Friday-Night-Date-Night

Last Friday I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. My company has a suite at the new Cowboys Stadium. Typically, these seats are used only for customers, sales people, and executives (I fall into none of these categories). Well... no one wanted the seats to the show that night: Countdown to Super Bowl XLV.

Honestly, I didn't think I really wanted to go either, but I knew that Joe would probably like to go. And, best of all, we got the parking pass that goes with the suite. It would have been crazy to turn them down.

We spent the first hour in the Legends Bar eating dinner and drinking margaritas (me - and yes, that was plural on purpose), and beer (Joe - he had much more restraint than I did). None of this cost us a single dime (except for tips) - LOVE THAT!

When we headed to our seats, we discovered that the view to the stage was blocked. Bummer! BUT WAIT...since we couldn't see, regular seat tickets were provided. YEA! GREAT SEATS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you know who this is? No?

Ok - how about now? ;-)

That's right! Tim McGraw!

Oh my goodness - what a show! I had not seen him in concert before, but he was so ah-ma-zing!

And so cute! (sorry Joe - but the Cowboys cheerleaders were on stage before Tim, so all was fair, right?)

It's been a long time since we've had so much fun. I sang along to every song (I had to feel just a little sorry for the people next to us - but that didn't stop me)! We really had a great time, loved the show, and felt very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to attend. Isn't it awesome when things work out way better than you anticipated?!

Thirsty?

Geez! I took a ton of water tower pictures... Don't ask me why - I just thought they were kind of cool, and I find it interesting what a town would choose to put out there to represent itself.

I thought this one of the apple basket was especially clever.

And this one of the hot air balloon.

I'm not sure what this last one was, but it was neat. It's some building in Memphis (I think).

OK - so this was just a little filler - I'm working on lots of posts for the next few days, but none of them are quite ready yet. I should have something more fun to post tomorrow. Have a great day!

Mom Guilt

I was listening to Dr. Laura Berman on Oprah radio the other day and she said something interesting about Mom Guilt.

You know how when they are young, the kids cry when we leave them. What do we typically say,”I know, I'm sorry, I don't want to go either." Or, "I wish you could go with me."

Instead of doing this, imagine what would happen if we said, "I know you're upset, and I'm going to miss you too, but I'm so excited about what I get to go do!" Tell them about the really cool thing you are going to do and get them excited for you. When you get back to them, tell them all about it and they will be eager to hear about what you were doing. Just like we want them to have fun and be excited about what they are doing, I think even when they are little they want the same thing for us. What do you think?

(I found the picture at toughcookiemommy.com.)

I can do anything!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded




Check out this video. I want this same conviction and I want to sing and dance it just the way Jessica is doing!

I feel like I have become a bit of a whiner lately. I'm tired of acknowledging and focusing on things that are not going perfectly, and I'm feeling the need to make a significant shift.

I've decided to make Fridays about gratitude. I have never been able to keep a journal - gratitude or otherwise, but I do believe that gratitude is a fundamental and necessary practice. I think about it every day, but there is so much more power to writing it down. For some reason, committing something to paper (or screen, in this case) requires much more consideration.

I am also making a commitment to try to stay away from the usual suspects in my list (family, health, etc.) because I think that would make it too easy. I want to put my focus on the little things I think I take for granted, and acknowledge everything that adds up to this truly blessed life that I have.

Today, I am grateful for:

1. The video above, the message, and what an inspiration Jessica is!

2. Fall is coming and even though the temperature hasn't changed, I can feel it happening. This is my favorite time of year. (I'll probably say the same thing next spring.)

3. Blogging. I'm having so much fun doing this - it makes me happy every time I hit "publish". And I'm LOVE, LOVE, LOVING all the wonderful bloggy-friends out there. I so appreciate everyone's voice and inspiration on a daily basis.

4. I'm glad that Joe is back in town today and that we have a date night planned. Even though it's a pseud-work function, it will still be great to get out of the house and have grown up fun for a few hours.

5. Shifts in perception, and the ability to find the lesson and or something positive in all situations.

What's going right for you today, and where is your focus?

The Sky is Falling...

Sunday afternoon I received a frantic call along with this picture and a text message: "this is not like the ones at home!" Apparently Chicken Little (CL) decided to do laundry at the dorm and was confronted with an unfamiliar and non-compliant piece of equipment.




She'd put her quarters into the machine and they provided a nice snack. However, nothing happened in return. Then she tried to run both her bank card and her student account card through the card reader on the machine and both were declined.

CL was distraught, not because the machine ate her quarters or because there may have potentially been a problem with both of her means of accessing money, but because she didn't know how she was "EVER" going to do her laundry. The sky was falling and it was the end of the world.

First, let me say, that I was extremely proud of her for having the initiative to do laundry without me having to ask (a.k.a. nag) her about it. Wooo hooo!!! WAY TO BE A GROWN UP!!!

