. . .

DC Earthquake!

2011-08-27T14:41:00.003-05:00

I was in downtown DC when Tuesday's earthquake hit, and yes, I was terrified.

I was at the client office building, in a 7th floor conference room with a coworker when we heard a noise and felt a vibration through the building. She wondered if the A/C was acting up. I thought it felt and sounded like the ridges in the road as you approach a toll booth. It had a rolling motion to it.

It seemed to go on for about 15-20 seconds, and I realized it was an earthquake. We both stood, and as we did, the building started to sway. This is when I began to freak out, and so did she. The building movement seemed enormous. I wondered if someone had driven into the building and images of the building collapsing all around me flashed through my mind. It sounds dramatic, but seriously, I was terrified.

We ran to the doorway and folks were dashing about the floor. I heard someone yell "it is an earthquake, get in a doorway" and grabbed a second coworker to drag her into the doorway -- making three of us. That is when I realized I was holding hands with the first coworker.

The building continued to sway, and we felt a few more vibrations. I know now the quake lasted about 45 seconds. Stabilized, I ran to the windows to see if people in other buildings were reacting, and they were.

There was a question as to whether we should leave, but I didn't want to be in a stairwell. We sat back down and I posted to Facebook. Folks tried dialing loved ones, but the calls would not go through. The intercom crackled and we were advised to leave. I gathered my things and joined the exodus from the building.

On the street, I thought perhaps I should text my loved ones. It turns out my texts to Mom and Mike got through but I didn't get their texts and voicemails until about 24 hours later. I saw a spot on the Weather Channel this morning regarding the hurricane (seriously, what is going on?!) that cell service is often disrupted and using the internet may be the best way to keep in touch with friends and family. It certainly was true that day.

We were on the sidewalk about an hour, and then allowed back in the building. Within the next hour, the federal government had dismissed and traffic was a bear. I only had to walk a few blocks to my hotel, and the streets were eerily quiet.

I can't imagine going through this on a weekly basis as they do in CA or Japan, though I supposed you'd get used to it. I'm not so sure the buildings in DC are as safe as those in CA or Japan either.

With one natural disaster behind me this week, I'm ready for the aftereffects of the hurricane ... since I'm scheduled to fly back to DC on Sunday.

Dear Delta, I'm Sorry

2011-04-23T09:21:00.003-05:00

Dear Delta,

I'm sorry.
I was trying to save money. Splitting the flight and taking American to DC was $600 instead of $1000. You know I"m a bargain shopper.
I'm sorry.
It won't happen again.

When I got to the airport at 11:30 or so, to check in for my 12:20 flight, the ticket agent asked if I was on the 3:10 flight. Um, no. Why would I be checking in 3.5 hours early for a quick trip through Chicago to DC?

Oh, the 12:20 is canceled. Let me see what I can do.
But our next flight out isn't until 3:10.

So I called Mike and Aly back to get me and we went to lunch. I still had hours to kill, so I worked from the airport for a while. Finally, it was time to board.

And just as we all sat down, the pilot announced there was a 90 minute delay into Chicago, so he was going to let us get off the plane. I guess that legislation with the high fines for airlines is working, at least.

Straight to the gate agent I went. Am I going to make my connection in Chicago? "Well it says here you will. But really? No. Let's avoid Chicago and put you on the 4:15 to Dallas." Okay. Then she said it .... "In about 10 minutes I"ll know if Delta has room on their afternoon flight."

I should have waited. I should have taken the chance.
I'm sorry.

Back to work for an hour and finally, on to the Dallas flight. Working from the air, I thought it seemed to be taking a long time. Here comes the announcement from the pilot. "You might have noticed we've been circling Longview TX waiting for Dallas to give us clearance. They assure us we are first in line to land once the weather clears." That should have been a clue. Why would we be first? Because we were almost out of gas! Yep. Next announcement from the pilot: "Well, we're not yet cleared and we've reached almost the end of our fuel, so we're gonna put down here in east TX and get some gas."

We were on the ground for at least 90 minutes. For about 45 of those minutes, I was trying to see if my connection was delayed. You see, AA.com apparently doesn't have a mobile site. And AA.com is too big to work on my Blackberry. So I had to call. And they don't have live people. But you can't push buttons either. They want you to SAY your selection. Like Kramer on the Moviefone line. Except on a cell phone. With a plane full of angry people yelling into their own cells phones. After 47 "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you"s, I finally got confirmation my connection was cancelled. I've been rebooked on the 9:20 flight, arriving in DC at 1:10am
I'm REALLY sorry.

So now we make it to Dallas (with a free snack -- cheese, crackers and Craisins), but I've missed that connection. I rebook on the 6:15 am to DC. (We'll have a "What was I thinking?" moment later on that.) I made an online reservation for the Airport Sheraton, waited 15 minuts for a shuttle, and stood in line behind 12 other people who had travel horror stories and wanted to share. No thanks. I was finally in bed at 11pm. A murphy bed. You know, the kind that folds out of the wall and sits a foot off the ground. Whisky Tango Foxtrot? At a hotel??!

I woke up at 5:45. Called American. Waited 14 minutes on hold. Changed my flight to 9:15. Ate a free breakfast. At least I stuck with the Starwood brands, where gold status means something. Once I got to the airport and reviewed my boarding pass, I was incredulous. Boarding Group 6. In a middle seat.
Dear Delta, I'm so very sorry. You would have had me in first class.

So after they called Group 5, which should have been called "everyone but Tonya, a family of four (hello, travelers with small children? PREBOARD!) and grandma & grandpa (hello, persons needing a little extra time? PREBOARD!)", I vaulted around the family, elbowed grandpa outta the way and hit the jetway. Good thing too. Grandpa had to check his bag. Mine just fit. 10 rows behind my seat, but it was on. It just meant I had to wait for ten additional rows to clear before I could retrieve my bag and get the heck off the *&^$ American plan.

I'm so VERY sorry.

And I promise to spend the government's money much more lavishly. Ignoring cheaper flights. Always booking Delta.

I'm sorry. Will you take me back?

Commutageddon

2011-01-27T21:30:00.002-05:00

Last year President Obama dubbed the February DC snowstorm "Snowmageddon." This year the local news called it "Sn-oh Em Gee." I like Commutageddon.
Yesterday, I was working late to be sure my proposal made it in on time. The office (and the Federal Government) closed at 3:30 due to an impending storm. It started sleeting at 3:30 and snowing heavily at 4:00. I found it amusing that Virginians freak out over a little snow, although it was nearly impossible to see the road from my 6th floor window. I later learned snow was falling at 2” per hour. When I finally left at 5:00, the roads were awful and traffic was at a complete standstill. The Westin shuttle couldn’t make it out of the parking lot, and I couldn’t get through to a cab company, so I walked over to the Ritz, hoping to catch a cab there. During my two hour wait at the Ritz (which was, of course, sold out), the valets brought me a chair to sit in, bottled water, and hot tea. I seriously considered walking over to Macy's and buying snow boots to make the trek on foot. Folks were appearing at the Ritz covered in snow and freezing after walking a few blocks, so I decided een the lure of new boots wasn't worth it.
Finally a cab arrived, at the same time as a co-worker from Boston, also headed to the Westin. Another fellow joined us, as he was going to the Marriott, which wasn’t far from the Westin. After two hours in the cab, we had only gone 1.5 miles and were still a block and a half downhill from the Tysons Marriott. The cab couldn’t make it up the hill, so we triple tipped the driver and trudged up the hill. In 5” of snow and ice. Carrying my computer bag. Wearing 3” suede heels. After catching my breath at the Marriott, a coworker’s husband drove us the mile to the Westin, which took yet another two hours, but at least no hills were involved. I arrived at my room at 11:00, six hours after my adventure started.
There was no way I was going out today, though most of the roads were clear. I'm glad I didn't. A co-worker sent me a note to say the shuttle ride to the office took 50 minutes (instead of 7). Thankfully, I was not involved in any of the dozens of accidents, nor was I trapped in a vehicle overnight. Flights tomorrow should be on time, so I'll get a full weekend at home. Before I come back on Monday. I will be checking next week's weather for sure.

Scrappy New Year!

2011-01-03T20:27:00.015-05:00

As you might have noticed from the last couple of posts, I spent new year's online at a couple of scrapbook forums (fori?) and got a lot of cute things done. So now, you're going to read all about 'em. Thanks to the gals at Creative Soup for a great weekend.
FYI - a "challenge" is just a prompt to help you get an idea for scrapping. There were no swords involved. :D

First, some pages from an album I've been working on that is all Zak. This is a spiral bound album that measures about 9x9. The first page explains where all the photos came from and was submitted for the "no photo" challenge. It really is important to scrap the details, even when you don't have photos. The two holes in the cover show a photo and the letter Z from the first page when the album is closed. I printed on a transparency (for the first time, and it came out great!) but the writing didn't show up so well, so I painted on the backside for contrast (just yellow acrylic paint). I love this patterned paper and have no idea where it came from or the manufacturer, so comment if you know!

Here's a layout of one of those photos; I think this one even has a thumbtack hole in it. I have no idea where this patterned paper came from either, but it matched itself nicely and worked for the "quilting" challenge. I (ok, Aly) cut the title with my Cricut Makin the Grade cartridge (shadow setting to make the letters a little thicker) and I used CM metallic markers to highlight them. I added American Crafts ribbon and random buttons and flowers (ribbon and flowers on a "boy" layout? YES!) along with an index card with CM marker and distress ink for journaling. I think the part that took the longest was finding a quote/title. I love Dr. Seuss, and I didn't want to be campy with something like "big shoes to fill" or "like father, like son". I love how this turned out.

Next up, we had a conversation to get to know each other a little better by answering a few silly questions. The challenge was to use one of those questions as the basis for a layout. The title is Cricut Printing 101 ("if I") and Makin the Grade ("could be"). Shaped buttons are Jesse James, I think (check the sewing section of Hobby Lobby and Michael's). Patterned paper is new from KI Memories classic prints paper pack. Rubons ("a cat") are Ms Elizabeths from Dollar Tree. I used a CM marker, and props to Aly (again) for helping put this one together. We worked fast to meet the challenge deadline so I turned to Becky Fleck for a sketch. I love the Fleckster so much, I bought her book, which is spiral bound (love that) and came with a deck of cards printed with all of the sketches (handy for carrying to crops!). Actually, I pulled this sketch from the 4x6 photo sketch blog here on Blogger.com. I love that you can click on the number of photos or the size of your layout to see the options. You can see this sketch was only 8.5" x 11" and had the photo going the other way. The great thing about sketches is really making them your own!

This next one was from another sketch. Again, I love it because it uses standard 4x6 photos. This is my darling niece on Halloween. I'm pretty proud of the photos, since I took them. The glitter paper is from DCWV Citrus stack. I cut those flowers out of the patterned paper by hand. ouch. By the way, we had some trouble sticking things to this glitter paper, so comments appreciated with your ideas there. The line running through the middle is random ribbon (yellow and sheer white with black dots). Letter stickers are Stickopotamus. Title was again from Cricut Makin the Grade, and I used a CM pen. All the girls loved the doodled bee trails on this layout -- and that was all Aly. Oh, and the title is a play on my sister's home business selling legwarmers and tutus, Beez Kneez Boutique. Check her out on Facebook too!

My last layout was in response to the "out with the old, in with the new" challenge to use some old supplies along with some new ones. No problem there; I have a ton of old stuff and somehow still seem to buy new stuff like crazy. My OLD stuff included the MAMBI stickers and paper from the original Slab (those giant paper packs from Michaels). My NEW supplies included Basic Grey buttons, black bling on the journal box, and orange ribbon. Oh, and this is a page in the Zak album. I tried to keep it really simple. I am pretty sure I have multiple copies of these photos, and I'll be scrapping them again in a Halloween album.

Now scrapping isn't all about pages you put in a book. This is my take on the perpetual calendar from my friend Monica's find at Design Sponge. There is a separate card for each date, and you can journal for several years on each card. Instead of a fruit basket, I used a Longaberger tea basket and tied on a wooden charm from P. Graham Dunn in Gatlinburg (my favorite verse, Phil 4:13). Aly stamped the dates for me on 4x6 index cards (cut in half), and I cut the month dividers from scraps of cardstock. Each divider will have a photo to represent that month (those are on order from Snapfish). I think this is something I'll actually keep up with. I am going to keep this on my bedside table and jot a note each day before I go to sleep. Journaled cards move to the back, so the new day is up front. I haven't figured out how this will work when I'm traveling. I may email myself the blurb, or record it in my blackberry, or maybe I'll just take the cards with me.

And, my final project, probably the one I'm the most excited about. This was in response to a "get organized" challenge that recommended altering (decorating) a clipboard to help with your daily to-do list (or your scrappy project list). Another scrapper used the word "priorities" and it reminded me of a quote I took from the Manager Tools podcast series.

Time is finite and unchanging. It cannot be 'managed.' Stop trying to manage your time and focus on managing your priorities.

