No rest for the weary . . . just milkshakes and funnel cakes!

Two weeks. Maybe I can try every two weeks?

It seems that life is only as boring as I let it get and I have decided that boring is not what I thrive on. Although calm and serene are nice, boring is so very boring.

Here is what has been happening since last time...

I was asked to assist the Meeting and Events Team for our Holiday National Sales Meeting. It was held 9/15-9/18 in Scottsdale, AZ. I went out Friday the 12th to start setting up my stuff and to get out there to acclimate before starting in on a week of hard work. The Holiday NSM is always such a production, all the meetings are a huge amount of work for the team and I was honored to get to help. The Holiday meeting is full of even more Surprise & Delight than one can imagine. My job during this week was to manage the "stuff" that came off the trucks, organize it and make swag bags and notebooks for the 300 attendees. I had a rotating team of associates from the local stores that came and worked their rears off with me to get everything ready for the events. I also had to manage the re-boxing and palletizing of the merchandise after we were done. It was a big job and I could not have done it with out the help of Angie - the RA from AZ or the associates from the stores. I do hope to have a picture or two to post. Angie brought her camera and we had a holiday photo taken with my boss and his 5 RMs. I actually wore a dress. . . quit laughing, it can happen.

For me, the most fun part was coming home and seeing the kids. M likes it when I come home from my "work vacations" because I can sing to him at bedtime and L likes it for all of the product she gets. Who wouldn't love 10 different kinds of lip gloss, 5 different kinds of lotion and shower gels, 3 different kinds of perfume, a robe, a couple of tote bags and some really cute Sweetest Softest socks. I think L has not removed the socks since I came home last Thursday....

I can say that this was one of the longest "work vacations" I had been on in a long time and I was truly very happy to be home.

Kim - I apologize profusely for missing calling you on your birthday. I do however have some "stuff" for you from the meeting I was part of – Lauren left a few items. =D

There is a saying that I am not sure I fully understood until this past weekend. "No rest for the weary" -not necessarily in regards to the weekend, just how I felt after the week in AZ and then the fun filled weekend.... Let me catch you up.

For several years I have wanted to get a bicycle. It is something I wanted to do for fitness and to try to help with my back problems. I tried to get one a couple of years ago, but had no luck. It was right after I had a cortisone injection in my spine and the guy was leery of selling me a bike when I couldn't lift my leg over the top tube to sit on the seat. I don't blame him, my range of motion at the time was slightly better than a corpse...

Friday the 19th was finally THE day. I got my bike. Not just any bike, the perfect bike. I am thrilled with it. I have Brandall to thank for his expertise and knowledge of cycling. He helped me through the process of looking for and then deciding on a bike. After the bike that we had thought would be perfect for me was out of stock (in the whole United States)....we decided to go on a bike hunt. We ended up finding "the one". It is a Cannondale Synapse. It is beautiful. I will tell you how it handles and how much I know I am going to enjoy this when I tell you about Sunday...

Saturday was a day of fun, food, fun and food.

Plano was holding their annual Balloon Festival so Brandall and I decided to meet up and make a day of it with our kids since we were both interested in going and we both had the kids Saturday. We had intended to watch the morning launch, go to a movie, have lunch at the Purple Cow (best ever vanilla shakes…and they are purple if you ask!), hang out and then go back for the evening launch, but we both knew the kids would guide us in how the day really ended up.

Brandall has three kids LB, KB and MB - with my two we were a group of seven. I had to get L & M up at 5 to get out the door at 5:30 to get over to Plano in time for the morning balloon launch at 7. We met up and drove to the festival, got there before sunrise and found a spot to stand on a hill. The kids all played tag and ran all over the place until the sun and balloons started rising. We went a little closer to watch the balloons launching AND to get funnel cakes! You can not beat a good funnel cake for breakfast.

Balloons rising

Breakfast of Champions

M and MB made really good balloon counters, MB kept track of every balloon that launched through about 30. M was good at confusing the number with balloons that dropped and re-launched. We hung around for a bit and watched and let the kids play tag some more – we even jumped in the game when tagged.

M and MB counting balloons.

It was still pretty early when we gathered the kids to see if they were ready to go. We decided to catch an early showing of Igor and then figure out our day from there. Before the movie we knew it would still be too early for lunch and when we mentioned the Purple Cow was in Fort Worth and the drive over would take a while, MB got excited about going to Fort Worth because they had gone through the maze at the FW Stockyards the last time they were there. It was an easy decision to make and we ended up at the Stockyards and let the kids run through the maze. It is, for me, more fun to watch than participate. There is an observation deck and strangely it is like watching mice in a maze…

The Maze at FW Stockyards

The kids all seemed to have fun and they all helped each other out and even assisted other kids in the maze. LB even went in after we couldn’t find M for a long time, it was likely 5 minutes, but it seemed like a long time. Everyone came out ok and got their prizes. . . NOW they were ready for milkshakes! After a few wrong turns (I come by it naturally…and I even have a navigation system in my car…. Huh…) we finally arrived at the Purple Cow Diner.

