My trip yesterday was filled with emotions. 

The rolling mountains of West Virginia were beautiful, but I was thinking about the loss of a close friend in Virginia and how it has reverberated throughout my other friendships with people there.  I don't know why she dropped me as a friend, I am now paranoid about what to say and do with my other friends.  In addition, I found out last week, she broke a confidence... something I told her and was expecting her to keep to herself and she didn't.  I made a mistake to be so open with her and it makes me question my openness with everyone.  Part of what was so wonderful with my friends in Virginia was the ability to not have to hold anything back.  My calender for September says how wonderful it is "to have friends who know everything about you... and still like you."

Now that I have had a day or two to relax I have been able to feel how sad this makes me.   

When driving through the farm lands with Amish buggies in Ohio really made me miss my life when I lived in a farming communityMichigan for over 30 years.  It was so beautiful and peaceful... and so green. 

Well that is all for now.  I hope that your day is delightful.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

I am getting cracked this morning and continuing on my mosie north.  My client yesterday said oh she drives from Florida in two days... and Georgia is north of that, but I said I was getting body work done and didn't want to ruin it by driving for 11 hours... Hope your day is grand. I was late getting out of my house yesterday... it was hard to leave for a month... hmmmmm I must be liking it better down there.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

My internet coverage will be spotty for the next month.  I will up date when I can.  I am going to Northern Indiana, Michigan, and Canada until Labor Day when I will start home.  I was really hoping to have this be a vacation, but it is going to be a working vacation, because I still have 90 pages of my dissertation to finish.  Hmmmm  This is the first time I have been back to Michigan for a prolonged time since I went away to school in 2003.  I start out at my client Cindy's.  Then I am off to northern Indiana.  I am hoping I can work in the mornings at Mary Agnes' and play in the afternoon.  Durign Mary Agnes', I am meeting my neice in Chicago... I would love to see Tao and Eric while I am there August 9 or 10... then I am on to Linda and Dick's at Silver Lake, Kathy and Jon's in Bay City, and I have a break and then go Kathy and Harv's Canadian cottage for Labor Day weekend...

I still need to contact Michelle, Deb, Dan and Margie, Linda, Betty and Judy, Pat, Jeanneane, Phyllis, Cathy, and Lisa to make arrangements to get together with them.  Hmmm I do have a lot of friends. 

Carole I keep trying to leave you a message, but cannot get in... yes we have similar persistence quotients.

Love and kisses, Marilyn

I went to dinner at my former college swimming coach last night.  It was an hour drive north of here.  I had a really nice time.  He said he uses me as an example of perserverance... I guess one time I was crying in work out because it was so hard, but kept right on swimming.  Hmmmmm I don't remember that.... We  had a really nice time, but I miss a turn on the way home and when a half an hour out of my way and got home at 10:30....

Off to work this morning on my dissertation ... I told him that I am using that perserverance to continue to work on my dissertation... he laughed.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Had a nice time at Pelli party last night.  Worked most of the day yesterday...

I mowed my lawn first thing before the heat... I also mowed my neighbors lawn.  They are gone to his grandmother's funeral... thought it would be nice to come home to some of the work already done.

I then worked on the conclusions to sections that I had stumbled on two weeks ago... before I started on taxes and presentations... then I got a massage and went to the party.  It was a good day.  Today I continue working... and doing a laundry and packing for my trip.  I am leaving on Tuesday morning for a month of travels visiting my friends in Michigan.  I am driving so can take a lot of stuff with me. 

Hope your day is grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Once I sat down to work... I felt as if I needed to finish my presentation first yesterday.  I worked on it first.  Got it done by noon and sent if off about 12 hours early.  Then I read another two sections of my dissertation out loud... and corrected it.  Then I went back to the computer to make the corrections on the machine.  I had one section that I still had not writtten a good conclusion too.. 

This morning I am going to mow my lawn and then re-read that section and see if I can get the conclusion completed.  The I will continue to make corrections on the computer.   I have a massage and party to go to this afternoon and evening, so it is a busy day.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

It was so good to see all of my friends. 

Today I am finishing my presentation for the conference in October, it is due midnight July 25... hmmm than is today. Elizabeth made corrections for me while I drove back and emailed them to me... thank you very much, Elizabeth.  And I need to make sure it is in APA's format, I hope I can find what Brad sent out last year about how to format in APA... I am sure it is in my files...  I will finish it this afternoon... 

This morning I am going to read another section of my dissertation out loud and correct it, yet again.  Hmmmmm I have two done already... about five more and the conclusion to finish.  I am hoping to make a really good stab at getting it done before I leave from Michigan on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I probably will work on my conclusion while away. 

Have a great day!  Love and kisses, Marilyn

It wasn't a bad trip.  I worked this morning until 10:00 and emailed my presentation to Elizabeth for corrections... Got my feet cracked before I left town.  Hope your day was great!  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Hey there... I had a great day today in Blacksburg... woke up late... 9:00.... started to work right away and worked until 12:30 on my presentation for the IDEC conference.  It is due Friday evening... hmmmmm  I made good progress because of the four hours of work I did in the car yesterday.  I don't remember if I told you how I used the drive time to get my thoughts organized.  It is really great that I am finally working on something beyond my dissertation.  Hmmmm

Then I went to Blacksburg and found Noelle at her "office" and asked her to go to dinner with me.  Then I met Ellen, Elizabeth and K at the pool.  We swam and played at the pool until a thunder storm chased us out of the water... then under the canopy and finally into our cars.  I drove to the chiropractor in a amazing rain downpour, got cracked...  and then had a massage.  I feel sore but so much better. 

Then I met Noelle for dinner at El Rods.  It was a great day... got some work done and still enjoyed my friends.  I will work for a couple of hours tomorrow morning in my hotel room and then drive home.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Well I am off to Virginia this morning.  I really had a good day of work yesterday.  I was able to get through the rest of Cindy's editing and print out the last 150 pages of my dissertation.  I am taking it with me to read in my hotel room.  I am hoping to see Elizabeth, Katya, and Nancy.  Ellen and I are going to swim at the country club at 2:00 tomorrow and then she will give me a massage.  It has been months since we have done a massage.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone.  It seems like forever since I have seen them in June.  Hope your day is grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Matt, Bette and I had a great day in Charleston... the morning was quite comfortable.  The last mile was a killer because it was so hot.  I will put up some pictures tonight, I hope... heading to Virginia tomorrow to see my friends one more time before I head off to Michigan.  Love and kisses, Marilyn 

Worked on my taxes today... pretty much finished them except for unemployment taxes and changing 2006 1120 to 1120S... greehhh

I went to Roy's funeral today.  It was hard to not cry.  He was such a wonderful guy.  He sold me my house.  Tomorrow Matt and I are going to meet Bette in Charleston.  It should be really fun.  Love and kisses, Marilyn  

I have been having problems with my Adobe Acrobat for at least a year.... I have been too busy to fix it.  I have tried to upload a fix numerous times, but realized I was going to have to download a new program to finally get it to work.  Today I needed to print out tax forms from Georgia and Virginia and I couldn't get the PDF to come up...

So I finally said okay this is it I will fix it today.  When accessing Adobe I found a button to fix it... hmmmmm entered the CD and 45 minutes later it was still on this terrible loop trying to down load the program multiple times... greeehhhhh... Hitting escape dozens of times only made things worse, finally I got out... Deleted the old program and downloaded the new/2003 program off the CD.... Yes... but I still couldn't open the PDF.  I gave up and mowed my lawn... and came back with a fresh eye.  I had deleted the read version too, so I reloaded that from Adobe... and YES!!!  I was up and running.  Four hours after I started. 

So today I only did my 1120S, Virginia and part of Georgia... I should be able to finish tomorrow. 

My Realtor and husband to our administrative assistant Sandi, Roy passed away from cancer yesterday.  He was so great in helping me buy my house.  He really did a great job of listening to me and looking at houses before I got here.  So I was able to buy a house I really like in two days.  I will miss him.  I am going to his memorial service tomorrow. 

Hope your day is good.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

and I am still talking about my reunion... I have been doing other stuff since I got home... hmmmm

Well first of all I have been working on my taxes since I got home.  It is a long process.  Four days so far.  I have my interior design business.  My ex-husband has his farm and unemployment income... I have school, loans for school, interest on those.... medical (I had that small laproscopic operation last year) and chiropractic and massage expenses... and travel to 3 clients and a conference... I have W-2s from three states... hmmm  Oh yeah I also sold a house and bought a house, have moving expenses and got divorced... The paper ended up being about 1/4" deep. 

