The Weary Traveller

Well, maybe I'm not all that weary, but yesterday husband and I went to Iowa to pick up a free car. He was going to rent a car and drive down but when we called to get the car Monday morning they were all out. I decided to go with him and we left at 8:30 am, drove to Mason City, Iowa, had a Coke with Dad and Aunt Margaret for about half an hour, and headed back up north. We hit the Twin Cities right at rush hour, but only had about 5 minutes of gridlock before we hopped off 494 to get a Jamba Juice with our friend Mike. We stayed at Jamba for about an hour, and that was just the right amount of time that it took for traffic to let up, and we drove right out of town with no problem. We arrived home at 9:45pm. It was a long day. But now we have a second vehicle, and we're pretty happy with ourselves for being frugal!

For those of you who thought I was going to Chicago this week, well, I was. Until last Thursday. Last Thursday and Friday I attended some training for my new job. I don't think I've mentioned that here. I got another part time job, and I'm really, really excited about it. I'm working for a program here in Fargo that trains teachers to implement an abstinence program in the schools. My position is Educator Supervisor. I'll be evaluating the teachers to make sure they're complying with the guidelines in the grant. It's a government funded program, and it amazing. I listened to Shelly Donahue from Wait Training out of Colorado on Thursday and my heart was immediately ablaze with passion for this program. I feel like it was one of those "A ha!" moments in life where you suddenly realize what you were created to do. I am pursuing Shelly now to see what the possibility is of coming on staff with her and her co-founder. My goal is to travel the country, speaking in schools and with parents about the issues surrounding abstinence and good relationship skills for teens, as well as to write a book, possibly for parents about how to raise sexually healthy children. The program is so amazing. So, Thursday night I realized that I need to FOCUS. If I'm going to pursue this with all my heart, I should probably not attend the play therapy training this week. Not to mention that charging about $2,000 on a credit card to attend the training when my husband just quit his job is probably not a good idea. So, I cancelled. I feel good about it. I was looking forward to this adventure, but when I look at where I could be going in the next months or years, I'm not disappointed at all.

My best friend, Kris, came up from the Cities to visit me last weekend and we had a grand time! Friday night she got in rather late, after sitting in traffic on 694 for a while, then having to stop for supper and sitting in the drive-thru line at Culvers for over 15 minutes. She was not a happy camper! But, we rented a chick flick that turned out to be really dull, and knit on Friday night. We also had our popcorn with Reese's Pieces and Diet Coke, which is our little ritual. Saturday we started the day with a quick trip to Target, then breakfast at Nichole's Fine Pastry, which was delicioso. We hit the fun little shops downtown Fargo, went to Moorhead to My Best Friend's Closet, where I must have been bitten by something because my lip swelled up like I was Angelina Jolie, and then went to the mall and Old Navy. We also stopped by Carol Widman's for some Chippers! It was a good day. We had a light supper at Taco John's, and then spent the evening knitting and watching a bit of TV. Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast at Starbucks, and then she headed for home. It was a really fun weekend. Gotta love girl time!

Some friends of ours are due to have their baby on Saturday! They're having a boy. Everyone I know who is pregnant right now is having a boy - Evans', Sundberg's, and Hines'! It's crazy! Speaking of that, I was invited to go to my friend, Dawn's, baby shower in April in the Cities. I can't wait to see the bump in person!

I believe that ends the news for the past week. I shall sign off for now.