Ice Cold Water

Ice cold water seems to help the ridiculous pain I feel in my face these days. It started a few weeks ago and I simply thought it was my jaw reacting to my intense grinding during sleep. This all proceeded to get worse to the point of popping 3 or 4 Advil at a time. I finally visited my dentist who took X-rays while telling funny jokes about teeth. He's a great guy, and all his little tests showed I had "beautiful teeth". Seems to be nothing wrong with them from his perspective. Nonetheless he scheduled me for a root canal as I was complaining of nerve-like pain. This just didn't add up to me. X-rays are fine, but I need a $2,000 root canal? So off to my MD I went. I described the brutal pain attack on the left side of my face the night before. It was unreal, I even categorize this kind of pain on the same level as child birth. It mainly feels like a dull ache near my ear and lower jaw. Then it gets worse and spreads into my teeth and neck, only on the left side. The killer part is the duration of the intensity. Much like a contraction it takes hold, making me cry and kick my feet, and holds on. There's nothing I can do. I have to wait for it to pass.

Anyway this pain happened the night before my doctor's appointment. He diagnosed me with Trigeminal Neuralgia. A rather rare condition that has me freaked out honestly. 40% of people my age get this cause they actually have MS. Hence my freaking out. I have cried my eyes out over this. I held it together as my doctor explained this nerve disease to me, letting me know that "they don't know what causes it" and " doesn't seem to be a cure". Fantastic I thought. Another disease has shown up in my body with no known cause and no cure and I am only 30! How infuriating. I sat in my car in the parking lot for a moment trying to pull my shit together. I called my boyfriend at work (who later brought me roses...yeah he's wonderful) and just hearing his voice I started to cry. I also called my best friend, same thing - her voice just sent me over the edge and I left a weepy, barely recognizable message on her voice mail. I cried behind my big sunglasses at CVS as they handed me the prescription. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself honestly. More than anything I was just scared. Not enough info does this to you. I'm afraid that this is just the beginning and that I wont be around for my son later. Very dramatic thoughts, but hey, no one would ever describe me as boring. There's no real test "they" can give you to diagnose this, it's mainly based on the patient's description. I am currently in a drug induced haze caused by the Carbamazapine and massive pain killers I am on. This plain flat sucks.

Two things help. Ice cold water and ice cream. That's it.

Well this helped my heart feel better: my little son said the sweetest thing to me this morning. I was loading him into his car seat to take him to day care and my face started to really bother me. I winced and he asked me if I was ok. I told him my face hurt but I would be ok soon. Out of his precious lips comes "we should put some cream on it."

I love being a mom.

This guy likes me

I am a tiny bit more famouser thanks to "This" guy and "this" blog. It's a fantastic blog, full of entertaining stuff - robotic horses included!

Did I ever mention that Glamour wanted to include some info from my torid affair with "the pilot from California"? It was part of a piece my pal Rachel Sarah was writing for the red-haired famously-brave editor Erin Zammet. Anyway, I never heard back from Erin - which is a good thing. I really dont need a story like that being published as I have three men in my life it would effect; my son, my wonderful boyfriend and my loser x-husband. But still, it was a little rush to have Rachel & Glamour interested in my life for a brief moment.

Flydi

Wicked Pissa Summah, so fah

Went home for almost 10 days recently. I strapped the soon-to-be-3-year-old into his very own seat on the plane, set up the portable DVD player, Thomas the Tank Engine Trains, milk, snacks and promptly flew to Boston. I cried a little as we landed at Logan (and again when we left. big time) as I clearly have romantisized Boston to an unrealistic level. Obviously visiting New England in the summer is a great idea, the weather is usually pretty nice. Had I landed in January I might not of cried. Or maybe I would have but for other reasons. Um helllooo, it's polar bear cold there in January.

I am sitting at my desk right now, alone, with just Sting playing as I type. It's amazing how little time we have to ourselves. I rarely get to just go home and do nothing. No plans. I remember days where I would wake up at 11AM and think "hmmm. what do I want to do today?". They seem so foreign to me now as I have to blow a whistle and pray for nap time to get a moment to "do what I want".

