Quick Update

Hello all~

This is just a quick update so you all understand why I have been MIA.

My precious niece Haley (who is just 3) started complaining about her leg hurting while at my house Saturday before last. No biggie, but kinda weird. So, I dutifully told her mom about it and everyone went on their way. The next night, we had our November Family Birthday dinner to celebrate my dad, Haley, Ella and my sister...who all have birthdays in one week. By that night at dinner...Haley didn't want to walk, and was very fussy about her leg. (If you asked where it hurt, she would point to her groin) So, me having the queen of groin pulls for a child, immediately start thinking groin pull, hernia, dislocated hip, etc...end of the world scenarios...(have I mentioned I can be pessimistic sometimes?)

So, the next day, Monday, Ashley takes her to the urgent care clinic to have the hip x-rayed as the pain has gotten worse, Haley refuses to walk at all, and isn't sleeping at night. (Did I mention my sister has 3 other kids...one of which is 5 months old?). They find nothing, so off to the pediatrician the next day~ who promptly diagnoses it as Transient Synovitis. Finally...we know what's wrong!! And that it will be better all on it's own in about a week!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Seriously....how thankful we are for great doctors!

Partied too soon. (Have I mentioned my sweet precious Haley has the most random horrible health luck in the world?) There was only one thing we had to watch for...a fever that suddenly spiked. But the chances of that happening were slim...so not to worry over much. What a joke. By Thursday, Haley's hip is getting no better, the pain is actually worse, she still refuses to walk, and by late that afternoon...the 99 degree fever she has had all week (normal) has spiked to almost 104 (not normal). Off to the emergency room they go!

After a several hour wait in the ER, and more x-rays, plus an ultrasound....a very nice young orthopedic surgeon comes in to inform Ashley that Haley has developed Septic Hip, and he needs to operate...now. at midnight. WHAT!?!?!?! Yes, that is what he said. He considered it an emergency situation that could not even wait until morning. So, off my sweet baby goes to surgery. He initially planned on just aspirating the fluid out of her leg, but when he did that...instead of finding a cloudy infected fluid...all he found was pus. Like nasty infected. in just a matter of days. So, now he actually has to cut her open and go in to clean everything out. My poor sweet baby. (and sister) It is about 2am when she finally gets settled in a room, everything has been sent off to the lab to be cultured and now we just wait.

Friday was a horrible day. besides being in pain, obviously, Haley screamed at anyone who walked in the room...her favorite was "DON'T LOOK AT ME!!!!"...I'll let you guess if she let them touch her. Saturday was marginally better....at least she wanted to eat a little (hello Aunt Liz to the rescue with pancakes from the Fox!) and Sunday was the best day yet. But...after several days, we finally had some answers! It was not MRSA, thankfully, but it was Staph....a MSSA Staph infection....still very hard to treat, but not as hard as MRSA. Unfortunately, both have to be treated with IV antibiotics for several weeks (like 8) so on Monday, my sweet baby had to go back under anesthesia to have a picc line put in.  Which made Monday a really bad day too....almost as bad as Friday. But, with the picc line, she could now go home and be given her antibiotics there!

So, finally, after the longest 6 days of our lives, Haley came home last night.....thank the Lord!

Pretty crazy, right? Did I mention that while all of this was going on, and while Ashley & Zach were at the hospital with their baby...that I had all of their other babies?? Along with my 13 yr old, there was the 12 yr old, who luckily went off to spend the weekend with friends (Deb Fewell you are the greatest!), the 5yr old that missed her parents, and the 5 month old. You know, the one who is solely breast fed...and doesn't sleep through the night yet. Oh, and did I mention that the 12 yr old came home Sunday with strep and had to be shipped to my parents house immediately because he couldn't be near the baby (or Haley when she came home!)? Yes, that was my week.

I am so freaking tired.

Ya-Ya!

