GLEEful

Today I'm riding the wave! Last night I was priveldged enough to experience the GLEE LIVE concert in Chicago. Good friends of mine had a series of circumstances that left them with a spare ticket to the show, and they were kind enough to offer it to me! Believe me, I was thrilled! (And my hubby was kind enough to stay not only with our two little ones, but their toddler as well.) So after a great day hanging out, we made our way to the Rosemont Theatre where we were a part of the "special " crowd...a pre-show, tickets in the first 10 rows, gifts and we even had the chance to meet the two guys in the cast who play "Kurt" and "Finn"! (Very nice guys.) The quality of performance was excellent! They not only sounded & looked as good or better than on the show, it was wonderful to see they had real stage presence & talent, not just something that comes from good television editing. So...here are some shots from the show I took with my cell phone camera:

Rollercoasters...and not the fun kind

I keep trying to stay up, but something keeps pushing me down.
Today my down is my husband.
He's really making me feel like I mean nothing to him.
That I'm a commitment that can't be broken, not something he cherishes.
I hate venting about certain things here, but it is what it is.
I'm not like some bloggers who air all their laundry for the sake of readership & a joke. I'm a journal blogger. This is my space where I choose to be public.
And today I'm upset.

A Fresh Start

As you can see I've "freshened up" the blog for summer.

I'm also working on "freshening up" my life.

In April I attending the Travel Management program at the International Guide Academy in Denver, CO. What an amazing experience! Within hours I realized that not only was I among a group of truly incredible people who have the same sort of interests & passions as I do, but that Paul & I had made the best decision in the world for me to attend. At 40+ I feel like all my experiences have come together & I've finally found what I was meant to do! It was incredibly intense, but I learned so much and I simply cannot wait to get touring! I've made some great new friends, and that was the cherry on top of it all!

Here's to the World!

The Lowest of Lows

Today I found out my unemployement has run out.
We're screwed.
I have NO idea what to do.
I hate this.
I hate me.

Mom

Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere today!
My own beautiful mom is in a nursing home in FL, far away and I'm not able to talk to hear, sadly. But my mom is amazing. She was an only child, growing up in a high rise in Chicago. She was a professional figure skater for Sonja Henie. She was a talented dancer. She was stunningly beautiful. And funny. And could play the piano by ear. And has these long, graceful fingers with nails she's had professional done every other week. She was super blonde with blue eyes. And petite. VERY petite. I don't think she ever weighed more than 112 lbs. at her very heaviest. And only 5' tall and used to wear spike heels every day...and it was hard to keep up with her. She loved to shop. She liked to play Euchre with her close friends Jeanie & Ray. She and my dad deeply loved one another. She made the best stuffing in the world. She loved coffee and ice cream and Fannie May orange peel candy. She and I would sit up at night in bed when I was little, eating popcorn & watching Johnny Carson even though it was way past my bed time.
and I miss her.
and I love her.
Happy Mother's Day Mom. I wish I could hug you "my little mama".