What have you done for me lately BLOG?

Well, for one you have prevented me from going ape-sh*t on my Mom. You, Blog, have also stolen several hours of sleep. It's all evening out though. I really needed this creative outlet and its good to let some of my crazy thoughts out. Oh! I just had an idea for a new list! One of my favorite people likes to remind me how awful it must be to live inside my head. Now I get to share my brain with the world!!! Are you reading world? I'm trying to get better with this blog thing, you know, just leaning all the bells and whistles. Please see list below for up and coming posts! Anyone out there?

DIE for Less

OK I'm stealing some Rachel Zoe lingo here because well, I <3 her. She is bananas. Now that that's out of the way lets talk about my and Fiona's fall/winter wardrobe, or lack there of. Before last month we lived in a place where winter does not exist. Well, its back to the real world and we need clothes on a budget. This is the first piece in my collection that I found in the most unlikeliest of places. Family Dollar! This large tote bag was $2! It is a great size and color for fall. It comes with an attachable shoulder strap and notice the multiple zippy pockets for random mommy things like the paci we are trying to give up! (now THAT'S another story!) So it wasn't on sale, or clearance...it was just $2! They also had an assortment of textured scarves which will also be in style this season. I did not get one because, well, who had $4 for accessories?! Not me. Stayed tuned for more DIE for Less!

Click for Sushi

I want to tell you about my new free-time project. On nights when I don't have homework I usually spend it online, since I don't have the option of leaving the house. I love to enter sweepstakes, and I have won several prizes! contests.about.com is a great blog  for sweeps. Recently I signed up for swagbucks, after reading about it in Women's Day magazine. Here is how it works in a nut shell: you sign up, install the toolbar, and use the search field instead of google for example. You win points easily for doing your normal everyday searches. There are several easy ways to get points and a few that are more time-consuming. I have 130 points after two days. Just now I was scrolling through the gift-card rewards and found that I can use 400 swagbucks (points) to get a $25 restaurant.com gift card! I went to restaurant.com and typed in my zip to see what locations honored their gift cards and found a sushi place near by! I <3 sushi so much and never get it due to lack of funds. I will let you know when the sushi has been had!  Let me know if anyone else try's swagbucks.com!

Is he for real?

If you are a single parent like myself you already know the woes of dating. For me the biggest issue is finding the time. I would love to date and I hate to admit that I do get lonely. I was semi-excited when I met this person who we will refer to as 'M'. M is very attractive and has a sexy English accent. He is successful, never been married, and without children.He insisted that we exchange e-mail addresses and possibly get together. Behold:

"i am at a point in my life where i want to have something serious so i have to be selective...especially if you are not the type of girl i would usually date. i can definitely see why you would be interested in me...i am established in life, educated, speak 4 languages, have lots of hobbies, good with kids, etc. so it is quite obvious that i am a good fit for you. but the reverse is not so clear. we share a passion for books and movies...so that may be interesting, you also have a child and an opportunity to mentor a little one is definitely something i would want...other than that i am not entirely sure what you can offer me. so i wanted  see maybe there was more to you than what i was understanding. it is not a date, i don't make any promises, and i do need to "interview" you about specific things i find important. if you don't want to do this thats fine...but then you have no shot at me. if, on the other hand, you manage to change my impression of you i think you will like what comes next. And if I have to change my lifestyle (that I enjoy quite a bit) you really have to turn out to be an amazing person and bring a lot to the table to compensate for the things I would be losing. think I would like to invite you out for coffee and talk to you a bit one on one. This would give me a better feel to figure out what is possible and what is not. Let me know when a good time would be for you."    -M

So what do you think? This is from the same guy who was so thrilled when he learned that I liked to read because "its rare for Americans to read". Are you reading this?

Just the Facts

So here is a little bit about me before I get into the HAIRY part of my Motherhood experience. I am a 27 year-old Mother of a beautiful 17 month-old girl. I know that every Mother thinks that their baby is the smartest, but I am certain she is exceptional. <wink> Just to brag for a minute...She says 28 words (and counting) and not one of them is the word 'No'. I'm sure it is coming, though. I work 3-4 nights a week so that I can stay with my daughter for the majority of the day. I pay all the bills. I save. I go without. I also take classes online and am pretty close to finishing my under-grad! There is no dad around, though I do have the displeasure of communicating with him on the rare occasion. I am a DO-IT-ALL super Mom. Aren't we all? After all, Mother is a verb.

P.S. Stay tuned for more interesting posts. I had to get this part out of the way. Thanks for reading!

Lets Define 'Single Mom'

When people ask a presumptuous question like, "What does your husband do?" I answer depending on my mood. If I had less than five hours of sleep the night before I will say something like, "He is a diamond miner!" (HINT: look at a woman's ring finger before you ask such questions.) Or, I will tell them that I am a single Mom. Apparently that puts the emphasis on my relationship status and not on Fiona's parental status. Single parent is working out better for me these days. Its eliminates further questions from prying strangers. Do I sound bitter? Really I'm not. BUT I am one of one parent. Lets get that much straight before I go to bed. I will start to tell you about my life tomorrow.