Question & Answer

Blase - one of the folks whose blog I regularly read, and who, I think, reads mine occasionally, posted a list of questions on his blog the other day.  I thought it was a great collection of questions, and in keeping with the positivity I'm trying desperately to maintain in my life.  So I'm going to list the questions (copied & pasted directly from Blase's blog) and then answer them...  I'm into lists lately; I've been thinking about 10 random things about me, JMS - so I might do that soon, too.

 

Without further ado:

 

1.Within a Seven-Day period, what will typically be your most challenging task?  Not murdering my children.  (OK, not really - but sometimes it is hard to not throttle them...)

2.Ice Cream: Cone or Bowl?  If I have a choice, I'd probably choose a cone, but it really doesn't matter all that much.  It's ice cream!

3.Hotdog: Ketchup and/or Mustard?  Depends on my mood.  Sometimes both, sometimes nothing, somethings just one or the other.  Yes, I know, I'm indecisive.  I'm also a Libra - if that means anything.

4.Car Seat: Leather or Cloth or Vinyl?  Cloth.  Never too hot or too cold, never sticky - unless one of my kids spills something gross on it.  Then I'd probably prefer Vinyl because it's relatively easy to clean!

5.Favorite Way to Relax? A good book.  Also, crafting - making my cards and stuff - seem to be very relaxing and therapeutic, too.

6.What TV Game Show would you like to participate in?  Wheel of Fortune.  I'd suck, but it would be fun!

7.Favorite Farm Animal?  The Border Collie that herds the sheep.

8.What do you like Best about your Job?  My boss.  He's a good guy and easy to work for.

9.What do you like Least about your Job?  That most folks who work here think I work in the Human Resources department and are constantly asking me questions that I can't answer.  They always seem confused when I tell them, "I would direct that question to someone in HR."

10.Within 5 miles of your residence, what is your favorite place you frequent?  Wal-Mart.

11.If you could Magically wish for a 'Creature Comfort' of some sort for your home, what would it be?  A TemperPedic Mattress.  That was easy.

12.What would you do differently if you could relive High School?  Graduate, rather than leave early and then get a G.E.D.

13.If you were given 1 Million Dollars to give to Charity, what would that Charity be?  Toughie.  Either the American Cancer Society or the local Children's Hospital, or maybe even a shelter/safe house for battered and abused women...  Maybe just to my church.  There are so many places close to my heart that it would be hard to choose.  Could I split the million between them?

 

Thanks, Blase!

 

TTFN
JMS

Fury for a Friend

I'm angry.

 

No - strike that.  I'm not angry, I'm hurt, and with the hurt comes fury.  I honestly cannot believe how upset I am about this!  I've half a mind to write a letter expressing my displeasure at a local school system that dumped one of their teachers this week.  No, the teacher (who is a great friend of ours, btw) did not get fired, the school just did not renew his contract.  I think it's local politics and that they've got someone who is connected to someone else who they want in the position my friend no longer holds.  After all, it's all about who you know, isn't it?  (Please hear the sarcasm dripping from that last sentence...)

 

So please, if you are the praying kind, say a little prayer for my friend KM and his family?  They're going to have a bit of a rough time of it over the next few weeks as KM tries to find another job.  Any and all prayers for them will be most welcome, and I'll be happy to pass them along to him so he knows just how much he means to us!

 

That's all.  Thank you.

 

TTFN
JMS

SALE STUFF!

<<< *!!!* >>>

 

I've just marked down many, many items in My Etsy Shop!  The SALE items are clearly marked in the item Title/Description and are also listed in the "SALE ITEMS" category on the right menu bar.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

 

<<< *!!!* >>>

 

TTFN

JMS

http://jshell73.etsy.com

Sweet Justice!

I was driving to work this morning, past my lovely, misty lake - going about 1 mile under the speed limit (I know this because one of the police department's mobile speed meter displays was parked on the side of the road and told me I was going 44 MPH) when a late 90's model gray Mazda Protege was suddenly riding my bumper.

 

Knowing how the police officers like this particular stretch of road, I opted to continue on my merry way, cruise control set for my current speed of 44 MPH.  Though my head was still fuzzy from the Benedryl I'd taken last night, I was awake and driving with caution; smiling at the gray car behind me as I could see through my rear-view-mirror that the driver was getting increasingly frustrated at his inability to go faster.

 

Finally, near the end of this particular road, Mr. Mazda whizzed around me - only to get stuck behind a large white suburban towing a trailer with lawn mowing equipment!  HA!

 

I kept going, now watching Mr. Mazda's rear end.  Mr. Mazda was gesticulating wildly in frustration.  I was laughing.  I wonder where he was headed in such a hurry?

 

Then, as I turned right at the light onto another lovely road on my way to the office, Mr. Suburban got in behind a semi-truck!  So the line up was now: Mr. Semi, Mr. Suburban, Mr. Mazda, Me.

 

Mr. Mazda got really far, didn't he?

 

Later, when we got on the 4 lane, Mr. Mazda took off like a bat outta you-know-where and I hope he got pulled over.  He had to have been going 70 in a 45 zone!

 

TTFN
JMS

A Monday That Is Really A Tuesday -OR- A Tuesday That Feels Like A Monday

Breathe in.

