Monday, January 30, 2012

Character Profiles- So She Dances

Some of you have already been somewhat introduced to the main character of this book- Talitha. Still, here is the F.Y.I. on the main characters, primary and secondary, to my next book So She Dances.

Inspired by the Josh Groban song by the same title, this book is about a young woman with a "disability" who loves dance, and has a dream to be able to dance. She is given the opportunity to fulfill that dream, and we see the struggles and triumphs she faces to overcome the challenges to achieve her goals; and how she and her dreams, affect those around her in her every day life.


 Talitha McDermmet, sometimes called Tallie, is 21 years old and is an at-knee amputee. (I'm still trying to determine whether it's just one leg or both.) She has been going to college in the town next to her home town, but is taking this year, between her Sophomore and Junior years, off to save up more money to finish school. She lives in an apartment near the college campus, which she shares with her cat. She works at a local small, but very successful, bookshop, and makes enough to live and save a little, but still has to be careful with her money. She loves dance, and has always had a longing to learn in spite of her "disability", so she's excited when she is given that opportunity, and is determined to succeed in her dreams.


 Daniel Killman is 22 years old, and is Talitha's boyfriend. He and Talitha grew up next door to each other and played together a lot. Daniel was going to school for computer programming and technology, and was half way through his Junior year at college, when his parents were killed by a drunk driver, and he had to put school on hold to take care of his little sister. Now he works in an electronics store, and he and his sister live in an apartment one floor above Talitha's.

 Michelle Killman is 19 years old, is Daniel's little sister, and was half way through her Senior year of high school when her parents died. She now lives with her brother and is half way through her Freshman year of college, where she is going for Drama and English Lit. Every summer, since she was sixteen, she has worked for a reputable Christian modeling agency doing catalog, hair, and makeup shoots. She's not comfortable doing runway fashion.

 Melissa Pakulski is 21 years old and has been Talitha's best friend since their Freshman year of high school. She married her husband right after graduation, and waited a year before starting college- where she is attending for a medical degree in Pediatrics. During the evening she works part time at a big chain retail/grocery store. She and her husband live in the apartment across the hall from Talitha.

 Matthew Pakulski is 31 years old and is Melissa's husband. He works at the small local branch of a big production company as a camera man and sound mixer. He is, sometimes, called upon to direct, and helps take care of a lot production needs at the college.

 Mr. Jonathan North is 35 years old, and is Matthew's boss. He's the manager of the studio, but also takes on directing and executive directing from time to time. It was while directing a shoot at the college that he saw Talitha dancing while goofing off with some of her friends. After talking with her, Mr. North was inspired to set up the finances for Talitha to take dancing lessons, feeling that she should have a chance at her dreams no matter what physical obsticles may be in her way. He takes an active role in tracking Talitha's progress, and continues to be a source of encouragement to her.

 Mr. David Bradford is 37 years old, is Matthew's cousin, and is an instructor of ballet and ballroom at the local dance school. After Mr. North talks to him about his idea for Talitha, Matthew addresses Mr. Bradford about taking Talitha as one of his students. Mr. Bradford gladly accepts, as he has always been an advocate for the physically challenged to be able to take part in dance, even if they have to do things differently, and looks forward to the challenge. He is tough but fair, and is kind and encouraging.

 Dominic Chase is 22 years old, and is the best dancer of any style in the whole dance school's professional company. His abilities have gained him widespread recognition, which has gone to his head, making him rather arrogant and stuck up. He does not like to associate with people he does not think worthy of his attentions, so when Mr. Bradford pairs him up with Talitha (in hopes that he will giver her the best help possible, and that she will help him learn humility) he is revolted. He refuses to work with her, at first, but, when he is given no other option, he grudgingly agrees- constantly complaining that she slows him down. He comes from a fairly well-to-do family and the only job he has ever been able to keep is serving at the local coffee shop, because coffee is his second love- and it allows him to flirt.

 Ms. Katelyn Lewis is 28 years old and is Mr. Bradford's girlfriend. She does all the piano accompaniment for Mr. Bradford's classes, and teaches Home Ecinomics, on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings at the local Christian school, for homeschoolers- or any other local students who would like to participate. She is very sweet and rather quiet, and has become a bit of a confidant to the girls in her classes and at the dance school; but she is in no way a pushover. Because she looks so much younger than she is, she is frequently mistaken to be one of her students.

