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Monday, October 31, 2005
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The start of a new post.
I've been having a great time in Florida visiting my sister and her family. We went shopping yesterday at the mall and *wonder of wonders* I bought a new hat. It's brown and floppy and on sale! Like an Indiana Jones hat, only floppier than that. :) We walked around and walked around looking for a photo booth that worked, but we never did find one so we settled for iced coffee. Wow! Down here they have a great coffee spot that's a lot like Starbucks. Then we went to the Bible bookstore where I found lots of books that I've already read. Wish they'd come out with some new ones.
Mom and Dad and James are staying with my grandparents, so we went over their way before dinner. Then they followed us to my sister's for lasagna. I was practically exhausted from the mixture of staying up nearly all night (2am!!!) and shopping all morning. Ya know that phrase shop till you drop. Well, it never takes long. So I was pretty tired. Another night's sleep did wonders.
I stayed here at my sis' house overnight and we watched National Treasure this morning. It does not matter how often I watch that movie. I am always on the edge of my seat when Abigail goes swinging out the door on a busy street. I am always amazed at the riddles and how on earth anyone could ever figure them out. I am always tense when the wooden elevator begins to fall and I always, always, always laugh at Riley. He's so my favorite. Sure, Ben is dashing and adventurous, but where would he be without his down to earth, normal, computer guy friend? He never would've gotten far.
So anyway, I sit here typing away after checking my mail and then reading previous posts' comments. Some people are very persistent in asking me to post. I suppose if they weren't, I wouldn't be as consistant as I am, which isn't very. Talk to y'all later. (See, I been hanging out with Bree and Willie.) :) |
posted by cori
10/31/2005 02:44:00 PM
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sounds like your having a blast- tell us all about it when you get home. having fun with your niece? tell all hi!
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oh i'm having a wonderful time babysitting. she came over last night from six to eleven. she wasn't awake for most of the time, and i didn't get to hold her very long (what with grammy and grampy) but still she's fun just to look at. know what i mean? ;)
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Hahahaha! I love it! Grammy and Grampy.
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Thursday, October 27, 2005
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A great little group
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This is a shot of my friends and I at the staff center at HQ. A very cool group people that seemed to somehow congregate together all the time. :)
I had other friends I hung out with, but these folks are the ones I was with most.
Left to right: Ruining, Brittany, Matt, Leslie (me) and Jonathan |
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posted by cori
10/27/2005 01:47:00 PM
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I miss you so much! It was very sad when you left. I did meet Peter Pan, and OMS, that was an experiance...;)I don't know who I'm going to annoy now that he's going to be leaving, it's very sad.
I am home alone now, as 5 emptied out today of all but me.... Fun stuff. ;D
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Great picture!
What does "LYLAS" mean? I'm not trying to be nosy, but I am curious.
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Ok.
Bree, I think I have sent this one to you by now.
Beck, there's always someone to tease. You just have to find them. ;)
Richleau, LYLAS means love ya like a sister. Thanks, I like the hat too. (So did everyone else.)
Where's the Lost Boy? Haven't seen him on here lately.
HQ people, say hi to Jonathan for me. k?
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hey im on here still. Its really late at night and so I'm writing to you to tell you to post again. (jk,jk)
;-D
and for anybody else who is reading this right now, shouldent you be doing something really important right now?? Well, maby not all of yall but those who are, this is just a reminder!!!
Hey, I have a grand idea lets start a couragous convesation on the "leave your comment" site. Just if any body has any thing to say, pipe up!!
Let the subject be........umm...
on how the fall colors look. Ok. We now have a subject.
My imput is that I LOVE the colors that the trees are producing. One tree I saw looked like it was on fire!!
And my other impute is that this is the LONGEST comment Ive ever written!!!
So TTFN
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BTW,It's AAALLLLL GGGOOOOODDDDDD!!!
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Um, how can we have a courageous conversation about fall? CCs are supposed to be about people. But we can try.
