Back from Vacation!

Well we got back on Friday from our trip down to the fantastically goregous and very laid back Lake Chatuge area of Northern Georgia/Western No. Carolina. 

One highlight of the trip was the amazing Shrimp and Grits I had at The Ridges Resort and other highlights would be the kids playing 24 /7 with their cousins. Bryce jumping off a diving board and swimming sans life jacket, the fantastic cooking of my bro, SIL and her awesome mom.

And the big highlight of the trip my brother adopting his step son. Woo Hoo!  Congrats to the whole gang! 

The kids in historic and artsy Berea, KY whilst Tom was on a conference call for work.

I wish this was the view from back yard!

Sunset ahhhh

Patrick and Uncle J at Anna Ruby Falls

A pic of one of the falls at Anna Ruby Falls

Tom make a new friend.

While we were gone Tom's dad was hospitalized and since we've gotten home, Tom has been at the hospital or talking to his dad or his brothers and other family members non-stop.  He is giving his dad a peptalk right now on doing his breathing treatments and concentrating on getting better and getting out of the hospital.  He is a very good son.

Hopefully when he gets off the phone, he'll enjoy a new recipe I found in Real Simple magazine yesterday. It's Spiced Chicken Salad with Plums and Chickpeas  now the recipe calls for Garam masala.  Garam masala is a seasoning blend typically composed of black pepper, cadamon, cumin, nutmeg, etc.  I didn't have any of that on hand but I though it was the perfect time to pull out my Tastefully Simple's Flavors of India Seasoning and it worked really nicely!.

Pizza

So today is my birthday and I'm waiting on some pizza and red wine.  That's all I want, well actually I would like a couple say 2 or maybe 6 cupcakes devils food with white buttercream frosting and some sprinkles.  But the cupcakes aren't happenning because I didn't feel like going to the store today and getting any.  Plus it's only Tuesday and Jewel's Crazy Cupcakes is on Friday.  On Friday the cupcakes are $2.22.  On a Tuesday I think they are $3.99 or more. They are $2.22 good not $3.99 good.

For several hours today the boys got along famously and were talking and talking about the E-rated video game they are going to create that involves, Patrick Starfish becoming a werewolf, Zombie Sea Bears, Plankton having radioactive powers and minions and much much more. That was a nice bday surprise a few hours w/o kids fighting.

Okay don't tell anyone--but frankly I'm more excited about Wed 8/18 than I am about my birthday.  You know why? 
Nod.  You guessed it, First.Day.of.School!!!!!!!!!! Wooo Hooooo!!!!!

Coinciding with Anna's first year of full-time school is that Tom and I decided it would be a good idea for me to find a full-time job and then maybe in a few years --if he didn't get laid off like so many others out there--we would be able to save enough $$ to move down South, where it is beautiful and the winters aren't so dismal.

For the last month I've been submitting resumes and doing phone interviews and personal interviews and getting "Thanks but we've decided to go in another direction" emails from said interviews.  Looking for a job for lack of a better term, blows.  I've gotten many phone calls from companies looking for 'employees' to work 100% commission--who can do that? Thank goodness for the internet and sites like jobvent.com, turns out several of the companies I interviewed with are shady and their treatment of employees makes Wal-Mart look like employee of the year.  All of you out there looking for a job, I totally feel your pain!  It's brutal out there!

Right now I'm backing away from this whole "work full-time do Tastefully Simple on the weekends".  It makes much more sense for me to take the extra time the school year will afford me and rededicate myself to my Tastefully Simple business.  No cubical, no boss, no madatory overtime and I don't have to ask for time off to chaparone a field trip. I've learned I really really have it good, I can work on my own terms. I don't think I appreciated what a life sucking entity a job in 'corporate america' can be these days. I tell you, if I could hug my business I would.  Maybe I'll hug a beer bread?  Or my team members...Look out Team hugs coming your way! I'm very excited approach my business this fall with this new point of view

And I'm excited to share our new Cinnamon Syrup and Flavors of India Seasoned Salt with my friends, why?  Because they are all natural.  And different and fun to play with in the kitchen! I had the Cinnamon Syrup on a Fit N Active multigrain waffle from Aldi this AM.  I gourmet'd up frozen waffles!

Im working on reading a fun book for my next review on thesookieverse.com  Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom.  AND I'm looking to have an epic fall!  Lots of TS parties, the Chicago Marathon and I signed up for National Novel Writing Month :-D