[We Partied Like the Class of 99]

Because we were the class of 1999. I do believe this is the first time my entire post title is changed to fit my life. And also, this isn't entirely the song. It's the karaoke version, but it's the best I could get on youtube.

And so here I am, back from another trip. And what an eventful trip it was! For once, my airplane out of Seattle wasn't delayed or even cancelled! Yippee! Already the trip was off to a great start :). While waiting for the plane in Seattle, I met a girl who was headed off on her mission to Uruguay. It was nice to pass the time chatting with her. We landed in Dallas/Ft. Worth and I got to my next gate and made conversation with someone else who was on the same flight. And then, lo and behold, we get the announcement: mechanical problems with our plane. They'd keep us posted. I'm starting to get a complex. Maybe it's me? Anyway, they gave us a whole new plane, and we ended up being an hour behind schedule. We landed in Atlanta (by the way, American Airlines doesn't feed you anything aboard their flights for free -- not even pretzels) without incident, and then I had to figure out how to get to Emily. I ended up getting help from one of the airport employees who was very tall and walked very fast. So there I was, practically running -- back-pack on my back and rollaway suitcase rolling along behind me -- through the Atlanta airport. I finally found Emily, and after our salutations, we left the airport and walked out into the very muggy Atlanta air. The airport parking deck was particularly ick. And I have to say, it's interesting that Atlanta has as much traffic as it does at 10:30 on a Wednesday night. Interesting to me, at any rate. So we made it back to Emily's, and we went through Emily's senior yearbook to see who had RSVPed for the reunion. I got a shower and finally laid down to rest after a long day at about 1 in the morning.

Oh, before I forget... The weather was beautiful in Seattle when we flew out. We saw four huge mountains, one right after the other: Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helen's, Mount Baker, and Mount Hood. I should have thought to get a picture, but I didn't. I did, however, get a picture of Seattle as we flew out:



The following day, Emily and I were scheduled to drive down to Orlando. It probably would have been nice to get an early start, but that didn't really happen. I slept until about 10. Lazy, I know :). On the up-side of things, my bags were already packed and ready to go :)! So anyway, we got on the road around 1 p.m. and headed South. One thing about the Southeast, particularly parts of Georgia and Florida, is that it pours rain nearly every afternoon. So, we had to pull off the interstate a couple of times when the rain got so heavy we could barely see the road. I do have to say, though, that the lightning show that was happening in front of us was beautiful!!! We stopped in Valdosta, GA, for lunch during one of the downpours. Nothing fancy -- just some McD's. Then we were off and running -- well, driving -- again. We made it to our hotel a little after 9 p.m. So yeah, that was a long day of driving. And so we got checked into the hotel and headed to our room. Well, so the light was on in the room, which I thought was weird. And then I couldn't get the door to open with the key. It felt like it was locked from inside! So I asked Emily if she could see people in there. She said she couldn't and that the towels looked all nice and folded, etc. So, we tried again. No dice. We were about to give up, but then Emily tried, and we were successful. So we thought there was just a special knack for opening the door -- and I didn't have it. So I got a shower, and Emily and I were laying there talking. And a cell phone starts ringing. Emily finally looks at me and says, "Are you going to get your phone?" And I said, "That's your phone." She says, "No, it's not mine." And I said, "Well, it's not mine," and held mine up. Hahaha... So we open one of the drawers in the room, and there are 2 phones!!! Emily looks at me and goes, "Oh my gosh! Someone is still here!" Hahahaha... Well, it turned out that the last people just forgot their phones. So we turned them in, and we got a phone call at about 11 in the room. Which was also weird, because I've never gotten a phone call in the hotel room before. But that was so funny, given the door thing, and then the cell phones.

On Friday, Emily and I went to Aquatica, which is the water park associated with Sea World. It was fun, though there were droves and droves of people. Emily and I spent most of our time on the lazy river, just floating around and around in innertubes. We went in the rapids as well, which was basically the same as the lazy river, just faster-paced, and you couldn't use innertubes. We also did the wave pool, and went to the deep end where the waves came out really high. That was pretty fun. And let me tell you... in the Florida heat, being immersed in water was wonderful! It was usually between 99 and 102 degrees there! YIKES! Emily and I spent a lot of time trying to remember who was in our classes back at Balboa High School and telling stories about those days. You know, revving up for reunion :). We did stand in line for a couple of actual water slides. The first one was over incredibly fast, and we went head-first down this steep slide. The second one, we were both able to go in the big tube and we went through a dark tube where you couldn't see anything. But the lines were really long, so we only did those each once, and skipped the other ones that had lines. Thirty minutes standing in the sun is a looooooong time :). Especially when there is the refreshing lazy river with no line at all :). So here are Emily and I, getting ready to leave around 2 p.m.

Oh yeah, and we also got a dolphin education. We headed back to our hotel room to change, then ate next door to our hotel at a place called Friendly's. It was pretty good, especially the yummy sundae that ended our meal :). Emily and I then walked down to Walgreen's to pick up some snacky foods for our hotel room. We were very full at this point, though, so nothing looked very appetizing, and we ended up just getting some sweet'n'salty Chex Mix. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was getting close to time to get ready for reunion. I was pretty excited by this point. So here are Emily and me, all ready to go to reunion:

We got to the resort (okay, this thing was massive. We didn't stay at the resort, because it was quite expensive, and we saved over half of what it would have cost us by staying elsewhere) around 7:45. I immediately saw Brian, who is like my 3rd cousin or something. He's my dad's cousin's son. After some lobby-visiting, Emily and I started searching for the hospitality suite where our part of the reunion was taking place. Because maybe I should explain this... Every year, the Panama Canal Society puts on a Canal Zone reunion. And during that huge event (of over 3000 people, believe it or not), the classes that are celebrating decade-reunions kind of break off to their own mini-reunion for a part of it. And lucky for the class of 1999, this was our year. Scary, huh? So we were off to find our hospitality suite. We ended up going up in the elevators, when we should have gone down. But by so doing, we ended up back in the lobby and I ran into more of my extended family:

That's me with two of my dad's cousins and my dad's aunt (this is my grandmother's sister). After we took this picture and visited for a few minutes -- let's just say all of them said, "We didn't expect to see you here!" (I mean, why would they? I live in Washington State, after all) -- Emily and I headed down to the class of 1999 reunion. As I was walking down the hall to the suite, I passed one guy in the hall that I had gone to school with since like kindergarten or first grade. His name is Michael, and he's on my left in this picture:

Michael recognized me immediately in the hall and came over and hugged me. The other guy in the picture is named Jared. He went to the same elementary school as I did, but was a year behind. He was actually with Brad's graduating class. He recognized me as well, and came over and talked for a bit and asked about Brad. I was glad to find out that I was not the only person who decided to go to the reunion who didn't actually graduate with the class. I would have, had I stayed in Panama my senior year. But I went to school with a lot of these people for 11 years, so I felt that counted :). There were two others who did the same, so I was not alone in that :). In the next picture, you will see me with 4 other people. Three of them were people with whom I went to elementary school: (Carrie the blonde, Rafael in the striped shirt, and Jessica in the white dress). The other guy's name is Anthony. I never even spoke a word to him in my life, so I'm not really sure what he's doing in the picture. Hahaha...

