November 2008 Archives

Fall has officially arrived. We've taken the babe on at least three hay rides, the mums are sitting pretty on the front stoop of my house and college football is well under way. Yup, it's fall.

One of my favorite things about the fall is spending time outside -- the air smells crisp, the leaves are just starting to change to all of those magnificent colors and we have a couple of long weekends coming up that just beg for weekend trips.

My husband loves football -- but not just his beloved Giants, he is even more passionate about USC and college football which means that there is pretty much always a game on our television. Now, this could drive me nuts but it actually has worked to my advantage. Last year we headed out to California for some sun, time with friends and ... you guessed it, a USC football game. We had a blast!

When I think of my ideal vacation, I imagine sandy beaches, oceanfront views, long, lazy days of reading, lounging, snacking by the water followed by candlelit, romantic feasts in the evening.

My husband has a very different picture in his head. He loves to explore new cities, drinking in the culture and the local beer. He wants to see everything that he can, to be immersed in a culture while he's there and then move on to the next.

This makes for some interesting travel for the two of us. For example, he thrived on a whirlwind 10-day trip that included Bruges, Belgium; Vienna, Austria; and Bled, Slovenia. Now all of those places are beautiful, yes. In my world, however, that would have been three separate vacations. Not one. My husband loved the excitement and adventure of it all. Me? Not so much.

Don't you just love when you reconnect with old friends? I was recently on Facebook (yes, totally addicted) and saw the most stunning pictures from a friend's wedding. After checking out the pics a little more closely, I realized that an old college friend had become a (really great) photographer. Of course, I had to write to tell her how stunning her shots were.

Now, if you are anything like me, you totally love your digital camera. Not because of all of the fancy things that you can do with it but because of that super, fabulous, magical "delete" button. Yes, I get some cute shots while we're on our trips but I still end up deleting many of the shots that I take. And let me tell you, I take a lot. It's amazing how many pictures I have of the wee one in his first year and a half.

During my mad dash to the vending machine for a quick sugar high at work, it popped into my head that if I had to pick any super hero skill, it would be to freeze time. How fabulous would it be to add hours to your day?!

Not the kind of freezing time where I'm the only one not frozen (what happens to those other frozen people? Do their brains just seize up and stop working? Hmmm. Something to ponder when I have more time), but the Evie from "Out of This World" kind of freezing time where I can touch those around me with whom I want to spend that earned extra time. Love it.

My guess is that every working mother out there feels the same way. When you're at work, the days just fly by because there is so much to do and you know that once you get home and get dinner cooked, homework done, night-night routine complete and the second dinner prepared, you are flat out WIPED! Forget doing anything else but maybe reading, begging for a quick backrub and passing out après baby-bedtime. Until tomorrow. When it all happens again. Good times.

There is something about being on a golf course that completely relaxes me. The smell of the dew on the grass first thing in the morning. The dizzying shades of green, blue and tan (though you do want to avoid the bunkers!). That little glimmer of hope on every tee, the sense of peace everywhere on the course. I worked in the golf industry for years before becoming a mom and working at Wyndham Worldwide and I've always loved being involved in golf tournaments.

I was thrilled that I was able to attend the Wyndham Championship (a PGA TOUR golf tournament) last week. My husband was teasing me because I was just so excited to get back to a professional tournament -- "Will you even be able to sleep?" he asked while we were getting ready for bed the night before I left. It reminded me of those nights before big vacations when I was younger, so excited for the adventures that lay ahead. And, an adventure the Championship was!