I love the fall colors, but I think what I like best about fall is the tangy dried-up smell of the leaves. *inhales deeply* Aaahh! Love it.
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Lizzy- i love your hat?? were did you get it??
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That's a funny story itself, but Walmart, girl, Walmart. :)
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Fall! I LOVE Fall (or Autumn, whichever you prefer). I love apple cider - from Mood's of course;) - and seeing maple trees turn themselves into a brilliant blaze of golden glory before spreading an ethreal carpet of colors around them like a skirt.
I love getting out my favorite scarf (merino wool from Express :) from the attic and wearing it out on blistery cold days!
I love sipping Suisse Mocha chocolate on the sofa while watching tongues of flame devour freshly split pine-wood logs in the fire-place.
I love fall!
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See, D, I knew you could write with flare if you tried. :)
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Yes I'm coming out of my old crusty, boring, outer shell. JK :)
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Well, I have to say that you and thewillieman would get along great with your love of fall. :) It is a wonderful season of the year. I never used to like it because it meant that winter was on the way. And y'all know what I think of that. ;)
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is thewillieman the same guy as the lost boy?
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Lost Boy: where are you? how did you get lost?
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yes, thewillieman and thelostboy are one and the same. he got lost when i didn't see him online. :)
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sorry, i didn't realize he wasn't signing himself the same way anymore.
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Well, I technically am not lost. And Im right here. But I have many aliases to go by-
Matthew, Willie, Perry, Thewillieman, The lost boy, Mr. X, Matt, William, Willson, Mathaiatis and my LEAST favorite, and I quote
" Hey you!"
Any way, Im not lost, and I dont know why I felt commpelled to write my name as so....Anywho.
And there is one more thing I have to say and that is that we have broken a world record for the most comments! 19!!! Oh yeh!
So, CTYL( That stands for c-omment, t-o, y-ou, l-ater)
:-# :-} :-) :-\ :->
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Oh, BTW, wow, I have to say to richleau(Whoever that is in real life) that you are a awsome poet. I mean that you left an awsome comment. You should to try to write as a hobbie or something. No kidding.
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Willieman, what are you doing online so late at night?
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Revealing secret identities will have to be left up to those that own them. ;)
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Lost Boy: Let me just say that witnessed a very rare side of me when you read my "poetic" comment. Because the cold hard fact is: I HATE to write! Sure, I CAN write but I don't like to at all. Except, of course for these short blurbs we call comments :~)
BTW I'm Cori's adopted brother (or was it the other way around...I'm clueless)
Cori: I called your cell earlier today and left a message but (hahahahaha) I forgot to tell you who I was! *grin* Anyway, now you know. And tell Damien I'll get back to him.
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i thought you were damien?
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And if you think I can't recognize your voice/laugh by now, we have a serious problem.
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What happened to the CC about fall?
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Well, we were talking about fall until D swept us away by his profound statements. After that, what's to say?
;)
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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
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Blogging from a laptop . . . cool!
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Wow, this is really cool. I am using my dad's new laptop to blog. Ok, so it's no longer his new toy. He's had it for a while, but since I just got home, it's a very new toy for me. Let's see what did I blog about last? Oh, yes. Coming home. Well, I've certainly gotten back into the pattern of life at home. You all know what it's like. You get up when everyone else gets up. You do bookkeeping work for your dad while your brother does school. You go to Walmart when your mom is ready to go. It's like it's always been. Things do not easily change. :) It's a good thing. Amazing how the simplest little routine can make you feel at home. It's what you long for when you're away. Stability and in a round about way, security.
Speaking of, we went to Walmart yesterday to pick up pictures and a few other things. I didn't go near the craft department the whole time. I am definitely changed. It used to be that I didn't go to Walmart without needing something or at least looking at something from the fabric section. Guess I've gotten used to spending my money on more important things than clothes. Like food for instance. ;) So anyway, we went to Walmart and I got my pictures from HQ run off. I wanted to get the ones done from Jonathan's cd he gave me, but I had to spend a stipend's worth just to get the ones from my camera done. (!) Whoa, I'll have to wait to get the others. I got doubles, Bree, so I'll send some. For you too Willie. There are some really hysterical memories wrapped up in those Illinois bound envelopes. OMS, I couldn't believe the picture of Ruining in the back seat of the van on the way to Starved Rock. He's doing Riverdance! OMS!!! I am going to have so much fun scrapbooking these things! Cara darling, I can't wait to visit you and bring all my pictures to you.