This might be the biggest to-do list ever. That is a 12" green scallop ruler in the bottom right corner for scale (so this measures about 2ft by 3.5ft). It is an old porcelain countertop I got at a flea market for $7. I've had it for a while, and I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I knew something crafty would come out of it. I was excited to find out it was magnetic, and I took a little time last week using rust remover on the surface. With about an hour left to upload our projects to the website, I started on the project. I painted around the edges with pink acrylic paint, making sure to smear a bit on the surface of the board. I added flower and letter (wall) decals from Dollar Tree and some magnets from Mary Kay (the square ones that say "body," "soul," "mind," and "health"). I made magnets out of the pink and green polka dot flowers with some magnet buttons (sticky on one side, magnet on the other). I added a magnet to a button of Zak playing soccer too. Those are Princess Bride magnets near the bottom and a blank weekly calendar from Big Lots finishes the board. I'm excited to get this on the wall and start using it. I tested dry erase markers, and they work great on it too!

So that is what I did with my weekend. I hope all of you had a great new year as well!

Scrap Inspiration for the Year

2011-01-02T01:09:00.004-05:00

My scrappy friend Bree, and the folks at Creative Soup have a cool way to keep up with all of the memorabilia you collect throughout the year.

Jump over to Bree's blog for details and photos, but some quick steps are listed below.

HOW TO GET STARTED:

1.Start collecting STUFF: the label from favorite products, menus from your go-to take out place, labels from your clothes, ticket stubs from the movies, used gift cards, and so on. Don't worry about how you will use it. Just KEEP IT.
2.If you have a camera on your phone, start snapping more photos. Try to document everyday things.
3.Jot down a few quick notes on post-its or a small notepad if you think you will forget the what and where of your memorabilia :)
4.Come back each week in January to learn more about the various formats each team member is using to create their album.
5.Then play along and share a link to your work. Join us over at http://creativesoup.forumotion.com to chat with others doing the project and for a chance to win prizes!

Project Life Memorabilia: capture more of your life

A New Place to Scrapbook

2011-01-01T12:14:00.002-05:00

Well, virtually at least.
My favorite online spot, ScrapFreak, has closed, but there is a great new place I've been hanging out and today is the launch party at Creative Soup.
Come over and play!!

11 am - Get Sketchy Challenge
Noon - Scattergories Round 1
1 pm - Get to Know You Game
2 pm - Out With the Old, In With the New Challenge
3 pm - Think Different Challenge
4 pm - BINGO
5 pm - Get Your Scrap On Challenge
6 pm - Flower video tutorial with Sara
7 pm - Scattergories Round 2
8 pm - Organization Hour
9 pm - BINGO
10 pm - Go Photoless Challenge
11 pm - Scattergories Round 3

One for the Record Books

2010-12-18T13:28:00.004-05:00

I've had some travel adventures, but this might be the longest trip EVER.

First, leaving Monday for a 6am flight meant I had to get out of bed by 3am to shovel the car out from the 'blizzard'. The good news was that the sustained winds of 25mph had scoured most of the snow off the car. It had also frozen some of the doors and all of the windows shut.

I made it to the airport, through Atlanta and to DC right on time. I will note, the other flights out of Evansville through Detroit and Cincy were canceled. I just got lucky that I happened to make this one through Atlanta.

Work was work. It was a crazy week of client meetings, long dinners and little sleep.

Thursday, DC got about an inch or two of snow, which crippled the city, canceled schools, and eventually canceled my 6pm flight through Cincy. At least I found out before I left for the airport, and I was able to get back into the Sheraton, where I'd spent the week. The rate was so low, I was able to book a 'bed and breakfast' stay for less than the per diem. And it was good I had a nice big breakfast Friday morning, because here is where the fun starts.

I left a bit early for the airport for my 11am flight, because Delta wouldn't let me check-in online. The kiosk didn't work either, so I stood in line (the priority line) for about 30 minutes. By the time I made it through security (no frisking!), I was essentially able to walk right on to the plane. I had a middle seat, but it was an exit row, so I had plenty of legroom and my seat mates did not appear to be talkers or mouth breathers.

Unfortunately as we pushed back from the gate, the pilots realized the right engine wouldn't start. Maybe it was the starter. Maybe they'd have the part on site. Either way, y'all better get off the plane. Great.

They asked us to get in line to rebook, but being the experienced traveler I am, I knew to get on the phone too. First call to our travel agency, Amex. Since the airline had changed my flight to Friday, Amex couldn't alter it. So I called Delta. They were happy to get me on another flight. On American. At 6:30. Arriving after 10pm. So I have to exit security and go get my tickets? No, says the Delta agent on the phone, American is in the same terminal. Just go to the gate and they'll give you boarding passes.

Um, no.

American and Delta are in the same physical building, but their concourses require you to exit security and go back through. Of course, once you exit security, and you don't have a valid boarding pass, you cannot come back through security. So up to ticketing to wait, yes, another 20 minutes in line for American. The priority line wasn't moving. I had luck in the regular line.

The American representative indignantly informed me all of their flights were oversold and that Delta shouldn't have booked me. I'll have to go back to Delta and have them find something else. Oh goodie. I actually said that, but as I walked away, the American rep said "oh wait, let me try something else" and SURPRISE found my reservation on the 5:15 flight, all ready to go. Well, except Delta hadn't turned the reservation over to American. I'd need to go back to the Delta counter. "But don't stand in line here again, just come back to me."

To Delta. Who can't figure out what is wrong or where I should be. After much button-punching and mumbling, she finally read the piece of paper I gave her and found me. Yay! Here's your itinerary. Just go back to American.

Yes, well, jumping the line sounded like a great idea, until the people standing there saw me do it. I momentarily feared for my life. But finally I had boarding passes. And four hours to kill.

Finally, it was time to go. I made it through Chicago, had time for dinner and after one gate change, was on to Evansville. Yay.

Where my car was dead. And covered with a sheet of ice. All week I had the feeling my car would be dead when I got in. I thought the cold would kill it. Apparently when I thought couldn't get the door open to the back seat on Monday, I was mistaken. It was open just enough to run the battery down. I have jumper cables, but no idea how to use them. I call my daddy. Yes, I am 40 years old and on the management team at a big four accounting firm. I still call my daddy.

Dozens of people walk past the woman chipping ice off her car in dress shoes with the hood up. They avert their eyes. That's the Christmas spirit! Finally, one man asks if I need help. Thanks, you are the only person to ask, but my dad's on the way. The stranger doesn't have jumper cables anyway. I do. Well, then let's give it a shot.

The battery is on the passenger side of the car. We'll have to push it out of the parking spot. Several more people walk by as we slip and slide across the ice, trying to move the RAV4 out of the spot. Finally, it is out, Mr. Niceguy jumps the battery and I'm all good. Daddy's already at the airport, so he'll follow me home to be sure I make it.

But we aren't done yet. There is still a half inch of ice covering the car. Now that it is running with the heater on, it is a little easier to chip it off. I still break the handle off the ice scraper. And there's slush down my sleeve. Gloves are soaked. Feet are frozen. Ice is melting out of my hair and dripping in my eyes. But finally, we're on the road.

A dark road with curves. Thank God I was actually following Dad. An eight-point buck was standing at the side of the road, watching us go past. I might not have seen him, but dads are trained for that kind of stuff.

And that was the last of my adventure. Home, hugged the girl, snuggled with cats and dogs and started some history show to put me to sleep. Ahhhh.

All in a week with the Pook.

Attention fellow travelers

2010-11-29T14:48:00.001-05:00

On my 5.5 hr flt 2429 to Seattle:
please take a moment to consoldate your luggage, find your boarding pass, and call your friends and family to shout about leaving Atlanta. There will be no coughing or sneezing, kicking or screaming, or stories regarding your life history in or about row 28 --- WAIT, row 6, I've been upgraded.
If you don't know which zone you are in, you aren't in first class, so get away from the priority boarding lane and out of my way.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation. Remember, there are 6,000,000,000 people on this planet ... You only need to be nice to the other 179 on this flight for the next 5 hours.

At lunchtime on the second day...

2010-10-28T07:57:00.002-05:00

This phrase has been running through my head for a week. I knew it was a poem.
Turns out it is a part of the book Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, which I owned as a child, and clearly memorized.

If it rings a bell with you, go re-read it. It is a hoot.

Happy Birthday Rylee!

2010-10-16T22:19:00.003-05:00

My niece's first birthday was an event to remember. I'm only sharing a few photos, but the decorations, the food, the fun ... wow! There was a hayride:

All the kids loved the ball pit. Thanks Uncle Joe and Aunt Pammie!

And the requisite shot of cakey-face

Such a fun fun time! Happy Birthday Sissypants!

Senior Center Auction

2010-09-26T16:17:00.003-05:00

After a VERY long day at the Race for the Cure (as you can see Nick demonstrating in this first photo), I headed to the Warrick Co Senior Center Auction with Mom and Pam to do a little shopping. Mike was out of town, and I promised I'd keep the spending below last year's (which was a little over the top, I must say). Hey! It is a good cause.

So here's the loot. I *did* stay under last year (by a few bucks), but what was crazy was that I grabbed a certain amount of money before I left, thinking it was 'extra', and ended up spending exactly that amount when I checked out. And I wasn't keeping track of the spending. Just another instance of God providing to whomever needs it, this time to someone else FROM us.

GWP!

Oh, so I got a bunch of fall decor, a movie night basket, some great frames I'm going to repurpose, and a bunch of gift certificates. Fun times!

Crop for Life

2010-09-18T23:16:00.004-05:00

I had a really great time at the Crop for Life at Main Street Baptist Church today. There weren't a million people, the food was great, and I got a lot done.
First -- this is how I pack for a crop. Now, I already selected the photos and new which paper and embellishments to bring. This is less than probably 5% of what is in my office - a rolling cart, three tote bags and my alpha sticker accordian file. That black Garfield tote unzips into a seat cushion. Hey I'm nothing if not prepared. :D

A shot of the crop in the gymnasium. I thought it was really cool that they had folks to help you carry everything from your car to your seat, especially since the parking lot was a little icy. April joined a few hours after I got started, but I think she still accomplished more than I did.
You can see how my stuff takes up much more of the table than it should.
And the floor.

Here's a shot of our table. In addition to April, we had Vicki "Henry" White and Kim Cundiff. All very helpful when I wanted to borrow supplies (and buy them!) but not so excited about having a photo taken of them. :) I don't have a photo of Aly. She came around 4pm and hit a wall at 8pm. We packed up soon after that. Oh, and I won a prize- a great fall page kit. Can't wait to do it again!

A good trip!

2010-08-19T21:10:00.003-05:00

You might not believe it, but there were absolutely, positively, *no* travel issues this week! In fact, Delta has re-designed some of their regional jets (CRJ-70) to have a first class section, so from Cincinatti to DC I loaded up on free Bloody Marys. Not really conducive to working later that evening, but stellar as far as flights go.

No troubles today either. No crazy cab drivers ... well, it did take three tries to get from DC to Tysons Corner on Wednesday, but, to be fair, it was raining and no one in their right mind would want to make that drive during rush hour, much less in the rain.

So now I'm home and staying home all next week.
The week after that doesn't exist on my calendar.
It is the week that has Aug 31 in it.
The day I take my baby girl to boarding school.

So we're pretending that week doesn't exist.

Then I'm back to two weeks in DC Sept 7-9 and 13-16. Hopefully we'll see less humidity and some fall weather by then.

Signed,

Cleopatra
Queen of Da Nile

No respect.

2010-08-18T21:08:00.003-05:00

The text conversation between me and Zak while I'm out of town:

ME: All ok?

ZAK: Nope house got broken into and
we all got killed. it just never
occured to us 2 txt u :P

ME: Smarta$$

ZAK: Well if smthing was wrong
we wuda txted u or dad. Or
called 911

It is a good thing this kid is cute.

First Day of School, again

2010-08-11T16:14:00.001-05:00

Zak is starting school at the Warrick Education Center, also known as "alternative school." Mr. Lacer, my junior high English teacher is the administrator and does a great job setting up each kid's curriculum. They make each individual responsible for their own work, and for the most part all work is completed on your own, while you are at school (for three hours either in the morning or afternoon). Zak picked the morning and I think it is really going to work out for him. He actually didn't have enough credits to be a junior, but he should be able to make some of those up over the course of the year. He still isn't sure if he wants to graduate or take the GED and try community college, but we've got some time to figure that out. I'm just glad we found a place he can be himself and actually enjoy school.

My Mammy

2010-08-02T20:11:00.001-05:00

No, not an older female relative, my mammogram.
With Mom's history of breast cancer, I really shouldn't have waited until I was 40 to have my baseline mammogram, but I did. There was no getting out of it now.

I have to say it hurt about as much as I anticipated, and I was not expecting that "sideways smoosh" at the 45 degree angle.

But hey, it's done and I am fine. Initial results are "all clear"

I still say if this is how a prostate exam was done, science would have found a better way a LONG time ago.

Somebody get a map. And a calculator.

2010-07-15T20:59:00.004-05:00

I know it has been a while since I blogged. I have a bunch of stuff drafted that I haven't finished. But this you need to hear while it is fresh in my mind.

First off, someone go get a to-scale map of the Detroit airport (that is DTW). If you are reading this, you know how to Google. Go on.

I haven't had to travel for work in nearly six weeks. I had a marvelous two week vacation (some of those posts I haven't finished), but I left Tuesday for DC. Well, you have to know there's going to be a travel story now. There always is, isn't there?

