And this is why I haven't been blogging...

All day long, I've had something in mind that I wanted to blog about. And as soon as I sat down to write that blog, I forgot what I was going to say. Sigh.

I drove down one of my favorite streets in Pekin. It's one of my favorites because of the huge trees that grow together over the road so that it almost feels like you're driving through a tunnel. It was a good point to working late, I guess. It made me smile at least. The road also has pretty houses to look at.

Well, definitely not what I was going to blog about, but there you have it.

What makes you cry?

So, I've been bombarded about the fact that I haven't blogged lately (okay, really only my mom and one other person, but still!) So, here I am.

I am a person who cries a lot. Sappy movies. Funny movies. If I see anyone else crying. Good books. Hallmark commercials.

Emily and I are watching the newest Hallmark movie. I have always loved the Hallmark movies. I have good memories of watching them with my mom and crying through the commercials (not both of us, just me). There is a commercial from years ago about a dad carrying a Hallmark card through a lot of snow for miles to a particular spot. Once at that spot he opens the card, which was from his daughter, and it was their first Christmas away from each other. I cried. But I can remember the first time mom and I weren't together to watch the newest Hallmark movie. It was sad. I might have even teared up.

Here is a list of some of my favorite Hallmark movies:
The Sarah Plain and Tall series
Follow the Stars Home
The Magic of Ordinary Days
Riding the Bus With My Sister

What a Box of Wheat Thins Will Get You

Many of you (do you like how I always talk as if TONS of people are reading my blog?!) have heard me tell different client stories. Well, I have a client that I see every Tuesday right after school. To put it mildly, she does not like being in counseling or spending time with me. The ride to my office is filled with insults and very hateful things. I usually ignore what she says, because as a therapist, I know there is something driving her to say those things. Once we get to the office she is fine with being there and we can have a pretty good session. Anyway, last week I had a really hard time putting aside what she was saying, so I decided on a new tactic. I told her that if she could go two weeks without saying any hurtful or hateful things to me, then I would take her to get ice cream. When I asked her if that was good enough incentive, she said no. I asked her what would be a good enough incentive. She thought for a few seconds and then said, "A WHOLE box of Wheat Thins." :) I laughed and told her that I think I could do that since Wheat Thins cost about as much as ice cream. She then asked if she could have the Wheat Thins AND the ice cream. I told her if she wanted to go four weeks without saying anything hurtful or hateful then she could have both. She opted for just the Wheat Thins :). I didn't really expect this to go anywhere, because I have been unsuccessful to get her to not use her words when she is upset, but I was surprised to see her this afternoon without any hurtful or hateful words! Apparently, Wheat Thins are a great incentive!

Tippy is an overachiever!

Long time coming

Here are the pictures from my whirlwind trip to Texas for Danell's birthday. Now, I know that I was there for a little over 24 hours, but this is the bag I packed in. For those of you who know me, even if I take a weekend trip somewhere, I fill a pretty big suitcase. So, this was VERY impressive!

We managed to work in a quick game of Ticket to Ride Europe.

We definitely spent some time pampering ourselves.

Lisa and I went out Friday night to see a movie. We went to a fun place where you can order dinner while you watch the movie. We only ordered dessert because we, of course, had eaten Chick-fil-a for dinner.

What beautiful women! Barbara, Diana, and Lisa. Danell and I were relaxing in the massage chairs waiting for our pedicures.

This is the only shot Lisa got of the "Surprise Danell" moment. We thought about reenacting it, but never did.

The birthday girl.

Best friends :)

The princess on her birthday.

Diana showing us her breakfast making abilities.

Sampling the birthday cupcakes.

This was Danell's choice for her pedicure. Yes, you are reading that right...it was nail polish for dogs. The back even said that no animals were harmed and that it was only tested on humans :)

Sushi for lunch.

Danell LOVES sushi!

Everyone thinks I can grow things

Some of you may remember when I endeavored to grow a Prince. My friend Lisa gave me this present for Valentine's Day.

I love turtles, so this will be fun to grow. I love the explanatians on the package.

"Like all turtles, Tippy is very slow"

"Tippy is very shy. It takes 3 long days to get him to come out of his shell."

Meet Tippy :) He's still hiding in his shell right now, but pretty soon he will grow out of his shell...

Stay tuned! :)

A New Look

I was sad to get rid of the picture of John catching a snowflake, but I guess it was time. I really wanted to take a picture of some of my favorite trees today, but I forgot to take my camera with me. Sigh. I kind of like the blog without a picture for now.

Celebrating Easter in the new building was so much fun. I keep randomly singing "Up from the grave He arose..." Dad, Amy, and Josh came with me (well, technically I went with them, since Dad was the one to drive :)!) Daynah went to there church with a friend. Then I went to their house and had lunch and played some Super Mario Brothers (I must admit, I have a mild obsession with the game!) Afterward I went to Kari's house to play Dominion with some other friends. I can't win the game, but I really like to play it :).

Last week I sort of had Spring Break since most of my clients were on Spring Break. This week is sort of an extension of that because the kids were still out today. Plus, I don't have AWANA on Wednesday, so it's an extra free day during the week, which I'm excited about.