New Year's Resolutions

So I have been contemplating what my Resolutions will be this next year. I have been (slowly) this year working on reorganizing my life. Mostly because one day I woke up and my son was three (or going to be) and I knew I wasn't setting a very good example. Complete Chaos reigned. I started out small... Cleaning my house and reorganizing things. I tossed about 6 bags worth of crap and donated at least 3 boxes of stuff every other day for 2 weeks. And I am still not done. I tried to quit smoking but I chose the week from hell to do it and so was not successfull... (but I am going to try again...)

My next step in the great (ongoing) transformation of myself was to start dating again. This blog started out as a way to begin tracking my progress in that field. I got really lucky and have found the man who could very well be "The One". Which is a little scary but I have been playing it safe for far too long.

So as I pondered all the begining steps from this year I finally came up with my Resolutions for next year:

1. I am going to stop smoking (this is the biggie so keep your fingers crossed for me)
2. I am going to finish reorganizing my house (this relates to the final resolution)
3. I am going to find new homes for two of my three cats (this one breaks my heart a little bit but keep reading to find out why I am doing it)
4. I am going to loose 50 lbs (this should be the easiest one becuase I lost 60 lbs this year)
5. I am going to be squared away so that I can move.

Explanation of number 5:
hmmm how do I explain this. I currently own my house. Which is cool, especially since I own it out right. But then it is just a mobile home. I still pay a lot rent for the land my house sits on, but everything inside those 4 metal walls is mine (except for my ex's stuff). My ex still lives with me because I can't afford to live with out him. The economy bust has hit us pretty hard here in Vegas. I am going a little crazy living with him, but I know that I can not afford to live on my own. I have come up with a pretty good solution though. If I sell my house (sniff) I can move into the public housing which is just down the street. I do after all qualify for every dang aide program in Nevada. From the proceeds of the sale of my house I can purchase a car (which I desperatley need in this city) and begin saving money for a down payment on a real house (with a foundation and everything!).

There is another option. One that may not ever happen but I am going to prepare for just in case. (secretly its the option I would prefer). I could move in with Bruce. Well no into his place but into a different place (probably a house). Not my place because I am still going to be selling it.

The reason why resoltuion number 2 realtes to number 5:
I refuse to move all this crap again. I need to slim things down because if I move into public housing I will not have the space that I have now, and if I move in with Bruce* there is no way the two of us will even fit into a normal house with all the crap I have.

The reason why resoltuion number 3 realtes to number 5:
It will be easier to get into public housing with one cat instead of three and Bruce is allergic to cats. If I get my own place it will be easier for him to stay over more often with only one kitty in the house and if I move in with him the same principle applies.

I have been looking for inspiriations to keep me going on this trek of life changes. Here are some of the ones I have found so far:

These were orginially post over at Laughing Purple Goldfish. She credits them to Robert Louis Stevenson. I liked them so much I am reposting there here.:

• Make up your mind to be happy.
• Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
• Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.
• Don't take yourself too seriously.
• Don't let criticism worry you. You can't please everybody.
• Don't let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.
• Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.
• Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.
• Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
• Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about places.
• Don't hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.
• Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
• Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Next up are Ghandi's seven deadly sins. These were introduced to me by EZ.

• Wealth without Work
• Pleasure without Conscience
• Science without Humanity
• Knowledge without Character
• Politics without Principle
• Commerce without Morality
• Worship without Sacrifice

And finally Maslow's pyramid of self actualization. Steve* told me to look this up one day when I was feeling kind of low. SO I did...

*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.

A contest!

I have decided to try a weekly contest... Begining on January 5th every monday for 8 weeks I am going to post a picture.. Something cute and fuzzy, but ultimately hilarious. It is your mission, if you choose to accept it, to come up with the most perfect caption for that picture. You can post a comment with your submission or Email it to me: poetrysue@gmail.com

I will post that weeks winner on the following monday (I.E. if you win the contest for the week of the 5th your recognition will come to you on the 12th)

Anyway... Tell your friends and neighbors! Tell your blogginig buddies! Tell your co-workers and the bum sitting next to you at the cafe!

Each week the winner will be recognized with a cool digital reward certificate (nothing fancy, just something I doodle up on the computer), and at the end of the contest there will be a grand prize.

The person with the most wins will get a one of a kind, hand crocheted something or other.... I will leave the final prize up to the winner.

