Total Eclipse of the Heart

Not really, but I couldn't resist writing the lyrics to the song!  Last night, we randomly woke up around 2 am (thought about setting an alarm but never got a round to it) and so since we were (sort of) up, we decided to go outside and check out the lunar eclipse.  I think it was the first one there has been in like 172 years or something crazy and even longer since it has coincided with the winter solstice.  The moon was beautiful last night as we were driving home, and I was hoping it would still be large and clear skies when we went out at 2 am.  It was a little more cloudy and it had risen to the top of the sky so it was a bit harder to see but still very cool.  It had a reddish tint, and we tried to get pictures but it was just too hard with the cameras we had.  We got to look at it a little more up close though through the binoculars we found.  Pretty cool!  I enjoyed it even more because it was something fun that hubby and I got to share just the two of us while our son was sleeping inside.  :)  I'm a little sleepy this morning because of it but it was definitely worth it!

Woohoo - Go Mustangs!

For the 2nd year in a row, my S-M-U Mustangs are headed to a bowl game!  And this year, they were chosen for the Armed Forces Bowl which is normally played at the T-C-U stadium.  In a random coincidence though, T-C-U has decided to do construction on their stadium this winter, and the game was rescheduled to be played in the S-M-U stadium before the teams were even picked.  So they get to play AT HOME for their bowl game which is pretty cool! 

It's on the 30th at 11 in the morning though which is kind of random, so hubby will still be working.  I was thinking of buying some $10 general admission seats for the endzone grass section for my son and me if the weather was good, but I found out today that one of the girls I know from S-M-U and my dance class I used to take at the local community college nearby got tickets from her dad for Christmas and offered 2 of them to me!  So not only are we going to get go now but we have good seats AND a special parking pass!  I'm so excited to take my buddy to the bowl game!!!!  :)  I just ordered us some gear to wear (sadly I don't have any t-shirts from there other than old shirts from my sorority that I sleep in) and we will be all set for next week! 

The last couple of days have been great on the gift giving and fun parts of Christmas.  I was also surprised on Friday afternoon by a really nice card and $100 Visa gift card from one of my managers and one of my partners that I work for!  They told me how much they appreciated all my hard work this year and know that it has been tough but that they couldn't do it without me.  Felt really good!  :)

Let's hope this holiday giving keeps on going - definitely lightened my mood since I was otherwise stressed about the $$ situation going into these holidays, but I am so blessed to have such great friends and family to make this another great Christmas! 

Baby Steps

Today I made my first step.  I had a friend send my resume to her friend who is a headhunter.  And the friend wrote back that she would love to look around for me because I looked great!  So....we shall see what happens!  ;)  I am going to be super picky when looking, but I realized that if I don't at least SEE what other options there might be, I will never know and the good thing about my position right now is that it is fine and safe and I can always say no to anything else if it isn't what I want!  Here's to 2011!

Whirlwind

So much for blogging more regularly!  ;)  The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of go-go-go!  I have been too busy to post and I still need to learn how to better use this thing through e-mailing in posts or posting photos and things.  Rumor has it that we are going to be allowed to switch to iPhones in the new year at work, and I can't wait so I can get them to purchase one for me.  I think that will make my blogging much better! 

Let's see - after the fun but busy Thanksgiving weekend, we spent the first weekend of December at hubby's holiday party on Saturday and then at the White Rock Marathon on Sunday.  Hubby ran his 2nd half marathon, and I'm so proud of him because he is has type 1 diabetes so this is a huge accomplishment for him.  He is still training so that he can run his 3rd one at the Cowtown Marathon in February (where he ran his first one earlier this year) and try to beat his time this time! 

Last weekend was EVEN MORE BUSY!!!  On Friday, we had our bi-annual volunteer day at work and this year, I led a group at the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth.  We had a great time cooking them breakfast and even though we made WAY too much food (they told us to cook for 75 and only about 12 showed!), we had a lot of fun and it was so nice to get out in the community and give back.  Then I ran around that afternoon dropping off the dog at the pet hotel (ps if anyone around DFW knows of better options for dog sitting, I'd love to know - we love the pet hotel but it's way expensive!!!), picking up a few Christmas presents, and packing for our trip the next day. Then hubby got home and we got all dressed up for my company's holiday party which was a black-tie optional Black & White Ball so I curled my hair and did my makeup all fancy and hubby put on his black suit and off we went.  We had a great time at a beautiful venue - great food, lots of fun, date night, etc. but we had to leave early to get our son so we could all get some rest before the next morning.

The next morning we LEFT the house just before 7 am (ouch!) to drive down to Sealy to see hubby's cousin get married.  We had a good road trip, dressed in the bathroom of the church (ha!), and enjoyed the ceremony. Then we drove an hour into Spring where the rest of the evening's festivities were held.  We had a good time but we were exhausted and went to bed early!!!  Then the next morning, we had breakfast at hubby's aunt's house and then headed back home to pick up the dog, go grocery shopping, and I worked on our holiday cards that evening.  Busy busy busy!  

Needless to say, yesterday was a definite Monday and I feel like there is too much to do and not enough time before the holidays, but I also know that somehow it will all get done.  I think I'm going to attempt to cook for the in-laws and us for Christmas Eve so trying to figure out a menu and hope that the house will all come together before next week!  Then I will get some time off after Christmas and New Year's, go back to work for one day, and then be out for two weeks for my surgery.  It's going to be a crazy month or so still but we will make it and things WILL get better in 2011 - I just know it!  :)  

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season and I really do hope to post more soon!

