Red Flannel Pajamas

9:24:33 PM PST
Feeling Happy
Hearing Still the kids watching Blue's Clues.

I had a couple of comments from old readers of mine and I really enjoyed them. 

Thank you so much! It felt nice to hear from you and reminded me of one of the many reasons I enjoyed writing in the first place.

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9:22:10 PM PST
Feeling Happy
Hearing The Kids Watching Blues Clues in the other room.

I went to the Laundromat the other night.  That is always an experience. 

I wrote a friend about the experience.  I included a list of what I didn't like about the experience.  I rather liked the list, so I thought I'd post it here. lol

What I Didn't Like About Going to the Laundromat:

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1:27:15 AM PST
Feeling Quiet
Hearing Norwegian Wood - The Beatles

I tried going back to read my old journal entries. 

I couldn't do it.  In time, I'm sure.  Or, maybe never.  But, I'm happy that I chose to use this journal again. 

Look at me, just got "back" and already two new entries.

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1:20:20 AM PST
Feeling Hopeful
Hearing Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies and as I end I'm hearing Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Once upon a time I was married and I started this journal.  I wrote in it religiously, more than once a day.  I read everyone else's journals.  I participated in Mr. Scalzi's Weekend Assignments.  I think I journaled myself out because I eventually stopped journaling.  I think I journaled so much that I lost my creativity. 

Lots of things have changed since that wonderful day November 1, 2004 when I started Red Flannel Pajamas.  I am no longer married.  We are divorced.  I do not regret my marriage.  I have learned so much about myself, relationships, and many more things.  I loved Daniel, and he will always have a special place in my heart as the father of my children.  While the kids and I were in Ohio this past Spring he decided that he liked the single life more than married life and wanted to be divorced.  He wanted the kids and I to just stay in Ohio.  I told him, "No I am coming home to California and you're going to face this like a man."  So, I came home to California in hopes of maybe fixing the marriage.  That was not what happened.  A few days after returning to CA he let me know in an EMAIL that he had been with another woman.  To which I replied, "That's all I need" and I filed for divorce.  Shortly after filing for divorce I ended up in the hospital with terrible pains in my stomach and back.  I had pancreatitis.  The cause?  Gall stones!  So, while I was trying to get divorced and get things in order so that the kids and I could move home to Ohio I had to schedule a surgery to get my gall bladder out.  That went well, thankfully, and two or three weeks later the kids and I got on a plane and landed in Cleveland, OH where my mom, her husband, and my little sister picked us up.

At first we lived with my sister, Heather, and her husband Jimmy.  I am forever grateful to them for allowing us to stay there during that transitional period of our lives.  A couple of months after moving here I got a job working from home taking phone calls for hotel reservations.  Now, the kids and I are living in our own little two bedroom apartment. 

It is hard to go from married, stay-at-home mom, to divorced working mom, but there are several blessings includingmy work from  home job, that have made things wonderfully easier.  But, working from home has it's own woes which I'll be sure to tell you about, I'm sure, someday. 

I am feeling creative again, I guess.  More than that, though, I've felt like I needed to have some sort of outlet to release whatever it is that is inside and needs out. 

So, here I am.  Making no promises about how many entries I'll put out.  Making no promises they'll be happy, happy, joy, joy.  But, I do promise to be myself.  I haven't been myself in a while.  I do believe I lost myself somewhere in California during the marriage.  It's great to be meeting myself again - for the first time.

 

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3:34:16 AM PDT
Feeling Chillin'

Wow, it's been over two weeks since I last wrote.  I was all excited about being chosen to be featured on that Parents Page, and then I just got worn out.

I do enjoy my working from home job very much so.  When I'm doing it, it's a lot of fun.  But, when I'm not working, I spend much of the time stressing about it. 

Why do I stress over it?  Because of the 15 hour minimum per week of work.  ::Sigh:: Fifteen hours is so little, yet so much when it comes to making sure that you have fifteen hours of complete silence a week between the hours of 7am and 4pm with a three year old and a one year old at home.  hehe

My mother in law has been helping me with things.  She watches the kids, but you know, she has her own health problems that wear her out too, on top of having her own job, her own stresses, and all of that fun stuff.

