Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

I fight structure but I also need it and thrive in a loose structure, where I can change things if need be but that have specific routines I can measure as achievement. I plan obsessively, now if I could just follow up with all my long lists.

I do best when I have a general idea of a plan. Dear Hubby on the other hand is very spontaneous, he dislikes planning and I swear his favorite answers to the question “What are we doing today?” is “we’ll see” or my favorite “whatever”. I do love that he is laid back but honestly, sometimes I need and want to know what is happening and in what order.

Normally this is just a small pet peeve that balances all the other wonderful things about him. He is generous, funny, patient, kind but has smelly feet and thinks that carrying on a conversation while he is using the bathroom isn’t inappropriate. What can I say, I love him.

Back to not making plans: it becomes obvious during the holidays how flexible Dear Hubby is and how inflexible I can be at heart. He doesn’t fight that we don’t see the Rapscallion on Christmas Day, instead we get him on Christmas Eve. I know the reasons we don’t fight, so I wanted to make Christmas Eve SUPER-DUPER special!!! With Cherries, sprinkles and whipped cream on top, but guess what, that can be really difficult when the only answer you get is “whatever” “around 11, I guess” and “we will play it by ear”. How am I ever going to be the best stepmother in the world if I can’t plan on making cookies, going to the movies, playing in the snow, making his favorite dinner, going to church, singing Christmas carols, going to Grandma and Grandpa’s, taking the dog to the dog park, and basically scheduling the heck out of every minute of the 12 hours I get to spend with the kid?!?

So of course, everything that I planned fell out the window when Dear Hubby's mountain bike ride that morning took longer than expected and we didn't the Rapscallion exactly at 11. We took our time and went to see The Squeakquel, he loved it and ate a large popcorn to himself. We went to church where he sang carols and tried to copy my mother as she was on stage interpreting the songs in Sign Language. We went to Grandpa and Grandma’s where he entertained everyone with his enthusiasm for carefully unwrapping each gift he received. Despite all my planning the day was perfect and Dear Hubby sat back and enjoyed each moment.

I hate when he is right.

Merry Christmas Y'all

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!

I will be back to regular blogging after the holidays, just needed some time to focus on the family. Also the Rapscallion is on track break so that makes even completing a thought when he is around a challenge!

Love, peace and family from our home to yours!

A Toast to my Sister and Brother-in-Law

My little sister got married this weekend, I was asked to give a toast and here for your reading enjoyment is what I shared:

I met Lil Sis a while ago, I was living with my parents at the time and they let her move in. Things were pretty good in the beginning, but you know how roommate situations go.

Bro-in-Law, I want to welcome you to the family. To be honest, I always thought I would be saying this to Michael Jackson or Alex Trebek, good luck.

I want you guys to start your marriage on a fresh note, so here is the $1 Bean and I owe you for sneaking out your window that one time.

I love you guys and wish you a lifetime of happiness.

The Cost of Saving Money

I didn’t want to spend the money to have my hair professionally colored before my sisters wedding (Kerri, if you are reading this you might want to stop here) ETA: The wedding is Saturday and yes, Kerri is my hair dresser. My patient, wonderful, hair dresser who puts up with me cutting my own bangs and normally coloring my own hair (she did it for a while and it was always wonderful, I don't know why I stopped having her do it) anyway...

I have colored my hair at home on and off for years, I have had some disasters but in the past few years things have turned out fairly well. I have been using Natural Instincts in a color called Cinnamon Stick. It is close to my natural hair color, just a little nicer.

For the wedding I decided to go a bit darker, to bring out my eyes. I bought 2 boxes of hair color in a dark brown, it turn BLACK with weird ashy/green tones to it. So I washed it for a couple of days but it wasn’t lightening.

Last night I decided to fix it (I know, I know, I should have just called Kerri then) I went to find hair color remover, I had used a product called Color Oops in the past and it was great, it reverses the oxidation process and takes the color deposits out of your hair. I couldn’t find it and used another hair color remover, which was a bleach based. My hair turned funky orange with yellow roots; I washed it out quickly once I saw what it was doing. This morning, I tried using the Cinnamon Stick again, thinking that I would just go back to my normal hair color.

Nope, now I have brownish hair with orange’ish roots, it is a great look.

So now I have a dilemma, do I go out and find the Color Oops, get all the hair color out of my hair and then use a permanent hair color in a lighter brown shade to cover up all the damage (and pray that Kerri forgives me when she sees what I have done) or do I bite the bullet and have Kerri fix my hair? I don’t really have the money to have my hair professionally colored (it would be around $75+) the best part:

2 Boxes of Dark Brown Hair Color $8
1 Box of Bleach Hair Color Remover $12
2 Boxes of Semi-Permanent Cinnamon Stick $16
1 Box of Color Oops $14
2 Boxes of Golden Brown $17
Total = $67 + tax and stress

I maybe saved $8, maybe, what a joke at saving money I am!

Little Birds

may my heart always be open to little

e. e. cummings

may my heart always be open to little

birds who are the secrets of living

whatever they sing is better than to know

and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry

and fearless and thirsty and supple

and even if it’s sunday may i be wrong

for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully

and love yourself so more than truly

there’s never been quite such a fool who could fail

pulling all the sky over him with one smile

Vegas Baby

My rain drenched friend AmyK posted a little list on living in Washington since she is a native. I love these lists even if I didn't get any of the references on hers. They make me remember the fun, little quirks that living in any area bring.

I am native to Las Vegas and so is my little sister, our Dad moved out here when he was a teenager and when we were younger he would take us on "tours" showing us all the places that had affected his life and how much they had changed (Las Vegas isn't a town known for cherishing it's history and historical buildings) Check out this link for a page showing the 14 casinos we have imploded so far.

So here is my list, compiled mainly from other lists out there and a FaceBook group I belong too.
Have fun! Vegas is a crazy town to be from but I love it!

First, it's pronounced LOSS VAYGUS, NEVA-A-A-DA (not Nev-ah-da.). It doesn't matter how they say it in other places

All directions start with, "Go down 95...' cause you DON'T want to get on 15!"

Las Vegas Blvd, Charleston Blvd, and Torrey Pines have no beginning and no end.

It's impossible to go around a block and wind up on the same street that you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls this a "scenic drive"

The 8:00 am rush hour is 4:30am to 11:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is 11:30am to 10:15pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning and ends some time late Sunday night.

Just remember that Camino Al Norte is Martin Luther King Blvd., Boulder Highway is Fremont Street, Eastern Ave is 25th Street or Civic Center Drive, Desert Inn is Lamb Blvd., Spring Mountain/Sands/Twain are all the same street. Don't try to figure it out. Just accept it. If you question the intelligence behind this naming convention, people will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you.

