Halloween In Pictures

Tuesday night we started our Halloween festivities! In a matter of minutes, I transformed myself into a dark elf:

Bwahahahaha I am evil elf, hear me roar!!!

"Ah! Make him go away!"

James came over, and was trying to kidnap Kim using his cloak!

"I AM evil!"

James was a count or some other dark hooded villan. You can't see his cane too well, but it was seriously hawt.

"I am SUPER COP!"

Jakey J was a cop... is he not just TOO darn cute???

"This is the BAD finger!"

Jakey was showing James which finger was bad, and I happened to catch him right at that moment in a photo! hahaha

"Come! Join our vampiric circle of evil!"

"And what are YOU little girl?"

"DEATH" *growl*

Was Gracie not just the cutest Grim Reaper EVER???

Brittany was such a cute scarecrow!

April was a mercinary. (spelled wrong, of course!)

"TRICK OR TREAT!!!"

The first house! Jakey was ALL about the candy!

"WHOA, I get CANDY for dressing this way???? SWEET!!!"

Gracie quickly got into the spirit of things!

"Aren't we just so cute?"

Eventually, Gracie's costume started getting in her way & tripping her, so her Mommy made her into a scarecrow too.

And we all lived happily ever after!

Halloween is HERE!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!!

I sadly don't have my trick-or-treating pics with me at work today, but let me just tell you that we had a lot of fun! We're taking Jakey & Gracie out tonight again, so new costumes for the grownups! (And for Gracie... hers was too long and she tripped.)

I hope to have pics of us all last night, and pics of my two newest box creations, posted sometime tonight.

But in the meantime... here is my question of the day:

I am participating in Art Every Day Month at Leah's blog during the month of November. My plan is to learn one new skill each of the 5 weeks that November falls in...

So far, I DEFINATELY want to learn more about:

• Collage
• Papier Mache
• Applique

My question to you all, though, is... what suggestions do you have for the other two weeks? I need crafts that don't require me to buy any supplies or that use supplies I already own (paint, thread, yarn, beads, wire, glitter paints, etc.).

And, while I'm asking opinions... do you all have any fav art/craft tutorial sites you'd like to recommend?

Wedding Advice

James and I are really re-thinking how we want our wedding to go, and so I decided to ask people who HAVE been married, about their wedding experience. Right now our wedding plans are: big wedding, approx 300 people invited. WAY casual reception to follow.

But some of you all who read this have been married, sooooooooooo.... can I probe into the depths of your brains for a moment?

1. Tell me about your wedding. Was it big or small? Themed? Any unique things inserted?

2. If you could do your wedding over, what would you have done differently?

3. If you could do your wedding over, what would you NEVER EVER change?

4. Do you have any advice for James & I?

Back to the Real World

Happy Monday my blogging budds!

I'm back to work today, and my stomach has finally calmed down. I'm still feeling a bit drained, but oh well.

My mouth is barely hurting now... I'm pretty sure that I didn't hurt any of my teeth, but instead I must have popped my jaw or jammed it or something. I can open my mouth up wide again now... *demonstrating*... move the bottom of my mouth all around without pain... *demonstrating*... and even chew gum! AND blow bubbles!!! (Can't demonstrate that... I left my gum at home. *sigh*)

I made some more dough creations, either for embellishing boxes or possibly to be used as ornaments... crocheted a few more flowers... worked some more on my box with the stars... and BEAT MY NANCY DREW GAME!!! (They are SO insanely fun... I highly recommend them!)

Now it's back to work for me... but hopefully tonight I'll have at least two more boxes to take pics of for you all! (woo hoo!)

Sick Days Rock!

Well, as you can tell if you read my to-do list for this weekend, I am not nearly as far along in my accomplishments as I had planned. And why is this? It seems that I have some kind of annoying stomach bug!

But as I played my new Nancy Drew computer game, I actually relaxed and ENJOYED my sick day! And what did I do?

Well, of course I worked on my boxes... but not using the usual supplies.



These new additions to the Ohana Art boxes are made of DOUGH! They are SO fun to make, I've had a ball. Here are some I made that haven't been painted yet...



And here are some fo the ones that I HAVE started painting. (Some still need touch-ups though.)

And some of the things I've been making are even CROCHETED!!! I'm very proud of these... I've actually made more than this picture shows, but I'm not sure where I laid some of them.


So who says sick days are all bad???

Weekend Goals & A Pic

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this weekend would NEVER get here! But finally IT HAS! Life has gone back to semi-normal for the moment... My friends and their 2 year old had been staying here for a few days, which was fun but exhausting (for all of us)... but last night they went back to their home. I also accidently crunched on what I THOUGHT was a piece of popcorn yesterday, which turned out to be a mostly-unpopped kernel... and somehow managed to hurt my mouth. Not sure if I chipped a tooth, cracked a tooth, or just made my jaw hurt... but today it is hurting to talk and to chew. Bleh.

But, the good thing about this all is... I get time AT HOME!!!!!!!!!! So, other than the obvious goals for the weekend (aka, sleep. Sleep more.) I have a few goals for tonight:

• Get all dishes done - about 50% done
• Wash all laundry - started
• Rearrange stuff in freezer

And some goals for the weekend in general:

• Get all laundry hung up/folded/put away
• Install and enjoy my newest Nancy Drew computer game
• Have an Artist Date with myself.

More goals will probably follow... but those are the ones I have now.

I also have some pics that I promised to show to Suzie... Of what? My shoes. My hiking shoes, to be exact. Her post about her hiking shoes made me realize that mine were in deep need of replacements, too. But aren't they just adorable??? They are size 3!

But unfortunately... their tread is almost gone...

And the shoe is trying to come apart from it's sole. :o( So soon we will go shoe shopping...and these will be officially retired.

I hope you all will have an AWESOMELY WONDERFUL weekend! I think I'm off now to get some sleep... but first I just HAVE to show you this pic from last night. My friend's little girl was at my house as I started to make a pumpkin dump cake, and decided it looked like fun. I scooted her chair over by me as I started to put ingredients in the bowl... (she thinks breaking eggs is just amazingly cool!), and then she seemed to want to stir. I was like "hey, free child labor!!!! Woo hoo!!" and gave her the spoon. She mixed in the pumpkin... the milk... the spices... and even the sugar! And look at how much fun we had:

Not only did she mix the stuff... she mixed it really well!!!! Mayhaps one day we'll see her competing on Top Chef?!

Drowning

Today life seems
to crash over me
I tumble forward
under the power of it's waves

It's been a long week... I think I need a hug. Or a nap... Mmmm....

GTKY Day - Bumps In The Night

And now, for this week's GTKY day from the CAC blog!

1) Did you grow up in a household that believed in ghosts and spirits?

Mom generally didn't, but Dad did. There was ONE time though, where even Mom had to believe... my first memorable Halloween, they dressed ME up as a ghostie!!!! (That Halloween is filled with happy memories...)


2) Growing up, did you attend camp where you told ghost stories around the camp fire or were you one who found scary movies when you were in high school? What intrigues you most about ghost stories or scary movies?

OH, definately the scary movies!!! My mom got a job working at a little general store/restaurant, and when I was about 11, they started a little video store! Mom got free rentals certain nights... and I was WAY happy. I watched my first horror story and quite a few others from this!

I love scary movies that have some wierdness to them... my favs? Children of the Corn (the original and the second sequel) and Rose Red. Nothing gory...

And stories?? I like the ones that are SO INSANELY realistic... where ghosts come to chat or help us.... they give me warm fuzzies.

3) Did your family ever have a story about a ghost/spirit that visited? Did anyone in your family ever see a ghost?

