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Oct 24, 2014

This could be a bit dramatic

Dramatic.. Traumatic, it all seems to go hand in hand these days.

So today is the final day with all my stuff. I still have plenty of shit treasured possessions to shove lovingly stack in the POD as it goes on its two year journey tomorrow to a place unknown. We shall call it the POD walkabout read: it is going to sit in a storage center for two lonely years without me.  I mean, I have to put my K-Cup machine in there. Shit just got real. I will not have a coffee maker for the next week that we are in the house. You have been warned. I guess I should load up that Starbucks gift card cause I will be rollin' through that drive through like a champ erry.damn.day. I didn't think that today would be such a resistance day for me since I have been saying all this week that I just want to be done with the packing, moving, cleaning, organizing, throwing stuff away, etc. etc. etc.  However, I know that when I go to bed tonight that the house will be empty other than our bed which is being donated and the fold up table that is doubling as a dresser right now. I do not skimp on the classy as you can tell.

News on Abu Dhabi: Yesterday some lucky ladies that are within my Leadership group got emails saying that the next travel is set for November 2 or 3. THAT IS NEXT WEEK!!! I was staring at my email, a common pass time for me these days, when the email popped in that said Update on Immigration Processing. I just sat and looked at it for a second before opening it. I skipped over the first paragraph of the cordials and went straight for the important stuff. It began with "Unfortunately,..." and I stopped reading. I already knew it meant I was not flying next week. Granted, I had a tingle of #$%^& but then I also had the side of me that knows I still have important shit to do, like drink the 14 bottles of wine sitting on my stove, update my iPod, get my iPhone unlocked, figure out which purses I NEED to take, pack my make up and maybe my clothes. Small details.

Considering I have never flown internationally, nor moved internationally, I still have plenty to occupy my time. Today's big challenge is my make up, which goes perfectly with todays #Blogtober14 prompt, The Beauty product I cannot live without. Well you see, here is the thing about that. I need it all. I love all my make up (not that I wear it every single day), brushes, lotions, potions, glitter, and all the other girly things that I have. So my answer to what product I cannot live without is....




I do love me some eyeshadow.


So for now I will go back to boxing up the last little bits of things I have... while listening to Andrea Bocelli on repeat.  As I said, it is a bit dramatic around these parts today. 
Today may be a good time to start on those 14 bottles.



Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro) Ft Sarah Brightman by Andrea Bocelli on Grooveshark










Helene in Between Blogtober





Oct 22, 2014

Pet Peeves

My top 10 Pet Peeves

Yeah, I am pretty sure that this will be easy since lately I have wanted to high-five more than one person in the face with a chair lately. Sorry...that is the packing/moving stress talking...maybe. Or my lack of tolerance for annoying people and stupid shit.

1.  Text back that say "K". So I text you a full sentence, or hell, maybe a phrase or statement and you can only muster a "k" in return. Oh Alright.

2. Teenagers that talk super loud and say completely inappropriate things just to get attention. Seriously, why are kids so damn attention hungry. Oh wait, they don't have always have positive role models at home. It is still a pet peeve #sorrynotsorry

3. Vague, Ambiguous statuses on Facebook. I mean just post, "Please come to my pity party" because that is all that people do that crap for.

4. The invasion of the snow birds into Florida at this time of the year. Seriously.

5. Screaming kids in Target. I get that kids have melt downs, and I understand that it is hard for parents. However, it is my sanctuary - please give that kid a candy bar or take 'em home.

6. When your standing next to someone and someone else walks up and wedges themselves in-between you.  #rude

7. When people tell me, "You're not a mom, you wouldn't understand"

8. When my wi-fi won't connect. I.can't.even.

9. When the packing tape gets stuck on the tape gun. @#$%^&

10. The gas light in my car. Bitch comes on at every single inopportune time.


Don't forget to link up with Liz @ Fitness Blondie & check out some of the awesome bloggers that are linked up. I have found some awesome blogs via this link up!


