My love

Twelve years ago, a new chapter in my life began.

The chapter of my life with my love. My husband. My sweet man.

We'd known each other just a smidge over three years before we stood before the Pastor. We stood before the Pastor. We stood before our parents. We stood before the rest of our family. We stood there before our friends.

It was a beautiful day. It was a wonderful ceremony. I glowed inside knowing that I would be his wife. His partner. I was so stand next to him proclaiming my love for him. Declaring my feelings for him for all the world to see.

And now, it's twelve years later. So much has changed in our lives since our wedding. We're older. We're not as physically fit. We have two beautiful children. We live in a different state. We have careers that are very different from where we were.

Moving through these years hasn't been easy. We continue to have our up and down moments. We have those days when we get on each other's nerves. We have those nights where we fall asleep facing away from each other. It hasn't been easy, but we're still together. We support each other. We work at our relationship. It's hard sometimes, but EVERYTHING that's worth something is hard.

My husband is still the love of my heart.

My husband is the twinkle in my eye.

We are a couple. We love each other. After twelve years, we are still in love. What more can I ask for?

Searching for a new baby

No. I'm not talking about adoption.

No. I'm not talking about a REAL baby.

I'm looking for a new laptop. I need to get a new one because the one I'm using is slowly dying. The fan has been turning on more often. I just have a feeling that this one is on a downward spiral. I'd like to get a new one before this one konks out completely. I'm sure there are more than a handful of you that have experienced a laptop that just dies unexpectedly. What a mess that is, eh?

Now I'm searching and trying to figure out what kind to get. I don't need anything fancy. I currently have 256MB RAM with a 28GB hard-drive. I want to have at least 1GB RAM with a 80GB hard-drive and a 15.4" screen. That's a step-up from what I've got now.

Also, any issues that you've had with Vista? Should I stick with Windows XP? Since I work at home, I don't get to talk a bunch with others about their operating systems so that's why I'm asking this question.

So PLEASE give me the manufacturer (Gateway, HP, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, etc.), make, model, specs, or any other info on your recommendation.

THANKS!

It's like slowly pulling off a band-aid

On Monday this week the Princess informed me of something.

She's no longer hanging out so much with one of her best friends that she'd had since kindergarten.

I guess this girl is now hanging out more with some of the other girls in class. Hanging out with what I like to refer to as the "sassy" girls. The ringleader is a spit-fire (and not in a good way). At the holiday gathering at my daughter's school, the ringleader did a dance routine with some of the older girls. A second grader dancing with the fifth graders. Doesn't sound bad, right? Wrong. The song they danced to was one of those filthy songs that degrade women. A song that I don't let my kids listen to. And the ringleader was smack dab in the middle of this "dance" routine shaking her keister. THANKFULLY, the only people out watching the routine were the older kids' parents. The rest of the kids were in their classes by this time.

Anyway, the Princess let me know that her old best friend was hanging out with the ringleader and a couple other girls now. And that her friend was actually sassy to her. Her friend did a backbend and then looked at the Princess and said "I can DO this....YOU CAN'T!" The Princess didn't know how to respond to this so she just walked away.

I let the Princess know that she did the right thing. Walked away. She's not a confrontational kid. But I let her know that she could have said something back like "Good for you" or "That's nice". She wouldn't say anything sassy or criticizing back. It's not in her nature.

What's interesting is that the Princess a couple times this week, she has mentioned talking to her friend. She mentioned that her friend ordered the same book as we did for the Princess. She mentioned that her friend was doing well in one of the computer reading programs. "Mom, she's got a 33. She's doing really good!" She speaks about her friend in a positive light even after the girl wasn't so nice to her. My daughter...always looking at the good in people.

But it does make me sad that this 2 1/2 year friendship is at a rocky point. The slow disintegration. It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart because I know that deep down inside, the Princess is sad. And I can't do anything to fix it.

Making Mommy Laugh

The Bear makes me laugh. I think he's the most adorable little thing in the world. Spending time with him has been a blast. Here are some recent things that have happened in our life:

***************

I pulled on the Bear's underpants and accidentally snapped the band onto his waist.

Mommy! You smacked me like a cowboy!

