Friday, March 31, 2006

Define Sibling

Sibling: a person to antagonize, irritate, pick fights with, and join forces with in driving your parents to insanity.
I have decided my kids have this bet going...how long will it take to push Mom off the deep end? I can hear Weston now...."Kylie I bet you 2 rolls of Smarties that I can push Mom over the edge before you can!" To which Kylie retaliates, "Well, I bet you Yoda, Darth Vader, and General Grievious that I can do it first!"
They have spent 2/3 of the day constantly bickering and picking at each other. When they aren't fighting, they are whining/crying. AAAHH! I am sure that my nerves are gone...shot.
What should be a pleasant drive to Tulsa (the kids even have a movie going in the car to entertain them), turns into an irritable drive to Crazyville for me. I am sure the lack of a nap and confinement in a 4 -door car doesn't help, but sheesh.
Or there is another way to look at this situation...I am getting old. I am turning into Mrs. Roush, the old next door neighbor who chases little kids away with a broom yelling, "I don't have time for this!" (What else is she going to do? She's retired. She's 80 years old. She's got the rest of her life...she just doesn't have patience--like me!)
So because of the above described day...no more kids. Two is enough. After that, we, as parents, would be outnumbered.
I am PRAYING, no begging, that our visit to PF Chang's this evening will be pleasant, enjoyable and worth the wait....otherwise I GIVE!
Well, next week is the Milestone Seminar for school...wish me luck. But before I can even get there, I still have to write that 8 page paper over the book that I still need to finish. I am ready for it to be over--I think it will be enjoyable and probably educational, but it is overwhelming me right now. I went to class last night and we ended up leaving early because of a storm that came through....and I was even ready to learn! Which all that means is that he will definitely keep us until 10 pm next week.
Well, Karla and Billy are home with a new puppy! It is a 1 lb Chihuahua...too cute.
Well, I am ready to go eat.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The Point to Apologizing

Well, I got a phone call today from the person discussed yesterday apologizing for her shortness and frustration...wow, it was very forced. Don't people know the point in apologizing? I sincerely hope that I can live up to a goal of mine for a long time-when you are sorry, say so. Saying "I'm Sorry" can do so much for a relationship...but saying it under the wrong pretense can only hurt one even more. I know that there were many times I needed to hear those two words from people in my life. And there were many times I should have said it myself. But apologizing "just because" is worthless.
An apology should be given without pride and in the utmost humble way. With pride, the apology is hollow. Without humbleness, the apology loses all meaning. It's all about delivery. Don't bother if you don't mean it...do you honestly think forcing an apology on someone will do any good?
It's OK though, my happiness isn't measured by someone else's acceptance.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Settle For A Slowdown

I would settle for some sort of slowdown right now...it seems like everything is so fast-paced right now. We are heading to Karla and Billy's this weekend. I have a corporate seminar for which an 8 page paper is due 3 days next week, then if all is well, we hope to head to Dallas for the NASCAR race next weekend. The following weekend, we have a motorcycle ride with the church as well as it is Easter weekend. OH! I forgot the other class I am taking which meets for 4 hours every Thursday night...WHEW! Ok, I am tired thinking about all of it!
So, I decided to practice what everyone has been preaching to me and say no sometimes. Well, the Children's Director at our church called and asked, yes asked if I would be willing to work the Sunday School class that Kylie is in. I knew the question was coming since they have so many kids and the other Director has resigned. However, I know where I am at right now in life and I know I need to be in church and Sunday School. So, I told her my feelings in a very polite way....and she got ugly. About the time I was being guilted into just doing it, I pointed out 3 conferences for work that I will be attending and wanted to make sure she knew those dates so that I wasn't scheduled to work at the same time. Well, she got hateful, did a "Thanks but no thanks" routine and hung up. Oh well! Too many times I have spent my life pleasing those around me that I have sacrificed some memories and I just can't do it anymore. I need to remember those that matter the most-me, my husband, and my kids so that nothing comes before them. I know it was a simple request that involved a once a month rotation, but it was more of the point of being where I need to be. If that involves hacking a few people off every now and then, so be it. I would hope they would understand. It's not personal, it's just necessary. Because, I know if it were up to them, they would do the same thing.
So, with that being said and in the words of SHEDAISY, "I'm taking the wheel!"
On a lighter note, my professor from the last class sent me pictures from Base Camp where we climbed the Alpine Tower. So that the pictures stay with the appropriate text, I have updated that post "Climbing the Alpine Tower" to include a picture...check it out! It is under Archives in the February 2006 folder on the lower right-hand side of this page.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

My Life Is Complete...The Proof is in the Picture!


