Of Course I Hear Voices: I Own Parrots

Last Thursday night, I just about reached the end of my rope. The nine year old had already been rude to me (and shown zero remorse and didn't apologize...and this is a reoccurring issue that we have talked with her about heavily), and then I heard her smart off to her father. I wanted to pick her up off the floor, sit her on her bed and tell her exactly what I was thinking. Somehow, I was able to walk away, and get my filter (you know that censoring filter you use before you speak...or that you *should* use before you speak) back in place. Maybe I didn't want to scare her to death. Part of me regrets not just committing to it. I told her the censored/filtered version of what I was thinking, but she didn't seem to care. Maybe the shock factor would have been what it needed to get through to her. The girls are generally well behaved. We are lucky in that regard. However, we still have some areas that need some attention. There are some things they do, and no matter how muc...

As of just before midnight last night, we had officially made it through the first year of our relationship. It hasn't been rainbows and butterflies (or even unicorns), but it has been everything I hoped it would be. It is hard to imagine I spent years looking for this happiness I wasn't even sure I deserved. I wanted someone who got me (and all of my quirkiness...and nine birds), and truly loved me.  I did eventually find it. It just took me a while to get all the pieces in place. Mark and I met a little over  three years ago at a karaoke contest. He was a contestant. I was the judge and the photographer.  We were at first just acquaintances, but over the next year or so we became friends. About a year and a half ago we we started talking more. We were still just friends, but we were talking back and forth on Twitter. When Mom died, many people said they would always be there for me. Surprisingly he was one of the friends that stuck around once the worst ...

When I was a kid (many Halloweens ago), kids costumes were pretty basic.  Most were basically painted trashbags or mini tarps paired with masks. It was either that or some kind of a a "kit" costume, or one Mom helped us put together with things we already had, and maybe some help from a make up kit. Or at least that is how I remember it. If your mom could sew, you may have something cooler, but our mom wasn't exactly a seamstress. This year was the first year I had to help kids pick our Halloween costumes. Their mom was making costumes for actual Halloween (they have a ":family theme" every year), but the girls needed costumes for Autumn Camping Weekend and Zoo Boo with us too. I researched some Halloween costume sites, found the one that was running the best promotion, and I sat down with each girl and the laptop. Each girl had a price limit for their costume. The six year old didn't know what she wanted to be, so we just started looking at kids costu...

I know this may be a little late for some of us, but if you are still working on a costume for this weekend here are some tips for saving $ on your costume: 1) Shop around for promo codes. Even today there are stores that are taking 25% off their prices and giving 2 day shipping for around $10. Check out retailmenot.com for options. 2) Recycle: What do you already have? Yes the costume is shown with a red petticoat, but will the black one you have work? What shoes and stockings do you have from years past? Always try things on to ensure they still fit (this year I had to buy new stockings as mine were now too big). 3) Borrow from the kids: What are you kids being for Halloween? can you borrow props and accessories from their costumes. Of course this will not work for a family party, but if your party is on a seperate night you can always share. (This year his 6 year old daughter's skeleton bride costume created claws for Mark, hair extensions for me, and flowers for my g...

Every year, I love and dread picking out my Halloween costume. Of course the first step is picking out *what* I want to be. This year it was easy. I didn't get a costume last year because of Adam and Kelsey's wedding falling on the weekend of all the parties. Still, I picked my character, and I have been looking forward to it for a year. Little Red Riding Hood it is...and my boyfriend has been decided to play along and go the  couples costume route. It is going to be awesome. Then it is the sorting through all the options and finding a costume that is cute, but not too...ummmm skanky. Once I have been successful, then it is on to accessorizing the costume (hair extensions, props, gloves, hosiery). This girl needs a longer skirt than most cute costumes offer and low cut is acceptable, but there are limits. Then there is picking the right size. This year I ordered a size up figuring I would rather have to take it in than be spilling out in all the wrong places. I have h...

Let me start with: I love Halloween, and I think we should celebrate it fully before even jumping on the Christmas bandwagon. However, that being said, this is the first year I started shopping early. Mainly this is because of Groupon and Living Social. I figure if I have found the perfect gift, and I can get it for a steal, why not? I suggest Smarmyclothes.com this early only because it takes her some time to custom make items. It is well worth the wait. I had a custom made Alice in Wonderland top made (picture pending) a few months ago, and I love it. I even had her make it longer for me and 3/4 sleeves, and it is perfect. She makes unique items that may be perfect for some of the quirkier people on your Christmas list. :-) More to come soon.