***************

The Bear is fascinated with motorcycles. He points them out to me every time he sees one. Since he IS in love with these things, I made a point of discussing how to make motorcycles more safe. Wearing a helmet is our prime example of a safety measure.

Mommy! Look! He's on RED light!

You parents who have kids in daycare or in school probably know about the light system. Green lights mean the child is behaving well. Yellow lights mean the child was naughty. Red lights mean the child was WAY naughty. I recently had a discussion with the Bear that kids usually are on a light system. Adults don't use the light system.

We passed by someone on a motorcycle recently and the Bear saw him.

Mommy! Look! He made a BAD DA-SI-SHUN!

Oh....that just cracked me up. A bad decision.

***************

The Bear and I went to the park for about an hour this morning. He didn't want to go at first. He was tired and wanted to go home. Did you catch that? He woke up tired! Anyway, I basically had to tell him that we'd just stay at the park for 20 minutes or so. He conceded.

We got to the park and he had the BEST time! We were the only ones there (at 8:15am). So he had the entire place to himself. He went up the "down" slide. I helped him do the bars. He ran all the way across the park to the fence three times. He "talked" on the playground phone to each other.

He also took the time to walk the fence around the horseshoe area. And during his walk around? He was doing a shimmy-shimmy-shake dance thing as he went. It was TOO funny. It reminded me of Michael Jackson with the finger pointing in the air with his butt sticking out to the side. Oh my word! And my son? He went around the fence twice. Shimmy-shimmy-shake-shake...

***************

Mom. I'm tired.
Okay. So let's take me-me's when we get home.
No...
Why not?
I'm not sleepy.

What? He's tired but he's not sleepy? He just doesn't want to take a nap.

****************

Will it be fun or will I bite my tongue?

Today we'll be driving up and spending the afternoon at my IL's house.

[gulp]

It's going to be a way for the Hubs' family to celebrate Easter with the kids. That's fine and dandy. I know they love the kids. They do. I know they do. It's just that those people can get on my last nerve. You know it. I know it. I just hope that they don't get on that nerve today.

I'm going to HOPE that it's going to be a pleasant afternoon. That I won't have to ignore snotting comments. That I won't have to take deep breaths. That I won't have to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything back.

I just don't say snotty comments back. I don't. Why? Because if I do say ANY yucky comment back to my IL or SIL, then it'll be communicated to the rest of the MIL's family (about 75 strong) by the end of the night. YES! It's true. Then the backlash will be on me. Not what my MIL or SIL said. I'll be the bad person in the situation. I've seen it happen to other "married in" people in the family.

The blood-related ones stick together through anything. EVEN when the blood-related family member does something heinous. Like having a drug problem and stealing from another family member. Like stealing another family member's SSN and getting fraudulent credit cards and spending those to the max. Yeah. Bad stuff. So the blood-related family members are always forgiven. And the married in's? Anything negative they've done are remembered and held against them. Go figure!

So I hope it's a good day. A good day on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Hope with me?

Gosh...it's on the verge of Friday!

The week has slipped away from me. I can't believe I've missed doing any personal surfing and blogging this week.

I've been busy trying to wrap my head around all my new work tasks and getting all the backlog caught up. I've been busy trying to keep the kiddos occupied (and not fighting). I've been busy with the regular house stuff, which only gets complicated because both kids are home.

ARGH....Calgon! Take me away!

But it's been a good week though. The kiddos have been pretty well behaved. Even today when the security repairman came by. In the last week, our fire alarm that is tied into our security system has gone of twice. TWICE! And both times were when we were giving the kids their showers. Thankfully, the Hubs got it into his head that he had to get a repair person out here after it happened the second time. I didn't have to tell him! Anyway, the incident happened Monday and the repair guy came today (Thursday).

The guy took about 15 minutes and that was it. But what I did find out is that the fire alarms THEY use are more sensitive than the ones the home builders put in. And as their alarms age....they get more sensitive. Thus....the reason why our alarms went off when we were giving the kids their showers. The heat and moisture set it off. And we had the fan in the bathroom on too!

Once the repair person cleaned out the alarm, he had to "test" it out. So I had the kids run outside and play. Because the alarm? It's so FREAKING LOUD!

