My accomplishment for the day

Still not much exciting going on for me...went to the personal trainer again today....I think that he has noticed the puffy belly cause we have done tummy exercises the last two times and had never done them before....oh well. He is right, that is where I gain weight and at least this will hopefully help me get rid of it.

And, coming soon will be my new website...my more artistic/travel type photography. I am so proud of myself because today I figured out how to install Wordpress on my actual website domain. This gives you a ton more flexibility in what you can do with Wordpress (like ad Adsense, which you can't do with the .wordpress.com free ones). I know nothing about web design but I figured out how to order a new database, create the database, assign a user, install wordpress and install new themes. To you web people this does not sound impressive but to me it was a good two hour process and I couldn't be more excited that I can manipulate and change my website without having to have someone else help me (not that I don't appreciate help but they have full time jobs :-)) Sadly, that was my biggest accomplishment for the day. I worked long hours today....9-7:15 so I can leave early tomorrow for OHIO! YAY. I will post some pictures of my cousin's baby if I take any :-)

Hope everyone has a happy and SAFE holiday weekend. If you live in Atlanta, avoid downtown, they are doing construction ALL weekend...started tonight actually near 17th street...it was like rush hour at 9 tonight and there was a Tech game...great planning GDOT!

Say what you want

about Obama's politics....he is a phenomenal speaker!!! I don't even hear what he says sometimes because he is just so good at speaking....

Sad Blog

In my effort to zone out and waste time when I should be editing and after I uploaded a couple pictures to the private blog I hit the next blog tab...got through a few and found this one. I feel bad for this girl but at the same time it is sort of interesting to get in the head of someone who is dealing with problems like this. As most of you know, I had someone really close to me go through something like this and I never really understood it (though I read all that I could about it and I think that I finally started to grasp it). They are better now and I hope that my love and concern at least had a little to do with it, though I will probably never know. I would love to respond to this girl but I wouldn't know what to say...it sounds like she could use some help though ....whose goal is to be a size 0 when you weigh 155 and are 5' 7"? Sorry to be a downer.

I got my Wii....sorta

Today I was talking to my boss and she said that she had seen Wiis at Blockbuster which she thought was a funny place to see them. She said she didn't tell me because I had already ordered one on ebay. Fast forward 4 hours and I get an email saying that I got a refund from ebay because the seller didn't actually have the item that they sold to me. NICE. So, I think, hmmm, maybe I should call blockbuster on my way home (well, on the way to get my nails done but you get the point). They had a Wii!! YAY. They said they would hold it for me! Double YAY. I get another email while getting my nails done saying that there is a dispute on my transaction and that the seller claimed I didn't pay...REALLY. I paid within 5 minutes of the auction ending and he already refunded me my money....how does that equate me not paying. I was on my bb and it was hard to respond so I waited until after the nails and then I got another message from the seller saying that he was sorry and that he had tried to say that we both agreed to cancel the transaction (which isn't true but not like I had a choice). Rewind back to me getting to Blockbuster..they had the Wii and they saved it for me and I asked them if they also had the Wii Fit and they said yes...SCORE. I got both for the same price as the ebay deal but minus the shipping so I came out ahead :-) I now want to set up my Wii but I need to do some editing first and submit my photography contest photos. I can't wait though. Also, as a side note, both the Wii and the Wii Fit were in the back room at Blockbuster so had I not asked for it I wouldn't have known it was there...just in case any of you are looking for one or anything.

Spin Class

I finally was able to get back to a spin class today. It actually wasn't that bad. I was expecting to be really sore today because I went to the personal trainer yesterday and even though I had tried to do some exercises on the road, it was not as much as when I am in town. I must say that I am a little bit proud of myself for not being so completely out of shape that I was dying. I also drank A TON of water yesterday so maybe that helped with not getting sore and all that.

It has been quiet on the blogs lately :-( Not much going on with me either. This weekend I am going to Ohio to visit with Craig. I did find out that the UGA game will be on at the UGA alumni bar in Cincy so I think that we may go down there and watch it....it is fun to be in a strange city and watch a game with the people there. I also have this craving to go putt-putt..not sure why, it has been years but I think that we might do that too. Then we are going to visit my cousin in Columbus and see his 7 month old baby. Busy weekend but not really. There will be plenty of time to relax and talk about our trip, which will be the next time we see each other after this :-(

Work is sort of all over the place now, we can travel, we can't travel, we are going here and there, no we aren't. It is a little nuts but hopefully some of that will settle soon and if not, at least I have football season to look forward to!!

Also, working on another girls weekend WAY in advance, so for those of you who haven't seen the email yet, it is waiting for you!

I am entering a photo contest tomorrow so if by any chance I have a photo picked then I will be sure to let you guys know. I don't expect it to happen and I really only love one of the photos I am entering (usually you can enter more than one for the same price and you never know what other people's tastes are). It seems to funny to me in a way....someone else telling you that something you see as artistic isn't good enough or something. I remember that I wanted to take photography classes in college but then I didn't because I didn't like being graded on the fact that my teacher didn't like my subject matter. I thought that it would be hard for them to be objective if I took pictures of flowers and they hated pictures of flowers. I felt like even if the picture was technically sound they would still give me a bad grade because they didn't like the subject (just used flowers as an example). Guess I wasn't too confident in my abilities. Oh well, it was better to come up with a style of my own and not to be influenced by a teacher pushing their style on me.

Yep, that is about it for me....pretty boring.

Don't fear Bulldogs, I will still hear you!

As you guys know, I was really upset about missing the first UGA game...VERY upset. I was hoping there was some miracle and that it would show on a channel I could see. Well, today I looked and it is supposed to be on ESPN Gameplan..the alumni bar in Cincy gets that I think so I am excited....worse case scenario though is that I have to listen to it. I also found out that it is on XM 199 and Craig has XM! I don't think that any of you understand how happy this makes me and for any of you in different cities, now you can listen if you have XM too :-)

Yucky day

I hate to complain about the rain because I know we need it but I am tired and the rain doesn't help. It makes me want to curl up in bed or on the couch and watch a movie.

Another busy weekend. I went to Charlotte Friday night to visit with Meghan and Drena and then Erin and the girls came on Saturday. Then on Sunday Drena and I got up super early to head back to Atlanta since I had a session at 11am. It was a weekend that was not filled with much sleep and by the time it got to be 11pm last night I could literally barely hold my eyes open. Tonight I have to go do pictures of a little newborn..they are so cute but there will be no natural light since it is at 6 and the sky is pretty dark...that means more work with setting up the lights. I really hope that it goes well so I can go home and relax. I also hope that it isn't pouring as I try to get all my equipment out of the car. Could be interesting.

I am home all week until Friday (when I go to Ohio) and I can't believe it. Hopefully I will be able to get some stuff done...I have cleaned a little every time I am home and since I am not around as much, it doesn't get dirty as fast.

I need a nap!

A discussion of song meaning...

