Our story - part 5

My apologies for this being long overdue. We've been working on the house getting it ready to be put on the market. The obvious questions are "where are you moving?" and "why?" These are the answers I'm trying to answer by telling our story. So please be patient while I get through the whole story. (My stories are never short.) Also, if you're wondering "when?" we don't have this answer yet. Maybe by the end of the telling of this story that answer will be known.

So Jason and I started dating May of 2007. It was a long distance relationship but we made the effort of seeing each other every weekend. After a few months it was Jason who usually made the 3 hour trip to Dayton, but I did try to get out to Olive Hill at least once a month.

By this time I knew I really liked Jason's personality and I enjoyed spending time with him, but I had reservations. First, he was way too good to be true. I had dated guys like this in the past and they used lies to convince me they were something they were not. So I was always on the alert to catch Jason in a lie - because I assumed he was one of those guys.

Another thing that bothered me was that he always had to hold my hand, have his arm around me, or be sitting right next to me. I'm not a touchy-feely person and was afraid that Jason was the clingy type.

These things bothered me but was it enough to end things with him? No. I figured I'd keep going forward and see if things got better or worse. But honestly I really wasn't optimistic about the relationship. In the back of my head I kept thinking that what I expected would happen and the relationship would end.

I remember one phone call where I freaked out on him and tried to break up with him over the phone. He actually refused to let me end it that way. He wouldn't let me dump him. We laugh about it now, but obviously his refusal worked and I listened to him. (Guys - this won't happen often, so don't try it unless it's really worth it.)

There was another time where we were saying good bye one Sunday night and he said something that made me respond with a reminder that I didn't want to talk about marriage until we had been dating 6 months. He turned and looked at me and said "I am the man in this relationship and *I* will determine when we get engaged." I looked at him like he was crazy but this really impressed me. Of course he would wait until that 6 months though (or so I thought). Little did I know that he had already started to pick out an engagement ring.

In September of 2007 we got a new partner in the Cincinnati office. (All you TH people are groaning right now and wondering what she has to do with our story. Heh.) I was sent down to Cincinnati for the week to put all the transferred files in our docketing system and stayed at a hotel that week.

That weekend we had a conference at church and I was doing the overheads for most of the sessions. I was exhausted from my marathon days at work and then I had to drive back to Dayton Friday afternoon with a headache. I got home where Jason was waiting on me and took a quick nap before we headed to church. The headache was better, but I was wore out.

We stopped at Taco Bell to get dinner and both of us got burritos. (I hesitate at this part of the story because I hate telling this story. Those who have heard it before are either cringing or snickering at this point.) I was driving and tried to eat my burrito. Unfortunately whomever made the burrito did it with little care and beans were squishing out in 3 different places. I was so frustrated that I did something that even to this day I can barely believe I did.

I opened the window and threw it out onto the road. Wrapper and all.

Jason just sat there for a moment and didn't say anything at first. He took a bite of his burrito and after a dirty look from me offered it to me. I didn't want it, so he put it back in the bag. And then I started crying. There was a lot more going on, of course, but even I wasn't quite sure what the problem was. Other than being really really wore out.

We got to church and Jason went in to let them know I wouldn't be doing overheads. I pulled it together and after talking to Scott (Sliver) and Jason went inside to just listen to the worship music. I was okay for a few songs, but then the tears started again and we had to leave. Jason and I had a long talk out in the parking lot where I let him know it wasn't him, it was just a lot of stuff from my past coming back to haunt me.

And he understood. He listened and offered comfort and I felt so much better.

Here's the thing. Jason had the ring that weekend. He was ready to propose. He had shown the ring to a few people on the worship team. Of course my burrito-flinging and crying had made him reconsider any proposal that weekend. I kinda wonder what those worship team people were thinking when I left crying...

It really wasn't the right weekend anyway. We still had unanswered questions and I wasn't 100% sure he was the right one.

Funny the difference 48 hours makes. (To be continued...)

Our story - part 4

In case you're just joining us, here's links to the previous blogs:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

A quick recap: Jason and I met online back in May 2007. We met in person in Chillicothe, and then Jason came to visit me Memorial Day weekend. Things were clicking, there were definite sparks, but we were two different people.

Jason was so happy to get the relationship going, but I was jaded, cynical, doubtful and distrustful. I knew I had to let go of this if things would ever work out. So needless to say, things were a bit bumpy at first. A good analogy of our relationship - both of us are on the same rollercoaster and it has a REALLY big first hill. (This would be falling in love - really really in love.) Jason was all for it, ready to go plunging 100 mph down that hill with his hands wildly waving above him yelling "WHEEEEEEE" the whole time. Me? I was the one freaking out, wanting to get OFF the ride, shrinking as far down as possible and closing my eyes praying to God it wouldn't be as bad as I thought it was going to be.

How's that for a mental picture? :)

So with that as a background, let's get on with the first weekend I drove down to Olive Hill, Kentucky to visit Jason. It was a week after he visited me and he arranged for me to stay with his parents. I was so nervous about staying with his mom and dad. We're not just talking about meeting his parents, but staying in their house - walking around in pajamas in the morning, getting ready in their bathroom, eating their food. There really was no alternative, it's not like there's a hotel to stay at in Olive Hill.

I got off work early and headed east to Kentucky. (For those in Ohio, that's S.R. 35, not I-75.) It was a looong drive and it was almost dark by the time I got there. Jason met me at the Dairy Queen in town, where I got a huge hug from him, and then I followed him to his parents' house. His parents were very welcoming and low-key people. (Well, of course, it's where Jason gets it from.) Jason stayed over and slept on the couch and I was in the guest room. The next morning Gayle made eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy. How do I remember this so well? Because we've had it almost every Saturday morning in Olive Hill since then. (Yummy!)

Jason showed me around his town, where he grew up, where he went to church, and where he went to school. We went out to his cabin and hung out there the rest of the day. Jason made dinner on the grill and we sat in the hammock and just enjoyed the cool summer evening. We headed back to his parents' house and sat in the guest room watching TV and talking.
The next morning we went to his Baptist church where I got to meet his Sunday School class - he taught the High School class. They loved to tease him and having me there just gave them more to harass him about. (Not that week, but a few later, one girl asked what I was doing there if I was from Dayton. She hadn't quite caught on that Jason and I were dating. LOL! I won't mention who she was since she's probably reading this on facebook...) ;)

Being back in a traditional Baptist church brought back a lot of memories. The hymns, the choir, the invitation at the end. It really felt like I was back at home. My favorite part about the Baptist church is their support of missionaries. If it wasn't for my Baptist church where I grew up, I don't think I'd be so passionate about the people in Honduras. I probably wouldn't have ever gone on a mission trip.