Back to the main track, we were shopping. Yes, we were and when we had finished waiting a half hour for Walmart's inefficient staff to fix the register so Mom could have a receipt, we went to Boscov's. I hate shopping. I do. You go with the intention of buying a nice warm winter coat, black, a little bulky but not too bad, with a hood and somewhat reasonably priced. i found exactly what I wanted. A down-filled coat that looked really nice and warm. One problem, the smallest size they had was an XL. That was a little too bulky, and the only one I could find in a small that I liked, didn't have a hood. Picture to yourself, a ten minute walk through the wind and snow, in January, in Chicago. It's cold. Every day. I want something warm. So I asked my mom to come and help me. (I don't know how to shop for a coat. The last time I needed a new one, I was ten or twelve. I've always just used her nice warm ones when she'd buy them new.) So anyway, she took one look and pronounced that anything less than a hundred dollars was not warm enough. Great. I was irritated. So she said she'd order me one from a catalog if I'd pick one out that I want. Relief. I was afraid I should have to pack a lunch every day this winter just so I wouldn't have to walk through the cold.
So here I am with a gift card to Boscov's and no jacket to buy. Well, I needed a watch, one that would last longer than the average Walmart buy (which narrows it down to about everything.) So I bought myself a really pretty silver watch with a black face. It's very pretty. And wonder of wonders, it has an adjustable chain so it fits my wrist. Usually I have to put it on the smallest hole and it still slides around, but I'm so glad it fits just right.
Last night, I spent hanging out in James' room, showing him my pictures and hearing him laugh at the earphone episode (on the way to Starved Rock). He started me playing one of his latest Nancy Drew games. I get so frustrated. I would never finish one if it wasn't for him. I remember the time I tried. I spent thirty minutes trying to figure out how to go downstairs. Then three weeks trying to hide in the air vent in the elevator shaft. So from then on, I just call my Hardy boy Help Hotline, being James. We played for two hours last night and finally I said I was finished and he says "Now?!? You're almost there!" However, I was not to be swayed from my purposes and shall finish later this afternoon. Then I shall begin another. I have a lot of catching up to do. :)
I don't think I am used to being back home yet. It was so funny when I first went out to HQ. It was two weeks before I relaxed and settled in. Then I started getting to know people and then they would show up in my dreams at night. It's so weird. I doubt it will take two weeks to "be" home, but you never know. I still have dreams about my sister and I've not seen her since, what? January? Anyway, this is totally getting off track.
Today I came downstairs after writing on the backs of over one hundred photos. OMS, my hand hurts! And here I sit typing, though I will say that typing is far less strenuous on the wrist than a pen. My goodness, yesterday was a day for writing. I was bookkeeping for dad and copying all the entries from his checkbook into a little ledger, by hand. I had to start from last January! It took two hours! My fellow bookkeepers will sympathize. At least I didn't have to do any balancing. I hate balancing a checkbook, however, the joy and satisfaction that comes when it is balanced is not to be described. :)
It's a lovely day today. The woodstove is hot. The teakettle is whistling. The gingersnaps smell wonderful. The breeze smells crisp and tangy, like dried leaves. I hear the low hum of the fan blowing the warm air into the room from the stove. I hear the occasional car drive past our house. I hear the rustle of papers as Mom does the house receipts and bank account. I hear the jingle of the dogs' tags as they lazily get up from their beds to move closer to the woodstove. I see the American flag flapping wildly as the wind whips it eastward. The clouds outside are scarce, but there. Just enough contrast to make the sky look invitingly blue. I can almost hear the oak tree creaking in the front yard as it sways back and forth with the wind. The rocking chair on the porch is rocking itself slowly, as if to say "come and sit a while." I rather think I will. |
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posted by cori
10/26/2005 01:30:00 PM
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
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Home
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Ok, it seems very strange to come home after so long spent with new friends. I just realized the other day that for two months I have been making friends (Ruthann, Chloe, Erin, Lydia, Melinda, Christina, Briana, Katie, Rachel, Tim, Philip, Andrew, JRod, James, Jonathan, Jackman, Ruining, and Jarod to name a few) whom my family has never met, scarcely heard of, and of whom they know nothing except the few references I have been able to make during phone calls home. For two months, I have spent time getting to know these folks and more and it is very strange to suddenly go home among old friends whom I have known my whole life.