The kids ended up playing out there for about 25 minutes or so. I ended up leaving them in the back after the repair guy left. I made their lunch in peace...and Q-U-I-E-T....

It's now 11pm...and I'm sleepy...so that's all you're getting for now. Hopefully I'll be able to browse and write over the weekend.

Let me know you've dropped by....give me some inspiration!

Can you believe there's only been ONE meltdown?

It's Monday -- the third day of Spring Break.

Many more days left to go, but there's only one meltdown today! Ha-HA!

Who had the meltdown? The Princess. She didn't do something I was telling her, so I turned off a movie that was playing on the tv. I mean, she completely broke down. It was crazy. I couldn't believe that she lost it. But, alas, it's to be expected.

What was nice about today is that we let the kiddos sleep in. The Hubs didn't wake the kids like he normally does. I kind of expected the Bear to be up at the crack of dawn like normally would be. But NO! The Princess walked into the office at around 6:45am. She wasn't hungry, so she read a book. Around 7:45am, I realized that I hadn't heard the Bear at all yet. So the Princess and I walked upstairs to wake the little guy up. But NO. He heard the Princess' pounding feet up the stairs and he was walking out of the room when we got up there. It was all smiles and hugs. That is the best thing first thing in the morning. The BEST!

We actually did "lessons" this morning. I had the kids sit down and do some school stuff. Writing letters, identifying written numbers, a couple hidden picture pages, and some identification of sequences for the Bear. The Princess did her spelling homework (20 words written 5 times each) and a math test (25 problems). It was good. It took about an hour and they were so KIND to each other. Lots of encourage words and smiles to each other across the table. It was SO nice. Watch....tomorrow they'll fight like cats and dogs!

Anyway, so far I'm surviving. Right now, the two are watching a DVD that we rented at Blockbuster. That allows me about 1.5 to 2 hours of peace. Ah.....

Hold me!

Today (Saturday) is the first official day of Spring Break in our area.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the Princess until March 24. They had no afterschool clubs yesterday, so I had to pick her up at 3pm. This is MUCH better than the elementary schools near our house. The kids who attend our area elementary schools had a half day on Thursday AND Friday! WTF?

Anyway, I'll have 9 full days with BOTH kids at home. NINE glorious days. Hopefully I won't want to strangle either one of them at any point during that period. But you never know? pft....you ALL know I'm joking about that. I adore my children. I just don't appreciate their BEHAVIOR sometimes. The tattle-tailing. The "nanee-nanee-nanee" voices at each other. The pretend hitting that turns into real hitting. Oh...all that wonderful kid behavior that happens when they're tired or tired of each other.

What's even better? Is that last night the Hubs starts to not feel well. Oy! Right now he's in the guestroom still zonked out. It's 8am already. He's still out. He went to bed around 9:30pm last night. Did you calculate that? He's been in that room for 10 1/2 hours! I hope to all heck he feels better once he emerges out of there.

Like I said it's 8am on Saturday. And I'm supposed to be on a conference call right now. But alas, the gal I'll be speaking with is in transit from her IL's to her home. She already Skyped me to tell me she'd be late. I'm thinking I won't get on the call until at least 8:45 or 9am. But jeez....I did want to get it over with this morning. Ho-hum....

So for the next 9 days, don't be surprised if you get some complaining posts. I'll probably be venting on here...rather than venting so much at the kids and the Hubs. Wish me luck y'all.

Change in state of mind AND a change in the weather?

Look at this forecast...

It's a beautiful sunny day today. Hardly a cloud in the sky. It'll be up in the mid-80's before the day is done -- just like yesterday.

Do you what I need to expect for Sunday? Cloudy? Wet? Cold? YUCK!

I think that Sunday will be an 'at home' day. Movies. Soup. Popcorn. Chips.

I just can't believe that the weather is going to turn so suddenly. I know what the rest of you from back East are thinking...I should appreciate the weather that I've had. That the 50's are SHORTS weather in your neighborhood. Yes, I know. But just THINK about it....I'll be experiencing 100+ degrees for DAYS on end in a couple months. So this period of 70 to 90 degree weather is the reason why we live where we do. It's just SO nice.

