weekend away

so. much. FUN!  


friday i picked up leyton from the sitter's, and borrowed a car seat for him, and we went to WM.  shopping fun!  : )  i really missed my purse camera, too, cuz there were lots of cute cart moments!  lol  he got to pick out a toy, and he chose a harold figurine.  (harold, for the non-thomas initiates, is a helicopter from that series.)  we came back to my house for a bit - i was supposed to do laundry, but i forgot!  *laugh*  anyway, we made it to mom's in time to go to bed... that was a rough situation.  leyton didn't want to go to bed, mom was really tired & cranky... eventually everyone went to sleep, tho!  


saturday we got up EEEEAAAARRRRLLLLYYYYY and were on the road by 8:15.  we stopped at grandma's kitchen for breakfast.  cute restaurant!!  kinda like the machine shed (owned by the same conglomerate).  delicious breakfast!  

then, back on the road, to Thomas and Sir Topam Hatt!  : )  the trip was fun and funny, with lots of laughing and a little napping.  

more awesome skies, but that also meant more rain!

when we got to boone, when we first started seeing trains on the rails, leyton got very excited!  of course!  God smiled on us & we got excellent parking.  mom had to take care of some things in the van, so leyton & i went on ahead.  there's a cute lil caboose right by the entrance to the depot that he had lots of fun playing on.  

and then we heard a train whistle & saw thomas pull up & there was even more excitement!  

they had a lot going on, tents & food vendors & even a magician.  it would have been awesome if the weather had cooperated.  unfortunately, it was misty in the beginning & then it started to POUR and POUR and POUR.  my feet got soaked, because i didn't have rain-appropriate footwear!  my jeans were soaked, too, cuz they're long.  *laugh*  that part was pretty miserable, but leyton had a lot of fun, so it was definitely worth it!  

we were first in line to meet sir topam hatt, but when he actually arrived, leyton didn't want to go near him!  mom almost tried to force him, thankfully caught herself & said it was okay, but she was still irritated.  we also actually got to take a RIDE on the thomas train, and all the kids got certificates to be jr. conductors.  nifty!!

we left around 4, and found a WM so i could find new shoes.  i love my new shoes!  so much so that i'm taking back the shoes we found at famous footwear a couple weekends ago.

we went to a chinese buffet for dinner, and it was good, but mom had tummy issues later.  :(  mine got gurgly, but i didn't get sick at all, thankfully!  (i'm kinda winging all the food stuff right now, btw.  i mean, i know general good-eating guidelines, and follow them, but specifics?  no idea.  should i eat more strawberries?  can i have a pork egg roll and crab ragoon?  since the green beans are coated in something, does it negate their nutritional value?  i have my first "class" tuesday, meeting w/ a nutritionalist, so hopefully i'll know more after that!)


after dinner, we finally went to our hotel, a holiday inn express in ames.  it was a really sweet room!  COMFY bed, oh my heck!  and the bathroom had a cute recessed shelving unit that was a great use of space & very darling.  100% better bathroom than the last hotel, for sure!!  (not hard to be better than that bathroom.  is the TP holder cutting into your leg?  no?  then it's probably better.  LOL)  

we all fell asleep fairly early - after watching the end of the new Apprentice.  woot!!  (i watched the whole thing tonight, looks like an awesome season!)  there were some arguments btwn mom & leyton, because he didn't want to go potty before bed.  oye!  today we slept late, had some breakfast, and headed home.  the trip back was fun, too, we were all in good spirits.  : )  

we visited the most awesome rest area in the entire state of iowa.  yes, this is including the I-80 truckstop.  that place is cool, and BIG, but this one... well, just look!  

oh my heck, this pose made me SMILE!

seriously, i wish it hadn't still been cold & rainy, because we could have spent a lot of time exploring this one!  idk if it's new or if i just have never noticed it before!  i can't imagine how i would have missed it, but there ya go.  


once we got home, i tried to get ahold of jen, but couldn't, so i brought leyton home w/ me.  mom needed to go to grammy's & since jen lives close to me now, i figured leyton & i could hang out while i did some cleaning & stuff!  lol  we hung out for an hour & then got ahold of jen (she'd taken a nap & her alarm didn't go off on time...) & brought leyton there.  made arrangements for him to spend the night saturday.  woot!  


tonight i've watched the apprentice, psych, and GH.  the season finale of psych, oh my goodness!  awesome time!  and GH!!!  : )  


and of course my posts... lol  ... i just looked at the clock and it's almost 1 and there's work tomorrow and ... ack!  gotta sleep.  hope everyone had an AWESOME weekend & that we all have a wonderful monday.  and also that you enjoy all the pictures!!  *laugh*  


ttfn!!

