Second post in one day - don't pass out.
As promised, here’s my big post-Infinitus update. I had to go back through my calendar since it’s been so long since I’ve posted. I could really tell how much of my life was consumed by Infinitus planning. But it was worth it.
· As I mentioned in my Oct. 2009 post (yikes - that’s a long time ago), I took Madelyn to the Miley Cyrus concert in Little Rock for her birthday. But I chickened out on the parent room option. We bought cheap tickets and hung out in the lobby outside the section where Madelyn and her friend Alexis were sitting. The ushers were really cool about letting us check on them. I was very glad because it was crazy after the concert. And there were some questionable men wondering around the arena. Madelyn loved seeing Alexis again and got to have a sleepover after the concert.
· I had jury duty in November. It was pretty painless. I came close to getting on a jury that was deciding on a car accident case. One of the lawyers asked if there were any driving habits that drove us crazy. I mentioned that people on cell phones bug me and was promptly dismissed. I’m guessing his client was on hers when the accident happened.
· We did end up driving to Texas to see the Clack family during Christmas break. It was a good trip but totally ruined my plans for getting my house in order. I probably wouldn’t have had the energy to do much anyway.
· The Infinitus staff got together for a site visit in March. I was thrilled to have so many of us at the Royal Pacific. Everyone worked so well together and I was even more excited for July. We all went to the park together and drooled over the parts of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we could see.
· Sean (my best friend since I was 4) started running the Miss Greater Jonesboro pageant this year. So he put me and my husband on the board for it. It was a very interesting experience. I helped backstage and have never seen so many sequins and sparkles in one place in my life. I helped glue perfect strangers into swimsuits. It was crazy. Our Miss Jonesboro placed 4th in Miss Arkansas so Sean was pleased. It’s been a learning experience for me, that’s for sure.
· One of the biggest events of my year was my LapBand surgery. The surgery went really well. One of my Mom’s best friends is a retired surgery nurse and stayed in the operating room with me. Partly because she wanted to see the surgery and partly to make sure I was ok. I don’t remember her being there of course. I was out before I got in the OR. My recovery was pretty easy. I went back to work a little too early but lived through it. I just had my third fill of the band and it’s really starting to help now. I can’t tolerate bread or pasta anymore - which is good since those were big temptations for me. I just have to be good with my exercise. I’ve lost about 25 pounds but I can’t tell much difference yet in how I look. Hopefully that will change soon. I’ll keep y’all updated.
· And the other big event of my life this year (and for the past 3 years) of course was Infinitus. First of all, I just want to say that I’m so very thankful for the Infinitus staff and volunteers. They did an amazing job making everything happen. It was a busy week and time flew by. It was so wonderful to see everyone again. I wish I could have spent more quality time with everyone. Despite a few minor disasters, I think it was a success. I had a lot of people tell me how thrilled they were with the conference - that makes me happy. Here are a few of my highlights:
o Riding the Forbidden Journey with Lindsay, keytothecage and sap_78
o Everyone arriving at the Royal Pacific. And lots of hugs!
o Norberta
o Order of the Dragon - awesome costumes and awesome people!
o Madelyn in the Kids’ Track
o Seeing Hogwarts at night during the Night of a Thousand Wizards.
o Getting to know and work with the Royal Pacific conference staff.
o Star Kid Potter - It was good to see all of them again.
o The volunteer social - especially when 5 particularly silly Infinitus chairs decided to crawl inside Norberta and walk her through the conference space.
o Experiencing WWoHP with Madelyn after the conference.
· Madelyn is at girl scout camp this week. She’s having a great time but I’ll be so glad to pick her up on Friday. I miss her!
· I missed alabastardragon ‘s birthday earlier this week. I know you had a wonderful birthday surrounded by people you love. It was so good to see you at Infinitus! Miss you already!
· This Saturday I’m throwing my Mom a big 70th birthday party. Everything is pretty much done for it. She has friends coming in from all over the country for it. We’re going to do a surprise Skype video chat with my sister in San Francisco during the party. So it should be a really good time. My Mom does so much for her friends and family. I’m just glad I could give something back to her.
· Dragon*Con is 35 days away! I’m so excited to go this year. I’ll get to hang out with plynn78 , Kat, bevlovesbooks, countessmary , the YA Lit group, and the Order of the Dragon. I can’t wait until they release the pocket program and I can plan out the weekend.
So that’s my past year and near future in a nutshell. I hope to post a lot more this year. I’ve managed to keep up with my LJ reading. Last time I didn’t, I missed a lot of important stuff. That can’t happen again. So I look forward to keeping up with all of you.
