Well, I did it. I've been saying for a long time that I was going to get an Advanced Medical Directive. The Schiavo case made my procratination end. It is all filled out and just needs to be printed off and signed to be official. If I had a working printer at home I would do it now...but alas... our printer has died. So come Monday morning when I get back to work, I will copy it to Word and print it off. I have a close friend at work and she can be one of my witnesses. I thought long and hard about what to put into it. How I wish for my body to be "used" after I have left it and I am happy with my decisions.

Okay, on to better things. I have just been taking it easy the last week. Dan hasn't had much to say so I have been writing down the direction I want my story to take. Much of what is written will be changed in it's appearance and order. The prologue will, obviously, remain the same. The sequences that follow though will be changed to some degree, told in more of a flashback. I am hoping to become inspired soon as I have 3 stories to complete this year. I DO want that t-shirt!! LOL.

Well, I had better finish up in the kitchen, I am going to prep everything for tomorrow's dinner so I can enjoy my family instead of be a slave to the kitchen.
As I highly doubt I will return between now and at least Monday, I hope everyone has a HAPPY EASTER. No matter what your personal beliefs may be...regard this time as a celebration of new life.

{{HUGS}}

The kids enjoyed playing in Nickelodeon's Splash Zone. Thought they shivered for a bit afterwards.
OHHH, That IS cold!

WE all warmed up in the Backdraft Exhibit. This was the beginning of the warehouse fire...it only got hotter from here!
Now THIS is HOT!

Farmer Hogget had a Pig E-I-E-I-O 

Universal Studios was FUN! The weather was near perfect for us. It was a little bit cool...but not uncomfortably so. We saw all of the shows, rode all but one ride (The Mummy, my stomach was NOT up to an indoor roller coaster after Back to the Future) and walked the entire length of the park twice. The kids came prepared with bathing suits and towels to play in the Nickelodeon Splash Zone and boy, did they get soaked...did I mention it was a bit cool? Fortunately they dried quickly with the use of the hand dryers in the family restrooms (Those are GREAT. No more you take one child and I'll meet you back here) and we had brought extra clothes.

I LOVE Backdraft and took some awesome pics which I will try to post here in a minute. The Water World Show was pretty awesome, though you were pretty much guaranteed to get wet...hurray for rain ponchos! The Terminator Show was also pretty cool, if a little dated. All in all it was a "perfectly perfect" day and I look forward to going back this July. We will have company then and hey, now it won't cost anything to get in...cept the $10 parking fee. Now lets see if I can figure out how to post a picture...

Stolen from Kate, who stole it from Mary, who stole it from...

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results Warmth 82% Intellect 58% Emotional Stability 50% Aggressiveness 62% Liveliness 18% Dutifulness 66% Social Assertiveness 54% Sensitivity 74% Paranoia 22% Abstractness 50% Introversion 38% Anxiety 70% Openmindedness 34% Independence 74% Perfectionism 58% Tension 46%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

How's this for spontaneity?? We decided when we wake up in the morning, we're headed to Universal Studios. Well, provided the weather doesn't take a major turn around. I was able to get an awesome deal...buy a day, get the rest of the year for FREE. I can't turn down what basically is a years pass now can I?? Nope~

In other news...NC State Wolfpack pulled off quite the upset today over UConn. That's right, the Pack is dancing into the Sweet 16, and what a dance it will be~I bet they heard me all the way in Wouster, Massachusetts. I certainly hollered loud enough! LET'S GO WOLFPACK!!! Just imagine, 2 short years ago, I didn't even like college sports.

I'll report more later this week. Tomorrow Universal...Tuesday Pismo Beach to pick up my oldest daughter. Pray that for the few hours we're at Pismo, we get clear weather as it is supposed to rain.

And finally, I see that I have had a visitor to my site. ~~HELLO MS. MARY~~ (waves dramatically) Thanks for being the first guest to leave a comment at my humble lil online abode! Pull up a seat and make yourself to home!

I THINK I added a comments section?? I'll have to play around with it to see for sure.... sure hope so.

This was stolen from Mary, but I needed to read it again tonight so I thought I would post it here as well.....

Let it go for 2005...by T. D. Jakes
“There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.
I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you.
I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.
The bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]
People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over.
And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead.
You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!!!
If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to ..LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ...LET IT GO!!!
If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth...LET IT GO!!!
If someone has angered you ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge .. LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents ..LET IT GO!!!
If you have a bad attitude...LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!!
If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him..LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship....LET IT GO!
If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves...LET IT GO!!!
If you're feeling depressed and stressed .... LET IT GO!!!
If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to... LET IT GO!!!
Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing for 2005!!! LET IT GO!!! Get Right or Get Left, think about it, and then LET IT GO!!!

WOW....I wrote last night. Now it wasn't a huge amount, but, considering I have written nothing in almost 3 years...it was a big three paragraphs. Dan walked in and knew what he wanted for those three small scribbles of mine. NOw I need to go back and reread, get rid of a scene or more and basically restructure the entire story. Dan has some thinking to do about life and family.

Off to work...maybe next week I'll get a little more done...I'm off for an entire week!!

Well, I'm hoping....my cough and cold clear up. I am scheduled for surgery in just 4 days...and while my cough has lessened....it's still hanging on. In some ways I hope it forces me to cancel surgery. I, for some unknown reason, am terrified of having it done. Can't shake the feeling. On the other hand, I am waking up in so much pain, I want the surgery done and over with so I can finally heal up and feel better.

The Jix anniversary starts tomorrow. Now THAT I can't wait for. I am sooo excited to see what people have written...what the photos were for...and I hear this is the "Wood" anniversary....LOL DOn't think I'll touch THAT one!

Not much going on in my life, as usual. Trying to get caught up and possibly ahead in anticipation of being incapacitated for a few days. I have the carpet cleaners coming out Tuesday and the gardener is going to do a clean up of my back yard for me...hopefully this week. We've had so much rain this year, my grass is literally knee deep and several small trees are bent over. They all need to be trimmed back as well.

Received my tax return money. Not a huge amount but enough to take care of a few smallish bills and pay for the carpets, the extra gardening, new blinds in a few rooms and maybe even a short family vacation. I know my sis is getting back like 10.000....they'll do something big with it...but I say why let the government have an interest free loan all year. Besides, she is always griping about having no money during the month....well, there's almost what? 800 a month they could have if they changed their filing status.

Thats about it for today, need to clean up the brunch dishes and check on the roast I've been cooking in the crock pot all morning long...it sure smells good. Who knew crock-potting could be so easy? :o)