Happy St. Patrick's Day

I cannot believe it is already March! The month has flown by in part to my new job. I started training at a call center for Starwood Hotels on March 3. The training is 3 weeks long and I am looking forward to graduation on Friday. In an effort to be kind to myself and implement some balance in my life, I have taken this job. I am still running Signature Journeys, but on a smaller scale. I worked myself into the ground last year and realized that is no way to live. My girls (Kim included) deserve better. I deserve better. So, I spend my mornings with Signature Journeys and my afternoons with Starwood. I absolutely love the Starwood family, who owns Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridian, the W, and many more. The Austin call center has been here for 24 years and I am amazed with the number of people who have been there about that long. I feel good when I walk in the building and I feel appreciated. This is a brand new experience for me.

The training schedule has been difficult because I don't get home until late. I miss having dinner with the family and even the night time routine. Kim is doing an awesome job. We definitely appreciate the weekends more than ever. We are getting to know our incredible neighbors and we love them! There are two children on our street who will start kindergarden with Maddie. Kim organized a Cul-du-sac Cookout Saturday night where every family brought meat for Kim to grill in our driveway. We sat outside until we couldn't see each other anymore and then moved inside. The kids rode bikes and played games. The adults sat in lawn chairs in our driveway while the kids ate dinner on a huge quilt in the yard. The last person left our house at 10:30 Saturday night. We had so much fun! We have new neighbors from London and we enjoy their lovely accents! I've never experienced such great neighbors!

It was in front of all the neighbors that Maddie had her first crash landing on the bike. Here she comes down the hill at break neck speed and crashes. Kim throws her plate of food and starts running. Our neighbor Allen, who turns out to be a nurse, starts running. Erica, mother of 2 from a few doors down, starts running. Me? I covered my face with a napkin because I couldn't bare to see the blood and teeth and skin that would surely be on the pavement. Believe it or not, she didn't even bleed! She screamed like a banchee (sp?) until someone brought out a popcycle and she was fine. Scary!!

I finally took the time to scan the picture Maddie drew of her family. You will notice Kim has the spikey hair. I have a big smile. There are 2 dogs - one with only one eye. I love this!! Enjoy!