Day 17 – Your favorite memory Day 18 – Your favorite birthday Day 19 – Something you regret

hello!  i'm back from my weekend adventure w/ mom & leyton!  i missed some 30 days of me days, so let's make up & then i have some pictures & stories to share from the weekend!  : )  


Day 17 - My Favorite Memory
Seriously?!  i can't pick just one!  i have too many niece & nephew births, birthday parties, firsts, weddings, vacations - how on earth could i pick?!  i can't say that my first roller coaster ride was more important than my first time going to Cedar Point.  i can't say that going to the fair with my grandparents was more important than any of my daddy-daughter dates.  or choose one of the daddy daughter dates?  every day has a new favorite memory, and that's what i'm sticking with.  : )  


Day 18 - My Favorite Birthday
ohhh, goodness!  *laugh*  my 18th was pretty fun.  mom & my friends threw me a surprise party.  i was completely unaware, until erin spilled the beans a few days before the party.  she was so excited, and came up to me in the hall as we were all waiting to go into a class.  "we'll be there friday!"  i think she hadn't been sure if she'd make it & was happy that she would be able.  i was confused, because my plans for that friday were to hang out w/ juli & watch movies.  suddenly, we were swarmed.  juli, renee, georgette.  juli & renee took erin aside, gette & i went to the loo.  i was still confused!  *laugh* but then i asked & gette confirmed, there was a surprise party planned.  yay!  wanna know something really funny, tho?  I FORGOT ABOUT IT!  it totally would have been a surprise, even after that, except then in class on friday, lucky turned around & asked what time he was supposed to be at juli's that night.  LOL  some ppl pounced on him, too, and i played it off that i didn't know what he meant.  


the party itself was wonderful.  it was at juli's, and i think my whole class plus more were there, we had cake & all sorts of good food, of course!  : )  at one point, the guys all serenaded me w/ a country song, which was so cute!  there was an awesome video made, which unfortunately has been lost to time.  *sigh*  i miss that video!  it also had footage from our senior trip to dauphin island, alabama.  i do have a couple photos from that party, but not a lot of clear ones, unfortunately!  

me w/ phil & w/ juli. 18.  i kinda miss it!  : )  

Day 19 - Something I Regret
hmmm.  it's well known that i try to live my life w/o regrets.  altho i can be impulsive, more often i think things through quite a lot before making a decision.  i do regret the friendships i've lost, the way the holly situation went down - altho i can't think of anything i could have done differently there, other than being more firm on expectations from the beginning.  i think because i have kept so many friendships for so long, i miss the ones that didn't survive more, ya know?  


that should cover it til tomorrow!  lol  


***********


ttfn

Day 16 – Scandalous!

i'm skipping day 16's topic.  it's my blog, i'm allowed.  : )  


today was better than yesterday.  did my first finger prick on my own.  umm.  i'll get better at it, right?  i errored out the machine, but i think i got a reading first.  oye.  hopefully shutting it off will reset it & i won't have an error tomorrow.  even tho i got up early & all, i didn't have a lot of time to mess with it!  


i stopped at chick fil a for a diet dr pepper, and as i drove away i took a drink & thought, "this is sweeter than i remember...and tastes more like coke than dr pepper!"  sure enough, i looked down & they'd marked it "coke."  *sigh*  i was still running early.  two days ago i would have just shrugged it off.  today i practiced ... something... and i went back & exchanged the soda.  (and got a free breakfast on my next visit for my trouble!  nice!)


there was a lot of stuff going on at work & i tried very hard not to let it stress me out!  i could feel it getting overwhelming a couple times, tho.  thank God, made it thru!!


