A New Puppy!! (or.... buying stock in papertowels & cleaners!)

I finally have something fun to blog about! I got a puppy for Christmas! Ok, I know Christmas is not technically here yet, but she could not be left in the box until then....... She is a West Highland White Terrier and is soooooo cute! Her name is Noelle and she was born on 10/30/08. Now I know more then a few of you out there are thinkning that I travel too much for a puppy and you may be right. However, I know my travel destinations for the entire year of 2009 so I can plan accordingly to not be away, say 4 weeks in a row! AND Noelle comes with a dog sitting promise for when I am away, so don't worry about that detail.

Noelle is still a baby and is not housebroken yet, and she is teething. Oh so fun. This is definately the hardest time, so I am glad that I am home for almost the next FIVE WEEKS (except for one overnight). This will be good for both me and Noelle.

I am sure I will have many "tails" to tell, so stay tuned!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Onions on a Plane....

Last week I traveled to Oregon. This is a 6 hour plane ride. I was lucky enough to get a "straight through" flight. These days, as I am sure you all know, there is nothing free on a plane, except maybe the toilet paper! Since the airlines now charge for baggage, people have become insanely childish when it comes to boarding. I feel like I am at a concert sometimes, people crowding the entry to the jetway, pushing and forgetting their manners. Most airlines have boarding orders or groups. I fly USAir mostly, so I have Gold status, which entitles me to board first or nearly first. This never stops 6 foot men from pushing me out of the way, surely a girl of not even 5 feet tall can't possibly have a better boarding group then them!
Then there is the carry on bags..... seriously people. A suitcase that you pack for a weeks vacation will NOT fit in the overhead..... just pay for it.
My ultimate favorite, however is the food choices that people decide are ok for on a plane. Since you have to pay for everything, including water, a virtual food buffet ends up on the plane. Most items are ok, ham sandwiches, bagels, fruit, and whatnot. But there is "one in every crowd"....... an Italian hoagie with onions, oregano, etc...... or a stinky fried something or another...... can we all remember that the airplane is a confined space with recirculated air!! Onions linger for an entire 6 hour flight......

Blog Stealing

The following post is one of those get-to-know-you type things. I 100% stole this idea off of a blog that a freind from high school's wife writes... follow that??? The goal is to answer the following in only one word........

This is a One-Word-Answer MEME. Pretty self explanatory:

Where is your mobile phone? Charging

Where is your significant other? sleeping

Your hair colour? strawberry

Your mother? home

Your father? Delaware

Your favourite thing? facebook

Your dream last night? scary

Your dream goal? numerous

The room you’re in? yellow

Your hobby? sleep

Your fear? failure

Where do you want to be in 6 years? content

Where were you last night? home

What you’re not? tall

One of your wish-list items? happiness

Where you grew up? house

The last thing you did? type

What are you wearing? sweater

Your TV? black

Your pets? furry

Your computer? addicting

Your mood? stressed

Missing someone? yes

Your car? Escape

Something you’re not wearing? shoes

Favourite shop? Kohls

Your summer? hot

Love someone? yes

Your favourite colour? blue

When is the last time you laughed? today

When is the last time you cried? Friday

Feel free to "steal my blog!"

Ski Lift Line or Security Line??

Since I travel every week, I spend a lot of time in the airports. Philadelphia is my "home" airport, as unthrilling as that is. What made me laugh this week was a huge sign that congratulated Philly as the number one airport in customer satisfaction according to some magazine, Forbes, I think. Seriously??? It is the WORST airport as far as customer service and on time arrivals that I travel to. I am not sure who was asked to vote on this, but I don't believe it was the every day "Joes" who use the airport.

I do, however, need to acknowledge some nice changes that I have noticed over the past few weeks. First, the TSA uniforms were revamped in all airports and they do look much nicer, but it did nothing for the personalities..... Second, some new signage and arrival/departure/baggage claim info boards brings the airport into the 21st Century.... finally, this week, I noticed a change in security procedures. I found myself faced with a black diamond line, a blue oval line and a red triangle (i think) line. I felt like I was getting ready to ski! I do LOVE this change. The lines are based on your travel experience. The red triangle is for families traveling with little children and the inexperienced traveler. The blue line is for the casual traveler and the black diamond line is for the frequent traveler. Whoo Hoo!! This is the best change! Especially in the summer and high travel times, like holidays. Now, if they only hold true to the lines........

