Yesterday was a blast! I went to Chicago with a group of single friends for thrifting and a kick butt lunch at Ed Debevic’s.

I can’t believe I’ve never been here before people. It’s 50’s diner which I love! And the servers are rude! AND they broke out in song and did a little dance around! Good, good time.

We walked around and then hit the jackpot thrift store. Kaylynn shares my love for vintage pyrex and milk glass. Look what she scored:

I’m verde with envy.    Snagged the photo of ebay but it’s the same.  Found out this pattern is called crazy daisy. but of course.

That’s all I got today.

I *heart* Valentines. All the red, pink, and total cuteness. Sharing the love and all that.  Got some things to share.

Send free ecards from Kate Spade. Really fun stuff!

Saw this mug in Target’s Red Hot Shop. How cool is this?!

And then something about Valentine’s Day makes me want to bake cupcakes which I already have a love for. Check these:

Even Crocheted!

Hungry for a cupcake now?

quick conversation at my house this week.
“Do you think you’re cool mom?”
“No.”
“Really? I think you’re cool.”

Now, THAT I find pretty cool. It went on from there about how I wish I could dress the way I think is cool but they don’t make those clothes for fat girls.
Being fat sucks but at least I can still be cool. LOL I’m excited that Saturday I’m going into Chicago for Valentine’s with people that I consider the cool kids. So maybe… just maybe. =)

has been neglected and  it’s all because…

email

facebook

reading

watching lots of movies.

Movies I’ve recently watched:

Unrealistic but funny anyway.

Fascinating. I really recommend this one for something very different.

Turned it off after 20 minutes. Hard to follow. Life’s too short to spend it watching something that doesn’t hold your interest.

Of course, coming out of a broken marriage, I cried. I hope this movie helps many marriages. Hard to get past the bad acting. Surprising funny moments. Good message.

Really sweet chic flick. And Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a cutie.

I am currently reading:  The Toa of Pooh

Finished Reading: The New Creative Divorce

This book was assigned in my counseling sessions and I am surprised at some of the ways it changed my thinking. Taking it day by day but doing much better. I’ll share more about this in the next couple days.

I’m finally collecting some thoughts. I’m excited about 2009 despite being off to a rocky start already.

I’m a big fan of Ali Edwards and I’ve chosen my “one little word”. 2009 for me is the year to discover.  Discover that I am capable.  This year I will be examining my marriage and how we got to this awful place of divorce in order to heal and learn from our mistakes.  I want to be open to new things. I hope to learn more about thyroid disease and how to best treat my body.  I will continue to explore my likes and dislikes. I have an appetite to learn so much more this year. I’ve been reading lots of books.  So much to discover!

In other news, Tuesday American Idol starts! My kids and I enjoy watching this together. Here’s a clip of my all time favorite performance.  Chris dedicated this to his wife and we all know Johnny Cash wrote this for his wife. Gentlemen, every woman wants a man that will walk the line for her.

And 24 starts tonight!

The day John Lennon was assassinated.

John Lennon freely admitted he was a jerk. But he was evolving into a better person as he grew older. I too am a jerk.  I’d like to think I am evolving into a better person.

I too am singing for peace.  I want my life to be filled with love and goodness. In fact, I won’t stand for anything less.

This year at Christmas I am not interested in the big fancy trees and the high cost of merriment. Christmas with all it’s tinsel and bell ringing can go away for all I care. Give me time with those I love and I’ll go to sleep with a smile on my face.

I’m thankful for the roof over my head, loving family and friends,  our good health.  I’m even thankful for our ignorance…

May God bless those in need…

I heart the flair buttons on facebook!

You may have noticed I changed my blog header a while back using them. When I was a kid, I had lots of buttons. Something about those metal clackity things that I like. The other day I was shopping and I noticed a row of buttons on a shelf. Could it be? Buttons are making a comeback?!

Here’s some flair that has caught my eye…

Today a work buddy asked me to remove a splinter for him. I actually said “nah” at first because, well, I’ve never removed a splinter from someone before. A year ago, I couldn’t see well enough to be any help. But T did say please. And he did remind me he recently lost the tip of his middle finger on the other hand. What are ya gonna do. =)

Lesson no. 1: When your friend asks for help, you lend a hand! no. 2: Jump in and try new things.

The splinter had been in his finger for days but now he was annoyed enough to want it out. Lesson no. 3: Things that start out as minor nuisances eventually irritate us enough that we will no longer put up with them.

So I took the tweezers he had and they were no good. Very weak, cheap tweezers. After picking for a minute, we decided to get a needle. Lesson no. 4: In life, you need the proper tools.

As I stood there digging into my friend’s finger with a needle, he told me he was tough so don’t be afraid to dig in. He has a high pain threshold. So I dug in and we got that splinter out.  And right there, right there is the lesson speaking to me tonight:

no 5: Life is full of splinters. You have to be tough. You have to get the foreign objects out. You have to dig in.  You have to try, try again.

Yes, all this from a mere 5 minutes of nothing important.

Today I had my second counseling session. I’m liking my counselor. We realized together that before I can tackle the failure of my marriage, I need to start getting comfortable in my own skin. I spent the last week trying to come up with 10 things I like about myself.  I’d rather have my fingernails pulled out! I did not come up with 10.  Here I stand waving a white flag. I surrender!

The reading this week for today’s session said, “We need to choose to accept our own worth even when another human chooses not to.”

I have struggled to find self worth my entire life.  I’ve willingly accepted other people’s negative words and actions towards me and formed a very negative picture of myself.  I could write a loooong list of my every flaw. Top of the list should probably be that I give other people too much power over me.  People are much too willing to point out your negative features than give you positive feedback. This has left me feeling like I would never measure up. It seemed for every positive step I made, I had even more pressure to do better. It was overwhelming. Everything was always my fault. I have hated every fiber of my being for way too long.

So I am a work in progress and this week I am being forced to finish my list of things I like about myself.

Welcome autumn with open arms! I love the beautiful colors of autumn, the crunch of fallen leaves, the chill in the air, the farmer’s fields are gold, the candied apples, pumpkins, warm socks, pumpkin spice candles, and hoodies!  BRILLIANT

We pulled into our driveway tonight to find a big, marvelous pumpkin placed by our door. We all new it was my parents doing. Thanks mom and dad for the fun surprise!

My new life has me waking up early and catching the sunrise from the shower. And I like this. The kids are still asleep and I put music on.  Lately I’m into Paul McCartney singing Let it Be or Jason Mraz One Love to start my day.  After the kids get up it’s a whirlwind to get them off  to school and then I have a peaceful 15 minute drive to work that I use to count my blessings and get centered.

Inhale

Exhale

You can do this.

Enjoy!