I'm Back!

It's so challenging keeping up with this thing when life is so busy! However, if for nothing else, I need to stop in every once in a while so I can keep tabs on all that I have going on!

So far this year - my daughter finished her freshman year of college, I was the Publicity Chair and captained a team for the East Boston Relay for Life, participated on the committee (my first year not as chair) for the 4th Annual Sacred Heart Festival featuring the Stylistics and coordinated a community forum to discuss the advent of a Casino Forum at Suffolk Downs.

That combined with my full time/contract gig as a training coordinator at a downtown financial firm, the continued growth of my business and event consultancy and my clothing line and a couple of sales gigs - is keeping me pretty busy.

But, like I said, I need a place to stop for a moment and make note of the noteable stuff. So - hopefully, ideally - I'll be back soon!

Year in Review

So...I didn't really do a great job of blogging last year but have a plan to keep up for this year. I'll share that in the next post.

I was going to do a quick year in review but decided that a lot of last year's activities and milestones will make a cameo appearance in this year's blog posts - if not completely feature. A few items include my one and only daughter turning 18, graduating high school and beginning college; running several successful events for the church - including another amazing annual festival, Captaining a team for my first 'Relay for Life' all night walk, becoming laid off - deciding to go out on my own as a freelance admin/event planner - join the chamber, coordinate a series of successful client events AND beginning my own clothing line!

Stay tuned for this year's posts. They are sure to be interesting!!!

10 Miles Behind Me and 10,000 More to Go...

So - as I'm sitting here at 12:30 A.M. on Friday 5/29 I'm pondering my one and only daughter's last day of high school and her upcoming graduation while watching the last episode of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He just had James Taylor on who performed our (mine and Jay's - who knew?) favorite song - Sweet Baby James. The lyrics that resonate with both of us the most are " ...10 miles behind me and 10,000 more to go..."

I've done a lot of thinking lately - particularly today - about how much work it has taken to get my little cherub to this point in her educational career and how much more work she has ahead of her and I have ahead of me. So it's interesting how appropriate those lyrics are.

It's also funny how quickly time flies and major milestones creep up on you. I remember when she got accepted to this school and I contemplated the 6 year path ahead of her/us. It seemed like an eternity but it all went by in the blink of an eye. There have been dozens, no hundreds of activities and and events, projects and papers, dances, shows and competitions, breakfasts and banquets that have distracted us along the way. Each occasion stealing a slice out of this 6-year eternity. This morning I woke up and it was my baby's last day of - well being a baby. We have exactly 1 week and 3 days until graduation - then that's it. It's over. She's a grown up who will be heading to college in the fall. Hey wait - it's not over yet....she's going to college in the fall!! Where she'll spend 4 long years....Phew! That was close!

Busy, Busy...Business!

I have to be the world's busiest unemployed person!!! I swear between the political campaigns, the fundraising projects, networking intiatives, and then the 1 or 2 actual clients - not to mention my poor neglected family - I've hardly had time to come up for air!! I've been having a blast and - despite my tentative steps toward promoting my own business - I've made some excellent connections and contacts almost effortlessly. I've distributed business cards all over the place and even have people asking me for my cards. I think in this day and age of downsizing and growing interest in entrepreneurial endeavors - my freelance Administrative Assistant, Virtual Assistant, and Event Planning services are very marketable. Should my business take off the way things seem to be indicating - I'll need to ramp up my infrastructure pretty quickly. These are very exciting times!!! I will post shortly with updates on all of my endeavors.

Marathon Weekend...24 Hours to Finish Line

This has been a Marathon weekend in more ways than one. (Funny that I thought of that title before realizing that this is indeed marathon weekend!)

The weekend actually started on Friday morning for me at 5:30AM. To satisfy my need to be involved, my little cherub signed me up to bake for and help out at her highschool's annual French breakfast. To that end, I woke up a tad bit early to back 4 quiche - 3 for French breakfast and one for the hubby to bring to work. We arrived at school at 7:20 and and I was there through about noon as I helped set up, attend and and break down the event. I have to say that the student's each displayed some amazing talents from the students that performed various songs, poetry, dances and talents that are indigenous to francophone countries,to those that assisted in the set up and hosting of the breakfast as well as my own darling little creative genius - who plied her craft of henna artistry.

