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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

It's almost over ya'll, 2009 that is...


This past week has gone pretty well. Mr. C rented a vehicle (2009 Pontiac G6...drives niiiccceee) for me to get around in and I got a chance to hang out with some old friends and to see my family for the holidays without having to worry about transportation to and from. I'm hoping that within the next week or two I will have a vehicle of my own again. We've been without one since the day before Thanksgiving. I could no longer keep up with the car note on my wee income and so Goldie had to go bye-bye. I'll miss that minivan, so many memories...what I won't miss are the numerous visits I had to make to the mechanic, having to get a jump everytime there was a drastic change in humidity or the stress of having to make the choice between making the car note, keeping insurance or having gas money each month. Yes, having a vehicle is nice but when you have more downs than ups it's not as much fun.

I had some good meals and good company. My daughter is home for a couple of weeks from college so all three of my girls are home. I miss my son, he couldn't make it but hopefully I will see him this summer. They are all so almost grown and beautiful, I love them so much and know they are no longer babies but I actually got an attitude because my oldest gal told me she likes this dude. I'm all like, "What? Nope. I don't even want to hear about it."...LOL I know they think I'm tripping and yes, yes I am. I want them to concentrate on themselves before they get all wrapped up in someone else. Live life, explore, expand and once they know what they want and what they are about, then I think they should invite someone else along for the ride.

Maybe I'm just thinking about how my life was when I was their age, by the age of 22 I had four children and I didn't get the chance to explore or expand, I was otherwise occupied. But you can't help who you fall in love with and so I can't be too hard on them, or can I? LOL

So, I'm awake right now because my children woke me from a peaceful slumber to tell me that the kitchen sink was overflowing with wretched foul smelling water. Indeed, it was most foul, so I called maintenance so they could send someone out. That was at 2 a.m., it took him about 45 minutes to do his thing which consisted of my kitchen floor getting doused with the nasty bacteria filled water and a good part of the carpet remnant I had between the kitchen floor and the dining area. But to be fair it wasn't entirely his fault, one of my neighbors decided to run water and when that happened it gushed through the unhinged pipe and filled his little catch all bucket. Damn neighbors! Living on the lower level has its disadvantages, this sink thing is one of them. If my memory serves me correctly this is the fourth time this has happened since I moved here in May. Let me practice some math for a moment...that would make it approximately every two months that I have a problem with the pipes backing up around here. The first time was two weeks after I had moved in...hmm.

I'm going to get me a few more carpet remnants and some runners when the dollar store opens to replace the ones I threw out. Supposedly the carpet cleaners will be summoned to clean the path he walked. I'll follow up with that once the main office is open, otherwise I'll be on edge until it gets cleaned. I did Lysol the area (a few times) because the thought of what was tracked through my house is unsettling. And I sprayed, wiped down and scrubbed every other surface I felt was contaminated (cabinet doors, sink, door knobs, kitchen floor...) I'm not taking any chances.

Anyhow, this month is almost over and so is this year. I'm still dealing with how 2008 treated me and in comparison 2009 was still full of twists and turns but not as heartbreaking, I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and before this year is out I'd like to say that I was able to change the flickering light bulb of it for a more energy efficient, longer life bulb. If for some reason I don't get in here and post something new on or after Jan. 1st (you know how life gets in the way sometimes), Happy Holiday & a blessed New Year to all who read this. May your bulbs be bright. :=D

Saturday, October 3, 2009

The timing of it all...


Just when I was wasting my life away playing on Facebook all day, my computer's power adapter decided to teach me a valuable lesson by literally showing it's ugly insides. I'm just not desperate enough to electrocute myself by plugging the adapter in and getting bit by electricity from those exposed wires. LOL

I won't have any real dough until later in the week and I do have more important matters to tend to with it, so unless I'm gifted an adapter or can find one for close to nothing, it'll be back to the library for me. And even then it will be a while because I don't feel comfortable being around other folks right now for any length of time. Between the coughing and general malaise I feel on a daily basis, I just think it's best for me to lessen my exposure to more germs until I get better.

It's 11:09pm...I need to put the kiddies to bed and I'm going to do something I haven't done in a couple of weeks...I'm going to finish reading The Prometheus Deception by Robert Ludlum. I'm only a quarter of the way through it and so far its good.

Gonna try this again, here I come pillows!


Everything was going so well. I felt tired. I was yawning, my eyes felt like they needed to be closed. Me and my little nephew were in the bed after I read him his bedtime story and I could have sworn I had fallen asleep. But here I am almost five hours later, fully awake trying to figure out what the heck happened. Am I not tired because I didn't get out of bed until after 1pm yesterday? I don't believe I had any more caffeine than usual and I'm not stressed or worried about anything. I simply don't feel sleepy.

