What I never knew about the blogging world....

OK, so I haven't been blogging long, but I have been reading them for a while... I have just recently noticed a plethora of give aways... I am still trying to sort them all out. My favorite online shop the Lemonade Stand just had one. And just this morning I was linked to one at 5 Minutes for Mom. Can you believe they (and Best Buy) are giving away an LCD television? I was just getting used to the handmade craft giveaways and now this?

What a world....

Not this fancy?

September will mark our 14th anniversary. I realize it isn't September yet, but I just have to share this story...

Very soon the family will pile into my little red car and head across this great state for a mini-vacation in San Antonio. Ours will be a hotel-based vacation. We will enjoy the cable television and maybe order a pizza... go swimming, etc. None of the "touristy" things. We visit San Antonio a lot. We've 'been there and done that". This is just an opportunity to get away and spend some time together.... We will meetup with one of my good friends, Megan, and her delightful daughter. Maybe go to the zoo. If it isn't raining. Nothing spectacular....

I was making hotel reservations a few weeks ago. Keep in mind that I am cheap. Real cheap. So I go looking for a place for us to stay - in the $60-80 range. Not super-cheap, since I also like to stay safe.... but not the Radisson, either. I casually mention to my better half the types of deals I have found and he is silent. What gives? He thinks we should stay someplace nicer, more expensive. Hmmm. Really? Is this the same man that I married?

Let me give you some insight into my bewilderment....
San Antonio also happens to be the same place we went for our honeymoon those many years ago - yes, my husband is not fond of airplanes, so our destination had to be within driving distance.... but I digress...14 years ago we stayed at the RiverWalk Marriott hotel in downtown San Antonio. I want to say it cost $110 per night - including a wonderful breakfast and I distinctly remember this conversation:

Him: I hope you don't expect that every time we rent a hotel room it will be this fancy (read, expensive)
Me: No, dear. I have always stated in Best Westerns and Super 8's... this is a special occasion....
Him: OK. Just wanted to get that out.
Me: Yes, dear.


Where are we staying, you ask? The Marriott, but on the north side of town. $125 and change per night - plus tax which is now at a whopping 17ish percent. Continental breakfast, I believe. This isn't even exactly what he wanted. It was on the LOW end of the scale. If you could see me, you would notice I am rolling my eyes. Nice outdoor pool. Hmmm. That could be a problem. It has been raining here for almost 2 months with very little break... So, I also reserved a room at the Hilton, which has an indoor pool. Just in case. Yeah, that one is running right at $130 per night.... But the kids would NOT appreciate going on vacation and not having a pool to swim in. Depending on how the weather looks in the days before we leave, I will make my decision and cancel one of the reservations.

Not this fancy, indeed

Shopping Therapy

OK, I did it. I pulled the trigger on a new cell phone! After polling my online friends and having the Black Cherry Chocolate and Blue Mint Chocolate coming in at a tie, I had to make my own decisions...

My oldest child wants to be an Aggie, so I opted for the Blue Mint. He has hopes of me buying him a Chocolate phone next spring when his contract is up and, being the awesome mom that I am, decided to leave the maroon aka Black Cherry phone for him to acquire.

Funny, shopping is good therapy... especially when I got the phone for free for extending my contract another 2 years....

Who, me?

My dear, sweet friend Ingrid offered me an award... apparently she feels I am deserving of this...

I think it is because she found nobody else to bestow it on - not sure I can live up to such an award...

So here it goes, my "Rockin' Girl" blogger pics in no particular order... if you have been picked before and I didn't notice, please forgive - it's been a rough, rough week...

1. Shannon; not only does the award fit, she could really use the pick-me-up this week. My heart goes out to you, mama!

2. Jenna; she is cooler than cool and lifts my spirits... I really need to stop by the Lemonade Stand and pick up something for ME for a change...

3. Ruthi; my favoritest liberal friend who always seems to have the right thing to say - and because her photography talent is beyond compare...

4. Andrea ; she let me tinker with her blog this week. It was fun and made me smile...

5. Mandy; another Mommy friend with a tough week. Her husband left again for Iraq after a short time at home... you have all my respect, girl!

So, that is my list... not so bad, I think...

Keeping Busy....

Now that school is out, I find myself with more time on my hands... My friend Andrea asked me to tweak her blog, so I did... it was fun working with code that wasn't for work and made someone happy...

