My Crazy Life....Literally!

Let me preface any words you read here with the fact that I am exhausted. My eyes as well as my thoughts are a bit bleary, but I am actually too tired to sleep........so I blog. To top it off....Wednesday's are my hard blogging days because I have to come up with something about "me!" Hmmmmm. 

Well today in fitting with the night I have had (another story for another day), let me tell you a little about the crazy that is my life. Perhaps I should start by saying that I come from crazy. Yeah....I know that every family has a little crazy in their lives, but mine is special crazy.....because after all....it is mine. The crazy that I am talking about are incidents and episodes throughout my life that stand out as extraordinary, off track and yes.....and actually pretty strange.  Honestly there are quite a few.....so I will to do this in parts. Today....here is part one!

As I said....I come from crazy. My mother always had the weirdest things happen to her. When she was young she was very beautiful and a nurse to boot. She was also single and lived with some other nurses in a dorm type area that was basically singles apartments. One day her and her roommates came home to find the police swarming their complex. Apparently the girls who lived next door (three stewardesses) had all been murdered during the day while the rest of the complex was at work. Weird....yes! Stranger yet, two nights later mom was on her way to work to work the night shift. She stopped off for gas just as it was getting dark. Thank goodness for full service at the time as the attendant threw her door open and yanked her out just as some strange guy went darting out the back car door on the other side. The guy likely saved her life. Down right crazy though......was the next week mom and her roommates came home to find their bathroom painted blood red with paint left dripping all over the tub, toilet and sink. Who it was and how they got in was left a mystery but by weeks end,  their apartment was without tenants. So are you starting to see  the crazy which I speak of?

As a very young child, mom and I were home alone. I was barely walking so I don't remember the happenings of this day....I only remember the story. A man came to our apartment and told Mom he was selling magazines. He had no samples, no paper, no nothing. Mom said she wasn't interested and tried to shut the door. The man stuck his foot in the door and proceeded to try to shove his way in. At just that moment the mailman came around the corner (apparently a big burly guy). Seeing what was going on, he asked the guy his business and the guy said he was trying to sell Mom magazines. The mailman said that he knew that Mom already received plenty of magazines....so he just needed to move along. The man did and the mailman waited until Mom locked up. For over an hour the "salesman" waited across the street just looking at our apartment and smoking cigarettes, until finally he left. That night Mom turned on the TV to watch the news and low and behold who was on it? Our salesman friend! He had murdered a woman a few blocks down in the middle of the afternoon and her husband had come home and caught him. Weird? Oh yeah!

Then we lived in a house in Wichita. The house was completely surrounded by cedar trees and at night could be fairly hidden from the street. One night after my mom and dad had split up, my mom was rocking my little brother in the living room. I was laying on the floor in front of her and all the lights were out. We had a huge widow that peered out to the side of the house. As I lay there watching my mom rock back and forth, suddenly the room was full of light. Someone was shining a huge flashlight in the window.  Within a minute or two the doorbell rang. Mom answered through the locked screen. There was a man dressed in dress pants and a collared shirt standing there. He said he was from the WPD and was just checking peoples windows to make sure they were locked. Mom slammed the door on him and called the WPD to see if they had plain clothesed police in the area. They did not. In fact they had no plain clothesed officers anywhere at the time. They sent an actual officer out to investigate. Upon investigation they found diamond rings, watches, and money in money clips in our cedar trees by the window. They belonged to people three blocks over who had been burglarized in the last week. Was the fake officer and the stolen goods connected?  We may never know. Weird? A little.

It was in that same house that as a child I was taking a bath in the hallway bathroom. It was only Mom and I and my baby brother there. As I sat there in the tub a black shadow went past the doorway. You could see the shadow on the wall. It stopped and remained motionless but was the definite outline of a person. At first I thought it was Mom, but then I heard her in the kitchen making supper. The shadow went slowly past the door. No person seemed attached to it and I felt really creeped out. Then within seconds it was back and again....it stopped and remained motionless. I knew something was weird and I held my breath. Then the shadow seemed to move forward as if it was coming towards me. I let out a scream that I am sure the neighbors heard. At that moment......the shadow honestly turned to almost a dust and evaporated. Mom came running from the kitchen to find me screaming hysterically in the tub. I told her my story and I am not sure to this day she believed it, but I know what I saw....I just have no idea what I saw!

