In All Different Directions!

As usual, our family is going 90 mph in all different directions these days.  Here's what we've been up to for the last 3 weeks...

Alyssa 

Alyssa has added more days to her work schedule at Milk + Honey. She's really enjoying her weekly Apprentice program - learning a lot and making a good impression.  This week, she has models coming in to get various styles, so she can be "checked off." When she completes all of this - probably in 3-4 months -  she anticipates being "given a chair" at the salon. Very exciting!!
We all had a lot of fun fishing and sailing at the end of last month at Lake Texoma - see more at A Long Line of Lake Lovers. And, then, a couple of weeks later, Alyssa had a wonderful trip to the beach with Josh's family. She LOVES the beach, so 4 days at a lovely condo in Corpus Christi was perfect! They caught quite a few fish, saw a few dolphins and maybe even a shark. It sounds like September, when the crowds have died down, is THE time to do a beach trip!
Alyssa's "Wedding Update" is that she found The Dress. Next stop...Invitations.
On a side note... Alyssa's fiancé, Josh, turned 21 since I last reported in.  After our fishing trip, we decided to get him a bow fishing kit.  With all the carp at the dock, I think he'll love using it there. He's already being practicing and is becoming quite good with the bow! He loves "outdoor stuff" so I'm glad we found something for him on his "Big Day."

Katie 

Katie finished her summer work at Cinemark. Luckily, she's been accumulating free passes (one of the perks of working there!) so I anticipate more movie watching for all of us!
We've been busy shopping for "L.A. Clothes" - since most of her NYC wardrobe is for much colder weather than she'll see in southern California. She is not sad to leave that New York weather!
She's been having a lot of fun with Zumba classes at the local 24 Hour Fitness.
We're working together on a cookbook, so she'll be able to make various dishes that she grew up enjoying.  She probably won't be home for Thanksgiving this year, so she wants to learn how to make all of our family specialties! :::sniff, sniff:::
Katie's been a huge help to me with getting Grandma to her multitude of dental appointments lately. (See below)
And... I just realized that the next time I "report in," I will probably be back from taking her to California. I'm going to miss her!!

Michael

Michael has been busy trekking across Nicaragua. He teaches in the eastern side of the country, but is often called back to Corazo area for Peace Corps training classes and workshops. It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend lives in La Paz and her family kindly allows him to stay there with them.  Considering his pay is about $100/month, and his food options are pretty bad where he lives, I'm happy that he has a family who feeds him whenever he's there!
Michael has had very little communication lately because his computer crashed. This is not an easy fix in a 3rd World country. Kathya thinks she knows someone that can fix it, but we'll see. In the meantime, she loaned him a computer from her family to take back to his house in Muelle de Los Bueyes (south central Nicaragua). Only problem was, he confused the 2 power cords and took the wrong one back. Considering mail is completely unreliable, he has to wait a couple of weeks to get back over there to get the right cord. All of these computer issues are troubling him because he and Kathya are trying to work on her Visa to come back to the USA with him for Alyssa's wedding next April.  Only about 10% of Nicaraguans who apply for visas are granted one, so we're a little worried. Cross your fingers!
On Wednesday, Michael experienced a 7.6 earthquake which occurred off the coast of Costa Rica but shook Nicaragua as well. He felt the tremor and said it lasted longer than any he remembered in Alaska or California. All day long, Nicaraguans anticipated a tsunami from the quake, but by the end of the day, the warning was lifted without any tsunami. He called to tell me about it, before I could hear about it from the computer or the news.  I'm glad because I would have been worried sick if I couldn't find out about him.

I found a different video and shared it at my earlier blogpost, "Mom! It's an Earthquake!" 
But here's CNN's report on this earthquake, with experts, maps and explanations:

Sue

After a couple of months of exercise (including weekly with Michelle, the trainer) and wishy washy dieting, I stuck with the Fuhrman Diet. And lost 7 lbs. in 2 weeks! For some reason, I fell off the wagon and ate all kinds of unhealthy stuff. So now I'm back on board. The diet is primarily plant-based. Crazy, seemingly excessive, amounts of leafy greens as well as 1 lb. of cooked veggies and 1 lb. of raw veggies, at least 4 fruit, and 1 cup of beans. That's the minimum! Really makes for a messy kitchen though. Oh well.
I offered to help my longtime friend, Linda Dobson, with her publication Parent at the Helm. The books she wrote really helped me tremendously when we first started homeschooling, so I am happy to help her out with PATH. I've written a few pieces and now I'm learning Wordpress, behind the scenes. I really like it so much better than Blogger, but I'm not sure about moving everything to a different blog. We'll see. If I can figure out the Wordpress "themes" down the road, I might do it.
And speaking of road... I'm looking forward to Katie and my road trip to California at the end of the month! Driving there, flying back.

