Mandy's Blog

Kitties, kitties.....

2011-08-08T22:50:00.005-04:00

I am not a cat person. Never have been. Kittens are cute, of course, but when it comes to pets, dogs are the only way to go. However, we now have not one, not two, but FIVE cats. We started with the gray cat, Scout. Then my sister added the orange cat, Pippin. Then Scout had kittens. So now, here we are, with one dog and five cats.

They sure are mighty cute though! The little boy is the sweetest little thing ever, while the two girl attempt to destroy everything around them.

And Pip is now a big, fat, furry, lazy cat. He demands that his bowl always stays full. He is a finicky eater -- no people food whatsoever and only one kind of cat food. We bought a different brand a few weeks ago. He put a piece his mouth, spit it out, and then fell backwards on the floor in a melodramatic swoon and whining. I kid you not. I have never seen a cat or any other animal behave like such a diva. In the picture above, he was "helping" me quilt, that is, making a bed out of the fabric before I tried to cut it.

And, since Pip brought up the subject, here are the fabrics for my new quilt. I wanted to try something with more modern colors, but I had an awful time deciding what pattern. For now, I have decided on doing an Ohio star pattern and alternating pink and green stars, with black and white throughout. It will be interesting to see how it turns out!

Things Change........

2011-05-11T00:13:00.003-04:00

This year is almost half over?! I can't believe it. Time is flying by. I remember when I was little, feeling like every birthday and Christmas were light years apart. Now I take down the Christmas tree, blink, and it's time to put it back up again. When I was a kid, however, the passing time reflected little to me -- getting new toys, reading new books, and working through each school year with the sole object of getting to summer vacation as soon as possible.

Well, as time goes by, things change. I have thought I was an adult for a while now, but in the last two years I have really, really had to grow up. Mom wasn't here to help me anymore. Did I even realize that she was helping me?? I have had to take on more responsibilities than ever before in life, and, despite the assurances from my married friends that I really have no responsibilities at all, I assure them in return that, though single I have my fair share of responsibilities. In fact, I have even been known to argue with them that I have more -- after all, they get to split their burdens in half. There are two people to get the bills paid, take care of the kids, and make decisions with. I have to make the money to pay the bills, write the checks, and remember to pay them all by myself. I also have to make the decisions on my own -- whether to take on a payment, a project, apply for a job, what classes to take. And as the bigger decisions in life come up, such as whether I should move away from my family to pursue a job opportunity or continue school to complete a four-year degree, I have to decide which way to go by myself. My friends also tell me how good I've got it -- after all I am footloose and fancy-free to make my own decisions. Maybe they are right, but they haven't convinced me yet.

But, like I said, things change. I used to have different plans and ideas about my life. But, things have not fallen into place as I thought they would. And I have decided that the best things I can do for myself is to do the next thing that is in front of me. Not giving up or settling or forgetting my original ideas, but trusting that I am in the place in life I am for a reason. Not worrying and crying or feeling left out because of what I don't have, but to look at what opportunities I do have and what I can do right now. I can finish my degree, make new friends, take vacations -- and enjoy these things. Jim Eliot said, "Let not longing slay the appetite for living" and I am trying to live by that. I would prefer not make decisions by myself and pursuing a degree and career was never high on my priority list. But these are the opportunities that I have today, so instead of worrying about what I wish they were I am going to enjoy them. And you know, they are not as bad as I thought they would be!

Worry is an awful thing. And I am a worry wart. Worry causes sleepless nights, tension headaches, lockjaw, weight gain, and temper tantrums. I can't back that up with scientific evidence, but believe me, it can. And Jesus said, "Who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" So instead of worrying about what I don't have, when I will get it, what decisions I should make, and what classes I should take, I am trying to change my outlook. And simply take life one day at a time, one decision at a time. It's not a big thing, but it does help. And I know that there is Someone always there to help me, who will never leave or forsake me. I know that He has a plan for me and I trust in that.

A Real Life Fairytale!

2011-05-04T17:54:00.001-04:00

Anyone who is related to me, has worked with me, met me, or even just read this blog should not be surprised to know that I got up and watched the royal wedding live. I have been counting down ever since Prince William and Kate Middleton, now Princess Catherine, announced their engagement. I couldn't wait to see the dress. Now don't get me wrong -- the popular, sleeveless, modern wedding dresses can be beautiful, but I was just dying to see a true princess dress with lace and sleeves and timelessness. I was not disappointed! Her dress was stunning -- very classic lines, and a Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor style that I just love. the simplicity of her entire style, with the light veil, delicate tiara, and overall elegance was exactly what I hoped to see. It was perfect!

A lot of my friends and family couldn't have cared less about the wedding and I can understand to some extent. But, personally, I see things a different way. This was a moment in history. Prince William is the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, a direct descendant of many royal families in Europe. Kate Middleton was a "commoner." And, one day, they will be king and queen of England. With all the turmoil and war and strife, the recession, economic stress, unemployment, etc, it was wonderful just to celebrate a joyful day -- a marriage of two people who seemed to glow with happiness. It was also awesome to so see a ceremony seeped in traditions, Scripture, and history. America doesn't have anything like this. The closest thing we have to royalty are president's families and movies stars, but in both cases, the weddings are practically always private with a few pictures released to the press after the fact. I really appreciated the way Prince William and Princess Catherine went the extra mile to include not just Britain but everyone in their ceremony and joy. I was at my house sitting on the floor in front of the TV in my bathrobe, but I felt like I was an invited guest!

Anyway, I just had to post about the wedding of the century. And I wish the prince and princess many, many happy years together!

My latest art project

2011-01-28T20:11:00.003-05:00

A lady at work commissioned me to draw her grandson for Christmas. I was really happy with the way it turned out, and, more importantly, she was too. This was just a regular snapshot they had taken of him in his highchair, but the expression and lighting were perfect for a picture. This is one of my favorite portraits I have done so far!

One of my new favorite things......

2011-01-22T17:30:00.006-05:00

For Christmas, I got a Kindle! My cousin got one a while back, and I thought it looked neat, but it was hard for me to give up the idea of holding a real book in my hands and turning pages. I mean, you just can't replace curling up in a chair on a rainy afternoon with a good book. But when some other friends began raving over there's, I started to reconsider.

Well, one of the main things that made me reconsider is the library system here. In KY, we had FIVE libraries within a ten mile radius of our house, with online catalogues to renew and place holds with, and an Interlibrary loan system that brought books from California to my house within a week. Here we have one tiny library, without a lot to choose from, with only a three-week loan system. I never remember to return books within three weeks, so I always end up with fines. And as for the Interlibrary system -- I placed a book on Interlibrary loan in October of 2009. Guess when I finally received it? May of 2010. I had completely forgotten about it by the time I got the call that it had arrived. So, the idea of being able to have practically any book I want in my hands anytime I want it was definitely appealing.

So, I next had to decide between a Nook and a Kindle. Both seemed to have their perks, but I finally took a chance on a Kindle. And I love it! I downloaded Elizabeth Gaskell's entire works -- Wives and Daughters, North and South, Mary Barton, The Life of Charlotte Bronte, etc -- for just three dollars!! Not only that, but nearly all the classics (i.e. really old) books that I like to read are FREE!! I have already downloaded about thirty books and a few games as well. I admit that it's not exactly the same as buying beautiful, gilded books with illustrations and seeing them on the shelf, but the ability to have practically all the books I want makes up for it! This is definitely my favorite new gadget! :)

A few pics....

2011-01-10T10:41:00.005-05:00

I live once again in the sunny south, where we wear t-shirts on Thanksgiving and have 70 degree Christmases.

Can't you tell???

All this snow came, the day after Christmas, the closest thing to a white Christmas that any of us have seen. Princess definitely had fun!

This is our snow-covered house!

And now presenting the new kitty!! My sister went to the mall to buy a birthday present and, after not finding anything she liked for me, stopped by the pet store. She came home with this thing lol. She named him Pippin, but we mostly call him Pip. He has a very pink nose, very pink paws, and he literally cries like a baby when he is upset. He has a prissy little walk, he is somewhat cuddly, and he enjoys aggravating poor Scout within an inch of her life. He is only nine months old now, but as you can see, he is a pretty big baby!

He did not know what to think about the snow!!

We got almost ten inches!!

This is his favorite way to be -- asleep, upside down, and stretched out!!

This was taken right after we got him in October. You can see he has practically doubled in size since then!

This is one of my favorite pics ever!

2011

2011-01-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

Well......what can I say. Blogger tells me that my last post was February 26, 2010. So it has been almost an entire year since I posted on here. I think I really needed a break for a while. Last year was a pretty stormy year. We had a lot going on, a lot of adjusting to make to the "new normal" for our family since my mom is gone, and a lot of sorting out to do. I really thought I might crack under the pressure for a while -- we had to go through and divide all of Grandma and Grandpa's things after Grandpa's death, completely turn the house upside down again to put in new carpet, go through the drama of class registrations for myself and my sister, go through the drama of changing jobs, and about a hundred other things. My Grandma on my dad's side died in April. Princess had to have major surgery because of a lump on her stomach and the vet was not very encouraging through that time. And we've basically had to learn (or attempt to learn) how to get along with each other through all this. So, hopefully you can see why I have been absent for a long while.

Don't get me wrong, some good things happened last year, as well. I was able to finally leave retail (wahoo!) and started working in medical records at a hospital, which is great because that is what my degree will be in. I passed all my classes for fall, and was accepted into the Health Information program that I wanted. We got a new kitten and my aunt opened a little store in town that I have been able to sell a few crafts in.

I am really optimistic that 2011 will be a much better year. My sister and I have gotten used to registering and taking classes and my job schedule is much better than before. And we have come to accept the way things are now. So, any way, I hope everyone is having a blessed and happy new year!

This is the South?

2010-02-26T09:05:00.006-05:00

I remember living here years ago. Winters were mild. We wore t-shirts on Christmas Day. The most snow we got was a dusting. But look at this year. I haven't seen this much snow in this town since I was two years old.

Baby's first snow! She didn't like it at all :(

This was right before she looked me and said "MEOW!!!"

She stayed outside exactly two minutes.

Princess loves the snow.

This was the view when I came home from work late one night. Snowflakes the size of cotton balls caught in all the trees. It was gorgeous. The perfect snow for snowballs, snow cream, sledding, and taking pictures.

But ......... I AM READY FOR SPRING!!!!

Finished!

2010-01-23T17:41:00.002-05:00

My last final to complete my career diploma in Medical Coding and Billing consisted of 12 projects -- making records, filling out insurances, scheduling appointments, writing business letters, etc -- and a three page research paper. It was a miserable experience. Every time I thought I was finished, I discovered another "job" that had to be completed or a typo in a paper I thought was finished. And I had a limited time to complete it. And as I printed the final copies of all my work, Scout decided to entertain herself by attacking each paper as it came out of the printer, resulting in large holes, itty bitty teeth marks, and several re-prints. And the post office couldn't get there "overnight" even if I paid the "overnight" price. And I was late for work because it took so long to get it mailed. BUT I found out yesterday that, the paper was on time, I received a grade of 96, and my career diploma is complete! I am so glad it's over. There is more work to do to get certified and complete my degree, but the first step is finished. Yay!!!!

If ever there was a bad kitty.........

2010-01-21T09:28:00.002-05:00

then here she is!

She has a talent spilling drinks, scratching unsuspecting people's feet, climbing on the curtains, attacking the printer, attacking Princess's tail, watching television, and staring at herself in the mirror. But, she's only a kitty! Maybe one day she will learn to behave. I have my doubts, though...........

My Old Kentucky Home

2010-01-20T13:50:00.003-05:00

Last week, I rented Elizabethtown, a movie filmed in Elizabethtown, KY, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. I can't really recommend the movie -- not really great and language issues --but it sure made me miss Kentucky. I think that is the main reason I wanted to see it. I wanted to see KY again.

None of us were thrilled to move to KY ten years ago. I cried and Mama cried. This town was pretty much all we had ever known. And to this country girl, that big city in KY was HUGE. There were all the stores, restaurants, and tourist attractions that you could think of. There was too much for one place to have. The traffic was ridiculous and never could you go anywhere without hearing a siren. When we made our visits back home, we would all breathe a sigh of relief at the slower pace, the ease of small town life.

Well, ten years changes things. I don't know for sure where I consider home anymore. When I lived in KY, I considered this place home. Now, when people ask me where I'm from, I automatically say KY. People could never understand my Southern drawl in KY. Now people here can't understand me. And I miss KY. The country was so beautiful. Rolling green hills, thoroughbred horse pastures, blooming Bradford pear trees in the spring, scarlet leaves in the fall, snow and ice in the winter. Watching the movie, I recognized the KY river bridge I drove over a hundred times at least, the rocky cliffs along I-64, the wildflowers, and the brilliant green foliage. The land here is so flat. I had never even noticed it before. There is nothing but fields and a few small grocery stores. Nothing to do. No stores. Buying a pair of shoes involves a 100 mile round trip drive. The same three restaurants over and over. I miss the big city, with all the traffic and the fast pace.

I miss the gorgeous parks.....

The stone fences...........

the sunsets............

even the snow and icicles.

Ten years in KY, and I didn't get to see half the things I wanted to see or visit the places I wanted to. It isn't likely that I'll go back anytime soon, if ever. But that place I hated so bad in the beginning became a second home to me. Those ten years almost seem like a dream now. I am right back where I started ten years ago, older, hopefully wiser, but still in the same little town. And the tables have turned. Now I wish I could see the rolling green hills and bumper-to-bumper traffic of KY. And I cried a little watching Elizabethtown.

