Whew, glad that's over....

PLEASE NOTE THAT I STARTED THIS ON THE 19th. I didn't post until the 23rd. But in all my technicallness, I don't know how to change that. And right at this moment, I don't really care.

I have just survived one of the busiest times I can remember.

I left you all hanging on May 6th. Glad to see you are still coming 'round.

Here's what I have been up to....

May 6 - Girl Scout Meeting. Camping Prep.

May 7 - Get my personal items ready for camp.

May 8 - Belly Dance Lesson (not missing these. I love them, they are for ME)

May 9 - Rush home, finish packing, load car and leave for rendevous point and then on to the campsite. Made it there after only getting a little bit lost. Yay me!

May 10 - Camp with girls. Lost one to homesickness. (One of the older girls texted her mother to come pick her up. She didn't bother to tell me. Her mother just appeared and took her home.) Lost another one after dinner. This one had a temperature. So I took her home. Just so happened to be my daughter, so I stayed home with her and slept in my own bed. Sure beat the heck out of the deflated mats.

May 11 - Returned to the campsite to pick up the daughters that didn't get sick the night before. Stopped for groceries on the way home. Can't tell you how THRILLED the girls were!!!! I know you are wondering why I, the QUEEN for the Day, was shopping for GROCERIES!!! on Mother's Day. The answer is simple. I was already out, AND I got to pick the produce. Hubby isn't bad, but, he's a guy. Nuf' said. We bought dinner, and food for Hubby to feed the girls for the following several days, as I was scheduled to go out of town on a business trip. YAY ME!!!! 3 glorious nights alone in a hotel room. HEAVEN, I tell ya.

May 12 - Get to work a bit late, but it's okay. I am going out of town afterall. Leave for DC around 3 1/2 hours late. Oops. It actually turned out to be the best move. I was able to get LOTS accomplished in the office AND the folks that left "on time" got stuck in traffic due to accidents.

Checked in to the hotel, unpacked and met up with co-workers for a quick dinner in the lobby bar. Yum. Back to room after a very GREAT Apple Martini. Double Yum.

May 13 - Went to the meetings. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! Back to the hotel, where I politely declined the offer to join my co-workers for dinner. I stayed in my room. Ordered room service. AND got some work done. Scrapbooking work. Certainly NOT real work. DUH!!!! I mean, come on, I am ALONE. I was actually able to work without little interuptions every 5 minutes. HEAVEN!!!!

This burger was HUGE. I cut it in half and couldn't even eat that. I saved the fruit I couldn't eat. I mean a girl has to have breakfast. Those ice buckets sure come in handy.

May 14 - Back to meetings. YUCK. They draggggeeeeeddddddd on forever. Repeat of the night before. Back to the room ALONE. (NO, you can't be me) More projects finished. (insert HAPPY DANCE) Room service AGAIN. (I'm serious, you CAN'T be me) This is their Grown Up Mac and Cheese. It was four cheeses (don't know, so don't ask), peas, bacon and onion. Again was WAY TOO much food. So, I saved some of the fruit for breakfast. I ended up putting it in my travel mug and ate in the car on the way to the meetings. How smart am I?!?!?!?

May 15 - Back for a morning meeting before departing for home. Got home around 5ish. I was beat, so I didn't go to my Belly Dance lesson. But I did fall asleep in front of the TV around 9.

May 16 - Regular work day. Took a case of explosives to blow my a$$ out of bed, but I did it. Got the girls to school on time and settled into the same routine. I had the same activity level as the day before. Asleep by 9. Party Girl.

May 17 - Slept in to 9:30. Ouch. Got up and took a shower. Took Morgan to her riding lesson. Then took all three to Beach Scrapbooks. Ouch again. They are expensive to take in there. We headed over to Target for summer clothes. Then home to lick my wallet wounds.

May 18 - Slept in til 8:00. Got a call about 9 from my SIL. She found a Wii. Would we like one? Do bears sh..... YES, we want one. She brought it over that afternoon. It is a fun thing to do. My butt hurt. I wouldn't have it any other way. (Update on the hind quarters: Still sore)

May 19-23 - Slowly got back to the same ole routine. I like normal, most of the time.

Plans for this weekend:

Cleaning scrap room (I need more working space, my "stuff" is everywhere)

Scrapping (make a couple pages and finish some swaps)

Getting a sore butt (Playing on the Wii)

Cooking on the grill (Hubby will actually)

Taking the girls on a bike ride to the park for a picnic

Maybe go to the Strawberry Festival, maybe not

Help Morgan make brownies (it's her turn to bake)

Read The Kite Runner

Maybe weed the flower beds

Play with the girls in the back yard

Sleep in

What are you up to this weekend?????

5 Things....

I saw this on Sarah Bowen's blog, and I thought it would be fun.

