I am Still Here

Yea, I know. I have been a little MIA lately on the blog.

As soon as mid-August came, the craziness started. The conference is only 8 weeks away and there is still SO much to do.....not to mention find 600 more people to register to attend! No worries. It will happen; just stress me out until it does.

It's this way every late summer/early fall. November is nice; conference is over and I spend my days reading evaluations and counting boxes as the shipper returns them to the office.

Ahhh.....November. Only 9 weeks away.

On a completely different note......I called my parents house yesterday and automatically dialed my old phone number. When I was in middle school, I begged and pleaded and cried and made ridiculous promises of angelhood if only I could have my own phone line. And I got it. That was 14 years ago.

And my parents disconnected the phone number yesterday.

I called it 3 times just to make sure I was hearing the operator correctly.

It makes me a little sad.

Repeating This Over and Over and Over and Over....

A friend sent this to me. Thank you. I need this.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this lifeand supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

My Weekend is NOT Going to be Relaxing

Why is it that the weekends Hubby goes out of town are the busiest times for me? Never mind that there is no one else around the help with bedtime, dinner time, or day care pickups; that I can handle. Its the other stuff....laundry, house chores, talking to me about adult things.

Grace and I dropped Hubby at the airport this morning at 4:45! Yep, I was awake before the sun was up....and I hate that!!! When we got home we crawled back in bed for 2 hours, got to day care late, and then I spent the next 2 hours shopping for a baby gift and luggage. And now, I am sitting at home working.

And I am ready for a nap already.

But there is no time for that today. Before 5, I need to shower (nope, havent gotten around to that yet!), finish an email for work, do some other work, type up and send out committee meeting minutes, and pick up Grace at day care. After that, I still need to finish up scanning in 10 more pages from my high school yearbook; we wouldnt want to forget those ugly senior pictures when it comes time to produce reunion nametags, now would we?!

Tomorrow isnt better. 10AM: Baby shower. 5PM: Brother in law's football game. 7PM: Meet the girls for Girls Night Out. 9:30ish (or whenever my dad calls): Head home to get Grace from my dad and sister.

Urgh. Hubby has been gone 7 hours and I am already counting the minutes til we head back to the airport to pick him up.

Don't worry---he isnt having fun either. He headed down to FL for a family funeral. Not fun but still....he is out of the house!!

Okay, bitching is done.

Singing Piano Man

This is what happens when you have several KDR brothers, wifes, friends, and even the kiddos at a party. Piano Man and beer......water in Grace's case!!!

Big Girl Seat

Last night, while Hubby was putting Grace to sleep, I took away her last "baby" item; the car seat.

That's right, my beloved Cowmooflauge Britax is no longer fastened to the middle seat of the family car. I love that car seat. I unhooked it last night and lovingly placed it in the garage. Tonight, it goes back in its original box and in the basement. This is one car seat that I plan on keeping as long as possible. I dont think another kid is in the cards for us but its the best thing we bought for Grace. Now I can use it for all the other kids that will join our extended family...no need to transfer seats all over the place. I am prepared!! :)

Grace is obviously not old enough for just the seatbelt. VA just passed a law that requires kids to be in car seats or boosters until they are 8 years old. By the time Grace is that old, they will change it again and demand that kids remain in boosters until they are old enough to drive themselves!! But anyway........the booster seat has been installed in Mommy's car. So sad. But at the same time, it doesnt take up 1/2 the back seat!!!

My car drives so much lighter with the booster seat. But driving into work this morning, I realized that nope, my baby is no more. Now I have a kid. A child.

Oh she'll always be my baby. Even if she can buckle her own seatbelt in her booster seat.

High In the Sky

Crazy is the New Black

So that time of year has arrived. The months that I sepnt more time working than anything else. Really. It started last night.

Since July, work has started to consume more hours out of my life than I really want it to. But this only happens for part of the year so its manageable. But last night, the crazy began.

I dreamt about the conference. Someone was yelling at me because the handouts were printed on pink paper and they only wanted green paper. Ummm, okay. We dont use colored paper at conference but hey, its my dream! Anyways, thats all I remember but it is a sign.

