I'm all out of love

I'm not quite sure why, but I've had Air Supply tunes running through my head all day which means that I'm either (a) a gay ice dancer; or (b) exhausted to the point of delusion.

This little three-day work week has turned out to be quite the roller coaster. What kind of admissions director decides to take two days of vacation the week before four groups start? (A stupid one.) Does she not own a calendar? (Yes, she does. But she also owns a BlackBerry AND a brand-new MacBook Pro that will go through airport security and make her oh-so-accessible on vacation.)

I've discovered that the bad thing about three-day weeks is that you don't have a mere 24 hours worth of work. You still have 40 hours worth of work or more, you just have to cram it in the three days you're technically "working." And even then some of it spills over into your vacation time.

Yesterday my alarm sounded at 5:15 so that I could pack and put on a suit and meet my boss by 7 a.m. to drive to Harrison where I made small talk with strangers. I then drove through McDonalds for a regular cheeseburger with no pickles on my way to the office to frantically work on some files and freak out everyone in my general vicinity before driving to Fort Smith for the evening. Today I awoke at 5 a.m. to attempt creative writing, left the hotel at 7:15 a.m. for a downtown breakfast (more small talk with strangers), had a meeting, drove back to the office, pushed some more files around, ate Doritos and a 3 Muskateers for lunch at my desk, sped to campus for an admissions meeting, frantically searched for a network connection in a random office before I was kicked out at 6 p.m. while working on a "thing for the President if you have time," then finally finished and submitted my writing project that had to be done today at 8:22 p.m. I'm exhausted and still need to unpack and repack.

Lest you feel too sorry for me, I do feel the need to point out that in the past 24 hours I've eaten one of the best steaks of my life with Larry and Ashley, hung out with the very precious twins E and P Diddy, languished in a 30-minute whirlpool bath in a hotel room, talked to my awesome brother on the phone, and opened an unexpected check from my mortgage company. Tomorrow I have to stop by campus for a bit, then it's a day of massages and hair appointments (while my housekeeper cleans), driving to Tulsa, and boarding a jet plane bound for DFW. Can't wait to hang out with Lonnie and Jen this weekend. Woo-hoo! Just hope I can fit in sushi and Pappadeaux.

There is that pesky little conference call on Friday morning, but them's the breaks.

Oh, and in the words of Kat Ellis in "The Wedding Date" (seen 32 times per week on TBS) about Air Supply, "Everyone knows their greatest hits, but some of their ballads are surprisingly poignant."

The bag lady

This is one of my favorite things EVER...

Today was my friend Lindsay's birthday. Last week, the diva-in-training sent us a copy of her birthday wish list, which included a treadmill, a spa day, and a Gucci bag. Her hubby got her the treadmill.

And today, Ashley brought her a Gucci bag. A paper one, but still... a Gucci bag.

Funniest. Gift. Ever.

Under pressure

Well I suppose today was a bit better than yesterday considering nobody tried to put any body part in a vice, but it was still filled with a lot of pressure. The metaphoric kind, not the literal kind.

So I had a stinky morning and came home for lunch to feel sorry for myself. It was tough considering I'm on day two of my 48-hour fruit fast, but alas, I did not succumb to chocolate. I did, however, succumb to a long talk with God, during which He told me to get over myself. (That's just how God rolls, I'm convinced. I don't think He always talks to us in KJV lingo.)

My afternoon was much better. Less talking, more action. But also more meetings.

Tonight I'm doing laundry, ironing and packing to hit the road again. I'm relying on the hospitality of friends for the next four nights. Tomorrow I have LBC, then speaking at a board meeting, then back to LBC in the afternoon. Tomorrow night I'm driving to the Fort for a Chamber dinner with Ashley. I'll be crashing at Vance and Sorne's.

On Friday I'm driving to the Rock to have lunch with Ann, then Brent and I are going to Cold Stone to celebrate his natal anniversary. That night Joe's meeting Estella and I for dinner, and we'll be getting up early on Saturday to walk in the Race for the Cure in Little Rock. I've always wanted to do the Race and never have. I hear it's indescribable and I'm very excited.

