... challenging. *sigh* Too much going on.

It started on Friday night with a retirement party for Rod, a recreational safety officer (keeps hunters safe), and had a great time hearing stories and spending time with co-workers outside of the business place. Turned out to be a big showing (around 150 people or so) and was really touched to see just how much he meant to others throughout the state. Way to go, Rod!

 

On saturday we went over to Harlan for a wedding reception for a cousin of mine. We weren't able to make the wedding as it was in Davenport during the flooding that took out I-80 for awhile. It was so neat to see them and she even had her dress on show (via a dress form). What a nice time to get with family and celebrate. We find out that they have very recently moved to quite close to us - so we will have to have a BBQ soon and get in some more games of pitch.

 

Today, Sunday, we have Dan's parents in town as they head to Colorado. It's always nice to see them and we also had my mom and her brother over tonight for some grilling out inbetween tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. There always seems to be some sort of drama. Wishing them safe journeys tomorrow and here's hoping that I-80 through Nebraska doesn't lull them to sleep.

 

Otherwise not much happening. Life has seem to be so very busy over the summer months and I prefer the slower weekends in the winter - but it's always great to see friends and family.

Randy Pausch (October 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) was a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States and a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his "The Last Lecture" speech on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch

 

What an outstanding soul. His "Last Lecture" can be found on YouTube.com and the amount of courage and fight this man had was amazing. I pray for strength and comfort for his young family and all who knew him. Blessings.

 

1) Sweet or unsweetened iced tea?
- Neither. If it's tea it had better be hot.
 
2) Tell us about one of your most "interesting" dates.
- I was asked to go on a blind date with a friend and her significant other. After a LOT of sweet talking I finally went along with it only to find out that the poor guy was being dragged by my friend's SO and thought that "Tracy" was a guy's name. *smirk* We had fun but as I wasn't his "type" there were definately no sparks.

 

3) What is a hobby or past time you would like to take up?
- One day I would love to get into horseback riding. You know, those days that come after my back has finally healed completely and the doctors have told me I can get back into riding horses and rollercoasters. *grump*

Today we went to a wedding and it was one of most emotional weddings I have ever been to. The bride had been married before and has a young daughter. Towards the end of the ceremony the groom pulled his daughter to be (who was also a junior bridesmaid) up near the altar between himself and his bride. He spoke so sweetly to her stating that when he started dating her mom she asked only one thing... when were they getting married because she wanted a family. The groom stated that wasn't something he could promise her. He then paused, and with tears in his eyes stated... "but I can make that promise now. We are now a family."

 

Yup, the entire church lost it. Such a powerful moment and amazing just how much we depend on each other and how special love and family is.

Absolutely wonderful. I was able to block out everything that is going on in my life for a solid 2 hours and laugh along with a full theatre of mostly female 30-60yr olds. IT was a wonderful movie and extremely well cast. Amanda Seyfried makes a charming and beautiful Sophie and is a perfect compliment to Meryyl Streep's Donna. Both were fantastic.

 

Colin Firth makes a heartthrob of a Harry and I found Stellan Skarsgard to be a pretty flat Bill. My main problem? Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael. I found his acting and singing to be, well, unpleasant. He seems to be trying too hard and not enjoying his role as the rest of the cast were. One word to describe Mr. Bond in this movie? Strained.

 

All in all if you have seen Mamma Mia on stage and loved it - this is a close second. Definately see it live as it has a special spark, but the movie WAS well done in my opinion and two hours of fun.

 

Has anyone already seen this movie and/or plan to see it soon? I will definately be seeing Mamma Mia this weekend (alone as I won't drag por Dan to something I'm sure he won't enjoy) but have also been waiting for the new Batman movie - mostly to see the late Heath's version of the Joker.

 

The reason I ask if anyone else has seen it is that I'm not sure now that I DO want to see it. From the clips online and the trailer it appears to be something that will stick with me for a long time as I find even these short clips to be ... well, disturbing. It's so hard to see Heath within such a dark character and his eyes appear so flat compared to other movies I've seen him in and loved. Anyone with any comments or feedback?

 

... I figured I'd update the good ol blog.

 

Today we have no network drives, come and go internet and our Outlook Email system works for some and not for others. Our IT department doesn't seem all that concerned *grumble* and hope to have things back to normal tomorrow. *sigh* I'm trying to find things I can finish up that don't require accessing my files - but that is proving to be quite difficult.

 

In other news the world seems to be speeding up. It seems that we don't have many free weekends anymore. This weekend we're double booked as TJ is graduating (you ROCK girl!) and Frank is getting married (woo!). The next weekend we have an out of town wedding reception to goto over in Harlan (grats J and A!). A co-worker is ready to have her baby here any time (I'm still thinking it will be a boy!), work is getting REALLY busy as we're rolling into the new fishing and hunting regulations season and the Iowa State Fair is coming up soon. I've also been working alot on family geneology stuff and having a lot of fun with it. I need to finish up some stitching projects and I haven't been reading almost at all. Argh - I need longer days!

 

And lastly... the American League (baseball) beat the National League last night in 15 innings. Bah. Oh well, my Cubbies played awesome and Dempster pitched a three strikeout inning. Good work boys!

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK.
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these.
I won't be made useless, I won't be idle with despair.
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear.

 - Jewel, "Hands"

 

This song was the first to come up on my iPod this morning and it wasn't something I had heard in a long time. Helped to remind me that during this frustrating and difficult time that I'm not alone and that things will end up alright and that things truly are in HIS hands.

Well, yesterday I made it to work until 1pm and then came home and crashed into bed and had a long nap. Worked hard to stay up late then so I could sleep the full night. Today I went to work at normal time and made a full day - Go me! I'm exhausted, sure, but feel good knowing I'm on the mend. My headaches are still around and I still have no appetite and hate eating - but things are getting better each day. Thanks for all the well wishes.

 

Added a new June gallery on the right there. It was a pretty busy month. Enjoy. =)

Last Monday I barely got back home before getting very ill. Stomach cramped up and I couldn't keep anything down more than crackers and water until Thursday. Starting with toast, crackers, peaches and such I finally got back to mostly eating on Saturday. Today I feel like I can eat almost anything (still no appetite though) but I'm still shaky and completely fatigued. I worry about driving down to work tomorrow. This is so beyond frustrating!