changing your relationship status.....

A while back I was in a food court at the outlet mall (it was the same day as the old man that touched my drink and told me I was a shitty mom.....yeah, still not okay with that) Anyway, a group of girls sat down at the table next to me and started the conversation out with "So, what's going on? I noticed you changed your relationship status to 'single'?" I laughed a little. I mean, obviously they are good enough friends to go to the mall together, you'd think that this might have been something they talked about when the big breakup was happening. The same thing happened on my trip most recently. Overhearing someone talk about "changing their relationship status". The thing is, Facebook relationship status changes are how I usually find out about breakups, makeups, new lovers, even divorces with my friends. I'm not Facebook friends with anyone that I don't personally know, so it's not like these are strangers here. These are my real life friends. Like, people that were in my wedding kinds of friends. I'm not going to sit here and complain about what this world has come to with social networking and whatnot. I love social networking. Most days, Facebook IS my social life. (I know it's sad....I'm working on it) If it weren't for Facebook, those people that I'm complaining about finding out about their breakups probably wouldn't be in my life at all by now, because I live so far away from most of them. So bitching about the world of Facebook isn't going to happen, I just think it's funny. Not "haha" funny. But "huh" funny..... It's almost like you aren't officially broken up or officially dating until you change your Facebook status accordingly. But what do I know? I've been with the same person since before the invention of social networking sites, so......

That's all.

3500 miles, part 3

After my fabulous weekend with friends, I headed back to Canton to spend time with Jackson and my inlaws. We had a yummy steak dinner Sunday night, put Jackson to bed, and then my mother in law and I stayed up too late chatting, like we normally do. Monday we woke up, got ready and took Jackson to visit his great grandma in a rehab facility. (A physical rehab place, not a drug rehab place ;) After our surprise visit with Great Grandma we went to lunch with Uncle Josh and headed back home to pack up. We had another flight to catch to Boston! Jackson was an angel again on the flight. He had to sit on my lap this time, but as soon as we took off, the man sitting beside us said that he would move seats so we could have both seats. (Hmmmmmm....I wonder why? Let's just say it's because he is so nice and not because Jackson and I are annoying, shall we?) The flight was only about an hour and a half. When we got to Boston, Jackson did a great job pulling his little suitcase and holding my hand. When we met up with my dad, Jackson went right to him and held his hand while we got our bags and walked a very long way to get to the car. He was such a trooper! We loaded up the car, stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner then went to Dad's house in Pawcatuck Connecticut. The next morning we went to the Aquarium at Mystic Seaport. The weather was gorgeous and Jackson was fascinated by all of the animals. "Whasssaaaat?" he kept on asking. A beluga whale came right up to him, he got to "pet" some sting rays and other fish (which really just means that he stuck his hand in the water while the other kids got to pet them), and most importantly got some good quality time with Grandpa! After the aquarium and a quick nap we headed down to the ocean. My dad lives about 10 minutes from one of the nicest beaches in New England. The weather was great, not quite bathing suit weather, but still really nice. Jackson LOVED the beach. He played in the sand and loved to go down by the water (only if we were holding him though). That night we had a yummy lobster dinner right on the water. Ahhhhh....I love New England! I could definitely live there. The next day we woke up and went back to the beach. The weather was even nicer today. Still no bathing suits, but we were comfortable in what we were wearing.

That night we were planning on putting Jackson to bed and having my dad's neighbor come over and sit with him while he slept, then Dad and I would go to Foxwoods so I could play a little poker. Well, Jackson was NOT okay with this plan and refused to go to bed. Screaming and crying and throwing a fit, so finally Dad and I just left him with the babysitting neighbor and hoped that they were both still alive when we got back. We had a nice buffet dinner at Foxwoods then I got my money stolen from me at the 2/4 hold em table. I played for a long time though, but just got really crappy cards. Oh well, it was fun. We got home from the casino around 2:30 am and Jackson was in bed and the babysitter was sleeping on the couch. Everything worked out fine with them. Thank God! The next morning we packed it up, yet again and headed to meet my sister Mindy, her husband Ryan and their daughter Lily in New York City!

