Thank you to all who came to Applebee's last night.
Thank you to all who have attended our past fundraisers.
Thank you to those of you who have emailed, called, texted and Facebook'ed me today.
Thank you to my friends and family who help me get through every day.
Thank you to the strangers who say "I'm sorry" when they find out who I am.
Thank you. Mere words cannot convey how grateful I am.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Just One Glass
I stumbled across this on Jezebel. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "I'll just have one glass of wine."
This glass holds an ENTIRE BOTTLE of wine. I guess if you're a red drinker it's okay, but for those of us who like our white a bit chilled, we'd have to drink fast.
I can think of several people on my Christmas list who would enjoy this.
Friday, November 6, 2009
A Good Cause
On November 17, from 2pm to 7pm, a memorial blood drive will be held at Morrison Hall on the campus of SIUE in Edwardsville. Also, since New Moon opens that Friday, November 20, we are doing a Twilight-themed blood drive - inspired, no? We will have several prizes to be raffled off, all pertaining to All Things Twilight. Sadly, neither Edward or Jacob will be present.
I think my girls would have loved Twilight. I bet Jessica would have been Team Edward, but I'm thinking Kelli might be Team Jacob, given her penchant for animals and nature.
On November 22, to mark the 2-year anniversary of their deaths, Applebee's Restaurant in Collinsville will be donating 20% of your total food bill (excluding alcohol) to The Jessica Uhl Scholarship Fund at SIUE and the Kelli Uhl Scholarship Fund. You can either eat inside or you can use their Carside to Go feature. Please stop by, grab some good food and help us raise some money for their memorial scholarships.
Two years. My God. It still feels like yesterday.
I think my girls would have loved Twilight. I bet Jessica would have been Team Edward, but I'm thinking Kelli might be Team Jacob, given her penchant for animals and nature.
On November 22, to mark the 2-year anniversary of their deaths, Applebee's Restaurant in Collinsville will be donating 20% of your total food bill (excluding alcohol) to The Jessica Uhl Scholarship Fund at SIUE and the Kelli Uhl Scholarship Fund. You can either eat inside or you can use their Carside to Go feature. Please stop by, grab some good food and help us raise some money for their memorial scholarships.
Two years. My God. It still feels like yesterday.
Friday, October 30, 2009
You Should Write a Book
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Your mission, should you accept it, is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. That's 1,666.7 words per day, for those of you keeping score at home.
Some of you may have heard of NaNoBloMo, which is the easier challenge of posting on your blog every day for a month.
I had heard of NaNoBloMo and thought about doing that, but wondered if it was something I would really want to do. Post every day? How hard is that? But I believe in quality over quantity, which is one reason why my posting has been so sporadic lately. I didn't want to post for the sake of posting.
So, I have commited to writing the novel. Ironically, I have had the outline of a story banging around in my head for quite a while, but never could get it out of my head and onto the page, so to speak. This challenge has given me the mental kick in the butt that I needed to tell myself, "Self, we're gonna do this."
I wasn't going to tell anyone until I was done, but then I figured I'd be more apt to finish this challenge if I had people asking me how it was going. So, surprise! I'm writing a book.
The challenge is still open, if you'd like to join me in writing a novel, or just posting every day. Visit the links above to sign up.
This should be interesting, on many levels.
Some of you may have heard of NaNoBloMo, which is the easier challenge of posting on your blog every day for a month.
I had heard of NaNoBloMo and thought about doing that, but wondered if it was something I would really want to do. Post every day? How hard is that? But I believe in quality over quantity, which is one reason why my posting has been so sporadic lately. I didn't want to post for the sake of posting.
So, I have commited to writing the novel. Ironically, I have had the outline of a story banging around in my head for quite a while, but never could get it out of my head and onto the page, so to speak. This challenge has given me the mental kick in the butt that I needed to tell myself, "Self, we're gonna do this."
I wasn't going to tell anyone until I was done, but then I figured I'd be more apt to finish this challenge if I had people asking me how it was going. So, surprise! I'm writing a book.
The challenge is still open, if you'd like to join me in writing a novel, or just posting every day. Visit the links above to sign up.
This should be interesting, on many levels.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Hello Again
Hello there. Yes, I know, it's been three weeks since I've posted. That's the longest, I think, that I've gone without writing here.
I don't have any good excuse or reason for not writing. It results from a culmination of a lot of little annoyances rolling up into one great big ball of bleck. You know, like being sick, the fact that it has RAINED damn near EVERY DAY in October (and no, I'm not exaggerating, this is the wettest October on record), and it's getting colder and darkness is coming earlier, and I love my job but hate the hour-long commute, and wah wah wah. See what I mean? It's just sad.
The kicker is that writing is part of my therapy - I feel better after I get it out of me, so to speak. But everytime I'd start something, it would devolve into a pity party or a rant, and I just don't want to be That Blogger Who Whines All The Time. Occasionally, it's okay to let it all out, but this was just getting ridiculous. So I didn't post it. But I did write it. And then I felt a little better.
Anyway. Onward I trudge.
Married life is good. I'm in the process of changing my name and isn't that paperwork fun? Although the Social Security office was pretty painless - I only had to wait about 5 minutes for an employee to do my paperwork. I guarantee the driver's license wait won't be that short. Boys have it so easy - they don't have to change anything.
Maddy is playing basketball on her class team. I'm happy to see her playing a sport that she enjoys and that she's pretty good at, too. She's getting so tall. It seems that over the last few months she's gotten taller and thinner, too. Not that she was fat, but she's starting to look like a teenage girl. Because I'm ready for that phase.
Overall, life is good, if I stop whining long enough to realize that it's really not all that bad.
I don't have any good excuse or reason for not writing. It results from a culmination of a lot of little annoyances rolling up into one great big ball of bleck. You know, like being sick, the fact that it has RAINED damn near EVERY DAY in October (and no, I'm not exaggerating, this is the wettest October on record), and it's getting colder and darkness is coming earlier, and I love my job but hate the hour-long commute, and wah wah wah. See what I mean? It's just sad.
The kicker is that writing is part of my therapy - I feel better after I get it out of me, so to speak. But everytime I'd start something, it would devolve into a pity party or a rant, and I just don't want to be That Blogger Who Whines All The Time. Occasionally, it's okay to let it all out, but this was just getting ridiculous. So I didn't post it. But I did write it. And then I felt a little better.
Anyway. Onward I trudge.
Married life is good. I'm in the process of changing my name and isn't that paperwork fun? Although the Social Security office was pretty painless - I only had to wait about 5 minutes for an employee to do my paperwork. I guarantee the driver's license wait won't be that short. Boys have it so easy - they don't have to change anything.
Maddy is playing basketball on her class team. I'm happy to see her playing a sport that she enjoys and that she's pretty good at, too. She's getting so tall. It seems that over the last few months she's gotten taller and thinner, too. Not that she was fat, but she's starting to look like a teenage girl. Because I'm ready for that phase.
Overall, life is good, if I stop whining long enough to realize that it's really not all that bad.
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Beginning at The End of The Rainbow
After checking the weather forecast all week and watching the forecast change daily, ranging from a chance of rain ranging anywhere between 30% to 70%, then isolated storms, and then mostly cloudy, I gave up trying to plan and just hoped for the best.
Saturday morning dawned clear, with just a few wispy clouds. I started my day at 6 am and tried to run off my nervous energy. As I returned home I could see some clouds building in the distance but the sky was mostly clear. I held out hope for a good day.
As my bridesmaids began to arrive for hair and makeup, I watched the sky go from clear, to partly cloudy, to gray, and then to black. At noon, it started pouring rain, complete with thunder and lightening. It even knocked the power out briefly, but service was restored after I looked skyward and yelled “Come on!? Can’t I have something go right?!?” Perhaps I was a little tense.
We loaded up the dresses and flowers onto the bus, ducking the drizzle and trying not to ruin our hair. As we got closer, the clouds began to thin out and the sun began to shine. As the sky brightened, so did my mood. Perhaps that was the end of it, and we’d get lucky the rest of the day.
For the next two and a half hours, we had sunshine and blue sky for all our pre-ceremony pictures. However, as I was making my final preparations before my walk down the aisle, I could see a nice big black thunderhead bearing down on us. Maybe it would hold off for about 30 minutes so we could get the ceremony in before it got ugly.
