happy anniversary to us!

Well, it was on Saturday, but we celebrated on Sunday, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it!! SIX happy years for us!!

At any rate, we headed to the Disney parks after church on Sunday to celebrate our anniversary. Brian's back has been out for 2 weeks, so we didn't get to ride anything, but that was okay. We went to Animal Kingdom first - we had never been there. It was cool! We got to see lots of animals! We saw a hippo - it swam right up to the window where we were standing! I couldn't BELIEVE how huge it was!!

Of course, my favorite animals of the day were these beauties on the left. It was so fun watching them walk around - one of them was sniffing all around with its mouth open! So cute! And then she showed off for us by jumping back and forth across a fountain.



After we exhausted the Animal Kingdom, we headed to MGM and had dinner at the Sci-Fi Cafe. It was the coolest place - all the tables were inside these old fashioned cars and the whole place was set up like a drive in theater, complete with huge movie screen playing snippets of movies and cartoons. It was VERY cool.

Thanks, Jenni and Eric, for the recommendation! We will SO be going back to the Sci-Fi Cafe!

In other news, it looks like Brian might have to have back surgery. He has had back problems for years and years, and last week's MRI showed that he has a herniated disc that is bulging onto his sciatic nerve. He's in quite a lot of pain, so we pray that it can be alleviated ASAP. We're going to see the surgeon next week - y'all keep us in your prayers!

AND it looks like I have an ear infection. Sigh. My throat is killing me! The dr. called in a prescription for me. I have a fabulous doctor. The trick-or-treaters have been ringing the doorbell the whole time I've been typing this, and now it's time for me to fix dinner - herb-crusted flank steak, brown rice, and green beans! Yum! Brian is on his way home. Tonight we'll watch Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin! Happy Halloween, everyone!

another concert!!!!

Guess what??!! MARC BROUSSARD is coming back to Orlando! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! He is my favorite singer and I CAN'T WAIT! We've already got tickets! His last concert here was just unbelieveable, so I can't wait to hear him again!

Oh, did I mention that Brian and I are going to see Spamalot in February? He had wanted to see it on Broadway, but we never did - so we're going to see it in Tampa. It's Brian's early birthday present!

it's hot

In honor of the weather exceeding record temperatures where I live today, I thought I'd share a poem.

"It's Hot"
by Shel Silverstein

It's hot!
I can't get cool,
I've drunk a quart of lemonade,
I think I'll take my shoes off
And sit around in the shade.

It's hot!
My back is sticky,
The sweat rolls down my chin.
I think I'll take my clothes off
And sit around in my skin.

It's hot!
I've tried with 'lectric fans,
And pools and ice cream cones.
I think I'll take my skin off
And sit around in my bones.

It's still hot!

20% of myself

I am a fraction of the person I used to be.

Four fifths, to be exact.

I went to the doctor today for a follow-up visit for my blood pressure. I have now lost 38 pounds, which is 20% of my weight when I started. WOW! I'm proud! AND...my blood pressure was 120/70. The doctor was thrilled and so was I! Awhile back, I set a goal of a certain weight I wanted to be by Christmas. Now I'm only 10 pounds away from it! Yay! I feel confident that I can do it. After I get to that weight, I'll only have 10 pounds left until I'm in the correct weight range for my height. I'm SO happy! I can't even believe it!

In other news, I only have 9 days left at my church secretary job. I have mixed emotions about it. Part of me is ready to be home again, to have healthy snacks and exercise longer and more often (like I did before). And part of me likes the people and the work there. I know I'll miss it, but I might start going to their Wednesday night dinners. I know there are several people I will keep in touch with, too.

Things at church could not possibly be better. We had a ROCKIN' service yesterday! Chris brought in some horns - we had a trumpet, trombone, and saxophone player - and they were incredible! The band is tighter than ever! Chris wrote a cool new song that covers a brass lick from an old Chicago song. We did it yesterday for the first time and the place was jammin'!! I am SO blessed to be part of this amazing band!!!!

