Having Fun = Need Money

Also known as, the failure of a January 2011 Budget.

Okay…so I’ve been happy lately. Happy but busy…so I need some advice.

I joined a bowling league. One of my awesome team members used to play on a local college bowling league and passed on a pair of her old shoes to me. So, each week all I owe is the money for playing three games. I think we have 9 weeks of this left, but I only have to pay for 7—I paid some upfront. I really enjoy bowling, but I think I enjoy it more just for fun. I’m not the best player (in fact, I’m one of the worst in the entire league) and I feel bad that I don’t score high. So I probably won’t join another league unless it truly, really is just for fun.

The other awesomely fun thing I’ve joined is a pottery class. I used to do pottery way back in the day, and loved it. I’ve only had one class so far, with two more to go, but when I walked out last week I was all, “I looooove this!” I obviously work on my own projects as do everyone else in the class, but the atmosphere is so fun, everyone talking and enjoying each other’s company. The teacher is there if anyone needs help. I can see why people call this the best class around and keep coming back session after session. But it is EXPENSIVE. Think like $33/ a week. Granted, that covers everything- three hours in the studio each week, making/firing/paint…all the clay, everything is included. And I can already tell that I’m going to want to go back for more.

And a third thing…babysitting. I am still babysitting Bug about once or twice a week, although the last two have been cancelled due to snow and sickness, respectively. I love Bug, I love babysitting for him, and I can’t wait to meet his new sister in a month or so. But with his sister’s arrival, I’m assuming/ planning in my head that my time with him will decrease, at least for the time being…which means a few hundred dollars less in pay for me a month.

So…

any tips on how to still have fun, still enjoy the things I do, without going back into debt? 

How do I repay my parents (the last debt I have aside from school loans) and still not go crazy by not doing ANY “extracurricular activities” (Is that still what they are called as an adult??)  I already stick to a food/entertainment budget, although to be honest that got screwed up this past month as the pottery and bowling things came to be quickly and after I had already done my budget. I still have a savings (probably for a car later in 2011, my car just hit 190K!) and didn’t dig into that to pay for bowling/pottery but I don’t know how to balance this all, I suppose. Deciding now was the time to find some outside activities in the dead of winter when babysitting will be going down…not great timing.

The Game Nanny

Image from here

Earlier this week, Laney didn’t have school. It wasn’t a school day for Derek either, so I loaded up all the kids in the van and we headed off for a day of adventure.

After the kids played for a while at an indoor playset-selling warehouse (they display the playsets and the kids can jump on trampolines, climb ropes, slide down sldes…and then try to convince their parents to buy one of playsets ) we headed outdoors, crossed the parking lot, and came to the van.

And suddenly, Derek was throwing a three year old fit. I forget now what it was about, likely that he didn’t want to get into and buckle his carseat.

Nevertheless, Laney got upset.

“Derek, we are going to have someone come and get you and bring you home so we can go to McD’s and play in the play area!!!”, she proclaimed.

I asked her who she could suggest to come get him- I think she was worried that if he wasn’t going to behave, we were going to end up at home. Being that she rarely gets to go anywhere with us due to carseat/space in the car issues, because it was her day off she had chosen the McD’s playplace as where she thought we should go.

Anyway, Laney decided that it should be the old nanny who should come and get Derek. At first, she couldn’t remember the old nanny’s name, so I reminded her.

“Yep. We didn’t like Leigh. We liked her baby, but not her”, was Laney’s response.

As I pressed a little more—what do I do that Leigh didn’t do….or what did Leigh do that I don’t do…and then Laney and I burst out laughing at the wording, but I soon got the answer.

“You do something that Leigh didn’t do. You play with us”

Aw…it was so sad. I DO play with the kids. Laney and I have an ongoing game of Dominos going, and many a day we can be seen getting out any of the multiple board games their family owns. We bake, read library books, do artsy projects…

But I’ve been a bit worried lately that I wasn’t doing all I could with the older two. Tobin has been sick with a cold for what seems like weeks now and has been clingy. By nature, the two oldest play together extremely well…so well, that some days I barely see them! I knew that one of the reasons the family decided it wasn’t working with the former nanny was that she didn’t spend time with Laney and Derek. So I try, but some days they just prefer to play with the two of them…what’s a nanny to do?

Picture from here

So, that’s me…the game nanny, I suppose. I’m glad to do something that Leigh didn’t- and for kids’ easy, honest answers.

