Just one of those days......

We all have them...you know the ones I am talking about...those days where nothing goes quite right, you're frustrated at yourself and everything around you and its not even lunchtime yet. You sit there wondering how in the world are you going to make it through the rest of your day.

I tried to get up at 5....actually I have been all this week. And I do get up...long enough to use the bathroom and then crawl back into bed for another 2 hours. I am just exhausted all of the time and this freaking back first being stiff but pain free and then so out of whack that it hurts to breathe is driving me insane.

Today I did the usual (which means I officially crawled out of bed at 7) and headed for the shower...I felt stiff but good so I was looking forward to wearing sneakers today rather than the slip on shoes that I hate (blister issues). I looked into the mirror after my shower and told my spine it had better shape up or ship out since I was tired of it being such a bother. I still felt pretty stiff so I took my clothes into my bedroom to get into and then it happened...you guessed it, my back went out (I guess it got the last laugh this morning). Freaking heck that hurt getting into jeans and pulling on socks this morning but I was bound and detirmined that I was wearing tennis shoes today. Found one shoe but not the other. I even got on the floor and felt around but couldn't find anything so I reached around my chair to look in the laundry basket I toss shoes into that sits in my closet.

Still nothing.

By this point I am seriously hurting and the tiny pathway in my room isn't large enough to me to lay down on to look under the bed...besides, I don't know if I could have gotten up off the floor if I'd laid down! Up until that point I was a bit annoyed at the back, etc etc but still in a good mood. Not finding my shoe, however, brought on a burst of anger and before I knew it the F-Bomb had landed. Well poo....I have been working so hard to not cuss lately that I was disappointed in myself for letting that one slip out.

The fact remained that I couldn't find my left shoe. Well there was no way I was going to wear those slip ons today and there was no way I could reach down to take off my socks with my back being the way it was so I shoved my feet into my Berkenstock-wannabe Earth Shoes and came to work in socks and sandals. While I acknowledge the fashion gurus out there fainting in horror, I admit that my feet are warm and the sandals are far more comfortable than anything else I could have managed to get on this morning. Rest assured that here at work I have kicked the sandals off and am walking around in stocking feet so I am not a complete heathen.

Well I didn't take the time to make breakfast so I stopped at the gas station for a diet Coke and a very unhealthy breakfast. By the time I managed to maneuver my aching body into the car I realized that I hadn't been given my sausage muffin so I crawled back out, hobbled back into the gas mart for my breakfast item, and then got back into the car again (freaking ow!)

Into the office and time to get to work! Well well well....the printer is acting up again. I must've spent over an hour with it telling me first there was a jam (which I cleared). Next the carriage door was ajar (actually it wasn't but I re-opened and shut it anyway). Still nothing. I tried unplugging it....still locked up. No matter how many times I fiddled with that freaking carriage door it still insisted the door was open. Keep in mind I was in still a fairly decent mood but the printer finally got the best of me and I smashed a fist into the side of it.

I would love to say that fixed the problem (it didn't) and it took another 10 minutes of opening and shutting the carriage door before it decided that the problem was solved and now shouldn't I address the throbbing in my hand?

Its still not lunchtime. My mood is fairly okay. I used my exercise ball to try and stretch out my spine and, at the moment, my back feels a little better. My hand hurt for just a couple of minutes and then went back to normal. As a reminder that Murphy's Law is alive and kicking, Bill just came in and announced that a loan officer was coming in to look at our stock and now we have to quickly straighten the place up.....

Its still not lunch.....

I am still stuck with socks and sandals...

But funny enough.....forget how it sounds in the blog....I'm actually in a good, if somewhat rushed mood.

Later Note: QuickBooks on our computer crashed shortly after twelve and I spent the rest of the day wrestling with it.....we have an I.T. guy coming in the morning to try and fix it as nothing I did worked.

Today really was not my day.....

Like a scene from a movie.....

Well the day started off well...I had a nice shower, took the time to make a killer turkey, avacado, wasabi and sprout sandwich for lunch and when I left for work this morning the sun was just peeping out from behind the mountain, promising a lovely morning.

I got to work, grabbed my messenger bag and started getting out of the car when a bird dipped down just over my head....a seagull to be more exact. Startled I looked up and saw a flock of birds wheeling just over my head. Seriously. It was like a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. The part where the birds are just starting to get agitated, they haven't attacked yet but are begining to swarm.

