[I] Wish[ed] You a Merry Christmas...

...And a Happy New Year!

Okay, so I'm jumping the gun a little bit on the new year thing. But let's face it... It's right around the corner :). And with my track record, I probably won't blog again before then :). So, Happy New Year a couple of days early!

December has been a whirlwind of a month. In more ways than one. Some of it was messy. Most of it was good. Pretty much all of it went fast! And I failed to blog most of the big events :). So, here is a December re-cap, in a nutshell. And with pictures!

One night in December, my mom watched Desiree and Emily for Christina so Christina and Nick could go out on a date. Desiree and I took a picture together. She's such a sweetie. This was the same night she asked me, as we walked downstairs to my room, "Aunt Hila, did you think I was so beautiful on Thanksgiving?" And you know there is only one answer to that sweet question: YES!


Emily turned one, as I mentioned in a previous post. So here are three pictures of her on her big day. There are more in the photobucket, if you care to click and see them :). That is one sweet baby.

*Well, I had pictures of Emily up here, but photobucket took them down, I guess because she was only wearing a diaper? I don't really know. So, I'm not going to worry about the hassle of trying to put them back up after cropping them. That's the only thing I can figure was wrong with them, but in case that wasn't the problem... I'll just leave it alone. Just know she was way cute :). It really is a shame there are such sickos in this world that even innocent 1st birthday pictures can be misconstrued as inappropriate in case some pervert out there finds them and uses them in such a way as that.

The following day was the last day of volunteering for the year (2009), since the school went on Christmas Break starting the 18th. I already blogged about the chocolate truffles and the poinsettia that I got from the librarian I'd been helping at the high school. Such a sweet thing. I've been sharing those truffles at work. They are very rich. And very bad for you! But definitely good :). Just like everything that is bad for you...

On Friday, the 18th, we had our work Christmas Party. We had BBQ catered in. Now, this was decent BBQ. Maybe not like the really good one in Dothan (Larry's, I think?), but definitely good by Washington standards. And I love their macaroni and cheese! They put chopped up jalapeno in it. And it reminds me of a jalapeno popper. Which I love, by the way :). We had a really good turnout, and we had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun! We played Dirty Santa -- a game I'm not all that great at, because I never want to take anyone's gift away from them. I'd feel bad. But some people really got into it, and it was pretty funny. There were some pretty cool gifts there, and there was a $5 limit, so really, that was pretty cool. Here's a shot of the group. There are other pictures in here.


After the party and the clean-up, Mary and I hung around a bit longer and watched My Musical, an episode from the 6th season of Scrubs, which I had gotten in the mail that day (unexpectedly) as a Christmas gift from April, Greg, and Courtney! I was very surprised. And usually, I don't open gifts before Christmas, but since I didn't even have a clue what it was that I was getting in my name from Amazon, I went ahead and opened it and found that inside! Thanks April, Greg, and Court! A totally fabulous gift! And Mary and I laughed and hooted, in the dark, in the funeral home, all by ourselves, at 9:30 at night. Hahahaha....

That weekend I worked with Mary, and those weekends are usually way fun. It was a pretty quiet weekend, and so we all pretty much hung out in the boss's office, since he was there too, discussing all sorts of stuff. Thankfully a bell would ring everytime a door opened, so I could tell if someone came in, and I could go inspect. After work, I stopped by the Dollar Tree and then headed to Brad and Tarylyn's to watch Saria, Samuel, and Benjamin so Brad and Tarylyn could do some last minute Christmas shopping. We watched part of Spiderman, and snacked on junkfood, because that's what Aunt Hilas are good for.


When Brad and Tarylyn got home, we popped in an episode of Arrested Development, and also one of the volumes of The Best of Will Ferrell, which I purchased from Wal-Mart (both volumes) because they had a really great deal on them, and I've been wanting them for a while. Man oh man did we laugh! Because watching Will Ferrell as George W. put everything under the sun (including math) in the "axis of evil" is absolutely hilarious. Then I headed home and probably wrapped presents or something. I don't really remember at this point... I think I put together at least one goodie plate to take to church to Heidi the next day.

On Sunday, after church, I went by Christina's to help Nick with a resume. I stayed there for several hours visiting and playing the with the girls. I also added a few Christmas songs to my Zune, to include Do They Know It's Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth, Breath of Heaven, and the Hannukah Song (because this counts in my book since it's during the same season :)). Those are among my favorites. Then it was back to the house to finish up the goodie plates for people at work :).

Monday I mozied into work whenever I felt like it. I don't know when I got there. Probably around 10. I do love flexibility :). Work was about the sameold sameold for the week. It was a shorter week, of course. But things went well. We got stuff done. I made the mistake of doing some shopping during the week. Ick. My goal for 2010 is to buy gifts throughout the year. That way I have the opportunity to get really awesome gifts for people and not have to break the bank to do it :)!

On the 24th, we closed the funeral home at 2:00. My mom and I went by Brad and Tarylyn's to take them their gifts, since we didn't all get together this year. We spent some time with them and watched them open their gifts. It was a lot of fun to watch :). Here's me with the sweet kiddos:


And here is Tarylyn opening one of my gifts to her:

This is a wall hanging that is sarcastic. It says, "Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle." I got several different ones for different people. They were very sarcastic -- right up my alley! I even kept one for me that said, "Naughty or nice, I still get what I want." Hahaha... Some of the others that I got said, "What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe" and "Some of my best friends are flakes." Those things sold out really fast -- and eventually they never had anymore. Which bummed me out, because I had wanted to get one of each for me... But I guess I need to learn my lesson and get a whole slew of them when I see them!

Anyway, I digress... Here are a couple more pictures of the kids opening. And one of me and Brad :). And of me and Samuel.






On Christmas morning, my mom and I went to Ben and Michele's to drop of their presents. Ben had to work in the afternoon. We had a really good visit and laughed and reminisced a bit. I will tell you more about the gifts that mom, Grandma, and I got from Ben and Michele in a bit. But Michele really put a lot of work into them, and they are really neat!

Christina, Nick, Desiree, and Emily came over to the house in the evening to do presents. My aunt and uncle also came over. So here are a few pictures:








Now, that dress Desiree is in is one that Michele made. Desiree was very excited to be able to wear it. It's really really cute. Emily has one too, and Christina had brought it to change her into, but she fell asleep before we got around to it. So luckily it's big, so she can probably wear it next year! Of course, she can probably wear it still now, since it's still winter ;). Emily was exhausted, as I indicated, and she fell asleep on me. So sweet! I always like to hold her when she sleeps. Christmas was very good and we all enjoyed it.