I have things to do in the morning, places to go, people to see and I don't want to do it if I'm going to feel like a zombie. On top of that I have one sick kid, I decided to keep my 2yr old nephew a couple of more days and I have my other two nephews (7 & 8) to watch over. So I'm going to try this again. I had a slice of left over pizza and some tea because I felt hungry. I've played all the Facebook games I want to play, I've chatted with family and friends and now I'm blogging. Sometimes doing so clears my head of the day's static enough for me to shut down my brain for a few hours of decent sleep. So goodnight or rather good morning. My pillows and eye mask await my arrival. ;>p

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Please Pimp My Ride...LOL


I love my minivan although I never, in a million years, thought I'd ever drive one. I had high hopes, my dream car was an '89 Mustang, white with a sports scoop on the back. It was the one thing I was earnestly working towards...until I had kids. It didn't happen immediately after I had my children. The decision was made one day when I realized that they were getting bigger & taller and I was getting tired of their knees being in my back as we rode in the car. They were too close to me, so close at times I could hear them breathing and often hear them too well (arguing, laughing loudly, singing loudly, begging for things loudly). I needed space and a van afforded the space we all so desperately needed.

There are still times when we are driving down the road and I see a Mustang at a light, parked or driving past and I say aloud, most of the time, that I will have the car of my dreams one day. It will most likely be when my kids are truly grown and away from home and if by chance I happen to have grand children they will have to fit in the car. I figure if I don't make room then people won't assume I have the room and try to leave me with their kids. I want to be able to take quiet evening or weekend drives alone or with a friend, no kids allowed. ;-p

I've had a few vans and the van I have now...there are so many things I love about it and so many things I hate about it. I have heated leather seats...heated! In the midst of a MI winter those are the most awesome creations man has ever come up with! I also love how the rear seats disappear into the floor. I've been able to move furniture, kids, animals and merchandise in it without problems. The entertainment system is great, the speakers, the CD/DVD player, cassette player (for those of us who still have them) and there are even ports to hook up video games or a portable TV if you want. The gas mileage isn't bad and when I first got it all the gadgets that make the doors open automatically were a dream. I could be walking towards my car with my arms full, push a button and voila! the doors would open for me and with a push of the button I could close them just as easily. In the winter it was heaven sent but not anymore...something happened and the car went all HAL on me. (2001: A Space Odyssey, if you didn't catch that HAL reference.)

I'm disappointed in how many times I've had to change the brakes, rotors & other little engine problems I've had with it. Add the electrical problems and my beautiful van soon became a monster. If it weren't for the aforementioned features of the van I would have gotten rid of it long ago, it's fully loaded. The newer standard models don't come with the features I have and after careful consideration, if I traded in what I have for something newer my note wouldn't be that much lower and a lot of the newer vehicles still have some of the same malfunctions. Despite those things I'd still keep my van over the dreaded car I used to have any day...I hated that car almost more than I hate my 2nd ex husband (may he enjoy the bites of many bed bugs for years to come).

It's getting colder and I need to winterize my vehicle. I need to get new tires & an alignment (I shouldn't need brakes again but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm told I do) check my belts, hoses & fluids, make sure all of my fuses are good, get a new battery, reconnect some wires that got severed, do a little body work because of a run in my sister had with an immobile pole and just do a general detailing inside and out. I used to think having a vehicle would be the best thing ever. No more taking a bus in the dead of winter, freezing my tush off. I thought this one guy was crazy because he told me that he'd never owned a vehicle in his life and never would because he saved more money not doing so. I didn't understand that logic until maybe 10 years ago when I had to pay my first car note, insurance, repairs, fuel and whatnot. I guess if I lived in a city where bus services were abundant I could see not necessarily needing a vehicle just like he did, unfortunately I don't so I'll have to push on.



Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Haven't Been That Cold In A While

This is a picture of me in late November of last year. I have on my winter jacket, my scarf and that brown thing is a hoodie sweater.

It took a while for me to leave the house today to handle some business. Really all I had to do was go check on the dog (10 minute drive), take him for a walk and possibly go to the store for a few staple items to add to the pantry. By the time I walked from my car to the house to get the dog I knew that I wasn't going back outside without adding another layer to my wardrobe, all I had had on was a sweatshirt with a t-shirt under it and some jogging pants. Not nearly enough clothing to deal with the wind that seemed to be swirling around my exposed neck and down my spine. It was at that point in time when I really wished I had on my winter jacket, scarf and gloves. I'm not exaggerating, I really was that cold. So I took a fleece jacket from the closet and zipped it up to my neck. I was thankful that the jacket was three sizes too big because it completely covered my hands and came mid-thigh on me. I walked the dog for about 15 minutes and quickly made my way back to the apartment. Supposedly it was 55F today but with that wind blowing it felt more like 40F to me. My ears were hurting from the wind blowing in them and so I did the only reasonable thing I could...I sat there for a couple of minutes with my hands over my ears until I didn't feel like my eardrums were going to burst.

