Under Contract

Our prayers have been answered...an offer was made on our house that we accepted. We are now in the pending portion of the sale, which of course is the most stressful period, but we were just so thankful to have a decent offer when we most needed it that we aren't feeling that stressed. If all goes well, we will close either December 8th or January 15th, depending on various factors. I'm all for December, but whenever it happens I will be celebrating. :)

Trick or Treat

I'm quite proud of my little cheetah. I think she was a leopard, but who am I to say? It's her costume. Katy was at ball practice until all the festivities were over, so she missed out. Shona was quite the little charmer all evening. I'm so proud to say that she thanked everyone of the people she trick-or-treated. Well, all but one, but she did tell him to have a wonderful Halloween. I swear this girl should be a politician. She just lights up a room. I think by the time she's grown, there will be a picture of her under "outgoing" in the dictionary. I do know without a doubt that she did not get that from her mother. I wish I could have a tenth of her spirit.

So Felicia's posting about her father passing has me in a melancholy mood. I have to agree to hold your parents dear as long as you can because you just never know when or how you will lose them. My best friend lost her mother in a car accident this summer. This lady was my high school teacher, a wonderful person, and she had retired after 30+ years of teaching just a few months before she died. She never got to see the grandchild born today and I know she would have been over the moon with happiness. That death shocked me.

There are other ways to lose a parent, and sometimes I think it is more painful to lose them mentally rather than physically. It's so painful to spend time with my mother and it feels like a cruel joke being in her presence. She looks like my mother, she talks with my mother's voice, but as I told Katy a few years ago, the person who was my mother exited a long time ago. I'm not sure how or why, but she's lost to me forever and spending time with the shell of a human left behind is increasingly uncomfortable and painful. Though I and my brother and sister have all very strongly considered cutting her out of our lives for a plethora of reasons (it's a very long story), we all feel responsible for her in whatever state she is in, even if you can't carry on a conversation with her or even feel like she's anyone you remotely know. I have a hard time letting the kids see her, but I think it's worse on Katy than Shona. Shona has never known any other way for her grandma to be, but Katy remembers and Katy misses her grandma, too. Me? I just miss one of my closest friends, which is what she was before she went off the deep end. I could talk to her about anything. I could call her at 2 a.m. for any reason, just to talk. I could depend on her for anything in the world. Now I don't even know her, literally. I guess the moral of the story is to treasure your parents while you can.
Now that's some holiday cheer. On to brighter things. Happy November!

Describe Yourself

Sneak peek of an upcoming kit for November at Scrap Addict. I did a layout of the five ways my girls see themselves, and my list below theirs. It's interesting to see how they really see themselves. They weren't too far off base. Katy thinks she's insane, a band geek, intelligent, a jester and athletic. Shona says she's beautiful, smart, sweet, silly and loves games. My lists are in the last post.

Ah, another week another headache. Or so it seems. I was called for an interview late last week. Of course the one time they wanted me to come in is the one darn time of the week I had something planned, so I had to shift that around to accommodate their schedule. That's not the way to start off a good working relationship with me! ;) To be honest, I hope I don't get it. It's full time, I'm just looking for part time, and it's kind of out of the way. I would have to drive a bit out of town to get there on windy, twisty country roads and I don't think I have it in me to do that in the dead of winter when the weather is at its worst.

Our neighbor called to tell us people were looking at the property this weekend. There is an open house scheduled on Monday for it. I would almost rather not know people are looking at it. Then I am not disappointed when no offers come in. Selling a house is by far ten times (at least) worse than buying one. At least on the buying end you are in the position of choosing. I hope to be in that position soon instead of being stuck on the selling end.

My kids in a nutshell

Annette issued a blogging challenge to describe our kids in five words or phrases. Soooooo mine are:

Katy
Outgoing
Intelligent
Fearless
Independent
Worldly

Shona
Leadership Material
Social Butterfly
Artistic
Quick Learner
Larger than life

I can take a hint

My blog misses me. Sooo funny. I can take a hint! Truth is, I've been kind of hiding from the world. Things are starting to suck here. I've been applying for jobs steadily since I got here three months or so ago and nothing has materialized. I'm not even getting a chance...I've had exactly two, count them, TWO interviews since I've been here. Either competition is fierce or they see my resume, assume I wouldn't work for what they want to pay (which is incorrect), and don't bother to call me. That's even when I send a follow up letter. It has reached the point that I pulled out my cell phone the other day to call my house phone. I was *sure* that I'd been writing the wrong phone number on my applications. Nope, it was right. I'm more than qualified for what I'm applying for, so I don't know what the problem is. Even the factories aren't calling me and all the local job office can do is take my resume over and over again for the jobs that come open through their office. It's crazy and depressing, especially considering my house still isn't sold. Not only isn't it selling, it isn't even being shown because the market apparently died a couple of months ago. I feel completely frustrated and helpless on both ends.

So with all that going on, I've been very down in the dumps. Money is really tight, John is having to work a lot of weekend ball games and things to make some extra cash. I will say the school pays very well for those things....$40/pop for a few hours of taking money. That will probably carry us through, but with Christmas coming on, I'm really starting to feel the pinch. Plus, that means I don't see him much. Katy is always at some activity and that leaves me and Shona to entertain one another. At least she enjoys artsy stuff like her mom.

