My Weblog

Happy New Year!

It's New Year's Eve.  Tomorrow we start trying to remember to write 2011 on everything.  Good luck with that; I know I'm bound to get that wrong at least 3 or 4 times.........

It's New Year's Eve.  That also means it's my husband's birthday.  He's another year older.

I am still a mess.  I am coughing up mouthsful of stuff.  My throat is sore, my ears still ache some.  And, the antibiotic I've been taking is the Mexican generic version of erythromycin which means that I have a horrific case of lower digestive system upset. 

I should have known this was coming as I drank and drank all day long yesterday.  It seemed as though I could not get enough to drink.  Then, about  1 AM, I learned why..........  And, that's pretty much the way it always happens.

I am still really tired.  I've been in bed and out of bed twice for a total of about 4.5 hours of sleep.  Yesterday, it was worse.  I always find it the height of lunacy when doctors tell you to "get lots of rest" when you're feeling like this.  Right, and just how would I do that?  I either cough myself awake, wake up because there's a large glob of something working it's way down the back of my throat, or because I need to double-time it to the bathroom.  I'll be glad when these symptoms are gone so I can catch up on my rest!

I don't know just what we'll do to celebrate Joe's birthday.  I have only a tiny bit of money left after paying December's bills.  Not enough to buy a cake and take him to dinner at even a really cheapie place.  And, I'm sure as shootin' not going to cook.  How could I feed him something I've touched or breathed on?  And speaking of only a tiny bit of money, I'm now 2 weeks back on paychecks again.  I'm told we're expecting a big check in the mail, but no one knows exactly when that will show up.  I am hoping that with Greg back doing sales we'll be able to get a flow of work so it won't always be feast or famine.  I need things to roll out the new year that I just can't get til we get some money.  For example, we need payroll check blanks.  We were doing 2 of those a week, but they brought on some additional workers for a job they're working on now and I did 6 yesterday.  My stash is only 12!  Those need to be ordered NOW to have them in time for the next payroll.  I need new file folders for A/P stuff.  I need postage so I can send out inquiries for ID numbers so we can meet the new and oh so onerous and oh so pointless 1099 requirements.  I hope that check comes in SOON and I hope it's as big as it's cracked up to be. 

I didn't get a whole lot of design stuff done yesterday.  I was just wiped out with going to work yesterday morning.  Mostly I just sat here and stared at my screen.  I did, however, get a "second wind" last evening and my second mini snow kit is almost finished.  It actually may BE finished.  I need to kind of take inventory as to what's in there and what else might be needed to scrap a page or two.  Both these little mini-snow kits turned out so darn cute. 

I am a bit disappointed with my CT.  I know we all have real life to deal with.  I'm dealing with real life now with a CT deadline tomorrow.  But, knowing about real life, I gave my CT this week's kit at least two weeks ahead of time.  Somewhere in two weeks, I think most anyone can find time to scrap one layout.  Yet, only 2 of the 5 ladies have posted layouts with this week's kit.  It's a very pretty kit and I'm sorry my potential customers are not going to get to see much of it in action.  Maybe I can put a page together today?

Okay, well I'm going to go try for another 45 minute-1.5hour nap.  I really need some rest.  Have a blessed day, y'all!

 

Stay away

If you know what's good for you, stay away.  If you're a really foolish person, at least come armed with a can of Lysol spray. 

I am really having trouble with these symptoms.  I slept 3/4 to 1 1/2 hours at a time last night.  After the allotted time I would get up and go turn the shower on in the bathroom and steam trying to clear my sinuses and my lungs.  Finally, I took the massager in there and ran it all over my face.  My face is actually sore from the sinus pressure.  But the massager made me sneeze and granted me some temporary relief because once I sneezed, my nose ran and, when I blew it, something actually came out!!!!!!!  Now I'm going to head back in there and try for another hour's sleep. 

Yesterday, I was totally without energy.  I sat here at this desk and designed and did absolutely nothing else.  I did get the adult birthday kit within an inch of completion and I worked on 2 mini snow kits.  I think I mentioned I found some graphics I thought were really cute.  One kit is in blues and greens, so a bit more masculine.  The other is in pinks and purples, more feminine.  The blue and green one is ready to preview.  The pink and purple one will be ready to preview tomorrow. 

Over and over again, I look at what other designers are turning out and the prices they charge and I am amazed I'm not making thousands a month from my work.  I put out SO MUCH product in each kit and the price is certainly right.  I prowled around one very hoity toity store over Christmas.  On average, about 14 papers including solids.  I noticed one designer who used the exact same paper, just colored differently, in almost every kit she made.  Now, you'll see a multi colored dot paper in almost all my kits and one or two multi colored striped papers as well.  I like to provide papers that help the scrapper easily transition from one color to another.  For example, if she's working with pink and suddenly plops something purple on there, folks might wonder where THAT came from.  But, if she's working with pink, lays down a multi color paper that includes purple, and then plops that something purple on there, it flows.  But, I do not do the exact same dot paper over and over...........  I do try to vary the papers from kit to kit depending on the subject matter of the kit and the mood.  For example, for a fall kit, I like to include some fabric texture and maybe a bit more shadowing.  For these little snow-minis which are so playful, I'm using a texture that is shiny and fun.  Oh, well, I'll never fully understand what posesses folks to buy what they buy.  I think sometimes it is merely that they bought it for a pretty penny from a hoity toity store--like some people like to brag/complain about how much they paid in taxes. 

I HAVE to go into work today for some period of time.....as long as I can stand.  I don't think I'll be there all that long!  Somehow, if I'm going to be miserable, I want to be miserable at home, LOL.  But I haven't made it in all week and I have to go try to catch up.  I don't want it to get too much ahead of me.

Okay, I don't know that anything I've written actuall makes sense, but I'm done trying now.  I'm going to sit here and veg for a few minutes and then try to get some clothes on and go to work.

 

Sickness is part of the curse

And Jesus came, in part, to deliver me from the curse.  Now all I have to do is communicate that to my body.  My body thinks it's sick and it has symptoms and I'm not finding them very pleasant.  Remind me to flip and flop and moan and groan and cough all night so I can treat Joe to the kind of night's sleep I had all last week while he breathed his germs into the air in our enclosed bedroom..........

I woke up this morning with all the symptoms of the flu, coughing, congestion in my head, congestion in my chest, body aches, sore throat, headache, and so on.  So, if the Lord doesn't want to hear His name called by me all day and all night til this subsides, reminding him that I was healed of this 2000 years ago, He'd better fix these symptoms!  I finally decided I could abide most everything but the headache so I've dipped into the ibuprofen bottle.

I got the worst part of those two chairs scrubbed yesterday.  By the time I was done with that, my back was complaining.  So no crawling around on the carpet for me yesterday.  Probably not today either unless I feel substantially better really soon.  I'd like to get that done, but I need to be halfway sensible too.  I did get some laundry done and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  Easier things like that.......  Maybe once that ibuprofen checks in I will feel like doing more.

Mostly, today, I'm working on my adult birthday kit.  It's coming along nicely.  I need about 3 more papers and some elements.  I went to lay down a few minutes ago and was hit with inspiration for ribbons so I'm working on those now, in between bouts of typing.

I bought some stuff to create two mini kits for snow photos.  Yes, I have two snow kits already, but I wanted to do something smaller and these graphics just struck me as very cute.  I got an excellent sale price on them so I don't feel bad about spending that tiny little dribble of money.  I'll start those this week and have them in the store this month.

Speaking of saving money, here's a story for you.  I have a BIG OLD Konica Minolta printer that is a total workhorse and was given to me by a client when she retired.  It needs a new drum.  Joe went online and priced a new drum at Office Whatever and they wanted $291 for it.  OUCH!!!!!!!  Then he went online at the other Office Whatever and they had it for $150.  That's still awful in terms of our budget but it beats $291 by a longshot.  So he called the first Office Whatever and asked why theirs was almost double the price of the other guy's.  Our primary concern was that they might somehow be different products which we could not detect from the part number or the description.  Office Whatever #1 decided it was the exact same product, cut their price to be the same as Office Whatever #2 and will have the part in our hands this week.  Yeah!  I have to have that thing in working order for tax season.  My other printer, by today's standards, is quite elderly.  When it's having a good day, it is grand.  But it's starting to have a lot of bad days........  We can only count on it as back up these days.....  Now I just have to get my preparer tax ID number (which will cost $62.50, thank you Mr. Obama) and my software which will ring in much pricier.

Jennifer bought me a John Grisham book for my birthday.  I made the mistake of starting to read it last night.  Uh-oh, it was almost impossible to put down.  I made my way through about 200 pages and finally decided I needed to go to bed so I could get up and go to work this morning.  Then I woke up miserable and didn't go to work after all.

I promised to come back here and show off the worn and torn papers for the By the Fire kit.  First, I guess I should show you the By the Fire kit again. 

I personally am not a big fan of worn and torn papers for scrapbooking.  I'm just certain that IRL I would not scrap with papers that have been through whatever it would take to make papers look this beaten up.  However, some of my customers like them a lot, so every now and then I do a few. 

One of my CT ladies reduced the Worn and Torn papers substantially and used them for a bit of journaling.  Let me show you:

Isn't that just gorgeous?  That was made by Barb who goes by "Always Happy" at ACOT.

Okay, I'm going back to my ribbons.  You folks have a good day.......

 

 

 

 

 

Reincarnation

No, I don't REALLY believe in reincarnation.  But I saw something akin to it tonight and I can't let it pass without comment. 

For many years, my husband was in sales.  Then, for 15 years he was General Manager of a construction company.  Then, for about 12 years, he was a Loan Officer and a mobile notary.  Then the market took a dump, this recession started, the company for which he worked closed, and he started driving a taxi for a living.  I know he hates it.  I know he has to talk himself into going to work every single day, yet he goes, without fail.  I know he worries about money.  I know he has days when he feels like a failure, when he feels down on himself.  He hasn't cut his hair in weeks.  He goes to work in ratty clothes and justifies it because "no one sees anything below his shoulders anyway".  He goes days between shaves and wanders around the house in a dirty tee shirt.  He walks with slumped shoulders. He is always tired, no matter how much sleep he's had and I think it's as much being depressed as it is being tired.  It's hard to watch.

