Random Tuesday Thoughts

Saw this around at a few sites as I was doing drops. As near as I can tell, it may have started with Keely. She looks like someone who would be fun to end up in a lot of trouble with, so I can get behind that.



I'm still sort of just wallowing in my unemployment today. Meh. I'm getting stuff done too, but it's not a quick adjustment for me.

The cleaning people are here cleaning my house now, so I feel exceptionally lazy.

As much as I LOVE Cherry Coke, I don't like the aftertaste.

Hubby got paid a day earlier than I thought, so I might put some mascara on and go out for groceries when Maggie wakes up from her nap. Maybe.

I'm trying really hard to be a positive person after a bunch of crap hit me this month, but I somehow still have a staggering apathy to some other people's problems. If I decide at a glance there's nothing I can do to help, I sort of shrug, say, "Huh," and move on. Sitting still dwelling on stuff just drains my positive energies (didn't that sound all new-agey and crap?)

I would really, really love to get a bikini wax, but there's no way I can justify it in the budget (as opposed to my hair cut scheduled for tomorrow?) (out of my head, mean little voice!!)

Why, child?

Maggie refused to nap yesterday. At first, I thought it was because we had company and she didn't want to miss out, but even after they left she was determined to stay up and 'enjoy' the day with Mom. Yeah, thanks.

At bedtime I figured she'd be passed out half way through a story - or at least definitely before I made it out of her room. No dice. She screamed for like 15 minutes. Ugh. I've been trying to figure out why she sometimes won't sleep (when she usually goes to bed really, really well). Does it have something to do with the ceiling fan being on or off? I hope not. When we have the muggy weather we had last week, and she's a sweaty sleeper anyway, I figure the fan is the only way to possibly keep her comfortable enough to stay asleep. Huh.

She's napping now, so I should quit complaining and go do something productive!

A Whole New World

It's finally happening. I'm out of a job in much the same way as a lot of my area of Michigan, and the rest of the country for that matter. I was editing mystery shop reports, and a contract I was working for ended. I wasn't 'officially' let go, but until there are more contracts for on-callers to work on, the work is being handled in house. Oh well.

There's so much stuff I've been wanting to do, but never had the time. See, since a couple months after Maggie was born, I've been essentially working whenever she slept. Now? I may actually find out what a little 'me' time is! First on the list is cleaning this awful office. There are so many projects hidden in here that I can get back to working on, after sometimes having taken years off! And one of the most exciting parts for me - I can go to bed at a reasonable hour! I've usually stayed up working til at least midnight. Of course, I always have to get up when the baby does, so that didn't give me a lot of time to catch up on my beauty sleep.

And not having that job certainly doesn't mean I'm not working - I'm also still a Dove Chocolate Discoveries chocolatier! If you've been planning on signing up or booking a show with me - now is a fabulous time - I've got plenty of dates open and haven't filled up all my free time yet!

I'm looking forward to this opportunity to sort of redefine myself again. As much as I've always said and reminded myself that my number one job was being Maggie's mom, I now have a real chance to reinforce it. She's at such a fun age and I'm excited to have more time to spend with her instead of worrying about work.

The Weekend in Review

Hubby's on a business trip, so I'm sure he'll be by to see what he's missing here...

Friday chillin at home with Mom:

Saturday at Mimi and Papas:
Holding baby Olivia...

...and getting a little excited about it!

Last but not least - she was offering Papa pieces of her mac and cheese, but when he'd lean in to get it, she'd pull it back and eat it herself! Little stinker! ;)

Sunday Stealing

I swiped this from Sunday Stealing, of course, who got it from Musings from the Sofa, who took it from Telecommuter Talk and Zoes Mom. Whew.

A – An advantage you have – my positive attitude

B – Blue or brown eyes – blue

C – Chore you hate – yes. Hahahaha... Okay, ummm clearing clutter.

D – Dad’s name – Roger

E – Essential start of your day – a slow start. I can't just jump right into things.