In addition to everyone I was able to see here in Washington, I also got to talk to Julie, Le, Elka, and my dad. Plus I got a text from Annie :). So it was, all around, a gerat Christmas :)!

Here is a picture of most of my gifts. And below it is a rundown of what's what:

• The complete series of Wings from my mom. Such a great tv show back in the day :). I used to watch this show in one of my monitors at UA while I worked in the other monitor. Hahaha... That's why I got the dual monitors. And I found all the episodes on youtube. Anyway, so this was way cool. And my mom was so excited to give it to me :). My mom's so awesome.
• Warm turquoise colored pj's from Aunt Sue and Uncle Ernie. They are soft and like the red ones I got last year, which have really gotten their wear -- and will continue to! They keep me very warm!
• A New Moon calendar from Aunt Sue and Uncle Ernie.
• A calendar from Germany, a German license plate replica that has my name on it, and a Christmas tablecloth from Germany from John, who was over there for 2 1/2 weeks with the Reserves.
• Scrubs season 6 from Greg, April, and Courtney, which I mentioned above :).
• Cry-Baby on DVD from Christina, Nick, Desiree, and Emily. A way cool movie from my teenage years :). I need to watch that soon!
• body lotion and almond roca from Christina (at church) who is my visiting teaching companion.
• a 20 dollar gift card to Wal-Mart from my grandma
• a 25 dollar gift card from Mary with instructions to use it for another season of Scrubs, since I listed off the seasons I still needed too fast for her to remember (and for the record, I used it already -- I got season 3 of Scrubs and also season 9 of Everybody Loves Raymond, and I just spent $10 out of my pocket for the acquisition of these two awesome things :)).
• vanilla-scented bath stuff from Ben, Michele, Sean, Tony, and Royce. Now, two great things about this... I love vanilla! So I'm thinking Michele probably knew this from my blog title :). But also, Michele made the two soaps and the bath salts she included in the set! Way cool! Michele is a woman of many talents.
• A double picture frame (for our 1999 and 2009 pictures -- I have now put in the 2009 one, the 1999 one will have to wait for that ephemeral day when I move out and can get to my garage stuff...), a little Smurf, a Precious Moments friend frame with a sweet saying, The Office pens and pencils, and a Yankeetown Coast Guard t-shirt from Julie! Such fun stuff :)! The Smurf speaks to my love of all things 80s, of course :). And the t-shirt is so cool, because it's a reminder of a huge part of Julie's life and where she's been :).
• Oh, and the wall hanging in the middle is the one I bought myself that I told you about.

Not pictured is a whole bunch of Land-o-Lakes hot chocolate (the kind they only put out at Christmas that is soooo good!), 2 LED flashlights that are very bright. One is small enough to put in my purse :). An ornament, goodies, chocolates, more bath stuff, and a card to use in the county here that allows me to get discounts all over the place.

I have to say that I do love this time of year when everyone seems to be a little bit nicer. And part of the greatest joy I get out of the Christmas season is the giving. I realize that it's very commercialized, and even as I purchase gifts to give, that's part of the commercialization. But there is just a joy that I feel when I find the perfect gift. And then when I watch the person open it. It's always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I probably need to work on the spiritual side of Christmas more and do better at focusing on our Savior and His birth. For that is the real celebration. He came for me.

So, now it's time to start settling back into the routine. We will work every day this week except Friday. But that's fine with me. And then it will be a new year. How crazy is that!?! 2010. By the way, that tv show Wings came out in 1990. Which means it's about to be 20 years. And that is a frightening thought that makes me feel old ;).

So, I failed to wish you a Merry Christmas prior to Christmas, but that didn't mean didn't hope you had one! And, so, to make sure I wish you a Happy New Year... Consider yourself wished it :)!

Evolution of the Game...

...at least according to Nilla :).

I am not an avid video game player. I never have been. I'm not saying I don't ever play video games. And, honestly, I don't even know what the difference is between video games and computer games, or even if there is one. So, since I haven't done a memory lane post in eons... I figured I would do this one :).

My older brother is 9 years my senior. This means that he was into video games long before I was old enough to even know what they were. And that also means we had a really cool (but now-antiquated) game system in our home called an Atari. By the way, I'm convinced to this day that that is the awesomest game system ever! I don't care if the graphics weren't realistic. I don't care if it wasn't interactive with you or other people across the globe. The Atari was cool. And it had really fun games. We had several games, loaded on those ginormous 5 1/4-inch black floppy disks (the ones that really were floppy :)). One that we always played (and it was 2-player, so I usually played with Ben or Brad) was Joust. In case you think it sounds familiar, but can't really picture it, this is what it looked like:

Now, I have played that one more recently. It was also an arcade game, and I guess, somehow, it was finagled to be able to be downloaded and played on a computer. So back in the days when Heath and I were dating, we played this game on his computer. It was still as fun at 21 as it was when I was like 8.

The one I remember the best (and one of my all-time favorite games) is one I have never seen since. And that is Jumpman. I don't even know what it was about this game that I loved so much. It just required a little white stickman to run and climb ladders to collect all these "blobs" and not get shot by the bullet that you would be clued into (but you never knew where it was coming across the screen) by a shot sound. Anyway, I've had this picture of Jumpman saved in my email since I left Tuscaloosa. So, it's about time that I use it :).

This is a game I wouldn't mind playing again.

But of course, time passed. Technology advanced. New game systems came out. We got a Nintendo one year. We played the usual games, like Super Mario Bros. I remember, if the game didn't want to load, we'd pull it out and blow into the bottom of it to blow off the dust and hope it would work :). My favorite Nintendo game was Super Mario Brothers 3. I don't think we ever owned that one, but my friend Cathleen did. I just liked that Mario could fly.

And we can't forget Battletoads!!! At least I think it was Nintendo! Either way, that was one of the rockin'est games EVER! Or maybe what was so great about it was the memories I have of singing "I Am Woman" while beating the everliving snot out of Brad's character with my big toad boot or my big toad fist in the game. Or maybe it was the memory of smacking Brad's toad around with the sword in the Wookie Hole. Either way... This game holds fond memories for me :). And the music in it was pretty cool too.

Plus, answer me this: how can anyone not love a game where the 3 main characters are named after skin blemishes: Rash, Zitz, and Pimple. Hahaha... Classic.

