Wish You Were Here - Part...uh...The Last One (I Promise!)

I shouldn't be up blogging. I should be putting my kids to bed. But it's the last of summer vacation so I'll be a bad mommy so I can share more pix with you guys. Because I know you're just dying to see more.

There is one last leg of our time in Boston. I think I left you with our petting farm experience in New Hampster, yes? Oh wait. I checked. When last we left our heroic vacationing family, they had just returned to Boston. The invasion of KimmyJo's condo had begun!

My junior year college roommate is one of the very few people I'm still tight with from that college. Our friendship was a total accident that can still make us laugh to this day. But that's another post entirely.

KimmyJo is brave enough to let us all crash in her two-bedroom condo. In all honesty, it was her cat Iverson who was brave. He is very shy normally but seemed to really enjoy having two exuberant little boys to play with.


Wed Aug 6th
Having just returned to Boston the night before, we did another late morning sleep in. KimmyJo had to head to work early so she tiptoed around the two inflatable mattresses and me on the couch. She left early for her 13+ hr nurse day.

We lounged around with Iverson and watched some TV. I figured the New England Aquarium would be less packed later in the day. I am an idiot. We got there after lunch only to wait a good 40 minutes in line just to get tickets to get IN! I asked the boys to let me just buy tickets for us to all go with KimmyJo the next day. They weren't having it. It was a rather expensive hour-long visit. But in all honesty, that's just about all the aquarium two young boys can handle.

After hemorrhaging money for the tickets, souvenirs and parking, we drove out west of Boston to visit my ex's cousins and their cornucopia of cute kids. They all rock. And one cousin had her first daughter the day before I had Pokemon Boy. I call them "Birth Buddies". They - both being eight - think I'm a dork. It was an awesome cookout and hang session. Their family rocks. I'm glad I can still weasel my way in via the kids. Hee!

We headed back to KimmyJo's pretty late. She was still wrapping up at the hospital. And, I come to find out, it's her birthday! 13 hour work day or not, we were getting her a CAKE. We stopped off at the local Whole Foods and purchased a small work of art there.

KimmyJo came home to find that Pokemon Boy had made a scavenger hunt for her - searching for little sticky notes with the names of Ben 10 aliens on them. I thought she might be too tired for such an adventure but she loved it. She's a good auntie! Lil'Bro presented her with her penguin magnet from the Aquarium. I presented her with a glass of red wine. It's the best I could do. And let me tell you, that cake ROCKED. KimmyJo told us that she doesn't often celebrate her birthday. So this was the best birthday she had had in a few years. That made us all feel good.

We all stayed up late talking and hanging out. A full and wonderful day.


Thu Aug 7th
KimmyJo took the next few days off. It was so cool to have her with us. We had another sleep-in morning. Iverson was in heaven with this many people hanging out. He would claim my bed (a made up couch) every time I got up. He's so cute, I couldn't displace him.

After dawdling as long as we could, we headed out to meet our friend Sue at the Boston Children's Museum. This is such an awesome place. When we moved to Austin, we couldn't wait to get to their Children's Museum thinking it would rock maybe even more - because, you know, they do everything big down here. Apparently, they don't do children's museums big...at least not in Austin. It was rather disappointing compared to the wonder we were used to in Boston. Come on Texas! Step it UP, people!

Let me tell you about the Ginormous Climby Thing! I have a bunch of pictures of it but they don't do justice to the absolute towering majesty of the thing. It's about three stories high, I think. It's hard to see in the pictures. But each platform is wavy and carpeted. The stuff that looks like cargo netting is that plastic coated cable stuff, all linked together.


Pokemon Boy went all the way to the top and back down, twice. And it takes a while with that many kids squirming through there.

Lil'Bro was just over powered by the bigger kids. He's not aggressive enough to shove his way through. So he made it about my height and then came back down.

But seriously, that Ginormous Climby Thing? I want one in my house. Which means I have to get a bigger house. Dang. I must work on this plan.

Here's a couple more shots from the Children's Museum:
Pokemon Boy in the Construction Zone.

Lil'Bro in the Construction Zone



Fri Aug 8th
Another decadent & luxurious late morning awakening. Oh how I miss those. KimmyJo had planned on driving us down to a place called Castle Island to give the boys a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. But alas, the torrential downpours that started about 10 minutes into our car ride derailed those plans. Fortunately for us, the heavens opened as we sat at a red light right next to the Boston Museum of Science. Alrighty then. Another museum it is!

That place is all sorts of crazy huge. Honestly, you could spend one day walking around each wing of the place. We only went to one wing, really. The Blue Wing - the one with the life-sized TRex. Don't worry. It wasn't alive.

We accidentally hit an exhibit of New England native animals in the Green Wing while looking for the food wing. So Trish, I got to see a moose! Granted, it was dead, stuffed and behind glass. But it was a moose none the less!!! My pictures of said moose were blurry. So here are cute shots of my kids hugging the black bear.

Pokemon Boy hugging the friendly dead ol' black bear. Awwwww. What a cute dead ol' bear!

Lil'Bro trying to hide his laughter because he was mad at having to stand by the dead ol' bear. But I got him to laugh.


Sat Aug 9th
Time to head home. A sad moment because we're leaving everyone. But all three of us were ready to get back home to Texas. That towering lush greenery every where gets real old. (I kid!)

Once again, the boys enjoyed JetBlue's kid drugs (TV). I was a bit TV'd out so I did my Sudoku for most of the trip. Left lots of little eraser shavings on and around my seat.

Oh but here's the coolest part of this day! When we were boarding the plane in Boston, Lil' Bro looked in the cockpit and asked, "Is that the driver?" Yup, I replied. That's the driver. "Wow," he remarked. "They have a lot of buttons!" This got a chuckle from the pilot and flight attendant standing there. The flight attendant saw we were in the 4th row and told me to hang back when we get to Austin and they'd have the boys go in to see the cockpit. Sweet!

The boys were awesome the whole flight. When we got to Austin, we hung out in our seats while the rest of the place filed out. Then we went forward. I thought they'd just let the boys stand in there and look around. Nope. The pilot put each boy into one of the pilot chairs! He let them push any button they wanted and wiggle the joy sticks! He even let them talk briefly over the intercom. They were in heaven. I was so psyched because I thought they didn't do that any more. So what an awesome capper to our whole vacation!

My BigSis and her TallHubby were waiting at baggage claim for us. I had left my car with them for the two weeks. My sister was sad to return it to me - she had been spoiled having her own car for two weeks. But they had it washed (inside and out!) for me. AND filled it with gas!!! I told them I'll have to go away more often!

Then I get home, and my mom had cleaned and vacuumed my house!!! If I could just figure out a way to go away every week. Do I have the best family or WHAT?