A sign that the next 9 weeks are going to be nutso! Yep, conference is 9 weeks away. Which means so is my high school reunion. And Hubby's birthday. And between now and then, we are in a wedding in Vegas and Hubby has to head to FL for a family funeral.

I cant wait for winter. Fall hasnt even started but our calendars are full!

Responsiblity is so overrated!

Babies and kids really do have it great. They get to go to bed early every night, someone else folds their laundry and puts it away, Mom or Dad make all their meals, and the hardest decision they have to make on a daily basis is which toy to play with. And when some cool event comes to town, other people pay and plan the entire night for you; all you have to do is show up and look cute. Man, that is the life!

Being an adult stinks. Not all the time (hey, we can legally enjoy a martini!) but sometimes, it just plain sucks.

Hubby and I had to make a real adult decision today. It hurt. It was painful, really painful, to write the email to my friend about our decision. I struggled making the decision for at least an hour. And even now, 20 minutes after the fact, it still hurts.

We turned down free tickets to the Jim.my Buffe.tt concert at Mohe.gan Su.n. One of the best shows Jimmy does every year. And we were going to stay at the hotel for free. And get the tickets for free.

Never mind all the free stuff. We still would have spent money on 2 plane tickets, a rental car, concert stuff, time away from the office that we cant afford to take this month, and not to mention.........who was going to be able to take care of Grace!? Two weeks after the concert, we are heading out to Vegas for a friends wedding. So really, the responsible, adult decision was to turn down to Buffett tickets.

That night, August 30, Hubby and I will make some margaritas, watch an old Buffett concert DVD, and feel all adult-like in our house. And yes, I will be pouting!

*Sigh* It makes me so sad just thinking about it.

Update: It happened again! On the same day. I was offered tickets (with a highly-coveted parking pass) to the Redkskins-Steelers pre-season game for this Saturday. It is one of our best friend's bdays and we cant skip that party.

How does this happen TWICE in one day!?

Her Accessories Get Better All The Time!

The fact this toy was re.called due to le.ad p.aint is one thing. That bothers me. But really, it’s the fact that B.arbie comes with a po.oper sco.oper that REALLY gets me laughing! Wonder if the toy poo.p is included too!?

Dont Lie----You Watch It Too!!!!!

I am such a fan of Dog, The Bounty Hunter.

I know, I know...totally corny. But seriously, that show is so damn entertaining.

First of all, Dog rocks. Beth is awesome; really, she is GREAT when she starts to get mad or frustarated at Dog or the featured fugitive. Hysterical to watch.

What other show consists of chasing people, watching the fugitives try to outsmart Dog and the family, and really, I cant take my eyes off their impeccable fashion sense!!! LOVE them.

And so yes, I am all set for the Dog special tonight at 9 pm. The Dog Story. How he went from criminal to bounty hunter. The TiVo has been set and the beer fridge is full.

Sounds like a FABULOUS evening to me!!!!! :)

I know.....I am such a dork!

I Drank The Kool-Aid

For the past few months, my cell phone has been a piece of crap. It shuts off whenever it wants to, decides at any moment that it doesnt want to be used, and never mind trying to charge it! HA----it just didnt work. It was a cute phone but it was horrible!

Hubby finally had enough (his phone was ruined during the rain at the Jimm.y Buff.ett concert). Today we went to the wireless store to get new phones. 4 hours later (yep, it took that long!), we left with Blac.kberry Pea.rls. Mine is red, Hubby's black so that we can tell them apart.

We are such yuppies!!!

Anyways, now I need to learn how to use my new tech toy. As soon as I master it, I need to figure out my plan to keep myself from being addicted to the email function on weekends. Yea, right....good luck on that one!!!

I Will Never Put My Keys on the Seat Again!

Today was my first official day as a committee chair for the local industry association. I was so excited and incredibly stressed about it all; I had Leadership Training with the rest of the chairs and the Board immediately before the beginning of the first association event that my committee was hosting. Leaving the office today was tough but this was important to me as well.

Well, apparently some one up there didnt really want me to leave. I went down to my car at 1 PM (10 minutes later than planned) and realized that I had locked my keys in my car this morning!!!! I went back to my office, called Hubby and completely freaked out.

The event tonight had a baseball theme and I was up until 11:30 PM Wednesday night preparing my committee table decorations; cut out pictures of baseball hall of famers from Sport.s Ill.ustrated, gathered all the baseball stuff from around the house, and blew up balloons and drew on them to make them look like baseballs.