Tonight he got a call to do a loan signing, for the first time in many many months.  With printing out the documents and making sure they were all there, commuting, and doing the actual signing, he put in about 3 hours.  He made $100.  It's about as much money as he makes on a GOOD day driving the cab for 12 hours.  He showered and shaved, dressed in professional looking clothes, and looked a lot like the man I married.  Though I could tell he was exhausted by the time he got to head down the hall to bed, I could also tell he felt better about himself than he has in a long time.  Do we need the money?  Yes, of course we do.  $100 in our budget right now is a big deal.  But, I think he needed to do that signing for a lot more reasons than the money.  And, so, I am glad he got to do it.  He'll be tired tomorrow.  Says he's going to go to work, get his cab, and go to the airport and sleep.  Good for him.  He's earned it.  And, it sure was nice to see that man walk out of here, all spruced up and ready to take on the world!  I miss that guy, I really do.........  I'd like to see a whole lot more of him.

Daily, I pray for a better job for him (and for me).  While I haven't gotten a better job, it just might be that things at my job have gotten better.  Now it's time for some improvement for Joe.  He's been on the firing line with prostitutes and drunks and liars and thieves and lowlifes of many descriptions for a long time.  There has to be a better job in his future, and soon!  I realize the Lord needs Christians who will work with and share His love with prostitutes and drunks and liars and thieves and lowlifes of many descriptions.  It's a mission field of gigantic proportions.  But even missionaries get furloughs.........  Joe got a mini-furlough tonight, but so much more is needed. 

He can drive me to distraction faster than anyone I know.  But, he's a hero, whether he understands that or not.  He hasn't lied or cheated or stolen or acted the pimp like many of his co-workers and we're still eating regularly.  There are bills we don't yet know how to pay.  And some of the creditors are getting a bit feisty.  But, he's put one foot in front of the other, day in and day out, and worked long, hard hours and with only a little help from me, kept the wolf from our door.  Yeah, I guess you could say I love him.

 

 

Monday, Monday.......

So, it's Monday.  It's new kit day with all the detail work that goes with that behind the scenes.  Actually I have a new kit uploading to my ACOT store and I'm typing while that is going on. 

I went to bed at a decent hour last night and had a decent night's sleep.  Joe must be feeling better as the flipping and flopping and moaning and groaning of last week has subsided.  Thank God!

We were a couple of lazy butts yesterday.  We sat around all day in our jammies.  That's not to say we didn't accomplish anything around here, but neither of us had any desire to step outside our front door.  I worked on design stuff and worked around the house.  He put together his Gideon newsletter.  That is always a frustrating time for me.  First, he is concentrating so deeply that the only response I can get out of him is a grunt, no matter what I say to him.  Second, he always comes up with something he needs scanned and photoshopped at the last minute so that I have to stop whatever I'm doing and do what he needs immediately.  And, finally, I end up proof reading what he's written.  I either correct it or tell him what to correct so that things are spelled correctly and read properly.  I don't mind doing that, but there's always an argument.  If you know what's right, then do it.  If you don't want my advice and expertise, don't ask me to be involved!  But, we got it done and got it out via e-mail to the area pastors that are on his mailing list.

Other than that, nothing much happened around here.  Today I am going to be crawling around on the floor with the Little Bissell, doing spot cleaning of the carpet.  I know the carpet is old, torn, and ragged, but I still can't stand that it's dirty.  So........  I also want to clean a couple of our chairs while I'm at it.  That should keep me out of trouble, coupled with uploading, design work, and advertising, right?

So, how about I show you the new kit that's uploading?  It's a big 'un.  I had to put the elements into two separate files, mostly because I got glitter happy again.  Every now and then I need Joe to come look over my shoulder and say "Step away from the glitter", LOL.

I really love this kit.  It makes me think of evenings cuddled up on a couch, close to a roaring fire, covered with a warm woolen throw or an afghan, sipping a hot cup of tea, while winter rages outside.  The funny thing about it is that this color scheme was put together by someone else and when I first saw it, I didn't like it. 

There is also an add-on of worn & torn papers, but I haven't done the preview of that yet.  I hate when that happens!  I even set up a checklist so that I'd be sure to have everything ready when I started uploading, but........  I still missed it.  I'll preview that for you later, okay?

Anyway, the kit will be up at ACOT any minute.  Then I'll start on the separate parts.  At ACOT, you can always buy the alphas, elements, and papers separately instead of buying the whole kit, if you prefer.  After that, I have to upload next week's kit for my CT--I always give them at least a week to put a layout together. Then next on my agenda is to upload to NDISB.

I worked and worked at that Winter's End Approaches collab and finally threw in the towel.  I announced in the Designer's Forum that I would be contributing a set of corduroy-textured solids.  I wanted to do more, but it's not worth makin' myself crazy over.  I just could not get with it on that one. 

I started on an adult birthday kit.  It occurred to me that I had a birthday last week and do not have a kit in my repertoire to scrap it, if I actually had a photo to scrap, LOL.  So, that's what I'll be working on the next few days.  It has a very BOLD jewel tone color scheme which I will seek to tame by combining it with a lot of white or black.  I think it will be really pretty if I can get it to look the way I see it in my mind.  We'll see how that goes.......

Okay, I need to make that one preview that seems to be missing for the add-on for the By the Fire kit.  Maybe I can get that done while all the various bits and pieces of the main kit are uploading.  Have a great day!

 

 

There's got to be a morning after.......

and THIS is it!  I LOVE Christmas, but not having an opportunity to participate in much of the pre-Christmas activity detracts from it somewhat.  So, I'm actually glad it's over.