I still have to finish taxes for Georgia and Virginia and my business taxes.  Including 1120S, 944 and something else.  I am getting quite a large refund so I should be happy, but it is just slogging through the work.  I pride myself for my organization skills, but this year was not quite organized as I would like.  I file everything neatly, I had at least ten files out... Hmmm after looking at the list of stuff we did last year... I guess I understand why it seemed disorganized. 

Okay, on to the good stuff.  Matt and I went to the beach on Tuesday.  We had a marvelous time.  He had to get his car serviced.  We used my new umbrella and beach chair.  It was much more comfortable than laying on the sand.   We had problems because we couldn't get the umbrella to stay... (we found out we need a auger to secure it in the sand).  So we inserted it between the arm and seat of my chair and tied it.  Not the most comfortable condition, but we had a great time, anyway.   Had dinner at our diner... it was fun.

This Sunday I am going to Charleston with Bette and maybe Matt.  It should be fun.  Now I am going to mow my lawn and I bought a new trimmer yesterday so I will trim it too.  Wish me luck.

When Matt was over for dinner last night, we watched the Fountainhead... Not as good as the book... He said my living room was pink... Alicia my massage therapist also said my living room was pink... aughhhhhhhh I want it to be peach.... greeehhhhhhh... the yellowish cast of my aging eye must have turned the pinkish tone peach... greeehhhh now I don't know what to do, I am almost done and certainly don't want it pink...

Hope your day is grand... Love and kisses, Marilyn

As you can tell from my party blogs... that we actually had a good time in Ann Arbor at my reunion.  Kathy and I had parties in our room both nights we were there.  While we partied a lot... I think I only had a pitcher of sangria, two margaritas and two or three glasses of wine, together all three days of the weekend... and sorry to disappoint you, but.... the hotel never called to ask us to shut up... so we weren't dancing in the halls or anything...  Ha

We started out meeting at U-High on the steps of the school.  It has now changed to the School of Education for the U of Michigan.  We toured the building.  The room that I had for kindergarten is much smaller than I remember.  So was the library, auditorium and other rooms.... hmmmm Then we went to dinner.  It was on the porch of a restaurant, so was really nice to be outside and be able to visit.  Then we left for an office where Garth had put together a photo show with music of our experiences in elementary, junior and high school.  It brought out a lot of stories and fun.  One of us owns a winery and he supplied the wine a lot of wine.
 
Then we went back to the hotel and had company for a party.  We drank and little wine and talked.  Alex gave my aching back a back rub, he is a trained massage therapist... and Garth not to be out done rubbed my feet...  but mostly we just reminisced.  Alex was not in school when I was so I gave him a synopsis of my life.  He has retired and lives in Sonoma with his wife.  Says he is busy playing golf and doing retirement things...  Don't remember if he has kids.  Garth is married and still lives in AA and he put together this whole event (with the help of the planning committee).  Jill lives in New Mexico....  She has a couple of kids and a husband... Kathy lives in AA and has two kids and a husband, miscellaneous cats, dogs, horses and goats.  We had a late night visitor when Fraser showed up at 2:15 after everyone had left by 2:00... eh caught me in my jamies... and Kathy in a towel... fully covered in the towel thank you... he made a phone call on my phone to Garth and Alex who were giggling histarically.  Boys will be boys.

The next day I woke up with a small headache, but got rid of it by drinking two glasses of water and taking asperine... hmmmm We went to Kathy's to get some clothes and her golf clubs.  We then played golf.  I think I already told you we got rained off... had lunch and finished the nine holes.  We got last, but had a great time, Jim, Brent, Kathy, Fraser and I were on one team.  After golf, Kathy dropped me off at the hotel and I went for a swim and soak in the hot tub.  Then we dressed... of course Kathy and I tried on multiple outfits to to see what looked best... 

We loaded on a bus to go see Fraser at a comedy club in Royal Oak.  We had dinner near there and then went into the theater... They were very funny.    Kathy and I had decided to not have another party before we left for the club... we were tired... but as we stood in the parking lot, someone said the bar at the hotel was smoky... I found myself saying why don't we go to our hotel room.  This night there were ten of us.  Leslie, Jill, Alex, Garth, Jim, Betsy(?), Vicki, Vicki's husband, Kathy and I.  It was a little tight... at one point, I was changing the music and Garth came over... he gave me a hug and spilled his wine on my shoulder... So Alex came up... I said to him, Garth just spilled his wine on my shoulder... so Alex begin helpful licked it off.... hmmmm I said that felt good, so he licked again... he got most of it... of course we were laughing... By 2:30 everyone left and we didn't have any late night visitors...

