I did it!









So, just as I had predicted, my nephews and I did Sonic for dinner Friday night and then went to the bookstore!


On Saturday, we went to the local zoo with the intention of them having a good time and me facing one of my fears - snakes!

We were greeted at the reptile house with lovely ceramic turtles, snakes, etc. That kind of took the edge off going in for me. I do have to admit that even though there was thick glass between the snakes and me, I still had some uneasiness. Can you tell from my picture? I tried to step back and look at them and take in their beauty - the designs and texture really are beautiful. It was interesting to hear my nephews talk about snakes - the oldest was almost giddy!

I'm not sure what this accomplished, but I did it.

My younger nephew Brandon fed the giraffe - I think he enjoyed it - he asked if he could feed it some more. I had no idea a giraffe's tongue was so long!

To me, the highlight of the day, (besides spending it with my nephews) was going to the stringray exhibit. It was fun to have the stingrays gravitate toward us, running their bodies over our hands so we could feel. Cool!
We had more fun tootling around town - my nephews are 5 and 11 and then there's their Aunt Joan who's, well, older than them, singing at the top of their lungs to Bon Jovi - the 5 year old and I like the same two songs on their new CD - go figure!

Be on the lookout for my post on Wednesday - Nicki, my sister-in-law and I are going to give blood (need to make an appointment tomorrow!). Yikes, am I really going to do this? Yesssireeeee...

Make it a great week!

Ohhhh, I almost forgot! My day didn't end there - my friend and I went to a jazz thingie Saturday night - many restaurants from around town bring food, there's a silent auction and then there's the music, ohhh, and the train! This was the third time I've been to this event - the evening was beautiful - great weather, great food, great company. The event was held at a place that opened when I was in kindergarten - it's called Storyland complete with Mother Hubbard's shoe and a castle! For the last three years we wouldn't miss riding the train around the park - the fun part was that it was dark and we sang railroad songs as we rode around - I know when I'm with Jenny we'll ALWAYS have fun! There was a foreign exchange student from Brazil with us - I'm sure she was wondering about these crazy ladies! Oh, well!

Joan

Busy, busy, busy...

My life has been a whirlwind since I came back from Lauren's last weekend. Let's get caught up...

Let's see, last night - I had the most delightful long dinner with someone I went to high school with. I ran into her shopping last November and it took this long to get together. I lost her phone number and ran across it recently and just picked up the phone and called. Bonnie and I knew each other in high school - there were about 250 people in our graduating class so pretty much everybody knew everybody. We hit it off and chatted for 3 hours! We have a similar history and it was nice to compare notes and see where we've been, what we've done and talk about what we're going to do! She is very insightful, so I need to just kick back tonight and think about some things she said. AND, she's crafty too - she scrapbooks, so she invited me to her rec center where she lives so we can do some projects. She only lives a couple blocks away - why we haven't run in to each other more I don't know!

I am slowly facing my fears...my little nephews and I are heading to the zoo this weekend and I'm going into the Reptile House - I hear (not sure about this part!) they will actually let you touch them . On to my second fear - giving blood. My sister-in-law and I are getting together next week - moral support is good! I am very inspired by a co-worker. Patty has now had three brain surgeries in the last few months. We just got word this morning that she has a catheter through her chest applying antibiotics directly to the infection in her brain. My heart goes out to her family.

We are busily creating new products at work - things you'll see in a few months. I can't wait to share them with you - they are VERY exciting.

Not much crafting has been going on in my world, just a lot of sitting in front of the computer.

This weekend will be fun - I haven't spent much time with my nephews lately, so I'll get my fix - they'll spend Friday night with me (here's my guess as to what we'll do...Sonic for dinner and then to the bookstore where Aunt Joan will spend way too much money - I'm not complaining, really, I am more than happy to buy them books!) Saturday is the zoo in the morning before it gets too hot. Then, a trip to take them home and back in town to get ready for an awesome jazz concert at the park - this is the third year I've been to it - different restaurants bring in food, so it's a tasty treat too with auctions, etc - it's a fundraiser, so it's all perfect. Last year, the saxophonist brought my friend and me up to the stage area to dance - yikes! I don't do things like that...but facing those fears again - it was OK.

Oh, yes! I started a Hip Hop exercise class this week - I took a similar class last year and everyone in it could MOVE! This class was different - we were all about the same experience level so I didn't look so bad and I kept telling myself that we were all there for the same reason - to MOVE!

Details next week!

Joan