Saturday afternoon/night I'll be driving to Nebo to stay with Scott and Alisa. On Sunday afternoon my ol' Tech friends are coming up for gumbo and good times. Then, late Sunday evening, I'll be driving to Rogers to stay with Kelly so that I can be at a 7 a.m. meeting on Monday.

Good grief. When did my life become so crazy? But I love it. And I'm grateful to have good friends (with spare bedrooms) to share it all with.

Like putting lipstick on a kid

Having come from humble beginnings, sometimes I marvel at my good fortune. But I also worry that I will, at some point, start to take my life for granted. I'm sure that Donald Trump thinks of new towers as "just another building," and Paris Hilton must grow weary of the paparazzi, but I still feel like Alice down the rabbit hole a lot of the time.

Today I had sushi with my pal Ashley for lunch, went to get a pedi (black... isn't that fun?), and then drove down to Mount Magazine for my conference. I checked into my king suite with the spacious views of the valley below from my balcony (see previous post). After tonight's dinner meeting, I got to visit with my BFF Alisa, then I languished alone in a whirlpool tub built for two. Obviously my life isn't perfect, but it's pretty amazing.

Seriously, when did I become such a brat? I don't even feel guilty. Well, not really.

I'm also grateful that I got to see a lot of my family earlier this week. Monday night I met my dad and the kids at Chance's baseball game. They lost, but then we went to McDonald's and he got over it pretty quickly. Hope found the lipstick in my purse, so she was looking pretty cute.

KC Masterpiece

Greetings from rainy Kansas City! So far this trip has been more uneventful than the one three months ago, when Jon Bon Jovi and I touched fingers during "Bed of Roses." Yeah, it's not relevant, but I like bringing that up every chance I get.

When Estella and I were up here in April, I got us lost looking for Hwy 71 South. And I got us lost big time in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, so last week I invested in a Garmin GPS. I don't know how I lived without one. You simply put in a destination (I.e., Walgreens), and it gives you turn by turn directions. Amazing! And you can just type in "restaurant" and it will list them by proximity and by type of food. How cool is that? Ashley and I have named her Carmen (get it... Carmen the Garmin). She is relatively friendly, but gets a bit upset when you veer off course.

So now we're just chillin' in the Doubletree, enjoying our $13 a day Internet. I don't know what I'm going to do next week when the traveling stops, but I am going to the Fort for two days, so that's the same, right?

Sunday/Monday recap

Ok, this is about the cutest thing EVER! My grandmother and I stopped to visit Parker and Emma (and Larry and Ashley) last night after dinner. They are growing like weeds! They're now smiling and laughing and really responding. Ashley took this pic a couple of weeks ago (I bought them the outfits!). Don't you just want to squeeze them?



My grandmother asked if they were identical. I said, "No, one of them has a pee pee."

After surviving the strong winds last night that knocked out the power and downed power lines and tree limbs all over the Fort, I met my friend Susan at the country club to work at a golf tournament. Thankfully no one had a video camera on us as we, quite comically, struggled to put up a tent in the rain. Then it stopped raining just after we were done. By that time I had frizzy hair and two inches of mud on the bottom of my pants. The rest of the day was pleasant, and we got to visit in between guys stopping by for our bananas, cereal bars, and bottled water.

I dropped $113 on running gear at Academy Sports this afternoon. You may recall that Lonnie, Jen and I are going to "run" in a 5K this Saturday (the quotes are for Lon and me, who will probably walk 90% of it). Needless to say, if I'm going to run five feet I need to look good. So I bought new shorts, two shirts, running socks, and an industrial strength sports bra.

After a pedicure at my favorite nail place (yes, I'm a brat), I came back to Siloam and met my friends John and Tricia for dinner. Now I'm just unloading my car and thinking I need to get on the treadmill. But I probably won't.

Yesterday, after Sunday School, I headed to the big city of Midland (pop. 221) to celebrate Dad's day with my dad, stepmom, brother, nephews, and niece. I also got to see the famous Uncle Cecil Missouri, who's evidently forgiven me for deserting her five months ago. We ate burgers and watched Chance try out his new golf club while Hope played with her imaginary baby sister. When we left, Hope told Brad, "Bye, Daddy. Happy Fodders Day." It was cute.