Henderson is the only place in the world where THREE "parallel" streets intersect at one traffic light. That would be the 4-way of Green Valley Parkway/Eastern Avenue/Maryland Parkway. For laughs, ask any middle school Geometry teacher to try to explain it

Many major roads just end abruptly in somebody's garage, a Home Depot, a Casino or McCarran International Airport Runway and start again after the interruption. That was done to encourage you to "see the sights" and meet new people. For fun, just try to take Harmon Avenue from Rainbow to Nellis.

You have no idea what a scarf does but think it looks good.

You know how to get to any casino on the strip without taking Las Vegas Blvd.

You can now predict where construction signs will be misleadingly placed.

You accept the fact that stop signs and red lights mean very little to tourists.

You become nocturnal between the months of April to October.

You know the seasons: Really hot, 2 weeks of nice, not so hot, 2 weeks of nice.

When you go to different cities, you're amazed things aren't open after 9 pm.

It doesn't faze you to see slot machines in grocery stores or gas stations.

Once a year, when it rains, the Las Vegas Wash and the City of Las Vegas are one

The wind blows every day, and it is impossible to live in Las Vegas without some kind of allergy drug.

You have no idea how a lottery works.

Seeing a limo is an everyday occurrence.

You know weddings at Chapels don't have to be trashy affairs with Elvis.

What the hell is last call?

Your most prized possession as a Nevadan is your blue and white license plate.

You know the spaghetti bowl has nothing to do with food and you want nothing to do with it.

You know never to merge right when driving north on I-15; it'll just end anyway.

You think 6 tons of crushed rock makes a beautiful lawn.

The term Lake Las Vegas doesn't seem problematic in the slightest.

You've gone bowling and watched movies in casinos your whole life.


Sunscreen is sold year round, kept at the front of the checkout counter, a formula less than 30 SPF is a joke, and you wear it just to go to the mailbox.

You laugh at people taking pictures in front of the welcome sign.

You don't own an umbrella.

Sixty degrees is cold enough to wear a jacket, anything under 50 and you wear long thermals

You get bored in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

You've never had to pay for parking.

You are outraged to pay more than 9.99 for prime rib and a lobster tail.

You've forgotten what rain looks like.

You know more prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas.

You know more than one person that works as a stripper and you know they prefer to be called "dancers"

And, yes, we all know that man in a teddy and a tiara on Fremont Street. His name is Leslie and he probably makes more money than you do!

The Things My Cat has Seen

So I have been told by my Dad that I need to share the story of Cat Butt spending the night outside earlier this week.

The weather here in Vegas has been weird, it is getting colder but not nearly as cold as normal for November. We have been keeping the windows open, I like the cooler weather at night and I love having my windows open. I dream of living someplace where I can keep my windows open most of the year, it just makes the house feel less stuffy.

During the day I had been opening up the window in the kitchen, it doesn’t have a screen so I had been making sure it was closed at night. Then last weekend I had a sinus infection and Dear Hubby was mainly running the house for 2 days, while I remained in bed trying to figure out if a “sinusectomy” was even a real medical procedure I could consider. I mean why keep your sinuses, if all they do is: breed new strains of bacteria, ratchet up mucus production and feel like they are about to burst forth from my forehead and engage in a rampage, I assume would be similar to Godzilla verses Mothra wherein they destroy the Las Vegas Strip with all the mutant bacteria that has grown inside them.

So not blaming anyone but the window in the kitchen didn’t get closed one night. Puppy Butt thinks it is her duty to chase Cat Butt out of the kitchen and back over the baby gate that divides the house into 2 sections. One section where Puppy Butt is allowed and one where Cat Butt can go to escape. I basically have a turf war between the cat and dog in my house (god forbid you are wearing the wrong colors in the laundry room) we had to put the baby gate up because Puppy Butt feels that the cats litter box is a great place to sneak a little treat and then lick your face, also she feels like The Rapscallions room is not technically part of the house so she must be allowed to poop in there.

I guess Puppy Butt chased Cat Butt and instead of retreating to the safety of the extra bedroom where she can lay in a laundry basket containing blankets, Cat Butt decided to jump out the open kitchen window. I was in a NyQuil induced slumber and didn’t hear anything and Dear Hubby, well he could sleep through a marching band walking through the bedroom.

In the morning, Dear Hubby got up for work and heard a pissed off cat yowling in the backyard. As he was brushing his teeth, the thought occurred to him that the pissed off cat sounded an awfully lot like Cat Butt so he went to the back door and checked. Sure enough she was sitting on the back steps and glaring at him. She ran into the house meowing and expressing her displeasure with being left outside. Apparently a night out makes a cat hungry, so she ran straight for her food bowl and began eating in haste, while continuing to glare at Dear Hubby and meow between mouthfuls. She then decided it was time to wake me up to discuss how upset she was, she jumped onto my head and meowed in my face repeatedly.

Cat Butt was filthy, her paws were covered in black, I am not sure if she ran the streets for a little while after she realized she couldn’t get back into the house. I can only imagine she ran into the neighborhood tomcat Haggard Cat.

Haggard Cat sleeps under cars and I suspect him of being the one who broke into my jeep and ate a 6 inch Subway sandwich that I accidentally left in the truck one night. Apparently street cats enjoy a Spicy Italian BMT when they can get one. Cat Butt and Haggard Cat have seen each other through the window, he gets up from under a car in the morning looking like he had a rough night of drinking and Cat Butt sits on the back on the couch looking out the window at him and acting like she has it hard because “I had to sleep with the humans, I don’t understand why they sleep in my bed” I can only imagine that if Cat Butt ran into Haggard Cat he was completely sympathetic “where are your humans now?”

So after I calmed her down and she went to sleep on my pillow, I tried to discuss the tensions in the house with Puppy Butt. I figure if Ronald Regan could get Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, I could broker peace between the cat and the dog. It has been a tense peace, Puppy Butt hasn’t chased Cat Butt over the baby gate but then Cat Butt has been strangely cocky since spending the night outside, like we should respect her because she is almost a street cat now and we can’t even imagine the things she has seen.

A Girl Meets a Boy

A girl meets a boy…

A girl meets a boy; and he is smart, he makes her laugh and he is cute. They talk for hours and he professes to love her more than peanut butter. They go to trashy bars together and laugh easily the boy is articulate, motivated and fun.

A girl moves in with a boy, they both leave socks on the floor and share the chores. They still love going to trashy bars and often spend time with a growing group of friends. One night the boy asks the girl to marry him; they get married 5 days later.

A girl marries a boy, he changes job and races mountain bikes. They still laugh easily, even when life becomes stressful. They go through some trials but remember that they love each other and that is why they work it out. They assume they must be having fun because they are broke. They get a cat and then a dog, the dog has abandonment issues.

A girl meets a boy and falls in love, the boy tells her that he has a son. That girl had no idea what she got herself into. The girl loves the kid and the kid loves the girl back.

