I'm Audrey-who knew?

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You Are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• * If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure
• * I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this
• * Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit
• * Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally
• * Ask me questions to help me get clear
• * Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery
• * Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings
• * I like a good discussion but not a confrontation
• * Let me know you like what I've done or said
• * Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

• * being nonjudgmental and accepting
• * caring for and being concerned about others
• * being able to relax and have a good time
• * knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
• * my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
• * my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
• * being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

• * being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
• * being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
• * being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
• * being confused about what I really want
• * caring too much about what others will think of me
• * not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

• * feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
• * tune out a lot, especially when others argue
• * are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

• * are supportive, kind, and warm
• * are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/are-you-a-jackie-or-a-marilyn-or-someone-else-mad-menera-female-icon-quiz">Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at

Off to camp

My mom and I took Lizzy up to Vermont Monday afternoon then to Not Back to School Camp (NBTSC) Tuesday. Monday night we stayed at a hotel with a pool and jacuzzi so Lizzy and I got some good bonding time in before the long separation. We've been apart for a week or two before but camp is tough for me because I can't talk to her for the whole week. This year is easier for us both because we both had a better idea what to expect. Packing was much better and the anxiety level was down for the both of us. It still ain't easy though. On the way home I asked my mom how she could have stood to drop me off at college, drive 12 hours back home and know she wouldn't see me for 3 months. She said lots of my dad reminding her that this was the goal. Raising me to be strong enough to want to leave home. I hope I am so brave when my time comes. I have feeling my Lizzy will want to move farther and faster than I ever dreamed of. As hard as it is to let go I couldn't be prouder of how brave and adventurous she is.

Think Tank Worcester

Yesterday Lizzy and I went to the open house for Think Tank Worcester which is new and offering classes for home schooled teens. The lady who started it with 2 home schooling moms is a science teacher so the are offering lots of science classes. Lizzy wanted to do the creative writing class but it is on Monday nights and she is working then. She got to chat with the guy running the class and he was very cool. He immediately starting talking directly to her which was great. I get frustrated with people always talking to me instead of her. She is taller than me for goodness sakes just ask her what she wants! Anyway writer guy was totally cool and maybe next term we can catch his class at a different time. Instead she decided to take US History. I know the lady teaching it. My sister used to take care of her daughter like 10 years ago and she also used to run a yo-yo school that Liz was involved with 4 or 5 years ago. She is teaching history form a liberal perspective so Liz and I are cool with that. The first thing they are doing is putting Columbus on trial. Sounds fun! So the unschooly girls schedule for the fall is Mondays- work 5-9, Tuesdays- US History, Wednesdays- Saori weaving, Thursdays- Piano + work 7-9:30, Sundays- work 10-12 + Young Neighbors in Action meeting or World of Darkness RPG which she is game master for. Pretty busy schedule.

But first we will take a regularly scheduled break with NOT BACK TO SCHOOL CAMP!!!!!!!!!!

Faith and Religion

Lizzy and I had an interesting talk tonight about faith and religion. It's hard for me to remember sometimes that I don't have to be defensive but just listen to her and hear her. I've been worried by what I see as her very negative and judgmental attitude towards anything Christian lately. Her attitude towards the bible is it is a story book written by people who heard voices in their heads and is an unreliable source to base your life on. While I do not disagree with her on the whole I worry about how vocal she is about it. Most of my concern is because she is joining a group called Young Neighbors in Action through a local Catholic church. My best friend runs the group so she gets Liz. She has no problem with Liz disagreeing or asking questions as long as she is not disrespectful to the other kids. That's where I worry based on some of her most recent ideas. She was able to let me know tonight though that she is cool with people believing whatever they want but she wants to be able to be honest with me about how she feels. OH RIGHT! Light bulb moment. I remember now I'm not raising her to be a nice obedient girl. I'm raising her to be an independent thinker. I almost forgot. So bring it on little heathen child. Do not go gently into that good night. Down with the man! And next time I forget to listen be sure to remind me AGAIN.

Labor Day weekend

We had a mostly good weekend here. Saturday was quiet, Lizzy went to hang with her peeps and I stayed home and did some picking up. Sunday I took Lizzy and her friends to the Spencer Fair for a few hours. I was sent off to fend for myself and wandered around looking at the exhibits. I saw bunnies and cows and chickens. It was pretty good but I was bored after about an hour. But then I happened across a band called Scarlet Fade playing and they were pretty good. Four teen siblings from CT. Their voices were nice and the songs were good. I called Lizzy to come hear them but she was on the Ferris Wheel with my sister. She had already heard them though and liked them too so I picked up their CD. Today my sister and nieces came over and helped Lizzy and Charles and I CLEAN the house as a b-day present for my mom. We threw away everything we could decently get away with whiteout freaking my mom out and went to town. My mom will be surprised and really happy. It was cool everybody helped. Even though Liz said she wasn't going to she ended up staying home to help. The kitchen and bathroom are downright sparkly. Tomorrow I'll finish up the living room and dining room and vacuum. Lots of labor on Labor Day but very satisfying.

Bad bad blogger

OK so it's been almost a month since my last post. I know you've been breathlessly awaiting to hear from me : ) No pics no graphics hardly any amusing banter just my and my rambling thoughts. Hey you get what you pay for right?

So a quick update before I get distracted again. I thought very seriously about quitting my job but decided not to. I got a crappy evaluation which pissed me off but once I could look at without crying it was not totally unfair or unreasonable. Plus our nurse is coming back two years after a car accident and I saw the floor plans for my potential new building and got kinda psyched.

Lizzy and I are reading the Twilight series together. I finished Eclipse this weekend and am waiting for her to finish New Moon. This is the first time she's read a book first then I read it. It's fun and she is very good at not spoiling things. Liz was banned from my sister's house until she finishes because my niece is not so good at it. Lizzy is looking forward to being able to completely obsess about Edward with her cousin.

As of Friday I am on a three week vacation. September 9th is my 10 year anniversary with Alternatives and I decided to celebrate by not being there : ) After I decided not to leave all together anyway. The only plans I have is hang out with Liz, check out a new home school, center in Worcester, go to the beach one day, shop for camp and take Liz up to Vermont for camp. Should be fun.

Liz is REALLY excited about Not Back To School Camp. She went last year and had an awesome time. She's bummed some of her friends won't be there but a lot will plus all the friends she hasn't met yet.

Gotta run to pick Liz up from weaving. The fall events have begun!

Mommy's grumpy

Everybody went to the ocean today but me cause I went to work like a dummy. It's a beautiful perfect 80 degree day and there are boogie boards involved. OK whining out of the way. I'm glad everyone is having a good time. I just wish I was with them. Hopefully I'll be able to do a few days at the beach when I take vacation in September. One of my favorite things about unschooling is no back to school. Whatever Liz plans to do this fall will start in October. She's having a ball this summer with her crew. Once they go back to school I'm on vacation then it's time for Not Back to School Camp. After camp she and mom are doing a few days in Vermont then she plans on crashing for a week or two before getting into fall activities. Good times.

Teen sexuality & sleepovers

Most of Lizzy's friends at this point are either gay or bi. This is something I've known for awhile now and the kids have become pretty open with me about. Recently her two best male friends have both had their first boy friends. Her very best friend J decided to tell his dad. He lives with his dad and grandfather and his mom lives in another state so he and his dad are pretty close. It went pretty well as these things go. His dad's initial reaction was that he's still the same person and that he loves him no matter what. After thinking about it for a day he decided maybe he is confused and needs counseling and by the way Jimmy can't sleep over anymore because he's probably the one putting these ideas in your head. Now I know J does like Jimmy and they did date at one point and probably will again. I also know J had been checking out boys at the mall with Lizzy long before he met Jimmy.



Lizzy and her friends remind me of a big pile of puppies. They are just all over each other all the time. They hug and punch and cuddle and generally hang all over each other all the time. I do remember being like that as a kid with my gang. It was so much fun then. That innocent intimacy that is so natural to teens. Once upon a time I was telling Liz she couldn't date until she was sixteen and I would never have dreamt of letting a boy sleep over. Now I've reached a point that I know Liz is going to do what she wants and more importantly NOT do what she doesn't want to. She's not afraid to ask for help if she needs it. Also her female friends are just as likely to make a move on her as her male friends. So I just let it go and trust her. It's harder than it sounds and she calls me on it all the time. It's easy to say yes, I trust her judgment and much harder to really TRUST her. To put that feeling of trust into trusting actions. Practice, practice, practice.

