Wonderful

The wonderful smell of homemade banana bread in the oven is filling my house right now. Matt and I had some bananas that had moved beyond the edible point so I whipped up some banana bread for him while he was at the softball coach's meeting tonight. I'm not a huge fan of banana bread, but the smell filling my house right now is pretty incredible. I'm excited to see how the recipe turns out because it is a new one and I was intrigued because it includes plain yogurt. I guess we will know soon how it turns out.

I stayed home from work today. I woke up at about 4am this morning and felt like I was going to be sick. I never actually got sick, but I still wasn't feeling 100% when my alarm went off at 6am. Stephanie is 38 weeks pregnant and we have an agreement in our office that we will not come to work if we are sick, so I called in. The last thing I want to do is give Stephanie the stomach flu or something like that. The good news is I don't think I have the stomach flu, but I still don't know why my stomach was so upset in the middle of the night.

Matt and I spent Friday night watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. We decided to enjoy some Chinese food to keep with the theme of the evening and then spent the evening ohhing and ahhing over the opening ceremonies. I'm a huge sucker for the Olympic Games and I usually enjoy the opening ceremonies even though some people find them boring. Friday night's ceremonies did not disappoint. The Chinese put on a wonderful show for the world and it was fantastic to see all of the athletes together for the Olympics again.

As a Olympic junkie I've been pretty attached to the television for the last couple of days. However, a DVR is an Olympic junkie's best friend - as long as you can keep up with watching. The US women's basketball team played during my workout on Saturday morning (beating China handedly) and I tried to stay caught up until I picked up my mom for some shopping on Saturday afternoon. I was in desperate need of a new work shoes - both winter and summer and I managed to find a pair of each at Yonkers on Saturday and only spent $55! I found several items at Pottery Barn I could have purchased on the spot, but held off for the time being.

After shopping I came home, watched a little more of the Olympics and then Matt and I headed to Becky and Dan's for their annual fiesta. It was a little tamer this year that it has in the past and we had a great time chatting with them, Becky's mom and playing with Josie - their chihuhua who was absolutely thrilled with all the people at her house (insert sarcasm here). Poor Josie. Interestingly enough - it was the tamest fiesta I have been to, but apparently the cops paid them a visit after we left. Isn't that how it always goes?

Yesterday, my family attended Flip's memorial service. Flip's wife Kathleen, his daughter Rachael, and sister Phyllis all traveled up from Kentucky for the service and it was nice to see them. Ron's brother Richard also attended and while I've heard many stories about him, I had never met him before. We got the chance to laugh and share stories about Ron and his life. And, as would be fitting, we ended the evening at Pizza King in CB, which was Ron's absolutely favorite. I don't think he ever returned to the area without visiting Pizza King.

Matt and I are currently wtching the US Mens' Gymnastics Team in the team competition. Holy Cow! They totally rocked it on the high bar! I love when the underdog succeeds!

He would want a party..

One my my dad's best friends, Ron "Flip" Filkins, died this morning. I'm still a little bit in shock. My dad has a very close group of friends that he has known since high school (or longer) and they get together frequently. Most live in the Omaha/CB area, but Flip has lived away from the area of years and currently lives in Bardstown, KY and was the publisher of a newspaper. Flip (which is virtually the only thing I have every called him) was a funny, quirky, intelligent guy who always had a smile on his face and a great story to tell. My sister interned for his paper during the summer of 2004 and actually lived with Flip and his wife Kathleen in Bardstown. He was thrilled that she accepted the position and she has many stories from spending the summer with them. Flip and Kathleen also gave Matt and I one of the wedding gifts we use and discuss the most - our wonderful ice cream maker.

My family spent the day sharing memories of Flip and decided that he would not want any of us to be sad. In fact, he is probably wondering why we are not beginning to plan the party, because he is the first one who would have RSVP'd.

God speed, Flip. You will be missed.

Matt and I shopped for furniture today. I have had my eye on a side table and bookshelf at Target for awhile and my sister and her roommate bought the bookshelf a couple of weeks ago and we got to see it last weekend when we were at their apartment. I liked it even more after I saw it and convinced Matt to go to Target today to see if they had it. We have needed a side table in our family room for awhile so it made sense for us to get the one that matches the bookshelf. Luckily we had the giftcard we received from Angie and Andrew as a wedding gift to use so we were able to purchase both. We had a little bit of an adventure with the "easy" instructions included with the bookcase and table, but eventually got both put together and they look great in our living room. I will post pictures soon!!

As it is Memorial Day, I thought I would take a little bit of time and give credit to the men and women who have and will continue to sacrifice their lives for my freedom. One of my favorite quotations is, "I disagree profoundly what you say, but I would defend with my life your right to say it," which is attributed to Voltaire. To me, this is the essence of what the men and women in the armed forces are out putting their lives on the line for everyday. When a soldier joins the military they are polled to find out what their views are on particular subject, but instead they vow to defend our country regardless of the rhyme or the reason. And today we have an entire day set aside to pay tribute and be thankful for those who have served and are currently serving our country.