 

Breathe out.

 

One step at a time.

 

You can make it!

 

Can I just say that getting through the first day of work after some extended time off (4 days, in this case) is really super hard?  Imagine how hard it will be after being off for 10 days in October when we go to St. Augustine, FL?

 

How did I (we) spend my (our) weekend?

 

FRIDAY:

• I was given a special day off as a thank you for all the hard work I did on the JDPA re-certification in January.  Shocking to me, that my boss would say, "Take tomorrow off.  You deserve it."  Most welcome to me, of course.
• I brought the kids with me to Home Depot for a few needed items to make a bird bath.
• I spent a couple hours in the back yard drilling and tiling while the kids played around me, occasionally coming over to see what I was doing.  Every now and then I had to stop to catch a Frisbee or rescue someone who was "stuck in the mud" or some such nonsense.  It was fun.
• Little Bit fell - face first - into the doorway in our living room.  She put a tooth through her lower lip, bruised the side of her nose and upper lip, and bled all over the place.  SCARED ME TO DEATH!  Mostly because there was so much blood I couldn't tell what was bleeding and she was screaming and didn't want me to look.  When I finally convinced her I was trying to help make it better, she settled down and I was able to get everything cleaned up.  Her lip was purple and bruised and cut, but no damage to teeth that I can see.  By Monday you could hardly tell.  Resilient, that one.
• I don't remember what else we did.

SATURDAY

• We went back to Home Depot for a few more needed items for the bird bath.
• We had a picnic in the back yard for lunch.  PB&J sandwiches...ants and all!  (No, we did not eat the ants.  That would be too traumatic for the kids!)
• We played in the back yard A LOT!
• We did a few other things...I don't really remember what.

SUNDAY

• Church.  I taught Sunday School and had a breakthrough with one of my kids which truly made my heart warm.  She is a sullen 7 year old (rising 3rd grader) who has barely said a word in the entire year I've been teaching her.  She is somewhat of a loner and always brings a bag of toys or "attention keepers" for church service so she doesn't get bored.  I said, "[Girl], you're going into 3rd grade this Fall, aren't you?" - She responded, "Yes!"  - I said, "Well, you know you'll be moving into a different Sunday School class so I won't get to see you ever Sunday anymore!" - She said, with much enthusiasm, "OH!  That's no good!  I'll have to come back to visit or for a hug or something because you're my favorite teacher!"  Can you feel my heart swelling and the lump rising in my throat?  Sigh.
• Lunch.
• Rain.
• I really don't remember what else we did.  Lots of kid-friendly activities.
• More bird bath.

MONDAY

• Memorial Day.  I thought of several family members that day.
• Little Bit dressed up.  She went into the kitchen to show her daddy how pretty she was and he exclaimed, "Oh - what a pretty princess we have here!"  She said, "No, Daddy - I a ballerina!"
• We talked to Gammy on the phone and Little Bit told her, "It's a bootiful day, Gammy!"
• We had real beef hamburgers, thanks to Bobby Flay and his Grill It series on the Food Network.  I couldn't stand it and said, "Hm...that looks awfully good!"  Hubby said, "I'll be right back!" and immediately left for the grocery store.  They were the BEST HAMBURGERS I'VE EVER HAD!  Of course, it could just be the fact that I haven't had beef in 14 months.
• We went to some friends' house for a while after dinner for socialization and visitation.  You would never have even known Kiddo was there because he spent the entire time in the boys' room being good.  Little Bit eventually got tired and somewhat cranky so we left.  A good time was had by all.

Oh - and at some point, and I don't remember which day, we went to a local RV Park to visit some friends who were "vacationing" there for the holiday weekend!  That was lots of fun, too! Camper, picnic, pool, playground...  And Little Bit has the blisters to prove it!

 

TTFN
JMS

 

PS: There should be 2 pictures.  1 of Little Bit in her Princess/Ballerina outfit and 1 of the bird bath I made.

My Etsy Giveaway - WINNER!

The winner of My Etsy Giveaway, by random drawing, is Gillian Wadley of Tennessee! She "voted" for the Daisy Chain bracelet! Congratulations, Gillian! I'll deliver your bracelet the very next time I see you! TTFN JMS

Harry Potter-esque?

Sometimes I feel like Mrs. Norris.

 

You know, Mr. Filch's red-eyed cat of Harry Potter fame?

 

Let me explain:

 

I am the Assistant to the Director at my office.  That means I've got the ear of the Top Dog at work.  That also means that most people are afraid to talk to me and always seem to go scurrying off in different directions when they see (or hear) me coming. 

 

I think they're afraid I'm going to "tattle-tale" on them should I inadvertently catch them doing something I know is against company policy.  (Ahem...talking on the phone while in the ladies room isn't really against company policy, but it should be!)

