Ponder This

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Seriously? Are you kidding me? What genius in DC thought this up and how did it get passed? If I'm understanding this correctly...to think the things from my childhood no longer available to me (so much for getting Smurf items off eBay) - I played with them then and nothing happened to me. I understand concern - but this just seems extreme to me...

My friend, Melanie, has a great post on her blog about it: http://www.thriftyandcreative.com/2009/01/very-important-information-on-new-law.html

Children's library books...c'mon, give me a break...so does this mean that there will no longer be a library in your child's elementary school because of this act...this is probably one of the stupidest things I've heard of...Melanie, thank you for posting this on your blog and bringing it to my attention...being that I don't have children, I don't keep my eye out for things like this, but am glad to know.

Ch-check It Out

http://nkotb.liveautographs.com/

It's a great concept...and can be yours for the low, low price of $250-275 (depending on what you have physically autographed)...and if I wasn't dropping a huge chunk of change on the cruise, I would totally be down with this idea...but at this point I don't have $250-275 to drop on a live autograph...not to mention I can get them for 'free' on the boat...

This also would have been really cool back in 1990 - provided the internet had been the information superhighway that it is today.....

Tick Tock ... How much longer will I be employed?

Well, some of y'all may have heard about the Pfizer merger with Wyeth...(press release at http://www.pfizer.com/) We aren't being told much of anything as expected as the deal won't be final until later this year, so I guess there isn't much to tell at this point. And I understand this as there's tons 'o stuff for the top peeps to figure out.

So, I feel secure that I'll have a job at least until the merger goes through...hey, as long as I have a job through my cruise with New Kids, I could really care less about what happens after that. It's not like this is a career...it's just a pitstop en route to becoming a photographer. :)

I'm thankful to have a job, don't get me wrong...it's nice to have a roof over my head, a reality-dream vehicle to drive, food in my stomach and clothes on my back...but why should I stress/worry about something over which I have no control. Just gonna roll with the tide cause this merger will be whatever it will be. While I can't see down the road, God can and I don't have to worry (God told me so) - so I'm not. With the merge, maybe I'll still have a job - maybe I won't - maybe I'll find another job beforehand - heck, maybe Donnie Wahlberg will be sooo smitten with me that after the cruise he'll invite me California....hahaha! Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Only 107 more days....awww yeah!

I heart 2009

My first "I heart" of the year and it's about the year.

Now, to come up with my first "Ponder This" for 2009

uhm, I'll have to ponder that [insert drum rim here]

So I've got my tickets to Dave Matthews Band in Charlottesville (#14) AND I've put down my deposit on the New Kids cruise...The first half of 2009 appears to be boomin'. Throw in a couple of Yacht Rock parties and it's on to tha break-a dawn...uhm, what else...I'll be turning 32 this year and I'm looking forward to that...the 30's just keep on getting better! What else? My niece, Rebekah, will be turning 13 this year. Oh my, my sister will have a teenager...

So, just keep reading throughout the year...I already know it's going to be

legen - wait for it - dary!

Call It What You Want

New Kids On The Boat?!

New Kids On The Sea...
(perhaps?! I like that one better :)

Straight from nkotb.com: Photo by: Albert Ferreira/startraksphoto.com

In December, I got an email telling me to "Save The Date" and so I immediately put in a vacation request, not knowing what I was putting a request in for...and then I kid you not on January 14 (my half birthday, btw)...I got a follow-up email telling me that what I had suspected for the past month was in fact a reality...

...NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK CRUISE...
MAY 15-18, 2009

Holy cow! Seriously?! A cruise...with five guys I've known of for 20 years...and not only is this a once in a lifetime opportunity (unless somewhere they decide to do a second cruise)...but you'd actually get to meet them. Shut up!

I found it odd that the same day the email came out was the same day the cruise went on sale...at first I was torn because I wasn't crazy about traveling on a cruise alone and then with the pricing...well, did I really want to spend all that money? It didn't look like it would be selling fast as girls were posting comments on the site about not going. And, I had already decided that most of my tax return would go toward moving to Raleigh - whenever that happened...

So Wednesday night I had a long, long talk with my sister...and I thought she would think I was crazy for even considering this trip. So, I asked her: "If it were Rick Astley and you didn't have to worry about the money to pay for it and you didn't have to worry about your kids, would you go?" Her response, of course, was yes. She advised that I wouldn't want to live with regret and she knew me well enough that if I didn't do this, I would look back with regret...by the end of the conversation, I found myself saying "Raleigh will always be there and I'm willing to put it off for another year to do this." All the while I'm crunching numbers to see if I can really afford to do this...

At work Thursday, I went back to the cruise portion of their site to either say goodbye to a dream or hello to a reality. Holycow! 95% of the cruise was SOLD OUT! I had to make a decision fast. So I called Anne again and by the end of that conversation, I had clicked "Submit."

