Sunday, November 30, 2008

a dash of Christmas decor

As promised I am now ready to post a couple of pictures from the beginnings of our holiday decorating this weekend. We haven't finished yet... between the computer projects Hubby has going on and the little guy's time at his pappasito's house we haven't had a full day of dedicated decorating time. We are supposed to put up the outside lights some time this afternoon. Until then, it's back to working on my quilt and doing chores. Doesn't that sound delightful???

Here is the wreath that I made this morning. I've had the wreath for several years, but no longer liked the decorations that adorned it. So, this year I picked up some natural wintry looking items to replace the old stuff with. I rather like how it turned out!

The Christmas tree pics aren't the greatest...one was taken with the flash and one without. We have to pick out a new tree-topper this year and haven't found one yet. We've been repulsed by the Medusa angel that was a hand-me-down for too many holiday seasons, so we retired her this year. Hopefully we'll find a good replacement in the next day or so!

Happy decorating to you and yours!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

More to come...

It's decorating day at my house! I'm so excited! I'm off to grab Hubby and my little guy and get started. More pics (w/o faces, of course!) to come... Stay tuned!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Important Thanksgiving Message

For those of you who are following the Nielson's recovery along with me, I would like to make sure you know that Mr. Nielson posted a personal thank you today through some help from his close friends and family. Please check out his video. I know I was so excited to see him talking and communicating. I'm sure you will be, too!



Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

wannabe vintage

You know, back in the day....which was a Wednesday (a touch of Dane Cook there for ya)... when I began this blog I had every intention of posting things that looked vintage. I ran out of cute little easy-to-find pics to incorporate into my posts. I ran out of post ideas that I could link to a vintage girly picture. So, I've just muddled through by throwing ideas out at you as they come into my head or when someone inspires me to write about a particular topic. I know, not life changing for my readers or anything, but hey... I hope I'm able to entertain you at least a moderate amount of time each week!

I really do LOVE vintage things! I love coordinating my outfits so that I look like a lady from the 1940's or 1950's, and some days I can hit it pretty close. Other days, well... who knows what my clothing concoction says to passers-by. But, in my heart I aspire to look like Donna Reed or Coco Chanel (minus the nasty cigarette!) on a daily basis when I get ready for work.

Today for example, I'm sporting my brown and white houndstooth pencil skirt with a fitted brown long-sleeve top, my shiny vintage brooch and matching earrings, old-fashioned nude-colored hose and my wannabe vintage brown pumps. I was thinking earlier today when I got to work that I looked moderately old-fashioned! Yeah! Except for my hair... Today I was uninspired to try to fashion it up in an retro "do" so it's just straight and sleek...more early 80's looking than modern vintage. Oh well... I guess I can't be Coco or Donna every day of the week. After all, I don't sleep in little curlers or with rag strips in my hair. If I can figure out how to do it, though, I'm gonna give it a whirl!

And, a side note for anyone who knows me and wants to shower me with gifts... I collect vintage womens handkerchiefs, brooches and aprons. Donations are kindly accepted year round!

Monday, November 24, 2008

I won! I won!

Do you remember when I posted about a beautiful giveaway??? Well, Dana at Old Red Barn Co. was giving away three quilts. I commented that I felt my odds were pretty low at actually winning based on the number of comments that were ahead of my entry, but also because I literally never win anything. I hoped my luck was changing, and guess what... it did!!! I won one of the three quilts.

I'm actually rather late with posting my thank you, so my sincerest apologies to Dana, Moda and Tula Pink for not advertising my appreciation sooner! I am so grateful to Dana for hosting the giveaway, and to Moda along with Tula Pink for providing the beautiful fabrics that composed such an amazing quilt. I am so happy that the first thing I won was such a keepsake! I've already snuggled up in it this weekend, and have it on display in my bedroom. I'm very proud of it!

If only I could remember to pick up a lottery ticket I could test just how much my luck has changed. I'll keep working on that...

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Fantabulous Family Friday Night

Last night Hubby, the little guy and me had an absolutely fantabulous time. I'm not exaggerating! You know how some Friday nights, you get home, fix and eat dinner, then just relax and veg in front of the tv watching movies? I really anticipated that to happen to us since we didn't have any plans to go out to eat or do much of anything. Happily, I was very wrong. It was no run-of-the-mill evening at our hacienda!

