Random Ramblings

My Personal Phobia

2012-02-16T20:37:00.000-05:00

I heard something today about a new phobia. Well, I guess it's not all that new because I can find references to it dating as far back as 2008 (tee hee) - but it's new to me. It's called 'Nomophobia' - the fear of being out of mobile phone contact or without your mobile phone. (Side note, and coincidentally, a friend left her iPhone at home today and stated on Facebook that the world did NOT end. I would say she does not have Nomophobia.)

I have an unexplanible fear of...well...I don't really know what to call it. If it has an official phobia name. I am really not even sure how to describe it, exactly. But I will do the best I can. (What is that thing...the first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem?)

I am 38 years old and have never gone to college. There. I've said it. It's out in the open and my shame is there for all to see. Yes, I am shamed by this. I SHOULD have gone to college but due to several circumstances (situational, financial and emotional) I did not. I want to go to college. Not just pretend I'm somewhat smart, but actually be able to PROVE that I am. Have that little piece of paper that I can show others which says that I am capable of...well...whatever.

But I can't.

I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of going to school. I don't know what it is but even WRITING about it, as I am now, has landed me on the sharp edge of a panic attack. I'm actually weeping. This totally sucks.

I don't know what to do to get over this. Forget the fact that I don't have any money and couldn't actually afford to go if my fear were to suddenly and magically disappear.

If anyone out there still reads my blog (because I've gotten so bad about keeping up with it) please, please, PLEASE help me figure out what is wrong with me?

TTFN
JMS

Where does the time go?

2012-01-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

The time has come. I can't believe it.

Tonight, we have a meeting a Little Bit's school - to discuss Kindergarten readiness.

Yes.

Kindergarten.

Already.

Little Bit will be 5 in March and therefore she will start Kindergarten this fall. She will take a test to determine readiness, but I have no doubt she's ready. She was probably ready last year (this past fall) - but...

Kiddo is in 2nd grade and that in itself is scary to me.

For those people who say things like, "You'd better watch out - it goes faster than you think!" I say, "You're right...and every second is amazing so don't miss ANYTHING."

I fear I've already missed so much.

TTFN
JMS

Too late

2011-12-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

You know it's too late when you do an online search for a friend's address only to find their obituary instead. And then to find out that this friend passed away in September...3 months earlier...and you're just now finding out about it.

I feel badly. I truly do. But I don't make a habit of searching obituaries for people I know and was truly surprised, and saddened, to find that our former neighbor is no longer with us.

She and her husband were good friends to us when Kiddo was small, and when Little Bit was brand new. They had two goofy rescue poodles who were fun to watch and to play with, even if they barked like mad. They fed us...often...on excellent homemade Italian food, strong coffee, and even sometimes wine. They gave and gave and gave of themselves...and then we moved away. Shortly thereafter, they moved, too. Out of state. And we lost touch.

He is still alive. She is not. She will be missed.

And I am sad.

TTFN
JMS

That feeling...

2011-12-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

You know that feeling? The one you get when you've just eaten a poppy- or sesame-seed bagel and you are worried that you have seeds stuck in your teeth, but you're no where near a mirror to confirm this so you just hope no one will notice? There's a lot of "not smiling" involved. The tip of your tongue gets kind of sore for running it over your teeth hoping to feel an offending particle. You're convinced people you talk to are staring at the little black bits wedged near your gum line, so you're self-conscious - yet you're kind of ticked off, too, because you wish they'd just say, "Hey! You know you have stuff stuck in your teeth, right?" And no one you know, who is currently around to ask, is someone you're close enough to, to go over and grin Cheshire-Cat like and ask, "Do I have anything in my teeth?"

Just like you wish people would say something - anything - when you've been walking around with your fly open all morning. (Not that this has ever happened to me. Nope. Nope. Nope.)

TTFN
JMS

A Walk Between Raindrops

2011-12-14T09:21:00.000-05:00

Right now I am feeling stretched so thin that I could probably walk between raindrops in a downpour and not get wet.

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since JUNE. How careless of me.

Never mind that it's now Christmas and on top of already feeling overwhelmed, now I have to worry about how I'm going to pay for Christmas gifts for the kids. We don't ever get them much, but we want to get them something. My house is still a mess, even though I've worked my a$$ off trying to get out from under the mountains of crap.

To top it off - my Mother's birthday would have been tomorrow. December 15th. It hit me like a ton of bricks about 30 minutes ago when I physically wrote the date 12/14 and thought to myself, "Hm...why is that date important?" And then I remembered Mom's birthday. I'm partially upset because I miss her and even after 22 years I still would want to be able to give her a hug and tell her I love her and wish her a Happy Birthday. She knows, though. I'm partially upset because after 22 years, the date of her birth isn't foremost on my mind like I think it should be and I feel guilty for having to actually wonder why the date struck me as important. So now I've made myself a bit sad, and I wasn't sad 30 minutes ago.

And please, don't tell me to snap out of it. I feel like being sad right now. But I promise it won't last too long because I have too much to do for it to remain at the forefront. I have to get through my work day. And then we have to be at church tonight at 5PM and I have to work on catching up on paperwork and cleaning out the crap that has accumulated in my classroom, too.

I have to plan the Evening with Art (a gallery of the artwork the children have done during my Devotions class this past Fall) which will take place at the church Jan 4th. I have to plan Devotions classes for January. I have to organize Devotions classes for February AND a Valentine's day something-or-other for the Sunday school kids. Thankfully not ALL of that has to get done tonight.

And then BAM! Christmas.

How did that happen?

Where did the time go?

How did my kids get to be almost-8 and almost-5?

Anyway - I think I'd better quit while I'm ahead. Thanks for letting me vent!

TTFN
JMS

They say, "Write what you know..."

2011-06-08T08:08:00.000-04:00

I'm a complicated person.

I'm allergic to mushrooms. To codeine. To ibuprofen. To NSAIDs in general. To aspirin...by default. To grass and trees and leaves and mold and dander and guinea pigs (especially guinea pigs) and the list goes on. I spend most of the Spring and Fall sneezing and dripping and wishing for relief. But Benadryl (or anything with diphenhydramine) knocks me flat on my butt and I am then useless for at least 24 hours. Other allergy meds tend make me lethargic - but typically do not render me unconscious. They sometimes work. Mostly, people who know me are used to the constant barrage of violent sneezing and sniffing and itchy-throat scratching. It is just a part of being me. Love me or leave me, right?

I hate wrinkles in my sheets and at least try to straighten them before I climb in for the night. Hubby likes a tangled mess - I like a nice neat cocoon.

I can burn water - but bake with some success....although I truly dislike cooking.

I make a mean fruit salad.

I'm a terrible housekeeper - but I am anal to the point of obsession. I haven't quite figured out how those go together, or why they do not.

I get distracted by....Oh! Look! Something shiny! (Blame it on the ADD)

I love to read. I'll read just about anything.

I love music. Except 99.9% of rap music...which I guess I just don't understand.

I put something yucky in my trash can at work every day just to ensure that the cleaning people actually change the plastic liner every night. If I don't...they don't.

I enjoy making the coffee at the office in the morning...except when I don't. Which happens. And then I bless the other early morning coffee goddess with every sip of the hot caffeinated liquid.

I enjoy writing. I like to write short stories. I've had several false starts at writing a book. I think I need to plan it better - but I feel like I do better writing just to write...without a plan or an outline. Maybe I don't have a purpose. Maybe someday I'll have enough time to focus on writing exclusively - but I am not going to hold my breath.

I think this is enough for now. Are you scared yet?

TTFN
JMS

Mountains of Crap!

2011-05-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

Right now, I'm about as close to a breakdown as I can possibly be - I think. I'm feeling pulled in 50 different directions and I have so much to do and not enough time to do it all. And my house is suffering for it.

I know I've said this before but I think I am going to seriously get a shovel and just start dumping stuff. Necessary or not. Gotta dig out from the drifts that are taking over my house.

Some would call them piles of clutter or "hot spots". I call them MOUNTAINS OF CRAP! They make me feel crazier than I already do and are definitely not conducive to calm, rational thinking.

Relaxation? In my own home? Forget it!

Ok - I'm done ranting now.

TTFN
JMS

friggatriskaidekaphobia

2011-05-13T07:11:00.000-04:00

Today is Friday the 13th. Just thought I'd point that out.

Did you know that the fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia? Or paraskevidekatriaphobia?

Wikipedia states:

"The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom "Friday" is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen), or paraskevidekatriaphobia a concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen") attached to phobía (φοβία, from phóbos, φόβος, meaning "fear"). The latter word was derived in 1911and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953."

Actually - that entire article is really about the superstition(s) behind Friday the 13th. Jason Voorhees only makes a brief appearance under the heading of "Planned events on Fridays the 13th"

Now don't you feel like you've learned something today?

TTFN
JMS

The Story of the Pregnant Cat and the Missing Kittens

2011-05-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

Sweetie and 2 of her 5 kittens

Once upon a time there was an old woman who lived in a shoe...

Wait, wrong tale.

Once upon a time there lived a small, sweet, adorable and very pregnant black & white cat. She was a homeless cat, but she adopted some people who fed her and took care of her as much as they could. She was so sweet that her many adopted humans called her "Sweetie."

The day came when she arrived back from wherever she spent her nights, and lo - she was thin again! Exhausted, and starving - but very happy to get petted and loved on by her humans.

Her humans exclaimed, "Oh! Sweetie! Where are your kittens?" Her humans tried to get her to lead them to where she'd hidden her kittens. She seemed disinterested, wandering this way and that and lying down whenever the mood struck her.

Her humans worried about the kittens and spent hours stomping through the trees, bushes and undergrowth. Walking through backyards of unknown neighbors. Hoping for some sign, some tiny mew.

To no avail. Sweetie's kittens were missing.

Almost 6 weeks to the day later, one of her beloved humans noticed Sweetie and one, teeny tiny kitten, on the back porch. An hour later - there were 2 kittens. By the end of the evening all 5 kittens had relocated to the bushes in her human's back yard.

Moral:

Don't count your kittens before they hatch.

Uh...

Don't underestimate the power of cute.

Uh...

Never mind. I'm done now. Does anyone want a kitten? Or a perfect in every way momma kitty? Please? They all need loving forever homes.

TTFN
JMS

...Barest Grace of Fingertips...

2011-05-10T07:37:00.000-04:00

No matter how hard I try, my arms, stretched as wide as they can go, will not allow even the barest grace of fingertips against the walls in the hallway at my office. This frustrates me to no end in an OCD kind of way and I can't do anything, anything, to change it! It's got to be no more than about a half an inch difference, but I'm just not tall enough.

This strikes me as strange: A 37 year old woman getting frustrated that she can't touch both walls in the hallway at the same time.

It's Tuesday and I do believe it is going to be one of those days.

TTFN
JMS

Observations, An Article & A Question

2011-05-05T07:32:00.003-04:00

In no particular order, these are some things I observed or heard on the way to work this morning:

1) An Observation: I think it's funny that NPR used the first 5 notes of Beck's "Loser" as Bumper Music.

2) An Article: Did Harsh Interrogations Tactics Lead to Bin Laden? (I heard this on NPR this morning.)

3) An Observation: I was driving past my beloved lake this morning (the one that has a long, paved walking trail) and saw a duck, a female mallard I do believe, walking along the trail. Just her. Just the duck. Getting ready to cross the crosswalk by the boat ramp. It's the stuff you see in movies and on TV - not in real life. It made me smile.

4) An Observation: I saw a woman driving an older model, red, Isuzu Trooper. Her windshield was so cracked from hail damage it's a wonder she was able to see to drive. And she was on her cell phone.

And a question:

What do you put in a May Day Basket? I keep seeing "Flowers and Sweets" but is that ALL? Really? Hm...seems rather boring, if you ask me.

Oh - and Happy Cinco de Mayo!

TTFN
JMS

Did you ever have one of THOSE days?

2011-05-04T08:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Tuesday. A normal, average, everyday....Tuesday. Except that it wasn't. I was discombobulated from the start; I'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed - figuratively speaking. Not that I was in a bad mood, really - but I wasn't feeling completely OK mentally and emotionally, either.

So work was slow, but actually not too bad. I was able to get everything on my plate accomplished for a change, which was a nice feeling. But the gray, windy, water-logged day that loomed outside my window kept me feeling very somber.

Quite honestly - I think I'm still struggling internally with several things that have happened over the last few days, both in the main-stream media and in my own little personal life. Not the least of which is the Osama bin Laden situation. I'm sticking with Proverbs 24:17-18 - it comforts me right now. It makes me remember that there is a reason I feel the way I feel about the entire thing.

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him."

Of course there's also the death of my friend from church. I'm still very reflective. I'm trying to consider how best I can help the family he left behind - in my small way, and in my free time. Which sounds sarcastic, but isn't.

Also, my car has been giving me trouble, which has me concerned because I have no idea how we're going to pay to have it fixed. It stalled on me three times on the way home - in rush-hour traffic, of course - which caused me to call Our Favorite Mechanic to tell him I was headed over there and needed him to look at the car...right now. I limped the car over to his shop, and after putting it up on the rack and staring at it for several minutes, Our Favorite Mechanic's Assistant announced, "Well, it ain't gonna be cheap," and then further explained the problem. I don't recall the exact terms, except to say that something is leaking into something and it's corroding from the inside causing the thing (that's a technical term, you know) to short out, which is making the car stall.

After some fancy switching of cars, I finally arrived at my other job at church, an hour and a half later than I'd intended.

I then proceeded to smash my daughter in the face with the heavy front door of the church. I'm still so upset about that I could cry every time I think about it. I had my hands full of work stuff, and my purse and I was carrying all of our drive-through dinners. I got my pinkie finger on my right hand around the front door handle and pulled, then stuck my right foot in the door and shoved it open with my foot. Never dreaming that my daughter was behind the door! I couldn't see her! I thought she was behind me, but she was behind the door. The door hit her square on the left side of her face and knocked her flat on her backside in the pouring rain. Oh, did I mention it was pouring rain at that time, too? Oh, did I feel awful! She cried. I dumped the food on the floor inside the church entrance and flew back out to get her, as she was still sitting in the rain puddles, crying.

Nothing is broken, thank goodness. But she's going to have quite a bruise. She had an ice pack almost immediately and then ate her food and played quietly with her brother until I got finished with my work. Then we went home, I gave her some ibuprofen, and she fell asleep.

Several other things happened yesterday, too. One of which is that I called my boss (for all intents and purposes) from the church and verbally vomited my frustrations on her. Thankfully she is a very calm soul, and someone I trust completely, so she was able to calm me down and get me refocused on what I have on my enormous to-do list.

Suffice it to say, I am very glad yesterday is over. Now I just have to get through today and I think I'll be OK for the rest of the week.

Thanks for letting me get all that out! Phew. OK. Now moving forward...

TTFN
JMS

And then there's this one, too...

2011-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

I was particularly upset by the first sentence of the last paragraph.

"Intelligence officials say that key tips on the bin Laden courier network came from detainees, some of whom were exposed to enhanced interrogation tactics."

NPR Article: Who Gets the 27 Million Reward Offered for bin Laden's Capture?

See? I'm not the only one questioning...

2011-05-03T07:43:00.001-04:00

NPR Article: Is it Wrong to Celebrate bin Laden's Death?

I'll probably stick my foot in my mouth...

2011-05-02T08:20:00.002-04:00

I got in the car this morning, and turned on News Talk like I always do. (It's either that or NPR, depending on my mood. Sometimes I prefer silence - so the radio stays off and I can then focus on the rattles of my car; or my brain.) Almost immediately after turning the radio on, I heard the fill-in voice behind the microphone tell me that Osama bin Laden is dead. Cause for celebration. People gathering all over the country to say "Yay, America!" Still others gathered to protest, of course, because what would we be if we weren't allowed to speak our minds, right?

I don't know much about anything - but I'm getting ready to speak my mind. I don't expect anyone to agree with me. What follows is not the product of a highly-educated brain, nor one that follows politics closely, and is often guilty of being woefully behind-the-times on current World events. I'll probably stick my foot in my mouth quite often, and quite well. But maybe not well enough to shut me up.

So back to Osama bin Laden. A Seal Team went in to an area and raided a bunker, executing bin Laden while they were at it. I don't know if there was anyone else there, but I'd be willing to bet more than bin Laden's life was lost during that raid. Then there were documents and other things that need to be sifted through and maybe brought back for analysis by keen military minds to determine if who, if anyone, needs to follow bin Laden to wherever his black soul went. I think I even heard "them" say that "they" brought bin Laden's body with them as they exited, stage-left.

Now that you have my very uneducated and unprofessional synopsis of this major World event...

Why is it cause to celebrate someone's death - even someone like bin Laden? Yes. OK. Yay! They got him. Woo! The War on Terror actually accomplished something and all of our military men and women are not and have not sacrificed themselves for our country for nothing. Isn't that what this has been all about?

I'm not military. But I understand what sacrifice is. People sacrifice themselves for the greater good - whatever that "good" may be - on a daily basis. Mother's make sacrifices for their children and their families. I can attest to this on a first-hand basis. Father's make sacrifices so their families can have a roof over their heads and food on the table. And it's not gender-specific anymore - but you get the picture. Many extraordinary men and women of this country - YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN - sacrifice themselves for this country you live in every single day. God sacrificed his only son for us!

And still, within all that, we celebrate death? These people who sacrifice themselves are celebrating a death? I'll say it again - I'm not that smart about these things. It makes me think of a line from Forrest Gump: "I'm not a smart man, Jenny - but I know what love is." So I am not a smart woman, folks, but I know how I feel when I hear about a celebration when someone dies. Even a bad someone like bin Laden. And for that matter, who am I to judge?

I attended a memorial service this weekend for a friend. A good man. A young man. A father of 3 beautiful little girls; 10 years old and 5 year old twins. It was a sudden, and unfortunate death and his family is going to have a lot of pieces to pick up. A lot of healing to do. And, I'm sure, may questions to ask. I haven't electively gone to a funeral - ever. I have been to too many out of obligation, or familial relations. Entirely too many. More than I ever would want to count. And some that I SHOULD have gone to I couldn't due to distance or some other obligation. The plain truth is I really dislike funerals. I want to remember the person whose LIFE we're celebrating or memorializing the way I want to remember that person.

I guess my point is that, though bin Laden's life was not necessarily one to celebrate, neither do I think that his death should be celebrated. Yes - we've made some progress and this may be exactly what we need to be able to move forward, end this war, and get out of Dodge... But still, bin Laden was one of God's creatures. He's got a lot of explaining to do, don't you think?

****

I'm sorry - I've read back over this and I know it's disjointed and probably doesn't really make any sense - but I'm not going to change it. Think of it as Jen's Train of Thought. It's probably not a good idea to try to make any sense out of what comes out of my head anyway - it will just confuse you. But thanks for reading it. And thanks for not raking me over the coals.

TTFN
JMS

Whether there's weather

2011-04-29T12:11:00.001-04:00

We have had an interesting week, weather-wise. And I am here to describe it in verse, giving credit where credit is due.

Today it is sunny, cool, and breezy, but not cold. A totally gorgeous day. A day that, should Mother Nature decide to make one like today every day, many would rejoice. Today makes me think of this poem, by Frank Asch:

SUNFLAKES
If sunlight fell like snowflakes,
gleaming yellow and so bright,
we could build a sunman,
we could have a sunball fight,
we could watch the sunflakes
drifting in the sky.
We could go sleighing
in the middle of July
through sundrifts and sunbanks,
we could ride a sunmobile,
and we could touch sunflakes —
I wonder how they'd feel.

