"Spring" Weather?

Today . . . TWO days before the official start of Winter . . . we had amazing 'spring' weather! All this after about a week of 30-40 degree weather. Welcome to Texas!! :-) Well, I couldn't stay indoors when it was so nice outside. Yep, you guessed it . . . I went back to the FW Botanic Gardens.

I saw this tree and immediately thought of 'Boo Radley' from To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm not sure why . . . Anyways, that's the bench I picked to sit & read today. What I didn't notice when I sat down was that a rather large bird's nest was on one of the limbs. At one point, I was on the phone, and the bird was SO LOUD that it was a little difficult to hear! I guess I was invading its personal space.

I just love variegated flowers! I think this is a rose, but I honestly don't remember which garden it was in. . . just a pretty flower. :)

If you look closely, you can see water drops on the petals. A lot of the blooms were messed up during the freezes last week, but there were still a few pretty ones.

Lastly, I thought this looked like a Holly Bush . . . Christmas themed plants!! :) I couldn't find the name tag on the trunk, so I'm just going to pretend it really is a holly bush.

On a completely different note -

This is most likely the last post I'll do for a while. I've decided that I spend entirely too much time on the internet. So, I'm going to have an "internet fast" (for lack of a better word) for a while. (Except for checking email occasionally) :) Please pray with me as I use this time to seek God's direction in a couple areas of my life. Thanks!

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas

and a wonderful New Year!!

Randomness . . .

• I think the twinkle lights on my Christmas tree are possessed. When I tested them before putting them on the tree, they all flashed like they were supposed to. Once on the tree, though, only half of the top strand flashed. This is okay, I guess, since it's in the center of the tree - kinda like a belt. :) Well, tonight for about an hour & a half, BOTH halves of that strand were flashing. It's back to 'normal' now. Kinda weird. I'm thinking it might be time for new lights next year.


• Possibly the BEST $20 I've spent ALL year:

In case the picture isn't clear, this is my 'bag lady' - two level cart. My parking space isn't close to my apartment, so this little cart carries all my stuff back to my apartment after grocery shopping - a LIFE SAVER after a day of Christmas shopping!!!! :) It folds flat and rides in the back of Roony to all the stores. If you want one, it can be found at the Mother Ship (a.k.a. Target) for about $20.

• Why do people walk up to an empty cashier line where the light is off & wait? Are they hoping that someone will just appear and check them out? Why not just get in a line with the light on? I saw this a few times today. . . always good for a little laugh! :~)
• Did you also watch the Christmas in Washington special on TV tonight? Who was the man that sang "O Holy Night"? He was fantastic!! I have always loved a good baritone. It brought tears to my eyes listening to him perform one of my favorite Christmas carols!
• I couldn't find a Nativity at Wal Mart today. Do they not sell them there anymore? I walked every isle in the Christmas Shop twice looking for one.
• Best buy of the day . . . I got FOUR Christmas CD's today for $25!!!! They were all on sale (one even for $1). WooHoo!! :-)
• I miss the college Christmas breaks - a whole month of freedom to play! Aside from the "studying" and tests, it's a pretty good deal.
• I love all the Christmas specials on TV!! Last night, I got to be home and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. . . happiness!!
• Even with psycho twinkle lights, Christmas trees look so much better with gifts under them!
• The other half of that strand of lights is now flashing again . . . (-:

Intruder Alert!

Monday was quite a day around here. Knowing I had a lot to get done, I was up early (well, early for someone who just finished a stretch of night shifts). :) As I was getting ready to leave, the maintenance man for the apartments knocked on my door.


A little background:

My heater stopped working sometime last week. Since I'm not at home several nights during the week, this wasn't a huge problem. It doesn't get that cold during the day here very often, and when it does, it just makes me sleep better. All this to say, I didn't report it as soon as I realized why my apartment was so cold each morning when I got home from work. (and yes, it took a couple of days to figure this out since I'm often one small step above comatose when getting home from work) Not wanting to be bothered while trying to sleep, I just decided to tough it out until I had a couple of days off where I could be awake during daylight hours to let the maintenance man in. So, I reported the problem Sunday, and the wonderful maintenance man showed up first thing Monday morning.

Although very grateful that he was able to fix the problem in about 45 minutes, it did set me back a little getting on the road. I did eventually leave, and went to my first destination . . . Sam. (this is the little boy - now 4 years old!!!! - who I took care of for about 10 months in the hospital) Well, his birthday was about a week ago, and I hadn't had a chance to give him his present. Since I'm still having some residual symptoms from being sick a week or so ago, I didn't want to stay around him for fear that I might make him sick. So, this was a very short visit - just enough to see him open his present & visit with his foster mom for a little while. :) It was wonderful to see them again . . . he looked so good!!!!

From there, I went to another friend's house to help set up for a cookie party. We had a great time visiting. One of our friends that came to the cookie party was a former roommate from A&M whom I hadn't seen since leaving there years ago. We had so much fun catching up! :) I didn't get any pictures at the party, but Melissa did, so I'm sure she'll post them sometime... (hint, hint) ;)

After everyone left, we cleaned up a little and then I headed home. I was visiting on the phone with one of my friends in Virginia on my way home (another roommate from A&M who is having her 3rd baby tomorrow!!) and started craving some Freebirds - a favorite restaurant from Aggieland. So, I turned in to grab some dinner before getting home. I guess God knew I'd need some extra strength for what I was going to face when arriving home . . .

I had an intruder in my bathroom!

This picture was taken this morning after the 13 hour battle had ended. In case you can't tell, it's a lizard lying upside down in a pool of Raid.

So, back to last night . . .

I walked into my bathroom and noticed something strange looking on the side of my tub. After a double take, I realized it was a lizard!!!! GROSS!!!!!!!! (I'm guessing it got in while the maintenance man had the ceiling opened to fix the heater.) Now, I am terrified (I'm not sure if that's a strong enough word for how I feel about them!) of lizards, so this was NOT a happy realization. After standing there paralyzed in fear for a minute or two, I started griping at God for letting me living alone or for me not having a little boy who would think this is cool & want to catch it for me to throw it outside. (irrational thoughts, yes, but I wasn't thinking clearly!) So, I shut the door, ran to the kitchen, and grabbed the only thing I could think of:

My original Weapon of Mass Destruction

Granted, this can does not claim to have the power to kill lizards of any kind, but it was my only hope at this point. And, having used lavender linen spray to kill (or at least stun until I worked up the nerve to smash) smaller bugs in the past, I figured it was my best bet when faced with the massive reptile! :) So, Raid in hand, I called my dad for support/suggestions. With him unavailable, I called my sister to see if her husband had any great wisdom. The picture that kept coming to mind as I looked at this intruder on the side of my tub was from that old movie Jurassic Park. It's the scene where "Newman" (from Seinfeld) is face to face with the innocent looking small lizard when it suddenly blows up into this huge, venom spitting creature. (again, irrational thoughts, I know) :) For this reason, I was too scared to get close to this creature! So, on the phone with my sister for emotional support, I stood in one corner of my bathroom and sprayed with all my might at the lizard. Unfortunately, not only did this not instantly kill the intruder, it still had enough strength to run & hide from me!

Now, not only was there a live lizard in my bathroom, but I didn't know where it was. Talk about fear growing exponentially with the unknown factor thrown into the mix! At this point, I needed to just get out of there, so I created Lake Raid in the floor of my bathroom, stuffed a towel under the door and closed it. I then logged onto the internet to look up the effects of Raid on lizards. Come to find out, others have used Raid to kill these intruders in the past, which not only made me feel better about my weapon of choice, but it gave me hope that mine was in there dying - albeit slowly.

