I labored yesterday....

Happy Belated Labor Day everyone! I was sooo happy to have a day to do what ever I wanted. I slept in until a big whopping 8ish and laid there until 10ish. It was nice but wish I could have slept a little longer. Oh well. I had a whole list of "chores" to do this weekend and I about finished the list. Just have to dust and vacuum. Now what do I do after that? I will come home to a clean apartment and then.....?!?!? I need to do something contructive, so if anyone knows me well enough and has any ideas, feel free to let me know...

Sunday was Mary Beth's wedding and it was wonderful!! We had a lot of fun. It's always good to know the bride or groom really well and some of there friends and family because you actually feel a part of it. Jennie, Carrie and I rode together. Jack, Linda and Dr. Ellie and Al were there too. So you know it was a hoot (if you know who I'm talking about (and most Texas museum people do)).

What else...a friend of mine and I went and saw Cars at the dollar theater. It really was a good funny movie. And let's just say you get what you pay for. I love the dollar theater but let's face it, it's dirty and it smelled. My shoes were sliding all over the floor because it hadn't been cleaned in awhile. Not that I'm complaining but there were a lot of kids, which is totally to be expected, but I forgot how...what's the word...irritating they can be when they aren't your own. There were no seats so we sat on the third row and I swear, my neck still has a tendancy to look up. Overall it was an enjoyable time. Other than that, I did have a restful time and my apartment is clean! Whoot woot!

Got a call from my brother yesterday. He traded in his Ford Ranger for a 2006 Ford Mustang GT. It's a standard and fire engine red. He's really excited and so is my Dad (mixed with a little jealousy, I imagine). I told Drew he can teach me to drive a standard and he said....hmmmm...maybe...which I translated to maybe over my dead body. Ha! Dad and I have a bet on how long it will take him to get a ticket. Speaking of new cars, Jason also traded his Ford Ranger yesterday for a 2007 Saturn Aura. It's the kind of car we test drove last weekend. It's a really nice car and will last a long time. It also has some very cool features. Check it out!!! I'm very happy for everyone who has a new car!!!

PS: The Dr Pepper Museum is now on MySpace...check it out and be its friend!

Whassup????

Nothing much, Buttercup, nothing much... No that's not true. Just doing my thang... It seems the week is just blah, but the weekends...busy, busy, busy!!! Last weekend I trekked up to OKC to see my sweetie, J, AND see Pat Benetar in concert. How cool! That was a great B-Day present. I loved it! What else did we do. Cruised around town looking at cars, played in the rain...well not really but did get a little wet. That's about it but it was just enough!

I headed back a tad bit early to make the evening church service. I thought I was going to be speaking about China but they changed it up on me. That's ok, I enjoyed listening to the others. Mary Beth called right as I got into town and asked to borrow my drill and she came by later with the DeeeJ. So cute!!! (DJ is MB's cute Pomeranian puff ball!!!)

Monday I was determined to hear back from a museum where I sent in an application for a position. Lo and behold, I got an interview. Yay! So while I was talking to my mom on the way home from work, I also checked my snail mail and lo and behold I got approved for an OK state job (a job I was told I wasn't qualified for). HA! So the next step for me for that job is to take a merit test...whatever that may be. So in a couple of weeks, please be praying for me. We shall see what happens with both these opportunities. I'm not too excited yet, but I don't want to be too pessimistic either. Guess what else was in my snail mail. Lo and behold my brother, Patrick, wrote me a letter! If you knew my brother, you know it was a miracle. I didn't even know he had my address. So sweet!!!

Other than that, nothing much else is going on. This weekend will be spent sleeping....a lot. Yay for Labor Day! Also, Mary Beth is getting married on Sunday, so kudos to her!!!

Buh dee Buh dee Buh dee...That's all folks...fer now.
Jessica

Ice Cream, Hair and Storms...

Where to start. I'm not sure, so I'll just tell you about my weekend. I decided to go home and see my family since I was missing them an awful lot. Friday I had a major event at the museum I was in charge of and that went off without a hitch AND we got out earlier than I expected so I got to leave early for home (around 3:30). That put me in Arkansas at 10:30. I hit 5 o'clock traffic in Dallas but there were no major wrecks so the traffic was steady but slow, which is fine with me. Now if we hadn't been moving...that's a different story...it drives me crazy, which is ironic because if traffic is at a dead stop, I can't drive anyway! HA!