People said our house was haunted... that they'd hear noises when we weren't there, like footsteps and stuff. My aunt's house was haunted too... she said the guy who had lived there before them fell down the stairs and broke his neck, and haunted the place... hiding stuff like their false teeth. My aunt occasionally asked him for help when she was playing Bingo. :o)

4) Have you ever been anywhere that you felt a strange presence you couldn't explain? Oh yeah, lots of places actually.

5) What's the scariest or spookiest thing that's ever happened to you?
Well.... a long time ago, when I was a stupid teenager, my friends and I packed into our little car, and drove to the creepiest place we knew of. It was an old deserted school, where supposedly several people had hung themselves, and people performed strange religious ceremonies. So, we drove out there... looked all around it... (not my first time there, but the first time I went that close and really explored it.) We saw the graffiti people had drawn, trash they'd left... we walked around to the other side of the building (I was already feeling kinda wierd at this point) and suddenly there was this crack from the bushes, and we all felt WAY wierd and took off running...

Two people told me they heard voices calling to them... my best friend told me a voice had told her several times to come back (and bffs don't lie, ya know?) . Two people reported feeling crazy nausea... and they were all a bit too traumitized to talk in the car on the way back. It was... weird. I haven't gone back there since.

6) Have you ever known anyone who was not a believer suddenly have something happen to them that changed their mind?
Mmmm... nope.

WOWZAS!

This has been one seriously exciting weekend!!!!!

Friday night was supposed to be an official "Jana Holiday", but then I learned something very interesting. Let me give you a word to the wise.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A Word to the Wise

Did you know that each time you use a debit card at a "Pay at the Pump", they put $50 of your money on hold?

No? Neither did I. Now, one trip to Massachussets & $800 of non-sufficient-funds later, I do know this. I also know that hotels place holds on your money in a similar fashion. I'm still finding it wierd that with $250 still in my account, they charged me NSF fees... but the bank had mercy on me *sarcastic laugh* and lowered the fees down to $400. Wasn't that nice of them?

So the official word to the wise? BANKS SUCK!!!!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Now back to my originally scheduled blogpost:

My friend Brittany heard about how the bank completely screwed me over had mercy on me, and decided to figure out a plan to restore my cash flow. We took our boxes and all un-needed items from our lives, and joined a yard sale her family was having... and sold nothing. *sigh*

But on the way home, I happened to drive past a little store not too far from my house... and went in to ask if they would like to sell our boxes. Guess what? They agreed to sell our boxes! They gave us our own little SHELF! We give them 10% of all that we sell, and if we have good results, it is only $20 extra per month to rent an entire set of shelves! Ohana Art is OFFICIALLY in business!!! *happy dance*

So what did we do the rest of the weekend? Why, we CREATED of course! Brit & I and two of "my kids" spent some time making "ephemera" for the boxes out of dough, finding fun words from catalogs and such, and they did some painting. Brit added pics of her boxes to her myspace account, and I got some of my art supplies organized....

Altogether, the future is currently looking very bright!!!! :o)

The Journey of a Lifetime - Part 1

Since I have SO MUCH to tell you all about my trip, I decided to divide it all up into chapters! So here is the first chapter...


Chapter 1 - The Trip from Hell


Thursday morning I started my adventure... lost this, lost that, couldn't find part of this, forgot part of that....

Packed up my finished items into one box...

And my not-quite-finished items into antoher box...

Avoiding poor Imotep, who wanted SO desperately to go with me! He was calmly sitting on the floor of the passengers seat of my car when I came out with my last load of stuff. Isn't he so cute???
and finally left my house at 1PM for my drive to Hyannis, Massachusetts for the Creative Bazaar.


What was the Creative Bazaar? It was an opportunity for me to connect with a bunch of the creative bloggers that I had known on the computer for so long! To set up my little shop for the first time, and see what people liked and didn't like. And... to sell things! My last great road trip as a single woman.... my once-in-a-lifetime chance for this big adventure.