Summertime fun

Ever since all Liz's friends got out of school for the summer it's been pretty non stop. She either has someone over or she's at someone else's house. Her social input is just non stop. This is great in a lot of ways. I know she is having the time of her life. She has put together quite a cool little tribe for herself. The kids are interesting and a lot of fun. I get to be the cool mom and I know they like hanging out at my house. I'm the only mom they talk freely about who is going out with who, especially if it is same sex couples. I know who her friends are and I have a general idea of what they are up to. My mom was the same way for my sister and I so i am happy to do this for Liz. Drive them around, feed them, listen to them. I complain sometimes but really I love it.

I appreciate this moment of parenting the same way I appreciated when she was very small. It is totally intense but so brief and precious. I want to close my eyes and remember exactly what this feels like. When she was small I would try and hold onto the memory of what it felt like to hold her. When she fit along the length of my arm, the length of my torso, on my hip, in my lap. My memory has always worked in small snaps of time. I was so terrified I would forget her childhood I worked extra hard at making sure I held onto those snaps of time. I want to hold onto this moment in the same way. The swirl of teenagers, the noise, the laughter. She is waking me up in the middle of the night and making lots of demands of my resources just like when she was little too. At least there are no diapers : )

This rocks!

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My girlie is home!

Lizzy is home! She had such a great time. She brought the map from Busch Gardens to show me everything she did. Now that she's the roller coaster queen some of the rides she used to think were scary are totally boring. I have never been on a roller coaster in my life but I'm glad she likes them. Where fear holds me back she blazes through. It's good to know that whatever mistakes or struggles Liz deals with they will almost certainly be different than mine. Sometimes that means I have no idea how to help her but we keep working on it together.

Apparently Water Country was just OK. She used to like water slides but just doesn't any more. Tyler got annoyed because he really wanted her to go with him but that child will never do what she doesn't want to. She said there were 2 different kind of "lazy river " rides that I would have loved. One with a tube and one without. They don't make you get out like at six flags. The tubes just float around and you grab one and use it until you want to get out. So cool!

Busch Gardens

Lizzy and Tyler had a blast at Busch Gardens. There was only one ride she wasn't able to go on because she was too big for the harness. Tyler's mom said she had problems on the same ride that the seats were smaller. She went on every roller coaster and had a great time. They all got sun burns a few days ago at the beach but it didn't seem to ruin their day at all. The day after the beach she texted her god mother aka my best friend about it. I get a phone call and the first thing she said was hadn't I taught the child about sunscreen. Liz cracked up when I told her I got yelled at for her getting a sunburn. That child knows darn well she never had a sunburn when she was little enough for me to be responsible for all the sun screening. I even made a point of asking if she had sunscreen with her. She said they were sun screening like crazy yesterday. Today is Water Country then tomorrow they are heading home!!

North Carolina

Liz got to go in the ocean today while in North Carolina. She thought it was so cool that the water was so different than in New England. It never occurred to her that the ocean wouldn't be cold like it is here. I've never had the chance to be in the ocean an other parts of the country so I think it's cool that she has opportunities that I've never experienced. We both love the ocean so much I can only imagine what a joyous time she and Tyler had playing in water that was cool but not painful to get in. Personally I'm a New England girl and I think that's half the fun of it.

The teen is traveling

So Lizzy called me from the mall on Sunday and said I should let her go with Tyler. Then Tyler got on the phone and said he and his mom were heading to North Carolina to see his grandparents and then go to Busch Gardens on the way back. When were they leaving? Monday. Yikes! So I talked to Tyler's mom, did some laundry & cleaned out my bank account. So much for the bills this month : ) As of last night they had stopped to spend the night in Virginia and all was well.

Two years ago Liz couldn't spend the night away from home because of crippling anxiety attacks. Now she can throw a bag together and hop in a car to take off for a week on less than a days notice. And I let her! We've come a long way baby.