Creeped out yet? Then there was the time when we moved to New Mexico to live with my aunt. We had gone to a rodeo one evening and it began to storm, so we ended up leaving and coming home early. When we got home, we were welcomed by the front door standing part way open and muddy foot prints going throughout the house. Who? What? How? It is still all a mystery.

Then when we moved back, one night we were at home. We had gone out and came home to our backyard faucet running and water everywhere. Mom figured it was kids and we went in for the night. Then just a little after dark my brother who was about four came flying up the stairs yelling "Ghost....ghost!" Mom was trying to find out what was going on and he kept saying that there was a ghost in the window downstairs. About that time the doorbell rang. Two police officers were at the door saying that the neighbor had called the police saying that earlier they had seen someone on our front porch and that they had just seen someone going around our house. The police insisted on searching the house and searched every nook and cranny. They then questioned my brother about "the ghost." Apparently whoever it was, was outside the window and looking in, wearing a white shirt and smiling at my brother beckoning him to come to the window. Instead my brother ran.  Nothing was found but the old familiar creepies were with us all.

Then there was the day that I was held after school because I had not finished my math in the allotted time. Damn that math....it always got me in trouble. So when I left to walk the block and a half to my house.....there was hardly a soul around. It was cold and dreary and winter so the days got dark early. As I was walking a car pulled up next to me with a man wearing a hat. That is all I remember, but he wanted me to get in the car. I immediately knew he was no one I was suppose to get in a car with and I began to run......screaming my lungs off. As I ran he tried to drive his car up onto the sidewalk so I darted into the street to the other side. He then swerved the car to that side as I darted back. Finally my house was within sight and I screamed loud enough my mom could hear. She came flying out the front door and saw the car chasing me. She ran out and grabbed me.....and he gunned his motor and drove off. We later learned that I was one of several kids this had happened to. Same man, same hat and same car. Strangely....he was never caught.

Shall I go on? Naw....not today. I will save the rest of the stories for another crazy day. Have you had a few crazy stories of your own? Have any you want to share? If so......that is what the comments are for. I look forward to hearing your stories too. So ends part one of my crazy life.  I bet this is a side of Lisaland that you didn't know existed. Ya skeered yet?

Here is hoping that you have a crazy good Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Dating 101 or How to Find a Man in Lisaland......Jumping on Frogs

Let the games begin! And they have. This week I jumped into the dating world with both feet....and landed squarely.......on a frog! Ewwwwww So last week on facebook I announced to the world that I had been asked out on a date. I had 30+ posts of people telling me to "go for it!" Never being one to back down from a challenge....I did just that. Oy

First a little back ground. He was a "gentleman" and I used the term loosely, that I met on a dating site. He expressed interest right away and appeared to follow my blogs (on the dating site)  closely. He continually sent me dating site roses, teddy bears and cups of coffee. How could a girl not swoon over an imaginary rose and cup of coffee? He messaged me constantly telling me about himself and asking very pertinent questions about me.  He is 50, owns his own business, not bad looking. He is divorced with two grown kids, loves backyard bbq's, travel and wants to spend forever with that special someone. Although cheesy......the words in the messaging we did sounded right. Anyway, I still wouldn't give him more than my first name and although he gave me his phone number, I refused to give him mine.