So I drove... and drove... from the far west side of Indiana... into Indianapolis... stoped for a "quick trip" to get my eyebrows waxed & a manicure, which actually took 3 hours... AND my eyebrows were not even, AND i ruined my nails within the first 10 minutes after I got in my car... *sigh* I was so mad!!!!


So I drove... and drove...

I happened to see this sign for a church called "Abundant Life" as I was stopped at an intersection, and because of the wierd writing, I could have SWORN it said "ABANDON Life" hahaha I was like "WHAT THE HECK?!"

And so I drove... and drove... out of Indiana and into Ohio... the state of insanely annoying road construction... speed limits of 45 mph for literally 80% of the drive through that stupid state. I officially hated Ohio by the time I stoped at a hotel at 12:30 that night... only to be woken up at 3:30 AM by James checking up on me... couldn't sleep again until 5... got up and on the road again by 9 or so.


So I drove... and drove... out of Ohio (FINALLY) and into PA... which was also under construction... through PA, which seemed to also last an eternity... and finally into NEW YORK!!! And what did I see, about five minutes after I crossed the border??


Flashing lights, behind me.


Yep... I was going 83 in a 65. He felt bad for me when I apologized and told him how I honestly didn't know I was going that fast (really, I didn't... then. I HAD known how fast I was going back about 10 miles before, when I was going 80 in the 65... but he hadn't asked about that!!!! LOL) so he bumped it down to just a seat-belt violation. (because I had the shoulder strap behind me.)


So I drove... and drove... CRAWLING through the state of New York... around mountains, over crystal-clear rivers running over rocky beds... ...on dark deserted highways... past redneck villages with only one gas station (I got lost there, and had to go back and ask how to get to the interstate again LOL) until I FINALLY hit the state of Massachusets!


So I drove... and drove... on more dark highways... with traffic finally coming around me to hide my speed....


And I drove... and drove... reading the directions so carefully... following them precisely.... until I came to the roundabout.


May I just take a minute to remind the blogging public here that Indiana does NOT have roundabouts???? So I read in my directions that I'm supposed to go around two roundabouts. Now.... if a roundabout is a circle... and I go around it twice... would I not be in the same exact spot that I started at????? Just a thought.


But I tried to follow the directions... and eventually realized that I was SO totally not where I needed to be. I had to call Melba, at an ungodly hour of the night, to rescue me. I was humiliated, exhausted, and I felt like the bigest loser on the planet!


But I HAD MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hugged the heck out of Melba, changed into jammies... and tried to get some rest, before the big day!


To be continued.....

Business Plan?

Just a quick note from Brittany and I....

Do any of you know any good books or websites out there with advice on how to make a business plan from your art?

Fortune Cookie Says:

"The biggest lies are those that you tell yourself."

That was the fortune I found when I opened up my fortune cookie after eating some SERIOUSLY yummy Chicken Chop Suey.


Yesterday was a day filled with mind battles left and right... I moped for the beginning part of the day, but between pondering this fortune and participating in Wishcasting with Jamie, I realized that my moping really was a choice. I was telling myself a lot of lies...

So after whining to poor Princess Jami, who patiently listened to me rant, I realized that things really weren't that bad! I AM strong enough to handle the drama in my life. I am NOT trapped by the messiness of my house... I can clean a little more than we mess up each day, and eventually my house will sparkle! (Especially since I plan to make Friday night - Saturday afternoon an official "Jana Day", where I boot everyone out of my house and don't answer phones... a very productive time.) I can even ask the Ohana members who come over to help me figure out how to keep the house clean as we make art.

I don't have to immediately make amazingly dramatic improvements in my art now that the Bazaar is over... I can keep experimenting, exploring, learning... I can take my art slowly, knowing that one day I will put my paintbrush into the paint, and get "In the Zone" and have a day of amazingly productive artwork! And if today isn't that day?? SO WHAT! I'll have fun learning new things as I experiment!