When Mark and I moved in together, I was a little overwhelmed. Both girls were playing softball, so he was never home. I didn't get off work in time to go to their games, and even if I did, someone still had to do the work around the house. When the girls were there, he would play with the girls while I would clean. It was overwhelming and frustrating. Six trips up the stairs with groceries killed my back and shoulders. The time alone was slow and boring. I never knew when to start dinner, because I never knew when he would be headed home. I was happy because I finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be. At the same time I was miserable because I was stuck with all the work and left on my own. Eventually, things started working out. I started getting more help around the house. I even pushed to get my schedule changed so we had more hours together to get things done, and so I could go to some of the girls games. It was all looking up. Then we hit a speed bump. ...

As many of you know, up until May I had been living on my own for nearly 10 years. That means I didn't really cook. I typically didn't have a reason to deep clean, and I of course did not have kids to contend with. I had quite a bit of catching up to do. That is the inspiration for the next mini series: Lessons Learned. I don't have a mom to call when I don't know what to do, but thankfully I friends, Google, and the Google play store to help me out. Lesson #1: Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping When Mark and I moved in together, I decided that we were going to start eating healthy. We would have actual home cooked meals. I actually succeeded at that right from the start. Honestly, we have both lost weight since we moved in. Most of that was from just changing our diets and eating habits. Every Sunday we would sit down with all my cookbooks (and some online resources too), and make our menu for the week. From that we would make our grocery list.This worked, bu...

Have you ever had a lesson that had a dual punch. On one hand, you realize something that isn't so much bad but sobering. On the other hand, it shows that you actually learned something from the past and acted on it (with a positive result?) That happened yesterday. The cliche with women is we all become our mothers and we fall in love with someone like our father. You can hope it really isn't true, but I do suspect that it does happen to a certain degree. Yesterday, I realized that Mark is much more like Norm than I ever realized. For the record: He did nothing wrong (put away the baseball bats and pitchforks please). The details aren't as important as the lesson I learned. I had confirmation that we were in a situation that was similar to a part of their relationship I never want to emulate. It was just in the beginning phases and under COMPLETELY different circumstances, but it showed me traits in him that drove me crazy about my dad. On the flip side I showed...

Yes I know it has been a while. Things have been running pretty much non-stop for us. Really, I don't see an end in sight. Things are crazy, and they will just be getting crazier. I have to make time to keep this thing updated. I can do this... Right? Summer: Was over in a flash. So far September has brought us 2 trips to Ohio, and we still have 1 more trip to go. Our first took us to Columbus and COSI where the girls met Adam and Kelsey. The second trip was a road trip for Guster. A 2 day music festival with a side stop a Greek Fest...and we ran into Ryan Miller (lead singer of Guster) at the hotel bar. How cool is that? Last weekend: The Very Jason Weekend. Friday night Jason Mraz. Saturday night Jason Aldean: closing out the Country Mega ticket. Next summer I am hoping we do a better mix of country and rock concerts. This weekend is Earth Fest up in Atlanta and next weekend is a trip to Toledo. Occasionally we get a lazy day to relax, but most days I feel like I am...

I wanted the girls to meet my family I wanted to see my family this summer. I wanted to go to Cedar Point I wanted to do lots of fun day trips I wanted more down time I wanted the opportunity for more me time I wanted to spend time with friends by the pool I wanted to work on my photo editing I wanted to keep up with my blog I wanted just  adult trips to the zoo.  Now the summer is over, and nothing has been checked off this list.  My next 2 months are pretty much booked totally solid. I'm exhausted, and there isn't a break in sight until November. I know I will make it through, but sometimes I feel like I am working all the time, and I have nothing to show for it. I'm sure I have something to show for it, but I just can't figure out what that is.

Dear Dad, I can't believe it has been a year since we said good bye. Watching you go was the second hardest thing I have ever had to do. The first is having to tell you that Mom was gone. I miss you every day, but today is especially hard. I knew you weren't going to be with us forever. I knew how much you missed Mom. I just had hoped we would have more time. It is whirlwind. We went from thinking you would be coming home the next day, to thinking you still had enough fight to pull through, to having to watch you slip away from us. Friday you could still hear me from across the room. I will never know why you chose to hear me and ignore the nurses when we first arrived at Hospice. Saturday I pulled the blanket off your feet and asked if it felt better. You couldn't hear me. I had to walk halfway to you to get a response. That's when my fears were confirmed: you would be gone before the end of the weekend. Sunday I found myself staying with you until Da...

Monday was my birthday. We have the girls this week, so we weren't able to really celebrate it. We had plans to celebrate it Friday, but those plans are now pushed back to Saturday. My expectation was that Mark would treat this like I would have had the roles been reversed. Had we not been able to celebrate on the actual day I would have: Made him his favorite dish for dinner. Made him a cake for the four of us to enjoy together.I would have held on to his gift so we could all be there when he opened it. I would  have had something fun planned for the evening to make up for not getting to really celebrate. I would still want to make the day special for him. I would have done all of this even if he wasn't not happy about having to push the celebration back. My reality was very different. I was woken up (after asking multiple times if he had enough time to take the girls to the sitter and being told no) to shuttle the girls to the sitter instead of being ab...