It was an amazingly cool moment. I was entranced enough by the nostalgia I could almost see Rod Taylor (hello hotie!) coming forward to my aid....unfortunately it turned out to be Phil, our UPS driver getting back into his truck after making a delivery to an office next door. Sighing I shouldered my bag and let myself into the office. When I peeped outside a few moments later the gulls had vanished and I felt a momentary twinge of disappointment.

Where is Rod Taylor when you want him anyway?

Etsy banner

YEAH!!!!!! The banner is finally working! You were right Miya, all I had to do was open it in Photoshop and save it for the web.

Onto the cards!!!!!

On a side note....I will DEFINITELY be busy-busy-busy this next month, so please do not freak if you try for a few days before you can get a hold of me. Between my classes (Design Elements and Typography which are both heavy study and memorization classes), a personal temple trip, Yancy and Leah's wedding, getting the office ready for inventory, and getting product ready and onto Etsy...I am swamped. Its a good kind of swamped, but I am certainly going to be an on-the-go-girl for November.

And I am not even thinking about Christmas right now!

Survived the Weekend

Well I may not have accomplished a ton this weekend but I am happy with the stuff I did.

For starters, I spent the night at my friend Cynthia's on Friday...her hubby is out of town for 2 weeks working with the polar bears again so it was a girl's weekend. Her daughter Kat had friends over and they watched Hercules (the Disney cartoon) while Cynthia, her daughter Sarah and I watched the new "Hulk" movie....frankly I really liked it though I was surprised to see just how small of a guy Tim Roth was. He just always seemed taller than that....

Saturday morning started slowly in that my back was out again (I knew I should have brought my icepack!) but a shower and some stretches soon had it moving a little more freely...we all piled into Cynthia's Jeep and went to see "High School Musical 3". I admit it....I would have gone even without the excuse of taking the kids! I mostly enjoyed it...there were a few slow spots I could have done without and a whole subplot with Sharpay and a new character that was completely unnecessary, but the dance/song routine for "the boys are back" was absolutely worth the price of admission.

As we took our seats Cynthia was teasing me because a guy was in line with us as we came in and started flirting with me...he was nice but not what I was interested in, given that he was outside smoking when we walked up and had hair longer than mine! (For the record my hair is past my shoulders). Anyway, she had fun teasing me about it. Cynthia's girls each had to be on a side of me so Kat and her friends sat on my left and Sarah, her friend and Cynthia ended up on my right. It was cute because Sarah was insisting that my right side was my "warm side" and ended up using me for a pillow for half of the movie. Turns out Kat used me as a pillow for part of the second half so I guess it was a good thing they brought me along.

Before the show started I noticed Jason's friend Julie sitting a few rows directly in front of me talking with someone sitting next to her. I was waiting for a chance to call out a "Hi" to her when I looked at who she was talking to. Hmmmmm......it was another one of Jason's friends and next to them was another friend and another friend and then there was Jason! The little schmuck went to the movie with his friends and didn't invite me!!!!! Which was fine really but it was funny that they picked the same showing that we did. I called out to him and joked about looking forward to his scene which got Cynthia's girls all excited that they know someone (they've met Jase before)that had actually been on-set for HSM. We watched for him in the crowd but the camera pans so quickly that I didn't spot him. Bummer. All of us girls applauded Jason after the film ended anyway.

The only downside to the movie was sharing the auditorium with a bunch of hormone-filled Zac Efron fans. The movie opens with a close-up of Zac and several girls screamed. There's a scene in the locker room where you see him from behind pull off his shirt and pull on his jersey....the girls screamed. Actually towards the end there were more than just a few girls screaming and the adult in me wanted to yell out "he can't even hear you so freaking shut up!" a few times...but I didn't. I still don't see what the appeal is....seriously, if I were a teenager I'd be checking out Corbin Bleu.

Anyway, we went back to Cynthia's, whipped up the remaining wedding favors I had left for Yancy and Leah's wedding while "Ironman" played in the background and then Cynthia and I picked a bucket of apples and then made apple juice and cut up rings for the food dehydrator. I had so much fun that I didn't end up getting home until 11:30 and that was only with the promise that I would stay the night on Halloween since Cynthia and I are going to the temple the next morning.

