FaithAndGasoline

First Time Bowling 3/5/11

2011-03-06T15:33:00.000-05:00

I took Gage bowling yesterday for the first time! He really loved it at first. That was until he saw the game room and he didn't want anything to do with bowling anymore.

I Miss Blogging

2011-03-03T23:51:00.000-05:00

I miss blogging. I miss having somewhere to go and just let my fingers carry my thoughts away. I miss the people I met through my many blogs. I miss their stories.

I miss a lot about blogging.

There are many times that I come on here and try to post something but in the end I delete it. Has it been too long? I usually start a new one when this happens but I feel like I still am Faith And Gasoline: Life As A Single Mom.

How do I come back?

Just do it.

Plain and simple.

Hippy Shake

2010-05-04T19:19:00.001-04:00

So, I'm still alive.

I promise.

Good News

2010-03-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

I have some good news, friends.

I have found it.

What have I found you may ask? Do you remember me talking about losing all motivation? Well, I feel very...motivated now.

I have been doing a lot of things that I use to love to do. I feel excited to start the day and come home.

I just feel..great!

Potty Training Success!

2010-02-28T16:06:00.001-05:00

I've waited a few weeks to say that potty training is a success for Gage. I was a little scared to make it official because the last time I did that he refused to continue on and was back in diapers. I think we are over that now. My big boy has been using the potty for about 3 weeks now!

It has been interesting. Its my first time having to deal with potty training(well other than myself but I don't remember that :p ). On top of just potty training in general but potty training a boy! Boy, has it been interesting...

Last night Gage was sitting in my lap. I got really sad that there wasn't a cushy little diaper butt sitting on me anymore. Diaper butts are adorable. He isn't my little baby anymore. It made me think about how big he is now. I can't even believe it.

I'm glad the diapers are done with., though!

Success!

Time Out

2010-02-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days where you wake up and just don't want to get on with the normal routine? For me that would be dropping Gage at daycare and going to school.

I actually feel like that every day :) Who am I kidding?

I REALLY was not feeling it today. So I decided to take the day off and spend it with my little man. It has been quite awhile since we have played hooky.

And let me tell you it felt good to have a time out.

Back to the grind tomorrow!

Wow, I'm Old

2010-02-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday!

I am 24!

Yeehaw.

Vlad

2010-02-18T08:27:00.002-05:00

I happen to not be such a fan of dogs. I can handle little dogs maybe even medium size dogs(or not). I am pretty terrified of bigger type dogs, though. I don't know. It probably has a lot to do with being chased by a pack of stray dogs when I was little. Could be. Who really knows. Not a fan of most dogs. Lets just leave it at that.

So, a friend of mine has this dog. A bigger German Shepherd-y kind of dog. That is nice isn't? Well, no. Actually, it is not nice at all. Weren't you paying attention? Not a fan of dogs.

I know it is not the dogs fault that I am not a big fan of dogs but we are going to call that STRIKE 1 against the dog for just being a dog.

I was spending quite a bit of time at my friends house(who may or may not have a cute boy!) and that also meant I spent quite a bit of time with the dog. I was starting to warm up to the wittle puppy. I would even go as far to say that I was actually starting to like this dog. I rubbed his wittle belly sometimes. I cuddled with him on the couch. etc etc.

That was until...

He ate my earrings! What kind of dog does that? New earrings at that! STRIKE 2

So time went on and the wittly puppy got on my good side again. He should have stayed there. We had a good thing going on. I forgave him about eating my earrings and then...

The little stink ate my shoes! My black flats that I used for school! Ruuuined. STRIKE 3.

I don't know how many strikes it takes for me to just stop thinking that me and this dog will ever get along but I was pretty well there when he ate my shoes.

A few nights ago I was going to visit my friend with the dog and before I went I did a wardrobe check. I had on a black school shirt, old jeans, cute cardigan with lace(I almost took it off), and red shoes. Besides the lacey cardigan I figured the only other thing would be my red shoes. They look yummy to me so I thought the dog might think they were yummy.

I was wrong(which is a good thing). He really didn't think anything I had on was yummy. He thought I was yummy! He kept jumping on me and jumping on me(HELLO! SCARED OF BIG JUMPING DOGS HERE!). I thought he was going to try to eat me! Instead of taking a bite out of me his sharp little puppy nails ripped my black shirt! Can you believe that?

I don't have any luck with that dog. We were just not meant to get along.

me + dogs = not a fan. bad times.

Snow Cream

2010-02-17T08:05:00.002-05:00

What to do when you are really sick and tired of all the snow? Well, we made snow cream! It isn't new. People have been making snow cream for ages but it never gets old! Gage was very excited to make and share his snow cream!

Snow Cream

You will need:

vanilla, sugar, milk and snow

How to:

I don't know if there is a certain amount of each you are really suppose

to put in but this is what we did.

2 caps of vanilla, 2 teaspoons of sugar(although 1 may be fine!), and then

I just poured some milk in until it was smooth when mixed.

Enjoy!

Berry Lovin'

2010-02-16T07:02:00.002-05:00

I am in love...with my blackberry.

This is not new news. I know. You know. We all know I love my Blackberry. I have been through a lot with my BB's. I had to send away my very first one because it decided to break and leave me stranded. I probably cried until I saw my shiny new one in the package. We have been through plenty of drops on the ground(poor thing), 10 million text messages, lots of phone calls, etc etc. Oh, the many miles in life we have through together...

Not only can my beautiful blackberry hold up through all the texts and phone calls I can count on it for many more things. I count on it to keep me entertained when I'm twiddling my little thumbs or to help when I am in a jam. How can my berry do all of this you ask? Well, with a few of my favorite apps is how.

1. MaraTick - It is every list lovers dream. I can make lists all day and its neatly stored on my phone. I can take it anywhere and I don't have to worry about where I put that gosh darn list at.
2. Pandora - I have been a long time user of Pandora. I used it all the time when I was bored phone operator at Home Depot. It kept me entertained with great music then and now it is still doing a wonderful job on my phone!
3. Brick Breaker - So, this actually comes with every blackberry. I find myself whipping out my phone to play this game when I am bored. I even caught myself playing this game while I was driving then I realized that probably isn't safe at all.
4. Facebook - What would life be without a facebook application? It would be mean I couldn't read precious status updates all day long until I got home for the day. Now what fun would that be?
5. Sit Or Squat - This application uses GPS to find your location and find the nearest bathroom for you! How hilarious is that! It gets better. You can grade the toilets that you use. Hilarious, hilarious.

I have a lot more apps on my berry but those are just a few of favorite.

Good For The Soul

2010-02-15T11:53:00.002-05:00

Finger painting is good for the soul.

My Anniversary

2010-02-15T07:56:00.013-05:00

My being single/being-a-single-mom anniversary was in January(I'm not counting May-October when he was screwing with another women and screwing with my head). My Moving-To-Kentucky Anniversary was February 8th. I can't even believe that is has been a whole year. I feel like time has flown by.

A whole year.

I can say a bunch of corny things about finding myself, becoming a new me, surviving and all that jazz but I'm not. All I am going to say is

"You can turn off the sun, but I'm still going to shine."

Jason Mraz

Valentines Day Numero Dos

2010-02-13T18:55:00.000-05:00

This is the 2nd year in a row that I have been single on Valentine's Day. Last year it had only been about 2 weeks since Baby Daddy had called it quits. So, I'm pretty sure I was a basketcase this time last year.

This year? Not such a basketcase.

Just to be safe though I'm locking myself in the house tomorrow so I don't have to see tons of lovey-dovey couples and things that will make me vomit/cry.

:)

15 Days Until...

2010-02-09T02:34:00.000-05:00

15 days until my birthday!

I love when my birthday rolls around. I get really excited. I think I've been counting down since New Years!

Quit Messing With Me

2010-01-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

I get my horoscope sent to me everyday. Along with my horoscope I also have my romance horoscope coming my way, too. Hey, I take all the help I can get it.

My romance horoscope has been way off because there is zero zilch romance going on in the life of Meg. I'm fine with that for now. I don't know think this is a good thing but I could probably corn row the hair on my legs because of it. Like I said in one of my recent posts I am unmotivated and that includes all areas of my life including man-hunting.

Twice in the last week when my romance horoscope arrives in my lovely email there hasn't been anything there except a question mark. Yep, just a big ol' ?. It makes me laugh...out loud.

Yeah, that is exactly how I feel. The romance in my life is a big question mark. I was kind of hoping the wise ol' horoscope writer could be a little more insightful and tell me something I didn't already know!

Books

2010-01-28T18:35:00.000-05:00

One of goals on my 101 goal list is to read 50 books a year. I was thinking about this and that is 4.2 books a month. That is so not happening for me. I mean I COULD read 4 or 5 books a month but I don't have the money to buy that many books and I haven't made my way to the library here yet(I should get on that. I think it is a goal, too!).

I decided that since I'm pretty much not going to read 50 books a year that is still ok. The goal is just to motivate me to read MORE than what I was reading.

So for this year I have read 1 book! It was Brida by Paulo Coelho. I'm all about some romance novels and while this did have a little bit of a romance aspect to it it really wasn't my kind of book. I bought it and read it anyway. It was on sale! It was a very mystical kind of story. Brida embarked on a journey to become a witch. It had a lot to do with the visible and invisible world.

I have to say that I really did enjoy it. I'm not looking to a witch but I think the story showed how Brida was on a journey to discover herself.

I think anyone can relate to that. I know I can.

So, there is 1 book down. I have 3 more in my room waiting to be devoured. I might read them all this weekend since we might be getting a bit of snow!

Unmotivated

2010-01-25T22:33:00.001-05:00

I was thinking about my blog and how I haven't had much desire to write anything as of late. I came to this shocking conclusion that my whole life is like this right now. I have no desire to do anything. I have no motivation what so ever. If I could not get out of my pajamas everyday I would so do it.

Before anyone jumps to any of their own conclusions I'm not depressed. I'm not crying all day in a corner. I'm not going to jump off a bridge or anything. I laugh a lot...daily.

I'm just really unmotivated right now.

I use to love going to school. I was all about some hair. Now I sit in the breakroom all day and hide. That is if I don't leave halfway through the day or take really really long lunches.

I use to love having craft time with Gage and craft time for myself. I'm afraid to open the boxes that contain said craft supplies. I might sneeze to death from all the dust.

I'm going to blame Winter. I think I just work better in the Summer.

I don't really know whats wrong with me but I do know 2 things.
1. I need a fire lit underneath me.
2. I just wrote a complete blog entry! Go me.

2010-01-23T18:57:00.000-05:00

Everytime I try to write something new I end up deleting it after a few lines. I have so much to say but I'm just...tired. I'm tired of thinking and dealing with things.

Christmas

2009-12-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Well, my first Christmas as a single mom is completed.

Amazingly enough I was not at all upset. I didn't feel the least bit depressed. Having a 2 year old who can't sit still doesn't really leave you any time for that!

We had a great Christmas together just the two of us!

Bring on the New Year!

Ouch

2009-12-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

My back went out on me last week. I have been in worst pain(hello labor!) but I am in quite a bit of pain!

If I haven't been on my couch unable to move then I've been struggling to get through a day of school.

Also, my blackberry broke! Can you believe that? I got a new one for free but what a pain in the butt.

So that is where I've been.

I haven't forgotten. I'm not going anywhere this time.

