Diary of a Fickle White Woman

Current facebook status: "Moms at the park hate me." And it's true. Every time I take the kids, I have some uncomfortable encounter with the moms there. The first time I took my cousins to the park, I apparently crashed a play group. When the moms saw me rollin' up with my two cousins, they seriously watched to see if I was going to let "my" kids mingle with their kids. But not in a, "Oh, how nice, more kids to play with" look. No, it was more like a, "How dare you bring those kids to OUR park during OUR play group." I'm not kidding, anytime my cousin Nick would get close to the other kids, one of the moms would come over and redirect her child to another piece of equipment. I also tried to make conversation with one of the moms pushing her child on the swing next to me. Her response? Nada. Zilch. Nothing. She totally ignored me. Excuuuuuuuse me, Queen B. I told my cousin when she got home and she said she crashed the same play group...

I have a confession to make. A slightly embarrassing confession, at that. I get hit on. A lot. But not at bars. No, that never happens. And not at the gym (as if I frequent the gym that much. HA! (my trainer's gym doesn't count)). No. The only place I get hit on is at... Stoplights. Are you done laughing at me yet? I'm serious, y'all. This happens on a semi-regular basis and, given the way it is done, I can't even be flattered. Not even a little bit. And the best/worst part is, it always happens when I am fully aware that I look like road-kill. Do I look that hard up for a buck? Cuz I'm not, thanks. Take the most recent situation: I was on my way home from volunteering at the hospital in my super cute (sarcasm) uniform (red polo, hair in a pony with a headband on), don't even know if I had makeup on, windows were down, country was blasting through the speakers. All of a sudden, two guys, who I believe were younger than me, started shouting at me from THREE l...

Whew! I feel like I've been away from the blogosphere for months! First and foremost, thank you all SO much for the congrats regarding my exam!!! I did a horrible job of responding to you all like I normally do, but I truly, truly, appreciate it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I apologize for slacking in all things blog related as of late. I am struggling to find a balance in this crazy thing called life! Between being sick the past week (bronchitis, ugh!), school, homework, work, volunteering, and preparing for my nursing school entrance exam (so glad it's over! ), I've had to prioritize. Unfortunately, blogging isn't at the top of the totem pole. I have some blog ideas, it's just a matter of finding the time to do it! The thing about babysitting is that I don't have access to their internet from my own computer, so while I do have downtime when the kiddos are napping, I don't have the ability to blog--which stinks, because I love to multitask! I...

Remember this post??? Well, it's 12:45 and, yet again, I am about to pour myself a glass of wine. BUT this time, it's a celebratory glass. BECAUSE... I just retook my nursing school entrance exam and not only did I PASS all 4 sections, but I also scored a 90% OVERALL !!!!!!! This puts me in the 98th percentile! Which means only two percent of the people who have taken it did better than me!! Holy flippin' crap, I'm freakin' out!!!!!!!! I'll be applying to the program next week and will find out at the end of May whether or not I have been accepted. The program directors say that the best chances of getting into the program are to do really well on the entrance exam and to get an A in all four prereq's... I'd say a 90 is pretty damn good and I have an A in 3/4 of my classes (I'm currently taking the 4th). So while it's not a guarantee, I'm thinkin' my chances that I'll be starting nursing school in the fall are pretty good!!! Hot D...

One of the blog's I read, All-American Jess (Hi, Jess!), participates in this fun little meme (by the way, I have no clue what the hell that-- meme-- means, I've just seen it used to describe, say, Feel Good Friday , and the like, so I assume it fits here. If not, oh well.). It is hosted by MannLand5 and every Sunday, Keely, the writer of the blog, asks random questions. You copy and paste them to your blog, answer them, then join in on the fun by linking up on her blog. So here is this week's fun set of questions: 1. What year did you graduate high school? 2005. I'm a youngin'. But I feel like it was a lot longer than 4.5 years ago. It's amazing how much one grows and changes from 18-22 (23 in less than 2 months, woohoo!). 2. What part of your body do you neglect the most? All of it. HAHA! Seriously though, I don't take good care of my body. I have headaches almost daily, I am 30-40 pounds over weight, I have back spasms more often than not, and I don...

This morning I was babysitting and heard A LOT of sirens, which is pretty unusual for my community. I didn't think a whole lot of it and went back to playing with the kids. About an hour later, the dad of the kids came home and just as I was about to leave we heard sirens again, coming from every direction, and we both said, "what the heck is going on?" As I was backing down the driveway, I looked to my left and saw a massive cloud of black smoke about 100 yards away... Being the nosey person that I am, and since it was on my way home, I drove over to the neighborhood to find this: I spoke to a woman, who, unbeknownst to me, was the sister to the homeowner. She said that her sister and brother-in-law were sitting in the hearth room drinking coffee and reading the paper when the woman smelled smoke. She got up, went to the garage door and opened it, only to find it engulfed in flames. They believe it was an electrical fire. The homeowners, their children, and their six dog...

