Wedding Bells

Well, it's official. Jesse and Cara are going to be married. Date is just about set for October 16th - my parents anniversary. Cara chose that date because it's when Melissa will have a break from school in Bangladesh.

About a week ago, Cara wrote on Facebook, "I have a secret". Well, I thought it might be that she was getting married or more likely that she was just happy and trying to drive everyone crazy with saying, "I have a secret". That would be just like Cara to do that. Well, one day she calls me and tells me that she and Jesse are planning to elope and what did I think of that. They wanted to get married and just keep things small and just between the two of them. Needless to say, Mark nor I were very happy about that. It's not like we don't like Jesse or his family doesn't like Cara....they just wanted to do it this way. When Cara found out how upset we were, she decided she would not elope. She asked me to keep my mouth closed until they announced their engagement. I kept my promise.

I just got off the phone with her and Jesse and talked about the wedding. They still have a lot of investigating to do. They will not be married by a religious person, which saddens me. We will have to work out details about getting Megan and Melissa home for the big event. I am happy for them. He loves her a lot and she really loves him.

Jesse called us when Cara was in the shower and asked us for our blessing on the wedding/marriage. We, of course, gave them our blessing and welcomed him into the family.

Blessed Easter

Easter Sunday and it's he first day of he work week.I remain having trouble getting used to the work week being from Sunday to Thur and the weekends being Fri and Sat. I did not get to mass and I feel really bad about that. I miss going to sunrise service at St. Mary's. I always enjoyed that and always felt renewed.

I got to speak with all of my daughters, Mark's mom, my mom and my borther. It was great. I was feeling a bit lonely

It's been a while....

I wrote a long note about my daughters about 2-3 weeks ago. I lost it! I got so frustrated I didn't write again. But I have wanted to. So, I'm back ... ..
Today I am sitting in my room at the Kempinski Hotel and Resort at the Dead Sea. Mark is at one of the many conferences given by his team members. He gets to go to these because he's the Chief of Party (COP). I get to tag along because I am the "Minister of Interior" as the Jordanians like to refer to their wives.
The weather had been nice. Aija, Glen's wife who also tagged along, had wanted to go to the Baptism Site as it is so close to here. We arranged for about 5 of us to go and lo and behold it started raining. So we turned around and came back to the hotel. It was weird as it was raining there, but clear right over the Dead Sea. I swear, Mark and I bring rain with us wherever we go!! It's getting a little old. This is my third time to the Dead Sea and I have yet to swim in the sea! It may still be a little cold to go in the water.

Cairo, Egypt
Last week 7 women went to Cairo for shopping and sightseeing. We left March 17th in the morning. The Gallagher's were not able to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the usual way. The flight was about an hour or so. We flew over the Suez Canal but we couldn't see the pyramids when we were landing. We stayed at the Sofitel Hotel in an area of Cairo called Maadi. It sits on the Nile. On a clear day, you can see the pyramids from there.
Our first day we went to "Road 9" and started finding the shops. They have alabaster, appliqué, papyrus, rugs and a lot of the usual sorts of souvenirs. We had brought some wine with us and would have wine and snacks in the evening. It was a lot of fun.
The second day a few of us went to the Egyptian museum. It was WONDERFUL! There were several mummies in a certain area that was specially cooled. It was obvious that one died in battle as he had what appeared to be an axe hole in his forehead. I only realized on this trip that the King Tut finding was so amazing because it was the most complete tomb. Many others had been raided by thieves, but his had not been touched. From the museum, we took a taxi to the "Khan a khalili" (I think that's how it's spelled) which is the big marketplace where much shopping is done. We met Zaki the jeweler and a few other merchants that had become friends with Ann when she lived there.
The third day we rented a van for the day and went to the pyramids. We first went to Sakkara, the oldest and it is referred to as the "step pyramid" because its sides are not smooth but step like. The ladies found a merchant who was very happy these ladies came by! We went to Memphis and saw the statue of Ramses then headed to Giza, where the large pyramids are. The place was very crowded especially with locals. I did not go into the pyramids as I was one of the few who had never been there before. I decided that Mark needs to take me on the Nile cruise and show me around more. We did see the funerary boat that they discovered. It was buried near the body so the body would have a way of "crossing over". The boat was huge!! It was very fastinating. We had a lovely diner at a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the pyramids. Then we went back for the light and sound show. Mark called just as I arrived and it was really neat. I got lots of pictures and I had fun.

Saturday we went to the Pharonic Village. It is geared for children but it was very informative. We got on a boat ride and rode by little "scenes" from Egyptian life. It was good. Then we went back to the Khan to shop some more.
Sunday we walked along Road 9 again and shopped. I came close to buying a rug, but could not make a decision in such a short period of time.