Another crazy week!!!

At the end of May, I, along with several others, lost my job at the Sheraton.  I've been working since I was 15 years old and have never been laid off or fired from a job so you can imagine what a shock it was for me.  I knew it wasn't personal, I knew it was just business but still.  The hotel was doing poorly, they needed to cut expenses and since my position was a newly created position, it was deemed a luxury.  The timing actually worked out in my favor . . . I was home all summer with KJ, got to enjoy the pool every day and worked on my tan, I was able to see a lot of my lax family when they came up for tournaments, I was able to go to Vicksburg for 10 days in July for the pageant, I was able to spend quality time with T-Bone when she came home for a week at the end of July, I was able to drive KJ to and from volleyball camps and clinics and I was able to be involved in her JV volleyball experience.  I was also able to fly to Oxford for a few days in October and, had that damn hurricane not happened, I would have been able to enjoy a week in Cabo!  Now, the holidays are upon us and I was looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving and having all of our family here for Christmas.  Simply put, I have not been looking for a job.  But a job found me.

Tuesday I received a text from one of my co-workers at the Sheraton asking me if I was interested in a position in the Sales Department.  Something had come up and I was the first person they thought of.  On Wednesday afternoon I received a call from HR asking if I could come in Thursday morning to meet with the new GM.  Within an hour, I had an offer of employment.  My head is spinning!!!  I start on Monday.  Naturally, I ran to the mall to buy some new clothes!

We have got so much going on over the next couple of weeks, I'm questioning the timing of this new job but things have a way of working out.  We are also in the process of buying a house here in Maryland so I was very honest with the DOS and the GM.  I told them up front that I'll need some days off for the closing, the move, etc and I absolutely positively have to have off the entire week of Christmas.  That was not negotiable.

When we first moved here we decided to rent since we really weren't sure if we were going to stay.  Fortunately, KJ loves it here and is positively thriving.  She made the honor roll 1st semester of high school as well as all 4 semesters of 8th grade and we couldn't be prouder.  She's in all AP classes and did an incredible job of balancing academics and athletics.  This coming from a child who hated school in Alabama and begged to be home schooled.  Every morning was a struggle with KJ.  She begged to stay home, every morning brought a new ailment ... a headache, a stomach ache, etc.  She loves her school, likes her teachers, she's got a great group of friends, she's popular and she's got quite the social calendar.  So, we decided the time to buy a house was right.

Unfortunately, finding a house has proved to be difficult and not without it's challenges.  Obviously we want to stay within our current school district.  We do not need nor do we necessarily want a McMansion which seems to be the rage up here.  Houses in our current neighborhood start at $625K.  It's just the three of us for the next three years (we have accepted the fact that T-bone will probably never live in Maryland).  We do not need a 5-bedroom house.  We're trying to find a smaller house that fits our needs and a house that we can quickly sell once KJ is off to college and we can downsize even further.  Unfortunately, a smaller house in this area equates to a much, much older house needing updates.

We've been searching since the spring and think we may have found our next home.  It is an older home but the kitchen and master suite have been beautifully updated.  The house is on an acre and backs to the woods.  It's a brick ranch that has none of it's original floor plan.  The master suite is huge and also has a separate sitting room that was probably one of the original bedrooms, beautiful hard woods, his and her closets and one wall of exposed brick.  The family room is an addition it is also has beautiful hardwoods, walls of windows overlook the back yard and a wall of exposed brick.  The house has two fireplaces -- one in the formal living and one in the finished basement -- but my favorite room is the mud room off the garage.  I have always wanted a mud room!!!  There is a guest bedroom in the basement and KJ will take over the entire renovated attic.  So, if we do put an offer on this house and the closing goes through, we will be the proud owner of three homes and a lacrosse store!  Yup.  Our house in Hoover is currently being rented by a nice family from MS with 2 high school aged girls, the renter in our condo has been there for over 5 years and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere and of course we still have Stickhead.  We keep joking around that all we need next is a condo in Ocean City!!!

The Road to Hell

Gah!!  It's been an incredibly long time since I've blogged.  I've been meaning to.  I had good intentions.  But you know what they say about good intentions . . . 

So let's see.  Last time I blogged we were probably getting ready for our trip to Cabo.  Well, Hurricane Odile took care of that.  While we were naturally disappointed, everything seems to be working out A-OK.  It looks like we may be doing a Mediterranean cruise next year so we have that to look forward to!  I believe the cities are:  Barcelona, Palma De Mallorca, Marseilles, Florence/Pisa, Rome and Naples.  Works for me!!!

KJ's JV volleyball season is officially over.  She had an incredible season and made so many friends.  Unfortunately, they played their last game on her birthday and lost.  It was a very tough loss and she was so upset that the loss happened on her 15th b-day.  This weekend she has travel team try-outs.  

KJ also had a great time at Homecoming.  They do things a little differently up here than they did in Hoover.  Very few boys ask the girls to the dance so they all go in a big group.  However, they do go out to dinner before the dance just like they did at Hoover.  I think there were 13 or 14 in KJ's group and 6 girls came back to the house for the "after party" (a bonfire outside w/ s'mores) and they all slept over.  It was a gorgeous night and we had so much fun taking photos and it was nice for me to meet some of the parents.  

