brief

well, i'd planned to talk about everything going on in a lovely post.  however, it's now 1:21 am & i am just starting this post, debating if i even want to publish another post tonight!  but i feel yesterday & today already slipping away from me, so i'll be brief, which is so not my natural inclination!  LOL  


chick'n mini's for breakfast.  buttery biscuits enwrapping delicious lil chicken nuggets.  mmm!  i wasn't sure how long the line would be, so i went early, and it ended up being not too bad.  therefore, i was at work a little after 8 & got to leave a little after 4:30!  heh.  


worked my error report (5 weeks printed at once last week plus today's report - i'll be working it for awhile!).  julie was on vacation, so i just ignored vacations & FRA's & anything else, pretty much, to concentrate on my report.  *laugh*  i did have to break for questions, of course!  and phone calls/emails from ppl.  timecard issues... well, not "issues" precisely.  *laugh*  just help with!  


met shannan at exotic thai for dinner - pumpkin curry w/ extra pumpkin - and it was so much fun!  catching up  & hanging out & eating great food.  perfect!  


got home at 9 (!!) & had a cute & very sweet postcard from micaela.  : )  thanks, dear!  also, People.  carrie underwood got married.  awwww.  and mel gibson, oh my heck, what were you thinking??  oh, that's right, you weren't.  i just don't know what to think about him anymore.  lindsay's getting out of going to jail by going to some cushy rehab facility.  the girl definitely needs help.  oye.  i hope her little sister avoids some of the same pitfalls.  


watched Psych (LOLOLOLOVE) & Royal Pains (mmmmm!) & America's Got Talent (yes, yes we do!).  


i have about 35 minutes left of AGT, but i srsly need to sleeeep!  gotta get up & call holly & start my busy day about 10:30.  here's hoping everyone has a spectacular saturday!  i'll leave you w/ a couple cute pictures from last night.  : )  ttfn!  

I love this picture of Anthony!  He looks so grown up, too!  I love my oldest nephew!  : )

I love this one, too, of course.  *grin*  We played w/ these flippy bugs... heh.

long day of sadness and light.

funeral.  sad.  funny.  yes, funny.  sergio was a prankster and a comedian, and many ppl shared stories about him, some of which included hilarity!  the service was beautiful, LOTS of tears.  i'm so glad i had a hankie in my purse, because i hadn't brought any tissues or picked any up in the lobby!  the home was packed, standing room only, and filled with love.  you could literally feel the love.  it was like a hug.  


we went to the graveside service as well, and God provided a wonderfully cooling breeze!  the site is perfectly situated near trees & is right by the path.  and possibly near dad's plot.  we had planned to go to the luncheon, but weren't sure what time it was going to start - there were a lot of ppl who accompanied to the grave.  again, the amount of love was just evident.  


when i got back to work, i felt disconnected and achey - likely from all the crying!  and also the being tense issue, because i had to hold myself tightly together to not completely become a quivering mass.  which, i know it's a funeral and there's nothing wrong w/ being a quivering mass of sadness as such.  i just had been crying so much that i didn't want to cry anymore.  my sinuses weren't happy, either!  


i made it to five & then headed to the bank, the bucks, and mom's.  she & i & the boys went to golden corrals and my mood lifted tremendously.  it was so nice to get to hang out w/ the boys!  anthony is a year younger than sergio, and i just kept wanting to hug him.  i refrained, most of the night, but i did take lots of pictures!  

i hung out w/ them at home for an hour or so - thru hair washing & bath time!!  : )  i got home about 10 & uploaded some pictures to fb.  oh, i also checked my mail & had a nifty postcard from china:

take care!  i have GOT TO SLEEP!  : )  i'll have to write more about dinner tomorrow.  or, share more pictures.  there are some CUUUTE ones for sure!  : )  


ttfn.  much love! 

heat wave

oh, heat wave, please go away soon.  it's not that i don't appreciate your beauty, to lizards and turtles and even certain ppl.  it's just that... I'M MELTING!!!!  my ac is down to 65, and i am seriously contemplating putting it even lower before i go to bed, because it only felt icy cold for a few minutes when i got back inside!  it'd been at a perfectly comfortable 68 previously!  outside it's hard to even breathe, the air is still so oppressive.  yes, still, at 11pm!!!  there's no sun anymore, heat!  let's dissipate, please!  