The little guy started by asking if we wanted to play a game after we finished dinner. Hubby and I were both game (ha, ha, ha!) and the three of us headed to the game closet to pick something out. We picked the "America" version of Monopoly. We hadn't played this game literally in years. Around four or five years to be exact-ish. This version is much more fun than we had remembered, or maybe we're just more in-to the "American" theme now than we were five years ago...who knows. I highly recommend you check it out, tho, if it's still available.

We got started and all three of us began buying up properties and charging rent! This version also has American People and Places cards that lead you around the board, as well as American Challenge cards where you are asked trivia questions. One of the cards I drew had me pay a fine because Susan B. Anthony voted, which reminded me (again) that yes, there was a time when women weren't legally allowed to contribute politically to how our country was led. What b.s. back then!!! The little guy, who's ten years old, cracked us up when he had to add up how much rent to charge us when we landed on his monopoly and said, "I can't believe you guys are making me do math on a Friday night!" Of course he said that with a smile, but it was one of the extremely funny innocent remarks that kids make all the time.

We played for over three hours straight. I was sooo ready for bed by that time! The guys seemed to be ready to play all night, but gave in with my request when the little guy was practically bankrupted by the rent due to Hubby on one of his many monopolies. We had such a great time! All future Friday nights now have something more to live up to. Maybe we'll make it a regular thing! I certainly hope so.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

how green are you?

I often think of myself as a pretty environmentally conscious individual. But, I'm sure a staunch Greeny would argue I could do more. I was wondering... if I added up what I do to help out our planet would that be considered very much by an expert? (that's a purely hypothetical question... I'm not going to research it at this point in my week) I'm looking for ideas for what else we can realistically do. We live in a suburb and have to commute each work day; most of the places we shop and socialize at are not within walking distance of our home. What do you do, especially if you are also a Suburbanite, to help reduce that carbon footprint?

This is what my husband, son and I do regularly....
  • recycle by using the bins provided by our city for paper, plastic and glass
  • don't buy bottled water because each of us (the little guy included) has our own Naglene bottle (BPA Free) that we take with us wherever we're going
  • mulch our lawn instead of bagging it and we sweep our clippings off of the pavement instead of using one of those obnoxious blowers
  • we don't over-water our lawn or water during inefficient times of the day
  • we put solar screens on the windows at home to reduce our energy consumption
  • I drive a Camry Hybrid
  • we wash large loads of laundry instead of small ones and wash using cold water (ok, sometimes I just have to use hot)
  • wrapped our hot water heater with a blanket
  • have a programmable thermostat for our a/c and heating unit
  • use ceiling fans to help circulate air
  • my husband turns off the ignition when idling in his vehicle (my car switches to the hybrid battery in those situations)
  • turn off the faucet while brushing
  • don't use plastic bags... we bring our own canvas bags when we shop
  • recently changed from liquid laundry detergent and fabric softner to powder detergent and dryer sheets so that we use less plastic...the paper products seem easier to recycle...we could be wrong on this
  • I stockpile my MAC make-up containers so I can recycle them at the MAC counter and get a free lipstick! (If you use MAC products then you know they last for-ev-er, so I have to hold on to these for awhile to get the required number of six to trade in.)
There are things that I know we could do, but I'm not sure we actually ever would consistently....
  • utilize a composter for our food scraps (can you add dog poo to those???)
  • keep a vegetable garden
  • use a push mower & edger (yeah, I don't think Hubby would dig that...)
I know there are more things we could do, but honestly my mind is going blank right now. So, tell me...what do you recommend? What do you do?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Awesome girlie recommendation!

I've had several great responses to my Anthropologie skirt post that I thought I would share another amazing find with the ladies out there.

Let me start by saying that I'm sick of wearing thongs. But, one of my biggest pet peeves is panty lines. Running a close second is having to look at granny-panties. So, what's a line-less lovin' gal to do? Sorry if that's T.M.I. (too much information) for some of you but I figured someone else out there may be in the same sit-chee-ation.

