A quick update

I've made these cookies twice in the last week and contemplating making them a third time because my sister-friend Lea really loves them. They really are only 1 point per cookie on Weight Watchers. I promise!

For the first time in I don't know how long, I carved a pumpkin. I got to spend Family Night with Lea (see her link above) and her darling kiddos (minus Sam, he was working) and we frosted sugar cookies in the shapes of pumpkins, mice, witches, cats and dogs (dogs dress up for Halloween - did you get that email?). We had a lot of fun.

I accompanied my Dad to his appointment to see the ENT today. A biopsy is scheduled for next week to determine if we are facing Throat Cancer 2.0.

I am going to book club tonight. We read "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Haddix. It was a very easy read but really good. I'm looking forward to "discussing" it with my book-club friends.

My two bestest friends and I are anxiously awaiting our upcoming girls weekend. We have a lot of fun things planned but most of all, I just can't wait to see them and spend time with them both. They get me.

The high today was 50°. I bought a really cute coat at Costco last Saturday and it has really come in handy. It got down into the low 30°s last night and I actually caved and came downstairs in the middle of the night and turned up the heat. This was after I had gotten up once before to put the down comforter on the bed. Brrrr....

And now that I've just written a whole paragraph on the weather, this is a wrap of your quick update.

Those were the days...

I would like to go back to a simpler time in my life. A time when working was just something I did for gas money and a new denim skirt. A time when I could actually wear a denim skirt! I would like to go back to a time when cancer was something that happened to other people. Or back to a day when I woke up happy and went to bed without worrying about the next day. A day when there weren't so many choices to make (especially when watching television). I would like to go back to a time when weekends were all about meeting new people and going on dates and getting excited about it. It would be simpler to just have to worry about making it to class on time instead of worrying that there isn't enough time in the day to learn new things. I wish that I could go back to a time when someone else worried about paying the bills for necessities (thank you Mom and Dad). And although I would never want to go back and do it all over again, I think that this life seemed a lot more carefree than the one I have now.Happy Halloween!

I had no idea...

That October 15th was Love Your Body Day.

If I had known, I would have tried a little harder to be kinder to myself. I think I remember making this resolution some time back in September.

So, in honor of Love Your Body Day, I resolve to:

Think kindly when reflecting on my mirror's reflection.

Celebrate my curves.

Accept compliments without excuse and consider that they are given with sincerity.

Try not to compare myself to others.

Wear something other than black.

Keep myself happy and healthy (inside and out).

Be my own cheerleader.

Remember that age is just a number and smile lines represent happy times.

Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative.

Curiously Enough

Sadly, vacation is over. I did learn a few interesting things while riding in a car through some of the great southern states of the USA...

1) The trees in Tennessee are different than the trees in Missouri, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
2) Alabama is kinda boring. Nothing really to see there. Same goes for Mississippi.
3) My dad has a "bucket list". He was able to check a few things off the list last week. I hope he adds some more things in their place.
4) I don't really like road trips. I think I knew this about myself going into this trip. I think I'm not very good company on road trips. I tend to get very sleepy in the car (when I'm the passenger, of course).
5) It is very hard to count your Weight Watchers points while on vacation.
6) The barbeque in Memphis really is all that. I would so get the ribs next time.
7) From all I could tell, Elvis really is dead. His house has not been updated since he died. There are LOTS of crazy people crazy for Elvis.
8) All hotels are not created equal. I hate that.
9) Rainy days in Florida and Mondays do always get me down.
10) I love my bed. And my dog. I missed them both.
11) Surprisingly, Destin is in the central time zone. I did not know that.
12) I brought 15 magazines to read and read 3 of them. 2 of the 3 were new that I bought in Destin.

A highlight of our trip was going to the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida. Although we missed seeing the Blue Angels practice (they were out of town) we saw a lot of really cool things and I'm so glad we got to go there. I would recommend it to anyone. And it was free!

Thursday between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Sounds like a window of time for the cable guy to come, right? Wrong! Today, it was the window of time in which the sun decided to shine in Destin, Florida. So, this is what I was doing between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
Tomorrow we're leaving Destin and heading to Gulfport, Mississippi and then to Memphis, Tennessee. Saturday we will be searching Graceland for evidence that Elvis still lives. Wish us luck!

So, what were you doing on Thursday between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.? Inquiring minds want to know.

Here Am I

I got this from my Mom and Dad and thought it would be fun. (Plus, I found this mosaic maker program on Flickr and I'm addicted to using it. You have been warned!)

The object of this meme is quite simple - “use the first letter of your name to answer each question. Must be places, names … nothing made up. You can’t use your own name for the boy/girl’s name question. If you get stuck, skip to the next one."

1) Famous Singer/Band 2) Four-Letter Word 3) Street Name 4) Gift/Present 5) Color 6) Pro Sports Team 7) Movie Title 8) Boy's Name 9) Girls Name 10) Vehicle 11) Flower 12) Drink 13) Magazine 14) U.S. City 15) Item found in a souvenir shop 16) Celebrity 17) Reason You're Late for Work (lost keys) 18) Fruit 19) Cartoon Character 20) Anything else about you that starts with your letter) 21) Body of Water (Lake Tahoe) 22) Occupation 23) Something you Shout 24) Something you recycle (library books)

If I could write a letter to me...

