The Diet: a reprise

I blew the diet over the holidays. And when I say holidays I mean from Thanksgiving until now I blew the diet. And since I was eating the occasional cookie or piece of candy or a helping of potato, I just went all out and blew it to hell.

Before Thanksgiving, I was at a loss of 35 pounds. Now really, I probably lost more but I fell off the dieting food truck (bwahahahahaha!) a few times and gained back a few pounds here and there and then lost that weigh again and then continued losing more.

But for now, I decided to forgo the diet and will go back on on Jan. 2, maybe tomorrow but probably Jan 2.

I don't mind doing the diet, actually. I really was doing well and losing. I was feeling pretty good and after the first week or two I wasn't really struggling. Oh, I had my moments at times, but I was doing pretty well at changing my food lifestyle. And the shakes were helping and guiding my loss,

Lots of people say having a shake diet can't be a lifestyle but as long as it's being produced then I don't see why. I was drinking a shake for breakfast, additionally I would drink a 24 ounce cup of coffee, black. Depending on my hunger level, I would put the shake mix powder in Greek yogurt and then pour that over fresh fruit salad, or I would stir it into a 1/2 cup of oatmeal.

At lunch I would have a salad with no dressing or fat free dressing. Sometimes I had chicken on it and other times not. And when I say a salad, I made a kickass salad with several kinds of lettuce, mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, yellow or orange peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe a tablespoon of low fat shredded cheese or an egg, and sometimes chicken or turkey (sometimes dressing, sometimes plain). This was not a small side salad. If I didn't have a salad I would have a Lean Cuisine but it had to be one that was 200 calories or less. I would also have a couple pieces of fruit with lunch.

Mid afternoon was a shake and then I would cook a healthy dinner. I kept some Special K or Weight Watchers snack stuffs, as well as cut up fresh veggies or fruit for snacks. If I was full I would skip my mid afternoon shake and have it in the evening as a snack.

Of course it's not easy and yes I do crave stuff like pasta, cheese, sweets and breads, which is what I've eaten a bunch of since Thanksgiving.

And I have to say I feel like crap most of the time since indulging in all the junk. I felt so much healthier and so much better when I was dieting. And it was so much easier to diet when Daddy-O was doing shakes and when TheSam was doing shakes because then we all ate the same. Neither of them are shake dieting so there's junk food everywhere! But alas, I will overcome it!

So on Jan. 2 (or maybe tomorrow) I'll weigh myself, add the new weight into my trackers and go back to shakes. I'm sure for a week I'll feel terrible and have to fight the cravings; I'll be hungry and probably cranky, but after the hump I'll be better and back on track.

The goal is to not be embarrassed to wear a swim suit this summer. It would be great, if by July 4th, I was at my target weight. We shall see. I'm going to start swimming a couple times a week- we have a pool at work and I'm welcome to use it when the kids aren't in it. I might even get a bicycle for this summer. Not sure about that, but it's a serious thought.

So within 24-48 hours the diet will commence. Yahoo me, right???

wanting to be a skinner
Mags


Dog Blog Here!

A Girl with Goals

I always blather this time of year about New Year Resolutions. I make 'em and break 'em.

I really thought, as I was sitting here typing this, about looking back in my archives to see what my 2012 resolutions were and how I did. Then I decided against it; why mess with my streak, right?

So I did go ahead and make resolutions for 2012. They are *drum roll please* as follows:

• Use my new camera to photograph something every single day
• Go back on my diet (which I strayed from during the holidays) and continue to lose weight
• Exercise
• Make something on my Pinterest each month (or more), whether it's a craft or food or DYI home stuff or quilting or sewing
• Find a full time job with health insurance (then use said insurance to go to the doctor for a check up!)
• Make more time for me to do fun and relaxing things (maybe this will happen when I have one full time job and not have to keep doing about 5 part time ones...)
• Read more
• Keep loving my new dog!!!

It's a start. It's good to have goals, right? Even if I do fail to achieve them, at least I have goals, which is better than I usually do.  I think I'm the only adult  in the world who doesn't have a 1 year plan, let alone a 5 year plan (I hate the question "where do you see yourself in 5 years?").

So, now I need to get down to work!
Mags

Same old, same old

Just bringing everyone up to speed here.

I still live in Daddy-O's attic and I'm still the librarian at Alcatraz. I still work as a part time receptionist on weekends. Mac is still delivering pizzas and has his own apartment, with a roommate. I still live in Civilization. I still hang out with XRay Girl, the Photographer, Curly, and Lilith. I'm still reading (though not as much as usual).

New stuff: I have a new car and a new dog, with whom my adventures are written about here. I'm in the capital of Civilization just about every weekend, when I'm not receptionist-ing. I see a Sam there. He and I are sharing the dog- more on that later. 

I got a really nice camera for Christmas and I've done some portrait shooting. I'm thinking of hanging a shingle out part-time. I'm working on a web site for a possible business. I'll see how I feel about it when I get done.

Otherwise, not much else new to report. I've been on and off the blogging grid for several months now and it's sad that I can offer an update and be the same in just a few paragraphs. Ugh!

Again, I'm not sure I want to give up blogging or not but as long as I'm here, I need to be HERE so I thought I'd let everyone know what's what while I sort it all out.

And that's it for now!
Mags

Winter wonderland, not a news story

I was in the path of the Blizzard 2012. Just typing that makes me laugh my butt off!!! Blizzard 2012 my foot!

First, it was a blizzard. It snowed like mad and we ended up with a foot of snow in less than 12 hours, right here in the capital of Civilization. That's a lot of snow really quickly. I'm not questioning the validness of calling it a Blizzard. I'm more tickled of how it's perceived by the media or by people outside of the state.

I recall storms on the East coast like this, just snow storms, and CNN and other news channels talk about it for days, practically, building it up, creating a logo and some heavy bassed, tragic music or something. Those of us in the Midwest must be made of sturdier stock because while we had closings of businesses and roads, large parts of the state were under a 'state of emergency' our Blizzard of 2012 was over and done with before CNN crews could get here let alone label us "SNOW DISASTER 2012" or some such other nonsense.

We as Midwesterners stay inside, and when given the all clear, we scoop snow, slap some plows on the front of trucks, haul out the salt and do our thing. Our city buses ran 30 minutes last and lot of businesses closed but for the most part, we were still functional. We didn't have to roll up the sidewalks and have a city wide panic. It was snow and a lot of it, not the Apocalypse.

Oh it was all over our statewide news and I did see footage of our city on CNN at the top of the hour so we rated some mention but not round the clock coverage, which is fine with me.

Though it's better than how snow is covered in the Wild West. I don't think anyone even acknowledges snow in the Wild West. We'd get a few feet, every few days, and I don't think it was even mentioned on our local news, other than in the traditional weather forecast.

It's all about perspective, I'm sure. If a foot of snow and gusting 60 mph winds happen in Boston or NYC it's NEWS but here in the Midwest... feh, we'll mention it and move on.

And that cracks me up. I'm always in need of a good giggle!

Maggie


If you'd like to read about my new dog, a greyhound, go here!

Can't Drive 55...

The car saga continues from yesterday...

So I have my new car, Ms. Hepburn, and Mac is driving the Malibu, aka 'The Blue Goose'.

At 3am my phone rang and it was Mac. In my 41 years on Earth, I've learned that no phone call at 3am is a good thing. And this time wasn't any different (though it could certainly be worse!).

Mac said a deer hit him and he wanted to know what he should do. After making sure everyone in the car was fine and that they were all sober in case we needed to call the police, I determined, from HIS description, that he should drive the car the 1 mile to his friend Nick's house. I offered to come get him and leave the car sit but he said it was drivable.

The next day I called the insurance company- State Farm- and told them what happened and they told me to drive it to the local Chevy garage to get an estimate. They said since it was drivable we could make an appointment and then they would give us a loaner car from the garage or a rental while the repairs were being done,

Meanwhile, it's daylight and Mac takes the car to Daddy-O's house and they determine it really isn't drivable. Mac takes it to the garage who confirms. I call the insurance office back who then orders a rental car, which gets dropped off at Daddy-O's in a few hours. So far I'm thrilled with State Farm.

Except the rental car company calls me and tells me that my child can't drive the rental car because he's not 25. Well shit. I am not going to let him drive Ms. Hepburn to deliver pizzas so I flat out broke the rules and let him drive the rental car, under penalty of his death if he so much as breathed crooked in it!

Three days pass and the garage calls and tells us that 'The Blue Goose' is officially totaled. Well, shit again. And I am not kidding, within 30 minutes of hearing from the garage, State Farm calls me to tell me that I have the rental car for 7 days. And they give me 2 price options for the car: one cost for giving them the car and a lower cost if I want to keep the car. I was told I didn't need the title if I went with the lower.

