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For the first time in...well, ever, I have been at a job that offers paid vacation time. This is a brand new concept for me. I have worked at many jobs but was never in a position where I was eligible for a paid vacation.
Well look at me now!
Seriously, my full-time, real job is great. I work with some awesome people and other than the usual office/workplace nonsense, I really enjoy my job. But as of five o'clock today? I AM ON VACATION!! WOO-HOO!!
I planned to have off this coming week because Michael is tracked out and it's Nick's Spring break. I had BIG plans...we were going to go on a vacation. A real vacation and Frank was going to have a paid vacation too and it was going to be great. We were going to go to Myrtle Beach and I was going to sit and watch the surf and be inspired and write while Frank and the boys explored all of the area attraction. Seriously, it was going to be awesome.
Then it wasn't.
Turns out Frank wasn't eligible for the paid time off.
Turns out Nick didn't want to go to the beach.
Turns out that the great deal I found expired and now all of the rooms were twice as much.
Sigh.
Okay, new plan! Now we are taking a couple of day-trips. Great Wolf Lodge, museums, planetariums, lunch with friends and a trip to visit the college boy at...well, college. And somewhere in between, I have to find the time to get inspired and get some writing done. Right now, it's difficult to keep my eyes open because I am so burned out and exhausted so I'm hoping that a couple of days of rest will clear my brain a bit and get me back on track.
I'm waiting on two cover designs and getting ready to release another book for early April and then another one for early May. I'm getting ready to release "Ever After" as a paperback. I wasn't going to do it this time but there are a few dear friends and family members that were adamant about getting the "real" book. Okay, fine, that's another project for the vacation.
Now if I were to have MY dream writer's vacation where I did NOT have to take anyone else into consideration and could do as I pleased with no budget to stick to (realistically) I would rent a house on the beach somewhere (preferably south of here) and just sleep and write at will. Ah...that would be totally sweet. At this point in time, I'm not looking for thrills and all kinds of tourist attractions (I even turned down Disney!), I just want to have some peace and quiet to clear my head and just let the creativity flow.
Do you have an ideal "resting" vacation? Something that would give you a time of renewal? Where would you go? What would you bring to do? What books would you bring with you to read?
I've got a couple of recommendations...
Here in North Carolina there are a lot of year-round schools and Michael goes to one of them. We have enjoyed the year-round experience for the most part and today was our big "Back to School/Meet the Teacher" extravaganza!
I normally dread these things because it's like you go, you meet, you barely get to talk because there is always ONE parent who thinks that the whole purpose of this is to talk about HER child and I am normally standing in line behind her. Not a pleasant experience. So we went and can I just say that I LOVE this teacher! Honestly, I spoke to her (alone and with other moms) for maybe a total of ten minutes but I am seriously giddy at the thought of her being Michael's teacher.
A.) She is a history major and Michael is a HUGE history buff - reading about World War II in his spare time and watching the History Channel for fun.
B.) She is an older woman who seems very wise and friendly and very competent in how to handle all of the little quirks that come with a classroom full of 10-year olds.
And finally...C.) She is a Disney fanatic.
GOD HAS HEARD OUR PRAYERS!!!
The quest for weight loss is still going on and I am still doing Weight Watchers although I feel that I have just begun "Phase 2". No, that's not an actual Weight Watchers term but for me it means getting my sorry butt back on track and stopping this piddly half a pound weight loss nonsense and getting serious about it again.
Sort of.
Anyway, I'm down 22 pounds and yes that is a good thing but really, it's averaged out to about a pound a week and that to me is not good. Now calm down health nuts who are thinking that this is the way that we are supposed to lose weight. I KNOW that, I just don't personally like it. I would be happy with a little more each week like a pound and a half to two pounds BUT in order for that to start happening I guess I would have to stop eating icing right out of the can and chasing it down with a Coke!
Having said all that, I ordered a new bathing suit and a pair of track pants from the Disney Store online last week and they came in the mail today. When I ordered, I was feeling optimistic - just a little - and ordered the bathing suit in the smaller size than the website recommended for my measurements and you know what? It looks AWESOME!!! AND...I have to send the track pants back because they are too darn big! Woo-Hoo-Again!!! Can I get a hallelujah??
