back from San Antonio

and yet, sooooo unproductive today. I've done a few things, but not one of them was one of the seven things on my todo list for today. Last week I started a new to do list (yes, I know...if you know me you know I have many lists lol)... usually my list is broken down by categories of things I need to do: house things, school (when I was in school), OPA, design, scrapping, photography, etc.... Anyway, I changed it last week to be by day and tried to balance things from each category that I need to accomplish. I have so many different things with deadlines all hitting at the same time and it can be hard to be sure I work on all of them. So today's list included:
1. finish elements for collab kits
2. unpack kitchen
3. work on new OPA Web content
4. finish last kit papers for collab kits
5.order active pins for OPA
6. post monthly OPA report
7. send photos and classified ads for Chevron to Shelley

As I said...I did NONE of those today. I did sort and put away two loads of laundry, unpacked 1/2 of one box in the Kitchen, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, moved the rest of my clothes in the garage to my dresser, unpacked one tub in the living room, made and cleaned up dinner, did homework with Alyssa, bathed both girls, took a shower, and edited a picture! lol So, it's not like I did NOTHING, just not any of what I needed to do. THOUGH, I never put things like laundry, dinner, baths, etc... on my to do list. It never includes housework or things like that..that's just always the given.

So...what's on the list for tomorrow?
1. finish address changes
2. work on new OPA Web content
3. send Chevron to printer
4. order new OPA membership certificates
5. call about OPA nonprofit mail number
6. place photo order
7. finish previews for collab kits

So...that leaves me with 13 things to do now tomorrow (since 3 from today is the same as 2 for tomorrow). I doubt I really can finish all that tomorrow, so I'm probably going to need to REadjust the todo lists. Problem is..remember I said I have a bunch of deadlines all due at the same time? Yeah, well the Chevron HAS to go to the printer by the15th (still needs a few things added plus proofing before it can go), web content is due by the 15th, collab kits need to be done by the 15th, and my monthly report was actually due ont he 10th (but I was out of town).

So anyway...this posting is quickly becoming BORING! LOL

{San Antonio}

We left on Friday morning to head home to San Antonio to see my family and my brother. My brother will be leaving for Iraq Oct. 5, and he was allowed to come home on leave for 2 weeks this month before he goes. My mom planned a really nice brunch and invited all of our family and his friends so we could have a great send off for him. The brunch was really nice and many of us were brought to tears as his good friend and my parents spoke about Bill's upcoming departure. We're so proud of him, but man is it hard to send your loved ones away to a war! I managed to keep myself together most of the brunch and took lots of pictures of everyone there, but after the speeches, Alyssa came to me and and in tears said "mom, I'm really going to miss Uncle Bill." I told her to go tell Bill and give him a hug, which she then ran to do. Bill picked her up and the two of them hugged and hugged and hugged and just cried together for several minutes. That's the point at which I lost it. :-( Alyssa understands Bill is going far away for a long time and to fight the bad guys, but she doesn't really understand the danger. She just knows she's sad he will be gone for so long.

We were fortunate to get several opportunities to spend a little time with my brother over the weekend. There's a lot for him to do to prepare to leave for a year, so we were happy he was able to take out some time to just hang out with us. Today was his last day of leave and then he heads/headed back to Ft. Hood where he will be until they leave next month. I can only imagine how hard it had to be for his wife and my parents to say good bye today. It was hard enough for me to say goodbye to him on Sunday evening.

On a lighter note, a good friend of mine from HS and College happened to also be in SA this weekend while we were there. I hadn't seen him since his wedding 3 1/2 years ago, and the wedding was the first time I'd seen him in about 2 years. He had never met either of my girls and I had not met his little boy yet, so we all met up for appetizers for a couple hours to just chat, chatch up and meet the kids. Hopefully it won't be several years again till the next time.

We also met up with one of my best friends (again from HS and College) that still lives in the San Antonio area. I hadn't seen her in quite a while either (even though I was often in San Antonio to see my parents when I lived in Corpus Christi). We took the kids to Chick Fil A, ate lunch and let the kids play while we chatted.

We flew home Monday night (though our flight was delayed leaving San Antonio, and it took us about 45 to get our luggage) and got home about 2 AM Tuesday morning. It was a short trip really, but we are thankful we were able to go home to see Bill one last time. I now pray that he remains safe while he's gone and we see him again back home completely unharmed. We will be planning some fun care packages to send him monthly to help him pass the time quickly.

While at the brunch, I took the girls outside to take a few pictures of them. I bought these dresses last month with plans to get a picture of the girls next month for their fall 1/2 year pictures, but since they were all dressed already for the brunch and the setting was so pretty, I figured I'd give it a try now. I got several cute pictures, so I don't think I'll have to try again next month. I will still need to try and get a shot of Ky by herself for her 18 month picture, but this one is already done, and I did get a few of Alyssa by herself.

Well, though I've not crossed off anything on my to do list today, and I need to go re-do it now, I still think I'm turning in early. I got a few days of FULL nights of sleep while in San Antonio, and I have to say, I really need to do that more often! lol

Before I go..since I didn't post again last week before I left, I did add a new set of my Snappy Scraps templates to my store at the Digi Scrap Shak last week.

I have several new things I need to work on and add to the store, but first I'm trying to get the collab collection done this week that I've been working on with two other designers. We're hoping to launch it next weekend (sept 22-24), give or take a few days (will post the exact day when it's official). We'll have a launch chat and some freebies, maybe even a contest... so be on the lookout for the official announcement coming soon!!

and with that...I'm off to bed...