I've found the solution! Last Friday after work I headed over to a Soma Intimates store and checked out their pantie-lineless undies that I've seen advertised. A very helpful older woman (we're talking granny-pantie age) came to my aid and of course I let her know I was very cynical about this product. How could it possibly work without bunching up, sliding around or actually being invisible??? And, not look totally unattractive on my bum??? She raved about the product and pushed the latest sales gimick that was going on. As I analyzed her possible commission-craving motive I caved and figured I would give them a shot. The picture shown is of the bikini style which is what I bought...there is also a hipster that is not too bad, but I felt the bikini was the cutest.

I wore the first pair over the weekend with some awesome fitting jeans of mine that I definitely wouldn't want to ruin the back view of by showing linage. These undies are truly amazing! They really don't move. They really don't bunch. And, honestly they really don't show! Now, if I decided to wear some tight knit pants (which I really don't think I have any) there might be another story to tell. They are sooooo comfy that I had to tell you all about them. I highly recommend dashing out and picking some up, or ordering some online if there isn't a store near you.

Let me know what you think! Have you tried these out yet?

Monday, November 17, 2008

Lovely skirt....have to share!

Let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE the skirt that I am wearing today! I bought it from Anthropologie and today is my first time to wear it. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but it fluffs out like a poodle skirt. It has tulle underneath the top layer to make it stick out. I'm feeling soooo Donna Reed today! I just need an apron and a cookie sheet in my hand and I'll be all set! And, yes... I am also wearing pearls!

Bloggers Beware

Hello All,

I'm writing a letter to my wonderful readers of these my lil' writings, and hope to pass along a tidbit of useful information to you. I know I don't have a lot of "followers" on my site as some of the blogs that I read have over 1,000 followers. But, to those of you who have a manageable amount of followers, and are able to check them out, I would highly recommend doing so. Here's why....

A few weeks ago a woman began following my blog and I quickly checked her link to see what she wrote about. I found her posts to be very dark, but just left her blog thinking that I didn't share the same outlook so I wouldn't "follow" hers, no harm done, right? Well, today I was looking over my followers and wanted to check out her site to see if she had turned to brighter side of life or if she was still writing about The Dark Side. I was blown away that she had actually written about causing bodily injury to a person, felt totally justified in her actions and planned on finding more victims.

I commented on her site that I couldn't tolerate what she stood for and was blocking her as a follower. My site is completely public so she can still come back and make vindictive comments if she so chooses, but I felt it was very important that I let her know I didn't want her kind of business. Then I quickly sent Hubby an email thanking him for insisting that I keep my blog anonymous.

How do you feel about policing your site? Do you find it to be unnecessary? I'm curious to see how you would react if you found you had a follower that offended you with their writings. Would you do anything at all?

Thank you kindly for your responses. Hopefully The Mutilator will not participate.

My best to you,
Shorty

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Uber-Amazingly Flattered!!!

Well, well, well... I must say that Amy from Chapters has officially made my day! She most graciously sent me this lovely award through her wonderful site. I'm truly flattered and honored. It is such a great feeling to find blogs that you can relate to and love to read daily, but it's an even greater feeling to be acknowledged by the writer of one of those blogs. Thanks, Amy!

The Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites that:

~ inspire you ~ makes you smile and laugh ~ gives amazing information ~ is a great read ~ has an amazing design ~ and/or any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of this award are:
  1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
  2. Nominate at least 5 blogs that for you are Uber Amazing!
  3. Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
  4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.
I would like to pass this award to the following blogs...

Thank you for entertaining me every day and providing me with a little bit of blogger friendship. I'm so glad to have found all of your sites!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Carrying the "7" Torch

Ok, gang....there's a blog I like to read, Keith's Space, and he had an idea for today, Saturday's Seven, that I really liked. And, I'm going to snag his idea and keep it going! Hope you don't mind, Keith, but I loved your post and just had to have it for myself (and give you a small amount of advertising)!!!

Seven things I'm feeling right now on this beautiful Saturday morning...

1. I'm missing my little guy....his father and I have joint custody so this weekend my favorite mini-fella is not home with me. I chatted with him on the phone first thing this morning, and heard this beautiful little voice, but that's just not the same as being able to hug his sweet little neck and smooch his chubby little cheeks.

