Fine......................

LOL

I was tagged by Staci for the Honest Scrap award :) Yippeeeee... another award!



The rules are simple, list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! Then tag up to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap Award.

Sigh.... Here goes. :)

1. I love to cook. I often end up wasting food because I only cook for myself - the boy only likes chicken nuggets, bagels, spaghetti - plain stuff like that. I love to experiment, but nobody else is around to try it. And I can only eat so much. And I'm a darn good cooker, too. :)
2. Some days I wonder what I was thinking, knowingly taking on the role of being a single parent. It's been 12 years, and while I think that my son is the greatest gift and my most wonderful achievement - what the heck was I thinking?!?!?!?
3. His father is the one person that broke my heart. I don't think that I will ever find the love that I felt like that for anyone else. Even if ultimately he never did love me - at one time, I loved him with every fiber of my being. It was like my whole world stopped when he walked into a room. To know that I meant nothing to him at the time was just devastating.
4. I miss my friends at "home". While I have some great friends here, it's not the close-knit group that I had back in MA, and more often than not on the weekends I don't do anything.
5. It hurts my feelings when I ask friends what's going on for the weekend and either I get no answer, or a "nothing" and then find out later they all got together and nobody remembered to call me.
6. I am the Queen of Procrastination. I will clean, bake, do laundry - anything to get out of doing something that I know has to get done. My accounting homework is a great example of that. LOL
7. There are people in my life that I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive, for various reasons and offenses.
8. I think the chances of me finding a nice guy that wants to be with an overweight, over 40 woman with an ADHD kid are probably slim to none. I've accepted that, though. It's the whole "never having sex" again thing I have a hard time with. And I'm not a fan of toys - I like the real thing, fanks. It kills me to think that the last sex I'll ever have was mediocre (at best). Ugh.
9. I have horrible nightmares about something happening to my son. I know it's every parent's worst fear. He really is my reason for being, and I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to him.
10. I cry easily. Commercials, pictures, people I don't know - you name it, I can cry.

NOW.... Who can I tag... LOL

You. You. You!~ And YOU too!!
(you know who you are ROFL)

What kind of friend are you?

I have homework to do, and don't have enough time for the full Saturday Six, but I did do this part. :)
And don't worry Staci - I'm still working on yours, too!! lol

You Are a Good Friend Because You're Fun

You are energetic, amusing, and always up for a good time. Optimistic and genuinely happy, you help people see the sunny side of life. And you're always up for a party... no matter how big or small. You're usually the first one to celebrate a friend's success. Anyone who's interesting or fun is welcome in you circle of friends. You're not the type of person to exclude or make fun of someone who's a little different. Your friends need you most when: They're down or depressed You really can't be friends with: Anyone who's stuck up or chronically unhappy Your friendship quote: "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

What Makes You a Good Friend?

F you Friday

So normally I'm all about the humor in the F you of Friday, whatever. But today? Not about me. Not about humor. It's about life.

I will check out other people's blogrolls, and have found some awesome ones that I peek in on from time to time, some I "subscribe" to, some I bookmark to come back to later. This one blog I saw, and I've been checking out pretty regularly - especially lately. It's about Tuesday, an adorable 2 year old little girl with a twin and a family that adores her. She's got cancer. Cancer sucks (I know first hand). She's stage IV and just been pretty much sent home from the hospital for the last time. They're not sure she'll make it through the week.

**Tuesday passed away last night, I'm sure peacefully with her family with her. Rest in peace, Tuesday. :(

If you pray - say a prayer for this family. If you don't, then at least think of them. Hug your kids and tell them that you love them.

And FUCK YOU cancer. FUCK YOU.

Manic Monday #152

Courtesy of Fleur de Lisa - click here to play along :)


What gives you hope?
Kids give me hope. Kids give me hope because by the time they're adults, hopefully so much of the nastiness of our parents era will be wiped out. There are so many multi-racial kids nowadays, that who knows who is what any more, and it's only going to get better. Obama gives me hope that this country can turn around and be respected once again. My son gives me hope that, in some way, I will live on through him. Or at least my sense of humor will ;) Every day that I wake up gives me hope that I will live another day. Every word that I type gives me hope that I'll never learn to shut up. LOL

How often do you get your haircut? Describe your worst haircut.
Every 5-6 weeks or so (and colored). The worst haircut wasn't a cut, but color. I dyed it myself because I had a date with a guy that I really liked, and ended up having hair that was olive drab. The date didn't go quite as planned, either. I should have stuck with the original color, and not drank quite so much. That whole story is probably worth a post in itself. lol

What's your most treasured piece of jewelry? Why?
Really? I could say my mother's bracelet or her ring, but my most treasured piece? My diamond necklace. I treasure it because it is worth something to me. It says that two and 1/2 years weren't completely wasted, that I was able to walk away from something with my dignity, my pride, and a damn fine piece of jewelery. And no the ex didn't give it to me - I took what he gave me, and traded it in for what *I* wanted.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

My friend Erin did an alphabet meme the other day, and I asked for a letter, thinking I had all sorts of free time. I tried one last month andI had a really good time with it. She has assigned me the letter M, and I am supposed to write about 10 things I love that start with that letter. If you would like to play along, leave a comment or send an email, and I will assign you a letter.

and so I shall begin!