 

OK - that being said, I need to clarify this a little bit further.  My former boss, who has been gone over a year now, was REALLY SUPER PICKY about things.  He was a nice guy, for sure, but he had definite ideas of how things should be.  He used to ask me constantly if I'd seen or heard anything about...well...anything that he didn't like.  He would sit at his desk and watch the people coming in to the building and critique them, what they were wearing, what they drove, how they walked, making judgements about people before he'd ever had a chance to talk to them.  He turned on the sprinkler system to chase a couple lunching landscapers off the lawn.  He would sic the security guard on anyone who flicked a cigarette out their car window into the parking lot, or drove faster than the 7MPH speed limit posted in the parking lot.  (Come on...7MPH?  Who ever heard of such a speed?  His thinking was that it was different and nobody had seen it before so they'd be more likely to pay attention.  Not.)  He got on to people about walking through the landscaping between the smoking patio and the parking lot.

 

He was an interesting individual and everyone in our office knew it.

 

He's not here anymore and our new boss is amazingly wonderful.  He's calm, cool, collected and actually cares about the important things not the things that don't really make a difference.  He definitely wants the building to look nice and be in good shape, but he isn't fixated on it.  He, too, has ideas of what he wants and doesn't want, but neither does he impose himself on others to do his work for him.  He's very self-sufficient.

 

But the stigma of our former boss, all those "issues" and "no-no's", and the fact that I am considered, by some, to be the "eyes and ears" of this facility, still linger a year later. 

 

Mrs. Norris was Mr. Filch's "eyes and ears" in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  She saw something going on and she'd go running for Mr. Filch.  She was sneaky, too - being a cat and all.  Sometimes the wrongdoers didn't even know she was there until Filch showed up!  I think Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris had a psychic (ahem...psychotic) connection.

 

Let me clear the record right now.  I AM NOT MRS. NORRIS!  Conversely, neither is my boss Mr. Filch.  We're just boss and assistant.  That's it.  That's all.

 

Drop the panic attacks whenever I come around a corner.  I'm completely over conversations abruptly coming to an end when I'm in the general vicinity.  It's about to get on my last nerve.

 

TTFN
JMS

And, speaking of Little Bit...

...her fever is back.  She woke up screaming and scared last night; she was shaking when I scooped her up, poor thing.  I thought, "She feels like she's burning up!" but I couldn't tell if that was because she'd been snuggled down in bed and warm from sleep or if she really did have a temperature.  So I waited a bit, letting her sleep on my chest.

 

She seemed to be panting and it felt like her heart was racing, but again - I couldn't tell if it was because of the bad dream she'd had that woke her up in the first place.  She came to me hollering about a "bee" (that's what I could understand) that was chasing her...

 

After about 30 minutes, she still felt really hot - so I got up (it was about 12:30 by now) and hunted down the thermometer.  102.4°!  She was restless and still trying to talk to me, even though she was mostly asleep.  I gave her some Tylenol and she eventually settled down into what could only be described as sleep.

 

Several hours later (around 4:30 AM), after being kicked, punched, and talked to for most of the night, I carried her sleeping form back into her own room, her own bed, and she was quiet then. 

 

My alarm went off at 5AM...  I'm thinking now I should have just gotten up at 4:30 when I brought her back to bed!  I'm waiting until I know everyone is up and moving at home before I call to check on her.  The thing is, she JUST finished her 10 days of antibiotics from the last go-round with fever/ear-infection.  I'm guessing another doctor's trip is in the immediate future.

 

****

 

Kiddo fell yesterday and scraped himself up pretty good.  He's got a bright blue band-aid on his forehead, a large band-aid on his knee, one on his wrist (which he secured himself with purple tape at church last night) and a couple others I can't think of right now.  He cried and was pitiful (according to Hubby; I wasn't there) but last night told me, "he was surviving," as I snuggled with him and rubbed his back.  We had a wonderful discussion about all kinds of things, but mostly about the human body and how it heals itself after an accident and where blood comes from and what's inside your head...

 

This led to me telling him how very smart he was and just how proud I am of him.  I think this pleased him so much that he simply leaned over, kissed my cheek and said, "I think I'll go to sleep now, mom."

 

TTFN
JMS

REMINDER: JShell73's FREE Giveaway on Etsy!

Don't forget - the contest ends THIS Friday (May 22nd)!

 

I'm giving away an item from My Etsy Shop!

 

Here's how it will work:

• Go to My Etsy Shop (http://jshell73.etsy.com) and look over the items there.
• Then leave a comment on My Blog (http://jennifershell.blogspot.com) letting me know which item is your favorite. 
• Make sure to include your name and email address in the comment!!!
• The item with the most "votes" is the item that will be given away and the winner will be drawn out of a hat by my 5 year old son!  He'll LOVE being involved!
• Contest ends on Friday, May 22nd and the winner will be announced on Monday (Memorial Day) May 25th.

That's it!

 

No restrictions on which item it can be, or how much - just please only one "vote" per person.

 

I'll even pay for shipping!

 

As of right now I have 3 "votes" - and they are each for different items.  If no one item gets multiple votes, I will simply draw a name from a hat and then the winner gets the item they "voted" for!

 

Happy viewing and good luck!

 

~Jennifer

Little Bit O' Sweetness

Little Bit did not, under any circumstances, want to go to bed last night.  Kiddo, on the other hand, fell asleep before he could complain about having to go to bed while it was still light outside.  I watched his eyelids droop and shut - and then he was out.  My sweet little boy.

 

Hmmm...