*sigh*  


so, today was okay other than the heat.  hungry hobo w/ trish & her fam for lunch.  matt actually talked, which was nice!  he & megan are both very quiet til they get to know you, and i don't get to see matt as often as meg.  (she & i IM back & forth now, which is fun!)  holly & i decided to meet for lunch saturday & then shop for the IB & Willow Tree we want to get for mel & shawn & mckenzey.  altho, dawn IM'd me an IB that might be perfect for kenzey, too, so we'll see if they have that in stock. i also have to remember to get a couple other gifts while i'm there.  


mom called to see if i could meet her at WM after work, but i couldn't because of the visitation.  i'm glad i got ahold of her, because she was able to go as well when she got off work.  mel mentioned it, so i know it meant a lot to her.  


when i got off work, i meant to pick up something quick for dinner, but for some reason that didn't happen!  so when i got home, i only had 1/2 an hour before becca was due to be here.  now, a normal person would make a sandwich or something equally as cool, and quick.  not me, tho.  oh no, i opened the freezer, saw pasta & thought, "oh!  pasta!  i could make a little dish of that in 10 minutes!"  and of course that's what i fixed.  it was delicious, and i did fix it, with sauce, in about 15 minutes, but hello stoves are HOT when cooking, and i didn't give myself any time to cool off!!  seriously, i think that's why i'm still so warm.  yeesh!


so, becca arrived about 5 minutes early - i'd just finished eating the pasta creation! - & we headed to the funeral home.  it wasn't as small as i'd imagined, which was good, and they had powerful fans blowing so it wasn't as uncomfortably warm as outside!  shawn & mel looked good, if a little too skinny, which is understandable!  kenzey was running around, being a little girl, and that was good to see.  flowers everywhere.  video playing a montage of photos of sergio.  i teared up while signing the guest book, and almost lost it after hugging mel & shawn because i didn't want to STOP hugging them.  i want to wrap them up in bubble wrap & bring sergio back - but completely healed... and he IS completely healed, he's just not here, so round & round that goes in my head.  i just want to take their pain away.  i know, it's what everyone wants to do.  i couldn't go to the casket.  i thought about it.  i glanced at it while we were in line.  then i decided that was close enough.  hurt hurt hurt!  ache!  hurt!  ache!  *tears*  *sigh*  


as we were looking at pictures of sergio when he was a baby, misti came up, recognizing becca.  we chatted for a few minutes & met her daughter, who is sergio's age, and they were best friends, and she was very ... composed.  nice girl, too.  i enjoyed visiting w/ misti, but i was mellllllting.  we had to've been standing in the hottest part of the house!  as soon as we started to head out the door, i walked in the path of a major fan and it felt soooo good.  if only we'd been standing THERE for 20 minutes!  : )  


we got back to my house about a quarter to 8, then sat in the car talking about old classmates for an hour!  heh.  becca is one of those perfect childhood friends.  we can reminisce & talk about old times, but we are also friends NOW and talk about our lives and families and jobs and everything that makes us US today, not just 20 years ago.  God has blessed me with such amazing, wonderful friends, lifetime friends, and i'm very thankful.  and i still need to call sarah.  dang it!  *laugh*  


i went inside about 9, but the pasta was all melted off & i was hungry.  didn't want to FIX anything else, plus i needed to go to the gas station.  so back out into the heat... i stopped at murphy & then decided a jr bacon cheeseburger from wendy's (conveniently located in the same WM parking lot) sounded good.  then when i got up to the menuboard, SALADS.  salads w/ baby greens & not iceberg.  mmmm.  i ordered a BLT Cobb w/ avacado ranch dressing.  oh my heck, that dressing is delicious!!  the salad was really good, too, except there WAS iceberg in the mix, and there was one type of leaf that was really strange tasting & i didn't like it.  nor did i like the bleu cheese or feta, whichever they used on the salad.  which is a pity, because i always WANT to like those cheeses... alas.  earwax.  (jk, it didn't taste like earwax.  i don't think.  tho, honestly, i'm not in the habit of eating earwax to know what would resemble its taste.  ew.  sorry.  ew!)


anyway, what else?  oh, i got a picture in the mail today, of my visiting teacher's new baby!  he is, of course, adorable.  : )  her companion teacher also had a baby around the same time, so i'm hoping for a picture soon!  


no postcards today, which made me sad.  i was going to scan some in to share with you!  it's Postcrossing's 5th birthday, and i wanted to celebrate with postcards!  ah well.  before i go to bed, i will leave you with a couple of my favorites that i've gotten thru this project that holds a dear place in my heart!  