I asked a couple more friends what I should do, to which one said, "trap it with a bowl or cup and throw it outside." Well, I'm NOT GOING TO GET THAT CLOSE. Next . . . Another friend suggested that I hit it with a broom. Why hadn't I thought of that?!? (again, not thinking clearly last night!) So, out comes my next WMD:

The stabber/smasher (a.k.a. a Swiffer Sweeper)

After building my courage back up (which took more at this point after reading online that lizards could climb walls, walk on the ceiling, and fall on my head!!!! - sometimes the internet is NOT helpful!), I entered the bathroom - checking the walls and ceiling before each step - with Raid in my left hand and the Swiffer in my right. No luck. The intruder was no where to be found. . . not that I was down on the floor really searching. I was "bravely" standing just inside the bathroom straining to see around (& yes, through) objects in the hopes that it would appear. :) Out of luck and courage at this point, I grabbed what I needed for the night and "locked up" my bathroom - after adding a little more volume to Lake Raid.

After a fitful night of sleep, I awoke with a new found determination to NOT let this intruder best me. After all, I'm a human and it's a reptile. I should be able to outsmart it!! :) Armed with my faithful WMD's, I entered the now "country fresh" scented room (thanks to Lake Raid). Again, no luck seeing the intruder. So, my next plan was to just start spraying the floor randomly in the hopes that I'd hit it. Well, I did! Only it seemed to make it come withing mere inches of my left foot. Well, that was enough for me! I quickly backed out of the room, spraying as I moved, and shut the door. After getting my heart rate back to it's baseline (about 5 minutes of deep breathing) :), I decided to be brave one more time. . .

I entered the room, having added one more WMD:

Object mover/lifter (a.k.a. kitchen tongs)

This time, quoting Philippians 4:13 in my head, I entered the room ready to end this ordeal. Thankfully, I saw it running in a circle behind the toilet. I'm thinking it was high on Raid at this point - or maybe I was! :) I just started spraying at it. It ran to the corner between the toilet and tub. To this, I responded with a solid spray around it - thereby "trapping it" by a "moat of Raid". Again, I left the room for a couple of minutes. When I came back in, I saw it lying upside down in the same corner where I had just left it. Not wanting to celebrate too soon and have it spontaneously come back to life to attack me, I stood there and sprayed some more Raid on it. NO CHANGE!! :) Needless to say, I was elated at this point!

Now, to get rid of it. My original plan, before I picked up WMD #1 last night, was to kill it, let rigor set in, and scoop it up with the "intruder remover":

My WMD #4 (a.k.a. fly swatter)

Well, after this epic battle that had lasted 13 hours, I wasn't about to sit and wait for rigor to set in - or to give it the chance to come back to life while still in my bathroom. I was ready to have full access to my entire apartment again. Armed with WMD's #1, #2, & #4, I entered the bathroom. First, I used the Swiffer to smash it a few times just to make sure it was at least stunned enough to not come alive. Then, I started the trick of "scooping it up" onto the swatter. Honestly, this was NOT an easy task with the limp, Raid saturated lizard!! But, it was doable. I quickly deposited my late intruder into its final resting place:

(a.k.a. toilet) :)

After flushing a few times to make sure it was gone, the clean up began. It took a little work to clean up Lake Raid and the "moat of Raid", but it's done now. I'm hoping the -what is now probably permanent - smell of Raid will ward off any future intruders of any kind! :)

So, as a reward for the Victor (me), I got a yummy breakfast AND was able to eat in peace knowing that I had won over the intruder that had held me hostage for 13 hours! YAY!!!! :)

So, to answer the age old question of "Will Raid kill a lizard?" . . . YES, it will!!!!

I hope you also had a good/adventurous Monday. Now, on to the rest of the week! :)

Coincidence?

I was just reading one of the blogs that I frequent, and I noticed that she had put a new "button" on the side that simply said choose joy. And, NO, I don't really believe seeing this is just a coincidence. I love how God uses "strangers" (I hate to use that word since I feel like I know her and am proud to be a Sunday!) to drive home a point to this stubborn girl! I followed the link to someone else's blog to read about her journey of choosing joy. Her definition of joy is great! (You can read it if you would like by clicking on my new button to the right.) Have a wonderful weekend, and remember . . .

only 20 more days 'til Christmas!! :)

"Attitude"

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It
is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances,
than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or
break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a
choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We
cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people act a certain
way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is
play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced
that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it
is with you . . . We are in charge of our attitude."

- Chuck Swindoll

I was given a copy of this quote in Sunday School a few weeks ago, and it's been on my mind ever since. So, I thought I'd share it. It's such a basic concept, yet it's so hard to put into practice some days! (at least for me) This quote has literally consumed my thoughts recently - which is not necessarily a bad thing. This isn't the first time I've heard about this concept, but it seems to have hit close to home this time with some of the stuff going on in my life right now. It makes me wonder why I don't choose joy more often. I'm striving to wake up each morning (or evening . . . depending on when I'm working) :) and decide to have JOY that day - no matter what. The main scripture that the teacher referred to that morning was:

"Be joyful always; pray continually;

give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

(emphasis mine)

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

East Texas Fall

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and were able to spend some quality time with your family! I was scheduled to work the night before & Thanksgiving night, so I missed the big family gathering. But, I made up for it this weekend by seeing some of the family. :~)

Saturday morning I woke up early and headed to Canton . . . Yep, it was the December First Monday Weekend!!!! (which means TONS of Christmas stuff for sale) For those of you who aren't from this area, First Monday Weekend is a HUGE (I'm not sure that word is big enough to describe this) trades day/flea market/antique store/craft show . . . in Canton, TX. Vendors come from all over the 1st weekend of each month to sell stuff. Growing up, my Mema & Papa Joe had a candle dipping booth on the grounds. Back then, it was maybe a tenth of the size that it is now. And, there was NO air conditioning/heating in any of the pavilions. In fact, I don't really remember there being buildings. It was just rows & rows of booths. Well, things have definitely changed - mostly for the better - there! When I got to Canton, I picked up my Papa Joe, and we set out in the 1st of many buildings. We had a great time talking while we shopped for Christmas gifts. At lunch, my uncle & his wife came out, and we all had a nice lunch at one of the local restaurants. Then, it was back to the grounds for the next building! There's NO WAY to get through it all in one day, so we quit around 3 so I could get on the road before it started getting dark.

That evening, I went to my Mamma Granny & Papa Art's house. Papa Art fixed his specialty - crappie (YUMMY) - for supper that night. After we were all stuffed, we decorated their Christmas tree and watched the OSU/OU game (sorry cowboys!). Sunday morning, we had a huge breakfast and went to church. After a quick sandwich for lunch, I hit the road again for my final stop.

My Grandaddy wasn't home for me to visit, so I started back home. Saturday evening, I'd picked up a couple of poinsettias for my Mema & Granny Sue's graves. I stopped by Mema's on Saturday before going to my Granny's. After all, being my Christmas Guru, she needed something Christmas-y there! :) So, Sunday afternoon, I was able to put one on my Granny Sue's and get back home earlier than expected . . . or so I thought.

