The Storm

This morning, I woke up, went for a run (in a t-shirt!!) and started cleaning the house and laughing as I watched Mike vacuum our deck area again. The windows were open and I began thinking, "What a great day!" Well, of course, this could not be the case. Something had to happen. (Don't worry, everyone is alive and safe, I just got really, really angry.)

As I completed sweeping about an inch of dirt of the bathroom floor (don't judge, I hate cleaning) I brought up how excited I am to leave in December because we do not have enough space in the condo for all the junk that has accumulated between us. (Rule #425 not to live in a condo - there is no storage space.) Anyway, Mike decided that was the perfect time to look at me shocked and exclaim "December? Who said anything about leaving in December?" Y'all my heart dropped to my stomach and both started beating really quickly. "What are you talking about?" I not so politely asked. Mike continued to explain that since his revisions to his comps are due in March, he will need 12-14 months to then start his dissertation and complete it.

I don't know how to explain how I was feeling at that particular point in time. Angry, disappointed, mostly angry. For the past, at least 6 months, I have been under the impression that we were moving in December 2010. This gave me a deadline to look forward to, and although I have adjusted to some parts of St. Louis, I still miss my friends and family desperately. I also feel like I have put my career on hold. I understand that I made a decision to move up here, and another to not re-take the bar in Missouri, but that was while I was under the impression that we would be out of here within a year. I feel I was fraudulently induced to continue living up here. (I have to stay on top of my legal lingo.)

Mike informed me that I already knew this deadline, but it must have been hard for him to believe himself while I was standing there yelling and crying. Not to give you TOO much detail, but I eventually grabbed my purse and left, trying to figure out where to go to calm down. Now, keep this mental picture in mind. I am wearing spandex running pants, a running shirt and a hoodie. I have no makeup on because I had not showered since my run and - I had not showered since my run. I was a mess. Besides, I am not one of those pretty criers. My eyes get puffy and my whole face turns red.

I found myself at the mall, and was actually just going to park and compose myself (I promise) when I started thinking about going to see Valentine's Day. I have been wanting to see it, so I looked up when it started. (These are the times when I am glad to have a "smart phone.") 15 minutes. Awesome! I drove closer to the movie area and dashed inside. At that point I thought, "How great is it that I don't know anyone here? I am disgusting!" I bought my ticket and grabbed a seat in the comforting darkness. Although the theater was packed, I was on a row alone...I must have looked dangerous.

I actually enjoy going to movies by myself. No one really cares if you are by yourself and you can laugh or cry in the privacy of your own seat. A few minutes into the movie, 2 tweens did come and sit right next to my, texting throughout the entire movie. What is the deal with that? But I kept my composure and tried to relax.

Y'all - this movie is hilarious. I wasn't sure what to think based on the reviews but I was laughing and crying hysterically. I may have been a little over enthused based on my recent breakdown, but I really enjoyed all the plot lines. After the movie, I rushed to get in the car so no one would see me, and headed home. Mike and I are fine....but we are having a little discussion tomorrow. I was so tired and went to bed at 8:00. Sorry if this is a little more detail than you were expecting, but you know I am never going to write about how everything in life is roses. Let's face it - it's not, and it never makes me feel good about myself when other people write that way. It just can't be true.

I know this is getting long, but the thing I keep reminding myself of is the story my mom tells about moving to Birmingham from Virginia. Dad got a job in Birmingham and promised my mother we would only stay for five years. At the time, they had me, 2 years old and Julia, 2 WEEKS old. Mom obviously moved and waited her obligatory five years. When dad came home to tell her that he had been offered a permanent position in the department, my mother cried for a week. However, now you can't get her to move. Growing up, I remember job offers that my father had, but mom stood her ground. So maybe that's the trick. I will wait out my time here and then stabilize the situation once we move.

So that was Saturday. On the bright side, I don't have to change my blog title for another year! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!!

This and That

Well, lots of things have been going on here. First, and the thing that will have the biggest impact is: I quit my job at the restaurant. I am not going to get into all the drama that occurred (even after the stuff I already told you about), but I was miserable. Mike and I agreed that the next time one of the managers sat me down to talk about how bad I was, I could resign. Don't worry - the next day, I was sat down AGAIN, and I gave them my two weeks notice. The good thing is, I don't think they are going to make me work an entire two weeks because they view me as such an inadequate staff member. As far as finding another job, I am hoping to get back into social work. I have a few lines in the water, so if you get a chance say a little prayer. Otherwise, Mike and I will be married and broke.