This coming weekend is Brady's birthday party, so I called to find out what he wanted. He wants cash to buy a big screen TV. Lucky thing his mom's a doctor.

I hope everyone had a happy Fodders Day and sustained little or no wind damage. Is it too early to go to bed?!?

Happy birthday, Chance and Ashley!

Wishing a very happy birthday to two of my very favorite people.

Balancing act

Life, like an ecosystem, is a delicate balance. Too much of any one thing throws the whole thing off. It's a series of give and take, this and that, and trying to keep all your balls in the air. While riding a unicycle. On roller skates. In the rain.

{Disclaimer: I made a "C" in each of my two science classes in college, so I'm not quite sure about the ecosystem analogy. But I'm sure Jen can correct me if I'm wrong. Or Lon can get out his "Science for dummies" book he reads to prepare to teach Biology.}

Perhaps this is the reason I have a love/hate relationship with traveling for work. I love that we have offices near friends and family. I hate that many of my trips are so tightly scheduled that I feel like the Pope. It would be much easier if I had a personal assistant who could call everyone and make them grateful for 15 minutes of Lori time.

In a few moments I'm leaving for Little Rock. My plan is to have dinner tonight with Lon, Jen, Huey, Dewie and Louie; coffee after that with Joe; a lunch meeting tomorrow for work; dinner tomorrow night with Brent and Dave after a work meeting at 5 p.m.; lunch on Tuesday with Alisa, Shauna and Amy; a Tuesday afternoon visit with Ashley and the twins; stop by the Fort Smith office to check on things; dinner with my grandmother; and Chance's baseball game at 7:30. After that I'll come back home in time to unpack and fall into bed, exhausted. Oh, and somewhere in that time I need to figure out how to get some work done.

Anyone else want a piece of me?

P.S. Dad, lest you feel left out, remember that I'll be seeing you for hours next weekend. Aren't you lucky?

Too much to handle

Mother Theresa allegedly said "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle; I just wish He didn't trust me so much." That's been my mantra as of late. Be careful what you wish for.

Yeah, I've been feeling overwhelmed and stressed lately. I spent my "vacation" day today answering e-mails and returning phone calls and working at an event. So I was feeling sorry for myself driving home tonight.

Then I got to thinking about all of the people in my life who have so much more to be stressed about. People like Ashley, who's sleeping about 90 minutes at a time with the new twins. Or Jen, who's frantically trying to keep her house spotless to sell, take care of four boys ('cause let's face it, Lon's still a boy) and move nine hours away from home. Or Shannon, who works a full-time job AND a part-time job while being a stay-at-home mom and taking care of an ill husband. Or my friend Susan, who's leaving her job to allow her husband to pursue his dream.

Ladies, obviously God trusts you more than He trusts me. I hope all of you know how much I admire you and how much I'm praying for you as you face your challenges. He won't give us more than we can handle, but sometimes He stretches us further than we think we can stand. That's when He's carrying us forward.

From Siloam to Little Rock in 8.5 hours

Lindsay and I are finally in Little Rock, a mere eight-and-a-half hours after we left Siloam. We took a little detour through Fort Smith to see Ashley and the twins. They are so beautiful! I got to spend time holding and bonding with both of them today. I'm sure they already think their Aunt Lori is pretty cool.

Larry took this pic after they brought Emma and Parker home on Friday. Isn't it just cool?



Both of the babies are just so good. Emma let me hold her for awhile, but ultimately just wanted some time to herself in the crib (I guess she's not used to "alone" time). Parker is just the sweetest and will let you hold him for hours.

We finally left the Fort around 5:30 and headed east. We stopped in Altus and ate dinner at the Wienkeller. Lindsay was quite impressed with our waitress' leiderhausen and clogs.

We're finally at the Peabody, where there are ducks everywhere. These are supposedly the best beds in Little Rock, and for $189 a night, they should be.