Lazy Weekend

I love the weekends. I feel more rested and more at peace, probably because everyone is home. This past week has been a little nuts between job hunting, having a sick child at home for a day and trying to get as much scrapping for Scrap Addict's anniversary crop done as possible. I didn't finish nearly as much as I'd hoped to, but I've learned that quality beats quantity any day and I would rather not finish but love what I've got at the end of it all. This wound up being one of my favorites, although I think it didn't wind up being entered into any particular category. I snapped that photo of the girls yesterday and loved it so much I had to scrap it right away. That MME paper is delicious, and I couldn't keep my hands off of it.
Tomorrow John has meetings all day while the girls have the day off. That means another day of entertaining them, but I'm OK with that. It's going to be a girls only day. We need some of those sometimes. Maybe we'll paint our nails and get silly with the camera and I'll have even more scrap material.

Doggie SAT test?

Bailey and I take a walk every day. Sometimes we vary when and where, but mostly we have a tried and true path we take that seems to keep us away from most of the traffic and barking dogs. Since all the dogs we encounter on our walks are safely behind fences, she always feels the need to strut her stuff and make them feel inferior to her "freedom" to roam outside the fences. I roll my eyes at her and yank her leash to remind her that I'm in charge of that freedom, but I normally get snapped at or that regal nose in the air look.
I had a sick one at home all day today, so poor Bailey had to wait for a walk until someone came home to relieve me of sickie duty. It almost killed her to wait that long, so it was a very fast paced, happy trot we were at when we swung around our usual corner and suddenly came face to face with a huge, growling, angry dog in a yard. We froze. My first thought was that my hyper, yappy little dog was going to A. tear that big dog to smithereens like she shreds paper in my house (most recently my phone book) or, more likely, B. become mincemeat at my feet. It took me a second to realize I was hearing silence from the other end of my leash, and when I looked down I saw a dog I didn't even recognize. At my side was the most docile, desperate dog I'd ever seen, hunched down in a gesture that unmistakably said "please don't eat me!" Smart dog.
In the next instant, as I stood frozen, wondering how to get out of the situation, I heard a vehicle stop behind me and someone ask "Ma'am, is that your dog?" I turned around and saw...and I still cannot believe it myself... animal control. How they came to be there at that exact moment I will never know, but I'm not above considering it a minor miracle! Only John has that sort of luck. I never do. I was never happier to see anyone in my life. He took care of the animal and we went on our merry little way. What a close call.
It took a while, but before we even made it back home, Bailey thought she was queen of the road again, barking at rabbits and rumbly trucks. It's good to know her psyche wasn't permanently damaged and I'm impressed that she knows when to terrorize and when to shut her yap. Maybe she's a genius and I just don't appreciate it.

Goodbye, summer

It was chilly enough for a sweater this morning, then I had to turn the heat on for the first time since spring. Finally, it warmed up this evening and when Shona asked to go dig in the dirt that is our yard, I had to let her. It will probably be the last time this year she gets to dig around and really get dirty. Soon the fall rains will set in and they will segue into sleet, snow and all the nastiness that winter involves. I can't believe in a couple of months she'll be trading in her trowel for gloves and earmuffs, huffing and puffing to make a snowman in the front yard. I'm not ready!

Some Bunny Loves You

I love having girls. Enough said!

Fun at the Park

We had to get out of the house today. No, we had to. Really. The walls were closing in on us and even though dark clouds threatened, we decided to risk a trip to the park. In my morning walks with Bailey, I had stumbled across a small park within walking distance of our house, but it just didn't have a lot to offer. I took Shona to it last night and let her play for a while. I even plopped my big butt into a swing and had some fun while we were there. I knew that trip was successful when Shona giggled and said "I LOVE you, MOM!" It does a mom good. Today we went to a local park with a lot more equipment. She met up with one of her classmates and raced around, trying to play on every single piece of equipment in the place. She managed to.


Katy even got in on the action, climbing on the monkey bars and getting on the merry-go-round. That might not have been the smartest thing to do, because dad showed up and offered to push her. He did and didn't stop until Katy was about to toss her cookies. I don't think she'll be doing that again anytime soon.
Tomorrow, if the weather holds, I want to go to the state park and let the kids feed the fish. Now that would be fun and it would be out of the house!

An Eviction Notice

Kids have such a short attention span. A few weeks ago, in the midst of a Barbie-love-a-thon in my house, I was persuaded to buy Shona a dollhouse. This wasn't just any house, it's a 4 1/2' tall, three story dream home for someone 11 1/2" high. The floors are reversible even. It took me two hours of sweat and cursing to assemble this beautiful structure and install it in the room. Sure, there isn't any practical way to get from the second floor to the third, but Ken and Barbie seem to be highly adaptable and fine with it. They have happily enjoyed their new digs without benefit of furniture, knowing it was on its way. They haven't even been nagging for a sportscar to tool around the bedroom floor in, such is the state of happiness in the new dream home. Until now.