I didn't have the title. Okay, so the long story with the title is that I the woman I bought the car from... well, around the time I paid it off her husband died and then I moved back to Civilization and I just forgot about it. I wasn't sure I could even find the woman to get the title. And I didn't know anything about titles and cars so I thought "big deal" and took the lower price.

So then I had to worry about getting Mac a car in 7 days. But it wasn't that easy.

State Farm called me back and said I would have to give my agent a copy of the title to get the check. WTF? I told this person what I was told about not needing the title and was told that was a mistake. I said since I had to have the title, I wanted the higher amount and they could have the car- if I could find the title.

So, to make a long story longer, I did some research and found the woman. I called her and I explained the situation. She was willing to meet me at the DMV near her house, an hour from me.

But it's still not easy. She lost the title. Okay, though shouldn't be a big deal, right? We can just get a replacement. Then we discovered her dead husband's name is on the title so she had to have an original birth certificate. Okay, she has that. And then we discover a typo. I. am. not. kidding. Their last name is Jones and my name is O'Sullivan. The title had the lien holder's name as Pat and Sarah O'Sullivan. All Sarah's ID is Jones as is the death certificate of her dead husband- which is good since their last name is JONES. So we had to get the DMV to give a replacement title with the correct name. On the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. Before the rental car is up on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Of course it didn't happen. It took three trips to the DMV and a stack of paperwork and a million phone calls and a bunch of other shit. And the Thanksgiving holiday.

I begged State Farm for a few more days on the rental car and they refused because it's "policy" to only give 7 days. I argued that they should give me at least 2 more days since of my seven, one was a holiday and one was a Sunday- still the answer was no.

While I'm juggling all the crap with the DMV I found a used car in my price range at the same place I bought Ms. Hepburn. It was a '96 Lumina.  It had less miles and was in really good shape even though it was older. It was the best I could do. Thankfully, I explained to the dealership what was going on and they were more than happy to hold the car until I could straighten out the mess with the title.

Finally, I get everything straightened out with the DMV but I don't have the title because it will take 10 days to process. I get a SIGNED letter from the DMV saying the situation is taken care of and the title will be mailed. I arranged for the title to be mailed directly to my agent. I signed a legal release giving the car to State Farm. I did all this extra because I was told their total loss department would give me the check before receiving the paperwork. And of course they didn't.

So we had no money, no rental car, and no replacement car. Mac's roommate let him drive his car for a few days. Mac did some kitchen work for a few, and was lucky enough to have a couple days off so he didn't need a car. Ms. Hepburn didn't have to deliver a single pizza- thankfully.

And did I mention that while State Farm won't give me a check or more rental care time but they hauled 'The Blue Goose' away the day I accepted the higher price. That's right- they took possession of the car and gave me nothing for 2 weeks. Oh, I guess we could make the argument that State Farm had to pay lot rental to the junk yard, but gee, guess what? The Chevy garage- where I bought Ms Hepburn and was buying Mac's new car- agreed to let the Malibu sit as long as necessary since all this was going on. State farm could've let my car sit and used the money they were paying for lot rental on a rental car. Nice, huh? Very poor customer service, I fell.

The title comes, finally, and I get the paperwork taken care of, and finally sign the paperwork for Mac's new car. Mac gets the car.

All's well that ends well.

And I told Mac to stay away from those damn deer.

The Bureaucratic Paperwork Queen,
Mags

Round, round, get around, I get around

I had to get a new car. I don't have a bunch of money or anything to suddenly handle this but it was necessary.

Mac got a job delivering pizza, which I've mentioned before. He borrowed a car from X-Ray Girl and was trying to save money to buy one of his own. X-Ray Girl needed her car back sooner than she anticipated so now Mac had no car. Daddy-O and I had a discussion and decided to just make a few calls to see if I could find a car for Mac and we would help him make payments, thinking we could find a 'clunker' and between the three of us we could help him make a $100 a month payment, or something like that.

Well, after a few phone calls and driving through car lots, it came to pass that I could get a car!!!!! I could afford a payment! I was able to do a 2 year lease on a 2012 Chevy Cruze! Wow! Yay!

I love, love, love this car. It's the first new car I've ever had. I love driving it. It's so much fun and nice. I have power locks and doors that work. I have a keyless remote! AND I have a remote starter which is one of the coolest things ever. I also have a trial subscription to XM radio which I think I would sacrifice drinking Starbucks to pay for that each month- I swear that's a dream, a luxury. I love this car.

And since I have this great, fabulous, awesome new car, I thought it should have a name. The Malibu is/ was affectionately called "The Blue Goose." So I had to name this baby. But what? Ah the choices. A boy or a girl? And then it had to be perfect and befitting. It had to fit her and me. She's sleek and classy but fun and has a zippy personality. She runs quietly and gets the job done. She's popular and well loved. What better name than.... *drum roll please!*... Ms. Hepburn!

Yes, I call my car Ms. Hepburn: when she's being playful and sassy she could be Katherine and when she's quiet and classy she could be Audrey. My car, the Ms Hepburn. She and I will rule the world!

Oh yeah... then I gave Mac the Malibu, aka "The Blue Goose." He then had a car to drive. It seemed all issues were solved.

Until he was driving one night and was hit by a deer.

If you ever wondered if life can be easy, the answer to that would be no. So we have a new car, a totaled car and a kid who needs to deliver pizza.

I'm not going to finish this saga now; that way I'm forced to be back tomorrow to finish the rest of the story!

Crusin' around,
Mags



And you can read about my new Greyhound dog here!

Christmas Day movie

We saw The Guilt Trip today. Oh. my. goodness. It's me and Mac.... oh my....

Merry Christmas Eve!

For Christmas I have a dog! You can read all about him, and our adventures here!

I didn't want this blog to turn into an all about the dog blog. Though I guess it would be better than the 'there's nothing here' blog, but there's more to come regarding that, too.

But for now, Merry Christmas Eve to you all (and happy holidays to all my non- Christmasy readers, too!)! And I promise to be back before next year!

xoxo,
Mags

Will I be kicked out of the bibliophile club for this?

I can't believe it. I didn't read a single book in the entire month of November. I have no idea what happened. Well, I can fathom a guess...

In November I watched a LOT of TV. I mean, a LOT (I blame The Voice). I also watched more movies in November than I did in the entire year- 3 in the theater and about 10 DVDs. I also worked on 2 school extra curricular- our prom, which we do in the fall, and the art club. I worked my regular job. I also took a seasonal, part time job which took around 30 hours in November (there will be a post about this). AND I also took on a graphic design gig which was a bigger mess than the client realized so a quick 6 hour job turned into 22 hours. I was not happy about that.

My women's book club met this month and the selection was The Paris Wife, which I read earlier in the year so I did spend some time reviewing/ re-reading parts of it so I could possibly participate in the discussion.

November was also a high stress month. I bought a new car for myself (post coming soon with a picture of my new car and the BIG reveal about what I named the car). I gave my Malibu (aka The Blue Goose) to Mac and about 10 days later a deer ran into him so I spent 2 weeks straightening that out (post will be forthcoming...). Since Mac delivers pizzas a car is imperative so he was in high freak out mode which really stresses me out. And as always, there are the money worries associated with everything I do. Add the holiday in there and I was just a wreck.

I spent some time driving back and forth to see The Sam in the capital city.

 

I play LOTS of "Words with Friends" on my phone and I read Twitter.

By the time "free time" was available I usually had enough concentration left in me to gaze at the TV until I fell asleep. I could also skip the gazing step and lots of times just fell asleep. When I had enough energy to hold a book and look at the words and have some basic comprehension skills I couldn't settle on anything. Nothing was holding my interest. I started and abandoned the Tony Danza teaching book- though I do want to go back and read it all the way through. I've been reading a book about adopting a racing greyhound off and on this month, too, since I am adopting a retired racing greyhound on Dec 20 (yes a post about this is forthcoming). I downloaded 13 samples of books I thought I might want to read on my Nook. (Since getting the Nook I'm really selective in what I buy since I have to pay full ebook prices rather than waiting for it to be used at my local used bookstores). I know I read all the samples, one every few evenings. I also read some magazines. I just HAD NO FOCUS. Then about a week ago I started reading Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store. I plodded through it. It was interesting at first but my attention wained. I was determined to finish solely because the book glowed in the dark. I finished it last night, which is Dec. which makes it official...

I read no complete book the entire month of November.

That must change...

Mags

An idiot lost her village

So...

My mom painted an entire Christmas village for me. I also acquired people, a "pond", lights, and all other manner of tids and bits to round out a Christmas village. I have about 30 pieces.

Because it's so huge, I haven't set it up in years. The last time I can remember putting it up was Christmas of 2000. And that's the last time I remember seeing it.

