Oprah Bandwagon

Those that know me well know that I’m a big Oprah fan. Sorry to say to all you Oprah-haters out there (you know who you are), my respect for her has increased even more.

Wade & I (yes, I asked him to watch it with me) watched the special program on the building of Oprah’s Leadership Academy For Girls in South Africa.

I was blown away by so many things in this short hour. Oprah has invested an amazing amount of time, detail, and money to make this school an incredible place. Since many of these girls come from one-room huts with no electricity or running water, they must think they are in heaven already. It seemed that the part at the school they were most excited was the bathroom...showers!

The attention to detail and thought that went into the school, uniforms, curriculum, etc. is impressive. And for any girl that graduates, Oprah will pay for her to go to the college of her choice. I don’t remember her quote exactly, but she said that educating a girl in South Africa will educate and enrich an entire community.

What put me in tears several times throughout the show were the stories of these girl’s lives. Almost all of them had lost at least one parent, if not both, to AIDS. One story was of two sisters whose father killed their mother and then himself. They live on their own and take care of each other. Another girl wakes up at 4:00 a.m. every day to walk through a very dangerous neighborhood to the bus stop to then ride a bus for an hour to go to school.

What was so amazing and moving as they all told these articulate heart-wrenching stories, was how these girls have responded to such difficult circumstances. They didn’t point blame, but look to the future filled with incredible hopes and dreams for themselves. We could learn a lot from that attitude.

So, I’m now even more on the Oprah bandwagon…sorry! I don’t look to her for spiritual direction or enlightenment, but in this celebrity-obsessed culture, I appreciate her story. She came from poverty and seems to have earned every bit of her success while doing something beneficial with it.

If you missed it, there's an encore this Saturday night on ABC.

New Chapter

Enter yet another new chapter in life. Not only do I have my first child, I’m now in the category of stay-at-home mom. Last week, I made what was one of the toughest phone calls and decisions I’ve ever made. I called my boss and let him know that after lots of contemplation and discussion, I’ve made the decision to resign from my job.

It’s a decision that came with many mixed emotions. I’ve spent 5 years at the American Heart Association and have been given incredible opportunities to grow personally and professionally. In my most recent position, I managed our Communication and Marketing team. This was by far the best job I’ve ever had. I loved the organization, my team, and the mission that we promoted.

All that being said, the job took a lot out of me. I was traveling 20-30% and was easily working regular 10-12 hour days. Back in the day with just me and Wade, I could find a balance to make it work. Once Tate got here, going back to that pace seemed to put things out of balance for me. I admire those that can make it work, but for me, I knew deep down inside that I wouldn’t be able to do both well. Who knows, it might not be something I do forever, but for right now it’s the best decision.

I’ve been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster since then. I’m sad and will miss my time at the AHA. I’m a little nervous about the change in my role and identity. And, I’m happy, excited and thankful to be able to spend time with my son watching him grow and learn all about this world.

2 months

Better late than never again...Tate at 2 months old:

I copied the idea of the blocks from someone else...great idea and too cute.

Now we know where Tate gets his "bed-head hair" from. :)

30-something memory

Watching The Police's reunion and performance of Roxanne last night on The Grammy's triggered a strange memory.

Roxanne was one of the first songs that I learned all of the words to. I think I was 4 or 5 years old??!! I'm not sure what happened to the classics like Itsy Bitsy Spider or Wheels on the Bus. For some reason, my first song was a song about a woman in the red light district???

Oh well, it is a pretty good song. And, The Police is still a great band...30 years later! (wow, I'm getting old)

Best performances of The Grammys: The Police, John Mayer, and Justin Timberlake (he can play piano, guitar, sing, and dance!).

Tagged

I was tagged a long time ago and am just now finishing it up...

1. I’ve come to realize that my ex-boyfriend --- was a "learning experience."

2. I am listening to --- Wade use his baby talk voice with Tate, which kind of sounds like an old Scottish man (still sweet and cute). :)

3. I talk --- in my sleep.

4. I love --- greeting cards, stationary, and gift wrap! I even bought an armoire just to organize my collection. Let me know if you ever need something gift-wrapped.

5. My best friends --- live too far away.

6. I lost --- our 8th grade band's UIL competition. I played the triangle (how embarrassing) and played the wrong beat the entire song.

7. I hate it when people --- are spiteful, racist or judgemental.

8. Love is --- comfortable when it's right.

9. Marriage is --- something that takes active work and participation.

10. Somewhere, someone is thinking --- How much gift wap can someone really have? Ask Wade, I'm stocked up for 5 years of gift-giving.

11. I’ll always be --- politically correct.

12. I have a crush on --- Justin Timberlake (yes, 2 N'Sync concerts!).

13. The last time I cried was --- yesterday at the pediatrician...4 shots for Tate!

14. My cell phone --- is almost always on silent, which drives my family and friends crazy.

15. When I wake up in the morning --- which time...1:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m., or 7:00 a.m.? I hear a baby crying.

16. Before I go to sleep at night --- I have to read something, even if I'm totally exhausted.

17. Right now I am thinking --- wow, Tate's been happy for awhile, and I might be able to actually finish this blog post.

18. Babies are --- a lot of hard wok, but well worth it!

19. I get on MySpace --- never.

20. Today I --- went to Target for the 5th time in a 48-hour period in search for a chair from their Global Bazzar.

21. Tonight I --- am looking forward to watching the new episode of "The Office."

22. Tomorrow I --- need to finally send out Tate's birth announcements....seriously, it's been 2 months already!

23. I really want --- to see the Sistine Chapel one day.

Split Personality

I think little Tate may have a split personality. Something seemed to happen at the 7-8 week mark. The laid back, somewhat easy to figure out little baby changed.

We now have a baby that seems to have a maximum of 20-30 minutes at a time of happy baby. For the past week or so, we're having a hard time figuring out what changed. He now seems to fight going to sleep. And as soon as we got excited about a 5-hour stretch of sleeping at night, it went back to 3-4 hours max. Hmmmmm? Any ideas?