My date with Jake

Ok, so it wasn't really a date ... had you excited for a minute there, didn't I, Mom? hee hee

I went to hang out with Jake's Mom, but he's just such a cutie that I had to post these pics. And I couldn't just pick one or two, so I'm posting them all because it's my blog and I can if I want to. :P

Here we caught him reading to himself (Beauty and the Beast)

Oops! And then he caught me catching him.



Then we went on a little walk.


Why can I not get these pics to go beside each other instead of in one big long row? Anyone know?











Cheeeeeeese!!!

Thanks for the great night, Jakie!! I hope we're always buddies.

After Jake went to sleep (ssshhhh), his Mom and I snuck out to see a movie. Don't worry, his Dad and brothers were home by then, so it's not like we put him to bed and then left him home alone. But really .. he's sleeping. What could happen? Ha ha I'm just kidding, but no, I have no plans on becoming a Mom, so you can rest easy.

Anyways, we went and saw Fracture, the psychological thriller with Anthony Hopkins (always a good creepy guy) and Ryan Gosling (good Canadian boy).

It was alright. Not great, but definitely good. If you saw any of the previews, it certainly wasn't as scary as they made it look in the previews. Like I said, Anthony Hopkins can play a creepy guy very well, so that was great, and Ryan Gosling has a very calm demeanour about him which is very cool. The movie was a bit slow in parts, so that's why I'm not giving it 5 stars, but the acting by both guys was really good. If you're asking, yes, I would recommend it.

And that ... was my Friday night.

RICK MERCER LIVE!!!

Last Friday night, Bren and I went to the Chan Center at UBC (very nice venue, btw) to see the very funny Rick Mercer, live.

If you don't know who Rick Mercer is, he's a Canadian comedian who used to work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, then he did a special for that show called Talking To Americans (which I think was some of his funniest stuff)

Now Rick has his own show on the CBC (yes, there is good stuff on the CBC) on Tuesday night at 8 pm called, The Rick Mercer Report. Rick's topic is politics and it might be sad to say this, but pretty much 75% of what I know about politics, I know because of this man.

When we saw him on Friday night, we laughed ourselves silly. That man can tell a story.

He told a story about this picture above when he got Jean Chretien to go to Harvey's with him. He said that he had heard that Jean Chretien used to frequent this Harvey's on certain nights on his way home because his wife would be sleeping when he got home so he could sneak it in and eat it. Appartently, his wife heard about it and put a stop to it, so Rick said that he knew if he asked the Prime Minister to do this "bit" with him at Harvey's he would agree because he could tell his wife that he had to do it for work. In the clip that Rick showed us, the Prime Minister went on and on and on about every job he'd ever had and Rick sat there yawning and rolling his eyes. It was quite funny. Rick also said that this was shot on the morning that the budget was being presented, so he was quite surprised the Prime Minister didn't have other things to do ... and other journalists were all mad at Rick because the Prime Minister hadn't done any interviews for 9 months or so. Just goes to show how much comedy has an impact on the things we will or won't do.

Rick actually got serious, too, and told about going to Bosnia and how he'd never been more proud to be a Canadian.

They told us that we weren't aloud to take pictures, so I only took 2. Hee hee. I'm sorry, but I can't go to an outing and not take pictures. Don't these people know that I have a blog that I have to keep up? I was a little nervous that I'd get caught, so I turned my flash off and held up my camera very slowly to take the shot. Well, I forgot that when my flash is turned off and it's dark out, my camera emits this red glow to show me the subject of what I'm taking the picture of. When the red glow came on, it scared me because it made the lady's head in front of me light up and I snapped and this is what the picture turned out like.

Little bit blurry. So, I held my camera against my hand and made the red glow go away and then slowly pulled my camera up one more time and took this pic.

Must better, but still not great. Oh well. I tried. He was so funny throughout the evening and then the last 15 minutes was a question and answer time. This was all spontaneous, and he was STILL hilarious. Bren and I both said we'd go see him again tomorrow if he was coming back.

