I've Fallen off the Wagon

... the blogging wagon, that is. Lately, blogging has been the equivalent of scrapbooking for me, and that isn't a good thing. My poor son-- his scrapbook has every single freakin' thing the boy did from birth to age two, and then... NOTHING. I like to and want to scrapbook, and I have the best of intentions on doing it. I have even went through and developed tons of pictures from the last several years. But then that's as far as I've gotten!

And that's how my blog has been for the last 13 days... but who's counting (oh, wait, my b-i-law is counting, aren't you, Luke?!?) I have been crazy busy at work, and with some volunteer stuff, and Jace has had several tests each week. Between everything, blogging has definitely fallen off the radar. I've had a post in mind, about a couple of books I've been reading, but I knew it would take quite a bit of work to write about it, so I have been procrastinating on that.

Then I was gone to KC last weekend, had our women/heart disease event at work this week, and now heading to St. Clair this weekend. I took some vacation time at work this morning just so I could finish up some stuff around the house before we left town again!

Last weekend I headed to KC to see my brother and friends Garry and Heather while Jace was with his dad. Thom and I ate at Kona Grill, then I met a high school friend, Duane, for drinks at Kona. It was great to catch up with Duane, I hadn't seen him in 7 or 8 years at least. After saying goodbye to Duane, Thom and I headed up to North KC to hang with Garry and Heather for the evening. Friends Brent and Laura came over as well, since they had a babysitter for their son Carter for a couple of hours.

It was the first time I've seen any of them since D and I split, so Brent and Laura brought a bottle of Hot Damn for us to share a few shots and toast to new beginnings. Laura was the only one who was exempt from the shots, since she's expecting baby #2 in September! Here are a few pics from the evening:

Me & Thom

Brent & Heather!

I think this is mine and Garry's second shot....woo hoo!

CHEERS!! (minus Miss Heather, behind the camera!)

It was a great evening, and so nice to catch up with all of them again. Garry had awesome tunes playing all evening, which of course was one of my (and his) favorite things! Thomas left us about 8:30 that night to go hang with the cool kids back down by his place, and leave all of us old folks to our own revelry! Brent and Laura headed home fairly early, and the remaining three of us capped of the evening with a trip to Ruby Tuesdays about 5 minutes away. I don't really know why, since we had plenty of wine at their house, but we each ordered a glass of wine AND shared two decadent desserts (a fudge cake with ice cream and a piece of strawberry shortcake! Yum!!!)

Fabulous weekend with my brother Thom, and with my four friends. I'm so glad to be "keeping them" in the divorce! Of course they will still be D's friends too, as they were his for 5+ years before I ever met them. But nice that we can both maintain the friendships, because they're some of my very favorite people and I would miss them greatly!

This weekend I'm heading to St. Clair with Jace; he and I are going to a surprise party for a friend on Saturday, and then I'm catching up with some high school friends Saturday night while he spends some time with Mimi (grandma). More pictures soon, and I promise it won't be 13 days before I post again.

My Funny Valentine

I'm having a great Valentines Day this year; Jace and I slept in late this morning, then I went to the store and bought him Krispy Kreme creme-filled chocolate frosted doughnuts (none for ME, I'm having oatmeal, toast and coffee!). Now we're snuggled up on the sofa for a little while; he is enjoying cartoons and I'm playing around on the laptop. What a great Saturday morning!

Jace's class wrote Valentines letters at school this week. He was proud of his, especially about the funny comment at the end:

It says: "Dear Mom, Thank you for helping me on my homework. you also do my laundry. But that's not why I love you. I love you because your my mom. You also give me an allowance. I'll see you later. PS: can I have a raise in my allowance? Sincerely, Jace

Nice try, son! He is a great kid, with a big heart and a funny sense of humor. I find myself being grateful for his openness and loving personality, because I know he may become more reserved as he gets older. After all, it isn't cool to be as close to your parents when you're a teenager. So I try to make time each day to snuggle and talk, and just enjoy my time with him.

Happy Valentines Day to everyone, hope you all are with someone you love.