Retirement

2009-11-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today was my Dad's retirement cermony. He has been in the Army for 28 years! He doesn't actually get out of the Army until February but he doesn't have to go to work anymore! My family is so proud of him and everything he has done in his career. Congrats, Dad.

I got to walk on stage with him in front of a room full of people. I'm going to have to admit I was pretty scared! I got a neat American flag pin and an Army coin.

Today was a day we won't ever forget and it was a very good day.

Broken Table

2009-11-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

Why do things always go wrong when your parents/SO/whatever are out of town? My parents were out of town on Saturday night. They went to Nashville to watch a little hockey and be free from me and Gage.

Anyway, me and the little man had a great day alone together. We were out and about all day. We came home with McDonalds in hand to eat. I gave Gage his toy from the kids meal. It happens to be a nerf gun type of thing. One of the the little things shot under the couch.

Naturally, I bend down to find it and when I came up I put my hand on the coffee table to pull myself up. WRONG CHOICE! The coffee table broke in half. The top part went flying. I don't know how I got to my feet but the top part landed on my foot(ouch!). The McDonalds food and drinks went flying all over the beige rug. Horrible, horrible mess and a broken ANTIQUE coffee table.

My parents came home today and the first thing Gage said was "PAPA, MY MOMMY BROKE THE TABLE! PAPA, MY MOMMY BROKE THE TABLE!".

He is such a tattle tale.

Bloggers And Tiaras : Mission 3

2009-11-19T07:27:00.001-05:00

The Bloggers and Tiaras is still going on. I am still on my way to win that title. Yeah, probably not going to win but it is still fun. For mission #3 the contestants had to show what their talent was. It could be funny or not funny. Just whatever.

I was stumped. Should I sing for all bloggy world? No, I think I covered that in the last post. Should I...yeah really I couldn't think of anything else.

So, I just went with what I know. That is hair.

So I present me for the first time on video here and not only that but me cutting Gage's hair. It is a talent because he is 2 and can't sit still. In the video though he acted like an angel for the most part. I am training him well. Unfortunately, my battery on my camera died during the haircut so you don't get to see from start to finish. It is still a pretty long video. Enjoy!

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This post is the third mission of the Bloggers and Tiaras at Momdot.com. You can help decide who wins by voting at the People's Choice Award! So get over there and vote for me if you haven't already!

Karaoke

2009-11-18T00:34:00.000-05:00

One of my goals on my 101 in 1001 days list is to sing karaoke.

Do you ever have something that you want to do really bad but are really scared to do it? Or if the opportunity arises you can make a million excuses to get out of it? Whatever the reason may be you just don't do it. EVER.

Yeah, that is me and doing karaoke.

If anyone knows me they know that I love to sing. I will sing your ear off. In the car, on the phone, at school it doesn't matter you will usually find me singing along to something if there is music playing or sometimes there won't be. For some reason getting up and singing in front of a room full of strangers scares me to death!

There really isn't a whole to do around where I live so if I'm out and about I usually find myself somewhere where there is karaoke going on. I love listening to bad karaoke. Listening to good karaoke is alright, too. The bad stuff is the best. Anyway, I'm around it a lot it seems like. There is my opportunity. Can't do it.

One day, though, one day.

Going On Dates

2009-11-16T21:41:00.001-05:00

I don't really have too much to say on the subject of going on dates except that...

I REALLY SUCK AT THEM!

I'm a little rusty. It might take awhile to get use to going on dates.

But in case you were all curious I have been on 3 dates(with 3 different guys. Go Me!) just in the last week or so. Some were disappointing, some were not, some just proved my point even further that men just suck.

The good thing is I'm having quite a bit of fun and I'm getting out of the house. I've lived here since February and I feel like I've been trapped inside this entire time. So even if I suck at dates and kind of rather not go on any atleast it got me to leave my comfort zone. I might retreat back to it soon. I can't promise I'll do this dating thing much longer. I did give it a shot, though.

My Christmas List

2009-11-15T20:34:00.002-05:00

I saw Stephanie do this and decided that I must do it, too. It is a nice reminder to enjoy the little things in life especially during a holiday that can get quite crazy.

Here is my Christmas List

Make It Stop

2009-11-13T01:02:00.000-05:00

I have been so tired lately. I just want to sleep...for days. I don't want to wake up to a loud alarm clock tomorrow or the next day. I just want to sleep peacefully for however long I want and then get up and start my day.

Being a grown up can really suck sometimes.

I'm in dire need of a lazy day. I don't need a week long vacation. I will just take one day of sleeping in.

Of course, as I'm typing this its 1am. I should probably just start going to bed earlier so I won't be so tired when that annoying alarm clocks goes off.

Bloggers And Tiaras : Mission 1

2009-11-10T21:25:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of times where I just don't feel beautiful. I don't have anyone to come home to and hear "Hey beautiful" on the days when I don't feel that beautiful. Some days I am so busy doing other peoples hair that my own hair is messy looking. I need to lose about 15 pounds. Sometimes I'm so tired I have bags and dark circles under my eyes. I could go on and on but I'm not here to beat myself up. I'm not even complaining about it.

My life revolves around a 2 year old who wants to do nothing more than paint with every single color. It gets in my already messy hair. We play with play-doh and it never fails I have it under my fingernails. We bake cakes together and I get batter down the front of clothes every single time. When we see mud puddles there is no question about it we are going to jump in them. We make sand castles in the sandbox. I'm shaking sand off of me for hours. I dive in and play with my son. We get messy on the daily. We have a great time doing it, too.

I once read that beauty is in the heart of the beholder not in the eye of the beholder and I know that is very true. No matter how unattractive and messy I look when my son looks at me with those big blue eyes I know that he thinks I am the most beautiful person in the world.

I know that being a single mom I might not be able to give my son everything in the world. What I can give him is time, attention, and lots of love. Giving him those things I know that I will always be beautiful in his heart. I wouldn't trade it for all the manicures, pedicures, and nice clean clothes in the world.

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This post is the first mission of the Bloggers and Tiaras at Momdot.com. You can help decide who wins by voting at the People's Choice Award! So get over there and vote for me!

BooBoos need cookies

2009-11-08T21:28:00.001-05:00

Gage: Mommmy, I have a booboo.
Me: Where, sweetie?
Gage: Down here (He is pointing to his foot)
Me: Well, let me kiss it better
Gage: I need snack to make feel better.
Me: What do you want for a snack?
Gage: I need HOT COOKIES to feel better.

He knows how to work it.

101 Goals Update

2009-11-05T07:08:00.000-05:00

Wondering how I am doing on my 101 Goals in 1001 days? I'm still truckin' along with them. I have actually completed 18 goals. Go me!

The last one I completed was:

43. Successfully transition Gage from my bed to his

This was a goal I was stressing about and wanted it done badly. Or so I thought. Gage has been out of my room and his own bed. It really wasn't that difficult of a task for him for the most part. He still wants me to come in there when he goes to bed but I tell him that mommy doesn't go to bed when Gage does. Other than that there is no battle. He doesn't usually(although there has been a few times) that he climbs down and starts playing with his toys or comes out to where I am in the house.

The difficult part of the task actually has been...me. I have no problem putting him to bed in his own room. I mean he went to bed in my room alone most of the time, anyway. The problem for me is when it is time for me to go to bed I have to fight with myself not to go in his room and curl up next to him. I have done it a few times. I don't know. I think nights are the hardest for me. Its my thinking time which usually leads me feelin' blue. I just want to be close(not like weirdo close) to the person I know who will always love me.

But I can cross it off my list because he isn't in my bed anymore!

Bloggers And Tiaras

2009-11-04T21:18:00.001-05:00

Momdot.com is hosting a fun little contest! It is the First Annual Bloggers and Tiara’s Blogger Pageant. It is from Nov 9th-Nov 20th. So, I decided I would jump on in there because...I want to be Super Ultimate Grand Supreme Coolest Blogger in the Universe. That is the top title. How cool is that?

The Entry
1) Name, BlogName, Twitter: My name is Meg. My blog name is Faith&Gasoline. I do not do the twitter thing. I hope that doesn't count against me!

2) Have you ever entered a pageant before? That would be a no.
3) Do you have any special talents we can look forward too? Lets see...I'm not too bad at singing.
4) Name your top 5 favorite sites to visit on the net..no, you do not get brownie points for putting momdot. facebook, bing, blogger, google
5) What is your favorite thing to do when you are not blogging? Hangin' out with my little man!
6) Whats your dream vacation? DISNEY! I've never been before. That is really the only place I have my eyes on.
7) What blogger do you look up the most too? mssinglemama because she writes about things that I can relate to and she keeps it real.
8 ) If you could be on the cover of any magazine, which would you chose and why? I would pick People because it is really the only magazine that I read.
9) Tell the truth…you want a tiara, don’t you? Duh!
10) What is your definition of blogger success? A blog that is honest real and filled with personality and insight. No matter how big or small.

I'll miss you, Dr. Pepper

2009-11-03T17:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Dr. Pepper,

For years I have been consuming you. You have always been my go to drink. I love you, Dr. Pepper. My addiction to you has gotten to the extreme that instead of drinking something normal in the morning like milk or orange juice I have started drinking a can of your delicious beverage on my way to school. I don't know if you are aware of this, Dr. Pepper, but there are fan clubs and a group called I Love Dr. Pepper Anonymous. Yes, I find it a little weird and thankfully I'm not that retarded for you. However, since I don't want to get that way with you I am going to have to break up with you for good. I will miss you but I know this is for the best.

Love always,
Former Dr. Pepper Addict

P.S I'm not actually dumping you until I finish this last pack.

Living With My Parents

2009-11-02T07:43:00.000-05:00

One of the greatest challenges I am facing as a single mother isn't the solo parenting, the going to school full-time, feeling like I never have enough time with my little man, and baby daddy drama. It is all hard. Don't get me wrong. The most challenging thing to date is living with my parents.

Now, I appreciate everything my parents have done and are doing for me and the little man. I'm very grateful but sometimes living with them is hard. There were no ground rules when I packed up everything and moved here. There was no talk about how long we would be staying. There was no talk about money and where I would get money from. It was just an unsaid thing that this was taken care of.

I felt welcomed and loved at the time. Over the months that feeling has faded. Now there are long drawn out fights over money, the mistakes I have apparently made in life, who is the one really raising Gage and how he is being raised. I don't want to be dependent on them it makes me feel worthless on top of everything else I'm already feeling. Let me tell you guys we have some issues.

I know that living with them things will only get more complicated and that my parent's judgment will become harder to live with. What happens when I start dating? Sex? Issues regarding Gage we haven't even touched? In some ways it is almost like being a teenager all over again but this time there is my son in the picture. I guess the question that comes across my mind the most is how much say do they get in my decisions when I'm still financially dependent on them?

This post isn't to bash them, though. They are pretty amazing people that have helped me when I needed help the most. I know this situation isn't easy for them either. We have issues that we need to work out. Hopefully, this doesn't break our relationship.

Over The Top

2009-11-01T21:36:00.001-05:00

This little bloggy award was actually given to me by 3 different people. (Amy, Ashley, and Crista.) Thanks guys!

