spt

On Sunday, it was for fun. So much fun, that I knew I needed it to be a little more permanent.

On Tuesday, I did just that.

spt

big things happening at hampton inn southport!! like my hat?

spt 9.27.2011

a little bit of a fashonista portrait today.

(bwahahahaha!! do i really identify myself as someone who has a sense of wardrobe style? really?)

boots
cardi
belt buckle

(that's right, i said belt buckle.)
(you can stop laughing now.)

(really... stop laughing.)

so, how did i do? casual, yet professional, right? confident general manager who is not afraid to kick a little ass when necessary?

fashionista?

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 09.20.2011

i spent the morning at the dentist office. not for me, but for jack. he goes to a really great pediatric dentist. the office itself is fun and colorful, and i have never, EVER, in 41 years, witnessed such caring and attentive staff members in a medical office. despite the ever present (and overly loud) Disney Channel, i often wish it was my dentist! but, i digress...

we were at the dentist this morning because someone needed to get cavities filled. not me, but jack. four cavities. my mouth hurts just thinking about it.

i don't know how i have failed as a teeth brushing mom. i had braces twice. i had visited the oral surgeon three times before the seventh grade. but i never got a cavity until i was 35 years old. and i haven't had one since.

maybe i'm lucky. i brush twice a day. i always use Crest. i floss when i remember. i don't drink soda. i still think i'm lucky.

jack? not so much. at the tender age of ten, we've had extractions and fillings, all due to cavities. every time we leave the dentist, i feel compelled to deliver my motherly speech about the importance of good brushing. i keep thinking the pain and/or embarrassment of having to get scolded by the nicest dentist in the world will encourage him to take better care of his teeth. i worry that i haven't helped him develop better habits, and that, at ten, it might be too late.

he knew this morning that he was going to get "drilled." when the very amazing hygenist came out to get him and take him back, she said, "we are going to try to get to all four today, but we might only be able to do two. we'll see how he's feeling."

four.
gulp.

i saw it - the brief moment of panic/dread/disbelief as the words sunk in. he stood up, caught up in the amazing hygenists whirlwind of energy. he was walking towards the back, and i could *feel* what he was thinking:

holy crap
it's going to hurt
i don't want to go
somebody tell me i don't have to
how much is it going to hurt?

and there they were, real tears. but not in his eyes. they were stinging in my eyes. the door closed behind them, and the amazing hygenist and my son with the mouth full of holes were whisked into the Universal Studios of dentist's offices. and i was left, feeling the anxiety and the fear and the slighly queasy stomach for him. in that moment, i would have given anything to take his place, to ease his uneasiness.



he is fine. halfway through, the amazing hygenist came out and said that it was jack's decision to go ahead and complete all four fillings today (smart kid!) afterwards, we laughed about his "duck lips" and he practiced saying words that ended in S and F all the way back to school. and he only half-heartedly attempted to talk me into letting him stay out all day.

i'm still feeling a bit anxious. i still want to protect him, even though he is quite obviously fine. well, as fine as you can be with FOUR NEW FILLINGS!!

i'm glad to say i am fine, too. i was able to hold back those tears. at least until i had to get out my checkbook...

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 09.13.2011

what in the hell?? why does my bathroom counter stay so cluttered? i'm only going to show you part of it, because, wow...



i really should do something about that.

did you ever play that memory game when you were younger? we played it at all of my birthday parties growing up. my mom would place items on one of her trays and let us look at them for one minute. then she would cover them up with a tea towel while we tried to write down as many things as we remembered. the items tended to be a bit haphazard, with not much rhyme nor reason to their presence in the game. i think that made it more difficult.

hmmmm, what can i remember from this morning:
contact lens case, saline, deoderant, an empty metal diet coke bottle (why? it wasn't even my diet coke), toothbrush, makeup, cotton balls, lavendar essential oils, band-aids (NOT used), plumbing parts (?!?), digital watch, hand towel, various and sundry pieces of jewelry, a button, men's cologne (Chrome), hairspray, bronzer, water cup, small fan, iPhone...

i'm sure there was more, but i'm choosing not to remember them!! what's the state of your bathroom vanity this morning? care to share?

