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1.  Your addiction to looking at other women.  I wish you'd cover your tracks a little better.

2.  The constant turning off of lights the second after I've turned them on.

3.  "Let's go, let's move!" shouted every.single.morning, usually followed by some choice words.

4.  The way you stick the entire butter dish in the microwave, which turns the nicely softened butter into a congealed lump of goo.  Pointless and unnecessary.

5.  The baby powder ritual in the morning.  Any more info and it's waaay TMI.

6.  Constant negotiation over the smallest things, like loading the dishwasher a certain way or not putting the hot skillet in the sink.  Why can't you just let me do it the way I want to?

7.  Endless demands for/guilt trips about/crude references to s.e.x.

8.  The way you make yourself dinner and don't ever think of asking lil pill or me if we're hungry.  The way you criticize me for not making dinner for you more often.

9.  That you've made lil' pill cry at least once every day for the last month.

10.  Your (often voiced) opinion that I've never been good enough/happy enough/smart enough/pretty enough/thin enough/ghetto enough/ambitious enough and if only I would change myself, you'd be the perfect mate.

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I won't be able to post this weekend.  Please wish me luck getting settled and making it through the night alone despite all my phobias of strangers breaking in to kill me! Oh, you didn't know about that?  Anyway...I will be back on Monday with an update. 

I was tagged by MajikFaerie , who has an amazing blog, to list eight random things about myself.  I'm not sure there are eight things that I haven't already spilled my guts about, me being an open book and all, but let me scrounge around in my memory and try to find eight scintillating yet oh-so-random facts about myself.

 *Rules*:
-Link to the person who tagged you.
-Tag 8 other blogs.
-List the rules.
-Post 8 things people don't know about you.

EIGHT RANDOM THINGS about A Hippy Chick:

1)  I kill every plant I ever touch--even ivy.

2) I have a secret crush on the professor downstairs who didn't hire me because I'm fat.  How sad is that?  But lord, he is hot in all the right ways.  So, in order not to show him this crush, I'm extra mean to him when he asks for my help.  How sad is that?

3) I looooove cleaning earwax.  I stare at people's ears and get a sick satisfaction if they're waxy. I even like cleaning dog's earwax. I once had a dacshund that I used 22 Q tips on. Man I miss that dog.

4) I'm a huge procrastinator, and curiously not that big on following through, either.   I'll make a list and feel okay about everything, then not follow the list when it's time to do so.  I'll clip coupons, then choose not to pull them out of my purse.

 5) I feel bad that lil pill is going to be short.  :(  And guilty because I married a short man.  And guilty that I feel guilty for resigning my otherwise devastatingly handsome lil' dude to a life of shortness.

6) I think most of the world's problems are due to ego and greed.

7) I don't support any kind of genetic testing for birth anomalies.  I do support stem cell research.

8 ) My favorite color is aqua blue.  I know you are all EXTREMELY suprised!

Okay, hope you enjoyed that little terrifying glimpse into my oh-so-random mind.  Here are the other bloggers I'm tagging: Chewing The Fat, Chewy Mom, Still Snarky, Retired Waif, Gone Crunchy, Especially Heather, It Coulda Been Worse, and Naptime Musings.  The end!

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came...
The Beatles

Feel free to sing along.  Ah, look at all the lonely people. Do doo da doo...  But back to the subject at hand.  Eleanor was at my house last night, in the guise of the dog lady.  Eleanor, I mean Ann, was supposed to be there at 6 p.m. to check out our house to make sure we were suitable owners for lil Herbie.  I rushed back from the PT conference, swept the kitchen floor, picked up all the various items laying around (is it laying or lying? I can't ever remember), and lit a candle.  I wuz prepared!  So...6:05...6:45...7:00 and Eleanor-I mean Ann-calls and says she is hopelessly lost.

One of the best things about Mr. A is that he nearly always helps if you really need it, even if he hates you.  So he went out to find the dog lady and guided her to our apartment.   She stayed until NINE: FIFTEEN telling me every story about her family she could think of, some not even the teensiest bit dog-related.  I'm sure my smile must've been a little strained around the 1:30 hour mark, as lil pill was wanting a sandwich and I needed to do laundry and then put lil pill to bed.  And she was-how shall I put this?-strange, for lack of a better term.  She knew dogs and how to be a good dog mom, but didn't really know how to interact well with people.  Certainly reading body language wasn't her strong suit!  I tried to be nice and engage her in conversation, as she seemed like she needed to talk to someone.  She finally left, but I couldn't help but wonder how many lonely, alone people there are out there that just want someone to talk to, someone to care. 

I seem to draw Eleanors like a magnet, but in actually I am also one of those lonely people.  I make friends slowly.  I keep to myself.  I don't like crowds and feel much more comfortable hanging out with just a couple of people.   I feel happy being by myself, and yet I do wish my life were fuller.  Ann reminded me that I must force myself out of my comfort zone...to get out and accept invitations when they are offered, to make opportunities for lil pill and I to interact with people instead of just sitting at home being safe. 