I arrived home shortly before 1:00 and hopped on the phone with my Mom to discuss her status with regards to the Excel homework assignment I had given her the night before. I was hoping to avoid another in person tutorial - which would have been my fourth of the week full of installments of PC Bootcamp. Unfortunately - mom was going to require another housecall. So - I was with Mom for about 2 1/2 hours and winding down the days lesson with a new homework assignment when my little sister called to ask if I would like to join her for a mani/pedi. That was my cue to make my departure and head on over to House of Nails for some much needed R&B (rest and beautification). I grabbed myself a large ice coffee on the way, strolled into House of Nails, stuck my head into the waxing room where my littlest sister was having her eyebrows dealt with (We all of us 5 sisters are some of the most follicly challenged chicks on the planet!!), picked out a demure shade of pink for the fingertips and an awesomely whore-tastic red polish for the toes and settled in to my motorized massaging pedicure chair. An hour and a half and 20 dazzling tips later - I realized that one of my young cousins was receiving his Confirmation that eventing - within about 1/2 hour. I ran up the street to catch up with my brother to make it to church within minutes of the start of the ceremony. There was a very lovely mass followed by dinner and a few brandies at the house with the extended family. At about 9:30 I headed over to the headquarters for one of our local campaigns just to check in for a big rally set for the next day.

Saturday the hubby, cherub and I headed out before 7:30 to attend an accepted student's day at the College cherub will be attending in the fall. It is an art school within 45 minutes of us. Immediately we were struck by the quaint small town feel and awed by the art on exhibit in the many on site galleries. The setting is a huge departure from the hectic downtown backdrop where she has spent the last 6 years of her career. This is going to be a much needed change that will enable her to focus on her studies. After our initial group discussion and tour of the compact campus - they separated parents from students - with the students participating in workshops and parents joining in focus discussions. I had to duck out early to help out at the political rally back home and left the hubby and the cherub to enjoy lunch on campus.

The turnout and success of the rally was phenomenal. It wrapped up by mid afternoon which gave me some time to visit a couple of my BFF's before reconnecting with my family and one of my LLBFF's (life-long BFF) for dinner of good old-fashioned pizza and a run to a 24 hour bakery. I had also promised the LLBFF - who is newly separated - a night out. Although I had some concerns about meeting her expectations - we settled in for a few margaritas and martinis at the local martini bar until about 1AM.

Sunday morning I headed out to brunch with Ms. Fabulous Blogger herself of Fabulously out there at the same Martini bar. We had bumped into each other there a few weeks prior and plotted to catch up in the real world so there we were. We sunk our teeth into some amazing French toast and girl chat and before we knew it - time had just flown by. I caught up with the family and dropped the cherub to the movie theatre. With the rest of the afternoon before us - hubby and I headed out for a Sunday drive in the country. We stopped in a couple of shops and a diner along the way and just chilled out. We hadn't done that in years. After heading back to the city, we retrieved the cherub and headed home.

After reflecting on the exhausting weekend and how glad to be back home - I laughing at the thought that it is not over yet. Happy Patriot's Day! I think I might just be sleeping on tomorrow.

Busy Weekend, Meeting With Recruiter - Update you later

Ok - I just wanted to force myself to write something before I bolt out the door. I had the most hectic weekend and am running to a doctor's appointment and meet with my recruiter then a visit with som pals at the State House. Will write more later.

Back to Blogging

Hi Folks,
Amazing how fast time flies. I've been away from the blog for over 3 months. I realize how much I need an outlet where I am able to share my stories with folks that are interested. It's very cathartic to put things in print where I can actually see how great my life is and realize the whirlwind that it is. This weekend alone I'm in the process of writing 2 resumes, crafting a proposal for a prospective client, hosting a birthday party for my 18 year old and running a fndraiser for my church. Although I am truly pretty busy - I want to make it a point to stop and write a few lines every day.

I'll be back soon!

Nothing Too Exciting...

Ok, so there's nothing too exciting to report. Sometimes my life can be so busy that I take it for granted. At times when I have nothing planned I am bored out of my mind, although there are plenty of things that I could be doing, like housework. Sorting out all of the family photos that I've been meaning to get to, exercising, sorting out the finances....you know the stuff regular people need to do. Yeah, I prefer to keep myself so busy on projects and outings that I don't have to get to that regular people stuff.

