Back to the Land of the Living

I have never been prone to headaches, but I had one Friday night & most of the day Saturday that pretty much brought me to my knees. Stress . . . allergies . . . sinus . . . who knows? I have only had one migraine in my life, & this wasn't quite that bad, but it was a very close second. I am grateful that it finally became just a dull ache last night so that I could watch some of the Olympics both live & what I had recorded earlier. It was a real waste of a beautiful Saturday, however!

Recently I have taken some time off from the WVU message boards (ever since RR finally agreed to pay the $4 million). Instead of my sports talk radio I am listening to music CDs. And I have now turned on my tv since I LOVE the Olympics, but for the summer I have pretty much only watched the Today show while getting ready for work & nothing in the evenings. Not so fast though, I am recording "Project Runway" & will probably watch it at some point. I guess it's just nice to do some other things for awhile & take a radio/tv break.

Olympics observations . . .
1) Michael Phelps is just amazing! There are really not enough superlatives to describe him. My hat's off to Debbie Phelps, his mom. I know on a much smaller scale just what it's like to spend your week days transporting to & from practice & your weekends in either the blazing sun or a hot, humid indoor venue watching swim meets. It is not only time consuming, but also very expensive. I can only imagine how much of her life she has devoted to giving her son every opportunity to succeed. She has every reason to be proud!
2) I like the "redeem team" much more than the basketball teams from the past few years. They seem dedicated to team play &, unlike some of their predecessors, seem to also be soaking up the Olympic experience.
3) USA men's gymnastics may ultimately become a train wreck without the twins, but it was nice to see these newcomers have some early success.
4) Dara Torres--What a phenomenal woman . . . Really beyond awesome & quite an inspiration to women everywhere!!!
5) Volleyball/Beach Volleyball--great fun to watch.
6) Men's Road Race (Biking)--Grueling, I know, but also really boring for the viewers until the final few yards. I'm sure the women's race will be equally ho-hum for me.
7) Although I know the opening/closing ceremonies of the games are spectacular in person, it also gets pretty boring when televised. It is difficult to appreciate this show without actually being there.

HB OMZ!

Owen,

8-8-08 . . . what a cool day to become 5 years old! Happy Birthday, Owen. Somehow it seems like just yesterday when you were born (when I heard your first cry, I cried too!) At the same time, it seems like you have been in our lives & hearts forever. You were the CBE (cutest baby ever), a title you relinquished to Drew when you moved up to CTE (cutest toddler ever). At any rate I remember taking 20-30 pictures of you every time I saw you, & then paying extra for the 1 hour processing so that I could show them off to my friends . . . all before I got my digital camera, of course. You have kept me entertained with playing trains, making stuffed animals come to life, reading books, and lots of other activities as your imagination is boundless! I am constantly awed & amazed at just how much you know about the things that interest you . . . I'm sure it's exasperating for you to have to explain the nuances of different kinds of trains to me over & over!

You are energy & enthusiasm . . . light & love. What a joy & a blessing to have you in our lives! Have a great birthday party . . . wish I could be there to watch you break the pinata!!!

I love you,
Nina

Ah . . . the good old days

For lack of anything better to do last night, I got into some housecleaning & found something interesting from my teenage years. When my group of friends hit high school as sophomores we could scarcely contain our enthusiasm for the older boys . . . yes, the ones who could drive & were beyond cool. As luck would have it, within a few weeks we were all dating seniors & totally smitten. How better to memorialize this than by writing a song? So, one day when we were pretending to take gym class (the class was doing archery outside . . . we were clustered in the bushes), we came up with the following:
"Dave, Ron, Lindy, & Steve
they are so tough (which at that time meant "hot")
If you want to go with them
just consult us
One of these days they're going to break our hearts
but we don't care
'Cause we really love them & follow them everywhere . . ."
It goes on with a verse to describe each guy which becomes increasingly lame. Now, I can remember vividly doing this & how excited we were at fifteen to finally get to go out on real dates with guys in cars. I can remember which friends did this with me & how we sang it over & over for weeks. But I can't for the life of me remember which of the four guys was the one I liked at the time!

More adventures in fast food . ..

