Monday, April 30, 2007

Our GORGEOUS Weekend

FRIDAY
Friday evening I was supposed to meet a friend for supper/drinks but at the last minute her husband decided to come to town with her and of course, he didn't want to sit with us two so we'll meet up again next time she's in town. I was so tired anyways so don't know if I would have been good company!

SATURDAY
Saturday Hayley had her state dance competition in H. The competition was supposed to be held in February but due to that nasty snow storm it was postponed. The girls had fun and placed 3rd......out of three teams, but, oh well. It's not all about winning. They did better at their last competition, placing 2nd out of five or six teams. You can't win them all. It was a long day. We left about 9:30 and got back about 5:00.

The kids thought it was a great evening to go play mini golf so after supper that's where we headed. The scores were as follows: Dean - 50, Me - 58, Hayley - 68, and Tanner - 76. Hayley actually got a hole-in-one!! Even her dad the "real" golfer didn't get one of those! And boy, did I let him know!!

SUNDAY
Dean had a golf date at the "real" golf course with his dad early Sunday morning - out the door at 7:20. Thankfully he didn't disturb me! The kids and I wanted to go golfing, too, so right after lunch Dean called for a tee time. The earliest time they had was 6:46 pm!!! Wow! It was definitely a busy day at the golf course. After lunch we did some shopping, the kids needed shorts, and I got 8 loads of laundry done. Then we went golfing. I ate no less than 1000 gnats and wore at least twice that many!! Crazy! Every time we looked up at the sky all you could see were swarms of gnats! And of course our golf cart doesn't have a windshield and I like to drive FAST so everytime I took off I told the kids to close their mouths! Once I ALMOST managed to send Hayley flying out of the cart through the open windshield. Something flew in my ear and was buzzing around. I slammed on the brakes while swerving erractically!! Good thing she was able to grab something to hold onto or I'm pretty sure she would have been history! Poor girl!! I really think Dean does not enjoy golfing with his family (meaning his wife and two kids). We are NOT good golfers!! And we really don't care - we're out to have fun! Well, of course, I wish I did better who doesn't?!?!

I did take golf lessons awhile back and I really don't know if I learned anything. Dean has tried to give me tips over the years and obviously they have not helped. Dean has told me I have a bad swing (plus I dance around - seriously, I cannot keep my feet still), but I didn't really believe him because he's a "real" golfer. So last summer we took my dad out golfing for Father's Day and when I teed off on the first hole my dad said, boy, you have an ugly golf swing! Gee - thanks dad! So the consensus is, I seriously need golf lessons! AGAIN! Last night, my first time out for the season, I scored a 68, which I don't think is too bad. I think par was 36 but still - a 68 isn't THAT bad! Trust me, there's been times when I've scored in the 80s!!

By the way ~ I am done with classes one week from today and graduate the 12th!!!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Road Construction.....ARGH!

So wouldn't you know that they had to start road construction last Monday on my route to school! Could they not have waited three more weeks when I'm done commuting??? However, I can't complain too much. It's actually 12 miles of road construction but I only have to drive on 2 miles of the construction, so it could be worse.

However, it's like they don't know what they're doing! Or they're trying to play with people. One day I'm on one side of the road and the next day I'm on the other side. And they don't have it marked well at all. One night I was coming home, in the dark, and I was talking to my dad on the phone and I had to tell him wait, I can't figure out which side of the road I'm supposed to be on! I finally figured it out but it's that crazy! Then again, coming home this afternoon, I didn't know which side I was supposed to be on as it wasn't marked or barricaded well enough. Once I got near the end of the construction I found out I was on the WRONG side!!! YIKES!!! Luckily there was an opening in the cones for me to get to the right side but needless to say, I was embarrassed and upset that it's not well marked!!

So yesterday when I came to the road construction, there was a new sign, Grooved Road. What the heck does that mean?! Well, I soon found out. Grooved road means VERY ANNOYING vibrations and humming while driving over the road. Again, thank goodness I only need to drive it 2 miles because I don't think I'd be able to stand 12 miles of that!!

However, when I finally turned off of it and realized my butt and thighs were now numb, I thought wait a minute! This might be an excellent weight loss program. Maybe all that vibrating will help me lose all the extra pounds in my butt and thighs. Now this is a exercise program I can definitely handle......doing nothing!! I'd be willing to drive over that VERY ANNOYING grooved road 25..........no 50..........no 100 miles everyday. I could just crank the tunes to drown out the ANNOYING humming.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

What a Week...And It's Only Thursday Morning!