F – Favorite color – black

G – Greatest thing you’ve ever done that made you feel really good – had my daughter :)

H – Habit you have – chewing my hair.

I – Issue you hate that the world tries to make you pursue – money!

J – Job title – Mom and chocolatier

K – Kohls or Target – Target

L – Living arrangements – in a house with my husband and daughter

M – Music you like – just about anything except rap. Listening to bluegrass right now.

N - Nicknames – Not too much anymore

O – Overnight hospital stay – Back surgery, June 2006

P – Pet Peeve – people who put the renewal sticker on their Michigan license plate in the wrong place.

Q – Quote that you like most – "It's all okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

R – Right or left handed – right

S – Siblings – one younger brother

T – Time you wake up – usually around 8:00 AM. (whenever Maggie wakes up, actually)

U – Underwear – usually

V – Vegetable you dislike – onions and peppers

W – What makes you run late – my own laziness, usually

X – X-rays you’ve had – back and teeth

Y – Yummy food you make – cocoa fudge. Wait, is that a 'food'?

Z – Zoo animal – Gorilla

Oh noes!

I keep thinking if I get out more, I won't feel as gloomy. You know, I'll get some fresh air, see the sights, exchange a few smiles. Today's big adventure was depositing a check at the credit union. We meandered over to that side of town, and as soon as I rolled into the drive-thru and put my window down, I heard Maggie in the back seat, "Tacos? Tacos?" See, she thinks anyone that has a drive-thru should give her tacos. (Think we've been to Taco Bell a few times?).

Not wanting to disappoint my little darling, we headed to the Taco Bell closest to the house. I pulled it and was thinking it was rather suspicious that there were NO cars. Guess what? MY Taco Bell was closed at 12:15 on a Friday. This is not right! The last time this happened was at a Taco Bell about a half hour from my house. I pulled in and there were signs on the windows that they were having computer problems. They failed to tell me that branch had gone the way of Circuit City - the next day the building was DEMOLISHED!

I'm sincerely hoping it was just a one-off that my Taco Bell was closed, but I'm really not optimistic :(

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. Maggie is currently having rotini noodles for breakfast. She didn't want toast, or oatmeal...nothing but noodles or cookies (and I drew the line...)
2. I need to go to the credit union today to deposit a check
3. I also need to get a hold of a friend for her credit card number..
4. My head kind of wants to hurt today, which I assume means it's another hot, muggy day.
5. I need to work four hours today
6. I have no idea what we'll eat today (besides noodles, that is)
7. I still haven't gotten the stuff to fix the doorwall screen :(
8. Maggie also wanted to watch Peter Cottontail this morning. So we are.
9. I can't even think of anything I'd really like to eat today
10. I'm hoping a couple more orders for the mousse special show up today.
    

Wordless Wednesday

Oh to be as fit as the Woman Within...

Dear Woman Within:

Thanks for your email the other day. I'm not really sure how you got my address, but that's neither here nor there. I saw the cute lil model (above) and went to see what you may have to offer me for a few new summer pieces I want for my wardrobe.

Imagine my surprise when I got to your website and realized you specialize in sizes 14W to 44W. I hadn't gotten that impression before (til I looked at the small print at the top of your banner).

Apparently your model is REALLY large boned, or has the biggest thighs in history, because her abs are flatter than mine, and I'm a paltry size 8 or so.

I hate to consider the alternative - that while there are plenty of beautiful plus-size models looking for work, you chose to employ someone markedly smaller than your target market. No idea why you'd do that....

Sincerely confused.

Meandering Thoughts

As I've hustled and bustled around today getting ready for a chocolate open house tonight, I've had several decent ideas for posts:

• Heart-breaking memories over ice cream
• Does insurance pay for anything?
• Why can't I look like a 'woman within' size 14W?
• Adorable things my child says/does
• Busy month ahead!

Huh. Not only a decent sized list (for me) but also a crazy variety! I suppose the beginning is a good place to start.

