Dissapointed....

Well, as much as I've tried to ignore how I feel about it, the whole "scrapbook store debacle" has really gotten me down. Really down. The past few days have been really hard, I've been really depressed. I hate to say it, but it's the straw that broke the camel's back.....if ya know what I mean.....


Bottom line, I am really lonely. I have no support here. I have no friends here. I miss everyone in Savannah so much. Although, I love my new surroundings.....I miss my old life. I miss my old job.


For those who don't know me, I need friends. I love being surrounded by people. And, I haven't had that for 2 months now and it's really gettin' me down. I know it will come, but I just don't know how I will survive it if it doesn't come soon.


That's one reason losin' the job dissapoints me so much, that would have allowed me to meet a ton of people. Scrapbooking people. People who love what I love. And out of all those people, one of them could have been someone to be my friend. Yes, I know I'll find friends. But it's harder the other way.



Then in regard to what happened to me, I have a VERY tender heart. I hate for people to be mad at me. It just kills me inside. (yep, even though she overacted and screamed at me, I still don't like her being mad at me....isn't that sick?!) I guess that's part of being a people pleaser. Anyways, no matter what story she tells, the condition that I came home in that night, just 5 minutes after it all happened, believe me, even BIG DADDY knows that what I said happened, did happen. He saw it in my eyes. (well, the sobbing was a dead giveaway, as well.....)



I'm not sure what my point is....but basically, I can't believe that she lied about it and got away with it. It really makes me mad....... It's like she OJ'd me. (yeah, I know, a tad dramatic. But you do remember who's blog this is don't you?!?!?)


So, I haven't heard from the owners all week. (I was under the understanding they were supposed to call me about the "consolation prize" class-teaching job.) Well, it's been a week ago, she called and told me they chose their girl over me. (ya know she's the better choice because she can work 3 Saturdays a month!)


So, this morning on my way outta town, I stopped by and returned all the things that I had that belonged to their store. She seemed surprised to see me w/ the 2 huge bags of stuff. I said I had decided that teaching on Saturdays are no different then working on Saturdays, either way, this woman would have to deal with me. (ACTUALLY I decided that they can't have one drop of ME (and my scrapbooking talent) until they address the situation properly, which hasn't happened yet and probably never will.)



The owner told me that she knew this woman, and although she wouldn't say anything mean to me while working with her, she knew she'd give me the deep freeze. So.....what does this say about this woman???? HELLO!!!! (anyone see a problem that they are CHOOSING to ignore?!?!?!)



Somehow, although I was shaking, nervous and a tiny bit scared, I found it within myself to stand up for myself. I told her that what upsets me the most is that I feel like my reputation has somehow been tarnished by this whole thing. She assured me it hadn't. But I continued to say that my track record speaks for itself.



I told her that this felt like junior high and that I was amazed a grown woman would lie about something she did. I also told her I didn't know what else to say except, I'm sorry for your loss. Because they just lost a great asset to their store and probably the best employee they would ever have had. And I walked out the door.



I was still shaking as I walked to my car.



I can't believe those words tumbled out of my mouth to her. Sure, I sound stuck up. Ya know what? I don't care. I believe I am good at what I do. I know I am talented. I am sure I could start/maintain a successful crop program in her store. I know I could sell stuff left and right for them. I could make them a lot of money. I have no doubt that losing me IS THEIR loss.



So, why have I been letting them "win" by getting so depressed about the whole thing? I guess because I feel defeated. Defeated by unfairness. And I hate that. I don't mind losing when I deserve to lose, but to be defeated by someone's dishonesty....it's just so wrong.



Growing up, my mom always rooted for the underdog. So, by her example, I am the same way. If someone predicts one team will lose....that's who I root for. In this case, I was the underdog. The newcomer. The outsider. I tried to penetrate their inner circle and I lost. In most cases, this story is just sad. In this case, it's sad and wrong.


Ok, I promise to try to get over it, but I can't guarantee I'll never mention it again. So, please, bear with me.

Road TRIP!!!!!

Well, today I went on a little excursion to a little scrap- book store in the heart of Manhattan, KS. It is named Scrappy Chicks!!

