Luck Just Might Be A Car… May 31, 2008

So, he got a ride. He refused to borrow my friends car. He refused to take my car…even though I handed him the keys with a giant grin on my face.

He must have known what I was plotting. He must have known. Because, why else would he not want to take my car? Why else would he have decided that he must ride with his co-worker?

He wants me to suffer and drive the same car I’ve been driving for six years. And you know why? Because if he can’t get a new car…I’m not allowed to either!

Doesn’t he realize that this isn’t the lifestyle that I’m accustomed to? Doesn’t he realize how sick I am of driving the same. stinking.car?

Of course he does. But…he doesn’t care. Because…

if he has no luck with cars…and he isn’t getting a new one…

then why should I?

Big. Dumb. Jerk!!!

Well, I guess in his defense…Suze Orman just announced that the economy is about to get worse, so if we own cars…don’t get rid of them. Just keep them in good condition. Because it isn’t going to get much better for a long time…kinda scary, no?

So, I guess I AM lucky. And I should stop complaining…because we own my car. It’s in great condition…aside from a little damage caused by a garage door altercation. So, if the economy gets way worse and for some awful reason we lose the house…

We always have my car.

How lucky…

I suppose I should keep it neater. Just in case we have to move in.

XOXO

Luck Is Not a Car… May 29, 2008

I’ve been super busy today. Playdates. Homework. Kids. Husband. Friends. It’s been a busy day. Not a bad day, though.

And…throughout the day, I kept asking myself what I wanted to blog about. Ideas briefly flitted through my head but, nothing stuck. I didn’t have a chance to write anything until tonight. So, here I am. And the only thing that comes to mind is…cars. Yes…cars. And, bad luck. Cars and bad luck. Seems like a great topic. So…let’s get on with it…

Once upon a time, my husband discovered eBay. And, around the same once upon a time-frame…he discovered eBay Motors. And he fell in love. With eBay Motors.

This was before he met me. If he had fallen in love with eBay Motors after he met me, perhaps his luck would have been different. But…luck and anything with a motor…they don’t go hand in hand with my husband.

So, after he fell in love with eBay…

And before he met me…

He fell in love with, bid on and won…

A 1988, blue-silver, 750il BMW…

and, this is 2001. This car was already old when they met. Do you sense where I’m going with this?

It was old.

He was stupid.

He thought that age was just a number. Well…he got a number, alright!

He paid around 10 grand for this car. This car was, back in 1988, 75,000 bucks. So, he thought…just because the car was old and had waaaaay too many miles on it…10 grand was a good deal. Nay…great deal…for this really, really old car.

He shuffled off to Buffalo, with his friend…and collected his prize. He was so excited. He had a really expensive BMW. He was feeling like a stud. He was a bad ass…OH YEAH…a BAD ASS!

Until, he met me…

And the car started falling apart…

And bad ass, feeling like a stud in his expensive car…started pouring money into this really old car. Pouring lots of money into a car that, he thought, he got a really good deal on. After all, he paid 10 grand for a $75,000 car.

He started pouring so much money into it that, basically, it had all new parts.

A new hood…because one day when he was driving, some sort of fan belt came careening through the original hood…causing major damage to the aesthetics of the car, as well as the internal workings.

But…he fixed that!! He bought a BLACK hood from…eBay Motors. A black hood for his blue-silver car. Oh yeah, he was looking smoking hot…a real bad ass!

Then, his motor broke. And…he got a new one.

And, various other important parts broke…which, for some reason…he kept fixing.

His car…not such a good deal anymore…

And one day, with all the innards completely replaced…like new. And with his new black hood…

His transmission broke…died…

The freaking car won’t move. It’s sitting in my driveway. Like a used car lot. Or worse…a junkyard.

So…he bought an old Saab, year unknown, from a co-worker. And, without going into a whole other monologue…that car died. But…he donated it’s body to a shop. Where it can be taken apart for pieces and live on in someone else’s car. A donor car, so to speak.

And then…

His dad gave him his car. Which was given to his dad by my husbands grandmother (the same one who got rid of all my stuff from her basement…)

It was a nice car…in it’s day. A huge Cadillac. HUGE. GINORMOUS…

And…it was working just fine. For a really old, ginormous, exceptionally used car…

Until today.

When it died. At my husbands work. And…he had to get a ride from a co-worker who lives near us.