ANYWAY! I arrived home and knew I was in Arkansas because the locusts where in full symphonic orchestra. I promptly went to bed. Slept good and got an early start. Mom and I went and dropped off some stuff at Salvation Army and then went to Sears to pick up a mini-fridge for her room at school.

Insert tangent here... When we went around the back of Sears to have the mini-fridge put in our car, I walked in with the reciept and looked around for a person. No one, except another customer. All of a sudden I hear: "Welcome to Sears merchandise pick up, please scan your reciept!" Hello? Who is that? Where are you? Oh! It's the computer talking to me. Cool. I walk over and scan the barcode printed on the reciept. Then a voice says: "Please observe the monitor overhead. It will indicate your wait time and who is taking care of your order." Sure enough I'm next "in line", Matt is picking up the order and the timer starts. Average wait time of 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Cool. I sit down and wait with the other person for her merchandise. Then I got to thinking. No wonder we have an employment problem. It cost too much to have people work for us. It's much easier to have a computer do it. It's so much more efficient! People cause too many problems and employers don't have the "time" to deal with it. Time is money and if you can cut out the middleman, then do it. What happened to the human touch? Remember service with a smile? Who does that anymore? You can upload your own pictures to your computer and then order the ones you want and have them mailed to you or print them out yourself. You can check your own groceries out, mail your own packages, check your credit card balance over the phone and online...We are sacrificing humans for a little speed. Have we gotten so cold? Is this the path we are headed for? Are we to be drones who eventually will not have to have any contact with another human being to get anything done? (We won't even have to touch each other to procreate...wait...we don't now!) It won't be the robots or machines that destroy us. It will be our independence from each other.

Back to my weekend...I helped Mom set up her classroom. She still isn't able to lift a lot of weight, so I did all the physical stuff like hanging the solar system and putting things on the top shelf, helping empty the catfish tank, etc... (she's a science teacher by the way...) After that we went over to Roger's who was cooking up some soup (cooking experiment with a pressure cooker and we were the guinea pigs). It was actually quite good. I showed off Hong Kong pictures. We had to go because Mandy and the girls were coming to play at 3:00. YAY!!! We played and I took pictures and all was right with the world. We ate a little BBQ and went up to Dickson street to the Headquarters house during the Civil War for a little bit of ice cream and cake. The annual Ice Cream Social was going on. Fun!!! Good ice cream...

After the girls were packed up in the van and Mom and I were dropped off at the house, I trekked over to Dad's and gave him and Alison a tour of Hong Kong and China until about 11:00pm. Went to sleep...got up and went to Sunday School with Dad and Alsion. Wow! Hadn't done that in awhile. It was good. Went back to Dad's and made a detour to visit Grandma. She's doing real well just doesn't get to get out much. She's on oxygen and it can be a hassle to get out of the house. She calls her oxygen tube her leash. HA HA, only my Grandma! Went back over to Dad's and ate lunch. Went back over to Mom's to finish up China pictures and then left around 3pm. I took a break in McAlester to visit with Jason's Mom at the Western Sizzlin. Good times! Got back on the road and bypassed several storms and made it to Waco at 11pm... WHEW!!! Talk about pressed for time. It was a very short weekend but I needed to go home. Someone told me every moment is precious...and he was right. Take time out and spend it with someone you love, even if it is calling them on the phone and talking to them for a few minutes...we need that human touch.

Oh! I didn't explain the hair reference in the title! Mom has hair! Not much, but enough to not have to wear a wig!! YAY!!!! I told her she would be the coolest teacher with the coolest hair (figuratively and literally).

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Mom called last night and let me know she had to put down our cocker spaniel of 16 years, Oliver yesterday. I was soooo sorry she had to do that by herself. She's had so much to deal with lately, so we cried on the phone together. She had him creamated. He was old and deaf as a doornail and was having some respiratory problems. All dogs go to heaven, according to the movie of the same name. I don't know, but it'd be nice. We had some good memories of him. I nicknamed him Ollie, Aloe Vera and Chewbacca (man, he had a lot of fur). I'm gonna miss him. Rest in peace, Ollie.

Cruising at 55mph with bumps in the road...

Ok. So, I'm getting tired of being tired and coughing. Therefore, after the encouragment of several people, I went to the Dr. yesterday and I'm glad I did. He said if I let it get worse, it could develop into pneumonia. Great! Wonderful! What I've always wanted!! I got some anitbiotics @ $6/pill. Thank goodness I only needed five. Crazy how a pill can knock out almost pneumonia!