It's a quiet little shop that has a diverse selection of scrapbooking supplies and lots of papers, including some I had never seen before......and for me to say that, that's sayin' alot!!!

The owner, Sabrina, is really sweet and she's planning her 1-Yr. Anniversary Celebration on April 28th. She's plannin' specials for the whole week before, BIG DISCOUNTS and a 14 hr. crop and giveaways!! It's gonna be soooo much fun! So, if your in the neighborhood or down the highway, plan to come to her BIG celebration!!!!

I hope to see you there!!!

**Warning** GROSS pictures ahead!!!

So, a storm w/ lots of wind blew the cover off the pool. We were under the understanding that the pool was serviced before the pool company covered it up. Turns out.....

THEY DIDN'T!!!!!

So, the pool cover started sinkin' and this is what we found.

How are we even going to deal with this???

YUK!!!!!

What did we do to deserve this????

Anybody have a pool and have any recommendations?? Any advice appreciated!!

Lookee what we did yesterday....

What do you get when you take 2 parents, throw them into 80 degree weather w/ 4 kids hovering underfoot, working for almost 11 hours straight on an $750 apperatus that says in the instructions, estimated time for assembly 3-6 hours?

Our rockin' new playset for the kids!!!!

This thing is AWESOME!!! It has 2 swings, a disc swing, a pirate ladder, a sandbox, 2 rock walls, a slide, a periscope, a steering wheel and a clubhouse w/ the sunshade!! It looks so fun, shoot, I wanna play on it!!!!

Griff and Marinne had to try it out!!!

While Ike and I were building, we realized that the entire time we lived in Savannah, we never, ever sat in our back yard. Not once. The mosquitoes are just tooooo bad!!!

(Editor's Note: I think the instructions were meant to say 3-6 days.... 'cause that's how long it felt like it took to built that thing!!!!)

And, while I was taking the pictures....I realized I hadn't really shown much of our new house. So here ya go.....

Here is a shot from out near the swing set.....showing our tri-level deck/patio off the back of the house. The top level has a built-in gas grill and a beautiful view (see later pics...) Then, you go down the stairs to the pool deck, then finally down the stairs to the covered patio.

Looking from the upper deck down to the pool.


Another view off the top deck....beautiful!

Looking from the bottom patio, out to the swingset and to the left, up to the pool. In case you can't tell, our yard is HUGE!!! And, this is only one half of the backyard. (the other side is a little smaller, but still sizable.)

I've been TAGGED by Beth....

My darling croppin' buddy Beth has tagged me with her email of 4 THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT ME....so here goes my version....

4 Jobs I have had:


1. Chick-Fil-A Employee (no comments from the peanut gallery....Jamie.....)
2. Kivell and Mundell, Attorneys at Law (I was an assistant to an attorney when I was in high school.)
3. The Fudgery Employee. (Yep, I made yummy fudge in those ginormous brass kettles and poured it onto a large marble table and turned it w/ a huge spatula whilst singing corny songs about fudge! P.S.....I only took that job to be near the HOT guy who ended up being my prom date!!!)
(SIDE NOTE: I worked all 3 of these jobs during my Senior Year in High School. Yes, I was busy!!!)
4. Teacher (my real job, before I had kids.....I have a degree in Early Childhood Education.)


4 Movies I'd Watch Over and Over....


1. Breakfast Club
2. Sixteen Candles
3. Footloose
4. Uncle Buck
5. Christmas Vacation

(Sorry, I had to choose 5!)


4 Places I've Lived:


1. Oklahoma (Tulsa, Tahlequah, Stillwater, Bixby and Broken Arrow)
2. Richmond Hill, GA
3. Topeka, KS
(Why do I cheat on nearly every question?!)


4 Places I've been on vacation:


1. Hawaii
2. Caribbean
3. Mexico
4. Hawaii (liked it so much, we went twice!)



Four of my favorite foods:


1. Mexican food! I could eat it every day!
2. Chick-Fil-A
3. Sushi
4. Braum's Ice Cream (although, I can only get it in Oklahoma....)



