Boots...

I've been meaning to run to the closest JC Penny's from my office and check out their boots. Back in early November I purchased a pair of black boots from JCP and I really liked them. Actually, I like almost every pair of boots I purchase. I like them so much that they start to peel apart, so much that I've even resorted to black marker to touch them up - seeing that it can happen weeks into my purchase! Doesn't seem to matter if I spend a little or a lot on the boots or shoes.

Tonight, my son and I ran into JCP and the first thing I saw....a 75% off clearance of all of their boots! JACKPOT! I clearly would have bought more if they fit me, since I wear them year round and for that price, how can you go wrong? Besides, I still had my birthday gift card to spend from JA.

How can you go wrong for less than $65 on three pairs of boots?

Dating....

So if you know that you aren't interested in someone, should you hang out with them? That while they may not have obvious red flags, but clearly not someone you want to date...should you go hang out with them because you are both interested in getting out or having a good time?

Tomorrow night I am grabbing drinks with a friend of a friend. I've met him once. Not that I'm arrogant or conceited by any means, but I'm way out of his league. Or he's nowhere on my radar. For one, he dated a girl that I really do not like. I so don't like the drama and won't date someone that someone I know dated (or for you regular readers...JL). He's too short. I'm completely not attracted to him. He LOVES cats. Did I mention HE LOVES CATS? And he really lacks in wit and sarcasm.

So if you know anything about me, that's a train wreck waiting to happen. Oh wait, that was the night I met him! When I made him cough and gag and practically spew his beer multiple times at my comments. Or the fact that he had to remove himself from the table to regain his composure. And the next day, he befriended me on Facebook and asked me out. Glutton for punishment. Glutton.

So what am I to do? Drinks clearly are harmless. I'm all about embracing peoples differences and meeting new people, just as long as they understand the difference between a friendship and dating.

My New Years Resolution is to have fun. To get out and enjoy. To avoid drama. I want to surround myself with healthy and positive people. I also want to avoid breaking any hearts and increasing any drama by having people I'm not interested in, be interested in me. So what is a girl to do????

Disclosure vs. Discussion

I have a very close associate with whom I speak with often about professional consultations and assistance as well as sometimes we divulge in our personal lives. We share about our children, vacations...our lives outside of work.

Maybe sometimes I've disclosed a few many things that went beyond a casual discussion. One of his favorite stories is about my drunkenness of the all-inclusive trip to Mexico, he confirmed that he never gets tired of that story! Somehow we got on the discussion of my dating, or lack thereof. He mentioned that he thought I was dating someone, "the biker right?"

"The biker?"

I said, "Oh no, I'm not dating the biker anymore."

He said, "The one where you drank water and lemonade on your date."

Me, "Oh, that's the different biker. There were two bikers..." Ok, yeah, too much disclosure that he would remember both AND the difference!

Sigh...maybe I should not discuss or disclose my dating or lack thereof dating experiences for others enjoyment, because clearly, they seem to find much more entertainment in the stories than I do in the dating!

Bank Error...Collect $200

Bank Error...Collect $200...If you are playing Monopoly.

After returning home from Colorado on Sunday, I went through my mail. There were several envelopes from my financial institution. I recognized one as my bank statement, the other three, I wasn't so sure. I proceeded to open one of them to read about how the bank had made an error in calculating interest for a recently matured Certificate of Deposit. Fortunately the error was in my favor and attached at the bottom of the letter, was a check. Seeing that there were three CD's, there were three letters and three checks, all totalling less than $1.00!

Yes, it's true. Three checks. Three letters. Three sets of postage. And the greatest amount, $0.33. Seriously, I would have been OK with the bank not correcting their ways, they could have donated my $0.78 or whatever it was to Haiti or something else. But, I have to give them credit for acknowledging their error and correcting their mistake - since in the scheme of things, for some it may have been a huge impact. ME? Yeah, not so much.

But what has the economy come to that a Bank Error in Monopoly was once worth $200 and in 2010, my Bank Error was worth less than $1.00?????

Growing Up...But Not Too Fast...

In less than two months, my son will be...thirteen. He's growing up so quickly and yet, he still is his mother's son, not to be confused with a "mama's boy".

