Once a month a group of us, all women, get together for dinner. Everyone brings a dish and we rotate different houses. I’ve been part of this group for a little over two years and never hostessed until this Saturday. Usually I’m on deadline, out of town, or my house is too messy. But finally the stars and planets and various sundry things were aligned and dinner proceeded at Chez LaBrecque.

Afterwards we are sitting in the den when Kel says, “Gee, your cat’s jumping around kind of funny in the dining room.” Kitty trotted in…with a freaking mouse in his mouth. (@) Some screaming ensued, of which I was at the forefront I’m not particularly proud to admit. Snakes, lizards, roaches, spiders, millipedes – none of that bothers me but I have rodent issues as in I don’t like them worth a damn. At all. The screaming startled my brave mouse-catching kitty and he promptly dropped the still-live mouse who ran hell-bent-for-leather to get away. Kel and I both jumped in chairs at about the same time. All I could do was stand in my chair and yell, “I’ve waited two damn years to have ya’ll over here and now there’s a mouse in the house…and we’re exterminators.”:o

Okay, so I’m not exactly the go-to girl in a rodent crisis.:[ However, all’s well that ends well. BJ, another friend, not the cat, caught the mouse and took it outside. (y)

(Kel: “You’re just going to take it outside and let it go?” BJ, holding out the mouse, still alive, wrapped in a paper towel: “Did you want to kill it?” Kel: “Uh, no. Outside sounds good.”):p:d

On the Sunday after the conference was over, Cara Summers, Brenda Chin, Stephanie Bond and I drove up to Tennessee to raft the upper and middle Ocoee. We all agreed it was the best whitewater rafting we’d ever done. Talk about a rush shooting back-to-back class IV and V rapids — you make it through the first one and then the guide is yelling, “Dig in, dig in, paddle hard” and you know you’re hitting the one with the big, bad hydraulic. None of us went out of the boat which is always a relief so we were none the worse for wear except for helmet-hair after 5 1/2 hours. And the bonus was our guide was none other than Rita Herron’s son.

The Harlequin party was at the Ritz Carlton this year. Rhonda Nelson, Brenda Chin, and Yours Truly.

Alrighty then. I think we’re cooking with gas again. Couldn’t get my post to go through for the last week.;(

So…quick recap:

National was great. Awesome to meet some of you and to reconnect with old friends.

Kicked off the conference with horseback riding (Crystal Greene, Brenda Chin, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Cara Summers, Kris Starr, Kathy Gabera, Me)

Last week was our last few days of official summer. School started yesterday. Ack. I’ve gotten used to having Girl around so yesterday was a big adjustment. Usually I’m ready for it, but it was different this year.

Okay…so now I’m plowing back into work.(y)

Testing 1 2 3!