I came to the conclusion yesterday that I’m currently a housewife.  If that didn’t make you laugh..it should have.  That is funny as hell. Since I’ve previously wondered what housewives without kids do during the day….I figured I’d tell you what I have been doing with my days (interjected with some random thoughts along the way).

Yesterday was my day of leisure.  This would be a good time to interject that leisure comes in between searching for a new job, working on my new personal venture, and facilitating classes online. What do single parents do when they take their kids to an amusement park if they don’t ride rides?  I’m afraid of heights and roller coasters.  That’s why I’d have to take my kids with another adult. Back to yesterday.  I was supposed to get out of the house.  When I did my hair and got fixed up my intent was to walk to the nearest quick eating place.  After asking around about what was closest I realized that I could easily walk over to the mall…the shi shi mall….and eat in the food court.

WAIT!

If I’m going to the mall I can have some sushi!  TJ took me to a sushi buffet called Todai in Seattle and I really liked it.  There is one out here in the suburbs and I have been dying to go since I moved to Chicago.  Yesterday was the perfect day to go because I was by myself and I don’t know anyone else who likes sushi.  I gathered up my pennies and nickels and dimes and hit the road.  IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD!  I was seated next to a young Asian couple who put me to shame in more ways than one.  Sitting next to them I was embarassed to be using my fork but hell….I’ve tried chopsticks before…UNSUCCESSFULLY.  And I wasn’t shame cause they were Asian….no babies.  THEY WORKED THE HELL OUTTA THOSE CHOPSTICKS!  They picked up every speck of food on that plate and it was A LOT OF DAMN FOOD.  I had 1 and 1/2 plates of food including some spicy tuna rolls, grilled salmon, tempura shrimp, and vegetables.  The couple next to me put it down.  They kept knocking plate after plate after plate out and I’m sitting there rubbing my belly and wishing I had room for some fruit.  Whew.  So I walked out of the restaurant full and rested from the initial 1/2 mile walk to get there.  Continuing on my leisure stroll through the mall I ventured into Macy’s.  I stopped outside first to where their Holiday Lane is set up.  I asked the young clerk to show me their nativity scenes and she became extremely confused and told me she didn’t know what I was talking about.  Original Diva going into simple folks conversation….Baby Jesus? 3 Wise Men? A MANGER??? At that point the light bulb goes off and she tells me that they don’t have anything like that.  Y’all know I looked around for myself anyway right?

Did y’all know that the department stores are in full on Christmas mode RIGHT NOW?  They are.  The gift sets are out.  The vendors are lining the aisles in cosmetics to spray you down.  I usually maneuver around or breeze through but this time somebody slowed me down and got my attention.  The Marc Jacobs vendor introduced me to their newest scent, LOLA.  The bottles are fabulous and the scent is sexy.  I’m in love.  She gave me a few samples to take with me and her card to share with the hubby in case he’s interested in throwing a gift my way.

After I left Macy’s smelling even more sexy, I sauntered into Godiva’s.  I needed a piece of chocolate to complete my day and they have my favorite in the entire world…Macadamia Mosaic: Chocolate hazelnut praline teeming with macadamia chunks enveloped in milk chocolate. Love it!  While I was there the sales clerk offered me a free sample…a dark chocolate gem. Gems are individually wrapped in beautifully colored wrappers and I plan on including them in all my gifts baskets from now on.  She also asked me if I was interested in signing up for a rewards card.  One of the perks of being a rewards member is that you receive one free piece each month.  Since the month of October is coming to a swift end, she offered me my free piece on the spot.  See that…I walked out of Godiva’s with 2 free pieces of chocolate!  On my way out the door she said the typical “Have a nice day.” and I turned around and told her “My day is so fabulous that if it gets any better I’ll have to lock myself in the house!”

I looked around at the premature Christmas decor covering the mall and then headed back home.  Along the way I told myself “Original Diva….yo extra hungry ass walked over here BRISKLY, don’t saunter home all leisurely like you didn’t just eat a bunch of sushi and some chocolate.  PICK IT UP!”

Today’s adventure was VERY different.  I walked 2.5 miles in the rain.  When I got home I was soaking wet and my eyes were burning.  Was I pissed?  Not at all!  I felt really good about my walk.  First of all, I was so focused on the rain that I didn’t think about being out of breath, my legs hurting, and I couldn’t tell if it was rain or sweat running down my face.  I kick ass when it comes to endurance!  I thought the walk was only going to be about 30 minutes or so….but an hour later I was home and stripping off soaking clothes.  I think I left a trail. LOL  I worked this whole post out in my head as I walked and I intended to come in, dry off, put on my sweats, type this up, and scrapbook.  I got the scrapbooking idea from passing a Hobby Lobby and thinking “well damn….if it wasn’t raining I’d stop.”  But I came home and fell smooth asleep!  My legs are stiff, my feet hurt BUT I feel damn good about my walk and now I know that my eyes were probably burning from whatever products I have in my hair running down instead of wondering just what the hell have we done to the planet where RAIN WATER burns. LOL

Maybe the mister will rub me down tonight.

AND….after my visit to the mall and last week’s freebies that I got to take advantage of, Original Diva’s Favorite Things is in full effect.  The list is complete and I’m going to post it next week.  Be ready!

~Smooches in Supply

Love is your husband driving you to different Starbucks when you’re craving sweets at that time of the month until you find the one with icing on their lemon pound cake.  All is right with the world now….

365 days ago I was working in cubicle land like the typical American.  My daily commute averaged 4 hours regardless of whether I drove or took the train.  I worked a typical 8 hour day beginning at 7am and “clocking out” at 4pm.  I always prefer to go in early because I like to start my day with nobody asking me questions when I’m too grouchy to be cooperative.  Original Diva is NOT a morning person.  Don’t talk to me before 9am.  That’s a standard rule for me….in person, via telephone, or email.  So those 2 hours in the morning give me time to warm up and get the day going productively.  I like leaving at 4pm because I feel like I’m getting an hour of my life back.  I know I’m really not….but leaving at 4 instead of 5 has always made me feel like I’m “cheating the system”.

Anyway….beginning in November I started spending A LOT of time with my husband.  There were days (probably 4 or 5 out of the entire week) where I would spend all day with him.  Since March I have spent EVERY SINGLE DAY with him.  I’m going to say that I have really been lucky to spend 1/3 of my honeymoon days with my husband.  This has been a hell of a time for us.  We have gotten to know each other in ways that newlyweds should NEVER get to know. LOL  When we first got married we barely saw each other.  We were living with each other every other weekend and then I moved to Chicago and we got up to every weekend.  I went from no time with him to all the time with him.  I’ll repeat myself…I’m lucky.  I’m currently back in the market for work and I’ve been thinking that I’m really going to miss him for those possible 12 hours a day that I’m gone.  12 hours a day at work plus 7 hours of work only leaves 5 hours of time together…assuming that we are home together at the same times.  That is only a quarter of the time we spend now.  THEN AGAIN…..time apart could be really good considering that there are days when he REALLY gets on my damn nerves.  How do couples get along with only 5 hours a day man.  You miss out on so much.

Then again….I keep telling Chele to live out her dream…..I need to do the same.  Then I can decide how much time I spend with his stank ass and when I want to.