That's okay...I'm happy to be in my 40's...

When I was 18, I had the WORST breakup ever.  I was devastated, destroyed and the night that it happened, I had every intention of going home and killing myself.  God was watching over me, however, and on the way home, I happened to drive past a friend who was walking home alone.  It was late, she was the younger sister of a friend of mine and so I hated the thought of her being alone on a dark road.  

I pulled over and picked her up and then cried my heart out for hours.  She sat, she listened, and she made me realize that this was so NOT worth ending my life over.  It took my such a ridiculous amount of time to get over that relationship and while it was horrible and painful, it helped shape me into the person that I am today and made me realize what I did NOT want in a relationship ever again.

I am sitting here right now having to watch my teenage son and his girlfriend go through a terrible patch in their relationship.  I've listened to what he has to say, I've listened to what she has to say and I can honestly say that I can totally relate to each of them and their situations with a weird sense of de ja vu.  It's actually painful.

I'm not taking sides.  I know that this is a natural part of any relationship, especially when you're young but my GOD am I glad to not be that age anymore!  It's brought up some pretty bad memories and while I try to explain to Nick things from a girls perspective, he just doesn't get it.  And then it hit me, 19 year old boys are 19 year old boys even when they are mine.  With all of my experiences and the way that he was raised, he still has the brain of a 19 year old boy and is clueless.
 

It's painful, truly, truly painful.

At the End of the Day...

A friend sent me this as an e-mail this morning and it made me giggle so I am sharing it because it is EXACTLY what my life is like daily!! 

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!
Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in
the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.  

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch
table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the
garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first..

But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push
the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in
the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of
flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading
glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the  counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of
Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some
help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favor.
Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't
remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

Not a good start...

Okay, so the first TWO days of the diet went well.  Between the four hour mega cleaning workout on Monday, the treadmilling yesterday and watching what I was eating...it was all going well.  

Then PMS hit and I have eaten everything today that wasn't nailed down.  While in the fetal position.  Yup, there was no walking, treading, cleaning, moving of ANY kind in this house today.  

There was, however, a big sandwich, Dibs (Nestle Crunch flavored), a donut, a sensible dinner, followed by Hagen Daaz.

I don't think I'll be stepping on the scale any time soon.

Reconnecting...

Fifteen years ago I moved from NY to NC sight unseen.  Really.  I knew no one and basically had a stack of 24 pictures that Frank had taken to show me our new town.  

One of the first REAL friends that I made upon moving here was with a woman named Rhonda.  We met at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).  We both had four-year-olds and were in the same discussion group and while in our first meeting she was sharing something with the group and I remember thinking "She needs a friend...just like me!" and so a friendship was born.  At the time she also had a 10-month old and we started hanging out regularly.

Well, as time passes and life gets in the way, friendships come and go.  But for fifteen years Rhonda has always been there.  Sure, we may go for months without talking, e-mailing or Facebooking, but we still manage to reconnect.  This past weekend, we did.  It started as an e-mail, then a phone call, and tonight, dinner.  

It is amazing to look at our now 19-year olds and remember how tiny they were when they first met.  I look at her 16 year old and am amazed that he was once that little baby in the stroller.  We sat and talked for HOURS tonight and while our lives have taken some pretty different paths, our friendship remains the same.  For that, I am blessed.

So thank you, my friend, for still being willing to put up with me after 15 years... you are a treasure!

The Return of the Disney Diet...

Okay, so it's been about six months since I fell off the Weight Watchers wagon and I can officially say that 80% of the weight I lost is back.  I hate it and I feel like crap.  So, no longer willing to feel sorry for myself I decided to go back to what worked for me that doesn't cost a dime.

My Disney Diet.

And...coincidentally, I will be going to Disney in September so it all works out.

Basically, I have a treadmill.  I just have to actually use it.  Today was my first day and believe it or not, I did NOT tread.  I was helping a friend do some cleaning and with four hours of mopping and vacuuming and scrubbing walls and trim, I didn't feel the need to add treadmilling to the mix.  Tomorrow's another day.  

I had my old journal that I kept track of all of the things that I ate and what kind of work out I did for those four months and I think I can do this.  I'm not duplicating it item by item, but it's nice to have a guide.  

So here's to me losing some weight and looking sassy by September.  It's good to have goals... 

Girls Night Out

As I've probably said a thousand times before, I am a very social person.  I love to be around people and my friends mean the world to me.