After lunch at his parents' house, Jason took me to Carter Caves. We went through the Saltpetre (not a typo) Cave which is underground. I'm so glad we went at that time because it's now closed due to a disease that kills bats. There are other caves to go through though, thankfully. If you'd like to see Carter Caves, you'll have to go see it yourself - it's amazing. I'll show you a picture of Jason and me while we waited for the tour to start.
So we get back to Jason's parents' house, Gayle had made a stack cake for me to take to work the next day. I was so impressed that she would do something like that for me. We wrapped it up and gingerly put the cake on the back seat of my car. Jason and I had a discussion about whether or not to put it on the floor. I won because the floor was dirty, so it was going on the seat. I had to get on the road, so I said goodbye to my gracious hosts and followed Jason out to the highway. Another huge hug and I was on my way home.

And then somewhere just past the Ohio state line, Bambi hit. Bambi hit my car. I've never hit a deer before and I had no idea what to do. My first thought was to drive up a little further because I couldn't bear the thought of stopping next to a dead or severely injured deer. Seriously. My clear thinking had been replaced with scattered thoughts.

First I called Jason and told him I hit a deer. He asked if I was okay and I said yes, but the cake didn't make it - it wasn't on the seat anymore. And before Jason could get any further information, I told him a state trooper had pulled up behind me so I had to go. (We laugh about this now, but I was REALLY upset about the cake.) So I get out of the car and he tells me that he was coming the other way and almost hit the deer and then saw it jump in front of my car. So he turned around and came to check on me. My car was hissing so we assumed it was the radiator and it was best that I didn't drive the car any further.

I called Jason again and reassured him I was alright. I checked on the cake and it was laying on the floor - plate down. Maybe it would be okay. (I've learned my lesson. Cakes go on the FLOOR.) Jason said he'd be right there and would pick me up in Lucasville, which was just a few miles down the road.

I got in the state trooper's car and called my insurance company while the trooper called for a tow truck. After the calls were made, we chatted about church and he said it was good to meet a sister in Christ. That really helped me get through the next hour.

When the tow truck driver showed up, the trooper reassured me that he was a good guy (although a rough-looking chain smoker). He took me and my car to the Speedway in town to wait on Jason. I went inside to get something to drink and a few minutes later the tow truck driver came in and suggested I get in the truck. I guess a homeless man was going around harassing people. I was glad for the help, but it was really unnerving. Where was Jason?

And then my knight in shining armor arrived to pick me up. I almost started crying at the sight of him. I was definitely crying later in the safety of his car - from exhaustion, frustration, and relief. We didn't get to my house until after midnight, so I insisted that he stay over and head back in the morning. He wasn't sure about staying over, but since we hadn't kissed yet, I told him it was okay, we were still in the "friends" stage. Gotta tell you though that a huge kiss would have been in order that night! And even if I was still saying we were just getting to know each other, I was definitely falling in love with him! Maybe that first hill on the roller coaster wasn't going to be too bad after all.

By the way, the cake did make it to work with me the next day. It was a little flat on one side and wasn't quite centered on the plate. But everyone said it tasted great - even if it did hit a deer. :)

Our story - part 3

This will be short, I hope. I should be in bed, but I'm waiting for the last load of laundry to get done so I can hang up my pants to dry. Hoping to be able to wear them tomorrow. What? You don't care about what I'm wearing tomorrow? Fine, I'll get on to that first week after we met.

The first weekend Jason came to Dayton was Memorial Day weekend. He had a family reunion on Sunday and it upset me a bit that he'd rather be in Dayton with a girl he barely knew than at a family event. He assured me it was an annual thing at his Mamaw's house and he's always there. They won't miss him this year. But then he found out two of his favorite cousins from Ohio were going to be there, so he apologized that he'd have to cut the weekend short. This made me feel better about his priorities. So he was just in town Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning he headed back to Olive Hill.

Friday night my small group (Bible study) had a cook out, so the first few hours he was here, he was meeting 7 of my friends. :) They all loved him. The next day we went to Ken & Melissa's house - this would be the most difficult of tests - the best friends AND children test. He passed both of these. Jason jumped in and helped Melissa in the kitchen, and then Ken kidnapped him and they went driving around to see some of the historical places around Kettering. Later Eme was sitting with Jason and I and I asked if he was a redneck or a hill billy. She looked at him really good and then looked at me and said "he's a PINK neck!" So funny!!

Sunday morning he came to church with me and got to experience the Vineyard. I was curious if he'd be okay with that kind of church and he loved it. We went to lunch at the Greene and then he had to head home.

But before he left I gave him two pictures of me - a Glamour Shots picture and a really hideous funny picture of me. He loved them both. He took great pride in showing people the pictures of his new girlfriend. He loved show them the ugly one first and wait for their reaction. Seriously! (If you're brave you can click on the picture and see the full sized one.)

So one week after our official meeting things were going very well. He sent me flowers at work and therefore announced to everyone there that I had a boyfriend - and he REALLY liked me. I didn't mind. I was enjoying finally dating again. And it was what I had envisioned a good dating relationship to be - HE was pursuing me. (Because I'm fabulous and I'm worth it! That's an inside joke with Jason and me.) ;)

Next time I'll post about my first weekend in Kentucky. I promise it's a lot more eventful and ended with Jason rescuing me in Lucasville.

Our story - part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

So on May 20, 2007 I set out in my little blue Vibe to meet this amazing guy from Kentucky. He lived in Eastern Kentucky, over 3 hours away, so we agreed to meet in Chillicothe for a late lunch after church on Sunday. We decided to meet at a BBQ place near the river but then I got a call from him - the restaurant was closed on Sundays. So I met him at the BBQ place anyway and I remember seeing him walking towards me with a huge grin on his face. Yay!! Better looking than the pictures in his profile. We decided to go to a Bob Evans that he passed and offered to drive. I normally would never get in the car of a guy I just met but I felt like I could trust him. (Girls, I really don't recommend doing this!) I get in his car and there was a little coleus plant sitting on the floor. He said he wanted to get me flowers but he didn't think they'd last long enough for me to get them home. Aaaawwwww!!!

We talked for awhile at Bob Evans, just hanging out chatting - favorite movies, tv shoes, music, that sort of thing. He suggested we go walk around a park nearby and we drove over there. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the perfect temperature. We sat in one location and then walked around some and sat in another location. At some point we just started holding hands and I didn't really realize it until he asked if I was okay with holding his hand.

So while we were sitting in the second park bench Jason looks at me and says "I'd like to declare my intentions to pursue you." Wow. Really? Like no more guessing if a guy likes me or not? I said "please do." :) I think that was when I started really falling for this guy. I have bugged him about this to no end, asking him if that was a line from a movie, or if one of his girl friends suggested he say this. No, he just knew exactly what to say right when I needed to say it.

As we were sitting there the clouds started to get dark so we had a decision to make - end the date or find dinner? Yes, we had been talking for several hours at the park. I wasn't ready for the day to end so I agreed to dinner. We headed to Applebees (near the Bob Evans where we ate lunch) and sat there for a couple more hours just talking. When we needed to leave (our waitress was giving us dirty looks) we couldn't decide where else to go. It was a Sunday night and the malls were closed, so we ended up back at his car at the BBQ restaurant.

