Where a kid can be a kid.....

My buddy Chrissy wrote a post today about her neighborhood growing up. They lived in a house that I swear would be my dream house if I could have it. Someone commented about her mother that "I wonder if she realizes the she mothered the last generation of kids who would experience that kind of childhood." She wasn't. Mine does. Granted, I'm not a stay at home mom, but my son is 13. He IS 13. He's not going on 16, 17 or older. His friends in the neighborhood aren't delinquents. I know all of them. There is one that's got a little Eddie Haskell in him, but that's just Drew. He's a good kid, just a little Eddie Haskell-ish. If there's any trouble, he's usually involved. All the parents know all the kids. We know which parents are cool, which ones are cuckoo for cocoa puffs, which ones are strict and which ones are not. During the summer, the kids are outside playing until 10:00 or sometimes later. Michigan really should be in CST, because it's still light out at 10 some nights. They play on their skateboards, bikes, roller blades, with their nerf guns, air-soft guns and bar one emergency (whoops!) no damage is done. I don't worry about mine. In fact, on occasion, the moms go out for a cocktail down the road and leave the kids outside playing, because we know they're OK.
Could I have this in MA? Maybe. Do I have it in MI? Absolutely.
Many of you don't know, but I moved here a little over 6 years ago. My reasoning? My son needed me more than my friends & family did. They would hopefully still be there, but he wasn't always going to be 6. He needed ME. He needed to feel safe. He needed to be out of an environment where drugs, gangs and nonsense were the norm.
Now his biggest worry is not getting his homework done. Not if the kid next door is going to ask him to smoke pot. Or steal something. Or how much trouble he can get into before I get home from work. I'm only 20 min. away. Not an hour and a half. He lives where a kid can be a kid.


I like that.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

I think

that macroeconomics may kick my butt... I get some of it, but not all of it. And the whole math aspects of it? Eeeeesh...

Shoot me now.
Here's something fun - see if you can figure out the "DUH" part of this Marquee...




Frost warning for tonight. Can we be over winter already? I'm over IT, why can't it just be done? Cheez luiz!

Nothing else really happening this week. Iris' are up and starting to bloom. All the other seeds/bulbs I planted are starting to sprout - and the fun thing? I don't remember what I planted, so it'll be exciting to see what comes up!

Happy weekend!

ahhhhh weekend

I love the weekends. I have decided to stay (for now) at my job because even though it's slow as shit, I can get homework done there that I wouldn't be able to do at another job. And with macroeconomics starting this week, I think I'll need the down time! LOL

My friend Lesley came and hung out at the house yesterday - her youngest is adorable, and apparently wants me to kiss her ass. See? Isn't that what she's saying? LOL



Then it started downpouring. I had told a story earlier in the day how during the summer, my mother used to put us into our bathing suits and let us go out and play in the rain (actually I think she used to lock us out of the house, but that's another story LOL). So once we made sure that there wasn't any lightning - we let the older two do this:



A lot of fun was had - and they all slept well last night.

My back yard has been taken over by crabgrass - any hints are welcome. I've tried the Weed & Feed, Crabgrass Killer and now am almost resigned to it taking over - it's green, right?

The front, however - that's all mine.... I've got iris', gladioli, zinnias, when everything comes up it should be a color explosion at the front of the house! I can't wait. :)

Happy Sunday!

Jeepers Creepers

it's been a while. Maybe I should just turn this into a "once a month" blog? LOL

I finished up my class (with a B, thank you). Went on spring break - where we had a lovely time - weather could have been warmer, but really? I wasn't working, so it was all good.

All is good here - I'm actually looking into taking the LSAT in October. If I score high enough, I can get a 100% scholarship to the law school that's like 40 miles away. Oy vey, what am I thinking? LOL

The boy actually had a decent report card this semester. Nothing lower than a C except Band, and that's because he doesn't practice. We've talked about it 10 million times, but he is in charge of it - and won't do it. So he gets an E.

I had a doctors appt. today and he asked if I had any issues with intercourse. I laughed and said "other than the fact that I get NONE??? NO. But if I do - I'll let you know!!"... He never knows what I'm going to say..

The latest on the train wreck that is my ex? Apparently he's marrying a tree-hugger vegan virgin. Say that 10 times fast. He's got the attention span of a gnat, and will lose interest very quickly - but in the meantime he's done what he's done for every relationship - conformed himself to seem like he's into what they are. So while he's secretly stuffing his face with McDonald's - because he is after all - a huge carnivore, in front of her he only eats vegan foods. But the problem with that? He hides the wrappers under the seat of the car and is too lazy to throw them out later, or he forgets about them. LOLOLOLOLOL And the only green he cares about is what's in his wallet. I'm sure she'll learn that pretty quickly. He's getting married here (nobody would go to the wedding if it were out in California - apparently not even most of his family), and wants her to live here because people are nice to him here because of who his father is. Not because of who he is. But it makes him feel important. And it makes him feel like he can look important, as opposed to out there (Cali) where he has no friends and looks UNimportant in this life. Granted, he has no friends here, either and once you've been around enough you realize that people merely tolerate him - not like him, not include him in their social circles - they just tolerate him. Guess she'll have to learn that one, too on her own.

more :)

 

 

 

 

Vegas/Grand Canyon

 

 

 

 

Words cannot describe how beautiful and breathtaking the Grand Canyon is - just amazing. And we only saw a small slice of it!!