Wish You Were Here

Have I mentioned that I have the best travel companions in the world? The boys have proven to be amazing travelers. I was stressed about this trip because traveling alone with two kids, ages 8 and 4, rather sounds like a recipe for disaster. Not so. They have been amazing and we are having a GREAT time!

I'll give you some tidbits from the first part of our trip. I haven't downloaded the pictures from our recent foray into Vermont. So I'll just hit our first leg in Boston.


Sat July 26th
We flew from Texas to Boston. JetBlue rocks because of the free TV at every seat. I like to call it "Kid Drugs". The only peep out of kids are usually from little babies who can't clear their ears during take off and landing. My boys were awesome while waiting at the airport. They were awesome on the plane. They were awesome getting from the Boston airport to the hotel. They are enamored with taxis. They want to take one back to Texas. Riiiiight.

We stayed in a schwank hotel in Boston where dignitaries stay. We were in a small room but it was awesome and we loved it. It was central to everything we wanted to do.


Sun July 27th
The wonderful Trish and her Prince Charming came to our hotel to pick us up for church. The boys and I got to hang and see the Awesome Rowing Couple and their Amazing Three Year Old Girl (I have requested to arrange a marriage already).

After church, our good friend Art picked us up and took us back to our old 'hood to hang with him and his wife Alicia and their 2 1/2 week old twins! The twins are such good babies and are adorable. The boys loved holding them. We got to hang with them all day.

Pokemon Boy holding Baby M (the girl)

Lil' Bro holding Baby D (the boy)


Kristen, her husband A and her son R all came over a little later. R and Lil' Bro are the same age. They haven't seen each other since before they were two so it was an interesting reunion. Pokemon Boy and R got on famously, making silly faces for my camera. They all alternated between playing and holding the twins.

Kristen, R & Lil'Bro reading a book:


This was an awesome day because Trish, Alicia & Kristen have been the main pillars of my support from Boston. And I got to see all of them and their families. Total awesomeosity!


Mon July 28th
On Monday, I had to stop by my work office to drop off my laptop for fixing. I brought the kids and basically disrupted quite a few people's work day. It was lots of fun. Except one of my best friends and former bosses was out sick. Boo! But she hears about them all the time and actually instant messages with Pokemon Boy periodically. So it's not a huge heart break for her.

After the work stop, we got some lunch at a very fancy Boston eatery. Burger King. Oh yes. We travel all the way to Boston to hit Burger King. But limited budgets love that slop fest. And so do my kids because they are currently giving out Pokemon toys with the kids' meals.

We headed down the street to the Prudential building. One of the two tall towers in the Boston skyline. We went to the Skywalk observatory there and spent a couple of hours admiring the view and seeing the displays they have up there. It's much more amazing for adults but my kids were extremely patient and more interested than I had hoped. We had a really clear day for the view so I got to see my whole city.

After the Pru, we walked back toward the hotel (a long walk for a 4 yr old). It took us quite a while and we stopped in little stores here and there. Of course, we stopped in a Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream because, well, it's a Vermont company and I like to pretend the ice cream tastes fresher when you eat it in New England.

We also stopped by the Hancock Tower to take some cool pictures. That building is a fun buildling to photograph. Here are a few shots of us and that famous landmark.

Pokemon Boy & Hancock Tower

Lil'Bro & Hancock Tower


That pretty much took up our energy for the day. We met up with the boys' dad for dinner, which we all enjoyed. Then it was back to the hotel for TV and bed.


Tue July 29th
Tuesday morning, Pokemon Boy and I had an appointment with some people that run a Harvard study. We have been part of this study since I was pregnant with Pokemon Boy back in 1999. It was a 3 hr appointment full of testing and measuring for both of us. Pokemon Boy had some blood drawn, too. He was very brave. Lil' Bro stayed at the hotel with his dad.

After the appointment, Pokemon Boy and I met up with my ex, Lil' Bro and my college roomate, KimmyJo. We all had lunch together and hung out. KimmyJo hadn't seen my ex since it all began and told me she had imagined all of these things to say to him but they all just disappeared when she saw us all. My take is, I don't waste the energy any more. I have those same fantasies but I'm sure they are much more detailed and mean. But I just deal with him as the guy he is at the moment. Plus, KimmyJo is a real God-person so she knows about grace and forgiveness. It was nice to see it in action and they both had a genuinely nice visit.

The ex had to leave. We walked KimmyJo to Park Street station and parted ways. Then I took the boys to the Swan Boats in the Public Gardens. Man, I lived there for 20 years and only rode them once. They are so pretty and so fun. I like being a tourist in my old home town.

Self Portrait on Swan Boat

Pokemon Boy on Swan Boat

Lil'Bro on Swan Boat


All the walking wore us down. We went back to the hotel for computer time, TV and a quick power nap for mommy. The boys and I dined by ourselves at a nearby California Pizza Kitchen place. It was a good day.


More about New Hampshire & Vermont later.

Feh and Fun

Feh:
Tuesday, July 22nd, a nice judge signed this big fat legal document. I am officially single. I have officially re-entered name-changing hell. It was all fun the first time. Wee! I'm Mrs. So-an-so!!! Not so much the 2nd time around. Feh.

Fun:
Tomorrow morning...or looking at the clock...later this morning my boys and I will be hopping on a plane to Boston. Even though the full-on 100% EX is up there, it's still home-town to me and my boys. They haven't seen it since 2005. I want to show them off. I want to get my work laptop fixed. I want to eat seafood that was pulled from the ocean mere minutes before it flopped on my plate. I want killer Vietnamese and Indian food. And Thai, now that I'm thinking of it. TexMex rocks. BBQ rocks. But my taste buds are craving real New England clam chowdah. Wikkid yah!

I may or may not have access to my work laptop while up there. It will be getting fixed at some point. So I may not post again for a while. But bottom line is - I'm fine. Much better emotionally. Work has eased up a bit. I'm off the meds again and feeling stable. My parents rock. My church rocks. My neighbors rock. All y'all rock.

See you on the flip side when I'm craving some killer BBQ and authentic TexMex!

An April Fool in Boston

The eagle has landed. I got into Boston almost 2 hrs after my original arrival time. No worries. Delays in beautiful Cincinnati. Nice airport, that.

I'm fighting off a cold so I'm not visiting my pregnant friend or Kristen and her family as originally planned. Don't need to share that kind of love.

Here are some shots from my hotel. I love the Radisson. Every single room has a balcony. First thing I did was go onto mine. Love it. Here are three shots from my 12th floor room. [I can't seem to make this picture any wider. The shots are from 5:54pm, 6:33pm & 7:22pm.]


Here's a shot of my room. You can see my lovely balcony view out the sliding door. And I had American Idol on the TV. (Right now, I'm watching one of my favorite shows, Gene Simmons Family Jewels.)


And here I am chillin'. I'm sitting at my computer desk with my feet up on my giant king sized Sleep Number bed. Traveling is good.


I'm heading to bed now. Then to meetings all day tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have time to take some shots of something interesting enough to blog about.