My father called to check on how I was doing and then I called Mom to tell her. She then proceeded to tell me she has lymphedema, which is is an abnormal buildup of fluid that causes swelling, most often in the arms or legs (in her case her left arm). The condition develops when lymph vessels or lymph nodes are missing, impaired, damaged, or removed. This is a direct cause of her surgery and her radiation. So that me feel wonderful knowing I'm here and have no time to take off to go help her. On the up side she said the doctor may cut her radiation treatments by a week. Yay! Just in time for school to start.

On an absolutely positively happy note, Jason came down for the weekend! Yay! It was very nice to see my sweetie and hang out. He gave me my b-day present, which were tickets to see Pat Benatar in concert! Invincible! (love that song). That's about it for this last week. Still trying to recover from China. Still seems surreal that I went (and back again). Keep checking out my China blog. I try to update it everyday with an entry and more pictures.

Later gaters...

Rolling the eyes...

Ok. I have an irritance (is that a word?) that needs to be scratched. Everybody caught up on the latest news about Mel Gibson? Good. I hate Hollywood and the media. Why do we focus so much on them? Do you realize how many people act like Mel everyday who are not celebrities? Please. We flock to Hollywood and the media because we don't have to look at ourselves when we screw up. We can always criticize someone else who has screwed up royally, but don't show everybody what we've done ourselves...that would be invasion of our privacy! Don't pass judgement on public figures unless you're ready to pass judgement on yourself publically. I'm not excusing what celebrities do. They have consequences for their actions and so do we. We just don't have ours flaunted in everyone's face...well sometimes we do.

Along the same lines....it's sad to see how much money we contribute, i.e. magazines and TV shows, to pursuing those famous people...they're people too. We should be concentrating more on how we conduct ourselves rather than gossiping over the latest marriage of J-Lo. Is she called that anymore? What she doing now? Is she still married to Marc Antony? Whoops...got sidetracked a little.

I am totally guilty of looking at the entertainment section on the internet. I admit it, but cringe and reprimand myself too. There are more important matters at hand...aren't there?

Good luck Mel.

Check out my new blog....

I just started posting my journal about my trip to China on a new blog... check it out here.

I'm back and better than ever...?

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

After a 2.5 week hiatis I am back from traveling to exotic places. I'm not yet at 100% (jet lag, ya know) but I'm feeling pretty good. I had an awesome time in China and I am going to create a blog just for it...stay tuned. What else...I'm tired, even though I slept 16 hours from 7pm on Saturday til Sunday (not straight, mind you, but in increments...) I'm at work and trying to catch up. I did get something very nice today...flowers from Jason.... how sweet!!! Pretty pink roses with tiny purple flowers mixed in.
By the by...I didn't get that job I applied for in OKC :( Found out while I was in China. Boy was that a bummer!!! Oh well...I'm sure I'll find something else!!!!

Later...after a few more zzzz's... J

HOLY MOLY!!!

Holy Moly! I'm down to one full day before I go to China. I'm not even packed yet!!! AAAAaaaahhhhh! Granted I have the essentials laid out ready to be put into the luggage. AND I have my list of things to take ready to be checked off. I'm not nervous yet, but will probably get that way on the way up to the airport. I've travelled overseas before with a group of people but not by myself. There's always a first time!!! Can't back out of it now.

Well Friday was a friend's birthday and he requested that we all go see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It was good and a little more scary than last time. The frustrating thing is that it left you hanging and now we have to wait for the third installment. It WAS good though!!!

Saturday I got up and drove to OKC not just to see my sweetie but also for a job interview!! (which was actually on Monday but why not drive up early if you've got someone to be with!!!). Hopefully the job will come through, but if not, there will be other opportunities...hopefully :-)

Sunday we went to church, then to IHOP and watched a woman get arrested in the parking lot. That day I also did some reconissance work on the museum I interviewed at. It's pretty awesome. The Chihuly exhibit is spectacular. Also Thomas Moran's Sea at Sunset is beautiful.

What else....I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get things at work in order before I leave. I've just now had time to type up something real quick. That's about it! Let me get back to work!

Zaijian! (Until I see you again)
Jessi

Happy Fourth and other happenings...

Happy 4th of July everyone!!! I'm actually working today and I have no problem with that actually. None of the senior staff is here, so that leaves me in charge of the museum...which could be a bad thing, really HA HA! Nah, we'll see how it goes. I chose to work today and take off yesterday so I could spend an extra day with my sweetie in OKC - southside.