We ordered lunch and 6 milkshakes – these are the kind where you get your own milkshake and the metal mixer that it was made in. Who would have thought that we would have NO leftovers? I am certain the waitress was as surprised as I was when we were all done. Milkshakes were downed – some food was left, but not a precious drop of purple milkshake was to be found when we exited the Purple Cow.

In my mind this was the perfect nap time. Mid afternoon, full stomachs and we had all been awake since before the roosters. So – we came over to my house and chilled out. We all scattered and played Legos, Wii and pool. It was a very relaxing game time at the house. A perfect lazy Saturday afternoon. We had waited to decide on the PM balloon launch until we saw how the kids were holding up. Brandall and I each consulted our 12 year olds to get their expert opinions on going back to the Balloon Festival – they were fine with staying at the house and playing longer.

We decided to stay and have dinner here. You know I like to cook big! So we had grilled chicken and rice. KB is a perfect sous chef. She was very helpful in the kitchen and I must say the chicken marinade and the rice she made turned out perfectly. I might consider hiring her for my next dinner! Brandall was a big help in the kitchen too, it was almost too easy to make dinner with all my helpers! We ended up eating out on the back patio in the semi darkness. It was a neat experience for all the kids. We roasted marshmallows which was a big hit. I will have to remember to stock up on graham crackers and chocolate bars for any future marshmallow firings, S’mores were mentioned no less than a hundred times by my kids! I just figure going into a sugar coma at 9 at night is not fun for anyone…

A happy bunch for such an early start

That was Saturday. I hope I didn’t miss anything. It was like a mini-vacation all rolled in to one day. We were busy all day, yet it never felt like we were too busy. Fun, food, fun, food, fun, food…. Does it get any better?

Now for the bike ride, the maiden journey on my new bike. The bike is incredible. I am still in awe at the weight. The bike is a carbon fiber racing bike and weighs less than 20 pounds. I had a mountain bike when I was 17 or 18 and I swear it weighed 150 pounds!

Before the ride...

Brandall and I talked about a route and found what looked to be a decent 30 mile ride just around the Keller area. ACK! 30 miles?!?! What?!? . . . was what I initially thought, but figured it was a push goal and I knew a few shortcuts to get me home before I passed out… although I figured I wouldn’t make it up the hill to I-35, so rolling me back down to the house would be easy as pie.

I had to learn how to use the pedals first. I over think things sometimes and this is one of those times. Brandall has the patience of a saint and was able to work with me so I understood the concept of clipping myself into these pedals and NOT being able to just flay my legs around as needed, but having to unclip from the pedals to move my feet. Once I figured it out, I was ready to roll. We started out slow, mostly because I was worried about falling and we had to actually practice some stopping and starting.

In a word – WOW. I have not felt a sense of accomplishment like that in a very long time. Perhaps since M was born (I would say M being born was really quite easy in comparison, but I would get looks from some of you…so I won’t…). I realized somewhere around the 20 mile mark that I was actually doing this and I had not died yet. THEN we get to THE HILL. I don’t give up, I dislike giving up more than just about anything. Sunday, I was beat by a hill. I tried and Brandall was really pushing me to make it, I just went completely flat. As I walked up that hill with my bike, I realized I was mad at the hill. I knew that I would beat the hill next time. I did finish out the ride and felt amazing. I was certainly tired, but it was such a good tired. I am addicted to this in one outing and look forward to more.

There was a small issue with the seat. Someone actually tacked a 2 by 4 onto the bike where the seat is supposed to go. . . I am sore in places I did not know existed. My legs recovered quickly and I would have been ready to ride again Tuesday, BUT my BUTT was not ready to go near the bike. I went to get a new more feminine friendly saddle on Wednesday so I hope to be back on the road this weekend. Watch out world… here I come!

A little catch up on L & M. School is well underway and everyone seems to be really happy this year. It has been a good school year so far and I like all of the teachers I have had the opportunity to speak with and meet. The kids seem to like their teachers this year and that is always a good thing. L is enjoying 7^th grade and keeping up with her classes nicely. We just changed her over to an AP History class at the request of her teacher. For those of you keeping track she now has AP History, Science and Language Arts. She has also joined the Junior Historians Club and they have their first outing at the Vintage Flying museum this weekend. Whew! She is one bright kid and she continues to light up my day with her quirky sense of humor and her fantastic outlook on life. M is busy as ever and I am sure keeping his regular teacher and GT teacher in stitches. That boy says some of the funniest things. He is still in piano and joining the running club at school. He has also asked to be in Tae-Kwon-Do. We will see…

Until next time. . . every two weeks? Hmmm, how about just when my not so boring life has pictures. They seem to break up the story nicely.

Kim is coming up this weekend and I hope to make it out for at least one ride this weekend – so I may be back here before you know it. Or want it. ;)