A New Beginning

Dating with Kids...a plea for advice

2008-02-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

OMG this is the second time I've tried it, and it's a huge PIA. At least DBF is being supportive and understanding with all the chaos and crap the kids are pulling. No matter what my kids think, I deserve a chance at happiness and I am allowed to have a life that does not alwyas center around them. In other words my weekend with DBF was interrupted by kids and their needs and issues constantly.

I've talked to XH about all this and he agrees that what the kids have pulled this weekend is not acceptable behavior and he is supporting me and my right to a life. He's going to talk to the kids later about the attitudes and actions this weekend, and hopefully help to point out how selfishly they've been acting. Yes, I try to manage one weekend evening with DBF for some just us time, and we tried to shuffle the schedule this weekend, and it didn't work. So anytime I had alone with him, was totally kid interrupted and filled with dramatics out of kids.

I'm not going into details about which kid did what, because that's not what this is about today. But suffice it to say it started with one on THursday and hasn't let up with the other one yet. How my mom ever managed to date my step-dad and get to the point of marrying him and managing to stay married with 6 of us between 10 and 18, is completely beyond me. But then again, we all had more respect for our parents than kids today have for any adult.

So if anyone has any suggestions or advice, on how to maange this, I'd really and truly appreciate it.
TIA

How To Make a Margaret

2008-01-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Recipe For margaret

3 parts Panache
2 parts Enchantment
1 part Courage

Splash of Elegance

Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Another Quiz/Meme thing!

2008-01-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Snagged this one off of Onilyn's blog, and where she got it, I don't remember!

Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?

this quiz was made by Fury

Photo Meme

2008-01-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

I stole this from Kari who stole it from Suz! I'm just having a little fun tonight!

Answer the questions and type your answer into Google images search. Post a photo from the FIRST results page. (this can be tough!!)

Age you will be on your next birthday?

Place you would like to visit?

One of your favorite places

Your favorite object?

Your favorite food?

Your favorite animal?Name of a past pet?Where you live?1st grade teacher’s last name?Middle Name?A bad habit of yours?Favorite flower?Favorite Holiday?

Happy Birthday To Me...A Day Late

2008-01-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well another year has gone by and my life is settling down to some semblance of sanity. You would think at 44 years old, I'd be sane most of the time, but that's not quite so yet! I've got the work situation down to a sane level, which is a start, since that's about a third of my life. The kids are sane most of the time, although not always! I've got my house cleaned up, which was one of my goals for this year. Although it's only the public areas, at this point, it's a solid start! My bedroom is next, and I know what I need to do in there! I have a friend, who is special to me in a lot of ways, and we're sane, although it's still fairly new! I think the biggest thing I need to do is reconcile with myself that the juggling of all these different aspects of my life will take time to settle into sanity and routine.

I had a great birthday weekend, both with the kids and my friend. Saturday we finished cleaning the public areas, although I still have to build my new desk and get this area completed. Then my friend took me out for a very nice dinner Saturday night. After dinner we just chilled out and watched a movie with the kids until his stomach started bothering him from overeating. SO we called it an early evening, but that was OK. Sunday he took me and DS out for brunch (DD didn't want to go) and then we hung out for a little while until he had to go get his chores done. Once he was done, I headed out there to watch football with him. It was nice to get a little time alone with him, where we could talk and cuddle comfortably! I know I really enjoy the mellow cuddle time we manage to get. I ended up staying out there until about 8, which was past his bedtime, since he had to work today. Came back here and the kids were eating dinner, so we just chilled out and headed for bed. DD had a friend sleep over last night, and they're still asleep now. I had a nice visit with DD's friend's father when he dropped her off yesterday, and he made some interesting comments and I'm loking forward to seeing how things play out in regard to these. He said he had a "premonition/feeling/revalation/whatever you want to call it" about my relationship with my friend, or someone else that I would meet via eHarmony. I'm not ready to deal with the actual prediciton, because it's way scarier words than I'm even close to thinking about and I'm not sure it's what I want in the long run. All I know at this point is that my friend and I are dancing around scary words with phrases, such as "you mean a lot to me". That's fine for me at this point!

I have learned many things about myself in this past year, particularly that I Do want a man in my life for the long run. I am totally monogamous and therefore fall hard, fast and completely. Can't help it, it's just the way I am. I still don't know that I ever want to get married again. I like my house clean, at least clean enough that I won't die if someone shows up unexpectedly! I love to stitch, but will never have enough time to do it. I love my kids, and will never again date someone they don't like. They both like my friend, which is a good thing, since I do too LOL! Life is easier when I do the cleaning, but it doesn't teach the kids anything about doing chores. So sometimes the harder path is the better one. I need God in my life, but I don't necessarily need organized religion. Christian music helps me stay grounded, so I need to ensure I listen to a little of it every day! I need to fly and enjoy flights of fancy sometimes, but not too often. I also need to keep my focus on the important things in life the rest will all fall into place. I'm falling now, and enjoying every second of the ride.

Today, I'm going to run some errands and meet my friend for lunch. All things are good in my world, but I'm still over analysing and thinking too much. I suspect this might be my biggest problem, and if I can stop doing that everything will fall into place.

I Had a Date Last Night!

2008-01-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

I met this man through eHarmony as discussed in my previous post. We've been doing a lot of talking and met last weekend. Then we were supposed to do dinner on Tuesday, but he had a prior commitment that he'd forgotten about. I can understand that, since when I have appointments for things I don't really want to have to deal with, I tend to forget them too. So Tueday, we met for about 20 minutes before he had to go to his appointment, this was partially because DD had baked him some cookies, and I wanted to give them to him before they got stale! For our real date, we decided to go last night.

I met him at the mall about 3:30, since we both get off work early. We hung out there for awhile, but neither of us was really in the mood to mall troll, so we ended up sitting down and talking. Then we headed over to a local Chinese restaurant for some really yummy food. We both have leftovers for lunch today! Then he took me back to my car and we talked a little more before I came home. Yes, he kissed me! And Yes, it was nice! So just so everyone knows, I did go out with him and made it back home safely! I'm going to dinner with him and his friends on Saturday night, and I'll get to meet his "kids" (dogs) then! I'm really loking forward to seeing him again! In the meanwhile we'll talk on the phone and e-mails!

Don't worry I'm keeping myself grounded, and haven't completely shut down the eHarmony account. But I'm not starting any new communications at this point in time. This is really tough, because I'm habitually a very monogamous person, and if I'm dating someone, I don't talk to other guys, so I'm trying something new to keep myself from falling too hard or too fast for this one.

Happy New Year

2008-01-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve! I had a great time hanging out with J and celebrating the event on both the east coast and out here! It was so much fun to really chat and catch up with her, it's been awhile.

The kids had a great trip to their dad's and made it back safely last night. I missed them a lot and had a few times where I was really down, but overall it was a good holiday season here at the Ski's!

Work is going well, and I got through another month-end with relative ease! I still have some clean up work to do to finish it off, but nothing that I can't handle!

My best friend gave me a fantastic early birthday present when she bought me a month of eHarmony, which is where she met her DH. I've been having a lot of fun playing with the website and meeting some interesting people...via the e-mail only. HOwever, there is this one man that I've been chatting with that I really enjoy and I met him IRL yesterday. He met me at one of my favorite places to watch the first half of the dismal Redskin's game. I think I saw about 4 plays of the game, as we were just talking. He was everything that he seemed to be on the e-mails and a perfect gentleman. I am looking forward to talking with him again, and seeing more of him. At the same time, I am not jumping into anything or going down the road I went with XBF, as I don't want to go too fast or end up in the same situation again. We simply talked and I gave him a friend hug at the end of the "date" and we talked more last night. I've told DD all about him, and she thinks he sounds like a good guy, and thinks she wants to meet him! I told her that I wasn't ready for that yet, and wanted to see how things went with us and if he was someone I wanted in our lives for awhile, before I'd allow her and her brother to meet him. I haven't talked to DS about him yet, as that will be a different conversation than the one I shared with DD. DS will not get as much information, as DD as he is younger and deals with things differently, but he will hear about him today. As I want both kids to know that I am talking with someone, and it could potentially go further to the point where they will get to meet him.

He's invited me to go out with him and his friends next weekend, and I'm thinking about going. We'll see what this week brings, and then make a decision about what I'll do Saturday night. It sounds like a lot of fun, but...It's kind of scary at the same time! This is almost seeming like more of a true relationship than I ever had with XBF, and although it's what Ireally want for a long term type of thing, it's still scary!

So I'm off on a new adventure, and I'll share the experiences as they happen. In the meanwhile I'm just along for the ride!

Better Late Than Never!

2007-12-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I've blogged again! I kept meaning to post an update to the club volleyball post, and got busy and never got around to writing it! So DD and I listened to the club director's pitch for what they do for people asking for financial aid, and decided that this club was not for her. We talked to the director and he didn't seem to care much. Then we talked to the man who would have been her coach, I really liked him and think he would have been good for DD. He gave us several ideas on where she could play for a lot less money and commitment than his club was offering. More like recreational leagues and such, so we're looking into those a little, and maybe DD will get to play some in the new year, although it won't be anything like club ball. That's OK and she's happy with the results.

DD and her DBF are on the outs at the moment, and I think it may stick this time. He started being a twit shortly before she left for FL, and they worked things out, but once she got down there, he went back to the same attitude and they decided to call it quits. She really doesn't want to put up with it anymore, but she's a tenderhearted girl and is afraid that if he asks her for another chance, she'll give it to him.

DS is having a good time in FL and got his new Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas. He's on that thing non-stop. I've played with it a little, and it seems to be a fairly cool game system. His friends miss him and have come by a couple of times since he left looking for him. I've told them that he's out until next weekend, and the second time they came, I reminded them. They claimed "they forgot" what I'd told them two days before! Makes me how they do in school, if they can't remember something that simple at 10!

Me, I'm just hanging in there and going to work and coming home and stitching or sleeping. I have made a lot of progress on the dinosaur, and should have it finished today! Once I finish that, I'll either start the Fractal Bookmark that I want to stitch or go ahead and start my New Years project, Desiderata. Gotta talk to A, and see if she's ready to start on Tuesday! As of right now, I have no plans for New Year's Eve, and will probably just have a SMOG night, or sleep, since I have to work on Monday! It's all good, and will be whatever happens. I can truly handle a quiet evening at home, without having to worry about getting home, after participating in the traditional "adult beverages", which if I go out, I know I will!

Tonight I'm going to watch the NE-NYG game on TV, since it'd be nice to see history made or broken. Tomorrow I'm going to the bar by myself to watch the Redskins Dallas game. I don't care what anyone thinks! I want to watch my Redskins control their own destiny, and the stupid local channels will carry the useless Cardinals, rather than the game that matters in the playoff runs! So I have to go out to watch it, if I want to see it! It's an afternoon game, so I'm not worried about anything appearing out of propriety (I don't go to bars alone...ever), I'll just get a table near my game and get lunch/dinner and watch my game! No stitching during that game, but such is life. You can't stitch through everything!

Tomorrow morning, I'm checking out a new church to see if I like what the pastor has to say. There are several reasons for leaving my old church, which I decided to do a couple of months ago, and now I'm finally ready to see if this new church might be a good fit for me and the kids. I'm hoping so, and from what I've seen of their website, and their Christmas Eve service, I think it might just fit! I'll know more tomorrow and will share my thoughts next time I blog.

I did see what I wanted for Christmas the other day, but was just a couple seconds too late to talk to him! There is this guy who works (I think) somewhere in my building, and we've flirted a little back and forth, since I started there. Well the last month or so, we've started saying "Hi" and such when we run into each other (about once every 2-3 weeks) and I think I'd like to talk to him a little further to see if it's just a casual flirtation, or if we might be able to actually talk to each other. He's about 6'3" and looks great in jeans! I know that's shallow, but sometimes you just have to be that way!

I hope this blog finds everyone happy and healthy and looking forward to the new year. I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and find nothing but peace and joy in the new year!

Volleyball Anyone??

2007-12-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

The highlight of my week this week came on Friday night! I had to do my volunteer activity at WVCCC, which I'd committed to months ago. DD found out at noon that she had volleyball tryouts for one of the bigger clubs that same evening. So I tried to get back in time for her tryout, but I didn't make it. However, she did make the team she wanted to be on! She is so excited that she can't see straight! Her DBF's dad gave her a ride down to the tryout at the last minute, so it was fairly stressful for me, as she was threatening to walk. This after she'd witnessed a pedestrian getting hit by a car earlier in the day. I was ready to walk away from my volunteering at this point. She did the whole teenage "Mom, I'll be OK and go on with your plans" routine. I wish I hadn't listened to her and had just come home at that point. I did have fun at my volunteer thing, but had to miss the volleyball tryouts due to rush hour and rain here in Phoenix!

So she went down to the tryouts and was amazed at how well she did, she scored the most points of any of the girls! That was a great ego boost for her, so she made the "blue" team for AZ SKY in her age group! This is a partial travel team, and is going to cost an arm leg and a fortune. I didn't get to talk with the club director Friday night due to the chaos that surrounds tryout night. But he did call me on Saturday and we talked. They need volunteers to help with organizing stuff and selling their fundraiser calendars, which we will be working on! In exchange for this, they will waive some if not all of the fees for the season. I can pay some, but nothing close to the $2600 they want for the year. There's also the possibility that they may try to move her down to a regional team, if I can't do enough to support them. I hope that between what I can pay and do, they'll keep her on the same team. But that remains to be seen. I don't care, I'm just excited to know that I'll be at volleyball tournaments this year! I love watching her play volleyball, and will do whatever it takes to keep her playing! XDH is aware of the volleyball situation, and will hopefully contribute some toward it. I need to talk to him and see what sort of financial commitment he's willing to make toward this activity. DD will know how much he will or won't support her financially in this endeavor because I'm honest with my kids, and family finances are no great mystery around here! There's no money for much, and that's not likely to change for a long while!

In other news, work is going well, and I'm staying busier there, which is fantastic and I'm still loving my job! I think I'm going to try and get a part-time evening job to pay off some of these bills faster, so I can continue to afford to live! I really need to make more $$ than I do, but right now we're muddling through.

So, anyone want to buy a calendar???? LOL...sorta

I've been Busy To Say the Least!

2007-12-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged, and part of my goals for next year, which I need to update/add is to blog here at least once a week! I missed that one last week, although I did start writing last weeks blog, but unfortunately never got around ot finishing it, or sending it to a machine where I could post is, so I'll re-create it to the best of my ability to get you all alife update!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and didn't overeat too badly! We ended up cooking a 10 pound turkey and nibbling on leftovers all weekend! It was quite yummy but I'm glad that I don't have to do that again for another year. My kitchen is too small to do a big dinner properly and I really don't like convection ovens and will probably never buy another one in my life! I'd much rather have the traditional oven, which I think cooks better! Friday I did the Black Friday chaos, and got almost everything I wanted for the kids for Christmas, everything else was ordered online and should be here shortly. I just have one more stop, which I'll accomplish in the next week or so on my way home from work! Saturday, I was supposed to volunteer for the West Valley Child Crisis Center, but they were unable to get their booth at the local mall, but I didn't learn that until Monday. So I ended up at the mall and did some more shopping! That helped finish off the Christmas shopping! Then DD spent the night with a friend and DS and I went out for dinner, rather than eating more leftovers. Sunday we all went and watched the Redskins get annihilated by the Bucaneers. I'm not going to do that again for awhile. We had fun, but it seems that everytime I watch the Redskins, they lose so I'll pass this week! We took DD's BF and shot some pool, which was a blast! Then an old friend of our got married and we went to the wedding. It was great seeing my friends, but the "couples" type events are still a little tough. I'm getting stronger and doing better though!

One of the benefits of my volunteering attempt Saturday was that I got a pair of tickets to see Ozzy Osborn Wednesday night! Now I'm not a big Ozzy fan, but I wanted the tickets for the harassment value of teasing my friend, E, that I had the tickets! I ended up taking E to the concert with me, since he is a big Ozzy fan, and we had a blast! For those who are concerned, E is just a friend and has been for over a year now. Although, at one point, he might have had the potential to be more, that won't happen. We are too different and have too little interests in common, and there are other basic differences which will never allow me to look at him as anything more than a friend. He is fun to hang around with when its something that we share a mutual interest in! THe concert was good, although not really my type of music! We went with two other couples, both friends of mine from work, so that made it even more fun!