If you don't have a calculator on your desk, there's one on your "start" button, under accessories. Get that fired up. Oh you know you want to. Do it.

My original flight Tuesday was supposed to leave at 11 am. At 9am, just before I was going to finish packing for the airport, I got a phone call that my flight was canceled, but I had been booked on the next available flight ... at 1:45pm. Super. Now instead of getting in around 5 (ET), it would be 9pm. Well, so I got a little more work done before I left.

Okay, I know at least one of you is wondering what to do with the map. Find gate C66. Now find B16. Figure out how far it is from C66 to B16. In miles. It had to be miles. It FELT like miles. Make sure you add in the distance of the tunnel between Terminal C and B. The one with the freaky new age music and flashing lights that could trigger epilepsy.

My flight through Cincy was uneventful, though my three hour wait could have been a little more pleasant. But then I arrived in DC an hour later than expected. There was no gate available. So we sat on the tarmac. In a severe lightning storm. In a giant metal tube. It was pretty though. Giant ribbons of lightning striking all around. Ground crew running for cover. Fun times.

Okay, let's Google some more. How many calories might one burn if one JOGGED that distance from C66 to B16?
Carrying a laptop bag (with laptop, power cord, mouse, iPod, Blackberry, cell phone, purse, wallet, book.... You get it. Add "carrying 23 lbs" to your calculations.)
Dragging a suitcase. (My NEW suitcase because Delta BROKE my other one. This one has a wonky wheel. It doesn't drive straight. It crashes into people. It runs over my toes.)
In flip flops. You know, because they are more comfortable than dress shoes. I should have went with the Reeboks.
Oh, and I was out of paper in the home office so add a ream of paper to the weight of the suitcase (so the firm wouldn't have to pay Office Depot to deliver). We gotta be up to 58 lbs now.

Before I left for the airport this afternoon, coworkers started IMing and calling me to tell me that there was a power outage at Washington Reagan. That can't be good. But the CNN story said backup power was allowing folks through security and planes to take off. By the time I got there (very speedily, I might add. The cab driver did 85 mph on the GW Parkway), the power was on, the security lines weren't so bad, and McDonald's was back to making chicken sandwiches. The planes were backed up though, and we left about an hour late.

Shout out to my online friend Lala for inspiring me to start walking. Otherwise, I never would have made it from C66 to B16 in less than 15 minutes. Oh, and I got quite a few neck stretches in, looking at the departure boards every time I sped past. Evansville was blinking "BOARDING" the whole way. I was sweating my a$$ off {{Yes, Patricia, because I was wearing PANTS. Not a skirt. PANTS.), but I was going to make it! And get a workout!

Now, the plane to Detroit was completely full. Every seat was filled. And I was in row 25. In the middle seat. Hey, I had a book to read. And, they had those cool touch screens in the seat back in front of me. But it had no sound. So I made a playlist of Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. Then I read my book. Until the pilot announced that Detroit was having storms so we'd be circling for a while. But not too long, because we were almost out of gas, so we might take a side trip to Cleveland. Hey, I was just there! (another unfinished blog post)

By now you must have figured out I missed the connection in Detroit. I got to B16 to see them pushing the plane from the gate. And the screen still flashed "BOARDING". (Seriously. There were SIX of us on delayed flights. They couldn't have delayed the Evansville flight for FIFTEEN MINUTES?!??! At least update the status so I could have strolled from gate C66.) How many calories did I burn? I hope it is enough to offset the chicken fingers, french fries and chocolate cake I just ordered from room service.

But all is well that ends well, right? I work for a great firm that found me a hotel within a mile of the airport with a free shuttle. Free wi-fi. Fridge and microwave. And, of course, the aforementioned room service. The client will reimburse for the hotel and an extra day of food ... even if they didn't, the firm would pick it up.

So here I am, showered, in my jammies, blogging, watching The Learning Channel (why do you have ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN U, ESPN Classic but no Discovery, Syfy, A&E, or Biography?), sipping Diet Coke, and about to inhale a giant piece of chocolate cake. I've got the USA Today, my book, and my iPod.

I have to spend time traveling tomorrow, but then I'm taking the rest of the day off to play with my kids.

Life is good.

Aly's big news

2010-05-21T19:10:00.003-05:00

We've known for years that the girl is a genius, and the big news is the final proof. Having skipped the sixth grade, Aly is acing the seventh in addition to taking ceramics and gymnastics once a week. We looked into private schools, like Evansville Day School, but we weren't wowed. Mike went to boarding school for a few years, so we checked into it. Boarding schools are definitely more plentiful along the east coast, but we found a small, closer place in St. Louis.

Thomas Jefferson School sits on 20 acres and has about 80 students enrolled in grades 7-12. About 60% of the students are seven day boarders and the average class size is 12. The average SAT score is 2150. Aly has visited twice and was enthralled. I have to say, I was pretty impressed too.

So, after much discussion, it is official. Aly will move to St. Louis to attend TJ on August 31. We are excited for her to be in a challenging learning environment, as well as testing out her independence. We think she'll flourish in this place.

So over the next few months, we'll find out who her roommate will be, decided what color comforters and pillows, and decided on the care package schedule. I'm very excited for her, and I promise to keep everyone updated through the blog. Maybe I can get HER to make some blog updates too.

At the drive-in...

2010-05-08T13:55:00.002-05:00

We *love* the drive-in and missed it during our stint in Virginia.

Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the drive-in without eating fried chicken in the back of a pickup truck.

And the boys liked sitting in the back of the van. And so did we, since it kept them busy for a while.

The little ones made it through the first movie, and the kids and I stayed with Nana through the second one. The weather was perfect. Even though it drizzled a few times, there was a great breeze and we had a great time!

Another new toy for the kids

2010-05-04T13:48:00.003-05:00

If you think my kids are spoiled... they are. And it is all their dad's fault.
I love how Zak is posing for a photo as requested and Aly is taking the opportunity to torture her brother.

Fail: Take Your Kid to Work Day

2010-04-22T21:06:00.001-05:00

I swear, since that first time in Indianapolis, Aly hasn't been able to go with me to work on Take Your Kid to Work Day. This time, it was a business trip to Dallas. Actually, now that I work from home, I supposed taking her to work would really mean she'd just sit in my office and listen to conference calls. She'd probably rather be in school.
Sorry kiddo. We'll try again next year.

Our new baby!

2010-04-18T12:35:00.001-05:00

Chevy -- the biggest kid we ever had :)
He is about four months old and very smart.
Zak loved him at first sight.

Wing Party!

2010-04-13T20:05:00.002-05:00

I finally scheduled the wing party at Show-Me's that we won at the Senior Center auction last November. It just so happens that it was yesterday and fell on Isaiah's birthday. He would have been a teenager. Yikes!
Anyway, most all of the family was there, plus my bff Sherri and her kids. The wings were the best I'd ever had, and service was good too. Just beware, the server's outfits are a little more risque than Hooters (if that is possible -- well, it is possible, I'm telling you).
Still, appropriate for the kids, and reeeeally yummy wings, so a good time was had by all AND the Senior Center benefitted too.

A long-awaited present to myself

2010-04-12T16:11:00.001-05:00

Since I was 15, I've wanted a scooter. Well, now I have one!
I found it on Craigslist, and it is street legal -- goes up to 60 mph.
Yay! Now I just need a helmet. And a backpack. And a jacket. And....

Happy Birthday Rydee Roo!

2010-03-28T15:15:00.002-05:00

I can't believe Ryder is two years old, but then I look at these photos and think he looks even bigger than two! Still working on my fancy camera skills, I did get a few nice shots. I notice I'm taking a lot at an angle, like I did my favorite photo of Aly from our last Gatlinburg trip. Turns out it is a cool effect, but not on every freaking picture. So, I'll learn some balance.

First up, the obligatory "put the giant bow on his head" shot.

Then, I snuck in a photo of Nick.
I think this is the one that finally named him "photogeNicholas".
The kid cannot take a bad photo.
Look at those eyes, the skin. ahhh.

Another obligatory shot -- cake face. I love his finger in this one though. "What, do I have a smudge?"

And an "open the present" shot with Mom. Someone ELSE who can't take a bad photo. I also have a lot of pictures of Ryder wadding up all of the wrapping paper so it could be thrown away. A little OCD, so not posting those for fear that a future employer might find this little post and wonder about his sanity. Or his mother's. :D

Happy Birthday Ryder-man!

El Quacko

2010-03-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

Insight into a conversation with my precocious 11 year old:

Aly, randomly, in the car, singing:

El Quacko's not like other ducks
He rides around in a big red truck
Singing riiiide, El Quacko, ride.

He's ridin', ridin' cross the land
Quackin' real loud and feelin' grand
Singing riiiide, El Quacko, ride.

Me, cracking up:
Did you make that up?

Maybe.

Does El Quacko wear a cape and a mask?

Yes, and a black hat.

Does he have a mustache?

Yes, a curly one. He was the first choice for the AFLAC commercials, but his accent was too much.

.... both of us ponder El Quacko's commercial audition.

You know, we can't tell Nana and Pawpaw about El Quacko.

We can't? Why?

Because he drives a Ford.
Note to my readers: Everyone knows Pawpaw hates a Ford.

Couldn't he trade it in on a Dodge?

And without missing a beat, she says:

Not in this economy.

Action Shots

2010-03-13T12:32:00.002-05:00

Aly shooting a free throw. Look at that form!

Practice shot.

Fishin'

2010-03-07T12:31:00.001-05:00

I'm totally a grown-up

2010-03-01T21:14:00.003-05:00

One of my high school friends is a teacher at Reitz and asked for volunteers to judge senior projects. The firm encourages community service and I was interested in seeing what local seniors came up with. I had a great time (Joy looks exactly the same!) and heard about some great projects. Very impressive that seniors make time for community service, then put together a presentation to 'sell' it to the panel.
After my judging duties, I went to Subway for lunch with Mom. I think that is the first time I've done that on a work day. And then, I was off to DC for a work trip.
When I look back on the day, I feel totally like a grown-up. I guess I am.

Crop for the Cure

2010-02-28T16:10:00.003-05:00

This was my first time to go to a Crop for the Cure, and I'm so glad I did. There were tons of people, prizes, friends and food. Oh, and there was some scrapping. Here is the proof:

That was my take on a sketch that used a large photo in the center of the paper at an angle. I rarely have 5x7 photos, so I cropped some of my smaller photos to make a collage. It was a great way to include mulitple photos of different angles.
Now that I have a fancy camera, I have to figure out how to use it. In order to get a great photo of my friend Patricia and me, I propped the camera up on some supplies and set the auto timer. Just before the photo snapped, the pile of supplies collapsed and all I could think of was my new (expensive) camera crashing to the ground. But the camera was fine. The photo captured the moment accurately.

So we tried again. But it was no use. The entire table was cracking up and most of the room (the giant crop room at Vanderburg Co 4-H) stared at the two dorks that couldn't stop hooting and hollering. Good grief, it is one for the record books. Here's the best we could do.

Finally we decided it made sense to have someone ELSE take the photo. And here is the proof that we scrapped even more pages.

It was a great time, but also inspirational to see the survivors and how many folks were scrapping "in memory" or "in honor" of someone. Such a great cause, a great time and I can't wait to do it again.

I'm going to practice with that self timer though.

Stay off the sidewalks!

2010-02-23T21:00:00.006-05:00

It is official. After an exciting day at the Boonville BMV, Zak is a licensed driver!

Unlike the elderly lady who took over two hours to take the written test, Zak zipped through it in about 20 minutes. He only missed one question.
Powered on by Monster, he also aced the eye exam and went through two rounds of picture taking. You see, the system had him down for a Learner's Permit, and no one could figure out how to put him through to an actual Driving Permit that could be converted to a Driver's License.

Luckily, after a call to Indianapolis and the help of other assorted staff, the change went through and he got the license.
Congrats Zak!

Crop till I drop

2010-02-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

What a great start to the new year! The gals over at ScrapFreak held a month-long challenge called Jump Start Your Scrapping (JSYS). A total of 40 challenges were posted in the forum, and I completed 13!

Now, Aly helped of course, and the big push was yesterday at the Crop for Life at the Main Street Baptist Church. Here are a few of my layouts ... all of them are posted in my gallery at the Freak.

I've been scrapping the old photos that Mom gave me from when I was growing up. To cut down on the decisions (and the number of bags to drag to a crop), I am using papers and die cuts from Sassafras Lass. I bought two packs each of the pink and blue collections at the Scrapbook Superstore in Pigeon Forge. I added some stuff from my stash: brads, flowers, chipboard, ribbon, and - viola! - multiple layouts that go together for my memory book. This one is from January 1977. I matted the Sass letters (snow) on brown paper, then cut the word "fall" out of that same paper with my Sizzix Sidekick (Mac 'n Cheese font). I set snaps down the side of the page with my Cropadile (these are on clearance at Walmart).

I love these photos. Pam and I were a great team -- well, till we hit the teen years. lol. Anyway, I added some Queen & Co photo turns and more flowers, brads and ribbons. My totally awesome camera takes the coolest closeup photos of the little touches, so I'm starting to include those shots when I share. You can see I used some ink around the edges of the journal box and other things on the page.

