I Have Not Forgotten About You, Blog

I haven't written since Monday but we have been swamped at work! I've stayed busy all day.... no time for blogging. Although I am still very busy I am going to take a quick moment to blog.

Tuesday night I had one of our last 4.0 matches (still have one more this weekend). We played the number one team in our league. Our fate is pretty much sealed as 2nd place but we are very close to the 3rd place team so a win would give us a solid standing. Neither the 1st place team or us (in my opinion) brought our strongest teams but we ended up winning. I had a pretty good victory over a solid player which felt good. But I new this could be bad news for my state plans. What I did not want to happen happened. My 4.0 team got a wild card to state after we defeated the 1st place team.

I really want to go with my 4.5 team. I love those girls and would have so much fun. BUT I probably would only get to play about half the matches AND there are probably fewer total matches at 4.5. If I go with 4.0, I'll get to play every match and there will be more matches. Plus, I have played on this team since the beginning and it is only fair to go with them since I committed with them first. Plus, if I don't go my 4.0 team will not have enough players. That pretty much seals the deal. I'll be going to state with my 4.0 team. There are a few other reasons that I am not too upset about going with 4.0 instead of 4.5. The timing with work is a little better (one week after the primaries and one week before 4.5 state). I still have two of my friends going with me (Amy and Debbie). And an old high school tennis friend is going with his Birmingham team so I'll get to catch up a little. I'll still have fun but I'll definitely miss my girls. Ella! Ella! (that is what we say to each other on the court to pump each other up... weird, I know)

So I'm going to Mobile June 12th - 15th. I am also trying to plan a trip to DC to see Candice during the last week of June but flights are so expensive. I'm hoping to catch one at a reasonable price. We'll see!

It's Not THAT Bad

Well, it's done. I have braces.

Actually getting my braces put on was not that hard. It only took about an hour. But boy does it hurt afterwards! My teeth hurt, my gums hurt, my mouth hurt... and still do!

I went to the work event immediately after I got my braces put on. One of my co-workers said "It's not that bad" and my boss just laughed at me. Great!

I had a tennis match on Saturday and got to play doubles with Jeritta again. We won! It was a lot of fun. That is my 3rd 4.5 match and I've won all of them so I may be getting bumped back up. Later that afternoon my parents came by the house and saw my braces for the first time. Mom said she loves them but she has to say that because she's my mom. While they were there, I loaded all of the pictures onto a digital photo frame that we got for my granny. After spending about an hour and a half learning how to operate the frame and loading all of the pictures onto it, it started shutting off randomly. Bad news! My parents were traveling to Birmingham the next morning to give her the present. So Lucas and I went to Best Buy while my parents went to Sams to get a few things before they closed. I exchanged the frame for the exact model which happened to be the last one they had in stock. I then sat in the floor of Best Buy and loaded all of our pictures again so that my parents could take it with them. Wow! That wasn't fun and somewhat stressful but it all worked out!

To "celebrate" my braces, Lucas and I went to La Alameda where I had a taco salad and washed it down with a nice, refreshing margarita! Then, we went to the movies with Chris and Aida and saw Maid of Honor. It was a really good movie. We were the only people in the theater so we could talk to each other through the movie so it was pretty fun. When we got out the sirens were going off so Chris and Aida came over to our house to check on the weather but it was fine. Oh, and Aida also said "It's not that bad" about my braces.

Sunday I did laundry all day then we went over to my grandparents' house for Mothers Day. We had a good dinner (burgers, baked beans, potatoes, great dessert) it just took me 30 minutes longer than everyone else to eat because of my braces.

Well, now what you all have been waiting for.... the pictures. Okay, here goes nothin'.

Here I am with braces:
And here is how I feel about it:

Okay, I'm ready for it .......... "It's not THAT bad!"

The Time Has Come

....... See you on the other side

My Final Hours

So, this is it.... my last few hours of freedom before braces.

Last night I had "the talk" with Lucas about how he can no longer make fun of my braces. The next time I see him (around 8:00 tonight) I'll have braces. My self-confidence will be low and my emotions high. I know I am going to regret this decision for the first couple of weeks but then I hope that I can learn to cope. It is only 1 year to 1 and a half years. In the grand scheme of things, that isn't that long. But I gathered the family together for our last picture before my trip to the dentist.

No I am off to eat one last braces-free meal with my mom. The Last Supper! :(

Thank You, Hillary

It is hard to lose a campaign. You become physically and emotionally invested in a candidate for no end. But losing is a real fact that anyone in politics must deal with. The best person in your eyes is not always the best person to voters. My most invested campaign yet was Kerry's run for President in '04. I was in college and busted my butt on campus for him and packed up for several days to go campaigning in Florida. I was heartbroken when he lost (more so, heartbroken that Bush had actually won.... I still don't know how that happened). Now I have vested myself with Hillary and she is only moments away from defeat and the sadness is still here. I will go on to support Barack Obama since his platform aligns very similarly with Hillary's but will always be proud of the things that Hillary and the Clintons have accomplished and look for more in her political future. I hope Hillary remembers her common goal of reversing the terrible wrongs that has been done to our country by this administration. I hope she joins with Obama to bring honesty (to the extent that there can be in politics) and fair government to our country. Reverse the tax breaks for the top 2%, repeal No Child Left Behind, restore the roles of the executive branch that were originally granted (a.k.a. get rid of the "Patriot" Act), get us on a road to financial independence that we had with President Clinton, provide health care for our nation's children and underprivileged, lead through diplomacy not warfare, restore our nation's honor and reputation throughout the world, and most importantly BRING OUR TROOPS HOME. These are our common goals.

