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Holy shit, that's a lot of snow. I'm worried about you. As soon as you can, please let me know how you are doing.

One of the nicest people I know. Also a brilliant writer and a lovely but firm mod over at the sshg_exchange.

I hope you have a fantastic day doing everything you want and topping it off with loads of cake and ice cream! (Hopefully not TOO many candles...) Prompt me for a drabble gift! {{HUGS}}

Wow, two days in a row of updates!

Well, that's because I actually got off my lazy ass and DID something yesterday!

My good friend Sheri called to say she was coming down to my town to buy some shoe inserts at a store located here. So, I got showered, etc and went to meet her as I needed to pick up some new sheets. My hubby was a sweetie and gave me a video game to trade at EB games so I could get some dollars off of Heroes of Might and Magic V
which I have been lusting for since it was released in May.

So, I met up with Sheri, we went to the store and got her inserts then went to JC Penney (having a % off sale) and I picked up some new sheets (and WTF with queen-sized sheets costing 70.00 before the discount? Day-um.) and some OMG soft towels (Egyptian cotton--also on sale) to replace our rapidly wearing out ones. Peacock blue for hubby and royal purple for me. And I don't care if they match each other or the bathroom, so there.

Then I went to EB Games and bought my game. :)

Then Sheri and I went to Applebee's for a late lunch and took up the table for two hours just gabbing. She is a stockholder in the Green Bay Packers (one share, hee) and this year the team is giving the stockholders a tour of "the frozen tundra of Lambeau field" along with the locker room and assorted other things there. She is such a cheesehead and she cannot wait. I asked her to take lots of pictures and if she is amenable, I'll post some here one day.

We also discussed Harry Potter (I got her hooked, hee) the various theories that are flying around and who we think will die, who will be redeemed and why I have become disillusioned about the series ever since book six.

(No, not because of the death at the end, because of the whole "no one believes Harry" which to me, required waaay too much suspension of my disbelief after he was proved right again and again in books one through five...WTF?? Not to mention the fact that Hermione went from brilliant, confident student extraordinaire to whiny, self-righteous bitch which to me was too far out of character...oh shit, I don't want to even think about that book anymore...)

So, a wonderful time was had. Sometimes getting out of the apartment is a good thing!

After I got home, hubby was napping on the sofa. I decided to try to finish the other game I have been playing (an old, but to my mind still very engaging game) called Lord of the Realm. I was nearly finished when I noticed the time and it was after 7 and hubby was still sleeping! So I woke him up and got us some supper...after which he expressed his surprise that I hadn't yet loaded the new game. So I did and we spent the next five hours playing HMMV together! That was so nice...except I had forgotten that it was a bit buggy, and neglected to download the available patch and it froze after playing for that long. We downloaded the patch this morning and it seems to be playing okay now, but still slow. I'm not sure if it's because of our computer or not...which we have a decent one with plenty of space, so we'll see. Hubby started his own scenario this morning and he says it started out slow but got better as he went along.

Oh, and since hubby seems to actually LIKE this game, I'm a bit worried...we've never had to try to share a game before that we both like...

So, I'm going to play after I post this and he's going to play while I watch NASCAR this afternoon. Let's hope we can keep things civil! ;)

Yes, I still intend to read book seven. I have to see how it all ends.

Oh. My. God.

I got a package in the mail today and when I opened it, it was scott_lynch 's new book "The Lies of Locke Lamora" already signed by the author himself!

This is such a fabulous gift, and I can't wait to start reading. I have not cancelled my order for the same book from Amazon.com because the only thing better than having one first edition is having two.

Thank you, Scott. You're one in a million. :)

Hubby's best friend gave us a call and asked if we'd like to go out to dinner with him--and he casually mentioned he was bringing "a chick" with him. Our ears perked up because this guy has had the worst year ever this year. His wife of 16 years had an affair and then left him. This was a shock because they had been together since high school. They have two children together who are now living with their mother. (He does get to see them quite often though--he told us they alternate three and four days each taking turns). He also had two knee surgeries (on the same knee) and his beloved father died this year.
So, yeah--not such a great year.

So when Roger called, we were happy to drop everything and meet him at a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

We had a wonderful time. We met them at 7, had a couple of drinks and some good food and took up the table for three hours. It was so much fun. She is a nice woman, older than him (hey-older women rock! My hubby told Roger the same thing! hee!) So, she rocks and there was talk about getting together again soon.

We came home and fell into bed (to sleep you pervs!) and then I had a dream so realistic that I thought it was actually happening. I should say a nightmare. What happened was that my hubby and my dad both died on the same day. I was at work and they came and told me. I remember being stunned, in shock and just terrified. I was walking through the office, I was seeing the people but not able to really talk to them. I had to make decisions and I didn't want to believe it was happening. I was so scared, numb and just freaked out that this was happening to me.

Then, I woke up. I was shaking and I reached over and my hubby was there, warm and alive and I just curled up against him, pulled him close and burst into tears. Naturally, this woke him up, and he held me while asking what was wrong. I couldn't speak for a couple of minutes as all I could do was sob against his chest in relief. He patted my back, held me tight and kissed my face and lips. I laid my head against his chest and listened to the sound of his heart beating strongly and steadily in his chest. After the initial storm, I was able to stammer out an explanation to him and he just held me tighter and murmured soothing words of comfort to me.

A few minutes later, my alarm went off. I clung to him for a few more minutes before I got up to start my day.

