August already?

I just cannot believe it's August. Already. I blinked and now summer is almost over.

Here's the lowdown of our happenings since the graduation & cruise:

The teen has made the decision on what his future will hold that I will reveal at a later time. He hasn't told everyone in his family yet (most notably his mother) so I won't advertise it until he does. Just in case the wrong set of eyes sees it. Ahem.

There's been a lot of working and very little playing. We haven't been on the bike once this summer. Blasphemy! I plan to rectify this next weekend...now if the weather would just cooperate.

Speaking of weather we've been sweating. A lot. The norm has been 90+ temps for this summer so it's not been ideal for any outdoor activities. So I've taken to indoor activities like shopping. Specifically Christmas shopping.**

We just got back from an impromptu trip to WV to meet up with friends for a 24 hour visit in the wild & wonderful state. Fabulous.

...and well that's it. Seems like I've been busy doing nothing. How about you?

**Christmas is only 144 days away. How's that for a reality check?!

Baby let's cruise...

A month ago today we were just returning from our graduation cruise. Where has the time gone? While on the high seas the real world takes a back seat. The biggest decision of the day is what to eat.

This is S & I's seventh cruise & the teen's second. Since it was a celebration cruise he brought a friend along and my sister and her friend joined us for a relaxing 5 days aboard the Carnival Glory headed for Canada. It was our first cruise that wasn't going "tropic" but no matter because it was truly Glory-ious.



First I have to mention that this ship had the. best. music. hands. down. I found myself singing in the hallways, in the elevator and of course in the many lounges on board. It was a nice mix of classic rock & popular songs with some dance music thrown in.

Then there were the shows. Oh the shows! If you've ever been cruising you know they like to entertain you with "Vegas-style" shows. Sometimes they hit their mark & sometimes not. On the Glory they had a magic show that was AMAZING. Some of the tricks we could figure out but there were a few that made my mind spin. Making a motorcycle disappear...hello?! I never did figure that one out. Plus their soundtrack during the show was totally ipod worthy.

And how can I forget the food? THE FOOD! It's everywhere. Twenty fours hours a day. Lots of seafood (yuck!) and desserts and...well anything you can think of. No one will ever starve on a cruise.



While the weather was better than expected on this trip (only one foggy day) the two ports of call took a back seat to the ship & the cruise itself. We took advantage of the slight sway and dark interior room taking more than our fair share of naps. It was heavenly.

We sailed out of NYC...



...And went down the Hudson right by the Statue of Liberty


I LOVE this picture of them!


I don't care for this pic as much. I have awful posture.


Ah yes, this is more like me.


Oh Canada! Halifax, NS to be exact.


heehee...Sackville...heehee


Even better than the book version!


Welcome to Saint John...


...where you too can be accosted by a weird albino dude drinking milk in 90 degree weather right after taking this picture...**


...and buy your lobster at good ole' McD's...


...before taking a boat trip to the Reversing Falls.


My only regret is that we had to disembark and come back to reality. I'm already counting down the days to the next one.

**No really this albino dude asked me if I wanted "to have a conversation aye?" to which I replied "uh no" that did nothing to stop him from trying to talk to me. Even after a slight confrontation with S he still continued to follow us for another block or two until he finally said "Hope ya' have a shitty vacation" and then went off in another direction. True story.

Proud moments

While I've been away THIS happened





It was a proud moment for S & I and all of our family to see him walk across the stage. Yep the teen finally graduated and we all sighed of relief that high school was finished over a big stack of IHOP pancakes.

What? We like IHOP. Not to mention it was freakin' 8PM on a Wednesday night and IHOP was right around the corner.

After our celebratory dinner/breakfast it was time to get ready for the graduation cruise. We planned, packed and dreamt of nights on the sea not at all worried about what was to come.

College plans & arrangements were made and only the money part wasn't nailed down. His school of choice had some staffing issues in the financial aid department that caused his paperwork to be sent to us late. "Don't worry" they said.

So we didn't. Then vacation was over and a bill was waiting in the mailbox.

No problem! We had already talked about student loans and narrowed our very small amount of choices* down to one lender - Sallie Mae. Little did I know what I was in for.

First of all, the criteria set by these institutions is just crazy. They really expect a high school senior to make $12,000+ a year? No, they don't but it's their way of forcing the parents to be responsible for the loans.

Not an issue, I thought. Signed my name on the dotted line and told them to proceed. A few days later we got the "good" news - we were approved! Yay! At an astronomically HIGH interest rate.

Uh, excuse me Sallie Mae maybe you didn't hear but I have an 883. In fact Trans Union pats me on the back and says I'm in the top 20% of the nation with that score. Turns out SM could give a darn about any of that.

With this interest rate his loan would be DOUBLED by the time it was paid off, and that's with making a monthly interest payment. Some "they" somewhere makes that decision and there is nothing more that they can do. I can accept it. Or not.

You know what I did when they said that? Bad ass that I am...I cried.

Then I called S & cried some more. It wasn't that we were told no, but it was pretty close because there is no way in hell that I'm going to hinder him (or us) with a loan like that. By the time he graduated he would owe over $100,000.

My God!

S sat him down and explained it all to him. I will tell you as proud as I was when he graduated, it was at that moment that I was most proud of the teen. He took the news in stride, much better than I expected. Then with a very grown, mature attitude he made the decision not to accept that college on those terms and began to talk of Plan B.

I'm not sure where Plan B will take him yet. He's weighing all his options now so there will be an update to come on that but this weekend he stepped into adulthood. And he's walking tall.

My suggestion for any parent hoping to send their little ones to college one day - College Fund. A big, huge college fund. Or maybe start playing the lottery because the costs are only going up.

*Thanks to the new health care plan.

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

A friend sent me this video a couple days ago. Within the email she wrote a few kind words about the teen & how much we will be missed next year.

The closer graduation gets, the more I will realize how much WE will miss them. After 4 years of being involved in the boosters it will seem odd not to be a part of those planning sessions. Not to be a part of the behind-the-scenes crew that makes all of our fundraisers so successful. Not to be with the band when they celebrate their wins & mourn their losses.

It's making me a bit teary eyed and since no one one likes to cry alone, grab a tissue & watch this video.

“Somewhere over the rainbow..."

"...skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true”

Table Topics Tuesday: So many, so little time

what bad habit of yours would you most like to break?

Oh, where to start?

My procrastination? The fact that I take on too much? That I cannot stick to a healthy diet?

Now that I'm seeing in writing it seems they are all related. Because I'm so busy all the time I like to rest when I can rest.

Thank God for Sundays!

And so I procrastinate and things that need to get done don't. Not until the last minute. Then I rush, rush, rush to get it done, often times forgetting stuff.

Like the candle I forgot to turn off when I left Sunday.

Being busy is also my excuse for a poor diet. When we have a function then it gives me an excuse to pick up fast food. When I'm relaxing I can justify that big bowl of ice cream by saying I've already "done so much". When I have time to exercise, I don't have the energy.

I admit they are all excuses because believe it or not there are people on the planet that make time for that sorta stuff. Crazy huh?

Maybe in the next 34 years I can get my act together. Maybe...

Now it's your turn:
what bad habit of yours would you most like to break?

The bug is back

I haven't been here since my last post. Over 10 days ago.

Wow.

I don't know that I've ever stayed away so long. Even on vacation. And trust me this hiatus has not been a vacation.

There was a computer crash. crash, bam, boom, BROKE...

...senioritis from the teen...

...financial aid craziness...

...concerts...

...grandkids...etc, etc, etc.

In other words - life.

I feel the urge coming back though.

The blogging bug.