2. Hubby has gone with a buddy to the Gun Show so I've got the house to myself, the crafty ideas are flowing, the hot tea is nice and sweet, and I'm feeling very content!

3. I'm missing my mamasita. Today is her 56th birthday and she lives in Las Vegas...far from me. It's too early here for me to call her so I'm waiting patiently to be able to call and sing her the usual birthday diddy.

4. I'm happy about last night. I met up with some friends that I don't get to see often, met some new ones, and we had tons of fun people watching and making fun of the stupid stuff you see going on when you're in a bar. One chick was ralphing her guts up in the bathroom...hugging the porcelain bus, most of her body on the nasty bar-bathroom floor, shoes hanging off her feet with her drunken buddy trying to console her while she swayed back and forth above the puker's head. (Ok, I'm not happy that the girl was feeling so much misery, but I'm happy that I'm smart enough to not venture down that gluttonous path! I have established a one drink maximum when I go out with friends and am driving, and I stuck to my plan with no problems. I'm feelin' good this a.m. despite being out until 1:00 a.m.!)

5. I'm feeling good that I have plans this afternoon with Hubby when he gets back. We may go shooting at the range and I'm looking forward to nailing some targets with my new Sig P232. You know, Agent 99's gun on the cover of the Get Smart DVD? Very stylish!

6. I love it that every time I think or talk about my new gun (the Sig P232) I think of the movie Finding Nemo. You may not get it, I certainly don't, but for some reason Dory's repetition of "P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way" goes through my head every time! I have no idea why saying P and a few numbers makes that connection in my brain, but hey...another example of my crazy thought processes.

7. I'm lovin' the fact that its Saturday! I just adore my weekends and hope to savor this day as much as humanly possible!

Ok, it's time for breakfast. My rumbly tummy can wait no more!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

one beautiful give away!

I just stumbled across a new site this morning after ready a post from Pamperingbeki.

Dana at Old Red Barn Co. is having an amazing quilt giveaway!!! I must admit I'm intimidated by my odds of winning one of these beauties considering when I posted a comment about her generosity I saw that there were 897 comments ahead of me. I'm sure by her deadline on November 17th there will be well over 1,000 comments to fill her random draw bucket! I never really win anything so I'm hoping my luck will change with this opportunity!

I love quilts! My great-granny got me started sewing quilt blocks when I was in elementary school. And, years later she actually gave me the blocks I sewed on her machine. It is such a wonderful thing to have from her now that she's in Heaven. I just need to finish it! I've started a few large ones but haven't finished them. The only quilting projects that I've completed are ones that I've given as gifts, and are usually of the baby size variety.

Check out Dana's site and give the quilts a look-see if you'd like. As much as I don't want to decrease my chances of being picked as a winner, I would love for you all to see these beautiful creations!!! Good luck! (to me, too!)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wannabe funny

Do you ever have moments when you think of something really funny to say and you crack yourself up? But, the really funny thing ends up being that no one would probably find it as humorous as you just did. This happens to me all the time and I get called out on it.

My family calls me a dork on a regular basis, especially my little sister and my husband. I guess they get to see me in action the most. My son still plays along with me most days so even though I'm sure he calls me a dork in his mind he doesn't actually verbalize it as often as the adults do.

I had one such moment last night while my husband and I were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. Only, this time I kept my funny-dorky thought to myself. But, I still cracked myself up so I was having a good time in my head. Don't ask me what got me started, but I found myself thinking that if I had the opportunity to introduce myself to a stranger (in front of an audience, of course) I could say, "My name is Luka. I live on the second floor." And then pause to see if they found that to be a familiar sounding statement. Then I could follow up with, "I live upstairs from you. Yes, I think you've seen me before."

Did you get it??? Do you remember the
song by Suzanne Vega?
(click here)

Ok, now I'm not an abused person...I don't get in fights with my family members or have slamming sounds around my house that would cause neighbors to wonder what's going on like what is described in this song. The only reason this song was in my head was because I saw it on one of the video screens at my health club the other night, and I remember thinking, "Wow...I haven't heard that song or seen that video in YEARS!" And, it used to play all the freakin' time.

