Today Babygirl began her art lessons.

I woke up at 3:45am, only to toss and turn. I finally got out of bed at 5:30. I gave up trying to sleep. I couldn’t imagine why I wasn’t able to sleep. After all, I had the 1 yo and the 3yo all day on Friday…..8:30am until 4:45pm. For me (and them) it was a day that was far longer than usual. Why wasn’t I tired?

Hubs and I dressed and had our coffee. Babygirl came downstairs for her cup. I handed her a few dollars (for ‘just in case’) *thanks Mom.* I told her to double check to make sure she had her ID. *I have it.* I reminded her to use the bathroom at home so that she wouldn’t have to leave the classroom alone. *I know! -eyeroll* I asked her to use the “across the chest”  backpack.

“Jeez, Mom! I’m fine! I’m not using that bag-it separates my boobs and it looks funny. Stop spazzing!”

“But I don’t want you to make it easier for someone to grab your stuff. And…..”

“Mom, I know. But I’ll be fine. Just chill. What are you going to be like when I go to college every day?”

At that moment I looked at my girl. All 4′ 11″ of her. She may be a tiny one, but she is a young woman. She is going to spread her wings. And that was the reason why I couldn’t sleep all night.

We drove from our home in the suburbs to THE CITY. We drove past the inviting tourist areas of Old City Philadelphia and into the more seamier areas. We passed burnt out and abandoned buildings, creepy little corner ’stores’ and some housing projects. My anxiety levels began to rise. I could only imagine what Hubs was feeling. He had doubts about this venture long before the tuition check was ever written.

Finally, we made a turn. A large building loomed with the Temple University logo on it. Projects were replaced by student housing. Little cafes and little grocery stores were on the corners. The streets were cleaner and there were young people out and about–even though it was only 9:30 in the morning!

We arrived at her building and I walked her in. I didn’t know if there were any more forms to be filled out. I also wanted to see how safe the security was. It was tight. I could see the door to her class from the main entrance. It was a large class and the bathroom was nearby-in plain view of the information desk.

I sighed inwardly with relief, as I stood outside the class with my daughter.

Meanwhile, Hubs was circling the building. Babygirl and I noticed at least three circles. (There was absolutely no parking to be found!) I said, “I guess I should go. I can’t have him driving around for another ten minutes until your class starts. Are you okay? Do you need me to wait with you?”

“No, I’m okay. Really! Go.”

And I did. I walked back outside and never looked back..even though every ‘mom-fiber’ of my being wanted to.

When Son1 joined the Army at 17, I agonized for weeks as we went through graduation and then packing. But back then, I knew that once he left my house, I wouldn’t even be able to see or speak to him for weeks! But this was my job-to wave good-bye and smile with pride.

When Son2 packed a weekend bag and drove to Toronto for a New Year’s weekend of drinking and debauchery, I worried. I was nervous. I jumped every time the phone rang. But when he left, I hugged him and smiled and told him to enjoy his adventure….even though he was leaving the country!

Today, even though she is still in high school, even though she is a little slip of a girl, even though I won’t be within a five minute ride to get to her, I waved goodbye to her. My heart swelling with pride as my youngest child- my little girl- took her first baby steps to adulthood.

I’m almost done my job.

I have reconnected with the outside world!!

Let me tell you, it was weird. I didn’t always have a computer. I didn’t always blog or read blogs. And during the past day and a half (that felt like a lifetime, I swear!) I returned to those simpler days…before the world moved on…..

I did laundry, cleaned the house, showered and played with the dog.

Wait……I do that anyway…..hmm…..

Yeah, it was like that! I wandered from room to room, from window to window, muttering “What to do? What to do?” You know something? I did that once before…..

WHEN I QUIT SMOKING!!  OMG! I remember the feeling of idle fingers that desperately wanted to hold a cigarette. Only now that desire was the tapping of computer keys. It was then I realized I had a problem. I ran to Babygirl’s room and quickly logged into Facebook. I took my turn at a word game. I said hi to a friend or two. But Babygirl has an uncomfortable stool that she uses in her room and I couldn’t sit there very long. I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that I’d be out of the loop…..only for a smidge over twenty-four hours, but still….

I was only able to sneak a peak at the computer once or twice, but I still missed a few things. Ginger’s daughter was ill and I missed a few updates. (I’m glad that she’s feeling better) Apparently there was also a meme that everyone was doing on Facebook that sparked some debate. That was interesting to catch up on. And lastly, but certainly not least, A blog friend is nearing the end of a valiant fight. This hurt the most. I wanted to share the sadness that I felt but I had nowhere to say it.  Another friend was faced with a daunting challenge that no one would want to do. (I wanted to hug him and offer my thoughts and prayers, and again, nowhere to do this.)

