In the words of Kermit the Frog .. “moving right along …”

I was running over the railroad tracks, and out of habit, looked left and right before crossing .. and just saw this. Kind of symbolic, the tracks are quiet, the train has departed, and now, it is time to move on.

… I’m moved into my new house .. I’m on week 3 of my new job … and, finally, getting clarity for me …  the new house is exciting, the new job is challenging, having lost a relationship was heart breaking.

Here is a dose of reality .. my best friend yelled at me a couple of weeks ago. She told me that I had no self respect at all.  She told me that I didn’t care enough about myself because I allowed men to disrespect me by their selfish behavior towards me…  that I allowed them to fulfill their emotional needs before my own emotional needs were met.  Well, we all know the saying (and I’m sure I have referred to it several times) about being so deep in the woods, that you don’t see the trees (or something like that..) .. I hope I’m coming out of the woods and getting back on the right track to proper self respect.

March showers …

Spring! It’s just around the corner!! So we were teased on Saturday with sun and 60’s .. Sunday it snowed (!!) .. and the last couple of days it’s been cold, damp, rain .. and tomorrow.. snow!! I think it’s all in Mother Nature’s grand plan for a colorful spring… after all, March showers bring May flowers …yes… that’s it!

Thursday 13 - Random Thoughts ..

So this weekend we are moving out of a great transition house. When I realized we were really moving out of Texas, I had about two weeks to find a house that would fit the three of us, plus a dog and a cat. This house fell on us .. the couple that own the house were going to Florida for the winter, and needed to leave a furnished house for five months .. it was perfect for what we needed. Now it’s time to move on .. and I am ready. It is just another one of my forward moving pieces. I am ready to make this next house a home for at least two years. In two years Noah will graduate, and Alet will have one more year left. It’s hard to imagine two years from now .. It’s hard to imagine my son will be graduating!! Then Alet …. ahh! and then??

Whoa .. let’s back up and enjoy the next coming months! So .. here is my Thursday 13 list of the things I am going to enjoy with the thoughts of this new house .. another step to the new beginnings …

Thirteen Random thoughts on the traditional T13 .. if you want to play, click here ..

1. better start packing! It shouldn’t be too difficult, I tried to leave my boxes alone …. It will be like Christmas again ..!
2. Some of those boxes were packed in October 2008, and just followed me  from Texas to Maine to Texas to Maine …
3. Bigger house = more rooms = more privacy!!
4. My landlord is already scoring the big points .. new washer and dryer, new dishwasher, new fridge .. new laminate floor .. new kitchen …….
5. April will be busy .. May …summer in sight!
6. Oh… I found out today that the teenagers are going to Texas for the summer ….. I’m single for the summer!
7. This summer I’m planning a couple of kayak excursions .. (that’s cause I can!! I’m single for the summer … oh, did I mention that already?!)
8. I can’t wait to decorate this house .. not that I have a lot of furniture … lol .. one oversized chair! I wouldn’t have been able to fit anymore into my 6 X 12 trailer .. (new beginnings = new furniture!)
9. Janine can’t complain anymore that I live soooo far out of the way! (it was only four miles extra ..)
10. I can now step outside and be a stone’s throw from a Chinese restaurant, pizza place, breakfast bakery, the gas station,  my hairdresser, the high school, 1/2 mile walk from the grocery store .. hardware store .. hmmm, we’re missing the local martini and wine bar ..
11. i wish there was an IKEA store around here …Pier One will work as well …I think I am going to add Asian flavor to this house … we always had several statues of Buddha in our house .. my dad was a collector of many things ..
12. I’m ready .. the teenagers are ready …
13. I think it’ll be a good Spring and Summer …

If you find yourself in town .. drop by, bring a bottle of wine .. you’re always welcome ..

A great day!

Happy Birthday to me!  … Another day older .. and maybe wiser? Nooo.. that wouldn’t be any fun!

