From the Desk 5/24/2008

This morning I slept in a little (until 8:30) and then got up so I could get everything done before my guests arrived. I setup my appointment with Comcast to upgrade to digital cable and convert the internet service over to using my modem. After that I got ready and drove to Target to pick up a few last minute items. Unfortunately, Target did not have one of the items I needed so I was forced to shop at Walmart (something I try to avoid doing at all costs). I had just finished the last of the cleaning when I got a phone call from Amy requesting that I pick up some medical supplies so that she could tend to her ailing toenail once they arrived in Kennesaw. I obliged her
request and ventured out to Publix to procure some hydrogen-peroxide. I returned to the apartment and awaited the arrival of my parents and Amy and Jon. They arrived around 11:45 and I helped them unload what was needed for my apartment. (oh yeah, and the TV)

We got the TV set up and then went to Taco Mac for some lunch. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food and I think it was a success as far as new restaurants go. We returned to the apartment briefly and then mom, dad, Amy and I set out to visit a couple of stores. We first went to Garden Ridge, where we procured a new frame for my Knoxville poster. This was my first visit to this store as well, and I was slightly overwhelmed by its size and variety of products. We then drove to REI, and meandered around the store until I began to have impulses to start buying things. I drove us by Kennesaw National Battlefield Park where I go hiking about twice a week. We opted to just drive through and not hike due to the status of Amy's toe and the difficulty of finding a parking place. We then returned to the apartment where Amy put my poster in its new frame and Dad and I hung it on its new spot on the wall. I think it looks very good here. Dad also planned out a way to utilize my stereo and speakers with my new TV to provide sound quality more worthy of my new TV. He had to pick up a few supplies and then he and mom needed to check into their hotel. Amy, Jon, and I watched part of a movie while waiting for their return. While they were gone Stacy had arrived to go eat dinner with us. Mom and dad returned, after playing a clever joke on me, and we all loaded up into the van.

We headed to the Marietta Diner for some dinner, and found it to be very crowded when we arrived. Luckily we only had to wait about 5 minutes for our table to be ready. The menu there was so immense that it took almost 10 minutes for us to decide what we each wanted to order. We enjoyed fun conversations (Stacy and I behaved ourselves considering our usual antics when eating out with the lunch crew from work) and an overwhelming amount of food. We finished up eating and packing up leftovers and then proceeded to return to the apartment for the duration of the evening. While leaving the parking lot at the restaurant we learned that Jon is "always hot baby!" in response to a question Amy asked that left the reply available to be taken completely out of context and used for humor in my blog. Stacy said goodbye when we got back to the apartment and we watched "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" before mom and dad went to their hotel and Amy, Jon, and I turned in for the night. It was a good movie, but ended just after 11:00 and I think we were all tired and ready for bed. It was a good first day of visiting for my guests and I hope tomorrow will be as well when we visit North Star church and Hickey joins me later in the afternoon for more fun.

Meditation for the day: Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

From the Desk 5/23/2008

This morning I woke up at 6:30 before my alarm went off. I decided to go ahead and get up instead of lay around for the extra 15 minutes. I sent an email request to the apartment complex through their website for a couple of small maintenance requests. I got to work a little early and began to make some lists of things to contribute to the website meeting at 9:00. The meeting was ultimately delayed until 10:00, but we met for about half an hour and I had a few more things to add to my to do list afterwards. I worked on the homeschool flyer for Knoxville and Chattanooga and then it was time to go to lunch. I walked into the break room and opened up the freezer to grab my Smart Ones meal….but it was gone! I searched through all the other meals in the freezer, but mine was nowhere to be found. This isn't the first time that this has happened, but it hasn't happened to me before. So, I reluctantly drove home to grab some lunch.

