Yesterday morning, I met up with David and Barbara at Special Occasion Dresses, with the mission of finding Barbara a "Mother of the Groom" dress. I found some dresses that I thought might be good on her, so she added those to her stack. While she was trying on dresses, I started looking around the store. I went over to a couple of racks of shorter dresses, and found a really pretty pink one. David also found a dress that he wanted me to try on. Amazingly enough, they had them both in the size I typically look for, which is a miracle in itself. I tried on both my dresses. While David liked both of them, his reaction to the one he wanted me to try on was classic! He said that dress needed to come on the cruise with me, and Barbara agreed. It has spaghetti straps (something I never wear), is a beautiful dark pink floral print, and is very flowing and makes me feel absolutely gorgeous!!! So we left the shop with not only a dress for Barbara (whom I will let talk about her dress, but I will say that it is amazing, and that she looks wonderful in it!!!!), but a dress for me as well. Hooray!!!!

Afterwards, since we were near St. Andrew, we decided to take Barbara by there. We showed her the sanctuary, (she now knows where her seat is!), the parlor, the bride's room, the groom's room, etc. That church really is amazing. I always feel good whenever I drive past, and especially if I go in!

We went by the reception place, and decided to eat lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse, where the rehearsal dinner will take place. We saw the room in the back where we will be, and it is perfect! They already have the tables in a U-shape, so yay! We tried looking around for stationary for the dinner invitations, but weren't having any luck.

After all that, we had a shower to go to! I had not been out to my aunt Kaye's in several years, so I was not sure how to get there. However, I managed to get us there without any problems, thanx to a combination of Mapquest, Mom and good navigational skills by Barbara. The shower was lotsa fun, and I received some really neat stuff!

Yesterday after church, David and I cornered our pastor to ask him about logistical aspects of the wedding ceremony, and also scheduled our first pre-marital counseling session. That afternoon, I was signed up to drive youth around for the scavenger hunt. Well, we didn't think that was going to happen because my car didn't want to start again. Although it was turning over this time. David gave my car a jump start, then followed me up to Sears to get the battery replaced. It was still under partial warranty, so I paid about half-price for the battery. Yay for half-price!!! Then the Dezimobile was once again running.

After all that, we only had four kids show up. So we decided to go boys against girls. David took the two boys in his car, while the four adult women and the two junior high girls went in another car. I don't know about the kids, but the adults had a great time bonding in the car! The girls won, but the boys got brownie points for stopping and buying a gallon of ice cream! Thanx, guys!

Today was absolutely nuts. Mom and I worked all day on wedding stuff. We were printing ceremony programs, making to do lists for the wedding day, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a ton of work, and I am extremely glad to have it finished. My textbooks for my class came today, which was good since I have a presentation to give from one of the chapters at class tomorrow night.

David took yesterday off from work, and I have Fridays and Mondays off from my job, so we spent the whole day together! We started off having a nice breakfast of donuts!! Then we journeyed over to David's office, so he could pick up his hard drive. A couple of the guys that he worked with were giving us wedding advice. One of them stuck his head in David's office, and David starting talking to him, and he told David,"I didn't come down here to talk to you!" We both thought it was funny. Then it was off to visit a friend of ours from David's old church, who is in the hospital. David and I stopped at Tom Thumb to pick up a card, along with a puzzle book, pack of pencils, Scooby-Doo playing cards and a Slinky! I don't know about our friend, but David and I were amused.

Next stop was R.E.I., or "The David Store". David found several things, including a day backpack for me, that I will probably use for day excursions on the cruise! Lunch was at this Indian food place in Plano, that we have both enjoyed before. We were not disappointed this time, either. Then we journeyed off to Stonebriar Mall, where I ran into not one, but two different people that I knew. It was really funny.

Today has been a relaxing day as well. David surprised me with donuts from Krispy Kreme this morning! Then it was hanging around and watching movies until after lunch. Then we went to Best Buy, so David could buy some stuff, while I bought a couple of cds. One of them is the soundtrack to My Fair Lady, which is what we are listening to right now.