From a distance, I had a hard time understanding the angst this situation was producing. Also, my technical ESP was broken on this day, and in spite of the questions I asked, I was unable to fix the machine, resolve the problem, or provide any sort of helpful advice. So, as she was hanging up on me, I got the response: "I don't know why I called, you can’t help me, you're not here!" I had to laugh...

This incident has prompted me to address why my favorite nickname for her is "Chicken Little".


I hate to stereotype, but in this case I’m going to, and describe her sensibility as "artistic." Let’s just say that she can occasionally be a bit… ummm… sensitive and dramatic. Since she was a toddler, every day is either the BEST DAY EVER, or the absolute WORST DAY OF HER LIFE, depending on what has happened in the last 2 – 3 hours.

For those times when the sky was falling, “Chicken Little” just seemed like the most appropriate moniker.

I'm sure you're dying to know - “Does she have clean clothes?” Later that evening, CL apologized for the drama (no worries – there wasn’t any on my end) and let me know her solution. Instead of talking to the maintenance people, the RA, or the person at the front desk (all of those were my suggestions), she pulled her stuff out of the machine, went back to her room, went online and found a different laundromat 0.2 miles away. I was informed that she will go there in the future.

All is well with the world again, and the sky continues to remain where it is meant to be. (surprise, surprise!)

The Road Goes On Forever

I started home later than I had planned... remember, I said it was hard to leave. I just fussed around like the mama hen until I was about to be kicked out.

So back along the Virginia Creeper Trail. Something about that name makes me uneasy - like I expect it to be haunted by all kinds of pervs and weirdos. I don't think the name does the scenery any justice.



I don't know what this is or where it is - somewhere in Virginia or Tennessee. Again, something about it made me uneasy. It looked out of place.



This, however, looked perfect.

And the road goes on forever....

It was a long trip home. I got in about 1:00 AM on Friday/Saturday, and went to bed. I stayed in bed all weekend - partially because I was exhausted from the trip, and partially because I couldn't think of any good reason to get up. I was in a bit of a funk.

Going to work on Monday was difficult, but I made myself get up and go. I was still wiped out - physically, mentally and emotionally. I felt like I was having to learn how to interact with my environment in a whole new way. I felt awkward talking to people at work, and weird being home with just me and Joe. I felt slightly uncomfortable all day. I was in bed before 7:00 that night.

There’s no need for concern - it's just a transition phase. I'm a big fan of cocooning -wrapping my old self up and not coming out until I'm transformed and ready to be new. It's a little weird still and the house seems kind of empty, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable and at the same time, a new sense of energy. I am starting to think about the possibilities and opportunities, and I can feel myself already starting to ease into this new way of being.

Here We Are & Dorm Cuteness

We were up early on Thursday morning. She couldn't check in until 9:00, but she didn't want to be late!

Notice the irritation - the nanosecond it took to take this picture was too long for Lib.

And we arrive...

Thank goodness she was only on the second floor. We had to unload all that junk and get it up those stairs. That was my least favorite part of the trip. I have a hard enough time hauling myself up - much less all of her stuff! And it was about 93% humidity - I was looking really pretty. What? It wasn't about me? Really? Hmmm....

Anyway - the dorm room is essentially a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment. Chicken has one roommate who's in a single room, and then she shares her room with one other roommate. I met both of them briefly and they seem like very nice, normal girls (thank God!).

Living/dining room - no tv's in any rooms. There is one common TV for the entire complex - definitely have their priorities straight! (in this picture - the kitchen is behind me)

This is the bathroom - just a shower, potty and small sink - I just took this picture because I loved this shower curtain. I thought it was really clever for those having to share a bathroom with very little storage space - they don't have to tote their stuff back and forth.

Lib's room. We brought the desk. It's one of those inexpensive "farm" tables that we got a garage sale for $15. She sanded and painted it hot pink this summer. CUTE! No room for it, but we managed to find a place at the end of her bed and we wedged the night stand under it.

Notice all the junk she had to stack on top of her wardrobe. I was beginning to think I was going to go home with the van still half full.

Picking the bedding was quite a challenge. Lib didn't know what color or style she wanted, and then we finally saw a picture in a some magazine with a white bedspread and blankets or quilts at the bottom. PERFECT! She can change the cover at the bottom depending on her mood or the weather. This summer, she made that quilt at the bottom - it turned out really cute, and worked perfectly with the white.

The nice thing about this dorm is the homasote on the walls. The school has done this so the kids can have places to hang the art pieces they are working on or have finished. Pretty clever - and it also allows for the obligatory posters...

That vintage suitcase on the desk is full of her art supplies.

Think she was getting a little tired of all the photos?? I thought the sequined top for move-in day was an especially nice touch.

And then it was time for the long ride home. The van was really, really empty.

Wow! What a really wonderful and horrible day that was. I was incredibly proud of the independent, talented young woman she is becoming, but at the same time worried and sad to close this chapter. Leaving at the end of that day is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I started missing her before we even said goodbye.

No worries - YEA me for a job well done! I know she will soar.