Did that really just happen to me?

So to say I had an interesting weekend - namely Saturday - I think might be an understatement! Our friend Brett was in town and he is one of those guys who is a fabulous friend. He is from Tennessee and oozes Southern Charm. Something that I believe is severely lacking in Oklahoma, really everywhere these days. Jax and I met him out Friday and had a good time. There was no drama whatsoever.

Let me roll on to Saturday. We went to a sports bar in town and when I got there at 7pm, 90% of the bar was intoxicated. Now, you ALL know that unless you are drunk with these people, it is never a fun situation to walk into. Therefore, the only thing I could do was grin and bear it - and have a few cape cods.

Now, I talk about how I am an introvert all the time on this blog, but Saturday night I turned into an extrovert. I have tattoos (four to be exact). Three of my tattoos are small and one is large around my ankle. As my mother is reading this, she is trying to figure out in her head 1) where did she go wrong and 2) how much does it cost to remove those white trash things. Well, our waitress had an awesome tattoo and I asked her where she got it. We talked, she gave me a business card for the guy that did it and that conversation was done.

As the night progressed on, we moved tables and got a new waitress that was covered in tattoos, covered in them! I asked her if the ones on her neck hurt and she said yes. I told her the same about the one on my ankle. "Worse than child birth" was my exact answer. As we are talking, she starts to talk closer. That's ok, I guess because the bar was crowded. She then proceeds to ask my name and shakes my hand - just like a guy would if he was going to ask you out. I found it weird, but not that weird. Then after she leaves, Brett was all "Umm, you know she was hitting on you right?" And I'm all "Well not exactly?" He rolls his eyes, laughs hysterically and we move on to the next bar to meet up with some of his friends.

We get to this bar and I am sitting at a table carrying on a conversation with an attorney's wife. She is super nice - well that was until she asked me to go back to the hot tub with her and her HUSBAND? WTF is happening here? Then Brett proceeds to say, "I had no idea these people were swingers!" That probably would have been a good thing to know before I was being friendly to them.

People, do you see what happens when I come out of my introverted shell? I get hit on not once, but twice by chicks! Note to self: Being an introvert works best in ALL situations.

Traditions

When I was a little girl, one of the things I looked forward to most in the year was decorating our Christmas tree. We lived in a big 2 story house with vaulted ceilings. So every year we got a HUGE tree. And people, I mean HUGE TREE. It was at least 20 feet tall and just as wide at the bottom.

It was such an ordeal each year because my Dad and brother would go out to get the tree, it would be tied up so they could drag it through the front door and the house would be covered in pine needles before it was even on the stand. This drove my mother crazy and I can remember her feverishly vacuuming those pine needles up - over and over again.

When the tree finally was in the upright and out position on the stand, it was time to decorate. It took forever to decorate that tree, but when we were done, it was all worth it. In fact, we were in the local newspaper several times because of how awesome the tree was. Now to some of you, that may seem lame - but when you are 6-yrs-old, that is pretty freaking cool! I remember when we took that picture in front of the tree. It was me and my brother with our two dogs and because the newspaper was obviously black and white, you could hardly see our dog Harry in the picture because he was gray.

When my parents got a divorce when I was 8, my Mom did a wonderful job at keeping those traditions alive for us. In fact, the first Christmas that they were divorced, my Dad came over to watch us open our presents and see our Santa gifts. As a kid, you do not realize how special that really is. All you know is there's a butt load of presents with your name on them and you CAN'T wait to tear into them all.

Since Mark and I split, I have tried really hard at keeping things normal for Piper. I would be lying if I said that I have been doing a great job every day. In fact, I think I fall short quite often, but the main thing is, I am trying and that is all I can do really.

Piper and I decorated our Christmas tree last night and we had a great time - well that was until she kept dropping the balls on the wood floor and they would shatter into a MILLION LITTLE PIECES. By ball three, Momma came close to losing it. Think gritting teeth and saying "Piper" through those teeth. But the point is, I started that tradition with her her very first Christmas - granted the first and second Christmas she could not do a whole lot. But this year she took to it like a duck to water and she was so proud of herself for decorating it. And the most important part, I was yet again so proud to be her Mom.

Holiday Ackwardness

There are two very different sides of my family. There is my step dad's side of the family that consists of lawyers and bankers, then there is my father's side that consists of blue collar workers. Each side I would not trade for the world - well for the most part.

Piper and I spent Thanksgiving day in Lawrence, Kansas (GO HAWKS!) at my step dad's sister's house. Now God bless them, but they are stuffy for the most part. For dinner you have to come dressed in your Sunday best and be on your "A" game at all times. There are a few people, namely my mother and cousins, that buck the system and try to cause trouble every chance they get. That always makes for good times.

For example, we had to go around the kitchen and tell everyone what we are thankful for. Now, for those of you that do not know me, I am borderline introvert, so these types of things drive me crazy. I stew and stew over simply saying "I am thankful for my beautiful daughter, Piper." No idea why, but I am just getting more introverted as I get older.

My mother said she was thankful for her family, but later told me she wanted to say she was thankful that Easter was cancelled and we only had to do 2 Holidays this year with this side of the family. Nice! And you people wonder where I get it from.

Anyway, this was the first holiday without Mark and it was awkward. When we were taking pictures, I stood off to the side with no husband. Now that did not bother me so much. It was the "How are you doing?" "Is Piper adjusting well?" questions that about set me over the edge. I know people care or they would not ask, but sometimes people, it's just better to leave well enough alone. You know? And then when I say that we now get along better than we ever did married, the look of confusion on their faces is staggering! Yes, I get along with my ex - it has been a long road to hoe, but we get along perfect!

I actually spent some of the weekend with him because he had not seen Piper for a while and she wanted to stay with both of us. It was nice, we laughed and had a good time. Please note: We are not getting back together, we share a daughter whom we love dearly. The. End.

So the holiday weekend is over and all in all, I survived. Now if I can get through Christmas - that may be a miracle. Why is it that 3-year-olds find it necessary to say they want EVERY SINGLE THING that is on TV? If I tell Piper one more time "just wait for Christmas" - I may have to self medicate.