it was a wonderful weekend..

as predicted...it was a great weekend. I love weekends when you have most of the weekend to hang out and just do what you need to do. On Friday night, I convinced Miss LM to go to Memorial Park with me to walk the loop before dinner.... befter for my waistline from the good ole days when we would just go to Kenneallys and drink and eat pizza! Then we came back here and I whipped up some dinner on my illegal grill on my patio. It was great to get to spend time with her - ever since I left KPMG it seems it is so much harder to make our schedules match - and since I don't have access to the building to go work on weekends when she is there we have to make time now!

On Saturday, I got up early (which is a new theme in my life - that I am not sure that I like!) and went to the gym for a good workout. (SIDEBAR - I have started a program at work with a trainer -- and I have some goals - one of which is 20 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week. I know, that is not a lot of time, but I need to start somewhere! I have also told myself that I have to do my 20 minutes of morning Yoga on the days I don't do the gym to keep moving....and on every day I have to do weights (at the gym - the big kid weights, at home, I have these greeat 8 lb weights I can do circuits with). I had this hope of a lifestyle change when I left KPMG, but I am JUST NOW making it happen. Long story, but with all the health issues, I was just able to get off some meds to really make these workouts work! ) I then met up with LM and JH for breakfast - they did the Astros 5-K race for the pennant and so we met at buffalo grille for b-fast all sweaty....LOVE that. (and no, we weren't the only sweaty ones there!)

I then got to spend the afternoon with SM - who graciously went with me to go buy a new computer. I had decided to get a MAC and she was awesome and helped me pick it out. The best comment of the day was when she told the lady I would need the best protection plan that they had to offer. Does she know me (a walking disaster) or what?!? ha! We then roamed around, grabbed lunch, and shopped...and even got SM some new glasses - which look really great!

That night my favorite Brazillians came over for dinner - OM and her hubby who worked with me at KPMG. I love getting to hang out with them - so we had dinner and talked. They brought me the BEST flower - I will take a pict and share...it is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. I absolutely love flowers!!!

Then today we went to brunch with the girls to celebrate SM's new job (see picture of us above!) I am SO excited for her to start another job - I think she is going to just love it. We went to Shade - which is without a doubt on of my favorite restaurants in H-town. They have this pastry plate (with mini-pastries) on the weekends and it is ssooooooo good. And for b-fast, their quiche is always amazing! I then spent some time at the pool with a nice cold Shiner (I know, shouldn't be a part of the lifestyle change...but it was so good and it was hot outside!) and read my book for the afternoon.

And in between all of that, I cleaned up, washed all the clothes and put them away and even re-organized one of my closets. It was an AMAZING weekend! Now, this week at work is going to be a long one....thursday is our "stay the night" night - where we basically stay until the FR staff get done with their duties. We were SO PROUD of them last month for getting done by around 10:30 - but the previous 6 months were sometime in the wee hours of the morning (not fun). So, we will see how this month goes!

Good night - I have to go to bed so I can be at the gym at the crack of dawn :) Even more of a reason becuase I am going to have to wear a bridesmaid dress in a few months! WOO-HOO!

Hope you all have a fabulous week!

its been a great week....and will be a great weekend!

I had a great week - despite not being on the beach in jamaica drinking pina coladas and getting omelets for every breakfast. I was able to do a few things that I have been meaning to do for a while... I started working out, started changing my eating habits and have finally got my office organized. Just for those three things, it was a great week.

But there were so many other things that happened this week that made it even better. I met a new friend - well, we had met before, but this time we got to hang out. It was awesome. I don't know how to explain it - but it was one of those times where you just see straight through a person and can see their heart. I love those moments, becuase it allows you to see people for who they really were...and I was totally amazed by what I saw - someone so loving, so faithful to their friends, someone who has been really hurt, but the Lord carried them through it, such an amazing Godly person who is a gifted speaker and leader....and I am so glad that I can call them a friend.

And I got to spend time with all my other friends...I loved getting to catch up - most by making them walk me at memorial park (and yes, I mean walk me - not walking with me. It is a way more accurate statement!), meeting for lunch and having dinner. (notice a theme here - food. Story of my life). But it was so great to get to spend time with them. I am truly blessed by having some amazing friends to laugh with and to share my life adventures with.

And I have been reminded why I am so glad that I switched jobs - I have more balance in my life than ever before, and I feel like I finally am reaping the benefits of the switch after all the medical issues and travels. I feel so blessed that God has lead me to this place and all the time held me under his wing. As my father always says, Life is Good.