It feels good to be shrinking...even slowly...
Because clearly I have too much time on my hands, I decided to start a new blog. People who know me and know my love of Disney and know that I blog, automatically think that this blog is a Disney blog. Why? I don't know. I mean, I've talked about Disney here, I've talked about my trips, but for the most part, this blog is purely about me and the stuff swirling around in my brain.
SOOOOOO......I have started "The Poor Mom's Guide to Disney" which is my blog where I talk about the ways to go to Disney with your family for a vacation and not spend a fortune and stick to a budget and still have a wonderful experience.
You can go and check it out. I'm having so much fun with it. Today I had my Disney friends over and unveiled it. I plan on having them contribute some posts, as well, being that we are all HUGE fans of all-things Disney. We actually helped some friends of ours plan their first trip to "the World" today. Very exciting.
Now I want to go on vacation!!
Okay, so by the time you are all reading this, I will be fully immersed in Women's Day at my church and leading the seminar on planning an inexpensive Disney vacation. We set up Friday afternoon and that was quite the lengthy process. I mean, it took two and a half hours and then I had to leave. My poor buddy (and partner in Disney fanaticism) A.D. stayed behind and did all of the final touches.
I'm getting old. The whole thing made my whole body ache. I left there and hit the Super Target to get Michael dress shoes for the wedding. The boys' feet are just growing like crazy and luckily they had TWO pairs of shoes in his size to choose from. He chose the pair that I, personally, did not like but he did and so I'll be guaranteed that he'll wear them. I came home, cooked dinner, wrapped wedding gifts, got the rest of my paperwork sorted out for the morning, did my Examiner article, Mapquested directions to the wedding and reception, closed my cafe on Cafe World (That is a post for another time) and cut Frank's hair. I am ready to drop!!
All I can say is that I hope that we have a LOT of people come to our workshop. There are 14 workshops being offered throughout the entire day. Each one is offered two out of the three sessions. We have 54 items to give away - actually we have more than that but those are just the door prizes! Our room looks so pretty and I so desperately want this to be a success and for people to be excited about being there. We hooked up the power point to show pictures from my last trip (the one with mom, sis, aunt and cousin at the Grand Floridian) and A.D.'s last trip last month. I think that will be a nice little perk to have that showing while we're talking.
So I am off to take some Melatonin and a fistful of Advil for my aching legs. Getting old sucks. Wish me luck!!
Today's Examiner.com article is on homeschooling another family beside your own. To read it (and help me earn my penny!) click HERE. Thanks!
I am gearing up for a wild few days, my friends! This weekend is going to leave me exhausted to say the least. Today I have to go on the hunt for the elusive boy's dress shoe - size 6 - which no one seems to have. Why? Because I need it. Michael's feet grow like weeds and I thought that we were good with the shoes that we had, but no, his feet have grown again. I've been to three different stores with no luck.
Then, this afternoon, I get to go and set up at church for the Disney talk/workshop that is FINALLY happening tomorrow. I have like four crates worth of stuff to bring with me! I am so excited about this. They gave us the old sanctuary to use as our room so it's pretty darn big and we want to make it look as festive as possible. I've got photo albums, picture frames, wall hangings, heck, I've got sequined Minnie Mouse ears to wear! Dang, I'm gonna look cute! Don't worry, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them as soon as I can.
The workshop tomorrow starts around 8 a.m. We are doing the first two sessions and then will break for lunch. I have to leave at around 1:30 - which will be before the whole thing ends but at least our talk will be done - and head home to do a quick extreme-make-over-Stace-edition and get myself ready for a wedding. Nick's girlfriend's sister (follow that train) is getting married tomorrow and we are invited and Nick is in the bridal party. This will be his first trip down the aisle as a groomsman and thus the first time we will see him in a tuxedo! I'm so excited!! No one else seems to get why I'm so pumped for this, but I think it's a big deal. Weddings in the South are much smaller than what we're used to being from New York but it's still a big deal and I'm looking forward to going. And yes, there will be pictures from that, too.