Last night we had a much-needed girls night out.  The great thing about this group of ladies is that we really don't need much to entertain ourselves - and I mean that as a good thing!  We met up, went to dinner at this fabulous little Mongolian Grill place where you go up to the all-you-can-eat-buffet and pick out all of your raw meat, fish and veggies, add whatever kind of sauce/marinade you want and then bring it to the giant grill where they cook it for you and then you take it back to your table.  Such a simple idea and it is just yummy.

After that we walked the mall.  Normally, I hate the mall.  Taking me to the mall usually signifies torture but when I go with the girls, it's fun.  We have certain stores that we always hit and by the end of the night I have some new "smelly" stuff (Bath and Body Works) and a full tummy (dessert/chocolate of some kind) and a new book or magazine (Barnes and Noble).  

Last night after our mall jaunt, we headed over to the new Super Walmart.  Are we fun gals or what?  And I picked up a few things and went to check out.  My total came to $21 and change and I handed the cashier $25.  A twenty and a five.  She examined that five dollar bill for a solid minute, then used the special marker on it and then went to give me my change, then stopped and looked at the five again...took ANOTHER five out of her drawer and compared the two.  So now I'm like "If there's a problem with the bill, I can pay with another..."  and she looks at me and says "I didn't say there was a problem with the bill".

Um...really?  Because your examining it as if there is so if there's NOT a problem with it, give me my damn change and let me get the heck out of here!  She then, with my five AND my change, walks AWAY and goes across the store to have someone else look at the five dollar bill!  I kid you not.  Five minutes later she comes back and without a freakin WORD to me, hands me my change and my bag.

So now, my three friends, who are all in line behind me are all looking at her as if she's crazy and my girl Danette leans in and says to the woman "So what was the problem with the bill?" and the stupid woman says "I never said there was a problem with the bill."

Am I the only one seeing this as strange?  And yet THIS woman has a job and I do not...

Fred Sanford and Caffeine Withdrawal...

Fred Sanford strikes again...

My husband is a pack rat.  He won't admit to it, but he is.  If he is on a job site and people are getting rid of something, he'll take it.  Why?  Just in case.  Really?  I mean, at the rate we're going the junk he has collected will require a bigger home than we live in - as it is the shed is about half the size of the house!

So I finally convinced him to start selling some stuff on Craigslist.  We haven't gotten many hits but things are slowly starting to leave the premises and I am happy about that.  A couple of weeks ago he sold a set of roto-toms (they were to his drum set) and he was asking $75 for them.  So this guy responds to the ad and he's like "Oh, I want them, I want them...can I come by tonight?"  We were psyched and gave him the address and he told us he was going to dinner first and then he'd be over.  Fine, sure, no problem.  Well, he calls two hours later and is like "Um, listen, I have $60 in cash and $15 in QUARTERS!"

I kid you not...

Tomorrow we have someone coming over to buy a Sears "White Gas" stove from 1964!  Why we needed this, I have no idea.  Someone was throwing it out and my husband just had to have it.  Well, not anymore.  That's being sold for $20.  It's pretty banged up on the outside but the inside is immaculate.  I hope the guy still wants it when he gets here.

I'm cutting back on my coca cola.  Clearly, it is not my friend.  I drank WAY too much of it yesterday and besides not being able to sleep last night, I had bad acid reflux all night long.  I was miserable.  So today, I have been cola free and have the headache to prove it.

That should make for a cheery me early tomorrow morning when the stove guy comes...

I'll Take 40 for 30, Alex...

Today was my second unemployment review in less than 30 days.  I got up early, got ready, drove Michael to school and then drove the 20 miles to the unemployment office.  

This time, there was only three people ahead of me.  I showed my letter that I received in the mail, they sent me to the lone office and this time it was a different gentleman waiting in there - one with no chair for me to sit in and who did not ONCE even look at me.  

He said "Do you have your job search record?"  "Yes."  I replied and handed it over to him.  He scanned it and was like "What about all of these Craigslist ads you applied to?  Do you have the printouts?"  "Yes," I replied and handed him the pile.  "What about this job here where you applied to the website, is that there?"  "Yes, it is," I said with a smile.  He handed me a new job search record sheet and said "You're good to go."


Thirty seconds.  Literally.  I drove 40 miles round-trip for a 30 second interview.  Really?  Is there no better way to do this?  Is there no way to do this online so that I don't have to drive this much with gas at $3.10 a gallon??  I mean, I realize I'm unemployed so CLEARLY I have time on my hands but it just seemed like a colossal waste of everyone's time.


