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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Small girl, big city

So, today I took my very first train ride AND went to center city Philadelphia for the very first time as well. What an experience. The regulars must have known I was a completely frightened tourist. Every time I got on a train, they asked for my ID. They didn't do that for the others I was traveling with. Just me. Of course, I do look like a person likely to be hiding something (and if you know me at all, you know this couldn't be farther from the truth)! I am the world's worst liar. I had a hard time this past Christmas explaining Santa to my 4-year-old. I could sense he wasn't buying the whole story. But when my husband explained it, he was satisfied. Even children see right through me...I'm just that transparent and naive. So, the big city of Philadelphia was actually pretty cool. I lived in the suburbs of Philly for 2 years when Doug and I were first married and I never once went into the city. I generally don't like to go to places where there are large crowds of people. This makes me very nervous. But I see this year as a year to overcome my fears (ahem...I mean some of my fears. I definitely will NOT be boarding any roller coasters this year, or even before I die). I felt so small in that big city. Of course, I am about the size of a 12-year-old, but I normally don't feel that small. Everything was just so big. The buildings, the people, the crazy drivers... And they could so tell I was a tourist. I even got stuck in one of those revolving glass doors. My bag got jammed and the whole thing stopped. I felt like I was in the middle of one of those VISA commercials where everyone is swiping their cards and the whole process just goes so smoothly until that 1 idiot pulls out his checkbook. That was me today. The idiot. I didn't mind. I'm used to feeling like that. I do stupid things like that all the time. It's just me...

The fun part about today was that I got to come home a little early. Of course, in order to do that, I was up at 4 in order to catch the 6:30 train to Philly. So I got to play with my kids a little bit and get some of our Disney plans in place. All in all, it was a very productive and exciting day. It was also a learning experience, as I find most days lately are. I learned that you really can't fit 2 people into 1 section of a revolving door. I also learned that a little extra QT with your kids can do your soul some good.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

2008

I have great plans for 2008. Many things are happening in my life in 2008 that motivate me to make even more great things happen. I will be graduating from college next Monday. I know this may not be a big deal in some people's eyes, but it has definitely been a long and hard road for me to get to this point. I tend to take the difficult way to do most things, and obtaining my degree was no different. 1.5 years in traditional college right out of high school in 1996, then a long break of 7 years trying to "find myself", and 2.5 years attending college online with 2 small children and a full time job has brought me here. I couldn't have done it without my family and my dad, though. They were my inspiration.

I will also be turning 30 this year. This is also something that some people might not find too exciting or even dread and try to ignore or deny, but I am so incredibly excited to turn 30. I can't pinpoint why this makes me so happy, but every time I think about finally being out of my 20's, I smile. Maybe it's because I look like I'm about 13 (today's 13, not 13 when I was 13 - big difference there). My looks have not changed since I was in high school - literally. I am the same size (I literally have clothes that I wear on a regular basis that I wore when I was in high school), I can't seem to get my hair to look better any other way, so that is the same as well. Moms at my son's preschool think I'm this high school mom and look at me funny when they see me with my 2 kids. When I was pregnant and couldn't wear my wedding rings, I really got the stares! And when I tell them I'm in my late 20's, it really doesn't sound like I'm much older than I look. But 30 seems to me to be the age of finally being an adult. I feel like this will finally make people take me seriously. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but I am hopeful.

We also plan to take a trip to Disney this year. Doug and I went to Disney for our honeymoon and it was magical. I absolutely cannot wait to share that experience with my kids. They already love all things Disney (I wonder how that happened LOL), so this trip should be very exciting for them. I'm a little nervous about the kids' first plane rides (my first as a kid was a nightmare for me and every single person on the plane) and keeping Elizabeth happy and comfortable while in the parks, but people do these things every day, right? We can do this.

So these are the things that will be happening for me in 2008. I feel this will be an exciting year full of surprises. Work is fabulous, we finally have our dream house, and the kids love life right now. What more could I ask for?