Here is a picture of me, Emily, and Sarah. Sarah is one of the others who didn't actually graduate with BHS c/o 1999. She moved away after sophomore year. But she and I had been in 8th grade P.E. together, and we ate lunch together in 8th grade. So it was neat to visit with her and catch up.

And then this is my cousin Brian and me:

And here I am with two others with whom I went to elementary school. On my right in the picture is Jack. On my left is Romel. Confession: I had a crush on both of these guys in elementary school. Jack in 4th and 6th grades and Romel in 5th. Romel looks about the same as he did back then. Jack has changed a lot.

Now apparently the class of 1999 really did party like it was 1999. And apparently, for the most part, they still do. There was a DJ that set up in there and was so loud! I mean, it had been loud already with all the talking. It was hard to hear others talking. But then add this DJ in the mix. Phew! You couldn't hear yourself think. And if you went out in the hallway, you could hear us all the way down the hall. So I guess it's no surprise that others from the CZ Reunion found their way to our room. And that's how I bumped into this guy:

This is Sidney. He is my sister's age. This is the person with whom Christina was playing when she put "lipstick" on with a very very very hot pepper, and he used his hot hot pepper as a crayon and "drew" all over his arms and face. Yeah, they were burning quite a bit that day. Christina ended up looking like this at the end of that event:
So anyway, I asked if he'd take a picture with me so I could show Christina and Brad. By about this time, we were getting ready to take the class of 1999 10 years later picture. I didn't plan to be in it, since I didn't graduate with them. But I was invited into the picture, as were the two others who were there in the same situation as I was. We all even got a class of 1999 t-shirt, so that was really nice. So here are a couple of pictures I snapped while everyone was trying to get together for the picture:

And here's the professional one, for which I paid $25. Ick! They kind of have you over a barrel though. They know you're going to pay that price if you really want it!

Right after this picture, Emily and I headed out. It was about 11:45, and we were hot and my feet were killing me! In fact, I walked barefoot all the way back to the car, which was parked in the back forty, believe me. And since we left so late, the parking lot guard who was supposed to collect our $8 for parking wasn't there, so we got to keep that $8! Woohoo! Emily and I stayed up talking and reliving our reunion experience until about 1:30 in the morning. And then we went to sleep :).

On Saturday, we talked to Heather and then headed back to the resort to see the vendors and stuff like that. Now Heather also graduated with the class of 1999. She and her husband weren't able to make it in time for the reunion on Friday night, but since she, Emily, and I always got along, we decided to spend the day together catching up. I had actually seen Heather in 2006 when I went to her wedding in Pensacola. And prior to that, she'd been to my wedding in 2003, and she'd come up to Dothan to stay with me a couple of times before that. Emily and Heather hadn't seen each other in 10 years, though, so this was a great opportunity to all catch up. First, we all went in to the vendors to walk around and see what kind of Panama wares were for sale. While there, I bumped into another 2nd or 3rd cousin: Linda. I was in Linda's wedding when I was a little girl. I was her flower girl. She now lives in Italy. I hadn't seen her in at least 11 years. So we got a picture together:

After walking around the vendors, we decided we were hungry for some lunch. And they were having a special menu for us "Zonians" of empanadas and yucca sticks. And so that's what we had :). Here are me and Emily, proudly displaying our food:

And here are Emily, me, and Heather and then another of the three of us with Heather's husband Greg:


After lunch, we hung around talking and then went to the Panama Canal Society Museum. It was pretty cool with all the things they had in there. They had the actual Balboa head that used to sit outside of the high school for special occasions (otherwise it was hidden away, because it had a tendency to be stolen):

They had the maps that could be found in the backs of the PanCanal phonebooks blown up all huge and had pens so people could label where they used to live. So I totally did that, and here I am pointing to our house in Cardenas (though you can't see the writing, it's there in blue :)):

By about this time, we'd seen all we wanted to see, so we decided to head back to our hotel rooms and rest. We were planning to meet up again later with the hopes of seeing some fireworks somewhere. So in the end, we decided on Universal City Walk, because that was free :). Talk about a massive area!!! Here I am at the entrance of Universal (oh yeah, and of course it had poured rain, so that's what's on my shirt):

We decided to eat at Hard Rock Cafe, so here are Heather, Emily, and me outside of Hard Rock Cafe Orlando:

And they make you take a picture inside, so they can sell it to you later. Heather and Greg bought the package of pictures and shared with me and Emily, which I thought was so nice.

And you know me... I had to get a picture at the table too :). But this ended up being a pretty awesome picture, so I'm glad :).

After leaving Hard Rock, we stopped in front of the Universal Globe, so I could get my picture:

Then we hung out for about an hour and 15 minutes waiting for fireworks. We didn't get to see any (they were making it so you had to pay to get into Universal to be able to see them), so we gave up and left -- only to realize we could've seen them better from the parking deck -- and even
better from the car while driving away. Hahaha... We said our good-byes to Heather and Greg and headed back to our hotel and turned in for the night.

On Sunday, Emily and I got up early to take the shuttle to Sea World. We walked around a bit, and saw the stingrays. We even got to pet them. They felt kind of weird. Hard to describe. And there were these birds there (possibly egrets?) that were trying to get the food, so they'd kind of attack you and be aggressive. Luckily for me, I didn't pay for stingray food :). We watched the dolphin feeding, and then headed over to Shamu Stadium to watch the Orca show.

