Egg zactly

Jason is into making his own egg salad. This is how he peels a hard boiled egg...



The shell is literally in one piece!








This is how I peel a hard boiled egg...

Spot's Revenge

Since they're still relatively new to the house and since it's been pretty cold, I've been letting Spot and Stinky stay in at night. Stinky is no problem. He sleeps all night. His internal clock is set for 5:00 a.m. (that's when I get up during the week) and it's only really a problem on the weekend. Spot, on the other hand, has been driving me nuts. He wakes me up at 3:00 a.m. every night to go out. If I try to ignore him he gets louder. I sleep with my door closed and he will sit outside it and meow, howl actually, until I comply with his demands.

Last night I decided to put him in the garage. I felt like it was a good compromise. He would be in a relatively warm location (better than outside) with a comforter and chair to sleep on and I would get some badly needed uninterrupted sleep.

Well Spot apparently wasn't thrilled with his sleeping arrangements. This morning while David was doing his laundry, he said he smelled poop in the garage but didn't see any. I thought to myself, Oh great, It'll probably take weeks to find it. Later on we discovered Spot's spot.... on the roof of my car!!

Tonight his butt is going outside!

Here we go again

Another cast

Jason has a broken foot... a tiny fracture near his ankle. The doctor said these types of breaks usually heal quickly but he needs to be in a cast for three weeks. Jason is taking it very well I must say. This cast is not as big, only coming up to just below his knee, and he can walk on it (no need for crutches).

He stepped in a hole during soccer practice (his second day back!) and twisted his ankle. He was in pain of course but after the first couple of days he didn't really complain. He walked home from school as usual (just over a mile) and ran around the house playing with Jessie, so when he complained the next week that he didn't want to go to soccer practice because his ankle hurt, I totally didn't believe him. I basically accused him of using his ankle as an excuse to get out of going. So to practice he went...during an especially grueling week where the boys did a lot of running. And he ran. On Thursday, he basically stood around and played goalie and I knew he was in pain. He told me again that his ankle hurt and that Coach Alex had told him not to come the following week. At that point I checked out his ankle area and it was swollen.

I took him to the doctor the following day. The doctor didn't believe it was broken because he was able to put weight on it, but sent us for x-rays as a precaution. The x-rays were negative for a break so he was then sent for an MRI last Monday to see if any ligaments might be torn. The MRI revealed the tiny fracture.

Boy do I feel like a terrible parent. Jason got to pick his cast color... this time neon orange. I like it better than the red he had previously.

Another door knob

It's been a few weeks since anything has broken around here so I should have seen this coming. Last Sunday I went to open my closet door but the door wouldn't open. The same thing had happened as with the entry closet door handle, except this time the handle turned, the door just wouldn't open. I couldn't believe it. My first thought was that all my clothes were in there and I had nothing to wear. Thank god I keep my pants and some sweatshirts in my dresser. Thank god I didn't put my shoes away on the closet shoe rack as I normally do (otherwise I would have had to wear my fuzzy bedroom slippers to work the next day). Thank god Stinky wasn't napping in there as he often does. Thank god Jessica wasn't playing in there as she often does. I called the management company emergency line and left a message. But it wasn't a true emergency and it was Sunday night so I didn't really expect anyone to come rushing out. I called again the next morning to report it, and when I got home from work the door had been fixed.

There are two other doors in this house that have the same type of door knob... the hall closet and the pantry... and, just as with the light bulbs, I'm fully expecting them to quit working at any time. The other day, the kids were playing hide and seek and Jessica went into the hall closet and closed the door. I panicked and made her get out immediately!

Home Sweet Home

Okay, I've finally got pictures of the new digs (and I now know why they wouldn't upload... because they were 17 inches wide... over 3.5 MB!). The pictures were taken the night we had our first fire.

No curtains yet, except the ones that came with the house which are not my style but better than nothing, but I think things are coming together nicely. I've still got pictures to hang in other areas of the house and the kids rooms to organize.