Ate with Craig tonight and it was really good to get to see him :-)



I have a little game for you guys....he sent me this song the other day and we were discussing what it meant...he had a totally different idea about it then I did. I told him that if I asked 10 people what they thought the song meant then 8 of them would agree with me. He challenged me to actually do it, so I am going to post it here and I want you (without cheating and reading somewhere what the musician meant) to tell me what your first reaction is when you hear it. After a few answers I will tell you guys the full story of what I thought it meant and what he said it meant.

Good Deed

I forgot to mention my good deed today. When I was running I saw a check laying on the ground so I bent down to look at it and it turns out that it was a blank check from some guy in Ohio. Yikes....imagine if someone that wasn't honest like me got it. I was going to mail it to him with a little note that I found it (just because I don't want him to worry) but wasn't going to put a return address or anything on there. One time someone found my ID and credit card in a post office mailbox (after a really drunk night where I lost my whole purse) and mailed it back to me and even though it was 4 months later, I still thought it was nice...never did figure out how they got in there....ah, mr. alcohol!

Am I in a movie?

Trying to be all healthy and whatnot, I decided to go for a run/walk today after work. I headed out of the hotel and down the street (their roads are VERY strange here) and found this cute little neighborhood. It sort of reminded my of Pleasantville. There was a little pond with lots of the backs of the houses facing it and everyone had a little white bench that faced the water, or two little white chairs that faced it. I only saw one duck in the pond and wondered what they did sitting in those chairs, staring across a pond that I could probably throw a rock across. Then I thought of Drena and how she would probably sit at such a pond if there was a chance that she would get to see an animal...I guess this neighborhood it full of Drenas. I started down the first street and nearly every house I passed had groups of people sitting on porches with lots of cars in the driveway, one house had a sprinkler going that a little boy was running through. It was very 1950's movie type thing. Then I went down this one cul-de-sac and there was this little girl standing in this driveway just staring at me. I feel like she was too young to be outside by herself but I am not her parent. She freaked me out because I didn't see her at first and then when I did she looked like the little girl in Poltergeist (no idea how to spell that). What was that girl's name Carryann or something. You remember her....and she would talk to the snow on the TV or something....it creeped me out.

Other than that, this town doesn't seem too bad. No unsalted peanuts at the store but I will let that go :-)

Ew, gross

Drena posted a while back and asked what gross thing we did...yesterday got me to thinking that I could post this one. I left my place with AL to go to Piedmont Park to exercise and one the way there felt something funny on my leg....what is it you ask? Well, see my legs haven't been shaved in a week or more and it was the wind blowing the little hairs. Now, I realize this is yucky but, I sleep alone and my hair is completely blonde on my legs...you can't see it at all unless you really look at it. I always shave when I am going to wear a dress or go to Craig's but sometimes in between I get a little lazy. It was really windy yesterday so I think that is why I felt it but I realized I needed to shave immediately! It got me to thinking though....guys have hair on their legs that is way longer than my one week growth....do they feel funny on their legs when they stand in the wind? Does it blow around or something? Hmm....

In other news, Indianapolis doesn't look like a big city...either that or I missed the city part on the way from the airport to the auction, not sure which. It looks a lot like Ohio. Lots of corn fields and these little small roads you go on that are two lanes and then all of a sudden it opens up to all these shopping centers. The Controller told me that my hotel was in a nice area with lots of places to eat (and I am starving...darn getting up at 5:45 and only have a latte and salad all day). I need to see if there is a Starbucks nearby. I also have XM radio in my car...love it when that happens.

Still trying to figure out the middle two days on our trip....I told Craig of Matt's suggestion to go to Yosemite instead of Sequoia because Sequoia was just big trees, so now I think that we are going Yosemite and apparently there is a little park right outside of it that has the same "big trees" so we are just going to stop there. The problem with letting Craig look for areas is that he will being looking for one thing and then find 5 that he wants to do. He doesn't think about time and how there isn't enough of it to do all the things he wants so I always feel like a mom trying to tell him that he can't do something he wants to do. Not that I wouldn't like to do the things, it is just that there are only so many hours in a day and so many days on a vacation. It is going well though and I think that we reduced the time we will spend just driving in the car which is good for me because I get antsy.

On the to do list tonight is to work on my photography website....let's see how much I actually get done.

Spoke too soon!

Thought I was leaving on time but as it turns out my copilot got stuck in an accident on 85 that shut down all lanes. He is on his way and supposed to be here in 20 mins so we might make it up in the air. I just thought it was funny that even pilots can use traffic as an excuse in Atlanta!

The airport is quiet on Wednesday mornings!

I am used to flying on Monday and Friday when it is a zoo here but today was really calm. I got to the airport at a little past 7 and I was in the Starbucks line for my daily crack at 7:20! Nice! My plane is pretty empty (and cold) too but not empty enough for me to sit in first class :-( only 5000 miles until Gold medallion (which means I have flown 45,000 miles since March when I started traveling! That is a lot of miles! It was really nice to be in the office the last two days to get stuff done!

Have any of you seen Once? Great little indy film if you like that kind of thing (I will link it up later). The music from the movie is also fantastic and they have one of the songs on Delta's airplane playlist right now! It is really one of my favorites and if I knew how to connect videos....Molly or Carrie, hint, hint, then I would attach one for you.

Hope everyone has a good day! I think I might have a 5th flight in a row be on time!! (And I might move to the row of three to lay down and sleep).

I am smart...

not really...I got a catalog in the mail today to one of my favorite online camera places...I have bought from them a few times cause they sell used stuff that is in great condition....yeah, they are about 20mins from my house!! I didn't even realize that until they sent out an email that they are moving buildings and having a liquidation sale and they were only telling their GA customers. I looked at where they were locate and felt dumb. On the flip side, I plan on attending the sale....seems like I would be like a kid in a candy store....mmmm, candy!!

More Wii

Ok, so I just won a Wii on Ebay..I buy stuff off of there all the time so I hope that this turns out well! I got it plus the Wii Fitness for what they cost in the store so all I paid extra was the shipping....I hope this is legit..he had like over 550 in positive feedback so it is probably legit, now I just have to wait on my Wii.....VERY excited..

Travel is back and random pictures

I talked to my boss today after my last post and my travel is deemed "necessary" so you guys will get to continue hearing my lovely stories :-) Speaking of travel, I have an 8:30am flight tomorrow...Ouch and then on Thursday I get to meet Craig in between Indianapolis and Dayton for dinner :-) Then I am on to Meghan's for the weekend. I am a little worried about the flight on Friday because of TS Fay. I am worried that I am not going to make my connection from Cincy to Charlotte but hopefully all will go well. I have had 4 flights in a row be on time so I feel that I am due for some more craziness and the tropical storm is just the thing to do it.

Here is a picture of my cool new wheels on my computer bag, not sure why I think that they are so funny, but I do.

Here is one of the pamphlet they hand out at the airport about the escalator...sorry some of the words are blurry...I was practicing with my camera with no flash and since it is nighttime I had to use a setting that causes the outside of the picture to be blurry.....