I walked in to find the house stripped of all Barbie items, its floors gleaming, sad and empty. Had they failed to make rent? Was there a natural disaster that had prompted the doll family to pull up stakes and move on? I asked Shona why the dolls were gone and she informed me that she now wanted to use this gleaming home to showcase her new My Little Pony collection. She only has one pony that I am aware of, so of course I asked where she was going to get these ponies and she requested cleaning jobs around the house to earn the money for them. *sigh* The sad part of this is it took me over a week of searching on the internet to find furniture to fill this house for barbie and her friends. The furniture is still in transit and now these poor plastic people might never even get the chance to enjoy such amenities. It looks destined to become a very high end horse stable, the likes of which those My Little Ponies have never seen. It won't take long and I'm sure they'll be demanding horse trailers, pony brushes and special oat diets. As for Barbie, she's still smiling, but I can tell it's that fake, plastic factory made smile. Inside she's crying over her dream home, so cruelly ripped out from under her perfectly arched plastic feet. Such is the life in the toybox. One day you're in, the next day you're out.

A Girl and Her Phone

What is it with teenagers and telephones? I mean really, what is the fascination? I know they want to keep in contact with their friends, but when they've spent the entire day at school together, why oh why do they need to come right home and start yakking even more, rehashing every moment of the day they just spent together? Maybe I was just a strange child or maybe my parents were mighty strict with our phone, but I was allowed five minutes when I got on the phone and to be honest...that was too much. I just wasn't a chatter. I never have been. I can talk for a while on the phone if I have something to say, but I'm a get to the point kind of gal. Strange since one of my favorite things to do is stay up all night and talk, but I guess I prefer to do that face to face.
Sometimes I worry that Katy will have to have the phone surgically removed from her ear. I know it's just a phase, though. Once she leaves home and has to call to talk to me, she'll suddenly lose interest in the phone!

How to tell when your child is seriously ill

It has been one crazy 24 hours. Shona was up until after 3:00 with a severely congested head. She was so darn miserable and nothing helped, not medicine, not a breathing treatment, nothing. She finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion and we got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I woke her up figuring she'd miss her first day of school the first week of school, but she got up, was very chipper and happy and other than a slightly stuffy nose, was just fine. I sent her off to school. We had to run to the base to get new I.D. cards after school, and she was sort of a terror for most of it, but then at other times was a doll....like confiding to me as we were picking out a new outfit for her that she's in love with a boy in her class but he doesn't want a girlfriend. Ah, young love. Anyway, I digress. So she was on John's last little nerve the entire trip, hyped up, could not stop talking no matter what she tried and could not focus. I knew she was worn out, the poor thing. She fell asleep in the van on the way home, I brought her in and put her to bed. About an hour later, I got up to check on her, stepped into her room and she was sitting in the middle of the floor. I said "Shona! What are you doing up....(I look around the room).....cleaning??! Of all things! Cleaning her room! She looked awful. She had dark circles under her eyes, she was sniffling again, but there she was cleaning. The funny part was she looked guilty like I'd caught her sneaking into a hidden stash of Christmas presents or something, and she hopped back in bed. I cannot get that child to clean her room even under threats, so I knew she had to be delerious! Maybe I should sleep on the floor next to her bed. Or perhaps I should let her sleep in my room, so if she wakes up with a feverish need to clean, she can do my room next!

Help!

I'm locked out of ScrapAddict and I can't get in! I went in to change my email address and it knocked me offline and told me to sign back in. I tried but since then it tells me my user name doesn't exist. I guess I was voted off the island! Booo hoooo. On a good note, though, I've polished off one of my design team assigned kits for October and I'm working on the other one. I guess if I can't do anything online for a few days, I will at least catch up on my scrapping. *sniffle* I miss my chat board.

Look, ma, pictures!

EUREKA!!! I have the power...the power of photo posting!!! I was playing around in internet options again and I guess I finally hit on the right combination. It was nothing I hadn't tried before, but this time it worked. Same thing with cars...it makes all the weirdest "I'm going to break down ANY MINUTE" noises when I'm in there, then it acts like it has another 100,000 miles to go before any problems the minute John gets behind the wheels. Computers and cars, they must run on testosterone.

In any case, here's a Scrap Addict sneak peek for you. Now don't say I never gave you anything. I was a little fearful of this kit when I first saw it but it quickly became one of my favorites. I'm lovin' it. (Just saying that makes me want a cheeseburger).

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

I've come to the determination that I'm one of those people for whom the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. For the past five years, I've worked without a lot of time off, and every single morning my alarm would go off I would wish I could stay at home. Then one day my husband got a new job, and suddenly that alarm was silenced. Now I find myself at home, only two days into being a temporary stay at home mom again, and I find myself wondering if I'd be happier getting a part time job. I suddenly have empty days to fill without the company of the children who I was complaining about last week. Is there ever a perfect moment when I can just relax and enjoy my life? I had one day like that once. It was right after we bought our house. John was still stationed on the east coast, my girls were in school for the day, and I invited my grandmother up for the day. We sat on my porch, rocking in my rockers, drinking iced tea and watching hummingbirds fly by. We didn't do much talking, just enjoyed the sunshine and the beautiful day. I can remember thinking what a perfect day it was and I was able to stop and enjoy the moment. That is the only time I ever felt like that when I was actually in the moment. In retrospect, I had some wonderful days I wish I could go back and revisit indefinitely. Why wasn't I able to wring that type of enjoyment out of them while I was experiencing them? Or is that what life is? One long series of restrospective feelings that you missed out on enjoying the days you didn't know were perfect until after they are gone? I have a sneaking suspicion that sums up child rearing as well. It's one long string of days made up of the everyday mundane, a few flashes of intensity along the way and then one day they are grown. You think "that's it? Hold it, if I had know X day was going to be the best ever with my child, I wouldn't have been so short with them. I would have enjoyed it more!" If only, if only. The saddest statement in the English language.