A girl meets an ex-wife and things are cordial. The girl respects the kid’s mom but inevitably drama ensues. The girl and the boy begin to fight about the ex-wife, the kid has problems sleeping and the girl feels like she is at her wits end. The girl goes looking for help.

A girl meets other girls just like her, with wonderful husbands and step kids they love, some of them have good relationships with the ex-wives some have more drama than the girl can believe. The girl has found kindred spirits.

A girl takes a risk to met one of the girls in person, she is warm and funny. They talk for hours and the girl feels renewed. The girl takes a crazy trip out of state to meet a bunch of these girls and feels like she has known them forever.

A girl is lucky; she has gotten to meet a lot of her step mom friends in real life. A lot of her regular friends think she is nutty but the boy is supportive because he has seen how the girl has grown as a stepmother and a person.

A girl met a boy, who has a son. That has turned my life upside down but I couldn't be happier. I will be out of town this weekend to meet up with some of my closest friends, my kindred spirits. And the boy will be in Moab, racing mountain bikes.

Happy Halloween from Dear Hubby and Amburgular!

Drive-In Night

We still have a drive-in movie theatre here, it isn't in the best area of town and unfortunately it sits directly next to a small airport. That has never been an issue until Saturday night, when our screen was directly in front of the runway and we got to watch small airplanes take off 3 times during our movies. I am complaining but I am not, I am glad we have a drive-in and in a town that knocks down anything that has been around for a while, I am even happier we have kept this piece of nostalgia.

We met up with a bunch of friends to watch Where the Wild Things Are, it was a double feature with AstroBoy.

Prices at the drive-in are great, like a matinee at a regular theatre. All movies are double features, which for us was great this weekend, since Where the Wild Things Are bored the pants off the kids, but I really enjoyed it. It just had more serious themes than the kids were interested in. The kids really enjoyed Astroboy.

Seriously, we lost the Rapscallion 10 minutes into the film, he spent the rest of the film trying to climb up the screen and complaining that there wasn't anything to eat. There was plenty to eat, I have to say this before my mom calls me to say "you know he is a growing boy", sorry let me correct that, there was plenty to eat that didn't cost $4.50 and we brought it with us, but you know kids, the more it costs, the more they want it, until they take one bite and decide they are full and want to go try to climb the screen again. I brought: PB&J, lemonade, YoGo's, oranges and frozen Go-Gurts for each one of them.

Kids are $1 to get in so we brought the Rapscallions best friend, I highly suggest this if you have the slightest desire to watch any of the movies playing. They are a great team and just old enough to go to the bathroom without me having to stand outside the door. Plus everything is more fun with your friends, that's why we met up with ours that night.

You bring your own food, drinks and chairs, they do ask that you refrain from bringing barbeque's and smokers but everything else is kosher. We set up blankets in the trunk of the jeep for the boys, the theatre broadcasts the movies sound over your FM radio dial, we don't have a radio in the jeep so a friend was kind enough to bring a boom-box (does anyone even say boom-box anymore) so we could have sound.

We met up with about half a dozen friends and took over one whole row so we could keep an eye on our kids while still talking and hanging out. It was fun. I highly recommend the drive-in as a fun, somewhat cheap evening out. They do have a concession stand if you don't bring your own food and drinks, but the theatre encourages you to bring your cooler. The bathrooms are by the concession stand, the building has probably been around since the theatre opened in 1966, but if you hover you will be ok (or you could get a Go-Girl, I really want one of these, but that is another post) There is a pretty modern playground by the concession stand for the kids. Safety first, it isn't the best area of Las Vegas and there are alot of cars, so watch your kids if you go.

Our set up in the back of the jeep before the boys got in it and spilled lemonade all over everything. Next time I want to have just a grown up night at the Drive-In, who wants to come with us? No, I don't want to see SAW 987 or whichever one is out now.

I'll Show You Mine...

If you show me yours!

Again I am accepting a challenge from AmyK. Basically show me the stuffed animal or blankie you have had since you were itty bitty. Tell me, and the interweb, your story.

In return, I will show you mine. In fact I will show you mine first!

I would like to introduce you to Teddy and Red, not the most creative names, I know but I have given them names and changed them when the whim suited me so many times over the years. Somewhere I also have a hard plastic lizard named Little Red Riding Hood, my sister had Goldilocks, what can I say we were weird kids.

Both Teddy and Red currently reside in my hope chest, I would bring them out but I don't want anyone playing with them (evil stepmom moment) because if something happened to them at the hands of the Rapscallion, or Puppy Butt, I would be hard pressed to let that go easily. Maybe not my most graceful confession but it is the truth.

It was fun to pull out Teddy for this picture, I used to sleep on him so he is a little smunched up but still soft and just waiting for me if I ever need him.

For Sale

For Sale Cheap! O.B.O.

One annoying Cat Butt and

One gassy Puppy Butt.

For the right price might throw

in a mouthy 8 year old.

Call tired, annoyed

Mom with all offers.

Puppy Butt had gas last night, she got into the trash and ate some broccoli (just a couple of pieces, don't go calling ASPCA on me) had a tummy ache all night. Cat Butt has decided sleeping ON MY HEAD is a great idea, but she has to come in and out of the room all night not to mention that she has to announce herself every time she comes into the room.

I guess these guys are lucky I love them.

This Really Important Blog about.... Oh Look a Bat!

I went to the doctors a few months ago; he was doing a routine stress test to make sure that everything was pumping in my chest like it should be. He decided to send me to an endocrinologist to have a spot on my thyroid examined closer. For most people this isn’t a big deal but in my family thyroids have been our Achilles heel. I asked the doctor if the spot on my thyroid could be causing any other problems, like attention problems. He didn’t think the two were related and said after I saw the endocrinologist we would talk about them.

I swear my Mother’s family crest has a bottle of vodka and a tumor on it (no one can remember what is on my Dad’s family crest, sorry, bad Alzheimer’s joke) my little sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 25 and my Mom had hers removed when an internal goiter became so large that it inhibited her breathing.

I went to the endocrinologist, who also happens to be my little sister’s doctor. He said I look just like her and then ordered a biopsy, not cool. I don’t know the last time you had a needle repeatedly poked into your neck but it isn’t something I do often. No matter how much I tried to relax and think about other things I keep returning to one truth. There was a needle being poked repeatedly into my throat! So the results we negative, I am fine, with my family history they will keep an eye on any changes that occur in the area just to be on the safe side.

So I went back to the doctor’s office to talk about my attention issues. I was a dreamy little kid; I daydreamed and basically lived in my own world until I was in junior high. I was smart but often fell behind in school because the material didn’t hold my attention. Even in high school and my first attempt at college, I would routinely start with the greatest intentions only to be frustrated time and time again when I lost track of things during the semester. I am enrolled in college again and didn’t want to have to go through all of those old feelings again.

