Candy Coated Sarcasm

YAY!! My last day o class. Review and test and home early. And since I sat up until 2am jacked up on Dew, I am guessing I will be Princess SleepyPants by noon.
I sooo need to stay away from that crack. I had been doing so well and really feeling the positive effects of resisting my addition. But then I did what every addict does...I exposed myself when I was at my weakest. 10pm cig run in the midst of my redecorating here. I was feeling creative and joyful. My graphical therapy had done its trick in relaxing me. Tossed on a pair of flips and didn't bother with the bra. I could have walked past that frosted glass cooler, but I figured wth. One can't hurt, right?. Well I was wrong, it didn't drag me off the wagon, but it sure as hell made me feel like I got hit by a Mac truck.

So this week is boreme2hell&back school bus training. I am so not joking. These classes are always geared toward folks with the IQ of a gnat and the common sense of a shoehorn. It is redundant and uninteresting to say the least.

So whats a girl to do in such a class for 5 long hours a day? Well she clips her cuticles and and counts how many licks it takes before she can't stand it any longer and bites her Red Hot Atomic Fire Ball. She also has time to check out the other potential bus drivers in her class.

I could probably pick who will cut the mustard and who will run screaming the first day they realize that driving the bus is easy until they stick 70 snot nosed whining brats behind you. Factor in that schools pay on a bi-weekly basis, and you get to drive said whiners around for an entire month before getting to see just how little this tedious job pays, and you realize why anyone able to do this job half way decently has job security for as long as kids leave their homes to get an education.

I met a nice lady yesterday who I thought would stand the upcoming challenges. We got along well and had several things in common. A potential new SC friendship in the works. Much to my surprise, she didn't return after our lunch break yesterday. Go figure.

There is a man and woman sitting next to me that I spoke to today. Both very friendly. She owns a florist shop and said she is taking the job to be able to provide insurance for her college aged daughter. Not sure how having her own business AND working as a bus driver is going to work out for her. She may find it easier to just pay for private insurance.

The gentleman at the end of my table is like a bunch of the drivers I know from Florida. Retired and taking the job for the benefits alone. This guy reminds me a lot of my Great Gran-daddy Roberts. Just minus the bib overalls. Handsome white haired man with a gentle nature about him. He is very energetic and engages our teacher in discussions about current topics. *you know that pupil that always has a story and holds everyone up* but his intentions are sincere. It always amazes me how elderly folks have so much energy. Today I learned their secret. Grandaddy bus driver enjoyed his lunch in the room with us. While entertaining us with stories from his life, he enjoyed himself a 20oz Vault energy drink and a king size pack of Reese peanutbutter cups.

If this is the secret of life, I indeed have a head start!!

When everything around us is falling to hell, nothing is going right. You can't buy a break because you don't have a penny to your name. Aren't we entitled to have a moment of weakness? A moment to just let loose of our self composure and freakin cry. Hollar at the powers that be, curse the universe. How long can a person keep up the front before they just have to have a good fit of frustration? Is it healthy to keep it bottled? To keep trying to convince yourself that this too shall pass. Maybe deep down you know it will pass, but your just damn tired of waiting for it. Things happen for a reason blah blah. Yeah, you can only subliminally try to sink that one into your noggin for so long before you wanna shove it down someones throat.

Holding it together takes way too much energy. It is wearing me out. Trying to convince everyone that it is all gonna work out, when I secretly wonder if maybe it won't. Does that make me a pessimist? Well then so be it. Every optimist has to have their day of slipping to the dark side.

Tonight I am wallowing in the glory of a mental temper tantrum. I may wallow all day tomorrow too. And I will be damned if I am going to feel guilty about it. I feel I am entitled to a few moments of just letting down the walls and letting the raging rivers of emotions flow wildly out of control. It may not be pretty, but it sure as hell feels good.

Thats right only 14 hours until B gets home. I was thinking that I have been waiting 2 weeks for this day. But the reality is, I have been waiting closer to 2 years. It has been that long since our brilliant, beautiful and rationally thinking kid has been home. I am so so excited, I can barely contain myself.

I have been trying to button up some of my projects. I finally got the family eating space done. Complete with grape pepto wall paint. The pictures do not portray the color the same as the naked eye, but close enough to get the general idea. I am happy to have one more room done and ready to be lived in.

I am guessing that the rest of the week we will be focused on B's room. Getting her unpacked and settled. We are painting her room as well. The walls are currently light pink. I am excited to have her help because her room has 4 full walls that will need painting. The dining room was basically 1 full wall and 2 half walls. Two of us will be able to kick it out rather quickly.




DK has finally got a soccer team. He starts training this weekend. He is going to play up to the U16 boys Challenge team. In Florida standards, it would be an "A" team. He fits fairly well with the boys on the team. In the middle as far as size goes. He is still nursing the sore hip. Going to push him a bit this week to get out and work it some before Friday nights training. We shall see how it goes.

One more piece of the puzzle falls into place. Just can't wait to get my man here!! I think it is wearing on both of us, this seperation thing. I don't like it!!

Been workin on the house daily. Things are coming along. We can more easily see outside now that the windows are clean. I have spent countless hours cleaning up after people who have no concept of proper painting techniques. Guess it is easier to just paint the glass while painting the sill so as not to be bothered with actually being able to open the window or see out it when done.

