Omens, superstitions, & lotteries.

On the very last day of 2007, Hailey and I decided to go for a nice long walk after breakfast. We walked down to our local Shoney’s restaurant, across the street to the bank, down the road to Kmart, and back home. Now, I’m not one to put much stock in omens and such, but what could it possibly mean that on the last day of the year, a lovely little bird sh*t right on the top of my head?? Should I be glad that it happened at the end of 2007, perhaps signaling the end of a sh*tty year and the end to a very long run of bad luck? Should I be glad that it didn’t happen on New Years day, the first day of 2008 as it would have been a sign of things to come? Or should I just be glad I wasn’t looking up to the sky with my mouth wide open? lolOn New Years Eve, Hailey and I spent the night at my friend Beth’s house. I had planned to pay Beth’s daughter $5 for watching Hailey while I went out for a date. Yes folks, you heard that correctly. I. Had. A. Date. The date was scheduled with Tony (Mr. Nascar) and we were going to meet for dinner, and if things clicked we’d go do something else. That is until Tony called to say he wasn’t feeling well, and would have to pass on our date. You’d think that me being the one with the child, I’d be a bit unreliable. Calling to say the babysitter couldn’t make it or some such thing, but no! He’s been the one to cancel twice in a row on me. I thanked him for letting me know, and appreciated that he wasn’t taking the chance of making me sick as well and packed up to head over to Beth’s. She called on the way there and asked if I’d pick up the mixings for strawberry daiquiri’s. Yum! Hailey and I arrived for our slumber party and promptly chowed down for dinner. I love a particular brand of frozen pizza that’s not delivery! I talked the girls into putting on their pajamas, made them a couple of virgin daiquiris, made Beth and I some not so virgin ones, and sat down to a rousing 3 hour game of Monopoly. Hailey, despite being 4 and never having played the game before, managed to beat the pants off the rest of us. We took a break and Uncle Frank came over. Uncle Frank is not related to anyone, but is a close friend of Beth & her husband. He was conned into playing Candyland with the girls, who took wicked delight in stomping him back to the beginning of the path through Candyland. We wrapped everything up just before midnight and I broke out the hats and the cheap plastic horns for the girls. We counted down as the ball dropped in NY. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….HOOT!! The girls were blowing those horns at the top of their lungs. The cat jumped up off the couch and flew from the room. I let them go outside to scream “Happy New Year” and blow their horns for the neighbors. Uncle Frank let off a few fireworks and then we all went to bed around 1am.

On New Years day, we got a late start. I think Hailey woke me up about 9am. Beth made everyone breakfast, we bummed around and watched some football. Around noon we got all bundled up and went to downtown Knoxville for some outdoor ice skating. Oh my did we have fun! Hailey was very hesitant on the ice and stayed glued to my side. I had taken lessons as a child so I’m at least able to stay upright. A few times she fell, but she just laughed and got right back up again. We had hot chocolate and a cookie before heading home. It was a fantastic day. Unfortunately spending 90 minutes hunched over to help Hailey skate has done nothing for my back. I’m one big ball of painful vertebrae right now!

We headed home to Beth’s house as she was making a “traditional” New Years dinner. This consisted of Ham, black eyed peas, mustard greens, mashed potatoes, corn & yeast rolls. I guess the superstitious people believe that black eyed peas bring good luck for the coming year, greens (usually collard) bring health, and having money in your pocket will bring wealth. I am not a superstitious person, so I just sat back and enjoyed the meal. Is anyone else superstitious enough to partake in this type of notion? Regardless, dinner was delicious and I was stuffed by the end. Beth and I sat down to watch a Christmas movie that she had recorded for me…something about a Diva with Vanessa Williams in it. I grabbed a penny and started in on the scratch tickets I had bought that afternoon. I had about $8 in cash in my wallet so I nipped to the gas station and bought 8 $1 scratch lottery tickets. I think I was on #3 or 4 when I won! $50 no less! That’s not a half bad return on my investment. I was good…instead of buying more tickets and trying to win more money, I cashed it in and bought a few groceries.

So that is how 2007 and 2008 began for me. I’m hoping that this year is relatively mellow…no moves, lay offs, relationship troubles, etc. I would like just a nice, easy, happy year.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. I wish you all the best in 2008!