POUR A LITTLE SUGAR ON ME

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 10 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

I recently got an entirely different award, which has galvanized me into action with this award. So, thank you Truthful Mommy over at The TRUTH About Motherhood. Anyone who is raising children, or thinking of having children, should check out this blog. She tells it like it is. There is no holding back about the pain joys of parenting. Anyway, she bestowed this prestigious award on me quite a while ago, and I have sat on it like it was coal that I thought might turn into a diamond. Turns out that it looks exactly the same now as it did before, and the rules didn't change either. Hmmm. So, thank you Truthful Mommy. And I will get to that other award sooooon. I am already scrambling for 10 things about myself, so it might be a while (forewarned is...well, it is forewarned). ~ That was Rule #1~

1) I saw a guy in the grocery store today who looked so much like Right Guy that I almost passed out. Turns out that it wasn't him. Don't know if I am happy or sad about that. The fact that I almost passed out probably says I'm still not "over it."

2) I sold my car to my uncle earlier this month. Turns out that there were two keys that lock and unlock the door. It also turns out that Dodge has a nifty feature that only their keys will allow the car to run. So, just getting a duplicate made will unlock the car, but it will not keep the vehicle running. I have no clue where that second key is. It costs $250 to get a replacement says my uncle (who has spoken to Dodge). So, somewhere in storage is that key. My mom asked me if I knew where it might be in my storage unit. Have any of you ever seen a head explode? I can send photos.

3) Out of desperation I called my ex to ask about the aforementioned key. It turns out that we did get two keys and that I took his in the divorce. He laughed about it (not in an unkind way), so that means he hasn't read my blog on facebook. I thought you might want the silver lining to an otherwise dark cloud. Obviously, he has no idea what I did with the key. And I didn't mention the $250, etc. That might have had him rolling on the floor. I don't want his day to be too bright.

4) I saw the bankruptcy attorney today. She said it looks very good that I can declare Chapter 7. For $1000 (including the cost to file with the court and some mandatory counseling) I can be debt free.

5) I have never done any kind of skiing. Snow skiing or water skiing. Not sure where that came from, but it was just there and I thought you might want to know that.

6) I used to collect Ty Beanie Babies. I was a Ty Beanie Baby collecting freak. I kept waiting for the one with my birthday. The first one with my birthday was an elephant. I was down with that. I love elephants. Ty named the cute little thing Pounds. I was not down with that. I think that is when my obsession began to wane.

7) Chris Noth played Mr. Big on Sex and The City. I hated that character. He is now the cheating former DA on The Good Wife. I now hate him on that. I daresay that I might actually hate the man, because he has yet to play a character I like. I have yet to see him play anything other than a cheating a**hole. Is he being typecast??? Yes, I know that wasn't technically "About Me," but it is what's on my mind. And, Chris Noth, and my dislike of him is preventing me from moving on to Season Five of Sex and The City. I got to the end of Season Four and it crushed me. Aidan and Carrie broke up for the second time, and I know that it just means more Mr. Big, and I just can't take it. So, Season Five is sitting and staring at me and waiting. I hate Mr. Big. Now, I am done ranting about that... for now.

8) I've had acupuncture done once. I would like to have it done again at some point.

9) There is a lady in St. Augustine who does readings. I've been to see her twice and she has done a reading for me once on the phone. All three of them have been right on the money.

10) In college, after a particularly bad snow storm (it snowed, it warmed up and melted, it froze, it snowed again) we had a party at my house and played 3-Man. If you're not familiar, it is a drinking game with the intent to get drunk, and it is very effective. We then decided to go to another party, since we were all tanked up and ready to P-A-R-T-Y. We were nuts. I didn't even put on my boots. I just went in my deck shoes. Do people still wear those? Probably not. Anyway, I think we drove, too. Morons. The party was right around the corner. We had no brain function going at all. Anyway, I fell in the driveway. It was a case of now you're standing, now you're not. I don't even remember falling. I didn't try to stop myself from falling. However, I landed right on my left elbow. Bam. And it HURT. That should have said something because I was loaded. Long story short: I broke it. You play, you pay. And then you lie to your parents at the time of the incident (I believe I mentioned something about being at the library). It is only years later that you come clean about how that accident really happened. Otherwise, they might break it again. Now, it's funny. Sorta.
~That was Rule #2~

Okay, folks, I am done with trying to limit myself to "new" bloggers. I don't have that many new bloggers. I am slow about adding people to my blog subscription list. Period. I have people that I like to read. When I find a new one, I add ya. That is how I roll. So, I am rolling with anyone who I want to award this gem to, new or not, and that's that. You can play this award however you want when it comes time to pass it down. I am awarding The Sugar Doll Award to the following:

Liza at Middle Passages

Misery at Leftovers from Illumination

Miss Angie at My So-Called Chaos

Kate at The Cow Jumped Over The Moon

Ro Magnolia at Soft Winds and Roses

Java at Never Growing Old

Purple Cow at Australian in Athens

Kristin at Bringing Pretty Back

Cassandra at Cassagram

Kel at Between the Lines

~That was Rule #3~

Rule #4 is in process. I am leaving messages on blogs. If I haven't gotten to yours yet, well I guess I don't need to because you're reading this. If I didn't tag you it isn't because you are not awesome. It might be because you already have this award OR because I think that you will get it from someone I tagged! I am sneaky like that. Have a very happy Friday everybody!