It was getting late and I needed to get some water for my coleus plant but I couldn't seem to get out of his car and go home. While we were sitting there delaying our goodbye we noticed that the house next to the restaurant had a lot of people on the porch and elsewhere outside. His car looked like a police car (a Crown Victoria) and they had pointed at us a few times. I thought they were waiting for us to start making out or something (we didn't) but he pointed out that maybe they thought we were the cops. Slowly the all went in until no one was left outside. A car pulled up and someone got out and knocked on the door. The person who came to the door pointed at us and they both looked at us. The guy went back to the car and it pulled away. Hello!!

So we consider that day to be our first two dates (lunch and dinner) and our first stake-out. Ha! :) As I drove home that evening I was wondering if this guy was too good to be true. Really. Most guys who start off seeming to be perfect are usually just big smoozes who will say whatever you want to hear. I had been let down by those types a few times and didn't want it to happen again. Was he just another "pleaser" type? He was coming to Dayton to visit me the following weekend, Memorial Day weekend. So I hoped to see a little more of who this guy really was.

A few things from our first date that really impressed me - he opened all my doors for me, including the car door which he also shut for me, he insisted on paying for both meals, and he followed me to the gas station after our date to make sure I got back on the highway alright. I remember thinking that we had the same sense of humor and that I had the best time just goofing around with him. I was really looking forward to seeing him again, but not looking forward to missing him.

I wanted to copy & paste a few bits and pieces from emails I saved after that first date. I thought you'd enjoy this...

Really really enjoyed hanging out with J yesterday. It was so comfortable hanging out with him. No red flags at all, didn't seem the type to be over-anxious to get into a relationship (he didn't pee on my foot).

Great smile, great laugh, and so funny and so CUTE.

And he's just a down-to-earth nice guy. I'm dating someone. I love that. I haven't really DATED someone since last July.

There's a three house distance between us, but we've agreed to make sure we see each other at least once a week. He's said he'd move here if it came to that because he can't see a woman being happy in his little tiny town.

Gotta love that last one! :)

Well, that's it for now. I found more emails from his first weekend in Dayton - what a learning experience!! I'll be reviewing those to prepare for my next blog - and laughing. First impressions are kinda funny sometimes. :)

Our story - part 1

I've been neglecting my blog for the last few months and I apologize. There's just so much going on that I've had a difficult time knowing what to say or where to start. Things are starting to come together now, so I thought I'd start at the beginning which will better explain what's going on now.

This is going to be a long story so instead of boring you to death, I'm going to chop it up into bits and pieces. This is more how I think anyway. Call it ADD blogging if you'd like. :)

In Spring of 2007 I had been single for over a year without anyone even asking me out in the previous year. There had been several guys whom I had met online, but the chemistry just wasn't there. I asked one guy if we were dating and he said he didn't know. I told him I'd make it easy on him, we weren't. My one requirement was that the guy had to call me up, talk to me, and then ask me to go do something. When you've done this a couple of times, it's called "dating." The men I was talking seemed to prefer online interaction. I had enough online friends, I wanted MORE.

Around that time I was involved in a singles Bible study. One Sunday morning only three of us showed up, the teacher, another woman and me. So we decided to postpone the lesson and share what was going on in our lives and pray about decisions we were trying to make. The other woman was considering moving back to Columbus, which she eventually did. I was considering opening up my search criteria on yahoo personals. I wasn't meeting men through church or friends, and I think I had chatted with every single online guy in Dayton that met what I was looking for.

I was thinking about changing the search radius to 500 miles on my internet dating site. What this means is that yahoo personals would take all the things I was looking for in a man and look in cities and states outside of my area. I knew this meant that I may have to move out of Dayton, or even out of Ohio, but I was willing to consider it if it meant finding real love.

After we prayed I felt like I had gotten the green light to look outside of Dayton. If I had to move, I trusted God that it would be taken care of. That afternoon I went home and changed my search from 50 miles to 500 miles. I hit "search" and had hundreds of results. I decided to sit back and see if any fish would bite (now that I was willing to move to where they were).

A few days later yahoo personals emailed me my top matches. The number one match was a guy from Grayson, Kentucky. The write up on his profile was nice - close to his family and friends, taught Sunday School, and had a few hobbies - but what I noticed was his smile and the laughter in his brown eyes. I actually sat there smiling back at him. Oh, I liked this one.

So how a girl does this online dating thing, if she doesn't want to make the first move, she views the guy's profile. He can tell that she viewed his profile and if her picture is appealing, he'll view hers. And sometimes this goes back and forth a few times and then the guy gets the guts to send her a smile/wink/whatever and if she smiles/winks/whatevers back, then he sends a message.

So I viewed this Grayson guy's profile and I waited. Nothing. A week later I get another email from yahoo personals and he's still number one. I viewed his profile again and waited. Still nothing. I viewed his profile a couple more times and still nothing. I was about to give up but decided to change my picture to something a little more flirtatious. This was my last ditch effort to get this guy's attention. If he never saw my profile, he'd never know how fabulous I was and how much he was missing out. So I viewed his profile one last time and waited.

A couple days later I got a message from him. Yay! Finally! Yes, it was the flirty picture that finally got his attention. He explained that he wasn't really interested in dating someone 3 hours away but after reading my profile, he wanted to know more.

After exchanging a few messages we talked on the phone. He had the cutest southern accent, which sometimes was a little difficult to understand. And as he listened, he kept saying "right" but it sounded like "wrought." We made plans to meet the following Sunday in Chillicothe at a Barbecue restaurant we found on the internet. I let my friends know where I was going and asked them to text me 2 hours into the meeting to give me a reason to get out of it if I needed to.

I put on my favorite denim skirt and a pink top and started driving 75 minutes to meet the man who would be my husband less than a year later. :)

Good stopping point, don't you think? I'll pick this up later. Check back in a couple of days and hopefully I'll have part 2 done.

Couch Potato to 5k

Couch potato = me
5k = Air Force 5k on September 18th

I started this crazy running about 6 weeks ago. I had quite a few friends who had started running and it motivated me to at least give it a try. I used to run during gym in High School and I knew that I might not be fast, but I had endurance to run for half an hour or more. Could I still do it? I figured I might as well give it a try. It's summer and it's free (once you buy a good pair of running shoes.)

Melissa told me about podrunner.com which does interval training that goes along with the Couch Potato to 5k program. Basically, the 1st week you run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds and continue alternating between running and walking for about half an hour. The 2nd week you run for 90 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes, run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes... you get the point. The podrunner.com site has a podcast that you download to your ipod or mp3 player. It plays upbeat music and has a tone when you go back and forth between walking & running. Each week there's a different podcast to download with different music.

