The Start of Vacation

I managed to get packed, mostly by walking past something and stuffing it in my suitcase, all the while hoping that my luggage will not be chosen by TSA for a random check - they will never get all that stuff back in the bag!

We arrived in Orlando and made it to Old Key West and spent the next two hours trying to get Molly/Charity's room reservation straight. Once Charity finally had a room (Molly was still in Nashville, waiting for her plane to arrive so she could join the fun), she and I made it to Epcot so we could eat like pigs in France.

Once we were finished there, we waddled around the World Showcase and found a place to sit until Illuminations, which was spectacular, as usual.

Molly finally arrived two hours late, and had to check her bag because the flight attendant didn't like the way it was fitting into the overhead compartment. Then, upon leaving the plane (or walking through the airport), Molly was complimented on her shoes by an 80-year-old woman - who was wearing the same shoes.

Now it is time for bed to rest up for tomorrow - another exciting day in a Davidson Disney vacation!

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Today's blessings: safe, smooth flight to Orlando; all the cast members I encountered while trying to secure Molly and Charity's room; Chefs de France; Illuminations

Packing, Or The Lack Thereof

Tomorrow I will be headed to Alaska - via Orlando, San Francisco, and Vancouver. One would think that I would be all aflutter with packing. One would be wrong. One cannot get all aflutter if one has not yet begun to pack.

Tomorrow morning should be interesting ...

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Today's blessings: Butt camp with my buds; Maribeth's broccoli salad; cleaning up the house a bit; afternoon time with Lindley; beef tip dinner with Lynnette, Lindley, Molly, Maribeth, and Adam; picking up Steve at the airport

Give, and Let It Go

Today I went to the Red Cross for my regular appointment to give my pint of blood. I read the same packet of information, signed in, and was soon taken back for processing. Kanisha checked my blood pressure and temperature, checked my iron level, left me to complete the computer checklist, and then deemed me eligible to donate. Soon I was on the gurney and Katrina started the donation process.

At one point, Katrina called over Kamina and asked her to check the labels on the various tubes and bags. Apparently I am A+ and the label listed O or something that was not A+. Kamina assured her it was okay, that the label didn't matter because every so often they needed something back for QC on the machine. In other words, from what I understood (and of course I didn't ask questions, so this could be totally off base), my blood was not going to save someone's life, but for a quality check on some machine in the back.

At first I was a little concerned. I mean, here I was, gladly donating a pint of my blood - but for a person, not a machine. Wasn't this a waste of a life-saving pint of blood?

And then I thought a little more. I don't know what the machine in question was, but it obviously had something to do with the blood donation process. Quality control would be very important, if donated blood were to be used to save a life. And how could quality control be achieved, unless real blood was used? So maybe my blood ultimately saved many lives, because it assured that whatever the machine does for the whole process, that machine was right on target.

I guess the moral of my story is this - sometimes we give thinking that our donation has to be used in a certain way. But in reality, our only job is to give. How our donation is used to help others is best left to those who know what to do. We just have to get the ball rolling and give.

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Today's blessings: sleeping in via Karen's text message; giving blood at Red Cross; Cracker Barrel lunch with Maribeth; Logans dinner with Maribeth and Molly; new camera delivery; packing list; Pinkberry with Lindley

And Then There Was Monday ...

After a spectacular weekend, the inevitable had to happen - Monday came.

It wasn't so bad. I managed to get up too early and make it to butt camp. My half-marathon wogging buddy Karen also made it, so we did our best to stretch out our stiff muscles, still vowing never to do that half-marathon again.

After camp, I went to the post office to use the automated postage machine so I could mail a package. I noticed it was a little slow and should have just left. Instead, I wasted about 20 minutes waiting for the postage to be printed - only to watch the screen turn to a display of "This machine is out of order."

The rest of the morning was spent taking Steve to the airport, packing up the last of Maribeth's stuff and taking it to her house, chatting with Matt about the yard, picking up Lindley and taking her to Pinkberry and watch her eat a small container by herself, and making a Target run with Maribeth.

Now a cold front has breezed through Nashville, causing the temperature to drop. My sinuses have decided to clog up and I'm sleepy. So I'm going to bed - and we'll see if I wake up for butt camp in the morning. There's still a bunch of stuff to get done before we leave on Thursday.

Oh - did I not mention I'm going on vacation on Thursday?

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Today's blessings: butt camp and buds; taking Steve to the airport: spending time with Lindley and Maribeth; a little bit of hoiuse cleaning

Now That Was A Great Weekend

Friday - getting up early early early for the big wedding, working at the expo with a cool volunteer dude and meeting many interesting runners

Saturday - 13.1 miles with my buds, seeing cool volunteer dude at the water station, seeing old friends before the race, finishing those 13.1 bleeping miles, spending the afternoon with the family

Sunday - donuts at Maribeth's with the family, building Maribeth's coffee table with her, catching up on paperwork

Thank you God for a great weekend!

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Today's blessings: donuts with the family; Home Depot and table building with Maribeth; catching up on stuff