Chance Encounter

Oh My God, y'all, I am having the BEST day. This morning, I had a one on one call with my direct supervisor, who told me that I am making a really good impression on New Boss. That was something I was worried about and I've been really trying to impress him. But apparently, he called my supervisor to tell her how well I am doing and that he's impressed with me! I told her that made my day, but it turns out I was lying. Because what happened at lunch tops that.
I went to a mall food court with some co-workers. As we were leaving, we walked past a table with two women and three little kids. I looked over and thought, "That lady looks like Nancy Smith.*" When I was a freshman in college, I made friends with the most awesome group of girls. Two sets of roommates, another girl who lived across the hall, and me. We all became as close as sisters. The next year, one of the girls transferred to another school. But the girl across the hall moved in with me, and the rest of us stayed really tight friends. I can't really tell you how important those girls were to my life. They absolutely brought me out of shell and undid some of the damage my mother had done to my self-esteem. They were the best group of friends anyone could ask for. They were exactly what I needed. After sophomore year, though, we all went our separate ways. One girl was getting married, my roommate moved home to her parents and commuted to school, and I don't know where the others went. I haven't seen any of them in over ten years. Nancy Smith was one of those girls. So I debated going over and asking if that was her. I decided not to, because I was sure I would be wrong. But then, I thought, "This is a total chance encounter. If it IS her, I may never run into her again." So I went over to the table, and said, "Excuse me, are you Nancy Smith?" She looked up and said, "Yes." Then she looked at me for a minute and said, "Shelly?" and when I said yes, she jumped up and hugged me. She asked how I recognized her and I told her that her face hasn't changed a bit. I guess mine hasn't either, since she recognized me. She turned around and told her friend that we went to college together and her friend laughed and said she knew it had to be something like that when she heard the maiden name. Two of the little kids were Nancy's, two beautiful little boys. I showed her pictures of my two and she said how cute they were. She's still in touch with two of the other girls in our group and she's on Facebook. We talked for a few more minutes, and then I left. What an amazing coincidence to run into her at the mall. I am so happy to be back in touch with her. If I could pick any people in my life to get back in touch with, it would be that group of girls. And now I think it's going to happen. I could not be any happier.
* Not her real name.

Get Out of My Dreams

Everyone seems to be writing really emotional posts this week. I caught up on my blog reading this morning and almost every blog I visited had me in tears! What's funny is that I started this post yesterday. There must be something in the water!

I would like to cordially invite author Emily Giffin to get out of my head. Or at least stop mining my life for tidbits to put in her books. It's never the main point of the story, but in each of her four books, there's been something that hit a nerve with me. In her first and second books, Something Borrowed and Something Blue, it was the character of Darcy that made me realize that in some ways I have been a selfish brat and not the best friend I could be. (See this post.) Then, in her last book Love the One You're With, the main character is a professional photographer, which is totally my dream job. The character talks about being afraid to to go for a career in photography because she was afraid that she'd suck at something she loves so much. That is totally where I am right now about photography. I adore it, feel like I have a little bit of talent at it, but am almost paralysed by the fear that if I quit my job to go back to school for photography, what I will find out is that I'm nowhere near good enough to make that a career. And in the third book, Babyproof, it was an aside when the main character was thinking about cutting her mother out of her life. The character expressed that she thought that breaking off contact with a parent marked both the mother and the daughter. It marked the mother as being unbearable, but it marked the daughter as "being hard, unforgiving, and self-righteous". That quote hit me like a ton of bricks. I have certainly never wanted to think of myself as "hard, unforgiving and self-righteous", but am I? In thinking about it, I've realized that I'm still very angry with my mother for things that she did when I was a kid. I'm FURIOUS with my mother for manipulating me and putting me down when I was too young to realize what she was doing. I'm FURIOUS with my mother for the fact that I'm still hamstrung by insecurity and self-doubt from years of being treated as dismissible. I'm FURIOUS with my mother that I still, in the back of my head, don't really feel worthy of love. So, why haven't I forgiven my mother for all this? Because it's never been honestly addressed. Oh, I've addressed it. Time and time and time again. Yelling, screaming, crying, even bending over backwards to try to please her - I tried everything I could think of. But she has never once addressed it. Her responses have been, "Oh, you're SO sensitive, I can't say anything to you. I have to walk on eggshells around you." "Well, whatever I did, I'm sorry." (said in a really snotty tone of voice). Since what I want is to taken seriously and to have my feelings addressed and to have an actual, honest apology, no, I haven't forgiven her. I guess that does make me hard and unforgiving. Hmm. As for self-righteous, well, I guess it takes an element of self-righteousness to keep this up. To keep believing that you're right and the other person is wrong. And I would add that I really don't want her around my children. I feel very strongly that it is my duty to protect them from people and situations that I know to be dangerous. My mother inflicted more harm on me than anyone else in my life. I definitely consider her dangerous. So I don't want her around my kids. That probably qualifies as self-righteous. It's certainly a justification for what I'm doing. So there you have it, kids. I am "hard, unforgiving, and self-righteous". Yuck.

Happy Monday

I'm back and better than ever!

Finally, the whole family is healthy and has been for more than a week. I feel happy and somewhat motivated. My goal is to post here more than once this week. I've had some ideas percolating, so hopefully some of them will make their way out of my head and onto the screen. To start off, here are some gratuitous pics of my kids!