Here are the rules:
Use only one word, pass along to six favorite bloggers, and tell 'em you did so.
So, here we go:

1. Where is your cell phone? Bra
2. Your hair? Amazing
3. Your mother? Ditzy
4. Your father? Awesome
5. Your favorite food? Mexican
6. Your dream last night? Nothing
7. Your favorite drink? Dr.Pepper
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? crafting
11. Your fear? alone
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Alive
13. Where were you last night? sleeping
14. Something that you aren't? Organized
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? purse
17. Where did you grow up? Everywhere
18. Last thing you did? Bathtime
19. What are you wearing? Black
20. Your TV? NickJR
21. Your pets? Nothing
22. Friends? Lacking
23. Your life? Exhausting
24. Your mood? Poopy
25. Missing someone? No
26. Vehicle? Malibu
27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? TJMaxx
29. Your favorite color? Brown
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Today
32. Your best friend?(s) Awesome
33. One place that I could go over and over? Bed
34. One person who emails you regularly? NoOne
35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Here are a few of my favorite bloggers that are "over the top":
Bonnie @ The Mamma Has Spoken
Laura @ The Stampin' Soldier
Bridgett @ Doug&Boo+2

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T09:01:00.003-05:00

It was 6pm on Halloween and all was quiet in my house. Wait, what?! That couldn't be right! I am not telling a lie, though. Gage was passed out cold and he would not wake up for anything.

I tried everything! I started jumping on the bed while screaming 'Candy time!'. Nothing. Didn't even move a muscle. I attempted to put on his dragon costume and go "flying". It finally woke him up because I landed loudly on the floor.

So, Gage was awake. He was not very happy, though. In fact, he was screaming his little bitty head off. I'm talking full on 2 year old trantrum. He wanted no part in getting ready to go trick or treating.

Before you start to read this next part just remember that I am his mom and I know what is best for him.

Mean mom(That side of me doesn't step out often!) came out. I held him down and forced his costume on him. He is still screaming and throwing the biggest 2 year old fit I have ever witnessed. He trying to rip the costume off. I gather up everything we need and run out the door to the car. I don't live in a neighborhood so we drove to one about 10 minutes away. He is still screaming his head off. My parents are looking at me as if I lost my mind. At this point I even start thinking about skipping Halloween but I quickly threw that thought out.

My baby was going trick or treating.

He calmed down a little by the time we made it over to the parking area. He was still in a foul mood and demanded on being carried house to house for a little bit. After awhile he was having a blast. He loved that the phrase "trick or treat" was like magic for candy. We only stayed out for a little over a hour but Gage is 2 and doesn't really need a lot of candy yet!

I'm really glad that I worked through the tantrum and took him anyway. I would have been upset(so would he)if we woke up this morning and had not gone trick or treating.

Trick Or Treating!

He had a couple pieces of candy before bed.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T08:20:00.002-04:00

Everyone have a safe Halloween! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Have fun! Don't eat all your kids candy(oh, I'm guilty of that)!

Me&Ambur

Glo's Halloween Birthday Party

Hippie Chicks: Peace

I was a weird kid

2009-10-28T20:43:00.001-04:00

Do you remember when you were little what you wanted to be when you grew up?

I was going through some old things of mine and came across one of those school books where you write your information for that grade and attach a picture. It was a pretty amusing find.

Apparently, when I was in the 2nd grade I wanted to be a Rodeo Cowgirl.

So what do you think? Can I pull it off?

Sorry to my 8 year old self but I do know that is one dream that won't be coming true!

I couldn't live with hat hair 24/7.

Where Did Fall Go?

2009-10-27T18:25:00.001-04:00

It has been really cold here. I'm talking winter coat cold. Then last week it got somewhat warmer and the leaves seemed to be brighter and falling to the ground. I wasn't wearing a winter coat. I was wearing just a light jacket. It was nice. I don't think it is going to last. Fall is going to skip completely over us.

Instead of griping over not having much of a Fall season, me and the little man went outside and played in the leaves while it was warmer. We had a lot of fun. Gage just sat down in the leaves for 20 minutes with his pumpkin friend. It was cute.

I wish Fall(like last weeks weather) would last longer but we will take what we can get.

5 Great Things About Being Single Vol. 2

2009-10-26T08:10:00.001-04:00

One of my biggest search engine hits is "great things about being single". I wrote about 5 great things about being single back in April. If people are coming to my blog in search of finding great things about being single I thought they could use more than 5. So here is 5 more!

5 Great Things About Being Single Vol. 2

6. I have the whole bed to myself. Some people might think this is depressing but I like it. I like to sleep in the middle of the bed and take up all the room I need(although this is just wishful thinking because I have a 2 year old who calls my room 'his room' and his room the 'play room'.)

7. I can drive! I don't know why but the driving was never done by me when I wasn't single. It feels good to be in control of the wheel again.

8. I can have girly things in my place(I live with my parents so I can't do anything extreme here). When I moved in here though I went out and bought a purple bed set and a purple vase with glass purple flowers. I just went all girly in my bedroom and I like it.

9. I can listen to whatever music I feel like listening to. If I want to jam out to Miley Cyrus's Party In The USA I can without someone rolling their eyes at me that it is a stupid song.

10. I can take more time for myself(not too much because I'm busy being a mom). I'm learning a lot of new things about myself with all my alone time. I can concentrate on new hobbies, a good book etc etc.

Like I said in the last edition of great things about being single you just have to look on the positive side of things even if its hard and you feel like your life has been turned upside down.

Gone Platinum Or Crazy!

2009-10-23T11:15:00.005-04:00

I went platinum and my hair magically grew overnight.

No, not really.

Here is my Wig!

Here are a few tips if you ever make a wig:

1. Don't make it by yourself. Have someone around that knows what they are doing. You will want to throw your manikin head out of the window.

2. Make sure you bought enough hair. I got halfway done and realized that this project was going to cost me even more. I still need more hair but I not buying anymore. My wig can continue to look like this. Apparently, it is only a blonde hair thing. Just my luck.

3. Don't try the wig on before it is dry! You might be so excited but it will get stuck to your head! Believe me I know. I did it. Take my word for it.

4. Don't wear the wig around your 2 year old son. He will start crying uncontrollably because someone took his mommmmy. Yeah, it was pretty bad.

Time To Unpack

2009-10-23T00:11:00.001-04:00

What you don't know because I stopped blogging.

I was suppose to move last Saturday. I was going to drive me and the Gage to RI to see his grandparents. Baby Daddy was going to join us a week later after he was done with training in NM. We were going to stay a week more in RI and then the 3 of us were driving to TX to live for 10 months. I was going to start a new school in TX. Start a new beginning with Baby Daddy with our little family.

I had put my notice in at the daycare Gage is attending. I had told my school I was ready to sign my drop papers on that Thursday. I packed everything up for our adventure. I was ready to move yet again for Baby Daddy just like before.

After a few days of not hearing from Baby Daddy. I called and texted and got nothing from him. I started worrying. I knew he was ok but I knew something was wrong. I sent him one last final text that said if he was going to break my heart again I would rather him do it now then when I'm already in TX away from everything I know. He called 10 minutes later and ended us again.

So far I think I'm handling this break up well. I have had a few cries and all but I'm making it for the most part. Small things trigger me and I will just start sobbing. This morning I was getting dressed for school and realized I only had one shirt left that was clean. I had packed all my other school clothes up because I knew I only had a week left of school here in KY. I just broke down and I'm really glad Gage was still sleeping.

I really need to unpack everything but I just...can't.

I guess I was waiting on the phone call that he would say he was sorry and he just had cold feet. That phone call didn't come. In fact he hasn't called since he broke it off. Tuesday will be 2 weeks...

Random Thoughts

2009-10-22T07:14:00.000-04:00

I really don't have much of anything to write about. So here a few random things/thoughts for you!

- I always thought being platinum blonde would be really awesome. That was until I started making this wig(i'm not finished yet. Pictures to come!) and now I realize I would look horrible with platinum blonde hair! So if possible try on wigs before you dye your hair an all over color.

- Speaking of hair, I really don't want to go to school tomorrow. I don't have school Friday,though. Yipee. I wish I could snap my fingers and already have enough hours to complete this. Come on May!

- Not that I don't have like a million purses in my closet that I never use more than once but I think my life would be a lot better right now if I could just buy a new purse. Too bad I'm super poor, huh?

- You know how people can bend over and touch their toes? Or if they are sitting down with their legs out in front of them and touch their toes? I can't do it! I've never been able to. I can remember in Elementary school being tested in P.E over this and always failed miserably on that part.

- MTV Real World: I've been watching the Real World for 10 years now! I can't believe it has been that long. I'm actually watching it right now(well, the challenge). I can't really think of another show that I have watched over the years like this one.

- Do you ever go to someones blog and just wonder more about them and their life? I have a blog I read daily and if it wasn't rude to ask I would totally ask them something that I'm itching to know.

Anyway, that is all I got! Hope you enjoyed this post of nothingness.

Keepin' That Smile

2009-10-21T07:30:00.004-04:00

He can break my heart but he can't break me down.

Smiling since 1986.

*This is totally unrelated but I think I look so different than the picture on the "About Us" part. I went back to blonde(almost my natural color!) and I love it. Also, my peace sign earrings are about the cutest things ever.

Twice A Terror

2009-10-20T07:28:00.000-04:00

When Gage was a baby and as all babies usually do he was always up for the day before I was ready to be awake. Isn't this suppose to go on for a long time? Not for me. Mainly because I get up every morning and take a shower, airform my hair, and put make up on.

I can get all the way ready to leave the house and my little man still will not be awake. I have to go in there and wake him up. He hates it! I try to wake him up gently by whispering his name and rubbing his back. It doesn't work. That boy will not get up for the life of him. I have to turn the light on in the room. He gets so mad at me but it is seriously the only way I can get him to wake up!

Even when he wakes up he starts screaming "I want to go back bed! I want to go back bed!". I use to be able to give him a glass of milk and turn some cartoons on and he would chill out on the couch for a little bit before he has to get dressed. It doesn't work now. He doesn't want to get out of bed anymore! He has a normal bedtime for a 2 year old so I know he gets plenty of sleep. I just don't get it.

I use to do this to but I was in...middle and high school! Gage is only 2 years old. I guess that old saying about your kid being twice as horrible as the parents is true and its starting early!

To top it all when I went to pick him off from school yesterday he told me "I don't ever want to go to school*". I know he has a blast at school so I have no clue what is up with him. It is kinda funny to me but really frustrating at the same time.

*We call his daycare a school. Mommy goes to school. Gage goes to school.

Crying Hyena

2009-10-19T07:07:00.000-04:00

When I was in 3rd grade I participated in the school play. This might not seem like a big deal because kids are in school plays all the time. It was a BIG deal for me. I was so incredibly shy growing up. Actually, I'm still pretty shy now. Most people think I'm a stuck up snob but I'm really not(well, I might be just a little bit) I'm just shy.

So, I can't remember what the play was called and I can't even remember too much about what it was about. All I know is I had to get up in front of a lot of people and LAUGH! My part in the play was being a laughing hyena. You wouldn't think that would be too hard, right? Well, it was.

I stood up there and...cried.

I guess people thought I was laughing because everyone told me how great of a job I did afterwards.

I just thought I'd let you know that some people are destined to be movie/theatre stars and I was not one of them.

Milk Not Bourbon, Duh

2009-10-17T20:04:00.004-04:00

You know how all states have state birds and state songs? Well, did you know that states also have a state beverage. I've never heard of this before. I was reading
Unusual Kentucky and that site brought up that the state beverage for KY is...Milk. Isn't that strange? Kentucky is known for its bourbon. You can even go on a bourbon tour for crying out loud.