I got back to work and then began working on typing up a letter from Chris and Dave to fill the "About Us" tab on the website. I got everything fitted just the way I wanted and then dropped it into Dreamweaver. I copied it over to our server for the website files and then went to the website to check and see how it looked. What I found when I clicked on the link was a giant ERROR page! This wasn't what I was hoping for, and for some reason I couldn't get it back to the original format. Finally after trying a few other things I got the site updated with the new page. The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and soon it was time to go home. Stacy and I had planned on going to Ikea immediately after work to get her a chair and for me to have my first Ikea visit, but our plans were spoiled as it began to pour rain very heavily at about 4:30. We opted to go one day next week when it is dry. So, I went home to spend the rest of the evening relaxing.

I got home, picked up a package that arrived for me in the office and then began my long, arduous task of watching TV and napping. I also was able to update my external hard drive back-up files. I made several phone calls to make sure that my guests would bring everything they needed to fully enjoy their Georgia weekend getaway. I probably should have worked on the reception video, but I found myself strangely unmotivated to work on video editing tonight. I stayed up later than usual watching the movie Hickey had lent me, "In the Land of Women". It was a slow start, but ultimately a very good movie. I decided to turn in when I began having trouble keeping my eyes open. I will see most of you tomorrow, and for those I won't see, it won't be long before I visit Knoxville again.

Meditation for the day: Following with the song lyrics approach of yesterday, these are the lyrics to the song "Wish You Well" by the Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch:

Sometimes love, feels like pain, and sometimes I wonder if it's all the same, sometimes life, feels just like rain, cause you never know, when it's gonna fall down on you

I wish you well, I wish you well, on this trip to find yourself, I wish you well,
wish I could help, but I can't help you find yourself

Sometimes faith, feels like doubt, and sometimes I wonder if we'll even get out, sometimes life hurts just like now, but ya gotta know, it's all gonna come back around

I wish you well, I wish you well, on this trip to find yourself, I wish you well,
wish I could help, but I can't help you find yourself

find yourself, I can't help you find yourself, find yourself..

and we were sixteen at the time, nothing could ever change our minds, we were one step below invincible, and we always fought it, you've never been the same, you were so scared to make a name, then you threw it all away, and i wish you'd come back now.

I wish you well, I wish you well, on this trip to find yourself, I wish you well, wish I could help, but I can't help you find yourself, I wish you well, I wish you well, on this trip to find yourself, I wish you well, wish I could help, but I can't help you find you

I wish you well, I wish you well, on this trip to find yourself, I wish you well, wish I could help, but I can't help you find yourself

find yourself, I can't help you find yourself,
find yourself, I can't help you find yourself...

From the Desk 5/22/2008

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for more hiking this afternoon. I ate some breakfast and then headed off to work determined to learn about Dreamweaver and work on more featured items for the website. I got to work and began the day by tackling a major part of the new signs list for the smaller stores. I also created a 5"x 8" card that we will get printed and trimmed and send to the stores as a blank sign that they may use as temporary signs with handwritten information. This way if signs are going to be handwritten at least they will be on a uniform card that has a semi-professional look to it. (as opposed to the notebook paper signs I saw when visiting the stores….I cringed each time I saw one) I think it turned out very nicely. I also looked over some quotes I received for comparison from local printers to see if they could compete with CCC in Florida. Unfortunately, their pricing is almost consistently double what Florida charges for the same quantity on the same paper. I'm certain we'll find a happy medium locally; it will just take some time to track the right printer down.

For lunch today, I went back to the apartment, but at least I ate food that I already had instead of eating out yet again. I also made a request for an appointment at the Townlake Kaiser facility to see a doctor so I can continue to receive my prescriptions. Unfortunately I will not be able to see them until June 6th. The rest of the afternoon seemed to drag on forever, but I was able to answer some emails and get some work done on a flyer for Kenny. Mike took some time to sit down with me and teach me the basics of Dreamweaver so now I can alter more pages of our website and keep them updated with appropriate marketing information. He also tried to cancel on Stacy and I for our hiking trip after work today, but we wouldn't let him. We came to the agreement that we would meet him at Pine Mountain State Park in Cartersville (20 miles away) to go for a hike on the East Loop trail. It wasn't ideal since it wasn't as close, but at least it was a chance to do something active for another day in a row. I played around with Dreamweaver for the remainder of the afternoon and found that it is a fairly easy program to navigate, but I also know that I would never want to spend all my time working with it. 5:00 rolled around and I went home to do a few things before I picked up Stacy and we meet Mike for hiking at 7:00.

