the long journey home

so we decided to take it easy and spend 3 days getting up to illinois. we drove 5 hours each day....our adventure follows...

day 1 evening: we left katy at 4pm. yes, you read that correctly. we're that lazy. anyways, right before we hit the road, marc looked up a few towns roughly 5 hours away so we would know where to stop for the night. being hampton inn junkies, that's the only website he visited. and seeing that there was one perfectly located 5 hours out at the I-55 turn-point, we naturally assumed that they would be there waiting for us with welcoming fanfare. wrong. we arrived to find not only zero rooms available, but that hampton inn is considerably one of the "nicest" hotels within a 50 mile radius of hammond, LA. the next 46 minutes of our night were spent driving around the tiny anthill town trying to decide if we should settle for a roach motel or just keep driving. roaches won.

day 2 morning: we left the VERY thin-walled comfort inn at 11am. there was zero comfort in what we listened to that morning. 46 minutes later we passed a hampton inn.

day 2 evening: we spent a very relaxed afternoon and night watching nephews play baseball tournaments and winning trophies, having pleasant adult conversation, and playing 'guess who' with the most precious kid in the world :) nothing negative to say here!

day 3 morning: we left mark and paige's house in mississippi around 7am (we're getting better at waking up, if you'll notice). with about 2 hours left in the trip, i decided to call the ONE school that still has a position open to see what their summer hours are so that i could begin stalking the principal until she gives me a job. lo and behold, TODAY is the last day for their school office to be open. great. my intentions were to woo this woman with my crafty lesson plans and smooth talk, and now i have less than an hour and a half after getting home to get all spiffed up and put together a dazzling speech and performance for my ONE chance at winning her over.

day 3 evening: i bolt through the door to the shower. it is during my 30 second sprinkle that i realize...ALL of my "principal impressing material" is in the very front of the fully loaded moving truck, behind 8 billion boxes. oh...and everything else is on my computer, which is neatly tucked under 3000 pounds of clothing in my 3000 degree back seat. scramble. we then proceed to chunk all 8 million boxes out of the truck in the glorious humidity to find the one lowly bag that i need, thus rendering my "shower" completely pointless. i carry my ridiculously heavy monitor, computer, and printer up the endless flight of stairs, drop them on the floor, and shout to marcus over my shoulder that he has earned the right to set them up for me as i sprint back to the bathroom. i spend the fastest 15 minutes of my life uploading blurry pictures of my classroom, throwing together a powerpoint, and burning a cd copy that very well may be thrown straight into the trash by the unenthusiastic person i give it to. marcus then asks if he can help with anything and i give him the choice of blow drying my hair or looking up directions to the school. he actually debates over this decision. i'm finally out the door and have to force myself to not go twenty miles over the speed limit. the LAST thing i need at this moment is a 20 minute ordeal with a cop. i arrive at the school, put on my best smile, gather my things, try not to looked flustered, and calmly walk to the door. i am greeted by a note stating, "Federal Regulation requires that asbestos removal take place on this campus," or something of that nature. super. after all of that. i decide to hold my breath and walk in.