The first two weeks I didn't make my minimum of 15 hours.  They were nice about it.  There were extenuating circumstances that prevented me from getting the hours and they said not to worry because they are VERY understanding about that sort of thing.

I just really want for this job to work because we need to get out of this financial rut we're in.  We were doing good and then I had to get an annoying little thing called "Health Insurance" which costs more than an arm and a leg every month.  It costs an entire body! LOL

We'll see how it all goes.  I just don't want to wear myself out so that I don't have energy for things that I needed to do already before this job.

I'm gonna try to write more again.

Goodnight and I'll let you know how the job works out.

 

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11:32:57 PM PDT
Feeling Ecstatic

It's been a long time since I wrote last.  That's because it's been a busy couple of weeks.

Last week both of the kids were sick.  It didn't last too long, but long enough anyhow.

This week I've been training for my new work from home job.  I'm really, really excited about it!  Once I have worked 45 hours on the job then I even get paid for my training time!

Today was the last day of training and I actually had to do a role play test where my trainer was a customer and I was the agent working the call.  She said that I did great! :-)  I was so happy.  So I passed the course and starting next week I'll be working.

What I'll be doing is taking phone calls for a company that sells office supplies.  I'll be taking orders, doing returns, and ordering catalogs.  The tricky part was figuring out my schedule.  I have to have a minimum of 15 hours a week.  So, I'll be getting up every morning at 6:45 am.  ::GASP!::  lol  I'll take a shower and then get on the phone from 7am to 8:30am.  So that is 7 1/2 of the hours.  Then, on Wednesday, my mother in law is going to watch the kids from 7am to 2:30pm.  Then, on Thursday she'll watch them from 1:30pm to 4:00pm.  Yay!  That works out great.  I just hope the kids don't wake up before 8:30am anytime!  I have to have absolute silence when I work.  That's why the kids have to be watched.  Hopefully sometime the company will have a data entry job that I can do in addition to or instead of this job because I could devote more time to it.

I cannot believe that I actually get to work from hom on a job that isn't some silly pyramid scheme.  I have wanted to have a job from home ever since I was pregnant with Anjelique.  

I was never able to find anything that wasn't some sort of scheme or something that required a lot of money upfront.

Then, I watched Dr. Phil one day.  He set this woman up with the company.  I went to the website right away.  Applied and waited.  They have a long list of applicants so it does take a while for them to get to your name.  Then, one day, the email came.  I took tests, did an interview, went through training, and now, I have a job.  AT HOME!  That I can do in my pajamas! lol 

Can you tell that I'm really happy about it??  We just needed this badly.  When Daniel took the new position in November to be the Internet/Used Car Manager, he took a bit of a paycut so that he could be off on weekends, have a regular schedule, and be with his family.  It was a great cause.  But, our rent recently went up, I now have health insurance that costs us an arm and a leg, and you know, there's always something that makes you feel like you can't get ahead.  I am so happy that I can help my family out so that we don't just live paycheck to paycheck.

Ok, and now I have another thing that I'm excited about!

I haven't checked this screenname's email in about a week.  I got on and checked today and I found this:

Hi,   I'm writing to let you know I'm featuring your AOL Journal at AOL Keyword: Parent Talk. You can access this page also by cutting and pasting this URL into your AOL browser: http://parenting.aol.com/parenting/onlyonaol/parenttalk/channel/0,19766,,00.html   In addition, I may feature your Journal in my AOL Editor's Journal at AOL Keyword: Back Talk, or http://journals.aol.com/alivinggirl/BackTalk/   Thank you for being part of the AOL Community!   Please let me know if you do not wish to be featured and I'll gladly remove your Journal.    Thank you,   Kris   Kristine Histand, Senior Manager
AOL Living Community Programming
email and aim: alivinggirl@aol.com
my aol journal: http://journals.aol.com/alivinggirl/BackTalk/

Go and see my journal!!! WOOHOO!!! I feel like that is such an honor.  I am so excited about that!!!! I now have an incentive to write a little more about my babies and being a mommy...which is the most important thing I do.