The next morning.  We met for breakfast and said goodbye to some people who were leaving... then we went to Mindy's house/cottage for a picnic.  They had it catered and we talked and ate and drank and joked around.  It was really fun.  It was really windy so we didn't use the lake much.  At one point I was talking to Tom and he asked me what I did... and said Don't tell me your are an licensed interior designer.  I said yes I was... as a matter of fact, I was working on a Ph.D. in interior design and my topic was licensing... He said both his wives are interior designer and dragged me laughing all the way into the bedroom...  we musted up our clothes and staggered into the living room like 30 seconds later, laughing like crazy and acting like we had hmmmm s**... Garth said boy that was quick and I said well it isn't always the time that counts...  any way I thought it was really, really funny.  It was harmless joking and nothing came of any of this except enjoying our sillyness.  Oh I also got another kiss from my old boyfriend.  This time on the lips...
It was hard to say goodbye.  Kathy and I had sushi for dinner and then she dropped me off at a hotel near the airport.  Because I had to catch a 7:00 plane. 
All in all I had a wonderful time being with people I grew up with and still love.

Hope your day was great today... Love and kisses, Marilyn

Well I am sitting on the sofa... after taking another nap.... hmmmmm  I was too tired to sit at my desk to write. 

This morning... I went to the doctor or have him check a changed mole and other spots on my body... He said that all of the dark spots (age spots), tags and red spots on my body are hereditary growths and not cancer... I didn't think that they were cancer, but since I was in the sun everyday for 10 years swimming outdoors in the afternoon....and since my parents had skin cancer, I just wanted to make sure.  Because I had student insurance for the last five years... I have not been able to get things checked out.  Colonoscopy, skin check along with my normal mammagram, pap and pelvic examination.  So now I am all checked out inside an out...  Clean bill of health.

As I said last weekend, I went to my 40th high school reunion.  This was different than the 25th I went to fifteen years ago.  That seemed to be a bring and brag contest.  This time was so different.  By now our age of 58... most of us have faced losses.  We had a small class less than 100... over the years five of our classmates have died...  We had thirty people come to the reunion... Of the people I talked to, so many had heart rendering losses.. For example; one of my friends from childhood lost a son to cancer.  My first boyfriend who gave me my first kiss (on the cheek at the age of 12).  His wife had died of cancer five years ago.  All of us were dealing with failing/passed away parents and/or children with problems. 

The first evening I talked to the husband of my childhood friend, who had lost their son.  He said what is important to him now is people and communication... not things.  I so agreed with that.  Since the loss of my little sister, I am all about communication in loving support.  That is what this reunion was about... connecting and sharing life and we withstand the losses...  I really have only seen one of this people regularly, but the connections of a shared childhood remain.  
Hope your day was grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Interesting because I am getting together on Saturday with friends who had some conflicts the last time we were together...

Other people's volatile emotions will actually work in your favor, dear Gemini. Today's intense planetary configuration will help bring feelings out on the table in a manner that makes them easier to deal with. More than likely, you have suspected certain things about others. Your sixth sense has told you something that no one has confirmed out loud - until now. Don't be afraid of conflict. There is a distinct advantage in bringing these issues out from under the rug.

Interesting because I am getting together on Saturday with friends who had some conflicts the last time we were together...

Other people's volatile emotions will actually work in your favor, dear Gemini. Today's intense planetary configuration will help bring feelings out on the table in a manner that makes them easier to deal with. More than likely, you have suspected certain things about others. Your sixth sense has told you something that no one has confirmed out loud - until now. Don't be afraid of conflict. There is a distinct advantage in bringing these issues out from under the rug.

Off to the Doctor to get my skin checked... then to the beach with Matt... What a hoot to do both in the same day.  Before I went to Michigan I bought a beach chair and sun umbrella... the umbrella has a SPF of 100. 

Yesterday I finally worked on my taxes... After my nap Carole, then I finished the rolling of my living room, my hung up the art and put back the accessories... I still need to do another coat of cutting in... and then wash the whole floor...  but I think I am almost finished with the dining room, living room and two halls.  Good thing too... Wood work will come later like at Christmas. 

Hopefully later on this week I will tell you more about my reunion.  I was so wonderful.  Love and kisses, Marilyn