Papa, Shawnie, Joel and Josh

I have always loved this photo. Its from 1993- a lifetime ago it seems. My father in law, "Papa" as you have heard me refer to him- wanted to take Joel and Josh to the airport to watch the airplanes. During our school break, we went and had a super day, as you can tell by these smiling faces. This was a very happy memory for me.

Papa talked about it for years to come as well. My sons have long since forgotten this day- I think its about time I take out this photo!

The weather in AZ is getting hotter. Josh is enjoying his new church. I have been out on a few dates w/ what just might be a nice guy,lol.

I had my eval at work- I guess they are going to keep me around for another year.

My ankle is mostly better, still kinda funky looking.

Today I did a lot of scrapbooking, and tonight I am going out for karaoke- great day!

work...

Two days before this picture was taken ( at our work apprecation party) I was walking into my job. I walked right past 3 people, said hi, and not even one of them stopped what they were doing to look up and reply. These are people I have worked w/ for 2 years. We depend on eachother.

So I started thinking back to a conversation I had had w/ another friend from work, about that same topic. Feeling invisible. Would anyone even notice if I wasn't there. I don't think I am irreplaceable- but I am unique, different, no one is exactly like me blah blah blah. Would anyone care at all if I was no longer employed there. I vowed that day, to do a better job of letting the people who mean something to me, know it.

And then, here we are at our work appreciation day. Our supervisors care if we show up ( lol). This happens to be a week dedicated to recognizing 911 dispatchers... so several people from our police fire and ems departments took time to acknowledge the work we do. Some even stopped to talk to me specifically about things I have done for them, or that they have noticed/felt during the past year.

So, I guess feeling sorry for myself was as silly as it felt,lol. I need to remember that every other Friday I am thanked for my work, and that I need to do my part in recognizing others and making sure they know that I care about them.

Lisa

Dude

This is my son Joel's dog, who we got after I ran his other dog, Buddy over in my Suburban.

We got him right after Dude,Where's My Car was released. Dude was Joels favorite word... it began every sentence. He even called me Dude.... occasionally it was "Dude,Mom" but usually just Dude. ( that was if he wasn't calling me coach... but thats another blog entry altogether.)

He loves this dog... and now that he is at ASU Josh has kinda had to let him start sleeping w/ him and all of that.

One interesting thing about this dog is he never wants to lay his face on the same level as his body... as evidenced in this typical photo of him.

We love you... Dude.