Mary... mother of the motherless? Can you see me? I'm here! It's me again! I need divine intervention once again. Quelle grande surprise. And here it is. My oldest daughter, Siddalee, the one I've been complaining about? The loudmouth? She may be walking away from true love. Please stop her. Don't let her run away. This is because of me. She never said it, but... I know. She's only seen me holding back. I take full responsibility. But I'd appreciate you keeping that to yourself. Please pass this on to your son and his father. I will only smoke once... a day. And I will only have a drink once a week - I mean a day. I'll do the best I can. If you will just help her out with this one thing, I'll make it up to you somehow.  -Vivi


I love that little monologue!!!  Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood is one of my favorite movies...I love it. I relate to it on some kind of deep internal level. I love all of the complicated relationships. One of my favorite scenes is when Sidda and Vivi are on the phone and they are both screaming and banging the phones on the counter....that is what I feel like doing sometimes. 

The problem is, I just can't tell sometimes if I am Sidda or if I am turning into Vivi~ which I guess is Sidda's own internal fear, so I guess I really am Sidda...Always waiting for the bottom to drop out....

Connor: [about Sidda] I don't know what the hell she's so afraid of - it's like she's always waiting for the bottom to drop out.
Vivi: You know why she thinks that, don't ya, honey? Because it did. It always did. 

I feel like the bottom is about to drop out. And I have absolutely no idea on how to stop it. Pray for me friends~

xoxo 

We are the flames of the fires, the whirling of the winds. We are the waters of the rains and the rivers and the oceans. We are the rocks and the stones. And now by the power invested in me, I declare we are the mighty Ya-Ya priestesses. Let no man put us under. Now our blood flows through each other as it's done for all eternity. Loyal forever. We raise our voices in the words of Mumbo Gumbo... YA-YA! 

 

 

The Stork came! The Stork came!

It seems everyone is having their own bundles of joy recently (really....like 10 of my friends have had babies in the last 3 months), so I just had to add a really quick heartfelt congratulations to my friend Britt on the birth of her third daughter, Lena, yesterday. Congratulations!!!!!

I love you dearly Britt, and can not wait to meet your newest addition!


p.s. all these bundles really make me want another baby!!!

I love food

We have established that I love food, really good food, already. And last night I had the pleasure of pigging out. I got to have dinner with my friend Katie (sans all kids...woo hoo!!!) at a newer restaurant in town called....'town. And holy moly...it was good. Really really good.

At her suggestion (she'd been there before) we sat up at the bar facing the open kitchen...and actually sat directly in front of the executive sous chef...which worked in my favor by landing me treats all night. Like the blue crab beignet....I  mean seriously, how can you go wrong with a deep fried crab stuffed donut??!?! Which I promptly followed up with the prix fixe menu selections of a pear & arugula salad with white balsamic vinaigrette; duck confit on a bed of green lentils and onions; and a hanger steak with parmesan herb fries and a chimichurri sauce. All paired with a yummy malbec. Oh, and a bitter chocolate terrine with blackberry cassis sorbet.

Was that for both of us you ask? Uh, no...that was just mine. that's right...4 courses. Katie had some of my salad, and half the beignet...but she had her own food....which of course, I also had to try....like the seared scallops with fennel, orange segements, jalapeno, and a cardamom vinaigrette....and the roasted snapper with mushrooms, local potatoes, leeks, verjus sauce (didn't try this bad boy...allergy thing...although she wouldn't stop raving about it).

By the time I got home....I thought my stomach was going to explode. In a good way of course, but explode none the less. And since of course, I could not go to bed on such a full stomach, I had to console myself by watching Grey's and Private Practice...oh darn. ;) Jasper, however, was quite put out that there were no leftovers....because we all know mommy is a pig when it comes to good food. Seriously...there were only bones left for the confit....and I felt no shame.

So, after a lovely night's sleep (thank you ambien) I got up this morning a very happy girl when I realized it was the first day of Diwali (Happy Diwali all my Hindu friends!) and that I would be noshing on some seriously yummy Indian food all day~

I am in heaven. 

Oh Dang.....

This has got to be the most poorly planned athletic show logo I have ever seen. And it's for real....I checked. I seriously though it was a joke when I saw it here. But alas, it was not. You have to ask yourself, what person would come up with this and think it was a good idea?

I am obsessed...