All in all it was a little bit too much bending over and I woke up stiff and hunched over again on Sunday. I hated to do it but I skipped church since my back was hardly letting me shuffle off to the bathroom, let alone sit through several meetings. By the afternoon I was mostly upright, but still a bit stiff. Turns out it was probably a good thing I hadn't gone to church that morning because I ended up sitting at the stake center for 2 hours waiting to see the stake president for an interview (long story not worth going into). Afterwards I knew I didn't have it in me to stand in the kitchen cooking something real so I threw a couple of corndogs and some steak fries into the oven. Not nutritious but dang I love corndogs!

I whipped together my final paper for my internet commerce class but still have to review it before submitting it today for my grade.....watched a few episodes of "House, M.D." and then climbed into bed with an icepack.

And this morning? A little stiff, but upright. A little sore, but nowhere near yesterday morning. I just checked online and found that I am back in graphic arts classes this month....after my last 2 classes being more of a general requirement type I find I am getting pretty rusty on my design software so I am thrilled to be in classes again that will make me flex those design-program muscles! Of course with 2 classes this month I will be extremely busy but I am uber-excited about it...
no one freak if you get my voicemail most evenings this month as I am sure I will be busy working on various homework exercises and, yes, I still plan to get the Etsy thing online asap....as well as figure out what in the world I want to do for my Christmas cards this year.

Back update......

Well I am still mostly pain free.....not turning cartwheels or bustin' a move at the moment but I was able to roll right out of bed this morning with no issues! My appointment this morning consisted of being twisted into a pretzel again (it amazes me some of the positions they shove you into in order to pop your spine around). Actually it made me a little sore afterwards, but its apparently a good kind of sore so I was thrown onto the rack for more stretching (alas I am still no taller than when I was first strapped onto that contraption!) and then iced up with an electric-stimulated massage (I actually enjoy those). Its sad that now I am feeling better I am enjoying the equipment they are attaching me to....does that make me a chiropractic junkie?

I get to be at work ON TIME tomorrow (thrills!)since I get a day off from spinal re-adjustments and then its back into the torture again on Friday for what will hopefully be my final visit.

Keep you posted.

Oh, and for some reason when I try uploading my banner onto Etsy the colors go into a negative mode and look crappy. I even tried making them a negative on my computer before uploading but Etsy threw something up with a verdi gris background and super-ewwww pea-soup colored lettering! I am still working on the technical difficulties here but, rest assured, that while I was derailed by the spine that I am still moving forward with the website.....its just another slight delay.

Oh what a difference a day makes....or two

Well if you've read my last post you may have noticed I mentioned my back being out. Well, Sunday I woke to a very nasty surprise in that my back had seized up...so much that I could hardly get in and out of the shower and I was moving extremely slow. I went to church anyway. I sat in the back row corner seat for my classes with a hymn book wedged against the chair and the wall to lean against and my purse crammed into the small of my back (I don't care how padded those chairs are....they are torture devices to sit in!) I squirmed in my seat through the lessons and then came home and made some lunch. I was hurting but still moving fairly well. I had about 20 minutes before I had to be back at church for a meeting with my bishop so I decided to sit down...when I went to get up off the couch I almost couldn't do it. Seriously. By the time I was standing my top half was so bent over and twisted I looked terrible and felt worse. I cried a bit but forced myself to somehow make it to the car, get in and drive to the church. It took a few more minutes to get myself back out of the car and, still hideously bent over, I shuffled into the church and waited for my interview.

I went home afterwards, changed into jeans and then drove to Jason's for our Sunday dinner....not really wanting to go but deciding I needed to. Jason was sweet enough to cook everything and afterwards had me go downstairs with his heating pad to sit in his recliner (thank you Jase!) I'd already downed about 16 extra strength Tylenol for the day to no effect but that heating pad felt so incredibly good. A few episodes of Smallville and then I was slowly walking back upstairs (freaking OW!) and then to my car. As you can probably gather I didn't sleep very well that night.....

Monday morning I was in so much pain that the first thing I did was call my chiropractor's office and essentially beg to come in as early as possible. The receptionist was very sweet and told me to come right in and they would fit me into the schedule. I'd called Dan to let him know I would be late to work and then drove to the clinic. I was still bent over like some twisted old crone from a scary story and I didn't end up waiting at all but was ushered immediately into a treatment room.

