5 more weeks....somebody wake me up

5 more weeks... 5 more weeks... 5 more weeks... This is my mantra. as I count down to the end of this terrible semester. Let me just share with you my schedule this week: Monday:3-11 Tuesday:4am wake up and run to catch bus to make it to my first class by 7:45am Finish my last class by 2pm Jump on the bus and head back downtown and change in time for my night shift. Work 3pm-11pm Wednesday:wake up at 4am to catch bus in time...work7-3pm Thursday: Wake up again at 3am to grocery shop...then be back by 5am for my bus run again Out of last class by 2pm Friday:wake up at 4am....catch bus to get to work ...Work 7-3pm...pass out!!! Oh yeah...trying hard to work it....and survive. Why did I do this?!?!? Oh yeah...to be a good example to my kids. Sigh....we'll see how this works. Only one more semester and I will achieve my goal of my Associate's Degree. No, not a Bachelor's or anything but it's a step.

Then...and Now....20 years in the making!!!

It started 20 years ago...a fairytale romance...sorta. Well, we had dark forces trying to tear us apart. We had to fight to be together and it ended up in a marriage...Sounds like a fairytale romance to me. Anyhoo!!! This week Hubby and I celebrated our 20th anniversary in the a remarkable manor...we worked. Oh yeah, we were into the anniversary. Basically, what it boiled down to is that with me in school neither of us could take time off for our celebration so i would need to request off on Saturday for us to be together. And so we did....and I got the day off. Of course with everthing else is our lives there was one catch....it was the Saturday of the Children's Miracle Network Torch Relay. So, Hubby and I trotted off this morning with one of our kids who surprised us by volunteering to help at the relay. We had a blast. We celebrated our anniversary in style by walking a 5k with a couple hundred of our closest friends. We even had some of the guests from out hotel come along for the fun. As always we had fun in anything we do. It's never dull and we partied like rockstars. Afterwards, we signed the bus and grabbed some lunch.

Tonight we dine for a quiet night away from the kids and then we will come home and relax the rest of the night. 20 years wears you out dontcha know?!?!?

D-Day.....**sigh**

Well, it finally happened. I've come into the realization my baby is leaving. While sitting at home spending my free few seconds of my life I found out Rinni's Graduation was scheduled. My daughter...that cute little face I've loved since being yanked out of my womb. Apparently she was happy right where she was.

Just a few days from now she officially puts in for BYU and BYU-I. This has been her dream since she was 5. She even had a BYU Cheerleader Barbie she carried around everywhere. Now, she is a confident young woman ready to take on the world. Seriously...a Mama couldn't be prouder.

The only saving grace is that I am graduating 2 weeks before she does....unless this schedule kills me. Ugh!!! Until then..look out world....Rinni will be unleashed on the world. Good luck world...you've got some stiff competition!!!

So...you're going to pay me to play on Facebook?!

I go by several names at work: Queen of Hsopitality TripAdvisor Darling Associate of the Year (There is no such award at our location) Obsessive Travel Freak I'll go with any of those, but now I am adding on a fun title I never imagined and most likely never expected. Residence Inn in an effort to help travellers is using Facebook to discover our local recommendations. You are allowed to ask questions and wait for a local or expert to answer. Oh yeah....San Antonio is MINE!!!! Mwahahaha!!! Yes, you can go to the Residence Inn Facebook page and look for Thrival Guide. Once you click on that image and pick your city You can look for a variety of information ranging from Dining to Farmer's Markets. This being said....it is new...in its infancy and I haven't had a chance to thoroughly take it over. I'll be creating reviews of locations here in S.A., but for now...I am slowly gathering my info to start invading the web. If anyone has any questions, leave them for me and the the other S.A. locals. We've got ideas for everything from finest dining to a local haunt where we all go for breakfast tacos. From the Alamo to Sea World. For now, I will add on title on Thrival Guide Expert. Boo Yah!!!

Summer Lovin' Havin' A Blast!!!