My cousin Sarah came over last Sunday to see the new place. She brought her camera (always has it with her) and took pictures to send to my step-grandma (her real grandma) Jocelyn. While she was over, I got her to fix my toilet seats!! She generously let me post this picture of her as proof. Yea Sarah. Thanks again.

Jason

Jason: Mommy, I know how to speak cat.

Mommy: Really, how?

Jason: Meow.


Jason telling me about his before-school homework class:

Mommy: How many kids are in the class?

Jason: About 20... no wait... 3

Mommy: Roaring with laughter. How can you go from 20 to 3?

Jason: Actually there's about 10.


This is what I live with.

Me date?

Okay, I know I shouldn't have done this but I joined a personals (dating) site. Not actually joined as far as subscribing (where you pay monthly) though. All I can basically do is look and send one free email to someone. I don't why the hell I did it because I don't want to date right now. Well, actually I do know why I did it.

I did it because I'm insane and going through a mid-life crisis. I'm almost 44, separated, and scared to death that I'm never going to meeting anyone else. The weird part is that I don't even want to deal with a relationship right now. Part of the reason for separating was to take responsibility for my life sans a man. You know, to learn how to do things on my own without depending on a man. But I can't help it. I think what I truly need right now is a man who is a friend. A friend to talk to and go out with occasionally. A friend with benefits. No drama, no strings. That's want I need.

I had to create a profile in order to look at other profiles of men so I bit the bullet and joined last Saturday. I didn't expect to get a response, but in less than 24 hours I had an email from a man. He told me he liked my profile and photo, included his phone number and said to call if I was interested. I couldn't believe it. I called my cousin Sarah in astonishment and told her all about it. It felt great to receive a response so soon... hey, I'm still attractive to men!!... but I was scared to death... why did I do this? EEK, I'm not ready for this.

The man met all my criteria... he was perfect except I wasn't attracted to him. He wasn't that ugly but I just wasn't attracted. I thought how shallow I was for forming my decision not to give this guy a chance based purely on his looks. Especially since he met all my other criteria. But I couldn't get past it. I didn't call him.

Since then I've had three more responses... none of them attractive to me! I found a profile of a guy I though was attractive and sent him what they call a teaser (one free email where you have to pick from a list of things to say) but he never responded. Oh well, I think I'm just a big bluffer anyway but we'll see what happens. It's kind of fun to check out guys from the privacy of your own home.

Woes

Dial-up Woes
I am so frustrated. I've been trying unsuccessfully to upload pictures for an entry on the house that I wrote last Friday (and I was so proud that I was finally getting motivated to post!!). They just won't upload! I don't think it's the size, although I am going to try making them smaller. I know it's because I have dial up now instead of high-speed internet. Dial up is so slow. I really got spoiled being on high-speed. It's terrible going back!! But, dial-up is what I can afford for now and it's definitely better than nothing! So, if changing the size doesn't work, I'll send the pictures to work and upload from there.

Ankle Woes
Jason's sprained his left ankle a week ago last Thursday... the second day of practice since being back from breaking his leg. He'd been walking and running around the house on it but complaining. I feel like such a bad mom because I made him go to practice this past week. He only seemed to really complain when it came time to go to practice, so normally I thought he was just trying to get out of it. I took him the doctor last Friday after really looking at his ankle. It was swollen and it looked like the muscles were poking out between the ankle bone and heel (outer part of foot).

They immediately sent us for x-rays even though the doctor didn't think there were any broken bones. The x-rays were negative thank goodness, but now I have to take him for an MRI tomorrow. Hopefully it is actually just a sprain and there are no torn ligaments. Ligaments take a long time to heal. Of course, that means no soccer for god knows how long. It's just so terrible!! What bad luck for him.

Passion party

Last Friday I went to a Passion Party. I had never heard this kind of party before but a woman I work with had been to one and was now having one of her own. They are like Tupperware parties except the "tupperware" is sex toys, lotions, etc. I was apprehensive about accepting the invitation at first because of the nature of merchandise, but I told her I'd think about it. And the more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea. I couldn't buy anything, of course, because I'm broke and told her that, but she said, well come anyway and have a good time. I decided that I needed to go and have a good time. I needed to step outside my box and do something different. Meet new people. After all, it's part of why I'm changing my life. So I accepted.