Jewelry Update!

Just wanted to share my happiness, in that I have FOUND one of my fave pieces of jewelry that has been missing for a couple of months. If you remember my post from a couple of weeks ago, I have been missing a one-of-a-kind pendant made by local artist and friend, Tammy.

I've been painting my bedroom for the past several days, and hoisting furniture around with the help of best pal, Gail (thanks, Gail-- I owe you!). Tonight I moved my bookshelf out to paint behind it, and there was the pendant - yay!

So, I've found the jewelry, but still lost the husband, as I lamented about in the previous post. But you know, I am feeling a little more okay about that as each day passes. Looking forward to a fun weekend, with great friends and great plans. Now, back to painting!

Winter Fun!

I'm a little slow in getting these posted, the snow was actually LAST week. Jace was ecstatic that he was off school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; me, I was happy to have a little time off with him and worked half-days while he was off. The photos below were from Wednesday. He was out in the cold for two hours with all the other kids at the nearby school, it is a great hill!

Of course before we headed over to the school he had to try out another GREAT hill, our driveway. The thing is so steep, I am glad it is good for SOMETHING!

He had a blast sledding with friends at the school; last year I actually got out there and went with him, but this year I was content to sit in the car and read while he went with friends.



Now this week the snow is melting- well, it was yesterday, but today we are back to 28 degrees.... Brrrr!! I'm hoping the weekend brings warmer temperatures. I'm ready for spring, although I know we still have a couple more months of potential winter weather.

25 Random Things About Me...

I know I haven't talked about it on here yet, but I love Facebook! It has been a blast reconnecting with so many of my high school friends. I had pretty much lost touch with everyone from high school with the exception of one or two friends. So catching up with 25+ people and seeing where they are in their lives 20 years later has been really cool. The below meme is one that I was tagged on in FB, so I figured I'd post it on here as well.

1. I am more comfortable with myself and my body in my mid-30s than I was when I was younger and SHOULD have been comfortable!
2. Two of my favorite drinks are red wine and Churchill's Sinless Pastry coffee.
3. I can read a book in a day, given nothing else to do.
4. I tell my son that it isn't good for him to eat the slice-and-bake cookie dough, but I always sneak a bite or two when he isn't looking!
5. I named my son, Jace, after a character in a book- I'm embarrassed to say it was a romance novel!
6. I broke my jaw in 1991 while waitressing at a restaurant in Springfield, and thus changed my major from vocal music to health care-- have never regretted it, love my job and field.
7. I'm generally a klutz (see #6) but have made my peace with it!
8. I was adopted at 6 weeks old and then my parents had three more children. My family is my family, and although I know my bio-mom's name I have never searched for her.
9. One of my best qualities is my ability to talk to people, find common ground and easily make friends.
10. I love music, all kinds; I sing and play the piano - both reading music and by ear.
11. One of my all-time favorite things to do is going to concerts and hearing live music.
12. I am not a cook; I think I could learn, but have never had the desire to really work at it.
13. Working in healthcare, I KNOW what I should do to have a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes life gets in the way.
14. My (adoptive) mom's death when I was 11 was one of the defining things in my life; has influenced who i am, both good and bad.
15. I can remember my dreams almost every night; I'm a lucid dreamer, i.e. I can sometimes control my dreams- like when I'm falling, etc.
16. I love old people - their wit, wisdom and general don't-give-a-damn attitude.
17. I have two dogs, a Lab and a Corgi - they are part of the family.
18. I was in a rock band in high school - played keyboards and sang backup vocals.
19. I have a tendency to be cluttered and disorganized with my belongings, one of my not-so-stellar qualities.
20. I love the beach - and "all-inclusive" vacation is the only way to go -- all the food/alcohol you can handle.
21. One of the best things I DO make (can this be considered a culinary skill!??) is jello shots. I made 200+ for a houseboat trip down to Eureka Springs last year!
22. My favorite color for most of my life has been green; over the past 5+ years it has taken second place and I am really drawn to red/red-orange.
23. I had my navel pierced at one time, but have never had a tattoo; just can't decide what it is that I would still be happy to have at age 70, so have never done so.
24. I LOVE shopping, clothes and shoes. But I often shop resale, and can't resist bragging if I find a good bargain.
25. I'm an "information gatherer". I'm never content just knowing a little about a subject (musician, band, book, etc) I love to research it to find out more. All the little things that most people don't care about!