· As I mentioned in my Oct. 2009 post (yikes - that’s a long time ago), I took Madelyn to the Miley Cyrus concert in Little Rock for her birthday. But I chickened out on the parent room option. We bought cheap tickets and hung out in the lobby outside the section where Madelyn and her friend Alexis were sitting. The ushers were really cool about letting us check on them. I was very glad because it was crazy after the concert. And there were some questionable men wondering around the arena. Madelyn loved seeing Alexis again and got to have a sleepover after the concert.
· I had jury duty in November. It was pretty painless. I came close to getting on a jury that was deciding on a car accident case. One of the lawyers asked if there were any driving habits that drove us crazy. I mentioned that people on cell phones bug me and was promptly dismissed. I’m guessing his client was on hers when the accident happened.
· We did end up driving to Texas to see the Clack family during Christmas break. It was a good trip but totally ruined my plans for getting my house in order. I probably wouldn’t have had the energy to do much anyway.
· The Infinitus staff got together for a site visit in March. I was thrilled to have so many of us at the Royal Pacific. Everyone worked so well together and I was even more excited for July. We all went to the park together and drooled over the parts of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we could see.
· Sean (my best friend since I was 4) started running the Miss Greater Jonesboro pageant this year. So he put me and my husband on the board for it. It was a very interesting experience. I helped backstage and have never seen so many sequins and sparkles in one place in my life. I helped glue perfect strangers into swimsuits. It was crazy. Our Miss Jonesboro placed 4th in Miss Arkansas so Sean was pleased. It’s been a learning experience for me, that’s for sure.
· One of the biggest events of my year was my LapBand surgery. The surgery went really well. One of my Mom’s best friends is a retired surgery nurse and stayed in the operating room with me. Partly because she wanted to see the surgery and partly to make sure I was ok. I don’t remember her being there of course. I was out before I got in the OR. My recovery was pretty easy. I went back to work a little too early but lived through it. I just had my third fill of the band and it’s really starting to help now. I can’t tolerate bread or pasta anymore - which is good since those were big temptations for me. I just have to be good with my exercise. I’ve lost about 25 pounds but I can’t tell much difference yet in how I look. Hopefully that will change soon. I’ll keep y’all updated.
· And the other big event of my life this year (and for the past 3 years) of course was Infinitus. First of all, I just want to say that I’m so very thankful for the Infinitus staff and volunteers. They did an amazing job making everything happen. It was a busy week and time flew by. It was so wonderful to see everyone again. I wish I could have spent more quality time with everyone. Despite a few minor disasters, I think it was a success. I had a lot of people tell me how thrilled they were with the conference - that makes me happy. Here are a few of my highlights:
o Riding the Forbidden Journey with Lindsay, keytothecage and sap_78
o Everyone arriving at the Royal Pacific. And lots of hugs!
o Norberta
o Order of the Dragon - awesome costumes and awesome people!
o Madelyn in the Kids’ Track
o Seeing Hogwarts at night during the Night of a Thousand Wizards.
o Getting to know and work with the Royal Pacific conference staff.
o Star Kid Potter - It was good to see all of them again.
o The volunteer social - especially when 5 particularly silly Infinitus chairs decided to crawl inside Norberta and walk her through the conference space.
o Experiencing WWoHP with Madelyn after the conference.
· Madelyn is at girl scout camp this week. She’s having a great time but I’ll be so glad to pick her up on Friday. I miss her!
· I missed alabastardragon ‘s birthday earlier this week. I know you had a wonderful birthday surrounded by people you love. It was so good to see you at Infinitus! Miss you already!
· This Saturday I’m throwing my Mom a big 70th birthday party. Everything is pretty much done for it. She has friends coming in from all over the country for it. We’re going to do a surprise Skype video chat with my sister in San Francisco during the party. So it should be a really good time. My Mom does so much for her friends and family. I’m just glad I could give something back to her.
· Dragon*Con is 35 days away! I’m so excited to go this year. I’ll get to hang out with plynn78 , Kat, bevlovesbooks, countessmary , the YA Lit group, and the Order of the Dragon. I can’t wait until they release the pocket program and I can plan out the weekend.
So that’s my past year and near future in a nutshell. I hope to post a lot more this year. I’ve managed to keep up with my LJ reading. Last time I didn’t, I missed a lot of important stuff. That can’t happen again. So I look forward to keeping up with all of you.