Thursday, April 29, 2010

You are now rockin' with the best...


I got wild with it. Out of nowhere, I have taken an extra day off work, so I will be off 'til Monday starting tonight!!! I decided to have Saturday off because my daughter's friend's birthday party is Saturday and some things are too important to miss. The reality is we don't get this time back with our little ones and once it's gone, it's gone.

I am just too excited. Man, I am such a grown up these days. I need one of those birthday party roller whistles. That's just how geeked I am.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Dating: Almost But Not Quite


He likes me. Maybe he loves me. That's what his mouth says. I am familiar to him. Like that old shirt with the hole that we just cannot bring ourselves to throw out. But is that enough?

Is this how far we have come and just for this? There has to be more. I don't have that passion and that drive for him. Maybe because I know what it brings along with it. Disappointment. Disillusionment. Frustration.

And why was it that I was willing to give this dating thing a whirl again? Just wondering...

Monday, April 26, 2010

Off to a Rough Start

Some mornings are harder than others. This morning was that morning for me. I awoke at 7 a.m. looking at my watch wishing it were 7 p.m. I got my hostile daughter up from her slumber only to discover that she was feeling much grumpier than usual. :( Then I -- pretty unskillfully I must admit -- got her dressed and fed.

It was rainy. Cold. Overall yucky, but we headed on to school and work. We listened to our favorite classical station along the way and somehow, the morning shifted. She confided that she just didn't feel like going because it was rainy. I confessed that I felt her pain, but reminded her that rainy days are good days, too. She laughed and we made our way into the school. She was so relieved to find her class playing inside this morning. :)

I headed away in search of coffee and to pay a much avoided bill and somehow, the combination of these two lifted my spirits, even in the rain. I made it to work and saw two classes of children and entertained them with dog stories. Somehow, the rain broke and once I made it to my first class of kids, I was rolling.

So remember the rain is just that: rain. There are still good days that happen to be rainy.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

BMJ's amazing technicolor dream shawl

So,my daughter goes to Waldorf school. Love the school. Love the teachers. Love the change I see in my little one. Anyhow, every morning for the last month or so, I have been eyeing this beautiful, hand-knit, rainbow silk yarn shawl. It was displayed so temptingly in the display case nearest to her classroom. Every morning, there I was eyeballing it, willing to come home with me. So, I decided to save pennies from my retro paycheck at work to get it. I prepared for, wait for it, wait for it...








$600 or so.

A sizable chunk of my retro, but this annual auction is for her school, which is one of my favorite causes right now. Anyhow, it was looking good for me at the auction. My first bid was $200 and I was so grateful that it was part of the silent auction because the live auction folks have money much longer than mine.

So along come three other ladies. I was unwavering. One lady bid only once. Now we're down to three. Another lady bowed out around $450 or so. Now there are two.

This lady was feisty! But I am feistier. However, I had to keep reminding myself that this money was for my daughter's school. Not just about a purchase. So, here we were. My challenger went $500. I went $525 and she turned to me and said, "my husband said $500 was my limit." I had my game face on. Being single seems to have its advantages because at that moment my only limitation was the voice inside my own head. And at that exact moment, it didn't care about a limit. It simply said, "Get your shawl and quit playin'!"

My mind said that her declaration of her highest bid was a trick to get me to reveal my final number. I am no fool. My facial expression never faltered. As I stepped toward the table to bid, she bumped me with her hip. Still unswayed, I then bid $525. She frowned, snatched the pen at 20 seconds to go and went $550. She tried to even stand in front of the paper. I politely got her to move -- totally against her will-- and bid $600 in the final seconds.

I already knew what I would pay and that the hands that knit that lovely shawl had a hip librarian and mama like myself in me in mind for it. I am so happy that I got my beautiful shawl and supported Waldorf education simultaneously.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Step into Outlet, Already a Mistake



So, here we are back to reality from two days of play. I was at a conference and things are going as well as could be expected for the type of conference I was attending. My co-workers and I stopped to rest in our room during the break. First mistake.

Then, we looked at the schedule of workshops and instead of missing another boring keynote presenter, we were missing the main session that each of us was dying to attend. So, then, we flew down to the session only to discover, the guy was out of handouts, so instead of just sitting, what do we do?

Head to the Coach outlet! Second mistake.

After over an hour of shopping with the assistance of our new friend, Dorothy -- a Coach employee no less -- I came out over $300 lighter. (hanging head in shame). But, on the upside, where else could I have gotten a beautiful berry & purple patchwork like this for about $120? Hmm? Where? :D

The on the way home the next day, we stopped at the outlet again. This time my co-worker set the alarm on her phone so that we would not spend more than 30 minutes. It sounded good, but this was mistake number three. We heard the alarm and hid from my co-worker while we continued to shop.

So, now I'm another $70 lighter and back to my real life. Damn...