10 days with my little cherub! 10 DAYS. Cant remember the last time I spent that much time with him. He ate a nice peach pie his grandmother made and couldn't grasp that the word "pie" ended after the letter e. In a rather adorable fashion he kept calling it "pirate". Utterly fantastic info for story telling when he is older if I do say so myself! "Where's my pirate?" or "Hey that's MY pirate!" he proclaimed. While visiting friends my son ran around with some other kids touting fake plastic guns (that made loud, annoying semi-automatic sounds). At one point we all decided to go for a walk - and as my son came over to me I literally said "Hey, put the gun down we're going for a walk". I will never get to live that one down. How did those words come out of my mouth? I mean it is a toy gun - but it was simply hilarious to hear myself saying that. I digress.

I visited Martha's Vineyard, went sailing, went to the beach, ate food constantly, sat in rocking chairs, visited Lowell and Westford and my beloved Boston. I for once was a for-real tourist in Fanuel Hall. It's much better that way. Most cities don't have areas like that - street performers, shops, ocean, canolli's, etc all right there. We made a Wally The Green Monster (now being called a dinosaur) at The Build-A-Bear factory, visited Fenway and ate at my favorite restaurant - the 99. Oh! And we rode the T. That alone brought back so many memories of waitressing and being poor, etc. All good stuff!

It's hot as balls in Georgia right now, high 90's every day! I am literally melting.
Flydi

Red Sox Nation South!

Yeah baby! What a dose of home I recieved this weekend! My boyfriend bought tickets to all three of the Red Sox games versus the Braves this past weekend. Yep, I went to a baseball game Friday night, Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday night. Sunday was the best game by far! The red sox fans out numbered the braves fans by 5-1, and what a rude awakening for Brave's fans. They dont have the same passion for their team like the red sox fans do. Nothing feels better than 40,000 people cheering "Let's go red sox" over and over. Felt like home somewhat. The Brave's fans couldn't be heard for christ sake. The Atlanta Journal Constitution called Turner field "Red Sox Nation South" on Monday. Out in the parking lots the tailgating was mainly being done by Red Sox fans. It was just great! I heard comments like this "ahhh those fucking christians!" dripping with a Boston accent - all because some huge church choir from Georgia came out to sing. Ahh music to my ears. He was even a fat sweaty bastard and as he hiked up to the very top row, where we were all sitting, my boyfriend pointed out his ticket stub. It was stuck somewhat "under" his arm, in his armpit. I was baffled. "Do you think he knows it's there?" I said. We really couldn't tell.

So, here are a few notes for the idiot Brave's fans I came across:

1. We are not booing home-run-hitting extroadinare Kevin Youkilis, we are cheering "Youuuuuu!"

2. Dont ever wear a yankees hat or shirt "just for fun" and expect us to be nice, dumb asses. It's similar to the "issues" ya'll have over the civil war.

3. Northerner's swear. get over it.

4. Stop with the racial degradation of our two best players, Manni and Papi. Do you know how big David Ortiz is? He is 6'4, 230 pounds. And, they are not from Mexico you dumb fucks.

Flydi

Shalom in the Home

I just caught 1/2 of an episode of the new show on TLC, Shalom in the Home. It's like a Jewish Dr. Phil who makes house calls. No really, it is. He coaches extremely disfunctional families via earpieces through their typical fights and button pushing. I heard an old saying "life is 10% experience and 90% of how you react to it". I used to live by this and have clearly forgotten all about it! I spend a good part of my day feeling frustrated with work, life, etc (don't we all?) and have recently started remembering little anecdotes like the one I mentioned above.

So what I want to know is - What producer is going to step up to reality show hamster-wheel of joint custody? I want to see them make that work! They wont even need to create drama out of nothing - there will be plenty of it regardless! Please pick me.