The good thing…

The Cadillac…and the SAAB…

They aren’t sitting in my driveway, along with the BMW.

So, now we’re down to one car. MY car. And…seeing as, I’ve been DYING for a new car…and my husband has REALLY bad luck with anything that is old and has a motor…and my car is 6 years old and has a motor…

I say, you can borrow it. NO PROBLEM!! I have my eye on the Honda Odyssey. I think that I could probably start picking out the color and the amenities.

Because, with his luck with cars…I’ll probably be needing a new car in about a week!!

Gotta go and give him my keys…

A Quick Favor May 28, 2008

This is NOT my post of the day.  But…if I happened to have left a comment on your blog with my new URL…could you PLEASE delete that?  PLEASE!!!!  I wasn’t thinking.  The in-law people could go and visit my friends…you guys…and find my  new URL in the comments…and that would suck!!  So, if it’s not too much trouble, I’m on my hands and knees begging…please erase, delete, obliterate…all comments that I may have unthinkingly left that has my new URL on it!!  Or anything with my new blog title!

Thank you…so much!

MWAH…

Me

Sweet and Simple…A Two-fer Kinda Day May 28, 2008

Last night, we were all piled into my car, on the way to my son’s baseball game. I was quietly telling my husband about the meeting I had with the psychologist, regarding my oldest son. I wanted to discuss with my husband that, perhaps, it wasn’t so healthy for my ex-husband to be hanging around as much as he has. The psychologist thought that, maybe, my son was harboring some sub-conscious hopes that his dad and I would get back together. And that this might be adding to his depression.

Well, my step-daughter, who was sitting behind her father had been eavesdropping. I should have known she would be. Everyone I know refers to her as “The Lurker”…because she is always within earshot, listening to everything we are saying, to the point that people are starting to ask her to go away. But anyways…

She pipes in…”I don’t…” and let’s the thought fall short.

I say…”You don’t what…nosy butt”

“I don’t wish for my mom and dad to get back together!”

I look at her, quite shocked because I’m always thinking that ALL kids want their biological parents to be together…

So, she sees that I’m shocked and says…”Well, because I love YOU!”

Isn’t that SO SWEET?! But…it still isn’t OK with me that she listens to everything that all of us adults talk about!!

And, now for the SIMPLE..

A friend of mine who lives in my subdivision has a son my youngest ones age. The boys go to school together and they are also great friends. So, they picked up my son today and took him to school for me. My little guy was so excited to be driven to school by his friends mom and NOT his mom!

My friend called me after she dropped the boys off to their class. She was snorting…laughing so hard! She told me that the two boys were discussing going swimming in my pool after school. They were comparing who was the better swimmer. Her son asked my son…

“Can you stand in 5 feet?”

“No Max!” My son replies…”I only HAVE TWO FEET!”

Are you laughing? I think it’s hilarious!! My son…quite the comedian. Except, I am SURE that he was being COMPLETELY serious!!!

So that’s your two-fer.  And sadly, that is all I’ve got for today.  I really hope some juicy stuff happens to blog about…after all, this place is screaming for action!!!

XOXO

Like Mother, Like Son? May 27, 2008

It was a quiet Memorial Day weekend. My husbands kids, along with MY daughter…they went to Charlevoix with my husbands ex-wife(don’t ask…it’s strange, I know!! I’ll talk about that in a future post) I sent my daughter because she was invited, she BEGGED…and I didn’t want to listen to her whine over the long weekend about how mad she was that I didn’t let her go with them. So, I sent her…with a very fake smile on my face! And…my 12 year old son went with his Dad…the whole long weekend. All four of them had a wonderful time not being disciplined and being exhausted.

So…that left the 4 year old home. With us. His parents. No one else wanted to take him so we were stuck with him. Oh well, I guess that is what being a parent is…being stuck with your children when no one else wants to take them off your hands

Anyway…every year, since the beginning of time…or at least for more than 20 years, there is this Polish Fair called St. Marys Fair. We decided to take the 4 year old to it. There was nothing else to do so, we figured why not. Off we went…to the St. Mary’s Fair, which I hadn’t been to since the weekend of my senior prom, 21 years earlier. HOLY CRAP!!