4 places I'd rather be right now:


1. In my bed.
2. In my husband's arms.
3. In a hot bath.
4. On a visit to Georgia, where I'd hit my friends houses, the beach and Savannah Scrapbooking



4 People who read my blog that I'm TAGGING for you to answer on YOUR blog:


1. Karen S.
2. Nikki
3. Ginger
4. Amber
5. Jamie
6. Stacy
(How could I just pick 4?)


I PROMISE A POST W/ PICTURES TOMORROW!!!!!!

I'm back!!!!!

Well, I'm finally home. I ended up staying a day longer than originally planned.



We had a good trip.....it's a little longer drive than I'd like....but WAY BETTER than the 1050 miles it's been for the past 3 years! (it's a bit over 4 hours)



We had a blast. My brother and his family came down and met us at my dad/stepmom's house in Bixby. We took the kids to Build-A-Bear in honor of my niece's birthday. And we had lunch at Chili's, but those were the only places we went while we were there. We spent hours and hours and hours outside, watching the cousins play. It was so nice. And relaxing. In fact, on Thursday, the kids played outside from 9am till dark, only coming in to eat lunch and go to the restroom!!! They had so much fun! It's sad, because the older children are pre-teen, which means the days of moody are coming. This may be the last Summer they spend where they actually all enjoy playing together....



They played baseball, swang on the tree-swing, gave each other turns riding in the wagon, rode bikes, played in the playhouse, looked for bugs, played pirates, played "Swiss Family Robinson", played frisbee and even took a walk around the block w/ the parents after dinner. It was a picture perfect couple of Spring Days.



My bliss was ruined, for a few hours, by an unsettling phone call from one owner of the scrapbook store. I returned her call w/ my heart beating fast. She told me "the other woman's" story was completely different than mine and that she didn't know what to think. (I took this as they believe her over me.) She went on to say that they had never really had a conflict in the store and they didn't really want to deal with one now. And with that, they said that because this woman has worked for them for 7 years and she works 3 Saturdays a month and that's what they hired me for (Saturdays,) they didn't feel like it was going to work out. (I was stunned, I truly didn't think they'd decide to let me just walk away.)



I told her I was very dissapointed and I was having trouble hiding the fact I was on the verge of crying. I told her I had told the truth and I had no reason to lie or make up what had happened. She told me that they'd still like me to teach some classes if I wanted to and we could try that. (Again, I was hugely dissapointed. I could teach classes for them, but I think I might always feel like I was the "stepchild" or something like that. I don't want some "consolation prize" job. I know I might be being a baby, but I am really dissapointed how this all worked out.)



She told me to think about it.



I told them I knew I could rise above it and I assumed the other girl said she couldn't work with me. She says the other girl says she can work w/ me, but they are afraid it would just be conflict all the time between us. (So I guess she's gonna call me this week to see what I decide. What do YOU think I should do?? Am I being a baby? Tell me the truth, please.....)



I think what they said about the conflict is dumb. Are there people who really conflict all the time? I suppose it's possible if your personalities are completely just uncompatible, but really, can't most people get along with anyone. I know I can. Anyway, I just don't know if I can work for people who never fully stood up and said what happened to me was wrong. Because IT WAS. I don't care what the other girl told them, they should know that no one would make up a crazy story like that. And let's not forget, all of this happened to me when I was THEIR CUSTOMER!!



I guess my dissapointment stems from knowing this is the ONLY store in town. My only opportunity to do what I love and meet people who love scrapbooking, as well. Oh well, enough whining about that......



How was your week?????

IT'S SRING BREAK!

Spring .... check! ( I actually see green grass and some buds on the trees!)

Break ..... mmmmmm, just who is this supposed to be giving a break?! It's the first day and I've had NO BREAK!!!! And already today, I'm hearing the "Mom, I'm bored.....!"

And we are thinking of going to Tulsa from Wednesday to Friday.........

Where's the break again? It seems like work to me.....

Too much DRAMA for this Momma!!!!!!! (This is gonna be a LONG one!!!)

Ok, so I went to the all-day crop on Saturday. Mind you, I was PAYING customer for this crop, but "technically" a store employee, as well.

I totally rocked it.....knocking out 10 pages!!! Woo Hoo....way to go ME!!!!



