Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

My Son . . .

the honor roll student. My son, the straight-A student. My son, the student council representative. My son, the truant. 

Wait . . . the what? One of these things is not like the other!

I got a letter from the school today. I almost assumed that it was regarding the -$5 balance in Dylan's lunch account, which has been there since the last time he had hot lunch . . . something like four months ago. Considering such, I almost threw it away!

And then I would have never had the pleasure of knowing that my son. My wonderful, intelligent, amazing son . . . is a truant.

Officially.

Please note that he is considered an official truant because we have taken him out for a total of five days over the school year for family experiences. And been honest about it. (Not because he's a 6th grade delinquent who is cutting school on his own.) Two days in December - Disneyland. One day in March - Hawaii. And two days in April - Tahoe. I'd like to challenge the official "ruling" that we have half-days on Fridays and that since two of his absences have occurred on Fridays, that we should only have four strikes against us.

But then I'd have to care! Sadly, I couldn't be bothered less by this official notification. Wouldn't seem that it's affected Dylan's grades much, has it? Certainly each of those trips has added more to Dylan's life than the 3+1/2+1/2 days that he missed. I'm willing to bet on it. 

So if I call you from jail? It means they went with Option #3 and threw us in the can. Hopefully someone can watch our kids (and make sure they get to school on time!) while we're in the pokey.

Bliss . . .

is what I'm feeling at the moment. To understand this, you first have to hear this story:

Once upon a time, I did a job. The same job I do now. But the political climate was different. I did my job. I tried to do it well. And all was well.

Then, political differences made my job more difficult. Simple things became complicated. The easiest of issues became larger than life at time. I cried a lot. The dynamic shifted and a new normal was born.

Then, after five++ years of living in the political/difficult/contentious world; the clouds cleared and I experienced an Easy. Normal. Nice. Effective. Useful. Managed. Simple. Budget hearing yesterday. Or a Draft Budget Hearing, anyway.

The Final Budget Hearing is coming. The same budget will be presented. Would it be presumptuous to think that the dynamic will remain the same?

Yeah, probably . . . 

But for now, I'm going to revel in it. Just for a couple of days. It feels good, this easy ambiance. Success, if you will. Common. Simple. Effective. Logical.

Plus, I was wearing a cute dress. Bonus points!!

Ahhhhhhhh.

Good Morning . . .

reality!

I am on my way to my budget hearing. Haven't heard a single comment since we circulated our budget which means that either (a) I did a damn fine job and no one is taking issue with it/me and all will go well or (b) no one felt like giving me the heads up that they are going to slaughter me in a public meeting and that I may be about to get slaughtered in a public meeting! (How's that for a run-on sentence? I'm sure there is proper punctuation that might help me out, but it's only 5:30 am. I'm not quite there yet!)

Actually, what I've learned in 12 years of doing these things; is that regardless of if I do a damn fine job of my budgeting presentation or not, someone is always going to take issue over some detail or another. Because I work in the world of public service and politics. And that's just the way it goes. It's a (big) part of my job to stand up there and take it. 

**And no, I cannot tell you exactly what I do, because then I'd have to kill you! Consider me like crazy Phillip on Survivor - Redemption Island . . . "Former Federal Agent". Don't mess with the agent!

Pics From my Real Birthday . . .

are coming. I decided that, as a birthday gift to myself, I wasn't going to hassle taking the photos at my birthday dinner. So I asked my Mama to do it. She's going to get me the CD and then, I'll post some "real" pictures from my "real" birthday. Until then, iPhone photos are all you get:

And the reality of having a 6th grader waaaayyyyyy taller than his Nana and Aunt:

 

More Birthday/Easter Weekend . . .

extravaganza!

I failed to mention that on our way home from Modesto (!), we stopped at Arden Fair and IKEA. I have a ridiculous child-like need to try and find an Easter dress/outfit every year. I thought I could run into Nordstrom, find something cute (and on sale) and run right back out and be done. But alas, my Nordstrom let me down! This was the dress that I was looking at online, but didn't pull the trigger soon enough for it to get to me (without expedited shipping). They didn't carry the dress in-store and everything else that I liked they didn't have the correct size or something. So I asked John to be patient while I ran into Ann Taylor super-quick . . . and I hit the motherlode!