Yep, that's a little inkling of how my strange little mind works sometimes. Comments and phrases pop in and out of my thoughts, I guess like movie lines and such, and I try to fit them into conversations where I can. Most of the time the person I'm talking to doesn't get it. Hubby and I do this all the time with each other. He quotes his favorite movies, most of which I can't quite place until he reminds me, but I know instinctively when he's quoting something. My son is picking up on it, too. He's getting just as sarcastic and quotable as the rest of us. I love it!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Lunch with my Vet

I just love it when my monotonous work days sometimes get a little jolt of excitement! Don't get me wrong...I like my job, but day after day it's pretty much the same. Get to work at seven a.m., do lots and lots of paperwork, enter stuff in the computer, have a cup of tea, answer questions, ask questions, do more paperwork, eat lunch at my desk or in my car listening to the radio, then get back to work until it's time to go home.

Today, being Veteran's Day, my husband was in the Downtown area for a parade. He walked with other Veterans along the parade route. He had mentioned this morning that he might do that, but he wasn't sure. Well, he did it. And, I'm glad he did. He deserves to be part of that group.

Even better was that he called me after he finished up and we practically asked each other at the same time, "Wanna go to lunch?" Of course we did! So, he came by my office and we headed to a little Mexican food place nearby. Good food and great conversation.

It was a very nice surprise and I enjoyed it immensely!!!

Thanks, Hubby!
And, Happy Veteran's Day to you!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Disturbing reality

I hate to start the week off playing Debbie Downer (mwaahh, mwahhhhh) but here I go...

Every work day I have to commute past a downtown area. As most downtown areas have it, there is low income area that I must drive through. It never fails... I see at least one dead dog on the side of the road or in the middle of the road. What a way to begin a day, or end one for that matter. I hate that. I hate seeing dogs that lost their lives as they were wandering around looking for a bit of adventure, or just looking for a place to provide shelter. I say a little prayer for the family that lost their pet, and for the soul of the little creature to now be playing gleefully in Heaven.

I always find myself thinking, why don't more pets have to be spayed or neutered in every city? Why are people allowed to breed dogs without a license? I know it takes money to fund these types of things....looking out for animals who can't look out for themselves; funding to spay or neuter stray pets or pets who have a home but a home where the owners can't afford the surgery. There is a no-kill facility in my area that almost went out of business for lack of funding until a news report featured them and more donations came pouring in to save it.

Why do people want to buy from breeders and pet stores when there are so many homeless pets to choose from? Rescuing dogs is an amazingly wonderful thing! I've adopted two dogs from different rescue shelters and both places made sure that my dogs were "fixed" before I was able to leave with them. I recently chatted with someone about pet adoption and they were allowed to adopt and leave with their dog before it was "fixed" but they had a time limitation on when they had to have it fixed or else they would be fined. I wondered how many of those fines actually get collected.

How many times have you talked to someone who was looking to find a new home for a pet they had in their care? Meaning, "Yeah, I bought this dog (or adopted it) but I figured out I really don't want the commitment." I've heard of that happening too many times to count. The problem is that too many people look at dogs and cats as just animals. I look at my dogs as members of my family. I can't give up my son without a fight. It should be the same for any living being that I care for. I guess there are those who think that since animals can't speak up for themselves that pets can just be tossed aside and the former owner will never be scorned because people will only know what the owner chooses to tell others about him or herself.

I would like to ask everyone to makes sure they don't adopt a pet unless they can make a commitment for the life span of the pet. I would like to ask that people not adopt cute little dogs that are featured in Disney movies that their children beg for. A portion of those pets just end up in the pound or on the side of the road. I would like to ask that people not buy their pets from pet stores if they want a brand new baby puppy...find an independent breeder and check their references. I would like to ask that people not buy pets from breeders who over-breed their dogs.

Mostly, I would just like to ask that everyone considers adopting a pet from a rescue facility before considering buying one elsewhere. If we all do our part to provide loving homes to our pets, to make sure they don't go around procreating (have them fixed!!!) if they accidentally get out of the yard, and spread the word that we don't support animal cruelty (which includes abandonment) then I believe we'll see a lot fewer dogs on the side of or in the middle of our roads.

And, please consider donating to your local animal shelter.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Some little cutesies

For a bit of eye candy check out Tizzalicious Crafts & Cuteness.