What a fabulous day today .. I dare say today will go down as one of my favorite birthdays .. this morning I had my weekly breakfast with best friend Cyn. She and I have known each for 10 years .. (I never realized it was that long!) .. I love our friendship, complete honesty and truth. With Cyn, you will ALWAYS know where you stand! Then this afternoon I went for a two hour walk with my friend, who is a boy (!) … we try and get our Sunday walks in, when we can .. I completely love our walks … not only do we get a good pace going, but we cover a lot of topics .. and just being able to talk with someone, and not realize you’ve walked 8 miles ~ I think it is safe to say that I would give up a dinner to have  this walk! (dinner with no wine of course … because giving up a few glasses of wine for exercise …. that would be difficult .. hmmm I’ll ponder on that one) After my walk, with my friend that is a boy, I took my kids and went to the local Mexican restaurant. On the way, I decided that the coupon I had for my favorite clothing store was expiring today, on my birthday, you know, (and at band camp ….) and that even though the mall was closing in 15 minutes … I needed to get the black, pinstripe jacket now(since the online store didn’t have it) …long story short, I went in and came out with three items ..  do the math: the original price on the jacket was $69.95, I walked out spending $74.95 … it was timing, coupon and a sales associate who wanted to do something nice, BECAUSE IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! (**side note: I looove sales prices; the day just kept getting better!**) So, at the Mexican restaurant, there spur of the moment, another best friend , Janine joined us. It’s always an interesting event when Janine joins the teenagers and I! They like to egg her on .. and the conversations can get interesting! Janine and I always have dessert when we go out .. and what joy was bestowed upon us when our waiter said that since it was MY birthday, the dessert was on the house!! Their deep friend ice cream is literally the best ever! (and .. I have tried many, many kinds .. okay, so maybe the one that I make is slightly better; but for clean up purposes …I’ll gladly eat theirs!) During dinner I got a phone call from an old friend residing in Singapore … HUGE surprise …. icing on the second dessert cake (so to speak) was a call from my high school best friend Julie (see here for a picture and a short story).. she called and sang to me, a tradition she has done for (OMG >>) 24 years!! I hadn’t talked to her in almost a year …so to hear her was just absolutely magnificent.

The one voice I will always miss is my dad’s. Every birthday (and I mean EVERY birthday) he would call me and ALWAYS tell the story of when I was born .. and how the doctors told him I was a boy. Since I was born in Iran, on their New Year’s ..doctors who deliver boys on that day would receive bonus money .. he was proud because he insisted he see me first before paying them.  What can I say?! I’ll do almost anything  to save a buck!!

What a great day today!

It's an uphill battle ..

So whoever said 'what goes up must come down' certainly didn't run in Maine. Today was a glorious day .. 60 degrees by noon on March 20 ... I think in all the years I have lived here .. 60 degrees is unheard of! (the record high for today was 54 degrees.. so there's truth in the unheard of!)
Okay .. so I digress .. so today being Saturday meant a long run .. except my body at 7:30 wasn't willing to rise to the occasion ..so I choose to run at 12:45 instead ..
I set out - not sure how far, how long .. what route .. it was going to be one of those days .. like Dora the Explora .. (ha-ha .. not that my kids ever watched her ..) I decided to turn off the main road and run what I thought would be a decent loop. First hill ... okay, a little level, next hill ... within the first mile I hit three big hills!! The little voice in my head reminded me 'what goes up, must come down..' .. running and waiting .. up yonder, another hill .. .. I won't divulge the conversation that was going on between that little voice and the screaming thighs by mile 3 of hills... the "down" just never came ..
Those stories of " in my day, I walked 5 miles to school, in a snow storm, up hill, both ways ..." seem to have some truth to them ... or is it that I'm getting older now, and soon I'll be telling those stories .."at my peak, I ran up hill both ways ... in a snow storm .... on March 20 ..."
Thank goodness for good songs on the shuffle .. thank goodness it was a beautiful day .. reasons why I love being back in Maine.

Thursday 13 … Thirteen things in March

 

It's Thursday and it's time for Thursday Thirteen .. click here to play....

 

1.  Picture of:  A red barn

2.  Current Scent: I’m not into heavy scents .. (although nothing compares to a Kouros smelling man) .. I enjoy cherry blossom right now ..

3.  What I am reading: all I have is Cooking Light .. I'm on a quest for new recipes for my new house!

4.  Newest music I added to my playlist:  My newest jam for running on my shuffle is "Sex On Fire" by Kings of Leon ... very cool song!

5.  Movie I saw: I have a steady movie date, and our last movie was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief .. not at all a movie I would pick .. but I agreed to "expand my horizons" .. AND go to the late night show ..(quite the feat, since I crash by 9:00 pm!) It was actually enjoyable!

6.  Something yummy: My latest crave is baked sweet potatoes ... I  bake them and then have them when I want a snack .... melted butter and brown sugar ....MMMM! I feel like I'm being bad, when I'm not!! (well, sort of....>> story of my life!)

7.  The Last Place I ate at: My steady date and I went to Apple Bee's before we saw the movie ..pomegranate martini's ... mm (oh, we ate .. quesadillas)

8.  Something that made me cry: March has been a great month of NOT crying too much .. but I had a moment a couple of weeks ago during a conversation when I recognized that someone just cared for ME .. (imagine that!)

9.  Something that made me laugh: My crazy teenagers .. last night they walked around the house talking in heavy Chinese accents .. it was hilarious

10. Something that I look forward to in April: Photo class with Cyn and Dory! YEAH!!  and moving into a new house!!!!

11. Something I am thankful for: (only one?) ..for the ad in the paper, advertising a house for rent, which lead to a new job, a great house ...... and I think the start of my new beginnings!!!