Sick Day

Usually I liiiiive for Wednesday nights and Thursdays. Last night though, I fell into bed around 9 and fell asleep very soon after. I’ve been up a half hour and already feel like I could take a long “nap”.

See, I was a nice person this weekend. I went to visit my family. My younger sisters and I had a great time sledding- there was a great hill about 15 minutes from my parents so we went there for a while.

Someone had built a ramp so we had fun!

Anyway, the day after I got back from home, my mom & sister got sick. The next night, I got a headache and it’s been hanging around ever since. Aside from being super tired, I have a (small) fever and am kind of shaky today…just don’t feel “right” if you know what I mean.

So basically, I’m not awful, but I don’t feel the best, either. I’m thankful to have this day to just rest on the couch. Hopefully I’ll make it around to some blogs but I’m not promising anything!

Peaceful Morning

I am sadly too busy to sit and write, as I've been on the go for a few days here and don't see it slowing down until Thursday. Rest assured though, I am having fun! 

Early Sunday morning, I was visiting my parents and was the first one awake in the house. The sun had come up not long ago and it was just so peaceful and pretty--- unlike mornings in BC when I'm driving to work on busy crowded highways...

ahhh

Hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday!

Contortionist View

Tonight I said farewell to a good friend. At least I semi-hope it’s a farewell.

Two Saturdays ago, Lyn called me and told me to find a cross country ski rental and come skiing with her. I made a few phone calls and ended up at Alfa less than half an hour later. For $20, I was fitted with skis, poles and shoes by Alfa and a lovely lady named Diane. She asked how often I go skiing and I laughed, telling her I hadn’t been in more than 20 years.

That first day was a bit tough. I had no idea what I was doing, fell quite a few times, but made it all three miles and was willing to give it another try the following day.

Two Sundays ago, Lyn and I headed out to a new park and explored a bit. Unfortunately, there was not much snow and as the sun was out, the little snow there was melted and we began to get stuck on weeds in the field. Attempt #2 was not so fun and we ended up carrying our skis after a mile. I returned the skies to Diane and told her I’d be back.

Last weekend, a fresh snow had fallen and again we went out. Lyn and I skied together in the beginning and then she took off. I brought my earphones and much of the time just went with the beat. Eventually, I finally felt like I had the pattern of skiing down more. The gliding was easier, I didn’t fall at all (but saw other people who did!) and I wasn’t even sore afterwards!

So, I called up my parents. I knew that my parents had skis from way back when they used to ski. They don’t use them, so I’m going to take my mom’s and put them to good use! Tonight at Alfa, I bought shoes. Funny story about this, when I called around trying to find the old style cross country ski boots, I was told a firm “nope!” by many places. One guy had a conversation with me that went like this,

Me: Hi, do you sell the old three prong cross country ski boots?
Guy, we’ll call him Buster: Oh no man.
Me: Oh, okay thanks anyway (get ready to hang up the phone)
Buster: Yea you can’t get those anymore unless you live in Denmark (or maybe he said Holland, something like that)
Me: Uh huh
Buster: Yea, no way. Not unless you check Ebay
Me: Ok thanks
Buster: Or maybe Craigslist
Me: Okay
Buster: Or a thrift store maybe
Me: Uhh…
Buster: Or a yard sale
Me: (thinking) I GET THE IDEA!!!!
Me: Okay thank you goodbye.

Anyway, turns out Buster was wrong, who would have guessed! Alfa sells them. So, tomorrow (hopefully) I will have a full set and my dad and I can go out for a little while.

I really do have skill with this skiing thing. Would you like to see a picture?

Oh wait..this is how I usually look while skiing. The above one depicts my mad skill…that’s not quite it, but at one point during our first skiing expedition, all the sudden I found myself seriously twisted up! My friend was surprised I hadn’t broken anything!

Happy Trails!

Like Night & Day

Well you would barely know it by these pictures, but just an hour ago I cleaned off my car and shoveled. I’m tired of snow!!

I came across this and it describes me perfectly. I don’t mind the cold but do NOT like the snow (at least not until after it snows, I guess the skiing thing would be hard to do without snow!)

“Dear winter, I am breaking up with you. It's not me, it's you, you make me miserable. I think it's time I start seeing other seasons. :)”

And on that note, visit Midday Escapades. She has a fantastic summer/ocean/all is right with the world picture up here. Ahhhh. That’s better!