Thanks for a wonderful night out, Rick!

Bloggers night out

On Monday night, Lori, Jennie, Lovella and I went to Red Robin's for a couple of hours to have some girl chat.

Here's the connection. Lori and I went to MEI together, but we hung out with totally different crowds, so we only knew each other by name back then. In 1994/95, Lori and Jennie went to UCFV together and then in 1995, they both started working at the same place that I still currently work at. Lori and I worked in the same department, so we got to be really good friends there, however, Jennie thinks I was a complete snob to her during that time. You see, when I was on my lunch break, I would sit on the couch and read my book. Now, when I'm reading a good book, I can literally be transported into the story and I don't hear anything that's going on around me. This led Jennie to believe I was a snob and didn't want to talk to anyone at work, when the fact was that I just needed a much deserved break from working so hard, so I would transport myself to another world. Anyone know what I'm Here's the connection. I went to MEI with Lori, but we hung out with totally different crowds, so we didn't really get to know each other there. In 1994/95, Lori and Jennie went to UCFVtalkin' about here? Back me up, would ya? Jennie: it's my blog and I can solicit back up if I want. :P Anyways, back to our night out.

Jennie and I knew each other through work (sort of) and also from going to the same church, but about 4 years ago we became very good friends (apparently I'm not a snob anymore... heehee) and it's been blue skies ever since. :) Lori and her hubby also take me in when I don't have a house sitting gig, so we've gotten even closer over the last 2 1/2 years and I'm very grateful for their patience and generosity towards me.

How does Lovella fit in the picture? Well, Lori would call her Aunt Lovella (by marriage) and Jennie and I have been at a few functions over the years where Lovella has been, however, we had never formally been introduced ... until ... the wonderful day when we started reading her blog (see link on my sidebar or click on her name at the beginning of this post). Her blog has been so encouraging and heartwarming and she has allowed us to take part by leaving comments and then in turn, her leaving comments on our blogs as well. It has been wonderful getting to know her through blogland, but I thought it was time to meet her in person and actually talk. So, I called this meeting, as Lori would say and it was a great night. Whenever talk about blogging would come up, Lori would smile and giggle and say, "I can't believe we're meeting about blogging." Which wasn't true, because as Jennie said, "meeting" sounds so formal and boring. We were getting together to have some fun and if blogging happened to be mentioned (how could it not?), then so be it. Actually, Lovella and Jennie taught me how to put a link in a word in your blog (see above names ... are you proud of me, ladies?) and Lovella also taught us that if you save a post as a draft, then go to post it later, you can change the date/time that it was posted. Note to fellow bloggers: You know how it shows the time you posted it as the time you saved it originally? Well, that can be changed by clicking on Post Options at the bottom of the box where you're typing. I'm probably not explaining this right or you already knew that, so I'll stop now. Anyways, it was a very fun night and I'm glad we had our "meeting." Let's do it again soon!

There should be a pic of Jennie and Lovella here too, but my camera went all wonky on me and it won't download it. I went to Costco to have my pics printed yesterday, so if it prints out right, I'll scan it and put it in here later.

Happy Birthday, Lea!!!

Today is my friend Leana's birthday. Leana lives in Argentina, so I don't get to see her NEAR as much as I'd like to. We became friends at the same time as Bren and I, so 13 years ago. They both knew my sister and brother-in-law from Bible School and were at my sister's wedding (17 years ago), but I didn't become good friends with them until about 4 years after that. We really all got to know each other on a R-20s retreat to Camp Qwanoes (you'll always be the Dancing Queen ... you're lucky my pictures are in storage .. I've got some "good" ones I could've used for you). Good times, good times.

Lea and Doug got married almost 9 years ago (I think their anniversary is coming up any day now, so I should also be saying Happy Anniversary). Soon after they got married, they moved to Argentina and we've only seen her sporadically since. :( Yes, it's sad for us, but of course it's obvious that this is where God wants them, so that makes it almost bearable. :) I really need to get down to Argentina to visit, and one day soon I will!!! Mark my words. This blog is called, Borne To Travel, remember?

