Bella - She's getting so big!

Last weekend Bella, Jason and I met up with my mom's group from church at the Arboretum. Believe it or not, it was my first time there! We tried to go last spring before she was born, but the line just to get on the shuttle to take you over there was crazy long, so we didn't end up going. It looks like fun and I am sure we will go back a lot once she gets a little older. We didn't really explore too much, but we did get some cute little pictures of her in the pumpkin patch. We also did a group shot with all the kiddos in their Halloween costumes. Bella is supposed to be a mermaid, but she was super fussy and I couldn't quite get her 'tail' pulled down over her feet in time for the picture. Also her seashell headband wouldn't stay on. My friend Allison's daughter Lila was the same thing so see the bottom row second from the right for what she should have looked like. =)




Also, like I have mentioned before, I have been doing training for my new job in my spare time. I have gotten all kinds of certifications from all sorts of cruise lines and destinations. But the best one? Disney of course! I got my graduation pack in the mail the other day and Bella wanted to model for me...


How cute is that?

ACL 2009

Ok, I am so far behind on my blogging, I apologize. I have been SO busy still with my training for work, but it seems to be slowing down a little bit so I will try to catch up with everything I have been putting off!

First up, ACL 2009. Let's see if I can still remember what we did...it was almost a month ago.

We left Bella with my parents for a 4 day weekend to Austin. We love ACL and go pretty much every year, so I had asked my mom to babysit that weekend before Bella was even born. We headed down Thursday night so we could be there first thing Friday when everything starts. It was hard to say good bye to my little angel, but in the end it was SO nice to have a weekend where I could sleep in!

Friday morning we made the requisite trip to Kerbey Lane for breakfast and I had my staple of baked potato omelet and blueberry pancakes. SO delicious. We got to the festival around 1:30 that day just in time to catch Blitzen Trapper who I actually liked more than I anticipated. I liked the music I had heard from them before ok, but in person I thought they were really good. Reminded me a little of Counting Crows, who we all know are my favorite!

After BT we met up with Amanda and Jared over at Todd Snider. He was hilarious! If you get a chance to see him live you must do it. He is so funny. I had never heard any of his music before, but he was a hoot for sure. Next up was Phoenix who was one of the bands I was most excited about seeing. And they were good. Sounded just like the radio and they played all the songs I love, but that was about it. Nothing stood out as an amazing performance or anything, although I did learn they are French and the lead singer has a kid with Sofia Coppola. Interesting.

After that we pretty much just walked around and got something to eat, then staked out a place for Kings of Leon. I really don't know much about them except for their new stuff, but they were really good! They put on a great show and even the songs I didn't know I found myself bopping along with them. =) Also, I have to mention how great the weather was this day. Normally for ACL it is at least one million degrees outside and not a cloud to be seen. It was probably 85 and partly cloudy most of the afternoon. Greatness.

Saturday didn't turn out as good. It was in the forecast to rain so we brought some umbrellas and rain jackets, but it was more than a shower here and there. It would just pour down rain for an hour or two at a time. By about 4 o clock we declared ourselves huge wusses and went home. It was kind of a bummer, because I was really looking forward to seeing Flogging Molly, The Scabs and The Decemberists. Flogging Molly we did see, but I was hunched under an umbrella trying not to get soaking wet. They were so good, I am going to try to see them again under dryer circumstances.

After we left, we went to a place to eat where the waitresses wear orange shorts and tights. We had some wings and watched the devastation that was the Arkansas/A&M game. It was fun, but I wish we had won. If you are following the Aggies this year, they are continuing to baffle me. Super inconsistent. Anyway...

Sunday we actually spent a good portion of the morning going to Academy and every other store in the vicinity looking for rain gear. And guess what? So was everyone else. They were out of EVERYTHING. We did find one awesome A&M umbrella...not sure why no one in Austin wanted it. So we didn't get to ACL until a little later, but we did catch the Toadies and they sang all the cool songs I remember from college. Ahh, made me feel young again. =) I got to see a little bit of Ben Harper and The Dead Weather, and some of Michael Franti while waiting for Pearl Jam, who was also great. But what I have not mentioned was how awesome Zilker Park was. And when I say awesome, I mean muddy. I wore flip flops because it was all I had. About two steps in I realized that was not going to work. They were getting stuck so far in the mud I finally took them off. I and about a third of the people at ACL, spent the day barefoot, walking around in a good 2-6 inches of mud. Honestly it was kind of fun. And though the forecast called for it to be cold and rainy all day, it was perfect weather. Maybe a little cloudy early on, but as the day passed, the sun came out and it didn't rain once!