I have suspected for a while now that I suffered from Attention Deficient/Hyperactivity Disorder, the doctor spoke with me about my personal history and agreed that I exhibit ADHD-I (I stands for inattentive) symptoms. He gave me a prescription that my insurance doesn’t want to cover. So he started me on a different drug and while it helps I can tell it is not the right drug for me.

Everyone’s body chemistry is different so it is normal to have to try more than one medication before you find one that works well for you. I just don’t know how to call my doctor to tell him that the medication he just gave me a higher dose of is still not helping me focus.

Oh and BATS!!!

Who Can Feel Bad Looking at Kittens?

I am not up for much posting today, or much of last week but I felt I owed you all an update and since I honestly do believe that my blog is in the 2% of useful information you can find on the Internet I thought I should share that spotlight with a deserving little website.

Funny cats, kittens, dogs and other animals.

It is hard to be down in the dumps looking at cute little kitties.

Meow, meow, meow.

I will be back to regular posting this week, sorry for the absence and the randomness.

Holey Moley StepMama Bear!

I was reading a blog by my friend AmyK, while her situation is a little different than ours with the Rapscallion, I feel like she used some imagery that really hit home with me about why I fight so hard for the Rapscallion.

She talks about holes in our skids lives, holes they may not have if they came from an intact biofamily. Holes that have an effect on the child, slack in the line of their lives that doesn’t let them fly as high as they should, doesn’t let them be the children they should get to be and causes them to grow up too early. All this slack, all these holes affect the children and as the stepmom I feel like it is my job to pick up the slack, I feel like it is my job to protect the Rapscallion from the holes.

Like AmyK’s Kidlet, the Rapscallion has 2 houses that he goes back and forth into, he also stays a week at a time in each house and I have wondered sometimes what all the changing does to him. Like AmyK, I hope he feels at home at our house. In our house we try to remain consistent, involved, loving and fun. At Bio Mom’s house we have no control, we can’t control when he is exposed to things that we disagree with like anger, fighting, and negativity.

One of those “holes” opened up in his life again this week while he was at Bio Mom's, because of it we will change the weeks that the Rapscallion is in our custody to try and protect him from false accusations. Dear Hubby has to go to a meeting with Bio Mom about this “hole” and as much as I know Bio Mom doesn’t want me going, I am going to support my husband, my stepson, my family and even her because he may not have fallen out of my crotch but he is my kid none the less and I feel an overwhelming need to protect my family during this time.

Night Owl Audtioning for Part of Early Bird

I am a night-owl who would like nothing better than to be an early bird. I am not ashamed of my night-owl tendencies but it is inconvenient when you live in a house full of early risers. Both Dear Hubby and The Rapscallion love to greet the dawn, while the only one who wants to hit the snooze and hide under the covers with me is Cat Butt.

My boys love to go outside and be active, I love to cuddle up and read a book but somehow we have to find a common ground and that common ground is me looking for ways to become a more pleasant early riser.

I have worked very hard on myself in the last few weeks. I am enrolled in college, attending an English class. I have lost a little over 7 pounds by eating well and walking Puppy Butt. I have gone to the Doctor to discuss how I was feeling out of control, depressed and frustrated. After some discussion and research Doctor and I agree that I have most likely suffered from ADHD-I most of life. I fought the insurance company who told me that the drug prescribed by my doctor was not going to be covered for me since I was over the age of 20. We have compromised with what I feel is an inferior drug just to start. I am only on my second day of these meds, we will see how they go, and I can already tell you that the dosage is too low.

Next step on the challenge is to start trying to wake up earlier and spend more time outside. I would like to enjoy hiking, biking and camping more than I do. I know I would enjoy hiking more if I brought my camera/got a better camera so I could take pictures. I enjoy biking but I am such a slow rider I feel like I hold Dear Hubby back, I guess as I get into better physical shape that will become easier and as I start enjoying morning time more camping could be more enjoyable.

Saturday is my first hike, I will bring my camera and let you know how it goes.

Making Friends and Influencing People

Yesterday was my first day back in school, I am taking my English requirement this semester, and it is a 5 credit class which means a lot of work for yours truly. I was nervous going into class; I haven’t been in school in almost 10 years. I was afraid of being one of the oldest and maybe the only one in the class who honestly doesn’t know the correct usage for a semicolon. I can’t remember the parts of speech beyond what I help the Rapscallion with and he is only in second grade. I write like I talk and it is only through the magic of Microsoft Word that my grammar is anything close to being correct.

I arrived at the campus early so I could purchase my textbook and find the classroom, I stopped at the help desk to get a hard copy of my schedule and I found out that the college still has me listed by my last name from when I was married to Whatshisface, so tomorrow I have to bring a copy of my divorce decree from Whatshisface and my marriage license to Dear Hubby (ladies this is why you should NOT change your name when you get married) to have my name corrected in the system. I found my classroom pretty easily; I glanced through the textbook, looks like it is all written in English and finally went into the room about 10 minutes before the class was to start.

The dilemma of where to sit, all the seats in the back were full, plus lets all admit I don’t mind being the center of attention but sitting in the front row would single me out as a nerd. An old, returning to college after 10 years, semiliterate, know-it-all nerd and we all know there is nothing worst than fulfilling your worst ideas about yourself. Luckily I found an open desk near the middle of the room.

The Professor, who has told us we can call him Steve so I will now refer to him as Professor Steve, was running late. When he came into the room I assumed he was another student, he was wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt with a Spam logo on it. He looked older than me but not by much, now here is where I reveal how shallow I am, I always check out peoples shoes. You can tell so much by them, his shoes were kind of ratty old Vans but the biggest thing I noticed was that he was wearing 2 different shoes. 2 different colored shoes, I should explain; 1 black with a white stripe and a white sole, the other grey with a white stripe and a rubber sole.

He started class telling us a little bit about what we would be studying this semester; he then opened the floor for questions. He said we could ask him any question we wanted, so you know what I asked right.

Turns out he didn’t know he was wearing 2 different shoes, I guess I better proofread every essay I turn in this semester.

The Bestowed Honor

I have been awarded the opportunity to share 7 things about myself with you from Amy I didn't know awards came with homework and this one sounds eerily familiar to one of those chain letter text messages but since I heart her I will play along.

#1. I was home schooled from the time I was in 2nd grade until I went into Jr. High. Homeschooling was great and I got to know alot of people from very different backgrounds. We met once a week with a homeschooling group so we could get socialization, we would work on group projects and go on field trips. The worse series was learning about decomposition, it involved burying trash in a stocking and digging it up each week to see how everything was decomposing. After that we took a field trip to the city dump, first we visited the collection facility where we discovered they spray the trash everyday with a different scent to cover the stench. Mondays were apple, Tuesday was grape, Wednesdays were orange, and so on throughout the week. In the collection facility it worked, a little. Then we headed to the main dump where I discovered that fruit scented trash smells even worse when you combine all the fruit smells and leave it outside in the 110 degree Las Vegas heat.