Wish you were here.

Texans Define Chili and Lunch w/ Kay

Two items today. So settle down for a longish one (as if that's anything new).

TEXANS DEFINE CHILI (apparently for the rest of us)
Now, as a Texas transplant, I will forever be on the outside of a few things. As soon as you say you've moved here from somewhere else, you get that knowing look and some version of "Oh. You're not from here." It can be annoying. It can also excuse me from some obvious faux pas I have committed.

The latest was to admit in front of two apparent native Texans that I make very good "chili". Mind you, I did this with full knowledge that most Texans define chili as this meat-laden, tomato-based stew with a base of cumin and other spices. It rarely has beans. As I was informed by one of the chefs at my local gigantic and overly huge grocery store (with a headset microphone to share my humiliation with anyone within a 1 mile radius), in Texas there's chili and then there's beans. I get this. And I don't care what you call it. When I make chili, people come running. And many of those people are native Texans. I have made converts to my chili from Boston to Austin. You can call it beans. I don't care. It's still chili. It doesn't have meat because I perfected the recipe when I was "po". Meat was a luxury I didn't have back then. It doesn't have some meat substitute because in my world? If you're gonna have meat, have MEAT. If you're not going to have meat, don't dress up some soy product and call it something with some pithy meat-like name.

The ribbing I received from these native Texans was good natured and sweet. But there was an underlying smugness about it that rubbed me the wrong way. Being a San Fran native, raised in New England by south westerners, I know all too well how regional biases work. So when I meet this smug kind of "I've lived here all my life and you are a transient interloper", I get it. But I also have to repress the urge to toss out some of my own smugness that centers around the portability and flexibility that I see in my own life of having moved around and lived in many different regions of the east coast and the southwest. There is a certain sadness I feel for some people who have never stepped out of their tiny little self-imposed geographical radius. Not all of them. But the ones who meet outsiders with disdain and/or fear. Those I feel sorry for.

Anyway, the exchange was interesting and strange enough for me to post about here. Texans are a prouder than usual bunch. And I'm hip to that. But as a girl who has lived in San Fran, San Jose, CT, MA, NY, NC and TX, I feel my more rounded "American" pride trumps their limited one-state pride. (insert image of me sticking my tongue out here)

And I forgive them. And that chef is still totally adorable and cute.


LUNCH W/ KAY
Last night, I was online at a rather odd time. As I was about to walk away, an IM window popped up from my friend who is on the road with - of all things - the Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus 'Best of Both Worlds' tour. Normally, I wouldn't even know what that was. But having kids who watch WAY too much Disney channel, I am all too familiar with the singer, her show and the tour. But also, she is one of the few child performers that I actually respect. The girl has pipes. I don't praise singers lightly. I am hugely judgemental when it comes to vocalists. She's got the goods.

My friend Kay is a rocker from my Boston days. She was in a rockin' band called Letters To Cleo. My band Rag Iron opened up for them at least once. Possibly twice. Can't recall. She played Mary in Boston Rock Opera's production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the most successful line up done by that theater group. I was Simeon Zealots in that production. We were in a few other BRO shows together, too. She is a doll. She is a very generous and gracious performer. She befriended all of us in that group and we all adore her (unless there is someone out there that has some dark and terrible tale of which I am unaware).

Kay married her guitarist, USAMike. I married my drummer. I think you're all familiar with how mine went. But back in the day, we got our families together a few times and got all gooby over how cute her daughter was with Pokemon Boy (her girl is 1 yr older than Pokemon Boy). Her son was born a year before Lil' Bro. So we entered motherhood together which was fun.

Her family moved out to L.A. to pursue music out there. I am so happy that they have both made a living from music. She is a singer/songwriter and music manager. He is a guitarist and producer. They are fabulous and I live a music life vicariously through them.

Kay has been writing stuff for Disney for a while. That 'My Friends Tigger & Pooh' show was her pitch to Disney. And that's her singing the title song and incidental music. A few months ago, she told me she's been pumping out songs for Disney. Specifically a song for a Care Bears movie and some stuff for Hannah Montana. I teased her about it but man, that's the way to do it. If you're gonna be a song machine, be the song machine for Disney!

About 3 months ago, she was tapped to go on tour with Hannah Montana as a backing vocalist. She (and the rest of the band & dancers) are heavily featured in the whole show. She has been having a blast. I am so freaking proud of her success (as if I had anything to do with it!).

The tour took her to San Antonio and Dallas but not Austin. Until last night! (Yes, long winded account but I'm finally to the part where it involves me). So the Hannah Montana tour got extended and they added an Austin show. Which means she was here for today with nothing to do but listen to my silly stories.

We met up at her hotel and had lunch there. I regaled her with stories of my Boston trip. I told her about the BRO party she missed and how we had all toasted her. I sent her love from all of the people there and gave her messages from a specific few. I made her laugh and practically scream with a few of my stories. We caught up. I got her up to date on the whole stupid divorce thing. We caught up on our respective kids. We talked about her wonderful hubby. It was just AWESOME. Just totally a couple of girls chatting and laughing. And in some cases, I made her laugh so hard, she literally doubled over and stomped her feet. It's a gift.

She took me out back and gave me a tour of the tour bus. I have never been on a real life tour bus and it was so cool. Yes I'm a fan and a geek. I wanted to stow away. If I were childless, I might have tried it. There were some compartments in the back I might have fit in with a little effort. HA!
It was SUCH a blast. It was just another refreshing confirmation from God that he has surrounded me with the most wonderful and far reaching group of friends and family.

So there you go folks. Six degrees of separation puts you only 3 people away from Mylie Cyrus. Chew on THAT.

Oh and Kay - I got home and told Pokemon Boy that I had lunch with you. He thought I said that we were GOING to have lunch with you. He got ALL excited that he was going to see you. When I explained that it had already happened, he said, "Tell her to go back in time and make it DINNER!" I asked, "You mean so you can go, too?" "Yes," he answered, indignantly. So yah, I should have pulled him from school and brought him. But then, you would have missed those stories you liked the best!

And for the rest of my blog friends, I put a few more pictures on my last two posts. Didn't have them ready when I published them. Enjoy!

Annnnnnnd...I'm Home.

Home again. How very odd to step from six days of the pick-up-and-go life style into the mommy world again. I got home about half an hour before Pokemon Boy got home from school. Opening the door to that smiling face just about burst my heart! When we picked up Lil' Bro from preschool, I thought I might get a running leap into my arms. But he stood up, looked at me and asked, "Mommy, why are you wearing THAT shirt?" Yes, good to see you, too, my love.

So I'm home, deep in the cradle of love. It's awesome. It could have been awesomer had future ex not insisted on discussing legalities while I was a captive audience in a moving vehicle. It was fun. I tried to exit said vehicle while it was still moving. There was screaming and yelling. Oh yes. Great fun. Quite the shift from the tender care I just endured from pretty much the whole of Boston. Good to be home.