It would be reasonable to assume that since I am in the final three days of a national sales contest that pays big bucks, I would have more effective ways of spending my time than traveling back & forth to McDonalds & haggling with the staff. I usually bring my lunch (yogurt & fruit) to work & only occasionally get something out as a "treat" to go along with my iced tea. Yesterday, I decided to get an Asian chicken salad at McDonalds &, of course, my tea. It has mixed greens, beans, pepper strips, mandarin oranges, almonds & a great low fat ginger/sesame dressing. The other salads there are iceberg lettuce with very fattening dressings & contain things such as bacon that I don't consider low cal. Anyway, I have learned the hard way to always taste my iced tea in the drive-thru because about 25% of the time I am given tea with sugar instead of unsweetened. Now, in my mind, drinking calories is only appropriate when it's nutritious (juice) or contains alcohol, so the sweetened tea thing is totally unacceptable! I did not consider, however, that I should check my salad in the drive-thru. Upon returning to work I got my salad out, opened the dressing, & began adding it when I realized that both the salad & the dressing were not what I ordered. Since I had spend nearly 15 minutes in the drive-thru to get my lunch, I decided to return, park, & go inside. About ten minutes later someone did wait on me . . . two people actually . . . as I attempted to "exchange" my salad for the correct one. We had a conversation about how I might have just kept the salad if the dressing had been the ginger/sesame. Although it took at least another five minutes, I finally got my salad. Just to be on the safe side, I checked the dressing & found it was NOT the one I ordered. They then gave me the correct dressing. When I returned to work & opened the salad, I discovered that once again it was the wrong one! Tired of messing with it & disgusted, I was really no longer in the mood for a salad. I thought I would just wait until the lunch crowd dissapated at McDonalds & go get my money back. A few minutes later Jeff offered to do this for me, & I took him up on it. While he was gone I ate a protein bar for lunch. He came back a few minutes later with yet another salad--McDonals had refused (after THREE trips there) to return my money, but they did finally provide the correct salad. Since I had already eaten, I placed the salad in the fridge & decided I would take it home to have for dinner--which would have been a great plan had I not forgotten all about it until after I got home. Today I don't really even want to look at the damn thing!

Nesting Vicariously

Suddenly, yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks . . . Adam & Kelly could have their baby ANY DAY NOW! Kelly, one of the most organized people I know, is well prepared. She has somehow understood that she had nine months to get ready & has done so in a logical progression. On the other hand, I fly by the seat of my pants most of the time (unfortunately two of my sons have inherited this trait, one of whom is Kelly's husband). A sense of urgency came over me yesterday when, after 4 plus hours driving back & forth to Marietta with Adam to pick up a chest of drawers, I decided I absolutely must get back in the car & drive to Bridgeport to shop for Owen's birthday & pick up a "big brother" gift for Drew. I returned home about 7:30 & proceeded to stay up until nearly 2 AM to finish knitting the blanket for the new baby. Today after church I plan to tackle the laundry as I realized that I am nearly out of underwear! I had the thought that maybe Ryan & Renea would come in when the baby is born so I plan to clean up the house & change the sheets on the beds today. I can't imagine getting the call that Kelly is in labor & responding that I will be right there as soon as I wash & dry some underwear, run the sweeper, dust, change the sheets, etc. The flurry of activity for me would be entirely unnecessary if only I could have Kelly's organizational skills!

Power-less

Last Sunday afternoon about 4:00 I had come to a stopping point in my yard work just as the sky was getting dark & threatening. I decided to go in, take a shower, & go visit my dad. I quickly threw a load of clothes in the washer & went upstairs to shower. Suddenly the wind outside became almost a gale as rain was pouring down. Before I could get into the shower my power went off. I seldom lose power for any significant amount of time so I waited a few minutes hoping it would return. Unfortunately, the sky was so dark that inside my house it looked like the middle of the night. I decided to try a bath in the dark since I was filthy & would not be able to wash my hair since there was no way to dry it. I managed to bathe in the dark bathroom & felt a little better.

Since there was virtually nothing I could do at home, I thought I would just go to see my dad anyway. I went to call him & remembered that my phone is now bundled with my cable & internet & cannot be used without electricity. No problem, I'll just get my cell . . . dead battery! I decided to just go anyway, but I forgot that I needed to disengage my garage door. After I accomplished getting the door open (it's really heavy), I hopped in the car & started out. Yes, I decided to just leave it up while I was gone & lock the door inside leading to the house . . . probably not the best idea I've ever had, but I was desperate for something to do. Within seconds I was flagged down by an oncoming car & informed that the development road was closed. There was a power line lying in the road, & no traffic was allowed in either direction. I returned home, located a ladder in the dark garage, & climbed up to reach the garage door to lower it.