I had an AWFUL time trying to find something to wear mainly because I don't really wear dresses. They annoy me. Remember? Not a girly-girl? So I shopped and I shopped and I shopped. Nothing thrilled me and no one seemed to have anything that I wanted. So the other day I'm out with Michael getting some supplies for a project that he had to do and there was this store right next to the dollar store called Cato's. I don't hardly EVER go in there because they never have anything that I like (I don't do prints and they DO!). At of pure desperation, I went in. I walked right to a clearance rack and there, right on the end was a dress, IN MY SIZE, marked down to $4.99. SOLD! And, it looked good. Yeah, me! Then I got the shoes on clearance for $7.99. Now that's shopping I can get on boared with!
And with all of this life continues. There's still laundry, dishes, food shopping, sock matching...it never ends. But tomorrow I will be up before the sun, singing "Zip-a-dee-do-dah!" and on my way to my happy place. Even if it's only a room that I decorated to LOOK like my happy place.
Disney? Come on...you've GOT to hear me now!!!!
Today's Examine.com article is on Spice-line, the homeschool e-loop for our area. To read it click HERE. Thanks!
Praise the LORD, I am feeling better!!! I am almost 100% back to normal today. I went to church for both services, manned the women's ministry table, and was in my social glory. It's a good thing that I wasn't seriously ill because the men in this house are NOT nurturing at all! I cannot even begin to tell you how un-helpful they were. But I love them anyway...most of the time. No, just kidding, I love them all of the time!
So what's new? What's going on? What has my life been like? Well, let's see... Oh, I know, first up is Entrecard. Boy, oh boy, are people in a tizzy over the new changes. Out of the 300 sites I drop on each day, there have been at least two dozen that are flat out outraged and who will no longer have the EC widget on their sites. I will miss them. I really will. You see, I had JUST figured out how to have the perfect "Favorites" list and now with people leaving, I don't know how the heck to get them off of that list. It's not like I dont WANT to read their blogs anymore but to be honest, some of them I really just glanced at and moved on. So how can I remove them from my favorites if they are no longer even listed on the EC site? I'm so confused.
And speaking of EC, I was blessed this weekend with an abundance of free EC credits compliments of Margie & Edna and Lola's Diner. I thank you all so much that was quite a nice treat.
Okay, here's something to ponder: We have some friends who are in business for themselves and they have family that are in business for themselves and sometimes the two businesses come together on a project or two. Now we all know the "never work with family" rule, but sometimes it can work. Well, what do you do when there comes a time when it doesn not work so BADLY (meaning, one of the family businesses messes up a job with their total lack of professionalism) that it now affects YOUR business? Do you confront? Do you just shrug and vow to not work together again? Personally, I advised my friend to sort of confront her brother on his poor work habits and make him take responsibility for where things went wrong. What would you do?
I'm hoping to go out walking tomorrow and figure out the pedometer issue. Thank you to all of you with the advise. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thank you to my girl, Danette, who, in my hour of need, ran to the CVS for me and got me Nyquil and ginger ale. You are my angel. :-)
All of my friends from my Disney group are just now getting back from their trips. We're getting together on Thursday so we can hear all of the details. I have to admit, I'm not feeling very gracious right now. Okay, I'm acting like a spoiled brat! I wanted to go!!! Why can't I go??? Poverty sucks!!! I need a vacation!!! Why is life so unfair??? Why hasn't Disney granted me a vacation prize??? I deserve it!!! WAAHHH!!!!!
Okay, I'm off to do laundry. Have a great Sunday!
Okay, so it's Labor Day. We're all at home. This week is going to be a wild one so right now I am like a tiny sargeant yelling at everyone to get their butts up off of whatever surface it was resting upon and get moving!!
Tomorrow I have writing class that I am doing for homeschooler's. I only have three - possibly four - students but it's going to be a good thing. Then tomorrow afternoon I am hosting the monthly get-together of all of my Disney fanatic friends. This all started back when I won that Disney-themed party. So tomorrow it is my turn and I am making my Mickey cheese & crackers, Asian Deli Sandwiches from the Polynesian Resort - that's where my Disney themed food ends - then I'm making brownies, jello and putting out some assorted beverages. Tonight, though, I am making a fried chicken recipe from the POP Century Resort. SO in a Disney state of mind! Wednesday morning I have bible study, and then that afternoon after picking Nick up from work, we are going to a friend's house to swim (weather permitting), Thursday Frank has band practice, Friday Nick is working, all the while Michael is tracked out of school and going to be with me EVERYWHERE!! Sigh. And besides that, we have to get Nick ready to go away next week. Yes, I caved and he's going. I've got my fingers crossed that I'm not going to regret this...
