I'm so not ready....

My son asked a girl to go to Busch Gardens with us tomorrow. I'm so not ready!!!

My Orlando Trip

So, I'm home. I'm soooo glad to be home. I feel like Dorothy..."There's no place like home".

When I travel, I always try to picture myself living in that place. Look at some neighborhoods. Check out teacher salaries. That kind of thing. When we went to Chicago, I decided I could live there, but it's way too cold. I may be able to get over that though. Savannah? Could definitely live there. Valencia, CA? Loved it. Waikiki? We both seriously loved it and were ready to move. But Orlando? No offense to anyone that lives there, but there is NO WAY I could live there. It was tooooo hot, too humid, too rainy. The people outside of Disney were not that nice. Traffic was horrible. I kept trying, really hard, to find something awesome about it, and I just couldn't! And the huge monopoly Disney seems to have on everything really started to bug me. I couldn't even find a Starbucks in the immediate area.

Anyway, the conference was AWESOME and I learned so much. I can't wait to put it to practice. I am soooo thankful for the award that I won that let me go!

I met a very interesting girl while there named Stephanie, and got to see first hand, how foolish some people look when they are toasted. She tried to pay her bar tab 3 times and the cute bartender (Marco) was super sweet when explaining that she had already paid it, and tried to pay it again multiple times. She was totally sloshed and it was so hilarious. It's not nearly as funny typing it as it was experiencing it.

My family joined me on Thursday and I was sooooo ready for them to come. I had been there since Sunday night by myself. As much as I enjoyed the book I read at night and the "me" time, it was kinda boring after a few days. I watched a lot of "judge" shows (People's court, Judy Judy, etc) which I LOVE. LOL I spent my evenings having dinner at the bar with my book in hand, and I did a lot of shopping for Kagan stuff, which I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of. (My award also paid for all of this- even better- shopping with someone else's money!) Sadly, i was ready again for some "me" time by the time we got home. I know this doesn't make me mother of the year, but I lost that title 11 years ago, so I'm good! :-)

Shopping

I thought I'd write about something MUCH lighter today. :-)

I've been gearing up for this trip to Orlando for awhile now, and realized early on that I have NO shorts. Since I gained this extra 20 lbs or so over the last few years, I just stopped wearing them. I'll wear capris or skirts but shorts just look hideous on me. They are either too short or too expensive or just don't look good on me. Well, I realized I can't go to Orlando with no shorts. Thankfully, my friend Jenny brought over a bag of clothes she didn't want anymore and there were two pairs of shorts in there that actually fit me, and I didn't hate them! (Thanks Jenny!!!) So, this led me to go out and try to find some.
I went to Williamsburg the other day and looked at the outlets and didn't find a single pair. Tried Target. Nothing. I saw a sign in Old Navy's window, so went in there, and found 3 pairs for $10 each! SCORE! I NEVER shop there because the last time I did, nothing fit me right, but this time, they worked out! Must be that extra 20 pounds. So, at least I have 4-5 pairs to take with me.

I'm so ready to go! I feel bad, but I'm excited to be alone! I love my kids and husband SOOOOOOO much, but I have to admit that the thought of sitting by the pool with a book and drink, all by myself, for as long as I want, sounds heavenly. Granted, I have to get through a day of class before I can get outside, but I'm just so excited. Pangs of guilt enter my mind now and then, but I have managed to brush them away. The kids will be at my dad's having a blast, and I know my husband is looking forward to being a bachelor for a week- xbox, takeout, and sitting around in his underwear. :-)

Judging

I rarely (if ever) toot my own horn. It's just not something I do. I love nice things, probably to a fault, and love being a woman, but seriously put my family and friends before myself. But, in the last few days, I have realized something about myself that I am very proud of. I have realized that I am not judgemental of people that I don't know or know anything about. I don't criticize people for their life choices, etc.