 Koomie is Talitha's cat. He is seven human years old, and is a gold tabby. Talitha picked out his name to finish off a pun on her own name. He likes to rough house and cuddle and pretty much get in the way. He love getting rubbed under his chin and his arms. He also likes to sit in the middle of the apartment and meow very loudly, just to hear his voice, which often gets Talitha in trouble with the landlord, even though housepets are allowed. He also likes to gallop around the apartment at top speed, at random times. He likes getting into what minor mischief he can, and will sometimes pick fights with Talitha. He also likes to sleep a lot, and thinks he's the lord of the manor. Basically....he's all cat! (Except when he chases and tries to catch his tail, like a dog.)



Thank you to my friends who let me use their pictures to represent my characters. At least I actually asked this time! ;-P
Koomie is pictured by, and honestly represented as, my last cat, Pumpkin, whome I love and miss very much.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

New Photography Page!

Just a little note to let you all know that I have now put up a page featuring my photography!
The photos featured will be rotated from time to time. Check it out! ;-D

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Beautiful People- Talitha

So, I've finally decided to officially join in on the Beautiful People questionaires. I just couldn't resist this month's questions. To find out more about participating in this yourself, just go here to Georgianna's blog.

For this month's questions, I will be featuring the main character of my next book- Talitha McDermmet.


1. If character's house burned down, and they were left with nothing but the clothes on their back, what would they do? Where would they go?  
Oh, goodness! Well, she would definitely be in shock. Probably too much shock to do much of anything, so she would stay with a friend for a couple days, until the shock wore off, then she would go back home to her parents' house until she could get back on her feet.

 2. Are they happy with where they are in life, or would they like to move on? 
I'd say in some areas she's content, but in other areas she wants so much more...which is really where her story comes into play.

3. Are they well-paid? 
She makes enough to live and pay her rent and other bills, but she doesn't make enough to be extravagent or buy a lot of things she doesn't really need.

 4. Can they read? 
Of course she can but, even though she likes to read, she's not the type to constantly carry a book with her everywhere she goes. (Which might seem a bit odd, since she works in a bookshop.)

 5. What languages do they speak? 
English. Does Pig Latin count? She did take a year of Spanish in high school, but she can no longer remember even the simplist of phrases.

 6. What is their biggest mistake? 
She lets people get to her too much, and lets them convince her she's incapable of doing things she wants (and probably can if she really tries) to do.

 7. What did they play with most as a child? 
Other kids in the neighborhood and her little play house with kitchen set. She especially loved playing house with her (then) neighbor Daniel (who is now her boyfriend) and his little sister Michelle.

 8. What are their thoughts on politics? 
She's Conservative, and feels very strongly about certain issues, but she doesn't like getting into political debates and discussions, so she won't voluntarilly voice her opinions on such things unless she feels she absolutely must.

 9. What is their expected life time? 
She expects to live a good long life.

 10. If they were falsely accused of murder, what would they do? How would they react? 
Shock would come into play again, and she would probably break down crying. Then she would talk to everyone she knows to see if any of them could help find a way to prove her innocence, and when she found someone...she'd be tempted to hide in the security of her bed until everything blows over. :-P

Monday, January 16, 2012

Book Lists

As many of you may know, Katie wrote a post some time ago listing all the books she had read in 2011. She then said she was going to get started on her reading list for 2012. That gave me the inspiration to make a post of my own giving you the list of books I plan to read, myself, this year.
With the over 400 books I own already (on my Nook, not including my hard copy books), it is really quite a difficult decision to make; and there are other books that I don't own that I want to read, too! Also, with work and other life distractions, I don't tend to have as much time as I used to for reading, so I'm hoping what I've whittled down to will be doable for me. So here is my list, as it stands now.


Reading List 2012

Darby O’ Gill (done already)
Christmas Carol, The Chimes, Cricket on the Hearth (all in one book)
Secret Holocaust Diaries
The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Merchant’s Daughter
Oliver Twist
Sanditon, The Watsons, Lady Susan (all in one book)
Wind in the Willows
Men of Iron
The Phantom of Pemberly
Entwined
Murder At The Vicarage
David Copperfield
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Gulliver’s Travels
North and South
Peter Pan
An Irish Christmas
Little Dorrit
The Queen of Frost and Darkness
The Night Dance

If I have time/on a whim, add in:
Little Women(re-read- last read at age 12)
The Gammage Cup (don't own)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret (don't own)
The Night Circus (don't own)




How does all that sound?
I really do hope I'll get all that read. I really want to! As you can see, I've already got one down, and I'm into The Chimes in the second book, so I think I'm well on my way. :-)
I think it's a fairly good mix of classics and modern books, too. Here we go! :-D



Out of curiosity...would anyone like to see the full list of those over 400 books?