I hope you go and see my "Red Flannel Pajamas" listed on that page! LOL

Now that I'm finally trained and now have a better schedule and actual routine I think I'll be able to muster up the energy to write more again.  Hopefully. 

I'm kind of looking forward to getting into a new sleeping schedule.  Obviously I'm going to have to go to bed earlier so that I can get up earlier.  But, the best part of it is that in order to wake myself up so that I can work, I'll be taking a shower in the morning.  YAY! lol  I usually wait to take a shower until Daniel gets home because it's just too hard to take one and leave the kids alone to destroy everything.  LOL  So, that will be good to be able to shower in the morning and actually feel like a human being all day.  hehe

All righty...have a great weekend everyone!

 

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3:03:03 AM PDT
Feeling Chillin'

First off, it's true.  I love watermelon.  I wonder if anyone abbreviates the word "watermelon" by writing H2Omelon.  I never have. 

The word "abbreviation" is long.  Go figure.  I think I read a joke about that once.  I don't remember.

I've been silent because I've had my hands full with my babies.  Gideon started sneezing on Sunday and by Sunday night he had a cold. 

Anjelique started to sneeze on Monday and by Monday night she had a cold.  Gideon didn't have a fever with his cold, but Anjelique has.  She always gets things worse than Gideon.  I was like that when I was younger.  If I got something I always had it 20 times worse than everyone else.

Anjelique was miserable today.  I brought her downstairs when she woke up.  About an hour later she said, "I want to sleep in my room."  I made sure that she really wanted to do that, and so I took her up to her room.  I made her all cozy, told her to just call me if she needs me, that I would come back to check on her, and that I love her.  Even though her little throat hurts she said "I love you too, Mommy."  She's so sweet.  So, I came downstairs with Gideon, who was also feeling sleepy because of his cold.  I laid down on the couch with him.  I slept with him for two hours until almost 1pm.  Anjelique woke up a little before 3pm, Gideon woke up at 3pm.  They took a FIVE HOUR NAP!!! LOL  That shows how sick they are. 

At about 4:15pm Anjelique wanted to go back upstairs to sleep in her room.  I put her up there and she was in there for about an hour or so.  When she came downstairs Daniel was home and so was a surprise for her.  My mom got gifts for Gideon and Anjelique at Disney World!  We just got them in the mail today!!!  Yay!  She got Gideon a Finding Nemo T-Shirt that has pictures of the sharks, Dory, Nemo, and Marlin. It says on it "Fish Are Friends!  Not food!" LOL It's so cute.  Anjelique's shirt has a picture of Minnie Mouse on it that she's adorable, cute, and a million other things.  Both of them had to put their little shirts on right away.  They totally made Anj and Gideon's day.  Mom also got Gideon a plate with Pluto and Mickey on it.  Anjelique's plate had Nemo on it.  Also, she bought Anjelique a little tote bag (small sized) for Anjelique.  It is clear and has a picture of Minnie Mouse on it.  It's so cute!!

Anjelique was just so happy about the gifts.  Gideon, wow, this is the first time  he's really shown a lot of emotion and excitement about getting something like this.  It was so cute.  He kept pointing at the shirt he was wearing and saying, "Zat????"  (What's that?)  LOL  I loved it.

Well, I better get to bed.  Anjelique has been waking up crying a lot, but it looks like she's finally sleeping well.

Take care!

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12:05:20 AM PDT
Feeling Chillin'

What is your favorite thing to do when you are alone in your home?

LOL  This one is SO easy.  When I am alone in my house I like to sleep.

Isn't that pathetic? LOL  I'm not lazy, though.  It's just because I never get uninterrupted sleep because of the kids.  It's not so bad now that they're older.  But, whenever I'm home alone, which is NOT very often at all, I make a point to take a nice, long nap.  It's heavenly.

If I were home long enough to do more than one thing, then after the nap I would read a good book.  I love to read, but it's just hard to find the time to do that either.

