thoughts from the deep recesses

I've spent three full days at the kids' school this week finishing up a memory book for K.'s class. Hours and hours and hours in front of a computer. I'm done. Took it down to the printers this afternoon. And now, I'm packing and leaving in the morning for a weekend scrapbooking retreat. I'll be back after the weekend. And maybe next week, I'll have a little bit more normal week and can actually blog. We'll see. Happy weekend friends. Smooch you all.

We began our first day with the sail away party out of Tampa. We flew to Tampa the day before the cruise began to avoid any last minute hassle with travel. Asia had saved up hotel points, so our hotel was free, and since his brother, Aaron lives in Tampa, our transportation was also free! After breakfast in the hotel and a scary shuttle ride with an interesting bunch of folk from South Carolina (this was just our introduction into the world of southerners... the boat was loaded with these people) we had a short wait in line and were on the ship by 11:30 am. Sail away wasn't until 4:00, so we had some time to get to know the ship before we left the port. The Legend is a very well designed vessel, and we figured her out before we even got into our cabin. When the cabins were available, we found our way to our home for the week - #6187 on the Empress Deck. Sail Away was uneventful. Nobody threw streamers or confetti like on the Love Boat. I could hardly believe we were the ones on the...

So, yes, we're home. And yes, I'm busier than ever. And yes, we had a WONDERFUL time. Seriously. The best vacation. Ever. Except maybe Paris. But that was just SO different. Cruising is a wonderful way to vacation. We're already trying to figure out when we can go again. Loved it all. Some pictures... and I'll try to get back and give more details in the next couple of days. For now - Images of the Western Caribbean - 2007.

Packing. Probably not sleeping much tonight... never do before a big trip. Thinking about sunshine and warm, blue waters... Can't believe it's actually here. See you on the 21st!

So yesterday was a fun day for me, gettin ' all those comments from ya'll ... Especially from those of you who seldom comment. I loved your comments so much I felt like I should respond to each of you individually. So here I go. Ken - where have you been? You don't know who Sanjaya is? He's a boy who was on American Idol and looks just like an Indian version of Kyler . It's uncanny how much he looks like him. He was a terrible singer. Karla - maybe we should go to coffee sometime? Rod - I love that you read my blog. You're like another big brother to me. I get warm fuzzy feelings just thinking about your visits. And yes - I do read your blog. Patti - any friend of Kelly's is a friend of mine. Seriously. We'll have to meet next time I visit. Corey - I suspected you might pick Rosie. And Pain Au Chocolat - YUM! Seriously - chocolate and bread are my two favorite foods in the world - put them together and I'm in heaven. Miss you, friend. Marie - Ew ....

How did it get to be Wednesday? Seriously. There aren't enough hours in the day - even when you're up at 2:00 am. And no - I didn't get up at 2:00 this morning. I slept all the way until 5:00! Anywho - I decided I needed something new to blog. Something to shake you all out of your 'thoughts from the deep recesses' stupor. Something to get your blood pumping and your fingers tingling. Something to inspire long and meaningful comments. From you. My beloved readers. It's a new weekly Thoughts From the Deep Recesses feature. It's "Getting to Know you Wednesday" Now this could either be lots of fun, or it could just totally flop, and I could go to bed crying because my blog readers are a bunch of takers who only come here to read and never interact. Like a piece of fresh fruit, you squeeze the juice out of my hard-written and well thought out posts and then you toss them aside, wandering on to the next blog with a simple click of your mouse. You read ...

Insomnia sucks. Sunshiny and warm here... 75 yesterday. Supposed to 80 today. Gotta love the sun when it's accompanied by actual warmth. Slowly finishing up all the loose ends of things for the cruise. Tomorrow is errand day - when I have to get everything I've forgotten to buy before this. Like disposable waterproof cameras and the like... Does anyone know if you can use US postage to mail post cards from the Carribean? Online bill paying is so great. Can you tell I'm brain dead right now? Confession: I occasionally make Hamburger Helper. A big stack of pancakes sounds fabulous right now. Pedicure in two days. Yay! New weekly blog post idea tomorrow. Stay tuned! Happy Tuesday, my dear friends who are probably very much still asleep...

Disturbing. That's the only word I can come up with. View at your own risk. This is why people think scrapbookers are silly. (Now, where can I get me some of them housework-doing mice?)

Schmarmy. That's all I can say about the look on my face. This is me, probably around 1972... Looking back, I think I had an inordinate amount of self-confidence as a child. I never felt inferior or shy. I was extremely happy. And tenacious. Trusting. And sure. I can attribute a lot of these things to steady parents. I always knew what to expect. That's a good thing for a child. 1972 was a good year. So were 1973, 1974, 1975... You get the picture. I was one blessed kid. I'll never take that for granted. Happy Friday, friends. Have a lovely weekend.

Leaving the post office today I was behind a van for a business specializing in "Cooking Oil Filtration and Fryer Maintenance." Now, I can bet that none of you ever wanted to do that when you grew up... Lots of scrapbooking paper on ebay this week... clearing out is a good thing. Cracklin ' Oat Bran is the best cereal ever. So yummy. Plus, I love anythin ' that leaves of that final 'g'. Made an appointment today for my pre -cruise pedicure and gel tips for my nails. That'll be nice. I'm using a gift certificate for a local spa that Asia gave me last year for our anniversary... in June. Yea, I'm slow. School newspaper went out today. Now it's time to start the sixth grade yearbook. How do I end up doing all these things? The basketball hoop has been getting lots of love lately. Love spring weather and the sound of a ball bouncing outside my window. I really love Costco. For photo developing. And shredded cheese. And the big box of General Foo...