Then next step for video game evolution, at least for me :), was the Sega Genesis. Largely, this was Brad's game system. However, we were all allowed to play it. The two games I got into most were Sonic the Hedgehog:And the other was Toejam and Earl:

Now hopefully, by now, you have seen a pretty common trend in all these games. They are all 2-D. Of course, perhaps at this time in Nilla History (circa 1994), they didn't have video games that were all 3-D and stuff. But trust me, as you will learn in a few short minutes, 3-D video games and I do not get along... But back to Sonic and Toejam and Earl. I think I beat Sonic. I don't know how long it took me. Long enough. But I did enjoy that game. Toejam and Earl was just hilarious. I think we would purposely make them eat bad food just to see their reactions. I don't even remember it all at this point. I remember they would arrive on each new level in an elevator. A la Bill and Ted. Only in alien form ;). Yes, another great game from my past, Toejam and Earl.

After this point, I wasn't all that in to video games. I don't even remember at which point my family upgraded to a newer system. I think we owned a Playstation at some point. Yeah. Something that you could play Echo the Dolphin. That was Christina's game. I never got into that game or that game system, really. In fact, I didn't really do much with video or computer games until I started dating Heath. But at that point, we pretty much made up for lost time. While we dated, we played several games. Clanbomber (which was way fun -- I was always the penguin). Tron (also fun -- but I usually lost). But the two that we played almost religiously were Worms Armageddon:

And Toy Commander:

Now, Worms was, and maybe still is, one of my all-time favorite games. I'm not even sure why. I mean, you get four little worms on your team, and through strategy, you have to try to take out the other player's four worms. And you only get a turn with one worm at a time. And after you finished your turn with one worm, then it's the other player's turn with one of their worms. Okay, so it might sound silly. But it was an addicting game. Which can also be said of Toy Commander. Now, I'm pretty sure that was for the Sega Dreamcast, but I could be wrong. All I know is it was fun. It was the one 3-D game that I thought was fun. But perhaps that was because I was always the tank, who really only moved in 2-D... I tried being an airplane once. Let's just say it didn't go well. I pretty much crashed the whole time. It's a wonder I can function in the real world (which, by some strange twist of fate, happens to be 3-dimensional ;)). Anyway, as you see in the picture above, it shows the tank. The coolest "toy" you could possibly be in this game. It was also well-armored (as tanks generally go), so it was a pretty hearty little fella.

After married life began, the video gaming continued to an extent. Especially in the very beginning when we lived in Ashford. We had a ritual... We had to play Super Smash Brothers every night practically before bed. And if Heath didn't win, we had to keep playing until he did. There was no sleeping until he won. It was just too funny. And, really, in his defense, I did win a lot, but it wasn't "fair" as most men see it. Because I would just randomly push buttons for my character (and I always chose Kirby while he always chose Pikachu) and I would inevitably win. Meanwhile he'd spend time learning the buttons to push to officially do the special moves of the character and still lose. My Kirby brick could really do some damage! That really aggravates men, apparently. It used to irritate Brad to no end when I used to just push buttons like crazy and then beat him. So, here is a shot of Super Smash Brothers, and, as luck would have it, you can see both Kirby and Pikachu in this one!

The other two games we got into were Tiberian Sun, which was another strategy game where you would build up your army and then go attack the other person; and BZ Flag. Now, I believe both of these were games that could be played on the internet with people in far away lands. But with Tiberian Sun, anytime I played, we just played the two of us. We didn't get online to do it. However, with BZ Flag, it was a different story. The two of us would join a room, and so would Julie's husband Jon. And we'd all play from our respective computers. And that one was addicting. And I have to say... You know how there are phrases that will remain in your head forever, just from one little thing? Well, this game started one that I will forever have... If you care to, click on this link and listen to this song by Peter Gabriel. Anyway, there was an ability during the game where you could turn into (or get the power) to be a steamroller and then you could flatten the other tanks if you got close enough to them to roll over them. So, anytime Heath would get that ability, he would sing "I wanna be... Your STEAMROLLER!" And that stays in my head and so everytime I hear certain phrases or this song, I always hear that in my head! Funny how that works. Anyway, here's a shot of that:

And, actually, I think BZ Flag was also 3-D. But again, I was a tank. So it wasn't like flying an airplane. I only went straight in a 2-D sort of way :).

So these days I'm back to not really playing video games. Every once in a while, I might pull up Zuma. Which is also an addicting game. But other than that, not so much. But it was fun to remember all these games! Funny what you forget until you start remembering :). This was a great walk down memory lane. I should do it more often :).

I Can See Clearly Now

Though the rain's not gone :). Here's the song.

Literally, the rain is not gone in Washington. Actually, we hadn't had rain in over a week until today. There is still talk of snow, but so far, it hasn't happened. Which is fine by me! I've done the white Christmas thing once, and that was good enough for me ;).

But, with the passing of days, things get better. You feel llike you can conquer the next big trial. You wonder why you had a meltdown only a couple of days ago. And it's just better to be in a happier state of mind. And so, figuratively, the rain is gone ;). I guess life is just full of ups and downs and we have to just get through both of them. And, in the end, we are stronger for it. Plus, having those bouts of extreme "down-ness" does help me to realize how wonderful it is at all the other times (and the other times are always more plentiful, which is good). It also helps to remember that there are so many less fortunate than I am, even though I do have struggles and trials. I still have so much for which to be grateful. And I also know that my struggles are uniquely mine. They are the things that will help me grow and learn the most. Does that mean I'm totally psyched for trials? Nah. Who is? But it helps to get through them and gain perspective.

So enough of that...

Yesterday my mom and I went over to Christina's to celebrate Emily's first birthday. She turned 1 on Friday, the 11th. I cannot believe that a year ago, she was just getting ready to come home from the hospital -- a brand new baby girl. Now she laughs and smiles. Eats cupcakes. Stands by herself. Waves. Would rather play with cameras and cell phones than open (or even look into) her birthday presents... Yes, she is entering toddler-hood. She is walking a couple of steps at a time. Nothing major. She does a lot of knee-walking. She has decided she doesn't like baths right now. But she gets through it. Like Desiree, she is a very easy baby. It's just such a joy and a blessing for me to be able to be close to these little angels and watch them grow. That has been one of the biggest blessings about being here in Washington, in spite of the things that haven't worked out according to my plans... I am near all my nieces and nephews, and I have the opportunity of knowing them and watching them grow and change and having them know me. There are few sadnesses that can't be cured by a hug from a little boy or girl who genuinely loves you and is excited to see you. Or a baby who reaches out to you because she wants you to hold her. So yes, Emily is one now. And I'm so glad I was able to celebrate with her for her birthday, even though we didn't do a "party" for her. Next year, when she's a little older, that'll probably be what happens.