So this weekend when I had absolutely nothing planned - I thought I would keel over from the sheer boredom! Fortunately, a couple of friends saved me from the boredom. First I received a phone call from a friend who was running a holiday event on the greenway in East Boston. It seems that they had planned a lighting of the walkway/greenspace that consisted of placing over 800 luminaries along the path. The festivities also included 2 choral groups, and an offering of cocoa and cookies that was generously donated by a local hotel. Here's where I come in. My friend called me because although the cocoa was being donated - the provider did not have a thermal unit hold the cocoa. I - being the event management diva that I am, sprang to the rescue by calling one of my contacts who gladly donated the cambros for the cocoa. Ultimately, when we arrived at the hotel to pick up the cocoa and cookies, we were surprised to see that the donation consisted of packets of cocoa - not prepared cocoa. We handed over the cambros and requested that they be filled with hot water. Flash to us standing on the greenway in freezing weather whisking the cocoa.

Meanwhile- Dad called for a Santarpio's run, which I had to decline due to the whole cocoa whisking engagement. Then a close friend called for a Kelley's run - which I gladly accepted. (Pizza - not on the diet. Bud light - can be worked in.)

I spent yesterday chilling and contemplating my holiday decoration placement. Tonight we'll do the whole tree set-up thing. Luckily I already put my wreaths and kissing ball in the hallway earlier in the week so it's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas already.

On Fish, Crabs, Tranny Boots and Shopping...

So – I have been on a mission to get this grab gift for the office. The theme is ‘In the News’ so I thought that a fish themed gift basked of sorts would be very funny. Considering that one of the biggest insults you can give to a newspaper is to call it fishwrap and considering the current financial reporting and the nature of the business I’m in I thought it would be funny to wrap these fish items with the stock reports etc.

Did I anticipate what a giant P in the A finding fish themed items would be?? Heck no!! Allie and Kevin started last night and it was a challenge. I continued the mission today during my lunch break with these giant patent vinyl tranny boots.

Also – did I mention – as if you all don’t know what a crab I’ve been??? Again, in keeping with the fish theme… : )

So, Imagine my surprise when I headed out with the tranny boots, crabby attitude and no clue what to get… that I would actually have a nice shopping experience. When I came up empty at TJ Maxx ( I was seeking fish shaped plates to go with the goldfish crackers, pretzels and Swedish fish) I headed toward CVS and the book store and saw Copley Flair, a cute little gift store that was packed with people. As soon as I walked in, Judy helped me dig out anything she could find that was fish-shaped. Then as I headed back to her register as I was wrapping up my selection, feeling a bit better about my task, still not completely done, she purposefully stopped me to tell me that I look good. It was a very pointed “girl – you look good”. I was stunned. My hair is not quite done - but up in a clip, and I’m wearing my glasses instead of contacts. I am wearing the tranny boots a grey dress and a black overcoat – so maybe that was it. I thanked her as I stood in line and she rang up the 3 customers in front of me. She said no really – the glasses everything – you need to take me shopping. I laughed and told her how she had no idea what a bad day I’d been having. She went on to say – I’d love to see what you look like on a good day then! At that point I was grinning from ear to ear. I didn’t even lose my smile when I presented my ATM card which was not accepted because I didn’t have my ID and it wasn’t signed. I had almost enough money – except for 25 cents. I was just about ready to run to the ATM and the woman behind me offered up the quarter. I had such a pleasant experience with the sales person and the store, I asked her who I could contact to give some feedback. It just so happened that the owner was on sight so I walked over to him and told him about my positive experience and how his store was like a “beacon” to me on this grab mission. He was thrilled and said that it made his day to hear that and provided me with his business card. As I headed toward the door he stopped me to take his card back and scrawl a note on it that instructed whoever I displayed it to on my next visit – to give me 20% off.

Pretty girl for a crabby chic on a fool’s mission with some tranny boots huh? I thought so!

Singing at the Hard Rock Cafe

Now, I'm going with the assumption that pretty much everyone reading this - doesn't know me. So, that being said, let me give you some grounding. I tend to lean slightly to the impulsive side in that - I am game for pretty much anything. At least I'll try almost anything once. I also LOVE to sing. I wouldn't say that I'm terribly great at it - however I love it. I do it anywhere, any time, any song. So - imagine my reaction when, while trolling Craig's List for opportunities for my event management sideline, I stumbled across an opportunity to sing back-up at the Hard Rock Cafe. Naturally, I shot out an e-mail and was thrilled to get an almost immediate response. This all started a week ago Friday. By Monday, I found myself during my coffee break scrambling for a vacant foyer in which to audition via cell phone. Tuesday morning found me rehearsing in the back of a rental car and Wednesday night had me singing back-up at the Hard Rock Cafe for a wonderful performer by the name of Viola Kurari. It was her Boston area CD release party and one of her tracks had multiple background components which was why she needed to beef up her ranks a bit. I'm not so sure I have a future as a back-up singer, however it was a truly amazing experience!! Scary, exciting, exhilirating - and amazing!!