 

...That makes me think of a Robert Louis Stevenson poem:

 

Bed in Summer

 

In Winter I get up at night

and dress by yellow candle light.

In Summer quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

 

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me on the street.

 

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

 

Ok - so I got a little side-tracked there, but I couldn't help myself!  And, to distract from my original point even further, this poem reminds me of my Grandmother, Tennie.  So many things remind me of her.

 

Anyway - getting back on track, Kiddo fell asleep with no issues, but Little Bit was having none of it.  I'd rock her, she'd fall asleep, I'd stick her in bed and within seconds she'd be opening the door, peeking out at me with her silly grin.

 

This process happened three or four times.

 

Then, the last time she opened the door, she came out into the hallway and plopped herself down on the floor with a Franklin book and sat there quietly "reading" to herself.  It was almost like she knew she was supposed to be in bed and quiet, but because she didn't want to be in bed, being quiet in the hallway was just as good to her.  Hubby and I let her sit there for about fifteen minutes, but then I went and scooped her up and carried her to my bed where she and I lay there, snuggled together, until she fell asleep about 30 minutes later - Franklin book resting softly on her chest.

 

The great thing about all this wasn't the fact that she didn't want to go to sleep, or that she sat quietly "reading" to herself in the hallway or even that she was peering sweetly out of her door at us when she got up each time.  It was when we were in bed snuggling and she'd turn her sleepy face to me with a silly grin and say, "You're my best friend, Mommy."  Or she'd place her little warm hand on my cheek and lean over to give me a kiss.  Or she'd raise herself up to put her head on my chest and give me a hug.  She's the sweetest little thing; when she's got a mind to be, that is.  Otherwise, she's currently a 2-year-old terror!  But I cannot imagine her being any other way.

 

She fell asleep with her little hand in mine, her back to my chest, my arm around hers and my other arm under her head.  It was the best 2 hours of sleep I've gotten in a long time.  Around 10PM I woke up and carried her back to her own room and she stayed there, quiet, the rest of the night.

 

Ah...as stressful as Motherhood can be sometimes, these are the moments I live for.

 

TTFN
JMS

10 Things That Make Me Sublimely Happy

1) My children.  The way they laugh.  The way they smile.  The way they sleep.  The way they fight.  They way they holler "MOMMY!" when I walk in the door from work every night.

2) My husband.  For all his faults, he loves me desperately, despite my own.

3) My drive by the lake on a misty morning just before sunrise.

4) Earl Gray Tea - strong.  Sometimes the British way, with milk and lump sugar.  Sometimes not.

5) My hair, newly washed and dried, on my cheek at night.

6) Mint-Chocolate...anything.

7) Creating something from nothing.

8) Watching the hummingbirds at the feeder outside my living room window.

9) Being the yard that all the neighborhood kids come to to play in.

10) A book that sucks me in, won't let me go, and spits me out a changed person.

 

TTFN
JMS

A God Moment or New Kitchen Cabinet

Some of you might know that I've been looking for that perfect cabinet for my kitchen.  Then again, some of you may not.  That being said, I've been looking for that perfect cabinet for my kitchen.  Ha!  :)  I knew what I wanted, I knew the function(s) said cabinet was to perform, I knew where it was to be placed and I wasn't going to get something that would work.  My months-long search came to an end on Saturday and I cannot tell you how completely pleased I am.

 

I'm calling it a God-Moment. 

 

I'd heard on the radio about a 9-mile yard sale in a local neighborhood near where I live.  I knew the area well enough to be able to mosey around the many yard sales (all going despite the rainy weather) but because I had the kids with me, I didn't want to stop unless I saw something that had potential. 

 

The kids were being absolutely GOLDEN hanging out in the car with me and making one another laugh and giggle - so everyone was completely occupied when BAM!  I had a feeling about this one particular house.

 

Pulling over to the side of the road and getting the kids out of the car, I made my way into the garage at this house - way back in the middle of nowhere on a side-street I didn't even know existed!  In the garage I was met by a smiling older woman (late 60's maybe early 70's - I'm a bad judge of age) and I returned the smile even as I spotted exactly what I was looking for.  It was just that easy!  Not only was the cabinet absolutely perfect for my needs it was $40.00!  FORTY DOLLARS!  And, it was hand-made, solid wood, and perfectly perfect.  I paid the woman telling her that I would be back later that day or tomorrow with a vehicle to move it because I didn't think it could fit in my 1993 Toyota Corolla with 2 kids!  (That was a joke.)

 

Then, from another part of the garage I heard, "Hey!  Is your name Jennifer?"

 

Turning, I responded to the speaker, "Um...yyeesss?"

 

She: "And you work at [Company]?

 

Me: "Um...yyeesss?"

 

She: "I'm Vicky!  I used to work in the cafeteria there!  Do you remember?"

 

Me (light bulb blazing now): "Yes, of course I remember you!  How are you?"

 

It turns out that the house was her parent's house and it was her father that made the cabinet!  So not only did God "tell" me to stop there, I knew them (in a round-about way), too! 

 

Again, perfectly perfect.

 

It was very good to see Vicky again; she was always very sweet to me and we got along just fine when she was cooking for us!  No one ever had a bad thing to say about her!

