I'm a travelin' (woman)

Now, you can go throughout your day with that old Ricky Nelson song in your head! and you can wonder just how many stops he made all over the world! Yay!

Anyway.

If I'd written this post last night, which I didn't, but if I had, it would've been titled "I'm what you call dog tired."

(Come on. I'm not the only one who thinks up blog posts while I'm in the middle of other activities!)

After getting absolutely no sleep Thursday night, I was more than ready for my 8 p.m.. bedtime on Friday. Because I had to get up at 4:30 a.m. for a little road trip.

Some of you may remember that I've been involved for several years with the Girls Ministries of our church. I was the conference coordinator for a few years, but didn't take that job back after my term was up.

(Someone else was given that job, and I was a board member, but a few months ago that other person left the church and went to another denomination, so she couldn't serve on the board anymore.)

And although I no longer attend a church in that denomination either, I'm certified to teach the training seminar for local church leaders (teachers and local coordinators) so I went to Kentucky yesterday.

Kentucky! I know - it sounds so far away and bluegrass-like. But I promise, no mandolins or banjos started playing as soon as we crossed the border. I was rather disappointed.

I only had to drive about two hours to the home of our Conference Bishop, which was fine by me. One other trainer who lived close by them was going, so we met up there and the Bishop and his wife (another trainer) drove us.

He said he was coming to make sure his laptop and the LCD projector jived up with each other, but it turned out later that it was a REALLY good thing he'd come. More on that in a bit.

We had a good training. The ladies were attentive and asked a lot of questions, and we had a pretty free discussion about some of the topics.

And then, of course, came lunch - barbecue! And I realized that I hadn't eaten in 7 hours (because I successfully resisted the donuts that were presented) and had to really pace myself.

And they had Coke Zero to drink! No one ever brings Coke Zero! These are my kind of folks, I can tell right now.

Anyway - the new conference GM coordinator, Laura, was there. I haven't seen here since she had her twins - TWINS - a few months ago. She has two girls already, ages 7 and 6, and gave birth to twins girls in December after thinking she couldn't have any more children.

Good thing Laura was there too. I guess it's time to explain.

As we were leaving (and we somehow finished two hours early - well, I think it was Divine intervention) we were all loading up our gear. Each of us grabbed a couple of bags and headed down from our upstairs classroom. Except, the Bishop's wife grabbed ENTIRELY too much stuff - a rolling carry-on bag full of stuff, a bag with the projector, an extension cord, and her purse) and fell down the steps!

She'd already been having trouble with her shoulders and arms, and guess what she hurt - yep, the same.

Her husband had just gotten back from having their car serviced when it happened, and he and another man who was at the church helped her to a seat. We sat with her for a god 20 minutes while she decided if she wanted to go to the doctor.

Poor thing - she was crying, and I thought she was going to pass out from pain at one point.

Finally she agreed to go to the doctor in that town, and Laura (who just had to buy a used Expedition to accommodate her growing family) took us back to the Bishop's house so I could get my car.

It was so good to talk to another mom who has kids around the same age as mine, and compare notes! I think if she didn't live so far away, we'd be great friends.

She needs a blog I guess - but with four kids and her husband being a pastor, I doubt she'd have time to post!

As we got closer to the town where we were headed, I asked Laura how far out of her way she was going to take us back. I loved her answer: "I refuse to answer that on the grounds I may incriminate myself!"

I started feeling really, really bad about the extra gas. We had been given $25 gas cards by the Bishop, which we weren't really expecting, so that helped. And I was really grateful, because our money has been a little tight and this wasn't the best week for me to have to make such a trip. I considered giving Laura my card too, since she had such a gas guzzler, but then she said she'd gotten a $30 check from her OBGYN this week where she'd overpaid when she was having the twins.

I felt absolved!

It was about 4:30 when I got back to the main city where I'd be hopping on the interstate. I wasn't starving, but I knew that I would be before I got finished driving another two hours back home. I also couldn't think of a single healthy thing I could eat on the road, since I'd already used some of my 35 points on the baked beans and didn't want to use any more.

So, I stopped at Walmart for a banana, a box of Kashi bars (3 points, yes, but not as many as something from the drive through) and a bottle of water. After a banana and a bar, I wasn't hungry again until about 8:30 and by that time I was home. I made some couscous mixed with a frozen vegetable mix - broccoli, carrots, chickpeas, and kidney beans. Yum!

I really enjoyed the drive. I love driving long distances by myself! I did it all the time - 500 miles one way - in college. And this time, I had my iPod to keep me company! The only downside was some intermittent rain, which made me have to constantly adjust my wipers.

And gracious, if I didn't sleep through the mattress last night! I woke up at 7:00 a.m., and feel much, much better.

Now it's time to get ready for church, and then while were up there we're going to the auction so Jason can do inventory. Not my favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but they do have a flat screen TV in the cafeteria hooked to a DirecTV, so maybe Anna Marie and I can watch that while he works.

Have a great Sunday!