Have a great time - wish you all were here :)

Traveling Sunday?

Thought I'd just let you all know some things...

I am here:

Some thoughts of mine?

This is better than late-night Walmart. LOL Apparently, clothing that FITS is optional. We got to the hotel about 9:00 or so last night, and oh my goodness, we haven't been outside the hotel and already the Boy has seen more than he should. LOL

Who knew that there would be a "resort fee" for the hotel that is fully paid for? AND that internet would cost $12/day? Seriously? So to cover all that, they have put a $250 hold on my credit card. Gee, thanks. We'll just put that along with the stupid hold from the car rental company - which added insurance to my rental and that bumped it up $300. Um, no - I'll take the $150 rental without the insurance please. WTF???

My hotel room has no coffee maker or refrigerator. I'm not loving that.

I went to get coffee at the Starbucks in the lobby this morning, and a guy that looked as though he may have been doing the walk of shame - or been up for 4 days straight, asked me if I was just getting there. I said, no we got here yesterday, and then he asked what day yesterday was. Really? OK. Then he told me that he'll be watching for me this week. I threw up a little in my mouth - he was looking pretty rough. LOL But hey - that's the closest I've had to an offer in ages! Maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Right? ROFL

We're off to the observation deck in the Stratosphere, then who knows... The day is young.

More later. I figure I should post each day - heck it's costing me $12, I may as well get my money's worth.

my new favorite song...

one of many - but I just love this one. And they're playing 1/2 hour away from me, in a tiny little club - NEXT WEEK. While I'm in Vegas. AAAAAARGH!!!!

Please excuse my rudeness...

but this is an open letter to my ex's (the FW) fiancee... Yes, I said fiancee..

RUN. As fast as you can - RUN.

He is a pathological liar - which you will find out, probably too late. He twists reality to suit his own needs (usually making him look the victim) and wants. He is a very selfish person, and will do what he wants to get what he wants when he wants it.

He has had a self-imposed "two year" expiration date on most of his relationships - mainly because his attention span can't last much longer than that. The only reason why you got a ring and a proposal is because you refuse to sleep with him until you're married. We'll give the expiration date a little leeway, but you've been warned.

Don't believe everything he tells you. Especially about his ex-girlfriends. Most of it? Not true. His father will never hand over his company to him. He will never gain full custody of his son. He is considered the fuck-up in his family. And for good reason.

Everyone knows that you write his emails for him - he is a grammatical nightmare, and when they make sense? They're written by someone else. I did it, as did the one before me. We all fell victim to the "poor me" - we just got out before we got sucked in too far. Regardless of what he may have told you. And for me? I'm so much happier now - so when he tells you that I'm bitter and want him back - SO not true. I wouldn't touch him with a 10 ft. pole. I don't care how much money he has.

While some members of his family are wonderful, most of them are not what they seem. They will make you believe they care about you and stab you in the back without warning. They would support him in anything - including locking you out of the house if you try to tell him what to do or suggest anything that he is not in favor of.

Don't ever suggest to him he can't be friends with someone - no matter how much they take advantage of him - or give him an ultimatum - because the act of you telling him "NO" will turn him into the 17 year old boy that he truly is and he will dig his heels deep into the shit that they usually are in - and you will lose.

Run now while you can. It's not worth giving up your integrity, life and all else that you hold on to.

But if you don't run? Get married, pregnant and then take him for everything you can - because in a court of law? Virgin trumps EVERYTHING.

Holy crap!

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I've been here! Tons going on - back in school, the boy is doing much better in his classes, he's playing soccer in a recreational league now, work is still - well, work. I've applied for and gotten turned down for a couple of different jobs, but I'm sure that eventually the right job will pan out.
I bought a new car this week - traded in my old reliable Jeep for something with less miles and more toys. Got a 2007 Saab SUV that is loaded, and I got a great deal on it - otherwise I would have kept the Jeep. It had to be something great to make me take on a car payment LOL - I haven't had one in about 4 years. Maybe 5.
Not much else going on - I have been reading off and on through Google, so I'm trying to keep up, it just seems like the days get shorter and shorter, and I'm making a concerted effort to not be on the computer too much. And making the boy not be on his computer so much, too!
Oy - off to get the round brownies out of the oven for Pi day!

Happy Sunday!!