The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah

I'm really into Kristin Hannah books right now. This is the third one I've read in just a few months. I love her books, I start them and then I can't put them down!!

I started this one right after On Mystic Lake. But when I went to NYC, I took my Kindle and started another book there. So.... it took me a bit before I picked this book back up. But when I did I finished it in a day.

This is the story of Angie Malone, a recently divorced woman who goes home to help her family's struggling restaurant. She wanted a baby more than anything, and that is what tore her marriage up. A parallel story is that of Lauren, a high school senior who lives with her drunk mother.

Their lives connect and things happen. That's all I can say without giving away the book. But trust me, this is a good story. The ending will surprise you!

Mo's Review:
"The Things We Do For Love" by Kristin Hannah, (2004, 388 pages): 5 out of 5 Stars

It's finally here - the Big 4-0!!

Well, so after a year (or more) of speculation, my birthday is finally here!

And it was rather anti-climatic...... and I mean that in a totally good way!!

There has been build up... surprise party at school, trip to NYC, etc... so it was kind of nice when I woke up today and it was a rather calm and peaceful day. I answered texts and FB wall comments, but I also paid bills, did laundry and worked on my to-do list for the move.

Mom and Sarah took me to Cheesecake Factory tonight for dinner. Sarah gave me a gorgeous Tiffany necklace and two charms - I love it - so beautiful!! Mom gave me money and a book.

The celebrations continue tomorrow and Wednesday, lunches and dinners with friends and other family members to keep celebrating..... I love when you can drag a birthday out much longer than just one day!!

Thanks to everyone for their texts, notes, cards, and phone calls. 40 isn't that bad.... so far!!

Best of NYC, Day Five

Laura and I slept in a bit, then got up, showered and packed. We checked out and had some breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We wanted to hit a museum before we went, but we decided to go to the TKTS booth and see if there was one more show we could catch. We wait about an hour in line (during which the sky opened up on us and rained), and we got tickets to see Billy Elliott.

Since we hadn't really done any souvenir shopping, we wandered Times Square, picking up little gifts for others.

After, we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe for a drink and to just relax and chill until our show began.

Laura and I then went and saw "Billy Elliott" - it was incredible! I was so glad that I got to see that show - it was an awesome way to end NYC!

After the show, we went to the hotel, got a cab, loaded up, and headed to the airport. It was a great five days, but exhausting. Travelling in a large group presents challenges, but I think everyone had fun and got to do/see what they wanted.

Until next time, NYC.........

Best of NYC, Day Four

Saturday morning, Norma and I headed to Carnegie Deli for breakfast. It was really good, and you got too much food!

After breakfast, we headed to the Plaza Hotel to meet the Sex and the City Tour. It was a lot of fun, we stopped at the Pleasure Chest, Buddakan, West Village, and at O'Nieals. This is the building that is used for the front of Carrie's apartment (she supposedly lived on the Upper East Side, but this is West Village). We also got to eat a cupcake and have a Cosmo. It was a lot of fun.

After the tour, Norma and I wandered around Bryant Park and the NY Public Library. We were so hot and tired, we headed back to the hotel for a little break.

Laura and I went to Greenwich Village to go to the Comedy Cellar. We stopped at Washington Square Park and just hung out there before the show. I love this park!

The show was really good - had several comedians that I had seen on TV. We headed back up to Midtown and spent a few minutes in Times Square.

We went back to our room and crashed. By this point, my feet were hurting and I was getting tired. I was ready to go home!

Best of NYC, Day Three

On Friday, the weather was much warmer than it had been the previous few days. We got up and did the downtown double decker bus tour. We got off at Battery Park and wandered around, this is the fountain at Bowling Green.
We walked up to Wall Street, wandered around, took the subway to Canal Street, wandered around, and ended up in Little Italy for lunch. Pizza and gelato - yummo!

After lunch, we went to the Empire State Building. We went to the 86th floor observation deck - I've never done that and it was really cool to see NYC from that perspective.

We were all so hot, sweaty and gross, we headed back to the hotel for naps and showers. We went to see "Rock of Ages" - it was awesome. I was on the second row right next to the stage. Constantine sweat on me! It was so much fun to see the show up close like that. Afterwards, Kim, Danyielle, Laura and I waited at the stage door for autographs and pictures.

Everyone in the cast was so nice and it was so much fun! Laura and I headed out with Rhonda for a drink and to catch up... another late night!! Once Laura and I finally were comfy and ready for bed, lights out, we get to listen to the horns and garbage trucks. NYC definitely never sleeps!!

Best of NYC, Day Two

On Thursday, we got up early to hit the town. We did the double decker bus tour of areas above Midtown. We ended up in Harlem and saw the Apollo Theatre, which was pretty cool.

After the tour, they dropped us off on Central Park South, so we wandered around Columbus Circle (I bought a REAL coach) and then we went to Strawberry Fields in Central Park. So cool....

After that, we walked around the park a bit, then ended up at the Boat House, having a couple of beers and some appetizers looking out on the pond. The weather was cool and breezy, it felt fantastic!!

We wandered around Rockefeller Center and Times Square, then came home and rested. Laura and I had dinner at Joe Allens, then Norma, Laura and I saw "In The Heights." It was a terrific show!

We were up in the nosebleed, so during the intermission, I asked if we could go sit in a box, and they let us. We were like 10 feet from the stage - it was awesome!!

Best of NYC, Day One

We landed about 5:30, went to our hotel, checked in, then headed to Serendipity for dinner. It was yummy!!

On the subway back to our hotel, someone (me, but shhhh) got the idea that we should go to Coney Island. An hour and a half later, we get there. Here's outside the subway station.....

Pretty much the only thing open was Nathan's hot dogs, but we were full. A cop told us to get back to Manhattan, so we just stood around, took a few pics with the NYPD, then headed back.