I'm sure we'll try to spend as much time outside tomorrow as possible. That is, after my early morning conference call (8am - 10am)! Uh-huh....new job....new responsibilities....

Much improved state of mind

In the light of day, I'm feeling much better.

I don't know what it was yesterday. I was sad. I was depressed. Hormones? Probably. I'm mid-month so that might be the root cause for my weepy-ness and heavy heart.

Today is a much nicer day. I did my sidekick job already. I'm now heating up some lunch for myself and the Bear. This afternoon the kids will be at swim lessons. It'll be lasagna for dinner this evening. And once the kids are in bed I'll be propped on the couch watching LOST. My day is pretty much planned out. Yeah!

Now do you have days where you're just sad? That you feel like the weight of the world in smack dab on your shoulders? That someone's comment breaks you down?

I don't normally feel sad. So it's strange for me to feel this way. I'm one who gets PISSED at the world rather than have the world break me down. But YOU ALL are my lovely audience when I do break down. Lucky you, eh?

But for those of you who have been depressed and have received "help", when did you realize that you did need help? What signs or things happened that made you seek support? I'm just curious. I would like to find out at what point my sadness would need to get evaluated. Anyone? Anyone?

She didn't mean to say it

I had a conversation with Sis#2 over the weekend and what she said is still haunting me.

She mentioned a conversation she had with our Mom. What our Mom said is really bothering me.

Mom: Grace can be so MEAN sometimes.

My Mom thinks I'm a mean person! That's her opinion of the type of person I am. And that bothers me.

Sis#2: Mom, she doesn't intend to come off mean. She just tells people like it is. Grace is very black and white. If she doesn't like something she let's you know. She doesn't beat around the bush. She doesn't keep you guessing on where she stands on things.

I think that the fact that Sis#2 felt like she had to explain to my Mom how I am as a person is kind of devastating to my spirit. That my sister had to defend ME to my Mom.

When the kids act up in a naughty manner? Time out? Sometimes. But they do get scolded -- confronted that they've acted up. The two do respond differently at being scolded. I know this. AND when they are acting up? The root cause of their sassy behavior is different. I know this. So I treat them differently when discipline is in order. Why? Because they respond differently. But that doesn't mean I'll scold one and not the other for the same behavior. They each get scolded for the same naughty stuff. I try hard to stay consistent on the rules. But each of my children is different. And I try my best to understand them.

I hope that when I'm old and the kids are adults, I don't interpret their core self as them being "mean". I hope that I'm able to see them for the people they are. That if one is like me and sees things in black and white...that I'll be able to SEE this and not see their opinion as being harsh. That I see that is just how he or she is MADE.

I hope I remember how I'm feeling right this second. The feeling that my own parent doesn't understand me after 29 years [uh-hmmm] of knowing me. That my own parent doesn't KNOW me. It hurts. For some reason that one comment stings. I hope I remember....I hope....

He LOVES people

On the drive home from picking up the Princess, the kids typically consume a small snack. This keeps them quiet in the car (read that as keeps them from arguing) and keeps their tummies full enough until we eat dinner.

On yesterday's drive home, the Bear started laughing hysterically. He definitely was NOT eating a snack. We had just exited off the freeway and were waiting for our light to turn green so that we could get onto the main road.

I looked behind me really quick and noticed the Bear (who sits behind me) leaning toward the middle of the car. Then I saw him suddenly move towards his window. Then he started laughing again.

To the left of us was a bus. Not a school bus. One of those large touring buses with tinted windows. Apparently, the folks sitting on the right side of the bus were playing peek-a-boo with the Bear. I mean we weren't even sitting there 30 seconds before the antics started.

I guess the Bear did look like a cool dude with his black sunglasses and his sweatshirt hood on his head. Like he'd just finished a swim or a workout.

The people on the bus who were playing with the Bear? A guy and TWO girls! I guess it was a team that was being driven to or from a meet of some kind. Looked like college-aged kids.

But can you believe that the Bear had struck up a friendly game in that little time? He seriously loves people and just DRAWS THEM IN with his easy smile and friendly manner. Like a moth to the flame. I just can imagine his methods when he's a teenager!

Two in one?

