Randoms

• Whoo hoo!  I won!  I won!  That’s right – E Payne of Makes Me Wanna Holler has informed me that I won a $50 gift certificate from a.mazon from him.  I have won a grand total of 3 things in my whole life – all as a result of blogging.  I’m thinking of using my loot toward a new pair of badly needed boots.  Either these or these.  Whaddya think?  (Please keep in mind that I wear a 12N – my choices are limited!)  What would you buy with $50 from a.mazon?
• If you haven’t visited E Payne’s site – do yourself a favor and check him out.  I love reading his perspective on marriage, fatherhood, life.  And his family?  Gorgeous!
• I am in a great mood.  The fact that I am excited and happy may or may not be linked to the fact that the semester is almost o-v-e-r!  I’ll have two whole weeks to either do nothing, be hella productive, or find a balance of the two.
• Moscato d’Asti?  Love it!
• I’m doing pretty well with my battle against procrastination.  I’m dropping stuff off at the G.oodwill tomorrow, my house is relatively clean and I’m on track with my schoolwork.  Yay!
• I ate a bag of potato chips and drank a diet soda today.  I haven’t eaten chips in years, and I don’t do much soda at all – let alone diet.  What’s up with that?
• I was in a meeting today with a lady who was straight rocking a k.arate kid/t.eenage m.utant n.inja turtles black sweatband with a silver toned headband layered on top.  I could not concentrate on the meeting’s content.  I sooooo badly wanted to be able to capture it on my cell phone camera.  I controlled myself – barely.

• I really miss the people from my old department.  With the exception of my old supervisor, they were a wonderful bunch.  Some days I loiter around downstairs just so I can have friendly catch-up conversations with them.
• The 100 pushup challenge?  I’m so over it.  I’m going to finish it because in addition to my procrastinating tendencies I also need to work on my tenacity.  I will however rejoice when I reach day 3 of week 6.  I think the most I’ve done so far is 130.  I will NOT be able to do 100 straight pushups when this challenge is over.  I AM doing the 200 situp challenge next.  Anyone?
• Oooh, look at the time!  My work day is over.  Hope y’all had a great Hump-Day.  I’m out!

No Matter How Much I Laughed, This is Not Funny!

Scene:  I’m at work, deciding which mundane task I should work on next.  My phone rings.

Nerd Girl:  Good morning!  Thank you for calling the best department in the world.  This is Nerd Girl – how may I help you?

Smallest Voice in the World:  Mama?

Nerd Girl:  Lovegirl, is that you?  Hello?

Smallest Voice in the World:  Yes. Waaaaaaaaaaaaah.  Booooooo hooooooooo. Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Background Voice:  You weren’t crying when you did it.  Go ahead, tell your Mama what you did.

Smallest Voice in the World:  Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Background Voice (becomes Ms. R.):  Mrs. Nerd Girl?  I just had to have Lovegirl call you and tell you what she did.  I couldn’t believe it.  She, she, she, well, she mooned the class!

Nerd Girl:  Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!  I mean um, I am so sorry for her behavior Ms. R.  I have no idea where she got that from.  Please accept my apology.  I am sooooo sorry.  Please put Lovegirl back on the phone.

Smallest Voice in the World:  Booooohoooooo!  Boooooohooooooo! Snort!  Sniffle!  Snort!

Nerd Girl:  Lovegirl that is unacceptable!  Do you hear me?  I cannot believe that you did that.  Direspectful!  You have disrespected youself, your father and I, your class and your teacher!  Get yourself together.  Stop crying.  Apologize to your teacher and your classmates.  I will deal with you when I pick you up this evening.  Give the phone back to Ms. R.!

Nerd Girl:  Ms. R.  I really am sorry.  I’ve spoken to Lovegirl and will deal with her this evening.  Thank you for letting me know.

The call ends.  I laugh again.  And then call her Daddy. 

Daddy:  Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Where’d she get that from?  Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Sigh.

Opinions Are Like

…well, you fill in the blank with whatever witty saying you choose.

My friend (the one whose baby is in the PICU) called me at work this morning and asked me if I could meet her for breakfast, she needed to talk.  Well, sure I could because I’m that type of girl.  I grab my purse and head downstairs.  I said a little prayer on my way down the stairs – I try to do that anytime I think someone’s going to ask my opinion.  I try to give good, Godly advice.  Seriously.