So I went to Up and Running and had my feet measured. They check to see how much your arch changes between resting and standing and this lets them know the style of shoe you need. So they brought out three different pair of shoes and had me walk around in them. I decided on a silver, white, and pink pair of New Balance running shoes.


I then downloaded the first week of podrunner and headed out to run around the neighborhood for the first time. I gotta tell you, after the 8th time of running for a minute, I thought I was going to die. Could I really do this?

The next time I ran, Melissa and I ran together and she goofed around and kept things fun. When we'd hear the tone to start running we'd both want to groan but she encouraged me to say "woo hoo!" instead. It got to be a joke and we'd yell "woo hoo!" when we were so tired and we'd hear the tone for the last time.

We ran around a trail/track around a park near my house. We ran around Lincoln Park and the neighborhood next door. We ran outside near Trent Arena, we ran inside Trent Arena. We ran in the neighborhood near Melissa's house, but that first hill was a doozy!! And we ran at the Kettering Rec Center. We're not sure how far we ran, but we knew how long we were running. The intervals were always about 28 minutes long and we'd keep going no matter how tired we got. The great part was that we could see progress. Each week we had to run longer, but we did it!

Somewhere around the 3rd week when we were running 3 minutes at a time, Melissa and I decided to see how long we could run. So on the last interval of running, we decided to just keep going. We lasted about 5-6 minutes and proved to ourselves that this was definitely something we could do. I have no idea how long I ran that evening, but it felt GREAT. Who knew that I could run?

Melissa and the kiddos have left for Idaho, as they do every year, and will be back in August. This means I have 5-6 weeks of running by myself. So far I've stayed on track and stayed motivated. Though I think Melissa pushed me to run harder than I do when I run alone.

Tonight I started week 5 of the podcast. Five minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of walking, and another 5 minutes of running. With warm up and cool down, this was about 2 miles. It wore me out, but I finished.

The idea of doing a 5k in 2 months seems easy enough. That's just another mile than I'm doing now and I can always walk part of it. But I don't want to walk it, I want to RUN the 5k. This is my goal. I also want to run the 3.1 miles in less than 35 minutes. No idea if I can do that, but I want to. It's another goal that I'm pushing myself towards, and I've been told it's doable if I keep on training like I have.

So I've been running 3 times a week since the 3rd week (only twice a week the first two weeks), which is much more regular exercise than I've ever done in my life. Have I lost weight? No. Am I discouraged? No. The point isn't to lose weight, the point is to run, and run longer each week. This I am doing, and I've impressed myself week after week. Gotta be honest though, I'm really hoping that the weight starts coming off at some point. This would definitely help my knees and increase my time. But I'll be patient, it'll happen. Form follows function. (Though I will mention that from the waist down everything is getting pretty toned and less jiggly. Yay!!)

Not sure why it's taken me so long to blog about running. I guess I didn't want to make a big deal about it. It's a funny thing, but when I mention to people that I've started running, usually they respond by telling me why they can't run. That's fine, don't run. But please don't give me excuses because my brain stores these away for the days when I don't feel like running. My knees hurt the day after I run (but not the days I run, or I don't run). My lungs aren't at 100% and they never will be, but I feel a need to push them as hard as possible anyway. And I keep wondering if I should up my beta-blocker again. (Lowered it last year when we started trying to get pregnant.) Am I healthy enough to run? Or have I been using all these as excuses to not do this before?

And the words keep going through my head "just do it, just do it, just do it." So I just do it. And so far the knees, the lungs, the heart, and the will power have held up just fine.

The emotional roller coaster of a weekend!

(Click here for pictures of the fireworks and the parade.)

Our plans for the weekend:

Friday - leave Dayton around 3pm, get in to Olive Hill, KY (Jason's hometown) by 6pm. Dinner at his parent's house, then go running.

Saturday - pass out popsicles at Olive Hill's 4th of July celebration with Crossroads church, mow grass at the cabin, watch fireworks that evening.

Sunday - breakfast at the church, service at Crossroads, lunch at Jason's parent's, and then lazy afternoon before heading home.

What actually happened:

Friday - leave Dayton around 3pm, stop by church (Crossroads) to pick up t-shirts to wear for Olive Hill parade, see pastor's "new" office, socialize, meet a few people, and get to Jason's parent's house by almost 7pm. Eat a quick dinner and then go running at the track at West Carter High School. I love that track. Did more running than I thought I ever could, but finished! Thank God for cooler weather.

That evening we headed to the field near Jason's mamaw's house (and his aunts' and cousins' houses) to watch his cousins and their friends set off fireworks. One of the big differences between Ohio and Kentucky - you can set off all the fireworks you want in Kentucky. (For the KY people reading this, it's illegal in Ohio, even if you can buy them there.) It was the more amazing than I had imagined. Best hour and a half of fireworks I've seen in a long time. Was chilly but had so much fun! :)

Saturday - slept in late (did I really need 9 hours of sleep???) and had traditional Saturday breakfast with Jason's parents. Biscuits, gravy, sausage, eggs, and apple butter. Yummers!! Then headed to get on the Crossroads trailer for the parade. People on the trailer got the popsicles out of the coolers for us and handed bunches of them to us while we ran around passing them out. Other groups must have been handing them out also because about half the kids already had popsicles. So I'd make eye contact with an adult, smile and hand them a popsicle. I usually got a smile out of them. This is what I live for.

Another difference between Ohio and Kentucky - in Kentucky they're still throwing candy to the kids. In Ohio we pass out candy and other items, you're not allowed to throw anything anymore. Not sure if it was because kids were getting hit by the candy and hurt, or too many kids were running out in front of vehicles and getting hit. I can't remember the last time I saw people throwing out candy (and popsicles) for the kiddos. One boy looked at me and said "you're HANDING this to me???" It took me a moment to understand what he was implying.

Afterwards we debated on helping Crossroads help clean up the parade site or heading to the cabin to get some work done. We checked the time and the clouds and decided we needed to get to the cabin to mow the grass. However, by the time we got to the cabin it had been raining for awhile. However, Jason was still determined to get the grass mowed. As Jason was hefting the mower out of the car I realized the porch swing was missing. We went into the cabin and couldn't believe it - most of the furniture was missing too!

Ever feel like someone has punched you in the gut and knocked all the wind out of you? I went through about 100 different emotions in less than an hour. The strongest one was to leave Olive Hill and never come back. I got ahold of myself and calmed down and reasoned that most of what was taken would have been given away anyway. It was just the fact that someone had come to the cabin and taken whatever they wanted for the THIRD time. So we called the police.

The kitchen table was missing along with the 4 chairs. The two rugs downstairs were missing and a cabinet was also missing. More amazing was that they took the bed, except that the box springs wouldn't fit down the stairs. (We already knew this.) They busted up quite a bit of the wood around the stairs trying to get it all downstairs. I have a kitchen table and an antique dining room table, along with two queen size beds, so I'm doing okay with those things taken. However I had plans for the cabinet, and the porch swing... that was the best part about hanging outside of the cabin. It was an Amish-made swing that Jason had bought for his mamaw's house. They later moved it to his cabin.