I have no more editing for the week so I am debating leaving my home computer at home :-) I can take my little external hard drive in case I need to upload pictures that clients order, I just won't be able to do anything in photoshop. It will be sort of relaxing not to be tied to the computer and really I only have tomorrow night that I could do anything since I am meeting Craig on Thursday and am going to Meghan's on Friday....yep, just decided I will leave it at home!

Lots on my to do list I should get done!

Travel Going Bye-Bye?

I know you guys will miss my stories but apparently there was some big meeting yesterday here at HO and they are trying to cut costs...big surprise so they are using travel as a place to cut costs. This makes sense for some departments where they travel for meetings that they could have on the phone but for my department it really doesn't make sense. I am trying to catch my boss before she goes home today (after she gets out of her 19 million meetings) to see how this will effect my department. As I was driving home yesterday and getting frustrated with the traffic, I realized I should have added that to my list of things I don't miss when I travel. Oh well, at least if I am in town I can get into a good routine and start going to my aerobics classes again..just not entirely sure what we will be doing..hmmm.

In other news, I got a new rolling bag today for my computer (cause the other one has seen better days and one of the wheels is broken). The new one has these fancy wheels that look like they belong on an Escalade...I will have to take a picture of them later to show you guys!

I want a Wii

I can't find it anywhere :-( I have been told by lots of people to look her or look there but there are none!!! So, what do you do when you want a toy you can't have? Call your mom of course :-) My mom has a costco membership and I have heard there are some there so she is going to get one for me if she can (I am going to call them tomorrow to see if they have them).

Today was a long day for me. It was my first one back in the office in a month and it was busy. I had meetings all morning and then I worked on my expense reports....all 9 of them...yikes...it is over $7K in reimbursements and it took most of my day! Also, I think that the 4/10hr days talk is on hold...apparently I missed a meeting while I was gone where it was discussed and supposedly they are looking at it...now that it is all out there it might be harder to do it on the sly. I did plant the seeds though so we will see. I just didn't feel that it would go over well today.

On the fun side of things, Craig and I have started to plan our trip this fall. I find planning with boys to be so frustrating and he just laughs at me. Typically I am a relaxed traveler and all I need to know is when we are flying and where I am sleeping...that is where the challenge comes in....we can't decide what our second park is going to be between Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks or Yosemite. The problem is that we are only going to have one to two days and at first we were going to do both but then we would really just be driving through, so we are going to pick one..just not sure which one.....anyone been to either? At first I was thinking that I would rather do Yosemite when we had more time but then that one is a little easier to get to and saves us 3 hours in driving. We are starting in Vegas and going to Death Valley and then on to San Fran....just not sure of the route. Oh well, I did book us tickets to see Alcatraz today and got our rental car with points. Last night I booked us hotels in Vegas and San Fran (no Hiltons in the middle of the desert). Tonight we are supposed to talk more about which park we want to go to...that is, if he can focus :-) That was a little of a ramble...sorry

Shannon Miller

Do you remember Shannon Miller from the 1996 Olympics? Here she is now. I just saw a Claritin commercial she is in and I knew I should recognize her but WOW does she look different now! I guess it was 1996 when bangs like hers were still ok?? Maybe not... but anyway, thought it was interesting.

Bachelorettes and Mullets

Last night was pretty fun....we started the party at my house and then went to Twisted Taco...it is a good place because there are lots of guys there and usually at least one other bachelorette party so you don't feel like "those girls" We gave my sister a list, everyone contributed to it and then she could veto one thing out of the list:

1. Get 3 phone numbers.

2. Get a condom from a guy.

3. Get a guy to pick you up in a cradle position.

4. Ask a girl how big her guy is.

5. Get a guy to buy you a drink.

6. Tip $5 to a stripper.

7. Get a lap dance.

8. Get a guy to propose to you.

9. Do a body shot.

10. Get a guy to sing karaoke with you.

11. Get a guy to drink out of your special straw

12.



It was a pretty mild list and she was not shy. As a matter of a fact, I went upstairs to check on the karaoke and when I came back she had gone up to the owner (she didn't know he was the owner) and I knew we were in for a good night. Turns out he was really nice and bought all of us a round of drinks and game on.....she did well and she sang karaoke and made friends with other bachelorettes and stuff. We went upstairs to do karaoke but they started it late so they could show Michael Phelps' last try for gold on the big screen. I have to admint that it was really fun and very patriotic to watch him and the Americans win that while we were at a bar with a ton of other people cheering. I did DVR it though and watched it again this morning :-)

Once we got to the strip club it was a whole other world...those girls there were crazy and so were the dancers!!!! They would get the bachelorettes up on stage and do really bad things to them...it is way different than when girls dance. I was prepared but some of the others weren't...it was entertaining. It all ended with a slumber party at my place and me cooking them waffles this morning. I didn't plan any sessions for today cause I wasn't sure how last night was going to go but they were all gone by 10:30 this morning and I have been editing and cleaning ever since. I found my birthday cards from this year that had money in them so now I am richer, I should clean more often! I have a lot more cleaning I need to do but I just want to relax so I think that later I am just going to chill out a bit and then this week I can finish my taxes...YES, I am still trying to get them done and yes, I know it is sad.


As for mullets, what is up with the Chinese women's marathon runner's hair...it was all spike and "business" in the front and then she had this rat-tail type thing that had multiple rubberbands in it in the back. I was also sad to see Paula Radcliffe hurting so bad :-( I like her, and yes, it is a little sad that I know who she is but I like to follow random sports sometimes.

Whew

Organization is definitely not my strong point...yeah, definitely not my strong point. Tonight I am organizing and throwing a bachelorette party for my little sister! Um, I was out of town all week so not much got done BUT, since my client left at 1:15 I have.....shopped for some pjs for her for the lingerie part (feel sort of weird getting her really nasty stuff so I got something she will actually wear), got a shirt or dress for me to wear tonight, bought alcohol, found the shot recipe that we used at my other sister's party, got cake mix and icing so I can use those lovely bachelorette appropriately shaped cupcake pans that I got at an xmas party a couple years ago, cleaned my whole place, bought snacks to go with the chocolate fountain my mom gave me a couple xmases ago because I used to have a lot of parties and she thought it was a cute idea (which it was), bought stuff to cook everyone breakfast tomorrow and am about to take a shower....we still have one stop to go but Alyson is coming at 6 to make that stop. I have to be honest and say that I am a little over bacherlotte parties of the type we are doing tonight but it isn't my sister's fault that she is 4.5 years younger than me so I will be a good sport. I actually offered to drive which I thought was a good idea because I do not condone driving after drinking and they wanted to go to a strip club that is far for a cab but now I am thinking that a couple of drinks might have made the night easier. Oh well, at least my sister will have a good time and it is her party and about her so I will be ok :-) I like all her friends too so that helps. I liked all of Alyson's friends too but one of them decided to make out with a guy in the middle of the bar and Alyson was ready for the next place so I had to go get her...ah, being a big sister :-)

I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow. And, I have nothing to do tomorrow and don't have to fly out until Wednesday...I am SO EXCITED about that!! I can't wait to get a couple things done around my place, clean up from the party, move some stuff into storage and just do nothing :-)

another

Oh gosh, he found the Washington Post now! This one he is a little slower at but did finish half a section in the time I typed this.