But we're all good, future ex and I. God keeps my blood pressure from exploding my brain and I have a reminder to call my lawyer tomorrow. But we put away the hatchets and were able to speak civilly later in the day. Divorce really is a beautiful thing. And by beautiful, I mean giant mound of decaying flesh. 'Nuff said.

But let's see...when last we left our heroine, she was going to venture out and see about five different friends on her last full day in Boston. Yah. That was pretty ambitious. Especially considering I was moving about as fast as a chick who had just been sick for the better part of a week. After blogging to you good souls, I called friend number one: Tex, you up? You wanna hit breakfast? No? Too tired. Got it. That actually works for me so now I'm down to just juggling four people. Call to friend number two: Valdez, you wanna hit some lunch or something? What? Don't want to just hang for such a short time? Hit you next time I'm up. Good no problem. Down to three people to juggle. Friend number three: You just bought enough food to cook at home for two and you really need the couple time? Got it. No problem.

So I called my former roommate, KimmyJo. She was on her way out to western Mass when I informed her she was the lucky winner of a day out with ME. Fortunately, she is not insulted at being call number four. She turns around, drives about 25 minutes and picks me up. We drove out to a ski resort in western Mass that she wanted to check out. Mind you, I have never skied and will never ski in my whole life. So I found this picture rather humorous. You know, a shot of me after having just come off the slopes.

But it was so cool to see all that snow and all those people skiing or snowboarding.

KimmyJo has been yet another life line of mine since my college dropout days. She was my roommate when my birth-mom found me. She was my roommate when I was fired as an R.A. and kicked out of school for 2 weeks. She was at my wedding. She was one of the first at the hospital when Pokemon Boy was born. She adores my boys, my parents, Big Sis and The Tall Guy. She even still loves my future ex but wants to slap him upside the head. We have been there for each other and have waded through the mire together on several occasions. So we reconnected, filled in all the gaps in our respective stories. All in all, it was about a six hour excursion. On the way back to the city, she randomly called one of our other college buddies. So we unceremoniously dropped in on a very gracious Andrea and her family. We reconnected with her for about an hour and a half and it was just relaxed and familial. What a day.

KimmyJo got me back to the hotel in time to take one of my favorite friends out for a very fancy dinner. That crush I mentioned yesterday. He has been one of the few men I have confided in during this whole divorce thing. We've been friends since...let me do the math...well, for about 18 years, I guess. Something like that. So we went out for a killer steak dinner at this amazing place near my hotel. And we sat there talking forever. I put everything out on the table. I just felt like I needed to explain my beliefs, my feelings, my insecurities, apologize for a few of my actions, blah blah blah. The funny thing is, he already knew most of it - except for my beliefs. But it was just good to have to admit a lot of it to him. Get it all out in the open where we could poke at it or just leave it alone. He is an amazingly wise and gracious friend. And I only felt uncomfortable for about 5 minutes preceding my whole intro into it. As for explaining my beliefs, it was very cool. When I started into it, I didn't want to sound like some wimpy apologetic Jesus freak. I mean, even though I AM a Jesus freak, I'm not wimpy and I'm certainly not apologetic. But I sure can sound that way when I'm talking to people who know me and know the old me. So inside I said, ok God, you gotta do the talking here because I'll just make it all sound really stupid. So I just started telling him how I was around 2005, how I found that church in Cambridge through my cousin, how I went thinking it was all going to be stupid, how I went to that class and all the leaders seemed like preppies or Abercrombie & Fitch models or Lord & Taylor ladies or snooty writers that drop $7 words. And that I pegged all the people in the class as people I would NEVER have anything in common with. I explained how they showed me stuff in the bible, showed how it might have looked in their lives and then told me to try to figure it out in my own life. Nothing force-fed. No wagging fingers in my face. No judgement. I told him that even when I pressed them to spoon feed me some answers, they never did. I told him how God walked me through the cesspool of 2007 and never left my side. How it wasn't ME that was so strong last year but God. And how I love my church so much it freaks me out. It was just amazing how it all just came pouring out.

After I finished, I kind of thought he'd finish up his Australian lamb chops, wipe his lips, tell me it's been grand and leave rather quickly. In stead, we had a very engaging exchange about it. He asked questions that weren't humoring me. He asked questions that challenged. He gave his own opinions. I tried SO hard, Trish. You would have been proud. The old me would have just countered everything at every turn - given the polished answers I've heard my whole life. But in stead, I tried to remember how you, Paul, Marc & Gwen would let us all challenge and ask and discuss and mull things over and you would just keep pointing to God. Just gently answer with how things have happened in your own lives. It was a very cool talk. We talked for hours. Not just about that. But about just everything I wanted to talk about and then more. Very much back to our old friendship style. It rocked.

So I got to finish my visit with - truth be told - the guy I had planned the whole trip around anyway. And on a very good note.

And I'm back home and not pining. I actually miss everyone pretty equally. But I'm having fun posting pictures on MySpace and FaceBook and sending silly emails and messages.

God rocks.

Good Gravy, What a Good Weekend!!!

I told you sickness wouldn't keep me down. No amount of puking, nose blowing, coughing or anything else was going to keep me from seeing all of my wonderful friends.

My plans on Friday were canned as you saw. But I slept late on Saturday and felt a bit better. I jumped on the T (subway) and headed out to my old haunts near B.U. I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon visiting my wonderful friends that run stores & diners in that area. They all saw Pokemon Boy born and raised to about the age of 3. Some of them kept seeing him even after we moved away. So that was very cool. The owners of my favorite diner (and makers of the best pancakes this side of the Pecos) hadn't heard about the demise of my marriage. So that was sad news to pass on. I think it helped for them to see me in my current energized state and not in the weepy snotty mess of a few months ago.

I got to see my wonderful friend Tex (not his real name and pretty funny considering where I now live). We hung out and exchanged old stories. Then we sat there just emptying the closet of everything we could dig up. For some reason, we can tell each other anything. So we dumped on each other and it was refreshingly cathartic. Plus, he's just a very interesting and fun guy.

After that, I hailed a cab to run over to the other side of the river. Months of anticipation had gone into the plans for this evening. I haven't seen my friends from Boston Rock Opera days in years. Literally. I probably hadn't seen most of them for a year or two (or more) even when I was still living in Boston. So I had put together a gathering of a rather short list of them. My criteria was, have I talked to you in the last year - if so, you were invited. I just didn't want to have to fake the niceties of talking to people I hadn't kept in communication with. I also didn't want to have to retell the marriage implosion story over and over. Or maybe it was that I wouldn't have to tell it over and over because the peripheral people don't really want to know? I have no idea. But I kept it to a small list of people I've been in contact with over the last year or two. It ended up being about 12-15 of us? Can't really count. I don't have enough fingers.