Anyhoo, basically she was feeling bad about the decision she’d made to tell her older daughter (4 yrs old) that her baby sister was in the hospital.  For the last week or so she’d been telling the older girl that the baby was off visiting relatives.  Well, last night, she decided she was tired of lying, tired of evading her daughter’s questions and so, she told the girl the 4 year old version of the truth – her sister was sick, was in the hospital so that the doctors and nurses could help her feel better and that they were praying the baby would be home soon. 

 My friend’s older sister and mother do not agree with her decision.  And have made it very obvious through yelling, cursing, and sending text messages calling her “dumb” and “selfish” among other things.  She asked me if I thought she made the right decision, what did I think?

So I told her.  I told her that as parents we make the best decisions we know to make.  I told her that if she were comfortable with her decision then it was the right one.  That we can’t live our lives trying to guess and do what other people would have us do.  That her sister and mom (both of whom I love dearly) can postulate on what they would do all they want, but the reality is that she is the one with a daughter in the PICU and one at the house, not them.  I also told her that I happened to agree with the decision that she’d made, but that even if I didn’t I would still advise her to make her decisions based on what’s in her heart and live with the decisions she makes for herself and her girls.

What would you have done if you were in her situation?  Would you have told the four year old the truth?  Would you have concocted some sort of story as to where the baby was?  Enquiring mind wants to know.  Thanks!

**Thank you all for your prayers for Baby K.  Please don’t stop.  She seems to be doing well, they’re weaning her off anesthesia and her oxygen.  When I went to see her yesterday she opened her eyes for quite a while and is responding to voices.  So she’s doing much, much better.  God’s grace is sufficient.**

Tonight

Tonight, my four year old daughter is tucked safely in her bed.  She is happy and healthy.

Tonight, my four month old “niece” is in the pediatric ICU.  She stopped breathing on Tuesday and has been having seizures on and off since they revived her.

Tonight I cried for the many, many blessings that God has bestowed on me.  Blessings that sometimes I am too “busy” to stop and acknowledge.

Tonight I pray without ceasing.  I pray that Baby K makes a full recovery.  That her doctors will figure out what’s going on inside her tiny body and attack that which is attacking her.  I pray for strength for her parents, her grandparents and her family who loves her dearly. 

Tonight, I kissed my daughter a few ”extra” times before I turned off the light in her room.  I laid down in the bed with her for a few minutes and held her tight.  I realized, not for the first time, what precious gifts health and life are.

Tonight I’m asking for your prayers for Baby K and her family. 

The effectual fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much. James 5:16

Praise Ye The Lord

Lovegirl attends a Christian preschool.  It is very important to me that she have a firm foundation.  My Dad didn’t become a Christian until I was about 12, maybe 13.  He didn’t allow us to go to church growing up – he didn’t mind my Mother going, but he didn’t want us “exposed.”  Sometimes I think my faith would be stronger if I’d been raised in the church.  Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for my favorite daughter.

Last night we were in K.ohls.  I am in desperate need of clothes.  So, for that matter, is Lovegirl.  So I’m in the children’s section trying to figure out what size she wears  now that she’s out of toddlers and into the big girl sizes.  I notice she’s gotten quiet.  Trust, if you know Lovegirl, she is never quiet.  Unless she’s sleep.

So I look around and notice my child rolling around on the floor, flapping her arms around.  What!?!  I am about to snap!

Nerd Girl:  “Lovegirl, what are you doing?  Get up off of that floor!  What is wrong with you?”

Lovegirl:  “Mama, I’m praise dancing.”

Nerd Girl: hmm, she is kneeling more than rolling, and her arms are moving gracefully and not flailing around, and she seems to be singing some sort of hymn…”Lovegirl, get up.  Now is not the time or the place do praise dance.  Who taught you how to praise dance anyway?  Get up!”

Lovegirl:  “Oh, this is a routine that Littleschoolfriend and I have been working on.  And Mama?”

Nerd Girl:  “Yes?”

Lovegirl:  “It’s always the right time and place to praise God.”

