Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fishing Season!


It's that time of year!
Fishing time!
I'm bummed that the picture is blurry,
but you can at least see how big the fish were!

Robins And Coffee


I had a little entertainment with my morning coffee.
I got to watch two robins taking a bath for at least 10 minutes straight!
They were so cute! I felt a little bad that their "bath" was a mud puddle.
But, I don't think they would have appreciated me adding a little bubble bath...
I would have! I guess that's why they say...
Birds of a feather, flock together.
O.k. I know.
That's lame.




Never A Dull Moment


Yesterday, Landon decided to kill a moth on the window, by slapping the back of his hand against the moth/window. It shattered. Landon walked away with a tiny scrape on his hand and I almost threw up. We will both be o.k. The moth will not.


Luckily, I know a guy who knows how to replace glass window panes. He just happened to be in town and arrived promptly.


He was very pleasant and quite friendly. He seemed very happy to leave his work, to come to our rescue and help us out. Thanks Tim!

Hide Your Weed

The other night Landon was out in the garage, "putting his worms away." (He has been hunting up worms to sell.) He came running in the house shouting, "Mom! Mom! Come out in the garage! I found a little pot!" Say what??? Now, I have to admit my first thought was...How does he even know what pot looks like? He's ten!!  But then my next thought was....Why in the heck is there pot in our garage?!?!?  Tiiiiimmmmm!!!! But, I bit my tongue, followed Landon and braced myself for another "serious life" talk. When we got to the garage, Landon said, "See it, Mom? It's way up there on top of that cupboard. I can't reach it! Get it Mom!" I didn't see anything and asked Landon if he was sure of what he saw. He was losing patience with me. He said, "Mom! It's way up there! Can't you see it? That little orange pot???" Ohhhh. Yes. I did see the little clay orange pot. HUGE sigh of relief. Apparently last fall I was looking for a little pot (CLAY POT) and I couldn't find one. Landon remembered. Now tell me, why can't he remember to put the toilet seat down?

*For the record we do not smoke pot. However, after being with Tim for 13 years, I have come to the conclusion that we are not your normal, average family. Anything goes. And it often does. Again and again....

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Will Work For Food

The church on our street had a rummage sale today. Tim and I decided to check it out after work. I found two beautiful detailed boards that had been taken off of an old piano, an old rusty bingo ball holder, and......this magnificant Red Owl shopping cart!! It wouldn't fit in my van, so sweetie pie pushed it home for me! Doesn't he just rock the hobo look?  Thanks Tim!
Don't worry, the cart isn't Tim's new home.
 I'm gonna use it to display things in my new/old booth at the farmer's market!