As you know, I was lucky enough to find a job -- virtual and part-time. Halleluia!

I must tell you that I also found a little sidecar job. Sidecar job? Yes. It's something that is so totally part-time. Barely anything compared to a full-time job that is. The job? I have to write one article per day. ONE article. It's nothing for most folks, but it's going to a steady bit of pocket change. Just enough income for the little things I always get for the kids. The crayons. The markers. The paints. The art paper. The activity books and stickers.

Today was my first day writing an article. It went well. I was able to finish it 1.5 hours before my designated deadline. I wasn't sure if it was good enough. I kept on adding and subtracting portions of it for at least a half hour. I had to finally step away and come back and re-read it. Then I sent it off. The person I work for said I did a great job. Hopefully that was a sincere bit of praise. I've got a fragile ego.

Hopefully it'll continue to go as smoothly as it did this morning.

Right now? It's noon. But I'm not hungry. The Bear had a snack about 2 hours ago, but I'm not sure if he's hungry yet. I may just step out and take a walk with him. Maybe take some pictures. Get some fresh air. We've finished his lessons for today already, so we've got the rest of the day basically free until we need to pick up the Princess.

Yes....I'm stepping out. I just opened the shutters in the office and it's another gorgeous day. I'd better get as much fresh air now while it's beautiful. In another month or so, it'll start getting too hot to get out.

Another beautiful day out

Today I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

Actually, there was one thing I HAD to do today. A conference call. I had to have a call with the lady that I would be working with. There are a handful of other people in the company but she is my main contact. The call was a 7am -- it was 10am for her. She gave me an overview of the company. We discussed the type of tools they utilize. She gave me the rundown of everyone on staff and what they do. It was a good call. I learned quite a bit. I have quite a bit more to learn. But it's all good. I think I'll like doing what I'm doing because once I'm trained on everything....I'll be able to fit in the work at whatever time during the day I'm able to. 6am? Okay. 3pm? Okay. 11pm? Okay. Just as long as things get accomplished and I'm providing what's needed to the other team members. Everyone is virtual. So it's going to be REALLY nice.

The call ended at 8:30am and the whole day was ahead of us. What to do? What to do? We ate breakfast. Then I cleaned the bathrooms. But what next? I decided to wash, vacuum, and do some minor detailing on my car. And the Princess came outside with me. She played. I cleaned. My car is now spiffy. I came inside as the Hubs was making the grocery list. He was going to the grocery store after he ate lunch. And I thought....why not wash HIS car?**

So that's what I did. He went to the grocery store and I washed his car as the kidlings played outside. I actually had the Princess help me out a little bit. She wet down and rinsed the car. I actually had to wash his car twice. The first time was to get the major film of filth off. The second time was to get into the knicks and grooves and get the stuck-on stuff off. The tire covers? THOSE were a disaster! And now? His vehicle is also clean. YEAH!

It's now 2:30pm and both our vehicles are spiffy. The kidlings are now playing outside with the 2 kids (a boy and girl) across the street and the one little boy who lives next door to these kids. Once I finish my lunch (yes...I'm finally eating my lunch at 2:30pm), I'll go outside again. What can I say? It's a BEAUTIFUL day....and I'm wearing shorts and a tank top.

** Note: He takes my car for errands and any weekend driving

What I've done so far...

In my 29 years of life (uh-huh...right), here's what I've experienced on this list.

What have YOU done?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris - The tour bus we were on left the Eiffel Tower without us -- it was at night too
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. . Seen the Northern Lights
14.Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa - By the time I visited Italy, they weren't allowing people up the stairs. I stood next to it. Does this count?
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day -- When I traveled for 2 weeks with 25+ Aussies, this was EASY to do
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain - I try to do this with the kids when it rains in the afternoon and there's no thunder/lightening
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced - Hopefully this'll NEVER happen
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason - are you kidding?
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children - currently raising 2 kidlings
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery - 2 lovely c-sections
120. Had a snake as a pet - in 6th grade we had a class snake that we took care of
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - I went to the first reunion but skipped the next one
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language - I did this when I went to Hong Kong in 1996
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Sleepyhead time

About 30 minutes ago, I....woke up.