He is done with that section now, only the first page caught his attention.

stinky people and stroller wheels

I am hopefully going to be on time (4th time in a row so maybe my luck is back). I am also sitting next to a man who is of an ethnicity not known for using deodorant. Ugh!

So this is a question for you moms out there...when I got on the plane there was a lady folding down her stroller to be cchecked at the gate and she removed two of the wheels, sort of like people do when they don't want their bikes stolen. Is this some $900 stroller that she doesn't want stolen? She had a little bag to put them in, I just have never seen this before!

Oh and smelly boy is a speedreader or just likes pictures because he very loudly started "reading" the paper 5 minutes ago and only has one section left because very louly opens and turns each page for 5 seconds and then puts it away. He hasn't read a thing and by the time I typed this he finish an entire newspaper.....one with about 10-12 sections!!!! What in the world??

Bella

Does anyone else think that Bella Karolyi is really strange but in a really fun way? Did you see the other night when he was freaking out and yelling when they were watching the gymnastics. I am not sure that Bob Costas knows what to do with him :-) I love it.

And did anyone see the breakdown of Phelps' body? It is interesting, I guess, but someone spent time researching that and how would you like someone to tell you that you had the legs of a 6ft man but the torso of a 6ft 8in man, dinner plate sized hands, feet the size of flippers....and a flat backside (yes, they said that). It is weird...I wouldn't want that analysis of my body...gosh only knows what they would come up with, but I GUARANTEE that flat backside would not be one of them :-) (and I am glad)

Lists

Do you guys make lists? I feel like I can't get anything done that is not on a list. I make lists in my head when I am driving....I did it tonight on my way to Outback to pick up my salad, on the way back to the hotel and then again on the way back to Outback cause they forgot the dressing and back to my hotel. I am hoping that I remember to write the list down. I have that problem sometimes. I think of all these great things that I should do in my head and then I can't remember them to write them down, which means they don't get done. I have lists everywhere! The other night before I went to bed I made a list of photographs from trips I have been on that I want to go through. Today I made a list at work of things I need to do when I am back in Atlanta next week. Right now I need to add to that list. I was also thinking of makine a list of emails I need to send out to employees. A list of things that I need to tell my employees on our next call. A list of travel arrangements I need to make. A list of what I need to get for my sister's bachelorette party this weekend. A list of what I want to go shopping for. There are just so many lists. I was just curious if anyone else was this obsessed with lists or if it was just me...

Tipsy...

I went to dinner with the Controller tonight and he is pretty fun and doesn't act his age at all..needless to say, I am pathetic...I had a big glass of wine and two beers and I am tipsy....no editing getting done tonight.. :-( I also didn't exercise today and I think that I grow by the day so definitely have to get that all together tomorrow...I have done pretty well with the eating so hopefully that will help!

I can't believe that tomorrow is Thursday...this week has gone by so fast!!!

By the way, I am mad at China for using underage girls in gymnastics.

I also tried to add my other blog that some of you read to my blog list but since it is private it will not show updates....sorry, but I did post some pictures on there tonight.

Sorry, one more....

Craig eats at this Burger King...it is about a mile from his house.........come to think of it..I think I have grabbed breakfast with him on one of our roadtrips....What possessed this guy? I have just never had the desire to touch much in a fast food restaurant, much less get naked!!

Someone please tell me how to post the videos right on the blog so you don't have to click on a link...I struggle :-(

Strange things I see...

I know people hate these little fast posts but I don't have any big stories and I just keep seeing random things to share so here is the latest. Um, I went to the gas station for a diet coke and when I went in there was a hole in the floor with guys pouring cement over gravel..looked like they had dug up a pipe...just a really weird thing to see at 9pm when you want into a gas station for a coke....hmmm

This is just sad!

So Rebecca posted about the Olympics and talked about how part of the opening ceremony was faked. I was curious and then tonight I was watching Evening News with Brian Williams (I think that is the name of it) and he talked about how lip syncing had occured before in the Olympics but this year the little girl they had singing at the opening ceremony was not only singing during the opening ceremony but AT ALL. It was another little girl..one that China deemed was NOT CUTE ENOUGH TO SING. That is so sad!! I mean the little girl that did the show was cute but the other girl didn't have a third eye or a humpback (that I could see anyway). I just think that is horrible that they didn't let that poor little girl sing. Ugh, stuff like that ruins it a little bit for me :-( I am still going to watch tonight but I just feel so sorry for that little girl...just imagine the head of your country deciding that your kid wasn't cute enough to be on TV and seen by other countries (not that it would happen to any of your cuties).

Isn't it bad luck..

when you don't get a fortune in your fortune cookie? After watching the Olympics I craved Chinese food so we had it for lunch today. I had a slip of paper and the lucky numbers but no fortune on the back...hmmm....

Are you home??

I bet you guys thought that since I didn't post a travel nightmare this morning that I was home but nope, I am on the road, I just didn't have any problems...that is 3 in a row now which means I will be due for a delay soon. My early appointment on Saturday cancelled for this coming weekend so only one session...I had 3 this past weekend but they were all close together so I was done with them early and had a lot of time to do other things..it was so nice. I still have a ways to go with the cleaning I am attemptin but it is not quite there yet. Next week I am home Monday and Tuesday so I am going to try to get that estimate from Rebecca's lady or call the one that already does my building.

Other than picture taking, I had dinner with Drena and Adam and some of their friends, went to see Erin, Ella and Emma, cooked dinner for Jen and Morgan, went to see Mama Mia, went to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (which I thought took place in Greece but not so much), went to look at houses with Drena (and found a good one), and learned how to knit on a loom, booked the airfare to see Craig for Labor Day, listed tickets on ebay :-(, fixed my website, and booked our airfare for our trip out west in October :-) Now I have to do all the scheduling like Drena talked about...actually I did some of it on Saturday and I am going to work on it some more this week.

I am going to have to post some pictures on my other blog of the cutie that I took pictures of this weekend...it was her 1 year old pictures and we let her dive into a cupcake as I snapped away...they are my favorites!!

Not much else going on with me..I am in VA this week and I am going to try to get my editing done in two nights so I can take a break from this computer!!!

Little E's

That is what I am going to call Ella and Emma cause I think that it is cute. After their debut in the AJC and the fact that I hadn't seen them in two months, Morgan and I just had to go visit them today! They are so precious. I held Emma for most of the time..she even took a little nap in my arms and I fed her a bottle. Morgan did the same with Ella and we gave Erin a little time off. The girls are so happy and they smile a lot! It was really good to see them again. Now I just need to see Miss Charlotte again...it has been months since I have seen her too :-( Everyone is so busy!