Well let's see....what's been going on since my last posting... oh yeah! I bought new luggage for the China trip, woot woot...I love it. I've used it too. Good stuff.

Praise the Lord, the wagons are finished! I (actually we) have been working non-stop on the Dr Pepper wagons and we moved them to the courtyard last Friday so the weekend visitors can see them! I must say they look pretty darn good!!! I never thought I'd say yay, I don't have to wear jeans to work!! I can dress normal now!

I hot footed it over to OKC on Friday to see Jason and his new apartment and just spend as much time with him as possible because in a few weeks we are either going to be out of town or working on the weekends... Maybe that will change soon... Jason's parents came down as well as his sister, the nephews and the sister's boyfriend! A full house!! It was good though. Some of us went to see Sue the T. Rex at the Sam Noble...very cool. Had din-din and then saw the fireworks at Tinker AFB. Fun! Sunday was spent laying around and swimming in the pool. Monday it was almost time to leave when I received a phone call about a possible job. We'll see how that goes. Cross your fingers!

8 days to go to China (not counting today or the day I leave). :-D

Have a crack-a-lackin' time today and tonight! Be safe!
Jessi

Another week down and 2.5 weeks to gooooo.....

Yay! Another week is gone and, as the title suggests, 2.5 weeks to go until I leave for China!! I'm totally stoked...I have my passport, Visa, tickets and new luggage ready to go. Unfortunately I can't pack yet, cause I gotta use the stuff I need to pack! Last night there was a China meeting for all the people going. It was more of learning a little of the language. I've started learning a few phrases so it was entertaining listening to the others learn how to say hello in Mandarin. After the meeting I came home and printed out itineraries to send to family and friends and then made of list of things to do before I go and what to pack. If you know me a little bit you know that 1) I like pockets (we've already discussed that) and 2) I love to make lists...LOVE IT!!! Grocery lists, work lists, goals, to do lists, what to pack, etc. Just visit my office and you'll see lists posted everywhere. There's just something about crossing off something you've accomplished. So satisfying...(even if it is peanut butter on your grocery list...).

I did not have the pleasure of company this weekend, but Jason moved to new digs and got it done with the help of his sister and her boyfriend. For consolation on not being able to see Jason, I watched the end of the NASCAR race and Jason's favorite driver won...Jeff Gordon!

Saturday I went up to Dallas to visit a friend who was in town for a wedding. In fact, I'm going to see his sister and parents in Hong Kong. We went out for real Chinese food and then to the Dallas Museum of Art. There was a wicked storm that only lasted a few minutes around 5pm...lots of lightening. Then we went over to the bride and groom's house for a post wedding BBQ. Good grilling by the way...wow. As you might imagine, there were a lot of Chinese there. A lot of Cantonese spoken, while the white girl is sitting quietly watching, of all things, the broadcast of who's going to be on Big Brother...good grief. Once I was introduced to Roger's friend Douglas...things picked up. He told me lots of funny stories about Roger...kept me in stitches the whole time. Douglas is the brother of the bride (Dominque, btw). Not much else happened this weekend.

I seem to be random on the days here but Friday I left work around 2:30 and went straight home for a nap...so tired from working on the wagons. Don't remember what I did after that...

Sunday I went to church and then swam with my swim bud...I'm up to 2300 yards! Yay! Afterwards, started some laundry then took a nap, watched NASCAR, read a book, went to church and went to the China meeting...the rest you know.

Random thoughts: I never thought I'd watch NASCAR voluntarily (or understand it for that matter).
Dale Chihuly rawks... (glass artist whose work is at the Dallas Museum of Art) check him out... www.chihuly.com

Have an excellent week, people!

Until next time
-Jessica

Hmmmm.....

Hmmmmm....just thinking about the weekend. Jason came down and we had a good time. His Dad's birthday was Friday, so he spent it with him, as well he should have. Kudos for him...then J came down on Saturday afternoon and we got duded up to have a nice dinner. I didn't get a compliment about what I was wearing right off the bat, so later on that evening I went fishing for one. He said, "You look great no matter what you wear." Ok, that was a very good compliment, however, not exactly what I was looking for. Guys need to know that women need to be affirmed every now and again, especially when they get dressed up!!!! (and be specific too....ie, I like your shoes, that color looks good on you...) Anyhooo, that was Saturday night.