I'm not sure if you've seen the movie Cars or not, but there's a line in it that makes me laugh every time I hear it. A minivan (can't remember his name) has just gotten a GPS system installed, and he says, "Now we'll NEVER be lost again!" Well, I'm here to tell you that yes, you CAN get lost with a GPS system. As a friend of mine says, you just won't "stay lost" with the GPS. :-) (I'm sure you can guess where this is going.) I forgot which highway I was on as I left the cemetery. Thinking I was on 17, I turned left knowing it would take me to 69. Well, HWY 17 does take you to HWY 69. FM 182, however, does not. Good times. Once my GPS found out where I was (backwoods of East Texas) and where I wanted to go (home in Ft Worth), it planned out a route. If you've ever used one of these devices, you know that they are non-discriminate in the roads they choose. If it's mostly paved, it counts! That's what I got to travel down for about 45 minutes on my way back to HWY 69. Honestly, most of the roads (& I use that term loosely!) were one car width wide WITH 90 degree turns every few hundred yards. Nothing if not exciting to navigate this area of Texas!! The positive out of that (besides getting a good laugh at myself) was the scenery. The trees were beautiful, and being that I was the only person for miles, I could stop along the path whenever I wanted to snap a couple of pictures. :~)

All in all, it was a nice weekend. I hope you're able to take some time over the next few busy weeks to just sit for a little while and absorb all the joy and wonder that the Christmas season brings!

A Few of My Favorites

One of my favorite pastimes (or a huge distraction sometimes) is looking at pictures. In fact, the screen saver on my computer is a slide show of almost all my pictures from the past two years. Sometimes - as a little 'self challenge' - I try to remember where each picture was taken. Clearly, some are more obvious than others. (i.e. The Capitol or a lighthouse) The real challenge is when it comes to the flowers. I go to gardens pretty much wherever I am living at the time, and I really like to take pictures of the flowers. The same thing happens with the beaches. So this 'game' is just a little something I do some nights when I'm trying to stay on the 'night shift' schedule during my days/nights off. Very few people want me to call at 3AM to chat so I can stay awake. :-)

Since I haven't been able to do much exploring in the Fort Worth area recently, I thought I'd make a few slide shows of my favorite pictures. This is the first installment - Washington, D.C., from my 1st travel assignment in 2006.

Tis the Season!

Aggie Football

We went to the A&M/Baylor game on Saturday. WOW . . . how sad!!!! I did find out what's been going on with my team this year, though. For some reason (unknown to most of us!), the coach has decided to bench the seniors and play the freshmen this year. GRRRR!!!! This is wrong on so many levels! Anyways, I'm trying not to dwell on the negative. :-)

One of my cousins is a senior at Baylor this year, and Saturday happened to be senior day. So, she was recognized during halftime. How fun to get to be a part of that!

I haven't been to an Aggie game since my senior (or should I say second senior) year. I'd forgotten how exhausting it can be as a member of the 12th Man! For those of you who've never been to an Aggie Football Game, let me give you a little description: (indoctrinating . . . or brainwashing - however you see it!)

• The Aggie fans (a.k.a. the 12th Man) DO NOT sit down during the game except during the other team's half time performance.
• The 12th Man's job is to yell, stomp, clap - basically make as much noise as possible - anytime the other team has the ball.
• We also do "yells", which are short chants led by the "yell leaders" throughout the game.
• Aggies never lose . . . sometimes, we run out of time in the game before we finish scoring.
• No matter the score on the scoreboard when the clocks run out, the Aggies ALWAYS WIN the halftime show!!
• If our score isn't as high as we'd like when the time runs out, we stick around in the stands for more "yell practice" . . . clearly we didn't yell our team on well enough or our score would have been higher. :-)

These are just a few of the jobs of the 12th Man during each football game - all to cheer on our team. It's really an experience . . . not just a game. Even if you're not a fan of Texas A&M (we can discuss this personally later - I'll try to convert you!) or football, you should experience at least one Aggie Football game in your lifetime!

There's a saying about Texas A&M: "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it." I was reminded of this while sitting with another of my cousins & his wife - neither of which went to A&M. It was fun explaining what was going on during the game with all the people in the stands.

Happy Veteran's Day

Please pray for our Veterans and our active military!! Here are some of my favorite veterans and some pictures of the different war memorials.

A Little Housekeeping

You may have noticed that I added a square button to my side bar. It's from this blog . If you click on it, you will be taken to her "7X7" post: seven prayers to pray for your child each day, seven days a week. (That is if I clicked, copied, & pasted everything correctly!) I know I don't have children of my own, but I do have (my "nieces & nephews") children that are very special to me. So, I'm joining in the prayers for them with their parents. I'd encourage you to pray these for the special children in your life. They are our future leaders!

"Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it."

-Proverbs 22:6

Also, I'm not sure why, but some of the "last updated" dates on my friends' blogs aren't staying current. I'm not sure why, so I'm sorry if it says you haven't updated in several weeks when you updated it this morning! :-)

The Baxter Family

A good friend of mine introduced me to the Baxters back in 2004. I had just started working night shift - NOT an easy adjustment for the natural early bird in me. Needless to say, I was having difficulty staying awake all night . . . hence my strong dependence (a.k.a. addiction) on coffee & all things caffeine!! Jill, one of the respiratory therapists working in the NICU with me, told me I should start reading. It would make the 'down time' during the night shifts go so much faster. Well, I remember just smiling at her & saying "I'm not really a reader." It was the absolute truth. I'd NEVER enjoyed reading.

Growing up, our parents had us make a set of goals for our summer each year. (kinda like new year's resolutions, but made to be accomplished during the ever shortening summer break) These goals would be all encompassing: learning how to sow something new, learning how to cook/bake something new, the ever dreaded scrapbook (wow - how things change with time!!), keeping my room clean (guess some things don't change), and the most dreaded project of all for me . . . reading books from the library (whether from the school's summer reading list or anything with more words than pictures that I was willing to try). I was talking to some girls at work the other night about our summer goals growing up (something I hadn't thought about in a long time), and it has opened up a lot of great memories! :-) But I digress . . .

Back to reading and the more recent past -

As I explained to Jill (& continued complaining about how tired I was - always) that reading bored me and would make me even more tired, she told me about a Christian author that she'd found in her church library while going through a difficult time in her marriage. I know this sounds terrible, but that turned me off the author immediately. First of all, I'd never read a Christian fiction novel that kept my interest past the first chapter. The only books I'd ever read that weren't homework or textbooks were medical mysteries or suspense thrillers. Literally, these books had to be non-stop action to get me past the 1st chapter. Even then, if it got slow in the middle, I could put the book down and never pick it up again - not caring in the least how it ended. Secondly, she said that these books had ministered to her while working through issues in her marriage. Well, this one's probably more obvious - what could that have to do with me?!? I wasn't in a relationship with anyone at the time, much less married. Well, Jill turned out to be as stubborn as me. She brought me the 1st book in the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury. I remember keeping it for a couple of weeks without even opening it. Every time I saw her, I felt a little guilty - like I was slacking on an assignment. (Remember - at this point in my life, I wasn't too far removed from the school/college mindset.)

Finally, I decided to give it a try, and I've been completely hooked ever since. I think that by the time I started the series, the 1st 3 or 4 books had been published. Well, by the time the 5th (& final) book came to the shelves, I was waiting at the bookstore to buy it! It amazed me how I could relate to the different characters or how they reminded me of people I loved. She really made them come to life. The title of the series, Redemption, really says it all. The books, while telling the story of the Baxter family, are all about God's redeeming love for us all. They tell story after story of His faithfulness even through our continued unfaithfulness & rejection of Him. The characters in the books have failures and real problems, yet God continues to love them and seek them out - just like He continues to do for me.

