Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Have you missed me? I am stunned that it's been 2 months since I've written anything. At least I have a pretty good excuse. What's that song lyric about "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans?"

As I posted here, I started the project of 101 things in 1,001 days earlier this year. One of the big things on my list was to move my family into a bigger home. It's actually #65 on my list. Well, as of June 29th, I marked that one as complete!

It was CRAZY how quickly the home buying experience went. I mean, we went from not actively looking AT ALL, to stumbling upon this house, making an offer 4 days later and closing on it within the month. Talk about a whirlwind. And then there's this little issue with our old house not selling yet, but let's not go there in this post.

We are beyond excited about our new home. It's more than double the size of our old place. My girls have plenty of room to run & play. I now have a home that I can entertain in and be thrilled to invite friends over to. I'm already envisioning holiday memories and decorations that I've always dreamed of creating. And although we are not quite 3 weeks into our new place and still swimming in packed boxes, this place already feels more like home to me than my old place ever did.

I promise to have pics up this week and to get back on the blogging train. I've missed it. And I've missed you.

Emotional Overload

GAH, I need to vent. Sometimes I really despise my propensity for getting overly emotional about a situation. I think it stems from years and years of bottling emotions as a child because now, it takes virtually nothing to get my tears flowing and then I can't shut them off.

Today was the last day of teaching for my Spring semester of Kindermusik and it's sad because I get so attached to the infants & toddlers (and parents) in my classes. It breaks my heart that in some instances, this might be the last time I see them because they either move on to a different teacher or they leave the program totally. It's the 1 aspect of teaching that I will never be happy about. So, I'm already emotional about that fact this week.

And then, last night I received a call from the woman who will be Little A's Pre-K teacher in the Fall at her new school. And it broke my heart. It wasn't the teacher that I requested and to say that I'm upset about this turn of events would be the understatement of the year. It's not that I have anything against this new teacher, but her classroom decor leaves a LOT to be desired, especially compared to the classroom that Big A has been in this year. And Little A was so excited about having Big A's teacher as her own.

After the crappy year that Little A has had at her old preschool, I feel like she is yet again getting the short end of the stick and it makes me so angry. And the worst part about it is that I'm pretty sure there's not a damn thing I can do about getting her teacher changed. Man, I hate all of the drama surrounding school issues. I don't know how my parents survived it.

Table Topics Tuesday: Honesty is the best policy?

This week's topic is:

is it harder for you to speak kindly
or honestly?

I really had to think about this question because I strive to be both kind AND honest when speaking to others. However, I guess when it boils down to it, it's probably harder for me to speak honestly. I would imagine it has something to do with how I was raised.

It might sound like a cliche, but I think that people in the South are inherently taught to sweeten everything that we say (good and bad). Many times, I have been known to not say a word to someone who just annoys the hell out of me because my grandma always said "if you can't say something nice, then just don't say anything at all."

Honesty might be the best policy, but sometimes I would rather keep my true feelings to myself rather than intentionally hurt someone with some unkind words.

So, which is harder for you?

101 Goals in 1,001 Days: Update #1

So, it's been nearly a month since I started this project and as with most new projects in my life, I've started off with a bang! Let's check in on what I can cross off my list so far.

#12 Read 100 Books (I have read 3 books so far. Lost & Found, A Three Dog Life, The Fey)

#18 Craft with friends at least once a month (We got together in April to scrapbook. I finished our Disney Family Trip album from 2008. Yay!)

#51 Grow an herb garden (Ok, so technically it was already started in the pot that I purchased, but I have to get credit for not killing it yet. Right now I've got basil, thyme, rosemary, & oregano)

#63 Start a review blog (And you can check it out here)

#67 Inspire someone else to make their own list (And you can check out my buddy Shannon's list here)

#83 Play my own lottery numbers (This was fun! I try not to put a whole lot of thought into stuff like this, so I just chose some numbers that had significant meaning to me and played them. I didn't win a thing.)

#98 Take dinner to a friend (My friend, Diana, had a baby boy last week and she requested my homemade lasagna. It was so thrilling getting to see her new baby!)

I'm off to a great start, I think and I'm excited to see what kind of progress I make in the next few weeks!

Have you started a list? How is it going?

24 Hour Giveaway Announcement

Please go check out my 24 hour giveaway on my review blog. There's opportunity to enter 123 different giveaways that range from jewelry to books to giftcards. Great stuff!!

It's time to come clean

I read a LOT of blogs out there, but among my favorites is one written by Happy Hour Sue. This week, Sue talked about her affinity for Facebook (a site that I waste entirely too much time on) and the fact that she's the member of a group called "Things I'm Embarrassed to Admit I Like." Which got me thinking.

And so I present you with Things I'm Embarrassed to Admit I Like.

Hoarders on A&E

16 and Pregnant

My incredibly ugly black Crocs

Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood

Robert Pattinson (in any role)

Pajama Jeans (however, I haven't ordered any yet)

ABBA

Dog the Bounty Hunter

Smitty from Imagination Movers (for all the wrong reasons)

Judge Judy

Reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, Gilmore Girls, & worst of all The Golden Girls

Farmville on Facebook

The Millionaire Matchmaker

The Real Housewives of New York, the OC & New Jersey

Rap Music

The Girls Next Door

Perez Hilton

Ok, I feel better now. What are you embarrassed to admit liking?

I promise, no judgement here.

Meet the Queen

I am so happy to announce that a project I've been working hard to realize has finally become a reality! Today, I'm pleased to announce the launch of Queen of the Castle Reviews.

This new site is going to be my forum for honest product & service reviews and will also have a money saver/couponing component to it eventually.

I'm kicking things off with a giveaway over at my new site. If you are interested in a $25 Amazon.com shopping spree, head over to Queen of the Castle Reviews to find out how to enter. And thanks for helping me launch this new site!