It's uncanny the number of times I attempted to do something that required power! For example, when I decided to make a turkey sandwich for dinner, I popped it right into the microwave to melt the cheese & at some point I attempted to turn on my ceiling fan! As the long evening stretched in front of me, I was both bored & frustrated & becoming increasingly hot due to the lack of A/C. I had a small window of communication as I could use my cell phone on it's charger in the car in the hot & dark garage. I attempted to knit by flashlight & could complete only a few rows. Then I tried to pack since I was leaving for Marietta the next day but couldn't see well enough to do that either. . . & many of the clothes I needed were still in the washer! Thank goodness for my portable CD player which did allow me to listen to some music when out of utter boredom I decided to just go to sleep. The next morning I was greeted by flashing clocks everywhere as power had been restored.

So much for saying no

The phone rings. A quick glance at my caller ID lets me know that the caller is someone from church . . . someone I know in no other context . . . someone who must be calling to ask me to do something at church. The temptation to just let the phone ring is almost overwhelming, but I realize that to ignore the call would just be postponing the inevitable. I pick up the phone automatically preparing my excuses for being unable to do whatever . . . summer is such a busy time at work, Adam & Kelly's baby is due in August, I have responsibilities with my dad . . . But I answer. I tell myself to just politely say no. The committee involves meetings, research, & writing an extensive report (Sign me up for some of that!) As my excuses begin to form an answer, he tells me he plans to have it all completed by September. Well, I think, I can stand anything for three months. I can hardly believe my ears as my answers escapes as "I guess I could help out with that."

Vaca(s) Report

Okay, so it's not much of a report so to speak, but here goes . . .

In June I took two vacations. Wow, that's pretty early in the summer to vacation . . . no traveling to look forward to in July or August. First, the whole family went to Deep Creek. We rented a four bedroom house with two living areas & two decks & pretty much used every inch of it. The first morning Owen, who was sharing a room with me, whispered loudly, "Nina, can we get up now?" It was 5 am!!! Yes, both boys are early risers, but the rest of the time 6 am was more the norm. So we found some fun things to do & some good places to eat. It's amazing that both Owen & Drew could be excited about spotting a chipmunk while taking a walk, but they were! Owen was old enough for the mountain roller coaster, race car driving, & mini-golf. Drew was quite satisfied with swimming & playing games in the arcade. Both kids are total fish in the pool!!! It's always wonderful to spend time with the kids & grandkids, but most especially when we are all together. I am so at peace when we are all sleeping under the same roof.

Vacation #2 was my annual girl week in St. Augustine. We played lots of tennis, exercised, read, knitted, & relaxed on the beach. We went out to a restaurant/bar to watch the NBA draft & cheer WVU's Joe Alexander. Cocktail hour (Trent has informed me that vacation is indeed an exception to the 5 o'clock rule) sometimes began at 4 pm & extended through dinner until bedtime. I accidentally bought three pairs of shoes--Yes, when I was deliberating between two pairs on the final night of our trip, I ended up getting both pairs. Later when I was packing to go home, I realized that I had also bought a pair of shoes earlier in the week! I can't begin to justify it, so I won't even try!

RIP Hoagie

We always had pets growing up . . . dogs, cats . . . the two most memorable were our English sheepdog, Bo Peep, & our miniature schnauzer, Corky. I remember how difficult it was to lose these beloved dogs as they were truly part of the family. Pets enrich our lives in so many ways & give us unconditional love. Today our dear Hoagie passed away. He was Ryan & Renea's yellow lab (& later Owen's too) for nearly thirteen years. I know their hearts are aching tonight. Although I did not used to be a fan of large dogs, this one won my heart immediately with both his playful antics and his sweetness. My first experience as a grandparent was taking care of Hoagie for a weekend--He came complete with three pages of instructions from his parents. Each time I made the trip to Marietta to visit, he greeted me enthusiastically. He often slept with me during my stay & also when he visited here. I know there are many special, lovable dogs out there, but the loss of this particular dog fills me with profound sadness. There is, I guess, a measure of comfort since his illness was sudden, & he did not have to suffer, but it is a huge loss! Hoagie, thanks for the love & joy you provided your family--You will be missed!!!
RIP--I love you!

June 30, 2008

My dad stated the obvious to me yesterday . . . that today would be a hard day. Today marks the one year anniversary of my mother's death. I don't think time has lessened how much I miss her! However, I do feel a sense of relief as we have navigated through a year of "firsts" without her. I hope that she is proud that my siblings and I have found our way together through these difficult times. Although the big holidays were hard, they were also those that were busy and filled with family and friends. For me the toughest times have been the smaller ones . . . Christmas Eve, Mother's Day, my birthday. It saddens me as I see my sons, grandsons, nieces and nephews experience milestones without her although I have to believe she is in a better place and watching over all of us.