A week ago this past Saturday, Brian and I went to Dream Dinners. We had never done this before, and we had SO much fun! If there's one in your area, I encourage you to go and try it out! Most of you know what a picky eater I am - and let me just say that I have LOVED all of the meals we've had so far!! Last week, we had chicken enchiladas, pork chops with sweet ginger and apples (yum!), chicken with lemon and artichoke sauce (I know some of you are shocked by now), arroz con pollo (a Mexican chicken dish with black beans, corn, salsa, etc. - yes, I even ate the beans!!), and four-cheese and meatball calzones. I ate (and liked) all of it. ALL of it! Can you even believe it? (Some of you need to pick your chins up off the desktop!)

If you don't know about Dream Dinners, it's this place where you go and prepare meals that can be frozen. Brian and I made 12 meals, but we split them, so we came home with 24 meals. That will last us a month! I only have to grocery shop for lunch stuff and snacks!! And we had a great time preparing the stuff - it was really fun to do together. AND - one of the best things is...dinner is already done! You just have to stick it in the fridge the night before (or the morning of) to thaw it, and then cook it according to the directions! Everything is already chopped, mixed, etc. It might seem expensive, but when we divided it up, each serving came to $3.50. That's WAY less than we normally spend! (I should work for their sales dept.!)

Here are some pictures of our little Dream Dinners adventure. Click for larger images. Hey, if anyone signs up for Dream Dinners, be sure to give them our name! That way we'll get a free dinner!

latest pages

Here are my latest scrapbook pages. I haven't been scrapping much at all - I think I got my fill over the summer! But I'm finally getting back in the scrapping mood! The first page is the title page for our 2005 album. The second one is my scrap room. Click on the pictures for a bigger view.

I started another post the other day but never finished it - maybe I'll get around to that tonight or tomorrow! Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

have a laugh

Don't say I didn't warn you - this makes me laugh out loud. Every time I watch it.

i'm not sweating!

As I drove in to work this morning, I noticed it was a cool 64 degrees. This weather is putting me in a permanent good mood! I got SO much done today because I wasn't dragged down by the heat! Fall has FINALLY arrived in Florida. I think I'll get out my decorations.

a few days at disney

Jenni and Eric and their adorable son Evan came to Disney World this past week for their vacation, and I was fortunate enough to be able to spend
a few days with them. I had a BALL! Jenni and I have been to amusement parks together many, many times over the last 30+ years, and this time did not disappoint. If only we knew, during all those trips to King's Island when we were little, that we would someday be at Disney together with our husbands! :-)

On Monday, we went to MGM. I had never been to MGM and it was fun. We were in line for the Rockin' Roller Coaster, and we were probably about 2 or 3 rides away from getting on...and it stopped. After waiting for what seemed to be forever (but was probably about 15 min.), we left and headed to the Tower of Terror, which scared the living crap out of me. :-D I LOVE roller coasters, and I will ride just about anything (but nothing bungee-ish) - but those rides that drop you freak me out! It was way fun though, and Jenni got a good laugh at the picture since my eyes were squeezed shut and I was holding on for dear life!

On Wednesday, we went to Epcot and Brian joined us just in time to ride Soarin' - which is one of my favorite rides ever! Then we had dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant in "Italy," and I had some of the best lasagna I've EVER had. Yum! Epcot was open until midnight that night, so after dinner, we rode the ride that's in the big golf ball - I forgot what it's called, but it's really dark and perfect for some smoochin'!

It's always great to spend time with Jenni - we've known each other literally all our lives. Our parents have been friends since before we were born and our families have spent lots of time together through the years. Jenni and I always love to reminisce about mean things we did to each other - can you believe she thought I was mean?? SHE was mean! - haha - and fun times we had, crazy things we did, how we used to fight, etc. Jenni's my oldest and best friend and I wish we could spend more time together. Someday maybe I'll get a scanner that works so I can post some pics of us in our younger days.

(Just adding a photo here for my avatar!)