Also, just for the record, yesterday I did get off only about 10 mins late and then we landed a little early and my luggage was there soon after I walked from Concourse B to the Baggage Claim area (trying to get in some exercise). They have changed the croc sign to just a caution to watch your children at all times. They were, however, handing out little flyers about the sandals...I snagged one for you guys and I will take a picture of it and post it later.

Book Review: Building Wealth One House at a Time

This was my book recommendation from Drena-thanks Drena for the recommendation. I have to be honest and say that at first I wasn't too excited about the book but the point was to have people suggest something that I wouldn't pick on my own, so it fit that criteria. Also, just to explain, the reason that I wasn't too excited was that I felt like it was going to be a sort of "look how I built wealth when I already had wealth" or "get rich quick" type books. I guess I didn't really think that because Drena doesn't seem like the type who would read that type of book either and it turns out I was right. This book was really good!

What I liked:
I liked the fact that he promoted the fact that building wealth takes time. It is not a get rich quick type scheme like many people look for. He suggests buying one house a year for 10 years and selling them once they have doubled in value. I know a lot of you are saying "that doesn't seem like it would happen in this market" but actually, in the history of the US there hasn't been a period of 10 years where houses didn't appreciate at all so even if it takes a little longer, it will happen and if you get lucky it will happen earlier.

I liked that he taught you what kind of houses you should buy. He talked a lot about how you shouldn't buy a super cheap house because you will not attract the tenants that will take care of it. On the flip side, you shouldn't buy a super nice house because the people that can afford to live there are only going to live there long enough to save the money to buy their own house (which at their income will not take very long).

I liked that he talked about what kind of tenants to get...the kind that take pride in where they live but for some reason they cannot afford to buy. Also, the kind that will stay for a while and take care of your property while doing it.

I also liked that he seemed to be a fair person and devoted several paragraphs to how you shouldn't screw someone over to get a good deal. He teaches that in every deal, both people should win. Maybe that means them getting out of a house they can't afford, but it doesn't have to mean that you undercut them to the point that they are worse off than if they still had the house.

I liked the fact that he even gave ideas on how he bought houses and found tenants who couldn't qualify for loans but counseled them on how to improve their credit until they could qualify and then selling them the house they were already living in (this can be complicated and not something I would do off the bat but it would align with other interests that I have in helping people who struggle with finances so maybe a long term goal for me).

I like that he showed real numbers and examples that were not ridiculous (meaning he used prices of houses you could actually buy and not be a slum lord).

I like that he is involved with Habitat for Humanity and realizes that just getting rich is not the only important thing in life.

Overall I just felt like he was a very likeable guy, like if I met him I would probably want to be friends with him.

Couple things that I didn't like:
It wasn't so much that I didn't like them, but I guess I just question a little bit of their reality. He talks at times about very creative financing. One being to make a deal with someone to lend you the money for your downpayment and then agreed to give them half the equity in the house when it sells. He gives the example of buying a house for $100K with $10K down and selling for a $94K profit in 10 years. Now, I don't really know anyone who could give me $10K now even if I promised them that they would get $47K in 10 years. If you happen to be one of those people then definitely give me a call. His theory is that there are people who want to invest in real estate but they don't wan the hassle of looking for a place, buying it, managing it, finding tenants and all that so they basically pay you $10K to do it for them. Now, this is actually a great deal for them and I am not sure there are many other places you could put $10K and get a 400% return in 10 years but I just don't see someone waiting that long...as I said earlier, people want to get rich quick. I do think that you could find a few people who would give you $1,000 in the hopes of getting $4K in 10 years....seems less of a risk upfront with them...I guess they would just have to be the type of person who really trusted you or the type who can say "that $1K is gone" as soon as they give it to you and then be pleasantly surprised when they got that $4K.

Actually, I guess that was the only thing that I didn't like. I have been interested in real estate investing for a while. I like my job and everything but the older I get the more I realize that I don't want to work for a company for my whole life. I want to do my own thing and real estate is a great way to save and do that. I have always been a saver by nature because I grew up without a lot of money and learned at an early age. Turns out I am really good at it and material things just are not as important to me.....I like to have nice things but I dont' need to have ridiculous things, if that makes sense. I am lucky in that I am good friends with Drena and she knows a lot about this so I guess I don't have to do as much research as I would have to if I didn't have her (thanks Drena) but it is a two way street cause I am her most repeat client other than herself, having bought three properties from her, including the first one she ever sold. I have talked to her on and off about investing but I guess I was always a little scared. Once prices started dropping lately I got less scared, and then I read this book and I got even less scared and now I am going to look at houses on Sunday. This is my little experiment. Could be a costly one but I am hoping that it will prove to be a good thing. Not sure I will buy a house a year because that is a lot but I am going to start with one and see how it goes. Drena assures me that I will be ok and I will be able to do it, so I hope she is right. I want to learn about investing in real estate so I can have a good foundation if I ever do get to quit my job (5 years). For the get rich quick scheme I am going to buy one of those stocks that I get an email about every other day...HA, just kidding, making sure you are still awake through my babble.

So, if you have ever wondered about real estate investing then I recommend this book. Beware though...he makes it sound incredibly easy. I will let you know if that is true or not as I embark on my landlord journey :-)

Fun in Detroit

And no, nothing to do with flying (though we should be beginning to board now and the plane isn't here yet). I just talked to my boss and she said that there was no weather there and they just made an announcement that it landed.

Anyway, back to the fun...today we decided to eat outside for lunch (cause that is what you do when it is 75 with 0 humidity and a gentle breeze). On the way there we saw a cop sitting under this bridge. I commented that I had seen the cop that morning on my way in. We eat and then I want some ice cream so I get some and when I come back my employee says that the cop finally got someone. Hmmm, then we see he cuffing the guy and putting him in the cop car. After that we notice the cop talking to another guy in the pulled over car. That guy gets out and is talking to the one in the cop car. We are talking about how it would suck that your buddy got arrested and then next thing we know there is a tow truck pulling up and towing the car that got pulled over! Then we see the guy who was in the car but not arrested start to walk away. He cop car pulls off and then the strangest part was that the tow truck driver picked up a handicap parking sign from the lot they were in and put it in the back of the truck (is there a black market for these things??). I felt bad for the guy walking and we were trying to think of what that guy could have been chraged with. As I pulled out and drove to the light that poor guy was just standing there not looking like he knew what to do! Hmmm, great lunch time entertainment.

A reason to live in the midwest...

It is just worth noting that this morning when I went outside it was actually barely 60 degress at 8:30am! When was the last time it was 60 in Atlanta? April? Ha...I wouldn't like the summers here but I will take a sunny, 60 degree day in August!

I just thought I would check in before you guys all ducked out for the weekend...my flight (and delay, I am sure) is not until 4pm today....I am hoping to make it home for the Olympics opening ceremonies tonight but who knows.