Woohoo for the weather we have had this week! 60s and sunny the entire week. It has been so good for the mind and mood, the kids, and the dogs! And I could have the sunroof open and windows down without looking like a crazy lady. And look below... the first flowers of spring! *taken on the cell, with two ankle biters at my feet (they aren't really ankle biters Bridge, LOL!), hence the crummy quality* Too bad they'll probably be dead by Monday. Why, you ask? Because... Boo for the forecast for Sunday. 30-40s and snow. SNOW. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!!? Shoot me. Mother Nature, would you please get it together? Tomorrow is the first day of spring. In other words, save the snow for Alaska. Thanks. Woohoo for "my" kids all being so excited to see me this week! I had three moms tell me, "So and so has been asking when you're going to get here all morning. He even sat by the front window waiting." Boo for JT shitting all over the house. OK, fine, it w...

I can't stand Lady Gaga. I think she tries way too hard to be original and it just comes across as fake. She claims she loves fashion, but I don't think she would know fashion if it hit her in the face. And her performances on award shows freak me out. I just honestly don't understand how she's so popular. I mean, come on, she does baby talk in half her songs, "ra ra oh la la, gaga blah blah blah"- no clue if those are the lyrics, that's all I hear when I hear the song though- and her voice is so digitalized. I just can't appreciate someone that lacks real talent. Plus, she hurts my eyes. Sorry, it's the truth. I also think this woman is heavily strung out on hardcore narcotics. And if any of you want to argue with that, please watch this video before doing so. You don't even need to watch the whole thing; a minute will do the job. If you still don't think she drank and shot up before walking on stage, then, well, sorry. You're wrong. P...

{My Grams with my cousins and me. My brother, Craig, and I are in matching outfits. Our parents also matched. So 1990's.} *Click on images to enlarge* My cousin Suzanne recently asked me to blog about my favorite childhood memory and favorite recent memory from our family vacations to Siesta Key, Florida. But first, let me start with some background on my family. My dad is the second of four children, three boys and a girl. The four of them all married and had kids, giving my grandmother a total of 10 grandkids in 12 years (my grandfather died before 8 of us were born). There are three girls who are years apart, but have pretty close relationships. I am the baby, my cousin Suzanne is 6 years older than me, and Kelley is 11 years older than me. By the way, we were all born in May. We're a pretty awesome trio, I won't lie. But because us girls were outnumbered by the boys, we weren't always sweet little girls. 1989 was the first summer my dad's entire family went to ...

It has been brought to my attention that when replying to someone's comment and it says "no-reply comment" it really means "this email will be lost in cyber space." And now I feel like a moron. If you have ever commented on my blog and have not received an email response back from me, please know that there was one. Where it is, I don't know. But I did type and send one to you. I try to do so 99% of the time. I'm anal like that. So, if you don't have your profile set up to allow bloggers to respond to your comments via email (and if you have no desire to do so) either 1. check the post you commented on a few days later because I most likely have responded there or 2. I will reply to your comment through a comment on your blog. Since you all take the time to read and comment on my blog, the least I can do is tell you how much I appreciate it. Because I REALLY do appreciate it. It makes me all giddy. Quote of the day: "Goodnight MY bubba, I love Y...

It's that time of the week again! If you need a pick-me-up for the week, join The Girl Next Door Grows Up as she hosts "Feel Good Friday." Things that made me happy this week are: 1. Vacationing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my mom and neighbors. Such a lovely escape it has been. And the 14 hour drive was more entertaining than I could have expected. Like the fact that we had to take five different exits in Kentucky just to find a gas station who had a restroom that wasn't a port-a-john (as they called them). And the city of Florence, KY has a water tower that said, "Florence, Y'all." Only in Kentucky. And that we planned on driving another 30 miles and then stopping for dinner, but that all went out the window when even so much as a fast food joint wasn't seen for another 120 miles. 2. Retail therapy. It's so good for the soul, isn't it? Woohoo for outlet malls with insanely cheap prices :) 3. My new found love of headbands! I haven...

A few weeks ago, in this post , I briefly mentioned how guys in grade school laughed when/if they found out I had a crush on them. I remember one guy in particular who I had the BIGGEST crush on for probably 5 of the 9 years I went to school with him and the day he found out about this, he was the biggest jerk imaginable. Picture, if you will, in all the glory that is 5th grade, boy on one side of the gym, me on the other, and a group of girls running back and forth between the two of us. They'd run to him and tell him how much I had a crush on him, then run back to me and say, "Oh my God! He totally likes you! He wants to know if you can call you!" HA! Biotches. They were lying. Turns out what he really was doing was laughing hysterically and saying, "Ew, that fat, ugly, bitch. I would never like her." Well, ladies and gentlemen, turns out that statement, "I would never like her," really meant, "I would never like her or any other girl." Y...

