Have you ever had a week so action-packed, so full of bizarre surprises, that despite a bubbling urge to spill the beans and share the excitement with everyone you know, you find yourself tongue-tied in spite of your giddiness?

    That’s me! If I even dared to share everything that’s happened, I think we’d see the birth of the longest Heather Show blog entry in history (and we should all know by now, that would be a very, very, very long entry.) So in an attempt to save you all from such pains, I shall make every effort to sum up as best I can.

    First off, I got the initial estimate on my poor baby, my BMW that Sears so kindly destroyed for me. They aren’t quite as bad as I initially thought, at least not yet. The body shop has estimated there’s roughly $4,000-$5,000 in damage. But you know what’s interesting? If it weren’t for the torn bumper, you wouldn’t even know it. Why? Because all of the damage is underneath. Those folks at Sears, they’re awful clever – they hit something very concrete and managed to rip off the entire covering for the undercarriage. That’s quite an accomplishment on a BMW. According to the folks at the body shop, they tore off three complete panels. They aren’t there. They’re off in the woods somewhere, lost forever. Sears also gouged several steel beams, ripped off the rear bumper as well in several spots, and I think they blew my speakers. Since the body shop is currently working on the damage that’s visible and haven’t yet gotten down into the deeper inards of my baby, I wouldn’t be surprised if that estimate jumps by a few thousand. And just think, it hasn’t even been seen by a mechanic yet! Who knows what other surprises lay ahead?

    In other news, I was invited by the military doctors at Bethesda, the headquarters of Naval Medicine, to attend a conference (otherwise known as “Grand Rounds”) with specialists from the National Institute of Health. Why? Because apparently I’m odd. (Who knew?) I won’t go into details since it’s very strange and involved, but apparently the docs seem to think I have a rather exceptional shape. So on Thursday, I sat in a room at Bethesda while about 80 military and NIH doctors filed through, asked me questions, and measured me. Don’t I feel special? It wasn’t as bad as you might think. Actually, at one point as I was flanked by four male doctors, all of whom were staring at me very quietly, I had to literally bite my lip to keep from laughing. I don’t know what it was exactly, but something about sitting there in a hospital gown while four men poured over my measurements was just incredibly amusing.

    What else did I do? I went on a road trip this week! I wanted to get some dedicated driving time in to help with driving endurance, and honestly, I just wanted to get away from my computer. Without a particular destination in mind, Stephen and I piled into my Dad’s Bimmer and took off down US50. Stopping only occasionally to take pictures, we made it deep into West Virginia before deciding to turn around. I’m quite proud of some of the photos I got, especially this great old barn with a tobacco advertisement painted on it. I actually trespassed to get those pictures! Okay, so I didn’t really, since I had permission from the lady who owned it, but still. It was fun. 🙂 Check them out, and be sure to let me know what you think – feedback’s always a great way to learn.

Winners will get to put this lovely badge on their blogs! Yay for them!

And last but not least, I have some prizes to pass out! That’s right, I’ve decided who won the first-ever Caption Me! contest. 🙂 Judging was extremely difficult – I liked so many different captions for so many different reasons. So I’ve decided to go all Oscar on you and divide the winners into categories. Without further ado, the Heather Show proudly presents the winners of the July 2005 Caption Me! Contest:     For Biggest Reaction Caption, Erik wins with: “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of split ends cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.” Congratulations to Erik! Hoorah!     For Most Blatantly Flattering Caption (otherwise known as the Brown-Noser of the Month Award), Jordan has won with his entry, “So this explains how Heather got so intelligent. Interesting.” Congrats, Jordan! We loves us a good flatterer! 🙂

Stephen won for Highest Quantity, Highest Quality, for the bazillions of captions that he submitted. He kept the contest lively, he helped break the 100 comment barrier, and his boss will kill him for wasting so many work hours. 🙂 Thanks for your commitment, Steve, we honor you for it.     And our highest honor goes to my Grandma Betty, because little did I know it, but she actually went through the torture of having that very machine attached to her head when she was smaller than the victim in that photo. For her pain and suffering, she receives our Lifetime Achievement Award!     Congratulations and hip-hip-hoorays to all our lovely winners! Yes, we love you, and we’re not ashamed to say it! Yay! They’ll receive their magnets shortly. 🙂 But as for now, it’s time for some much needed sleep for me. Here’s to hoping your week has been as adventurous as mine!