I made it through the "weekend" quite well. Just three more days and I will be traveling north. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole gang together again. We can do this at least once a year I'm sure. My next visit should be a little longer especially if it is in the spring or summer. I love you family - all of you.

My relationship with each individual is different, but the love is the same!

Friday! Ha! Friday has been one of my most stressful work days lately. Friday evening and Saturday morning. Saturday usually turns out to be good, because the whole show is mine, but that is also why it can be a bit stressful preparing for it. I try to make sure that all is ready before I leave work on Friday, but sometimes that just isn't humanly possible.

As always, I'll do what I can and life will go on.

Did I really just see a Target Christmas commercial? Did I miss Thanksgiving Day?

I am now certain that when I die, I want to be cremated!

Curiosity got the best of me. I walked through the woods to pick up twigs; I kept walking and walking until I reached Alley's resting place. I am happy that I went. Only bones remain and I am at peace with it. I love her.

My Weekend. It isn't the ideal situation, but I am thankful for the two days in a row. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish, but an online friend just signed on, so I'll chat with her a bit.

"I'll let you go." I'm sure you've said that to someone sometime. What do you mean when you say it? What do you hear when you hear it?

I'm pretty sure that some people say it because they themselves want to go. When I say it, I mean it! I usually say it when I am aware that the other person is ready to go. Imagine that.

Now, I would like to tell you about the flight from Dulles to Sav'h. It is the shorter of the two and the one where the smaller plane is used. I got to my seat and there was a distinguished looking gentleman sitting in the seat next to mine. I nodded my head and said, "It looks like we're neighbors." As I sat down, I gently glided the arm rest down with me. I love the arm rest - it is the divider. I was certain that irritated him a bit because it made his space more confined. Why do you think I did it? Gentleman or not, I choose not to be intimate with strangers!

The plane smelled of puke! Then, some lady in go-go boots, a short skirt, and blonde hair (just a description) entered. Evidently she was traveling with some of the other passengers. She asked, "does it smell like puke here?" I just wanted to say to her, " if you smell it, it does!" I refrained. I put this type of situation in somewhat of the same category as sitting in a dentist chair for four hours or standing in a doc's office with nothing on but a gown. I let my mind go elsewhere. I arrived home safely and in a timely manner. All is well.

I have noticed that I blog less when I have the most on my mind. Why? Probably because it is through blogging that I organize those thoughts, so I will try to spill out my thoughts here and there. back to traveling.....

For weekend jaunts, I usually take one carry on item and sometimes a "personal" item. My carry on is only 16" high, 14" wide and 8" thick. Although this definitely fits into the "size wise" dimensions, sometimes on certain "express" type flights the passengers are told to check in the bag because the overhead can not accomodate it. On the way over to WA, the guy looked at me and said, "I'll let it go." I was able to keep my luggage with me. For some reason, I decided to check it in on the way back which I never have done with this small bag before. I thought for sure that my bag would definitely make the flight change in Dulles, but was a little concerned as to whether or not I would make it. Guess what? I made it (barely), but my bag didn't.

When I arrived in Sav'h, I innocently asked, "why did the belt stop?" the worker told me it was because there was no more luggage. I hadn't even entertained that idea and asked what I was supposed to do. I went to the ticket counter, filled out the proper paperwork and instructed them not to send it to my house. I just didn't want my stuff to do any more traveling. I didn't want to have to concern myself with more details of will I be there when it arrives either. Since my place of employment is less than a mile from the airport, I told them I would pick it up myself.

The next day, I retrieved my luggage and all is well.

The state of Washington! Although I flew in to Seattle and slept there the first night, I didn't really visit. I slept in a little late (which is a matter of perspective really) after arriving late and traveling after a full day of work. We had a casual morning with breakfast in the room and decided to hit the road down to my friends place in Oregon. Of course it would have been nice to visit the area, but it would have also set us back on the other plans.

We arrived at Sarah and Andrea's about an hour and a half early but we warned them ahead of time. They were happy to see us. They live just far enough away from city life while also being close to work. I would say they live in a perfect area. The land is beautiful and mountainous - or are they big hills? It's beautiful!

It was Susan's first meeting with S and A; however, it was as if they had always known each other. We all had a great time. We ate at a nearby Mexican restaurant and later watched some rented movies. The next morning, we had a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hit the road as tourists. I must admit that I'm probably not the best tourist since I get motion sickness so easily, but I wanted to go.

We road out to the coast. I have now seen the west coast and the Pacific ocean. It was a cold, rainy day, so we didn't walk around very much, but it is a pleasant site to see the waves slapping against the gigantic rocks. We also walked up many steps in order to look out a tower. Wow! It was pretty high, but worth the climb to get a glimpse of the beauty that surrounds us. moving on.......

The great finale was at a very nice restaurant which is on the water. I ate some sort of shrimp dish. Susan had halibut and I tried it. I don't know if i had ever tried it before, but I think it is the "cleanest" fish I have ever tasted. It was good and the presentation of the dishes was beautiful.

I think it was that night that I went to bed pretty early. Of course I slept very well and woke up early in the morning. Susan and I started our day with a walk. A very nice walk with the dogs leading us. Upon our return, Sarah had started fixing breakfast. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm - the best breakfast I have had in a while. She cooked quiche and blueberry scones.

Later, we had spaghetti for lunch/dinner. Then, Susan and I hit the road again for the Seattle area.

I'll blog more later about the trip back home. All is well!

I returned home at about 8:30 last night. Soon after turning on my computer, I was greeted by two of my sisters and a niece. We had a casual chat then, I was too tired to blog. Tonight, I came home from work a couple hours later than scheduled and once again, I feel too tired to blog. Perhaps I will get to it later.

Late tonight I will be at the other side of our country. I sure do love modern travel. I will actually have 3 full days visiting friends and relaxing. I deserve it!

at, in, on ? I'll be staying at a hotel in a city on Saturday, but at the other side of our country? that just doesn't sound right.

Sitting at my computer with my first cup of coffee...who's sitting next to me? My big boy, Bravo - what a beautiful boy! I just can't resist loving on him with his head propped snuggly next to my leg as it appears that he is looking at the computer screen. The feeling I get from it is, "Mommy, I love you" while the reality is, "Are you gonna feed me?"

I just had a chat with my sister. Before that, I chatted with two sisters and Mom. I never would have thought I could be so close to my family members via a computer. I must admit, I do like where technology has brought us. I have been able to maintain such closeness simply through instant messenger. Now, if only my other sisters would "find" the time to visit us once in a while...... that brings me to the idea of TIME.

We often hear people say things like, "I don't have enough time..." blah, blah, blah! As cold and hard as this may sound, I have one very simple answer. We all have 24 hours to the day. We all do what we want to take the time to do. Not having time is no excuse - if you're not doing something, it is because you don't have a strong enough desire to take the time.