Here I am outside of the stadium:

By this point, it was time for us to head back to the entrance to meet up with Jon and Julie, who drove over to spend the day with us!!! Which was way awesome, by the way :). We went to the sea lion show, where we saw a guy volunteer to go up front and he ended up having to do "I'm a little teapot" and also got wet by the sea lion; we went through the underwater shark tank. We ate lunch. And then it started raining, so we decided on an indoor exhibit and we chose the penguins. So there we were, listening to the story about the penguins in the exhibit and the lady tells everyone that she's going to ask a question, and she'd call on the first person who raised their hand. And if that person got the question right, he (or she) and their family could come down front. So she asks the question, and Jon puts his hand up. And Julie freaks out and says, "no, no!" And motions for him to put down his hand. Because, remember, we'd just seen what happened to the volunteer at the Sea Lion show. Hahahaha.... Turns out nobody else raised their hand, so Jon got called on. And he got the answer right. So Julie was horrified about having to go down front, so I asked her if she wanted me and Emily to go too. She said yes, so we all went down. And you know what???? We got to go in the back and meet one of the penguins!!! Soooo cool. So, here are several pictures of Emily, Julie, and myself petting Fisher:



And here is a picture of all of us with Fisher and the lady who works in the exhibit:

Oh, and excuse my pose. I knew I'd look stupid, but I didn't pick a good spot to lean down, so instead, I poked out my big ole butt. Hahaha. Anyway, then, it gets even cooler! -- literally! We got to go into the cooler and see the exhibit from behind the scenes!!!

It was 30 degrees in there, but let me tell you -- that felt so good! It was so hot and humid elsewhere that this cooler really cooled us down and dried up the sweat! hahaha, gross, I know. Imagine feeling it! Me and Julie -- we're not really outdoorsy kind of girls :).And here are Julie and me with the cooler and penguins in the background:

After we left the penguins, it had stopped raining. So we went and watched the dolphin show, which also included some strange dancing and water-jumping by people dressed like birds. I love sitting next to Julie when things like this happen. We so get each other :).

After that was over, we went and looked at the manatees and Julie and I got a picture outside of that:

We also took the journey to the arctic where we saw walruses, beluga whales, and a polar bear. Then Emily and I rode the Manta ride, which is a new roller coaster. That was a pretty cool ride. We tried to ride it prior to the arctic thing, but the ride kept getting stopped and we never knew how long it'd be. It worked out better anyway, since the line really moved when we went back the second time. Jon and Julie were so kind to wait for us while we rode it, and they also watched our stuff. Julie took pictures of her mouth and foot and stuff with my camera while we were joy-riding. I didn't find them until later that night. I was tempted to put them here, but I didn't :). Would've been hilarious, though. Hahaha. We took one last picture before leaving Sea World:

And then we had to search for Jon and Julie's car. Now that was classic! There we were -- all four of us scouring the parking lot, looking for the car. I wonder if Julie got her foot and back massage that she earned for being right ;)? We all ate dinner at Friendly's before Jon and Julie had to get on the road back home.

It was so sad to say goodbye. But so awesome to have spent the day with Jon and Julie. We always make the most awesome memories. And sometimes, the memories just fall in our laps -- like the penguin! That night I took a picture of the tagua nut ring I'd bought for myself at reunion. I don't have that one anymore, since the one I'd picked out for Christina was either too big or too small for all her fingers. So, she and I traded :). I got one for me and each of my siblings. I thought it was a neat little memento. So here's what Christina's looks like:

Emily and I stayed up talking again until 1:30 in the morning. I still can't believe we did that, as tired as we were! But it was a great conversation!

The next morning, Emily and I slept until about 9:30ish. It was Emily's birthday. Then we started getting everything packed and ready for checking out. We headed over to The Holy Land Experience, which is like a theme park based around Jerusalem. We went through the Scriptorium that had artifcacts from a very very long time ago. That was pretty cool. We left around 1 and got on the road back to Atlanta. We stopped along the way and got Wendy's, and we made it into Atlanta around 9. As we pulled into the driveway at Emily's, we saw their neighbor's trashcan and a rather unfortunate Santa:

Random, I know. But so hilarious. We ate ice cream with a couple of Emily's roommates to celebrate Emily's birthday, and then we turned in for the night.

Tuesday morning, Emily had a doctor's appointment. So I hung out at the house until she got back, and then it was time to leave. Emily took me and showed me around the school where she works, and then she took me to the airport. The journey back to Washington was pretty uneventful. We were a little late, just because it took the second plane longer to get refueled. But other than that, nothing eventful. I was bored, though, on the plane. I should have taken 2 books instead of one, but I never read that much on vacation, so I only took one. Turns out I had plenty of reading time this trip. Oh well... It was just a struggle for about 2 hours of the flight, since I couldn't fall asleep and I had nothing to do! John picked me up from the airport, and we went and ate at Denny's on the way home. Once home, I had to do some email checking and such. Plus I had to get a shower. So I didn't get to bed until around 1:30 in the morning. And then I had work the next day.

It was great to be back and work and back in the routine. I got pictures of all the decorations they did for my mom's birthday:

After work, my mom and I went to Christina's. I had gotten a pair of tembleques at the reunion. These are head "jewelry" that the traditional Panamanian dancers wear. Christina used to have a whole set, but doesn't anymore. So while my dad and I were in Panama, she wanted us to get some of them. But, we weren't sure where to find them. Originally, they were made with fish scales that had been dried and bleached and were very intricate. You don't find as many of those anymore, and mostly they are just made with pearlesque beads these days. But one of the vendors had a couple of tembleques made of fish scales. So, I got them. And now Christina and I each have half of a pair :). It was neat to take it to her and see her face:

So here we are with them on:

And, of coures, Desiree wanted to try them:

And so we even put one in Emily's hair and held it in place for a picture:

She wasn't nearly as excited about it as Desiree was :). Hahaha.

And thus ends that Nillaventure. I've just been working and trying to play catch-up. Rather unsuccessfully, I might add :). Never enough time in a day! I did take my mom out for lunch yesterday to celebrate her birthday a bit late. And then after work, she and I went to Costco. But other than that, nothing very exciting. So, I'm sorry for the lateness of my post. But, I hope it was worth the wait :).

More of the Same

I figured I should hurry up and do another post before I never get around to it before I fly out, again, on Wednesday. Phew! I can't believe it's already time for another trip! I feel so unprepared! Actually, not much to really prepare for, other than packing. I just can't believe it's time to fly again. So anyway...

Not much out of the ordinary has been going on. I've just been working. We celebrated my mom's birthday at work early, because I was going to be gone for her actual birthday, and so was another lady who likes to bake cakes for the birthdays. As usual, we weren't able to really surprise my mom, because she somehow happens upon stuff like nobody else. It's a tad frustrating sometimes, but oh well. We all gathered and sang her happy birthday anyway :).


