A busy week...

Boy what a week...a lot on my mind, on happenings in my own life, as well as thoughts about stories in the news. First let me get to the BEST news of the week...my dad's procedure was a HUGE SUCCESS! I truly believe that all of the prayers and positive energy that were sent to my dad and our family over this last week made a difference. I cannot thank you all enough. It was agonizing being so far away and waiting to hear news but thankfully our prayers were answered and dad was given some much needed good news. I know there are more hurdles ahead, but it just feels so good to actually get over one of them! The next great thing this week was that Joel and I went on a little road trip Thursday. Our plan was to drive up to Mt. Rainier and spend the day. A friend from high school, Scott Lewis, lives in or near Seattle so I asked him about what we should plan to do. I got online and researched the area and we made a plan to go to Longmire and Paradise within the Mt. Rainier National Park. Well, as with most well laid plans, things did not go exactly as we thought. I checked the road status report just like Scott said to, because some of the roads are closed due to debris from the winter months and other unsafe conditions. And although the park is open year round it can sometimes be quite tricky to get to where you want to be. Well, wouldn't you know that after our 2 1/2 hr. drive when we went to access the park the road that was said to be open online was, in fact, NOT open. We flagged down a worker and he said that if we wanted to drive around the Mountain that another entrance should probably be open. Hmmm...it was going to be another 100 miles to get there and then it would "probably" be open? We chose to turn back and just enjoy the Mountain from a bit of a distance and also the drive to the Mountain was unbelievably beautiful. It was really breathtaking! We got some great shots of Mt. Rainier and I played with our new Flip video, but honestly it doesn't really do it justice...guess I need a little more work with it. We drove up US 12 and went through the Wenatchee Forest and saw many beautiful sites along the way. They have Heritage Points along the route where you can stop and take in the scenery and learn more about the area. I never realized just how incredible the State of Washington is and I am really enjoying seeing parts of our Country I would have probably never gotten to if not for Joel's work. I had the misconception that Washington was a rainy, dreary place and that really couldn't be further from the truth. This State has a little of everything here...the Pacific Coastline, the Rivers, Forests, Mountains, Desert...if you can't find something you like here then you are a hard person to please. I am looking forward to seeing more sites when we make our journey home, and by the looks of things that could be in just a couple weeks.

Now moving on to the other happenings of the week.......

#1 Jon and Kate + 8 : O.K. these two make me crazy...who really gives a shit if Jon was out all night partying or even if he had an affair..quite honestly if I had to live with Kate I'd want to run away and find someone else that didn't complain about everything I did too. Kate is a perfect example of "watch what you wish for"....she wanted the fame and fortune and now she doesn't like what comes along with that. I heard Jon say that this all started because they wanted record and document the kids growing up. Hmmm...I think parents have been doing that for years WITHOUT a camera crew and TV show...it's called a video camera!!! (you know...home movies!) Oh and..BooHoo...she said about a million times how she had to plan the sextuplets 5 yr. old birthday party all ALONE....YEAH RIGHT!! I mean, Jon was noticeably absent from the planning process but if you are trying to get me to believe that she didn't have help, then I have some ocean property in Arizona I'd like to sell ya too. The whole show is just a train wreck,,, but I betcha Kate will go kicking and screaming before she gives up the show. Even if it is the best thing for her kids and her family. GREAT role model don't ya think....NOT!

#2 Kris Allen wins American Idol...I'll admit I was rooting for Adam Lambert but as many others have pointed out Adam is going to have many opportunities that Kris probably would not have gotten had he been the runner-up. and don't get me wrong..I like Kris. I think he has a great voice, I just don't happen to think he is the caliber of artist that Adam is. And yes, even I think that Adam doesn't have to prove to us with each song that he can really belt out those notes. It reminds me a little of Mariah Carey who ALWAYS seemed to have to hit that mind blowing note in each and every song she sang...ENOUGH ALREADY! Regardless of that though, I think Adam is gonna be just fine without American Idol steering his ship...probably better. I do wish the very best to Kris too...hopefully he will ride this ride into a great recording career. (Oh and just as a side note..the dude that has the room next to us is NOT going to be the next American Idol..I've been listening to him sing all morning and he really doesn't stand a chance...lol)

#3 Finally..here is a list of the people I would like to punch in the face this week:

Kate Gosselin (already covered this one)

Drew Peterson...someone really needs to pull the plug on this asshole

Don't know her name, but the chick that just faked her and her daughter's abduction , falsely accused 2 black men of the abduction, and then was found in a luxury hotel at Disney World....WTF?????

I could probably think of more but it's been a good week so I don't want to waste my time on more negativity!!! Think I'll go next door and help my neighbor put on a concert...LOL!!!

Peace Out!

#3