But on a side note and not unemployment related, today is the 17th.  With the new billing cycle with our electric company the bill HAD to be paid today.  I had completely lost track of the date and at 11:20 a.m. I remembered and went in to a state of panic.  The only checks we had here are temporary ones but I didn't think that was a big deal.  So I jump in the car and drive over to town hall to pay the bill.  I give the clerk the check and the bill and she's like "Oh, we can't take this...it's a temporary check?"  


What is the point of a temporary check if you cannot USE IT???


So I nearly break down and cry because I know that I don't have any other checks or a debit card for that account (it's new) and so I start scrounging for cash in my wallet.  I'm like "I guess I don't have to buy food for my family today..." under my breath and hand her the money.  She looks at the computer and then at me, clearly confused.


"Do you do the payment plan when you pay the same amount every month?"  I'm like "Um...no.  I pay on the 17th by the skin of my teeth whatever amount you guys feel like charging me for."  Yes, I was a bit annoyed.  So she's like "You have a $9.65 credit on your account.  You don't owe anything." 


Now I'm confused...


It appears that somebody, some guardian angel of sorts, PAID $150 on to our account for us last month!  How crazy is that???  I mean, I knew that I made my payment last month, for the right amount and on time and she told me that someone came in and made a payment on our account, on a credit card five days later!  I almost cried.  Kind of made me feel bad for snapping at her and wishing that I could smack her just moments earlier.


How cool was that???

Continuing my Writing Education

Okay, so I am well aware of the fact that while I LOVE to write, there are definitely things that I need to learn if I am ever going to get published.  So through one of my writing groups, I signed up for two workshops.

The first one is on writing a synopsis.  It's called "The Synopsis - the Necessary Evil" and the other one is "25 Words from Query to Sales Success".  It's only day two and I feel like I have already learned a lot.  Actually, I wish I had the opportunity to take these classes BEFORE submitting anything anywhere!

So I decided to continue with my education and signed up for two more workshops next month. The first is on designing and teaching classes online (something that I would LOVE to do) and the other teaches everything you need to know about using Microsoft Word to write a novel.  I am particularly psyched for that one.  

Basically, none of these classes are seemingly doing much to help me find a job, but they are certainly helping me with my writing which someday, God willing, will BE my job.

Coming Soon to an Arena Near You...

So this weekend, my husband achieved a lifelong dream...he and his band rented time with a recording studio and spent the entire weekend (25 hours worth!) recording a demo CD!

I am SO FREAKIN PROUD OF HIM!!!

Okay, so first of all, I am proud because this is something that he always wanted to do and he made it happen.  How many of us actually DO that?  I mean, I want to be a writer and while I am writing "stuff" I have yet to make my true dream come true.  Frank wants to be able to hold a professionally made CD of his own music in his hands and play it in his car.

And now he can!

The bass player designed the album/CD cover and insert, they are talking with a photographer to get some decent "band" shots for the CD...I mean, it's kind of exciting.  With the production of this CD, they will be able to actually go out and find places to play that aren't just open mike nights.  That's pretty cool, too.

So while they're not ready for their North American tour (yet), they are living the dream.  

Shouldn't we all??

Valentine's Day...

Okay, so it's Valentine's Day.  That's all fine and well but really, it's not a big deal in our house.  Well, that's not totally true, I used to LOVE Valentine's Day but it wasn't a big thing for Frank and really, I learned that we didn't need a single day set aside to be all in love.

Are you gagging at that one or perhaps just thinking "Really?"

No, it's true.  While Valentine's Day is nice, it is rare that we ever get to actually go OUT on the day and celebrate and it's kind of annoying the way restaurants jack up their prices just because of this day and it is kind of annoying to battle the crowds. 

So what about you?  What are your thoughts on Valentine's Day?  I have some great Valentine's memories...but honestly most of them come from while I was growing up.  My mom always bought us special gifts on Valentine's Day.  We'd wake up and there would be boxes of candy or stuffed animals or something like that waiting for us.  I used to love that.  Then, when I got older, my dad used to put a flower on my car while I was at school and even one year, after Frank and I were married, my dad sent me a dozen roses.  In all of my life I had never had a dozen roses delivered to my door.  It was pretty sweet.