I was going to loan it to Alcatraz to put on display this year for the holiday season and Daddy-O and I cannot find it anywhere, and I'm just sick over it. He and I spent several hours last night going through the entire attic and basement, the garage and shed, and every closet and crawl space in the house where it might be. And we can't find it anywhere. And obviously, it's not some small box that can be misplaced- it's at least 2 good sized boxes; I thought it was packed into 2 Rubbermaid containers! But we can't find them anywhere. We even started opening all other boxes and bags in case I'm wrong about how it was all wrapped up. We found my snowmen collection, all my various trees and their ornaments, lights and my nativity scene. We just can't find the village.

I've wracked my brain and I can't come up with much. I canNOT believe I would've given it away since my mother painted the whole thing. I also can't fathom that I would've loaned it out and not remembered to whom I loaned. I know it did not go to the Wild West with me and it didn't go to Armpit with me. I've moved so, so many times in my life, trying to remember a time line of where it could be is rough. But again, this was a HUGE box (or boxes) so I don't think it could easily be left behind. Also, it's a huge village so I haven't always had space to set it up every time I've moved so I think 12 years ago is the last place I lived where I had a large enough space.

After much brain power, we've brainstormed the possibilities of where it could be:

• left in the attic/ crawl space of the place I lived where it was set up last (and the odds of it still being there 12 years later isn't good obviously)
• left in a long ago friend's garage who left me store my belongings for 6 months
• a long ago ex might've taken it by accident.. 

I don't really think it was in the garage because I helped the woman move. And I don't think the ex took it long ago because he sent me a condolence card after my mom died AND he also sent me an email a few years ago to let me know he had some pictures from when Mac was a little boy. He was concerned that I didn't have copies and was willing to mail them to me. I just don't think he would keep it if he found it. 

The village is gone. Breaks my heart...
Mags 

Random tv thoughts

I love the television show The Voice. Great. I now officially like a reality tv show. Damn.

Did I miss Glee last Thursday? Was it on? Is it true that it won't be on until Nov? (Which isn't that far but seriously, to not be on for a few weeks already???)

Does anyone else not watch Criminal Minds if you're home alone? I have to dvr it because no one is home on Wednesday nights and I'm too much of a chicken to watch alone.

Can't get enough of the Monday night comedies!

I have some serious love for the dramas this season: CSI NY, Blue Bloods and Hawaii 5-0 are awesome!

What are you watching a liking? Or disliking?

What are they teaching kids these days?

Mac and his buddy moved into their first apartment and they pay rent weekly. Today is the roommate's turn to pay. He called me mid day today to see if I would help him. He doesn't have a bank account so he can't write a check for his portion of the rent and needs to pay with a money order. But he didn't know how to get a money order or what to do with one- and he wanted me to help him.

Ok-ay....

I went to the apartment to pick him up. (By they way, I dropped off mac' clean laundry and helped unpack a few boxes while I was there. And the Roommate was AMAZED at how much space they had in the living room without boxes piled in the middle. Well, duh!)

We went to an ATM to get cash since money orders can't be purchased any other way. He couldn't get any cash; he said the balance said he had money but the ATM wouldn't give him cash. I suggested he call the number on the back of the card to see the problem. He tried and it said he had enough money. We went to a bank across the street, he went in and a few minutes later was back out. He couldn't get cash off his card inside either. I suggested he call back again and press "0" until he reached a person. He did and explained the situation. He was told he has a daily cash limit and the amount he wanted would push him over. He managed to take out just enough and put it with the cash he already had.

Okay- crisis averted.

We went to a gas station and I told him to just ask the cashier for a money order in $*** amount. He said okay and then waled away and then came back asking me, "aren't you going in with me?" Uh, sure.

Did I mention he's 19 years old and did a semester of college, works a full time job, and has at least a high school diploma?

Money order in hand, I launch into teacher mode and explain to him what to fill out. Where he had to write in the landlord's name, he asked me what it was. I couldn't remember and neither could he. I told him to call hi landlord and ask to whom he should make out the money order. He didn't have the number- I did and gave it to him. (He said he remembered I told him and Mac both to program the number into their mobiles but he forgot). He called and got the information and finished filling it out. He put it in the envelop I made him grab from the apartment.

I started driving to the drop off site and Roommate was freaking out because he couldn't remember where to deliver it. I told him the address and he was "ohhhhhhhh". Finally, we get there and I show him the box where to put the money and then I took him home.

I'm amazed at what he didn't know: how to fill out a simple money order, how to BUY a money order, or how to handle a bank mess up. I asked him what he would've done had I not been there and he said he would've just waited until tomorrow to try again. I reminded him he wouldn't been charged $25 per day late and then had to deal with the landlord...

He said from now on if he didn't know something, he was calling me since I know everything.

Why didn't he learn any of this stuff in a life skills class? Or from his parents?

Monday could be a deja vu for me when Mac has to pay his portion of the rent, and he and I will do this all over again... maybe. I can hope not. I hope he's a bit smarter. For some reason, I'm not confident.

Mags

A question of tipping

I was listening to a big discussion about tipping the other day and it brought to light some interesting questions.

Okay, how much do you tip your hair stylist? There were various answers to this. One teacher said she never tips her stylist because the woman owns her own salon in her home and doesn't have to pay booth or chair rental so all the money she makes on "hair" is hers. Several woman agreed with this. A couple teachers said they tips the girls are Great Clips but he consensus seemed to be if you own the salon then you don't get tipped. Is that right?

And does anyone feel bad about not tipping at a restaurant? Isn't a tip supposed to be for good service? If I have a rude waitress who does not courtesy check and I have to ask for refills or my cheque, I am not a happy person. I'm not an idiot about it though. I've waited tables. I look around and see how busy a waitress is- over worked? A huge section? A huge party? Tables with lots of little kids? Tables with Senior citizens? Also, I don't usually blame the waitress for poorly prepared food. She's not the cook. And most of the time I don't hold her accountable if it's cold. If a waitress has 2 tables and she's more concerned with flirting with the guys at the bar and never offers me a refill or asks how my food is and I have to ask for my bill- twice- does she deserve a tip? I've been in her shoes and I know what being a good waitress is. I know what being a mediocre waitress is. A tip is a gratuity for GOOD SERVICE. It's not an obligation, right? Am I the only person who feels this way?

Also, who much do you guys tip at Starbucks? I usually drop my change in because it's 92cents. Should I leave more? At my usual Starbucks I don't mind tipping because even if my drink sucks, they will fix it. And what about the self serve coffee bars? My hometown has a locally owned coffeehouse. They have 3 types of brewed coffee each day and it's self serve. I don't ever tip if I walk in, pour my own coffee if a cup I take off the shelf and pay with exact change and never had to interact with the barista except to say 'good morning.' Is that bad?

Do you tip if you have nothing but a buffet? The waitress gives you a drink, for me probably water and then that's it. Do I have to tip her? What's a proper tip for the pizza delivery guy? Dry cleaners? Bell hop? I never know.

I don't mind giving a tip. I really don't. And because I've walked in those shoes, I'm usually pretty generous giving anywhere for 20-25% if I had excellent service. But I'll be damned if I'm going to tip someone who gives me crap service. Am I in the wrong? Do we just tip everyone now regardless of service, just because the economy sucks? Because the server MIGHT be having an off/ bad day?

Really, I just want to know... And eat. I really want to eat more than know.

Mags

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's Movin' Out!

Mac moved out-- again. But this time for real. Or "for reals" at the kids say nowadays. Anyway...

Mac moved out last summer in a hissy fit moment and it lasted not even 2 weeks and he came home. He's now working full time and he loves it. He's been there for 3 months (approx) and yesterday he and his buddy decided to get the heck out of the nest and they flew the coup to their own apartment.

It's clean, it's affordable, it's really cool, it's in a pretty okay neighborhood, and it's theirs. All utilities are included except for phone/cable and Internet. The Landlord seems nice and the lease seemed fair. It has awesome hardwood floors and neat woodwork. I'm actually a little jealous.

Mac moved 2 nights ago. Well, if you can call it moving when you own nothing but clothes, movies, books, video games, and a TV. The other kid is in the same situation. But it's their place and they are so happy and pretty proud- as they should be. Someone is giving them a couch. Mac acquired a new bed (can you believe his sperm donor GAVE HIS AWAY????????????????? Oh, Mac was sleeping on a spare ) and they're going to the thrift store on Saturday to see about acquiring a chair and a coffee table. And pots and pans.

I'm hoping this all works out for the best for both of them because if not, they're stuck. With each other and the one year lease. And because I want good things for both boys, of course!

Now I can runaway and join Europe... or the circus!
Mags

Need my muse... I lost her AGAIN!