"Dr Devin" (they all go by their first names at this clinic) came in and gave me an adjustment, then walked me to another room (I was walking mostly straight by this time) for another treatment before they iced my back and did an electrical massage-stimulation treatment. I felt pretty good until they rotated the table upright for me to stand. All of the sudden I seized up again and was clinging to the table in pain. They lowered me back down and iced me up for another 10 minutes before putting me on a machine to decompress my spine. No kidding but it is a distant cousin to the rack used in medieval times. Devin came back in and had me do a set of partial push-ups that would help push the disk back into place and then I was iced for another 10 minutes. I was still hurting and not fully upright but felt better so they decided to let me go home.

I didn't make it far past the lobby. Right outside the door I seized up worse than before and I admit it actually hurt so bad that I had to hold onto the wall and I cried out aloud. I turned around and went back in to sit in a chair in the lobby. The receptionist took one look at the tears streaming down my face and called Devin who immediately came out and helped me into a treatment room where they iced me up again for nearly 40 minutes before I said I thought I could make it. Getting back to my car was an ordeal, getting in was even worse. All told I was at the chiropractors office for a little over 3 hours.

My roommate was home for lunch and was sweet enough to run and get me a couple of icepacks from the K-Mart just down the street along with ibuprofen (since the Tylenol obviously wasn't cutting it) I got home, took forever easing myself out of the car and, once safely in the house, parked myself on the recliner. The icepack was still freezing up so I took some ibuprofen and tried to stay as still as possible. Amazingly enough by the time I got up to get the pack my back was feeling better so I sat back down with the frozen pack behind me and fell asleep in the recliner for about 4 hours. I only got up because I had a prep class for about and hour-and-a-half that I had to attend and then came back home and iced back up. About midnight I decided to try lying in my bed and fell sleep until 6:30 this morning. I may not have been perky and bouncy but it wasn't bad getting out of bed this morning and getting in and out of the shower only caused a few twinges.

I had another appointment this morning at 8 and everyone was surprised to see I was pretty much walking upright and not in as much pain this morning. I was happy too since yesterday Devin had mentioned the possibility of an MRI if I didn't improve by Wednesday. The receptionist was a sweetheart and was telling me that he was all concerned after I left yesterday and how relieved everyone was to see me doing so much better today. I had another adjustment, was hooked up the rack again today and will have to go again tomorrow before Devin will evaluate how many more times he thinks I should come in. The concensus at this time is that I will probably have to go in one day next week and then probably one last visit the following week.

I have to admit that the ice is really helping...and the fact that Devin isn't charging me full price was a nice surprise (it probably helps that my chiropractor is also my brother's friend). The receptionist pointed out that he isn't charging me for the additional equipment that he is throwing me on...for which I am extremely grateful. I hadn't budgeted for chiro work (really, who does?) so to have 3 appointments in 3 days with the odds of at least 2 more appointments in the next 2 weeks to look forward to is quite an unexpected expense.

It just proves to me that I need to keep adding money to my savings account (of course to pay for these visits I just pulled most of what I had in there back out since I hadn't saved much yet but I definitely need to keep adding money to my account for emergencies).

Of course the fact that I am mostly pain-free now and mostly walking upright was well worth the money I have spent.

Besides, did I mention that my chiropractor is downright drop-dead gorgeous?

Room Status

Well for those of you in the know my room has been a torn-apart mess ever since I pulled all of my craft supplies out of my storage bins (we used the drawers as impromptu display containers at the Harvest Market). For days now I have been grumbling to myself to get that mess organized and back into their bins, and for days I have found excuses: class, my back being out....that House M.D. marathon on tv the other day. I even purchased a couple additional bins as an incentive to get a move on with this; I figured since I'd had so much stuff crammed in those containers and not much organization that a little more room would be a good thing...

Well, last night I got about halfway through the mess, but there is a good reason I'm only half done!

