It's a good day for thanks giving...so let me give 'em.

OK so I'm a day early.

But when you consider the fact that I haven't blogged in over a month, I'm actually late.

So there you have it.

But tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I figured it was a good time for me to tell you the things I am thankful for this year.

I think this one goes without saying:

We all know I love these two more than life itself. I'm very thankful to have a happy and healthy "adult" child (how is my baby going to be 22 next month??) who is really taking charge of his own future. I did something right with that one. And his baby....God knows I love her more than is probably normal. But I can't help it.

There are a lot of reasons why I have this overwhelming love for Mora. I have never been a big dog person, even though I've had dogs since Jordan was probably 4. I just never felt that "Oh, he's my furry child" thing. I cared about them all.

Ashton was our first dog, he was a Shih Tzu, and I had to put him down when he was 2 because he had somehow licked antifreeze in a driveway while we were out trick or treating, and it caused kidney failure.

Then we had Kaya, another Shih Tzu, who I had for a couple of years before Ex and I got married. During the marriage, we got Tilda, a 2 year old black lab who had been trained to be a service dog (but failed her final test, which is why she was available to adopt), and then a month after getting Tilda I got Gracie, my little pocket Yorkie. And two months later Ex started having an affair, and everything went to hell, and he didn't want Tilda (and back then, I didn't think I wanted a big dog) so she went back to the service folks.  Kaya went to live with a friend's parents who were looking for an older Shih Tzu (not a puppy) because I had my hands full with getting a divorce, finding a place to live, finding a new house, getting a new job, etc. (I'm not kidding when I say my life had exploded thanks to that fucktard's affair.) (Sorry, E, if you're still reading this!)

Then once the dust settled, and life had gone on, I was left with Gracie, and I got the bright idea that she was lonely so I ended up getting Griffin, who was also a Yorkie. *That* was the big mistake. He's got some issues, that little guy. So full of anxiety, so needy, and he has driven me insane for 7 years now. Did you ever see the Ice Age movies? Griffin is the crazy squirrel that runs around collecting acorns in that manic, crazed way.

Anyway....

That all brings us to Mora.

As you can tell from my history, I have only ever had small dogs. Most of which stayed 10 lbs and under fully grown. So I never watched a "puppy" grow into a big, beautiful dog. Mora was bigger as an 8 week old when Jordan brought her home, than any of my dogs have ever been fully grown! So watching her grow up...she's 6 1/2 months old now and about 70 lbs....has been so fun. I've gotten to spend so much time with her, as a puppy she was at the office every day with me because Jordan worked here too, and my boss is a dog lover and had no problems having a puppy around all the time, and even when Jordan started back to school, I still got to see her two full days a week (and I have her on Wednesdays until 8pm!). So I have fallen in love with this little lady, and believe me when I tell you, she loves Grandma too. She's my little velcro girl...when she's with me she goes everywhere I go...kitchen, bathroom, doesn't matter. She knows when Daddy pulls up to the office or into Grandma's driveway, that she's going to see me, and she gets very excited.

But most importantly, it's watching my son fall in love that has touched my heart. He loves this little girl more than he's ever loved anything in his life. He's so good with her, he's trained her, he takes care of her, he stays home with her (his social life has suffered tremendously but he knew that was a sacrifice he would make when he decided he wanted a puppy) and to see him love her this much, makes me love her even more. She brings unconditional love and joy to my son's life, and as a Mom that makes me happier than anything ever has.

It does scare me a little to think of how I am going to be when I have human grandchildren though. I can't lie.  My friends are a little concerned about that too.

And just so you know, I am thankful for this guy as well:

(Ha! Everybody poses with Mora!)

We celebrated 2 years of togetherness in early August, and while we have had our ups and downs, he's still the one for me. I am in no hurry to get married again...marriage wasn't a good experience for me, and to be honest I am happy with the way we are right now. He still has his place, I have mine, we take 2 nights a week to ourselves so that we make sure to have time alone to do what we want/need to do as individuals, and that makes us stronger as a couple. I think I'm gonna renew his contract come August for another year if he keeps performing at this level. LOL

I am thankful to still have my sisters Patty and Sue Ellen with me, but I miss my parents and my sister Linda every single day.  I am thankful for their families, as I have some pretty awesome nieces and nephews.