I thought parent-teacher conferences were for middle schoolers at the very youngest.  But seems preschool teachers are aching to get in on the act.  Who knows what we'll talk about-how often lil' pill picks his nose I guess-but I have been summoned to go and go I shall.   I don't know whether to bring up the separation thing or not; I'll just play it by ear most likely.

All my talk about Herbie and I'm overdrafted in the bank.  I understand how this keeps happening-I'm just not paying close enough attention.  I wrote a check for 2 wks. of school instead of 1, and Mr. A is refusing to "bail me out" by coughing up the $110 for the week he was supposed to pay (but I paid).  I don't think he's caught on yet that the school fees fluctuate depending on the weeks in a month, but he will soon find out as the school bill is his responsibility from now on out!  He did renege on the amount we agreed upon if we divorce...as I knew he would.  I didn't think, when really called on it, that he would be so generous as to "set me up on easy street" as he so nicely puts it.  Although I've never counted on his money, it will certainly make life much much easier, so I'm hoping he will be honorable.

I've got all the utilities set up at my new place.  I even got my drivers license changed and have asked everyone for help moving on Saturday.  I'm excited and fearful but so grateful for this opportunity.  Can ya tell I'm ready to fly?  Plus, I found that I can get free legal advice, plus a 20% discount if I choose to go for the big "D", from a lawyer participating with my insurance.  I had to cancel my next appointment with TSB, as she doesn't take my insurance.  I'm sure the therapist participating with my plan will be very nice, but it makes me kind of sad to have to part with TSB solely for money reasons.  Ah well! Such is life.

I think I've come up with a good savings plan, at least on paper.  And a decent plan for repairing my credit.  But we shall see how that all pans out.

The weather is turning colder here, and it feels more like Christmas every day.  I don't exactly know what to do with myself, feeling the sense of freedom and also the total responsibility for lil' pills emotional well-being, and the looming sense that I had better get smart about money or I'll be in deep doodoo.  Overall though...I'm grateful and at peace.  Can't ask for a better present than that.

I'm not talking about the car, people.  No worries!  For months I've been begging Mr. A to get a dog.  After the Coltrane debacle, in which he kicked him around and was generally just a jerk to the poor little abused mutt, I decided I wouldn't have a dog until I was on my own; but I knew I'd eventually leave Mr. A and get a dog.  I love them that much. 

 I'm truly one of those sick people who can't go on vacation without their dog, and who research every possible way to give their dog a good life, and who really think of a dog as a family member. 

 See, it's been almost 4 years since Josie died...my sweet lil Josephine who was with me and supported me through thick and thin.  I have missed the unconditional love and companionship that a dog provides, but there was always a "good" reason not to get one.  The real reason is that Mr. A was jealous of sharing my time, even with a dog, and he let me know in every possible way that he would continue to be a jerk to any dog that shared our lives. 

Well, about a month ago, I was reading petfinder.com, because I am that lovesick for a dog, and Mr. A came up behind me and told me that I had his permission to apply for a dog, as long as it would fit in our lifestyle.  And for the record, I've done lots of research on this, and I know I'm not up to a lab or a pug or another Ridgeback.  But seems there is a great dog out there for me...a basset hound.  Namely, a basset hound name Herbert, who has an abuse story of his own.  Herbert was found thin and tied to a tree, with sores in his ears and a fear of thunder.  This ole boy is about 7 years old...well past the puppy stage...but he still has a lot to give.  Kind of like me.  I identified with Herbert right away, and so today when I got the call that the rescue group would be doing a home visit tomorrow, I immediately thought of how I could make ole' Herbie's remaining years good ones. 

I applied for Herbie, knowing I'd be moving and be on my own, knowing Mr. A couldn't get to him and make his life bad.  Wow, I think the writing is on the wall for me and Mr. A.  I didn't realize how angry I still was at him for his treatment of the animals in my life.

I think Herbie would be happy with us, and we would be happy with him.  I hate to say it, but the only hurdle is money.  I sense that's going to be a continuing theme in the next few years!  Herbie is $125 to adopt, all of which goes back to the rescue organization, and it will cost another $250 for the pet deposit.  I will be able to feed him, kibble until I can afford raw, hopefully after my raise in March.  I can take care of any vet bills that might unexpectedly arise, because I will build an emergency fund asap and have already called the bank to establish a personal loan program to help my credit.  Of course, it's not practical to spend money on a dog when I could be saving it, but I am determined to enjoy my life, and nurture myself and lil pill; I can sacrifice in other ways.

I would like every person that reads this blog to say a prayer or send a good thought my way, because I know that God can make a way for Herbie and me and lil pill to be a family.   God has taken care of all my needs, and most of my wants.  So why can't he take care of providing the means so I can rescue a needy dog?  He knows the desires of my heart, and although it may seem silly, I know God made me with a love for animals that goes beyond how most people feel about them.  Herbie...I hope you're going to be a part of our family at Christmastime!