I was able to eat some dinner and call Comcast to upgrade my cable service and activate my modem so I no longer had to rent theirs. I also was able to finish all the laundry I planned on doing before my guests arrived this weekend. I made a short list of things I needed to get from Target sometime before Saturday afternoon. I attempted to work on the reception DVD before leaving for hiking, but time ran out and I didn't get very far. I dropped my car off at Stacy's as she had volunteered to drive us up to the trail where we met Mike and his golden retriever, Cheyenne. The drive up to Pine Mountain Trail in Cartersville wasn't that bad and the trail was very nice. The weather was almost perfect at 78 degrees with a slight breeze. The trail climbed from 914 ft. to 1521ft. over 1.5 miles. The climb was very steep in parts and then leveled out in between climbs. I enjoyed this trail a little more than Kennesaw Mountain for two reasons. First, it had more variation instead of being all up hill and then all down hill. Second, the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking as you can see by the pictures here. We all paused at the top while Mike's dog Cheyenne, took a water break and then looked ready to take a nap. We descended rather quickly crossing a couple of bridges along the way. We arrived back in the parking lot at 8:15 and Stacy and I headed back to her house so I could get my car and then get home in time to watch the Grey's Anatomy 2 hours season finale. The finale was very good, but it kind of makes me sad that the season is over already and I'll have to wait until the fall for new episodes to return to ABC. I faded into sleep pretty quickly as this was my third day in a row hiking at least 2 miles each day.


Meditation for the day: I decided to use the lyrics from a song that I heard for the first time today when I had my iTunes on shuffle. It is inconceivable that I have listened to every single song in my library, so I think God can still speak through unusual avenues. The song is called "Storm" by Lifehouse. Here are the lyrics:

How long have I been in this storm?
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form
Water's getting harder to tread
With these waves crashing over my head

If I could just see you
Everything would be all right
If I'd see you
This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
I know everything will be alright
I know everything is alright

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown
So why am I ten feet under and upside down
Barely surviving has become my purpose
Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface

If I could just see you
Everything would be all right
If i'd see you
This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I know everything will be alright
I know everything will be alright

From the Desk 5/21/2008

Today I woke up feeling almost back to 100% as far as allergies and such. I ate some breakfast and then headed off to make a couple of stops on my way into work. I bought a little bit of gas (for $3.84 per gallon) and then cried a little bit. I then dropped some things off at the post office. I got to work and began working on creating a new item in the system to link to the website for a group of Summer Bridge Activity Books to be displayed as a main image. I was supposed to meet with Dave shortly after his weekly 9am teleconference. It rolled around to 10:45 and he came over to my desk, I thought to delay our meeting, but instead he had several last minute changes with the DVD project. I thought we had fixed everything, which we had according to his list, but they had some edits when they viewed it on the big screen at Mount Paran yesterday. After adjusting a few pictures and re-working some moving effects we began exporting the files again to burn over to a DVD-R (apparently the system at Mount Paran didn't like the DVD+RW we used the first time). We left that rendering while Dave, Mike, and I grabbed a bite to eat at Mellow Mushroom. I had planned on eating in today, but I decided it wasn't in my best interest to refuse the boss's offer. We went and I actually ate healthy (which I didn't think was possible at this place) by ordering a lil' Ceasar salad and a slice of cheese pizza. It was a good time to eat with "the guys" from the office for a change. I know it probably sounds silly, but when there are only 3 guys in an office of 12+ females it can be nice to hang out with your own gender sometimes. We ate and then returned to the office bringing food back for Vickie, Aimee, and Anna who were engrossed in a meeting when we left.