Last night Maggie and I decided to walk to Dairy Queen after dinner. It really was a mutual decision. She said, "Walk. Walk." And I figured the only way I'd be motivated to go out in this mugginess was if there was ice cream waiting at the other end. Maggie is totally my daughter, so I knew she wouldn't complain when we got there either.

At the Dairy Queen was a woman who reminded me of the state my dear friend Sue was in shortly before she died. She was in a wheel chair and had the fuzzy baby-chick hair that defiintely had me thinking she was on chemo. At the neck of the shirt wrapped around her bony shoulders you could see a port or pain patch. Something very medicinal-looking, anyway. We walked in and she didn't smile, but she didn't look unhappy either. She just was. She and the friend she was with were just resting at the table with their ice creams in front of them. They weren't talking or eating, just sitting there. I smiled, but it totally tugged at my heart strings as I remembered the last couple times I saw Sue.

After Maggie and I got our ice cream, I heard the woman's soft voice. She said, "But it's so good!" She just couldn't eat her ice cream, as much as she wanted to. Her friend said they could put it in the freezer and she could eat more later. It was like she was sitting at Dairy Queen waiting for her desire for the ice cream to be stronger than the pain from whatever she was suffering from. It was so good she wanted to keep eating, but being as sick as she was, she didn't want to eat. I got choked up right there. Life's not fair when you can't even enjoy delicious ice cream on a hot day.

Getting in the Groove

After a busy day of running around, I think I parked the car a little better than I have yesterday and the day before. Like a week of not being behind the wheel wasn't hard enough on me, when we got home we had an extra motorcycle and motorcycle covers in the middle of our garage and a new (huge!) curbside recycling bin against the wall on my side. Luckily the bike went back to its rightful owner yesterday, so now I'm just contending with the recycle thingy.

Don't worry, honey. I did pull the car in far enough this time :)

10 Random Things for a Friday

• It stopped raining, so we're going to Jungle Java! (I don't drive in the rain sometimes...)
• Maggie had dry cheerios for breakfast again so we can get going.
• I have to remember to call my dad on our way about borrowing some car thingy...
• We have two 'early' mornings in a row, with a make-up Kindermusik class tomorrow at 10:15 AM
• Friends are coming to visit tomorrow - YAY!
• Our freezer is STUFFED with all the meals I made last night :)
• Seven seems to be a lot of folks' lucky number, but it hasn't ever been mine (you just counted to see if this was the seventh thing, didn't you?)
• I think Maggie will wear her jungle print outfit for Jungle Java this morning.
• Maybe we'll pick up Tacos for lunch! It's been a while.
• I've got to go hurry and put on make-up now (so I can then change and dress the baby and grab a snack for my own breakfast...) to make it out the door in the next 25 minutes or so...
  

Okay - MORE Disney!

Now we're into the real meat and potatoes of the trip - our day at the Magic Kingdom! Some of these are duplicates or remarkably similar to some on my mom's site, but some (like this one) I love too much not to repost EVERYWHERE!



Four adults and one toddler really made the trip a lot easier than it might have been. There were no strollers in the lines, so we spent a lot of time passing a squirmy Maggie from grown-up to grown-up. I just love the look on her face in this one with Papa.

Although I was bummed at first that we couldn't cram everyone into one car(pet) on the Aladdin's magic carpet ride, the next rug up ended up giving me a great perspective to shoot a few pictures! Maggie looked a little unsure a few times, but overall it was a fun ride :)

When we first got off the ferry boat and walked through the gates into the Magic Kingdom, Maggie saw the train and said, "Choo choo!!" I promised her we'd ride it, but then almost forgot in the busy-ness of the rest of the day. She may or may not have noticed, but here's the proof that she did ride the train right along side her Daddy.

Grumblings...

Huh. I think as the weather gets nicer, people are getting more frustrated to not be doing what they want to be doing! I spotted this yesterday and thought it was worth re-posting. Don't worry - we'll be back to more Disney trip pics soon!

From Shine (which is from Yahoo!): Eight Tips for Liking Someone Better (or disliking them less...)