Dreams

I awoke at 5:30 this morning, for no good reason. I laid awake for a awhile and eventually fell back asleep until my alarm buzzed an hour later, forcing me to begin my work day.

In that timespan of an hour though, I had a few vivid dreams.

In the first one, I was driving down a road near my house. I travel on it multiple times a week and in the middle of it there is a straight stretch. There was a car in front of me and BAM! I wasn't watching at.all and crashed into the other car. As a result I've been extra careful driving today, especially with the boys in the car. Every time I'm on a straight stretch of road that part of the dream comes back to me.

(Post script: I wrote this post while at work earlier today. After I wrote it, I found out that someone ran my brother & sister off the road last night! They are fine...but isn't it strange/coincidental that I had a dream that involved a car crash the same evening?? Sppooooky!)

Isn't it weird how dreams can completely affect you? It's annoying sometimes but then you wonder why you are dreaming about certain things.

In the second dream, I was at my old school. I have dreams about my old work place at least once a week still. In this particular one a bunch of my coworkers, my old boss and I were sitting in a sports bar type place. My boss was giving us our evaluations (although we never got them when I worked there) and she was doing it publicly, so that everyone in our meeting heard what she had to say. Even though in the dream I didn't currently work at school, my boss was giving me one as well. It didn't go well, just like all of our "meetings" last year. As it ended my coworkers were all laughing at me. It wouldn't really happen but I found myself going through the day thinking of what time it was and what I'd usually be doing. (11:20, welcoming my lunchers. 2:00, keeping the nappers in line. 3:15, doing circle). I haven't done that in quite a long time but it really brought my mood down.

Anyone want to be my dream analyst? I think I need one!

Seafood Cabin & Other Kidisms

I know that Christmas seems like forever ago…but I think you’ll enjoy this anyway.

From Thanksgiving until the New Year, the kids and I were listening to Christmas music incessantly. Laney would sing along, and a few times I listened to her and ended up asking her what she was saying.

1) For Paul McCartney’s song “Wonderful Christmas Time” (scroll to 0:30 if you don’t know what I’m talking about) when they say “simply having a wonderful Christmas time”…

Want to know what Laney was singing? Seafood Cabinnnn a wonderful Christmas time.

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2)  A Holly Jolly Christmas—Scroll  to 0:40

I hear “ho ho the mistletoe….”

Laney? She hears “Hi ho the missing toe!”

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and a 3rd one, though not Christmas related- and I hear this one daily!

Taylor Swift’s song “Mine” is popular around the O’s house. They listen to a lot of country music and sometimes the stations that I have on in the car or house will play this song as well. Every time I play it, Derek and Laney shout, “It’s SCRIBBLE DAUGHTER!” Truthfully, I still don’t see how they get this out of Taylor’s Song but Derek tells me it’s from the part of the song at minute marker 0:40 . He insists she’s singing “scribble daughter”…

Hope I’ve provided you with a little bit of mid-week chuckles!

Craziness!

It’s funny…I write posts ALL the time. While I’m driving in the car, posts for the blog are being written in my head. The problem is that apparently there isn’t an app for reading my brain yet! LOL  

Anyway, it’s been quite a busy week here! Last Sunday after skiing part II, I spent a good amount of time at one of my (only) favorite clothing stores- Kohl’s. I had a lot of gift cards and I put them to use! I got all the shirts below (um, can you tell what colors I like to wear? Hehe…) as well as a pair of sweatpants that match the zip up sweatshirt on the far left. They are soooo nice and warm. When I got home with the huge bag, my roommate Hope said, “Well, might as well show me what you bought so I don’t buy the same things!” The last year I worked at school, we wore VERY similar outfits more than one time. It was funny!

Umm…what else! I know I have a lot to share. Oh! Well, today was the first time I have seen the sun in what seems like forevvvver. I read somewhere that it’s snowed 31 days since December 1 or so. Between the snowy days and ones that were cloudy but no precipitation actually came down, I really was sorely needing to see the sun! I was up before 7:30 for some odd reason so I went to an early Mass and then picked up some food, ran a couple errands and then ended up at a local park. I bike at this park a lot when it’s warmer and I decided to take a walk around the lake. Ohhhh my gosh, it was SO cold but you know what? I’m still glad I went. I had to take advantage of the sun.