I don't know if you've ever been to a gathering of musicians and/or theater people. It's not like any other gathering of people I've ever been part of. There is something very goofy going on with these types of people. We instantly revert back to our 8 yr old senses of humor. And we have no problem just letting go and laughing until our vocal cords are shredded. I needed a full night of just pure unbridled stupid laughter like that. And I have needed that for SOOOO long. Man! We were just dorks. It was beautiful. All of our MySpace pages are full of references to private jokes born of that night that probably aren't even funny. But we don't care. It fueled our hysteria and it will continue to do so until we are beating it dead on the ground. Such is the madness of our ilk.

At one point, I figured it must be getting close to midnight. I checked the clock to see it was 2:30am. And I had to get up for church in the morning!!! I don't stay up that late any more. I'm a suburban MOM, for the love of Pete!

So I cabbed it back to my hotel and spent a totally restless hour or so in my bed until I finally passed out around 4:30am. When the alarm went off around 9:30am, I thought, yah, this is absolutely the way to kick my illness. Not. But I wasn't going to miss my old church service. No way.

I jumped back on the T (subway again) and headed out to the area where we last lived before moving to Texas. The beautiful Alicia and Kristen picked me up at the T station and off we went to church. Now, I was a bit worried that Kristen's first experience with my old church wouldn't be stellar. I was praying for the head pastor to speak and the main worship band to play. That's the killer combination. We got there and saw that the head pastor was not scheduled to speak and I was bummed. We went and got bagels and drinks and met up with the effervescent Trish and her wonderful hubby. When we went into service, we were pleasantly surprised to see the head pastor DID speak. YEAH God! This guy is one of the most engaging and interesting speakers I've ever heard. And that hadn't changed since 2005. The worship team was not the A team but they were good and God uses the music no matter who performs it. So why was I worrying?

So pastor Dave introduces today's topic. Dating. We all had to laugh. They're all married and now I'm on the brink of having to enter the dating world again soon. So I thought in my head, "Ok God. Funny." But let me tell you, you didn't need to be single to get something from this lesson. Honestly, I was blown away by how God just notched the arrow and POW! right between my eyes! After the sermon, during the first worship song, I was standing there just going, "Wow God. You are AMAZING!" Blew my mind. Not only did the lesson really give me some insight into my own failed dating and marriage scenario. But it also put into perspective a little crush I've been having since last October. And by "little" I mean, pretending it's little while it actually has consumed a HUGE part of my heart. You women know what I mean. But I've been praying about this particular guy and I know it can't possibly go ANYwhere. And I tell God that. But still, I keep leaving the door open to it and trying to pursue it. Yes. I am human. Hear me squeak. So yesterday, God just highlighted all of the red flags he had already posted all around me that I was pretending weren't there. It really was quite humorous. I love the way God doesn't just slam me to the ground with painful lightening bolts. The lesson I got yesterday really was quite funny to me. But really quite serious.

So during the ending worship songs, there was this one I LOVE. And I was trying to just belt it out. I had to stop mid belt because the sheer hugeness of God's little tap on the shoulder and the beauty of the song just got me. And as I've mentioned before, I'm not a pretty crier and I can't sing when crying. I just let it all go. Lost it. My wonderful Trish very quietly bent down and then stuffed about 5 tissues into my hand. Bless you Trish.

After church, I sat with my wonderful girly entourage and told them about my epiphany. Twas good to get it off my chest and confide in wonderful people.

The rest of the day was spent at Alicia's house. Her hubby Art was there. Kristen, A and R all showed up soon after and then it was an event! Alicia cooked the afternoon away for us all. I actually ate a huge meal of ham, wonderful mashed potatoes and green beans. I even ate dessert! So I guess we can assume my stomach is all better.

Alicia drove me back to my hotel where we sat in the car and I vented a bit about life (and by "life", I mean my divorce). She has been one of my dearest friends forever, it seems. She has had to hold me up through quite a bit of this. I love her and Kristen so much for that. And Trish, too. I don't know what I would do without the pillars of friendship God has given me.

Anyway, today, I woke up late. I took a long shower. I posted pix on MySpace. I'm blogging now. I'll finish up and head back out to the B.U. area for breakfast (gotta have those pancakes now that my tummy will accept them). I'll visit with a few more friends I didn't get to see and then head back to the hotel area for dinner with another wonderful friend. Then, hopefully it's early to bed and early to catch my plane tomorrow.

I am so incredibly lucky. Not only did I have a blast. But God gave me a very gentle and humorous lesson. Very clear. Yes, another neon sign that I was trying to pretend I didn't see. Why he is this patient with me, I will never know.

Y'all rock. I will be back in the land of smiling people that actually make eye contact soon. Hope I haven't digressed to my cold introverted no-eye-contact self too much by then.

Smooches...

Ain't NUTHIN' Gonna Get Me Down!

Still in Boston. Still lovin' it. But sad about two things:
1) Jane can't come. Wah!
2) I got sick today. Double wah!

However, #2 makes it abundantly clear that it's a good thing #1 happened. I mean, yah Jane, come to Boston and nurse me to health while I puke and blow my nose. Good times. Good times.

But I'm still hopeful that this will pass quickly and I will be able to romp with friends tomorrow. I had to bail on hanging with an old friend tonight. I'm thinking my choice is really a service to him. This is not the kind of love one wants to share. Nope.

Here are a few pictures so you can experience Boston with me.

Here is one from yesterday during the day. My view off my balcony during the day is just as awesome as the night view!


Here is a view of my best friend from 5:30am today. That nice cold tile floor actually felt good. I am hoping to not reacquaint myself with Mr. Barfitorium any more today but my stomach is still deciding.


Here are more of my favorite things I acquired this afternoon after a quick stop at CVS.


And here is me being a big whiny baby in my wonderful hotel bed.


I refuse to let this get me down. Well, obviously, I'm down. But I slept a few hours already and plan to sleep in tomorrow. And then I will attack Boston with a fresh new vigor! And a fresh new box of Kleenex. And hopefully without a fresh new barf bag.

Annnnnnnd I'm HERE!

WOOOOO HOOOOO!!! Check out the view from my 17th story balcony!!! Jane, I can't wait for you to see this! It ROCKS!

The real big tall one is the Hancock Tower. I work right across from there. The one just to the left of it is actually just as tall but further away. That's the Prudential Center. Feels like home.

Right now, I'm going to head down to that lit area in the foreground and get some GRUB!

YEEEEEE-HA!

Boston Bound!

Tomorrow, I head up to Boston for 2 days of business and the 4 days of fun! I'll have the laptop with me and plan to do some blogging. But my days and nights booked up fast. I haven't seen many people on my last few trips as I was still too fresh and raw from the implosion of my marriage. But now I'm ready to see people. Well, most of them. I'm keeping the contact to people that really matter in my life.