It's been sweet watching Nick deal with Valentine's Day since he started dating Beckah.  I'm glad that he loves to do things for her.  That's a little big of me that he's got.  I hope that she appreciates his efforts because really, she's lucky that he is one of those guys.  

The thing is, I am a very happily married woman.  I love my husband more and more every day.  Our marriage isn't perfect but it is wonderful and I am blessed.  So while today is a "special" day for people in love, to me it's just another day to say thank you God for bringing such a wonderful man in to my life.

So I wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day and I hope that you are all spending it with someone you love.

I nearly broke out in song...

So on Friday I participated in a focus group kind of thing where I went for two hours and rated songs for a local radio station.  It was so much fun...I was pleasantly surprised.

I sat in a room with 15 other people and we each had an MP3 player and had to listen to 690 songs in ten-second snippets over the course of the two hours.  So the music that was on the player was a great variety from the 70's through today with a large part of it coming from the 80's.  We're all sitting there, with our headphones/earbuds/whatever you want to call them and silently listening but I have to tell you, all of those songs ROCKED.  There were several times where I wanted to sing along!


Luckily I refrained...didn't need to scare anyone.  But you know what I should have done?  I should have made a list of all of those great songs that I hadn't heard in like, forever, and come home and put them on my iPod, dangit!!

Maybe next time...

Some call it art, I call it defiance...

So Michael has been a little, shall we say, belligerent regarding all things school lately and after last week's social studies fiasco I was fearing what would happen with the science project due on Friday.

Well, for starters, he decided on Wednesday night that he was going to actually CONSTRUCT a simple machine and we were like "Um...no".  Honestly, with what he wanted to do, there just wasn't enough time.  So he decided to DRAW a poster/diagram of it.  Twenty minutes later he was done.

Well, I took a look at it and really, it was a pencil drawing on a large piece of poster board and didn't really look all that eye catching so I told him to add a little color.  


Two hours later it looked like the entire Crayola company had thrown up on his diagram.  


All of a sudden my belligerent one thought he was some sort of Picasso because I have to tell you, I'm sure that some artist somewhere would claim that it truly was "art" but for a science project, it was a messy act of defiance and I was NOT amused.  

So after a LONG (and loud) discussion on what is appropriate and what was not in regards to homework and projects, he started over AGAIN.  The fifth grade is going to be the DEATH of me!!!  The finished project is very simple, very basic and, God willing, something that his teacher will approve of.


I'm not holding my breath on that one...

 

Really? Again???

So I'm sitting here minding my own business yesterday when the mail came.  Bills, bills and more bills and then...

A notice from unemployment for ANOTHER eligibility review.

Are you freakin kidding me?  I mean, I have like 7 weeks left on my claim before it is completely exhausted and they want to do this again?  Less than a MONTH since the last one?  What in the world is up with that?

I have the form they gave me and all of the info on all of the jobs I have inquired about and let me tell you, it is diverse.  I am not being picky about the types of jobs I apply for simply because I have no specialty.  I am not trained in any specialized field so I am applying for anything that doesn't require a major commute and has me home to get Michael off the bus in the afternoon.

I am beyond pissed.

So now, I will drive the 40 minute drive AGAIN.  I will stand in the line for 20 minutes AGAIN.  I will probably have a 5 minute interview.  AGAIN.

Just a colossal waste of everyone's time.

Again. 

I'm feeling my age...

It's a Monday morning.  One son is at work, the other at school.  My husband is getting ready for work and I am sitting in the bed with my laptop.  Essentially, it is a lazy Monday.

My body aches a little but that is nothing new.  I feel like I could use another seven days worth of sleep.  We watched (and I use that term loosely) the Superbowl yesterday and I have to say that I was not impressed in the least.  First, why did the chick from "Glee" have to sing?  Can't we just have the National Anthem?  And then...can't we have someone sing that who actually knows the words?
 

I am not a sports fan and I really watch the Superbowl mainly for the social aspects of it.  A large portion of the population watches it and should I run in to someone who is discussing it, I like to be somewhat informed.  I really enjoy the half-time show.

Until yesterday.


You know, after the whole Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" I thought that the NFL was going to stick with the whole playing it safe thing and have performers at half-time that weren't going to be controversial.  Bands like U2, Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Tom Petty...I mean, these guys are musicians who put on a good show and they are universal; everyone knows them and you may not be their biggest fan, you know their music.