I seem to have lost my energy for stuff. I have no idea what's going on. Depression? Hormones? Tired? Some weird dormant disease? A bad case of the apathy's? Whatever it is, I just don't seem to have the energy to do ANYTHING lately

Last year I sponsored the art club at school and we met weekly and it was fun. Sometimes stressful but really, overall, fun. I'm the sponsor again this year and I could care less. I have three activities planned for this month and I am dreading it all. I wonder what the bare minimum I can do and still get paid. Is that sad, or what? I feel the same way about being prom sponsor.

Usually I do creative bulletin boards and sponsor library activities- again I don't care. I seriously have the same bulletin board up right now as I did on Sept. 1st. I didn't do a Banned Book Week board like last year (and corresponding activities), I didn't go Horror Halloween in the library where I feature candy, games, decorations and horror writers (and a Halloween bulletin board) and I didn't do anything to taut Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I'm thinking I should make a Thanksgiving bulletin board and I don't care....

I don't feel like reading or watching movies. I do laundry because I have to.

On the up side... I have felt motivated to cook and try new recipes. I do like spending time with friends and family- for example, Daddy-O and my SisIL and I had a super, awesome Father/ daughter's date night last Friday. We shopped and ate and laughed and spent time together which was so fun. I like playing on Pinterest and playing online Scrabble. I like watching tv. I like hanging out with any and all of my friends. I like spending time in The Capital with the guy I see.

Hmmmm, it sounds like I just am work related lazy....

Who knows? I need my mojo back! I need to find my Muse!
Mags

People who Tweet Me

Lately I've had some super cool Twitter things happen!

I will tweet company names sometimes, if I happen to be talking about them, and I've gotten some tweets back, and some retweets! McAlister's Deli has tweeted back to me lots of times, and retweeted me, too! I only get there a couple times a month, if I'm lucky, and I'm usually very excited about it so I tweet that experience. They even tweeted me on my birthday! I got a retweet from Starbucks, too, one time, which was cool.

I love celebrity twitter interaction. Author Jennifer Weiner, who must be one of the coolest, smart people on the planet, has actually engaged in a Twitter conversation with me. OMG! It was cool. She gave me writing and publishing advise, and another time something I tweeted made her smile, and she told me so. I thought that was cool. Actor Richard Schiff has favorited me a couple times, as has author Christopher Moore, which makes me want to turn cartwheels. Chopped Grill contestant who became an overnight celeb Kent Rollins has also tweeted conversation with me! And these are all famous folks who do their own tweeting, not hire it out, so I think it's pretty neat.

I think everyone who's on Twitter should follow all of the above, as well as Pauley Perrette and Neil Patrick Harris. Great celeb tweeters!

I enjoy the everyday folks from around the world I follow, too, who make me laugh or think or roll my eyes. It's a small thing but it does give me a modicum of pleasure so it's all good, right?

Twitterer,
Mags

Wonderful day

I had a such a nice birthday! The actual day of I went to dinner with my family at McAlister's Deli which is one of the best food places in the world! I'm so thankful my family all got together to celebrate with me. And i appreciate the lovely gifts!  Curley sent me a stunning bouquet of flowers, too.

I got a special birthday surprise from fell blogger Evil Pixie! Thank you so much, dear! She made me a beautiful necklace, and also gave me a high heel cookie cutter!!! And the cutest notepad with pink shoes!

I had a pedicure with XRay Girl, which was so nice. And I had lovely texts, cards, messages, emails, tweets, etc from family and friends, near and it far.

Also, Photographer took me out for a wonderful supper at a local fancy-pantsy place, and the guy I see also turned a whole weekend into all about me with great food, a shopping spree, and a nice massage!

It was a lovely birthday! I think I'll do this once a year. Maybe twice!

Mags

Today is MY birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! Yup, I'm 41. Wow! g

Sam's apartment

Three weird things in Sam's apartment. And please note that I'm making an observation and not judging.

1. I opened a cupboard that holds towels and other assorted bathroom sundries. It's a very nice, neat and clean, well ordered closet. Except for one weird thing: in a pile in the cupboard was a pile of mismatched socks. Not sure why it strikes me as funny but I usually have my mismatched socks in the bottom of the hamper or in a laundry basket, not stacked neatly on a shelf in a cupboard.

2.Another odd pile: in the living room, on the corner of the floor, was a pile of purses and wallets. And they didn't belong to me. It was a conversation to be had. Nope, he's not a cross dressing (but with my luck with men it wouldn't surprise me and it would figure) and he's not seeing someone else. These are 3 purses that belonged to his ex-wife. His son brought them her to give to a grandmother but he forgot. So the purses were left there. And now they belong to me. One is a Vera Bradly with a matching wallet, and the other is creme-sicle orange Liz Claiborne. Pictures will be forthcoming.

3.I have a key to his apartment. He had it made especially for me. It's pink with a crown on it. and pink sparkles. It says "Princess" on it and it's damn cute. Hey he gave me a key. And something pink and shiny. How cool is that?

Just some odd stuff at his place...

Mags

Diet Week 21

Well... I'm happy to report that I've officially lost 31 pounds. We can't count the entire month of July. If there was a month version of me, my diet and July it would be something like "The Girl Who Ate Independence" or "The Girl Who Swallowed July"... I gained weight, and then lost again...

But the total is 31 pounds if we count all the weight I've lost, gained back, and then re-lost. That's 2 whole pants sizes!!!!!!

And I am thrilled!

I have all sorts of cool problems, now.

Let's see... none of my pants fits. I can add a belt to my jeans and that is solved, mostly. A couple pairs look like I have a load in the seat, or a "wee-nis" (when your pants create the illusion of a penis by tenting in the front and you're a woman) but for the most part, I can get by with jeans fine. With tailored dress pants it's a whole other story. They ride low on my hips so they are waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long, even with 3 inch heels. The crotch hangs to mid thigh and the seat is really baggy. Most of my dress trousers do NOT have belt loops so they slide to my hips regardless. Lots of shirts just are TOO BIG.  Shirt sleeves reach the elbow, the armpit hangs to my hips, they swim on me! Again, I am completely NOT complaining- it's a very cool problem to have. And thankfully my birthday is in 2 days so I might get $$$ for clothes! And thankfully Photographer has gifted me 3 garbage bags of clothes that I've been pulling stuff out of to wear. And Third thankfully, I found a few vintage clothing shops that are super reasonable so I have a place to get some affordable, nice quality clothing (I got a pair of Cato jeans, a pair of Tommy jeans, and a pair of Lane Bryant Blue Dot Right Fit- all in a size smaller- all three pairs for $19. And the Tommys still had the store tags still on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love, love, love the weight loss. I'm not sure how much more I can continue to lose without exercising. At this point, I have a feeling about 10 more pounds then I'm going to have to start walking or swimming or something. (I wish I lived where I could paddle a kayak!)

But it's coming off. Slow and steady wins the race, I know. And with the holidays approaching, if I'm totally honest, I just want to maintain (and lose if possible) but with cookies and candy and yummies, it will be a struggle.

But I'm still hitting it hard, eating right, doing shakes and it seems to be paying off!! Off the hips, off the thighs,...!

Mags

My blog problem

I have not given up on blogging. I promise.

My problems are actually the following:

1. I HATE this new blogger interface crap. I can't find what I want and I hate the new buttons and it just frustrates me. It sucks. And lately I don't have LOTS of extra time to blog so when I sit down to do it, I just want to be able to zip through. And with the new, I can't. Also, I type faster than this can display which throws off my typing mojo because my head is saying something that's not appearing on the the screen which my fingers are typing.
2. I'm busy. Like really busy. Our corporate headquarters is doing a HUGE fundraiser this weekend and I was hand selected to be on the committee. And the woman in charge was just sent to a conference for the 3 days before the event so all the details are falling to me.
3. I don't feel like I have very much to write about
4. I have discovered Pinterest. Oh. My. God. Now, I've never done crack but this has to be what crack is like. I think I'll just Pinterest for a few minutes and I look at the clock and three hours have flown by. I'm a junkie. I'm addicted. It's like hoarding, but on the Internet. Holy Moly!
5. The Voice: I've never watched this show until this year and it's WOW!!! So I spend time watching TV that I wouldn't normally had spent- it's on 3 times a week!!!! I think I'm more committed to The Voice than I have been in previous relationships.

And this is why I haven't blogged for awhile. But I'm going to be better. Soon.

Mags

Remember

I've thought a lot about today, about that it's September 11th.

I stood in the library, looking at my students and most of them were just toddlers when it happened. To them it's a piece of history, something their parents talk about, something that, overall, doesn't "affect" them. Oh, they weren't cruel or blase, but they just don't get it. Just like those of us who weren't alive when JFK was shot or when Armstrong walked on the moon--- I know these are important and have a huge impact on the world but it doesn't imprint on me like it did my dad, who was alive for both.

I feel like I should say something but I can't seem to put into words all the thoughts I have surrounding this particular anniversary...

Just...

I remember.

Good bless.