after work, i met mom & leyton at applebee's for dinner.  spinach shrimp salad.  ohhhh!  it was good.  : )  i do love spinach!  it was a fun night & leyton was being so polite (as usual, but still is a good thing to mention, i think!).  : )  i didn't bring the camera in w/ me, idk why.  i looked right at it!  then leyton came running toward me & i just didn't grab it!  would've had a really cute picture of leyton drinking out of two straws - a glass of OJ & a glass of water!  LOL 


after dinner, i ran over to WM to get my Rx & then got petrol at murphy & then came home.  : )  watched the AMAAAAAZING finale of AGT.  oh, david copperfield, you are still my favorite magician.  watching him perform on tv has changed since i saw him live.  i remember how HAIRY he is, even when you can't tell on TV.  he's also very sexy.  it's true.  i said it.  david copperfield = sexy. : )  


what else did i watch?  i think that's it.  *laugh*  it was a looooong finale!  but superb, really really superb.  and of course i think the right guy won!  do you remember when i first saw michael, on the very first episode?  LOVE!  : )  


sleep is calling to me, my dears!  i hope your thursdays went smashingly.  : )  i think i'm spending the night at mom's tomorrow night so we can leave earlier for our weekend w/ thomas!  should be a blast! will let ya know, of course!! 


ttfn 

Day 15 – Your dreams

hmmm.  does this mean my dreams for my future and the futures of my loved ones, or the dreams i have at night?  i guess i'll just do both!  


so, today i was diagnosed w/ the Big D.  (and i don't mean dallas!)  *sigh*  popped up out of nowhere as far as my bloodwork - i've always had LOW blood sugar.  but of course i'm high risk... and i guess that caught up to me.  i was totally shocked, tho, by it.  i really thought that the first one was caused by my not fasting!  : (  i'm still in shock, still working out what it means, still trying to figure out how i'm going to afford all the extra doctor's appointments & things!  :(   of course, not going to the doctor would cost more, and i definitely want to take care of myself...


but i am totally not impressed w/ my doctor & the way she, and the nurse who showed me all the lovely blood sugar meter stuff, treated me today.  i mean, this is essentially a bomb of a diagnosis, and maybe they make them every day but I DON'T get it every day (thank God) and ... i left w/ a lot of info but feeling very confused, anxious, annoyed, scared... *sigh*  i'd missed lunch, and i was starving, but thinking - what can i eat now?  having a diagnosis makes it all ... idk.  real?  like, certain symptoms could be ignored or attributed to something else, and treated differently.  incorrectly?  idk, they worked... but now i worry about it.  


anyway, now i get the joys of the daily finger prick.  medications.  figuring out how to balance complex carbs, sugars, and proteins.  i've been trying to pay more attention to labels & sugars & sodium & things because of the high BP, but i've never really paid attention to how it all works together... and now i have to, and i am just really confused as to how to balance everything out.  


*sigh*  i'm not trying to complain - i'm very grateful for all my many blessings!  but... this is not one of them.  this sucks.  and i want it not to suck.  remember how i said my favorite babysitter's club character was claudia??  maybe i should have been paying more attention to stacey!  argh.  


so, along with all of THAT - my dream is to be healthy, to live a good long life, to see leyton & anthony & kaitlyn & charlie & evan & stephen & chase & sarah & andrew & jacob & adam & kathryn & william & arianna(?) grow up & be able to be with them as they do!!!  my dream for them is to live healthy, happy lives, knowing & loving the Lord, and knowing they are loved by Him and their families!!


my sleeping dreams are always interesting.  my favorite ones are when daddy visits me.  : )  but i often have long story-type dreams.  sometimes they continue after i wake up & go back to sleep.  it hasn't happened lately (knock on wood), but throughout my life i have quite often dreamt of bathrooms.  usually when i myself have to go (like the Room of Requirement!  pops up when "needed!").  but it's like i'm trapped in my bladder or something.  not literally - like, the dream will always start out semi-normal, i usually know it's a dream, but i'm in a bathroom talking to someone or exploring or whatever.  sometimes it's one of the old bathrooms from my childhood church or elementary school.  sometimes it's a huge locker-room type bathroom w/ showers & the like.  there are always normal stalls in the beginning.  but then, inevitably, portions of the stalls or walls disappear.  and i'm always like, ohhhh... i have to wake up now.  my other recurring location is my old elementary school/sunday school building hallways.  there was a stretch of time when every week i was dreaming about it!  never the same dream, just the same setting, only decorated differently.  


and there you have that.  i was supposed to meet trish & megan for lunch after my dr. appt, but that didn't happen.  the appt was for 10:40 & i didn't get out of there until after noon.  !!!!  then i was in such shock that i just drove around to try & clear my head & be able to go back to work & be at least somewhat productive.  i ended up at arthur's for lunch, a liverwurst sandwich because it's high in iron.  also probably high in fat and it was a sandwich so there was a bun, but idk what to eat!  anyway, it was good!  


