I wanted to thank everyone for their advice and words of encouragement. I was so very down when I posted here, and I'm glad that, instead of wallowing in hopelessness, I came to you guys for advice.
The good news is; I have been hired by a major business and will be receiving full time, full benefits, and within a year, reimbursement for going back to college - something I have wanted since the day I stepped out of college. Technically, they haven't made a formal offer yet, because the background check isn't over, but I have 0 criminal activity in my past. The background checking company has made a huge deal of having a copy of every W2 for the last 5 years, but I remain hopeful that not having a few of them will not hinder my ability to be hired.
As a back up, I did take a crappy part time job at a local electronics store, just in case the big, nice, shiny job fell through. What can I say? I prepare for the worst.
As far as living situation goes, I finally opened up to a close friend of mine about what was going on. This close friend of mine had moved to Arkansas, so I figured telling her was "safe". Unfortunately (or, really, fortunately) she got on the horn to our mutual friends who haven't gotten married and moved or gone off to the AF or college, and she found someone who is actually contented with paying just under half the rent, every month, for staying in my apartment during the week (since he lives an hour away, but works in town) and buying groceries. My lease is up in 3 months, and we've talked about looking for a two bedroom apartment after that.
I'm a cynical person, I don't really believe good things happen, especially not to me. But, for once, things have turned around, and I am so thankful to you guys for your reassurance, and words of advice. It might seem silly, but it seemed to screw my head back on straight, for a little while, at least! I didn't resolve myself to staying with my mother, or with the ex, and that worked. Thank you!