I will get to see Kristen and her wonderful family. I'll see Trish and her fabulous hubby. And the biggest bonus is that Jane will join me on the weekend and she'll get to meet them, too! Along with a few other assorted and sundry friends of mine.

I cannot wait - I have been so excited about this trip for so long! But yesterday and today I'm oddly anxious. The raging sinus headache that is literally throbbing through my head and neck isn't helping any. But I think the anxiety stems from the fact that I'm leaving my boys for a total of six days. And that I've had to reach out to quite a few people to cover their care. Normally, it would just be my mom. But this time I asked future ex to step up. As their dad, he really should be the first stop for child care. So he's going to come stay with them and commute to his job. Which means neighbors and my mom will get the boys after school until he can get back from work. They're all being wonderful about it. But it has seemingly made me rather anxious. Just hoping it all goes smoothly.

I think most parents (and especially moms) have trouble leaving their kids and just enjoying the break. The mom part never shuts off. And since their dad hasn't been around them for large amounts of time...I am wondering just how rusty his patience might be.

Well, I can't keep worrying. I actually think most of the anxiety is gone and it's this dang headache that's really doing me in at the moment. I've gotten all the bills paid, the child care is all set, the house is stocked with food and the upstairs is clean. Still have to get the downstairs looking less like a toy bomb went off. Still have to get that last load of laundry finished, get a few things over to my mom for safe keeping, and then pack. Oh, and finish lining up people to cover food service at church. I'm so glad you reminded me!!

If this headache wasn't the center of my universe at the moment, I'd tell you just how excited I am that I'm heading up to the relatively frozen tundra of my old home town. I will get to see my coworkers in person again. One of my favorite friends is picking me up at the airport and will go with me to get dinner. I will have lunch with my old work pals and dinner with my current work pals on Thursday. Friday, I will be hanging out with another friend of mine that I haven't seen in a couple of years. Saturday, Jane will get a small posse picking her up at the airport - ok, there will just be two of us. But still - that can be a posse, right? That night we'll visit with a bunch of my old rock theater friends. Sunday we'll visit my awesome former church - Trish's current church. And then we'll go hang with Kristen and our other friends that have been my lifelines and rocks through the last decade or so. YEAH!!!

I really am not conveying the true depths of my thrillosity over this trip. If you could see my face, you would SEE the headache.

I will go now. I am not forming much goodness here. Gah. I will try to post while in Boston.

Smooches...

Confessions of a Closet Red Sox Fan

Oh my FREAKING goodness!! I cannot believe the Sox won the World Series. Now, you need to understand me to know how shocking it is that I care about A) baseball, B) the Red Sox and C) the World Series.

I lived in Boston for 20 some-odd years. During most of this time, I worked in Copley Square (think IN the city) and I lived out by Boston University (think just outside the city). So for most of my adult life, I had to get to and from work by going directly by Fenway Park (think right smack dab in between the two). I either rode the T (subway), a bus (the 57 bus) or rode my bike. No matter what I did, if I wanted to make it home in a normal amount of time, I had to go through Kenmore Square. And that means by Fenway. And for a portion of the year, that means wading through scores of idiotic Red Sox fans.

I have watched the fans from the suburbs or rural areas treat my city as their own personal garbage can or spittoon. I have had my butt grabbed by fans as they drove by me on my bike. I have had beer cans, fast food and crumpled up paper lobbed at me by said fans as I rode by on my bike. I have had to wait for what seemed like forever for a train that had enough room for me to cram myself in between really bad frosted hair and giant beer bellies. I have had to get off a train because of overzealous drunk fans deciding to vomit.

For many MANY years, I hated the Red Sox. Sure, I really hated many of their fans. But I focused my hatred on the Red Sox. And baseball in general. It's a slow annoying game. The game is so slow that the fans have no choice but to drink themselves silly in an attempt to have some fun.

I lived in Boston. I loved Boston. But man, I hated the Red Sox. Not a real popular stance. But I stuck to my guns.

Until 2003. That's when I moved to a suburb of Boston that didn't require a daily trip through drunk stupidville. Then I was actually able to watch the Red Sox without feeling the need to punch one of them in their stupid over-paid heads.

This change of heart had very good timing. Because in 2004, they had their first win since 1918. Honestly, how could you NOT love that? I remember watching that win, standing up in my living room with my hands over my mouth in TOTAL disbelief. And I had to scream very quietly because my relatively new baby was asleep, as was his big 3 yr old brother. And I remember standing there all excited and totally blown away. Oh sure the win was exciting. But I was totally blown away by the absolute silence in my neighborhood. The difference from living near Boston University during 2 Patriot's Super Bowl wins and living in the quiet 'burbs for the Red Sox first win in 86 years? Well, there were no screaming drunk college students. No one was turning over cars and setting them alight. There wasn't an orchestra of different car horns. It was total silence. It was creepy.

So tonight, I sit in Texas. My boys are once again totally asleep. And I am totally alone to stand in my living room with my hands over my mouth in TOTAL disbelief. I'm probably one of very few Texans that cares. So I ran up here to my computer to leave all sorts of "SOX RULE" messages on my Boston friends' MySpace sites. And to post my Boston pride - albeit a few years (or decades) late.

Red Sox WIKKID RULE!

Look Out BOSTON!

Boston is already used to me. It had me for 20 some-odd years. I'm sure it can handle having me there yet again. BUT - as Trish pointed out today in her blog - in January, it will be hosting four of the lovely bloggers from my extended bloggy family. It is home to Trish & Kristen. It's formerly my home. But in January, the lovely Jane will be joining me for half of my business + pleasure trip! It was a wonderfully impulsive idea and I think it should become an annual event that includes even more of my wonderful bloggy family.

The thing that just cracks me up about this is, Jane and I were emailing off-blog. And I said something like, "Oh we should take a trip to Boston together some time!" She replied something like, "Word up, yo. I am DOWN wit dat!" Well, no, it was more like, "That would be great!" But I just wanted to visualize her being all street and stuff. Anyway, we initially wrote it up as nothing that would happen any time soon. But then I realized I have a business trip up there in January and just said, oh man you should totally come up then!!! And about an hour later we were figuring out flights and hotels and all sorts of stuff. Is this just crazy or what? I love this! I mean, as I've seen a few of you post before - who'da thunk that we'd make such amazing connections with virtual strangers over a BLOG?

So Trish, Kristen, Alicia (our non-blogging honorary blogger pal), Jane and I are planning an Awesome Blogger Chicks Nite Out. WOO-HOO!!! And we'll probably all be going to my old church on Sunday. Jane wants to check it out, too, Kristen! So Trish, tell them to step it up, man. Because the Awesome Blogger Chicks (ABC) will be there.