My mom and I made oreo truffles yesterday. Wow! I think I'm sick of oreo truffles! I mean, they are fabulously good and all that. But doing the dipping of them is kind of tedious. It actually went pretty well yesterday, though. Every time we make them, we try a different approach for the dipping part. Yesterday we used a melon-baller.

Oh, and just for the sake of remembering this... The other night, while my mom and I were making pumpkin bread, we had doubled the recipe. However, she quadrupled the baking soda. I guess this was to go with her previous statement of the evening that "all measurements are approximations." Hahahaha... Something always goes awry when my mom and I bake together. I'm not sure why that is. But it's pretty funny. By the way... Some of you will be receiving pumpkin bread in the mail. Trust me, it is still yummy.

I have spent the last several nights watching all of season 1 of Scrubs. That show is so great. I need to work on obtaining all of the seasons. But I have a good start. I have 1, 2, and 8.

Oh, and I think I've also forgotten to mention that I am now volunteering at a middle school instead of a high school. The middle school librarian doesn't have an aide or anything, so she had tons of work that needed to get done, including cataloging, covering books, adding barcodes, etc. She is really nice, as was the high school librarian and her aide. In fact today, when I got to the middle school library, I found that Lisa (the high school librarian) had brought over a poinsettia and a huge box of fancy chocolate truffles to say "thanks" and "Merry Christmas." It was super nice of her. I took in some pigeon poop (the food stuff, not the real stuff ;)) and a few oreo truffles to share, but I felt so lacking when I saw that she had given me something so nice. I didn't expect anything at all. But wow!

Well, I suppose it's time to post this and get on with other things. :). Sorry about the boo-hoo post from Saturday. I guess I kind of want to keep the blog "honest." Life isn't always all roses. And so, if this blog is about the Nilla Life, I should probably be keeping it real ;).

Nilla-Waferus Eruptus

You ever had one of those weeks where things just pile on and pile on and pile on, and you finally can't take it anymore? Well, this was one of those weeks for me. Yesterday was a bad day. And I finally lost it.

This link will take you to about 6 minutes of a clip that pretty much summed up how I felt this past week.

Joe Blows

Yes, yesterday was one of those days in a week that was one of those weeks. And I suppose we all have them. At least I hope we all do, or else I am incredibly weak. I wish I had a life more "ordinary." A life less temporary. Most days I am able to just put on a smile and deal. But there are those days where it just gets to be too much. I hope I don't have many of those in the days... weeks... months... years ahead.

The Cold Sets In

As promised, I am including the Thanksgiving pictures :). First off, here is the Thanksgiving Feast we enjoyed:


Here are most of the cute kiddos, ready to eat:


And here is everyone who was there (the problem with being the camera-button-pusher is that you have to run into the photo and you usually look disproportionate to everyone else...):


And here is a picture taken a week later. Of Emily standing alone and Desiree eating. Emily wouldn't stand with any level of confidence or for any length of time on Thanksgiving, but by this past Thursday, she was an old pro at it ;).


And check out her cute, but messy, face. She enjoyed eating mashed potatoes and gravy. She also enjoyed sharing with her great-grandma.


Anyway, so I did some shopping this past week. I am almost completely done with Christmas shopping, and that feels great :). Which is also good, because I have to send about 1/2 of the presents to far destinations... Like Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma. So now I must start on the business of wrapping presents. I started last night and got 3 or 4 done. A good start, if I say so myself :). We also need to get to work on baking goodies. We have lots of baking to do, so we need to start now, and we'll just freeze them :).

It's funny... As I go through the week, I usually think of a million things that I can blog about. And then, when I get down to it, it all escapes me. Mostly I spent the week working. I found some issues in the park that required immediate attention. I guess that's what's bound to happen when you are dealing with 60 years of paperwork. Stuff gets overlooked. Mistakes get made. It will be nice if there ever comes a day when everything has been sorted out and fixed. And truthfully, this is really rewarding work. I enjoy what I am doing, and I can see a finished product.

As for the volunteering thing... I'm still doing that. I have moved over to the middle school library, because there is more work for me to do there. I am helping her process some of her books by adding them to the catalog and getting EZ-covers on them. I see so many books I want to read. I will never have enough time! But in good news, I'm plowing through the 6th Harry Potter. I am 2/3 of the way done and am hoping to finish it this weekend. Then it will be on to something else. I do love to read. Wish I had more time for it...

So yeah, wow. I don't even have anything interesting to say! I just wanted to blog and keep up a little bit :).

Oh... There is the cold weather to report :). If it was overcast and raining, it'd be snowing. The roads were icy by 9 p.m. last night. That's how cold it is here. And tonight is supposed to be even colder. Just so long as I can drive and not get trapped, I'm fine with it. Clear skies and cold weather are like Alabama winters. I can totally go with it. The snow is what I can do without!

Thanksgiving

It is hard to believe the holiday season is already here. Thanksgiving is now behind us, and Christmas is coming. And the goose is getting fat :). And so is the Nilla ;). Hahaha... Kidding.

We had Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house this year. Ben and his family had his in-laws up, so they did Thankgiving at their house. The rest of us were at the house. That was 7 adults and 5 kids. And that was chaos! But it was good. Though I am pretty high-strung. I will admit it. I don't handle too much chaos too terribly well sometimes. But anyway, the food was great. Yes, I took pictures. No, I don't have them with me at the moment. I will remember to post them later. But it was quite a feast -- always tons of food, even when we think we aren't going overboard ;). We had a turkey, 2 hams, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, jello salad, tropical fruit salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. And sparkling cider to drink. And we watched a true Thanksgiving classic... A B.C. Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for my dad's habit of keeping everything. Otherwise we might not have had those Betamax tapes from which to copy!! So yeah, we chuckled about the "winded turkey" and every other small joy in that show.