The Black Eyed Peas seemed like an odd choice for half time to me.  I mean, I guess they're popular but I don't see them being in the same league as the bands I just mentioned.  I didn't follow much of the hype or discussions about the show until yesterday when there was mention of a "surprise" appearance by Slash and Usher.  Um...didn't that just kill the surprise?  I mean, really?  

The half-time show, while visually pleasing to look at (I love a good choreographed en-mass formation on a football field) sort of disappointed me.  I don't know their music, Slash's brief appearance seemed wildly out of place and Usher?  I know he's popular but were there even lyrics in his segment or was it all just jumping around and dancing?  And again, to what purpose?  

I guess I truly am old.  Give me a good rock anthem to sing along to during half time.  While I'm noshing on some classic snacks, I would enjoy some classic rock to go with it.  I am a fan of some of the members of Duran Duran on Facebook and when it was announced that they were playing Superbowl weekend, I was kind of psyched - thinking that they were playing the Superbowl.  Turned out, they were doing the Pepsi Fan Jam thing Thursday night.  Now there's a band that, to me, is more universal to the general population rather than Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas.  But that's just my opinion.

Although, Kudos to whoever designed Fergie's costume.  No chance of a wardrobe malfunction when you've covered her in heavily be-dazzled, lighted up football padding that looked like it weighed about 50 pounds!  No chance of anything popping out of that!

I put on a good Superbowl party...

I honestly do...

The thing is it's normally just us.  Today we had another family join us and I had enough food here to feed at least two more families! I'll be eating all kinds of snacks for the rest of the week!

I had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on freshly baked bread, pigs in a blanket, chips with queso and salsa, 7-layer dip, Buffalo wings, spinach & artichoke bites, pretzel crisps (everything flavor), pretzel nuggets (honey mustard & onion flavor), cheetos and peanuts plus an Oreo pie.  It was a food fest!  There is quite a bit left.

The funny thing is that I don't even LIKE football but I love the social aspect of the Superbowl.  We had another great night with friends and really, it was a great way to cap off the weekend.

So...what were your thoughts on the Superbowl?

Just another Saturday...

Today was a weird day.  Michael slept out last night and we were told that his friend's parents would bring him home around ten this morning.  So, I had fallen back to sleep after Frank left for work and luckily woke up at 9:30.  I jumped out of bed and frantically began picking stuff up around the house because honestly, it was a wreck in here.

So there I am, half asleep, running around cleaning up and five minutes in to my endeavor the phone rang.  it was Michael.  He was like "Oh, they're going to bring me home around noon."  Are you kidding me???  I jumped up, got out of bed before I was ready and it was for nothing!!  Well, maybe not for nothing since the house really did need to be cleaned, but I was still kind of annoyed.

Okay, so onward with the day.  I went to the supermarket because we needed some things and I knew that we were going to dinner at some friend's home tonight and that they were going to grill burgers.  I was looking forward to it and in honor of the yummy dinner to come, I opted to have some frozen pizza for lunch instead of the roast beef sandwich that I really wanted.  So I get home and we get a call from our friends telling us...

"Change of plans...we're just going to do pizza for dinner!"


Now, don't get me wrong, I'm just happy to be seeing them so the meal is just a bonus but I was kind of bummed because I never really eat pizza and now I was going to be having it twice in one day.  Oh, well.


It was an awesome nice with our friends.  I mean, I LOVE spending the time with people that we can just sit around talking and laughing with and that was exactly how this was.  Just a good night.


Now, I'm just relaxing, watching a little SNL and laughing at a Wayne's World skit.


Just a good night, indeed.

 

And there was whining and weeping and gnashing of teeth...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, my son's are such opposites and I understand one completely and the other, not so much.  

I was able to homeschool Nick and it was fairly easy because I understand how he thinks.  Michael is completely different; his interests, the way he speaks, the way he does things are all a complete mystery to me.  

This year Michael has a teacher that gets him - really gets him.  She is a history buff and so is he and apparently her teaching style reaches him.  We have had a very good year, so far.

Until yesterday.

Several weeks ago his teacher assigned a fairly big social studies project AND a science project.  The social studies project required research, writing up index cards of said research, cause and effect sheets, bibliographies and paragraph writing along with some sort of visual aid.  The majority of the project was going to be done in school.  

Wednesday, Michael comes home from school and tells me that he hasn't been able to do a lot of work at school because he can't concentrate so I let him stay home from our weekly Wednesday night bible study so that he could get caught up and I thought he had.

Until yesterday.

