Prolificacy

I've been remiss in posting. As such, I have quite a lot to say, but have no idea where to start. So, I shall write what pops into my head while paying no attention to keeping it chronologically correct. Be forewarned, it might take you a week to read it.

I'm going to Canada! Cindy, after hearing that my Thanksgiving weekend trip with Sarah fell through, graciously bought me a ticket to come spend the holiday with her. I leave at no-one-should-be-up-that-early-o'clock on Thursday and return home on Monday afternoon. I'm so excited to have so many days with her. It's rare that we get to see each other for more than a weekend. She's taking me to a White Trash American Thanksgiving party on Saturday night, and I have gladly volunteered to be the resident White Trash American.

It will also be the longest time I have been away from my children since the divorce (and only the second longest time ever). Their dad and I split a ten-night period in half so that he could take them to a beach house with his family for the holiday. This left me with five whole nights with no children, and it seemed logical that I should take the opportunity to visit the Great White North and one of my best friends. I am so, so excited. It will even be COLD there - something that almost never happens here - and I will get to wear the scarf, hat and gloves that my mother purchased for me two years ago that I've yet to wear. (If I can find them, that is. God only knows where they are. Are you there, God? It's me, T. Where are my scarf, hat and gloves?)

I just looked at the weather forecast for my stay and I see that snow is predicted for Thursday and Saturday. Thursday makes me nervous as I will be so, so upset if weather delays my getting to Cindy. Saturday sounds great, but I also know that we'll be doing some traveling that day so I hope that it doesn't mess that up. Something tells me that the Canadians are used to a bit of snow, so I think we'll be fine. Southerners, on the other hand, start wrecking their vehicles once the first flake of snow hits the ground, and it's probably best if I don't drive during the inclement weather. I would love to see some snow though and I hope that it snows at least one of my days there.

I went out with a fellow PTA mother on Thursday night. (I'm no longer a card-carrying member of the PTA since I was completely broke when the envelope for dues came home. I suppose I could still join, but really? Eh. I gave them years of my blood, sweat and tears. I'll just go on field trips and help out in the classroom.) She had found out her husband was cheating on her and kicked him out after 15 years of marriage, and wanted to talk to me about how my divorce affected my children. We started at one venue for dinner and drinks then moved to another neighborhood bar that I'd never been to because it looked a little sketchy. She failed to mention on the way over there that we were going because her husband's girlfriend would be there. That was, well, it was a little tense.

That aside, I had a great time. My sister-in-law and her husband and a couple of their friends showed up unexpectedly. We were all happily surprised to see each other. I also spent a lot of the evening talking to the man next to me at the bar. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and I felt a pang of sadness at the thought of never talking to him again. So, I brazenly (for me anyway) gave him my number as he was leaving. I might be naive (and there's really no "might" about it), but he really didn't seem to be feeding me lines, and when he said that it was the first time that anyone had ever given him their number, I believed him. (Don't burst my bubble. Let me revel in my naivete' a bit longer. Also, someone please explain to me how to put an accent over a letter. Explain it as if my IQ is about 75.) He still hasn't called two nights later, but I'm not giving up hope. I'm also not getting my hopes up. I've found a place in between too much hope and too little hope and have gotten cozy.

I lost a $100 bill earlier this week. $100 is A LOT of money to me, so I was pretty devastated. I'm thinking that when I paid for my lunch on Tuesday with five $1 bills, I must have actually given her four $1 bills and the $100 bill. I called the restaurant and asked them to please call me if their till was $99 over, but, shockingly, I didn't get a phone call. My nephew was with me when I made the discovery and tried to make me feel better by rationalizing that $100 is only two dinners out, so I could just eat in for two nights instead and it would be okay. It's actually about two weeks worth of groceries, so his perception is just a tiny bit off. I thought it was very sweet that he tried to cheer me up and fix the problem because he's only 8-years-old. (I swear the need to fix things is inbred in men, and it's not always an endearing quality.) Thankfully, I get my Christmas bonus on December 1st. So if I had to lose $100, it really couldn't have happened at a better time.

I caught the end of my first love's wedding ceremony tonight on the internet. Unfortunately, by the time my neighbor and I logged on, all that we were able to see was the Elvis impersonator singing "Viva Las Vegas" with the two of them smiling brightly at him. I wonder if they, like me, were thinking, "When the hell is this song going to end? I don't remember this song being twenty minutes long." I'll probably never know what they were thinking because I received a polite, but pointed response to my gaffe of an email that basically said, "Have a nice life, you bitter wench." So, I'll use my vivid imagination to figure out what they were thinking as "Elvis" sang on and on and on and on to only the two of them and whoever else happened to be watching it on the internet.

One of the features of Blogger that I dislike is that when they send an email letting you know that you've received a comment, you don't get the commenter's email address so that you can respond to the comment personally. I've sometimes found that I want to reply directly to the writer of the comment instead of responding in the comments. I can't do that with Blogger and it's quite irritating. If you haven't received a response to a comment you've left, blame it on Blogger. I'm moving any day now. Right, Scout?

I'm on night two of my five consecutive nights with the kids, and I'm also on night two of having two kids in addition to my own. Last night, I made the unintentional mistake of falling asleep before them and they were up until at least 1am watching Nick at Nite. (That's the last time any of them remember seeing the time.) My lovely children were up at 7am. That's six hours or less of sleep. You can imagine how my evening has gone. I put them to bed early tonight (thus my being able to write a novella), so I'm hoping that tomorrow brings more laughter and a lot less whining. If it doesn't, I might have to run down the street and see if I can cop some Valium on the street corner. Or heroin. Whatever. Just something to make me not care whether the kids are bickering or crying or whining or yelling or methodically destroying the house room by room.

It's currently pouring down rain and it's forecast to rain tomorrow as well. I've been wanting a rainy Sunday for a long time, but I really wanted it to fall on a weekend that I didn't have kids (and two additional kids) so that I could stay in bed all day and read a book. Instead, I'll be trying to figure out how to entertain four children who have no imagination because they've spent their lives in front of televisions, video games, and computers. (I take responsibility for two of those children.) If they could play outside they would be fine, but being cooped up in the house AND having no imagination is a recipe for boredom.

I know there was more that I wanted to write about, but I suddenly realized that it would be in my best interest to try and get some shut-eye so that I'm mentally capable of being a fun parent tomorrow instead of a grouchy one. Besides, y'all must be tapping your feet wondering when I'm going to quit rambling. My shutting up is a win-win situation.

Cross your fingers that I win tomorrow in Fantasy Football. If I don't, my season's over and I'm out of the money hunt. I'd much rather start the week off on a high note and with the hope of winning some money in the future.

Here's to this week sucking a lot less than last week. It shouldn't be hard to accomplish.