 

When Hubby and I went back later to pick up the cabinet, everyone was introduced all around and we got to meet Vicky's father and the nice smiling lady whom I had originally encountered was Vicky's mother.  Go figure.

 

The cabinet is now in our kitchen, cleaned and shined and perfectly happy in its new home. 

 

Ah - I love how some things just work out, don't you?

 

TTFN
JMS

Etsy Contest - Free Giveaway!

I'm giving away an item from My Etsy Shop!

 

Here's how it will work:

• Go to My Etsy Shop (http://jshell73.etsy.com) and look over the items there.
• Then leave a comment on My Blog (on this post, please) letting me know which item is your favorite. 
• Make sure to include your name and email address in the comment!!!
• The item with the most "votes" is the item that will be given away and the winner will be drawn out of a hat by my 5 year old son!  He'll LOVE being involved!
• Contest ends on Friday, May 22nd and the winner will be announced on Monday (Memorial Day) May 25th.

That's it!

 

No restrictions on which item it can be, or how much.

 

I'll even pay for shipping!

 

Happy viewing and good luck!

 

TTFN
JMS

Independence Day Series

Here are the first 2 cards in my Independence Day Series.

 

1) Flag 1859 - $5.50 (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25079989)

 

2) It's Independence Day - $5.50 (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25080148)

 

I'm very excited about these!  More to come!

 

TTFN
JMS

COMING SOON to Etsy!

Be on the lookout for some fantastic cards appropriate for the upcoming celebration of Independence Day (a.k.a. 4th of July!). I've got some awesome discontinued wallpaper with great American-Themed patterns and I've got lots and lots of ideas! These will be one-of-a-kind cards (as are all my cards), so be sure to check them out if you see them!

http://jshell73.etsy.com

 

TTFN
JMS

Cards, Crafting, Yard Sale, Church Functions & SCHOOL!

I'm really considering myself blessed right now.  I just had another order for cards on My Etsy Site!  This is so exciting for me!  I mean, how many people (and I'm sure, in reality, there are quite a few) get to spend some time doing something they just love doing and then are able to sell those hand-made creations to someone else who will appreciate them nearly as much as you do?  Who will appreciate not only the finished product, but the time and effort that went into the finished product...?

 

I spend a lot of time (admittedly, probably more than I should) cutting pieces to fit (by hand, with an x-acto knife and a ruler, not a paper cutter), figuring out complimentary colors, shapes, designs, stamps - hand tinting some with colored pencils using colored ink stamp pads for others.  It's not just a simple matter of slapping some paper on top of card stock and calling it "art"...  That's not to say that slapping paper on card stock isn't art - it's just not my kind of art.

 

I'm realizing now that I'm good at this; better, in fact, than I am at making jewelry.  Though I don't think I'll quit making jewelry because I do love it, too - but I think I'll focus more on the cards.  For one thing, they seem to be more popular and for another, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it and almost always pleased with the outcome; especially when I've labored so over the right combination of things, placement, etc...

 

My most recent buyer (Thank you, btw!) got several of my most favorite ones so far and I am so hoping that she'll open the box (when she receives it in 2-3 days) and just gasp in awe at how wonderful they are!  LOL!  Ok...maybe I'm overstepping it a bit here, but I really do like them and I do hope she does, too.  If I know her like I think I do, she will definitely love them.

 

Of course, crafting these cards might be a little bit more productive if I had an actual craft table/space to do them in.  Gotta get on that storage building in the back yard!  I was going to have a yard sale on May 30th, but I've committed to helping with a church function that day and so the yard sale will have to wait.  The church function is a blessing in disguise for several reasons, one of which is the fact that I've done nearly NOTHING to organize the stuff for the yard sale.  I really would like an extra (and empty) storage building in my yard just for yard sale stuff!  Then, when the yard sale is over, and I've given all the leftovers away on FreeCycle, I can get rid of the extra storage building and return to the existing one with a new purpose - A CRAFT ROOM! 

 

Granted, the outdoor craft room with have its limitations, namely HOT in the Summer and FREEZING in the Winter - but I'm willing to put up with that for the sake of getting all my craft things in one, well-organized spot.

 

On a very different note, my crafting may need to be put on hold for a couple of years.  Yes...a couple of years.  (And no, I'm not pregnant!  Get your mind right!)  I've officially registered for the School of Drafting and Design at ITT Tech.  YAY ME!  Classes start this Fall and I'm excited, scared, terrified, anxious, anticipating...  This is a very good thing!  I've got another appointment with the folks at ITT Tech next Wednesday to take placement testing and discuss financial aid (the financial part of it is really what scares the you-know-what outta me) but my girl Marilyn over there - the lovely lady who has been so wonderful and helpful and supportive of my decision to go back to school - assures me that the financial side of things will be the LEAST of my worries.  I'm not sure I believe her because I'm ALWAYS worried about finances.

 

Is this a bad time to secretly wish I had a long, lost rich aunt or uncle somewhere who died and left me their fortune?  Because I know it is definitely in bad taste...  LOL!