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 09.06.2011

ever have one of those days when you just wany to pull your hair out???

i'm having one of those days!!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!!

spt 08.30.2011

day three back to school (after a minor disruption by Hurricane Irene), and i just want you to be able to share in the hell that was my morning commute today. *somebody* did not do all of his homework last night, and *somebody* was grouchy about it. please note that *somebody* wasn't me...



so, it's the end of summer, and i have stories to tell! i've even started blog posts about my stories! i want to share with you all of the goodness that was summer 2011. i want to share with you our amazing "new school year" dinner. i want to share with you our theme for this school year. i want to update my blog banner. i want to reconnect with my friends!

in the meantime, i am slowly, but surely, adapting to our school year schedule - our elementary schools now start at 7:45 am. i don't know why that 15 minutes is creating such a hurdle for me (a self-proclaimed "morning person"!) but we will overcome!

how are you? will you do me a favor? will you take a self-portrait today? will you post on your blog? or tweet it? and then leave me a comment? pretty please?

spt 08.02.2011

just back from a wedding in Charlottesville, VA, with my favorite travel partner.

aside from "the usual" wedding weekend festivities, we found time to sneak away to Monticello. (if you were along for our trip to D.C. earlier this year, you'll be glad to know that jack "finally" got his quill pen!)



i can't believe i'd never been to Monticello or the Michie Tavern before, but so glad we found time for it this trip. and glad i survived the entire trip sitting in the back seat of my parents car...

i'd also like to publicly thank the little man for doing The Virginia Reel with me. (don't tell him I told you!)

will you take a self portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 07.26.2011

it's that time again... time when we are expecting a visit from our friendly Quality Assurance auditor. time when we try to make our shiniest just a tiny bit shinier.

part of the "fun" of these inspections is the fact that they are unannounced. a suprprise, if you will. we might not know exactly when he will show up, but we know it will be soon. (i know it will be in just a few days. ssshhhh...)

here i am practicing my "surprise!" face. think he'll buy it?



will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 07.19.2011

cinder block - 1, me - 0

(don't worry. nothing seems broken.) i have been instructed to "elevate and ice." the worst part of this is
a)all the sitting still, and
b)none of the working out.

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 07.12.2011

i'm at work today, in body if not in mind. i had to break down and start taking Benadryl for the unbearable itching of the mosquito bites!! hands down, these are the WORST part of Summer!!



i am sleepy and loopy and all i want to do is rest my head against my desk. i imagine today would be a good day to ask me just about anything. i'm sure i'll agree to it!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!

spt 07.06.2011

just digging out from the natural chaos that is the NC 4th of July Festival... when tens of thousands of people descend upon Southport for flag waving, fireworks and funnel cake! this year, among the tens of thousands, was my college roommate!



i always love Festival time, because it reminds me of a pre-marriage vacation to the area during the Festival that guided our decision to move here. i also love Festival time because funnel cake.

and the Festival also segues nicely into the oft-overlooked holiday, "July 5th," this year known as my ELEVENTH anniversary of working at the Hampton Inn.

now, if you'll excuse me, i'm off to continue wading through the piles of paperwork that somehow ended up on my desk while i took Sunday and Monday off. you would think that after eleven years, i would have figured out a way for that stuff to take care of itself!!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 06.28.2011

i am not a numbers person. i don't get excited by mathematical things: formulas, equations, mean/medians/and modes...

i had to take one math course in college. it was a Statistics course. i forced myself to sit in the front row and become one with the numbers. it sucked. but i passed! and now, in my grownup life, i have to look at a lot of numbers: forecasts, budgets, occupancies... in the scope of things that fall under the title of "General Manager," it is the numbers things that that challenge me the most.

but i've had a lot of numbers on my mind recently, and so i thought, in an effort to embrace my inner statistician, it might be fun to give you a post filled with numbers. ready?

tomorrow is the 11th anniversary of Hampton Inn Southport;
as of the 5th of July, i will have worked here for 11 years;
there are 80 rooms in the hotel;
we buy an average of 65 lbs of bananas every week;
matty will be 40 on the 30th;
i have run over 204 miles since January;
i eat, on average, 1250 calories a day;
i have lost 44 lbs;
i recently ran my 3rd 5K race of 2011;
it was my 4th race of the year;
it's almost time for the annual 4th of July Festival!;
this morning when i woke up, the humidity was 84%;
i have only completed 45 blog posts this year;
i am about to add 1 more to the list!!

