THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF eAUDIOBOOKS

I have recently entered the "wonderful world of eaudiobooks."
This new undertaking was prompted by 1) a co-worker that is always listening to eaudiobooks on his his computer (and now his mp3 player) at work and 2) the auxillary jack in my new car that allows me to listen to my mp3 player through my car stereo.
Recently I have grown incredibly bored with listening to the same songs being played over and over on the radio all day at work and there are always books that I wish I had time to read....thus the perfect solution.....

eAUDIOBOOKS

I am not very tech savvy, but Darrin (at work) convinced me it was very simple......and it was. If I could figure it out, anyone can! ....and I can download them for free from the library's website.

I fired up my laptop, got out my mp3 player and I was listening to my first book within the hour.

I am still on my first book, but have my second one downloaded and ready to start. This will come in handy as I drive to visit the folks this weekend.

Needless to say, I am now a major fan!

TIME FOR A TRADE-IN

Yesterday I traded in my '98 Black Accord for an '08 Black Accord.

My '98 had 99,879 miles on it, so I decided it was a good time to make the switch.

I am loving my new car that came with 15 miles on it! And it smells so nice.

I do find myself parking out in the "north 40" which I guess is good for my car and for calorie burning.

"OK......LAHOMA........"

"....where the wind comes sweeping down the plain."

I just returned from 6 days in Wapanucka, Oklahoma. My parents had already been there for about a week. I flew into Dallas on Saturday and my sister and dad met me at the airport. We spent the afternoon on a "daddy-daughter date." We went to lunch and did some shopping in Sherman, TX (the closest, large town to Wapanucka). We made our way back to "Wapy" where I was met with a fabulous welcome that included signs and balloons. (Kind of hard to see in the picture that it says Welcome Trisha).


They have a ranch out there a couple miles away from their house where they raise cattle. They currently have 4 baby calves at their house that they have to bottle feed. (It is a whole different world out there coming from the big city.)

We had lots of fun doing puzzles, playing CLUE, reading books, etc.

One day we took a drive out to see the house that one of Laura's friends just bought. She lives in Stringtown, OK which is where my sister was told Reba McEntire is from (although on wikipedia it says McAlester, OK). I had to have my picture taken by the "Reba McEntire Rd. ) sign. (or maybe I just wanted out of the car to stretch my legs for a minute??)

The last night that we were there we had some pretty exciting weather. There were severe thunderstorm & tornados warnings for many areas close by. The thunder and lightning storms that we had were amazing. The rain coming down in buckets reminded me of the way it rains in Brazil. Fortunately there was not need for us to hunker down in the tornado shelter, but the thunderstorms continued all through the night. On our way to the airport the next morning there were many signs and trees that had been blown over. In fact, a sign for one of the McDonalds restaurants that was off the side of the freeway was missing its "golden arches." The tall sign was still there but the yellow M that was protruding above had been blown off and was on the ground. It even looked like it had taken out a power pole on its way down. I think that I will take my chances with earthquakes! I also prefer the dry heat to the humidity!

It is so fun to visit family, but the little girls were so sad the morning that we were leaving.

WHAT COLOR OF GIRL ARE YOU?

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorgirlareyouquiz/">What Color Girl Are You?

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP

Some of you might know that I have booked a Mediterranean cruise for this September. I am not writing this post to rub this in, but this information is pertinent background information for this post. This cruise is a 12-Night cruise and we are extending our trip by staying overnight in Barcelona and Venice before and after the cruise. The total trip will be about 16 days.
For anyone that has not been on a cruise, you have to (or at least I have to) have a daytime outfit and then my evening outfit (not to mention the coordinating shoes). You are supposed to dress up for dinner plus there are a couple of formal nights. I am not the lightest of packers and therefore will require a significant amount of luggage.
Up until now I have still been using my mission luggage. I'll let you do the math, but I have been home for "a couple of years " and it is pretty worn out. I drug that stuff on and off of buses/down cobblestone streets & cement stairs in Brazil, taken it on several cruises, back to Brazil and all over the US. It has served me well, but I have decided that it is time for new luggage and that I deserve that.
WOW! Who knew there were soooooo many options out there??? I spent over 5 hours shopping for luggage last Saturday. I think that I saw every piece of luggage in the Salt Lake Valley.
Anyone who knows me really well, knows that I struggle with decisions. Give me 3 options and I do okay, but when there are hundreds to choose from, I struggle.
Not only are there different colors, sizes, styles etc, but then there is the choice of do you buy mid-line luggage that you will have to replace every 5 years or so or spend lots of money to get the "top of the line" stuff.
Well, after hours of shopping and opening every piece of luggage to check out the inside compartments, etc. I came up empty handed. I needed to go grocery shopping and stopped at Wal-mart. I wasn't planning on even looking for luggage there, but decided to anyway. Low and behold, I found just what I was looking for there. I found some Red Swiss Army Luggage. In addition to the 28", 25" & 21" uprights, I opted to get the matching backpack as well. I also found a fun black travel bag (purse) at Eddie Bauer.
So I am now ready to go try out my new luggage.
EUROPE HERE I COME!
I will take it on a test run when I go to Oklahoma to visit my sister and her family in April. Hopefully I chose well.