Happiness Is...

Happiness Is...

...my new car (Duuuuuudes.... it's seriously seriously delicious.)

...my iPhone (I've had this little gadget for almost 2 years now - and it still amazes me every day. Hubby and I just put together a shared calendar at google - and it syncs to and from our iPhones. I had to add a doctor's appointment for Prissy (which I did on my phone while at the doctors office) - and added it on my iPhone, the google calendar website and on hubby's phone. Seriously slick.

...An ice cold glass of chardonnay...

...my son's cuddles... (just because my car and my iphone are before my son and daughter do NOT mean I love them less than my car and iPhone... :))

...my daughter being able to stay at home by herself while we go to Taekwondo (nice, because otherwise, she and her brother would be fighting like cats and dogs while hubby and I were in class.) It's even nicer when we come home and she's all showered and ready for bed.

...my crazy-ass cat carrying around her favorite stuffed toy (a whale) and dropping it at my feet and then meowing like crazy. She brought me a gift... She wanted to share her favorite toy with me. awww.....

...my bed that is awaiting upstairs. It's all soft and comfy.. I love my bed... (hate the alarm clock that sits next to it though. :P)

...feeling like "not a total and complete failure at work." Right now - I'm working on a HUGE HUGE HUGE project... If I screw this up - everyone will know about it and blame me for LOTS of things for the next 18 months. I do not currently feel like a screw up and I sorta kinda know what I'm doing. This is the first time I've felt like this in quite a few years. Which means I'll probably screw this up... *LAUGH*

...testing for first degree taekwondo black belt midterms on Thursday - this is the first step of many on the road to my second degree. I know the stuff and I'm excited to get going. More than that though - we have a good friend that is testing for their black belt on Thursday and we get to cheer him on. I know he'll do great!

...popcorn with real butter...

Today I am...

(I totally stole this from badger...)

...reading Jodi Picoult's Handle with Care - I love Jodi Picoult, but I'm halfway through this book and it's just ticking me off. I'll keep reading though - until I can't... :)

...setting up shared calendar's so hubby and I can use the same calendar which is accessible through our iPhones... ROCKIN!!!! I have a baton team calendar, a personal calendar (which updates with my work stuff) and a new family calendar! Hubby and I update our "stuff" - baton, taekwondo, Bubba's soccer practice, haircuts, softball board events, etc.. Dudes - this is just really neat... I think we have finally found a way to keep in sync so we can stay organized!

...grilling peppercorn tenderloin, rice a roni, and a bunch of roasted veggies on the grill... OMG! I love grilled roasted veggies! It was a meal to die for! (and yes, I did make the rice-a-roni on the grill - so THERE!)

...getting my toes done because they look like CRAP! And if I want to wear sandals my toes can't be all skanky-like! And duh! It's summer, I don't wear anything BUT sandals!! The people at my normal nail place were all, "WTF - where have you been?!!??" I should have felt guilty but I didn't.. My last pedicures were in AZ with Prissy at Nationals, with one of my BFFs to "catch up" and in the Bay Area while Prissy was at Baton Camp... So - it's actually been several months since I've been to my regular place. And, I have to say - my regular place is still the best. HOLY SMOKES!!! BEST FOOT MASSAGE EVAH!!! (Crystal Nails 2 - Rocklin, CA - seriously, the best around.. and not so expensive!)

...sleeping in, because I'm seriously not a morning person and I haven't slept in for a LOOOOONG time... I'm dreading waking up early tomorrow...

...getting baton team stuff setup so we're ready for the '09-'10 season to start!

...cuddling with my son while watching Big Brother... (probably one of my favorite things of today)

...going to Safeway and buying groceries... Bubba came - he was really good and we got Starbucks... But, it was still going to the store, which is just a chore. I felt minorly guiltly because I should have gone to Walmart first - but I had a lot of fresh fruit, veggies and meat that I needed. Not the best thing to buy at Walmart and I just didn't feel like spending the day grocery shopping..

...writing a blog and while it seems like I've been totally busy today, I've really accomplished nada....

...dang - my life is so dull... SEE why I haven't been updating my blog? *smile*

Another Update

Oh man -

It hasn't even been that long and I'm already posting again. That's Right! Uh huh!