He really wanted to go out and asked me about six times before I said yes. Now imagine....this all happened in a weeks period of time. He wanted to wine me and dine me Saturday night where "the possibilities were endless," his words...not mine. I said how about we just start out with coffee or breakfast (I don't take a lunch where I work. ) So he agreed to breakfast yesterday. Low and behold, David spiked a temperature Sunday night and had a mini seizure. Yesterday morning he was still running low grade and not acting right, so David became my #1 priority and Mr. Wonderful went to the back burner. I called him and told him the situation and he acted pretty unfriendly about it all. I apologized and said we could reschedule but he was pretty much a jerk. I said fine, my child's health overrides any extracurricular plans I might have and if you can't live with that then we aren't a good fit anyway. End of conversation. I was absolutely fine with that.

By about 10 a.m. he was messaging me and apologizing for his rudeness. He said that you just never know on dating sites what you are getting into and he just figured I was looking for an out and that is why he was so upset. I could kind of understand it and he asked that if David were better tomorrow (today) if we could try again? I told him I would think about it....which I did. After about five more messages from him, and six more imaginary roses, I said yes. WHAT? I like roses....even imaginary ones. So we decided we would meet this morning. Lord what was I thinking?

We met and he looked just like his picture. He immediately hugged me and tried to kiss me on the lips. I dodged and he got my cheek. Hmmmmmm. Then I sat in the booth and he tried to sit right next to me. PERSONAL SPACE here buddy! Have you never heard of it? I told him I would prefer he sat across from me so I could see his face. He begrudgingly moved. He made that pouty "uh" sound like Z does when I make him do something he doesn't like. Really?

So his first words to me are....."you are so beautiful! Run away with me right now!' Huh? I just looked at him. I tried to divert the conversation and ask him what he did. He then came back with...."It doesn't matter because after today my only job in life is to make you happy!" What???? Was this guy for real? He looked normal enough. In fact he was actually pretty nice looking, but he really needed to stop talking. Still trying to divert....I asked him about his kids. At first he looked like he didn't know what I was talking about, and then he said that they were both grown and had their own lives and that he had really had very little contact with them over the years. When he did though, they were more like really "cool" friends than parent and kids. Really "cool" friends? Dang....the waitress hadn't even taken our order yet and I wanted to leave. Then he came off with so more Rico Suave crap and I started to run out of patience.

You know me and my lack of filter. Finally I couldn't help myself and I said...."this can't be who you really are. Why don't you stop trying to impress me with the fake you and start trying to impress me with the real you." This was as he was reaching across the table to grab my hand and I kept a death grip on my cell phone. I actually think he was going to kiss it! Ick! He looked as if I had slapped him (which I was really thinking about doing). First he tried to play it off as.....this is just who I am. I think I gave him a look that said....yeah right. Then he said, "I thought you wanted a gentleman."  I said...."I believe I said....I want real. Not some guy trying to pretend he is some Don Juan." He immediately changed. The bravado was gone and he said okay...."my name is____________. I own my own business. I don't see my kids because the ex turned them against me. I have had three really bad break ups. I think most women are liars, bitches and whores and are gold digging witches. Your profile made you sound different....so I thought I would give you a chance." Hmmmm and all this time I thought I was giving him a chance. At least now he was being honest....I think.

So he asked me if I was going to give him any information about myself such as full name and phone number. I dodged. I asked him if he was a Kansas native. He dodged and then said....."was your son really sick yesterday?" It may have been a valid question....but it pissed me off. Or maybe he was just pissing me off. I said that yes of course he was and told him a little about David and why I was so worried. Then he did it! He said......."don't they have institutions for kids like him? Why isn't he there?" I know the look on my face must have said it all. He tried to back track and said, "well I mean doesn't he tie you down and make it so that you can't have any fun?" He is lucky that my filter chose just that moment to work or maybe I was too angry and dumbfounded to just shoot from the hip. Whatever the case.....when I recovered from the shock of his words I said, "you don't know me and you assumed right off the bat I was lying. You don't know my son and you assume he should be in an institution instead of at home like every other kid. You think that meeting someone for the first time and making a complete ass out of yourself with a bunch of fake bull is endearing and you call women in general liars, bitches and an assorted laundry list of other names and you think any quality woman would want you? Well you are nothing but a jackass and I am leaving." Apparently I was a little loud as the lady sitting on the other side of the glass partition said, "It doesn't sound like they'll be going on a  second date!" Was she ever right. I have no idea how he looked or what he thought as I left, all I know was he was definitely not Mr. Right.