I also sent out an email to some of my Boston Rock Opera girlfriends to get a little shindig together. One of them is making a special trip up to see me while I'm there. I want Jane to meet a bunch of them, too. Most of my Boston friends are still performing in bands so we're hoping to catch some good music while there. I mean, even if it all gets jumbled up, who cares?! Jane and I were thinking that hanging out in a Boston hotel in the middle of January sounds like great fun, too. And I know some killer restaurants that are off the beaten path.

Oh Kristen...let's take her to Carlo's! Talk about tiramisu!!! Plus, I haven't seen Mama Irene in years!

This is gonna be so much fun! I am sitting here wishing the holidays would just get it all over and done so I can get on this trip!

WOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!

...And Boy Are My Arms Tired!

I just got home from my business trip to NJ and Boston. I don't normally ever come back going, "Wow, that business trip was AWESOME!" But I'm saying it this time! I had such a freaking AWESOME almost-week up there.

First off, New England (and the north east region) is my most favoritest place in the country. I've lived in a lot of places but I love that area the best. On our drive from Boston to NJ, I had my face pressed against the window and just kept going, "LOOK at those TREES!" My New England coworkers were like, dude, they're just trees. Now, don't get me wrong: I adore my new Texas home. Austin rocks. Love it. It's green and gorgeous. But it has SHORT trees. Not a lot of water here so the trees very smartly decide to stay short and get wide (much like myself). In New England, the trees tower over you. As one native Austinite told me today, she hates tall trees. She likes her short Texas trees. She likes to see the sky. So there is a plus to the short trees. Plus, being surrounded by short trees, I can pretend I'm taller.

Second, the trip to NJ was our divisional off site "group hug". It's all IT people. Can you think of a less exciting group of people with which to have an all-day meeting? But it actually was a lot of fun. Mostly due to the fact that - this year - the didn't try to "mix it up" with assigned seats. We got to sit where we wanted and with whom we wanted. So I could lean over and make my silly remarks to my friend and she could go, "Stop talking to me." I got to see a lot of coworkers from PA that I haven't seen in about a year, too. And some NJ friends - ditto. So that was actually much better than I expected.

Third, everyone kept telling me how gorgeous I look. And by gorgeous, I think they really meant, "Wow, you're not a 300 pound, gelatinous, weeping mess!" But I just pretended they all thought I should be on America's Next Top Model. I found it especially funny that, on the day when I didn't have time to wash my hair, everyone told me how great my hair looked. What is THAT about?

On Tuesday night, I got to hang with a long-time friend that I adore. He is actually the son of a friend from my Boston rock theater days. I still think of him as that 14 yr old kid. Well, he's 6'2" and 25 yrs old now. So that was an adjustment. HA! He's been one of my few male supporters through this divorce. He recently lost his life love and we've found we have many similar experiences in our dealing with our losses. Sometimes he just calls to see how I'm doing because he's having a hard day dealing with loneliness. Other times, I'll describe something I'm feeling and he'll get it. Normally if a 25 yr old tried to liken their love-loss to mine, I'd toss some snide remark at them about how their situation is so paltry compared to mine. But he really gets it. We had a great time hanging out and we both gave each other a great shot to our respective egos. Nothing like hanging out with people who love you no matter what to just make you feel amazing.

And speaking of people who love you no matter what, on Wednesday night, I got to hang with my other long-time (and one not-so-long-time) friends. I hooked up with Kristen, Trish and Alicia at a great Boston eatery. These three women were my go-to pillars when future ex first dumped me. I have to tell you how awesome it is to have people to turn to who will immediately start praying even as you're crying on the phone to them. I cannot tell you how much they've had to endure in listening to me. I also think how hard this has been for them. I mean, first, they have to deal with standing on the side lines while one of their best friends is in the ring having one of the biggest fights of her life. Praying is amazing. And it works. But I know first hand that the human side of you wishes you could get in the ring and throw a few punches, too. And second, two of them were almost as close to my future ex as they were to me. So they are feeling the loss of a man they loved for many years. And they are dealing with the whole, "Who IS this guy, anyway?" thing.

But all week at the office, I just had a huge smile on my face. I think that threw all my office mates. This was the first time since March that I travelled to Boston. First time they saw me since they heard I was actually getting divorced. To see me looking healthy and smiling like a goon? I don't think that was easy to reconcile in their heads. I think that was why I got so many shocked sounding comments like, "You look amazing!"

So yah, this trip just rejuvenated me. And I'm still smiling!

Origins of Lord & Taylor Lady

Stacy is curious how I met Trish. It's a funny enough story, I thought I'd share. I should probably have checked with Trish first before writing this missive. But I didn't. She can fly her butt down here and kick me in person. Then I'll take her out for some amazing TexMex.

I'm gonna throw in some background here because it's significant to the story in my mind. And this'll be a long one. I imagine Stacy & Trish are the only ones that will finish it!

I grew up very dogmatic in a rather messed up church. The people were like my extended family. I'll leave the "messed up" label pretty much squarely on the shoulders of our preacher. But I was saddled with a lot of theology I couldn't reconcile to a loving God. When my parents left that church, there were some rather well-meaning but screwed up attempts to keep me and some of my siblings there. I then went to a Christian college that was actually really great. But I had a life crisis or two, made some bad decisions and quit that school with a bad taste in my mouth due to what I perceived as the hypocrisy of Christians.

Add to that the general stupidity of most humans. So of course, when I ran across an idiot who just happened to be a Christian, I added it to the mental box labeled "Yet another bone-headed Christian that solidifies my feeling that I will never participate in organized religion again."

So with chip firmly on shoulder, I decided I would tackle the world with just God. Those fallible humans continually pissed me off. So I would tolerate them and just deal with God directly.

I walked a very precarious line for many years. I am convinced I survived my own stupidity due to the sheer volume of prayers that went up on my behalf from my mom, her sisters, our church friends, people who knew me and actually had a clue about God, etc. I now know there were tons of people praying for me my whole life.

I worked in night clubs in Boston as a coat girl, waitress and eventually bouncer. I sang in bands and rock theater in Boston. I did professional photography for bands in Boston. I basically lived in clubs and embraced a large part of the culture therein. I had no self esteem but pretended to be the most amazingly kick-ass strong woman. As a bouncer, I acted my way into being a well known persona in the Boston club scene. People believed the bravado and some were actually afraid of me. I never let go of God - talked to him constantly. But I was going to do things MY way. I tried to embrace all beliefs. I was going to be the tolerant cool Christian. I was going to be the open minded Christian. On the way, my faith got rather muddy and confused.

When my kids were born, I wanted to give them a Godly foundation but hated the thought of going to a church where they would be turned into little dogma-spewing idiots. So I always told people how I wanted to find a church for my kids but I never EVER thought of actually doing anything about it.