Yes. I took a nap this afternoon.

The Hubs, kids, and I spent the morning (about 3 hours) outside. We watered plants. The Hubs changed the oil in his vehicle. The kids played up and down the block. It was a good time. Thin wispy clouds up in the sky. About 65 degrees and sunny.

We had a late lunch. The Bear then went up to watch a movie. The Princess came and played on the Webkinz website. The Hubs cleaned the kitchen area. And I? I laid on the couch in the family room (in the middle of all the action) and fell asleep. Ah...bliss...

It was a nice hourlong nap. I heard everything around me. I heard the Bear come down and get a snack. I heard the Hubs vacuuming the floor. I heard the Princess cheering on her accomplishments on the site. But I was asleep. And no one bothered me. It was wonderful.

Tiny pleasures...yeah!

Ultimatum for marriage?

Meandering through the morning shows today, I noted that The View had a hot topic about how some women have a "time limit for engagements."

Let me kick in my own opinion on this one....

I did have a "time limit" of how long I'd date someone. I did NOT tell the people I was dating that I had a time limit. So there was NO pressure on the person I was dating. My personal time limit was my period of time that I'd go out with someone to determine if I wanted to have a long-term relationship with this person or not. Was this person someone I wanted to be with the rest of my life? Was this person someone I connected with? Was this a person who I wanted to have children with? Those were the questions I had to have answered in my own mind within my time limit.

And how long was my time limit? TWO YEARS...give or take a few months.

I also had a rule that I would never live with someone before I was married. Hey, I figured that I'd be single my entire life. Yes, SINGLE! That's how I structured my life too. After college, I worked on building my career experience and saving for my own place. I lived with my folks, so that's how I could save money for a home. And me living with my parents? I come from VERY conservative parents, so having to pick me up for dates pretty much scared off any riff-raff who didn't want to develop a REAL long-term relationship.

The Hubs? I didn't know he was going to ask me to be his wife. I didn't. We didn't discuss marriage at all really. So it surprised me when he asked me. He actually asked me out for a fancy dinner for Valentine's Day. We normally didn't do fancy stuff for our dates. We were pretty casual when we were dating. So a fancy dinner for Valentine's was a nice change. He got down on his knee when he was dropping me off at my condo. SURPRISE! Total surprise. I mean, he picked out the ring all on his own so I didn't have a clue.

And when did he ask me? Right at the two year mark. He did! By our two year anniversary, he knew I was the one. By the two year mark, I knew he was the one. We both knew. But we never pressured the other one about it. Go figure? I guess we were on the same wavelength. Made for each other!

We did end up having a year-long engagement. Not six months, like Sis#2. I needed a year to get organized and have enough money to pay for everything.

In the end, we were together 3 years before we tied the knot.

Now, did you have a "time limit" when you were dating? How long did YOU date your spouse? How long was your engagement?

Job? What job?

I couldn't help looking y'all. Even though the Hubs said I should just wait until August to find a job when the Bear enters kindergarten. I HAD to look for something.

When I was searching I did have a couple stipulations for my ideal next job:

• Part-time -- from 10 to 30 hours per week (weekdays and weekends)
• Virtual -- meaning I would work from home

I have had a couple phone interviews. In mid-February, there was a job that I had a couple training sessions with a gentleman who needed an appointment setter. But the last session we were supposed to have, he cancelled it and then he sent me an email saying that he had to put off hiring me because he was changing the office that processes his paperwork. WHATEVER!

TODAY, I had a face-to-face interview with a lady who had a part-time assistant job about a mile from my house. But after talking to her and all that I figured that one wouldn't work out. She really wants someone IN the office when she's not there. And I wouldn't be able to bring the Bear in there (or the Princess when she's on vacation). So...that opportunity is off the list.

Back in mid-February, I sent my resume out to a company located back east. Someone contacted me and I thought it was a good phone interview. They asked for a reference. That was that. I hadn't heard from them in over a week, so I figured they'd hired someone else. But guess what? I got a call today and they're hiring me! ME! [doing an back flip in my mind] I'm head over heels. Get this....it's virtual AND it's for 25 hours per week. How ideal is that? What's even better is that I can work in the early morning or late night or the weekends to get the work done. Can I hear a halleluia? HALLELUIA!

