My Weblog

Another day in Paradise!

It was another rough night, but, apparently, I got the headache over with early, LOL.  About 1AM, I was sitting in my bathroom, shower at full-on hot, steaming up the bathroom and, not incidentally, steaming up my sinuses.  It worked!  It broke the headache.  However, as I'm sitting here, my eyes are watering.  I used to think that was just my allergies acting up, but I know now that's the first sign of a sinus infection trying to get me.  So, with my years of experience as "Dr. Mom" and my supply of medicine from Mexico, I will start on some antibiotics and see if I can break it before it really gets a start.

I guess I was coming down with this yesterday.  At least, I was achy and didn't have much energy.  So, if I can get some antibiotics going that may help that problem too.  I did manage to get a lot of vacuuming done.  I think I am actually winning that battle.  I got through the entire office, and the main parts of the living room and dining room with only a few stops to clean dog hair out of the tubes.  So, perhaps the overwhelming dog hair is slowly being dealt with.  I'll finish up the remaining little bit of the dining room and living room and do the hall today.  I may even do a bonus run through the master bedroom.  It feels good to know I can make progress. I am still holding onto the hope that once the dog hair is under control, the dust will become less of a problem too.  I am so sick of looking at dusty surfaces everywhere. 

Today I have to get to the kitchen floor before it gets worse.  And I'm planning a run on the Master Bath.  That will make for a better environment around here.

I did some laundry yesterday and put a bunch of clean stuff away and worked in the kitchen.  Took another run on the stove.  My mother suggested a product from Lowe's called KrudKutter.  I keep asking Joe to get some of that and his reply is that we have some somewhere in the garage.  Well, really, dear, "somewhere in the garage" doesn't help me even a little bit. 

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday our temperatures are supposed to be over sixty degrees.  I've mentally designated those days to go out and prune the roses back to nothin'.  As it gets colder, I am less inclined to do that so I need to get it done now.

We shipped another order for meds to Mexico last week on Tuesday.  Joe called yesterday to follow up and they say our meds will be shipped today.  That would mean a 10-day turn around which, in my opinion, is still too long, but beats them losing the order like they did last time!  This time we were smarter and ordered more blood pressure meds the minute I emptied my first bottle and opened the spare.  So, no sweat this time.  This results in much less stress, but we still have to follow up with them.  It just seems to be the way things work.......

We had discussed making a trip to Mexico.  We had a little bit of "extra" money because Joe pulled more out of his IRA to help us catch up on mortgage payments and then the mortgage modification came through.  I haven't seen the doc in almost 2 years and I think it would be a good thing to get some blood work done in that, by US standards, that blood work is supposed to be done every 6 months.  But, I am thinking the broken dishwasher may have killed that idea. 

Business is slow for Joe.  He had 12 rides in 12 hours yesterday.  Can we say "boring"?  When there are conventions in town, he does more like 20 rides in a day.  But, God was good and several of the rides were long rides which helped to make his book, lower than usual, but enough to keep the job.  In addition, God helped out in the tip department as well. 

Design

I unzipped some stuff but was generally lazy in this area yesterday.  Better description is probably "unfocused".  I just couldn't nail myself down to working consistently on anything.  I did unzip some of my purchases from Black Friday sales.  Actually I didn't spend much, but I fell into an incredible deal on flowers.  I grabbed $180 worth of flowers for $8.99.  I was feeling that I needed an infusion of new flowers as it seems I've use the ones I have a few times too often. 

And, today I have to do some "advertising", posting in the forums at my stores and posting on Facebook, composing a newsletter update.  Sounds like I've got a full day planned and I need to get to it.  You have a blessed day, okay?

 

I'll trade

I don't care how little sleep you got last night, I'll trade my night straight up for yours, no questions asked.  How's that for a deal?  I shuffled off to bed a little before 10PM only to awaken at 2:38AM.  It was a combination of Joe getting up to get ready for work, a headache, the need to use the restroom, and a nightmare.  I came out and sat at the computer and waited for the headache to subside.  Finally around 4AM I had a sneezing attack which caused the sinuses to drain.  Not long after I found myself nodding in my chair so I went back to bed around 4:15AM.  At 5:30AM I woke up again, blazing headache, blood pressure up, and nightmare returned.  Isn't that weird?  After almost 2 hours, I go back to bed and my same nightmare starts up all over again.  I've tried to figure out if there's some meaning in what I dreamed.......It just might mean I'm going to doggie heaven soon, LOL.  Or it was just a brain dump that wasn't finished when I woke up the first time.  Who knows?

Joe surprised me by taking me out to dinner for our anniversary.   We had joked about it earlier in the week but I was shocked when he decided to turn our black humor into a reality.  So, around 5:30PM we went to Red Lobster and I had seafood for the first time in 6 months.  It was yummy.  All was well with the whole anniversary thing, and I was just a bit lifted out of my lingering depression, when we got home and he commented how his stash of money is going down.  He keeps a small amount of cash in the house and we go to it for groceries and dinner out on our anniversary and such.  Immediately, I grew depressed again, thinking we'd spent money on dinner and he was now telling me we really couldn't afford to do it even though we haven't gone out anywhere in several months.

I didn't get much done around here yesterday despite the best of intentions.  Instead I worked on design stuff.  So, today I have to hit it hard.  I'm pretty much recovered from the "sore" that was the after effect of defrosting the freezer so I'm in better shape for housework anyway. 

Design

I worked and worked on the Princess kit yesterday.  It's coming together nicely.  I have one paper I'm not too sure about.  I think I'll pull it and design something in its place.  When I put a kit in the stores, I have to tell folks how great it is.  I can't do that if there's a paper I hate or an element I think I could have done a better job on.  In fact, I already ditched an entire series of ribbons from that kit because I didn't like them.  May as well get rid of the one paper too, LOL.

So, today we launch my second Christmas kit.  While the first was non-traditional colors, this kit is definitely for the Christmas traditionalist.  The color scheme for this kit actually came from a photo of Tuscany.  I think that's a bit funny.....what does Tuscany have to do with Christmas?  And, I don't know about you, but when I think of Tuscany, I think of sunshiny colors, yellows, oranges, golden tones.  That definitely does not describe this Christmas kit.  It even has a traditional name, O Tannenbaum.

Isn't it pretty?  I'm heading to ACOT as soon as I finish here to put it up in the store.  It should also be up at NDISB sometime today.  Of course, it will be at the usual 20% reduction during the introductory period. 

For those who buy the kit I am including a Quick Page I made with it.  Wanna see?

Doesn't the kit scrap up nicely?  If you don't want to buy the kit, but you do want the Quickpage, just sign up for my newsletter by clicking on the button up towards the top.  I'll send you links to download your free quickpage and there'll be coupons and freebies and such for newsletter subscribers as we go along.

Well, I have previews to do for the Princess kit and I WILL clean that freezer above the fridge today or else.  I also notice that Joe has dripped on my clean kitchen floor so there's some mopping to be done as well.  Never a dull moment!  Have a blessed day.

 

Happy Anniversary to me

Well, we had a "big" celebration breakfast........a can of Grands Cinnamon Rolls.  They were sweet and full of chemicals so Joe thought they were wonderful.  I wasn't quite as thrilled, but so it goes.  In 20 minutes Joe will go off to some church neither of us has ever heard of before and I will go to church on the internet again.  This evening we will probably dip into our stash of steaks and have steak and baked potatoes and maybe some asparagas for dinner and that will be the end of the anniversary.

Joe made a Costco run yesterday.  Amazingly, this week he found both the pulled pork and the potato salad he couldn't find last week.  There are times I am incredibly happy I'm not of the male persuasion.  One of those times is when we are discussing powers of observation and/or logical reasoning.  I haven't been inside Costco for several months and I have no doubt I could lead you to both the pulled pork and the potato salad.  I think it must be a full scale investigation everytime he goes there.......

This morning he came up with the idea I should scan a photo he wants to use in his monthly Gideon newsletter.  So, the first question is "do you want to e-mail it or print it"?  Printing requires a resolution of 300 dots per inch while the same photo will look just as good in e-mail at 72 dots per inch.  The answer I got from him was "both"!  I considered saving it at both high resolution and low resolution but I knew the minute that thought entered my head, I'd have to repeat the difference at least 4 times and then, when next month's newsletter rolls around, do it all again. 

So, I scanned it at high resolution and e-mailed it to him as an attachment.  Then he sat over in his corner mumbling and complaining because he wanted to insert the photo in e-mail and type the story that went with it next to it and he couldn't figure out how to do it.  Moments later, he came shuffling over here with his pamphlet in his hand wanting to know if I could scan a 2-page spread so that he could just insert the whole thing into an e-mail because he couldn't figure out how to type it in.  No, I'm good, but I'm not a magician.  If I'd done what he wanted, the type would have been so small no one could have read it.  So, I showed him how to do it on AOL.  Then he begins arguing that he only has AOL.com.

Yes, but AOL is a free downloadable product.  (Free because we are already paying for it and it's only his stubbornness that results in him not having it while I do.)  Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.....back to his corner.  Then the mumbling begins again.  All he can find on the internet when he enters "aol.com" is "aol.com".  Wow!  That was an amazing statement..........  What did he expect to find, Tiffany's?  So, I went to aol.com and walked him through all the steps to download the actual AOL programming.  Once he had it installed, he began mumbling about losing his drafts of his newsletter and losing his favorites.  No, you didn't.  All you have to do is go to AOL.com instead of AOL and they'll all be there just like always......Holy Moly.  It's our anniversary and we've only been awake for 3 hours and already I want to run away.........  Some folks wonder why I don't seem to mind when he works on Saturday......  Not only do I not mind, it makes the day go better.

Several months ago, I broke a pair of the magnifiers I wear for close work.  I've been waiting ever since for him to glue them with some Krazy glue.  It's a 10 second job!  Finally I asked him what the hold up was.  Seems he needed 3 hands and only had 2.  I got the Krazy glue from him and got my glasses back only to find he's had that tube of Krazy glue so long it was all dried out.  So, on one of his trips to the grocery store, I had him get another tube.  Yesterday me and my 2 hands glued the glasses back together and I'm wearing them now!

His next project is to repair the doggy door.  When I moved in here, I had a pet door installed.  And, of course, by the time I needed to replace the plastic flap, the manufacturer had changed the standard sizes.  I had an open hole in the wall for an entire winter because I couldn't afford to hire someone to come in and enlarge the hole.  Then a friend of mine found a truck mudflap lying along the side of the road and dumpster dived some wood.  He cut the mud flap to size and made double flaps, inside and out.  These he then framed out with the wood.  It actually was a better solution than the ready made pet doors since the double flaps provided some insulation.  Well, the first flap broke several months ago.  Now the other flap is "dangling by a thread".  Joe had promised to fix it this weekend but forgot to buy a mud flap.  If it doesn't happen next weekend, we will surely be back to an open hole where a pet door used to be.  Not only does that make heating more expensive but I have nightmares about snakes and rodents coming in through the hole.......

Design

I continued work on the Princess kit.  I redid the papers lost in the computer lockdown.  Still haven't gone near the templates.  I'm about 3/4's through with elements for the kit as well.  So, hopefully, I will have it finished today.  It's pretty darned cute.  I may trash and re-do one paper.  I'm not thrilled with it so we'll see. 

I've also been working on color schemes.  I've had this ever-growing folder on my EHD called Color Palettes.  When I'm bored, I do Color Palettes.  But, I had so many of them dumped in there it was just a big confusing mess.  So, I created some folders and started sorting--Winter, Fall, Spring, Summer, Boy, Girl, Kid, Christmas, etc.  Joe and I watched a Netflix DVD last night and I sorted while the movie was on.  It took me about 3 hours and I'm now better than half done. 

Most of the Black Friday sales are still going on.  I keep getting ads in my e-mail and seeing them on Facebook.  I've had 3 pages open for days.  Incredible deals and absolutely things I will use in design, but I'm just not sure about spending the money.  I'm getting so few hours right now because business is slow and my last two paychecks haven't even been signed.  It's a quandry........

Well, I need to deal with some laundry and I am thinking of trying to clean out the inside freezer today.  I am just sick of not having any idea what's around to be cooked.  And, I can't rely on Joe to tell me what's here.  He told me the other week that we had mountains of ground beef in the freezer.  In the big freezer defrost, I found the "mountain" consisted of two pounds.  That's enough to make one meatloaf for dinner and have some left over for lunch sandwiches.  He eats a quarter of it in one sitting........

Have a great day!  Don't forget my sale.

Bent and slightly deaf

I have spent the day with my head and a loud hair dryer inside our freezer.  Surely that is the definition of noise pollution, right?  That old freezer hasn't been defrosted in a long time and the build up of ice was scary.  However, with the help of my trusty hair dryer, it's all gone now, LOL.  That was a big project because the freezer was really full.  Fact is, I don't have everything back in there yet.  I'm not too worried about it.  It's all in double bagged brown paper bags and we're expecting temps below freezing again tonight.  My back is quite sore so the idea of running out there and putting more stuff back in the freezer doesn't appeal to me, particularly since those brown paper bags are sitting on the garage floor.  That's a LOT more bending.  But, there's no guarantee the back will be any better tomorrow, so I've got to keep at it.  I'm getting rid of a very few things that appear to be freezer burned.  And, I haven't a clue what to do with the multitude of unlabeled containers Joe has stashed in there.  It's not like I haven't asked, begged, dictated, pleaded for labels on all containers.......but he just ignored me and now I have these mysteries to solve.  However, I nagged him into buying a roll of masking tape last week, so, hopefully, this will be the last of the mysteries.........

The new dishwasher works very well.  I think it may have a bit more room than the old one.  The old one had something in the center of the bottom rack which meant you had to load around it.  No such thing in the new dishwasher so the whole bottom rack is usable.  I'm working on getting a second load together now, but it takes quite a bit to fully load it.  Joe's favorite thing is that the silverware holder hangs on the door.  That, too, frees space on the bottom rack though the holder itself is very "slim" and doesn't hold a lot of silverware. 

We are trying to figure out another mystery.  For some reason, our power bill went up considerably this month.  With the advent of cold weather, we surely can't attribute the increase to air conditioning.  I have no clue what could have caused it.  I need to go exploring on the power company's web site and see if they've socked it to us with another rate increase.  If that's the answer, it's got to be a doozy of a rate increase.

I've been trying to remember a line from a movie all day.  The movie is "The American President".  Michael Douglas plays Andrew Shepherd, the President.  Michael J. Fox plays Lewis Rothschild, a White House Staffer, a real uptight, intense kind of fellow.  They are in the President's limo headed somewhere and Fox's character says "I tell any girl I'm going out with to assume that all plans are soft until she receives confirmation from me thirty minutes beforehand."  Well, that was certainly the case with us yesterday.  By the time quittin' time for Joe was nearing, he was really tired.  And I felt pretty beaten up myself.  We ended up eating Pastrami Sandwiches with mustard and pickles from Sammy's for Thanksgiving Dinner.  And, once he had eaten, Joe sat around for about 15 minutes and headed off to bed.  I wasn't far behind!  We had our eye on the buffet at the Golden Nugget and he heard from a customer today that the GN buffet was a nightmare yesterday.........interminable queue, out of certain kinds of food, some things way below their usual excellent standard.  So, maybe those pastrami sandwiches were a really good idea, LOL.

E-mail is slapping into my account in record numbers.  Here a sale, there a sale, everywhere a sale sale.  I've gotten notices from scazillion designers and stores and from Best Buy, JC Penney, Williams-Sonoma, and lord knows who else.  And, really, it's not like I have the money to take advantage of these sales.  It's a darned shame because there are deep discounts, but.......

Design

Between trips to the garage, I put together 3/4's of a set of templates and a few more papers for the Princess kit.  I also decided to try to bring some organization to my stash of color schemes.  Somewhere in the middle of all that, the computer locked up on me.  Of course, a lot of the design stuff was in process and so not saved.  I waited an hour and a half, hoping the computer would work it's way through whatever had it locked up.  No such luck.  In fact, I couldn't even get Task Manager to open so that I could close a few things and save the rest.  I literally had to pull the plug and reboot.  I know exactly what papers I lost, but the templates are harder to replace.  Oh well, I've made some progress and I guess that's what counts, right? 

I did buy a few things at the sales.  As I'd hoped, the two items I needed for the princess kit went on sale.  One at 40% off, one at something less, but still a good price.  I'm considering an amazing deal from Wendy Price at Sugar Hill on her flower collections for designers.  And I'm considering some graphics from Late Night Scraps at Scrapbook-Bytes.  The pages are open here on the computer--I just haven't yet decided to turn loose of any money, LOL.  Whether or not I buy those items, that will end it for me. 

Time for another trip to the garage.  I've got about half of the stuff back in the freezer.  Got to deal with the other half!  Have a good evening!

 

Here comes the sun

It's not even daybreak yet, and here I sit.  Partly that's because I wandered in to bed early and partly that's because the daily headache is here.  But, it's good to be up and ready (more or less) to start the day.  I'll grab a nap later in the day. In the meantime, a mega ibuprofen should take care of that headache!

Joe is working again today.  There are no holidays in his line of work.  He could have taken a vacation day, but his trip to Florida took that option away.  He HAS to work today to get enough shift credits to keep his medical insurance.  He has to have 18 shift credits every month or else he loses his insurance and it takes 9 months to re-qualify.  Thanksgiving is an important day, but not important enough for him to lose coverage, so he's working. We continue to believe for better jobs for both of us.

In that it is Thanksgiving week, there's not much shakin' in Vegas.  No conventions to bring folks in.  But, I have been asking God to show Himself to Joe by way of supernatural provision.  Yesterday He gave Joe 2 $65 rides.  They were handicapped-van radio calls to transport a lady to the hospital in Henderson from northwest Vegas and then to pick her up and take her back home again.  He ran into one poor guy around 8AM who only had 1 ride on his book; Joe had 5.  Joe may never be high book, but I'm betting, for yesterday, if you eliminated the thieves who long haul folks, he'd definitely be in contention!  Joe seems to govern his expectations by cab driver "wisdom".  "Tuesdays are always bad days".  "You can't make any money in November and December".  "It's going to be a slow week--no conventions in town."  As far as I am concerned every one of those statements limits what God can do.  So, I think he needs to go off to work thinking "I wonder what God will do today?"  We need to govern our lives by God's Word, not cab driver wisdom!  This is a God who can pay taxes with money from a fish's mouth.  A God who can cause a cloud and a rock to follow the Israelites through the desert and give millions of Israelites water from the rock. 

I had myself all jacked up to make that Chicken Teriyaki for dinner last night.  Then he reminded me that he was distributing Gideon Bibles at a function for the homeless sponsored by one of the local churches.  So, he came home from work, changed clothes and headed out.  He was back so quickly he actually scared me.  I wasn't expecting him, had my back turned, and suddenly someone was talking behind me!  He said it only took about 5 minutes to pass the Bibles out.  It took him longer than that to get cleaned up and change clothes, much less drive there!  So, I didn't eat and he fixed himself a hamburger when he got home, then went to bed 15 minutes later. It's an exciting life we lead!

So, there is a good reason for us to stay out of stores.  We really don't have the money to buy things!  But, we actually went into a store--BestBuy--on Sunday.  Sure enough, I saw a new refrigerator I want in the worst way.  First, you should know that I bought my fridge used in 1998.  I have no idea how old it really is.  I suppose there is a model number on it somewhere which I could search for and then look up on some internet site somewhere, but I don't care enough to go through all that.  I just have to say I saw a new fridge I'd love to have.  First it is stainless steel.  The stove and microwave we bought a couple of years ago are black and stainless.  The new dishwasher is stainless with a black panel across the top.  My old fridge is white.........doesn't quite fit!  Second, it is just wonderful.  Double doors on top that open like french doors.  Shelves on the doors deep enough to hold a gallon of milk.  A deep drawer on the bottom which is the freezer.  It actually has two small drawers inside the deep drawer and still a LOT of space in that self same deep drawer.  Better than a "side by side" because you can stuff that deep drawer with no danger of anything falling out!  It is truly a thing of beauty and functionality.  Price $2700.  Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

I had thought of calling Jennifer to see if she needed help with her Thanksgiving dinner preparations.  Particularly, if we were taking William to dinner with us on the south end of town.  However, based on her Facebook post last night, it seems she has everything well in hand without my assistance.  And, we've had no response about William accompanying us so Joe is thinking of going downtown to one of the buffets.  That's okay.  I remember years ago, when I was a spring chicken, I had a friend who was 58 years old and a MARVELOUS cook.  It nearly broke my heart when she told me she just wasn't interested in cooking anymore.  Of course it broke my heart--every now and then I got invited to dinner and ate incredible meals at her table.  And, being a spring chicken, I just couldn't understand how anyone who could cook so well could want to stop.  Now being older, I get it.  It's a lot of work.  And I've always had to cook cheap--no pre-packaged stuff, labor, not capital as the economists would explain it.  I no longer have what it takes to stand over a stove or bend over a table making half a dozen pies at a time.  For 35 years, I've done Thanksgiving Dinner, largely by myself.  Joe has been my biggest help.  And, there was no compromise on quality.  Everything was from scratch, planned ahead to take into account whatever would best suit whoever would be with us.  I am more than ready to pass the baton to someone younger and more energetic!

Design

I've been a bit at loose ends design wise the last few days.  I think I am going to do a "princess" kit next.  My beautiful granddaughter just celebrated her first birthday with a princess party.  I thought I had a color scheme picked out but it seemed way too "blah" when I started working with it.  AND, there are two items I want to buy for the kit so I am waiting til things go on sale.  I know one of the two will be marked down.....Fingers crossed on the other item!  Everyone (but me) is doing a Black Friday sale.  I am doing a sale on Sunday.  Eight years ago I married my husband on what was Thanksgiving Day, November 28th.  We were both so grateful to have found someone of similar values and convictions, someone we were sure God had picked out for us, that Thanksgiving Day seemed the perfect day for our wedding.  So that's when I'm doing my sale.  But in the meantime, I've found a color scheme I like better.  I've even made one paper (wow!).  I'll work some more on that kit in honor of Miss Elizabeth who has truly captured my heart. 

I saved a paper plate from her birthday party, but the color scheme seems to be limited to a multitude of shades of pink together with a bit of turquoise and purple.  Not my cup of tea, so to speak.  I like pink, particularly for little girls, but overwhelming pink doesn't appeal to me, at least not in scrap kits!

So, today, I will finish dusting the living room and start here in the office.  The office is a job all by itself.  And I did not get the laundry put away yesterday so I've got to get on that and also wash a load.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with friends and family, y'all!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

3 hours from now

I will have a new dishwasher, INSTALLED!  They are due sometime between 2-3 hours from now and I can't wait.  In fact, I haven't touched last night's dishes because I figure why wash them by hand if I can wait it out! 

Between now and then, I want to mop the kitchen floor.  It's not as dripped upon as usual.  Maybe Joe's hand has been steadier lately or maybe all my nagging about ways to prevent spills is beginning to have an effect of some sort.  But, there is dog hair in there and I don't want the installer to go away all fuzzy.  So, I'll mop the floor. 

I'm also planning on dusting the living room.  It's been about a week and you could easily write your name in the dust.  I hate that!  So, since no one else is going to take care of it, I guess I'd better get on it, LOL. 

I guess for dinner tonight we're having Teriyaki Chicken.  It's FAR from my fave, but Joe likes it and continues buying it even though I've told him I don't like it.  It's got to be eaten sometime, so today is as good a time as any.  At least, it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.  I would find it darn near impossible to work long and hard to prepare something I don't like!

I'm feeling all pampered and lazy today.  I did go into the office early this morning, but I don't have a list as long as my arm of things to do to get ready for tomorrow.  In fact, I'm having thoughts about a nap right now.  What a life!  Someplace there's a chef and his staff, running around in circles, getting my Thanksgiving meal ready for me.  God bless him/her!  I know they can't possibly guess how much I appreciate them!

Design

I got an e-mail from my previous ad person, asking why I hadn't paid for November's advertising.  Well, because I found someone who actually does what she said she would do and does it well.  In my response, I combed back through my products for September and October and this is what I found:

State Fair--Released on 9/6, advertised on 9/20

Judy Ann's Tee Shirt--Released on 9/13, advertised on 9/20

True Colors--Released 9/27, never advertised

Pooky Pooky Pooky--Released 10/4, never advertised

Scenic Fall--Released 10/4, never advertised

Capri--released on 10/11, advertised on 11/5

Wakey Wakey--Released 10/25, advertised on 11/5

 

So, a total of 7 products, 3 of which I show no record of them ever being advertised at all.  You can see that the elapsed time from release date to actual advertising is not timely which plays havoc with introductory price reductions, etc.  And only advertising 4 out of 7 products just doesn't cut it!  I am SO happy with my new advertising person.  God has really blessed me by sending her into my life.

I haven't done much designing today.  More cleaning than anything else. 

Scrapping

I actually tried to go back into my CT's layouts so I could post some of them here.  However, I couldn't make that work for the moment.  Sorry. 

So, have a blessed day tomorrow.  I will be cleaning and designing and having a good time here by myself, just doin' what I want to do til Joe is available to take me out to dinner.  I had hopes that Will would be joining us, but I haven't heard anything about that from his mom.  It would be nice, but to have a good meal with Joe that I didn't have to cook or feel guilty about buying will feel good too.  Have a wonderful day, eat lots of yummy food, and, for heavens sake, take time to tell God how much you appreciate His faithfulness in your life!

German Shepherds

There is probably no more faithful dog in the world than the trusty German Shepherd.  I have a full blooded German Shepherd now who was actually a rescue dog, left behind in a foreclosed house.  His name is Max and, come Sunday, he will have been with us for two years.  Prior to Max, we had Indiana who was part German Shepherd, part Rottie.  Before Indiana, there was Giant who was part German Shepherd, part Saint Bernard.  And, before Giant, there was Samantha who was part German Shepherd, part Collie.  So, after that assortment, you'd think I would have learned.  Learned that they (German Shepherds), for all their lovable characteristics, are a breed of thieves.  I have always celebrated that there is a door on my kitchen.  Unfortunately, the celebration ended a couple of weeks ago when Max learned how to open the door.  If it is closed tightly and latched, he can't open it, but if it's pulled to, even though it sticks, the kitchen becomes his territory. 

Tonight Joe and I decided was the night for the wonderful Costco pot roast.  I peeled potatoes and carrots and cut up the carrots.  I came out of the kitchen to ask Joe if he wanted boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes. Joe left immediately to go to the bank and I heard a crash.  I found my peeled potatoes missing in action and my cutting board and carrots all over the kitchen floor.  Yup, German Shepherds are definitely thieves.  Fortunately the pot roast was still hermetically sealed in the store packaging (3 layers of plastic and cardboard) so that was not disturbed.  And I had exactly two of the world's largest potatoes left (from Costco) which I peeled and we still had dinner, LOL. 

At least Max doesn't steal underwear and bras and take them to the backyard.  That was Samantha who was with us when Jennifer was a messy teenager.  I used to make Jennifer patrol the backyard the evening before the yard guys were due so they wouldn't think we were having wild sex orgies in this house, LOL. 

Design

I ran across a source for some clip art featuring Crocuses and Tulips.  I've always loved both....tulips for their beautiful colors and rich, waxy leaves, and crocuses for the hope of spring they bring when they pop up through the snow.  This clip art is unusual.  It is not cartoon-y in any way.  It is definitely digital, but it is as though someone painted a picture with the computer instead of brushes and paints.  It's very pretty.  So, I started working with it for a spring kit.  (I couldn't face working on a Valentine's kit when about 6 out of 6 of my last kits have had red in them, LOL.)  I spent most of my computer time today hunched over, nose only a few inches from the screen, doing all the detail work that came with deciding to change the color of the leaves.  The artist's version may be truer to reality, but it was very dark green against those light spring colors.  To my eye, it just didn't fit the color palette.  So, I've filled and painted and brushed (and erased!) until I got them changed and cleaned up.  My eyes will be happy for a rest tonight.

Speaking of rest, it's about an hour after I intended to be in bed.  But I wanted to get all the tulips and crocuses cleaned up and saved.  Now that I've done that, it's time to say goodnight.  Have a good sleep.

Mornin'

I need sleep.  I finally got my butt into bed just before 11PM and at 12:30AM I was still counting the popcorn bumps on the ceiling.  At 4:40AM I woke up with the mother of all headaches, and two hours later, I'm still the proud host to that same mother of all headaches.  I know if I lie down, the sinus part of this headache will get worse, so here I sit.......  I'm working up my courage to run the new "massager" on my face, hoping I'll sneeze my fool head off, my sinuses will drain, and I'll feel better.  However, the last time I tried that little trick, I determined there is so much sinus pressure behind my eyes and in that area that my eyebrows are actually tender to the touch.  Wow!

Ode to Joe

I thought before I start my regular blogging, I would take a minute and talk about some good things about Joe.  I complain about him here sometimes, but I don't as often talk about the good things.  I don't want to be guilty of taking him for granted.  He works diligently and hard.  These 12 hour days take a lot out of him.  Yet, day after day, he goes off to do another one.  Sometimes he gets discouraged, but he still goes every day.  He helps out around the house.  Way less with the long days than he used to, but that's understandable.  In fact, these days I feel like a nag because I have to remind him a number of times of little chores that need done.  But, some things he just does on auto pilot.  For example, the trash.  Feeding and giving water to the dogs.  Clearing the table.  So, given the short amount of time that is available between the time he gets home from work and the time he needs to be in bed, he does okay.  Lately he's been a bit more careful about what he says to me and how he says it and I really appreciate that.  And, the words "sweetheart" and "sweetie" keep popping up.  I still haven't got that one figured out........

So, last night we went and bought a dishwasher.  We bought one of the cheapest ones they had.  I positively drooled on myself at a Bosch dishwasher that they had, but it was way out of our price range.  That thing was built like a battleship!  I honestly think it was a better dishwasher than the much vaunted KitchenAid we also looked at.  However, we ended up with a Whirlpool.  It is shocking how much the price gets jacked up when you add in delivery, installation, disposal of the old unit, tax, etc.  I am just grateful we had enough to pay for it because, for sure, nothing more is going on my credit cards.  Unfortunately, pleading and threatening had no effect--we will not get the new unit til Wednesday.  So, I have two more days of washing dishes by hand.  Yuck!

I have tamed the laundry monster.  Tomorrow I will do a load of throw rugs, but other than such unusual things, there are 3 pieces of clothing to be washed.  Now, if I can get it all put away, I'll be in good shape!

I have started over on the vacuuming.  Slowly a plan is taking shape in my brain.  I think I will try to vacuum the area of the office close to the pet door daily.  At the least, that will cut down on the dirt that gets carried throughout the house.  Then, eventually, maybe I can get control of the dust.  I was just doing some vacuuming and thinking that that period of 4 months when my back wouldn't allow me to vacuum and Joe only vacuumed once has REALLY done us in.  But, I'll keep at it and perhaps one day I'll actually have it under control.  Part of it, I think, is just to do it and do it and do it, until all the built up dog hair has been beaten up out of the carpet.  Then perhaps we'll be back to one full vacuum bag a week.  Wouldn't that be a relief?  That would mean the end of all the bending to pull accumulated dog hair out of the tube.  Surely, that has to block some of the vacuum's ability to pick up the dirt and dust.  Anyway, I'm going to keep at it and see if I can beat it into submission. 

We are starting to despair about Costco.  It seems that just as we find some food that we enjoy and buy on a regular basis, they stop carrying it.  For a while, we were buying stroganoff; they no longer seem to stock it.  We buy Potato Salad about every other trip for Joe's lunches; they had none this past week.  We love that pulled pork; again, none to be found on Sunday.  Is it that if it's something bound for our household, they decide to discontinue it?  Probably not, but it seems like it. 

Design

I promised myself a couple of months ago that I would revamp an older kit each month.  They either need to be revamped and put into a store or archived.  But they need to be gone from my EHD!  So, I spent today working on what I think was the third kit I ever made.  I added quite a few papers and a huge bunch of elements to it as well as two alphas.  I remember that I kind of did a secret yuck when I saw the color scheme originally.  But, then, as I started working with it, I decided I musta been blind when I did my secret yuck.  Truly, it is a spectacular looking kit.  Wow!  I can't wait to put it in the stores!  Thank goodness, it's full of gorgeous winter colors so I don't have to wait too long!

I did a calendar last month for my CT ladies.  The visual representation was very helpful to me and I thought they might find it helpful.  I send them a weekly e-mail and I end up referring back to that frequently but I thought the calendar was still a good idea.  I find, now, that I'm dependent on it.  So, I did the calendar for December today and I'll send it out to them tomorrow. 

I have enough kits done ahead that I'm facing February, design-wise now.  I'm sorry to say that means more kits with red in them.  I've done a LOT of red with the Christmas kits.  I don't know if I can face more of it, even though red and I are good friends from way back.  I have an idea for a spring kit and I think that is where I will work next.  No red! 

Okey dokey.  It's bedtime in this house.  In fact, Mr. Joe has been in bed for an hour and a half.  So, I'm going to take a quick bath and head to bed so I can get up bright and early and head into work.  Nighty night.

Wow!

My page views for today, so far, are about 4 times normal.  I can't imagine what is generating all the excitement, but it's a good thing, right?  Someone somewhere must have posted about the November 1 blog train freebie......

Joe is off to Costco and Albertson's.  And once he returns, we will know what's for dinner this week.  We put together a quickie list and he's off to shop and gather.  I have been using more prepared foods these days.  It is no great joy for me to stand in the kitchen and chop and saute.  Last time he went to Costco, he bought a main dish that was a pot roast type thing.  No veggies just the meat.  It cost around $10 and because I slapped his hand repeatedly with the dull side of a knife, we have enough for two meals.  Yes, it really was delicious and took no time at all to prepare.  And unlike the pot roast he makes does not taste overwhelmingly like parsley.  I have no doubt he'd have killed the whole thing off if it weren't for me screaming "NO" everytime he went back for more.  They also have a spinach salad which we love and we're big fans of their pulled pork.  We make fabulous pulled pork sandwiches here at home for FAR less than they charge at Memphis Bar-B-Que and they're equally delicious.

I'm about done with another round of vacuuming.  And ready to start another.  I've about convinced myself that if I can vacuum enough, I can get control of the dust problem around here.  Of course, I'm pulling mountains of dog hair out of the vacuum, but there's also plenty of dust and dirt in there as well.  And, I've about conquered the mountain of laundry that had built up.  I was doing fine with the laundry til Joe came home and added 4 days worth of dirty clothes in one fell swoop.  That has taken some catching up on.

Joe worked yesterday and was disappointed in the results.  Of course, he couldn't keep his mouth shut about it, had to complain and carry on.  I'm sure God found his recitation of complaints really encouraging toward the goal of His intervention on our behalf.  I sometimes wonder if this man will ever get the concept that if he stays in faith, in spite of what he can see with his natural eyes, God's promises of supply will hold true.

Design

I finished the dinosaur kit, previews and all.  I still need to do the product description but then it will be completely done.

In the meantime, I started work on a kid's snow play kit.  I started by going through my stash of artwork and deciding I didn't have anything I wanted to use.  Then I shopped and shopped and couldn't find anything appropriate to my personal vision for the kit.  Finally I commissioned some work from a person who is WAY more artistically inclined than I am.  That same day, I found some really cute artwork for sale.  Isn't that the way it always goes?  I got the custom artwork yesterday, I think.  I was not thrilled with it.  The artist has broken her Wacom tablet and can't do the artwork the way she usually does.  What I got seemed more like a talented child drawing with crayons.  Yes, I wanted childlike, but I didn't really like the way they were colored in.  So, I meticilously recolored part of what she sent and then went back and grabbed two penguins from my stash.  Once I got the penguins colored in, I decided I REALLY liked them!  Anyway, that kit is in the process of being previewed right now. 

I did a full inventory a few minutes ago.  When I have the dino kit and the kid's snow kit completely finished, I'll have 11 kits in my pocket, ready to go.  I was aiming for a 3 month inventory and at last I've gotten there.  I've worked hard at it, but I feel very accomplished now that I'm at the end of the process.  I also feel like I've learned a LOT along the way.  And, my creating process has become much more efficient along the way.  If my teeny tiny CT could keep up, I think I am now proficient enough to be able to turn out two kits a week if I wanted to.  So, I'm happy.  Hard to realize it's just coming up on Thanksgiving and I'm thinking about a Valentine's kit and a spring kit featuring crocuses.......

So, now that I can slow down a bit on the creating side of things, I want to spend some time on hard drive maintenance.  I spent 5 or 6 hours the other night and deleted almost 37 gigs worth of duplicated stuff off my EHD.  I think there's close to another 200 Gigs worth still waiting for me to attack.  I hate doing it but it has to be done and I'm the only one likely to do it, so.........

Scrapping

No, I haven't even had time to grab some layouts by the CT for your enjoyment.  I'll try to get that done soon!

Have a blessed day.