February update

Hi ladies,

Sorry for the lapse in posting. I've been uninspired lately. Work has been insanely busy since my boss left for Singapore in early January. She boarded the ship, which has since then made its way to Guam and is merely days from porting in Honolulu, HI. My lone coworker will fly to the islands March 4th to sail her two month expedition. Then my boss will go out again and finally it will be my turn. Other than the sailing, which I'm sure to love - I really hate my job. It's miserable, boring and tedious. But in this economy, I'm thankful to have it.

On the plus side, I've been getting to know my coworkers better. We went out for drinks last Friday after a stretch of very stressful weeks. I've also discovered some "office secrets" that have been caused anger and frustration.

I still don't love Texas either, especially since our "winter" is officially over and temperatures have shot up into the low 80s. The longer I'm here, the more I want to leave. I miss the long months of spring and summer in Kansas.

A highlight of February was working at a flower shop during the Valentine's Day rush. Though the owners are rather mean people, I loved getting out of the office and expressing my creative side. On that note, I've also joined the A&M community garden. I have two 20-ft rows that I've used to plant spinach, lettuce and peas. This weekend I'll be adding potatoes and tomatoes. I look forward to the fresh veggies.

I'm also coaching a youth softball team! Co-coaching that is, or assistant coaching. Our girls are ages 9-10 (as I told Cindy, I had to teach the younger crowd so I'd actually be better than them!) and one of their fathers is the head coach. Our first practice was fun and watching them brought back wave after wave of memories.

This weekend I'm baking a Chocolate Guinness Birthday cake for Matt and next weekend I'm flying to Colorado with an impromptu ski trip with my best friends from Spain. After I get back Melissa (Ebert) Thompson and Lance are coming to visit me! Having events to look forward to make the days pass more quickly.

I hope you're all well, and Stephy - stay off the highway!