Music is a huge part of my life. I'm a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen and plan on spending some time to see the next tour. I may even bring the boy along. :)

Money is nice if you have it, but not a necessary thing in life, I've discovered. It brings out the worst in people, and it's hard to know who your true friends are. I also discovered that if you're an asshole, money isn't going to make that go away.

Monkeys have always cracked me up. How could you not love a poo-flinging mammal such as this?

Mom is the best name I've ever been called, and the best job I've ever had. :)

Men are wonderful creatures... It's unfortunate that I keep meeting the wrong kind. LOL Which brings me to my favorite "M" men....



Now if that isn't mmmmmm mmmmmmmmm MMMMMMMMMMMH!! I don't know what is..


Math is not one of my strong points in life, and I have to get through an accounting class (this is try #3). I will do it. I've given birth. Accounting is no match for me!

Menus are my friend. I love food. I love cooking it, eating it, making it for my friends. You name it. I have a great relationship with it. Probably too much of one. I need to cut back on it. Not so much dip. Maybe a bit healthier. Oh but it's soooooooo good...

Speaking of food. There's nothing like a little meat

I love a good machair. Definition? A low-lying sandy beach. I love the beach. The ocean in particular. I can't wait to go to San Diego in April and see the Pacific. And then the Atlantic in August on Cape Cod. Ahhhhhhh warmth.. :)

And last, but certainly not least - myself. If I don't love myself, how can anyone else? Yeah, sure, I have my quirks. But I'm not bad looking, the left side of the face doesn't always work so well - but dammit, I'm a great person! LOL

Edited to add a couple of extras :)

The fact that I am a matriculating student is something that I'm very proud of. :)

And one of my favorite "M"'s is maturity. Something that we all as adults should have in some fashion. Granted, I like to be a kid sometimes (don't we all?) but I know when to stop and become an adult. Something that some people that used to be in my life still have a hard time grasping the concept of.

Meme time!

Can you tell I've got homework to work on?

I was tagged for this by both my single mom Bud and Thistle - great blogs both :) Thanks for the tags, and somehow I'll figure out how to do it twice..


The rules of the game:

1. Go to the the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.

2. Post the 4th picture in the folder.

3. Explain the photo.

4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers to join in the fun!

First one:
This was the 4th in the 4th - and I was driving home, sun was out - it'd been a yukky week - and I turned the corner and this is what lay ahead:



This one was from a "random" folder, and I just picked one - it's the boy and I in front of a waterfall up in Alaska. It was so cold out! You'd never think that it was July. :)



And I'm tagging Staci, Michelle (because she really needs to update her blog!!), Neurotic Mom (who's blog is worth visiting just for the music ;-) ) and Pseudo, who is one cool writer. :) Good stuff in all of them! Enjoy!!

Saturday Six

Woot! I was first last week over at Patrick's Place!

Here is this week's Saturday Six :)

1. If you could recycle only one of the following, would you be most likely to choose paper, aluminum cans or plastic containers?
Considering that I use more plastic than cans, I would have to go with the plastic containers.

2. Check out your bathroom: what color are the metal fixtures: silver, gold, bronze, or pewter? (If you know the actual material rather than just the color, name it too.)
For now, they're a stainless steel. That'll probably stay the same, only it'll be upgraded to nicer stuff. I got the basics when I had the house built, and there's a lot that I want to do. Fixtures is just the tip of the iceberg!

3. When cooking, do you prefer non-stick surfaces or traditional surfaces? Do you have more copper-bottomed pots or stainless steel?
I like the non-stick, and I don't think I have either copper-bottomed or stainless steel! Well, except the ginormous pot for crab legs. That's stainless. And I want my mother's cast iron skillet, I think when I go to the Cape this year I'm taking it home with me. It's not being used for all the wonderful things that it could be.

4. Take the quiz: What Metal Are You?
You Are Copper
You are provocative and challenging. You help people realize who they really are.
You live a very balanced life. You always take time for love and art.

