Rock out with your clock out

Daylight Savings Time never fails to make me think of my mom. Each year, from "fall back" until "spring forward," she complained about the lack of daylight, constantly exclaiming "I hate this time!" Every. Single. Day.

And while my brother and I constantly mocked her incessant time change catch phrase, I never set my clocks up or back without thinking of her. And granted, I don't love the winter either. I hate it being dark when I leave the office. I stay tired. I don't, however, suffer from seasonal affective disorder. I don't suffer from deep depression and need light therapy. But it does mess with my psyche a bit.

So even though we lost an hour yesterday, I'm happy we're back on DST. Today, after returning from yet another trip to Hot Springs, I put on my running shoes and headed outside to run. And wow, even though I've been doing three miles on the treadmill four times a week, my 2.5 miles outside about killed me. Just in case you're wondering, a cold sweat doesn't just happen when you're nervous; it also happens when you're jogging in 50 degree weather.

But I did manage to get in 2.5 miles jogging and 1.5 miles of walking. Let's see if I manage to get out of bed in the morning.

Happy birthday, bro!

Wishing a very happy birthday to my wonderful brother, who turned 45 today. I love you, Brad! Hope you have an awesome year.

Ode to a kicker

Bless your heart, Alex Tejada
Your OT kick got us nada
I have no idea how you missed that goal
And now we're going to a second-rate bowl

I gotta admit I wasn't surprised
Your right foot always brings tears to my eyes
Perhaps my brother can teach you how to play
'Cause in fourth grade he won the PPK

Here's hoping your Liberty Bowl kicks aren't rotten
Even though you robbed us of Capital One and Cotton

Great day!

The weather was cold and yucky today, but I had a totally great Monday. Today, I did one of the coolest things I've ever done at work... I got to admit my brother, who's going back to school. How awesome is that?

Lucky girl

I'm finally back in the land of the living. I exercised today for the first time in two weeks. No activity + increased caloric intake = 5 new pounds. Or 5 returning pounds. Now I have 15 to go instead of 10. Ugh.

I was so depressed this morning after stepping on the scale that I threw away the Oreos, did yoga and then walked three miles.

I threw away my fat clothes. Gaining back the weight is not an option.

Thank goodness I'm feeling like working out again since my life these days revolves around food. Ok, that's no different than usual. But I am finding it difficult to find the time to see all of my friends while I'm in Central Arkansas this week.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I'm lunching with some of my UCA friends. I'm meeting guy friends for dinner at my favorite place the next two nights. (I'm here to work... need to make that happen, too!)

Tonight I had dinner with Vickie, Brad, and the kids in Fort Smith. It was so great to see them all. I got to see Brad's crew last weekend, but I haven't seen V in a long time. (And I forgot to say so, but you look really fabulous, V!)

I stopped to see my grandmother on my way out of town, and attempted to explain to her how my cousins Carrie, Jen and I can keep up with each other without actually seeing or talking to one another. She doesn't get it. Mostly, she's just mad that I know stuff that she doesn't. Useless Facebook updates? I don't think so!

I love that my job gives me the chance to travel and see friends and family, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by trying to fit everything in. Then I feel grateful that so many people want to see me. Or at least pretend to.

Seriously, I am so very lucky. This afternoon I stopped in Van Buren to go to the bathroom and some dude stopped me and asked if I could spare a dollar so that he could buy some gas to get to Georgia. My first (smart alleck) thought was that it would take a lot more than a buck to get to Georgia, but then I felt humbled. So I took three dollars out of my $400 handbag for him.

I confess that I usually refuse to give money to people who ask for it because I'm skeptical. I assume they're too lazy to work. Or are making a lot of money from the generosity of others.

But today I started thinking about what Jesus would do. And I decided that giving isn't as much about the receiver as it is about the giver. And the spirit in which things are given. I am blessed so far beyond what I deserve. I should take the time more often to remember that, and to help others.