This page follows a sketch from the freaks but I added a few of my own touches. There is a little card behind the bottom photo that lists all of the kids' names (okay, except that blonde kid, center front. No one knows who he is.) and a journal card in the bottom corner. I *always* journal on my layouts. The embellishments here were die cuts and chipboard that I dressed up. I really like the look of the ribbon between the photos.

There are three more from the crop (plus Aly did one too), so check out the gallery at ScrapFreak to see them. I have another five from last weekend. I'll post those soon. Thanks for looking!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-31T12:35:00.003-05:00

We do love our house, and the lake. I didn't expect such beautiful scenery in the winter though.

And Cricket is a year old now. Still jumpy as ever, but still interupting my computer use too. That's one of my work laptops, and Facebook on the home computer. I'm a multi-tasker.

Scrapping Challenges

2010-01-30T22:20:00.010-05:00

I've been a scrapping fool and thought I'd share the latest.

I bought a ton of the Crate Paper Orbit line on clearance at ScrapFreak, but once I had it, I wasn't sure what to use it with. Then I got the idea for this layout. This is not the best photo. IRL, the layout is flat and square and has three layers of patterned paper at the bottom (which you can kinda see in the smaller photo). Except for the buttons, clips and bottlecap in the close-up, all of this was from CP. And we miss our Durango! That thing rocked.

I have to say I love the little cluster of stuff I added to this LO. "Use a ticket or receipt" was the suggestion, which I did, but also incorportated two others, "point it out" with an arrow and "use song lyrics" - these are from Amy Grant's Simple Things and read "Feels like I'm a little girl / Best thing in the whole wide world / Is I can see the makings of a memory ... Cause I dream of simple things I can believe in / Like the feeling this day brings". I will say that the drive-in is something we missed terribly while in Virginia. We can't wait for it to open again now that we are back!

This will be the facing page in the album and uses the same papers from Scenic Route's Metropolis collection. This was another sketch and it had flourishes around the main photo. I'm not into the flowery stuff, and can't use rubons to save my life, so I added some brads on one side and a sparkly ribbon cluster on the other. The title letters (sugar) were cut with the Sizzix and "rush" are Lil Davis Designs chipboard that I got at the Scrapbook Superstore in Pigeon Forge. And I'm pretty sure Jamie will love to see that last photo on interwebs lol

I scrapped this page from the description of another layout. It was a sort of recipe, "use shaped paper," "mat your photo," "add two strips of paper," etc. I scraplifted the idea of cutting the snowman out of sandpaper from a fellow scrapfreak. These papers are from a kit I bought years ago, 7 Gypsies. You can see that rubons (the title) are my downfall. I suppose the distressing on the rest of the layout makes the crappy job I did look artistic. The photo is from Aly & my trip to Virginia Beach after Christmas 2008. I was experimenting with my (old) digi camera with angles. I took the shot on my tummy on the sand. The sandman is really less than a foot tall.

This last one is another sketch with papers from Piggy Tales. I found these snapshots when Aly asked to see all the pictures of her as a baby. These three showed such a cute progression, I knew I wanted to scrap them right away, and the brightly colored papers were perfect for these shots. The heart shaped clip was from another kit, and clearly I can't get enough of the flowers lately. The journaling around the photos says "Never has a little boy loved a baby girl as much as you!!"

Thanks for looking!

I've been there!

2010-01-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

I say that all the time when Mike and I are watching TV or a movie. It's just cool. Or I'm just a dork. Anyway....

We went to the library Friday night (yeah, we're big partiers) and I picked up a couple of books for the road. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown was on the shelf ... well, it was on the large print shelf. I got it and tonight I finished it. Note, large print books do not italicize the text, they bold it. It took some getting used to.

Now I love to read books or watch TV shows or movies that are set in places I've been. Since there is NEVER going to be anything set in Boonville, I have to settle for places like Ney York and DC. One of my favorite shows is NCIS, which is of course set in DC. I just think it's too cool when Abby says "I've triangulated his position to somewhere in Annandale!" I liked that last Die Hard movie and one of my favorite book series is the Alex Cross novels by James Patterson.

So I thought it was pretty cool reading The Lost Symbol on my way to DC, but maybe 2/3 of the way through the book, they mentioned a "prestigious office building with twin spires" and I thought HEY, wait a minute. In a few more sentences, they said it, "The street address was 1301 K Street." Holy crap! That is our DC office building! Having walked that block at least 100 times, I instantly *knew* which building was sure to be referenced next, and it was!

So besides my weird obsession with places I've been, I thought the book was good. I liked that "the girl" wasn't with our professor for the entire book, and they were having separate perceptions of the same happenings. The plot seemed a little slower than his other books, but it kept me engaged. It isn't something I'd buy and read again (like The DaVinci Code. Pam got me the illustrated version and I love it.), but it was a nice plane read.

Haitian Relief Efforts

2010-01-21T10:27:00.004-05:00

I just received an email from the Firm leadership that they are donating $300,000 to Haitian disaster relief. The partners donated an additional $100,000. If each of our employees donated only $5, we'd surpass a half-million dollar donation. They made it easy for us to do an automatic deduction from our paychecks.

There are many other ways you can contribute. Another easy way is to text "HAITI" to 90999 on your cell phone. 100% of your $10 donation will go toward the American Red Cross efforts in Haiti and be billed to you on your next cell phone bill.

Please carefully research any other organizations. Snopes.com is a good place to start.

I saw on the news yesterday that a five year old boy was rescued after seven and a half days in the rubble. If you can't give monetarily, please give your time to pray for those who are lost, injured or mourning loved ones.

Scrap Challenge: Birthday Story

2010-01-18T22:08:00.005-05:00

The gals over at ScrapFreak have really got my creative juices flowing. The first Freaky Friday challenge was to scrap a special birthday, and as soon as I read the challenge, I knew just which pictures to scrap. I'd also recently got my order from the ScrapFreak store that included a ton of the Crate Paper Orbit line .. perfect for a boy's birthday page. Click on the photo to see a larger version. Pay particular attention to the look on Zak's face. We surprised him with a "half birthday" cookout when he was 10. His 1/7 birthday is always overshadowed by Christmas, and this was a huge surprise complete with cake and presents.

supplies:
patterned paper, rubons, die cuts are Crate Paper Orbit
Creative Memories markers (had them for years and they still are the best)
Colorbok ribbon (patterned), Target $1 ribbon (solid)
Stickles (that's glitter glue, only much cooler than it sounds)
a sandwich bag and staples to make the mini-book pouch (pretty high tech, huh?)
random silver tags from my stash, 1 1/4" circle punch was a perfect fit
xmas tree icicles (threaded through the tag photos)
coasters, Coluzzle circle template, star punch

I free-handed the rocket ship shape and added googly eyes to the alien on the mini-book.

Here's a closeup of some of the inside of the mini-book.

This was so easy to make, and Aly helped. We glued patterned paper to the coasters (seriously, I lifted them from a bar) and sanded the edges with sandpaper (I think I lifted that from my dad). I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes through the coasters and threaded a bead chain through the holes. I trimmed the pictures using my Coluzzle circle template, then added rubons, die cuts and ribbon. Viola!

Now, there's already another Freaky Friday challenge posted. I've got to get on that!

Still Scrappin'

2010-01-16T22:53:00.004-05:00

Aly and I worked on this one today. Old photos are so fun! If you would like to know what supplies I used (I know there are some die hard scrappers out there), see below.

paper -- DCWV pet stack
die cuts -- sizzlits
punches -- EK Success paper shapers (square and tag)
paint pens, twine, label maker, card stock
foam tape to "pop up" some of the photos and the die cuts

Since I'm working from home this week, I'm seriously considering taking over the dining room table so I can scrap every night and spread out all over. I just have to watch Cricket as she likes to steal adhesives. I'm also thinking about a trip to Michael's tomorrow for more supplies. :)

Basketball

2010-01-16T16:33:00.003-05:00

Aly is excited about playing basketball for her daddy, the coach.

It is a church league, so nothing too crazy, but the kiddos are having fun and they seem to be getting better every week.

Christmas Dinner

2010-01-10T18:54:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in my before-the-holidays post, we went to the Black Bear Jamboree on Christmas Day. Below is a layout that Aly and I completed to showcase the photos, and the memories. I've since journaled in the large green box, and the text is included below. Supplies on this LO include papers and elements from an old Christmas kit (Basic Gray Fruitcake, I believe). This also begins to show my love of stickles, which don't show up very well in the photo.

Journaling now reads,
We've been to Gatlinburg lots of times, even in the winter, but we'd never been on Christmas Day. To celebrate, we went to the Black Bear Jamboree dinner and show.
It wasn't as cheesy as we expected, and the food was actually pretty good. Raggedy Ann was a little bit freaky - I hope that woman's voice in real life is several octaves lower.
After the dolls taught the grumpy bears the true meaning of Christmas, the cast (including someone closely resmbling our server) donned angel wings and assembled for the nativity scene. Knowing this had to be the final act, and hoping to avoid the long lines we endured on the way in, Mike asked if I was ready to leave. And Zak immediately replied ... "You can't walk out on Baby Jesus!"

Another Edwards family quote for the ages.

Skate World

2010-01-09T21:31:00.001-05:00

A high school friend rented Skate World for her daughter's birthday and invited us to come along. The kids hadn't been skating in a while, so there was a lot of wall hugging.

But we all had fun. Not that you can tell from the fuzzy photos. Still figuring out this camera.

Happy Birthday Zak!

2010-01-08T22:25:00.004-05:00

The annual trip to TGI Friday's. Happy Birthday kiddo!

And a shot of the kid who can't take a bad picture, photogeNicholas

Zak's First Year

2010-01-07T10:07:00.005-05:00

Today is Zak's 16th birthday. He's an amazing young man with an amazing story I'd like to share. It started 16 years ago today, just after 10 am, when he came, kicking and screaming, into the world.

Actually, it starts a week before when I had two false labor episodes and went to the hospital. Rookie move. By the third time, I knew it was real and spent most of the evening rocking in Grandma's bentwood rocker to help me through the contractions. I think Mike was working at a job that required travel or late nights or something, because he slept until I couldn't stand it anymore. I think it was around 1:30 am that I woke him up and told him we needed to go. The contractions were three minutes apart.

I had a bag packed, so we hit the road pretty quickly. I knew for sure this was it because it felt much different than the false pains I'd had. I remember we had the classic "pregnant woman in a car" moment. Mike came to a full stop at the light from Hwy 62 to Burkhardt and there were no cars for miles. He made the left turn on red and was promptly pulled over by a cop. The cop approached, saw us both freaking out and let us go.

What I remember of labor is squeezing Mike's hand and yelling at people. Then I remember hearing Zak scream. He cried and cried. I don't know why, but I kept asking if he was okay. Everyone kept saying yes, but I kept asking. It's like I knew something was wrong.

Something was definitely wrong. While most everyone went to get lunch, Mom stayed at the hospital to keep an eye on Zak. They told me they had to take him to the nursery, but Mom saw they put him in an oxygen tent. Before long, my doctor came in with a specialist to let me know something was wrong with Zak's lungs. When they tried to listen to his heart, it was mid-line instead of on the left. This led to a chest x-ray which showed that his left lung was overgrown and had shoved the heart over. Zak needed to be transferred from Deaconess to St. Mary's, where they had a more sophisticated NICU.

But that wasn't enough. St. Mary's realized his condition was out of their league and they ordered an ambulance to Riley Hospital for Children. Mike and his brother Chris (who lived with us at the time) followed the ambulance and slept in the lobby of the NICU. At 25 hours old, he had his first surgery, to remove the upper left lobe of his lung.

Zak had a congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM). Instead of little air sacs, his lungs had overgrown sacs full of fluid. As soon as I was discharged from the hospital, Mom and I went to Indianapolis. We stayed a couple of nights at a Day's Inn, then we got a room at the Ronald McDonald House near the Riley/IU Hospital campus on the 11th.

Zak was by far the largest baby in the NICU. At full term (actually two weeks past my due date), he looked like a giant among the preemies. He was on a ventilator, IV, chest tube, oximeter, feeding tube and a heart and respiration monitor, but some skin still showed :)

Some milestones:
1/20 - IV was removed
1/24 - came off the vent for 3.5 hours
1/25 - removed his chest tube
1/28 - off the vent for three days. I got to hold him, change his clothes and rock him to sleep.
1/30 - started bottle feeding
1/31 - the surgeon surprised me with the fact that Zak may need a second surgery!
2/1 - echocardiogram. Zak's heart hasn't moved back to the left, but it's working perfectly.
2/2 - CT scan. There are cysts in the remaining left lobe. The right lung is too small - it was not allowed to grow but should expand as time passes.
2/3 - surgery #2. Removed about 20% of the remaining left lobe. Blood gases are already looking better. New chest tube is draining air from tissue until healed.
2/4 - I went to Boonville for the weekend. Yes, we'd been living in the RMC house for almost a month before I went home. Mike had been visiting every weekend.

Zak's first few months were tracked by very different milestones than other babies. First smile? I have no idea, but I can tell you what his ventilator settings were each day, as they tried to wean him off. Actually, I do have an amazingly detailed record of his weight gain as well.