Phinally Phighting Phillies!!!

WE DID IT!!! And by we, of course I mean me......you mean I didn't help?? :( Anyway, the PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!! The last time this happened was in 1980, I was 10, and my mom had to wake me and my sister up to see the end of the ninth inning and the celebration of the win. It took 28 years for us to do it again. AND 25 years since the city has had any championship team. Unless you count the Soul, Jon Bon Jovi's Arena Football team in Philadelphia. Go Philly! I, however, am in Cleveland in a hotel and watched by myself. Jo Ann's house looked like more fun!

Feet In Four!

Last week the company I work for held a convention for our Directors in Disney World. The convention was fun, but the real fun came last Saturday. Myself and a few of my co-workers (including the Vice-President of Operations!) stayed in "The World" for a day in the parks. We had purchased a one day park hopper and were going to try to get to all four major parks if we could. Well, a few fellow co-workers said that we would not make it to all four parks in one day. To us that meant-CHALLENGE ON! Needless to say, we did make it to all four! We spent 3 hours in Hollywood Studios, 4 hours in Animal Kingdom, 3 hours in Epcot and 2.5 hours in Magic Kingdom! It was well worth the challenge, but not something I would do again. Our feet and bodies hurt for two days after! We walked about 22,800 steps, which equals 12.5 miles!! On Sunday, two of us walked around Downtown Disney before we had to leave for the airport.... or should I say hobbled around! Very fun..... photos to follow when they are forwarded to me!

One Down, Eleven To Go!

So my first grad class is officially "in the books" as they say (no pun intended!) Actually, we had our last class last weekend, but the professor gave us an extension for our final paper. Truth be told, she gave us TWO extensions! Originally, the final paper was to be due on our last class. Then, on the second weekend of classes (there were only three weekends) she extended it until today, Saturday the 11th. I, of course, fully planned on completing it on the original due date...... NOT..... I am a bog time procrastinator when it comes to stuff like papers! Well, last weekend, at our last class, she gave us until Sunday the 12th at midnight!! I promised myself that I would not use the new extension and I didn't! I turned the paper in at 4:30 today and got my grade an hour later.... Ah, technology!! I got an A for the class!! :) The next class starts on Halloween, with a research paper due November 10...... I am seriously going to get it completed ahead of time........

Nostalgia

So, recently I have been feeling a bit nostalgic. I can't decide why for sure, but I have a few theories. My first thought is that it is fall, my favorite time of the year. As an adult, it is my favoirte because of the season change, the crisp air, the return of my "comfy" clothes! As a teenager and it college it was all about BAND! I was a true band geek, and proud of it. It was my most favoirte activity by far from the time I was in 6th grade until I graduated college on the 5 year plan! Well, now I am back in college..... the same college I did my undergrad at. I feel like I need to be doing competitions on the weekends!! Another theory is that this is my 20th HS reunion year. It just makes one really reflect on life. Did I accompolish all that I thought I would have by this point in my life? Will all of the people from HS forget the "clicks" and just have fun reminissing? The sheer mention of my HS or college or the sound of a marching band always brings great memories (and a few tears for times gone by) flooding back. Tonight, however, was a huge kick in the old reminder pants. My stepdaughter was nominated for homecoming queen at her HS. We went to the football game to see her and cheer her own (she didnt win, but she was one of only 7 senior girls out of over 600 to be nominated, so that is great!). We saw the other schools marching band perform the pregame show and I had tears in my eyes. I need to say, that we were at a rival school from where I went to school, at least the bands were BIG rivals. I ALMOST wished that I could be on the field, performing again. I have my memories...... treasure your memories so they will last a life time. Oh, and the people that I was with thought my tears were from the wind and the chill in the air.......!

Cheap Gas!??!