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Catching up to 2012- December and Beyond!

And so began December. Though some of my December activities technically started around Thanksgiving. Namely Secret Santa 2011 at The Lion's Call.  And it was Secret Santa that took up a lot of my time, besides work, during the first part of December. It goes for twelve days, on the giving part of the event, but I was the lead in charge of the event, so I was busy with it before the giving even began.

Secret Santa is always fun, and I had a blast finding things to give to my victim, our own dear Alex. I may have gone overboard on the amount of some things, but when you find so many good things, it's easy to do!
(Admit it, Alex! You loved every bit of it!) I'm glad there was a mix up, making us  put in a member who wasn't able to actually sign up. I wish it could have happened for Katie, too...but I think she might be getting her own overload from me, anyway. ;-) Though, that's been a bit on hold lately...need to finish it.

During that time I also helped decorate our tree and house, and we took the kids to see our church's Christmas production: How Christmas Saved the Grinch!

There were only a few days between the end of Secret Santa and the beginning of my family's Christmas activities. During this time I was decorating stockings for my sister's kids- they turned out quite nice.
Our Christmas started on Friday the 23rd. That night we had my sister and her husband and kids over to have our Christmas together. It was pizza for dinner, and then our traditional gingerbread cake and peppermint stick ice cream for dessert!
The kids had a blast, of course, and got quite a few presents. They each got a pair of pajamas, toys, and a stuffed animal bank plus lots of goodies in their stockings. The adults got gift cards- Johnny Carino's for Melodie and Russ (from mom and dad), Movie theater for my mom and dad (from me), and I got a Barnes&Noble one from my mom and dad.

Christmas Eve, while Melodie and Russ and the kids had Christmas at their house with Russ's family (more presents for the kids!), my parents and I went over to my grandparents' (dad's side) and spent the evening with them and had dinner with them in the main dinning room there. They live in an independant living kind of place for old people. It's kind of sad not having Christmas at their old house anymore. This was the first one since they moved.

Christmas Day we got up much earlier than normal for a Sunday so we could go to the first service at church (I hate getting up for first service!) so we would have enough time to come back home and make the green bean casarole to bring to my grandparents' (mom's side) house for dinner that afternoon. Things started out ok, but then my grandma called and tried to move dinner up in time, making things how we were trying to avoid- hectic and stressful. :-P
But we finally got there, and once we were all sitting and eating the stress started to leave. It was my grandparents, me and my parents, Melodie and Russ and the kids, and my aunt and uncle and their two grown kids. (Yes, more presents for the kids! Including their own small family Christmas that morning! Those kids are spoiled by everyone, I tell you!) We all had fun, and this year my mom actually convinced my grandparents to get me something I would actually use- a Barnes&Noble gift card! :-D

So my total receivings this year came to $45 in Barnes&Noble gift cards, and a box of World's Finest Chocolates Mint Meltaway chocolates (from my aunt and uncle). Not bad!
And, of course, my gift cards were spent on Christmas night. ;-)
There's only 45cents left on one of them. I'll use it to get a 99cent Nook book for only 54cents later.
My cards, so far, have gotten me a DVD and five Nook books! Makes me happy!
And then, of course, I did my normal Christmas "splurge". Every year I get myself a little something, and this year it was the second season Merlin DVDs- and for only $15! It was a bargain I couldn't pass up. ;-)

So, Monday, the day after Christmas, came, and naturally I had to work. It was crazy busy! I know it tends to be on that day, but I hadn't seen it that busy on the day after in a few years! I put in a full five hour day! And considering I usually only work about two hours a day, that's good for me!
Unfortunately, I woke up the next morning sick with a bug that had been (and still seems to be) going around at work. Spent the whole first part of the day lying on the couch with a bucket next to me. :-(  Thankfully, I didn't end up needing the bucket after the first incident, and by the end of the day was eating plane foods, but was off of the BRAT diet. It turned out to be just a 24hr. bug, but I stayed home the next day, too, just to be safe. After all, no employer likes having their employees coming in and gettings sick when they should have stayed home in the first place- especially if you're in the restaurant business.
Thankfully I was given the opportunity to make up the two days I missed by working and "extra" shift that Friday and Saturday (New Year's Eve). I was only on for those lunch shifts, and spent the whole time opening the doors for guests and making sure the carpets and windows  in the lobby stayed clean, but it was nice to have a slower speed job to do for once, and I got in a few hours each day. I ended the week with fourteen and a half hours, which is vastly better than the eight or nine hours a week I've been getting lately.