That was the worst nightmare I've had in recent memory. I wonder what would cause me to dream something like THAT?? The only thing I can come up with is because the anniversary of my brother's death is next week.

I'm SO glad it was only a nightmare.

I found my desk all decorated for my birthday. It was decorated by a wonderful friend of mine who I have brainwashed introduced to the HP love. I heard from several sources at work that she has been planning this for over a week and I just love her for it. This really made my day to walk in and see my desk ( like this )

Also, my brother called me at work (a miracle, that boy never calls!!), my son called and I got e-cards from my sister and my daughter.

I'll let you know what hubby gets me...as usual, he's waited until the last minute...

We are going out to eat tonight, possibly Red Lobster...

More updates as they become available.

So, on Saturday morning, hubby and I got up early. We got some breakfast, finished packing and then picked up the rental car. (One free upgrade later and we were stylin' in a
Buick Century
awesome...yowza) We made sure we had our Mapquest maps (only we forgot to print out a map TO our hotel--DOH!!) and off we went.
The trip up was relaxing and uneventful. Just hubby and me chatting, singing and laughing as we always do when on a road trip. We found
Kingsport, TN without any trouble at all. The trouble came when we realized we had neglected to find out exactly WHERE in Kingsport our hotel was located.
Oops.
Well, we had directions to the Kingsport Renaissance Center" (thanks to Beth and Jack's excellent invitation!) so we went there and then backtracked to our hotel. We arrived at the hotel with just enough time to shower, change and head out to the wedding.
When we arrived at the Ren Center, we followed the other folks who were obviously wedding guests (at one point, we held the door open for a woman with a fractured ankle and her friend--who turned out to be the Maid of Honor) and soon we were in a beautiful, brick atrium which was filled with plants.
( Lovely place for a wedding. )

There was no "assigned" seating, so we found a couple of chairs which were almost dead center and settled down. The music was lovely and the atmosphere was relaxing. Before long, the groomsmen escorted Jack and Beth's parents to the places of honor. Then the celebrant, Jack and his groomsmen all walked in and took their places in the center of the atrium and the guests all became quiet and anticipatory.
I looked over to my left and spotted some activity through an arched doorway. It was the bridal party!
( Jack's beautiful daughter was a bridesmaid. )

Suddenly, there was a hush and then the processional music began to play. Jack's daughter and then Beth's sister walked in--both were wearing dresses of different shades of green. We peeked and saw the beautiful bride with her dad standing in the doorway.
( Beth saw me and gave me a huge smile. )

She walked in, escorted by her father and when she turned the corner and Jack got his first look at her--his smile lit up the entire room. The ceremony was beautiful and I'm not ashamed to say--I had tears of joy in my eyes.
( The Ceremony )

Then came to moment everyone was waiting for...The KISS!! The celebrant said,
( *Jack, you may kiss your bride.* )

Then, in a suprise move--he said:
( *Beth, you may kiss your groom!* )

That was awesome. Then they were pronounced husband and wife! Everyone applauded and then went upstairs to the reception area.
The room was lovely. There were several round tables set up and we were at lucky table 7 with some of Beth's friends from high school. Carol is a HP fan, (and a Neil Gaiman fan too, OMGWTFBBQ!11!!!) so we had lots to talk about. The room was decorated with more greenery. There was an open bar (W00T!) which everyone took advantage of. The DJ was really good and the music he played varied from Frank Sinatra to Rap to Disco to rock and roll.
( The cake was beautiful. )
( And why am I not surprised that the Groom's cake was a cookie? )

The DJ introduced the bridal party, and before the bride and groom came in they played a video that Beth's sister had put together of old pictures, home movies, etc of Beth and Jack. There was a lot of sniffling and giggling throughout. Then in came Beth and Jack for their first dance. The lyrics of the song they danced to were printed on the back of the program they handed out and just reading them made me cry. It was Rascal Flatts' Bless the Broken Road
( First Dance as husband and wife. )

After that, everyone got up to dance.
( It's boogie time! )

After some dancing and visiting, it was time to eat. OMG, the food was wonderful. There was grilled chicken and wild rice, stuffed salmon, prime rib and chicken strips for the kids. There was mashed potatoes along with the rice and broccoli, califlower and carrot mix, awesome rolls, salad-caesar and regular...oh, and there were also potato chips for the kids. (And I just have to say here that all of the children in attendence were well behaved. Jack and Beth had a room set up for them to play in, and a seperate table area they could use if they wanted to. And most of them did want to, which left the grown ups at the "big" tables. Fabulous.) There was also an ice cream bar with lots of toppings that everyone enjoyed.

After dinner, there was more dancing and visiting. Jack and Beth both made a point to come over and visit with hubby and I. ( So Cute. )
Check out the rock!
( Beth's ring. )

They were so sweet, and they made us feel like old friends rather than someone they had only met an hour before.( Jack, Beth, Hubby and Me )

The party went on for several hours. Everyone had a wonderful time. Hubby and I danced several times which was fabulous! This has to be one of the best weddings I've ever been to...it was such a great time! Thanks, Beth and Jack, for the invitation and your friendship. We are really looking forward to getting together again sometime soon!

( The happy couple )

To the happy couple, a Vulcan blessing: Live long and prosper!

Go here. http://www.livejournal.com/users/scott_lynch/127371.html

You will laugh.

Watching the Academy Awards and thinking of you, Lisa. I miss you and still remember all the times we snarked about the show the day after and the few times we actually watched it together.

I wish you were here or I was there.