Lea has been a great friend over the years, but I really think that I've gotten closer to her since she's been gone. Is that weird? We've opened up through emails and phone calls and I love hearing her encouraging words. Her walk with God is inspiring to me and I love it when she tells me she's praying for me because I know she means it with all her heart. She isn't afraid to tell it like it is with me, and I love that about her. And her laugh ... oh my goodness. I love hearing and making her laugh.

Recently, Doug and Leana have been blessed with two wonderful daughters named Salome and Yasa (sorry I don't have a picture with all 4 of you), so I also want to say Happy Mother's Day to you, Lea, as well. You will make a WONDERFUL mother and I love watching God bless you this way. I can't wait to meet these little girls and watch you all interact.

Thank you for being my friend, Leana. I am so glad that God has blessed my life with your friendship.

BTW - didn't you talk about starting a blog of your own? We would LOVE to see pictures of you all and your new house. I'm sure life has changed drastically in the last little while and you have much less free time, so I'll let it slide for awhile, but soon enough I'll be bugging you again! Love you and miss you lots!!!

Grey's Anatomy

For those of you who I confused with my Grey's Anatomy countdown to the Season Finale, I must apologize. I figured that they would only have a 2 hour special if it was the Season Finale, but alas, I was wrong. It's happened before and I'm PREEEETY sure it'll happen again (me being wrong, that is). :) Apparently, there are 2 episodes left. I should've clued in when the interns hadn't taken their "big" test yet and Christina and Preston (stupid name) hadn't tied the knot yet. It's actually quite exciting that my favorite show isn't over yet, so that's a good thing. The 2 hour special was just to kick off the spin off show that Addison's going to have (anyone know the name of it?), which I'm not 100% convinced that I'm going to watch yet.

Just wanted to clear that up in case I led anyone astray and you'd forget to watch this week and next. Now, back to regular programming.

Are you afraid???

Tonight I was sitting at my computer dutifully catching up on my blog reading, when I heard a noise that I thought to be an airplane flying overhead. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then it kept going and going and going, with about 10 seconds in between each low rumble. It finally dawned on me that it was thunder! Yippee! I opened my blinds and sure enough, the sky was quite dark and the thunder was just a rollin'.

Just a few weeks ago I was talking to some friends of mine about thunder storms in the prairies and how they kick butt on thunder storms in BC. When I used to live in Manitoba, I remember going into our screened in porch with my Dad and watching the storms. The lightening and thunder were spectacular and I wasn't scared at all. My dog was another story. We couldn't find him for hours afterwards because he went and hid so far under the house or under a bed and did not want to come out. This summer I was at my sister's place in Alberta and I chased after a storm on the ATV ... ok, the storm was miles away, but I got some great pics of the lightening. It's fun to watch storms if you know you're in a safe place. I went and stood on my front porch tonight and took this picture, but I have to admit that when I could feel the thunder shaking me, it was a tad bit frightening.

Then came the rain ...

And then came the hail. This is what my back patio looked like afterwards.

And then about 15 minutes later it was all over.

So I ask you ... are you afraid of thunder storms??? I want to hear your stories.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!!!

This is Rachel and I at the Micheal Bublé concert a couple of summers ago.

