C'est la Vie

Alright -- time for an update and some rambling.
Where to start? I just finished my summer classes
(on August 5th). The second one left me pretty
exhausted. I had a miniature breakdown during
its second week. I was just so stressed about the
huge amount of work I had to do and the small
amount of time in which to do it, in addition to
some other priorities on my plate I felt bad for
neglecting. David totally helped me through my
little crisis -- he was my very own calm, sexy
superhero. Having him be there to catch me was
just amazing and reminded me of how wonderful he
is. I'm lucky to have such a great partner in this life.
(I love you, D.)

The final four weeks of the class were intense to
say the least -- eight to twelve hour days, seven days
a week. So, I spent this past week "in recovery".
Watched some TV, took a few naps, spent some
much needed time with my husband, got caught
up on cleaning and laundry, played with the dogs.
That kind of thing. I just needed to take some time
to breath. And I have! It's felt great. I hit the gym
a couple times, took a few walks and a lot of deep
breaths.

Checked my messages the other day -- there were
like 16 of them, but I had so much fun listening to
all the little thoughts people had left over the past
week or two. Aidan called to thank me for the dragon
fly I sent him in the mail. (I love when the kids leave
me messages! I listen to everyone at least twice, and
this one from him was really nice.) My dear friend
Julie from Texas called to tell me she delivered her
baby girl. She was so happy, and even though I had
talked to her and heard every detail later that
morning, it was so cool to hear her say, "She's here!
She's here!" on my machine. (See pictures below.)
My brother called to speak Japanese to me (he's a
nut) and tell me they came in second in his tennis
tournament (so cool). Jen called to let me know she
hung up the hummingbird feeder I sent her for her
birthday, which for some reason totally made me
smile. Jodi called to send me positive energy and to
remind me to breath. I also had messages from Art,
Tracy, Eryn, and our friend Brian. Anyway, when I
got done listening to all of them, I felt overwhelming
happy. I have such good people in my life. Even
when I fall off the face of the earth and hardly talk
to anyone for weeks, they're all still there. That's
awesome. What more can a girl ask for? Now I
need to get down to the business of calling all
those people back and getting reacquainted with
what every once else is up to.


Julie at 38 and a half weeks


Proud mom, Julie, with her precious little baby girl!
I always forget how tiny babies are. That is what 7
pounds, 2 ounces looks like. What a peanut!


Micah Macy Hoopes, pretty in pink. She's perfect!

Alright, what else?
David is taking a class. (Have I mentioned that before?)
It's a Dale Carnegie class held on Tuesday nights from
6 - 9:30 PM, and it lasts for 13 weeks. I think he is one
month in. So, he'll be done around the end of September.
It's kind of a long day for him. He usually leaves the
house around 7 AM for work. They (him and Arthur)
leave the office in time to grab a fast dinner on the way,
and he gets home after 10:30 PM. The great thing is,
he's really enjoying it. He comes home pretty excited
about whatever it is they covered, and he feels like
he's really learning some things he can use to improve
himself. I'm proud of him! It's so nice that PCI offered
to send them, and I'm glad he took advantage of the
opportunity. Like he said, it's good for him to sit down,
away from phones and emails and whatever else to
have a few hours a week to think about yourself and
what you're putting into your life. He's so right.

While we're on the topic of David and his work --
The Albuquerque branch got the job he went out
there to help bid on a couple weeks ago. It was kind
of a big deal because they really needed the work.
So, everyone there is happy about that. He also
recently finished a big bid for a project in Tempe
(where ASU is). We're just crossing our fingers
that they get it! Intel is pretty much wrapped up
D has spent years with Intel between Dallas,
Phoenix and Ireland, and it's been good for him
(and everyone else there) to have a break from it
so they can be challenged by something different.
Now, he's working on a project in downtown
Phoenix and training a new guy, Brian, just hired in
from North Dakota.

The two of us went out for dinner the other night.
We hadn't done that in several weeks. We had a
really good talk -- one of those emotional-powerful-
fun-crazy-laugh-and-cry-at-the-same-time-learn-
a-lot-about-each-other nights. It was delicious
conversation. It left me feeling a lot closer to him,
and that's always a good thing. You know, we've been
together for over eight years now, but I still have
things to learn about him. I felt like he opened a
door for me that night, and I'm very grateful that
he did.

Well, that officially sums up the entire last month
of my life. If I go any further I'll start getting into
things like -- we got new tupperware and had the
house sprayed for bugs. So, consider yourself
updated on the Links.

We've had quite a few gray and overcast days here
lately. Kind of a strange site in Phoenix. I heard
someone say, "Enjoy the clouds" the other day.
Weird. We're just so used to sun all year round that
it's been a nice break. The clouds have delivered some
really nice sunsets. David caught these...





He took one of me, too...



And that's a wrap! Thanks for humoring my lengthy update. :)