Today is my Thursday, even though it's Tuesday.

So, tomorrow will be a very fun day. I don't have to come into the office, and I get to leave to go to the beach after I leave my bosses house.
So, it's hot and humid outside. However, I am sitting at my desk with my heater on my feet. It's so difficult to predict the weather inside .... We watch the news to determine how we need to dress for the outside, but who do we turn to when we need to know what to wear to work? All I can say about that is, dress in layers. And so, I do. I wear light weight clothing and I always try to be sure I have a matching sweater with me. BUT, it never solves the issue of my feet. :)In the office, my feet are almost always cold. I can't help it. I wear sandals. I do not wear closed shoes in the summer. Never. I can't warm them up with socks. I'd look pretty silly with socks on and sandals. I can't even do like some tacky people do by slipping on a pair of slippers. (lol) I never ever know when one of the big bosses might need me right that second... and I can't be messing with my feet and changing my slippers... LOL.. so, I put the heater on and am in business. :) Well, until I step away from my heater... and then that's a whole new story. :) :) :)

Friends. Last night I was visiting with my hubby and his friend Bob. We were discussing friends. Good ones, bad ones, happy ones, sad ones. Most of all... how they can and will impact our lives. I enjoyed the conversation. I have some really amazing friends that have made such a positive impact on my life, my day to day happiness, and so forth. I am blessed to work with a few of them. It's great, I need a friend during the day, one is right there, around the corner. I love it. I am there for them too.
And then there are those who we call friends, yet often they leave us feeling conflicted, or we feel like they just might not have our best interest at heart. Seems we all have them in our lives. Why do we tolerate it? What makes them special enough to want to keep them around as a "friend". That was what we were talking about... is it really worth it? Sometimes the answer is yes, but usually the true answer is no. Something to think about. And I have been. But, I have also made a promise to myself to NOT invest a lot of time trying to figure out "why", because in the end, there's usually not an answer...
Speaking of friends... Lisa.. I have to call her. She is moving to Kentucky on Saturday. I have been in total denial. I am really going to miss her. I am going to miss the entire family. I will see her this Friday at her shore house.. but then that will be it until Christmas. How sad. Another change, another chapter turning.... And what a good hearted, true friend she is. She will be missed...
Now I better get back to work. I have a lot to accomplish before the end of the day. I won't be back in the office until next Monday, so I better quit "blogging" and get working. Well, in all fairness, I have to say. I did sit here and eat my lunch at my desk so I could take a break and blog. This is my lunch break today.

Time to go.
Being back on the blogging track feels so good. I am happy to be here...

Monday Monday.... so good to me :)

I am having a productive and busy Monday! I am happy to be at work, but sad that my wonderful weekend had to come to an end!
Fred and I had a great weekend together. We did A LOT of bonding (no not bondage) ... although the thought did cross my mind :)
We had so much fun! We played Wii together, went to a few good places to eat, Met some friends on Saturday morning at a community yard sale.. went to the Flea Market.. to a party Saturday night. And then yesterday we went to the movies, out to eat, did some shopping at the Mall... etc
Moving has been the best thing in the world for us. I mean that with all my heart. I feel closer to my husband now than I have for a long time. That's not to say that I haven't felt close to him. BUT, when we lived on the property that he worked, the stress level was so much higher, we had less space in our home, there was tension.. it was all added to our regular, everyday life. Now, we seem to be much more in tune with one another. It's so beautiful to me. I am sooo loving it. I know he is too!
Ok, now that I got that off my chest :)
Enjoying our kid free time this week. It's nice to miss the kids and be just hanging out as grown ups. It's natural to crave that sometimes. When I begin to feel guilty, like I'm a bad mom for wanting some grown up alone time, I remind myself that it's a very healthy way to live. So, that being said, I am going to enjoy every bit of this week!!!!! :) :) :) Guilt free!
So I have to work today and tomorrow. And then on Wednesday, we have a staff retreat at my bosses house. He has this incredible barn in his back yard that we're all going to meet in. It's not your typical barn. It's gorgeous! I really look forward to Wednesday. He is one of the best bosses I have ever known. And he looks out for me. I appreciate that. It should be nice.
THEN..... after we have the retreat, I am off to swipe my overnight bag off the table, and hit the road to go to the beach. I am so much looking forward to that. I am hoping that Thursday we have NO RAIN! I want to go lay out on the beach for a few hours. I want to close my eyes, listen to the waves crash onto the sand, and feel the mist of the salt water across my face. I want to get right there on the edge of the water and feel the waves crash down on me, burying my feet deeper and deeper in the sand. I want that. I miss that. I used to spend almost every day at the beach as a kid. It was normal to me. I walked to the beach every morning, and I stayed there until it was time to go home for dinner. Sometimes I would even forget that I needed to go home, and my brother would have to come get me. :) I loved the beach. I want to retire near the water. I mean that.
Speaking of the water.... my kids are at Ocean City, NJ this week with their cousins. I hope they are having a nice time. :) I'm sure I'll hear all their stories when they come home over the weekend. I look forward to it.

I am leaving this post today with a few pictures. I have been so bad about taking them, saving them, posting them. I am going to try to catch up. It's been so crazy.....

Nice to be blogging again.