spt 06.21.2011

thank goodness for my "commitment" to spt, otherwise i might never blog a thing! i don't know why the thought of sitting down and composing a post that is longer than 140 characters feels so daunting to me (i'm looking at you, Twitter!) so today, i give you a bonus photo! and maybe i'll use 140 characters to describe each one.

summer is here, in full force! here's the thing: i'm loving it!! i'm loving summer!! the beach, the sand, the humidity, the lack of structure, the drive to camp every morning. if you know me - at all - you are shaking your head in disbelief. i know! but there you have it. hope you are enjoying yours, as well.

summer always brings my sister, patricia, and her family to the beach from Atlanta for a week or two. in the past, i've done a really craptastic job of spending time with them during their vacation. it is really hard to be the one "at work" when "everyone else" is playing. well, guess what? not THIS year! this year we are beaching it together, and enjoying meals together, having our pictures taken together, and babysitting each others' children!

in fact, one night, i found myself with four children in my care. f-o-u-r. that is four times as many as i usually have to worry about. and? two of them are still in diapers! I KNOW!!! we had a blast, and it turns out that jack is a much more patient babysitter than i am ;)



i continue to convince my body that we are much happier when we are exercising, and to that end, i bought my first big girl pair of running shoes. it's kind of an intimidating process, what with the having to run-on-the-treadmill-in-the-store in front of the-really-cute-and-fit-salesman. an hour later, and with a *much* lighter wallet, i was the proud owner of a pair of Sauconys.



i began breaking them in with a 9 mile walk with my sister (who is training for the Three Day Walk for the Cure this fall). this weekend, i'll run my fourth race of 2011, and i have another 10K in my sights for July.

i'd write some more, but i have to clean off my desk, because this evening? after work? i'm going to the beach!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 06.14.2011

we had our annual team party to celebrate the anniversary of the hotel, and this year we headed out for a three hour cruise along the Intracoastal Waterway.

as i am currently "between wardrobes," and refusing to buy anything new, i shopped in my closet and threw together a look that i like to call "deck hand chic."



gotta love navy stripes!

spt 05.31.2011

this is how i am...



and this is how i got there...



will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!

spt 05.10.2011

GAH!! MAY!! where did you come from?!?

i still have things to share about April. about a trip to DC with the best traveling companion ever. about beer in The Sculpture Garden with a dear friend from high school. about sitting on The Mall with a dear blogging friend while the tornados bloomed around us (not too close!) about meeting another dear blogger over a pile of human remains.

see?? you want to hear about my April things, too!

but not today. today is Self-Portrait Tuesday, and so here i am!!



will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a comment and let me know!

spt 04.26.2011

we're definitely not in brunswick county, anymore...

spt 04.19.2011

going a little non-traditional with today's self-portrait, but, really, i could not resist.

first, a back story (and i'm warning you, this is one of those "Behold, the Power of Twitter posts): last august, a local friend tweeted that she had won tickets to the Michael Franti show at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. She and her husband were unable to go to the show, and she offered up the tickets. I'd never seen Franti live, but I am a fan of his music, and was tempted to take up her offer of the tickets.

there were a million reasons to turn them down. i was in a Rotary meeting all day, mat had to work early the next morning, we needed to round up a babysitter, HOB is a good hours drive away, etc. etc. of course the big thing standing in the way was my TOTAL LACK OF SPONTANAEITY!!

ahem

guess what? we went! and had a great date night! we used to go to concerts and shows all the time, but life sort of gets in the way of that these days. we danced and jumped and sang and smiled. even a silly old speeding ticket on the way home became part of the fun.

moral of the story? if someone offers you tickets to see Michael Franti, you go! also? i *heart* Twitter.

so. time passes and one day recently, i am chatting with a Twitter friend in Australia. i mention to him that Michael Franti has just tweeted that he is doing a show in Adelaide that night (which, it turns out, is about 8 hours away from where my friend lives). more importantly, Michael Franti then tweets that he is doing a show in Melbourne the next night. and so my friend got tickets! and this morning (which is his this evening), he Skyped me into a Michael Franti show halfway around the world!!

so , here is my self-portrait. from Australia! (it totally counts!)



seriously. SERIOUSLY. this is just about the coolest thing ever!!

moral of the story? if Michael Franti is doing a show nearby, you go! and also? I *HEART* TWITTER!!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!

spt 04.12.2011

up before, 5 (no alarm)
finished workout before 6 (because i was up)



i'm expecting GREAT things from today!!

will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message if you do!