I think I hit on something with the insomnia blog. Maybe it's true that I'm really fighting jet lag before we ever leave the ground. Enough people suggested that idea that I think I'll pay attention. Last night I covered the clock with a scarf, hoping to shush it, but I woke up in the middle of the night anyway. I was just too curious to find out what time it was though, so I got out of bed and peeked under the scarf. It was 2:00. That seemed like some sort of victory over Time. But of course I was wide awake then, and decided to give in and read for a while. I do love my little book light. Tonight I think I'll banish the clock completely. I think it should live in another room, or maybe in another house. But if I wake up, I wake up. There's plenty to do in a day, and maybe it just doesn't matter what time of day it is...
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We leave a week from tomorrow. (Anybody out there live in Denver? I do hope you'll come to the First Pick Party at Strings Restaurant. You can say hello to Rick and me, and buy a fabulous HOPE Bracelet too!) It's time to get serious about fitting all the stuff we need into the bags we're allowed. I think I can do it. I'll let you know. But I needed today as a cushion, so I ignored the suitcases and tended to my drawing for the Ethiopia Trip Fundraiser instead. After factoring in (or out, to be more accurate) the PayPal fees, we brought in just about $4000. It's not as much as we'd hoped for, but it's pretty darn good in times like these. Grateful? You bet!

And so, we have winners. I had to wait until Rick had time to help keep me honest, or at least witness that I did not peek at the names as I drew them. And so, the winners are...

Francoise Brucel, Gwen Toma, Shauna Miller, Graeme Young, Melanie Schow, Diane Meneely-Miller, and Linda Bauder. Congratulations to all of you! And many thanks to everyone who contributed to making this trip happen! We'll do our best to be good ambassadors for all of you!
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My other project for today was to get my hair cut. It was so much fun, I did it twice. It's short now you know, and because it's curly, it goes all "Kramer" if it gets too long...
I did not want to deal with that while we're traveling, so I went back for seconds today, assuring Kathleen (who also took the very nice picture of me, here in my profile) that she could not go too short this time. She believed me, and I'm very happy with this little-hair of mine!
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Tomorrow, I will make a personal connection with my luggage...

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Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

A sun hat in October.

Cocktail hour!

The many amazing people who have come into my world lately.

Your turn!