I am in Cleveland, OH currently. Some people that I work with loveling refer to Cleveland as the "mistake on the lake." While that may be a popular thought, this week I am feeling that Cleveland Rocks! The gas prices here are cheap! I saw a station here selling regular gas for $2.89! What kills me the most is that I am excited about this and that I think that is cheap! While a few months ago I thought that we would never see gas under $3.00, there was a time in history, not too long ago, that we would never have thought that $2.89 was cheap! I remember back 6-7 years ago how we were up in arms when it went over $1.00....... wonder if we will ever see a 1 as the first number again????

Star Struck.....

So, I am a geek. (I have known this for years and plenty of people in HS reminded me of this on a daily basis.) This week I am in NC and one of our schools down here is owned by a former weather person from my area. I got to go to this school the past two days. I have to admit I was a little star struck because I watched this person EVERY NIGHT! I know it was not Tom Cruise, or someone like that, but to me, it was cool. And they were the nicest person. Of course, being the geek I am, I had to tell them about my "star struckness." It was definitely a little surreal.

Comments Please!!

Ok, so I know there are people reading this bolg, my little counter at the bottom tells me so! It says 600 people have logged on. The problem, I DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! I would love you to leave me a comment,let me know you dropped into my little piece of the world wide web!!

Breaking Shoes and a Sweat......

This morning I traveled to Raleigh, NC. The gate was in terminal B, at the end of the terminal. I got to the gate, settled with my coffee. I was sitting right next to the gate agent desk. The conversation was comical to say the least..... they had no power to the desk, therefor no computers, ticket scanner, etc. Finally a maintenance worker came and fixed it, but of course AFTER they had the plane change gates. The new gate, you ask.... (ok, I know you didn't ask, but I am going to tell anyway). The new gate was A26...... a long @$$ walk from where I was..... like 10 minutes!! Oh, they told us about the new gate 15 mintues from boarding!! I did get to see the international terminal, something I may never get to see. In the process I broke the heal on my favorite shoes and I was breaking a sweat at 7:00 in the morning. Gotta love Monday mornings at PHL!!!!

I Got an A!

Ok, so I am a little excited. I did my first paper in over 15 years this weekend. I wrote it very sporadically on Saturday. I felt like I had a hard time concentrating and organizing my thoughts. The paper only had to be 3-5 pages, but it took me about 7 hours to write!! (ok, so I kept taking 20 minute breaks b/c I could not concentrate!). I wrote it and then only read it once and sent it off. My saving grace, I thought, was that if we don't like our grade, we can revise it and turn it in again. Well, this morning I got an email from the professor.... I got an A!!! The only thing that was wrong was some of the formatting. It needs to be in APA format. I have a program to help me do this, but still didn't follow it perfectly. My 4.0 is still in reach!! :)

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

San Francisco is beautiful! The city has so much character and charm. From streets lined with old victorian houses, to the modern city buildings, from the bay to the ocean, beauty is all around! I took MANY photos. Unfortunatley, as you will see, both days that I was there were foggy in places. All of my Golden Gate Bridge photos have fog in them. Here are a few of the best photos.

The Golden Gate Bridge


My "Artsy" Bridge Shot


Flowers in Golden Gate Park




Lombard Street


A City View From Coit Tower


A Redwood Forest Park




Alcatraz


Sea Lions Hanging at the Pier

From Tease to Reality

On Sunday I flew to San Francisco for work. Ok, a little work and a little personal time with my favorite Uncle. (Side note-both of my uncles are cool, just this one was the favorite b/c he was who I was going to see!) Anyway..... Since I travel for work almost every week I have racked up the frequent flyer points and status. I have Gold status with USAir. Since I have gold status, I get upgraded to first class when ever available. On Sunday, the first class cabin was sold out, so I was resigned to a 6 hour flight cramped in a three person row of seats. After it seemed like everyone was on board, the gate agent came to my seat and asked me if I wanted to sit in first class. Of course, I said yes. I gather the stuff out of the seat pocket in front of me, got my purse off the floor, made the two guys sitting next to me move, got my bag down from over head and took one step toward first class. That's when the agent came back and said, "I am sorry, it isn't available." ARE YOU KIDDING!!! WHAT A TEASE!!!
Thursday was a whole different ball game!! I had been checking the availability of first class seats all week. Tuesday there were 7 available. Wednesday there were none! I was bummed, but again resigned to my coach seat. Much to my surprise and delight, when I checked in for the flight I discovered that I had ALREADY BEEN UPGRADED!! That's right.... first class on the way home!! Cozy, comfy, free food and beverages, blankets..... I could get used to this! Membership has its privileges!

