I'm a princess because my DADDY said so!!!!

My proudest accomplishment.....Well honestly I think keeping 3 wild boys alive daily should count BUT again that would be the easy way out! So my proudest accomplishment (other then my monsters) is......my Independence! See, I can't lie, I was a spoiled child! Kept in a bubble and very happy to stay in that bubble. I married a guy who didn't mind taking care of me (financially, and NO I am not a gold digger) so when things went south I heard a lot of...."you are a spoiled little princess!! You would never make it without me!! what are you going to do run home to mommy and daddy?" Well, I started to believe this as my only option, I mean what did I know I had NEVER stood on my own!  I guess I should mention that I have always said I am a princess because my daddy said so and until his dying day he backed me on that! However, I learned REAL quick that while my daddy spoiled me and made me the princess I am today, he also taught me some very important lessons! For example, when I left my ex I left with 3 kids, NO money, and only the clothes I could fit in my car! I refused to let my ex be right! I was not running home to anyone, so I ran to a piece of crap might as well of been a shack rental, and that's when it happened! Everything my dad had taught me came to play. See I watched my dad my entire life make something out of nothing! He worked his butt off so his girls could have ANY and EVERYTHING they wanted! So now it was my turn, My boys would NOT do without!! I used that great example my daddy taught me and I worked and worked  and worked my tail off!! I got discouraged a lot as there where times I didn't even have enough money for gas to get to work, but I remembered something my dad said my entire life...."If you can fix the problem with money, it's NOT a problem", this my friends is a TRUE statement. I learned that the hard way. I was well on my way up the career ladder when I got the worst news of my life!! My dad was terminal!! It seemed like a blur and honestly I would have sold my soul to save him!! this was my world, this was the ONLY person who I felt truly and Unconditionally loved me! I mean I had given this man all the reasons in the world to be disappointed in me and he assured me he NEVER was and he meant that! When he passed I was devastated!! BUT I remembered how strong he always was, I remembered all the ways he taught me to be strong and while I have had my setbacks I pushed through and have turned into a successful, independent woman!! I have a great job and make a very nice home for my boys all by myself, Despite all the ones who thought I didn't have it in me.  I mean.....remember I was a spoiled little princess, but guess what this spoiled princess learned a lot from the man who made her so rotten :) I learned about hard work, importance of family, and the TRUE meaning of unconditional love! So yes, I am a princess, a very successful one....because my DADDY said so!!! and don't you forget it!

Ohhhhhhh HEYYYYY

Ok I am back, got through Halloween and some crazy work deadlines so maybe I can be more consistent again. Today's topic....running into an ex. Now this was supposed to come later this week but I decided to discuss it today, I'm just wild like that, and I ran into one last night so it's fresh on my brain. This can be a tricky situation, if you run into an ex you no longer have feelings for you tend to find yourself content with a hello and good to see you, BUT if you do still have feelings for the ex it can be.....ummmmmmm nauseating! You know, your heart drops into your stomach and it literally takes your breath away, yeah good times. Well in my case I was having drinks with an out of town girlfriend who was visiting last night. We were catching up on all things important when out of the corner of my eye BOOM he's standing right there, holy mess I had come to his place of work (which I like this place and refuse to avoid it because of a guy). I didn't know this is where he worked as he has changed jobs since I last spoke to him. None the less there he was! I did a stellar job of ignoring him for a good while but then I made the mistake of....making eye contact. Oops, now he's not sure what to do, that was very obvious, but we say hey (probably the most awkward hey ever) and he says "I wasn't sure you wanted to speak to me"....That was like a punch in the stomach...see last time I text him I laid everything I felt about him on the line, EVERYTHING, then asked that he never text me again because I couldn't handle being just friends....see this is not a good situation to be in, yet there I was. He must have asked 3 times what I was up to, all of them had the same answer, work and baseball. Then on round 3 he says "and single girl status" ahhhhhh shit he's read the blog!! I immediately start racking my brain, what have I said that relates to him? I know I've wrote about him, and if he didn't realize that before he does now, yet still I was happy to know he read it...this bi-polar moment brought to you by!! It felt like at this point it was time to exit stage left, I ended up leaving without saying goodbye, which at the time seemed like a perfect plan but today.....not so much! I wish I had said bye, I wish I had grabbed a little closure, I wish I didn't still freaking care!! But hey, I do, and that's just part of having exes....part of being single. Yes you have moments where you want to hide under a table, yes there's pain and hurt feelings, no it's not as fun as it looks all the time, but that's  OK! It's life, and if you don't let the little things (like exes) get you down, then it's a good one!!