Monday on my way home from work, I called a radio station on a whim to try and win what I thought were Pink Floyd tickets (love PF) turns out they were tickets to the Pink Floyd Laser Light show coming in February. I won them, so E and I will go to that together as well. He's also promised me that when his clients offer him baseball tickets this year, he'll take them and then give them to me so I can take the kids to some games! THis rocks, since I love baseball and he hates it, so he normally just turns them down! I can't wait for spring, as I'm missing baseball already!

Yesterday I finally did my volunteer thing for WVCCC at the mall helping to sell their Christmas cards, it was fun, but not something I'd want to do for more than 2 hours, as I"m not that good at pulling people in to buy the cards, even though they are cute and for a great cause! I took the kids with me, and let them shop while I did my thing. THey also ran and got water/sodas/snacks and such for me and the lady I was working with. It was really nice, since there were just the 2 of us, and we didn't want to leave each other alone, even for a short break! After that, I didn't feel like cooking or grocery shopping so we went to In-N-Out for dinner and then came home and chilled out with movies and stitching for the rest of the night.

My living room furniture looks fantastic and the window has been repaired. Yes the furniture arrived 2 weeks ago right on time, and within a half an hour after the delivery menleft, I had a broken window all over the new chair. It was an accident, but I was still so POed I didn't think I'd ever not see red again! Nobody got seriously hurt, although the kids are having to pay for the window replacement and all the corresponding expenses related to it! I learned how to take the window out and took it down to the glass shop and within 20 minutes it was fixed, so I was really happy and it only cost a third of what it would have cost to have someone out to do it! So hopefully I'll get pictures taken this week. I've been doing lots of stitching in the past month and loving it, and I hope to do more this afternoon after I get the grocery shopping done.

Speaking of the past month, can you believe it's already been that long since the BF and I broke up??? I realized that the other day, of course he does text me about every two weeks with some sort of BS, which really sucks, but I know he's trying to get a response out of me, and now that I see the ploys and realize he's using things that traditionally get me to melt, I'm just laughing at them! THe first attempt was his dad was ailing and this might be the end...that was 2 weeks ago! This last attempt was that his DS told him to tell me that he still loved me, missed me and was praying for me. THat was this past week. I just laughed and thought tell it to someone who cares! The problem is that I do still love him, although I'll never get back with him after some of the things he said, it's still tough! At this point, I don't really want a man in my life as anything more than a friend, and I'll probably never open up again the way I opened up with him...that hurt way too much! It would be nice to have a guy friend that enjoyed the same things I do, and wanted to go to baseball games and such, just not someone who's as obsessive over sports as the BF was! I still worry some over him becoming stalker on me, but not as much as I used to, I'm even occasionally showing up places where he might be, when I have something that interests me there, and not worrying about running into him. I am getting stronger everyday! I think that might become my new theme song "I do believe I'm feeling stronger everyday" - Chicago

Overall it's been a good but busy couple of weeks, and I think it will continue that way until Christmas! THe kids leave Christmas morning, which I'm both looking forward to and dreading, as I'll miss them horribly. I won't have the fun of the BF to help me keep occupied while they're gone this time, but I'll have my job and my stitching which I hope will be more than enough!

Movies, Movies, Furniture and Football

2007-11-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well it's been an interesting week to say the least. We bought new living room furniture (pictures to follow), saw two new movies before they were released and are going to watch football tomorrow and our favorite place!

Last Sunday we took advantage of Labor Day sales and purchased furniture for the living room. It will be delivered this afternoon/evening and I'll get pics of it up after that! After the furniture shopping we went to Famous Sams for lunch, forgetting that it would be a zoo with football fans. Then we went to Wal-Mart and got a cheap TV stand, desk and filing cabinet for me! I've gotten the TV stand built, but still have to clean this table off before I build the desk and filing cabinet!

Monday and Tuesday were relatively quiet, but Wednesday after work, the kids and I and a friend went and saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium...for free! It was a really cute Christmas movie and I agree with some of the comments I'd read in advance on IMDB, but not all of them. I did see some romance, although not developed, in the film. I have no problem with the writers not pursuing this part of the storyline, since it was a side story and the movie was primarily aimed at younger children. The shop was really cool, and it's the sort of toy store we all imagine when we're kids. The movie was cute, as I stated before, and I'd happily watch it again when it comes out on DVD.

Thursday night, we had free tickets to Beowulf. Again a good movie, but I tend to agree more with the IMDB comments on this one. The story line was one I vaguely remembered from my senior year of high school lit class. Of course this is the year where I became an expert at ditching class, so I never completely read the saga! This movie was filmed in 3-D and that was really cool. I've never really "gotten" the 3-D thing before, but this one was awesome, it was really cool and the objects actually came off the screen for me this time! The live action people were infintely better than the computer animated sequences, but I understand why some of it was done that way. There was a little more blood and guts than I prefer, and during the spurting blood scenes, I admit to closing my eyes!

Thursday was also my company quarterly meeting. Free lunch was great, although it was a "frou-frou" type of meal. Fortunately I sat with a group that didn't eat a lot of the items served, so we swapped and there was plenty to eat! I wasn't able to hear a lot of the actual meeting, because I was sitting in the back near the cafe cooler, which ran constantly, and the kitchen noises and people walking by in the hallway. However, we are supposed to be getting at least the PowerPoints posted to our internal server, so I'll get much of the information.

Last night was my company Holiday party, which was a casino night. It was fun, but since I'm not a gambler not as much fun as it could have been. I didn't win any of the door prizes and was outbid on all the raffle items, since I didn't gamble to increase my bidding power. However, I got to hang out with some friends from work and snark a little!

As mentioned earlier, our furniture arrives today adn I can't wait! Tomorrow, my Redskins play the hated Cowboys (yes, I used their correct name, since some of my friends actually like them LOL) and we'll go up to Famous Sams to watch the game! I'll probably allow DD's BF to join us, since that was the plan made last weekend! In the meanwhile, I'm going to get some housework done, so that we're ready when the furniture actually arrives!

Oh one other point of interest from the week. Got a text from the XBF with something he considered urgent. I just ignored it, although responding with a really nasty comment was almost overwhelming temptation. I did manage to resist, but it was tough!

It's Been A Quiet Week

2007-11-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well I know I'm not blogging all that regularly right now, but I've been busy, even though it's been a quiet week. Month end went really smoothly and I think I finally have a good grasp on my job. I'm ready to get more tasks added, and hopefully will this week. We had one issue with month end, which has been a recurring issue for months, and I finally started researching it on Friday. It appears at this point, it will be an issue that I need to bump over to the IT department, as I don't think my reports (AS, AD and TD) will be able to show me the errors. The reason for this is that all three of these reports should have the same bottom line number and report AD is the "same" as report AS only in detail instead of summary form. Report TD draws the same data from a different place and thus should be the check figure. Unfortunately it appears that AD and TD match and AS (the one I primarily use for month end) is the incorrect one, so it's an IT issue...ugh. I'll prove it for sure on Monday, but that's what I'm suspecting right now!

After telling the XBF to not contact anyone anymore, all has been quiet on that front and as you can see from my last post, I'm doing better. The significance of those lyrics is that when I heard them last week I starting laughing like I hadn't laughed in several days and it bounced me out of the sad mopies and got me back on track to survive! I know that I can survive this break up and come back stronger than I was before, it's just going to take some time. IN the meanwhile, I'm going to have fun with my kids, my stitching and homemaking! I'm also going to go out with girlfriends and goof around and be myself!

I had my first girls night out last night and it was fun, but I didn't stay out as late as I wanted or shoot as much pool as I wanted or anything. I met my friend J at 8 and we had a drink and shot 1 game of pool. Then we were planning on shooting more, but the band started and they were just lousy. We thought about bouncing to another place, but neither of us really had the energy to do much more! She works about the same hours I do and she worked yesterday and didn't get a nap, so we headed home and I was in bed by 10! Once the band started it was impossible to talk or do anything but listen to the band and so we just called it a night.

