A Tripping I will go...

I'm going to Hawaii in 16 days! I'm excited. It's just about the best thing in the whole world to look forward to... besides the wedding. I'm looking forward to that too.

Work is going great. I'm learning lots and learning to be OK with where I work. I switched my hours so I now work 7:30-4 and have a shorter commute. I'm also making a difference where I work. My team of 3 is the most productive of the 5 teams - we're carrying the company through this financial down-time and I'd like to think that I'm a big part of that. I'm no salesman, but I keep people on their toes, I keep my two bosses accountable and have helped to keep everything in order much more than the last person who had my job. It's nice. I suppose I've settled in nicely in the last 8 months. It's hard for me to even believe that it has been that long.

As for this summer, it's been quite hectic. Joel got in in May and we haven't slowed down since. He's in the crunch time for the bar exam currently and takes the test next Tuesday and Wednesday up in Albany, New York. I hope that the past 3 years of schooling and 3 months of intense studying end up paying off. He'll be looking for appts. soon in NY and then moving for good in early September. After that, it'll just be me and my folks here at the house. He's been pretty helpful in re-vamping our house. We revived the front of the house, installed a new door for my room, and added a climbing trellis for my garden. There's more, but those are the finest works of art.

We've been working out in the Flower and Vegetable gardens frequently this summer, I should like to some of the photos. My favorites are the Cannas, Gladiolas and Zinnias this summer for their vibrant colors.

In other news, Joel's sister just had her third kid (the sister out in Hawaii). She is 22 and has a 2.5 girl Aurora, 1.5 girl Savannah and 1 month old boy Kekoa Robin. They're adorable and I've had lots of fun getting little baby and toddler gifts for them. These clothes look like they could fit baby dolls. :)

Reading an Omnivore's Dilemna now, it's a dense book, but good. It has some very insightful points and is quite making me re-think my eating habits.

It's finally turned summer like here. Our cool days have past this past week and now we're in the mid 9o's each day. One thing about the Midwest that I do love is the thunderstorms. About 4 AM last night, there was thunder that shook the house and so much lightening. It lasted about a half hour and just down-poured. I loved it-though it was a bit scary at first as it sounds like a freight train or bombs or very loud noises in a half-conscious sleep.

For all the praying people out there, I'd like to send a request out for my grandpa and brother. My Grandpa fell on Sunday and I was at the ER with him and though no broken bones, he was quite showing his age. I can't imagine that is an easy transition, getting old and losing your memory. Second is for my brother as his foot wound is seemingly taking steps backward and he will be preparing for more surgery this fall...

I still love to cook and if anyone wants to see St. Louis before I head out of here for NYC, I welcome you! Has anyone run across any good recipes recently?

I envy everyone's adventures these days and love reading about them, please don't stop posting!

A good luck to all who are embarking on new adventures...

Pics of my garden: http://picasaweb.google.com/itizzy/MyGarden
I'll have to get more up on here as the summer progresses.

Happy Day!