I am thankful that I have close friends who keep me sane, and who allow me to be me.  Believe me when I tell you, my girls have talked me off of more than one ledge.  I would not be who I am today without their advice, guidance, kicks in the ass, and various shenanigans that cannot be put into writing.

I am thankful for my health....this past month I had a scare that sent me to the hospital overnight (thought I was having a heart attack...turns out it was gastritis and a cranky gall bladder...heart is fine!) but that was enough to make me "wake up" and realize I have a lot left to do on this earth and I better get my shit together and get healthier, so that I can be around for those real human grandchildren when they arrive!

I am thankful for my job, and thankful to those clients who keep coming back for our services, and I wish them continued prosperity!

Most of all I am thankful for all the blessings I have in my life. I don't take any of them for granted. I have seen how quickly life can change and I pray every day that the people I love, and who love me, have already experienced the worst days of their lives, whatever that was, and nothing but love, health and happiness is in our futures.

Thank you all who have stayed with my blog all these years. I always think that I will try to get back to blogging regularly but it never happens. I do still try to read yours though....and keep up with your lives.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. I wish you a blessed day.

True love hits when you least expect it.

Those two are the loves of my life.

I'm going to be a Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And this is the love of my life! Well, both of them. Haha

Meet Mora. Jordan's new German Shepherd puppy.

She's almost 8 weeks old, and she comes home from the breeder on Saturday.

I am so excited I can't stand it. You'd think she was mine, and not my granddog! She's so cute and sweet and precious....









And she loves her Daddy already...



I can't wait to spoil her rotten and send her home. LOL

I could not be more proud...

...than to have this chance to announce....

That my favorite kid has been accepted to Ohio State!!!!!!!!!!!

As you all know he's been a student at the University of Cincinnati for two years now, and recently he decided to transfer to Ohio State.

He wisely realized just how expensive it is to take out school loans to live 2 hours away from home, and have to work while going to school, which means he has no time to see the friends he's down there with in the first place!

So he's coming back to Columbus when school is out in June, and transferring to Ohio State to major in film studies. He and a buddy will live in the condo that I own, because timing be what it may...my renter is breaking her lease and moving out. How convenient. haha

It has been a long process getting here. When Jordan was 16, I took him to Los Angeles to check out their film studies school, because all he's ever really wanted to do was be a director. We talked about going to school locally for this, and then he could move to LA when he graduated, and somehow once he got out of high school, he put the dream aside. But he's really kind of been treading water this past three years, unable to settle on a degree because nothing held appeal to him, that he would want to do the rest of his life.

Except film.

Finally, I told him this is ridiculous. PURSUE YOUR DREAM. Transfer up here, major in film studies, get your degree and move west and be who...and what....you've always wanted to be. Anything is possible, but you have to put the wheels in motion to get there.

So it took 3 years and 2 other colleges (Columbus State for a year, and UC for two) to get him on the path he needs...wants....to be on.

I'm very proud. And very thankful that he dreams big, and goes for it.

I better be his damn date to the Oscars when he goes. I'm just sayin.

How can this kid be 21 already?

I swear, it was just a couple of years ago he looked like this.

Sigh.

Time flies when you're having spawn.

To my son on his 21st birthday....know that you are loved beyond words, that your Mom is more proud of you than anything she has ever done in her life, and that my wish for you is to one day be 85 years old, surrounded by your wife and your children and your grandchildren (and maybe even some great grandkids), and know that this year, 2011, when you were 21....was the start of the most amazing years of your life.

I love you with all my heart. Happy birthday, bug.

Love, Mums.

Let The Good Times Roll

My baby went back to Cincinnati to school.

I'm an empty nester again.

Stay tuned for Season Two of "Geezer's Gone Wild".

Breaking Bad For A Day

If you watch Breaking Bad, you'll get a kick out of this:

That's right. My kid looks like a TV meth cooker.

Lovely.

I'm sooooooooooooo proud.

Three weeks from tomorrow....

Hey baby let's go to Vegas....bet on love and let it ride...