I wanted to know a little bit more about this milk business because it just didn't seem right. According to Wikipedia a lot of the states have milk as the chosen beverage. I just don't get it. Why milk? The only reason I can think of is because these states have a lot of cows.

If anyone can shed some light. Let me know.

Note: I understand RI's reason for Coffee Milk. If you ever go to RI you have to find coffee milk and have some.

School Drama

2009-10-16T07:45:00.001-04:00

I started Cosmetology school in May. It sure is an adventure. Going to school with a 100 girls has been the REAL adventure. Not a day goes by that there isn't someone talking about this girl and that girl. Not a day goes by that someone is snitching on someone. Not a day goes by that someone isn't talking about how that girl didn't wash her hands when she went potty. It gets REAL crazy at the hair school. I love to hear about it all but I want no part in any of the actual drama.

So because I can here is the most recent drama at my school. It will take you back...to high school. That is what it feels like...daily.

There is this girl at school. We will call her Jenny. Jenny was dating Bob. Bob broke up with Jenny. Jenny makes up(or maybe she didn't!) this story about how Bob beat her up! We all fault sorry for her...Until this other girl at the school(lets call her Sara) tells us she is dating Bob and Bob was with Sara the whole time Bob was apparently suppose to be beating Jenny up. No one tells Jenny that Sara is dating Bob. Jenny keeps acting like Sara's friend even though thats breaking girl rule #1 Don't date your friends ex.

Someone tells Jenny that Sara is dating Bob. Jenny flips out and lots of yelling in the parking lot happens. Thankfully, no one took out the shears and got violent.

What is really funny to me is Sara who is dating Bob use to date this other girl at school ex husband. She has dated 2 girls ex's. It is so hilarious to me.

I guess I shouldn't talk about Baby Daddy to her!

Single Mama Here

2009-10-15T17:24:00.002-04:00

So, I think I only like to blog when I'm single and depressed. The being single might not have anything to do with it actually. It is probably just the I-hate-my-life AGAIN that makes me run to a computer and spill my guts out on my blog.

If you haven't put it together I am once again single. Baby Daddy has ended our relationship AGAIN. I just don't understand what the point of being back together was for if he still felt the same way as he did when he ended this the first time. I will never know the answer to that and I guess that is something I will just have to deal with.

I feel like a fool and I know a bunch of people who probably want to say 'I told you so' but they have been nice and not said it my face.

Sock Pumpkin

2009-10-08T13:10:00.002-04:00

Sock Pumpkin

Materials:
Old White Sock
3 old socks(any color)
Orange Paint
Green Paint
Black Paint
Paintbrush
Rubberband or Twistie Tie

Directions:
1. Stuff the Old White Sock with the other socks. You may need 4 socks or 3. You can change it to get the size of pumpkin you like.
2. Tie the rubberband/twistie tie around the sock. You may need to cut the top depending on the size of the sock.
3. Paint the stuffed part of the sock orange.
4. Paint the loose part above the tie green. Its the stem.
5. Paint the face on the pumpkin.

Finished.

This was a really easy project that didn't need much. We had a lot of fun making this.

On The Craft Front

2009-08-09T13:32:00.003-04:00

Magazine Picture Frame
This is a horrible picture of the frame. I took it on my phone but I love it. I think I'm going to make smaller rolls next time and this would be a neat present.

Quilled Snowman
I'm still serious about crafting all my Christmas gifts and cards this year. This little paper quilled snowman is now officially an ornament. I have come to find out that I really love the art of quilling.

Magazine Pendant Necklace
I made this beauty below out of magazine paper and a little glue. I actually wore it to school and got lots of compliments on it. Someone even asked if I could make them one. See guys it pays off to recycle!

and I have made quite a bit of cards but maybe I will save those for another post!

Miss all of you!

Christmas In July

2009-07-06T08:21:00.000-04:00

So around this time of the year I start thinking about what I am going to make everyone(or buy, I guess) for Christmas. When you make gifts and cards you need a lot of time to get things together. My creative juices are flowing so I can't wait to see what I come up with!

I love Christmas and I love crafting.

I'm in Christmas Heaven and it is only July.

Cookie Monster

2009-07-01T07:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, me and Gage were just hanging out and Gage said the cutest thing. He is such a manipulater(but in a cute way).

Me: Gage, here comes the tickle monster!
(I proceed to tickle him, duh)
Gage: Tickle monster eat cookies?
Me: Well, I guess so.
Gage: Here come tickle monsta!
(and he proceeds to tickle me)
Gage: Want cookie, pwease.

I think he got the tickle monster confused with cookie monster. He still got a cookie out of the deal, though.

Billy Mays II

2009-06-29T07:59:00.000-04:00

Awhile back on my old blog I wrote a post about the annoying dudes who do infomercials. You can see that right here.

Yeah, well I was really shocked when I got online yesterday and saw that Billy Mays had died!

Not trying to sound...mean but I was hoping that would mean his really loud voice would leave us alone now. I have this feeling though that his commercials may be around for a long long time.

I'm not for sure. It will be interesting to see.

R.I.P Billy Mays

RIP

2009-06-21T22:26:00.004-04:00

It has been an absolutely crazy&busy week. My grandmother passed away last Sunday. My dad flew home from Iraq to be here for my mother and the family. We drove down to Tennessee for the funeral. I was a pallbearer in the funeral. I have to say that was a first for me. We are back in KY now and ready to start the week. My dad doesn't leave for another 10 days or so. Its great to see him.

Anyway, one day I promise I will get back on a regular blogging schedule.

101 Goals Update

2009-06-12T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. To find more info visit Day Zero project

Start: Thursday, March 26, 2009
Finish: Thursday, December 22, 2011

What these things mean:
In progress
Done

Goals Completed: 10/101

1. Read 50 books in 2009 8/50
Shoe Addicts Anonymous - Beth Harbison
True Love&Other Disasters - Rachel Gibson

9. Take a shot of alcohol and not complain about it
I took a shot of JagerMeister with a girl from school. I didn't complain and I even had a second one! Wish I took pictures!

10. Play the lottery
I didn't win but it was fun because the jackpot was huge!

17. Change hairstyle
I know I haven't posted pictures I swear I have changed my hairstyle! I love it so much.

25. File my nails
Being in cosmetology school I had to get over my issue with filing nails(including mine). So I just sucked it up and did it. Not so bad sounding and feeling like I remember it being.

41. Go on a local outing once a month with Gage 2/34
We have gone to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the Louisville Zoo, and Thomas The Train's Day out in New Haven, Ky. We have had a blast this past month. You would be wicked jealous!

45. Make 5 new friends here in Kentucky 1/5
I instantly bonded with a gal at school. She is the one who I took the shots of Jager with.

65. Introduce myself to a stranger and have a full conversation
This is how I met the chick from #9 and #45. On the first day of school I started talking to her. I was pretty freaked out but I am proud of myself for doing it.

There are a few goals on the list that I didn't update about but they were pretty much repeats that would bore you even more than this list does.

Who Is The Idiot?

2009-06-11T07:19:00.001-04:00

"I am such an idiot. I miss you and want to be together again. I love you."

A week ago those words were spoken to me by Baby Daddy. Let me tell you, I was more than shocked. After all this time just being hateful to me about everything he goes and says this while he was here visiting. It took me a few days to process but in the end I agreed to working things out between us.

I told myself when he ended things between us that if I was ever given the chance to work things out with him I would. I wish my feelings were like a light switch, though. I want to turn that "lovey, dovey" switch right back on. I have a lot of issues now about the two of us and just him that I am going to have to work through.

I am still wondering if he was the idiot or if I am the idiot now.

Not much changes by the reconcile except our status. I'm not moving until I finish school and he is in New Mexico for training and then Texas after that. Eventually, if things go well we will all end up in upstate New York in a year and a half.

Yup. So was that juicy enough?

I guess I'll need to change my blog title.

And I'm Back

2009-06-10T18:09:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. My computer bit the dust soon after I wrote my last post. Now I am back in action. It is a good thing because, boy, do I have a lot to share with you all.

I think all of my updates deserve their own posts so I will leave you in anticipation. You won't be let down. It is a really good juicy update.

Laziness

2009-05-25T19:36:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling really lazy.

Everyone has those days where they just don't want to do anything at all. Well, I'm having weeks of this. The computers screen sits staring at me and I have no want to turn it on. Boxes are still lying around but I have no desire to unpack anymore.

I've spent the majority of the weekend on my couch watching movies and reality TV shows. I did take a short trip to Tennessee but came back the same day. I would have rathered stayed home.

Lazy, Lazy.

Update

2009-05-21T19:31:00.003-04:00

Hello bloggy lovers!

I haven't posted since the 12th. Sorry! It really hasn't been my fault. The day I started school was the day that the movers were coming to pack everything up in the house. 3 days later we were still drowning in boxes with a computer no where in sight. When the computer was eventually found some of the cords/plugs needed to make it work were missing in action. So, finally, today everything was bought to get this computer up and running again.

I started school last Monday. It is pretty awesome. I have put purple highlights in my hair(they are out now) and today I let a student cut my hair into a front diagonal bob with stacked layers. So I have wicked short hair now but I look smokin' hot.

Gage started daycare last Monday as well. It still isn't going well for the little man. He pretty much cries all day for me and refuses to drink anything. So hopefully he will get use to it soon because, man, it sure is tough knowing he hates being there while I'm off having a blast at school.

Baby Daddy got a new job. He has training in New Mexico for 8 months or so for it. So, he is coming here next week to see the little man. A little drama there but I will save that for another post.

And yep that is about it. I feel like I'm really busy and hopefully things will slow down for us. Atleast, I have a computer now! That is a plus, for sure.

Brushing Teeth Activity

2009-05-12T07:41:00.002-04:00

Ever wonder how to get you kid to brush their teeth willingly? Try this activity out.

The activity we did last week is really good if you have kid that you are teaching them to brush their teeth and why they need to do it. Gage doesn't have any issues with teeth brushing. In fact, Gage has over 10 tooth brushes in his collection at this time. We don't specifically set out to buy a tooth brush but everytime we find ourselves near tooth brushes we have to pick one out and get it. My little man loves to brush his teeth. He thinks the tooth paste tastes "MMM SOOO GOOD!".

Brush Your Teeth Activity

So what do you need to this activity?

Materials:
Yellow construction paper
White Paint
Old Tooth Brush

Directions:
1. Cut the yellow construction paper to make the shape of a tooth.
2. Put white paint out and grab your old tooth brush.
3. Brush your construction paper tooth with the old tooth brush.

While your kid is brushing the tooth with paint explain to them what they are doing and why. At the end tell them now their tooth is all clean just like the ones in their mouth should be. This will make a perfect opportunity to have your kid go brush their teeth!

This also kinda fits the Unplugged Project for the week, which is magic! We magically made the yellow tooth turn white!

Mother's Day As A Single Mom

2009-05-11T07:36:00.005-04:00

I love Mothers Day. I get pick what was going to be served for dinner. I receive beautiful flowers. I don't have to do anything all day if I don't want to and I even get presents. All because I endured 9 months of pregnancy and without drugs pushed a baby out of my youknowhat and devoted my life to loving and taking care of one precious little man everyday. What isn't there to love about this day? Well, I did love Mothers Day until it hit me that none of these things were going to happen this year. Mothers Day was going to be just like any other day for me now.