I guess, at times, it is easy to forget the many things I have to be thankful for. It is always so easy to focus on the negatives. But then I realize how blessed I really am. We've had a cold spell for the last several weeks. And Thursday night was particularly chilly. And I have a safe, secure, warm house and warm bed to sleep in. I have a vehicle that gets me from place to place. I have a job that is paying my bills and allowing me to do fun things. And beyond that, I have a job that I love. I have a loving family, and we are almost all close to each other geographically. I have the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for. I have an abiding knowledge that I have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for me -- even when I can't see it. Truthfully, these are just the surface of my blessings. I truly have so much. And I need to do better at remembering that every day. Even when I'm frustrated that life isn't going as I had planned.

So yes, Thanksgiving here was good.

I even went out on Black Friday. Now, I'm not willing to sacrifice too much sleep for that. So I got up around 7:10 and left the house around 7:30. I went to Wal-Mart and got a few DVDs for $2 each. Then I went to Target and got a couple of things there, including Baby Mama on DVD for $4. I haven't seen it yet, but I figured it was a good buy :). I heard a lot of good things about it. Eventually I'll get around to watching it :). I was at work by 9 and just spend the rest of the day doing the usual.

Tomorrow I will be singing a solo in church. I'm singing with the Ward choir, but there is a part that is solo, and they asked me to do it. I'm a little nervous about that. It's a beautiful song. And, though we are a small choir, I think we are a good one. But singing with everyone together is a whole lot different than singing by myself. Ugh. Hopefully it will go okay.

So yeah, that's about it, really. Just more of the sameold sameold vanilla :).

A Nilla Week

Just some random stories from my last week :).

1. (Julie, don't read this one). So last Sunday morning, I had a very early meeting. Had to be at church at 7, which meant I could only sleep until 6:30. So it was still dark outside. I woke up and knelt down to say prayers. While I was getting up, my hand was pressed to the bed, and I felt something, so I picked it up and kind of rolled it in my fingers. And it felt wettish and weird. I threw it down, thinking, "Yuck. That doesn't feel like something I want to be touching." I flipped on the light... and sure enough... I'd been rolling up a spider. A rather large one. And that's creepy nasty. Because it had been in my bed. Not the best way to start a morning that I already had to start out earlier than I think is humanly necessary ;). So ick. It still makes my skin crawl to think of it.

2. Christina came by the house on Tuesday with the girls. Emily gets more independent by the day. She can pretty much stand by herself, though she doesn't do it for very long. She is very nosy, and very demanding. I told Christina that, since I haven't had children of my own to pass my genes down to in the traditional way... I've just been passing them on to her children through osmosis. Nosy and demanding. Yep, that's me! Hahaha. But, the cutest thing... Christina was feeding Emily and then gave her a Ritz cracker. Well, Emily decided she wanted to feed me the Ritz. So she would cram it into my mouth until I would take a bite, and then she would look at Christina and take a bite of whatever Christina was feeding her. It was really cute. She is learning by example, and she wants to do what she sees us do. Meanwhile, Desiree serenaded us with some of her beautiful music about bananas and apples. And when my mom and I busted out singing "Day-O" (the part about bananas), Desiree thought that was just the bees knees.

3. I could get on a soapbox about lack of individual accountability in Corporate America, but I would just work myself into a tizzy. I'll let it be. Sometimes it's sad when we lose our idealism. And then I just want to return to the days of yore... The days of innocence and ignorance are gone. And sometimes, I can buy into the whole "ignorance is bliss" thing.

4. I got a birthday package in the mail yesterday from April :)! A very awesome bunch of gifts. To include The Office pens; a nice notebook; chewy mini sweettarts (have you tried these? they are awesome); and a huge bag of a variety of Lindor Truffles. Oh my gosh those things are sooo good. She had them at her wedding, and they are fabulous. So, just go ahead and plan to roll me around ;). Hahaha... Nah, just kidding. I plan to make them stretch.

5. Getting together with a group of ladies to do a potluck and gab is always fun. Tons of laughter. It is amazing what a gaggle of women will discuss. And if you are a woman, you are not amazed by this statement, and you understand it completely :).

6. With the release of New Moon in the theatres, it's time for my sisters and me to start planning our Twilight party. We have to come up with a menu, and so far we only have 3 items on it, and they are all sweet. So, anybody who has suggestions for cutesy vampire or werewolf related foods, send 'em up!

7. I've been on a bit of a spending spree. I have accomplished a lot of Christmas shopping, plus I have treated myself to several seasons of various tv shows that I like :). Yes, sometimes I'm not the miser some will accuse me of being ;).

Cuz [I] Had a [Blah] Day

Yeah, I guess this a pretty lame song-title post :). But it popped into my head, so I used it :).

Seriously, today has been the longest day I've ever spent at work. Usually it's fun and something is always going on. But today, the time seems to be ticking by soooo slowly. I looked at the clock at one point, and it wasn't even 3 p.m.! Perhaps it's the weather. Winter has set in here in Washington. I think our temperature today was 46 degrees. We have been getting ice on some days. So far I haven't had to scrape my car off. I know it's coming, though. Perhaps the one thing that is saving me is that I don't actually get up until after 8 every morning. So maybe that gives the sun time to heat up and melt away the ice :). I'm all about doing things au natural. That's why I love blackberries. They grow in abundance without any effort. Is that lazy? Don't answer that ;). Anyway... I have to be at a church meeting at 7 tomorrow morning, so I'm pretty sure I'll be scraping my car in the morning. Oh well, c'est la vie. I'm feeling French today :). Want another one? Ambiance. Not pronounced like the a in ant :). Or ambient (as in temperature ;)).

Okay, I'm being goofy.

Anyway, so yeah, today wasn't an exciting day. But that's okay. I did some shopping last night. Went back to this cool grocery store that is full of great deals. So you have to bag your own groceries... who cares? If it means my bill will be smaller, I'll take it :). Tonight I'm going to go to several stores. I'm in the Christmas shopping mood. I've made my list. I've checked it twice. I've also checked off the things I've already purchased. Oh how I love lists. Right after work I'm going to shoot over to St. Vinny's, which is one of my favorite places. It's like Goodwill or whatever. They have great stuff. Anyway, they always have a lot of books for sale, and I'm going to go pick some up for Christina as part of her Christmas. And no, I don't think it's tacky to get used books as Christmas presents. They aren't her only gift. So fret not, my peeps :). Plus she knows about them, because I have been giving her new authors to read, and she tried Iris Johansen, and she liked her book, so now she needs to be kept in supply :). Oh how I am babbling...