I did walk a couple of times this past week. On Friday, I'd say Heidi and I walked a good 2 miles at least. My mom and I walked Tuesday afternoon. The weather did funky things here this past week. It'd look like it would rain, and then it wouldn't. And last Sunday, we even had thunder and lightning! Which is rare here, so it was pretty darn cool. I also saw the new Transformers movie on Friday night. It was good, but it was the late showing -- 10:10. And so by the time I got home, it was almost 2 in the morning!

In other fun news... Mary and I continue to uncover similarities. And we laugh so hard, it's just crazy. This past week, we both -- almost simultaneously -- stated that we aren't really fans of leftovers, and that there are specific things we will eat leftover. It's not that funny now. But at the time, we just hooted with laughter as we were eating in the kitchen at work. Work was interesting this past week. I worked reception on Saturdays like always, but I also took the morning shift 2 weekdays, because the receptionist was out sick. The weekdays are always a little bit busier, so it's always quite a change-up. But then, I really kind of prefer just doing my files. I don't mind reception, but I don't get as much accomplished on my files when I'm up there :). That's a lame-o conversation, I know. I'm just rambling now. So, I suppose I will go. Nothing new to report. My next post should be filled with more adventures of me, since I'll have my trip to report ;). Until then... check out a now and then :).

[I] Can Dance if [I] Want To

This has to be one of the most awesome songs of all time. I don't know why, but it's one I can always listen to. There's no real point to the song, and yet I love it. Plus it's totally 80s. Who can ask for more than that!?!

So, in an attempt to catch you up with the last 3 weeks of my life (scary that it's already been 3 weeks, roughly, since I came back from Julie's), this post will be a hodge podge of all the Nilla-Waferly goodness that is my life ;).

So we begin with the story that inspired my awesomely 80s song-title post. And actually this happened before I went to Florida to see Julie. But it's so classic me that it must be told. So, I was filing the new index cards that I have been working on. So I was working the "old" file room, because that is where we are keeping the index cards with purchasers and decedents. And I was, as always, listening to my mp3 player. Now, because I was inside the building, I know better than to sing. So, I wasn't doing that. I did, however, have the headphones in and the music cranked up. I was behind the door, though the door to the room was open. And as I got caught up in all the wonderfulness that is The Spice Girls' Wannabe (don't laugh -- you know you love that song too), I, for some inexplicable reason, closed my eyes and started dancing in place. You know, bopping my head... swishing my hips to the beat. And I happen to turn and open my eyes, and there is Bob (not the chocolate alligator Bob, but another Bob), standing there. In one motion, I pull out one of the headphones and cover my mouth with my hand in complete shock and embarassment. And I know I was turning red. And Bob just smiled and walked out of the room and up the stairs. Mary was on her way downstairs and said, "Uh-oh, Bob's smiling. What did you do, Bob? It's never good when you are smiling like that." And Bob said, "I'll let Hila tell you that story." And so I did. And Mary laughed her butt off. And let's just say that it got brought up in the morning meeting the next morning.... the comment that, if you go out to the file room (the new one), to make sure you let the receptionist know, because you might be out there for a while since there's a rumor going around that you might get entertainment while you're out there... I turned so red once again... Ah, yes. Classic. So, yeah. I can dance if I want to. And I do :). And sometimes I get cold-busted.

After returning from Florida, I was doing my usual at work one afternoon. I was supposed to be gone already, but was hanging around telling stories with Mary. And somehow the story about how I stink after midnight came up. And so I told the story. Because, really, I think it's a hilarious one, and I can laugh. If you need a refresher for this story, please refer to this link. And scroll down to #3 -- the Midnight Funk. Anyway, Bob, the same Bob from the dancing story above, overheard the story, so he printed out a sign for me, which he left on the desk I usually work at. So I found it the next morning and proudly taped it up and posed for a picture with it :).


On Saturday, June 6, Saria was baptized. I wasn't able to get pictures there, since I was playing the piano and also giving a talk. And plus my mom and I were a little late, because of work. So I'm kind of bummed that I don't have pictures of that. But afterwards, we celebrated Samuel's 5th birthday. I can't believe the boy is 5. I was there the day after he was born. The time goes by way too fast.... Anyway, so here's the birthday boy with his cake:

And here I am with all the little babies:

Don't make fun of my white legs ;).

In other totally radical news, while at Wal-Mart for mom to get Sam's birthday present, I saw Barbie and the Rockers Barbie from 1986!!!! If I had $40 to throw away on 80s memorabilia, I would totally buy it. I guess it's Barbie's 50th anniversary, so they have redone Barbies from different decades. And Barbie and the Rockers (I totally had her in the 80s... along with the Ken from the Rockers, and he had "real" hair -- not the painted plastic) is representing the awesome decade that is the 80s. So I took a picture with my cell phone. But I'm too lazy to send it to my email so I can post it here ;). Just take my word for it. And if you really need to see what she looks like, click here.

My sister-in-law Michele celebrated a birthday on the 12th. We wanted to suprise her for her birthday, so we set it all up with Ben so that we could show up on the 11th with cupcakes and ice cream and sing happy birthday :). So, Christina and I spent that afternoon together taking Emily to her well-baby check-up (poor thing had to get 3 shots) and then making cupcakes. And the cupcakes were made with lots of love, especially by Desiree who got to do the sprinkles:


Here's the finished product:


It was fun to get to the door and have Michele conveniently open it before we even knocked, because she was going to come out and say something to Royce! Do you think she was surprised?


So we visited a while and sang Happy Birthday, and then we took a picture of all the girls. And this is a horrible picture of me, but oh well:


On Friday, the 12th, I ended up going out to eat Chinese food with Mary after work. We had a blast. We went to a relatively new Chinese buffet about 15 minutes from work, and it was really good. We made total pigs of ourselves, returning for like 3 trips, plus dessert. Oh, and word to the wise: don't eat the cream puffs. It's like eating cardboard. Blech. We just gabbed and chatted... for 3 hours. I kid you not. Oh my gosh we laughed so hard. We were starting to get a complex, because they tried to seat 3 different sets of people right next to us, and all 3 sets declined. We still aren't sure if they were wanting to get away from us or if it was just a coincidence. But oh my gosh, we laughed so hard! Mary is awesome, and it's scary how alike she and I are.

