Can I has nap now?

We are finally home from our family vacation to GenCon.  What is that you ask?  4 days of Geekdom - gaming to be exact.   Role Playing Games, board games, card games, video games...  you get the idea.  The 3 of us went and we ALL went full  on geek.  Here's some of the highlights.. more to come as I am so freaking tired.  Indiana is a long way from NY.

Damn Travel

I'm home finally after 4 weeks of travel since the last week in June.  2 clients (3 visits total) and a corporate meeting.  One thing that I have the hardest time with while traveling is eating.  Most of the hotels have a comp breakfast or in the case of our corporate meeting, we had 3 meals a day plus a snack and booze.  I tried really hard to be good but 1)the food was really good 2)I had to eat and work at the same time 3)I was working in my down time so exercise didn't happen (running through the airport doesn't count).

What is a girl to do?  I would love to try those shakes they advertise from the various companies but I just can't put my faith in a product that costs so much money.  So I went shopping today and picked up Strawberries, cantaloupe, bananas, celery and carrots.   I would love to say no carbs but HA!  that won't happen.  I start clean this week.  No ice cream, no pop, no munching at night.  Water or iced tea (unsweetened stuff I make) only.  Coffee only in morning.  No sugar.  Minimal carbs and walking after dinner.   Lets see if I can get back on track for fall.

4th of July cake

We are heading over to our Niece's house for a 4th of July get together.  I wanted to try something new and here's to hoping it turns our ok.

Strawberry Shortcake Flag cake

The idea is this -- Take some premade cake, some strawberries and blueberries and cool whip..  and WHAM!!  A cake.
Here's what you need.

Cake - I used pound cake. You could use the Standard Strawberry shortcake cake.. or angel food.  I used Sara Lee as it was handy.  1 cake worked.

Cut the cake up

Then layer it in the pan. You may need to get creative to cover the bottom like I did

Then make sure you have enough strawberries to make your flag.  I laid them out to make sure I grabbed enough.

Take the rest and smush them.  I used a quart.  I added some sugar to sweeten them up a bit.  They are not local Berries so wanted to make sure they sweet.

Now, pour them over the cake and then spread the Cool Whip on top.

Lay out the Strawberries to make the Red stripes on the flag

Now, use the blueberries to make the field of blue.  

Pretty huh?  Happy Fourth everyone!  

UPDATE:  It was good.  Not too sweet, just the right amount of strawberry.  Kids even liked it.  Its a keeper.

Really?

I think the kitchen in my room is bigger than the one at home.  I think the Residence Inns may be the way to travel.

are we there yet???

We are in the home stretch for the end of school...  and this is how E and I feel..  

There are 3 full days left (including today) and then 3 half days next week.  On top of it, work is really busy and I have trips coming up.  AND.... we are in full blown Tech month for her end of year performance.

so tired......  so very tired...

All I got in VA was this damned cold...

I spent the week in VA for work and came home with a new laptop and  cold.  I feel like crap.  Everywhere else I have gone I haven't any issue...  but VA.. every single time.  Sick.  Doesn't matter the airline either.

So today I send the kid off to a friend's house for the night and enjoy some adult time with my hubby and friends.  Cider is in order most certainly and a box of tissues.

Recap and lots of Stess

We survived Ohio.  Barely.  I had a wonderful time with my Mom, Husband and kid.
I got my mom drinking :)  Hung out in a hot tub with my friends and drank.  Road a few Water Slides...  and drank.  The whole purpose for going the Kalahari resort was for a dance competition.  A mini Vacation.

I made a new friend in the lobby

Husband found me entertaining 

Rhino..  just because

A bronze Gorilla.

Wave pool...  

Kid in the wave pool

"mom... what are you doing?"

"Don't drop it!  JUST TAKE THE PICTURE!!"

The Kalahari is African themed.  Our beds in the room.  Each bed only had 2 pillows.  so sad

Dessert on the first night.. . most delightful Cheesecake

Even better chocolate peanut butter thing......

The kids just before hitting the stage

My doll.  She worked so hard.  She ended up having several full blown panic attacks that week.  The stress of having to perform for a Grade threw her for a loop.  She didn't want to disappoint anyone and was terrified she would mess up.  Many many trips to the bathroom to throw up and gage... not my ideal vacation but we finally got it out of her.  She was nervous.  

The anxiety issue hasn't stopped either.  We have hit the official busy season - School is ending and she's not getting along with her student teacher.  The final show is coming up, plus the Showcase show and another Competition.  AND... I'm traveling soon.  The poor kid is just so overwhelmed.  

Mornings are the worst but we are getting through it.  Breathing helps and a good cry today seemed to help. I think hormones may have started in as well.  Oh boy.. i'm in trouble.

 

Hello Ohio!!