Well, I made it to the concert and I got to meet Joe Don! Woo Hoo! I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and down-to-earth these guys are....they really like meeting with the fans! Joe Don was very nice and made a point to talk to each person....
When it was my turn, I was dumbfounded as expected. I told myself I wasn't going to be nervous, but how can you not be when they give you 5 seconds to snap a picture and your idol is standing next to you! The first thing that came to mind to say was, "How are you?" Wow, brilliant...poetic! But the guys are calm and do this all the time, so Joe Don replied, "VERY good!" I was thinking, "Yeah me too right now!!!!" After they took the picture Joe Don said, "Have fun tonight!" Hey, this girl will have nothing but fun! The concert was great also-we had great seats on the end up against the stage once again and I got to shake his hand at the end of the concert as well! It was a blast! I think Kyle's favorite part was eating at Johnny Carino's though! :) That's OK, he was so nice about the whole thing-he even lifted me up at the end to make sure Joe Don shook my hand! Kyle is one of a kind...most guys would be jealous their girlfriends are drooling over another guy! But he knows where my heart is! :)
As predicted, the line was made up of many young girls! That was no surprise, however I was surprised by their lack of clothing! I guess that is the Mom in me starting to come out! I mean, it was 40 degrees outside and they had on mini-skirts!
Well, we didn't go to the Amish farm to eat. Long story....actually rather short, but it's probably not best to go into the details. Instead, we went to the Air Show which was fun...except the 1 1/2 hour bus ride that covered 2 miles. There were a TON of people there!
Well, it's Saturday night which means it's poker night! See ya!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

The Countdown to Joe Don!

Tomorrow night is the night! Yes, I am finally going to get meet my idol, Joe Don of Rascal Flatts. We have tickets to the concert tomorrow night and I have a BACKSTAGE PASS! I am pumped...sorry Kyle, but my dream will come true. You thought I was bad a year and a half ago when I shook his hand, I just hope to stay in a vertical position when I meet him face to face!
There are 30 backstage passes-here is how I expect the line to look....cute 19 year old, cute 16 year old, cute 22 year old...then me, the Mom with 2 kids pushing 30! Oh well....I get to meet him!
I can't believe it has been a week since our fun started in Atlanta last week! Time sure does fly.
Next weekend we are going to stay with Billy and Karla and go eat at PF Chang's! My favorite!
Then, possibly the weekend after that, we may head to Dallas to catch the NASCAR race there...I think my addiction to NASCAR is returning! I have attached a picture of the booth team with Jason. Carrie, when you read this, do you have plans the weekend of the 8th? We need a place to bunk! Jason's car will be dressed in our colors, so I would love to catch it again!
On another note, Weston has had strep-throat and has been throwing up ever since I got back. He finally felt better today. He's on Spring Break, so he's been going to daycare with Kylie. Luckily he wasn't sick next week when he starts all of those standardized tests. I still can't believe kindergarteners have to take standardized tests...crazy.
Saturday afternoon we are going to eat at an Amish farm...if you've never eaten at one, you don't know what you are missing. It's like being invited to their home for dinner...bowls and bowls of home-cooked food. I feel I owe it to Kyle since I haven't been home to cook. My cooking wouldn't compare to theirs anyway!
Well, that's all for this evening. I am going to try and figure out how to put a few pictures from the race on here.
The next time you hear from me, I will have met my idol!
Til then,
T

Monday, March 20, 2006

Get Your Motor Runnin'

