I’m Baaaack!

I am back amongst the living. Well, the blogging anyway.

You may have been wondering what’s going on and why I’ve forsaken you so. Here’s the scoop:

School

I am officially a college graduate. Well, maybe not an official graduate seeing as how I didn’t (and don’t plan on) participating in any official ceremony and I won’t get the actual paper degree until May 2010 (more on that in a few secs.) But I have completed all the requirements (and then some) for an Associates degree in Journalism/Professional Writing.

Did you know you have to apply to graduate? Yeah, neither did I. And because I’m a master procrastinator, I didn’t apply for graduation until the last day of class (last Tuesday) of my last semester. That’s how I roll. So, I obviously missed the deadline for Fall 2009 graduation, and I’ll have to settle for Spring 2010. No biggie. I won’t be heading to UGA for my Bachelors till Fall 2010.

Family

My kids are super. They’re still cuter, smarter, and more awesome than your kids.

More on the kids in the Mommy Monday/Blog It Out, Baby blogs this week. There’s been haircuts (yes, plural), new words, and a boy/girl dance.

Work

Yes, you read that correctly: it says WORK.

So, these mystery shops/merchandising jobs have been taking up the majority of my time. They don’t pay a whole lot, but like almost everything else in life, it’s a hustle. I’m signed up with over a dozen different companies. On days when I had school, I’d schedule myself for 3-5 assignments in that area of town. Since I was spending gas anyway to go to class, I might as well pick up a few jobs that pay anywhere from $5-$20 a piece. I’ve made $80 just by doing simple jobs on my way home from school. Sometimes it’s doing a secret shop of a fast food place or gas station, other times I’m going to Targets or Walmarts and making sure that a certain company’s toy display is set up correctly.

My favorite assignments have been the revealed secret shops. I’ve gone to some fast food places near my house and ordered a burger only to test if the person will try and upsell me fries and a beverage. If they do, I go inside and present everyone on duty with $10 VISA gift cards. If they don’t, they get a “better luck next time” letter. Another time I had to go to a chain bookstore and see if a sales associate and coffee barista greeted me within five minutes. When they did, I presented them each with $20 gift cards. Not a bad way to earn money for my daughter’s laptop, no?

Diet

I am down yet another jean size. Don’t ask me how. I’ve been half-assing it this semester, and really hoping to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. I guess maybe it’s all this leaving the house I’ve been doing.

Writing

A return to blogging also means a return to querying Sharing Space and working on my next novel, “Tales From the Biosphere.” I have the next eight months to write (and read) for leisure and it feels great!

I have a lot of good blogs and stories coming up so I hope you’ll stick around. So, that’s what’s up with me. What about you?

Ready For Fall

Kali went back to school this week. You would think that after six years, I’d be used to this southern school schedule. Growing up in NY, we got out of school in June and returned after Labor Day. Most times, by then, the weather had already begun to turn – at the very least, the mornings were cooler. Back to school shopping meant purchasing Trapper Keepers and corduroy, and backpacks and turtlenecks. Now, for Kali, we buy sandals, capris, and t-shirts. I tell ya, it feels off sending her to school in summer clothes.

As a child, going back to school triggered the feeling that fall was here. Now, it means fall is approaching. It screws with my state of mind. While everyone else is trying to soak up the last days of summer, I’m longing for fall evenings – my favorite time of year/day.

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was peek into people’s houses. Hold on, it’s not as stalkerish as it sounds. If I were sent to the store or to take out the trash, I loved catching glimpses of what people were doing in their homes. And there was something about being privy to those snapshots on a fall evening as the sun was setting that seemed… cozy.

There were so many signs of family and home that really made me feel good – TV sets tuned in to the evening news or game shows, utensils, dishes, pots and pans colliding like a symphony signaling dinner was ready, kids finishing up their homework, bath water being drawn, and children negotiating to stay up just a little bit longer.

In the fall, when the air is brisk and the leaves are on the ground, those moments seem extra comforting. Another day is done, the family is all together, and all is right with the world. It’s the time of year/day when I feel most like a Mom.

I’m ready to check homework and use the fireplace again. I’m ready to greet Kali after school with chicken noodle soup and hot cocoa. I’m ready for Halloween costumes and feety pajamas. I’m ready to plan my Thanksgiving menu and Christmas lists. I’m ready for a new season of prime time TV and Friday Family Fun Night (for some reason this gets kicked to the curb in the summertime.)

I’m ready for my house to have those comfy sounds as the wind blows outside. Who’s with me?

A Just Right Christmas

This morning I was trying to remember what Christmas was like before my husband and kids came along. I know I celebrated it, but it didn’t inspire the same joy and excitement as it does now.

Christmas 1998

I was pregnant with Kali and living with my Mom. I sat with my siblings wrapping presents on Christmas Eve, and teased my mother that our efforts were a waste of time and paper as the presents would just be ripped into in a few hours. The only gift I remember getting is a big basket of goodies from Bath and Body Works.

Christmas 1999

Still living with my mother and Kali was 8 months old. Donny and I had been dating for two months. Gift I remember getting? A VCR from Donny so I could record my soaps while at work.

Christmas 2000

Donny, Kali, and I are living together. We lived in a small one bedroom apartment from January 2000 to November 2000 when it just got too cramped. We upgraded to a two bedroom, two-story, townhouse within the same complex. I used to think this was our best Christmas because it was the year we pretty much lost our minds. I stopped counting when the presents under the tree reached 90. Everyone we knew received gifts that year, but the lion’s share went to Kali. I suppose it will always be special because it was our first Christmas together as a family, the first time we purchased our own tree and trimmed it by the fireplace, and the first of several traditions including opening one gift on Christmas Eve. Of course, I always pick the gift and it’s always PJs that everyone is forced to wear that night so that they’re on for Christmas morning.

This year, I think we got Christmas just right. The one year we could probably afford to buy more gifts than usual we didn’t. I’d like to say that it was on purpose, but really Christmas just kinda snuck up on us because of Jack. Once we realized Christmas was just around the corner and we hadn’t done our usual shopping like fools for the entire month prior, we were forced to really focus on what we wanted to get Kali.

For the first time in years we didn’t overwhelm her. You know you’ve gotten your kid too much if…

- While opening gifts you, and your child, get bored.

- You fill up two hefty bags with discarded wrapping paper.

- Your child picks up a gift and wonders aloud, “What is this?” and you and your husband just exchange confused glances and shrugs because you’ve bought so much stuff, even you don’t know what it is.

- Two days/weeks/years after Christmas there are things your child still hasn’t opened or played with.

All of those things have happened to us.

Not this Christmas.

We decided to have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. So, when Donny got home early that day we made a glazed ham, candied yams, stuffing, corn, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes. While we ate we watched Men in Black because Kali had never seen it. After dinner Kali and Jack co