Below is a good article from an Obama supporter. He says, "Let us not forget that though the Clintons sought power for most of their lives, it was not power for power's sake, but rather power as a means to improve the lives of all Americans."

Thank you, Hillary.


___

"Reconciliation from the Bottom Up"
By Dylan Loewe, Huffington Post

As a sense of finality settles over the race for the Democratic nomination, we are all left wondering if the wounds inflicted will heal, if the party will once again unify, or if a win in November will slip from our grasp. We know that Barack Obama will attempt to mend the divisions; we saw in his victory speech on Tuesday a sense of reconciliation. He has and will no doubt continue to celebrate Hillary Clinton's strength and achievements as well as the core values of our party.

But for reconciliation to be real and lasting, it must, like the movement that has led Obama within inches of the nomination, come from the bottom up. There has no doubt been a certain level of vitriol aimed at Hillary Clinton, her campaign, and to some extent, her supporters. As one of her most disapproving critics, I am certainly guilty of as much. I do not apologize for disagreeing with her campaign tactics, her style, or her willingness to risk the party's welfare for her own; I believe my comments, and those of many others, to have been justified, and grounded in fact. But I do believe strongly that with the race now coming to a close, we can all look back with admiration at what Hillary Clinton attempted, and what she accomplished in so doing.

The Clinton's were an extraordinarily important fixture in our government and our lives, presiding over an economic prosperity that feels as though it were born out of another world when compared to our current plight. Her biggest policy failure was a valiant attempt to provide health care to all Americans. Her biggest personal crisis was handled with poise and grace on a stage far too public, in an environment far too raw. Her tenure as a Senator from New York was marked with significant policy accomplishment and a bipartisan recognition of her talent and skill and commitment. Let us not forget that though the Clintons sought power for most of their lives, it was not power for power's sake, but rather power as a means to improve the lives of all Americans.

Though she will not ultimately succeed in breaking "that highest of glass ceilings," that she reached for it with such tenacity and strength, that she came so close to having achieved it, is proof to every schoolgirl in America that the ceiling can, in fact, be broken. The presidency is something to which they can aspire; its attainment is within their grasp.

Those who have supported Hillary from the beginning know this about their candidate. They see what was, for Obama supporters insufficient, but what for them was clearly so much. And ultimately, while we have disagreed on who should lead us out of the darkness, we all know the direction from which the light shines; we know the direction home. What will follow from here is as much our choice as it is theirs; it is as much our decision as to whether we will move forward as one, united in the belief that the promise of America must not be stolen again, that the eloquence of our founding and the persistence of our perfecting can continue on as we've always envisioned.

We cannot move forward without each other, no matter the depth of our wounds. Four more years of the last eight years could disfigure our nation beyond recognition, and perhaps beyond repair.

The bridge from primary to general must be woven with olive branches. Reconciliation must start from the bottom up.

This Week

This week has been so crazy. I have a feeling as we get closer and closer to primaries and the general election we are going to have fewer and fewer moments of peace. There is always something to do, some mailer that needs to go out, some one calling. This is only the beginning! But I would like to play a little catch up.

As I may or may not have said (memory fails me), Lucas and I went to Guadalajara Monday night for Cinco de Mayo after my tennis match and I wanted to upload our photos. We had wanted to go to La Alameda with the Ratleys but there was no time after tennis. Our little mini-date was fun!

Last night Lucas worked late AGAIN. When he got home I had dinner ready: burritos and chips /salsa. After we ate, we took Rafa to PetSmart to get a few things he needed and spend his gift card that Rocky had given him. :) So we bought him a new black leather collar with little studs (not the pointy ones b/c those scare me). Now he has a manly collar! Here is his new collar... you have no idea how hard it was to get this shot of the collar that isn't even good!
We also bought him some eyedrops. Rafa has been squinting a lot and his eye is kind of red. When we went to the vet last weekend it had only happened once and they didn't think it was a big deal. Now that it has happened several times I think we may take him back for them to have a look. We'll see how these eyedrops work first even though Rafa hates them! Here I am trying to settle him down to put them in his eye.
I also bought Rafa a little greenie for his teeth (but we haven't given it to him yet) and a cute little coat that was on sale. Lucas says I am not allowed to put it on him or take a picture of him wearing it until next winter. But I just had to buy it because it was so cute and such a great deal! We had originally gone to PetSmart to buy Rafa a bed but they didn't have any that we really liked. We went next door to Target and as soon as we hit the aisle I spotted the bed I wanted for little Rafa. And he loves it! He was playing in it with his toys (and Lucas's sock) as soon as we got home! Here he is resting! So cute!
We also bought him a retractable leash at Target. Oh, and I almost forgot one of the most important things I bought at Target:
Yes, they are glorious and they are MINE! I am enjoying every last minute of not having braces. I am scared to death to tell you the truth. Tomorrow afternoon I will have braces! :(

On another note, a fundraiser we are helping with was moved from Thursday to Friday night and I have to help. Do you know what this means? I will celebrate my first few moments in braces with important, business people who I'll have to talk to. Great! Jumping in head first!

One more thing...

I went to the grocery store on the way home from tennis to pick up a few things and got some Skittles. I'm enjoying my last few days of freedom! 3 more days til braces :(