Hello everyone~
Sorry I've been MIA again, but we've been swamped with work and school, the kids' baseball games, basketball practices, and homework during the week, and attended my daughter's basketball tournaments the past three consecutive weekends. Her AAU travel team is playing well and has placed either 1st or 2nd in every tournament in which they've participated. They're playing very well and have improved as a team; but the best part is seeing how much fun the girls have spending time together, in spite of the fact that most of them attend different schools. They really seem to enjoy one another's company--going out to dinner after games, hanging out between games, acting silly in the hotel lobby as twelve and thirteen year old girls are prone to do.
Luckily the parents are very friendly, have positive attitudes, and everyone gets along, because we spend
a lot of time together.
I've also been spending extra hours compiling photographs for and designing a photo book to give hubs when we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary at the end of May. I'm not a very crafty person, but I want to give him a gift that's unique and heartfelt, and symbolizes the many years we've spent together (we married in 1993, but started dating as sophomores in college in 1987....."way back in the olden days", as my kids would say.
I'm using the Snapfish website, and it's a fun but rather tedious project.
We didn't own a digital camera until just before our daughter was born in 2000, so the pictures depicting our life together before that time are all prints from 35mm film. Because our scanner is crappy, I found a company online that specialized in converting all kinds of film and photographs to the digital format. I mailed about 125 prints from our time together in college, to the early years of our marriage, through the first couple of years after our kids were born. They scanned the pictures and sent me a disk so I could upload the pictures onto the Snapfish website. I enjoyed going back through our old photos from twenty something years ago, althought it was rather time consuming, and was surpised I had so many from which to choose. I was also pleasantly surprised at how good the quality of the scanned versions of these prints appeared. Of course I'm trying to keep this entire project a surprise from hubs, so that's made things a little more difficult.....but I think it will all be worth it in the end.
Lynne~ Good luck with the book signings....you must be so excited, and I'm sure it all gets a little overwheming, at times. I'm sorry you injured your hand and glad to hear you're recovering, and thankful that nothing was fractured.
Sarah~ Good luck with your upcoming test and school work. It sounds as if you had a fun weekend and enjoyed the book signing.
Sean~ Sorry about your recent internet issues and hope everything was resolved quickly. How is work?
Songbird~ Sorry you've gone through all the issues with the swimming lessons and changing times, teachers, etc. It seems like they aren't very organized, are they? That's good that Mr. Man loves the water and lessons so much, and I bet his skill level will catch up soon enough.
Jaclyn~ Happy Anniversary to you both! I'm glad you had a nice relaxing weekend with good food and plenty of time to celebrate. I really think you two would like the TV show, Fringe, especially since you're X-Files fans. The chemistry and dynamic between Peter and Olivia is somewhat similar to that shared by Mulder and Scully, and that's a lot of what drew hubs and I to Fringe, in addition to the creepy sci-fi themes and vibe.
Marielle~ I hope you're feeling better and that you take it easy as you resume all your regular activities. I'm sorry you were in the hospital and hope they were able to regulate your medicines appropriately.
Sarah~ Sorry you've been dealing with the flu and hope you start to feel better soon.
Susie~ I meant to say this sooner, but better late than never.....I'm so glad the three of you were able to visit Daughter Dear and had a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. Has hubs had any more luck with his job interviews? How's the writing coming along?
Ashley~ Congratulations on your college acceptances! Which school in New York will you be attending? A girl from our church attends FIT in New York City, I believe? I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your great-grandfather and will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.