Accidental vacation

Whew! I worked 14 hours today. I'm am a bit brain dead. The good news is I accidentally took a day off tomorrow! You see I have to "block off" my schedule at work far in advance because I get booked up about 2 months in advance. It makes planning difficult. Well, I was going to go out of town for a work conference this weekend and into next week, so I had blocked off tomorrow (which is actually Thursday which is actually TODAY now) through next week. At some point, I decided not to go, but I never "opened up" my schedule. (It was only last week that I booked the flight for the LV Marathon, so that really had nothing to do with anything; that's just a short overnight trip on the weekend.)

Well, I opened up my schedule for next week and I was able to fill those days up pretty good with patients, but I had completely forgot that I blocked off tomorrow (today - Thursday). Towards the end of the day today, I glanced at my schedule for tomorrow and....lo and behold...the whole day was BLANK! It took my a while to realize what I did, so I accidentally have the day off tomorrow. After the initial fright, I felt absolutely delighted. (I normally work 10-12 hour days Monday through Thursday, and I usually take Fridays off anyway.)

Now, I've got this long weekend to take care of all the things that need taking care of, which is a lot. Maybe I'll even sleep in! It'll be so nice to do that.

I've been talking with Leah about doing the Death Valley Marathon in February, so we'll work on that tomorrow too.

Thing is, my brother called me today and wants to drive out from Milwaukee to visit and help us with some of the things that need fixin' up around the house. He's thinking of coming next week to stay for awhile. I told him he could come on the condition he bring Farkus, his lab, and he got a chuckle out of that. He will let me know tomorrow if he can make the drive out this weekend. So, when I come back from Vegas Sunday night, he might already be here! Yippee! I can't wait to see him.

My brother, Jeff, is cool. He's my younger brother. I have an older brother too. We get along just fine too, but I have a special affection for my younger bro. He's a self-made guy. He, like me, "skipped" the end of high school, worked about 6 months for someone else, decided he didn't ever want to work FOR anybody ever again, and so he started his own business. His company is "Ultimate Finishes" and he calls himself an artist. He creates, well, faux finishes and murals and pretty much anything you want for design. He specializes in big places like country clubs and mall entries...stuff like that. He is fabulous at what he does. Here is one link to the "Breast Cancer Show House" in Wisconsin that he did. I wish it showed his work and not just listed it, but you gotta trust me, the guy's work...I mean art... is phenomenal.

This is the little brother who I can count on if I needed him in any way. He has even helped me when I was financially strapped. He's hit a couple of rough spots in his life recently and I was able to help him too. He knew to call me. It was hard for him to do. I am honored that he did and it confirms the often unspoken bond in our relationship.

This would be his first visit to our home in Washington if he can make it next week. I told him to get some chains for his tires to make it over the passes (he wants to drive out) but he said the snow doesn't bother him. Actually, he chuckled and said, "Pfft! If I could drive my little BMW across the country in the dead of winter without so much as a slip of a tire, I can make it there in my 4-wheel drive Xterra....'snot a problem, sis." He's got a great attitude.

I love my brother. I hope he comes to visit (with Farkus). Above is our picture at my wedding.