Peace.

Maggie

Diet week 19

Last June, Photographer gave me three bags of clothes and none of them fit. I tried everything on and kept clothes that I liked that I hoped would someday fit.

Then one morning last week, I was running around getting ready for work and was late AND because I was a bum who didn't get her laundry finished, I was trying to find a shirt to go with pants. I had put on about 4 different ones and didn't like any of them.

I saw a blue shirt that would match nicely on the top of the pile of stuff that didn't fit. I grabbed it and thought if it fit a tiny bit better than it did a few months ago, I could layer a sweater over it and survive the day.

A few months ago, it pulled really tightly through the bust and the arms were so snug it made my arm fat bulge, and it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too tight through the hips. When I put it on a few days ago, it fit perfectly. It hung nicely, not snug, no pulling. Just perfectly!

Nothing tastes as good as thin fits.

Mags

I have a legit reason for not posting for 4 days

It's all because of the slugs, and I'm traumatized.

I came home from hanging with with Photographer, late in the evening last Wednesday. It had rained. I was talking on the phone and I just sat down on the swing in the yard and gabbed. It had rained, as I said, and the grass was still damp and cool brushing against my legs as I sat swinging on the swing.

When I got off the phone I walked in the house.

And you know that moment when you're used to having wet legs and then dry air hits the wet and it feels all wrong and itchy? I reached to scratch my leg and right there, on my bare skin, on my shin, was a SLUG!! As in a snail with no shell sort of slug.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

I shrieked and jumped around and flung it to the ground and practically hyperventilated. I squashed it with my shoe, on the sidewalk, and just felt all heebee-jeebee about it.

I went into the house, went into the bathroom, and flipped on the light and I saw ANOTHER one on my leg, which I grabbed off with a tissue and then flushed. My heartbeat was about out of my chest and I just felt really ick-o.

And I thought I was going to lose it when I found a third one on my foot. I got it off and then jumped around like an idiot. It was gross and creepy and yucky and it was nasty. I was flinging my body around and just was a mess about it. I had to go upstairs, take off all my clothes and check in the mirror to see if there were more.

I think my heart is finally beating normally right now. Maybe.

And that's why I haven't been able to blog. I was traumatized by a slug family.

Mags

Letter to pizza joint's new owners

Dear new owners of my formerly favorite locally owned pizza place who needs to learn about customer service:

Since you opened your pizzeria- Sally Sicklemeyer's- in my town, I've been a dedicated customer. For the first few months you opened I was there weekly, if not more. My sis-in-law and I loved to bring her babies there, and your former lunch buffet was, by far, the best in town in taste, quality, quantity, and cost. Your food was to die for and your hired help was always great and friendly.

Now you suck.

And you are the new owners so none of this is directed to the people who owned you before because you started sucking when you took over.

One thing I loved was your $4.99 buffet which I was told is now gone. Fine.

You raised you pizza prices. Your food is good but not that good.

But my biggest complaint is a combination of your now crappy customer service and your now new crappier delivery policy.

Here's a little story for you: I work at Alcatraz which is 6 miles out of the city limits. We order from you all the time- well, from your previous owners. We were outside of the regular delivery sphere but because the previous owners were supporters of Alcatraz, they decided to allow their drivers to deliver to us. We house around 110 kids in 10 dorms. We also house about 89 staff and their families in various homes and apartments on our campus. We also have on call staff 27/7 so at any given time we have around 200 people on campus. Staff can, and does, order pizza for our kids. Now I'm sure you know how many pizzas it takes to fee 2 adults and 14 boys between ages 14-17. A LOT, which was around $100, give or take. My point is that while the previous owners allowed delivery outside of the usual delivery area, it was PROFITABLE for the company AND the drivers.

Remember the above.

Imagine my surprise when I called to order for a few of us and the following happened:
1. I was told by a snotty woman- Alecia- that they "no longer delivered to Alcatraz". I said okay and then she put me on hold and came back on to tell me, in her still snotty way, that the new manager said they could deliver this one last time but for a $3 fee. I said okay and ordered our food.

2. I told her I had a coupon for a free order of bread sticks and she put me on hold and came back and said, snottily, that the new managers would go ahead and "honor" the coupon, for now.

3. when I was done with the order she told me I had to get more food because it didn't total $25. I said I didn't know it had to; she said that was the only way they would deliver "that far" and that I better be "ready for lots of new changes coming from the new manager." She also said that the drivers hated to come there. I then raised my voice and told her she was crazy because people who live and work here understand and appreciate the company being willing to accommodate us, and we tip well. I told her I work as the receptionist and money is usually left with me and it's rare that a tip is LESS than $5. I told her to ask the drivers.

She finally gave me a total and then said it would be 80-90 minutes until it would be there, and hung up on me.

I fumed, discussed this situation with my colleagues and we called to cancel our order. And then ordered from the only other locally owned pizza joint- Godmothers- and they said after what happened and to thank us for our business, they would glad breach their delivery area from now on, and bring us food.

I will never be eating at Sally's again. I understand if you no long want to deliver here but the rude and snotty attitude from Alecia was inexcusable, especially her hanging up on me. It was unnecessary to keep changing the order rules: coupon, delivery fee, minimum order. As the new manager, you need to be ready for a change from me: I won't be there any more and I will tell everyone I know about this and maybe your business won't be there anymore either. And remember, I can tell all 200 people who live in work at Alcatraz what happened with a click of one email button. And they'll tell people and so on...

And I will make sure every single person knows that Godmother's saved the day.

I'm not impressed with you, the new owners of Sally. And that's too bad because not only have you lost my dedication, you have lost my business.

Respectfully,
Maggie Mae O'Sullivan

Makes me smile

This is why punctuation is important!

Diet week 18

I had job interviews that did not go well, and now I've got a great cold. And I discovered a cupcake bakery. Do I need to elaborate any more?

No loss and no gain... could be worse I guess.

Mags

Free stuff

1. TheSam and I went out for dinner a few weeks ago. We were eating local, so not a chain place. It's a cool brewhouse with a HUGE food menu as well as brews. The manager was doing a walk around and checking on tables. We had great food and great service. The manager was just chatting, what were doing the rest of the evening, did we like the city, had we eaten there before, just general chatting. We talked about all the great eateries and how often we went out for food, that we were "new foodies" but we loved his place and would be back. He wanted to know if we were ordering dessert and we said no and we talked about how they are famous (and they are, locally) for their peanutbutter pie. We talked about how good it sounds and all of a sudden, he just offers us a free piece to share. Seriously. He leaves and comes back 5 minutes later with a "piece" of pie- a slice that was probably a quarter of the whole pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TheSam and I shared it and it was the best peanut butter pie I've ever had in my entire life. And it was free, just because. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! And so nice. We thanked the guy profusely. How generous!

2. About two weeks ago TheSam and I were eating out- again- this time at a BBQ place. This is a chain place- there are 22 joints. These are are here in the Midwest and I could drive to all of them, if I wanted, all about a 2 hour radius from here. Not entirely local but started out small and local and at least stayed centralized. We go here at least one time a month and we love it. We see some of the same people each time we go so we're becoming "regulars."

We talked to the manager, when he stopped at our table, again having had great food and service, and was just doing the chatting thing. He asked if we were going to have fresh peach cobbler and I said no because I was on a diet and we all laughed. TheSam said he wasn't on a diet but he wasn't because he was full and we all laughed. About 5 minutes later the manager comes back and hands TheSam a go sack with a piece of still warm cobbler in it (with homemade whipped cream, on the side). He said it was on the house and for later and he winked at me and said if I decided to cheat on my diet, I should make him share. They had some guy bonding moment and left. That was so nice, again we were so surprised and pleased, and thankful. And impressed.

3. A couple nights ago TheSam and I popped into McAlister's Deli for a cookie and iced tea. We sat in a booth just chilling out. We knew they closed in about 20 minutes and there were still other customers so we sat. The manager stopped at the table to see if we wanted tea refills and we said sure. I told him I had unsweetened tea since I was sweet enough and we all laughed. He brought our cups back- full_ and then returned about 2 minutes later with a GALLON of the unsweetened tea for ME!!!! Just for no reason. He said he was closing soon and would toss it, they had just made is not even an hour ago so it was fresh. I thanked him so much and again, just overwhelmed with these kindnesses. And guess what? Not 3 minutes later he comes back with another gallon of sweet tea for TheSam since "he needed sweetening up" and we laughed. Yes, he gave us not one but 2 gallons of free tea!!!!! Isn't that amazing? And awesome? And kind!?!

I like it when something good happens out of the blue. It's so rare these days, but so appreciated!

