I am a terrible blogger

I skipped a whole year! It was a busy year after all. My BF moved in with us, and after 7 months we are very happy. My waistline has expanded beyond all hope, but besides that I am thrilled.

I took a college course in the Fall, finished it and got an A. I also finally transferred all my previous credits and enrolled in three more classes for the Spring. I amazed myself!!

David just moved up here and he enrolled in classes as well. Meg is in Humanities this year, broke up with her BF and is looking at new boys. Thank goodness.

Bella is very happy to have a Dad in her life. She even told me that it was her turn to have a Dad, thank you very much!!

It's been the year of Facebook. Posting pictures as a pictoral diary. I really like this as my memory has not improved as much over the last year. I'd like to remember my life and not just experience it! LOL

EJF and I have been looking for places to settle down once M graduates from High School next year. College, other states, property tax, retirement. Wow, I am finally starting to feel like an adult........

I am an Imperfect Person

Some days I don't even try very hard to not be
Now, isn't that a hoot!

But this morning I have a cat that is staring at me, urging me to pet her.
I guess that's good, right?

I was looking at my Facebook square that says too write something about myself.
I had NO idea what to write. I was pre-judging all the thoughts that came to my head.
I really may just be an empty vessel.
Maybe I always was.
Nothing to fill it with after all.

(The cat is still waiting)

I am Julia cooking a roast today.
I figured I would share it with my Dad and Mimi as they get home from Hawaii today.
I really enjoyed going to the market to buy the produce for the recipe.
I think it will be fun to make it.

I am still a little tired
It's early
So back to bed for me
Cooking later.

Whew, I made it to Wednesday

I started, or rather, re-started my calender, and I made it almost totally on track to Wed! Yippee! And...

I got the pad for the ironing board.
I am too full from dinner, and exhausted from the day to actually press anything. It's just B and I for dinner tomorrow, so I might have sandwiches early and start on the ironing and folding tomorrow.

I am trying not to rag on M for doing her homework, but it's tough. I am so thankful too have the support of EJF (BF). He is pretty amazing. I even had him do the "gossip tour: in town today. And..... I got another emerald ring. Total surprise, but I just love it.

I have not done any sit-ups, but I have taken care of myself pretty well this week, as well as the ones I love.

Ooops... I missed a day

Thank goodness it was only a blog!
Only joking, although it seems as if everybody around me is so fertile, and I am just growing older. I am so thankful I had my children at a young age, even if I wasn't always the most patient Mother.

My find at the Goodwill yesterday was a professional or Euro style ironing board. It is wide, and sturdy and was only $8. I was so excited bringing it home, but it has been touch finding a pad that fits it. I will not give in though, as my laundry is still sitting in baskets waiting for the new board! Ahhhhh

I have decided to start reading more.
Being up to be before 11 and NOT turning on the tv.
I used to read a lot
It could have something to do with the terrible headaches I get from reading, but my glasses do not seem to make it all better. Maybe I'll go blind. At least my head will stop hurting!

The house is heady with the aroma of paperwhites tonight, and I can't seem to eat enough food. Maybe I will be fertile too. NOT

Ok, back to the dishes that await me. Nothing grand today. No new ideas, just an appreciation of pressing.

Re-Organization

Ok so I have been a more or less, stay home Mom now for almost 20 years.
Wow, when I write it down I feel like I should be much better at this then I am.

There have been some breaks.
Recruiting, life insurance sales
Running a bar (that was during the dark time)

But, at the core of my life was home-making

And.... I am still not excellent at it.

I am back to it now, with a renewed vigor and hope.
I finally have a man that appreciates my efforts as well as being able to afford them. He also understands that I should not be given large sums of money at a time as I am known to make a late night McDonald's run, or needing to have that purse etc.


"Hello, My name is _________ and I am TERRIBLE with money"

Back to the homemaking.

I am scraping the residue of knowledge that I spent 20 years acquiring and reorganizing my life, starting of course with the lists!

I have calendered when I do what (lest I forget what day is "cleaning day"), purchased a new Julia Child cookbook (a simple one that turns out to be a first edition from a used book store. SCORE!)and I am currently looking for menu software. A feeling of de-ja-vu is taking over, so that must be good, right. Getting back on the horse and all.