As I got in the car....I started laughing. You have to know that if this kind of a first date was going to happen to anyone....it was going to happen to me. That's okay though....what is it they say....you have to kiss a lot of frogs (or in my case jump on a bunch) before your find your prince. Well in this case.....I think I squished a frog and probably left him feeling a little demoralized. Or quite possibly, with the way he was....he just added me to the long list of liars, bitches, whores and gold diggers and is now moving on to his next conquest. Do you really think someone would actually fall for his smooth trash talk? Who knows? All I know is he has now been banished from my dating site possibilities and I think I will take this whole dating strangers think a little more cautiously. At least though...I broke the ice and tried. I am sure it will get easier and I will get wiser, but to all my fb friends who told me to go for it.....I am not speaking to any of you. At least not for a good hour anyway! :)

So here is hoping that your Tuesday has no frogs and no smooth trash talkers. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Taste of Home Favorites

The weekend turned out well. My house is in ruins, but then again, when is it not? The boys and I did a nice staycation and did some things we don't normally make time to do. I did a great deal of writing this weekend for some different projects and I think I am actually ready for a new week. Today will start some interesting twists and turns and I will keep you posted on my new ventures and how they are going. While today is suppose to be warm and sunny....this weekend was anything but. It got me to feeling really fall like and looking forward to some of my favorite cool weather meals.

One of my all time favorites is a recipe I got years ago from my most favoritist (don't judge me) magazines....Taste of Home. I have cooked from TOH for years and never found a recipe that I didn't like. This particular one came from a section they used to have called Men Who Run the Range. The recipe is called Jim's Potato Soup and it is the best potato soup I have ever eaten. To make it even yummier I put just a touch of sour cream on top, along with some shredded cheese and chopped green onion. It is absolutely the essence of comfort food and perfect for those chilly fall evenings.

The second recipe, also from TOH is a twist on meatloaf. While I love my mom's meatloaf, Lil' Cheddar Loaves are a close second and whenever we want something a little different, I pull this recipe out. The cheese and the tangy sauce that goes on top kick regular meatloaf up quite a few notches. Both recipes are easy and made with ingredients that most of us keep on hand. Yes I know....these recipes aren't overly healthy, but then again....you can't eat healthy all the time.

Jim's Potato Soup
 1/3 cup diced celery 
1/3 cup diced carrot 
1/4 cup diced onion 
2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1 quart milk 
2 chicken bouillon cubes 
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cooked


In a 3-qt. Dutch oven or kettle, saute celery, carrot and onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add bouillon, parsley, salt, seasoned salt and cayenne. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cube half of the potatoes and mash the other half; add all to the soup. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Lil' Cheddar Loaves

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4oz)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oat
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage (optional)
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2/3 cup catsup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1. In a bowl, beat the egg and milk.
2. Stir in cheese, oats, onion, salt and rubbed sage.
3. Add beef and mix well.
4. (It will seem runny at first but will thicken up as you mix.) Shape into 8 equal sized loaves (oval/egg shaped) and place in a greased 9X13X2" baking dish.
5. Sauce: Combine catsup, brown sugar and mustard.
6. Spoon over each loaf so they are all covered in the sauce.
7. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Well, here's my recipes for this week. Hope you like em' and as always, I would love to hear your comments and even see a few recipes from you guys. For now though, I gotta say Happy Monday and I am outta here.

Staycation

Yesterday was a crazy day. Depending on your idea of accomplishment, I either did very little or quite a lot. By days end....it really seemed like very little to me, but I did get some important stuff off my plate. My issue right now is....I am somewhat unmotivated. Blah I have taken on a couple of new projects along with this whole dating thing and I am working to prioritize and get a good working schedule. The good news is, the busier I am, the more I usually accomplish and the better I usually am. Let's hope this continues to  hold true.