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

We're Not In Kansas, But It Feels Like It

A freaky thing happened to me last night. I was on my way to Sissiton to put on a purse show for a family cousin, Josie. I took Hyw. 27 to Browns Valley, hung a right and when I got around that first bend, (Don't cha just love small town road talk? And ya know exactly where I was at, don't cha?) the wind just started whipping big time!! I mean BIG TIME! I could hardly keep my van on the road! Talk about white knuckles. I kept looking up at the sky to see if there were any funnel clouds. (Tornado's for the Southern folks) Didn't see a thing. I pulled into that gas station by the casino to get a bottle of pop and collect my nerves, and as I opened the van door, the wind whipped that baby wide open. I mean WIDE open! It made a huge "CRACK!" sound and it was sticking straight out at a horrible angle. You know how when someone breaks a leg or an arm and their limbs are pointing in the wrong direction? That's what my door was doing. I felt a little sick. As I climbed out of the van, I had to grab the door handle to keep my balance. I felt like I was going to be sucked up into the big blue sky up yonder at any second. It was insane! I couldn't get the door shut with just my hands, so I had to back my body up to it and shove it shut with all my weight. (No need to reveal that amount here.) It went, "Crack! Crack! Crack!" More queasiness. I kept praying that the door would just stay on until I made it back home later that night. I was more or less blown into the store. I thought I would hear conversations about a tornado or at least a little tunnel, but no one seemed to be concerned. Well, I was concerned! After I purchased my bottle of pop, I had to fight the wind hard to get back to my van. (Made for a lovely hair day, I tell ya.) I got in the passenger side and crawled over to the driver's seat and headed to the party. At the party, I mentioned to one of our aunts, and a few ladies that were sitting there, that the wind had grabbed my door and broke it. No one seemed concerned. No one asked what happened or if I was all right. One of them casually commented that, "Yeah, it can get pretty windy around here." Well, if that is a normal weather occurrence, then let me tell ya, I never want to live in Sissiton! After the party, I kind of forgot about the door (it was a long day and night!) and opened it. No, it didn't fall off, but it would only open a little bit. I had to squeeze, and I mean SQUEEZE, through the space to get in. On the way home, I had to drive 40 MPH. Between the wind (It was still whipping!) and the deer, (They were all over the place and kept jumping out onto the road every mile or so! What's up with that???) I didn't dare drive any faster and it took FOREVER! When I finally got home, (It was soooo good to be home, and in one piece!) it was late and Tim was already asleep. I woke him up anyway. Yeah, I did. I had to tell him about the tornado I was in. (I don't believe for one minute that it was just a "little wind" that ripped that door practically off! Not one minute.) After I told him my story, he said..."Yeah....o.k..... I'll check it out in the morning." Say what? O.k. Fine. Whatever. But, don't come crying to me when something blows your tighty whitey's up. Just saying. I think I might need to find me a pair of red heels. Click. Click. There's no place like home.....I'll be ready next time!

Morningmare

The other morning, I had a morningmare. It's like a nightmare, only it's in the morning right before you wake up. Or why you wake up, actually. About 7 or 8 years ago, I was bit on my cheek in my sleep by a spider. My cheek swelled up like a golf ball, I kid you not! I even have the big hole it left in my face to prove it. So, my love for spider's is minimal at best. When I am scared, I don't scream. I make this really weird high pitched noise, that starts out really quiet and then super loud and sounds sort of  like, UUUhhhhhmmmmmm!!!! I suck in all of my breath and I can't breath or move at all. The other morning, I woke both Tim and I up with that horrible sound. I sat straight up in bed, sucking in my breath and sounding like a mini Hoover. I remember my morningmare clear as day. Sort of. I don't remember where I was, but I do remember a spider about the size of a cantalope, dropping down from the ceiling on his evil web. That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was a huge moth about the size of a small watermelon, came flying out of nowhere, slammed into that huskamelon of a spider and knocked it across the room and straight onto me, where it nested in my hair along the side of my neck! In that exact moment, I awoke from my daymare and it was then and there that I realized, I might need to start looking into some sort of adult protection for the elderly. Getting old is a pisser.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

This Is The Story Of Karma

I am a HUGE believer in Karma. "It is what you make it," and "What goes around comes around." Oh yeah, baby. It's real. Recently "someone" or "someone's" tried to do "something" to hurt me and my Day Care business. While they weren't successful, it still hurt that anyone would even want to do that to me, but I didn't waste my time getting angry, because I know that when ya do something low like that to someone, it messes with your karma big time! It's just a matter of time before that big ol' black cloud of bad karma that they created themselves, is gonna come down and bite them on their big ol' behinds! Just a matter of time, I tell ya. I also know that because I kept my cool and let it go, my cloud of karma is white and fluffy! Well, let me tell ya something. My "good karma" cloud poured amazing goodness today! Let me tell ya all about it...

It's Day Care Provider Appreciation Week. My dc families showered me with gifts of love and I felt good karma flowing like a chocolate river! Flowers, handmade photo pots, (one of yesterday's posts) homemade bath salts and lotion with all the essential goodies to go with it, and then today, Erin gave me this....