It was the last day of their 40% everything sale, plus I had another 15% coupon, so I battled it out with every other woman in Northern California who had the same deal/need for Easter clothing and came out victorious! I ended up with two dresses (same dress . . . one in black and white - which is my traditional choice . . . and another in a soft lilac - Easter color), a sweater and a necklace. All for just slightly more than I was considering paying for the dress I liked at Nordstrom! (Although to be fair, I'm keeping it in my shopping cart and watching for it to go on sale. Hey, I have a lot of bridal showers/wedding-type events to go to this summer!)

After we crawled out of the mall, John indulged me once more and let me choose the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Yum-o! I really wish I didn't love it there so much, but I do! Their salads are delicious and I had their sweet corn fritters as an appetizer - yum! Like I said . . . isn't my birthday week all about eating?

Once we hit IKEA, we were purposeful. We decided to get yet another Expedit bookshelf . . . this time for the office. We still haven't measured it out or agreed on inserts, but if it works, it will be a great place for John to try and keep his multiple piles/files . . . between the Air Force, teaching at Butte, teaching various other courses across the state, pursuing his Master's program AND various household/personal stuff? It can get a little frustrating to keep it all in one spot! I was also intreged by this idea, interlocking outdoor decking, but we were already at checkout and John wasn't nearly as intreged as I was :)

So that was my birthday trip, which then of course, we rolled right into Easter!

We colored eggs on Saturday night . . . nothing fancy, just boring food coloring and white vinager. We did, however, work hard to try and get some truly red eggs dyed for Halle. Maybe next time I'll actually let them sit in the dye overnight!

Then yesterday, we headed to church at 11:11 (along with everyone else in town, so it seemed!) and enjoyed church. Although it was super-duper LOUD! Way too loud for Halle and my Gram, and even too loud for the rest of us young(er) folks! After church we headed to my Gram's for an Easter luncheon and egg hunt. Yummy ham, salads, deviled eggs, jello (in accidentally peverse shapes), bread and fruit. Oh yeah, and wine. Sparkling wine for me . . . one of my new favorites, Coppola Sophia.

The kids hunted eggs, which Halle still thinks is the best thing ever. Dylan was on the hunt specifically for those eggs containing Lotto tickets. He made about $10, but I bought $15 worth of tickets . . . so gain for him, loss for me. Maybe next year I'll just hide some straight cash! We did, however determine that next year we will change up plans a little . . . instead of going to our church and my Gram's house, we'll be going to my Gram's church and our house. A quieter church and a noisier house. Or something like that! 

We came home, did a little clean-up around our house . . . John took a little nap (at 5:00 pm . . . that would jack-up my sleep for a week!), and we ended our celebratory weekend by watching Amazing Race. So sad to see the cowboys go. And yes, we do get that emotionally invested in our Amazing Race to use the word "sad" in regard to it! We are just weird like that!

Happy Birthday to me . . . Happy Easter to all!  

Back Home . . .

When I told John (months ago), that I'd love to see Steven Curtis Chapman for my birthday, I had no idea that the concert was actually on Good Friday. It was an amazing way to spend the evening of Good Friday. It felt like all the stations of the cross were intermingled within the music and his message and it just felt right. I was . . . big surprise . . . fighting tears several times, and truth be told, I let a few slip out for sure. This family has such a strong testimony of faith. As soon as he played the first few chords of "Cinderella", I was a goner. And then he followed with "Heaven is the Face" and I was lucky to hold back my sobs!

The concert was mostly acoustic, just SCC, his two sons and one additional guitarist. There was no big fanfare, no opening act . . . just pure vocals, guitar, percussion and some instrument which John and I are not 100% certain as to what it was. John says it's a xylophone . . . if so, it was the purest, coolest sounding xylophone I've ever heard!

