Leaving on a jet plane

I know we've been scarce lately, but it's been for a good reason. I've been working triple time to get everything finished up so we can head out on vacation tomorrow. It's the first time in 8 years that I've vowed to be completely shut off from the office for an entire week....I'm not even taking my laptop and my cell phone will be turned off. I'm pretty darn excited! All of this, of course, is possible because my manager's days are officially, completely, 100% over. Our new office manager started 2 weeks ago, and such a load has been lifted from my shoulders. It's amazing - all I have to do is take care of my own work responsibilities, and I don't have to worry about any one else. Plus, our company had a little bit of a revolution, where several offices and employees seceded from the union, so they gave me a big raise just for sticking around. I'm still giddy over that equation: less responsibility = more money. You can't beat that!

So, tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, we're headed to the airport to catch a plane that will allow us to catch a big ship that will take us to lots of very sunny places. Woo hoo! Elizabeth is very excited about going to the beach for the first time! We'll be back on Dec. 22, just in time to celebrate Christmas. Then, the rest of the family will be in town to visit during the week of New Years. So, we've got lots of fun times ahead. We'll update you with pics when we return!