Also made me realize that I *need* to buy Photoshop Elements... much easier to build backgrounds that way! I downloaded the free trial yet again... seriously, it is on my list - I just need to cough up the cash... I am also working on one for Lori and it looks like this so far....

Paxil must have kicked in. Oh, wait, I didn't take any Paxil... life is just that good....

Pass the Paxil, Please

This week's post is a lot of rambling. Skip it if you'd like. Return next week. Certainly there will be something more profound...

I am in a funk today that I cannot shake. I know it will get better, but for now, Paxil sounds really, really good to me...

If no one were to read my blog, would I still write it? Like the eternal question "if a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it - does it still make a sound?" it causes me to ponder...

Scientifically, I know the falling tree still makes a noise... but would my blog entries still be written if there were nobody to read them? Not really the same, I suppose... I find I am enjoying writing for the sake of writing (did I just type that???)... I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my little audience, but I like to think I am doing this more for me than for them...

I want to be a teacher so badly I can taste it. I find myself doing the least I can get away with at work as things I am working on don't really matter. Most of my coworkers don't invest themselves so much into their work... why did I? Why did I care? It is the people. The clients. Fellow employees. They matter. People matter. And soon MY students will matter. I believe that is what is going to make me a great teacher. I care. I invest myself in their lives. I can't do anything halfway.

Until now. Because now I don't care. I still get my job done, but the passion is gone and I can't get it back. I just want to go home. I don't want to be at work. When did things change? How did they change? As I sit and watch the minutes tick by... I find myself avoiding doing those things that I must for they no longer interest me...

Eleven days. In eleven work-days I will tell my boss I am resigning. And I care. This isn't going to be easy for my coworkers. They rely so much on me. More than they should. I am always there. Always willing to help. Always have the answer. I wish them well, but it is time for me to go.

This may be it....

Let me know what you think... does it cause anyone any problems? The format is a bit different.

I love the colors and the flowers :)

Excuse the mess...

If you are reading this and the background changes or weird things appear, just bear with me... while I LOVED the flowers, they were beginning to make me feel cluttered - and I don't want to feel cluttered...

Not sure what I want to do with the background right now, so I am tinkering... comments are always welcome! ;)

Just know that you eyes aren't playing tricks on you, it's just me... just figuring out who I want to be.

So blessed....

I have a new understanding this week of how truly blessed I am. When I think of all my husband does for me and our family, my heart just melts. We both work fulltime outside the home and have those demands placed on our time as well as the demands of our home.

Unlike many dads, my husband is truly a partner in our relationship and in our family. He helps get the kids ready on mornings he doesn't have to leave the house early... he watches the kids in the afternoon before I get home from work... he cooks... he helps clean... mops the kitchen floor... you get the idea.

A friend was lamenting how her husband expected her to do all things kid-related unless it involved playing with their daughter... then he could participate...

Yes, I am blessed indeed.

Road Trip!

Did you ever yell that? Maybe in college? ROOOOOAAAAAD TRIIIIIIP!!!!!!!!!!
I remember piling some college friends in my car and taking off towards the horizon. Classes Shmasses... I was one of the few kids with a car on campus, so I usually got to drive, but that was OK. I LOVE to drive. Maybe that is why I love NASCAR... Sometimes we had a destination, sometimes not... but we always had fun....

That "thing" I posted about before? Yeah. Next summer, I am packing up my little red car, with girls in tow, and heading out across this great country. Growing up, my Nanna and Mimi used to pack up all 4 kiddos and trek across the country.

We usually had a destination in mind, but no clear path or schedule. We would be gone for 2 or 3 weeks. We'd stay at whatever motel we could find - as long as it had a pool! We piled all out gear into a turtle-top on the top of the car, and we'd take off. I have such amazing memories of those trips. One year we went to Missouri and apparently spent a good bit of time in Arkansas - for, as I travelled back there many years later, I saw the things I had seen on that trip with Nanna - and the memories came flooding back. I want to give that to my girls. My son has travelled a lot with my parents and in-laws, but my girls haven't gotten that opportunity.

Anyway, we will be staying at the homes of 8 different friends as we travel the East Coast and back through the midwest. We will have a schedule - since my friends kinda need to know when to expect us... but I plan on being away from home for 2.5 weeks. I haven't had summers off since I was in 10th grade and this change of career is going to allow me to have summers off with my kids and travel wherever I want without worrying about getting back in time to get ready for work the next day.