Wednesday was volatile with many tornadoes and terrible wind and rain and hail and fatalities, damages, accidents and lots of devastation. I hadn't a poem in mind, but Emily Dickinson is always good, and this one seems to apply:

THE STORM
There came wind like a bugle;
It quivered through the grass,
And a green chill upon the heat
So ominous did pass
We barred the windows and the doors
As from an emerald ghost;
The doom's electric moccason
That very instant passed.
On a strange mob of panting trees,
And fences fled away,
And rivers where the houses ran
The living looked that day.
The bell within the steeple wild
The flying tidings whirled.
How much can come
And much can go,
And yet abide the world!

TTFN
JMS

Thoughts on TMI in the World of Blogging

2011-04-26T09:45:00.005-04:00

My good friend LN was questioning putting too much "out there" on her blog. She used phrases like "pray about privacy needs"and "devoid of self-preservation instincts" and "how much self-disclosure is good?" Then she asked for my thoughts.

I responded to her via email, but I went back and re-read what I'd written and thought that it might be worth posting here. So below is my response to her. Here's hoping it may be useful to others, should they stumble across it.

Hey [Friend],

I totally understand. The unfortunate thing is, it really doesn't matter anymore. If someone wants the information, they'll get it. However, that being said, you can see that I have no filters on my blog, either. I do, though, try not to disclose major pieces of information - such as the exact names of people I talk about or places I go or if I am at home or on vacation; what have you. Those who know me, who know who and where I am and what I am up to most of the time will already know these things, and those who don't already know you - don't need to know. But they may just be interested in the story or whatever you've decided to talk about that day. I think that while it is important to be as careful as you can, there is a point that it can get ridiculous and become more of a pain than it's worth. At that point, then YOU don't want to do it anymore either. And I think, why put so much of yourself into something if you can let someone else ruin it for you.

I think if you want to be open, and talk about things as they come to you, then you need to make sure you feel comfortable with it. You can make it where only your friends or your followers can see what you write - and therefore you know those who read your blog are actually interested. You can also make it so that no one can read anything unless you invite them or unless they have a specific password - but at that point are you hindering your readers to such an extent that they'll just stop coming to "visit" you?

I personally like to be able to say what I think when I think it. To construct my sentences to my liking and use words that please me. To have that little bit of open and free expression and hope that I can brighten someones day if they stumble across it. I've had visitors all across the globe, either on purpose or by accident or at random. So at this point, after having the blog for longer than [Kiddo] has been alive, it doesn't matter anymore. I have nearly 600 posts now. My life, thoughts, words, deeds, writings, stories - whatever - are already out there. I'm careful, but I'm not obsessive about it.

Ultimately I think it's a choice. If you want it to be searched and found and read by "the masses" security settings will stop that cold. If you want to be more selective with your readers and followers, security settings are there for that. The beauty of this is that you can customize your blog to fit your needs. It needs to be what YOU want it to be, not what someone else thinks it should be.

Just my 7 cents.

Love you!

♥J

"Yep...we're going home now! Bye!"

2011-04-26T07:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday evening, I took Little Bit down to the marina so we could go for a walk and then maybe play on the playground for a while. Sadly, none of this took place.

While we did go down there, we saw my friend RM who I hadn't seen in about a year and stood there talking for a few minutes. A very few minutes. All too brief, because I miss my friend. But that's not the point of this post. As we were standing there chatting, the dark and foreboding sky that hovered over the city to our Southeast loomed and was, quite honestly, a bit concerning. Then the wind started picking up. It got stronger and stronger, whipping this way and that, shooting debris at us that stung and caused us to shield our eyes.

My friend and I looked at each other and, with little preamble or sentiment, essentially came to the same decision: "Yep...we're going home now! Bye!" And we got in our respective cars, out of the violent wind, and went home.

Little Bit was none too pleased about the prospect of going back to the house after such a brief outing - and it was difficult to explain to her why Mommy turned right around and went home. I'm quite sure that she would have played happily, even with the wind. The water on the lake churned up so quickly that there were white caps on the crests of the waves. I've never seen the water on that lake get so choppy. The drive home was interesting, watching leaves, branches, dust and other detritus* fly through the air. See the trees bending far beyond what seemed natural; in most cases without breaking. Watch the cars on the road ahead of us swerve this way and that; guided by the wind.

When we drove up our street (we live about 5 minutes away from the marina where we were) the little house across the street had some activity that was curious. A large branch had fallen in their front yard, nearly touching and blocking their side door, and rendering their on-a-pole-in-the-yard-installed satellite dish completely unusable. It must have just happened, because by the time Little Bit and I got out of the car, the folks across the street were coming out of their house to survey the damage. I'd bet they were watching something on television and went outside to investigate only when their satellite signal vanished. No one was hurt.

So I had to explain to Little Bit why we went home so quickly - and she didn't really understand the concept of what strong storms, and especially strong winds, can do. So we watched a couple of videos on YouTube with tornadoes and other strong wind-related storms. She got it. Then she decided that she was afraid a tornado would come to our house, and by this time I was absolutely certain that would not happen, so I assured her that she was fine and that we, and the house, and the dog, and all her toys, were completely safe.

Her response? She shrugged, went into her room to play with a game and then 15 minutes later was sound asleep - all on her own. It was about 7:00 p.m.

Where were Kiddo and Hubby during all this? At a local church for a Cub Scout meeting.

This morning, all seems well with the world, however there is storm damage all over the place, and people still dealing with power outages. There are even a couple elementary schools that have had to delay opening by a couple of hours due to clean up of storm damage.

And guess what? We get to do it all over again today!

I'm SO glad I work right by a large bank of windows!

TTFN JMS

* Yes, I had to look it up. I thought it was "detrius" but apparently it's not.

The Secret Life of Socks

2011-04-22T11:51:00.003-04:00

The story below is one I wrote for the now-defunct "Knox Writing Club" blog that I started with my friend RK back in 2008. I don't know that I ever posted it on my blog - and frankly I'm too lazy to go back and hunt for it through the nearly-600 old posts!

Will this change the way you feel about your socks?

TTFN
JMS

*****
The Secret Life of Socks
We never know what the day will hold. Is today going to be quiet and uneventful, conversing with our fellow drawer-mates in the dark silence, or will it involve any number of tortures? That all depends on what the human decides when she wakes up.

Right now, all we can hear are muffled sounds from Outside; the world outside our small, dark existence. This is the time of day when we all panic. Everyone here is quiet; not even breathing; wondering. “Who will it be today?” There are some lucky ones here, though; those few who rarely get chosen because they are the wrong color or the wrong season – but it changes.

We’ve all be holding our breath now for hours. Outside, all is quiet. It seems like the water has quit running and the human must be dressing. The hairdryer hasn’t started yet. That is our cue - when the hairdryer stops. We can only guess where she is in her daily ablutions.

At length, the muffled sound of the hairdryer begins and simultaneously, every heartbeat in the drawer speeds up. Panic sets in. How much pain do we have to go through? When will it be enough? We cannot help but fervently wish that another of us will be chosen, leaving the rest of us to live another day in blissful peace.

This life is not one that any of us has chosen. It was chosen for us. We are but socks. How, then, can we have our revenge on the ones who made us? The one who purchased us? Or, the one who tortures us regularly? We have all made plans. We have all fantasized about turning the tables on our captors and inflicting horrendous pain upon them. We were made soft. Revenge is a thing of dreams.

Presently, we hear the silent footsteps of our captor bearing down upon our dark prison. The drawer opens, and the human reaches in to select one or two of us for further inspection in the glaring light of the bathroom. Shortly after inspection, one of us is sent back, happy at being rejected, while the other is violently separated from their sole mate and shoved onto a waiting human appendage.

This is the least of the pain. The worst of the pain begins once our fellow captors, the shoes, are secured in place on this same human appendage. The day begins in panic, and ends in pain.

Later, being within an inch of losing our lives, we are ripped off the human appendage, and tossed uncaringly into a waiting, smelly pile. Some of us have been bloodied. Some have been ripped, torn, cut. Some have been stretched to something totally unlike our former selves. But we all begin the waiting process for the finale.

After recovering somewhat during our one or two day stay in the smelly pile, we are hauled away in a basket, deposited into a swirling horror of water, nearly drowned, spun violently, and then heated until we nearly melt. Then, if we are lucky, we are reunited with our sole mate, and put back into our prison, only to begin again.

If we are unlucky, we lose our sole mate permanently to the Unknown. The Outside world is a cruel, cruel place. If you are ever unlucky enough to be granted a wish, do not wish for this life. Only the strong survive.

~(C) JMS, November 2008

K-Mart with an attitude problem?

2011-04-21T08:29:00.003-04:00

I was trying to be so good; really making an attempt to keep up with my blog on a more consistent basis. I guess THAT didn't work, considering that it's been 22 days since my last post. (I feel like I've just confessed an unpardonable sin...and no, I'm not Catholic; not that it matters.)

Either that or I've gone to some kind of "Bloggers Anonymous" meeting. BA. "Hello, my name is Jennifer and it's been 22 days since my last post."

Sheesh.

So what have I been up to for the last 22 days? Frankly I'm not sure where to begin, because though I'm sure something interesting and blog-worthy has happened, I'm drawing a blank on what it could be. Although (and I don't know if I've already posted this way back when) I did give up all forms of soda for Lent. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, which was March 9th - and I haven't had any soda at all. Which quite honestly is saying something because for me it is almost a nectar of the gods. It wasn't quite as bad as giving up smoking (which I STILL crave to this day nearly 12 years later) but it was pretty bad.

Kiddo and Little Bit, as I said to my friend LN last night, constantly amaze and inspire me. They lead me to be a better person - though sometimes it is, admittedly, difficult. Last night was difficult, for example. What started out as an attempt to do something fun with the kids wound up being a struggle not to strangle one of them (specifically my older male offspring) in the middle of K-Mart. But God told me, in his way, that murdering my child, in front of so many witnesses no less, is probably not the best way to deal with the behavior issues being displayed by my beloved son and that I should probably just go home, get him settled in for bed early, and let him sleep off the attitude. (Wow! What a badly-constructed sentence...I should be ashamed.) Which is exactly what we did.

Little Bit was tired, too - so she went to bed and fell asleep almost right away.

Then I read a bit and then it was lights-out for me as well.

TTFN JMS

Ambrosia and Advice

2011-03-30T07:37:00.003-04:00

The most beautiful ambrosia on a cold, rainy, early morning in late March is the hot coffee I hold in my hand. OK - so I guess I'm not holding it right this second, because I can't do that and type, too - but you get the picture.

****

Today is my sister, HB's, birthday - so I wanted to take a minute to wish her a happy happy, wonderful wonderful and hope that she has the best birthday ever. And to give her a little bit of sisterly advice: Don't let anyone stress you out, beat you down, or otherwise dampen what should be a joyful day. Rise above it, smile, and know you are loved by so many.

I love you, sweet sister.

TTFN

JMS

Is it? Isn't it?

2011-03-29T09:16:00.003-04:00

Well, that's for them to find out, 'cause we certainly don't know.

What we originally thought might be Hashimoto's Disease, may not be. So we're back to the drawing board - and the drawing board looks like an appointment with the Endocrinologist on April 7.

Yay.

I hope he sticks another needle, or five, in my neck.

However, as much as I'm looking forward to going through this...again...I am looking forward to finally finding out the true answer to the problem.

I won't go into detail as to why it may not be Hashimoto's Disease - but suffice it to say that there was a "failure to communicate" - and not on my part.

'Nuff said.

TTFN JMS

It really was strange. And it was SO REAL!

2011-03-28T07:32:00.006-04:00

I had a very strange dream last night:

We (whoever "we" were) were at this big fancy hotel somewhere in a city I didn't know. But there were cobblestone streets out front. No main front doors, but somehow we were inside this hotel. I tried to leave, and had to go to this counter, where one would think the front door should be - but it was this massive glass display case-type counter in a "frame" around two teeny tiny Alice-in-Wonderland-esque doors.

I asked the guy behind the counter how to get out and he pushed some button which opened a trap door at the base of this glass cabinet and said, "Through here."

I thought he was joking, but he was dead serious.

So I hauled my butt (and for whatever reason, I was in this long broomstick hippie-type skirt) through this little trap door and behind the counter. There were other people back there suddenly, also trying to get out. Lots of pushing and shoving ensued - but eventually the little Alice-in-Wonderland doors opened and we all were able to squeeze through onto the cobblestone street.

Just as I got outside, and stood up long enough to consider brushing myself off - I noticed a large white Volvo station wagon careening around the corner to my left with a bunch of people I didn't know inside of it. They looked like there were taking the car for a joy-ride! The top of the wagon had been cut off, so it became a very odd-looking convertible.

It suddenly occurred to me that that Volvo was my husband's car! Those people were stealing my husband's car!!! I saw the Princess sticker that our daughter had stuck on the back of the seat and the car seats thrown in the back of the wagon, which only served to reinforce my original thought. Yep. They were stealing my husband's car!

Uh uh. No way. Not gonna happen.

Immediately I was like a ninja (it was pretty cool, actually!) and I leaped into the moving car and started hauling these guys out of the car and tossing them out on the street one-by-one. Finally I came to the driver, who swung the car sharply left and off the road, where we came to a stop. I think he was hoping he'd throw me off, but I was Spider man! I was Superman! (Well...woman, but you get the picture.) I held on and threatened to pop his head off if he didn't exit the car immediately, which he did.

So there I am, standing next to the semi-crashed, newly convertible-ized, great white beast of a Volvo, watching all these guys I didn't know try to peel themselves off the pavement after being tossed bodily from a moving vehicle - wondering how all this had happened? Suddenly, hubby is next to me wondering the same thing.

That's about all I remember.... It really was strange. And it was SO REAL! I'll have to remember to tell hubby about it!

TTFN

JMS

A Long Drive

2011-03-25T07:24:00.003-04:00

I followed Bumblebee almost all the way to work today. I wonder what he's in town for? ***** I had about 25 minutes of "Me" time this morning - and it was great! I had the radio on while I was driving to work: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Goo Goo Dolls - just to name a few. It was a good thing...and I feel mostly ready to face the day. It's amazing how several minutes, a long drive, and a few really excellent songs is so good for the soul. TTFN JMS

Something's a-brewin'

2011-03-23T09:44:00.003-04:00

It's Wednesday - and it's unusually quiet at my office. Aside from the "white noise" that comes from the ceiling, I don't even hear any phones ringing! The usually verbose and volume-challenged manager who sits on the other side of my cube wall is so quiet I hardly knew he was even in the office today! :-) I hear occasional typing. Occasional conversations. But everything seems muffled. Am I getting an ear infection that is making the sounds of the world around me fade away? It feels like something is brewing - and I don't mean the storms outside my window. TTFN JMS

Hire Me!

2011-03-22T09:55:00.002-04:00

OK - so even though I'm not actively looking for a job - I would very much like to work in the town in which I live. Please, those of you who know me and know where I live, if you want to hire me in an Executive and/or Administrative Assistant capacity, please please please let me know! I'll send you my full resume to peruse at your leisure. But in the meantime - here's a tidbit: Summary of Qualifications & Related Skills Over ten years of experience in the administrative field * Extensive customer service and client relations experience * Proven track-record of time-management, meeting deadlines and completing projects * Proficient in many standard computer applications including MS Outlook, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Publisher, MS Access as well as a working knowledge of other applications such as SharePoint, FS Pro (Formatting Solutions, Information Mapping Software), and iGreenTree Hiring Manager * Ability to win in a team-driven or self-driven environment * Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills * Typing speed up to 90 wpm So...do you want me yet? TTFN JMS

Auntie Jen

2011-03-21T10:09:00.002-04:00

Guess what? Today is Monday. Oh - wait! That's not news, is it? **** Actually I have absolutely nothing new and interesting to report. Nope - that's not really true, either. Wow - am I off my game today or what? My little sister is pregnant!!!!!! I was so excited about my younger brother and his wife when they found out they were pregnant, and then when my new, sweet, niece came this past December - just bliss. And now my little sister!? I'm going to be an Auntie again! How awesome is that? She and her hubby are pretty much beside themselves right now! And so am I. Now I just have to wait until they found out what gender the new little one is - so I can begin baby blanket making in earnest! TTFN JMS

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T07:49:00.008-04:00

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind blow at your back,

May the sun shine warmly on your face;

May the rain fall softly on your field;

And until we meet again,

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Amen

A whole lot of nuthin'

2011-03-14T08:55:00.003-04:00

I just realized that this post will be my 560th post! Woo hoo! Par-tay! Or...not. I have absolutely nothing fabulous to say.................................................. Truly, I have been sitting here since the above overabundance of little dots all in a row, for about 5 minutes now. My mind is blank. Well, more accurately, there are things I want to say but can't say - especially in "public." So to err on the side of caution, I wont's say anything. What is that saying? "If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all?" (I'm quoting Thumper, not Mom.) Except it isn't that I can't say nothin' nice - it's just that I can't say nothin', you know? So, I guess that's my totally useless 560th post. TTFN JMS

CrochetCrochetCrochetCrochet (obsession? me? never!)

