A day in my life...

This morning I woke up to a wide-eyed 6-year old, horrified at the thought conspiratorially whispered by her 9-year old brother sporting an impish smile. At the break of dawn (ok, really 10:15am) I had to explain, "No Katie, there is no such thing as brain freeze--the brain can not freeze (unless you are on the Titanic or outer space, but I digress)--and it is nothing you will die from. It is a saying, but not real . . . Yes, like a joke . . . Yes, it is a mean one, but don't be scared anymore." Kids... even though I am sure I came up with some doozies in my time.

My personal life includes my adopted family with three children: Lauren (11), Austin (9), and Katie (6). I will post pictures later, maybe even add them to the blog so they can muse what an evil stepmother I am.

Lauren is entering jr high this year and loves shopping, cooking, and playing with her friends. I coach her soccer team each time the season comes around, and she plays goalie. She has great fashion sense, very outgoing, and always likes meeting new people. We can't be anywhere for long and Lauren has made a friend. She is very loyal to her friends and is a good friend to them.

Austin is extremely intelligent, very witty (he put a kiwi into a pan and exclaimed "Look--Harry Potter!), and loves all things Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh (even though I think their popularity is on the way out), and Star Wars. He does judo and enjoys playing with his friends, eating nachos, and watching movies.

Katie is the prima donna and drama queen of the family, but with her bright smile and openly loving way, all is forgiven. She loves princesses, and will tell you she knows all about the Disney princesses, Spongebob Squarepants, and singing to songs in the car. She even does a great operatic rendition of her day at school, a daily ritual with her mom.

All the kids love the outdoors--kayaking, going to the beach, camping, or just riding bikes in the neighborhood. We live in a great neighborhood (a cul de sac) where there are four other families with kids right around their ages, and many other households who band together to make for great holiday experiences for the kids. At July 4th, there was an open pool party with food, badmitton, ping pong, and the fireworks Shawn brought me from South Carolina. There is always a Halloween party, and the whole neighborhood supports the kids' birthdays.

Kelly is their mother and my partner of over four years. They get their love of the outdoors from her, and she even hosts a kayaking group that has monthly outings to the waterways around central Florida (there are a lot). She is a bureau chief for the Orlando Sentinel, does a blog called Across the Pond which is immensely popular, and has a weekly column that is always a great read. Kelly is always quick to laugh, loves traveling and camping, very intelligent, and a loyal friend to all who know her.

We have four pets: Pete the dog (7), Missy the dog (6 mos), Nico the cat (5), and Momo the cat (6 mos). They are a lot of company to me while I work at home.

We have been following World Cup this year by seeing the games at a place called The Pub. The rest of the family has been routing for England, but I was the sole Brazil hold-out. With both out of the running, we are now routing for Italy since my best friend Manuela is an Italian native. We look forward to the game this Sunday.

I am happy to say that for my daily working life, I have broken the shackles of a 9-5 job. Not that I didn't do my time working EXTREMELY long hours, but my job description is a bit different. I now work for Full Sail, a new media college in Winter Park. I teach three classes (Digital Publishing, Type & Page Layout, and Portfolio Creation), but I have since hired associate course directors so I don't spend as much time in the classroom. I tend to float in and out of my favorite lectures and there for critiques of student projects. I work on the lecture presentations and administrative stuff, much of which I do from home. I love my job, and definitely love the flexibility. Because of this flexibility, I am able to help with childcare and spend a lot of time with the kids.

I enjoy reading, movies, exploring restaurants, travelling, Starbucks coffee, and drink way too much diet coke. I am currently pursuing my MFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art & Design, taking it completely online. I am the Education Chair for a national design organization called AIGA, and still do some work freelance under Blu Art & Design. I am a vegetarian (even though I still get a craving for pepperoni) and enjoy interior design and shopping (maybe too much).

I love blogging with everyone, and I am really enjoying getting to know you both. Even though I promise you, I will WIN the next contest :-)