Cold & Hot

Well, we just got back from a mini-vacation to Deep Creek, the new phrase "staycation" comes to mind since most of us only had to travel an hour or so. More about that later though. For now let me say that Ryan, Renea, Owen & I slept on the first floor which was akin to walking into a refrigeration unit at times. Sleeping was not really a problem . . . just get comfy & pull the covers up. Dressing, especially when just getting out of the shower, was another matter though. Brrrr!!! But to me it was worth it to have four bedrooms & plenty of space. The third floor loft of the house was often too hot so I guess one was no worse than the other. Anyway, it was a beautiful home & great to be with everyone. When I walked into my house at home though I was blasted by heat. Yes, it had been rather chilly before we left, & I forgot to turn on the A/C. The thermostat was past 80--clear to as high as it could get! As I type this sweat is pouring off my face as the house has yet to fully cool. Now, of course, I'm longing for the chilly bedroom of Deep Creek! I'll save a vacation recap for another day as I'm now a subscriber to the Kelly Zundell school of vacation unpacking which is "do it immediately!" So I'll brave this heat & go unpack.

Summer Reading

I like nothing better than curling up on the couch on my deck, sipping a cold drink, and immersing myself in a great book. I usually knock off 10-15 books during the summer & love every minute of it. However, my so-called summer reading began rather unexpectedly on Friday when I thought I would peruse the deposition of Mike Brown, sports agent who represents former WVU coach Rich Rodriquez. Unable to control myself I proceeded to read the deposition in it entirety--over 500 pages. I was not able to comfortably curl up to read this; I had to sit in front of my computer reading & scrolling. But it was riveting! My overall impression after reading this is that Rich Rodriqeuz has certainly picked an unqualified, no-name to guide him through some of the most important decisions of his life. Revelations included the fact that Brown is not an attorney (or even a sports management major) although he pretty much touted himself as an expert in contracts & Rodriquez is the only D1 head coach he has as a client. Well, even though I am a sports nut, I can't imagine why I just couldn't stop reading.

Doggles!

Well, this just had blog written all over it from the get-go:

A female customer & a male salesman arrived at our office almost simultaneously the other day. I was assisting the customer while the salesman was waiting to see Jeff. Our customer commented to the man about his arrival on a motorcycle which lead to a chat in various other areas. They then began to compare notes about their dogs which prompted the man to pull out his cell phone to show pictures of his dog which were appropriately admired by the customer. They went on to tell each other that their dogs were the only thing each got from their respective ex-spouses in the divorce. The salesman went on and on about living in a motel with his dog for months. Well, all this seemed a little over the top for me, but, friendly girl that I am, I asked the salesman if I could see his picture. First he showed me a photo of his dog attired in a pink skirt & "Biker Babe" t-shirt . . . then he flipped to another picture of the dog in this same outfit riding on his motorcycle with him. In addition to being all decked out in the pink outfit, in this photo the dog was wearing what I was informed were "doggles." Yes, they do make goggles for dogs, which he explained they really need for riding motorcycles. Our customer immediately chimed in that her dog also had doggles, & they continued to talk about this doggie eyewear. (In retrospect I really should have tried to fix these two up!)

At some point I think this man thought I did not do enough gushing over the photos & said "Your not much of an animal lover are you?" My response was, "Yes, I do love animals--I have two cats--I'm just not used to seeing them in clothes." I'm still amazed that a grown man would deck a dog out in a frilly pink outfit with matching doggles for motorcycle riding. Who knew?

The end of reality . . . last week America's top model was selected along with a Survivor winner. This week is the finals for both "Dancing with the Stars" & "American Idol." The end of reality will probably be the beginning of a little more real life for me as I am rather addicted to these shows!

So I had a few short/sweet emails going with Adam today. I started out by telling him to read Bob Hertzog's Sunday sports column. He shot me back an email stating it's "Hertzell." With that I looked it up & noooo, it's "Hertzel." I quickly pointed out to Adam that we were both wrong. Since he is by nature very competitive, his next 2 or 3 emails were to point out how/why I am more wrong that he is. Eventually, I conceded.