We started out by climbing out of bed a little after 5AM and stumbling to the office.  We dosed ourselves with coffee and were on our way to Jen's house by 6:30-ish.  When we arrived, Jason was putting the finishing touches on a large wooden "kitchen" for Bethie.  He had been up all night assembling things and doing whatever else.  Jen had gone to bed around 4AM, but Bethie woke up and wanted to nurse when mama came to bed.  So, essentially, she got about a two hour nap.  She was in the bedroom with the kids, trying to hold them off from charging out to see what was under the tree in all those pretty packages.

The kids had a good Christmas.  I don't think they got as much from Mom and Dad as usual, but other family members and friends kicked in a good bit and they got a lot.  Jen and Jason bought Will a new Bike.  That was a good thing--Will's bike was stolen from school a few weeks back and he was SO upset.  It was older and pretty much outgrown anyway, but certainly could have been passed down to Atticus in a year or two.  He was thrilled with his new bike.  Someone gave them a "train table".  It was much like the ones you see in Barnes and Noble.  And, a Laundry basket-sized Rubbermaid tub full of trains.  Oh, my, did Atticus's eyes light up!  And, for Bethie, the big present was the "kitchen".  It is wooden, and supposed to be a combination of washer, dryer, dishwasher, telephone, sink, stove, and fridge with lots of fun little cubbies to hide things.  Last thing I saw, some of Atticus's trains were in the "washer".  And there was a package of "fridge food" as well, made of wood (I think) and it included bologna, milk, and 6 or 7 other items.  William also got a telescope.  It was given to them by a Boy Scout Leader.  I guess the Boy Scouts ordered one as a prize or something and somehow ended up with two.  So, he gave the extra to Jen who held onto it for a Christmas gift for Will.  Atticus got a BIG wooden firetruck.  It made me think of a Christmas or so ago when he got a wooden garbage truck and Joe spent the bulk of the day assembling it because the pre-drilled holes didn't match up or didn't exist at all.  Assembling that fire truck will be quite a project.  Hopefully not as challenging as the garbage truck was!  There were many packages of books and puzzles for all three children, some baby toys for Elizabeth, and Aunt JoAnne sent clothes which were beautifully selected.  These are gonna be some good-lookin' kids. 

Jennifer said many folks sent gifts, but many of the gifts were unwrapped.  So, she was up til 4AM, cooking and baking and wrapping.  We had some breakfast casserole and an apple quickbread gluten-free Bisquick thing.  Both were tasty.  Then we headed home.  We took a quick nap and I got up and made sweet potatoes with marshmallows.  That reminded me of the year of the "cook off" with my ex-husband.  He thought himself a cook.  And, no matter what, he wasn't going to take any suggestions from me.  He would buy those wretched canned sweet potatoes.  I could never figure that out, all by itself, since fresh sweet 'taters are cheap and SO MUCH tastier.  Then he'd kinda mash them up with a potato masher, stick marshmallows on them, stick them under the broiler, and when the marshmallows started to brown, take the whole mess out of the oven and serve it.  Of course, they wouldn't even be warm and they were just disgusting.  After suggesting alternatives numerous times, I finally laid down a challenge one Christmas.  Both his parents and mine were in town and we each made sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.  At the end of the evening, if you'd taken your finger and run it all around the inside of my corning ware dish, you'd not have come up with enough to lick off, but his dish was almost untouched. Of course, at the next opportunity he made sweet potatoes just exactly like always, yuck!  The man never learned a lesson........

I would have contributed more, but for the gluten-free problem.  I have a package of gluten-free pancake mix and a package of gluten-free pasta in my cupboard, for "I'm hungry, Grandma" emergencies, and that's it!  I guess Jennifer found some ready-made gluten-free pie crust at Whole Foods which she used for pecan pies.  Then she made some pie crusts for pumpkin pies with almond flour.  According to her, almond flour is $9.99 a pound, more than an expensive steak!  No, I didn't have any of that stuff on hand nor did I have the funds to buy it.  She and Jason gave us a gift card to Sunflower market, my favorite place to grocery shop.  Perhaps I'll use part of that gift card to acquire some more gluten free products.  At least if I buy gluten-free stuff, it will be used infrequently and I will have the comfort of knowing that a pound of almond flour at $9.99 a pound will last a long time........  I do want to be able to pull my weight at these holiday get togethers.........

Everything was tasty.  She made a ham which was yummy.  She also had mashed potaotes, a green bean casserole, cauliflower with cheese sauce (sauce also made with almond flour), carrots with orange zest, honey and butter, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie.  I didn't get to taste everything.  I ate more than usual, but I don't eat much, so I can't say personally how it all tasted, but the things I ate were very good.  Joe, too, seemed to enjoy it and ate a LOT.  Funny story--and we all have to have one at just about every big dinner, right?--when we cut into the pecan pies, they were runny.  Of course she was making them in the wee hours of the morning between cooking and wrapping and forgot to add the corn starch.  We ate them just the same and they were delicious. 

After dinner, Joe helped rinse dishes and load the dishwasher.  I unloaded the dryer, moved a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, and washed a load for her.  Unfortunately, we left before I was able to move the freshly washed load to the dryer.  But, I did get the one load folded and ready to put away.  She has SO MUCH laundry to do--I saw Bethie in 4 outfits yesterday!  Phew!

When we left, even though it was early, the kids were being readied for bedtime.  It was early, but they were tired.  We came home and watched some Netflix and then went to bed ourselves.  In between all that, Joe called all the absent relatives and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas.  Our mothers were a pair to draw to for the holiday--Joe's mom was scheduled to go to her brother's house but lost her keys.  By the time she found them, she thought it was just too late to even go.  My mother has a cold or flu and was hacking and coughing and talking in a gravely voice when he called.  Poor Aunt Ruth came to spend the holidays with Mom and got drafted into serving as "nurse" and chief cook.  But, I'm sure they are glad to be together.