#2. I have two different colored eyes, it is called heterochromia. Mine is the result of an eye surgery I had when I was 7 to have a cataract removed from my right eye. The injury to the eye caused my eye to change colors. My left eye is blue and my right eye is green. Depending on what I am wearing and how much eye makeup I have on it can seem very drastic. Kate Bosworth, David Bowie, Jane Seymour, Kiefer Sutherland, Christopher Walken, Dan Ackroyd and Mila Kunis are some celebrities that also have heterochromia.

#3. I collect owls because I feel like you have to have something you collect. It makes gift giving easier for those around you and if you don't specify what you collect you are the gift giving mercy of those around you. I picked owls because I kept getting cat stuff, I love cats and Cat Butt but I am working hard against the idea that I will become a crazy cat lady when I get older. Owls also fit into my favorite decorating scheme, which is things your grandma would have liked.

#4. I didn't like my best friend when I first met her, we were 15 and my parents had just started going to a new church. Most of the kids were friendly but they were all "cowboys" when I met Bean she was this tall, blue-eyed, blond dressed completely preppy. I thought she was lame and later I found out she thought I was freak. That picture was taken the first day we attended the new church. I was wearing green crochet thigh-high fishnets with ripped black tights underneath. My hair was fire engine red and I know I was wearing combat boots.

In the beginning of my Sophomore year in High School I got into a fight with a girl a good foot taller than me, I was suspended and that evening I went to church with my parents. Something was mentioned about the fight and Bean asked who I got into the fight with, turns out she didn't like the girl either. We have been friends for 15 years now, she is best friend a girl could ask for. I am truly lucky to have her in my life.

#5. When I was a kid I read a set of Encyclopedias, it was the World Book. A few years ago I read a set of Funk and Wagnall encyclopedias that Bio Mom's mom gave me and I am gearing up to read a set of Encyclopedia Britannica that I rescued from the trash men. I am a store of useless knowledge.

#6. I am a dumpster diver and I love to thrift store shop, I am prouder of the things I have that have been rescued, found and redone than I am of the few things I have that were purchased. I love items that have a story to tell. I like things that are interesting and it is huge thing to me to not appear like everyone else. I pride myself on my individuality, I am not like everyone else but I like who I am.

#7. I am very insecure about my writting, I am very insecure about alot of things but especially about my writting and this blog. I never know from day to day if I want everyone to read it or if I want to hide it but ultimately I continue to write because I feel like I have to challenge myself to express who I am and not to hide away from the world.

So now I bestow the honor of this award on to:

Chuckleheads

Scott

JunkGirl

and

Second Half Beginnings

Envy is a Waste of Time

Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own. ~Harold Coffin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jealousy

Envy and Jealousy, we all experience these emotions but not all of us react negatively when they rear their heads in our lives.

When envy and jealously become an issue in custody situations they often have roots in control issues. Bio Mom has some control issues that I have observed in my dealings with her over the last 6 years.

She is currently frustrated by Dear Hubby’s unwillingness to compromise any further with her on the issue of the Rapscallion playing outside. She would like the Rapscallion to be under “constant parental supervision” Dear Hubby feels that the Rapscallion will be 8 in November and that we need to start giving him more responsibility. We live in a gated community with 24 hour security so as difficult as it is to let this little kid who I know is scared of the dark and still sleeps with a toy monkey, this little kid who can’t possibly be growing up that quickly, this little kid who still needs help cutting his meat, as difficult as it is to let him test his wings I know we need to. I also know that in giving him more freedom he will mess up, he will make mistakes and it is our job as parents to teach him when those mistakes happen, not to shelter him from them forever.

Bio Mom disagrees vehemently and since we live in the same community she has been aware that the Rapscallion has been given more freedom at our house. Last week he got into a spot of trouble for throwing rocks, when Dear Hubby told Bio Mom about the situation she told us this is how all juvenile delinquents start and if we allow him to continue to play outside with the neighborhood kids it is only a matter of time until “he starts smoking weed” Dear Hubby refused to compromise any further with her, the Rapscallion is only allowed to play with friends we know and has to check in every 15 minutes, Bio Mom moved on to attacking me.

In the same statement she said I was lazy and slept until noon everyday while the Rapscallion ran around doing “whatever he wants” and that I am too involved and that I should not be taking the Rapscallion to the library, volunteering in his classroom, helping him with his reading or taking him to get frozen yogurt.

While I find her statements laughable now, I was very defensive when Dear Hubby told me everything that was said. I wish I could sleep until noon, the Rapscallion wakes up at the butt crack of dawn, and I am not a morning person so I have taught him to pour himself a bowl of cereal. Apparently not waking up the instant he is awake to pour him a bowl of cereal is sleeping until noon. Also if I was sleeping until noon how is it I am doing all of these things with him?

There was quite a bit more to this argument, she said I was trying to intimidate her when I went to the schools Open House, apparently showing up on time with clean clothes on is now a threat. She wants me to no longer be involved in the Rapscallions life and schooling. When Dear Hubby pointed out that she could be involved also her response was that she “works 40 hours a week” (not counting that she bowls until noon on Mondays, I guess)

In her arguments it was easy to see that her envy is based in that I am a stay at home stepmother, what she isn’t seeing is how I didn’t ask to do this; I am just making the best of what I was given. I was laid off from a big box retailer and the job market has been difficult to find a job. I have often found myself envious of Bio Mom’s ability to get a job but she has training I don’t. Instead of becoming bitter about it I enrolled in school to get the training I will need to be able to get a better job.

Envy and jealousy don’t have to make you ugly, but then again it is up to you what you do with them.

Brain Fog

I am experiencing brain fog right now, I have started a diet plan from my doctor and as my body gets used to the changes, I am finding that my brain is moving slowly, so slowly, I think molasses moves faster than my brain this morning.

I am allowed to drink caffeine but I am trying to moderate that, today I fell off the wagon and drank 1/2 a rockstar. I can drink coffee with non-dairy creamer and splenda but I am not a huge coffee fan, that is what happens when you worked for a coffee shop and drank your lifetime allotment in 4 months. I also can't stand the smell of coffee grounds and bleach, it is like experiencing a war flashback, I could hide under a desk and cry at the thought of another strung out coffee drinker yelling at me because I didn't drizzle the carmel the way they wanted it into their macchiato.

