Chicago.

A month ago, Jeff ran his marathon in Chicago. As much as I would like to say that i knew how he did, or saw him run at different places along the course- i did not. I spent the weekend with our dear dear friend Melanie and her family. She has two gorgeous girls who are full of energy and personality and I loved getting to see them and Mel...I hate that we have such good friends who live far away, but being able to spend 3 days together non-stop and talk non-stop just reinforces the strenght of the friendship...Mel, I love you like a sister and each time that we are together-it makes me miss you!!!Here are a few pictures of the girls having a good time- i swear, Lila and Noa could move in to our house ANY time...
We love you guys.

 

Cashiers....

Jeff, May and I on the porch..

A few weekends ago, We were invited to join Jessica, David and Georgia on their vacation to Cashiers, NC. To say that it was a great weekend would be an understatement. This was the first time that we have been on a trip as a family with friends and it was a blast. There were two other couples there with girls all around the same age as May and it was amazing seeing them all interact so well together. Not to mention that how special it was to spend so much quality time with friends. We all are so busy, and i loved getting to know the husbands better and seeing everyone on down time instead of at a party... Thank you Jessica and David for including us--it truly was a treat. Here is to next year--Love you!!!

Georgia, May and Madelyn

vent....

Ummm.. ok, I have had one of the most frusterating experiences of my life unfold over the last few months. I am not sure if you know, but i have been a life and health/securities agent for the last 6 1/2 years since my days in charlotte at the grand ole bofa....(a GREAT employer by the way). Well when i was on maternity leave, my insurance license had Continuing Education that needed to be completed for me to keep my license current. Well, since I was on Maternity leave, it was not completed with BofA. When I decided to work with my dad, i needed to complete the CE. I signed up for the courses online and completed them. Well, when you work on your own versus have someone monitor you licences for you it is a completely different world....So i completed the courses which cost A lot of money ($150) and hired a proctor to come to my house and watch me take and pass each one of the tests for $25.00 a pop. A side note, I failed one of the tests several times, so the proctor had to come back to my house so i could take the test again. All in all, i think that I spent $150 for the tests...Well, the deadline was November 1st and I did everything that I thought that I needed to before that timeframe. One thing led to another and I FORGOT to check with the SC department of Insurance to make sure that everything was Status Quo. Forward to November 2nd. I called the Department of Insurance to make sure they received all of my information.....Here is the cincher, I failed to pay a $50.00 fee, so......I LOST MY LICENSE. AWESOME..... All of that work for nothing. It may not seem like that big of a deal but when working two different jobs and juggling a 10 month old that i love- it was a lot of time and sacrifice. So I move on and have to reapply for my license as a new producer. I call and schedule the exam (65.00) and think that I can study with Jeff's books. What I did not know is that i have to pass a pre-licensing exam which I can only do with purchasing the online study guides and tests (185.00). I do this and have spent the better part of the last two weeks studying, taking tests, generally being in a really really bad mood. So the test was scheduled for today which i took off from one job (grace little school) and get a babysitter==EVA. free i know, but still time for her not to be doing what she wants. I go to take the exam, ready to go and I get to the testing site and GUESS WHAT??????? THE bad word people at the testing site had set me up under my MAIDEN NAME. you know what that means??? I can not take my test because my license doe s not match the test name...GREAT. It is about 80 degrees at the testing office, i am beyond mad and they tell me that I have to call the customer care line and fix the problem. That would be awesome, but it took me 30 minutes of waiting on hold to get through to someone, for them to only switch me back in the Que. AWESOME! Still at the site, i try to explain to the customer care lady what had happened and she gave me some serious attitude. She finally realized that the mistake was in fact theirs, but I can not take the exam because of the name not matching. But, I can call back tomorrow and reschedule for another time. Right. Two hours later, I leave Prometric realizing that I am in fact not in charge of everything and that my 2nd job is lying in the hands of these dumb=a**es somewhere in Minnesota. Whew. I feel a little better, but not until having two VERY large glasses of wine and an equally large piece of chocolate cake. Tomorrow, maybe will be a better day==I hope.

.tagged...

So, I was tagged to answer some questions by Amanda, and since I still am unsure how to link (someone please help me) to other blogs-i will try and post a link to hers later when i can focus a little better!! here it goes:

I am: an overly anxious person who struggles to keep everything in line/orderly etc.
I want: to be a better wife and mother.....
I have: an Amazing daughter and an even more AMAZING husband
I wish: that I had more energy to be as productive as I wanted to be while still maintaining a smiling face.
I hate: that I do not get to see my friends (close and far) as much as I used to (esp since we did not realize how precious that time was)
I miss: my sister in Newberry, friends in far away places and that feeling of freedom that you have when you are young and dumb-like a perfect fall day in college....
I hear: nothing! baby is sleeping and the dryer just finished it's cycle.
I wonder: what life would have been like if I did not go to college in SC.
I regret: Nothing. Everything that has happened good and bad has made me who I am today.
I am not: sugary sweet, but you always know where I stand and I am not mean.
I dance: with my husband at parties.
I sing: Constantly when I am alone.
I cry: reading some people's blogs/ during the evening news/ wherever there is a story that evokes true emotion.
I am not always: the nicest to my husband. Why are we the nicest to others and then you are grumpy with the person who means the most?
I make with my hands: flowers in the garden/ dinner.
I write: not as much as I wish.
I confuse: What is important with what can WAIT.
I need: quiet time.
I should: talk less and listen more...I am working on that.
I start: my day with coffee
I finish: the day utterly content.

If i knew how to tag i would!