Back...Again!!! (Again) And the whole liquid diet thing.

Ok, so it's been two months and let's just say - the liquid diet - not so much. I continued on it for another 6 weeks or so but not very religiously - particularly toward the end there. I'm thinking weight watchers is the way to go. Every time I have been on the plan - the pounds have stayed off. That and the gym. Since I am broke and already have a membership being deducted monthly - I might as well immerse myself in that as a form of entertainment.

So - the final tally was 15 lbs lost. God knows how much I have gained back but - looks like I'm heading out to Weight Watchers to give that another try. I really need to get healthy, fit and slim. God knows I'm super-sized hotness - but I'd really like to know what it's like to be average or even large-sized hotness. Any tips are greatly appreciated!

Big loss....huge gains!!!

I made it through my first week of the liquid diet, albeit a little bit shakey. When I left the initial meeting, I was adamant that I would only do the shakes and keep the program very rigid. (They now have all kinds of options that are part of the 'decision free' plan including bars and entrees. What kind of tough diet program is this?) Then I went home and tried the multigrain cereal sample they gave me. OMG! In a sea of shakes, this stuff is awesome! It's like really high fiber oatmeal with bits of apples, cranberries and currants. And filling??? So, for this week, I took home a box of those babies and they have really taken the edge off of the hunger. I have 4 shakes each day at 100 calories each and then 1 cereal which is like 250 and I am perfectly content.

The only time that I am challenged is when I am around really, really, good food! Like when the hubby, who hasn't cooked a meal in months that hasn't involved vegetables and/or tofu or some other non-meat entree, decides to cook a boiled dinner. WTF?????????? I was absolutely starving the other night when I cam home to the smells of that delicous melange of smoked shoulder, potatoes, vegetables and (for the Portuguese side) linguica and chourico. I wanted to cry!!

Really, I wanted to sit down and pile my plate high with cabbage, potatoes and carrots, cover them in butter and salt and pepper and mash them up just like I did when I was a kid and have every boiled dinner since. I wanted to spear a giant chunk of linguica and chourico and carve a slab of smoked shoulder and pile those bad boys on my plate and just chow!!!

Instead I pulled out a packet of cereal and poured it into a bowl heated it up with some water in the microwave. Scrumptious!!!

Oh, I forgot to say - I lost 10 lbs.!!!! My tighetst jeans or as I refer to them 'my spleen bruising jeans' are already getting loose!! I'm going to have to take some pics to chart my progress. The befores will be gross but it will definitely make the impact of how amazing the afters will be.

Ok, gotta go. Will check in again on Tuesday after the next weigh in. Unlesss I stop in to post pics.

Back...Again!!!

Ok, I'm back again and am vowing to keep up with posting at least twice a week. I do have lots of exciting and interesting things going on and my family is sick of hearing about it.

Since my last post I got a new tattoo, sang with a Neil Diamond tribute band, saw Neil Diamond live at Fenway, by myself, with an awesome ticket I scored for 50 bucks right outside the park, started a new liquid diet and much more.

I'm at work now, so I cant' really go on and on, but I will be keeping the site up to date with all kinds of interesting tidbits as well as weekly updates on the diet status. Knowing that I'm currently super-sized hotness, I'm hoping to be zeroing in on average-sized hotness by December and by Spring to be the very vision of hotness.

K - gotta run! Will keep you posted!

I'm Back

Not that I have any readership to keep up with but, I've been spending most of my blog time on my other blog titled "Family Style". We (my siblings, their spouses, etc. and I) created it about a month and a half ago as a means to communicate about and inspire one another on our missions to get in shape and lose weight. It is a private blog, so unfortunately, unless you're related, you won't get to read the insanity that we can often come up with. I'm a big fat exhibitionist (not literally) and really don't care who reads my stuff, but many of my family members are a lot more shy than I am.

At any rate - I am a little bit peeved with them because NO ONE has been blogging lately. Seems like everyone has fallen off the wagon or off the face of the earth. I've been blogging my chubby little heart out and no responses. Soo... I 'm working on distributing my blog time a little more evenly so that I make time for my mid-life progress.