Mags

Mac's Job

Since I'm on a writing about jobs kick, I thought I would let everyone know that Mac has a job and he loves it. He's working for a national pizza chain as a delivery driver and a cook. He's getting about 35-38 hours a week. He usually works around 4 or 5pm and works until closing, which is about midnight-1am, depending on the day of the week. (these hours still allow him to party like a rock star with his friends, all night long, and then he can sleep it off during the day. or I assume he does this because he rarely ever comes home at night after work unless it's just to change out of his uniform.)

He borrowed a car from XRay Girl and he's paying insurance on it as well as gas. I don't know what he'll do about buying one but that's his issue, not mine. He gets tips to put gas in the car every night and also gets a pay check every 2 weeks. With his first check he paid me money he owed me, and what he owed Daddy-O, so that was a good thing.

One perk he gets is a free meal every shift me works, which is good because that's one less time he's eating (and making a mess) at home. He also gets 50% off if he goes there to eat when he's not working.

He's been working there for 4 weeks right now. That's a positive thing. He's gone almost all the time which is also good- for him and for me (and my dad).

He has a loooooooooooooooong list of everything he wants to buy and he's talking about getting an apartment with a buddy or two, which would also be good- maybe also add to the "teach him responsibility" thing.

He's sitting out this semester of college to work, and with the hours he's working, he could take a second job if he wanted- he said he's "thinking" about it.

There's the possibility he can work into cooking all the time and won't have to drive, putting the wear and tear on the car, which would be good, and he seems to hope this happens.

I hope he keeps liking it.

I hope the money keeps flowing.

I hope he buys a car and moves in with his friends.

I hope he's happy.

Mac's mom,
Mags

No hospitality during an interview

In addition to my shitty outcome of the teaching gig, I had another interview. I applied online for a not named hotel chain for a low level management position. I actually was called by the corporate HR person and on the phone she told me the following:

• there were various positions open: guest services, marketing/sales, and in HR
• there are 6 hotels in my area and all of them have openings
• their goal is to place a person in the hotel closest to where a person lives, if possible
• the positions are mostly day shifts, mostly M-F, and mostly 8a-5p, though there will be occasional times of working evenings, weekends or holidays, depending on the position, but these times are rare
• I would be interviewing panel style with a member of the corporate marketing/ sales department, a corporate HR person (not the woman on the phone), and 1 or 2 hotel managers from the area. After the panel interview I could have individual interviews with any or all of these people.
• the positions pay between $10-14 per hour depending on the job
• all people will be hired at the interview, or will hear before the end of that day
  

Sounds great, right? I even took an entire day off since I had to drive 2 hours for the interview.

The reality, however, was this:

• the only position available was "guest services representative" which was primarily "front desk clerk"
• the only hotel with an opening was the one I was at
• the hotel with the opening is about a 25 minute drive from where I would be living
• the hours were day shift, second shift and third shift. It was all rotating so I wouldn't be working just one but maybe something like: Monday days, Tuesday and Wednesday on second shift, off on Thursdays and then third shift on Friday and Saturday and be off on Sunday. This would also not be a set schedule- it could change week to week, day to day. This is obviously NOT weekdays nor is it days. AND the woman who interviewed me said everyone works all holidays or is immediately discharged.
• I arrived and was introduced to 4 women and then the one who was a hotel manager took me to a supply closet with 2 chairs for an interview because she "didn't have any space elsewhere." Uhhhh, we're in a hotel and there was no room to convert into a meeting room???? And there was no panel interview at any time.
• it pays minimum wage
• I wasn't told either way if I was hired or not when I left
  

The woman who interviewed me was the manager at that hotel. She asked me typical interview questions and wrote down all my answer either word for word or she abbreviated. And she wrote in loopy, huge handwriting with neon orange pen. Just an observation.

She couldn't believe I had hours toward my master's degree but said it in that way where she wasn't impressed at all, but it came with a nose wrinkle and a look of disgust. Or jealousy.

She told me that it was a residential hotel with most clientele having an average stay of 7-15 days. Most clients were men ages 35-44 and she looked at my naked ring finger and emphasized it was NOT appropriate to fraternize at any time with guests. And then she arched her eyebrow at me. Well, gee if I can't screw the guests why would I want this gig?

She also said that every single person does laundry or cleans rooms daily and she doesn't want there to ever be "laundry drama". I'm not sure what that means. I mean, it's laundry. How much drama does laundry cause? She mentioned about 20 times during the 15 minute interview that she did not tolerate drama in her hotel. Uhhhh, okay.

AND she was the manager who worked 365/24/7 and expects no less from her small team of staff.

She briefly mentioned that there are benefits but none of them are available until the 6 month mark, but PTO starts accruing on day one, but can't use it for 6 months.

She then sent me on my way and told me if I was going to be hired I would know by Friday.

Uh, no. In no way would I want to work for this organization. At all. Ever. No.

Nor will I stay at this hotel. At all. Ever. No.

Not the best exposure to the hospitality industry.

Mags

A job is a job is a job...an interview is an interview is an... oh whatever!

Yesterday I interviewed at my school for an opening as an English teacher. I still don't have a license in my state but since I'm supposed to go to school and take those 6 hours to have my teacher certificate by Christmas, I was a perfect candidate.

My principal said he was going to do "due diligence"- he wanted to interview everyone and follow all the proper protocols so he could pitch to our Superintendent that everyone wanted me for the job.

So I interviewed with him as well as the other 3 core teachers with whom I'd be working with daily. I did pretty well in the interview- my principal told me later I did very well and stayed true to what I believed and presented well to the committee.

I was going to know by tomorrow if I got the job.

My principal called me tonight and I didn't get the job. The Super said she will NOT get an emergency certificate for anyone if there is a qualified candidate. She will not me a break. My principal felt like crap but it was the way it was. He said he really wants to see me get a certificate and he and the committee found a way to get a job as soon as I was certified and as soon as one was open.

I dunno.

It's disappointing. even an old principal called the Super on my behalf to no avail. I've worked for this woman for 3 years and can't catch a break. Apparently, she told my principal she would love to see me teach but I need to prove I want it by getting my certificate.

It must be nice for her to sit and make these rules and choices. She makes about $70k a year; she can say that but she must not care nor realize that to go to school I need money but to have enough money I need a job. Catch-22.

Shot down again.

I could bitch and moan but it doesn't matter anymore.

Maggie

Bo-ING!

A few weeks ago I did the coolest thing: jumped on a trampoline. Yeah, that doesn't sound like a big deal, I realize, but it wasn't your average jump on a trampoline in someone's back yard. It was a HUGE trampoline extravaganza!

There's a place that has an indoor trampoline park. That's right- a trampoline PARK! You pay to jump, you get special jumping shoes and then can go to town. There's a big section that just for jumping. The floor and walls are trampolines. You can just jump up and down or bounce off the walls. You can run up the walls and then bounce back onto the floor. You can do twists, turns and somersaults. Or just bounce.

Then there's a dodge ball section. The floor and walls are trampolines and they have a special ball. You can wait in line to play a game of dodge ball. There's also a referee to moderate so it doesn't get out of hand or control.

There's a section that's a giant foam pit. You can trampoline up and down and then bounce right into the foam pit. Or do a flip into the foam pit.

There's a toddler area of walled and floored trampolines so they don't get trampled by the kids and adults in the other areas.

There's also a basketball area where you can bounce and then slam dunk or do flips and turn as you put the ball in the hoop. It's not a place to play a b-ball game, but to do tricks to get the basket.

I want to say right up front, as a 40 year old woman, I did NOT play dodge ball or basket ball. I really would've felt more at home in the toddle area, really. I also didn't do the foam pit. I was in line to do the foam pit and it looked like fun but my big fear was GETTING OUT of the foam pit. I didn't want the trampoline monitor to stop all jumping to come get the fat old lady out. You had to crawl. There was not a ladder. I would've been screwed. I did watch people do it and it was cool looking. I also watched dodge ball, which gave me elementary school nightmare flashbacks, so I didn't play, obviously. It looked vicious and like they were out of dodge ball blood.

I just was in the normal trampoline jumping room. I didn't try and flips or anything because I didn't want to break my neck or have a heart attack. First, I have no health insurance and second, I did NOT want to have to explain what I was doing that landed me in a hospital. It was still fun, to just bounce up and down. I did jump and fall to my butt or knees. That was fun. And it was fun to watch all these kids do flips and huge bounces like they were flying.

Also, the other that was cool was the work out. I was breathless and sweaty after 10 minutes of bouncing. I swear it was the best cardio workout I've ever had. It's a huge work out on the legs. I paid to bounce for 30 minutes and thought I was going to die before my time was up. I did stop and take a little break on a bench and I looked around and realized that most parents were sitting, and most of those were my age. Oh there were adult who were jumping but they were probably in better shape than I was. But I didn't care- I had a great time and it was so much fun!

If there's an indoor trampoline park near you, I highly recommend going. It's a great workout, tons of fun, and a great way to get in touch with your inner child!

