Friday Schmiday

Okay, so I'm out of the DFW Murderer's Tunnel, and have been able to process the weekend. It was quite a roller coaster, filled with everything complicated, and petty, and wonderful and thoughtful. I felt homesick, and inspired, and worn out, and energized, all at once. You know how those things go. The best part though, was realizing I already have the pieces. And I think it's true for EVERYONE. That doesn't mean we have all the ANSWERS. Not even close. But I think we always have the pieces we need to at least take the next step. And that's all that matters anyway. You know? Like, what would your world look like if you just decided that you weren't missing anything? 

Okay, I won't go totally Tony Robbins on you. Here is a snap that the waiter took Wed night from girls' night out. It's missing Courtney because she was late. But I think posts are better with photos so here you go. We went to Bistro Thyme on 1604, which I highly recommend...especially the crab cakes and the walnut gorganzola salad...mmm... Plus the waiters are very knowledgable about wine. At least that's the impression we got, after we watched them sample fourteen glasses throughout the night.   :)

This weekend will be non-stop crazy fun. Paul and Kristi are coming down from Dallas to stay. Which means I have to have clean sheets AND groceries all at the same time. Say a prayer for a miracle. AND the guys will be watching SIX KIDS by themselves all day, while we're at the Haute Mama shoot. Say another prayer. They will be needing some major porch time after that.

Okay, Florida.

Are we ready for a meaningless stream of photos that say absolutely nothing about where I was last week? :) Okidoke. I don't know if it's the cobbler's shoes thing, but it's so hard for me to take photos of my own life sometimes. So, here is Pointless Shot In The Bathroom Mirror, number one.

And number two.

We met some great peeps. My favorites were Sam and Kyle from Maine. They were hilarious. Sam had us rolling with her unfiltered one liners. If you're ever in San Antonio, you guys better stop by!

Here they are on the bus, on our way to the party at the Aquarium.

At the party. Smack that, get on the floor! And yes, I do have every intention of being that old lady. Don't know what to tell ya, life is short.

Chillin' until 3am in the hotel lobby afterwards. WOOT!

And do I have a photo of the actual Expo? Of course not. I do, however have one of our feet sitting on the steps outside of it. Riveting, I know.

My favorite shot of the weekend.

Wow, looking at these photos makes me feel like it was a pretty crazy weekend. I promise I learned a lot too. There was a ton of great information, and so many inspiring people. There's just no way I could even begin to touch on everything. My favorite class was a tie between Laura Novak, who talked a lot about vision and business strategy, and Christa Hoffarth, who talked about design. They were both awesome.

So, I could stop here. But you know I have to include the drama. :)

On our way home...

I missed my connecting flight to get home from Dallas. It was the last flight of the day, which meant I'd have to spend another night in a hotel room. Sounds simple when I write it out now. Like no biggie, whatever. But I was at the END of my traveling rope. You know how that is, when you're so spent you feel like someone has taken a tap to your veins and drained out your life force? I'd had about 8 hours of sleep in 4 days. More information pounded into my brain than I could begin to process. And all I could think about was kissing my babies' cheeks and crawling into my bed. Instead, I found myself running around a vacant airport, with strap burns on my neck, crying hysterically. And begging someone to check me in. The security guy said I had time to make it. But the girl at the counter said she "was off." In that moment, I learned what it feels like to be homicidal. For real. At some point, a nice man appeared and helped me (off the clock) find a hotel and shuttle. I got over the yearnings for my pillow, and was fine. UNTIL I went outside and stood in the dark, murderer's tunnel for AN HOUR. Okay, I will admit that I am a total wimp who has watched way too much Dateline. BUT, I have never felt so unsafe for such an extended period. It was literally me and the Dallas DFW sprinklers. No cabs. No workers. Not one traveler. Just me on the street, and an occasional bus. And the killers in the bushes. And Buffalo Bill in his rape van across the street. I kept trying to remember all those self defense moves, wondering if I really could stick my thumb into someone's eye ball...(welcome to the dark recesses of my mind). Anyway, four phone calls later, my shuttle bus finally showed up and brought me here.

Welcome to the Ramada Inn of Irving, TX. Comes complete with curly, brown hair on the toilet seat (and I'm not kidding) and brown mysterious drips of something on the doors and walls. I set the alarm clock on the table, on my phone, AND had them give me a wake up call. There was NO WAY I would be missing my morning flight. Except for that I DID miss my morning flight. Yep, SWEAR. Apparently when people book your ticket off the clock, they go into the Hollogram file. Moral of the story...don't ever book a connecting flight on two separate airlines, especially when it's really late at night. 

Now, totally changing the subject...if you are one of the lucky girls who is signed up for the Haute Mama shoot this weekend, you are in for such a treat! It's going to rock! I promise I will be sending out all the final details/directions as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact me with any last minute questions. And if you emailed or called about getting in, and couldn't, I am so sorry! The response was crazy. And I wish I could fit everyone in, but it's going to be tight as it is. And I want to make sure everyone gets personalized attention. The good news is that I WILL be doing another one soon. So KEEP A LOOK OUT for dates and times for the next shoot. I have a feeling it's going to book up fast again. 

Okay, tonight is girls night out, and I need to get ready! 

See ya'll tomorrow! :)  

We made it!

Kate wants to say hola from Tampa!!

More later gators.   :)

The Bowlings

I couldn't leave on the late-night tired post. Here's to brightening up the day!

How lucky did we get, to find rose petals from a wedding the previous day?!

These are our friends DeAnna and Mike, and their cute family.

 

DeAnna and Mike own Stone Oak Jewelers (link is in the sidebar). I don't know much about diamonds, but I do know that they are very high speed. According to Jason (who is enthralled by their techie-ways), they are one of only SIX people in the country who have this one really fancy machine. I think that is the technical term for it. And I think it digitally draws up your crazy jewelry ideas in 3-D so that you can see what your ring will look like before you buy it. They are good peeps, and totally know their stuff. So if you're in the market for a ring upgrade, or a watch, or new ice for your grill, check them out! 

lower case "woot"

Is there such a thing as saying, "Happy belated New Year!"...? Something about that seems wrong. Like, here's your birthday cake, that I ate. In Hawaii, my mom always told us that the Japanese believe, how you spend the first day of the year is how you will spend the rest of it. So they take special care to make sure the house is clean, and life is in order, and friends come over to visit all day. And since I spent the day in front of the computer, I'm hoping that that belief is a bunch of BS. At least until I find myself in an Irish pub on New Years day. Or swimming with dolphins. Or watching a whole day marathon of 24. Or Orange County Housewives. WHAT?! You know you love it.

Anyway, while the fam was here, I took a few shots of Kellybelly And Her Dancing Doodlebugs. Okay, I don't want to get your hopes up. They weren't dancing. Well, Tom was, but I'm not counting the ballet performance that he did for us on Christmas eve. Truly precious work, Tom. :) Anyway, I had them all ready to post. But the computer locked up. So this is what you get now. A tired, slightly delirious piece of already eaten New Years birthday cake post, with no photos. I will put them up later. Along with the millions of other ones that are still waiting.

What I did finish today was all the new 2008 pricing, and it's in effect! That totally makes me think of Salt and Pepa. Workin' up a SWEAT!

Oh I just need to stop before this post gets any more mental.

I will try to record my adventures with Kater Tot on our trip to Tampa. Or maybe I will sleep all day while she takes notes, and then later gives me the high points over sixteen martinis. Just kidding, that would never happen. I hate martinis.  :0)