Because I'll accept all forms of money....

Um, Red Sox Nation, you're welcome? That's two wins in a row since I told the Sox to get their heads out of their asses and play some baseball. Apparently they listened. Not only were they wins, they were wins in spectacular, I-yelled-so-loud-and-jumped-out-of-my-recliner-and-scared-the-dog-away way.

Adam was at work Tuesday night when I sent him the IM that said, "We won, we won, we won! Darnell McDonald got a walk-off hit off the Monstah! Who the fuck is Darnell McDonald?"

I know him now. Dude is awesome. Don't send him back to Pawtucket, Tito. I'm already planning on managing his campaign to run for president in 2012, he needs as much exposure right now as he can get if I'm going to get him in the White House. And Tito, like I told Theo the Wonderkid, as much as I love the Papi, he's got to go. Keep Lowell in there. Was that homerun last night not enough proof to you?

So, RSN, again, you're welcome. If we hit the skids again, you're on your own.

Because it worked last year...

I really didn't think I'd need to be writing this two weeks into the season, but once again, the Red Sox are shittin' the bed.

This happened at the beginning of last season. Loss after loss after loss prompted me to take to my blog and publicly decry their crappy play. So, here I am again. I'm not asking, Sox, I'm TELLING. Get your shit together. Theo, if you have to pay someone to take Papi, as much I love him and the clutch hitting he's done in the past, do it. He sucks. And if you are paying someone that much money and they're not doing their job, you fire them. It happens in real life. I know, contracts and yada yada yada, but do the right thing.

I have so much Sox gear, yet I really don't feel like parading around in it like I usually do, year round here in Georgia. I'm still a part of RSN, I'm no bandwagoner, but seriously boys, let's start playing some baseball.

Because it was a thrill of a lifetime...

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and if you know about SPD, you know it's a huge party in Savannah, an entire weeklong celebration.

We had our military ball on March 13, and of course, hit the bars afterward. There's nothing quite like partying in downtown Savannah with revelers in their green garb and get-ups. Needless to say, I had such an incredible time I wish we could do it every weekend.

One of the best things about being stationed in Savannah is the tremendous support of the military here. It's a stark contrast to Fort Benning and Columbus, where you had to hide the unit, because no one liked us. Adam's unit is always in the St. Patrick's Day parade. I didn't make it last year, because our dog was on his last legs and couldn't have gone that long without being let out.

Anyway, this year I went. It was one of the best, most thrilling days of my life. They provided a bus for us wives to get downtown, so as to not have to battle traffic. Our bus was behind the guys' bus, and we all had a police escort downtown. It was so cool to see people on the sides of the road waving at the guys and giving them a thumbs up.

The tradition in Savannah is that the girls (old, young, in-between) don red lipstick, and go out and kiss the military men. I had my lip gloss on, and gave my camera to my friend to take the picture of me kissing Adam when he marched by. As soon as I saw him coming down the street, I took off like a bat out of hell and immediately stuck my lips on his. We were hugging and kissing to the point where the parade-goers behind us were yelling, "WOOHOO!!!" I was so overcome with emotion and pride.

It was truly, truly, one of those moments that I will constantly replay in my head for the rest of my life, because it was just that amazing.

Because it seems to be working...

So the Happiness Project seems to be working pretty well for me. Every once in a while, throughout the day, I have to remind myself, "You're happy. You're doing all this laundry because you love your family and want them to have clean undies." I'm not forcing myself to be happy, more like gently reminding myself to find happiness in even the most mundane activities.

I was reading a blog and the writer was talking about muffins. Since everyone is on a cupcake kick, I decided I'll go on a muffin kick. I made banana nut muffins last night, thinking I would reach for one this morning when I was hungry. Yeah right. Those donuts from Wal-Mart were screaming at me to eat them. I couldn't let perfectly good donuts go to waste, even if I was the one who bought them. After reaching for my fourth one yesterday, and trying to close the box, I got a cardboard cut. Like a papercut, my worse. Okay, God, I get it, I don't need to cram four donuts into my flabby self. Point taken.

Today I went to Kroger and bought what I needed to make the boys REAL blueberry muffins, none of that shit from a package. Because it makes me happy to cook and bake from scratch for my boys.

Because it really is a choice...

I downloaded a book, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, to my Kindle a few weeks ago. It looked interesting, and I finally got around to reading it over the course of a day or two. (I have time to read, that makes me happy.)

