stoopid night class and summer boredom

Who in the world dreamed up the concept of night classes?  While I understand that some people can't go to school during the day, and night classes work as part of their schedules, i have ZERO motivation to go to class at 6 pm.  I'm supposed to be at home in my old-lady recliner at 6 pm watching Jeopardy!

The good news?  By this time next year, I'll be d-o-n-e with nursing school and d-o-n-e with school, period.  At least for the time being.   

On the plus side, I have read more in the last 3 weeks than i have ever read.  Most recently, all of Pamie's books.  "Going in Circles" is a great, easy, true-to-life read.  Lurved it. And made me want to join roller derby even more.  But that has to wait until after nursing school, since apparently care plans are more important than giant hematomas from busting your ass.


Jimmy Buffett.  Next week.  Happy me.  Even if the reason he's playing here is a shitty-ass reason--the oil spill is depressing, to say the least.  Being the hardest hit county so far is definitely taking its emotional toll.

...

one day at a time, one step at a time. 

JTB, I love you and I'm proud to be your daughter.  I'm proud of the legacy you left behind with me and with your "sugar booger."  I may have a few screws loose, but I came by it honestly and am proud to be stubborn, pig-headed, a dreamer, a lone wolf, a dream catcher, a reader, a grammar Nazi, and a few other choice descriptors.  I'm proud that you challenged me to find my own way, and that way may still yet lead to a law degree.....after nursing school.  I'm proud of these blue eyes, so much like yours.  And I'm proud that you taught me to be stronger than the people that try to drag you down to their level.  

I miss you every single day.

the sun sets

On March 10, 2010, I lost one of the best men I have ever known.

Exactly one month to the day from his surgery, my dad lost his battle with liver cancer.  

Words can never, ever adequately convey what we're going through.

MIA

I've been MIA lately, and will continue to be MIA for a few more days.  My dad was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, which is cancer of the bile ducts of the liver.  The good news is, as of today, he's a candidate for surgery, which will happen on 2/10/2010 (this Wednesday).  The bad news is the surgery is a liver resctioning, which is a huge, huge deal--the surgeon plans to remove about 45% of his liver. 

I haven't decided yet if I'll be updating for everyone here or via Facebook, but please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers this week and in the weeks to come. 

Many thanks.

Awesome Book: "The Help"

I stumbled across this book on Amazon and bought it on a whim.  I have a Kindle, so it was there for about a week before I started reading it.  And once I started, I couldn't put it down.

If you grew up in the South, or knew someone who grew up in the South, or had parents who grew up in the South, this book will speak to you. The Amazon review doesn't do it justice. It tells the story of the black maids that work in the homes of the white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the late 1950s and 1960s, just about the time that the integration movement was sweeping the United States......unless you lived in the Heart of Dixie.  It's the story of the women that came into the homes and raised white children, while leaving their own children at home so that they could have food on the table.  It's the story of their hearts and the joys and heartbreaks that they faced, and of the dichotomy of love and hate that they shared with the white families that hired them.

Fruitcake Wedding: The Ceremony

I've already written about our ceremony, and I can't say enough how many people commented, complimented, and have shared in the words we chose to live by.  I think the one thing I'm most proud of is the script to the ceremony, and I've felt honored that people have chosen to use it, in whole and in part, in their own weddings.

The actual ceremony went by so incredibly fast.  One minute I'm freaking out behind closed door about not tripping and falling and the next, Mr. Fruitcake and I were walking back up the aisle...married!

My dad walked my down the aisle, and I don't have words for how proud my daddy was when he put my hand in Mr. Fruitcake's.  He stood with us while Mr. Fruitcake's Man-Wife read our opening prayer:

(Did I mention that it was about a million degrees?  It wasn't SUPPOSED to be, but in South Alabama, the first weekend in May is always a crap shoot.)

My best friend read her reading, which I had tailored specifically for her:

I was so proud of her--she was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to make it though the reading without crying, and while she visibly struggled, she managed to keep it together.

Niecey, on the other hand, had never been to a wedding, had never been in a wedding, and...well, let's just say that she didn't really see the point in having to stand up for a ceremony when there were so many other things to do...

Did I mention that the Reverend looked like ZZ Top?

We had decided that we wanted to say our vows together, rather than reading them one at a time.  When it came time to say them, we...well, we both forgot the words.  And had ourselves a good laugh standing in front of all of our family and friends.  All we could think was that everyone knew at that moment that it was truly a Mr. and Mrs. Fruitcake kind of wedding...it was so typical of something we would do.

I had promised myself that I wasn't going to cry, and i ALMOST made it though the ceremony.  Until, near the very end of the ceremony, when Mr. Fruitcake caught my eye and mouthed, "I love you."  Aaaaand, I lost it.  Predictably.

And when I lost it, so did Mama Fruitcake:

But guess what?  The next few seconds were the ones where the Reverend pronounced us Mr. and Mrs. Walters--and the tears?  They vanished :-)

 

We were MARRIED!  And it was officially time to celebrate!!

I had one more little trick up my sleeve--Mr.Fruitcake had been a part of all of the wedding planning, but I had saved a trick for him.  I had arranged for fireworks to be set off as they pronounced us husband and wife, and for the fireworks to go off over the lake.  Unfortunately for me, I had undercalculated what time the sun would go down, so the fireworks were somewhat lost in the setting sun.  But Mr. Fruitcake was surprised, nonetheless, and he'll tell you that he loved being halfway up the hill and turning around to see them.

Party time!