2011-03-10T07:58:00.003-05:00

I've found a new love and it's called Crochet. I like to crochet every day. (Oh, my head...nothing like bad poetry first thing in the morning, eh?) But it's true. I'm stitching just to stitch and loving every minute of it. My friend MG turned me on to Ravelry.com and I've also found some new blogs that I'm going to get obsessed with, too! If you're a crocheter, you need to check out Scotty's Place & Would You Like Yarn With That? If you're a knitter (which I'm not, yet - but if MG will teach me I'll gladly learn) you might want to check out Hugs For Your Head and KnitGeekery. (Of course, there's always For the Love of Chester - but that one has nothing whatsoever to do with crocheting or knitting - it's just a guilty pleasure! I ♥ me some Chester. :-) ) So if you want to visit me on Ravelry.com you can go to http://www.ravelry.com/people/jshell73 and see all the fabulous things I've created! LOL! I'm joking, people - joke! OK? Really the things I make are not fabulous - but I sure have fun with them! Right now I'm working on a blanket for (well...I really shouldn't say who it's for because she may be reading this!) - birthday in April. I have plenty of time. It's so soft and I really love the way it's turning out. I just finished a little shamrock "fashion" scarf thing that was just fun. I just finished a little purse that was a pain in the rear, but still fun. Oh - and I still have my Etsy site - which is http://jshell73.etsy.com. So you can always visit me there, too! I'm just full of web-presence today, aren't I? So I guess I need to quit while I'm ahead. TTFN JMS

Nostalgia for the baby that she was and anticipation for the girl she will become

2011-03-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Little Bit! You are my 4-year old sweetheart! I love you! Love, Mommy

Prince Medley, Kiddo Update, Diagnosis

2011-03-07T13:05:00.004-05:00

The most random assortment of things are going through my head right now - the most prominent of them is a 1980's Prince song medley. I'm really not sure where it came from, but it's there and it's actually making me bounce a little in my chair! I have a Dove Chocolate wrapper stuck with a pink magnet to the overhead cabinet of my desk at work that says, "Dance to music, even if it is only in your head." That seems to be a common occurrence with me. I have music with me always, but I'm usually the only one who can hear it, and I'm not listening to my iPod! **** Kiddo seems to be feeling better. He got antibiotics (FINALLY) on Friday and within 24 hours his fever was gone. KAPUT! Thank goodness. By Sunday afternoon he was his usually sweet, goofy self again...and then some. Then last night he had some pretty strong ear pain; it made him cry. So...my official I'm-not-a-doctor-but-I-play-one-on-TV (or, I'm-a-mom-so-don't-tell-me-there's-nothing-wrong-with-my-child) diagnosis is that he had an ear infection. He had a couple days of antibiotics and POP! Whatever was going on in his ear finally "broke" and that's what caused him pain. He was fine again within 2 or 3 hours, but he had a rough night. He did go to school today and his teacher emailed me to say he was having a great day. This is good news, because he was out all last week. **** Speaking of doctors and health issues, there is a health thing my doctor and I are investigating. The short version is that she believes I have Hashimoto's Disease. The longer version is that this is the result of testing done over the last couple of years and I haven't actually gotten the chance to talk to her about this diagnosis yet. The "diagnosis" came to me in an off-hand sentence in a recent letter from her regarding my blood work. So while it's news to me, it's not really surprising. I have done some research and have almost all the symptoms as well as an abnormally-shaped thyroid with nodules that they're keeping an eye on. NO CANCER!!! OK? Really. (OH, and btw, my recent mammogram was completely clear! Yay! So those of you who know my family history should be relieved to hear that.) So while we're still in the early stages of discovery, it seems that we're on the right track and this "disease" can be treated with medication. I'll keep you all posted! TTFN JMS

Sick Kiddo

2011-03-04T08:52:00.002-05:00

Kiddo has been sick since Sunday. This makes 5 days now. Yesterday we thought he was getting better because his temperature was hovering around normal. Not so much. He coughed (that deep, scary, bronchial cough) practically all night and then woke up with a 101.6 fever...again. It's gotten as high as 102.6. He's been to the doctor twice. He'll be going a 3rd time this morning, most likely. Per the doc, it's not strep, flu, walking pneumonia, mono or any of the other terrible things kids get. Doc says its "that virus" that everyone has been getting and it usually runs its course in 4 days. Day 5, still going strong. I hate hate hate that he's so sick! It's awful to see my normally active, verbal and goofy child be still, silent and serious. He's pale. He has purple under his eyes that make it look like someone punched him. He's bored to tears because he misses school. Little Bit (who's not so little anymore) seems stuffy and runny - but otherwise fine. I guess this is the battle we all (as parents) fight now and again. But it sure isn't fun; for us or our kids. TTFN JMS

A Letter to McDonald's

2011-03-03T07:48:00.004-05:00

Dear McDonald's on the Turnpike in Oak Ridge: I am done with you. 1) You always forget the straws. And the 12 that I asked for the last time I had to go all the way through the drive through again to get one, are gone. 2) That little 6" concrete bumper...thing...you have by your drive-through lane that is supposed to deter drivers from swinging in from the Administration Drive entrance? It doesn't work. You don't seem to understand how frustrating it is to follow the rules and drive all the way around the restaurant to get to the drive-through - like one is supposed to - only to have been cheated out of your place in line by two drivers who think it's OK to take the "shortcut." Can't you put out tack strips? I'd just once like to see one of those sneaky drivers bust all four of their tires at once...just from coming in the wrong way. It would make me feel better. 3) You have GOT to get friendlier people in your drive-through window. At least someone who knows how to use the words, "Please," and "Thank you." One tries to be polite to the order-board speaker-voices, but the order-board speaker-voices are not polite back. It's upsetting and it's rude. 4) I'm not supposed to eat your stuff anyway - so really I only get coffee and/or diet coke when I come through there. This is just an opportunity to vent. You do have really good coffee, though! (I felt it was necessary to end this rant on a positive note.) Sincerely, JMS

Lovely Visual

2011-02-01T08:09:00.003-05:00

I walked through the break room at the office this morning and only the warm, amber-colored ceiling lights were on. It was dim and felt cozy - and as I walked through the room I took a deep breath and sighed. It was almost a stress-reliever, that room, which is odd. It almost made me think of a warm, fire-lighted living room on a cold winter's night. But maybe that's my stress-level talking, and anything that is calming (for whatever reason) is a relief. Right now I would very much like to close my eyes and sleep for the next six hours. With my head on the desk and drool pooling around my face. Lovely visual, yes - but there you have it. TTFN JMS

My heart is sad.

2011-01-31T07:27:00.003-05:00

It's funny - when I don't write for a long period of time - when that blank "sheet" of paper is in front of me, I have writer's block. There are so many things I could write about that it would fill up a novel - just from the first of December, which I think is the last time I posted anything. I didn't talk about it at the time, but I lost two family members in close succession: my Uncle David passed on October 10th, 2010 and then shortly thereafter, my Aunt Cathy passed on November 1st. Even though they were not a part of my every-day life, I loved them and do miss them terribly. Then last Sunday (1/23), my friend and co-worker lost her husband. It was so sad. He passed after a very long and probably painful illness, so the blessing here is that he no longer suffers. But my friend, as tough as she is, has a very long road ahead of her in the grief & recovery department. My heart is sad. But I'm trying to fill up my heart with good things, like trying to get back into crafting a little bit. My most recent love is crochet. I have made 4 scarves, 1 baby blanket, 1 newborn beanie hat (for the teeny tinys at the local hospital's birthing center...and will make more), a coffee mug warmer-thingy and am currently working on an ambitious project of a full-size blanket to put on my Etsy site. I've made a few flowers. I've made a ring. I'm experimenting with patterns and such - and just generally enjoying this new-found....uh...I hate to use the word "talent" because it isn't, really. My kids are awesome. My husband is awesome. I am gainfully employed, twice - meaning I have one full-time and one part-time job. So things should be pretty good, eh? But still, my heart is sad. And I really, really, REALLY do not want to go back on medication! I guess that's it for now. TTFN JMS

Today, I woke up

2010-12-01T08:41:00.003-05:00

It's funny how sometimes you know you should be excited about stuff - at least anticipatory - and you can barely muster the energy required to keep your head on your shoulders? Yesterday, even with the excitement of learning about the "new job" was still an afghan day and I was really "blah" all day long. Today, I woke up. Nothing special about that, is there? Really? But I'm alive. God has seen fit to allow me to throw the covers off again, swing my feet out into the cold air of the morning-quiet house, have enough presence of mind to know I need a shower and to have the balance and marginal coordination needed to take that shower, and also to have been able to get dressed without having two different colored shoes or an inside-out shirt! He saw me safely to work. And now I am here, cup of coffee in hand, ready to face another day. Because it was His will that I do so. Definitely something to blog about, I think! Have a fantastic day - if only because you got up this morning! TTFN JMS

WAIT! STOP THE PRESS! HOLD THE PHONE!

2010-11-30T09:28:00.003-05:00

Apparently, the email from recruitment services that I got this morning telling me I did not get the job (actually, the verbiage was, "The position had been closed,") was sent to me in error! Go figure! I had forwarded it to the hiring manager with a little note saying something like, "FYI. Oh well...I guess better luck next time!" About 20 minutes ago, he sent me an instant message through Office Communicator: Hiring Manager: HEY! Hiring Manager: OMG! Hiring Manager: STOP THE PRESS! Hiring Manager: [Recruiter] has sent you this in error! The position is NOT closed!!!!! and you ARE THE PERSON WE PICKED!!!!! OMG! I'm madder than... Me: LOLOLOL!!! Seriously! Woo Hoo! Hiring Manager: I saw the email you forwarded and was like WTF???? Hiring Manager: Honey, just pretend you NEVER SAW THAT EMAIL! I'm waiting on a few details to get ironed out - and I'm just not supposed to be the one to say anything...so I've been all hush hush...well, I see where that got me! So sit tight and I hope to have you more info soon! Me: OK! THANK YOU!!!!! TTFN JMS

Surprised and disappointed - oddly enough

2010-11-30T08:06:00.003-05:00

My pastor talked to us a few weeks ago about how when he just needs to relax, to separate himself from the craziness of daily life, and to try to gain insight into whatever it is that's going on, he sits in his chair, wraps himself in his afghan, and just stays there. Today, I am having an Afghan Day. Nothing bad has happened, but I'm very...blah. I applied for another position at work a few weeks ago and, though I was excited about the possibilities of the position should I be lucky enough to get it, I really didn't have major feelings about it one way or another. Let me explain: I most definitely was interested in the position, or I would not have applied for it, however I honestly didn't hold out much hope for getting it because...well...several reasons... Also, I have a job. I am currently gainfully employed on several levels and, though I would have been excited to be given the opportunity to learn something new, was not going to get bent out of shape if they didn't pick me as the best candidate. I was encouraged to apply and to pursue the opportunity not only by the couple of co-workers who knew about it, but also by my current and former managers, both of whom told the hiring manager that I deserved the opportunity. Ringing endorsement, I supposed. All-in-all, this was a positive experience...but I didn't get the job. So now, the surprising thing is, I'm sorely disappointed! I didn't expect to be, given that I went into this with an open mind, and an understanding that the whole point of interviewing is to give the hiring managers a way to decide which applicant is the best person for the available position. I thought I had approached this openly, though I know I interviewed well. I tend to always interview well (sorry, not trying to brag - it's just true) because interviews do not make me nervous and I like learning about new things...plus new and unfamiliar people do not intimidate me. Ok - I'm done. Just needed to get that off my chest. I really am surprised by my reaction to this morning's notice that I did not get the position. Good grief! I do hope they found the right person for the job, though, even if I am not be that person. Guess I'm not really making any sense. TTFN JMS

Ah...Sunday. (Day of rest?)

2010-11-29T07:36:00.002-05:00

I had grand plans for yesterday, and didn't achieve them. OK - some of the cleaning thing got done, but really, Hubby did that...I did not. To be quite honest - I'm having trouble remembering....OH! Right!! Silly me - how soon I forget! My short-term memory is for the birds these days! LOL!. OK - so at church yesterday "my" kids (remember, this includes not only my biological children, but also the children I teach and others whom I love!) sang "Jesus Loves Me" to the entire 11:00AM congregation! They did an awesome job and I am very, very proud of them! Thanks, too, to Mr. Miller - without whom, none of this awesome-ness would be possible! Good form...I say, yes...good form! (wow! where did that come from?) After church we went out to eat and then tried Hobby Lobby (whaddaya know? It's closed on Sundays!) and JoAnn's and A.C. Moore - but to no avail. I have a suspicion we'll find more of the same at Hobby Lobby when we eventually get there...but it's still worth a try. Then we came home and rested some. Got up and ate some. Watched America's Funniest Home Videos and then, after the kids went to bed, I went out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1!!! It was AWESOME! Tired today, because I didn't get home until after midnight - but it was SO worth it! I guess that's it... TTFN JMS

(Chanting) Hobby! Lobby! Hobby! Lobby! Hobby! Lobby!

2010-11-28T08:37:00.003-05:00

So today, here I sit thinking about my Project 365 Thanks and how after church today, I have to go to Hobby Lobby and possibly A.C. Moore to try to find a red or green PLAIN sweat suit for Kiddo to wear in the school play. (He's an elf and hats and ears are provided by the school!) Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a plain sweat suit? One without graffiti or graphics on it at all? Yesterday, while spending some much-needed quality time with Little Bit (we really had a great time, but it was still a frustrating day), we went to 2 different Wal-Marts, Old Navy, Target, Ross, Belk, some athletic store the name of which escapes me at the moment, Marshall's, J.C. Penny's, Kohl's, and Dick's Sporting Goods...all in search of the elusive red or green PLAIN sweat suit. I posted on FaceBook last night about this, and was given the tips about Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore, so I will make the foray to those places today. I have a sneaking suspicion that's exactly where I'll find them! It's a little frustrating that yesterday, in my out-and-about travels with Little Bit, I was all around the Hobby Lobby but never...went...in! Grumble, grumble, groan! Anyway - I want to get that done pretty much as soon as Church is over today so that I can go home and clean some. The bathroom really needs it and the kitchen is...well...a nightmare! That's not to mention that the rest of the house really should just get bulldozed...LOL! So, have a wonderful day! Today it's sunny, cold, and gorgeously frosty outside! I'm loving it! I'm not much into being cold, and winter means, for me, dry, itchy skin, and sinus issues - but you know what? I don't care! I've managed to get in some very good sleep the last couple of days and I'm beginning to feel like myself again! It's amazing what a good rest can do for a body! LOL! TTFN JMS

Another year older, but not necessarily wiser

2010-10-18T07:46:00.005-04:00

So this past Saturday, I turned another year older. Someone asked me, "Is this a milestone birthday?" Aren't all birthdays milestones? I mean, I know she was asking me if I was turning 30 or 40 or 50 - (I guess I'm good at hiding my true age...which is now 37. To be honest, I don't care who knows it.) - but I think that any time anyone celebrates a birthday, it is a milestone. When babies turn 1, it's a milestone. When babies turn 2, it's a milestone. When babies turn 10 (double-digits!), 13 (official bratty teenager), 16 (drivers beware), 18 (legal), 20 (well...20 years! wow!), 21 (legal drinking age)...and so on and so forth. I am blessed to have friends of all ages, from infants and children to 90-year-old men who still drive every day, and almost every age in between. Not a single time do I say about them, "ah...it's just another day." But, I say that about my birthday: "Ah...it's just another day." Why is that? On my birthday we went to the Methodist Men's Pancake Breakfast at our church where our friend and choir director KM made the attendees sing to me. Slightly embarrassing, but still sweet and kind of fun! Plus...good pancakes and excellent coffee! We went to the Fall Festival at Little Bit's school. We went to Home Depot and found some mums for the front porch. We rested. We brought a bunch of cleaning supplies over to SM's new apartment. Oh - and we went to dinner at Litton's in Fountain City with my sister-in-law and her family, which was very, very nice. Then we went home, settled in, and went to bed! It was just another day, but a very nice one with little birthday touches throughout. And - everyone was nice to me, so that was a plus! ;) TTFN, JMS

Shoot First - Ask Later

2010-10-04T09:53:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe that I haven't written ANYTHING since July! That's just CRAZY! Crazy, I tell you! Crazy like my life. OK - so it's crazy in a good way, but crazy none-the-less. (Hm...I wonder if I can use the word "crazy" again somewhere?) *** Some things never change, eh? *** I'm just not even sure where to start - so I guess I'll just bullet-point a few key things and let you ask me questions later. (Hey...bring's a new meaning to, "Shoot first, ask questions later..." eh?) KIDDO:

...is now an official Tiger Cub Scout. He's been in for 4 weeks as of today. He is loving every second of it.
...is in 2nd Grade! He's having some behavioral issues with not listening and playing during teaching times and just being silly - but he's a 6 year old boy. His teacher and Hubby and I have been in constant contact and we know that we will eventually get this worked out. Otherwise he's doing quite well!
...can read very well. He can write very well, too - though his spelling needs work. But that, like everything else, will come with time and practice. He can write his first and last name in cursive and is practicing his other letters.
...loves to bring a doodle pad or his "Competition" book (should be "composition") with him wherever he goes and it gives both Mom and Dad some quiet time because he'll just sit back there (wherever we are) and write, or draw, to his heart's content. The kid's actually got talent! Truly. I'm not just sayin' that 'cause I'm his mom.
...still needs a bunk bed.

LITTLE BIT:

...is back at Nursery School. She's in the same classroom she was in last year because she's not quite old enough for the "big kids'" class. She doesn't care, though...her friends are there.
...finally has a big-girl bed! She still occasionally runs up to me and says, "Thank you for my big-girl bed, mommy!"
...wants to do everything her big brother does. Usually they play really well together, but every now and then Kiddo gets a case of the, "Get-away-from-me's" and then there is screaming involved.
...is 3 going on 13, with all the attitude to match.
...has a great big heart and loves hugs and kisses from her mommy. She hasn't gotten to the squirmy, "Kisses are gross" stage yet, thank goodness!

HUBBY:

...is still practicing massage and trying to figure out ways in which he can grow his business.
...is the best Stay At Home Dad any kid could ever ask for.
...is still tinkering with The Beast. (a.k.a. the white 1990 Volvo station wagon)
...just celebrated his 10 year anniversary with his wife...ME!

...am really loving the Children's Ministry Assistant thing. It's a lot of work, but I really do love it. I love the kids. I feel like if I cannot do this for at least my children, I cannot expect someone else do do it for me.
...am still teaching Sunday School...see above bullet-point for more info. It's the same.
...just found an apartment for SM to move into here. She will be moving from Florida in about 2 weeks. I am so excited to have her here I can hardly stand it!
...am still working for United HealthCare. 'Nuff said.
...just celebrated my 10 year anniversary with Hubby!
...am really super busy. Thursday's are my self-imposed "evening's off" and Saturdays I spend with my kids.

So that's it for now. I'm sure there's A TON of other stuff I've missed or left out inadvertently....but who cares! I finally posted something for the first time in FOREVER!

TTFN JMS

I'm a bad person

2010-07-22T15:27:00.003-04:00

I kill things. Living things! Green, living things. Light and water loving things. Hubby gave me a Shamrock plant for St. Patrick's day and I've had it on the shelf in my cube ever since then. I have been very proud of myself that I've been able to keep it alive and happy this long. Yesterday - the plant was a little droopy so I gave it some water. Not a lot, just a little - so it wouldn't get too drenched and drown. My thought was that once it was semi-happy again, I'd give it a bit more water and then it would be all-happy. Today, I came in and it was yellow, completely limp and lifeless and just dead. I can't understand how in 24 hours it could do that - but it did. No amount of water or sunlight, or lack of water and sunlight, would have fixed the situation. I'm sad. It was given a proper burial - in the trash can. I have shed tears. I will miss my little Shamrock plant. May it rest in peace. Amen. TTFN JMS

Did I mention that I am TOTALLY THRILLED!!! ???