And the world moved on…..

But my days weren’t only filled with sadness and boredom. Oh no. My own little Babygirl received a grant so that she can attend an eight week art course at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. (Proud mom over here!!) Tonight she went out to get her supplies and her sketchpad is bigger than she is!!

And the world moves on…..

Yes, the world moved on. I wasn’t connected to the computer. And I survived. Which is more than Lisa can do. Because of knowing her (even though only through the computer) I have learned that life is a fleeting thing. I owe it to her memory to turn off the computer willingly to talk to my Hubs, to look at Babygirl’s art and photographs, and to actually go out into the sunshine instead of looking through a window wondering what to do.

I wish you peace, Lisa,  as you embark on the next journey that awaits you. Thank you for touching my life.

I’ve got some issues that will be resolved on Thursday afternoon. They’re nothing to be worried about. I simply have two programs running on my computer that are cancelling each other out. Neither will allow me any type of internet access.

I am going crazy without access. I am at this moment on Babygirl’s computer sitting on a tuffet that is incredibly uncomfortable!

So…..until I have recovered, I’ll be biting my nails, plucking my chin hairs, and counting the hairs on my arms.

Bored……seriously bored……

I stole this from Poppy. I figured it’s not about me so it’s a little different….

I present to you….My Hubs….

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Futurama…no wait!….Dirty Jobs…No!…Big Bang Theory!….No!…..James Bond….shit!….Die Hard….. UGH!!
2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch. Always Ranch.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Fish.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Absolute vodka and orange juice, steak (the biggest and bloodiest cut), baked potato and salad bar.

5. Where did he go to high school?
Down the street from his house.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
8 1/2  (That thing about a man with small feet? So not true!)

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Throwing knives.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?!
Ham and cheese with yellow mustard with pickle and chips on the side.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Steak

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Frosted Mini Wheats.

11. What would he never wear?
Anything remotely preppy.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
My man is perfect. He doesn’t watch sports.

13. Who did he vote for?
He won’t tell me.

14. Who is his best friend?

ME!!!    (Or Tom A.)

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
Do too much and then bitch about how I hurt myself.

16. What is his heritage?
European mutt….Scotch, Irish and French

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Chocolate with chocolate chips and 3 inches of chocolate frosting.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Not really.

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Sleeping. Flipping channels. Playing solitaire on the computer.

20. What is one unique talent he has?
Heh, heh….I can’t tell you that!  The second thing is that he is very good at his job (electrician) and he truly loves his job.

I had been putting off getting my hair cut. I truly needed it. I had split ends from here to eternity, so I asked my Hubs to trim it. I couldn’t find the scissors. When I did find them, I was sober so Hubs didn’t get to do it. But one afternoon, I let Lostmahead do it. It wasn’t perfectly straight but it was trimmed.

Then Babygirl decided to get her hair cut and she made an appointment for me at the same time. I met her at the salon and she went first. Of course she looked cute. Her waves went the way they were supposed to. It was soft, it was shiny. Then it was my turn. I wanted my hair to frame my face. I wanted it to be three inches shorter. But I didn’t want my cowlick to show. Deb did a great job.There was no sign of cowlick anywhere. It came out better than I had imagined it. I was so super happy! I felt sexy!

Then I went outside and began the walk home.

The wind blew directly into my face. My bangs blew straight up and back. It like the scene in “Something About Mary”. The cowlick was there–front and center! All of my soft waves were gone. I got home and tried to run a brush through my hair. The static made it even worse. It looks nothing like it did earlier.

It never does. What’s up with that shit?

I turned my brush in the same direction Deb did! I flipped the sides in the same direction that she did too. I moussed. I sprayed.

It still doesn’t look the same.

But I still like it.

Wanna hear about my Saturday? Of course you do. You have been watching your RSS feed to see when I put up this post. You have been on the edge of your seat waiting.

Okay, I know you weren’t. Just humor me.

I got my hair cut yesterday afternoon. Things went great. Things went amiss. I’ll bitch about that tomorrow. But I did that.

I was on Facebook (Have you noticed that I spend alot of time there? Yes I do. It’s sad.) I was invited to join a game called “Yoville”. I noticed that more than a few friends are there. I have also noticed that these “role playing” games are very popular. There are games with animals, mobsters, monsters, etc. So I decided to try it out too. How hard could it be?