2/12 - Zak got his fingernails clipped, and Daddy changed a diaper!
2/17 - 9 lbs 1 oz
2/19 - off the vent for 45 minutes
2/22 - bronchioscopy and off the vent for 10 hours
2/23 - ultrasound of the diaphragm

On 2/24, Zak had a tracheostomy that would let the vent attach directly to the neck and we could finally see his face! The doctors weren't sure why they couldn't wean him from the vent, but knowing that it would take a while, the trach would give him more mobility and less damage to his throat than the endotracheal (ET) tube.

I started to learn to clean around the trach and to suction the mucus out of his lungs. Before he could go home, I had to learn to change the trach too. I got to hold him even more and we even played on the floor. On 2/27, he started holding his head up.

March started occupational therapy. What kind of jobs does a newborn do? Well mostly they worked on getting him to swallow. Having had an ET tube down his throat for a couple of months means he has a real aversion to putting anything in his mouth. The OT must have started to make him tired; he slept all through the night on 3/5. On 3/10, he transfered to Lifelines Children's Rehab Hospital, which is now part of the St. Vincent network, and had his first tub bath. A few days later, Mike and I moved into a hospital room next door to Zak, and the hunt for an apartment was on!

Now the milestones look a little more normal:
3/22 - pushes up on his tummy
3/25 - brings his hands together
3/28 - enjoys his tub bath
4/6 - laughs
4/30 - first haircut
5/2 - discovers toes
5/16 - first cereal

On 5/19, he had surgery to insert a g-tube, which was an opening directly to his stomach. If he wasn't getting enough food by mouth, would could pour formula into his tummy without having to have a tube down his throat (via his nose).

On June 6, Zak moved into our tiny one bedroom apartment in Speedway, IN. Zak and his vent, feeding tubes, monitors, alarms and 24-hour nursing care. Also in June, he sat up with help (6/16), holds a spoon (6/24) and holds his bottle (6/26).

In July, at 6 months (7/8) he sits alone, throws a kiss (7/15), pats the table (7/17), eats with a spoon (7/20), pets the kitty (7/21), visits Aunt Katie (7/23) and waves bye-bye (7/29). We started bimonthly visits to the Riley Pulmonolgy clinic, and got one of the famous Riley Little Red Wagons. In August he got his first two teeth and started eating veggies. I think by this time we had only 12-hr nursing care, but that allowed Mike and me to get jobs. In September he started crawling and pulling up to the furniture. He ate his first fruit and drank from a cup. October brought Halloween, and he dressed up as Doctor Zak, which was completely believable with all the medical equipment he was still dragging around. He also learned to play peek-a-boo and throw his binky.

In November, he got two more teeth and we made the long trek to Nana's house for Thanksgiving. In December, he took his first step (12/13) and started standing on his own (12/21). He also started eating 'real food' like ravioli, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese. He walked all the way across the room on 12/29.

All through his first year, we never took any of his progress for granted. When we met with the Riley doctors, they said he should be off the vent by 18 months, and he was. He kept his trach for some time and was still tethered to the oxygen machine. By his third halloween though, I remember him walking through the neighborhood asking twick or tweet and barking back at dogs.

That doesn't mean he didn't have problems. On his first birthday, under the nurse's care, he decannulated (his trach came out). His vent didn't alarm because the tube was pushed against his chest. When Mike and I checked on him after we cleaned up after the party, I realized we were in trouble. I tried to use the emergency trach, which was a size smaller and it wouldn't go in. The tracheostomy was closing! I dialed 911 and argued with the paramedics to take us to Riley. The hospital got a double zero size trach in him, and all was back to normal.

I remember one winter when we were visiting Nana and he came down with pneumonia. Another hospital stay.

Today, Zak has a barely noticable scar on his throat from the trach. The surgery scar is about 6-8" long, but runs under his left arm. He likes to show his chest tube scars and tell people they are gunshot wounds.

Zak has few reminders of his rocky start. Besides the scars, he had asthma for some time, but now just battles allergies. He can't run for extended periods of time without getting winded, but he knows his limits. Zak is underweight; Aly is four years younger and weighs the same as he does. Oh, and the other lasting item ... Since Zak couldn't talk until he was off the ventilator (and then only with a special adapter for his trach), I swore I'd never tell him to shut up. I think I made it till the teen years, but by then he'd established himself as the family Zaklopedia. We like it that way.

Happy Birthday, Zakaroni & Cheese! You changed all of our lives in that first year, and I know you will someday change the world for the better too.

Create!

2010-01-01T10:58:00.007-05:00

Aly and I had some success yesterday with scrapbooking. It had been a long time, but I spent several hours going through boxes and unpacking new purchases (what? just because I haven't scrapbooked doesn't mean I haven't bought supplies.) to prep for our session. For all of the layouts, we used Sassafrass Lass papers (purchased at Your Scrapbook Superstore and Clearance Center last spring), Martha Stewart and Creative Memories markers, Stickles (from ScrapFreak), various chipboard, random ribbon, and the photos from Aly's pottery experience in Gatlinburg. I did most of this first page, though Aly convinced me to use a chipboard arrow for the "T" in the title and slightly tilt the photo. Her favorite part is the way I highlighted some of the words behind the sheer ribbon by coloring them in with markers. I love the pop the Stickles (in Diamond and Cinnamon) gave to the chipboard flowers at the bottom.

Aly did this one entirely by herself. Actually, she did some of it while I was napping, and I was surprised to see the chipboard numbers added to the photos. They look really great. I recommended the ribbon and the library pocket, but the rest was all her. Mom says she is as good as me. Aly says, "um, better." Here is a closeup of the library card with her journaling. She makes sure to journal on all of her layouts.

The last LO showcases her finished bowl and her teacher, Miss Amanda. Lots of glitter here (Martha Stewart pens and Stickles). Oh, and we used our Crop-a-Dile to set the eyelets on the vellum quote. That is calligraphy, but we used a secret technique I learned from a co-worker ... print a calligraphic font in grayscale and go over it with your pens. Viola!

I'll say that using a paper line that already matched made things so easy. I've sorted my paper by color theme now, so when we are ready to scrap, we can grab a stack of paper and pick out the matching embellishments. We took over the dining room table yesterday, and it gave us lots of room -- room for at least one more if anyone's up for visiting! I hope I'm able to keep scrapping through the year, even with all the travel I'll be doing. Having the paper already matched will make the planning process easier, so I hope so. Thanks for looking!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-29T19:47:00.013-05:00

The Phillips Family Christmas Eve was held at our house this year, simply because we can barely all squeeze into mom's living room now. Lots of food (I'm still eating leftover ham), fun (the gift exchange was a hit) and family. Aly and I made some yummy brownies, and we had the usual cheese and crackers, little smokies, chips and dip, etc.

Since we were leaving for Gatlinburg on Christmas morning, we surprised the kids a day early with their Christmas presents. Actually, the boy already took his driving lessons, so he didn't get a lot of things to open. Aly was very surprised by her netbook. I got a beautiful turquoise bracelet and moose sheets for the bedroom. LOL, I told Mike we are definitely an old married couple when he buys flannel sheets for Christmas and I love them. I got lots of other stuff too, and it was all thoughtful and fun. Our family does gift giving right, with love in our hearts.

Of course, before Christmas I got my new Canon camera. That means all of my photos totally rock. I took some great shots in Gatlinburg and have ordered 5X7s to see how they look. I'm thinking of getting some larger ones to hang in the living room. This one is from my trek (part of the way) up the mountain in Gatlinburg and one of my favorites. I'm thankful that Zak didn't have the camera as I slid down the mountain on my backside in classic Tonya fashion. Christmas Day we went to the Black Bear Jamboree for dinner and actually had a pretty good time. The food was great, there was plenty of it, and the show wasn't too corny.

The day after Christmas, we went to the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community to Alewine Pottery for Aly to have a pottery lesson on a real pottery wheel. It was very cool. For $5, you can have a lesson and for $20 more, they fire the piece, glaze it and mail it to you. We should have Aly's bowl in about 6 weeks. We can't wait to go back again. I think we'll schedule multiple visits since Aly really did enjoy it. I got some great action shots, and we plan to scrapbook them together this week while I'm off work. {The partners gave us two extra holidays and asked that we take two vacation or floating holidays this week so the firm could be closed. Even on days off, many of us end up working, so to completely disconnect is really nice.}

Uncle Johnny came to our house while we were gone, to keep an eye on Lucy. We took Scrappy with us to Gatlinburg, but Lucy is getting old and can't do such a long car ride, or hang out in a place she doesn't know. Scrappy was in her element, sniffing everything she could get her nose on, and looking cute. Lucy was pretty happy too, snuggling with Uncle Johnny all week along with Graycie. Cricket was not pleased and let me know about it when we got home. Snowy, of course, went with the flow, although she did follow Aly everywhere for the first day home.

Plans for the rest of the week include catching up on magazine reading, taking naps, scrapbooking and watching movies. No big plans for new years eve, seeing as how I'm old and probably won't make it to midnight anyway. Here's hoping you had a merry Christmas and a great 2009.

P.S. Facebook let me make this cool collage of my 2009 status updates. It is a neat little snapshot of my year.

I'm not usually a wuss

2009-12-21T18:46:00.004-05:00

when it comes to pain, but Daaaayaaaamm Gina, this muscle spasm is going to kill me. I am not sure what I did to myself, as the pain started gradually Friday evening. Since then, it has gotten much worse, so today Mike forced me to go to the doctor. I got a steroid shot in the buttom, which seemed to help a little, and a script for a muscle relaxer, which did absolutely nothing for me except put me to sleep. Which was nice because I haven't slept much starting Friday night.

So I just took another pill to see if I can walk without looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Wait, strike that. I'm not allowed to say "ND" in the house. I'm looking like Igor.

I will say that it seems a strawberry daquiri takes the edge off the pain. I had one at Pam's house last night while we played poker and scrabble and had pizza and strombolis. We're thinking it is a new Phillips Family Fun Night tradition.

In other news, I actually am *not* daring enough to travel to DC today, given the blizzard of '09. I canceled my Mon-Tues trip and will be working from home. Or whining from home should my neck hurt this bad again tomorrow. I am wondering if lugging that computer bag around DC last week was my undoing. I have a rolling bag but it is very heavy -- when I have to carry it up and down stairs at the airport. Maybe I'll break out the backpack.

And for now, I think I need chocolate. Or ice cream. Or chocolate ice cream.

Year in Review

2009-12-20T11:06:00.004-05:00

I'd love to say that I create and send a yearly Christmas newsletter to our friends and family, but I can't even get store-bought cards in the mail. So, reviewing my blog, and our family calendar posted in the kitchen, gives us this year in review....

January
>A New Years Day movie with the family, and a bonehead move that gave us the first of our major dents to the car.
>I made some friends through Meetup.com and did some scrapping. Well, for a few months anyway.
>Zak turned 15. Yeah, that means 16 is now only a few days away.
>I was 17 miles from the Inauguration of Barak Obama. I wanted to go just for the historical importance. I didn't because of the zillion crazy people.

February
>Yet another basement flood. I don't miss those.
>We lost our beloved Buttercup.

April
>We spent Spring Break in Gatlinburg with Nana and Pawpaw!

May
>The van door shut on Aly's fingers and we hung out in the ER.
>We took some weekend trips and did lots of family stuff.

July
>As soon as the kids were gone to Nana's for a month, Mike and I both started traveling.
>We also started talking about moving back to Boonville.
>Then we did it!!

August
>We moved just before the kids needed to start school. It was an adventure.
>Moving back to Boonville means the travel stories will begin again.

September
>If there's school, there must be drama.
>If there's school, there must be germs.

October
>More travel, weekends with family and a road trip with my momma. Less blogging.
>Started homeschooling Zak. He takes shop class with Beau and Pawpaw, English and History with Dad and Math and Science with Mom. He is SO much happier.

November
>Mike and Zak decked the house with thousands of Christmas lights. I'm pretty sure you can see it from the air. You can definitely see it from the highway.
>Attended the Warrick County Senior Citizens Center fundraiser auction and bought some really cool stuff like a game table and a party for twenty at Show Me's.
>Went to a Tupperware party and had fun. Does that make me old?
>Thanksgiving at Nana's, the way it should be.
>Mike and I had a romantic few days in Gatlinburg after Thanksgiving.
>Jamie and Matt moved home with my neice and nephew!

December
>Zak took a driver's ed class and got his permit.
>Mike and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary.
>Mom helped me get some pictures and decorations on the wall. It's beginning to look a lot like a home!
>We have plans to spend Christmas Eve with family at our house this year.
>We are leaving Christmas Day for Gatlinburg. We have plans to visit the aquarium, the Black Bear Jamboree and various hiking trails. This might be our last family vacation since Zak is only tolerating us at this point.

So that's our summary. And we saved a tree by not printing it.

Maybe I should rent a car

2009-12-11T18:33:00.003-05:00

Not only did I ride in a taxi with a driver who got lost and couldn't find the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, but I was also evicted from a cab from a driver that didn't want to take me four blocks. Four blocks, he said. Why don't you just walk? What a jerk?! I'm in 4" heels and dragging a suitcase. THAT guy won't be allowed to pick up guests at the Capital Hilton anymore. So there.

So after experience with drivers who refuse to accept a credit card after I specifically asked for a driver who would AND multiple jerks that refuse to drive out of the city during rush hour, maybe I'll just rent a car from now on.

ugh!