She. Kills. Me.  But, she’s right.

Work It Out

There are a few characters at the gym that amuse me.  Greatly.  I know I’m wrong for laughing at these people (in my head – mostly) but I can’t help it.

Eye of the Tiger – This dude is hilarious!  He’s kinda short and extremely muscled up.  He also has tiger stripes tattooed on his entire left arm, two tattoos on his upper back – one’s a tiger, I don’t know what the other one is – and what I assume is a tiger on his calf.  And he always – always – wears those loose racer back tshirts when he works out.  So every time he’s there, we are all treated to a full display of his tats.   I’m not anti-tattoo by any means, but if this man doesn’t watch out, he’s going to turn into a feral cat.  I noticed he doesn’t wear a wedding band and cannot imagine the woman who will ever think that looking at that display every day for life is a treat!

Beef Jerky – This chick is very.  Very tan.  Very orange.   And very, very blond.  White blond.   And in very good shape.  As we are all made privy to by her choice of workout clothes.  I believe she wears one of Lovegirl’s tank tops and a pair of old school (white trimmed, scoop bottomed) gym shorts every day.  I call her beef jerky because she just looks hard and leathery.  I’m all for muscle tone, but she needs to soften up a bit to get some of her femininity back.  And stay out of the tanning beds – forever.

Mary Kay – Full face of makeup at the beginning – and end – of every workout I’ve ever seen her do.  Not to mention the perfume cloud that follows her from the weight station, through her cardio workout and back into the locker room.

I wonder if anybody has come up with a nickname/description for me at the gym?  Probably something along the lines of:

Angry Dreadlocked Chick – always wears a bandana to control her flopping hair, scowls at the weights frequently, mumbles incessantly under her breath,  and “raps” a lot of Ice Cube and QTip while on the cross trainer.  Has an endless supply of vacation tshirts to work out in.

Do you have any characters at your gym/workout spot that you always notice and who amuse you?  What would people who observe you exercising say about or nickname you?

Time’s Up!

Don’t talk about it, be about it. 
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could do today. 
Time waits for no man. 
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

I believe all of the above to be true.  And still I procrastinate.  Taxes?  We’re having them done today.  Homework? I do it at the last possible moment.  This morning?  Washed and dried a load of clothes so my girl would have  a long sleeved tshirt to wear to school. 

I am through.  I’m tired of running around trying to play catch up because I’ve put something else off – again.  If I’m really honest about it, most of the “crises” in my life are self-inflicted.  If I would get on top of my game – and stay there –  my life would be so much better for it.

I have been procrastinating for a very long time and I’m declaring war on this very nasty habit right now.  Not only do I need to get myself together, I also don’t want Lovegirl to think that being last-minute is okay.  Even if I don’t say “procrastinating is okay,” my actions indicate that it is.  This is definitely a habit I do not want to pass on.

So, I’ve drafted a list of “next steps” that I will be implementing to help me bid procrastination adieu.

Next Steps

• Pray about it.  I’ve tried to break this habit on my own and have failed.  Miserably.  Time for divine intervention.
• Keep a running to-do list.  Check it daily.  Do one thing on it daily.
• Get back on my home/school schedule.  Last semester I’d assigned myself certain tasks either home or school related to do every day.  As long as I stayed on schedule, the house was pretty clean and my school related work was current.  Now?  Not so much.
• Accept that I am a morning person and not a night owl.  If I tell myself “I’ll stay up late and do it” I am lying.  My best bet?  Designate time in the morning to take care of “little” things around the house.

Okay, that’s it.  I don’t want to overwhelm myself and give up before I start.  

Two side notes:

1. I totally sent my girl to school today in red for “all red day.”  Which I have now realized is next week.  Did I mention she wears a uniform to school???
2. I got thrown off on my pushups.  I forgot to do an “exhaustion” test on Saturday (as many good form pushups as possible) and did it on Sunday instead.  So this week I’ll do my pushups on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and get back to MWF next week.  This morning I did 12+17+13+13+17=72 (week three, column 2). 