...with Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I have always been just a Marc by Marc Jacobs fan, but this perfume smells so heavenly to me that I find myself whipping out my little purse sized atomizer (which really isn't that small!) on a very regular basis. And being that a regular bottle costs upwards of $70....this is a lovely bargain at $20. And a little goes a VERY long way!!! And I love the roller ball! Sigh...I could go on forever...oh, and I must thank Natalie Bloomfield for turning me on to it!!!!!!!!!

So....

Since I have nothing to write...I figured I would share my most favorite website. Period. Above Facebook (which is saying a whole heck of a lot). I love every single aspect of this website and just can not gush about it enough. I especially love the fact that you can have an instant deep bonding with a random person the moment the question is asked, "Have you ever heard of Pioneer Woman?" and the immediate screamed answer, "I LOVE REE!!!!!!!!!". Go read it...you'll be hooked.

The Pioneer Woman | Ree Drummond

I'm Stumped

I have nothing to write. :(

Sorry folks.

YUM

This is my new favorite snack. Randomly came across it at a Starbucks, and totally fell in love...

It is called Two Moms in the Raw Granola. This is the blueberry Gluten Free variety. It is handmade, 100% Organic, 100% Raw, Dairy free, Wheat free, Gluten free and 100% Vegan friendly.

And it really is good...I hear you groaning back there...but give it a try!

'Tis the Season?

So, we have established that I love where I live....right?

But, God Bless....there are no seasons here. It is either really hot, kinda hot or just warm. Take, for example, the weather this week. It is the last weekend in October, Halloween is just days away....all my friends in far (and not so far) flung places are thoroughly enjoying fall, and changing leaves, and anticipating snow, and curling up by the fire....and it is 90 freaking degrees here. Seriously, we set a record yesterday. I just got a cappuccino because I needed an afternoon pick me up and now I am having a hot flash.

How is a person supposed to get into the Holiday/Fall/Winter season when it is 90 degrees?? While I must admit, I would love to have snow, I would be totally happy with just having 70 degrees for the high. I live in the land of evergreens, so I will never get changing leaves...but I am okay with that (sort of). During our 2 weeks of winter every year, I do get to use my fireplace, and enjoy it thoroughly. But, come on....I would like to actually break out my sweaters and boots without looking ridiculous.

These are the times I miss CA. Not that we had much weather changes in SD, because we really didn't...but cooler weather and no humidity was nice. And having the mountains and snow within an hour was nice...and hey, can I get an AMEN on driving to Alpine or Julian for fresh pies?

The other day I was online looking at cabins for rent in Idyllwild, Ca....one of my favorite places. It is so small and quaint and rustic. I just love it there. And there is a pie shop on the main street that is to die for. And the hiking. And snow. And mountains. We actually got snowed in up there one time for 3 days when I was pregnant with Gabby... **SIGH**

Oh well, back to my coffee and daydreams of cooler weather. 

I just love this.....

I am hooked on a song. I can listen to Lover Lay Down by DMB over and over and over.  Maybe it's the sax, which is just so awesome to me....or maybe it's Dave Matthew's voice, which is equally awesome to me....but I just love this song....take a minute for yourself, go out to Grooveshark and take a listen...I bet you'll like it too~ Happy Monday all!

Pretty Dresses

I get to dress up tonight in a pretty dress and awesome gold heels and wear a mask....all for a good cause! I am going to the Daniel Guiding Hearts Gala...which is a masked ball...can't wait! Pics to follow~ In the meantime....check out Daniel.  it's a great cause helping kids in Jacksonville!

P.S.  I love playing dress up :)

The way to my heart is through my stomach

I love food. Good food. Don't get me wrong, bad food is sometimes so good too....Burker King whoppers are my weakness...especially when pregnant, hungover or deprived of carbs for any length of time. But really good food is just so sexy. Especially when paired with really good wine. Mmmmmm....food. And I love to cook...anything and everything. Difficult or easy. I just love to cook...and eat. :) I love to cook for my friends or family...any kind of big gathering (it's easier than cooking for one picky teen). Which is why I went to culinary school...except I figured out that I don't want to be a chef in a restaurant, so it's been kind of interesting.