Also on Friday, Ben stopped by with Tony and Sean after Sean's graduation. So I was able to get pictures of Sean in his cap and gown. Like many graduations these days, only a limited number of tickets are distributed (I remember this from my high school graduation -- 10 years ago... sigh), so we weren't able to go to Sean's graduation, but it was neat to get to see him all dressed in his regalia:


Oh, and meanwhile I am having weird dreams some nights. One night I dreamed I was on this huge jet that had like 3 sets of seats (I haven't seen these kinds of planes in years). All I remember from this particular dream, other than being on the plane, is that for some reason the plane landed early -- in the middle of a city. And so the pilot is driving on the roads, trying to find a stretch of straight road to take-off again, and we end up clipping a stop light with the wing or something. Weird, I know.

Last night, I spent the night at Christina's. We watched 13 Going on 30 and just spent time together. It was fun. Though I will say I'm exhausted. After the movie and after Desiree went to sleep, Christina, Nick, and I played Disney's Scene It board-game. Nick won, but only just barely! It was a lot of fun, though. I finally got to sleep after 1:30 this morning. And then Emily woke up at 7 cooing, and I could hear her, so I got up and got her. She's such a happy baby. And Desiree learned a new game: "Copy Aunt Hila." So everything I'd say or do, she copied. She was really good at it. It was funny. And she called grandma (my mom) a rotten. And that was hilarious. Because we call my mom rotten because she's always getting stuff for the kids. So, Desiree picked up on it. Oh, the other thing that she did that was so adorable was when she was pretending to talk to me on a cell phone. She said, "My phone is breaking up!" I laughed!!! So there you go Dad... Even Desiree's pretend cell phone breaks up ;). Before I went to work this morning, Christina wanted to do my hair and make-up like she used to. So here is my hair:

She did a good job, and I got a lot of compliments at work. And here is a shot of me, Christina, and Desiree:

And one of Emily. She is so long! And she always lays straight like this. It's so funny and cute!


So now you can consider yourself caught up with the Nilla Life ;). Whacky, I know. Oh yeah, and if you want to see the pictures of me and Julie before I post them here, click on her blog link. She put up the one from 10 years ago and the one from 3 weeks ago :).

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

And okay, so I guess you'll see that guys just want to have fun too. But who cares about them ;)? This is, you guessed it, another song-title post. Take it away Ms. Lauper!

So, my big plan to take the red-eye again was slightly foiled. And I learned some valuable lessons in the process. Because I never take actual suitcases and opt instead to pack everything in 2 carry-ons (oh, excuse me, I meant my one carry-on and one personal item ;)). I've gotten quite adept at doing this successfully. And when you go to Florida in May, you don't pack things like socks (because you're just going to wear flip flops the whole time anyway) or sweaters (because you'd be crazy to actually use one there). So your entire wardrobe will consist of shorts, capris, short-sleeve shirts, and jeans. And so that's what you have. And so, when you get to the airport and get checked in through security (another reason to wear flip flops, since you have to take your shoes off every time you go through security), and then you get to your gate and wait patiently to board... Well, you just don't even imagine that the announcement you're going to hear is that your flight has been cancelled. Cancelled. Not delayed. Cancelled. And so then you have to trudge back out to the front of the airport to try to find out what's going to happen next. And so you stand in line with everyone else from the flight for 2 hours and find out that they can get you on Alaskan Airlines direct to Orlando from Seattle, but that it doesn't fly out until 8:45 in the morning (because by this time, it's no longer Tuesday night, it's early early Wednesday morning). And since Alaskan Airlines is already closed now, you can't get re-checked in. So you don't have a boarding pass. And so you can't get back through security. So, you go find a receptacle to plug in your cell phone so you can call your mom and text Julie. And I don't know why I'm typing in 2nd person. I'll stop now. Anyway, so I found a little corner of the airport that was secluded. I mean, really, the whole place was pretty much secluded. It was pretty empty there between 12:30 and 3:00 in the morning. And I decided that I might as well try to sleep, because I'd been up all day as it was. Not to mention the work-filled Memorial Day Weekend I'd just finished. So, I was a bit exhausted :). So let me tell you this: cold hard airport tiles are not really comfortable beds. But the benches all had arms -- not to mention they were full of people. So, the floor it was! So I'm sure I looked hilarious with my head on my backpack and my arm draped around my rollaway bag. And thank goodness for that awesome 80s party that was taking place at Julie's. Otherwise I wouldn't have had my nifty jean jacket that provided my only source of warmth (and light blocking) during my sleep. And believe me, it wasn't restful sleep. I woke up after an hour of light dozing with dried-out eyeballs (because I opted to keep my contacts in this time instead of flying in my glasses) and I looked like this:

Cute, huh ;)?

So, after another hour of light dozing on the floor, I started to hear more people arriving, so I got up and moved to some chairs where I dozed again. Sometime around 5 a.m., Alaskan Airlines opened, and I was able to check in and get through security. I still had several hours, so I went to my gate and dozed some more until it was time to board. For the first time in my life, I was looking forward to requesting a blanket on the airplane. Who knew I'd be turned down!!!??? Turns out Alaskan Air is the first airline who did away with in-flight blankets and pillows due to swine flu. Woe was me!!! So, out came the jean jacket once again. And I slept for a bit on the flight.

I will say there was a very pretty view as I flew out of Washington. This is Mount Rainier above the layer of clouds. I thought it looked pretty awesome:


I finally landed in Orlando close to 5:30 EST, and Jon, Julie, Alysha, and Shayla were there waiting for me!!! It was so fun! Of course we had to take an airport picture :).


I grabbed a bit to eat in the airport, because they don't feed you on most airlines these days. Unless you count a small bag of pretzels. And then we headed out. We stopped at this mall and went to a really awesome M&M store. I think it was called M&M World. All M&Ms. Way too cool. So here are Julie and me in front of a wall of multi-colored M&Ms:


And we got M&M diagnosed where we could be shown what color M&M we are. In case you're wondering, I am teal. Because I was deep in thought, apparently. Honestly, I think my head was too hazy to be deep in thought, but whatever :). I did buy a few Strawberry Peanut Butter M&Ms that are out for a limited time only because of the new Transformers movie. They weren't all bad. But at 10.99 a pound, I wasn't going to be buying a whole lot of M&Ms... We pretty much left then, because it was getting late, and we still had about an hour and a half to drive. We did grab some McD's after a bit and ate on the way. When we got home, Julie put Shayla to bed, and we sat up visiting for a little while after I got my shower. But I don' think we stayed up too terribly late. I was tired. Jon's been sleeping in the recliner since his arm surgery, so that meant Julie and I got to have girlie talk. So I guess it is true that we didn't actually go to sleep until well after midnight. But at least we made a valiant effort to get into bed at a decent time :). Girlie talk with Julie is so fun. Giggles and laughter. And being there just felt so normal. It was great.