TUESDAY
Dean had to travel for work so he left at 8:00. I was so tired I could hardly open my eyes and I was laying on the floor at the top of the steps talking to him while he was getting ready to leave. And I didn't feel well most of the day but I didn't have time for that. I went shopping for a new outfit to wear for one of my busy nights this week. I got home and was making myself a ham and cheese omelet for lunch when the phone rang. It was a company that I had applied to but not specifically for a job I wanted but applied anyways. So I took the phone call and they wanted to schedule an interview with me so I shut off the burner but forgot to remove the pan from the burner. (By the way, I burned the omelet. So I ate two bites and put it into the fridge, my hubby will eat it when he gets back.) I had to run downstairs and search for my calendar and the conversation went something like this:

Job: Do you have a job to work around?
Me: No, but I attend school in M, though.
Job: Everyday?
Me: No, only three days a week.
Job: Let's try to work around your schedule.
Me: How about anytime Thursday before 2:00?
Job: No, the HR lady is out of the office that day. How about Wednesday?
Me: No, I'm out of town the whole day. How about Friday at 3:00?
Job: Well, Friday afternoons are not good days to do interviews. How about today?
Me: (Looking at the time; it's 12:15.) Well, it would have to be really soon as I have to pick up my kids from school and leave for M as I have a banquet tonight.
Job: Boy, you're busy!
Me: No, not really but you just picked my busiest week of the semester.
Job: Let's look at next week. How about Monday?
Me: Sure, I get back at 11:00.
Job: How about 11:15?
Me: Well, I need to stop by home to change and prepare so how about 11:30?
Job: Well, we can try that. (Whatever that means.)

So as we are confirming the details I realize I'm actually supposed to be in M the whole day that day because although I'm done with classes at 10:00 I have a banquet to attend that evening and am not going to travel back and forth. AARRGGHH!! So I'm thinking what should I do. I finally decided just to go with it and think about it later. So now that I've had time to think, I'm going to skip classes Monday morning, go to my 11:30 interview and then drive to M for the banquet.

Later that afternoon I start getting ready for my PBL Banquet and at 2:15 receive a call from my dad that he's going to be stopping by as he's going through town and he's 45 minutes away. Oh shoot! I forgot he was coming. OK, dad but I have to pick the kids up from school at 3:20. (By the way, he knew I was going to leave town shortly afterwards because I had told him this when we talked on the phone over the weekend.) So he should have been to my house by 3:00 but didn't show so at 3:15 left to get the kids. On my way home my engine light comes on. Now, this is my Explorer, my baby. We bought it brand new 2.5 years ago and I take very good care of it. Why is this happening? And more importantly, why today? So I go home and my dad still isn't there. I tell the kids to grab their suitcases and let's go to grandma's house being Dean was out of town on business and I was leaving town and wouldn't be home until 9:00 pm and would be leaving for M again at 6:30 am the next day. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get to M tonight and tomorrow and my hubby isn't due back until late Wednesday. Then I remember that although he left town his vehicle is still here as he rode with someone else. So now my only dilemma was whether I could make it the 2.5 miles to his workplace. So I dropped the kids off and made it. Although now I was not happy that I would now be driving the mini van (yeah, I know, we're sorta backwards, employed hubby drives 10 year old mini van while unemployed wife drives new SUV.) And I made it to M and back.

I arrived early to my PBL Banquet, believe it or not. In time for happy hour, 2-fers!! Trust me, I needed it after my day. The banquet was really small but really fun! Boy is Dan, my PBL advisor, going to miss me next year! Whether he believes it or not! :)

While in M I called my sister and made arrangements to meet her back in town when I got back so I could give her my car keys to give to her fiance who is the Service Manager at the dealership in town. My drive home was LLOONNGG!! I swear I was seeing double because I was so tired. I called my dad to find out what happened to him and he showed up at my house at 4:20 after I had left and had forgotten I was leaving town. He wanted me to talk to him awhile being I was so tired but I really needed to concentrate on the road. I almost hit a pheasant and bunny (AGAIN) while on the phone and just knew those deer were waiting out there for me. I wonder if those are the same pheasant and bunny I've almost hit several other times???

Well, for some reason, when I got home, I couldn't go to sleep. Probably because I had no husband and no kids! I was in bed by 10:20 and still awake at midnight. I made a decision that I was not getting up at 5:30 to go to 8:00 class so I reset my alarm and got up for my 9:00 class.