I have a busy weekend....only 3 sessions but they will be a challenge cause they are moving kids :-) Hopefully I will get to visit with Erin's girls and then a couple plans for movies and the house hunting...oh my! Then back on the road on Monday morning...after next week though I will be in town for a few days and in my office and then the week after that I will be in town the whole week!! YAY!! Something might come up but if it doesn't I will be happy to be in town to exercise and eat right for a little while ....still have that dress to make sure I don't get too big for :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Beautiful Day...

It was so pretty here today!! The HIGH was 77 and it was sunny all day with these big puffy white clouds! I love those clouds...they look like they would be really fun to just jump in! I know that isn't true because when I fly and we go through them it makes it very turbulent. After work I went to a nearby park to exercise with Al...all went well until it started raining and I was sort of far from the car...luckily I found a pavillion and did some exercises in there until the rain stopped.

This week has sort of flown by! My employee is very low maintenance so the days have been easy and I spent the first couple nights here trying to get my stupid proofing fixed on my website (which has still not happened) so that sort of consumed my nights. Then I started working on the finances and the taxes....UGH. Tonight I balanced all my mortgage payments in MS Money...well, 3 of the 4 of them. I was interested to see what equity I had built up..not that I am selling but I was just curious. Actually, Drena and I are going to look at properties on Sunday because I am thinking of getting a rental property. We will see, I hope that I find something that I like.

In other news, I am kind of sad today because it looks like I am going to miss the first UGA game. It sucks because I have tickets to it but no one is going that I sit with and I am having this whole debate with myself...I don't really know anyone else who would want to go and sit through a blazing hot 12:30 game and I don't want to sit with people that I don't know in that kind of heat. Dudley has tickets next to mine but she has a wedding for this game...thank goodness she will be around for all the rest of the games. I was going to go to Ohio for the weekend anyway but I was debating on whether I should go after the game or on Friday. Chances are that I would get out of work early on Friday so I could take an earlier flight and if I talk to my boss about the whole 4 days a week thing then I could even go on Thursday night. Tickets are selling on Ebay for a lot so that will be good, but I just hate to miss the game. I hope it will not be the only one that we are ranked #1 at and I hate missing the new UGA. I guess I just have to have faith that we will keep our ranking and I will get to see many more UGAs in my life. I just wish that it was on TV (it is only PPV in GA) so I could see it. I did miss the first game last year because I was flying back from Australia and we ended up our season pretty great so maybe I shouldn't go to the first game and we will have another great season. Ah, I remember the days when I didn't miss a game..growing up sucks!

Speaking of the 4 days a week thing, anyone have any advice on how to approach this with her? She is pretty laid back but I feel like I need a good reason...I was thinking just the fact that I travel so much and need a day for errands, especially since I don't ever get home when I am supposed to because of delays. I am just not good at this type of stuff and part of me just wants to do it the chicken way and write an email. The other thing about her is that she is really nice but very hard to read in person...I never know what she is thinking...

I think that I am going to get a frosty...I wasn't hungry for dinner but I am starting to be and there is a Wendy's across the parking lot..mmmmm, frosty!

I am being so productive...

Unfortunately that means that I just spent $411 on sales and use tax returns...I sort of forgot to file them since March and so $150 of that was penalties...that sucks! Oh well, hopefully I can get some sort of system in place soon to actually be organized...how sad would it be if I hired an accountant to help me and to do my taxes? I mean, even though I am a CPA, I don't do taxes for a living and there is so much to remember...which brings me to my second task of productivity for the evening....I worked on my taxes a bit...I filed an extension in April and the deadline is quickly approaching to have those in. Figured I should work on it while I have time...also trying to get read and organized for next year :-) so I can file on time.....this all reminds me why I didn't choose taxes as my career :-) I am also trying to get all my expenses and stuff into MSMoney for my personal expenses and stuff...yikes...this takes forever...I really need to try to do it once a week so it is not so hard.

My latest bout with my favorite airline

I promise that I didn't start this blog to bash airlines but it just seems that they haven't been the best experiences as of late and since we talk about customer service, here goes.

So today when I should have been working I started to look up what islands we could hop to when Dudley, my sister, and I go to Greece next year. In order to see which days we could hop I went to the Delta website to see the exact days we would be gone. When I got to the site it said "contact Delta" where it should have said "confirmed" next to my flight to Greece. Uh oh! That didn't seem good. I called Delta and got an idiot. I tried to explain to him that there were three of us traveling together but he said that the other two would have to call in separately (which is kind of dumb cause I had all her stuff, pin, number, confirmation # and I would have just called back and pretended to be her). I understand that for Dudley, but my sister was on my same skymiles number so that one he could have fixed which I explained to him. He finally found it. Then he disappeared for a while and came back to say that he couldn't fix mine but could fix my sister's. He told me that the reason that he couldn't fix mine was because it was on a Continental flight...WHAT? I booked this on the D website using my skymiles and it didn't tell me what it was going to be on C. I know it is not D's fault that they cancelled the flight but I am their customer so shouldn't they fix it for me? One would think.
me: So, what happens now?
him: I have to transfer you to the partner airlines customer service and they will fix it for you.
me: What if they don't have any flights, then what?
him: Well, they have to protect you and they have the same policies that we have so they will rebook you on another flight.
me: Are you sure?
him: Yep, they have the same policies that we do.
me: ok, transfer me

Now, it is 20 mins later cause I paraphrased for you guys, and I am transferred to Nancy. I explain the situation....3 of us traveling together, one had a different flight and I have the information for the other two. Nancy is nice, Nancy is going to help. She lets me give her all the information for me and Dudley...no having to call back. I was glad about that. She also told me that she was not the person that he was supposed to transfer me to but she would still help. She leaves me on hold and goes to look for flights
her: ok, I am looking but C didn't protect you at all.
me: ok, what does that mean? and why wasn't I called when this flight got cancelled?
her: well, your flight isn't until next Feb so you probably would have gotten a call in the fall (great, when there were no flights left) and to answer your other question, we have to find another flight for you that is the same mileage.
me: why can't I get on the one on Delta that my sister just got on.
her: because there are no more seats at the lower mileage that you paid.
me: right, but I booked this 3 months ago when it did only cost this much and this is not MY fault that one of your partners cancelled a flight.
her: right, and I am going to look for another one but if we can't find one we will have to redeem your miles
pause:
There is no way my miles would have been redeemed. I know that there is someone at that company who could waive the extra miles because of all the trouble I had to deal with and I would have stayed on the phone until I found them...I fly D literally every week!
resume:
me: this policy doesn't seem right, why wasn't I rebooked
her: C got out of the market completely, let me look and see what I can find
10 mins later-
her: ok, I found a flight that takes you through philly and then paris. You will only get into Greece 3 hours later than you would have and you will have an additional layover. I will also waitlist you on the D flight that migh open up (the one my sister is on).
me: ok, if that is my only option.
her: um, I know this is not your fault but there is $21 extra dollars for this flight in taxes.
me: fine, credit card #
her: ok, I will send you the intineraries.
me: thanks, and I still think that this policy is stupid but thank you for helping me.
her: thanks for being a valued medallion member.

