All Dressed Up?????

This morning after my shower, I decided I was tired of wearing jeans to work; so I put on a tan corduroy skirt, a nice t-shirt, tights and flats. You cannot BELIEVE the reaction I got from my co-workers:

"Were you feeling spiffy this morning, or are you going somewhere after work?"
"WOW, you're looking fancy this morning!"
"You really dressed up today; what's up?"

Even though I usually wear jeans to work, they are nice jeans which I send to the laundry and I always were nice tops. However, I think I'll wear a skirt more often!

From Ectasy to Agony

Well, here we are back from 3 full days and 4 nights aboard the Carnival "Ectasy" to the "agony" of e-mails, snail mail, laundry, cooking, making beds, etc :-)

We had such a GREAT time: music by son-in-law, Brian Burns, and his friends Bob Livingston and Tommy Alverson; snorkeling in Cozumel; great food; playing the "Rich Piggies" slot machine (at which I won $40ish!); and time with friends and family.

Happy Valentine's Day to Us!

We are leaving in the morning for a 3-day, 4-night cruise to Cozumel. What makes this cruise particularly special is that we'll be sharing it with friends and family. Our "Texana" singer-songwriter son-in-law (Brian Burns) and a couple of his musician friends will be performing in one of the lounges each evening and there will be a special reception for those who are on the cruise in Brian's group.

So, in addition to Brian and our daughter, Veronica, there will be our younger daughter, Erica, with husband, Allen and our best friends, Bill and Susan, who are practically family as they watched Veronica and Erica grow up.

Valentine's Day is about love which is appropriate since we will be with people we love; doing things we love (listening to Brian's music, dancing, eating, relaxing, cruising, etc); and being at a place we love (the ocean and the beach).

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

Like Fine Wine -- We're Better with Age!

A couple of weeks ago, Susan and I (along with Bill and Carl) went to Fort Worth where Susan & I attended the 1st-ever reunion of the "girls" who worked at Texas Electric Service Company (TESCo) before it merged in 1985 with two other electric utility companies to become Texas Utilities.

It was GREAT: first of all, I recognized everyone there (quite a feat since it's been well over 20 years since I've seen some of these women; and second, we had SO much fun -- we laughed, we reminisced, we caught up, we mourned some sadnesses, and we enjoyed being together!

One sobering moment: we were remembering the "matriarchs" of the company when we first came to work and suddenly realized WE were now the matriarchs!

How special to have this type of relationship with folks you once worked with. . .

Like Fine Wine -- We're Better with Age!

Here I am with Jerry King, one of my mentors after I
was selected to enter th Management Training Program
for Women College Graduates.

Like Fine Wine -- We're Better with Age!

Here I am flanked by Merry Hotopp, left, (who I worked
for the first year I was with TESCO), and Debra Ferguson
who worked for Carl at some point. In fact, when she first
saw me she asked "How's Carl?" Debra, what happened
to "Hi, Linda. How are you?" (grin, grin)

Like Fine Wine -- We're Better with Age!

Susan, far right, and me with Cherry Richardson, one of
the reunion organizers.

Our Friend John Arthur Martinez

John Arthur Martinez is one of the most talented singer/song writers around. In the first Nashville Star competition (the country music answer to American Idol), John Arthur won 2nd place! He is from Marble Falls so we feel like he is almost kin!

Carl and I have followed John Arthur for years and became acquaintances of his when he performed for a fundraiser that we hosted in 2004. Since that time we have made an effort to attend as many of his performances as possible.

For a real treat, check out his website, www.johnarthurmartinez.com. Buy his CDs, attend his performances -- you will be glad you did!

An Unexpected Family Reunion

We knew that my sister and brother-in-law were coming in from Las Vegas today and would be staying with their son and daughter-in-law so we called to find a time today to visit them. Imagine our surprise to get there and find their younger son had driven up from Houston to join the fun. It was a great time to spend with family!

We loved seeing Max (and Weston) enjoying the Wiggle Worm Gym we gave Max.