Wordful/less Wednesday

I present to you, my wonderful Tulips from Valentine's Day. From my wonderful family.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not call my husband when I got to work at 6:45am and wake him up only because he and my son are off of school and work today for Presidents Day and I was not feeling the least bit jealous. I would never do something so immature; NEVER. ;)

I did not get the most beautiful tulips delivered to me at work from my husband and my son with the following message for Valentine's Day:

We love you soooo much!! You give us sooo much support and love!! (And without YOU, we'd probably kill each other)! ;)

P.S: We've got hugs and Kisses waiting for you at home!!

Love, The Worlds BIGGEST Momma's Boy and Bouja (my husbands nickname)

I did not become overjoyed with this letter because he is the worlds biggest Momma's boy and better not ever ever grow up!

I did not book our vacation to our timeshare in Arizona this weekend for the last week in May/first week in June. I did not get super super excited because we really need a vacation together after our last year of family loss and grief.

I did not laugh when my son was talking in his sleep and called whomever he was speaking to an asshole. I did not try to get him to tell who this said person was, hoping it wasn't me but thinking.... it just may have been!

I did not promise my son that I would only run in and out of the thrift store on Saturday, then proceed to not spend an hour crusin' the aisles.

I did not totally neglect my blog this last week because I was busy with work projects and still attempting to spend more quality time with family when I get home. It did not totally bother me that my work is getting in the way of my blog friends!

Have a wonderful day!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by the fabulous MckMama. If you'd like to participate, feel free to head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have "not" been doing this week.

I did not bribe my son with one of the candy bars I bought my husband, just for some peace and quiet.

I did not bath the puppy in the sink with the other two dogs looking at me like I was about to cook said puppy for dinner. Puppy did not procede to run around the house like he was chasing rabbits for the next two hours. Why do dogs do this after baths? Is it like air drying?

My husband and I did not spend an hour last night attempting to figure out why every morning and every evening there is strange condensation on the walk up to the front door, only to discover it's from the ice melt that we put out over 1 week ago. We did not in this hour, run ever faucet in the house attempting to duplicate the "issue". I am not thanking my neighbor Melanie for offering up the "ice melt" theory. Why has this never happened before? Soooo weird.

I did not contemplate trading in my current vehicle because of a loose ignition switch that cost less than $100 to fix. I did not really want a xterra or a bug and was dreaming that this would be my way out of the envoy. So close....

I did not stay off of my computer for over 24 hours this weekend in an attempt to get some "real" work done at home and allow my family to have some time with just me.... and not me and my laptop.

I did not wonder in those 24 hours what my bloggy neighbors were up to and hope they all had a great weekend!

Tara and the car

Oh Mama Kat and your writer's workshop prompts.... just pull things out that have been sitting in safe keeping for years, untouched. Then, you ask a question and it sprouts wings and we are off reliving them all over again.

Tell us about a lie you later regretted.

When I was twenty, I moved away from warm and sunny, beautiful Southern California. I had made a big decision that the life I was leading was not the best.... ok, it was destructive and I probably wouldn't be here typing this to you now if I had not left. My best friend, Mon and her husband (who I also grew up with) Cha, had come home on a visit from Ohio (he was in the Air Force and recently stationed at Wright Patt). They saw my life unwinding into full tilt chaos and asked if I would like to come back with them. I saw it as a great little adventure, some time away to clear my head. I said yes. So, away we went.

