lately, at times, I have felt… not entirely happy. It could be an early onset of winter blues. It could be something to do with this stage in life and not being quite sure who I am and what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s not always easy, but it’s okay. I’m figuring it out. And while I do, it sure feels good to laugh whenever I can.

This week, I am grateful to be surrounded by people with a sense of humor, who know how to have fun and who know how not to sweat the small stuff. I am thankful for the positive and uplifting effect they have on me and the contagious influence of their happiness and laughter.

Life is good.

Life is Good – November 4, 2011

I’m not sure where this week went. The days flew by. But when I stopped to think about it, it was a really good one.

Loving my job! Right now I am testing newly developed systems to make sure they work as they are supposed to. And this involves not only testing things to make sure they work right, but testing things that aren’t supposed to happen to make sure they don’t happen. So I get to dream up all kinds of things to throw at this thing solely for the purpose of seeing what comes out on the other side. It’s kind of like when I was a kid and my grandma gave me an ice cream bucket in the kitchen and let me mix all kinds of things in it to see what would happen. Only now I’m getting paid to do that! So cool.

Movies! I saw two movies – in the theater - this week! I never see movies, much less see them in the theater. It has literally been years since I’ve gone to the movie theater. But last weekend, a friend asked me to see a movie with her. We saw The Help and I was absolutely in love with it! Do you remember that feeling you’d get as a kid when on that rare occasion you’d get to go see a movie and it was so much fun that you didn’t want it to end? That’s how I felt. I wanted to sit there and watch it all over again. Of course they don’t let you do that, so I decided I would definitely be buying the movie when it comes out on DVD. And in the meantime, I may read the book again, because I also loved that.

A few days after seeing my first movie theater movie in years, I went back again, this time with Mark. We saw Footloose. Again, loved it! It was really fun and held pretty true to the original. And it had me wanting to get up and dance! Two thumbs up!

Lunch with a great friend – I work within a very short walking distance of one of my favorite friends, and yet we’ve hardly ever had lunch together. We finally made a point to get together this week and had a wonderful time! We definitely have to do that more often!

Full House! All the kids are going to be home this weekend – to celebrate my birthday – which is not this weekend. But this is when it works for everyone to be home, so I’m not complaining.

Life with Puppy – Lucy has settled in nicely in her new home. One of my favorite things is when I come home from work and she nearly tackles me with joy! There have been only a few puppy casualties around the house. One shoe, a candle, a plastic jack-o-lantern, one floor vent and one rubber backed floor mat have met their demise via my puppy’s teeth. (Mark took her along in his truck when he ran errands not long after Lucy attempted to eat the floor mat. She threw up in his truck!) Yes, I’m done feeling sorry for her being kenneled when left alone. Clearly she can’t be trusted alone for any amount of time just yet.

Chewing a rawhide bone

BUT … she hasn’t destroyed anything of any real value. This weekend we’re going shopping for more puppy toys. Life is good!