And the break is here!  YAY!  I ended my craziness on Sunday with the close of the State Fair.  Made it home as the rain was hitting and am very glad that Doc got the booth stuff back before the rain hit.  Sadly, I woke up Monday with a horrible migraine.  Went to the chiro Tuesday, but still wasn't feeling well.  Spent yesterday recovering from the drugs and regaining my ability to think.  Today was the Day of Prayer and Fasting at Emerald Hills and I elected to stay home and pray because I can't handle the humidity.  Whenever I walk outside it's like hitting a brick wall.  I have to have air con right now.  The good news is that this is the first bad one I've had since July 7.  The bad news is that I'm still having them.  So, I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday to see what we can do. 

This weekend will be a fun one hopefully.  I'm going to try to prime and paint my bedroom, so I need to work on clearing it out and taping tonight.  I also need to move my drapery rod, so I need to fill the old holes and prep that before I can paint.  Saturday is a bonfire/cookout at my friend Palmer and Tina's house.  Sunday, we have a church coming in for their site pick at Emerald Hills.  And on Monday, I'm headed to Cincy for shopping at Ikea and the Gap Clearance store.  I need to get some cheap shirts that I can embroider with the Team Expansion logo and Gap is the place to do that.  I might also find some more work pants since I have only a few pairs and once I can no longer wear my skirts this winter, it's gonna be rough.  Losing weight is great...until you have to buy new clothes! 

Hope you all are doing well!

I think the major part of my whirlwind might just be over.  August and November are typically our craziest months of the year and this year is no exception.  We kicked off August with the return of our summer interns, then I had LASIK, then we had a week of Launch with new missionaries last week.  Had a great time getting to know them and spend time with them.  My grandpa had shoulder sugery last Thursday and came out okay, but he's got a long rehabilitation before he can fully use his shoulder again.  This last weekend took me to Lexington where I coordinated a friend's wedding on Saturday.  It was beautiful and I was thrilled to be a part of their day.  We had perfect weather--just enough breeze to lift the veil for some awesome pictures, enough sunshine to give great shadows at times, and the perfect temperature that we didn't get overheated.  I spent the night at their house in Lexington Saturday, then got to go to Southland Christian Church yesterday morning.  They had a guest speaker, Mike Breaux, and were doing a sermon series called "Life According to Jim."  Based on the book of James, we talked yesterday about prayer.  It was a fabulous sermon and I was very much encouraged by being there.  Met the two lovely people who sat next to me and talked with them about missions as both have a desire to serve overseas.  I hung out in Lex yesterday until one of my favorite people from college came through, then got to have Starbucks with her and her husband.  They're having a little girl in a month and had been in Cincy for the baby shower on Saturday.  So, we met up in Lex for a bit before they headed home to East TN and I came back to Louisville. 

I got in at 6:30, was in bed at 6:45 and got up this morning at 8:45.  Yep...that's right...14 hours of sleep!  I woke up once, but was back in bed right away.  It was excellent, but I do feel like I could have slept for another 14 hours!  This week is another craziness week.  The Kentucky State Fair started last week and I'm helping out my chiropractor with his booth there all week.  So, between 6:30 and 10 every night, I'll be hanging out there, signing people up for free back evaluations.  Should be a pretty fun week.  I love the fair and am looking forward to being there.  I'll head over to the livestock area in time for the hog show and see if I still have it in me to call all of the winners.    I did the last time I was at a fair, which was 2 years ago! 

We also have visiting missionaries this week, our community meeting on Wednesday at the office (which includes a review of our goals for the year), plus my friend Kelly is coming down on Friday.  She does development for another organization and so we'll hang out on Friday and talk about stuff and spend some time together.  She's down for the missions fair at Fern Creek CC this weekend, and I'm looking forward to bouncing ideas off her and just chatting. 

So, have a fabulous week everyone!  Hope you get some rest in the midst of everything and enjoy the weather.  I think this is one of the coolest Augusts I remember!

I don't even know where to begin writing this.  I am so jubliant!  I can see!  As soon as I got off the table, I could read the numbers on the clock.  It was amazing.  Now, I've kept my eyes shut for the required 6 hours and have had all of my drops--4 different kinds!--and am sitting on the couch watching the Olympics. 