So I decided not to be so bummed out about and to do something about it. While having someone else do something for you on what is suppose to be your special day is great I don't think I did half bad treating myself. I know that I'm an amazing mom who would do anything for her little man. Who teaches him new things, makes sure he eats something everyday, kisses his boo-boo's, changes countless diapers, and many other things. Just because I am single doesn't mean it shouldn't be celebrated. If anything it should be celebrated more because I'm a single mom.

Here is my Mothers Day Survival Kit:

2 books, a magazine, new shoes, lip gloss, and nail polish.

While it isn't anything over the top I figured it atleast gave me something to do on Mother's Day during naps and after bed time. It also gave me something to wear. Of course, I totally read both books, the magazine, and used the lip gloss a few days before Mother's Day.

I guess that is one bad thing about buying yourself a gift. You can't surprise yourself with it on the actual day. It doesn't matter, though. In the end I spent all day laughing and playing with my little man. It was wonderful even if it was just like every other day because without him I wouldn't have a special day like Mother's Day to celebrate, anyway. He is the greatest gift I could ever receive.

Edit: I wrote this post on Friday and scheduled it for today. Between now and then I actually got two bouquets of flowers. One from my dad and the other one from...Baby Daddy. I was pretty shocked when I got them. They were nice. I was just going to mark Father's Day(just for Baby Daddy not my awesome dad) off my list of holidays but I think I will put it back on now.

Thirstin' For Gas

2009-05-08T07:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had to go pick up a few things in town. By that I mean I just wanted to go shopping again. On my way there the gas light came on in my car. It comes on when I only have 40 more miles to go on my gas in my car. So I knew I was safe driving there because it was only about 20 or miles away from the house. I don't usually run that low on gas but I just kept forgetting to stop to get some. I bought a new comforter set at Bed, Bath&Beyond then went into TJMaxx and bought black capri's and a white shirt for school. I had Gage with me, of course, while I was doing all of this. That is always a lot of fun. When I was ready to head home my car started up funny like it was telling me it was thirstin' for some gas. I got the point and knew I needed it or I'd be stranded on the side of the road with a toddler.

So ,that is what I planned to do. Really, it was. Unfortunately my mind wandered off into nowhere land. I was thinking about cherry limeades, daycare, school, wondering why people always wave and try to talk to me while I'm driving in the car, buttons, how much Baby Daddy sucks at life, moving, cute guys. You get the point. I was thinking about everything else but stopping and getting gas. It didn't dawn on me that I never stopped until I was pulling into the driveway. By then it was too late to turn back and find a gas station. I would never make it.

I went inside, told my mom, she laughed and we went and got gas in a little gas can.

I'm like the queen of running out of gas. I can't even count on my fingers how many times I have ran out of gas.

Less thinking more focus is my new motto for when I'm driving.

101 Goals in 1001 Days Update

2009-05-07T07:03:00.001-04:00

You can read my 101 goals in 1001 Days here.

Every Thursday I keep meaning to click on new post and write a post about my 101 goals. Every Thursday since week 1 I have been too busy or just had something else on my mind. Now it is week 6 and my 101 goal list desperately needs to be updated because a lot has been done to the list.

So without further ado, here is my progress!

Goals Completed: 5/101

1. Read 50 books in 2009 6/50
Not Another Bad Date - Rachel Gibson
Tangled Up In You - Rachel Gibson
Cheating At Solitaire - Ally Carter
As Good As It Got - Isabel Sharpe
Going Coastal - Wendy French
The other book I read can be found in the week 1 update

Yes, I like chick-lit books and the 2 of the books were almost hardcore romance. Graphic details that made me blush and get embarrassed. Good reads, though.

30. Create 20 original handmade cards 5/20
I caught a craft bug a few days ago and felt inspired to make cards. I'm not going to share them yet because I think they deserve their own post. Really, thats how awesome they are.

41. Go on a local outing once a month with Gage 1/34
I think if you read my blog you noticed that we went to Dinosaur World, the Corvette Musuem, and the Lost River cave..

49. Call Ambur once a week 6/143
I've been talking to my best friend quite a bit these days. With me living in Rhode Island for the past 2 1/2 years I missed my best friend and enjoy having her close. It was short lived because...my best friend is moving in July to somewhere far away. I'm a little more than sad about it. She has been my rock since I moved here. She is the only single mom I know and my go to when I break down. We don't handle distance well but maybe this time we will get it right.

54. Write a letter(not email) to a friend or family member once a month, preferably a different person each month. 2/34
I wrote a letter inside of Baby Daddy Moms Mother Day card. It was a sweet letter and I'm sure she will cry when she reads it. It was just that good.

62. Try 5 different kinds of wine 4/5
I'm almost done with this! How exciting! I went from not being a fan of any wine to loving 2 of the wines I've tried. If you aren't a wine drinker at all I would suggest doing this project because it is so much fun going and picking out a new wine every week.

73. make a list of 25 things that make me happy
You can find this list here.

78. Open a bank account for Gage
All set. My little mans got money in the bank.

That is it. I was a little disappointed in myself when I noticed that I failed one goal already. It is goal 94. Clean out and wash my car every month. I don't have any trash in my car so I did clean it out but never vacuumed or washed my pretty Malibu. Instead of crossing it off my list as a complete failure it is now my mission to make sure my car is sparkly by the end of this month.

Survey Says

2009-05-06T15:17:00.003-04:00

I was tagged by http://holliesjustalittlesomething.blogspot.com/.

8 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
School starting on Monday
My Dad coming home
Moving on with my life :)
Seeing Ambur later on this month
Thomas The Train Day Out in June
Gage's bedtime everynight :)
Opening up an Etsy shop
Moving on Tuesday

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
Shopping with mom&Gage
School orientation
Read a book
Read People magazine
Drank margarita's!
Played with Gage
Laughed a lot
Talked to Ambur on the phone

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO
Make someone love me
Live independently
Be more patient
go on a vacation
win the lottery
stop feeling the way I do
sleep more
make friends easily

8 SHOWS I WATCH
True Blood
Gossip Girl
The Hills
Survivor
House Hunters
Baseball games :)
Pinky Dinky Doo(well, its on right now)
Franklin

8 PEOPLE TO TAG
I'm not going to tag anyone because not everyone likes doing these things(I like em). So feel free to do it if you want to!

Mother's Day Flowers

2009-05-05T07:22:00.000-04:00

Egg Carton Flower Bouquet

Materials:
egg carton
paint
paintbrushes
green pipe cleaners
brown sack lunch bag(optional, I guess)

Directions:
1. Cut out the cups of the egg carton. Shape them into whatever flower shape you want. If you just trim the edges they make cute looking flowers.
2. Paint away! Paint the outside and insides of the cups.
3. Once the paint has dried(or not. I didn't wait) use a paintbrush to poke a hole in the bottom of the egg cup. Do this for all of them.
4. insert pipe cleaners into the hole. The small part of the pipe cleaner thats inside the 'cup' just bend it so it won't come out.
5. Put the flowers into a vase or in our case a brown sack lunch bag that we painted.

Gage made this project for his Gandma and Memere. I think that it can also be an adult project for your own Mother or Grandmother. Just paint a lot nicer than my 2 year old!

Purging Mistake

2009-05-04T07:30:00.000-04:00

It is that time of the year again where the cold weather seems to be behind us for the most part. For many women this means dragging out and dusting off all our Summer clothes from wherever you stored them through the long winter months. If you are one of the lucky ones then you have this huge closet where all of your clothes fit and can just rotate them from the front to the back. I think I speak for most clothes-loving-lack-of-closet-space women that our clothes are stored elsewhere just waiting for warm days to come so they can live and breathe again.

This ritual is usually true for me but not this year. This year I dragged what I thought were my Summer clothes out to find that I really didn't have any Summer clothes being stored away at all. All that was there were very random articles of clothing that didn't have a rhyme or reason. The only answer I have come up with about this problem is when packing up to move to KY I decided to purge my closet and stored clothes. I know that I'm religious about closet purging but this is ridiculous. What was I thinking? Did I really give away all my clothes to charity?

No.

That is why I'm pretty sure that a mistake was made and Big Brothers Big Sisters of RI has all my good clothes and most of my old clothes. Leaving me with a bag of randoms. I know I wanted to leave RI fast but would have stopping to look in the bags killed me? I don't know what happened but the point is I don't have any Summer clothes.

At all.

Two weeks ago it was in the 80's. I was walking around in a long sleeve shirt in the lightest fabric I could find with the sleeves pushed up. It was just...wrong.

Since realizing this horrible mistake I only had one option and that was to go shopping. So shopping I went. My emergency fund is starting to hate me(remember the train table?) but this was an emergency -a clothes emergency.

I will leave you with a little advice. Purging your closet at the end of every season(or whenever you do it) is great. Giving your clothes to a charity is awesome. Purging your closet and giving the charity the wrong clothes is not great or awesome. It just means you are now more broke then you were before.

But atleast you have new clothes!

Exploring Kentucky Part 2

2009-05-01T07:50:00.000-04:00

I promise I will stop being a Kentucky tour guide after this post. Seriously, though, how can I not tell you about the awesome place we went yesterday!

We went to Dinosaur World!

This was a fun place to visit! There are over 100 life size dinosaurs to see on a neat little walking path. There is also a playground, a fossil dig, and a bone sandbox pit. Not to mention the amazing toy store that captured the heart and eyes of my 2 year old!

So if you ever find yourself near Cave City, Kentucky. I would check this place out -kid or no kid.

Exploring Kentucky

2009-04-30T07:28:00.001-04:00

Baby Daddys parents are visiting the little man and me for the week. It has been loads of fun so far(ahh!). Yesterday was the best, though. We had a blast.

We went to the Corvette Musuem

Gage had a blast. He wanted to drive all the corvettes so bad. It was really cute.

Then we went to the Lost River Cave. It is Kentucky's only underground boat tour of a cave.

This was such a neat thing to see. Not only do they have the boat tour but you can also buy a bag of rocks and sift it with a pan to find gemstones. Gage loved it!

So if you ever find yourself near Bowling Green, Kentucky then you should head over to these two places. What great fun(even if you are with your ex's parents!).

Finding My Joy

2009-04-28T07:03:00.001-04:00

joy
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation:

Lately, I haven't been feeling that happy with myself and life in general. While some aspects of my life certainly aren't that great. I know that I have a lot to be happy about and a lot of things make me happy.

1. Gage
2. Summer
3. accomplishing a simple(or not) task
4. watching The Hills and Gossip Girl
5. Staying up all night to finish a book
6. going on walks with Gage
7. singing in the car
8. having my family close to me
9. putting on make-up
10. watching a good movie
11. taking a nap in the middle of the day
12. being lazy sometimes
13. shopping
14. finding good deals
15. getting a big hug and kiss from Gage
16. playing board games
17. having good friends
18. exploring new places
19. having a clean house
20. crafting
21. seeing happy faces
22. new shoes
23. learning something new
24. doing something nice for someone
25. coupon clippin'

When I first started this list I actually thought it was going to be hard to find 25 things that make me happy. It wasn't at all. I could have kept going and going.

I can be a happy person I just have to remember all the things that make me feel joy in life.

Faithfully Clipping

2009-04-27T07:07:00.000-04:00

Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week. I love waking up and knowing that inside the Sunday paper on my sidewalk has treasures just waiting for me to...clip them out. You would think there is a fire in my house by how fast I run outside to get the paper.