Today I picked up my son after the long, 4-day stretch he spends every other week at his dad's house. He ran to meet me, barefoot, hugging me with his head on my shoulder and saying "mommie I MISS you! I LOVE you!" oooof. a giant wrecking ball to the chest! My heart hurts so much on that last day of being apart from him, I simply cant wait to hug him. I cant concentrate at work, everything I say cloaks how I really feel. Often I feel lost, faking my way through the moments I have to spend with those who have no idea what I am going through. I am so jealous of parents who see their children every single day. I wonder what that is like! Yes I get a "break" but it's hard switching gears from my non-kid days to kid-filled days. Ever see someone just sitting, alone in their car? you cant tell if they are listening to the radio, talking on the phone or whatever - that's me. It's been over a year now and I am shocked at how little this heartache has subsided. When I am out and about on my non-kid days, I want to scream to no one in particular "Cant you see I miss my beautiful boy!?" Now, before I get pep-talk emails from this post - let me assure you I know some parents never see their children, some people dont have children, etc and I should be thankful ( I AM - BIG TIME) to even have the days I have with my little guy. It still doesnt make me feel better.

keep on keepin' on!
Flydi

30th birthday pics

This is me, just after getting punched by a little "Saturday night fever" freakazoid. It's documented!

There's a theme here. Closing your eyes doth not make a shot less bad.

Something about wearing a tiara never gets old.

The fake fur bus, and once again....my eyes are closed.

Home made birthday cake. Even had a layer of peanut butter cups! Thanks T!

Hasta la vista 20's....

I made it! I am finally 30 and it's great! I am no longer "the kid" or the youngest one at the office. Apparently I appear to know things and I even have smile lines forming outside my eyes. I would however like the next 5 years to go by slowly so I can savor them like a well cooked Italian meal. Turning 30 reminds me of opening the back door of my childhood home, coming in out of the freezing cold to a warm (often drafty) old house with the smell of brownies filling the air. Cheesy description but it's true. I feel welcomed here in my 30's, most people I talk to look back on their 20's and say "boy your 30's are so much better". Your 20's are like this arduous obstacle course with booby traps and trap doors.

My 20's were full of mistakes and experiences, obviously all of them molding me into the person I am now but goddamn it was hard! I ate pasta with salt on it cause I was so broke. I didnt have enough money to pay T fare to get to my miserable temp job stuffing envelopes. My relationships with men were part of my identity and my time was governed by whether or not my current boyfriend was with me. I had no idea who I was, how strong I was - I simply seemed to survive. That's no way to live! C'mon now, waiting around for your man to call you? that's a bunch of crap!

Now I feel rather confident in just chilling out. Taking a break from the panic and fear of "oh no! I am not going to make it!" and enjoying all that I have accomplished. How often do we do that in our lives? It's never enough, we have to make more money, buy more stuff, etc. etc.

I dropped my son off at daycare today. He is growing up at a rapid pace these days and my heart hurts knowing I am missing 50% of his time. He was fine, he enjoys his school and friends. Today his class was on the playground and he ran in all excited to see his friends. A minute went by and he turned to the fence, realizing I was leaving and walked up to where he could see over the fence and waved "bye mommy" to me several times. It's heartwrenching. I have to force my feet to turn and get in the car. My brain tortures me with "what if this is the last moment you ever see him?" - it's awful. As I walked away I heard a faint " I love you" in the distance as he continued to wave to me. Makes me cry as I type this. Motherhood sure teaches you how to feel each moment of your life, good and bad.

My sister recently got married. She is beaming and so happy. Her wedding actually helped me see some of the romantic side of marrying the right person. Family drama aside, the wedding was just what she wanted and hearing her choke up during her vows woke me up. I have been pressing snooze on romance for quite sometime folks, assuring people that I didnt need it, it was no good and to watch out for it if it happens. What is my problem? ok, so I am awake now and boy romance feels good when you aren't busy looking for the other shoe to drop!
Flydi

Mother's Day 2006

Infamous words from this weekend....

1. "This is the first time I have ever given a girlfriend a mother's day gift"


Some words of advice to those who have children in diapers, DONT take a child to the mall who you have just started to make wear underwear instead of diapers. It's one giant trip to the bathroom, over and over. Feels like banging your head against the wall. Just when you think "ok. now that that has been taken care of we can go shopping....." you get another surprise. Many possibilities arise just as you walk to the furthest point in the mall from the bathroom. You have to take their shoes off, help them use the toilet, change them out of their soiled clothes, put them in fresh clean clothes, shoes back on, wash their hands, etc. It's exhausting.

All just part of the job though, a job I am happy to have. I intend to document our journey from diapers to boyhood well so he will fully understand how big a bouquet he should send me on Mother's Day.