Thursday started early, because Julie had to take Jon to a doctor's appointment, so Alysha and I were there to take care of Shayla. Of course, when Shayla went down for her morning nap, so did I!! I was sooo tired! I woke up around the time Julie and Jon got home. Eventually, it was time to start getting things ready for our awesomely 80s party :)!!! We prepped our food and then had to get all dolled-up -- 80s style!!! So, here is the food:

We have a stromboli (which was mostly so we had actual food to eat ;)), Cowabunga pizza rolls (painted with green food coloring :)), Reese's Pieces, Charleston Chews, fig newtons, pop rocks, chips and dip, and Oreo Truffles Shuffle in radical neon-ish colors!!! Oh, and we can't forget the TAB soda. Which turns out is a diet drink. I'm not such a fan. But, we had to do the 80s thing :).

Some other friends of Jon and Julie's arrived decked out in their 80s gear. Their names are Corley and Christie. The two guys (Jon and Corley) dressed up as characters from 80s movies and tv: Jon as the school teacher Mr. Shupe from Summer School. Corley was dressed like Don Johnson's character in Miami Vice. The girls just went all-out 80s. And lucky for me, Alysha had crimper plates for her hot iron. How cool is that!?! As a group, we looked totally awesome:


And here's an extra one of me and Julie before the party started:


So we ate while watching The Karate Kid (since I'd never seen the whole thing). And then we played the 80s Trivia Game. Which the girls won. Woohoo!!! Some of those questions are HARD! And then we played some Apples to Apples with Back to the Future playing in the background. Christie and Corley left at about 1:30 in the morning, and I was exhausted!!! I crashed and slept 11 hours! I know, I know. Shame on me! But I was soooo tired. Oh, and on another note... The Pop Rocks were a huge hit. So much fun to feel them popping in your mouth! And here's a lovely picture for you :) :


On Friday we just hung out and went to a thrift store. I got 3 shirts and 4 pairs of pants (one was jeans and one was a pair from New York & Co.), and I paid $9.81. It was awesome!!! Everything in the store happened to be 1/2 off, so we timed that trip perfectly!!! We also went by Publix and got Publix brand chocolate mint cookie frozen yogurt. Because it is oh-so-good, and oh-so-not-available in Washington. That night, Julie and I spent more time girl-talking and giggling. I know we were up late, but I can't remember how late. And it was an early morning with Shayla, and then we all went back to sleep for a nap. And then it was time to get on the road to Tampa. Because even though we weren't going to get to see NKOTB (heavy sigh), we were still going to do some fun stuff in Tampa, like go to the Cheesecake Factory!!! So here are me and Alysha at the Cheesecake Factory:

By the way, that top is one of the tops I got at the thrift store. Along with the white pants I was wearing with it :). Oh, and because the memory is too great to not include... Alysha made the most hilarious comment, because Shayla was being fussy. Alysha says, very nonchalantly, "You always hear the baby crying, but you never expect it to be yours." I just laughed so hard! Alysha is just growing up so fast, and she's such a beautiful young lady. I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to know her for 10 years now.

We spent the night at Julie's Aunt Sara's house. And it was really just relaxing. No stress, just rest. Hahahaha.... We played a few games -- like Scattergories and Apples to Apples. And we learned a lot of funny stuff from Aunt Sara. Like that being a peeping Tom is a bad habit. Or that porn stars are celebrities too! And Julie -- Well, Julie learned what a jockstrap is for. Oh my gosh!!! So much laughter.

On Sunday, we left and headed to MOSI. MOSI is like a science center kind of. It worked out well, because we were able to get in for free. Free is always good.
And while in MOSI, I got into a hurricane chamber that really did blow strong wind at you. And it hurts when your hair slaps you in the face a lot. Just FYI. I tucked in my shirt so as not to have an embarassing flashing moment :).


And before leaving, we all got into a photo booth and took pictures!!! And this was a great memory!!! Funny how the simplest things can be so much fun :)


When we left MOSI, we got in the car that felt like 150 degrees. Oh my gosh, I was sweating. And it was awful. The car's a/c couldn't even seem to cool off. We were all like, "Oh my gosh!!! It's so hot!" I had forgotten what that kind of heat does to me. It puts me in a really bad mood for one thing. For another, it really zaps my energy. So, we found a Greek fast food place called Atheno's. We went in and ate some lunch, and then we went next door to Jamba Juice, and got some refreshing cold drinks for the ride home. By the time we left, the wind was blowing again, so it wasn't as stagnant and humid. But man, for a while there, I think laying down and dying would've been less miserable! hahaha.... I don't enjoy the heat and humidity ;). And oh how we laughed on the way home. It was awesome!!! Stories and stories and stories. About being afraid of the dark. About cold aluminum toilets. Oh yes, the stories ran the spectrum. Good times. And when we got back to the house, I laid down on the sofa and drifted off to sleep. I woke up after an hour and took a shower. Then we watched The Wedding Singer. I love that movie. I always forget how good it really is until I watch it again. I'm a sucker for a good chick flick :).

On Monday, Julie and I just hung around the house with Shayla all day. I didn't even get out of my pajamas. How pathetic is that!?! I didn't feel guilty. There is nothing like feeling so relaxed and at home in a place. And I felt that the entire week I was there. It felt like being at home, and like it was so normal to be there. Like it hadn't been months since we'd last seen each other. And it seemed so weird to acknowledge that I actually live on the other side of the country. How wonderful to have a friendship that feels so comfortable. What a blessing. Anyway, I digress. That night, we were going to eat orange chicken from scratch and fried rice. So, we started cooking around 4:30. And good thing, too. That was a 2 hour process!! But oh-so-worth-it. That recipe, though time-consuming, is FABULOUS!!! It's not hard, just takes time. Julie and I enjoyed some Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites for dessert while we watched episodes of Frasier (which are hilarious), and then we turned in for the night.

Tuesday morning, I got up with Shayla so Julie could sleep in. I spent time researching photo studios, because, on a whim, Julie and I decided the night before that we should make a tradition. See, back in 1999, Julie and I took a professional picture together at Sears in Dothan. And here it is, 10 years later. And Julie spontaneously suggested we see if we can do it again! And so we did!!! We went into Ocala to the Wal-Mart there and got our picture taken!!! So fun! A great memory! And a great 10-year tradition! It will surely be interesting to see how we change every 10 years!!! Anyway, Julie is supposed to pick up the pictures sometime this upcoming week. I will definitely post one here. Also I will post the one from 10 years ago, so you can see the difference. What I do know is that I am a whitey mccracker!!! Especially next to Julie, who is so tan. Hahahaha... I guess the good news is that I fit in around here in Washington :). Where the sun don't shine. Except the last 2 weeks, when it hasn't rained at all, and I need a free car wash in a bad way.... But, once again, I digress...