Caffeinated Randoms

• I  got up this morning, ironed/folded a basket of laundry, partially loaded the dishwasher, packed my girl’s lunch and did 81 pushups.  All before 530 a.m.
• Got to work this morning, had a cup of caffeinated coffee and have done all of my work – before 10 a.m.
• One of the residents told me I look “never had a baby” good!  Yep, pretty much gonna be struttin’ around all day behind that one.
• Wednesday some dude found it necessary to roll down his window and holler “you betta rip that runway girl” at me as I was crossing the street after work.  I grinned and waved like my name was Tyra!
• I don’t cook a special Easter dinner.  Do you?  What do you cook?
• I’m thinking about moving Lovegirl to a new school next year.  Somewhere between not knowing who her teacher will be next year (and being told I could meet her at Open House – umm, no.  I will have paid registration, bought uniforms, etc. by then) and the continued grammatical errors from the Director, I am going to lose it.  I hate to move her because she really loves her school and has learned a lot.  I just don’t know if she’s learned enough.  If they could just guarantee me that she’ll know how to read by the end of next academic year…
• I still don’t know where my purse is.  But baby, they have put an officer on my case who I shall forever refer to as B.arney F.ife.  This dude calls me every other day to update me on my case and tell me that he’s scanned the pawnshop database looking for my charm bracelet.  He is on it!  Not that he’s found out anything…
• Since my little makeup bag is wherever my purse is, I had to buy new lipglosses.  I’ve bought three – two from S.ephora, one from Iman.  They’re all pretty much the same pinkish brown shade.  So much for variety.
• Does anybody watch Housewives of NYC?  Man, this show is my guilty pleasure for real.  Those chicks (and Simon) are a trip!  I don’t know what poor LuAnn is going to do now that her husband’s left her and she will no longer be a Countess!  Did you see the episode where she was explaining her title to those little girls at the Boys and Girls Club?  I almost fell out of the bed laughing at the bored epxressions on their faces!

Alright, I’m procrastinating – I need to post some material for my online class and do some reading for my in-class class.  I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys time with their families.

Happy Resurrection Sunday – be blessed!

Mama Said

…sure you can drop out of school and try and go back later.  But you’ll regret it.

…you can do it.  You only have another year.  The time will pass so quickly, next thing you know you’ll be standing there in your cap and gown grinning from ear to ear.

…girl, you won’t ever have it all together.  Relax.  You’ll get it done.

…you okay?  Okay.  Now, get off  the phone, stay off facebook, stop blogging, no more text messages and do your work. 

…I’m so proud of you. 

Thank you Mama.

Holding On

• Anybody out there still working on the 100 pushup challenge?  I did my sets this morning – not sure I’m feeling significantly stronger at this point.  Guess I am though – the first two sets came easier today than they did last week, but the last set taxed me so much that I had to break it into two sets – one of 10, one of six.  So this morning I did 14+14+10+10+16=64 pushups!  Will I really be able to do 100 consecutive pushups in the next month?  Will you?  Only time will tell!
• My best friend from high school contacted me recently and we spoke on the phone last night for almost an hour, catching up.  It’s funny how my mind has held on to an “ideal” of how our conversation would go if we ever talked again.  (We haven’t spoken in 8, maybe 9 years – I think she was upset I got married, not really sure. )  Anyhoo, the conversation in reality was nowhere near as …grand and dramatic as I thought it would be.  I guess catch up with someone who knew me best 20 years ago isn’t as big a deal as I would’ve imagined.  Oh well.  I’m sure we’ll stay in touch, though there’s only so much reminiscing about doing the Roger Rabbit during an all school assembly or my gay – yes, gay – Sadie Hawkin’s date  that I can handle.
• My child would love to hold on to every toy she’s ever had the pleasure of owning.  As a matter of fact, she still has a rattle from her days as a wee one in her possession.  The girl doesn’t like to get rid of anything.  I, however, do.  I spent a good portion of this weekend throwing away those toys which have been played with until they fell apart and putting those she’s outgrown in the Goodwill bag.  I’ve got to go through her closet this weekend and do the same with her clothes.  Some will go to Goodwill, others to a lady I know from Africa who ships warm-weather clothes home to her village once or twice a year, and a few select goodies will go to my friend who has  a daughter a few years younger than Lovegirl.

Anything you’re holding on to?