Words I'll Never Forget

At my aunt's wake last month, one of her friends (who I happen to know very well myself), came up to me and hugged me. While we hugged, she said something to me that made me cry. It wasn't just a cry, but one of those sobs that comes from deep within - the kind where you can feel your chest vibrate as you inhale. She said:

"She loved you so much. You were her Tracy."

Words I will never forget...

Stupid Spam!

I complain all of the time that no one reads this blog - it would be nice to have someone (aside from my wonderful father and loving husband) comment on something I've said. Maybe something that made them think, laugh, or even get angry (although I am just not a controversial person - at least not on this blog). Well, I got my wish. Unfortunately, my new "fan" is merely some stupid spam that leaves me bullsh** comments like, "Interesting information. Keep up your site." Of course you want me to keep up my site - just so you can send me more freakin' spam!!

Well, too bad. I had to change my blog so I can moderate comments. So, dad and hubby, if you do leave me any more comments, just know that I have the right to censor you :-)

How Weird Is This?

I was driving to a meeting in downtown Davenport this afternoon and was shocked (freaked out?) when I saw an elderly man wearing what I first thought were pajama pants walking down Locust Street. As I got closer, I realized they were not pajama pants, but were a sort of patchwork-style pair of pants. Not that this was so weird - hey, I have no problem with an unusual sense of style - but he also was wearing a t-shirt, colorful suspenders, some sort of a hat, and a giant red clown nose.

To make this story evening more peculiar was the fact that about 25 feet behind him was another elderly man dressed in a very similar outfit.

My husband thinks I was hallucinating, but I know what I saw...

Light The Night

I'm hosting a bake sale at work on Friday. Actually, I'm going to host one bake sale per week for the next three weeks. This week it's all about cookies - chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin. I'm selling them for $.50 a cookie.

All of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and to Team Mary Lou (in memory of my aunt who passed away on June 21, 2006 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) - my family has organized a team to participate in the Light The Night Walk.

I know that absolutely no one reads this blog, but if for some reason someone is out there lurking, please check out this link: http://www.active.com/donate/ltnDesMo1/1760_tmoore2406

A Good Memory

It's funny how a discussion on how bad the Cubs are this season sparked a memory I have from six years ago - a memory that has nothing to do with the Cubs:

It was August 2000 and I spent the day with my mom, dad, sister, and 6-week old niece. We traveled to Sawyer, Michigan to go blueberry picking. It was an annual trip - one of my father's co-workers had a summer home up there and invited the whole department (as well as family and friends) to pick blueberries once a year. After a long day of picking blueberries and having lunch in the hot summer sun, we headed home. Not a long drive, but long enough to make everyone sleepy. My brother-in-law was out of town (overnight), and my sister (a first-time mom) was a bit nervous about spending the night alone with her baby, so my mom offered to spend the night at her house. That left my dad and me to fend for ourselves...

After the long day, neither of us was interested in making dinner, so we decided to try a new Italian take-out restaurant - La Rosa's (unfortunately, it went out of business a couple of years ago). I think we just got a pizza, but perhaps there was some pasta involved. We drove together to pick up our order and talked about our trip to Michigan - trying to decide how to use the blueberries. When we got home, we ate the pizza at the kitchen table and both mentioned how much we liked it. After that, we sat in the nice, cool family room and watched the first televised preseason Chicago Bears game.

I'm not sure why this is such a good memory for me - honestly, it was one of my most favorite days. Maybe it was because it was just my dad and me. Maybe it was the good pizza. Maybe it was the Bears game (after a summer of baseball). Maybe it was the happy realization that fall was just around the corner. I think it was a combination of all of these.

I told this story to my husband this evening. I knew that I should write this down before I forgot it (the memory). I have a headache today and am feeling tired - I told myself I would write about it tomorrow. I decided that life gets too crazy sometimes and I would regret it if I ever forgot this memory, so I'm writing it now.

Very Belated Pictures

Here are some pictures from Las Vegas that I am just getting around to posting. I could take the time to explain what took so long, but a) I don't feel like typing out the whole stupid story and b) who really cares? No one reads this anyway. So, here they are...