I was so discouraged from leaving right away to go back home that I ended up making myself a couple of corn dogs, I ate a bowl of watermelon, watched the Bio channel (they did the life story of Don Adams...I love his work, I had to watch it) and then I decided to take a nap for about an hour. I ended up sleeping for three hours, on my back, on the living room floor. I was startled awake when I heard keys jingling and also when the dog decided to drop his squeak toy next to my head. Up until that point in time the furry boy (his name is Oso) had been resting quietly upstairs on the bed and I hadn't heard a peep out of him.
I could have walked up the stairs and slept in the bed instead of torturing my neck and back on the living room floor but I just couldn't muster up the energy.

Anyways, I hadn't been that cold in a long time and I thought that maybe I was ready for cooler weather but after today I was indeed shocked back into the reality of what Fall is really like in Michigan. It's cute though, I saw a mother and daughter walking near the library and they were in their winter gear. I see it as an opportunity to find cute winter accessories to match with whatever coat I may have this year. Last year I wore blue, this year I think I'll do some shade of brown. Time to pull out the winter stuff and put away the summer things. Even if we had a fluke day of warm weather the time for tank tops, shorts and flip flops is over here in MI. We really only have two seasons...Warm enough and Cold enough. LOL

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Let's not do that again...

Have you ever been in a place or state of mind quiet enough to hear all the background noises around you? It's 1:01 a.m. and normally it would be pretty quiet around here. The girls would be asleep, thankfully most of my neighbors are even quiet and so the only thing I can hear as I sit here and play on my computer is the humming of the fridge and the occasional buzz of the overhead light. But tonight I'm hearing the exhaust fan in the bathroom because my daughter is flat ironing her hair. She's also playing music on her phone (I'm amazed at the volume and clarity of the speakers on that thing...maybe I should look into getting me one of those but then again I hardly use my MP3 as it is).

My quiet early morning reflections are no longer quiet and I find myself wondering why I'm awake because there was a short period of time when I was doing so well. I got to bed around 11pm, no later than midnight and I woke up at a decent hour, in the morning. But as I think back, this detour from that pattern started a couple of weeks ago when I got sick and it all started with what seemed like a UTI. I got that all cleared up and then the stuff really hit the fan and this time it was uglier than usual because it happened during one of my sleep study nights.

I wanted to lop everything off from the shoulders up...my throat felt like it was swelling shut, my sinuses were draining and I had a hacking cough that wouldn't quit. I had a headache that felt like someone was trying to give me a lobotomy with no anesthesia and I guess I must have been clenching my jaw from the pain because soon my whole lower jaw felt like it needed to be unhinged. Then there was the fever, the body aches, the hallucinations. I don't know what kind of bug I had but I couldn't wait for it to leave but the glory of all that was I still refused to go the hospital even though I thought I was dying. After all, they weren't going to give me anything that I didn't already have at home. Pain meds, fluids and rest, unfortunately that wasn't all I needed.

In the end, as I lay in the emergency room with an IV in my arm, I was pumped full of antibiotics because I had developed a nasty infection (ear & eye) on top of a good bout of bronchitis. Have I learned my lesson in not self diagnosing/medicating? We'll see the next time I get sick. I really hate going to the doctor. By the way, that picture above is the walkway outside the emergency unit of the hospital I went to. For some reason I felt the need to stand outside and wait for my ride after my three hour ordeal inside. I didn't want there to be even a remote possibility that they might find something else wrong with me.

Anyhow, this all started another phase of insomnia, staying up until the wee hours of the morning and falling to sleep after I got the youngest gal off to school and sleeping until noon or later. I'm starting to believe that my insomnia may indeed be hormonally related. The one ovary the docs left me with back in 2005 seems to be doing a number on me. I'm not sure when full menopause will hit, I'm only 39 so I figure if the one ovary keeps pumping out hormones as it was designed I may not until I get in my 60's, maybe my 70's...I have no idea when it's supposed to happen. I asked my granny once, she's 82 and she told me she doesn't remember when it happened but I noticed in talking to some of my aunts who are in their mid to late 50's that we seem to have the same symptoms.

I'll admit this much, there's nothing that's been textbook about me (medically, that is). Before my hysterical (my ex-husbands play on words for hysterectomy) my doc told me that the problems I was having he had only seen in 45-50 year old women. Seems I'm aging faster on the inside than I am on the outside. It keeps life interesting that's for sure. ;-}


Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Ok, I think things are settled down now

It took me about a week to recover from that trip to AL. As soon as the following Monday rolled around I hit the ground running trying to get my youngest child registered into a new school. Fun? No. Educational? Somewhat. I learned a new kind of patience and I'm still getting lessons on it.