WEDNESDAY
By the way, I missed a quiz in my 8:00 class. Go figure! So I made it to class yesterday at 9:00, had a meeting, had lunch with my friend Maria, had class again, spent a couple hours at Maria's house chatting (again) and enjoying her little 6-month boy Jordan, and then went to another banquet/dinner. This one at the President's house of the college. He invites three faculty members and those faculty are to bring one student. My PBL Advisor choose me to attend. It was a good time. So I got back home last night, talked to my dad almost the whole way home as he was giving me a play-by-play on American Idol. Boy, was I happy to see my kids and hubby!

By the way, my sister's fiance called me to tell me what was wrong with my SUV. Really, nothing, but something.

John: Do you use E-85?
Me: Yes, but we can as it's a flex-fuel vehicle, the manual says!
John: Yes you can but do you switch back and forth between the two?
Me: Yes.
John: Well, with yours, if you are going to change between regular and E-85 fuel you have to wait until it's below 1/4 of a tank. There's a sensor in your tank. If you fill up above 1/4 tank, it assumes you are putting the same fuel in. If you don't, you confuse your vehicle. If you fill up when it's below 1/4 tank, it will actually sense what type of fuel.
Me: Oh, well it would have been nice if I knew that sooner!

So for convenience, I'll probably start using regular all the time as I don't want to keep track what I put in there last and I don't like to wait until it gets below 1/4 tank to fill up, especially with commuting.

THURSDAY
I'm working on a group presentation that we are rehearsing tomorrow afternoon so I better get back to that. Then I have another banquet in M tonight, Delta Mu Delta. But before I go to the banquet I'm going to stop at my friend Julie's (which by the way, she's going to be serving a variety of wines, cheeses, and desserts on a silver platter with the red carpet rolled out for me when I arrive) and chat with her and see her little girl, Alonna. I'm so excited!!

Gosh, driving to M five days this week is going to do me in. Actually it was supposed to be six. I had a Kappa Sigma Iota Banquet last Sunday but I decided I was skipping that one. I'm glad I did, too many banquets and too much driving. By the way, I have another banquet next Monday. I think if I ever hear the word banquet again will be way too soon!

Friday, April 13, 2007

To Tell or Not To Tell...

That is the question. What is the answer?

I can't even remember when I realized that mom and dad were the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Even after us three older siblings realized it, we had to keep up the facade because my youngest sibling was eight years younger and we didn't want to spoil it for her. Then when she started figuring it out, we kept trying to make her believe they were real because we were afraid it would all come to an end after all of us had it figured out!! But it didn't.

So anyways, I have no idea if my kids still believe in these "people." They have raised questions of doubt over the past couple of years but we've never come out and said yes or no, they are or are not real. We have said things, such as well then where do all the presents come from and just asked them to explain it to us.

Should we say something or just let them be? Everyone I've talked to said they knew by the 2nd grade. I think I was much older, say 4th or 5th, which are the grades my kids are in. I hate to take away their innocence. They're only kids once. I'm afraid my kids might get beat up on the playground at school for believing in these "people." Especially my son, who's the oldest!

Yesterday Tanner lost his tooth in school. So, of course, he had to put it under his pillow so the Tooth Fairy could bring him money. I, over the years, have actually discouraged them from putting it under the pillow because 1) if the Tooth Fairy decides to take it, he/she has to find it without waking the sleeping child while in the dark, and 2) it might get lost. So the conversation last night went like this:

Tanner: Mom, I put my tooth on my toy box, in the corner, away from the wall, closest to my door.

Me: Why are you telling me this?

Tanner: (With a small grin and some thinking.) Because you like to know where things are.

Me: Oh, really.

Tanner: Yes. (Walked away and went to bed.)

So that was at 9:00 pm. At 10:00 I started getting ready for bed. I was in bed for about 30 minutes when I suddenly opened my eyes and hit my sleeping husband to tell him the Tooth Fairy forgot to come. His response, yeah, so. My response, please go do it, I don't want to get up. So he raids my purse for money and then brings up the tooth and puts it on my armoire. Then the conversation goes like this:

Me: You can't take the tooth.

Husband: Why not? (Already back in bed.)

Me: Because it's a silver crown and the tooth fairy only takes good teeth to give to kids that don't have teeth. They don't take bad teeth.

Husband: Whatever. (Almost back to sleep.)

Me: You aren't going to make ME bring it back downstairs, are you?