I finished the DVD project and then Dave had me burn as many copies as I could for the remainder of the afternoon. (I just had to change DVDs every 7 minutes so it wasn't a big distraction) I made a hiking sign-up sheet that will be psoted at my desk for our group to sign up for the days they are available to go hiking and then we can just build groups/pick dyas based on everyone's availability. I think it came out looking quite nice. You can be the judge. I finally met with Dave at 2:45 to go over some marketing ideas and some requests I had received over the past couple of weeks. We covered a new offer for partnership with a company called Preschool Adventures. It is really a neat concept that we definitely will try and team up with next year for some cross promotion due to the large area around our stores they cover, but the timing was too close to a deadline to work it in this year. I kept burning DVDs the rest of the day and also made some revisions to the display labels that Dave and I worked on. I also read an article in NSSEA magazine about retail sign creation. It outlined the rules for how to make an effective sign and pitfalls to avoid in design. I am happy to report that I grade myself as an A- on their grading of good design. I sometimes get carried away with colors, but sometimes it can be useful to bring out products in a plain white display. As it neared 5:00 I changed into my hiking clothes and Stacy and I hopped in my car to go hiking. Everyone else had conflicts, but they were valid ones so we let it slide this time. Besides, Mike said he would go hiking with me tomorrow so that would make 3 days in a row which is more of the consistent activity I'm looking for anyway.

The parking lot was full so we had to park along the road, then hit the trail. This was Stacy's first time hiking Kennesaw Mountain, and I must say that she did remarkably well. It is not that easy of a trail to begin with, and she didn't complain at all. It is nice to add another friend to the list of possible hikers so I can go several days each week. We paused at the overlook point and it was the clearest I've ever seen it. I took this picture, but do not know how well you can see things. I could actually see Stone Mountain today. After hiking, Stacy and I decided to go check out what was new at Dick's Sporting Goods. I walked in the door and almost drooled at what I saw. This was a 2-Story Dick's store with expanded sections for outdoor sports such as hiking, camping, and even a large Frisbee golf section. We wandered around the entire store looking at everything. I found a Camelbak hydration system that I intend to purchase in the future to take on my hiking trips that are longer than 5 miles. You can see by the pictures that I could have spent hours in there, but we were getting hungry and didn't want to be tempted to buy anything. We went to Borders for Stacy to pick up a gift for a friend. While there we found several books on hiking in the Georgia mountains that I will no doubt be asking for around Christmas time. (is Santa listening this early in the year?) We finally found the book Stacy was looking for and then I dropped her off at her car and went home. I cooked some dinner and watched part of National Treasure on USA. It reminded me that I need to pick up National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets sometime soon. I worked on some more small cleaning projects and then went to bed a little early (I have to be rested for my hike with Mike tomorrow after work!)

Meditation for the day: 1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

From the Desk 5/20/2008

Today I woke up feeling a little better, and then ran out of time to eat some breakfast so I stopped off at Chick-fil-A for a biscuit. I arrived at work and after meeting with Dave promptly got to work on the final revisions to the slide shows. I finished the edits just in time as Dave left for a little bit and then returned at 9:15 to approve the changes. I got the ok and then exported the video to prepare for burning to disc. It finished rendering and I added it to the project to burn to DVD. I finished that up at 9:55 and Mike and I ran out the door to our meeting in Marietta with H&W Printing/Mailing. Along the way I called Bobby, the rep that had contacted me previously, and told him we were a little delayed. We arrived with no difficulty in finding the building at 10:15. Bobby took us on a brief tour of the offices and then we made our way to the production floor. It was a fairly good-sized production area with a brand new Heidelberg press that looked very impressive. We also toured their design and digital printing area. They have a very knowledgeable staff that is eager to find ways to complete pieces while reducing the cost or using a unique idea to set their customers apart from others. We met with Dan, the mail house manager. Their mailing area was surprisingly small, but Dan assured us that the size mailings we were looking at doing would be no problem to turn around in 24 hours or less. We left there with a good feeling if we need a place to print and mail pieces that we design in-house.