New Music

2010-01-14T10:14:00.004-05:00

I splurged last week on something that I normally don't buy -- sheet music. Not really exciting new to anyone else, but I was excited about it. :) Since I don't take lessons anymore, I never learn any new songs, and I was just completely tired of the same repertoire of music that I have been playing for about five years now. I knew I wouldn't have time to learn anything hard and my hands can't handle a lot of tricky stuff anyway, so I tried to think of what I would really enjoy playing. The answer I came up with was music from my favorite movies. It's already familiar to me, and it's just fun to learn songs that you hear in movies over and over again. I wanted to learn Bella's Lullaby from Twilight, so that was my first choice. The rest of the score is really just variations on the same theme, though. Then, I saw the score from the Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly. Now Colin Firth will forever and always be Mr. Darcy to me, but the music in this version is awesome. I love the titles of the songs, too -- Daydreams, Stars and Butterflies, The Secret Life of Daydreams, etc. The music is a little harder than I thought it would be, lots of twos against threes in music lingo, but I can't wait to learn it. And last, I happened to see a solo of My Father's Favorite from Sense and Sensibility. It may well be my favorite of all of it. So, I cannot wait to learn my new music. And, hopefully, our house is going to sound like a Jane Austen movie! :)

Last Final!!

2010-01-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

I have officially packaged up my final project for my medical coding and billing career diploma!! It was rough. Twelve projects, which involved creating medical records, writing business letters, creating patient brochures, data entry, coding, etc, etc, plus a three page research paper. I thought I would never survive it, but it is finished. It may not get a good grade, but it is finished. I am so excited. I had planned to finish this in nine months. That didn't happen. But, it only took 15 months, and I am over halfway to an Associate Degree! Yay!! Now I can take a deep breath, slow down, and relax a little.

Blog Award

2010-01-09T20:47:00.002-05:00

Kaitlyn at I Stand Redeemed gave me my first blog award!! Thanks, Kaitlyn!! :)

It's a new dawn, a new day, a new decade......2010

2010-01-02T20:43:00.003-05:00

Just two days ago, we celebrated the beginning of a new year. It suddenly dawned on me today, that, not only is it a new year, it is a new DECADE. Ten whole years have passed since we welcomed in the millennium with excitement and apprehension. Were computers everywhere going to crash according to Y2K? Was an asteroid going to land on the earth? It's been quite a decade. Do you remember the New Year of the new millennium? Surprisingly enough, though I couldn't tell you for certain sure what I had for lunch yesterday, I remember ringing in the year 2000 clearly. It was our first new year in the state we had just moved to, approximately 600 miles from where the rest of our family were celebrating. We were living in a tiny apartment and I was 14 years old.

It seems like a long time ago now, but these ten years have gone by in a blur. And a lot of those years were hard. There were good times and bad times. There were lots of milestones along the way. I turned sixteen, got my driver's license, graduated high school, won awards for my artwork, and got my first job. I went to professional tennis tournaments, played the piano in competitions, entered art shows, and taught myself to quilt. I read more books in those ten years than I probably ever will again for the rest of my life. We brought Princess home in 2001. My baby cousin Kati was born in 2002. I saw several of my friends and cousins get married and start families. We lost my Grandma in 2004 and Grandpa had open heart surgery and became ill for months that same year. The whole country will remember September 11, 2001 and the war that has followed.

Last year was a very hard year. I've lost both my Mama and my Grandpa. And the year ahead will not be like any of the years before because my Mama won't be here. But I am hoping that though this year and this decade are coming on the heels of the hardest year of my life, that somehow, though different, they will be good. I hope to finish school this year and get a better job. I hope that I will accomplish some of the things I have always wanted to. I hope that I will find time again to do the things I enjoy and just remember to enjoy life in general.

I trust that God has a plan for me. He has been with me through all the difficult days. Even the days when I've had meltdowns and temper tantrums, I know He never forsook me. And His plan is better for me than any plans I make for myself.

Right now a new year and a new decade is before us. I have a wishlist of things I hope for, a list of goals that I want to accomplish, and a list of random things I'd just like to do. Well, they aren't physical lists, but I have the lists in my head. I hope that ten years from now, I will be able to look back and see that some of those things really have happened. Or maybe I will be able to look back on better, happier days than I even imagined for myself. I don't know. I do know that this is the beginning of a new decade, a new stage of my life. I hope this will be a good year. And I wish everyone a happy new year!

When I left Queen's my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight
road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend
in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the
best does. ~ Anne of Green Gables

Christmas is Here!

2009-12-24T21:34:00.002-05:00

Let it be Christmas everywhere

In the hearts of all people both near and afar

Christmas everywhere

Feel the love of the season wherever you are

On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe

Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let every heart sing let every bell ring

The story of hope and joy and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere

With the gold and the silver, the green and the red
Christmas everywhere
In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds
In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow
Elderlys' memories that never grow old
Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere
Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring
Christmas everywhere
In what this day means and what we believe
From the sandy white beaches where blue water rolls
Snow covered mountains and valleys below
Let it be Christmas everywhere Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere Christmas everywhere

Grandpa

2009-12-16T22:56:00.003-05:00

My Grandpa passed away late Monday night. He had fought a long, long battle with lung problems, but now he is finally at rest.

Back in 2004, he had open heart surgery and developed the worst case of the worst kind of pneumonia that you can contract. He was on a ventilator for months, which damaged his lungs further. We never thought he would come home then. The most we expected was for him to wind up in a nursing home. But he recovered and came home.

He was never strong and healthy again, but he did get to enjoy more things in life. He remarried (Grandma died early in 2004), spent time with his grandkids and became involved in church. Over the last two years, his health started to decline. He became dependent on oxygen and had a hard time going places. My mom was his oldest daughter, and losing her took a toll on him, too.

About ten days ago, he went into the hospital again. I wasn't able to see him as often as I should have. Monday, I saw him one last time. As soon as I saw him, I knew he couldn't last much longer. It was just like looking at Mama during her last days again. That night, they called and told me he was gone.

It has been hard to go through another funeral so soon, especially right here at Christmas, so please pray for us as we go through this. We are all glad to know that he is in Heaven, free from pain and suffering.

Another long absence......

2009-12-11T23:01:00.003-05:00

So much for thinking that I would get back into blogging again. It's not that there isn't anything I would like to blog about, I just have no time. None. The hours my retail job are requiring of me are rediculous. Add to that the part-time teaching job, trying to keep up with my schoolwork, housework, grocery shopping, bills, etc, etc and you will hopefully understand why blogging time is limited. But, the semester has ended at the college and I have a little free time. My New Year's Resolution will be to blog more. Of course, my readers have probably forgotten me by now. Don't give up on me yet. I am going to make an honest effort to get back on track.

I have survived another Black Friday as a retail associate. I was truly hoping last year was going to be my first AND last of that experience, but, November 27, 2009 found behind the register again. This year was entirely different. Not only was I a cashier, but a department associate as well. That meant not only was I responsible for waiting on customers, but I had to set the sale, set the signs, wait on customers and ring them up. So, I worked about five days straight leading up to Friday. Wednesday was set-the-sale day. My department includes the home department. This means that I had to pull out all the bedspreads, mattress pads, pillows, sheets, pots, pans, coffee makers, take-and-bakeware, foot massagers, record players --- let's narrow it down---- everything weighing at least 20 pounds, out of the stockroom and back shelves and stack them in the center aisle because the were the "Early Bird Specials." Other people were working on it besides me, of course, but my point is that I had a lot of heavy lifting to do. When the store finally closed at 9 pm, we spent the next two hours taping rebates to boxes and putting up sale signs. I got home about 11:30 pm.

Thanksgiving Day was somewhat of a blur. We ate dinner with my aunt on my dad's side, then ate supper with my aunt on my mom's side. The food was good, but I was too tired to really enjoy the holiday. And I was dreading tomorrow.

My alarm clock went off at 2 am Friday morning. Or does that still count as Thursday night? At any rate, I threw enough make-up on to make me look alive, put on the most comfortable clothes I could get away with wearing, and headed out into the cold, dark night. I arrived at 3 am to buy my own early birds before the store opened. One of my purchases was a pre-lit Christmas tree. I knew I would never put a tree up if it wasn't 90% pre-assembled. We went through the ritual -- the 15 minute pep-talk/lecture, the final touches to the signs, the doors burst open.

The big crowd didn't sweep through like last year, but plenty of people came in. And they came in bunches all day. As far as the crowd was concerned, it wasn't really any worse than a busy Saturday. But the people were crankier. One woman cussed us out. Another aggravated me to the point of tears. One family of middle-aged sisters went through my line so many times, one at a time, buying one item at a time, that I would gladly have given them all the cash in my wallet if it would have made them go home. By the time 3 pm came around, I was so tired I thought I would fall asleep standing up. And I was finally allowed to go home.

I went home --- and crashed. I slept like a rock for three hours. Then I got up, ate leftovers, and put the tree up. And there it stayed, with no ornaments, for about a week. But now, most of my shopping is done, school is out, and I have three days off next week!!! So, I have made it through my second holiday retail season (or I will have officially in two weeks). I sincerely hope I will not have to work through a third one.

How is the Christmas season going for everyone else??

And it begins again......

2009-10-15T19:31:00.003-04:00

I can't believe the holiday season is already upon me again. I was so hoping that I would not have to face another retail holiday, but here I am again and Black Friday looms before me. It's totally different at this store, too. Before, I was solely on the register. Now I work in bridal, home, lingerie, women's plus-size, misses petite, and the formal dress section. That's a big section. And I am usually the working the department by myself. I also have to run the register, recover the dressing rooms, and merchandise the store. Needless to stay, I am generally never still from the time I clock in. This morning, everyone had to come in two hours early to "bust freight", aka, open all the shipment and unpack it. Long day. My cousin Kristen works at the same store with me, so that makes it a little more fun. We took our lunch break together today and both of us nearly fell asleep over our chips and salsa.

I'm also working a second part-time job at the local community college teaching a computer class twice a week. And I'm still taking online college classes that I hope to finish soon.

In my freetime, I am unpacking even more boxes at home. We have finally bought my grandparent's old home and the moving truck brought all of our things from our old home just two weeks ago. The spare room is stacked floor to ceiling with boxes. I am trying to paint, also. I should post a before and after pic of my room. It is so full of boxes and clutter that I can hardly turn around, but I have big plans for painting and organizing it next week when I have a week of vacation. I am so glad to have that week off. It is going to feel wonderful to not have to go in to work for a whole week!

So, now you are all pretty much caught up. A lot has changed for us and there is a lot of work to do, but we are getting through everything a little at a time.

An addition to our fur family....

2009-10-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

Back in June, we became the proud owners of a new kitten. She's cute, but she's mean. Can't you tell by that face? :)

Mama

2009-10-09T10:35:00.004-04:00

My Mama passed away two weeks ago, Thursday, September 24, at 8:55 p.m. She'd had a hard, hard time the last month of her life. She was at a hospice facility becasue we couldn't take care of her at home anymore. Sometimes she was in her right mind and sometimes she wasn't. She slipped into a colma the week before she died, but came back out of it. That weekend she was awake, and her mind was clear. She wanted to see everyone and say good bye to them. I am so thankful that we had those few days to be able to talk to her one more time. Tuesday, she began to get a little worse, and Thursday morning she slipped into another colma. This time, when she woke up, she was in Heaven.

This has been a hard journey for our family, and a difficult time for me, but we are all glad to know she isn't suffering anymore. We have a lot of adjustments and difficult days ahead, and we will miss her for the rest of our lives, but I know that I will see my mama again one day. These photos are from our beach trip back in June, one of the last times she was really able to get out and enjoy herself.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4

Today..

2009-04-28T09:06:00.003-04:00

Today my parents are visiting a specialty cancer hospital. We are all hoping for some encouraging news. I've had bronchitis (again), but I'm feeling better today. I have a lot to work on this week:

Set up senior pictures for Gabrielle
See that her dress gets altered
Clean up the house (as soon as I can breathe again)
Finish my last units of a computer course

I'm thinking about trying to put together a piece of special music for Mother's Day. It won't be easy since I don't have a piano in the house, but it's worth a try at least. So, anyway, those are the projects of the week.

Happy Birthday, Princess

2009-04-22T09:02:00.001-04:00

Even at eight, you'll always be my baby! :)

Amanda and Shane's Wedding

2009-04-22T08:34:00.002-04:00

My cousin got married this weekend. She and Shane met when they were sixteen and have been dating for six years. And last Saturday, they got married.

My cousin Kristen and I were honorary bridesmaids. (See last pic. Somehow these pictures posted completely backwards.) She asked us to wear formal black dresses. I knew immediately which one I wanted. Kristen had to search for a while to find one she liked and ended up in polka dots.

All her bridesmaids wore clover green with bright pink sashes and carried bright pink flowers. It was a long day. Kristen and I got to the church at one. We took pictures until the wedding began at four. Then the wedding was about half an hour long. Then they took pictures for another hour and a half while the guests waited at the reception.

Finally, we got to the reception, the bridal party was announced, and we got to eat. It was the first time I had eaten all day, except for a quick snack on the way to the church! My mom had been worried she wouldn't be able to go, but she did really well through the ceremony and reception.