Like yesterday... I randomly learned how to draw her:

I'm not sure why she is so important, but this symbol just kept coming to me yesterday. This is her, drawn quickly on a post-it note here at work for your viewing pleasure.

OH! Before I forget, let me end this rather-random post with a very random question for you all... Brittany & I were discussing making a playlist on my computer of songs that inspire creativity, and I wondered what songs you all would suggest? We have some random ones... I want to download The Lady of Shallott again. (I *heart* that song!) But for today's question of the moment, let me ask you all:

What songs inspire your creativity?

Shout Outs!!!!!!

Before I post all of my actual trip pictures, I just HAD to tell you all about some of the absolutely amazing people I met at the Creative Bazaar!!!!

Jes ~ Junque Revival




I am SO GLAD I got to meet Jes!!!! I didn't realize until I logged onto your site that SHE was the Junque Revival blogger! She introduced herself to me as "Sweetpea", and I was like... "Oh, crap. I should know her, but I don't!!!" Then today I logged on and found out that she was from Junque Revival, and it all made sense! LOL Sometimes I'm a bit slow!

Jes, you were SO much fun to chat with, and your comments about making your marriage a priority have been on my mind ever since then. You gave me so much to think about girly. I love the way you talk about your hubby and your marriage... I love how you have made it a priority even when that means going against the grain. And I just love your personality... I really wish I would have spent more time with you while we were there. But I'm now an official devoted fan of your blog!!!!!

Jamie ~ Starshyne Productions & Shannon ~ Planet Shannon (me in the middle)

These two gals were SO much fun!!! I had talked to Jamie a little bit via e-mail before the Bazaar, and as soon as I went to their table we all immediately clicked, like we'd known each other forever!!! We laughed so hard and had a ton of fun... I think the other vendors might have thought there was something wrong with us, but at least we enjoyed ourselves!!!!!!! lol

Oh, and Shannon is my SAME HEIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so rare an occurance, that it made me unreasonably happy. LOL

Jamie, girl I SO do not believe it was "coincidence" that we chatted over e-mail before the event... I really believe it was meant to be. I had so much fun chatting with you, and our chat about art therapy has been on my mind ever since... I even e-mailed an art therapy association thingy to find out if they have it in my area.

Shannon, I had so much fun getting to know you! Now you just need to BLOG so we can keep it up!!!!! *hint, hint - nudge, nudge* LOL You rock girly! *hug*

Mary Ann ~ Follow Your Bliss

Mary Ann was my "neighbor" at the Bazaar, and I am SO GLAD she was! Not only was she an awesomely fun person to chat with, a great traveling buddy, a fellow photo-bug, and someone who I chatted & laughed with until we were both almost hoarse... (well, she was, more than me... lol Poor Mary Ann!) but she is the closest person from the Bazaar to me in REAL LIFE too!!!!

I am SO GLAD you were my neighbor Mary Ann, you really added the sparkle to the experience!!! I hope you are happily at home now, enjoying your hubby again, and hopefully avoiding the after-effects of Mercury, and evil people who put nooses on poor innocent kitty cats!! :)

And last but SO DEFINATELY not least... Melba ~ Be Alive, Believe, Be You

This gal was so beyond sweet to me... because of the "Trip from Hell" on my way there, I ended up arriving at her M-I-Ls house at about 1AM Friday night... after she & her M-I-L rescued me from being lost in the middle of nowhere... (stupid round-abouts!!!!! If I'd just known what a round-about was, BEFORE I ended up taking one, the trip there would have been SO much easier!!!!!!!!) Then she had to be up the next morning to deal with all the Creative Bazaar pressures...