Anyways, most of the day was fine, however, I have still found no one who even begins to rival all my old favorite croppin' friends. But, I felt like the whole day I was being watched, stared at or maybe a more accurate description would be stared down.



But I could never predicted that before I left that night I would be verbally attacked by the woman working at the store! Yep.....verbally attacked, you read that right.




Now, let me just ask........ have any you who have been to my crops or been regulars at my crops EVER felt like I was anything but nice and sweet to you? Because if you have, I wish you would tell me and I am truly sorry. I don't feel like that's the case, but if any of you have EVER felt like that, I sincerely apologize. I pride myself in trying very hard to make sure everyone feels welcomed, invited and valued around the cropping table at any event I hostess. I would sure never like anyone to feel any other way!!!! Believe me, I felt what it's like to be on the crappy end of this and it's not fun......I hope none of you ever felt badly because of something I said or did.......




Anyway, so back to the story. I figure the best way to tell the story is to post the letter I had written to my bosses to email to them. I decided against emailing it, because I am not sure who has access to the store email account and I wanted to be sure the only two people who saw it were my two bosses. Within the letter you will find what happened to me and my thoughts about what happened.




At this point, I have no desire to even be in the same room with this woman, but my job as it stands would require she and I to work together every weekend, almost. I will not do that, at least not as thing stand now. I also told them that she owes me a sincere apology, not the "my boss made me" kind of apology. But, if she was gonna do that, she would have already done it. Her lack of apology leads me to believe she was "in the right." What. Ever.




I guess we'll see what decisions they make AND what decision I make in response.........



After further thought, I have decided not to post the letter/story, for fear of complicating matters worse. Please post a comment and I'll email you a copy of the letter, including the story of what happened.........



ONTO OTHER NEWS:



Well, last week we had our furniture delivered and out of 7 pieces in my living room, 6 of them were damaged or defective! Yep....after 7 freaking weeks......the delivered me a pile of CRAP!!!



I WAS FURIOUS!!!!



After a fight, they agreed to give us our $$ -- how gracious of them -- and we are back to square one!




SO, I was FORCED to shop every furniture store around the area last week and pick out new living room furniture! Mind you, a grand majority of the 18 hours I spend in furniture stores last week was with either 2 or 4 kids in tow the ENTIRE TIME! Not THAT was fun. NOT!



So, finally on Sunday, we ordered new furniture AGAIN and this time the are telling us it will be 7-8 WEEKS before we have it! So, let's hope they are faster than they say.......



The good news is.....our DINING ROOM SET IS GORGEOUS! I AM LOVIN' IT! (I promise to post pics soon.......)



Well, that's the news for now. Please comment if you want me to email you the story/letter.....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! (albeit, a few hours early)

This is the hilarious story of my experience of St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, GA last year. I know some of you have already heard it, but it's so funny, this story bears repeating! So, in honor of the celebration kickin' up on River Street, here it goes...

In Savannah, the week of St. Pat's is a big deal. The whole entire city practically shuts down, except places that serve alcohol. For heaven's sake, they even shut down school on March 17th, because no one would even show up!

They dye the cities fountains and the Savannah River green for the celebrations. It's kinda cool.






So, last year, I made sure that everyone had appropriate clothes (i.e. something GREEN) to wear. I started making plans.

We decided to brave the crowds (an expected 300,000+ people) and go to the parade. Since Ike had to work, we invited MiMi and PaPa to go with us. So, we drove to WSAV and then Ike drove us in as close as we could get to the parade route and dropped us off. We walked probably another 7 blocks or so to find a place near the WSAV booth and a spot big enough to accomodate 7 people, including Marinne in her stroller.

We thought we were ready for the parade, just wearing our green clothes, green beads and WSAV face tattoos. Turns out, most of the people were crazier than us!!!!

<------- People even dress up their dogs!

















<------
Look at these nuts!!!

There are GROWN MEN wearing kelly green pants w/ shamrocks embroidered alllllllll over them, like this one here----->
(and they don't even get their a$$ kicked for wearing them.....)

(for the record, those pants sell for $125.00 a pair!!!! I don't even own one outfit worth that much money!!!)





