Arg!

I'm trying to finally upload our "book" into Lulu.com. What a pain that is. But, with a glass (or 2) of wine under my belt, I am bound and determined to get it formatted tonight. I have been at it since 5p and will be here until I am done. Pray it is soon, as the wine is starting to affect me.

Things I have done.

I found this and thought it was a good thing to look at and evaluate what I need to do for excitement! Sometime!) And, made comments on some of them as well.

Things you have done during your lifetime:
(X) Gone on a blind date (found my man that way!)
(X) Skipped school
(x) Watched someone die (The worst part of being a nurse, for sure!)
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico (No real desire to go there)
(X) Been to Florida (lived there for 15 years)
(X) Been to Hawaii (want to go again!)
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been on a helicopter
(scared the *** out of me) (For those of you on Epic, do not F2 at the ***)
(X) Been lost
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(that would be the helicopter ride!)
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked (Probably not a good thing to do now at my age!)
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
(Will accomplish this when retired and we travel to Alaska by car.)
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(Will not mark this as one of the things I need to do before I die!)
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(X) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(X) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(x ) Been water-skiing (though not very well)
(x ) Been snow-skiing (again, not very well)
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey (don't want to go - hated London)
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game (once was enough)
(X) Been to a National Football League game (more than once was enough)

Pictures

We got our pictures taken for our 40!!!! Anniversary. Here they are. And, of course the one at the top of the blog too.

Almost 40 years

Phil and I had our portrait taken yesterday, in honor of our 40th anniversary, which is approaching in August. As well, the picture we choose has to go into our "book". Yes, we have written out all the letters we wrote to each other all those years ago. Back in 1968 we had no such thing as e-mail or texting, so our means of communication was either long distance phone calls (he was at Purdue, I was at UW Eau Claire) or writing of letters. These letters continued for the 2 years prior to our marriage, and then the 4 months afterwards when Phil was drafted and the Army had his body and mind, not me. We have re-typed them, along with adding pictures relevant to the times. Once we get this final picture, we will use an on-line service to publish the book and keep the memories safe.


It has been fun to read those letters again. Phil was up last night (middle of the night) proofing the book, and I could hear him downstairs laughing at some of the things we wrote. We believe we have fallen in love with each other all over again. We each wrote a prologue as well as an epilogue. How fun. And, here is the first picture to appear in the book.

She's 97!

Phil's Mom turned 97 today! Can you believe it? We are blessed to have her with us, even though she has had to spend the last year and a half in a nursing home. She is still quick of wit and clear of mind, even though the legs don't work anymore. Hope I do that well at the same age!!

Texas Trip

Back from a vacation trip to Dallas that included ballet recital, Great Wolf Lodge, and pre-kindergarten graduation. Lots of time with the Texas Beckers and lots of hugs from Emma. She is a whirlwind of energy 99% of the time - though we did successfully run her tank out of fuel when at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Bathroom tile and granite

The only thing remaining in the downstairs bath to complete is to get the mirror. That will take a couple more weeks, as it is on back order. But, in the meantime, this is what the granite and tile and sink look like.