Cutting Edge!

It's peanut butter fragment time, peanut butter fragment time! Peanut butter fragment - peanut butter fragment - peanut butter fragment with a baseball bat!

Apparently, I'm on the cutting edge of a new trend - divorcing bloggers! It seems that both Dooce and Bossy are also in the process of separation /divorce. Who knew I'd be one of the 'in' bloggers?
I shouldn't be so facetious about it; divorce sucks and it seems that Dooce is really struggling right now. But you know what? She'll be okay. She'll emerge stronger than ever.

It's moving weekend! And I am already exhausted. I also have to work this weekend. How am I going to pull this off? I am not quite sure. Wish me luck!

My son and his friend are getting their own place. It's just a little ways down the road from our new home. But it will be his first time living on his own. And I'm going to miss him! (sniff, sniff) He has been a huge help to me these past few months and I don't know what I'd have done without him.

My main client had a bad fall last week (thankfully, not on my watch). She has a huge goose-egg and two enormous black eyes. I told her she looks like the poster child for elder abuse prevention. She cracked up!

Watch what you say on Facebook....people will take what you say completely out of context and tell your mother all about it. People like...your mother's hair stylist. She told my mom that I posted something on FB that I absolutely did NOT post! I don't know if she got confused or took something the wrong way, but I don't need that kind of drama in my life. So I deleted her! Haha.

Love this song. Enjoy your weekend!

Did You Know?

Did you know that I love Holly so much, I let her name my vagina?
Did you know that she named it Vivian?
Did you know that now she wants to Va-jazzle my VaJayJay?

Did you know that I'm still trying to find a way to work into a conversation that my vagina's name is Vivian, courtesy of Holly?

Did you know that I have never ridden a jet-ski?
Did you know that last night I dreamed I was riding a jet-ski?
Did you know that it was a magical jet-ski that could also ride on land?
Did you know that while I was riding my magical land-jet-ski, panthers were trying to eat me?
Did you know that I dream up some weird shit?

Did you know that I wrong number texted my mother today?
Did you know that it could have been DISASTROUS but thank GOD it was just confusing?

Did you know that my niece once damn you auto corrected my mother?

Did you know that she typed U-Haul and it auto corrected to ubersexual?
Did you know that my 68 year old mother was MORTIFIED and TRAUMATIZED?!?!

Did you know that I promised myself I'd go to bed at 10:00 pm tonight?
Did you know that it is now 12:44 am?
Did you know that I have to work in the morning?
Did you know that I am tired and I get goofy when I'm tired?
Did you know that's why I'm posting this craziness???

Did you know that I'm seriously going to bed now? Right after I read one more blog post.........

Whole Lotta Happy Going On...

I'm joining in with the beloved Mamarazzi

and composing a Happy List today!

~*Happy*~

~ Elayna had a great birthday yesterday! My baby is 11. Bittersweet!

~ I believe I have found the perfect little place for me & the girls, and we should be moving soon!

~ My niece Heather's baby is due in less than a month. We are super excited!

~ I have less stress now than I have had in many, many years. Although I deal with my own anxiety with learned techniques & medication, I still struggle with being a 'sponge' for others' anxiety. When they refuse to deal with their anxiety, it makes it difficult. Now that I no longer am dealing with that issue, it's like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. It feels great.

~ Soon, the past 8 years will be a closed chapter of my life. Lessons learned! And my maiden name will be restored. And yes - that makes me very HAPPY!

~ I have wonderful, supportive friends - both "IRL" and online - and they all make me feel loved & cared about & so happy.

This is my song for Elayna. Enjoy!

FragmenTatered

OK, I know I keep saying things are crazy around here, but this week tops them all.

I must admit I'm VERY glad it's drawing to an end!

FRAGGIN TIME!

**I'm sharing pics from my niece's baby shower within this post. Because I can.**

*Elayna with one of the Owl decorations from the shower*

I'm on Pinterest now. Lord help us all. Another online time-suck is JUST what I needed, and I was hooked immediately.

I think this is how I link to my Pinterest....if not, let me know.

*Heather with the tie blanket the girls & I made for her*

My baby girl, Elayna, will be eleven years old on Monday. *sigh* We're doing some birthday celebrating this weekend.

--Speaking of Elayna, THANK YOU for the tips on getting her up & out in the mornings. They are helping already. I may just survive mornings after all!--

*Shelbie, Heather, Elayna*

Shelbie is looking for a job. A part-time, after school job of course. Girlfriend wants some shopping money!

*My mama & me*

Elayna got a spot in her school's after-school care program this week. HUGE blessing for me and it came at the perfect time. Between me and my son Tim, we had juggled schedules and always managed to be there for her after-school, but it was tough. I couldn't have done it without him. The opening in the after-school program was SUCH a relief!

*Me & my niece, Heather*

I LOVE Miranda Lambert, and Oh.Mah.GAWD. I love this song. Enjoy!

Things I Have Learned 2012

We're 19 days into this year but I have already learned a WHOLE lot of lessons. This year literally started with a bang and the insanity has not stopped yet. Fortunately there is SO much good mixed in with the crazy that I am not letting anything get me down!

Here's what I've learned so far.....

I've learned that you can miss someone without actually wanting them back in your life. You miss the things they do or say, at the same time knowing you could never be with that person again, whether it's as a friend or something else.

I've learned that you can "know" someone for nearly 8 years but never truly KNOW them.

I've learned that you can be the best friend that you know how to be to someone, and sometimes it's still not enough. And it's time to walk away.

I've learned that there are people out there who really will do what they say they will do. And they are the people I want in my life.

I've learned that there are other people who will do truly malicious things out of pain or anger. And to watch my back.