So what's new? I haven't actually talked to the child that I left in AL for a couple of days but she has a Facebook page so I know that she's okay. The youngest child has accepted that she is definitely, without any question going to the school I'm working so hard to get her in whether she believes it will be good for her or not. I will not accept underachievement from her. It's a good school, nothing like the last couple of schools she came from and I don't believe I will have to worry about her safety (as much...kids seem to have gone loco these days). My oldest child will be returning from CA...yes, that's an intended pause. LOL

I had gotten used to the idea of having just two of us in the house. That meant that once she graduated and I shipped her off to college then I would be in the house by myself. That was a pretty sweet outlook for me. Still young, no kids in the house, possibly more traveling in my future to see my friends who still have young kids and can't travel as well. Yeah, that was my dream. So my oldest child coming back changed the picture somewhat.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love all of my children and I want them all to be with me if that means they will be happy and safe. To be truthful, I was more worried about her not being with me probably because I couldn't really see where she was progressing. I want to see and hear about progress, I think all parents do once their children are out of the home. And if those children come back you still don't expect it to be permanent. I, expect that I will help to guide her into becoming more independent, self-sufficient and she will want to leave and explore the world like I wanted to when I was her age. I loved my mom but I did not want to be with her any longer than I had to (around 19 I was ready to go).

So this event will also change how their bedroom will be set up. The middle girl shared a room with me. I don't know why or how that happened but I'm grown now and I would like my own room. LOL I've been sharing rooms with people since I was born, from the cradle to sharing a room with my sister up until she had her firstborn and not too soon after that I had mine and then I was sharing a room with a husband and a baby. I'm not saying I want to be alone right now, I just want my own space. I'm screaming ME! ME! ME! So my mission is to purchase or somehow get a bunk bed to place into their room. They are teenagers and I'm sure they don't want to sleep together anymore than I do.

Other than this, my next objective is to get my laptop fixed. It crashed on me, I don't know if any of the docs I had on it can be recovered and that sucks for me in so many ways. I'll have to rebuild my spreadsheets and my calendar. I'm thinking I backed up my stories and pictures to my flash drive and some CD's so hopefully I'm safe there. But this should be a lesson to me to back up every time I make changes instead of every once in a while like I had been. It also means that I have to spend more time at the library, maybe having to wait for a computer if I don't get there early enough.

I don't really have the money for the repairs right now. I'm getting rent, lights and misc. together before I get kicked out or my stuff gets repossessed/shut off. I do know, however, that the Lord has my back so I'm not worried about it, it's just something I have to do on a monthly basis. I'm thankful to have creditors who are willing to work with me and let me make partial payments. I'm trying hard to clean up the mess that is my credit after years of neglect. After all, if I'm gonna be doing all this traveling I'm dreaming about, I can't be worried about if I'll have a place to come back to or a vehicle to drive there in.

So as my friend Percy likes to say at the end of a conversation, Peace and Blessings...yes, I want them both please. ;-)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Good Morning Sunshines


Yeah, right. None of my kids are that right now (sunshiny that is). As a matter of fact, I doubt that any of them noticed I was awake even though I was talking to them. They are zonked out in bed as I sit here at the dining room table thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done. Anyways, I found this cute little plate at a thrift store for a dollar and couldn't resist buying it. I know just where I'll put it once I get it home.

First thing I have to take care of once I get into my vehicle is my tire. Yep, that same pesky tire that refuses to stay inflated so I'll be going into town to see if I can get that fixed up or just replaced. I'll have them check the other tires as well while I'm out there. I have to go to the post office. I'm still washing clothes. If I feel up to it we'll go and see if my daughter's room mate is in the dorm. No since in her bringing a ton of stuff to the dorm (appliances) if her roomie has them already and is willing to share. And if she doesn't then I'll be willing to lug those things into my van and take them. But the plan is not to move anything in until Friday morning. Today we hunt and gather and conserve both my fuel and energy from having to run around.

I'm going to attempt to make me some oatmeal for breakfast and maybe also eat some fruit. I'm really beginning to miss my coffee pot back home. Coffee is about 2-3 miles down the road and it's McDonald's coffee...I'm not impressed or desperate enough for caffiene to go there right now. I'll get some later if I can't take it any longer. Ohhhh, how I miss my Dunkin Donuts. My GPS showed a DD on the grid but when I called the number it was disconnected and my cousin confirmed for me that they had closed down. What kind of mad mad world is this?

