A moment

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke

I want to share my thanks with all of the good men and women who did something. Thank you to all veterans past and present for your selfless commitment to your country and the people who live in it. May you live your lives with pride in your service.

Update

Good morning all. I wanted to share an update about my Mother-in-Law. Beth has a touch of the flu and an infection, and because of those two things, her surgery has been postponed for a week or more depending on how she recovers from these things. The Doctors will not operate if her body is fighting an infection, and we are grateful for that. She is feeling OK, but we are still very much looking forward to her upcoming surgery.

The comments, phone calls, prayers, donations, and love we have ALL received has been overwhelming, and so very appreciated! I thank each and every friend out there who has helped in any way. She will continue to need prayers and positive thoughts, and I will continue to provide updates on this blog.

Many thanks and good wishes to all.

Beth

Dru's mom, Beth, is having major surgery on Monday. She has lived a life full of problems with her spine, and has had several surgeries, and is now gearing up to have yet another one. We love Beth so much. She is a wonderful mother to Dru, and in inspiration in kindness. We are nervous for her surgery, and nervous for her recovery, and hopeful that when this is all over she will be a happier and healthier woman.

Because Beth will need A LOT of blood during her surgery. If you live in the San Diego area, and are able, please go to the San Diego Blood Bank and donate blood for Beth. It doesn't matter what your blood type is, if you give in her name, she will get a credit for a unit of blood in her type. You could be helping Beth AND another person in need!

I will be going today to give my blood. Here is the information for the San Diego Blood Bank, and what you need to provide to them to ensure that Beth can get her credit for your donation:

San Diego Blood Bank

When you go to give, please tell them that the donation is for Beth Levendoski, her blood bank ID is "BL05" (that is BL "zero" 5).

I know not all can give blood, but all of your prayers, thoughts, and warm wishes are very much felt and appreciated. We have a lot of very wonderful people in our lives, and feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. Our love to all, and much love to Beth at this moment in her life. It is a big one.

For more information about Beth and her surgery, her sister and niece set up this website.

We love you, Beth.

Have Joy Give Away!

So I am semi-obsessed with this blog: Have Joy
This lady, whose name is Nikki (although for the first several weeks that I read this blog I called her "Joy," has such a great blog. Nikki and I are two VERY different women, however, I always enjoy the things that she has to share, and her view of the world. I also suspect that she helps a lot of people who are struggling in life and relationships. She is really smart, you can tell by her writing, and she is really fun, you can tell that too. Even though we have never met, and probably never will, I feel like she is my friend, and I can't wait to see what zany experience she is going to post about next. She also posts every day, which is super fun, and a current goal of mine. I want to try to start posting every day, even if it is something small...I am going to get there soon!

This week she is conducting a giveaway from the California Caramel Company, and I would LOVE to win it! I love reading this awesome blog, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE caramel apples!

I've been in a funk.

But I think I am coming out of it now!

It doesn't hurt that the Dodgers are in the playoffs, the Vandals are in first place in the WAC, and my fantasy football team finally decided to win a few games! I think my funk is mainly seasonally driven. I miss fall so bad, and I am currently so homesick I could CRY! But I have so very much to be thankful for, I have a job, a wonderful husband, and my health. I am starting to climb my way out of my funk, which will hopefully result in some more blogging! I have a few things to put up on here! Dru is doing so great in school. He has one more mid-term and then hopefully things will slow down a bit for him. He is still liking his new job, and continuing to do well at it!
I probably won't end up dressing up for Halloween this year...so here is a photo of me in a hot dog costume. Why didn't I purchase this??

Go Mighty Vandals

I got in really late last night after going to a wedding in Long Beach. Dru rolled in a little after me after working all day and then spending the evening with the guys. We would never be able to stay up and watch the Vandal game that we taped...or would we??? That is right, we STARTED the game at midnight and watched the WHOLE DAMN THING! Long story short - VANDALS 4-1! I cannot believe it. I was so excited I could barely get to sleep last night. Now hear me when I say, my love of and support for the Vandals has NEVER wavered. I have faithfully watched and cheered, and gotten excited over small victories (like "losing by less than 30"). I have watched every game that I could on TV (which have been few in San Diego), I have even flown to Moscow for a few games (even though I knew we weren't going to win). I have done it all, and have done it all happily because I am a Vandal. I understand that we haven't had a great football program, but I don't think anyone else can understand how happy I am this season for this team I love so much. The University of Idaho deserves a team they can be proud of, they do. As I was watching the end of the game last night (mind you this is creeping into the early hours of the morning), all of a sudden it seamed as though my TV went fuzzy, after a moment, I realized that I had tears in my eyes. Dramatic? Maybe, but I don't care. I had tears in my eyes. I want to be clear, I NEVER find it hard to be a Vandal (even when they are ranked last in the nation), but I have to say, it feels pretty darn nice to be a Vandal this season! GOOOOOOOOO VANDALS!!!!!!!

Will I ever be this cool?

No.

I want to start using this blog for a little more than "Dru and I did this," and "Dru and I did that..." I want to start using this blog to share with people some of my thoughts, and some of the things that I would bring up in a regular conversation if I were to have a regular conversation with a close friend. I also want to start sharing some other blogs that I find interesting, entertaining and inspiring.

I came across this blog that I found in a Yahoo! news headline. This young woman is cooler at thirteen than I can ever dream of becoming. Her insight on fashion coupled with her apparently very high intelligence and a splash of her adorable naivety make this blog my new addiction.

If you are not super or even mildly into fashion, you may not find this blog on your favorites list, but you HAVE to go, at least once, to check this young woman out. She is quite amazing, and a beacon of hope in a world where I am seeing less and less creativity. What an inspiration!!