:)

I don't even know how long it's been.....

I'm here. I'm dusting off the keyboard and getting back to work here on my blog.

What a year it has been so far. I would say that I haven't been blogging because I have been on all sorts of tropical vacations, visiting interesting foreign countries, etc..etc.. but that would be a lie. I have basically been up to my eyeballs in "change", and it's been a lot to carry... mentally, physically... emotionally. A lot has happened in 2009.

Let me see if I can sum it all up in less than a BOOK.

Fred and I decided to buy a house. We began our search in late February, early March. By April 29th, 2009 - we were at the settlement table. Seriously. During that time, we got word that Fred's Dad had gone from bad to worse (his health). The evening after we settled on the house, we got a phone call from his family letting us know we should get down there ( to Georgia ). The next morning, we hit the road, leaving our "fixer upper" in shambles, the kids with family until we returned, a mess of a place we were about to move out of.... and completely exhausted.
I drove 2 long days to get Fred there. It was about a 16-18 hour drive. We made it though....
Stayed for about a week. We left on the day of his Father's passing. The whole experience was something I will never forget.
Have you ever sat beside a dying man or woman? I can't even describe the feeling.... Honestly. It is so sad.. so deeply sad.
On the road... back to our home, and back to trying to pull it all together so we can move from one place to another. But, before that happens, we have to do a TON of work to our new house...
Long ride home. Sad, quiet.. and a lot of time to think about life in general. Time to count our blessings, talk about making changes, think about just how short life really is.
Now we're into the month of May. Where has the time gone? Fred turned 47 the day his Father was buried. There was no celebration for him that day. We have to really make it count next Birthday. Lord willing...
And so we move along to the working on the house. I have some amazing before and after photo's that I will post. I have to dig them up from the bottom of my computer :) BUT, I did take photos!
Moving day happened right before the 1st of June. I can hardly believe we did it. The expense of buying the house, the hard core labor put into... with Fred doing the bulk of it, and me doing the what he assigned me to do... I lost 12 pounds. LOL! It was like boot camp for me. I was NOT used to that type of work. I sit pretty at a desk most days. Not during this 3 week period. I worked like an animal. Every night I was discovering a different body part that ached, or pained... and it's unreal how much I learned. AND, how much I learned about what Fred does on a daily basis. I still can't get over it thinking about it right now. He's amazing. Honestly amazing...
So, all moved in... feeling the financial pinch. No cruise this year. Had to cancel. No planned vacation... couldn't afford one..
BUT, we have a pool, and a lovely new home. It's all worth it. It really is.
I had so many people telling me that. "Oh Erin, it's so worth it". I was thinking (in the working process) "It better be" LOL! I was battered and bruised.. and couldn't imagine it really would be worth it. IT IS. I love love love my new home!!!!!!!!

And so here I am. Past mid July. We've been living in the house for about a month and a half.
My children are changing. It isn't easy to take. They are both teenagers. One is way more hard to handle than the other. I guess I should feel blessed. They could both be equally difficult to handle. I'm scared sometimes that I'm losing the little lovie sweet faced children. I am. It's a hard pill to swallow.... very hard.

Bouncing around a bit.

Molly died last month. Molly is Mom and Dad's golden. We miss her. She was very sick....

Lindsey is moving to Kentucky next week. That's difficult. She and her family have been a huge part of our life for over 6 consistent years. We're going to miss them a lot. It's difficult watching Brooke grow apart from Lindsey. There's 2 year age gap. It's really a huge gap lately... Lindsey is still a happy faced, easy going kid.. Brooke is much more grown up lately. I'm feeling badly about that. I want her to grow, but I want her to love and respect the way she always has. Lately, I'm not feeling that.

Our "Junk" store closed down. Donna has moved on to a new one. A big, new, pretty one. I am missing our old routine. So many changes this year. The new one isn't the same. I wonder if we'll ever really get used to it.

Stores are all becoming "mega" stores. We FINALLY moved close to a WalMart. It closed down last week. They opened a SUPER Walmart a few miles down the road. It consumes you when you walk inside. Talk about feeling lost. Now I know what it's like to be a flea. In a store that big.... I feel like a little flea. :)

And what's up with CVS? I went into a "Mega" CVS yesterday. Why do they need to supersize all these stores? It had aisles upon aisles of "stuff" I didn't see a 1/4 of the store.... it was way to confusing.

Changes happening this year. A lot of them.

Trying to focus on the things that remain the same. Like the love I have for my family. The job that I simply adore. I have learned SO much in my new position at Rider. I am blessed to have this job. I can't even explain how lucky I feel.

Hubby. He's my rock. He's had it really tough this year. He needs a break.
We're going to the beach next week. It should be relaxing, fun, and a well needed and deserved break.

We've had one party at our house since we moved in. It was quite a success. A lot of fun.

I'm blogging again. I might not do it each and every day.. but I'm going to put forth the effort.

Oh, my 2008 Mazda CX-7 is broken down. It's been sitting collecting dust since early June. Can you imagine? We already had to replace the turbo... and now it's dead. When it rains, it pours!

Talking about rain...
Did I mention that it rained the ENTIRE month of June? No use of the pool. None....
There's always tomorrow...

Nice to be back.. even if for only a moment.