Husband: Argh! (Whips the blankets back, gets out of bed huffily, and replaces the tooth.)

This isn't the first time the Tooth Fairy has forgotten to come. (At least this time, the Tooth Fairy remembered before the child awakened in the morning to find nothing.) The prior tooth Tanner lost, his other silver crown, it took the Tooth Fairy 3 nights to come!!! I think we could have won the Worst Parents Ever Award for that one! Our excuses each day after a night would pass with no Tooth Fairy were: maybe the Tooth Fairy doesn't bring money for silver teeth, or maybe she's been too busy, you know kids loose their teeth everyday. We felt awful but we just couldn't remember. It wasn't intentional. Really!!!

Tanner didn't say a word this morning about how much he received from the Tooth Fairy so maybe the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night??? I'll have to check on that.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

What Cartoon Character Are You?

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character do you most resemble? A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test. Answer all the questions (only 10) with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results. Do not cheat by looking at the end before you are done.

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts)
b) Fun/Theme park (2 pts)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts)
d) Rock concert (1 pt)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts)
b) Alternative (1 pt)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts)
d) Country (5 pts)
e) Pop (3 pts)

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts)
b) Horror (1 pt)
c) Musical (3 pts)
d) Romance (4 pts)
e) Documentary (5 pts)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts)
b) Professional sports player (5 pts)
c) Teacher (3 pts)
d) Police (2 pts)
e) Cashier (1 pt)

5. What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts)
b) Read (4 pts)
c) Watch television (2 pts)
d) Listen to music (1 pt)
e) Sleep (3 pts)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt)
b) White (5 pts)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts)
d) Dark Blue (2 pts)
e) Red (4 pts)

7. What do you prefer to eat?
a) Snow (3 pts)
b) Pizza (2 pts)
c) Sushi (1 pt)
d) Pasta (4 pts)
e) Salad (5 pts)

8. What is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween (1 pt)
b) Christmas (3 pts)
c) New Year (2 pts)
d) Valentine's Day (4 pts)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt)
d) Hawaii (4 pts)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
a) Someone Smart (5 pts)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts)
c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for! And make sure to let me know! I'm very interested in seeing "who" my friends are!

(10-16 points) You are Garfield :
You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy:
You are fun, you are very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you are never are out of style. You are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28 points) You are Elmo:
You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants:
You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it's funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people, and you will be stress free.

(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few birthdays. Don't let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points) You are Dexter:
You are smart and definitely a thinker... Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes. Try to do less over thinking every once in awhile to spice things up a bit with spontaneity!

So, who are you? Does the description match your personality?

I'm Sponge Bob Square Pants and I don't think the description matches my personality at all. I think I'm a combination of Dexter and Charlie Brown!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Our Easter Weekend

Friday the kids dyed Easter Eggs! It was a lot of fun! I always look forward to this. The kit came with eyes and mouths so the kids had fun making their Easter Egg Family.
Gotta have a goofy picture!

Hayley received a call that she won 2nd place in the Easter Bunny Coloring Contest. So Friday she went to pick up her prize. She was so proud! It's hard to see but in the bottom right hand corner she wrote "Look on Back". Well, when you turn it over it says, "You are the Best Econofoods". What a little brown noser!! I didn't know she wrote that on there until after she won!



Hayley with all her loot!

Saturday we went to my dad's in my hometown. I hadn't been back in two years!! Two of my three sisters were able to make it. My grandma and grandpa were also there. I forgot to get pictures of all the kids playing because my one sister has three kids and the kids love getting together. There were five kids between 1st grade - 5th grade running around the house!!

My Dad and I

Hayley, Me, Dad, and Tanner

Hayley, Dean, Me, and Tanner

Me and my sisters, Kelly & Jodi
(It took MANY photos to get this one - seriously we have like 20 goofy pictures!)

Sunday I cooked for my inlaws. My husband's parents and his sister with her husband and four kids came over. All the food turned out great and everyone got a lot to eat. I was able to feed them twice - lunch and supper - and we still have lots of leftovers. I get a little carried away when I cook, I never want to have too little!

The guys relaxing and watching TV - Corey, Grandpa George, Dean, & Tyler

Little Rylea entertained us with her singing and dancing. It was so funny! I finally had to get the video camera out because she can really shake those little hips!!

Rylea belting it out!

Rylea singing pretty!

Then being Dean's nephew's birthday is today, we celebrated it yesterday being everyone was already together. It was his 17th birthday.