Back to School!

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day! I am going back to school. I am soooo excited and just a tad bit nervous~ OK, A LOT NERVOUS! I was not a particularly studious student the first time around. It wasn't that I was a partier, I just did not "apply myself" as my mom would say. I was too busy with friends, activities and work. The temptation to sleep in was very hard to resist as well..... sleep is my favorite activity! All of this was when school was my only job (well, kinda, if you count being an RA a job!). NOW not only do I have a full time job, but it requires traveling A LOT! Some how I need to pull some discipline out and "apply myself!" Seriously, though, I am sure that I will do fine.....can you say looking for a 4.0??? I have a lot to live up to, as my mom worked full time, raised two kids on her own AND got a 4.0!! I have friends in my class that I work with, so that will be encouraging as well... I am so excited to start that I had my bag backed with my books three days ago! :) WCU here I come!

GO RAMS!!!!

Elvis Duckley!

Meet my new man..... isn't he dreamy! He is so considerate and sweet. He even swam all the way to Chicago and surprised me in my hotel! :)

We Are The Champions!

Last Sunday my softball team won the Championship! We played during the thunder and lightening, watching lightening all around us, but it never getting close enough to stop the game. We finished the season 14-2!!! This was our third year playing and our second championship. We won the first year out, but honestly, only by shear luck! We had a losing season the first year, but all is fair in the playoffs and we won when it counted! This year, however, we had the best record out of any team in all three divisions. It was a fantastic season, capped off by a CHAMPIONSHIP! For this, we get rewared by moving up to the "A" division next year.......GO TITANS!!

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

Today I finally took a day off from work to enjoy a day at the Philadelphia Zoo with my two best friends, Jessica & Lynn, and their kids. Lynn is a memebr of the zoo and got us all (all 7 of us) in for free-you ROCK Lynn! We had a great time seeing the animals, getting some exercise by walking all over the zoo, watching the kids enjoy the zoo and seeing the Philly skyline 400 feet up in the air in the Zoo Balloon!

The Kids at the entrance to the Zoo


The required fountain photo
(a security man on one of those things you stand on and ride chased the kids from the fountain ledge..... who knew after all these years that you are not allowd to sit on the ledge??)


The Tortises
(at least this time they were "G" rated-last time I was at the zoo, it was definately "R" rated, maybe even "X"...... 'nough said)


Luke Duke.... the cutest!!


Kaitlyn & Kristopher


Don't mess with me!


Elephant Love!


The Zoo Balloon


Philly Skyline from the Zoo Balloon


The End of the Day!

A Little Redecorating...

Ok, so I know that I have not updated in a while. That is becuase I had nothing!! Remember, no kids, no funny pets..... I have not been anywhere too interesting for work lately, so I really had nothing! Well, this weekend that all changed when I decided to redecorate my office with a new desk and paint my kitchen. The desk in the office is all glass, almost 5 feet by 3 feet. I lifted it onto the legs myself.



Then it was on to the kitchen. I have lived in my house for 3 1/2 years now and have wanted to paint the kitchen forever! I did it this weekend.....all by myself. It took 8 hours between taping, priming and painting. The carmel color was only one coat and the red was two coats. To be honest, up close it looks a little ghetto.... the carmel definately needs two coats. I ran out of patience. It is not horrible, but it does need to be fixed. Check out the before and after photos. The photos on the wall are actually a calendar. They will be cut into 8x11 and framed in black frames. I also have a backsplash on order. Stay tuned for the final result!! (there you go Jo, I updated! :))

The Kitchen Before paint





The Kitchen After Paint

One Tier Up & Two Tiers Down!