I now have a drawer with just yarns, and one with my crochet bracelet strings, strands and twine (not to mention the baubles!) I have a drawer of just candles (trust me that one is full to the top!) and one of decorative lights. I have one smaller bin that will have one deep drawer of my colored pencils, one of my normal markers and one of my prismacolor markers. I am having so much fun organizing all of my "crafty crap" now that I have the room for it that I am taking the time to look at what it is that I have, rather than just chuck it into a drawer. Of course with all that I have to do this weekend I need to get a bit of speed on, but I really do think I will at least have the room organized tonight and I can always deal with the few boxes still in storage at a later time.

For Miya......

Give us a new comic or the kitten gets it! (Hey it worked for Stephen King fans!)

Update for Etsy

Still fairly on track....it'll be up by the end of the weekend anyway. I have to buy one more brick of blank cards that I saw at Xpedex that will work great for the Winter Trees series. Its a glossy card rather than the homespun-style rough paper cards that I bought(which will look great with my Autumn shots).

The banner is still under construction....it turns out my original design was not only in the wrong size but also the wrong format and its giving me fits trying to adjust it....I finally decided last night that it'll be easier to rebuild it from scratch in the correct dimensions. The only problem now is that I am having problems remembering a few of the effects I originally used. From now on I think I need to keep a log of what effects, fonts, sizes, etc I use for special projects. While my business card and stationary items will remain the ones I had originally designed, the banner will be a bit different and I admit that I am having fun playing with it.

I am also seeing just how little I know about the programs I use. I have got to keep practicing, learning new tips and trades, and just explore the programs. I have ideas I want to draw up for my Christmas cards this year but I am having a seriously hard time wanting to work them up on my laptop when I can do it so much faster and nicer on a sketchpad (remember those? pencils and charcoal and a pad of paper.....heaven!) I need to stop procrastinating about it, set up my scanner and try scanning my artwork to play with on my computer. I think I will enjoy the process a whole lot more that way.

Tonight I will go through the rest of my files for images and start having the pictures printed up. I will probably only post 2 or 3 card series this weekend and then slowly build up from there....I just don't have a wide-enough image base yet.

Of course, this means that I need to get my butt out there and GET MORE PICTURES in the months ahead if I want to keep expanding. The things I have to suffer with in order to have a product base.....sigh....oh well, if I have to take scenic drives more often then so be it!

Another institution down the drain....

Mother's brand cookies.....ah sweet childhood memories of noshing down pink and white frosted animal crackers and licking the melted icing off of your fingers afterwards. I always loved their Taffy cookies--prying them apart to get to the icing center before eating the cookie itself--mmmmmmmm, better than Oreos! Of course I have Mother's to thank for more than just a few of the pounds I carry around with me today, but I blame myself more than their sugary goodness.

Sadly, Mother's filed for bankrupcy today and will no longer be in business. I admit I haven't eaten an animal cracker for years now but suddenly I am nostalgic for those sweet little creatures. I've passed them time and again at the grocery store and they usually make me smile with fond memories whenever I spot them sitting on the shelf in the "you-really-shouldn't-be-considering-this-stuff" aisle...but what childless adult wants to admit such silly, sentimental tastes? I have considered tossing a bag of Taffy cookies into my cart from time-to-time but then overcome the urge (only to toss a "for adult consumption" bag of pecan sandies in the cart!) Yes I have denied Mother's my hard earned dollar, which means I am probably partially responsible for the company's low earnings, and therefore part of its ultimate demise.

Losing a piece of ones childhood really sucks...especially when you inadvertently helped cause it.

Etsy Status Update

Okay, its just after midnight and I have GOT to get to bed but I thought I'd let everyone know where my Etsy adventure stands.....

Dang I have some amazing shots I had forgotten all about. Going through my files has actually been fun (for the most part...I also realise I have taken a ton of crap shots and weeding through those is no picnic!) Going through these has helped me decide to offer my cards in set series....like Autumn, and Winter Garden. I tend to take pictures over and again on a theme so finding enough shots to fit a series of cards is no problem.....

Yesterday I went to Xpedex and bought blank cards, some colored card stock, plastic sheaths for the cards, etc etc. I did, however, forget double-sided sticky tape when I was at Wal-Mart (I figured it would be less expensive there than at Xpedex). Yup, my cards are going to have actual photos attached to the front that can be removed and framed if so desired.

My banner should be ready to be uploaded....we'll find out for certain tomorrow evening when I try to install it.