Well, I FINALLY made it back from my trip. Needless to say, it was quite a fiasco to get home. But, let's start at the beginning of the trip! The four of us left out Wednesday afternoon for Atlanta and got there late that evening. We were staying about 1 mile from the airport, however our journey from the airport to the hotel took around 30 minutes...Good Times. You see, we went east instead of west or something like that-all I know is it was the wrong direction. But, we finally found the hotel and were ready to eat dinner! So, around 10 we decided to walk over to Mc Donald's across the street (I say street, however the cars were whizzing by at around 50 mph).....We walk across the street only to find that the dining area is locked and all that is available is the drive-thru. So, we walk BACK to the hotel and get the mini-van. Then, we drive back over to the restaurant. Since we are expensing the meal, we each needed different receipts. Well, we decided it would be smart to each buy a few bottles of water for the next day since the Speedway wouldn't have everything set-up as well as their drinks/food would be outrageous! First order, cheeseburger happy meal, diet coke, and 2 bottles of water. Second order, fish sandwich, 3 bottles of water. Third order, quarter pounder meal, dr.pepper, 2 bottles of water...at this point the lady is getting curious...Final order, double cheeseburger meal, dr. pepper, 2 bottles of water. Well, the lady couldn't resist. She said, "Man, someone is thirsty in that vehicle! I think they have a case of Cottonmouth!" We started cracking up. She was so tickled at us that she had trouble cashing out the orders when we pulled up to pay. Good times!
The next day we got up and went to our terminal to tour the facility and coordinate the container for delivery to the speedway. As each member of the terminal personnel handed us off to the next area, they would introduce us as the "NASCAR team"....well, we thought they understood that we were employees of their company just touring the facility, but it got worse and worse. By the next day, they were telling others that some big shots with NASCAR had come to see them! Little did they know, we were just fellow employees!
After the tour, we headed out to lunch before heading over to the speedway to start setting up our booth. We stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel-yummy! Then off to the speedway....this was the part that concerned me...trying to bring together 3 different chunks of one project in a foreign area. But, it all worked out just fine. The showcar showed up on time, the container was delivered as scheduled, and we found the booth location. The booth turned out AWESOME! When Todd brought the showcar to the area, he let me back it out of the trailer! It was such an awesome experience! Then, we started up the car-you should have seen the people jump! It was so loud! After a few hours of coordinating the booth setup and unwrapping hundreds of stress chairs, we were stressed out and ready to relax...so, we decided to meet up with Todd and Vic and hang out...we headed first to Buckhead, but change of plans made us backtrack past the hotel and towards the Speedway. All was well though, we ate at a Mexican restaurant and then headed to the club for a little fun. And a little more fun...and a little more fun! At 3 a.m. the club closed down and we had to turn in for the evening. Probably for the best because we had a busy day ahead of us! The booth went well Friday with Jason stopping by to sign autographs. That evening, we caught the truck race in our suite...SWEET!
By Saturday the booth was even busier! The weather was great as well-after a busy afternoon manning the booth, we closed down to catch the Busch race-Jason did AWESOME! We were so proud! Saturday night saw us a little confused on our evening plans. We were going to meet up with a couple of groups of people, however a fatality at the track and lack of vehicle prohibited everything coming together. No worries though...we just hung out and relaxed a little while infield. It definitely reminded me of hanging out at home....
Sunday however was very cold and rainy! The turnout wasn't as big as Saturday due to the weather, but we still had tons of people come by. By noon it was time to pack up and head to the airport...this is where the trip home got fun!
We head to the airport ready to fly out...our flight gets delayed. And delayed even more. We finally get to board the plane only to have to sit in the plane for an hour longer! While we wait on the tarmack, AA calls me and says that my connecting flight is canceled. Not cool! So, we knew it would be another night in a hotel even after we got off of the plane....
We got to Dallas and found our hotel. We were exhausted by then-a long weekend and a long trip home. We went over to Bennigan's to grab a bite to eat before dinner, but I think our appetites were shot from not being able to eat lunch the past few days!
We FINALLY flew home the next morning..wearing the same cute booth t-shirts and pants we had worn the previous day since we had no access to our luggage! We got off the plane and headed straight into the office looking oh so nice! NO MAKE-UP, YUCKY CLOTHES! GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!!
All in all, it was a great, great trip!
Pictures to come!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Headin' Out

Well, I leave tomorrow afternoon for the race. I am excited and exhausted in the same breath. I have been working so hard to get everything together for the booth, trip, and everything that revolves around this event and I am ready to see the finished project! It's like planning a wedding-by the time the wedding day gets here, you are just ready to be married!
It should be loads of fun and work all in one....
My photography business is starting to take off again! It's the time of year where everything is blooming outside and everyone is ready for spring pictures. I almost feel out of practice though because it has been a couple of months since my last shoot.
Well, I have a ton to pack and I am already worn out before this adventure even begins, so I am going to load up the suitcase and get some rest.
See ya in victory lane!
T

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Happy Birthday to Me!