So yesterday I flew into Providence, RI. I was scheduled to do a training at one of our schools in RI and then drive 2.5 hours to Nashua, NH. When I got to the Budget Rental Car counter, the gentleman there said, "You are in luck. Your car is right here next to the booth." When I looked at the car, my face must have made a weird expression because he asked me if everything was ok. I said, "I am not sure I can drive this car." It was a FULL SIZE Mercury Sable!!!! He asked me why I said that. I told him that the car was too big for me, and seeing over the dash might be an issue. He said, "It is only one tier up from the mid-sized car you reserved." I said, "My company reserves the cars and I am clearly two tiers down from that mid-sized car!" The man explained that that car was really my only choice as it was from NH and needed to go back. So off I went, feeling like Edith Ann in her big rocker!! In the end, it was not that bad and I am a champ with the car now. Can I get a woot woot!!

It's Official--- I am a SAP!!!

Ok, so why do I think that I am a sap??? First of all, for those who know me, there is no asking why, it is just the way the universe is. For those who need more clarification, here is a perfect example why. As you know, I work for a preschool franchise doing inspections. Before I worked for the corporation, I was a teacher in one of the schools. The school I worked in was WONDERFUL!! Anyway, this week was a "local" week for me so I could get the chance to attend a very special milestone graduation for Pre-K at my old school. Turns out, the school I was inspecting this week was having 2 graduations (Pre-K & Kindergarten) on the days I was there. So yesterday, I heard "Pomp & Circumstance" in the morning at the inspection school. Tears in my eyes.... AND I DONT EVEN KNOW ANY OF THE KIDS!!! Then I had to attend the graduation at the school I worked in. Again, more tears started when that song was played! This time, however, I DID know some of the children and had known them since they were infants! So, this my friends, is why I am a SAP!! A simple song can conjur up so many emotions! Congrats to all of you little Pre-K and Kindergarten children...... :)

Tour De Cure Completed!....(or a downhill is sure to be followed by an uphill!)

My inspiration for riding.... DAD!















My riding partner, Pat














Well, today was the day!! The 30 mile bike ride for diabetes was today. My friend Pat and I rode for the team that is sponsored by one of our schools. Again this year, I was overwhelmed by the support I received. I raised $800 again! Thanks so much to all of my sponsors..... you all rock! Last year, I completed the ride on a mountain bike. This year, I purchased a Trek road bike, thinking it would be easier..... not so much. I was plagued with knee issues and by the first rest stop at 14 miles, I was literally crying with pain. Pat encouraged me to continue, so I kept peddling along. The uphills definitely out numbered the down hills..... We completed the 30 miles in 3 hours (including 30 minutes combined at the rest stops). This was an improvement for me, as last year it took me about 3.5 hours. I was going as slow as 5mph up some hills, 3mph if you count the one that i walked up!. The fastest speed i clocked was 28mph, down a hill, of course. The funny thing about this was that the speed limit on that road was 25mph! :) All in all, a good day!

Here's to you DAD!! Love you!

Answer: 4 Aleve and A Large Diet Coke!

Question, "What is what it takes to cure a "flying day" headache!" The night before I fly, I never sleep. For whatever reason, I am always afraid I will oversleep and miss my flight. This, of course, has not happened in the two years that I have been traveling, but the worries never go away. This week was no exception. As you may be aware, this weekend was HOT! On Sunday, I rode 15 hilly miles to prepare for my 30 mile ride coming up this Saturday. This was in the morning, but it was still 85 at 8:30am. After the ride, I showered and headed to my 1pm softball game. It was about 98 degrees and just brutal. The sun and I did not get along. By the time I got home on Sunday, I was not feeling too good. Despite drinking tons of water, I never really recovered from the day. I took 2 Aleve and went to bed at 10:30. Of course, like I said earlier, I never really slept. This made for a not so nice Monday. I took two more Aleve at 9am after developing another monster headache on the plane that left me not feeling so well in my tummy either..... Unfortunately, it didn't work. At 1pm, another 2 Aleve was consumed along with a large diet coke..... BINGO!! relief.....