So on the home front.....the boys and I are currently in the midst of a stay-cation. For those unfamiliar with the term....it became a fashionable way to vacation when the bottom originally fell out of the economy. A stay-cation is usually a mini vacation in your own city or state. We are currently hitting some sites that we don't usually get to see or have never been to in Wichita. Yeah...over 40 years in the Wichita area and there are still a good many things I have not seen and done. Going to try and start changing that. It is all part of one of my new projects. It is a bit soggy today....but I don't see that stopping us at all. It is cool but not the least bit cold and both boys are raring to go. Oh...and I get to learn to work a GPS. This should make for good times had by all.

Since this day is full of busy-ness, I decided to bite the bullet and we all went to Mass at the same time this morning...... and by we-all...... that means I took David too. I have never taken him to the Villa for Mass before just because I didn't want him to be disruptive to those poor elderly people, but today, if we didn't all go together, we weren't all going to get to go. Since it is only a thirty minute Mass and thanks to a bag of Goldfish crackers, he actually did pretty well. This really  might be the way for us all to get to go to Mass as a family from here on in. I liked it.

This morning I didn't feel that Fathers sermon was so much directed at me personally as it was a general sermon to all. It was about "why me?" Usually I try not to say "why me?" I try to have a pretty clear understanding of the fact that no one gets through this life without pain, hurt and sadness but that they are all balanced out with joy, love and happiness. We all get our fair share of both and to dwell on the bad, makes you lose time with the good. I know that instead of "why me?" we are suppose to say "why not me?" But I am not quite that good yet, so I say nothing and move on.

Father talked a bit about St. Maximilian Kolbe. His death was a direct result of standing up and taking the place of someone who was scared and afraid when he was chosen for death. He began to cry out "why me?" and because of this, St. Kolbe offered to take the mans place. Because of the time and the place of this situation...and internment camp during World War II, it wasn't fair that any of these people were put to death. It wasn't fair that St. Kolbe had to stand up and give his life so that someone else might be saved, but then again.....life isn't always fair. Perhaps we should remember that it wasn't fair either....that Jesus had to suffer and die a horrible, torturous death so that we could be saved. Nor is it fair that even after making such a sacrifice there are those who still choose to blaspheme Him, disrespect Him and most of all deny Him. I guess what I am trying to say here is......get used to it....life is not always fair in our eyes and God never promised us fair or easy in this life.....only in the next. Words I will try to remember the next time I have a bit of a pity-me moment.

This upcoming week looks to be fairly promising. There are some exciting things on the horizon and I am looking forward to both having fun and being productive in the days to come. Z is feeling much better after being started on meds. We finally got to the root of his issues. After being poked and prodded and drained of large amounts of blood, the verdict is that he does not have an auto-immune disease nor does he have hepatitis. He does however have some thyroid issues which we are going to an endocrinologist to get these under control and he has abdominal migraines. Until Z....I had never heard of such a thing. Migraines yes....but abdominal migraines....no. The scoop is.....they usually occur in kids who a) have a parent who has had migraines or b) who has been through a great amount of stress (i.e. family, bullying, etc.) Ding...ding...ding! Z is lucky enough to have both. I have suffered with migraines since I was very young and we all know that Z's life has been nothing but stress since he was 5 years old. Apparently head migraines start in the head and as they progress cause nausea and stomach pain. Abdominal migraines though start in the stomach with pain and nausea and then move to the head. The end result for both is severe headache, nausea.....sometimes vomiting and sometimes low grade fevers. They have put him on meds that he gradually has to increase over time until he has a therapeutic level in his system but after about three days he started feeling better. Also....they still have no clue why he tested positive for mono not once but twice, once at the ER and once in the doctors office but his Epstein Barr shows he never had mono at all. I guess he is just a medical mystery....but as long as he is feeling better, I am okay with that.

So today I am good. We are ready to complete our stay-cation, we have been to church and I have a new GPS to play with. I am looking forward to a great day. Hope yours is great too. Happy Sunday everyone!