3500 miles, part 2

So, we made it to Canton on Thursday night. Friday morning I woke up and went and got my rental car to head down to Crown City, Ohio to visit 2 of my college friends. Jackson stayed home with his Nana and Grandpa. I was making great time going south. Was even going to get there early, until I got off the highway. That's when I drove into the movie "The Mothman Prophesies". Have you ever seen that movie? It's pretty good, if you wanna get the shit scared out of you. I jokingly texted my friend Nate, who I was going to visit, that I was sure the Mothman was going to get me, and he told me not to worry, I was just going to drive over the bridge that killed a shit ton of people that night. (Did I mention that the movie is based on actual events?) Greeeeaaaaat! I was just looking for a fun, beer drinking, pedicure getting weekend away, and instead I get to drive over the bridge of death and doom and be forever haunted by a giant ghost/bat looking monster. Nate said that it was the big silver bridge. I drive over a big green bridge, and looked to my right and saw the big silver bridge. Hmmmmmmmm.....Nate? This bridge is green. He says I'll drive over the green one AND the silver one. Okay. 20 minutes later and I still haven't crossed any more bridges. I'm officially lost. At that point it was just easier to stay on the West Virgina side of the river and drive to Nate's work. He's a DJ at a big radio station in Huntington. Have you seen Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show? Yeah, it's that station. So, getting lost wasn't all that bad. I got to see a cool radio station and even collected a free t shirt. (Speaking of t shirts, I've started a screen printing business. Check out my Mother's Day shirts: http://www.etsy.com/listing/45767083/childrens-mothers-day-t-shirt) I digress.....

After my tour of The Dawg and The Planet Studios, we ran a few errands, of course stopping to get lots of beer. You can buy Yeungling in West Virgina, so that was a must have on the beer list. We got back to Beth and Nate's house and waiting for his wife, Beth to get home from work. Of course we started drinking and were 2 sheets to the wind by the time she got home. The rest of the weekend consisted of drinking, eating, drinking, shopping, drinking and pedicures. I had a great time. They are so much fun and I missed spending time with them! Sunday came way to soon and I headed back to Canton to spend some time with my inlaws and Jackson.....

3500 miles, part 1

I took Jackson on a whirl wind tour of the east for the last 10 days, by myself. We mostly visited family, but I got the chance to leave Jack with the inlaws and head down to southern Ohio to visit some friends for the weekend too. We flew from Denver to Detroit for the first leg. I lucked out that first flight because I asked if they had 2 empty seats next to each other so I could bring his car seat on board. Fortunately, they did so he had a seat all of his own. He is so used to being in a car seat that he just gets it. He doesn't try to get out, he just sits. First leg was great. Jackson had the window, I had the middle and Snoop Dogg was sitting next to us in the aisle. Okay, it wasn't really Snoop, but he could have fooled me with his shiny red eyes. I tried to be nice and sociable, like I always do, but he wasn't having it. Hey, he was flying into Detroit, can you blame him for being in a bad mood and being REALLY high? Anyway, Jackson watched Alvin and the Chipmunks the Sqeakquel and laughed the whole way. Apparently fist pumping, inappropriate booty shaking chipmunks are really funny to a 22 month old....who knew?! (Or maybe Snoop shared a little something with Jackson? Either way, he was chill and I was happy!) We landed in Detroit around midnight and my mom came to pick us up. She lives in Toledo, Ohio. About an hour away from Detroit. After getting our bags, going to the car, installing the car seat, loading up the rest of the crap in the car, stopping to get ice cream (because, in my family, evenings are never complete without ice cream) and driving back to Toledo, it was about 2:00 a.m. Jackson hadn't napped the whole plane trip or the car ride, so was totally DONE by the time we got to Mom's. That was fine. I was tired too. The next morning came way too early, but we all managed to get up and around, pack the car up again, and hit the road to Canton, Ohio. (Where my inlaws live) We stopped in Toledo to visit a friend who had just had a baby, then we were on our way. That day consisted of driving a lot, Jackson spilling an entire bag of rainbow goldfish all over himself, more driving, then finally getting to Canton, eating and going to bed. The next day I got up and headed down to southern Ohio to visit friends..........(to be continued....)

I suck...

I'm sorry, I've been a terrible blogger lately. I've been so busy and my brain is just fried by the end of the night. Today is my last day of work for a week and a half, so hopefully I can get rejuvenated on my trip to visit family and come back with lots to blog about!

