Tagged

I got tagged by The Blue Window.
The rules for the meme are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Ok, six non important things/habits/quirks about me.

1. I TiVO "All My Children" everyday. I have been watching since high school. It is my true guilty pleasure.
2. I tell my kids I love them about 6 times a day.
3. When I am on the phone with my husband or sisters, I always end by saying I love You.
4. I lust for the perfect "fountain" drink. I find that this is regional; i.e. most people in NJ don't really care about the syrup to soda ratio like girl from Virginia does. (also, it must have the right kind of ice and the right amount) I have one every day! It's true. My McDonald's has the best followed by the New Providence Diner.
5. I think about food all the time. I think this comes from my mother. She would have breakfast and before it was even over she would talk about what she would have for lunch and so on. (Wonder where my food obsession comes from?)
6. I love to bake, especially brownies. When I feel down I make a batch of brownies and then try to give them away before I eat the whole thing. Believe it or not, my kids and husband don't really care for brownies and not only that, they can eat one piece of cake, etc. and not want anymore until the next week. That stuff yells my name from wherever I am in the house. I can hear it and they can't therefore I literally give it to a neighbor!!

Thanks for the tag. I cannot figure out how to tag back, but will leave comments on your blog.

An update... my house sold!!! Now we are moving April 30 and have nowhere to live yet. OY!!!

Snowfall

Hi - the snow is falling this morning and it is so beautiful. My favorite (and only) puppy is loving it so much. She runs around and draws curly, swirly pictures with her nose. She is finally settling down and becoming more relaxed.... more like the Newfie that she is. We all love her and I can honestly say that she has become the best distraction for a stressed out life.

On another note, I realized that I did not explain my Blog name. It sounds so ugly, but I love the meaning behind it. My sister-in-law gave me a book a long time ago called GRITS. It is a book about Girls Raised In The South (which is me). I now live in New Jersey... so that is why I called my site NJGrits. NJ is pretty far from Virginia, but I love the town I live in and I have the most wonderful neighborhood. It's very much like the one I grew up in. Everyone knows everyone else. The kids all play together and everyone helps everyone else out. It's great and I would rather not be selling. sigh.

Today, even with the snow, we have people coming to see the house, or as I like to call it "cell block 139". Did you realize that NJ is the most densely populated state in the country? I swear that every person who lives here has visited my house one time!!! If it weren't so painful, it would be really funny. Trying to be optimistic, as least my house is clean. We have it decorated for Christmas (I know it's really soon). I thought maybe that might give me an edge because I love my decorations and I think it makes the house look warm and inviting. We'll see. Gosh, I really don't know what I will write about if the house sells. I may have to find a new hobby or something.

Bye for now.

Miracles

Do you believe in miracles? I think I do. I am sure some big miracles happen every day, but the small ones are hard to ignore. My family is going through a stressful time trying to sell our home and trying to find our way through the winding path of Middle School and Elementary school. Conferences were this week and don't even get me started. Both kids are in special education. They have "learning differences" which in our day would be called dyslexia. It's not easy. I was out in my back yard talking to myself (I know... a bit crazy) repeating what I usually say when alone "it's going to work out, I'm going to be okay, it's going to work out, I'm going to be okay" when I looked up. My yard is a narrow yard surrounded by retaining walls. There is what we lovingly call "the cliff" in the backyard where there is just stone. Out of the stone, alone with dead leaves all around was a single flower that I swear was Queen Anne's Lace (my mother's favorite wild flower) blooming in the freezing cold. Was this a sign? I like to think it is my mother letting me know that somehow, some way things are going to work out and that she is with me. It's comforting. Of course, she had a quirky sense of humor, so when the fireplace backed up and filled the house with smoke I had the distinct feeling that she was laughing. Thankfully, today the fireplace is behaving and we don't have something else wrong with the house... for now anyway.

A Ray of Sunshine

We picked up a puppy last Saturday and boy is she sweet. My little girl named her Grace (aka Gracie) and my little boy decided she needed a middle name so... he named her Judy. So funny. He thinks that Judy is a funny name. So Grace Judy is a 13 lb puff ball of joy. Unlike her predecessor, Nala, she is very fresh, loves to bite and well, she's a talker. She likes her rawhide bone, but when it won't squeak or break she gets down low to the ground, stalks it and then barks her head off. It is so funny. Although, not so funny when she is barking and nipping at me. She starts obedience school on Wednesday and not a moment too soon. Gracie is a Newfoundland and she must be trained early or she will be too big and willful to control. I think she is going to love it though. Today the funny thing she did was run away from the vacuum cleaner when it was on and then when I turned it off she attacked it. She is really strong. I had unplugged it and was going to the laundry room to get something I needed when out of the corner of my eye the vacuum was moving across the floor. Gracie was pulling it by the cord all around the kitchen. She is something else. Gracie is such a great distraction. I love her.

Another ray of sunshine of the cautiously optimistic variety... two couples have come back to see my house for the second time. I have everything I own crossed that something good will happen. Please, please, please.

Once I figure out how to download pictures from our new camera, I will post some of the precious doggie and precious kids. bye

I Don't Want to Talk About it

Here is a little rant. I hope you will forgive me for this, but I just have to say that I really don't want to talk about it. I know that it is selfish and self-centered, but I just want some lighthearted conversation for at least a week. Below is my list of things I don't want to talk about.

1. My house
2. My diet
3. Your kids and how wonderful/talented/gifted/special they are. I'm sick of it.
4. The fact that I am getting a dog and the timing couldn't be worse.
5. School
6. Homework
7. Finances
8. My husband's job
9. My brother-in-law's job.
10. ANY job.
11. Who's sick and what have they got? (really sends me on the anxiety train)
12. POLITICS

I think that about covers it. I will talk about the weather and I think that's about it. I am in a rut. I find everything depressing and so until further notice, I am going to stick to light conversation and probably discuss at length with anyone who will listen the change in seasons (but not GLOBAL WARMING).

I am off now to watch "Twitches Too" (Disney Channel sequel to the original Twitches movie) with my husband and children. I hope to have a glass of wine, wear my favorite pj's and go to bed early. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I will be in a better mood. Bye for now.

Selling the House

Yes, I am trying to sell my house and it sucks. I know that is not a nice word, but I really don't know how else to describe what is a very painful process. My house has been on the market for a year!!! I have two children (three if you count their father) and it is tough keeping everything looking good. I am soooooo tired of all the rejections. I'm tired of trying hard and no one wanting to look a second time. I'm tired of no offers and nonsense low-ball offers. I am just tired of it. I realize that I should be thankful that I am just trying to sell my house and that it's not something fatal (really - thank goodness, knock on wood, etc.)... I am trying to be positive for the children, but it sucks. I feel like a moaner and a whiner all the time and that's not fun to be around. If someone, anyone, would just buy my house so we can start over it would be so great. I never thought that at 45 years old this would be happening to us. I really thought that by the time you are 45, everything would be in place and you would be planning your retirement. I wasn't ready for this stress ball that it my life these days. I keep trying to figure out what this life lesson is. I keep telling the higher powers that I am learning, that I am grateful for what I have and as long as my family is together the other stuff is not important. I get it... so why can't it be over yet?

Today some people came to look at the house and I have resorted to superstition. Yes, I gave my spouse a gargoyle years ago and he has it in his office. I was trying to sleep last night and my mind wandered to the gargoyle. I thought... I think I got him that the Christmas before his company decided to "restructure". That can't be a good. So, first thing this morning, the gargoyle was out the door and off the property. Hopefully, we will get an offer and be done with it. (The gargoyle will be on the way to the dump.) If it doesn't work, well the "lucky" bamboo better watch out because it's next!!!!

One last thing - why does stress love food?

OK... so what is with dieting? I just don't understand why some people don't think about food all the time. I don't know why they are considered normal and I may be considered, well, obsessed!! I think that if you don't think about what, where and when your next meal will be that you are crazy. I know, I'm a bit extreme and from this entry you might think I am 1,000 pounds, but I'm not. I'm a fairly attractive plus size person who lives in a town of women who think that crackers for lunch with a lettuce leaf and MAYBE a teeny scoop of tuna (disgusting) is a good lunch... so good that maybe they should skip dinner and be sure to jog an extra three miles tomorrow. I am sure that is why they look like they do and I look like I do. I just wish they could experience the excitement of thinking "where will we go to dinner this weekend?" and thinking "what will I have" and how great it will be. Oh well, their loss!!!

I want to be one of those naturally thin people... they are out there... that don't really care about food. Can you imagine? Obviously, that's not happening to me, so... off to WW I go. AGAIN. I will let you know how I progress. I have lost 30 lbs since January, but am up about 5. I would like to lose 30 more... we'll see. I am off to the races again!!!