Earlier this week, my friend Lexi and I went out to lunch on my day off. We hit up a very cute local coffee shop and then headed to a new cupcake venue. Ohh man were they delicious! I picked up a newspaper and noticed that an art center was hosting pottery classes. I’m trying to get out more, and I’ve enjoyed pottery in the past but when I looked at the classes a lot of them had already started or were not accepting any more students. I looked online later in the week for other pottery classes and I found one! It’s very close to where I work and doesn’t start until next week. I’ll let you know how it goes. I think it’s only 3 or 4 weeks long but hopefully it will be fun!

I feel like I was on the phone a lot more than normal this week! As a little back story, when I was a live-in nanny in Massachusetts I worked 60 hours a week and had no social life- literally. I was working 6-6 and while I had a great time with the family, I think I had to leave there so that I WOULD meet people. Now I’ve been settled here for almost 4 years (woah!!!!) and have friends here, but everyone is busy. Of course, between work and babysitting, I am too, but I still find myself with empty evenings.

So, in addition to the pottery class, I decided to look for a bowling league. I must have called at least 10 alleys around town. The first, most popular one was starting leagues but not accepting single people for the teams, they needed/wanted whole teams. I kept calling and found one that was Friday nights—only it started THAT day and I had errands I had to do that night. Other than it being short notice, I was fine with it and agreed. A while later, one of the other alleys called and told me they have a Sunday evening league and needed someone for a team already made up of two girls who just graduated from college and some guy from a church group. I decided to join that one instead- it’s less weeks, less $$, and that way I don’t have to worry that I’ll be getting out of work too late. It starts in a few hours so wish me luck!

Well, there are lots more posts floating around in my head. We’ll see if any of them make it to paper!

100 Questions Part II

The questions from Ian continue…

34 - Favorite number? 16

35 - Favorite type of pet? A frog or fish

36- Mom card…And, see #33.

37- ahem

38- Is it better to give or receive? I actually like to give more. For the most part

39 - When's the last time you vomited? I had the stomach flu a couple of years back…that was probably the last time.

40- Name one product you use that everyone ought to use. Haha, a computer. Likely, if you’re reading this you are onto that already!

41- What’s worse- having your period or spraining your ankle? Well the period thing comes every month but I’m kind of used to it…so I’ll say a sprained ankle.

42- What sport can you play well? I’m okay at baseball.

43- What’s the funniest thing you’ve heard/seen/done in the past week? Someone told me that I was doing well skiing today…hahaha!

44- Are you interested in being friends with someone on death row? Not particularly, no.

45- What’s 4+3*800/3? Like I want to use my day to figure that out…

46 - Who would make a better President - Sarah Palin or Cookie Monster? Sarah Palin can speak English…but I’m not sure.

47- Have you ever done a snow angel in the nude? Nope.

48- Who’s your favorite Golden Girl? I don’t have one

49 - Have you ever taken a dump out a window? No but for some reason this question reminds me of college. I’m not entirely sure why, pretty sure something has been blocked out.

50 - Favorite kind of ice cream? Cookie Dough

51 - Have you ever used Magic Shell on a member of the opposite sex? Nope

52 - If you live in California, is Japan still considered to be the "Far East?" Um…Sure. If you say so.

53 - What's the last thing you touched aside from the keyboard or the mouse? My phone

54 -Assuming you own an iPod/mp3 player, hit random and list the artist/song for the next five entries.
a – A Fine Frenzy- You Picked Me
b –Kelly Clarkson- Breakway 
c – Andrew Varner- She Picked Me
d – Caedmon’s Call- Mistake of My Life
e – Enya- Fire and Ice

55 - Who's better - Rolling Stones or the Beatles? Beatles HANDS DOWN

56 - Who's the funniest comedian, living or dead in your opinion? I’m a bit addicted to Chelsea Hander right now—not sure she’s the funniest, but she’s who comes to mind

57 - 20 years ago, Magic Johnson announced he had HIV. Is he bluffing? I’ve never given it a thought.
 
58 - Who do you consider to be the biggest male sex symbol? If I had a clue I’d be dating him.

59 - Who do you consider to be the biggest female sex symbol? What’s that? Huh? Whatcha say?

60 - What's one food that most people eat, that you refuse to? Mustard. and pickles.

61 - What's your best feature? Eyes probably

62 - Ever have a zit on your ass? Noooo. Ow.