Ron

Ron is still ordering parts and working on the motorcycle. Luckily, we have Grandma's Toyota Camry for him to drive to work.  He's had a couple of really great sailing weekends. He's doing different things with the sails, so he can control the speed and the ways the sails catch the wind. And, he bought the decal for the boat name change... O Susie Q.  We'll take a picture the next time we go up there (or he might go up while we're gone to California.)
I've never had a boat named after me! Kinda cool!

Grandma

I was sitting at my dining room table when my mom came up to me.
"Look at this," she said casually and placed a whitish almost plastic looking thing in my hand.
"What is it?" I asked.
"My tooth!"
Why this grossed me out, I have no idea. My kids have put far worse into my hands in years past. But this really bothered me.  Oh well.  I got over it.  Grandma's "chipped" tooth turned into 6 visits to the dentist and oral surgeon!  She needed a root canal, a crown lengthening, a post being added, a temporary tooth, and still a permanent one to go in there! Wow!
She's really enjoying all the activities that her apartment complex sets up. So, in spite of her forgetfulness and real need for a lot of help, I'd like her to stay there as long as possible. We're talking about how the next step is to move in with us - and she isn't resisting that. But, just like with the car, why resist until it actually comes to pass? Then, we'll see how she is with resistance. Hopefully, that's a little ways off.

She Said YES to the Dress!

The Mori Lee dress she THOUGHT she wanted

Have you seen all the bridal shows lately?  Four Weddings? Bridezillas??  It's overload, in my opinion. And it really pushes brides today into ideas (and budgets) that are out of their leagues. I watched a Say Yes to the Dress episode where the girl said her budget for the dress was $3000 (!) and the clerk shook her head saying she'd have a hard time finding many choices in that low range.  That's insane! Then we'd turn to a show about receptions and see that the family spent $40,000. Did you know that the average American wedding costs $25,000??  Shocking! How do real people do this? These shows make extravagance seem commonplace and to be expected.   When I got married in 1987, I bought my dress on sale for $99 at JC Penney!  While I knew we wouldn't be recreating those days, there was just no way we'd be anything like the families in these shows.

Lest you think I'm only concerned about budgets and costs, today was only about dresses. Yes, we gave the clerk our price range - and no, she didn't flinch or make tsk-ing noises. She even told me later that she was deliberately pointing Alyssa into directions of lovely dresses that stayed within my range.  She thought it was really cruel when dress consultants show dresses that the bride cannot afford. I'm glad we were on the same page for that!

Today was Wedding Dress Quest - Day 2.

A week ago, we went to Alexia Gavela. It's a cute little house crammed full of wedding dresses. We had called for an appointment a week before, but somehow when we got there, they couldn't find it. No matter, they let us come on in and start looking around.Alyssa had some pictures on her phone of dresses she liked, and the clerk helped us find some similar to them.  

Grandma, Katie and I all sat in the back, while Alyssa came out, modeling the dresses.  They all looked beautiful on her, but nothing really clicked. Afterward, she asked me if I felt like something was just "off" today. I told her that, for some reason, it felt like we were just playing dress-up - not seriously looking for a WEDDING DRESS.  Between modeling and community theatre, dance classes and Girl Scout outings - we've spent a lot of time in dressing rooms. Maybe it was because the house was small and the dressing room area seemed more like a living room... we just weren't feeling it.

We let another week pass and thought about where we might like to shop next. We had been to Alfred Angelo for a bridesmaid dress, and both times we were there, the staff was frantic and stressed. We decided we'd probably skip getting a dress from them... or at least we'd try some other places first. So we decided to try Belle Saison. They didn't require appointments and so the four of us decided to go see what they had.