On our way back to the office Mike and I stopped for some lunch at Sunny's Bagels & Sandwiches. Apparently back when it first opened, Sunny was quite a charismatic individual and the food combined with his personality had people lined out the door for bagels in the mornings and lunch in the afternoons. I had a Grilled Chicken Cuban on a toasted Asiago bagel. It was the best Cuban sandwich I have ever had (even better than Taco Mac's!) and Mike told me since he bailed on me for lunch yesterday with the group he would pick up lunch today. See what nice people I work with. We returned to the office where I began working on gathering stuff up for a meeting with Dave tomorrow morning. I also worked on creating some more featured item pictures for the main image section on our website. I'll let you know when I get them up and running so you can check them out. I also met with Chris to cover the changes I feel need to be made to the graphic that is going on the Employee Summer Training T-shirts. We also briefly discussed a plan for the mailing of the GA Governor's Card flyer mailout. I did some other things until around 4:15 and then I grabbed my clothes from my car and changed into my hiking attire.

Carmen and I left a little early at 4:30 to go hike The Mountain in an effort to keep getting in shape. We made pretty good time as it took us about 42 minutes to hike to the top and then back to the base. We would have done the 5-mile loop, but Carmen had to go to a baseball game soon after that. Carmen dropped me off at my car and I ventured home to get some stuff done to prepare for the arrival of my weekend guests. I ate a quick dinner and then worked on straightening my desk/office area up since that is where I will be staying while Amy and Jon are here this weekend. Most of what was on TV was interrupted by the Tornado Warnings/Watches and news updates on the affected areas of the severe storms passing through the area. I also managed to watch part of the NBA playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. I went to bed before it was over as I was a little tired from the quick trip up the mountain earlier.

Meditation for the day: Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

From the Desk 5/19/2008

Today I arrived at work planning to spend just a little bit of time to finish up the video, but I was wrong. I completed the changes Dave and I talked about yesterday and then finalized the project and burned it to disk. It played fine, but it took longer than I expected. I left for lunch with the group at 11:00 to take part in a welcome back Stacy lunch. We went to Panda Express, and this is the first one I have been to that was a stand-alone restaurant instead of being in a mall. It was decorated very nicely inside with lots of light-colored wood and stainless steel fixtures that gave the restaurant an upscale appearance without the price tag that usually accompanies it. We returned to work, full of fried rice and orange chicken.

When I returned to my desk I begin putting the final touches on the DVD menu before rendering the video and burning it to disc. I finished the project at 2:00 and then called the lady at Mount Paran Christian School to come by and pick it up for a final test on their system at the school. I had a little bit of time to catch up on stuff that I had let drop since I started working on the video project. I sifted though some emails and added things to my current projects list. I spent the majority of my afternoon working on creating a new flyer for the Knox County New Teacher Academy Graduates. This was the first coupon that I followed my newly created checklist for coupon design sheet that is prominently featured on my bulletin board to ensure that I don't forget any vital elements. I also used a free barcode generator online to make the coupon scannable and therefore easier to track in the point of sale system. In order to make this work, I had to create a new item and then attach the quick-entry number from our system to the barcode generated online. Once that was done I saved the image and then added it to the coupon I created in Photoshop. I placed all of the elements into InDesign and then created the final version for approval by Sue, our Knoxville Sales Rep. It took longer to get all the settings right on the coupon item in our system so when I was finished it was 5:00 and time to leave for the day.