63 - Having finished peeing after holding it in for quite a while is satisfying. What say you? Definitely true.

64 - Adam Sandler is funnier than Will Ferrell. What say you? I’m not a super fan of either of them to be honest.

65 - A/S/L?   25/ F/USA

66 - How many credit cards do you have? Big fat zero! YAY!

100 Q

From someone who keeps me entertained daily through Twitter…
I promised to participate, but was hoping to have my answers up LAST weekend. Then this happened, and the questions never got answered. I did have to skip a few, my mom reads here. Sorry, Ian.

Part I

1. How old do you act? I think totally depends on the day. If I’m working, at least my age (25) if not older. If I’m hanging with friends, likely younger, like 15.

2. Why is the sky blue? Because it’s the best color…

3. Do you burp, fart, or both in front of others? Probably not purposely, usually.

4. Someone’s writing a book based on your life. What would the title be? The Never Normal Girl

5. How many days in a row can you go without taking a dump? Not many…2ish?

6. Favorite childhood cartoon? I’m going to say the Smurfs. Or Woody Woodpecker. Does he count?

7. Would you want your mom to read this one?? Skipping…Hehe.

8. Favorite food to make/bake/cook/etc.? Hmm maybe Paul Newman Cake because it’s so YUMMY!

9. What’s one redeeming quality about mushrooms? They are a cool shape…

10. What’s wrong with Richard Simmons? Well since my roommate doesn’t read here, I’m allowed to say this. That doesn’t mean anything to me. Aka who is he?

11. Name one celebrity who needs to come out of the closet. Umm…no idea.

12. Name one redeeming quality about asparagus. As of now I don’t think I’ve had to eat it..

13. If “We Are the Champions”, what are you? Hopefully playing in the game

14. What’s something they taught you in school that should never be taught to anyone? If you miss church one Sunday you’re going to Hell.

15. What’s the deal with Steven Segal anyway? See #10

16. Name two movies that should have never been made. Napoleon Dynamite and that Chunky clownish/doll thing. Kid nightmares commence.

17. Do you enjoy to point, stare, and laugh at others? Not usually..well I do watch. I think that’s one reason I love airports!

18. Name one or more words that every time you hear them, make you cringe. Moist. and appendicitis. Snow. Ice.

19. Have you ever put anything up your butt? Not that I’m aware of.

20. What can you do better than most? Procrastinate.

21. Have you smoked pot? Nope, don’t think so!

22. Would you wrestle a member of the same sex, nude, in pudding for 10 minutes for one million dollars? Um, no.

23. Happiest moment of your life? A day in Austria when I lived there. Or a specific day I remember being on Block Island. I really haven’t done any of the usual things people would say for that question.

24. Name, in order, the body parts of the opposite sex you notice first. Eyes, eyes and eyes.

25. What or where’s the furthest you’ve been away from home? I think my friends and I figured this out and it was Poland.

26. Have you ever been to Africa? Not yet!

27. Can you currently do a split? Not if you offered to pay me $1000.

28. What’s better- a knee-jerk reaction or a polish knee slap? Knee-jerk reaction.

29. Ever given anyone a dutch oven? Seeing as I have no idea what that is, no.

30 . What's your favorite kind of apple? Whatever tastes best with colby jack cheese.

31. Favorite Muppet? Fozzie. Hands down.

32. Squash just doesn’t sound very tasty. What say you? Hmm, could take it or leave it.

33. How many sexual partners have you had? I considered skipping this one and playing the mom card again but it’s not like she doesn’t know the answer, haha. Big fat flippin 0.

Relationships

One of my friends posted on Facebook the following quote. She said that it is from a tv show or movie, but I don’t remember which.

“The direction of any relationship always seems to lie in the hands of one person. The one who cares less. What is the other person supposed to do? Move on or sit in wait for the other person to take action?”

She posted it a few days ago, and for some reason I still can’t get it out of my head. One of my former co-teachers came to mind. I haven’t seen her since we finished out the school year. I’ve talked to her on Facebook/texting a couple of times, but that’s it. I’ve tried to call her with no answer, left messages…perhaps not from her perspective, but from mine it’s as if she doesn’t care about me, doesn’t value or care about our friendship as much as I do.

There are other friends that come to mind too. Some I used to talk to every day. There are friends I used to live with in college or even after and now? I don’t even know where they are living, couldn’t have sent them a Christmas card if I wanted.

