The oldest one just got a call from her friend. Of course, she's not here so we took a message. "A" wants her to spend the night tomorrow. It seems that when it rains it pours. We'll have nice quiet weekends, and then will have them filled to the brim with activity. It's a nice balance I'd say.

Tomorrow we are going to the Mardis Gras Festival downtown (it's a small town). All of us will be in the parade. We are going to be helping our neighbors out. They run a business that rents out bouncy houses and a myriad of other fun things. My husband will be driving the "train", and our neighbor (the husband) will be driving the truck that is pulling the float. The neighbor (the wife) and I will be on the float with the other kids, passing out beads and candy to the onlookers. We'll spend the majority of the rest of the day, hanging out at the festival and browsing all of the vendors that are there. We went last year (didn't do the parade) and had a great time.

On Sunday, we'll be going to a Super Bowl party and we are looking forward to it. A lot of the neighbors will be coming. I'm not quite sure what I'll be making yet. I've had a few requests, but I'll have to think about it for a bit. One of the big items that the neighbor will be supplying is a smoked Boston Butt. Being a west coast gal, I'm still wishing they would call it "smoked pork" or something. The name doesn't sit all that well with me but I must say it is very delicious.

Between all of that we'll be doing laundry and I'll be packing. I'm heading out for California next week on a business trip. At least the flight doesn't leave until 8:00 in the morning. That makes it a lot more palatable. I have mixed emotions about going. On the one hand, this is a really great experience for me. I'm still shocked that my boss asked me to go. It means she has confidence in my abilities. Conversely, I don't have as much. On the other hand, it's tough to leave the family, mainly the kids. I know my husband will do fine with them, but I feel guilty. Last year I spent a good deal of time away from them when were making the transition across country.

I'm also struggling with seeing all of my friends again. I most likely will at least call them to say hi. As of this point, I've not told any of them I am coming out. To be truthful, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I'm excited to go back, yet apprehensive. I've worked hard to begin a new life with new friends here. What happens if I go back and realize how much I miss my old life? Honestly, I don't think that will happen but it's in the back of my mind. Perfectly natural I would say.

I'm not sure if I'll have internet access when I'm there. I know that my brother would like me to stay with him, but there is a certain allure to staying at a hotel, all by myself. I'd visit him of course, but I would love to just be able to go back to my hotel room, and just "be." It's a bit hard to explain.

So, as for now, I'm flexible and am going to play it by ear. I'll certainly not have any time during the day for extra curricular activities. I've been told our days will be from about 8:00 in the moring until at least, 5:00 at night. And most likely longer.

I do plan on driving past the house in which I lived from 10 years old until I moved out to be on my own. I just want to see it. I'm sure it's changed as well as the whole neighborhood. I'll be doing a lot of that. Visiting old haunts, reliving some memories. It will be good for me. It will help me move on.

So that's about it for me. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The 49ers only went 2 in 14 this year, so the Super Bowl will be all about the commercials for me. Ok, I admit, it always is. That's the best part.