Melba, I appreciate that SO MUCH... more than you will ever know. This weekend was originally just a "test run" to see how people reacted to the things we had designed, so we could know where to go next... but it turned out to be so much more. The other vendors were so fun and so sweet to me, and I learned SO much about living a creative life & having a creative business... this weekend changed me in ways I had not expected. Thanks, so much, for giving me a place to join other arts and be welcomed with open arms. You are my hero. *big hug*

~*~*~*~

In the upcoming days I have so much more to share with you all... pictures, pictures, and more pictures... profiles of more of the people I met at the Bazaar... and pictures of new boxes Brittany & I plan on designing tomorrow night!!!

But for now, I need to find my cell phone (it's buried underneath all the crap I unloaded from the car... and YES, I did stop at every Hobby Lobby I saw between Cape Cod and home!!! I stopped at 3 Hobby Lobbies, 1 JoAnn Fabric, and 1 Michaels... grabbed clearance items from them all, and a bunch of boxes... and had a TON of fun!!! The art supply shelves are now officially restocked!), and get some sleep... love to you all!!!! *hugs*

I'm HOME!!!!!

I'm finally home!!!! Life is back to it's usual state of chaos. My house is a mess, my car is a mess, my belly hurts a little... but I'm SO HAPPY to be home! I'll post more later, when the Ohana is gone from my house and I have time to post more pics, shout out to my awesome new friends, and just generally ramble & rave!

I'm off!!!!!

Three hours late, but still feeling happy and calm. Got my finished stuff in the trunk, my almost-finished stuff in the backseat with all my supplies... got yarn up front in case of traffic jams, two books-on-CD, my camera, my phone, my phone charger and my battery charger... I think I'm ready to depart! *happy clap*

For updates on where I am, feel free to call my phone... 812-243-7784 I'll be putting updates on my voice mail :)

24 Hours until Departure!

I have one day, exactly, before I need to leave for my big trip. *taking a deep breath*

If anxiety and fidgeting could be used to make electrical power, I think I have enough at the moment to power a small African nation. And inner anger... I dearly love my family, but sometimes they make me really wanna throw stuff. *sigh*

Last night was AWESOME! We were so in the creative zone last night! Many boxes and other decorative things were made, and a new board game was tried out. I felt distinctly non-anxious by the end of the night, and life was good.

Today, I'm suddenly realizing all that I need to do! Packing must be done! Art must be put in neat little boxes! Displays must be planned! Cute wittle jammies must be found! The car must be cleaned! Time differences must be found! Each Ohana member must be embraced!

Half of me today, can't wait to be on the open road! Driving over mountains, down valleys, beside the ocean... meeting old friends and making new ones... watching our art get taken to new homes with new families...

And the other half of me wants to curl up in a ball, under a blankie, and make this all just go away... The pressure of fitting in seems inconquerable. What am I thinking? Driving 15 hours to sell art with people I've never met?! What if they hate me? What if they think I'm wierd? What if they steal my stuffed animal and won't give him back????!!!!!!!

But in the end, I will "suck it up" and go... and love it, I'm sure!!!

2 Days Until Departure!

Remember my whole goal of good self-care and getting the house cleaned so I could work efficiently?

It bombed.

I came home and james was asleep on the couch... (he's been staying here - no we aren't having sex - because his brother is in the ICU of a nearby hospital). I cleaned quietly for a few, and then had to run an errand. Everyone came over to work on their assorted crafts, and life started to fall apart.

Craft #1 I tried - Could NOT find the book I needed to do it. Searched the entire house, still no book. *sigh*

Craft #2 Required a pattern and material. Gracie spilled her sprite on the pattern Sunday night, but I set it out to dry... life is good. Well, last night I could NOT find the pattern anywhere. Searched, searched, searched... I'm wondering if it got thrown away? Was going to use a different pattern, so I set the material all out... on the floor... went to look for pattern number two...

And one of the kids was sitting on the material (thinking it was a nice blankie) with her food all spilled on the material.

I gave up. *sigh* No art was made last night. I painted a basic color on 3 boxes, and that was all. Stayed up until Midnight, for a long list of reasons...

But my dishes are ALL DONE! I had time with God, time with friends, and am feeling much better. Today is a new day... *happy sigh*

Let the artmaking begin!!!!!