1. Seek contact. This is a bit counter-intuitive. If you don't like someone, you probably feel like avoiding that person, but because of the psychological phenomenon known as the mere exposure effect, we tend to like people better the more we see them.

2. Do nice things for that person. “We prefer to see those to whom we do good than those who do good to us,” as La Rochefoucauld observed.

3. Give that person a brief touch. Subliminal touching, i.e., touching a person so unobtrusively that it’s not noticed, increases people’s sense of well-being and positive feelings.

4. Lighten up. Joke about whatever annoys you, and if you can manage it, laugh about it with that person, or poke fun at your own reaction. Nothing neutralizes bad feelings like a good laugh. This can be tough, however.

5. Act friendly. We think we act because of the way we feel, but often we feel because of the way we act. So act the way you want to feel. This is uncannily effective—just try it.

6. Resist criticizing that person. When you voice your complaints, they assume a solidity in your mind that’s hard to eliminate. When your thoughts remain unspoken, they can more easily be changed.

7. Remember happy shared experiences. Recalling good times elevates mood and will help warm your feelings.

8. Be grateful. Reflecting on reasons to feel grateful, instead of reasons to be angry or annoyed, will help change your view.

Dogs, anyone?

We pulled into Fort Wilderness Campground on Thursday and just spent the afternoon poking around and seeing what there was to see. One of the places we stopped that ended up way more amusing than it should have been was the Settlement Outpost store. We were trying all sorts of fun stuff on Maggie, like this fuzzy antenna headband that even had a battery compartment that must have meant it would light up too! Maggie was more concerned with some Webkinz stuffed dogs she'd spotted.





Luckily, she didn't grow too attached to the headband, but the dogs were another story. It was hard to even get a picture of her with them because even though it was hard to hold them all, she knew that we'd eventually take them away and tried to stay on the move. I think three was the most she collected, since the majority of them happened to be displayed on a shelf just out of her reach.

I don't think we ended up buying anything on that trip to the store, but not for lack of Maggie trying! We are so fortunate she's so well behaved usually - when it was time to go I explained to her that the dogs lived here and we could visit them later. We were able to get them back to their shelf and quickly escort Maggie back outside with no tears shed!

Wordless Wednesday

Disney!

It's pictures like this one that will probably keep me from getting that 'Mother of the Year' plaque. Oh well :D

The first night we were at Fort Wilderness campground, I was wandering around with Maggie before the campfire with Chip and Dale and a cast member stopped and commented on how cute lil miss was. The cast member said each night they picked a family to have a 'magical moment' and get their picture taken with Chip and Dale before the rest of the show. We were picked! I set aside my misgivings and memories of the trauma we experienced with the Easter bunny and went to get the rest of our clan. As Chip and Dale came out of the backstage area and approached us (but after Chip tripped over another guest, but that's another story entirely) Maggie started screaming. Darn. Everyone else got in place with our favorite giant chipmunks and I tried to be sneaky and back into the picture holding Maggie. She wasn't falling for it.

So here we have it, another picture of Maggie screaming in terror with a giant animal. At least the rest of us were having fun ;)

Eight!

Tammy from Crazy Mom with 4 Boys tagged me for the 'Eight' meme! Looks fast and easy before I get to putting up some Disney pictures...



8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:

* Our new music class!
* a baked pie crust with cinnamon and sugar...
* Sleeping in my own bed.
* Cherry Coke.
* Taking a regular shower tomorrow.
* Having our grandfather clock put back together and working!
* Getting a tan.

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:

* Slept
* Ate
* Rode in the RV
* Had ice cream
* Washed the baby (and she was NOT pleased)
* Went for a walk
* Played peek-a-boo
* Sang the eensy-weensy spider...