ALL of this stuff was on the front seat of my car. With my keys. And my committee binder that I spent an hour putting together earlier this week with ALL the evening's event information.

I was sooo happy about all this.

I had to hope on the Metro (hurricane-like winds pushed against me on my way to the station) and run 5 blocks through downtown DC to get to my training meeting on time. And then got through the event without any of my fabulous decorations.

At the end of the night, I had to Metro home......only the closest Metro station is 10 minutes from my house. Hubby and Grace waited at home for my phone call and they came to rescue me. I was stranded and my Hubby saved me.

After searching drawers in the house, I have found my spare remote entry key-thing and will rescue my baseball stuff, a day late, in the morning.

For now, I am going to bed so that I can leave this mad day behind me .

Truce

Amen!

I know you are jealous!!!

This was my dinner tonight....delivered to Hubby and I by one of his co-workers straight from Rochester, NY.

Yummy!

A garbage plate (with cheeseburgers) from Nick Tahoe's in Rochester, NY

My Soapbox of the Day

I read an article this morning on the Metro that was discussing teens and their disposable income. Apparently, high school students are buying designer shoes and backpacks and all that at an incredibly high rate, First, where do they get that money? Second, is it really necessary to have a Coa.ch/Burb.erry/Kate Sp.ade backoack when you are in 10th grade!?

Yes, I have those bags. And I love those bags. But I think this designer thing is getting a bit out of control. Just cause Ni.cole Ritch.ie has it or Kat.ie Holme.s was photographed wearing it doesnt mean we all need to rush out and get it.

Would the Bugaboo stroller be on soooo many baby registries if Gwen.yth Paltr.ow didnt push her kid around in it? Probably not cause most people cant afford a $400 baby stroller.

A friend of mine is getting married this fall. When she asked me to be a bridesmaid for the Vegas wedding, I was so excited and honored. But then the thought of buying yet another $300 dress!!! But I got the email this morning with the link to the dress.......$50......from TARGET! Who knew!?

And its so adorable (yep, its the one pictured).

I am getting off my soapbox now. But I can tell you that Hubby would be thrilled to hear/read me saying that this designer trend is ridiculous. Cause even though it is, I do still love my bags! :)

Her First Crush

Grace is in love.

With an older man.

Last night, we had an impromptu night out with the girls from day care. There was a free outdoor concert with one of the local orchestras/bands. As I walked into the house after a LONG day at the office with a 3 year old who was whiny, the phone rang. It was one of the moms from Grace's day care. At the last minute, all the moms got together with the kids at M's (one of the day care girls) house for pizza, swimming, and then the concert.

I threw Grace in the car and headed over there for a little socializing with the moms. A very political decision but in the end, I had a blast with them!

M's dad is Tom. Grace spent the entire time hanging out with Tom, giving him hugs, and at the end of the night, told him "Night Night Tom. I wuv you".

It was adorable.

And now Hubby and I realize that Grace likes older men. :)

My New Motto: Balance is SO over-rated

Yep. I had a blast in Disney last week. But really, I was there for work. A friend and I attended a conference for meeting planners (now, that is a tough crowd!).

Sometimes at conferences, the motivational speakers can be a hit or miss. And coming from a planner, it can be tough to tell ahead of time how someone will be received by the audience. You stand on the side of the stage and pray that everything goes well. The opening keynote speaker at this conference was Cindy Novotny. I had never heard of her and, honestly, figured that it would be another session about finding my work/life balance that always seems to be just out of reach.

About 3 minutes into her presentation, she stood in the middle of the stage and said "You are busy. Everyone is busy. You choose to be that way. Get over it."

AMEN!

I left that session so energized and excited about how busy I was/am lately. It really made me realize that I love being busy, that the off-balanced balance we have at our house works for us, and that I have too many plans (professional and personal) to sit around and stress out about my lack of balance. Sometimes work takes most of my time and sometimes my family takes all of my time. And that is okay.

Cindy gave all the attendees at the conference a copy of her new book, Living with No Balance....And Loving It!. And I read it in 2 hours and am going to re-read it again every time I see a period of craziness ahead of me.