okay, you only get the one postcard from micaela, which wasn't sent thru postcrossing, but that's where we met!   : )  my computer decided to go all blue screen on my when i tried to add more photos. in safe mode.  :(   time to find a computer guru or get a new computer... 


i hope your wednesday was not as heartbreaking or as melty.  tomorrow is sergio's funeral, which is more heartbreak.  after work, tho, the healing begins, because i get to see my boys.  : )  friday is dinner w/ shannan, whom i haven't seen in too long!  and i get to hang out w/ mom & leyton saturday, after lunch & the shopping mission w/ holly.  all in all, good for healing.  my heart will still always be holey and nicked, but that is the nature of hearts that have known love.  there can be no love without pain, no matter what the storybooks tell  you.  the pain must be at the loss of the loved one, tho, and not at their hands.  (sorry, rookie blue was about abuse, so i had to get my PSA out there...)


ttfn.  : )  

bacon and sprite

i made some bacon a minute ago.  the last batch i had cooked up PERFECTLY every time.  i couldn't remember what kind it was, tho.  so the other day i got oscar mayer center cut, thinking that sounded like a good choice.  it's not bad, but it took too long to cook & it didn't get as black as i'd like.  there is that certain flavor i'm looking for, when the bacon is black & practically disentigrates in your mouth...you know what i mean?  man, that is some good bacon when that happens!!  i was gonna make this whole big thing, tortillas spread w/ cream cheese, crumbled bacon and tomatoes... but then i didn't want to stop at the store for a tomato, and the bacon was so much work i didn't feel like making tortillas when it was done.  !!  i know, doesn't that sound pathetic?  *laugh*  


part of my reluctance is that i've had a headache for the last hour & a half, which i think was caused by mcdonald's sprite, because every once in awhile it has that effect.  of course, it could be the humidity, too, or the stress of this week, or the negative nellies - 1/2 my fb updates were "blah" "i'm bored" "this sucks"... my computer, which decided it wanted to keep freezing.  grrrr.  i finally went ahead & am working in Safe mode, which is great - as long as i don't need my speakers for anything, like say watching HULU!  *cry*  i'm already way behind in all my shows!  (i know, quit whining.  i know it's not the end of the world.  it's just an "on top of..." kinda thing, ya know?)  i need my howie, so hopefully it'll be better tomorrow!  : )  


look at that, a hint of optimism!  


sadly, tomorrow is sergio's visitation, then thursday is the funeral, so optimism is a tiny, tiny window in a dark, dark room right now.  


friday's dinner w/ shannan is a bigger window.  : )  


i need my postcards to get to the places they're going so i can send some more!  sending postcards always makes me happy.  i even sent a couple to mom & grammy & aunt janie!  hopefully they like them... 


and... that's all i got.  my mind is mush.  again!  this calls for more Buffy, season 5.  : ) tt. fn.  

plans

http://www.funeralplan2.com/mcginnis-chambers/obits?id=201357

that would be sergio's obituary.  they did a really great job highlighting his community service and how awesome he was.  he was involved in more community service than someone twice his age, an amazing, amazing kid.  he will be missed, SO MUCH!!  


i spent a lot of my day organizing a collection for sergio's family.  it started out as holly & i going in for something, then we wanted to include the rest of our old team, then someone suggested we include the whole office... suddenly i'm carrie cruise director on the scene!  not what i was going for, but am grateful for it just the same.  it gave me something to do that makes me feel useful, because there's really nothing to DO that's going to BE useful in this situation, ya know?  


however, since it snowballed so quickly, it highlights the dichotomy that is my life.  i'm highly organized and highly disorganized all at once.  getting everyone together, collecting money, getting a card, keeping track of the money and who needs to sign the card - golden.  remembering to change the email before sending it to the entire office to add in a little more detail... not so much!  having any idea WHAT we're going to get for mel & shawn & kenzey?  nope.  but it'll be okay, and it'll work out, and i'm not going to stress over it because it's not the point!  


the visitation is on wednesday & funeral on thursday, but our collection won't even be complete until thursday, and so i think holly & i will take whatever we end up getting over to them on friday or saturday.  but plans change, ebbing and flowing with the tide.  


along with all of that, i was also working working working away on lots of monday issues!  it's funny how some days are just QUICK because they are so busy.  


after work, the plan was to go to hallmark.  however, the monsoon had other ideas.  by the time i got to hy vee, the monsoon was a trickle, so i went in there.  : )  the plan was to get milk, cream cheese, bacon and fruit.  i got all of those, and ... $20 more.  *laugh*  but it was good stuff, like apple pie ice cream.  it's like pie a la mode in one container!  mmmmm.  


the plan when i got home was to fix a delicious pasta dinner.  that one worked out perfectly!  then i was supposed to call sarah (whoops) and watch Rookie Blue (excellent!) and twentysix miles (quirky, love it!).  


and that is how plans change and are fulfilled.  now, the plan is to finish my show & sleep!  


ttfn.  thank you for your continued prayers for sergio's family.  there is healing in faith.  


love.  