What is new here? I've been totally stressed out... I can't tell you why exactly... Just stressed... about something... I think it's the fact that we're "in between" things right now... Soccer doesn't start for another week. Winter softball doesn't start for awhile... Baton, I thought that we had 2 weeks off - but, it's probably closer to 1.5 weeks off. We still have taekwondo (and testing next week - YOWSA!) - but I think I'm stressed out because there isn't a heck of a lot going on and I'm feeling all discombobulated about it.. :D

Work is really busy right now... I have my BIG PROJECT OF THE YEAR due quite soon... The one project that really matters in my newish role... 'Nuff said... However, I did teach a class today - and I did "not-bad." So, that is encouraging... It's all sort of hectic though.

Ok - I'm looking for a new car... Yes, I'm trading my bad-ass minivan in... I love her - but she's almost at 100K miles and starting to show her age. I love her.. She's been an awesome awesome mini-van... She has just done great through years of my commute... But, she's starting to show signs of age. I think that I spend more on fixing her each month than I would on a new car payment.... So, I think it's time... And I think this is the root of my stress... I drive 45 minutes to work each day - all city driving - so I decided to invest in a hybrid. But, I don't want a sedan or any low driving car. I have it narrowed down to two: the toyota highlander hybrid and the Lexus RX450h... The Lexus is EXPENSIVE! And highly in demand - so little negotiation room... but, holy crap is it nice... The Highlander is just about perfect... But, it doesn't have "cooling" seats... *lol*

My awesome interest rate loan expires on Wednesday - so I need to make a decision quickly. Just adds stress...

But, it's a good stress.. :D

Ummm... I'm guessing there isn't anyone here...

Wow -

It has certainly been a long time since I've posted here. I guess I just got totally burned out. Also - Facebook has sort of become my latest addiction. It's like a blog - but in just a sentence... And there are games - with competition. I totally dig it. :) If any one wants to friend me on facebook - just email me and I'll tell you my log in name.

So - I guess I should update how things are going... They are going well. Very well... I'm pretty happy in my job... Well, I like my boss (he is really the boss I would choose to work for)... I feel valued - which I find to be the most important aspect of my career... I did not feel valued at my other company and got the heck out of there. I get crazy busy, then things get terribly slow - they crazy busy... My current work - it's rather dull, even in the busy times. But, it's important... I'm still finding my way and my place in my group... It's important, and needs to be done... However, I'm not sure I can do it for the rest of my life. (and I do miss managing people.)

The kids are awesome! Bubba is back in Taekwondo by his choice. We started something called combat sparring - which is sparring (fighting) with a stick... To an 8 year old boy it's a heck of a lot like a StarWars light saber. So, he has come back and really likes it. It's fun to be a black belt. Hubby and I are also enjoying being black belts - but we are also finding it hard to make it to classes.

Prissy and I went on a week long trip to Tucson, AZ last week. Yes - the desert in July is a great place to be! Prissy competed in the United States Twirling Association National Twirling Competition. This has been a rather tough year for her - her first coach (who she absolutely idolized) "retired" from coaching and Prissy got a new coach. Now - the new coach is one of world's best coaches (seriously) and coaches the US Twirling Team that competes at the World Competition. But, being 10, it was a tough transition. I think in the past month or 2 Prissy and her new coach finally gelled...

Anyway, we were very excited for the National Competition. We were to leave last Tuesday, and Monday - Prissy had a fever of 102. I took her to the doctor who quickly diagnosed her with a cold and told us good luck... :) We decided to go ahead and make the trip - deciding if she felt horrible on Wednesday (her first competition day) that we would just skip it. She felt better and competed.

All in all, Prissy placed 4th in both National Strut and Solo. And got a first place trophy for Intermediate Solo. She did so well and I'm so proud of her. She just worked so hard in the last few weeks before Nationals. It was something that really impressed me.

I got to meet a lot of other baton parents, which was nice and also very interesting. I learned that some parents push their kids so hard that it burns them out. At 9 and 10 years old. I saw one mother screaming at her daughter after she didn't perform very well (which happens - dude, there are a lot of people and judges and hands get sweaty!) Anyway, this mother screamed at her daughter for all to hear, "I can't believe you performed so poorly! I'm not paying all of this money for you to be mediocre! If you want to be mediocre we'll get you shitty coaches! You have the world's best coaches! And I pay for it! I expect you to be a champion!!!" Ooooook...

So - it was a learning experience.

The best part though? Prissy and I got to spend a week together, just us. And I totally and completely enjoyed it. She's such a cool kid.. We laughed until we cried - we were constantly cracking each other up. She's just really neat and smart and funny and interesting... So - even if she had placed last in everything - the trip (and the money) would have been worth it - because I had a great time with my not-so-little-anymore girl.