"Ground Hog Day...."

Ok, so the previous post actually happened yesterday (Tuesday). Today, it felt like the movie "Ground Hog Day", you know, when Bill Murray wakes up on the same day each day?? The morning started out with monsoon-like rains and severe thunderstorms. It did get sunny for part of the day, but by the 6pm news, all we saw on the t.v. were severe weather warnings for tornados, floods and severe thunder storms. Today was much shorter in time, however. I took photos today..... they are what yesterday looked like as well...... Again I say, bring on the Ruby Slippers!!

To the right is where I was yesterday.... notice the purple, not so pretty on a weather map!



Below is where I was today, the yellow circles in both indicate "rotation"......






The views from the hotel room. This is 6pm, not 9pm!! Notice the tree bending to the right of the photo!




The answer my friend, is blowin in the wind!

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home...

Ok, imagine my saying that and clicking my heals together..... This week I am in Cincinnati area and it has been adventuresome to say the least. Yesterday at about 3pm, I was getting ready to leave the school I was at in Kentucky (just south of Cinci), when the director and I heard the "weather sirens". The Owners had just left to do a bus run. The alert was a TORNADO WARNING!! The sky was very dark and the storm was fierce. We got the children into the safe places and we then spent the next 40 minutes keeping children calm, answering the phones ringing off the hook with concerned parents calling, heating bottles for infants who were all in two cribs in the kitchen. It was a surreal experience, but we got through it with no issues and no tornado....... cut to 7:30 that night. I am now in a town just north of Cinci and the t.v. weather man cuts in with TORNADO WARNINGS!! This time, the bad weather lasted for 4 hours, with the warning actually called until 3AM!! You know it is bad when the front desk of the hotel calls to tell you where the safe places are. My question to her was.... "What county am I in??" because all the warnings were for counties, not towns. Picture me with the constant stream of details on the t.v. for four hours and map quest up on my computer to get my bearings! At 9:15 it seemed bad enough to think about leaving the room. I got dressed, put the essentials in my purse (just in case!) and I joined other hotel guests in the lobby watching coverage and deciding when/if we needed to get in the stairwell, until about 10:40pm, when the worst had seemed to pass. Not much sleep last night to say the least.......... Where are the Ruby Slippers when you need them???

Today I Put On My Big Girl Panties.....

Ok, so I have been working at my company for 2 years now, traveling the country. You would think that I have seen some amazing sights. The truth is, I am chicken!! I do not like to do sight seeing, touristy stuff by myself. So, needless to say I am usually a homebody (or hotelbody!) when I am away. Don't get me wrong, when I happen to be in the same location as a coworker or two, we take full advantage of the company and "venture out on the towns", so I have seen some eccentric parts of the country. When I am by myself, though, I am not so adventuresome. TODAY, however, I put on my big girl panties and went sight seeing in Seattle, WA! This, my friends, is a great city! It is beautiful and seemed "user friendly", easy to navigate and lots of things to do and see. I went to the Space Needle, of course. Check out my photos below of my "big girl" trip!

View of the space needle...

The Seattle Skyline...





The Lake where Tom Hanks lived in Sleepless in Seattle...





This building was made to look like Jimmi Hendrix smashed guitar!





Flowers in the gardens...

Upgrade-Sweet, Long Walk-Not so much!

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while because, well, I got nothing! My friend JoAnne, who is now avid blogger number one, said she hates it when people don't update their blogs regularly, so here's all I have. I was "upgraded" at the hotel last week. This a nice perk of being a Diamond Member for Hilton. (Although a real diamond would be nicer....). I got upgraded to a suite in a Hampton Inn, which I didn't even think they had suites, but I digress. The space was nice and large, as you can see below......




The long walk down the "REDRUM" hallway, not so fun!!



Hope you all have been enjoying your holiday weekend! Next week I am off to Washington state. Might get in a little sight seeing on Tuesday if I have time. Stay tuned for those adventures and I am sure that I will have travel adventures!