Home?

Ok, so we arrived home last night/this morning from our long ass drive from Delaware.  As is the norm, I hold it together saying goodbye until I get to my mom and then I have to hold back the floodgates of tears.  I really really really really really miss my family and Jersey.  A friend of mine (who I had a playdate with during my stay at home) facebook messaged me saying what an awesome time she had with me and my daughter and how she wishes I still lived at home because we'd playdate every week. 

*Add me crying here*

Ugh!  This is sooooo frustrating!  I wish moving back home was as simple as getting a new job and hiring movers, but it's not.  Instead I have to suck it up here.  Don't get me wrong, I don't live in a hell hole or anything; this area just isn't my cup of tea.  My husband deals with it, but he's so friggin' laid back that he'd find some way of dealing with living in a box.  He wouldn't like it, but he's a much better person than I am when it comes to things like accepting your current position.  As I've stated in earlier blogs, I am not, never have been, never will be a Southern girl.  I bleed Yankee blood proudly.  I say "cawfee" and I'm proud of it.  Now please don't misunderstand, I don't hate the South.  I think it's a nice place, but I'm done living here.  It's not my home.  Roots have not been planted.

So the lastest issue I'm wrangling with (aside from my constant avoidance of WW) is my husband's potential new job.  He works in radio and has for the past 10+ years.  Being on the radio is something he LOVES.  Daily, he regrets moving us from Wilmington since he had a choice radio gig there on the local ESPN station doing a local sports talk show.  I've always supported his desire to be a sports talk guy, despite the next-to-nothing pay it makes. (While money is nice, it's not always what makes people happy day to day)  In addition to working for a news talk station (no longer does sports since our move inland), he also works for a sports broadcasting company that produces college games.  He's done some on-air work for them with pre-, halftime, and post-game shows.  Recently, his boss there has presented my husband with a full-time opportunity as entry-level management.  The job would include having 8 people report to my husband, extensive off-season travel, and a great deal of responsibility - more so than he's EVER had before.  Now, my husband has had little, if any, experiencing negotiating his salary.  He just is happy to be able to be paid to do what he does.  Well, on April 24th of last year, our lives changed with our beautiful baby girl and we're looking at a whole new ball game.  My husband is afraid to ask for a salary that would (granted in my opinion, but still) reflect how much time and effort is being put into this job.  He's afraid that they will laugh at his suggestion.  I say no....negotiations start high and work from there.  I keep telling him: what's the worst that could happen?  They say that wasn't the figure they had in mind and you find a common ground in the middle?  Ok...what's wrong with that?  We shall see....

So while I was home, I went to a book signing by RHONJ Teresa Giudice for her cookbook Skinny Italian.  Needless to say, I almost shit my pants when I got to meet her.  Here I am waiting in line wracking my brain as to what I could say or ask her and what comes out of my mouth when it's my turn:

"I'm so friggin' excited to meet you!"

And that's it.

I'm sure Teresa was like "Um...ok freak" when she took my book to sign, but if I'd have attempted to say anything else, I would have cried.  I was really star struck seeing her there.  Here is this real person I watch RELIGIOUSLY every week.  Not an actor playing a role, but a real person who's life I get to watch.  I felt like she was my bff.  I doubt she even remembered my name 2 seconds after signing my book.  Oh well....

Since Teresa's cookbook talks all about healthy ways to cook food (her zuchini salad was AWESOME and I hate zuchini!) I'm going to try out all her recipes to see if I turn into a skinny Italian. :)