I'm at work now, but wanted to drop a quick note in the event any new visitors stopped by and noted the March date from my last post. I'll be back tonight!

- MLP

Things are shaping up...

Figuratively and a little bit literally. My earlier posts discuss wanting to get a new job, join a gym and essentially move forward with my life. Although I didn't get off to a super fast start, things are really starting to come together.

My temp job turns permanent effective tomorrow with a %12 increase and much better commute, location and situation than the job I walked out on based on my principles at the end of the summer.

I joined a gym and will have my first workout at 6am tomorrow - er - today. Even still, I've already lost almost 8 lbs. by watching what I've been eating over the last couple of weeks.

A bonus item, I've found a new great apartment and will be moving by the end of the month, and I wasn't even looking!

Relative Differences

I could not imagine not seeing my siblings on a regular basis. If I don't see at least 2 thirds of my siblings complet with spouses, children and pets a couple of times a week - they all but call out the national guard for a well-being check! Seriously, when I was growing up I, along with the other two eldest sisters would talk about how one day, we would live in a triple decker. This was before our two youngest sisters were born and clearly excludes our oldest sibling and brother. Sorry bro - we still love you!!! This almost came to fruition when two of us wound up in our grandparents' 3 family. We were delighted! Even though our oldest sister defected all the way to New Hampshire, the rest of us all still live within a 5 mile radius. After our grandparents passed away, they had to sell the house and my sister and I were separated by - gasp- almost a mile! Even though we can frequently be found going to Mass, followed by breakfast on Sundays, and running around on all kinds of errands and wild goose chases together, we knew that the distance was just too far and would not do. Just under a year and a half later, I found a great apartment just around the corner from my sister's new house! Within a month we'll be reunited - Amen!!!

Some people might think I'm nuts, but that's not that half of my crazy family codependency issues!! Not only do we spend every birthday, holiday, Mother's Day, Father's Day & Memorial Day (I'm not kidding) together, we all also e-mail and call each other on a several-times-a-daily basis!!


Now - when it comes to my husband's family - the situation is completely different. He is the youngest in a family of 8 and has a twin and he doesn't really keep in touch with any of them, not even his twin!!! I can't even fathom it!!! I don't care how dysfunctional a family can be, how do you go DECADES without seeing each other and years without speaking???????????

Sadly, we attended a wake for my sister in law's husband - a couple that, even though they only live a couple of cities over, we only see once a year at best. It took that wake to see two more of his siblings that we haven't seen in over a decade!!!! Folks, that's insanity. I come from a very touchy - feely, at times dope-slappy family, so I accosted these people with hugs and kisses and threats (not really) of dope slaps if they didn't do the same among themselves. After the wake, I scolded my husband, as I always do around the holidays, sibling birthdays, special occasions, weekends... well you get the point.

People, keep in touch with your families no matter what shape or size they take. Whether you're related by blood or by mutual admiration, respect and love. Time goes too fast!! Enjoy your family every day!!!

Mothers Be Good To Your Daughters

Over the weekend I spent some quality time with a close friend and her two daughters. Our families are very, extremely close and in summer, we are often inseparable. Being the young mothers of three extremely bright, beautiful and engaging teenage girls, we have some great adventures and some very candid discussions. The discussions cover every topic under the sun from fashion to education to careers to relationships and sex. As GenX moms of GenY girls, we identified a long time ago that there is nothing to be gained by being shy or coy in communicating about sex or relationships when it comes to our girls. The topics are far too vast to be relegated to one big "talk".

New Job & Other New Beginnings

Ok, so a while back I blogged about my new temp assignment and how I hoped the pace would pick up a bit and wondered if it would evolve into the all-American 9 to 5 dream. Well, it has picked up and it is evolving into a 9 to 5:30 dream. Hopefully I'll have my job offer tomorrow and it lands close to my target. Then I'll be able to accept the offer and live happily ever after!! Aaah!!!

The people are great, the work is interesting and a far cry from the tech mfg. environment I spent the last 7+ years in. Isn't it interesting how much less affected an investment firm can be by investors than a technology company? Probably because investors understand a lot more about investments, than say - how to design, develop and manufacture semi-conductor test equipment???? I imagine in the new employer's investor meetings there are a lot less screams of "send it to China, it's cheaper in China!!!". Oh the insanity of it all!!

Sorry - I was having flashbacks for a minute.