Friday night, prior to kickoff, they have a homecoming parade into the stadium and then the Homecoming King and Queen are announced.  Our football team in undefeated and the student section rocks!  The kids really, really get into it and KJ loves going to the games.  Our Varsity volleyball team is currently in the play-offs so KJ has continued going to the games to cheer on the older girls.  Girls Varsity soccer just lost in the play-offs but they had a great season, too!  The principal tweets alot and 

I broke down today and bought the latest Taylor Swift CD.  I've heard SO many people say it's really, really good so I thought I'd give it a try.  "Shake it Off" sure is catchy.  
http://youtu.be/nfWlot6h_JM

Had such a nice although very quick visit to Oxford mid-October.  T was competing in the Miss University pageant.  She did awesome (as usual!).  I wasn't sure about her new gown but the judges loved it and she got some extremely positive feedback.  She was a little discouraged because she didn't officially place but after speaking with the program director, she feels much, much better about her performance. As always, it seems like there were a lot of politics involved.  

I flew into Memphis Tuesday morning, we did some shopping and had lunch at Zaxby's (we don't have Zaxby's in Maryland!).  We had dinner and drinks at Boure with the Dew.  T had to leave early for rehearsal so the Dew and I walked around the Square.  It was very nice to spend some time w/ just him and get to know him a little better.  Wednesday we had breakfast at BBB (duh!!!) and I had lunch w/ the girls at the AOPi house while T was in class.  She had her private interview that afternoon and then the pageant was that evening.  She had a great cheering section!  Me, the Dew, Amanda, a ton of AOPi sisters and one of her AOPi advisors, a bunch of her residents and several of her co-workers.  Her residents were super sweet and had a bunch of funny posters and hooted and hollered whenever she was on stage.  Afterward we attended the cocktail party at the U Club and Thursday morning we had breakfast at Bottletree Bakery before heading up to Memphis for my return flight.  The Dew and Megan drove up to Memphis with us to keep T company on the ride home.  

T is not coming home for Thanksgiving this year (she has to check everyone out on Sunday but be back by 8 AM Friday).  She'll have Thanksgiving w/ the Dew and his fam.  She hasn't seen Cosmo and KJ since July so we're super excited for her to come home for Christmas.  Christmas is going to be INSANE at our house this year!!!!  Not only will my mom & dad be here for the week but Cosmo's bro from FL and his fam will be here too!  And then Cosmo's niece (and her hubby) that live here in MD will join us for Christmas dinner.  And then my bro and his fam will be here for a few days after Christmas.  It's going to be one big slumber party!!!  And I'm SOOOO excited!  That's what we moved back up here for!!!  

Pack This, Not That

Due to a recent experience with a well-known airline carrier (yeah, I'm looking at you Southwest) and an unfortunate experience the first time we went to Cabo (yeah, my luggage was lost on that flight, too), I am bound and determined to use only carry-on for our upcoming trip.  

The struggle is real.  I have a tendency to over-pack and I have a tendency to bring lots of shoes.  Lots of shoes.  And I like to be prepared . . . for anything.  Horseback riding on the beach, swimming with dolphins, tequila shots at the infinity pool.  You know.  Whatever comes our way.  

10 on Tuesday -- Dream Vacation (As Always, a Day Late)

1. What is your dream vacation?
My dream vacation is to go to one of those far away islands and stay in one of those little huts over the water and not do anything for a week but lay in a hammock and work on my tan.

2. What has been your favorite trip so far in your life?
Favorite trip so far has got to be our trip to San Diego with the girls. I think KJ was in kindergarten. It was one of those magical vacations where everything just fell into place . . . our flight was perfect, the girls took a surf lesson, we went to the San Diego Zoo, saw the sea lions in LaJolla, the girls played in the cove and we played on the beach in Coronado and had ice cream at the Del.

3. If you and one of your best friends could go anywhere in the world for one week, where would it be and why?
LCM and I would have a fun time in Paris or London. We have very similar tastes and would have a great week having a glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe, shopping, visiting museums, etc.

4. Have you ever booked a trip using an online deal? How did it go?
The only time I booked anything travel-related on line was a hotel in Chicago for T & I. We stayed at a famous 5 star hotel right on Michigan Avenue for pennies. I would definately do it again for hotel, not sure how I feel about using it for flights.

5. What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re on vacation?
Depends on the location. Beach is a relaxing trip, other trips are for sight-seeing, museums, dining and shopping.

6. Have you ever missed an opportunity to take a trip that you regret?
I don’t think so.

7. You travel far away from home and get stranded with no way to buy anything, what’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Advil (and Chapstick).

8. What’s one of your favorite traveling memories?
Although my luggage was "lost" on our direct flight from Atlanta to Cabo and magically reappeared the morning we were heading home (my brand new luggage was held together with electrical tape. I swear it was dragged behind a truck or something), I think Cabo was one of the best vacations I ever had. I had no make-up and only the clothes (and underwear) on my back. I slept in one of Cosmo's t-shirts and rinsed my clothes out in the sink each night. I still managed to have an incredible, relaxing, romantic trip with Cosmo. I swam with the dolphins, partied on the beach, took a boat ride out to the Arch and watched the migrating gray whales from our bedroom window each morning.

9. All included resort or backpacking? Why?
All inclusive. I hate being nickle & dimed to death. We did an all inclusive for our honeymoon in Jamaica and didn't have to worry about a thing!

10. Are you more of a lie on the beach kind of person on vacation, or do you prefer to see the sights?
A little of both. If I'm at the beach, I usually park it and don't move. If I'm in Europe or a city I've never been before, I want to do and see EVERYTHING (which usually includes stupid stuff like the "World's Biggest Ball of Twine").