I love it.
It says...
Nothing you can do for children is ever wasted.
Garrison Kellar~
It's hard to tell in the picture,
(my camera stinks!)
 but the background of the tile
is a pretty robin's egg blue,
and the wall is a light moss green.
It made me think of maybe changing the color of the wall to blue,
but the thought of painting made me exhausted.
BUT...
This is not the end of the story.

After Erin left at 4:00, I still had one little boy left to go home. Usually it's 5:00 or so before all the kids are gone. About five minutes after Erin left, the last little boy's mom came to pick him up! It's Friday and all the kids are gone at 4:00! That's good Karma right there! But that's not all. The phone rang and it was Tim. He asked if the kids were gone and I said they were. He told me I needed to go to "so and so's" house because she was having a sale. I have been looking for a little table for a weird little room in our house. It's shaped funny and there is only one small wall that can actually be used. Been looking a loooong time. Well, Tim said that he was having the lady hold the table and a "few other things he thought I might like," (I don't know what got into him, as that is so unlike him, so I am going to say....Karma, baby!) so to hurry up and get over there. Took me 54 seconds! I was there!


The table is perfect!
AND...
It compliments the wall perfectly!
AND....
It was just ten freaking dollars!
I kid you not.
Helloooo....Karma!
BUT...
This is not the end of the story.


One of the other things Tim was "holding" for me was an old stained glass church window! As you all know, I have started another little side business, "Lucky Charmed" and he thought I would like to sell it. Sell it? No way!!!



I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!
It's hard to tell in the picture,
(my camera stinks!)
but inside of the rectangle in the middle of the window,
        are various shades of green that compliment my walls
and new table perfectly!
AND...
It was just fifteen freaking dollars!
I kid you not!
You know it! That's Karma, baby!
AND...


The blue in the window compliments my new
tile that Erin gave me PERFECTLY!!
No painting required!!!
Sigh...you know what's coming...
Yep.
Karma.


Yahtzee!
Didn't take Tim and Landon long to try it out.
Need to find a few tall chairs yet.
Now, that's not karma, that's just a really
good excuse for me to go shopping!!
BUT...
This is not the end of the story.

Also, at the sale....Tim had several other items set aside, (sorry, no pictures of those) that were perfect for my new side business! A beautiful,white patina'd iron bed frame, mail boxes, picture   frames....I was so impressed with him! Then of course, I had to go through it all and pick out a few more sweet treasures I couldn't live without. I can't wait to show them to you at the Farmer's Market next month! Now, that my dear friends, is the story of Karma. Karma is great! And Jesus. Don't forget Jesus. What Karma doesn't take care of, Jesus will! And.....now yes, here it is... The end of the story! Oh, happy day.





Thursday, May 10, 2012

Thank you Ashley!

While all my dc families are WONDERFUL to me, I just have to share this one. One of my dc mom's, Ashley made this! She took pictures that I had taken and sent to all my dc families and wrapped them around this pot. Talk about a pot o' love! This one made me just about cry. LOVE it!!






Thank You Landon!


This morning I posted on Facebook that this weather makes me wants to get out the hammock and curl up in it with an old quilt and take a nap. When Landon came home from school today, I mention how I wished our hammock was set up. Say no more! He ran to the shed and drug out the ol' hammock and had it set up in no time! It was great entertainment for the dc kids.


He even put it under my favorite tree!
He knows me so well.


After the dc kids went home, I couldn't wait to jump right in!!
I forgot how tricky they could be though...
I asked Tim to take one nice relaxing picture so I
could send it to my mom in Florida. I wanted to remind her
that Minnesota isn't just snow anymore!


Now quite relaxing just yet....but getting close.


Ahhh...wake me up in the morning.
I'm good.


Born To Fish!


Nothing makes Landon happier than worms and fish!


He and his dad could sit here for hours.
And they do!
Me.
I last long enough to take the pictures!


All along the bottom of this bridge are mud bird houses.
There were dozens and dozens of birds flying
in and out of them. I wonder if they know which one is theirs?