Sunday we went to church and met some of my friends and ate lunch with them too. Afterwards J & I went to do a little shopping at JC Penny's who is having a great sale by the way. J needed some dress shirts and belts for work and I was just browsing when lo & behold, luggage was on sale!!! WHHOOO HOOOOO!!!! I need some new luggage for China and have been looking for some. Boy was there a deal (and I'm leaving in a few minutes to go pick it up!!). Anybody who knows me, knows I love things with lots of pockets. This luggage was made for me and it's a six piece set! Awesome! Yes, I'm a dork and a little neurotic that way, but hey, that's me. If I was any character on Friends, I'd have to be Monica...but I'm not that bad...at least I hope I'm not!!!! I'm sure someone would let me know if I was....

Later that day we watched a little NASCAR but it got rained out. Took a nap and then got supper. We watched So I Married An Axe Murderer, which is a hilarious movie with Mike Myers. If you haven't seen it...GO RENT IT!!! or borrow it from me.

I decided not to go to work today until 11 so we could sleep in a little. We got up, got breakfast and then I dragged Jason to meet my other friends from work. Then he left town . Our schedules are so hectic that I'm not sure when I'll get to see him again.

So I'm sitting hear listening to romantic songs thinking of my sweetie and the great time we had together this weekend wondering when we'll get to do it again...Long distance relationships suck by the way...but when you've found the one...you make it work, gosh darnit!!!!!! It's hard, but it's toally worth it!

Well I must boogie...I got to go get some luggage!

Promised Pictures

All right, here are some of the pictures I promised. Some of Memorial Day Weekend and some from New Orleans:


Alex


Emma, Drew and Mandy


My Sweetie, Jason


Mom at Cafe du Mond


St. Louis Cathedral among pansies


Our room at Omega Hospital

Trying To Be PATIENT!!!!!

This is not one of my strong suits but when I can't do something about a situation, it leaves me with frustration.

My frustration for today? I'm trying to patiently wait for a job opening up in Norman so I can apply and move up there. I feel like I'm an airplane in a holding pattern who can't land at her final destination. I haven't run out of fuel yet, but I can see that happening if I don't rely on God and friends to lift me up. Funny though, there are airplanes that can refuel in the air. So right now I'm cruising at an altitude of about 30,000 feet waiting for mission control to say I can land. So please pray for patience and strength to endure the flight.

What else has been going on? Of course my Mom's surgery. I haven't posted anything since the surgery, but it went really really well and she should be on her way to the airport to fly home right about now (8:30 am). The doctors took out two of the four drains yesterday and I'm sure that is a relief for Mom. She has to wear a little belt to hold the drains and they look like gernades, so I call it her ammo belt. Ha! Since I left on Sunday, Aunt Paula has taken over and run/walked Mom all over the French Quarter. Good! The more Mom walks, the faster she heals!

What else? I'm trying to get back into the routine of things here in Waco and at the museum. So far so good. I actually unpacked my suitcase and did laundry a day after I got back. (That's unheard of at the Jessica household. It usually takes about a week for me to unpack and another week to do laundry.) I guess I'm ready for some stability in my life and for things to get back to "normal" whatever that may be.

Not much else but painting wagons at work:



Yesterday it got up to 100 degrees and where we are painting there is no AC and not really any good ventilation. That's why my face is red.

That's about it for now. Back to the wagons!!!

Is It Only Wednesday?

Ok, well here I am sitting in probably what I can say the coolest hospital room ever. I'll post pictures later. It's about 7am and Mom is having surgery as I type. I'll just write the highlights of this past weekend and first part of the week.

Pause: I'm also watching Katie Couric's last Today's show...

Ok, where was I...Friday:

It seems like a month ago that I went up to Norman to see Jason! I got there just a couple of minutes before Jason did. He had a busy day and night. He is now officially the voice of Norman High School. That entails announcing the names of the graduating seniors across the stage. All 400 and something...! When Jason arrived he freshened up and then we went to Coaches's where many of the faculty got together for celebratory end of the year thing. Jason got many compliments on his performance and I got to meet many of his coworkers. It was fun.

Saturday we got up early and headed to Fayetteville. I love the drive on I540. It's beautiful. Unfortunately Jason insides were acting up a little so he had to concentrate on driving and getting there instead of enjoying the scenery. We had lunch with Mom and then went grocery shopping while Jason took a nap. About 4ish Drew, Mandy and the girls arrived. They were soooo cute in their Hawaiian outfits that I got them last October!!! Pictures later. The whole other crew came about 5pm for a cookout for Drewser's 26th birthday...so old!! After that shindig, Jason and I went to see X-Men 3, which was good but a little less than what I was expecting. There were a lot of new characters and some old characters that departed... What happened to Nightcrawler? He's so cool!