I went home for a few minutes and then got a call from Stacy as to our dinner plans. I stopped off at the Papa John's en route to Stacy's to pick up a pizza for Stacy, Leslie, and I. I arrived at Stacy's a little before Leslie, and used my extra time to talk to Hickey about this weekend when he comes down for a visit. We ate and drank until we had consumed everything in sight. After dinner, we found ourselves searching online looking at wedding dresses (not my idea of course) and then found that we still wanted to hang out. So we made the quick call to go to Marlow's for some French fries and drinks. I had never been to Marlow's before but it looked like a good place so I agreed to drive us there. We arrived, already in a silly mood as we all tried to take pictures of the yellow moon that seemed closer than normal, and were all unsuccessful. (Otherwise I would have posted a picture here for you to ooh and ahh over) Marlow's is a very classy looking place outside and in. We sat at the bar and I must admit that it was the only time I have seen someone order French fries with some wine. I stuck to my Coke and Woodford Reserve as I am too picky about my wines to pay money for something I might not like. We watched some of the NBA Playoff game between the Spurs and the Hornets. We realized it was about 10:15 and we needed to head home so we could get some sleep before hitting the grind again tomorrow. After Leslie realized that she left her cell phone sitting on the bar at Marlow's and I ran in a picked it up for her (after leaving her a funny message on the way in) we left to return to Stacy's house. The ride home was equally as entertaining as the trip there. We all took part in singing (though Stacy was the only one dancing) in whatever songs came on my iPod mix. There were also some jokes made in reference to the present that I bought for Leslie's birthday, but I will leave those out as you had to be there to understand them…in context. I dropped Stacy and Leslie off at their cars and then drove home to crash for the night. Laughing non-stop for almost 4 hours will tire a person out.

Meditation for the day: Romans 15:5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

From the Desk 5/18/2008

I woke up this morning later than intended. I looked over a the clock through sleepy eyes and saw that it was 9:30 which is what time I had intended to be at North Star Church for a visit/worship service. I obviously did not make it for that. I ate some breakfast, showered, and listened to one of the sermons posted on North Star Church's website. I got a call from Stacy and we made plans to go run some errands around 11:00. I picked her up and we ventured out to the new REI store just down the street from The Box. It was amazing. It is probably dangerous for me to have access to money and be in the store at the same time, but I managed to show great restraint on this trip by buying nothing. I did, however, make a mental list of several things I will undoubtedly purchase in the near future. We left REI and stopped by my apartment to pick up a movie to watch, and while there Stacy made several rentals from my library of DVDs. After the brief stop, we went out to the Super Target in Woodstock for some grocery shopping. We made a quick stop in the Hallmark store next door as Stacy needed to find several cards for birthdays, etc. I do not profess to be a big believer in the tool known as a greeting card, as I only buy them when absolutely necessary, but I did find a small display that contained different books with advice for life. I chose to read the book A Guide To Life So You Don't Look Like An Idiot! , which was a Napoleon Dynamite themed book with some wise advice for everyday living. Someone will probably be getting this treasure as a gift sometime this year….but who will it be? We finally made our way to Target and again found ourselves in the card section as Stacy had struck out at the Hallmark store. I actually found a great card for Leslie's birthday, which is next weekend, and in an usual move, I bought it! (I am ashamed of myself for going against my own principles that I set for myself…wow, I've got problems) We made our way through the store and I only picked up a few necessities. We went through the checkout and then made our way back to Stacy's for some lunch while watching Juno.

I enjoyed a delightful PB&J while Stacy ate her leftovers from Taco Mac last night. We watched Juno and I forgot what an incredible movie it is! It is filled with amazing music and lots of quotable lines while having an uplifting story along the way. Once the movie was over I dropped off my cold items, which found temporary asylum in Stacy's fridge, at my apartment and then went to The Box to meet Dave for some work on his video project. I arrived shortly after 4:00 and ended up working on it until 7:30 or so. During that time I got a phone call from my Uncle Bob, alerting me that he was in the area and would like to take me to dinner. I was thrilled at the opportunity, but the timing was not good as I was deeply engrossed in editing the project for Dave and didn't see a good stopping point in the near future. I regretfully declined his offer, but told him to call again the next time he is down this way as I would like to eat with him sometime. I also called Hickey while the video was exporting and we caught up on all the weeks' happenings and planned for his trip down here next weekend.

I left the office and headed for home, feeling very sleepy all of a sudden. It was probably due to the fact that I don't feel like I had a full weekend away from work. I heated up my leftovers from Taco Mac for my dinner and then talked briefly on the phone with mom about plans for next weekend. I put together a trip itinerary and then fell asleep watching the movie S.W.A.T. on FX. I woke up and realized it was time to go do some sleeping in my bed. My head hit the pillow and that's the last thing I remembered.