And in other news...I still cannot post pictures. I've made sure I get cookies, my popups aren't blocked, and everything else this site suggests. I've also written to their help desk and no one answers.

Still not able to add pictures. GRRRRRRR!!

WTH??

I can't get my images to add to my posts anymore. I don't know if I'm being punished by the blogging gods or what, but it's making me crazy.

Questions, Questions

Thanks for tagging us all, Jess.


If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be?
Pensacola, Florida near the white, sandy beaches.

What's your favorite article of clothing?
Probably a good, comfy pair of jeans. Well worn ones. I don't have an actual favorite pair.

Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex?
It's got to be the eyes.

What's the last CD that you bought?
I don't know, but I doubt it was for me. I rarely buy albums, although I do want the new Michael Buble one.

Where's your favorite place to be?
Pensacola, FL. Other than that, my grandma's house.

Where's your least favorite place to be?
That would have to be work.

What's your favorite place to be massaged?
My feet.

Strong in mind or strong in body?
More mind at this point, but I'm working on it.

What time do you wake in the morning?
Right now whenever I wake up, but next week when school starts, about 6:00 a.m.

What's your favorite kitchen appliance?
My new upright deep freeze. It's wonderful, although it's more of a garage appliance right now.

What makes you really angry?
Losing my keys. LOL

If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Piano

Favorite color?
Red

Which do you prefer, sports car or SUV?
SUV

Do you believe in afterlife?
Yes

Favorite children's book?
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

What is your favorite season?
Spring

What's your least favorite household chore?
Floors!!

If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Invisibility

If you have a tattoo, what is it?
A rose wrapped around an anchor, on my left outer ankle.

Can you juggle?
Only my responsibilities.

The one person from your past you wish you could go back and talk to?
My Grandfather.

What's your favorite day?
Right now Wednesdays

What's in the trunk of your car?
A spare tire and jack.

Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger?
Hamburger. Sushi does not belong in my world.

It's a done deal

We're moved. There have been so many aggravations about this move I'm not sure it's worth it. I can only hope so. Two of the biggest are the mail and the internet. Three doors up they have DSL. Do you think they bothered running the lines to this house for that? Of course not. We tried through our local phone company, we tried cable, we even though about going back to dial up (shudder). In the end, we got raked over the coals to sign up for satellite DSL, and in my opinion we might as well have gone back to dial up. It's not that fast. The other annoyance is the mail. We had our mail forwarded well over a week ago. Not one piece has shown up. Not one. Where the hell is it? The local office says they don't have it. The old office says they don't and since my dad was my mailman I'm pretty sure he didn't make off with it. I guess it's in limbo and if my bills don't get paid because I don't get them I should be able to make the mail people responsible. I don't think it works that way, but I can wish. Then I found out today that no one can do the click and ship to me because my address is so new it's not in the USPS system yet. Here I thought living in a brand spanking new place would be a wonderful change of pace. I guess I learned my lesson there, huh?
Now to sell the house. We had one offer, but it was ridiculously low and we turned them down. We turned down their counter offer as well because it didn't budge enough. I'm willing to deal, but I'm not willing to get screwed on the price of my house. If it's going to sell, I hope it's soon so I don't feel so pressured to start working. If it's not soon, I don't see it happening once school gets back in session. Just another gripe about this move. I am glad Katy is getting into the school band. They seem to like her and she's very much enjoying band camp. Shona and I will be up to our own devices this week as John has to be in the classroom all week setting things up and Katy is at band camp from hell (10 hours a day!). It's going to be a long month.

A View of Me

It's always eye opening to ask others to describe you. I knew it wouldn't be pretty as tired and stressed as I've been the past five years, but here goes...

Katy says:
sarcastic, strict, insomniac, crafty and bittersweet

John says:
scrapaholic, resourceful, dedicated, frantic and emotional

Shona says:
mean, nice (?!), sad, tired and hugs-a-lot

Sadly, they are all true. Maybe the next few years will be kinder to us all. :)

Blogger Challenges

Five things I like about myself. Hmph. This is a tough one:
1. My hands
2. My eyes
3. My sense of humor
4. My resilience
5. My ability to remain calm

There you have it. Some days I like myself better than others, but those days are rare.

What color crayon would I be? I think I would be blue. I love red, but it's not really who I am. I'm ocean blue, very serene and calm on the outside but deep, murky and mysterious just under the surface. Man, if I were able to lie I'd be a wonderful CIA agent. ;)
Too bad!