when i got back to the office, i was still in a daze for awhile.  i got to talk to dave & he helped me out & was way more informative than the dr or nurse had been.  i'm grateful for that & that he took the time to talk w/ me about it!  i'm still way confused about what I need to do for ME specifically, but i have a better handle on the generalities thanks to him.  i'd come in early, planning to stay til 5:30 or so, but then 4:30 hit & i couldn't concentrate on anything but getting home & reading all the material i'd been given, so i left.  


came home & had a message about classes i'm supposed to take at the hospital??  idk what that's about but there are FOUR sessions & of course they happen right in the middle of the day.  so, great, now i have the stress of being super busy at work & already dealing w/ OT (tho thankfully so far not as much as some areas have had to put in!) & now i am going to have to miss 4 1/2 days for these classes? (four "half-days" not four and a half days, just to clarify...)  and i keep flashing back to being ... however old i was, 12 maybe?, when i had to go to weight watchers meetings at the hospital and it scared me away from WW for life!  AAARRRRGGGHHHHH... oh, and i also had a message from the financial dept of the doctor's office, because i still owe them $25 from the last visit & i couldn't pay them up front for this visit (hello, you have to put it thru my insurance anyway so i can get the discount, duh!).  did i mention that stress isn't good for the BP or the BS???


at least i got to chat w/ april & watch BB (oh so happy w/ the winner of america's choice prize, but not w/ the overall winner.  he did great, but i think the other guy did better!).  watched last night's AGT & had johnna tell me who won tonight (HAPPY!).  : )  got to chat w/ joyums.  : )  


now i really want to sleep.  i'd like to just sleep tomorrow away, but it's leyton day, so i don't really want to miss out on that!!  i do need to figure out if i'm going to tell mom this news tomorrow or wait until next week after i've gone to my first class & have some sort of handle (i hope) on this whole crazy situation... anyway, i hope your day was better.  take care & keep me in prayer if you think of it... thank you!  ttfn... 

Day 14 – What you wore today

oh, why is there another about what i wore??  haven't we established that i am not the most fashionable?  i like clothes, but i like comfort over looks.  i mean, if i see a pretty skirt, it still has to be comfy!!  anyway, today's comfy choice was a 3/4 twirly rust colored skirt w/ greens & oranges, and a green shirt.  the skirt is one aunt jan gave me for christmas last year, and it's very fall-inspired.  : )  


*********


so, last night was fun!!  jen brought leyton by at 8 & we watched shrek.  well, most of shrek.  it's kinda funny, because he likes it, but he doesn't want to watch all of it!  his normal bedtime is 8:30 or 9, but he was all over the place, and i'd only had popcorn for dinner, so i needed to make something else to eat.  tortillas!  then leyton wanted to look at pictures, and then phil called to say goodnight, and then i tried to start the bedtime routine, at 9:30.


me: let's get our pj's on!
leyton: nah!  
and he proceeds to run all over creation (or, the house) for an hour and a half.  LOL  


i finally convinced him that pj's were a good idea, i told him a couple of stories, we said prayers, i tucked him in a few times... : )  and then he was OUT.  til 6 a.m., when he woke up & seemed like he was just gonna be "up" and he said, "i want you to get uuuuup!" but i wanted to sleep for another hour, so he climbed into my bed & fell asleep for another hour.  : )  my bed is really up high, tho, so i had to only be 1/2 asleep because i had to make sure he didn't fall off!  lol  


we got up, called phil, he came over, we got dressed & had breakfast & looked at more pictures.


i didn't want to leave & go to work!  *laugh*  but we're too busy for me to take any vacation this week, so off i went & stayed late & it was a good day.  and leyton had pre-school, so i'm sure he had a good day, too!  


after work, grocery day!  even tho i was TIRED and didn't really want to go, i really wanted groceries. *laugh*  got some nice cereal (honey nut & chocolate cheerios!mmmm!), more balogna & cheese lunchables, dew, yogurt, cheeeeeese, budig meat, bread-to-make-sammiches, and chinese food for dinner.  mmmm.  mmmm!  um.  except it wasn't chinese food!  lol  i'd been thinking about hy vee chinese all day, but then when i got there it didn't really look good (shocker, i know!!) and so i had meatballs & green beans & potatoes au grautin from the other part of their food service area!  : )  it was all very good, too!  


