Search and Rescue...

Call off the dogs! I've been located! After receiving the "B Club Infraction Notice" this morning, I decided it was time to check in with my girls before the next knock at my door was either someone with the Department of Homeland Security, or Tonja with a pail of tar and the rest of the B Club girls with bags of feathers! Oh, it's so nice to be reminded how loved I am, even if it's in a 'kick your butt' sorta way! Seriously, thanks girls for being concerned and missing me!


It's more of the same around here, except with an elevated stress level that's off the charts! I'm still working hard at the school during the week, real estate has picked up on the weekends since I'm working with several clients, and I'm chin deep in financial aid forms, scholarship applications, essays, etc. not to mention the trip to Disney that I'm in charge of for our school's band that's coming up next month.

Almost every evening, I'm working on paperwork from the time we finish dinner until it's time to go to bed. I spend hours on the internet finding scholarships, pouring over information on the UCF web site trying to make sure I've completed items on their "to do" list; staying on Zack to make sure he's writing his essays in a timely manner; responding to about a dozen or so parent emails with tons of questions about the band trip; updating the band blog so I can cut down on my parent emails; and occasionally doing a load of laundry or two. Most of the time I'm so tired, I can't even begin to form two sentences to blog about.

And then the tornado that blew through here two weeks ago puts all my "stuff" into perspective. There were several families in our church that lost their entire homes along with a lengthy list of those that received major damage. Zack was supposed to go to work that afternoon at 3:00 p.m. which was right when the tornado hit the very same exit where he works. Just a mile or two down the road from his job, there was complete devastation. Needless to say, he didn't go to work since we were "hunkered down" under a tornado warning and the mayor had enforced an immediate curfew. Thankfully, there was no damage in our area. A few days later, we rode through the worst hit subdivision which is beyond any description I could give--the pictures don't even do it justice, but I'm posting one that sums up what's important...

I'll leave you on a much happier note---our school's Drama department performed "The Scarlet Pimpernel" 4 nights last week/weekend. Zack played "Coupeau" and even sang a solo! Hello! I was so impressed and proud! I didn't know he had it in 'em! It was great! After seeing it every time (we had to be there to open the coffee shop during intermission), I am so crazy about the music! I had never heard it before, and being the literary ding-a-ling that I am, had never heard the story before either. That's Zack, the skinnier soldier...

Zack sitting at the table and his (real-life) girlfriend, Christy, with her arms around him...

Guess I've been living under a rock. A big, heavy paperwork rock. Now I know why paper always beats out rock in "rock--paper--scissors".

Oh, the weight...gotta go try to dig out.