After arriving at Corrine’s house, her husband prayed over our driving and weekend TOGether. That helped to calm my anxious nerves, because I hated to leave my family. Then we were off! First was a stop to meet up with Brianne and JoJo. On the way Corrine had gotten a phone call but didn’t recognize the number, so she ignored it. As we drove up to our meeting place, I called the ladies up and Brianne answered, "Is this 2 ladies looking for 2 ladies?"LOL So began our crazy, yet wonderful weekend! We met, hugged, laughed and chit chatted. They had called Corrine (the unidentified phone number) and they had each called me. But there was no indication of that on my cell. Nevertheless we headed for Dallas, arriving by 2pm.

The hotel Tami had arranged for us was lovely! While Corrine checked in, I called my husband. He had left a message. "Oh honey, I love you.  We really miss you.  There were two ladies who called.  I miss you!  (he was getting choked up) I hope those ladies found you.  (That was Brianne and JoJo.) I miss you.  I love you.  sniffle"   When I called him that’s all he talked about! He said when he left the message he said he was getting teary-eyed and choked up! Then he told me that when he got home there were messages on the phone from two ladies looking for us! That is when I figured out that the phone number for me in our mini bio book was not my cell but my home phone number! After that, I started calling my husband, Mr. Secretary! LOL That was appropriate because Tami talked to him later that evening and got my cell phone number from him. He was so nervous giving out my cell number to a stranger, but she sounded like she knew what she was talking about! LOL

Then it was time to see the rooms. The room I was to share with Tami, her son, Becca, and Brianne stunk of cigarette smoke. We took our luggage out of there and put it in the Cookie Corner room where Dody and a few other ladies would be staying. I was a little nervous leaving the quilt and scrapbook pages in Dody’s room, but surely they were safe, right? =)

Then the first group of ladies arrived from the airport! Dody engulfed me in a bear hug! Becca nearly knocked me over in gracious love and enthusiasm. I got to meet Karla and Tish, quiet ladies on the list and totally fun in person, whom I learned are really special...as all the ladies are!

Someone on the list summed it up well. Basically we hugged first and asked who we were hugging after! LOL We did this quite often in front of the hotel desk and the hotel staff and guests were flabbergasted by our friendly group. ;) By Monday morning, a motherly desk worker from Hawaii started coming out to hug everyone goodbye! Marsha and Lori arrived! 

In the meantime, we got another room, which was too small. Then we got a third room which was great! I was hauling my luggage all over the fourth floor and finally from the fourth floor to the third. I was wiped out!  I was carrying more than I needed, due to my extra food and water to control my pre-diabetes between meals.  Also, I came bearing secret gifts for Sunday! My husband usually does all of luggage lugging!  I've always appreciated, but I really could have used him Friday!  LOL In fact, while I was trying to get the last my luggage into the door, I couldn’t get the key to work, my phone rang, and I couldn’t get to the phone fast enough. I found another key that did work. Whew! I was trying not to feel rumpled in spirit! I beat a path to the lobby to see all the friendly ladies of our group! =) While I was getting all new keys made for our room (having only one new key made, I learned, deactivates all the old keys), Melanie arrived!   

Then we all walked over to Bennigans and I called my husband, who had been the one trying to call me on the phone.

He still had the meat in the freezer. It was 4pm. He wanted to know how to make lasagne from scratch and have it ready to eat in one hour! It was so funny talking to him on the phone. The ladies who overheard my part of the conversation were laughing too!  It takes my husband 3x as long to do anything I'm going to do.  So I told him to just make spaghetti with the little bit of sauce I had in the freezer.  (I wanted my children to have their dinner before 10pm! LOL)  Later that night he called again (about 10pm) to tell me he had the lasagne made and on the table by 730pm!  He had even packed up extra in quart size freezer bags for a lady in our Sunday School class who has been needing meals to freeze!

Finally Sam arrived! We ate! I was sitting between Dody and Corrine. While I was looking at my menu, Dody started posing for a picture!

I'm actually wondering, when is the best time to give Dody some socks? 

Apparently, Corrine had given Dody the first pair of socks before we came. They were actually Corrine's dd's and there were oreo cookies on the socks. 