I suppose there is a reason for the song, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One in silver and the other gold.”

There are friends that we will have all of our lives, usually one or two but maybe more if we are especially blessed. There may be others who you rarely see or talk to, but when you do it’s as if you never left. And then…there are the friends who are in your life for a time, just a season. I think in a lot of ways, these friendships hurt the most, because a lot of times they end with no real reason…just time and space caught up with the day-to-day life mixed with more time until calling or writing doesn’t seem an option anymore. Eventually the friendship dissolves and is just a thing of the past.

It’s sad…but I guess that is how life is…what’s your take on the quote? (If you want to steal it and write a post on your own blog, go for it…just tell me so I can read your thoughts!)

Poor Squirrel

Like many places in the US we got snow today so I saw lots of white
(one of my friends posted on FB that 49/50 states have snow right now…who knows!)

anyway, this poor squirrel unfortunately couldn’t stand the cold anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(No, it’s not real)
(But I  did have to glance twice at it!)
(How about you?)

20 Years Coming

I don’t know how many of you know this, but I was born in Maine and lived there for the first 5ish years of my life. Being that it was Maine and winter lasted forever and graced us with an abundance of snow every year, I was on skis early in life.

But then we moved to Pennsylvania and while I remember putting on my mom and dad’s skis when I was younger, I don’t recall skiing being a part of my childhood. It’s come up a bit in the past few years and I’ve always said that one day, I’d like to go skiing again someday. Not to be a skiing sportster or anything, just go as an adult.

Well, cut to this morning. My Saturday plan was to sleep, read books & blogs, enjoy a bagel & chai at Panera, maybe use some of my Kohl’s gift cards…

And then Lyn called me. She’s from Wisconsin and has skied quite a bit. She owns her own skis, poles, etc. A few months ago, she had mentioned that she’d bring her skis back over Christmas. I probably jokingly said, “Oh yea, let me know…I’ll totally go with you”.

And today we did. We went to a local park and somewhere there are pictures of ME on skis but they are on Lyn’s camera. We went about 3 miles and BOY was I sweaty by the end. There were a few good hills but we were doing cross-country skiing. I fell a couple of times but as of now I’m not too sore. Ask me again tomorrow.

Anyway, I’m glad I went! It was tough at times especially because I really don’t know HOW to ski since it’s been so long…but I made it!

So—what did YOU do this Saturday? LOL!

Protocol

My roommate said something yesterday about sending thank you cards. At first I thought she meant for students who gave her Christmas gifts but then I realized she meant for people who have offered condolences after her dad died. She was asking me who she should send them to and I had absolutely no clue. For now, we settled on the people who sent gifts…she got some flowers sent to the funeral, a few candles, plants, etc. What about people who just sent cards? She got a LOT of those… then she thought to send them to my old co-worker and boss who attended the calling hours, which I think makes sense too. When she asked if she should send one to me, I laughed and then asked why, since I didn’t send her anything. She said because I went to the funeral and all…lol. I said, well I live with you so I don’t think that’s necessary. Plus, she thanked me for going when I was up there. She probably doesn’t remember that. Anyway…thoughts?

How To Be An Idiot, Roommate Style

That’s right…I’ve mastered this less than two weeks after my roommate’s dad passed away. Feel free to use these in your own life if you feel a need to wash your mouth out with soap afterwards. 

- When at a funeral, tell roommate’s mother hello and ask “how are you”? Fine? No, she’s not fine. Her husband just died, dumbo. Hit head on table. Idiot score: 1

- Attend New Year’s Eve party with roommate the same day she comes back into town after being gone while dad died/funeral etc. Play CatchPhrase with roommate and her cousins and friends. Take CatchPhrase game from roommate after her turns end. Push “next” and almost choke as next word appears. CLOSED CASKET. Thank God roommate’s turn ended when it did. Idiot score: still 1. Nothing I could have done about this one.

- Begin watching “The Bachelor” while roommate is not home. Go take a shower and come downstairs to find her home and continuing to watch the show. Tell her about various girls that came on the show, including one who says “I meet a lot of men in my life, they are just not alive” because she is a funeral director and licensed mortician. Slam hand into forehead. Idiot score: at least 5

- One week after Christmas and thus the one week anniversary of her dad’s death, tell roommate that Christmas seems like forever ago. Ahem. She knows that, better than you do. ARGH! Idiot score: Do we have to keep counting?