Oh well, we learned not to go to that particular place on a Saturday again. I told her where I normally headed when I was going out, and maybe next time we'll head in that direction. In the meanwhile, I'm going furniture shopping today. Hopefully I'll have living room pics to share in the next week or so! DD and I looked at a couple of sets on Friday night and now we're going to take DS back to pick one out! We're also hoping to pick up a "carton-style" entertainment center to bring home and build today! So I should have a living room by Thanksgiving! YAY me!!!!!

No stitching since last weekend, due to reading a couple of really good books...look me up as marfski on good reads to hear about "Pretties" "Uglies" and "Specials"! There's also a fourth book in the trilogy "Extras" I found that out Friday night at Borders!

Nuff Said!

2007-11-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Taylor Swift Picture to Burn Lyrics

State the obvious,

I didn’t get my perfect fantasy

I realized you love yourself

More that you could ever love me

So go and tell your friends

That I’m obsessive and crazy,

That’s fine I’ll tell mine

You’re gay,

And by the way,

I hate that stupid old pickup truck,

You never let me drive

You’re a redneck, heartbreak

Who’s really been a lie

So watch me strike a match

On all my wasted time

As far as I’m concerned,

You’re just another picture to burn.

There’s no time for tears

I’m just sitting here planning my revenge

There’s nothing stopping me

From going out with all of your best friends

And if you come around saying’ sorry to me

My daddy’s going to show you how sorry you’ll be

‘Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck,

You never let me drive

You’re a redneck, heartbreak

Who’s really been a lie, yeah

So watch me strike a match

On all my wasted time

As far as I’m concerned,

You’re just another picture to burn.

And if you’re missing me

You better keep it to yourself

‘Cause coming back around here

Would be bad for your health

‘Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck,

You never let me drive

You’re a redneck, heartbreak

Who’s really been a lie, yeah

So watch me strike a match

On all my wasted time

In case you haven’t heard,

I really, really hate that stupid old pickup truck,

You never let me drive

You’re a redneck, heartbreak

Who’s really been a lie, yeah

So watch me strike a match

On all my wasted time

As far as I’m concerned,

You’re just another picture to burn.

Burn, burn, burn, baby burn.

Just another picture to burn

Baby burn

Reflections on the 2007 Thus Far

2007-11-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

OK, it's a little early to reflect on the entire year, but I need to exorcise this stuff. A lot of this is hindsight and really seeing things that I didn't notice while I was going through it. I'm very good at that, because I need time to think about things and analyze them before I really see them.

I had my first post divorce DBF this year. At first things were great he was a lot of fun and we did a lot of things together. Then he started to get moody and upset when my kids needed me, or my friends needed me or when I didn't agree with him. While my kids were visiting their dad everything was great, in that I could spend all my free time on him, which is what he needed. We spent a ton of time together and had a lot of fun as neither of us had any other responsibilities outside of work. I told him that when the kids came home this was going to change, and that's when things started going down hill.

He became more needy and more grouchy.nasty and we had our first big blowout when the Atlanta Braves were in town. He made an obnoxious comment "trying to be funny" well because of situations that he wasn't aware of, it was anything but funny, and I got mad. We ended up going to the game together, separately. After that I told him I didn't want to date him anymore, he cried and whined and promised to improve. Thus started the two month cycle I've been living since then.

THen he had a bad ear infection, which caused him to be nasty, mean, pouty and sulky. I can understand you're not as much fun when you don't feel good, but he never apologized for it, simply wrote it off to his excuse of not feeling good. So I didn't completely break it off again, but I felt more and more that this was not something I wanted for the rest of my life and distanced myself from him more and more. I started my new job, which cut into my time for everything (kids, me, friends and dating). He struggled with the fact that I wasn't as available and got worse. I distance further to the point where we only talked a little each day and spent less time together.

Finally we had the big blow out last Friday, when I told him I wasn't sure what I could do over the weekend due to needing to be here because the kids had misbehaved badly. He decided to break up with me and that was fine. We spent the weekend apart and didn't really talk, but by Sunday afternoon he'd texted me with a "crisis" these always happen when we're having difficulties, adn I'm a softie and would normally comfort him. I texted him back that the people who were more directly involved in this one were in my prayers...nothing about him though. He started back on the I want to talk stuff, but never seemed to have time to talk when I could. I wasn't trying to be difficult (ok maybe I was a little) but needless to say I had commitments to the kids and things I wanted to do this weekend. So Friday night we talked on the phone a little and he got downright nasty with me and directly at me.

I haven't heard from him since and hope I never do, although I suspect that like a bad penny, he'll turn up again. My mom and kids are concerned about my physical well-being, but I'm more concerned about the damage he did emotionally. Everything I'd built for myself emotionally since leaving XH got torn down Friday night and I'm struggling with all of that stuff again. I know that a lot of it was just stuff he threw out because he was hurting (he thought I had a new BF because I told him I had dinner plans!), but it still hurt a lot! My dinner plans were with my kids, as it was one of DS's school fundraiser nights at one of the local take out restaurants!

To top all this off, DD has her first real BF, and they're so cute, but it's really hard right now with my remembering how nice it was to be held by someone I thought really cared abotu me. Now I think that he cared about me only to the extent that I was an extension of him and not my own person. He supposedly has a new GF already, and I truly feel sorry for her unless this is the life she wants. He's talked about moving back to Atlanta, and taking his DS from the grandmother's house where he's been living this year. I feel even worse for his DS, who's really a cute kid, but has a lot of issues due to what's gone on in his life. The kid needs security, stability and lots of love, which he doesn't get from his dad.

I did learn that if you give a conceited egotist enough chance to talk about themselves (your only choice) you'll catch lots of inconsistencies in their stories!

I Make Someone Smile!

2007-10-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Kari nominated me for a You Make Me Smile award! Now I'm supposed to nominate 10 people from my blogroll, but most of them have already been nominated, but I"ll re-nominate my entire blogroll and the following people who I'm not sure are on my roll at this point: Sara (RXLady), Susan (Susanin Indiana), Dani (TKDChick), Annette (Annette 414) and Sharon (DIMommie). SO if you're in this list or on my blogroll or both, you've been nominated!

Life update to follow when I have some time, it's almost monthend, so it'll be late next week most probably!

The Crosses are DONE!!!!

2007-10-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

I've finished the cross stitches for the Dragons on You Were Hatched, with the exception of the eyes, which I'll do later...after I've backstitched the majority of the dragons! I can't believe how quickly this one stitched up....anyway, here's the pic!

Edited to add the picture!

You Were Hatched Updated Picture

2007-10-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

I am loving this project!!!

A Brief Post

2007-10-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy week! I'm still loving my new job and staying busy at work...finally. I'm getting a new project, and it will make my job easier, once we get the bugs worked out of the process. Until then, it's demanding more time and I've been putting in a little OT everyday!

The kids finished their first quarter at school this week and have next week off! Bummer, that we're not going to make Knotts Scary Farm next weekend, but DBF can't get the time off work when the kids and I can. Oh well, maybe next year when everything is a little more stable.

I am starting to come out of the shell I went into a couple of months ago and am posting again and sharing life with people again. I think I may have gotten my head straight this time. I've made some decisions and if anyone doesn't like them, then that's their problem not mine! (no-one here on line, but people in my personal life!

I've been stitching like crazy on You Were Hatched and plan to get an updated picture posted later this weekend! So far it's been stitching up fairly quickly, or at least a lot faster than I remember TW's stitching up last time I tried to work on one! I'm loving this one so much, I'm thinking about pulling another one of mine out to work on once this one's done!

DBF and I went to the baseball game last night, but didn't make it through all the extra innings. It was a heartbreaking loss, but at least the game went more along the lines of what I expected out of this series, than Game 1 did! I figured all of them ( and I'm thinking 7) will be a dogfight until the very end, and I'm expecting lots of extra inning games. I'm still tired and sore from that, but that's what I get for trying to sit through a 4 hour game that starts at 7 PM when I got up at 4 AM and didn't get a nap! I told DBF if we have another week night game, we have to go closer to game time so I can get a nap in!

ANyway, it's dinner time around here, and I want to get back to my project. I have a friend calling to stitch with me tonight, and I've almost reached my goal for today before she calls! I'm really pumped about that, since it means I'll have even more progress to share tomorrow!