It was a fairly emotional day, too, of course. She's my first younger cousin to get married. And even had all had plenty of time to get used to the idea of them getting married, it still brought back memories of her going to Grandma's with her hair in a braid and singing off-key duets with her. Yeah, I teared up. :)

But I know she's happy. And that's the important thing. And we're all happy for her.

Update....

2009-04-14T17:40:00.002-04:00

My mom went back for chemo today. They were going to reevaluate her, then do her treatment. The CT scan showed that the cancer hasn't shrunk at all. If anything, it's larger. The doctor recommended that she stop the treatments. Her reaction to them is so severe and she is not responding to them. She's not sure what she is going to do yet, but I feel like she'll stop taking them. It's a hard, hard thing. I was hoping that there would even be the slightest improvement, but there isn't. Please keep praying for Mama and the rest of our family.

Happy Resurrection Day!

2009-04-13T08:44:00.001-04:00

Luke 24:1-8

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.

Spring is Here!

2009-04-01T22:15:00.005-04:00

Awww! She loves spring! :)

First daffodils.

I found this tiny little cherry tree growing in the brush near our house. It was so cute! the flowers are beautiful!

The New Normal

2009-03-27T21:22:00.004-04:00

Life isn't normal anymore. Everything has changed and everything is different. The library books are due every three weeks instead of every four (which reminds me I probably have some overdue). Grocery stores change their sales on Wednesday instead of Sunday. Everything (and I mean everything) shuts down at nine o'clock. Most stores are closed on Sunday and the few that are open are only open during the afternoon. Anytime you take a drive you are likely to have to follow a tractor driving 15 mph for ten miles. Being in a different house, the furniture is different, the TV is different, the channels are different. I have none of my "stuff" in my room. I am working at a small clothing store that isn't half the size of the misses' department of the store I worked at before. It seems like every few days, we end up driving over an hour to the hospital.

What I have to learn to accept is that what used to be our everyday life is a thing of the past. This is normal from now on. It's an adjustment and sometimes it's frustrating. On the other hand, it's normal now to run into friends or family when I go to the store. That never happened at our "other" home. There's no sitting in traffic for hours at the time, either. The new normal also involves shopping trips, going to the movies, girl night out, and having dinner at friends' houses. Our life has been completely turned upside down and inside out. But, if I remember to appreciate it, a some things have changed for the better, too.

What's Been Happening

2009-03-19T08:39:00.003-04:00

My poor blog has almost been abandoned lately. With no Internet, it was hard to find time to post. At last, we were able to set up the Internet at Grandpa's house. That certainly makes life easier and makes me happier. :)

These last weeks haven't been easy. My mom gets chemo every two weeks. Yesterday was her third treatment. The first two times, she had to be hospitalized with high fevers. The second time was especially bad. She was the worst I had ever seen her. Her fever never got below 100 and would spike over 103. She was very, very sick. This time, the doctor decided to admit her into the hospital for her treatments to try to prevent the reaction from becoming so severe. So, she's at the hospital now. When I talked to her this morning, she sounded okay, but she had run a fever during the night.

With all this going on, it just wasn't possible for me to drive an hour to work, especially with the weird hours they were giving me. It was really hard for me to quit, but I felt like I had to. I've been looking close by for jobs, but, so far, I haven't been able to find anything. That's been stressful, too. I really need at least a part-time job.

Anyway, I hope I can start to post more often now. Hope everyone has been doing great and enjoying the spring weather!

Quick Update.....

2009-02-20T13:53:00.003-05:00

We've been here for over two weeks now. It's been a fairly smooth adjustment. I feel more settled now that I have a library card. It just didn't seem right to live for more than a week without being able to check out a book. I'll also be able to use the Internet there, too, which will be wonderful. I feel like I am cut off from the world around me without the Internet. My job transfer has been much more complicated than I expected, but I think it has at last fallen into place and I should be able to start work the week of March first.

Mama went for her first visit to the cancer specialist the Tuesday after we got here. This specialist said pretty much the same thing that the one at home did -- that this cancer is incurable and treatment will help prolong her life for one or two years. He decided on two chemo drugs to start with and will possibly add two more. She went for her first treatment this Tuesday. When she got home, we were encouraged, because she felt a little dizzy and tired, but not terrible. The next day, she went to have a porta-cath put in her shoulder so she won't have to use an IV for each chemo treatment. On the way home from the hospital, she developed a fever. We had been told to take her to the local ER if she got a fever over 100.4. Her temperature was 102.3 when we took it, so we rushed to the ER. When they checked her temperature there, it was 103.8.

She has been in the hospital since then. Her fever keeps spiking and coming back down. The hospital she is taking the treatments at is over almost two hours from here, so the local hospital she is at have been trying to get her back there so her specialist can look at her. So far, a bed hasn't come available there. Today, the doctor told us that he thinks she is just having a reaction to the chemo because she shows no signs of infection. He might possibly send her home tomorrow if her fever stays under control. She has been really miserable. I'm wondering now if it is going to be like this with every chemo treatment.

So it has been a stressful week. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers so much. I really hope my mom can begin to feel better soon.

Leaving...

2009-02-05T18:38:00.002-05:00

We are packing up what we can fit into the car for a move to our homestate. How long it will be for, we don't know yet. Grandpa's house doesn't have Internet, so I'm either going to have to go to my aunt's house to use their computer, or we might have some sort of temporary Internet connection hooked up. So, it might be harder for me to post for a little while, but I'll try to update everyone as soon as I can. I'm dreading the nine-hour car ride for Mama. I hope she won't have a hard time with it. I really hope this move will be beneficial for her and for all of us.

Ice Storm

2009-02-02T20:58:00.002-05:00

We also had an ice storm during all this. At least it's pretty. :)

Changes

2009-02-01T08:12:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of things going on now. We are planning to move back to our home state for my mom to take her treatments. For now, we are just going in on my dad's sick leave. He has over six months worth accumulated with his job. But, he is also putting in for a job there. We are really hoping he gets this job so we can move back home permanently.

Three of my aunts came up to visit us this weekend and they are on their way home today, taking a lot of our clothes and larger electronics with them. I went to my store Friday and asked if they could get me a transfer. The locations in our homestate will be 45-60 minutes away from where we'll be living, but I need to try to work even one or two days a week just to keep up my insurance until I can find something closer to home. Monday will be my last day at my job. I know I yell about my my job sometimes, but I'm really going to miss it. I made a lot of friends there and fit in pretty well there. I got along with my managers and knew my job. Now it's going to feel like starting over. Of course, our family and a lot of friends will be there, so that will help the transition, but it's still going to be an adjustment to move so quickly.

The most important thing now is finding Mama some good treatment. We have heard a few recommendations, so we're debating about where we should go. We're hoping that her specialist here can recommend a place.

So, this week we're packing up what we can and making arrangements for a partial move. It's going to be hard, but it will be good to be home again.

The Diagnosis

2009-01-28T15:08:00.002-05:00

We went in to see Mama today and the cancer specialist came to see us. The news is not good. She does have cancer in her liver. He thinks it started somewhere else and spread to her liver. Liver cancer is not curable. Treatment can only prolong her life.

I researched liver cancer last week when they first saw the mass, so in some ways I was prepared for this, but I was not prepared to hear this as the final diagnosis. I kept hoping something would turn up somewhere else as the root of the problem, but I wasn't very hopeful. Now, we don't know what we're going to do. We might move her to a hospital in our home state for treatment so we can be near our family. They released her from the hospital today. We go back to hear further information on Tuesday.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Update.

2009-01-26T17:58:00.001-05:00

Life has been chaos these last few days. We had the bad news late Wednesday night and Mama was admitted into the hospital. My aunts and uncle began making plans to drive up to stay the weekend with us. My sister (and I) stayed up most of Wednesday night crying so I didn't get but about an hour of sleep. Thursday afternoon, we left the hospital to get the house ready for company and let Princess out. The water had been turned off so they could work on a fire hydrant. We cleaned the best we could with no water, then went back to the hospital. Past ten o'clock that night, we came home and opened the door to the sound of running water. Apparently, we left a faucet on in the upstairs bathroom while the water was off. When the water came back on......you can guess the rest. The sink overflowed and flooded the bathroom out into the hallway upstairs and also began to pour through the ceiling. We had a waterfall in our dining room. The extra mattress we had set up in the dining room was absolutely saturated, as was the carpet in two rooms. And I mean saturated. After four jobs with a wet-vac, it's still not completely dry. The ceiling is covered in water damage and the dining room light fixture has gone dead. And the upstairs carpet is ruined, too. So, we had a mad rush to get up the water the best we could, wash all the towels, wash dishes, and make other sleeping arrangements for our visitors. At nearly midnight, my dad went upstairs to sleep, completely worn out and exhausted and I sat up with my sister waiting for my aunts to get here. We spent another sleepless night. I think I only got two hours of sleep. Then we went back to the hospital.

It's hard to remember step-by-step how everything has happened now. The first liver biopsy showed nothing abnormal, so they were going to do a mammogram and colonoscopy, but not rule out problems with her liver. They did a more detailed CT scan, which showed it was not one large mass in her liver, but a cluster of small masses and her lymph nodes between her heart and lungs are enlarged. So, we were hopeful that it wasn't as bad as it sounded at first. All our company was gone by Sunday morning and I spent the day running errands. Today, I worked 8-430. My managers are very understanding that I need to take time off, but I needed to work a few hours this week. When I went to the hospital tonight, they still had not done the mammogram and now seem more concerned about doing a colonoscopy. Mama said the cancer specialist had come around and told her he wanted another liver biopsy and that all the specialist on her case were just unsure of what the source of the problem is. But he left us with the impression that it is some sort of cancer. They just can't pinpoint where it is.

So, that's where we are tonight. I feel emotionally and physically drained. Among the minor catastrophes that also occurred this weekend, I got pulled over and given a warning ticket for forgetting to turn my headlights on and Princess stepped on Gabrielle's brand new boots with dirty feet and stained them. I know that in the light of everything else that is going on things like that are trivial, but in the moment, they are the straws that almost break me. And those are only two of the minor aggravations. We are trying in between hospital visits to get someone out here to rip up the carpet before it begins to mold from all that water, but that is easier said than done. We're dealing the best we can, hoping and praying for the best, but at the same time, I'm so exhausted I can hardly think straight. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Prayer Request

2009-01-23T00:14:00.002-05:00

My mom has been sick for several months now. She is a diabetic, so her doctor kept adjusting her medicine and attributing her illness to that, but she has steadily gotten worse over the last year. Last night, she was hurting in her side so bad that we took her to the emergency room. A CT scan showed a mass on her liver and spots on her lungs that could be cancer. We won't know anything for sure until Monday, I think. They still have tests to do. Needless to say, we are shocked and worried. Prayers would be so much appreciated.

Cashiering at Christmas, Part 4

2009-01-22T23:58:00.003-05:00

There is a lot more I could tell -- a LOT more-- but I'm determined to end this series with a post about the nice customers that came through my line. Most people weren't as too terribly bad. But there were some who were really nice.

I was in the middle of a frantically busy work day with lines that never went away. This guy came through the line. As I was ringing him up, he was very polite, asked very nicely if he could have a box and a gift receipt, and I could tell he really felt sorry for me because I was working so hard. He actually apologised for asking me to go through the extra trouble to hand him a box and thanked me for ringing him up.

One morning before we got busy, this couple was in the store and the woman began to talk to me. she mentioned that the store wasn't busy and said laughing that I knew it would be before long. She actually turned around and thanked me for all the work we cashiers did over the holidays and told me how much she appreciated it.

I was dead-on-my-feet tired on day and this sweet little old lady came through my line. She was so nice and so pleasant and gave me a tract from her church when she was leaving.

A young girl came through my line, was very nice, and even though I had never met her before, asked if there was anything she could pray for me for.

When the hours are long and the work is hard, people like that really stand out brighten up your day. So thank you to all the customers who took the time this holiday season to show a little patience and friendliness to your overworked and exhausted cashiers. :)

Cashiering at Christmas, Part 3 -- The Boxes

2009-01-19T10:11:00.003-05:00

Of the top three most annoying things about being a cashier at Christmas, the demand for boxes is definitely one of them. Everybody wanted a box for every single thing they purchased. To start the problems off, we didn't get any boxes until Black Friday. To add to the problems, the manager told us that we had received a very limited number of boxes this year. Customers could only get one box for each item they purchased and they could not bring in old receipts and ask for boxes for previous purchases.

Before the boxes arrived, everybody thought I was a liar when I told them we had no boxes. Many of them were determined to intimidate me into giving them a box. Well, all the whining, complaining, and yelling in the world couldn't make boxes appear when there weren't any, so they went away angry and empty-handed, declaring that they would bring their receipts back and get their boxes.

Well, Black Friday brought out the boxes -- and the problems. We only had three sizes of boxes, shirt boxes, boxes a little bit larger, and small boxes. One of my first customers on Black Friday bought a lot of items and stated in a very bossy tone of voice that she wanted 20 boxes for them. The person who was bagging for me was carrying on a very friendly conversation with her and gave her all the boxes left in my package, which was already more than 20. Then the customer pulled out a receipt from the week before and wanted 20 more boxes. I said very nicely that we could not give boxes away for previous purchases. She threw a fit, not just a typical fit but rude. She had spent $400 at this store and she was going to get all the boxes she wanted and she didn't want to hear any lip about it. While she was thus griping, my bagger went around behind me, opened a new package of boxes, and pulled out an armload to give that customer. The customer was still going on and on that this was the worst customer service she had ever seen, and my bagger started agreeing with her and saying that she deserved all the boxes she wanted because she had spent so much money. I was furious. For one thing, I had called the manger over to ask if she could have the boxes, and he said she could, even though he didn't realize just how many she was getting away with. So, I had been doing what I was told and called a manager to ask if she could get her way, not giving bad customer service. For another thing, the person bagging for me was an employee of the store who knew what the rules were. She was not supposed to go behind my back and hand out that many boxes or take the customers side against me. In the end, the customer got away with around 60 boxes.