Strange is the only word I can use to describe it.
Very strange.
But now that I am home, it seems as if nothing ever changes. I was telling Bree on the phone that there is no evidence that my time in HQ was not just a dream. The only thing that has changed is the house. Places don't change. People never change. It seems as if the same things that were going on and were controlling interests to different people when I left are still that way.
We are extremely busy just now. Last night, I spent with the Davises. Danielle and I had tea like we haven't done in a while. Nathan, oms! Nathan was a sweetheart. I was scarcely in the door before he wrapped himself around my waist. I had to pick him up so he could "hug me higher." Sat on my lap, showed me pictures, showed me his cowboy boots and hat, showed me how tall he is and kissed me goodnight. My soul! how I missed him while I was gone. Then D came in and after asking me very nicely to fix a suit jacket for him, had the awesome nerve to insult my intelligence the whole rest of the evening. Danielle, we must punish him.
Today is bound to be busy. James is in need of a haircut and Dad is in need of a full tank of propane. Mom and I are both in need of Walmart's Photocenter. The living room is in need of dusting. My suitcase is in need of packing. The dishes are in need of washing. The stairs are in need of sweeping and this blog is in need of updating. |
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posted by cori
10/25/2005 08:12:00 AM
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Glad you made it home safely! Were you able to get into your room, or is it still full of furniture?
I loved reading about your welcome home greetings from Nathan. He is such a dear. I'll never forget the day when he washed your watch and took you on a "date." :)
~Cara
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that was hysterical! I shall not soon forget our date at "mcdonald's". he wanted to drive, but everyone else had to push the gocart.
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What's this about a "date?" I'd like to hear how it went :)
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ok hold everything. this blog is not a place where i write about such personal stuff, otherwise it would not be personal anymore and for another thing, stop signing yourselves "anonymous".
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Thursday, October 20, 2005
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Oxymoronic Phrases That Contradict Themselves (well that was repetetive!)
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It's amazing the things you come across as an English editor. These are so funny! :)
"And that's a self-portrait of himself, by himself."
Richard Madeley
"It looks like being a busy weekend on the ferries, particularly Saturday and Sunday."
Peter Powell
"It was a sudden and unexpected surprise."
Old Bailey Correspondent for the BBC
"I never make predictions, especially about the future."
Samuel Goldwyn
"Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined."
Samuel Goldwyn
"Sometimes you can observe a lot just by watching."
Yogi Berra
"They've written their own number – it's an original number and it's written by themselves."
Jenny Lee-Wright
"Just look at that [ice skating result]. Nine 'six' marks, every one of them a 'six'."
Alan Weeks
"With half the race gone, there is half the race still to go."
Murray Walker
"I don't normally do requests, unless I'm asked to."
Richard Whiteley
"And there's the Victoria Memorial, built as a memorial to Victoria."
David Dimbleby
"When large numbers of men are unable to find work, unemployment results."
Calvin Coolidge
"Smoking can kill you, and if you've been killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."
Brooke Shields
"Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable."