2010-07-19T07:47:00.003-04:00

Recently, a friend and fellow church-goer, announced that she would be stepping down from her 3-year role as the Children's Ministry Assistant. (She coordinates ministries for children such as Sunday school and making sure teachers are available, and Vacation Bible School and activities such as Dance and Drama and others...) In any case, when she announced this, I had an "AH HA" moment and quickly discussed this "AH HA" moment with another friend and fellow church-goer who is the Program Coordinator at church. I said that once Current CMA relinquished her role, that I would like to step into it, even if it is just in the interim until someone better comes along or until the Staff Parish Committee decides to change the way the position is handled. (Currently it is a paid, 10-hour per week position, but they've been discussing making it a volunteer position. I have issues with that, but that's not for now.) Anyway - Program Director friend seemed very pleased I was willing to do this and said that she would mention it to the Staff Parish Committee. Long story short (too late, right?) I got the job! At least until the end of the year when they may possibly change its direction. But I'm TOTALLY THRILLED! I know it's an extra 10 hours a week, but I really want this. I believe it's a God-led decision, not only on my part, but on the part of the Staff Parish Committee and that there is a bigger purpose here. Don't know what it is yet, but I will eventually (I hope) figure it out. I've been praying for a way to give more of myself in service...and I think this is a fantastic way to start! I'm currently in training, as I don't officially begin my position until August 1st. I say again, I'm TOTALLY THRILLED!!! Some day I'll have to get on my soap box and explain why this is so important to me, and to others. But today is not the day. TTFN JMS

Kiddo's Bunk Bed Fund

2010-06-28T09:30:00.002-04:00

I don't ask for much. Not really. Right now I'm asking for help in trying to get a bunk bed for Kiddo's room. We're getting to a point where it's really and truly necessary to do something about the sleeping arrangements for the kids. Little Bit is just too long for her toddler bed and Kiddo really needs a better bed. I've got Little Bit's room under control - but it's kind of a big secret as to what I'm doing with it. I've managed to spend very little and get quite a bit - though I still need a decent white bookshelf. None of it is at home right now as I am waiting on Hubby to take the kids to see his mom for a week before I begin the transformation. Don't ask me any questions, 'cause I'm not gonna tell ya! But Kiddo's room is another ball of wax. He really needs so much more than she does - but the main thing is he needs a bunk bed. The bunk bed is kind of essential because then when we have visitors, he and Little Bit can share the bunks and our visitor can sleep in Little Bit's room. I don't really know what else to say to explain my reasoning - I'm not really trying to redecorate so much as make sure the kids both have what they need. Little Bit isn't comfortable anymore and Kiddo's current bed is definitely past its prime and should be put out of its misery. So here's what I'm asking. If you feel you can help me with a dollar or two, I've added a "Donate" button on the right side of my blog called "Kiddo's Bunk Bed Fund." I know it's really out of the ordinary to ask for $$ though my blog, but I don't know another way right now. CraigsList has turned up nothing in the 3 months I've been searching, eBay is scary, I don't want a piece of junk from a yard sale - but there IS a bed at BigLots that seems nice and sturdy and it's $229.00. The only other thing is, if I get the bunk bed, I'll need to get mattresses, too...but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Anyway - just think it over. Thank you, in advance, for any way you think you might be able to help. TTFN JMS

VBS, Power Outage, Found Friend

2010-06-24T08:05:00.003-04:00

Today is Thursday, right? It should be Friday. I'm just sayin'. **** Tonight is the last night of VBS and we're havin' a Hero party. The theme (curriculum?) is Hero Headquarters: Where Kids Join Forces With God. It's been a blast. So last night we passed out little invitations to each of the kids and told them to give them to someone who is a hero to them and invite them to the Hero party tonight. There will be a closing assembly at 5:30, then we'll eat (dogs and burgers etc) and then we'll have a party. Our Youth Director rented 4 huge inflatables, a bounce house, a slide, a Velcro wall...and something else I can't remember at the moment...and a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine (which actually belongs to the church, I believe) and a Sno-Cone machine. It should be a great, carnival-type atmosphere and I hope it doesn't rain. It has been clear and hot and beautiful every night so far and of course, the one night we really need it NOT to rain, it's forecasting scattered thunderstorms. So we'll see. **** There was a power outage last night at my office. About 3:57 PM the air conditioner thumped and shut off and about 10 seconds after that all the lights and power followed. The power went out and 5 minutes later the phones died, too. (I am reminded of something from Robert Fulgum's All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. To paraphrase: "The washer got all lumped up on one side and did this herky-jerky lurching dance across the floor and blew itself up. It was frothing around mouth because I guess I must have fed it too much soap, too. Five minutes later, the dryer expired. Like two old people who follow each other closely in death, so closely are they entwined.") So we set up in one of our windowed small conference rooms and dialed in to the Command Center (where anyone effected by an incident calls in to determine what to do) and proceeded to beat the situation to death. In my mind it was simple: No power. No phones. No network or Internet or email. No Light. No air-conditioning. 103 outside. 80 inside. Send. People. Home. It's already after 4PM for goodness sake! But of course we didn't have a hard-copy of our Business Continuity Plan to refer to. And our Emergency Response Plan was in electronic copy, too. So we had a mad rush to find someone, via cell phone, who had access to that information and tell us what to do. About the time the decision was made to send anyone home who had the ability to telecommute, the power came back on at 4:47 PM. Needless to say, I have several copies to print and bind today. **** I was upset on Monday because I was thinking about a friend I thought I lost...and couldn't figure out why. I was even about to write a little blurb about it on my blog here. But I decided against it because I couldn't come up with the right words. And I'd worked myself into feeling a bit hurt. Anyway - about 11:30-ish that morning, I get a text from her. BAM! Outta the blue! She texted (that's a hard word to say, but not so tough to type) me a picture of the cover of a book in a series she and I have been following. I couldn't really see it so I asked her which one it was and she told me. I said, "Oh, I've already read that one! It's been out for about 2 months!" She'd gotten me all excited thinking ANOTHER one had come out already and I was going to have to make good use of the Barnes & Noble gift card that is burning a hole in my wallet. I called her a bit later on my way back to the office just to say hello and make sure everything was OK with her. She's busy and she said she's kind of fallen off the grid, so-to-speak, and hasn't really talked with ANYONE in months. Sad to say it made me feel a lot better to know that, because I really that I'd lost my friend. I'm glad to know she still thinks about me, even if we don't see each other at all any more! Hey G? You know Eclipse is coming out next week, right? I'm headed to the theater on Saturday night - wanna come? TTFN JMS

What's kicking MY rear this year?

2010-06-22T08:02:00.000-04:00

VBS is kicking my rear this year. VBS - as in Vacation Bible School. Actually - it's really not VBS that has me all goofy and exhausted all the time, but it is most definitely a contributing factor. Not that I'm complaining. Ok, see, my very good friends K&NM and family went on vacation and asked me to water their outside plants while they were gone. She had a green-thumb, most definitely, and has some very beautiful plants in front of and behind her house. So sometime between 6AM & 6:30AM every day I am over there watering their plants. Then I head to work to arrive around 7AM - so I can organize my day, get some coffee, use the restroom, and whatever else I need to do before my day actually starts at 7:30AM. Work all day - like a maniac, if I may say so - to get off at 4:30PM. Then I'm heading directly to the church to arrive at 5PM to get changed into my khakis and white shirt (VBS Staff Outfit) and take my place at the registration desk to help check in the kids as they arrive. Then, around 6PM I have to fly over to the library on the other side of the church and do a quick transformation into Super Cooper - the 6.5' tall black and white dog who is the mascot of this VBS curriculum. (I did this last year, too - and had a blast!) It's sweaty and stinky inside that costume, but it's LOADS of fun and I can be a complete goofball in front of who-knows-how-many people. (Side Note: We're raising $$ for kids in India to go to VBS there, and right now we've raised enough money to send 80 children! It's a competition between the teams. Last night we were told that if one of the teams' total reached $150.00 then someone would eat a bug! [That someone, of course, anticipating this, ordered gourmet salt and vinegar crickets!] ICK!) VBS goes until 8:30 and at some point Super Cooper has to shed his super fur and become well..me again. I'm in that costume from 6:00PM until ALMOST 8:30PM and I sweat like the dickens the whole time. Like I said, it's definitely uncomfortable, but I have a ball! I'll do it again next year, too, if Super Cooper comes back! (Side Note: If wearing Super Cooper for 2.5 hours each night for 5 nights doesn't help me lose weight ON TOP OF the weight I'm losing with Weight Watchers, well...then...I think I might just crawl into a hole and hide.) So when I get home with the kids they get into their jammies and get in bed and I get a much-needed shower to de-Cooper-ify. And then I'm doing laundry so my stuff can be ready for the next day. And then I'm laying out my work clothes. AND THEN...it's finally time to crawl in bed. Though as exhausted as I am, I'm totally wound up and can't sleep so I read for a bit and finally, around 11PM, I can turn the light off and be reasonably certain of rest. Just to pick up and start all over the next day. Worth it? Absolutely! I LOVE VBS and I LOVE this time of year! PS: Did I tell you that I'm permanently taking over teaching the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School class? Just one more thing to be excited about! TTFN JMS

Insight

2010-06-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

I've purposefully avoided talking too much about my new job. I honestly just don't want to jinx it. It's a good job, with good people and good pay. I tend to be a little bit superstitious about things and what if...just what if...I say too much? Silly? Yep. But there it is. I'm not the "if-a-black-cat-crosses-my-path" kind of superstitious, though. (And for the record? If a black cat does, indeed, cross my path, my first instinct would be to find out if it has a mommy or needs a home! Come here, kitty kitty kitty!) But seriously, I guess I am just a bit gun shy right now when it comes to my job. I'm coming up on the 1 year anniversary of when I was laid off last July; a time that marked the beginning of some serious depression and self-worth issues. I think I've managed to come out on the other side OK, but I'm a different person; driven. And here's another thing. I don't know what it is about this particular job, but everyone here seems to think I'm wonderful. I feel very strange saying that out loud, to be quite honest, but it's the truth. I'm busy from the second I set foot in the door in the morning until the second I leave at night. I'm constantly directing folks toward things they need, troubleshooting technical issues, ordering equipment, returning assets that are no longer needed, submitting mounds of paperwork to process HR-type requests, onboarding new employees, terminating old employees, submitting for in-office moves, submitting for Work at Home transfers, coordinating employee activities and events and, of course, the usual simple administrative stuff I've always done including setting up conference calls, watching multiple calendars, meeting set up etc.... And paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. (GASP!) I am, in a word, busy. All. The. Time. So back to the "...seems to think I'm wonderful," statement. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I am doing differently here than what I was doing at my other jobs. Why is this job different? Why do so many people, on a regular basis, send me thank you notes, or words of praise or even make a point to stop my manager to tell her what a great job I'm doing? How come this is the first place I've ever worked where these types of things happen? Have I come out on the other side of the last year that vastly different? My hubby, and SM, seem to think that it's been a personality issue all along. When I first heard that I got a little bristled because I've always tried very hard to maintain a very professional attitude and be pleasant to everyone as much as humanly possible. But what they meant by saying that was the fact that I have a very STRONG personality; a personality that doesn't sit back and take whatever gets thrown in my direction by sitting down and keeping quiet. I'm a doer. A take-charger. I don't do well in menial (forgive the word, please) positions that don't require some actual thought on a daily basis. On an hourly basis. I seem to be more focused when I'm busy than when I'm bored. So are people afraid of me? Is that what this is all about? The first place I worked when I came to Tennessee...were they afraid of me? Is that why I felt like I was constantly treated as if I were dog-poop on the bottom of the manager's shoe? Why she made a point (and said out loud in my hearing range that she made it her mission in life) to make me cry. I was there for 2.5 years. The second place I worked, in an attempt to escape the first, was really no better. My new manager treated me just the same way my old manager did, except she pretended to be sweetness and light whereas the old manager didn't even pretend. I lasted 3.5 years there...and when I'd finally had enough I was able to secure a job at the place I was laid off from last year. That was my 3rd job after moving to Tennessee. It was a great job, I loved the people, I loved the location, I loved what I did. I was there for 3.5 years until... The 4th job I'm not even going to talk about because it was a nightmare from beginning to end. However what I will say about this job was that the personality clashes were blatantly obvious here. They wanted someone who would sit down, shut up, and never ever question anything. I am most definitely not that person. So, what I'm saying here is that I don't feel like I've changed my work ethic or my personality or my drive. I think maybe, just maybe, I've found a place where I can be my own, special, assertive, and not-quiet self, and STILL do a great job. But, finally, in a place where those attributes are appreciated and encouraged. I wonder if the quote, "I will not go quietly into that good night..." applies here?

Updates

2010-06-17T07:27:00.001-04:00

I have an official 1st Grader! Kiddo got excellent marks and comments on his end-of-year report card; he's done so well and Hubby and I are thrilled! The little notation at the bottom next to "Grade recommended for Fall:" was 1st! I don't know why - but that makes me feel good. He is such a smart, loving and wonderful kid and I'm just so proud of him. I can't wait to see how he excels next year. Now if I could only teach him to pick up his room. **** Little Bit is an incredible 3 year old. She has an attitude a mile wide, and a smile to go with it. I suppose she makes up for in attitude, though, what she lacks in size. She may be little, but she's tough, that one. She don't take no crap from no one! (Ugh...that sentence was as hard for me to type as it will be for you grammar nerds to read!) She heads into the "Big Kids" class at Pre-School in the Fall, but she still has 2 years before she can start Kindergarten. I almost wonder if it is worth trying to get her into Kindergarten at 4? Has anyone had any experience with that? She, too, is super smart - and I want to encourage her learning and education, not hold her back and make her bored. I think at 5 years old, Kindergarten might be boring for her, and not a challenge...kind of like it was for Kiddo. **** I'm still working - thank God! The job is a very good one and I'm really enjoying it. I'm busy from the second I set foot in the office until the second I leave at night; they really do keep me hopping. Yes, sometimes it's overwhelming and/or stressful, but I really am loving it. I come home exhausted and nearly dead on my feet most nights - but then the shrieks of, "Mommy's HOME!!!" make all the stress and aches melt away. (SIDE STORY: We had a busy Sunday. When we came home from church, Kiddo, Little Bit and I took a big nap - in my bed. I had one on each side of me, their heads tucked into my shoulders, and we just crashed. It was wonderful.) Anyway, I'm still plugging along. **** Hubby is doing great! He's still doing Massage, and is the best Stay at Home Dad there ever was! He's still tinkering with his 1990 Volvo 240 Wagon; the most recent addition being tri-color tail lights. He replaced Little Bit's baby swing with a big-girl swing; she'll swing forever if given the opportunity. He's lawn-guy extraordinaire. He's just awesome. So I guess that's it for updates. I'll probably have more sometime soon. TTFN JMS

Mary Pam

2010-06-15T10:33:00.000-04:00

I've had several false starts lately on this blogging thing. I don't know what's up with me, but I'm really struggling to keep up! I heard someone once say: "I can't get outta my own way!" That's kind of how I'm feeling right now. There isn't anything really wrong, just....I don't know. Actually - I do know what's wrong. Today is the 21st anniversary of an event that drastically changed the course of my life: I miss you Mary Pamela Nolton Greening. Mother. Sister. Friend. Wife. Daughter. She was a lot of things to a lot of people - and everything to others. It's just a "blah" day. I wasn't going to talk about it or call attention to it, but I need to remember her. And I know others that need and/or want to remember her, as well. So here's to you, Mom. I know you're lookin' down on us and I hope you're pleased with what you see. Love, Jenny

The Holiday Inn Bathrobe & an Au Pair from Wales

2010-06-10T09:43:00.001-04:00

A long long time ago, I used to have this bathrobe...

wait.

hang on.

let me start over.

A long long time ago, when I was very young, we had an Au Pair living with us by the name of Anna J. She was from Wales and she was petite and blonde and I absolutely worshiped the ground she walked on. SHE had this bathrobe that was, at one point in its existence, from the Holiday Inn. It was white and blue and had the words "Holiday Inn" written all over it. It was just a thin, cotton cover, but I coveted it. (I'm a Christian, I shouldn't be coveting anything - but...well...I did. I was maybe 11 years old, so get over it.) Anyway - when Anna left us, she bestowed the Holiday Inn bathrobe upon me.

I loved that robe! I loved it because it was something Anna had given me - a reminder of my friend who'd gone back to Wales - and because I'd wanted it anyway and suddenly my wish had come true! I literally wore that thing all the time. Not out of the house, mind you, but almost always whenever I was inside, I had it on. I wore it down to threads and holes and kept right on wearing it.

I really really want another one.

I'm just sayin'.

TTFN
JMS

PS: I know it's been eons since my last post and that this one has absolutely nothing of value in it, but I will post again soon. I promise. There is much to tell.

PPS: Anna also introduced me to World Party and UB40 and U2 and... Needless to say, Anna had a large influence on my taste in music, then and now. I wonder where Anna is...?

Wildly Random

2010-05-07T13:01:00.003-04:00

This last week has been...um...well, let's just say: "Thank God it's Friday!" I fell off the wagon with the cleaning kick - but I intend to get back on real soon. I've been absolutely slammed at work - but it's good to be busy and needed. I'm just trying to decide if it's too much. I'm trying to complete (fulfill) my contract with NRCAT getting Tennessee congregations to watch and discuss the documentary Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever. Our deadline is May 30 and I'm still 3 congregations short... I'm planning to work some on the storage shed in the back yard tonight while the kids play... I think there might be another yard sale in the not-too-distant future. Um...Oh...there's 100 other things.... TTFN JMS

Shameless Plug

2010-05-06T07:50:00.001-04:00

Check out http://www.youravon.com/jennifershell

It will tell you I'm "Serving the Oak Ridge Area" but if you order online, you can have your items direct-shipped to you - ANYWHERE!

Isn't that cool?

TTFN
JMS

Heard Around The House

2010-04-28T07:22:00.005-04:00

Well, in this case, we were at a restaurant. Little Bit said something to me, and I answered her. It was a simple, brief conversation and we both got what we needed and/or wanted out of it and were satisfied that the conversation was over. Hubby looked at us and said, "Huh?" - meaning he wanted to know what we were talking about. Without skipping a beat, Little Bit (who is just 3 y/o) said, "Nothing you need to worry about, Dad." Of course, Hubby and I looked at each other and broke into laughter 'cause it was just that perfect. Little Bit smiled knowingly, as if she intuitively understood that she'd said something just right and that we were laughing at her. She was very pleased with herself. Ok - so maybe you had to be there - but it really was funny. Wow - the first edition of "Heard Around The House" of 2010! Can you believe it? TTFN JMS PS: Uncle Dave - hope all goes well today! I'll be thinking about you and praying for you! Love you!

Quick Update

2010-04-27T13:13:00.003-04:00

Little Bit has goop in her eye, and though it has not definitely been diagnosed as pink eye, she is on an antibiotic drop. Kiddo is obsessed with his hair. I cannot figure it out - but if his hair doesn't sit EXACTLY FLAT on his head - he literally flips out. Whining and tears and shaking - the whole bit. When I towel-dry his hair after bath-time, he can barely stand it if I don't immediately brush it flat. Is this some kind of OCD thing? Do I ignore it? Do I try to make him understand that it is just hair, and at some point, some day it will stick up in odd ways no matter how hard he tries? I'm kind of at a loss with this. He's constantly running his hand over his head to make sure it's all where it is supposed to be... Hubby is good...though he seems quite preoccupied. It's getting quite close to a date I know he tries not to think about, yet here it is again. I wish he'd talk to me. I might not be able to fix it, but I can always listen. I've got the beginnings of Bronchitis...again. This is the 3rd time since November. Luckily, though - I didn't wait until I was really really sick to go to the doctor. I was proactive (mostly) and went only after I realized that my voice wasn't coming back on its own and this wasn't just a tickle... Now I'm on a good, strong antibiotic and have instructions from "Doc" to take it easy. Take it easy. Yeah. Right. As if that's going to happen? I've got entirely too much to do between now and Saturday when my Mother-in-Law comes for a visit. I'm very excited to see her, but I don't want her getting to my house and deciding she needs to clean. I want her to relax and have fun with her grandchildren. (Oh, and the grand-dog, too. Nalla loves Nani!) TTFN JMS

Thought I'd share

2010-04-23T14:32:00.001-04:00

We had Take Your Child To Work Day at my office yesterday.

Here's me and Kiddo.