I only had my phone with me and these pictures
were taken with that. I wasn't able to zoom in,
so you can't really see it all that well.
Might have to go fishing again...



All Charmed Up!

I came across an old screen a while back at a garage sale. It had been painted and was starting to flake here and there and I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT! I love stuff like that. It's charming. So, I tied some rope to it and put some clothes hangers on it with the kids names so they could hang their pictures on it. Hmmm...thinking I already posted this....anyway, if I did that was just a refresher. Today, I decided it was time to add some charm! I wasn't planning on adding as much as I did, but once I got out the glue gun, I couldn't stop!! But, I think I got it out of my system and the next few that I do for my Lucky Charmed Booth at the Farmer's Market next month, won't be so loaded! Maybe. Can't promise, but I'll try.


Here is the "before."
Plain Jane.
(Sorry if your name is Jane!)


And here is the "after!"

















Friday, May 4, 2012

I Love Weeds

A few days ago, when Landon came home from school, he found me and the kids in the back yard pulling up the 3,455 dandelions that come back every year. He wanted to know what we were doing, so I explained that while they were pretty, they were still weeds and if they were allowed to turn white and blow all over the place, we would have 4,332 more next year! After the kids left, I went into the house and luckily happened to look out the window at just the right time. Landon was out in the yard with the weed killer, spraying the dandelions! (and the grass!) Of course, I stopped him and explained to him how it wasn't meant for that and he wasn't allowed to use it, blah, blah, blah....He got it. Now even though, there are now 3,455 ugly brown patches in our grass, I am happy. Why, you ask? Because it means somewhere deep down inside that "tween" little soul, (you'll have to see a few posts back the "tween" story to get this.) is my sweet baby boy who still loves and wants to please his momma! So, when I look at those brown patches in my yard, I feel loved. And I now love weeds.


It's the thought that counts!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Happy May Day!


Gracie and Georgia made May Day Baskets
for all the little kiddos today!
Thank you, girls!
What a sweet way to celebrate the day!

My Chinese Nightmare

About a month or so ago, I decided to order some beads from....China! Yep. I was gonna eliminate the middle man, keep my prices for my new business adventure low, yet still make a decent profit to make it all worthwhile. Even with the outragous shipping, (I later discovered it wasn't so outragous, as my box weighed 22 pounds! lol) the beads I ordered from China were still waaaaaay cheaper than anything I could find anywhere else. So, I placed my order and a few days later, I received an email from China telling me that, "They no had some beads in store. Wait please," they said. I waited. About a week later, they sent another email saying that, "some of my beads could just no be had. Choose again, please." I chose again. A week later, I was informed once again that, "some beads could no be had. Choose again, please." This time I sent back an email asking them to just send me what they had and cancel the ones that could no be. A week later they said, "We be shipping!" I was so excited! Then....a week later....they sent an email telling me that, "Fed Ex was holding my beads until I should give them my F & L license number." I know! I thought the same thing. What the heck is an F & L license number??? So, I called Fed Ex and guess what it was? A Fishing and Wild Life license! Apparently some of the beads I ordered were shells and in order to receive them, I needed a license. I tried to explain to the Fed Ex lady, that I didn't want to go fishing or hunting, I just wanted to make pretty things! She laughed and explained the import/export deal and emailed me an application. I had to fax it back (signed!) and with a copy of a $100 (I kid you not!) check made out to the F & L people in order for her to "release" my shell beads. I did send her a copy and the next day I received my 22 pound box of shells! Then I promptly tore up that F&L application and my check. My ordering overseas days are over. Sanity doesn't come cheap, but it's worth the price in the long run!



22 pounds of beads and a little wire!
(I have over 6000 beads!)
It was naptime when the Fed Ex Man delivered,
but Karter was awake and was more than happy to
help me sort through them!


The F & L shells!
Wouldn't you know it, after all that...
The little holes were too small to do
 what I had planned to do with them!
Back to the chinese checker board....