So I arranged to drop the kids off with David for a couple hours and went to the party. A few other women from work also went so I knew people. I'm very shy and it's hard for me to just show up at a party where I don't know anyone. Everyone was very nice though and I ended up seeing a woman I knew from soccer. Her daughter had played on Jason's team when he played rec soccer. We sat next to each other and talked. I ended up telling her that I had just separated from David and she told me she had gotten divorced last year. I was shocked. She and her husband seemed like they had the perfect marriage, perfect life. It just goes to show me that you can't EVER assume anything. Anway, she gave me her number and we are going to get together to talk. It's SO nice to have a resource... and a friend who knows what I'm going through.

Jessica, the passion party lady, was running late; however, there was another lady there (another party rep) who put out her merchandise on a table so we could look at it while we were waiting. I wanted to go and look at it SO bad but I was embarrassed. I could tell the other woman were also, so I creeped over to the table, beer in hand (I ended up having 2 beers and 2 wine coolers, and I don't drink at all!) and began looking at the non sexual merchandise... lotions, candles, etc. But there were dildos on the table at the other end. I couldn't resist the urge so I went to the end of the table for a closer look. Couldn't pick one up though.

Eventually Jessica showed up and the party got underway. We had to wear name tags with sexual adjectives thought up by other partiers. My name was Luscious Liane. There was also Kinky Kerri, and Horny Holly among the many. It was fun to think up the names... a great ice breaker! Then she began explaining the merchandise and passing it around for everyone to see up close. Some items we got to put on, like phermones, lotions, and edible pens, etc. Eventually she got around to the toys... many different kinds of items I won't describe. Let's just say it was very interesting!

After her part of the party was over, we went out into the garage where there was music and a pool table and talked. I left at about 9:30 and went to pick up the kids. It was a fun time and I'm really glad I went. Oh, and I did buy something but I'm not saying what!!

First fire

We had our first fire in the fireplace last night. Jessica had been bugging me to make a fire for days so they could toast marshmallows... but it's been 80 degrees outside. I knew this week would be cool so I promised her we'd do it on Wednesday. I was a little apprehensive because I have no experience with fireplaces and wasn't sure how to tell if the flue was open or even how to open it. But it was all very obvious and easy to figure out!



We got a wire coat hanger and Jason was able to cut it into 2 pieces and they used it to stick the marshmallows on. They had a blast and ate way too many. Jessica had a sugar rush and was bouncing all over the house but it was good times for them. The log was one of those fake ones you can buy from the store. It only cost $1.66 and all you do is just place it on the grate and light it where indicated. The wrapping burns off and acts as the lighter for the log. The log burned for about 2 1/2 hours but didn't not throw much heat.

Another one bites the dust

Yesterday the property management company sent out a landscaping crew to fix an existing drainage problem. Apparently after a heavy rain, water rushes down the driveway and into the garage. I have not experienced this problem yet, but it's good to know it's being taken care of. When I got home from work, I learned from Jessica that the landscaper guy accidentally cut the phone wire when digging the drainage trench, so we were without phone and dialup internet last night. The problem is now taken care of and thankfully I didn't have to deal with it.

Another light bulb burned out yesterday... this one in the refrigerator.

Home maintenance 101

I’m getting my feet wet with home maintenance. It seems that every light bulb in this house was installed at the same time because every day a light blows. First the porch light. I knew it worked because I saw it turn on when as I was discovering which switch turned on which light — this house many light switches. Later I went to turn it on and nothing. My first thought, if you can believe it, was that the light didn’t work… that the wiring must be bad. Stop laughing…. I’m new to this! Besides, the light fixture was kind of loose on the wall… but I knew it had worked previously. I thought maybe I imagined it and it never worked. After two days of worrying about whether to report it to the management company, it suddenly occurred to me that the bulb might be burned out. I guess you could say a light bulb went off over my head! So got my ladder, figured out how to remove the top of the light, changed the bulb and it worked!