13. A photo I took this month:

I took this picture because I thought it was rather symbolic … I have tried to grow Christmas Cactus for about five years, and I have never been able to get them to bloom. For some reason these two blooms started, just at the same time I thought my 2010 was in a hole ..  they were big buds like this right when my new job and new house all fell into place .. new buds … new beginnings … Spring .. finally buds on my Christmas cactus!!!

Another moment ..

While driving Ms Daisy (aka Alet), I couldn’t resist stopping for a picture. (One thing I have learnt with my Rebel: When the moment presents itself,  take it .. you never know if you’ll get that moment again)

The Rant ..

Today I am going to stand on my soap box and rant about FB. There is such a love-hate relationship with it, that I think I am finally deciding to call it quits. The relationship started about a little over a year ago, and like all new relationships it was fun and exciting. I got to "see" friends I hadn't seen in over 20 years .. catch up with a few .. keeping things very surface with some. I even had the ability to connect with my first "real" love! We talked about the last 25 years .. compared our married lives, and yes we even talked on the phone .. it was nice to catch up and move on.
At times, the updates can get a little much .. not sure if all that information is pertinent .. but, okay .. it's FB chatter. About six months ago someone misused my FB, and actually went through me to get to someone else .. which left me feeling almost violated .. so, I "deactivated" my account.
Last month I decided to start a new account .. new name, new person .. this time I would take more control and not allow too many in. HAH!! What a joke! >>Here comes my rant:
Those little magic 'security' buttons .. aren't much for security .. if someone wants to find you, they can! If it's not through your page, they can search through others and still find you (see above).. and then make requests to be friends .. what if you don't EVER want to be friends?
Then add insult to the injury..  the blocking thing!
I'm not one for small talk .. surface stuff .. if we are going to be friends .. let's be friends. But to pick and choose how to be friends.. why bother .. if you can't be real, don't be my friend.
I suppose I can delete the friendship ..and keep my other "friends" .. but what does that say in real life?
"Good morning world, today I choose to 'delete' Friend X because  ... just because .."
I think I'll leave FB to my kids .. let it be their arena for social networking.... with all the technological  accessibility, the common courtesy of a basic friendship has reached a level that is too simplistic for me.
For them it means nothing to delete and start over  .. for me it means too much.
... end of rant<<

Changes ...

So, I'm one third excited, one third nervous and one third sad today. Today is my last day as "work from home" day .. Monday I start a big girl job ... where I actually have to show up at a workplace promptly at 8:00 am completely dressed in my skirt, blouse, pantyhose and high heels ... ( I say this with a grin since the dresscode is skirt/dress AND pantyhose - I don't like pantyhose ..ugh! ...) .. I need to look put together after a morning of gym time, and teenagers to school all by 7:20 AM! I remember those days from a couple of years ago ..
No more sneaking off after dropping the kids to get some picture taking in, .. no last minute coffee plans with Cyn, no long phone conversations with my sister, and no more spicy soup luncheons at the house ... no more picking up the kids from school at 2, and listening to their stories in the living room while I work
 .... Nope, just a regular working woman, going to work... the first step to a new career ..  in two and three years both teenagers will fly from this little nest ..  it's time to start thinking ahead .. Monday, a new day, a new beginning, a new adventure .... how exciting!!

Run to Eat, Eat to Run ..

Ever had one of those days .... today has been an eating day .. I literally have not stopped eating ALL DAY! (Okay, okay .. I brushed my teeth 20 minutes ago in a feeble attempt to stop for the day at 7:30 pm)
Here is the list:
starting at 7:00am ..
peanut butter and crackers(with a cup of coffee),
a bowl of yoghurt and granola,
a dark chocolate almond fiber one bar
a whole wheat tortilla with stir fry vegetables, cilantro and cheese,
a slice of vegetable pizza,
a sweet potato,
hand full of M&M's (several times)..
then I discovered if you put 3 M&M's on a cracker it's like chocolate covered crackers .. so several of those ..
McD's select chicken, 3 pieces ..
did I mention M&M's?
then grilled chicken with another sweet potato ..
more hand ful of M&M's .. (I opened a second bag!!!!)
then a bowl of Oreo cookie ice cream.
end 7:30 pm (Oh my, that's one item every 50 minutes .. wow!)
Okay, I'm mildly embarrassed .. I tried counting the calories to see where I stood, but I decided to stop when I realized it was going to depress me leading me to eat more .... a terrible vicious circle!
This isn't out of depression or self-pity .. this is just one of those days that I want to eat .. 
today was eat to run .... tomorrow will be run because I ate!
What a day ... I'm exhausted!