This year I have my boyfriend in my life who agressively upheld his "Mr. Wonderful" title by ensuring I had a nice mother's day. I cant help but think of the irony of this. My son is not his child nor his responsibility and yet he went out of his way to make sure I had a nice day. We enjoyed a nice breakfast together, he gave me a gift certificate for a massage and lastly he painted my toenails while my son took a nap. Yes, he painted my toenails. I LOVE THAT! More than the massage or anything. I sat there staring at him while he carefully did this (clearly he has had lots of practice, but I dont need to wander down that thought path) in disbelief. He kept thinking I was inspecting his work, looking for mistakes. He had no idea how shocked I was. I didnt care if he painted my whole damn toe red, it was the mere fact that this was even happening that touched me. Some man, unrelated to my son was pampering ME on mother's day. I had to fight off my usual "no no no, I can paint my own toes..." and just let it happen. *sigh*

Flydi

Doesn't matter how hot you are...

Seriously. Guys, it doesnt matter how hot you are, if you are old enough to apply for an AARP card it's just not going to work. I dont care if you are "in your 40's" which means you're pushing 50. I dont want to wait in line so you can get your food for $.55 cents cheaper than me thanks to your AARP card.

Why on earth do we hot young women find older men so attractive? I mean I have always dated older men, ALWAYS. It's just how it goes when you are a smartass like me. Boys my age are still playing video games and watching MTV Real World with the hopes of one day getting on the show. For me dating older men was the only way I could avoid running through the wall during dinner like a Looney Tunes character leaving just the outline of body in the wall. I have been told many times that I am intimidating and that anyone who dates me needs to have his shit together and be super confident in himself. Great compliment, but why does it seem that women are simply surpassing men as a species in general? It seems that there are more and more men out there who simply subscribe to the "I am just gonna sit here in my easychair and take up space and then one day I will die". That's it? You dont have to give Mother Theresa a run for her money but do something with your life. Also, those men who are wealthy and draped with women who own fake-boobs need to take a real hard look at reality. Dude, if you were broke she wouldnt want to screw you. It's that simple. Why are you settling for that?

Playboy has an article out about plastic surgery for women's more private bits. HOW INSANE is that?? After creating and growing your precious children we then have to worry about how tight a fit we are to you men - again focusing on YOUR satisfaction instead of ours? Why are we, as smart sexy women tolerating the increased pressure on us to get bigger boobs and "prettier" pussies? Why are we not throwing a fit (clearly I am) over the giant pot-bellied-men waddling around golf courses? I think we should require men to complete a Survivor-like obstacle course before they get laid. Nuff said. Big tits or not, if they cant finish the course they dont get laid.

All fired up!
Flydi

Great hair day!

I am gonna kill whoever invented Pop Tarts

I go through phases where I eat really well. It usually lasts for months. Things like swiss chard, tofu, spinach, organic everything, no sweets or desserts, blah blah blah. This is not one of those phases all because of the damn cherry Pop Tarts in the vending machine at work. I get so hungry and they start calling my name. I drift over there like a cartoon-ribbon and simply push C3 and down they fall. Before I realize it they are gone and I still unsatisfied. Curses you POP TARTS!!! I went years and years without you, having no recolection of your taste and now I am ruined. On one rushed morning I skipped my "extra protein" oatmeal and zoomed into work starving. You preyed on me. You knew I would cave.

Today I showed you. I otped for the granola bar (300 less calories!) instead.

With that said, Pop Tarts has an amazingly entertaining website with little pop tart cartoons. Chock full of pop tart drama.

Triathlon #3

I am now officially a "triathlete" by my own standards. In my warped mind I determined that I wouldn't refer to myself as a triathlete until I had finished three races. So, yesterday I officially became one. This race was so nerve racking for me. After my race in Oregon last year I vowed to train all winter and come back with a vengence. I joined a tri-club, I swam, I lifted weights, I ran and ran and ran, I bought a fancy street bike and all the gear. What I didn't do was buy or wear a wetsuit ever. This was such a mistake on my part! I mean all of my training really helped out - I actually enjoyed this race more than anything as I was finally strong enough to do it. However, since it was April and the race started at 8AM we were allowed to wear wetsuits. I had heard that a wetsuit gives you bouyancy, making it easier to swim, so I was excited about this! I borrowed one from my coach and hung it on my closet door for a month - never swam it, just looked at it.