Shameless plug for a friend

Go Support my friend!!
Artsy Edibles by Barb is a wonderful Mom business and her stuff is gorgeous! Yummy too.  She's having a giveaway for 6 homemade chocolate suckers.  Who in right mind  wouldn't love chocolate!!??!!  And she does My Little Pony stuff too...  how stinking cute!

I love supporting local small businesses and friends braver than I  am to do such wonderful things.  Now, go like her page and go to the Giveaways section.   Thanks!

last minute homework...

Erin asked me if we have photos of my Grandparents and the Husbands Grandparents.  How fortunate she is that we right around the corner from my Mom's house.  I think she planned it.  So Mom graciously lent me some photos.  And I scanned them.

My Dad's Parents and My Mom's Parents

I am such an old photo junkie.  I need to scan the rest of them I have and save them to disk.  They are so fragile now.  

Spring = Ants

This is an ant pile.  In my drive way.  About 9 inches wide.

Its spring so that means ants.  We live in a house that is on a concrete slab.  So, when the weather starts to warm up, my little friends here start to come out and say hi!  They greet me in the kitchen.  Say hello in the bathroom.  And even sometimes get some reading in with Erin.  One of the big downfalls of the area is the ants.  We can usually get it under control pretty quick.  But this lovely little pile of doom showed up this morning.  With all of the rain the last few days, the tunnels under the driveway were flooded so up they come.  And Out I went with the Ant killer.  I understand that every animal and creature has its place.. but damn it, not in the middle of my driveway or in my house.  

Boston

It was 4:20pm when I found out about what happened at the Boston Marathon.  Erin summed it up best
"It could have been a lot worse".  It could have been.  My heart goes out to those in that area and all the families who have been touched by this event.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

― Fred Rogers

Nasty

This is what I woke up to.  I don't even want to know.

so confused

I used to watch General Hospital all the time when I was in JR and SR High School.  I haven't watched it in a looooong time.  It got crazy and well, I lost interest.

The TV is on right now, providing background noise to down out the sound of the wind and rain.  I happen to have on that channel.  All I can say is Wow..  freaking wow.  Still crazy, still off the deep end.  When the hell did Anna come back??

What the...

My job changed a few months back - It was either go on unemployment or join a different team, be a consultant and then travel. I chose the latter as health insurance and paying bills became my priority.  But this led to the family discussion of me being on the road.  We knew going into this adventure I'd be on the road for a week at a time, maybe once a month depending on what was going on.  In July, I will be gone 3 weeks in a row.  3!  Texas, downstate NY and Detroit.  So I told the child about this as she'll need to be in some sort of camp during those weeks.
Child:  Mom, I don't like your job
Me: I don't like my job either.  Why don't you like my job?
Child:  You are never home

Wait what?  I work from home.  I was last on the road in February for a week.  Nothing in March.  And I travel at the end of April and a week in May.  Then I'm home all of June and out for 3 weeks in July.  Now granted, this is kind of extreme and I really don't want to do it either but it is what it is.

Wow.. I'm boring..  not an interesting bit today at all.  Sort of sad if you think about it.  Even my dinner was blah.  Forgot to eat lunch... maybe I'll be entertaining tomorrow.

so for now I'll give you my hubby, rocking out.  'Cause that's what he does

nerves

it was a case of nerves.. she's not happy with the teacher and had a panic attack.  Its all good now.

Suck it up buttercup

School started back up yesterday and someone didn't handle it well.  I was all for it ("get the hell out of my house so i can work in peace!") but E wasn't having any of it.  The now 10 year old had a massive case of nerves.  Anxiety sucks but when you are 10 and don't understand what it is sucks more.  I know I have anxiety.  I know my symptoms.  She on the other hand doesn't.  As soon as I mentioned school this morning the stomach hurt.  And I warned her that there will be no phone calls home (I'm so freaking mean...).

I  totally can sympathize with her.  I get it! I've been there.   A lot.  Pretty much on a daily basis before any work calls that I have.  But I refuse to let her be beaten by this - Suck it up buttercup.  We got this crappy thing called Anxiety and its something a lot of people deal with.  That's the key - we need to deal with it.  So I got her talking about dinner.  She mentioned wanting to cook dinner so I asked her - I changed the topic from school to cooking.  She loves to cook and I will gladly let her cook or bake (saves me from doing it all the time).   I should have picked up on when she was little that cooking and baking would be her outlet.

Stoopid Lactaid

Meds dose 2 has been taken and so far so good.  The only difference..  no Lactaid pill.  Apparently, there is enough magnesium in it that it caused a reaction.. maybe.  That's my guess.

EDIT: 2:22pm - Correction- no vomiting which is good.  But..  she now is dealing with other issues.  Why do antibiotics do such horrible things if they are supposed to make you feel better??