Free Snow Cones After the Game

Last weekend, Taylor, Tiffany and I ventured down to Dallas to watch my first major league baseball game!

We left early Saturday morning - maybe not early for some people, but if it require me waking up within the six o'clock hour, believe me it's early - and headed to Southlake to stay with Reagan's family.

It was such a fun weekend, though a little tiring. We ran around the Dallas area and headed into Frisco so I could visit Ikea for the first time.

Let me tell you- I'm sure I don't, though - Ikea is a life changing experience. It's like Disneyworld for home furnishings. And I'm not exaggerating.

We meandered around there for a few hours and finished up in time to hit up Sonic's happy hour.

My first MLB game was a success, except for one thing: the Rangers didn't win. Oh well, I did get a free hat and fireworks show, so it didn't matter much to me!

Taylor's aunt and uncle were wonderful hosts and it was so much fun to spend time with Taylor's extended family! The more I spend with them, the more I like them, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

And though Tiffany isn't my family, I really think that we are just beginning a wonderful friendship! It was great to get to know her a little better this weekend. She and Reagan will marry in less than a month, so it was fun talking about the wedding/life things with her (and her MIL to be) this weekend.

Next weekend we are heading up to Wichita to visit my family! I'm super excited! Taylor hasn't been up since last Thanksgiving, so I hope he's ready for some Kansas fun.

Dad update:

Dad goes in on Wednesday for another chemo treatment. This time he will be meeting with his oncologist to talk about how he is progressing.

Though I'm not a doctor, I really think the chemo treatment is working for him! I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but in the past few weeks he has been doing a lot better! He's even gained a few pounds! So thank you to everyone who reads this and prays for my dad - your prayers have been such a blessing for my family!

Gratuitous Amounts of Non-Related Stuff

Remember on Xanga when they had that "currently watching" or "listening to" thing you could do? Well right now I'm watching "Across the Universe." I still have my Xanga account active, in fact.

I read it sometimes and laugh at my high school self. I was interesting back then, we'll just say. Now I'm perfectly well adjusted and awesome.

Right? Right.

Lots has happened since I blogged last. Life does that sometimes.

I have lots of things I've grown addicted to. I'll list them to be fun.

1. Netflix. If you don't have it you need to get it. It's changing my life and it's only been less than a week. I've been able to relive my childhood through their instant movies and television shows. It's been wonderful. I've already watch "Hello, Dolly!", went through seasons 1, 2 and most of 3 of "The Hills," and half of a season of he A&E hit reality show "Airline" (which none of you probably know existed, but I used to watch it with my dad and loved it. It's hilarious).

Side note: Favorite quote from the movie -

Horace Vandergelder: Dolly Levi, you are a damned exasperating woman!

Dolly Levi: Why Horace Vandergelder, that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me.

Love it. I think I might be Dolly Levi. Watch the movie and tell me what you think. Or just watch it for fun.

2. Diet Coke. Yes, I'm drinking pop again (refer to previous posts for an explanation why I gave it up). But they offer FREE (as a poor college student I think I'm obligated to automatically partake in free items) pop at my internship, so I drink it to get my fix for the day. Then I don't have to buy cans, just a 2-liter to get me through a week or so. It's a wonderfully cheap way to get my caffeine buzz.

3. The iTouch app, "Lose it!" It's a calorie counter app designed to help people lose weight and it's FREE (and once again the college student obligation applies). But you can input what you ate, even from restaurants or grocery stores, and it tells you how many calories you ate and how many you have left for the day. There is also a way to add exercise and the app tells you how many calories you will burn if you do it for a certain amount of time. It's just wonderful. Check it out. You won't regret it.

I guess that's my life recently. I'm going home this weekend for Father's Day. I'm pretty psyched.

Dad update:

He had his second chemo treatment last Wednesday. So far, his body seems to be responding. My mom called me last week after taking him to a few appointments and had a few encouraging things to say.

-"Susan, he isn't yellow anymore!" It sounds funny to hear, but for the first few weeks after he was diagnosed his skin had a yellow tint to it. Mostly because his liver wasn't functioning right, but now it seems to be doing better (thus a more natural skin tone is emerging). Coincidentally, I remember my dad's favorite color to be yellow.

-I think some of his energy is coming back, which is such a blessing.

-No vomiting...yet. The doctor said everyone can react to it differently, but my dad hates - and I use the word hate with the fullest of intent- throwing up. It could happen, but it hasn't yet which is great.

-The swelling has gone down in his legs, ankles and feet. For a while we thought he might have to buy new pants, but the lack-of-swelling suggests that his liver is getting better.

I think since seeing the progress, his spirits have been lifted some. I think he knew before that he would beat it, but seeing progress sure helps. He's started losing some hair, which was expected, so my mom took him to get it cut a little shorter today so it wouldn't get pulled off as easily when he was laying down on a pillow or in the shower.

Such a nice mom I have. Not many ex-wives would do that, but she's such a compassionate person that it doesn't really surprise me that she took him under her wing.

I think she has started reading my blog, so "Hi, Mom!"