Ahh...this question has now reminded me of what I'm missing.  lol  That's ok, I wouldn't trade my children and their anti-napping antics for a million afternoon naps.  :-) 

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12:00:21 AM PDT
Feeling Chillin'
Hearing Jay Leno

Sometimes use of the word "never" is exaggerated.  Today, use of the word "never" is accurate.  "Never" just may be an understatement.

Yes, it "never" fails that just when I think I'm done with everything and I'm finally ready to relax, something else happens so that I can't relax.

What did it tonight?  I'm glad that you asked.  Tonight, just when I thought I was going to make a root beer float, I bumped a bottle of steak sauce with my 2 liter of Root Beer.  Yes, I had a shattered mess of steak sauce and glass to clean up.  Oh boy, was that fun!!  Ha.

Other than that, my day has gone well.  I applied to a company about six months ago to do some work from my home.  I didn't hear from them for a while, but in the last couple of weeks I've gone through some home interviews and online tests.  I just received an email offering me a job.  Yay!  I actually have a legit job to do from my home.

Now, the only tricky part is making some "quiet time" happen in my home so that the kids don't get me fired. hehe  It is important to the clients that there be silence in the background, which, of course, I understand.  I'm pretty sure I'll work it out somehow.  I'm sure my mother-in-law will be able to help out some.  And, I also have the option of working the hours before the kids get up, which I will be sure to do. 

I'm really excited about this!!  We really want to pay off some bills and save so we can buy a house.  This little job of mine is definitely a step in the right direction.

Jay Leno has his Battle of the Jay Walkers All Stars.  I just wonder if these people are really that unintelligent?  I wanted to say "stupid", but that just sounds mean. hehe  But, are they that stupid? LOL 

I wonder if they get paid to be on the show.  Hmm.

That reminds me of someone who seems be getting paid for his lack of talent.  William Hung.  A while back I wrote an entry about how much I despise the fact that William Hung is making money because he can't sing.  Not only does he make money by making records that showcase his terrible singing voice, but now he's in a commercial for Cingular!  WHY?!  Why does this person who has no talent get paid to be a bad singer? WHY?!  lol

Ok, I'm over it.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because the kids and I are going to a friend's house to play.  My friend, Sherri, has a daughter who is just a little younger than Anj, and a little older than Gideon.  She's right in the middle.  Her name is Marina and she is so sweet and cute.  Anjelique and her have played a few times and they just adore each other.  I can't wait to see them play together tomorrow.  This will be our first visit to their house.  We usually see them at the meetings and now they'll actually get to play.

Then, tomorrow night, after Melissa gets off work she's coming here for supper and a movie.  I'm going to make egg rolls.  YUM!  After the egg rolls we're going to watch a movie called Carolina.  It's a movie with Julia Stiles in it.

Here's the description of the movie courtesy of Blockbuster.com.

 Julia Stiles stars as Carolina Mirabeau, a young woman who grows up in an eccentric southern family. She and her two sisters -- Georgia (Azura Skye) and Maine (Mika Boorem) -- have been raised by their well-meaning if meddling grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). Carolina's family seems to think that she should marry the novelist Albert (Alessandro Nivola), whom she has known since childhood. However, when she starts dating the well-to-do Heath (Edward Atterton), Albert becomes very jealous. Carolina has to choose which man she wants without letting her grandmother take over.

Sounds like a cute movie.  Probably a chic flick.  But, we're chics who like flicks.  So, that works out. LOL

I'll let you all know how it is.

Happy Friday!

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12:05:44 AM PDT
Feeling Chillin'
Hearing Dishwasher

No, I'm not quoting Anjelique or Gideon saying that they want their mommy.  It's me.  I want my Mommy.  hehe

On Monday morning I woke up with a very, very bad headache.  I think that the headaches I had this past weekend were probably leading up to this one.  By the end of the day I felt like someone was beating on my head with a hammer.  Next thing I know, I'm throwing up too. :-(  Sorry.  So, I had the flu.  That explained a lot.