Well, I'm outta here for a while. Time to get my list going, I also have some phone calls to make. My not so favorite thing to do in life, not for business anyway. ;-p


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Well, That Part Is Over With


I woke up this morning (barely moving) and prepared myself mentally for the long lines I knew me and my daughter would have to stand in to get her registered for classes. In the end, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but the process was tiring and so I'm glad to be able to sit still for a moment and just relax. The balance for her education (1st year) is $2636.00 that can be paid in eight installments between now and June of next year.

I'm excited for her. I didn't get the chance to go out-of-state for school, I was too busy tending to children and being a wife. She's going to major in Biology (wants to be a doctor) and I'm sure she's going to excel in everything she does. I can't wait to see that degree and even more I can't wait until she reaches her goal and she has the title she seeks.

It hasn't all hit me because we haven't moved her into her dorm room yet. I'm sure that as I'm putting into place the last item we bring in for her room and I give her that last hug that my eyes will get all misty. She's spent plenty of weekends away from home, she's even gone on some trips that may have lasted a couple of weeks and I know I'll see her this winter for the holidays but there's something to be said about leaving your child at a learning institution for months on end. Especially these days when so much seems to be happening and she's the first one to go off to school too so it's a whole new experience for me.

So now I'll have three in another state and one that I have to hurry up and get registered for school when I get back home. Even that should be interesting seeing as how I'm sure they didn't send all her records over from her last school. I used to count down the years when they would all be out of high school and I would be free to travel. Of course, when I dreamt that, I was beautiful, rich and in love. In order for it to come true now I'd have to find me some money. ;-p

Monday, August 10, 2009

So far, so good.

Well my trip to Alabama has been quite wonderful, despite my broken A/C in the van. In 90+ degree weather we survived the stop & go of construction on the highways and we made it in good time. It seemed like I wouldn't be able to get much done, as far as registering my daughter for school but even that moved more smoothly than I initial believed it could. But tomorrow will be the real test of my patience as we move from line to line to get her classes picked out and get her, hopefully, moved into her dorm room.

Today we did some shopping at a few thrift stores and just like in any store where I have to try on clothing, it was very interesting but I did get a couple of outfits and some shoes. I'm not a shopper so I saw the task as something to be dreaded, but unfortunately, the clothes I brought with me are not adequate for this kind of weather. I'm used to the cooler MI weather, even when it had gotten hot it wasn't like this so I needed something "cooler".

We also had lunch chinese food at a nice buffet and after all the shopping and errand running we went for a swim before the rain came. My cousin cooked a delicious dinner (I love my family, they can cook...LOL) and in a few moments I will check out some info on the web, gather my children to me and then we will head back to my other cousin's house where we are staying for the duration of our trip to get ready for bed.

It's been a full day and I'm satisfied.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Preparing for the Road Ahead

First it was a chore to wake up this morning. I'm not sure why but for the past four or five days I've felt like I was glued to my bed and trying to get out of it has been extremely hard. But that wasn't the teeth gritting part of my day.

I woke up to a flat tire. Yeah, I was not happy about that seeing as how I just got that tire replaced. It only leads me to believe that they guy who changed the tire was totally inept at his job. I mean, he had to keep getting another guy to help him and when I pulled off from the shop, I was about a mile away when the indicator came on that the tires needed more air. I was thinking to myself, didn't he even know how much air to put in the tires? Arrgghhh! I think my teenage daughters could have done a better job and they've never changed a tire a day in their lives. So anyway, I woke up with the flat. I live too far to go back where I got the tire from and my funds are dedicated to another purpose so I had to figure something out. I called my bank and found out I had more funds that I previously thought so I was okay. I had the feeling that things were still working for the better good and so I wasn't tripping out about it.

I walked to the nearest gas station and bought some Fix-A-Flat. After I put that in the tire I drove the van to another gas station a little farther away. You see, when you use that stuff you have to drive the car for a couple of miles so that the liquid can spread evenly within the tire and then you add more air to it. So that's what I did. I filled up my gas tank and headed back home to pick up my daughter.

An hour later, maybe a little more, we head out to take care of some more business and my car won't start because the battery had run down. Wha...well that was a bit much at the moment and I said some things I probably shouldn't have said but really I was totally and utterly shocked by this occurrence. Up until that point I was positive, no matter what but that tripped me up and all I could do was walk around the car in disbelief. Here it is, three days until I have to make a road trip and my vehicle is seemingly rebelling against the idea. I made sure I had tires, I had my oil and other fluids checked, my belts are fine and so I thought my battery was ok and then that? Wow. In the end I had to assess that it was better to have all these problems at home rather than on the road.

