This and that....

It's weekend again. The week went quickly, and yet it seems like forever since I was away. I miss my friends.... :-(

This past week was winter break, so Sheldon didn't have school. I think he was bored for awhile cuz some of his friends were busy/away, but a bunch of them went to Regina on Thursday to help his friend's mom move and then to just hang out, and I think he's had a good time. Still not home yet... lol.

My mom took me out for supper last night, Chinese food. That was nice. Spent the rest of the evening alone. Which normally isn't a bad thing, I don't mind being alone, but it ended up being a bad night. The whole week had gone relatively well, but you know how one thing can just set you off? Well, I've been trying so hard to stay strong, but last night one little thing sent me crashing and burning. Not fun. Got through it, though, and both a very timely email (I don't know how you do it, Joyce!) and a chat with a best friend helped alot.

I had a great chat on the phone with Chantelle a couple of nights ago -- she is always so bright and full of life, always makes me laugh. Her job is going well and she's been getting quite a few hours in. She's a bit frustrated that her boss doesn't make a schedule more than a few days ahead, but hopefully they can straighten that out.

After I talked to her last weekend, she had talked to her ex-(but still good friend)boyfriend, and he later called Sheldon just to let him know that he was available if he ever needs to talk, and to offer him the money to go out and visit Chantelle if he ever feels like he just needs to get away from things here for a bit, maybe on his next school break or whatever. A wonderful gesture and one that means alot -- thank you, Mark.

So many people have been blessing us. :-)

I'm working today. Hmm... seems to be a pattern here of posting when I'm bored at work... lol. Not a real busy day -- steady, but not busy. That's alright, I'm not complaining. ;-)

The new boards sure aren't very active. They don't feel much like home yet. Maybe because so many of the "regular" members aren't there, I dunno. I have found that I'm not really missing the moderating, though. It's rather nice to just pop in now and again and not have the responsibility or the (sometimes) stress. ;-)

Time to end this senseless rambling and get some work done... :-P I hope everyone has a great weekend! Have fun at the concert, John. ;-)

Wow.... this last week and half has been a rollercoaster of emotions... I may post more on that at some point, but for now I'm just gonna say that I had the most amazing time on my vacation. Reunited with one friend, met several more, and just had a blast!!!! Some of us went to the SCC concert in Oklahoma City, and that was so much fun. We got to meet Steven afterward -- it was so awesome. I've waited a long time for that. But that was just a bonus -- the whole trip, the time spent with friends was what was important. I don't think I could even begin to put into words how much it meant to me.

It is the coolest thing when people that you have never met in person and only had cyber and phone communication with turn out to be exactly the way you expected them to be. That the connections are real and deep. Very cool.

I came home slightly sick, but am feeling a bit better. Dealing with alot of stuff on top of that -- stuff that is really tough right now, but I think will be okay in the long run. I have to trust that it will be.

I'm back at work today. I'm thankful that it's only for one day.... lol. I probably should have taken this day off, too, but at time I thought it would be good to get back and get caught up on all that I had missed, etc. Now I'm wishing I'd given it a bit longer, but oh well... This way I can hopefully clear out a bunch of stuff from while I was gone and start fresh next week. Going back to work after a vacation is always hard. Ugh...

Currently playing: Believe Me Now ~ SCC

Wasting time at work.... lol

I wish we had emoticons here, or could insert some. I was wanting that :hyper: dude from Hostboard smilies.... lol.

Yup, a lil excited today. Leaving tomorrow morning for TX! Well, actually I go an hour and a half to "the city", have lunch with a friend, and then fly out mid-afternoon. Will get to TX about 9:30 p.m., and apparently will be hitting The Waffle House after getting picked up at the airport.... mmmmm. :-D

I can't wait... It's going to be an awesome time -- wonderful friends, a concert... did I mention wonderful friends... lol. And yes, a bit of an escape. Temporary, but an escape all the same. Not really wanting to think about junk I have to deal with when I return, but am putting all of that on hold for now and am just going to enjoy myself.

I never would have thought, 3+ years ago, that I would have this opportunity. I never would have imagined making such amazing friendships, let alone actually getting to meet. It's been an interesting journey, without a doubt. My only disappointment is that I had hoped to meet a couple of board peeps who now can't make it... :-( Maybe one day in the future...

I heard from a couple of friends today. One who'd been kind MIA for the past little bit -- I learned that she's been going through a rough time lately. I feel bad that I didn't know -- not that I could have since I hadn't heard from her recently, but still. She's always been there for me, and I wish I'd known so I could have been praying for her. But now I know, and will. *hugs* for you, S.

Another friend I'm in frequent contact with but hadn't heard from for just a few days. She's been ill with what they thought were migraines, but she ended up at the emergency room and had a ton of tests done. Hopefully everything is okay, I'll check in with her when I get back. She's been my rock and my support lately. Get better soon, J.!!!!

