It's happening

[coffee_]

Just want to wish everybody a merry Christmas
Hope your all well during this time, I for one know that it will be a challenge for me, but I will hold my head up high, cook the best prime rib of my life and smile even if I don't mean it,
Merry Christmas all!

[doodler]

...cook the best prime rib of my life...

You tell us about it, but you don't invite us? Did my xW get you to do that?

I'll just be having a small bowl of gruel and a cup of dirty tepid water.

[Dawgs]

Someone say prime rib? Hell, I'll make the hot buttered rum!

[coffee_]

I would invite you all, but that may get a bit expensive...I already over spent this holiday season.
I have a nice gal who appreciates me and her family that I will be spending Christmas day with and cooking the roast. Its my first time I will be doing this in the oven..I hope it goes well.

[doodler]

I would invite you all, but that may get a bit expensive...

coffee,

I understand. Don't feel bad about it. I realize one more prime rib is going to break the bank. I get it. Don't worry about me; I have my gruel and dirty water. I'll be ok.

Have a really wonderful Christmas and don't think about me when you're eating prime rib. It's ok, really it is.

[coffee_]

I would invite you all, but that may get a bit expensive...

coffee,

I understand. Don't feel bad about it. I realize one more prime rib is going to break the bank. I get it. Don't worry about me; I have my gruel and dirty water. I'll be ok.

Have a really wonderful Christmas and don't think about me when you're eating prime rib. It's ok, really it is.

I hope your gruel and dirty water was okay doodler. I overcooked the prime rib, it was good but I was disappointed in my cooking skills to say the least. I am a wannabe chef....I guess I shouldn't quit my day job just yet. I had an absolutely fab Christmas eve with my boy, then an equally awesome day with my new GF.

[doodler]

I hope your gruel and dirty water was okay doodler. I overcooked the prime rib, it was good but I was disappointed in my cooking skills to say the least. I am a wannabe chef....I guess I shouldn't quit my day job just yet. I had an absolutely fab Christmas eve with my boy, then an equally awesome day with my new GF.

coffee,

On Christmas Eve I got a wild and crazy idea; I decided I could go to the grocery store and buy a frozen dinner. No gruel for doodler this Christmas!

I'm glad you had your prime rib even if it wasn't perfectly cooked; it had to be better than my frozen dinner. I'm glad you had an awesome Christmas Eve and Christmas day! Mine was very good as well.

[coffee_]

Well, just a quick status update. I am one week away from mediation, I hope it goes smooth. My soon to be ex is a total narcissist she is holding tight on leaving me just about nothing....I don't have any conversations with her about it, just back and forth from my Lawyer. I can't believe that a human could defile a marriage with infidelity, then after not wanting to reconcile go for blood during the divorce. I just don't get it...at all. I hope my Lawyer can make this fair for me, I figure if we both walk away from this feeling like we didn't get what we deserved then it will be fair.
I do think I am in a pretty good place as far as healing. I very seldom get that knife in the gut feeling. I still have anxiety when thinking of her with someone else, even though I have moved on and begun dating a pretty nice gal who appreciates me for who I am. So weird I get all stressed out about things that would affect my ex and this gal could care less, interesting how different people are, even when my buddies say "all women are the same". I thought I would have trust "issues" but I really don't, I know that I could never trust my ex again, hence why I filed for D. I trust my girlfriend, as she hasn't given me a reason not to.
Just spewing a few updates in my life...

[doodler]

coffee,

Going into mediation, I didn't know what to expect. But, mediation day, for me, was anticlimactic and relatively uneventful. My wife and I were in separate rooms and we had mediator (an ex-judge) that would go between each room to negotiate.

Most of my time was spent talking with my lawyer (she's cute as h3ll) about children, pets and life in general. I also brought some reading material (via Kindle on my cell phone); that came in handy. They provided lunch and it was really good.

So, don't fret; it probably won't be a bad experience for you.

The most important thing I did was that I had my lawyer include a statement in the mediation agreement that stated that the parents have to consider to the wishes of the children when it comes to where (which parent) they want to stay with at any given time. We have 50-50 custody, but that the clause in the mediation agreement is like gold. It's a good thing to consider if you're the better parent.

I hope mediation goes well for you. It probably will. Go skinny dipping afterward.

[Dawgs]

The most important thing I did was that I had my lawyer include a statement in the mediation agreement that stated that the parents have to consider to the wishes of the children when it comes to where (which parent) they want to stay with at any given time. We have 50-50 custody, but that the clause in the mediation agreement is like gold. It's a good thing to consider if you're the better parent.

Like you, we were also separated. Coffee needs to strongly consider the tie-breakers before going into the mediation. For me, I made sure I got education (meaning I decide which school and other education-related things) as a priority, reason being is that she can't move them, period. I also got the extracurricular activities. The ex got medical issues and religion.