So we see a neighbor and my daughter asks if he could give us a jump. Good thing I have cables. He does and we went on our way. Vehicle didn't have a problem starting at any of the other places I stopped at today and my tire pressure was holding steady. Tomorrow I'll take it to my TRUSTED mechanic and have him give me a once over, tires and all. I'll never go the cheaper route again, I don't want any more surprises. I also need to finish my list so that I can make sure I don't leave anything that I might need. I sure do miss the old days when I was just a passenger riding in the vehicle and not the one having to plan the trip. Now I remember why I don't do road trips that much anymore.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Call Me, But Do It Before Midnight


It's 11:31 p.m., I could take my sleep meds right now and still be on schedule. The deal is that I go into the sleep clinic every once in a while to get hooked up with fifty million wires so they can monitor my brain wave patterns as I sleep and when I wake. While there I take my meds at 11:30 p.m. and then its lights out at midnight. It was determined that, on average, I go to bed around midnight or shortly thereafter. And so I try to follow that pattern as closely as possible when I'm at home. If I decide to go to bed at 10 p.m. then I could also take the meds a half hour before, but the trick is to take them everyday when I know that I can get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. I missed last night because of the brownies.

I think it might also help if people stopped calling me at night. I guess that would be easier for them to understand if I didn't answer the phone but when my children call from the west coast, if I'm awake it's only right for me to answer the phone and see what they want. I'm always curious though when someone local calls me. My mind thinks the worst at first, like someone got hurt, there's an emergency and I need to get dressed and rush down to the hospital. I'm usually relieved to find that nothing is wrong. On the other hand, they knew I was awake so they wanted to catch me before I went to sleep. They need to find out what my schedule for the next day is because it fills up fast, even when I have nothing planned.

There was a study that revealed people retained more of the information they learned if they took a nap afterwards. Well, that's not the case with me, I'll still forget whatever it was I was told. Half the time I look at my caller ID, call that person and ask them what we talked about. Anyhow, it's now five minutes to midnight. I just got off the phone with my oldest child who needed information from me. This information would require me to go to my files, which are in the other room and dig through things to find what they needed. One, it's too late at night for me to care. Two, it's not urgent enough for me to stress myself out trying to find said information. Three, I don't want to do it anyway so my motivation is nil.

It's time for me to turn off the radio now. Lionel Richie is singing to me, telling me how close he wants to be to me...he wants me to take his hand. ;-) Time for me to take my dinner plate and rinse it off. Brush my teeth, take the pill I should have taken 30 minutes ago and climb into bed. If anyone calls I won't be quick to answer. I'm sleeping or trying to people. Help me out.


Girls with Hair & Me...Oh my!





Today started out okay, seeing as how I didn't go to bed until some time after 4 a.m. I woke the kids one by one, starting with the one who is the hardest to get moving. There was a kid in every room. Showers were taken, teeth brushed, and clothes put on. Things were going smoothly until it was time for the girls to do their hair. I always groan when it comes to that part.

Not only does it take forever for them to decide what style to wear their hair in, often the chaos of those decisions are evidenced by the things left behind. My bathroom sink, which really can only hold the toothbrush holder, the rinse cup and the liquid soap dispenser, is often overrun with hair care products. Spritz, oil sheen, combs, brushes, rubber bands, head bands and any other number of things that perch precariously on the edge of the counter. Things that can't find any available space on the counter might end up on the floor next to the sink or bath tub. Did I mention that my apartment is very small? My bathroom accommodates two people very uncomfortably, unless that other person is standing in the bathtub.

If only it would end there...the hair things spills from the bathroom and ends up in my room, their room, the living room and EEK!, the dining area. Ugh. That sends me on a rampage of the major league kind. But do they care? Heck no, all I get are looks, sighs and the response of "Mom, I'm gonna get it, just chill." My once clean and somewhat tidy apartment then looks as if it were invaded by aliens disguised as hair care products bottles, can, jars and whatnot's (my own version of Decepticons). It takes a while before I can unclench my jaw as I try to take deep breaths through my teeth. They call it OCD, I call it keeping stuff contained to one area, and especially out of areas where people eat.

So anyway, after all of that and them picking up after themselves ever so enthusiastically, we got out of the house 15 minutes later than we needed to be. I tried my best not to drive down the highway like a mad woman because I talk about drivers like that. I'm doing my best not to be the kind of driving I rag on. We make it to the appointment 6 minutes late and once I kick everyone out of my vehicle at the door, then go park, I can finally breathe normally.

Can you believe after all of that they still didn't finish what they had planned to do for their hairstyles? When we get back to my place they intend to break out the curling irons, flat irons, straightening combs and all the things I had fussed about before. I think I will take that opportunity to take a walk with my nephew. We can go to the local library or park. Anywhere, as long as there aren't any girls there doing hair.

Still Awake...Not good.