I lived with them a short amount of time, until the couch got a little too lumpy and the company a little to cramped..... then moved into a tiny (and I mean TINY) room in a house - I know this isn't about me and that room, but oh my gosh.... I have pics somewhere and I WILL find them... but it was a converted side porch that could only fit a chair; and when I say chair, I mean a dinner table chair, a bed that was the width of a toddler bed but longer (what are those called), a nightstand behind my head and a wardrobe closet in the corner. That was it. There was no other room for anything else. Oh, this house is a whole 'nother story in itself! I had a job at a music store, which just happened to be 1/2 block from my house and life was good. Life was as good as it could be I should say, when you don't have a car. I couldn't even afford the gas if I did have a car so it was probably good that I didn't have one. I survived on eggs, and rice with my 'extra money'. I should explain, that there were priorities. I had no phone, no tv, etc... so the priorities went like this.... rent, beer/liquor/cigarettes, food. I was always broke but it was so much fun. Now, everyone at this music store was great. We were all friends, and hung out every night. We had a blast. We were young and out of control. Here's the difference between me, and "them".... They all lived at home, with their parents. They all had cars. So, when they were at work, they would allow me to borrow their cars to do my grocery shopping, or laundry, go buy their dinners while they were at work, etc... It was a great deal. We were like a little family there and it just all worked out well. Tara and I were best friends (at work). She was a Air Force "brat" and lived on base in one of those nice houses officers live in. Her family was all from Texas, and they definitely had southern charm. They were very kind and very sweet to me. I'm sure they thought I was a bad influence on Tara because I lived on my own and liked to party (so did she) but they never let on. On night, I had finished my grocery shopping and was on my way back to my house, then heading over to pick Tara up from work. I was driving along, minding my own business and I heard this SMACK! Let's try this again.... SMACK! I couldn't figure out what the heck had happened, until I went to look in the side mirror (passenger side) and... IT WAS GONE. I had hit - with the side mirror - one of those big orange traffic cones that are weighted down with sand - going 40 mph. I killed that mirror. It wasn't shattered, it was gone. It was no more, no mas', nient'altro, nao mais. Just gone. There was no fixing this. My thoughts at this point were "shit, shit, shit, shit, shit". Oh, did I mention that she had only had this car about 2 months at this point? Ummm, yeah. Ok, back to my thoughts "shit, shit, shit, what am I gonna do, shit, shit, shit". I went home, unloaded my groceries and called my best best friend, Mon. She would have a solution. She knew I was ass broke and couldn't fix this. She would help me fix this. She had no answers. Honestly, I can't remember what she even said; that's how helpful it was to me and my situation. I'm sure that it was something morally ethical and correct. She was and is moral and ethical. However, she wasn't me, and I was freaking the heck out. So, the lie came. I drove over to pick Tara up from work and explained the series of events that caused there to be an apparent missing side mirror. I went in to shop, and when I came out.... the mirror was gone! Someone must have hit it in the parking lot; you know how crazy people get driving through there. And I didn't notice until I started driving away but my gosh, can you believe it? Yes. She did. She believed me. And I felt like dirt. I felt like a dead worm, under the dirt. I lied, but I didn't know what else to do. I was barely making it as it was, and now? Replace a side mirror? I didn't even know how much that would cost. I couldn't chance it. So, that's how it went. Her Dad was mad but how could they blame me? I wasn't even there when it happened. And so, we continued on. Her mirror got replaced, we continued to go out, then slowly.... snail slowly.... our friendship faded away. I know these things sometimes happen. It's life. She was going to college, had met new friends, things change. That probably wasn't what bothered me the most though. My confidant, my best friend.... Mon. We shared everything with each other. But now, she started to fade away. She stopped returning my calls, stopped taking my calls (was conveniently never home), then they moved back to California. Gone. Left. No goodbyes. I was without my best friend. The best friend I had since 7th grade. She and I were gone. Like that mirror. Just gone. Shattered. I was confused and lost, but moved on. I had lots of friends, and those two were no longer around so off I went. I talked to Tara months after our friendship had ended, just out of the blue. She told me that Mon and her had become close friends and that Mon had told her what had really happened with the car. I tried to explain where I was at during that time, but she didn't want to hear it. She just wanted me to know, that she knew. Done. I wished her luck in life, and left it at that. But I still missed my best friend. A year later (when I was 24) Mon called me from California. Just like Tara, but so different. With love, and happiness. With forgiveness and understanding. She was pregnant with her first baby. She and I talked. It was like we had never been apart. I went home to visit her. And that baby? I'm that baby's Godmother. Mon and I are still best friends. But I almost lost her. All over a car, a mirror, and a bad decision.

Wonderful Mom Award!

I have met so many lovely bloggy friends here... and I treasure them all. I consider them my "neighbors" because I share my life with them, just as I would my own physical neighbors. So, when I get an award from one of them, it's just like getting a big hug. Today, I got an award from my neighbor, Freeul. Thank you, my friend. I'm honored and appreciate it so much. I'm sending you a huge hug.

This award originally was started by "Wibeche" from Norway.

"This is an award for being a wonderful Mom. You do fantastic work. Be proud of your accomplishments."

I in turn, would like to pass this lovely award on to some of my favorite neighbors. Since I can't pass it back to you Freeul, I'll get you on the next one!

Here we go.....

To my bloggy Moms/Friends/Neighbors:

Diane @ Dianes Addled Ramblings

Doot @ A Nut in a Nutshell

Sandra @ An Italian Mama Gone Crazy

Jennifer @ Rundpinne

Diane @ Good Mourning, Glory!

Deb @ Dirty Socks and Pizza

Melanie @ The Smith Family

And please know, this award is for every one of you beautiful and caring Mom's out there in my bloggy neighborhood. This list could go on and on..... so if you're here, and you're a Mom? This award is also for you (even if you're not specifically listed) because.... YOU are a wonderful MOM!

Wordful Wednesday

Do you know the story of "Flat Stanley"? This poor guy was a normal kid, who woke up one day... FLAT! Apparently, he was crushed by a bulletin board. Can you believe it? He's good though, and begins to realize all the great things he can do by being flat.... slide under doors, saves his Mom's ring by dropping through a metal grating to retrieve it and, the coolest part.... travel is CHEAP! He can fit comfortably into an envelope and travel anywhere.

Well, my son read this wonderful book in school and his class sent flat stanleys of themselves to relatives last month. My profile-challenged kid went to California to visit his Auntie, Cousins and Grandma.

The other day, we received this envelope from California and I of course thought it was my son, coming home but it wasn't. It was my neice, Flat Ke-Ke coming to visit us! So far, she has been visiting with my dogs, played on the trampoline and in the snow, watched the superbowl (in 3D) and now, she's at work with me.


She's having fun.... I think. Well, ummm.... ok.... I'm having fun!

Thanks to Angie over at 7 clown circus for wordful Wednesday.... If you'd like to visit her, please click here!

Not Me Monday!

I did not make it to my weight loss goal of 170lbs lost and surpass it (171lbs lost), with a month left on my "program"!

I have not decided to continue on to lose until the 26th of Feb for a final goal weight of "wherever the scale takes me".

I am not, right this second just 6lbs from being able to say "I am 1/2 of my previous self" at 177lbs.

My Dr did not say, that for my height (5'11") that she did not want me to weigh less than 170 because for me, that wouldn't be healthy. WHAT? A Dr just (did not) make a suggestion that I may be the perfect weight? No need to lose anymore? Wait.... Not that I need to be on a diet? Seriously... she did not say that. Did she?

I am NOT totally thrilled with where this journey has taken me over the last 14 months! I have not learned who I really am, what I'm truly capable of (without surgery or special diet foods), and how really really strong I've become throughout my life. Nope, not at all. ;)