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?

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What is Open Blogging? According to my friend, Antman, Open Blogging is:

“Open Blogging is the use of one blog by an unlimited number of authors or contributors. Open Bloggin’, like the name suggests, is an open blogging platform where anyone from the blogosphere can post whenever and whatever they want. Open Bloggin’ changes the way blogs work by increasing the social networking interaction of bloggin’, providing more information, creating more robust dialog and feedback and offering more exposure to the authors. An Open Blog is full of energy as they are always on.”

Sounds like a pretty exciting concept, doesn’t it?

Where can you find this cool, new Open Blog? On The AntHill, of course–the internet’s first Open Blog! If you haven’t already, go see the great posts and interesting conversations for yourself!

What can The AntHill do for me? By writing posts on The AntHill, it not only gives you a larger audience of readers, it exposes you to people who may not otherwise hear of your blog! There is always new stuff being posted, and the discussions that follow are often informative, fun and an easy way to make connections with folks you may not come across anywhere else!

How can I join? Go to the sign up page and get started!

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The fabulous Tammy from Mom Knows Everything tagged me for the “My Daily Routine” meme. So, here goes!

My Daily Routine

What time do you usually wake up?
Depends on the day and when/if I’m working. Usually somewhere between 7 and 9 a.m.

What is the first thing you do?
Say good morning to my Sweetie!

Breakfast?
Almost never.

Do you go to work/school?
Sometimes I work in the morning (sometimes in the afternoon). I will be going to school in September!

Do you like it?
The job? Not so much.

If you stay at home what do you do all day?
The days I am home, I spend most of my time on the computer–blogging, buzzing around cre8Buzz!, researching various things, etc. I do force in some cleaning and stuff too.

When’s lunch and what you eatin’?
If I’m at work, I usually don’t have lunch. If I’m home, I make sandwiches or heat-up leftovers for Tim and I (and Maddie).

What time do you get home from school/work?
Varies.

What do you do?
Currently, I’m a Customer Service Associate at a convenience store (which basically means I do a little bit of everything).

Dinner - when and what?
Tim and I are usually involved in a project(s), so we’re both pretty flexible about what time we eat dinner. When I’m on the ball, we eat about 6 p.m. What we eat depends on our mood, how hungry we are and what’s in the fridge/freezer.

What do you do to unwind?
Blog, take long bubble baths, read.

What is your favorite part of the day?
Morning: The first cup of coffee and firing up the computer. And bedtime: Snuggling in with Tim and being able to finally relax!

Who’s your favorite person to interact with?
Tim–damn good thing, too, huh? And my kids.

When’s bedtime?
Again, no hard and fast rules there. When I’m too tired to focus on the computer screen, it’s time to call it a night!

Who’s bedtime with?
My tech support guy, my best friend, my soulmate. Any guesses?

I’m not going to tag anyone, but feel free to play along if you’d like–and please let me know if you do!

*Reminder: Please go and vote for Madison (”The Salty Mooch”) HERE. You can vote once per day and the contest runs until the end of May! Thank you for your support!

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Mimi from Mimi Writes has created one of the coolest memes ever: Message in a Bottle.  For all the participants and how you can throw your own bottle into the blog ocean, just go HERE.

My second contribution to the Message in a Bottle Meme:

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From the talented and creative Becca at BeccA’s Buzz, it’s time once again for “Give Me 5 Monday”!

Give me 5 ways you like to de-stress, relax, wind-down or kick back:

1. Take a nice, long, hot bubble bath
2. Get lost in a good book
3. Take a walk
4. Pamper myself: do my nails, go get my hair cut, treat myself to something chocolate
5. Go shopping (it’s been a while since this tactic has been used though… See previous post!)

The ‘Give Me Five’ Monday meme is designed to share fun information 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 at beccagirl@charter.net.

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It’s time for Scrolling Saturday again! The topic this week: Should I go back to school?

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Too Cool For School–At 40?

Last summer, I decided I was going to attend the local community college. In a short period of time, I applied to the school (and was accepted!), applied for financial aid and took my placement test. Then, life just seemed to get in the way, and I never enrolled.

Lately, though, I’ve been thinking more and more about getting that fire going under myself again.

As far as I’m concerned, my career has reached a dead end. My background is in retail, and I just don’t have the energy to do that anymore. I want to do something different–perhaps even something meaningful.

I want to get my Associate’s Degree as a Human Services Technician…I think.

I’ll be 40 years old in just two months. Am I crazy to be considering starting all over at this age? Or is it never too late to improve your life?

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Two months after writing this, I’m still undecided. Any advice from the blogosphere?

To see all the participants of Scrolling Saturday, or to join in the fun, visit THIS PAGE.

Scrolling Saturday was created by Melissa at Such Simple Pleasures and Coleen at Manners and Moxie. Be sure to stop by and show them some bloggy-love!

Happy Saturday!

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Welcome friends–new and not-so-new! I’m proud to be a participant in the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2008! Please click on the image above to see what it’s all about!

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See other Sky Watch Friday participants here: Wiggers World.

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Colin from Life tagged me for The Domino Effect meme.

Vanniedosa

Thea is {bloggerhappy.com}

Childstar

Mike

My Scrappy Side

Abie

Aggie

Alpha

Apple

Apols

Jacqui

Jane

Jody

Joy

Kelly

Mich

Peachy

Liza (A Simple Life)

Tet

Nyumix

JulianaRW

Liza(MCN)

Wifespeak

MAX

Colin

Stacey (Real World Mom)

Simply add your name to the bottom and pass it forward

I would like to tag the following victims bloggers:

Becca @ BeccA’s Buzz, Carolyn @ The Bingham Diaries and Melissa @ Such Simple Pleasures (yes, I know it’s only 3). Anyone else who would like to join in, feel free!

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Becca from BeccA’s Buzz has done it again! Another great Give Me 5!

The ‘Give Me Five’ Monday meme is designed to share fun information 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 at beccagirl@charter.net.

THIS WEEK’S THEME:  GIVE ME 5 LINKS TO YOUR OWN PAST BLOG POSTS THAT ARE MOST MEMORABLE FOR YOU.

1-  To Pierce or Not to Pierce (12/27/07)~  Guess I like this post because I decided to stand up to my stbx.  For years, he controlled me (or tried to), so it’s empowering to do what I think is right, whether he agrees or not.  Her birthday is in three weeks!

2-   Another Form of Family (12/16/07)~  This one is near and dear to my heart because it’s about my friends and how important they are to me.

3-  Perfectionism (12/12/07)~  I battle with this way too frequently.

4-  Teen Alcohol & Substance Abuse (1/25/08)~  Important info here!

5-  Top 10 Sex Myths Debunked (1/21/08)~   Found some entertaining stuff in the article that inspired this post.

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