Today would have been his second afterschool ski trip. Would have been, if we had ski conditions and snow here in Southwest Michigan. The ski slopes were actually going to be open, but the conditions were anything but ski-worthy. Prior to his first ski trip, T was interested and willing for me to go skiing as well, but I had to work late for a work training. T had such a good time, when I offered that I could go for today's trip...he hesitated. Then being brilliant he suggested, "Won't you be all skied out?" Brilliant, he truly is brilliant.

T really did miss me while I was out in Colorado, for the second week long trip in less than a month. To help alleviate his time with his dad and missing me too much, the Ex-BF came to spend the weekend at the house with him. I received many calls of hysteria from T - laughing at the Ex-BF as well as crushing him in almost every video game known to man! I even had to have a few lectures with T about not hurting the Ex-BF's feelings and being nice, which mind you only led to more fits of hysteria and streaming tears (trust me, tears and fits of breaths are amazing through the phone!)! They both did survive the weekend, neither getting hurt and they even managed to conspire to leave me a beautiful "engagement ring" of the worst known flavor (a cotton candy ring pop) on my pillow during my absence.

Today T had a tour of the High School. Due to reconfigurations of the district, he will be attending school on the High School campus this fall. In the next few months, parents will be included in the changes as well. T was pretty excited and a computer generated call to the house yesterday confirmed his field trip today stating that lunch wasn't needed. Knowing that T isn't ready for High School this was confirmed by the fact that this morning he asked if he needed a lunch! Growing up fast, but not too fast!

Last night he bartered with me that the Tooth Fairy hadn't paid him for his last tooth. We bantered back and forth that I had paid him and we recalled how and when. He held firm to the fact that he hadn't received any financial reimbursement, despite my challenges. Isn't he too old to receive money for something he doesn't believe in????

For his Gifted and Talented class, he created a website. A. Web. Site. I can't even figure out how to put in a proper link on a blog. Mind you, he assisted me with that too! He created his own website, without any assistance from me. Of course I think he wasn't very willing to show it to me - although it was mindboggling to me to see the technology and how he navigated! I of course fixated on his spelling and grammar, trying to grasp the fact that afterall he is...ONLY 12! He received a 1st place ribbon for his website and it will then be judged at the Regional Level. I was quite impressed with his achievement! However, he really wasn't. He said several classmates received ribbons and by him receiving a blue ribbon it meant more work for him to make additional changes and such before going to Regionals. It seems like he's beginning to understand that he doesn't want to be too smart. He is glad that G/T is done this year and has no desire to push forth in his academic career beyond those of his peers. He understands that he wants to balance sports and school and play and felt that this year he had too much homework, exacerbated by his advanced class. I can't blame him. For me, 7th grade was the hardest educational year of my life in addition to socially! I just hope that he continues to challenge himself enough to not be bored with school or fall into negative peer pressure.

It is hard to watch T grow. To see all of my co-workers and friends that have very young children and think remember when. But honestly, I'm more than OK with it. Because, I do remember when. I might not remember everything, but I remember the memories and I cherish them. I cherish every moment with him, as he grows taller and his hair grows longer and his mind gets stronger and he becomes wiser. For one day soon, very soon, he will surpass me in so many things and I'm Ok with that, because he is truly amazing and I can say I'm more than proud to be his Mom!

Toe Molding

Over Memorial Weekend...I decided it was time to paint the one wall (besides my hallway) that had never been painted in the ten years of my home ownership. I'd link you to the post and the pictures, but yeah, that means I need to actually learn how to blog. Digressing...

I painted a fresh coat of a similar color and also all the trim around the five windows, the baseboards and the trim around the four doors in the dining/living room area. When doing the baseboards I finally tore up the toe molding/shoe trim/what have you and decided that I would replace it with painting trim (the previous molding had been partially stained, paint splattered, split, etc.). I had told the guy that I was dating that I would like his help and I had hoped that it wouldn't take six months. We ended the relationship two months later.

Seven months later and the nagging effects of the missing molding, which I didn't fully paint the two coats to the floor since I knew it would be replaced, I needed to replace it! DK offered to replace it, while I was on vacation (at least that's what I thought!) but I didn't have time to buy the materials and I wouldn't expect him to do it in my absence, although he would have been paid well since he's unemployed. So he offered to help me with it and that was the plan in addition to playing the Wii and hanging out.