Last week was Rachel's birthday, but due to many unforeseen circumstances, we only got to celebrate on Sunday. Rachel and I have been friends for *cough* 16 1/2 years *cough*! Wow, that's a loooooong time. We met at Bethany Bible Institute in Hepburn, Saskatchewan in Sept. 1990. We started getting really close when we played basketball together. My most fun memory of BBI with Rachel was pulling an all nighter finishing a paper and then going to the gym at 6:00 in the morning and practicing with the boys b.ball team. The guys were wondering what we were doing up so early and we said that he hadn't even gone to bed yet, so we figured we'd just stay up. Good times, good times. Rachel was from Brazil and Manitoba (she came from a missionary family), but I think it was around 1994 or 1995 when she moved out to New Westminster, so we got to start spending more time together. Her and I and another friend bought a Jam Pack of tickets (11 games) to the Vancouver Grizzlies (remember them?) in 95/96 and we had a BLAST going to the games. I actually got to see Michael Jordan play live which was one of my greatest thrills in life. Glad I got to share that with you, Rae. Then, in 1996, I got even more lucky and she moved to Abbotsford into a house with myself and two other girls. We had a lot of fun in that house. I still remember being woken up at 2 am and Rachel standing there with roses in her hand and she said, "Do you want to see the roses or the ring first?" It took me awhile to process what she was saying, and when it clicked in that she had just gotten engaged, there were hugs all around. I was privileged to be a candle lighter in her wedding in 1997, right before I headed off to go travelling and then to work in Camden, NJ. Rachel was really good at keeping in touch with me while I was gone and her and Mark even let me live with them the summers in between when I came home. Isn't that nice of the newlyweds? When I decided to come home from Camden, Rachel flew across the country to drive back home with me. Leaving Camden was an extremely difficult decision for me and I wasn't in the best mental state, so Rachel will NEVER know how much that meant to me (even though she's probably sick of hearing me tell her). She only came out a couple of days before we were going to start driving home, so I took her on a whirlwind tour of Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Atlantic City and New York. We had SUCH a great time and we did the drive in 3 days stopping at friends in Chicago, Winnipeg and my parents in Calgary. That was a GREAT road trip, Rae. Thanks for going on that journey with me.

Since then, Mark and Rachel have had 3 beautiful boys whom I love dearly. Again, they have taken me in while I've been without a place to house sit and they never complain or ask me for anything in return. Thank you, Rachel for your amazing friendship. I'm the type of person who needs to vent and discuss things, and Rachel can always tell when I need advice or when I just need someone to listen. I can only hope that I'm half as good a listener as you are, Rae. God has truly blessed me with your friendship.

On Sunday, Natasha and I brought lunch and a cake over to her place and then we went to a movie (In the Land of Women - quite cute). Here's Rachel with her 3 awesome boys.

This is the flan that Natasha picked up. It was REALLY good. Even the boys loved it!

BLOW!!!

Happy Belated Birthday, Rae! I hope you had a great day because you deserve it.

Meeting the Babies

Two of my friends had babies in the last couple of months, so off I went to meet them.

This is Ethan. He is 1 month old and he's SUPER cute! Just a little guy still, and he was soooo tired, so he was only up for a little while after we got there, but I did manage to still hold him.

Ethan's parents are Todd and Nancy. On Thursday, Bren and I went over there for supper and to hang out with the new parents. They are SO relaxed with Ethan. It was very nice to see.

Sleep well, little baby. Daddy has you wrapped so nice and tight and you look so content. God placed you with wonderful parents. I'm excited to watch you grow. It was very nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm sure we'll see you soon.

Then last night I headed out to Vancouver to see my friends Drew and Linda and meet their new little guy. I left home at 4:40, and this is what I saw when I got to Glover Rd.


Usually when I get stuck in traffic, it's right before Surrey, but this time it went ALLLL the way back to Langley. In 1 hour, I had only gone 39 kms. I got to know this Chevy in front of me quite well. In fact, at times I wondered if we were listening to the same music because he was tapping his hand in time to my beat, but then I remembered ...


I was listening to my handy iPod, not the radio, so chances of him listening to the same music as me were slim. This is how slow the traffic was and how bored I was ... taking pictures of my iPod (can you see who's playing ... of course ... it's U2!)

Anyways, I finally made it there (only 58 kms away) after 1 hour and 20 minutes (no, I'm not bitter) and I got to meet Adam. Adam is already 5 months old, so he wasn't as little as Ethan, but he was just as cute! He looked a little startled to see me. I think he was saying, "What took you so long? I'm already 5 months old!"