Woohoo! Fun times with Linda Lou, Dr. Penny, and hopefully Darlene as well! I can't wait. Michael has never been to Vegas so it will be fun to show him around and see it through virgin eyes!

Other than that, nothing much to report or update you on. Jordan goes back to school this weekend, we are moving him on Sunday. It's funny, a year ago I was a pretty nervous Mom about this whole empty nest thing, but I got used to it pretty quick. Then he came home for summer and it was a whole new adjustment back to having him in the house full time! And now I've just gotten used to that, and he's leaving again....

So tell me what's been going on in your lives? I feel so bad that I haven't been blogging much at all recently. I always have good intentions, but bad follow through. Seems like something always takes precedence....

Way to damn near scare me to death, kid.

So, I had one of the worst times of my life yesterday.

Jordan and I were outside our house, and he was leaving to go run some errands, and I was picking up the trash cans from the end of the driveway to bring back to the house (yesterday was trash day, obviously). Literally, it was like 30 seconds after he pulled out of the driveway, and I had just walked up to my house when I heard the loudest, most horrific crash sound that I have ever heard in my life. I swear it almost shook the ground, the impact was so loud.

I knew immediately it was him. Just a mother's instinct I guess. I remember saying out loud "Oh God, no."

I turned and started running and thinking "OK has he had time to get through the light?" and then "OMG, what if someone broadsided him?. It was like slow motion, as I ran the block to the end of my street.

Then suddenly the neighbor boy is in front of me yelling "Miss Julie! Your son is in a wreck!" and pointing, and I starting panicking, because I had no idea how bad it was or if he was hurt. My 50 year old body has never ran so fast, and I have never prayed so hard, because I *heard* that crash, and I knew it wasn't a fender bender.

I turned the corner and all I saw was the back end of Jordan's car, and a car in front of him turned over and totaled. As I ran that block praying, all I could think was "Just let him be okay, God. Please just let him be okay". I swear it was the oddest sense of slow motion, I felt like I was running in place, like in a dream or something, and I couldn't seem to get to him fast enough.

Finally I saw my son standing off to the side and he was clearly okay. He had been at the red light, and some idiot across from him ran the light, and T-boned some poor 16 year old kid. That boy's car flipped over and hit Jordan's car, but by the grace of God it didn't roll again, or my son would be dead right now. Or gravely injured at the least.

I stopped running before I had a heart attack (LOL), and right then the cops and the paramedics showed up (we literally are two blocks from the police and fire stations in Gahanna), and thankfully everyone involved was okay. I am not sure how that young man crawled out of that overturned car with no injuries other than two scratches on his leg but he did.

Jordan was very upset, of course, that his car had been damaged, but as I tried to make him understand, it could have been SO much worse, and the car damage can be fixed. It's just a car, for heaven's sake. He could have lost his life or been permanently injured had he pulled 2' closer to the light or had been 2' further back because the rolling car would have crushed him either during the first roll, or would have rolled a second time, but thankfully his car was in the exact right spot to stop it from rolling again.

Here's a picture from the scene, Jordan's car is the red Mustang. You can't see the damage to the front end from this picture, but compared to the other two vehicles, it's not that bad.

I had a tough time last night, I just kept hearing the sound of that crash, and that boy saying "Your son's in a wreck". It was every parents worse nightmare and I keep reliving it over and over in my head. I am so thankful that he is okay, and that nobody was injured.

But I can tell you, that 60 seconds it took me to run two blocks was the worst minute of my life. I had no idea what I was going to see when I turned the corner and I have never prayed like I did in that moment.

Then, later I had half a bottle of wine and a Xanax. LOL Sometimes Mama's gotta do what she's gotta do to cope.

The happiest Mother's Day of all....

I got to spend one more Mother's Day with my Mom.

Mom and three of her daughters. We miss you, Linda...there is always an empty place in every picture where you should be.

(Somebody asked me yesterday if I am Sue Ellen's daughter. (She's my oldest sister, in the pink shirt) Bwwwwwhahahahahahahaha. I'm the baby of the family. AND, for the first time ever, the most tanned. Booyah!)