I still have to print up some business cards that I can add a note of thanks on the back to.....but then I really don't need those immediately. I just want to be sure to have some on hand for my first sale. I think getting those printed up might have to wait, however, until I get back from Yancy and Leah's wedding...I may get a couple sheets printed at Kinkos for the interum just to be on the safe side.

As for my room.....well....a little of it got done. I will have to focus on organizing this mess more after work tomorrow.

Oh, and if anyone has been trying to get a hold of me this weekend....I did not deliberately turn my phone off. It ran out of juice after I talked with Lucie on Friday and now no matter how much I charge it the stupid phone refuses to turn back on. I went online today to do a little research into this and it turns out its a design flaw with the phone. Apparently its been known to crash when downloading music into it as well (which is pathetic considering its an MP3 player!) Seeing as its a new phone I need to go to T-Mobile tomorrow and make them exchange it for a working model, so hopefully I will be back on the phone again by tomorrow afternoon.

Okay, enough.....bed calls!

Etsy Update

Okay....I thought about it long and hard last night and again this morning.

Etsy can wait for one more week.

Whew! There, I've said it. What a load off!

Of course that does not mean I get a vacation or anything....I will be spending this weekend first and foremost re-organizing my room and restoring it to some semblance of order so I can not only walk through it without tripping and stubbing toes, but so I can find the stuff I want when they are needed. I must say that Jasper has absolutely loved having a pile of bags and stacked crap to hide and climb on...especially in the middle of the night when I am trying to sleep.

Sunday I will be at Jason's...I think I'll go easy for dinner and we'll grill up a steak and bake potatoes...around that I need to whip up hot chocolate mix, fill bags and wrap them in tulle for Yancy and Leah's wedding favors. I will finish those up on Monday after work so I can get them out in the mail by Tuesday.

Once that is complete I will be going through photos and cleaning them up, grabbing a few blank cards to doctor up and building my Etsy site. I think that next weekend I can have them online because I only need a few samples to photograph for the posting....no need to make up a lot of cards until I know which ones will sell. Goodness knows I don't have room to store a lot of product right now so I need to keep it small and simple until I can rent a larger space for my crafts.

Anyone else feel as if they have too much on their plate?

Etsy

Well I stuck my foot in it good this time....

Maybe I mentioned it earler, maybe not, but we met some really nice people at the Harvest Market at Sundance this last weekend. I was talking with one of the gals at a photography booth and she told me that not only was she selling her items on her own website but that she was also on Etsy.

We continued talking about photography and Etsy and the things we do for fun when she asked if any of my work was up in Jason's booth. I told her it wasn't and we continued talking. I am not exactly sure when it happened but at some point in the conversation I committed myself to putting some of my photography on Etsy to sell.

Not only was I stupid enough to commit to that I went a step further and stated I would have it online by the end of the weekend.

Crap.

Between work and school I am already completely swamped and now I think I am going to be able to go through all of my images, pick a dozen or so, clean them up and post them? I still haven't put a banner on Etsy yet for my shop....though that shouldn't be too bad because I can use the logo design I created in class.

Photography wasn't the direction I had planned for my shop. I can offer both photography and crafts (once I find the time to make them!) on the same site but I wanted to be a little different since there are so many photographers on Etsy already. I admit that I have considered offering notecards on my site....maybe I will start there.

Thank goodness I have nothing really planned for Saturday. I have a feeling I will be in my room slaving over a computer for a hefty chunk of the day! Want to help? Try not to have anything drastic that requires my attention between now and Sunday.

. . .

I really should learn to keep my mouth shut.

I've been tagged....

By Dani.....but I won't tag anyone else because goodness knows these may be fun to read but they can be a downright pill to write (I can't always think of stuff interesting enough to share and some of it is too embarassing to share!) If you want to write one up consider yourself tagged, otherwise feel free to remain tag free.

Here we go....

Mention the rules on your blog
Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

1. I play with my hair a lot but I also tear at my scalp until it bleeds...I am usually unaware I am doing it at first and seems to happen when I am watching tv or reading (I am absorbed in something and not paying attention to the world around me). Its a stress reliever and started up when I stopped sucking my thumb.

2. While I have a wonderful imagination it tends to distract me a lot (yes even now as an adult I still daydream a lot). I get so lost in daydreaming that I sometimes have a hard time focusing on the here and now...especially if the here and now happens to be boring at the moment.