Little boys . . . what could be more fun! Owen loves trains & Webkinz; Drew loves sports & Backyardigans . . . both of them, however, are intrigued by my cats. They look for Tigger & Trevor as soon as they hit the door to my house. I only wish I had been able to capture a video of Trevor today as he took the kids' soccer ball & was entertaining himself by kicking it through the house, then stopping & hiding from it.

My new addiction is zumba. I went into it thinking it would be relatively easy to grasp only to find an overwhelming number of steps & songs. Well, it became a challenge for me & now I hate to miss. I have now become pretty comfortable with the routines & absolutely love it!

Drew is Two

Happy 2nd Birthday, Drew!

Two short years ago we sat in the maternity waiting room in Silver Spring, MD, waiting to meet you . . . and it was truly love at first sight! Getting to watch you grow and change is an amazing experience. You probably don't realize this yet, but you are one lucky boy to have such a large and loving family in your life. Your mom and dad are doing a great job balancing a little indulgence with a lot of boundaries which will help you so much in making choices as you navigate through life. I can only imagine the fun that lies ahead for you as you welcome a brother or sister in a few months. You are indeed a joy and a blessing!

I love you,

Nina

New York call

For the past couple of months I have been receiving a daily call. On my caller ID it says "New York Call." Naturally, I do not answer. Often these calls come while I'm at work . . . no problem. The caller(s) don't take weekends off, however, & I receive several of these calls on Saturday & Sunday when I find it very annoying to go running for the phone only to find this caller. Years ago I subscribed to the "do not call" list to avoid solicitation, but this protects me only from companies that I do not have an account with (hello, credit card companies & Countrywide Home Loans). It also allows political surveys and apparently solicitation from universities (5 call me). In this age of caller ID I'm amazed that these people find anyone answering the phone. New York can call me till hell freezes over, but I will keep refusing to answer!

Tax Day

My dad has found some renewed vigor; perhaps it is the warmer weather which promises spring; perhaps it is in his new course of physical therapy . . . I don't know. It is wonderful to see his level of activity increase as well as his joy in feeling so much better! The downside to this, however, is that he is virtually unreachable by phone because he is out & about all the time. This created quite a stressful day for me on April 15th. The problem was compounded by the fact that I have lost my business email access at home & our service provider is providing sketchy service at work. On Monday the 14th I noticed that by the end of the work day I had had no new emails past 9 am . . . usually I have at least 5 every half hour. So when my dad's accountant emailed me about his taxes, I did not get the message until nearly noon on the 15th. I called Dad, & he wasn't home. I tried his cell phone repeatedly . . . no answer. We had until 4:00 to get his checks written, his returns signed, & to get everything mailed. My anxiety increased as I was unable to reach him at 1:00 or 1:30. Finally, he returns my call & tells me he's cutting grass. "Dad, your taxes are due today, & we need to get the checks written," I state. His reply was, "Well, I'm just getting started on the grass." I interrupt to tell him "this has to be a priority!" He reluctantly agrees & tells me he will be at my office soon. He arrives about 3:30 with no time to spare, & I promptly misplace one of the forms that need to be mailed. After a quick search I decide to call the accountant to see if it can just be reproduced. Luckily, it could be, & I sent my dad on his way to get everything signed & mailed at about 3:50. Then I promptly took an Excedrine!

Drew in Third Person

Drew will be two in less than a month, and his personality has really evolved with his increased vocabulary. I have noticed however, that he talks in third person. Yes, he calls himself "Drew" not "I" or "me." So most of his sentences start with "Drew" followed by an action, i.e. "Drew waiting, Drew calling, Drew helping . . . " In an attempt at humor the other day, my brother asked Drew if he was "looking for trouble." I'm sure Drew had no clue, but he came & got my hand & went to look for the elusive "trouble." We looked under desks, behind doors, inside cabinets until he finally gave up & told me "trouble hiding." Anything that Drew can't locate is usually "hiding." Sometimes I'm not quite sure what he's saying. I used to be able to fake it with a "really" response. Now he will persist until he knows I get it. He was telling me something the other day that I couldn't understand, but he was relentless. Finally, I got it . . . he was asking for raisins & wasn't giving up until I understood & provided them. He is always interesting, always fun!

Zumba

One thing in my life that has always been easy for me is dancing. I guess spending most of the years of my youth taking dance classes (ballet, toe, tap, & jazz) enabled me to quickly pick up new steps & choreography. So I began taking a zumba class fully expecting it to be easy, or at least easy to learn the steps. Well, I guess my background in dancing did not include any experience with Latin style dancing. Much of my class time is spent watching the instructor & attempting to always be moving in the correct direction so I don't plow into anyone. My problems are compounded by a lack of zumba shoes which allow the feet to slide on the rubberized floor. Well, it has indeed been a humbling experience, but I'm not giving up! I have every intention of mastering this type of dancing since it's a welcome break in the monotony of the track & the treadmill for aerobic exercise.