2007-10-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

NL Championship Here We Come!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Snakes! I love my Baby Backs/Kids whatever you want to call them! These guys are so much fun to watch, if you get a chance watch them!

In other news, I'm getting some chores done and have been working on my TWSAL project! I'm really enjoying this little dragon. DBF and I went out last night and ended up at the bookstore, where I spent too much money, but found the cutest book for his DS's 7th birthday. It's called "The Student From Zombie Island" and it's about conquering rumors and how bad they can get. It's really funny, and I enjoyed reading it! Today I've got to get him a birthday card and get it all off to him on Tuesday!

HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO DBF's DS!!!! You are 7 years old today. ALthough I've only known you for 8 months, you are special to me in your own way. I know your dad loves you very much too, and the decisions he has made for you this year aren't easy for him. However, this is what's best for you, and I hope you understand. I know you're happier in CA, and this is what's best for you right now. I'll get your present in the mail on Tuesday, and I really hope you like it!

I Am Alive! A Brief Life Update and My Starting Picture for the TW SAL

2007-10-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

I'm alive, but exhausted! My new job is going great and I just got through my first month-end, flying mostly solo! It was quite busy and I made some mistakes, but my boss was really cool about it and things seem to be going well. I really like everything about this job, except for the commute. That's minor, all things considered. Between the job and the kids and DBF, I'm really busy and don't get much time in front of the computer anymore. I have been stitching more and watching a lot of baseball. I was at the game Wednesday night and the atmosphere was electric. I can't wait to watch the game on TV tomorrow afternoon and get some stitching done! I'll be at the stadium tomorrow morning to buy projected tickets for the NL Championship series, and hopefully we'll get some decent seats! At $25 or more per ticket, I'd really like to be down low enough to actually visit my seat this time! If we can't get lower row "cheap seats" we'll pay $60 for the bleachers! GO DIAMONDBACKS!!!!!! I love "my kids"!

ANyway, as promised here's my starting picture for the TWSAL. It's my adaptation of TW's You Were Hatched that I'm doing as a birht sampler for DS. Hopefully this works, but if it didn't you can see it here!

A New Job!!!!

2007-08-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well Ihaven't been blogging as regularly as I should, but I've been busy job hunting and running around with the kids and DBF! Got the kids back to school and they seem to be enjoying it. I know I love having some time home alone to look for work and just putz around without being followed! DBF and I have been going to as many baseball games as we can manage and thats quite a few. We've figured out how to keep the expenses there down, by taking our own water and eating a ton before we go and get tempted by ballpark fare! We still get our sodas and ice cream, but avoid the hot dogs and garlic fries as much as possible, although they are yummy!

Anyway on the job search front, I had an interview last week for a job I wasn't really sure that I wanted...primarily due to the commute distance, but when I got there I really liked the people and I did really well in the interview and they offered me the job on Friday. I told her I'd get back to her on Monday, as I needed a little time to think about their offer and we were headed out of town for the weekend (but that's another story). Monday I called her back and told her I could accept the offer, if they could come up with a little more money. They did and I start next week. There was another interview that I really liked and it was much closer to home, and I think I'd get an offer from them if I followed through on the second interview, but I'm going to cancel that one, since I've accepted the first job. THe one I'm taking is a larger company, which will allow me room to grow as I learn more and get my work confidence built back up. The one I'm passing on is a small company and the job will be the same, no matter how much I grow and want more responsibility. I'm a little bummed about the one I'm giving up, but I just can't play the game and hold out any longer and they just weren't able to get the second interview scheduled quickly enough that I could give them the chance and wait for it. I'm glad I'm going to be working and am feeling better about myself and the future at the moment. I just hope this turns out to be everything I hoped it would be. If it is, I"ll probably move closer to work in a year or so, assuming I can sell this house with all the new mortgage rules that are coming into play!

One Word

2007-08-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

Blatently stolen from Suz, Susan and others who all found it on Terri's blog!

You get to answer with one word.

1. Where is your Cellphone? - Clueless

2. Relationship? - Struggling

3. Your Hair? - Short

4. Work? - Looking

5. Your sister? - Ten!

6. Your favorite thing? - Stitching

7. Your dream last night? - None

8. Your favorite drink? - Tea

9. Your dream car? - Audi

10. The room you’re in? - Dining

11. Your shoes? - None

12. Your fears? - Poverty

13. What do you want to be in 10 years? - Happier

14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? - Kids

15. What are you not good at? - Memes

16. Muffin? - Chocolate

17. One of your wish list items? - Job

18. Where you grew up? - Virginia

19. Last thing you did? - Showered

20. What are you wearing? - Pink

21. What aren’t you wearing? - Shoes

22. Your pet? - Somewhere

23. Your computer? - Working

24. Your life? - Loud

25. Your mood? - Grumpy

26. Missing? - Sanity

27. What are you thinking about right now? - Sitiching

28. Your car? - Pontiac

29. Your kitchen? - Tan

30. Your summer? - HOT

31. Your favorite color? - Purple

32. Last time you laughed? - Morning

33. Last time you cried? - July

34. School? - Done

35. Love? - Sometimes

Tragedy Strikes Arizona

2007-07-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to post this Friday night, but ended up talking it through with a friend on the phone. Thanks for being there J, I really needed the strength you provided me that night. Anyway, the story:

Friday about 1 PM local time during a live broadcast of a police chase, two news choppers collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground. All four people on board were killed. This has absolutely rattled all of the Phoenix metro area, from what I understand, since in our market the pilots and cameramen on board were also, to some degree on air personalities reporting traffic and such. People who watched their regular broadcasts, although they did not actually know these people felt like they had lost loved ones. I guess it's like that when someone you have daily contact with passes on suddenly. The rumors about what actually happened have abounded, and we may never know the exact circumstances that led up to the crash. That's for the FAA to determine and is not truly a part of the blog.

I know that I was in shock and emotionally weirded out that this could even happen and spent most of Friday attempting to deal with my emotions from the shock. I didn't even watch either of these channels for news, but I still felt the loss. DBF knew these men personally and had even led one of them to the Lord. He's definitely grieving and will probably attend the service for his friend.

As far as the chase suspect that "caused the news choppers to be reporting it", he has been caught and had quite a variety of charges that he's facing. There is also the possibility that he may be charged in the helicopter crash, since AZ has a law that states something along the lines that a chase suspect is responsible for any and all damages, accidents and such that occur as a result of their fleeing from police. Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about this law being applied in this situation, as IMNSHO the news choppers did not "need" to be filming this police chase, or any other one for that matter, and therefore are not directly caused by the chase, aside form the fact that it makes a good news draw, sinc ethe viewing public seems to have an affinity for watching this type of thing. Therefore, I struggle with the concept that this guy, who should be hung by his fingernails and other torturous parts for long periods of time, should be charged with murder as well. I guess some of this issue will be resolved when the FAA and NTSB and other alphabet soup agencies make their reports about what actually caused this tragedy.

If it was a mechanical failure, does that mean that whoever worked on the helicopter can also be charged? If it was pilot error, who's responsible??? If it was simply a fluke thing then who? Where should the charges start or stop? I just don't know, all I know is that the Phoenix metro area lost four men needlessly on Friday. Their families and loved ones are in my prayers, and I've signed their guestbooks accordingly, since that's all the condolences I know how to send, as I don't actually know them. Scott Bowerbank, Jim Cox, Craig Smith and Rick Krolak you will be missed!

Radio Silence

2007-07-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't written much over the past month due to the job...which sucked. Yes I quit. It was only a temporary to possibly permanent position, but I decided not to continue with the organization. I was miserable there, and I was making everyone around me miserable. I was grumping at DBF and the kids and not talking to much of anyone because I knew I wasn't good company. I finished this yesterday and everyone's much happier around me already. I had another interview yesterday and I think it will be a much better situation, if I get the job. I'm supposed to hear today, and I'm nervous and praying constantly that I'll get it!

For now though I'm going off line unti lI complete reading HP7, which comes out in just over 12 hours! I'm so excited that I can't wait. I'm going to curl up in my room and read until I'm done with it, and not speak to anyone, including my kids. DBF knows this is my plan and has made plans to do chores that he's neglected to spend weekends with me, so it's all good. I'll post again and share more about my life after I read the book. For now, I'm off to get my wristband that allows me to get in line for the book tonight! Have a very Harry Potter weekend!