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posted by cori
10/20/2005 12:52:00 PM
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You only check it every two days! If I were to write every time you checked, I'd have to type a lot faster than I do. :)
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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
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ok here it is
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alright, I'm here at the library now. I walked down with Amy Farmer who is a new girl in our house. She wanted to come so she could check her email. Tonight the girls at my house are taking me into Chicago for McDonald's for my birthday. I don't know if that's all we're doing. Might try to convince them to make a Starbucks run. Those are always fun. I have been busy this week. Because it's my last, everyone wants to spend time with me and I haven't had a chance to get online and blog to you all.
Saturday, I went with Brittany to babysit some kids nearby. We took them to the playground and then made them lunch. By the time that was over, we only had time to put together a puzzle or two before their aunt came to pick them up. They were such dolls! Tyler was eight, I think. And Brett was six and Emilie was two. It was great fun.
Then when I got home, I cleaned the kitchen with Anna. We had house inspection scheduled for Monday and so we had to move furniture and scrub ovens and the whole works. At around three o'clock, I left to go play ultimate frisbee with Anna and everyone else. My room could wait. It wasn't that messy. Ok, it was, but I really didn't want to clean it just then.
Ultimate was cool. I stood and watched for a while and when I thought I knew how to play, I moved close enough for someone to invite me to join. That was fun. Our house had dinner prep, so I missed staff meeting. I spent the dinner hour chatting with Beth Stearn, who I normally work with but who had been gone for two weeks on vacation. She invited me to church in the morning. Fun!
So I went with her family to Independent Baptist Church. A lot of the institute people go there. Afterward, they stopped at Walmart and I bought a new hat. I had been meaning to get a new one, but hadn't gotten out in a while. So I wore it that afternoon. I was talking on the cellphone to James for, oh an hour at least, and then I went to the staff center where I was supposed to meet Brittany, Matt and Jonathan Bolden for some MadGab before staff meeting. It was fun. Grace and her grandmother were there and played with us. I met Amy that night. No, it was Saturday night that I met her. Anyway, I didn't really get to know her until last night.
We went to the nursing home across the street for singing and Amy was there. She and Brittany and I stayed in our kitchen, after an unforgettable car ride home, and chatted until nine when Bree had to leave. THen we had house devos and chatted some more. So now Amy has become part of our little group of friends. Matt met her today and she's met everyone in the ATI department. I have to take her on a tour of the building tomorrow so she can meet everyone else.
I gotta go. Alicia's supposed to pick up up like right now. bye. |
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posted by cori
10/18/2005 06:46:00 PM
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
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*gasp* There's my picture!
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| I was wondering where it went. |
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posted by cori
10/12/2005 06:23:00 PM
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Do you think chris is trying to tell you that it's time to blog again?
~Cara
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or maybe that's what you're trying to say yourself?
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chris are you at the lib now?
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Why dont you get an IM address and not use your blog as a message link?
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Just wanted to give you another comment to bring the total up to 12. Have we hit a record yet?
Love you so much!
~Cara
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I only have IM at home.
Thanks Cara, I think we may hit a record high! ;)
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i can add another to make it FOURTEEN(14 for those who dont know how to read!)! HaHaHa
;)
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: )
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sat-is-fac-tion n contentment; a source or means of enjoyment; compensation; the discharge of an obligation or claim
This word describes how I feel just now. I have gotten so much accomplished that I just feel wonderful at the thought that I have carried out what was expected of me and more. I am so pleased. No more revisions. No more typesetting. Just edits, which are easy, which is why I saved them for last.
It's great.
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posted by cori
10/12/2005 06:17:00 PM
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Return to Neverland
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Ok, actually it's more like "return to the blogosphere". I was quite pointedly told be persons unnamed that I needed to get on the ball because I haven't blogged in more than a week.
SORRY!
I have been totally swamped with work this week. No one else is in the WBLA office this week and I have revisions on five Level C booklets and edits on six new booklets and I have got three more days before Friday.
!!!!!
Can you tell I'm slightly overwhelmed? Ok, well not anymore. I wrote out a nice neat little list and taped it to me desk with all the tasks I have to do and little red checkmarks next to all the ones I have finished already. It's actually a good thing that no one else is here, because if I have people interrupting my thoughts with a sentence or two here and there, it completely throws me off.