In the event that there is a tie. I will email those people with a final picture for them to get creative with captioning... then you the readers will choose.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Any questions?

*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.

Happy Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday celebrated throughout the world, honoring African heritage, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder).[1] It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year.

Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called "The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa", or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba - "The Seven Principles of Blackness"), which Karenga said "is a communitarian African philosophy" consisting of what Karenga called "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:

Umoja (Unity) To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Information is courtest of Wikipedia

*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.

Merry Christmas

Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. His birth, which is the basis for the Anno Domini system of dating, has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 7 and 2 BC. The date of celebration is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and may have been chosen to coincide with ancient Roman solar festivals that were held on December 25.

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between St. Nicholas of Myra and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.

Even Good guys get Mean sometimes

So I met Bruce's* Mom and step dad last night... They are pretty cool.

The story is a long one so I'll shorten it to this:
They were supposed to be here Saturday night and because of crappy service and crappy weather on the east coast they did not get here till Sunday mid-morning. After we rescued their luggage and lost a coat at the car rental place. We all set off for the hotel for a late lunch, then we headed out to the Outlet Mall (one of many in Vegas) for some shopping...

(hmm need a catchy name for Mom....)

Bruce's mom needed to get a new coat. While there they decided that Bruce needed new shoes. so we headed to the sketcher's store where Bruce got 2 new pairs of tennis shoes and a new pair of work boots. I sat back and watched the hilarity of Bruce trying on a million pair of shoes while both his mom and his step dad brought a million more for him... He settled on a pair that I liked (very cool dark blue and gray) and a pair he liked (looks exactly like the blue ones only black and beige) and some black leather work boots.

Bruce is sometimes a little evil. and while his mom is within visual range but out of earshot he makes plenty of sexual innuendos. My face lights up like Rudolph's nose in heavy fog conditions. I caught her looking at us a few times and I'm certain she knows exactly what was going on.

During the process his mom offers to buy me a pair of the fuzzy slippers I had been eyeballing. I declined. I am a little uncomfortable with other people buying me stuff (especially people I have only known for a little less than 6 hours). Plus I am the kind of person that hates to impose and since she is here to see Bruce, I would have felt like a cad having her buy me shoes. Oh yeah lets also add I'm completely neurotic about what other people think of me and I NEVER want anyone to think of me as a girl who is all about the things I can get. I am not but I have been accused of it so many times that now I go out of my way (sometimes even making people mad at me) to try to make sure that people know I am not materialistic.

But somehow She ended up buying my son a pair of shoes that light up and kind of look like fire engines. He's going to love them! I may have a problem with people buying stuff for me, but I don't have a problem with people buying stuff for my son. Heck I'll even take their money and put it into his college fund. My son is numero uno.

PS. DJ spent the day with his dad so Mom and Step-dad haven't met the little guy yet.

After we get them all settled into their hotel room for the evening Bruce and I go to dinner (we are starving). And Bruce tells me that I am the first girlfriend who has declined his mom's ever generous offer to buy them something. He thinks that says something about my personality. I wish I knew what that is....

WARNING!!

There is blatant sexual innuendo in the following bit

This morning starts out ok, Bruce and I are texting back and forth...
...wait...
Let me set this up. His mom a good church going woman who thinks her son should shave two or three times a day (he has 5-o'clock shadow by noon) and made him change his jacket while they were getting the rental car because she was afraid they wouldn't rent a car to them. I think its all very cute, very 1950's mom. Sometimes it gets on His nerves (don't all mom's?).

He sends me this little gem this morning:

Bruce: "she started about the shaving... yes mom, i know mom, i will mom... haha"
Me: "LOL did you tell her I like the way it feels when your unshaven face is buried between my legs while you chow down on my taco?"
Bruce: "Ya... she said she did not need 2 know that..."
Me: "LOL... no you didn't"
Bruce: "... as she reads the text out loud as I drive.."
Me: "OMG! I'm a putz... holy smokes... you think my face was red last night... oh jeez i'm going to go bury myself in a dark cave till next year"
Bruce "U... I am now trying 2 explain taco
Me: "LOL just forget I exist..."
Bruce: "she said see sue likes when u r clean shaven"
Me: "Sure... I do... I'm so putting this in my blog"
Bruce: "at the end of blog put... Early april fools"
Me: "you are evil sometimes..."

*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.