I LOVE these girls...

When I moved to Houston, I knew no one. Well, except my friend Cory who is known for never answering his phone....so that was absolutely no help. SM was my first roommate - we had a mutual friend that got us together, and we had a good time our first year in H-town. Then one day we met LG, she lived directly above us, and she came to work at KPMG after Anderson went down, and we became friends. Then we met Miss KC, who was friends with SM's college Roommate, MG. And so there were 5 of us. We have had a blast over the last 8 years I have been out of college - we have been through so many things together, and they have been my rock, my sanity, and such amazing friends that I am truly thankful for.

Miss PR is SM's sister, and we are SO thankful that she finally made it back to Texas to make us 6, although we lost miss MG to Dallas, so we are back to 5. But we are all hopeful to get MG back to Houston at some point! Here we are celebrating my new job (a little late because I kept on cancelling) and hopefully next week we will get to celebrate again as SM has a new job! We are so EXCITED for her as she starts out this new chapter in her life! (and don't think it takes big things for us to celebrate - we will do it for any reason or no reason at all!!)

I love these girls and am SO thankful that God made our paths cross and brought us all together!

More Jamaica Photos...

Ah, Jamaica. It was beautiful....it was relaxing....and I really liked getting to lay low, have someone make me omelets every morning, and make me any kind of daquiri that I wanted! Spoiled, I know! Here are the girls on the trip - My Aunt Cindy, Cousin Elizabeth, Cousin Dawn, and Me!

Here is my cousin Elizabeth and I....she graduated from Texas A&M this May (WHOOP!) and the trip was a graduation celebration. It was her and her mom (who graciously let me stay in their room with them!) and our oldest cousin, Dawn and her husband Cliff. It was a GREAT trip....I loved getting to lay around, read books, and just hang out with the family. Lizzie is the youngest cousin and when she was finally old enough for us to play, we were already out of high school already. So it was fun to get to hang out with her. The weather was not spectactular, but that didn't stop us from laying by the pool every waking hour!

Jamaica is pretty poor - so it is hard to leave the resort unless it is going specifically to one of hte attractions....which most are just the zip lines through the rain forrest and things of that nature.

Here we are with my Aunt Cindy. Every night there was supposed to be a decent sunset I dragged everyone out to take pictures. This night was SPECTACULAR....we got some really great pictures! You can already see how red I got - this was our last night and even though I put sunscreen on every hour - well, the sun was out and my skin was white!

Here we are again...

the first of the Jamaica photos...

One of the reasons I loved being in Jamaica - besides my favorite Omelet Man who made me omelets every morning, and the bar right besides the pool / beach that made me great banana and pina coladas....was the sunsets. MAN, they were gorgeous. The top is the sunset the first night, when it was almost over. It was BEAUTIFUL.

This was also the first night - before the sun went all the way down. I just could drink it up. If I could sit outside and watch the sunset every night, I would be the happiest person alive.

This was when we went down for dinner one night. As we were sitting there, eating, drinking some wine, and having a great dinner, I looked over and saw how amazing it was. I had to get up out of my chair to go take a picture. And what a great picture it was.

The view from our hotel room - it was BEAUTIFUL. Notice the great little slide. Don't worry - I stayed away from it. Partly because part of it was enclosed and I swear I might not fit! Ha!

The beach...it craked me up that they had a surf board tied up to the lifeguard stand - as we were in a Bay and there were absolutely NO waves, what-so-ever. I guess it was to paddle to get there faster. who knows. They also blocked it off so you couldn't go out where it was over 5 feet.

Oh, our favorite place. This was taken from the other side of the 7th floor - it was our pool and our cabanas. If you see those 5 lounge chairs to the right of the pool (with my cousin on one of them) - those are where I spent a LOT of time. And I have the sunburn (and am now peeling) to prove it! There were also chairs in those "huts" that we also had at our disposal (thanks to my cousin who got down there at like 7 am every morning!!!). and right in front of the huts - the water is like 2 feet deep with chairs around the edges. yes, I also spent a lot of time there. and don't worry - that building right ot the right - that is the bar and there is a grill where we ate WAY too many french fries and pizza from.

this is the view of our hotel building (there were 2 yellow buildings - we were in this one) and the pool below (where the water volleyball was, and lots of kiddos) and behind the pool was where the buffet was. we won't discuss the buffet. Let's just say we ate LOTS of french fries!!!