Talkin bout my Girls

I am going to keep this one short and sweet as this girl has SOOOO many deadlines to meet! I will be back on track after Halloween. Todays topic, my favorite single girl behavior? Well sadly I think I am pretty normal as far as single girl habits go. I mean I watch EVERY Real Housewives show, I drink wine alone sometimes, I am definitely a huge fan of singing Disney songs and dancing around my house and I eat icing right out the can! Those are normal....right?? However my favorite single girl behavior is.....My girls!! Now yes, I have always had friends, but while married I was forced to restrict my time with them. My ex didn't really love me spending too much time with my girls, he was my "best friend" as he would say. Well yes he was, but I certainly couldn't talk girl talk with him and I know he didn't care to hear me complain....about him! Hello Girlfriends needed!! Now some of you married girls have very understanding husbands when it comes to this so good for you, should I ever remarry I will have a beyond understanding man! That being said, now that I am single I LOVE LOVE being a better friend to my girls. I am so blessed with so many AMAZING friends and they have supported me through soooooo much, so it's very nice to finally be able to give them the friendship they deserve in return. So to all my girls, especially a certain 3 (thread) ;) thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for loving me through the good, the bad, the BEST and my very very UGLY!! I have gone to very dark places in the past 2 years but I have never walked alone, and this is why I thank God everyday for my fav single behavior, my girls!

DID THAT JUST HAPPEN??!?!?!?

Ok so I took a break! This single mom has had a heck of a week!! But I am back and today's topic is a great one for me…..Worst date ever! WOW this one was so easy to pick, it all started when I decided to listen to friends that thought I needed to date, you know get back in the saddle.  So I meet this guy through friends, a blind date if you will, and I am super nervous because it’s my first date since the divorce (turns out dating is like riding a bike, a terrible, rusty, uncomfortable bike).  I get my best heels on and I am ready to go, I get a text, because God forbid anyone pick up a phone, and it says to meet him in Pell City (he lives in Oxford).  So we meet, I am not overly impressed by his looks but trying not to be superficial I keep my mind open.  His suggestion for a first date dinner…..Cracker Barrel……Don’t get me wrong I love cracker Barrel, when I am with my granny, but on a first date…..REALLY!?! But hey I roll with it, what do I know, it’s been 10 years since I have been on a date. WELLLLLL at this lovely dinner he then plays on his phone checking his ESPN app as if there were some amazing stat he might miss while eating his veggie plate, needless to say I am annoyed but again keeping that OPEN mind! While he was on his phone I get a text that one of my nearest and dearest friends and her hubs were nearby, yep I put them on standby and glad I did because next stop on this first date disaster was to a lake with a walking track…..supposedly a romantic spot in good ole Anniston….keep in mind it’s like 40 degrees out. YES I had my friends head straight to the track to be my back up.  All the way to this lake he builds it up like we are about to take a gondola ride down the Riviera, turns out it was a walk around a freezing lake with a mile long walking track…..yeah buddy!! As we are walking this freezing track he says see there’s a happy couple (the only other people at this creepy park) and it was ALL I could do to hold in my laughter as this happy couple was my couple, my bestie there to make sure I don’t end up at the bottom of this Anniston “lake”.   After a 2 mile walk and a frozen nose he suggest a tour of the oxford/Anniston area…OH GOODY just what I have always hoped for, needless to say my friends were out! (they did stay on call for me though) However before this “magical” tour started he needed to stop by his house and get something, honestly I can’t remember what, and what happens at the house where I stay in the car……he brings his SON out to meet me!!!!! Now look I have NOTHING against kids!! I have 3, BUT you DO NOT go introducing kids on a first date!!! Awkward!!!!! At this point I am thinking take the tour, go home, and call this a wash, but oh the tour. We are passing every pointless landmatk in Oxford AL and I pretend to care enough to get through this and then it happened…..THE MAIN EVENT….he says “are you ready for this?” I can’t lie I was thinking OMG something worth mentioning is finally going to happen, maybe it’s not a wash, I wait with great anticipation because he seems so freaking pumped about this next step in the tour!! Ok, here we are driving over a bridge and he says with so much excitement “ok ok …we are in Oxford ANNNNNNNDDDDDD NOW we are in Anniston!!!!!!!!!!” WHAT???????? A city line!?!?!?!?!? I pass 3 on my way to work!!!! Was this fool serious?!?!?! I am a sensible person, very cautious, but at that very moment it took EVERY bone in my body, EVERY fiber of my being not to open the door and jump from this moving vehicle of dating DOOM!!!! Oh but folks it doesn’t end there, NO NO we went to downtown Anniston which in his words “was like Birmingham only a little smaller”  (keep in mind Birmingham is NOT my fav city and this street looked like the smallest part of B’ham which was far from desirable to me), and then he says “those are the city’s 2 bars…but I don’t go to bars and I don’t drink ….only trashy people do!” STOP THE CAR!!!!!!!! OK here it is, I DO NOT judge! Period! And I DO drink…..SOOOOO “take my trashy self-back to my car please” yes my exact words. I was beyond DONE!! Longest ride back to a car EVER!! I even swore off dating that night lol that obviously didn’t stick but none the less it was THE WORST experience in dating I have ever had, and right out the gate at that, I mean did I really waste a cute outfit and a fabulous pair of heels on that??? Answer….yes, yes I most certainly did and I laugh so hard about it now! So while dating can suck, and I have wasted many a cute outfit, it’s ok because if you can laugh at the end….eh it’s ok if it happened.

