Emma's first steps!

Emma took her first single step on her birthday, March 17th, but she hadn't done it again until yesterday when I stood her up and she took TWO steps towards Amy...then she took two again, then three and finally I recorded it! I'm a proud Auntie Pegs!



Josh is out of town on business and when he got the news, he told us to knock her over if she tried it again until he got home!

Peace out, Denton!

On Thursday, I was supposed to have dinner with Fabulous Friend Sara. She picked me up and whisked me off to Chili's where we planned to pig out on The Best Appetizer Ever (AKA Skillet Queso). When I arrived, Uyen was there. I was so excited she happened to be there and I could see her once more before leaving...then realized she was there for ME! Sara had invited some of the girls to get together for one last hurrah. Only a few were able to make it due to Spring Break, but I was so excited!

Back (l-r): Uyen & Candise
Front (l-r): Me, Sara, Anna

They were so thoughtful. They gave me a cookie jar for my going away gift because I told them the story of how when I lived with Grandma, she would protect me from my own lack of self-control regarding cookies (Girl Scout cookies, in particular) by hiding the cookies and leaving me just ONE cookie in the jar each morning. So, they gave me a cookie jar and when I opened it, there was just ONE cookie inside. :)

Uyen let me keep the wieners one more time before I left.

Back (l-r): Uyen & Pegs
Front (l-r): Tony & Bella

The movers were supposed to show up between 10:30 - 11:00 am on Saturday. I did most everything I needed to on Friday, so I set my alarm for 9:00 am, thinking that was plenty of time to get ready for them.

Guess who showed up at 9:15 am?

Guess who answered the door barely decent with crazy hair like Medusa?

The good news is they were also finished an hour earlier, so I was on the road to Brownwood for my Texas Tour earlier.

And now? Now it's Sunday, and I am taking in the Brownwood Sleep 'n' Eat for all it's worth this last time. Eating homemade tacos. Eating Better than Sex cake (I did not name it). Sleeping 12 hours. Eating French toast. Taking a 90 minute nap. Eating more Better than Sex cake. Seriously, that's all I've done since I got here.

And that's fine by me.

Random...but mostly A Bike Tale

3 days left at work.
10 days left in Texas.

I arrive in Seattle at 10:45 am, and Jesse already has planned a lunch date for us in West Seattle. I like him.

Work is BORING. It's Spring Break, and ain't nobody here 'cept me, Abbie, and Rosy. Rosy has never seen Mary Poppins (Holy Lost Childhood, Batman!) so I'm bringing it for us to watch this week. Chim-chiminey.

I have been consuming so much Chick-Fil-A since they don't have them in Seattle that I fear I may turn into one of those cows on the billboards. "Eat Mor Chikin."

I just had Mr. Chopsticks for the last time (until I move back to Denton in approximately one year...oh wait, I don't plan to do that). Sesame Chicken, my favorite. It was the special today, so I also got a veggie spring roll for free. I like to think it was their parting gift to me.

The carpet has been cleaned. The guys said that the enzymes used to clean the pet stains will make the apartment quite rank as the enzymes set in and do their work. They were correct. My apartment is filled with the scent of dog urine.

I took a 10 mile bike ride at a nearby state park on Sunday. I went by myself, and latched on to a group of 3 who arrived at the same time. We were going along and I finally asked how long this trail was.
Friendly Guy: "12 miles."
Me: Ahem. You mean 12 miles round trip, right?
FG: "12 miles. One way."
Me: "Okay then, I will not be completing the trail."
FG: "You came out here by yourself?"
Me: "Yes, I did."
FG: "Really? You could fall and break your leg and no one would know."
Me: "Well, as long as you guys go further than I do, you will see me on your way back in."
FG: "I suppose that's true."
Me: "You see, I have no patience for not doing stuff alone. I lived in Africa and I wasn't supposed to do stuff alone. But I did. And I was fine."
FG: "Oh okay." (Hello? Where is the usual "OMG--you lived in AFRICA? That's so cool. What did you do there?)

Some time later...
Me: "So, my bike seat isn't very cushy. I'm starting to feel it."
A Little Too Friendly Guy: "Oh yeah, I had that problem. I got this really nice seat. See?" ALTFG stands on his pedals. Indeed, it looks like a very cushy bike seat. "Now I don't have prostate problems like I used to."
A ten second pause while I think to myself, "Holy Crap. Did this guy I do not know really just say that."
Me: "Ahem. Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that seat has helped. So, I think I'll turn around now."

For putting up with ALTFG and completing a 10 mile bike ride, I rewarded myself with a lime slush at Sonic, which they also do not have in Seattle.

Updated Moving List

So, two weeks from the day of the move. Where am I on my to-do list?