Meanwhile Jason walked back out to the car to put the mower away (grass did not get mowed) and realized our front tire was flat - again. We had it repaired last week but obviously it didn't hold. So Jason changed the flat on the gravel driveway in the rain. Yeah, it doesn't get much better than that.

Four hours after we called the police, the state highway showed up. The county dispatched someone but after waiting 2 1/2 hours we found out that he had been dispatched somewhere else instead. So Jason said to cancel the call and we went home. The county called the state, which dispatched someone and he called Jason when he got there, about the time we were getting into bed. So Jason went back out to the cabin and filed a report with the state police. I found this frustrating and unbelievable but Jason informed me that this is how things are handled out there. Another difference between Dayton and Olive Hill.

While driving back to Jason's parent's house we saw some of the Olive Hill fireworks but due to the rain and our soggy moods, we just drove slowly and watched what we could from the car. I was so glad we had the family fireworks the night before. This was our third rained-out Fourth of July fireworks. Maybe next year I guess.

Sunday - I knew the one thing that would make me fall back in love with Olive Hill was going to church at Crossroads. So we got up early to have breakfast there and socialize for awhile before church. I've been having so much fun getting to know the people at the church there. The pastor preached about addictions and freedom and shared his testimony about his own addictions. A transparent, authentic pastor is a very good thing. It makes you feel like you're sitting in a safe place where you can be who you really are. We're starting to get more involved with the church and by the time we left I had us signed up for Vacation Bible School in two weekends. :)

Lunch was yummy as usual and afterwards Jason headed out to have the tire repaired or replaced. We ended up having all four tires replaced, because they all were at risk for going flat. Then Jason and I headed to the cabin to put up a pole so the gate at the driveway could be chained shut. I picked up a few more rocks for my rock garden and then we headed back to the house. Gayle (Jason's mom) and I then went through my yard sale items and got things priced. I tried to fix a few items and somehow ended up getting super glue on a few of my fingers. Thankfully nothing stuck together!

We finally headed home around 6pm. The grass will have to be mowed next time we're out there. Thankfully it's very shaded and doesn't grow too much. However I'm afraid the weeds will take over the grass by the time we get out there again. Ah well, it's a cabin, weeds can be mowed too.

Jason and I had a bet that I wouldn't get into bed until after midnight. I said before midnight, he said if I was blogging it wouldn't be until after midnight. It's now 11:45 and I wanted to post some pictures from our weekend. I'm just going to lump them into one site and post this instead. (And hopefully still win the bet.) Goodnight!!

(Click here for pictures of the family fireworks and the Crossroads people at the parade.)

Cinderella goes to the ball!

I met Jenni (Walker) Irven back in 2000 through a friend from church, Cherry Fullam. When people ask how we met we could say the Vineyard (our church), Mary Kay (she was a customer and then a recruit), but really it was our love of karaoke. Over the past 9 years Jenni and I have been karaoke buddies and have way too much dirt on each other to ever not be friends. (I can hear her laughing at the comment now.) We've had some great adventures: Colin Hay and Journey at the Fraze, Christmas parties with random karaoke afterwards, Brighton shopping (and getting so lost), Turandot with karaoke with the principals afterwards - you get the point. Our greatest adventure so far would have to be last night, the Art Ball.

Several weeks ago I got an email from Jenni with the title "hee-hee!" and a simple question, "do you have plans for June 13?" Jenni won two tickets to the Art Ball at the Dayton Art Institute from her work, Ball Aerospace. Her husband isn't the tux-wearing type, so she asked me to go as her date. Elated, I said yes. ("YES!!!!") And the planning started.


We decided to wear previous bridesmaids dresses to the ball. Jenni wore the dress from her sister's wedding and I wore the bridesmaids dress from my wedding, Melissa's dress. (It fit perfectly, even the length, which I'm still in awe about.) Jenni got ready at my house and Jason got his Crown Victoria looking great and drove us to the Dayton Art Institute.

I decided not to bring my camera because (1) it wouldn't fit in my purse, (2) Jenni was the only other person I knew, and (3) if I really wanted a picture, I could use my cell phone. Therefore, most of these pictures are stolen from the internet or taken with my cell phone. For many more pictures of the evening, taken by professionals, see the daytondailynews.com photos. Jenni are I are in photo 95 of 111.

The party started at 7:00 pm with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. We arrived a few minutes before 7 and got our table assignment and a $1 poker chip. We walked into the main entrance and headed upstairs where we were handed champagne. We then walked into the atrium where the casino was set up. The first hors d'oeuvre we tried was rare tuna on a rice cracker with spicy tomato jam and micro cilantro. I was so caught up in the moment that I actually ate it, and it was pretty good! (Jason will now expect me to try a little more when we get sushi.)


We went into the great room and tried all the other hors d'oeuvers and loved all of them. I have to list these so you get the idea of with savory ride we gave our tongues:

• Golden crostini with sweet pea puree, goat cheese, prosciutto chip and candied lemon zest. (Loved this but the goat cheese gets stuck in your teeth.)
• Tuscan style mushrooms. (I'm not a mushroom person, but had to have a few of these.)
• Mini chicken wellingtons with pink peppercorn aioli. (Also very yummy!!)
• Smoked mozzarella phyllo cups with truffle-honey and figs. (One of our favorites!)
• Seared duck breast rolls with goat cheese, mango and basil. (Pretty good, but difficult to eat.)
  
• Watermelon, bucheron goat cheese, balsamic & fleur de sel. (Needed more flavor.)
• Apple biscotti, machego (an olive), cider almond butter and rosemary candy. (Definitely our favorite.)
  

Jenni's coworkers from Ball found us in the great room and we had a wonderful time talking about the food, the dresses, the bow ties, and Dayton politics. (I literally ran into former mayor Mike Turner.)

We also decided to try a couple of wines and some martinis. I can't remember the wines and I couldn't find a list anywhere. Jenni got a red wine and I got a white and after trying each other's, we switched. Jenni tried a martini called Drunken Butterfly, and I got a Purple Haze. Jenni's was yummy, mine was... mine was passed around so everyone could taste how much vodka and lime was in it. (It was supposed to be pomegranate, ginger and lime.) It wasn't finished.

It was a bit surreal to be standing in this art museum that was normally very quiet, surrounded by hundreds of people eating and drinking. The noise was unbelievable, but it's not as though they put up anything to absorb sound in a museum. The other thing I noticed is that everyone was using their fingers to get food and no one seemed to mind. One very elegant older couple walked by with their plates loaded with food - not just one of everything, but several of everything. I wondered if they realized there would be a full dinner later. Probably just getting their $300 worth of the experience.