Towards the end of that series, I began to realize how much I enjoyed reading it, and I realized how excited I was for it to continue in the next series, Firstborn. The same theme of God's redemption carried through this series and the the final series, Sunrise. Sadly, she recently published the final book of the Baxter Saga. Again, I was at the bookstore the day it was released. The difference this time was that I couldn't bring myself to read it for a LONG time. Several of my friends who have started the books over the past couple of years had started & finished the book before I read the first page.

I've never been good at goodbyes. I do realize that these are NOT real people but characters in a fiction series of 14 books. But, over the past 4 years, I've laughed & cried "with them". I've felt the anger and guilt of bad decisions made by the characters in the books - knowing I've done the same or similar things. I've gone through September 11th through their eyes. I've seen characters go to Iraq . . . along the same time that my 'little brother by choice' was going to boot camp & then to Iraq. I've read as characters lost loved ones or miscarried while going through similar situations in my life. I've also watched the healing of an ever faithful and loving God in my life and the lives of people I care about - just as He healed the characters who seem all too real in these books.

All this is to say, I did not want this series to end!! It has been one of the constants in my life during the past two years where not much was constant. I could always pick up the next book, "escape" to Bloomington, Indiana, and spend some quality time with the Baxters. I did finally start (and finish) this last and final addition to the Baxter story. I read it slower than all the rest of them - not wanting to rush. It was a beautiful ending to an amazing love story . . . love between people, but more importantly God's love for us.

Jesus, while on the earth, often taught important lessons through parables. These books, to me at least, have been like modern day parables. Karen Kingsbury is such a talented author. I'm so grateful that she allows herself to be used by God as a storyteller. This morning, through many tears, I finished the story of the John and Elizabeth Baxter Family. In case you haven't gotten the picture yet, I'm highly recommending these books!! I'm forever grateful to Jill for introducing me to the Baxters and the author, Karen Kinsbury.

Seriously?!?

So, here's my Gripe of the Week . . . Is it really necessary to walk around my apartment with the leaf blower for hours every day of the week?!? It's Thursday, and we've had the leaves blown around four days in a row for 2-3 hours each morning. It is AUTUMN . . . which means that you're NOT going to get all the leaves off the sidewalk today (or this week for that matter). I just wish they'd go away so I could get a little sleep.

By the way, that's not my new home. It's actually a state park in NC I visited a few times while living there. I just thought I'd put a pretty, fall picture up to look at while I vent. :-)

Praying . . .

We all know what November 4, 2008, is. This beautiful house is about to get a new resident. I've voted, and I hope that you've voted also! More importantly, I hope that you'll join me in praying for our country and our new leaders . . . whoever they may be. Our country needs to turn back to God. The presidency is a high profile job with some definite perks, but it's also a high stress job. Whoever wins the election will need prayer! I'm praying for wisdom for our next president, and for God to be in control of his decisions.

There's another - not as publicized - event taking place this Tuesday & Wednesday. A girl I was friends with my 1st year at A&M was tragically killed in a car accident over the weekend leaving behind her husband and their 2 month old son. Her visitation is Tuesday evening, and the funeral service is Wednesday afternoon. Please pray for her husband, Scott, as he goes through this valley. Please also pray for their entire family as they deal with this loss - especially with the holiday season fast approaching.

"'Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.'

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress"

-Psalm 46: 10-11

CJ & the 'Secret Garden'

I'd like to introduce you to 'CJ', my pumpkin. Yeah, I know I'm a wimp for not actually carving a pumpkin. But, I found this Mr. Potato Head pumpkin set at Target a few weeks ago and couldn't resist. In all truth, I wasn't paying attention when I bought it. I honestly thought it was going to be a potato dressed like a pirate for Halloween. Well, after getting home, I looked more closely at the tub, and noticed one very important piece was missing . . . the potato. Then, I realized that even the picture on the outside was of a pumpkin dressed up. Oh well! Reading is highly overrated . . . right? :) Well, this afternoon I was at the grocery store and remembered to pick up a pumpkin. And now, we have 'CJ'. YAY!! And the best part . . . No one was injured or lost an appendage during this decorating project!!

So, when the beach is too far for a day's travel, I resort to the local garden. Fort Worth has a beautiful (and FREE) botanical garden downtown! I found it a couple of weeks ago after leaving work one evening. It was starting to get dark as I walked around that day, and with my proclivity to getting lost, I decided I shouldn't do too much exploring so I wouldn't be trapped inside the gate after closing time. Today, I had some free time after sleeping A LOT, and I went back. It's a beautiful day outside - nice, fall weather and the sun shining brightly. What better day to spend surrounded by some of God's most beautiful creations?!? Most of the flowers were popping with amazing colors! I have been missing the fall colors I got to experience the last few falls on the east coast, so this was nice to see some different fall colors.

Some Cowtown Highlights

The last two days I've been playing in my new city! In case you haven't noticed by now from reading my blog (or if this is your 1st post to read), I LOVE exploring new areas and seeing what different cities have to offer. Well, here's what I've found so far in Cowtown . . . :-)

Yesterday morning, I went to the 'Cultural District' downtown. I'd been seeing billboards advertising and Impressionist exhibit at one of the art museums. Since that's my FAVORITE type of art, I really was wanting to see it before it left the area in a few days. It was a spectacular display!! One entire room of Monet!! :) The rest of the museum was good also. Since parking was free in that area, (and the weather was absolutely amazing!!) I walked around to see what else was in the area. I found a modern art museum and decided to have a look. Now, I'm not always a fan of modern art . . . some of it is just strange to me, and some of it is inappropriate (in my opinion). So, a bit hesitant to jump in to that one, I took one of their brochures and had some lunch while I looked at what was on display.

I'm SO glad that I went! Some photographers had put together some pretty amazing displays. In case you didn't know, I'm fascinated with hands (some might say a bit obsessed . . . but, whatever). :-) Well, one room had a grouping of pictures entitled Holes. It was 'holes' in everyday life (i.e. looking through a break in the leaves or through a window), and someone's hand was in the center of the 'hole'. It's hard to describe, but it was SO COOL!!!! There were other interesting groupings like falling objects and walls (where objects were shot while falling or views of both sides of a wall or floor, respectively). Fascinating pictures!! Some were so intriguing that I caught myself moving around in front of the picture to try & see behind the door (or whatever was blocking something in the picture). Gullible, I know, but the artistry was amazing! And, of course, I spent a while looking at the 5' X 6' painting of the ocean. Ahhh! :)

So, to finish off this 'cultured' day, I went to a going out of business sale down the street from my home to pillow shop. There's nothing worse than a pillow that's lost its fluff. Mine, aside from being old, have been sitting in storage for a couple of years. So, I got some new, FLUFFY, pillows. YAY!!!!

Today, I met one of my oldest (just to clarify - NOT oldest because of age . . . oldest because we've been friends since we were 5 yrs old) friends and her 2 sons at the local zoo. I SO enjoy going to the zoo! The oldest boy, 3 yrs old, was SO excited to see the elephants. All he could talk about at first was seeing the "big things with the tusks". How cute! The younger boy, 1 yr old, got most excited during lunch time. :) (my kind of kid!) I had so much fun watching the animals and watching the boys react to the animals!! Here are a few of the pictures from this afternoon:The craziest thing happened while we were finishing up our picnic! First, a little background . . . All the news/weather people have been talking about how COLD it was going to be today. So, we all naturally wore warmer clothes today. As it usually works, it was pretty warm when we got to the zoo. :) So, as we walked around, we were actually sweating a little! Back to lunch . . . We were sitting in the shade, which made the weather very comfortable. Then, all of a sudden, a breeze blew by and literally DROPPED the temperature about 10 degrees!!!! You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm NOT!! By the time we got to our cars, the temperature had dropped into the lower 60's! Now, I've lived in Texas my whole life (these last two years not withstanding), and I've never experienced anything like that before. It was amazing!