The Hump Day Blog Hop

Want to participate in the last few days of #Blogtober14,  click on the pic below!

Helene in Between Blogtober





Oct 21, 2014

Squirrel!!

So here I sit at my make shift desk surrounded by the little loose ends that really need to be cleared up. Rolls of tape, sharpi markers, and other miscellaneous items that really need to get their asses in a box. I mean I do have other things to do than pack and find a home for all this little stuff. However, I just don't wanna. I don't want to because I am enjoying the last few days in the house and I really can't believe that we are moving around the world. And... I'm lazy & a procrastination expert. I'll tell you about that someday. 




So today's Abu Dhabi update is nothing. Zilch, Zero, Nada. Some of the ladies in my leadership group got emails this morning telling them that their start date will most likely be pushed back as the head person in charge of documents took a little vacay which means no ones documents were submitted to immigration for the last two weeks. Luckily, I did not receive this email but I surely fired one off to my rep and she assured me that I didn't get it because I wasn't affected and my docs were in before said person took a little 2 week hiatus. I feel bad for the ladies in my group that this is going to affect. It is definitely hard to sit and wait and to be told you get to wait even longer is definitely stressful. However, I have witnessed two people conquer this process so I knew before I started what I was in for. I am praying that I get a fly timeline soon. As much as I want to be home for the holidays, I know that the closer I get to the holidays the harder it will be on my family when I have to leave. Let's rip the bandaid off, shall we?

I have been spending a good amount of time with friends and family lately which has been great. Everything is sold in the house with the exception of the washer and dryer and the fridge in the garage. Those should be in their new home this weekend. I am definitely looking forward to getting packing all tied up and completed however that would be happening much faster if I could get my rear end in gear and stay focused. Ha.. like that will happen.








Oct 19, 2014

Suitcases & Jewels

A secret to share...

I bought my luggage today for my big move today. I trudged through the flea market and finally found some of the acceptable pieces (that I haggled my arse off for) that I can take when I take my 8,000 mile trip half way around the world.  Little did I know that this purchase would be the one that would finally make all this moving "real". Honestly, it really screwed with my head. It scared me. It made all of the self-doubt that I have been fighting off these past few weeks come to the surface with a vengeance. "What the hell am I thinking?", "Am I really moving to the Middle East?" and my most favorite question... "How the hell am I packing my whole world in these three bags?!?"

This whole move has really had me reevaluating myself and doing some serious soul searching. This is the first decision that I have ever made that I know for a 100% fact is not the popular decision. It is not backed by everyone, and people are legitimately concerned for me and my husband. So why the hell am I making this decision when I know that I am hurting peoples feelings and when it has been a struggle for me personally as I am not afraid of conflict, but I hate having people I care about upset with me.

So here is the secret:  I am making this move out of my sheer need for adventure. I want to see parts of this big ole world that many people only dream about. I want to have croissants in Paris, drink wine in Italy, have a beer in Germany, visit the beaches in Maldives, see the amazing architecture in Dubai, and experience a completely different lifestyle while living in Abu Dhabi. I'd lie if I said i was not stoked about the fireworks for NYE in Dubai as well...or perhaps Paris.  I have always had the travel bug and I am finally finished with my schooling; it is time to move about this world. I am so ready for these new experiences that I have become an email stalker since that is how my flight itinerary will arrive. I can burst with excitement, yet at the same time I have a lingering feeling of sadness because I know how hard this is for a few certain people. I have never made a decision completely for myself and signing this offer letter, that is what I did. I thank you all for putting on a brave face for me because deep down, I need it.


Another part of this secret - that little red bag up there. It is the bomb dot com. I cannot wait to take it on little weekend trips. It is totally reminiscent of my little red suit case that I had growing up that said Going to Grandmas on the outside of it. I wonder if I could glue some jewels on the outside that would say  I'm going to Abu Dhabi, Bitch! Yeah.... probably wouldn't go over well in the conservative country. I am still working on my filter; No profanity in public.