Mags

The August snowday that wasn't

The power went out at school the other day, right after lunch. It was a great day- warm, sunny, blue skies, fluffy clouds, just a very light breeze-- certainly not a bad weather day that would knock out power.

We thought it might be a quick off and off thing but a few minutes led to a few more which led to about 30 minutes and so on...

And the really weird thing is how the building was out. My library had one row of lights ON and all my student computers worked but the rest of it- all off. Some rooms had no power, no computers, no 'net. A few rooms had computers but no lights and no 'net. Some had computers and 'net but no lights, etc... you see the weird pattern here, right?

Finally we had to take all our students to the chapel. The school was without power and about half of the other buildings on campus had some various form of power outage as well.

Because of the state mandates and such, we couldn't send the kids back to their residence halls until we had enough school hours to count a full day or we would have to make up a half day. We hung with the kids in the chapel and they watched an educational movie and then we dismissed about 30 minutes early.

We were told that some underground lines had an issue. One of the lines is about 40 years old and it just died completely so the electric company was going to have to dig it all up and then put in a new one. And it was going to have to be dug from the road to the electric pole and transformer about a half a mile away. The power company said it would take 2-3 days, approximately. It happened on a Wednesday so we were told to be at school the next day unless we received a call or text from the principal.

But it looked like a snow day in August! And that would also give us a 4 day weekend, since we don't have school on Fridays!

But the snow day gods weren't on our side, probably because it's August in the Midwest and typically 85 degrees outside.

The principal let us all know we would have school, business as usual. It seems that the power company put a crew on who worked around the clock and gee, they got it done in time for us to have school.

Feh.

But really, it's not that big of a deal because I wouldn't want to have to make up a missed day in August. The thing that usually sucks, though, is that we don't usually get snow days since our kids live on campus. No buses just walking so usually no reason for a snow day, unless the county or state calls a road emergency.

We had school just like normal.

And no snow.

Mags

Diet week 17

Part of me wants to give up because being fat isn't so bad...

Diet week 16

I'm avoiding scales.

I'm still suffering from eating my way through July!

Random rantings

The other night I was writing a blog post with my laptop open on my lap, and one head phone plugged into his MP3 player. My phone beeped so I read the text and looked at Tweets. There was a Tweet about a book I wanted so I grabbed my Nook to order it directly on my device because it's easier to do. My boyfriend was teasing me, asking me if I wanted another piece of technology since it didn't appear that I had enough in my lap all at once.

If a place offers "Free Wi-Fi" then why is a password required? And when inquiring about the password, no one who works there knows what it is?

I wish people would do their damn jobs. We get 15 copies of two different newspapers at our school every day for student use. These are free to our school and to our students. I called and talked to the person in charge of the program to tell her we would be on a July break for 3 weeks. I've worked with this woman lots of times before. I gave her the dates that we wouldn't need delivery. She took all the info; this woman is usually on top of stuff, never giving me the brush off and is always prompt in returning my calls, and is usually very helpful. So I told her we didn't need papers for three weeks and I thought we were good. Until I got back to school this week and learned from the janitors that the papers were delivered every single day for the entire 3 weeks and they had to be recycled, or worse, trashed. I was so irritated. I hate all that waste!

I am totally jonsing for an iPad. I want one so badly!

Right now dieting is so hard. I've done it for how many weeks yet right now I just want to eat scores of junk! I need MORE will-power! I keep telling myself that nothing tastes as good as thin feels but... I want Lemoncelo cake.

I have no tolerance for stupid people and those who don't do their fricking jobs.

So many good books are out right now that I can hardly stand it! And to top it off, there are about 50 movies coming out between now and Christmas that I want to see. I need to just be able to stay home and do nothing but go to the movies and read. I should be paid for that. i keep sayin'!

I applied for a job yesterday, out of town and out of education. I have no idea what I'm thinking except that it's not here and not dealing with kids.

Mags

Busy bee

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, I realize this. I really do. For the longest time, I felt like I didn't have anything to blog about so I decided to make a conscious effort to write down anything that COULD be made into a blog post and see what happens. Furthermore, I felt my Muse kick in for awhile and I was writing. i also vowed to write every day so I even "back posted" (aka cheated) so I had posts every day.

The ideas started flowing and I have a huge list of stuff I want to write about. Yay- I was "feeling" the writing bug, which I know is part of it.

But then I got busy. REALLY busy. Last week, I had something going on every single day after school until late into the evening. Most of it was of my own doing, but by the time I got home I was just ready to fall asleep or my brain was so mushy I couldn't focus on writing anything of quality and I didn't want to a) waste a good topic and make it crummy; or 2) just post crap so I can say I posted daily.

Then last weekend I had "time", sort of. Sometimes it's mind over matter, ya know? I had a really good book to read, and the first day I had all week to relax was Saturday afternoon so I did nothing but read. My brain was on vacation and I didn't even touch my laptop all day long. Sunday, when I thought I was going to write, I ended up being gone all day. It was FUN- XRayGirl and I went shopping, out for a late lunch and we got pedicures! Yahoo- us! I love me some GF time. (and last week I hung with Lilith, got a haircut, helped Mac with some work stuff, sort of babysat for a friend's kiddo, went to a baseball game, went rummage saling with Curly, graded papers in preparation for student teaching, and spend an evening with Girl- and see all the potential blog stuff here? And all the stuff you're missing and need updated on?)

Then I was back at in again on Monday with the crazy schedule!

So, here it is: I'm not back posting the days I missed (expect a diet update, which I do more for me, than you!) Here is a post today. And if all goes according to Hoyle, I shall have a post every few days, if not daily, for the next several... years!

Whew!
Mags

Diet week 15

I keep forgetting to weigh myself.

I hate dieting. I'm just tired and cranky with life which is making it hard to diet but I still am.

I ate junk over my 3 week break and it's so hard to "get back on the wagon."

I keep telling myself that nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

I can't believe I need to lose 30 more pounds.

I feel really fat today. And bloated.

End of diet whine because I know this is my own doing!

Diet week 14

Dieting sucks.

Password musings

What do I do about passwords?

I wonder if I died how do my family and friends take care of all my online stuff? I was thinking maybe I should make a notebook of passwords and then hide it in the fireproof safe so no one could have it. All my important papers are there already so if something happened to me, people would be able to access all my stuff and shut things down, stop payments and the like.

Is having all that stuff written down, floating around out there a good thing?

I just read a book where the murdered characters (yes, I realize it's fiction but the point I want to make is actually applicable, regardless of fact or fiction) have a computer file called "passwords" and the police techies are making fun of them for doing that. Well, OK. Seemed like a good idea to me. However, the big problem is that someone would need to know my computer password to access the file called passwords, if I had something like that. Unless, of course, I was murdered and then the PD techies could share the info with my family.

Anyway, more realistically, what do I do? I'm a single person who relishes her privacy so what do I do about passwords? I have a few email accounts, blogger, Barnes and Noble, my banking, my mobile service... just tons of stuff that someone would need to shut down if I were dead, and would need passwords to do it.

Does anyone else have a thought on this? Maybe I'm just crazy with too much time on my hands to be thinking of stuff like this...

Mags

Train Ride

While I'm not someone who is a frequent concert goer, I've had the chance to see 2 concerts in just one week, which is pretty damn cool is you ask me!

Last night I saw Train and is was fabulous! My seat was amazing, less than 200 feet from the stage! I loved every single minute of the night. The music was great, the seats were great, the crowd was great! It was one of the best shows I've been to in years. I had so much fun and was so impressed with the show they put on.

The down side is that not one single picture I took with my cell camera turned out. Yeah.

But it was still an amazing night. They sand a ton of stuff from the California 37 album, of course, and then lots of their other hits like "Meet Virginia", "Hey Soul Sister", "Marry Me",and "Drops of Jupiter", just to name a few. And one thing that was completely awesome was their own medley of songs. that's right, they did a medley of their own music. You know how you go to a concert and you know the band can't sing ever single hit they've had or the concert would last about 9 hours? Well, Train made a medley of some of their older hits and sang that, flashing the album cover on a giant screen behind them on stage so the audience knew what album it was from. I thought that was pretty cool, so I think they managed to sing every single hit song, as well as every single popular sing they ever had, as well as 7 songs of he newest album, California 37.





One thing that's super cool is that one of the songs on the new album "Bruises" is a duet and the lead singer Twitters and gets a woman (or group) of women to sing it with him during the concert. No, I wasn't the lucky winner (OMG I Wish!) and this isn't the footage from our concert- it's not on the web yet- but it's from another concert and is a totally great song:





And of course some guy in the the audience proposed to some girl and she said yes, during the beautiful love song "Marry Me" which I have to admit it completely romantic and just about perfect. And the lead singer knew and told the audience and the woman was screaming and crying- not sure if it's was because she was proposed to or because Pat Monahan (lead singer) talked to her from stage...