There was a brunch at the nursing home, so we spent time with her in the morning. Mom isn't really very responsive these days. She's pretty quiet. She has a hard time having any sort of conversation. But she was here, and last year at this time we were in the hospital with her, and 100% sure it was our last Mother's Day together. "How" she is still here, I don't know. But I'm thankful for having her for one more.

I spent the rest of the day with the reason I am celebrated on Mother's Day. Being this kid's Mom is the greatest thing I ever did.

And getting to share a beautiful Sunday with the loves of my life fills me with unimaginable joy.

I hope your Mother's Day was just as nice.

Julie takes a look back at 2010

~ What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?  Finally changed my way of thinking.  Started believing in myself, and creating the life that I had always wanted to have but somehow never did.

~ Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I resolve to stop making resolutions. I suck at them. They last about 20 minutes into the New Year. This year, I figure if my resolution is to make no more resolutions, I'm good to go.

~ Did anyone close to you give birth? Like, physically close to me? No, I have not actually witnessed childbirth this year. My immediate family has not expanded, but I have nieces and nephews getting to that age where the thought is undoubtedly crossing their minds!

~ Did anyone close to you die?  Amazingly enough, no.  My Mom is still with us, and we never dreamed she would be,  They sent her home from the hospital in June with "two days to two weeks" to live.  It's been six months now and yet it's truly still just a day to day thing at this point.  She's more than ready to go.  I just wish God would listen to her prayers.

~ What countries did you spend time in this year? Um, I'm pretty sure I've been landlocked this year. My passport has nothing on it.  (That will change in March though!) Went to Vegas in May, and that was pretty much my only vacation this year.  Work kicked my ass and kept me too busy to take time off.

~ What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? A booming real estate business so that I can pay off bills, for helping Jordan with college, and adding stamps to my passport.  Continued growth with my "change your thoughts, change your life" as some days I still revert back to negative thinking out of habit.  And my love relationship getting better and better every single day.

~ What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?  Well, I re-met the love of my life in August, and in September my son went off to college.  Those were two pretty big events in my life this year.  Both life changing but in good ways.

~ What was your biggest achievement of the year?  Letting go of my past finally, and making room for true love to come into my life.  I wish it hadn't taken me so long, but everything happens when it's supposed to, and clearly this was the right time.  I walked away from that situation in May, and spent the summer learning to be happy with just me.  And then I started dating Michael August 7th.  And the rest is history!

~ What was your biggest failure?  I don't believe in failure.  Some things may not have worked out the way I planned or hoped, but some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

~ Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?   Nope.  Feeling good!

~ What was the best thing you bought?  An early plane ticket home from Vegas...it was the end of an error.  It was by far the best $400 I have ever spent in my life.

~ Whose behavior merited celebration?  My son, of course.  He's doing great at UC, maintaining his mega weight loss from last year, and just makes me proud every single day to be his Mom.

~ Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed? Who am I to judge?  My ex was always the source of appalling behavior for the past ten years, and earlier this year was no exception.  But in retrospect, I  am grateful that he is who he is, because he did me a favor by acting in ways that were so unacceptable to me that I had no choice but to move on.  And in doing so I fell madly in love with "the one that got away" 13 years ago.  So, for that I thank him.  And I wish him well.  Bwahahahahhahaha.

~ Where did most of your money go? Credit card bills. And Starbucks. I have an addition to iced caramel macchiatos, skinny, upside down. A big chunk went to getting my kid out the door and off to school, and now I pay child support to him.  LOL  It was cheaper to keep him at home!

~ What did you get really, really, really excited about?  I was very excited for Jordan to go off to school, only because I knew how excited he was about it.  I was afraid the empty nest might kill me, but turns out that it wasn't empty after all with my new man here all the time!

~ What do you wish you'd done more of?  Live in the moment.  I'm a worrier, always have been, but it was even worse this past ten years with my ex because I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and my life to explode around me again at his diabolical hands .  Once he was out of the picture, it took me a long time to just...relax.  Especially being in a new relationship.  Rather than constantly looking for land mines, I wish I'd just been able to trust right off the bat that he wasn't going to do the things my ex did.  It took me several months before I could exhale.  And now I trust again, I believe in love again, and I will get married again.  Six months ago I don't think I could have said anything of those things honestly.

