Career Change - Am I Nuts??

I think I have up and fallen off my rocker. I have been doing LOTS of soul searching lately. Lets face it - I'm not a spring chicken any more and its time to decide what I want to be when I grow up. Well, the good news is that I think I have decided.

I am going to TEACH!!

I have to say that I feel very certain. I can't remember that last time I felt such calmness about a decision. For anyone that knows me, you know that decisions are hard for me make these days. I am planning to volunteer as much as I can over the next year at my children's school. This should give me some classroom experience and I will really know that this is right path for me.

I will keep you posted as I go.

Our News Lady!

Practicing with her Co-Anchor

The news room!

First day in the anchor seat!

Kaylea is part of the news production team at Valleyview. This is only open to 5th graders and she actually had to audition. They rotate jobs in the studio every few days so they get experience in all areas. Who knows - she may make this her career path.


She read the news on the first day of school and I watched from the library. She did a great job.

School in at Valleyview

Can you believe it! We are already back at school. I think this has been the toughest year yet. It is the middle of July and we are doing homework and getting to bed at 8:30ish. I hope the rumors are true that this will be the last year for the year around schedule at Valleyview.

First Day of School!

Meeting the Teachers!

Mason really loved his teacher right away. Her name is Mrs. Bowie and the good news is - she has a son starting kindergarten this year. Which means, she know what its like to have a boy.

He looks so cute and eager to learn at his new 1st grade desk.

Kaylea is in a portable classroom this year. She is actually excited about it. It is actually nice.

She got the teacher she really wanted - Mrs. Vega and is really looking forward to her last year at Valleyview. I feel like I just blinked and the years just went away. I can't believe this is her last year in elementary school. It literally seems like yesterday that she was starting kindergarten.

Kenny Chesney Weekend!

The big weekend finally arrived. Bobby and I had a great time in Atlanta. We checked into W Atlanta Midtown (which I highly recommend) and enjoyed being waited on by their Whatever/Whenever staff. You should check them out, they really go the extra mile and the decor is unlike any other hotel. They have this thing call the Acura Experience - they will drop you off at any location withing 5 miles absolutely free. We thought this was really cool getting a personal ride to the concert - but as I said it is only a drop service. The concert ended and 50,000 fans hit the streets and taxis were hard to find.

We went to dinner at Two Urban Licks. I ate here a few years ago and thought Bobby would really enjoy it. It is in the middle of a neighborhood area surrounded by industrial warehouses. The only way you know it's there is by the little sign (pictured in the slide show) at the entrance. It is a converted warehouse with a view of Atlanta and a great atmosphere.

The concert began at 3:30 on Sunday and we were still going strong at 11:30. We saw Gary Allen, Leann Rimes, Sammy Hagar, Brooks and Dunn, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney. I was shocked that I could talk the next day. Lots of singing. Kenny was great as always. I would go again tomorrow. We had great seats - Thanks Honey! and a great view of Kenny. I just love his music. So many of his songs hit close to home for me since we both grew up in East Tennessee. He also sings a lot about his college days at East Tennessee State University where I also graduated. For those of you who don't know - I actually worked with him in 1989. He was a bus boy at El Chico where I worked in college and he played his guitar at parties across the hall from my apartment. He was always playing at local bars in Johnson City. I regret not buying his original CD. You can't find them these days without paying big bucks.

The night before the concert we saw Kenny's bus parked outside Hard Rock Cafe. They were having a battle of the bands to win the chance to sing before the concert. When I first arrived there were only about 15 people stalking the bus. By the time he made an appearance, there was 50 at least. I barely got a picture. I am kicking myself for at least not attempting to meet him on the bus. I wanted to tell the door guards that I knew him college but chickened out. I can only imagine how much they hear of that. I guess I will never know if it would have worked. I am still kicking myself for not trying. Funny thing - Every man that came off the bus and every police officer working the crowd was bald. I think it's a job requirement.

I am ready to see him in August in Tampa. Does anyone have an extra $1600 for me to buy a ticket?

Journey

I was telling my friend Vikki how excited I am about our trip to Atlanta to see Kenny Chesney and to celebrate Bobby's 40th birthday. I told her I was shopping for new clothes (to look nice for my hubby) and she said "In case Kenny spots you in the crowd??" I really don't think this will happen at Turner Stadium (where the Braves play) but we do have good seats so I need to be prepared. Anyway, my point to this story is - I told Vikki how spoiled I am when it comes to concerts. I took these pics of Journey from where I was standing in front of the stage. It was a concert only for the RE/MAX Convention attendees in Vegas. The new lead singer (pictured above) actually touched my hand. If you haven't heard him yet, it is amazing. He sounds exactly like Steve Perry. You can hear him on You Tube in you're interested. I guess they are making a come back - new album and all.

Anyway, it was a funny sight to see all the 30 something gals bellied up to the stage and singing all the songs word for word. I couldn't talk by the end of the night. I didn't even know that Journal sang all those songs.

Ouch!

Today was a hard day for our little Mason. He has been having trouble (how do I say this?) - going poop for about three years. We have made numerous trips to our pediatrician and haven't seen any improvement in all three years. We finally saw a specialist last week after requesting to be sent there. He was great - he told us much of the same things that our regular doctor has been saying but in better detail. He wanted to rule out first that it may be caused by Hypothyroidism (because we have a family history) which requires blood work. I really hated to put the little guy through it but we had to rule out any possible causes. We will have to wait on the results.

We did learn that recovery from this problem will take about 1 year with limited dairy (Oh my!), medication (which he has been taking for years) and lots and lots of bathroom visits. The doctor doesn't feel that at his young age there will be any long term problems. I now have a better understanding about how all this got started and a bigger picture of how to correct it. It was a big stepping stone for us.

Mason was such a trooper in the lab. I think he was in shock for 30 minutes afterwards. He sorta went pale and didn't speak for a very long time. They were wonderful there at All Children's Specialty Hospital. They even sprayed a numbing spray on his arm to relieve some of the pain - Mason said it didn't work! I don't know if it hurt or just stunned him. He did watch the whole thing which is enough to make anyone feel faint. He is back to normal now. A trip to Toys R Us and a new Wii game always helps.