I got the teen stamp of approval

Lizzy finally decided to check out the blog and was amazed her mom actually had something interesting to say. She says it's only interesting because it's mostly about her : ) She is totally fascinating to me anyway!

Old Songs is fun!

Last weekend my mom, Liz and I went to New York for our annual trek to Old Songs. This festival of traditional music, dance and story telling is a 13 year tradition for us. My mom got introduced to Old Songs by Harriet her best friend for 20 years. This is one of the many wonderful things that Harriet introduced to our family. It is a really neat family event with lots to do for everyone.

When Liz was little she loved everything but the music. Her favorite thing was the huge sand pile they set up for the kids. The last few years she was one of the older kids and was the queen of the sand pile. I knew this year would be fun for her because she has been so into all different kinds of music. Some things we did together and sometimes we did our own thing. At one point she was walking around with her phone in one ear, her ipod in the other and walking by people everywhere playing different music. She said the input was crazy.

The only down side was being way short on cash because Liz's dad got laid off so no child support this month. Liz didn't get her paycheck either so she didn't have her own money. It was hard for her to deal with wanting so many things and not be able to have them. On Sunday I had 2 $20 so I gave her one and I kept one. She was planning on gong the day without eating so she could get a henna tattoo. I bought her a piece of pizza because I couldn't stand it. The the henna lady wasn't even there and she just got pissed at me. That sucked.

I heard some great tunes. I went to a blues, funny songs and protest songs workshops. Also a really cool workshop on the history of music. There was a traditional gourd banjo and the sound was totally different. One of the blues guys played a cigar box guitar. I could not believe the sound he got from one string and a box. It was amazing. I heard this same guy a few years ago and fell in love with the steel guitar. I'm hoping for his new CD for Christmas.

How to Screw up Unschooling

"Over at Always Learning there is a really interesting thread going right now. It's titled "How to screw up unschooling" and people are listing things that can hinder unschooling.~Buy only "educational" materials and~Don't change plans midstream are a couple examples. I started to think about it and one of the topics that came to mind is the whole "unparenting" issue. That word is used as a slam against those of us that believe strongly in freedom and respect for children. But I've actually witnessed true "unparenting" in the form of neglect from some that choose unschooling. It's not pretty. We talk so much about freedoms, do we help people understand how unschoolers respectfully say "knock it off" or "that isn't cool" or "I'm not ok with this"? I think that part can get missed at these lists. How do you respect the individual AND other people's (including your own) personal boundaries? How can unschooling get screwed up? How can we create conditions for it to flourish and what kind of behaviors/activities inhibit joyful unschooling?"
Ren
learninginfreedom.com

Something I have always had to work on is paying attention to my own life. I get in trouble with money unless I constantly pay attention to it. I have trouble with food unless I am constantly monitoring it. My home becomes a disaster unless I consistently pay attention to it. My work will suffer when I become distracted from it. Of course my parenting and relationship with Liz is the same. I have a tendency to look for escapism in books & TV & movies. I know if I am not careful my whole life will escape from me. And more importantly Liz's childhood.

The first time I went to a Zen meditation group it was torture to me. To sit and be present with myself for an hour was ridiculously difficult. I talked to the teacher about it and she said just come in for 5 minutes to start. I didn't go back for a long time but Liz and I went last week together for about 20 minutes. I also started reading "Wherever You Go There You Are" and practicing at home. The idea of meditating just for the sake of practicing being present is a new idea for me. Before I thought I should do it to deal with stress or to be a better person. To get something from it. Now I see I need to practice being present in the NOW just because that's what I need and that's enough.

Since starting unschooling I find myself much more present to Liz than I was in the past. We spend more time together, talk more. As she moves out more and more into the world on her own I cherish the moments when she shares her experiences with me. I don't get annoyed any more when she wants to lay in bed with me at night and tell me about her day. I don't tell her it's too late or I'm too tired anymore. This sharing of her life is more important to me than 20 minutes of sleep. I stop what I am doing now and go look when she tells me she found something cool. Washing a dish or reading a book or looking at the TV is not more interesting to me than she is.