Around 8:20 we got the call to dinner which was a trumpeter playing Revelry, which makes you want to run to your table. I found this very amusing. The salads waiting for us on the tables was mixed mesclun greens & hearts of romaine with red flame & green grapes, crumbled pecorino romano, snipped Italian parsley, crushed hazelnuts and white balsamic vinaigrette. Yes, as tasty as it sounds. For dinner we had garlic & pepper seasoned pan seared bistro fillet with Cabernet reduction atop a crispy semolina potato cake and sauteed shrimp, an asparagus bundle with a zucchini ribbon with a citrus ginger emulsion garnished with mustard oil. Holy stinkin' cow, what a delicious meal!

When Jenni and I sat down at the table, we had decided we didn't want to look at dead deer & pheasant the whole time (Still Life with Game in a Landscape by Jean-Baptiste Oudry), so we sat on the other side of the table to look at other oil paintings. (Unfortunately I'm not remembering the artists or the works of art we were looking at, but there was the usual bits of nudity that you normally see with eighteenth century European art.)

For dessert we went back out into the Great Hall. Our choices were:

• Mini cupcakes topped with butterflies
• Colorful layered almond cake with grand marnier ganache
• Almond macaroons in a variety of spring colors
• Triangle cut chocolate shortbread
• White and milk chocolate shells with assorted mousse
• Key lime tartlets
• Chocolate decadence bites
• Cheesecake lollipops
• Pretzel rods dipped in chocolate
• Toad Hollow Risque dessert wine

I tried a chocolate mini cupcake, the layered almond cake, key lime tartlet, cheesecake lollipop, and the dessert wine. All was incredibly yummy, however the fondant butterfly on the cupcake wasn't so great.

After desserts we headed downstairs to see the Inspirational Artwork, Shimmering Madness by artist Sandy Skoglund.

This is a large piece of 3-D work that is displayed in a corner. When you see this you'll notice a few things. The ladies and the floor are made of jelly beans. The walls behind them are butterflies that flutter every once in awhile. (You stand there waiting for the fluttering to begin just to hear the new people exclaim "oh!") The theme of the night was jelly beans and butterflies, which were part of all the decorations. The other thing you notice is that their heads are on backwards. Are they moms with eyes in the back of their heads? Is this a statement about hindsight? Or maybe the artist just likes surreal art that makes you stand in front of her art work in awe. We had a wonderful time discussing this last night - which is really the point of art.

While we were downstairs waiting for part of the group an older gentleman walked past me and stopped and told me I had a beautiful dress on. Of course I smiled and thanked him. That had to be one of the highlights of the evening!

We then went as a group to get our professional pictures taken. I teased Jenni that it was a good thing that her date was tall - I fit in well in the back row between all the wool tuxedos. After this we headed back upstairs to play our $1 chips. I love the roulette wheel, but they had a modified version of this that looked more like something you'd play at a fair. Jenni and I went for the big bucks and lost quickly. Well, we weren't there to gamble so we headed off to find the dancing.

In the lower level there was jazz music playing with a cigar and martini bar. Upstairs Velvet Crush was playing in the court yard. By this time it was 11pm and the party was just getting started. Jenni and I danced the night away. We started underneath the tent, but this area was very crowded and hot, so we found another dance floor on the other side of the the grass, under the stars with a lot more room. There was a very large fountain that blocked our view of the band, but the music was still very loud. Our favorite part was dancing to "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers (one of my favorite karaoke songs) and singing at the top of our lungs. We danced, sang, and laughed until 1:00 am when the band stopped playing.


We retrieved our shoes and purses from the base of the fountain and decided to walk out to the parking lot barefoot. Amazingly, they let us walk through the music without shoes on. Of course you wouldn't notice this with our long dresses except that we were carrying our shoes. Jason was right there in front of the doors waiting for us. We walked past the very long line of those waiting at valet for their cars and climbed in our carriage and took off for home.

What an incredible evening. Poor Jason had to listen to Jenni and I relive all our favorite moments on the car ride home. I say poor Jason because I'm sure we were half deaf and probably talking much more loudly than what was necessary in the car. However, Jason was thoroughly thanked and he enjoyed our jelly bean favors and the Esther Price chocolates we received.

This blog has taken me hours to write and post links and photos and I know I'm still forgetting somethings. I just hope that my descriptions will put pictures in your mind that will replace the ones I didn't take. Please feel free to ask any questions if I may have left something out and you're curious. :)

Security - for a price

Wednesday, May 20th, I got home from work after Jason. As I pulled up behind the house I saw Jason walking around the back yard. I got out of the car and Jason came over and said "Cyndi" and the first thought I had was that he calls me "baby doll" or "hon," or something like that, but never "Cyndi." And then he said "we've been robbed" and my next thought was "by the cable company?" (Yes, seriously.) And then I realized he was listing the items that he could tell were missing: my Macbook (laptop), his ipod Touch (it's an iphone without the phone), and everything out of the jewelry box on my dresser. He was then saying how they went through all our drawers in the bedroom, but nothing else registered. It couldn't be, this couldn't happen. We have nothing, why would they break into OUR house?

And the worst news then came out of his mouth - two of our cats were missing, the two boys. They either ran outside when the robber left or the robber let them outside to keep them out of the way. (The police said this happens a lot.) They've never been outside for more than a few minutes and then I understood why Jason had been walking around the back yard. We started walking around yelling the boys' names. "Davey! Lenny!" And then we heard meowing coming from the side of the house - Lenny! He was shook up and only wanted to get inside. Jason carried him in the front door - we weren't allowed to go through the back door - this is where they came in. They had broken the back window and then let themselves in. Suprisingly there were only two pieces of glass on the floor, the rest of the window was still in tact.

I walked around outside for a moment and then followed Jason in the front door. The spot where my laptop sat was empty, the power cord and laptop bag was gone too, along with Jason's iTouch that was plugged into my laptop, charging. My heart sank, it was true. I noticed though, that they took all the DVDs and CDs out of the bag and threw them on the recliner. Weird. And then I noticed that my camera, which I got last summer, was still sitting on the couch. I looked and all our other electronics were where we left them this morning. All our DVDs and CDs were also there. Why us?

Then I walked into the bedroom. The scene made me want to start crying. All our drawers had been opened and rifled through, and all my little jewelry boxes laid open and empty on the dresser. I looked at my nightstand and all my prescription bottles were pulled out of the top drawer and lined up on top of the stand. They must have been looking for the good drugs, but I didn't have any. My large wood jewelry box that sat on top was almost completely empty with the drawer laying on the bed, dumped out. My brain stopped functioning at this point. What was missing just wasn't registering. I didn't even notice that Jason's pillow was laying near the end of the bed, without a pillow case on it.

Slowly what was missing came back to me. My gold high school class ring, my white gold college class ring, all my ruby rings - some are antiques, my grandma's 1924 high school class ring, my ruby and diamond necklace and earrings that Jason got me for Christmas, and a diamond pendant, among many other things. They also went through the drawer that had all my Brighton and Premier jewelry and took none of this, but took everything from a plastic container that held all my sterling silver jewelry. I believe they were going after everything that was gold, or at least looked like gold. They also took Jason's college ring and his watch his parents had given him.