We were pleasantly surprised at the space! Rows of dresses, all organized by designer. The front desk girl was friendly and competent, offering to get us a bridal consultant and explaining how we should just get started browsing and selecting. They had little bells attached to ribbons, and we were to place them on the hanger of the dresses Alyssa wanted to try on.

Tracie, our consultant, came out to meet us all. She asked what kinds of dresses we were interested in seeing.  Alyssa showed her some pictures and even had a particular Mori Lee dress that she heard wouldn't be available until the end of September.  Tracie told us that designers frequently release pictures of the dresses in the magazines 4-6 months before they even make it to the stores.  So our option was to look for some similar ones, which we did. And Tracie went to look for our little bells we had already hung on dresses - she said it was like hunting for Easter Eggs!

Anyway, here's how our progression of Wedding Dress Choices has gone so far. Alyssa has been madly pinning them on her Pinterest board so we came in with some ideas.

Initially, Alyssa loved this Vera Wang dress that Kate Hudson wore in Bride Wars. We thought she'd like the fitted bodice and then the flaring out at the hips. Unfortunately, when she tried something like it on, the dress was overwhelming.  It was really difficult to move around in and Alyssa said she was drowning in it.

Then she moved to Mermaid Dresses and dresses with Keyhole backs.

But after trying on dresses at Alexia Gevali, we discovered we like the look of satin. Certainly, she liked the feel of it! From Mermaid, we moved to "Fit and Flare" and when we got to Belle Saison, we were back to more lace again.

While Alyssa introduced herself to the consultants at both stores, saying she liked Bling, she tended to actually move away from it when she tried bedazzled dresses on. Evidently, a wedding dress with a lot of bling tends to make people look at the dress, and not the bride.  So we started to look at dresses without bling, but adding some bling on a belt. Or a little bling in the back or on the veil.



 After a couple of hours of trying various styles, Alyssa narrowed it down to two.  We grabbed different veil styles and Katie arranged and rearranged the trains. Everyone gave their opinions.  We didn't really think she'd make the decision that day, but she did! We agreed, it was an absolutely gorgeous choice!

We even did a little re-enactment from one of the shows:

"Is this Your Dress?"
"Yes. This is My Dress."

Woo hoo!!!

Several people have asked if I got teary when .Alyssa come out in her wedding gown. It was a "Wow" moment with her stepping up on the pedestal, lights shining just enough to make everything spectacular, mirrors all around. And even though I seem to be on an emotional roller coaster these days, I didn't really. I did, however, go back to the dressing room after she hung up the dress. It was just Alyssa and me and her wedding dress. I told her that she looked so happy in that dress and it was just beautiful on her. She looked at me with this look of...I don't even know what... gratitude, happiness, love... and then, I did tear up a bit.

I'd love to share the photo, but we're trying to keep it a bit of a surprise. Alyssa ended up choosing a combination of styles: A champagne satin with ivory lace overlay, very antique-looking. And just enough sparkle that will show up in the lights and not jump out at you with "Whoa! that's bejeweled!"

So, there's your introduction to bridal dress styles - probably more information than you wanted to have. But, hey, that's what our lives look like these days!   I'll leave this blank spot here for after the wedding - then I can show you what the dress looks like ;)

[ Alyssa's Wedding Dress Choice ]

[                   to go here                  ]

[                after 4/26/13                ]

For the Love of Storms!

Today started out overcast, with the sun peeking in and out.  It was hot and muggy. A typical Austin August day.  We got all inspired about picture taking, after Ari came over and did Katie's official HeadShots for Los Angeles. So here are a couple of pictures we took on our own. Aren't they beautiful?

Katie didn't have to go into work until 5 p.m. so we got to hang out together. And one thing she and I have in common - we love stormy weather! Rainy weather is few and far between around here, so when storms move in, we get excited!  Something about watching the dark clouds rolling around almost makes us giddy! We made a mad dash for lunch at Dairy Queen and took pictures of the clouds as they swept across the neighborhood. We love the blues and the grays and the almost purplish colors in the sky. Low clouds moving quickly, higher and brighter clouds above that. And the smell! Knowing that the rain is close - all because of the smell. Don't you just love that??

 And then the rain came! Yay!! And even though poor Hank was upstairs cowering from the thunder, Katie and I moved to the covered patio in the backyard and chatted while we listened to the rain.