Turkey!

Jace and I went bowling last night, with friend Cindi and her son Bryson. We had a blast! I think the last time I bowled was three or four years ago, and my athletic ability, or lack thereof, extends to bowling. Here we were last night. I brought the camera to take pics of Jace and Bryson, but he wanted to take pictures of us as well. (I have chosen not to post the oh-so-attractive ones of my and Cindi's backsides as we took our turns).

You know the four-step approach and release with that back kick? Nope, I don't do that. I have kind of this 6-8 step shuffle up to the line and then I hurl the ball down the lane. But hey, last night I got three strikes in a row in the ninth and tenth frames! A turkey, or so I've learned through Wii bowling, which we have played plenty of over the past year. Maybe, just maybe, my real bowling skills improved because of the Wii!

The boys had a great time too; I think the last time either of them bowled was a couple of years ago, with bumpers, at Jace's birthday party. But Jace had a great game too, even had a few spares! Then the boys played video games after we finished our game, and Cindi and I caught up on life.

Tonight brings an evening out with friend Jana, as one of her employees is getting married and having her bachelorette party. We're meeting at Springfield Brewing Company for dinner, and then heading to the piano bar. I think they have several other things planned for the evening, but we're calling it a night early; church in the morning and a busy day tomorrow.

A Bit of Irony

Here's my newest piece of jewelry, which was technically my Christmas present from D this year. However, in light of recent events I've decided it can instead be considered a gift from me, to me. I mean, I went to the Winterfest art show before Christmas knowing that I was going to buy something from friend and local metalsmith Tammy Kirks' collection, Red Bee Designs. I picked it out, paid for it, brought it home and then wrapped it (necklace and earrings) to put under the tree. So, isn't it pretty much technically from me? Yep, that's what I thought. Anyway, it is a gorgeous piece, I've received many compliments on it.

Now, here's some bad news, and a bit of irony besides, so just thought I'd post about it. One of my very favorite pieces (a one-of-a-kind necklace Tammy made for an Asian-themed women's event we had a few years ago; I won it in the silent auction), has been misplaced. Here's a picture of it -- fabulous, isn't it?

It has been missing for at least a couple of months, and I cannot for the life of me figure out what I've done with it! I change purses very regularly, and so I've went through each of them, thinking that maybe in our trips the lake or out of town that I tucked it in the pocket of one of them while we were traveling.

I was thinking about it last night, as I picked out clothes to wear today, and thought that perhaps this weekend I will go through my entire closet and look for it, and start spreading my wardrobe out again, to the closet in our third bedroom. As I was thinking about it, the irony struck me -- I've lost this Asian necklace, and then a month later, I've lost the Asian (half Asian) husband. Ok, it is probably only ironic to me, but hey - when you're in the middle of something like this, everything can seem like "karma" at times and strike you the wrong way. Part of me is almost (not quite) ok if I don't find the necklace, because it will remind me of him. But I guess I should think positive, and know that if I can wear the necklace that was supposed to be from him for Christmas, then surely I can wear and enjoy an Asian piece that a friend made as well.

On a more positive (less cynical) note, things are going pretty well. D and I have been on friendly terms, and have been touching base with each other on bills and other things. I'm in the process of refinancing my home and car, so looks like I will be okay financially. Jace is doing okay with things; I think he will really miss D, but D wants him to go over to his apartment when Neil is there to hang out and play Wii, so there will still be some contact at least for awhile.

I have another friend who is going through a divorce right now as well, and one thing we've talked about a few times is that God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Some days it is hard to remember that, but I keep trying! And believe it or not, most days I am doing just fine. Each day is a little better. Looking forward to bowling with Jace and a friend/her son tomorrow night, it will be a fun evening.