**I STILL CAN'T CHANGE MY EMOTE!!***

Whew! Well, I’m back. Over 100 messages!

The trip was a success! The husband & I packed up our clothes, our kids (2 cats & one puppy) into the car & drove 9.5 hours down to sunny Flora-Bama for my sister-in-law’s wedding. The trip was shorter than I thought it would be & the cats rode fine as soon as I had them both in my lap in the back seat & the pup rode shot gun—little booger. I felt like driving Miss Daisy sitting in the back seat with two very warm kitties in my lap while my hubs drove the trip down to home. We were both excited & anxious. We were excited to get home & anxious about the wedding. I saw the invitations I created for her & kicked myself for not making them prettier… I was so mad @ myself but had to get over it. We arrived around 12:00AM in the morning & my parents were so excited they ran out to the car, welcomed the kids who have become their surrogate grand children (I’m not kidding—we have videos of the puppy’s first swim in the river!) And we talked—immediately my mom stuff us with food & never stopped the entire trip, every time we were home she would feed us which was fine by my husband—he’s one of those who can eat tons of food & never gain a pound which makes me sick b/c he would eat & 15 minutes later he was hungry again. My mom was so happy to shovel food down his gullet & my hubs was enjoying every morsel of home cooked food.

The wedding was stunning. It was so weird to see someone I knew as a young teen in a wedding gown & getting married. She looked so lovely—I felt so worried about her makeup since I was doing it & had shaky hands for some reason. I was more nervous than her! I had to laugh though b/c the flower girl never smiled the entire time—not even for pictures. It was like a Norman Rockwell painting, the entire wedding party smiling brightly for pictures & the little flower girl dressed in her darling clothes frowning like her fish just died. I couldn’t help but laugh the entire time she stared out @ the audience like some child from the children of the corn movie but I guess it was better than her acting up or picking her nose or something. Gotta love kids—they show every single emotion on their faces and this one was not happy.

Afterwards was the reception where I kind of flaked out b/c I wasn’t feeling good so I sat it out & strangely discovered I know how to pour a beer from a keg—I should’ve asked for tips! But it was a fun time, my hubs acted a fool dancing with everyone & embarrassing his little sister as much as he could and within reason b/c he would get the glare from both of us if he went too far.

The rest of the trip was going to the river, visiting family, and such. I’m sporting some fresh bug bites which are making me squirm in my chair this morning. I had a bit of a down moment when I was showing my mom my “work” & felt so ashamed. My mom was a designer in the old days of doing everything by hand and was damned good, not to mention my aunt (her older sister) is an established art professor and avidly hates the genre I draw in… *shame* So looking @ what I have “done” in a few months I felt so ashamed of my “work” it looked so far behind but it was good to get a good critique from someone I admire not to mention someone who is not going to hold back & actually knows how to give a critique. She had many valid points that she brought up while looking through. My dad was also a designer & I guess they saw something b/c on our last day I saw something I thought was long gone—my dad’s old drafting pencils were sitting in their old box with 2 sharpeners & tons of led. I even saw the old crayon marks where I scribbled on them when I was a toddler, it was a flashed back. & I got even more of a flashback when I saw the old drafting table my parents used—they used to set my underneath it in a rocker & rock me with their feet while they drew… I guess it’s in my blood to love art… Who knows but it was good to get back to my roots & see where I came from.

Either way I’m back, the sleepies are back & I’m tired again but I think its stress induced… Hmm, time to get ready to move.

If you read all this THANK YOU, I’m just babbling.