Big sister, Sophie had to get in on the act, too. Sophie's 2 and a half and super sweet. She's got just enough sass in her (reminds me of her Mom .. haha) to make me laugh when her parents are scolding her. I'm sorry, but it was just too cute not to break out a smile. Keep it up, Sophie. You gotta keep your parents on their toes!

Here's Daddy Drew and Sophie watching Lion King. Hakuna Matata!

Out like a light. Sorry it took me so long to meet you, Adam. It won't be another 5 months before we see each other again ... Mommy and I made a promise. I also want to say a belated Happy Anniversary to Drew and Linda. They celebrated 6 years on April 21 and I was very honoured to have been a part of their special day. I met Drew and Linda in Camden, NJ when we all worked for Urban Promise. Good times ... most of them. haha Also, Linda and I drove across the southern States together in July in a car with no air conditioning and we still like each other, so I think that is a testament to our great friendship. :)

Thanks for supper, guys. It was great to see you and your beautiful family.


FYI - it only took me 37 minutes to get home ... no joke ... THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!

BONO'S GOING TO BE ON AMERICAN IDOL!!!

T minus 50 minutes. Ok, he probably won't be on until the last minutes of the 2 hour special, but still ... it's BONO ... on Americal Idol!

Oh yeah .. and the Canucks are playing tonight, too. :)

ROARING 20s REUNION

If you or someone you know used to attend Roaring 20s (College & Career) at Northview Community Church, please pass this info on to them. Have them visit http://roaring20sreunion.blogspot.com/ and leave a post on what they're up to now and to find out any new info.

Thanks!

ATTENTION: ALL EX- ROARING 20’s of NORTHVIEW COMMUNITY CHURCH

Many memories were made, many laughs were had, many impacting moments …

IT’S BAAAAAAACK!!!

We are having a REUNION on

Sunday, June 10, 2007
at Northview Community Church
Doors open at 2:30 pm

Come join us for a time of reflection, a time of connecting with past friends and a time of hearing God’s word.

Look forward to:

3:00 pm - Dave’s speaking (Marriage and Parenting Tips)
5:00 pm - B.A.D. Burgers
6:30 pm - Rock the Flock, Skits, Comedy, Drama,
Agent Orange,
Dave's speaking (Spiritual Refresher)
& MORE!!!

Please RSVP at Roaring20sReunion@hotmail.com

If you have any pictures from back in the day, please forward them to the above email address by June 3. We'd also love any current pictures of you and/or your families today.

Please forward this invitation to all Roaring 20s in your circle!! We don’t want to miss anyone!!

Childcare will not be provided
Please make other arrangements for your children

We look forward to seeing you all. - R20s Planning Committee

Random Thoughts

My shin splints are finally gone. Back to running. Part of me is happy about this and part of me isn't. It was nice to have a week off.



My hair is bugging me SO bad. I think it's time to get it cut. Something new .. up and coming.



Yesterday Tiffany puked/pooped up a storm around the house and as I was cleaning it up I thought, "Am I really only charging $8.50 a day for this?"


Someone (Carmen K.) got me hooked on Facebook, so I've been a bit absent from catching up on my blogs. Have you tried this thing? I feel a million times older on Facebook than I do on blogger, but I've reconnected with many people from my past, so it's been fun, but blogger still holds the first spot in the technological part of my heart.



God's reminder of His promise makes life worth it. Can you see the faint second rainbow? I only noticed it now when I posted the pic. Double reminder. :) Hope you all had a great weekend.

Reliant K ... ever heard of them?

Last week I won tickets to go see Reliant K.

I've heard of them, but can't say I know any of their music. Why did I enter to win tickets then, you may ask. Well, I see a box with an entry form and my hand is drawn to it like one of those sticks trying to find water. I've been bugged in the past because I win things so often, but if you knew how many things I enter and DON'T win, you'd know I really only win about 2% of the time. Also, you can't win if you don't enter, so ...