Last night Sheldon was playing shinny with some friends and he fell onto both his elbows. He is so sore today -- both from the elbows and also just from skating for a couple of hours, he's not used to that. He has a basketball game after school, so that's gonna hurt.... ouch. :-(

Wow, Lent starts tomorrow. Hard to believe another year has gone by. We have our church's Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper tonight. Not sure if I'm going, we'll see how the rest of the day goes. I might go but skip out early so I can get some things finished up at home.

I'm going to miss the Ash Wednesday service tomorrow night. First time in a long time. It's one of my favorite services. In fact, I like all of the Lenten services. Some people think Lent is rather depressing, but I like it. It can be a good time for reflection -- not that it always is because I can tend to get too busy with life and neglect the spiritual, but overall I still like it.

I'm at work, but really not wanting to be here.... can you tell? Hahaha.... I guess I should get back to it. Things I should clear up before going. My assitant librarian just got back yesterday from 3 weeks in England (she even worked out her trip so that she could be back in time for me to leave --originally she had planned to be gone the same time I was, but her plans were more flexible than mine). No doubt she's jetlagged, but will be in sometime today to catch up on what she's missed, etc. I should make it at least look like I'm accomplishing something today.... lol.

Currently playing: Jars of Clay ~ Who We Are Instead

Good news

I got a call from Chantelle. last night, and she got the job at the Pita Pit. Yeah, it's not the best job, but at least it's a job for now, which she needed desperately. She worked 7 hours yesterday, training. She's going to keep looking for something better, but is very thankful that she has this for the time being.

I had been dreading our church annual meeting, but it went much better than expected. That's always nice. :-)

Doing a bunch of stuff around the house today and tomorrow, taking care of some things before I leave for TX on Wednesday. I don't work tomorrow, so I can pack and finish things up then. I am SOOOO excited!!!!

The boys are out today, watching the Superbowl -- Robbie. in the city with the gang, and Sheldon at a friend's house. It's quiet around here -- no Superbowl for me.... I am SO not a sports person. Just me and my music today, hanging out online and getting some things accomplished. It's been a fairly productive day. ;-)

I talked to Chantelle. last night -- still no job. She's frustrated with the place she interviewed at, because they've been stringing her along. She talked to a girl yesterday who told her that she had applied there one time and it took a month and a half before they got back to her to tell her she definitely had the job!!! In the meantime she'd given up and found a different one. It's frustrating because she's basically wasted this time waiting on this job, when she could have been out looking for another or possibly working at something else already. In the meantime, no money coming in. Arrghhh. Put some money in her account today so at least she won't be out on the street.... :-P She dropped off a resume at another place yesterday and has an interview today -- praying that this one will work out.

I leave in 5 days for TX... I'm so excited! We are so unorganized.... haha. Deciding whether to stay overnight in OKC, where to stay -- where is this place? Is it close to the venue? It's pretty cheap, is it gonna be a roach motel? How do you find out? Can't exactly call them up and ask them... lol. Anyway, sooner or later we'll get it together -- and we're gonna have a blast!

One of my best friends brought me flowers earlier this week... so unexpected, so thoughtful. I have wonderful friends. :-D

Just rambling thoughts....

We've lost a number of our elderly library patrons in the past few years. One of my favorite old fellows has recently become sick and was diagnosed with liver cancer. He's almost 93 I think, so they won't be putting him through any kind of rigorous treatment, he will just be made as comfortable as possible. I really hate to lose him, he is just the sweetest old man. I've noticed him steadily declining for some time now, both physically and mentally. He is almost blind, but still takes out large print books and reads them with a special magnifying glass. He was in the library today, with his granddaughter. I was suprised, I hadn't expected him to be out. He looks so fragile, his skin is yellow and he is so thin.... I hope he doesn't suffer, but goes quietly and gently, just as he lived life. *sigh*

Our church's annual meeting is on Sunday. Ugh. I've come to dread annual meetings and church government/conflict/etc. in general. The loss of Donna is going to be felt immensely. She was always our "mediator", the level-headed, diplomatic one who could handle the conflicts, etc. with such grace. I miss her......

Music is so powerful, isn't it? I have a bunch of songs from various CD's that I saved on my computer here at work, and as they play certain songs remind me of certain people, or situations, or just bring up various feelings. Joy, sadness, longing, a touch of God's love and grace. Music reaches me on a level that nothing else does, it is often my strongest connection to God. He has reached me so many times through music, bringing me healing and renewal, breaking me down and then lifting me back up again. Revealing His love to me. There are certain songs that I turn to when I am feeling down, knowing that they will probably make me cry, but needing that I guess, for a time. Some songs I associate with a specific time or place or event and the memories that surround them, others are ones that I share with certain people and in hearing them there is a special connection. I can't imagine living without music. What must it be like to lose that through the loss of hearing, or to never know it? So much that we just take for granted....

I think life changes once you hit 40, I really do. I didn't think so at the time, but looking back now on the past couple of years, I can see huge changes. Sometimes I'm not sure who I am anymore. Or maybe it's just that I never really did know who I was and am now finding out. Sometimes change is hard, but I have to trust that it is for the better.

I think I've caught John's ADHD.... lol. Talk about random thoughts........ :-P