I'm baaack! WJ2-40.D12-D17

Hmmm. Well so much for keeping in touch on a daily basis. My follow through on things really should be an annual New Year's Resolution...but then why make myself predictable, eh? Anyway, I'm pretty sure I tripped myself up with my trip to Vegas for the Knapp/Thomasson Wedding, but I'm not overly concerned, since I also did A LOT of walking and some of it completely intentional (Ie. keeping up with a moving walkway, while I am walking on the carpet!).

We left at 11:30p Saturday night, arriving around 3am or so in the morning on Sunday. I actually liked doing a midnight drive that went somewhere other than LA, though don't get me wrong, I love the midnight drives through the City of Angels. It's never dull and always filled with laughter, sometimes tears and good conversation. This midnight drive though was nice, because all of the sister's were involved, as we headed to Sin City for JoAnn's brother's wedding.

Ahh, the wedding (insert lots of hearts here!). We went to the 'Viva Las Vegas' Chapel, where anyone from Merlin or King Arthur to the standard favorite Elvis, can preside over your nuptials. Steven and Nicole opted for a traditional, non-themed wedding, complete with a little garden gazebo and a preacher that looked like he stepped right out of church. It was a beautiful ceremony that clocked in at just around 10 minutes (my favorite...short, but sweet and to the point!), with the exception of some jackwad who clearly did not see the posted signs that said "Shhh. Wedding in Progress" with a little smiley face guy holding a finger over his mouth. Of course what is a sweet ceremony without someone blaring heavy metal music?

Now, don't get me wrong, I like all sorts of music, but seriously, mind the signs, because people want to remember their day for the beauty and love that it is, not the jackass and his radio. I also personally loved that 'Nicole & Steven / Married 2-12-12' flashed on the sign above the chapel doors out front, so people could drive by honking!! Super awesome. :)

The trip was a wonderful, but short sister trip. JoAnn and I spent sometime at the Casino's (2 1/2 hours!), while Laura stayed back. Normally I don't like to gamble, but watching JoAnn play Blackjack was fun! She did really good for the first time on her own.

Needless to say, we didn't get back until 11pm Monday night, so I think we're all still like the walking zombie two days later, leaving us asking, "is it Friday yet?" and leaving me to try to get back on my walking schedule. tsk tsk. But just remember this, buffets are buffets and you can eat well at a buffet. I did well when we went to the one we went to after the wedding (minus the two Cosmopolitans I tried for the first time ever). Perhaps, instead of piling on the food, simply take a little of two things, then go back for something else. Not only are you able to eat what you would like, you are also walking back to get it and just for kicks, try to sit as far from the food as possible and speed walk up there. But don't make too many trips, or you defeat your purpose. It also helps to have a Sissy like JoAnn, who keeps steering you AWAY from the dessert counter....and yes, I did have a little dessert, a slice of lemon meringue that I shared with Laura.

Until next time...which should be tomorrow....

Sissy Jo....

Well, it goes without saying that the days leading up to Comic Con were anything but non-emotional. Is that even a word? Seriously, my mind lately. Sissy Jo, one of the three girls I call my soul sister, passed away on June 29th, her funeral was held two days before we left for Comic Con. Admittedly, this reminded me, as well, of mama being sick last year during Comic Con, so of course our 8th trip to the 'Con', was a little bluer than I think we had hoped, but we did manage to have a good time, because we know that is what Jo would have wanted. As we all know you can't make the pain just disappear, or the sadness that comes with losing someone so important and special to your life. As anyone could tell you, JoAnn was a force to be reckoned with, a little whirlwind of organization, love and smiles. She loved many who were in her path and she taught us lessons of survival, never giving up and fighting the good fight. I me...

From a personal journey to...

I have blogged off and on about a personal journey I have been on for about a year or so. It's nothing earth shattering for anyone but me. I hate to say it, but I kind of became a cliché. Indeed, I had become that person who needed to find themselves. One of my favorite quotes along the way came from Tolkien, "Not all those who wander are lost". It kind of contradicts my previous statement, well not kind of, it does, because I talk about finding myself, but truly, I knew where I was all the time. Are you confused yet? Think of it as standing outside of your body inside a hall of mirrors. Like a carnival there are images of you everywhere, but only one of those images are you. So you go about seeking the solid figure and along the way you hit dead ends, walls, other mirrors with images of yourself and so on, until you finally stop, breathe and realize if you look at the mirror in front of you, there you are. You stop trying so hard...

Day 8 of 30 days of gratitude.

Today I dedicate this blog to Sissy Jo. Today would have been JoJobean's 47th birthday and she lived every moment the best that she could. I am forever grateful that I spent her last night on earth with her. It was like old times when we had a lot of Sissy sleep-over's, watching "ghosty" shows, chatting, being sisters. That night she told me her dreams for me and what she was sure would be my reality for the future. What people didn't see was JoAnn's fight. When it was posted on Facebook that she had passed away, so many of my own family and friend's commented that they didn't even know she was still sick. In fact, she was on her way to do payroll when she collapsed, the afternoon she passed away. She had set-up a makeshift office at home, because her dedication to the work and people she cared about, never stopped. JoAnn was re-diagnosed in December 2008. She had been in remission for almost four years when breast cancer came ba...

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