Is anyone still in suspense?

Probably not... most people who read my blog already know what my big plans for October are. And if you didn't and you still care, I'll let you in on it shortly. First, a little catch up...

Last time I blogged, I was so buried in work, I couldn't even see straight. I was staying up all hours of the night, neglecting my house (and sometimes my kids) and working every weekend to try and get the project I was working on out by the deadline. As the deadline was approaching, I got a touch of bad news. It seems that a few of the projects that were helping to keep the company I work for afloat were financed by Lehman Brothers. Sound familiar? Like as in the Lehman Brothers investment bank that went belly up? Yeah.... So my company was to cut off all contract employees immediately. That's me, by the way. I'm a contract employee. So I was told that I will continue on the construction administration that I am currently doing on another project, but I was to stop working on the current project and I would be getting no more work until further notice. Nice... But then it didn't exactly happen that way. It turned out that even though they technically were supposed to cut me off, they still needed me to help finish the project by the deadline. So I got to stay on for another two weeks. Unfortunately, my company did actually have to lay off a full time employee, and that's never a good thing. So it was work work work for me until last Thursday night.

I rested on Friday, took the kids to Busch Gardens on Saturday, ran errands with the kids on Sunday while Quoc went to the Bucs game, and then I got sick. Really sick. So sick that I actually went to the doctor on Monday. And if you know me, I rarely go to the doctor when I am sick. I usually try to suck it up and wait for whatever ailment I have to go away on its own. I even went so far as to get an appointment at my asthma doctor's office since my regular doctor couldn't see me until Tuesday (thanks for the suggestion, Mums!). It was that bad. So I have a sinus infection. I am on lots and lots of drugs, and they are helping. Which is a good thing since my big plans are happening on Saturday!!!

Okay, so is everyone hanging on the edge of their seats yet? Yeah, I know you're not, but I'm just so darn excited, so act like you are.

On Saturday, Quoc and I are leaving. We're going on vacation for a whole week. Without the kids. Did you hear that? We're not taking the kids! Now, you all know how much I love my kids. They ARE my life. You know this. But can I just say how excited I am to relax for a whole week and SLEEP as much as I want, eat my dinner without getting up 10 times, read my books, and in general, just do whatever the heck I want to for a whole week??? I have been talking about this trip since last spring, and while my original plan had been to go on our actual 10th anniversary back in August, I am ecstatic to be going two and a half months later. Oh... I guess I should say where we're going... We're going to the Dominican Republic! My parents and my sister have both been there, and loved it, and I have had lots of friends go and say it was great too. And above all of that, it's way cheap for what you get. Nearly all of the resorts are all-inclusive, so all your meals, drinks, tips and activities are included with your room rate. We are staying at the Melia Caribe Tripical Resort. Did I mention that I am excited? I wouldn't say that Quoc and I have never been on vacation exactly. We did go to Vietnam back in 2000, and we've taken trips up north to visit my family and trips down to visit Quoc's family when we lived up north and little weekend trips to Orlando. And we did take a 5 day trip up to the panhandle with Quoc's sister this summer to celebrate her MBA. So I wouldn't say that those were 100% not vacations. BUT this is the first real adult vacation that is purely for relaxing and not for visiting with other people that we have taken since our honeymoon 10 years ago. So yes, I am way excited. I know I will miss the kids. That is a given. I have never been away from them for more than 3 days. But I know they're in good hands with Mumsy and Tweety (my parents), and they will probably have lots more fun than if I were actually here. So I think this will be a good thing for all of us.

So now I have all the preparation... I don't know how I'm going to have everything done by Saturday. My house has been neglected pretty badly since I started working a lot, back at the beginning of September. And with me being sick, I haven't gotten a big jump on cleaning it up like I wanted to at the beginning of the week. I did manage to deep clean 2 of the 3 bathrooms in my house today. And laundry is getting done (although not folded and put away just yet.) But I still have a ton of things to do. I don't know if I mentioned it in my last blog post, but just before I got the call that I was getting some new work, I tore my office apart. And I mean TORE IT APART! So there is still a bunch of junk out in the foyer and on the dining room table that has no home. I guess no one will die if I don't finish absolutely everything, but there is nothing worse than coming home from vacation to a dirty, messy house... I guess I'll do my best, and what doesn't get done won't hurt anyone.

So anyway, those are my big plans. I probably won't be on again until after I come back, so be on the lookout for new pictures. I won't have cute ones of my kids, unfortunately, but hopefully I'll have beautiful ones of paradise!