Anyway, we get situated on the ground on our blanket and the parade starts. We are in for the long-haul. (this parade runs for over 4 hours.....just ask Stacy after tomorrow!! Hee hee!!!)


Well, about 1 1/2 hours into the parade watching, I was holding Marinne who bent over and threw up all over herself and my shoe! Nasty! I had to strip off her top layer of clothing and used her tights to clean up vomit! All this with people crowded all around us. Fun!


Not knowing why she puked, I decided we needed to get the heck outta there before she did it again. So, hurridly, we pack up all our crap....blankets, diaper bag, cooler, etc. Then, we procede -all 7 of us w/ a stroller - to force our way down the overcrowded sidewalks and back to the "meeting spot" to find Ike. Believe me, this was NOT easy or fun!


So, we went home and Marinne was fine. Never acted sick. Never threw up again. It was like it never happened!


I was glad she wasn't sick, but even happier because Ike and I had planned for a date to go down to River Street for the festivities! I was glad we were still going to be able to go.




<-----
This is what it looked like on River Street on Saturday night! It was insane! Packed full of crazy dressed, green wearin', partyin' drunk-a$$ people!



I've never seen so much green beer, gigantic beads, kilts and crazy green clothes of every type you can imagine!



Since we only came with a few small beaded necklaces borrowed from the kids, it became clear that getting some beads was going to be a priority. Now, I know that many people would tell you....you have to "earn" your beads. But, come on, I'm a respectable mother of four....so we bought ours! I got some that had water w/ a floating duck inside, some plain green ones w/ a


shamrock pendant and a pair of gigantic beads that hang all the way to my feet! I also purchased a super cool green/white feather boa! Now, that's fun!




Now that we were decked out for partying, we decided to "get the party started!"




Now, mind you, I had not had one drink in over 2 years at all! We are no longer big drinkers, not like in days gone by. So, I am a lightweight!

So, we start out easy w/ some green beer (for Ike) and I get a hurricane. (fruity drinks, yummy!) Well, needless to say, I suck that baby down in like 5 minutes.

My husband thinks I am hilarious drunk, so he makes it his life goal to get me as many drinks as I will accept.





After 2 drinks, I am quite buzzed and giggly. We are having so much fun!!!






We went to the Ford booth and sat in some car and won a Ford backpack, which I am sure is still in the trunk of Ike's car!




I even had a few of these!!!


Total Drink Count at this time: 4



















Then, we see the "shot girl" and Ike buys me 2 of these test tube shots and I guzzle them down!

Woo Hoo......

P - A - R - T - Y!!!!!!!!

Now, I am drunk as a skunk.....

Drunk enough I actually asked some of these KILTED band members....... EXACTLY WHAT do they wear under their skirts......

<------
And here my friends is your answer!!!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA~~~ Can you believe I asked them that???!!!

So, now I'm bored and I have Ike get me another drink.....which I start sucking down.....

Well, your probably thinking to yourself, was that the funny part of the story?? Well, the answer to that is NO!

You see, after I imbibed on all those lovely, fruity and colorful drinks for a few hours -- I have to pee. Really pee. The I need to pee RIGHT NOW kind!

Well, my friends, this poses a major problem for me, because I DON'T DO Porta-Potty's. AT ALL.

NASTY!! I'd rather die than pee in one of those things. But, friends, I was desperate!

So, in my desperation, I approach one of these. I start taking off my beads and my boas for Ike to hold, along with my last fruity drink and I bravely step inside.

I'm holding my breath, just trying not to "take in" anything I don't want to smell.

So, as I began to undo my jeans, I assess my surroundings. Since I hadn't been in one of these in so long, I was surprised that they now have a special urinal built in for men. Hmm....improvements over the years....interesting.

So, as I position my drunk self (a little wobbly, I might add) over the hole.....and desperately try not to let any part of me or my clothing touch anything.....I think.....this isn't so bad...........UNTIL........................................................I figure out that something is terribly wrong.........I feel warm and I can see the pee pee, traveling right across the floor, between my legs and running out the door of the porta-potty onto the ground! OH MY GOSH!!!! I tried, but, I am powerless to stop it.

It all happened so fast.....and apparently I wasn't careful enough with my clothing....... (more on that in a minute)

So, I finish up and survey the damage......it's not good.

I went into the porta-potty laughing and I emerged almost crying......

Ike took one look at me and said, "What's wrong? Everything go ok in there?" That was it. I got tears in my eyes and said, "No. I had an accident. Didn't you see the pee pee comin' out the door?!" (while gesturing to my pee pee on the ground)

"Is that all?"

"Nope" (then I turned around to show him the pee pee that got on the back waistband of my jeans while I was desperately trying to keep them off the floor.....)

"Ah, poor baby. It'll be ok. Let's just pull down your sweater and it'll be fine." (typical guy response....trying to keep the party goin'!)

Needless to say, I wanted to go home. RIGHT NOW. So, I froze my buns off (well, the top of them) while we walked back the 7 or 8 blocks to the car. That really sucked!

Looking back, neither of us got arrested for anything, so I guess all in all the St. Patty's Party was a success for us. And until THE INCIDENT I had a FANTASTIC TIME!!!!!!

In fact, I'm a little sad we will miss the parade tomorrow. And I'm even sad Ike and I won't be hitting River Street tomorrow night.

Total Drink Count:

Roxann: 5 big fruity ones AND 2 test tube shots

Ike: 2 green beers

And, for the record, YEP I had a hangover!!!!!!!

(oh my gosh, in some ways, I can't believe I just put that story in print. Please don't judge me toooooo harshly. All that leprechan crap went to my head, I guess!)

This year, I'm playin' it safe. I'm going to an all day crop! That should be fun, too. But, I doubt I'll have some crazy story to tell tomorrow night.....but who knows........we've had some crazy crop stories at the Savannah store...... Right, girls?!?! (wink::wink)

How adorable are these kids?!?!

I know I'm partial....but, dang I luv these pics!!! (and I freakin' love my new camera!)

So, I've made a decision about "the job"

Well, after much soul searching, I've decided to "try it out."

I appreciate everyone's opinions and encouragements. I do agree, I'm sure I will make friends there and yes, scrapbooking is my passion and what could be better than a job that give you the opportunity to do what you love.

On Saturday, I am going to an all-day crop at the store (which I had signed up for about 3 weeks ago.) That will help me be able to observe for a full 12 hours how things are done. How crops are run in their store. To get a feel for things. Then, I officially start working the following Saturday.

The worst thing of all, is although I told them Big Daddy would be out of state in Las Vegas at some News Directors conference for a full week in April.....his flight now conflicts with a workday I have been scheduled for and a class I'm supposed to teach as well. Geez....they may want to can me when I tell them I already have to rearrange both of those things.....

Oh well, the lss job is all about ME, but it sure isn't gonna pay the bills!!! Ha ha!

Thanks again....you guys are awesome!!!!

Well, I got the job....yesterday....

...I just wish I was more enthusiastic about it.

Clearly, in the beginning, I was excited about the job. Just read my prior post.

Honestly, I fully intended to get a job there, I knew I could. But everyone that works there now has said over and over that there were no jobs available. So, I really didn't think they'd be calling any time soon!

I think my stress is because I just wasn't totally ready to do it now. I am still trying to unpack and trying to get settled in. I don't even have my scrapbook room set up.

And now, I have to go furniture shopping again.....but that's another story....

Anyway, I am really struggling with the expectations the store has for me. They "created" (their words) a position for me, but it involves working nearly every Saturday. Normally, it would be fine, but at this point in time, it's I think it just might be too much....

So, do I rise to the occasion and just "do what I do" or do I tell them the truth about who overwhelmed I am feeling about everything?! I have no doubt that I can do the job and make them happy.....but right now, my heart's just not in it.

If I don't take the job now....I may not be offered the job again later. Something to consider...

Plus, I am still "mourning" my job in Savannah....my old boss....the best co-workers, ever! I'm afraid that no matter what good things they offer me here, it will never be "enough." They are never going to be Savannah Scrapbooking and I'm afraid I'll never fit in with them.

If you were me......what would you do?! All advice appreciated.....

Anyone seen a LEPRECHAN?!?!

If so, let him know that we have *rainbows* and *gold* at our house....and send him our way!!!