Next thing...my parents just came up for the holiday (Valentine's Day and President's Day) weekend. I was so happy to see them and we had a great time just catching up, and doing a little bit of touring. Dad made reservations at a great restaurant for Valentine's Day, we visited the Schlafley Brew House and got a lot of snow! It was the first time that it had actually snowed several inches here and looked beautiful. I wish I had pictures to show you, but I never end up bringing my camera when we go out.

That's about it. Just wanted to touch base and let you know what has been going on!

Technologically Advanced

I have always considered myself somewhat technologically advanced. I didn't understand why my grandmother had such trouble with email, or why my mom could not set up her Ipod. Lately though, I have noticed that I am not quite as advanced as I would like to believe. I recently got the "Droid" from Verizon. I was going back and forth between the Droid (similar to an Iphone) and a Blackberry. As the salesman was explaining the features of both, it became clear that I did not need the Blackberry as they are to keep you informed and focused within your business. Don't think I need that working at the restaurant.

So, Mike got me the Droid for Christmas. I basically handed it over to him to set up and then played with the things I knew how to do. I think I have only learned about 5% of what the phone actually does, but all I need is the ability to call people, text and send emails. All the other "apps" I have no need for. Nor do I need to be able to play air hockey on my phone, but Mike apparently does.

Getting to the point of this blog....yesterday I went to babysit my favorite kids, Jack and Jane. Jane was headed to a doctor's appointment, so it was just little man and me for a few hours. The last time I babysat him was 7 months ago. He is now 16 months, walking. pointing and grunting. When I arrived, Jack was still asleep so I got comfortable on the couch with a book. His mom had informed me that he was not feeling well and would probably sleep the entire time she was gone. 30 minutes later I heard him mumbling and moving around.

I went into the nursery to get him and we ate some fruit chews and cheetos while he woke up. (Don't judge.) We hung out for a little while before he decided to turn a movie on. He knew exactly how to go up to the television and push the power button. This should have been my first clue. As I was fumbling with the remote trying to get to the DVD setting, he sat patiently waiting. Poor little man. As the youngest, (and unable to talk) he gets no say in the movies that the kids watch. We watched the Disney Princess Sing a Long several times.

We played peek a boo, and walked up and down the stairs about five times before I realized that he didn't want to play downstairs. The playing WAS the stairs. I nixed that game. I had my purse sitting on the couch and he went right into it. All the kids I have babysat seem to love going through purses. The first thing little man grabbed was the phone. It was locked, but since it is a touch screen, after several attempts, he had it open. I didn't see anything really wrong with this - how much could he really hurt the phone? Aside from a booger I had to wipe off the front, everything was fine.

When the mom and little girl got home I got in my car and started driving home. I started to call Mike to see what he wanted for dinner and was met with a robotic voice informing me: "Warning: You are in airplane mode. No calls may be made in this mode." What?? As I drove and started pushing buttons (I know, it's not safe -I watched that Oprah) I could not figure out what in the world this little guy had figured out that I could not. FINALLY after about five minutes of pushing random buttons, I made it into the "airplane mode area" and was able to disable that function. I went to the grocery store, ate dinner and went to bed. The only thing I found odd was that I was not receiving any texts or alerts that I had emails. I attributed it to the fact that I am just not that popular and went to bed.

This morning I woke up and noted that, according to my phone, I still did not have any emails. I always get a report from Robin at CNN telling me the top stories of the day. I realized that I probably had not offended Robin and something was again off with my phone. So I played around with it until I found another secret compartment that turns off any access to the internet. Ok - no problem. Everything was fixed. But wait - why do I just have a list of names in my contact sheet rather than a list of names and numbers? I don't know what happened, how it happened or what little man pushed, but I have lost all my phone numbers. Every single one, except, and this is interesting, the name and number of the minister we are using for our wedding. Is that some odd game from above? I don't know. All I know is I cannot call you. I cannot text you. If you are interested in communicating with me, please email me your phone number! blackburn.jb@gmail.com

The final lesson: Don't underestimate a 16 month old!!