I figured I'd be asleep by now. I had no intentions on being up at this hour and yet here I am. But I'm determined that I won't see the sun rise. Like a vampire, it's not a welcome sight. ;-p

I couldn't take my sleep meds because I ate like, five brownies that my daughter made for dessert. I don't usually do chocolate but I do have a weakness for brownies. It's a good thing they didn't have nuts in them because I probably would have eaten half the pan. I can't even say this is insomnia at this point. I really believe that I'm choc full of caffiene and who can I blame? Only myself, because had I not messed around earlier, I would have had a nice cup of decaf and that would have quelched any desire to eat the brownies; or so that's what I'm telling myself.

So here I go. I'm going to drink a little water and go lie down for about what, five or six hours? Even without an alarm I'm going to wake up a few minutes before 8 a.m., so that's about right. It's a good thing my first appointment for the day isn't until 2 p.m., I can't imagine having to drag my sorry behind out of the house before noon at this rate.

I have started yawning in the past ten minutes so I must be getting sleepy. I read an article that yawning doesn't necessarily mean boredom or being tired. It can also be a sign of arousal. I kid you not. I read it in a magazine, it has to be out there on the net somewhere. I can't really see that in my case though. I mean, I was thinking about someone but for Bob's sake, it's 3:25 a.m. and there's absolutely nothing I can do about seeing that special someone so I'm gonna say I must be excited about going to bed.

Once again, goodnight and pleasant dreams. ;-)


C'mon is it really an addiction if I like it?


I have a pain in my neck and I would suppose that it's from sitting in front of this computer for the past few hours. I got caught up playing a game, then someone starting instant messaging me (that made me fall behind in the game). Then it was time to eat dinner and I got a phone call and then people decided to chat online with me. I guess I could have ignored them, but I was happy to hear from them. I decided to continue playing the game and even gave my uninterested niece and daughters some pointers on how to successfully win at the game. I was so into it that I forgot to make myself coffee before it got too late in the day.

So let's talk about addictions. I don't do drugs although I did enjoy taking my friend Vic Odin for a while when I had hurt myself moving. I'm not an alcoholic, don't particularly care for chocolate or shopping and I'm not a sex addict either. But you have to understand that I really love coffee. When I was younger I couldn't understand why my grandfather would drink it all the time. Morning, noon and night I remember him drinking coffee. Once he gave me a sip and I did not like it at all! Now I can't understand why anyone wouldn't like coffee. If I don't have coffee I feel like something is missing from my life. Doesn't really matter if it's regular or decaf, I love the flavor. I'm a DD fan, Dunkin Donuts baby! Toasted almond with two creams and three sugars is my favorite. Two cups a day is all I need, on those really stressful days, maybe I'll have three.

My real addiction is to a certain FB game (Facebook). I love this particular game, I think of strategies as soon as my mind is clear enough. That's usually after a few sips of coffee in the morning. I can't wait to touch my keyboard and mouse to play it, I check it like a school girl waiting for a phone call from a boy she has a crush on. Some of the language I use when I find out that my butt has been kicked is very similar to the language I use when I'm on the road and some idiot driver does something that makes me wonder how they even got a license. I've been given "the look" several times by both friends and family when I mention the game. I was thrilled to find out I could follow it on Twitter and I actually look forward to decimating as many players as I can. I have a Napoleon complex in this game, doesn't matter how big you are, I'll still pick a fight with you.

My confession, if you can call it that because its no secret to those who really know me, is that I've even convinced my children to sign up so that they can help me. I harass my family and friends to join my group online so that I can gain more money and move up levels. (I'm under M Kristen Troy, if you want to look me up and add me as a friend...put VC in the request and I'll send you an invite for the game.) I've even asked friends of theirs to join me, it never hurts to ask, right? I suppose I ought to be ashamed of myself but I figure its better than drinking and not as bad for my health. Maybe a little harsh on my eyes but that's why I turned down the brightness on my screen and my bifocals work just fine when I wear them.

Well folks, it's past my bedtime now. I have appointments in the afternoon, I have three teenage girls and one 8 year old boy that I have to contend with in the morning. Seeing as how I can't seem to drag myself out of bed before 9 a.m., it'll be fun trying to get them up and at 'em. My insomnia seems to have eased up, I don't stay awake until the sun rises anymore, but I still wake up two or three times during the night and wake up a few minutes before 8. I have family and friends that like to call or text me first thing in the morning and I have to keep reminding them that I'm not really coherent so any questions or answers I may have or give will be subject to review.

So that's my post for this evening. I'll try to do better tomorrow. Goodnight and pleasant dreams.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Someone call 9-1-1, it's time for dinner.

