Saturday March 31, 2007 - What a day- we finally made it.  Thankfully (for everyone) I did not have to do much driving.  I took a little nap in Jill's car while she was driving.  Then we stopped at Applebees- a place to which I will never return.  The veggie selections were non-existant, well I guess I could have gotten the nachos, but I am not a big fan of the cheese wiz.  I did enjoy the tomato juice (even though I jabbed the straw up my nose and it hurt like the dickens) and our waitress was sweet.  She had just finished her training- though to be honest she could probably stand a few may days of training.  I finally started driving in Lexington- and I learned a great deal about Justin Timberlake (or JT as Rocco calls him) from Rocco and of course I learned much, much more.  We finally arrived at the house.  Jill, Bruce and I went to the store and it was so sweet when we drove back down the street and saw the girls and Rocco (who is also a girl but not one of "the girls") sitting on the porch.  Luckily for all, Lance in the Pants was not home so we had a perfect shot of the porch.  You may be thinking just who or what is lance in the pants- well you have to see it to get the full picture or see Jill's screen saver (she's a big fan) but it is a oversized truck that is usually parked in front of the house.  My question to Bruce was "does Lance drive that thing around town?" and I know that is a question you all were wondering as well.  Bruce did not have an answer- I don't think he socializes much with Lance- he likes him- but they just haven't totally clicked yet.  We then had a wonderful dinner- Jill and Rocco cooked- I watched.  After dinner Rocco begged me to let her highlight my hair- I resisted at first- but her pleading and begging finally broke me down.  It looks fabulous though- she did a great job.  Clearly Rocco has done this before.  Bruce looks fabulous as well.  Rocco could just stop with me- she is a bit out of control.   And so the night is drawing to a close.  The girls are off in their room- Jill and Rocco are lounged on the couch (as usual) and Bruce is sitting in a very uncomfortable chair.  I cannot wait to finish this (and I am sure anyone that is reading this feels the same) to get myself a delicious cupcake made by Rocco.  You may ask "I thought you were on a diet" well next week. 

Sunday April 1st, 2007 - Well today we met Lance in his Pants- he goes by the name Rich - but I prefer Lance in the Pants.  While we were all waiting in the van, Lance in the Pants came over to say hello to the girls and welcome them to West Virginia.  Exciting as that was, it was not the highlight of the day.  Actually there were so many wonderful moments today...hiking at twin falls, listening to Rose, watching Tennessee pull out a victory, listening to the laughter during a game of spoons.  It is amazing how spoons transcends all PV communities.  Some may say it is the commissioning service- and perhaps that is true- but spoons - now that is something most PV's can connect with and recognize.   

Monday April 2, 2007 - How does one begin to describe a day with so many fabulous moments.  We awoke- and that was the lowpoint- I had a splitting headache and was just a tad grumpy.  But it was Marilyn's birthday- and so I jumped right out of bed and headed into the kitchen to make coffee- though to be honest I did this more for me than for Marilyn, but why get caught in the details.  If we were to bother with details- I would have to mention that I didn't actually jump out of bed, but rather waited for a bit hoping that someone (Rocco) would get up before me to make the coffee.  Alas, that did not happen and off to the kitchen I went.   We headed out to our morning assignments.  Unlike the summer, I actually have to stay at a place for the whole day.  I did manage to arrange it so I had to lead Rocco, Tiffany and Luisa to Head Start, but of course I did not stay.  Though I surely would, if I was asked, but no that did not happen- so off I went to the food bank.  The food bank was fantastic.  I was so impressed by Marilyn and Corinthia, not just because of their hard work, but for their ability to take risks and try new things.  They both tried pickled corn and pickled beets.  The rest of us (Bruce, Kathy, Patti and Jill) also had a bite or two.  I disagreed with the majority opinion (which is very unusaul) because I preferred the corn over the beets- I thought the beets tasted like dirt- and the corn like olive juice and I am kind of partial to the olive juice.  After the food bank, everyone else went up to see Helen Carter. I returned home to see the Cincinnati Reds opening day game.  On my way home the strangest thing happened.  I was thinking about Lance in the Pants- which is a daily thing- and then the large Lance in the Pants truck drove past me!  What do you think about that? Could it be a sign?  Don't know- I expect to find out more when Lance in the Pants joins us tomorrow night for a cook out.  The girls had another conversation with Lance this afternoon (lucky) and discovered that Lance in the Pants' dog is named Lance.  How adorable.  Well after the chance encounter with Lance- I was a bit distracted, but I made it home in time for the game.  I began to blow up ballons and decorate for Marilyn's birthday.  At 2, I turned on the tv to discover that unbelievable as it sounds, Pineville, WV must by considered Cincinnati's media market, because the game was blacked out.  Oh the injustice, but that was nothing compared to what occurred just a few hours later... But first we had a wonderful dinner and a beautiful reflection.  We then sang happy birthday to Marilyn and ate some cake, which was fabulous by the way.  Not as good as Rocco's cupcakes, but good.  It was a dairy queen ice cream cake.  Anyway, on to the important stuff.  After the birthday bash, Tiffany and Corinthia tuned into "I love New York".  Now this was a show I was totally unfamiliar with- and anyone who has ever watched it would understand why.  Before the end of the show I had to leave to take Patti to pick up her lost luggage- I was terrified that I was going to miss the end- when New York (not her real name) was to pick her suitor.  But thank the Lord and praise the Jesus, I made it back in time to see New York choose Tango (sp?) over Chance.  It seems  that was not the favored choice- Chance deserved it or so I was told.  Once again, injustice prevailed.  But what can a woman do?  And so we have tomorrow.  Another wonderful day to spend with everyone.  Unfortunately we do not have another birthday to celebrate. But we do have the cook out and we do have Lance in the Pants.