I seriously hope this one works out. My last at-home job didn't, which was a start-up run by a husband-wife team. Personal health issues got in the way and the husband-wife team couldn't continue the business. LIFE happened. This new place has been around for over 3 years, so it's got some longevity in this day and age of thousands of start-ups.

Once August roles around and the Bear is in school, then I'll see if this job can turn into a full-time gig. By that time, the people there will know my abilities and I'll see if there are other avenues that I can venture into to get full-time pay. But I'm just happy as a clam that I've got a new part-time job that'll get me from now through the summer without having to dig into my savings. It'll be something that'll pay for all the kids stuff -- clothes, school supplies, toys, and summer classes. And with the flexibility of this job? I'll still be able to spend the quality time with the Bear at home -- just like I've been doing for the last several weeks. YEAH!

Cross your fingers and toes for me people! Mama's gonna be bringing home some bacon!

It's a MOVIE meme [additional quotes]

Here's something that I saw on Say La Fee

Here are the Rules I followed:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the name of the movie.
5. GUESSERS: NO GOOGLING or using IMDB search functions.
6. One movie guess per blogger. Give other readers a chance.

******************

Come on! Guess! Guess! Guess!

1. Quote 1: "Screw'm! Screw'm all! Screw the gov'm't!"
Quote 2: "I followed all of the rules, man's and God's. And you, you followed none of them. And they all loved you more. Samuel, Father, and my....even my wife."

2. Quote 1: "I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say kill'em all!"
Quote 2: "Shoot a nuke down a bug hole, you got a lot of dead bugs."

3. "Nancy, she works in a dress shop...and she makes sounds like a chipmunk when she gets really excited." ---> Julie at Pragmatic Compendium got this one -- GROUNDHOG DAY!

4. Quote 1: "You girl scouts want to hear a story. Once upon a time there was a magical place that never rained...The end."
Quote 2: "I'm tired of this, Grandpa..." "Well, that's too damn bad! You keep digging!" "Well, excuse me."

5. Quote 1: "I don't understand, where does all this come from? How do you get funding for something like this?" "You don't actually think they spend $20,000.00 on a hammer, $30,000.00 on a toilet seat, do you?"
Quote 2: "I ain't heard no fat lady!" "Forget the fat lady. You're obsessed with the fat lady. Just get us out of here!"

6. Quote 1: "What the hell is happening?" "I blew up the building." "Why?" "Because you made a phone call."
Quote 2: "Please let me follow the nanny. She doesn't shave her legs. Women like that are so....HOT."

7. Quote 1: "Matty! It's Thriller!"
Quote 2: "Becky, can I ask you something?" "Yeah, sure." "Can you tell I'm wearing underwear, cos I totally am." "I think that's kinda the point!"

8. Quote 1: "It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom."
Quote 2: "The king desires peace." "Longshanks desires peace?" "He declares it to me, I swear it..."

9. Quote 1: "Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome."
Quote 2: "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdreed wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

10. Quote 1: "Aim small, miss small."
Quote 2: "Kill me before the war is over, will you? It appears that you are not the better man." "You're right. My sons were better men."

New eyeballs!

Y'all, it feels like I've got new eyeballs.

I went and got my contacts cleaned this morning. I wear gas permeable lenses. Hard contacts for you all with 20/20 vision. So I place a hard piece of 'plastic' into each eye every morning. Yes. I do! I've been doing this for over 20 years.

Anyway, the gas permeable lenses are the 'best' thing for my vision. I'm VERY near-sighted (-11.75 remember?) and I also have astigmatism. Wearing soft lenses doesn't provide the sharpness that I need to see. Also, there is a much smaller chance that I'll get any eye infections as nothing can really grow on these hard things.

The only thing is, there is a chance that protein deposits will develop on the lenses after a couple years. Even doing the weekly deep protein cleaning doesn't get the stuff off. I was at that point. The protein that was stuck on my lenses were STUCK.