Whatever. Valued my ass! I know that it is not their fault that the C flight got cancelled but I do feel that they should have fixed it for me and if that means they lose a skymile seat then so be it. Not like you are even going to be able to use those miles much longer anyway the way they keep jacking up all the flights. And for the record, I booked a flight today and it was on D, so I still fly them and I try to be loyal but this has gotten absolutely tiring lately. That phone call lasted 56 minutes today and then at the end of it I was making an additional connection on an already long flight, getting in 4 hours later, and paying $21 more.

I am seriously considering writing them a letter. I am sure that it will do no good and I am sure they get a ton and will post it in the breakroom for bad grammar but I just feel like they should know how a customer of theirs, who has literally flown almost every week for the last 4 months is treated. I have at least 5 things I could list for them now. Maybe I will at least get a free drink coupon (since they are $7 instead of $5). I am their exact target market...shouldn't they want to keep me happy? I travel 3-4 weeks a month, live in their home city, am young which means I could last a while with them, and I am loyal when treated properly. I like to stick with what I know. I think that it all goes back to what Molly said in her AT&T post....sometimes you just want people to apologize for causing you such a headache and too many hours of my life have been wasted lately to let it go, and I keep giving them a chance. Maybe it is the whole airline industry, I don't know, but I do know that someone should read my letter (even if it is the intern). They should have some sort of system that automatically sends me something when I get obscenely delayed (they used to do that...I got a random drink coupon or $50 gift certificate or something when I had some long delays and an emergency landing one time). That was when I was gold so maybe I have something to look forward to soon....

My beach trip in picture form...

For the record, these were taken with a point and shoot, most of them in a moving car, on auto with no adjustments so please don't judge my photography based on these :-)



Here we are on the way to visit my aunt and grandma....I wish that you could see more of her dress...it could be another one to go with her leggins picture!





Doesn't she look just like her daddy?? It is amazing! I fixed her hair...that is why the bow is sticking straight up, I thought it would be cute :-)


Another of the bow sticking up....


Here is what happens to her hair after my beautiful job of fixing her hair and what I look like with no makeup on...scary on both accounts, huh, oh and that is her signature screeching face!

This is how you entertain a 10 month old on a 6 hour car trip. I think that she was happy to have the company in the backseat and I was able to keep her pretty entertained a lot of the time. This is before nap number one....

She thinks it is funny to touch the lens!

Trying to get the cord!

She finally got it and it makes her so happy...who knew a cord on the camera could be so entertaining but she giggled like crazy when I would pull it out of her hand.

Then in 10 seconds she gets tired and here is what happens! I don't understand why kids don't go to sleep when they are tired...they just cry and cry...weirdos!

Finally she is asleep. About 2 seconds after she went to sleep I went to sleep...Zach said that every time she moved I did too...at least I wasn't going to cry when I woke up!

It was a really relaxing time once I actually got there. My sister and I hung out on the beach on Friday while my mom watched Ariyana and Zach dug a huge hole on the beach. He had all these little boys helping him and it was like he was a forman at a construction site but it entertained everyone involved. Saturday Alyson and Zach went parasailing in the morning while my mom watched Ariyana and I laid on the beach. My mom came out for a little while and we went in the ocean and then my sister and I went for a walk for a little while when she got back.

Saturday night we decided to go down to the boardwalk. My parents have had the same timeshare for as long as I can remember and we would always go to the Pavillion twice during the week (this was an amusement park similar to a smaller Six Flags). After that we would go to the boardwalk and play skee-ball. I think that was mostly for my dad but we would save up all our tickets and our whole goal was to get this huge whale stuffed animal...I can't even remember how many tickets he was but I know we saved them from one year until the next. We would also go to the candy store and get some ice cream. My sister really wanted to take Zach down there and get some ice cream. They have torn down the Pavillion but the boardwalk is still there. So when we get there we have to pay $10 to park in some crappy lot and the lady who collects our money is disgusting. She had the back of her t-shirt tucked into her bra but in Zach's words, "if you didn't see her face you wouldn't know which was the front cause she had so much back fat" ewww...then we see the ice cream store..which is now also a henna tattoo place, a body piercing place and where you can get caricatures done....whatever. We had fun in the arcade and won Ariyana a little stuffed animal and headed to get some ice cream. No more homemade, it was Blue Bunny.....hmmm and then a fight almost broke out nearby. It was a little ghetto for us so we headed home. So sad how you remember things from when you are little and they aren't like that anymore. I guess you overlook a lot when you are little but that place has definitely gone downhill. I think that Alyson was a little disappointed :-(

That was pretty much the beach....nothing too exciting which was good and it was really good to spend time with everyone. With all my traveling and with my business I have a hard time hanging out for a really long time so it was nice to spend some days with everyone instead of some hours. At the end my niece was actually reaching for me to pick her up and it made me really happy!

Trains...

So, I moved hotels and this one is nice too. Umm, problem is there are train tracks right outside my window, but hey who uses trains anymore, right...WRONG. I have heard two in the last 2 hours...I hope that they don't continue through the night..they are really loud.

Watching Big Brother 10, but I just can't get into it. I don't really like any of the characters yet.

So, I have had the worst day for my business ever! For some reason all the pictures that I uploaded for my client last night (of her newborn which are the most time sensitive pictures) are all gone. I can't see them when I try to login....she can't see them...then I can see them, then I can't. The guy who owns the software has been working with me all day but he can always see them...Craig can see them, my sister can't see them. I have tried everything and I don't know what else to do. It is so frustrating. When something gets screwed up at work you can shrug it off and know that someone else's reputation will be at stake when people have a bad experience with a company but when it is your own business with your name on it you feel so responsible when things go wrong...even if it is not your fault. Owning your own business is hard. I see why a lot of them fail. I am pretty fortunate in that I haven't run into anything too major and this year looks like it will be a good year but still it is so frustrating!

Ugh, and there goes my positive attitude....I will have to cleanse and write a post about the beach! Sorry guys!

Craig finally learned his power

This reminded me of a conversation that we had on Molly's blog....today Craig told me that UGA was ranked #1 in the preseason poll (and I am really ashamed to admit that I hadn't seen the official list but I plead hours in the airport and being at the beach with no internet as my excuse). I then told him that he definitely needed to come to a game cause we were ranked so high to which he replied "that would be good, or actually that wouldn't be good". So, for those of you who don't know Craig's record with UGA football, let me enlighten you.....he didn't come to any games last year cause we couldn't work it out and that was during the whole "break" thing but he did come to two games the year before...Vandy and Kentucky. For those of you who still can't remember that season....that would be the year we lost to both of those teams in the same year...the first time since the year I was born I believe. Morgan, Dudley and I decided he was bad luck and not allowed to come to anymore games...he sort of laughed at it and said that he highly doubted that his being there affected the game. HA, tonight when he realized that it mattered he decided that it might be best to not come to one this year..he said that they always do well when he watches them on TV so we better not risk it :-) So, moral of the story....you can definitely train men to come around to your sports...it just takes time....good luck Molly, took me two years and three seasons!