Doesn't he look thrilled?!


I lit all those candles and by the time I got my camera out, he blew them all out!!

All that work for nothing!


GIRL PICTURE

Rylea, Grandma Colleen, Hayley, & Kasey

BOY PICTURE

Tanner, Corey, and Tyler

Today, the kids and I are just going to take it easy! It felt GREAT to stay in bed until almost 9 and we'll probably stay in our jammies until noon! That drives Dean crazy but we don't care!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

First Communion

Tanner & Hayley received their First Communion last night on Maundy Thursday.


Our church in M has the kids begin when they are 5th graders, as I did. This year, Tanner is a 5th grader but we moved before he got to receive his First Communion. The church we attend now in H2O has the kids begin in the 2nd grade so both Tanner and Hayley were behind. So a couple weeks ago we had to attend a three hour class with the kids to prepare them for their First Communion.

During the class, the pastor required that all the kids try the wine. Then, if they didn't like it, at their First Communion, they could choose the white grape juice instead of the wine. What was his reasoning you ask? First of all, he wanted all the kids to try the wine. Then he also said, "If you have the wine at your First Communion and don't like it and spit it out all over my white robe in front of the entire congregation, I won't be happy. But if you try it now and don't like it and spit it out all over my jeans and t-shirt, I won't care." Maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny when he said it and everyone laughed. Anyways, Hayley liked the wine, Tanner did not. His eyes were watering and he said there was no way he was drinking wine ever again! By the way, Tanner had the wine, at my request, at his First Communion and he survived! I told him in the future, he may choose the juice if he preferred but I really wanted him to have the wine at his First Communion.

We are not attending the same church we attended when we first lived here. Many "bad" things have happened to that church over the years and people have been leaving in flocks. So we chose another church and we are so glad we did. The pastor is GREAT!! He is a real "people" person. He makes it fun! Maybe this will be my calling to start attending church on a regular basis again.

We currently are not regular church-goers. Was I brought up that way? No. We didn't attend church every Sunday but we did attend fairly often as children. My dad has often given me a hard time about not attending church on a regular basis in my adulthood. Do I understand where he's coming from? Yes, but I also get to make the choice now that I am an adult. Don't get me wrong. I think church is an important part of life, however, it's become so much easier to just say I'm just too busy or tired to go. I make sure my kids get to Wednesday School (aka Sunday School) EVERY WEEK but we don't attend church. We go only a handful of times a year.

Maybe the "urge" to attend church on a regular basis will come to me soon. Maybe it won't. Maybe when I'm not doing homework 24/7 as I do now and have done for the last four years I will "find" the time to set aside one hour a week for church. Maybe after I've graduated I will find school is/was not the center of the universe. Maybe I/we will be a happier, healthier person/family when I/we finally find the time to nuture myself/ourselves with God. Maybe I'm making excuses. Maybe I'm not.

So this post took an entire different road than I had intended. I had only intended to share with you that my children just received their First Communion but it took on a much deeper rambling. I've decided to leave it as is because these are my true feelings about religion.....at least at this point in my life.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Graduation - YIPPEE!

I GRADUATE IN 39 DAYS!

I bought my graduation cap, gown, and accessories today. YIPPEE!!

Can you tell I'm excited?!?!

I'm throwing myself one heck of a party!!

(My husband says people my age don't throw parties when they graduate. Can you believe that?!?! Someone (older than me) told me today that I should get to throw a bigger party than traditional students because it's harder to go to school as a non-traditional student with all the other responsibilites we have!!!)

I AGREE!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

YUCK!!

So here's what it looked like this morning! YUCK!! It's been snowing and blowing all morning.



I thought April Fools Day was bad. This is worse!!

I had taken the winter coats down to the laundry room last week but hadn't had time to wash them yet, thank goodness. I made the kids put on the winter coats and boots this morning, which they were not thrilled about. Oh, well! Winter has been extended. I don't believe I received that memo. If anyone else did, please forward it on so I know when I can expect Spring! Or maybe we're just skipping it this year???

Me: Put on your winter coats, boots, hats, and mittens.

Tanner: Why?

Me: Because it snowed last night and it's only supposed to get to a high of 38.

Tanner: How can it snow and be Spring at the same time?

Me: Because we live in here, that's why!!

Also, only here can you have a winter storm at the same time that the sump pump is still pumping out water from all the Spring rain we've had!!! CRAZY! Btw - all of Sunday's snow had disappeared by Sunday afternoon, so this is all NEW snow!