Done:
Mover set up--check
Car shipper set up--check
One-way flight purchased--check
Tour o' Texas set up--check
Registered for Spring quarter at the UW (including the Qual Methods course I needed but didn't know if I'd get!)--check
ADDED since previous list:
Have Stanley Steemer work their magic (set up)--check
Babe's Chicken Dinner House with the girls--check
Shut off cable/internet and electricity (set up)--check
More detailed plans for Tour o' Texas, including coffee with 2 good friends and dinner with friends from high school--check

Still to be done:
Change address
Pack 2 suitcases to go with me on Tour and in Seattle until my stuff arrives
ADDED:
Keep my sanity through the next 2 weeks of work
Go to like 1,000 lunch dates next week
Make/get Emma's birthday gift

So. I added four things to the DONE side...but I also added three things to the TO BE DONE side. Boo. Still, I'm getting there.

Pictures from the last visit to see Emma:

I mean, REALLY. How cute can you be?

Mels was dog-sitting a Great Dane & beagle during my visit. You know my love of dogs...I had to go play. So here I am with India, the Great Dane. This picture cracks me up. She was really gentle overall, but snapped her head back once and scared the crap out of me...as you can plainly see.

A fishy story

So yesterday, I'm sitting at my desk at work. Sam, the Betta fish I was given at our Christmas exchange at work, swims next to my desktop monitor. I was typing away, when my peripheral vision (which the eye doctor told me 2 weeks ago is working perfectly, and it's a good thing as you're about to see) saw something blue/green. I looked, and Sam was flopping around on my desk!! A suicide attempt, I presume.

I hollered at Stacy to come rescue him. Until that moment, I wouldn't have told you that I was afraid to pick up a tiny Betta fish. Apparently, I am. So Stacy came in, picked him up, and tossed him back in the bowl. He's not terribly active, but still alive this morning.

This takes me back to a very "fishy story" from my college days. I lived in a dorm where I had a roommate and two suite-mates that shared one bathroom. I became quite close to one of my suite-mates, until she stole my man. Then things became just plain awkward. We were hardly talking, but she asked me to watch her Betta fish while she went home for Easter weekend.

I have to explain the relationship between Suite-Mate and Bob the Betta. She'd had him for three years, and treated him like most people treat a dog or cat...as a beloved member of the family. She would stare into his bowl and coo at him..."Oh Bob, you're such a good boy, aren't you Bob?"

Seriously.

So, here I am...watching the beloved fish of my barely friend Suite-Mate. My friend, Amy, came to visit me that weekend. We returned from an afternoon of shopping...and found Bob floating upside down in the bowl.

OMG.

She's going to think I killed her fish because she stole my man.

OMG.

Even worse, when Suite-Mate was supposed to return from home that evening, I would be driving Amy to the Little Rock airport (a total 2.5 hour round trip), so I wouldn't even be HOME when she got back.

The Ultimate Dilemma: Do I leave a note with Bob still floating in the bowl? Do I leave a note with Bob already flushed down the toilet? Do I drop out of college and just never set foot on campus again?

Amy was rolling on the floor with laughter at my predicament. We decided that due to Suite-Mate's unusual (read: CRAZY) relationship with Bob, I should not flush him. You know, just in case she wanted to flush him herself. Or have a funeral and bury him behind the dorm.

So, I left a note with Bob floating in the bowl. Suite-Mate found him when she got home, and was PISSED. Everything I thought would happen did:
1. She cried.
B. She thought I did it on purpose.
D. She buried him behind the dorm.

Yes, a fishy story, indeed.

In perspective...

So y'all know how once in awhile, I have a blog pity-party? Well the following people and their brave stories have shut me up (at least, for today).

Brock Hart--barely one year old and fighting leukemia.

Layla Grace--two years old and dying of stage 4 Neuroblastoma.

Brad and Chloe Sullivan--wife and mother, Sara, died in September. She had breast cancer but was mysteriously killed by some other monster, a seizure/brain hemorrhage. Sara gave birth to Chloe three short weeks before she died, so Brad is left as a single father to his little one.

Rood & Valentina, Haitian orphans--according to the Feb. 26 entry by Kate, little children who watched their families die in the January earthquake.

The first three are Christians (I don't know about the last), and seem unshakable in their faith despite the tragedy. That fascinates me. I wonder about God a lot. Is He out there? Really? Why do Christians have such confidence that their human minds have wrapped around God's plan for life? Me, I think hmm. If he's God, and I'm me...how can I EVER know what is true?

Sometimes I really wish I could have the confidence the three families above seem to have in God.

(Note: I know that by posting the last 2 paragraphs, some might feel the strong need to comment LOUDLY in response. You don't have to. These are just my musings. I'm not expecting THE answer. I'd much rather you take the time to peruse the links above and share in the life stories of these people).