I am leaving you with this one - one of my favorite shots from Jamaica....looking out on the water, with all the pretty flowers, and the "wedding gazebo" in the background. I LOVE this picture.

I'll post more of "us" on the trip in a bit -- some require a bit of cropping to make them worthy!

the gala...

I got a call from one of my favorite other managers at KPMG asking if I wanted to go to a Gala with a bunch of people from KPMG - of course I said yes - who doesn't love getting to dress up and hang out with a bunch of fun people. What I didn't know was that it was going to be a little political -- it was for an organization called HRC - the Human Rights Campaign - and they are dedicated to equal rights for gays, lesbians, transexuals. Don't worry - I don't fall into any of those categories - I fell into the "supporter" category...I forget how they termed the "straight people here to support the cause".... (and let's just say I don't know how much of a supporter I really am - I mean, I love these guys, but don't really support the lifestyle.) Well, we all know I hate politics - so I didn't listen much. Most of what they talked about I can't say that I agree with - but we won't get into any of that. Most of the time I just laughed and talked to the other guys at the table (it was 90% men at the event - and lets be honest - most of them were BEAUTIFUL) and had a good time. I even bought some cool Tom Ford sunglasses at the auction for about 50% of their true value. It was like bargain shopping.

Above, me and CL - one of my FAVORITE partners from KPMG. He is AMAZING. He always gave me wise counsel about the firm - and we had lots of fun times laughing in his office. And he loves Crave cupcakes almost as much as I do!

Here is me and MW - he was my saviour that night. When most of the boys were drunk and wanted to go to the "afterparty" - he taught me how to "low walk" - i.e. walk out and grab a cab to go home without being seen!

Here is NB - one of my other favorite partners - she was there with her Hubby who I also adore. They are such a great couple and SO much fun to be around! So glad I got to spend some time with her too!

Here is MW, me and CA, my date for the evening.

All in all, it was fun to get dressed up, hang out with these boys and laugh more than you can imagine!

I need help....

I don't know if all of you know, but I joined the Houston Junior League this year. I know, I know....most of you think I am kinda crazy for it, but I think I am REALLY going to like parts of it - a LOT.

Yesterday we went to our first training at Texas Childrens Hospital (TCH) and we learned about our placements...mine is Radio Lollipop. I had heard that it was amazing - but didn't know a lot about it and I learned so much last night. It is a really awesome program. It is an in-house radio program where they have a studio at the hospital and invite the kids to come down to play, sing, dance, and be a guest DJ for the night. They also have themes, and for the kids who can't leave their rooms to go visit, they do craft projects related to the theme (which we deliver to the kiddos's rooms) and then they can call into the DJ and make requests, and they have prizes for the best craft and other great things.

It is a REALLY neat program. We went down to visit last night and they immediately started talking about us on the radio and put on the Cuban Shuffle (which most people know I totally dislike - but guess I will have to start loving it - but I digress) - and made all of the JL girls dance in the hallway. Of course, we had some kiddos teaching us the way and it was really cute. Supposedly they try to get the kiddos to go do it in the hallway too!

Well, the one thing we have to do is to have a "Radio Name" and wear a hat -- most people do a theme. There was one girl who was like "Texas Tamara" and she wore a cowboy hat and such. Other people could be "Princess Laura" and wear a tiara. That is how everyone knows you. Basically, it is a way to show the kiddos we aren't coming to poke and prod them and have a little fun.

SO, we are all supposed to come up with a radio name and a hat for us to wear. I need help with mine -- so I am looking for suggestions. They don't want us to use our last names, so we need to stick with first names. PLEASE leave a comment if you have a suggestion - and include what "Hat" I could wear. Remember I have to wear it for 3 hours straight and running around dancing in the halls, so it can't be too outrageous. (and lets remember - kid friendly!)

I look forward to hearing what you have to say.....and even more about getting to volunteer at TCH and working with the radiolollipop program. (if you want some more info on radio lollipop - it is an international program - just google it. It is an AMAZING program!!!)

you ask and you shall receive....

Chocolate Mocha Cake (aka the devil cake)

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes plus cool time

Cake:

1 package devil's food or chocolate cake mix (make according to directions - I use the red box swiss chocolate)

Topping:
6 1-ounce squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 stick butter or margarine (1/2 a cup)

Icing:
12 ounces of cream cheese
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 TBS boiling water


Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease jelly-roll pan; line bottom with waxed paper.