So after our pictures, Julie and I went to Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries and enjoyed lunch together. Then we headed back to Julie's house and hung out and listened to the thunderstorm that started. And may I just say I was thrilled to hear the thunder and see the lightning. I hadn't heard it in so long. And so, while we lay inside, listening to the rain, I was playing around taking pictures of my funny faces :).

Yeah, I'm a dork :).

Tuesday night we had tortilla soup and Sis. Schubert rolls. Yet another treat you can only get in the South ;). I do love those rolls. And we watched more Frasier. That night, we played a card game called Hit the Deck, and that was fun; especially when Jon joined in. We also watched another wonderful 80s classic: Space Camp. That's a pretty intense little movie. Thank goodness it ends well, or you know it'd have to go on my list of movies I don't like :). And alas, by midnight, it was time to go to bed. So Julie and I laughed and giggled for our last night, and eventually we drifted off to sleep.

Wednesday arrived, and since my flight didn't leave until 3 in the afternoon, we were able to be a little leisurely in our preparations to leave. I was packed and ready by about 10:00, and we had 2 hours to drive. So, we packed up, and headed for Orlando. Once in Orlando, we spotted an IKEA. Julie had always wanted to go into one, so we did. That thing was HUGE. And long. Because you had to walk their route that took you past every item in the store, so we were there a looooong time. It got so funny! That is actually a great memory, just because it was so funny to have the store "keep going and going and going" like a maze. We were going to eat at Hard Rock Cafe, but I wanted to make sure I made my flight in time, so we opted instead to head to the airport and eat there at the Macaroni Grill. So, after we ordered, Julie went with me to check in with Continental. When I got back to the table, this is the note Alysha had left me:

It was so sweet. I really was sad to be leaving. The week seemed to go by so fast, and like I said, it just felt so normal and comfortable to be there.

So here we all are at the restaurant:

And in the airport:

And finally, one of the two BFFs before I went through security:

It really was sad :(.

And I don't know what it is that they don't like about my backpack, but they wanted to check my backpack and then run it through again. Which they ran it through a second time in Seattle when I was leaving. Who knows what they find suspicious. I'm always allowed to go, so it's not like there's anything bad. But too funny. And so I struck up conversation (courtesy of my family reunion t-shirt I was wearing) with one of the security guys and when I told him I work at a funeral home, he started talking about that. So Julie accused me of flirting with the security guy, and I totally wasn't. I headed for my gate, and my plane was boarding, so that was good. The flight to Houston was pretty uneventful. Once in Houston, I had about a 2 hour layover. I talked to my dad and Julie and my mom while I waited. And then we boarded, and then we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes because a bad storm was coming in to Houston and they wanted to get the planes in the air landed and then have us take off in a different direction. Either way... We eventually were airborne, and we got into Seattle around 10:30 p.m. local time. Oh, and Continental still feeds you on the plane, so that was exciting. Sometimes you just are hungry :). And other than reading and sleeping on the plane (and feeling my head fall forward and waking me up -- I so know I had my mouth open, too...), it was an uneventful flight.

The next day, I went back to work. Now, Bob had requested an alligator that was about 2 feet with an extra toe so that when he walked it down the street, the extra toe would be a conversation starter. I couldn't deliver such an alligator. So, I settled for second best and got him a chocolate one. Because he loves chocolate. And I told him that he could bite off one toe and then take it for a walk and see what kind of conversations start that way ;).

It's awesome to work with great people.

And I miss you tons, Juliebean!

Everybody's Working [on] the Weekend

Ah yes. That's right. A song-title post. And so fitting for so many reasons. It's an awesomely 80s song, which will segue nicely into my next post about my trip to see Julie. But it also says everything there is to say about my Memorial Day weekend at work. Everybody was working on that weekend. At least at the funeral home we were :). An though the song title says it all, I'll share the details and pictures :). Because you know me. I've always got to tell the stories!

Basically, Saturday started out normally for me. I got up and got to work. But with everyone being at work, that was strange. We had a pancake and egg breakfast cooked for us, which was nice. I'm not much of a breakfast person, but it's all good. I ate it and pretty much wasn't hungry for the rest of the day. Work was actually pretty exciting, since we weren't inside all day. Not that I mind my usual day-to-day work. I don't. I really enjoy what I do. But it was fun and different to be out in the park helping people a lot. We even had rented 6 golf carts (4 that seated 4 and 2 that seated 6) for the weekend. So, I got to drive a golf cart multiple times for the first time in my life. On a less glamorous note, I also crashed a golf cart for the first time in my life that weekend. The four of us in the golf cart at the time have discussed it and know exactly what happened. And everyone pretty much agrees it was a comedy of errors and not entirely my fault. It turns out that golf carts are pretty light vehicles, and having a lot of weight on the back can mess up the steering, because it pulls the front wheels off the ground a bit. And then, when the passenger has gotten out of the cart to help turn the cart left, since the steering isn't working well, and then that same passenger jumps back in while the cart is suddenly moving very quickly toward a (low) wall of rocks and that passenger sees the driver somehow get bounced out of the cart and that passenger slams his huge foot on the brake, only it hits the gas instead. Well yeah. Then the golf cart hits that (low) wall of rocks and everyone somehow ends up off the vehicle instead of in it. And nobody gets hurt -- not even the cart. But it's a comical story that the four of us now share. And I wish I could have been an outside observer on that one, because I am willing to bet it was very hilarious. In fact, one of the people says it was like a clown car. It hit the rocks, and everyone just "poof!" fell out. Hahahaha... Okay, so golf cart crashing is not funny. But, there you go. I learned a valuable lesson in golf-cart driving: stick to the cement when you have lots of weight aboard. Don't try to cut across grass and then get back onto the cement. It doesn't work really well when the cart is off-balance.


I do have to say we ate very well the entire weekend. We had our breakfasts (to include fresh blueberry pancakes), and we also had sloppy joes one day, burgers and hot dogs grilled one day, and prime rib for dinner on Memorial Day. And that was good. Only I had to make sure to get the cooked end pieces. I don't eat raw meat. Blech. See, the guy who was doing all the cooking for us is a friend of one of the employees here, and he is an executive chef in Seattle. So, we benefited a lot. Oh, and my mom and I made empanaditas to bring up here and they were consumed rather quickly. I learned that Memorial Day around here is largely about the food ;).