Another incident that stands out to me (out of many) was the older lady with the boxes. First she wanted 10 boxes. She didn't need 10 to go with her purchase, but I was battle-weary, so I just handed her 10 of the larger boxes. She said, "Honey! I don't need boxes that big! Don't you have any smaller ones?" I had to search the other registers until I found ten shirt boxes. I very nicely handed them to her, expecting to take the large boxes back. She scooped up both the shirt boxes and the large boxes and scurried away as fast as she could go.

Then there were the people who didn't understand why we didn't have boxes for trench coats, for frying pans, for picture frames. Maybe I'm tacky, but I've never put a picture frame in a box. It comes in a box. I wrap it as is. Then the people who bought various odds and ends that didn't even need a box along with a few shirts. How many boxes do you need? 20. And they wondered why we ran out of boxes a week before Christmas.

It is COLD outside

2009-01-19T09:57:00.002-05:00

The weather around here has been cold. Really cold. Temperatures during the day have been in the teens and when I went to work a few mornings ago, the thermometer said 6 degrees. We haven't had a lot of snow, though, just a few snow showers that leave about an inch of snow on the ground. Anyway, today is one of those days when I just want to bake cookies and stay inside all day. Maybe watch an old movie or read a book. Unfortunately, I have school work to catch up on and I have to work from this afternoon till late tonight.

Being tennis fans, we've begun to tune into the first rounds of the Australian Open. It is so strange to think that while it's too cold here to stir outdoors without four layers of clothing, on the other side of the world the temperatures are so hot that the tennis players can hardly bear it. I'm ready for sunshine and summertime on this side of the globe.

A Few Christmas Photos....

2009-01-14T11:29:00.004-05:00

At first she wasn't sure about her new pillow. She's almost too big for it.

Me and my Aunt Sherry

Gabrielle and Kati

She got used to it!

Cashiering at Christmas, part 2 -- The Grouchy Customers

2009-01-14T10:05:00.008-05:00

With customers, I always have my moments. There are some who, with their OCD bagging obsessions (all the shirts in one bag, all the pants in another, all folded perfectly) leave me ready to take their bags to the car for them if it will get them out of the store. There are the customers who question every single price. And then there are these customers:

I'm standing at my register and here comes this woman with a Hanna Montana guitar and a big toy truck. She's totally excited.
Customer: "I can't believe a found a Hanna Montana guitar! I've looked everywhere for a Hanna Montana guitar! I even looked at your other store this morning and they didn't have one, but I finally found one!"
Me: (in my very best promote-our-store voice) "Well, I'm so glad you were able to find one here! People have been able to find a lot of hard-to-find toys here!"

I rang up her truck, put it in our largest bag and rang up the guitar. Including the box it was in, it was the size of a regular guitar. Anyway, I gave her the total. She handed me a ToysRus card. Uh....this ain't ToysRus.

Me: That's your ToysRus card.
Customer: I know. (trying to hand it to me).
Me: We don't take ToysRus cards.
Customer: Yes, you do! This isn't a credit card, it's a points card! Everywhere I buy toys, I have them scan this card, and I earn points. I did it at your other store just this morning.

Now I'd never seen this before and knew there was nowhere on our computer for other stores' points programs, but I called the manager. He had never heard of it either, said the computer wouldn't take it and we couldn't do it. I informed the customer of this and she went ballistic.

Customer: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TAKE IT? That's stupid, it's just stupid! They took it at your other store just this morning!!!"
Me: (I can imagine the other store scanned it just to pacify her, even though the computer would spit the numbers back out so I say calmly) We can't take it.
Customer: Well, that's just STUPID!! (stuffing her card back into her purse with a gusto and tossing her head as she slides a real credit card, still muttering and griping. Then she turns on me again.) Well don't you have a BAG for this guitar?!?!?
Me: (getting pretty annoyed) No, I don't have a bag big enough for it.
Customer: YOU DON'T HAVE A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT!! IN THIS WHOLE STORE THERE'S NOT A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT?? (tossing her head with her hands on her hips)
Me: No. The biggest bag I have is the one this truck is in.
Customer: Well, it's RAINING outside!!
Me: (Well, I can't stop the rain, is what I'm thinking, but I say firmly) I don't have a bag big enough.

She really thought she was going to make me come up with a bag. When she saw that I wasn't going to, she was still mad, but she gave up.

Customer: Well, give me one of those to put over half of it then. That way at least HALF of it can stay dry. (That was supposed to be a fatal stab to make me feel guilty)
Me: (I put the bag over half over it for her-- and the one bag didn't even cover half of that big box. I would have put one over the other half, but she started to snatch away, so I asked very nicely) Would you like me to put a bag over the other half?
Customer: (all but screaming) No, I wouldn't!! FORGET IT!! JUST FORGET IT!!
She snatched up her track and her Hanna Montana guitar, and away she flounced.

This is no exaggeration, within fifteen minutes, I had another experience. My line had backed up, so I called for additional cashiers. I was in the middle of bagging up a huge order for one customer, and the next customer was already piling an equally huge order up on the counter. While I'm in the middle of trying to shove a blanket in our not-large-enough bags to pacify this customer, I see a women holding a stuffed monkey shove around the customer who's piling her order on the counter. I look at her, the customer looks at her, and she screams, "ALL I HAVE IS A MONKEY AND I'M GOING NEXT!!"

My thought was "BREAK!! I NEED A BREAK!!"

Cashiering at Christmas, part 1

2009-01-09T07:19:00.006-05:00

Now that Christmas is over, the decorations are down, and life has regained its normalcy, I actually feel like posting about some of my retail holiday experiences. Let me just say first of all, as I think I have before, that working retail during the holidays totally nixes your Christmas spirit. I knew I was going to be tired, overworked, and irritated by the multitudes of customers that would come through my line everyday, but I never thought I would come to the place where I was counting down till the day AFTER Christmas.

Well, my first venture into being a Christmas cashier began in September. Yes, September. Here, at our friendly, happy-to-help-you department store, the Christmas trees went up in the beginning weeks of September. I was glad to see them. The were covered in beautiful ornaments, sparkling with lights, and brought a feeling of wonderland to the store. That was, until every customer began to gripe to me about them. Why were they up this early? Were we just trying to get them to buy more by shoving Christmas down their throats? Oh yeah.

It was really funny to feel the crescendo of holiday shopping. It really started in September, when all the organized, will-do can-do people marched into the store list in hand, loaded down a double buggy, and crossed off items as I rang them up. Every super Saturday sale was getting busier and busier. Every cart that came through had more and more in it.

In October, the reasonably early shoppers came out. They were just beginning, had no real plan and demanded gift boxes for every item they purchased, from toe socks to trench coats. Uh... we have no boxes. YOU HAVE NO BOXES??? What do you mean you have no boxes? You had boxes last year! (These people were really determined that I was keeping boxes from them out of pure spite.) We won't get boxes until Black Friday. Well, can I bring my receipt back and ask for boxes then? I don't know, but you can try. Well, what am I supposed to wrap ALL these presents in? My thoughts were that they could go to Walmart or any store of their preference and buy a package of boxes, but of course I couldn't say that.

November brought out the crazies. You know, like crazy basketball fans during March Madness, these were the crazy shoppers, glassy-eyed and dangerous. Every American citizen should be obligated to work retail during November and December just once. It should be the initiation into working adulthood or something. Maybe if everyone had worked retail once, they wouldn't make such spectacles of themselves as a customer. I can't count the tantrums over those miserable gift boxes, (which did not appear until Black Friday), the slick tricks with the coupons, the whining and the complaining that went on and on forever. And I was working 40 hour weeks, never less than five days straight.

December the pace began frantically and actually began to dwindle some. Or maybe it just felt that way to me because I didn't have to work any evenings. The biggest change was that people went from whining and griping to just plain mean. Now I had line jumpers, more tantrum-throwers and the same old sad song over the boxes because we ran out. For real people! Go buy yourself a gift bag or package of boxes! Nowhere is it written that this store is obligated to give you a free box because you purchased a present here. The week Christmas was actually not quite so busy. I guess most people had finished. And 75% of the customers those last three days were men running in at the last minute to buy a giftcard for their wives, mothers, and other female relations they'd forgotten until now.

When that clock struck 4:30 on December 24, I was out the door. And for the first time since the trees went up in September, I felt the Christmas spirit. I sang to the radio on my way home and was excited at the thought of presents the next day. That was the first time I had given them a thought, I'd been so busy ringing up everybody else's. I can honestly say that being a Christmas cashier has changed my outlook on the retail world.

Back Home Again!

2009-01-06T20:22:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I started the new year with vacation, so that put me in a good mood. :) We had a good time back home. I was able to spend time with my family and even went out with my friends a few times. It was great to just relax -- no alarm clocks, no time clocks, no customers, no managers, no schedules, no nothing except what I wanted to do. After October, November, and December, a week like that was bliss. But, by the time the week started to wind down, I was ready to get back to my own home, my own schedule, and, yes, my job.

Anyway, 2009 is here. There's going to be a lot going on this year. My cousin is getting married in April. I'm supposed to be an honorary bridesmaid. My sister graduates high school in May. My aunt will probably come to see us in August and will probably make one more vacation in August or September. My plans for this year are:

Finish my career diploma
Eat healthier and get in shape. The holiday season has put me back on 2-3 soft drinks a day whereas before I was hardly drinking any.
Make a vast amount of progress on my novel
Take some more art lessons
Organize everything pertaining to myself
Make something. I haven't made a quilt, cross-stitch sampler or anything else this year.

So, those are the things I would like to do, the first two in particular. But I don't know what this year will hold. It could hold some pleasant surprises that throw my plan awry in a good way or trials that mess up my plans in a way I didn't want. But 2009 belongs to the Lord. He has a plan for it that will work out for good for me and all His ways are perfect. I hope that it will be a good year, full of blessings and happiness, not just for me but for everyone.

Pr 16:9 -
A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
Pr 19:21 -
There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel--that will stand.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-26T21:58:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Our Christmas was nice. I finally had a day off and we opened presents that morning. I got some clothes, some books, and an Ipod! I had no idea I would be getting an Ipod. I spent the rest of the day trying to set it up and have officially figured out the basics of working with it. I had to go in and work 6-2:30 today. It was crazy busy. Now, we're packing up for a visit to our home state. We should be leaving early tomorrow and staying for over a week. We haven't really been home since April, so it will be great to go back and visit the family. I'll be offline during vacation, of course, so I probably won't get a chance to post until we get back. January is looking really good right now -- no crazy store hours, no holiday shoppers, and no 8 or 9 day stretches without a day off.

So, for now, I'll wish everyone a happy new year and I will post again in 2009!

Mary, Did You Know?

2008-12-17T21:17:00.003-05:00

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that youve delivered Will soon deliver you
Mary, did you know That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy You've kissed the face of God
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see The deaf will hear And the dead will live again
The lame will leap The dumb will speak The praises of the lamb!
Mary, did you know That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you knowThat your baby boy is heavens perfect Lamb? This sleeping child youre holding
Is the great I AM!

lyrics by Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry

Call me Scrooge..

2008-12-10T18:50:00.005-05:00

I've heard several people at work say that working retail through the holidays will ruin your Christmas spirit. I believe it. At this point, with forty hour weeks ever since mid-October, long hours, several days at a time without a day off, and grumpier customers than usual, my Christmas spirit is virtually non-existent. I don't care about going shopping. I dreaded the thought of putting the tree up. I would rather take a nap than wrap presents and if I manage to bake one batch of cookies I'll give myself a big pat on the back. Normally, I can't wait to put the tree up, want to go shopping everyday, and come up with ten new recipes to try. Not so now. Not that I'm being a total grouch. The tree is decorated, but it took two days to get that accomplished instead of two hours like usual. I've taken Gabrielle out shopping twice and we've managed to finish most of our shopping. But my usual Silver Bells, Sleighride, and Winter Wonderland mood is instead: "Let it be over soon!" If I have to wrap up individually another 24-piece place setting of china, I'll lose my mind. If another customer tries to use a store-credit-card-only coupon and then pay with their Visa, I may snap. And if I hear Christina Aguilera screech Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas at the highest pitch the human voice can reach before actually shattering glass, I may scream myself. (Sorry if anyone enjoys that version. I've heard it all I can take.)

I'm kind of reminding myself of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Charlie Brown sees Christmas as commercialized holiday and is trying to find the giving and good will toward men the season is supposed to be about. Linus reminds him, quoting Luke 2:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Jesus is the reason for the season. It isn't about Santa Claus, or jingle bells, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, or even buying a hundred presents. Christmas is a celebration that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. When I think about that, I'm glad it's Christmas!

Carol of the Bells...