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

I have been looking forward to this day all week. It is HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY! To recap for any newbies to this event: The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... Lastly, don't forget to turn off my music player at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the inconvenience.

If you are looking at this and thinking that there are a lot of videos this week, you are right. There are more than usual. (It's because you guys are all so awesome!) I hope that you still take the time to watch them all or come back and watch later the ones you don't have time for today. Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for Kim at Saving My Life: A Weightloss/PCOS Blog:




This one is for Java at Never Growing Old:




This one is for Ro Magnolia at Soft Winds and Roses:




This one is for Chris at A Deliberate Life:




This one is for The Novelist at A Novel Experiment (Part 1):




This one is for The Novelist at A Novel Experiment (Part 2):




This one is for Purple Cow at Australian in Athens:




This one is for Phoenix at Res Ipsa Loquitur:




This one is for Misery at Leftovers From Illumination:

The embed feature was disabled so you have to click here to watch.


This one is for Bathwater at Memento Mori:

The embed feature was disabled so you have to click here to watch.

KICKING IT RANDOM STYLE

I've never had a Random Thoughts post before. Huh. Very interesting since I have a lot of random thoughts.

It occurred to me in a recent comment that I should be more clear when I talk about my ex and his kids. They aren't my kids. Their biological mother pretty much abandoned the ship, but they aren't my kids. I have no legal rights. Everything I do, I do out of choice.

My book has me using the "D" word quite a lot these days. That would be Disgusted. Or maybe Disenchanted. I really wish I watched that video on writing the end earlier in my writing process. As soon I watched it, I stopped writing and started thinking about the end.

Then I started writing the end. I was six pages in and, well, it blew. It sucked wind. It was terrible. Awful. Lousy. Crap. Dirt. Just plain bad. I was pushed into corners by the writing choices I had made earlier. I didn't like it... not one little bit. So, I stopped. Again.

I then had a very aggressive conversation with myself about how I was going to have to rewrite the ending the way that I wanted, and to suck it up. That meant that I was going to have to go back and just deal with all of those poor choices I made earlier. It would be lots of work and that was too damn bad.

What is boggling me now is that the only scene in my new ending that I really like is the one in which my main character isn't actually in. That poses a problem since the entire book is written from the point of view of the main character. So, I have to figure out a way to get her in that scene or I have to figure out a way to make that scene just as alive without her in it. Writing is a bitch. The only writing I really like is the writing I have already completed. Once it's done, I love it. A work in progress is a pain in the ass.

Looks like I am going to have to declare bankruptcy. It's kind of funny since I don't actually own anything except a timeshare. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I just have this timeshare that is sucking me my parents dry, since they are paying all of my bills. It will also wipe out my credit card debt. Ironically, most of that debt was incurred while I was married, so it really was mostly my ex's debt. Whatever.

This is sounding snarky.

Anyway, this bankruptcy will pave the way so that my parents can afford all of my ongoing medical bills. So, my bills won't really be going down; they will just be different. This is all to get Social Security Disability so that I can actually get Medicaid.

Once I get Medicaid, then the doctors can actually run the tests that they need to run to actually make me better. So, in approximately a year and a half, I might have SSD and Medicaid, so that I can actually have medicaid, so that the doctors can actually DO SOMETHING to improve my health. It's fascinating really. I feel like I am running around this big circle. Not actually running.... obviously.

I will continue with my vitamin protocol. Actually, I will do better with it, since I was already on it. I was pretty half-assed with it there for a while. My dad and his memory loss was a real motivator.

I will continue with my daily meditation.

Life lessons suck. Pain sucks. I have ideas. I write them down on this blog. Sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I get it sorta right. Sometimes, I am just on the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes I am so far out in left field that I am not even playing the game. That's why I call this Blog Therapy and why I want you guys to leave comments. Any comment made out of love (even if you're telling me I'm full of crap)... well, if it's coming from your heart, and you're saying it with kindness, I need to hear it. I'd always rather hear how wonderful, smart, and right I am BUT I do live in the real world. At least most days.

Thank you for reading, writing, and making a difference in the lives of everyone you meet.

This award is for you. I got it from Truthful Mommy over at The Truth About Motherhood a while back and have been remiss slow about passing it on. So, thank you Truthful Mommy for thinking of me, and I apologize for being so lazy irresponsible in not sharing it sooner. You don't have to do anything with it. You don't have to pass it on, make up anything, tell us anything about yourself, or stand on your head. However, you can click on it and save it to your photos and add it to your sidebar. It is a gift from me to you. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today. Share it with your readers whenever you desire to share the love.