And a side note....yesterday I was so busy with me, I forgot to mention that it was the birthday of a very special lady. Yesterday was Ruth Poteete's birthday and this was the first year she got to spend it in heaven. Ruth I thought of you often yesterday....as I do many days and I have no doubt that your day was truly blessed. Happy Birthday dear lady. You are greatly missed!

Harshing Your Mellow

It's good old rant day. I am sure there are many rants boiling up inside of me, but today I feel a bit mellow. It is true fall outside. It is cool and rainy and ever so often you can hear that glorious rolling thunder. I honestly think that today I am too......dare I say......at peace to get too bent out of shape over anything. Not too worry though, I still have a few unresolved issues that I will cover here.

Although I am not very rantish today.....here are the things that have and do piss me off on a regular basis. I am sure next week I will be back to my old gritchy self and be ready to elaborate on one or more of these. But until then.....just know that these are what reside in the mind of ME and keep me in need of hair color, aspirin and antacids. So here are my rants:

T-Mobile: Once you were so good, now you just make me want to throw the phone each time I talk to a representative. And don't even get me started on my bill.


T-Mobile phones: Granted, this looks like it should fall under the T-Mobile rant, but trust me.....the phone issues I have are a rant all to themselves. With my newest phone, no one can hear me when I answer my dang phone. A little frustrating if someone is calling me with an emergency! Grrrrrr

Dillons Grocery (part of the national Kroger chain): I love to get your salads at lunch. In fact...some days that is the best part of my day. Obviously others feel the same. So explain to me why at lunch time you only have one or two checkout lanes open to support both large quantity shoppers and the lunch time crowd? It would be nice to actually be able to buy my lunch and eat it....in my hour allotted time.

Dating sites: Who monitors these things? Does anyone monitor these things? Those of faint heart or just easily intimidated or embarrassed would be running for the hills before they even were fully accepted on the site. Luckily I am none of the above.....but the sites still piss me off.

Men on dating sites: Again....this should fall under the dating sites umbrella....but again....this is an entity all it's own. Some of these guys are stupid scary. Judgmental? Not if it is true. Some of these guys go out of their way to put their worst foot forward. Others, refuse to put either foot forward, and others just tell the most transparent lies I have ever heard. While interacting with these guys is interesting (and by interesting I mean......in most cases scary), I think it is good practice for the real world, but I have my doubts that Mr. Right is hiding anywhere amongst the profiles I have come up against.

Lawn Mowers: Yes....I have three and not a one works. Now it has been implied to me that it could be user error, but I simply refuse to believe this. I blame it fully and solely on the fact that lawn mowers in all forms are evil and they have but one desire in this lifetime: to make me have to pay to have my lawn mowed. I hate lawn mowers.

Certain agencies who are suppose to be advocates for kids with special needs: I am sorry but unless you are willing to get off your ever widening back side and carry through on what you claim you can and will do, you are worthless. Also, giving false information just so you don't have to fill out paperwork is also unacceptable. However....being able to terminate your services and turn you into your superiors while you are on vacation......tremendously satisfying. 

People who lie and make false claims in order to get a product free from me: Without too much elaboration, I put out a product. I put out a good product which reflects me and I have only had one complaint on it. It has been from the same person over and over again.....and yet amazingly they still come back. Also amazingly the (apparently unsatisfactory) product is never returned to me and from what I understand is consumed right along with the free one I replace it with. Hmmmm, sound a little fishy to you? It does to me too. Am I being taken advantage of? Oh I think so, but no more. No free replacement unless proof of unsatisfactory product. This should stop the game playing! Again.....grrrrrrrrr

And finally.....reality TV: I know I have touched on this before.....but I have to say....REALLY? Granted, we could all turn off our TV's and walk away, but we won't and our kids are growing up on this stuff. In what reality should the likes of Snooki and the other crazies in the cast of Jersey Shore be stars? And not only are they stars, but kids emulate these people. Here in Kansas....YES Kansas.....I have seen overly fake tanned girls with the Snooki poof and foul mouth. I have seen little white Kansas boys again overly fake tanned trying to look like Guido juice heads from Jersey. WHY? If they are anything at all like their show depicts, there is not a full brain between this entire group of 20 somethings and their life is nothing more than being outrageous  and shocking the public to keep their name in lights. Is this really what we have come to as a country? When they talk about the dumbing down of America.....they just have to be talking Jersey Shore.