(you know, leprechans love rainbows, glitter and gold!!!!)

My sweet boy, Jensen, still believes... He believes in Santa, he believes in the tooth fairy and he BELIEVES IN LEPRECHANS!!!

(I love this about him!!!! His childlike innocence!!!!)

Well, with St. Patty's Day approaching, his 2nd grade class is building Leprechan traps. The day the teacher announced the project, Jensen came home with an entire plan sketched out on paper. He had his idea and he built it that afternoon.

After working a few bugs out in the design with daddy, it was working great! (part of the assignment is, that the trap must actually work....however, I personally believe that because he thought of it himself and built it himself, it's okay if it didn't work completely. After all, if the leprechans are "make believe" can't the actual working of the trap be "make believe," too?)

Here's a close up of the "bait" which is some play money from Jensen's pirate dress up set.

Keep believing, my darling! As long as you do, magic and rainbows, unicorns and leprechans will follow you everyday!

A Table Retires....

That's right, our Dining Table has just been used for serving it's final dinner.
----------->


When we purchased her in early 1998, she was "top of the line." She has a butterfly leaf, hidden inside the center of her that can easily pop up and can seat 8 people. She even came with 6 chairs. (At that time, the only child we had was Logan.....little did we know we would eventually fill up every chair at that little table!)



Over the years, the original chairs (under the use of some rowdy boys) eventually became a little wobbly and all but one eventually broke. Then, when we were in Savannah, I came across some 2nd hand chairs that were nice and sturdy, so I snapped those babies up, even though they didn't match. I got all 4 chairs for $80, which was a steal, since you can pay anywhere from $75 and up per chair, for chairs like these. The drawback, is that they are a light vanilla wood, not dark wood like the table.


I can remember when we got the first marks like
these...



I was so upset. I wanted my beautiful table to be perfect forever. I can remember my MIL telling me a story about Ike's grandpa. It was about when Ike was a baby and his high chair scuffed up his parents table. She was sad, but Ike's grandpa said, "One days, those scuffs will be precious memories." I only met him one time before he died, but what a wise man. My table is filled with VERY PRECIOUS MEMORIES.





Memories of the indentions from writing letters on it and children doing homework on it. See the paint...that's from kids painting projects for school or just painting for fun.




This picture shows a recent memory, it is the new wound the table received during our move from Georgia to Topeka.















This is one of the table legs with our red kitchen paint from Georgia. Somehow, Ike rubbed the paintbrush against the table leg and somehow we never noticed it, until we moved here.

Well, I wasn't really thinking of replacing our dining room table, but the way our house is layed out here, you can see out dining room from the front door. Well, coming thru that door a few times, I realized there was no way that a small table with mismatched chairs was going to give me the "look" I was going for.

Knowing that we were going to buy furniture for our "formal" living room, I asked Ike what he thought about replacing the dining room furniture. At first, he wasn't for it, but once he thought about it, he agreed, it was time to do it.

Well, we ordered our furniture over a month ago. Our furniture should have been here about 2 1/2 weeks ago. So, finally say that they are going to deliver all 17 pieces we have ordered tomorrow. (although, I am sooooo afraid something is going to go wrong tomorrow! Needless to say, they have lost my trust thru the whole ordeal.)

So, what are the tables retirement plans?? Well, she is undergoing a career change from dining table to scrapbook room table. (She has done this job before and she quite liked it, right Sherry?!)


That's right, if any of you ever come see me, we will have a large table to share and spread out all our goodies on! So, come on down and help me make *new* memories on an *old* table!!!!!

Here's proof, I really do scrap.........

I admire all these scrapbooking websites, but I rarely ever take the time to take pictures of the things that I make. So, I wanted to share these pics with you.

This is an album that I made for *Big Daddy* just because I love him..... (don't gag because I'm so lovey-dovey) It's a "paper bag" album, which means that I used brown paper lunch bags to make the album out of. I used acrylic paints and a bunch of product from a company called Leaving Prints. I threw in ribbons and embellishments from my supply.

I did it in one afternoon. I can honestly say he was so touched when I gave it to him.....

