Real World Mom

One of the benefits of living at the New Jersey Shore is the boardwalk. (My apologies for the crappy cell phone photo. Bad mom forgot her camera!)

A friend and I took my daughter and one of her friends to spend too much money hang out on the boardwalk last night. The girls had a lot of fun–and so did we!

Here they are on a ride that is somewhat like an upside-down ferris wheel. As they would pass us (upside-down), they’d wave. Although this is the kind of thing I loved when I was younger, I wanted to puke just watching it!

This one was slightly easier for me to watch. It goes around in large circles, first in one direction, and then the other. This shot was taken while the ride was stopped, pretty high up. (Did I mention I’m also afraid of heights?)

In case you hadn’t already guessed, I didn’t go on any of the rides. I just enjoyed watching the girls have a blast! But I did treat myself to this cool mug:

Gotta love this philosophy, right?

Recently, I’ve come across some interesting headlines in the news that I thought were worth sharing.  Hope you enjoy!

Forty-four year old woman gives birth to her eighteenth child. Eighteen kids??  What the hell is she thinking?!  Among the brood are 10 girls and eight boys.  I’m going to have nightmares.

Seventy-three year old man grows pot along with his begonias. Police believe neighborhood kids actually planted the marijuana in with the flowers on the man’s doorstep.  This poor guy was apparently admired for gardening skills even he didn’t know he had!

Man blows up his apartment while spraying for bugs. Should this guy be living alone??  Fortunately, he’s ok, but his apartment is a loss.

Sanjib Saha divorces pretend wife. Then his real wife found out, and the shit hit the fan!  I can certainly understand wanting to be divorced, but…duh!

Hope you’re all smiling! 

Continuing with my “summer theme”, I give you this week’s Give Me 5 Monday from Becca at BeccA’s Buzz!

Give me 5 fun summer vacation memories from your childhood:

1. Spending time at my grandparents’ house. They lived in upstate Pennsylvania, and I loved it!
2. When I was 13, we drove to Florida, and spent a week there. I think that was my first ‘real’ vacation.
3. Going to Hershey Park with family and friends. The SooperDooperLooper was one of my favorite rides! (You could not pay me to get on that thing now!)



4. Sleeping late–and not feeling guilty!
5. Trips to the shore. (For those of you who don’t already know, I’m originally from PA. Now, I’m lucky enough to live at the shore!)

The ‘Give Me Five’ Monday meme is designed to share fun info with each other in a simple short list! Here’s how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn’t have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified. Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net.

Summer is my absolute favorite season. Here are some of the reasons why I love summer so much:

• Laying in the sun totally relaxes me
• The sound of seagulls
• Going to the beach (although I like that any time of year)
• Seeing (and smelling) all the beautiful flowers
• I’m able to wear shorts, go barefoot, or wear sandals
• It’s butterfly season
• Barbecues
• Sandy beaches
• The boardwalk
• Gardening
• Green leaves on the trees
• I can spend time outside
• My semi-tan

What are your favorite things about summer?

Real World Mom is now a college student!

About 26 new students gathered in the lounge for orientation. I have to admit, I felt completely out of my element at first. Of those 26 people, I’m sure I was the only one old enough to drink!

We were taken on a tour of the campus–which probably would have been more enjoyable had it not been so hot and humid–but I found it helpful.

Finally, we went to a lecture hall to meet advisors and begin scheduling our classes.

Being the anal detail-oriented person that I am, I already had my ideal schedule worked out, as well as a back-up to that.  Unfortunately, none of my classes were available at any of the times I wanted.  So, I did the best I could.

I’ll be taking three classes on-campus and two more online.  Hopefully I’ve set it up so that my work hours won’t be affected too much.  We shall see!

On Thursday, I’m going back to spend some time in the Financial Aid Office.  Originally, it seemed that my financial aid award would fully cover my tuition and books.  I found out yesterday that isn’t quite the case.  So, I have to go and see what, if anything, can be done.

I’m off to lay in the sun for a bit while it’s still sunny!

Tomorrow (Monday), is my orientation and registration at school. I will tour the campus and then register for my classes (fingers crossed the courses/days/times I want are still available). After that, I will be an official college student!

I’m planning to take six courses this semester, three of which will be online (at least that’s the plan). It’s great that this college offers so many of it’s classes off-site. It will make my life much easier by allowing me to fit those subjects in around work, my other classes, and, of course, blogging!

This is such a huge step for me. I’m excited and terrified!

For a very long time, I didn’t think that going to college was an option for me. And, the older I got, the hazier that dream became. Until I met someone who encouraged me to begin believing in myself–and my dreams–again. If it weren’t for him, the idea of going to school would be no more than a distant memory by now.

He helped me to see and understand that I could do this. When I was unsure of something, he would guide me through it. The times I allowed myself to doubt or falter, he’d either lovingly encourage me or lovingly kick me in the ass.

For all of this, and so much more, I thank him, from the bottom of my heart.

I also have to thank my friends and family for helping me reach this point in my life–including so many of you! When I wrote of my indecision about going to college (here), I received a lot of comments and emails from you, full of support, encouragement, and similar experiences. You truly made a difference!

Janice: I doubt you realize how much of a part you played in my decision, but I have to wonder if I’d be doing this if it weren’t for you too. I love ya, Honey!

Here it is! The new and improved Real World Mom! Purple is my favorite color, can ya tell?

Special thanks to my talented guy, Tim, for all the work he put into making this theme exactly what I wanted it to be! If you ever have a WordPress dilemma, he’s your man!

Tim: It’s perfect and I love you!

Happy 4th of July!