Okay....so there you have it. It is my non-rant Rant....where I actually ranted just a little about a lot. Hmmmmmm So here is hoping that you are enjoying your Saturday as much as I am and I certainly hope that I didn't harsh your mellow! Happy Saturday everyone!

Motherhood for Dummies....The 16 Rule

It has been a week for oh so many reasons. I am tired and I am so completely happy that it is Friday.  So in today's blog.....I am actually asking for input. Usually I don't second guess myself much. Okay....to rephrase.....usually I don't second guess myself to other people much, but right now I am.

Last night, talking to an acquaintance....I was call old fashioned and told my ideas on childhood relationships were antiquated. Granted....these were some of the nicer things I have been called this week, but these hit a nerve with me. The reason for the comments? A conversation on when is a good age to let your kids start dating. When I was growing up....the rule in my house was 16. My mother was firm on that rule as I was grounded for a lengthy amount of time when I got caught kissing a boy in my basement at 15. Yeah...THAT was a memorable first kiss. I was allowed to go out in groups, have kids to my house in groups, but I was not allowed to actually go on a one on one date until the magical age of 16. I remember even back then this being a source of contention between my mother and I as I don't believe any of my friends were made to follow this rule. Back then it seemed unfair, but as I have grown older I have seen the wisdom in such a rule.

My children too have grown up with the 16 rule. Even Man Child had to wait until he was 16....not that it really mattered. He never had the money to take anyone out anyway. Now we have Z. Z is 15 and he has had a couple of serious (serious for a 15 year old) girlfriends. Yeah...I broke my rule, but with the breaking came some stiff rules about where they could go, who they could go with and strict adherence to curfews. The first time I watched my baby walk out the door with a girl (and an older one at that) I felt like a failure as a mom. I felt as if I had broken some supreme rule and let generations before me down. Did I do it right?

I still think the 16 rule is a good one. Goodness knows that even at 16 for the most part....today's kids still have a long way to go in maturity, but if you press too hard, they will rebel. I did and when I did it was not just a little....but I went wild. As a parent I now get the fact that  parents (especially single parents) feel so protective of their kids and once those kids walk out that door, we are powerless to ensure their safety. We can arm them with a cell phone, pepper spray and body armor and they can still be vulnerable to some kind of danger. That is why we have to do our jobs as parents inside our homes.....so that when they walk outside our home.....they are not only physically prepared, but also mentally. Knowledge is power.

But back to the 16 rule. As I was discussing these very thoughts with my acquaintance I was laughed at as old fashioned. I was told that NOBODY followed such a rule anymore and that kids were far more mature in today's society thanks to TV, sex ed classes and the internet than they ever were when I was a kid. When I asked what age they felt a kid should start dating, 12 or 13 was thrown out there. WHAT???? I thought they were kidding! They were not. I was floored. That is still a baby by my standards. Okay....maybe not a baby, but way too young to be on a one on one date alone. When I was 12 I think I still thought boys had cooties. I know darn good and well dating them hadn't crossed my mind at that time. What the heck is happening to our kids innocence? Why are we allowing them to grow up so fast? Am I really old fashioned and antiquated or is this just part of the break down of the family unit in today's society?