Heh. Consider my attitude adjusted.

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."

Our last Father's Day

A few weeks ago the awesome Shannon took some family photos for us. They're priceless.









I've been awake for over 21 hours, so I'm fading quickly. At this point we only know the service is Tuesday, but not sure what time. Details as I know them.

Thanks for the prayers!

Rest of the pics are here.

Postcards from the edge

What's up, Doc?
Thanks for the 47 text messages today. It was great getting to know you better... You are a witty conversationalist. I thought coffee tonight was a great idea. Thanks for asking. And thanks for not answering my texts and phone calls when I got back into town. Was there some sort of nuclear disaster I didn't know about? I'm sure there's a good explanation and I look forward to hearing it along with your apology. You can send the flowers to my office.
Best,
Lori
-------------------
Dear LB,
It's been 72 hours and I'm still mad at you. The least you could do is try to call so that I could have the satisfaction of ignoring you. Or, better yet, text me. I've got my reply all written already. It ends with, "I'm so disappointed in you." Guess all your crying last month and telling me I'm one of the most important people in your life took a backseat to a date with a chick you barely know. It's my birthday this week, you creep, and if you want me to forgive you in this lifetime, there'd better be an apology. You said you couldn't live without me, so why aren't you dead?
Get bent,
Lori
-------------------
To the cute ropes course guy,
Please don't judge me by the yoga pants and sweat stains. I'm a fun gal when I'm not balancing on a wire and sticking my butt in your face. Let's do some experiential learning of our own.
Lori
--------------------
Dear Dad,
I'm sorry for all of the times I got mad at you for not letting me do things like go to Ronnie's and shoot pool. I know now that they were smoking dope. And I'm sorry that Brad and I make fun of you for asking so many questions. You've left Gina alone, so I'm less afraid to introduce you to my boyfriend (if I ever get one). Happy Father's Day!
Your daughter

Best of 'Bo' Worlds

This is my niece, Hope, singing for us this weekend. Her new favorite song is "Best of 'Bo' Worlds" by Hannah Montana. No amount of talking could convince her that it was "both."

She also does a rousing rendition of "Girlfriend" by singing "I fink you meed a new one..." But she refused to do my personal favorite, "Low."

Had a great weekend with Brad and the kids. More later.

Sugar... oh, honey, honey

Taylor and Chance have planned for months to spend Spring Break with me. So I went to the world's largest retailer after church on Sunday to procure $75 of sugary snacks.

Since I'm working from home this week I discovered that my home office is way too close to the kitchen. I spent Monday afternoon chowing on cookies and Doritos and chugging Diet Coke. Taylor got a better offer last night to spend a few days with some friends in Branson, so the boys decided not to come to Siloam. I got stuck with fattening snacks.

Thankfully I had a luncheon in the Fort today, so I loaded up the honey buns, spaghettios, chocolate chip cakes, reece's puffs, ranch Doritos, trix and code red mountain dew and took them to Brad's. An empty pantry equals an easy diet.

Tomorrow is day two of working from home, but without the distracting snacks.

The most exciting part of my day? I found an awesome pink polka dot ironing board cover at JT Maxx. Every chick needs one of those, right?

Puppy love

Those of us with older brothers know what it's like to have a crush on one of his friends. I remember trying to impress Brad's friends while growing up. They usually ignored me.

Hope has a colossal-sized crush on her brother's friend Blake. I don't know if she realizes that Taylor even plays basketball. For her, they're Blake's games. How many five year olds have their sights set on a 17-year-old? She's like the Anna Nicole Smith of the preschool set.

Here's her face paint for the game last night.



I'm happy to report that the Hornets were victorious in the finals of the regional tournament (three years in a row!). And after the game, the leading scorer didn't hug his mom or a girl his own age, but the cute little girl with the big ol' crush.

Happy (belated) birthday, bro!

My aunt Kathy called today, disappointed that there wasn't an embarrassing pic of my brother on my blog to commemorate his birthday yesterday. I didn't forget, I was just distracted by the ice storm. But here you go.



