It's no secret, I am not a fan of my required work travel. As the Regional Vice President for Atlanta, one might have thought more local meetings on the ground with clients. Not so much. I spend more time in Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas and Oklahoma than someone who dislikes barbecue, doesn't trust cowboys and is terrified of tornadoes ever should. But I've been running this schedule since 2007 with only a brief reprieve and admittedly when I'm grounded for too long, I get bored. Unfortunately, grounded hasn't happened in some time so boredom is not in my vocabulary. I long to be in our new home with my very near future hubby and small black furry child. I miss the hell out of them. Over the years I have learned not to get my feathers ruffled when flights are cancelled. I've stopped expending energy wishing for upgrades. And I write letters to Delta for entertainment purposes only. I actually heart Delta and will do my best to always remain loyal to their...

With our nuptials just a few short weeks away, good friends of ours threw a party to celebrate our long-awaited union. All the usual suspects, lots of food and booze and the pre-requisite wedding games. In this case, a loose version of the newlywed game due to the intoxication level of our guests at the point which the game was introduced. Our friends had to answer two questions...two about me, and two about Scott in the spirit of how we would answer these questions about each other. I'm sober and still confused, but everyone got it enough to make it entertaining. Once Scott got the concept of reading the answers aloud -- with one eye shut to avoid seeing double -- the entertainment value was huge, with our friends knowing us quite well. Of course, it has been seven years. Not only did we learn that our friends know us well, but I personally learned that everyone, with not a single exception, thinks I'm an OCD type-A personality fixated on cleaning and organization. Every...

Our newest niece arrived today with ten toes, ten fingers, a button nose, and the same birthday as her Daddy. She's so beautiful, I cried when I held her. She rocks, and despite having seen several little ones I love come into the world at this point, this miracle never gets old. But this isn't about the little bundle of love, this about the process that got us here. Like clockwork. We got into town last night and by 4:30 today we had a baby. My sister is an expert baby deliverer -- probably 10 pushes COMBINED with her first and second pregnancy. This one came so fast the nurse delivered her. And when I got there, I swear my sister could have hopped out of bed and gone for a margarita. Seriously. And did I mention that were it not for her belly she wouldn't have even looked with child? I pray this is genetic. While my sister was busy perfecting pregnancy, I kept the 19-month old Big Sister princess today, and got a real taste of parenthood with a full time job and two...

I feel like the rag doll that has been plucked out of the toy box, sucked on by the child, dropped on the floor, picked up by the dog, taken outside and peed on, buried in the garden, dug up by Mom, only to be handed back to slobbering child. I'm flattered at being the favorite toy, but it's time to let Buzz Lightyear see a little action. Everybody seems to need a piece of me, but I am certain that if baby would just keep his mouth shut, the dog would get the right chew toy, and Mom would offer more options to the child I wouldn't be in such high demand. Eventually my arms are going to fall off, and that won't be pretty.