I painted the dining room and the adjoining kitchen wall. I have been trying to describe the color. It is called Windswept Heather which does nothing to help with the visual. Today I decided that if pepto bismol came in grape, it might be this color. Funny because I went looking to get a nice creamy yellow color and came home with grape pepto. Go figure.

I need to finish all the tasks I have started so I can take some more pictures. Bri asked for more again last night. I know he is as anxious to get here as I am for him to get here. Maybe the pictures help him feel closer. I feel a tad alienated from the world at the moment. We haven't been doing anything outside the yard due to finances and wanting to wait on our exploring until we can do it as a family. It is odd not knowing anyone close. Every time I go out driving its a new road, new destination. Although I can successfully find the dump without the use of Gypsy now. Thats because I visit there almost as much as I do the laundromat.

I've been looking for a job. I hit all the typical places. The marts and the depots. It takes time and as of yet , no bites. It's tough because if i do get a job now, I will be taking it for 1 month until my real job starts. I hate that idea, but need the money more then I hate the idea.

Seven days until I get to pick up Peanut. I can't wait. I miss her and I miss the silly craziness she adds to the dynamic. I think I am most anxious because she is as excited to get here as I am to get her here. It has been a long time coming to get her "home" She had to venture out on her own to see what the world was about before she could see where she needs to be. Despite how much we wanted to save her the hurt, she had to get there on her own.

I am trying to remind myself that it doesn't matter so much how we get there, just so long as in the end we get where we need to be.

I'm cheating on my post today because I'm just posting a pic and the link to the rest of them. I only am updating the finished rooms, or at least the ones that are close to finished. I am in LOVE with the family room. By far my favorite room in the house.




It has in a weird way become a tad southwestern. Only because in our packing Brian found an old print of an Indian princess that I absolutely love. I never did anything with it and always thought the wooden frame was hideous. Well it hideously matched my fireplace mantle. So when I took it out of the box and realized it is the only thing left in a frame that isn't broken (Thanks to Lurch & Eurkle my ever cautious movers) There is a nice hook over the fireplace mantle, so up it went. Then I unpacked my f aux pottery that I painted at a diy pottery shop many moons ago. Toss in an Indian blanket and voila.

The rest of the pics are posted in my gallery. Click the scrapbook link in the upper right of this blog.

What a whirlwind 2 weeks this has been. I have many stories to share, but have yet to find the time to get them from my grey matter into text.

We made it to Summerville, which is the important part. We are getting settled. We have had some amazingly stressful and funny adventures along the way. Funny how nothing ever seems to go as planned.

We have been planning this move for literally 8 months. Packing, house hunting and getting all of our affairs in order. The packing part is about the only thing that went as planned. And even that had its challenges. How is one supposed to pack a 36" TV into a box when no one on this universe makes a box that big?

In early May, the kids and I ventured to Summerville to find a home. We had a successful trip, or so we thought. We fell in love with the first house we looked at. DK had a successful soccer try-out for a local club. Everything seemed to be going flawlessly. Yeah Right!! Nothing is ever flawless.

The 2nd week of June, our supposed landlord decided that he wasn't as willing to take a chance renting to us as previously noted. He based this on our 6 year ago stroke of ugly luck. Even though our current landlord of 4 years had nothing but praise for us. Even though that ugly luck was caused by the nobelist of intentions. So a meer 3 weeks before we have the moving truck scheduled to come pick up all our junk, we find ourselves homeless. Not a good start on the road to smooth relocation.

So mom and I hop in her car and hit the road. 3 houses to see and fingers crossed that one of them will scream Havey house when we arrive. Our trip was to be a very short focused trip. We spent 20 hours in the car to spend 14 hours in Summerville. 8 of those 14 we slept thru. I reluctantly got into the car to head home with a heavy heart. I was leaving without making a decision.

The house I had hoped to fall in love with had major flaws. Namely it was filthy and showing it's age. The yard was overgrown, the previous tenants had not treated it kindly. Then there was the beautifully sterile cookie cutter house we looked at that seemed the right choice. But for some reason, I didn't leap to make that choice. I struggled half way home. Gabbin moms ear off as we went. I ended up callin Sis to use her as a sounding board. Kinda cool how just having her on the phone prompted me to actually see that I had already made a decision. I just hadn't let myself know it.

I decided that I would rather be in the home that was sitting abused and lonely just begging for a family to love it. The house needed us. And with some TLC, it would be spectacular. The landlord was sitting fingers crossed that we would choose his home to be our own. 6 years ago didn't even come up. He had spoken to our property manager and knew we were the ones for him and his house.
Cookie Cutter house's owner was willing to have us fill out an application and let the property mngt company verify what I was saying was the truth. They would fax the application and sometime in the next few days they would let us know if we were good enough. Blah freakin blah. I was 14 days from moving truck, I didn't HAVE 2 or 3 days to wait to impress someone. Not to mention, if I truly believe that things happen for a reason, which I do, why would I move into the same neighborhood, in the same school district, into the same type house that had fallen thru and caused us to be making a swift last minute decision.

So with 12 days to spare, we had our home. Sitting vacant and dark waiting for us. Overgrown yard, dirty innards, and in desperate need of some love and attention.

Funny, that is how I have been feeling as of late.