I wanted to puke I was so nervous standing on the beach yesterday. I was in the last wave, and waded into the water with both MEN and women (this is strange to swim with men). The announcer shouted "30 seconds" and I had to resist the urge to shit myself. Then the buzzer - and we're off like a "heard of turtles". ha ha. I swam so well for the first 100 or 200 yards! Bi-lateral breathing and full on crawl stroke thanks to many many laps in the pool this winter. The wetsuit kept me on top of the water, it was fabulous...well except I couldn't breathe. The suit was too tight and I could'nt take a deep breath...and I started to panic. I flipped over on my back to try to un-do the velcro neckline and unzip it. No dice. I flopped around a little more, doggie paddled or something - I dont really remember. I finally got the zipper unstuck and pulled the top off of my shoulders and let it drag around my waste. AIR, wonderful air filled my lungs and stopped panicing. It's amazing how instinctual we actually are as humans. I had to force myself to focus and start swimming again not to mention the "Diane it's ok just swim" I kept repeating to myself. I passed people! I swam and swam and kept passing people (there is NO better feeling than that, I am sorry). Finally I got out of the water and walked up the hill to my bike - my strength. I was so freaked out from the swim I took my time getting ready for the bike. It was an odd feeling of "why did I do that to myself" and dissapointment in myself.
I snapped out of it and slammed into the bike course with vengence! I am a badass on my bike!
I averaged a good 20mph throughout most of the course. Often I wanted to let up on the pace but told myself "you f-ed up the swim, the bike is the only thing you are good at so peddle damnit!", and there you have it. I raced into the transition for the run feeling redeemed and hoping I could run the whole way.
Sadly at the last 1/2 mile I ran off course as there was no sign and no person directing us to turn right. About 20 of us ran straight for about 5 minutes and realized we were off course. THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished the race, and got a nice hug from my sweetie - another added bonus to this triathlon - my own fan!

As I wrote this I was getting bummed out - then I realized that I had a great race. I put my face in the water this time! I did the crawl for the most part instead of the side stroke, I had friends there from the tri club I am member of. I ran the whole way and then some! I finished. I started. I have my very own fan club this year.

Cancer cluster found in Ashland?!

Woah, I just read this and am somewhat surprised that "they" would even admit that this exists! What happens now? Do the families get to sue? sue who exactly? I am so convinced that companies KNOW that the chemicals they put in the products we buy, consume, eat, swim in, touch....trust actually harm us.

click here to read the article on Boston.com

I used to live on the south shore of Boston. My former fiance and I both have thyroid disease. I find it hard to believe that that is a coincidence. He had a tumor on his thyroid he needed removed, I developed Grave's Disease. Just pointing out the ol' "must have been something in the water thing"....

Doggie Daycare

How come I can log on to a website and view my dog, laying around, playing, etc while she is at doggie daycare but I cant log on to a site and see MY OWN DAMN SON while he's at daycare???

just something to think about...

Grave's Disease again....

Ok, less than 2 weeks until my first triathlon of the "season". I have been training non-stop for a year now and think I am in a different place physically and most certainly mentally. This winter I joined a tri club and learned how to swim. In fact, I can even swim 3x's the distance I need to swim for my races. Last night was a new experience for me in the pool. We removed the lane markers, and swam circles around human buoys for a 1/2 hour as a group. A "group swim" if you will meant to prepare us for the open-water mayhem of triathlons. Seriously! It's no joke. About 100 people (some numbers are way higher than that) start swimming all at the same time. People swim over each other, kick one another and simply dont care if you dont like it. It's pretty hard to give them the ol SuperFly-Snuka while immersed in water! Anyway, last night was the first time I felt the water pulling me forward, thanks to all of us creating a whirlpool effect as we swam along in a group. Very cool.

My Grave's disease is back. I had a feeling it was rearing it's ugly head - the typical symptoms were showing up last month. I was somewhat sad about this at first as this disease increases my heart rate making it very difficult to workout and train and SLEEP. Flip side is the weight loss. But I'll keep my insane female body-image issues to myself. Regardless I have worked too hard to let this disease eat away at my muscles again rendering me unable to even lift a gallon of milk out of the fridge!