After I got out of work New Year's Eve, I met my parents at the mall across the street, where we went to see the movie Hugo 3D! It was very very good! The visuals were absolutely stunning, and the story was fun and engaging with touching moments. Of course Asa Butterfield (Mordred for all you fellow Merlin fans) was excellent as Hugo. I highly recommend you all see it as soon as you can! Even if you have to see it in 2D.

I fell asleep on the couch for a while, but woke up in time for midnight. I normally don't go to bed until 12:30/1:00 anyway. We ended up having our normal New Year's Eve spread on New Year's Day this year, though. My dad had worked Friday night (he works 3rd shift), and was too tired to get everything ready for that night.
New Year's Day we ended up staying home from church for various reasons- including the fact that I had started to not feel well again the night before, but it wasn't anything as severe as the day after Christmas, thankfully. So, my dad watched his football game, and we had our traditional spread.

Another eventful thing that happened during the New Year weekend:  my computer had to go into my uncle's shop. That Thursday night I was doing some stuff online when my browswer shut down on me, and this fake Windows XP anti-virus thing popped up on me, which I could tell right off was a fake and a virus in and of itself so I spent the evening trying to do some self fixing things which didn't work. Therefore, the next day I had to take my computer in to my Uncle Jeff's computer shop so he could get the stupid thing off.
So warning to you all:  if you get anything popping up on your computer called XP Internet Security or Windows7 Internet Security, don't let it do anything! It is a fake anti-virus that is a virus and will destroy your computer! Shut your machine down  and get it to a shop A.S.A.P.!!!

It was then I was extremely glad I now have a smart phone, which is almost just like a little computer (but there are some things I normally do that you can't on it). I had to wait until last week Wednesday before my computer was ready to be picked up! When I did pick it up, I was told there had been seven viruses on it, and that my anti-virus hadn't been able to properly update itself because the hard drive it is on was too full.  (ok, I have a tone of pictures, music, and games) So I had to delete some programs I wasn't using anymore, and move some stuff over to the second hard drive, which is getting pretty full, too. :-P
So I thought I would be able to get online again on my computer, yay!
Imagine my disappointment when my computer wouldn't properly connect to our wi-fi. It was picking up the signal perfectly fine, and said it was connected, but it kept staying on "Aquiring Network Address" and would not actually let me online. My uncle said that it had been connecting to their wi-fi perfectly fine before it left the shop, but yah.
I called my uncle back. He took me through some steps that didn't work. I tried calling him back...no answer. I waited until Tuesday and called him again- no answer. Finally, yesterday, I went to a coffee shop to see if I could get online and do some things via thier free wi-fi. It wouldn't connect there, either! That's when I knew something was definitely wrong! So, after we went to the laundrymat (so my dad could wash his work uniforms), we went back to my uncle's shop and he took a look at it.
It wouldn't connect to the wi-fi there anymore either. He tried a few things that didn't work, and then had to do a forced IP address, which did. So, when I got home I had to call him back and he took me through the steps to do a forced IP address for here. Now, I am able to get back online on my computer via wi-fi (Yayyy!!!!), but, anywhere I take my computer, I have to know the IP address in order to be able to connect. That really isn't a problem anymore, anyway. I rarely take my computer anywhere since we don't really travel anymore. The only places I can really think I'd be taking my computer to would be family members houses, and I can always do forced IP's there.

Another exciting thing I did yesterday, between laundrymat and uncle's shop, was set up my appointment for my driving test to get my driver's license! :-D
It's on Wednesday, January 25 (two weeks from yesterday) at 11am!
Please pray that there will be no bad weather and that the roads will be completely clear! And that I will have peace and presence of mind- no nervousness or anything else akin to it.

Also, I made my first Etsy sale last night! :-D
Someone bought a 4x6 print of my photo "Shattered". I just shipped it out this afternoon! :-)
The person who bought it even works at the corporate head quarters for one of my favorite boutique style shops: Francesca's Collections! I know this because she had me ship it to her there. I'm sure it was just a personal purchase, not a business one...but the possibilities! ;-)

So....yah....I've brought you completely up to date, now. I'm back online and getting all caught up on everything.