~ What do you wish you'd done less of?  Working.  I mean, I need the paycheck, but I discovered this year that a lot of my "on call" status at work was simply due to me not having a life!  I made work my 24 hour a day job, and this fall when Jordan left for school and Michael and I were cementing our relationship, I lost all motivation to make my job anything but a 9-5 deal.  No more staying late, no more responding to emails on nights and weekends.  I've even stopped some of my textual relationships.  LOL  I have better things to do with my time now!

~ Did you fall in love in 2010?  Oh.  Yes.  I.  Did.  Madly, truly, deeply!  And I am thankful every day for it.  He's an amazing man, he makes me laugh and treats me like a queen.  He's everything I ever imagined my partner to be (which is why he was always my "one that got away" for the last 13 years) and I'm so grateful to have a second chance at happily ever after.  Long Live Turtle Power.  (It's a private joke.)

~ How many one-night stands? Duh, just one.  It's on the right side of my bed.  Oh wait, not that kind of night stand?  Then the answer is a proud "NONE".

~ Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?  I don't hate. That level of internal poison causes wrinkles that I can't afford to have! There are a couple of people that I am not overly fond of but karma will take care of them. Meanwhile, for me, living well is the best revenge!.

~ What was the best book you read? 'Infinite Possibilities:  The Art of Living Your Dreams' by Mike Dooley.  It's all about changing your thoughts and creating a new life for yourself.  I am living proof that it works.

~ What did you want and not get? Botox. And Restylane. Hey, I'm being honest. My face has fallen further than Obama in the polls.

~ What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Well I was 49 on my birthday in March, and I have no idea what I did!  But I can tell you where I'll be on March 22, 2011.  I'll be turning 50 on a cruise ship in the Caribbean!  Woohoooooooooooooooooo!

~ What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I'd lost the rest of the weight I started losing in 2009.  I fell off the wagon, and haven't been able to get back on.

~ What political issue stirred you the most? Don't get me started. We are all entitled to our opinions, but I don't force mine down your throat and I'd really appreciate you not forcing yours down mine. Thank God for the delete button in emails.  For the record, I am a registered Democrat. I voted for Obama.  If you have a problem with him, discuss it with the rest of your Republican friends, and keep your conspiracy theories to yourself.  I didn't forward a bunch of shit about George Bush to everyone back in the day, so give me the same courtesy please.  Thanks.  In a related note, if God forbid Sarah Palin gets elected President, I will be relocating to another country.  But no worries, I won't email you about it.  You'll be getting enough from your friends wondering what kind of mess you've gotten yourselves into and how to get out of it!

~ Who did you miss?  I miss my sister all the time. So many things I want to share with her. I want her to see Jordan and be as proud as I am. Life is just not the same without her.  I also miss seeing my son every day!  We talk on Face Time (it's a Skype like thing on our iPhones) a couple of times a week when he's away at school, but when you've seen somebody every day for 19 years, going a few weeks without seeing them is tough.  Especially on a mom who's life has revolved around her kid for so long.  But I survived it, and even learned not to text him every night to make sure he was safely in his dorm room so that I could go to bed and actually sleep.  LOL

~ Who was the best new person you met?  OK he's not a "new" person, but after 13 years apart, and each of us being in long term...."unsuccessful" relationships (that's a nice way to put it!),  Michael and I are not the same people we were back when we dated before.  So meeting up again was in a way like meeting a new person, who just happened to be very familiar.  It was great not having to go through the awkward "getting to know you" phase of dating, though!

~ Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Anger and bitterness ages you faster than anything. This year I have really let go of my past, forgiven those who wronged me, and started looking forward with excitement and anticipation.  My life has done a 180 this year, and while there have been a lot of changes in it, I can honestly say I have never been as happy as I am right now.

~ What sums up this year? (a word, a quote...?)  Joy.  Bliss.  Happiness.  At Last.

Happy New Year, readers! My wish for you all is that 2011 brings you the life you've dreamed of, and that you have a healthy and prosperous New Year!!! Thank you for the light you shine into my life and I hope that I bring something to yours as well.

The Best Day Of My Life

December 27, 1990 was the best day of my life.

Last year, I wrote about it HERE.