I will say that the park was beautiful. The Scouts came out and placed flags on the graves of all the veterans. We had several large flags up around the park. It was really neat to see the park like that. Literally hundreds of flags all across the park.


On Sunday night, we had a big service. There were probably about 150 who came. And I somehow got suckered in to reading a poem in front of all of those people. It wasn't too awful, since the attention of everyone was directed toward the Table of Remembrance rather than at me. But I was still nervous. See, I thought Mary was going to be emcee-ing the event. So when I was asked to read the poem, I figured it was no big deal. Turns out they were just joking about Mary. But I'd already committed to it. So I had to sit in front of everyone the entire time, and toward the end, Doug was in the crowd and made this huge motion around his head and mouthed the word "Melon." And I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud, but I couldn't keep myself from smiling. And my mom got it on camera. Classic.


So, we laughed and joked. We had a wonderful time. We helped people, who were very grateful for our help. It was neat. And the weather was beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend, weatherwise.


Oh, and p.s.... I also got to drive a Gator for the first time. I sure am racking up the firsts ;).

More to Come

I so totally was supposed to blog before I left Washington. And it so totally didn't happen. But rest assured I have a lot to blog about. There was Memorial Day weekend at work. Then there was the airport experience. And up to now, there are pictures and stories to tell about Florida. And I'm only on my 3rd day of the trip!!! So, rest assured, there will be more :). It is, after all, the Nilla Life we're talking about here :).

The Life and Times of the Nilla Wafer

Day-in, day-out... Life is full of surprises and twists and turns. And somehow I end up a week from my last blog post. On the up-side, at least I made a list of things to blog about :). Which should segue nicely into one of my points:

My lists. I'm so crazy. I made another list to keep me on track. And in case you were wondering, "clean room" became item one on the new list, since I didn't actually get to it last week. It remains one of the only 2 things left on my current list. And blogging is the other one. Hahahaha... Anyway. So, on my new list, one of my items was: make vacation list. I think I have issues. I put a list on a list. How classic is that? Oh, and by the way... As indicated previously, I have crossed that item off as having been accomplished :).

On Friday night, we went to the Temple. And since, on the way there, my sister and I had a lengthy text conversation (and I'm not a texter normally), which will end up being rather costly for me, I decided to get a text package for her phone and my phone. I guess I'm moving up in the world. I will only use it in certain circumstances, but I still prefer the talking. Just sometimes, you can't have a conversation out loud. So, Christina and I enjoyed our texting conversation. As I was adding this text package last night at Christina's work, I also learned that Alltell and Verizon people can now talk to each other for free!!! So now Julie and I can have our daily hour-long conversations if we want to :). Until my phone dies, of course. Which usually takes all of 10 minutes. I was also hoping to upgrade my phone last night. Sadly, I can only do it at this point by going to a Verizon store or online. But they don't have any good phones for free. And I am too cheap (frugal) to pay for it at all. So, I'll wait until July 29 when I can get the free upgrade at Christina's store. Maybe they'll have some good phones then. Actually, I want one with a full qwerty keypad for texting purposes. Because even if I only send a total of 1, I like the keyboard layout better than the number pad layout.

Sad news... Julie called me on Monday to tell me that NKOTB had cancelled their Tampa concert. It's not the only concert that got cancelled, but it's the one that mattered to us. To say we are slightly disappointed would be an understatement. But regardless, my ticket is bought, so I'm headed that way. And Julie and I will have a blast anyway, so not true tragedy. Would've been a great memory for she and I to share. But, life happens. So you just go with it.

Which leads me to my next topic... Our fabulous 80s Par-tay! I'm such a geek, I know. But anyway... I have gotten so many awesome comments and ideas from all sorts of sources!!! It ended up that we are going to branch out a little on our food theme. And you will totally get it when you see what we have so far. Oh, and keep in mind we won't be using all of these, but they are so creative, I have to add them all. And also, if you have any other ideas, pass them along!!! We like lots of options!!!

• Cabbage Patch Kid rolls (maybe)
• reese's pieces (they came out with E.T.)
• TAB soda
• Pretty in Pink lemonade
• He-Manwich (probably won't use this one, since we don't know if anyone will eat it, but isn't it awesome???)
• cheez-whiz in a can (have to investigate further about whether or not this came out in the 80s)
• Raspberry Beret jell-o jigglers (possibly shaping the jigglers like a beret?)
• Oreo truffle shuffle (from Goonies)
• Bananarama (something with bananas...)
• Cowabunga Pizza (from Ninja Turtles) (maybe we can make our own and cut pepperoni in fish shapes... Because I don't do anchovies)

These aren't our only options, of course. These are just additional things people have suggested, and I think they are great. It's going to be totally radically awesome. No doubt. And Julie and Alysha have their outfits and have gotten me some 80s accessories. I'm soooo excited.

I smashed my finger in my car door the other night. It didn't feel pretty. And it was pretty flat when I finally got it out. Imagine me standing there, with my middle finger trapped at the top corner of the car door, trying to use my mouth and my left hand to get my door-lock key so that I could unlock my car door, open it, and free my finger. OUCH. I have a nice bruise right around the knuckle of my middle finger on my right hand. It hurt just a little bit.

Scrubs had their series finale. Or I think they did. I hear rumors that they are going to try to keep the show running with a different cast. I probably won't watch it. I have to say, the way they ended the series was classic. Perfect. Everything the Nilla Wafer could want. It ended well, to say the least. And, I heard a song I'd never heard before. And I love the song. And so you should listen here. It's a very very pretty song. I'm a sucker for romance. Anyway, I loved Scrubs. I know it had gotten kind of raunchy. But I loved the show. I will miss it, and watching the finale was kind of bittersweet.

And finally... I went ahead and bit the bullet. I decided that I am, in fact, going to go to the CZ reunion this year. And so, I bought my ticket today for Atlanta. And I'll be going from July 1 to July 7. And I will see people I would have graduated with if I'd have stayed in Panama. And, I'll be making memories. And that's what life is all about, right? And who knows what's around the corner? I might be 8 months pregnant next year when reunion comes around and not have the opportunity to go. Hahahaha... Okay, so not a likely scenario, of course. Because I'd kind of have to have a quick romance and marriage. But... You get my point :). I have learned the value of grabbing life by the horns and the truth in carpe diem!

I'll be having a busy couple of weeks here, so don't be surprised if you don't see many blog posts... I'm actually having a vaneopolitan kind of life lately ;). Thanks, Jessica, for that ice cream flavor analogy!!! Hahaha.