And just for good measure, one of Kathy and Brad together.



Happy birthday, bro! A day late, but I love you!

Weekend update

At least one person has been waiting for me to post (thank you, Debbie), but I've been out of town since Wednesday, staying in hotels and with family, eating out and in my car, and driving. And driving some more. I filled up my car three days in a row.

Last week I momentarily considered renting out my extra room as a bed and breakfast. Granted, a Diet Coke is considered breakfast in my world, but still... I paid 120 bucks for a hotel room on Wednesday night in NLR that was less than luxurious. My guest bed is more comfortable than a hotel's. My towels less scratchy. I could totally slam some doors in the middle of the night and turn the TV up loudly, so I think it could work.

On Thursday night I checked into the other end of the spectrum... the Hilton at Branson Landing. Thankfully it's off-season and I got a great room rate, but it was one of the nicest rooms I've seen in quite a while. Too bad I was there a mere 10 hours. Upon arrival, the desk clerk asked me if I wanted self-parking for $8 or valet for $12. HELLO... it's 9 degrees outside and I'm a pretty, pretty princess, so what do you think I chose?!? I think the valet was in keeping with the comfortable bed, flat screen TV and fabulous tub. The couple yelling next door? Not so great.

After a productive meeting and lunch at Macaroni Grill (yum!), I attended the big Hartford vs. Hackett game Friday night, and it was painful. Let's just say the mercy rule was enforced during the fourth quarter. Good for Taylor, bad for my alma mater.

I was so tired that I slept until 10 a.m. on Saturday, then Taylor and I went to see Chance play basketball in the afternoon. Chance had 20 points (AKA 75% of the team total) and got the offensive award for the day. He really, really wants the ball... so much so that he follows his teammates around while they dribble and yells for them to throw it to him. If he could pass it to himself, he would.

Brad and I went out to dinner last night, then I drove back to Siloam. Today I've just been doing laundry, taking naps, and catching up on my DVR. Thankfully there's no travel this week, and it will be great to get back to my routine. I haven't been on the treadmill since Wednesday and I can feel my rear end getting bigger.

Happy birthday, Dad!

Happy birthday to my dad. I won't say how old he is, but it rhymes with mixty tree.

(Oh, and happy birthday to my uncle Lary, too.)

Wonderful Christmastime

Some pics from this week:

Chance



Hope got lots of makeup



Taylor and me on Christmas Eve



Dad, Taylor, Hope, Brad, Chance and me



Mason and Isaac on Christmas morning



Jen and me on Christmas day



Taylor, Brad and me



Peyton taking his Christmas nap

The flyin', the witch and the whatever

Belated Halloween greetings from my awesomely cute niece and nephew, Chance and Hope. Oh, and my brother's not too ugly, either.

(Thanks to Dad for sending the pics!) Can you believe how much they've grown?

Have bags, will travel

This marks the fourth week in a row that I've spent multiple nights out of town. And I'm tired.

This weekend I have major plans of doing nothing and lying around watching movies. I just have to get through the next two days of work.

Today was a pretty uneventful day in the Fort, but I did get to go see Emma and Parker after work. Sweet little E let me hold her while she took a short nap. Yesterday I got to hang out with my dad, brother, niece and nephew for lunch, then I had dinner with my grandmother and aunt. My aunt's from Germany and my grandmother wanted to know if she spoke Vietnamese in addition to German, English and French. Vietnam's in Europe, 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 Dad's day!

It's Father's Day, so let's all take a moment to pay tribute to our dads. Mine is almost as groovy now as he was during the 70s.

Here's your sign

My brother texted me this a.m. to report that, on his way to work this morning, he was traveling through a construction zone on 540 in the Fort (which he says is the definition of INFINITY), and there was a flashing warning sign reading, BUCKEL UP.

Wow. And we wonder why Arkansas gets a bad name.