Today, I look at those pictures and wonder where the time has gone.

How can my "baby" be twenty?

He's no longer a child. Or a teen. He's an adult. No, I mean really an adult now....

He's a college student, and I could not be prouder.

He's a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson. He's a best friend to a great group of young men and women.

But most importantly, he's a son.

He's MY son.

And I love him more than life itself.

So today, on this 20th anniversary of his birth, I celebrate the baby who came into my life two weeks past his due date (and has rarely been on time for anything since), the toddler who made me laugh constantly with his goofy smile and "creative" antics, the teenager who didn't give his Mom a whole lot to worry about, (or at least, didn't tell me til he was 18 and decided to come clean about a few things!) and the adult who is just at the start of his future. A future that I cannot wait to be a part of, to watch unfold, to see who he becomes and what amazing things life holds in store for him.

I love you, Jordan. You are my light, and the love of my life. Thank you for making me the happiest, and proudest Mom ever.

I'm a UC Mom, the Empty Nest...and other Important Stuff.

So, my baby is officially a University of Cincinnati Bearcat.

And I'm an empty nester.

We moved Jordan to school last Thursday. Honestly, it was a great day.

We got there at 10am, and they gave us free Red Bull.  So far I loved college.  LOL  Then we got his room key....

 I got to put his room together, make his bed, do all the Mom stuff one more time...

He approved of the feather bed I bought him so that he would be comfy at night...

And I made him suffer through yet another "Mom and Me" picture....

We went to the bookstore, and I got coffee mugs for Michael and me to drink out of in the mornings....and a new shirt for me.

You should be proud of me, I didn't cry until it came time to hug him goodbye.  But the minute he said "I love you", I burst into tears and could not even speak.  So much I wanted to say to him, but all I could get out was "Please be safe and take care of yourself, ok.  I love you so much."  I know he knows everything I couldn't say (because I'd have gotten hysterical trying to get the words out, LOL), about how proud I am of him and how thankful and blessed I have been to be his Mom.  I've told him those things hundreds of times, I know he knows.  This time, I just wanted him to know I love him more than life itself, and am so excited and happy for this phase of his life to begin.

And then I cried all the way to Kings Island.  Which is only about 25 miles.  I thought that was pretty good, considering at one point during the drive down, Jordan and my boss exchanged text messages where David said "Is she curled up on the floor in a fetal position, barricading herself in the garage so you can't leave?" to which Jordan replied "No, not yet.  But I have a feeling she'll be on the hunt for an unused room after I get moved in though."

Oh Ye of little faith, I did neither.  I survived The Move of 2010.

My first weekend as an empty nester was great!  I have learned a few things about my son not living at home, such as...I don't have to worry when I walk around naked (TMI maybe, but factual) that he might walk in;  I don't have to panic anymore when I hear sirens (there is a police and fire station a block from my house, and yes I used to find ridiculous excuses to text Jordan when I would hear them to make sure he was alive....yep, I was "that mom"), my leftovers are still left over the next day to take to work for lunch; and the one who used to leave the bathroom a mess isn't me.  And the best part (which I thought would be the worst part) of not knowing what he's doing and where he is at night, is that I just pretend he's in his dorm room, and then I sleep great!

Plus, my nest hasn't been all that empty.  My guy is there a lot, which is great.  This weekend we went down to Hocking Hills and walked through the caves and stuff.  It was a lot of fun.

Later we stopped by a flea market....and I tried to get a picture of this guy with THE WORST MULLET in the history of the world.  He's standing behind Michael in this picture and unfortunately you can't see him, but he had this short hair on the front, and then the mullet part went all the way down his back.  OMG, it was hilarious.  

Oh, and at the flea market I made a purchase of my own....it was a UC Bearcat license plate thing.  I tried to post the picture here but it kept showing up sideways, and I didn't want you guys straining your necks on my behalf.  

We are moving our offices this week, so don't expect a new blog post anytime soon.  I'll be lucky to see daylight between now and next Monday.  

Hope you are all doing well.  I haven't been around to visit your blogs in ages, I've become a very bad bloggy friend.  I will try to get caught up soon, meanwhile tell me what's going on in your world!