Happy Valentine's Day to All of you. John started my day with a surprise gift from Ann's on Memorial. He bought me a Swarovski crystal vase with a dozen light pink roses. It is very beautiful and I love the contrast of the clear crystal with the pink crystal in the roses. A beautiful card accompanied the gift. Imagine my surpise when I was called from the receptionist at work that I needed to see her. I went to her desk and there were a dozen red roses! I love flowers! I had surprised John on Tuesday, the 11th, for an early Valentine Wine-Tasing Dinner at a little Italian restaurant near the Heights. The owner/presenter was quite humorous and John and I had a wonderful evening.
And, yes, I did not forget Courtney and Matthew. It has been a long-standing tradition of mine (I think the first year I did this they were five years old) to buy a big box of Valentine's candy and, while they are sleeping, tuck it beneath their pillows. When they wake up on Valentine's Day, voila, they have their candy. I bought Courtney a box of Dove Truffles and she said it was her favorite candy. She opened it immediately and had a piece --- even before arising. I told her this was the last box of Valentine candy she would get from me. (I think she might come home to spend the night on February 13, 2004, just so she won't miss out next year.) I bought Matthew a box of Millionaires.
Most of you may not know, but I am a mentor for a 10-year-old girl at Shmalz Elementary in Katy. Her name is Jolynn. I bought her a very soft teddy bear and a little box of Russell Stover candy, included a pen/bubble blower combination and visited her school during their Valentine party today. She was quite surprised and very happy with her gift.
Tomorrow, Felicia, Catherine, Margaret, Courtney, and I are going to have a "Piddle Day." We have done this several times over the last few years, we usually visit the Rice Village area, stroll and shop, stop at one of the restaurants for lunch, and generally just enjoy being together. I'm really looking forward to it...we haven't piddled in a long time.
It seems everyone enjoyed the Valentine's entry. Yes, Elizabeth, when you have a 3-year-old, piddle takes on a different connotation than when you have an 18-year-old. When I read your entry about your first Valentine's, my curiosity, too, was piqued. Please do tell all!
February 10, 2003
Well, there's nothing quite like progress. The FAFSA forms have been filed, the tax returns (CDS/MBS trust & 1040 and JJL/KKL 1040) have been completed, signed, and all mailed except JJL/KKL 1040. We do owe some money, so we will mail April 1. I just needed a signed copy to submit with the CSS (financial aid form for Vanderbilt) for Matthew. The ONLY THING that remains is to write a cover letter to Vanderbilt explaining why Barry cannot complete the non-custodial parent information.
For those of you who did not know, Matthew's school competed against Dallas Jesuit January 31st, and John & I traveled to D to watch the game, and spent the night with the Gavins. It was a delightful time and we stayed up quite late talking. Conversation turned to family and family dynamics. Tim was sharing some tidbits about his siblings and happened to comment how lucky "The Karls" are because we seem so close, and really enjoy getting together with one another....thought I'd share this nice thought from an outside observer.
The next day, John & I stopped by Rita's on the way out of town. Had a wonderfully fun visit. When we first got there, I asked her for some Advil. Before she got the Advil, she removed her M&M candy dispenser from the mantle and brought it to the kitchen counter for me to see how much candy had been eaten since Christmas. While I was waiting for her to bring the Advil, I was helping myself to a few M&M's. I had one M&M remaining in my hand when she handed me the Advil and some water. We were talking, M&M's & Advil are approximate in size, so I just popped that Advil in my mouth and starting chewing. Because of the residual chocolate from the prior M&M, although it was a little crunchy, it was still chocolate, so it took a few chews for the chalky taste to break through the chocolate taste. Yuck! Enough said.