So that pretty much sums up my last two days of exploring Fort Worth. Now, I get to watch GAME 1 of the World Series!! YAY! :-) (what a nice way to end the day)

Blessed, Indeed!

The past couple of weeks have proven to me that God has blessed and continues to bless me above and beyond what I can imagine!

1. He has given me a job that I love. I truly wish everyone could love what they do for a living! I'm continually reminded of His almighty power each day as He works miracles in the lives of my patients. Things happen and babies live when there's NO medical explanation. It still amazes me to see the faith of some of my patients' families: when faced with this nightmare of a newborn in the ICU when it should be a joyous occasion, they can stand in the grace God provides for that moment. It's a beautiful picture of the scripture 2 Corinthians 12:9 . . . "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
2. I got to vote today. Having recently moved, I was afraid to change my address officially until I voted. I knew they'd make me register to vote in the new county, and this usually takes a while. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to put my opinion 'out there', I called the voting office in Tyler last week to find out when early voting started. This morning, I went and stood in line to vote. Yep, you read that right. I had to stand in line about half an hour this morning to vote . . . during early voting! I'm wondering if that was just a hint at what's to come these next few weeks. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to vote! I obviously have my own strong opinion about who I want to win the different elections, as I'm sure you do. But, I can rest assured that the person God wants in each office is the person who will win. He is in control . . . even of politics! I know some people are rather nervous about this year's election, and I must admit, I'm prone to worry about it, too. God often brings these two verses to my mind when I'm worrying about our country's future (or other things that I tend to worry about): Philippians 4: 6-7 . . . "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
3. Last weekend, my dad was in a car accident that totaled his truck. He's FINE. . . the horse didn't fair as well. He was on his way to Livingston for a celebration at the church we attended while living there, and a horse ran out into the highway in front of him. God protected him, for which we are ALL so grateful!
4. I attended a storybook wedding this weekend! I've known the bride since she was 2. I was her babysitter, the person she napped on during church each Sunday, her summer tutor, her big sister, her friend, and this weekend, I got to be a witness to the beginning of a new chapter in her life! She was a beautiful bride!! Now, to be perfectly honest, I was dreading this event a little (very selfish of me, I know!). If you're single, you know how weddings can be a little awkward. . . especially when people you've known since you were 4 will be there. Going in, you know people are going to ask the most hated question of any single adult. On the LONG drive over, I prayed for God to give me the grace I needed to appropriately respond to the questions waiting for me. Mostly, I prayed for Him to guard my heart (which I way too often wear on my sleeve) and to help me not take offense at some of the seemingly innocent questions & comments. As always, He came through and let me enjoy the celebration while smiling graciously as people unknowingly put their feet in their mouths. I'm reminded of one of my "life verses" (verses that give me encouragement, patience, and strength during times when I just don't understand): Psalm 16: 5&6 . . . "Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

Sometimes, it's just important to focus on the good things in life! For me, that's what tonight needed to be. I hope you have a wonderful day!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

-Ephesians 3:20-21

Let's Play Catch-Up!

A few weeks ago, I went for an interview at Cook Children's Hospital in Ft Worth. At the time, they had two jobs I was interested in: a 6 month contract in the NICU and a full time (permanent) position in the NICU. After visiting with the nurse manager, I decided that it was best to take the 6 month, contract position as a way of 'easing myself' back into being a full time staff member at a hospital - something I left over 2 years ago and haven't really missed.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy working in a stable environment (i.e. not moving around every few months). I also enjoy the friendships made when working in this type of environment. I do NOT, however, enjoy some of the 'politics' involved with being a staff member again. It's so hard to avoid being dragged into disagreements and/or 'discussions' at work when you don't have the excuse of saying "It doesn't involve me . . . I'm not staff here!" :-)

So, my thinking is, try this out for a while and see how it goes. Then, as I told the nurse manager during my interview, if we all still like each other at the end of 6 months, we can talk about a full time staff position. It's the best of both worlds!

This is the beautiful bouquet of roses I received as a congratulations on the new job! :) How sweet is that?!?

The only drawback of taking this position was that the start date was set at October 6th . . . by the hospital. This means, there was no room for negotiations on my part. YIKES!! So much to do in SO little time!! So, the race against the clock began. . .

The weekend after accepting the position, we headed off to Fort Worth in search of an apartment that I could rent and move in the following weekend. This is a pretty tall order for the middle of a fall semester in a college town! (and by 'college', I mean a few colleges and medical students, too!) As usual, God stepped in, and provided a nice apartment at a price I could afford. AND, I could move in the following weekend. Cross this task off the to-do-list!

The next week was filled with setting up phone, utilities, cable, and the move itself. HOW QUICKLY I forgot all the details of moving. The past 2 years I have been completely spoiled by the nursing agency taking care of everything for me. What a shock to the system!! :-) For example, while setting up my phone, I had to deal with a faulty phone tree! Yep, you read that correctly . . . the phone tree for the phone company (which shall remain nameless) did not work. I wound my way through the various options given - none of which were what I really needed, which was to set up a new land line - until I actually got a human on the other end of the line. This only took about 40 minutes. To be completely fair, she wasn't the 1st human I'd spoken with, though. I was sent to the phone repair section multiple times for some reason. Each time someone answered, I explained that I was trying to set up a new line; at which time they asked me, "Why did you request (saying this like I had a choice in the matter) the repair line?" Good question!! They would then transfer me to the appropriate department - which meant they put me back to the beginning of the phone tree. GRRRR!!!! (blood pressure beginning to rise at this point . . .) Back to where I was - I was actually speaking with a person in the correct department for about 5 minutes (YEA, ME!!), and I was suddenly put back to the beginning of the phone tree. I'm still not quite sure what happened there. I started punching the buttons to try to get back to that sweet lady in 'new customer services', and I was hung up on by the phone tree. Now, at this point, most people would quit & try again the next day (or maybe even just forget the entire idea altogether!). Not me, though! I'm MUCH TOO STUBBORN for that option. It's the principle . . . I will NOT be bested by a phone tree!! :-) So, I call them back and try again. This time, though, it only took about 20 minutes to get a person in the correct department. And, I got a phone line! Good times with moving . . .

Movers were hired, and my stuff (that's been in storage for SO long!) & I spent the night in my new apartment 1 1/2 weeks after accepting the position! I don't recommend putting that type of time restraint on moving and getting settled, but be assured . . . it can be done. (with LOTS of help!!)

My sweet parents and Papa Joe came over the Saturday after the movers brought my stuff to help me get settled. There aren't words to express how grateful I am for their help! I'd forgotten how much stuff I have! I must admit, though, it was like Christmas opening each box to see what treasures it held. The convicting part of this action was realizing that I've lived a perfectly happy life the past 2 years without all this stuff. That's just what it is . . . STUFF. It made me keenly aware of just how blessed I am - especially thinking about so many of my friends in the Houston/Galveston area who just lost so much. Very sobering . . .

I've taken some pictures of before & after in my apartment. Here's the reveal :

So, here I sit on Sunday afternoon in my completed apartment just in time before my job starts tomorrow morning. I'm SO looking forward to getting back with my babies! I'm also looking forward to exploring the Fort Worth area. Even though I grew up about 45 minutes from here, I've never done much here. This will be a fun adventure seeing what the area has to offer. The best part about taking this position is that I'll be close to home for all the fall/winter holidays! So fun!!

Simple Pleasures

Living in Texas again lends itself to a few of my favorite things . . . Blue Bell Ice Cream and Sara Lee Bread. I've spent the past few days moving & unpacking (with a LOT of help from the family on Saturday!!). Yesterday, I made the 'pantry stocking marathon trip' to Super Target (yet another great thing of the south!), and then I spent the rest of the day continuing to get my apartment in order. So, last night for supper, I indulged myself . . . PBJ on some Sara Lee Bread and some cookies & cream Blue Bell for dessert. Talk about the perfect meal!!!! :-)

I'm almost finished putting everything in its place (or stuffing it somewhere in the back of a cabinet or closet when I'm not sure what to do with it). When it's completed, I'll get some pictures posted.

My 'Thin Place'

Below is a view of Virginia Beach at sunrise. In addition to God's creativity with the sunrise and waves, a group of dolphins started playing a ways offshore for everyone to enjoy. It's so much fun watching the dolphins play!!




Don't worry . . . this isn't about weight!! I haven't found a miracle diet to make us all skinny. Last night, my dad mentioned the discussion topic from his staff meeting this past Monday called "Thin Places". I'm not sure who originally came up with this concept, but it's kinda fun to ponder. This Blogger explains the topic perfectly:

"someplace where heaven seems to come down and touch Earth."

It made me start thinking about what my 'thin place' is. For me, it's the beach. The waves rejuvenates me. I love to listen to them and see how they crash into the shore. Here are a few more of my favorites. :-)

This picture is from a deck leading to Myrtle Beach. The best part of being here (other than the fact that I was on the beach!) was that rocking chairs were provided on this deck. That's right, I got to sit in a comfy rocking chair and watch the moon rise over the ocean. It doesn't get much better than that in my book!

This amazing view, compliments of Ocracoke Island, NC, made me fall in love with North Carolina!! I sat in that beautiful sand watching the perfectly blue water wash ashore for about an hour that day - a brief intermission in my lighthouse tour of the OBX.

This is a picture of the last beach I went to, Assateague National Park in VA. It's located on Chincoteague Island . . . the home of the wild horses. How cool is that to watch horses play along the shore. (or in the marshes, which is where I saw them)

Such happy memories! Have a great day. :-)

Hurricane & Birthday Parties

What a week! It's amazing what a storm can do! Just before I started nursing school, my dad moved me into an apartment on Galveston Island. On move-in day, we had the pleasure of meeting my new downstairs neighbor. What an interesting person! We arrived at my apartment around 10:30 that morning, and he greeted us holding his beer . . . already quite inebriated!! I'm not sure if it was 'drunk' left over from the night before or if he just got to an early start. As we tried to move past him, he continued whatever story he was telling us and then invited me to his next Hurricane Party. I just smiled and moved on, not knowing what the appropriate response to that invitation should be. He continued on by describing this "party" - sitting outside in lawn chairs drinking beer during the hurricane. Not my idea of fun, but I'm guessing that after enough alcohol, the wind, rain, and flooding wouldn't bother you too much!

Little did I know, that hurricane parties are a tradition on the Island! Apparently, the Poop Deck on Seawall sponsors them for the hurricanes that come to Galveston. Who knew?!? (not that it makes it a good idea just because it's restaurant sponsored, though!) Anyways, I've been searching through the online pictures to see how my apartments made it through Ike.

I was SO HAPPY to see that they're still standing, although most of the ground floors were destroyed by the high water. These apartments are on the north side of the island, so they just had the rising water from the bay side of the Island. The one tropical storm we had while I lived there had water that rose up to the parking lot from the bay, but no real damage. I can't imagine what it looked like during Ike! The boat slips are just behind where the person taking this picture must have been standing. Obviously, the water was VERY HIGH to get that sailboat up on top of the car. My old apartment was on the 2nd floor of the building to the man in the yellow jacket's right arm! HOLY COW!! It just blows my mind!!

The pictures of the destruction and devastation break my heart as I see some of our favorite places destroyed or damaged. I'm praying for my friends that still live there . . . that they all evacuated safely and that their homes/belongings weren't destroyed. I know that they would appreciate your prayers through this difficult time, too!

My roommate from Galveston, who now lives in Houston, evacuated to our house last Thursday evening. The commute was a nightmare, but we had fun once she got here. Like most people in Texas, we sat glued to the Weather Channel and Houston news websites most of the next couple of days. The pictures and videos were mesmerizing! Of course, she had SO MUCH more at stake with her home being in Ike's destructive path. She was able to go back to her home yesterday to find that it hadn't received much damage - Praise God! I think they had some limbs/trees down in the yard and maybe some missing shingles. Other than that, their house was protected. They were truly blessed!!

On to a happier topic . . .

Saturday, we celebrated my sister's birthday at a WONDERFUL restaurant in Dallas.

We were so happy that she was feeling well enough to come to the party! None of us were sure how she'd feel with the big storm on the way, but it looks like the newest treatment may be bringing some positive results!

I found a bakery that makes all their treats sugar free . . . very important for the diabetics in our family. So, we got a delicious chocolate cake from there to celebrate! To top it off, one of the waiters came to sing Happy Birthday in a few different languages. I got a little bit of it on video before my battery ran out.

We had a bunch of family there, which is always fun. Good times! I hope your weekend was safe and fun!

Family Fun Weekend

Saturday morning, we headed up to my Mamma Granny's house to celebrate her 75th birthday. WooHoo!! :-) We had a fun time visiting with the family and eating some delicious hamburgers & hot wings. (I know . . . probably not the typical 75th b-day party food, but that's what she requested)

I always enjoy visiting their place on one of the many branches of Lake Fork in East Texas. It's just gorgeous! This is a view from their backyard of the boathouse and the calm water. It doesn't get much better than that . . . unless you had that with NO MOSQUITOES!!!! :-) The water was amazingly blue that day and made me wish I could just go sit in a boat out on the lake.

Here's Granny "Vanna-ing" one of her birthday gifts. Smell good stuff is ALWAYS welcome!!

After the party, my roommate from nursing school (who'd come up Friday evening for a weekend visit with the fam) and I started out on a Target trip so she could buy her new camera. Somehow . . . still not exactly sure when/how the switch happened :) . . . we ended up at a car dealership looking for her new set of wheels. The first place we went, the salesman (a bit TOO talkative and even more 'slimy') decided Mandy & I looked like sisters. Well, for those of you who know both of us, I'm sure you're already laughing! After giving at least a 20 minute synopsis of his life and hometown back in Oklahoma & asking about the whole sister thing, he decided to ask what we she was looking for in a car. Half an hour later - after having had more than we needed or wanted of that guy!! - we were back in my car & off to the next stop! Honestly . . . WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!? Across the street, we had more luck, though. She found just what she was looking for, and she got (what we think is) a great deal. Now, neither of us had ever gone into the car buying scene without parental help, so there's no telling what we didn't ask/do right. But, it was fun pretending to be "big girls" and do this on our own! :-)

She bought a beautiful Hyundai Santa Fe! (Not that I'm partial to them or anything . . .) Mine is the "old style" since they redesigned them last year, so it was fun to see all the changes & improvements they've made in the design. Here's the very happy new car owner!!!!

