Where is that life I was waiting for?

Months ago I blogged about life slowing down a bit...about graduation...time to garden, season passes to the water park, shorter work hours...and yet, I have not had the chance to experience much of that. Besides longing for the down time, I find myself going back to school in August to get two more certificates. Today was my last day of work for two weeks. Not really, cuz I'm going to go in a few days to get caught up, but really...I don't HAVE TO work for two weeks. During this time of course...I have a HUGE to do list! This list primarily has to do with long overdue tasks that await me here at home: Cleaning the garage, catching up the laundry, cleaning the scrap room, cleaning my bedroom...and once those projects are done...it is time to start remodeling this house. Our bathrooms sorely need updating...and so does our kitchen. The kitchen is a huge project that will have to wait...but there are many other things that need my attention. Over the next two weeks I'm going to try hard to stick to a schedule so I can get a lot accomplished. I also want to spend some R&R time at the water park with the kids. So far we've had a cold rainy summer and haven't broken 80 degrees yet. This week the 80+ sunny days are finally in the forecast. You'll find my butt floating down the lazy river....ahhhhhhhh.

I've tried desperately to see when we can get a vacation in this summer. I think it's going to be a spur of the moment thing...I have a few destinations in mind. What I want to do is wait til the last minute...get the best deal on a condo that isn't rented and go to the beach. That's the plan...we'll see if we can get it done. My girls are heading to Arizona for a few weeks. It'll be really quiet here, that's for sure. The Mama is having knee surgery and will need the help. Her surgery is scheduled for a time when I'm out of town for training of course...so I can't go. Hope she recovers quickly so they can have a little fun while they're there.

My sonshine is really busy with driver's ed, passed his permit test, and as soon as we have a few minutes, we're gonna get down to the DMV to actually get his permit. Y'all might want to limit your driving time after that, cuz he's rather a scary driver! Here's hoping that improves real quickly with some practice.

I hope this week to catch up on blogging a bit. I've cut my blog sidebar way down to just my very favorite blogs...and still have a hard time keeping up! Oh and did I mention I'm about 23 hours behind on TV. Should a person really have to schedule TV time into their life or should I just forego TV all together? The thought has seriously crossed my mind.

On today...the longest day of daylight of the year, it has been pitch black here most of the day. It seems finally the storm clouds have cleared and as I look out the window, it seems we are in for a beautiful sunset. It hadn't stopped raining for more than 10 minutes when the girls both headed outside...they were more than tired of being inside all day!

I try not to talk about work...but here's the thing...my job is still wonderful. I still enjoy it and appreciate it every day. Today I got a letter from my boss thanking me for my valuable contributions to the organization, along with a commitment to pay 100% of my tuition, books and fees for my next degree. Have I mentioned how much I love my job? And need I say why? The place I work now has employee appreciation down to a fine art. I am grateful every day, especially in this economy to have such a wonderful fulfilling job. Now, I need to set some goals to get my house organized, my kids ready for school (I know it sounds like forever away, but they start school again in 2 months which is 4 short paychecks away), and take some time to spend time with the ones that mean the most.

Have a wonderful Friday Blog friends...and stay tuned for frequent updates of all the progress around here!