New Years Eve

As the alarm clock went off this morning, I was sad that it was New Years Eve. It meant that Ryan would be flying back to Hawaii. Spending almost a month together was a blast, and I enjoyed getting to see him for such an extended period of time. I'm lucky to have such a great brother, and I know he'll be with me in spirit throughout the surgery process. He eventually made it back to Honolulu safely! :)

After dropping him off at the airport, my parents and I got some breakfast at Denny's. Then we headed back toward Gretchen's house. Stopping in at Target for some contact solution, Mom and I were inside when the tornado sirens started going off. The loud speaker announced that there was a tornado warning and that we all had to go to the back of the store. Standing in the checkout line, we finished paying and went out to the car. We drove quickly back to Gretchen's and went down in the basement. It didn't rain very long, but we had about 10 minutes worth of strong winds. Went back upstairs and Wilson and I hung out on the couch for a bit. Gretchen had dropped Elly off at a friend's house earlier and went to pick her up. Thankfully there was no damage to Gretchen's house, or Elly's friends. Later found out that the storm had hit the Ballwin municipal golf course and Sunset Hills. Seeing pictures of the destruction made me realize how lucky we were that nobody was killed in the St. Louis area. My prayers go out to the families who lost their homes.

I headed over to Creve Cour and met up with Emily for coffee around 3. It was so great to see her after working with her last summer. She is so positive and uplifting, and I am happy we met through MSA. There have been so many friends I've seen the last few days, and it makes me so thankful for them. After hanging out with Emily, I headed back toward my house. I decided that I would try and go through Sunset Hills, but obviously that was not an option. I did see some houses that were affected, with collapsed garages and torn off roofs. I am so thankful that everyone I know is safe and doing alright after today's storms.

I went to Blockbuster to pick out some chick flicks for my friends and I, then went back to my apartment. Thankfully my apartment had power, and I got the place ready. Aileen, Meri, and Lynne came over to celebrate New Years Eve! We ate Rich and Charlies and started to watch Eat, Pray, Love. However, that was boring, so we changed movies. We ended up watching He's Just Not That Into You, and played with Leila the puppy. I had a blast seeing those ladies and watching Dick Clark ring in the new year. Backstreet Boys and NKOTB? No thank you... :p

Amber ended up coming up tonight instead of tomorrow morning. I am so lucky to have all of these girls  as a support system. I love you ladies! :) Welcome 2011! I hope you're a fabulous year with lots of love all around.