Another Question Thing!

2007-07-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

I received this is my e-mail and was planning on saving it, but I accidentally published it, so I'll do it right now and re-post.

1 .WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Middle Name...Mom
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Friday
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? occasionally, when I really put some effort into it!
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Roast Beef
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? yes, DD & DS
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? More than I should!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, I've never had any parts surgically removed!
9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Honey Nut Cheerios
10. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Every time!
11. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Sometimes
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate with goodies mixed in!
13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their Hair
14. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? My Stomach...I want Lipo and a tummy tuck, but can't afford it!
15. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My sister who passed on
16. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, just tag yourself!
17. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue denim
18. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A Hawaiian roll!
19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The hum of my computer
20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple
21. FAVORITE SMELLS? Clean Male...in other words DBF right after a shower!
22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? DD
23. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, She's a great friend!
24. FAVORITE DRINK? Half and Half Iced Tea!
25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? At this point, BASEBALL!
26. EYE COLOR? Green/Hazel
27. HAIR COLOR? blonde
28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No
29. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak
30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? HAppy endings
31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
32. WHAT TOP ARE YOU WEARING? Purple
33. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter, I'd rather be cold
34. HUGS OR KISSES? Yes
35. FAVORITE DESSERT? German Chocolate cake
36. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever's in the mood!
37. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever's not in the mood
38. WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU READING? Dragonspell
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't use one...just a ratty old piece of paper!
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Sportscenter
41. FAVORITE SOUND? DBF's special ring on my phone
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Either or neither, depending on my mood
43. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? From my current home...West Quoddy Head, Maine. From my childhood home, here!
44. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I stitch, but I wouldn't call that a special talent!
45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Alexandria, VA
46. WHO'S ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everyone's
47. FAVORITE WAY TO SPEND A DAY OFF? With DBF and the kids
48. WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD? Cuddle time with DBF and being able to talk to him about anything
49. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Peter
50. PLACE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN THAT YOU WANT TO GO TO? Alaska!
ADD YOUR OWN QUESTION HERE...who comes up with these crazy things?
51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL_TIME?

2007-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Found this on Darla's blog
Scattergories - harder than it looks! If you want to tag yourself, go for it.
Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.
Your Name: -Margaret
1. Famous singer/band: ---- Motley Crue
2. 4 letter word: ------ Most
3. Street name: ------ Main Street.
4. Color: -------- Magenta! One of my favorite colors!
5. Gifts/presents: ----- Money
6. Vehicle: -------- Mercury Marquis
7. Things in a souvenir shop: -- Magnets
8. Boy name: ------- Mike (The name of my first couple of boyfriends!)
9. Girl name: ------- Marilyn
10. Movie title: ------ My Fair Lady (another favorite)
11. Drink: -------- Margarillo (DBF's favorite!)
12. Occupation: ------ Marketer
13. Flower: ------- Mum, as in short for Chrysanthemum. It's the only one I could think of!
14. Celebrity: ------- Marilyn Monroe!
15. Magazine: ------- Money
16. U.S. city: ------- Mesa (aka The Other Side of the World IMNSHO
17. Pro sports teams: ---- Mets, Marlins, Mariners
18. Fruit/vegetable: ---- Mangoes
19. Reason late for work: --- Multi-car accident
20. Something you throw away: - Mud...hey, I've got kids! Money...sometimes I just waste it on junk I don't need!
21. Things you shout: ---- Make your bed! (see above reason)
22. Cartoon character: ---- Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse

That's all from me for now, but this was fun! Help yourself to it, just let me know you did, so I know someone actually reads this blog! LOL

Busy Couple of Weeks...Again!

2007-06-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been absolutely swamped attempting to get my life under some semblance of control since I last posted, and I've been really bad about blogging, responding to e-mails and all the other stuff I used to be excellent about doing! So I've got a few minutes right now, and thought I'd try to update here at least for those of you who still cruise by here occasionally!

The kids are still in FL for another couple of weeks with their dad, which is nice for me, since I'm still enjoying being childless at the moment! DBF and I are doing well and spending lots of time together, since we're both childfree this summer. We have occasional moments where we are ready to have the kids home immediately, but then we remember all the things that we do now that will change when the kids come back!

The update on the accomplishment theory is this, I realized that there were days when I needed regular chores rolled into my achievements, so I sort of added them in, even though I originally stated that they were not to be included! I've gotten about 2/3rds of the living room done, sorry no pics, my digi-cam is still not downloadable and I didn't take any to begin with! I've decided how to store my clothes until I can get back into a house with a huge walk-in closet, instead of the dinky closet I currently have. I also got the pool clean and swimmable again, and we've been enjoying that in the evenings after DBF gets off work...or we had until this week! There are still weeds that need to be dealt with in the front yard, and we're going to work on them Saturday morning....sorry neighbors, but I don't yard work at much above 80 degrees!

I also managed to get my resume updating done and started looking for a job, which I found! I started this week and thus far I love it. I'm back in accounting, which is really where I belong and working for a really cool NFP that not only works in areas taht I strongly believe in, but also offers some limited flex-time options. I love getting to work a little early before the worst of the traffic and getting home the same way!

So now you all know why I've been so busy and what's going on in my world....one of these days, I might even find something interesting to write about, aside from my life, but for now.....

Back From Vacation

2007-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back from visiting my sister in MI, and it's taken me this long to get my head back together and be ready to seriously type again! For those not interested in the gory details, I had a blast and would gladly go again! DBF called 2-3 times a day and was always very upbeat, positive and genuinely missing me, but not nagging or bugging me about coming home. For those of you who've seen me on the phone with XH, you'll all know what a great blessing this is!

Now the gory details! I left here early Wednesday morning and flew to Houston for a 2.5 hour layover. This was not a problem, since I don't mind layovers as long as they are long enough to allow me time to go outside security or wherever to find the smoke pit. It was hot and humid htere, but I didn't melt. Then I got on another plane which took me to Chicago! By the time I'd gotten to baggage claim, met up with J and had a smoke, my luggage was already off the carousel waiting for me! I was shocked, since I've never seen baggage come off a plane that quickly!

Once we got out of the airport, we headed up towards J's place, which was 3 hours away! I was already exhausted, but I was so excited to be there, that I couldn't rest! We stopped about halfway home and had some dinner, lunch for me. I was grateful to be eating something more substantial than they had fed us on the plane and to simply have a half an hour to sit somewhere that wasn't moving!

Once we got to J's, I met her DD and we ordered pizza for dinner! After dinner we all talked and stitched for a couple of hours before finally calling it a night!

Thursday, J had a meeting and I slept through most of it, then her DD had skating and that was really cool to watch. We continued to visit and stitch every minute that we had all week!

Friday, we drove 2 hours north in the morning so that J could attend a breakfast meeting that I was included in. It was great fun and the food was good too. I enjoyed meeting her friends and participating in the meeting, since my opinion was requested! After that we drove back to her place to pick her DD up from school and decided to head back north for dinner! Another great meal and some shopping, it took 2 malls and several stores to find the baseball cap DBF wanted, but I found it and then we stopped at Baskin Robbins for ice cream!

Saturday was our shop-hop and we started at the sticks and bricks shop for Stitching Bits and Bobs. Unfortunately, the shop was closed so I didn't get to meet Bobbie, or spend my money there. So we went to the other LNS and I got J a chart that looks like license plates from selected states. I showed my ego a little and purchased the one that had Arizona in it, so she'd have something to remember my trip by! She loved it, and we're both going to do bell pulls with these "plates" from each state that our friends that we've met live in. It's a really cool idea, but I can't describe it very well, so I'll have to post a picture of mine once I get it started! J's DD got a chart with a figure skater on it, which I'm sure she's started by now, since I did kit it up for her, and I got a Dragon Fire Designs chart. After that we grabbed lunch and decided to head down to the beach, so that I could dip my toes in Lake Michigan. However it was raining down there really badly, so we went grocery shopping instead! The rain found us while we were in the store and that started the cold part of my trip. I gave up the shorts and t-shirts for sweatshirts and jeans even then I was still shivering!