Shit....








Helene in Between Blogtober

Oct 4, 2014

Blogtober :Day 4

So as I was catching up on my reading of blogs earlier today, I came across this fantastic idea by Helene of Helene in Between and Taylor of The Daily Tay. Since I am no longer working and desperately wanting to get back on the blog wagon prior to my departure I thought this would be a great idea to get my mind back on track. It might also be an outlet since my day to day human interaction is going to be quite low which means I will also increase conversations with Princeton, Weezy, and Vera and while they are stellar listeners they give little to no good advise. Rotten Dogs.

So here it is Day 4 of the Blogtober14 challenge & it is my favorite post on Instagram. Dang, lets start with difficult right out the gate. I have a lot of favorites on my IG (@justcallmesparkles) but I think that this one can be labeled as a favorite: 



One of the only pictures that I could get these rascals to stand still for long enough to get picture. There may have been french fries in my hand. I am not above bribing.

I loved today's prompt as I am always a fan of a little trip down memory lane. Looking forward to posting again tomorrow!





Helene in Between Blogtober





Dang Kids

Happy October, only 4 days late!

Here I sit in a house that is almost empty, with a PODS container outside in the driveway holding what I have left that I will unearth when we return from our adventure of living around the world. There are still plenty of things left to do to get us  "move ready" but this morning I feel that trolling FB, IG, and Pinterest are all much more relevant to my mood than packing or going through anything else.

You see yesterday was my last day at my job. While most people would dance at the fact they won't be returning to their place of employment - I tried desperately to hide the fact that I was an emotional wreck and only one more hug away from complete and udder melt down, cue the ugly cry. I started with a semi- ugly cry yesterday prior to putting my make up on. At least I did things in the correct chronological order, right? It just hit me that I was leaving my students, and a few in particular,  I love as my own. I was going to miss going to Homecoming, Grad Bash, Prom, and Graduation with these kids. I have been with them since they were freshman. I felt a wave of guilt. However, I got myself together and got to the car, then my Instagram alert went off and in true ADD fashion I couldn't wait to check it....


Yep, cue that on-the verve ugly cry again... #shesmymomatschool, knife to the heart for real.



                                         
They pulled out the big guns... here comes the teary-eyed Mistie once again when I arrived at school.


It is still overwhelming to have it put out there that I made an impact on these kids. As an administrator, I have always been the bad guy - dealing out discipline, calling parents, it is just the make up of my job. However, I chose when I came into administration to not only be a disciplinarian but to also know my kids. I wanted to know about them, their home situation (which makes a huge difference in dealing with them), to have some sort of relationship with them where I was approachable but also stern when I had to be. Yesterday was all the validation that I needed. I do this job for the kids. Not for myself, for the teachers, or for the parents. I attended all the sporting events, bought countless t-shirts, tubs of cookie dough, candles, wrapping paper, dried tears, gave advice, helped write resumes, wrote letters of recommendation, spent time after school just talking with these kids. This list could go on and on. But I did everything for the kids. My kids. Did I love all of them to pieces? No, I will not lie. They drove me batty, gave me pre-mature gray hairs, and I've lost sleep over worrying about them. Yet, I always went back and looked forward to seeing them. These kids have been my life for the past four years and that is why yesterday while the pain was there I knew deep down as the hugs came, the tears flowed and I ate more candy and cupcakes than anyone should in a day, that I knew I made a difference. It is sad that several people in this profession never get that validation in a true form. I now know I accomplished what I set out to do when I decided that I wanted to become an administrator. Some have said that these students were so blessed to have me; I think that it is completely the contrary. I am so incredibly blessed to have watched them grow, to have learned from them, and knowing that I made a mark on them.  So, to the students that will read this - thank YOU for allowing me to be a part of your high school years. You have made me so proud. 


The GQ Club



Rodriguez, Signing off. 




Now where are my damn tissues...