Okay....Z has been out on some dates and so far so good. Soon he will be 16 and although he still seems so young to me, I feel and hope that he has a good head on his shoulders and he is as prepared as I can make him.....short of riding along in the back seat of the car. However....I am still second guessing myself. Did I let Z start too early? So here are my questions for anyone who cares to chime in. Is 16 an antiquated age to start dating? What age is too young? Should boys be given a different age than girls? If so....why the double standard? Do shows like Teen Mom and The Secret Life of the American Teenager dissuade kids from growing up too fast or do they actually promote the glamor of it? Who truly thinks a 12 or 13 year old is mentally or emotionally mature enough to date? All answers are welcome. It is probably too late for me to back track at this stage, but you never know who will be reading the blog. Your answers may actually help someone else.

Okay....so do good mom's second guess themselves? Probably not, but EPIC mom's discuss their kids dating life in a blog. Z just rolls his eyes and moves on. He is used to life with mom the blogger. lol

Here is hoping that your Friday is just as EPIC as I am. Happy Friday all!

I Heart Blogging

So it is a true fall morning here in Lisaland. We are apparently out of summer now and my only hope is we actually have a fall and don't dive into a cold winter like we did with our "hot" summer. Anyway...since it is a beautiful cool morning, you may want to snuggle back with your cup of coffee and blankie and enjoy reading my To Like or Not to Like. Or like most of my readers....open my blog tab and then sneak peaks at it before the boss catches you. Yeah....that's how I roll too!

Okay, so again a Like. Today may look like gratuitous self-promotion....which it is, but it is also about what I love above all else (other than God and my kids). What might you ask would that be? Why BLOGGING of course! If you know me at all, and by now like it or not...most of you do, you know that I don't just like blogging....I LOVE blogging. There are not enough heart emoticons on the planet to express how much I love blogging. Since I decided at the beginning of the year to make a goal of consistency and stick with it....this is the only thing I have been able to stay consistent with. Maybe because I can take blogging anywhere, do it anytime (yes....my boss loves the dedicated employee I am *snicker) and my mind is always thinking of new blogs..... is why it just fits so well into my life. Blogging is also probably the only reason I haven't become homicidal or pulled all my hair out this year. It is a wonderful way to self medicate and better yet....share those self-medicating issues with the world.

Something some of you may not  know is, this isn't my only blog. I actually have two more tucked away and gathering dust. Today I am pulling them out of the cobwebs, dusting them off and re-introducing them to the world. Neither of them are every day blogs and likely never will be. Both of them are less about "everyday" life and more about a specific subject. The first one I would like to introduce to you is: Life With the Incredible Mr. David. This blog is all about my youngest son who is special needs. As you can see...it goes dormant for long periods of time because when I do write in it....it is usually very emotional and difficult for me. I am usually inclined to blog there when health issues are rearing their ugly heads and I am feeling lost and alone in a world that I am still trying to find my way through. Now that this is back out and dusted off....perhaps I will start writing more about the world of special needs and my little guy who seems to break most stereo types and continues to raise the ceiling on his capabilities. I would be thrilled if you took the time to read this blog and even more thrilled if you decided to follow it. I promise to keep it better updated and you too can know the joy that is my David.

Okay...switching to the other end of the spectrum is my other blog. This has been jokingly referred to as my bitch blog, as that is what it seems like I always do. This blog TMI (Too Much Information About Weight Watchers, My Life and Me!) was a little blog I started when I decided to get serious (sort of) about my health. I learned quickly that unless I was accountable to someone....I would never make it. So I decided to be accountable to the blog world. This takes you on the journey of my weight loss, lack of weight loss, bad habits, learning good habits and saying good bye to old friends like Ranch dressing and Dt. Mt. Dew. (Side note....Dt. Mt. Dew and I are seeing each other again...but only casually!) This blog while touching on serious subjects is very tongue and cheek and is meant to share with people that are going through similar life changes and let them know that they are not alone and that there is humor in everything. Again....reading and following would make my day.....and I know you are ALL about making my day.  This is a blog that I REALLY need to get back to and hope to make a start on that immediately.

So here you have it. My likes for this week. Apparently what this boils down to is.....I LIKE me. I hope you do too. Have a beautiful fall Thursday. Happy Thursday everyone!