Monday, April 02, 2007

PBL State Spring Leadership Conference


It was a LONG weekend! Thursday I got to M about 6:15 pm (after driving in really bad fog and heavy downpours). I got my work done that needed to be finished prior to the PBL Conference and went to bed at 11 pm after taking a (maximum strength) sleeping pill at 10:30. Well, the sleeping pill did not work, AGAIN. I only slept about 3 hours that night which meant I laid in bed awake for the other 5 hours! The Conference on Friday went really well. That night we had our Hawaiian Social at the hotel and could play mini golf or enjoy the pool and hot tub. I had lots of work to do after the social which was supposed to last until midnight but they shut the lights off on us at 11 pm, which was fine with me; the sooner I could get started on my work. Plus I had to help one of the new officers do all her secretary minutes because she knew nothing about parliamentary procedure. For some reason, she was in NO hurry to get done and go to bed. Finally, at 11:45 I told her she better get that fire lit under her bed because I was going to go to bed no later than 1:00 am being I had to get up at 5:30 am the next day to get ready for the second day of the conference plus I didn't sleep the night before. At 1:00 am she was not even half way done with her stuff but I was done with mine. So I kicked her out of my room (I know, I'm a meanie) and told her she was going to have to figure it out on her own and somebody would find time to proof them the following day. She was in no hurry and wanted to talk about other things. This is NOT the time to socialize!!!

So I was in bed by 1:30 and at 2:15 I WAS STILL AWAKE!!! And I woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30!!! Needless to say I was VERY tired after only 6 hours of sleep in two days!!! Well, I got ready and then had to haul stuff out of my hotel room. When I got to the door of the back entrance, I realized it was POURING outside! And my umbrella and jacket were in my vehicle which was parked quite aways from the door. There was nothing I could do but make a run for it. I had three trips to make from my room to my vehicle. Needless to say, I looked like a drowned rat. I was WET!!! What was the point in doing my hair?! Had I known it was raining I wouldn't have wasted the time! And now I had to go to the conference looking like crap!! It was a very bad hair day! Oh, and then after I made my first trip to my vehicle and went to go back inside, I couldn't find my hotel keycard and the door was locked! So while it's pouring I am now looking for this card.....in my pockets, the parking lot, all over in my vehicle......I finally found it in the backseat of my vehicle stuck to my business suit bag because of the water. If I wouldn't have found it, I would have had to run around the building all the way to the front because I was in the back of the hotel. I am so glad I did not have to do that! I probably would have started crying!

Then I had to stop at the front desk and checkout and pay for all of our rooms. Well, they gave us the state rate but then added tax on!! Isn't the point of the state rate because you're a state organization?! So the guy had to take it all off as I already had the check preprinted. It takes much longer to take off tax than it does to put it on! Then I had to stop and get gas so I could turn in my gas receipt for reimbursement and then drive all the way across town to the Conference. So anyways, I finally made it to the conference, and on time I might add which is a miracle being my first trip out to my vehicle was at 6:30 and a lot happened between then and 7:00. I am done with state PBL, however, my official term doesn't end until the close of the National Leadership Conference on June 26 in Chicago.

I received the following awards: 1st - Human Resource Management, 1st - Accounting Analysis & Decision Making, 1st - Financial Analysis & Decision Making, 1st - Who's Who in PBL, and 3rd - Management Analysis & Decision Making. I will most likely be competing in two of these events at the NLC if I should decide to go. I've gone to the NLC the last 3 years and placed the last 2 years at the national level so that's why I'll probably go this year.

It was a LONG 2 hr 15 min drive home! Raining and downpouring the whole way home. And about 5 or 10 miles north of SF, I ran into a quarter mile of snow and slush!!! CRAZY! The traffic often dropped down to 45-50 mph. I was so glad to get home; I ached all over. Plus I was very tired and had to really fight to stay focused.

Saturday night I caught up on some of my sleep, took a sleeping pill (hoping it would actually work) and went to bed at 9:20 and I literally was out ASAP and didn't wake up until 7:45! Last night was another story, took a sleeping pill, went to bed at 9:30 and was still awake at 10:45.

So that was my busy weekend. Yesterday I just recuperated, did laundry, and some homework.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

April Fool's Day



Mother Nature played a cruel April Fool's Day jokel!!
I woke up to this!!
YUCK! Where in the world is Spring???
Not HERE!!