Technology Blues

2009-11-21T18:12:00.003-05:00

Two things have happened in the past couple of weeks that have just ticked me off.

First, Aly put her cell phone number in on some website and they've been charging our cell phone bill. Mike called Sprint and put a stop to that by blocking those sites. Apparently that block also deactivates the short codes (like 40404 instead of a full phone number) that I use for Twitter updates. That's right. I can't tweet from my cell phone anymore. UGH!

Then, Mike went and bought me a new iPod cord so I could sync my Touch with iTunes. The original cord is safely packed away in some box we'll never open again. Once synched, several apps were no longer compatible and were deleted. Apps like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The whole REASON for having an iPod Touch (well, beside that music and video stuff). So I needed to update the operating system. And Apple charges for it. Now, it is only $4.95, so no big deal, but really, isn't it odd that they would charge for a firmware update?! So, I pay the five bucks and upgrade. Now when I plug the iPod into the charger or my boom box, it doesn't work. It won't charge. It won't play through the speakers.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

Well, it seems that Apple put code in the latest O/S that PREVENTS the iPod Touch (or the iPhone) from working with third party peripherals. Even the ones that have the Apple seal of approval (the box says "made for iPod" ... I think the third party vendor PAYS Apple to have that on the box). So now, unless I buy Apple branded (and more expensive) crap, I have no speakers, no charger, no car charger, no AV cord. I'm ticked. TICKED, I tell you.

My options:
(1) suck it up and buy Apple brand crap. Not gonna happen.
(2) restore to the previous O/S. But I won't have the apps I use all the time. Then I might as well have the regular old iPod to plug into my speakers.
(3) hack the damn thing. There are apps that you can download that allow you to "jailbreak" the iPod. This allows third party peripherals (and apps) to work. Supposedly, if you have a problem, you can just restore back to normal. I'm not sure I've got the guts to do it.

So, I guess option #4 is what I've chosen to do. Whine.

Class

2009-11-12T23:20:00.004-05:00

No, not the elegance and tastefulness of a graceful lady.
The room you go into to learn something.

I signed up through the Project Management Institute to take a class from a guy who wrote a book on project management. From the course description, I thought I'd be learning some leadership skills. Essentially the guy talked about his books for two days. As a matter of fact, I could have bought both books for $60 at Amazon with free shipping and saved myself the travel delays getting home. There was a hurricane, you know. Hey, the food was really good, and I suppose talking through some real-life examples was helpful. What I learned:

1. A project manager and a resource manager should be separate people. I'm not. Which means I struggle to do what is best for the project (work overtime and get it done people!) versus what is best for the people on the team. This is why I struggle with the 'soft skills.' As a project manager, it's not my job to help people learn or grow in their careers, but as a people manager, it is how I need to spend my time. Oy!

2. Manage to your top three priorities every day. This is definitely easier said than done, because many times I have new priorities pop up that simply add to the list. From a project management perspective though, it is a good concept. Everyone should be focusing on their three main activities if you expect to accomplish the project goals.

3. Make sure you know how long your class it. I planned for a one day class and had to change my hotel and airfare to fix my mistake. The Hyatt was a nice place though. My "business" rate was cheaper than the conference rate and included breakfast in the restaurant, free wireless internet, a bottle of water daily and free pressing of shirts. I didn't take advantage of that since I didn't bring shirts that needed ironing. That might go back to that "class" thing. :P

Why?

2009-11-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

Why would you put the new girl on the espresso machine? Put her on the cash register! My latte didn't have any coffee in it.

Trip for Two

2009-10-26T19:17:00.001-05:00

The Twitter version of our romantic weekend:

6:36 AM Oct 24th Up at o'dark thirty. If you have to set your alarm, is it really a vacation?

1:26 PM Oct 24th almost to Gatlinburg with my honey

3:06 PM Oct 24th saw some beautiful foliage. Looking forward to a nice catfish dinner.

7:51 PM Oct 24th has a great view from a great room.

8:52 PM Oct 24th going to sleep with the balcony door open so I can hear the river all night. Don't worry, I've got the fireplace going to keep us warm.

8:10 AM Oct 25th Good morning mountains!

3:03 PM Oct 25th enjoying perfect weather in Gatlinburg

6:26 PM Oct 25th shopping for soovaneers souveniers souveneirs ... Tshirts.

8:46 PM Oct 25th in for the night. Going home tomorrow.

8:52 AM Oct 26th Up, showered and packing. Having lunch at "our" restaurant .. where we had lunch on our honeymoon and many times since. <3

That's a new one...

2009-10-14T21:15:00.001-05:00

You know I have regular travel adventures, but this is a new one.

I had to go to DC Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

I made it from my house to the Evansville airport (17.4 miles), checked in at the kiosk and made it through security in 32 minutes. That was a good start to the morning.

On the way home, I paid the $50 change fee and got in at 4:15pm instead of 9:58pm.

I then dropped my keys.
In the airport.
In the bathroom.
In the toilet.

Then into 2.7 oz of hand sanitizer.
Ewww.

Road Trip!

2009-10-11T17:14:00.001-05:00

It was time for some bonding time with my Momma ...

First stop, Owensboro McDonald's for breakfast, but mostly because I had to go potty.

No road trip is complete without a wrong turn. We turned south on I-65, which seemed logical. Except we wanted to go to Flea Land in Bowling Green. There was some traffic on the interstate, so we took state highways back to town and drove by some old landmarks.

Mom has a moratorium on purse buying. She has 25 Etienne Aigner purses alone. She's sneaky though. She told me she was buying baby onesies and ended up with a purse. I can't be held responsible for that one.

Lunch was cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries. Calories (and fat) don't count on road trips.

Another stop: Goodlettsville, TN antique malls.

We made it to Nashville by 4:00 or so. The hotel (free with points!) was very nice and seemed relatively new.

Off to Opry Mills outlet mall. Tons of stores, tons of deals and Mom bought another purse. This time with a matching wallet. It was cute, I couldn't stop her.

I finally made a purchase at Old Navy. Got me and Mom a frost free vest plus a few other things.

We headed to the Rainforest Cafe around 7pm for dinner. There was an eighty (80) minute wait. Um, no thanks. We ended up at the Music City Buffet, which was pretty good, though service was severely lacking.

Back to the hotel around 8:30 and the TV won't come on. Maintenance fixed us up. Internet was working and the a/c was set on 62 degrees. Really. Actually I turned it up later, but Mom got up in the middle of the night to turn it back down. She said she needed the sound of the fan running to drown out my snores. I think she was just having hot flashes.

The hotel had free breakfast, and it was good. Eggs and biscuits and gravy mmmmmm.

We wanted to head to TJ Maxx but they weren't open yet, so we hit the clearance racks at Kmart. I got some great summer clothes for $3 apiece AND this great Jaclyn Smith dress for $3 too!

We found a CiCi's Pizza for lunch and had an uneventful ride home.

Tons of fun, shopping, eating and laughing with my momma. Can't wait for next time!

Recovered

2009-10-06T20:35:00.003-05:00

I think.
It has been a CRAZY week for all of us, but especially me because I thought I was dying. I keep blaming Chinese food (actually, sushi) but I'm starting to think I had the flu.

It started last Tuesday when I had some chills and just didn't feel right. I thought maybe the change in the weather (first sweatshirt of the season!) was it, but I didn't feel so hot the next afternoon either. I didn't eat dinner with the family because my tummy was a bit upset, but had some Raisin Bran later. Mistake.

In the midst of my fave show, Ghost Hunters, the barfing began. Aly helped me as long as she could, but soon Mom had to come over to help. I think she held by hand till 1am or so.

I felt a lot better the next day, but it took a good 48 hrs or so before I really felt ok. Mike plied me with Sonic fruit slushes and asked 72 times if there was anything he could do or get for me. I love that guy.

By Saturday morning I was well enough to go hang out at Mom's yard sale for a few hours and made $47. Then I bought $30 of stuff from my relatives. The kids hung with Mom Saturday night. When I went to get them Sunday, Zak was covered in a bright red rash, even on the palms of his hands. A search on WebMD helped me to diagnose mono. Apparently, mono is often misdiagnosed as strep. When you have mono and take antibiotics, you get a rash. Yep. It's mono. Poor kid.

But, I'm definitely okay now, as evidenced by the pork chops and shells & cheese I devoured at Mom's tonight. Now I think I need a vacation. :)

Weekend Update

2009-09-27T18:36:00.001-05:00

Seems like I'm only posting on the weekends. Here's what's been happening with us.

I didn't make it to the football game Friday, but listened on the way home from the airport. It seems that my Friday evenings have been set aside for catching up on my shows from the week and cleaning off the DVR: Dancing With the Stars, Flash Forward, Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth.

I've found a new cure for headaches. Sitting on the deck watching baby ducks on the lake. Aly was supposed to have a slumber party, but most girls had other things to do, so only one friend stayed over. I had Mom over and we all ate pizza and played games. Mad Gab is a hoot, and watching the girls play Upwords was educational. Aly changed corn to porno. That's my girl.

Sunday, we made a trip to urgent care. The boy has strep. The doc literally looked for three seconds at his throat and prescribed antibiotics. I hope he feels better soon; he really is miserable.

The Lions won today. Cue the apocolypse.

A weekend with family

2009-09-20T20:29:00.003-05:00

A bonus about being in Boonville is getting to hang out with family.

Saturday was my cousin's first anniversary, so we had a double date night. Dinner at Max & Erma's, a few hours at the boat (I won on nickel slots), and then drinks and dancing at Fast Eddie's till they closed. Apparently, I'm not too old to have some fun.

Sunday, we took Aly to the mall to meet some friends and did a little shopping of our own. It was such a different weekend than we used to have in Virginia.

Arrrrr! Happy Saturd'y t' ye!

2009-09-19T09:55:00.002-05:00

It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day! May ye plunder some booty t'day.
And if yer wantin' t' talk like me, try the Pirate Speak Translator.

Another delayed flight

2009-09-18T18:28:00.001-05:00

Good thing I convinced the AMEX travel agent that the 5pm flight was important to me.
I'm 45 minutes late, but the 7pm flight to Atlanta is canceled. At least I'm learning something from all this travel.

Kentucky

2009-09-13T17:26:00.003-05:00

Mike and I took a day trip into Kentucky today. We had a great time; the weather was beautiful. I forgot how beautiful the country is, and how peaceful. It is also smelly. I forgot that too. But it was still relaxing and fun to spend time with my honey. There was virtually no traffic. That, I didn't forget.

Kid Drama

2009-09-09T21:09:00.003-05:00

Well, we had to have our first episode sooner or later.

We successfully placed Aly in the 7th grade at Boonville Middle School. She had completed the 5th grade in Virginia in the Gifted and Talented (GT) program. Essentially, she had completed 6th grade work and had moved on to 7th. When we spoke with her counselor during enrollment, he indicated that the would put her in 7th, pending a conversation with her Virginia teacher (who didn't report to work until after Labor Day). We were told that the equivalent of GT in Indiana is "Excel" classes, but that there is no 6th grade Excel. So the option is 6th or 7th and we put her in 7th.

Well, today he calls to say "good news! She can go right into 6th Excel with no testing." Huh? I asked if he had talked to her 7th grade teachers, and he said yes, that they were sad to see her go. In fact, her math teacher said Aly was the best student she'd had in a very long time and she liked to use Aly's insight in working problems to help the other kids in the class. When I asked about keeping her in 7th, he mumbled about "the law." Um, dude, there is no law. We'll be fighting this, to keep her in 7th, where she's doing so well.

Separately, Aly had to come home due to yet another infestation of head lice. You know how some people just get attacked by mosquitos or fleas? This girl's got it for lice.

In other news, Zak called from school with a migraine and Mike and I both missed the calls. My mom finally got ahold of Mike. Poor Zak threw up all the way through town and laid on the floor of the bathroom for two hours before he could sleep.

So, things must be totally normal for the Edwards family. We're assimilated.

Flea Market

2009-09-06T14:07:00.001-05:00

First weekend of every month.
Good deals!
You don't find THIS in Virgina.
Super Flea Market

I was sick!

2009-09-04T17:00:00.002-05:00

It is the week of the monthly briefing to the client, so back to DC on the dreaded 6am flight out of Evansville on Tuesday. I hadn't been feeling so great over the weekend, or on Monday, but I didn't think I was sick. I was. It was as we decended into Cincinatti that my ears began to scream in pain. And then again as we decended into DC. I made it through Tuesday okay, but I woke up at 4am Wednesday with a horrible head cold. Since I didn't want to spread the germs, I worked from the hotel room that day -- calling in to the four and a half hour meeting.

Dayquil. I love Dayquil.

My flight was oversold on Thursday, but I got the last seat. The one that is right behind the kitchen, with no storage space. It's okay, I had a great book to keep me company. It kept me giggling too. At one point I was in tears from laughing so hard. My seat mates would have asked to be reseated if there were any other place to sit.

So, I made it home, and besides that whole sick thing, this was a pretty good trip. Maybe my luck is turning :knocksfuriouslyonwood:

Yes, again.

2009-08-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

Had a decent trip to DC this week, though it was more humid there than it has been at home. Once again, my airport adventure began with the return flight.