It has been a terrible flu.  I am feeling better today, thank goodness, but everything is still lingering.  For example, my head and my neck still hurt.  They don't hurt as badly as the past couple of days, but I feel like the headache and body aches are kind of lingering there just waiting for me to do the wrong thing so that it gets worse.  If that makes any sense.

So, I want my mommy because I don't feel good.  LOL  It's so funny because even as an adult when I get sick I always wish I was with my Mom. hehe

On Monday Daniel had a doc's appt.  It was in Modesto, which is an hour away.  I asked him to please take Anjelique because I was just so miserable and it was like I couldn't take another minute of both kids.  Plus, Gideon was just about to take a nap.  So, if Anjelique went with Daniel, I'd be able to rest too.

Daniel called the doctor to make sure it was ok to take her, and they said yes.  The appt was really quick anyhow.  After that, they went to the mall.  Daniel was picking out new clothes for work.  He said that he was having Anjelique help him.  He'd hold up two different ties or shirts or pants and she would choose which one she liked best.  He'd hand her the one she liked so she could put it in the cart.  Daniel said that Anj would take it, kiss it, and then put it in the cart. lol

Anjelique even got a couple pairs of new shoes and a new Dora hat.  Daniel said that he was really glad that she went with him.  He said that they had a great timetogether and that it was special to spend time together - just the two of them.

Before I knew that I had the flu, I called Daniel and told him to bring home Chinese food for me from the food court.  He did bring it home, but needless to say I wasn't able to even think about eating it until the next day.  Even when I did eat it, I felt like I shouldn't have. 

Daniel has been really good about helping me out with things while I'm sick.  He even went grocery shopping.  I usually do that.  I made a little list of the things that I wanted to eat.  The kinds of foods that I want while I'm getting over a flu are very interesting.   Right now I'm eating watermelon.  I felt like this was a good choice of something to eat because it satisfies my sweet tooth, it's fruit, it tastes great, and it's a good snack to have that's not all greasy.  I also put vanilla ice cream and root beer list because I really wanted a root beer float. lol

Today for lunch I had the best soup.  It was fresh soup that we got from the deli in the grocery store.  It's called Fiesta Chicken Tortilla Soup...or something like that.  It is SO GOOD.  I put a little sour cream in it, shredded cheese, and some crumbled tortilla chips.  The sour cream helped a lot so that it wasn't spicy and didn't hurt my stomach.  I love that soup.

Anjelique has been having a nice few days.  On Monday, she went with Daniel to the doc and then shopping.  Then, on Tuesday, she went with Daniel to go grocery shopping.  Today, she went with Auntie Melissa to Wal-Mart.  Melissa got her a cute little purse. 

Poor little Gideon was so sad today when Anjelique left with Auntie Melissa.  I think that he is at the age where he's now a lot more aware, so he noticed that she got to go and he didn't.  Poor kid.  I told him that when I go get groceries on Saturday I'll take him with me.

Daniel and I watched Ladder 49 today.  It was a pretty good movie.  Not one of my favorites, nonetheless, it was good.  I think that it told an important story and honored the hard work that firemen do.

Of course, as usual, I watched American Idol this week.  Scott was voted off tonight.  My favorite one is Bo Bice. 

I think that it is very sad that there can't be a fun, healthy, good-spirited competition that isn't laced with scandals and things like that.  I just wish that for once we could just have fun, watch the show, vote for our favorite, and just let it be good clean fun.  Instead, every week there has to be some sort of drama about it.  Oh well.  I still enjoy the show and I hope that the judges, contestants, and the show itself can overcome the obstacles and come back for another great season next year.

I'm sad because I just recently learned the Judging Amy may not be coming back for another season.  Apparently the ratings have been low.  I absolutely LOVE that show.  I watch the re-runs everyday on TNT. hehe 

I think that the cast of Judging Amy is superb.  I mean, they have Tyne Daly!  You can't go wrong with her!  lol  I really enjoy Tyne Daly.  I love listening to her talk, watching her act...she's just awesome.

I remember my mom watching "Cagney and Lacey" when I was a little girl.  That's weird to think about.

All right...I need to get some rest.

Happy Thursday! :-)

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