But...tonight I am cooking. Last night I didn't cook...it was one of those days, so dinner was pulled pork from the Lakeshore Produce Market (it was lunch today too....you should try it), but tonight I am cooking. I am having several friends over for our weekly Girls Night In Dinner and to celebrate KA's birthday. So I am going to make a Lemon Chicken with Croutons (which is sooooo yummy), roasted haricort vert, a Pear & Goat Cheese salad and for desert...a flourless chocolate cake with rasberry sorbet. All of which is gluten free with the exception of the croutons, which technically could be too since I have a great GF french bread mix.

Why Gluten Free you ask? Well, one of my friends, was diagnosed with a gluten allergy several months ago, so she cut out gluten and has never looked back. After seeing what a difference it made with her, I also cut out gluten...just to give it a try, and look back longingly quite often. I am being re-allergy tested in the next few weeks, so we will see what a difference that makes in my longing. However, I can feel the difference. And, in my gluten free state...I have found several replacements, alternative choices mostly made with brown rice that I never would have considered that are OMG yummy. Like pasta...which I love or the GF Pantry Brownie Mix. Holy Smokes....those bad boys are to die for. Seriously. Like the big O good. I could eat them every day, all day....and have before. You should try them. But, as I get further into this, and figuring out more healthy food decisions, I am sure more things will be cut out or added in. So be on the lookout of my ever changing culinary adventures~

Peace out.

When I grow up....

....I want to be.....?????

When I was growing up, firmly ensconced in "The Bubble", I was asked by a teacher one day (we all were...it was a whole class thing), "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We were all to decide what we wanted to be at age 6 or so, write a few sentences about it and draw a picture. Well friends, I had aspirations, BIG aspirations. I wanted to be.....an Ortega Housewife and be in the Junior League. I am not kidding. My biggest aspiration in life was not to be a doctor or astronaut, but to be a housewife. How crazy is that?? My mom's friends still get a huge kick out of this paper to this day....and my mom has saved it for prosperity's sake.

The thing is...as I grew up and forgot said paper, I did have aspirations. I did want to be a doctor or a lawyer (everyone agrees I would be a VERY good lawyer) and at one point even a Marine Biologist. I wanted to be the Real Deal. That super successful something when I went back to my high school reunions. But as the years have passed, and I have done so many different things career wise, I have come to realize one thing. I really actually do want to be an Ortega Housewife and be in the Junior League (well maybe not in the JL, but you get the point). I do not want to work. I want to be at home with my kids (yes, I know I only have one...but I am open to more!). I know that I NEED my job, but I don't want it. It's boring. And I have the attention span of a gnat. I am tired of sitting next to completely insane people (who laugh at really odd times), doing ridiculously boring work, and missing the good stuff. Which is just QT with the kiddo. And lunch with friends, and cleaning my house, and going to yoga, and just enjoying my life!

I know the grass is always greener on the other side....and I know I get bored when I am home and poor because I am in-between contracts...but I really want to be a stay at home mom right now. Maybe one day I will be a greatly in demand personal chef and will get to work my own hours and make lots of money and be home for the good stuff. Oh, lotto, where are you?

I want.....

....New furniture....and I am really jealous that my friend's is being delivered today.

.....a new kitchen...REAAAALLLLYYY bad. Mine is very poorly designed and has no storage!

....hardwood floors....won't someone please donate them to me???

Oh, and world peace. :)

Weekends

I love the weekends...but Good Lord....why are they over in like 20 minutes??? It seems like I have not enjoyed a relaxing weekend in years....other than the quick trip I took to NYC in September...which wasn't exactly relaxing by any means...we never stopped moving, but was nice in the aspect of not having to be 50 different places at once. I could just go....with no worries. My typical weekend now is, unfortunately, not like that. Is yours? And how do you get it like that? This past weekend for example went down like this:

Friday, work all day (from 6:45-3:15); appt. at 3:30; parents back in town, so stop by their house to say hi and grab Gabby, who had gone there after school; to publix for groceries; home to get ready for dance that night; make dinner; pick up kids and ferry to said dance; come home to take care of dog and do laundry; force self to stay awake until said teen gets home from dance....go to bed.
Saturday: wake up at the crack ass of dawn for no apparent reason; take care of dog; allow said dog to awaken teen; go to Sam's club with father at 10am; come home, put up groceries; go to Fox for quick breakfast/brunch; home to get ready for first of 2 soccer games; clean downstairs; be at field at 1p for 2p game; roast in sun for 2.5 hours; Target; Winn Dixie; home finally at 6p. Dinner; laundry; bed.
Sunday: up too late for early service; make breakfast; clean kitchen AGAIN; let dog wake up teen AGAIN; clean some of rest of house; get ready for soccer AGAIN; leave house at 1:45 for 3:20 game on other side of town...roast in sun for 3 hours; watch gabby play best game of season and score a goal; drive back to right side of town; drop gabby at confirmation meeting; take care of dog; make dinner; get frantic phone call from other parent requesting pick up for their child too; make quick phone call to long lost friend in Reno...and actually catch her; pick up said teens; drop off said extra teen...and chat with mother; home at 8:30...to take care of dog; clean kitchen AGAIN and go to bed.
Monday: Alarm went off at 5:30. WTH. Got up, get ready, got teen ready, made lunch for both, run late as usual...super late as I needed to take teen to school because ex is out of town. Made it to work finally at 8am. Never got laundry folded, made it to Lowe's, raked back yard or regained my sanity. Maybe next weekend.

**SIGH** Maybe it will be better now that Gabby's fall soccer season is over. "No", you say? I didn't think so. I don't want to be a grown up. I want to enjoy my weekends again....with no responsibilities. I want my house to actually get fully cleaned in one cleaning. I want to go out to dinner, and to the movies, and shopping at the mall.  Will any of this ever happen???

One thing to Note

You can obviously see blog posts prior to the last couple months on here...they are actually from an old blog I had called Tullah Belle's Diary (another nickname...I know, how many can one person have???).

It was a blog mainly keeping up with all things Gabby for family that didn't get to see her all the time. I was really bad about keeping up with it though...but didn't want to lose them when I created this one and deleted that old one.

So feel free to peruse~

xoxo

Petunias are the prettiest

I bet you've been wondering where the title for my blog originated. You know you have...Don't be ashamed to admit it. :)

When I was little, my great uncle, who's name has always just been Uncle to me, nicknamed me Petunia. Well, after he had initially nicknamed me Peaches, but my father decided his precious brand new infant daughter didn't need to sound like a stripper. So Petunia it was.

I spent quite a bit of time at Bill (my aunt...Mary Bill) and Uncle's house as a child...see my sister is just 14 months younger than me, and my brother is 4 years older. So my mom had a newborn, a very precocious 1 yr old, and a ridiculously hyper 5 yr old. And my dad worked ALOT. Not surprisingly, she couldn't always deal...Lord, I have one child and couldn't deal. My aunt & uncle lived down the street from us, and their daughter was my godmother...so naturally I spent plenty of time there. My first sleepover was there, my first time swimming (I was two...and couldn't technically swim yet) was there...my first real birthday party, etc. I loved that house...and them. They were then, and still are, more like grandparents than extended family.

So, back to the point...he nicknamed me Petunia. It got shortened over the years to Tunia, Tunie and even Tunie Lu. People still call me by that nickname to this day~ it's like the gift that just keeps giving. When I was young, I used to ask Uncle why he called me Petunia (he never shortened it) and his response was always, "Because Petunias are the prettiest". So there you have it. Petunias are the prettiest. I would walk in the door and would always hear, before I had even walked around the corner to be seen, "There's my pretty Petunia", and I would always smile. I still do.

Home is where the Heart is?

So, I feel the need to tell you about where I live. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Fl. in a neighborhood called Ortega. It's kind of like the "old money" section of Jacksonville, although we were anything but "old money". There are two parts of Ortega...Ortega Forest, where I grew up, which was the "new" section (built up around the '50s) and Old Ortega (read: old money...and old homes). I loved growing up in Ortega...loved my friends, neighbors, schools, etc. It's just a really great neighborhood....safe for your kids to bike around in, and knowing that any number of neighbors will call you to say..."hey! I just saw your kid". And I will totally admit being a snob about people that lived in Deerwood and Ponte Vedra...they were "new money" and totally ostentatious about it.