And for my newspaper ad advertising myself:
Tired, broken down, middle aged woman in desperate need of rest. Not picky or fussy, definitely not high maintenance. Can be very moody if lacking sleep or stressed. Runs on sweetened iced tea. Loves caramel and salty things, but please don't feed her chocolate. Mileage will depend on treatment.

Obscure Facts

For the Scrap Addict Blog Challenge, here are three obscure facts about me. I'm not sure just how obscure they are, though!

1. I have two artificial joints and have since I was 27. I don't care what doctors tell you, either, you most certainly can feel weather changes in your joints, especially in ones that have been replaced!

2. I detest coconut to the point that it is banned from my house. I hate the flavor, the smell, the texture and even the look of it.

3. I had a case of poison sumac so bad when I was a pre-teen that it was even on my scalp, under my fingernails and in my nostrils. They put me on a high dosage of medication to combat my severe allergic reaction, and the medicine caused me to have hallucinations. That was one summer I would rather forget and to this day I tend to freak out when any part of me itches.

About Me

Thanks for the blog challenge, Annette! :)

favorite color: RED
word I most liked to be described as: genuine
best meal I cook: spaghetti
favorite dessert: cheesecake
favorite book: Illusions by Richard Bach
favorite outfit: jeans and a T shirt
usually in bed by: 11:30 on a work night (crazy since I get up at 5:30)
favorite sounds: the ocean
I wish: I didn't have to work
What I crave: more time and more sleep
Surround me with: a starry sky, a pair of rocking chairs, a good conversationalist and endless time to chat

For Sale

Our house is officially on the market as of today. I'm a little sad, but looking forward to something new and exciting, too. If nothing else, this next year will be an adventure. I can only hope it sells. Cross your fingers for us!
We've made a lot of progress in getting things situated in the sheds. Now the real packing and storing will begin. I'm trying to use Murphy's Law to my advantage...if we plan to use the sheds for storage, the house will sell, right? ;)

Happy Mother's Day

I had a good Mother's Day. We took my mother in law to Olive Garden and met up with my sister, my mother and two other family members for a nice lunch. We got there right as they opened, and good thing since it was jam packed with people waiting for long stretches right after we were seated. I got a beautiful card and a necklace for a gift and I enjoyed my time with family. Now I need to scrap!

Stress

Ahhhhhhhhhhh sweet stress. I've missed you so. Oh, wait. You never went away. Work still sucks. We are in the midst of a cold war with the office boss because he knows we turned his butt in on a lot of the crap he's been pulling. I don't think anything will ever come of the complaints we all formally lodged, but here's hoping human resources does more than slap wrists.

Now for the fun news. The house is going on the market, I am quitting my lovely job (YEEEEESSSSSSS!) sometime next month and we are moving in July. John starts work on his Master's Degree this summer and will be gone evenings. We are going to finish building the room we started in hopes of getting a decent price for the house, plus a new roof is going on in a week or two. We are cleaning and reorganizing and beginning to pack, but that's going to be a slow process. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of this summer's madness, we get to travel all the way to D.C. so John can have his third and final checkup with the Navy to prove he is still unfit to return to active duty. Yeah, D.C. Yikes. That is one long trip ahead and I am not looking forward to it. I am trying to find the good here somewhere with this much happening at once. I guess if I survive the summer at least it'll all be overwith, huh?

Must scrap. Must destress. ;)

Feels Like Old Times

After much stress, worry and consideration, my husband found a job in the state. He graduates college next weekend (with honors, I might add) and will be starting his post-military career this fall as a newly minted high school science teacher. There were only two schools he was very excited about. The local school chose a teacher with 12 years of experience, so we can't fault them for that. This particular school was very excited about John getting his job. As excited as *he* was, I figured we would make it work somehow. And by make it work, I mean we are having a life-changing, total upheaval of a summer. The job is almost two hours to the south, which means pulling the kids out of school, selling the house and moving to a new town. This makes me feel like we are back in the military way of life, changing our living quarters every year, but this time I am feeling too old for this gypsy way of life.
This weekend, we took an overnight trip to our future hometown and gave it a look-through. It's pretty much the town we live in now except it has better restaurants. The first night we were there, the weather was horrible, we were late for the play we had driven in to see, and we were pretty much miserable. The experience didn't leave us with a great impression of the place, but it did improve the next day. A realtor came to his office special just to see us on Saturday to give us information on area houses for rent that might be available when we are ready to move. If our house doesn't sell quickly, we will be renting for the first year. We are seriously considering renting anyway, just to get to know the town better and to figure out where we might want to buy someday, IF we decide to buy at all.
Shona seems to think we are moving to Africa and wants a pet zebra and my family is in a tizzy over the fact that we are moving and selling out, but it's not like they ever come to see us as it is, so I don't give their comments much regard anyway. Unfortunately, with the military and with teaching, you have to go where the jobs are. They don't bring them to you.
The great news is I finally will get to quit my job. Yaaaay! I will be looking for something when we get there, I just don't know what yet. Here's hoping for a secretarial position in one of the schools. More later when I know more!

Scrappin'!

Yep, I'm scrapping today. I guess I found my groove or else I am just feeling pressured to get a few things done. I think this is my favorite one I finished today, just a Sketch Challenge but I love the colors of this kit. Wonderful. And it even goes well with a picture of dirty, smelly sneakers. How can you ask for more?

