7 Days

A week in the life of someone who LIVES.

MONDAY

1. I discovered another new neighborhood in Portland. St. John's Pub was a cool place to start my freedom week.

2. I nursed a sick friend back to health with nothing but the sheer force of my enthusiasm and exhuberance.

TUESDAY

3. Loved the hell out of my writing critique group.

4. Attended "curriculum night" at Alex's school. It turns out that the sum total of  what I got out of that one-hour talk is directly proportional to what he'll actually learn this year. Sadly, it ain't much.

5. I tasted a Cuban cigar.

6. And discovered the bliss that is freshly sliced strawberries dipped in feta cheese. RECOMMEND!

WEDNESDAY

7. Woke up (hung over) and called my boy before school. He turned SEVEN!

8. After school, I picked him up from his dad's and took him to pick out a betta fish, which he named MAX. Max is blue and, hopefully, hardy.

9. For the first time since the divorce, we all went out to dinner as a family. Because that's what we still are: a family.

10. I indoctrinated a fellow man into the cult of the scallop. The conversation was like this:

"I've never had scallops. Honestly. Are they awesome?"

"I'm just going to assume on behalf of everyone involved that you meant that as a rhetorical question. And by "everyone" I obviously mean: all of humanity."

Needless to say, my scallops were awesome.

THURSDAY

11. Last Thursday on Alberta Street. 70 degrees, clear and downright BALMY. In Portland fucking OREGON! In September!

12. Delectable Pad Thai at an outdoor restaurant. A slow stroll hand-in-hand with a certain tall, dark, handsome breakfast-maker. Stopped to listen to live bands rock the street corners. Watched stoned hippies dance in the street. Shopped for vintage cowboy shirts. I honestly can't remember a more PERFECT night.

FRIDAY

13. Watched the sunrise as one Mrs. Amanda Marie Del Buono.

14. Stood up in front of a judge at 9AM and after confirming under oath that I was neither a registered sex offender, nor attempting to change my name to evade creditors, I became one Amanda Marie Penelope Westmont.

That's Ms. Penelope, if you're nasty.

The grin I gave the judge when he signed my name change order lasted...Well, let's just say it's still right here on my face. It's no small irony, either, that something I did expressely at the request of someone else (someone who did not want me writing porny fiction under his family's name and asked me to change it) turned out to so thoroughly please ME.

15. I celebrated by taking my girlycita bombadita out for a mani/pedi.

She chose black glitter nail polish with tiny white flowers. I chose RED. Of course.

16. I ate my my first Five Guys burger and shared an order of fries with my girly. Pretty damn tasty if you ask me.

SATURDAY

17. I soccer-mommed it.

 18. I Portland Saturday Market-ed it with my new buddy Dale. One of the most surprising things about dating is that sometimes you meet people who aren't necessarily a fit romantically, but who end up becoming super fun friends. Dale writes comic books! You should totally check them out.

19. Dale held my jacket while I got my first tattoo.

It's only henna, Mom! Don't freak out!

An idea popped into my head on the day I took off my wedding rings. Since I really see no need to ever get married again (a subject I'll be happy to broach just as soon as it's legal for EVERYONE to get married), why not have my kids' names tattoed around my ring finger?

Let's just say I'm SO GLAD I did a test-run first in henna (which will slowly fade and disappear over the next three weeks) because I'm not loving it. It feels like my hand is dirty!

 20. On our way back from the market, I caught my first glimpse of the world's most perfect donut.

Awwwww, yeah. Dale and I weren't up for waiting in the line that wrapped around the block, but there is definitely a Maple Bacon Voodoo Doughnut somewhere in my future belleh.

21. I raced home in time to take Alex to his best friend's birthday party at Kline Line Pond. Another perfect afternoon.

With perfect friends.

22. That night the breakfast-maker had a big super secret date planned. First he fed me a salmon dinner with asparagus and brown rice (Which was amazing! Just like everything else he cooks! We're just dating, nothing serious! But MAN, if that way-to-my-heart-is-through-my-stomach thing has any truth to it, that bastard is trying to RUIN me.).

Then he took me to a Vaudeville Show.

Which was, to put it simply, RAD.

SUNDAY

23. Breakfast. Obviously. Ruinous bastard!

24. We tooled around the city trying on fun clothes at a thrift shop, eating salted carmels and drinking Peet's coffee. And people watching! I'm convinced Portland, Oregon has the best people-watching of any city I've seen. I can't think of a better place where two fiction writers can sit at a sidewalk cafe and get such spectacular character fodder just by watching the foot traffic go by.

25. Later that afternoon at my friend Tana's party, I got to introduce myself as Amanda Westmont for the first time. That felt pretty damn good.

Now it's my week with the kids and that feels even better.

I didn't start out with some master plan of what I wanted my life to look like as a divorced mother. All I knew was that I needed space to figure myself out. So far, I'd say that life as Amanda Westmont is about one published novel shy of perfection.

I think the word I'm looking for is: happy.

Comments

[ariel]

LOVE!

[Annika]

I just have two words for ya, Ms. Westmont: Rock On!

Effing Rock! On!

: )

[norm]

If I lived in Portland I'd breakfast at Voodoo Doughnut every day until my heart stopped. Which wouldn't be very long. But it would be a good, short, time.

[Erin]

There is a second Voodoo Doughnuts on NE15th and Davis (which is right off of Sandy). They have parking, seating and a few games and the line there is never ever as long as it is in downtown.

If you're ever in the mood for super tasty and cheap Chinese, the Panda Kitchen restaurant on Broadway (it's all the way up by the freeway, on the PSU campus) is also quite tasty. :)

[Sheryl]

MMMMMMM....the Bacon Maple Bar. I'm tempted to make a quick run to VooDoo right now...good thing it's a school night.

[Siera]

I've been loving the weather! Last Friday I took my son to the beach and he went wading on Oct 1! A friend of ours who was briefly engaged got the letter of his fiance's first name tattooed on his wedding finger instead of a traditonal engagement ring. Lets just say it cost a hell of a lot more and hurt more to get it lasered off.

[Jamie]

The maple bacon bar is my secret lover. MY GOD it is so good.

Also, your new life kicks ass, congrats on being so effing happy!

[Lipstick Jane]

Great post. So glad to hear you are happy! Assignment: REPEAT.

[Liana (Suburban Mom)]

Yay for you!!! I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying your life so much! And you seem to have it all balanced out! Go Ms. Westmont! Now bust out that novel so we can all enjoy some porny fiction! :)

[Allison]

OK, I think I'm the only human being who [whispering this] doesn't like bacon very much.

But! But!

Everything *else* sounds amazing. Portland is a fantastic city. So glad you're enjoying all it has to offer.

And my fingers are crossed that the "published novel" piece falls into place sooner rather than later ...

[laura]

happy really makes you look awesome! and i'm ready to read more :)

[Alyce]

I really like these catch up posts. Happy looks good on you.

[Lori]

I'm so glad you're happy. It's a lovely thing to read about. :) That bacon doughnut made my mouth very jealous of whoever got to eat it!

[LizP]

We have a Voodoo Donuts in Eugene but it doesn't open until 2pm. :-( We've only been once ... that maple bacon donut is KILLER!

[sarah]

love this post!

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