I was on my way to the supermarket around 5 yesterday afternoon when Michael called me to ask for some poster board.  Okay, fine.  I get home, give him the poster board and the boy worked diligently until ten.  When we told him to get ready for bed, he had a meltdown.  He was no where's NEAR close to being done with the project.  When we asked him how much more he had to do, we were appalled at how much more had to be done.  

There was yelling, screaming, crying, carrying on - and that was just from ME!  It turns out that all the while he was telling us that he had no homework, he did.  All of the times he was playing video games, he was supposed to be working on this project!  He is totally grounded right now and is just pitiful.


So how could we know that he wasn't doing the work in school?  No idea.  How could we know that he was supposed to be doing this stuff at home?  Again, no idea.  I mean, all we heard on the weekly reports was that it was being worked on in school.  Now, we have to tackle the science project.  


God, give me strength!!!

Theme Weddings - Yes or No?

Ever since my mom had the opportunity to be a part of David Tutera's My Fair Wedding, I have gotten in to the show.  I had never watched it before she started doing work for him and now I try to catch it whenever I can.

So here's the thing:  Theme weddings.  What is that about?

I am sitting here watching a bride who wants a Wizard of Oz themed wedding and a couple of weeks ago another bride wanted an Alice in Wonderland wedding.  I'm sorry, but that all just seems wrong to me.  Your wedding should be about love, commitment, getting MARRIED...not about a bride in a black dress or a one in ruby red slippers!  

I know that I am a traditional type of gal so maybe that's my problem with the whole thing but I think that party themes are best utilized on more casual occasions - not weddings.  Tonight's bride was going to make her bridesmaids carry "Dorothy" style baskets with fake fruit in them!  I'm sorry, I don't care how close of a friend you are, if you think I'm going to carry a basket of fake fruit while walking down the aisle in a dress that is reminding people of Munchkinland, you are sorely mistaken.

So what do you think?  Theme wedding, yay or nay?

A weekend getaway is needed...

I need to get away.  

No, not for any great length of time, but a weekend away would be nice.  My church is in the midst of planning its annual womens retreat.  It will be in April and it's for a whole weekend up in the mountains of North Carolina.  This year the topic of the retreat doesn't thrill me and basically, I'll be paying close to $100 for the weekend to be in a place that's outdated and in desperate need of cleaning and refreshing to listen to several talks on a topic that I'm not interested in!

Or there's plan B...

I am looking to get away with a few friends for a weekend of just girl time - no structured schedule, no cafeteria food, just a getaway.  

It seems a bit selfish and I am sure that my church friends are going to be like "WHAT???  Why would you NOT want to go on the retreat?"  You know, I am not a retreat person.  I've told everyone that.  I went last year to give it a try and while it was fun, it was fun because the topic was fun.  It was on sex.  This year?  Not so much.  It's on "Emotions".  Yes, I have them.  Enough said.

So I need to really think and pray on this because I need a little break and need to step away from everyday life for a little bit but I'm not sure which environment is going to do that for me in the best way.

Decisions, decisions...

A Good Day...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go out for a little girl time with Nick's beautiful girlfriend, Beckah.  I finally got to experience what it feels like to go out with a girl as opposed to the boys.  

We got our haircut, we talked and talked and talked about anything and everything, we went to lunch and then we came back to the house and looked at pictures.  I love that she thought I was pretty back in the day - it was a little boost to my ego and for that I am thankful!  :)  

After that she and Nick left to go and hang out.  I had a little while to hang out by myself before Michael got home.  When he did we ran out to Target because he was out of AA batteries and was having a breakdown about the whole thing because he needed them for his Xbox controller.  I mean a BREAK  DOWN.  So while we were at the Super Target I picked up a new toaster oven because really, I need one.  I mean, I have a toaster - the regular, run-of-the-mill-two-slice-toaster.  I hate it.  I have switched over to the Arnold's sandwich thins and the Thomas' Bagel thins and they get stuck in the toaster all the time.  So there was a toaster oven on sale for $17.99 and I bought it.  Now I want to toast something...

BUT...I started to not feel good while out shopping.  My head's all stuffed up and I am coughing.  I was feeling a lot like Frank did a week ago.  So when he got home and I told him how I felt, he went out and got us dinner so that I didn't have to cook.  I love that man!

Anyway, Entrecard is acting funky again so I hope that I can finish my drops  but I don't think I will before the Nyquil kicks in.  

We'll see...