Needless to say, she wasn't too sad to say 'goodbye' to the old green car! CONGRATULATIONS, Mandy!!!! :D

The weekend ended with me preparing for my first (of hopefully many!) job interview as I look for a more permanent job situation. More on that later, but please pray for me to see God's will and direction for this next step in my life clearly! Thanks!

Hellos & Goodbyes

~~ Just a note of warning . . . this turned out to be a much longer post

than I had planned, so get some coffee and get comfortable! ~~

WOW! The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind, but it has been a wonderful time. So much has happened, I'm just gonna write a little about each day to go along with the pictures.

Tuesday

Tuesday afternoon, I got to say 'hello' to my Dad & Papa Joe as they arrived in Virginia for a short visit during the last week of my contract. After getting away from the airport, we stopped for a quick dinner, checked them in to the hotel, and headed downtown for the Navy Band Concert. Since we arrived a little early, we took in a couple of the sights on the way (or at least in the same vicinity) to the Navy Memorial. The top picture is of them standing on Freedom Plaza along Pennsylvania Ave. with the Capitol in the background. After a quick supper at the Old Post Office building (the building behind them with the clock tower) food court, we headed over to hear the concert. It was completely different from the concert I went to with my sister last month, but it was still completely amazing! They have such talent!! After the Metro ride back to my car, we called it a night so we could all get rested up for a Wednesday full of sightseeing.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, we headed downtown for some serious sightseeing! We started out at the White House (as seen with Dad & Papa Joe here). It was a little overcast that day, but it definitely kept the temperatures down. In fact, it was pretty cool in the shade making me very happy that I had brought a jacket!! From here, we walked around the Treasury Department on our way to the Washington Monument. I had never been up to the viewing deck of this before, so I followed a friend's advice and reserved some tickets online. After picking them up, we had about 45 minutes to kill (no where near enough time to visit another attraction), so we just sat on the benches around the Monument to watch the geese playing around on the grass.

When it was our turn, we rode the minute and a half elevator ride to the top for our look out. It is truly an amazing view of the area! This picture is of the WWII Memorial, the Reflection Pool, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Memorial Bridge (off to the left of Lincoln). Thankfully, by the time we got to the top, most of the clouds had dispersed making for a clear view of the sights. :-) (yea!! more pictures!!) After looking out the four sides, we went down one level to look at some of the pictures of the construction and history of the Monument. It was pretty amazing! If you're wondering why it looks like two different colors of stone on the outside, it's because there was a huge 'time out' during the construction due to lack of funds and/or workers (or something like that . . . don't remember the details). :) On the way down from the top, they slowed the elevator every once in a while to let us see some of the artwork and messages on the inside of the Monument. I took a short video clip of one portion of these, but I've somehow messed up the disk and can't seem to download it to my computer. Maybe some other day!

From here, we went to the WWII Memorial. This picture of Papa Joe is taken by one of the places he went during WWII. We hit this Memorial just after one of the Park Ranger guided tours had started, so we just attached ourselves to this group to hear about the Memorial. FINALLY, I learned about the "order" of the states on the columns. In case you haven't seen it in person, there are 50+ columns with state, province, and country names on them surrounding the huge fountains in the middle. Just looking at them, there is no rhyme or reason to the order of their placement (or so I thought!). Here goes: If you stand in the middle facing the Washington Monument (with your back to the wall of stars), the "order" starts on your right. The names on the columns are in order of their entrance into the Union. The catch is that they alternate sides . . . #1 is the 1st column on your right, #2 is the 1st column on your left, #3 is the 2nd column on your right, and so on. Once we received the explanation, it made complete sense!! (shocking, huh?!?) :-) I'm the first to admit that I don't know a lot about history and the wars we've fought in, but going through the war memorials with my Papa Joe (a person who studies and reads constantly about wars . . . especially the Civil War and WWII) was very special. He knows the names of not only the battles but of the generals, who won, how many soldiers were lost, etc. in each battle!! For example, as we walked around the WWII Memorial, he was telling me about one of the battles we "should have never fought". It was amazing to me to hear his perspective on all of this! We went on to the Vietnam Wall after a short lunch break on the way. Again, I was brought to tears listening to both my dad and my Papa Joe talk about the boys lost and still missing from that war. They have such a different perspective on these memorials than me having lived through the wars memorialized and having friends that were lost in them. Don't get me wrong, going through these is an emotional experience for anyone with the least bit of patriotism, but going through them with a veteran and someone who lost childhood friends in Vietnam puts a whole new light on them!!

Moving on, we next went to the Lincoln Monument

(my FAVORITE!!) Here, I got to hear more Civil War history and Lincoln history from Papa Joe. He's VERY MUCH the "power of the South" type person and can tell you exactly how, when, and why the South lost the BIG WAR, but he has great respect for Lincoln and the great man that he was.

The funniest part of this day (in my opinion) was the fact that we stood and watched the tile layers in front of the Lincoln Monument for at least 20 minutes before moving on to the Korean War Memorial. The workers are making a beautiful, stone tile floor to an area between the Reflection Pool and the Lincoln Monument, so my dad & Papa Joe stood and discussed their technique for a while. With all these huge monuments, memorials, and historical attractions surrounding us, we stopped to watch this. It's like my "lamppost obsession" (taking pictures of all the ornate lampposts downtown) . . . I guess I come by it honestly!! :-)

Onwards . . .

We then made it to the Korean War Memorial. I pointed out my favorite statue to them, and my Papa Joe asked me why he was my favorite. I said it's because of his facial expression. Then he said, "Oh, I thought it was because he's the medic." How strange is that that I picked the medic as my favorite?!? (at least I thought that was interesting) :) We ventured on around the Tidal Basin to have a look at the Jefferson Memorial. We didn't spend as long here because we were all getting tired and hungry at this point. I snapped a few more pictures for my scrapbook, and we headed back to the Metro station. That morning, we had caught the train during rush hour, & they got to see the "locals" on the train . . . NOT overly social! (to say the least) My Papa Joe found this funny, so on our way home that evening, he pretended to be a "local" with his paper. :-) He's TOO FUNNY!!!!

Thursday

So, Thursday was the last day for me to work during this contract. This left my dad & Papa Joe on their own . . . They caught the shuttle from their hotel to the Metro and headed downtown for some more sightseeing. They started out at the Holocaust Museum . . . an amazing & emotional experience!! (NOT for children or the weak stomach for sure!) They then got to tour the Bureau of Engraving & Printing. They enjoyed that tour and even asked their tour guide for a few free samples. Amazingly enough, they were told "NO"!! :-) (If you didn't know, this is one of the places that prints money.) On some of the printing machines pumping out sheets of $20 dollar bills or $50 dollar bills (you get the idea), someone had hung a sign reading, "If you feel bad being this close, think of how I feel. I print out my entire year's wages every few minutes!"; or the one reading, "So close, yet so far!" Great to see they have such a sense of humor with their job!! :) After a quick bite to eat, they went on the the Natural History Museum (or the dinosaur place as my little 'nephews' refer to it!). They thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the dinosaur skeletons as well as the rocks and jewels. I met up with them at the mall near my apartment after work so we could have supper and make a plan for our Friday activities. Then, it was home for everyone to rest up for our last full day of tourism!