TTFN
JMS

Monday Randomness

2010-04-19T07:52:00.002-04:00

Hi! It's Monday. As if you didn't know! ***** Have you tried those Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Cheese Crisps? So awesome! Have you see the new Clash of the Titans? So awesome! ***** I'm back on my FlyLady kick. If you don't know about FlyLady - got to http://www.flylady.com and check her out. Also, I've started my FlyLady Journal - and if you want to follow my "Reclaiming My House" escapades - you can read the journal at http://ladyonafly.blogspot.com. ***** Well...I guess that's it for today. I really don't have much to say at the moment. I guess that could change in about 15 minutes... Love you all! Thanks for sticking with me even when my posting frequency sucks! TTFN JMS

Major Milestone & Budding Artist

2010-04-07T09:21:00.003-04:00

So, we've had a major (well, in my eyes, anyway) milestone happen at our house overnight. Little Bit - who, as I've mentioned at least twice now that I know of, is potty training - slept the entire night in "big girl underwear" and woke up this morning completely dry! The very first thing she did when she woke up was to get on the potty and do her business...and she was SO excited! We're very proud of her! And something else noteworthy (again, in my eyes, anyway) is the fact that Kiddo is making his own thank you cards for the folks who came to his birthday party. He's drawn landscape scenes, dinosaurs, flowers, sunshine and is only about 1/3 of the way finished with them. I can't wait to send them out! Hm...that's got me wondering. What do you think about Kiddo's cards being on my Etsy site? Do you think anyone would want them? He really is pretty amazing for a 6 year old artist. Of course, that might be a biased opinion. And, of course, I would give him any and all of the "proceeds"... TTFN JMS

in just spring... (my little nod to ee himself)

2010-04-06T15:45:00.003-04:00

I'm off to see the wizard... (Hmmm...where did that come from, I wonder? And why oh why is it the very first part of this post? Maybe we'll never know.) You know what I do know, though? I haven't posted since March 16th! I now Little Bit is now 3 years old, Kiddo is officially 6 years old, I have a good full-time job that is solid and time consuming, a part-time job (Avon) that is fun and makes me feel good, I haven't crafted anything in weeks and weeks which depresses me slightly, my house is a mess as usual, my kids are perfect, hubby us awesome, and things are basically good. This is good news. I'm sitting here somewhat in awe of the fact that even though I'm tired and there are definitely things weighing on my mind right now, I feel pretty darn good. Some things I'm thinking about that I want to mention; in no particular order:

K&NM & family have finally found a little house to rent and will be moving in May. This is awesome, fantastic and exciting news and will hopefully be the beginning of a new and more prosperous chapter of their lives. Prayers for them, however, are always still welcome.
HB is now a year older, having had her 28th birthday on March 31st. Happy Birthday HB! You'll always be my bean!
CG is also now a year older - but I think she'd probably kill me if I mentioned her age so I'll just say Happy Birthday big sister! You are always in my heart!
My friend EB and I will be hosting a Premiere Jewelry / Avon Party sometime in June... Those interested need to contact me for an invitation - otherwise, keep your eyes open for details!
Spring is here and along with it, hopefully, warmer weather.

Anyway - I guess that's it for now. I'm going to leave you with a picture of Kiddo & Little Bit (who is potty trained, now - btw) on Easter Sunday.

TTFN JMS

...Sigh...

2010-03-16T08:25:00.001-04:00

...SIGH...

Yes - I'm a tad melancholy today. My family is leaving me for almost a week, going up to my mother-in-law's house in Virginia. Though they haven't actually left yet, I'm at work and they were all sleeping when I left. Well, for the most part, anyway. Hubby was up and helped me get our cars switched out. He's taking mine because the Great White Beast (1990 Volvo 240 wagon) has an oil leak. Anyway - I didn't get to hug my children goodbye, and that makes me sad.

So I'll try to focus on the things that make me happy today...right? Isn't that what you would do?

Little Bit is potty training...and doing a most excellent job! She's been in "big girl underwear" for 2 weeks now and has only had 2 accidents! She still wears a diaper at night - but it's nearly always dry in the morning. If she has to go, no longer does she go and then say, "I have to go potty!" after it's already too late. She high-tails it into the bathroom doing this cute little dance and says, "MOMMY! I've gotta go potty!" Of course, the nearest parent (and even Kiddo has been known to run to her aid) comes running to help her out. She does her business, we clean her up and get her dressed again and then repeat the process about 2 hours later.

This no diaper thing is GREAT! We went out after Church on Sunday - all the way to Knoxville - for lunch. WITHOUT THE DIAPER BAG! We visited the bathroom twice, but I'd much rather do that than lug that silly backpack everywhere we go!

Plus - if all goes well, by the time the box of diapers we have is completely gone, she'll be ready to be without them totally.

It's like her little body turned 3 (did I mention she just turned 3 years old on March 5th!?) and all of the sudden BAM! she was done with diapers.

Huh. It's amazing the things one finds newsworthy or noteworthy as a parent. I never suspected I'd ever be one to discuss, much less be pleased to discuss, my child's potty training trials and successes. Again I say..."Huh!"

Kiddo is still excelling in school - and specifically reading. I caught him sitting on the floor with Little Bit the other day and he was reading her "Green Eggs & Ham." Last night, the two of them, led by Kiddo, were playing Chutes & Ladders together on the floor of her room. It lasted for about 10 minutes and then he had a meltdown because I told him it was bedtime. It was instant breakdown, too. One second happy child playing Chutes & Ladders with his little sister. The next second screaming almost-6-year old (did I mention he will be 6 on March 26th?) in total meltdown mode.

Me thinks this time change thing really has them messed up. They're not tired at 8:00 right now. But if I don't try to maintain the routine, even if it seems different, then they will be all confused and tired.

Anyway - I guess that's it for now.

I'm still working. I'm still happy here. I'm learning things quickly and all is well. I'm also now selling Avon. I decided to do that because I'm not busy enough. (You hear the sarcasm there, right?) No, really. I decided to do it because I really like the products and it's something I can do in my spare time that I enjoy. If you are interested in a catalog, let me know. If you'd rather visit my website, go to http://www.youravon.com/jennifershell.

TTFN
JMS

"So...whaddaya think about your new job?"

2010-02-23T08:13:00.001-05:00

This morning, I figured out where the mail room is at my new office. Yeah - I know...seems silly, right? But really it is a very good thing for me to know were the out-going mail goes; part of my job, after all, is sending letters and such.

Someone asked me just a few minutes ago, "Is it too early to tell, or do you think you're going to like it here?"

Well, so far everyone has been really great. The office is beautiful. The work is pretty self-explanitory. I like my boss. These are all very good points. The gold stars on the chart, so-to-speak, are stacking up relatively quickly.

The hardest part of my job so far has been learning all about the health care stuff. This information will be intregal to my success here, not to mention that there are so many little nuances that I need to know. But I know I can do it.

*****

One quick thing and then I've got to WORK! :)

I got a voice mail message at my office just before I left work yesterday. It said, "Hi mom! It's [Kiddo]. I just wanted to tell you I love you. Um... Bye!" and then you hear, "Can I tell her?" and then "I love you, too, mommy!"

Made my heart glad.

TTFN
JMS

RSOA & Work & Kiddo & Little Bit

2010-02-22T10:11:00.001-05:00

I spent 6 hours (Ok...so I thought it was 5, but math has never been my strong suit and it was really 6) yesterday in a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSOA) class learning all about alcohol, its effects on people based on body type/size/gender/medications/illicit drugs/mental health/emotional state etc... How to card people effectively. How to cut people off if they've had too much. How to make sure folks get home safely once you have cut them off. And on and on.

It was actually quite interesting.

I got a 96 on my test.

That means I get my Server's License from the TABC (or wherever).

That means I can continue working at Applebees for the foreseeable future.

That also means, because I've made a commitment to them, that I'll be working there every Sunday until Mid-June. I'm going to have to make arrangements with them to come in at noon on Sundays in May, though, because I have to teach Sunday School in May.

I'm not a big fan of this whole Applebees arrangement, if truth be told. But I did what I thought was the best thing to do when I was unemployed and seeking. I needed to make sure I had something - anything - coming in so we didn't wind up completely destitute.

Now that I've spent an entire week at my new, full-time job, I'm feeling better about the future. I've got a lot of learning to do about the industry I'm involved in now (Health Care) but I feel surrounded by folks who actually seem to know what they are doing, and are friendly and helpful, too. This feels like a good start to a positive, long-term future.

I'm busier than I've ever been. I'm definitely having trouble juggling everything. But I think once the routine settles in, I'll be better than I've been in a very, very long time.

****

Quick change of subject and then I'll let you, my beloved readers, get back to your lives. I haven't mentioned anything significant about my kids in a while, so I thought I'd do a quick update.

Kiddo is nearing his 6th birthday (March 26th). I'm stunned. I'm flabbergasted. I cannot believe it's been nearly 6 years since he made his way into this world...6 weeks early and raring to go. He's in the home stretch of Kindergarten and his teacher is very pleased with him, says he's very smart and that he'll be more than ready for 1st grade. He's reading at nearly a 2nd grade level. He's drawing pictures I never dreamed any Kindergartner could draw. (I'll have to scan a couple and post them for your viewing pleasure.) He amazes me daily.

Little Bit is nearing her 3rd birthday (March 8th). I'm overwhelmed. I'm a bit sad. My baby is no longer a baby, she's a big girl. And a princess, too. At least, that's what she tells me. She knows she's beautiful and blond and blue-eyed because I tell her every day. I may be doing her an injustice by saying those things to her, but they're true. She is beautiful. She's also extremely smart. Her nursery teacher at church has decided (though she's not 3 yet, which meets the minimum age requirement to do so) to move her into the Pre-K/K Sunday School class with the "big" kids...including Kiddo. The teacher says, "She's just too smart. She likes to play, but ultimately I think she's bored. She get more out of class than some of the bigger kids!"

My children amaze me. I feel like the luckiest mother in the entire world.

Just thought you should know.

TTFN
JMS

WOAH! Is this really my first post of 2010?

2010-02-17T16:11:00.001-05:00

I've been out of commission for a LONG time. Mentally out of commission, I suppose. After the blow of losing my job back in July due to lay offs, I was able to find another administrative position with a local manufacturing company. This job, too, was pulled out from under me early in January. There are many reasons, but I believe 2 things: 1) They were looking for someone with heavy accounting skills, which I do not have and 2) There was an unknown-to-me personality conflict with my manager. That's the simple explanation and frankly, I don't feel like going into too much detail about it.

Suffice it to say, losing 2 jobs in a row really hit me hard emotionally and I lapsed into a major depression, for which I am now sufficiently medicated. I took a job at Applebee's waiting tables to make ends meet, I've kept busy doing some contract work for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture as well as trying to help where I can with a friend and pastor's effort with The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. This on top of trying to find a new full-time administrative position has kept me away from my computer for the most part, and especially from my blog.

I miss my blog.

This post is an effort to 1) catch my readers and, hopefully, still loyal followers, up on what I've been doing and 2) to reinsert myself into the blogging world.

I just started a new job on February 15th. President's Day. I've been immersed in orientation and training ever since then and, while it's A TON of information to assimilate, it's been great so far. Very comprehensive. Everyone seems very nice and I really like my new boss.

Anyway - that's the VERY SHORT version of the story of the last few months. It's been a roller coaster ride, and definitely not a fun one. But things are, finally, looking up again.

I'll try to post again sometime in the next few days.

TTFN
JMS

Christmas Gifts, Baby Cousin's Birthday, Ralph S. Mouse

2009-12-04T08:25:00.004-05:00

You know, I've decided that I'm further along with my Christmas gifts than I thought I was! This is exciting to me. I've still got a few other folks to get something for, but it's nowhere near as awful a prospect as I expected it to be! I guess I plan ahead better than I thought I do! There's one thing I ordered, and I'm hoping against hope that it arrives in time to be gifted for Christmas. If not, then I'm not sure what I'll do...although I suppose it's not a huge deal. I've got a TON of stuff to do this weekend because I promised Kiddo that we'd work on decorating the house. I think we're supposed to go get icicle lights for our house...? I've got to get Kiddo to clarify that for me. I'll leave getting the antique Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus lighted plastic lawn ornaments out to my very capable and creative Hubby. But, though I'm scared of heights, I want to do the lights on the house myself. Or, at least be there to direct Hubby while he's doing it. Inside there is quite a bit of picking up and rearranging we need to do in order to accommodate our Christmas Tree. That is going to get done this weekend come H*** or high water. This Christmas is going to be me making it a good, fun, exciting and memorable time for the kids, which means I need to get off my duff and do it. Does anyone remember the Beverly Cleary Ralph S. Mouse series? Mouse and the Motorcycle etc...? I got the three books for Kiddo for Christmas. I know they're still a bit too advanced for his actual stage of reading ability, but I think he'll really enjoy them. I plan to read these to him a little bit as often as I can. His reading ability, though, is skyrocketing! I'm SO extremely proud of him. He actually was able to check a book out of the library at school this week and when he got home, he read the entire thing to me - with no help. When I asked him if he'd read it before he said, "No. It just looked interesting so I got it." It was about bears. He amazes me. Little Bit, ever the Diva, woke up from a nap yesterday hungry. But, rather than say, "I'm hungry!" or "I want a snack!" (which she is perfectly capable of doing) she simply stood there and cried. Big, fat, wet tears. Snot. The whole shebang. Finally, after Hubby and I got her ready, she, Kiddo and I went out to eat. After food she was much more cooperative and happy. Then we went to Wally-World to get a few things. They wanted to pick out a gift for their baby cousin (Who turns 1 today, by the way! Happy Birthday Baby Cousin! We love you!) for Christmas. So we went up and down all the toy aisles and the kids were SO good! They didn't once ask for something for themselves. They kept saying things like, "No - she's too little for that." or "No, that's a toy for a boy!" They finally decided on one of those wooden puzzles with animal cut outs on the front and a fat knob for babies to grasp? Kind of a match the piece to the picture thing. They were very proud of their decision and I was very proud that they worked together and agreed on something for someone else without arguments. Anyway - I guess that's about it! Have a great weekend! TTFN JMS

Oh...just stuff today. Nothin' special.

2009-12-03T10:22:00.003-05:00

Do you know those people who do all the funky things with keyboard characters? Example (albeit a really super bad one) ...**^**...**^**... Ayup...that was really bad. Anyway - some people make these really exotic swirls and complicated loops, tall hills and deep valleys - all using just keyboard characters!!! AND I CANNOT FIGURE OUT HOW THEY DO IT! Who in the world has that much time!? Phew. Ok. Now I've gotten that outta my system. What's new in your world today? I'm really looking for some interaction here, folks! Does anyone even read my blog anymore? Sigh. Feelin' cyber-lonely! TTFN JMS

Small Joys

2009-12-02T12:44:00.003-05:00

♥ the first sip of an ice cold Coke ♥ a fluffy bathrobe, warm, right out of the dryer ♥ a freshly made bed with no wrinkles ♥ "Mommy's home!" said with as much excitement and happiness that a 5 and a 2 year old can muster. ♥ a small space heater on cold toes under the desk ♥ finding $$ in a pocket of a pair of pants you haven't worn in a while ♥ getting on the scale thinking you'll be depressed again, only to find that you've lost a couple of pounds ♥ brownies ♥ an Etsy sale (Ha! - had to throw that one in, because it IS a joy...) ♥ Light & Writing's Blog: http://lightandwriting.blogspot.com ♥ watching my children sleep ♥ a hot bath and a good book These are just a few of mine. What are your small joys? TTFN JMS

Thankgiving to Christmas: Call me a Non-Depressed Mommy!

2009-12-01T15:07:00.002-05:00

You know what I'm going to do tonight? I'm going to eat wonderful turkey dinner leftovers from last night (Hubby fried a turkey last night because he didn't get to do it on Thursday for Thanksgiving...), cranberry salad, sweet potato casserole etc... YUM! Then know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna clean up and rearrange the living room so we can accommodate our Christmas Tree! I want to find a fresh, real wreath for the front door... Hmmm...I can almost smell those spruce cuttings now! (Speaking of smelling stuff...I keep getting a whiff of wintergreen mint in the hallway at my office. It's driving me nuts because I cannot figure out where it's coming from!) Hubby is working late tonight, so I thought that the kids and I could put on some loud and jazzy Christmas music and go to town. They'll probably dance and run around while I do the work, but I'm sure they'll want to help some... Anyway - I'm actually looking forward to Christmas this year. Usually it's a very difficult time for me and I get horribly depressed. But Hubby said something the other day that was like the proverbial slap in the face (he did NOT, repeat NOT actually slap me). He said, "Just remember, it's for the kids." And he's right. So this year, I will be all about the kids, making sure Christmas is fun for them and that they have a happy, non-depressed mommy. I guess I just need to start thinking about some gifts so there's something under the tree on Christmas morning, eh? TTFN JMS PS: WOW! I just re-read that post. Boy, was it random or what?

Creativity Display

2009-11-30T07:57:00.005-05:00

So I've spent a lot of time (well...not TOO much time) lately working on various jewelry projects. Yes, I've done a couple new button rings...but really only two or three. Mostly, I've been working on necklaces, earrings and bracelets

I thought I'd take a minute to share with you some of my newest creations. Visit http://jshell73.etsy.com/ or click on the link under each photo to see the listings!

Caramel Delight - Stacked Button Ring

Bold -n- Beautiful - Necklace

Chaos - Necklace

Sea Foam - Necklace

Sea Foam - Earrings

TTFN JMS

Random Things - Item of the Week

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Click graphic to be taken directly to the Etsy listing!

TTFN JMS

I'm thankful for...

2009-11-25T07:17:00.003-05:00

This is the time of year when folks actually take the time to count their blessings; actively think about the things they are thankful for. This is a time for family togetherness and good feelings and good friends and good food. Tomorrow, almost everyone in the country will participate in "The Great Feast" - then most likely everyone will take a long nap after gorging themselves on turkey (why oh why do I always want to put an "H" in the word Turkey? Thurkey? What is that? Moving on...) and stuffing (or dressing, as it's called here in the South) and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole and on and on and on. Oh, I'm drooling already just thinking of it! This year, we have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with friends here in town and I'm SO excited I can hardly stand it. She said to me, "We're thankful for our friends..." when we were talking about heading that way for roast bird. It nearly made me cry then and it is threatening to make me cry now. Why did we not make the trip "North" to visit Hubby's family for the annual multi-generational gathering to celebrate the Day of Thanks? Because I only have one day off and it is just not enough time for an up and back trip in one day. I'm disappointed, but then again, we're having our Annual Family Christmas on December 19th - so we'll get to see them soon. Anyway - I do have a point, and it is this... I am thankful for:

my son, who is so smart and incredible and sweet and...and...well, just wonderful. I adore him so much I cannot even put it into words. He's reading, and doing so well he barely needs help, except when he decides he's just not into it and would rather you just read for him. He draws awesome pictures and when he colors, he is meticulous about staying in the lines. He doesn't pick up his room or put away his clothes or rarely does he actually listen to what we tell him - but right now, I don't care. He's my buddy, my friend, and my love.
my daughter, who is also super smart, but mostly right now she's just a princess. A diva. A beautiful little blonde-haired, blue-eyed sweetie who gives butterfly kisses, Eskimo kisses and sloppy wet kisses and hugs that could break your heart with the amount of love she puts into them. Who says, "Ok, I'll get up - after I'm done sleeping." At 2 1/2 years old....she's a woman after my own heart. Who wants her soft blankie just-so, and her fluffy blanket tucked all around her, and her Dora comforter up to her neck. Oh, and I cannot forget to kiss bunny and Curly Shirley - the comfort toys she cannot sleep without. I so adore every little thing about her - even with the attitude!
my husband, who is always there. I feel like I should say more - but I don't think it's necessary. He's there. He's not out somewhere else doing God only knows what, but he's home, with me. He's my love, my life, my friend and my future.
my job. Though it may be the most difficult job I've had to-date, I'm thankful for it.
friends who think enough of us to ask us over for dinner again and again, though we, ourselves, rarely entertain.
the ability to be creative enough to make Christmas presents this year and have some guarantee that they'll be well received rather than dumped in a drawer to collect dust when I'm not looking.