3. I have a raised mole on the back of my head that, for years, I thought was a tick that had burrowed under the skin and died there. It has to do with some odd memory of finding I had a bump back there at my first girls camp, of mom checking my head when I got home and talking to me about ticks being left under the skin when people try covering them with vasoline rather than touching them with a burnt match (or maybe it was the other way around). Regardless, that mole has freaked me out for years.

4. I get a lot of crap about the fact that I collect rocks. I just love having a piece of history in your hands...that rock is older than anything else around you....how freaking cool is that? Its also a cheap memento of places you have been and of places around the world. I even brought a box of rocks with me from Washington (I love how they look). I currently have rocks in my bedroom, in my office, some still packed away and some in my car that I have picked up and haven't pulled out yet because I need more space! A few of my friends and both of my bosses now bring me rocks from their travels....they thought it was weird at first but now Bill gets a big kick out of telling me exactly where he picked up each rock and the circumstances surrounding it. I now have rocks from Bethlehem, Greece and Mexico as well as ones from around the U.S. Even though many of them are not labelled I can still tell you where they came from and (trust me) I will notice if you shuffle my rocks around. Maybe I should have become a geologist.....

Please note I do not have nor do I want a pet rock.

5. I have recently become addicted to the 7-11 Slurpee (I mix the Coca Cola and Wild Cherry flavors together). I remember mom telling Jason and I when we were kids that we couldn't have one because there were all sorts of dead bugs stuck where they pour in the Slurpee mix....oh well....a bit of protein in the mix I guess.

6. I talk to my car...I've done this for as long as I can remember and every car I have ever owned (or that my parents have owned) has had a name. My current car (a cherry blue 93 Corsica) is named Bing....partially for ol' blue eyed Bing Crosby but mostly because of the paint color....cherry blue....cherry....bing!

Yes, I know.....I am a dweeb.

To the parents and all the single ladies on the blog....

I know a gal.

Nothing against her but I had noticed in the past that little jobs around her house weren't getting done; so one time I offered to replace a broken toilet seat. Super easy.....took a few minutes with a screwdriver but nothing major.

Time went by until one day she had a set of child-proof latches sitting on the counter. Time went on and they were still sitting there untouched.

Finally I asked her about it.

She admitted she hoped I would install them for her.

I paused and decided I finally had to ask what was up with that. The response? She said she was not screwdriver-capable.

Now the shine of a pipe wrench does not catch my eye, nor do I tend to wander to the tool section of major stores. I also admit that I'm no whiz with a power saw and other souped-up gadgets but I do happen to have a tool box that has more than just a hammer in it and yes, I know how to use the items contained within.

Girls, there is no reason why we can't fix things around our own homes...and if you happen to have a man around the house you cannot use that as an excuse. If (for some unknown reason) he happens to not be available wouldn't it be nice to know that you can reattach that sagging kitchen cupboard or loose doorknob? Its no wonder some guys think girls are wimps when we would rather work around the broken item than tighten a loose screw!

Learning to use a screwdriver, hammer, (and dare I add it?) wrench will not make you into less of a woman....no man worth keeping is going to feel threatened if his girl was capable of fixing a few simple things around her home. I am not talking about major electrical overhauls here but your basic "replace your broken toilet seat" situation or, perhaps even more daring the "replace a washer in a leaky faucet to stop that annoying drip".

Freaking out about showing him up yet? Google "girls with tools" and you will get a plethora of images of scantily clad babes holding power tools. Apparently women operating equipment can be a turn on.....remind him of that if he feel emasculated.

The reason for stating "parents" in the header is this: parents, teach your daughters how to use this stuff. Don't grow up as I did in a home where "that's not a job for girls" is the motto. Let your daughters crawl under the family rig while you do an oil change or repair....at least they will learn to recognise the various parts of an engine should, heaven forbid, they ever find themselves in an auto shop facing a repair. Wouldn't you rather they understand what the mechanic is pressuring them to replace on their cars? No offense to mechanics but they seem incredibly shocked to find a gal who knows basic car info....that is a crying shame to our race. Did women's lib ever really happen?

Don't have a capable male around to show you how it works? Just google "how to use" and add the name of whatever tool you are contimplating and odds are pretty high you will find instructions on how to use the little gizmo. Lets get you started...here's an incredibly dumbed down instruction sheet of how to use a screwdriver. Ignore the bimbo speak and take the lesson.