Just not a lot of time for blogging. Payday today. Making a buttload of money from working so much. But I'm also having to get up at 6:00 am to get laundry folded, so it's for sure a trade off. I'm three weeks behind on Grey's Anatomy. That's how busy I am. So if I'm a little hit and miss between now and the cruise, this is why. In two weeks I'll be having a 'fun day at sea' - on my way to Grand Cayman. Won't that be nice? Happy Monday, friends. I love that you still visit, even when I'm not here.

The kids and I had dinner last night with our dear friends, the Copleys . (Hi, John! I know Asia told you not to comment because he thought it was a little bit creepy, but you go right ahead. It's my blog and I say so.) Mr. Copley is out of town this week too, so Rebecca and I decided we should get together whenever both our husbands are gone. It gives us more motivation to cook. Although Rebecca didn't cook a thing because her 12 year old made dinner and all I did was go buy a bagged caesar salad and some Chips Ahoy. Whatever. It was nice to hang out with them. Jiminy , I've got lots to do this week. I mean REALLY a lot to do. Feeling a bit of stress. I've been doing a 'Classical Stretch' workout in the mornings when I know I'm not going to have time to get up to the club... it's on PBS early in the morning. The woman who does it has a soothing, funny accent and I can really hear all my joints crackling and feel my muscles stretching when I do it. It...

I dreamt about Mr. Financial Advisor last night. Something about buying groceries and leaving some chips at his office... and his office was right next to the store where I work. Why are dreams so weird? My Mom was there and she bought a pack of cigarettes at the grocery store. My Mom would no sooner buy cigarettes than crack cocaine. Although she does buy beer occasionally for beer bread, I've heard... Our pastor was out of town yesterday, so we had a guest speaker at church. He did one of those awful 'let's take three minutes and share the love of Jesus with one another' things in the middle of his sermon. Where you're supposed to share significant tidbits from your life and express significant interest in the stranger behind you - and then pray for each other. You know what I did? I went and hid in the bathroom. If Asia would stay next to me, and pretend to be my 'stranger' then I wouldn't have to go hide. But since meeting strangers is what he thri...

Me and my Grandpa Carson circa 1975. If ever there was a little girl who knew she was loved, it was me. Just look at that face. Sheer delight. A good bit of teasing went on, as I'm sure you can see. It's written all over this photograph. And when my kids were born, it continued. He was a great Grandpa. Anyone who had a whole fridge full of Shasta pop in all the best flavors is going to rate pretty high... but he also had a 3-wheeler. And a garden. And took us fishing, even when he wasn't supposed to. On a less sentimental note, be sure you catch the double knit pantsuit I'm sporting. Sweet . Happy Friday, friends.

With a very scientific, random process ("Hey, K. - pick a number between 1 and 17!" "Why?" "Because I told you to!" "Okay, um, nine.") a winner has been chosen. And it's Kelly! Congratulations, friend. Look for a package early next week. Yay!

I tried to find a video that had a better version of the beginning part of the chicken dance ... the room was so dark during the opening, and while they were backlit and looked awesome in person, it didn't pick up too well on the video. Nevertheless, you can get the general idea of how the performance went. Now - prepare yourself for some high entertainment... Are you ready? Enjoy!

I've got to get to cleaning... we're hosting bible study tonight and there are several things I need to do before the crowds arrive. Mainly the floors. We all know how much I hate mopping and vacuuming. I seriously need a housekeeper. Just once a week to do the floors... wouldn't that be lovely? I can't mop just yet though, because I spilled some dog food on the floor as I was emptying the last shipment into our dog food bin and I'm waiting for Gracie to finish eating it. I know - I could sweep it up. But this gives me time to blog while she eats. Silly me. This is some of the best procrastinating I've done all week. I'm proud of myself today. I met with a financial planner about opening up an individual Roth IRA. Asia and I have other accounts, but I want to do something myself... something with my own money. I want to get to retirement age and be able to say "this is something I did all by myself." Silly, maybe. But important to me. I have to tel...

I measured K. yesterday, just out of curiosity . He's grown an inch and a half since February. Three inches since the beginning of the school year. He is now 5'6". Somebody stop this kid from growing! He'll pass me up by the end of the year at this rate... I had a good little chat with Asia's little brother this morning via Messenger. He's such a great guy. 30 years old, single, cute as all get out... We get to see him when we're in Florida pre and post-cruise. Can't wait. I really like butter. Been thinking a lot about my husband the last couple days after a lively discussion about marriage with some good internet friends recently. I am so thankful for him. And for the relationship we have. I am SO blessed. So so sad for all the families who lost loved ones in Virginia. I cannot fathom the scope of what this one disturbed person did. Why take so many others with you? I just don't get it. It's free cone day at Ben and Jerry's. I think I...

Laundry's started. Walked the dog - a nice l-o-n-g walk... Up early-early to take Asia to the airport... he's in Vancouver this week. He's been home for several weeks, so he was looking forward to being back on the road, doing the part of his job he really loves. When he's home he does a lot of busy, office work. Not his favorite thing. Good weekend - lots of work on Saturday, a demo and a class, then Sunday lunch with girlfriends and coffee later with another girlfriend. Good stuff. Can't complain. Volunteering at school later today - the PE bike unit. Sixty 4th graders on bikes. WOW! That'll be interesting. Ebay auctions ending today... making lots of money for the cruise on scrapbooking stuff I'll never use. Love that! Joined Netflix. Just the cheap $4.99 2-movies-a-month membership. We figured that's all we have time to watch - and it's cheaper than pay-per-view or the video store. Love the whole 'delivered to your door and no late fee' ...

Could we with ink the ocean fill And were the skies of parchment made Were every stalk on earth a quill And every man a scribe by trade To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky -F. Lehman Blessings, friends.