Lovely.

Busy Lives

Update Time....

Michael ~ We don't hear from Michael every week and this is one of those weeks where we didn't.  If you had asked me if 5 or 10 years ago if this could ever happen (the not talking to him part), I would have never been able to imagine it. I might have even burst into tears at the sheer THOUGHT of not speaking to him daily. I only say this because I still run into people who feel this way about their children. And somehow, Life just takes care of it. They grow and go off on adventures, and luckily, it doesn't usually happen all at once. And you just kind of ease into it. I feel a little sad, writing that now, but he's happily cavorting around on adventures, and that IS what he wants. So that's what i want for him. I'm still planning to spend a couple of weeks in Nicaragua in November/December, when he has a work break. And he'll be back here for Alyssa's wedding in April. There are moments when I miss him terribly - but it's not constant, like I always thought it would be. I guess this is just what having adult children is like. :::wistful sigh::::

Katie ~ Katie is firming up her apartment options for Los Angeles. She and two of her friends are doing the paperwork to get a really nice 3 bedroom gated community apartment. Plenty of room for Mom to come visit!! She's working a lot, trying to save as much as she can for the California Life!  She and I will probably drive out there around the 15th of September.  It will be here before I know it!
Tomorrow, our friend Ari is coming over to do new Head Shots for auditions out there. Ari does great work, so I'm sure her photos will look wonderful. Katie's also making it to lots of free Midnight Movies because of her job at Cinemark. Fun!!

Alyssa ~ Alyssa is in Wedding Mode - big time. This week, she tried on dresses, signed with a caterer, made all the food selections, did a second meeting with the florist for minor changes - and I'm sure there was something else, but it tires me just to write all that!  Wedding planning with the internet at your fingertips is an entire different ballgame than when I got married in 1987!  Pinterest pictures, blog suggestions, online registries - wow! It's pretty cool, really.  Alyssa's other big news is that Milk n' Honey offered her a position in their new Apprentice Program. She started this week. Lots of studying and hands on work. It's going to be hard, but it will be so great to learn even more.

Ron ~ Ron has had some motorcycle problems this week. He broke down on the side of the road. Bummer - especially when it's 100 degrees by 11 am! But all that is forgotten because he's heading up to Lake Texoma in the morning for 3 days! This is an exciting trip because Katie, Alyssa, Josh, and I are all going to go up there on Sunday. The kids are so excited to go fishing there. We're all going to sleep on the boat!! I'll let you know how that goes. :)

Tonight's dinner:
Lemon Pepper Tilapia
with a hearty veggie soup/stew
Delish!

Sue ~ I'm not really sure where my week went. I spent a lot of time taking my mom to dental appointments. She had a crown fall off, so she has quite an extensive "treatment plan" for it. She'd love to be driving herself to these appointments, but there's just no way she can manage it. She doesn't agree. It's a hard spot to be in - for both of us. I'm still working out and trying to figure out what to eat. It's hard to know what to do - high protein, low carb? plant-based, non-dairy? high veggie, nothing processed? What does "balanced diet" mean anyway? It certainly changes depending on who you're talking to! But the exercise seems to actually be changing the shape of my body, and I'm down a couple of sizes. That' a good thing! Ron got the ladder attached on the boat, so I'm looking forward to lots of swimming at the lake this weekend.
Oh! And I have been busy this week blogging daily for the NaBloPoMo challenge. Some of the days, I even wrote more than one blogpost! I'm sure my friends are getting tired of seeing my Facebook Updates! haha!


Forgot to mention, Grandma is going to stay at our house this weekend with all the dogs! I think it will be okay. I guess we'll see!

Related Blogposts:
Videos, Boxes, and Even a Wedding
Ron's "New" Boat
July Update: What? July is OVER?

Videos, Boxes, and even a Wedding!

Update Time....

Michael has the most news really. He just completed a camp in Nicaragua for 45 students from all over the country who were excelling in their English studies. His role there is to really help the teachers become more engaged with the students. Lots of that is done through modeling, but it has to stay in balance. He's run into a few who simply disappear or fade out to do other stuff - just letting him do his thing. But that's not really the point.  Anyway, he's done a couple of videos and I think he actually has a You Tube channel devoted to his Vlogs. I know he posts a lot of them there, and then links to them from Facebook.  Michael was really pleased with the success of the camps, so that's great!

He also shared a documentary trailer that he thinks is very good, called Dreaming Nicaragua. If you get the opportunity to see it any local film festivals, please do! He felt like it was accurately telling the story of life in Nicaragua. Here's the trailer:

Katie is sorting through boxes of her clothing - shifting from NYC clothes to LA clothes. We've been checking out the Southern California temperatures and wow! I'm so jealous! 103° here and a balmy 80° there. ahhhh. She's still working at Cinemark and we're all taking advantage of her free movie passes. Thanks, Katie!

Alyssa is still working 3 days per week which leaves her a good amount of time to hang out with Josh. His schedule is to work 24 hours, then be off for 2 days.  Alyssa and Josh have bought more fishing gear and are getting ready to go on a 2-day fishing trip at Lake Texoma, where Ron has promised that HUGE fish are just waiting for them! It will be nice for them to get a break, not have to spend any money - and FISH! (Who knew that Alyssa would love fishing so much, but she does!)

Grandma is still unpacking boxes at her house. Her progress is VERY slow. She's had a few adventures since she's been there. I might get the video camera out so we can record her telling some of these stories. Pretty funny stuff! She's still arguing with me about wanting to drive, and I feel terrible that she can't manage it. I feel even WORSE that she thinks I'm not right in my decision. :::sigh::::

Ron put the ladder on the sailboat so now I can get on and off the boat into the water. I'm thinking I need a fabulous raft or something! He also attached a grill to the back of the boat. I think he's anticipating a lot of success for Josh and Alyssa's fishing trip in mid-August!

I have been back to blogging more. And I really hope I'm not doing it as yet another way to procrastinate! I need to finish up the The Book. Light a couple candles, say a few prayers, that I can get back on track with that. I really want to finish that soon!
My workout/weight loss has been progressing along. I've lost 32 lbs. since I started walking in March.  My diets have changed over time, and currently I'm finding the most success with eliminating starches and sugars. I'm getting to the gym 4-5 days each week, but the weight loss seems more directly related to my food consumption. Surprise, surprise!






Other general family news is that Ron's brother Scott's son, Kelly Todd Copeland got married! It was a small wedding in Greenville Texas.
Hopefully, we'll be heading that way for the reception this weekend!
Don't you love their matching blue shoes?

June Update: Summer, A Circus, and Space!

Lots of changes at our house... anyone surprised by that? ha! But everyone is happy and healthy, so it's all good! Here's what's going on:

Katie

Katie on my New Couch!

Katie is settling in here at home for the summer. Josh had moved into her room with all of his furniture, so she was happy to move into the guest room.  She was never crazy about her bed, and the new "guest room" has a very comfy queen-sized bed. A definite upgrade! She started a part-time job as a waitress at Applebee's but that just wasn't for her. She got better at it, but the hours were too unpredictable. So she returned to Cinemark, and they gladly welcomed her back. I think this week she's scheduled for 56 hours!! That's what she wants - more hours, more money!  She and I have been to a couple of movies this month - Snow White and the Huntsman and Brave. She is able to see movies for free and take one person with her (also for free), so this is a nice perk.  We're looking at all kinds of things for her apartment this fall. She'll be going to Los Angeles for her second year with the New York Film Academy at their campus at Universal Studios. She is SO excited about this!

Alyssa

Alyssa is working at Milk & Honey Salon in the Arboretum. The unfortunate part is that the clientele at that salon is primarily suburban housewives, who are home with their kids on summer break right now, and not getting their hair done. This is the salon's explanation for a VERY slow work week. She's in their apprentice program and working as a Shampoo Tech, 3 days a week there. She's keeping up her skills by working on people's hair - cutting, coloring, etc. - in homes. The expectation is that she'll move into a Stylist position in the Fall, when business picks up.  The other big news is that Josh and Alyssa signed a lease for a new apartment about 5 minutes away. She spends a lot of time over there, feathering their nest and planning for their future. Wedding plans are foremost on Alyssa's mind these days. We're meeting with caterers, gathering addresses, and I think she plans to send out "Save the Date" cards very soon.

Michael

Michael's experiences in Nicaragua are going great. He stumbled upon a traveling circus and decided to put his Journalism degree to use. He went behind the scenes and got to know the performers. He wrote about the experience in Infiltrating the Tents of Circo Zuary and this article will be in the upcoming issue of the Peace Corps Magazine, La Pue.  Because he's been a regular contributor, they've asked him to be the Editor for La Pue! Peace Corps volunteers rotate out of the country after a couple of years, so these positions rollover periodically. I'm very excited for him because I think this will be great when he's done with this phase and ready to move on to something else. Who knows what THAT will be!?!?!

Ron

Ron is spending most weekends on Lake Texoma with the new boat. He's been bringing parts home and we've been working on it here - sanding, varnishing, sewing sail covers, seat cushions, etc.  And today, I'm happy to report, he finally got the boat out onto the water! He said it was great! At nearly 30 feet, this is the biggest sailboat Ron has sailed on his own.  He loved it.

Sue

I've been working out for a couple of hours at least 6 days a week. I'm actually getting to the point where I like it a lot more. Especially the swimming. I have a trainer that I meet weekly, and we work out together for an hour, and then make a plan for me for the week.  We have a membership at 24 Hour Fitness, and I take their Body Pump and Water Aerobics classes twice a week plus a weekly Aqua Zumba class - which is very fun! On alternate days, I'm on the treadmill and the bike. I've veered from my Vegan plan, lately. And while I think I'll be going back to it eventually, for now, I really feel I need to reset my metabolism and deal with my insulin/sugar balancing.  I'm reading 2 interesting books:

Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taub (The author of Good Calories/Bad Calories)

Flat Belly Diet, by Prevention Magazine
I've been spending a lot of time trying to adjust to the concept of kids growing up and leaving home. I think I'm finally getting to the point where I can see the Positives...like new furniture when they take away the old, more space to spread out MY stuff, more energy for my own projects.  Of course, some days I'm still teary, but I'm moving in the right direction.

Alyssa's Graduation from Avenue Five Institute

A Month Overdue...

Alyssa chose to graduate early, a couple of months after she turned 18, so she could go straight into a Cosmetology Program. After looking around, she chose Avenue Five: A Vidal Sassoon School.  Only about 12 exist in the USA, so it's a fairly prestigious school.  She learned so much there over the 10 month program. The way it works, time wise, is that you have to complete certain tasks, and 1500 hours of work. She quickly learned that keeping lunches to 30 minutes, and coming in a little early, would help click the time off more quickly. And, in spite of being really tired some days, she didn't want to take a hit with regard to her hours. She pressed on. I was so impressed! It was such a different experience from when she went to high school and was leaving early, sleeping late - I think her attendance rate (according to those nasty truancy notes) was about 65%. But juxtapose that with THIS experience - her attendance rate was 104%!!!

Because of this attitude, she was able to shave some time off. She and several of her friends graduated early from this program too. She was in the first week/wave of graduates from the people who started at the end of June 2011.

Graduation Pre-Parties

Happy Hour before the Graduations start

with Paige

Britney & Alyssa

The soon-to-be graduates went out to Hula Hut at Lake Austin. It would be one of the last times for them all to hang out together. Some were going to finish school and get a job in Austin, others would be moving away as soon as they graduated.  Even though some of the months felt like the program was never going to end, when it started winding down to the final weeks, everyone was feeling the bittersweetness of graduating.

Graduations Begin!

On the week of April 23-27, Alyssa's friend Roxy would step up to be the first to graduate. Each day after her, Callie, Robin and then Alyssa would reach their 1500 hours and the graduation would start. Sabrina graduated a week or so later, and Alyssa ran up there to be sure that she could bear witness to her friend's success! 

Callie, Robin, Roxy, Sabrina, Alyssa

Roxy's Graduation

Roxy's Graduation...hugging Alyssa goodbye

Her Little Group: Callie, Robin, Roxy, Alyssa, Sabrina

Alyssa's Graduation Day: 
April 27, 2012!

Sabrina working on Alyssa's hair

At Avenue Five, as the student approaches their final day in the program, they're able to have take advantage of all kinds of services there for free: Facials, hair treatments, final hurrah's before they're done with school.

