"Me" Time Was Amazing!

I didn't want to post right after my concert because I've been reliving it for a few days now.  I had such an amazing time.  It felt weird to not be working and not be home with the kids and to basically have a night off by myself, but it was sooooo good!

The drive up to the casino took about 2 hours.  It would have taken a little less time if I had followed my GPS instead of the street signs that said Casino straight ahead.  Yeah, I missed the one that said turn left and ended up pulling off on a side road to set my GPS to the actual address of the casino.  I was driving down dirt roads thinking, "If this GPS gets me lost, I am going to be so mad!"  Turns out, the GPS had the directions bang on and I got there in plenty of time for the concert.  I had time to park, call home to check on the little ones and say good night to them and contact a twitter friend to let her know I had made it.

You know what is cool about casinos?  They check your ID.  It has been forever since I had my ID checked!  No one believes me when I tell them my age or that I have two kids, but no one ever cards me, so I think they must be BSing me.  Anyway, I saw one of my friend's daughters there with her cousin.  They didn't see me thankfully, because how weird would it be to say, "Hey, how's your Mom?"   Granted, I am one of the younger ones in the group of ladies I walk with, but still.


So I really have to thank Debt Princess for encouraging me to go to the concert alone. Not only did she give me the guts to go for it, she also put me in touch with one of her friends who was also going to be there. I was able to meet her which was cool enough, but when she told me she had an extra ticket in the second row? Wow! I loved the concert and yes, I acted like a total teenager and loved it!! It felt so good to be out there and just be myself without worrying about the kids. Without worrying about the news we had gotten a few days before that our youngest does not qualify for special needs funding through the school board. (Long story, check out my other blog Special Kid, Special Parent for details).

And after the concert? I found myself wandering over to the casino (OK, I was really looking for the bathrooms, but we already know my sense of direction is pretty much useless!). I saw these slot machines and thought, why not? I had my quarter all ready to drop in only to find out the machines may be twenty-five cents, but you actually have to put in a paper credit token or a paper bill. There goes that whole image. Anyway, I played and I lost. I didn't play much, but it was something I thought I might as well do since I was there and all. I didn't go anywhere near the card tables because I have no patience to learn the rules and I'd probably just keep saying "hit me!" at the wrong times.

Thankfully, I made it home without any mis-directions occurring. Now would I do it all again? You betcha! It was so freeing to go by myself (even if it was a tad bit terrifying too!). I was glad to make some friends too.  If I hadn't gone, I would have been kicking myself for not going.  I'm glad that I took the opportunity to have a little adventure and some me time.  I'm glad that I didn't worry about being there alone, and instead had the opportunity to make two new friends.  I'm glad I had the chance to watch an amazing concert and just let loose for an evening.  Of course, reality set in when I had to get up the next morning and get the kids to the bus stop, but my reality is actually pretty cool on its own.  It's nice to get a break from it for a bit so I can appreciate it that much more. 

Now just because you've indulged me this long, I am going to include a video of the performance from the night after I saw it. I think I mentioned once before that I used to be in love with Jordan Knight, so this should come as no surprise...this was always my favourite song (sigh!):

Just Finished Shining My Sink. Thanks, Flylady!

Clean Sink
Originally uploaded by taberandrew

Now my sink isn't quite as shiny as the one in the picture, but I suspect my sink is much older than that one. Anyway, I had a bit of a depressed meltdown this weekend. One of those ones where I felt like a fat failure. My house is in chaos, I can't lose weight, I am stressed beyond belief...you get the idea. I was ready to throw in the towel and just let the chaos drown me. I didn't of course.

A good sleep helped a lot. Then I did something I haven't done for awhile. I read my daily Flylady update. If you haven't met the Flylady, I've talked about her a few times in the past. You know what I love about her? She tells it to you like it is, but she gives you encouragement too. The message I read talked about not giving up. Do something something small, work for just two minutes. The point is that you are doing something. She even said that if you shine your sink you'll be amazed how good you feel when you're done.

Well, I did it today. I shined my sink. It's not perfect, but it's empty, dry and a little shiny. It's one bright spot in my otherwise cluttered house. And it's a start. It didn't take very long, but it makes a huge impact on my kitchen and it makes me wonder what another couple of minutes in another spot will do. A few minutes putting away laundry, a few minutes picking up paper for recycling...the possibilities are endless, but my clutter is not! I'm going to tame this clutter, one piece at a time and get it out out out of my house. I do not need all of this stuff dragging me down and making me feel bad about myself. So clutter, you are on notice! Be prepared because I am coming for you!!!

It's time to be selfish--time for a little "me" time

Things have been a little stressful around here lately. I won't bore you with the details here. If you want to know, you can find the majority of my stress here. The good thing is that I have had something to look forward to during all this craziness...tomorrow night, I'm doing something just for me. And I have a blogging friend to thank for it--Debt Princess. We were talking about our mutual interest in a musical group and I lamented that I had no one to go with me. She asked me why I didn't go by myself. It was one of those, "Duh!" moments. Why didn't I go by myself? I don't need someone to go with me. I can go alone and have a good time. And you know something, when you buy a single ticket? You get good seats. Everyone else wants pairs of seats, so the singles are in the good spots ;) see, you learn something every day. Needless to say, I went online, found tickets on my day off and it seemed like it was meant to be. I've got my ticket and the show is tomorrow (squeeee!)




So tonight, I'm going to give myself a pedicure and maybe a manicure, hopefully catch an episode or two of Glee (I am still catching up!) with my hubby and pamper myself a little bit. Tomorrow is my time and I plan on making the most of it. It's about time that I do something special for myself, so I'm going to be a little bit selfish and enjoy myself. And hey, maybe I'll drop a quarter or two in the slots while I'm there, just because you never know!

Allergies! Itchy, blotchy, scratchy!

Shandra Stephenson
Originally uploaded by Sydigill

If I was doing what the girl in the picture is doing, I'd be broken out in hives and probably sneezing too. Of course, first I'd have to lie down in the grass and since I'm already experiencing an allergic reaction, there's no way you'd get me to do that! After being doped up on Benadryl all weekend, I made it to the walk in clinic and my doctor's office today. You know it's bad when you get mini hives on your face and arms and torso...well, you get the drift. Thankfully I'm not sneezing. Because when I have that kind of reaction, it's pretty crazy. You feel like your brains are going to come out of your nose at any given moment. And yes, you're welcome for that lovely picture.

Anyway, the doctor gave me a steroid pill (only 1 dose) to supress my immune system, then some prescription allergy pills and some topical cream. Hopefully this helps!

I've been keeping busy with some writing off line over the last week or so. And I'm trying to tackle some of the baby steps around the house. Which seems to involve a lot of trips to Rona. I should have purchased shares in Rona...I wonder if I still can? First it was fertilizer and grass seed, then the airconditioner blew the fuses again, so hubby installed a breaker and he installed another outlet and goodness only knows what else. He's been great about getting the stuff done that he wants, but my bedroom is still not painted, even though we bought the paint and everything we needed back in October! One day, it will be done.

We've been purging a lot of stuff from the hosue as well. I had a couple boxes of clothes that the youngest grew out of that went on freecycle and we went through all the shoes in the front closet (it was so bad we couldn't close the door) and I've got a box of those and another box of clothes just about ready to be picked up or dropped off depending on what happens first. Lots of paper going out in the recycling every week. It seems to just multiply when I'm not looking.

That's all for now. I'm going to go and take my allergy pill and hope that I can sleep tonight!