As my dad and I took our places in the processional line, I could see that it wasn’t raining yet, and that the sky still seemed clear. Once we opened the door and started down the aisle, we were greeted with a huge clap of thunder and it began to sprinkle. The sky still seemed mostly clear, so maybe we could give these nice people a wedding, then get inside before they got soaked.
No. Such. Luck. Those of us in the wedding party were up on the rocks under the canopy of trees and were spared most of the deluge. My wedding guests – not so much. A lot of them ran for cover inside, but those who stayed out were soaked.
Our wedding coordinator snagged a big golf umbrella from a guest, and the best man became our valet. I kept looking at Craig and laughing, just because it kept me from crying.
As we took the roses to our mothers, huddled under their umbrellas, I was able to see the remaining wedding guests in all their drowned-rat glory. I felt horrible but what could I do? The one detail that was out of my control was literally out of control.
As we took our places once again in front of the pastor, I looked over Craig’s shoulder to see how the groomsmen were fairing. My brother caught my eye and made an arcing motion with his hands. I shot him a look of “huh?” and he mouthed “rainbow” and pointed behind me.
I turned to look and sure enough –there was a glorious bright rainbow…wait, there were two. Two rainbows stood out clear and gorgeous against the steel gray sky.
The rain let up just in time for us to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs. to the 14 remaining water-logged guests, and make our way back inside. As we passed, people told me that rain on your wedding day was good luck. We should be blessed, then, with the amount of rain we got.
Ironically, our first dance was “I Can See Clearly Now, The Rain Is Gone.” We had chosen that song months prior, as it was the song we danced to the night we were engaged. It wound up being spot-on.
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Of course.
I think the two rainbows were Jessica and Kelli’s way of saying hi. I also think the rain was their idea, too, just to make me remember that into each life, some rain must fall. It makes you appreciate the sunshine that much more.
Saturday morning dawned clear, with just a few wispy clouds. I started my day at 6 am and tried to run off my nervous energy. As I returned home I could see some clouds building in the distance but the sky was mostly clear. I held out hope for a good day.
As my bridesmaids began to arrive for hair and makeup, I watched the sky go from clear, to partly cloudy, to gray, and then to black. At noon, it started pouring rain, complete with thunder and lightening. It even knocked the power out briefly, but service was restored after I looked skyward and yelled “Come on!? Can’t I have something go right?!?” Perhaps I was a little tense.
We loaded up the dresses and flowers onto the bus, ducking the drizzle and trying not to ruin our hair. As we got closer, the clouds began to thin out and the sun began to shine. As the sky brightened, so did my mood. Perhaps that was the end of it, and we’d get lucky the rest of the day.
For the next two and a half hours, we had sunshine and blue sky for all our pre-ceremony pictures. However, as I was making my final preparations before my walk down the aisle, I could see a nice big black thunderhead bearing down on us. Maybe it would hold off for about 30 minutes so we could get the ceremony in before it got ugly.
As my dad and I took our places in the processional line, I could see that it wasn’t raining yet, and that the sky still seemed clear. Once we opened the door and started down the aisle, we were greeted with a huge clap of thunder and it began to sprinkle. The sky still seemed mostly clear, so maybe we could give these nice people a wedding, then get inside before they got soaked.
No. Such. Luck. Those of us in the wedding party were up on the rocks under the canopy of trees and were spared most of the deluge. My wedding guests – not so much. A lot of them ran for cover inside, but those who stayed out were soaked.
Our wedding coordinator snagged a big golf umbrella from a guest, and the best man became our valet. I kept looking at Craig and laughing, just because it kept me from crying.
As we took the roses to our mothers, huddled under their umbrellas, I was able to see the remaining wedding guests in all their drowned-rat glory. I felt horrible but what could I do? The one detail that was out of my control was literally out of control.
As we took our places once again in front of the pastor, I looked over Craig’s shoulder to see how the groomsmen were fairing. My brother caught my eye and made an arcing motion with his hands. I shot him a look of “huh?” and he mouthed “rainbow” and pointed behind me.
I turned to look and sure enough –there was a glorious bright rainbow…wait, there were two. Two rainbows stood out clear and gorgeous against the steel gray sky.
The rain let up just in time for us to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs. to the 14 remaining water-logged guests, and make our way back inside. As we passed, people told me that rain on your wedding day was good luck. We should be blessed, then, with the amount of rain we got.