2008-12-08T21:14:00.001-05:00

Hark! how the bells Sweet silver bells
All seem to say,"Throw cares away."
Christmas is here Bringing good cheer
To young and old Meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong That is their song
With joyful ring All caroling One seems to hear
Words of good cheer From ev'rywhere Filling the air
Oh how they pound, Raising the sound,
O'er hill and dale, Telling their tale,
Gaily they ring While people sing
Songs of good cheer Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
On, on they send On without end
Their joyful tone To ev'ry home
Ding, dong, ding, dong.

Carol of the Bells (Ukrainian Carol), was adapted from Shchedryk by Mykola Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. The original Ukrainian song is based on an old Slavic legend that every bell in the world rang in honour of Jesus on the night of his birth.

www.christmas-lyrics.org

Getting ready for Christmas....

2008-12-04T10:54:00.002-05:00

I've finished most of my Christmas shopping already! Just three more presents to buy. And it's my day off today, so we're hoping to get the house decorated. We used to have an artificial tree, but it had seen better days, so last year we decided to get a real tree. I think we'll do that this year, too. There's a lot of knick-knacks to put out, too. So, maybe we can get it all done today!

Christmas songs.......

2008-12-02T21:02:00.003-05:00

Again, this year, I think I'll post the lyrics to some of my favorite Christmas songs. This time, I'm going to include a few modern songs and carols, too. There are so many Christmas songs that I love, and I enjoy sharing the lyrics on my blog. This song was inspired by the Angel tree at work. We only had a few names on it, for kids at a homeless shelter in a nearby town. I thought of taking one and then told myself that I didn't make enough money to buy enough presents for a child's entire Christmas. Then I thought about how I don't give a second thought to spending $50 on clothes for myself that I don't even really need. Maybe I can't do a lot, but I can do something.

This song was written by country artist Jimmy Wayne. He spent his childhood being bounced between foster homes and knows what it is to be a Paper Angel.

After every day-after-Thanksgiving sale the malls just ain't complete
Without a bunch of decorations and a paper angel tree
There's artificial smiles on artificial tree limbs
Saying what she'd love to have and what to buy for him
Well i hope Maggie likes her new winter clothes and her buggy with a baby doll
And maybe Tom'll smile with his new nike shoes when he shoots that basketball
I can't help but wishing that i could do more
But not just while I'm shopping in the department store
Paper angels you're in my thoughts and prayers
No matter where you are right now remember God's right there
He's asking all of us to help take care Of his paper angels everywhere
Going through the mail almost every afternoon i see a Mom and Dad's Worst dream
There on the back of a money-saving ad to get my carpet cleaned
Height, weight, hair, eyes, date missing, and DOB
A child's name, a picture, and the words 'have you seen me?'
Paper angels you're in my thoughts and prayers
No matter where you are right now remember God's right there
He's asking all of us to help take care
Of his paper angels everywhere
His documented bruises fill a folder file
She's a second grade self-portrait drawn without a smile
And every town is littered with this kind of debris
We've got to stop this madness and it's up to you and me
Paper angels you're in my thoughts and prayers
No matter where you are right now remember God's right there
He's asking all of us to help take care
Of his paper angels everywhere
Paper angels everywhere

lyrics by Jimmy Wayne

BLACK FRIDAY

2008-11-29T10:12:00.007-05:00

Well, it's already over. I was exhausted before it began. I worked nine day straight prior to having Thanksgiving Day off so I was tired. Getting up at 2:30 Friday morning wasn't an appealing thought.

But, the alarm clock went off, and I got up. I put on my make-up, my required black shirt, gray slacks, and tennis shoes (we were allowed to wear tennis shoes for the long day). I put on my name badge, my coat, shouldered my purse, and left home a 3 am.

When I got there, the parking lot wasn't too bad. I found a parking space easily and noticed that there were only about thirty people lined up outside the door. At least I knew I wouldn't have to fight to get in. Someone let me in and I went to the break room. A lot of people were already there. We stayed there, talking for a few minutes, then headed up front for a meeting with the manager. Within that few minutes, the crowd had tripled. I could see them pressing against the glass doors while we listened to the managers. The employees that tried to come in now had to fight there way through the crowd. The manager said that before he opened the doors he would make an announcement over the intercom for everyone to clear the aisles. He said we better do it or we would get trampled. Everyone dispersed to where they were supposed to be and I got in my register. The manager waited until 3:59 and made the announcement to clear the aisle over the intercom. Then he had people hold the doors open.

The crowd ran in. And I mean, they ran. One woman was so crazy to get a cart and run that she turned the cart over and almost trampled an old lady. For five solid minutes, the crowd kept coming through the door. It was pretty amazing to see. I never knew that many people would line up outside of a store. Within ten minutes, the line started forming. We had a great line system worked out, though. One huge line was mapped out for the misses' registers and one for the men's registers. Then a manager stood at the end of the line and directed traffic, sending customers to registers 1,2,3, etc, as they finished a customer. That relieved so much stress from the cashiers. I never had a line full of cranky people right in my face, we never had to worry about line-jumpers, and there was always a manager on hand for price adjustments or anything I needed. I did not have a full minute without a customer for the rest of my shift. There would be slight lulls in the crowd, I think because they went to the other stores as they opened, then it was just as big as before. I got several breaks, so that was great, and I had someone to bag for me which helped a lot with the big orders.

I was supposed to get off at two. About thirty minutes before, the manager came around asking everyone if they could stay late. He said it was a lot busier than he anticipated for the afternoon. A lot of people wouldn't stay, but I decided to try to stay an extra hour. The crowd was still really busy and it would have been hard to leave knowing there weren't a lot of people coming in. So, I ended up clocking out at 3:15, almost twelve hours after I clocked in. I shopped for just a few minutes, found two presents and a sweater, and LEFT. I managed to stay awake for about an hour after I got home, then I collapsed on the couch for two hours.

All in all, it wasn't too bad. Most of the customers were really nice to me. I only had one hateful customer and one rude customer in the whole twelve hours and hundreds of transactions, so that's a lot better than I expected. It was actually kind of fun. Exhausting, but fun. I wouldn't mind doing it again -- if I have to. :)

A Thanksgiving Proclamation....

2008-11-26T20:12:00.003-05:00

We all know the story of the first Thanksgiving, but I thought it was interesting today, when I saw this link posted on Boundless for the original proclamation that set apart the last Thursday in November as a day to give thanks. I imagine that I had read this in my history books at some point in time, but I had forgotten that Thanksgiving was established during the Civil War, when times were so difficult for soldiers and civilians alike, as reminder that even then, there was much to thank God for. I have a habit of complaining. I complain about having asthma, my aching legs, about standing on my feet all day, etc, etc. I forget that I have a lot to be grateful for. I have medicine for my asthma. I have a job, a roof over my head, food, clothes, and family, not to mention so many other things. God is good.

Thanks to God for my Redeemer,

Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a memory,

Thanks for Jesus by my side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,

Thanks for dark and stormy fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten,

Thanks for peace within my soul!
Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,

Thanks for what Thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered,

Thanks for all Thou dost supply!

Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,

Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure,

Thanks for love beyond compare!
Thanks for roses by the wayside,

Thanks for thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,

Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,

Thanks for heav’nly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,

Thanks through all eternity!

Lyrics by August Storm

source: www.cyberhymnal.org

New hair cut....

2008-11-20T08:52:00.003-05:00

I decided it was time for a new haircut last week! I was just plain tired of my hair, so I took a picture to a stylest, and she did a great job cutting it. These pictures don;t show the cut too well. There are layers all through it and it looks better when it is straightened flat like the stylest did it. My flat iron doesn't get hot enough to straighten the "flip" though. So far, I like my short hair cut a lot.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2008-11-20T08:35:00.003-05:00

and feel like Christmas. It is so cold here. The store has started playing Christmas music and two local stations have switched to nonstop Christmas music. For now, I'm enjoying it, but I have a feeling I'm going to be tired of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ten times a day before long. The store is decorated with red and gold decorations and everywhere we go are the sights and sounds of Christmas. Monday, we went to the mall for our first Christmas shopping trip. Of course, we went home without buying anything. :) But our last stop was the music store, and I bought a big book of Christmas solos. They aren't arrangements, just nice solos of just about every Christmas song you can think of. I've always wanted a comprehensive Christmas collection like that, so I was glad to find it.

I can't even believe Thanksgiving is next week. What?!?!? I won't have another day off until Thanksgiving and then Black Friday, I work 3:45-2. Yesterday, my feet hurt so bad when I finished my shift that I clocked out and went straight to the shoe department. I was determined that, no longer how long it took and if I had to try on every pair of shoes in the store, I was going to find a pair of shoes that felt good on my feet. I was actually about to give up, because the regular flats didn't have enough cushion and cushion-y shoes seemed to pinch my feet in the wrong places. I finally started trying on Sketchers. They had some black shoes with a comfort sole, but made enough like a dress shoe that I could wear them with my skirts, which was something I was looking for, too. These shoes were SO comofortable. They fit my feet like a glove and were like walking on a cloud. I was determined to buy them if they cost $100, but fortunately they were on sale for $45. I put them on hold for Friday, when I get an extra associate discount. I can't even describe how bad it is to stand on my feet for hours and hours in shoes without enough support. I am so glad I found these in time for Black Friday!!

Mini Vacation

2008-11-14T19:12:00.003-05:00

I was so glad to find myself scheduled for a three day weekend! Yay!! I have lots of studying to do, but hopefully some Christmas shopping and fun stuff. It would be great go to another store for a change. A few days ago I went to Walmart and, I do not exaggerate, I realized I had forgotten what the inside of the store looked like. Yep. It's bad when you're walking through Walmart looking around and thinking, "Was Walmart always this big?" I really need a break.

Art Show

2008-11-09T22:41:00.003-05:00

The art show was last Saturday. It's a long day -- registration ends at ten, judging is from 11-1, and the award ceremony is at 4. After I had registered all my pieces and given left them with the organizers to be hung, they came back and told me I had to change the tags on all my pieces because the person at the registry had given me photography tags. I guess it was a compliment that she thought my drawings were photographs, but it was a big aggravation to deal with at the last minute. We went out to eat while the judging took place and came back to find that my tree and soldiers had won second place ribbons in their categories and my hands won a honorable mention. The show was larger than last year, so I was glad to get even those three ribbons.

I came down with bad head cold yesterday, so I couldn't enjoy myself and look around at all the pieces like I usually do. My head was throbbing and I just felt -- sick. I still feel like that today. Anyway, I'm always inspired by going and seeing everyone else's work. It makes me want to learn to paint so bad. I even want to start taking lessons again. I started researching local art teachers and found one I would love to take from. Maybe soon. There is so much going on right now that I don't think I can add another thing, but this made me remember how much I love art and want to learn more and to keep it a part of my life.

Latest drawings....

2008-11-06T08:05:00.005-05:00

When I scanned these, there was still a little touching up work to do on them, but these are the almost -final products. I've posted some of these before, I think, but the scanner shows the drawings better.

Marat Safin. I decided to try a sports drawing and used one that we took at the tennis tournament.

This is one of my favorites. I took this picture of Kati a couple of years ago. I was putting up Aunt Sherry's Christmas tree for her and Kati was "helping" me decorate. I always laugh at how sweet she looks in the picture. You would never know she had been jumping up and down screaming for an ornament two seconds before it was snapped.

Aunt Sherry's wedding portrait

My hands holding a flower. I've added more details to the flower since then, because I realized the flower is the focal point of the piece. It needs lots of little details to make it interesting.

This is definitely my favorite. The trail is one I took when I was climbing natural bridge and the lighting was incredible. It was really hard to try to recreate all the lights and darks in pencil.

Civil War soldiers. My friend took this photo at a reenactment and was kind enough to let me use her picture as a reference photo. Because the people are at a distance, I couldn't get a lot of detail in it, but it still looks interesting. and the smoke/dust looks more like smoke/dust than it did before.

My uncle's barn.

I'm trying to get frames together for all these drawings now, as well as come up with names for all of them. I hate that part. I really hate that part. But, the drawings are finished at least. And, even though I accidentally requested the wrong day off for the art show, my supervisor was nice enough to work around my schedule and let me have Saturday off. So, every thing's almost finished. Maybe I'll take my camera Saturday and take some pictures.

After the election

2008-11-05T08:07:00.002-05:00

I voted yesterday and when I came home from work I watched Fox election coverage. At first, things looked promising, but then states began to turn blue one after another. It is a disapointing outcome, but makes it even more important to pray for our country. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."

Getting out to vote...

2008-11-03T08:19:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is Election Day 2008. It's an important election -- so important that it's hard not to worry about the outcome. While McCain may not be as conservative as some would want him to be, Obama's liberal beliefs are coming through more and more. "Spread the wealth"?? Their tax plans and economic policies are somewhat beyond me and given how different people give different interpretations of what they will mean I can't rely too much on that, but I do realize that Obama is for huge tax increases and redistribution of wealth. Most importantly, he is pro-choice. Boundless has convinced me lately that taxes, economics, environment, foreign policies -- while these might all be important issues, they are nothing in comparison to the issue of abortion. We need to vote for the candidate who is pro-life, who will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. There are questions about whether McCain is pro-life enough, but Obama is adamantly pro-choice.

I have to work tomorrow, but I will be getting up and leaving early so that I can cast my vote for president. As an American, it is our duty to vote. As a Christian, we should pray for our country, but not worry about the outcome of tomorrow. The Lord has America and the whole world in His hands.

Update........

2008-10-30T17:48:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted in forever. I didn't realize it had been quite as long as it has. I've been given a lot of hours at work lately, plus studying, plus getting ready for the art show next week. I still have so much to do. My drawings are mostly finished, but all the little touch ups, that I usually take so much time with, are needed and I'm running out of time. I hope I can finish at least four by Saturday.