STOP!

I'm in the air again, as usual, so here's to another airborne blog! Today's challenge google the meaning of your name and say if it fits you or not. Well mine means victory of the people...I think we can all agree this accurate ;) you're welcome people. Since this challenge seems a tad ridiculous to me I'm gonna change the topic, I'm just that wild and crazy! I want to talk about something that's been on my mind lately....bullying! I have seen first hand some very serious forms of bullying lately. It makes me sick! Parents, what are we doing wrong?? I know that every problem a child has can't be blamed on the parent but when you have bullies starting as early as 1st grade, who do we blame? I am blessed that my children, as of now, stand up to bullying. CO my middle got suspended last year for standing up for a child who couldn't stand up for themselves (even the vp said he hated having to suspend him for the situation but fighting is fighting and rules are rules). However IF, and I say if  because I've learned to never say my child will never, so if  my child were to bully someone he would NOT want to come home and face the wrath of me!! I assure you this! So parents, yes you can't control your child when they aren't with you, but how about putting a healthy fear and some morals into them. Let them know that bullying is NOT ok!! Here is an example....when CO was in 1st grade he got jumped on the playground, crazy right?!? First grade!!!! (He's in 7th now)  Well yes this happened all because my child played sports at a city park that's a rival of the school he goes to. (They now play sports for their school team and are great assets to the team thanks to the training they got at the rival city park). How was I to know you could catch such hell for playing city baseball?? I had a chance to talk to the parent of the child that started the bullying that led to CO getting jumped in 1st grade (he held his own btw, he would be mad if he ever read this and I didn't mention my sweet hearted child can fight, 1 of 3 boys=survival lol) and this parent says to me " yea I told my child to mess with him, he shouldn't be playing at that other park"!! I almost came out of my skin!!! People this is the problem!! Parents are not giving the right example!! I am begging you parents to not be your child's friend...be their loving parent and teach them morals and class! Teach them to be kind to their fellow classmates as they do not know these children's struggles! Keep up with their social networking if you allow them to have any...my children have no fb it's too easy to sneak around on fb, however when I feel they are responsible enough they can have one, but I WILL monitor it! No it's not an invasion of privacy it's called parenting, more people should try it! There is currently 2 children (12 year olds) on trial up north for bullying on fb that led to another 12 year olds suicide. This is unnecessary and parenting (on all sides) is key!! If the parents would have monitored their children's fb pages maybe this could've been avoided! So to put it clearly....Step up parents, save lives, STOP bullying!! 

When one door closes.....