Molly found a desk that is not being used for me to sit at to do my thing. I spend the majority of the day filling out paperwork and going over the individual case files. I also contacted the parents of the kids and scheduled the in-home observation and interview. I have two appointments tomorrow afternoon, and one on Thursday. Dr. Martin faxed me a functional behavior analysis form to use, so I feel more prepared. Basically I will interview the parents and observe the kid, then come up with my impressions and what behavioral supports need to be implemented.

It is important when having a new job, I have found, to locate the good restaurants. Well, as it turns out, if I go one exit further than where I normally turn off, there is the Bavarian Bakery that I really liked eating at when I was doing professional development activities with Ft. Worth ISD. So I went there for lunch! Always a plus to know where to buy good pastries. The food there is really good and you definitely get your money's worth there!

After leaving Ft. Worth, I went up to Denton. I am taking a summer class, Pediatric Psychology. It is taught by my major professor and advisor, Dr. Martin! I am really looking forward to the class, although June is going to be a really crazy month because of it. I will have class on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Today was the first class, and let me tell you, it was an incredibly long day! I already ordered by books from Barnes & Noble (it's cheaper than at the UNT bookstore, and I even get a member discount!), and am looking forward to it. The best part about this class, is that it is the last class that I have to take. Yay!!

I also did something else that seriously needed to be done: clean out my car. My trunk is emptier than it has been in a long time and my backseat is clean, as well!! I'll need the trunk space after the shower to transport gifts to David's, and possibly car space to transport bridesmaids to their fitting after the shower.

Well, today wasn't all about work. I had fun, too! Mom and I went for spa pedicures at a salon just down the street from us. That was a lot of fun. Something really funny: they had recliner-type chairs attached to the foot spa tubs. Well, when I sat all the way back, my feet didn't even touch the water! They adjusted the seat so they did go in the water, and all was well. They finished it off by painting my toes a really pretty shade of dark pink!!! I enjoyed the pedicure, even though I have ticklish feet. It was very enjoyable, and now I want to have more! I probably won't have another one until right before the wedding, though.

If you know me well, you know I love to read. I read every day, and can spend hours lost in a good book. I have been reading a lot of Christian fiction books lately. I cruised by the Christian bookstore and found that three of my current favorite authors have new books out! I picked out two of them, and am in the process of reading one now. Hooray for books!

Yesterday morning, I drove out to the photographers' to pick up my bridal portraits. They look amazing!!! It is hard to believe the girl in the dress is me. I drove home and showed them to Mom. We had gone together to pick out which ones we wanted for ourselves and the family. The one that she picked for herself and Dad was going to be the one on display at the reception. However, she liked the one I picked for David and I to have so much, that she wanted to display that one at the reception, too! Next, Dad will pick which one of the 5x7's that he wants for his desk at work (after the wedding, of course!).

Then it was time to jump in the car and head out to Ft. Worth. I arrived early for the meeting, but it gave me time to eat my lunch beforehand. Molly (the director), the case managers, Karen and I went over each child's situation. There are sixteen children that need services immediately. We divided up the cases based on geographical area. Since Karen lives in Ft. Worth, she took the cases in Ft. Worth, while I took the cases in Arlington and Kennedale (plus one near the MHMR center). I am excited about starting on these cases!

As I was driving back from the meeting, I called my eye doctor. I had my eye exam/check-up last week, and he had given me a set of contact lenses to try for a week. I didn't like them the first couple of days, but the more I wore them, the more I liked them. I had an appointment yesterday so he could see how they fit my eyes and if I could see. I didn't know what time I would be finished in Ft. Worth, so I made the appointment as late as possible. Luckily, he was able to see me earlier, so yay! Now I can see better, and my new contacts are on the way!

Since my eye doctor appointment was earlier, I was able to go out to Frisco and pick up the hostess gifts for Saturday's shower. I think I did a pretty good job picking these out, and they did an excellent job on them, so yay, everyone wins! The evening was rounded out by some good music, as well as quality time with David!

Today was a really busy day, as well. I spent the day running various errands, including picking up a birthday present for my dad. I'm pretty pleased with it as well. Mom had gone shopping for some clothes, and she did come home with some adorable clothes....for me! I'm planning on wearing one of the outfits to Saturday's shower! Thanx for the beautiful clothes, Mom!

Mom also brought up a really scary point this morning: I'm getting married next month. Ack!!!! That is scary!

Birthday Greeting: Happy Birthday, Jeffrey!!!