I did enjoy my recent visit with my endocrinologist though. She really explained all of my lab history to me and calmed my fears of the simple radiation treatment they prescribe for Grave's patients. She also informed that I would have an easier pregnancy after receiving this treatment and it would be nothing like the puke-fest I endured with my son. Something about that made me smile.

Sebastian Bach, oh how I love thee.....still.

My crush from 1989 has never faded, it grows ever stronger each year and rears it's Aqua Net head when I least expect it. I logged on to my beloved Sebastian Bach's website today to see what he is up to. After all he has been busy since his famous "18 and Life" and "I remember you" days staring in broadway shows, VH1's "I Love the 80's" and lately guest appearances as a pizza delivery dude on Gilmore Girls. A friend of mine even recorded an episode for me because it is a well-known fact I love this guy. How pathetic is that?

Pitter Pat, pitter pat goes my little heart. What is it about this guy I love so much? He's 6' 7 or somethin and still has a flat stomach and massive amounts of enthusiasm for whatever he does.

Nah that's not it. It's his style, his sense of humor, his "what you see is what you get" attitude. This quote made me bust out laughing:

"One down side to a career like Sebastian's, where country-hopping and coast-to-coast flights are all a part of the daily grind, is being away from one's family (often for months at a time). Regardless, Bach would never complain about the negatives that come with traveling and rock 'n' rolling all over the world."If you're gonna play the game, fuckin' get ready, or you're toast," he said energetically. "And if you're not prepared for all the attention and the time away from home and everything, don't do it. "I read about all these British bands who are huge in England and they try to crack the States, and I laugh at these articles, like the guys in The Darkness saying, 'We had no idea how big America was- like the drives between the shows.' I'm like, 'Shut the fuck up!'" Sebastian broke out laughing. "You're complaining about driving to the next city? Why do you do this? You're lucky to be driving to the next town. 'It's so hard. I didn't know how big America was.' Then fuck off back to England!"

You can see for yourself here....You can be sure I will be tuned in on May 18th to VH1 to see the new reality rock band show he is staring in with Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Jason Bonham. etc. The show is called "Supergroup". Um hello???? Ted Nugent? Does anyone remember the reality show where he chased idiots around his farm and shot at them? I cant wait to watch this show!

I gotta go do my hair!
Flydi

I consider myself a "Millennial Mom"

Fast Company published this fabulous article about "who are the moms of 2005". It's more about reaching these moms from a marketing perspective, but I was still intrigued by the different descriptions. I am exactly their description of the "Millennial Mom". And for those who are taking note I was 26 when my son was born.

"Age 27 or younger, Millennial Mom is the newest mom on the block, and she's the first generation to use technology to seamlessly blend work and life. Not long out of college or high school, she's facing many firsts: marriage, babies, insurance, jobs, maybe even owning a house. Hyper-connected and beyond tech savvy, Millennial Mom's world is both physical and virtual, bringing social connection and life-skills management as close as a computer or cell phone. She's busted out of previous generations' isolation challenges during those early, tethered-to-the-house years. You'll find her plugged into Myspace.com or TheNest.com, sharing worries, excitement, and ideas with her online family. Products like mythum mobile coupons and Infinity Broadcasting Visual Radio -- delivered right to her cellphone -- resonate with her values of connectivity and access, seamlessly going where she goes."


They forgot to mention divorce as one of the many firsts she might be experiencing! I dont recall much from those hazy first 6 months of mommyhood. I do remember the voracious reading I was doing to learn how to be a mom. haha. I signed up on Babycenter.com, parent magazine, etc etc to make sure I was learning the latest way to make baby food at home. Last weekend I pulled out my "The Happiest Toddler On The Block" book just to check on some interesting behavior patterns my son is now demonstrating. It occured to me that I hadnt read any baby books, magazines or how-to guides on parenting in quite a while! My motherhood-confidence had apparently stepped in a while ago when I wasn't looking and guess what is so cool about that? I TRUST MYSELF to make the best decision for my child on my own! woo hoo!