What are you thankful for this year?

TTFN JMS

Feelers...

2009-11-20T13:41:00.004-05:00

I'm puttin' feelers out there. I'm looking for a bunk bed for Kiddo, and I'm pretty specific about what I want, so I thought I'd see if there is anyone out there (those who regularly read my blog, and maybe those who stumble across it) who knows where I can find a good, yet inexpensive, bunk bed. I want a wooden, twin-on-top bunk, with a desk underneath and STAIRS rather than a ladder. Meaning, it does not need to sleep 2 (one up and one down), but rather have that space underneath utilized for a desk - I guess they call it a loft bed. I don't want a ladder because I'm uncomfortable with Kiddo going up and down in the middle of the night when we're all asleep. Granted, I'm sure he could probably handle it, but I'm not sure I could. Anyway - used is fine, as long as it is in good condition - but I'm striking out on Craig's List. See - I found almost the perfect bunk bed for his room, but it's $2000.00!!! I'm not willing or able to pay that right now. Though, yes, I'm drooling over it. Actually, the one I want has a ladder. Somehow, I cannot seem to find the entire coveted combination: twin loft bed, desk, stairs and NO 2nd sleeping location. Although I guess a 2nd sleeping location wouldn't hurt; visitors, you know. Hmm... So, if you have any feedback for me, or leads...will you drop me a line or leave me a comment? I know this is an unusual post - but, ah well. Thanks a bunch! TTFN JMS

Random Things: Item of the Week

2009-11-12T07:41:00.003-05:00

Click on the graphic for more details.

TTFN JMS

Now I'm Gobsmacked!

2009-11-11T12:38:00.002-05:00

Aw, shoot...now I'm gonna have to make more button rings! Such a shame. I mean, everybody knows it's something I absolutely hate...right? OK - can you hear the sarcasm dripping off those words? LOL! The first ring I sold after renewing some expired items arrived at its destination yesterday and the buyer (bless her) loved it so much she went back and bought 3 more! As UB says, now I'm more than flabbergasted, I'm gobsmacked! (Brit-speak for being smacked in the mouth, or "gob".) LOL! Anyway - just thought I'd share! I mean, any excuse to drag out the ol' craft stuff again, eh? TTFN JMS PS: It's Veteran's Day today - to find the nearest vet and give him (or her) a hug and thank them for their service!

Little Bit, Kiddo, and Hand-Me-Down Clothes...

2009-11-10T14:04:00.003-05:00

So my Little Bit still has a temp. Well, not right at the moment, but when she woke us up at 3AM it was 101.4. She's exhibiting no other signs of any kind of illness except for the initial upchucking (and even then, it was just a tiny bit). She doesn't have a runny nose, she isn't having difficulty breathing, her lungs sound clear to me (and I'm an expert...honest. If 30+ years with asthma and bronchial issues doesn't make you an expert, I don't know what will!) and she's not tugging at her ears. Can she possibly be teething at 2 1/2? That was suggested to me, but I can't see how teething can bring a 101.4 degree fever along with it. Maybe that's just me. Anyway - she's really doing OK. She's not floppy and lethargic anymore like she was the first day and seems to be her usual self otherwise. Kiddo has been doing GREAT at school! He didn't get any checks at all last week (did I mention this already?) and he didn't get any checks yesterday, either. His behavior at home, however, definitely leaves something to be desired. I think he and I are going to spend some quality time together tonight going through all of his clothes making sure what he has still fits him and if not, we'll give it to our friend little boy (who is just a few months younger than Little Bit right now. I'm sure they'd love to have them. Plus, they were the ones that gave us bins and bins full of girl clothes when Little Bit came along - so now maybe we can return the favor! Anyway - Kiddo was just given 3 bags of boy clothes from another friend, so after we figure out where we are with what he has, we'll start weeding through the new stuff. I love how kids clothes get passed around through families and friends. It's such a nice thing to be able to fill a need and/or have a need filled - especially for your children. And one final note before I leave off for the day: I just added something new to My Etsy Shop! I really like it because it's simple, yet useful and quite pretty, too - IMHO. TTFN JMS

Follow up to "I'm Flabbergasted" (a.k.a. the last post...ya know, the one just below this one.)

2009-11-08T21:43:00.002-05:00

I spent the entire day taking care of my sick little girl. She really did OK for most of the late morning and early afternoon, but come late afternoon early evening, her fever came back. Low-grade, but still elevated. She either gets really super grouchy or super lethargic when she's sick even a little bit, so she was quite floppy today and needed a large amount of hugs and kisses - which, of course, I was happy to give. She'll be OK...it's nothing major, I don't think - but we'll keep watching and if I think a doctor visit is in order, we'll go - insurance or no insurance! Kiddo spent most of the day with Hubby. Church this morning (he sat through the entire service and was extremely well-behaved, so I'm told) and then later this afternoon Hubby and the Chancel Choir from our church went to another church for the annual choir concert. I went last year (or maybe it was the year before), and it was an awesome experience. Hubby said, though, that if I had gone this year, I would have most likely needed an entire box of tissues. (I tend to cry if music of any kind is involved - it is a very emotional thing for me.) Then Kiddo and I went to the grocery store and to get something for all of us to eat - and then we had our Sunday night ritual (such as it is) which includes America's Funniest Videos and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Little Bit goes to bed after the videos and Kiddo hits pillow after the makeover show. I just logged into my email about 30 minutes ago to see if anything interesting was happening that I needed to know about and wouldn't you know it, I'd had ANOTHER sale on Etsy! Again from someone I do not know. I'm floored by this because I've been basically inactive on Etsy for 4 months and then I go and reactivate some listings and BAM! It's like I'm suddenly the popular kid in high school. Anyway - quite happy about the sale, but will be even more happy when my Little Bit gets better. TTFN JMS

I'm Flabbergasted! (Wait...did I spell that right?)

2009-11-06T07:57:00.002-05:00

I recently became re-acquainted with an online friend. We'd both been going through some life changes (you know, me with my job and she...well...I'm really not comfortable divulging her issues, but she was definitely in deep) and were just now able to reconnect. Ah...the wonders of FaceBook! (HA HA!) Anyway - We briefly discussed our Etsy shops and I mentioned that I'd been thinking about closing mine, but then decided not to. Last night, I spent about 15 minutes renewing several expired listings at My Shop and much to my surprise, I had a sale! I'm guessing the sale had to have happened minutes after I renewed the item, but needless to say, it flabbergasted me! How cool, eh? I think Kiddo and I will spend some quality time together (with help from Little Bit, too, of course) getting the item packaged and ready to send to my newest (and completely unknown) customer! What a boost! I feel great! Almost enough to start crafting again... My only hesitation is the fact that I really don't have anywhere to craft if I don't do it at the dining room table - and I think after the mess that was just cleaned up by my sweet and helpful hubby, he would be none-to-pleased with that. We'll see. TTFN JMS

It's All Good!

2009-11-05T08:04:00.003-05:00

Ah...life is good. 1) I'm employed. I'm supporting my family in the best way I know how. 2) My son is the sweetest little guy every in the world. No real reason prompting that statement...he just is. He is also getting VERY good at BEING good. At school, that is. (LOL!) He's gone 3 whole days with no "check" marks! He's very happy about it and I think the good feeling will carry him through Thursday and Friday, too. My sweet little man woke up early today and said, "Mom, before you leave for work, will you please help me pick out my clothes for school today? We forgot to do it last night." So now he's comfortably dressed in jeans, a long-sleeve collared shirt with a white stripe across the chest and his favorite Transformer light-up sneakers. He even let me cuddle with him for a few minutes without squirming to be let down. 3) Little Bit woke up this morning with a completely dry diaper! YAY! The potty training is finally taking shape! Phew! But those who have never potty trained a child don't realize just how difficulty it can be. Also, my sweet baby girl is just the sweetest, too. Again...she just is. 4) Our Baby Nalla (the dog, for those who don't know) is recovering nicely from her illness - which was a combination of several things that combined to make her lose almost 20lbs, lose most of her fur, and basically look like she was an abused and neglected urchin. She is not abused nor was she neglected - and she's FINALLY over the hump and on the road to recovery. Even her attitude is happier, which is great to see! She actually wagged her tail and smiled at me yesterday! (Yes, she smiles...goofy thing.) 5) I'm feeling the urge to craft again, but I don't want to pull everything out and make a huge mess of the living room all over again. Especially after Hubby pulled out all the stops to get it picked up! I'm feeling glad I haven't closed my Etsy shop, because maybe...just maybe...some new stuff will wind up there in the near future! I have some really great broken, natural shells that we found in St. Augustine, FL, that are just BEGGING to be made into something! Anyway - I guess I'm done for now. There's plenty more where that came from, though - so I guess you can expect to hear from me again in the very near future! Wow! Two posts, two days in a row! TTFN JMS

Playing Catch Up

2009-11-04T09:15:00.002-05:00

OMG!!! It's been over a month since I posted anything! No wonder I'm feeling so desperate to write something! But, since I'm severely pressed for time right now, I'll do the ol' bullet-point list...just to cover the basics. If you see anything you want me to elaborate on, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'll do my best!

October was my birthday month. The 16th. It was a very nice day, even though I worked all day! I got a new cell phone! YAY! Good-bye TracFone!
My friend SW visited from New York and I got to spend some time with her. Granted, it wasn't quality time - but I am so glad she decided, on a whim (very un SW-like) to buy a plane ticket and come for a visit. It was really, really good to see her!
I'm still employed. My job is amazingly busy, which seems to account for my lack of posting to my blog, but I do really like it. Except for the whole having-to-process-payroll-and-be-responsible-for-other-people's-money thing. That, I could do without. Otherwise, it's a great job and I'm very blessed.
We went on vacation during the last week of Oct. We visited St. Augustine, FL and had a fabulous time. I actually even got to spend a couple of days with my little sister, HB, who lives about an hour south of St. Augustine in Daytona Beach. It was SUCH an amazing thing to get to talk to her, face-to-face, and actually learn more about her as an adult! The last time I saw her, she was 19 and in my wedding! That was over 9 years ago! It was almost 12 before that. Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle in Maryland (no AC/UB, the other ones...sorry) for providing the beautiful condo we stayed in!
Kiddo got his very first soccer trophy on Monday. He was SO excited he could hardly stand himself! He wanted to carry it around with him, but I had to convince him of just how upset he'd be if he accidentally dropped and broke it. He conceded, and allowed me to put it up on a shelf where he could admire it from afar. Way to go, my little guy. I'm VERY proud of you!
Little Bit is becoming the little fashionista. She really likes to pick her own clothes and has definite opinions of what she will and will not wear. It's really pretty funny.
Oh, and we missed Halloween this year because we were traveling back from Florida. Kiddo and Little Bit seem only slightly upset by this...and are already thinking about costumes for next year. Frankly, though, I'm glad I didn't have to worry about it this year!

Anyway - that's about it for now. I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from, but again...time is a-wastin'!

TTFN JMS

A dream... It was only a dream.

2009-10-01T07:31:00.003-04:00

I had a strange, disturbing and almost scary dream last night that I am having trouble letting go of. It started that I was at my best friend's wedding (not someone I know or recognize from the waking world). It was in an auditorium, kind of like a high-school auditorium, with a stage, curtains and seating, only the walls were a bright yellow and the hardwood was a light, and beautiful, shiny wood. I was out in the very back seat, waiting for instructions because my friend had asked me to be part of her wedding. I was not there in a bride's maid or maid-of-honor capacity, but I just had this feeling that whatever it was she wanted me to do would be super special. (I should have had my clue there, right? I mean, I thought if this person as my best friend, yet I was not a bride's maid or maid of honor? A little thought provoking in and of itself, eh?) Anyway - all of the sudden, the lights went low and everyone got silent and then out onto the stage came the entire wedding party. No procession, no preamble, nothing...just "Oh lookie. There they all are." I remember being very hurt and turning to my seat neighbor (again, don't know who that was) and saying, "I just knew something like this would happen. She doesn't care about me. She could care less that I'm here to help her or that she asked me to be here!" And with that, I grabbed my backpack (yes...backpack) and stormed out of the auditorium, making sure to make enough noise so as to disturb the happy little group of folks on stage. Ok. So now I'm outside and, with the magic of dreams, am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt - but I still have the backpack. I'm making my way across a darkening parking lot (sun going down) and as I come upon my little burgundy Toyota Corolla (yes, the car I drive in the waking world) I notice the front driver's side door is open. I'm curious rather than scared at this point, but I cautiously open the door all the way and peek inside the car. I look behind the seats to make sure no one is hiding there and then I see a graying head on the far side of the car by the gas cover. I holler, "HEY! What the **** do you think you're doing?" The dude pops his head up and looks shocked to have been caught. Hmmm...had he really not heard me stomping, ticked off, across the parking lot in my heels? (The heels had vanished by this point, too.) Brave, I stormed around to the other side of the car, thinking I'd use the steam from the anger at having been humiliated at the high school auditorium wedding. I got right in this guy's face and demanded he tell me what he was doing. Not a young guy, but not old, either - he was probably in his mid to late fifties with graying hair. Otherwise, he had a somewhat forgettable face...so his features didn't stand out enough to remember. He said some lame thing about testing the gas in my tank, and waved his hand in the direction of a bunch of little bottles and test trips that I'd missed seeing during my angry trip around the back of the car to confront the guy. I wasn't buying it and then, suddenly, I got scared. REALLY and truly scared. I guess my self-protection instinct started kicking in, and I began backing away but by then it was too late. He grabbed me by the upper arm, and dragged me off. The next thing I remember is that I'm in this big, but old-feeling house, with lots of white-washed walls and paneled rooms. There is a phone in my hand and I'm desperately trying to call Hubby (yes, Hubby from my real life) but for some reason I cannot get the numbers to punch in right and I keep making wrong number calls. Finally, though - I get the number punched in right and he answers. He's abrupt and asks if he can call me right back, but I SOB at him, "NO! Don't hang up. Pleeeeaaaassseeeee don't hang up, I neeeeeeeeed you. I'm stuck. I'm in trouble. I don't know where I am but I think I've been kidnapped!" I remember at this point I looked outside and I could see the guy and two kids (older kids, like teenagers) loading stuff into the back of a truck with a camper cover, using one of those sliding things that sets up at loading docks with all the wheels on it. You know, the things that make sliding heavy or big packages really easy? I don't know what they're called. I knew at that point that I was getting ready to be loaded into a big box and then loaded into the back of that truck.... ...But then Hubby's alarm went off (in real life) and he rolled over and said, "If you're going to take a shower don't you think you should be getting up now?" I'm still shaken up. TTFN JMS

Kiddo, Little Bit & Baby Nalla

2009-09-30T14:45:00.003-04:00

Kiddo has had a pretty good week...so far. I have yet to hear what his day was like today, but according to him, he's gotten "none checks" for his behavior this week. This is a very, very good thing. Looks like we might just have figured out the trick to convincing him that good behavior, especially at school and when out in public, is vital. Especially if he wants to stay alive! (JOKE! That was a JOKE!) Little Bit is doing well, too. She LOVES he school and talks constantly about this friend or that friend. She's such a sweet and loving little thing. On Sunday, NM came by with a bag of clothes for Little Bit that had been NM's daughter's. You know, the whole "don't-fit-my-child-anymore-so-pass-them-to-someone-who-needs-them" thing... I LOVE hand-me-downs for my kids. I mean that. And when we're done with them, unless the person who gave them to us needs them back, we pass them along to someone else who needs them. Pay it forward! Anyway - she and I were going through the cute and colorful girl clothes from NM and Little Bit kept hugging everything and proclaiming, "I love it so much! It's so pretty!" or "Oooohhh! Thank you! It's my favorite shirt ever!" And so on. She was so enthusiastic, it was almost funny...in a sweet and endearing way. My kids are the greatest! They make me laugh daily. And there's nothing better than coming home to "MOMMY'S HOME!" and great big hugs and kisses. Baby Nalla - the dog - had surgery on Monday. Sunday Hubby noticed that her right ear looked kind of strange. For a dog who's ears normally stick straight up, to have one flopping over was strange. He touched it and then made me touch it, too! It was all puffy and felt like someone had pumped the ear flap full of air; like a balloon. It was awful! I squeeled and jumped away, knowing I'd have nightmares. But poor Baby Nalla! It turns out, after a visit to the vet on Monday, that it was an Aural Hematoma, which required surgery to relieve the swelling and prevent infection. For a dog who is already dealing with a hyper-allergic reaction to flea bites (an ongoing, and might-I-say, supremely irritating battle) and doesn't have any hair from the waist down and is already suffering, to have to send her back to the "hospital" for surgery was just more than I could bear. I worried and worried about her all day Monday, hoping that she'd come through the surgery OK. She's an old dog, and and I was worried she might have issues with the anesthesia. Anyway - she's home now, and she's pathetic. The enormous E-Collar, to prevent her from scratching at her ear, is ridiculously funny, but necessary. We're supposed to keep it on her for 14 days post-surgery, until we go back to have the stitches removed. She's going to have a quilted looking, puckered ear from now on, from all the stitching they had to do. She's on 2 antibiotics, a pain killer (how, pray tell, do you tell if a dog is in pain?), and a bazillion other things. She HATES the collar. She shakes and shakes - but how do you tell a dog that 1) shaking isn't going to help either get the collar off OR help her hear and 2) that the more she shakes, the more irritating it's going to be? She's funny, though - trying to get around the house without bumping into stuff and getting stuck. We'd take it off of her while she was trying to eat, except for the fact that we'd NEVER get it back on her. Do you know how complicated those things are? Anyway - say a few prayers for our puppy dog. She's in seriously bad shape and in need of some lovin'. TTFN JMS

Quick Update

2009-09-23T12:43:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling kind of burned out right now. There's SO much to do and I barely have time to breathe anymore much less write in my beloved blog regularly. Oh, it's so neglected. I feel like such a bad mommy. Quick Update - before I have to run again...

Kiddo is learning to read. His teacher sent home a pack of little flash cards with "sight" words on them. ("a" "can" "the" "to" "like" "I") She made them herself and there are only 6 right now, but she's supposed to add a couple each week throughout the year. I'm supposed to quiz him every night on the words to make sure he's got them - and he's does, most definitely, have them. Kiddo and I also made little posters of the words and stuck them to his wall so he can see them every day. We'll add more when the teacher adds more.
Little Bit is potty training and doing very well. She's got a bit of a head-cold right now, but otherwise doing fine.
Hubby and I just celebrated or 9th Wedding Anniversary on September 16th. He sent me flowers at work, the sweet man.
We're in the market for another car...again. My Toyota is being crotchety so we're looking to replace it. No real rush, but I'll feel much better when we make a decision.

That's really about it right now. Hope everybody is well!