Enter my cousin Lorraine. And by cousin, I mean step second cousin. If there is such a thing. She's the daughter of my step-dad's cousin. And we didn't know each other. We knew OF each other. But I moved into her town. And our parents lived near each other in Florida. And I'm sure there were conversations between them that gently suggested that maybe my cousin could invite me to church. Well, after living in her town for almost 2 years, she called me one day - out of the blue. Did I want to visit her church with her. Um...hold on while I get my mental tome of reasons why I couldn't go. But God thumped me in the back of the head and said, oh just GO already. And I surprised Lorraine and myself by saying yes.

I told my friend Alicia that I was going to this wacky church we all heard about in Boston. They advertise on the subway and buses. They have signs that say things like "Come have coffee and bagels with us" or something like that. I mean, I was like who serves coffee and bagels at church? This church must not be very good if they have to lure people with food. But my former college roommate, KimmyJo, used to go there. And she's not nuts. Well, she loves me so she just might be nuts. But I digress. Anyway, Alicia agreed to go with me. Which made me nervous. Alicia is used to Catholic mass. Nice predictable sleepy mass. I didn't know if this church was charismatic or what. I didn't know if they'd be swinging from chandeliers or what. So told her, we'll sit in the back and if it gets weird, we're OUTTA there!

We went around the beginning of the Lenten season. Which I don't keep track of. But the Cambridge Vineyard was just starting that year's 40 Days of Faith. I had never heard of it and didn't really pay much attention to the announcements about it. But the pastor (who I didn't know was the pastor because he was just so laid back I figured he was just the guy doing announcements) announced they were bringing up someone to give a testimony about the 40 Days of Faith.

Enter Trish. Now, in my last post, I confessed that I give instant snap judgements in my head. All the time. And Trish was just fodder for my cynical attitude. She just looked the part of the perfect Christian woman - a person to whom I would never relate or to whom I would have nothing to say. I had this warped idea that all women who claim to be "true Christians" were wimpy little lemmings who are just vapid yes-men to their boyfriends or husbands. It's awful. But that's where my head was at as perfect Trish took the stage. And she was just adorable. And I mean that in a way that made the cynical I'm-too-cool-for-anything me roll her eyes. And I'm sure I did.

Trish was well put together. In my mind, she looked like a model out of the LL Bean women's catalog. Or someone who shops at (shudder) Talbot's. Or even worse - Lord & Taylor. So I dubbed her "Lord & Taylor Lady" in my mind. Ain't I just a loving little God girl!

So Lord & Taylor Lady proceeds to give her testimony. Which fell on my cynical ears like so much drivel. I heard her say something about how she had wanted a husband. At that point, Alicia and I shared a rolling eye look. Granted, both of us had always wanted a wonderful Christian husband. But we knew that wasn't a cool thing to admit so we sneered away. Trish basically gave a great testimony and I imagine it was just a teaser for her book that's coming. But at the time, I didn't know that and I was a snotty little piece of crap and just rolled my eyes thinking, if I ran into this woman at the bagel table, she'd ignore me. We'd have NOTHING to say to each other.

I figure that's when God laughed and made other plans.

Alicia and I never stopped going to that church. We loved it. It's a freaking amazing church. In spite of the Lord & Taylor Lady and all the well put together people that attend along with her.

At that time in 2005, that Vineyard offered a class called Alpha (now called SEEK). It was for those "on the cutting edge of faith". Not meaning your faith is totally cool and alternative. Meaning you're not quite sure what all you believe or whether you believe anything at all. But you're coming to church so that's something. This class was there to address those people. I was those people. I was always cool with God. But I had serious doubts about almost every other aspect of Christianity. Was Jesus divine or just a great prophet? Was the bible inspired word or just a political collection of writings? Were there actually some real Christians that might not make me want to punch them collectively in the heads?

I decided to go to Alpha. I mean, hey, they fed you dinner and it was only once a week. What's not to like?

The first night, I show up feeling like a total dork. I had laughed with my coworkers going, "I can't stay late tonight. Because I'm going to... a BIBLE class!!!" They know me. They've known me during all my various fads and stages. So this was rather interesting to them as well. But off I went for my free meal.

When I walked in, the first person I saw was this well put together guy. Young dude, probably in his 30s. Extremely good looking and very happy. Great. Just what I need. A Happy Handsome Guy to not be able to relate to. And then what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a Lord & Taylor Lady. Yah. Doesn't it just figure that the woman I sat judging and rolling my eyes at - she was one of the leaders. So was Happy Handsome Guy. The other two leaders were equally not in my universe. There was the Cerebral Writer Guy who used way too many $7 words. And then there was Cute Perky Preppy girl. I'm sure they'd all laugh at my generalized snap judgements of them. But honestly, I sized them all up as people I would have NOTHING in common with. Along with the 25 or so other people that showed up looking all "What am I doing here?" with me.

That group of people spent the next...how many weeks did we spend together? Ten? I have no idea. Trish, how many weeks was that? Every week, a few people would drop out. But eventually, we got a solid group of committed dorks. And we hashed it all out together. We'd talk, question, sneer, confess, accuse, talk more, question more. It was unbelievable. That class opened my eyes in amazing ways. And one of the first things God did was show me that Lord & Taylor Lady was just a shmoe like me. With nicer clothes. And smoother hair. And a really cool husband who laughed at my Lord & Taylor description. He assured me that, at home, she rarely gets out of her pajamas and, when she does, she dresses like a normal person.

During that class, God used Lord & Taylor Lady...now Trish...as his conduit. He used all the leaders. But especially her. I opened up about things with her that I never told anyone. God gave her huge insight into how I worked.

A small group of people from that class begged the leaders if they would start a new small group with us. We dubbed it Beta (ain't we clevah!). It was the best small group I've ever been part of. We were still all newly renewed in God. So it was so easy for us to share openly and honestly. No one faking anything. I'm still very close with the Fabulously Tall Rowing Couple from that class (another couple I figured I'd have nothing in common with and now I adore them).

That group prayed with and for me as I agonized over whether to move to Austin. I mean, God just found me the perfect church!! Should I leave it??? And when I decided to go, they all encouraged me. Trish has been one of my loudest and most steady cheerleaders.

When I discovered my husband didn't love me and he loved someone else, I called Trish first. I was terrified of doing the wrong thing. I called her and she told me about how That Dog had dental surgery and all sorts of stuff before I finally had the guts to blurt out my new horror show. Once again, God used Trish as his messenger. She gave me ways to pray about it that I never would have thought of. She told me to fight for my marriage and not stand timidly by in the name of being polite or politically correct. She taught me how to put in my shark teeth while still holding on to God. And she has never left my side or told me I suck or anything.

Trish means more to me than she knows. I love her humor. I love her intelligence. I love her fashion sense. I can't wait to read her book because I just KNOW she has dedicated at least 3 chapters that are all about ME! (I kid) She is one of my strongest and most trusted God friends.

God - thank you for giving Lorraine courage to invite me to that wacky bagel church. Thank you for letting Alicia be open enough to go with me. And thank you for putting that nutty Lord & Taylor Lady on the stage that Sunday! Amen.