I absolutely LOVE the "hearts and clubs" earrings with the little black beads, but I also adore the cherries!

Even topping that I really like the little sparrow necklace. As you may have noticed from my tattoo picture to the left I'm quite partial to the little birdies!


Just thought you might enjoy a look-see!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

bubble wrap

I just opened a package at work and in the box was nicely folded sheets of bubble wrap. The large sized bubbles. I couldn't resist...I had to pop some of them! Even being at work with people within ear-shot of my office. I had to do it!!!

Can you resist bubble wrap???

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Healthy Living

I'm sure you're well versed with the divorce rate in America and hear the snip-its of percentages of how many marriages end in divorce. I won't throw any new statistics your way. What I am interested in is the children that are left to deal with their parents inability to make their union successful.

My son, who is now ten, is one such child. His father and I were divorced when he was five years old. For reasons I won't dramatize the dad and I just couldn't get along after eight years of marriage and had severely different ideals as to what constituted respect for one another. Once the decision was made as to how to move forward we agreed that we both wanted to pursue joint custody. I have never had any desire to remove my child's father from his life, no matter how I might disagree with his spousal abilities, because he's always been a great father.

I was also a child of divorce, as so many politically correct publications and professionals label this type of person. My parents divorced when I was seven and behaved horribly towards each other....tons of name-calling, taking extra effort to hurt each other as much as possible for several years after the divorce, all in plain sight of me and whomever else might be in the general area. My father was especially vindictive...he went so far as to place an ad in our local paper (and it was a very small town) noting, "Must sell houseboat to pay for ex-wife's Lincoln). Thanks, Dad. Now all my friends' parents know exactly what's going on. This action did actually suit his reputation, so I guess it was par for the course. No wonder my mother couldn't get away fast enough.

These little details were talked about from time to time during my adulthood, so my son's father knew well what I went through, and that I never wanted to put my child through that same misery. Believe me, there have been many moments when his dad has behaved badly, and I am guilty of the same, just not as often of course. We acknowledge the low level of humanity we are both capable of exhibiting, but we work hard at getting along for our son's benefit.

Every day I read blogs about happy and healthy family living. Husbands and wives who have numerous children, a strong faith in God, and a devout passion for each other. I am so moved by them and admire their virtue and their strength. I hope that what they write about is true and factual, and they are as wonderful parents as they make themselves out to be because I enjoy learning from them along with many other readers.

I don't feel that I am a bad parent for having joint custody of my son. I actually feel that I am a damn good mother, despite the fact that my son comes from a once broken home. He's now from two homes, both in tact in their own respective ways. My marriage to Hubby is a truly blessed one, and I feel that our relationship serves as a positive example to our son of what a married couple can and should be like. Don't get me wrong, Hubby and I have an occasional disagreement, but we work through it diplomatically or agree to disagree and move on. If anything we over-communicate in our marriage. When something is on our minds we talk about it...sometimes beating the dead horse, but we feel this is totally necessary to keep our relationship healthy.

My point today is this....there are many divorced couples who chose to behave badly every day toward each other. So much so that they refuse to communicate with each other even over their child's education. I have been told by teachers every year that they have to send two sets of papers home with some of their students because the parents refuse to communicate with each other or can't get along. Some teachers have divulged in greater detail to what extent the disagreements between parents are that they have to deal with.

I always wonder when I hear these stories if those parents ever stop to think about how their actions affect their child. I know how it made me feel when I was a kid....like I was always torn between two relationships, that I was two-faced for listening to my dad bash my mom and feeling the need to listen sympathetically, then having my mom turn around and do the same thing. I never felt like a loyal child...that I had to show support to who I was with.

I commend couples for making marriages work (in a healthy fashion) especially if there are children involved. I do think it's too easy to get married in our society. It would be great if adults didn't get married until they were mature and knew who they really were. But, that's not the way the cookie crumbles. We all change as we go through life and develop different ideals. Some for the better, some... not so much.