I don't even read the Sunday paper. I toss everything aside but the coupons. I go through them carefully scanning each page to see if there is anything worth clippin'. I then clip and organize them by their types and expiration dates. Its probably the only thing in my life that is organized!

I don't know where my sudden obsession with coupon clipping came from. It isn't something I have always done. The first coupons I remember clipping before this obsession fully set in was chocolates for Valentine's Day. Since then I have been faithfully clippin' every Sunday.

I love the thrill of using the coupons. I love when you are ringing out and all the coupons go in and you realize that you saved $20. There are people out there that are so good at coupon clippin' that they can half their bill or make it even less than half. I'm just a novice.

I have a dream...that one day I will be a coupon clippin' queen.

I got nothing.

2009-04-24T10:34:00.003-04:00

Seriously.

I got nothing.

Went to TN, truck broke down, stuck in TN for a few hours longer, got truck fixed, took the long way home, got a lot of calls from my grandmother telling me to slow down, lots of crying from the backseat, EVERYONES bedtime was 12am, tired and cranky all around, still got things to do.

The end.

Check List

2009-04-22T07:20:00.001-04:00

On my 'things to do list' was two very important items.

1. Get health insurance/find Gage a Doctor
2. Enroll Gage in Daycare

These seem like simple tasks to do. Just place a few calls, do a little paper work and there you go, right? Not for me...

I absolutely loved Gage's Doctor in Rhode Island that I knew no other Doctor would compare. I felt comfortable at the old doctor. I knew she was going to give me good advice and treat my little man well when he was ill. I don't know anyone here in that can give me a recomendation on a pediatrian. I knew his birthday was coming up and I knew he needed to go to his 2 year well check up. So I got insurance(that was easy) and when it came to finding a Doctor I just closed my eyes and pointed(there was a list). It probably isn't the best method but I seriously couldn't make a decision and no one can make that decision but me. So I went with it. He had an appointment last week with his new doc. It was...different. It wasn't terrible but it just wasn't the old place.

The second task I already knew was going to be hard for me. I don't want my little man to go to daycare. I love spending the days with him(even on days I want to pull my hair out). We are pretty attached(like any mother and child should be). I pretty much did the same thing as I did with the pediatrian. I drove by this daycare on the way to the mall and whatever errands that are near to my school. I just had this gut feeling that I didn't need to look anywhere else for him. I toured the place, met the teachers, got a feel on how they do things and I still feel good about the place. He starts in the middle of May when my school finally starts!

I guess the point of this is that I hate change. I don't handle it well(if you haven't already noticed!). Sometimes you just got to do the things you don't want to because you have no choice.

I know everything is going to work out, though.

Hating Clothes

2009-04-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

After finally getting out of the bath(I swear it was about a hour later!) this conversation went on:

Me: Gaaaage, you need a towel!
Gage: DON'T LIKE TOWELS!
Me: Want to put clothes on?
Gage: DON'T LIKE CLOTHES!
Me: How about just a diaper?
Gage: DON'T LIKE IPERS!

And then I have to chase him around the house to get him to let me put atleast a diaper on him. This is an everyday occurence in our house.

He would much rather be in his 'birthday suit' all day long. My son hates clothes.

So do I.

Questions 1

2009-04-20T11:35:00.003-04:00

If you could change one thing about your childhood, Just ONE thing, what would it be? Brittany

After having all weekend to think of an answer to this question I got nothing. I had a pretty happy normal childhood. I moved around a lot due to my Dad being in the Army but I don't think I would want to change that. I got to see lots of places and do lots of traveling.

If you were in a box of chocolates, which one would you be? Jason

If I was a box of chocolates I would be...a good chocolate. I don't look at the chart when I get a box of chocolates I just dive right in. I hate it when I get a chocolate that isn't good.

Do you believe in love? Blooming Almond

Yes.

I love my son, my patchwork Coach bag, my blackberry, etc etc. I know thats probably not what you meant, though. Seriously, yes I do. If I believe in having a soulmate is an entirely different question. I think you can fall in love with a lot people and sometimes you just kind of fall out of love.

If you could relive one day of your life...which day would it be and why? Bridgett

Sometimes I think about this a lot but in the end it would change the way everything turned out in my life. Most of it I would loved not to happen but if those things didn't happen then I wouldn't have Gage.

Although, there is a day that I would relive that wouldn't change anything that has happened in my life. The day I went to find out the sex of my little man. I went alone. I was scared. I layed down in a dark room by myself while hearing really sad music playing overhead. It was just really depressing and not what I imagined when I thought about the day I find out if its a girl or a boy.

Actually, I would like to relive my whole pregnancy over again if I had the chance. It was just depressing and not what it should have been.

Also...favorite color? Bridgett again.

my favorite color is...BROWN! I know its a weird color to have as a favorite but its mine.

'Berry It Up

2009-04-19T15:29:00.002-04:00

On Friday I got me a new pretty little blackberry curve!

There is a reason why its called a 'crackberry'. I have been attached to it since I first held it in my hand. That sentence reminds me of how I felt about Gage when he was born. Nothing can compare to that, though. One day my berry will be old news but I will always have my real baby. Hah.

Questions

2009-04-17T07:08:00.001-04:00

Want to know something about me and my life? Maybe you just want to ask a random question? Well, here is your chance! Ask anything you like&I will answer on Monday!

So ask away!

Busy, Busy

2009-04-15T14:22:00.002-04:00

Since Friday I have been pretty busy. So I haven't had a chance to really update. I threw that post up yesterday quickly and went about my day. Let me give you a quick run down though:

-on Friday we drove to TN. I went out(finally!) with Ambur. It was fun. It was so much fun I somehow ended up not in my own bed(well rather my brothers couch but you know what I mean) eeeek.

-Saturday was Gage's birthday party at the park. fuuun stuff.

-Sunday we drove home. Nothing too exciting there except that I talked to the guy from Friday on the phone for hours. I'm not a phone talker. It was strange but very nice.

-Somehow on Monday I convinced myself it was good idea to drive back down to TN and spend the whole day(I came home that night) with that guy. It was fun but its not like its going anywhere because 1. I don't want it to and 2. he deployed to Iraq on Tuesday(just for a month-ish). Thanks, mom, for babysitting :)

-Today Gage had his 2 year old check up. New doctor. Fun stuff.

-And tomorrow is Gage's birthday for real! My little man is going to be 2!

So thats all. It sure was a fun weekend/first half of week. Now my life can go back to being utterly boring again.

Overcompensating

2009-04-14T09:04:00.003-04:00

I had Gage's birthday party this weekend. Since I don't know anyone here in Kentucky besides my mom we went to Tennessee to have his party.

Gage had a great party. We just went to a park with a cake, opened a few presents, and had a blast. It was so unstressful unlike what birthday parties have become now-a-days.

I think I spent way too much money on Gage, though. I really didn't want that happen at all. I don't want him to be "spoiled" for the lack of a better word(he is spoiled but I don't want him to be a brat) just because he comes from a single parent home. I asked Baby Daddy if he wanted to go half on the big bad ass train table(did I mention that was $160 and I don't have a job.) but he quickly turned down that idea. I think he thinks he has to overcompensate because he isn't here with Gage. I get it but seriously the kid doesn't need that many birthday presents. He is turning 2 for crying out loud. If me and Baby Dady were still together we would have bought the amount of presents that I bought for Gage. I don't think it should be any different now.

Of course, I haven't heard from Baby Daddy in over a week. I have no clue if he even got Gage something for his birthday at all.

Red Light Special

2009-04-10T06:53:00.002-04:00

When I was driving to the toy store the other day I had the most random thing happen to me. It is still blowing my mind and it is Friday. So, while driving to the store I had to stop at ~~a lot~~ all of the red lights. I think "main drag" has the most stop lights I've ever seen anywhere. It is insane but totally not the point of the story, really. At one of those billion stop lights that I hit red every single time I glanced over to the car in the lane beside me. I was shocked to see someone inside the car waving at me. I couldn't really make out the person because the windows were pretty tinted, though. The next thing I know the window is rolling down. I figured maybe this person thought they knew me or something. I, however, didn't know this gray hair foreign looking guy waving at me. I don't really know why but I hit the button to roll my passenger window down.

Random Guy: How you doin tooday?
Me: Uh...I'm fine. How're you?
Random Guy: It iz chilly tooday. Brrr(and yeah he shook his body like he was cold)
Me: I know. This weather is crazy.
Random Guy: I vanted to ride my cycle tooday but so cold, ya know?
Me: Bummer. I'm so sorry.

And then I looked up at the light and prayed for it to turn green so I didn't have to talk to this guy anymore. And it did. Thank God.

Me: Have a nice day!
Random Guy: Nice talk to you. Bye!

Seriously, that was just random. It did make me laugh for the rest of the ~~day~~ week because it was so bizarre. I know one of my goals on my list is to strike up a conversation with a stranger but remind me not to do it this way.

Weird.

Train Table Part 2

2009-04-09T16:36:00.002-04:00

I went to the toy store on tuesday to buy Gage the bad ass train table. I had to have someone help me load this huge box into my car because I couldn't even lift it off the ground. Sadly, it even had handles to use. I am apparently just weak.

Now the problem is how do I get it OUT of my car?!

This makes me laugh so much because I was so stressed about assembling it and I can't even get it inside the house.

My Best Friend

2009-04-09T00:54:00.008-04:00

New Drama has unfolded with Baby Daddy. I was feeling pretty down and out since Sunday. My best friend called and inform me she and her daughter were coming my way to brighten my next three days. She made me put make up on and get out of my hoodie that I've been sporting so much lately. We talked, we laughed, we played, and we stayed up late even with two little ones getting up at the crack of dawn.

I'm very thankful to have a friend like her. Someone that is there for you when you need and no matter what roads we take in life we are always there for each other. She made me smile and laugh so much it made my face and belly hurt. It was just what I needed right now.

Thank you, Ambur.

5 Great Things About Being Single

2009-04-08T06:58:00.007-04:00

Being single isn't all that bad. There are quite a few great things that come along with that status. Here are some things that I love:

5 Great Things About Being Single

1. I have control over the TV remote . I can watch whatever I want whenever I want(unless it is little mans TV time). I can watch the sappiest love story to the late nights of QVC.

2. I don't have to cook something new and interesting every day of the week. If I want to eat a turkey sandwich 3 nights in the row then I can.

3. When I go shopping I don't have to stop and look in the mens section. I can spend all my money on me(and the little man).

4. I have a lot less laundry to do even if you add all the new stuff I get from not shopping in the mens section now.

5. I don't have to hear someone nagging me to hurry up when I am getting ready for the day. I can take as long as I want(Little man doesn't mind at all).

Always got to look on the positive side of things, right?

Easter Craft Round Up

2009-04-07T07:16:00.000-04:00

Popcicle Stick Photo Frame

Materials:
Popcicle sticks(bought or previously devoured)
Paint
Glue

Directions:
1. Paint the popcicle sticks.
2. Once dried glue them into a square.
3. Glue photo to the back of the sticks!
4. Treasure forever!

Isn't Gage so cute with the Easter Bunny?!

Peek-A-Boo Egg

We found this cute craft at No Time For Flashcards (directions can be found there)and knew we had to recreate it ourselves! It is sooo cute!

