Michelle's Moments: Lots going on....

After my last post, I have had a hard time figuring out what to write about or what seems appropriate when it's been a tough week...I went home for Katie's funeral service on Wednesday. My parents went too and a friend from high school that lives in San Francisco, Jenny, flew in a stayed with us. There were lots of people at the service and it was very nice, sad, but nice. Friends and teachers from grade school through high school, as well as some of Katie's friends from KU that I got to know through her. It is definitely going to be an ongoing process to remember and honor Katie. She has been a lifelong friend and someone that I will always miss. Last week I did some packing for my upcoming move and ran across a bunch of pictures of us from high school and I remember all the great times we have had...

So, in the spirit of staying positive and enjoying all that life has to offer....I have had a lot of good things in my life lately too. Last weekend I went to Washington D.C. to visit my friend Vicki and her husband Daniel. They are moving to Jamacia in March for two years and it was good to see them before they move! Hopefully I will be able to make an appearance at their more tropical location soon! :) We had a really good weekend, enjoying good restaurants as well as the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", which is AWESOME! I can see why it is nominated for so many Oscars. Here are a few pictures from my weekend in DC:

At dinner with some other KSU alumni that Vicki and Daniel are friends with in DC...

Me and Vicki on the metro...it was chilly!

After a weekend out of town, this past weekend, my friend Jenna and her husband Jeremy hosted a going away dinner for me at their house. Our friend Libby and her husband Josh came too....it was really nice; good food, laughs, such good friends! Libby and Jenna are the speech pathologists at the facility that I worked at when I first moved to Wichita last fall. They are the first friends I made here. I will never forget how welcome they made me feel as I settled into Wichita. There were actually 7 of us at dinner since both Libby and Jenna are expecting. Libby is due in early May and Jenna in July. Both with girls- can't wait to meet 'em! :)

I also got some "going away" gifts from them. Jenna and Jeremy got me a GIGANTIC bag of "Marie Callendar's Cornbread" mix from Sam's...they tease me cause I tell them it's so much better than Jiffy (it really is) and since they know my love of it, they thought a 60-serving mix would be an appropriate departure gift. Libby gave me some scrapbook pages as a joke....when I worked with them at the nursing home, they would give me a hard time that I would sometimes cut out obituaries for patients that had passed away (not everyone, geeze, just the ones I worked with for a long time); so the scrapbook pages are for me to put the obituaries on. This will not be happening, just for the record. I will probably use them for future Halloweens. :) Here are some pics from the party: