The glass is half full. The glass is half full. The glass is half full. . . .

In trying to shift my view of the world, I am currently sitting outside enjoying the fact that for a second morning we have weather below 60 degrees. The weatherman says the temperature will be back up to normal temperatures by this afternoon, but for now I am comfortably dressed in jeans and a light sweater breathing in the cool, pollen filled air.

In reality my good mood is based on the fact that I will be leaving this state for two weeks at the end of March. Spring break is fast approaching and after throwing ideas around that comported with the school's allotted time, PH and I decided that the kids are young enough to miss some school and how often will I not be working, so we are taking two weeks and going to Belgium. Yes, we are now those evil people who will actually take their young kids (ages four and six) on an international flight and ruin a perfect good nine hour flight for the rest of the plane.

So why Belgium? We had a long list of places but there were requirements to be met which helped us reduce the potential vacation spots. First, there had to be a direct or near direct flight. Second, the place had to be less than a day train ride from Paris so PH's family can come to visit us. Third, there had to be a major international airport in case PH had any company interested in speaking with him while we are there (more on that in a bit). And fourth, there had to be a number of children friendly activities. We were down to Frankfurt (direct flight, four hours to Paris, international airport, giant amusement park and boat rides on the Rhine), Amsterdam (direct from Miami, couple hours to Paris, international airport, great zoo, amusement park nearby, boat rides), and Brussels (no direct but less than two hour layover in Atlanta, under two hours to Paris, international airport and close to Amsterdam also, nearby amusement park, boat rides, chocolate). We had ticket prices, were looking for vacation rentals, and kid activities. Then the deciding factor - the flight to Brussels was substantially cheaper if we took an extra two days. Amsterdam and Frankfurt were left in the dust and we will be in Europe for a full two weeks. So if anyone will be around the Belgian area the end of March and beginning of April, and would enjoy the torture of meeting up with us, let me know.

More on this later now I must get back to my job of finding jobs, writing cover letters, and editing the CV for PH. It appears that I have become a secretary, as well as a domestic goddess.