Then the light in my bedroom burned out. It’s a ceiling fan light—the ball kind. So I got my ladder and tried to unscrew the little nubs they call screws. But they were so tight and small that I could get a grip on them. The only tools I had were a hammer, Phillips head screw driver and the other kind of screw driver (name?). Anyway, none of those would work… what could I use? I went and got my eyebrow tweasers, but they didn’t work. So I ended up going to Target to buy a pair of pliers. Then yesterday, when I got home from work I noticed one of my bathroom lights is burned out. I was too tired and mentally drained to deal with it so that’s a project for today.

I’ve already called the management company about some other repairs that needed to be done around here. The dryer line (vent, shaft, whatever it’s called) appears to be clogged with lint so it needs to be dealt with before I can hook up the dryer. I reported it earlier in the week and they said they’d send someone out Wednesday or Thursday. Well no one came. Yesterday Helen from the management company called to let me know someone was coming out that morning. I asked if anything would be left, paperwork-wise, indicating the work had been done and she said yes, a copy of the work order would be left.

I told her about another problem I had with the closet door the night before and asked if the repairman could also fix that. Somehow the front closet door got locked. My first thought was that one of the kids had accidentally locked it while playing hide and seek in the house. But they both denied doing it—but then they usually deny everything. I thought, well I’ll just stick a pin in the little hole that is usually on door knobs… but there was no hole. I went to look at the pantry door knob which is the same kind. No lock on the inside… and why would you put a lock on the inside of a closet door anyway? I thought some more and decided to unscrew the door knob and get it unlocked that way. No luck. I got the door knob off but I couldn’t get it to unlock AND to make matters worse, the inside door knob needs to be connected to the outside door knob, so I had to hold on to it to keep it from falling into the closet! Then I couldn’t put the other door knob back on for the same reason. ARGGHHH!!!

When I got home from work, the kids told me that a man had been there and he had fixed the closet door knob (as well as tightened my paper towel holder screws which I thought were tight enough). There was no work order left so I don’t know if the dryer shaft had been fixed and it was after hours so I couldn’t call to ask. I don’t know if I should hook up the dryer but I HAVE to do laundry this weekend. The towel bar and toilet paper holder that were loose and supposed to be fixed were still loose. And now the garage door will not respond to my car openers. It will only open when I press the opener installed in the garage by the kitchen door. I will have to call the management company AGAIN to get this dealt with and I know they are going to think I’m a difficult tenant.

TGIF

I'm sitting here at work. Don't feel like working although I have plenty to do. It's Friday and I've almost made it through my first week of separation. I've just read an entry in my cousin's blog about helping me move last Monday. Her perspective of the move being different than mine but very much on target. It was hard to read because as I was worrying about getting everything loaded and worried about this and that, she was seeing the pain on David's face as he moved me and the kids out of our home. While I was thinking about the excitement of starting my new life, she was seeing the sadness of a family breaking up.

Being the insecure being I am, I immediately began to doubt my decision to leave. But I have to get a grip and remember that this is for me. I didn't make this decision lightly. I've been unhappy for several years. So what do I do? Stay in a marriage where I'm unhappy knowing things will never change? I just can't. I only get one life and I don't want to live it unhappy. We have grown apart. I will always feel guilty about putting my wants and needs first... about breaking up my family... but I have to think positive and believe that my decision is sound and that things will work out. And they already are working out. David and I are on good terms. We're friends. We talk almost every day. He'll be coming over. He'll see the kids as much as he wants. Things will be as "normal" as possible. We just won't live together. It's hard for him now but things will get better. I truly believe that.

I am buying the kids "ordered" pizza tonight for a treat. If you pick up the pizza rather than having it delivered, it only costs $5.00.