This Michael Jackson stuff has really thrown me for a loop. I had NO idea that there were so many people out there that think they are really "in the know" about his life. I mean, I was a fan of him my entire life, and I would NEVER go on the record to say "he was innocent" or "he was guilty". Never. Why? Because the media is not a reliable source of information, and money makes people do some very strange things. It boggles my mind that people are so convinced to the point of judging the man. Wishing a dead person to "rot in hell" for something that he may or may not have done. He may very well have abused some children. Maybe he didn't. I don't know, and will never know, so why spend time being negative and spewing hate? I'd rather focus on his music, and how it makes me feel happy, and the laughter that ensues when my husband imitates his dancing, and my kids newfound excitement over the music that I enjoyed at their age. It makes me much happier than the alternative.

Anyway, it makes me happy that despite some of the things that my parents did wrong with me, they managed to raise a person that is an independent thinker and open-minded, and non-judgemental. Maybe it's because I'm so imperfect myself. I just can't bring myself to assume I know all the facts about a person's private life. I guess I can cast those stones when I get myself sin-free.

Waiting.........

Well, I got an interview. I had that yesterday. Today was so.....weird. I knew they were interviewing people allllllllll day, and while I was working, I kept thinking about the other interviews and wondering how they were going. I don't wish anyone else bad luck, but geez.... I have to admit I was hoping no one did that well. :-) I really hope I hear something tomorrow. I hope they let me know either way, but I just want to hear good news. I want to get a call back. I know if they liked me, there is one, and quite possibly two, more interviews.

I've played this out both ways. I know if I get it, I'm just gonna be on cloud 9, and although the job won't start for quite awhile, I will want to start tomorrow! If I don't get it, I'm going to be very, very sad. I've been praying and just asking God to help me be accepting of whatever His will is, and I've asked my closest friends to pray for me as well. So, thank you friends. I want to be one of those people that is just still, quiet, and patient. I'm a work in progress for sure.

On an unrelated note, my hubby and I have been doing this book called "the Love Dare". Although we already had a strong marriage, this has been so fun to do. We are both so busy that sometimes it is hard to find time to "connect" and this has been really cool. Basically, you get a challenge every day that you have to complete. Although we know what the other is doing for the day, it's still been fun to see how it plays out. It's definitely kept us close in a very stressful time.

One more week of school........ so bittersweet!!! I have such nice kids this year. I look at them sometimes and think "this could be my last class if I get this job!". What an odd thought. I love them.... Such a joy to be able to spend my days with them.

Wow, I did it.

I applied for a new job today. Crazy. I was sick to my stomach turning in the application packet. Now I get to hold my breath and wait. I have about 10-12 days to wait for any idea of feedback I'm guessing. It's a long shot, but I felt my heart telling me I needed to apply. Fifteen years in one place is a very long time, and I'm ready to be challenged in a new way. We shall see!!

Mothers Day

Today is Mothers Day, and it's been such a nice day. I woke up very briefly this morning as our live in alarm clock, Abbie, tiptoed in about 7 to wake up my husband. Apparently this was pre-planned. He got up, donned his G-town baseball cap and track pants to head to Starbucks. He came home with coffee, a Sunday paper, and two big bouquets of tulips - one for Mason to give me, and one for Abbie to give me. The kids then made b'fast with Tony's help- and it was so yummy. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, waffles, oj. YUM.

I stayed in bed and caught up with my Tivo- Oprah from all week- and then showered. We went to the cemetary to see my mom and the nicest man that worked there came up to us and gave me a flower. So sweet. We left there and went to hit golf balls, then out for ice cream. As I type, Tony is grilling yummy steaks for dinner. It couldn't have been a better day, unless I could have had my mom around. I've missed her a lot lately. If she was here, we would have gone by her house to give her her gift, which would have been something to use around the pool or yard this summer. I miss her so much. I seriously can't put into words how much I miss her. I talked to my sister, like I usually do on holidays, and we talked about what she'd be doing if she was here. We laughed about a few funny stories and ended with a sigh because we both know the other knows exactly how we feel. I thank God I have her because if I didn't, no one would truly get how I feel.

I hope all my mom friends had a fabulous day, full of love, children's laughter and smiles, and a few indulgences.