When I came back from the restroom, I heard Dody ask Corrine, "Why in the world would your dd give me her socks?" Corrine gave hints. "It’s a theme." This banter went on back and forth. For those of you who have seen Marsha’s video, this is what is being discussed! Finally Dody said she was going to call Corrine’s family and get the scoop. You should have seen Corrine’s eyes pop out! Dody never called. Whew!   I tell you, Dody did and said a lot of things that weekend that kept us hopping, in order to keep the secret under wraps! LOL

Then Dody left for a few minutes. I told Corrine I had Donna’s socks. So Corrine grabbed them, put them in Dody’s purse, but didn’t close it all the way. Then we acted innocent. Dody came back, chatted with some ladies, then we headed back to the hotel. Dody came over, got her purse, and I heard her exclaim, "What’s in my purse?"

I beat a path around the table, away from Dody, because I didn’t know how to answer any questions! LOL Then someone asked, "What do you have, Dody?" Increduously Dody said, "I have socks from Donna in Washington! But I can’t imagine how she got them in my purse! (Donna could not come to Dallas.  When she mailed her quilt fabric contributions to me, she also sent chocolate for me and Corrine to eat while we worked on the quilt.  She also wrote a funny letter to me on an old legal sized envelope. She had split it open and I had a 4 page letter.  I just thought she was a frugal type of lady.  However midway through the letter, she asked how I liked her stationary. The pretty letter she meant to send was on her desk. So she grabbed the envelope out of the recylce bin at the post office and wrote on that at the last minute!  LOL She also sent the first pair of socks.  I wrote "Donna in WA" on the tag.  I am so glad Dody read that.  What a hoot!) So began the sock gifting to Dody! It was a riot!

After arriving at the hotel, Becca had told me she wanted to see the quilt. So while everyone else went to the Cookie Corner on the fourth floor, Becca and I went to our room on the third floor. We looked at the quilt and talked for a long time. Finally Becca got a phone call, I think from Corrine, asking what we were doing. "Talking." (snicker) I guess Corrine asked if we were having more fun than they were. (snicker) So Becca hung up and we showed the socks that we were gifting Dody to each other. THEN we joined the others in the Cookie Corner. LOL 

When we walked in, Dody enthusiastically said, "Look what I got! Socks!!! More of them!" I went over to admire them. Then I walked over to my purse, pulled out mine, and presented them to Dody. Innocently I asked, "Would you like to add to your collection?"

I’m not sure when Becca gave Dody hers. They were so soft and pink and white! Dody started giving the socks turns on her feet. Each pair got about 15 minutes of foot time.

Throughout the evening more ladies arrived and more socks arrived! Here's Wendy, my Secret Sister!

At one point I was sitting next to Dody when she got yet another pair of socks!

She made a big deal out of every one. She was so funny that I was laughing. Then she loudly exclaimed, "Laurie, how am I going to get to Sunday? How am I going to get through all these socks?  I have to sing Sunday.  How will I get past the socks!" I died laughing. My side hurt I was laughing so hard. The plan was to gift her with the big presents on Sunday. Does she know anything?  She was making me nervous as well as making me laugh!!!!

I can’t remember specific comments now, but almost from the minute I met her on Friday afternoon, Dody made comments like this, as if she KNEW what was going to happen! She was making me neurotic! LOL For weeks we had kept secrets from her and tried to make sure we were careful with what we said. But there had been slips. What did Dody know? That was the big question we kept asking each other! Even in front of her, we would make comments, or stop making comments, so too much would not be said. When Dody met Brianne, it came up that she shows up on doorsteps. She did that with her Secret Sister, JoJo, last December. Then Brianne did that with me, when delivering her fabric for the quilt. I almost mentioned Brianne coming to my house and I stopped just in time. Then Becca went on and on about my house, when she realized the only house pictures she had ever seen were when I had posted the progress of the quilt on the Bless Socks list. I assured Becca that I’m always talking about my husband remodeling and posting pictures of our unit celebrations in our house. But poor Becca panicked! Well, I panicked more than once too! I will share more of that in my next blog entry! Stay tuned for the rest of...Operation Bless Dody's Socks Off!