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm not the best cook in the world. If I had to rank myself I'd be in the same ranking of others who can cook well enough to survive. It seems to be that I can cook really well when I'm put on the spot. For example, Thanksgiving dinner or any other large family gathering that I may be hosting. I'll make sure that all of my ingredients are fresh and the best, I'll labor with love over the meal. Not so much if I'm just cooking for myself or even if I'm just cooking for myself and the girls, we eat to survive not really to savor the flavor. What kind of mommy am I? LOL

Heck, if I cook an awesome meal and get complimented on it then I'm surprised too. And lately it seems I do more cooking at my X's house than at my own. Not sure why that is but it happens and I don't mind. He compliments my cooking and I think that may be a reason why I go over there. I feel appreciated for my service and I don't want him to talk about me so I do as best I can. What a sap I am, I don't think I cared that much about it when we were married, or did I? And if I were to be really honest with myself, I would have to say that I enjoy making sure that he eats a nice healthy meal...I like taking care of him and it doesn't matter that we're not a couple anymore. I enjoy his company still...Hmm, it really is the little things in life that make it interesting.

Anyways, this week was awesome for me because I did something out of the ordinary for me. I went out with friends and family, stayed out late until the wee hours of the morning, laughed, relaxed and was able to just be myself and not have to worry about anything. It was awesome (I said that once, I'll try not to use that word again. LOL) and I'm looking forward to doing it more often. I found myself in a rut and I think that was part of my problem. It sucks to be bored. I didn't want to read a book, I'd looked at all the movies in my collection and wasn't interested in seeing any new movies yet, and I'm always on the internet so that wasn't exciting anymore either. I'm not by any means a party animal, I don't want to hang out at the club every weekend. Actually I don't want to club at all, I didn't like it when I was 20 something and I'm pretty sure I won't like it now that I'm closer to 40. Just being out gave me that breath of fresh air I needed.

So within two days I got to see some old sights and some new sights, the weather was beautiful both days. I went to Belle Isle (took some pics and drove around the island just looking at the sights), to the casino (MotorCity and MGM Grand) played a few machines with some change, had some dinner, took some more pics and then it was time for me to come back to everyday life and handle business on about six hours of sleep between the two days. Oh yeah, I was living the life. And speaking of life it's time for me to go and pick up the furry boy. Love my doggie. He stays with my ex but due to his work schedule it's easier for me to pick the furry one from doggy daycare and it gives me something to do with my life. So I'm outta here until next time.

Monday, July 20, 2009

It was a day like all the others...Bah!

I'm going through a bout of insomnia folks. Nothing really new except that maybe it's a little worse and that is kinda surprising. See, I'm in this sleep study where I'm supposed to take sleep meds but the problem is I don't know if I'm taking the real deal or a placebo. Seeing as how I don't sleep I'm figuring it's the latter but then again unless you give me a straight tranquilizer cocktail, I don't think anything puts me to sleep. I take that back, there are plenty of days I can remember falling asleep during a loudly delievered monotone sermon, those always put me to sleep. In the past two days I've gotten about 6-7.5 hours of sleep. I try but I wake up faithfully every two hours it seems. Sucks to be me.

Okay, anyways I haven't written anything since December last year and that's pathetic seeing as how I have so much to talk about. Really, it's true, I just found another way to annoy people and it's through those wonderful engines called Facebook and Twitter. Yeah, I totally gave over to the dark side on those. I'm considering this my break/rehab from those. I need to spill a little more than 140 characters right now and since my games were messing up on me it only aggravated me to see my Request inbox filling up.

I've moved to what some of my family considers BFE. It's not that far but it is a change and I love it. I can go for walks to the library now, there are lakes less than five miles away that I can go and gander at, bike trails (I wish I had a bike). I can walk to just about any store I need to get to for the necessities so I'm saving tons on gas now. My fricken light bill was only $38! Compared to the monster bills I used to get right now that's a little more than a tank of gas for my van. My new place is small but cozy, it's mine and for the most part its quiet until my neighbors upstair decide to have company. I don't know what they are doing up there but it usually doesn't last more than an hour or so and they are otherwise unheard from. My only other pet peeve is parking. If I really expressed what I thought I would be considered, ummm, prejudiced so I'm just going to say that certain persons don't know how to park and I believe their driving skills are probably just as bad from the way they park.

My oldest child and the boy are both in Cali, my middle gal will soon be going off to college and the youngest will be a senior in a new school and she has anxiety issues (yay me?). I'm unemployed and not necessarily unhappy about that, I needed the break and clarity that it has brought me. I get the feeling that I always would have been on probation and being close to fired and that's a stress I don't need in life ever!

So I'm outta here. I have dishes to clean up from cooking a nice little breakfast. I don't wanna do it. I'm not even slightly motivated but I think I put on the schedule that I have kitchen duty today. What was I thinking? LOL