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

* Make a respectable income and still be at home raising my daughter
* Be more athletic without my back hurting
* Tell some of the future
* Be more organized
* Hire someone to take care of more of the house stuff so hubby wouldn't have to
* Be more productive
* Train my cat to use the toilet. Oh, and not purge after she eats.
* Have my pretty gel nails again

8 SHOWS I WATCH:

* 24
* Rock of Love (any version)
* Daisy of Love
* Intervention
* Sesame Street
* Sid the Science Kid
* Dragon Tales
* My Bed Bugs

8 FAVORITE FOODS:

* Shrimp fried rice
* Salmon
* Tacos
* Steak
* Hummus and pita chips
* Better Made White Cheddar Popcorn
* Snickers Ice Cream Bars
* Cocoa Fudge

8 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL:

* NC to visit friends
* PA to visit friends
* DC to be touristy and visit friends
* Bahamas
* Disney World!
* Salem, MA
* AZ to visit friends (ummm...but not til winter!)
* someplace quiet on the ocean

8 PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED:

* Carolyn
* Amanda
* Wendy
* Jodi
* Sonja
* Kris
* Megan
* Southern Tiger

If I had a hundred dollars...

Yeah, we dream big around here! :P

I'm packing for our Disney trip today. Luckily we don't blow our spare fundage (spare fundage, what's that?) on golf training aids or any other consistent hobbies so we tend to travel. Not as much as hubby would like, I don't think, but some.

I'm excited to see Maggie's reactions to Disney. Since she didn't like the Frankenmuth chicken, I don't think she'll be exceptionally fond of a certain giant mouse either, but I bet she'll be down with the princesses. We've been watching lots of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to get ready. Oh, and Cars, but that's just because she loves it. She's her daddy's girl :)

Saturday Nine

Another fun meme I saw over at My Life as Mama Jodi...

This week's theme is It's My Party.

1. Do you prefer to host or be a guest at a party? Guest (to avoid having to clean my house :D )

2. Would you rather go to a large party or a small dinner party? Either one. I just want to know which it is before I get there...

3. What is you worst flaw? Procrastination and disorganization. I really think they go together. I'm going to work on them together. Tomorrow.

4. What is you best character trait? My sense of humor.

5. What habit in others annoys you? Dishonesty and avoidance of responsibility.

6. What qualities in others do you admire? A positive attitude.

7. If you could change something about yourself, what would it be? I'd like to be independently wealthy.

8. Do you tend to be shy with strangers? Not really.

9. Do you prefer to lead or follow in a group of people? Neither, really. I don't care if anyone else follows, but I do what's right for me.

Wordless Wednesday

Last Day!

Well, the reserve has been met so this car is sold as of tomorrow. There's still time to bid!

...in other words...

Today's quote to think/comment on from ...in other words... is:

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

-- Albert Einstein, (attributed)

Hmm....I'd have to say this quote rings true with me, without even fully wrapping my brain around it. It reminds me of the old, "Don't measure your life by breaths, but by the moments that take your breath away."

I remember in middle school a friend and I got in a 'contest' to see who could write the most numbers. We pulled out notebook paper and started numbering...1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...you get the idea. It was going to go on for a week or so, if I recall correctly. I've always been an overachiever and figured I'd have a contest this simple in the bag. But she got grounded and won. She won because she was trapped in her house for the weekend. It really didn't count for anything, of course. I spent about 10 seconds processing the fact that I'd lost and realized it really didn't matter. Duh.

Emotional memories are rarely countable. How many times have my husband and I said we love each other? We're already lost count. And in an even shorter time span, how could I possibly count the ways my daughter is adorable and her expressions of love to me? They count, but I'll never be able to count them, even if I wanted to.

Menu Plan Monday!

Thanks for reminding me, Jodi!

Here's what we're looking at this week:
Monday: Tacos!
Tuesday: Brown Sugar Grilled Pork Chops from Cuisine Creations
Wednesday: Asian Slow Cooker Pot Roast from Dinner Thyme
Thursday: Kielbasa and Macaroni and Cheese
Friday: Fend for yourself day (I have a chocolate party that night)
Saturday: Graduation party - yay for grazing!
Sunday: SIL's birthday dinner...mom and I will pull something together - not sure what yet.