I think those other "baton moms" are missing something so much more important.

Sucky Blogger

I am a sucky blogger. I blog for 365 days straight - and then totally give up? Yes, yes I suck.

Why?

Well, I have realized that I have nothing interesting to say. Especially lately. My job is good. My boss is super. I am happy. My kids are good. My husband is the same as always. I just have nothing... Also - my online life has been sucked into facebook.

So, why check in now? I've gotten a couple of comments wondering where I am and if I'm ok. Yes - I'm great. Thank you all so much for asking.

But facebook - it is my newest addiction. I love it. I spend so much time there. I love mafia wars, and farm town and bejeweled blitz. I can't seem to draw myself away. I'm sorry. For those bloggers out there - I still read your blogs and I still love your blogs.

Ok - so sad - see - I've got nothing, nada.... Zilch!

Love Thursday

You know - sometimes love just sneaks up on you. I'll walk into the kitchen and realize that the dishwasher is unloaded.... Love.... Or, I'll walk into my closet and it's full of clean clothes... Love...

Tonight after dinner, the kids wanted to go to the park. We live across the street from the park (awesome!) so, I brought my book and a glass of wine out to our new super cool patio and read while the kids played at the park.

Hubby went over and they all started playing catch. Prissy would throw a softball to hubby, Bubba would throw a baseball to hubby and he would throw them both back. I was completely unable to read - I just watched my family playing catch at the park. My heart overflowed with warmth and love. I sat across the street and watched in secret this game of catch. It made me so fully of happiness.

Several of Bubba's friends showed up at the park and he ran off to play with them, and Prissy practiced pitching while hubby was her catcher. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Hubby giving Prissy tips on how to get the ball straighter. Bubba running around the park playing with his friends. Every once in awhile - I could hear a girl-giggle or a boy-yell come floating over on the wind.

I had to take a deep breath.... My family was happy...

Still Crap, but Not as Crappy?

Today was going ok - work was work. The big boss (my bosses boss) told me to not get too frustrated. I was thinking - this is nothing compared to the crap that I was dealing with before. I had a meeting over lunchtime - which bites. But, one of the things I forgot to write about yesterday was that Prissy told me that she felt like she had to go to the bathroom right after she went. I told her that if she got uncomfortable to let me know and we'd go to the doctor.

Hubby was the "Parent At Home" today. He IMs me at work right after Prissy got home from school and told me that Prissy said it burned when she peed. Ugh.. UTI - no doubt. She's a girl - it happens... It's the first time it's ever happened to her though.

So, I called the doctor and they said that they could get her in at 3:45. It was 2:40. A UTI isn't really a trip to the doctor that a daddy can take with his 10 year old daughter. At least not the daddy in this house. A UTI requires a urine sample. This means - a parent - holding a little itty bitty cup for said child to pee into. Not terribly easy when it's a girl - especially a rather "modest" girl at that. So, I told my boss and flew from work to home - 45 mins and called hubby and told him to have Prissy waiting for me outside. She flew into the car and we flew to the doctors office - 20 mins. We just BARELY made it.

A person there was 5 minutes late and they gave her appointment away. She was going crazy - "WHENEVER I GET HERE I HAVE TO WAIT AT LEAST 20 MINUTES BUT IF I'M 5 MINUTES LATE I GET CANCELLED!!??!!!! HOW IS THAT FAIR??!!!!" I wanted to tell her because she was late, she made the doctors run even later. But, I didn't. We were on time. By the skin of our teeth.

We actually didn't have to wait very long - this is a new doctor for us and our waits have actually been really good. We maybe waited 5 mins. I've been in offices where a 2-3 hour wait is the norm. We were ushered in. Did the urine test (and yes, my hand did get covered in pee... TMI!) And Prissy does have a UTI. The doctor decided to give her a megadose of antibiotic while we were there. I guess it was really bad.

Anyway, we went to the pharmacy (at the grocery store) and got some cranberry juice and there was a Starbucks special going on - all grande drinks were only $2!!! I should have gotten something exotic, but I didn't. I got my usual (iced caramel machiato). Then, we had to race to Bubba's baseball game. He's really quite the baseball player. He almost almost almost got a double, but got tagged out right as he hit the base. Pretty exciting!

So, it's still been a busy day and not so good (never good when a child is sick), but not as irritating as yesterday.