I LOVE finding a new recipe that is easy, somewhat healthy, and yummy! I'm constantly scouring Kraft's website, checking out other bloggers ideas, and inventing my own dishes. However, I had yet to find a healthy alternative to pizza. My love affair with the dish has me looking a little too round these days, yet I can't give it up. Which is really bad, considering I'm supposed to limit my carb intake. Enter Kennedy Union at the University of Dayton. There they had a station where you could order pita pizzas; which has a fraction of the fat, carbs, calories and is still enough food to keep you full. I decided I'd do my own take on this yummy dish (once I realized it fell within the criteria of how many carbs I'm allowed per meal) and have been making them for over a year now. Because I know I have many moms reading (but you need not be a mom to enjoy this tasty treat!), I thought I'd share the recipe (if you can call it that) with you because it's super e...

Have you ever watched 48 Hours or Dateline and wondered who the narrator was? You know, the man with the musty voice who has the perfect amount of creepiness and mysteriousness to accurately portray the events being discussed? That fine man of a journalist is none other than Keith Morrison . *Click the link if you are unfamiliar with this man and his voice* For some odd reason, this man is a topic of conversation many days of my life. With my mom, with a random person I meet, with Helene . He's just too hilarious not to talk about. So imagine my shock and excitement when, on Friday, I was training a new volunteer in the NICU and she told me a heartbreaking story about her son and the jerk of an OB that delivered him. Long story short, the doctor sucked and this lady filed a malpractice lawsuit against him. Apparently 48 Hours caught wind of it and decided to do a story. Who interviewed the lady I was training? None other than K.M. himself. After she told me he had in fact been t...

... I think I speak for the entire female population when I ask-- no, make that BEG-- of you to NEVER let any of us see you sporting these: Rocco Slim Fit Jean Shorts Rocco Slim Fit Low Rise Jean Shorts -- because normal rise is just so ordinary. Ever. Not even if it is life or death. It is not now, has never been, and will never be a good look. Never. Please and thank you. And Express , you should be ashamed of yourself.

I'm sure many of you can relate to what I am about to say. Non-bloggers just don't get "it." It being the joy and awesomeness that is blogging. Even more so, the joy and awesomeness of blogging AND having followers. Today, a sweet lady that I have class with said she checked out my blog... her only comment was, "When I read it, I thought 'Man, Marianne is windy today'." Errr, thanks? I mean, I know I tend to write a novel every time I type anything (just ask my bff blogger buddy Helene -- yea, I'm giving you that title, whether you want it or not, Helene), but I suppose you shouldn't read my blog if you don't like to read in general. Perhaps that's why my readership is less than stellar? Hmm. Except I have a little secret weapon and I know I have more readers than followers (and even know where in the world they are viewing me from and how many times a day they do so)... so, to you lurkers... I don't bite. Delurk yourself and ...

** comin' at'cha a day early because I won't have time tomorrow...** Sorry, no post for "Feel Good Friday" this week for the simple fact that I babysat 38 hours last week and 25 this week and I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast this morning... never mind things that made me happy this week. But I don't recall it being a particularly rough week, so let's just say it was all happy :) But if YOU would like to participate, I know The Girl Next Door Grows Up would love to have you! Remember when I drove home from Florida with my dad and said the next time I sit in a car for longer than a few hours it better be because I'm moving somewhere fun and warm? I lied. Sorry. Don't cast stones for my lack of truthfulness :) The madre and I are hoppin' in the car bright and early Saturday morning and running away to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the week! Neither of us have ever been so we're pretty stoked. We're going with my nei...

**picture taken in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, California** No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb I know many of us are starting to wonder if 2010 is going to prove this quote wrong, because this winter has lasted For.ev.er and a day... Yesterday Indy hit a whopping 41*. Naturally, I opened the sunroof, because 41 is the biggest heat wave we've seen in months! So ready for pretty flowers, light weight jackets, ballet flats, walking the pups, and taking the kids to the park! Spring, if you're listening, PLEASE HURRY! Hugs to you all :) Unless the weather is warm in your neck of the woods... in which case, how would you feel about adopting me?

Did I ever tell you I ended up joining eharmony? Well, I did. And I will be canceling my subscription after my 30 days are up. And not because I've found love. Let's start with prospect numero uno... we shall call him Butch. Thankfully, his name isn't truly that awful. But anyhow, Butch and I were matched and started to communicate using the guided communication eharmony offers. Essentially, they give you a list of questions to choose from to ask the other person and that person does the same, you answer, decide if you like the other persons answers and, if you so choose, keep moving forward. So exhilarating, I know. Moving on... Butch is 6'4". A HUGE plus for this 5'9' chica over here. His answers to all the questions seemed decent and apparently he liked my responses because we got to the point of being able to email; so that's just what we did for a couple days. Let me recap some of the questions he asked in his first email... What are your hobbies? ...

First off... I want to say THANK YOU to my four new followers! Yay for reading publicly! So excited that you've joined my blog... I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. If there is ever a post you'd like me to write, requests are always welcome (that goes for anyone reading this...)! The following pics are from Pearl Harbor or the North Shore, with a few shots of Waikiki from the view of a booze cruise. And now for O'ahu: The Sequel... Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com Sun is Shining by Bob Marley