What were doing 5 years ago today:
I was just starting out in this job. I have been with my company for 15 years. I started out as an engineer. I got bored. So I switched to the Business side of things. I am loving my "new" job. I didn't think I would ever get the hang of things. I had no prior experience, but our office was going through major changes and this position opened up. So here I am. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but now people come to me for answers and solutions. Really cool, huh?!?!

5 snacks I love:
Japanese rice crackers

Jerky

Rice cakes

Mike and Ike's

Chips - Potato, tortilla, pita - Love 'em all

5 things on my to do list today (or things I did today):
Stopped at the school and gave my little one her allergy med

Had Vegetable Chow Mein for lunch

Make camping list for Girl Scout troop

Get girls dinner

Make teacher appreciation gifts for tomorrow

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Buy my sister and her hubby a bigger house

Pay for college for all my nephews

Get a maid and butler for my parents (mom would really get into that)

Buy a covertible sports car for commuting, wait, I won't have a commute. I'd get the car anyway

Set up a MAJOR scrap convention in Virginia Beach

5 bad habits I have:
Blogging at work

Eating junk food

Procrastinating, more on this one later

Chronic lateness

I avoid confrontation at all costs

5 places I've lived:

California

Guam

Oregon

New York

Virginia

5 jobs I've had:
Waitress

Library Assistant

Ice Cream Scooper

Crane Mechanic

Tacky Hand Bag Sales Girl

5 things I am wearing right now:

Black pants

Brown & Gold necklace I made

Faux diamond earrings

Real emerald engagement ring and wedding band

Tan underwear and matching boring bra

Consider yourself tagged. Link to your answers in the comments.

BPS, 8 or 12, Butterflies

I picked up some pictures last night. It felt weird, and here is why. I am starting a new habit. This one is based on Stacy Julian's Library of Memories Class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.

Her teaching is that you print pictures about once a quarter. I know, I know. Doesn't sound very revolutionary, unless.....You know me. I don't do anything regularly. (Yup, peri-menopause has set in, so even that is unpredictable.) She encourages us (me) to keep a digital file for the quarter of only the photos I think I will scrap, and then print them (or send them to get printed). I have taken a BIG leap on this one. It felt weird picking up pictures that were "just" taken. I usually let them age for a couple/few years.

12 in 12, or 12 on 12, or something like that. Here is the site for the challenge. The basic is to take 12 pictures on the 12th of each month and create a layout. She sends out reminder emails. I don't know that I could take 12 pictures on the 12th of every month. That sounds like too much for me.

I will, however, take 8 on the 8th. Until January when I will take 9 on the 9th. Makes more sense to me. I won't send out reminders, but if you join me on this challenge, let me know. (Odds are you will be more successful than I will be. I have a short attention span.

Oh, look at that pretty butterfly......

Spaghetti for dinner.

We're having spaghetti for dinner tonight. I love spaghetti. Sometimes I even make the sauce myself. But NOT during the week. Just don't have enough time. Know what I mean!?!?!

I am alive and kicking. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I have just been running around not feeling the urge to BLOG. So, I haven't. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT quitting. I started this BLOG as a pleasurable, relaxing activity for me. And because it is here "FOR MY CONVIENIENCE", I refuse to feel the need to make entries on any kind of schedule. It's bad enough I have to watch my dear husband act slave to a ringing phone. The man CANNOT stand to let a phone ring. It drives him crazy to hear the phone, any phone, ringing without at least checking the caller ID. This is really good news for any of you that call my house. He WILL answer the phone. He can't help it. He is wired for it. I, on the other hand, believe that the phone is there for MY convienience. And as such, I will or won't answer it depending on what I am doing, or where I am when the phone rings. I won't answer the phone, or even check caller ID, during dinner. Or if I am reading to one of my darling little angels.

(you can choke on that one if you wish. I did.)

I have suffered a bit of the "I can't wanna" lately. I have been around. I have checked my emails, read your BLOGs, commented on some of them, heck, I have even answered a few phone calls, but I haven't written on this BLOG.

I just didn't wanna.

I am not depressed or blue or down. As a matter of fact, I feel pretty upbeat. A lot has gone on in my middle aged, suburban life. Mostly middle aged, suburban things that would bore the socks off you. I am pretty sleepy myself just thinking about them. So, I won't bore you with them.

(Well, not all of them.)

We are taking off tomorrow to the Great Wolf Lodge.

So, If I don't update before 2:30pm on Friday, May 2nd, I won't be updating until next week.

No promises.

I have pictures to post of the projects I have completed.

(They are all home on my computer. I am still in the office. I should have left a few minutes ago, but I wanted to get on here and update this much.)

I got a belly dance instructional video in the mail yesterday.

The instructor is Michelle Joyce.

It is a beginner video. I like it. Even I can keep up. I have A LOT of work, and practice to do. She makes it look SOOOOO easy. Wish me luck and motivation. And now I find out she is from the San Francisco area. I miss the Bay Area.

P.S. I don't know why all of the paragraphs are "running" together.

Sorry 'bout that.