 

TTFN
JMS

Earth's Beauty, Laundry, and iPod Lineup

The sky this morning turned a glorious magenta against pale gray as I drove to work.  I'll say it again...glorious!  Sometimes, no matter how tired I am or how "blah", I can still appreciate the beauty around me.  I don't remember the lovely lake that I usually "oooh" and "aaah" over every morning.  I don't remember the lush greening trees.  I barely remember the drive in to the office at all - but I remember the sunrise.

 

It almost was worth the less-than-5-hours of sleep I got last night.

 

"And whose fault was that?"

 

Oh - definitely mine, of course.  I stayed up and watched Life After People on the History Channel - really pretty disturbing stuff, but very interesting.  It's amazing how Earth might reclaim itself after the plague of humans has gone from it's surface.  The canyons, rivers, hills and mountains that once, 1000 years ago, were New York City will be beautiful - if the computer animated version of the reclamation process is to be believed.

 

Hubby went to bed WAY early and I wrestled with both Kiddo and Little Bit until nearly 11PM!  Kiddo cried and cried because he didn't want to sleep - he wanted to hang out with me.  Little Bit cried and cried because she didn't want to go to sleep - she wanted to hang out with me.  Sigh.  I compromised by holding Little Bit in my lap and gently rubbing her back until she passed out from sheer exhaustion around 10:30PM and I climbed into bed with Kiddo and rubbed his back until he drifted off into Never-Never Land around 11PM.  Then I sat on the floor in the living room and folded the mountain of laundry that had taken over our couch.  I was like the Earth last night, reclaiming my territory (the couch) from the plague of man (the laundry).  The laundry is folded in neat piles separated by owner which still needs to be put away - but otherwise the couch is free to be used as it was intended; as a place to park one's backside.

 

Now I'm at work and getting ready to start my day.  I've figured out a way to hook up my iPod to my computer speakers (woah - big challenge there...) so I'm happily listening to (at the moment) Red Hot Chili Peppers.  It was just Barenaked Ladies.  It had been a piece from the soundtrack of the movie Amadeus (a wonderful movie about WA Mozart).  Before that it was Aretha Franklin from the Blues Brother's soundtrack.  Before that, the Bee Gees.  Quite a line up this morning, eh?

 

I love my iPod. 

 

Happy Wednesday.

 

TTFN
JMS

 

Now it's Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"

Ah...

...and so it goes.

 

I posted a brief note on my Facebook page a day or two ago about Little Bit being under the weather - and am amazed at how many notes and well-wishes I received for her.  Several have send requests for an update, as well - and so I will give that to you now because I cannot access FB at the moment.

 

She is doing much better.  The nasty fever seems to have finally broken and gone bye-bye; it got up to almost 103 at one point (but not quite).  I took her to the doctor yesterday and he pronounced her in basic good health, but with a raging ear infection in her left ear.  She wasn't tugging or "ow-ing" - she was just feverish and generally miserable.

 

I stayed home from work yesterday to take care of her because, aside from her doctor's appointment at 10:45 AM, I had my own appointment at 8AM and then after dropping off prescriptions I was finally able to get the antibiotic in her around 2PM.  I leave work at 4 so there was my work day...shot to you-know-where.  I knew I was going to stay home with her, though; there wasn't a question about that after her appointment.  I had initially intended to go to work afterward, but thought better of it when I realized how clingy and grouchy she was and she wanted me...not daddy.

 

I couldn't leave her.

 

She had another rough night and was awake quite a bit hollering about one thing or another, and of course Hubby and I didn't get much sleep either, but she seems to be another baby this morning; quite herself again.

 

Yay.

 

So hopefully after getting her antibiotic for another day or two, she'll really bed her old self again. 

 

Even though she felt miserable yesterday, she held completely still for the doctor as he dug around inside her ear so he could get a good look at her eardrum (wax that my safety Q-Tips couldn't get to, apparently).  He was amazed by her.  He even said, "I've never once had a child be this still and compliant!"

 

(Speaking of compliments toward my children, on Saturday AM, I took both kids out early - they woke me up at 6:30 on a SATURDAY! - and we went to Chick-fil-A for breakfast.  We had a wonderful time and everybody was very good.  A lady who was eating there with her husband came over and placed a beautifully weathered hand on my shoulder; surprising me.  She said, "You're children are absolutely beautiful and SO well behaved!"  I nearly fell off the bench in shock!  MY CHILDREN?  She's speaking about MY children?  I mean, of course I know they're beautiful - they're mine - but well behaved?  Well, yes - they were, in fact, on their best behavior that morning - for whatever reason.  It made me feel so wonderful to have an out-of-the-blue compliment from a stranger like that.)

 

So everyone is OK.  Kiddo has yet to clean his room and, though I made some progress in there myself, I really want him to do it.  It's the principle of the thing - it's a lesson I want him to learn.  But he'll get there.  I'm hoping he'll get sick of tripping over the s*** on the floor and start doing something on his own.  For now, though - he just keeps kicking a new path to his bed every night.  He's 5.  He'll figure it out eventually, but I'm done yelling about it.  I've got enough other stuff to do.

 

In no particular order: VBS, Sunday School, Spa Day at Church, Cards, Jewelry, Laundry, Laundry, Laundry...um...Laundry.  It never ends.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

TTFN
JMS

Crafty Weekend

New cards on My Etsy Site!  Check 'em out!