Let women all around the world lift up their screwdrivers, hammers and nailguns in pride and say, "I got this one honey."

Harvest Market

The setting: Sundance
Fall colors: couldn't be more perfect (just see above!)
Weather: ugh!

It literally rained cats and dogs this weekend at Sundance's Harvest Market....which sucked in terms of people actually attending the event. Seriously, what person wants to deliberately venture out into the cold wet and muck in order to shop?

Well.....me.

Jase had his first ever booth and the weather refused to cooperate until the very end. It was sad and frustrating really...because of the weather it was pretty dark in the booth and there was no electricity run outside to set up lighting of any sort. The result was many of the people who braved the weather simply walked past his booth because it was too dark to see the beautiful colors he had on display. He did, however, receive a lot of compliments from a mentor of his who openly admitted that Jason's work was 2-3 times better than his own and who really sees his idea of Alphabetography taking off(see his website for details at: alongthebackroads.com next weekend once it is up and running).

Compliments came from many of the market attendants as well. While many didn't purchase his works this weekend, several took business cards stating that they would love to take the time to peruse his website and order at a later date. Regardless of whether they purchase or not there was a lot of wonderful feedback regarding his work.

Let me step out of narration for a moment to address an issue I think needs to sink in: just because someone you know wants to buy your work DOES NOT mean that they are doing this out of charity. Your friends are the first ones who have had a chance to really look at your work and they want it because it appeals to them...not because they feel sorry for you...this in no way lessens the fact that many people love your work. Just remember, your artwork is now hanging in homes other than your own. I also think you have a great opportunity with that idea for Sundance.....go for it!

Okay, back to the narration.

Frankly, I loved working Jason's booth for the market....of course it didn't hurt that he did all of the real work by lugging all of the product and equipment from both of our cars. All I had to do was help set up and then enjoy the fun of speaking with the public that wandered in and out and past the booth. Seriously, I had a lot of fun there and have happily volunteered to do it all again! But I admit, this really is my sort of thing....I love craft fairs and festivals.

Oh yes, I mentioned my shopping. Well, mom's Christmas present is checked off the list. I bought Jason a set of fall tile coasters (yellow glaze with the buff colored tile peeking through the outline of fall leaves...very nice!) to help protect his kitchen table from moisture rings, and I bought myself a hot cocoa mug and a set of 3 small bowls for coarse salt and other "must-have-close-by" spices from this really neat pottery booth (I am a sucker for hand-thrown pottery!) I was happy to find out that Jesse plans to have his booth there again next year so I can buy more stuff!

Yes, the weather could have been better, but it was nice getting some precipitation finally after such a dry summer...and it made for some wonderful fog shots in an already gorgeous setting. The higher mountains received a blanket of snow as well which made for even lovelier shots contrasting between winter and fall...though it meant it was seriously chilly up there! I am happy to report, however, that they are going to push next year's Harvest Market forward by a couple of weeks to avoid the bad weather, which just resolved my conviction that I plan to have a booth at next year's Market.

After seeing what people are offering I saw no booths of homemade canned goods and I really think that my (ahem) unusual jams and jellies could seriously clean up...especially since there will probably be no competition. Trust me, once people try my pumpkin butter, pear butter, jalepeno jelly, triple berry jam, and lavendar jelly (not all in one spoonful though!) there is no going back to store-purchased everyday strawberry jams and grape jellies!

Plus, I have an entire year to whip up my product and, if for some reason a flavor fails to sell, then you can all guess what you will be getting for Christmas next year!

Bring on the Harvest Market!

Well at least he made me smile.....

That 22 year old I was talking about? Dan says he keeps texting over and again asking for my number even though Dan has already told him how old I am. He also called this morning to warn me that this kid was probably going to show up this morning in the office.

Turns out he wasn't lying....the kid walked in during our phone conversation.

He stuck his head in my office as soon as I got off of the phone and said he wanted to ask me a question. I answered that he could but first wanted to know if Dan had told him my age.

He said he didn't care and asked me out to lunch.

Naturally I said no but I said it nicely.

He said no problem and that he would try again another time.

Well, well, well.......someone has a crush on me.

Sweet....but why can't he be closer to my own age?