Six hours of shopping, Christmas returns and purchasing a compound mitre saw and trim, the project was underway. Needless to say, in getting to the molding, that meant that the floor needed to be cleaned of my parents dog and the Christmas decor needed to be dismantled. Why is everything such a big undertaking?

All the trim was measured and cut. It was my job to sand the pre-primed molding, paint them with two coats and touch up and clean up. Other than a candle falling on my toe, we didn't have really any mishaps other than some cut-throat moments where I needed to get away from him. Some people just have the ability to push the right or as it may be wrong buttons. We finished the trim in the dining/living room and in the front entrance at 2a.m. It looks absolutely beautiful - better than the trim has EVER looked (since I've owned the house!) and I'm so eternally grateful for having the help to complete a long overdue project!

Wii Fit Plus

I purchased the Wii Fit Plus for my son for Christmas. He started to update his Mi prior to his heading to his dad's for the week on Christmas Day. His Wii Age was 20.

At T's request, DK came over Friday night to play the Wii and hang out with us. I wasn't all that excited about the company, having just gotten home from Colorado, not seeing T for a week and having to snow blow out the driveway mid-calf high. But regardless, two hours later, he arrived.

Mind you, I'm 35 and for the most part, I would say that I'm athletic; however, according to my BMI I am "overweight". I understand that muscle weighs more than fat and that most professional athletes would also be "overweight" on the BMI. BUT...digressing...so according to my Wii test results, I am "overweight" AND "29"!!!!!

DK on the other hand, was also "overweight" and while he is 37, his Wii Age was..."55"!!!!

NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

My Holiday Gift

I'm not big on spending money, especially when it comes to myself; however, I'm seldom someone that struggles with "buyer's remorse". More often than not, I struggle with the notion of "shoulda, woulda, coulda" in that I saw something I wanted but rationalized not getting it only to wish that I had, but it was now too late.

I'm also not going to say that I didn't spend money on myself this holiday, because I did. I splurged and bought a season's pass in Colorado, only because by doing so, I actually saved money, assuming I am able to use it for both weeks that I am there. I also bought myself a hat with built in speakers - only one of which worked - with the slight exception of skiing mid-hill and having the faulty speaker decide to work thereby blasting out my eardrum for about 30 seconds!

Sometimes, when on vacation, I like to buy myself something. A memento of sorts, something to remember the trip since all too often the memories fade too quickly. I'm not into key chains or t-shirts, although I do like the pennies that you can make at the machine - but those aren't always available.

While walking around Breckenridge, we saw a small "mall" and since we were window perusing and enjoying the beautiful night, allbeit chilly, we went inside. I ambled into a jewelry store, Two Wild Sisters. Immediately, my eyes caught the attention of a rather unique ring.




I really did like it, but not enough to stop and try it on. I think I feared that I really would like it and then I wouldn't like the price tag! I walked around and browsed the other cases. I tried on a ring, but wasn't all that taken with it. I walked back around the store and asked to try on the ring.


The ring is designed in Hawaii. The last ring I purchased for myself was in Hawaii back in the fall of 2000 (with the exception of my $6 fashion ring in Chicago). There were two of the same ring, one was a size 7 and the other a size 8. Apparently due to the elevation and altitude, fingers swell, so while I liked the darker stone of the size 8 which didn't have the circle in it (as seen above in the size 7), I was afraid that the size 8 would be too big back in Michigan.

After contemplating the purchase for a few moments and being informed that the ring was 60% off, I decided to purchase the size 7.

I love it! I think purchasing rings on vacations is my new found calling - a great way to constantly remember the memories! Besides, this vacation was very budget and low-key since it was an "add-on" to the upcoming Colorado trip in a few weeks!

Holiday in Colorado

I spent the evening of Christmas through the New Year in Summit County Colorado. I can't recall a time that I have ever spent the Christmas holidays out of the state of Michigan. Although I have to admit, I'm not racking my brain especially hard. I may have spent one or two family Christmas' out of town either for a ski trip or in Florida, but I was always with family. Here I was, across the country, without family, for an entire week with someone that I had only met several months ago to celebrate the holidays or to avoid the holidays as it may have been.

Despite airport security threats and potential airline bombs in Detroit, I managed to leave the airport on the Westside of Michigan without any difficulty and actually arrived at the Denver Airport thirty minutes early! PM wasn't anticipating any early arrival and trying to navigate the airport, we found each other at the pick-up about the same time. The drive to Summit County was enjoyable and filled with conversation. We arrived and checked into the hotel, upgrading to a "deluxe non-smoking" room which included a much used microwave and refrigerator.

