Halloween Blood Drive

Hiya blog world....

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Halloween - and what better time to GIVE BLOOD!??! I mean, seriously people. Give blood on Halloween if on no other day of the year!! You're actually encouraged to eat cookies and candy and have a soda afterwards!

Just FYI, here are some of the criteria you have to meet in order to donate:

• You must be healthy ("Healthy" means that you feel well and can perform normal activities.)
• You must be at least 17 years old or 16 years old if allowed by state law.
• You must weigh at least 110 pounds.
• You must not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks (56 days) or a donation of double red cells in the last 16 weeks (111 days).

There are other criteria and you can read about them here....

Happy bloodletting everyone!!! Help save lives!!

No I'm Not Dead.... Yet

Okaaaaayyyyyyy.


No post since July.


And I'm still allowed to sign in.... thanks for not throwing me out yet, Blogger.


Though I have to say I'm ashamed of myself. I've had so much to write about too!! Let's see - what's happened since July.....


I shared my 35th birthday with my boyfriend (who turned 37 on the same day!) by having a huge party at our place!! So many people came - even my parents and sisters!! I was a very happy gal!!


Then, at the beginning of August, I went to the beach with my sister, her husband and their best friends. Though stitches were involved (by a surfboard to my brother-in-law's head) the week turned out great!!


I'm such a lucky girl!!! Then, I got to goto the beach with my two best beach friends!!! We go to a beach in NC on the same week every year. And this year we figured we've been doing this for at least the last 8 years!! Those boys make beach life so relaxing and restful. Always fun with dogs, stacks of good magazines and fantastic food - Frank is the BEST cook!!! But Frank was not going to cook every night this year so I was given a night where dinner was all mine!! And for not being a very knowledgable cook, I think I managed to pull of a very tasty seared tuna with a thai basil "salsa" on the top. The sweet potato fries with soy-ginger dipping sauce turned out pretty good too!


In September, I met my boyfriend out in California... my first trip to the west coast!! (Look ==>> the beau and I on Lombard!!) And I have to say thank you to everyone in San Francisco and Santa Cruz for being the best people to spend travel time around! We ended up having so much fun in San Francisco that we spent 2 days there. And then Santa Cruz, what a beauty!! I caught my first wave all by myself there!!! I'll never forget you O'Neill's @ Pleasure Point!!


Now, my boyfriend wants to move to California... we'll see.


At the beginning of October, I went up to my sister's place in Richmond, VA. Now, Halloween around those parts is an endeared time of year - as it should be. They produce the final scene on Richmond's Haunted Hayride. It's called Joe's Barbeque - by day it looks kinda pitiful. But as soon as the sun goes down, those woods get spooky. I watched them put on makeup and costumes, set up the scene and talk about the night before. I have to say I got a bit nervous when the first wagon was rolling up. But man, was that a hoot!! I'll explain the scene later with pictures...


But let me take a second here to say - if you EVER get the chance to watch a haunted house from behind the scenes - DO IT. It took me hours to stop laughing.


Now, my boyfriend has been trying to teach me the finer points of mountain biking. And as crappy a coach he was at surfing, he is completely the opposite at this. He's fantastic!! And I know I bitch a bit when I can't find a way to do what he tells me to as soon as he says it... but he doesn't get mad!! I'm having a blast - even though I'm limping from all the bruises at the moment. We went to DuPont State Forest this weekend and I bit the dirt so bad that I've got two solid bumps on my right leg with some nice dark purple bruising around them (I'll see if I can get some pictures...) and a nice cut from my pedal slamming into my left shin. Quite a walking freakshow I am at the moment. But the best part is that he says he's impressed. Impressed by how fast I'm picking this up, how I'm a workhorse at climbing, at how hard I'll work after a spill... And the thing that makes that comment the most impressive to me is not that he used to race but that he said it at all. I love him.


We'll be going to Tsali to ride some trails in a two weekends.... I just hope I can get this heap of bones and bruises on a bike by then.


Anyway, lunch is over and it's back to work.... I'll try to post some pictures soon! I've missed you guys!!