Peek-a-boo

I love how kids make you look crazy in public. The other day (and every time I pump gas in my car) I play peek-a-boo with Jackson in the car. I put the pump in the auto pilot mode and duck below the windows and pop up at random places to for him to see me. I actually say "boo" every time too, even though he can't hear me, and he just laughs and laughs! The other day, I was doing that and getting funny looks, like usual. (I don't care that people think I look stupid, I'll never see them again, right?) This one guy, in front of my car was laughing especially hard at me. After finishing at the pump, I get in the car and drive away. About 15 minutes later, I look for my phone and can't find it anywhere! I went home and called my phone with Eric's phone and some guy answers. "Ummmm, I think you have my phone" I say. "Uhhhh, yeah, I think I do" he answers. "I found it at the gas station". Crap! It must have fallen out of my hoodie while playing peek-a-boo and looking like a dumbass. I ask him where he is, he gives me the address to his house and I go and pick it up. It's the same guy that was laughing at me before. So much for never seeing him again......

Top 10 Songs

Here is my list of Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time. This was very difficult for me. I kept trying to make it my favorite songs right now. That list would be very different, and I'll make it another time. I started with about 20 songs on the list and had to whittle it down to 10, but I'm fairly certain that I made the right choices. Notice, I didn't say "Top 10 Best songs". So, I don't want to hear any comments about how crappy a song is. I'll admit that many of these songs aren't that great, but they are my favorite, nonetheless. Many have special memories attached to them, or the lyrics mean something special to me. I'll say a little about each song to help you understand why I like them so much. I also changed my songs on the blog to match all of these songs on my list. If you've never heard any of them, I suggest you give them a listen!

SOOOOO....Here you go, in no particular order:

"Paul Revere" by Beastie Boys - I'm from Springfield, Ohio, which makes me, like, 33 1/3% ghetto. The Beastie Boys are each 33 1/3% ghetto, but there are 3 of them, which makes them 100% awesome. And this is the awesomest song of theirs. What's not to like about it...really?!

"Crush" by Dave Matthews Band - DMB is my favorite band of all time, so it goes without saying they'll make the list. Several times actually. When I listen to this song, I like to think that Dave wrote it just for me ;) He has the most amazing way with words.

"One Particular Harbour" by Jimmy Buffett - If you've never been to a Buffett show, you're dead to me. His concerts are, by far, the most fun you could ever have at a show. This song makes me feel like I'm back in Hawaii, listening to Buffett, drinking a daquari.

"Parents Just Don't Understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - 30 somethings, you know what I'm talking about. Who would have thought that the little boy rapping in that song would turn out to be Will Smith? And BTW, I'm a parent and I totally understand.

"Power Of Two" by Indigo Girls - This is a great love song. "Multiply life by the power of two". Very sweet.....and no, I'm not a lesbian!

"Lie In Our Graves" by Dave Matthews Band - This song contains the greatest lyrics in the history of lyrics. "I can't believe that we would lie in our graves, wondering if we, had spent our living days well. I can't believe that we would lie in our graves, dreaming of things that we might have been." So completely true! This song makes me want to go out there and just effin' do it. Whatever it is.....

"It Don't Have to Change" by John Legend - Yep! I went to high school with John Legend. (John Stephens is how I know him) This song has his family (who I also know) singing with him, singing about the good ol' days. It makes me happy.

"Stand Up And Cheer" by The Ohio University Marching 110 - Ohio University was the best 5 years of my life. I was in the marching band. That's where I met my husband. That's where my sister met her husband. That's where I met a large majority of my friends. If you are thinking about making a "band nerd" comment right about now, shut the eff up. Unless you went to OU and were in the 110, you have no freakin' clue. I'm not even going to try to explain it to you, cause you'll never understand......I digress. I really wanted to put the 110's version of "Poison" on here, cause it's the best song, ever, but that wasn't an option on playlist.com.

"Southern Cross" by Jimmy Buffett - I'm aware that Jimmy covered this song, but I like his version better than Crosby Stills and Nash. I've seen the Southern Cross with my own 2 eyes (both the constellation that you can see from Australia, AND the trashy hotel in Key West).

"Bartender" by Dave Matthews Band - Another great song by Dave. In this song, the bartender is God, and he's asking him to fill his cup. It's an amazing, amazing song. If you've never really listened to it before, please do!