So, are you guys supersitious and should I keep him away?

I am an idiot....

So, I am in Detroit and I wasn't sure where the auction was exactly so I looked it up online and booked my hotel based on some recommendations from my employee. Problem was, she is not actually at the auction but at the service center (quite a ways away) so I guess I decided to book closer to the auction...then as I was getting ready to leave this morning I remember her saying her address was different. Hmmm....now I was confused. So after work I went to one of the hotels that was her suggestion (Comfort Suites). I am not sure why she didn't suggest one of the Hilton's or Marriott's since we were so close to the airport but I guess there is nothing else around. For some reason I kept thinking that the hotel didn't sound right but I looked at so many that I just figured I forgot....I get to the hotel and the guy doesn't have me...oops. I do remember that the hotel I booked was a cancel 24 hrs in advance or be charged so I know I have to stay wherever it is...so I have to make the embarassing call to our travel agency and ask where I was booked for the night.....Holiday Inn Express...5 miles up the highway...ohhhhh. Oops. I get on the highway and then get off at my exit...there is NOTHING around and the hotel next door looks suspect. Turns out my hotel is very nice but I will have to drive back down to the other place (about a 10 min drive) to get any food. The only thing up here is pizza and I am really trying to eat well. I feel really bad but I called the front desk and I am going to check out tomorrow morning and move to the other hotel. I do have free internet here so I hope I have it at the other hotel, but I just don't want to drive back and forth...hope that isn't too mean. I don't know why I even feel bad for the hotel, not like they care and there are other people here. My room is just fine and I even have a fridge but I just want to be closer to good decisions for eating....I seriously have gained a pound a week for the last 6-7 weeks and that dress is not going to fit...unfortunately I cannot eat junk food and keep my girlish figure :-) Ok, more later.....

airport disco

Have any of you been to the Detriot airport?? I am going to baggage claim in a tunnel with a moving sidewalk that turns blue, the green, then red and plays the sort of music like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in that psyadelic room! I almost forgot I was in an airport and thought I should have a vodka tonic in my hand in midtown!!! Seriously!!!

Public Service Announcement

This post will be two-fold. 1). For those of you with children, I want to warn you of this new deathly contraption at the airport. It looks innocent and you probably even played on it as a child...I remember getting in trouble because I sat on it once and my mom said I was going to ruin my clothes. What is this nasty and dangerous device you ask? The escalator. I think that I briefly alluded to the new announcement and the denger on Friday but now they make the announcements every 10 mins and have put signs by every escalator. I really wanted to take a picture but was afraid I wouls be in trouble for messing with national security. I won't type up the whole sign but the main jist is that children shouldn't ride escalators or moving sidewalks by themselves (who knew) and to "avoid the front, back, and sides where shoe entrapment could occur". There is also two pictures of shoes caught that look like they were taken with a camera phone and they are both crocs. Wonder how long before crocs gets pissed at that.

2). Dear airport patron who feels that she should look like she is going to prom when she flies,

I know you think all that fake jewelry looks so good and I know you like how you have fashioned your sunglasses to hold back your hair but when you go through and set off the metal detector and are told to take off your jewelry please take it ALL off!! I am assuming that the jewelry is from Claire's and came as a set so if one thing sets it off they all will. No need to take them off one at a time and hold up the line to the point that 15 people got through in the line next to us. I will say that I did have to grin when I fiannly got through and saw you off to the side with your bag being searched.....serves you right.

Just to let you guys know, there is nothing wrong with fake jewelry but it is METAL and not a precious one so it will set off security. I wear a silver necklace and ring everyday that is larger than some of the fake jewelry that sets it off. Think about the fact that we have to take off our shoes if there might be metal in the heel. Same metal. Now none of you guys will be "that girl". Not that you dress like prom or anything.

All looks good for my flight. Plane is here and has been unloaded so we should get off on time :-). Of course there is still 30 mins to go so who knows!

Happy Monday!!!

Hotel

Just checked it and it actually looks like it should be nice so that takes care of that...hopefully it will be :-)

Briefly Home

I got home today at about 6pm...perfect. Just enough time to unpack, repack, run to work to pick up some work, clean my toilet (that turns pink when it goes unflushed for 10 days) and ge CDs out to clients. Oh yeah, and do the bachelorette invitations for my sister's party. I am also catching up on some TV that I had DVDered....what is a good way to spell that? Anyway, tomorrow I am off to Detroit. I can't say that I am super excited. Not sure what to expect from my hotel but it was only $80 a night....hmmm. There were no Hiltons or Marriotts nearby but hopefully my hotel will be ok. I also doubt there are many good places to eat and I feel like I gain a pound a week which is not good for the bridesmaid dress I need to fit into in 60 days. So, need to be better about that. I am also only going to be 3 hours from Craig so I am sort of hoping we can each drive halfway to meet each other for dinner but he has been super busy and working really late at work so not sure it will work out...he has a ton of deadlines to meet this month. On the bright side...I do get to finally meet my second employee. That is why I am going to Detroit.

I leave tomorrow morning and I really hope that all goes well. I have just had so many travel nightmares lately that I am not sure I will have the patience for it tomorrow. Hopefully it will work out....I think that I would be more confident if I hadn't just had an early delayed flight 3 days ago. I will fill you guys in on the beach trip later...it was a lot of fun and I am definitely burnt a little bit :-( Hope everyone had a good weekend and hopefully you will not hear from me tomorrow morning because I will be on time and everything.

Rough morning

So I hadn't planned on having any travel issues this morning to blog about but here I am! I slept late cause my alarm didn't go off and woke up at 6:21 for a 7:15 flight. Not good! I decided to haul ass to the airport so I still have on the shirt I slept in (when I finally got to bed at 12:15). I actually made it through security and all the way to the D gate by 7. Pretty amazing if you ask me! Get on my plane and sit for 5 mins before they say that there is a maintenance issue and we have to get off....awesome! So here I sit AGAIN! And tmi but I didn't even pee before I left me house so I had to wait until I got on the plane. That is normally a first thing sort of event for me in the morning. Oh well, here is to wishing that I get out of here soon. At least there was a Starbucks next to my gate so the addiction can continue :-)

Oh and I heard on the radio on the way here that there have been two kids this week who were injured on escalators at the airport because of crocs/sandals. So now there is a new announcement about being careful with children and "soft shoes". It is the same guy who does the Homeland Security announcement (would if that sentence flagged my blog for some government agency- hope they are entertained by my travel woes). He has the most borin voice ever!

Oh and I think that I decided last night to have a talk with my boss and see if I can work 4-10 hour days and have one day off on the weeks I don't travel. I hope that I can use all the time in the airport and a bargaining tool. When am I supposed to buy toilet paper when I am delayed 3 hours each time. She is cool so hopefully she will go for it and I will still answer emails if it is an emergency or something. We will see.