Jason and I went outside to talk to the neighbors and look for Davey, the other missing cat. I talked to a couple of neighbors who were shocked to hear a robbery happened next door to them. They weren't home during the day and didn't hear or see anything unusual. They also hadn't seen Davey, but would keep an eye out for him. Jason went walking a couple houses down calling out Davey's name and suddenly he could hear him crying out. He finally found him under some bushes a couple houses down. He was meowing for Jason, but wouldn't come out from under the bushes, Jason had to get him out. The boys were traumatized but home safe.

The police came and took a short description of the jewelry. A crime scene investigator came and got one really good fingerprint off of one my Brighton tins. I called the insurance company and started to give them a list of everything that was stolen. We were told a detective would get with us within a week and that an insurance agent would contact us within 24 hours. (Neither of these things happened.) I called our friends that evening and told them I couldn't see us going camping with them that weekend - Memorial Day weekend. I just couldn't leave the cats and the house alone for 4 days.

The laptop was gone, along with all my tracking of bills and our checkbook. And all those pictures I've taken since last July are all gone. Thankfully the night before I had uploaded so many pictures to our shutterfly.com site. (http://jcparsons.shutterfly.com) I also burned several CD's of pictures for friends. I would be able to put all of these back onto my new laptop. I also had just uploaded everything to my ipod, which I was told I could also load back onto my new laptop. I just feel like God told me to do these things to prepare for what to come.

The next day, Jason and a friend, Pat Caudill, worked on getting the glass in the back door replaced. They found laminated glass that would basically require a jack-hammer to get through. We also called ADT and Brinks Security and decided to go with ADT. They had a much lower monthly rate ($25/month) but the installation and equipment will cost us an arm and a leg. However, we can pass this onto the next place we live, so we're not out anything. They also could install the system the next day, before we would leave for the camping trip. I was all for this and decided the camping trip was back on.

We got the security system set up and we were reassured that our three cats wouldn't set off the motion detectors. We learned all the ins and outs of the key pad and left shortly after this on our camping trip. We really felt like we'd get quite a few false alarms the first day or two, but there were none. Then Sunday night, while we were at a drive-in, ADT called - the back door alarm had gone off. They asked if we wanted the police to go to the house, and I said yes. They asked if we would meet them there, and I said no, we're 3 hours away. They said they'd call back and let us know if the police found anything. And then the movie started.

About 20 minutes later I got another call from ADT, this time it was a different operator telling me the motion detector alarm had gone off and should they call the police. Um, haven't the police already been called? They said they'd find out and call us back. Another 45 minutes later, still no call. I decided to call ADT back and they said that when the police don't find a door or window open, they don't call me back. (Then why do they say they will???)

We're not quite sure what happened, but when we got home everything was fine. We had a friend check on the house and cats a few hours before the alarms went off. We're thinking the door wasn't shut quite all the way and when a storm came through later, the wind or a pressure change caused the door to shut completely, causing the door to close all the way. The alarm goes off for 15 minutes so I'm thinking the cats were running around and caused the motion detectors to go off. We haven't had any further false alarms since then, so we're hoping this was a one-time event.

I finally got ahold of the insurance agent the following Tuesday. Within a matter of days we had the replacement money in our account. We were able to get our new laptop and itouch about a week after the items had been stolen. I ended up with a better Macbook than what I had before, and Jason got the new itouch which now has external speakers - so he doesn't have to use headphones anymore. Nothing will replace the jewelry, but I did go out and buy a new necklace to replace the three that were stolen.

The last part of this story is missing - the follow up by the police. I went to a pawn shop to start looking for my jewelry and they asked if I talked to the police. They said that the descriptions I give them about my jewelry goes into a computer. The pawn shops hold the jewelry for 15 days before they can put the jewelry out - this gives them time to check the jewelry against the descriptions in the computer. It's now 18 days after the robbery and I still haven't given a description of the jewelry to anyone. A detective stuck his business card the week after the robbery but after a week of trying to get ahold of him, I decided to call his supervisor. Two days later I finally got a phone call from both the supervisor and the detective. Of course I didn't get the message until Friday afternoon, so I'll have to call them back on Monday.

I called the jewelry store where I got the diamond pendant, Albert Jewelers, and found out that they buy estate jewelry. I told the woman about the stolen jewelry and she said that if she can get pictures and a description of the jewelry - she can give this to a man who comes to her store to buy the estate jewelry she buys. She said that he goes all over Dayton and if it's been bought at one of those stores, he would know it. So I have some hope there. Tomorrow night's project is to scan in pictures of my jewelry and add a description. (What do you think, should I post this on my blog?)

How are we doing? Good. We were angry at first, but we know God is in control and there's that verse that says "vengence is mine saith the Lord." (Romans 12:19) We've done a lot of soul searching and although there's still hurt in my heart about what happened, it's just stuff. We're safe, our kitties are safe, and our house is now very safe.

I've read a lot of scripture about God restoring and replacing what was taken, which makes me really want this to mean that our family jewelry will be returned. (But the chance is slim.) However, in the past two weeks we've received amazing things from people - gifts out of nowhere. Tickets to a Dragon's game, a friend wants me to go to the Art Ball at the Dayton Art Institute as her date (this will be another blog), Tommy Bahama items that Jason's had his eye on, and a friend, Mary Ellen Fogg, made me a pair of earrings to replace those that were stolen. This just amazes me.

Thank you to all of our friends for your amazing offers of help, generosity, gifts, support and prayers. We've felt God's arms around us through this entire ordeal because of this.

One last thing - if you have family jewelry that is not only precious to you, but to others in your family, HIDE this jewelry. Do not put it in a jewelry box on your dresser. You might as well put a big red flashing sign that says "STEAL ME" above your dresser. If it's jewelry you never wear, put it away in a fire box (that is hidden) or a safe. Also, throw out your old prescription drugs so they don't fall into the wrong hands.

(More updates coming. And that promise of the blog about Olive Hill and Jason's cabin isn't going to happen just yet. All those photos were stolen along with the laptop.)

The challenge of having a good day

This morning I headed off to work in a good mood. Jason was going in late today so he got me Tim Horton's and then dropped me off at work. I was determined that today was going to be a good day no matter what happened. Why of all days did I choose today???

First, I get in and I have several emails about not being able to run reports out of our system. At first I assumed they were doing something wrong, but I was also unable to run reports. This was a big problem because today is the day I run the weekly reports. So I emailed the appropriate people and waited. About an hour later I had start making phone calls to make sure this was getting someone's attention. I was trying not to get frustrated because, after all, today was going to be a good day.

Emails started to be exchanged and it looked like we were moving forward on getting the reports fixed. I got almost all the work done that was needed before reports could be run and I was actually feeling ahead of the game. Today was going to be a good day.