Perhaps it was a sign when I saw a business man with a briefcase and an elaborate range of technical devices strapped to his body, including a blue blinky headset, and a giant glob of banana hanging from his chin. Or the sound of a goat bleating from Gate 18. Either way, as I waited for the 7pm flight (again), I watched the folks on the 6pm flight get delayed and delayed again. The 6pm left at 7pm and the 7pm soon announced a mechanical issue. The good news is that the plane died at the gate BEFORE I got on it. So, I asked to just stay in DC since there was no way I was making that Atlanta flight back to Evansville. The gate agent was just happy to get rid of me back to the ticket counter.

I was routed back through Cincinatti on the 6am flight this morning, and was home in time for a haircut (thanks Audrey!) and a doctor's appointment. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

I just listened to the Pioneer football game on WBNL, and they won 40-6. Yay!

Meeting friends

2009-08-24T20:45:00.002-05:00

One of the great things about moving back to Boonville is that I have friends here. Seriously, I didn't ever make non-work friends in Virginia so my usually miniscule social life waned away to nothing (ref: happy hour).

But yesterday I had lunch with April, and this evening at Aly's gymnastics class I ran into Perri ... she of the famous blog (see lefthand sidebar for linky) and her daughter Andi. We've been internet friends for several years, and now we've met for real. We'll be having dinner in the near future.

I'm baaaa-aaaack!

Pioneers Win!

2009-08-22T08:43:00.001-05:00

What a great football game! And it poured down raining at the end but we all stood there and cheered anyway. I'm pretty happy to be home :)

Day Trip - HA!

2009-08-20T21:19:00.002-05:00

And so it begins....

Suddenly I recall the travel stories that peppered my blog when I lived in Indiana. Here we go again.

The early flights out of Evansville, which get me to DC by 10-11 ET, are at 6:00 am. They connect through Cincinatti and Atlanta, which are both pretty short trips. I've looked at flying from Louisville, but the direct flight isn't worth the 2 hour drive and one hour time change. Nashville is about 2.5 hours away. Of course, Indy is a good 3.5 hours. I live in an aiport-deficient area.

Anyway, a 6am flight means leaving the house by 4:30. In the morning. At least there's no traffic. Actually, there really is NO traffic. The trip from my house to the airport AND through security was less than 45 minutes.

On to DC, grabbed lunch and had my meeting. Back to the airport for a 7:00 pm flight home. In theory. We got out of the gate about 35 minutes late, but the pilot announces once we're out there that the plane in front of us has been waiting to take off for three hours. Apparently, while the weather was beautiful in both DC and Atlanta, the weather in the air on the way there was not so good. Unfortunately, the last flight to Evansville out of Atlanta leaves at 9:47pm. They left without me.

I hadn't taken any toiletries or clothes since it was only a day trip. At least I caught the morning shuttle back to the airport. This is totally going to mess up my expense report.

Our Moving Adventure

2009-08-10T20:37:00.002-05:00

The only thing I was looking forward to about our move, besides the actual "getting there" part, was that I could tweet all about it real-time. Except Friday and Saturday were the two days that Twitter was down, so all of my updates showed up on Sunday over a period of five and a half hours.

Let's see if I can recreate it for you anyway.

We left Friday and we weren't on the road for 20 minutes before we had to stop and rearrange the van. Putting two kittens in the front seat in a cage and letting the dogs roam wild while the kids were wedged between suitcases was not a good plan. Graycie moved to the front and the kittens to the back. Soon they were loose, but we'll get to that a little later.

Mile 37: Stopped for food. I swear, Mike can't get in a car for a trip without stopping for soda and (gag) Corn Nuts in the first 30 minutes. The kids have apparently inherited this trait, so we stopped.

Mile 166: Stopped for a potty break. For the dogs. Small dogs come with small bladders. So do Mike's children.

No road trip is complete without a wrong turn. We missed the exit to I-64. Probably because I was shrieking at the children to wrangle the pets.

Mile 236: Goodbye, Virginia.

Mile 314: We almost run out of gas. Mike always fills the van so I never look at the gauge. This is a problem on a two-day road trip. You can't drive halfway to Indiana on a single tank of gas. The van has a 16 gallon tank. Also, gas is expensive in little po-dunk West Virginia towns.

Stopped in Charleston, WV for the night. Remember how I said the kittens were loose in the van? Picture me laying on the floor of the van with my feet sticking out of the sliding door in the hotel parking lot. Dragging Cricket from under Zak's seat by her head.

Mile 419: Goodbye, West Virginia

Mile 435: Wild turkeys on the side of the highway. We must be in Kentucky.

Mile 438: Stopping for breakfast at McDonalds. Zak thought we were at Burger King. Attention to detail, kid.

Mile 531: Lexington.

Mile 553: Traffic on I-64 is completely stopped. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Mile 607: Goodbye, Kentucky!

Mile 627: Stopping for lunch & gas. For the car. Gas for the car!

Mile 638: One lane construction & I'm a semi sandwich. Anyone remember this tune ... "We got a little convoy..."

Mile 677: Goodbye, Eastern time zone!

4 minutes from home and the cat poops. :gag:

Mile 703: Picked up the house key from Dad.

Mile 706: Home!!

DONE!

2009-08-04T19:56:00.002-05:00

Mom just called. She has the keys to our new house!

This is the front of the house, obviously in the spring. I love the front porch and the dormer windows!

The back of the house is awesome. You can see it from the highway. In fact, when we were driving randomly looking for a house, we passed this from the back and I said "holy cow, I guess those houses are out of the question." Ha! This is it!

God's hand has been in all of this. I am amazed at where we are.

Fastest close in the (mid)west

2009-07-30T08:40:00.001-05:00

We were supposed to close on our new house in Boonville last Friday, but things didn't work out, so we went driving around looking for houses.
Saturday, we looked at three. Two were 'in town' and one was a couple of miles outside of town. The ones in town were built in 1900 and well kept but not our style. The other had a huge basement, almost three acres of land and a lake.
On Sunday, we made an offer on the lake house.
On Monday, our offer was accepted.
On Tuesday, the inspection came back with only minor things we could fix ourselves.
On Wednesday, the appraisal came back at $35,000 more than our offer.
Today, Thursday, we are signing the papers.
Tomorrow, Friday, the sellers sign.
THAT, my friends, is the fastest close in the Midwest.

God will provide.

Just a quick trip to Atlanta

2009-07-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

Yeah right.

I was headed to Atlanta for a day when double disaster struck the team and suddenly I was a main presenter at the conference. Not only that, but my co-presenter was new to the material too!

Believe it or not, it worked out very well. "It" being the conference. The whole stay in Atlanta was less than fun. Why is it that the roads can't be parallel and perpendicular? We drove longer looking for a restaurant than we did eating at it, and even longer trying to make our way back to the hotel.

And now that I'm home, I need to think about packing. To move. Ick.

Fabulous Boon Vegas

2009-07-25T19:47:00.002-05:00

I made it to Boonville, as did my sister. So good to be with family.

It seems that house #1 (across the street from where we used to live) is not going to work out. There is too much work to be done and the sellers are more focused on the cosmetic items than the structural issues. FHA won't fund the loan with the house in such a shape. We've wasted time and our own money on this and I'm just sick. Also because we'll never find another house this size in Boonville.

Once again, we'll trust God to provide.

Happy Hour

2009-07-21T21:41:00.003-05:00

The leadership team at work is trying to keep the team connected as we grow larger, so each month one of us is planning an outing. I got July and picked the Nationals game for tonight, but it looked like rain and no one really wanted to blow so much money on beer and hot dogs and nachos, so we ended up at the Capitol City Brewing Company in DC, spending money on fancy beer and appetizers, including nachos.

I was a little disappointed by the turnout -- only five coworkers showed, but Mike came to support me and another woman brought her husband, so it felt like a bigger group. Then I was not so disappointed, because it was the first happy hour I'd ever hosted, and hey, five people came!

A few more people called after we had left to see where we were. So, I should clarify, the folks that showed up were closer to my age, versus the younger crowd, who didn't want to be home by 9pm. Once again, proof that I'm old.

I <3 New York!

2009-07-20T19:22:00.002-05:00

What an amazing weekend!

First, let me say I did not care for Denver at all. Not enough oxygen or something.

My flight back was extremely delayed, so I didn't get to Newark until, like 4am. We slept until rush hour was over and drove through the tunnel to the city. We missed the turn onto 42nd right after the tunnel and proceeded to drive in large circles for about 30 minutes, trying to go north in Manhattan. It was an adventure.

After checking in, we did a bit of walking, but soon hit the hay for a long nap. We had a great dinner at the little Cajun place we found the last time.

On Saturday, we walked down to Little Italy for lunch, which took us through a huge farmer's market, which was very cool. After lunch, and some gelato, we caught a cab back to the hotel. Well, close to the hotel. You see, there's a story....

By the time we decided that walking all the way back to Times Square was not a good idea, there were no cabs to be seen. After at least 10 more minutes of walking (and whining, I'll admit), a cab suddenly appeared. Heaven! Well, no. This was the actual cab ride from hell. The guy was crazy, speeding, driving between lanes, nearly sideswiping cars and screaming at other drivers the whole way. The man was traveling 45 mph up 6th Ave. Now I don't know crap about NYC traffic, but from those we were whizzing past, I am pretty sure the speed limit on 6th Ave is more like 25 mph.

We were still blocks from the hotel when he hit a red light and I hit the street. Walking was suddenly a fine idea. I really thought we were going to crash. Mike kept saying "just don't look out the window!" Heck, I wanted to see my death coming.

Another nap and it was time for the show. Mike had tickets to Chicago, and I was really excited. Actually, I was extremely excited until I saw who was playing Roxie Hart -- Samantha Harris. You know, from Dancing With the Stars. Ugh! Well, at least the seats would be ok -- we had row bb so we'd be on the floor.

You know how in a sports stadium the rows are lettered A-Z, then they go AA, BB, to ZZ? Once, Mike and I got free tickets to a Pacers game in row XX. We got to lean against the top wall of MSA. Well, the numbering for the theater is different. Mike thought it went A, AA, B, BB, etc., but he was wrong too. You see, the double letter rows are the orchestra seats, meaning right up front. Holy carp! And here is the kicker .... there was no row AA. That's right, people, I sat in the freakin' FRONT ROW on Broadway for Chicago. And let me just say, Samantha Harris rocked that show. We were so close we could see the microphones taped to their foreheads (I had no idea) and the spit fly out when they talked. It was amazing. I think my favorite scene was when Roxie is the dummy on Billy's lap, and he sings but she mouths it. Again, amazing!

So Sunday morning, we went for a little walk and it turned out there was a street fair going on just north of Times Square. Booths with food and stuff to buy. We got some t-shirts, greek food and fresh fruit smoothies.

What a great weekend!

London, Denver, New York

2009-07-06T19:07:00.003-05:00

With the kids gone, Mike and I are both traveling the world. Really.

I'm working in town this week, but Mike is leaving for London Friday. London, England. Without me. He and his friend Mike had planned a trip so his friend could go to the Michael Jackson concert. They're still going, and when I return from Denver on Friday, Mike and I are meeting in New York City for the weekend.

The next weekend it will be time to get the kids from Boonville, and then I am going to Atlanta for a day or two. Time flies.

Dinner and a Movie

2009-07-03T18:03:00.000-05:00

Went to see the new Johnny Depp movie. I wasn't impressed.
Had Thai food. Definitely impressed.

The Package Has Been Delivered

2009-06-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

We left VERY early yesterday morning to drive "half way" to Boonville to meet Mom and Dad and drop off the kids. They'll be staying four or five weeks this summer, along with the doggies, and are very excited to vacation in the Boonville.

Mike and I stayed overnight and drove back home today, so we're close to dead.

I'm looking forward to time together without the kids, but we actually have a lot of travel coming up for both of us, so its not a ton of together time. That's probably for the best :)

Free night!

2009-06-28T18:46:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all that travel I've been doing and a promotion from Starwood, I earned a free hotel night. Mike and I headed towards the beach and ended up at the new Aloft hotel in Chesapeake, VA. It was a very cool place. Too cool, in fact, for us old farts. But the room was nice and we had a nice time on the road together.

Speaking of road trips, we are taking the kids to meet my parents in Kentucky tomorrow. They're going to Boonville for a whole month! We'll drop them off and hang out in Huntington, WV for the night. We've been there before, a nice little college town (home of the Marshall Thundering Herd), and I'm looking forward to dinner at Max & Erma's. Actually, I'm looking forward to the banana pudding dessert.

Once the kids are away, the travel really kicks in, for both of us. But that's a whole other story.

Travel newbie

2009-06-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to say that if you thought I could even take a day trip without having a fun travel adventure, I must say "BUZZ, thanks for playing."

I was (trying to) go through airport security in Asheville behind a guy who:
1. Put his suitcase & carry on bag in the bins instead of on the belt.
2. Didn't take his shoes off.
3. Didn't take his laptop out of his bag.
4. Didn't take his belt off.
5. Didn't have his liquids in a baggie AND didn't take them out of his suitcase.
6. Had oversized liquids.

And he questioned everything.
Sir, you'll need to remove your shoes.
I have to remove my shoes?