Yeah, so uhm...*giggles*... I uh, well am going on my first real vacation since age 11 (no lie...my last vacation was my last family vacation to Jamaica Christmas 1988 - family split up the next year) and where am I going on vacation? Well, it's strange because last year I decided I would go on my first real vacay like to Wilmington, NC or maybe back to NYC or well...it hadn't been decided yet. So, by now you've probably guessed "Sarah is going on a cruise to meet New Kids On The Block." That would be a big YEAH!!

After I clicked "Submit" all of the sudden I got a knot in my stomach and my legs felt like Jello. Oh my lord, did I really just click "Submit?" I had the confirmation email that told me I had...so now I gotta book a flight from Richmond to either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami...JetBlue has a direct flight from RIC to Ft. L but we're leaving from the Port of Miami and all the Miami flights from RIC involve connecting flights *thumbs down* The cruise is from Miami to the Bahamas to Miami. Guess I should research things to do in the Bahamas...seriously? 4 days, on a boat, in the ocean with Jon, Jordan, Joe, Donnie and Danny...aww yeah!

If you want you can go to www.nkotb.com/cruise to see what my trip'll be...all the opps to hang out with the guys...and all those silly screaming girls...d'oh! *smacks head* But it's a trip of a lifetime and even as I type - it still doesn't seem real that in 4 months...you know, at the concert in October: drove to DC - it didn't hit me; got to my seat - it didn't hit me; 1st -and- 2nd opening acts - still hadn't hit me; lights go down - getting there; and when the letters NKOTB spread across the jumboscreen (see photo at top) - it finally hit me that I was 31 years old and at a New Kids concert - silly, right? I'm guessing my cruise won't hit me until I'm walking up to the boat or actually talking to any of them...

Ironic how having that moment with Donnie at the concert, I commented on my blog that the only thing that could have made that night better was to have met them...I never would have thought that 3 months later, I'd be 4 months away from that statement becoming a reality.

You know...Jordan's birthday is during the trip...wonder if I should get him something?? :)

Small News

I'm working on a post, but in the mean time, I'm going to let it be known that I'm not exactly moving to Raleigh in 2009 - as far as I know anyway...and I'm totally okay with that.

More coming soon...

Christmas Miracle

It's known that my sister, Anne, and I were not exactly on speaking terms the second half of 2008 and with Christmas approaching, I was sure that 2008 would be my first Christmas not in attendance at her home...

My mom had been hoping, praying, etc. that we would all be together for the holidays and I was doubting it seriously.

I got a phone call from Anne a couple days before Christmas..."What's this crap I hear about you needing an invitation to my house for Christmas?" I pointed out that because we hadn't been talking I wasn't going to assume it was okay to just show up...well, we were on the phone for THREE AND A HALF HOURS and by the end of the call, I had my sister back. :) We talked again for 90 minutes Christmas Eve, saw her Christmas Day, Matthew spent the night one night the following week and Rebekah stayed with me New Year's Eve, so we were all together for Mom's Birthday (NYE) and again New Years Day...

I have talked to my sister everyday (well night) this year...it's usually only 5-10 minutes, but hey, I'm just glad to have my sister back. I missed her...

An Ideal Way To NOT Spend Christmas Eve

So, Christmas Eve I go to my mom's where I'll (against my will) be spending the evening with her dad, his girlfriend, Jane, and all of Jane's family (who I was meeting for the first time) ...at first I kept to myself watching Can't Buy Me Love on the telly and mingling when persons would pass through the room I was in...and then came gift opening time...then came 'social time'...and then came 'verbal attack on Sarah for being...31 and single' *smacks head*

Jane's niece, who is easily in her 40's with a pre-teen and a teen, questioned where my family was...and it was soon discovered that not only was Sarah husbandless, she was also boyfriendless...this somehow created some sort of target on my forehead, back, wherever...

When asked what I look for, well I don't have a grocery list...so I said something to the effect of "I'm not particular on hair or eye color...he'd have to be employed...preferably his own teeth*...and preferably a non-smoker."
(* me stating the obvious of being a total smartass)

I was advised to join an online dating service...uhm, that'd be a no...I have friends who have found success with it, but for me personally, it's not my thing...I was advised other things to which I'll spare you the reader, but trust me, I was getting irritated. I had commented on my desire to move to North Carolina and a few days later it hit me that moving was more important to me than a guy...which, right now is the time that I can be selfish, right?!

And so that I didn't seem like a complete loser for 'being 31 and single' to everyone in the room, I threw out there that I had been married briefly once before...and voila...that pretty much ended the conversation... hmm, probably should have stated that earlier in the conversation...