My son couldn’t be bothered by eating. He didn’t have enough time. He HAD to go on EVERY SINGLE kiddie ride at the fair. BY HIMSELF! Without his parents. (It was so cute!!) But, we got to the child’s version of the tilt-a-whirl. He looked at it. He walked by it. He walked back to it. He REALLY, REALLY wanted to go on it…but, for some reason…NOT BY HIMSELF. Even though you sit in innocent looking, blue bears. He was worried to do this one himself. So, he asked his Daddy if he’d go on it with him. His Daddy had just eaten a boatload of Polish food…stuffed cabbage, perogies, and many other deep fried and stuffed Polish delights. So…he declined the invite of going on a semi-fast, very twirly carnival ride. And, he insisted that my son should ask his mother, who didn’t partake in the pig-fest with her husband, to go on the Mini Tilt-A-Whirl.

And he asked me.

And I said of course!

There was no line so, we got right on the ride. We were placed in our bear seat with the giant steering wheel…you know what I’m talking about…the wheel that makes the seat spin…that makes you so dizzy that you feel like you’re going to puke…right. then. and. there. Yeah, that one.

Luckily, I was with my son. Who was scared to spin around in circles too quickly. Thank GOD!!

The ride starts.

My son puts his hands on the wheel, to spin the bear that we are in. I went to put my hands there, to help him.

He says to me…Mommy, just sit there next to me and DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING.

As I was trying not to laugh, I responded…Fine, here…I’m sitting on my hands. But, where the heck did you learn to be so bossy!?

His response…From you, Mommy!

I guess I’m teaching him well…his poor future wife!!

XOXO

A New Blog, A New Day May 27, 2008

I sit here, fingers propped on keyboard, looking overwhelmingly around the new place.  I don’t get wordpress.  Blogger was pretty easy to figure out for computer illiterate tards, such as myself!

It’s funny.  I was SO set on starting a new blog.  To the point where, I came downstairs at 4 in the morning to see if any of the names I was thinking of were taken.  None of them were!  A sign, surely.

And…yet, here I sit.  With so much to say.  Yet…nothing.  I want to talk about the events that led to having to close down Such Simple Pleasures.  But, it could take all day.  And…it doesn’t truly matter, anymore.  The long short…husbands family found out about it…and I was writing a bit about them, especially back in the beginning.  They read it…I found out from statcounter.  And…they began to dislike me more than they already did.  That’s it.  In a nutshell.  And once I knew that the ENTIRE family had my blog address…I began to not post as much…as some of you already know.  And…I couldn’t have THAT!!  Nope.  To be psychologically bullied off my blog!  Horrendous.  But, I let it happen.  NO MORE!

I got an email from my mother, asking for the new address.  I’m in a quandary as to whether or not I even want my own family reading this.  It might be fun to be able to talk about them, too!

Do you remember the feeling of starting your first blog?  Of constantly checking to see if anyone other than your family had commented?  I’ve got that going on, again.

So…my question…how far do you go, on your blog?  Especially when you know that family isn’t reading?  Do you push the limits?  Talk about major taboo issues?  What subject matter do you ABSOLUTELY, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, talk about on your blog?  I’m trying to decide how far I want to go here.  My boundaries seem somewhat limitless.  I think…I might need someone to set some limitations for me!!   Because…I can have a big, blabbering mouth, at times!

XOXO

Just The Beginning… May 26, 2008

I thought I was done blogging. I thought I didn’t have it in me, anymore. But, I was wrong. I just didn’t have it in me for Such Simple Pleasures anymore. That blog had been poisoned. My in-laws lurking…it ruined it. I just couldn’t be ME anymore. I couldn’t talk about ANYTHING, anymore. So…I started blogging less and less. Until, I wasn’t doing it AT ALL anymore. Not even visiting my friends. My wonderful friends. I just gave all of you up.

But last night, at 4 in the morning, I woke up from a dream. Actually, I was rudely awakened by my cat, rolling over my face and biting me but that’s neither here nor there. I was dreaming that I met Tara from If Mom Says OK. My mind made up what I thought she would look and sound like. And…in my dream, she yelled at me, in a heavy Southern accent…to start blogging again.

So, I decided I was going to. Only, I’m leaving SSP behind. I’ll miss it but, I have to move on. I have to find my voice again. And I wanted a clean slate. So…here I am! And…I’m back!

I promise to try to visit your blogs, at least twice a week. I have to still work for my dad. But, I’ve missed all of you!! And…I’ve missed THIS!

XOXO