We stayed just two blocks from the Gallo Center for the Arts, which was great since we just walked to dinner at Galletto Ristorante, and then walked to the concert. Speaking of dinner and whatnot, I had a glass of Greater Purpose wine (their Bold variety) . . . and not only was it a great glass of wine, I felt darn good about drinking it! 55% of their profits benefit orphaned and abandoned children around the world. So I'm going to order some . . . nothing like drinking decent wine and giving simultaneously!

Anyway . . . 

Concert was great, dinner was great, wine was great, room service dessert was great (and we had dessert at the restaurant as well!), our night was great . . . 

Long run-on-sentence conclusion?

John did well for my birthday. Very, very well!

More details, maybe a picture or two in the coming days, but I am ready to go hang with my kiddos and focus on Easter. I want to try and wrap my head and heart around the amazing love of our Creator. His amazing love which rose triumphantly over the grave. Christ is Risen, indeed!

 

Happy Birthday . . .

to me!

I am officially 37 today and also officially in possesion of an expired license. I qualified for "early renewal" (whatever that means to the DMV), sent in my form and money weeks ago and just realized yesterday that I haven't heard or received a thing from them. I refuse to celebrate my birthday by going to a DMV office, so I guess I'll just be an illegal rebel until next week.

I finally managed to finish my budget packet . . . at 10:00 this morning. Not the 8:00 deadline I was going for, but close enough(ish).

I also managed to tweak my neck/shoulder and am now unable to turn my head to the left at all. The chiropractor helped, but the muscles seem to be having a spasm party up and down my back, neck and arm. A little birthday party thrown by my aging body.

So with that, I'm going to sit in the hot tub. After that? Maybe I'll convince my husband to treat me to lunch before he goes to work. And then I'll eat again with the extended family tonight. Because isn't that what you do on your birthday? Eat a lot? That's the way I do it! Calories don't count on your birthday :)

How to Find Balance . . .

in the midst of this chaos?

Oh, I'm sorry . . . did you think I was going to tell you how? Ha! I need to figure it out myself! 

I am still in the middle of packet/budget prep; although I have to be done by tomorrow at 8:00 am. It's not fair to have my new employee suffer due to my own lack of organization. At least, not for this first go-round!

My house is feeling really chaotic, although I had a friend come over today to give me a quote on housecleaning and she said it didn't look bad at all. Then told me about a hoarder's house she'd recently been in. So I guess that by comparison, I'm doing OK!

Tomorrow is my birthday. Yeah. Hoorah. (Do remember when that was such an awesome thing when you were little?) Although (a) this birthday is going to be better than last year's, (b) John and Halle already made me a cake, (c), I already got some birthday money in the mail and I think I'm going to put it in a jar labeled "Amy's iPad Fund" and (d); Dylan just told me that I'm going to love my birthday card from him and that it would "even make me cry". So there.

Time/life management. I am suppose to be delivering a photo CD across town right now. But I'm trying to finish up my real work (and blogging). My children don't want to leave the house to get back in the car and Dylan doesn't particularly want to watch his sister so I can leave to do it. Sigh. I really wish I would have just remembered to take it with me when I picked Dylan up at school!

Must push through! Finish work so I can relax! Focus!

Do Blog Design Changes . . .

count as updates? Because I think they should :)

Let's just note that (a) it's BUDGET TIME for my job; (b) it's Halle's Spring Break, aka . . . no daycare; (c) it's tax time - or it was, if you want to be specific and (d); it's my birthday week.

Do any and/or all of those count as official reasons for me to ignore my blog? Especially if you'll note that I finally . . . after 5 weeks of being back from Hawaii . . . took down my Hawaii themed-blog-background?

I think it counts. All of the above.

If they don't count? Please consider my mounds of laundry, un-watched TV shows and un-sent Easter cards. Please, oh, please give me grace to get through the day.

(And seriously, I blathered on long enough about "no" blog posts that this actually counts as one. Ha. So there :))

 

Weekend Fun . . .

