Daddy/daughter bonding

I leave tomorrow afternoon for a SLAH convention in Indianapolis which is only about 4 hours away. I will be back around 9ish on Saturday night. That's 2 nights away from my baby. I have never spent even 1 night away from her for a couple of reasons: I don't have family near to watch her and Darren works a lot, so I typically take her wherever I go. It will be good for me, Becca and Darren. It will be good for me to get away and enjoy myself. It will be good for Becca to depend on someone else. It will be good for Darren to bond with Becca a little more and maybe also see what I do all the time. :) I have a lovely friend who will watch her on Friday and Saturday until Darren gets off work aroud 1:00...he's only working half days so he can pick her up before naptime. I'm excited to learn and have fun with a bunch of women I don't know. For those of you who may not know me really well, let me tell you how much out of my comfort zone I am. I am rooming with people I don't know and I signed up for break-out sessions in the afternoon where I won't know anyone. My director is going with her family so she can mix business with pleasure, but of course her sessions will be different than mine. Had I known her family was coming (her husband came home early from Iraq), I probably wouldn't have even signed up to go. So this is a blessing in disguise. It forces me to meet new people. If you have a moment, think about all of us this weekend. It will probably be like Falls Creek (youth church camp for those of you who aren't familiar with it) where I come back so excited, ready to apply everything I've learned.

Alarm system

We got an alarm system installed last week. It's a company, APX http://apxalarm.com/, that is going to newer neighborhoods and getting a few houses to sign up and install everything for free. They just want us to, of course pay the monthly service fee, but just put keep the sign in our yard as advertising. It's like onstar for your home. There is a smoke alarm and a glass break alarm directly connected to the system so they'll call the police or fire department automatically for you. They also come over the system to check on you before they do that. They gave us a keychain on/off too, just like you have for your car. Anyway, I was coming in the house Saturday with a friend, trying to get Becca in with my hands full. I forgot about the alarm which starts going off, so I reach for my keychain and hit the panic button by misktake. They come over and ask my name and password and ask if everything is okay which I had to confess what I did. Okay, that happens, they probably understand. Yesterday, I'm talking on the phone with a friend and the most loud, obnoxious, contant beep goes off, and Becca's monitor is screeching. It takes me a few seconds to realize it's the alarm system, so I turn it off. They come over again and ask if everything is okay. I'm still not sure what happened there, I need to call them. Who knows what they think of the crazy lady in Hopkinsville or what I'll do next, but at least I know it works and they're checking up on me. So, it's been an adjustment, but I'm glad we have it.

Yesterday, I met a friend in Nashville at the Cheesecake Factory. http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/ If any of you live near one, you should definitely go. The lunch/dinner menu is extensive as is the cheesecake/dessert menu. I can already tell I will have to go there many more times before I am able to try everything that looked good. And the cheesecake is soooo good. If you ever come visit me, like one of my good friends plans to in the next couple of weeks, we'll have to go; it's my new favorite place. Last night, we finally went to Lowe's to pick out Darren's Father's Day gift...organizational tools for the garage: peg boards, clamp organizer, and an epoxy garage floor coating. Tonight, we will finish our buying with tables/ chairs and a swing for our new expanded deck. You all will all have to come visit.

I am going to try my hand at this webpage thing. I will try to keep it updated as much as possible. Please check on us once a week or so and I'll try to have something new and exciting for you. Feel free to browse and comment as you like.