At least we can say we've been to Coney Island.......

We are off to NYC!!

In less than an hour, 10 of my friends and I are leaving for New York
City. It's going to be an amazing weekend!

I'm testing my ability to send a blog entry via my iPhone so I can
keep you posted about our adventures. Hope it works!!

Here's what is ahead for us this weekend: dinner at Serendipity,
seeing "In The Heights" and "Rock of Ages," doing the Sex and the City
tour, going to the Comedy Cellar and the Statue of Liberty, and
hitting Canal Street among others.

Stay tuned for more adventures!!

My Trip was a Total Success!!

I got home last night around 11 PM and all I can say is that I love Bastrop!! I had a very fast and furious two days, but it was wonderful.

I got all of my stuff dumped into my office and now a great project of moving and sorting all of my stuff to set up my office awaits me in July. I love the color blue they painted my office - it's going to be a beautiful place to work!

I love, love my AP. I think we are going to be a great team and we will make our school an awesome place to work and learn!

I got my living arrangements settled: apartment, utilities, Maude's registration. My apartment is so cute and I have a garage close by, so that all worked out very well.

I met the administrative team for the district and I'm excited to get to know them all and work with them. They seem like a top notch group of people. I already LOVE the elementary principals and know that we will make a great team - one not to be messed with!

And as much as I worry about Bastrop being so small, I loved it. It has a lot for a town that size and there are so many neat little shops and restaurants, it'll be so much fun to show people that come and visit. Yes, sushi and Hobby Lobby are now a 30 minute drive, but it means less impulse shopping, which is a good thing.

I made the right decision to head south in July.

First Step Towards the Big Move

So this morning I'm heading down to Bastrop to check it out. I'll pick up Kathy in Waco, where she's been at her 25th high school reunion. I've got my Dad's Explorer and it is packed to the brim with all of my office stuff. Today I'll meet my new AP, Michele, and we'll dump all of the stuff into my new BLUE office. I'm excited to meet her as I've enjoyed our chats and e-mails up to this point.

Tonight Kathy and I will have dinner with the other elementary principals. Some we met at our interview and some we'll be meeting for the first time. I'm excited and I look forward to building relationships with them.

Monday and Tuesday are full of meetings - long days of meetings. I hope to get all of my HR paperwork done and pick up my laptop. Lots of people to meet and lots to discuss. Hopefully I'll feel more comfortable when all of this is over.

I will also be finalizing my apartment arrangements and making sure I'm ready to move on July 15. So much to do in such a little time. I think it'll be good to get down there and start to get settled. I'm bringing my camera, so I will post pictures when I return.

Then when I return, it's off to NYC!!!!

Boys II Men were right, it's hard to say goodbye!

Today ends a week of saying goodbye. Last Friday was the last day of school with kiddos. It was hard to tell them and the parents goodbye. I cried at our end of the year slideshow, which makes me think back to all of the great memories we've had this year. It's been a year!

Monday, I said goodbye to the teachers. I thought it would be hard, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I think maybe I had worked through a lot of my feelings prior to that. They gave me a really cool insulated Moving Day bag, with tons of stuff that will be helpful while I'm moving to Bastrop. They also gave me a ring of notes from all of the staff, which meant a lot to me. I sat in my office and cried when I read it. I just reread it and I cried again. Now, I'm gonna sound like a bitch here, but I would have loved to have had a plaque or pictures that I could put in my new office.... but it's okay. (Ed.'s Note: I know I sound like a bitch, but it's my blog, and I can say what I want!) I have a feeling that my ring of notes will be in my desk drawer and a constant reminder of my time with them.

I said goodbye to my assistant principal on Tuesday. I cried again. It was sad because we are such a good team and we've built such a good school. I pray that she gets my old job as she is ready and deserves it. But I've hoped other things for my district that haven't happened, so I don't know....

And yesterday, I said goodbye to my receptionist and my PEIMs clerk. I cried again. (Ed.'s Note: I've cried more in two weeks than 2 years... and my eyes are a red mess. I look awful!!)

I'll say goodbye to a few more friends after we get back from NYC.

It's just a lot of goodbyes. I'm not good with emotion, so it's hard on me. My last day with my job is June 30th, then I'll have to say goodbye to my secretary. Another hard one. I'm curious if the district will do anything for me when I leave. In the past when another principal left (who had only worked two years), they gave her a plaque and recognized her at the school board meeting. I've been there five years and I think with all the crazy and chaos I'll be getting a whole lot of nothing. It's sad, but another good reason to move forward with all of the positive changes in my life.

Wicked was Wicked Awesome!!

I was so excited to see Wicked, I could barely contain myself. I've always heard about what a great show it is and I felt like I was really missing out on something. Boy, was I!!!!!

Sarah and Mike met me for a quick dinner at Champps before we headed down. It was so packed, we had to park in the far lot (I've NEVER done that for a musical except during the State Fair). It was packed - which was interesting because it was only a Tuesday night and the show will be here for almost a month.

We get in and get seated. Again, no more Roland and Sylvia. I'm guessing that they ditched me and the season tickets or traded nights. Oh, well. I won't be back next year, so no worries on that. I sat next to a mother and daughter who were very unusual people.

The musical was spectacular - phenomenal - incredible!! The music was so good and seeing "Defying Gravity" at the close of the first act was mind blowing. The women who played Glinda and Elphaba had incredible voices.

I'm not sure where the two and a half hours went, but suddenly the lights came up and it was over. By the end, I was crying. I think the song "For Good" got me - made me think of friends and life and about how mine is going to be changing.

If you have not seen Wicked, get thee to the Dallas Summer Musicals before June 27. It truly was an incredible experience. And if you need someone to go with, call me!! I'd go see it again in a heartbeat!!