In other news... Julie texted me today and we discussed, briefly, Christmas gifts. She asked me what I am asking for this year. Truthfully, the only thing I really want right now is a laptop. But that's a big-ticket item, and I'm not actually asking for it. I will save up the money for it eventually. I have recently done the math and know that I will be credit card debt-free in January. And completely debt-free (as in I will have my student loan paid off) no later than December. December 2010, that is. It's the worst-case scenario of all things being equal. But with tax season coming up, that should help move that up to much sooner.

Anyway, so far the only thing I have thought of that I would like to own is the movie Serendipity. Oh, and season 3 of Arrested Development. I actually bought the first 2 seasons the other day, because they were on sale at Target. And okay, I also bought seasons 3 and 4 of Everybody Loves Raymond. Because it was a total of $14.99 (plus tax -- that darn tax, I should move to Oregon ;)) for both of them.

In still other news, I have had some of the strangest dreams this past week. One night I dreamed I had to do an IRLA (which is some kind of verification they have to do on the cemetery grounds to prevent improper burial -- and this is something only the grounds crew does, so who knows why I dreamed that...). One night I dreamed I was going to Germany with Julie. We started out in my house in Panama, and I was packing. And then we were on this huge airplane that had restaurants on it, like a food court in the mall. Bizarre. And I know there was another one, but now I don't remember it. I knew I should have written it down sooner. Oh well. It's just my crazy mind anyway :).

Wow, today my life sounds truly vanilla. Anyway, I alleviated some of my boredom :). Have a lovely week :)!

Time May Change Me

Over the past year, more so than any other time in my life, I have realized how much I have changed. Time has changed me, just as David Bowie suggested that it might. I alluded to the fact that I was once quite averse to the idea of changing. I didn't want to believe that I would change. I guess I feared that, if I changed, I would somehow cease to be Hila. I'm sure I was changing all along, in spite of my declarations that I hadn't or that I wouldn't. And maybe the changes were small and imperceptible day-by-day, but over time, they were more noticeable. I really don't know. What I do know is that I can look back now and see how the past year has definitely changed me... and perhaps it really has been happening for longer than that. Perhaps, in my fight against change, I had to be put into situations where I would change and grow and learn. I think it has happened. And I'm sure it will continue to happen.

I'm far more outspoken than I ever used to be. I let my opinions be heard. I say what is on my mind. If something is bothering me, I speak it. I don't squash down those feelings out of fear of some form of repercussion. If something hurts my feelings, I say so. I have the right to do that. It's something I wasn't as good at before. I would just bottle it up and let it fester. Which only hurt me, in the end.

I'm far more outgoing than I used to be. I know I am still quiet at times, especially in new places surrounded by people that I don't know. But I have found that I am an extrovert. I am a social person. I crave associations with friends and family. I don't want to close myself off from the world. I am not content with that. There was a time in my life when I thought I was an introvert. In the past 3 years, I realized that I'm not. I don't know if that personality trait has changed or if I've just become aware of it. But what has changed is the way I deal with it. I desire to have parties and create social situations where friends can gather, talk, play, eat, and have fun :).

I'm much more independent. Okay, so maybe not financially. But in other, perhaps more important, ways. I have a stronger sense of self. I like who I am, and I am confident in the choices I make. I've had to work through a lot of different situations all by myself, and I've come out the other end stronger for it. I know I can stand on my own. I know I have the strength to get through trials on my own, even if I may wish I had someone by my side with whom to weather life's storms.

Of course, there's always the bad side. Perhaps I'm too sassy. Perhaps I'm too headstrong and stubborn. Perhaps I'm too dictatorial ;). I have a lot to work on... And I know that.

Okay, so this was kind of a boring post of random thoughts. But, it's been bouncing around in my head. Thought I'd jot it down. I've changed. [Life (and] time) [will] change me... And it's okay.

And Now... The Rest of the Story

Well this ought to be lengthy. But, as promised, this is the birthday post, followed by Halloween :). Might as well get it all done now, since there's no telling when I will be at a computer where I can do this for any length of time again.

So I talked to Mary on Thursday night for something like 2 hours. We were both very surprised that we managed to stay on the phone that long -- and we didn't realize it had been that long. It was 1 in the morning by the time we hung up the phone. However, she had regaled me with many hilarious stories -- which will come into play later on.

So, I woke up at about my usual time on Friday, October 30. Which was my 29th birthday. Good grief. 29. Who'd have thunk it? So anyway, I took my sweet time getting ready for the day. At about 8:50, I got a phone call from my boss telling me that I needed to hurry in to work, because they couldn't find a file for a family who had come in. So, I grabbed my stuff and headed in to work. Well, I got downstairs, and everyone was sitting in the reception room, and they immediately began singing Happy Birthday. So, I was a bit embarassed and went and sat down. Well, Mary exclaimed, "You'd better look behind you!" Well, here's what I saw:

And here is how I reacted to what I saw upon closer inspection:

Yeah, not a flattering picture of me. But it was hilarious. Because upon closer inspection, you will see that the cake says this:

And above the cake was a collage of me!

If you care to see some close-ups of the pictures and what people wrote on them, click on any of the pictures in this blog post, and it will take you to my photobucket. Needless to say, this was hilarious! Good ol' Mary. She sure knows how to get me. And let's just say that some of the pictures she chose were less-than-flattering. Like my sleeping in the airport picture. YIKES.
So here are me and Mary with my cake

And here's one of just me and my cake:

(which Sue jokingly said is for next year's collage). Hahahaha.

So everyone was wanting cake, so we went ahead and cut it -- even though it was maybe 9:30 by this point. Mary thought it was hilarious that, even with taking a huge chunk off the top of the cake, you could still see my whole head... aka my melon :).


So, meanwhile, Mary re-tells one of the stories that she had told me the night before... Only now it is more understandable -- and sadly so -- because now she can tell me the rest of the story. (Wow, that worked well with my post title :)).

