Off to see a mouse

We are off to Disney tomorrow! I'm so excited I have butterflies in my tummy. I have been to Disney World at least 14 times in my adult life. I have lost count. But the thrill is still the same now as it was the first time I went. Disney just does it up right. I have said time and time again that it is my favorite vacation spot and I am so thrilled to be able to experience it again next week.

We plan to stop and see my mom and dad the weekend after Disney. My mom's having a party for my dad's 70th birthday. It's hard to believe that he is 70. He still seems like about 40 in my eyes. I remember when he was about 40 and I just thought he was so old!! Now, that I am 41, 70 doesn't seem quite so old. :) I am just so glad he has been healthy enough to see 70.

So, I will be home on May 4. Have a magical week!

Here's the thing about vacations

We are getting ready to leave for Disney in 5 days. I am very excited. One can never get too much of Disney World! It truly is the happiest place on earth. I've taken a lot of razzing about my vacations these past few weeks. Dr. Robertson doesn't want me to leave him...trust me, he'll be fine. My friends think its crazy that I am taking off again. I hear all kinds of comments. It's all in good humor of course, but I have been feeling like I have to kind of explain myself lately.

We both have jobs that are very stressful and mentally taxing, I mean, seriously so. In my job, I listen to peoples' problems and mental health issues all day, everyday. During the day, I hear about grandma's dog dying, daughters' sneaking out at night, son's alcoholism, Junior's raging at school. I hear about suicide, self mutilation, physical and sexual abuse. I hear about autism, and adhd and bipolar and depression and drug addiction. In a given day, I see 10 or more people cry, I see at least 3 temper tantrums. I hear parents in desperation begging us to help them have some semblance of a normal life. I see hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness. There are some joys. Many, in fact. Otherwise, I would not keep doing this day after day. But I COULD NOT keep doing it if it weren't for my glorious vacations. Sometimes, I feel like I just can't take it one more day. And then I remember, I have a vacation coming up and it makes me smile.

I love my job and I'm good at it. I just get tired sometimes and need a break. So off we go in 5 more days to Disney World. I am so so excited!! Then I'll be rejuvenated again, at least for a little while.

Have a happy Sunday!!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. Rick and I lived together for about 5 years before I asked him to marry me. lol. Well, I had to ask him, he wasn't asking me fast enough. I may have mentioned before that I am a very impatient girl. So, I asked him to marry me and I got a ring and life was going on day to day. Rick was very comfortable with the way things were. I think he thought if he just got me a ring, I would shut up about it. I didn't. Finally one day, he said, "okay, I guess we should just go ahead and do it." He is a true romantic. A couple weeks later, we were in Sevierville in front of the precious Jimmy Temple. He performed this sweet ceremony in the front room of his house, with witnesses we didn't even know. I cried happy tears. We then walked down the street back to our car. The trees and flowers were all in bloom and it was all so quaint. Then, we went to Wendy's and had hamburgers....ahhhhh bliss. LOL. It was great.

I know this story sounds funny but it is wonderful.Though there has been conflict a time or two, I have not regretted one single day of our marriage and the great part is, I'm sure Rick would say the same thing. Our marriage is a joy. Rick is so funny. He makes me laugh everyday. He takes wonderful care of me, of my kids and all of my family. I never have to worry about anything with him around. He is my rock, my champion and my hero. I was in bad shape 12 years ago when we met. A wild girl with no sense of direction, who frequently was wishing for death as she cried herself to sleep at night. I was a sad clown. Happy on the outside but dying on the inside. Rick saw through me. He lifted me up and it is going to sound cliche, but he made me feel whole for the first time ever. I am never happier than when I am with him. I will always be grateful that God not only brought him into my life, but that he gave Rick the patience to stay in my life in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer til death do us part.

So, happy anniversary to us!!!

I found my new song!

Last night, we went out to dinner with Don and Leeann. We went to Amerigo, which is a pretty new restaurant here in town. Their menu was very diverse and interesting. They had italian, old and new world, pork tenderloin, fish, all kinds of different things. The food was so-so and the service also was so-so. I can say that this will not be one of my favorite restaurants but it was okay.

Then, after dinner, we went to the Civic Coliseum to see Little Big Town and Sugarland. I loved it. We danced and sang our hearts out and it was so fun. Rick didn't much like the fact that we were so high up but we were to the right of the stage and we could see the bands perfectly. And Rick and Don and Leeann all had binoculars which was fun! I don't like to look through the binoculars much because with my one bad eye, it seems kind of distorted, but I could see fine without them. Sugarland put on a great show. They were very energetic and in good humor. Towards the end of the concert they both got into these big blow up bubbles, the audience down on the floor raised their hands to hold the bubbles up and Jennifer and Kristian rolled themselves over top of the audience. It was great!

Jennifer Nettles has written my new song. It's called "Operation Working Vacation". It will be on her new album. Leeann is always teasing me about always wanting to go on another vacation. I LOVE vacations! This new song is so cute, perfect for me!

Don and Leeann are the most fun people I know. Its always fun to go out with them. They get us. They laugh at all of Rick's humor,corny as it is, and they understand my quirkiness and love me for it, not in spite of it. Its so nice to have friends like that! I feel so blessed to have them in my life.