Ironically, our first dance was “I Can See Clearly Now, The Rain Is Gone.” We had chosen that song months prior, as it was the song we danced to the night we were engaged. It wound up being spot-on.
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Of course.
I think the two rainbows were Jessica and Kelli’s way of saying hi. I also think the rain was their idea, too, just to make me remember that into each life, some rain must fall. It makes you appreciate the sunshine that much more.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
If I'm So Happy, Why Am I Crying?
For the last couple of weeks, I have been an emotional basket case. I'm weepy by nature anyway, but sappy commercials, sad stories, and even certain music are causing me to cry like a little girl.
Case in point - I was watching Dancing with the Stars last night, and started sobbing when Kelly Osborne ran across the dance floor to hug her dad. And then when I saw Sharon - I lost it. I'm tearing up while I'm writing this. I want to tell me SUCK IT UP YA BIG BABY!
I know that's it's probably all due to this wedding thing coming up this weekend, and the emotional cocktail I've been swimming in is finally catching up to me. (Mmmm, cocktails).
On one hand, I'm all happy and in lurve and looking forward to getting married to a great guy who has been my rock lo these last couple of years. On the other hand, planning a wedding is great fun overall, but my gawd the details can kill your buzz faster than you can say "chocolate fountain" (which we aren't having - white dress + melted chocolate + klutzy bride = dry cleaning nightmare).
And yes, I know, I shouldn't get bogged down in the minutae and but should focus on the big picture. However, certain things must be addressed, like who is sitting where and what are we eating, and we might want to pick a song for the bridal party dance.
Of course, the fact that not only will I be missing some important members of my family doesn't help with the waterworks.
I miss my mom a lot, but lately I've missed even more. She never got to see me get married. Brian and I eloped, and then we told our parents. When we went home to introduce her to her new son-in-law, she told me she had an eye doctor appointment the following week, because her eyes were starting to see double images. She received her MS diagnosis a couple of weeks later.
We didn't have a close relationship when I was a teenager, but after I was married and had Jessica, we began to get close. She told me about her childhood, and how it shaped her and affected her parenting. Having a child of my own, I began to appreciate how hard raising a kid can be. She apologized for her actions, and I apologized for not being a good kid. And then she was gone. Five years after her diagnosis. The MS attacked her brain and never relented.
So on Saturday morning, I will pin her wedding ring inside my dress as my something old, spritz on a little of her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, and walk out with my dad, missing her but knowing that I am the daughter she can finally be proud of.
Case in point - I was watching Dancing with the Stars last night, and started sobbing when Kelly Osborne ran across the dance floor to hug her dad. And then when I saw Sharon - I lost it. I'm tearing up while I'm writing this. I want to tell me SUCK IT UP YA BIG BABY!
I know that's it's probably all due to this wedding thing coming up this weekend, and the emotional cocktail I've been swimming in is finally catching up to me. (Mmmm, cocktails).
On one hand, I'm all happy and in lurve and looking forward to getting married to a great guy who has been my rock lo these last couple of years. On the other hand, planning a wedding is great fun overall, but my gawd the details can kill your buzz faster than you can say "chocolate fountain" (which we aren't having - white dress + melted chocolate + klutzy bride = dry cleaning nightmare).
And yes, I know, I shouldn't get bogged down in the minutae and but should focus on the big picture. However, certain things must be addressed, like who is sitting where and what are we eating, and we might want to pick a song for the bridal party dance.
Of course, the fact that not only will I be missing some important members of my family doesn't help with the waterworks.
I miss my mom a lot, but lately I've missed even more. She never got to see me get married. Brian and I eloped, and then we told our parents. When we went home to introduce her to her new son-in-law, she told me she had an eye doctor appointment the following week, because her eyes were starting to see double images. She received her MS diagnosis a couple of weeks later.
We didn't have a close relationship when I was a teenager, but after I was married and had Jessica, we began to get close. She told me about her childhood, and how it shaped her and affected her parenting. Having a child of my own, I began to appreciate how hard raising a kid can be. She apologized for her actions, and I apologized for not being a good kid. And then she was gone. Five years after her diagnosis. The MS attacked her brain and never relented.
So on Saturday morning, I will pin her wedding ring inside my dress as my something old, spritz on a little of her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, and walk out with my dad, missing her but knowing that I am the daughter she can finally be proud of.
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