Tomorrow night we're hanging with Huey, Dewie and Louie. Just like old times.

Death and taxes

Spring is a beautiful season. I love it when the trees leaf, flowers bloom, and it starts to stay daylight longer. Spring also means the onslaught of allergies and the need for the lawn to be mowed.

I've been sick all day with a runny nose, sore throat, and severe headache. But at least I got caught up on my DVR. And the better news is that my taxes are done, and I'm getting a refund from state and federal. Not a huge refund, mind you (I know someone who's getting a $10K refund... really), but I'm always happy if I don't have to pay.

Tomorrow one of my coworkers and I are headed to Little Rock for a conference. We're staying at the Peabody which evidently has the state's most comfortable beds. And we're stopping in the Fort tomorrow to see Ashley and the twins. I'm so excited!

The road to here

Yesterday I met my friend Matt for lunch in Springdale. I've known him for years; he was a student worker in our office at Tech when he was a freshman, and he was always one of my favorites. After college he married Angela, who was working for my former boss Dr. R, and now they have three beautiful children. But I digress.

After Matt and Angela got married, he moved to Siloam to work on a ministry degree, which led to a job, which led to everyone at JBU thinking he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

So when I interviewed for my current job and told my new boss, who happens to be Matt's former boss, that I knew Matt, the job was mine.

Granted, I had the skills and experience they were looking for and also had the endorsement of two other well-respected folks on campus (thank you, Susan and Ashley), but this was definitely a who-you-know situation. And I blame Matt for it, as I told him yesterday.

I've thought a lot lately about the road that led me here. I've always been an "everything happens for a reason" kinda gal, so I do try to take the bad times for what they are, an opportunity to learn and grow. But it's truly astounding to me how God used all of the time in my life, even the time when I was furtherest from His will, to prepare me for this job. I met Matt at Tech, I met Ashley and Susan at UAFS, and Dr R left Conway, so here I am. In an amazing place with a great job and an opportunity to continue my spiritual journey by integrating my faith in my work.

It's no secret that the Apostle Paul is my spiritual hero, and he was the poster child of God using someone's questionable past for His glory.

He does truly use ALL things--even the things that we shouldn't do--for His good. That doesn't mean that He condones the sin or living out of His will, but He can take all of the screw-ups, willful disobedience, and times of sinfulness and make something good out of it. He is sovereign, and He is in control.

Double the fun!

Here's the first public photos of Parker and Emma. Aren't they beautiful?

Emma seems to be the calm one.



Parker and I had quite the conversation. Here he is listening raptly to my wisdom.



Ashley took me back to the NICU to see the kids, and I was just so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't stop crying. Really. Me, Miss Devoid of Sentiment, was weeping like a child, which made Ashley cry, which made the nurses start crying.

On a much less happy note, I had my annual eye doctor appointment today, where I found out that, not only were my contacts not strong enough (hence the two-month headache), but I have the beginnings of macular degeneration. I got the speech about getting older, watching my diet, taking vitamins, and exercising for a healthy heart, which evidently prolongs the onset of the disease. Man, it stinks to get old.

Happy April Fools, everyone.

Monday recap

First of all, please forgive me if this post seems a bit strange. I'm kind of out of sorts. I forgot my power cord to my Mac in Mountain Home yesterday, so I brought my work laptop home, but the wireless doesn't seem to work on it, so I'm back plugged into the router. Man, after more than a year of wireless freedom, this is really weird.

I've been at home in bed all day. Evidently a huge flower has showered me with pollen and I can't stop sneezing. My head is killing me and I have a sore throat. Benadryl always helps, but that, of course, makes me sleepy. I hope the deluge of rain cleaned the air a bit and I can breathe again tomorrow when I reenter the world.

The big news of the day is that Ashley had the twins this morning. Parker and Emma were born just before 10 a.m. and weighed about 6 lbs. each. Ashley and the twins are doing well, and I'm thrilled that I get to see them tomorrow.

Speaking of... DeWood, can I buy you lunch?

Thanks to all of you for the great movie posts. Several of the ones you love I haven't seen, so I'm adding them to my Netflix que. I figure if you guys like them enough to watch them over and over, they're worth a screening.