Sneak Peek

I can neither confirm nor deny that this is sneak peek of an upcoming Scrap Addict kit. I was never here. You never saw a thing.
Now let's recap. You didn't see this one, either:



Now let's move it along, people. There's nothing to see here. Nothing at all.

A Rut By Any Other Name Would be Just as Deep

I am in a rut and it's a deep one. I don't feel like scrapping, I don't feel like moving, I just don't feel like existing. I know it's because we're in limbo again, waiting to find out where John will teach next year. It's exhilarating and frightening at the same time, not unlike all those times we waited on pins and needles to find out where the next duty station would take us. I'm all for a move at this point, especially after the past couple of weeks at work. I am ready to go back to being a stay at home mom, at least part time! I know it could happen within the next year, but if we don't stay in this area it will be measured in weeks instead of months. For that selfish reason alone, I keep hoping for a move. I don't think that's necessarily in our best interest as a family, though, so I am keeping that little beacon of hope to myself.
Now as for that scrapping problem, I've decided to bring myself out of the funk, I need to tackle something that I want to do for me. No challenges, no assignments, nothing that I feel I *have* to do, which is how I spend most of my scrapping time. I want something for me, a project that I can complete and have a finished product to keep. I'm doing a mini album about a week in my life. I've asked some of my fellow scrappers to join me in my venture so that I would have a cheering section to get me to finish this. If I know me, and believe me I do, I will get halfway through the project and stop. Not this time! If I announce on the boards that I will do it, I must do it. They won't let me fail. Maybe that will get me through this big, wide rut I can't seem to climb out of. And if I can climb out of my scrapping rut, maybe I can climb out of my life rut shortly thereafter. A girl can dream, can't she?

Springtime in Missouri

As much as I love spring, I could do without the severe weather that has been passing through these last few weeks. Over 100 tornadoes touched down in a 24 hour time span last month, some too close for comfort for me. I am terrified of tornadoes, so why I live in tornado alley, I have no idea. Because that's where my family lives, I suppose.
I know there must be a scientific explanation (I should ask my soon to be science teacher husband), but I would like to know why most severe thunderstorms roll through here in the middle of the night. I can deal with the thunder and lightning. It's no big deal, but when it gets into hail and tornado warnings, I freak. I cannot sleep at all if there is even the tiniest bit of "cloud rotation" as the weatherman says. I'd also like to know when they changed the tornado warning system. I know when I was younger, a tornado watch meant conditions were favorable for a tornado to drop and a warning meant one was on the ground, take cover. Well, now a warning doesn't mean one is on the ground, but it could happen at any time. Granted, that's enough to send me scurrying to the basement, but do they have to keep changing this stuff? Also, if it's daylight, I feel like I have a chance to see something coming. In the darkness, I can't see enough to give me a sense of comfort, and I sit staring out the window, hoping a flash of lightning won't show a big funnel cloud heading my direction. Seriously, I have a phobia of these things. At least with a hurricane you have warning, but tornadoes just drop out of the sky, rip lives to shreds and disappear. Ah, the things I ponder as I sit here listening to the thunder roll across the sky and strain to hear if the hail has hit yet.
Just another springtime in Missouri. It's moments like these I sit here wishing I were sitting on the sands of the beaches of Pensacola, wiling away the afternoon with a glass of tea, a smutty novel and an ocean breeze. Someday...

See? Now that I've figured out the whole picture thing, I just can't help myself. I MUST blog. Here's my baby with her Barbie birthday cake. She could look a little happier, don't you think? I hope she's not already concerned with her age!

Look at me go! I finally sat here long enough and read enough info pages to figure out how to add my banner and photos to my blog. Happy dance. It only took me what....six months? Thank you to Jess, my Scrap Addict Secret Sweetie, who has this banner made for my blog. I bet she thought I was ungrateful and didn't like it, but noooo...I was just woefully inadequate at inserting it! See my cute bunny? That adorable rabbit turned six on me yesterday. I keep telling them if I don't feed them they won't grow up on me, right?

I wish I had time for more things. Like...say...scrapping. I just don't have enough to stretch where I need it to, and days like today don't help. I was the lone ranger in my office today. My co worker is on vacation and our boss has Tuesdays off (rough life). So that left me and the backup lady, who only comes in to help when we get flooded. I had such a headache by day's end. I desperately need a new job, but if John gets a teaching position out of state or far enough from here that we need to move, it isn't worth the effort of hunting right now.
Yes, the fun has begun. John interviewed at our school district yesterday and attended a state wide job fair today, where he handed out at least a dozen resumes. He's already set up two interviews for next week based on those initial contacts. Half of me wants to stay here because it would be so much easier. The kids like this school and have established friendships. Our family is here and we have a house. We don't love our house, but at least it's ours. But I also long to live near a bigger city so we have something to DO on weekends. I guess time will tell where we end up. I just know it's going to be a stressful month while we figure out where the road is going to lead us. This waiting and wondering takes me back to our military lives.

