I'm completely insane. I woke up on my own, without my alarm clock at 4:30am CRAVING a workout at the gym. I know. Competely psycho. But who am I to deny myself a bank of burnt calories on which to use towards ice cream or pizza? :) I threw all my stuff in myfantastic new Nike bag (a Christmas present courtesy of my dearest), put the dogs outside and headed to The Centre. After a fabulous 60 minutes on the elliptical and a circut of lower body weights, I hit the shower and began getting ready for work. It was only after I got out of the shower that realized I had left my dress pants at home. 40 minutes away.

Sigh.

Do you know what it's like to go to Wal-Mart at 7:30am wearing a pretty top and dressy jacket and high-heeled shoes...and running pants? Yeah, I fit right in. My plan was to purchase the first pair of work-related pants I saw, change into them in the dressing room and take the tag up to the front to pay. How was I supposed to know that they won't let you do that unless there is a sales associate escorting you from the dressing room to the cash register? And of COURSE, the morning wouldn't be complete without seeing several co-workers. Joy.

To top off my day, Matt texted me a picture of the ocean and beach at 2:30, rubbing it in that he's in warm, sunny San Diego and I'm stuck in freezing Missouri. I hope his plane lands in the middle of a blizzard tomorrow when he gets home. Ha.

Kristen and I swam laps after work...have I mentioned how much I love The Centre? Have I mentioned how much I dislike wet hair in sub-zero temperatures? The walk from the gym to my car was a little miscalculated. I think I burnt out the seat warmers and heater in my car trying to stay warm on my drive home.

Today I love: Two workouts and the reward of a  Lean Cuisine Deep-Dish Pizza.

So...I'm 28 today.

And the biggest baby in the world.

Since we're leaving for Alabama around 1:00 today, I had to drop the dogs off at the boarding kennel before work this morning. For those of you who don't have dogs, this might sound strange and weird, but every time I leave them I feel like I'm leaving part of me behind. Suka was great - he was running around the big fenced-in yard playing with other dogs. But UConn just sat there in a little quivering ball of terror, trying to hide from all the barking, jumping, sniffing strangers. She looked at me with her big brown eyes, and I swear she was saying, "Momma, why are you leaving me? What is this strange place? Are you ever going to come back?" I think she remembers her days as a shelter dog, and it scares her to think she might be locked up again with no one to snuggle. Sigh. I miss them already...my silly, licky, 60 lb balls of fur. I cried on the way back to work.

I'm just hoping this morning goes quickly so we can get on the road. We have an eight hour drive ahead of us, and Matt hasn't been feeling good. I'm going to drive us most of the way so he can sleep. He's bringing his portable DVD player, so that usually helps make the time on the road go by faster. This morning he surprised me with a card and the first two seasons of 30 Rock on DVD...my newest favorite TV show. I love Tina Fey!

Another good thing that happened today - some of you know I've been struggling to get my weight back down to what it was last year...in between our move this summer, starting a new job, not having as many trails or sidewalks to run on, and generally just being stressed and lazy I've gained a little weight. Ok, more than a little. So my personal goal was to get back in the 130's by my birthday, sort of as a present to myself. I haven't really been following any specific plan, but I bought Bob Green's "The Best Life Diet" book (with insight from Oprah...who can go wrong with that??), and I really like the straightforwardness and motivation in it. So that, combined with weight watcher points and struggling with myself and my willpower levels...this morning - The Official Birthday Weigh-In - I was at 139.5. Barely in the 130's, but still there. I feel so empowered by meeting that goal, however close it was. Hopefully that feeling can stick with me through the next couple days and get me safely through Thanksgiving without overdoing it. I'm looking forward to running a 5K on Saturday with my MIL too!

Today I love: Knowing people care about me when I check my email and see a gazillion happy birthday wishes in my inbox, and family who calls first thing in the morning to make my day special!

 On Wednesday, the day of grandma's visitation, the florist made a huge delivery of flower arrangements and potted plants. Like we did in high school when we worked for dad at the funeral home, Erin and I started hauling flowers up from the back delivery door and brought them into the chapel. Dad came walking in with several vases of roses - one of which was a single yellow rose in a small bud vase. He set the rose on a stand close to the head of the casket, and then we walked around the chapel reading the cards attached to the plants talking about what good friends we had to send such beautiful arrangements. When we got back to where the yellow rose was, we couldn't find a name attached to the card. All it read was, "Dear Polly, Welcome Home."

We were stumped. No one had called grandma by her nickname of "Polly" since she was in college, so we started guessing about which of her classmates had sent the flower. It wasn't until halfway through the visitation that it hit one of my cousins.

Grandpa.

Grandpa's favorite flower was the yellow rose - his funeral back in 1989 was full of yellow roses. He called grandma "Polly" all the time. And he was in heaven, waiting for her to join him.

The rumor quickly spread throughout the funeral home, and we were all in tears. It was devastatingly wonderful to think that a little part of grandpa was there with us - a for-real message from beyond the grave. It showed us that he had been patiently waiting more than 19 years to be able to finally hold his wife in his arms once again and say, "Hey there sweetie. I've been waiting for you. Welcome home."

We all agreed that that was the story we were sticking to. Even if it wasn't true, we didn't want to know any different.

Dad, making funeral arrangements with another family today (poor guy, he doesn't even get to rest!), talked to the florist. The yellow rose was brought into the conversation. Dad told her that he didn't want to know.

"All I can tell you, Jim," she said, "is that the order for that flower was placed many, many years ago. I was sworn to secrecy, so all I can say is that the order slip has been on my desk for years."

Welcome home, grandma. Welcome home.