The Art of Balance

I love naming my blog posts. Have I mentioned that before?

This week is my crunch week... Thursday night I am leaving on my drive to the East coast, to join other awesomely cool bloggers in the Creative Bazaar!

This week my goal is to make as much to sell as I possibly can, without losing sleep or my sanity. I plan to go home from work today and do an "insane cleaning rampage" in my art room. Then... I shall play with art! I'm tired of sitting down to do art, and not being able to find my supplies. I waste a whole lot of time and energy that way, not to mention that it stresses me out.

This will be an interesting week for me... My goal is to take care of myself (adequate sleep, decent foods - except McDs, we are SO trying to win their Monopoly! - and stress management) while seeing how much art I can make in the three remaining days! A delicate balance... but a fun challenge that I can't wait to start!

LET THE ARTMAKING BEGIN!

Fear & Detachment

The week of wierdness continues....

I joined a project yesterday called Be Brave, where each day we do something that scares us at least a little.

Yesterday's scary thing? I have been planning (in my mind) a way to embellish little girls pants & skirts to make them extra-specially cute, but was afraid to let myself try because screw-ups cost money. So yesterday... I went to Walmart (where they had a YARN SALE!!! WOOOO!!! I am now stocked up on more yarn than I can ever dream of using.) and grabbed 2 patterns for girls pants & skirts, some leftover navy courderoy material, and some crochet thread to make cool stuff with for the clothes. (Tonight I'm cleaning, but by tomorrow I should have some pics to show of things we've started!)

Today's scary thing?? Today was my second appointment with my therapist-type-person. We went really deep this week... talking about my parents and my past. She had asked what it would look like for me to not need counseling anymore, and I couldn't tell her. So I thought about it more, and gave her a list today of three things that would tell me I didn't need counseling anymore:

1. No longer detached from my life & my emotions.
2. No longer emotionless when I want to feel deeply
3. No longer afraid I'll hurt too much and lash out at people I love.

Talking about number one got deep... how I learned to detach myself so young, to protect myself from the craziness in my life. I wanted SO BADLY to stop talking... to change to a happier subject... but I just grabbed my yarn, and crocheted a baby hat like crazy, as tears rolled down my face. It hurt SO BAD, to talk about how things had gone so wrong... It scared me to feel the tidal wave of emotions that surfaced. But I pushed on, and have another appointment in two weeks. And each day, I am supposed to give myself 30 minutes to worry... so this should be interesting. OH! And I have homework to do that she gave me... (Some pages she printed off for me about stress management, with some questions to answer... I'm actually looking forward to this. It gives me something that I can do to help myself on a daily basis.)

Now it's 9PM here, and I'm feeling a burst of energy coming on. Tonight's goals:

• Finish cleaning the bathroom - Done
• Wash & put away dishes - 85% done
• Wash & fold clothes - 55 % done
• Put away/ hang up clothes - not even started
• Clean off desk & table - 55% done

Life's Little Surprises

Strange how life works...

2 months ago, I loved time alone, and did anything I could to keep people out of my house so I could have it....

Now, there have been people in my house every day for a week... most of the time, people are still at my house until time for bed! They are sitting in their car waiting for me when I get home from work! They bring toddlers, play on my computer, watch my TV.... their clothes end up in my washer...

And I'm loving every second of it. From the cute little paint-crusted handprints on my skirts, to the chocolate on the seats of my car, my life has suddenly changed... and I find myself not wanting it to change back. We hang out at my house, painting boxes and decorating them... laughing together, crying together, praying together....

I love my life. They say that everything has a season... I'm loving this season of my life. I'm not letting things get to me like i usually do, or panicing because my life has changed... I'm just embracing the change and going with the flow...

and loving every second of it.

I have internet at home!!!!!!!!

But I'm too sleepy to enjoy it. Nite everyone! *yawn*