Saturday Night Horror Show

You know how things can sometimes go inexplicably wrong when a large quantity of alcohol is consumed? Have you ever seen someone (a close friend... maybe your husband) morph into a bizzare creature that does things so out of character that you think you just may be in a parallel universe? Well folks, that's where Cindi and I were on Saturday night. It all started when the boys came back from the liquor store with some crappy, creamy "Tequila Rose" stuff in a black bottle. We decided to play "Cashflow," our favorite game and apparently shots of this crap and the Patron we had were part of the deal.

I'll spare you the details and just say that Kevin doesn't follow the rules and Jason is a thief -- bottom line is that the game (shown above before the melee) ended in a shouting match with the boys locked out of the house and nefarious actions that I hope never to see again ensued. Luckily, none of the kids woke up, but I'm truly surprised the neighbors didn't. Thank GOD we have an 8 foot privacy fence in the backyard. Thank, God.

Fun with the "Master Minds"

This past weekend Jason and I were the host company for a meeting of four small contracting company owners that met a couple years back while we were involved with a business building program specifically designed for contractors. Instead of paying the ridiculous fees to stay in said program, we broke off as a group and decided to run our own little gatherings with the idea of learning from each other while enjoying each other's company (i.e. drink lots of alcohol together, visit each company's office and meet their staff and then have a meeting where each company shares their goals and has "their feet held to the fire" on what they are doing to achieve those goals).

The group flew into Sarasota on Thursday afternoon so we started with a BBQ/Pool Party at the house Thursday night... lots of margaritas and strawberry daqs with Malibu flowing... the pool felt great after dinner and the kids had a blast. Friday we have everyone over to the shop to "play" on the heavy equipment. We did a tennis ball challenge on an excavator and an obstacle course with the skid steer... everyone loved it! We had dinner at The Table that night...amazing! Saturday we had our "MasterMind" meeting, which was very productive and actually emotional, as one company in our group is dealing with some changes in their life stages and are considering getting out of their business. Tears flowing. Wow... that was something I didn't expect.

I think the best part of getting this group together is that as business owners you don't always have someone to turn to... these meetings reassures each one of us that we are NOT in this alone and that we have friends that we can call on when we need help.

Saturday night The Smiths and the Erbsens left for Tampa as they had an early flight out on Sunday morning to get back to Sacramento, CA and Salida, CO. The Foshees, who were staying at our house with their 6-year-old daughter, Summer, stayed so that we could hang out.

Saturday night with the Foshee's deserves it's own post. Stay tuned.

I'm Exhausted... but I can't Sleep

So what is up with this? I'm freakin' tired, so tired that I went to bed smelly from my work out and didn't even wash my face because I had such a bad headache last night. I NEVER DO THAT, yuck. I was supposed to call my friend Karen in Ft. Lauderdale last night to catch up with her as truly we have been trying to talk on the phone for months... maybe even a year I dunno... It is 2 a.m. and when I woke up about an hour ago I was so wired that I knew there was no going back to sleep. This does not bode well for the rest of the week.
I think I'm just stressed out (for a lot of reasons) but one main one is that we've had company at our house the past two weekends and now, my Dad called me on Tuesday and he and his wife are coming to stay with us this weekend. I guess I need to wash those sheets on the guest bed. Maybe I should come up with a nightly rate for our guest bedroom.
That reminds me, I'll do a post about this weekend's past events with "The MasterMind" group that we share business ideas (and lots of alcohol and laughter with) in a minute... (yawn.)

I've done it now...

The game is on... I just registered for the Tower of Terror 13K (www.towerofterror13k.com) and I am in trouble. I've got to be able to finish 8.something miles in under 16 minutes per mile with just under 3 months to train for it. And something you probably don't know is that I am the "girl who cried "I'll do it, I'll do it" and backed out of a 1/2 marathon and this very same event last year. Shit. I am so screwed. I have to do it or my name is mud. Main reason I'm doing it? I need to lose 10 pounds before next summer -- 20th high school reunion, I am not going there at this weight. Period, end of story.

T-minus 17 Days and Counting

Jake starts kindergarten on Monday, August 18th. This is a big step. Little did I know that all of those people who say "enjoy it, they grow up so fast" would be so right. I am delighted that the little guy is going off on his own to this brave new world, but at the same time it freaks me out because it seem like just yesterday that he was born. He's going to a great school -- BayHaven, has lots of friends that will be there (Malcolm, Isabelle, Logan and Jack), so it's likely that he will have someone he knows in his class.

I remember my first day of school and I have a lot of great memories of my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Moyer at Tuttle Elementary. Here's wishing the same for Jake. Love you, buddy.

Disappointed Customer

Yesterday I took the day off to bring Jake and Bryce to the Dentist, get their hair cut, shop for school clothes, etc. My dentist appointment was a 9 a.m. I arrived promptly at 9 a.m., got a rude look from the harried (and not so bright) receptionist and was told that my appointment was at 8:15. What??? Huh?? So, I reluctantly left, pissed off at her, but even more peeved at myself for screwing up... or so I thought.

I get my car washed at Johnny's. No one in line. Get car back, inside area still sticky between kids seats and foot prints on the back of both seats.

Go to Stride Rite in Sarasota to buy kids shoes for school. One grumpy old guy on the floor, ten moms ready to use "buy one get one 1/2 off coupon." He is downright nasty, rude and can't seem to find even ONE pair of shoes that I like in our size. More rudeness at the cash register when I try to use the coupon, and even more when I tell him the one pair we got was priced at $5.00 a pair instead of $19.99.

Go next door to Cost Cutters hair cutting place. Lady is nice enough -- just barely social, but I understand, not everyone has a great day everyday... but the cut on both of them is pretty crappy. Bryce's bangs are too short, back is uneven and she missed a huge chunk in the front. Jake has a huge piece in the back that I have to fix when I get home. (I didn't notice it right away or I would have had her fix it.)

Lunch at Pincher's Crab Shack -- awesome! Lady is really sweet, food is good and she is nice to the kids.

Go home. Find the appointment card for the dentist appointment at 9 a.m. I was right. Drive all the way back to dentist because they won't answer the phone, answering service is picking up. What do I get? Not even an apology.

What the hell happened to customer service? I am over it. Would much rather shop on-line and not have to deal with people who truly do not care at all about the people they serve. It is a scary statement about the state of our society and country.

Future Model... you decide!

Bryce asked me to take some photos of her modeling, so here is the best one. This has been going on non-stop since she posed for my friend Michelle's organic children's clothing line (http://www.obliorganics.com/) Christa, I need to know, does she have a future? She sure as hell seems to think she does. :)