when i got home, i discovered that leyton'd left his froggy pillow, so i called jen to see if she wanted to pick it up or if it could wait til i saw him on thursday.  they were at hy vee, so they stopped by on their way home.  : )  then my evening consisted of GH & OLTL & FB & reading my blogs & uploading pictures!  


now, i'm going to share w/ you the 3 postcrossings i got in the mail today (LOVE IT!), finish yesterday's OLTL & then go to BED.  i'm ready to zzz!  : )  also gotta rest up for tomorrow.  heh.  happy Tuesday night!  

from Great Britain 

i LOVE state capitols!  they're usually domes, and oh so pretty!

from Finland.  you know i loves this one!  it says, in Swedish, "Better late than never."  

cuteness!  

ttfn

Day 13 – This week

this week is gonna be BUSY!  overtime tonight, probably setting the pattern for the week.  i did get 1/2 my emails set up to go out in september & october, tho!  : )  they've been piling up since august, and thankfully all the retirements are happening later in the year!  *laugh*  trish was sick today, but i had a nice lunch w/ her group anyway.  : )  baked potato soup, woot woot!! 


jen texted me about 6 to see if i could watch leyton.  but tonight i need to get laundry & stuff done around the house, so i said he could spend the night here.  : )  he's excited!  hopefully he'll stay happy & excited thru the night & won't get scared or anything sleeping somewhere new... i'm sure he'll be okay!  and we'll have FUN! i have Elf in right now because i'm in a christmasy kinda mood... 


tomorrow i need to get groceries.  i have a list a mile long, but not that much grocery budget this month... i set up a new payment plan for one of the credit cards (that i no longer have) and it's going to take $53 more a month than i was paying.  which is good for getting it paid off, but is gonna make it a little tighter for everything else!  also this month is when 1/2 my property taxes and my plates are due, so... well, actually the plates are august, but they're getting paid this month!  thank God for grace periods!  


enough about money, tho!  *laugh*  


wednesday so far is a clear day, then thursday i'm having lunch w/ my friend sherry & it's leyton day!  friday looks clear... 


then saturday & sunday is our road trip!!  i'm excited for this week, even if it will be exhausting!  


what's your week looking like??


ttfn!

Day 12 – What’s in your bag

right now i need to clean out my purse, because there are a ton of receipts & crap in there that i don't need.  makes it heavier than necessary!  lol  


things that i don't feel right if i don't have - phone, camera, pens, gum, mints, emory board, checkbook, wallet/changepurse, rosary, handkerchief from grandma w, pill box, girl things, smokes & lighter, stamps, keys, a turtle, badge, clippers, scrunchie, lip balm, lotion.  other things i have in there regularly that don't move if i switch to a smaller purse, but find their way back into whatever purse i'm using include: toys for leyton, tape measure from dad, worry stone from joy, string of beads from kathryn, south american necklace from dad, mail, tastefully simple catalogue, various papers and receipts... 


i love purses, and have quite a few of them.  it's funny to me the things that DON'T make the cut when i switch bags.  when i look thru old ones or when i'm switching and have to clean out one purse in order to use it... why do i keep the stuff that's in these purses?  if i haven't needed it, or even thought of it, in 6 months, say... why am i keeping it??  why can't i throw it away or give it away or donate it if it's that kind of thing?  


if anyone has any insights into that question, please please please share, because i could live a lighter existence if i could do that, i think!!!  *laugh*  


right now, my purse is kinda medium sized.  i prefer this style, the open style, weather it's a shoulder strap or handle.  however, i have several purses that are full of pockets and compartments, and i love those, too.  *laugh*  i'm always looking for a new bag, but i'm really picky.  


************


today was very relaxing.  caught up on People, watched my hubbie - i need season 2 of NCIS.  : )  watched BB, read blogs, napped.  i love naps!  i did take a field trip to sonic for a strawberry slush during happy hour.  i miss having it right down the road, i tell ya what!!  lol  


this week is going to be busy, i'm sure i'll be pulling some late nights, but i am REALLY looking forward to the weekend, so i think it's gonna be a great week!  a blessed week!  and i hope you have a blessed monday, as well.  : )  


ttfn!