Sabrina working on Alyssa's curls

Alyssa went up to school around 10 a.m. She only needed to be logged in a couple of hours to complete her 1500 hours. She had spent her days earlier in the week having facials, etc.. Today, Graduation Day, Sabrina agreed to do her hair.
I had gone over to the Party Store to get a big balloon, a small graduation cap/hair band, and some vinyl letters to go on her car saying, "Congrats!" and "#1 Graduate". I needed Sabrina's help to get Alyssa's car keys since these stickers had to be done from the inside. Alyssa had brought coffee for her friends that morning and parked in the back. Sabrina handed me her keys and the twoof us started putting the decals on the car. We were almost done when Alyssa came out to the back where people were gathered at the picnic tables. Glancing over at her car, I could hear her saying, "Who's in my car?" BUSTED. Oh well, we finished the job anyway and she just shook her head.

After I was done with my botched nearly stealth car decorating, I went back to pick up Grandma and Josh to join us for the Graduation.  Sabrina was just taking down Alyssa's hair when we arrived. Ron met us there and we were all ready.

Josh & the Graduate

with Grandma

With Grandma (Redo!)

We brought Tres Leches Cake into the break room, and spoke briefly to several of Alyssa's teachers. They all talked about how impressed they were with her. She was the 2nd to the youngest in the entire program. And here she was graduating a month early! She had a 104% attendance rate (compare that to her 64% attendance rate when she went to High School). Clearly, she wanted this.  Her grade average was 94. The teachers said she learned quickly, was great with customers, and they really enjoyed working with her.  They all predicted that she would do great in the industry.

By all standards, she was wildly successful at this.

Unbelievably comfortable in front of everyone :)

Giving her speech to the student body

So the time came and it was Alyssa's turn to graduate.  It's interesting how they "do" graduations at Avenue Five. When the graduate has crossed the 1500 hours mark, one of the head teacher/administrators rings a giant bell and shouts, "We HAVE a GRADUATE!" At that point, all of the students and faculty stop what their doing, begin clapping, and head the to the hallway. Once everyone has arrived, including the family, and lined both sides of the hall, the graduate makes the final walk toward the time clock to "clock out" for the last time. Usually, they run! When Alyssa did, the other students threw confetti on her as she did. Then there's this pause, and everyone applauds as the Graduate returns down the hallway to make her speech. And, in Alyssa's case, more confetti. She thanked her family - and got a little teary with us. Then she moved on to her friends who had come back to watch her graduate as well as her friends from the other classes. She spoke to each teacher, thanking them and reminding them of some little shared experience. I was completely shocked at her ability to do this. All week long I kept nudging her, asking her if she needed to prepare something to say. I had flashbacks of when *I* had to speak at various functions as I was growing up - times when I froze or just couldn't do very well. She kept brushing me off, saying she'd just wing it.  I had been there for several speeches in the past. Most were very brief and the graduate was clearly uncomfortable speaking in front of a group.  Not Alyssa!  She did go to the store to get some Thank You notes - she wanted to write to each teacher that she really liked. That might have helped her bring some ideas to the front of her head, but she did great! She was so comfortable and just talked - to the entire student body. She was a Natural public speaker.

And, here's Alyssa's Graduation Speech. She told Josh she didn't want him to record it, so he quickly handed the phone off to me. It was just aimed in her general direction, but turned out good.

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*Be forewarned that this starts out LOUD! It's the students throwing confetti 

and cheering for her as she runs for the time clock!

Lots of Hugs...

After the speech, everyone hangs out to hug the graduate. It's very sweet. I'm sorry so many of these were blurry, because they were so nice to Alyssa. I'm going to include them anyway!

   

Little Reception after the Speech...

Tres Leches Cake after the Speech

Tres Leches Cake - "Happy Graduation Alyssa!
                          YOU DID IT!"

Roses from Josh




               Alyssa's friends came in for cake and we hung out there for a little bit. 


       Afterwards, we went to Hyde Park Bar and      Grill for  dinner. From there, Alyssa met Roxy 
and Sabrina for Happy Hour...somewhere. 


What a great day!! I'm so proud of her!

Like her Graduation Cap?

The 2 youngest students! Alyssa and LaurenV

Robin, Ms. Linda, and Alyssa

SCHOOL FRIENDS

Callie joking around with Alyssa

Dinner at Hyde Park Bar & Grill with Our Graduate