The next morning we got up and went to church with Mom and then went to Denny's for breakfast/lunch. Then went to gas up, see Dad and get back on the road again to Norman. We headed straight to his friend's house for a cookout. It was good to meet his friends I've been hearing and reading about. Good luck with the government Eric! HA! Later that night Jason and I just hung out and watched a little NASCAR...

Monday Jason drove me to the airport so I could get to New Orleans for Mom's surgery. I thought he would just drop me off, but nooooo, he parked and walked me in, checked my luggage and hung around the security gate until I disappeared around the corner. I've been nervous about Mom's surgery and Jason could tell, so he cheered me up and made me laugh. Such a sweet guy!

51 minutes into the surgery...

Ok so I got to NO with no problem and caught a ride on the shuttle to the Bienville House in the French Quarter. I've been to NO several times but this is Mom's first so I sorta showed her around. Monday night we strolled the Quarter and found a place to eat. The Red Fish Grill. It was good, yum. I had fish. Mom brought her laptop, which this blog is being typed on and has a DVD player, so I brought some movies and we watched Pride and Prejudice then went to bed.

Tuesday morning we got up, went to Cafe du Mond for some beingets. We also went to St. Louis Cathedral, which is beautiful. Headed back to the hotel and rested, ate lunch and waited for our driver. That's right our own driver. The Center, where all of Mom's arrangements have been made, has a limo service that picks up patients for their appointments and the day of the surgery. Everything. It's great. No worries...this has probably been the most worry free experience I have had logistics wise... So we met with the surgeon doing the mastectomy at Omega Hospital and then went to the Center on St. Charles and met with the plastic surgeon doing the reconstruction who marked her up with a permanent marker. After that we went back to the hotel and trekked out to Bourbon St. We wanted to go to Preservation Hall but it was closed. Even though the French Quarter is open for business, there are a lot of places still closed and needing employees. Fortunately Bourbon House Seafood restaurant was open and we had a good meal. I had fish. So, then we went back to the hotel and turned in a little earlier because we had to get up at 3:45am to be picked up at 4:30 to make it to the hospital at 5am. We've been admitted and Mom's now been in surgery for 70 minutes. I will update ya'll probably tomorrow. I'm gonna get some sleep cause that's all I can do right about now.

Later taters...love,
Jessi

Whirlwind weekend and week coming up!

Well I feel much better at the end of this week than I did at the beginning. It's probably because I get to see my sweetie this evening and then we are gonna trek up to Fayetteville to meet my family and have a birthday shindig for my brother, Drew. He'll be 26. (Oh, how the sibilings grow up so fast...) Did I mention he has a wife and two girls? He'll always be my little brother even though he's bigger now and could beat me up. (It's only fair, he got his share of beatings when we were young). So we're gonna do some grillin' which is only proper on Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully we'll get to see X-Men 3 that night too!!! Then on Sunday Jason and I'll head back to Norman for a get together with his friends. I'm looking forward to it...I'd like to meet his friends. Monday I'm flying from OKC to New Orleans. Mom's surgery is on Wednesday and so I'll be there all next week. It should be interesting. Already the logistics of flights, hotels, hospitals and such have been and will be a headache. It will turn out all right though. It usually does!!! Mom's bringing her laptop, which plays DVDs and I'm bringing a plethora of DVDs to keep us occupodo. Keep Mom in your prayers and pray we get enough rest and recoop time! If I don't check in next week, look for me the week after!

I don't know what to title this...

Well...I have no idea what to post so I guess I'll just write whatever comes out... I'm frustrated...and yesterday I was depressed. I'm always depressed on Mondays because that's the day after I have to come back from seeing Jason. He's big time busy and stressed, I think, because of school. His last day is Friday though! That's a big Hallelujah. I'm sorta blah today...had a good lunch and now I'm sleepy. Don't want to do anything. I guess I can tell you about my weekend, which was really excellent. Last weekend I went up to Norman to see Jason and meet the parents. They were so sweet. There was some talk of going to the Bass Pro Shop and I mentioned that I had never been, it was a definite yes! I think Jason's Dad was pleased. He found the lure he was looking for. If you haven't been to the Bass Pro Shop before, you should at least go once. It's pretty amazing. It has all your hunting and fishing and clothing needs (except underwear, but maybe boxershorts). We also went to Wal-Mart and hunted for some soda and waffle irons... :-D About 15 minutes after we got back to the apartment, Jason's sis and nephews dropped in! Fun!!! It was a full house, let me tell you! After a little bit of wrasslin' we all went to Red Lobster. It was very fun hangin' with the family. I may have been a little quieter than normal but that's just because 1) I can be shy and 2) I was observing.