And then there are those folks who walk up behind you when you're sitting in front of a bookshelf looking intently at the Commands of Christ trying to find a replacement passage for one of the booklets. And they just stand there for heaven only knows how long before scaring you completely out of your senses by whispering quite loudly "Leslie!" (I have never jumped so high, nor lost my place in a book so quickly.)
I know this post is really short and rather non-descript in comparison to my late posts, but you'll have to forgive me and hang on to the promise of another tomorrow evening. 'Kay?
Love to all my friends and family,
A completely frazzled girl
who has to get off this
computer like right now
in order to start the day
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posted by cori
10/12/2005 08:17:00 AM
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please excuse the typos, i was slightly rushed this morning
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It's good to see you back! I know life has been very busy for you, but you are sorely missed while away from blogging life.
~Cara
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
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Saturday? Saturday, Saturday... What did I do on Saturday?
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You know it took me a while to remember how I spent my weekend. Obviously, I have not blogged in a while. Saturday was spent in downtown Hinsdale with Rachel, Amy and Brittany. After sleeping in as long as my conscience would let me, I walked to Heritage to find Bree and we trekked to the corner stoplight to meet the other girls. It was a lovely day. Warm in the sunshine, but a beautiful breeze blew past us, laughing as it playfully reminded us now and again that it was a beautiful day indeed.
We went and took pictures by a fountain in the front of the library. There's a train depot on the opposite side and benches all around to relax upon. Rach took the pics and got them developed for me already.
How can you spy out the most land in the shortest amount of time? Divide and conquer. We split our forces and shopped around the town for a while. Bree and I went into toy shops, antique stores, Gap and other places while we waited for one o'clock, the appointed meeting time. We went into one store where they sold shoes and stuff. As soon as we walked in, this lady came rattling up to us. She was wearing tons of enormous beaded necklaces, belts, earrings and bracelets. They were the big turquoise kind that no one wears anymore. She tried to sell us some. She didn't succeed.
To the ColdStone we went, with designs on their butterfinger toppings. Our designs changed when we saw the menu. Cookie Doughn't You Want Some? We did. Rachel bought an enormous cone, not realizing how big they were. Amy didn't have any, so she sat calmly sipping her Starbucks frap while we ate.
Rachel took her cone with her in hopes of making it home before it melted so she could share it with her siblings, who undoubtedly would be willing to help her finish it. However, we had not made it two blocks when we saw Daniel Egan and Matt, who were more than happy to take care of the extra dessert. It probably wouldn't have made it to Rachel's house anyway.
Once at her house, we took off our shoes and relaxed in the hammock out front. The shade, the rest, the cool breeze that was springing up again. It was great. We went inside to watch Emma. That's a great movie. I always laugh when Mr. Elton actually has the nerve to propose. I always cringe when Mr. Knightley reprimands Emma for being unkind. I always cry when he thinks she's been hurt by Frank Churchill. And I always smile when it ends happily ever after.
Rachel drove us home and I had time to change before staff meeting. I really enjoy these bible studies on Saturday evenings. We're studying Colossians and I think the thing I love most is that if I have a question, I can pipe up and ask it without anyone thinking me completely dense. And if I have any insights (rare, yes) I can share them if I feel led to. I'm so glad to be here now. It's great to learn things. I feel like I'm so un-knowledgeable. And yet, it is more wisdom than knowledge that I crave; the actual working-out of the things that I learn. You can know tons of useful stuff and never use it. As has been said so elequently, "The concepts are grasped. It's the executions that are a little elusive." |
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posted by cori
10/06/2005 05:57:00 PM
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| The ShugaBowl |
| Sounds like some kind of sports thing, but in reality, the ShugaBowl is just a little hideaway for me, Sugarcube herself, to let loose my thoughts and occasional creativeness. |
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sounds like your having a blast- tell us all about it when you get home. having fun with your niece? tell all hi!