Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you had a WONDERFUL day!

Special shout out to Sandy, who also had her birthday today – happy birthday girl!

Some interesting thoughts concerning my first Thanksgiving in Texas:

~ We ate out this year – I think my first time ever – and it’s got its pros…….like no dishes to clean!!! It was an overall fun experience.

~ Texas in late November is C O L D!!!!! High today…..45 degrees! Gina was very cold.

~ We also saw a movie together – Enchanted – which, on a side note, I highly recommend! Anyway, this is a fun tradition that lived on in Texas. The only disconcerting feeling was when I noticed every restroom had a sign that stated “tornado shelter”. Tornado shelter?!?!!?!!? The movies twister came to mind….was that in Texas?????

~ The kids are ADORABLE! Each and every one of them. Kenny has grown up, Josh is taller and was focusing on how to spell Minard, Zack wanted and did show me how he could climb Uncle Jerry’s tree, and Sophia is still very proficient at talking!

~ My flight was entertaining – I sat next to a tall, very attractive woman who I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she was a model. However, I came to learn that she is about to graduate from medical school and become an MD! She was very sweet, is a Christian. We had a nice visit, although I REALLY needed to sleep on the plane……

~ So, I am tired now! Getting up at 3am to leave was a bit tough. In face, I was very fortunate; I had set my alarm for 2:30am but it didn’t go off. I kind of woke up and decided to check the time……realizing it was 3am…..so that could have been bad! But I got to the airport in time, really didn’t have any issues (although am thankful I reserved my parking space!).

Overall, this has been a good Thanksgiving!

Blogs are cool because you can share feelings, and darn it – I have happy ones too!

Just some highlights from the last few days…..

~ Got a call from my daughter – she was accepted to Cal State University Fullerton with distinction. This was her first choice, so she is very excited. As for me, I am getting used to the idea of having a child in college!

~ I was informed by Biola that I have been inducted into the Iota Alpha Chapter of the
Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society. This totally makes up for missing high honors by .005 grade points! LOL

~ I was able to work with Taylor University to resolve my delay in obtaining my final grade for my Romans class, which ultimately could have meant I would not be graduating this December. Taylor was very kind and was able to send a special letter to Biola so now I am officially good to go!

~ I was able to find 3rd row seats for my Yukon….you may remember that they were stolen a few months ago. To make things more complicated, I have not been able to find a dealership that had the seats as they told me they could only order for years 2006 and forward. So thank goodness for eBay! LOL. Yeah, they are probably stolen too but I guess I don’t know that for sure! And the OTHER great thing about this is the cost, with delivery, was $750 and my insurance check was $752. How cool is that???? UPDATED INFO: the company selling the chairs contact me….they are about 30 minutes from Deana! So she is going to pick them up and save the $75 shipping fee! So WOOHOO!

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am happy that I will be with my family in Texas. I have tons of things to be thankful for, but for right now I need to get ready for work because I need to be there early to play the drums! So I may post more thanksgiving items later!

Ciao

Special shout out to Lori and Liz, who send me emails at work chastising me for not updating the blog! THIS ONE’S FOR YOU LADIES!

Sometimes I analyze things, not so much that I hope to get to the end, but more for the journey of the thought process. For example, I am in Southern California and the bulk of my family is in Texas. While I have homework still to do, I have a pretty depressing life here…..no one really around, I hear about updates with my boys over the phone, etc. Yet, I receive a call from my daughter, who is also in So Cal, and we decide to go out together! CHA-CHING! Some of you know my relationship with my daughter has had it’s tough moments, but this meeting was a special one because it was initiated by Kirstie. And you know what? She had been feeling much of what I’VE been feeling! Her Dad and brothers are in Texas and, well, life here in So Cal pretty much sucks! So we hung out, did homework together, and then went out to dinner…..having a good time the whole time.

Yet the fact still remains…….we are alone out here, and that sucks! I don’t think many realize how hard this is on me…..not to be pitiful, but just the feedback I’ve received from a few peeps. Yet I refuse to let the facts and other circumstances ruin what has been an amazing evening with a wonderful lady who I’ve known for 17 years!

So yea, don’t know how that ties to the way I started this blog (which, I suppose was named “Just Rambling” for a reason….), but that’s all I got!

Tomorrow, it’s off to Vegas and I hope to glean at least a bit of fun out of it! That is, if I am allowed to have fun.

(Sub Title – What Gina Will Do to Avoid Homework)

Here are some bios of my regular readers!