Bunny Head

Materials:
paper
paints
accessories(eyes, pom pom balls etc)

Directions:
Simple stuff
1. Paint a piece of paper any way you want.
2. Cut paper after it dries to a shape of a bunnys head.
3. Glue on accessories. In our case it was random pom-pom balls.

I think this was Gage's favorite Easter craft because he had free range to do what he wanted.

The Chick Hatched

Gage didn't do this project. He is a little too young for it but I thought it was going to be wicked cute so I did it.

Materials:
a real egg
cotton balls or pom-pom balls
orange paper
googly eyes or black paint for eyes
cardboard or heavy green paper

Directions:
1. Crack egg in half. Do something with the yolky mess. Clean it the best you can without breaking it.
2. I used pom-pom balls because I don't lack in that department but you can use cotton balls and paint them yellow. Glue 2 together and then glue them to the inside of the egg.
3. Glue on eyes or paint them in.
4. Make a triangle for a beak out of the orange paper.
5. Glue egg onto a piece of painted green cardboard or heavy paper that is green.

There you have it! We have been busy crafting up these cuties.

The Hills

2009-04-06T21:52:00.006-04:00

The Hills starts in 8 minutes. I'm addicted to this show and I'm sad that this is the last season. I feel silly that I like this MTV show so much.

Scaredy Pants

2009-04-06T07:14:00.001-04:00

I have to admit something to all of you. I am a little embarrassed by it but what can ya do?

I AM SCARED OF THE DARK!

I don't know if its the dark or just what could be out there in the dark. Whatever the case I am scared and I often find myself not doing certain things because of that. However, on this occassion I decided to ignore my fear and just do it.

It didn't work. Let me tell you about it, my friends.

I started painting Gage's bedroom in the new house on Friday. The paint is called Mickey Sailor Blue. How cute is that? It is very cute but hard to paint when you have an almost 2 year old and a mom who can only last so long with anything. While I painted they played blocks, dug in the dirt, and played on the swing. Everything they did got old quick and it was time to stop painting and leave. I decided I would come back after Gage went to bed and continue painting all by myself.

Wrong decision for a scaredy pants!

I pull into the driveway and you can't even see the house(I made a mental note to next time leave the porch light on). I grab everything I need and run to the front door where I think I hear people laughing! No joke, friends! I look around and tell myself its just the wind. I open the door, turn the living room light on and then proceed to turn all the lights on in the house. Nothing was there. I just needed to get a grip. So away I went painting. It was coming along fine until I swear I started hearing laughing and talking again! I start getting a little freaked out but gave myself a pep talk and continued painting.

I was painting a wall where my back is facing the door to the bedroom. A few minutes later I had a feeling that someone was there. I seriously thought that if I turned around someone would be standing there. No one was there but my feeling of being scared that someone was only got worse. I decided it was time to leave. I packed up everything I needed to go home(Ipod, shoes, purse etc). I turned off all the lights as I made it to the front door. I turned the porch light on, locked the bottom lock, and ran to my car. I didn't even want to lock the top lock because that meant stopping and standing on the porch for a minute. When I got to my car I checked the backseat to make sure no one was there! I'm telling you I was really scared. I couldn't shake the feeling.

On the way home I swear I kept hearing something from my backseat even though I checked it and knew nothing was there. I was just waiting for someone to pop up. I was so scared I thought I was going throw up! I didn't want to though because that meant stopping. I just wanted to get home and go to sleep with my little man.

I finally made it home. All is well. No one got me. I'm alive. Still scared of the dark but maybe one day I will trade in my scaredy pants for big girl pants.

Train Table Part 1

2009-04-05T00:38:00.008-04:00

I want to buy this bad ass train table for Gage.

But I don't want to assemble it. I know that somehow it will end up like my last tool fiasco and I will have no hair left after pulling it all out.

His birthday is the 16th and I still haven't got him anything(or for Easter. Yikes!). I need to get on it.

Daddy, Daddy

2009-04-03T07:16:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went for a walk in our soon to be old neighborhood. It was a nice walk. Living next to a golf course means finding stray golf balls to play with. That quickly turned into throwing the golf ball in a huge mud puddle and stomping out in it to find the ball. It was a very messy walk but fun. On our way back to the house the bugle call started playing across Fort Knox. If you have never lived on an Army base(or any military base, I assume) throughout the day different bugle calls are played. They have special meanings but I honestly can't tell you what they mean.

Apparently, the bugle call that plays around 5pm means that daddy is home according to Gage. I don't know where he got that idea from, really. Baby Daddy has been out of the Army since the summer of 2006. A whole year before Gage was born. He kept yelling over and over again with glee that daddy was home. Since moving here to Kentucky, Gage hasn't really noticed/cared/expressed anything about his dad. Not surprising considering he has always been attached to my hip. He was so excited, though. He chanted 'Daddy!, Daddy!' all the way home.

It just really broke my heart.

How do you explain to an almost 2 year old that daddy isn't at home? Can you even begin to try to explain? Will he even get what I'm trying to explain to him?

So I just simply told him daddy wasn't home but the chanting still continued. When we finally made it inside(which is quite a task with a boy who loves playing in dirt) I asked Gage if he wanted to call daddy on the phone instead. He politely said 'no tanks' and grabbed a monsta fruck and started vrooming through the house.

So, I guess the answers to my questions are no. He doesn't understand right now. One day he will, though. I know when that time comes it will be hard.

Week 1 Update - 101 Goals

2009-04-02T07:05:00.004-04:00

How Am I Doing On My 101 Goals In 1001 Days?

Pretty well, I would say. It feels really nice to actually 'accomplish' something no matter how big or small it is. I have actually completed 3 goals on my list. Go me!

1. read 50 books in 2009 1/50 - I read Twenty Questions by Alison Clement. I thought it was a page turner. It had me on toes. I kept trying to guess what was going to happen next and I was always wrong! Good book.

5. Watch a movie I've never seen and don't look up info on imdb - I watched The Diary Of A Mad Black Woman on Tuesday night (3/31). I really had no clue what it was about except that some black woman was mad. Hah. I actually ended bawling my eyes out in 2 scenes of this movie. I was sitting at the computer watching it so it was really hard not to look up stuff on imdb.com.
38. Make a new purse - You can see this here - Purse&Clutch. It felt really good to make something. I can't really describe it but after making a few gifts for people for Christmas and getting a bad response I haven't really made anything except stuff with Gage.
49. Call Ambur once a week 1/143 - I've actually talked to my BFFFF(yes we actually say that many F's when we talk) a lot this week. She had something horrible happen to her over the weekend that no woman should have to go through ever. I wish I was in Clarksville to give her a big hug.
50. Call Erin atleast once a week 1/143 - I talked to Erin. It is still kind of weird talking to her because all she wants to talk about his the split between me and baby daddy. I'm just over it and I find myself pissed off when I get off the phone. I want to continue calling her every week because she means a lot to me.
54. Write a letter(not email) to a friend or family member once a month, preferably a different person each month. 1/34 - I wrote Lys because she is my recipe exchange partner.
55. Comment on a different blog each day for three months 7/90 - This has been fun! I've actually gained quite a few followers. I don't know if that has to do with this but they are coming from somewhere.
62. Try 5 different kinds of wine 1/5 - I tried a Cabernet Sauvignon by Douglass Hill. I actually drank the whole bottle. So that wine gets an A+ from me.

63. Order different items off a menu when eating out 20 times 1/20 - I went to lunch with Ashley Amazing(see below for pic). I usually order Chicken O' Tenders from this particular restaraunt but this time I ordered Overloaded Potato Soup&a salad. Yum.

64. Go 1 day each week without watching television. 1/143 - On Monday I drove to Clarksville(I didn't know about BFFFF at this time) and drove back here the same day. So I wasn't around a television. So I got off easy this week.
82. Order water instead of soda when I’m eating out - I went out to lunch with Ashley Amazing and even though they had Dr.Pepper on the menu I ordered a water. If she wasn't there I don't think I would have though! Hah.

This is such a horrible picture of me but Ashley wanted to snag it so I'm posting it for her. We have cute little men, don't we?
99. Inspire someone to do a 101 goal list 1/1 Ashley Amazing

Do This Now

2009-04-01T12:01:00.004-04:00

Everyone should head over to Along The Back Roads Photography check out the amazing photography works and then go to Adventures&MisAdventures Of Daily Living and tell him I sent you over his way. The person with the most referrals(hopefully thats me!) will win a free 8 x 12 print from his site.

Also if you are in Utah I would book him to take photos!

Mommy Got Crafty

2009-04-01T07:00:00.002-04:00

Gage fell asleep in the car on the way to see the Easter Bunny a few days ago. I took advantage of that and got him out of the car without disturbing nap time to do a little mommy shopping. Mommy shopping led me to Hancock Fabrics which is right beside the mall. Perfect. I left with 2 different kinds of fabric, liquid stitch, and velcro.

I got busy cutting up my fabric soon after Gage went to bed that night. I made these 2 beauties:

Pretty lil purse. its lined with the same fabric of the handle.
&&This pretty lil clutchy bag.
Here is the inside.

It felt really great to make something and I now can cross something off my 101 list. Gage liked the purse the best. He kept walking around with it and say pretty. Next thing you know he is going to break out my high heels...oh wait he already does that. No worries though he is ALL boy. Yesterday we did nothing but play in the dirt with his "monsta frucks".

Chocolate Pudding Painting

2009-03-31T08:08:00.004-04:00

Gage has a few texture issues that we are still working out. So this activity was really good for him because he normally would not go anywhere near chocolate pudding.

Materials: Chocolate pudding, something to paint on.

Looking at it in a not so sure way.

&then he wanted to taste it. I'm falling off my chair at this point! I can't believe he touched it!
&then he asked for a spoon. Man, that was short lived.

It was a fun craft but I wish he would have actually finger painted with it(and ate some, too!).

Deleted This

2009-03-30T21:42:00.003-04:00

I deleted this post.

Tip of the day: Don't write a blog post when you have had too many glasses of wine and are way too mad.

Astrology Mom

2009-03-30T09:30:00.003-04:00

Mom
Pisces
The Fish
Feb. 19-March 20

Piscean moms are compassionate, tender, and highly imaginative. Always emotionally perceptive, never overly harsh, these moms have a natural gift for offering comfort day and night. With such strong emotional natures, and a penchant for getting lost in their own rich inner world, Pisces moms have to try a little harder than some to stay focused and grounded. (How many times have you left the house without the diaper bag or let a playdate slip your mind recently?) Your child will feel loved and valued, which is of course more important in the long run, but remember it's fine to ask for help when you're feeling overwhelmed (say yes occasionally to those offers from friends or your mother-in-law). And understand this it's not a sign of weakness -- just a sign that you know your mommy-nature. When it comes to playtime, Mommy-and-me yoga and early swimming classes are mellow, meditative bonding activities you'll enjoy with your child as she grows.

http://www.parents.com/parents/astrology/

------------------------
I thought this was hilarious when I read it because I use to leave the house quite a bit without a diaper bag. It would be all packed and ready to go but somehow never made it to my car. It was always the worst when I was out with a mommy friend and Gage would poop or just need a pee-pee change and I wouldn't have diapers with me! How embarrassing! That actually happened more than once to me.

