Well, we never made it to the zoo the other day. We decided to wait until the next day so my son's girlfriend's mom could come, too. So my daughter and I headed for a park several miles from here. They have 7 miles of shoreline on a lake where you can walk, ride bikes or rollerblade. We rented a bike for me, and rollerblades for my daughter. You rent by the hour, and after about 1/2 hour, my daughter wanted to trade. We wear about the same size shoe- so I said sure, why not. Now, I have rollerblades, but to tell the truth, I had only used them about 3 times. Then, I was diagnosed with Cancer and had to have my kiney and spleen removed. That was the end of rollerblading that year. The next summer, I was still healing and didn't think I could handle it. Now, almost 2 years after being split across my belly, I can actually rollerblade! Of course, I stopped every 10 feet because my thighs and ankles KILLED me! But I was rejoicing in life! It was great! I was also thrilled riding the bike around the park.

I used to ride my bike almost every morning in good weather. I was up to about 5 miles a day-then surgery stopped that! While I was recovering, my son borrowed my bike to get to work. He worked at a farm down the road. Well, it started raining, so he got a ride home, leaving my bike by the side of the barn. In the morning, it was gone! After our excursion the other day, I came home and threw my rollerblades in the car so they are with me whenever I go to the park. I also purchsed a new bike the other day- a pink Schwinn! It has no gears, and no hand brakes, which is exactly what I have been looking for. My last bike was an 18 speed and I used like 2 speeds regularly! I only need something to amble around the countryside on and get some exercise! I have gained about 50 pounds since surgery- I definately have some tools now to help me lose it!

Have no fear, I was still working, even at the park! I left some cards and such around. As a matter of fact, I have an interview with someone who emailed me and said they got my info from a business card- maybe it was from the park. I also put flyers up at a few new places along the way.

We never made it to the zoo the next day, either. The girlfriend's mom ended up working late, and my daughter spent the night at her cousins. So, I sat on the computer 1/2 the day throwing up Internet ads, and the rest of the day I answered calls, then played with my duck pond.

Last summer, when I was working at the library, I vowed to take my daughter to a new beach every Monday. I worked days Tues.- Fri 1-5 p.m., as well Monday & Wednesday nights from 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. So Monday was to be our day. Well, someone at work got sick or something, then my bosses mother was critically ill. I ended up working just about full time all summer. Now that I work from home, we're going to try a lot more this year, and get my flyers everywhere while having fun! I'm almost as excited about school letting out for the summer as my daughter!