The Good and the Bad

Things that are good (great!) right now:
1) Spent a wonderful 5 days off this weekend enjoying the holidays with my son and hubby and some of hubby's family - included getting our Christmas tree, reading, getting stuff done around the house, cooking, and the Parade of Lights which was super fun
2) Trying hard to enjoy the holiday season even though it's hectic this time of year and we have at least one thing (sometimes both days) every weekend from now until the new year, but my husband is like Clark Griswald and his enthusiasm is infectious
3) Picked out super cute glasses yesterday after finally going to my overdue eye appointment and they should be in soon
4) Had a good conversation with my parents/mom a few weekends ago and am working to repair that relationship again - really hoping it sticks this time so this nonsense can stop - so far so good

Things that are not so good:
1) Went to my gyn today to do another check-up on my endometriosis/ovarian cysts and found out the left one is continuing to get bigger and I am likely going to have to have surgery AGAIN to remove the cyst (and possibly part of the ovary depending on damage) - I am none to pleased on this one because I just had surgery in December of last year and that one was fairly easy - this one will require an overnight hospital stay plus 2 weeks of recovery :(  and I am dreading the possibility of this happening every year from now until I get a hysterectomy....grrrrrrrr.  Of course calendar-wise, there isn't much good timing left either before I get busy with work again so may need to do it the week after Christmas or at the latest the first week of January or will have to wait until March which then interferes with son's birthday and potential family vacation to Hilton Head
2) Still very frustrated with job situation.  Right now I feel a bit better because I'm not traveling and not so crazy busy that I can't think, but I want more out of life than this and not sure how to fix it without losing the awesome benefits that we have here.  This is one I will continue to work on in 2011 I think! 
3) Due to #2 and their lovely idea of a "promotion" we are more short on $$ than I would like to be with housing taxes needing to be paid in January and Christmas presents to be bought.  We are trying to be frugal this year and keep our credit card debt as minimal as possible, but it sucks.  Can't wait until I get my bonus in April and can pay things down and hopefully get a raise and then in the fall of next year when we will get money back from not having to pay for preschool/daycare any more. 
4) Feel like a bad mother some days because 1) son was picked on by bullies last week and had a black eye for Thanksgiving weekend because some stupid kid pushed him into a pole and he hit his cheek bone and 2) back to #3, we are likely going to have to put son in public elementary school at least (not opposed to public school but our district is not as good as I want it to be and especially won't send him for middle/high school there) to save some money for a bit.  Hoping he will get into the charter school (lottery on 12/18 - fingers crossed), but if not it's only a few years right?  :) 

I am trying hard to focus on the goods and not the bads because that stuff can get me down.  We are very blessed compared to so many other families this year and if it means we have to sacrifice a bit now for a bigger payoff later, then so be it!  I am just ready for some good things to start happening with work and the economy!  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and hope to write more now that I have a bit more time at work.  :)

I survived

So I survived my crazy weekend at work, and if I can get through the next two days, I will get to enjoy the weekend to myself!  Having worked the Sunday before, a full week last week, the weekend, and now another full week, let me tell you that I have no idea how people who have two jobs or have to work 7 days a week do it!  I'm on day #12 and each morning becomes harder to get of bed.  Between my sleepiness and the chilliness outside, I just want to snuggle in bed all day!  But I get up and go about my day and survive ;) 

I have been thinking a lot on my drives about where I want to go from here.  I thought that 2010 was going to be "my year" after the health issues and such we had last year.  And while we are blessed to be healthier this year and have had many other blessings, we have also had a very tough year in terms of work and friends.  I am ready for things to get better in both areas, and I try not to let the craziness of the holidays and the $$$ drain it has on us to get me down.  I'm trying to figure out ways to make this year super special but without going overboard on our finances!  The good news is that if nothing else, by next fall, we should be saving a lot more money when our son goes to real Kindergarten.  We may have to do an after-school type program and obviously pay in the summers, but it will not be the constant drain on the bank account every month that it is right now.  And hopefully, in 2011, I can either get a new job (!) or at least get paid better as our reviews and raises take affect April 1st. 

Now I just need to decide whether or not I wait around and see what happens here or explore my options elsewhere....TBD at another time!  Gotta run but looking forward to a weekend of relaxing followed by 2 days of work and then taking off the day before Thanksgiving.  I can't wait until next week:

Wednesday - off from work and cooking at home with my son (so fun!), free tickets to the Usher concert in a suite that night with hubby (yay!)

Thursday - T-day and who doesn't love that?!

Friday - get the Christmas tree (love!) and then tickets to the Parade of Lights which I have been wanting to go to for years (can't wait!)

Pencil Parable

I got this in an e-mail forward today and it really hit home for me right now, so I wanted to share!  :)

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS JUST BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE BOX :


1.) EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK.

2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.

3.) WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.

4.) IN LIFE, YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENINGS, WHICH WILL ONLY MAKE YOU BETTER.

5.) TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.

We all need to be constantly sharpened. This parable may encourage you to know that you are a special person, with unique God-given talents and abilities Only you can fulfill the purpose which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot be changed and, like the pencil, always remember that the most important part of who you are, is what's inside of you and then allow yourself to be guided by the hand of God.