One thing moms should have packed in a baby's diaper bag is an extra shirt or pants. You never know when your baby is going to need an outfit change during the course of the day. Let me tell you why this is important. I was on an airplane with Gage. Just me and the little man. No one else. That alone just sucks and I knew I would forget something I REALLY needed. Well, that was an extra pair of clothes. Mid flight Gage starts throwing up all over me and him! Disgusting! I think at this point in the story I'm suppose to feel sorry for the person sitting next to me but I don't. Screw him! I'm the one with throw up all over me. Hah. Anyway, the point of the story is I didn't bring an extra pair of clothes in my carry-on so I took Gage's clothes off and wrapped him in a blanket that I did bring.

Atleast now I know its just in my mommy-nature. I'm not a horrible no good mom . Hah.

-----------
Anyway, were off to Tennessee today. Hopefully I get to see Ashley Amazing because she is moving on Thursday to Louisiana. That makes me sad.

Soon To Be Cry Baby

2009-03-28T22:32:00.006-04:00

I don't know what happened today but somehow I crossed over the line of anger to just...hurt. I don't really know how to describe it. I've had this feeling in me all day. My chest is heavy. I keep sighing. I think I could just start crying but I haven't yet.

It doesn't feel like a vacation anymore. It feels real.

I watched a movie last week and I really liked what one of the characters said. It "spoke" to me.

I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

iris - the holiday

I know the last part will happen eventually for me but for now the first part is true.

Mystery Bread

2009-03-27T07:53:00.002-04:00

I wish I had a video camera to tape what happened to my mom last week. The story of it that replays in my mind will have to suffice.

So we get little kids coming around selling stuff for different organizations all the time. My mom always buys from them. She is super nice like that and a sucker for a cute face. The last little kid that showed up was selling bread. Yes, bread. I think that is pretty weird but we placed an order for strawberry cheesecake bread. That sounds delicious, doesn't it? Anyway, the deadline for the bread arrived and past. We sat wondering where our bread was that cost $14. While going through the freezer the other day I saw a package I didn't recognize. I pulled it out and there was the bread! It is frozen bread you thaw out and cook(?). Wonderful! It is here! But when did it get here?!

Me: Mom, when did the bread get here?
Mom: It isn't here yet! I yelled at that little kid asking him where my bread was but he ignored me.
Me: ....mom, the bread is right here.
Mom: What?! When did it get here?!
Me: I have no clue thats what I'm asking you!
Mom: Well, I don't remember that boy dropping it off.
Me: Mom, you yelled at a little boy for not bringing you your bread and it was here the whole time!
Mom: Maybe he didn't hear me yell at him.
Me: he probably heard you and ignored you because he thinks your nutso!

So there is our mystery bread. My mom still has no clue when that boy dropped it off. I imagine I wasn't here because I don't know when it was dropped off either. We still haven't ate the bread to see if it was worth $14 because you have to thaw it out for 12 hours! We keep...forgetting to thaw it before we go to bed at night.

Note: My mom isn't crazy. She has MS and that and her medicine makes her a little...forgetful among other things.

Mosiac

2009-03-26T23:08:00.003-04:00

I was tagged by Megan

Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/).
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s Mosaic Maker (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php).
d. Save the image and blog it!

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. Favorite drink?
5. Dream vacation?
6. Favorite Hobby?
7. What you want to be when you grow up?
8. What do you love most in life?
9. One word to describe you?

What are my photos of?
1.Meagan Good 2.Pizza 3.Brown 4.Dr.Pepper 5.Greece 6.crafting 7.Happy 8.Gage 9.Lovely

I Tag:
Adventures&Misadventures Of Daily Living
Momma Blogs A Lot
Amy

Awards

2009-03-26T22:48:00.003-04:00

Here are the rules:
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”
&the 8 I chose were:
Ashley Amazing
Jen @ Momma Blogs A Lot
Sweet Home Amy
Stephanie @ More Than A Mommy Blog
Lys @ A New Fantastic Point Of View
Sapidness
Adventures&Misadventures Of Daily Living
Wandering DC

The Lemons to Lemonade Award
The rules of the award are as follows:
1) Put the logo on your blog or post.
2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
3) Link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.

1.Adventures&Misadventures Of Daily Living
2.Ashley Amazing
3. Jen @ Momma Blogs A Lot
4.Sweet Home Amy
5.Stephanie @ More Than A Mommy Blog
6.Lys @ A New Fantastic Point Of View
7.Wandering DC
8.Sapidness
9.The Mamma Has Spoken
10.Hey, I'm Just The Nanny

&the Your Blog Is Fabulous Award

1.Ashley Amazing
2.Adventures&Misadventures Of Daily Living
3. Jen @ Momma Blogs A Lot
4.Wandering DC
5.Sweet Home Amy

101 Goals in 1001 Days

2009-03-26T07:00:00.025-04:00

So its no secret that I love lists and when I saw this 'task' of making a goal list I knew I had to make my own. I haven't posted any lists on this new blog but thats okay because this is the mother of all lists. I actually had a hard time coming up 101 goals. This could be because I have no idea what my life will be like in 2011 when its done. I still completed it anyway.

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. To find more info visit Day Zero project

Start: Thursday, March 26, 2009
Finish: Thursday, December 22, 2011

What these things mean:
In progress
Done

Goals Completed: 18/101
Week 1 Update:Read It Here
Entertainment, Intellect, and the likes:
1. read 50 books in 2009 15/50
2. read 50 books in 2010 1/50
3. Read 50 books in 2011
4. Graduate school
5. Watch a movie I've never seen and don't look up info on imdb
6. read a book I normally wouldn't read - Brida
7. Have a themed party
8. Go on Kentucky Bourbon tour
9. Take a shot of alcohol and not complain about it
10. Play the lottery
11. Watch a black and white movie
12. Watch a scary movie alone - The Strangers
13. Go on a picnic

Health, Hygiene, and Beauty Goals:
14. Buy lipstick/gloss and wear it for seven consecutive days 2/7
15. Wear earrings for a complete week of school 0/5
16. Have a manicure/pedicure. - did this in school. so it counts. felt amazing!
17. Change hairstyle
18. Go a month without fast food 0/30
19. Lose 15 pounds 0/15
20. wash the make up off my face every night for atleast seven days 0/7
21. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day for seven consecutive days 0/7
22. Quit smoking
23. Get a massage
24. Floss for fourteen consecutive days 0/14
25. File my nails
26. Drink more water than Dr.Pepper
27. Do hair everyday before class

Crafty Goals:
28. give only handmade gifts for Christmas
29. Finish Gage's 1st year scrapbook
30. Create 20 original handmade cards 5/20
31. Make a family recipe cookbook to distribute to family - www.tastebook.com
32. Make an attempt to sell my crafts
33. Finish a knitting project
34. Learn a new craft
35. Start and finish Gage's 2nd year scrapbook
36. Start and finish Gage's 3rd year scrapbook
37. Start and finish Gage's 4th year scrapbook
38. Make a new purse
39. Make a book of all the projects me and gage have done together
40. Make a change pouch.

Family, Friends, and Relationship Goals:
41. Go on a local outing once a month with Gage 4/34
42. Make a time capsule with Gage
43. Successfully transition Gage from my bed to his
44. Meet someone who will knock my socks off
45. Make 5 new friends here in Kentucky 0/5
46. Write a letter to Gage that he can read when he is older
47. Have a girls night out in Louisville(or atleast somewhere in KY)
48. Go to a bar/restaraunt alone
49. Call Ambur once a week /143
~~50. Call Erin atleast once a week 1/143~~ I'm not doing this goal anymore. I added a new goal in its place.
51. Visit my moms mother without my mom being there - My grandmother passed away. I never got the chance :(
52. Visit my moms dad without my mom being there
53. Go on a date - I went on 3, actually. Taking a break as of 1/23/10.
54. Write a letter(not email) to a friend or family member once a month, preferably a different person each month. 2/34

Bloggy Goals:
55. Comment on a different blog each day for three months 30/90
56. Keep writing in my blog for the full 1001 days
57. Have a giveaway on my blog
58. Blog about all 101 goals on the list as I complete them and why each is important to me.

Dare Goals:
59. Go see a movie in the theater by myself
60. Sing Karaoke
61. Travel with Gage by myself somewhere other than Clarksville, TN
62. Try 5 different kinds of wine 5/5
63. Order different items off a menu when eating out 20 times 3/20
64. Go 1 day each week without watching television. 4/143
65. Introduce myself to a stranger and have a full conversation
66. Learn to drive a stick shift
50. Eat sushi

Organizing, Paper and Document Goals:
67. Compile a list of family and friends birthdays
68. Compile a list of family and friends addresses
69. Send Christmas cards out to family and friends
70. Make a list of 25 things that I like about myself
71. Make a list of 25 things I want in a man
72. Learn 25 new things about mom and dad
73. make a list of 25 things that make me happy
74. Write a letter to myself about everything I hope my life would be like in five years, seal it, and don't open it until the five years is up
75. send notes to people's supervisors/store when they do a great job (0/5)
76. Buy something to store all of Gage's saveables

Financial Goals:
77. Bring a sack lunch to school atleast 3 times a week
78. Open a bank account for Gage
79. Open savings account for me
80. Keep all of my spare change for 1001 days
81. Move out on my own with Gage
82. Order water instead of soda when I’m eating out
83. get a job

Something Nice Goals:
84. Walk in a MS charity walk
85. Garden with my mom because it would make her day 0/1
86. Give someone a free haircut, other than family, once I graduate 0/1
87. Buy something off of Etsy
88. Shop at a farmers market
89. Buy reusuable shopping bags and use them

Dreamy Wish Kinda Goals:
90. Go to Disney World
91. Buy an expensive perfume
92. Buy myself a pearl ring
93. Buy an expensive purse

To Do List Kinda Goals:
94. Clean out and wash my car every month 3/34
95. Make my bed everyday for a month 0/30
96. Get a library card
~~97. Get a KY driver's license~~ - I decided to make a better goal.
97. Play ten new board/card/dice games.
98. Get KY plates for my car

101 Goal Goals:
99. Inspire someone to do a 101 goal list 1/1 Ashley Amazing
100. Print out, put in purse, and read this list when idle
101. Make a new 101 goal list when this is over

My Big Secret

2009-03-25T09:13:00.004-04:00

So, I can't keep it in any longer. I tried and tried to tell myself to wait a bit longer to tell blogland but I failed because I'm about to tell you. I'm just so excited I can't not tell you. Ask anyone who knows and they will tell you I suck at keeping secrets.

I'M GOING TO COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL!

I'm so excited to start, which I do in May. Not so excited about putting Gage in daycare. Pretty bummed about that. I have worked part time pretty much since he was born but it was different. I was there during the day.

Oh well, you got to do what you got to do.

Pop-A-Egg

2009-03-24T07:57:00.000-04:00

Need a fun easter(or not) game? We do! So we got busy making our little game. This 'game' is suppose to be called Wack-A-Egg kind of like Wack-A-Mole but my little man has gave it a new name. May I present Pop-A-Egg!

Pop-A-Egg

Materials:
Box(doesn't matter what size)
plastic easter eggs
Decorative things(markers, crayons, paper etc)
Box cutters(or knife)
long kitchen spoon(or a bat?)

Directions:
1. Cut the bottom of the box out. This is where the eggs are going to drop once you pop them.
2. Decorate box. We used easter grass! Very fun!
3. Take half of an easter egg and trace a circle. Trace has many circles that would fit on the box. We had a diaper box so we had a lot of circles.
4. Cut out all the circles.
5. Put eggs in and wack em'!

Gage absolutely loved this game! I think this his favorite thing I've ever made him.