My Weblog

"Stuff"

Well, the "stuff" of real life just keeps coming at us.  There are moments when I feel a bit like a BoBo doll--you know, those blow up type dolls with a weighted bottom--you hit them, they fall down and roll right back up.  Well, that's how I feel.

First, the tooth.  Well, we are headed to Mexico on Sunday.  Or, I should say, we're headed to Tucson on Sunday.  Monday I'll see the dentist.  If, as I suspect, we're talking a crown here, we'll get that on Tuesday.  The cost for the crown is $140.  It's an extra $20 for the "rush" to have it ready by Tuesday.  It'll cost us about $150 to rent a car because neither of ours are fit to take on the road and probably another $150 for hotels.  Food--well, we'd eat anyway, but let's throw in an extra $50 for that over and above what we'd spend here.  So, we're looking at about $460 instead of $1500 for a crown here.  Well worth the trip.  The tooth is not hurting, but I don't want to wait on it.  I'm concerned that if it's fragile enough to break once it is fragile enough to break again and then I'll be in a big hurry to get it fixed.....

The closet is still awash.  Joe is going to call a plumber, but I don't know when.  Even the bedroom floor is now getting wet on my side of the bed.  I'm taking my clothes out of the closet and carrying them to the guest room.  Gee, that's fun.  And, I'll have to do it all in reverse when (if) he gets it fixed by someone. 

I finally got him to go to the nursery and get some stuff to pour on the stump of the tree we had cut down.  I was getting very depressed about the whole thing.  I'd hoarded money and hoarded money during tax season, wanting a really good camera so badly.  But, when I brought that up he did his usual exasperated thing so I knew that would just start a battle.  Instead of the camera I wanted so badly, I paid to have this huge tree cut down.  The primary reason for that is that it is a water seeker and has sent out roots clear across the back yard.  I'm really concerned the roots are going to start to crack the foundation or get into the sewer system or something.  So, the tree is gone, but the roots live on.  It's been almost two months......it really began to feel as though I'd wasted my hard earned money.  But he went out and bought the stuff to put on the stump the other day.  Then, Sunday evening, he went out and drilled some holes to pour the stuff into.  It still needs more work but the drill ran out of juice and the batter is recharging now.  We'll see when that happens......

Monday was my "chauffeur" gig again.  Jen had to return the rental car and pick up her car at the repair shop.  And, then in the afternoon, she needed to take Will to the therapist but Jason needed to be picked up at rehab.  She gave Jason a choice, wait for her at rehab, or she'd arrange to have someone pick him up at the regular time.  He wanted to be picked up, but only if it was me who picked him up.  It went well.  At least this time, I knew where I was going.  Jennifer said I could leave him at the house alone since he's been alone there for brief moments a few times.  But, he talked and talked and I couldn't get out of there until Jen and Will came home.  Mostly, he seems to be really disturbed with Will.....again.....yet.  Perhaps he is just trying to process parenting styles...I don't know. 

Well, one of my clients is making us crazy at the moment.  On June 12, he broke the news that he was suddenly VERY interested in getting some returns filed that are long past due.  I've tried, literally, for YEARS to get him to get us the information we need to do these returns.  But, it seemed as though he just didn't take me seriously.  I'm never quite sure if he just doesn't get it or just doesn't care.  I kind of think maybe it's a little of both, maybe more that he doesn't get it.  And, some ego thrown in, not wanting to admit he doesn't get it.  But getting information from him is like pulling teeth.  For example, he started a new corporation in 2001.  It took me until September, 2004 to determine that he was the only owner.  Prior to that he kept talking to me about his "partners".  I asked how many "partners".  He said 10.  I kept asking for the names and SSN's of the partners.  His continual answer is "It's in the box" (He moves a box or boxes into my house every year).  But, whatever is supposed to be "in the box" is NEVER in the box.  He had his sister working with him for a long time.  She absolutely had NO idea how to file.......  It's all been SO frustrating.  Now, on June 12, he tells us he wants everything brought up to date through 2004.  That's 16 corporate returns and 4 individual returns he wanted through June 30.  But, the information we've been waiting for and asking for repeatedly is still not in our hands.  He's actually been working on trying to get us information.  However, now we're asking banks for information that's up to 5 years old--can you guess how fast THAT is happening?  Now he is convinced I'm somehow going to circumvent all the corporate returns that feed into his personal returns and just do the personal returns and do all 4 of them on Thursday.  I swear, the man is smoking dope.  I understand the reason for the urgency, but this is not fun. 

Anyway, Joe is trying to do some last minute accounting.  And he is like a bear with a sore paw--a paw that's been sore for a very long time.  Believe me, I WANT to go hide under the bed.  I HATE the way he behaves when he has any kind of a "project" to complete.  There was a time I had ideas that perhaps I could take on some of his loan processing so he could be more productive--make more sales calls, that sort of thing.  Now I know I will NEVER volunteer for that!  He is working on the purchasing part of our accounting program.  He's pissing and moaning about it.  He doesn't want to do the requisite steps to process the entries correctly.  I explained to him Sunday night each step of the process.  First you do this; then you do that; then you do something else.  I explained all the logic behind the process.  Tonight he is over there stomping and snorting because he can't go from step 2 to step 4.  Well, gee........of course you can't.  Then he wants help.  But he's impossible to help.  He clicks here, there, somewhere else on the screen, but doesn't listen to anything.  He doesn't read error messages.  It's just impossible to help him.  I have to get him out of the chair and sit down and work through it step by step.  Then I have to explain it to him again.  Then I have to listen to him rant and rave some more.  This is SO MUCH fun.  I offered to take part of it  and do it, but he just can't turn loose of anything, so afraid he'll lose "control".  Can I please have permission to go somewhere else, anywhere else, til this is over? 

Well, I'm going to post some pages.  I'm almost caught up on posting layouts.  So, all this posting will settle down within the next week, I hope. 

When Jennifer and her husband went to San Francisco, they took one of those boat tours. She was amazed at all the Sea Lions, basking in the sun and took this picture. I used Lynn Grieveson's Blue Water kit, available from TDC.

With my daughter's busy schedule, it seems we see more of Will than of her. So, when I get the two of them together, the camera comes out. Will just wouldn't cooperate. It's okay, I've added this photo to the pile of blackmail materials I'm accumulating to show all his future girlfriends. I used Deb Fisher's Annie's Room kit. The butterfly (recolored) is by Traci Sims.

For a long while the number pad that activates the garage door has not functioned. Jennifer got it fixed just a week or so ago. Will was so proud--he knows the combination, he can reach the number pad now, and he could "help" Grandpa with it. Good work, Will. Everything here is from an oldie by Anna Aspnes, her Possible kit.

1) No pets were harmed in the making of this layout; 2) NO, we DON'T keep them in there all the time! Indiana is an incredibly rambunctious dog, even though he's 9. We DO put him in there when clients come to the house. Some folks are just afraid of a 100# dog and we accept that. Punkin uses the same crate when we go out to dinner or something like that because she's still chewing. But, what's fun is when they choose to be in there together. We literally have to chase one of them out of there when we put the other in or this would be a common occurrence. Credits: Polka dot ribbon from Gina Miller, Polka dot bow knot from Traci Sims, Flowers and small tag from ACOT's new mega kit, doodles from Angie Briggs.

Nope not what you expected! A shot of the "delivery" of our new air conditioner! You've got to understand that as a single mom with no child support I've lived in this house for 13 years. There's been no man around to "fix" things and no money to pay to have anything done. It's taken DH and I 3 1/2 years to get our finances rearranged, but we're starting on a remodeling project about which I am SO excited. This was step one--new A/C. Maybe you have to live somewhere where the temperature hits 126-128 in the sun in the summer to truly appreciate my joy, but it's overflowing! I used Shabby Princess's Bluebell Road for this...... TFL, Marci

Will has developed freckles and they are the cutest things! This picture was taken by someone at his school but it's the only one I have that really shows the freckles. The kit is Flutterby by Bella Gypsy Designs available at ACOT.

Still Afloat, barely......

Well, I thought things in my closet seemed a bit strange last night, but I didn't pay it much attention.  But, when I went in there to find a clean tee shirt this AM and my feet left wet footprints in the carpet, I knew we had a problem.  A problem that is going to require immediate attention.  Obviously, there is a break in a hot water line, somewhere between the closet and the laundry area.  I've been smelling a weird smell in the laundry area for a while now, but thought it was doggy smell since one of them frequently sleeps there, right outside our bedroom door.  Joe went off to church this AM by himself because he was going to go to a Sunday School class instead of the actual church service.  With his "kill the messenger" frame of mind lately, I can hardly wait to tell him this news....  This will be the second time this has happened since I owned this house.  I hate what I know is coming--a big plumbing bill and the sound of a jackhammer all day long........

Well, according to Jennifer, Friday evening went pretty well at her house.  Will and Jason did an "experiment"--I have no idea what kind--together and Jason handled it well.  I think perhaps yesterday was another story.  About 3PM, she called to ask me to come up with an immediate reason why I HAD to have Will over here.  Well, I don't think she liked my reason much..... Anyway, she kept him at home and apparently things were okay.  So, perhaps the new medication is helping.  I sure hope so.  Jason did meet with Will's therapist on Friday and seemed to connect, so we're hoping that will help some too. 

AND, it looks like a trip to Mexico is in our near future.  We do not have any form of dental insurance and my experience with dental insurance is that, even if you have it, you still end up hundreds of dollars out of pocket when you go to see a dentist.  We have had a recommendation for a dentist in Los Algodones, B.C. from a client of mine.  Apparently this dentist was trained in the states, orients her practice toward the Americans who cross the border for medical/dental/pharmaceutical stuff, and does an excellent job.  My client had four teeth pulled and a new bridge that fit perfectly in place 24 hours later for 1/10 the US cost.  As I was eating dinner Friday night, there was a hard lump of something in my food--a piece of a tooth.  Of course the place where it broke off feels cavernous with my tongue though I'm sure it's not as big as it feels.  But, I just know we're looking at another crown, probably $1500, here.  That makes it well worth it to plan a drive to Tucson, stay overnight, take a bus across the border to Los Algodones, get the tooth fixed and head back home.  Even taking into account the hotel, food coming and going, and the dentist, I know it will be way less than what it would cost here.  So put us on the list of those Americans who are going outside the country for medical and dental care.  We're planning on filling all my prescriptions while we're there as well which will give us additional savings.....here we're paying $90 a month........

In the scrapping world, I've had a couple of fun things happen.  First, I was selected for another Creative Team.  I will be working with Deb Fisher, a designer from Australia.  For a very long time Deb created wonderful kits and GAVE them away.  Of course, I grabbed every one I could get my hands on.  Now she is selling and I'm pleased to be representing her.  Maybe I can pay back a bit of what she gave me.  My first layout as part of her CT will be posted below--"What's Behind the Hand".  That one might need a little explanation.  On scrapbooking message boards, it is customary to post a small picture, known as an AVATAR, so that when you leave a message, folks know who you are.  Mine, posted below, has me hiding behind my hand.  People have teased me a lot about "what's behind that hand".  So, I did this layout to show 'em.  Second good scrapbooking thing is that one of my layouts for Lynn Grieveson's team was selected as layout of the month by the Design Team at ACOT, a large and ever-growing scrapbooking website.  I am fairly certain that two of the ladies I know pretty well were behind that one, but it was immensely flattering.  Their design team selects a few layouts each month from all the layouts that are posted as layouts they feel are outstanding in some way.  I've already posted the layout here--the one with the church steeple, the church where Jennifer was married.  Funny thing is that I tried to scrap that picture 3 times before and hated each effort.  THIS time it wins accolades........go figure.  And, finally, another member of ACOT's design team has selected me as a person to "scraplift" for an upcoming spread the design team is doing.  That means, she will do a layout or layouts where she uses my design but her own paper choices and photo.  I've been "scraplifted" before, but never by a member of a design team.  So, that's pretty flattering.  My goodness, I'm loving all this attention.  Of course, none of this would be possible without all the great designers who have created the products I work with.....

On to some pages before you get the idea I'm just too in love with myself today.....

Poster Comments:
Nothing complicated here. The quilt is so busy I wanted to keep the rest of the page fairly simple. I scrapped this photo in b&w just a little while ago, but wanted to scrap it in color too. "Peach" paper is slightly recolored from Lynn Grieveson's Spring Party kit available at SBE. Yellow paper is by Lynn Grieveson, her Live Your Dreams, available at TDC. The floral embellishments are by Christine Smith (recolored).

My friends were appalled that I would even consider leaving the country for the weekend with a man I'd met on the internet--they were convinced he must be a white slaver or something. Of course, he was head of the Deacon Board of his church, had taught adult Sunday School for years, and we had been internet friends for more than 8 months. And, besides, what would a white slaver want with a 50-something Grandma? So, off to Mexico we went to spend the weekend at a friend's home about 3 hours south of the border. It must have been a successful first date, because we're coming up on our 4th anniversary this year. This is one of my most prized photos because of the memories we made that weekend. I think it goes beautifully with Lynn's Blue Water kit, available at TDC.

This photo of Mom was taken several years ago. I've scrapped it before, but wasn't thrilled with the page. Mom is a real "prayer warrior" so I wanted to celebrate that about her. The kit I've used is part of Christy Sturm's Conservatory series; the first in a series of 4-5 kits eventually to be released. THIS kit is at her new store at Butternug Squash Designs. The mini-brads are from the ACOT Circle of Friends kit and I did the solid papers myself. The quote (slightly changed) is from The Soup at 2Ps.

Every now and then, when I dig through Mom's old photos, I find a jewel like this. Loved this photo of my great grandmother and her sister. I'd guess this was taken around 1910-1915, but can't date it any closer than that. From other old photos I have, I know I met my great grandmother, but I have, sadly, no memory of her. She had a hard life, but she was a survivor, a strong woman. The floral paper is from Christy Sturm's 2nd Conservatory kit, The Purples, available at Butternug Squash Designs. I did the solid papers. The bottle is by Ronnie McCray and the flowers, crocheted doily and corner stamp are by Ronna Penner.

My friend. She's heard many a heartache poured out and joined in many a celebration over the past 7 years. I used a new "Bella Byte" mini kit by Bella Gypsy Designs called Faded Laundry. It is available at 2BScrapped.

My AVATAR, explained above.

I get a lot of teasing about my avatar. Decided it might be time for a grand unveiling of what's behind the hand. I used Deb Fisher's Souvee's New Black. The pointer hand was a freebie from Lynn Grieveson

Whisper........

Please, whisper.  It's so quiet in here I can literally hear myself think.  It's WONDERFUL!  Joe left about a half hour ago for a business trip to Southern California.  I have roughly 36 hours of peace and quiet to enjoy.  It's gonna be like heaven!  Of course, the phone will ring nonstop....him calling to keep from getting bored on the drive.......

Well, speaking of the phone, it just rang.  Joe got his shorts in a knot about how we had rented some DVD's and he HAD to take them back to Blockbuster before he left town, even though they weren't due.  Well, as is so often the case when he gets his shorts in a knot, he returned 5 cases and 4 DVD's.  Need I tell you they called to ask for the other DVD? 

Well, I just ate a peach for lunch.  I think that's healthy, right?  Well, I suppose it beats fudge which was the other thing that had piqued my interest in the kitchen.

Well, yesterday was a BAD day around here.  I ended up late in the day having to drive down to the far south end of town to pick up Will from "Mad Science Camp", sponsored by the Boy Scouts.  It took about 45 minutes to get there.  When I got there the "teachers" or whatever they are called wanted to speak to me.  It seems Will had a tough time yesterday.  The room they are in is kind of a big auditorium type room.  They are using the back of the room and the front of the room has a bunch of rows of chairs.  I guess everything got to Will and he crawled under the chairs and wouldn't come out.  They tried to coax him out but he wouldn't come.  Somewhere during the day he had told them his dad was "shot" and his brain wasn't working right.  I told them a bit about what was actually happening as well as the fact that he's gone from a school he'd been at for years to a camp at the Y to them in 2 weeks.  Poor little guy is just overwhelmed.  I guess they left him alone under the chairs for a while and when he had it together, he came out on his own.......

Jennifer took Jason to the neurologist yesterday.  She explained that these "episodes" are all related to brain function (which we knew).  I guess they're a bit like spasms.  They just happen every now and then, maybe once or twice a week and are not unusual with Traumatic Brain Injury.  She's given him some medication that is supposed to help control all this and has scheduled him back in her office in 3 weeks. 

By the time I got Will into the car, it was almost 4:30.  It made no sense to try to make it to my house because Jen wanted him home by 5:30-6.  So I just took him home.  It was 91 degrees in the house when I got there!  Our friend, Cheryl, cleans for Jennifer.  She was there and said it was 86 when she got there and had climbed about a degree an hour.  She was about to die of heat prostration.  I was miserable, sitting there sweltering, so I can just imagine how SHE felt, trying to push the vacuum around.  Someone is scheduled to come today and repair their A/C.  They finally ended up going to a hotel last night.  Jennifer said it got even hotter as the evening wore on. 

About 5 minutes before Jennifer and Jason got home, the doorbell rang.  It was Don Dibble, a good friend of Jason's.  He'd come to pick up Jason and get him out of there for a while.  Told Jason he needed some help picking some stuff out at Home Depot.  I don't know how long he kept Jason, but the original plan was that he'd keep him about 2 hours.  That enabled Jennifer to have some down time, some time with Will.  When I left, they were walking down the street together.  They looked so cute.  I thought I had some cute pictures only to discover the batteries in the camera were so low that the pictures didn't write to the memory card.  Darn.  They really needed that time together.  I hope someday Don Dibble understands what a great service he did.

BTW, the doctor is still saying she thinks Jason will fully recover, but it will take from 6 months to a year.  So, the problem is getting from here to there..........

My only big news of the day is that the UPS guy delivered two pairs of shorts from QVC.  I love this particular style of shorts--it's about the only thing I wear.  I got a few pairs on e-bay last year but couldn't find any this year.  SO, I broke down and paid full price.  I'm thrilled to have some extra pairs because with Joe home all the time, I can't think straight, much less attend to what needs done, like laundry.  It never fails,  I have a mental list of what I want to do during the day, but with all of his clamor, the mental list is just gone........each evening I am faced with the fact that another day is gone and there is no progress.  You are reading the blog of a woman who will be one of the happiest people alive when his company gets its Nevada licensing issues resolved and re-opens its offices!

Okay, let's keep whittling at getting my posted scrapbook pages caught up.  Here comes a batch.

This was done with Bella Gypsy Designs kit called Summer Cottage.  Journaling says:  "She only weighed 5 pounds 11 ounces.  Small by our standards.  But our neighbor across the street was a tiny Asian girl.  When she noticed that I hadn't been around for a few days, she asked Jennifer's dad if I'd had the baby.  She asked about the baby.  When he told her the baby's weight, she said "Oh, a BIG one!"  That seemed really odd to us until we realized that if the mother was as small as she, perhaps 5 pounds 11 oz did seem large to her.  We always giggled about the "big" one when we dressed her in newborn clothes that hung off her."

This page I did just for fun.  The photo was taken during the school year at Will's school.  The ribbon element is by Kristy Ann Nerness.

This was done for Lynn Grieveson's Creative Team with her kit called Cherry Festival.  I started using this kit and just couldn't seem to stop.  Anyway, it tells the story of me being a bad girl in church and waving good bye to the entire congregation when my mother decided to take me out.

Another Cherry Festival layout.  This is Will with his "graduating" class on stage at the school.  Graduation was June 3, 2006.  That's Will on the front row in the high-water pants.  (Jennifer made the mistake of letting him pick out his own clothes and he chose a pair of sweat pants (in June in Las Vegas, mind you) that had a hole in them and were way too short.

When I uploaded this photo, I could have cried.  I was overwhelmed with sadness to see this sad little face.  Will has been through so much and I hate that he is hurting.  This was done with Cherry Festival as well. 

The entire backdrop of the stage was covered with these "flowers" at the graduation.  Each child had made one.  Again, this page is done with Cherry Festival.  Among other things he says he wants to be a "scientist" and he is happiest when he is "making potions".

Anybody got a spare sock?

I need a sock.  Just one will do it.  I desperately want to stuff it in my husband's mouth.  The man is driving me crazy.  I've kind of learned to ignore his continuous phone calls and muttering to himself.  But, this AM he has been on a rip and I am now in the mood to nothing more than crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head.  What has him snorting is that one of my clients, who sends us multiple boxes of records every year, needs some stuff pulled from the old boxes.  THIS does not fit with his time schedule.  I can't do it because it's almost impossible for me to lift the boxes.  So he has done nothing but complain about it from 7AM til 12 noon.  One of the things I really love about this is that we had morning prayer together and he told the Lord that our time was in His hands.  So, who does Joe think allowed the client to request this stuff today?  So, I need that sock!

Things are not so good on the Jennifer/Jason front.  I picked Jason up from rehab Monday afternoon.  I couldn't take him straight home because Jennifer had taken Will to the therapist at 2:30 and wouldn't be home til somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00.  Well, I didn't mean to be, but I was late picking him up.  My daughter told me to go to the end of a given street and the building would be there.......NO!  That was a very different building.  Part of the description was "a big brick building".  In reality, once I finally found the place (after driving around this tiny little area for about 10 minutes) I was really looking for a pinkish-beige stucco building with red STONE decorative elements.  So, anyway, being late just meant I needed to waste less time elsewhere.  So, I went to the grocery store.  Then finally delivered Jason home.  I noticed that everything I heard about Will during the hour was negative, negative, negative.  I tried just to give him other ways to look at the things he was complaining about, but apparently I was singularly unsuccessful. 

Just before I left, the cat, RD, was laying on his back.  Will very gently took his bare foot and was rubbing the cat's bare tummy.  Just like Jason does.........  Now you need to know that between Jennifer's house and ours, there are 5 dogs and 1 cat and they all love Will and follow him around and come to him with tails a-wagging when they're called (except the cat, of course, because cats don't come to ANYONE when they're called).  Jason grabbed Will by the wrists and held him up in the air and was screaming at him to leave the cat alone.  He would not stop when Jennifer told him to.  He kept it up.  Finally he let a very frightened Will whose arms were hurting go.  Then he once again started on his tirade about how Jennifer and Will are living off of him and if they don't like what he does they should just go somewhere else. 

Jennifer has been through so much in the last six weeks, half of which Jason doesn't even know about or remember or understand the ramifications of.  She is really stressed out.  And, she's hormonal and pregnant and scared what Jason will do to her, to Will, and particularly to the baby if this behavior continues.  She was READY to leave.  She was going to call some of Jason's friends from work and tell them they were going to have to be in charge of him because she was outta there.  She is very emotional about Will and declares she WILL NOT send him away from her.  So, my pleas that she just send him over here 2, 3, 4 nights a week or whatever it takes fall on deaf but highly emotional ears.  I understand that he wants to be with her, but it seems like being with her is doing more damage than good.  She is finding places for him to hang out on the weekends because she says Jason is worse on the weekends than he is during the week.  She has lined up two guys besides Joe who will come immediately when called if Jason starts the physical stuff again.  And she called the Rehab program and told them about what is going on.  They immediately pulled him out of wherever he was and put him in an Anger Management class.  That will continue daily until maybe some of it sinks in.   (Why does that remind me of that old saying "the floggings will continue until morale improves"?)  Theoretically, when she talked to Jason yesterday at lunch time, he got the bright idea that maybe he just shouldn't touch Will when he's upset.  Duh! 

Jennifer gave me some amazing and unhappy statistics.  95% of all marriages where there is a traumatic brain injury fail--50% in the first year.  So, we still need prayer for this whole situation.

Well here are some more scrapbook pages.  Honestly, if I couldn't scrap in the middle of all this, I think pieces of me would start blowing apart........

I did this page with Andrea Burns' Morning Glory kit.  I love the photo...so cute the way Will is looking at Jen, and so cute the way he is sitting in John's hands.  BUT, I didn't like the page much....No place for any journaling.  Just the date, spring, 2000.

I used an old kit by Shabby Princess called Moody Blues for this page.  The flowers (recolored) are by Helen O'Daniel.  I saw this quote on a page someone else did and used it on this page.  This is Punkin, within a week of the time we adopted her.  I believe she definitely has Joe trained!

This page features my Mom gathering rocks along the edge of Lake Tahoe.  The photo was taken in October, 1981.  I used Christy Sturm's (Butternug Squash Designs) Seaside Vacation for the layout.  I didn't bother telling everyone that when Mom went home, she left all these rocks behind at my house!

I did this page as a CT assignment for Lynn Grieveson's Live Your Dream kit.  The ribbon is by Mo Jackson and the green flower is by Gina Miller.  This page created quite a stir around the internet and netted lots of positive comments.  The funniest part is that I'd tried to scrap this photo of the church and hated it every time.  AND, when I started THIS layout, I hated it again.  But I got a "bright" idea and it all kind of came together after that. 

I love this photo of Will.  I think it's one of the best I've ever gotten of him (helps if you can get 'em to hold still!).  I did this page for Christy Sturm at Butternug Squash Designs with her Delicate Blossoms kit.  Journaling says:  Like your mommy, you are amazingly bright.  You can do anything, be anything you want.  Right now you want to be a "monster scientist".  I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I AM sure, if you want it badly enough, you can do it.  Your Mommy proved that.  Learn from her.  Dream BIG!

This is a re-scrap of a paper layout I'd done a long time ago.  The photo is of my paternal great grandmother and great grandfather.  The paper and frame are by Christy Sturm in her Very Victorian kits.  The flowers are by Jen Wilson.  I used a clipping mask to re-color the bookplate which was designed by Lynn Grieveson. 

Well, that's it for today.  Time for me to go hide under the covers.  Marci

Pregnancy and other issues

Well, Jason's mother and stepfather arrived Thursday evening.  Things were going along fine until the following conversation ensued:

Mother-in-law:  Wow, you're really getting big?  How much have you gained with this pregnancy?

Jennifer: Two pounds

As you can see at more than 3 months pregnant, a 2 pound weight gain should not qualify for "really getting big". 

So, yesterday morning, Will beat everyone else out of bed.  He was hungry so he went to the kitchen to find some food.  Foods of choice were:  applesauce and chips.  When Jen got up, she went out and started fixing him a real breakfast.  About that time, mother-in-law arrives in the kitchen with the following question:  "That's not what you're planning on feeding him for breakfast, is it?", referring to the applesauce and chips.  Now, Jennifer is the type who buys organic foods, makes whole wheat pasta, eats vegetarian at home, etc.  Does anyone reading this really think she'd feed Will applesauce and chips for breakfast? 

Today was the best, however.  Jennifer needed to go grocery shopping so that there'd be food in the house.  Ordinarily she'd have taken Jason with her or arranged for some friend or other to come over and spend time with him til she got back.  But, Mom was there and so was stepdad, so she left him in their care and went to the store.  About mid-way through her shopping, Jason called her on the cell phone and casually remarked that he was waiting for her there at home where he was ALONE.  She freaked.  She had to have the groceries, but Jason should not be alone.  She raced through the rest of the store and went home.  Then she learned that Mom and stepdad had gone shopping just to see what was in the stores......

So, I had laid down to take a nap and Joe got the "I have to vent" phone call.  She was spitting.......Guess it's good to have a "Dad" around when you are having a hard day.  I'm not sure how all this would have effected her if she weren't hormonal and pregnant, but I suspect she'd still have been unhappy, particularly with Jason being left alone.

We had a special speaker in church this AM.  Our pastor is in Hawaii, taking a few days off, well-deserved, of course.  So, our speaker was Dr. David Lim from Singapore.  He was excellent.  He had several books for sale and we bought 2 of the 3.

Took Joe out to breakfast.  He's happy because we came away from the restaurant with fudge, and being the chocoholic he is, that puts a smile on his face.  He heard, by phone, from Matt, Christy, and Erica.  Kevin called, but we know he just wants money.  Joe didn't even take the call.  I'm not sure I agree with that, but then I haven't been through the "Kevin wars"........  Jennifer had already told us that she would have to catch up on Father's Day later because of having company.  I got Joe a DVD with season one of West Wing.  Matt got him season two, though Matt's DVD hasn't arrived.  Joe is thrilled with these two DVD's and swears he'll watch them over and over which I am sure is absolute truth.  He LOVES that show and is close to heartbroken that they will not be back on the air this year. 

As for me, the primary problem in my life for the day has been a heavy duty allergy attack, complete with tears streaming down my face.  As for good news, I got the word that I've been selected for Deb Fisher's Creative Team.  I'm pleased about that.  I've snagged so many of her free kits over the past months; it will be nice to "give back" a bit.  And, I think, with a strong CT, she can make a lot of headway in a growing market. 

That's it for now.  I'll post some layouts and toddle off........

These flowers are common around Vegas because they can take the extreme heat of our summer sun.  I grabbed this shot outside of Mimi's the other evening.  I used Christy Sturm's Fresh Summer kit to creat the page.  The heart buckle is from the ACOT Circle of Friends kit and the paint splotch is by Michelle Coleman.

This layout was done with Christy Sturm's Smooth Sailing Kit from Butternug Squash Designs.  The quote is by Dr. Billy Graham.  "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and, yet, one of the most valuable assets of our society."  I've given it to Joe as his Father's Day "card".

This was also done with Christy Sturm's Smooth Sailing kit.  I loved the "gusto" Will showed in lickin' this bowl!  The flowers are by Andrea Burns (recolored).

This is one of the engagement photos I took of Jennifer and Jason.  The page set is Live Your Dreams by Lynn Grieveson.  It was such a romantic kit and seemed to call for a romantic page.  The vellum flower is by Gina Miller.

I couldn't just do a "romantic" page with this kit.  I wanted to show that it could be used for a more generic layout too.  So I used this photo of Joe eating a Milky Way Bar, his favorite candy bar.  The funny thing was I had just read somewhere that chocolate is an anti-depressant.

I used Andrea Burns' Midnight Oil kit for this layout.  The journaling says:  "Jennifer has always had the ability to turn a pharase.  It was she who came up with this nickname for my former boyfriend, Dan.  Danny was, in a prior life, a Rennaisance man, if one walks the planet these days.  He was a chemist who had worked for Eastman Kodak and developed several processes for them.  He had an MBA and a Masters in Environmental Engineering.  He'd personally built two rooms onto his former residence.  He was an excellent photographer.  He'd been "Mr. Mom" to his infant son for a year.  I mean, what more could you ask for?  But he'd been through a bloody, totally unexpected divorce and was decimated by it.  So, this congenial, many-talented man spent his hours in our living room, vegging.  Jennifer referred to him as an extra "lump" in addition to the sofa and chair.  It is now 13 years later, he looks better that ever and has constructed a very nice life for himself.  But, to us, he will always be "the lump"."   

Thanks for looking.  Marci

Still Celebrating

You can't possibly know how refreshing it is to actually be comfortable in this house after 13 years!  We're still celebrating the advent of the new A/C unit.  Now, I'm waiting to see what the power bill looks like.  It's supposed to be way lower, partly because this is an energy efficient model, partly because it is larger so shouldn't have to work as hard, and partly because our old one was a really old one. 

We signed the contract this morning for the new roof.  I hope they get it in before the "rainy season".  Yeah, we have what we call a rainy season.  It wouldn't compare to a rainy season most places since we only get about 4 inches total rainfall a year, but, it IS rain.  They said this AM that if the forecast is bad or if it rains, they won't be here.  I'm amazed that they plan to finish it in a period of two days.  One day to tear off, one day to re-roof.  We actually went to the showroom for the "solartubes" or "solarpipes" or whatever they're called by the local vendor.  I have to admit they're pretty impressive.  But, I also noticed the guy was using somewhat deceptive marketing practices and called him on it.  The largest solarwhatever is 21".  It supposedly fully lights an area of 300 sq feet.  He was showing us how well they light his office.  He had 6 of them in an area of 1000 square feet--about double coverage considering what he is selling them at.  The roofer wanted us to have those babies installed first, but the guy at the local vendor says that's backwards and could result in the roofers messing up the solartube/solarpipe install.  So, we'll wait.  We are roofing an additional area--an area outside the front door.  We're hoping to bump out the wall and move the door to the garage to that wall which will buy us some more space for cabinets in the kitchen.

Oh, while we were at the solarwhatever vendor, we saw a cabinet store nearby.  We'd looked at a very small sample kitchen in Home Depot that they wanted $11,000 for.  We found a much larger sample kitchen at this vendor for about $4000.  This guy will even come out, measure, and help prepare a plan.  Joe thinks the difference is labor, that the Home Depot display was "installed" and the other was not.  But, the small store indicated the install would run around $700.  I'm a bit paranoid, I guess, but I'm a little concerned about quality.  I'll have to make another trip or two to the vendor's showroom and "kick the tires" a few more times.  We have a limited budget, so if this guy's stuff checks out, it'll be just the ticket.  I have no qualms about doing the tear down ourselves if it will save substantial labor costs.  We'll also have to figure out what we're going to do for countertops, but almost anything will be an improvement.

Spoke to Jennifer today.  Her big news for the day is that her good friend, Kirsten, gave her a gift certificate for a massage.  I am SO jealous.  My neck and shoulders are really sore right now and a massage sounds heavenly.

Jennifer continues to report that Jason makes progress daily.  But it's still a two steps forward, one step back kind of thing.  They have had Jason working on an obstacle course type of thing at rehab and he's enjoying all the physical challenges.  Apparently hegot into some sort of a discussion with an "older" woman--I've no clue how much older.........  Anyway, she was telling him that she and her husband wanted to have another child.  He reported that he wanted to tell her that he thought she might be a bit old for that but he decided not to say that.  Good!  That's the kind of thinking, of judgement we're hoping to see develop.  His mother arrived last night.  I don't know if anyone else came along.  But, I'm hoping this is a help for her.  One would naturally think it would be, but since the more that is going on, the more stress Jason seems to feel, and since Jason doesn't react well right now to stress, who knows........

Funny thing.  Since Joe has been working at home, I live for the quiet of the times when he is gone.  He makes my ADD-ness 100 times worse.  So he left around 3:30 and I thought I'd have about 4 1/2 hours of quiet time.  He's now been gone not quite 4 hours and has called at least 4 times.  Lord, help me!!!!!!!!

Okay, some scrapbook pages. 

This is a re-scrap of a page I'd done previously.  I did it for Christy Sturm of Butternug Squash Designs to help advertise her military kits on Memorial Day.  I think you can read the journaling fairly easily, so I won't re-type it here.

This is also a re-scrap.  I was reasonably satisfied with the first edition, but I had done the first two layouts with Lynn Grieveson's Sweet Madeline kit and it occurred to me this "corner" floral stamp could be used to create a kind of "canopy".  So, I decided to redo my parents wedding photo.  I really liked the way it turned out.

This is another of the old photos from the early 80's that are deteriorating because they weren't in acid free storage.  Anyway, I kind of got a kick out of Grandma, down on the floor playing with Jennifer.  This is the Amalie kit by Kim Giarusso.  The colors of the kit were excellent with this photo, I thought.

Joe and I were tapped in an "emergency" situation as babysitters for the kids of a young man I "adopted" as my son years ago.  Poor little guys had never even seen us before, but Mom and Dad were desperate and there was a prospective new, higher paying job hanging in the balance so we said "sure".  They warmed up quickly when Joe began making mini banana splits for everyone.  I used Amber Clegg's Neopolitan Summer kit on this but the cherries are from a kit TDC put out as a team kit a while back. 

This photo was taken in the early 90's.  Jennifer and I went to San Francisco with "the lump" (Jen's name for a guy I was dating) and his son.  I thought Andrea Burns' Midnight Oil kit was perfecto with this photo.  And, when you have a photo of 3 people leaning on each other and leaning on a tree, what better title than "Lean on Me".

Christy Sturm came out with this kit full of bright clean colors and I was thrilled.  They were a perfect fit in many ways for this photo.  Partly because of the suit Vickie is wearing and partly because she is such an upbeat person she HAD to be scrapped with upbeat colors.  Vickie is one of my favorite people in the world, always up in spite of circumstances.  She is also the person who introduced me to scrapbooking, God bless her! 

Okay, that's it for today.  Marci

Not much going on

Well, we are celebrating the installation of our new A/C.  It is so much more comfortable in here and the thing actually shuts off from time to time!  What a deal!  It actually gets cool enough in here that we occasionally bump the thermostat up a degree or two--imagine that!  It was a real experience watching it being installed.  This unit is MUCH bigger than our old one.  They brought a crane right up in our driveway, lifted the old one down, and put this one up.  It took the guys a good 5 hours to get everything done.  I had to giggle.  I'm constantly on Joe's butt about changing out the filter.  They took out the filter and almost upchucked.  THIS time THEY were on his butt about it.  I finally got him to buy a bunch of filters.  That way, I can just change it instead of hoping one of these days he'll remember to buy more filters.  You can always tell in this house--it gets supremely dusty!

Well, we have had a bit of excitement.  Joe went online to check our bank account yesterday so he'd know how much to tithe to the church.  For a little while there, I think he thought I'd been a very bad girl.  Someone charged $721 to our account using a debit card.  I tried to call last evening to check on what that was about, but the bank's "24 hour service" was closed!  Gotta love that "24-hour service".  He called this AM and they were open.  The crazy thing is, they are telling us this was a real charge--in other words, it wasn't made via the internet or via phone--someone actually (supposedly) swiped the card.  BUT, it was Joe's card number and he still has his card in his wallet.  Now--explain that if you can!  They are "investigating" but have cancelled Joe's card, pending issuance of a new one.  So, for the moment, we're $721 short in our checking account which doesn't thrill me.  I think they'd have handled it differently if it weren't for the fact that they think someone physically swiped the card.  BUT, neither of us remembers spending that kind of money.  In fact, they tell us this happened at 2PM on Thursday, and as far as we can remember, we were both here, not out shopping.  And, believe me, a charge that large is pretty darn unusual for us.  It is certainly something we'd have discussed and decided upon mutually. 

Not too much else going on here.  I've got a client making me buggy with irrational demands for work to be done.  Funny thing about that--we've been trying to get the information to complete the work for, LITERALLY, years.  Now he seems to think I'm going to wave a magic wand and get it all done today.  The guy is on drugs, I swear! 

Joe is working and working and working.  I can tell because the conversation in the background is non-stop.  He is either yelling into his phone or mumbling/talking/snorting to himself about something. 

I spoke with Jennifer late last night.  Apparently things have improved somewhat at home.  She credits a lot of it to the support group they attended Thursday night.  Apparently, Jason is now at least willing to admit that the things Jennifer is telling him about the way he is acting and his current limitations could be true, based on what he heard from other people's family members.  So, she is no longer crazy!  She did have Will spend most of the weekend elsewhere which may also have helped.  He spent Friday night and Saturday morning on a play date with one little friend and Saturday afternoon and part of yesterday with another little friend.  Yesterday afternoon Jason and Willie put together some sort of a cot.  Will starts the night (usually) in his own bed, but in the middle of the night, he migrates to Jen and Jason's bed.  Because of the surgery on his neck, Jason can't handle that anymore.  He has to get into just the right position with the pillows arranged just so to be comfortable.  So, a cot has appeared in Mom and Dad's room. 

On Thursday, Jason's mom comes back to town.  I don't know who all is coming with her.  Jennifer just speaks about "Jason's family" so I'll find out more about that later.  She was a big help last time she was here, so I hope that is the case this time as well.

Well, that's all the news, for now.  Here are a few more scrapbook pages.  I'll be so glad if I ever get this blog "caught up" with all the pages because it takes such a long time to upload 6 a day and retype all the descriptions, etc.  Well, best to stop whining about it and start typing....

I really had a horrible urge to just throw this picture in the trash and not scrap it.  When I decided I couldn't do that, I then had to figure out SOMETHING to say about it.  You see, this is my daughter with my ex-husband who bailed on us when she was 2 1/2 and never paid child support.  I knew if I was going to scrap it, I had to say something decent and still be truthful.  This was all I could come up with:  "Whenever Frank was around, Jennifer could always count on lots of hugs and kisses from her dad."  This page was done largely with stuff from ACOT's Circle of Friends kit.

I really don't have much in the way of "credits" for this layout.  The little flower is from ACOT's Circle of Friends kit.  Everything else I did myself.  I kinda tried to make it look like those squares came from a Candyland game board.  It says "Playing Candyland with Jennifer had to be a bit like deja vu for Grandma and Grandpa.  I wonder if they remembered playing it with me when I was her age."  This photo was taken in 1984 and is another of those badly deteriorated photos I've been trying to get scrapped ASAP.

These photos were taken in 1981.  I used Lynn Grieveson's Sweet Madeline kit for this page.  I LOVED this kit.  More deteriorated photos here.  It may not look like it, but these are "restored" at least as good as I could get them.  Jennifer was just starting to crawl when these were taken.  The bow is by Ronna Penner (recolored).

When I completed the layout above, it dawned on me how great this kit would work with a heritage page.  So, even though I'd previously scrapped this photo, I decided to give it another go.  The heart flower was cut from papers in the kit.  The bow is by Ronna Penner (recolored).  Lynn did a remarkable kit here--not that all her kits haven't been remarkable.

This is the ultrasound taken of the baby Jennifer is expecting on December 10th.  I put a frame around the baby.  These were taken at 11 weeks, so the baby was really only about 2 1/2 inches long.  Can you see the little hand reaching up toward where the transmitter was located?  Everything here is from Mindy Terasawa's Thank Heaven for Little Girls kit.  Her kit had brown where you see black, but I recolored it so that it would go better with the colors of the ultrasound.  Says:  "Boy or girl?  We don't know yet.  But we do know there's a baby in there, not much bigger than a "smudge".  Grow little one, grow.....we can't wait to meet you!"

After Jason was hurt, Grandma and Grandpa became primarily responsible for seeing to it that Will got to his Bubba ball games.  Journaling says:  "During the last part of the Bubba ball season, the Red Sox had a loud cheering section.  These two unlikely Grandparents could be heard yelling at the tops of their lungs things like 'Run, Lena, Run!', 'Come on, Tito, you can do it!', or 'Big Hit, Will!'  We had a lot of fun just watching the little guys play and cheering them on.  The bat and glove are by Dani Brath.  The megaphone doodle at the top of the page is from Ronnie McCray's Cheerleading kit.  The background paper is from Sara Carling's Authentic kit. 

Coincidence or ...........

What's your view?  When you pray diligently about something and it changes, do you view it as a coincidence or do you view it as an answer to prayer?  Well, in this house, we don't believe in coincidence, luck, or any of that stuff.  We DO believe in a God who loves us and who wants to be personally involved in our lives.  We believe the first response to every problem should be prayer (even though we screw this up often enough--choosing to worry, be fearful or try to "fix" a situation ourselves).  Yesterday we had an answer to prayer.

I had several long talks with Jennifer yesterday.  We talked in the morning.  She calls and tells me her troubles.  I am supposed to say, "Sweetheart, you can handle this".  A full-on pep talk.  It doesn't matter what I really think, that's what I'm supposed to say.  I seldom get my lines right.......(sigh)  I've been advocating strongly that she 1) get Will out of the home situation as much as possible and 2) get some help in the evenings for an hour or so to "watch" Jason.  She rejects both ideas and she has valid reasons for doing so, but maybe not valid enough.  She is on the verge of, if not in the midst of, total despair.  Focusing on what is wrong, not what is improving.  Fearful of what life will be like if things do not improve, etc.  My personal opinion is that a lot of this is the result of the incredible amount of stress she is under.  As usual, my suggestions were rejected in favor of all of her valid reasons why she couldn't do that.  By lunchtime I was all churned up about it.  I skipped lunch, went to the bedroom where things were quiet and I could be alone, and spent some truly desperate time in prayer.  Desperate prayer over my own emotional state.  Desperate prayer over hers.  Desperate prayer for protection of Will, the baby, Jennifer, from the effects of all this stress. 

Around 3PM she called.  She had taken Will to a therapist a few days ago.  The therapist had called her to discuss what is going on with Will.  He/she made the suggestion that Will be out of the home as much as possible.  Play dates, go to Grandma's, etc.  Additionally, the therapist said that Jennifer has to find some relief for herself, find ways to get out from under the stress.  I am absolutely sure the therapist was the dummy and God was the ventriloquist.  I DO have a degree in psychology and several years experience in counseling, but I am just "Mom".  But, there IS some effect when the same words are being said by someone else, hallelujah!  So, Jennifer will schedule 2-3 play dates for Will per week and Will will spend a lot of time over here.  I think this will be a help on two fronts.  Will will be removed from all of the stress in the household, but will still be seeing a lot of Mom and will be doing fun things when he's not with Mom.  We can all be a lot less concerned about Will for a while.  And, being less concerned moment by moment about Will will reduce a little  of Jennifer's own stress. 

The therapist told her she has to get out from under some of this.  He/she emphasized that she has to be able to function because Jason can't.  I think the words I'd used earlier in the day were "you are the glue that is holding this whole family together.  You have to get some relief."  She called the program where Jason is being treated and discussed this with them.  They told her there is a different medication that he can take that may help him control his emotions a bit better.  She spent a lot of yesterday afternoon trying to hunt down a doctor to prescribe the new medication.  In the middle of all that Jason was carrying on about how he didn't need it, wouldn't take it, there's nothing wrong with him, etc.  For once, Jennifer put her foot down with her cranky overgrown child and said "Yes you WILL take it", mumbling under her breath that she'll grind it up and put it in his food if she has to.  Good for her.  One of the doctors she tried to contact yesterday was out of the office, but I know she'll be on him today!

AND, when Jennifer called the program and told them what was going on, they were very interested and receptive to the information she had to offer.  They also told her about a support program for families of patients with traumatic brain injury.  Of course, if she goes somewhere like that she either has to take the whole family or arrange for care.  Jason wasn't going!  He didn't need it!  She is just crazy!  There's nothing wrong with him!  She gave him a choice.  Mom was going to babysit Will.  Mom could either babysit Will or Mom could come and sit with WILL AND Jason.  Well, of course, he needs Mom to sit with him even less than he needs to accompany her to a support group so they went.  He told her afterwards that he found it helpful.  I hope he remembers that this morning.........

So, was that coincidence or answer to prayer.  Well, in my book it was answer to prayer.  You get to choose.......

Will was cute last night.  He's learned to tie his shoes!!!!!!  Jason had tried to teach him the "bunny ears" way a couple of months ago, but somehow Will's shoes always came untied.  But, he's now learned to tie his shoes "the way adults do" and he's VERY proud of himself!  Jennifer had asked us to have him home around 7:30.  We were there but she and Jason didn't make it home for about an hour after that.  We know the code to the garage door opener, but Will had to "help" with that.  He loves to be told what a good job he is doing, how helpful he is.  When we got inside, Jennifer had picked up some groceries but hadn't had time to put them away; he and Grandma got that taken care of in short order and we emptied the dishwasher together so Grandma could reload it with the dishes that were in the sink.  We did have a set-to about his shower.  He wanted to use Jason's shower chair.  It's not my house and I don't have authority there to say yes to that.  He REALLY either wanted me to tell him he could do that OR wait til Mom came home to take his shower.  We finally got that taken care of, but he put up quite an argument. 

Well, other than that the A/C guys will be here in about an hour and a half, that's the extent of my news for today.  Okay, I promise, I won't go into the whole a/c thing again........  :)

Scrapbook pages for today comin' up:

This was just done with a freebie I downloaded from the internet somewhere.  Journaling says:  "Today was the day Jennifer was scheduled for a sonogram.  The doctors made it convenient by arranging to have it done a few hundred yards from where Jason is hospitalized. Jason climbed into his wheelchair, rolled down the hall to the nurse's station, signed himself, rolled to the elevator, rode to the first floor, rolled out the main doors. He was headed to find Jennifer in the wheelchair, across a very busy parking lot.  Just as he was about to accomplish his "escape", Uncle John, also known as "Sheriff John"walked up.  The "lawman" distracted Jason by taking him to the little park area for a few minutes.  He then escorted him back to his "cell".  WOuld you believe this well-known Attorney now has a leg bracelet that will set off electronic alarms if he tries to leave the building alone and is under "house arrest"!"

This was done with a paper pack by Ali Folendore called "Right Direction".  Flowers are by Jen Wilson, her Scrap Street Florist kit.  "I am convinced that Jennifer regarded this little space under the coffee table as a secret passage meant just for her.  She crawled through here at every opportunity.  I chased her out of there on more than one occasion, but she always went back.  This is the face I got when I told her "no"."

I did this with a kit by Mari Koegelenberg.  No journaling to speak of.  Just a photo under the Christmas tree of me and Kathy and Jennifer, Christmas of 1982 at Jinny's house.   

I did this with Lynn Grieveson's Orange Squash kit as a Creative Team project.  I'd printed out a page more than a year ago with this title (sorry don't know who did the original page) and thought it fit these photos perfectly.  Some photos of Joe trying to sleep and the antics Will went through trying to get him awake. 

This was done with Lynn Grieveson's Backyard Explorer kit.  I added the little "sunshine" shapes to the background paper.  Flowers and beige paper are from her Island Winds kit.  Just two weeks after he was assaulted and underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull and drain blood from the brain, Jason visits with his long-time companion, Bea.  We are amazed at the changes in just two weeks.  Truly, prayer changes things....  "

This is a picture of fall foliage outside an old cabin in the Colorado Rockies.  No journaling here.  This was done with Christy Sturm's Woody kit available at Butternug Squash Designs.  Paint splotches are by Michelle Coleman.  Coordinating papers done by me with colors drawn from the photo. 

That's it for today folks.  Please continue your prayers for us.  Marci

Shoe Shopping and Temper Tantrums

Well, the last couple of days have been difficult.  Actually, the last month has been difficult, and there's no immediate relief in sight.  Jason has really been causing problems at home and Jennifer is beginning to wonder if she can cope.  A quick answer to prayer is what's needed here...... 

Yesterday started off with a temper tantrum over Will's shoes.  His old shoes were wearing out so Jennifer went to Payless and bought him two new pairs.  She bought size 12's; his old ones were 11 1/2.  However, either the shoes were mis-sized at the factory or they were made over a very strange last.  When she got them home, no matter what she did with them, they were too big.  So, of course, Will pulled out his old shoes to wear because they fit better.  But, like most little boys' shoes that have been worn for a while, they looked pretty darn bad with holes and toes popping out, etc.  Jason became very upset about Will's shoes.  Claimed the department of children's services was going to come and take Will away from them.  Jennifer had a zillion errands to do yesterday during her "study" time, so we picked up Will from school and took him shoe shopping.  Joe, who at one point used to sell shoes, fitted them and we got exactly what Mommy called for.  Will was thrilled with them and danced and skipped and ran around the store. 

This morning Will got up and put on the new shoes that tie (we also got him a pair with Velcro closures).  He doesn't do a good job of tieing his own shoes so shortly they were untied and flopping on his feet, just like the ones Jennifer had gotten him.  So, there was another major upset over shoes.  Jennifer helped Will with the laces and they were fine, but by now, Jason was already upset.  It didn't take long before he was telling her how lucky she and Will are to be living in HIS house and how they are living off of him.  She's heard a lot about this........  Now, Jennifer has JUST finished Law School which she was attending when they began dating and when they got married.  She put off taking her last exam due to Jason's injury, but took a make up exam.  The WORST that could happen is that she will graduate Cum Laude.  She's also worked part time all the way through in addition to going to Law School.  And, of course, she's cooked and cleaned and straightened and run errands and driven Will to school and done all the things that needed to be done as best she could in addition to Law School, working part time, starting the Bar Review course, etc.  So, it is hurtful when he acts as though she and Will are just sapping off of him like parasites.  Anyway, before it all calmed down this morning, Jason had grabbed Will by the arm and was dragging him around the house and yelling at him.  I can only imagine how frightening that may have been for Will.  And, for the moment, Will is living with a Daddy who is at sometimes Dr. Jekyll and at other times Mr. Hyde.

Jennifer is worried, very worried.  When one has to stand between a husband who is loved and a child who is loved and dependent on you, the stress is unimaginable. 

Last night, Jason got the idea in his head that he didn't want the TV turned on.  Jennifer said fine, she and Will would go watch TV in the office on the computer (they don't really have TV, they watch videos/DVD's).  Jason said he wanted to use the computer, so Jennifer said fine, go in the office, use the computer, close the door and you won't even know the TV is on.  Jason didn't think that was good enough so he went over and yanked the plug out of the wall.  When she tried to talk to him, he said he was either going to turn off all the power to the house or he was leaving home.  She explained that he couldn't turn off all the power to the house because the cleaning lady was trying to run the vacuum cleaner and the air conditioner had to be on, etc.  So, he walked out, all the way to the street.  He finally came in when she told him she was going to call for back up.  She called several people who lived close by but none were home.  She ended up calling us.  Fortunately, we'd decided to go to dinner at a restaurant just 3 blocks from their home.  She'd received some food donations from people who didn't realize that Jason was a vegetarian so she'd offered the food to us.  We used that as our excuse to go back by the house.  The cleaning lady is actually a family friend who has known Jennifer since she was a little girl.  Here it was, after 6PM and she was still there....(I can't help but wonder if she didn't stick around extra long because she witnessed the whole "I'm running away from home" scene and thought she could help by staying).  Anyway, by the time we'd gotten there, things had quieted down and after hanging around 15-30 minutes we came on home.

Jason seems to be dumping all of his anger and frustration about this whole situation on Jennifer and Will.  I suppose that's only natural.  Didn't they write a song about this--"You only hurt the ones you love....lalala"?  She called the facility where he is receiving outpatient treatment and basically told them that they had to find a way to make this stop.  They're now going to try another medication which may quiet him down.  I've offered to keep Will over here as much as possible just to keep him away from all this, but she argues, rightly, that Will needs her.  But, maybe the price Will is paying to be with her right now is too high.  Who knows?  And, I've strongly suggested that she line up a string of volunteers to come over and play cribbage or chess with Jason in the evening, take him out somewhere for a golf lesson, go on a long walk with him, whatever would amuse him so that Jennifer can get out from under it for a while.  Meanwhile, it weighs very heavy on her mind that there is a new, helpless baby due in December and if this continues, one temper tantrum with the baby being shaken, etc., could be one too many........  My only advice on that is that she needs to try to worry about today's problems today and leave tomorrow's problems til tomorrow.  Since we expect Jason to continue to improve, this may not even be an issue in December........

As of tomorrow noon, we will have a new air conditioner.  Yeah, I know, you're thinking "there she goes on the whole air conditioner thing again".  Okay, so maybe repetition will indicate how important we think this is.....  Anyway, we met with a guy from Service Max, the second largest company in the area, and were impressed.  It is going to cost more than we'd hoped, but I have a sneaky suspicion that will be the case with just about everything we have planned.  Unlike Joe, I am more than comfortable with going at this step-wise.  Anyway, by the end of the day tomorrow, we should have a new energy-efficient air conditioner mounted on the roof.  The guy who was here, Jay, seems to think this could save us more than $4200 (at current rates, and whose rates don't go up all the time these days) on our power bills over the next 6 years.  Between that and the write-offs we will take because now both of us have our offices in our home and the savings on our heating bills, we should pretty well recover the cost of the whole system in about that same time frame.  The system comes with a 10 year warranty on parts and labor and we got them to guarantee us in writing same day service if it breaks with no upcharge for after hours or holidays.  We are VERY happy......especially considering the power and gas companies are also offering a rebate for replacing old models with new, energy efficient models if the new models are installed before June 30.

We stopped by Home Depot on the way home from Jennifer's last night and checked out some stuff.  We were hoping to have a couple of skylights installed as a way of generating more natural light in the living room area.  It's so darn dark in there.  The second roofing company we talked to told us about these "can" type lights that are a lot easier to install.  There is a solar receptor on roof which attaches to what is essentially a long, reflective metal tube which multiplies the light.  This is then released into the room.  We've seen pictures on the internet at this location and they sure look like they would do the trick with much less trouble on the installation side.  Just cut a couple of round holes and fit the tubing together.  I'm even lobbying for two, one over each of our desks, for the office.  The other thing we're working on right now is ventilation up there--sucking the hot air out of the attic before it tries to settle into the house, causes the ductwork to be heated (inspite of the insulation), etc.  Of course, you can get ventilators that are activated by the heat.  But, one of the roofers we've talked to is offering a solar powered model while the other seems to be offering the standard heat-operated ventilators.  We are looking into the solar powered model, but we think perhaps we can save some on the price at which this baby was offered.  We'll see how that comes out.  But, we need to solve these lighting and ventilation problems before we get the roofers in here of pay them extra to do the work and the DIY way may save us a fair amount. 

We also looked again at the cabinets that Home Depot has available for a future kitchen remodel.  We don't know when we'll tackle this.  It may be delayed if it's too expensive, though I think that would break my little heart.  I believe we're going to have to pray a lot about the cabinets--they're ghastly expensive.......  But, God has a supply, somewhere, for our need.  Forgot to say we took a tour of the appliance department at Sears.  Checking out a new ventilator/microwave unit and a new stove.  What I'd give for a self-cleaning oven.........  And, doing lots of cooking without a functional exhaust fan in the kitchen is just asking for dirty walls and ceilings.  We'll see--they had some very interesting stuff and the prices on the ventilator/microwave units have come down substantially since I last checked them out.  You should have seen Will.  He has a natural curiousity beyond anything I've ever seen about mechanical things.  I think that kid could explain everything about every appliance we looked at as he examined each of them IN DEPTH.

Well, our stupid telephone system is on the fritz here.  So, I have to go research the cost of replacing our stuff.  I need to get to that, so let me get some scrapbook pages up and run off to other things. 

  This is one I did just for me.  The photo was badly deteriorated but I worked with it enough to get it usable.  The BG paper is from "Authentic" by Sara Carling and most everything else is by Michelle Underwood.  Journaling says:  Grandma wasn't used to having little ones around when she came to visit for Christmas, 1982.  She left her bra folded with some other clothes on her bed.  Jennifer discovered it and figured out how to get it all hooked up and on.  She walked into the kitchen where the rest of us were, with her little fists pushing out the cups, saying "Here comes Grandma".  We laughed about it for days!"

This lovely rose is from my garden.  I did this page with a kit called Baby's First Foods by Bella Gypsy Designs at ACOT.  The page simply says "One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth."  Oh, the butterfly is by Traci Sims.

This photo of Joe and George was taken while Joe was visiting George and Linda in NM over Easter.  The kit is from Christy Sturm at Butternug Squash Designs and is called "Paisleylicious".  Journaling says:  "Okay, so they're a little long in the tooth to be called "boys", but there was a time....  George is Joe's Big Brother.  He's two years older, about 8 inches taller and at least 125 pounds heavier.  George has brown eyes and dark hair.  Joe is blue-eyed and has the remnants of strawberry blonde hair.  Joe describes his brother as "supportive, strong, tough, great sense of humor and a good Christian man".  So, though they look very different, they have a lot in common beyond their genes.

I just loved this kit when I saw it.  It's called something like Retro Cherry Kitchen and is by Becky Vosburg.  Love the strong colors.  Journaling says:  Jennifer helped make the pies for Thanksgiving, 1984."  Actually, she rolled and rolled the dough til it was gray and tough.  Then, while she wasn't looking, I made that piece go away, found a fresh piece and helped her make her own little pumpkin pie.

This was done with a kit called Orange Squash by Lynn Grieveson, available at SBE.  The photo was taken by Jason's Uncle John.  He sends TINY files.  I enlarged this using a Scott Kelby trick, but wasn't happy with the way it turned out.  So I used a filter from Virtual Photographer on it.  I love the way that filter makes the colors in the photo pop.

This page was done with Shabby Princess's Country Charm kit.  The colors of the kit reminded me of the colors I used to fix this walker up.  Journaling says:  Jennifer's Aunt Jinny brought us a VERY used walker.  It had been sitting outside.  The metal was rusted and the vinyl was badly cracked.  Mom (me) bought some nasty chemical stuff at the hardware store and got rid of the rust.  Then she took apart the vinyl cover and used it as a pattern for a new cover for the seat and back.  It was made of denim and trimmed in red fabric with white dots.  The back slipped over a frame and the front buttoned on.  These were Jennifer's first wheels.  She loved this walker and rolled all around the house in it.   

Crisis Mode

Well, this morning, before 8AM, one of my clients decided he had a crisis.  Needed more numbers than you can imagine immediately.  Of course, he knew he needed them a month ago, but didn't bother to tell me.  So, I sat here and watched my blood pressure soar while I slaved over a hot computer til 2PM.  Only then did I finish what he needed, working at top speed with a lot of pressure.  I didn't even get my face washed or my hair combed or lunch until after 2.  But, I suppose it's good to be needed......

Well, this is the first day in nearly a week that I've been able to stay away from the muscle relaxers.  That's a good thing.  I remembered that being dehydrated can also cause muscle cramps so I've been pushing herbal teas and water for several days and now I have no idea what has helped, but it's definitely better today.  So, I'm happy!

I talked to Jennifer this evening and she was ready to sell Jason to white slavers or something.  He had his first day in the extended rehab program today.  While he was in the rehab hospital, he met each day with the speech therapist, the occupational therapist, and the physical therapist.  I think that is what he expected to have happen today, but the program intended today to be an orientation day.  So, he was disgusted about that....was just sure it was a wasted day.  Of course, he still thinks he's just fine, so he doesn't believe he needs any additional help anyway, which doesn't make it any better.  He seems to be worried about his job too, though his bosses have assured him numerous times that they're awaiting his return, holding his job.  (He IS a government employee and it would be darn difficult (if not impossible) to fire him as long as he's on bona fide sick leave, in reality.)  So he was cranky and crabby anyway, and then he and Will got into it and Jennifer was exhausted and had a headache and.........well, hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. 

It was 104 degrees here today.  In fact, even now, at almost 10PM it's still 95 outside.  At the hottest part of the day, that makes it about 80 degrees in the hall and much warmer than that in our office.  We've made two calls to our buddy, Reza, about the A/C system, but he hasn't returned them.  So, tomorrow, Joe plans on calling various companies for estimates.  The power company and gas company are offering joint rebates of up to $1600 for replacing an old heating/Air conditioning system with a new one and that's quite an incentive.  Unfortunately, that will probably be about how much these commercial companies will charge us over and above what Reza would charge, but.........we really want to get it done and done now.  It's only going to get hotter as we near July and August.  The darn thing went out for one day last summer and we were both so miserable we didn't know what to do with ourselves.  Believe me, THAT is a day neither of us will forget anytime soon.  It was Reza who rescued us that time while other people with similar problems were checking into hotels for as much as two weeks at a time with the same problems.  We DO NOT want to go there again.  And, 23 years is way more than can be expected of an A/C system, particularly when the prior owner added about 500 sq ft to the house and didn't upgrade it.  This made me think of Malachi 3:10-11 where, when we tithe, God promises to "rebuke the devourer".  He's certainly done that with regard to this A/C.

Well, it's supposed to cool off some by the end of the week, so maybe by then I'll be able to talk about something besides Air Conditioning, LOL.   Well, I'll post some layouts and then call it a night.  I usually do this in the AM when I'm fresher, but I'll do the best I can.

I did this as a gift for Will's Bubba Ball coach.  He was the most patient man anyone could ever want to have work with kids.  Journaling says:  "I do not know his name.  It doesn't matter.  To paraphrase a well known quote, a hero by any other name is still a hero.  I've never seen a man as patient and as skilled at working with young boys as this man.  In the middle of Jason's medical problems, in an attempt to keep Will in as much of his routine as possible, I took him to his Bubba Ball game.  It was obvious he just wasn't with it.  His mind was totally elsewhere.  But this man didn't get frustrated.  He responded with patience and encouragement.  Call him Curly, Larry, Moe or just Coach.  It doesn't matter--He's a hero in my book."  I scrapped the page using Jurassic Park by Ashley Olson.  The paint smears are by Michelle Coleman and the baseball cap is by Dani Brath.

I did this page for the Bella Gypsy Designs Creative Team with a kit called Mud Pies.  We giggled a bit about this photo since it was only a few months ago he got one of those big trikes which he was going to ride for exercise.  Not much exercise riding a motorcycle!

This page was done for Lynn Grieveson's Creative team.  The photo was taken by Jennifer on a trip they made to San Francisco in 2004.  Since she was shooting into the sun, I was happy that I was able to correct the lighting on the photograph enough to make it usable.  Before, his face was really darkly shadowed. 

This was also done with Lynn Grieveson's Island WInds kit as part of a Creative Team assignment.  Jason's boss gave them the use of a condo he owns over in Kauai for their honeymoon.  These shots show the view they enjoyed from the living room and from the lanai.

I did this layout with Rebecca DiGrazio's Busy Day kit.  The "jewels" are by Holly McCaig.  This photo was taken in 1984 after we returned from a trip to Florida.  Aunt Ethel bought Jennifer this play "jewelry" but she thought she was really something when she wore it. 

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Punkin and scrapping it after I caught her chewing up ANOTHER of Joe's shoes. Thank God this was an old pair of knock around shoes, so he wasn't upset.  She DID get to one of his good pairs of black shoes but I managed to replace them with a beautiful pair of Florsheim's from e-bay so he was happy.  This was done with Jasbeanie's Awfully Chocolate kit.  The "dog collar" is from an old kit called Posh Pits by SBB but I recolored it.

Well, that's it for tonight.  Please continue to pray for Jason's recovery.  TFL, Marci