A culmination of the stress at work (midterms, into the elevator relocation, into finals, to the stress at home (the usual suspects:groceries, cooking, cleaning, bills, birds, kids), standing more than I should and doing physical activities (one activity in particular) I probably shouldn't have, my shoulder injuries from the tornado have flared up at bit. My "good" shoulder is fairing a little better than the bad one. The bad shoulder is in pretty bad shape. It hurts when I drive, do my hair, breathe, try to sleep...it isn't pleasant. Advil migraine reduces the inflammation a bit, but it typically starts wearing off at the end of the work day...and I can only take it once every 24 hours :-( The pain sucks. It is hard to stay on schedule when it hurts to get dressed and get ready for work. It can be distracting...which scares me when I drive. I am hoping that the massage I have scheduled for Saturday will bring me some relief.  Hopefully she will be able to ...

This just in: along with my new found crafty/DIY skills, I have also learned that baking is also in my skill set. Who Knew? Apparently, all I needed was an awesome kitchen and a family to bake for. A couple weeks ago I wanted to make a dessert for a cook out. I was going to make strawberry shortcake, but the logistics were not in my favor. Instead I decided to make a homemade Strawberry pie. I made my own glaze and everything. Amazingly, it was delicious. Also I am happy to report I did *not* inherit Mom's inability to make crusts. At the aforementioned cookout, we were give fresh peaches. Mark said he wanted a peach cobbler. Knowing that Mom sort of sucked at making those types of pastries, and that I had never made one myself made me a little nervous. I found a recipe online and made some small adjustments. The result: It is amazing. It will be made again. I guess the good news is that I am adapting to the domestic life pretty well. The house is clean. Aside from ...

Here are a few things I thought were just common sense: 1) Always read everything carefully. 2) Follow all the directions. 3) When you fail to do items 1 and 2, don't be rude about it. You screwed up. The other person is under no obligation to help you. 4) Addendum to item 3: IF they choose to help you, don't be a jerk. 5) Be aware of your location and surroundings. 6) Do your own paperwork. 7) If you do not do your own paperwork, you still need to know all the required information. 8) Addendum to item 7:  My Mama/girlfriend/sister did it for me is *NOT* a valid excuse for not having/knowing your required information. You are an adult. Act like one. 9) If you aren't responsible enough to do all the work, maybe you aren't ready. 10) If you may be significantly late to work, and you only have 1 phone # for your boss, voice mail is acceptable. However, you will need to keep him/her updated. If you have 3 numbers, call all 3. If you get VM on all three, again t...

Almost a month later, we are still trying to resolve things with Indiana Punch Crew. We filed three complaints: 1) We asked for a refund from Eversave 2) Mark filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau 3) I filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office 1) Eversave could not get us a refund, but gave me an account credit. That is awesome and all, but that means Indiana Punch Crew still has my money for services they never intend to provide. That bothers me. 2) Mark received an e-mail saying that his complaint had been forwarded to Indiana Punch Crew and the BBB was waiting for a response. We have not heard back from the BBB at this time. We are guessing that the forwarded complaint is the reason Indiana Punch Crew has contacted Mark 3 times since June 6. On June 6 (mind you this is the first we had heard from the company at all since the incident), a woman left a voice mail asking Mark to text her the day we wanted for our appointment. Mark responded t...

Every day there is a list of work I should get done after work. Most days, getting it done isn't too hard. I make a list. I stick to it. The apartment stays clean. Laundry gets done. Meals are made. My sanity is kept. Some days, keeping my focus is an uphill battle. Some days the work day has been so rough that I find it hard to care about the list (today is one of those days). On those days, I feel guilty for being a slug. Did the groceries get bought? Yes. Did that mean not getting home until almost 8:00. Yes. Should I feel awful that the vacuum wasn't run or the garbage isn't taken out. Maybe? Yes, it would have been a bitch move to ask my boyfriend who is not feeling well help me hang pictures. Some of it is I wonder if I will have time to get it all done. If it doesn't happen tonight, I have to try to make time for it later in the week. That isn't always possible. Just today on my lunch break I was trying to set up a workout schedule. Since moving in ...

I am: Missing this guy: Glad to be spending it with this guy: And wishing this guy would never have sat on those eggs:

I came home to cookies, dinner, Hello Kitty stickers and these last night: Unexpected gifts can do the heart a world of good.