So while the troops are running around behind me right now, complaining at the length of my "To Do" list, my butt is comfortably resting.
for now...
I think I've mentioned that a good friend and I are doing a Disney-talk at our church's annual Women's Day in October. The theme is how to plan a great Disney vacation for less. We are both absolute fanatics about The World and so this is right up our alley.
So we started plotting and planning a little over a month ago and split the topics up between us and got the whole shebang under way. That was where my map dilemma came in and the Disney Company saved the day by offering us some free lithographs. They are adorable.
So feeling spunky and successful in that quest, I contacted my friend Ric over at the Magic for Less Travel (he ALWAYS gets me the best vacation deals) and asked if they would be willing to send us some promotional stuff for the talk. And they are. Thank you, Ric!
Okay, so now I'm just about bursting at the seams at all of the information we will be able to give these ladies and how we might now have to invest in gift bags, we decide to take a field trip to the Disney Store. I know, weird to think of it that way but we brought the kids along and so it made it seem like a little adventure. So we go, we look around and see what kinds of brochures and pamphlets they have to offer and we finally get to speak to a manager who was very, very nice. He gave us a bundle of brochures and told us that there was a planning guide that was coming in in three weeks and that he would put 50 aside for us. Bless you, kind little Disney man!!
Now I'm feeling out and out bold and ask it they have any old posters or displays that were getting ready to be thrown away that we could have. Hey, at this point in the planning process our motto has become "You have not, because you ask not". So I asked. It turns out (and this is just BIZARRE to me!) that he - as the manager of the store - is contractually obligated to DESTROY any and all promotional displays when they are done with them. Not even the employees get to have them. Two people have to go to the dumpster/compactor and DESTROY these things!!! I'm sorry, but I think that Disney would make a FORTUNE on selling these items. I know I would have bought a thing or two! If that spinning Mickey Mouse or Peter Pan sitting up there near the ceiling were for sale, they would SO be in my house right now! I just thought it was all a little extreme.
We meet again on Monday to plot, plan and discuss all-things-Disney. It's going to be the BEST day.
Okay, so I've been blogging for well over a year and just recently became a member of the BlogHer community (see ad right). As I am cruising through the blogging world this fine day, I am seeing a pattern - all of the gals that just got back from "BlogHer 2009" are posting their pictures from their wild weekend.
I SO WANT TO GO NEXT YEAR!!!
For those of you scratching your head in confusion, all I can say is this - BlogHer is a GIANT community and this was their annual convention. It was in Chicago (I think) and next year it will be in NYC. How cool is that? I could possibly swing by and see some family if I so choose! Now what is even cooler about this - and again, I'm new at this and don't know all of the details - you can get a sponsor! That's right, my little blog could get a sponsor to help me go to BlogHer 2010.
OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!!!!
So if anyone is feeling generous out there, let me know. How fun for me would it be if DISNEY would be my sponsor?? It would be like the mother ship calling me home! Now I've got some research to do...how does one go about FINDING a sponsor???
Oh, and just to plead my case a little bit more: remember, I am a pitiful, out of work mother of two and my ONE wish right now (besides that whole pesky finding a job thing) is to go to BlogHer 2010.
oh please oh please oh please oh please...(insert big, sad blue eyes here)
So it's been a while since I've yammered on about Disney. Bet you thought something was wrong with me, right? Anywho...in October our church is having a one-day women's seminar. A friend and I are going to be leading one on going to Disney "cheaply". We haven't come up with a catchy phrase yet.
We got together this morning and began planning. I have a BOX of all kinds of Disney books and vacation planning paraphernalia. Honestly, every time I open that box it's like a little ray of light comes out and happy music begins to play. We went through it all and the main thing that we wanted was a brochure with the park maps in it. I have one such brochure - well, actually I have THREE of that one brochure. I contacted two travel agents, Walt Disney World directly by phone and e-mail and my Mickey Mom's Panel who I won the Disney party with. Well, the mom's panel hasn't gotten back to me yet and all of the others either never heard of them or don't have them.
