Howdy

My trip through Texas this week has certainly been interesting. I flew into Austin on Tuesday afternoon and drove 30 minutes south to TX State University where we had a few meetings and got stuck in the middle of a severe weather warning. Overall it didn't seem to be that 'severe' but for the middle of August while it was 103 degrees outside it was definitely bizarre (at least to us Californians). Around 5:15pm the sky went completely black, rain started coming down in sideways sheets, winds were expected to reach up to 55mph and the thunder and lightning was incredible. The storm only lasted for about 15 minutes but we (me and my other CA co-worker) were really caught off guard. More so because we were trying to leave the school and drive over 2 hours north to Texas A&M where we were to stay the night and have meetings the next morning. After the storm and before heading to A&M, we swung through Austin and picked up an Austin co-worker who was going to attend the meetings with us the following day. For the duration of the drive he educated us on the traditions and culture of A&M (he used to work with them for several years). He told us that everyone would say "Howdy" and call us Ma'am and being from California, we thought he was trying to pull one over on us and we laughed. As promised, the school reps greeted us with a warm and friendly "Howdy" and called us Ma'am throughout our meeting. As part of our meetings with new schools we ask for a tour of some of the facilities on campus. My favorite part of the tour was when we entered the elevator, went to the second floor and as the elevator doors dinged opened the elevator said "Howdy... second floor".

Time flies

My brother and his family have been here for almost 3 weeks already which means they only have one more short week left :( I knew their time here was going to fly by but geez, it REALLY flew by. I have tried to spend as much time with them as possible which is great but more is always better and I know with one week just won't be enough. I got back from a work trip yesterday and I leave again on Tuesday for 3 more days. I am taking Friday off from work and I hope to spend their last full day in CA with them. I babysat the kids for them overnight last weekend and had them all day on Monday. I realized that as good as they were, they are exhausting! Having two kids in diapers is not only a mess but a ton work. Up the stairs, down the stairs, up the stairs, down the stairs.... in the DVD's, throw the DVD's.... in the bookshelf, throw the books.... up the stairs, down the stairs... feed them, change the diaper...cry instead of napping... My brother and Jill have their hands full!

My travel will continue at least through the beginning of October before there is much of a break but the good news is I'm racking up the frequent flyer miles and have already earned a few free flights. Hopefully Brett and I can plan somewhere good to go :) We didn't take a 'real' vacation this year so we are both looking forward to heading off to a tropical place as soon as possible. The bad news with all of this travel is that I'm exhausted when I get home. I don't want to clean the house, cook dinner, go out, talk on the phone, check personal emails or do anything that requires much thought. Last year during my travel 'season' we hired a housekeeper to help out and I'm thinking it's time to hire another one. I've had a few referrals, which I prefer, but they tend to not want to venture into my neck of the woods and charge more if they do. If anyone has GOOD house cleaners in my area please let me know :)

In other news, I won't be getting my car repaired on Monday as originally planned. For those of you that don't know, I was rear ended almost 3 weeks ago by a young kid who wasn't paying attention as we came to a red light. He slowed down but failed to stop. The damage isn't bad and no one was hurt but I would like my car fixed as soon as possible. The kid's parents had AAA and apparently they haven't confirmed their side of the story with their insurance yet which means at this point my deductible would have to be paid by us and not them. Brett talked to our insurance yesterday and we have to give them one more week before pursuing 'other' action, whatever that means. As much as I hate looking at my rear bumper all banged up, I don't want to pay the $500 deductible and then mess with getting the money back after everything is settled. We have pushed out the repair until after Labor Day but with my travel schedule the way it is it's going to be a pain in the ass to schedule the repair.

And so it begins...

For those of you that don't know I spent the first half of 2010 on a plane. Although the majority of my travel was to a few select states it was pretty extensive for a while. It was not unheard of to go to 2 states one week, fly home for the weekend and leave again on Monday morning. I was recently promoted to a different role within my team and although I'll be working on a lot of the same things it has changed the timeframe of my travel in addition to adding more locations to the list. I will be boarding my first plane for the 'season' tomorrow and will be traveling 2-3 days per week for the next 4 or five weeks. I'm pretty sure there will be travel beyond that but my brain won't let me think that far ahead yet :) The travel is exhausting but I can't complain. I truly enjoy my job and I work with a group of amazing people that have become really great friends. For a few months I ate more meals with them than I did my husband! I am really lucky to have a job AND one that I enjoy so much!

My travel plans in August overlap the time my brother is spending here in California with his family. I am trying to work out days off between my travel in order to spend more time with them. I'm pretty sure Christmas will be here before I know it! This past weekend we spent Saturday at my moms house playing with the kids and hanging out with family. I can't believe how big my nieces and nephew are! I haven't seen Matt or Ana since they came out for our wedding last year and they have grown so much! Kaylynn is so big compared to the little munchkins. Even though she lives here in CA I feel like I overlook how adult she is until she is next to the little kids. She has grown into such a beautiful young girl, I wish her dad was here to see her. And to make her daddy proud, she surprised me with a birds and bees question out of the blue! I was caught completely off guard and the only thing I could think to say was "You need to ask your mom that question". (Sorry Nicole!)