Today's significant for two reasons (three now that it's Emma and Parker's birthday): (1) my grandfather would have been 87 today; and (2) one year ago today I moved to Conway. Man, can you believe that's only been 12 months ago?

Thursday Recap

5 a.m. I've been awake for at least an hour. Perhaps that nap I snuck in at 4:30 yesterday afternoon wasn't such a good idea after all. Or, more likely, it has something to do with the fact that I've been really lazy about my morning quiet time as of late. I'm listening, God. I'm up. I'm reading.

7 a.m. Leave the house and detour around the closed streets downtown (due to flooding) to get to City Coffee for an amazing raspberry white chocolate scone and non-fat latte (I think that offsets, right?). Bummer... cinnamon scones are all they have.

7:45 a.m. Finish quiet time and latte and start plan to take over the world (AKA my 60-day assessment for my boss).

8:30 a.m. Forget 'til last minute about weekly breakfast at work (you'd think after 8 Thursdays I'd figure it out), so I miss out on made-to-order waffles and omelets because I already ate that stupid cinnamon scone.

9:05 a.m. Leave Siloam Springs for Rogers.

9:45 a.m. Stop by NW Arkansas Toyota to check out the new Camry's. Test drive white one. Buy silver one.



11:25 a.m. Talk to Ashley, who's bored on bedrest, while navigating the Rogers traffic in the new car. Not used to being so low to ground, or getting decent gas mileage.

11:45 a.m. Have lunch meeting at P.F. Chang's. Order kung pao shrimp and a tiramasu dessert shooter. Yum!

2 p.m. Marketing meeting at the Rogers Center. Gaze out the window at the new car and decide she needs a name. My friend Lindsay suggested "Lola." I'm thinking more "Barbara" or "Celine." I think a silver Camry is more boardroom than bedroom. The red Audi convertible I really wanted could have been a Lola. But Celine makes me think of that annoying Titanic song, and I'm not sure my new Toyota makes my heart go on and on and on. So baby will go home unnamed.

3:20 p.m. Call Jen to congratulate her on getting her first residency choice... Texas A&M in Temple, TX. Wonder how much it will cost to fly round-trip from XNA to Austin. Think about repercussions of Jen being a blonde Aggie.

4 p.m. Arrive back at the dealership to sign life away. Get free Diet Coke in the "customer center" and read a magazine. Sign on the dotted line 26 times and think about death, but refuse the casualty payoff. Hey... I'm dead. What do I care if it ruins my credit rating?

5:30 p.m. Finally get in what's-her-name after she gets a bath and a fill-up (I spent $52 filling up the ol' TrailBlazer yesterday... bummer) and they try to sell me other options which would bring my payment to about $1,200 a month, like in the event that I should lose my right eye in a skiing accident while wearing a pink bikini, my car will be paid for, provided I get the oil changed at the dealership every two weeks. Um, no.

5:37 p.m. Visit with my grandmother, who's excited I now have a "Camera" like hers. She describes her day, telling me that "The Village People" put on a style show. Turns out it's not as exciting as I thought; she lives in Methodist Village, so the Village people are merely other residents, and they modeled clothes from their closet. Evidently one dude modeled overalls and carried a potato for "farm wear." Hmmm....

6:00 p.m. Talk to my aunt Kathy, who's watching Dewie and Louie while Huey practices soccer. While on the phone, I hear her tell Ave, "If you do that again, I will yank your arm off." Not sure what that's about; he's always a perfect angel around me.

6:40 p.m. After a short stop at Hobby Lobby, arrive home. Leave car in driveway to take pics for blog. Neighbors think I'm mental.

6:50 p.m. Call Pizza Hut to order a pizza. Dude answers, "Thank you for calling Pizza Hut; will it be carryout or delivery?" I say, "Delivery." He says, "Sorry, we're not delivering right now."

6:52 p.m. Eat a half a bag of chips and decide to blog.

Spring has sprung. Are you ready? Vacation tomorrow. Wahoo!

Oh, and vote for the new car's new name. I'm leaning toward Audrey Hepburn... it's classic, right?