Winter Wrap-up

It's supposed to be spring. At least the calendar says so. But April just seems like an extension of a dreary cold March which extended from cold, damp, gray weather beginning in November. I'm not a cold weather person, but I dislike rain & damp cold most of all, so I've had a difficult few months. Although in stating this I risk hearing my sons laugh from miles away, I think I may have a touch of seasonal depression.

February brought a road trip to Nashville for Brooks' senior concert (which was wonderful!) The trip there, however, will now supplant the former "trip from hell" (a night drive through a dense fog in the mountains of Maryland with Adam & Trent). I was driving my dad with plans to stop every couple of hours to stretch & of course, stop for lunch & dinner. My dad needs to each at regular intervals for his diabetes & should walk around frequently. We stopped for lunch after getting through Huntington & proceeded west. Less than an hour later we got a call from Jan & Eddie about a little freezing rain they had encountered in the Lexington area. A few minutes later we hit the freezing rain. I was driving my dad's car & asked him where the defrost was. Well, he wasn't sure. Meanwhile my windshield had frozen solid. I ran the windshield wipers at high speed while he located the defrost. As we are driving along we see wreck after wreck after wreck. The median is littered with vehicles. The interstate going east has been shut down by police. I asked my dad where low or first gear was. Again, he was not sure since he never uses it. He begins to tell me why he prefers neutral. I suggest we stop & wait for the roads to be treated, but my dad says he would prefer to keep going & that if it's making me nervous, he will drive--which would only serve to increase my uneasiness! All of this time we are creeping along with hundreds of others at about 5 MPH with the tires on one side off the road. Finally, I pull of to the side of the road to just take a deep breath & find first gear. My dad thinks he now might like to stop & stretch. We continue to an exit but it is so icy that he finds when he tries to get out of the car that he can't stand up. I suggest getting gas, but my dad doesn't want to get it at BP--the only station off the exit. So we proceed & keep getting these updates from Jan & Eddie that we surely must be out of the freezing rain by now. Meanwhile, we hear on the radio that there have been over 100 accidents in a 5 miles stretch & that the severe weather could continue till noon the next day. Hours & hours later we finally get out of the ice. We are now nearly out of gas--the low fuel light has been on for several minutes. It's way past dinner time, but we don't want to spend any time eating so we stop for gas, snacks & to stretch. The last hour of the time was dense fog & driving rain, but we arrive in Nashville. I had mapquested the directions to the hotel, but dad assured me that Jan would just talk us through it. And she almost did except for one wrong turn. Tired, frustrated, & at the end of my rope, I stopped to ask directions which did not really help much. Finally, Brooks got one the phone with me (he tells me that I was pretty bitchy) & stayed on the line until we arrived at the hotel. Nearly everyone had weather issues--some were unable to get there at all. I don't think five minutes elapsed between putting my bags into my room & getting a glass of wine at the bar! I must say that other than the drive there, we all had a great time!!!

My second trip was our annual "gal pal" at Deep Creek, & we experienced similar weather. Fortunately, we had the option of staying in on Saturday night when the conditions were the worst. A great time with friends just hanging out!

WVU basketball has been fun to watch, both in person & on tv. It was great to go to the Pitt game with Drew & Adam. Drew loves his "hoopies" & clapped like there was no tomorrow. Amazingly, he sat in his seat & took everything in the entire time! And speaking of Drew, one day when I was taking care of him he was fussing when I put him down for a nap. The fussing then became pleading as he called for me. I attempted to stand firm until he said, "Nina, Nina, Nina, Drew CALLING!" Well, of course, I could then no longer resist going into his room.

I took a vacation day & went to Marietta to take Owen to "Horton Hears a Who." When I picked him up I told him I would take him anywhere he wanted to go for lunch--his choice was pizza at the mall food court! We both loved the movie, split a box of popcorn, & played skee-ball at the arcade. Owen amuses me when I ask him a question because he begins to answer me with either a "WELL . . . . or ACTUALLY . . . " Both are really dramatic & followed by a rather large sigh before he proceeds.

For a case of the winter blahs, nothing works better to cheer me up than some time with the grandsons!