You are both a powerful and generous person. You always have time to give back.
People find you to be incredibly ethical and loyal.

Shocker that an online quiz can tell me something about myself that I (and so many others) known for years, and yet the fuckwit my ex could try and take that away so quickly by telling lies. grrrrrr




5. Consider the jewelry you wear most often: is it gold, silver, platinum or something else?
I have either silver or white gold. My favorite bracelets are these I actually have the two in the first picture, but they're the "genuine" ones from Eden Hand Arts. And my necklace is white gold with diamonds. My ex kept buying me yellow gold and didn't *get* why I wouldn't wear it. He said he would buy it because I didn't have any - and I kept telling him *because I don't like it*... he didn't listen. Shocker he's an ex, eh?

6. Have you ever had a piece of jewelry turn your skin a different color? Did anyone else notice before you did?
The sperm donor My son's father bought me a bracelet in Provincetown once, and we joked that we'd stay together until it turned my wrist green. That happened within a few months. =smacks self in forehead= WHY didn't I listen to myself?!?!?

What a day!!

Good morning, Mr. President.



What a fantastic day for this country. Today is a good, good day.

Manic Monday #151

Monday Madness!
Manic Monday :) <---- Click to play along!



What do you do to make yourself feel better when you are sick?
The most logical answer is soup and tea. But really? Nothing makes me feel better like making those around me sick as dogs, too. It's kind of a "strength in numbers" thing. Why be sick alone, it's no fun! Make all your friends sick and have a big ole pity party! Then again, the only one around me on a regular basis is 12 and male. And if he gets sick, it's like any male - the world stops (didn't you hear that crash of it screeching to a halt?). LOL So tea. Earl Grey, please - with milk and sugar. And soup. Tomato. Or chicken noodle - but it's got to be the old standby of Campbell's. None of that new-fangled chunky stuff. Water, salt, noodles & chicken. That's what I want.

What is the most amazing weather you've ever seen?
I've seen hurricanes & blizzards while living in MA. But we were under a tornado warning last summer, my son was at school, and the weather was heading straight for where he was and he freaks out about tornado watches, let alone a warning with the sirens, etc. So I drove there - right through the most unbelievable weather I've ever seen. It was raining and hailing so hard I couldn't see the road - I drove and my co-pilot watched the yellow lines to make sure I was still on my side. There were big branches coming down, we saw a tree on a car, it was CRAZY. I finally dropped my friend off and got to him and they were all in the bathroom, and he was like "that was fun!".. I started for home, and had to pull over and stop because I couldn't see. Twice I had to turn back down the road I was on because trees were blocking the way. I was actually afraid to drive down the road we lived on because it was lined with trees, and the house we were in was also. Luckily we only had one down in the yard, and it pulled down the electrical wire with it - and we STILL had power - go figure. So that's my crazy weather story. LOL Here's a picture of the tree down on our street:


Do you listen to music or talk radio in the car?
Music all the way. My father used to force us to listen to all sorts of talk radio - so he ruined me forever. He still calls and says "hey - you'll never guess who's on Prairie Home Companion"... ARRGH! Unless it's Bruce Springsteen or JDM with a marriage proposal - I don't care.

Boys and their toys

I suppose as they get older, the toys get bigger. But when they're small and first discover their penis, boys are pretty funny. Mine would poke at it, flop it back and forth, whatever - and my attitude always was - hey, it's his toy he can play with it however he wants.

Except one day. Now I've been a single mom since day one, have made it on my own by working full time and getting reasonable child support from his donor (father seems a bit too familiar, and while he and I were obviously familiar, it took me getting pregnant to truly discover how much of a selfish asshole man he really was. I didn't ask for help from the state, I didn't go on "da welfare", but I did finally accept help with child care in the form of a grant. So my kid went to a great daycare close to my house where I was one of only a handful of single parents that had their kids there.

I went one day to pick him up, and walked at the same time as one of the dads and look around and can't see the boy. I look, I look and still can't find him. I'm about to ask V, the teacher and I hear (and now see) him slowly coming around the 2' high bookcases that line the room. Nothing looks off, yet he's yelling "MOMMY! MOMMY!" And as he comes around the corner in front of me, I realize his pants are around his ankles, which is why he was so slow. "LOOK" He screams. "IT GETS HARD WHEN I PLAY WITH IT" and of course - goes to show me. Needless to say, I stopped him quickly.


Yup. That's my boy. I've never been so mortified in my life, and yet so amused at the same time. Is it evil of me to save this story in my memory bank, not telling him about it until, oh, say - his first date? Prom night? Wedding?