And then the lights went out. I looked and my computer was dead and the phone was dead too. Unbelievable! Our building had lost power. People started walking around asking what had happened, but none of us knew. Rumors started going around that all of downtown was without power. We were up on the 19th floor so we started watching stop lights at 3rd and Main - they were working. Then 2nd and Main, those were working. As were the stop lights on Ludlow. We soon realized that only the block at Courthouse Square was without power. (I work in the old MeadWestvaco building, now called Key Bank Tower.) This was about 11:15 am.

We started calling people to find out if they had heard any news about what was going on. (It didn't make the news.) We also waited to hear any news about an emergency. We didn't hear any explosions, didn't smell any smoke, and there were no emergency vehicles around the building. We started wondering if there really was a problem, how would they get the news to us?

Around 12:30 pm we still didn't have any news other than a transformer had blown in front of the building. So a few of us decided to head down the 21 flights of stairs and get some lunch. There was one major problem with this - there were no lights in the stairwells. We only had one flashlight on our floor and it was being used in the bathroom. I had a candle (tealight in a glass candle holder) that a coworker gave me years ago for Christmas, and I had kept it on my desk. The other ladies were trying to use their cell phones to light the stairs.

We saw three of the emergency lights on, but the rest were not. All we could think was that the batteries had run down and they had not been checked since. The 14th and 15th floors are double floors and there's also a shift in the stairs where you have to walk down a hallway. We couldn't tell where we were going between our candle and cell phones. We just went really really slow and took one flight at a time. The worst part was trying to find the first step for each flight. I was so afraid I'd put my foot out there and miss the step.

Finally around the 7th floor two maintenance men with flashlights who were checking floors helped us continue down the stairs. One in the front, one in the back. And then finally we were on the first floor, with wobbly knees and rubber legs. While we were congratulating ourselves we turned around and another group came down the last stairs. They were on the top floor - the 27th floor - and one of the ladies looked about 7 months pregnant. So no complaints from me!

Three of us decided to head to Uno's to sit for awhile, get some lunch, and wait for the electricity to come back on. While we were walking out the front doors we heard some of the DP&L workers say that the electricity should be back on in about an hour. Perfect! There was a short discussion about whether or not the 15 minutes spent going downstairs counted as part of lunch break or not. We all agreed it was not!

After lunch we started walking back to the building and noticed the lights were on in our building. We got in the building and a lot of people were standing around in the lobby. The elevators had just started working again and no one seemed in a hurry to head back up to work. I believe the main worry was getting stuck in the elevator if the electricity went out again. (If you remember, last September when most of Dayton lost electricity for days, it wasn't unusual for it go off right after it came back on.)

The three of us decided that we braved the stairs down, we could brave the elevator back up. And we were fine, of course. However, back on the 19th floor we realized that only the front side of the building had electricity. The phones and computers still did not have power. Another problem was that there was no running water, so no flush on the toilets. (And unfortunately I forgot to go at Uno's when I had the chance.)

A little after 2pm the power to the computers and phones came back on. This caused a lot of excitement until we realized that the servers had been turned off so still had no access to emails, the internet or our documents, and no phones. I kept calling my boss in Cleveland and giving him updates on what was going on. And finally, a little after 3pm, the server was back up and running and the office was functional again! (Except that most everyone had left to work from home.)

So I get into Outlook to find out what the status of the reports was... still not working. I had to start on the reports at 4:30 pm or they wouldn't get sent out by 5pm. The problem was that the software support people were telling us to reinstall the system, but our IS people didn't want to. There was quite a bit of back and forth and finally I got the email at 4:15 that the software had been reinstalled and I could run the reports. At 4:45 pm I finally had all the reports done.

Never did I have any idea this morning that it would take so long to get those ... reports done. And was it a good day? I'm trying really hard to see the good in that day. I ended up with a headache after going down all those steps (probably from straining my eyes and worrying the whole time). And I know my legs are going to hurt tomorrow. But on the good side, I got to do lunch with 2 friends who never go out for lunch and really talk. I'm sure there were other good things that will come out of that experience, but I'll think of those tomorrow.

For now I'm grateful for lights, running water, and being connected to the internet. I just find it hard to believe that twice now in 8 months we've lost electricity in situations that have never happened before. Will this continue to happen? I'm starting to think I should carry a flashlight with me. Just in case.

Bathroom Remodel

We decided to have a friend, Ralph Ludwig, remodel our bathroom while we were in Gatlinburg. When we got married a year ago, we registered at Home Depot to get the parts of our bathroom. We got just about everything, except the flooring. We used our gift cards to get the remainder of the items and stored everything in the basement.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our bathroom by gifting us gift cards and a toilet. (If you were at the wedding reception, you saw it on the gift table. I love Ken & Melissa!!)

And there it all sat in the basement, waiting for some final decisions to be made. In January we finally found a floor for the bathroom and ordered it. It came in a couple weeks before our trip, so the timing seemed perfect.

We came home last Saturday and after greeting the kitties, went to go look at our new bathroom... BEAUTIFUL!! It looked so much bigger!! And I loved that it finally looked more like a white bathroom than a light blue bathroom.

(Side note: With Ralph working on the bathroom all week, the kitties were kept company all week. And Ralph so graciously offered to check on the cat food and water each day, even when he wasn't working on the bathroom. The kitties are now attached to Ralph, especially Lenny, and they were happy we were home instead of sulking. I told Ralph we'd have to come up with another project next time we went away for a week.) :)

Work done:

• Ralph replaced the old wood window last year, and so began the upgrade.
• I scraped and painted the shower area in February. (Part of what I painted came down, so a bit of useless work.)
• We then decided the arch dividing shower from the rest of the bathroom needed to come down. There's no fan in the bathroom and having the vent in the glass block window wasn't helping. Ralph convinced us that taking down the arch would open up the bathroom and help the air to circulate in the shower area.
• Paint over the old light blue paint with white paint.
  
• Carpet and old tile below the carpet removed. New linoleum flooring put down.
  
• Old toilet removed and new toilet installed. (Forgot to get new toilet seat.)
• Old sink and cabinet removed. New sink and cabinet installed in same location (so we don't have to worry about replacing the tile behind the sink).
  
• Medicine cabinet removed and new mirror installed above sink.
• Lights installed above the mirror.
• Cabinet installed above the toilet.
• Electrical outlet installed next to light switch.
  

Work that still needs to be done in the bathroom:

• New toilet seat
• White light switch & plate
• New grate for floor vent
  
• Fix shower faucets
• Install new towel bars
• New shower rod for curtain (the kind that bends outward)
• Fix caulking between tiles on walls

And now what you've been waiting for... Before and After pictures!

Before...

and after.


Before...

and after.


Before...

and after.


Before...

and after.


Before...

and after.



Before...

and after.


Other views of the bathroom...