It'll be J's and my first anniversary this coming Sunday! we're gonna drive to New Orleans on Thursday afternoon, come back Tuesday evening. I'm sooo looking forward to spending time just the two of us, with lots of good cajun food and real hurricanes.

Well, busy for part of it. I went to visit my sister in Springfield (MO, not the 40 or so other ones! ) on Saturday. She had a jewelry party (tupperware party, but with sparklies instead) and I knew a couple of her friends who were thinking of coming, so I drove down. 205-210 mile trip, thereabouts. Got there in a little over 3 hours, including stopping in Rolla for 5 minutes to get gas (it's a lot cheaper there).

One of her friends whom I know a little better (Steph), who played piano at our wedding ceremony, is having health problems and wasn't able to attend. It was a small party, just 3 of us plus my sister and the lady giving the show. Fun, got to look at stuff; tried to get us to have our own party or become a rep (yeah, right... dun think so). I bought a few things... thankfully she could do CC 'cause I forgot my checkbook; didn't even think about it.

Afterwards we were just hangin' out, when Steph's best friend in the world, who moved in w/ her and also stayed home from the party to be w/ Steph, called and said they were gonna take her to the hospital 'cause her 3-day headache wouldn't go away. So I went with her to meet 'em at the hospital, and she definitely looked bad. She hadn't been able to sleep, her head hurt, and because the cause of her headache (spinal tap to help diagnose the cause of her neuropathy) was near her other back problems, her back hurt. They finally took her back (the place was rather full... it really is true that emergency rooms see more patients during a full moon) and got her on an IV and gave her some Demerol. We were there until about 1am or so, and then went home. They were going to keep her a little longer, then send her home until Monday when they could fix the headache. As my sister said, it's not fair. She's so young to be having these problems.

The rest of the weekend was cool. We came home and talked for a couple more hours. Gabriel, my sister's cat, was sweet as always, though I finally had a reaction to him and needed some Benadryl. Slept in till 11:30, got some lunch at Sonic (mmm, haven't had them in a long time) and then I drove home at 1, got home a little after 4 (including another stop for gas). Got a shower, then J and I went to Walgreens to pick up my last round of Synthroid and a refill of Zyrtec, and a Father's Day card for my dad and grandfather.

I saw my grandparents' car at my parents' house and was excited, 'cause my grandmother went in the hospital on Friday morning 'cause she couldn't stop coughing and passed out. Mom had said Saturday they were going to release her Sunday, so I figured she was feeling better enough to go home and also come over to my parents'. Wrong. My grandfather was there, but it turns out she still had a little fluid in her lung and wanted to keep her another day. We had dinner, then it was almost 7 so he left to go back to the hospital, because visiting hours are over at 8 and he wanted to check on her again. J and I stayed another half hour or hour or so and then went home.

And dammit, I can't wait to move to our house, where the windows actually are insulated, so I can stop hearing the birds at 5am in the friggin morning! Makes it hard to get enough sleep before work.

I'm seriously thinking that, of the 7 icons below, #1 is too blocky, and #6 and #7 are too fancy, so it's really a contest between #2 thru #5, which are already fairly similar. I just can't decide!! Whatchall think?

I've never really been totally happy with the frowny face I'm using with my New Year's Resolutions page. I think it doesn't really work with the star, but I was just happy I'd been able to make that.

I decided a shadowed "X" (more similar to the star) would work a little better. I have two three seven versions (along with their smaller counterparts for the latest day's summary stuff) and I'm not really sure which I like or which would work better:

What do you think? I think the first one is a little on the fat side, making it less clear as an X. Then again... maybe the other one isn't right either, I dunno. Since comments are still disabled (haven't bothered moving to a new host yet) let me know by dropping me an email or leave a message on my forum. (Or, of course, if you already know me & talk to me on AIM or ICQ, or even in person, just tell me that way. )

Wow, almost two weeks since posting here. Just haven't felt like it; haven't had a whole lot to post.

J won a "brass balls" award from our karate school last Thursday, for not tearing the guy's face off, who almost ran us off the road, rear-ended us, and tried to pick a fight. Many people, some with and some without any formal self-defense or fighting training, have said there is no way they would've been able to keep that cool.

We've decided to go to New Orleans for our anniversary next week. We'll probably leave late afternoon on the 19th, and come back the evening of the 24th. Still need to find a hotel to stay at and get reservations for, but that shouldn't be a problem. Also have to see who's gonna watch our kitties for us while we're gone; probably my mom, I'm guessing. Should be fun. (However, I am absolutely determined to go back to the place we honeymooned at, because it was so beautiful, and the place we stayed at was wonderful, including the two owners. I wanted to this year, but the finances just aren't there after buying a house. By next summer though, we should be able to afford it.)