Ok....So I've been MIA for awhile. It was part mental exhaustion and part just being too busy to want to move when I got home. So, here's what I've been up to. Working....oh so working!!! I am just going crazy working and happily doing so well. The summer was busy with families coming to San Antonio to spend their fun times at the Alamo, Sea World and of course the world famous River Walk. It is a delight to behold. Through all of it I was blessed by the people staying at our hotel how they shared smiles and I was in many of their family pictures because they wanted to to make me part of their memories. It was a blast. I so enjoyed making memories with them all. Then my big day came....VACATION!!!! This has been the first vacation we have been able to go on since losing everything. And this was a vacation that I thoroughly enjoyed. The kids were going off the EFY at BYU....and we were driving from San Antonio. Oh yeah, now THAT is a road trip. Almost 24 hours of driving. We left early in the moring with the girls. We were headed over to pick up Bryan from his scout camp on the way out. We drove about 8 hours until we were able to pick him up and then it was off to Albuquerque.

Ahh New Mexico...the Land of Enchantment. And the most enchanting thing was this picture here. So sweet. We made it to Albuquerque and found our way to Provo the next day.

Now, my oldest, Rinni, has held a dream of going to BYU-Provo sicne she was 5 years old. I am not kidding you when I tell you she asked me how she could go to BYU when she got older. I told her she would ahve to get good grades and work hard in school to make it. The day she stepped foot onto campus I nearly cried. It was amazing to see her light up. To be honest I cried after we drove away where she couldn't see me. We'll find out later how she does when she applies in a few weeks. Once the kids were gone and Hubby and I were left to our own devices that is when the fun begins. Luckily, our friends from Idaho joined us for a few days...here is some of our fun!!!

Everything is Bigger In Texas!

Why yes....it is the truth. EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas.

Why yes, that IS a 3 1/2 pound Cinnamon Roll. We dined on in for a few days. Lulu's Diner is the place we picked it up. Fantabulous!!!! We really enjoyed it!!! And the Chicken Fried Steak...bigger than a plate...DeeLish!!!

Now for the yummylicious on any block. Big Lou's 42 inch in diameter pizza. Oh yeah! Hubby was excited when I brought it home. Big Lou's started it out as a gimmick to bring people in...But their pizza...so worth driving across town to eat at. I had one of my guests bring me some to take home to the family. Oh yeah....sausage and pepperoni. So grateful for my guest, my friend. I appreciated him and the kids' eyes...well they got big too!!!

Death by Cascarones!!!!

Well...living here in San Antonio and moreso now than before since transferring to work at a downtown property...I've been blessed to work an incredibly crazy amount of hours when you try to remembr that I ahve three teens AND I am still crazy enough to be going to school full-time. Getting out....doesn't happen much here. However I've learned a few things about San Antonio since movng downtown. First and foremost....San Antonio is all about celebrating life and all the good in it. I was working during the Fiesta hours readying myself to go home, my relief standing right next to me when my Supervisor snuck up behind me and slammed a Cascarone over my head sending bright colored confetti everywhere, my hair, all over my uniform, the floor and inbetween the keys on our computers. Now, for those of you who haven't experienced a Cascarone it is an eggshell, brghtly colored and filled with confetti and sealed with a piece of tissue paper....like in the picture. Another fun thing about Fiesta is the collecting of medals. There are some truly crazy people here who collect these medals as if it would save their lives. In my first Fiesta I was lucky enough to collect a fair few. P

You don't buy them, you are simply given them. My work gave me 2, the dance club next door gave me two, A city worker, aka an Amigo, gave me one and a few others handed them to me. I was surprised as when they saw you wearing medals people would simply hand you a medal. It was probably the funnest part as my suitcoat I wear at work was covered in medals and I loved like a loon...well, no more of a loon than I usually look I guess. There is a downside to Fiesta, but to those who go to enjoy the mariachis wandering along the Riverwalk, the luminaria, the Night in Old San Antonio festival....it is fun.

A New Year....A New Me!!!

Nope...it has nothing to do with losing weight...though I can guarantee you it would be a wonderful thing....if it happened. No...I am thinking more of my attitude. I've always tried to keep upbeat and that has shown through, but my life is getting now in order more than anything and I am thankful for it.

I love my job at the front desk of the Residence Inn. There's nothing like knowing my job is to really get to know the guests and spend my time talking and showing them the best of San Antonio. So fun!!!

My kids are doing so well in their perspecitve classes. Yes, there are challenges. There are always challeneges, but we still push on.

School starts up again this week and I am thankful I was able to receive enough mony on my pell grant to supply me with a new computer to bring with me as I travel to and from work....oh and there is free wifi on my bus. Life is good.

So, when the challenges hit this year I will continue to push on in hopes of making this new year more fantabulous than anything. We'll see how that goes!!! It's onward and upward!!!