Sad.

andrea texed me while i was out today, asking me if i could get to the carepages update because she couldn't.  i checked it right when i got home.  sergio went to be with the Lord at approximately 2:30 this afternoon.  *cry*  WHY, Lord??  what good is going to come of this?  what glory can be gleaned from the loss of this special child?  the hurt his family, friends, and all the ppl whose lives he touched, are feeling right now - where is the good?  


i know there are so, so many children in hospitals all over, and every family asks "Why?"  but every child is special, and this child was special TO ME.  sergio... *sigh*  


please keep melissa, shawn, mckenzey and their whole family in your prayers.  my heart aches for them, for this loss.  


thanks.  later.  

true beauty

ohhhh, man!  i finally got to see Eclipse!  : )  LOVED IT!  just had to get that out there first.  : )  


so, yesterday was a pretty nice day.  work was quiet, yet busy, which was nice!  i took 2 hours of vacation with the intention of picking misha up & going to see the movie.  however, she & shawna didn't get home until after 4, which was what time the movie was at!  that equalled a kinda bummed carrie, because i felt like i had wasted 2 hours of vacation!  oh well.  i must've needed a little break.  *laugh*  


i spent the evening having a True Beauty marathon.  i *heart* this show!  it's season two.  have you guys seen this??  when i started, i picked two ppl i liked.  my girl is gone, but another gal has risen up. i don't really see her as "pretty" at all, but she is SO SWEET!  i'm on episode 5 today, and she just did something so NOT sweet, so we'll see if she makes it to the end... 


the reason i like this show so much, tho, is because it highlights so well the HUMAN condition.  ppl who are considered "beautiful" are treated differently by society, and without the balance that comes from the Lord, that can really turn a beauty into a beast.  some of these contestants are mostly nice ppl, but there are a couple that have just no compassion whatsoever.  like, there are secret challenges, and they've passed the cheating ones - so they obviously don't want to be cheaters.  however, each time there has been a human-help kinda thing, FAIL!  


which is not to say all Christians are up on the human-help thing!  everybody struggles.  but when you know that YOU are not the be-all and end-all, because you know that HE is... well, it gives you a different perspective when you see someone in need.  key word, of course, being "see."  i have observant days, and i have days where i'm completely clueless to anything going on around me!  


(this post was started at like 4, it's now 10... my computer has been a bit spotty today, so i'm now watching Buffy (Hush, GREAT ep, one of my faves) but hope to be able to get back on the Hulu wagon soon.  i have nearly all of last week's shows to watch!!  eep! )


hanging out w/ misha was very nice!  i wish i could've afforded a double feature - we both wanted to see Despicable Me, as well.  and i've been having a hankerin' for red robin... lol  : ) i also got to chat w/ shawna for a bit before we left for the movie.  yay!  


our cousin, kathy, is coming to town in a couple weeks, and hopefully we'll all be able to hang out!  i mean, i'm sure we'll all get to hang out w/ kathy at some point, but idk if it'll be together.  *laugh*  i decided to keep my vacation that friday, even tho i'm not going to stephen's bday party now.  which, saddens me - i've been to every birthday since he was born!  (he'll be 7.)  however, the reason i can't be going to MC that saturday is because mom & the boys & i will be going to dubuque to visit the aquarium!  reminds me i need to call sarah & let her know.  also means i now need to mail stephen's present (scrabble jr - the kid loves games!  i love games, too, but am too far away to play them w/ him much!).  i also need to mail april's present.  her birthday was in MAY.  why is it so hard for me to mail packages???  i finally brought joy's christmas present from like 2007 to her on one of my trips there this year!  


hmmm... tomorrow... right now the plan is to play cards & go to mom's for BB, but idk if those will happen.  i kinda am liking the idea of vegging !  


take care & ttfn.  : )