Diet coke

Jana and I shared a love of diet coke.

We always had one wherever we went and always had one in the refrigerator.

We had one handy when we visited each other's homes. We knew we needed plenty on hand.

I used to work with twins who were rather large women.

They had those giant cup/jug things you buy at convenience stores full of diet coke at all times. This while consuming an entire cake or the giant size fast food meals. Their favorite was a bologna sandwich with diet coke.

I digress.

When Jana and the girls first moved to Dallas and we would run around together, I thought of those twins often. We didn't have the giant cup/jug things, but we always had a can of DC with us.

The final stages of adopting Grace required a quick trip to Houston to finalize papers with the Chinese Embassy and get Darcey's passport.

At all federal buildings you go through a metal detector.

Of course there was a long line and when it came our turn, they barked that we should put everything we were holding on the conveyor belt to be checked.

Jana obliged.

I don't really think they meant an open can of diet coke though.

We shut the line down for a while so they could clean up the spill. I'm not really sure the equipment worked after that.

Jana was rather a nut and not too worried about their equipment and much more worried about going without a diet coke!!

candles

Dear FlyLady,If you saw my house, you would know I am just dabbling a toe into getting organized. But the subject line in this post moved me to write. My beautiful sister died very suddenly and without any warning of a heart condition last year at the young age of 44. Several years ago she had given me some pretty candles with Chinese writing on them (we both have daughters from China). I had saved these candles and never taken the wrappers off. They set on a shelf with other treasures.Recently we experienced a power outage due to a storm. The first hour turned into 4 days without power. I was desperate for a "safe" candle to burn. With a weakening flashlight I spied my treasured candles on the top shelf. With a 9 year old who is scared of the dark, I didn't have much choice but to burn them. It felt like my sister had provided a light when I needed one and was very grateful for her generosity at a time when everything felt dark. I don't need them on a shelf to provide memories of her, as this will always be another great memory.JerriDallas, Texas