If you are familiar with Brad Paisley, he wrote this song called "Letter to Me" (listen to it here) and I started thinking about what I would say to myself at age 17.

I think it would go something like this:

Dear Me,

Yes, it's really me, a grown up version of you. I can prove it's me - just ask me what your driver's license number is. For some strange reason, I still have it memorized. I couldn't remember my ATM card pin today at the grocery store but I can remember my first driver's license number.

Here's the scoop. You're going to get accepted to Ricks College, BYU and San Jose State University. Go to BYU. They won't let you in as a full-time student when you are 23 years old. Also, if you go there right out of high school, you'll probably LOVE it way more than you will at 23 just home from a mission.

Spend more time with your cousins. In a few years you're going to really miss them. Especially Elizabeth. Spend more time with Lizzy. Oh, and when Tricia makes fun of your singing, don't take it personally. Some day soon your going to find your true voice and it sounds pretty when you sing.

Diet Coke and Doritos are NOT a healthy way to start your day. You may think so now, but the future will find you with a sensitivity to caffeine and if you don't drink it now, you won't miss it so much when you are 38 years old.

Stay away from boys named Matthew, Mark and John. That boy, Matt? Don't spend another minute worrying about whether or not he likes you. If you stop now, you''ll avoid the heartache he'll cause at ages 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 24. Still be friends with him though. He will need the love and support of everyone that knows him. At age 28, you'll meet Shane and you will love each other for a season. You're going to really be heartbroken when he doesn't want to get married. It will be okay though. Your heart will heal.

Read more books. Chemistry and Algebra are just a means to an end. It's true. You will never need them once you leave high school. Good choice with the Spanish though. It's really going to come in handy when you serve a mission in Guatemala. Oh, yeah - you might want to find out where that is BEFORE you get your mission call!

Finally, don't try to grow up so fast. There will be plenty of time for that. Figure out what you want to be when you grow up before you actually grow up. Don't rush things. Life goes too fast as it is. Working isn't all it's cracked up to be. Trust me on this one.

Oh, and when you're in your late thirties, stay from anything called a "100-calorie pack"...

With love from your 38-year old self.

Happy Birthday Mom

She is a great listener and confidant. She's a grandma, auntie and friend. She'll call my cell phone just to hear the sound of my voice. She understands when I don't answer. She has a contagious laugh and isn't embarrassed by it even though you might be. She cares about everyone. People look to her to make their day brighter. She encourages me and supports everthing I do. She has pretty fingernails. She misses her own mom. When she looks in the mirror she sees glimpses of her mom and it makes her remember. She loves to talk on the phone and will leave a 5 minute message on your machine without realizing it. She likes to tell your machine why you are not answering. Her favorite things are her kids and her grandkids and her little itty bitty kitty. She loves us with all her heart. She hum-sings. When's she trying to stop something from falling she says, "uuooo, uuooo, uuooo" (which sounds like "shoe, shoe, shoe" without the sh-sound). Both Angie and I do the same thing. She is allergic to mosquito bites. She went to beauty school. Her special recipes are wine cake (but she uses orange juice when she makes it for me), spinach torte and chicken cacciatore. She says things are "sharp" when she means they are really cool. She's only ever lived in California and Alaska. She only counts Alaska because her second baby girl was born there. She gives great hugs. Her name is Lorraine which means "From Lorraine, a province in France". She is not French. She was born and raised in San Francisco. She loves seeing the Monterey Bay from her window each morning. She can't wait to retire. She loves that my sister and I are creative and truly appreciates our creations. She is never mean. When she found out that my dad had cancer, she dropped everything and rushed to Missouri to be with me. She is thoughtful even though she doesn't remember a lot of things. She loves ice cream and cookies but they don't love her. She taught me to love bread and salami. The only thing artificial about her are her hips. She is the real thing. She is my mom and I love her.

Why I'm Looking Forward to Next Week

From left to right: 1) Going to the beach 2) Memphis 3) Going to Destin, Florida 4) Taking a road trip 5) Naval Aviation Museum 6) Eating M&Ms 7) Staying at a hotel 8) Sleeping on the beach 9) Going to the Gibson guitar factory

*If only this were true...

Internet: "Hi! How was your day?"

Me: "Great! I love my job and it's so much fun to go there everyday. In fact, I wish I could just work 24/7 I love it so much!"

Internet: "Really? That's unusual. Many people feel just the opposite about working!"

Me: "Yeah, the people are great and they make me feel like they know I'm doing the best I can under hard circumstances."

Internet: "That's really important. Nice to know that, especially since you're just finishing up a really big system conversion, right?"

Me: "Thankfully we finished the system conversion right on time and it went 100% without error. Everyone was so happy that we all held hands and sang "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"."

Internet: "Wow, I wish I worked there..."

Me: "Yeah, I love it so much I'll probably work there until the day I die."

*This is a completely make-believe conversation I had with myself on the way home from work today when I was trying to sort out the third of three consecutively horrible days at work. I ended up promising myself October would be better than September. After all, I am going on vacation in October. The end.