Oh my heck! We had such a fun trip to . . . wait for it . . . Oroville! 

John and I met up with some super-fun friends at Gold Country Casino on Saturday. Our mission and reason to drive to Oroville? To see/dance-to/sing-along with Tainted Love. Mission accomplished! We managed to score a sweet deal of a room, two massages, dinner for two at their steakhouse and some free $$ to gamble with for $150. (Thanks, Stacy for the heads up on that killer deal!)

I almost had to cancel plans because I couldn't find a sitter, but our Shannon, God-bless her, drove all the way to our house on Saturday, just to watch my kiddos. Then, she had to get up and leave by 6:30 on SUnday morning to get back to work. (And no, we had not returned by 6:30. My Mom covered the gap on that one :)) SHANNON LINHART, I PUBLICLY PROCLAIM MY UNDYING LOVE AND APPRECIATION FOR YOU! You truly are the Princess Godmother. (Tiara and tu-tu will be arriving soon!)

So we arrived Saturday afternoon with just enough time to check into our room, which, by the way, was pretty darn decent. (I had no idea what to expect because I had never been in any casino other than Reno/Tahoe or Vegas.) Remember, this is in Oroville. We headed right to our 4:00 massage appointment, only to realize that two of our friends, Stacy and Meg also had 4:00 appointments. Not a big deal, since they must have a bunch of massage rooms, right? Well oddly enough, this was more the trade-show version of a massage. PVC pipes and somewhat sheer black curtains made up the "walls" in this spa. Meg nailed it when she called it "massage triage". BUT, once I got over the fact that we were all laying naked, in very near proximity to each other and could hear every single thing occurring in not just our four "rooms", but the other four across the "hall", I had a very good massage. I did, however, have enough of John's chatty/flirty therapist - within arms, reach of me . . . thank you very much. So I finally blurted out, "John, for the love of Jesus . . . stop talking!" So great massage, not so great (but very amusing) ambiance.

We headed back to our rooms to get ready, where alas, our only two negatives of our night out occurred. Both involving scissors, no less. #1 happened while John was cutting off a tag on my shirt; he accidentally cut through the seam. So I was flashing a little skin through my shirt if anyone had been sober enough to care or notice. #2 occurred when I was blow-drying my hair and the damn hotel blow dryer ate my hair. Unfortunately, John had just gone downstairs for a drink, so I ended up using his scissors to cut my hair out. So I have a new layer cut into the right side of my hair. I wonder if Holly will notice when she cuts my hair next?

After my two scissor-issues, we joined our friends for dinner. We had a fabulous dinner, many drinks and great conversation. It was a little slow, though and we were worried about getting into the concert. No worries, since John had befriended the World's Biggest (Number 1 and 2) Tainted Love Fans. Who, conveniently, were 1st and 2nd in line. They saved us a table. Front and Center, mind you. So we were able to enjoy our appetizers, salads, steaks; and in Meg's case, a 20 ounce Prime Rib. (Just saying, Meg . . . I'm not quite sure where you put it!) And a drink. Or seven. (Actually, it was more like 2-3. I did an excellent job of pacing myself. There was no drunkenness. Just a fun buzz all night long :)  Well done, if I do say so myself!)

Tainted Love was fabulous. And the people-watching (freaks! abound!) was even better. I can't do it justice with words. Suffice it to say, they have some die-hard fans. And we had a grand time, down there in the basement of a casino located on the outskirts of Oroville. Who woulda thunk it?

We rounded out the weekend by winning some small $$ off of the promo-dollars given to us by good-old Gold Country Casino. Enough to stop at a Sonic drive-through for breakfast. Where I decided to eat a chili-cheese dog at 10:00 am.  'Cuz it seemed like a good idea at the time!

Needless to say, we wouldn't be able to do this often (or ever!!) without our Shannon and my Mom. But if/when we do it again? I will most assuredly be taking some photos. Because this was all I got from the weekend:

 

And if you don't get it? That's OK. I took it with a couple of specific people in mind :)