And to think I didnt know how to change a diaper when he was born!

It's that time of year again....

It is spring - big time. Flowahs everywhere, growing grass and love. In Bambi they actually call it "Twitterpated" - which I am happy to report I am in fact twitterpated with my Elvis loving man. He uses the word "wicked" and I feel my homesickness loosening it's grip on me. He cooks me dinnah! He calls me jellybean which really makes me giggle like an idiot - it's sooooo dainty, which I am not. But I am eating it up. In fact I am surprised at how well this is going, seriously. I spend a lot of time thinking "is this real?" as I search the sky for the proverbial "other shoe". He plays with my son making him belly laugh till he gets the hiccups. How'd I get so lucky?

I dont want to jinx it anymore than I have so I am going to stop here.

Next subject. I am a co-maid of honor in my sister's wedding. This is fine, but bridal headquarters has made the BRA events (bridesmaid related activities - care of head honch ho) somewhat pricey. I fear I have offended my little sis by not attending a very expensive bachelorette party in Vegas. I called her in fact and told her I was so sorry I was too strapped to go but I came up with a brilliant suggestion! "how bout in a couple years when you are sick of your husband we plan a trip together instead?". Which, I think is a much better idea! I just hope she does....

The Eviction Process; aka HELL

I need to vent! I have tried really hard over the past year to "keep" my real estate investments going. Seriously, I own two houses, both are rented. ONE is rented to a LOSER. Big time. She has never paid her rent on time, usually about 2 weeks late and always after I have called her several times. FOUR of her checks have bounced. Which causes all kinds of chaos in my own account. She paid her rent super-late in February and then her check bounced. That's the last time I received any money from her, actually January was the last time I received any money from her that was valid. At this point she owes me about $1200 bucks. So, I called her and called her. No answer. No return phone calls. I filed eviction paperwork. This costs $70 bucks. She had 7 days to respond to get a hearing. She responded that it was "all just a misunderstanding, I intend to pay past due rent ASAP". Now it is March, and rent is due, again. Her tab is up over $2400 plus court fees. Keep in mind the mortgage is still due, as is my rent. I am not happy about paying for two households although it is apparent that this what I do in March. Last year I got divorced in March and had to pay for both houses from December through April as my loser x husband wouldnt and since his name wasnt on anything he didnt really have to. I digress. We had a court date for 4pm on a Tuesday. An hour before the court date the tenant from hell CALLS ME and leaves me a message that she wont be in court and that she called the court to let them know. WHAT? It's not a nail appointment you can just reschedule! It's a hearing, in front of a judge!! So I go to court, she doesnt show, I get a court order (this all took a painful 3 hours...) and apply for a "writ of possession". I have to pay $20 dollars for this. This is the drama portion of the process. I now have to wait for a marshall to call me and schedule an appointment to evict her and place her belongings on the public right of way. It's been over 2 weeks since that day, I still have not heard from the marshall and according to the court I am not allowed to go to the house until I do. Meanwhile April is fast approaching and I am still not collecting any of the money this girl owes me! Her tab is up to $2600 and April is only a few days away.

Eviction. There are too many laws protecting tenants. I pay for this house. I am responsible for this house. She does not have any babies that would be out in the cold if I kicked her out. In fact, her very own reason for not paying the rent was because she was on vacation in Costa Rica!!!

So she is still living in my house, for free. I am very angry about this.
Flydi

Purple Rain

OOOh! I got to see Prince last night courtesy of the "boyfriend of the year" candidate. Well actually it was this morning as he didnt come on stage till 12:20am. The ol' brain is a little foggy today. Prince is on tour, playing guitar for Tamar, Toni Braxton's younger sister. Tamar can sing! She can dance! She's gorgeous! I did some homework before the show and read reviews from other cities they had been to. Apparently Prince didnt play much of his own material and kept it all on Tamar. Not the case in the ATL though. The lights all went dark and then ...only the purple ones came on.....and OH MY GOD he played Purple Rain!! He segued right into Go Crazy, and the Tabernacle did. The floor was bouncing! Great show....here's a video of Prince for you all taken just before a bouncer could figure out *who* had a camera and yank it out of their hand.


Video Sharing at DropShots.com