Hello?

This is my first time blogging and I'm suffering from a bit of stage fright.  I suppose I have prepared myself sufficiently by being a facebooker for the last year, which also took some getting used to, but I still find I sit here blankly for a moment or two before being able to punch these little keys.  Carlos, that's my husband for those of you who don't know, thinks I'm bizarre for wanting to post my thoughts, anxieties, and mini-dramas on the internet for any and all to see.  I, on the other hand, have followed a couple of female friends' blogs, and I find their descriptions of their seemingly commonplace situations fresh, funny, and smart.  I only hope mine come across in the same way.  


My current predicament is this:  family reunion.  


'Nuff said?


Well here's the deal:


I have a family reunion coming up that involves my very large extended family of cousins, aunts, aunts' husbands, parents, grandparents, and even a great grandmother who is in her nineties!  The problem is I have just finished up a semester of a very low-paying (practically volunteer) part-time teaching assistantship and will not be working again until, you guessed it, the week of the family reunion.  So, I am out of money, can't afford to take time off (if my summer working schedule would even allow such a thing), the California Franchise Tax Board has conveniently seen fit to "misplace" my tax returns (there goes my refund for who knows how long) and to add insult to injury, the trip happens to land on both my great grandmother's and my little brother's birthdays.  Oh!  And it will be my niece's first trip to Disneyland.  My only niece.  The adorable little 1 year-old toddler seen in my profile pic.  And my brother and sisters are not sweet and understanding about my possible inability to make the trip.


Bottom line, if my money tree doesn't grow in quickly and my teaching job doesn't happen to leave me with that weekend off, I'm totally screwed.