Anyways, off Bren and I went to the concert last week. We mostly went because the concert was at the Croatian Cultural Centre and we'd always wondered what kind of a venue it was for concerts. Well, we walked in and immediately felt like we were at a High School dance for a few reasons. 1) it looked pretty much like a gym or a hall and there were no seats, 2) everyone was running in and out to the bathroom to primp and preen and take a look at themselves and whisper about who knows what and 3) the place was FILLED with 11 - 17 year olds. It was quite funny. We sat out in the lobby for the two opening bands and watched the teens and pretty much thanked God that we're past that age. Before the second opening band finished, we figured we'd go outside for a few minutes. As we headed towards the door, this little security guard who was half my size came up to us and put her hands up and said something to us. I thought I heard her say, "No ins and outs," but it was quite loud in there so we both said, "Pardon me?" to which she in fact did say, "No ins and outs." Bren and I just looked at each other and started laughing. I've never been trapped inside a concert before. Usually they'll stamp your hand so that you can go in and out, but she looked at us with this serious face and I couldn't help but laugh. I know it's mean, but I could seriously have taken this lady out. I felt like a teenager again and I rolled my eyes and said, "Seriously?" As we were standing there in awe, this male security guard runs up and says, "No, no. It's ok. Parents are aloud in and out."

I'll let you take a minute to stop laughing. Now, Bren and I ourselves are not parents and there's nothing wrong with being called a parent, but it just goes to show what the average age was at the concert and the only reason someone our age would be there was because you were a parent bringing your kid. Too funny. We just looked at him and said, "Thank you," and off we went. It didn't even cross our minds to tell him we weren't parents. It was just our way out, so we used it.

We did come back when Reliant K played and they were good, but again, we didn't know any of their songs. Here they are:

Their sign looked a little rinky-dink and like it was made out of cardboard or something, but it was a fun night. Ok, good for a laugh is what it was. Since we didn't know any of their music, we only stayed for about half an hour and then we hit the road. It was a Tuesday night so I didn't want to be home later than 10 pm ... again, my age showing through ... can't keep up with those young'uns. :)

October Road & Grey's Anatomy (with a line that got under my skin)

Has anyone seen this new show October Road? SO GOOD!!! Like I need another TV show to get hooked on. Crazy, but I am. Remember Donna from That 70s Show? She's one of the main characters. I missed the first episode, but here's the drift of the show. Hannah's (Donna) high school boyfriend (Nick) left town for the summer but ended up staying away for 10 years. While away (and this is where I'm a tiny bit fuzzy), he wrote a "fictional" book, but it was based on a lot of stories about people from his home town. Although he changed the names in the book, apparently his old friends weren't fooled and were none too happy because it didn't paint them in a very good light. Well, 10 years later he returns. Some people are happy to see him, some aren't. When he sees Hannah, he finds out she has a 10 year old son that she says isn't his. Hmmm, I don't believe her. Anyway, it's very well acted, scripted, shot etc. There have only been a couple of episodes and next Thursday (10 pm, yeah, it's kinda late, but I tape it) is the season finale already. I guess they only made a few episodes to see if it takes off. I hope it does because I need to see whether Hannah and Nick get back together or if he gets together with the tart. Ok, she's not a tart but she's too young for him!

Grey's was great, too, but don't even fool with me making me think that maybe Derek is rethinking his relationship with Meredith! They've come through too much to break up now. But I guess I'm doing exactly what they want and getting all worked up so that I'll keep watching to see what happens. Not sure what's going to happen with Izzy and George, but I'm pretty sure I don't want them to get together. Didn't Kalie look TERRIBLE last night? Wow! She really looked liked she'd had NO sleep. Izzy's storyline with her daughter was very touching, but I think my favorite was how Alex is taking care of "Ava." So cute. I like that they're making him a little more lovable lately. Now, tell me if I'm just an overly sensitive single person, but there was a comment in last night's show that really bugged me. Not when it was said, but the next morning I thought about it again and thought, "Hey! That's not true." You know when Derek was talking to Dr. Bailey and saying that Meredith was a distraction from getting the Chief position? She turned to him and said, "If it's a choice between work and family, you choose family every time because none of it is worth it if you're alone." Now, the first part I agree with. Choose family/love over your work. Totally. But none of it being worth it if you're alone? So, does that mean that my life's not worth much because I'm not in love with someone and have someone to spend the rest of my life with? Maybe I'm being too sensitive and reading into that statement too much, but I can't agree with that. Anyone have any thoughts on my interpretation?

