The Big Cheery Post About Lots Of Things!

Ahhhh. Feeling much better now. Pulled most of the prickles out. Yeesh. So, onward! And upward!

Yesterday? It was glorious! I got SO. MUCH. DONE. it's not even funny (and the fact that I had to take the day off from work for a few appointments made it feel kinda like I was playing (legitimate!) hooky!

So, Saturday night I was at a costume/birthday party, and as I was leaving (in my high heels, which is a big deal for me cause I NEVER wear them. Like, NEVER.) I started to drive away and I was like, "ummm... my car sounds funny." So I pulled over and sure enough, the front passenger side was dipped down waaaay farther than it should be. Dangit! I had a super-dee-duper-ly flat tire. Shooot! Of course, it was 11:30 or 12:00, and I figured I could walk home quicker than waiting for a bus (it was only 15 blocks or so). Turns out I was right. It was actually a really nice walk hone - it was really warm, and a nice night, and other than bruises and blisters and cuts on my feet from my stupid shoes, I had a very pleasant walk home.

Of course, no-one is open on Sunday, so I decided to just bus it to all my crazy places and fix it on Monday after my first appointment (luckily there was a mechanic/tire shop just three blocks away!).

So Sunday, I got lots done: went to an East African restaurant to look into catering my fundraiser, went to a goodbye party for a friend, went to church, and had a knight in shining armour friend try to help me get my spare on ym car so it was ready to roll (ha! Get it? Roll? I kill me!) on Monday. Armed with his expertise and camera phone flash as a light, we emptied my trunk and went at the tire. Spare tire? Check. Jack? Check. Tire iron? Nowhere to be found.

WHAT CAR DOESN'T HAVE A TIRE IRON???

Oh right. MY car. Of course.

Oh well. He still gets knight in shining armour points for being willing to help me!

So how is my flat tire relevant to Monday, you ask? Well, all the running around I had to do now on the bus, I got in lots of reading time and I finished reading my AIDS and You book, sent to me by AIM as part of the prep for my trip.

Side note: When I got this book, I was laughing about the cover: a dark background with big red letters AIDS AND YOU. I joked that this wasn't really the book you wanted to be reading on the bus, though it may help you get your own seat. (People still have SO many misconceptions about this disease!) Little did I know I'd read almost the entire thing on the bus! Haha!

Ok. So Monday. I felt SO awesome at the end of Monday! I had:
- Gotten four of my eight or nine shots at the travel clinic (my arms hurt like a sonofamonkey!)
- Gotten my tire fixed (and ended up with three new ones. I knew they needed replacing, but ouch! Nearly $350 was NOT was I was planning on spending that day on some fancy rubber!)
- Gone to the police station to request my crim check
- Read up on all the shots I had gotten and will be getting
- Made up the invitation for my coffee house/fundraiser night
- Gotten confirmation that the location was available for said fundraiser night
- Emailed 200 people the details and an electronic version of the invite
- Called the caterer to confirm the date
- ordered and had the invites printed
- Finished my AIDS and You book
- Put the finishing touches on my Christmas gifts and ordered them (My Christmas shopping and wedding-gift-catch-up shopping is now DONE! ALL of it! MUCH better than the frantic December 22 shopping blitz I usually do! I so wish I was kidding!)
- Went grocery shopping
- Went to small group
- Emailed someone about subletting my house while I'm gone
- Did my dishes
- Swept up cat fuzz
- replied (kindly, I hope) to the prickly email
- cried
- Blogged
- fell into bed exhausted but exhilarated at getting so much crammed in to one day!

Getting my invites out and my Christmas gifts ordered were big BIG things on my list of stuff to do, and they are DONE!

YES!

Good thing, cause yesterday I noticed that my trip ticker had reached the "one month and something" point until I leave and I NEARLY DIED. It's really closer to two months still, but that dang thing says ONE MONTH when you look at at and it's FREAKIN' ME OUT!

I haven't even been able to really start fundraising yet cause I don't have my assignment! AK!

BUT? Life is good! It's a beautiful day, my yard is full of gorgeous yellow leaves that I don't want to rake up yet cause they're so pretty, my Africa plans are progressing (well, some of them are!), and I was really overwhelmed on the weekend with feeling SO blessed by people I really never expected to do so offer their prayers, their funds, and their time to support me and my trip to Africa. I feel pretty overwhelmed and loved, and it's a good place to be!

Off I go! I have a friend I haven't seen in nearly six months arriving any minute for dinner!

Life is good! :)