I digress, so the brain fog, today I felt like I had a white noise machine running in my brain all day. Every time I tried to concentrate on anything the white noise got in the way, I found myself sitting, starring off into space and daydreaming. Daydreaming is something I haven't done since I was quite a bit younger, I physically had to shake my head out of the clouds. It was so hard to get motivated and I remember why I started mainlining caffeine to begin with. I had to take the Rapscallion to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner and I made myself a little promise that if I got up and put on a clean shirt I would reward myself with a sugar-free rockstar (my doctor would like me to limit the amount of diet soft-drinks I consume) I drank half of it when I got home and I started to feel human again. I have the other half in the fridge and like a true addict I will probably drink it tomorrow morning, no matter how flat and terrible it tastes.

Of course since I was experiencing brain fog the Rapscallion woke up at 4:30 a.m. his friends dad had promised to take the boys to a BMX track to watch some of the local guys race. I didn't want to rain on his parade but I haven't seen anyone in this family wake up before 10 in the morning on most days. They are nice people, just not morning people and certainly not up at the butt crack of dawn like Dear Hubby and the Rapscallion. On most mornings the Rapscallion is up at 7, over summer vacation nothing has changed and I have had to restrain him from going to his friends houses to see if they can come out and play until 9:30 in the morning. This morning the Rapscallion was up at 4:30 asking if he could get dressed in case friends "Dad calls, I want to be ready" they were supposed to call at 7:30 if they were going to go and finally at 8 I let him go over to see if they were awake and of course they weren't. He was disappointed but unfortunately the Rapscallion is accustomed to people making promises and backing out on them so he took it in stride. It was a long day, here's hoping tomorrow is better!

Surprise!

I love how fresh and fruity this one turned out!












Those flower stickers were on clearance, I love the way they look painted on!
























These cards are so much fun!

I have been making some handmade cards to mail out, I love getting something in the mail that isn't junk mail or another bill. I started out making a thank-you card for the Rapscallions teacher but I didn't take a picture of that one. After that I was on a roll and having a blast as I thought about each friend and where their card would travel. I took the Rapscallion with me to buy stamps, I needed 5 international stamps and 1 Canadian stamp, it was fun to tell him about the places the cards were going to go.

This is just a few of the ones I made, I hope to make even more this week to send out.

Meet Puppy Butt!

This is Penelopi "Penni" our new little fur-baby. She is a 1/2 corgi 1/2 deer head chihuahua. We adopted her from a shelter on Sunday, we are still learning about her personality so I imagine I will have alot more to share about her in the coming weeks.

Cat Butt is less than thrilled about this new addition to our family. but she will live. Cat Butt has been around dogs before (when I was an unfit cat mother and she had to go live my parents) and Penni, from here on known as Puppy Butt, has no interest in Cat Butt.

A Series of Unfortunate Situations

Dear Hubby and I have a theory that good things cannot happen to us for too long, we both instinctively start to worry when we haven't faced some sort of challenge for too long. We were worried on the way back from our little trip to San Diego and then the tire caught on fire. Dear Hubby was then bit by a spider, the breaks on my car went out and now to top it all off Dear Hubby has broken out in a terrible rash as a reaction to one of the medications he was given for the spider bite. On a plus side this can mean that the tides can turn and we can get out of this phase, I just feel terrible that he has been so uncomfortable during all of this.

I will update about the vacation to Colorado we just got back from, we had a great time with our families. We are lucky!

Short Break

I will be on a short absence from blogosphere, the family and I are going to visit the folks back in Colorado. I will be back Tuesday with updates.
Peace, Love and Jellybeans!

One Hot Weekend

Dear Hubby and I took a quick trip to San Diego for the weekend, we were able to meet up with a few friends and just basically relax. We spent loads of time just sitting on the beach and watching the waves. We swam in the ocean for a little while and tried body surfing, Dear Hubby was more successful than I was, I just ended up with alot of seawater in my nose. We took our bikes and once we had parked in front of friends house we just rode them, my favorite moment of the weekend was riding back to the Pacific Beach area from the Mission Beach area at 1 in the morning after we met up with my friend Terri. We rode along the boardwalk and while it was packed during the day it was pretty deserted in the middle of the night. I could hear the sounds of the ocean as I rode, it was pretty perfect. The weather in San Diego was balmy and perfect, it was 111f officially here in Las Vegas on Thursday, which means on my side of town it reached like 117f. I was so happy to be out of the heat and I love the humidity and weather on the beach.

Since things in my life have to have balance, you know something bad had to happen. On our way back into Las Vegas Dear Hubby heard a noise and pulled over, he thought maybe we had a flat tire, it turned out to be the wheel bearing. He thought we could creep the truck back into town, we got off the freeway at the first exit when another truck flagged us down to let us know that our wheel was now on FIRE!

Apparently when the bearing failed it caused a metal on metal situation, the friction caused the metal to become so hot that our hub cab caught on fire. We put it out quickly and as of right now it doesn't look like the fire caused any additional damage. We had to have the truck towed to a mechanic.

All and all an ending to a wonderful weekend that could have only happened to me, no flat tires for this girl, nope I get tire fire.

Since I was out of town I didn't have a chance to officially link to the guest blog I submitted for my friend AmyK, check it out and then stay around to hear about her life with her Dear Hubby and her step-daughter, the Kidlet.
http://ithenshalllive.blogspot.com/2009/07/stepmom-confessions-guest-stepmom-amber.html

I will be in San Diego for the weekend, please check out http://ithenshalllive.blogspot.com/ on Saturday for her stepmom confessions written by yours truly!

Then I Shall Live

I have been asked to contribute a guest blog for AmyK at http://ithenshalllive.blogspot.com/ it should appear on Saturday but in the mean time go over and see all the cuteness that is happening over there.

Throw Your Hands Up and Shout!

Remember a while back I was convinced that the Maintenance guy took my bottle of Shout?

http://amburgular.blogspot.com/2009/05/it-has-been-odd-week-for-me-holidays.html

Dear Hubby may have thought I was exaggerating, in fact he may have told me that I must have misplaced it and that there was no way the maintenance took it. I figured that if Maintenance grabbed the bottle of Shout it was most likely by accident, I really didn't think they stole it or anything.

So fast forward to Thursday morning, I had locked the keys in the truck the night before so we had called a locksmith to get them out. There was a knock at the door so I figured it was the locksmith, guess who?

Maintenance! and guess what he had, my bottle of Shout!

Ha! I knew I wasn't crazy, he had accidentally grabbed it.

Tell It To Me Straight

Communication is the most vital thing in a relationship but what do you when the parties involved either will not communicate with each other or refuse to listen to each other?

We are experiencing issues with Bio-Mom again, she does not fully communicate with Dear Hubby. She will call to tell him some of the most mundane things about her life but for some reason she refuses to communicate about The Rapscallion's school issues.

Even when we can get her to communicate about the issues at hand she has a habit of lying to make herself either look better or hide what is going wrong.