In summary, we went to Arapahoe Basin three days, one day which I bailed skiing after one run. My ankles and shins were killing and due to our late start in the day, the way the sun hit the mountain made navigating bumps rather difficult for me. I decided to recover and save my skiing for Breckenridge the following day. We skied Keystone on the third day and met up with PM's friend and some of his buddies. Initially, it was challenging skiing with six skiers of various experience, but it worked out well. Personally, I was all for letting them ski and me skiing solo to navigate my own greens and blues and enjoy some skiing while they did extreme skiing, tree skiing and what not; however, we managed to find middle ground and enjoyed the day. On New Years Eve Day we skied at Breckenridge, by far my favorite location. According to PM we tackled about two-thirds of the ski terrain, although I'm sure I would have been completely consumed and lost had I been skiing solo.

While Michigan had more snow than Colorado while we were out there, we had a fabulous time. I was able to ski more than I will when I'm joined by TS for our next vacation out to Colorado in a few weeks. She enjoys skiing, but she's not a hard-core skier and I'm afraid that her endurance and stamina could prove to be challenged. Needless to say, I'm glad that I purchased a ski pass!

There were very few issues during the week with PM. We managed to get along incredibly well, surprisingly. I can't speak for him, but I can honestly say at no point did I feel the urge to want to run or hitch hike elsewhere, or cause him bodily harm.

One day at skiing, we arrived at the car to find PM had left the driver side door of the car open. Surprisingly nothing was stolen - not his radar detector, gps, cb, my purse or any of the other belongings left for the stealing. We were dumbstruck by our good fortune as much as we were curious as to why no one even shut the door. One evening of cooking (illegally in the room) on the propane burners, we managed to smoke up the room and set off the smoke detector. Fortunately the smoke detector was battery operated and was quickly dismantled while I tried to de-smoke the room by fanning the door and opening the window.

Other than that, neither of us were injured. I was more than sore though, from months of inactivity and from skiing for the first time of the season. I think I struggled with some altitude issues as I had some nausea as well as frequent headaches and lack of appetite. Nothing a few ibuprofen couldn't handle.

We did some sight seeing, since PM had lived a winter in Summit County "back in the day". I enjoyed walking around Leadville, Vail and Breckenridge with my own personal "tour guide".

To anyone having reservations about whether to take the plunge and go on a vacation or to go out on a whim because you don't know the person very well, you don't have control of the situation, you are unsure of finances, you wonder "what-if?"...let it go and GO AND ENJOY!

I'm surely glad that I did!

Christmas Recap

My first blog of 2010 and I wish I could say that I had something spectacular to write about. Sleep deprivation is having a massive impact on my motivation and creativity to write.

Since my last post, I had a fantastic whirlwind Christmas with my son and parents. My parents came into town, delayed by my mother's mishap of falling over their ailing black lab and subsequently fracturing her wrist the night before their arrival. My mother being the trooper that she is, proceeded on with their holiday festivities and hours and Christmas "cheer" later, headed to the hospital for several hours to get her arm wrapped. (Almost a week later, she was able to see the specialist and is now sporting a purple cast for the next six weeks.) However, her injury aside, they made the trek across the state (several hours later than expected) and she helped navigate the kitchen by making "ham" gravy for the potatoes and consuming a fabulous bottle of wine with me that I had purchased earlier in the year in San Francisco. Dinner was fabulous as were the gifts.

After dinner and opening gifts, we headed to the local Catholic Church to celebrate "midnight mass". The parking lot was rather empty and shortly after sitting down I realized we arrived forty minutes early as I thought the service was at 10:00p.m., not 10:30p.m. The service was definitely a first and most unforgettable Christmas service for all of us. I think it may be the last time my parents request attending church with me. Our local Catholic church offered service in three languages - alternating between English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Needless to say, we had many laughs during and after the mass!

Christmas Day was a day of trying on gifts and learning that one of my new sweaters still had the ink security tag. So the sweater wasn't packed for the ski trip. I packed up everything and by mid-day I headed to the airport for Colorado while my parents headed home.

My flight to Colorado was uneventful and my thoughts of returning back to Colorado are rampant...where everything seemed so simple. So surreal.