I created my person. I dressed her up and named her. Then I went into my room and learned how to move a chair. Before I could finish furnishing my room, I ended up going out the door. Wonder of Wonders! I saw my friends! They have rooms with their pictures on the doors. I can visit! I can interact! I can learn how to have a party or throw a snowball! I’ll just take my time and learn this stuff by taking baby steps.

But NOOO!

I was hit in the head by a snowball by Sheila. I hit her back, but before I could get another ball, she hit me again….and again….and again. I started to cry. She began evil laughter. I ran outside as fast as I could!

Now there were many more people. I saw someone selling towels for five coins. But she charged fifteen! She was a cheat!! A CHEAT!  In innocent Yoville! Yes, I did that. I joined but didn’t stay long.

I’ll have to learn some other way. This was too much for me. I logged out and decided to kick back and relax. I put away the laptop so that I could put on my pj’s, drink my drink, and watch some television.

I stood to go change my clothes…..and spilled my drink. Grape juice and vodka spilled across my beige carpet! Oh shit! I started to giggle. This was just an absurd cherry on top of my day. I went to get something to clean it up….and stepped in it….in my WHITE socks.

And I gave in. I LAUGHED. I laughed all alone in my living room. I laughed until tears ran down my face.

I laughed until I peed my pants. 

Yep. I did that too.

Having nothing to do can be wonderful, glorious even. After a week of being at the beck and call of a tyrannical boss, a sick kid, or a demanding mother, nothing looks pretty damn good to some people-even me.

While I was sick this week, I liked nothing. I had no responsibilities that needed me so I watched whatever I wanted on TV. I played around on the computer, I read a book, I colored with crayons, and I napped. Thursday, I got another needle (it was great!!!) I felt so good that I cooked and folded laundry. I felt like a new woman on Friday, no longer sick or in pain so I cleaned and straightened up things.

But Friday night was no picnic. At 6pm I knew I was in trouble. The family ordered some food, so I didn’t cook and I had no kitchen clean-up. I watched a movie on pay-per-view. I played solitaire on the laptop. By 8 I was mixing margeritas. Hubs decided he was tired and he went to bed.

Guess what was on tv? NOTHING.

Guess who was home? NO ONE.

Guess who was hanging out on facebook? NOT A SOUL!

My downstairs contains my bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen and den. Any of those rooms contain putzing opportunities. But since Hubs was in the bedroom, all of the putzing would have woken him. Besides, I was drinking and I tend to get noisier.

So I watched a scary movie that wasn’t scary. Then I TP’d Teri’s Facebook wall.

Finally, I shaved my pussy and went to bed.

I can’t be trusted when I’m bored.

On this journey I have taken thee

The trip unfinished, you have forsaken me.

Oh, Muse, I need your inspiration

if I am to reach my destination.

A thought, an image in my head

though power of language is all but dead.

Can I share it? Can I explain?

My mind similar to a clogged drain.

I’ve heard it called a “writer’s block”

When one’s words are hidden under lock.

It happens to the best of us

When the Muse has left us thus.

Today I’m just too fucking lazy to bother.

You may go about your day without me.

I recently got an award from Miss Amber. Apparently, she feels like she could count on me to help dispose of the bodies. And you know what? I probably would too!

This is a great opportunity to thank the bloggers that I consider to be great friends. In the words of Ozzie Osbourne, ” I love you all, but you’re all fucking mad!”

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Award up to ten other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

The first award will go to my friend Teri. I was so sick and I put this message on Facebook:

Chris is dying….i just know it….farewell, my friends…..

Right away, I got this response:

Teri at 9:27am February 17

*sobbing* NO, don’t go…..what will I do without you………*hysterical sobbing*

She also says things like this:

Teri at 2:31pm February 15

I heard on the streets that you’re a skanky ho. But I didn’t believe it so I popped him between the eyes and he will be telling no more tales.

See what I mean? Teri, you are my #1, go-to girl!

Other recipients, who are equally important to me are:

Whall- Without you, I’d be nowhere….literally.

Sam-I can send you a message making fun of your pain and you laugh.

Robin- Because after much deep thought, she has epiphanies like “At least now I know I can do whatever I want for the rest of my life, if I’m already going to hell”. (This means she’d most likely help  me do something illegal!)

Trukindog-Any man who can love a dog like a child is A-okay with me!

HoosierGirl-Even though she is new to the madness of this blog, she has proven to be a good sport and that is important if you want to hang with me!

And finally, BlondeBlogger-For reasons to numerous to count-both public and private.