The tricky part here is my boyfriend. There are lots of tricky parts to this relationship, least of which is the fact that I only see him really M-F from 8-12. (Please people, don't ask stupid questions) So, the things that I would normally do during those time slots has been shifted to others. For instance, laundry. I would start on a Sunday night and then do all day Monday. Except...... I don't have those four hours. Housecleaning... I would normally spend all day Thursday doing, but I am short hours.

Now..... to normal people these problems would not be insurmountable, but I do have slight OCD issues.

A thoughtful person might say "Why not just do it all on the weekend"
Good Point! I should. Except for the fact that I am trying to prepare my household etc. for the day said Boyfriend moves in. He will, in fact, establish himself as head of this household Gosh Darnit, and I want it to be ready for him.

(Craaaaazy)

So today I am struggling with Re-Org issues. Reading my cookbook, planning my menus, and wondering how in the hell does somebody spend $150 in three days while only putting $20 in the tank. Geesh.......

Day 2 -- Worked Out Today!

Was much easier then Day 1
I was excited to get up and blog, but about what?

Coffee -- Check
List -- Check

Ok, so for the list part. I enjoy making lists. I am not as great as keeping up with them, but I am learning (after 40 years) that I enjoy Order. Intensely. On the verge of OCD My favorite saying seems to be The Cookie Won.

Have you read the book "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie". If not, you should. It would explain the list. I either begin something and then become so focused on finishing it thoroughly that it takes me twice as long. Or, the thought of all the tasks that need to be done to finish so overwhelms me that I am paralyzed.

So back to the lists. I need to have the days of the week sorted for order.

I also have a terrible memory, so the order helps me to remember that I have been doing what I should be doing. In the past this has served me well. I used to berate myself when I missed a day, my calender getting screwed up, but (see 40 years) I think I am ok to let stuff go without flushing the whole system as well as being able to forgive myself. Make sense?

Today I am picking up my daughter from her visit with her Father, head too the mall and my boyfriend will be over this morning, so shower after cat pans. (They stink)(Listing now)

So..... I think that maybe I will blog to make myself do fun things. Even if I just use the blog to LIST the things I do. I am always putting off fun things, and these past few months I have started doing fun things with my kids. Now that the holidays are over, I am certain that the temptation to hermitize will be great, so if I blog, I will have somebody to show off to.

I can be a deadly dull person. I will try to not be one this year!

A New Year, A New Decade..... Thank Goodness

Don't get me wrong, it's not like the last decade totally sucked, just mostly sucked. The sum total accomplishments would be:

1. One dead husband (no pity party please, my brain hurts as is)

2. One divorced husband (thanks mainly to above reference)

3. Three children who haven't caused irreparable damage to themselves, and since two of them are teenagers, I would have to put this into the list of MAJOR accomplishments.

4. A close friendship with spellcheck (my brain is slow thanks to accomplishment #1.)

5. I make coffee! This seems like a small one, but it's taken me 40 years now to make a decent pot of coffee. I just finally got too broke to keep buying it. Huge motivation!

6. I have 4 cats. Enough said

7. I own a car and I have beautiful things placed in a rented home. They make me happy.

8. I am happy. But... I am a little crazy still (see #1) so I am not yet certain if this happy is "real". Is it fleeting? Will I look back in three years and wonder how I could have still been so crazy as to think I was happy? Does it really matter anyway, as long as I am happy RIGHT NOW, and I am not hurting anybody?

9. I stopped drinking so much. (REF #1) No AA, just dragging my head out of pained arse.

10. I am cooking, again. It's not great yet, but then again it never really was, I just used to not burn stuff ALL the time. I am going to learn how to really cook though.

What do I want to do in the next year?

Nothing.

I just want to stop being so timid that I am afraid to do anything.

When I think of something I want to do, I shall write it down and not be too afraid to commit to it. Like the cooking. I am going to look for a cookbook. I just saw the Julia Child movie (now you can reference my title. I am behind on lots of things. For instance, I never really knew who she was at all. I'm not a total idiot, I knew the name, but not the person. I loved the movie, I loved that she couldn't cook till later in life, and I love the fact that she screwed up a lot, learned and got better. I screw up. A lot.)

As soon as I figure out how private this really is, I will post more. On to breakfast and COFFEE! I love coffee!