So, on other new beginnings, I recently started a new nutrition management program. It's not as much a program, as it is a plan. I made it up myself based on observations and common sense judgements from myself and folks who have had success with weight loss and mgmt and I think it's actually working. Are you ready for it? It's really simple. Consume reasonable amounts (not weighed or measured, just eyeballed) of basic proteins(chicken, fish, lean beef), fruits and vegetables (low carb ones - mostly greens)and complex carbs (brown rice, high fiber bread and oatmeal) and that's it. By doing that about 2/3 of the time over my first week, I lost 2.5 lbs. I also had my period when I weighed in so you know the loss would have been higher if not for the bloat.

Additionally, I have blogged about wanting to - no needing to- join a gym. I think I have my answer, planet fitness has a location near gov't ctr. (not far from the new office) and on 1A. I can do downtown during the week and 1A on the weekends. Plus 1A has free tanning!!! Love that!!!!! So, when I get the first "real" check, I'll probably sign up and be at the gym daily in the AM. I love it!!!!!!

So, here's to new beginnings, new jobs, and a smaller, tanner, richer, happier me!!!!!!

An Unintended Wish...Answered

So, I have always been up for helping out a good cause - particularly if there is an opportunity to have fun, learn something new about myself or to set and meet some challenges that I wouldn't have otherwise entertained in the process. It's always nice when there's a double payoff that way.

I think my first community service gig was when I participated in the "Walk For Hunger". I think I was about 14 or so and I was so excited that I was able to finish all 20 miles. I have completed about7 or 8 more walks for hunger since, along with one breast cancer 3-day event and have volunteered at a retirement home for veterans and a shelter for woman and children. I am vice president of a local charity and have recently become involved in my churches fundraising program as well as the local political landscape. So - you may be wondering, along with my husband, "is there anything that she wouldn't do?" Yeah, if there is one weakness that I have - it's a problem with saying no - especially to good causes.

Another thing about me is I have a huge aversion to death and any mention of it or anything that will even make me think about it. My husband and daughter can't help but laugh at me as I change the channel or flee from the room at the mere mention of anything to do with it crosses the television screen. I am really that bad.

So, both of these major factors being considered, imagine my conflict when a friend requested that I volunteer to help out on an event that's sole purpose is to cater to members of the local chapter of "Make A Wish Foundation". Although I'm always up for helping out ANY good cause, the prospect of being faced with the grim specter of terminally ill children, tore at me and was almost debilitating.

But I am so glad I said yes.

The event took place today and it catered to dozens of seriously ill children and their families. I was really terrified at the thought of interracting with all of those children. I was terrified that they would sense my discomfort. I was terrified that my anxiety would be apparent and my interraction with them would cast a pall over their day. Quite the opposite happened. These kids and their families were absolutely amazing! The place was wall to wall smiles as the children participated in all kinds of activities. They sang and danced, they got their faces painted and did art work. They met Cinderella and Snow White, took pictures with Winnie the Pooh and Power Rangers. They just had a blast and their joy was contagious.

There was this one litte girl that captured the hearts of everyone in attendance. Her name is Lexy and I don't think she was older than 10. Despite her illness, which I presume caused the condition that had her wearing a bandana to compensate for hair loss, Lexy stole the show, literally. She sang and danced and took over the run of the floor. She gave such a vigorous performance for a large portion of the day, you almost forgot that she was ill. Se was such a riot, when she literally stole the show, and the microphone, from the DJ. He referred to her as his partner and she was just truly inspirational with a voice and performance that could rival Hanna Montana. The overall atmosphere was so upbeat that I forgot that we were at a "Make A Wish" event. It truly was a joy and a privilege to be there helping out and have the opportunity to meet all of those kids and families.

At the end of the day, all of us volunteers lined the gangplank in a "goodbye line" to thank all the guests for coming and it was wonderful to see all of them still beaming as they left- even little Lexy as she high-fived us all of the way down the line. It was a valuable experience for me and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

On the College Trail..

Ok, so this won't be too detailed, but the family is on the college trail. My daughter is a Junior in high school so we have been busy sifting through the mountains of college literature that has been overflowing our mailbox and crafting spreadsheets that record and prioritized the attributes of each school. There are SATs and SAT prep courses and it's just so overwhelming!!! Between the projected costs and my daughter's fickle stance on whether or not she wants to go to school close to home, or on the other end of the earth we are beside ourselves. When she goes it will just be the two of us alone....looking at each other, forever!!!

Any advice on the college hunt, financing or marriage after your kids leave you all alone .... would be greatly appreciated : )