Change is good

Jan 4
Today was a really good day. The kids got off to school with no major problems. Jessica was apprehensive about starting her new school and became even more so when she realized the kids were in the cafeteria instead of the playground because of the rainy weather. She quickly forgot about me though after she saw her friends Jessica and Sierra. Jason ended up walking to school in drizzling rain — a mile one way. I offered to drive him after I dropped Jessica off but when I returned to the house he was already gone. I caught up to him when he was almost at the school and offered him a ride but he refused. The kids’ schools are each about one mile from our house but each in a different direction.

The commute to work is about 17 miles. Only 2 more than my previous commute but it took me 45 minutes! Granted I left later than I usually will, but it was a long ride! I need to experiment with different routes. Unfortunately there are a lot of people living/commuting on this side of town and traffic is heavy all the time.

I had two pieces of good news today. First, I found out that my car rental reimbursement for a training I went to last October was never paid to me so I’ll be getting that in the next week or so. Second, my cousin Sarah has graciously agreed to adopt our two youngest cats, Tottie (named after a soccer player) and Misha. They are sisters and have never been separated. I call them the “twins” although they look nothing alike. I can’t take all our cats (we have 4) to this house and David won’t take any, so I have to find homes for them. I truly do not want to have to take them to the pound. It kills me to even think about it. I am so happy about this. Again, Sarah has been a lifesaver!

I have been invited to a passion party next Friday. It’s like one of those in-home sales deals (like Tupperware only much better!) where you look at the merchandise and you can order stuff. Only the merchandise is sex-related. I’m a little nervous about going but I think it will be fun and totally outside the “box” for me. I’ll go if I can get a sitter for the kids but I don’t plan on buying anything.

On the way home from work, I went by to see the Curves nearest to my house. I have to switch places since my old Curves location is too far away now. This Curves is totally awesome! They have more machines, more goodies, and they will be offering a beginning pilates class, free for members, in the next month or so.

When I got home, the kids gave me glowing reports about their schools. That, and a confession from Jessica that she had gotten mad with Jason and felt it necessary to take his Axe deodorant spray and spray half the doors in the house with it. It stunk in here for quite a while! When they weren't fighting with each other, they were VERY talkative, especially Jason. I just listened to them tell me all about their day and their teachers. It was so nice. It is encouraging to see Jason open up. He usually stays so closed off from everything. I’m hoping this is the new trend for him and not a fluke!

So far change is good.

Day 3

Jan 3
Went to register Jason at his Deerlake Middle School this morning. Jason is not doing well in school. He’s plenty smart but he doesn’t turn in his homework (he does it mind you, just doesn’t turn it in) and it’s caused him to receive F’s, much to the displeasure of his parents. I’m told this happens frequently with kids this age (boys mainly) and it helps to know he’s not the only kid in the world doing this, but it’s stressing me out! His test scores are low also, which isn’t good. I have a feeling changing schools will be a positive thing for him, and after we toured the school he perked up. It’s a very nice school with different rules… more lenient than Swift Creek. He can sit where he wants at lunch and he can take his backpack with him to his classes. He even thought his new planner was way cooler!

We met with the eighth grade counselor while Jessica sat in the lobby, highly put out that she couldn’t be in on the meeting. This counselor (Laura) is wonderful. She talked to Jason about how serious it was that he get motivated and that she was there to help him. I sat there and let her do the talking. Although David and I have said the same things to him countless times, he needed to hear this from the school. I could tell he was about to cry a couple of times but he kept it in. She explained that sometimes people can squeak by and get away with poor grades and work habits, especially when in sixth or seventh grade but because he would be going on to ninth grade—high school—it was a different ball of wax and if he didn’t work hard to pull himself out of this hole the school would have no choice but to retain him until he was “ready” to move on. I think it hit home with him. I hope so.

Later in the day, Jessica went to play over at her friend Jessica’s house. It was just Jason and me. Jason was in a decent mood given his normal sulky state. One of my goals of better parenting is to expect more from the kids with regard to cooking and cleaning. They are certainly old enough and they’ve helped in the past but not without complaining the entire time. I’m also showing them how to clean and fix things; explaining how things work so they can deal with issues when I’m not around. For instance, the toilet in their bathroom runs occasionally. I explained why it happens and how to fix it. This evening Jason helped me cook dinner… meatloaf, mashed potatoes (from scratch), peas and cornbread. Then he washed the dishes… not loading them in the dishwasher... but actually washed them by hand and he didn’t complain ONCE. It’s a miracle. I think I’m on to something!