But back to the point...I grew up in Ortega. I moved away for college, and then got married and moved to California. San Diego to be precise. Which I loved...and never should have left. It's where my daughter was born, and where I met 3 of my closest friends, who remain so, to this day. San Diego holds a very special place in my heart and always will.

But back to Ortega...when Gabby was about two we moved back to Jacksonville. My husband and I divorced about a year later which prompted the move back into "the bubble". "The Bubble?", you ask. "Yes, The Bubble" as it is commonly referred. "Why?" you ask? Because people that live in the bubble never leave the bubble. And people that grew up in The Bubble somehow get drawn back to it like a moth to flame. We never cross "the ditch" more commonly referred to as the St. John's River, never venture to the other side of town (unless it is to the beach...at which point you take 95 straight to the beach with blinders on so you don't realize you have left The Bubble), never cross over Blanding Blvd to the "bad side of the westside", just never leave. There is one funny thing about The Bubble though...it's not a perfect circle. It's one of those funky shaped bubbles you blow that is long and kinda curved....like this:

See, The Bubble encompasses three neighborhoods...Ortega, Avondale and Riverside, which makes it kind of L-shaped...but it stops at the bridge...the one that goes over "the ditch". And to the other side, it stops at the Super Target...which is pushing it, because the Super Target is next to...a navy base. **Gasp**... I know. There is however one exception to the boundary on that side...and to the ditch...and that my friends, is Whole Foods. it was someone's bright idea to build the Whole Foods on the other side of the ditch...past the boundary of The Bubble....which was so devastating. But after a good cry, we Ortega girls put on our big girl panties and decided we could handle it. So, like going to the beach, you must put your blinders on, pass the dreaded navy base, cross the ditch on a 3 mile long bridge to come to the mecca of all grocery stores. Which is why when you go, you plan on being there for hours. No joke.

But back to the story, now that you know what the bubble is. Way back when, I moved back to the bubble. To Old Ortega to be exact. I love it here. I also hate it here. It is the land of cute families and country clubs (which I don't mind at all....several of my friends are some of those cute families!) It is also the land of everyone knowing your business before you do. But it's pretty much like that anywhere, right? right?? But...I have my little house that Gabby and I have lived in since she was 3 1/2. And even though it continuously falls apart, I love it. It fits us...or at least it will when I get finished updating it (yes, I realize we have lived here for 10 years). And it's location was perfect...close to churches, parks, and family....oh yes, the family. When we moved here, my parents lived in OF which was across the main road, Roosevelt...and their house was approximately 1 mile away....the perfect distance. My ex husband lived in Avondale, approx. 5 miles away...again, the perfect distance...not too far to be inconvenient and not too close that we were in each others back pockets. My brother lived a few miles away (and still does...he's the one hold out), my sister lived in San Marco (across the ditch...but just barely out of the bubble), and a good bit of my extended family lived with a 2 mile radius...close enough to visit regularly...but again...not close enough for them to come knocking for a cup of sugar. Just Perfect.

My, how God likes to laugh at me sometimes. Within 3 years, my sister had gotten married and moved to OF, my parents had sold their house in OF for being "too big"  and decided to build something smaller; and my ex-husband had  remarried and had also decided to house hunt. And the two latter ones decided that my neighborhood was the one they wanted...my parents built a house literally around the corner from me...and my ex bought a house 2 blocks away. On the same street. Seriously. I couldn't believe it. I looked at Gabby one day and said, "We have to move". but being 6 years old, she just looked at me like I was crazy.

Somehow, I made it through. And it is convenient. Gabby can easily go to her dad's house, or my parents house on her bike now. And my parents are now close enough that I can raid their house for that cup of sugar...and whatever else they happen to have in the fridge between paychecks. But Good Lord...being in each others pockets is God awful annoying. I don't want everyone to know my business all the time. And it is very inconvenient that I have to pass certain houses every time I want to get to one of my closest friends' house...which by the way is just about every day. Or if I want to take my dog for a walk...or go to the church I grew up in. Or when you mistakenly think the guy on the bike you just passed is hot, and for a moment wonder if he's single and where he lives...only to have your child in the back seat say, "Hey look, it's Dad!". Yes,  my friends, that actually happened. I almost drove off the road. And sure enough, as I gave myself whiplash turning to look, there he was turning his bike around to come chat with us. I could have died from utter mortification. And as I related my story of pure humiliation to my friend (who lives in Reno) all she did was about pee herself from laughing so hard. (Its still not funny, if you were wondering...but I love you anyway). I am such a spaz.