Where I am today vs. where I thought I would be......I'm proud to say I'm beyond where I ever expected. Growing up I had the typical little girl princess outlook on life, you grow up, you get married, have kids and you live happily ever after. Well that plan went flying out the window very early on! At 17 I gave birth to my amazing oldest son, no Prince Charming in the picture and certainly out of the original order of things. This in many people's mind, set me up for early failure. I was led to believe at this point I just needed to do what I could to get by and throw all my dreams out the window, and I did for a while. A few mistakes later (and I never call my children mistakes so that's not what I'm speaking of) I ended up in my "happily ever after", married, kids, house, you know "the dream". Turns out this Disney dream of mine was more like a nightmare. So 30 years old, back to square one, and far from where I thought I would and should be, I started my new ever after. Of coarse I had my pity party, balloons and all, telling myself it was all so unfair. Why me? Where was my happily ever after? Why was my Prince Charming less of a night in shinning armor and more of an idiot in Tinfoil? These are questions I still haven't got answers for, but I learned quickly I didn't need these answers, I learned I didn't need saving, because as it turns out all the negatives had brought me strength I didn't even know I had. Strength that gave me the courage to get to where I am today, and lord knows it wasn't an easy road. I've worked tirelessly to build what I have, Blood, sweat, and tears literally, but here I am.

I have more then I could have ever imagined.....I am a single mother that has THE most WONDERFUL monsters :) and as I sit here writing this  I am in a 5 star hotel, in a major city, on business. My work has taken me all over the world, which is much more then this small town girl ever thought she was capable of. So, I have this successful career, much more successful then I could've ever imagined, amazing kids, amazing friends that are like family, and much more and  while I had a lot of heart ache on the way, I regret none of it as it's molded me into the proud single working mother I am today. Not my original dream, but my amazing reality none the less. 

I can wait....

Sorry for the break in my challenge! busy busy week, and once again this is coming to you from the air. Todays topic: 5 traits I require in my future mate...

1.) honesty!! This is so important in any relationship and unfortunately is lacking in most relationships. I've been lied to more then I'd like to admit and I've let myself believe those lies even more then I would like to admit, but ultimately those lies have been the destruction of what otherwise could've been great relationships. Once being lied to all trust is gone. Which brings me to 2!

2) trustworthy! This is huge with me! For starters, if I'm dating you I don't want to worry that every time I turn my back I have to wonder what's he getting into? Who's he talking to? And in return I expect him to trust me. I travel A LOT! That's probably pretty obvious and I can't stand a man thinking he has to worry when I'm gone. If I choose to be with you that's what I've chosen to do...don't question my loyalty. Also I'm a firm believer in having girls nights (and guys having guys nights) with zero doubt from either parties mind. If you trust each other, this healthy practice of having your own friends can be amazing to the relationship. However lack of trust, just like lying can be the quickest end to a relationship ever! I'm not a check your phone or emails snooping kinda girl so in my mind if you get to the point your in your partners business like that, it's past time to move on. 

3) successful! This does not mean he has to have tons of money. Ladies if you are looking at a man for his money you are so not going in the right direction. In my opinion, successful means they have goals...some they've met and some they are still working on. They are stable and they are always looking to better themselves no matter how well they are doing. 

4) funny!! I absolutely must have a man with a sense of humor. It's no secret I can be a smart ass, but I like a smart ass back, as long as it's all in fun. Part of that butterfly feeling I talk about wanting so bad is laughter! LOVE LOVE laughter. 

5) saved the best for last....MUST love my boys!! This is the most important qualification for a man with me. I'm not saying it's easy, its far from it, loving someone else's child is a very strong form of love. However, to be with me those monsters of mine must be loved as much if not more then you love me! They trump all! I absolutely hate seeing women with children putting their child behind a man. Knowing the man is wrong and still taking up for his ridiculous behavior with their child...for me it's easy, treat my monsters badly....to the left (next)! 

Honestly listing these traits was easy, I know what I want, finding this seems to be the issue! Also, if I could list a 6th trait, I would like a godly man. Now I don't make it to church every Sunday, I like wine, I can have a sailors mouth every now and then, BUT I am a very spiritual person. I have a church family who loves me even though I can't be there all the time, and if I say I'll pray for you please believe you get prayed for. So I guess what I'm looking for is a man with the same morals and values my amazing daddy had. I saw how wonderful he treated my mother and me and my sisters and I refuse to settle until I find at least a close replica of his values. It's gonna  be hard in today's society but hey...I can wait :)