I am at my end in this, I cannot make her tell Dear Hubby the truth but at the same time there are no consequences for when her lies and half truths affect my life and household. Dear Hubby and I fight, I am frustrated that someone who does not live in my household can affect my life.

On Death and Dying

While the world stops to remember Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. While people take the time to acknowledge the death of Ed McMahon, David Carradine and Billy Mays. Death goes on around us without most of acknowledging unless we are personally affected but when it happens in our lives we want the world to stop and see the pain that the loss of our loved one has caused.

Yesterday on Facebook a friend mentioned the death of Billy Mays, her friend responded that she didn't care about Billy Mays, Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett. She had lost her beloved Grandfather this week and in reading her comments her pain was palpable. She wanted people to know she loved him and in her life her Grandfather was more influential than anyone else being talked about this week.

My family experienced a loss this week also, I have not mentioned it because I felt it was too private. My Aunt passed away Wednesday after a 2 month struggle, my Uncle had to make the heart wrenching decision to take her off life support, he knew it was her wish not to be kept on artificial respiration but the choice to actually take her off was painful. She was a beautiful soul, when I was a bratty teenager she would write me letters. I thought she was great, even when I wanted nothing to do with the rest of family, she was artistic and sensitive. In my own life she was influential and she will be missed.

I was a huge Billy Mays fan, I am a sucker for infomercials and Billy could convince me I needed whatever he was selling. Especially after I bought OxiClean and it worked. I am still sad I never got a Big City Slider for my birthday, the people who know me in real life know how bad my addiction can be but apparently didn't get the hints that I do actually need the Big City Slider.

My little sister was adamant at a time in her life that she would marry either Michael Jackson or Alex Trebek and while she is getting married in December (sorry not to Alex Trebek, I think his wife would be annoyed) she was still sad at the passing of Michael Jackson.

The Rapscallion has become a full fledged MJ addict, he has sat for hours watching videos on YouTube. He has driven all of us in the household a little batty with having to listen to Beat It over and over again. I am all too happy to allow him to explore his new musical interest, I remember myself when the death of Kurt Cobain spurred my own interest in music.

1st Annual LosB Las Vegas Alleycat Race

Visit http://losbracing.blogspot.com/ to find out about our upcoming race!

This is me and Dear Hubby heading to Fort Collins for a random trip. We bought the tickets at 3 pm and flew out at 8 pm.

I called my Sister-in-Law to make sure she could pick us up from the airport in Denver, she told us that she could but that they had bought a new house and were moving this weekend. Dear Hubby had no interest in helping his brother move and called his Dad to pick us up instead. Nice, I guess that is how brothers roll.

We got into Fort Collins around 12:30, and basically went to sleep. On Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast with my Father-in-law and SMother-in-law. I had the best whole wheat pancakes and then SMother-in-law and I went shopping while Dear Hubby and his Dad went to a car show. We stopped at a little brewery called Coopersmiths and had a green chili beer, they are the best.

We went over to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Laws new house in the afternoon after they had finished moving all their stuff with their friends. We went out that evening with them, it was crazy hanging out with them and their new house is awesome. It was owned by a hippie woman who built a rock climbing wall in the garage. I also got some bling, my Sister-in-Law convinced me to pierce my nose and I love it!

It pinched a little, and my eye watered just a little as you can see from my smeared eye make-up. I love that the shop we went to was showing Ratatouille in the background.

On Sunday we had dinner with SMother-in-Law's parents and everyone played on a Slip 'N Slide, turns out my Father-in-Law isn't as areo-dynamic as he thinks he is. Dear Hubby's cousin also came in from Aurora and it was great to see them, they just moved to Colorado from Tucson and they really love it there also.

We headed home early, early Monday morning. We were tired but it was a great trip, I love the family we have out there and we will get to go back out at the end of July when Dear Hubby's oldest brother will be out visiting also.

Leaving on a Jet-Plane

The Kidlet is leaving tomorrow for a trip with Bio-Mom to visit her family, he will get to see his grandmother, great-grandmother and Aunt. I know he will have fun but I will miss seeing him everyday.

The trip was planned during our custodial time and over Father's day. Since he won't be with us Dear Hubby took him to dinner last night and then they watched the movie that the Rapscallion bought him for Father's Day. I gave Dear Hubby a gift certificate for a massage, so maybe he can relax a little. Since we are kid-free I was thinking about going camping this weekend but I need to see how my own father would feel about that.

I was on a media-fast for most of the last 2 weeks, I found that I was spending a little too much time online getting this blog off the ground. I needed some time away to regroup and get my thoughts in order. I am feeling much clearer now and will be back to regular posting next week.

I did wash the Rapscallions blanket that he will take with him, hopefully it smells like my house and he will know I miss him.

Media Fast

Sorry about the absence, I was on a self imposed media fast from my computer for a few days. I needed some time to attend to some issues that were happening in my household, nothing major and things are great. I will update more once I can climb out from underneath the giant pile of email!

I Shall Love Him and Call Him Tyson

Yesterday I cleaned my parents house, it was quite a job. It took about 9 hours because I was being a perfectionist about everything. My 84 year old Grandmother followed me around the house all day asking if she could help, I felt really bad but I didn't need her help and her constant presence over my shoulder was actually getting in my way a little. I am horrible, I can't believe I just typed that.

I also broke my parents vacuum cleaner, not such a good first day on the job. Their vacuum cleaner has been on it's last legs for a while, so it wasn't a shock that he passed away while in my care. I have a history of breaking things that have wheels. I told my Dad that I broke the vacuum cleaner and since I had sprinkled baking soda on the carpet I needed a new one. I mentioned that I had been at Target that morning and seen a Dyson on clearance for 1/2 the original price. He told me my Mom wanted the DC25 All Floors, the one with the ball, as it happens that was the one on clearance. After a quick trip to Target my parents got a new vacuum cleaner and while I have never publicly proclaimed a love of a vacuum, I was smitten.

I called Dear Hubby and told him I needed this vacuum, he wasn't convinced because even on clearance this was more than we have ever spent on a household item. Oh except our bed, we spent 3 years sleeping on an old mattress and when we could afford it we sprung for a new bed, complete with box spring and nice mattress. I digress, most of our household items have been either given to us or rescued from the thrift store or even the trash (I admit it, I am a dumpster diver) the only exception to this rule is Dear Hubby's mountain bike, even used I think it cost more than his truck.

So I begged a little bit for a new vacuum, I might have promised some sexual favors (Dad pretend you didn't read that) but he wasn't understanding my passion for a new vacuum. He did mention that I could get it, but we needed to wait until we had money in the bank, whatever, he also did mention he was OK with "anything that makes you want to vacuum more" but I still didn't feel like he was understanding our need for this vacuum. Or so I thought, I came home from cleaning a little sore and smelling like vinegar (great natural disinfectant) I sat on the couch and watched some t.v. with Dear Hubby. After a little bit I had to take a shower, I was grossing myself out with how badly I smelled. When I got out of the shower I saw something laying in my bed.