Joe was called both yesterday morning and this morning, and asked if he'd like to work an extra shift.  He said no.  Truth is the guys who ARE working are earning so little they'll have to be paid minimum wage.  He won a prize last month for being "vector driver of the month".  It was a gift card which he thought was worth $25.  Turned out it was really worth $50.  That was a very pleasant surprise and enabled us to fill the van with gasoline for "free".  He did get a year end bonus.  It was supposed to be 2% of something but no one seems to be able to say for sure what it's 2% of.  However, we don't know why for sure (I have a guess), but they did Federal withholding at 3x the normal rate so it turned out being pretty puny net.  But, we're grateful for what we got.  And, my paychecks have been so small there's been no withholding on them so that extra withholding will help compensate for that. 

Scrapping and Design

Well, I've been working on that second collab, but I don't know that I'm going to do a contribution after all.  The theme for the kit is "winter's end approaches".  Now, tell me, just exactly what does winter's end look like when it approaches?  I have no clue.  So, I don't know if what I've done is appropriate or not.........  I keep checking in to see what everyone else is doing, hoping maybe to piggy back off of someone else's ideas, but, really, I am just lost on this one.  I've prayed for inspiration, and I'm sure God has sent it, but somehow, my receiver is broken on this one!

I am going to actually scrap a page or two this week.  Tabatha Reed is carrying on the Bella Gypsy Design name even though Lena, her sister, has chosen to take a "real" job and has left the team.  I originally started scrapping for Tab in early 2006 and have scrapped for the Bella Gypsy team as long as they've been in existence.  I can't see that this is the time to quit!  So, there'll be some pages here soon. 

Also, there's a new kit hitting the stores tomorrow.  I really like this particular kit.  It reminds me of a warm and cozy family room with fireplace ablaze and warm cuddly throws in which to wrap up. 

Okay, that's enough for today.  I need to take a blood pressure pill and get on with what I was doing.  Have a good day.

The day before........

Tomorrow is Christmas.  I wish I were more in the "Christmas spirit", but I'm not.  The shortage of funds puts a real damper on things. 

I went into work yesterday, specifically to do payroll.  I'd been promised the timecards would be dropped off EARLY yesterday morning.  They weren't there.  I worked a while and then called Scott who said he would bring him in but there was no hurry as there was no money for payroll anyway.  Well, that's true.  If we paid all the bills I've written checks for this week, there IS no money for payroll.  Apparently everyone else is okay with this.  I, on the other hand, am having to borrow money from Joe to make my credit card payment.  It is money that should have been available to pay some other bill.  So, no, I'm not okay with it.  But, what can I do?  Apparently it is just a cash flow thing as we have money due, just not paid yet. 

I was pretty depressed when I left work.  I climbed in the car and went straight to JoAnn Etc.  I had gotten the idea early in the month that maybe I could make some winter jammies for the kids.  Joe was unenthusiastic, but said okay.  Well, they won't be ready for Christmas, that's for sure, but William, Atticus, and Bethie are on the list for some new jammies, made by Grandma.  JoAnn's had all their flannel on for half price and 40% off on patterns.  Have you priced patterns lately?  They're amazingly expensive.  Like in the $12 or $13 range!  Shoot, I used to make whole outfits, including patterns, for that kind of money......  Sadly, those days are gone forever........  The sizing thing is difficult to figure out.  I don't have accurate measurements for pants in seams or sleeves or even sizing.  I asked at the store and they said that patterns run a bit larger than kids regular sizes.  So, my plan is to make things a bit large and let elastic take up the slack. 

That's an old trick of mine.  I remember when I was mother to a little girl, I found corduroy pants on sale at a store in San Francisco for $1.99 a pair.  I brought them home, turned up the bottoms, and inserted elastic.  Pants with elastic at the ankles were not uncommon in those days, so it looked fashionable, worked to keep the pantlegs from dragging on the ground, and together with a bunch of remnants I bought and sewed shirts/blouses/tops with, gave my baby girl some cute clothes to wear.  That kind of pant leg would certainly not work for William or Atticus these days, but for PJ's?  Probably no harm, no foul.  For Bethie, we can probably still get away with it.  Since Bethie is a shoe fetishist, she'll probably be happy that having elastic in the bottom of her pant legs allows her to show off her pretty shoes.  For waistlines, I'm going to treat the elastic as if it were a drawstring.  The kids will be able to pull it up to the proper size and tie it on the inside of their pants.  Then, if they grow around the middle (unlikely, these kids are string beans), they can just adjust the elastic.  One of the reasons I didn't rush out at the first of the month and buy fabric and patterns is that I had to work out these details in my head.  But, having solved the measurement dilemma, I was ready to take the plunge.

For Bethie, I found a print that is all pink and teddy bears and says "I love Grandma".  How appropriate, LOL.  Nothing like a reminder...........  For Atticus I found a fabric with toy trains on it.  He's not a train fanatic like he used to be, but he'll like them anyway.  Believe it or not, for William I found "rock star" fabric.  He claims that's what he's going to be when he grows up..........  AND, I was able to find matching remnants for the fabric I bought for Atticus and Bethie which were 75% off.  That enabled me to buy less fabric at 50% off and saved a few more pennies. 

The big question now is which set of jammies to start first.  I am thinking I will do William's first.  It's not much of a reward for being such a good big brother and for helping me so much when I babysit, but it's something.  I bought EASY patterns and things should go together pretty quickly if the sewing machine still works, LOL.  I haven't tried it in a good long while.........

I did not clean the floor yesterday.  It was still wet outside and I knew if I scrubbed them yesterday, I'd be scrubbing them again today.  So, having now had 24 hours to dry out outside, I'm going to take a run on that today.  And, I'll throw in some vacuuming for good measure. 

I've worn an old pair of running shoes the last few days.  I was wearing black pants and I think white running shoes look stupid with black pants.  So, I pulled out my black running shoes.  Lo and behold, in the right running shoe I found a lift!  I thought they were all gone.......  Nope, still have one!  And, my back is still somewhat sore, but not like it's been.  That lift will now become a part of every pair of shoes I wear! 

Design

I did absolutely nothing design wise yesterday.  Instead, I sat here and tried to work out alternatives to taking money from the household budget to pay my credit card bill since I didn't/won't get paid again this week.  I counted up all my nickels, pennies, and dimes and still came up $130 short.  So, Joe is going to have to lend me money til I can get a paycheck. 

Alrighty then.  I have figured out the jammie problem and I have figured out the credit card problem, and I am going to have a more productive day.  Gotta get a start on it.  Hope your day before Christmas is wonderful!  If you have extra cookies, send 'em my way.

I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go

This will be a hurried post as I woke up late and I have to go in to the office again today.  Gee, 3 days in a row!  I'm happy to get the hours.  Today, the primary reason for going in is payroll.  I went in yesterday and intended to do payroll but no one turned in time cards but me!  They'd better be there today or I'm running my own payroll, LOL.  I need $$$$ for a credit card payment.  Too few hours this month and I'm really tight on funds.

Here is an "average Joe" story for you.  It is commonly thought that men just don't have great powers of observation.  Well, this story will confirm it for you.  It has been cold and rainy here for days and days.  I decided late yesterday afternoon that I wanted soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  Just seemed right for a cold and rainy day.  When Joe called and asked what was for dinner, he decided it should be tomato soup.  Okay, I said, but all we have is "healthy" tomato soup.  He climbed up on his high horse and stated there was NO WAY he was eating that stuff and I should just throw it in the trash!  Well, other people in this house (me), eat too and I'm not all that disgusted with the "healthy" version of tomato soup and I can easily have it for lunch if he won't eat it.  So, I didn't throw it away as commanded, but I did wonder why he bought it in the first place........  Later he called and said he'd stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some juice and some "real" tomato soup.  Okay, now here's where it gets fun.........  I opened the bag, handed him his juice to put in the fridge and then burst out laughing.  There, in the bag, were two cans of "healthy" tomato soup!  I gathered up the two cans and held them out to them with the green "healthy" part of the label facing him and said "Joe, look what you bought".  He looked at them and said "Yeah, tomato soup."  "No, Joe.  LOOK at what you bought."  Do I need to tell you he ate the "healthy" tomato soup????? 

Design

I worked yesterday on finishing up the vintage-y kit.  It has a lot of elements of the "special" variety.  And, I pulled together a lot of flowers and frames.  But, I still need ribbons, strings, that sort of "generic" thing.  Then it will be on to previews and alphas and all that good stuff and it will be done, hopefully today.

I thought I would show you some pages done by a customer of mine, Glitter Queen 99, with the Emmanuel Christmas kit.  (She claims she is the Queen of Glitter and we've agreed that I must then be the Glitter Princess as I love it just like she does.)  Anyway, she posted these two layouts at ACOT and I thought they were just gorgeous, so have a look:

Aren't those gorgeous layouts?  The little vintagey buttons are not part of the kit though it works beautifully here.  If you get some extra time (who am I kidding, this time of year?), go leave her some love at her gallery here

Okay, gotta run.  It is such a relief to look outside and see SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Have a blessed day!

 

 

Quick! Pinch me!

Who am I?  Where am I?  I could have sworn I lived in the desert.  Yet, once again it's raining!  I think this is something like the 6th day in a row!  How can that be?  It is truly remarkable to check the humidity and find it at 100% when you're used to somewhere around 20%.  Condensation.  We don't get condensation on our glasses of cold water, but we are getting condensation these last few days.  I'm having trouble syncing to this world........

Went to work yesterday and found the work world has a ray of sunshine, for the first time in forever.  Several weeks ago I got an e-mail from Matthew saying he was "100% out of the loop".  I had no clue what that meant, but Joe spoke with him and was told that Greg couldn't afford him and he didn't work there any longer.  Yesterday I found that my prayers have been answered.  Scott (I don't think I've ever talked about him here) will be doing most of what Matthew was doing.  This is a good thing.  I am sure, like all of us, Scott must have his bad days.  Yet, in all the time he's worked at the company, he's always been decent, friendly, and polite to me.  He's timely with his paperwork and he's accurate with it as well.  He's got a good head on his shoulders, takes pride in his work, and, I think, he's honest.  And, he's a master craftsman.  So, from now on, I'll be working with him.  Oh, Thank You, Lord!  I can actually go to work without feeling that I am the source of someone's greatest displeasure.  AND, I can talk to the person with whom I work (I've been under written orders not to speak to Matthew ever since I refused to take the blame for the penalty screw up in September). 

Scott tells me that Greg is back out selling with renewed vigor and interest.  This is also VERY good news as Greg is a charmboy from way back.  He has a boyish thing about him that I can't quite pin point.  You get the feeling that if he were called to task over some screw up, he'd stand there with his head down, digging the toe of his shoe into the dirt like an 8 year old boy.  Yet, he is a master salesman.  Basically, the good news is that the company is solid with work now til February because Greg's back on the street.  No one knows what comes after February, but if I know Greg, it will be good as long as he can keep doing what he's doing.

I've been praying for a "better job" for both Joe and I.  And honestly, I just wanted out of there.  Away from the person who has been SO disagreeable and hurtful and into a place where paychecks are steady and they cash.  Perhaps the answer to my prayer is to make my job better.  Oh, I'm still underpaid.  I don't care.  Paid regularly and treated decently will work just fine for me and the Lord can take care of the rest. 

So, my work world has changed from pffffffft to hooray in a single morning.  At least, I have every reason to think so.  This is very good news.  Of course, I was shocked to see Matthew there yesterday when I pulled up.  I guess he is still coming to the office a couple of hours a day, primarily to use the computer?  Anyway, he took one look at me and got in his car and left.  Didn't speak, just left.  Later, Scott called Matthew about something we were trying to expedite for him, and Matthew went off on seeing "that woman" drive up with much loud sighing and apparent upset.  It grieves me to my very toes.  I could not feel worse about it if I tried, though I could cry if I let myself.  I have done my best within the limitations that have been placed on me to be a good employee.  I have been trustworthy.  I have tried to be pleasant.  In any situation where he and I have disagreed, I've made Joe read my e-mails to him to make sure they are factual and correct, not full of anger and bad emotions.  I just walk around shaking my head, wondering what I could have done differently and honestly I don't know.  But, still, it grieves me.  I would not, for all the world, have chosen to do anything that would make Joe's relationship with his son any harder; yet, it seems, without doing anything evil, I have done just that.  My only comfort is that it is the Jesus in me that he reacts so badly to. 

So, onward.  Today I need to go back to the office.  I got to the mailbox first thing yesterday as I promised and pulled out a whole armload of mail.  Some of it is past due notices, the result of the guys not mailing out checks I'd already written.  Some of it is new bills.  But, all of it has to be dealt with and I'll be working on payroll as well.  The banks around here are all closing at 3PM on Friday so it would be a good thing if checks were ready Friday morning or even earlier.  I'll have my part done. 

I spoke with Jennifer yesterday.  She took Atticus to a specialist.  He/she sounds sensible and weird all at the same time.  For sensible, I offer the fact that he wants to test a stool sample.  For weird, I offer the fact that he wants to put him back on gluten "to see if he reacts".  The stool sample poses a problem as his digestive system is still not processing food normally; he still has constant diarrhea.  Neither Jen nor I can figure out the "put him back on gluten" thing.  There's a positive blood test showing Celiacs.  Why would she want to put him back on gluten?  He's been eating well since they've been doing the gluten free diet and that is an improvement.  Now she should give him food that will make him feel sick again?  And aggravate any healing that's occuring in his intestines?  Makes no sense to me.  Fortunately, she's the mom and she gets to choose; I'm just the grandmother that loves that little boy beyond measure.  We are still praying for him daily.

I am still working on anything but floors around here.  I can't see a reason in the world to clean floors when it's raining nonstop and the dogs are in and out.  So, dusting is always in order in this house.  And laundry.  I'll see what I can put to rights that is above ground level since mucking around at ground level whether with a mop or a vacuum cleaner is useless.  I do have some spots on the carpet that need work so if I want to mess with floors, that would be a good thing to do. 

Design

I have finished my contribution for the blog train.  I really like how it turned out.  I just need to zip it up and upload it to a download site and upload my preview to photobucket and it's done.  I plan on taking care of that this afternoon.  I have papers for a full kit with the same theme and color scheme and will work on elements for that soon.  I'd like to finish it up NOW, but there's that other collab still hanging fire.  My contribution to that one will be due somewhere around the 5th and seeing as that's about two weeks away, I don't exactly have time to burn on that one.  I DO NOT want to be finishing that up at midnight the night before, LOL.  I'm still a little lost as to a direction to take since my vision of what should happen with the color scheme we've been given doesn't mesh all that well with what they're looking for.  I want to do rich and elegant; they're asking for "earthy".  Hmmm......

Well, I'm desperately in need of coffee, so I'm going to sign off and go get some.  Have a blessed day!

 

I need a nap

Yes, indeed, I just got up.  But, what a wretched night!  During the evening, I saw Joe blow his nose twice.  Other than being cranky, I saw no other symptoms of illness.  And, of course, he's cranky many evenings because he's tired or because he had a low book day and, somehow, that gives him license to take it out on me and the dogs, so that's no sure sign.  But, sleeping with him was another whole experience.  He flopped one way then he flopped another.  He coughed.  He moaned.  It went on all night.  Remember, for most of his life, this man was a salesman--he does NOTHING quietly!  It took me over two hours to GET to sleep and then I was awakened repeatedly by the flipping and the flopping and the coughing and the moaning.  He got up at 2:30AM, his usual wake up time, and I actually got 2 hours of decent sleep after that.  Believe me, all I want to do is go back to bed.

But, I can't.  Yesterday I got a call from work.  Seems the boys, between them, have lost the only key they had to the mailbox.  They wanted to know if I saw it or took it from the office.  Of course not--I have my own.  Why would I need another?  So, I promised to go in and to make sure I picked up the mail while I was there.  So, no, I can't go back to bed.  Not til I've gone to work.  Just imagine how incredibly efficient I'll be while I'm there...........

So, months ago, I picked up a rumor that there had been a change in the requirements to issue 1099's this year.  Just a one paragraph blurb in a discussion of Obama Care.  Then I never heard or saw anything more about it.  It was very carefully buried by the Democrats and the liberal press.  But, before I started on pulling the information together for those (they have to be issued in January), I started researching my one paragraph blurb.  First I sent an e-mail to the corporate CPA who never responded.  Then yesterday, I ran across some details on the internet.  Seems buried in that particular despicable/unconstitutional act, is a horrible provision which will greatly increase the burden on small businesses.  Leave it to the Dems...........  They never tire of seeing how many small businesses they can kill while they're in office.  Before, a business did not have to issue 1099's to corporations with which it did business or to whom it paid rent.  Now, it does.  This puts our little company in the position of having to issue a 1099 to every corporation with which it did business, including the purchase of goods or services.  So, I will have to issue a 1099 to every supplier we've used this year.  And, where will I get an EIN to do so?  I'll have to send a W-4..........  What a mess this is going to be.  However, I WILL get a LOT of hours in January.  This will mean triple (or more) 1099's going out and a whole lot of work before we can even do them.  And can you imagine, I have to issue a 1099 to the likes of Home Depot and Lowe's because we bought more than $600 worth of product from them?  Oy!

While rains in the desert are an event to celebrate, I'm getting tired of celebrating.  We've had rain in our forecast for the past week.  And, many times, because it's the desert, you can just ignore the forecast.  But, it's been overcast and wet for days.  I won't even try to tell you how dirty my carpet is with three sets of muddy paws coming in through the pet door.  On sunny days, they go in and out a lot.  They haven't been going out as much, but everytime they have, they have walked through the rain and the mud and brought some of it into the house.  The carpet is actually soaked through near the pet door.  I'm ready for it to stop now, at least for a few days.  Unfortunately, we have rain in the forecast through tomorrow.  And it looks as though they're serious--they're predicting half an inch of rainfall.  In that this area has an average ANNUAL rainfall of 4 inches, you can see that half an inch of rainfall is a BIG deal.  We need it.  I've even prayed for it and for heavy snowfall along the Colorado river north of us because our water level is so low, but maybe we could have rain a day at a time instead of a week at a time?  I guess I should have been more specific as to scheduling while I was praying...........  Many years we get a light snowfall before Christmas.  It really isn't enough to cover the grass but it's fun and so pretty.  No such luck this year.  The predicted lows for the rest of the week are in the 40's........

I was back on the treadmill last night.  This muscle in my butt is making me a little crazy.  I am still just starting so going very slowly and, last night, just 10 minutes.  However, by 3 minutes and 42 seconds into my walk, that muscle was screaming.  I walked through it but it sure made it unpleasant.  I could not wait to sit down which somehow makes the pain go away.  And, since I'm trying to build muscle and strengthen my heart, it makes no sense to go sit down after 3 minutes and 42 seconds at very slow speeds.  So, I kept going........  I really feel that this is something I need to do.  I even feel it's something God has told me to do.  So, why can't I do it without pain?  Will the pain threshhold raise as I continue?  I hope so.  My ultimate goal is to walk for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week at the fastest pace I can manage.  I don't know that I have what it takes to gut it out for 26 minutes and 18 seconds if the threshhold remains the same.

Design

Well, I have enough papers to make a kit and a mini for the blog train.  And, they're all saved, LOL.  Even the in-process preview is saved.  Now I will begin splitting the papers between my kit and the mini.  And doing elements.  Then I can do previews, alpha, and call this one done.  Not a minute too soon as it goes live on 1/1/11. 

I realized after I hit "publish" yesterday that I never connected the quilt reference in my title.  Did anyone notice?  Silly me.  Yes, the theme of this particular blog train is vintagey quilt-related stuff, what life was like when Grandma was in her hey day.  So, I've actually designed 3 12 x 12 quilt blocks during this process.  Two of them I like a lot.  One is okay, but if you know anything about quilts, will not pass muster.  However, these are digital quilt blocks, meant for backgrounds and accents on scrapbook pages.  So, the lack of stitching in all the proper places isn't going to hurt like it would if this were a REAL quilt block.  Just looks dumb to the trained eye.  I've tried to fix it, but I can't get the stitching to look right.  Honestly, I could do a better job if I were making REAL quilt blocks, LOL.  So........we're going with the defense that we're not going to subject this particular quilt block to a lot of wear and tear and washing so it will be just fine, LOL.

In that the colors are so not-me, I wasn't sure how I'd do with them.  But, I think I have a fine "crop" of papers and I think they are good for the theme as well.  I've used a fabric texture on them and they remind me of the kinds of prints my grandma might have used in her own quilts.  So, another day or two and this project will move into the "done" category.  Then there's still another one to go by January 5.  Whew!  Why do I keep getting myself into these situations?

So, I'm going to quit this now.  I want to get a newsletter out to my subscribers to make sure they know about the free Quick Page.  And I want to do that before I head into the other end of the house to get dressed for work!  So, you have a great day, okay?