They are having ACL in October again next year which makes me SO happy. Hopefully this time it won't rain!

Hi ho, hi ho...

As I mentioned before I have a new job. It is pretty much the most perfect job I could have asked for at this stage in my life. First let me talk about how I came upon it. When I first decided to stay home with Isabella, I knew it would be hard. I knew I would miss my old job and my friends there and I knew I would miss having a second income! But I kept thinking, if it gets that bad I can always get another job.

So after a few months of staying home with Bella, I started trying to think of things that I could do from home to make some money and not have to put her in day care. Now if you know me well at all, you know I am somewhat (to put it lightly) of a Disney fanatic. I also love to travel and I really think half the fun is planning out the whole vacation. So I listen to these Disney podcasts, and had always heard about this company called Mouse Fan Travel. They are a travel agency that specializes in Disney travel, but also does all kinds of travel as well. So I inquired about job opportunities on their web site and it just so happened they were going to be hiring in the next couple months. The job was a work from home position that was completely flexible around your schedule and you work whatever hours you want. I couldn't think of anything more perfect for myself so I applied and after a few weeks of interviews and such I got the job!

So now I am an affiliate of MEI & Mouse Fan Travel. I am currently going through training, which is intense to say the least. The first few days were going through the College of Disney Knowledge (did you know there was such a thing?), and now I am learning every detail about all aspects of the cruising industry. Last week I learned all about Princess, Carnival and Cunard cruise lines. This week it is Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Not sure what is up next, but I have also had to take courses on Mexico, Weddings and Honeymoons, Spa Excursions and Orlando in general. I have learned about every port in the world and everything you can do there. I am seriously going to be equipped to be the best travel agent ever!

So if you like to travel or know someone who does, send them my way! It doesn't cost anything to use a travel agent (well, I think some charge a fee, but we don't). We get really good deals with Disney, cruise lines and all kinds of packages and I seriously love to plan vacations so I am excited to get started! Alright there is my little plug for myself. =)

Anyway, the training is a LOT more than I thought it would be, so I have been SO SO SO busy with that. Three days will go by and I realize I haven't even left the house because every spare second I have I am doing this online training. But it is fun! If this whole thing works out, I think it could seriously be the most perfect job for me. So wish me luck, and now...back to training....

Bella's Play Time

So I am sure you parents all have this issue. How to keep your little one entertained. Obviously you can't play with them 24/7, so I am constantly trying to find new things that will entertain Bella. Has anyone noticed that their kids seem to like random non-toys better than anything? Currently spoons are much adored while we are in the kitchen. However today, after making her play on the floor alone so I could do some cleaning, I decided I needed to give her some attention. We went in the nursery and got on the floor and I got out a bunch of stuffed animals. I was putting on a production of Annie with her doll rattle as Annie and a bunny as Daddy Warbucks, but was she interested? Nope. What did she want to play with? The carpet. I am not kidding. She just wanted to lean over and grab the shag carpet and run her hands over it. Wouldn't even look at me.

Want to know what her absolute favorite toy right now is though?

My iPhone! I cannot blame her as I am also addicted to it, but she is so funny. When she sees it she gets this frenzied look on her face like 'I MUST HAVE IT!'. Especially if I turn on the iPod.

She went to stay with Nana and Grampa while we were in Austin last weekend and it was so weird when I got back. I missed her so much and I swear she looked different! She also basically could not have cared less that I was back. She just looks at me like 'hmmm you look familiar, but whatever'. She did the same thing to me this weekend after she visited her Grammy and Poppy in Oklahoma. My husband took her to visit his parents and when she got home she wouldn't even smile at me and only wanted Jason. It made me pretty sad, but I guess that is normal.

Other than that we are doing good. She turns six months in TWO DAYS!! I can't believe it. She has her checkup on Friday so I will update later with all her new stats.

I know! I know!

I realize I have not updated my blog lately with any news about Bella, Austin City Limits or my new job (yes I have a new job!). I apologize, but I have been SO SO SO busy with the three aforementioned things in the last couple of weeks that I just have not had time. I promise details are coming soon on all of these things, but for now....back to my job training!