TTFN
JMS

New Cards on Etsy!!

"Flowers Afire" - CLICK HERE

Butter -n- Blues - CLICK HERE

Just a sampling of the new cards I've just listed on My Etsy Site over the last day or two. I REALLY like the ones I've been making lately - but I think I want to go back and do a couple my "old favorites" too...

TTFN JMS

Sigh...

OK - forget what I said about the rain the other day.  I'm done with it now.  I tried to maintain a positive outlook while getting drenched each day by telling myself all the good the rain is doing for the earth...  It can be sunny now.

 

No, really - the sun can start shining any time it wants to.

 

SPF 50 be da**ed!

 

****

 

On another note, I just added 4 new items (2 cards, 1 ring & 1 bracelet) to My Etsy Shop.  You really should go see...!

 

Short post today...at least for now.  I might come up with more to say as the day progresses!

 

TTFN
JMS

GUESS WHAT?

A friend who reads my blog just sent me the following:

"I don't know if you have found this yet or not but to get around the gmail issue click on the "older version" in the upper right hand corner. You lose all the prettiness but you get your functionality back."

I tried it. He's right! Woo Hoo! :) I need to see if I can attach attachments again, too. Lemme just try it - and please forgive me if you've already seen this pic...it's just for testing purposes. (Ooohh! That worked!) Thought I'd let everyone know that you can forget all the Yahoo! stuff I sent a couple of days ago! TTFN JMS

My Boss

My boss is a goofball.   He's wonderful.   The other day, my boss asked me to order a digital camera for our department; one he'd already chosen, so I had no part in the decision.  The purpose?  So we don't have to track down another department's camera if we need to take pictures of something, for whatever reason.  And, (I hate using "and" at the beginning of a sentence - but it works here, I suppose.) because having our own department camera meant that I don't have to worry about bringing my personal camera every day - just in case.  (Though mine is a better camera.)   So yesterday, the new camera came in.  It's lovely.  Sleek and black and shiny and lots of bells and whistles.  It has the same functions as mine, they're just in different places.  It looks like a regular 35mm camera, with a neck strap and a lens cap (etc...) but it is only 10 mega pixels; mine, by comparison, is 12 mega pixels.  I think that the other cameras (the ones in different departments) are only 8MPs, but I could be wrong.   Anyway - I spent about 30 minutes playing with the new, fancy camera; getting to know it like one might get to know a new friend.  I'll say it again: It's lovely.   I walked into my boss's office and said, "Say Cheese!"   This is the picture I got!  (Man, I do hope it comes through!  This post will be totally worthless if it doesn't!)   Like I said, my boss is a goofball.   I love working for him.  That's not sarcasm - that's the God's honest truth.   (Oh - and I hope he doesn't get upset if he sees this picture on my blog!  I don't think he would, I think he'd find it amusing - but I know how often people get into trouble for posting thoughts and pictures of work on their blogs.  I can't see how this post would get me into trouble, because it's completely positive and upbeat - nothing negative here at all - but I suppose this parenthesized paragraph is a disclaimer that will hopefully let me Get Out Of Jail Free, so-to-speak - should I need it.)   TTFN JMS

Rain, Rain, Go away...?

It's raining.  Again.   Or, maybe, still.   I've heard so many folks at my office complaining about the rain, but I say, "Let it fall."   It's Spring, for goodness sake!  It's supposed to rain, isn't it?  I mean, in just the last week or so of rain, everything has turned a lush and beautiful green here in beautiful East Tennessee.  (The birds are sure loving it, even if Nalla -our dog- doesn't.)   Speaking of birds, I want a bird bath for our front yard.  (Wow - quite a subject change, there, wasn't it?)   You might ask, "Yeah?  So?  What's the big deal?  Go get one!"   Well, I would answer, "I'm picky as hell!"  I want a birdbath that is going to work well in one particular area of our yard, I want it to be subtle, rustic, part of the landscaping; like it grew there.  On top of that, I don't want to spend any $200; like on the one I saw in the Hearth & Patio catalog!   I know, I know...the birds don't care - but I do.    And with that - I look out the window at my office to see a dark cloud looming above us; threatening the awful storm the weather people have been talking about for two days.    I say, "Let it come!"   Let it come.   TTFN JMS

Me? In an Etsy Treasury? Really?

Yep - really! I was so excited when I got the notification email that I'd been included in MysticWynd's Treasury West list I nearly cried! Silly, but true. You can view it HERE or, if you'd rather copy & past the link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=52807 I'm in the middle of the 2nd row - the blush pink "White Zinfandel" ring. Thanks, MysticWynd! I'm truly flattered to have been included in your hand-picked treasury! TTFN JMS

Family, Friends, Food, Falling & Flourishes

Had a great weekend!  We went North to visit family on Saturday.  I had been feeling the itch to see them for a couple of weeks and Hubby happened to not be working on Saturday - so up we went.  I got to see my Mother-in-Law, both my Sisters-in-Law, my niece, her little baby girl (who is 5 months old and just as sweet and adorable as she can possibly be), my Brother-in-Law and my 16 year old nephew.  This was to be our Mother's Day.

