I posted about Betty’s admittance to hospice on Wednesday. We just received word that she passed away at 6 p.m. tonight. I feel like I never got to tell her goodbye. One Friday she was at work, the following Monday she wasn’t in the office and never came back. She was quite possibly the classiest and most graceful woman that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was so full of life and passion. She stayed strong and positive throughout her fight, and it’s a shame that the world has lost such a beautiful person.

Wednesday was a pretty darn rough day for me, followed by Thursday morning. I feel like I haven’t had any time to just sit and think, and with everything that is going on right now, I’m in desperate need of that kind of time.

On Wednesday we got word at work about Betty. To get everyone up to speed, Betty is the Director of Travel (all the Flying Longhorn trips). A couple of months ago she went to the ER b/c she thought she was having a heart attack. They ended up diagnosing her with cancer (renal cell carcinoma). She hasn’t been to work since, but instead has been making weekly trips to M.D. Anderson. She’s been in and out of the hospital, and on Tuesday we received word that she was in pretty bad condition at the hospital. Then on Wednesday during lunch we got an email that she was being transferred to a hospice and that her family requested no visitors. I’m pretty sure that’s not a good sign. I’ve only known Betty for a year, but I loved every minute of talking to her about her travel adventures. She has a beautiful smile and is full of grace and class. I know that things are pretty grave, but I still hold out on hope that she can somehow overcome this.

After checking that email on my blackberry while at lunch, I then received a call from my mom. She was crying, so I figured that wasn’t a good sign. My oldest brother Ralph is getting a divorce. This came as a huge shock to me. Ralph wasn’t expecting it either, and my mom said he was a mess and crying on the phone. They have three kids, and apparently the kids aren’t taking it very well. And my sister-in-law Kim won’t give Ralph a reason as to why she wants a divorce. Her family is apparently mad at her. This is so confusing to me, especially since Kim is one of my very closest friends. I don’t know where that leaves us now, considering that my mom is extremely upset with her and doesn’t want to talk to her. I love my brother and of course he comes first. But Kim has been in my life for over 10 years now, and it’s like I’m losing a friend and a sister.

If that wasn’t enough to make me sad, then the news continued. Ralph is being deployed to Afghanistan at the end of September. Ugh. I hate when he gets deployed. His superiors said he won’t see combat, but you don’t go to Afghanistan and not see combat. He is suppose to be partaking in some secret mission, and he can’t have contact with the outside world for 6 months. That’s a long time of not being able to talk to him. Even when he was in Iraq, we had an address where we could send him care packages. I feel so bad for Ralph. I hope he still comes down for the Arkansas game so that I can see him and try to talk and make sure he’s okay…though I know he’s not.

I didn’t have a chance to think about any of these things on Wednesday b/c I had a scholarship dinner that I was solely responsible for that night.

After the dinner, I ran to go buy a new mattress before the store closed so that I could ensure a Friday delivery. Well, the store wouldn’t take my check. They didn’t tell me why. I had money in my account, but for some reason they wouldn’t take my check. I was so pissed off, I just left without giving them an alternate method of payment (I eventually went back yesterday and paid). So needless to say, my day wasn’t good. Then I got home to find a FedEx slip on my door saying they left a package on my patio. I didn’t order anything, so I was very confused. I opened up the package, saw what was inside, and hurled it across the living room. Of course J.Crew found a damaged dress after I already bought a dress and had it ripped to pieces for material. Of course! It was at that point that I figured it was time to just close my eyes and forget about the day.

I woke up early on Thursday to get to work early since we had a really big scholarship dinner that night. I jumped in the shower, and of course I would have no hot water. It was the worst shower ever. I was not in a good mood!

But anywho, I took a mental health day from work today and awaited my new furniture. I have new bedroom furniture and a dining room table. As soon as I get everything in place, I will take pictures.

Alrighty, off to bed. Toodles!

There’s something about some of my friends who always seem to rain on my parade. I don’t really get it, but this time I’m trying not to let them get me down. Two good things happened this weekend, and two different friends weren’t very supportive.

I found the car that I’m going to buy (crossing my fingers). It’s a 2008 CR-V. Black exterior, black leather interior. Sunroof. Tinted windows. Navigation system. I wasn’t there to look at the loaded one, but it just kinda drew itself to me and my mom. I was so excited when I sat in it. It was definitely THE car. Unfortunately, I can’t get a new car until the week of September 15th, so I’m hoping nobody goes to purchase the car. Anywho, when I told one of my friends about the car, I was told “um, you know that’s a mommy mobile right?”. Then the exterior of the car was critiqued. Sheesh. Whatever happened to “yay”?

Yesterday I participated in the Nike Human Race 10K with my brother Arnold and sister-in-law Paige. i haven’t run a mile since probably high school. Well, a real mile – not counting the mile on the elliptical machine. This was my first 10K ever, and it was a doozy. Holy smokes, the hills in downtown Austin, MLK and Dean Keeton are killer!! I started off running at a good pace, but I hit that first hill and lost all energy for awhile. I thought about cutting through campus and taking a short cut…haha! But I decided to stick it out, so I kept alternating jogging and walking. My official end time was 1 hour and 36 minutes. Not great, but I don’t think it’s too horrible for my first 10K…especially considering I went into the race cold turkey without any preparation. Anywho, another friend called me after the race to say a few of them were about to get some gelato. I said that I was exhausted and that my feet hurt, so I would pass. He then proceeded to say “what? how could you be tired after walking the entire race?” Ugh. A-hole.

But anywho…I love the idea of finding a new car. I hope that the same one is still there in two weeks!!! I will be super sad if it’s gone when I finally go back. And my entire body (back, neck, arms, legs, heels) are in so much pain. I am in need of a deep tissue massage.

Well I gotta go. Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill start tonight!!!!!!!!!!