Holiday Cheer

Well, things have been quite busy around here, with company in and out and just Christmas "hectic-ness" period. Wow. I'm amazed I've had time to cram in a little reading, but I have been anxious to finish the series I am on. I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was peachy. I had two early Christmas presents. First, Bonnie flew in to visit for a few days, we shopped, went to Disneyland, and otherwise chilled. Then, my (practically) sister, Candace flew in from MO to stay for a whole week! We also shopped, went to Disneyland, and otherwise chillaxed. Good times. Very good times. My grandparents came in on the 23rd and things have just not slowed down. Until today. Now, I write to you all to bring you good tidings of great joy. OK, it's not THAT great, but I figured I let you in on it, just in case you'd like the option. Starting January 1st, you can go to Disneyland for free on your birthday in 2009! You have to sign up on their website, but I think that's a pretty good deal. If you happen to have season passes, then they give you gift store credit or something like that comparable to a one-day ticket. You should all check it out! I'll be at DL on my birthday in a couple of weeks, working that credit! Woo-hoo! hehehe... I will try to be back around these parts more. The election really sucked the wind out of me, but I'm slowly but surely regaining my hold on terra firma. Be back soon! Peace out!

Thanks Y'all!

I love Thanksgiving. I was thinking up a big blog for today, but after I read my husband's, I decided to just put a link to his instead. It just about says it all. I'm thankful for my husband, son, mom, and the rest of my family, which are quite numerous. My church family - I don't know where I'd be. My very best girlfriends in the world - Candace, Bonnie, Barbara, Amanda, and Rose - I don't deserve you all, but I'm so thankful for you. So, that's about enough out of me. Now, I send you to my husband's blog and I hope you enjoy and have wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Empress's New Clothes

Well, today has been something else, to say the least. And it's just the beginning of a VERY busy week. Ralph has taken to calling me "Grandma McCorkle" for all the doctor's appointments I have to attend this week. I've got 2 physical therapy appointments, a tooth filling, teeth cleaning, follow-up with my gastric surgeon, AND full head x-ray for braces. TOLD you!! LOL Tons going on, then next week, we all pack up and head to Fresno for WCC. I'm super-excited about that, except that I usually have my full wardrobe picked out in my head at least a month before. Well, this time it's a little different, since none of my clothes fit. I'll admit I'm in an enviable position, being too small in stature to fit into my "tres fab" clothes, but I don't know how I'm going to build a wardrobe for 5 services in less than a week!!! It took years to get my closet going after gaining the weight, now I'm back to square one. I am so desperate, I even bought shoes online, just hoping they'll fit! (I think they will and they are CUTE! Pictured above!) I do already have one thing I can wear with them, so it wasn't a completely frivolous buy, so anyway... I'm headed to second-hand stores on Friday, so hopefully I'll make up for the shoe purchase!! =D

Gaming

I'm an old-fashioned "gamer". I love to play board games with my family. We (almost) always have a grand, ol' time, but it depends sometimes on the mood of mama and papa bear. So, usually after we're done eating dinner, I'll ask Logan to pick out a game for us to play. After several vetoes by mama and papa, he'll usually find one that we all know how to play and can consequently may enjoy. Tonight he picked one of my favorites. Scrabble. Ahhh... For Christmas last year, I received not one, but TWO deluxe editions from different family members, knowing I liked the game. One, obviously, went back to the store, but the other has a nice niche in our game cupboard. Logan pulled it out and my husband immediately stated he wouldn't be playing if both me AND my mom would be! LOL (He likes to win...) hehehe... Well, my mom wasn't playing, so we all settled in. I had to take a picture this time, though, because last time my other Scrabble nerdy friends didn't believe that we [legally] used every piece by the end of the game. We did it again tonight. Logan did all of his own words, though a couple of times he would ask how certain words were spelled. Logan did a GREAT job and I'm so proud of my "little Scrabbler"! Ralph ALMOST won, but I pulled out a 16 pt. word on my last throw-down. So, I pulled ahead of him by 3 and won. Logan held his own with the big bears and we had a great time. I strongly encourage family game time as a quiet time to bond and have fun with the people you love and care about most!

