I had a really great weekend! Despite the floods of this past week, deciding not to go to Big Spring Jam in Huntsville so DH could see Silversun Pickups, and more rain this past Saturday, our garage dried out just fine, and we didn't get anymore rain in there over the weekend. To reward our great patience, God gave us an absolutely gorgeous, sunny Sunday! Plus, I finally finished my meds and finally (I hope, fingers crossed) have gotten over my dual ear and sinus infection (double-yuck!).
Friday night, we saw our fave GT Volleyball team defeat NC State! The girls were as awesome as usual, and it was also alumnae night, so we saw 33+ former GTVB women recognized during the break!
Saturday night, we went to see the sneak preview of Whip It, a movie that is opening up next weekend about a girl growing up in smalltown Texas with a former beauty pagent mom, who finds her niche in the Austin roller derby. It's the first movie that Drew Barrymore has directed, and she also acted in it as one of the "Hurl Scouts" - the main roller derby team featured in the movie. I thought it was a really enjoyable film, and also got a cool t-shirt that reads: "WHIP IT - BE YOUR OWN HERO," complete with an image of a 2x2 rollerskate. Bonus!
Sunday morning, we got to see our former GT Wesley Foundation campus minister, Rev. Bridgette Young, preach at the Emory University ecumenical service in Cannon Chapel. We were very excited to be able to see her in action as well as briefly visit with her, as she recently moved to Nashville to take on a new position as the new Assistant General Secretary for Campus Ministry in the Division of Higher Education, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. She was not only our campus minister, but she also married us almost 7.5 years ago! And she told us that we were truly the happiest couple she has ever married, because we genuinely liked being around each other. I thought that was such a great compliment! The service was wonderful, and I especially loved hearing the Voices of Inner Strength (Emory's gospel choir) and their performance of our closing song, Flow to You. Truly an inspirational way to get my week started!Sunday afternoon and evening, we continued our skate-themed weekend by going to watch the Southern Fried Smackdown - the first regional roller derby that the Atlanta Rollergirls have ever sponsored. It was some awesome action, and those girls skated their hearts out. There were teams from Texas, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, and of course, Atlanta. The trophy was also pretty awesome - the Southern Fried Smackdown logo cut into the bottom of a cast iron skillet - it was impressive! Way to skate, girls!
Okay, I'm clearly behind here. Let's see if I can recount the goings-on over the last few weeks...Shortly after we returned from Houston, we received word that David's Grandmother Clo was not doing well. Basically her heart was wearing out, and she was not getting enough oxygen. Dear Grandmother Clo passed on August 29th*, and we quickly made arrangements to be in Cullman, AL, for her funeral on September 3rd*. She lived a good, long 94 years, and I know she is happy to be with Grandaddy Art after being without him all these years. I feel truly blessed to have known her. We did have a great opportunity to hear stories about her life, and to help start clearing things out of her house. It's quite a task when someone has lived in a house for over 40 years! (Another adventure, for another post).Meanwhile, back at the "ranch," our kitty, Thoth, had somehow managed his escape out of the house while we were packing the car Thursday morning to leave. We were gone Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday, returning at about 11 pm. I was outside the front door peeking in the sidelight and saw no cat. Unlocked the front door and stepped into the foyer and still no cat. Went into kitchen and saw food bowl, still piled up with food as we had left it. (Begin PANIC!) I turned to yell out to DH, "The cat is NOT in the house!" Of course, DH had to say, "That, or he's dead somewhere in the house." Yeah, not a great thought, although it would be highly unlikely that he just dropped dead in the house right after we left and didn't touch a bite of his food. SIL and doggie had already planned to spend the night at a friend's house to visit, so she and the doggie headed out to assist in our kitty recovery efforts. Meanwhile, I searched behind all closed doors in the house to make sure he wasn't trapped in a closet somewhere, and DH searched the grounds shaking the kitty treats (which doesn't normally work, but it was worth a try since it had been a few days). I resigned to going to bed because I was exhausted and still suffering from clogged sinuses. We left some kibble and water on the front steps, and left the front door open so we could glance out of the storm door occasionally. DH stayed up and watched movies and checked outside the front door periodically. At about 2:45 am (Sunday), I felt a cat being dropped next to me in bed! DH happened to look outside, and Thoth was sitting on the front steps. He immediately started meowing when he caught sight of DH, and then immediately purring after he walked in the front door and DH picked him up (if you know our cat, this is unusual!). (End PANIC!) Other than being a little dirty, he was just fine. He spent the better part of Sunday either grooming or napping. And being very loving (also unusual!). We enjoyed it while we could. I was glad that he appeared very happy to see us.Overlaid on all that, our dear friend Cyndi was returning from Denmark a month early, due to the illness of her Aunt Kaye. Unfortuately, Aunt Kaye passed away a few days before she returned. Despite the consequences of her early return, we were still very happy to finally see her after a long year away, and met her at the airport and visited with her parents and brother at the same time. We were also able to stop by her house and have dinner with her family ("Crazy Chicken" - again, another story for another post) on our way back from Alabama, so that was also an enjoyable time despite everyone's sadness.This past week, we've enjoyed a few GT volleyball games with the restart of the season, the last of the Louvre exhibit at the High Museum, an Australian Rules Football game. I also participated in the Corporate Challenge 5K walk last week, and finally rejoined the CRC after a little hiatus, so I'll be working off a little weight I put on earlier this year by being holed up studying for my AREs. (Thank goodness they're over!) On that note, I, along with two other coworkers, made it in to the "Achievements" column in our local Atlanta Business Chronicle. Nice recognition!
*Update - I got the dates a week off and corrected them.