Change is good

Another day, another dollar...or 50 cents after taxes. John is wrapping up his college career in a few short weeks. I can't believe it's almost over. We've scrimped and struggled for him to attend school full time for the past few years so he could finish his degree. The first week of May will finally bring an end to it all. I sometimes feel a twinge of guilt because I haven't always been the most supportive of wives, but then I do what I can just to get through each day anymore. I'm so tired of it all. I'm running out of steam with full time work, getting Katy back and forth to every extra cirricular activity she signs up for, and trying to keep Shona happy while John gets his work done. Remind me again why I felt the need to add a new puppy into the mix? Oh yes, comic relief. That's right.

So now we are at a crossroads. John is looking into jobs all over, from Washington, D.C. to our own local school and at this point, anything is possible. He (almost!) has a degree that allows him to teach all sciences, not just one, so I think he has a good shot at a decent job. I'm torn, though. Part of me would love to just chuck it all, sell the house and start over somewhere else, but I know the kids would hate to rip up roots and move. Katy would, anyway. She is starting high school this fall. Shona is starting first grade. I'd hate to do that to them, but where John gets a job dictates where we move, so they know it's a possibility. I think I'm intrigued most by a private school in Oklahoma City that has shown a strong interest in John. They keep requesting more information and I know he is in the top three. Only time will tell.

As for me, I passed my state test, so if any jobs open up for the new job title I'm eligible for, I can interview. The new classification pays more, so I am crossing my fingers that something will open up that I would be perfect for. Then again, part of me is also hoping we'll sell the house this summer and move to another state! I won't get my hopes up for anything in particular because there are just too many variables and too many ways this thing could play out. Whatever happens, though, I'm ready for a change. Bring it on.

As long as I'm ranting

Ah, easy come, easy go. We had such plans for our income tax return. We got a really nice one back and whammo! the furnace went out. Of course. $2500 later, we kissed most of our return goodbye, but at least we have heat. Oh, the tradeoffs we must make. I'm happy we had the money to do it when it was needed, but still...

A few nights later, Katy stepped out of her shower and yelled "MOOOOOOM! What happened to the hot water!?" Oh, geez. We have a tankless water heater, so there was only one reason it could be. In all the hassling with the furnace, we both forgot to check the propane tank. Yep, bone dry. This is the first (and LAST!) time we ever let that happen. But why did it have to happen at night when it was too late to call the gas company out and WHY did it have to happen on a really cold night? John spent 40 minutes trying to start a fire in the wood burning furnace, but without kerosene and the yukky, tough wood we have, it just didn't happen. He gave up and was going to head out for kerosene, but when I went downstairs to get the container, there were flames licking out of the furnace. Now I'm no expert on fire making, but I was pretty darn sure those flames shooting out mixed with the smoke emanating from my furnace were a clear indication of fire. How annoying, but at least it finally took off and we had heat. However, I knew the morning to come was not going to be fun because I had an ice cold shower to look forward to. I tossed and turned worrying about it all night and it actually turned out to be worse than I thought it would be. You have to understand, I cannot leave my house without a shower. I just can't do it, but not getting a shower just isn't enough of a reason for me to miss work in my mind...so ice cold water it was. My fingers actually went numb and I didn't feel warm until about five hours after I stepped out of the shower, not to mention my red fingers. Let that be a bitter reminder to me not to let that tank run dry again.

Fast forward to Saturday. I had decided to apply for a new state job title, one with better pay that will hopefully whisk me away from my current hellhole of a boring job. I had to take a merit test for it and it happened to land on this particular Saturday. I was sailing along fine through it until I came to an entire section on Statistics. I hate Statistics. I loathe Statistics. I think Statistics is an asinine, purely invented nonsensical FAKE math that some idiot invented to confuse otherwise sane and reasonably intelligent people. It is totally without merit and meaningless. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. Unfortunately, the 15 minute limit of ditching the test to take it later had passed so I was stuck taking it. I won't find out for a couple of weeks if I passed and am on the register. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really want a different job. Mine has become so dull I have read five 300+ page novels in the past two weeks.

And in other news...I want to scrap! There just aren't enough hours in the day lately. Maybe this weekend....

Vacation Time!

We are skipping town and getting away from it all for a few days. I desperately need a break. I'm sick of work, work and more work all the time. I haven't had more than a couple of days of vacation time off since last summer and it's getting to me. Winter is getting to me, too. Now I just need to win that Powerball and move to an island somewhere! Have a great weekend, I hope to be a better blogger next week.

How do they know?

I just took another one of those little online quizzes and I have to say for something no more than six questions long, it sure pegged me!

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything. You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life. You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you. Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace. You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life. Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times. At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you. You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others. You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Is there a doctor or a cleaning fairy in the house?

I guess I'm falling a little behind on this blogging thing. I have been so sick the past week I haven't felt like doing much of anything except watching TV, sleeping and sitting in front of this computer. So you would think I would manage to update, but if all you're doing is sleeping and watching TV, what is there to update?

My Scrap Addict "Secret Sweetie" had someone make me an awesome blog banner but do you think I'm smart enough to get it into my blog? Of course not. I don't feel up to fighting with it and/or trying to outsmart this thing, so it'll just have to wait a while longer. I'm getting to it, though, and I really do love it, gals!