Sir, your laptop has to come out of your bag.
I have to take it out of the bag?

For. Every. Single. Thing.

Sir, you need to remove your belt.
I have to remove my belt?
Yes, unless you want to be WANDED.

Sir, you have liquids in your bag over the allowed size.
But he said they'd be okay.

( um WHO said you were not subject to Federal travel regulations? )

Good gravy.

I would have given him some leeway if he had been 70 years old like the guy who somehow made it through security without checking in and didn't have a boarding pass and didn't understand what gate checking his bag meant. No, this guy was in his twenties. I thought about texting him a clue while I was waiting.

This was also the place where I saw a hiker (she had a backpack & canteen & obviously had not showered) in the ladies' room with legs hairier than a Yeti.

Fun times, guys, fun times.

Seattle

2009-06-19T16:36:00.002-05:00

I was really looking forward to my trip to Seattle. I've never been to the Pacific northwest. I was attending a conference to learn something instead of present. I'd get to hang out with my boss while getting away from the office. Eh, it was ok.

On the way out, I read a book on my iPod by the keynote speaker, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team". Pretty easy read, and some good stuff. I took some extra classes on Sunday (yeah, I know, I am a nerd), and they were really good. Team building and leadership stuff to help me with staff. They tend to view me as too direct. That is the nice way to say it, I suppose. So, the classes were great, the conference was ok. I got to see Al Gore in person, funny guy.

I didn't like Seattle as much as I thought I would. It was fun. I went to Pike Place Market, saw the original Starbucks (and a zillion more). Ginger and I rode the Duck Boat tour, which was a hoot. Some of the architecture and the hilly streets reminded me of San Francisco. It was a good trip, but I'm not dying to go back.

And I'm happy to be home, of course. I'm tired, glad it's Friday, and will probably be asleep soon.

Welcome to Summer

2009-06-13T00:01:00.002-05:00

We have been ding-dong ditched twice and now the trash cans are missing.
Zak is running around the neighborhood at midnight trying to ID the hoodlums and I'm driving around in jammies trying to find him.
Welcome to summer.

Miss me?

2009-06-11T18:13:00.001-05:00

Okay so it's been a series of wild weekends but I am still kicking. Headed to Seattle on saturday for a conference & hoping to have a little down time.
Until then ...

No rest for the ... busy

2009-06-08T20:39:00.001-05:00

I went to a work conference last week in Nashville, TN. It wasn't one of those where I was presenting non-stop, so I actually squeezed some work in on the side. I got home Friday afternoon just a little while before Mike's brother and his family arrived. They were going to a wedding in Baltimore, so they hung with us for a few days. Friday night we took one of those "drive around downtown" kinda trips before dinner to point out the famous places. Seriously, I can't get over the fact that I live here.
I took a nap while they were at the wedding and Cricket was stuck to me like glue the rest of the day. So nice to know she loves me.
I've had headaches the past couple of days, but some ice cream and retail therapy made it all better. Got a new outfit and some hot pink shoes.
Today was a happy hour with the folks from work. I drank diet coke and I'm already home. I'm old. And tired.

Downtown DC

2009-05-31T21:17:00.003-05:00

Well we planned to go to KMart for some household supplies and ended up downtown, walking around the White House and the Washington Monument for a few hours. I love that I can say that. No matter how crazy this place makes me, just knowing I can hop in the car and see our nation's capital at a moment's notice is pretty darn cool.

Addendum to the Wild Weekend

2009-05-25T19:11:00.002-05:00

On the way home from Mt. Airy, we turned left and ended up in Gatlinburg for the day/night. It was a great little trip.

I hope Aly remembers this type of stuff when she's grown and can say she had fun on family trips when she was little. I can remember every trip we took when I was young, and they were such fun. We'd take our hand puppets (mine was a raccoon, Randy, and Pam's was a dog, Oggie) and wave at passing cars. Of course that was back when you could sleep in the back window of the car, or sit in the floorboard. Seat belts, schmeat belts.

The boy was home alone all weekend. I'm sure he will say he had fun when the family went on trips.

Gonna have a wild weekend

2009-05-22T21:06:00.002-05:00

It all started today when I decided not to work. Okay so I worked for 30 minutes - but not even all at once.
Aly, Mike & I went to lunch --- I must digress ...

We tend to have emergencies when Mike is out of town. Yesterday, they had one without me. Nothing too horrible, but consider this a PSA: if your husband has an awful, lifelong fear/aversion to bugs and calls to say he found a few little bugs in your kid's hair and he's pretty sure they are just gnats from a tree and you convince him to wash her hair with lice shampoo anyway and he says he combed every inch of her hair and you don't get in till midnight so you believe him--- think again because you will spend at least three hours of your day off re-washing and re-combing every single strand of her hair. At least he washed all the sheets and clothes and bagged the pillows. Oh and btw she slept in the waterbed while you were gone.
Anyone else scratching their heads now?

Okay, where was I? Ah lunch at the Mexican place and a long long nap because we are going to the midnight showing of my favorite movie in the whole world: The Princess Bride. I've never seen it on the big screen and I can't wait. We're all going and I imagine folks will be saying the lines along with the movie. I'm wearing my "I'm in the brut squad" shirt.
After the movie we will come home for a nap because we are going to leave early for Mt Airy (the real Mayberry). We will see the sights around town, check in to the hotel and then head out early to get a good spot at the drive-in. Double feature is Night at the Museum & Terminator Salvation.
It's about a 5 hr drive home Sunday, so Monday will be a day of rest. I'm really looking forward to it. Hope all of you have a great weekend.

Finally feeling better

2009-05-16T08:12:00.002-05:00

All week I've had a headache and felt nauseous.
FINALLY, this morning I woke up without a headache. I'm so excited!
We are headed to DC to walk around. Maybe we'll go to a museum.
Yay for feeling better!!

ETA: It started raining so we went shopping instead. I got a bunch of new work clothes. Then I took a nap. Now we're going to a movie.
Mike and I haven't spent so much time together in a long while. It's been a great day.
And still no headache!!

Math Decathalon

2009-05-14T21:06:00.002-05:00

We went to Aly's school for the Math Decathalon tonight. I thought it was some sort of math contest, but it was like a fun fair with different math activities. We had a ton of fun playing with logic puzzles, tesselations, geometry, and the like.
Yes, I am a nerd. Still.

Well, so much for Mother of the Year...

2009-05-11T08:00:00.003-05:00

We never made it to dinner, because Aly's fingers got smashed in the van door in the parking lot of the restaurant. We spent three hours in the ER. It's not broken but she has a splint.
This photo was taken after about 2.5 hours of ice packs, so it looks a lot better than it started out.

A real mom.

2009-05-10T16:49:00.001-05:00

That's what I'm feeling like.

All week, Mike has been gone and I have been working a zillion hours at work. I felt like a failure as a mom. The kids ate take out and cereal and whatever Zak cooked.

But on Thursday, despite having a migraine and leaving work early, I went to Aly's band concert.
And on Friday, we went to the staff vs. 6th grade volleyball game and I worked the concession stand.
Then Saturday, we cleaned house - like washed the rugs and fluffed pillows and decluttered. I can see the dining room table top! And we were done before 1pm. We ordered pizza and pasta for dinner.
Today, I finally got all of the Christmas stuff back in the attic, and carried 'yard sale' stuff to the basement. Now, we are off to dinner at the Mexican restaurant.

I don't always feel like a mom, but the last four days have been very cool.
I could totally do this all the time.

He's not all bad

2009-05-05T21:41:00.001-05:00

Zak's really been trying to improve.
He made dinner tonight. Like REAL dinner: noodles and meat and sauce.

I gotta remember he's a teenaged boy. They speak a different language, but he's still mine :)

Inspections

2009-04-30T18:26:00.002-05:00

Being the last day of the month, Mike took the van to get it inspected.
I remember growing up in Indiana, they used to have state vehicle inspections. They still have them in Virginia.

The RAV4 failed earlier this week because a headlight was out and a rear reflector was broken. Mike had to go to the Toyota dealer for replacements, but the inspection place put them on for free. Nice.

So I drove the RAV4 (and the van failed inspection too - $300 for new brakes) and dropped Zak at school on my way to work. As I cruised through the intersection near home I said

I guess driving a stick is like riding a bike.

To which he replied ...

People fall off bikes, Mom.

It was 92 degrees at 6pm

2009-04-25T19:50:00.003-05:00

Yee-ouch!
Mike took Aly to King's Dominion, but I stayed home with Zak.
It is thunderstorming now.

I had a great week in San Diego -- The conference went really well and the weather was fantastic. Actually, it was 92 degrees on Monday.

My trip to Asheville was canceled for this week, so I'm home till mid-May, when I go to Kansas City, MO.

It is the end of our performance year, so I have a lot of reviews to do, plus my own annual summary. I wanted to accomplish something today, but didn't quite get there. Well, I did accomplish some minor household chores and a lot of resting. Watched all the latest episodes of Lost and The Unusuals. Snuggled with my kitty and both doggies. Read assorted blogs and message boards. Arranged flair on my Facebook corkboard. :)

Another exciting week in the life of us. Try to keep up.

Posting to say hello to my husband

2009-04-19T17:36:00.003-05:00

Hi honey!

If you had left O'Hare a few hours later, we could have hugged on concourse H.

For my faithful readers ... Mike left for Chicago Friday, I left for San Diego this morning. He came back from Chicago this afternoon. I'm back on Friday, but he's leaving to go to a coaching clinic. We'll finally see each other on Sunday evening, but after one Monday in the same house, I leave for Asheville on Tuesday. I'll be back late Thursday and I can't remember if he's got something on Friday, but Aly and I have a crop on Saturday.

So the summer season begins.
We're planning to chat sometime this fall. Until then, y'all might see as much of me as he does.

He is not here!

2009-04-12T13:31:00.003-05:00

I think that was my title last year on Easter, referring, of course, to the risen Savior. [And if you think Easter is about a bunny, have I got a story* for you!] But this year, Easter Sunday falls on what would have been Isaiah's 12th birthday, and he is not here either.

Mike and I don't usually play "what if" because we know that everything happens for a reason. After Zak's medical problems and Isaiah's death, we weren't sure we would ever want to try to have another baby, but we did, and I believe that Aly's brother chose her for us. Aly was the perfect baby ... no medical issues at all and such a snuggle bug. We were truly blessed by her addition to our family.

When I think of Isaiah, I do wonder whether he and Zak would have been best friends. I wonder if he would have looked even more like Mike than Zak does. I wonder if he would have liked reading or history like Mike or science and math like me. But I also wonder if we would have ever had Aly, or any other children at all. Then I remember that God has a plan for us, and He will lead us down the path that helps us to grow into what He needs us to be.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

I believe that our family is complete just as it is.
I think we're still working on mature.

*The true reason for celebrating Easter:
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Luke 24:5b-7

Vacation Photos

2009-04-10T23:56:00.007-05:00

Some random photos of our trip to Gatlinburg. I realized on the drive home that I didn't journal about what we did each day, so you are getting a mish-mash of photos. No idea what order they should be in or which day it was.

The kitchen. Nana made tacos!

The bar area in the family room became our internet cafe.

The family room .. the pool table is to the right.

Pool sharks!

It was almost 80 degrees on Sunday, but on Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?), it snowed.

The view from the Gatlinburg bypass after the snow.

Blacklight Golf: The giant blob is me and Aly is to my right. We got week-long passes and probably golfed at least 20 games.

Mike and I tried our hand at go karting. The kids did it three times.

Aly and Nana at the Aquarium of the Smokies.

What a difference a week makes

2009-04-05T21:10:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday: stressed
This Sunday: relaxed

Last Sunday: tired
This Sunday: energized

Last Sunday: gloomy
This Sunday: sunny

Last Sunday: home
This Sunday: vacation!!

I've switched to the backfloat

2009-03-29T16:32:00.002-05:00

I feel like the past few weeks, I've only been able to keep my head above water. Around Thursday or so, I switched to the backfloat, and I'll tell you, I had a much better weekend. I still had work to do. I still had chores (actually, more with Mike out of town). But it almost felt like there was an extra day to the weekend in there somewhere.

So it is Sunday afternoon and I'm rested, caught up, and just waiting for the boys to get home from Michigan. It should be a quiet night before the work week starts. I'm only working three days before vacation starts, so I need to pack for me, and the kids, plan the trip, etc. Hopefully I can get things on track at work so I can completely forget things for a week.

Our cabin is supposed to have wireless internet, so I hope to stay in touch during the week next week. But I might be having too much fun to get on the computer.

Just Keep Swimming

2009-03-26T08:51:00.003-05:00

7 days till spring break. I'm almost to the point where I'm counting hours.
Mike's out of town at his uncle's funeral, but not before he lost his wallet, including credit cards + $200 cash.
Work is insanely crazy. Too much stuff, not enough staff.
Aly smashed her finger at school yesterday. Yesterday, which was my nephew's first birthday way the heck back in Indiana.
I colored my hair and it turned red. Colorful, says Mike. That is code for ugly.

I'm going to just keep swimming.

Oh, and by the way, I speak whale.

12 days and 10 hours

2009-03-21T21:53:00.002-05:00

till we leave for vacation.
I would say "not that I'm counting" but I'm TOTALLY counting.