I'm perplexed. I mean, it's just a simple brochure. It should not be this hard just to get one silly brochure! Sure I can go on-line and download all of the maps but that's just wasting a whole lot of ink and it would be a nuisance to copy them like 50 times. So I'm bummed. I thought we had the greatest little insert for our information packets but no such luck! Dang it!
Honestly, I think Indiana Jones had it easier than me!
And by "she", I mean me. And by "run", I mean speed walk. And the answer is....
YES! The girls and I are planning to do a local half marathon in November. I know, I know, it's not the dream of the Disney half marathon but it is already 90% full of this coming January and I just didn't want to make the huge financial commitment if I didn't train properly and couldn't do it. So to take the pressure off of myself and my friends, we decided that we would do a half marathon here in Raleigh for November of 2009 and then go for the 2011 Disney half marathon.
I AM SO PSYCHED!!!
This is not something that I am taking lightly. I am looking at a lot of different training strategies - but I am NOT looking for others telling me how to do it. I totally want to be in my own comfort zone here and to train at my own pace. I have no intention of running at any point. I just can't do it. My heart rate goes up extremely quick and the doctors have no idea as to why but because of that, running is just not an option. Nor do I want it to be.
I really believe that we can do this. We're not looking to break any records, we're doing this because we want to, because it seems like it could be fun and what a neat example to set for our kids!
So don't be looking for me to be running by your home or jogging down the block. I'll be sticking (at least at the beginning) with the workouts from the Walk Away the Pounds series and my Power 90. Maybe the closer to the Fall we'll hit the actual road to get used to walking the pavement but for now, it's all indoors.
I'm just too excited!!!
It is so cliche - the whole "issues with my dad" thing. So many people have them. Lately, I am having a field day with mine. Why?
Sigh.
Okay so my sister is planning a weekend trip down to Florida to see my dad. Why? Because he keeps asking her to. Does he EVER ask me to come down and visit? No. I know, I know...I don't really WANT to visit him but it would be nice if he at least PRETENDED to want to see me once in a while. They are going to go to Disney together for the weekend. Talk about a double slap in the face. So while my sister is going on and on and on about this weekend she is planning my mind is a whirling. There are so many issues, it's unbelievable.
First, why, why, WHY does my own father not want to see me? He used to get at me all the time about how he felt that I favored Michael over Nick and CLEARLY he favors Karen over me. Every man my sister has ever been married to or been involved with, dad thinks is great. They've been alcoholics, cheaters and just plain slack-assy but they are swell guys in dad's mind. Husband number two became the executor of my dad's estate. Meanwhile, Frank and I have been married for close to 20 years, he makes me extremely happy and barely EVER gets any kind of kind words spoken about him by any member of my family. I don't get it!! I don't understand why we are such freakin' freaks that just don't rate in any way, shape or form.
I don't play his game, I admit that. I don't "Ooh" and "Ahh" over everything that he does. I'm not impressed with his Soprano-wanna-be lifestyle. I think that for many years he made his second wife dress as a cheap bimbo (I may have said that to his face at one point, but I'm not sure). I live a very simple life. I don't go out "clubbing", I don't drink and I've never done drugs. I'm pretty much as opposite as I can be from him. But I am still his daughter. I still have feelings and I still deserve to shown some common courtesy.
I asked my mom about this last night because I was just so annoyed with the whole thing and she was very wise and very honest. She said he does these things because he cannot really be himself when I am around. My sister does all of the "flash" things with him - they'll go to over-priced restaurants and rave about the food. They'll drink, they'll club. Me and Frank? Well, we're pretty much our happiest sitting around over a good, home-cooked meal and good conversation. I can remember one New Year's Eve when we were still dating that we met up with dad and Collette at a restaurant after midnight. It was so utterly and completely awkward that I never, ever wanted to do it again. They were so drunk it was embarrassing and honestly, the people they were with were creepy.
So yes, I know that I am better off for NOT putting myself (or him for that matter) in situations that are really not comfortable for either of us, but the little girl in me just sometimes would like to know that her father actually gives a damn about her and would like to spend a day with her. That's not so horrible, right?
