revjim.net

Excuse my absence for I have lived. It has been 4 days since my last confession.

h2. Last Wednesday

The rest of Last Wednesday went mostly as planned. I found out that Jess got the new job she interviewed for so I started planning a surprise party for Friday night. Work lasted much later than it should have. When it was over I got to work edited photographs and managed to finish several from our trip to the Bayou. Jess and I had the Chili she prepared that morning for dinner, cleaned the house a bit, watched some TV and then hit the gym. We never managed to get to the weeds. However, I had a good sweaty time on the treadmill while watching Deal or No Deal. We skipped the hot tub, came home, watched some TV and went to bed.

h2. Thursday

I went to work. I'm having a particularly stressful time at work these days and this day was no exception. I got off as early as I could and stopped by Costco to pick up party supplies. After getting home I edited a few pictures, then started making dinner. When Jess got home we ate dinner and then cleaned house. At 8:30pm I started setting up lights for my 9:00pm photo session. They arrived at 9:30pm and we got started. It was a fun session and we finished just before 10:30, talked for a bit and then they went home and Jess and I went to bed.

h2. Friday

Work was even more stressful than usual. I was putting the finishing touches on the party, had too many meetings and deadlines that day, and was dealing with ALL of the rest of my team being either travelling or on vacation. Even my boss was working from home that day. I spent my lunch break going to 5 different places looking for Sushi dishes. No one had what I wanted. I left work way too late. I stopped at one last place on the way home and found just what I was looking for. Then I stopped at the grocery store to get last minute supplies for the party. Jess got off early on her last day of work, so she actually beat me home, which was not good. I convinced her that the food I had bought was simply because I was really hungry when I went to the grocery store and that I should stop shopping on an empty stomach.

We cleaned up for a bit and then left at 7pm for our fake reservation at a Sushi place. My sister and my parents opened our house and let people in and set up the party while we drove for a bit and then I pretended I forgot my camera bag and just HAD to have it and turned around to get it. We got to out house again around 7:40pm. Jess was SURPRISED to see everyone there.

Everything went better than I expected. There were quite a few people that couldn't make it on such short notice, and, of course I entirely understand those that have other plans. But I really appreciate those that recognized how important it was to me and how special it would be for Jess for them to be at the party and went out of their way to show up, even on such short notice. An extra special thanks goes to Emily, who had people in town and early morning plans the next day and still managed to make it for a few hours, and Daisy and Tim, who had to pay a baby sitter last minute just to come. Each and every one of you that came really mean a lot to me and really helped me to see what friends will do for you when you need them.

A few people left through out the night, with the party officially ending around 1am. Jess and I cleaned up a bit and went to bed.

h2. Yesterday (Saturday)

We slept in late (8am, WOO HOO). Then we cleaned up from the party and bummed around the house quite a bit. After enough relaxing, we got dressed and headed out to the Johnson Branch of Ray Roberts State Park for a nice hike. It was hot. REALLY hot. 2.5 miles was about all we could do before we found ourselves heading home. When we got home I helped the lady next door fix her outdoor faucet. Then we pulled some weeds (still about one more days worth of pulling to go) and mowed the lawn. After that, we had dinner and watched TV. Then, we headed out to the pool for a nice night swim. After we got home I edited some more photographs, and then we went to sleep.

I worked out a new way to carry my camera and lenses while using them that I think I really like. I have to buy a few more parts to make it even more accomdating, but, I'm much happier with this setup than I've been with anything before, even if I do look a bit silly.

h2. Today (Sunday)

I got up around 6am and made coffee. As I write this (7:06am) Jess is still in bed but she'll be getting up soon. We're heading out to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to meet a friend and her daughters at 9am. When we finish there we're going to go visit my parents for a few hours. Then we're meeting up with the DFW Flickr group at Sundance square at 5pm. After that, we'll be heading home.

h2. Tomorrow (Monday)

Work. Weed pulling. Edging. House cleaning. Swimming. Sleep.

h2. Beyond

Want to do a photo session one evening this week? Email me! Friday night we have a birthday dinner to attend with a friend. Saturday we're having a few people over for dinner and drinks. If you're interested, speak up. We're not sure how big of a deal we're doing yet but let me know so I can let you know.