Tomorrow is the first day for both at their new schools.

Change will do me good

Okay, it’s a new year and my life is totally changing. For reasons I won’t go into now, David and I have separated—totally my decision but I think it’s somewhat mutual. After 20 years with him, I’m now on my own… well on my own with 2 kids. We’ve moved to a house on a different side of town and the kids will be going to different schools. Much change. Much newness. It’s exciting, it’s scary, it’s sad, it’s awesome.

I have several new year’s resolutions… get my life in order, be a better parent, lose more weight, continue my exercise regimen, blah blah blah…. but the most important resolution I’ve made for 2007 is to chronicle my daily adventures. I will try to write every day, but make no promises.

Since today is actually January 3, I’ll recap my first 2 days…

Jan. 1
Moving day! Sunshine in the forecast (after a wet weekend). Most of the boxed items were already at the new house. We rented a U-Haul to move the big stuff… furniture, washer/dryer etc. That was an adventure in of itself. I reserved a 24-foot van. When we went to pick it up, the U-Haul lady told me it was stick shift. David was okay with stick shift but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled. Why didn’t they mention this when I made the reservation a month earlier? What if we couldn’t drive stick shift? Shame on you U-Haul. After seeing the size of the van, I decided maybe a 17-footer would be better… it was automatic. So we switched. The U-Haul lady wasn’t thrilled since she’d already processed the original order but she was very nice about it.

It rained in the morning but stopped luckily before any serious loading occurred. My cousin Sarah came to help. First she came late because she locked herself out of her house AND her car!! Then she informed me that she was strong enough to lift furniture (and is) but couldn’t grip anything. She was actually a big help but I told her she’d do anything to get out of helping me! David did most of the work... he knew how to move and he just took charge. I felt a little weird that he did most of the work but that’s how he is. He’s a good person… a good man. What man do you know who would actually help his wife move after she told him she didn’t want to be married anymore!

After returning the van, we took David back to the house. He’ll be living there until the place sells. Yes, living there without any furniture except 2 chairs and an entertainment center with TV, DVD player and movies, and an xBox. Sarah took Jessica and me out to lunch at Sonny’s BBQ. It was so good. She has been a miracle for me these last few months. A true friend… she listens to me and buys me food!! I owe her so much.

After lunch, Jessica and I went to the new house. Jason went to spend the night with his friends Sam and Ben. Jessica played in her room while I began unpacking and arranging things. Later we made chocolate chip muffins. It was a good day. Kind of sad, but exciting. I was worried about David being all by himself.

Jan 2
More unpacking. More arranging. Hung some pictures by MYSELF! A small achievement to most, but big for me. I don’t mean just putting a simple nail in the wall. I’m talking about full blown measuring and positioning and leveling. I had become accustomed to having David do things like this for me. All I had to do was tell him where I wanted it and he did the rest. I guess deep down I was scared I wouldn’t do it right, but I did it myself…. I measured twice and cut once so to speak and the pictures are hung!

Went to the old house to get some more things and pick up Jason. Jason has been very resistant to this change. Jessica is more like me. She’s not thrilled with it anymore than he is but she adapts to change quickly. Not Jason. He doesn’t like change at all. New house. New school. Life without seeing daddy every day. Not good for him. I asked him how he liked the furniture arrangement and he grumbled that he hated the house then disappeared into his room to play PSP or something. I worry that he will go deep into a shell or a depression… even worse than his normal teenage brooding. I am determined not to let that happen.

For dinner Jessica and I made spaghetti. Same old way. Hunts canned sauce, cheap hamburger... you know the kind with all the fat but this time with no mushrooms. Jason informed me that it was very good. Kind of surprising given that he always hates whatever we’re having for dinner!