 

Hubby, BIL, Nephew, Kiddo & Little Bit spent a majority of the time in their finished basement/rec-room, while The Girls all piled in SIL's bed and watched Bride Wars.  I cannot wait to see the picture of that!  There is one...somewhere.  Hubby couldn't resist snapping a couple of shots with SIL's camera after he came up from the depths in search of his wife. 

 

A good time was had by all, I do believe - though I think SIL (the one whose house we all invaded) probably worked herself a bit too hard.  Her blood sugar dropped drastically - and so did she.  She was lucky I happened to be right there to catch her or she might really have hurt herself.  Her husband, my BIL, was there in 2 seconds and a chair was brought quickly so she could sit.  At least one Coca-Cola and a brownie later, she seemed to be back in the land of the living, but I worried about her the entire rest of the time we were there.  Scared me pea-green.  She's OK... 

 

I think she probably puts on a good face even if she's feeling awful, so I never know how she's really feeling.  I kept telling her to put me to work - and she did.  She had me folding laundry (HA!) and Kiddo volunteered to vacuum the kitchen with the little power sweeper thingy.  He did an excellent job and even surprised SIL by rolling up all the little area rugs so he could get under them.  He rolled 'em up, vacuumed under them, and then rolled 'em back out again.  Very industrious, for a 5 year old; he didn't even need instructions!  When he was asked where he learned to do that, he stated that he'd seen me do the same in Little Bit's room with her Winnie The Pooh rug.

 

So even when I don't think I'm teaching him anything, Kiddo, (a.k.a. Mr. Sponge - I think I might need to change his "blog" name) is learning.  Another reminder that kids learn from watching their parents, their surroundings, and the words being said that they absorb.  Amazing.

 

I also did the dishes for her before we left - because I certainly didn't want her to have to work any harder than she already had.

 

My other SIL brought 2 bags of clothes for me to go through.  This happens every now and then and is always very exciting for me!  I get new clothes without spending any $$!  This time, I got three skirts, several shirts, a great neutral blazer that I can't wait to wear, and probably a couple of things I can't remember right now.  The rest will go to Goodwill or FreeCycle...  Thanks, SIL!

 

On our way home, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop for a little lookie-loo.  Kiddo lost his new (Wally-World) ball cap somewhere in the store.  This is really awful; he cried - poor little guy.  We gave the shop our name and number and asked that if the cap turned up that they call us...but I really doubt it will.  There are no distinguishing marks on the cap at all; not even Kiddo's name! 

 

We ate dinner and then drove the rest of the way home.

 

Sunday was church, Sunday school (I'm back on my 2 months of teaching the 1st & 2nd graders), service, and lunch with our friends D&JS.  Their kids kept our kids in stitches almost the entire time.  The giggling was very much preferred to the screaming that might have occurred otherwise.  DS did something to make everyone in the restaurant applaud her, though I'm sure she was mortified at the time.  She tried to get out of her seat to get more bread sticks from the counter, but somehow managed to hook her foot into the strap of her purse and so she tripped and fell.  She didn't hurt herself, thank God, but she bounced right up, threw her hands in the air and hollered, "TA DA!" as if she'd meant to do it!  It was absolutely perfect!  Everyone in the general area who witnessed the mishap broke into laughter and applause.  I am extremely accident prone and have fallen many, many times - but I have never had the grace to finish with flourish like that.  Go DS!  We all can learn something from her, can't we!?

 

Anyway - it's Monday again.  It's raining.  The newly laid sod in the front of our office is turning a lovely shade of green - which is a HUGE improvement over the patchy green and brown it was before they started the work 2 weeks ago.  There's a tree that broke and fell over by the parking lot.  And there are many puddles all around - but I'm seeing Spring and Robins and flowers and happy things!

 

TTFN
JMS

State of Denial

I'm looking at a sample box of cookies and brownies from a local cafe.  A rep from the cafe came in today to introduce themselves and to let me know, "They're in the area and able to cater...are we interested?"

 

Hmmm...do I tell them we've been using them for nearly 2 years now and that most folks complain about the food when we do?  Or, do I keep my mouth shut - accept the proffered gift of sweet and yummy edibles (I mean, c'mon - how badly can you screw up chocolate chip cookies and brownies?  Wait...don't answer that!) and say, "Thank you very much.  We'll give you a holler if we need anything!"

 

I chose to tell them, "Thank you, etc..."

 

The cookie/brownie pack is at my desk.  I gave one to JF and am now trying not to eat the entire friggin' box.  Problem is, most of the folks whom I would normally share these treats with are in a meeting right now.  The meeting usually lasts until 10:30 or 11AM (and sometimes longer) and I'm not sure I can hold out until then!

 

Wait!

 

Yes I can!

 

Will power!  It's all about will power.

 

And denial.

 

Meaning I'm denying the fact that the bright yellow and orange box with the Olive-shaped "O" is sitting at arms length away from me and it would take absolutely nothing for me to reach over there and snag a cookie...

 

Sigh.

 

TTFN

JMS

 

PS: New items on Etsy!

--
****

http://jennifershell.blogspot.com

http://knoxwritingclub.blogspot.com