2 Prepare cake mix as label directs. Spoon batter into jelly-roll pan, spreading evenly. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Coolcake in pan 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; peel off and discard waxed paper.Cool cake completely. (You can also make in 8 inch or 9 inch rounds - just bake according to box directions).

3 Prepare coffee butter cream: In small bowl, mix instant coffee powder with 2 teaspoons hot tapwater until coffee dissolves; stir in vanilla extract.

4 Cut 3/4 cup margarine or butter (1 1/2 sticks) into small pieces. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cut-up margarine and creamcheese just until mixed. Add confectioners sugar, beat at low speed just until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until fluffy, scraping bowl often. Reduce speed to medium; gradually beat in coffee mixture, scraping bowl often, just until well combined.

5 With serrated knife, cut cooled cake lengthwise into 3 equal pieces for cake layers. (with a 9 or 8 inch - no cutting required). Place one cakelayer on long platter; spread with 1/2 cup coffee butter cream. Top with second layer, then 1/2 cupcoffee butter cream. Place remaining layer on top. Spoon about 1 cup butter cream into decoratingbag with medium-size star tube; set aside. With metal spatula, spread sides and top of cake withremaining butter cream, making butter cream as smooth as possible. Refrigerate cake until coffeebutter cream is firm and cold, about 1 hour.

6In a heavy 1-quart saucepan over low heat, heat semisweet chocolate, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup butter(1 stick) until melted smooth, stirring frequently. Let glaze cool 5 minutes.

7 Tuck strips of waxed paper under cake to keep platter clean when glazing cake. Pour glaze along top of cake, allowing some glaze to drip down sides of cake. Refrigerate cake until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.


8 Pipe butter cream in decorating bag along top of cake to make a pretty design. Refrigerate cake if not serving right away.

reason #1 why today will be a good day...

for those of you who have had the "devil cake" - you will totally understand. Let's just say yesterday was a long day for all of us at work - especially when I got an email at 9:00 basically asking me to go BACK to the office to figure something out...but thank GOD for my friend LG who had her computer at home and was able to help me solve it without trucking back up to the office in my PJ's.

And since I work with a lot of girls, and we all had a bad day, I thought chocolate would solve all of our problems. I mean, it works, doesn't it?!?!?

I'll post later how long it takes for this baby to be demolished. I am voting in under 10 minutes.

And Reason #2 why today will be a great day - I am going out with some of my favorite girls for dinner tonight. I can't wait!

bumper stickers...

I have no idea why in the last month I have seen some really funny bumper stickers. I thought the one we saw in Woodward was hilarious (see the update in pictures Part I below) - but attributed that to being in backwoods oklahoma (sorry Leigh to say theses things about where you are from - but it is OUT there....admit it...but since I came from a small town in Texas, I totally understand).

Anyway, on the drive in to work today - these are the two (albiet on the same car) that made me shake my head. I knew there were Obama lovers, but this was some serious Obama hating going on....

Here they are:

"A taxpayer for Obama is like a chicken for Colonel Sanders."

And the one that took me a second to get (because I never listened to his speeches...I know, what a slacker):

"So, how is that "Hope" and "Change" thing working out for you?"

I don't get it. You know, the President has such a rough job. Yes, there are perks, but can you imagine the stress that man is under?!? It's suprising to me that more presidents don't have heart attacks while in office. And everyone seems to make judgement during the election and carry that forward based on what they promise to deliver - but you would think by now no one would even believe in campaign speeches because the likelihood of them being able to do that much in office is slim - I mean, you can say what you want, but without congress (and we know that the lobbyists are ALL OVER congress trying to get their way) approving, you are dead in the water. So I don't understand why some people get so worked up over this. (obviously, I don't pay attention to politics, I actually dispise it - both in the public sector and politics at work - it just seems to tear people apart). Now, for my politic involved friends and family - I am not saying I love or dislike Obama (hate is a VERY strong word), but I am just indifferent.

I think very strongly that everyone should spend way less time "bashing" or "loving" the president and just spend all of that collective time praying for him to make the right decisions. Wouldn't that make such a difference?

When I knew...

Last weekend I went to Dallas to celebrate that TE had proposed to my college roommate of 3 years, and one of my most favorite people in the world, Miss KJ. On the way up to Dallas I was in constant contact with our friend SM, and we were SO excited that we couldn't contain ourselves...and between those conversations I had some time to reflect on these two - on our friendship over the years and on the moment I knew that they would one day be husband and wife. Here is my side of the story....

I had received a phone call from KJ saying that she and TE were going to come down to Houston over Memorial Day weekend (this was 2005 - just to give you a sense of timing). I was SO excited - as it seems that no one EVER comes to Houston.