Job

Yesterday, I took some of my recent scrapbooking layouts to my lss, along with my completed application and a recommendation letter from my prior boss in Savannah. (thanks, Jamie...for the glowing recommendation!) The women seemed impressed with my work, but it still seemed that there was no job available. (apparently, they have very low turnover)

I'm ok with that, I just want them to have me in mind in case something comes up.

I am pretty confident about what I can offer them. I am hard working. I am honest. I am energetic. I am loyal. I would be a great addition to their store.

I don't claim to be perfect, but I try hard. I don't claim to be the best scrapbooker out there, but certainly I have talent in my own way. I love scrapbooking, it's my therapy, it's my passion... I love teaching people about my love for scrapbooking and that makes me perfect to work at the local scrapbooking store. (lss, for those who didn't catch that)

Fast forward to this morning, when the phone rings and they want to confirm my availability. We discuss possible work options and she thanks me for my time, adding they may be talking to me soon.

Then, this afternoon, they call back, asking when I can come in to talk to them. They even offer I can bring my 2 youngest children with me to the interview (because they know I have no family/friends in town) and that the store workers will watch them while we talk. How nice is that?!

So, they wanted to do it tomorrow, but all 4 kids are home....there is no school for L and J. So, I go on Monday....

Wish me luck!!!!

Oh, Pickles!!!

I know you are probably thinking....what in the world is this girl talking about?! Well, as most of you know, I sometimes say bad words. I try to clean it up most of the time, but I'm not always as successful as I'd like to be. But, I am trying and I'm especially making sure I don't curse around my kids. And I'm even trying to completely move curse words out of my vocabulary.

I assure you, the would be nothing pretty about having a child repeat something colorful that you say when angry or upset. So, I don't want that to happen. Hence, my trying to remove those words completely from my everyday talk.

So, my new "word" is pickles. I've been saying it. It sounds a little silly, but it works. Pickles. Pickles. Pickles.

Well, guess who else thinks it's silly sounding...Marinne. So, if I say, "Oh, Pickles!" There she is saying PICKLES, right on my heels!

Thank goodness I didn't say *&#&^@*&#@*(*# !!!!!!!!!!!

Can you say JERK????

Some a-hole thought he was funny last night when he was cruising my blog. He left a comment on the post about scrapbooking and missing all of you. (don't run there now...I already deleted it.) He used my sadness as a springboard to be an a$$.

Anyway, I guess this loser has nothing better to do than to jack around and post rude stuff on my blog!(and by the way he didn't even have that cahonies to post under his name, he posted only as anonymous !!! )

Well, anyway, if anyone is gonna make rude comments on my blog and get away with it....it's darn well gonna be me!!!! So, I deleted his remarks.

I changed the settings so I could moderate comments, but I'm not liking the fact it won't post your comment until I approve it. That sucks. So, I removed it. However, if this imbicile comes back, than I may have to password protect my blog. In other words, you will have to email me to get the password to access it. Doesn't is suck that one bone-head can ruin it for everyone!

(Oh, and because I would never deny you and make you wonder.....

only read this if not easily offended and only if you want to know what it said..........

his comments involved a female sex toy and certain illegal drugs. It didn't offend me, but I was worried it would offend you! However, it did make me mad he abused my place...!!)

God gave me an angel....

Somehow God felt that I should be given an angel. She's growing so much every day. She's becoming less and less a baby and more and more a little girl. Slow down, baby. Mama's not quite ready for you to be so big....yet. And thank you for all the joy you bring to my life each day!

I finally took the plunge!!!!

Holy crap, I did it!!! What, you ask? Well, for you scrapbookers, start drooling now, but I'm getting a QuicKutz Silhouette. For those who don't know...it's a *killer* digital craft cutter! What this means is that when I am scrapbooking, I can cut out titles and shapes with only a few clicks of my computer. I can cut any TrueType font. I can also download exclusive QK fonts and shapes.

Bottom line, it's gonna make my life as a scrapbooker way easier!

I can't wait to get this baby in my hands!!!! It's gonna be awesome!!!

(Note to Jamie: Thanks for the great deal on this cutter! You rock!)

(Note to others: Go buy one of these from Jamie at www.savannahscrapbooking.com You won't regret it!!!)