But this morning, I went to a special place and got these puppies clean. It took less than 5 minutes. And when I put the lenses back into my eyes? AHHHH.....it felt like the clouds parted. It felt like nothing in my eyes. It was astounding. It felt brand new lenses. I am much relieved and my eyeballs are happy as clams. I now have clean lenses and have got my new ones coming sometime this week. Miraculous. I'm giddy with delight.

He's in total denial

On the weekends, we like the Bear to take at least one nap. If he doesn't take at least one, he is a cranky monster. Lack of enough sleep does that to a kid. It's simple.

Inevitably, I am the one who has to lie down with the Bear. When he lays with the Hubs, the Bear just ends up getting too upset. He ends up feeling like he's being punished. So on either Saturday or Sunday after lunch, I try to get the Bear to go down.

Me: Bear? Can you come to Mommy's room?
Bear: Why?
Me: Because Mommy is SO tired. I need you to help me relax so I can sleep really good.

Most times he does protest for a few minutes. I make sure he goes to the toilet one last time. Then we climb onto the big bed and put a light blanket over us. I roll away from him (so my back is to him). He then rolls towards me and starts to twirl my hair. I've told him that the twirling relaxes me and helps me fall asleep. He SO believes me.

I usually stay awake to make sure that he's fallen asleep. Then I doze off. Normally, I wake up an hour later. I then wake him up by rolling over in an obnoxious manner and face him. He'll wake up and look at me.

Me: Thank you for helping Mommy take a good nap.
Bear: You're welcome.
Me: Did you fall asleep at all?
Bear: No.

Folks, he ALWAYS falls asleep. And he always denies that he fell asleep. But he's always happy as a clam that he's helped ME take a good nap so I feel better. Isn't he the best?

Lightening the load & some fun

I had the garage sale this morning. I sold the BIG things in no time flat. The two cribs/toddler beds. The treadmill. A stereo with speakers. I'm happy about that. I scheduled myself to be outside from 7am - 9am. That was it. Anything that I hadn't sold by that time? I loaded it into the back of my car at 9am and drove it immediately to the Goodwill drop-off center about 3 miles away from our house. Just like that....a BUNCH of stuff gone. I probably could get rid of more things, but what I did release back into the world is enough for now. What's super crazy is that the people who bought the cribs FORGOT the siderails for one of the cribs. FORGOT the pieces that hold up the bottom board, which holds the mattress! The siderails were sitting right along with the rest of the pieces and they plum forgot to pick up the rails. Amazing! I'm just going to leave the siderails out next to our front door, in case they do realize they forgot those pieces and remember where they bought the cribs.

At 10am, the Bear had his first official playdate. One of his buddies from his old preschool came over. His Mom and younger sister also came along. It was the boys' first playdate, so I was pretty sure his Mom would want to stay. The Hubs was VERY surprised she stayed. I had to explain to him that she didn't know us, so I pretty much expected her to stay. She's never been to our home. We'd only met face-to-face once too. So I'm sure she was checking out the house. Checking out how I handled the boys -- if I let them get out of hand or whatever. This young boy's sister started acting up about 45 minutes into the playdate. I felt good that the Mom was comfortable enough by that time to tell me that she'd be leaving with her daughter for a little bit and coming back to pick up her son an hour later. She wanted to get her daughter fed and laid down for a bit, as she was acting tired as tired can be. I did ask her if she was okay with me feeding her son a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I wanted to feed the little guy before he left as his sister and Mom were going to eat before they came back. This way, his Mom wouldn't have to make him a totally separate meal once they got home. Anyway, it was really nice having the little guy over. I think his Mom is more comfortable with us. I told her that she should just give us a call whenever they're free and we'd meet up at the park or at one of our houses. She concurred that it would be a good idea. I'm real glad that she felt relaxed with me and relaxed in our home. I want her to feel comfy. I mean, she's had enough turmoil in her life this last year (she just got divorced). I want her to know that her son has a buddy whose family doesn't mind having him over.

The kids are now out front with the Hubs running around up and down the street. I'm finally sitting down relaxing. The Hubs thinks I should take a nap since I didn't sleep in this morning (as I had to get the garage sale stuff out). A nap now would totally mess me up though when I go to sleep tonight. I'm sure I'd be laying there for hours in the dark. HATE when that happens!

So it's 2pm....how has YOUR day been?