(admit it people - you never come to see me. *sigh* But I learned long ago that prying you away from D-town was too hard, and I was just going to have to learn to love I-45 / 75. And I do - and every trip I get to make to see your beautiful smiling faces. But I digress....)

After the wedding, they came back to my house, and I remember Travis helping KJ get into the house as it was raining (surprise, surprise - it is Houston, remember) and he didn't want her to get soaked. They came in and he ran back out to move the car and bring all of their stuff in. Now, Trav is a gentleman to begin with, but it was REALLY sweet the way he was treating KJ - even more sweet than normal. I sat on the couch and they were filling me in on all of the details from the wedding. As they were telling the stories, I noticed Kirsten hanging up Travis's coat with care, making sure it wasn't wrinkled. Travis came in and helped KJ with the back of her dress so that she could go change. KJ came back in and helped Travis hang up all of his clothes and make sure he had everything organized.

As I was sitting there watching, I felt like a little kid, watching their mom and dad after coming home from a night out, sitting anxiously listening to their stories, as they lovingly go about their evening routine. You could see how much they cared for each other in the way that they looked at each other, in the way that they interacted with each other, and the way that they graciously helped each other, most of the time without even asking, as if all they had to do was look at each other and they immediately knew what to do next.

As I sat there - I knew. I knew that they truly loved each other, but each was too afraid to express those feelings to each other. I knew that one day, the two would be one and I would forever call KJ "Mrs. Endsley".

That night as we laid in bed, I started asking questions....and we talked about TE till the early morning - as he was in the other room sleeping soundly. I could tell by her answers that she REALLY cared for him, and knew that she wanted to date him. We continued the conversation in the morning and I knew that drastic measures had to be taken....TE needed a Lippe "pull it together and just ask her out conversation".

I finally got my chance to talk to TE and told him what I saw and what I knew deep in my heart - that he had real feelings for KJ - and not the same feelings that he had for all of the "other" girls in our group. That he loved her. He agreed in not so many words and I seem to remember a conversation happening between the two of them sometime shortly thereafter and they were a "couple".

Over the years, obviously there were some ups and downs and some time spent apart - but as I kept telling KJ through all of it that I knew that they were meant to be together - I knew it deep in my heart. God had a plan for the two of them and it was going to take a while for both of them to be ready for them be able to spend the rest of their lives together. And God did just that - he taught each of them things about themselves and each other - and he brought them back together on HIS own timing - not theirs.

I remember the day Trav told me he was going to marry KJ. He called me at work, and dropped the bomb that he was going to ask her to marry him. I cried....like a little baby...at work - I was so excited, and proud of Trav that he was ready to take that next step. And more excited for KJ than anything, as I knew she wanted this day to happen for a very long time.

So, I drove up to Dallas with a car full of food and my entire kitchen and met up with one of Trav's roommates (who I adore because he unloaded my ENTIRE car....which, if you know how much stuff is in my kitchen, you can imagine my Tahoe filled to the top with stuff) and helped Trav's mom and sister get everything ready for the party. The guests starting arriving early (I think they were so stinking excited too!!!) and we were just awaiting the moment to hear that they were on their way.

When KJ and Trav arrived, you could just see the love and excitement flowing through them and throughout the entire crowd. By the time I saw KJ and gave her a big hug - I don't think that you could have wiped that smile off her face, and I just didn't want to quit hugging her - I was just so stinking excited for her and Trav! And I was so glad to have been able to spend that amazing time with them - to celebrate such a great occasion.

And now the wedding planning begins...

Here are some pictures from that weekend:

Here is Kirsten's Brother Jeff, Sister in Law Laura and all of their FABULOUS kiddos. Laura and Jeff are such an amazing couple. They are such an amazing role model for everyone - in the way they care and respect for everyone, in the way that they raise their children and in the way that they love each other and have a fantastic marriage. And I hadn't seen them since, well, Josh was around 2 - and you can tell with 3 more sisters, that was a long time ago! It was so great to get to catch up with them.

Here is KJ and TE with TE's younglife boys. They were so stinking cute. They were there to help out and were so much fun to hang out with.

The boys and their girls...all I have to say is it took 5 pictures to actually get this one as they were trying to hit each other and be funny. Oh, boys. What will we do with you....

At the end of the night, the three of us, and his roommate sat on the couch laughing and catching up. It was SO great to get to spend some time with them, drinking champagne, celebrating this amazing day, and laughing like always.