It was the vacuum! Dear Hubby had gone out and bought it, it was the last one in the store. I love him (and Dear Hubby too) it is the most super awesome vacuum ever. It doesn't clog, it doesn't weight 50lbs, it doesn't overheat and sound like a jet plane taking off (you know who I am talking about crappy vacuum cleaner I inherited from Patty Cakes) I have named him Tyson because he is sexy like a super-model!

My Dad Wants to be Your Facebook Friend

I am lucky, I have wonderful parents. They have always supported me in whatever I want to do, I don't think I would have lasted one day as a Stepmom if I hadn't had my own mom as a wonderful example of how to be a mother/stepmother with grace and dignity. I am my Dad's daughter, I got his sense of humor and his ability to stick his foot in his mouth at just the right occasion. My parent's are proud of me, they love Dear Hubby and the Kidlet.

I know my Dad is proud of me because I can read it in his Facebook posts. Now I will admit I feel like a little kid when I read something he has posted bragging about me, especially since he likes to do it to my group of sarcastic, sh*t talking friends. Dear Hubby and his friends Tico and Sickboy started a little club, it is basically a social drinking club. Sickboy started a Facebook group and my Dad joined the group. No worries my Dad is cool! Except when he outed me as a nerd to my "cool" Facebook friends.

Oh well, I am blessed with parents that care. I am not really complaining and if you want my Dad will be your Facebook friend!

LBDCOL4L

Odd Week

It has been an odd week for me, holidays always make the week feel different but this week was particularly odd. The Rapscallion was sick and stayed home from school for 2 days, he was cranky most of the week. On Tuesday we had our lease walk-through, basically the Resident Manager, a wonderful woman named Margaret, comes to over to make sure we haven't destroyed the house. I shouldn't have been nervous, we are good renters, when we left or last rental after 4 years the house was so clean I got my security deposit back even though we had broken the garage door (I used the security deposit to fix the door for them) we pay on time, we don't have wild parties and while we do paint while we live in a place we will paint it back to white before we leave. Irregardless I stressed about this walk through for 3 days, I cleaned EVERYTHING in the house, I washed curtains and scrubbed the floors with a toothbrush. Of course everything went fine Margaret walked in and loved how I have decorated, she loved the colors I have painted the walls and basically told me we are free to make any improvements while we live here and we will not be asked to change anything back before we leave because she feels everything we have done has made our place better for them. I also found out that Cat Butt will be able to come live with us officially without me having to pay the $500 pet deposit.

During the walk through Margaret asked about any issues that may be going on, I have had Maintenance come out at least 6 times to fix things since I have lived here this year but even after that I still had 2 issues. #1 my bathtub does not drain quickly and the plug leaks #2 the fabric softener cup in the washing machine was broken. On Wednesday they came to fix these issues, all normal until later in the day I noticed my bottle of Shout was missing. I buy Shout by the gallon, seriously with a 7 year old boy and Dear Hubby in the house everything gets stains and nothing I have found gets them out like Shout.

Actually random segue I have found that OxyClean in combination with Shout will get almost ANYTHING out of the Rapscallions clothes, I have even gotten paint out of Dear Hubby's clothes but I caught that stain early. Paint is my laundry nemesis, if anyone had a way to get dry paint out of clothes let me know!

So back to my random week, my Shout is missing, I can't figure out where it went. I searched the house nada, did the maintenance guy take it? I doubt it but for now I am going to blame him. You know about my pedicure experience http://amburgular.blogspot.com/2009/05/we-have-ways-of-making-you-talk.html we had some drama with Bio Mom not including any of Dear Hubby's contact information on the Rapscallions school registration sheet, we would have never found out except the school returned the paperwork for an additional form to be filled out and it came home during our custodial week. Bio Mom also did not include me as an emergency contact this year, which is odd because I am a SAHsM and could easily go get him from school if something were to happen. Dear Hubby did talk with Bio Mom about this and it will be rectified, personally I know she filled the paperwork out while she was mad at me about some past drama. Oh the joys...

Last night we went to some friends house where I discovered that I am a Rock Band Singing sensation! I kicked major butt, I aced almost ever song while singing flat and tone deaf, I am awesome!

We Have Ways of Making You Talk

I was given a gift certificate for a pedicure from Dear Hubby and the Rapscallion for Stepmother's Day. Yesterday I redeemed it, I am now the proud new owner of sparkly blue toenails and soft heels. The woman who gave me the pedicure was, um, nice? She was very odd, she told me all about her abusive traumatic childhood, she spent a good portion of the pedicure talking with a coworker about how slow the salon was and trying to decide if they should cut out early to hang out at the pool, drinking and maybe getting high. I try hard not judge but this woman was in her mid 50's, she is my mother's age. Nothing she said or did really bothered me until she asked if I had kids.

This is always a hard question to answer for me. I usually answer "yes, my stepson, we share 50/50 custody" now maybe that isn't the best but it is my answer. I feel a little weird just saying yes, because I am a terrible liar and somehow I think they might know. Also I am proud of being a Stepmother, I chose to be a part of this life. So I gave my answer and she of course asked another odd question, she asked for Bio-Mom's name. While I may be willing to talk about my life for all the world to read, I try to respect those around me a little. Luckily I was saved from this question by her coworker who felt the need to chime in how bored she was and her desire to go home.

Her questioning wasn't over and she hit me with my next favorite Stepmom question "Are you going to have kids of your own?" I know this question isn't restricted only to stepmotherhood, somehow you reach a magical age where people find it perfectly ok to talk about the activities going on in your uterus, awesome.

As I previously stated I am horrible liar and completely non-confrontational, so I answered. Dear Hubby and I are in fact TTC, we are the first in our group of friends to actually TRY to have a child, in our group of friends there are 3 stepdaughters, 1 stepson and 1 baby who was a surprise to her now married parents. TTC hasn't been as easy as they make it look on television and while Dear Hubby and I want to try to have another child we also agree that if it is not meant to be we have a wonderful life. I am willing to have some medical help with TTC but I personally have drawn the line at anything I deem too invasive. I respect any woman's choice to seek medical help with her desire to have a baby, I am not against medical procedures like IVF but just not for me.

So when my pedicurist insisted, INSISTED (!) that I have a child no matter what (!) I was confused. This isn't her life to live and why was she getting so emotionally involved? We had never met before yesterday, it is my body and what is so wrong with not wanting to have kids? What if I had answered that I was Childfree by Choice? Why can't my involvement with the Rapscallion be enough, what about all my dear friends who can't have kids? Why is it that people think they get to have an opinion about my uterus and what I do with it?

But those are hard answered when someone has something sharp near your feet.