This weekend I had a ah ha moment when I realized that there were times that I held myself back from Liz. I was stingy with my time and my resources and even with my affection. I knew I couldn't ever give her "enough" so I withheld myself from her. I used her need for attention as a weapon against her. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and made me cry. I can only touch around the edges of this feeling because I may drown in them if I get too far out of my depth. After I had my little cry and feel the pain for a moment I remind myself of what I heard so many times at the conference. "When you know better, you do better." So now I am doing better. I still get annoyed but Liz can tell the difference now that even though I may not want to do something I still will do it for her. To be mindful and to love unconditionally have new meaning for me now.

I don't know how much this really addresses Rens' question but it is what has been in my heart lately and what I wanted to share.

Harry Potter rocks it again

Liz and I are HUGE Harry Potter fans. My mom read the first and second book at the recommendation of her friend Harriet. She gave them to me to read and I have been hooked ever since. I think Liz was in second or third grade when I started reading them to her. We spent the whole school year reading the four books that were out at the time. She wrote every book report she could get away with about a Harry Potter book. The biggest reason being that Liz didn't read. She loved for me to read to her and to listen to books on tape but she did not have any desire or interest in reading herself. She complained of headaches so I took her to get glasses last year. Still no reading. I knew she could read. According to the testing done while we were still fighting the school system she actually had college level reading skills.

I am a reader. I love books and I love to read. Letting go of Liz being a reader was hard for me. My mom and sister and I all all readers. My oldest niece is a reader. I have read to Liz since she would sit still long enough. I had every Dr Seuss book memorized. When she was 5 or 6 I started reading chapter books to her. I started with Stuart Little and went from there. I read to her every night and we both loved it. I would read to her until I was hoarse or she fell asleep whichever came first. She loved books and stories but she would not read and it broke my heart.

When we started unschooling I heard so many stories of kids who didn't read in school who would discover a passion and start reading like mad. So I waited.....and waited.....and waited. in the meantime I read everything I could about unschooling. I read books and I read posts on groups and I read blogs. And I thought about why I value reading as a means of entertainment and new ideas and often escape. Liz complained about me hiding in my room to read and that I didn't pay attention to her. She was jealous of my reading. So I stopped for awhile. I sat with her while she watched TV and played on the computer. We went places together and talked and explored this new life we were creating for ourselves. I left her alone to think and rest. I started to value what she was doing not for it's "educational" value but because she liked it. I was de-schooling because I needed it so much more than she did.

It's been a year and a half since Liz left school. She finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire yesterday. All 734 pages of it. She's been reading here and there for awhile and I hadn't really noticed it that much. She doesn't like library books because they smell funny but she likes to sit in the bookstore and read. She's been picking up books that we have at the house and reading them. I think The Teenage Liberation Handbook was the first book she actually read the whole way through but she didn't tell me about it until later when we were talking about something else.

My daughter is a reader. She communicates through IM and texting constantly. She reads for information and now she reads for pleasure. It makes me happy but I don't own it. I didn't "make" her a reader with my good parenting or fabulous talent. It doesn't make her a better daughter or a more interesting person. I don't love her more. She is reading more and I am reading less. I still read for pleasure but I am working very hard on not reading to escape. I am trying to make sure Liz knows she is not less important to me or less interesting than a book. There will be plenty of years in my life left to read. I only have a few more years with my girl before she grows up. Now if I could only give up reality TV.

Visit to Annie's book swap

In the car on the way to Lizzy's friends house we were chatting about this and that and were talking about the Monday night at the church this week. It is a discussion about the works of Thoreau. I mentioned I'd like to read Thoreau but never have. As huge a reader as I am I shy away from the "classics". Most likely one of my school issues. I love books and reading but the whole "what did the author mean by that" crap is totally boring to me. Unless the author want to let me know what they meant how should I know if the teachers opinion means anything. Liz was also interested in Thoreau so off I went to the used book store. I got Walden, a book of Robert Frost poems, 2 auto biographies Katherine Hepburn & Ellen DeGeneres and The Four Agreements. Some for me some for her and hopefully some will intersect. Oh and a totally cute Monarch butterfly book mark. That's for me!

A little HTML anyone?