Liz, Jen, and me

Liz B – She may look innocent in pictures, but she’s a feisty one! She is witty, sarcastic, and a great story teller. She makes me laugh so hard and plays the perfect “good cop” to my “bad cop” (especially in relation to Cat’s ridiculous shoes! LOL). Check out her comments here and on Deana’s blog – you will see all of what I’ve described there!

Wanda and Deana

Wanda is Mi Vida, often people get the two of us confused (SERIOUSLY!) She has been told she “did a great job on the drums in staff meeting” before and such. Obviously she must be very beautiful! Wanda has an amazing sense of humor, as you probably noticed from her comments, and also has a heart of gold. She is way nicer than Deana. LOL I also call her my Mom…..

Heather

Heather is my “little sister” and daughter of Wanda. She is a college student, employee at Subway, and older sister, and a comedian. Don’t believe me? Check out her comments! She posts the most and usually gets one of the top two posting positions. She is in an ongoing competition with me and Liz on Deana’s blog. She also backs me up on most occasions. I think I owe her my next cell phone when I upgrade…..

Allie

Allie B, sister of Heather and daughter of Wanda, doesn’t post as much but is cool just the same. It’s fun to see her and Heather bicker in the comments, although they were pretty united on the whole “boatload vs buttload” argument! Great job! She also is very helpful to me as she is making me a care package and will eventually be doing my laundry. ALLIE RULES!

Okay, I won’t post more because my jacked wireless is kind of slow tonight and the pics are taking forever. I DO have to do SOME homework people!

See ya!

Yep, I am bored in this empty house, fell asleep way too early last night, and now wide awake at an ungodly hour. SO, being so professionally efficient, decided to create this post:

1) It was very hot when I got home here in “Eastvale”. The house was about 97 degrees inside! I turned on the upstairs air conditioning, closed my bedroom door, and prayed that it would get cool soon. Ironically, I woke up freezing this morning! LOL

2) Yes, Kenny and Josh are currently in Texas! I know this has caused concern for some of you but no worries! It could be temporary or I could move to Texas depending on my ability to find affordable housing in Cali (well, is there such a thing???). But since Stepha is my nanny and she moved to Texas, well, summers in Texas aren’t that bad right?

3) Why, yes, I am very gorgeous – thanks for asking!

4) Yes, what you’ve heard is very true – left handers ARE consistently high achievers and hold higher than average IQs. (So maybe they spell aisle like isle but you know what it means……) Plus, they are way too sexy.

Okay, well, I have adequately tired myself out with the internet so I think I am going to try to go back to bed! Let me know if you have any other questions that need to be answered!

I have truly been blessed for years, but I would like to focus on the last several days and those who have made a huge difference in my life:

Wanda – mi vida, thank you for being a true friend, giving me support (emotional, physical, and spiritual), love, and understanding always. You and your family have been ingrained into my heart and life and I know you will remain there forever. Thank you for keeping me sane after Deana’s departure and for keeping me on the lunch schedule! Oh, I wanted to tell you too that you were great on the drums this week! I love you.

Liz B. – Thanks for silly things like singing Veggie Tales with me at work and trying to teach me and Cat how to do the Roger Rabbit dance. Thanks for sending me emails when Deana moved, for listening to my drama recaps, for making me laugh, for being appropriately incredulous when I am venting, and for being cool throughout. I am so thankful that our friendship has grown over the last several months.

Cat – Woman, you need to work on your Roger Rabbit!!! But thank you for encouraging me to exercise, for allowing me to vent so often (and occasionaly throw out some bad words), for not being afraid to do goofy things with me in the isle, and for having curly hair to offset mine! I am picturing you singing “bring ya to your kna kna kna kna knees!”

Rona – thank you for your understanding and support during the transition of Deana’s move. I know you miss Deana too and that helps me. I also really appreciate that you know many of the feelings I am going through and anticipate how you can help – thank you for that.

Heather – Thank you for your blog posting competition, for always making me laugh, for your willingness to help, and for being left handed! I love being your big sister! You rock!

Allie – Thank you for being just a little bit of stubborness, and ready smile, and for offering to do my laundry! I will probably take you up on that! I am proud to be your big sister and will help teach you the benefits of the shredder…..soon!

Aunt Kay – thank you for your directness and continued love. While I haven’t seen you for years, I appreciate that we keep in touch via the internet. I love that you are not afraid to share your feelings but that you always include how much you love me and I know that is real.

Dad – I know we haven’t seen each other for a while and, well, you know….but I love you very much. You have always been my #1 and remain so. Thank you for always loving me, for being a wonderful father, for sacrificing so much for me, and for being someone I can emulate in so many ways. You are truly a gift from God and I love you.

Okay, if you weren’t mentioned please forgive me – I have work to do!

G