The surgery went well.  I went back for prep and they put in 3 different kinds of drops, washed my eyelid with an alcohol swab, and then did one more drop.  Then, I sat in the hall for a while waiting for the drops to take effect and my turn with the laser.  The frist step was the corneal flap.  It was the most uncomfortable part of it all.  Julie B., whose husband works at Team Expansion with me, works in that office, so she held my hand and reminded me to breathe "in through my nose and out through my mouth" and to relax.  There was a lot of pressure as that was done, but I managed to just breathe through it and not move my eye.  Then, I walked over to a dark waiting room to allow those gas bubbles to come togehter and form the flap.  Headed to a different operating room for the actual laser of the cornea.  I had to focus on a green light, which became very difficult when he pulled the corneal flap back and everything went super blurry.  Focus on the green light, the laser came on and was rather loud, then the laser produced a smell like the drill at the dentist's office.  Irrigate with sterile solution, smooth over the flap, make sure it's in place, pull the tape off my eyelashes, remove the device keeping my eye open and I was done.  Like I said, I could read the numbers of the clock as soon as I stood up.  Went in and got my post-op instructions and drops, put on my awesome super sunglasses and I was done. 

Tonight, I have a bit of fogginess in my vision.  Some places of my visual field are brighter than others and it's a bit annoying, but not bad.  Still a tad of discomfort in my eye, almost like there's something in it, but it's not bad.  Tomorrow when I wake up, I should be totally able to see.  Yay!  My post-op visit is at 8am tomorrow...not so much looking forward to that time, but that's okay.  I just won't shower.   

Thanks for praying everyone!  I'm so blessed to have such a great support team.  Thanks to Dr. Schmitt, Margaret, Julie, Markey, and Tami who did my surgery and care.  And a big huge thanks to my parents who are here to take care of me.  Mom cooked dinner tonight and the smell of the corn from Grandma and Grandpa's garden is what woke me up!    It's good to have them here for help. 

Hey friends.  I head to the doctor's office at 1pm tomorrow for my LASIK surgery.  I've been doing all of my pre-op stuff and am ready for this.  I'll update either Friday night if my vision is good enough or Saturday sometime.  Thanks for praying!

Lots of things are ending right now.  The interns are back after a really tough summer for a lot of them.  I can relate to that, so I've spent some time listening and will continue to do so.  The summer of my internship was the most difficult summer of my life.  I know what it's like to come back, but still want to be someplace else, to not recognize yourself after God's broken and put together your heart, to be angry at this country for how much we have yet don't realize, to freak out at SuperTarget because of the massive amount of choices.  Re-entry is rough.  So, it's good to share my experiences from that summer and the years following.  And good to remember the ways that God changed me and moved me.  That summer was so vital to my development and to who I am.  Seven years later, I am still processing things from that summer. 

There are also a lot of people leaving our office.  Courtney, Elisabeth, Val, Angie, Cerena, and Ira are all moving out and on to other things.  It's been pretty quiet in the office this summer and it won't be the same without these great people. 

Finally, I will never again wear contacts.  I have my glasses on in preparation for my surgery on Friday.  Last night, I reached for the contact case to store them and then realized that I don't need them again.  Ever.  Yeah, I'll probably need reading glasses when I get older, but that's it.  Glasses for 3 days and then perfect vision!  Yippee!  I've worn my contacts for 14 years and it's strange to wear glasses again.  Very soon, I'll not have to wear anything.  I can't wait to wake up with perfect sight!  Praise God!

This is my first weekend where I have nothing on the calendar since May and the first totally free Saturday since March!  I am so excited to be home this weekend, to relax and rest.  Tonight I'm going to try a new restaurant with some friends.  It's a Mongolian BBQ that just opened up in the area.  Should be a great time!  Tomorrow will be sleeping in, cleaning my house and doing some shopping.  I need to return some things and get a few things.  On Sunday, I get to go to church and Sunday school here.  It's the first time I've been able to go in 6 weeks as I've been out of town the last 6 weekends.  I am very much looking forward to seeing them! 

Just one week till I have my LASIK surgery.  Yay for being able to see!  I hate stumbling around until I get my contacts in every morning.  Today I totally walked into the wall! 

Check out the progress at Emerald Hills!  We have a roof and a covered drive through entrance!  Here's the link:  http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p708692290/.  Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone!