Thursday, January 31, 2013

Si Is In The House!

 
We love Duck Dynasty!
Tomorrow is "favorite character" day at Landon's school.
He wanted to go as Si, from Duck Dynasty.
Nailed it!


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Say Doc, I Got A Little Problem...

I am so excited! Yesterday, I happen to discover a little Barnes & Noble Nook icon on my laptop. It was way down on the bottom, mixed in with 3,455 other icons that I never use. I was so surprised when I clicked on it, to find that it was ebooks that I could download and read on my PC!(My laptop, for those who are a few years behind in the technology world, as I am.) I am perhaps a bit of a speed reader. I can read a 500 page book in a weekend. How can I do that? I skim. When the author starts to take 788 paragraphs to describe a green, grassy meadow, my eyes glass over and they tend to hydroplane until we get back to the interesting part of the story. (I swear they only do that to fill up the book. If it wasn't for their publisher breathing down their necks to fill up those 500 pages, they would all be writing 50 page books of good juicy stories without the 450 pages of  boring "fluff." Like they should be! I know it's all about the $$$$, but that's just my 2 cents.) Anyway, last night I downloaded a book on my computer and I was all snuggled up cozy on the couch, reading away. My cellphone was laying on the coffee table beside me and it "dinged" with a message. I reached over and saw that it was from one of my daycare moms. It said, "I think I have a diagnosis..." and a big blue arrow. I pressed the arrow and it took me to the next page. There was a big word at the top displayed like a dictionary definition. It said,

Vin-tage-itis:
1. A disease that is associated with all things vintage.
VINTAGEITIS SYMPTOMS
1. Elevated heart rate when entering thrift shops,
followed by excitement.
2. Hours of wasted time searching the Internet for vintage inspiration
and/or bargain buys.
3. Almost always causing road accidents after braking suddenly
for a newly discovered thrift shop or garage sale.
4.Starting to experience an immunity to the smell of mothballs.
(If you start enjoying the smell of mothballs,
please seek professional help immediately)
 
O.k. here's the really funny part. Well, it might only be funny to me, as my sense of humor is a little off the wall at times. If you are a guy, you probably won't think this is funny at all. Sorry. Well, because I was reading a book on my laptop, and my brain/eyes were in "skim mode," when I read that first word, "Vintageitis" my eyes/brains read it as Vagenitis. (Vaginal infection, fellas. Sorry.)
One of the other things about my brain, is it tends to put 344 thoughts into a 2 second time frame. When I thought I was reading about vagenitis, my brain said...."Oh no, **** or one of her friends needs to switch to cotton underwear. I know she didn't mean to send this to me. Do I let her know I got it, or just pretend I didn't get it? Do they know they can just go to Walmart and take care of this? Do I tell them? This is just way to much info!" Then in the 3rd second, while I was reading the symptoms, my brain told me to go back and read the first word again. That's when I realized what I was reading and I really laughed! I wrote back something about confessing to sniffing mothballs or something. (I also wrote, JUST KIDDING! I do not sniff mothballs, or anything for that matter. Well, maybe a few heavy diapers as they walk past me, but that's another post.) Then I asked her what the cure was. She wrote back, Pure Indulgence. I can live with that, Doc. I can live with that.
 
 

 
 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Mr. Rogers

Sometimes you just need a feel good story.
 
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Most people have heard of Koko, the gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English. What most people don’t know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fan. When Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she’d always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off.

Friday, January 25, 2013

The Store Is Open!

I did it. I opened my Etsy store. Finally. It's not the store I planned, but I can still work on it. Come spring when it warms up, I'll go out in my treasure shed and post some really cool stuff. But, until then....this is it. If it sells, it sells. If it doesn't, well at least I can say I tried! Here it is:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSwedishCowgirl

If you live in my town, (Wheaton) and see something you would like, just send me an email. Don't order online or you will be charged shipping. Just let me know and I'll set ya right up.

Happy browsing!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

I Got My Wings

Last night my poor boy, Landon came down with a flu bug. He started complaining of a belly ache at 8:00 P.M. and by 9:00 P.M. he was upchucking. All the way until 3:00 A.M.! Oh, what a night! I had to close my daycare for business today, (I feel horrible about the short notice!) and have spent most of the day cleaning and disinfecting. Today Landon feels much better and will be back in action tomorrow for school. I am so thankful it was just a short little bug, with everyone all around us going through it for days on end, we were lucky! On the bright side... today the mailman brought me my wings!! My angel wings!! Let me tell ya, I spent way too much time rearranging my living room to make those wings feel at home. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but it will just have to do for now. The wings are perfect though. They are made out of solid wood, painted white and chipping just like I like. The top half is covered in little pieces of painted white, chippy tin. I was surprised the wings were made out of authentic old/aged wood. What makes me think the wood is authentically (is that a word?) old?

 
The cobwebs tucked inside!!
I love them too and might just let them be.
 
 
Tin.
 
 
I decided to try the wings on the ends of my window, family picture. I do like them there, but the trunk I just put up was now distracting. I also didn't like the little chair in the corner and decided to do a little rearranging. For some reason, the pictures make everything look like it is two inches from the ceiling. It is not! It looks perfectly fine, when you are standing in front of it, so I don't know what's up with that. Might be that I am just too short to be taking pictures of things that are up high. ha!
 

 
I decided to swap the clock and the trunk. I put the chair and light on the other side and brought the tea cart from the other end of the living room down to this end. My living room is long and narrow. the worst shape ever for a living room! I have tried putting the couches in the middle of the room, at opposite ends, half way in the middle, in a circle, you name it. Nothing looks right. The room is so long that it's impossible to fill it up in the middle. It's just weird. Also, neither the big window behind the long couch or the fireplace opposite of the long couch/window are even close to being centered! It gotta tell ya, it really messes up the feng shui vibe thing. It looks a little sparse here and the pieces are all wrong. I do like the walls though. I need to go out in my shed and get some of my other furniture and change it up. Only problem is, today it's 6 below zero (for real!) and I'm gonna have to let that one wait. I'm also not gonna be able to get out of spackling and painting this round either. Ugh. Not a painter. I'm so not a painter.
 

 
The other end. I had the tea cart and a gold chair sitting there. I moved the chair to vacuum. Gonna have to find something to fill that spot too. Guess I can always put the daycare baby's swing and pack and play there for now. It doesn't matter. I got my wings! I got my wings!!! I got my wiiiiings!!!!
 


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Happy Campers

Photo: Happy Campers!
 
Got your happy meal?


Angel Wings Are Screaming At Me...

A long time ago, someone posted a picture of a huge (they are three feet tall!) pair of wooden distressed/chippy white angel wings that were available for purchase on Pinterest. This isn't the original picture, but it's close. It's beyond me why I didn't pin it, as I loved them.
 
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I mean LOVED THEM! I fell HARD! However a long time ago, I decided that if something was more than $25, it needed to not just speak to me before I would buy it, it had to scream at me, "I LOVE YOU!! TAKE ME HOME!! I WILL MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST GIRL ALIVE!!!!"  (I tended to be an impulsive shopper and this little tibbet here has saved me $5,876,445 bucks. Seriously!) Let me tell ya, those wings were hootin' and a hollarin' at me at the top of their lungs! (Well, wings.)
But, the price tag was over $300, and there was just no way I could bring myself to do it. Apparently the rest of the blog/crafters world fell in love with them too. But, not the price either.


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 Next came an Etsy shop that made/copied them and while they were in the "loud voice" range,  they were not in the "screaming" range. They looked a little too big and heavy. Also, the price was $180, and that was still way too much for me.

I saw distressed wooden wings at a new store in town for ~$80.  I want them but how much more fulfilling to make your own, right?  And here's how!

Then someone made a pair out of pieces of cardboard. Cute, but that barely gave me a whisper. I was just going to have to accept the fact that they were not meant to be for me. Then one day I entered a contest. (No, I didn't win a set of wings. Although I would bend over backwards and follow 3,477 steps if there ever was one!) Part of the contest (I don't even remember what the prize was.) was you had to "like" the site, "Decor Steals." I looked at the site and liked it, so I liked it, like they asked me to do. (Ya got all that?) I actually love that site! They have one or two items up for sale at a fraction of the price and only a limited number available. So, if something pops up that you like, you better be on the ball or you will miss out. I have never ordered from them, but if I like something, I check back to see how quick it sells in the event something should scream at me, and it's always sold out quickly. So, the other day I was checking my email and up popped an email from Decor Steals. I clicked on it and there in front of me was....Oh yeah....

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MY WINGS!!! MY FREAKIN' AWESOME WHITE CHIPPY DISTRESSED LOVELY LOVELY ANGEL WINGS!!! And....the price was....are you sitting down? $78.50 with $5 shipping!!! Oh my stars!! Yes, I screamed and flew off the couch and grabbed my purse (cats darted under the couch, and fur went flying!! Luckily no one else was home to scare the goobers out of) and ordered those wings before anyone else even had a chance to consider it. And I was a winner!! I made it in time and my wings are on their way!! Where am I going to put them? I haven't a clue. I'll keep you posted when they arrive and I figure it out. I'm so excited! I got my wings!! I got my wings!!! I got my wiiiiiings!!!! I think I might have just peed a little.




Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Go Away. I'm Not Home.

Go Away Doormat
 
I have a little pet peeve. People who stop by on the weekends to say, "hi" without calling first. Unless you are popping in on your 89 year old grandma, who you know will be thrilled to see your smiling face, DON'T DO THIS! At least, don't do it to me. It's at the top of my list of bad manners. It might have been cool in the 50's to do that, but in this day and age, it's not. Let me tell ya why. During the week, I have six daycare families and ten daycare children who come to my house every day. I have to keep my house picked up and my kitchen where everyone gathers, presentable. Landon has to keep all his things upstairs in his room. Our coats and shoes have to be in a separate closet, so there is room for all the little coats and shoes the little daycare kids bring every day. It's a never ending, on going, every day job. It's pressure! You know the stress you feel the night before your "Tupperware or Jewelry party?" The "company's coming!" feeling of panic, running around, excessive cleaning, picking up, worried about every little thing. I feel like that every day. It's stressful, I tell ya! I am also surrounded by people big and small all week long. If I am doing a purse show on the weekend, then I am again surrounded by 6,555 people. I put on my happy face, I smile. I chat. I work. So, come the weekend, if we are home, the walls come down and our "stuff" is flooding every surface. There may be piles of dirty laundry on the table, in a mountain on the floor, waiting to be taken to the basement and washed. Dirty dishes in the sink. Pizza boxes with pizza still in it on the counters. Newspapers on the floor and couch. Quilts and pillows on the couches and floors. Coats might get hung up on the coat rack, or they might be thrown over the kitchen chairs.Toys that didn't get picked up on Friday, might stay there until Sunday night when I have to vacuum. I may drag out 1,222 projects to work on and they may cover every square inch of my living room. I might not get dressed until after dinner. (I do have clothes on! Just p.j.'s and not really appropriate for company.) I might not even comb my hair until then either. I don't want company. I don't want a social call. I don't want to smile and chat. I just want to be with my family and my mess for a couple of days. Alone. We are trying to live a normal life, like everyone else gets to do during the week. It never fails though. The very people who never come by during the week when my house is spotless and I have 444 people here anyway, always show up on the weekends, when me and my mess are at it's peak. (I really should say our mess, since Landon and Tim do contribute their fair share too!)  I can just hear them, "I stopped by the Siegel's yesterday... They really are nice people, but oh... my....have you seen their house? She's really not a very good housekeeper, is she? Tsk. Tsk..." So, if you stop by uninvited on a weekend, and I don't answer the door, even though you swear you saw me crawling across the floor in a weak attempt to hide... Don't take it personal. It's not that I don't want to see you. I just don't want to see you that day. Try again on Monday. I'll even pour ya a cup of coffee. If you call first. 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Tip Of The Day

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That's good!
Now, if I can just remember this...
 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Rummage Sale!

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I've had 5,667 rummage sales in my lifetime and I swore I would never have another one. Until someone on facebook created a Traverse County Rummage Sale page. I would just list an item or two here and there. Then I started to dig through some of my "funky junky stuff" as I've been meaning to thin out the masses, if you will. (But, parting with it is so hard!) I did post the majority of my beads (They aren't doing well. Guess there aren't any serious beaders in our town. haha) and I posted a little old school desk, which sold right away. I sold  some earrings, a bracelet, a curtain, and Landon sold a few ds & Wii games. It was kinda fun. Then this weekend the roads were icy and Landon and I were bored. I really started digging in my regular junk stuff. Stuff I would have actually sold at a rummage sale. I posted a ton of stuff and Landon posted books and movies. Apparently the rest of Wheaton was bored too, because it was flying off the webpage! I had to start writing down who wanted what, because I couldn't keep up with it all! I don't know if it was good junk, or the timing was right or what, but Landon and I made $118 in a few hours and never left the house! Now that was fun! Landon kept asking me, "Did anything else sell? Check facebook again! Check it again!" He was so funny and it kept us busy most of the day. There is still plenty on cool stuff from other people on the site, and some of our junk is still there too, if you want to go shopping. You can even check it out in your pajamas or with curlers in your hair. (Do people still wear those things?) That's the beauty of online shopping. There's no judging and everyone's money is accepted just the same. Now that's the cat's meow!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Be Careful Out There

 
 
Another thing to be thankful for, despite the icy roads today.
 
 


Thursday, January 10, 2013

You're Rufflin' My Feathers Here

I am beyond frustrated. I am P.O.'d. Ya, that's right. I said it. I'm pissed off. In the past, whenever I would get worked up like this, I'd open my mouth and 3,901 words would come tumbling out, when I only meant to say 3 and only to 1 person and not everyone who came within hearing distance of me. Then I would immediately regret having said anything at all. But, now I have this wonderful blog where I can say anything I want, and only a handful of nice people who take the time to read my blog are here to listen. (Thank you nice people) Ready? Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable, cuz I'm gonna let it rip...
A couple of years ago (Sept. 27th, 2010 if you want to look it up) I posted about Landon's class. They are a rowdy bunch and they are the class that every teacher dreads. I should add here, that not every child in the class is like that. There are a tiny handful of really, good kids who are getting the short end of the stick by having to be in that class. If I was their parent, I would be even more ticked off than I am! (Please know that when I am talking about the "wild child's" in Landon's class, I am including Landon.) Anyway, I was blown away by the disrespectfulness that the class was showing to their teacher and here we are in 5th grade now, and I don't believe it has gotten any better. Why hasn't it gotten any better? Why do they continue with this horrible behavior? Because they can! Because nothing ever happens to them!
At the risk of sounding like a, "When I was a kid, I had to walk 44 miles in the snow barefoot to school..." I am going to share a little story with you. When I was in the 7th grade, (My parents let me quit the church school that year, and I was allowed to go to a public school which I loved!) my girlfriend and I decided to skip school. It was the one and only time we ever did that! Why? Because for a week after school, we had to sit in the principals office for an hour and write 1000 (That's a real number here!) times, "I will never skip school again!" It didn't matter that I would miss the school bus and that I would have to sit outside the school by myself for another hour, because my parents couldn't pick me up right away, because they had to work. (We lived in the country and I couldn't just walk home) It didn't matter. Also, one of my teacher's took it upon himself to make an example out of me and made a big speech in his classroom about what I had done. (Yes, I cried during the whole speech. But, that didn't matter. The speech went on.) I also had to do all my brother's chores for two weeks and I lost my t.v. time. I had to sit in my room for an hour every night so that my brother could enjoy his t.v. time. (That was the worst!)  And guess what?
I NEVER SKIPPED SCHOOL AGAIN!
So what happens when a child misbehaves in school today? Well, they get a little talkin' to, or they get to sit in the principals office for a few hours and do their school work. Big deal. They aren't afraid of that. They aren't afraid of the teachers or the principal. Now, before you get your undies all twisted up, (I know, I know, you never want children to fear an adult figure....I've read all the books too.) let me change that word, "afraid" to "respect." It's really the same thing. There isn't any respect, because nothing ever happens, to respect. It's a big joke to them. Now it's all about being "positive" and "rewarding them" for good behavior. I'm all for that, but if that isn't working, then maybe it's time to try the other direction. Consequences for inappropriate behavior. Let them write a sentence 1000 times and see how often they push and shove in the hallways after that. Let them spend an hour every day for a week with the principal, doing nothing but writing and see how often they raise the roof in the classroom after that. Why can't we do something about this? Why? I honestly haven't a clue. I've had moms come to my house for a disscussion. We accomplished nothing. I've been the voice to get parents to attend a meeting with the principal. We accomplished nothing. No one has answers. All I hear is, "We are taking care of it." Ummm... No you're not! I am so frustrated! And pissed off.
So, why are my feathers getting all ruffled up today? Yesterday, I was informed that Landon is going to be watched and his actions would be recorded, so they could figure out what is triggering Landon to misbehave. (He is ADHD and I posted about that last month) At first I thought that was a good idea. Then I got to thinking about it, and I thought, "Wait a minute! What is triggering Landon's behavior? Are you kidding??"  I'm not excusing Landon's behavior. It is totally unacceptable to disrupt a classroom or make the teacher's job difficult. No exceptions. But, tell me how can Landon improve his behavior when the rest of the class is allowed to misbehave? I know that there is only one teacher and it is impossible for her to teach and babysit these kids all day long. She can't do it alone. So, maybe it's time to send each and every child (my child too!) that disrespects her to the principals office, for a "real" consequence. Over and over, day after day, until they "get it," Until it stops.Yeah, it's work. Yeah, it's disrupting the schedule. But, you only get out of it, what you put into it. Our teachers need help. they can't do it alone.
 Landon has been struggling with being bullied by another kid this year, and all that is happening is, "The principal is going to call his mom." Or, "We talked to the kids." In fact just yesterday afternoon (After I was told Landon was going to be monitored) the bully kid jumped on Landon. Luckily a couple other kids stuck up for Landon and told his teacher what really happened. This alone is enough to cause him to lose all focus in class. Then throw in all the other CRAP that goes on during the day and you've got one nervous, anxious, ADHD kid on your hands!So tell me now, why does this bully kid feel so comfortable in school, that he thinks nothing of jumping another kid? Why does he think nothing of stepping on the back of Landon's shoes, or calling him names, or getting the other kids to join in? Over and over.... Because he can. He knows nothing is going to happen to him. Nothing at all. I requested a meeting between Landon's teacher, the principal, the other kid, his parents and Landon, Tim and I. I was told, "The principal is going to call his mother." Oh, good. Now it will never happen again....Yeah, right. They also want someone to come in and observe Landon's behavior. Oh, how I wish I could be there to see that person's face when the rest of the kids start up with their not so angelic behavior. In fact, I've got a better idea. How about they record the class for a week on a hidden camera. Then let's invite all the kids and their parents to the school for movie night?  I'll even bring the popcorn! Now if any of the parents get upset or start to argue or show any disrespectfulness towards one another or the principal, don't worry. I've got it covered. I'll just call their moms. Yeah, that'll take care of it.

* I need to add that in no way am I implying that any of this is a teacher's fault. Present or past. I feel the whole school system, and we the parents, are at fault. When the kids run the school, that is our sign it is time for a change. A BIG CHANGE! The sign is flashing. Can you see it?





Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Gratefulness

It's no secret I love Patina White's blog and her cottage at the Shady Hollow Flea Market in Detroit Lakes. Today, she had a contest where she was giving away a beautiful diamond (Well rhinestones actually, but still it's stunning!) bracelet. All you had to do is comment on her blog what you are grateful for. Well, 3,455 people commented before me and every single one of them wrote something regarding family, friends, or pets. They were all very nice, but after the 3,400th, "My kids are my world!" and "I love Jesus!!" they were getting a little, "yawn...." repetitious. Same thing, over and over... Kinda like Thanksgiving blessings. Now I'm not being disrespectful here, as I love my kid and Jesus too, and they were all very sincere and came from the heart. But I thought it could use a little lightening up, so I just had to post something a little different. Here's my post:

Besides the obvious...family, friends, pets,...I am grateful for wrinkle cream, good underwear, (Seriously, do you know how hard it is to find a pair that won't slide half way down your legs 3,277 times a day??) coffee and two-ply toilet paper. Life is short. Buy the good stuff! (Like Patina White's stuff!) :)

I know it's not a winning post, but I bet she was grateful for the fun break, and maybe it gave her a little giggle. I know I'm grateful whenever someone makes me laugh. And wrinkle cream. I need my wrinkle cream. I laugh a lot. How about you?

Friday, January 4, 2013

Bittersweet

Bittersweet. What's in your backyard?
 
Believe it or not, I actually like to swing!
(I have to use the yellow one though, as my big ars won't fit on the red one)
So, looking at the swings covered in snow is a little bittersweet.
What's in your backyard?