KJ and Trav - I want you to know how excited I am for you - and how much I have prayed for this day to come. I know that God has such amazing things planned for the two of you, and I look forward to see you start this new life toghether. I have been so blessed to be your friend and to be apart of this journey so far....I look forward to what is to come! Know that I love you more than you know....

It was memorial day weekend

Little WHH....

I LOVE being Aunt Karen....especially when it is cute kiddos like this that call me that!!! I went up to see my friend RH and spent some quality time with little WHH, and he is just so stinking cute. I loved it when he would see me, and hear my voice and get a big smile on his face. (I admit, not as big as when he sees his Momma, but I will take it! HA!)

Here we are - we stopped at Chick-fil-A for breakfast for me and mommy and he got to eat some blueberrys. He didn't like it at all...look at that grin!

In this picture, Mommy had tried to put all of my toys out of reach so he would crawl to get them. But no, instead he found a coat hanger closer and played with that. That smirk says "HA Mommy! I didn't have to crawl to get something to play with".

Robyn and I were walking through Target on the "most expensive Target Trip Ever", and she was telling me how someone said little WHH looks like Handy Manny. So we picked one up and gave it to him - he was FASCINATED. We finally got him to look up at us - and then we realized they DO look alike! He didn't want to give Handy Manny up the whole time we were in Target.

I love this kid.

catching up..in pictures...part I

I have not figured out how to upload my pictures till my friend RH told me how...and let's just say, I should have known it would have been that easy! Here are some more picts from the past few weeks...

LC's wedding in Oklahoma...

Of course, these picts are from the end of the night to the beginning of the night. I still hate using Blogger for pictures - I can't remember to upload them in reverse order becuase it is a PAIN to move them around!

The girls from the weekend - me, MM, JH, and LM at the Rooster. Oh, how great the people watching here was!

LM and I....

The Bride and I at the reception...I told you guys she looked GORGEOUS!

one of our favorite things about OK....we saw some awesome bumper stickers. This one was in our hotel parking lot. Sorry for the curse words...but It was pretty funny.

JH and PK outside the "nice" steakhouse in Woodward.

Then going way back to the fam pictures from Easter...


Mom and her favorite twin girls in the front yard. I wish you could see how beautiful it was - with the beautiful trees and all of my mom's hard work in her flower beds.

K and I....we almost NEVER get pictures together - I had to wrestle her to come outside and actually take pictures.

Dad and I....he is only laughing as I try to take this picture - and he totally doubts my abilities to take a picture of us with one hand! If you already didn't know...I am totally a daddy's little girl. we are so alike in so many ways. I love him to pieces!

some more good news.

My blood thinners are actually within the normal range (although, they shot up from below the low end to the high end in a week, which sometimes mean they will stay high for a while in my body) so I get to stop the lovenox shots. I don't think I can truly express how HAPPY that makes me!!

I'm feeling good - although a bit A.D.D. some of these days, which I think drives my co-workers crazy sometimes, but all in all doing great! I am much less tired since slowing down on the heart meds and that makes everything better!

now, if only I could get my house re-organized after two weekends of travel, including cooking for a FABULOUS party that entailed moving my whole kitchen to Dallas for the weekend (although I did get to bring back TOTALLY CLEAN dishes thanks to Mr. Trav - but they haven't gotten put away yet! plus, if you know me, I used every bowl, spoon, utensil in my kitchen while cooking and most were cleaned but maybe not put away!), and then there was also that mid-week trip to Midland last week! There are bags full of clean and dirty clothes everywhere, and the need to do laundry is overwhelming. I am totally contemplating just dumping most of it off at my favorite dry cleaner, Carol, to take care of it for me. It might be much less painful that way!

Thank God for my 9/80's and my friday off this week. It will be spent inside of closets re-organizing and putting things away...and cleaning. But I swear, if it is nice, I might just have to spend part of the day outside!!!

i have so much more to post about so much going on- but I will have to do that this weekend. I am going to TRY to get my pictures off my camera too so I can post some of those too. now I have to get back to work - we have so much going on here and it is the middle of close and I have lots to get done!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day....

my heart overflows...

It is such a fabulous day....I am in Dallas to celebrate the engagement of KJ and TE! More later, just wanted to share this photo! Congratulations...

oh, and I do have to comment that this is one of the only pictures of KJ when she was NOT holding her hand up showing off her ring! LOVE IT! it was so gorgeous. Trav did a fabulous job!