Two for one

As reported earlier, my pal Ashley and her husband Larry are having twins, a boy and a girl, next month. This morning was the shower for Parker and Emma. As you can imagine, there was a lot of pink and blue.




Ashley and Larry





Me, Ashley and Susan... doesn't Ashley look fantastic? I, on the other hand, look like I'm pregnant with at least one baby.




We had quite a spread, all courtesy of Susan and her mom.

So sorry

Note to self: stop venting via blog. It just freaks people out, makes them question themselves, and generally wreaks havoc.

Rule #1: If I write about it, it's probably not hypothetical (Jen).
Rule #2: By blogging about whatever seems to be bugging me at that very moment, I somehow manage to transfer much of the frustration and anger to the keys of my laptop and therefore alleviate my stress, but it is very sweet of you to be concerned (Alisa).
Rule #3: If I know you read my blog, I'm not talking about you (Susan and Ashley). So your guilty feeling is merely equated to how I feel every Sunday at church... the Pastor's probably not talking to me, but it certainly doesn't hurt me to hear it.

On a lighter and happier note, my very talented cousin-in-law, Shannon, has her new website up and running. Check it out and book a session... she's amazing!

Oh, and last night I had a crazy dream... Jen was pregnant... with a girl. Yeah, it was weird.

I'm back!

Heatfelt apologies for my absence. I've been driving around the world... well, at least northwest part of the state, since last Thursday. I spent Friday in our Little Rock office, then stopped at UCA to see some old friends. I was in Russellville on Friday and Saturday, emceeing the Miss Lake Dardanelle pageant. Here's me, Erin, and Paige, just after the pageant.



One of the great things about my job is that I do get to travel quite a bit, which gives me the opportunity to catch up with old friends. In addition to seeing Lon, Jen, Brady, Avery and Peyton on V-Day, I had lunch with Alisa and Grey on Saturday, and I got to spend two nights with Paige and her mom, Lynne.

Yesterday I left Russellville early to head to the Fort to pick up my grandmother for church. I usually attend the 8:30 a.m. service since I am not at all interested in being on TV. Yesterday I picked a spot far enough away from the camera, but of course I was caught anyway. Several folks e-mailed and/or called to tell me the news, and since I DVR church every Sunday, I got the chance to see me and my four chins for myself this afternoon. Ugh. Back on the diet.

I spent today in the Fort Smith office and got to have a tasty lunch at Blue Plate with Susan and Ashley. Overall, it was a productive trip, but I'm glad to be home, back in my own bed. For two nights at least. Then it's back on the road.

Cock-eye

When I was a kid, my parents and I (I'm sure my brother was someplace way cooler than hanging out with us in our paneled station wagon) used to play the "cock-eye" game in the car. You know, when you'd see a car with one headlight out and whoever yelled "cock-eye!" first was the winner. I think it was the predecessor to slug bug or the license plate game.

I've been driving around cock-eyed for nearly a month. To be fair, my pal Joe offered to fix it for me when I was still in Conway, but I was way too preoccupied with packing to actually purchase a new light, so it didn't get done. And I don't do too much nighttime driving, so I didn't think about it really.

But for the past couple of weeks, people have been––thinking they're being helpful--alerting me as to my cock-eyed transportation. And, as previously reported, I received a warning ticket on Friday night from Barney Fife.

So I went to Wal-Mart on Sunday to buy a few groceries and a new headlight. I'm a modern (and cheap) woman. Surely I can save 50 bucks and put in my own headlight, right? So I got out to the car, popped the hood, and could not for the life of me figure out how to get to the stupid thing. Disclaimer: cars and bugs are where I become a girl. I don't know the dangers that lurk under the hood of a vehicle. Am I going to hurt myself? I'm really thinking I should've been more proactive about letting Joe fix it. Or maybe it's worth missing a few meals to pay to have it done. Keep in mind that I'm the chick who made 40 percent on the mechanics part of the ASVAB exam.