Sunday we went to church. I think we surprised Mrs. McMullen. It's quite an experience; like going to a rock concert. Afterwards we went to lunch and then back home to wave the parents goodbye and then to take a nap before trekking back to Wacko.

So I was pretty much useless yesterday and sorta today because of various reasons but I'll survive, I think. It's been getting harder and harder to return to Waco, so now I think it's time for someone to start taking some trips down here, so my friends can meet the fella who has taken such an interest in me. This weekend should be interesting as well. We're going to my home to meet mi madre and brother, sister-in-law and adorable nieces. Hopefully we can squeeze X-Men 3 in there as well.

That's about it...I'll go back to my depression and try to make it through the day...

Later taters,
Kitty

I need a vacation...

Doesn't it seem that after a "vacation" you need a vacation to recoop? I'm tired!!!

Lots of stuff happened this past weekend. The original plan was to go home for my Mom's surgery but that didn't work out. The surgical consultation was pushed back to today. But her MRI came back and there is almost no trace of the tumor!!! This is most excellent news and requires less surgery and less recoop time, which is wonderful. SOOOO the original plan was to scoot up to Norman, say hi to my guy and go home Friday through Tuesday. That way I could be there for the surgery and for Pat's going away/birthday party (he's headed out to MO for boot camp in the Army Reserves and won't be here for his 21st birthday). Well I decided to still take off Thursday and Friday because I've pretty much reached my limit on accruing vacation hours (for China). I still planned on going up to Norman to see Jason. Dad called Thursday morning and asked if I was still coming and I said no and it made him really sad. So then I felt sad. Then while I was driving to Norman, Mom called me with the MRI results and we were happy and she asked if I was still coming? and I said....ok, I'll come home, but don't tell anyone. It'll be a surprise. I'll just come back Sunday.

So I went to Norman and hung out with my favorite person and got up at the crack of dawn to trek to Fayetteville. By the way, did you know it seems there is a LOVE's station every other mile or two? It was funny, but I had plenty of options to stop for gas or a break. I got home about 11:30 and woke up Pat who was surprised. I took him to lunch and then picked up his birthday cake. A huge sheet cake decorated in camoflauge. Funny!!! That evening was his party and we had a great time with family and his friends. The nieces came early which was fabulous. And Drew said he did a triple take when he saw me. That was good and then Dad just stared and called me a sneak. Grandma didn't know I was there either. Good stuff. I just want to thank Jason for understanding about my abrubt visit. My family needed me.

Saturday was great. Mom and I went horseback riding on gaited horses. They were so smooth and beautiful. Afterwards we went over to Drew's in Siloam to rescue him from the girls since Mandy was in Russelville. We had a good time, but then I was tuckered. We jumped on the trampoline until we couldn't do it anyore. Then I went over to Dad's. Alison's whole crew was over there because her daughter Beverly graduated from the UofA. Man, it was crowded!!! But good to see them all.

Sunday I went to church with Mom and then went over to another cousin's house real quick to say hi. She was having brunch for her mom and Dad and Grandma. So about 1:30 I left Fayetteville and got to Waco about 8pm. I'm not sick of driving, but it's taking it's toll. Pat breathed on me when he wasn't feeling well and I think I'm coming down with it. Thanks Pat! I'll make though!

I'm very happy right now. Almost bursting with happiness...is that possible? Everything seems brighter and clearer and just wonderfuller. :-D It amazing what being with someone can do to you. I guess since Jason put it on his blog I can put it on mine...we're offically a couple. Ha! A couple!! I like it. Such a sweetie. My friends maybe sick of my gushing about him, but I'm not. Well enough about that...for now...here are some pics I took this weekend:

Alex looking adorable.

Pat with his camo cake.

Me with Emma.

Lucy the Missouri Fox Trotter with owner Ann (Mom's coworker).