TTFN JMS

Kiddo and Divine Intervention

2009-09-15T08:26:00.005-04:00

OK - so it's been A LONG time since I posted anything of significance. I'm making no guarantees that this post will be significant...so proceed with caution. If you know me, this post could go either way - be a long rambling nothing about everything or a short snippet of something about something...whatever that "something" may be. Confused yet? LOL! **** Kiddo is still playing soccer and loving every second of it. He had a substitute coach last night who told me, "[Kiddo] is a real go-getter; he does a great job!" He's the smallest one on the team and everyone seems shocked when they find out that he's 5 1/2. "He's so small!" they exclaim. It really pisses me off. Yes - he is a little on the small side, but I know he's growing because he cannot wear the pants he wore just last winter! 2 inches of his ankle stick out the bottom and he looks goofy! I know he's growing because he's as tall now as our friend's almost-4-year-old daughter. Of course, she is quite tall for her age - but he's definitely caught up to her height. I measured (visually) on Sunday when we all had lunch together after church. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with him aside from being a little bit on the short side. And you know what? My little brother was a bit on the short side, too - and now he's 6' 2"!!! I have always been rail thin (until I got a secretarial job, got married, and had a couple-a-kids, that is) but Kiddo is a carbon-copy of me at that age. He looks like his daddy - but he's A LOT like me. So why does it tick me off so much when people who don't know us from Adam comment on how small he is? Because who cares how small he is!!! He's extremely smart, his vocabulary surpasses many high-schooler's these days, and he can run, jump and play with the best of them. These people should not have the power to anger me so badly - but they do. I want to whip around to face them and say, "Yeah? So what? He may be a bit on the small side, but I'll bet he could out think your child! You know - you have absolutely NO idea why he is the way he is and I'd also bet you have no idea how RUDE it is to comment on other's children. Oh yeah, and by the way - stop feeding your child junk food! She's too fat!" Ok - I've vented. That is directed to no one in particular, honestly - but those are some things I would so very much like to say to the next parent who comments on my son's smallness. Go ahead. I dare you! **** On another subject - I really, really like my new job! I heard a report on the radio the other day about the 15 million folks who are unemployed right now, some of whom have been unemployed since late last year, and I am considering myself extremely lucky, extremely blessed, to have not only found a job in about 3.5 weeks (how awesome is that?), but a job I like a lot. I was talking to someone the other day who credited me for that, saying that my skills and abilities must really have shone true in my interview. I will not take credit for it. Ok, maybe just a tiny bit - but really I credit God for this. I believe with all my heart that my finding this particular job, when I did, and as quickly as I did, was nothing less that Divine Intervention. I also believe - now that I'm passed being shocked and upset and angry - that losing my previous job was all part of His plan. The basic time line, as I understand it is something like this:

I lost my job on July 15th
I started looking in earnest the same day, not willing to sit back and wait - I needed to DO something and, after all, God helps those who help themselves.
A day later (according to very reliable sources) the Office Manager at the company I now work for was let go for multiple reasons, not the least of which being the fact that she had whittled her days down to 2 a week and this is definitely not a 2-day-a-week job!
The day after that, a friend at church emailed me and asked me to send her my resume stating that her husband wanted to give it to a friend. That friend turned out to be my new boss.
So about 3 weeks after emailing my resume to this friend, I get a call from my new boss asking me to come in for an interview.
I interviewed on a Wednesday and was called on Friday with a job offer.

Divine?

Absolutely!

What do you think?

TTFN JMS

Soccer

2009-08-26T10:01:00.003-04:00

Did I tell you about Kiddo's first soccer practice on Monday? No? Well then...let the venting begin, shall we? **** To begin at the beginning, Kiddo had his first soccer practice this past Monday. He really had forgotten about it and I didn't say anything to him because I knew that if I did, he'd be too excited to eat a decent dinner. But, I suppose I need to start even before that... We signed him up nearly a month ago and were told then that we would be informed as to when and where our first practice would be and who our coach was. Tick...tick...tick. Nothing. So the day of the first practice comes (and I only knew the date because I picked up a flyer when I signed Kiddo up that had the meeting schedule for the AYSO figureheads) and still no word from them about where we needed to be and when. Finally, around 4PM when I was leaving work, I decided to try to call them...again. And as I was nearing home I got a call back from someone who apologized profusely that we had not been contacted, but stated that we were not the only family who was dealing with this lack of knowledge. She told me to be at one of the local elementary schools at 6PM and that the children were not required to wear their uniform, but that the cleats and shin-guards were vital. (Duh!) So we do our part and show up on time, with gear in tow and water out the wazoo... And we wait around, greeting the other moms and dads and kids we know and trying to find the coach. Guess what? The coach we were assigned to never showed up! Thankfully, one of the other coaches kindly offered to absorb the kids on our team who otherwise would not have been able to play. Kiddo had a great time, and never knew that anything was amiss. He kind of got a hint that we might have to go home and not play if the coach didn't show, but then the other coach took him under her wing and let him play with her. Crisis averted. I did, however, make another call to the woman I'd called earlier that day and voiced my intense displeasure (as kindly as I possibly could, because it was not her fault the coach didn't show) and requested that she please call me back as soon as possible. She called back just after 8PM and said again how sorry she was but that they were trying to track down the no-show coach and figure out what happened. Apparently all the AYSO big-wigs had meetings upon meetings that afternoon after they were alerted (by my call) to the fact that the coach was MIA. So later we find out that this coach had been called away on business last minute. What? It was so last minute that he couldn't make ONE phone call to let the AYSO know that he wouldn't be there so they could make other arrangements? Guess not. What have we learned from all this? 1) We know that our coach is a flake (maybe) 2) Our practices are every Monday at 6PM all the way across town 3) Kiddo is going to have an absolute BLAST playing soccer 4) Whatever hassles there may be, Kiddo having a blast playing soccer is the most important thing. After all, that's the whole point, isn't it? TTFN JMS

The Weekend Recap

2009-08-24T13:07:00.002-04:00

Little Bit had a rough afternoon on Friday. The copious amounts of fruit she ate that morning at breakfast didn't agree with her, and while riding around in the car with me and Kiddo (of course, it would have to be in the car) everything came back up. YUM! We were already almost home when it happened so she sat quietly (I couldn't believe it) until I could clean her up once we reached home. Inside, she got a bath and the car seat got a preliminary scrubbing but not a full-out wash because I knew I'd have to use the seat again before Hubby got home and there wasn't time to run it through the washing machine and let it dry. She didn't have a fever and was otherwise acting fine, so I thought, "One-time thing... Probably something didn't agree with her," although I was monitoring her closely. About an hour or so later, we got back in the car to take Kiddo to church. She did it AGAIN! Twice! I had to call Hubby to come rescue us so Kiddo could get to where he was going and I could go back home and give Little Bit ANOTHER bath! We weren't going anywhere at this point so I just put her in her Jammies and we snuggled in my bed and watched WonderPets. (A friend said that the WonderPets have great healing power!) She fell asleep early and slept all night. Saturday, she was completely herself and ate like she'd been starved for 3 days! She never had a fever, she just felt kind of yucky. It's amazing how needy they are when they don't feel well, and how blasted independent they are when they feel fine! Sunday was church and then later in the day, dinner with friends we hadn't seen in about 6 years! Their two kids, our two, and the son of two more friends all had a great time. 5 kids ranging from 2 years to 5 years and 7 adults. It was chaotic, but a very nice evening. It was after 8PM by the time we got home! I couldn't believe we'd stayed so long. Hope everyone's weekend was as wonderful as mine. (Oh, except for the puking! That was sarcasm!) TTFN JMS

More work stuff

2009-08-21T10:22:00.003-04:00

It's somewhat quiet here today. Don't get me wrong, I'm still crazy busy - but less-so than the rest of the week. Hubby and Little Bit came to the office this morning after they dropped off Kiddo at Kindergarten. They brought me a clock that belonged to CD before he died. It's silver and glass and looks great in my office. It's nice to have a clock that reflects an accurate time! :) They got to meet 2 of my bosses and one of them, the President of the company, disappeared in to his office and reappeared seconds later with a big zippy bag full of balloon animal balloons! He asked Little Bit what color she wanted (of course, she chose pink...she's such a princess!) and then -ZIP!- there was suddenly a pretty little balloon french poodle! So cool! She was very excited about her new "toy" and it was a fantastic first impression. Then Hubby and the Operations Manager spent a little time talking about me (all good...thank you very much!) and then everybody went back to work or, in Hubby and Little Bit's case, whatever they were doing before they came to see me. Anyway - I'm beginning to make myself at home at the office. I'm getting everyone's names down quite well, have mostly figured out the QuickBooks software and am gearing up for a 2nd round of Payroll on Monday. Feelin' good. I've got a picture of Kiddo and Little Bit on my desktop (the computer screen, that is) and another one of them on one of the shelves. I've swept, dusted, cleaned and organized. All this on top of the regular work they've had me doing. So I guess that's it for now. I feel very blessed right now. TTFN JMS

Deets on new job!

2009-08-20T12:54:00.003-04:00

Ok - so you want details, eh? **** I got this job because a friend from church gave my resume to a friend of his. His friend called me, requested an interview, and the rest is history. I half wonder if they weren't afraid of losing me to another company because after my 2.5 hour interview on a Wednesday, one of the 3 folks I interviewed with said, "You can expect to hear from us in a week or two..." I heard from them on Friday. You cannot imagine my excitement and relief when I answered the phone to hear my new boss say, "When can you start?" Anyway - I am the Office Manager and my duties include things like Accounts Payable & Receivable, Payroll, and general office support. So far, I'm learning...and it's A LOT of information to take in...but I really like it and think that after a couple of weeks of this, I'll be just fine. It feels strange to be responsible for other's paychecks, but since I do have some familiarity with the process, it's just a question of learning THIS way. I really like everyone I work with and for and...this shocks me for some reason...I have my own office! Granted, it's kind of a walk through to the reception area where the office supplies and the fax machine are...but I don't care. I've got a HUGE window and there's a little bitty Hummingbird that comes to visit me each morning. He flies up to the window and looks at himself in the reflection of the glass. Then, once he's satisfied he's still beautiful, he flies away. I see him a few more times during the day because there are two lovely blooming crepe myrtle trees on either side of my window that he visits. I made a comment to one of my new bosses that I was going to get a shepherd's hook and a hummingbird feeder and put it right outside my window. His response? "Whatever you want to do!" Well, OK then. Anyway - I'm very busy, which is good. I'm trying to readjust myself to working hours. I've spent too much time over the last few weeks staying up late and sleeping in. Now I'm up and gone by the crack of dawn again. It's amazing how just a few short weeks (it was less than 1 month that I was unemployed. 3.5 weeks until I got a call saying, "Hey - why don't you come work for us?") can really mess with your inner clock/schedule. So that's it for now. I'll write more again soon! Hope all is well out there in blog-land! TTFN JMS

NEW JOB!!!

2009-08-19T12:42:00.001-04:00

I'm gainfully employed!!! YAY! Big sigh of relief. So now that I'm working and back to a semi-regular schedule, maybe I can start posting regularly again! More later, OK? TTFN JMS

Thing 1, Thing 2, Roth IRA & 401(k)

2009-07-30T19:15:00.003-04:00

Thing 1: Forgive me if my typing and/or spelling is atrocious...I whacked my right pinkie finger into the door jamb running for the phone a little while ago and, while I don't think it's broken, it sure hurts like the dickens! One frozen bag of peas and a good taping to the ring finger seems to have lessened the heat a bit...but it sure makes for lousy typing. Of course, I'm terribly particular so I will most likely correct any error I see even if it takes me the rest of the night. Thing 2: I was running for the phone because I am awaiting a call to confirm an interview on Monday!!! I'm very excited about this interview (thanks JB) and really hope this pans out. The woman I spoke to was VERY nice, if that was any indication. This is for a local company that does a lot of environmental clean up work with DOE...so I'm THRILLED! Just say a prayer or 2 for me and think about me at 1:30PM this coming Monday. Other than that, not much else to report. Unless you consider opening a Roth IRA with my 401(k) funds newsworthy... TTFN JMS

Dreary and unproductive day. Am I allowed one every now and then?

2009-07-28T18:26:00.003-04:00

It's a dreary, rainy day and I've been a lazy bum today. I don't really feel well and I'm just tired. I really have been working so hard on finding a job that I forgot to rest. Sleeping, well...I've done quite a lot of sleeping; resting, on the other hand, I have not done. I limited myself to email inquiries and web searches today, rather than dressing up and hitting the pavement. I cancelled that interview at the insurance agency that I was supposed to have tomorrow. After doing some more research and speaking with my Brother-in-Law, it seems that I may have stumbled across something that wasn't all it was cracked up to be, after all. The web was crawling with folks who have had bad experiences with this particular company, either with their sales tactics or their hiring practices. I was not getting the warm-fuzzies from them and, after having a conversation with my BIL today, I decided that it would not be a bad idea to cancel that particular interview. Not only that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was for aggressive sales training and it was all the way downtown - which really is just too far away. I got a phone call today from one of the places that I walked into off the street. A company that is here in town and is quite large. The woman I spoke to was very nice and explained 2 positions to me thoroughly and then told me that both the positions paid around $10.00/hr. I've said this before and I'll say it again: While I'm willing to take a cut, I'm not willing to cut it that far. So she kindly offered to hang on to my resume for another 6 months (I hope it does not take me that long to find a job!) and if anything comes up, she said she'd give me another call. A friend emailed me a job they found online and said, "Found something that sounded 'you'" - and so it was. I immediately applied for this particular position and I am going to keep my fingers crossed because it is nearly identical to the position I just left! And, it's here in town, which would be super-ideal. But I am also going to try really hard not to get too excited. If I do, I'll just be too let down when nothing comes of it. So I guess that's it for today. The kids are doing well. They're finishing a quickly thrown together dinner of chicken fingers and corn and peaches (not all mixed together; God forbid anything touch!) and then I think we'll pile in my bed and watch a movie. TTFN JMS

What's goin' on?

2009-07-27T17:46:00.004-04:00

I got The Letter from the Unemployment Office today. Yay! I do get benefits. Minimal; less than 1/2 of what I was making working full-time; but benefits none-the-less. And very welcome those benefits are. It will at least pay the mortgage. I had a good interview with the temp agency this morning. The woman I spoke with was very sweet, extremely professional, very thorough and I got a much better "vibe" from her than I did from the other place. The position she wanted to discuss with me was an Executive Assistant position, but it did not offer benefits - which is a must-have; a need rather than a want. Hubby, Kiddo, Little Bit and I went canoeing this afternoon for about an hour - in the bright, hot sun. But it was lovely. I did not bring my camera for fear that it would get wet, but we saw a couple deer hanging out by the water's edge and/or in among the trees, some fish, a turtle or two, and a couple dudes in a sweet-looking motor boat out trying to drown some worms. The kids were overheated, Hubby and I were sweaty and also quite warm, so we hit Sonic for a quick bite and something cold to drink. Now the kids are in bed. Well...Little Bit is sound asleep but Kiddo is quietly coloring in an over-sized Diego coloring book in his room. Hubby is out having some quiet/alone time running errands. I've had a shower and feel human again. Oh - and about 20 minutes ago I got a phone call from an insurance company downtown (really - downtown, like more than 30 miles away) and they want to see me on Wednesday morning at 9AM to interview for....well, I'm not really sure what for. But they found my resume on Monster.com (I'm beginning to LOVE Monster.com) and thought I seemed promising. I've done some preliminary research on this company and it seems legit - so I don't think I'm walking into anything I shouldn't be. So wish me luck with that, too! The phone calls, letters, emails and benefits are starting to come in. "They" were right about it taking 2 weeks for anything to really start happening. I think all the prayers, hard work and persistence are starting to pay off. Say some more, will ya? TTFN JMS

Update on Really Rotten Development

2009-07-26T22:44:00.005-04:00

Ok - so I removed the "Really Rotten Development" post a day or so after I had posted it because, since I am, in fact, hunting for a job I can be proud of and one that will be around for a long, long time - I didn't want to run the risk of potential employers reading that post and saying, "Ah...she's too negative for us, let's not hire her." This was suggested to me by a very well-meaning and loving friend, and I took her advice. I was angry when I wrote it and probably should have waited 24 hours or some other amount of time to let the boil settle to a low simmer. That being said, I thought I'd update you on the job hunt: I have applied, either directly to a position that I have seen advertised somewhere, or by sending my resume to companies I've researched online even when I have found no "active" positions, or I've driven around the countryside (almost literally) and physically walked in to companies that look like they may need administrative assistance. I've been online A LOT and have probably applied to about 50 places in the local area. The computer is beginning to recognize me and is starting to get scared every time my fingers hit the home keys; it knows I'm going to bombard it with requests for the next couple of hours. I had one interview (thanks GW) for a place here in town that was looking for a Team Lead, but after spending just a few minutes there with the hiring manager, we both decided that it was not the right position for me. She was very sweet, this hiring manager, and we got along just fine, but we openly discussed what my skills are and she stated, "This is just below the level of what you can do. It's a good job, but it is not one I would like to put you in." Mostly phone work; incoming and outgoing calls for selling insurance. We parted with a smile and she promised to keep me in mind if any administrative positions opened up. I have another interview with a temp agency tomorrow. The woman who called me found my resume on Monster.com and said that she's got an Executive Assistant position she wants to talk to me about. So I'm headed there tomorrow at 11:30 AM. I've already taken all the online assessments they sent and filled out all the applications and skill questionnaires, so hopefully this will be a good meeting. I did meet with another temporary agency the day after I lost my job and though, again, I pre-applied online the day before my meeting and took all the online assessments they sent me, and though I felt the meeting went very well (even if there was not a specific position discussed) I have not heard one single word from them in 10 days. I did call them once about five days after to see if the woman I'd met with had heard anything or could give me any words of wisdom, but she has yet to call me back. I'm starting to wonder... So I'm trying to be as proactive about this job hunt as I possibly can, all the while remembering that God has a plan for me and, though I may not know what that plan is, He has already figured it out. It is very hard for me to remember that, ultimately, I am not in control of this; He is. I can only do so much, and, though my mantra (of sorts) has been, "God helps those who help themselves," my friend BG pointed out that I cannot do it for Him. Sigh. I am not a very patient person so all this is very hard for me. I am not good when I am unemployed. I've enjoyed spending time with my family, but my family is going to suffer if I do not find gainful employment soon. I did, however, file for unemployment. I expect to get a letter from them any day now letting me know if my claim was accepted or not, and I have to get online once a week (on Mondays, it turns out; I thought it was Sundays) to certify that I am actively seeking employment. I don't know what this will entail, but if it is just a list of places to which I have sent a resume, I'm covered. If they want names, dates, positions available and other details like that - I might have a more difficult time because I have not kept track of those. My church has been so wonderful and supportive through all this. I've gotten hugs and pats and words of encouragement from people I didn't even know knew...ya know? So I guess I just need to continue to do what I am doing, which is pounding the literal and figurative pavement, keep praying and keep letting anyone and everyone I know, know...ya know? TTFN JMS

Third Eye...Blind?

2009-07-11T15:45:00.005-04:00

So, I think I have convinced my poor 5 year old son that I actually, in fact, really and truly do have an extra eye in the back of my head. When we're driving in the car and I discipline him for something that I see him do (in the rear-view mirror, of course) he's absolutely amazed. He cannot, for the life of him, figure out how I could have possibly seen what he was doing without turning around to look at him. The concept of mirrors has not really taken hold yet. I mean, he knows what a mirror does - reflects an image of himself back at him - but he doesn't yet understand that I can see him, too. He actually asked me today, "Hey, Mom? Can I see your extra eye?" And when I looked at him funny, he said, "You know, the one at the back of your head?" I almost fell out of my chair for laughing so hard. See, I've been known to say things, while we're driving around, like, "I can't see what you're doing back there because my extra eye is covered by my ponytail today," or "I'm going to be able to see you better now that my hair is shorter in back!" One of these days, I'm just going to have to 'fess up and tell him that there really isn't an extra eye in the back of my head. But for now, I'm having entirely too much fun with this. Oh - and the reason I decided to write about this today is because we were listening to a classic rock station and the song "Crazy on You" by Heart came on. I could see Kiddo going absolutely NUTS in the back seat (through my rear-view mirror) and realized he was trying to play the air guitar! I said, "Buddy - do you want to learn to play the guitar like that?" Kiddo: "Yep. I want to be a rock star, Mom!" 'Nuff said. TTFN JMS

Wow! Three Posts in One Week?

