Catching Up

Are you ready for a hodge-podge of random bits and pieces?  Because that's what I have for you on this Monday morning!

Last week was entirely helter-skelter, thanks to all the appointments to get things ready for nursing school in January.  I think there is only one more appointment on the list...  I sure hope so.  It's not easy to get permission to leave work early that many times in a week.

I'm happy to report that last week's streak of odd encounters continued through the weekend with a random encounter with a woman who wanted change for a bus ticket (when I told her I wasn't carrying cash, she walked off muttering loudly about how everyone carries cash, except of course, liars!)  I visited with a phlebotomy tech who had a great number of things in common with the vampires that seem to be the current stuff of teenage fiction.

That said, I also hung out at the zoo for a while with my favorite little guy and his mom (a good friend from house church).  I did some shopping with my mom and sister-in-law.

Oh, and speaking of sister's-in-law, in all the excitement of finally being accepted into nursing school, I do believe I forgot to mention that in June of next year, I'll be adding another sister-in-law!  Last month, while his girlfriend was on vacation with a mutual friend in New York, my brother (with the help of the friend) flew to New York, waited in Central Park on a rainy day, got down on his knee, and popped the question!  J and R have been together for probably four years now, and it will be fun to have her become "officially" part of the family!  Wedding plans are well under way, with venues booked, and dress shopping being accomplished, and it will be fun to see the ways our families celebrate the two of them.

I'm hard at work on some Christmas treats that will appear under the tree for the people I love.  It's fun to create and shop.  I'm not the biggest fan of family focused holidays (I find them just a bit painful, if I'm honest), but I do love to give to others.  Pinterest has provided some inspiration this year, too.