Hope you enjoyed the videos! Now got get California 37! It's the best! Or get tickets!

Loved it!
Mags

Technology freak out

I go see a guy that I'm going to refer to as my boyfriend from now on and there will be an upcoming post about him, but for the sake of this post, he's Boyfriend. Anyway I go see him almost every weekend since he lives about 2 hours from me. I have to pack a bag with shoes and clothes, mostly.

Notice I say mostly. I do leave some stuff at his place like magazines, books, shampoo, a razor, bathroom type stuff. I think I have a shirt, a pair of emergency flip-flops there, and some undies. I leave candles to burn or pictures. Just stuff, and he doesn't care. So each time I go, I do have to pack a bag with some basic clothes.

And other stuff. Mostly clothes.

I find I have to pack a giant dang suitcase because of my electronics. I am not kidding. I mean, I was completely excited when I got a haircut and didn't need to lug a straightener and a hairdryer anymore. And when he didn't care I left toiletries and books, I was thrilled. I have a Nook so I don't have to pack 4 or 5 books at a time since I have that many (or more) with me all the time. No what I do have to pack and that requires a suitcase is all the technology.

Sometimes I take my laptop. I don't have to but maybe I have job stuff I want to do, or I want to use his printer and I just use my laptop. Sometimes I just want MY laptop not his computer. SO I have that plus the power cord in case the battery dies.

I have to have my Nook charger cord. No explanation needed, I'm sure.

I have to have a phone charger.

Sometimes, when it works, I have my iPod. And headphones. And that charger.

I need to make sure I have my car charger for my phone because when I drive around his city on my own, I sometimes get lost and need the GPS feature which sucks the batter life of my Android pretty quickly.

I always said I would never be a slave to technology; apparently I am a liar!

And the one item on this entire list that freaks me out the most if I forget it? My Nook charger. I about have kittens. Once I forgot it and spent 2 hours at a Barnes and Noble borrowing one of the chargers there because I was afraid it would die and I would have nothing to read. So I then had to buy a paper book to leave at his house. Then we went to a Half Price Books and I bought a stack of magazines and about 6 novels to leave there, just in case it happened again. But maybe that's a story for another post... Pardon me, I digress.

Yes, technology. It increases my suitcase. I have more cords than shoes in my overnight bag, and that's sayin' something!

Mags

8 reasons why Maggie is mad

I'm having one of those times where I'm all pissed off and irritated, mostly for no good reasons or for very good reasons but they all hit me at one time.

1. I hate it when Mac calls me and tell me something wonderful and then follows it up immediately with, "but we have a problem." First, WE do not have a problem- HE has a problem. It's not my fault his mobile phone doesn't work or that he's worried about passing a drug test or that he doesn't have any money for cigs or whatever. And why can't he ever just tell me something good without there being some fucking dramatic pause and then something bad?

2. And I hate it when people do not return phone calls in a timely manner, especially if someone SAYS on the message that it's important. How hard is it to call back soon when someone says, "We have an important issue and really need your help." Do I need to scream hysterically into the phone and beg for 911 like help?

3. It also just flat out makes me mad when people play dumb. They know what they did and they screwed up and then fake like nothing is wrong and are just "stunned" when they find out someone is angry at them.

4. And I wish people would take responsibility for their words and actions. If you are stupid and hurtful, admit it and apologize. Do not play some game about how it "did seem so bad" and say "well, I can't believe you're upset over that".

5. Hypocrites are also the worst. Really? You tell me to do one thing, get pissed when I don't, and then do the opposite and then get mad at me when I call you out for being a hypocrite, thus reverting to item 4. And the person who's being the hypocrite them gets mad at being called out. Stupid imbeciles. I am not in therw rong so don't try to make me feel like I am. Admit wrong doing, apologize, and move the hell on.

6. I'm also frustrated with my own self for getting mad at things that just affect me peripherally but it still makes me mad. The photographer I work for sold the camera I always use when I work for her so I guess I'm out of the photographer business until I get my own. It doesn't REALLY matter but it does. Maybe it's just because today I'm in a bad mood about all the other stuff.

7. Religion is not a trump card. It's about grace and faith and kindness, not about making people feel bad or using it to prove a point like a weapon is wrong.

8. Rude people suck.

Tough love

Mac's life had been falling apart since last October. He got kicked out of school. He came home and I laid down the law. He went to see a therapist, which didn't do a lot of good. He refused to see a medical doctor to get any sort of prescription like Prozac to help him.

He enrolled at a local community college and got a part time job. He seemed to be okay for a bit.

Then he lost the job. He did shitty at school.

At the beginning of summer, he thought about joining the military. He applied for a few jobs. He basically went into hiding from his family and stayed with his friends for days on end, coming home in the middle of the night to shower and grab some food.

About a month ago, now, he moved out and in with friends. Things here were tense and I just said here are the rules, follow them is one choice or move out is the other choice. He moved out.

It didn't go well. Things for him went from bad to worse and since he still didn't find a job it was sucky. He got into a fight with the roommates and after he slept in the park for a night, he finally called hi sperm donor for help.

And that $%!&*(%(@# Sperm Donor jerk didn't do anything. He listened to Mac and lectured him for several hours and heaped a bunch of guilt on him. Then he told him he could couldn't stay with his family since he was such a mess.

So Daddy-O and I let him come back. Mac knows this is the last time. So...

Yesterday Mac is I could give him a ride. I drove him to about 25 places to pick up applications. Today he filled out about 20 of them while I was at school and then after school I drove him back to turn them all in. I was amazed at the progress! And it garnered him an interview as the local Pizza Hut.

His plan for today is to follow a lead on a factory job which has about 4 steps to even get the interview. And he's going to finish the rest of the the paper apps and I'm going to give him a ride to drop those off. And he said he wants to do some laundry. This is all his plan and his progress.

Tomorrow he's going to a local job placement agency and has his interview.

He has about 15 places online he's going to apply for over the weekend. And on Monday he said he's going to call all the places he's applied this week.

This is his plan. I hope he follows through. Because I don't want to have to follow through if he gives up.

He seems to really want to change and he really, really wants a job. I wish I had a connection to hook him up with a position just so he could have a chance but I don't. But I appreciate he's really trying. And I really hope something comes out of all his efforts. I don't know how long he's going to be able to hold onto the threat of hope that he'll get a job.

By the way, if any of you want to take a chance on a kid and have a legit offer, I'll make sure he gets there and he will work his ass off.

Parenting is hard.
Mags

The first time

I've been able to do a lot of reading this summer, more than usual. Obviously summer vacation has allowed me time to wallow in a pile of books.

But I have a problem, which then turns into several problems. Only bibliophiles has issues such as this one.

What happens when you love an author and have read all their books and there are no more? I know I have to just wait for another one but when there some serious author- reader loving happening, waiting just sucks. I bought, for example, Sacre' Bleu by Christopher Moore. I pre-ordered it and it was on my Nook when I woke up. It was released on April 3. I just read it last week. I kept prolonging reading it because I've read all the Christopher Moore books and I hate waiting for another one. I couldn't stand it any more (or Moore?) and just had to read it; the suspense was killing me!

I've done the same thing with other books in the past. I buy them or borrow them and then just hang on to them, holding out to read while I anticipate the next one. Some authors I like quite a bit so I read them when I can and am content for the next one, but some authors, I go a little crazy: Christopher Moore, Janet Evanovich, Susan Whittig Albert, Jodi Picoult (had 2 out this year!), Greg Iles (finally his new one comes in December!), Nicholas Evans... I get these books ASAP and then I carry them around, savoring the fact I could read it if I want.

I realize I could re-read books by my favorite author. Re-reading to me is like trying to recreate a first kiss- it just can't be done. No matter who great and exciting, engaging, wonderful a book it the first time I read it, I can never get that sort of magic again. I do re-read books, but it better be damn good if I'm willing to give up time to do that. I also want to say that life is way to short to read books- this is how I feel most of the time. I have about 350+ books on my to read list and it's not complete. There is only so much time left in the world for me and I don't usually want to re-read something where there are so many new authors for me to fall in love with, to experience, to... 'kiss'. So I don't often re-read.

And then there are books that have just disappeared. Michael Allegretto hasn't written a book in years but I can't seem to figure out if he died or not. And RIP to Maeve Binchy... ah those at the Scarlet Feather and Quinton's... I shall miss them. And there was a character called Callahan Garrity written by Kathy Hogan Trocheck- she wrote 7 and then no more. It just pains me!

So I wait. I want for Evanovich's 19 in the Plum series. I wait to see if Evans will ever write a new one again. I have to wait at least a year or even more for more Moore, and Picoult. I have to just try to be patient for December for Iles.

And maybe go re-read turning Angel or Fool to get my through...

Mags