**SIGH**  So this is my home. This is where I was raised and where I have raised my daughter. This is the neighborhood I love for all its quirks. The people, the houses, the old oak tree lined streets, even the being in each others pockets. Which is why I will never understand why someone who doesn't love this neighborhood for its quirks and its people, who doesn't have children they want to raise here, that bashes it every time they open their mouths to speak about it, would move here. If you hate it here that much, then by all means...move out. We don't want you to be here either.

ME

I am a chef, I am a QA Analyst, I am a mom, I am a sister, a daughter, a niece, an aunt.  I am a Mormon.

Whoa! Just kidding. Those commercials crack me up. I'm a catholic (my grandparents just rolled over in their graves). But I grew up Methodist. And I am all those things up there...all at once sometimes, which can get kinda crazy.

How bout this? I am a divorced mom of one, Gabby, who is hitting the teen years (Lord in all your mercifulness, save me). I am owner and BFF to one mutt of a dog named Jasper (because that is where my family is from...not from the Twilight books), that I love almost as much as my child...even when he does chew up my really expensive shoes....and he gets spankings just like she did too.

I am a soccer mom...I just can't help it. Especially when Gabby plays competitive soccer and we have to travel. My organizational streak freaks out when we have a disorganized coach...so I take that on too. It works. Things just get done my way. I am totally cool with that.  No Super 8's for this mommy! (I could totally be Shelley Long in Troop Beverly Hills.)

I am surrounded by my family (seriously, they all live within a mile...including my ex...it's weird) and my wonderful friends. Although some of my most wonderful friends live far away....like the other side of the country far. (you know who you are).

And I am an individual. I beat to my own drum...and you can't hear it. And I am okay with that. My mold got broken the instant I was made. Seriously. God dropped it.

But anywho....these are my stories...I ramble, but hey...this is for me, right? It's like free therapy.

So, 3 days after my last post, I started culinary school. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! I have always loved to cook and bake and do all sorts of kichen-y things...but to learn professionally??? to actually become a chef???? I am beside myself. I am learning so many things that I never knew....and how to make things that I never had. or the proper way to make things. I am in Heaven...and it has a TON of homework!

2010

I have goals in 2010. BIG ONES. I really hope I can meet them. I really, really want to. I don't know if I can. One of the biggest is, naturally, to get healthy. 2009 was a bust. 2009 was a bad year in general and thankfully it is behind me now!
But back to getting healthy. In late 2008 I was diagnosed with PCOS which is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The fun news that came along with that was Type 2 Diabetes. PCOS is caused by Insulin Resistance, which had gone undiagnosed in me for probably 15 years. (I'm angry about that) But, you deal. From October 2008 through the end of that year, I watched my diet carefully, took my meds and dropped 30 lbs. Off to a great start. Then I got laid off, life interrupted me and I completely fell off track. So, in 2009, I put 18 of those 30 back on. So...the goal for 2010 is to get back on track, CAREFULLY watch my diet, take my meds, drop the lbs (a side benefit) and excercise regularly. So wish me luck.

Next...make something of myself. We're starting that goal off by going to culinary school. I start classes on Monday...so I'll let you know how it goes. I am completely scared out of my mind.

Three...get out of debt. Or at least make a dent. This is the one I am scared that I will fail miserably with. It of course doesn't help that my father keeps adding things that pop into his head to the bill that I owe him...on top of the other debt. Yesterday I went from owing him roughly $4k to $11k in about 5 minutes. It was very disheartening. This is one of those things I could really use prayer on.

Four...be a better parent.

So those are my 4 biggies. I am worried about them and don't want to fail, but am very apprehensive. The new year isn't off to a great start so far and it is very disheartening.

**Sigh**