It's hard to sum up the book in just a few sentences. This is what I got from it: Yes, even though I have a great life, in my opinion, there's always room for more happiness. I can change my attitude to make myself happier, and in turn, that makes those around me happier also, even if they don't realize it.

One thing I have been doing, which was talked about in the book (score one point for me) was using things today, and not waiting for tomorrow, because we're never guaranteed tomorrow. Now, I don't have china to use or really fancy undies, but I do have something I love that I surround myself with - candles. I buy $25 ones, I buy $2.50 ones, but I love them all the same. Being cheap, I tend to only light them when someone is coming over, or I want a cozy atmosphere when it's cold outside.

When I started my Anatomy & Physiology course, I realized right away I absolutely hated it. I know, great attitude, Erin. BUT, what I thought was going to be interesting turned out to be SCIENCE. I hate Science almost as much as I hate Math. I took the prerequisites I had to in high school, then chose less taxing classes, like Foods, where my cooking partners had a dime bag of weed they wanted to mix into the brownies we were making. Way to challenge myself, I know.

Anyway, when I sat down at the dining room table with my A&P book, I lit a candle. It wasn't necessarily for the smell (although cinnamon vanilla really does rock the nostrils) but more because it made me HAPPY. What was the harm in burning a $1.50 candle (yes, it was on clearance at Wally World) to make crappy classwork more enjoyable? Absolutely nothing, and it made finishing that class (which I did in less than two weeks, I really do impress myself sometimes) that much more enjoyable.

I'm further exploring the whole "Happiness Project" to see what else I can do to make myself happier. It may sound selfish, but really, if I'm happier, I know it will make everyone around me happier too. At least, I'm hoping so.

Because he's not a baby anymore...

I bought Addison the Wii game Boom Blox Smash Party for getting all A's on his report card, and yesterday afternoon we started playing it. I suppose we both have addictive personalities to a fault, so when it was time to start cooking supper, I said screw it, let's go grab some Burger King, even though Whoppers usually do a number on my bowels, but hell, I wanted one.

We had the windows down (it was that nice, ahhhh) and I glanced over at him, and it just hit me...he's not a baby anymore. He's not a toddler. He's a "tweener," those kids who are not yet teenagers but not little kids anymore either. My heart just about broke then and there. I didn't feel old, that wasn't the problem. I can't quite place my finger on it, but I realized that he'll be 11 years old in June. 11! Where did time go? I never listened to those people who told me, "They grow up so fast! Enjoy the time now." I liked him more and more the older he got, but now, maybe for just a day, I want my little boy back. The five-year-old, blond-haired, blue-eyed sweetheart who didn't know what Facebook was (and get asked out by girls on it), didn't talk back and didn't question everything I told him to do.

My heart broke just a little more when he texted me from his bed, "How old do I have to be to kiss girls?" I answered him back with, "38." We texted back a few more times (he asked, "For real?") and I finally told him that it would be up to him, that I wasn't going to put rules on stuff like that. I was glad we discussed it, even via texting, because it's hard for a boy to talk about stuff like that with his mom, especially me, who is extremely blunt with him and tells it like it is, which of course embarrasses him.

I can't reverse time, but I can learn to appreciate every single moment I spend with him, which I fully intend on doing.

Because I can say I've been busy and won't be lying...

It's been a pretty great couple of weeks.

I resigned from a volunteer position that sucked the life out of me, and also made me realize a lot of people live in their own little worlds, entirely selfish worlds and can't admit anything unpleasant to themselves. But enough of that, I've moved on, and know reality will be a bitch when they wake up.

The very next day, I enrolled in a program for military spouses that pays up to $6,000 for schooling. I've always been interested in medical transcription, but I was always too cheap to pay for the schooling. My friend told me about the program, and within a few days I was accepted into the medical transcription certificate program through Kaplan University, with everything paid for by MyCAA. Score!

I'm fully immersed in my first real class, Medical Language, and I absolutely love it. I would spend all day every day doing the work if I could. I find every single aspect of it intriguing, and I love learning.

Needless to say, this is one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I can't wait for all my next courses, and the best thing is that before July, I'll have my certificate in hand, ready to work, from home...being not much of a people person (the general public irritates the living shit out of me) it's a perfect job for me.

It's never too late or too early to begin something new. It's felt so great, so refreshing to start a new chapter in life.