So this has been my adventurous holiday season!
I'm ready to crash now. *sagenods*
;-P

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Catching up to 2012- November

I know, it's been two and a half months since I last posted, and, while there had been some down times in those months, for the most part they had been rather full and somewhat adventurous.

Where to begin? Why not with the beginning?
I left off with my last post being on Halloween, awaiting the impending unknown that is NaNoWriMo. So, I shall start there.

NaNo went fairly well, in spite of my worries of no definite plot. I was successful in reaching the 50k goal, but only just. In fact, I finished  the whole book with a grand total of 52,753 words (50,219 actual NaNo count), which is vastly different from my previous book which took two successful attempts of NaNo plus some to finish. I'd say it is a very rought start of Naji's Story, definitely needs editing out and building up in places, but I think it's workable. And not only did I meet the word goal, but I finished it in two and a half weeks- just in time to pack for our trip to Texas.

As some of you may recall me mentioning, my parents and I headed down to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and his wife. We drove down to Chicago on the Friday before Thanksgiving and stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport. I love staying at hotels. I don't care if it's a Days Inn or a  Crown Plaza, there's just something about staying at a hotel that's fun! The one we stayed at was quite nice. Not expensive, just nice. But the beds! Oh my! Those beds were so high the top of the mattress came nearly to my waiste! It was quite an interesting endevour for my mom and myself to get up and down from the to/from the floor. We ended up having to use her wheelchair as a sort of half way point. :-P

We flew out of Chicago-O'Hare on Saturday, and it was my first time flying out of there not as a layover. Therefore, it was my first time checking in and going through security at that airport. It actually wasn't too bad. I expected it to be busier. We got through security rather quickly, and, since I wasn't feeling to well that morning, I went through those new scanners in spite of my normal protestations of them. I just wanted to get through, sit down, and get some food in my stomache. I just tried not to think about it all. :-S

The flight itself wasn't eventful. We got into DFW International on time- or slightly early, I can't quite recall. But that's where my mom had some issues. The people who came to help her get off the plane with an aisle chair had no idea what they were doing, and she almost fell out of the chair...she got very mad. After she reported the incident and got some Starbucks, she was placated.

My brother and sister-in-law were rather late meeting us, but we soon all made it over to the rental car terminal and my mom and I packed into their car with Courtney, and my dad and Nick took the rental car. We were supposed to all meet together at a Wendy's in a specific town for dinner, but, admittedly, we took the wrong way, so we girls went to a different Wendy's and met the boys at the house. :-P

Nick and Courtney's house is really quite nice. It's not very decorated yet, except for the main living area, because they don't have a lot of extra money to be able to do so, but what they have done is very nice. Courtney is a good decorator. I must say- their master bathroom is huge! I'm glad they have three bedrooms, because I got to stay in a room of my own while there and not sleep on the couch. I kind of got to make the room my own, even though there was still some storage stuff in it and all I had was an air mattress. But the window had quite a large sill to it, and I set out some of my things quite nicely. It's the little touches that matter most, after all. ;-)

Sunday we went to church at Gateway where my brother and sister-in-law regularly attend. I love that church (and it is in close relationship with our church), but I was severely distracted from listening well due to a headache and some other general icky-ness still hanging on from the day before. After church we went over to Southlake Mall, which is this big, gorgeous outdoor mall- especially pretty decorated for the holidays- and got some Starbucks. Next we went to this great gormet grocery store! I forget what it was called, but I wish we had one here! We then went back to the house...and I ended up snacking too much and wasn't hungry for dinner later, which was a very nice ham dinner my sister-in-law made. :-(

Monday we went to Ikea! And it was my first time ever at one! It was big, but not as big as I expected it to be by all accounts from my brother's descriptions. It was really cool seeing the various room displays, and we even found one that would work perfectly for our livingroom! If only we had the money to get the stuff from that room display. In general, my opinion on Ikea is as follows:  It's a really great store for getting ideas for your home, and if you have the money to spend. Otherwise...a bit overrated? *runs from the Ikea fans of the world*

After Ikea, the rest of the family got burgers from In and Out (I had something at the Ikea cafeteria), and then we took a drive down into Dallas proper. It was so wonderful to see it again! I miss seeing that skyline nearly every day. We got a little lost in Highland Park, but that's ok. If you have to get lost somewhere, that's the place to do it, and look at all the gorgeous houses in the meantime. ;-)
Eventually, we made our way south of the city and onto the campus of CFNI. We needed a place to make a pit stop, so that was the main reason for heading there. We only stopped at the Christian Center, but even there it was amazing some of the changes since I had last been there- but, then, it had been a few years.
On our drive back to the house, we drove past Arlington, and I was surprised how much more had popped up there, as well! My, how things change and grow!