P.S. I was too tired to contest the usage of "gil", but did doubt that was actually a word! LOL

I'm a Happy Gal

I woke up in a good mood today! I felt like singing! That hasn't happened in a while, but there are several contributing factors to my feeling of joy. First of all, last night Bro. Jonathan Shoemake preached a great, uplifting message. Second, a family situation that had been weighing on my mind and heart was resolved. Third, when I woke up, I remembered that today is my appointment at the Apple store to get my phoney-phone fixed! Yay! Ok, so the last one isn't as important as the first two, but it was a contributor nonetheless. Especially since the Apple representative I spoke with on Saturday about all the quirks in my phone said that she is putting me down for a replacement! Whether the geeks at the Apple store agree, well, time will tell. I just want my phone to work right and I don't want to have to "send it in". If I'm told I'll have to "send it in", then that will, for at least a moment, wipe the silly grin right off my face. I still have SOOOO much to be grateful for, I intend to focus on that. Thank You, Jesus for EVERYTHING You have done!

Rapid Weight Loss Report - Day 6

I had my first post-op visit today with the P.A., Allie. She's really nice and had the [dis]pleasure of removing my drainage tube. Yikes! You're about to FEEL some pressure... Yeah. There was pressure alright! HA! Actually, I feel LOTS better with it out. Learning my limits still though! (I almost fell out in the middle of Long's Drugs tonight...) It's really hard to get the nutrition I need to just be able to function properly and not feel like a starving person. Especially when the dreaded shakes taste like what I can only imagine parsnip juice prepared by the Grinch himself tastes like! Blech! So, she did give me some "doable" options to the shakes and I am oh, so grateful for that. I am sad, though, because tomorrow my friends are leaving me. Of course, they didn't HAVE to be here and I am SOOO blessed that they were here, but I'll miss them nevertheless! We've had a lot of memorable experiences in our lives as girlfriends since we were wee children, but this weekend probably takes the cake! hehehe... They're so FUN in they're own ways and I just love them both to pieces! BONNIE AND MANDA, I WILL MISS YOU!!!!! Well, I'm looking forward to finding sugar free Nesquick... Ciao!

T minus 7...

One week from today I will hopefully be recovering from a successful gastric bypass and gallbladder removal surgery. I have such a wonderful support group who are all eager to help me out during the hospital stay and after. I'm so excited. I still have a LOT of clothes to go through. I'm not doing very well in that regard. I'm glad I'll fit into smaller sizes, but I'm not looking forward to not fitting into my very many CUTE shoes! hehehe... (If I do say so myself...) =D Otherwise, bring on the SKINNY!

Things have been quiet out there. Nobody is commenting... Oh, well, I regularly have long discussions with myself. Toodles!

Mouse-aholic

I had a great day at Disneyland yesterday with two VERY good, lifelong pals of mine! All of our husbands came along and since we all have anniversaries in August, we all got Happy Anniversary pins! It was great fun, until it came time for the fireworks. Or lack thereof. UGH! The show cancellation wouldn't have been so disappointing had we not been waiting for over 2 hours, had a FRONT row (or curb) seat, and had to listen to a unhappy child scream at the top of his lungs for the duration of the wait. Yikes. I think Matt was actually maddened. LOL This is a rare occurrence for the viewing public, as those who know him know. Ick! That was poorly worded. Oh, well! That may be the last time I go to Disneyland until after my surgery. I really wanted to have cotton candy, but it didn't sound as good as it usually does. Of course, I am really trying to lose those 10 pounds by surgery time! =D As for my illness, I am completely recovered, save a nagging cough, which I tend to have anyway! My eyes look normal and the only evidence of my having been sick is the scab from my fever blister. I'm so glad! Especially since that means I'll get to see my little Ella girl tomorrow!! We're picking her up in the afternoon and keeping her indefinitely! Yay! Little sweetie! I'll be back around later!

Precious Little Ones

I had to share this picture. It's my son, Logan, and my niece, Ella. Aren't they lovely??? The picture was taken by a wonderful friend of mine who is "learning the biz". She did a great job!

Words Can't Describe How I Really Feel

I could not have, before this past Monday when I first read the reports, pointed out Myanmar on a map to you. I'm so grateful to live in this great nation where we take our peace, prosperity, safety, and seeming lack of hugely devastating natural disasters. To put things in a little perspective, take for instance Hurricane Katrina. Its devastation wrought on the humanity of those mostly located in a very poor area of New Orleans, yet the final death toll rests at 965. The San Francisco quake of 1989 death toll rests at 63. Even the truly devastating Frisco quake of 1906 killed 667. Yes, while every last one of these lives were extremely valuable and still a devastation to say the least, we are quite blessed. The projected death toll in Myanmar for the cyclone that hit over the weekend is at 10,000 people. That's a lot of zeros when you put a face, name, family, and tragedy with each one. My heart goes out to these people who live in nations less fortunate than ours and my prayers are with the nation of Myanmar. May they find peace that passes all understanding.