Friday

We started out this drizzly day by visiting the National Cathedral. If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend going the next time you're in the area! It's not really close to a Metro stop (unless you want to walk a mile or two to get there), but they do have pay parking for the visitors. The craftsmanship that the stone carvers, steel workers, and carpenters show in this amazing structure is indescribable! You really just need to see it to believe it. We went up the west towers to the observation deck to look around. Even inside here, the attention to detail was outstanding!! They had miniature replicas of some of the gargoyles stationed along the outside of the cathedral so we could see how ornate even these small parts were. Unbelievable!! They also had signs explaining the steps of building the cathedral over 80+ years it took to build. Here, they also had original (or what appeared to be original) blue prints from the late 1800's/early 1900's . The top picture is from inside this walkway looking at the 1st & tallest tower constructed over the center of the cathedral. The second picture is of Dad & Papa Joe in the walkway that surrounds the two western towers. After exploring up here, we went downstairs & joined one of the tour groups. This gave us more insight into the construction - like the fact that the entire cathedral is in the shape of a cross with the 'high altar' at the "top" of the cross, and the auditorium with all the chairs/pews is the long part under the cross beam. The tour took us down into the basement near where construction was started over 100 years ago. The original chapel . . . appropriately called the "Bethlehem Chapel" was the 1st to be built and may very well be the smallest. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles from the different periods. For the most part, the cathedral is in traditional "cathedral style" (tall ceilings, pointed arches, stained glass, etc.). A few places have rounded arches and mosaic tile work instead. It's now run by the Episcopal church, having daily services and prayer times as well as church volunteers on site to give free tours to all of the visitors.

From here, we drove over to the Spy Museum to have lunch at the little cafe there & then tour this most amazing museum! It's not free ($18/adult), but it's a small price to pay to see all the fun spy gadgets. (If, that is, you like spy/mystery stuff.) :)

Next, we went to the Marine War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial) near Arlington Cemetery. It, too, is an amazing tribute to the Marines and to the guys that raised the flags at Iwo Jima. Here, I played with the timer on my camera to try and get all three of us in a shot. Confession time: Yes, I've had this camera for 3-4 years now, and No, I'm still not sure how to work all the 'special features'. :) But, on this particular day, it worked (at least on the second attempt!), and we got all three of us in one picture. Yea, Me!! After this, we were all tired of touring and tired of getting rained on, so we went to supper and then home so they could pack up their hotel room.

Saturday

After a hearty breakfast, we went to one of the Civil War battlefields just down the road from my apartment. The week I moved in back in June, workers put up an orange fence around the entire park giving off the distinct "you're not welcome in here" message. So, I didn't go! :) But, a few days before Dad & Papa Joe arrived, they took down the orange fence. Papa Joe, obviously, knew immediately which battle this was, who the players were, which ones were killed, and which side won. He kept telling us that if the South had done . . . (I can't remember exactly), then they could have taken Washington and won after the 1st battle at Manassas (or Bull Run for my fellow southerners). It amazes me how he knows all of the details inside & out like he does! The county has done a remarkable job in restoring the park - new pathway, new informational signs, benches, fences, etc. We spent quite a while here walking through this park before taking Papa Joe to the airport for his return trip to Texas.

After taking care of some 'moving out details', Dad & I went to my favorite state park in the area - the one with the Great Falls. It's been SO cool in the area, many of the trees have already started changing colors and dropping leaves. This made for some nice pictures. :-) (As always . . . it's ALL about the pictures for what I've now termed the 'never-ending scrapbook of travel nursing'!!) Instead of messing with the camera timer again, I just asked some unsuspecting tourist to take our picture here. On the way back to the Metro station, we passed a little hole in the wall restaurant called "Papa Joe's Pizza". Of course, we had to stop & eat there! It was possibly the most unusual pizza I've ever had, but it was good. We then hopped on the train to meet one of my good friends from North Carolina. He'd come to the area for a day or two at the end of his vacation and was going to the Washington Nationals' game with us that night. They have a beautiful, new, high-tech stadium in Southeast (which is why I've not gone to a game before by myself!). It was a good game - going into extra innings, and the home team won. What more could you ask for?!? A good time was had by all (except possibly the Atlanta Braves since they lost the game). :) After the game, we were all herded like cattle back onto the Metro trains for the ride back home.

Sunday

Dad & I went to church Sunday morning (my last time at McLean Bible for a long while) and then to lunch at one of the best burger places in the area . . . Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Then, Dad 'got' to load all my heavy stuff into the back of Roony, and we headed to Roanoke. My dad, the master packer!! Yep, I know I took WAY TOO MUCH stuff, but that's why I drive an SUV, right?!? :-D

So, I said goodbye to the DC area. :(

We left earlier than I thought we'd get to, so it made for a very pleasant drive. Just about an hour & a half from my apartment, we reached the 1st of several mountain ranges we would pass through during our trip back to Texas. We decided not to take the famous Blue Ridge Parkway and stick to the main highway, but we were able to see some beautiful scenery. One thing that I wasn't expecting was all the corn fields. And I'm not talking about a couple hundred acres here and there. I'm talking about the majority of the 200+ miles between my apartment & Roanoke (our stopping place for the night).

Sunday night, we stayed at Hotel Roanoke. When I made the reservations, I just picked the cheapest hotel in the chain so that I get more 'frequent flyer' points. Little did I know that this particular hotel has an amazing history! It was built back in the 1800's and has housed several US presidents, foreign dignitaries, and other VIP's (including me & my dad!). :) It is a beautiful hotel design. Inside all of the lobbies, (yeah, it had a few of them) they had old pictures of the hotel from years past. It also had some artifacts from it's long history on display in the cases around the hotel. It's a very cool place to stay. I'm not really sure what all there is to do in the city of Roanoke, VA, but this hotel is very entertaining! :)

Monday

Monday morning, we headed out for our longest day of driving on the trip. We had to reach Memphis, TN, before we could stop for the night. In case your geography isn't stellar, this means that we had to leave Virginia and drive completely across the state of Tennessee. . . the LONG way! A bit ambitious looking back, but with two of us taking turns driving, we managed. We stopped at the Tennessee welcome center so I could pick up my state map for TN. While there, we saw this cut out of Dolly Parton. Dad had to get his picture with it for Papa Joe. My Papa Joe loves Dolly Parton! :-) It's such a lovely drive across the eastern half of TN. One of my favorite restaurants is Cracker Barrel - especially while on a road trip. There are probably more Cracker Barrel Restaurants in the southeastern part of the US than in the entire rest of the country! At one point, I believe we were passing them every 5 minutes! And then we reached the western side of Nashville. . . NOT the most exciting part of the drive! :) Also, the Cracker Barrels started spreading out considerably. BOO!! We did eventually make it to Memphis after a LONG delay through the Smoky Mountains due to some broken down cars and a dump truck that spilled it's contents all over the road. That gave us a good, long look at the sides of the mountains and the rocks along I-40 West. It's actually a pretty drive through that part, & I'm very happy that the delay was on the eastern half of the state! Once we arrived at our hotel in Memphis, we both just collapsed! We saw several families of Louisianna evacuee families. They all looked so helpless and worried; it broke my heart!

Tuesday

Tuesday morning, we left Memphis for the final leg of our journey back to the metropolis of Flint, TX! :D This final part of the drive wasn't very pretty, but it was doable. Then again, it didn't help things having Gustav blowing at us and dropping the occasional heavy band of rain. For the most part, he seemed to be more bark than bite . . . Thank God! He could have done SO MUCH more damage. We arrived back at my parents' house Tuesday evening around 7. We were both SO ready to get out of the car for a while!

It was a busy but great week! Thanks for going on the journey with me. :-)