My school work has been going well. I've been making good grades on all my tests, but this week I had my first essay due. I was nervous about it, because it's been quite some time since I've written an essay. The course was interpersonal communication, so I had to analyze my nonverbal communication skills during two different conversations and write an essay about it. So, I analyzed and wrote an essay. I thought I met all the requirements, so I expected a decent grade, but I still didn't hope for too much. Last night, I got my grade -- 100! I was so excited. I don't think I've been given 100 for an essay before, and I got one for my first college essay! Yaayyyy!!!

Anyway, I will try very hard to post more often and find more interesting things to talk about. :)

Remember When..........

2008-10-23T20:37:00.005-04:00

So, now that I have a scanner, I have been scanning my favorite old pictures into my computer. As if the 2500 photos already on file weren't enough! I just have to share a few of my favorites.

Me and Aunt Sherry

Me and Gabrielle

Me, Daddy, and Gabrielle. I had just got my ears pierced, so I made sure my earrings showed. :)

Curly top

On of favorite pictures ever. Me, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Baby Princess and Tom

Love this one. They meet for the first time. Tom is wondering what the little fuzzball is.

Awwwwwww

Now I have to figure out Photoshop. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2008-10-20T18:16:00.002-04:00

Well, yesterday I turned 23 years old. It chokes me to say that. :) Twenty-one and twenty-two didn't feel old, but 23 feels old. I'm really, definitely, officially not a kid anymore. Not even a teenager. Bordering on mid-twenties. Ouch.

When I was a teenager, I thought my life would be different by the time I was twenty-three than it has turned out to be. I'm just getting started with work, with college....I feel sort of like I'm running to catch up. I'm enjoying life right now, though, and enjoying being a student. Hopefully, when I finish this program it will open up some doors for me for a good job. Anyway, I am starting 23 feeling more hopeful than discouraged, even though the number is a little hard to swallow.

I had a really good birthday weekend, though. For starters, it was my weekend off! That was reason to be happy by itself. On Saturday, we went shopping. I asked for a printer to go with my new laptop, so my parents bought me an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier. They also bought me Photoshop software. I have wanted Photoshop for sooo long. Now, I just have to figure out how to use it. I also went to the mall and picked out a dress from Aunt Sherry. It is a red corduroy dress and so cute! I love it. Gabrielle gave me a gray bead necklace, too. Then yesterday after church, we went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant and bought an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. It was all delicious! I spent the rest of my afternoon working with my new scanner, scanning old photos into my computer. It was a great weekend!

So, I'm hopeful that a good year is ahead of me. Maybe some changes for the best with college and jobs. New friends, new plans, new ideas......I'm kind of excited.

~For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end~ Jeremiah 29:11

It's the little things in life......

2008-10-14T09:53:00.002-04:00

I bought new Christmas ornaments last week! It was so fun to look through all the different trees and choose my favorites.

A cardinal..
A squirrel..........
A deer with her fawn..........
and a turtle! This one is for my sister.
I was also really excited to buy some new art supplies -- just some pencils, blenders, and an eraser, but still! It's going to make drawing more fun to have new supplies to work with!

I'm Tagged!!!

2008-10-13T10:21:00.004-04:00

Kaitlyn, over at I Stand Redeemed, tagged me for this meme:

The Rules of the game are as follows:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write Six Random Things about yourself.
“Tag” six-or-so other people at the bottom of your post…
…And leave comments on their blogs, letting them know they’ve been tagged.
Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve written the post.

Okay, six random things about me:

1. I'm allergic to milk, but not ice cream
2. I'm a pack rat. A bad one. I have toys and clothes from when I was two and collections galore.
3. I love anything classic -- classic movies, classic books, classic music. If it's old, antique, or filmed in black and white, I usually like it. :)
4. I take WAY too many pictures (this one is inspired from having to upload about 400 to Walgreens last night)
5. I have to know how to make everything from quilts to cakes. If I see a new craft on a show, I'm not satisfied until I give it a try.
6. I'm not very neat. I try, but I do not succeed. It probably has something to do with a dozen projects going on at once.

Hmmm, I think pretty much all the blogs I read are already tagged. If you're reading, and you haven't been, consider yourself tagged!

My blog is dressed for fall!

2008-10-07T20:19:00.002-04:00

And, after over a year of blogging, I finally figured out how to put a picture behind my title. Every time I tried before, the picture would be HUGE, so I would have to take it off. Funny how I never noticed to check the "shrink to fit" box before. *blushes* Oh, well. I saw it this time.

Fall is here!

2008-10-05T15:14:00.003-04:00

I love the cool, crisp fall weather! The leaves are changing colors and the weather is perfect! I love taking walks now. In summer, it's just too hot, but now, everyday when I come home from work, I take a walk and enjoy the fresh air and breeze. So nice! I hope it stays like this for a while before the cold weather gets here.

Things I love about fall:

caramel apples
colorful leaves
cool weather
long walks
pumpkins
boots
light sweaters
jean jackets
rich colors in my closet
apple cider
county fairs
my birthday!!

Working late...

2008-10-03T13:46:00.003-04:00

So, yesterday and tonight my schedule is 4:30 to midnight. The midnight part is no fun. I do enjoy having time off during the day, though. Yesterday was nice. I spent some time studying, worked on my drawings, and just caught up on different projects. Today, I went back to the allergy/asthma specialist for an allergy test. The test was not fun. One part involved having 16 needles stuck in my arm! The results were that I'm allergic to grass, trees, dust mites, cats, horses, milk, ragweed.....I don't even remember what else. The good news is that I'm not allergic to Princess! Not that she would have gone anywhere anyway, but it was good to know that she's not the problem! Now, I'm at home baking cookies. I think they are about ready to come out of the oven, so I better run!

FIREPROOF

2008-09-29T13:30:00.004-04:00

This Saturday, we went to see Fireproof at the theater. If you are familiar with Facing The Giants, you've probably heard of it. The movie stars Kirk Cameron. He plays a firefighter, who willingly sacrifices his wellfare everyday for the good of others, but at home, is far from heroic and letting his marriage crumble. He and his wife cannot get along anymore. He blames her entirely. She blames him entirely. They are both ready to call it quits. His father steps in to help. I can't give away the story for those who haven't seen it, but it was a really great movie. The characters are real people facing real problems in life -- there's no soft-pedaling that. It shows the emotions they both go through and the changes they face in their life. Whether you are married or single, this movie has a message for you. If you are married, I don't doubt that it will make you think about your commitment to your marriage and if your attitude toward your spouse might need some adjusting. If you are single, it will definitely make you think about what a serious, lifelong commitment marriage is, and that when you say "I do", it is for the worse as well as the better. The movie has light-hearted moments that make you laugh out aloud, and moments where the tears will fall. I recommend it to everyone. Visit www.fireproofthemovie.com for more details.

Well, I did it.....

2008-09-26T08:23:00.002-04:00

I finally signed up for online college work! I'm actually pretty excited about it. It is a program that leads to a career diploma in medical coding and billing. That's not the most exciting course of study, I know, but I thought this would be "career" that would be good for me. Coding and billing can be used in any health offices, hospitals, insurance companies, etc, and I could work from home as well. That was one of the main reasons I chose it. I started to learn medical transcription, which is a common at-home job for typing medical records, but I quickly realized that my hands aren't up to that much typing. So, I thought coding and billing would be best for me. I haven't received my books yet, but I can access them through pdf files online. They look like they will be interesting -- and some of them look hard! So, I'm going to schedule studying into my day from now on. :)

New drawings.....

2008-09-24T20:55:00.003-04:00

This is from a picture that my friend loaned me just so I could draw it. She took it at a Civil War reenactment. The glare on the picture makes some of the details fuzzy, but it's an interesting picture in person. I'm experimenting with the bottom edge. It's supposed to be dust/smoke from the battle, but it looks like it needs some more blending.
My latest had drawing. I'm still working on smoothing out the background. I thought about tinting the flower pink, but I can't make up my mind. It's still a work-in-progress.
I tinted this drawing with my colored pencils. The before is in the picture below. I like the way it turned out. I may even darken the colors a little more, though the soft colors are nice, too. Decisions........

Okay, boring post.........

2008-09-23T17:50:00.002-04:00

I am finally, FINALLY beginning to feel well again after over three weeks of bronchitis and asthma. It only took three trips to the doctor. I have a busy two weeks ahead of me at work -- between yesterday (Monday) and next Friday, I'll only have two days off. Tomorrow is my first day off. I hope to work on cleaning my room and just spend some time doing nothing. :) I hope I can find something new to post about, too. I have been debating the decision to sign up for some online college courses. I would really like to, so, maybe tomorrow I'll be able to find time to sit down at the phone, call, have all my questions answered, and sign up. Although, writing that did make me wonder if I'm having such trouble finding time to sign up, how will I find time to study? I may have to cut my hours. I've also started a new cross-stitch sampler and keep thinking about quilting. I would really love to make a nice tree skirt. Sooooo....let's see what I actually end up doing in the upcoming weeks.

Luther

2008-09-20T14:03:00.004-04:00

Last week, we finally saw the movie Luther. When it was on at the theater a couple of years ago, we had planned on going to see it, but just never got around to it. We were going through movies at the library, saw it on a shelf, and checked it out.

I thought this was a really good movie. It brought the story of the Reformation to life for me. The first time I watched it, I thought it was a little confusing. You would definitely have to know something of Luther's life and the history of what was going on at the time to keep up with the story. For the first thirty minutes, the plot kind of skips along too fast, but once he is settled at the school they begin to take more time and it is easier to follow. I liked the actor who played Luther, too.

What was interesting was to see those times come to life. Common people had no Bibles. Most church services were in Latin, which only the well-educated understood. Luther himself, even after becoming a monk, had never seen a copy of the Bible until going to the theological university. On October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church. He protested the selling of indulgences,held that the Bible is the only source of truth, and that salvation is a gift only God cam give, not something we can buy or earn, and stood before the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521, to defend his several writings. Because he would not recant, he was excommunicated from the church, which in essence, made him an outlaw. He translated and published the first Bible in the language of the common people, an act which changed the Christian world. Even after reading my history books, I had never realized that the Reformation caused such upheaval, almost war. The movie showed the chaos, and the number of people who died.

The only part of the movie I didn't care for was when he and his wife became engaged. She pretty much proposed to him! I can't imagine a woman being that bold in that day and age, and from what I've read of the real story of how they met and married, it was totally off-base. It was a really good movie, though, showing how God used one man to change the world.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

2008-09-17T17:28:00.003-04:00

The Christmas trees at the store went up on Monday! I still can't believe it, but they are so beautiful! I have a feeling I'm going to be buying a lot Christmas ornaments there. They have a tree with candy ornaments -- gingerbread ornaments, candy canes, etc -- and trees clear, glittery ornaments. There is even a black tree! It is about four foot high, with shiny black branches, and decorated with silver ornaments. There is a twig tree decorated completely with glass birds, and a white tree with red ornaments. There are Hallmark ornaments, Western ornaments, Victorian ornaments -- every kind you can think of! I can't wait to buy a few.....or several! :)

Long Day......

2008-09-13T18:19:00.003-04:00

Today was a high stress day in my retail world. Whew! I worked 8-4:30. From 8 until 10 there weren't a lot of people in the store, but starting about 11, it was a rush! It wasn't any worse than some other busy sale days I've been through, but the store was short-staffed of cashiers and so many people had enormous cartloads of purchases. Add that to the fact that I'm still not over my last bout with bronchitis/asthma, so I just wasn't in the mood to deal with it. I guess what really made me panic a little today was the number of people with their big cartloads saying, "I'm just getting my Christmas shopping started!" Christmas shopping? I'm not ready for Christmas shoppers!!! I've been hearing the "terrible tales" from the people who worked there through the last holiday season, about being open until midnight or later, opening at 6 am, 10 hour shifts -- can I handle this?!?!?? Not to mention grumpy holiday shoppers who won't be satisfied with anything they can find or anything I can do for them. I know it's early to be thinking about it, but Thanksgiving is only two months away!! Either this will be a good lesson in patience, or my sanity will crumble.

We Will Never Forget......

2008-09-11T12:45:00.005-04:00

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Out in the yard with your wife and children Working on some stage in LA

Did you stand there in shock at the site of That black smoke rising against that blue sky

Did you shout out in anger In fear for your neighbor Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children Who lost their dear loved ones

And pray for the ones who don't know

Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride For the red white and blue

The heroes who died just doing what they do

Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man

I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you The difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young

Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us

And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Teaching a class full of innocent children Driving down some cold interstate

Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor In a crowded room did you feel alone

Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her Did you dust off that bible at home

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened Close your eyes and not go to sleep

Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages Speak with some stranger on the street

Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow Go out and buy you a gun

Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns

Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger

Stand in line and give your own blood Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family

Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man

I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell youThe difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young

Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us

And the greatest is love

I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man

I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you The difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young

Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us

And the greatest is love

The greatest is love The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Alan Jackson

Presidential Candidates

2008-09-10T19:47:00.006-04:00

"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's.