So, the story Mary had shared went like this: She was at the grocery store, and the store clerk said to Mary (about a 20-something year old), "But you're the mom." So, Mary, feeling horrified, went home and applied her face mask and re-dyed her hair. As she was telling me this story, we were laughing and she was saying, "The only reason she had for saying this was because the girl was in my vicinity! There was no other reason for her to think I was the girl's mom!" So, this is funny, because Mary doesn't have children in the first place, and plus, Mary isn't really old enough to have a 20-something year old daughter. So, we had chuckled about this on the phone the night before. And so now I got the rest of the story. Turns out Mary went to pick up the cake. The bakery had closed an hour earlier than anticipated, so she was getting help from a store clerk. Well, they had to get even more help, because they couldn't find the cake. They finally found it, and the store clerk was hesitant to carry it. She said she didn't want to drop it. Mary said, "But I don't want to drop it either!" And the store clerk said, "But you're the mom!" And so... Yes, that makes the story even sadder. At least for Mary. Because Mary is definitely NOT old enough to have a 29 year old daughter. But I told her, "Maybe I look 16 in that picture." Which would be really good news for me, since I have, like, a ton of gray hair on my head. But, I digress...

After all of this, I go back to my work station. And I realize that the party-fun was not over! Mary had also decorated my desk and surrounding area :)


So here I am, showing off the "Over the Hill" can that has been bequeathed to me by Mary:


And here is "Old Lady Hila" demonstrating the use of said cane:

FYI -- I am well aware of how horrible a picture that is of me. Every time Mary sees it, she just laughs at how awful it is. But, I can say... At least I posed that way on purpose :). Have to look like an old lady with my over-the-hill cane, right?

I ended up running several errands for the funeral home, such as picking up death certificates, doing the bank deposit, etc. When I arrived back at the funeral home, I found all sorts of my birthday pictures being played on the TV. Turns out Bob had so graciously burned them as a MeM. Including the horrible one of me with the cane. Classic. Nothing like seeing yourself on the big screen. Hahaha... As the day wore on, Mary and I went to lunch at a Mexican place and got a ton of food. Way too much for me to finish in one sitting. So, I saved the other half for another day. But it was delicious. We got back to work, and I ate my piece of Hila cake, and then finished up the day. After work, I opened the presents my BFF Juliebean sent me :). She got me pampering stuff that she said she knows I would never get myself... And it was pure white. For the vanilla in me :). Plus she also got me some nice lotion and little cutsie decorations for scrapbooking that include two peas in a pod... Because that's what we are :)!


The rest of my evening consisted of shopping at Fred Meyer. Yeah, I know... You get old, and shopping seems like birthday fun :).

I am almost positive that I have left out a detail or two. But it's been a week. You can't really expect my old lady brain to remember that far back, can you :)?

On Saturday, I worked. But Saturday evening was our Halloween Party! My mom took care of getting everything ready that I had put on the "to bring to Brad's house" list, since I was at work and therefore unable to do that. Thank goodness for my mom! I ran home, picked up all the stuff, and headed to Brad and Tarylyn's. The evening was fun. We had lots of lovely food. This is an overview of the table, but if you click on it, you can see all the dishes individually :).


Not pictured above is the body-part and worm jello and the punch, and the non-alcoholic butterbeer.

Other than Christina (who did her make-up to look like a sparkly vampire) and the kids, we didn't really dress up this year. I have gained too much weight to fit nicely into my 80s gear. So sad. But anyway... Here are a few shots:








Oh, and in my jello, I ate two worms, a brain, and an ear. That was kind of gross, actually. The gummy brain. Ewwww. After my mom and my grandmother left (my grandmother wasn't feeling well, so they left early on), and once we got the kids settled in to watch their movie, Brad, Christina, Tarylyn, and I played Mexican Train. We were only able to play 2 rounds, but it was fun. Though it is hard to play games with a 10 month old who wants to get all the dominoes...

A Taste of Things to Come

I'm officially 29. I had a great birthday yesterday, and Mary and everyone at work really did an awesome thing. I have pictures. But until I gather them all from the various people who took them with their cameras, I will wait. But just know it's coming. And just know it's hilarious :). So I will report on all my birthday stuff at a later date.

Until then, I thought I'd share a few adorable pictures from our Halloween-fest preparations. Christina and the girls came over to the house and we assembled some of our more time-consuming Halloween goodies. Here are a couple of pictures of the girls at dinner:


And Emily eating real food off of a grown-up fork... She's getting so big!


And how happy is this kid :)?


We assembled our little marshmallow witches (which we didn't do last year, but Christina found the recipe and idea online this year and we thought it would be adorable):


We also made spider cracker things and our eerie eyballs from last year. With the extra eerie eyeball goop stuff, we put it in ice cube molds shaped like pumpkins and skulls. We shall see how they turn out tonight :). I'm excited. Our menu is largely the same as last year, but with a few additions. We didn't make the sugar cut-out cookies this year, but we added several cutesie things. So you know there will be pictures of all the food (aren't you excited to hear that, Dad :))? Just give me time to get everything together and blog -- in order of occurrence :). Until then, Happy Halloween everyone!

Oh, and p.s.... I do like Better Off Dead. Classic. And I got it from Best Buy in Dothan when it was on sale for $6.99. I figure, for some of the classic 80s movies, I might have to cough up the extra $2. They also had Sixteen Candles for that price, which I've been wanting to own for some time now on DVD. But it was all sold out :(. One of these days, though... One of these days. Anyway, the regular price for Better Off Dead at Best Buy is $9.99. That's an FYI for anyone interested in acquiring it :).

FYI

It's not like I have been a particularly steady blogger lately anyhow... But the reason blog comments and the such have not been posted is because of my mom's computer issues at home. So I do apologize. I don't even bother turning on the computer at the house, because the stupid Alpha Antivirus blocks nearly every site, including my blog. So... Until that gets squared away.... I will be even more unreliable, as far as blogging goes. Sorry!

Help! I Need Somebody!

...Not just anybody! I need someone who knows how to remove weird junk (possibly spyware) from computers! And even if you don't know how to do that... Click on the link and listen to the Fab Four sing my blog-post title :).

Basically, something called Alpha Antivirus showed up on my mom's computer Thursday night and is causing issues. Several attempts to do a system restore have failed. We are on to another step. I'd just love to know where the stupid thing came from, because I am always very cautious about the sites I visit. I was in the middle of trying to look at April's wedding pictures on facebook when everything went haywire. Blech.

Anyway, as promised, I am finishing up telling you about my latest trip. On Thursday, the 15th, I had to head to Birmingham. I woke up early to pack and to spend a bit of time with my dad, a.k.a. the eBay addict :). My dad drove me to rent a car and I was on the road to Birmingham by 10:30. It's always sad to leave my dad. I wasn't in a rush to get to Birmingham, since April and Greg were working and Courtney was at school. So I moseyed (is that how you spell that word?) along and jammed out to my mp3 player, because the rental had the auxiliary jack. I stopped in Montgomery to get a bite of lunch, and then continued on my merry way up to Birmingham. It's a good thing I wasn't in a hurry since I drove straight into a huge rainstorm. I haven't driven in rain like that in years. We had to slow down to 35 on the interstate with windshield wipers going full blast. Crazy.