Tuesday we headed out to Grapevine Mills. As seemed the trend of the trip, some things had changed there, too. There's now an aquarium and a LEGOland in the mall! Most of the things were still familiar, but it was fun going around and seeing what was and what wasn't. And this time, I actually made it around the whole thing! We made it a fairly short day out so we could get back home in time for my dad to make his spaghetti. That's a meal you don't want to miss!

Wednesday we went into Fort Worth, specifically to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History to see Polar Express on their OmniMax theater. It was quite an experience, and I, admittedly, had to close my eyes on more than one occasion so I didn't become too disoriented. I really wanted to explore the museum itself, but we neither had the time nor the money for admission. Lunch was fair consolation, however. We went to Chuy's. If you're ever in Texas anywhere near a Chuy's location, you need to go. It's Tex-Mex happiness in your tummy! We finished the night with a rousing game of Phase10 (seriously...we take that game very seriously) during a thunderstorm. And the spread! I can't forget this awesome cracker spread Courtney made! It was awesomeness on a cracker! Addicting.

The next day was, of course, Thanksgiving. I got up early enough to see the Macy's Parade thinking it would be shown live, instead of on delayed broadcast. Well, now I know.
The day was spent with Courtney's family all over, and was quite different from what I'm used to. The meal consisted of smoked turkey, brisket, stuffing not cooked in the turkey (in fact, they never usually have stuffing! sacrelige in our family!), garlic mashed potatoes, corn, pea salad, a sweet potato dish with a ton of brown sugar on top, and I can't remember everything else; but, while it resembled what I was used to, it was definitely different. Not bad, just different.

Friday we stayed in during the day, doing laundry and getting most of our things packed as we were flying out very early the next morning. Later in the day we went to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth to see the annual lights parade. We ended up staking our claim right in front of the Barnes&Noble, so of course we had to go in. You can't take me and my mom in the vacinity of B&N and not let us go in. So, after we browsed there for a while, I got a hot chocolate from the cafe and went back to our seats outside while the rest of them went down the street to a cupcake bakery. The most interesting cupcake any of them got was my brother's- a banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting and sprinkled with bacon bits. It was some sort of Elvis homage.
For all the hype it was given, I expected the lights parade to be much more spectacular than it was. Big city and all, I thought it would have had much better floats. I didn't expect Macy's standard, of course, but most of them were quite amateur. A lot were even just trucks or cars with Christmas lights all over them. There were a few well done ones, and those were lovely. There was even a troupe of bagpippers! And some horse club dressed in Medieval dresses! Can you tell those were some of my favorites? ;-)
On the way back to the parking garage, I got a great shot of Bass Performance Hall with my phone's camera, and I hope to get it on my computer some time soon.

That night I slept in my prostetics out on the couch, as we had to get up at 2:30am to get out and to the airport on time. Since the others decided to stay up later than me, and other circumstances, I got no sleep that night and fealt horribly sick most of the trip back. After nibbling on some pretzels while sitting at the airport, and then catching a nap on the flight back to Chicago, I actually started to feel much better. That showed me how much sleep really does affect my health.
When we landed at O'Hare I couldn't believe how long a walk it was from the luggage claim to the hotel shuttel terminal! I honestly thought we were lost or taking the wrong way for a while, but we were right on track and eventually made it there...in time to wait forever for our shuttle to actually arrive. :-P
Finally, the shuttle came and we made our way back to the hotel, where we left our van during the trip, and piled back in. It was nice to not be crowded into a vehical again, as we had only used the rental car the whole time but one in Texas- meaning Nick and Courtney and I were all squished into the back seat every time we went anywhere. But now I had the back of the our own van to myself again, and began to relax and feel better enough for a burger and Frosty on the way home. ;-)
We made it home around six that evening. Our house seemed so strange after a week in another one.
It was nice to be home again, though. And, truth be told, I'm still not completely unpacked. I'm quick to pack for a trip, but rather slow to unpack from one.

And we got home just in time to really start into the Christmas season and all its time traps! But that I shall put into the next post. Good night for now! I promise December will be discussed tomorrow. ;-)