I had no idea.......

I had no idea that when the Admissions Director at Auburn told me that we needed to wear our "walking shoes", that what she really meant to say was, "your legs will never be the same again." I'm serious.

I mean....a campus tour, in and of itself, would have been one thing. But in my naivety, I thought that it would be a great idea for us not only do a campus tour, but attend the Engineering Open House as well, AND do two separate housing tours. I mean, after all....no one bothered to TELL me that "The Quad Center" was MILES from "The Village" housing....or that the reason there were so many more openings for the 3pm campus tour was because everyone is DEAD by that time.

Make no mistake....I started out my morning with gusto....taking every flight of stairs with enthusiasm, and thinking, "wow...just think of the calories I'm burning." That was, of course, until the "water I was drinking because I wanted to be good about drinking my water" started kicking in, and I realized that the closest bathroom was up that flight of stairs. No...wait a minute....it was DOWN those stairs....or was it? And, oh no.....where did my group go? Let's just say, shall we, that I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the calorie burning endeavors as the day wore on. And....I would like to say....that Auburn does a good job of maintaining their restrooms. I should know. I visited them all, I think.

And frankly, the only way to truly appreciate my exhaustion at the end of that day, is to look at a picture I took off the top (yes, I said the TOP) of the Haley Center.....which is 9 stories high. Did I mention that I don't like heights? :/



And this is just a small portion of my stomping grounds for the day......I couldn't fit it all in my camera view. Just take this and multiply it by A LOT.....and you'll see why we justified eating dinner here.

And I just want to know one more thing..................

Where have the years gone? It seems like yesterday they were babies. I'm just sayin'.

I Was Determined to Win.....

That's all there was to it.

I'm off today, with plenty of laundry piles calling my name (we have already established that I am an accomplished piler...), but a project that I started weeks ago, was still unfinished thanks to a broken sewing machine, and I was determined to finish that up, so that the pile of material and sewing supplies could be put away.

I suppose a little "rewind" here would be helpful in understanding the story. A few weeks ago, I decided that I would make the boys some curtains for their bedroom. Simple, straight lines.....nothing fancy....out of some camoflauge sheets. Nothing major. However, I got one of the two panels done when my sewing machine broke....after being faithful to me for 27 years. (Yes....I have had it since I was 12...mom thought it would be a good investment for me, and so she made me save my money and buy one....I wasn't thrilled at the time, but really....are we thrilled about anything our mother says we should do when we're 12???) Moving on.....

And while it has been a good machine, I did not feel like "right in the middle of my project" was a good time for it to decide that it was finished working.

So my father-in-law loaned me one of my mother-in-law's portable machines. And this is where the story gets tricky. Because as you can see.....this is no modern machine. Nope....as a matter of fact, it's rather old, and not overly cooperative. So suffice it to say that I was rather excited when I found the paperwork underneath of it, to hopefully help me figure out how to use it!! Unfortunately, the artifact...er....I mean, the directions that I found were not even for THIS sewing machine. (Are you beginning to feel my frustration?) So I begin applying my limited knowledge of sewing machines and finally get it to begin stitching, and I'm thinking....okay....just a few straight lines and I am done with this. That is, of course, until the bobbin runs out. Mmmmhmmm......it did. And no....the little do-hicky that helps wind bobbins was not working on this relic.....so my patience was beginning to run thin. All the while, the box of .....you guessed it....were in my pantry calling my name and promising to make this frustration go far, far away.

But I wouldn't give in. Nope, I just kept pulling and tugging and re-threading, poking myself with pins and cursing under my breath, until finally......I managed to get it to sew a couple of straight lines....well, sort of straight. But who cares? They're curtains, and once they're hanging on a nice rod....who will notice?

And one would think that this was enough frustration for a day, but oh no. Not here at this house. Nope. Gotta' have just a little bit more. You know....opening up the fridge to make a sandwich only to open the jar of mayonnaise and see that it's gone. Gone. Sigh.

Did I mention the fact that there were Girl Scout Cookies in the pantry???? Yep....Thin Mints. But I was determined not to do it. I was not going to blow it, because after all.....tomorrow is weigh in day, and I am 10 pounds closer to my goal.

I think I won today. I'm just sayin'.