It has been a nice weekend.

Have a happy Monday tomorrow!

Well, I survived my first week back at work. It was so hard! It was hard to get up every morning and it seemed like the days dragged on forever. It was nice to be back with my friends at work but I would have much rather had that time with them over lunch at Fuji's. I really liked being off for those two weeks. I could get used to it. I'm trying not to complain too much. Rick is so stressed out at work and I know he doesn't want to hear it. We are planning on retiring in 6 1/2 years and Rick is all the time telling me that I need to do my part to get us to that goal. So, I don't complain much. (At least not to Rick) Fortunately he doesn't read my blog much. :)

After Rick's friend and boss Ron died, Rick began to worry a little about job loss. The possibility of that was real because of a lot of reasons but I never really felt threatened. He is their top developer and I just didn't see how losing his job could really happen. Well, now we are feeling pretty safe. He has been asked to join this elite IT group and has been given the role of tech lead. Whew! He took classes about this new technology last week and this week began some of the new stuff. He was informed that if he accepted this offer, he would have to work lots of overtime to get things up and running and boy has he been! So, its kind of bittersweet. We are so happy that he has been chosen, everybody wants to be a Cheetah but he is already worn out. So, you see why I can't complain too much, I am only working about 27 hours per week. He is working a lot more than that.

Chanel is in Barcelona this weekend with Steve. She spent the last two weeks in France. She seems to be having a fabulous time.

Sienna got employee of the month last week again. I am so proud of her for doing such a good job at work!

We are going to see Sugarland tonight with Don and Leeann. I think we will have a great time. We always do with them. Rick is really looking forward to using his binoculars tonight at the concert. lol

Have a happy Saturday!

confessions

Okay, I promised not to go on and on about this, this year but here is some statistical information for you:

Ihop+ McDonalds+Burger King+Benihanas+Famous Dave's+Chilis+Burger King again+McDonalds 2 more times+Peter Piper's Pizza+ doritos+ Chocolate pretzels+ Snickers bars+a chocolate bunny+beer+wine etc,etc= 5 pounds. Ugh. But it also equals a great vacation!
Sorry, I just had to confess so I could move on! LOL!

Have a great Thursday tomorrow!

Tucson

Well, I'm back from a wonderful time in Tucson. It was a fabulous trip. I managed to make it to my flight from Atlanta on Sunday and my mom and aunts were there waiting on me. I was so proud to make it there all by myself. I had never gone to an airport alone except to the Knoxville airport and it is tiny. Atlanta airport is huge! I found the train that was to take me to my concourse and and I just thought that was awesome, like riding a subway. So, I'm looking all around and the train screeched to a halt and I fell right into this guys arms. I was so embarrassed. He said, "the first one gets me every time too." Good thing he was pretty hefty so he could keep me from falling right on my tail. My face was as red as my shirt.!

Arizona is so pretty. If you ever get the chance, you should visit there. I didn't think it would be so pretty because I am sort of partial to green grass and trees, but it was beautiful. It was in the 80s most everyday, the sky was so very blue and most days, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We had a great little patio and there was a little bunny who came out every night to eat the flowers and he was very cute. There was this little area right outside our door that was called Sunset Point and the sunsets were spectacular.

Even though it was desert where we were, the resort had all kinds of flowers all around that were so fragrant they almost made you want to lie down in them. This pic is my Aunt Karla and me the first night we went out exploring.The pool was wonderful. Even though it was 85 degrees there, it didn't seem hot, and I didn't sweat a bit. I came home with a very nice sunburn. Everything about the place was wonderful. I really had a great time.
I learned a lot about my mom's family. Stuff I had never heard before and found it interesting that between the three of them, they each had slightly different memories about things that have happened in their family. I never knew much about my grandparents, my grandma died when I was very young and we lived away from my grandpa and step- grandma so I didn't know much about them. It was kinda fun to hear more about them, the good and the bad. Their family has just as many skeletons as everyone else's.
We went to Tombstone, Arizona. I thought it would be cool to see an old west town. Boy, was I disappointed. It was very tourist trap- like and commercialized. Even to see the shoot out at the O.K. Corral, it was $7.95. Crazy. We went on a trolley tour of the town and met a "genuine" miner named Stinky, That was pretty fun. He really didn't smell that bad when he put his arm around me so I don't know how genuine he really was but he played the part well! :)
So, it was a good trip. We had a great time. I really enjoyed spending time with my mom and aunts. It was very special to me to bond with them. One thing I must say after this week is that I learned to appreciate a lot of things I have here at home. For one thing, I still know that Fuji's is the best japanese restaurant around. We ate at Benihana's one night...no comparison. Also, the Walmart there is only for groceries! Who ever heard of a Walmart without clothes? Weird. I never thought I would have an appreciation for Walmart. I also now have a new appreciation for Rick and the relationship that we have. He is a champion and I missed him terribly. My mom was sure to point out to everyone that he is a gem and by far her favorite son-in-law. ( He is, actually, her only son-in-law, but the sentiment is sweet.)

It's nice to be home.