Sunday, J had to work, so I hung out with her DD and watched movies and played games and stitched. I did complete all 3 ornies that I had from the Ornie RR and made a ton of progress on Allie's UFO! I can't wait until it's time to pass it on and show off my progress on it! Which reminds me, I need to find the drivers for my digi-cam to load on this computer so I can post pics again! After J got home from work we went and bought the souveniers for my kids and DBF, then we went out for dinner. We decided to try a place called Texas Roadhouse, which is a new restaurant for them. The food was fantastic and more than we could eat, so we took it home as leftovers for Monday.

Monday morning after J's DD went to school, J & I got in the car and drove to Indiana to meet a friend for a late breakfast/early lunch. This was a ton of fun, since I was meeting another stitcher that I'd never met before! We met a Cracker Barrel (my favorite place to eat when I drive 2-3 hours, even though there's one 4 miles from home) and we talked and laughed and showed off our stuff until we had to leave. When we got back to J's, we took her DD to her skating lesson and then came home to eat leftovers. I decided that I wanted to sleep before I ate, since I knew I was going to have a very long day on Tuesday, since I was flying out early in the morning. So I took a nap and then got up to eat and do my last minute packing before heading back to Chicago to fly home. We got to Chicago about 1 in the morning, and J dropped me off and said she'd call me on her drive home once she hit the line where she needed someone to talk to so she'd be safe driving. Until she called, I talked to DBF, who I missed horribly and was ready to come home and see, even though I wasn't ready to leave J and her DD! So I spent several hours hanging out in the airport and I was exhausted. Finally it was late enough that I decided to head through security and find my gate. I was so tired that once I plugged my cell phone in to charge, I lay down and took a little nap. I almost missed my flight, because I was so sound asleep! I got on the plane, we took off and I promptly fell asleep again!

When I got into Houston, I managed to stay awake through my layover, but the second I got on the plane, I fell back asleep. I didn't even stay awake for takeoff, once we were up in the air and they made the announcement that portable electronics were OK to use, I woke up and thought we were still on the ground! Once I got my bearings and figured out what happened, I ate the little lunch they provided and slept back to Phoenix!

I collected my baggage and got in my car and came home and was able to spend a few minutes with DBF before he had to go to work. Then I promptly crawled back into bed and slept for most of the rest of the day! I think it took me 3-4 days of sleeping all sorts of hours before I was ready to even admit I was home to anyone, which is why this has taken me so long to write! I had a blast though and given the opportunity, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Update and Accomplishments

2007-05-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a week again since I blogged and I've survived the first week of the kids being gone. DBF has been supportive and helpful. DD's foot has an inplace fracture and XH got her through all the necessary doctors and got her into a removable boot, which makes her very happy, since she can at least go to the beach and still get all the sand out of her boot!

DBF and I have been enjoying being childfree, since his DS left on Friday, although I think he's missing him more than he wants to admit. We've been working on some of the issues that have created the earlier posts, and I'm still not sure where everything is going, but I've got a week away from the situation to sort out my head. Tomorrow I go visit a good friend of mine in Michigan for a week, and I'm looking forward to lots of talk time and stitching time while I figure out what I really want!

Accomplishments for the past week include getting some of my clothes unpacked from the move and realizing that many of them, I just don't want/need at this point in time! So I imagine, I'll be storing a lot of them in the garage. I've also put in about 6-8 hours of yardwork trying to get everything cleaned up! I've also been working on updating my resume and all I have left to do is write my objective blurb...I'm thinking about customizing the resume for each job I apply for, since that makes it appear more personalized. Job appling starts Tuesday after I get back, since ther'es not much point in doing anything right now! So I feel that I've had a good week of accomplishments, and will achieve even more when I get back!

Congratulations, Jordin!!!

2007-05-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know or care, Jordin Sparks won American Idol tonight! The only reason I care is that she attends my church and I've heard her sing live before she was even selected as the Arizona Idol! I'm very happy for her and looking forward to seeing her do well in the future!

The Kids Left Today and Accomplishment Theory

2007-05-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well the day finally came where my kids had to go to FL for their summer visitation with their father. It was actually a relatively easy day, since I knew that I really needed a change of pace for a little while. I miss them already though! So my story actually starts last night when DD says to me that she twisted her foot jumping off a wall. She can't put much weight on it and it hurts like something else! So I check her foot and it looks a little swollen, and ask her if she wants to go the minor emergency clinic, she says no, she'll just ice it and if necessary get an Ace bandage and deal with it in FL. The funny part of this is that a couple of weeks ago, she was threatening to get really sick/seriously hurt herself (in a joking manner) to avoid going to her dad's since she really didn't want to go.

So this morning the alarm starts going off at 5:30, so I have time to wake up and get breakfast before I have to take them to the airport. I finally wake up about 6:20, so now we're running. DD's foot is still hurting her, so I call the airline to order her a courtesy wheelchair, since I don't own any crutches and she can't hobble/hop for very far...obviously. So we leave here and stop at the store to buy her a bandage, I leave the kids in the car while I run in, since my favorite run in the store for something quick person is the one who's injured! Then we stop at McDonalds for breakfast, since non of us remembered to eat! Finally we get to the airport, right about the time I'd originally planned to get them there, since I really didn't feel like sitting there for 2 hours when I could get a little bit of better, more normal time with them away from the airport! So I pull up to drop them off curbside, so DD doesn't have to travel from the parking garage. Once the skycap realizes what's happening and that she can't walk, he grabs our stuff and bumps us to the front of the line! So we get the bags checked in and her into a wheelchair and he takes the kids and parks them just inside the airport while I go park the car. Once I get done parking the car, and meet back up with the kids, we head for the gate they need to be at. I decided to wheel her myself through the airport, instead of waiting around for a skycap to push her around. I don't get to push my teenageer around too much anymore, so I wanted the opportunity!

So we get in line at security and promptly get pull out of the normal line and bumped up to the front of it. DD needs a female to check her for whatever contraband they think she might be carrying, hmmm....teenaged girl, maybe some make-up, candy, or ???? She's not a terrorist, or anything and isn't carrying any illegal stuff, good grief the kids doesn't even take asiprin! So we get through security...finally, even though we got bumped, it seems like we waited forever to get her searched, but that's life! So I push her on down to the gate, with a brief hop into the ladies room (pun intended)! Place her at the end of the pre-board line and hang out to wait to say good bye and to send them off to the big metal tube that will carry them to their dad! One of the gate attendants promptly asks us to move her to the exit area, since she needed to go down with the rest of the wheelchair people before the other pre-boarders got to go! So they wheel her down the ramp after a fairly quick goodbye and I sit there watch them load the rest of the plane and push back from the gate. Then I head back up through security to hang out and wait for my girlfriend that I'm picking up from a different terminal in just over an hour.

I get a coke and hang out in the area waiting for my friend to arrive and I talk to my mom, my XH and DBF. About 10:30 my friend arrived and I drove down to the other terminal to pick her up and we headed to Islands for lunch. WHen I got out of the ladies room there, and she headed in she told me that she'd ordered an adult beverage and I was welcome to one as well. So I ordered a Rum Runner, since I'd yet to meet one I didn't like. Well that's still my status this evening, I still have yet to meet a rum runner I didn't like! We had a great lunch and laughed and talked and relaxed! I dropped her off at her house and came home and hung out until it was time to go pick up DBF's DS (R) from school. Got him and came home and took a two hour nap!

So far so good on the being childless, and I'm starting to get some chores done around the house, which I had no intention of doing today, but I can easily straighten the clutter counter while I'm cooking dinner for R. I'm cooking tonight, which is unusual for the first night the kids are gone, since I'm really not hungry due to my huge lunch, and if I'm going to go out for dinner, I'd rather do it on a night that I'm hungry. So he's having fish sticks and green beans, and I'm just eating green beans. I figure if I get hungry later, I've got snacks and salad in the house! So I'm starting on my summer of no kids and so far it's looking pretty good, of course I know that there'll be days when all I do is whine about being lonely and missing my kids!