Here's where Wikipedia is awesome. There are step-by-step instructions on there, detailing what to do and promising a 10-minute task. Obviously a man estimated the timing. I mean, just because Ashley can make a cheesecake in 20 minutes doesn't mean I can do it in less than two hours.

I had to unscrew the cover of the air filter in three places (impressed, ladies?), remove the cover, and pop off the cover of the lights. I fought with the clip on the new light for 20 minutes, and couldn't figure out why it didn't fit. I compared new light to old light and discovered they were different sizes. Ugh. Wal-Mart automotive dude sold me the wrong size! I am indignant at this point. I had to screw the cover back on the air filter and drive back to Wal-Mart to exchange the stupid thing. And you know how lovely the customer service desk at Wal-Mart can be. But I finally exchanged it, came back home, unscrewed the air filter cover AGAIN, removed it, took the back off the light, and replaced it. I was so proud of myself. I am a mechanical genius.

So I turned the lights on and.. nothing. Guess what? I changed the wrong light. I am a mechanical idiot. Obviously Mr. Six-bucks-an-hour Electronics Dude was smarter than I gave him credit for. By this point I was NOT going back to Wal-Mart again; it was getting dark and the last thing I needed was another warning ticket, so I waited until today, when I stopped at Auto Zone and got another light.

So I unscrewed the top off the air filter yet again, found the right light, and fixed it in 10 minutes. Well, 45 or so if you count the whole time. Or more if you count the three trips to buy/exchange/buy lights.

The good news is that neither light on the passenger side should go out for awhile.

Who needs a man? I can change my own headlights. No more cock-eye.

Holiday Recap

Today's the first day that I've felt any respite from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It's been crazy since I got here, but I've finally caught my breath and have the opportunity to update you all on the exciting happenings in my life.

On Saturday, I met Ashley for lunch at Rolando's, then I went down to spend the evening in Hartford at Memaw and Pepaw's house. Since the Cowboys game was on NFL network, we went up to Woo and Amanda's to watch. Then we came back to Memaw's where 8 of us spent the night. I slept on the couch.

On Sunday morning, Kathy and I started cooking for the Plunkett fiesta. We made enchiladas, tacos, creamy taco, guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheese dip. My mom's family came down for lunch, then we had a rousing game of Dirty Santa (I got a mani/pedi set).

Here's Hewey, Dewie and Louie playing football with Chance in the mud.



And this is Taylor and me at the party.



Hope and MaKenzie, my cousin Carrie's little girl, got new purses from Granny Eck.



On Sunday evening, I stayed at my brother's house with the kids, where Chance, Taylor and I enjoyed a wild night of RockBand. Then I slept on the bottom bunk with Hope, who talked incessantly.

On Monday (Christmas Eve), we opened presents at Brad's early that morning, then went to Dad and Vickie's for brunch and more present opening. After that I ventured back to Fort Smith to my grandmother's for a nap prior to attending the candlelight service at church. Then I went to my aunt and uncle's house for German food. And I spent the night on my grandmother's couch.

Chance put the bow from his sister's present on his head.



I got Taylor a Romo jersey.



Hope got care bears from Grandpa and "Mickie."



On Tuesday (Christmas Day), I stopped at Vance and Sorne's to see what the boys got from Santa, then I picked up Taylor, Chance and Hope and we went to Memaw and Pepaw's to eat fish with the Hester brood. After dropping them off and coming back to the Gregory's for a nap, Amanda and I went to the movies.

Today (Wednesday) I slept in 'til after 10 a.m., then Vance cooked breakfast. Sorne and I went for coffee, then I took a nap. Tonight I met John and Tricia at Chili's for dinner.

Tomorrow (Thursday) Ashley and I are headed to Siloam Springs. I'm meeting with a realtor to find a place to live, then I'm having dinner tomorrow night with my dad, stepmom, brother, his GF, and my grandmother. Guess I'll head back to C-way on Friday to start packing.

And for those of you who are curious, my friends and family were generous this year. I got a beautiful bowl for my new office, a fabulous leopard throw, a cute coffee mug, and gift cards to Starbucks, Williams Sonoma, Best Buy, and Ann Taylor. Pretty cool, huh?