Last night Lizzy was working on her my space page. She changes it a lot. Although I am no longer her "friend" because it's just not cool she likes to show me when she works on it. After she showed me the page I was looking over her shoulder while she was working on it and saw all the code in it. I asked her how she did that and she said she had learned it because it made her page look nicer. I really have no understanding of HTML at all and it is beyond amazing to me that she is picking up something so completely foreign to me. I've heard other people say their kids are learning HTML and I think "Wow that's so cool". Lizzy keeps telling my how smart and cool she is. Sometimes I just forget she's right : )

Cashing in on some good Karma

Yea! I had a new bed to sleep in last night. My box spring caved in months ago and I have been sleeping on an ever increasing slant since. Monday I was talking to our Occupational Therapist at work and she was talking about her boyfriend moving in with her last weekend. They both had pretty new mattresses but he didn't like hers becasue it was too firm. She asked if I new anyone who needed a new matress.

Ooo, oooo, me, me, me!!!

She didn't even want anything for it and her boyfriend drives a big bread truck so they brought it over. The only downside was the slight embarassment that they saw all the crap under my bed. I had to work late yesterday and didn't have time to get it cleaned out. A happy back is definitely worth a little embarrassment though. My chiropractor will be so proud : )

Valley Friendship Tour

Today was Alternatives Valley Friendship Tour the big fundraiser for the year for my work. Alternatives provides services for folks with developmental and psychiatric disabilities in central Mass. I have been managing a day hab program for almost 10 years now. We have 14 people that come in during the day and we keep trying to find things for people to do that they like and will be happy. Transitioning to unschooling thought has helped me in my work a lot. I take more time now to be creative in finding solutions that will work for each person. My favorite thing we are doing right now is one of the women goes to weaving class every week at the Saori weaving studio. She needs a lot of help to weave and at first she would only stay about 20 minutes but now she stays about an hour. Every week she looks at what she did the week before and like to touch it. She picks out her own colors and she loves to pull the bar that tightens the thread together. She will pull it two or three times so her fabric comes out really nice. When she leaves she will wave to the other members of the class and everyone will say bye to her by name.

Fifteen years ago this woman lived in an institution. She does not speak and she has no teeth and she keeps her hair in a very short buzz cut. When I met her 13 years ago I was really scared of her for a long time. She spent most of her time sitting on a mat in the corner playing with small plastic beads in a cardboard box. She would sift them through her hands for hours. When she got mad she would throw the box across the room and start hitting herself until she bled. Three people would be working with her to calm her down often having to hold her so she couldn't hurt herself. One time she punched me so hard in the head my glasses flew across the room. Now she's the cute old lady who always wears a hat and carries a pocket book. She loves coffee and will probably drink yours if you're not careful. She doesn't hurt herself or anyone else anymore. No one has had to hold her down in years. She's the lady at the loom next to you making a pretty scarf. It will take her 10 times as long to finish but she'll do it. I love her more than I can say.

When people find out I work with adults with disabilities they don't know how I do it. Because I can is the easiest answer. Sometimes when Liz is particularly difficult to like my mom will shake her head and say I think I would have killed her by now. My answer is always well that's why God gave her to me. Because I can even when I think I can't. I can love her. I can be her best friend. I can be the best mom to her.

Welcome

Well I've been obsessively reading blogs for awhile now so I thought I'd give it a try myself. I have no idea what I'll talk about or if I'll even have anything interesting to say but nothing ventured nothing gained. So I guess I'll write about what I know me, my family and our life together. Our household at this time consists of me, my 15 year old daughter Lizzy and my mom. We are an unschooling family finding our way in the world together. This weekend mom and I went to the Northeast Unschooling conference in Peabody, Ma. My girlie went to the cape with the church youth group. It was a hard decision for her. She knew some of her pals from Not Back to School camp would be at the conference but a lot of her friends in the youth group are graduating and this would be their last retreat. She chose the youth group and the ocean and had a great time. I missed having her with me at my first conference but also had a good time. It's hard for me to meet new people but I did manage to talk to a few people. It was totally cool to meet people that I knew from online. I totally want Kelly Lovejoy to be my new best friend : )
Now Lizzy and I are working on getting to Live and Learn in September. I'm not a big traveler so it would be a huge adventure for me. Wish me luck!