I'm also going to start a new feature in here, and that is my accomplishment a day theory. I must accomplish at least one task/chore per day that furthers my goals of a neat clean house, finding a job or yard/pool work. Since I still have a lot of stuff to unpack/sort through for storage, this can be as simple as handling one box and emptying it, or this can be as big as my motivation allows, but it must be one achievement above and beyond the basic washing dishes/laundry/cooking chores. I've stated this goal publicly, and will maintain a log of what I achieved by day, and post it on a regular basis...although it might be hidden at the end of a blog post, such as this is, or it might be a post in and of itself, depending on my mood, but please hold me accountable!

I'm Running Away!

2007-05-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I hit a new low with everything that's going on here and the kids leave for FL tomorrow for the majority of the summer, so I'm going to take a week for myself and run away from my problems and issues! I'll have about a week here with DBF and then I'm going to visit a friend in Michigan for a week! I can't wait! I feel better about my life and everything since making this decision, and I know that the kids will be well cared for by their dad! I've been bumming out quite a bit because I'm not going to be able to go to Hershey and see everyone, so this is my consolation trip! I know I really shouldn't spend the money to do this, but I need it for my mental health at this point.

As far as my energy vampire is concerned, we talked quite a bit this weekend and I think things are going to get resolved. Time will tell, since there's still a lot of stuff that needs to change and be accepted before we can truly work things out, but I think we're moving in the right direction, at least at this moment!

In other news, we celebrated DS's 10th birthday last night and did his family dinner and party. He's happily playing with one of his new Lego sets right now, and I have yummy leftovers for lunch today! DD's birthday will be celebrated when they get back from FL, since her's is closer to the end of their trip whereas DS's is nearer the beginning. Next year, I'm going to have them both home for their birthdays, if I have any say in the matter! I'm going to miss them horribly the next 7 weeks.

In stitching news, I've completed one ornament and made a lot of progress on the UFO RRs! I've got to mail one off today and the other I'll pass to Annette on Friday when we meet for lunch! I've even managed to make some progress on one of my projects and come to some decisions in regards to future stitching plans. I'll share those later when I get busy with a true stitching post!

Energy Vampires

2007-05-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Why do we allow peolpe who are energy or emotional vampires into our lives? And why does it hurt so much when you decide to get rid of one?

These are two questions I'm asking myself right now, since I'm the one who let one of these people into my life...again, and I'm the one who's decided that I've had enough of this enregy/emotional drain that this person has put on my life, but it hurts a lot to let them go.

There has been an ongoing issue with this person in my life and I've dealt with it and let it happen, but I've hit the wall and said this is the last straw, I can't continue to allow thisperson to sap my energy and my emotions. They are just too needy for my tastes, and so I'm going to be the one doing the letting go. I simply cannot handle this anymore. I hate this part, since I'm not good at ending relationships. All you have to do to look for evidence of that is look at my last marriage, which should have been over years ago, but I refused to allow it to die and go away, because I was afraid of being alone, afraid I couldn't handle raising the kids by myself, afraid of everything. Well I finally reached the point where I got out of that relationship, and I'm the one who made the decision, it wasn't easy, but it needed to happen. I've been feeling much stronger and better about myself and I've been facing my fears and proven to myself that I can do it!

So I have a friend who's more energy/emotionally needy than my XH was, and I've allowed this person into my life, not realizing what they were like. Now that I'm seeing it clearly, I'm ready to make the break, but I don't want to deal with the pain of the end of the relationship. I'm definitely not ready to admit that I got involved with someone like this...again, but I promised you all complete honesty and so here it is. I have yet to tellthis person that I'm done, because I'm really not ready to do it, but I will do it this weekend, because I have to in order to move on with my life! I was honestly hoping that things would be able to be worked out over the summer when I didn't have the kids with me. However, I can't handle that much longer to try to get to the point of blissful adult only time.

I talked to my vampire last night and we talked for about 4+ hours, I'm still very tired from this discussion. When we talked this morning, nothing had changed and I don't think things are going to work out at this point to a mutually agreeable solution. I'm feeling that I'm putting all the effort into the relationship and the vampire is simply sucking up whatever there is. I'm sad, but I don't have the energy to spare at this point in time. If that's the way it has to be, I'll be sad, but I will survive. I am strong. Thus life goes on, and as soon as I know what my vampire wants to do, I'll post an update

Happy Mother's Day and a Quote

2007-05-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there who are reading my blog. I hope you all have very special days with your precious little ones and big ones! I'm having a quiet day at home with my kids and DBF is coming over later for dinner. We're having steaks, ok I splurged and bought Filet Mignons, on my new grill (it will no longer be new after today!), sour-cream potatoes and green beans for dinner. For dessert, I bought a cake, I figured that since I was cooking, I'd treat myself to a dessert as well! I'm hoping DBF will bring me a huge half and half tea from QT, which has the best sweet tea available in AZ! I think I'll call him and drop the hint!

As for the quote, its an old one, but everytime I hear it, I fall in love with it all over again and it makes me think! So here it is, what do you all think? "Insanity is doing the same old thing you've always done, but expecting new results"

Picture!!!

2007-05-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

This is me and DBF at the race last month! It was sooooo much fun!

I Got Tagged

2007-05-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Whizgidget and so I'm playing the game!

8 Random Things - The Rules

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

My 8 Random things:

1. I'm divorced...twice
2. Still smoking and not trying to quit right now, but I'll get there some day.
3. I love good steak (both kinds)
4. My DBF is a jock! That's a new concept for me, and he never wears a suit and tie!
5. I haven't done much blogging since last spring, but I'm trying to do better now!
6. I still don't type, and am using my standard hunt and peck method.
7. I'm still homeschooling my kids, although next year they're going back to public school and I'm getting a real job...ick
8. I really have absolutely no idea what to say for any of these, so I'm just putting down the first thing that comes into my head!

I think everyone I know has been tagged, so I'll simply leave the standard invitation to anyone who hasn't been tagged to please consider this a tag and leave me a comment that you stole it, so I can check yours out!

OK So The Pink Was Too Much!

2007-05-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

I really wanted purple for my blog color and eventually I'll figure out how to do it, but for the time being I went blue instead. I'll keep playing with this as I have time and get some cool sidebars set up as time permits! Right now, I need to focus on updating my resume and looking for a real job. The job I was working didn't work out....my choice not hers and my savings is starting to dwindle to the point where I feel the need to get some positive income coming in soon. The kids leave for summer visitation in about 2 weeks, so I figure that's when I'll really start looking for a job. I don't much care what I do as long as it brings in enough money for us to survive and not tap the savings on a regular basis anymore!

DBF started his new job this week and seems to be really happy with it. That's a good thing, since if he's happy at work he's more pleasant to be around when he's off work, or at least should be, since I didn't know him when he was happy at his old job. He is working a better shift than before too, swing shift is much more conducive to sleeping than graveyard is, especially when you consider I'll be working days! At least we'll be able to see each other sometimes when we're both awake, rather than passing on our way to and from work. Once the kids all leave for the summer, we'll get more time together, until I start working, since I won't be occupied with them and their school in the mornings!

Today I have to go to get stuff to clean the pool and start working on that. I hate owning a pool, but I bought the house with one, so I'll do what I have to do to keep it usable! I also have to get gas, and that's another grumpy subject, since I'm not sure I can get it for less than $3 per gallon today. DBF is going to check on his way to work. I can't wait until this school year is over and I can cut down on my driving and gas consumption! It will increase again once I go to work, but I'm hoping to find a job relatively close to home and against traffic so I don't have to burn too much in commuting! That's about all for today, my head hurts again. I really hate these first couple of really hot days every year!

The Old Blog is Dead!

2007-05-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't migrate my old blog to the new blogger command center, and I don't feel like putting the additional effort into restoring it, since that chapter of my life is done now anyway, so I'm simply starting a new blog. This is my place to post news in my life and I don't necessarily desire to share that with some people who had the link to my old blog, so here I am!

Maybe I'm a snob, or maybe I desire too much privacy in regards to my personal life, but I'd rather just start the new chapter of my life with a new blog! I'm sure anyone who's determined to find me, will do so even with the new blog address. I'm not overly worried about that, or else I'd go to a password protected blog system as some others have done.

So this is my first post in my new blog and I'll go play with the template later, and see if I can't make it more uniquely me. I need to recreate my blogroll and all sorts of other things, but right now, I just need to write a little. I'll get a life update posted in the next day or two, but in the meanwhile, I'm simply going to get this published and started so that I can share the link with my friends!