Anyway, I found April's new house and still had plenty of time, so I headed up to the Summit (where they have done a ton of new construction), and got a giftcard for April and Greg from the Cheesecake Factory. Plus I walked around Bed, Bath, & Beyond (I love this store) and gabbed with Julie on the phone. Then it was time to head back to April's, since I knew Courtney would be home. But on the way, I spotted Old Time Pottery and decided I needed to stop in there :). So I roamed around that store for a while -- it is huge, after all -- and then finally made my way to April's. Courtney gave me the tour of their new place and introduced me to all of the cats. Then we just hung out. Greg came home and left again to do pre-wedding stuff. So Courtney and I went to Sonic to get a treat :). Then I got a shower and we vegged on the couch until April got home. And mostly we just hung out and watched Jeopardy episodes and an episode of a show called Freaks and Geeks that looks like a good show, though it only lasted one season. I turned in sometime around 1:30 in the morning. The next morning, we got up and went for me to return the car. Then we headed into the heart of Birmingham and ate at The Original Pancake House. Oh my gosh we got so much food. I couldn't finish all mine and I even gave one of my pancakes to April! We got a group picture by a guy who was just sitting around. Who proceeded to ask us if we had any money to spare. Ugh. Oh well.


We spent the remainder of the day doing pre-wedding stuff. We went by Publix to pick up flowers and other goodies for our snackie night. We went to the wedding venue to look it over and imagine how things were going to be the next day. We went by the (in)famous trailer hotel and I finally got my picture!! (This one's for Julie :)):

Does that not just look like a two-story trailer!?!?

We went to another Publix to pick up the wedding cake. And then, after taking all the stuff to the house, April went to get a pedicure while Courtney got a manicure.


We stayed up late again doing more wedding things. We got all the table centerpieces done, we ate junk, we watched tv shows about Bridezillas... We went to bed after 1 in the morning again.... We didn't have to wake up super-early the next morning, but it was wedding day, so you know it was going to be a busy day. We started out by having all of us girls get our hair done at a Paul Mitchell academy near Birmingham. It took us a lot longer than we thought it would. And I heard a million times from the girl who was doing mine that my hair is so fine. That was awful. I don't really want to hear those things. I've been having a hard time dealing with my hair issues for over a year without it being brought to my attention (and to everyone else's who is around me in that salon). Sigh. Anyway, here was my result:


We rushed down to Alabaster so April could get her make-up done. It looked really good and we still had enough time :). Even in spite of the hair place getting us behind schedule.


On the way back to the house after this, April found a New Kids on the Block collector's card that she'd been saving for me. It got donated in some books that were donated to the library and she saved it for me :). It's of Jordan. hahaha... We ran to the house, picked up the clothes we needed to change into and then headed to the wedding venue to set up. I think we did a great job with the set-up. This is just one picture, but if you click on it, it will take you to more pictures.


Interesting tid-bit... That little pink book in front of the sock people... April got it from a donation to the library where she works. I had seen that book at HLML once. It came across my desk in tech. services. I'm not sure if "I processed that book," but I know I saw it :). It's so adorable. It's all about love. I even used a quote from it once for a photo album I made. The quote says: "Love comes softly, but you know when it's there. Because suddenly you aren't alone anymore, and there is no sadness in you." Loved that quote.

Oh, and here is a sample of the book centerpieces. I think they were really cute. April and Greg really had great ideas!


Here is the wedding cake:


And here are me, Courtney, and April before going to change:


The girls all went to the hotel to change and get ready. April was absolutely beautiful and her dress was perfect! We headed back to the venue and the wedding went really well. It was so nice and beautiful. I'm so glad I was able to be there for it. Here are me and April:


After the wedding, April and Greg went to the hotel and April's parents took me back to April's. That night, it was just me and the 6 cats. I watched tv and read and just enjoyed the night. I turned in again at about 1. I slept in until 9:30 on Sunday and hung around the house. April and Greg stopped by to pack for their honeymoon and so we all visited for a while. Then we all left at the same time and I head to Tuscaloosa. I got to Virginia's house and we visited for a while. Then we headed off to Swen's to get some food. Which was totally delicious, by the way :). Viriginia and I watched Better Off Dead -- a classic 80s movie that I hadn't owned until this last trip to Dothan :). And we ate Publix brand mint chocolate cookie frozen yogurt. Because I am convinced you can't get enough of that stuff :) :) :). And then we gabbed and visited some more. We went to sleep around midnight -- well, and I talked to Mary for about an hour also. The next morning, we got up and I took Viriginia to campus, since her son took the car to school earlier. Then I took my car and parked it at the Insitute building, since I can't park on campus anymore without getting a ticket. Boo. I visited with Annie and Le and saw a few other people I used to work with, including Loretta :). She is still so sweet. Several people asked me if I'd go back to work there. At about 11:30, Annie, Le, Sharon, Virginia, and I all went to lunch at the Ferg. And we visited and laughed and talked, and it was really nice :).


I soon had to leave and head back to get my car. I stopped in and said hello to everyone at the Institute building, and then had to make my way back to Birmingham. I stopped by Edgar's Bakery and bought a few treats. Including a Hello Dolly bar to send to my BFF -- to remind her of the weekend of the trailer hotel :). I even was able to mail it to her before I flew out on Tuesday! I got back to April's and just hung with April's mom and Courtney for the night and read. And on Tuesday, April's mom as so kind to take me to the airport. We had an enjoyable chat (oh, I rode in a Hummer -- a very bumpy ride!) on the way. All my flights were on-time. I mostly read on the way back. I finished Deja Dead at April's, so I started The Time Traveler's Wife. I'm moving right along with it. For the first time, I think I can say I liked the movie better than the book. It's not a bad read. Just a lot rougher than I thought it would be as far as sex and language.

Anyway... So, it's been back to life as usual. I've been working since my return. I had a Relief Society training meeting on Thursday night. So yeah... Nilla life as usual :). Oh, and thanks to Becky and Stacy for the cute 80s-looking stationary that made them think of me when they found it :). So they sent it my way :). Too funny!