2007 passing in leaps and bounds: Mike cancelled his Global Warming Conference due to record lows and ice storms in January. Many Oklahoma City events were re-scheduled including my first Spiritual Retreat at Lake Aluma which came together a week later as a fascinating group of women braved the nasty weather.

      I found out two days later that my friend Emily DeCicco died the same day as the retreat: January 27. Emily and her husband, Frank, mentioned in my book, were extraordinary in how they faced Emily's stomach cancer. I still cannot believe that Emily is really gone. Just like I cannot believe that other dear friends and family members are gone. The mansion boom in heaven surely will cool off soon.

       Life has a way of juxtaposes sadness with gladness: Mike brought my dream of a book signing at the Paris Ritz to fruition on my birthday in February! Sipping drinks adorned with orchids in the Bar Hemmingway along with seven (one for each rule?) family members and friends is etched in my ‘best memories' bank.

     A short walk from the Place Vendôme through Paris streets to Macéo for an elegant and delicious dinner topped off the evening. I'm not yet 60, but that birthday was in that league. I am deeply grateful for the generosity of my family and friends. My book sits on a shelf at Macéo Restaurant as well as Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop near Notre Dame. Our jaunt to Madrid gave us these great experiences, inter alia: Museo Thyssen-Bornemizsa (unbelievable collection) and dinner at Santceloni (food as art).

     Alas, the trip home was not as dreamy. After flying all day from Madrid to JFK airport, we find that our flight to Chicago had been cancelled along with literally 1,000 other flights at JFK, O'Hare, and Dulles. Five hours of hanging out in the Admirals Club still with no available flights (and no hotel rooms), we get the last Hertz vehicle to drive from NYC to OKC. Mike drove the entire 1,500 miles with moi, my mother, and Mike's daughter, Nicole.

     After three days of travel with very little sleep, we pick up our dog, Aussie, arrive home and then have to break into our house because of an unpredictable door lock. A week later another group of fascinating women come for my second spiritual retreat, made even more special because my editor, Genie Addleton, came from Atlanta. As the ‘Dream Police,' I will be checking refrigerators to see if the owner's dreams are posted!

     The BIG news for March is that some of Mike's sermons (taped when he was senior pastor at Westminster) are now on our website! And we will be adding more soon. Many of you know that Mike is a gifted speaker: the non-preachy preacher who makes us smile, stretches our minds and hearts, inspires and delights us.

YBD- Your Bounden Duty    PYE- Part of Your Education (acronyms à la Archibald Edwards)  MNH- you Might Need a Handkerchief (à la LA)