2009-07-10T20:56:00.003-04:00

I've got Little Bit in my bed while I type. She's gotten into the habit of getting out of bed, tip-toeing to her door, opening it as quietly as possible and then standing in the hallway waiting for someone to notice her. She does this repeatedly, every night, and it's starting to get old. I've said, "You get back to bed!" in my harshest Mommy voice possible, but that just sends her skidding toward bed in a mad rush of tears and I really hate it. So now she's hanging out in my room with me while I play on the computer waiting to watch tonight's episode of Numb3rs on CBS. I've got a lot to do this weekend, not the least of which is try to get my bedroom and the bathroom clean, but I also am down to only 4 cards on My Etsy Site and really need to buckle down to make a few more. I've also been commissioned to make a birthday card for Pearl's (almost) 1 year old nephew. And, I need to make another Heart of the Dragonfly card for MDB, who (and I'm not sure of the story here, folks) managed to lose one of the three she just bought from me! (??) And I have 2 new house warming cards to do. All those are not sell-able...just send-able. That's OK by me...but it also means I've got a lot of work ahead of me. YAY! An excuse to craft. Wait! Who needs an excuse? Anyway - I'm having trouble keeping off all that weight I lost. I need to get back to eating my yogurt or oatmeal in the mornings, my grapefruit in the afternoons and then having a sensible dinner. Also, exercise would be beneficial - but I refuse to go to a gym and the weather has just been so darn hot that it's nearly impossible to do anything outside. I HATE...repeat HATE...the heat; especially if it's humid, too. SO I guess that's about it for Friday. I think I did good this week, didn't I? I managed three posts in a 7-day period. That's more than I have done in quite a while. Have a lovely weekend. Think of me tomorrow as I'm slaving away over the house and my projects! Say a little prayer for me, will ya? TTFN JMS

The Next Great American Novel (or, what's been up with Jen)

2009-07-08T09:43:00.001-04:00

Ah...my poor blog is suffering.

I know I've mentioned this before, but it's beginning to really bug me. I mean, this blog has been a near daily part of my life for about five years now (if you can believe it). It was the first thing I did when I came in to work each morning (before my shift started, of course) and now...? Now, I don't know. Do I just not "need" it anymore? That cannot be the case because I constantly think of things that I want to blog about. Does it just not mean as much to me anymore? Maybe, but I'm not sure that's it either.

My honest opinion is that I have just been so busy I haven't had much time to take care of it the way I used to. I work full-time and am constantly busy at the office. When I'm home (and when I haven't been sucked into a game of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook...ugh) I'm taking care of the kids and doing laundry and doing dishes and...and...and... It is a never-ending cycle. I'm down to posting to my blog maybe once or twice a week, as opposed to once or twice a day. I feel like a bad mother who is neglecting one of her children! Ok, Ok...so that's a bad analogy because I would never neglect my actual children and a blog is not a child...but I think you get the picture.

For example, last night after I got home from work, I did dishes, figured out dinner, did laundry, did more dishes, did more laundry; I was still folding laundry at nearly midnight! I'm tired today, but I feel alright.

Cleaning up Kiddo's and Little Bit's rooms has inspired me to do a deep cleaning of the entire house. I thought my project last night was going to be the bathroom, but instead I did other things. Still, I was productive, which is a good thing because I could just as easily (and maybe even more easily) have plunked my butt down on the sofa and done absolutely nothing.

I did, however, watch the series premiere of Warehouse 13 on SyFy (does anyone know why they changed it from SiFi to SyFy, btw?) which was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to watching more episodes. I hope it isn't like Moonlight, which I also loved, that only ran one season and then got cut. Of course, while I was watching this, I would jump up to fold laundry during the commercials and during the show I sorted out some great vintage buttons my cousin in Michigan sent to me. (I can't wait to use some of them; they're awesome!)

And on top of this, I've been fielding doctor's appointments for the kids, trying to find an apartment or condo for SM so she can move here from Greenville, SC, helping out within the church where I can, and doing a million other things. Just a typical full-time working mother with a husband, a house, and responsibilities, I suppose.

Sometimes I wonder, "Will it ever end?" Sometimes I'm so tired I can barely function - but I think I may have found a solution to some of that exhaustion. My doctor and I discussed my medications at length this last time I was there and I have now taken myself off of all my anti-depressant meds. They didn't seem to really be doing any good. I had also been taking a medication for ADD and that didn't really seem to help my frazzled brain any, either. So after a good cry and a hug from my sweet doctor (who I do love; she's absolutely wonderful!) she said, "I want you to try something for me."

Me: "Sure. What's up?"

Doc: "I have a patient who has been going through very similar issues with her emotions and in her life. She was given a book called The Mood Cure and after reading it and beginning to follow the program, she says she feels better than she ever has in her entire life and is nearly off all her mood meds."

Me: "So...um...you want me to read a book?"

Doc: "Yep. The Mood Cure. I don't know the author's name, but I know you can get it at Books-a-Million, because that's where I got my copy!"

Me: "Tell me more about it. How can a book help me with my moods?"

Doc: "Well, I haven't read it yet. I brought it on vacation with me to read, but I wound up reading a couple trashy romance novels instead! But my patient tells me this woman (the author) talks about four different types of mood issues: The Black Cloud, The Blahs and a couple others I can't remember right now. Each "mood" is discussed in full and then the author (who is a doctor, herself) talks about which amino acids and supplements might alleviate some of the symptoms of those moods. I want you to read it and see if anything hits home, OK?"

Me: "Um...OK."

So I got the book and read the introduction and the first chapter on The Black Cloud and within 10 pages I thought, "OMG! This book, this chapter, was written about me! This is me! Everything this woman, the author, talks about is exactly how I feel. Exactly. Every single point she made felt like it was directed at me! I'm working on chapter 2 right now, about The Blahs, but after chapter 1 I went out and got a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement (which I take once a day) and a serotonin-inducing supplement called 5-HTP, which I have been taking twice a day. I already feel like a new person. I'm calmer. My slight OCD seems to have been put on the back burner. I'm more productive. I'm less tired during the day and I sleep better at night. It's absolutely amazing. I've been doing this for about a week and a half now and if it continues like this, I might be all better!

My doctor also took blood for lab work. The labs came back and everything looks just fine, except I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency. She wrote me a prescription (which I need to fill) and told me after the prescription was gone that I would need to take a certain Vitamin D supplement (she told me which one, but I don't remember right now) to maintain it. I don't have the paperwork in front of me right now, but a normal Vitamin D level is something between 30 and 100. Mine was 21.3. Whatever that means. I trust my doctor and so I will also fill this Vitamin D prescription. Hopeful that will just be the icing on the cake, however, because this 5-HTP and multi-vitamin I'm already taking have me feeling like a brand new person. I'm really amazed.

Well, now that I've written the next Great American Novel, I'll sign off. Also, check out My Etsy Site sometime. I've put up a few new things since the last time I posted on my blog (I think) and I'm running a Buy-One/Get-One special on my greeting cards during the month of July! Just make sure you ready the Shop Announcement (all those words at the top, before you get to the listed items) for more details!

TTFN
JMS

Jen's "Catch 'em up" post...

2009-07-06T08:59:00.001-04:00

It's a list...and it's long...so read what interests you and ignore the rest! My days are all confused so I don't know what day I did any of this stuff! That's what happens when I get a long weekend!

Happy 4th of July!
I spent 2 days cleaning the kids rooms. Little Bit's room took about 4 hours, Kiddo's room took an entire day. Not even kidding. I've been at him for about 4 months to clean his room, and no amount of threatening seemed to get through to him, so finally I just did it myself. He whined about "losing" his toys, but though I did go through everything I found and filled one small box of stuff for my yard sale, I didn't really throw anything away. I went through some of Little Bit's stuff, too...so they're even now. I even went so far as to move all the furniture around so I could scrub the hardwood floors! My next top-to-bottom project? The bathroom. After that, our room. Then, the living/dining room. I think I'll just let the kitchen rot, because by then I'm not sure I'll have anything left in me!
We went to Dollywood one of those days. It was the first time I'd ever been there! Can you believe it? I will have been here (don't fall over, now) 10 years in August and this was the first time I've been do Dollywood! It was lots of fun. The weather was perfect. Sunny but not too hot and there was a lovely breeze. We took a train ride, waited in a couple of very long lines, ate some great kettle korn (yum!), watched a string band show at the Back Porch Theater (Little Bit LOVED that) and drove some really neat little itty-bitty 50's automobiles. Kiddo and Hubby's car was red, Little Bit's and my car was pale blue. They had a great time! We arrived at around 10AM and didn't leave until 4PM; it was a great day.
Saturday - I know it was Saturday because it was the 4th - we went to a neighborhood pool party. I wasn't going to go, and initially did not go; but hubby called me shortly after they arrived and said, "You really should think about coming." So I went. The kids had a great time and were absolutely exhausted by the time we left. Little Bit fell asleep in the car (it's a 5 minute ride home) and woke up enough to let me get her out of her wet bathing suit and swim diaper and into something dry and then fell asleep again and slept for nearly 3 hours! After she woke up, we all went over to Our Favorite Mechanic's house for a BBQ! (I had the absolute best BBQ grilled chicken I've ever tasted!) We did some kid-friendly fireworks (as much as fireworks can be considered kid-friendly) and later, after it started to get dark, the adults set off some adult-friendly (ha!) fireworks until one went astray and smacked into the side of Our Favorite Mechanic's house! Mrs. Mechanic said, "OK guys, that's it. Fireworks are over now! Pack 'em up!" I don't blame her. It was 10 PM by the time we got home and tucked the kids into bed.
I skipped church on Sunday. (Can you believe it? Me, skipping church?) I spent the ENTIRE DAY cleaning Kiddo's room. Of course, since I've already mentioned that I won't go into detail.
Now it's Monday again. My Favorite Receptionist (although she's really only receptionist by title - she actually does WAY more than answer phones and greet people) is sick today so I am covering the front desk. It's OK, though, because my boss is out today, still on vacation. He went on a cruise to Mexico!

Oh - and one more thing! I guess now that the cat's out of the bag I can feel free to talk about this. (No, I'm not pregnant - get your head right!) Many of you know that I work for Brink's Home Security. Last year, Brink's broke off from their parent company, Brink's, Inc. to become an independent, publicly traded company, Brink's Home Security Holdings, Inc. Part of our break off agreement was the knowledge that Brink's Home Security would have to rebrand; change our name. As of Tuesday last week, Brink's Home Security is now Broadview Security. It's a very exciting time for us and we hope that all of our existing Brink's Home Security customers will be just as pleased, if not more pleased, with Broadview Security. Keep your eyes open for the commercials regarding the new name to hit the airwaves (TV and Radio) today, July 6th.

TTFN
JMS

More New Cards on Etsy!

2009-06-26T08:58:00.001-04:00

Ok - so I got a little crazy with the cheez whiz last night... before I knew it it was 11:30PM and I knew if I didn't got to bed right then and there I would be awake and crafting all night! (Wait...that might have been fun! Who needs sleep anyway?) These three cards are the result of my hard-won efforts!

Did it snap me outta my funk? I don't know yet. ...but I sure am pleased with these newest additions to My Etsy Site!

Heart of the Dragonfly: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27004575

Go Green: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27005029

Orange Blossom: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27005221

TTFN
JMS

Sigh...again.

2009-06-24T11:35:00.001-04:00

Ok - so maybe it's not really a funk...

Maybe I'm just focused on other things right now.

But my poor blog is most definitely suffering. And I suffer when my blog suffers. The poor little thing. It desperately needs someone (ahem...me) to breathe some life back into it. But I just can't do it right now.

For starters:

1) I'm working on collecting all the C-R-A-P in my house and separating it as follows: FreeCycle, Recycle, Throw, Keep, Yard Sale...and not necessarily in that order. So far I've managed to uncover the area rug in my living room (ugh...I need a super high powered jet pack vacuum cleaner to get all the dog hair, pieces of cracker, crushed cheerios and whatever else off of it, though) and have also located many many single socks that must have grown legs and scooched (is that a word?) themselves under said couch.

2) I'm working on getting all that C-R-A-P together for a yard sale, but a) I haven't decided on a date for said sale yet, and b) I really need an extra storage building in our back yard to get all said C-R-A-P outta the house. Did you know that one of those PODS (Portable On Demand Storage) units is like $200 a month? You gotta be kidding me! My goal is to get it all out of the house BEFORE the sale, but to do that I'll need to have extra outside storage. I'm still trying to work out the particulars of that dilemma.

3) Kiddo is spending another week (well, 4 days) in VBS at another local church. He's enjoying it; he's got friends there, too. Little Bit is too young, so she's been spending time with me.

4) Hubby's 1990 Volvo 240 Wagon (remember, I used to call it the Beast) runs and drives better than my 1993 Toyota Corolla. I LOVE my Corolla...but after driving the Wagon for the last 2 days, I think I might change my mind. Especiall because the Corolla is IN THE SHOP...AGAIN. Downside to driving the Wagon? It is without air conditioning. Ha! We've got 3 cars: 2 with working Air, 2 with working Heat and neither are the same car. Wagon = No Air / Taurus = No Heat. Hey, we've got Winter and Summer vehicles! See...there really IS a bright side to everything!

5) I've got ideas for cards and stuff running around in my head like toddlers chasing each other for a coveted toy. Problem? When the H-E-double-hockey-sticks am I going to find time to do all the stuff I want to do?

6) I want a REAL craft room. No, strike that. I want my Sister-in-Laws adorable craft room from the house she just moved out of! That's not possible, is it? I mean, unless I want to buy her house and move to Kingsport...which isn't gonna happen.

7) I got my hair chopped off. 10 inches of it...gone to the floor-gods-of-the-salon. LOVE IT! It's the first time in ages that I've actually had a style and it's off my neck now, which - as hubby pointed out - is back-asswards from what I normally do. I cut it off in the Winter and grow it out during the Summer. My reasoning? I can pull it back into a pony tail in the summer time and it's nice and long (covering neck and ears) in the Winter. I guess I'm learning to sleep at night instead of during the day. (All parents out there will understand that analogy.)

8) It's 4 months until I visit Florida. St. Augustine. My wonderful and fantastic little sister whom I haven't seen in 9 YEARS!!! I want time to fly. Do you think it could really grow wings? Just for little ol' me?

TTFN
JMS

Sigh...

2009-06-24T11:03:00.001-04:00

It's a funk.

That's all it is.

I hope.

TTFN
JMS

It's a Dog's Life

2009-06-19T08:44:00.001-04:00

VBS. Vacation Bible School. It is over. I had a blast!

I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but I got to be "Cooper" - the 6 foot tall doggie mascot - a couple of nights. That was a blast in and of itself. Hardly anyone knew it was me (adults, mostly - the kids had no idea) and it was so wonderful to suddenly feel a little body hurl itself against my legs and give me a hug! The kids adored Cooper! Last night, some of the girls even "fed" Cooper some freshly-made doggie biscuits! (I had to clean the snout out after I took the costume off!) I jumped around, made a fool of myself, danced (terribly) on stage during music time, stood out at the street with some of the Youth, waving at cars and jumping around like a goofball, to advertise the free car wash we did last night, and just generally had a good time. I think I may have missed my calling!

I have already forewarned the girls in the picture that this would be posted on my blog, so they should expect to see it today! I know there's really no way to prove it was me behind the mask, but I promise you I'm in there...somewhere.

All-in-all, I think this year's VBS was a huge success. We had 70 kids!!! I'm exhausted. I've gained back all the weight I lost eating all the yummy food that Jeanetta and her crew prepared. I know that Kiddo and Little Bit had a wonderful time. I will most definitely be helping next year. It's a week of lots of work and very little rest, but it was totally worth every second!

Another thing that was a blessing to me was the fact that I had a chance to get to know some of the other folks who come to our church that I don't normally get a chance to talk to. There are such wonderful people there!

Such a great time. Such fantastic kids. Such excellent planning by Debbie and Diane (both pictured with Cooper). Such superb help by the Youth and everyone who assisted in all the various capacities. I'm definitely blessed; and so was VBS this year. I guess all our prayers were answered!

TTFN
JMS

Random Ramblings

My Personal Phobia

Where does the time go?

Too late

That feeling...

A Walk Between Raindrops

They say, "Write what you know..."

Mountains of Crap!

friggatriskaidekaphobia

The Story of the Pregnant Cat and the Missing Kittens

...Barest Grace of Fingertips...

Observations, An Article & A Question

Did you ever have one of *THOSE* days?

And then there's this one, too...

See? I'm not the only one questioning...

I'll probably stick my foot in my mouth...

Whether there's weather

Thoughts on TMI in the World of Blogging

"Yep...we're going home now! Bye!"

The Secret Life of Socks

K-Mart with an attitude problem?

Ambrosia and Advice

Is it? Isn't it?

It really was strange. And it was SO REAL!

A Long Drive

Something's a-brewin'

Hire Me!

Auntie Jen

Happy St. Patrick's Day

A whole lot of nuthin'

CrochetCrochetCrochetCrochet (obsession? me? never!)

Nostalgia for the baby that she was and anticipation for the girl she will become

Prince Medley, Kiddo Update, Diagnosis

Sick Kiddo

A Letter to McDonald's

Lovely Visual

My heart is sad.

Today, I woke up

WAIT! STOP THE PRESS! HOLD THE PHONE!

Surprised and disappointed - oddly enough

Ah...Sunday. (Day of rest?)

(Chanting) Hobby! Lobby! Hobby! Lobby! Hobby! Lobby!

Another year older, but not necessarily wiser

Shoot First - Ask Later

I'm a bad person

Did I mention that I am TOTALLY THRILLED!!! ???

Kiddo's Bunk Bed Fund

VBS, Power Outage, Found Friend

What's kicking MY rear this year?

Insight

Updates

Mary Pam

The Holiday Inn Bathrobe & an Au Pair from Wales

Wildly Random

Shameless Plug

Heard Around The House

Quick Update

Thought I'd share

Monday Randomness

Major Milestone & Budding Artist

in just spring... (my little nod to ee himself)

...Sigh...

"So...whaddaya think about your new job?"

RSOA & Work & Kiddo & Little Bit

WOAH! Is this really my first post of 2010?

Christmas Gifts, Baby Cousin's Birthday, Ralph S. Mouse

Oh...just stuff today. Nothin' special.

Small Joys

Thankgiving to Christmas: Call me a Non-Depressed Mommy!

Creativity Display

Random Things - Item of the Week

I'm thankful for...

Feelers...

Random Things: Item of the Week

Now I'm Gobsmacked!

Little Bit, Kiddo, and Hand-Me-Down Clothes...

Follow up to "I'm Flabbergasted" (a.k.a. the last post...ya know, the one just below this one.)

I'm Flabbergasted! (Wait...did I spell that right?)

It's All Good!

Playing Catch Up

Did you ever have one of THOSE days?