Tuesday April 3rd, 2007 - Well Patti was not joking - the line for the computer is so long- I fell asleep waiting for it.  So is actually early Wednesday morning.  We are packing up to go.  This trip has been great- it has exceeded any expectations we had going in.  Yesterday started off in the most wonderful way.  I awoke to the sound of coffee grinding.  Yes indeed- Rocco was making the coffee.  She is the cat's meow isn't she?  We headed out to the worksite relatively on time.  I must say that Luisa, Tiffany, Corinthia and Marilyn have been great about getting themselves up and going.  Actually they have been great with just about everything.  The home repair went well- I think everyone else said covered it.  Except of course and really how could anyone know what was going through my head (oh I know sometimes I say it as soon as I think it) about Billy Roy.  He is just a great guy.  I did not get the chance to meet him in the Spring during the NIU trip.  He was very patient with us. Sometimes- well a lot of the times- things don't go as planned at a home repair site- but Billy Roy and really all the PV's there were very flexible- the tiles look wonderful.  After returning home, we had to prepare for the cook out and the long awaited meeting with Lance in the Pants- the cook out was fabulous- the meeting with Lance in the Pants- well that was probably the only disappointment of the trip- Lance in the Pants stood me- I mean us- up.  I was quite despondent for a while- but so many other wonderful people came by- including two of the VISTA volunteers from the MOC which gave us (me and Jill) a chance to meet them and discuss things (I am always working).  After dinner we all gathered around the TV set to watch "American Idol".  One of the things I am most proud of- I actually don't miss a chance to share - I have never seen an episode of "American Idol".  After being traumatized by "I love New York" - how could anything be worse?  And it wasn't that bad- I will leave my philosophical and political rant for another forum.  I was a bit disappointed that we were not told who was getting kicked off - what a racket- forcing one to watch yet another episode of the show- which I will not!  I will not sacrifice baseball- so Rocco will have to fill me in on it.  The closing was lovely- I have been impressed with everyone's ability to share.  The rest of the evening was fabulous- some of us watched the NCAA women's final- some of us sat on the porch swing and laughed.  At the close of the night- the girls finished with an act that I think really defines who they are.  Without being asked, they cleaned out the room they have been sleeping in- swept it and everything.  It is one of the small acts that they have been doing -really since I have met them- that shows how truly wonderful they are.  And so, we are leaving.  The girls will return to Brooklyn.  Are they going to rest - no- on Friday they will be taking part in the living Stations of the Cross at Monserrate.  Before we go, I just want to thank Bruce, Jill, Rocco and Patti for their hard work this week in making this trip a reality.  And of course the same applies to Luisa, Tiffany, Corinthia and Marilyn. It has been Fabulous five days.