Meditation for the day: James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

From the Desk 5/17/2008

This morning I woke up not to the sound of my alarm, which I had decided to not turn on, but ot he sunlight shining through my window. It was a nice change of pace for waking up, and it allowed me to sleep in until 9:30. I got up and fixed some hot tea and ate the last of Stacy's muffins for a light breakfast. I then decided to finish the ceremony video before I did anything else for the day. It took me until 11:30 to finish the video due to the fact that my computer kept crashing whenever I would try to render and burn the project to a DVD. I gave my computer a rest and shut it down for a bit. While doing that I eliminated 2 boxes from my closet in the office by condensing things and pulling out some stuff for donation to Goodwill. Once I had finished doing that I was in a motivated state of mind to continue straightening and cleaning. The good news about that is since I'm slightly obsessive with cleaning in the first place when I really get in the mood to do some serious cleaning it doesn't take very long. I finished that up around 12:45 and decided that perhaps I should take a shower so I could go out in public without smelling like a foot. After showering and feeling extremely refreshed I started the laundry process for a couple of hours while watching various movies on TV.

I decided around 3:00 to go over to Stacy's and mow/pick up the mail before I picked her up at the airport tonight. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I sort of regret not hiking the mountain this morning, but it is probably best for my allergies not to do too much right. I arrived and found that the grass had grown more than I expected, no doubt from the rain that we received this week. I mowed the grass and then chilled for a few minutes inside while I let the mower cool down. It felt kind of odd being there, sitting on the couch and not being crawled all over by Cooper. (Insert quote from Without a Paddle ~ "It's like they're here, but they're not here....know what I mean?" ~ that was for you Hickey) I cooled myself down and then put the mower away, locked everything up, and headed back to the apartment. I ate a snack dinner because if I knew Stacy, she would want to go out to someplace to eat when her plane landed to help remind her that she is home now. (you will find out later...I was right) I found that when I left the video rendering/burning while I was gone, it completed the task successfully! Now all I lack for projects is the reception video, the graduate recognition service, and a vet school roast for Stephanie. (I have a feeling some of these projects will be delayed)

I called Vickie to see if the offer she made on Thursday was still open. She called back a little later to let me know that yes, she would ride down to the airport with me to make sure that I found my way down and back alright. We met at The School Box and she hopped in my car and we hit the road around 9:20pm. Stacy's flight wasn't supposed to arrive until 9:51pm but then we figure in time to collect her baggage and travel to the baggage area from her gate would leave us a little time to get there after her flight was scheduled to arrive. She called me when we were about halfway there and let me know that her flight arrived early and she was waiting at baggage for her things. We eventually got down there and picked her up among the other massive group of people there. I hadn't been to the Atlanta airport since I was in 8th grade so I really didn't remember much of it, but I was still surprised to see the large number of people going in and out of the airport at this time of night. Cooper was especially subdued, from the trip I supposed, but Vickie asked if Stacy gave him any doggy downers to help him relax. She said no, but he still looked very relaxed as you can see from the picture. We made our way back up to The Box where I dropped Vickie off at her car. I headed towards Stacy's house and asked if she had dinner or if she wanted me to stop so we could pick something up and take home for her. She asked if we could go to Taco Mac because she was hungry and wanted to go to a "Georgia place". (see I told you I know my friends) I said sure so we dropped off her luggage and Cooper at her house then headed to the Taco Mac on Hwy 92 in Woodstock. We ordered our food (at 11:15pm) and she proceeded to tell me more about her trip. It sounded very relaxing, but she said she was very glad to be home back where her new friends were. We hardly ate much of our food as we were both talking so much. We got some to go boxes and then headed back to her house. I dropped her off after we made plans for some shopping trips tomorrow (Super Target, the new REI store, etc.). I got home around 12:50am and decided that I really had to go to bed as I was about to fall over from sleepiness.

Meditation for the day: Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”