Ok, you knew this was coming...Happy Birthday to me! Yes, this is my next to last birthday, so I am relishing it! After next year's birthday, I will no longer celebrate!
So far, my birthday hasn't been the worst one yet, but it's running a close second place. I would have to say my worst birthday was about 3 years ago when I had to drink the disgusting stuff the night before you have a colonoscopy....it was horrid. It tasted what I would imagine sweaty gym socks tasting like (notice I said "imagine" as I don't frequently suck on gym socks)!
With that said, today hasn't necessarily been horrible, it's just not the best day for celebrating my birthday. I have to be at work, then I have 1 1/2 hours to kill before I go to class for 4 hours. Not to mention, I have been up since 2:30ish when the storm from Hades blew through and nearly tried to rip the top off of my metal building. Then, the girls from work decided to take me to lunch and told me it was my choice. Well, I was all geared up for Taco Mayo (yes, I had the pick of the city and that was my choice), only to find that it is under renovation. I had no clue they would pick today to redo the building because they definitely didn't consult me!
Then, the girls went to pick up a birthday cake for me and the lady forgot to make it! Luckily, she whipped up an equivalent and delivered it 1 hour later. It even had my name and Happy Birthday on it!
So, all in all it's been a decent birthday, just a long arduous day that I would rather be spending at the mall or at home.
Tonight I start a new class and the syllabus looks a lot meatier than the last class. I have a feeling I am going to feel the pain from this one. Not to mention I was able to get into the 3 hour corporate seminar which has a 6 page paper due before you even show up. Such is life, huh?
On the topic of the storm last night, Kylie cracked me up. When the wind started to pick up and the rain became heavier, I went into her room to see if she was awake. I found her wide-eyed with the sheet tucked under her chin in utter shock. I asked her if she wanted to come get in bed with me to which she replied yes, however was so frozen with fear that she didn't even move. When we finally got back in my bed, she calmed down a little and told me that she knew what was causing all of the noise outside. Aliens. Yes, aliens. My three-year-old thought we were being invaded. I guess hail, wind, and strong rain on a metal building could leave a out-of-this world impression, but aliens? It was still cute though!
Well, I have a ton of reading to do before class and I am having a hard time functioning as it is, so here's to my first day at 28....

Monday, March 06, 2006

Isms

Well, I am at home watching Gilmore Girls and frequently referencing the "Your Guide to Gilmore-Isms" during each episode. I sometimes think I need an Isms Guide myself...as well as Kyle.
So, nothing interesting to write about today as I am home sick and am not feeling very prolific.
Only a week and 2 days before I leave for Atlanta, GA! The four of us going ordered Busch Race tickets so that we can see Jason in action for the first time in our car. I am taking the "good" camera to make sure I get tons of pictures...

Sunday, March 05, 2006

I'm Going To Jackson..."

Ok, I'm not really going to Jackson, but I just sat down to watch "Walk The Line"...the Johnny Cash movie, and I can't get that song out of my head!
The weekend FLEW by! I honestly think there are less hours in the day on Saturday and Sunday than the rest of the week. We had a great time though! We went out to eat with Robert, Kim, Janet, and Jim at Logan's last night and had a blast. After we ate, we went back and played cards...I have no luck!
Kylie is talking on the phone right now with my Grandpa and she is cracking me up. He asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm watching Jackson" in a matter-of-fact tone. I am sure he had no clue what she meant. So, I told her to explain it was the Johnny Cash movie. Well, he asked her if he could borrow it from her and she said, "You have to go get one at the movie store." Crazy girl!
Ok, so 4 more days until my birthday!! At least there is something to look forward to this week. Weston asked me what kind of party I was having. What he meant was that he always has a "themed" party like Spiderman, Scooby Doo, Pooh Bear, etc. and so he wanted to know what my birthday party's theme was going to be. Well, I told him I didn't think I would be able to have an actual party.
My grandma is still in the hospital from her hip replacement surgery. Hopefully the physical therapy will help this week and she'll get to go home.
Ok, time for the movie...."I'm going to Jackson, so comb your hair, I'm gonna snowball Jackson, see if I care..."

Saturday, March 04, 2006

One Class Down...

Well, Thursday night was the last night of my 1st class towards my Masters' degree. I tried to login and see what my grade was, but I left my password at home to the online grading server. Oh well, guess I will find out Monday. I am hoping we got a good grade on our team presentation and I really hoping I ended up with an A. My next class immediately starts next Thursday, so we get right back to it! That's probably for the better. I can get it out of the way faster! I also found out this week that I get to attend the Corporate Seminar in April that will also give me 3 hours of credit. I heard it is very good, so I was glad that space became available.
We had our second Bunco night last night. It was good time and great food! Kelley is a great cook. I am going to have to start thinking now about what meal I want to cook.
Well, the Growing Kids sale is next week, so I need to get busy tagging all of my clothes and go pick up my barcodes. I only have today to knock out as much as I can and since they require it ironed and perfect, it'll take me all day!