Ok, am I just too addicted to TV?

My visit with my sister

Last week my sister, who I haven't seen in over a year and a half, arrived in Vancouver.

She's been in Malaysia for awhile and there are a lot of different ethnicity's there, so her look has changed a bit. I barely recognized her. She really likes the saris now ... oh, wait ... that's not my sister. My sister's the one behind that lady. :) haha

It was nice to have no real agenda while she was here and just to chill and take our time everywhere we went. She's lived here before so it wasn't like when an out of town guest comes and you have to show them around. These were the only things she wanted to do: Go to Walmart and get treats for the kids, go to Wendy's for a Jr. Cheeseburger, go to Taco Time for a beef taco and go to Red Robin's for Clucks and Greens (all the really healthy foods - NOT!). Well, we ended up being quite lazy most of the time so we just stayed home and made our own meals, but here we are at Red Robin's. Since we didn't really do much, these are the only two pictures I took.

Brenda and Karen ended up joining us at Red Robin's, so don't worry, we're not those people who sit on the same side of the table even when they're the only 2 at the table. Not that there's anything wrong with that ... ok, it is a bit weird, isn't it?

When she asked her kids what they wanted her to bring them, she realized that they must deprive their kids of things because all her 7 year old boy wanted was his own pack of gum. Too cute! Ok, he was 3 when they left Canada so it's not like he remembers what he's missing out on, but I thought that was pretty cute. The girls wanted a few things, but they weren't too bad either, but it might be because they're all coming back this summer for a couple of months, so they'll get to pick up some stuff then, too.

The first night she got here we went to bed around 11:00 pm, so by 11:00 am the next morning I thought she'd died in the night because who sleeps for 12 hours anymore? When I poked my head into her room she made some weird moaning, stretching sounds, so I knew she was alive. Phewf! She apparently had been awake from 2 - 5 am adjusting to the jet lag. Poor girl, she was up every night at about that time. Only once did I have to go ask her to turn the TV down, and then I remembered that I had ear plugs. :)

We had a great visit and it was nice for it to just be the two of us. I always have to share her when the family's around, so this was great. We walked, we talked, we laughed, we cried, we shopped, we ate and then we prayed together before I drove her to her hotel. She was nervous for her course because as she put it, "Remember when you went to college and there were those married students there that seemed all old and geeky? That's going to be me!" Since this is a leadership course she's taking, I think the people there will all be a little older and on the mature side, so I think she's ok. Hopefully she had a great week. I was praying for ya, Jode! It's nice that I'll see her again in a couple of months so there was no crying when we said goodbye.

On a side note, having her here really put Leroy out (see my post from a few days ago). The first day and a half he seemed ok, and then I think he just wasn't sure what was going on. He stood and meowed at as for the longest time. Especially when Jode was sitting in the seat that I normally sit in. I think her being up in the middle of the night threw him off and plus I was blocking one of his sleeping places with my blow up mattress. I really don't think he liked that. The last day of Jode's visit I couldn't find him anywhere and after I searched for awhile I found him in the master bedroom looking out the window like this.

I can just picture what's going through his mind ... "What's going on here? When are my master's coming home? Why do these silly girls spend so much time here? Get out so I can have the run of the place!"

He has gotten pretty much back to normal now, so that's good. Tiffany didn't seem to take any notice at all .. but then again she really only moves once a day. Sorry Leroy!