This is the one month of the year it's good to work for the state of Missouri. Two three day weekends in a row. Ahhhhhh nice. :) I guess that's to get us ready for the two month haul with zero holidays coming up. Oh, but did I mention I love my boss? I had to miss Wednesday and Thursday because I was two shades from death. I went back Friday because they really needed me, but she sent me home an hour early and insisted I use sick time and not vacation time even though I felt OK at that point. I got home and had a major relapse. I hate the flu. So much for that flu shot I had last year.

And in other news....I really need the cleaning fairy to clean my house. I'm not up to it other than keeping up with laundry. (Even sick I have to have clean clothing!) John either fractured his foot or severely sprained it in an altercation at the high school last week, so he's not up to it, and the kids only work so well. Shona attempted to clean the bathroom floor for me by splashing half her bathwater out (but mom, there was a bug on the floor, I was trying to drown it!), so at least that part is finished. I'll take what I can get for now, but whoever is holding that cleaning fairy hostage...I'd sure like to borrow her for a while.

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life:

Stay at home mom (which was the hardest job ever!), bank vault manager, bank teller, Department of corrections payroll/inmate cash payout release section.

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
Somewhere in Time, While You Were Sleeping, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Hunt for Red October

4 Places You Have Lived:
Missouri, Texas, Maryland and Italy. I'm trying to forget California ever existed.

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch:
Golden Girls (you didn't say it had to be new!), Survivor thanks to Cori and her blasted scrappin' games, CSI when I remember to watch it (rarely) and Trading Spaces (haven't watched it in forever).

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation: Does a two year "vacation" in Italy count? :) Other than that, Florida, St. Louis (woo) and North Carolina.

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
ScrapAddict, ebay (thankfully I don't buy very often), CNN. That's pretty much it for daily.

4 of Your Favorite Foods:
Chips, popcorn, really good cheesecake and a mouth watering medium rare steak.


4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida

4 Bloggers You are Tagging:

I'll get back to you on that!

Should old aquaintance be forgot?

Apparently not. This week, out of the blue, I heard from a long lost friend I'd given up as gone forever. We hadn't heard a peep in over 7 years, so this call was quite the surprise. I'd always sent a Christmas card with an update, but after a while you do give up when you hear nothing back. She has her hands full with work and caring for a severely impaired son, so I can see where she'd be slow to respond...but seven years? All's well, though. We chatted for over an hour (Me! I was on the phone for over an hour. I haven't done that since John was deployed) and caught up. The sad part was my life didn't take much updating. Maybe that is why I am Mundane Ramblings. In any case, I was thrilled to hear from Cece. She's a one of a kind lady, completely original and funny as hell.

And in a weird coincidence, I had another friend email me from out of the blue. I hadn't heard from her in nearly a year. Then today, Katy had a call from a friend of hers who had moved away over a year ago. It's very odd, but maybe good things come in threes, too. One can hope. And here's hoping we keep in closer contact with good friends from days gone by.

What a day. I prefer to be busy at work, but today was just unreal. We were going like the Energizer Bunny until quitting time. Why, oh why, can't they spread it out a little more? Why must Wednesdays hit so hard? Just another mystery of life.

No scrapping to be done tonight. I have a meeting to attend about some 8th grade graduation party. I've never even heard of having a school sponsored 8th grade graduation party until this year. It seems a little strange to me. I never was one for ceremonies (why do you think I eloped?) so to have a party on top of a ceremony will nearly kill me, I'm sure. Oh, what we put up with for our offspring.

I'm too tired to blog. :)

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...

...you know you're going to hum that song the rest of the evening. THANK YOU SO MUCH to Julie for enlightening me on how to add that row of links down the side of my blog. I would also like to thank her for narrowing down by one who isn't my Secret Sweetie. Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

A little help here?

I'm not sure I'm cut out for this blogging thing. I forget it's here most of the time and I prefer reading them to writing in them. I don't have time to sit down and figure out things like adding fun links down the side of my page, either. I'd love to list the blogs I frequent, but alas, I am blog code challenged. Hard to believe I taught myself basic HTML and did my webpage years ago. All that knowledge does me no good with this weird blogging system. You have to know *their* codes or you are up the creek sans a paddle.

However, today I feel like a celebrity. Felicia mentioned me in her blog "It's a Jungle in Here" so now I'm returning the favor. Of course, if someone out there would give me the lowdown on how to EASILY add those links down the side of my page (hint hint) I would love to link up to ScrapAddict permanently. Ahem. Oh, and if my Scrap Addict Secret Sweetie (you know who you are) wants to really wow me with something I would use every day, she could get a custom made sign for the top of my blog. I don't even know what they are called, a banner? Something with Basic Grey papers in the background. Something with grunge lettering. Of course, this mystery person would also have to instruct me on how to insert it at the top of my blog since I don't have time to get in there and figure it out for myself. Ah, a scrapping girl can dream, can't she?

Last night I spent about three hours making sketches. I'd fallen behind and had to make up for lost time. I even did one just winging it and I'm pretty impressed with myself. It's not that I mind making sketches, I just forget to. Like everything else. I have started carrying around a notepad to write myself notes. I think middle aged forgetfulness has hit full force. That and gravity. I will not look down. I will not look down. It aint a pretty sight.