I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God. "

John McCain

I didn't think I could support John McCain as a presidential candidate. At least, I couldn't support him wholeheartedly. I didn't think my viewpoints and his were going to coincide. The more I listen to him, though, the more I like him. His speech at the RNC really showed a lot about him. He suffered for this country. He loves this country. Even though all of his policies aren't what I'd like them to be, sincerely loving this country as he does is something you rarely see and is valuable. When I heard that he had chose a woman for his running mate, I kind of thought he was just trying to gain popularity. But when I heard Sarah Palin speak, I was like, "Wow!" She stepped onstage and told everone what she'd done and what she wanted to do. She had a great personality and was a skilled speaker.

"But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people."

Sarah Palin

I really appreciate her conservative viewpoints and her "will-do" attitude. What do I think about a female VP? Carolyn McCulley has interesting post about that here. It's a lot to think about.

More company........

2008-09-08T22:21:00.002-04:00

Grandpa told us a few weeks ago that he was just going to get in the car and drive for vacation, stopping here and there when he decided to. He mentioned coming to visit us, but never said anything definite. This evening he called. He and his wife are just an hour away from us -- a 600 mile drive from where they live! Fortunately, I have tomorrow off, so I'll be able to visit with them. It's kind of funny -- we never have more than one or two visitors a year, and now this will be five visitors in little more than a month! Plus, some more of my dad's family are coming up to visit in October. It's pretty nice, actually. All of our family lives in a different state, so we only see them every three or four months. It's great to get to see them more often and show them where we live. Now, I should go clean my room. :)

A few pictures........

2008-09-05T18:33:00.002-04:00

Back home.........

2008-09-03T22:09:00.003-04:00

We are back home again. It was a tiring trip. We never stayed in one place for more than an hour as soon as we got there, or at least, it seemed that way. It was sad to go to the funeral for my uncle, but there was comfort in knowing that he wasn't suffering anymore. During the service, the preacher talked about how he had tried several times over the years to talk about the Lord with my uncle, but he would change the subject and seem uncomfortable. It wasn't until a few years ago, when his sickness was growing worse, that the preacherr tried to talk to him about salvation and he was interested. He said that he prayed with him and saw a definite change in his life after that conversation. That was certainly something to be thankful for.

It's hard to watch people suffer. I hadn't seen this uncle as much as I should have all these years that he has been sick, but I remember him years ago when he was well. Looking at the pictures at the funeral, it was hard to see how much the sickness changed him over his life. It made me remember my grandma, too. She was sick for so many years before she died and suffered so much. And now, my grandpa is not doing well either.

Funerals are always sad, but they make me think about Heaven. My grandma can walk and run and see now. And my uncle is well, too. In Heaven, there will be no more sickness, no tears, no sadness, or pain.

I can only imagine What it will be like

When I walk By your side

I can only imagine What my eyes will see

When your face Is before me I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel

Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still

Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine

I can only imagine When that day comes And I find myself Standing in the Son

I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever Forever worship You

I can only imagine

I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever, forever worship you

Sad...

2008-08-27T10:57:00.002-04:00

We received a call this morning that my uncle (my dad's brother-in-law) died last night. He has suffered with Huntington's disease, which is similar to Parkinson's, for so many years now, and his health has really declined in the last few years. For a long time, he couldn't even get out of bed, then he got a little better, but then he grew worse again. We are leaving tomorrow to go back to our home state. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. Please pray for my aunt and the rest of our family during this difficult time.

Piano Lesson

2008-08-27T10:49:00.001-04:00

I went to my piano lesson yesterday. It was interesting. The teacher has come through a lot of hand injuries herself, so it was encouraging to hear that someone really can learn to play again. One of the key things she was showing me was to play with my fingers near the black keys, not the edge of the keys, and to keep your wrists relaxed. That's not as easy as it sounds. Until you force yourself to notice it, you never realize how much tension you hold in your wrists and fingers while you play, especially when doing chords and octaves. This teacher learned to play this way from another teacher, Vickie King, whose website is www.naturalpianoplaying.com. I really hope I can use these techniques to play the piano again!

What I've been up to......

2008-08-22T17:31:00.002-04:00

I just noticed how long it's been since I've posted. Yikes! I didn't realize it had been over a week. Last week was pretty busy. I had a bad cold the first half of the week and had to work long hours the last half of the week. So, I didn't get around to blogging. After I work 3:30-midnight once, it kind of wipes me out for the rest of the week. Thankfully, I have this weekend off! Yay!

I do have some news that's somewhat exciting -- well, it's exciting for me. At church last Sunday someone gave me the name of a piano teacher who retrains pianists to play after performance injuries. It had been so long since I told her about my hands that I was amazed she remembered. I contacted the teacher this week and we have a lesson scheduled on Tuesday. It has been four years since I overworked my hands playing difficult pieces and developed carpal tunnel syndrome that I haven't been able to get rid of since. A few weeks ago I sat down to play a few pieces and was discouraged because my hands just wouldn't cooperate with me. I'm really hoping this teacher will be able to teach me a new way to play so that I can actually play again!

My new clothes and antiques.......

2008-08-13T18:47:00.003-04:00

I found this when we went shopping at an antique shop almost as soon as I walked through the door. This store has lots of neat things, but tends to be rather pricey, for me anyway. I just knew the price was going to be $50, but she was only $10!! I was so excited. She is just so pretty. She is actually a nightlight, but she doesn't work, of course. I just like using having her to sit on my bookshelf.
Aunt Sherry brought these figurines for me when she came. She bought them at a florist shop that happened to have a few antique figurines near the door. They remind me so much of the figurines my Grandma used to collect.
When it was associate shop day this time, I went a little crazy. After all, I got 30% off all the sale prices and I needed some new fall clothes. I love these shoes. These heels are just the right height -- about 1 1/2 inches -- and the way they are made, I can actually walk in them without pain. :) That's an accomplishment for me in a pair of heels.
When my sister saw this picture, she said "Where did you get DIAMONDS!?!" Unfortunately, they're not diamonds. They aren't even sterling silver. The way the metal is cut makes the medallions sparkle and there are almost microscopic rhinestones as well.

You can't see them well in the picture, but I really love this shirt and skirt. And they match my shoes. :)
I love the colors in this top.
And this burgundy is really nice. I like the way the shirt fits. It's not too clingy, but not shapeless either.
I'm on the fence about keeping this shirt. It is my favorite bright pink color, but I don't have any dark brown bottoms to go with it and it is one of those shirts I have to layer with a camisole. So I'll have to think about this one.
Aunt Sherry bought this purse for me. Usually, this name brand hardly ever goes on sale, so it's hard to find a good price, but this one was on clearance for 70% off. I love the colors and pattern.

I also found a great black pencil skirt. It is the perfect length, just below the knees, and the slit in the back is only about one or two inches. That's a rare find in a pencil skirt. Usually, they are up above the knees with a six inch slit.

I like my new clothes, but my favorite finds are the figurines. It is so exciting for me to find special keepsakes to keep forever. :)

Back to normal

2008-08-12T18:48:00.003-04:00

Well, vacation is over and it's back to work. I'm pretty tired. It always seems like I need a vacation to recover from vacation, but it is nice to be back in a normal routine. Last Tuesday, when we were out shopping, I got caught in the rain. That almost always means an instant cold for me and, sure enough, I have been fighting a stuffy head and cough ever since. Yesterday was really bad at work. I started out fine, but the last two hours I coughed and COUGHED and COUGHED. I had to run away from the register three times because I was coughing so hard, but thankfully some girls were nice enough to cover for me quickly. Today was much better, but I just felt tired and blah. I bought a lot of neat things on vacation. Some were presents for Aunt Sherry and some I bought myself because it was associate day at work and I got a double discount. I love associate days. :) I'll have to post pictures tomorrow, since I have the day off. Vacation was great. It was nice to see our family and have them here at our house. Life back to normal is good to, though.

More vacationing.........

2008-08-04T09:02:00.002-04:00

Well, Aunt Sherry is here and Aunt Bett and Uncle John. I had to work over the weekend, so I was really tired at first, but now I am free to relax as much as I like. :) I'm not sure what we are going to be doing. Today, I think we're going to the mall. It will be nice to see the inside of another department store for a change.

Aunt Sherry has already done quite a bit of movie watching with us, with both Gods and Generals and North and South over the weekend. I've already made a post about how much I love North and South, but I could go on and on about it. As for Gods and Generals, it is a very long movie, and there are a lot of battle scenes that might bore someone who isn't a history enthusiast like me, but the faith of Stonewall Jackson and the sight of the bloodshed and tears will move anyone. It gives the viewer such a good look into the Civil War. They were real people, facing the real, agonizing choices to take sides in a war against their brothers. They were real women and children, alone at home while the men were at war. The soldiers were real men that got shot down by the hundreds in every battle. It's definitely a thought-provoking look at the past.

Tennis!!

2008-07-30T18:46:00.006-04:00

Well, we're back!! We had a great time. The first day was overcast and not too hot. The tournament has the large Center Court which seats thousands. You have to sit in your assigned seat to watch a game played on that court. The next biggest court is the Grandstand court which seats several hundred, but you can sit anywhere you want. We got to sit front row through a couple of games there! There are also some smaller courts where you can sit anywhere and several practice courts. We spend the majority of our time at the practice courts. These courts look like tennis courts you would find at the park with just a wire fence around them, but the top professional players in the world warm up on these courts before their matches and you get to stand next to the fence and watch them. When they leave, the nice players sign autographs, take pictures, and talk a little to people, even though they are being all but knocked off their feet by hundreds of fans waving tennis balls and cameras in their face.

We have lots of players that we like a lot, but our favorite player is Marat Safin. We already have his autograph :), so Gabrielle was so hoping she could get a picture with him. Let me tell you, the crowd around the practice court was the worst I had ever seen it. It didn't help that he, and the number 2 & 3 players in the world were all practicing on courts side by side. I have to estimate that at least five hundred people were crowding around the fences. We crowded around him (with everyone else) and tried to get a picture, but it was impossible.
The next day, we tried again, and again the crowd was impossible. I never realized I was so short until all those people kept jumping in front of me and shoving me out of the way. So, Gabrielle was disappointed, but we went up to center court to watch number 1 player in the world, Roger Federer, play a match. The game was really interesting. First one was winning, then the other, so we were paying attention to the game. The seats were empty beside us. A woman came and sat in the seat beside me and I overheard her say to her friend, "I just saw Safin at the practice court." Gabrielle and I grabbed our camera and ran to the practice court. Because he wasn't scheduled to practice, there was hardly anyone around him compared to before, and, when he left, he took a picture with each of us!! :) That day, the second day, was sooo hot. For the first time, our seats at center court were in a shaded area, but even that didn't help much. I sunburned a little on my nose, but nothing too bad. I bought several of my favorite lemonades and some rainbow sherbet to cool me off!
This is the US Open Road Trip bus with all the top player's pictures on them.

We had a great time, saw lots of the tennis players and got a few autographs. Hopefully, we'll be able to go back next year!

Tennis Tomorrow!!

2008-07-27T17:11:00.002-04:00

We're off to our annual tennis tournament tomorrow for two full days of watching the professionals compete. We'll get to see Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, and so many more! We're so excited. Last year we got lots of autographs, so hopefully we can do the same this year. I have to make sure my camera is charged and ready to go for LOTS of pictures. And I have to figure out what I want to wear. :)

New Haircut!

2008-07-23T21:08:00.004-04:00

I got a hair cut today! I didn't cut a lot off because I'm trying to grow the length out some, but I had my layers trimmed and changed my bangs. Even though I liked the hairstyle when I cut off so much length in November, I just don't like to wear my hair short (which for me means above my shoulders). But, my hair is SO much healthier since I cut it off. I haven't had hardly any split ends and is much softer, whereas before I couldn't keep the split ends trimmed and it felt really dry. Now, hopefully, I'll be able to manage styling my new layers and bangs.

One More Week Until Vacation.........

2008-07-20T09:15:00.003-04:00

Vacation is almost here! It starts next Saturday. I can't believe August is practically here already. We are going to go to the tennis tournament again on Monday and Tuesday of that week. It will be nice, especially since this may be the last year we'll live close enough to go to it. Then, I have to work Wednesday and Thursday. :( But, that Friday, we are going to pick up my Aunt Sherry (it's a nine hour drive to her house, so we're going to meet her halfway) and she is going to stay with us for a week. Well, my dad's sister called him last week. She and her husband are going to be vacationing just a few hours from us, so they are going swing by and visit us for two or three days the same week Aunt Sherry is here. Whew! It's going to be a pretty busy vacation. And, because I didn't think my job would let me have two straight weeks off -- well, they would have, but we aren't sure when we're going back to our home state to visit, so I want to save my full week off for then -- I left hours available for me to work a couple of evenings that week. I'm going to need a vacation to recover from vacation. It will be lots of fun, though

We have lived here for nine years now, and Aunt Sherry has come up every year to stay with us. That always means two things for sure -- eating out and shopping. :) We try to find interesting places to visit, too. For a couple of years, we've gone to the aquarium and last year we went to the Creation Museum, so now, we're trying to come up with a new idea. Unless it cools down considerably, the zoo is out of the question, as well as anything else that requires a lot of walking outdoors. We also watch a lot of girly movies. She didn't get to see Cranford when it came on PBS, so if I can find it at the library, that will definitely be on the list. Also, North and South. We tried to watch that last year, but someone checked it out from the library and did not turn it back in the entire week she was here. I would like to watch Bleak House, but it is soooo long that it's not really practical for the time frame we would have to squeeze it in.

So, I'm looking forward to next week. And the only day I have off before then to get my room cleaned up is Wednesday. I don't know if that's doable or not. :)

A Hard Jane Austen Quiz

2008-07-15T18:47:00.000-04:00

Here is a different Jane Austen quiz I found, judging you on how well you know her and her writing I only got 12/20. :( Maybe some of you can do better!

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2516841cd0de8.html

Charlotte Bronte

2008-07-13T18:07:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite authoresses is Charlotte Bronte. There is something a little different about her writing style that sets her apart from Austen, Gaskell, and Elliot. She tended to write her stories in the first person, for one thing. She truly lets you inside the characters mind and describes their every feeling so well that you understand and empathise.

She was born April 21, 1816, the third of Patrick and Maria Branwell's six children, Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell. Her mother died of cancer when she was only five, and her mother's sister Elizabeth came to live with the family to care for the children. I read the first part of the biography Elizabeth Gaskell wrote for her, which described her early years. Her father, a minister, encouraged all his children in reading and studying. He described Charlotte as extremely bright from a very young age. He would ask her philosophical questions to see what she would say and even from five or six years old, she would have an answer an adult today might not be able to come up with. She, Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth were sent the Clergy Daughters' School in 1824. Charlotte never liked to mention those years at school in her later life and, I think, denied that she based Lowood School in Jane Eyre on the place, but the similarities between her life there and Jane Eyre's life at Lowood are to strong for them not to have a connection. They would be given thin soup made of potato peelings and other scraps to eat, the school was cold, and the girls were often sick. Maria and Elizabeth developed tuberculosis while living there and died in 1826.

Charlotte continued her education at Roe Head and worked as governess for several families. Doubtless these experiences gave her inspiration for her novels. She returned home in 1844. The girls had written stories all their lives, but began now to try to get them published. Emily and Anne published a book of poetry that went virtually unnoticed. Still, the sisters determined to take on pen names and keep trying. On taking the name Currer Bell, Charlotte said

"Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own names under those of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell; the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because -- without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine' -- we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice; we had noticed how critics sometimes use for their chastisement the weapon of personality, and for their reward, a flattery, which is not true praise."

Jane Eyre was published in 1847 with great success, though there was much wonder as to who Currer Bell was. Branwell, her only brother, died in 1848, due to complications from heavy drinking, but Charlotte always believed he died of tuberculosis. Emily died also in 1848 and Anne in 1849, both of pulmonary tuberculosis. In 1849 Shirley was published and Villette in 1853. In 1854, Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls and became pregnant soon after. She was given to severe nausea and frequent faintness during the pregnancy. Charlotte and her unborn child died March 31, 1855. Her death certificate sites tuberculosis as the cause of her death, but biographers now believe it may have malnourishment and dehydration from her severe morning sickness. The Professor, which was written before Jane Eyre but rejected many times by publishers, was at last published posthumously.

Her books:

Jane Eyre -- Undoubtedly one of the best books of all time.
Shirley -- I don't think I've read this one, but the synopsis looks interesting.
Villette -- It's been quite a while since I read this, but I remember that it was good.
The Professor -- I haven't read this one either, but I may check it out some time!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-13T11:45:00.002-04:00

I finally finished my artwork website!! For so long, I have worked on this a little bit at a time, but I have finally got all the pages in place, all the pictures sized, and everything in order. The worst thing was the "About Me." I always hated those "tell about yourself" papers in grade school, and this was even worse! But, anyway, my artwork is finally all in one place on the Internet, sized, priced, and sorted. Here is the link:

www.amandas-art.bravehost.com

Thank you....

2008-07-12T12:06:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and encouragement last week. I appreciated it so much! Thankfully, I feel much better now. After a few days without minor catastrophes and indignant customers my stress levels have decreased dramatically. :) Again, thank you so much! I plan to be back to posting as usual very soon. :)

Life............

2008-07-08T20:29:00.003-04:00

I've been in a little bit of a downer lately. I guess that's why I haven't posted as much. It hasn't really been a difficult time, just a series of aggravations and annoyances. When things are like that, I get a little down and out. Things at work have been annoying. At home, I get frustrated with myself because I can't seem to get all my projects organized or make any progress with anything. My hand is bothering me again. Oh, and yesterday, after my last customer went into a rage because a package of underwear wasn't on sale when she thought it was, on the way home, the car behind me rear-ended me. Thankfully, the only damage was a few scratches on the car, but my nerves were shattered.

Emily, at Unfurling Flower had a great post about how to handle days like these. The most important thing to try to remember is to focus on other things. Don't wallow in all the things that have gone wrong, but keep my mind on what needs doing and what I should do. It really helps to take my focus from the drama or the emotional drain of the moment to simply do the next thing. For now, I hope the clouds are breaking and blue sky is ahead. :)

Independence Day

2008-07-04T07:11:00.003-04:00

It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, peace! But there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! --Patrick Henry

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent—of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. 'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union, faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; The wound will enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters. -- Thomas Paine in Common Sense

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. --Thomas Paine The American Crisis

The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance. -- George Washington

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. -- The Declaration of Independence

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Stressful Day

2008-07-02T18:25:00.003-04:00

Right now, I am sitting in the recliner with my laptop, a glass of lemonade, and feeling somewhat relaxed. Maybe my headache will go away eventually. Today was a long day.

It started out stressful, because I knew I was going to have to rework all the vacation days I had put in for at work. The day after I put in for them, we decided to change them. So, I left a few minutes early so I would have time to work on my schedule before I clocked in. I hadn't got half a mile from home when I came to a stoplight. Traffic was heavy because of rush hour, so I didn't plow ahead when the light turned yellow, but stopped. There was a van behind me. The driver of the van started blowing his horn and waving his hands at me. I was thinking, "How rude!" He kept blowing the horn and waving and the passenger beside him was trying to get my attention, too. I was frowning at them in the rearview mirror, amazed that the people were so mad that I had stopped at a yellow light. Finally, it dawned on me that they weren't mad, but trying to tell me something, so I rolled down my window and looked back at them. He rolled down his window, too, and yelled, "YOU HAVE A FLAT TIRE!!"

I looked down at the tire. It was flat as a pancake. I yelled, "Thank you!!" back and felt bad for thinking they were roadrager-s. I called my mom and she called my dad to go change my tire. I pulled over at a gas station and waited. It took a long time for him to get there because of the traffic, but he got there and changed the tire. Then he told me to go back home so my mom could drive me to work so she could get the tire fixed.

I finally got to work 45 minutes late and out of sorts. Then, the work day annoyed me. Time seemed to stand still. There would be twenty minute breaks between customers and I would have nothing to do. People were annoying me like crazy. It took forever for me to straighten out my schedule. When I got home, there was insurance paperwork waiting for me in the mailbox and it took three tries to log on to the Internet. So, today has not been fun. Not by a long shot. When my headache goes away, I'll be able to be see that it wasn't that bad. I had the flat tire only half a mile from home. Some people were nice enough to go through a lot of trouble to tell me about it. Otherwise, I would have driven all the way across town and never noticed it until I was ready to go home at 4:30. My dad was able to come right away and fix the tire. So, I should still be grateful for the way things turned out, and I am. Right now, I just need to relax for a while. :)

Here's how behind the times I am........

2008-06-24T21:21:00.003-04:00

I burned my first CD on my new computer this week! It was so simple -- I just put the CD in, opened my picture viewer and pressed the "burn" button. Now, at least a few of my hundreds of pictures are safely stored on CD. I have a lot more to do, but at least I know how.

Now that I have a good computer and better picture editing software, I hope I can finally put a website together. I have one already, but because it's almost impossible to take a good picture of a square drawing, all the photos look lopsided or have a glare on them. So, I hope I'll be able to get some decent pictures of my drawings and put a website together.

I'm also, after sooooo many years of writing with barely legible cursive in five-subject notebooks, finally typing my novel out. It's so exciting to be able to choose the fonts and see the pages laid out like pages from a real book. Even if no one else ever sees it, if I can just get all typed out and printed for myself, it will feel like an accomplishment.

So, after weeks of complete aggravation trying to get this new computer set up, I am finally beginning to really enjoy it!!

Elizabeth Gaskell

2008-06-17T21:05:00.006-04:00

Since I just finished reading one of her books, it seemed appropriate to write my first post about Elizabeth Gaskell. She was born in Chelsea, in 1810, the last of eight children, and the only one, except for the firstborn, to live. Her mother died just three months after her birth and she was sent to live with her aunt in Cheshire. In 1832 she met and married William Gaskell, a minister.

After they married, they settled in Manchester. The industrial atmosphere of the place gave her inspiration for some of her novels. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. I read on one site that though her duties as wife and mother were always her first priority, she threw her herself into her writing after the death of her son, Charles in 1845. After this publication, the family rented a villa in Plymouth Grove, where she remained until her death. Visitors to Plymouth Grove included Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Charlotte Bronte. Charlotte Bronte was a dear friend of Mrs. Gaskell's. She completed the first biography of this friend. Charles Dickens, also a friend, published her short stories in his magazine, Household Words. Mrs. Gaskell died suddenly in 1865, at only fifty-five year old.

Her writings:

Mary Barton (1848) -- This is a very, very good book. It is set among the working class people, instead of the wealthy as most novels are. The story was so interesting and the characters were believable people. One of my favorites.

Cranford (1851-3) -- This is on my bookshelf to be read. I really enjoyed the Masterpiece movie version, though!

Ruth (1853) -- This is the book I just finished reading. I checked it out without even looking at the back cover. It is the story of a young girl who is led astray by a wealthy man, but afterwards lives a life of repentance and self-sacrifice. There are no inappropriate passages, and the time of her life she spends doing wrong is a small portion of the book. The focus of the book is how she repents, and strives to live a righteous life following her sin. It wasn't really an enjoyable book, like the others, but it was definitely thought-provoking and worth reading.

North and South (1854-5) -- Very good book. Sometimes there was almost too much information about factories and unions, but the story was very good. I loved the characters. The movie with Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage is superb!!

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) -- This I started, but didn't finish. It taught me a lot about Charlotte Bronte and her family. I hope to check it out and complete it one day.

Sylvia's Lovers (1863) -- Even though this is easily one of the saddest books I ever read, it is one of the best. It is the story of Sylvia, who can choose either a dashing sailor or plain, but good and steady, shopkeeper. The twists and turns are heart-wrenching, but the final scene of forgiveness at the end made me cry.

Cousin Phyllis (1864) -- I haven't read this one yet!

Wives and Daughters: an Everyday Story (1865) -- One of my favorites. I loved the characters and the portrayal of family life two hundred years ago. It is so sad that she couldn't complete it. We'll never know what the last few chapters would have been in her own words! The movie version with Justine Waddel and Keely Hawes is excellent.

She also completed many short stories and novellas.

One of my favorite aspects of Mrs. Gaskell's writing is the Christianity showed in her books. Particularly in Ruth and Sylvia's Lovers she brings out repentance and forgiveness. I am so glad I found her books!

And the winner of the poll is.........

2008-06-17T20:58:00.003-04:00

Jane Austen! Somehow, I had a feeling it would turn out that way. :) The poll and the author meme has given me the idea to post a sort of mini-series about some of my favorite authors/authoresses. The posts might be far between at times, but I think it will be fun to do a little research on my favorite writers. So, we'll see.........

I've been tagged!!!

2008-06-14T19:54:00.002-04:00

Kaitlyn Michele tagged me for this fun meme about authors!! I had so much fun reading her answers. Now, I'm going to have to think hard.......

Who is your all-time favorite author and why?
That is such a hard one. I love so many authors. I think I have to say Charles Dickens is my favorite author. His stories can sometimes be sad, but I love the intricate plots, the complicated characters, the historical context, and the bittersweet realities of life that his stories combine.

Who was your first favorite author and why? Do you still consider him/her to be among your favorites?
No contest. Laura Ingalls Wilder was my very favorite author for years. I've probably read the entire Little House series twenty times. Laura seemed so much like me, even though she lived 150 years ago in a little log cabin on the prairie. She is definitely still among my favorite authors.

Who is the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?
I'm a little torn here. Technically, it should be Wilkie Collins, because I just read The Woman in White and thought it was fabulous, but since I haven't read any of his other works, I can't count him as my newest favorite author. Elizabeth Gaskell fits here, I think. I first read Wives and Daughters last year, and since then have read several of her other works. They are all so good. She is definitely on my list of favorites forever.

If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?
Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte, Sir Walter Scott

Most of the bloggers I read have been tagged already, so I can only tag one blog:
Elizabeth at http://www.twentythreeandsoaring.blogspot.com/

Rules
Link to the person that tagged you.
Post the rules somewhere in your meme.
Answer the questions.
Tag people in your post.
Let the tagees know they’ve been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know your entry is posted.

Well, let's see........

2008-06-10T22:15:00.003-04:00

What have I been up to lately? I have been trying to figure out my new laptop -- and working. Then I come home and try to figure out some more about it. Then I go to work. I write a few sentences before I fall asleep, then my alarm clock tells me it's time to go to work again. I come home and try to figure out my new laptop. Can you tell I'm a computer genius? I have really got to see if there is a Windows Vista for Dummies book at the library, because when it comes to Windows Vista, I'm so lost. I knew our old computer inside and out. It's amazing how just having a different system can throw me for a loop. I had to look in the manual to figure out how to shut it down. *blushes* Anyway, I have the whole weekend off, then I work Monday and have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Yay!! A mini vacation!! Hopefully, during those four days I can get some things done that I need to do and relax a little as well. And come up with something interesting to post. ; )