How many Hilton's does it take to change a light bulb??

A comment my mom made on my last post got me to thinking.  She complimented me on my adaptability skills.  I am good at adapting...it's one of my strengths...I can handle changes and do what needs to be done and usually, happily. It's also one of my weaknesses...it's kept me in hard/bad/annoying situations that I could have changed for the better instead of just dealing with.

Here's an example:  I did my hair in the dark this morning.  Why??  Because all of the light bulbs were burned out in my bathroom.  I was in such a hurry, I just kept doing my hair and make-up in the dark. It did occur to me that it would only take a few minutes to change the light bulbs, but instead, I just lived with darkness.  I started looking around my house and noticed many lights burned out. In Teylor's room (who, bless her heart, is JUST like her mom) she has a head lamp duct taped to her light because her bulbs are burned out. How long has she been living in the dark?? Who knows??

That's just one (silly) example to the long list.  SO...for the 39th year of my life I am going to work on being more of a problem solver than a problem adapter.  This is going to take courage and bravery on my part. It means I'm going to have to speak up and have an actual OPINION about my life.

AND I'm changing all of the light bulbs today after work.  ALL of them :)

This is my theme song for this goal...  LOVE it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4

First Day of School 2013

"So kids... how do you feel about starting school today??" 

These pics show my kids personalities pretty perfectly...

 

That look says it all...

Sophomore in High School

I'm SOOO excited! :)

7th Grade in Middle School

A little nervous...

5th Grade in Elementary School

Yes, I have 3 kids in 3 different schools.  Don't ask me how I'm going to make it all work, because I have no idea.  I'm just happy they aren't home all day anymore :)

100th Post

Now that I'm a single gal, I have some new and interesting experiences that really should be shared.  I won't give too many details to protect the innocent (or in this case..the idiotic).

Online dating is AWFUL.  Anyone who has experienced it knows what I'm talking about.  I have a wonderful friend who encouraged me to give on-line dating a serious effort for 30 days and then he apologized in advance for all of the crap I would endure through it all. Here is my first experience in my 30 day adventure:

I can't even remember his profile...but I must have thought he was okay.  We started messaging, which turned to texting, which turned to a phone call or two, which turned to meeting.  That is the way it normally goes. We chose to meet at an ice cream place...it's safe and in case things are horrible...quick. When I walked in and saw him sitting there, my heart sank.  Not because he looked bad, I just didn't want to meet anyone new.  I didn't want to be with him at all. Am I ready for this 30 day experiment?? Hmm...

He was really tall - like 6'5" and hugging him was awkward.  Now I know...no one over 6'3" and no one under 5'8".  My list is getting more narrow...  He wasn't bad looking, but had a big soul patch that was a bit off center...to the left. I wanted to point out that he was 45 years old and the soul patch wasn't working out but I didn't.

First thing he did was look me up and down. Sometimes that can be flattering, but not by him.  It was creepy.  He started telling me how great I looked and was standing SO close to me.  He was very touchy... my arm, my back, my LEG. Yikes.  He was making me very uncomfortable.  We got some yogurt and had a seat to talk.  He started telling me about his ex-wife in a very negative way (ANOTHER RED FLAG) and telling me how she was just gone one day out of the blue. "Took the kids and left..." ummm...that sounds like an abusive situation to me. Then he actually said, "Jaime, I would never hurt you.  I'm not that kind of guy." The fact that he specified that in the first 10 minutes of our first date, made me believe that he just might be that kind of guy.  Who knows...  Anyway, I suggested that we take a walk because the talking was drawing too much attention from other customers and I was beyond uncomfortable.  So, we started strolling around outside where he tried to HOLD MY HAND.  Okay, not such a big deal, but I was not feeling it.  I automatically pulled my hand away.  His response was, "you don't want to hold hands?? Okay, but maybe it would be nice to walk and hold hands..."  I folded my arms. He thought that was funny...

Our conversation turned to relationship needs/wants. He started saying stuff like, "So, if we get MARRIED would you want to have more kids?" and "if we date and you don't like this soul patch...I would shave it off for you...I'm not attached to it."  All this stuff about our future dating and possible marriage. How did I respond to these questions??  Oh my patented nervous laughter and non-committal nodding of the head.  I always respond too late...it takes me a minute to process and he was not giving me a minute :)

At one point in this one sided conversation, he said my name. I looked up at him to see him coming towards me for our first kiss.  Wait...WHAT??  My response surprised me because it was so rude (I guess I can respond correctly when forced).  I said, "Dude.  Don't kiss me right now."  He said, "why not?  If we're going to start dating, we're going to kiss at some point.  Why not now?  Why not have some fun...you might even enjoy it."  EWWWWWW!!!  I said, "well, we've known each other for 5 minutes...I'm not ready for any kissing.  And your soul patch is getting more atrocious every minute." (okay I didn't say that last part, but that's what I was thinking...).  It didn't even phase him...he just kept on talking and touching me.  I made an excuse that I needed to get back to work and that the date was over.  He offered to walk me back to the office... I told him I like to keep business and personal lives separate and that I didn't want to answer any questions from my co-workers... again, he was not phased by that.  So, he said he'd walk me to the elevators. Alrighty, two more minutes with this guy... no harm, right?  Well, on the escalator, he chose to stand one step down from me so our faces were more on the same level,  he then put his arm tightly around my waist and came in for a very fast kiss, before I could even think of rejecting him. And then he smugly smiled at me like he was such a STUD. I pictured myself kneeing him in the crotch, grabbing his hair and breaking his nose with the same said knee. But, we were in a public place, I was in a skirt AND I have slow reactions.   What a moron (him, not me).

I was very clear that I was NOT interested in ever seeing him again after that.  He was shocked.

The next morning he texted me and said, "Just one question... why did you act so interested if you weren't?" AHHHH!!  I didn't respond, because he was just trying to goad me into a verbal battle.  I wanted to say, "I was being kind, you idiot."  What would you say??

Oh well, another one bites the dust.

Just Another Manic Monday

Hello blogging world.  I have been reading this old blog lately... it makes me want to keep writing about my kids, experiences and well, life.  The stories here make me smile.  The past 2 years have been crap.  Really. Just a lot of crap; mixed with learning, new appreciation and lots of wrinkles.

I need some reminders of the funny and sweet things that happen everyday.  Here is one that makes me laugh every time I think about it...

A few weeks ago, me and the kids were driving somewhere (we are often in the car)... and the song "Just Another Manic Monday" came on.  I LOVE THE SONG!!  All I could hear was "Mom, PLEASE turn the station."  and "WHAT is this song??" and "Do we have to listen to this?"...  they just don't appreciate excellent music.  So, being the kind and loving mother I am, I decided to sing a little louder.  Now, if you all remember, there is a little bit of an inappropriate part to the song.  I remembered it as I was singing at the top of my lungs and looked over at Jess and said, "OOOOH! This is my favorite part!!"  Then I sang (in my best bedroom voice) "He said in his bedroom voice...come on honey, let's go make some noise!"  Jess rolled her eyes at me as I was laughing at myself (someone has to do it!) when I overheard Teylor say, "What did he say??"  And Kobe said, super matter of fact, "Come on honey, let's go make some s'mores."

Oh man, makes my side hurt just thinking about it.