But, also, I commend parents who chose to get along after divorce for the sake of their children regardless of if they truly despise each other or not. (Note: I'm not talking about abusive parents...those who physically/verbally beat up their spouses or children or harm them in any way.) Let the child form their own opinions about the other parent as they grow up. They will learn who their parents are and if they share the same values or not. Typically children love their parents warts and all, and just want to be loved back. I hope that the kids are allowed to do just that...just love, be loved, and get through life, which is hard enough even in the best of households.

And, for those of you lucky enough to be married to the same person for decades, raising your children together with the best of ideals, please keep in mind that there are those of us who provide a healthy life for children in other situations, too. There just may be more houses involved.

Monday, November 3, 2008

A beautiful thought...

Sunday morning Hubby and I were making breakfast and having a very enlightening conversation about our future. We plan to move from where we currently live at some point after our son is grown and off to college. Right now we are in the South and we talk a lot about visiting towns up North or along the West Coast to see where we might like to live. Who really knows though...we may want to stay in the South.

We were talking hypothetically about what we could do for income once that move takes place. There are a hundred different directions that our lives could take us, but it was funny to chat about some of the possibilities. We were watching bits of CBS Sunday Morning while we were cooking & chatting, and one of the segments was set in Kentucky. It showed a small little town that was in the process of electing an animal for their Mayor (not really relative to my story, but an interesting tidbit). I said wouldn't it be funny if we ended up in a small rural town (not in Kentucky) where everyone knows each other and there is only a couple of main roads to get you through town. Hubby could continue with his graphics and web design business since you can really do that from anywhere you have an internet connection and I could be one of the local crafters that sells my wares right out of the house! I imagined us not ever getting hair cuts and wearing overalls every day.... ok, just kidding.

We also talked about living in an urban setting like San Francisco where there's no need to drive....just live Downtown and walk everywhere you want to go. (But it would be nice to have one nice luxury car stored somewhere!) I could continue on with my career in management and Human Resources or go crafty, and he could still do design work, or maybe he'll follow a more tactical (as in military) career path at that point.

It was such a good feeling to stand in the kitchen cooking and talk about the possibilities of our future together....after the little guy is settling into his own adulthood. It was just a mini reality check of what life might be like as we grow old together. It made me feel all smiley inside!

Don't lose the focus!

If you're like me then there are several times throughout each day that you feel distracted. I'm not just referring to bouncing from task to task, or trying to multi-task with everything I do. I'm referring to feeling like an adult with severe Attention Deficit Disorder.

I listen to National Public Radio a lot when I'm on the road. I commute about 40 minutes to and from work Monday through Friday so I get to hear all kinds of reports and stories. Last week there was a report on our ability to multi-tasking as we age. The reporter noted some study saying that as we age we lose our ability to multi-task as efficiently as we did in our twenties. (All of you twenty-somethings who are at your peak...enjoy it while you can!)

I've wondered lately why I can't seem to stay as focused at work, or handle doing ten things at one time like I used to. I just figured I have always had ADD, and have just managed to work through it better than I am now. Now I can confidently blame it on aging!!! It's not my fault! My brain is just working differently....less effectively!

I stumbled across a good article today that I thought I would share with you. If you are like me, and have trouble focusing as well as you used to, you may want to check it out, "10 Ways to Use Laser Sharp Focus to Get More Done." It has some good tips....not sure that I will be able to work all of them into my dysfunctional multi-task-able world, but I can try!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Tatting

Today I tried out a new hobby. Tatting. It's not something anyone has ever showed me how to do, so I've been trying to teach myself with the help of some online sources. I literally have spent about five hours working on this today. I've made some progress, but I'm anxious to get a little farther. I'm just going to have to take it slow for right now because this stuff requires a lot of technique. But, at some point it should come just as easy to me as crocheting.
Here's a sample of what I was able to accomplish today...
The picture below is what I am hoping to accomplish in a relatively short period of time...
Well, I won't copy that design exactly, but you get what I'm striving for.
You can click on the picture to see more tatted adornments!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Roman Shade

Ok, I finally got around to taking a picture of the Camouflauge Roman Shade I made for my son's room. You'll have to pardon the helicopter that is flying in front of it. He has some very military-ish decor hanging from the ceiling and walls. On the other side of that same wall is a Paraptrooper floating down from the ceiling with his parashoot fully opened.
(I wish my mom would've let me have a cool room when I was a kid!!!)