I've learned that leaving doesn't always mean giving up. It means having the strength to move on, and search for happiness on your own.

heellppp.

alright girlfriends (and boyfriends).

Help.

for the past 5ish years, john took the little kids to school every day. now of course I am taking Elayna to school myself. I would pretty much rather stick my hand in a meat grinder than get this child up and ready every morning. it inevitably leads to cursing and tears; I'll let you guess who's doing what.

So I'm going to force her to get as much done as possible the night before, but I'm looking for your advice on ways to make this easier and more pleasant for all involved. But mostly ME!!! Also some sort of reward/incentive type thing.

So, mamas, daddies, whoever, help a mama out!

(please excuse the wonky punctuation & capitalization, this is my 1st time blogging from my phone.)

Incomprehensible.

This weekend I've had some time to catch up on my blog reading.

Which for the most part has been wonderful...but I have found a few things that REALLY upset me, and I want to share them with you.

This seems to be making its rounds so maybe you've already heard that a major hospital is denying a child a kidney transplant because she is "mentally retarded". This is heartbreaking and infuriating to me! Please take your time to read about it and share it.

My sweet friend C is being separated from the love of her life because in this country, people think they have the right to decide who we should love. And people can marry and divorce as many times as they want, as quickly as they want, for whatever stupid reason that they want - as long as they're heterosexual. I am heartbroken for C and D.

And this blogger's family's life has been turned upside down by a diagnosis of leukemia for their 16 year old son. They are asking for nothing but prayers.

I get so frustrated hearing about things like this, wishing there were something I could do to help. Wondering why things have to be this way.

It also reminds me to count my blessings.

I Remember

I remember when I fell in love with you.

I don't remember when I fell out of love with you.

Falling in love happened quickly.

Falling out of love was much more gradual.

It snuck up on me. It was a slow process. Respect slipped away. Disillusionment crept in. My eyes were opened. And you changed.

Instead of being the source of so much happiness, when you walked into the room, the laughter stopped. The joy was sucked out of the room. And out of our lives.

I realized that almost every area of my life was bringing me so much pleasure; my children, my friends, my career, my family.

All except for you.

I tried to change things. I tried to deal with it. I tried to focus on the positive.

It didn't work.

You were no longer what I needed in my life. Once upon a time, you were. There were good times, good years. But you changed, I changed, things changed. We changed.

And I realized that I deserve more. I deserve happiness. "Tomorrow isn't promised." That phrase runs through my mind so often lately. Right or wrong, I want to be happy, and I want my kids to be happy. For as many tomorrows as we have.

Dont you worry your pretty little mind

Oh, Friday, I've been waiting for you for so long!

Well, at least a couple of days.

Anyway! Let's get this fragging started right now!

Karaoke tonight? Yes, please! I have become good friends with the secretary at the kids' high school. She is awesome and she has been coming out to karaoke with me! And we're going again tonight, hopefully with some other friends as well. Can't wait to get my karaoke on!

But tomorrow is what I'm REALLY looking forward to - my niece's baby shower! She had a joint shower in November with her sister-in-law, but this one is all for Heather. The girls and I are super-excited!

I have admitted before that I watch Jersey Shore. Yeah, yeah, it's trash tv, it's what's wrong with America, blah blah. I'm hooked, don't judge me. Now let's discuss last night's season premier.

So, did you totally cry at the surprise party too? And what about at the end when Vinnie was all sad and homesick? I just wanted to give him a big hug. I probably would have caught an STD, granted, but still. Poor Vinnie.

Mike = biggest douche bag EVER.

Do you think Ronnie & Sammie will still be together at the end of this season? I'm thinking no.

Deena is kind of pathetic. JWoww's body amazes me but her face is looking to thin.

And Snooki, well she's just Snooki, what can you say?
I love me some Pauly D. What a lovable goofball.

We've had lows in the low 20's this past week. Here in FLORIDA. I've been trying not to complain about the weather but hellllloooo??? This ain't Alaska, people. Give me SUNSHINE!!!

I am LOVING this song right now. Love love LOVE.

That's all folks! Check out Mrs 4444 for more Fragments.

Looking Good - AND Winning Money!!

Now that I am back to working full-time, and living the semi-single mom life, things can be a little crazy here. OK, a whole lot of crazy! So time for taking care of me is a rare commodity.

At the same time, I really need to take care of myself and feel good about myself. As I get older, I am becoming more aware of the importance in taking care of my skin, and I've always admitted to being a little vain about looking younger. So, I'll take all the help I can get in that department!

I am always interested in products that can help me accomplish that quickly and easily.

I was happy to recently find that in New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo.

New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo is a uniquely formulated two-step system designed to gently, yet effectively remove unwanted facial hair, leaving skin smooth, conditioned, and visibly hair free.

This gentle hair removal system contains a Skin Guarding Balm, applied before the Hair Removal Cream, that hydrates the skin to minimize irritation, redness, and other tell-tale signs associated with hair removal creams.

I have sensitive skin, and I have never been able to use hair removal creams on my face. They burned and caused irritation in the past. But the New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo is different. The Skin Guarding Balm coats your skin and prevents the Hair Removal Cream from having a harmful effect on that delicate skin.

It's extremely quick and easy; you simply smooth on the Skin Guarding Balm, then the Hair Removal Cream. In a few minutes, you remove the cream, and the hair comes along with it.

It's great to find a product that helps me look and feel good about myself and makes it so easy.

Now, here's the fun part for YOU-there's a sweepstakes!!

You can win a $50 Gift Card, courtesy of BlogHer and Olay!

To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment telling me how your beauty routine helps you express your inner beauty.

Here are the Rules:

This sweepstakes runs from 1/3/2012 - 2/3/2012.

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

While we’re on the subject of looking good, you might want to check out the “Looking Your Best” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great tips and expert posts!