- After a long three day stretch of work, decide you are too tired to go home and sit on couch because you will just fall asleep. Text roommate from library and invite her to go see a movie at the dollar theater with you. Thankfully she does not respond, because movie you see is called “Love and Other Drugs” and the main character is a girl with Parkinson’s. Roommate’s father died from Parkinson’s. 

Let’s just say the idiotic words and thoughts just keep flying from my mouth.

Sigh. I need to think before I talk…let’s hope there’s not a second edition of this post in coming weeks.

Have you ever said stupid things repeatedly? Will I ever learn?

Discover

I’ve noticed in recent years that many bloggers (and I’m sure non-bloggers, as well!) choose a word of the year. It’s a word that the individual chooses to live by for that given year.

I’ve come across a lot of words that I think work for me…so I’m changing mine up a bit- cause hey, I’m not one to do things the normal way! I am choosing a word of the year for 2011. However, I am also choosing twelve additional words- one for each month of the year. We’ll see how it goes!

Did you choose a word of the year??

My word of 2011:

DISCOVER

I want to discover where I’m heading. I want to explore more, try more, and learn more.

January- Trust
February- Accept
March- Friendship
April- Openness
May- Simpleness
June- Be
July- Learn
August- Emerge
September- Peace
October- Grow
November-Connect
December- Savor

I think it will be interesting to see how each of the words play in each month

Here We Go?

This is where I am, once again.

It is a new year, the "new beginning" that we are gifted with each year. And yet, I feel I have nothing to care about. I'm not to the point of depression fully taking over my life, I don't think.

I've tried to talk myself out of getting help professionally. As I drove by the pole I considered crashing my car into by my parents house years ago, I thanked God that I'm not that bad now. Then again, I don't want to get to that point, do I?

I am thankful to live with a friend, no matter how different it's been since her dad died. I told one of my coworkers from the school that I cannot nanny and live alone. It's just asking for trouble.

I'm anxious about things that don't matter right now. I worry about this coming summer and how I don't WANT to work, I want to travel. Summer should be for travel. Not full time work. Why does that matter in early January? It shouldn't.

I stress about how I will pay for a counselor or therapist. I have a very small nest egg, which will likely be used to buy a car at some point in 2011. If one of my new year resolutions is to babysit less and get out more, how does that help? I will be making less and spending more.

I don't want to admit defeat. I don't want to have to say I'm in therapy. I'm scared. Of what, I haven't a clue. Here we go...2011 will be a journey. Of one kind or another.

December Budget Review

I’m beginning to write this in mid-December because, well, how better to remember how things went than to write about it as it’s happening??

-- I got a bonus from work at the beginning of the month. All of the money went directly into my savings account that will likely be used to buy a (new to me) car in 2011.

-- I also “cashed in” some points I had from my bank. I forget how I earn these points- purchases with my debit card w/ pin number or something. I haven’t really been paying attention to them but I had enough for $100 cash so that went into savings as well.

-- I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and so far, so good. I bought some gifts at Target only to find they were cheaper online, so I returned them. I also returned my winter coat for the second time because the sleeves were too short. Either that or my arms were too long. Halfway through the month, the notebook/1 envelope for all-things-bought-with-cash is working well for me, as long as I remember to update it daily.

Happy New Year!

Wow- is it really January 1? It seems impossible! 

How did you celebrate New Year's Eve? I took care of two of my old students during the day- I've seen them through their nanny a few times, especially in the summer when we all met up with the kids, but it was still nice to spend a whole day with them. 

Hope ended up not coming back into town until yesterday, so I didn't see her until I was done with the kiddos. She seems to be doing alright. We ended up at her cousin's house for New Year's Eve. I didn't feel like going, truthfully...but knew that sitting at home being bored would definitely not be a better choice. So, we went and had fun. It was very low-key- lots of kids running around, we played MadGab and ate a TON of food. Thankfully there were a lot of laughs shared and hopefully it was good medicine for Hope. She's close with her cousin as they grew up together. 

I have no idea of what 2011 will bring. None at all. In truth, I'm starting this year still sad about my roommate's dad...sharing her pain and trying to figure out if there is anything I can do to help her. I'm not sure if she'll want to talk, or want to be left alone, or what. I guess we'll figure it out as we go.