Wildman was backing up as he was eating and fell into this Pampers box that he and Supergirl play with. At first he was upset, but once I got the camera and started making faces at him, the little ham started grinning.

Last Saturday, I thought Supergirl looked particularly cute (you know, hair freshly washed and brushed, cute shirt, etc.), so I had her sit in our recliner and I took a whole roll of film of just her. She LOVES posing, so it made her feel really special to have my undivided attention like that.

And another one, just because it shows off those snaggly little teeth! I love this stage, where she's losing her baby teeth and getting permanent teeth.

Pay It Forward Prizes

I received TWO wonderful gifties from PiF contests, cause I is a lucky bitch. I have been slack about posting pictures, but now I can show them both off at the same time!

First, from Alice, I received:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, a good book that I really enjoyed.

A cute chick candle.

A little bag with a bird and flowers on it for Supergirl.

And two Peter Rabbit notepads, one of which is a shopping list magnetic notepad, which I LOVE!

Then, from Shelly Overlook, I received:

A supercute polka dotted photo album.

A days of the week to-do list - colorful and functional - I will be taking that to work.

A Hello Kitty tote bag, which was probably intended for Supergirl but is MINE ALL MINE!

A blue bookmark with a great quote on it.

A package of really pretty note cards.

A big magnet with a daisy on it, which looks great on my fridge.

A pair of silver hoop earrings, which I love.

Organic blueberry snacks for the kids.

A Burt's Bees lip gloss.

A little bag with three squishy balls for the kids.

And yes, that means that I need to hold another Pay It Forward contest! Which will be coming next week, because I am morally obligated to mail out Shauna's prize from the first contest before I start another one. Shauna, I have not forgotten you - your prize will go out tomorrow, I promise!

Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Fortunately, Rock was wrong about Supergirl having chicken pox. When he called me, this was his description, "She has red spots all over her face. And one great big one right beside her nose. What else can it be?" (Although when I asked, he did say that she wasn't itching at all. So I was suspicious.) When I got home, however, Supergirl had one - ONE- red spot on her nose. NO other red spots in sight. None on her face, none on her body. OH HAI - my husband exaggerates when he's stressed out. While I don't know what the red spot on her nose IS - if it were on her lip, I would say it's a fever blister, but it's on her nose, right on the side of the nostril. It's red, but not raised. Very weird. I am fairly sure that it's not a chicken pock (chicken pox? What is the singular of pox?) It doesn't look anything like mine did, and here's the big one - IT DOESN'T ITCH! I'm just glad to have dodged that bullet.

Since it seems like everything I go ahead and post even when I'm not 100% certain turns out to be false, let's try this one - I did not win the lottery last night. Ha! Actually, that one's impossible. I didn't even play the lottery last night, so there's no way I could win. STILL - IT IS WORTH A TRY.

And since no one got the movie quote, I'll tell you - it was from Steel Magnolias one of my all-time favorites. Dolly Parton's character says it about her son's new girlfriend.

News and Stuff

So, I know that I've been scarce lately. And I apologize. The kids and I have been sick non-stop since the beginning of July. Wildman has had back to back ear infections, I had a double ear infection, Supergirl had a bad cold then a stomach bug, then Wildman caught the stomach bug and then I caught the stomach bug. I had thought this week that we were finally all healthy and maybe out of the woods on being sick for a while. But Rock just called and told me that Supergirl has chicken pox.
You'll find me under my desk.

However, I found the Brangelina Twins' edition of People to be a treasure trove of interesting tidbits! Worth sharing:

This quote from Pam Anderson - "I'm reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I love him - I can't get enough. And Edith Warton. I carry her with me to read her short stories on the plane. I'm reading all the time, which is great because my kids are 10 and 12, and they're big readers, too. I think it's through example." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Right, Pam. Tell you what, I'll spot you your reading example as long as you also recognize your example when your sons (I think her kids are boys, aren't they?) each bring home a stripper with fake tits and "the only nice thing you can think of to say about her is that all her tattoos are spelled correctly". (Bonus points if you can name the movie!)

Apparently, Bobby Brown is singing country music now. The hell?!

There was ANOTHER article about a man murdering his wife. Oh, excuse me - she's just missing in St. Maarten. The police aren't even sure a crime has been committed, but here's what the hubby has to say, "I did not kill her, I did not have anything to do with her disappearance. I am a victim here, too." Uh-huh. (Side note - he's the owner of a "medical animation" business. WHAT is medical animation? I can't think of two words that go together less.) Okay men, stop murdering your wives! Divorce! Live it, love it, embrace it. Rock and I have a pact - if either of us starts seriously thinking about murdering the other, we will ask for a divorce. Which will be immediately granted. "I want a divorce." "But WHY?" "Because I'm thinking about killing you. I have a plan." "Divorce granted! You can have the kids, the house, whatever you want, baby. I'll be out by the end of the week."

Lauryn Hill - This story made me very sad. She's living in the suburbs with her mom, raising five kids. Rohan Marley, who says that he is "spiritually together" with Hill and who fathered the five children, lists himself as "single" on MySpace. Oh Lauryn. Anybody who lists himself as single anywhere and doesn't live with you and his five kids is most definitely not with you. She deserves so much better.

Contest Announcement!

Well, the contest ended Monday and the winner was...

Shauna of Pickles and Dimes!

Congratulations, Shauna! I will be mailing you a fabulous prize soon!