Adrenilne Rush and the Aftermath

Well someone told me that if I washed my car, it was bound to rain this weekend. Well it did. Not only did it rain, it poured and hailed and scattered debris all over Waco. Friday night, I'm home alone just chillin' watchin' a movie and the credits roll. Then I hear the tornado sirens go off and I thought to myself, "maybe I should check the TV to see what's going on." Sure enough when I turned it on ABC the first thing I see is DUCK. get Downstairs. (Well that's not happening cause I live on the second floor of an apartment building). get Under something like a mattress. take Cover and I totally don't know what K stood for cause I went over to the sliding glass doors to see what I could see and at that point I saw the pool chairs fly across the pool area. The rain started coming down sideways and then the lights started to flicker. (I didn't like that at all). This is about the time I heard glass break somewhere outside. I thought to myself, "I have a bad feeling about this," and then I went into high panic mode. Running around like a crazy person, I found my flashlight and got matches for candles in the bathroom. Grabbed my iPod, radio, socks and tennis shoes, Bible, purse and comforters and shut my bedroom door. Didn't want glass coming through the bedroom and then into the bathroom. I also made some ice tea and filled another pitcher full of water and stuck it in the freezer (at the time there was no electricity). I had no idea if the pipes would be effected. Then the hail came. That was scary too, slamming into the roof and onto my balcony. It's amazing the effect pea-sized hail can have on your psyche. So for about an hour I was running back and forth from my kitchen to the bathroom, hovering in the hall and watching the weather outside all the while decked out in my comforter. It was scary but exciting at the same time.

About 2am it was just raining and I figured it was pretty much over so I crawled into bed (no covers cause there was no AC). I woke up around 5:20 and saw the electricty was on so I turned off all the lights and got back into bed but set my phone alarm for 8am so I could see what happened.

I went outside in my PJs and a jacket to check my car and it was unscathed. There was debris everywhere. I decided to call some friends to see how they fared but nothing was coming in or out. Yikes! I also wanted to check on the museum to see if there was any damage so I took a shower and drove downtown. Everything was great. It looked as if it just rained. It was open and there were visitors. Wow! They didn't even know there was a storm. Called Jennie from the office to see how everything was there and she told me about her cousin's house. I HUGE tree fell right on top of the middle of their house. Went over there to the house for moral support and played with Brooks to entertain him while the adults were trying to organize the removal of the tree. Then I went to the church cause I heard there was some damage but the guys were gone so I just took pictures of the trees uprooted like dandelions. Then I went over to Chris' house to check on him but I got no answer from Angie's phone who was also over there. Didn't want to bother them. They probably were napping (as was the case, as I found out later). That sounded good to me so I went home and took a nap. I was tuckered. Finally got a hold of my mom and dad. They said they knew nothing about it and was glad I called before they saw it on TV. Mom actually used the words "freaked out." I got more news later that the Coca-Cola bottling plant (which is literally 2 streets down from where I live) was totally ruined. Trucks over turned and the roof gone.

Rain, puddles and queso...

Well another weekend has come and gone and I'm already going through withdrawals. However, I won't miss driving through torrential rain at night while semi's are passing me at 70mph, while my knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel because I'm hydroplaning all over the place. Not fun! Well, even still, I made it in one piece for another great weekend in Norman, Oklahoma. I also missed what was sure to be a fun soccer game but it was rained out. :-( The good news is I got to sleep in. Whoo hoo! My friend is/was looking to move to a different apartment for various reasons, so we did that instead of the game. He found one that suited him I think.

Here's something I've noticed: No matter what age "men" are, they are still little boys at heart. How can you not be a little boy when you drive through puddles just so you can see the splash! Ha! Very cute... This is also very evident if you have ever seen the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. I had never seen it before and therefore "made" to watch it, so now I know some one liners. "Here's yur sign." I like 2.5 of the guys. Everyone was funny but I think Ron White is sorta sleazy and that's probably what he wants us to think too. Larry the Cable Guy is funny too but I liked Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall the best. So between apartment hunting and grocery shopping we we watched both DVDs. I enjoyed it.

By the way my friend makes great queso. Some people know that I can be a picky eater, but it's mainly for dramatic purposes. He put black olives in his recipe and I ate it with no complaints. Velveeta, salsa, JC Potter's hot sausage (which isn't really all that hot btw), and of course black olives. Yummy.

Back to work all of you who are reading this during office hours (this includes me)! And to all of you who are reading this after hours, have a great evening. That goes for you too, oh procrastinators of productivity! Have a good one!

-Jessica