Wornoutwoman

This week - I received one my first submission from Saving Grace cover shots. I love getting creative photos from my readers from all over the globe and am so blessed to see where they come from. Thank you, Chicago!

So as a brat, moving every few years my tenure in most states includes a couple years of middle school here - a year of junior high there - and maybe if I'm lucky I got a longer stay for high school. I spent two years of my high school in the state of Virginia, twenty miles south of D.C. - then my dad's next duty station took us overseas for my junior & senior years.  At this point, it hit hard as I'd finally felt like I'd come into my own as a teenaged girl and suddenly I was forced to pack up and move away from all close my friends and my comfort zone.  As a military brat, you get used to this sort of thing but it's not like you love it all the time. Long story short ... my older sister and I are going back this weekend for her class reunion.   She also attended this same school and had to leave right before her senior year. Although it's her 30th high school reunion - it's also an 'all-class reunion' as our high school is celebrating it...

We will never have to leave early again. New Airport Check-In Procedures This eliminates getting to the airport 2 hours early, but you still have to take off your shoes. We leave on a trip in July, and I'm seriously tempted to travel light...minus the umbrellas of course.

I got back home today and am worn out and excited at the same time! 3 full days of meetings, awards banquets, and meals with over 2,000 people from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. has left me wanting a long nap! Both hotels, our group was booked at, had a breeze-way to the Louisville, KY convention center. It was about 4 to 5 blocks for me to get to any event from sun up to sun down. So even though I ate and ate...I could walk it off! I think I still gained about 5 pounds though. I'm not used to eating that much. I swear ever since I turned 34 last year, I've had some minor trouble keeping 5 pounds off my ideal weight. Still...I'm really blessed with that issue. The last two nights had a fancy dinner at the main convention hall. The first night was for the sales force and the second for the service. I find it funny how different people in each department are. The sales people the first night were so pumped to be recognized that most ran down to the front to get to the stage as so...

Okay, Sunday I leave for one last trip! I think this is the most I've traveled for any job ever! Four weeks straight I've been going...going...gone! I won a trip for our annual bash, so a lot of us will be celebrating for 4 days next week. It will be all business attire or business casual.....bummer! I would like to be comfortable, but being dressed for work isn't always so. I will be more regular in my blogs once I'm back. I've been too busy to sit and write as I've been driving my arse off or flying somewhere for the last month. By the way, last time I got home from Savannah...I came home to a big WELCOME HOME banner with balloons and streamers. My son has already told me he wants to have another surprise party for me when I get home this time. I can't wait to sneak in at midnight and wait for him to wake up to yell, "surprise"!

My son has been so excited it's my birthday! He gave me thirty-five love taps today and sang 'Happy Birthday'! He says that yesterday I was thirty-four, but now I'm thirty-five! It's so exciting for him to have any chance to celebrate! We usually do fireworks on my birthday since the 4th of July is over a weekend. We make it a birthday weekend event for me! With the 4th being on a Wednesday this year, it kind of broke up our celebration. I feel kind of funny today like my birthday's already over. After all, we watched the fireworks this week already. I hope once I get to my mom's tonight I can gear up for a B-Day dinner! My mom is the most awesome cook and anything she prepares will always get rave reviews. I always ask for Mexican food, and my sister, whose birthday is in August, always asks for Japanese. So during the summer, we always have great big family dinners. Tonight will be chille rellenos, chicken or beef enchiladas, tex-mex dip, a...

I got home Thursday morning after 2:00 a.m. and was never so glad to touch the ground. Although my trip was awesome, after four days I was ready to see my family. Plus...with all the storms we were delayed in Cincinnati for over four hours. I was pooped! Savannah was one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. The architecture and design were amazing. The history was powerful. The soul of the city was enveloping! My co-worker and I stayed at 'The Mansion at Forsythe Park' in the heart of Savannah, across from Forsythe Park. The picture of our 4-star room is above. It was totally girly in hot pink and white. It was a very artistic hotel that had THE most heavenly beds I've ever slept in. We had a lot of solo time during the day, which led us to Tybee Beach or napping/shopping. I haven't napped since my son was two! It was awesome! At night we had dinner and cocktails with others that flew in for the board of directors meeting. Sarah, my...

I'm home and bushed. I walked for two days in my heels in the rain and drove over 500 miles. I got a lot accomplished for work, and I am glad I went. The best part was visiting family nearby. I loved spending the night at my grandparent's home. I hadn't been there since my grandfather's death in 2000. That town holds so many haunting memories for me that it had always been hard to even think about returning. It was good to visit my grandmother and get some closure on that chapter in my life as well. It was healing on so many levels. The drive between multiple towns was extremely relaxing. I took many photographs which you can see on my flicker site, but I'll post a few for fun. The only sad part was all the flooding. Oklahoma has had a lot...I mean a lot of rain, so driving held a lot of areas that were underwater. Thankfully the highway I was on was over some of the newly formed lakes that settled onto the low ground. I took lots of pictures o...

Before I go on my trip, I will leave you with this story. Of course, my son is always serious, but I always find him so funny. Like all loving parents, I'm biased. Last night, my son was taking his shower. I detached the shower spray to hold and shower himself off with. I let him stand in there on his own for a while to gain more independence, but I always stay within earshot just in case. As I heard him singing, I asked if he was doing okay. My husband walked in and whispered, "You'll never guess what he's in there doing!" I raised an eyebrow in wait and he laughed, "He's got the showerhead turned toward his chest, and he told me that he was giving Jesus a drink because Jesus was thirsty!" I shook my head...there my son goes again. Thinking so literally. Of course, the water should be shooting at his heart...because Jesus lives there!

The next couple of weeks are gonna be crazy. For all the momma time I get, I eventually have to burn the midnight oil. There's a new program my company is promoting and Oklahoma it the beta territory. And I'm on the team of sales reps that the whole nation is looking to...to see how it tracks. This week I get to drive 3 hours from home to cold call small towns out in rural OK. The good part about this...I plan on staying the night with my grandmother. She lives out in BFE, and I haven't been to her two-horse town since the death of my grandfather, in 2000. The bad part is that I'm taking two whole days away from my family. It will go quick and I'll be home before I know it. Then I get to pack for a 4 day trip to Georgia for an all-expense-paid trip for work. Two of us were chosen to participate in an annual event, that will basically be socializing, lots of food, and cocktails. The good part is quite obvious.....HELLO. I've not had any ME time fo...