cleaned house

alll freaking day. Bleagh. It wouldn't have been so bad except that Rick watched the kids all day yesterday while I scrapped. And while he is an awesome dad and spent the whole day having fun and playing with the kids, the house suffered, and suffered badly. Today I found a banana peel on the side of the couch. ewwwwwwwwwwwww

Scrapping day was great fun yesterday. We had a good crowd, especially since it was a weekday and we were there for 12 hours! I didn't get much scrapping done, but had a lovely time giving away prizes and spending time with my friends.

Today we had to get the house back in order though... Melissa has decided to use our house to have a Halloween party tomorrow. Every year we would go to Shontell's house (down the street), but she has moved away. We would have done it at Mel's house but she only has one neighbor so far. Not much on the way of trick or treating. So next year the party will be at her place. This year it will be her party at my place (which is nice cause I don't have to provide food, favors, games, or really anything but the home and the great neighborhood).

I always like the "someone is coming over" incentive to get the house really good and clean. And I love starting with a clean slate when trying to get myself back into a routine. Last month when I was trying to get back into Flylady, I tried to get the house super clean so all I had to do was maintain it. But I didn't, so I was not completely motivated to keep it up. This time, though, we did some serious cleaning. Even our cabinets have been polished. It looks great. We have yet to do the upstairs, but that is actually in much better shape than the living area. We would have finished tonight, but it was our community's Halloween party tonight.

The kids dressed up - Violet in her Sleeping Beauty costume and Riley as an In-N-Out Burger Employee... white jeans, white shirt, red napkin around the waist (held with a giant safety pin, of course), paper In-N-Out hat, and spatula. He was hysterical! He didn't like keeping the hat on, though. We brought our pumpkin for the carving contest.... and it WON FIRST PLACE! Violet was so excited to claim her prize ($5 in McDonald's coupons and a goblet full of Hershey's Kisses!)! After we left the party, we went to Ritter's because it was Free Scoop Saturday, and let me just say I don't miss free scoop day for anything. I had the Lite Espresso (mmmmmmmm). Violet had Cookies & Cream, and Rick had Chocolate. Riley fell asleep on the way and missed out on the dessert, but that's fine. He'll have more than his fair share of candy tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning we will get to the upstairs... vacuuming and dusting and cleaning windows. After that we'll carve the rest of the pumpkins, and dress up in our costumes. If I get really inspired, I'll sew Riley's cape so he can be a Hobbit instead of a burger guy. We'll see how it all goes!

pumpkin carving

Violet really has been beggin me to carve pumpkins with her, so I decided that we could do a couple today. Of course, you may recall we bought a ton, so this is just the beginning. After doing a little bit of searching, we found the perfect design for our pumpkins. Violet was so excited to begin, and was a real trooper when it came to scooping out the guts and seeds. After we drew a simple face on our smallest pumpkin, she carved it out with her kid-safe cutting tool (with a little help from mom). Then I went to the task of carving the face on our largest pumpkin. We chose those two because we wanted them to look like this when they were done. They actually look pretty great, and the best part was the lighting of the gourds after the sun went down. Both kids were thrilled at how they looked! (although Riley was a bit concerned for that poor little "kun-kin")

Violet named our masterpieces when we finished. The little one is called "saddy" cause it's sad since it's being eaten. The big one is called "Jack" cause he's mean. (???)

Jack, you be nice, you hear me?

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love you so much! I think the years are looking better and better on you. You seem happier and younger than I ever remember. Is that just cause I am getting older? In any case, I hope you are enjoying your special night. Have a wonderful time!!

The toe stretch

I love when I am cuddling Riley and getting him ready for bed and he's in that "almost ready to sleep" mode where his eyes are sloooowly shutting and I pull off his shoes and socks and I watch him s-t-r-e-t-c-h out his toes in that last little burst of energy before falling asleep.

Young Voters for Jesus.

I voted today. There's an early voting center about half a mile from my house so I thought it would be a good idea to just get in there adn get it done before the place gets crowded. As I headed over there with the kids, Violet asked me about what I was doing. As I explained to her the privilege that adults in our country have of choosing the right person to be the president, Violet pondered the facts. Then she said to me, "I know who I am voting for."
Bemused (and quite curious), I asked her, "Who are you voting for, sweetie?"
"I'm voting for Jesus," Violet replied proudly.
"Really?" I asked. "Why are you voting for Jesus?"
"Well," Violet said thoughtfully, "The president is supposed to take care of us, right?"
"Right," I answered.
"So, God always takes care of us! Jesus would make a great president!"
I had to agree.

We have officially started a new PAC (uhhh, that stands for "personal action committee, BTW) called Young Voters for Jesus, and you can send your checks payable to me. Or large bills. Those are fine too.

Vote early and vote for Jesus. That's my motto. ;)

kun-kin pie mama!

Riley loves pumpkins.
Everywhere we go he is fascinated by them. "Kun-kin mine?" he asks, as we pass by a pile of them at Wal-Mart. He loves our little collection in front of our house, and goes out the door several times to look at them and point at them and count them. He can count to three now, so he counts everything. "One, two, three, one, two, three..." He sees them on TV and in photos in the paper and at the neighbor's houses. "MAMA! KUN-KIN! MAMA!!!!!"

Violet has been obsessed with pumpkin pie because her "recipe book" from Joanne has a pumpkin pie recipe in it. She really wants to use our pumpkins to make one, but I talked her out of it and explained that the canned pumpkin is actually better for the pies. So I got a couple of Marie Callendar piecrusts ("Deep Dish," according to the package), and together we made the recipe, enough to fill two deep-dish pans. Well we filled both to the tippy top and still there was an entire pie's worth of mix left over. So I got another crust and now we have three pumpkin pies. The two I over-filled came out a bit soft (probably should have cooked them for another 10 minutes), but the third one came out *perfect*. Violet was sooooooooooooo excited to have pumpkin pies for dessert last night! Of course now I have three pies. I'll probably take one to scrap night on Friday. That would be a good, yummy dessert that I wouldn't have to eat.

Speaking of which, I have a *lot* to do regarding planning for scrap night (or I guess I should say day... it's all day on Friday the 29th, Nevada Day). We are doing sub sandwiches for lunch and Olive Garden for dinner... it will be scrumptious! I have tons of prizes already bought and a few more still to come. Right now I am trying to coordinate goodie bags for those in attendance too.

So much to do, where do I start... I think I'll have a piece of pumpkin pie!

Cover Kids...

I just got word from the editor of Memory Makers that they want to use this photo for the cover of their April 2005 issue... I am so excited! This photo was taken in July 1979 and includes, from the top: Jessica Hurd, cousin Jeanine, Alex Hurd, Cousin Mark. The little ones across the bottom are Me and Melinda. Aren't we so cute?!

It's still not a total definite... they need to be sure the photo will reproduce well (since the original is just 3.5 inches high)... but their main concern was that it would be in focus, which it is. I'll know more in a couple of weeks!

Ketchup??? On the STAIRS??

Yep. I came downstairs after getting dressed to find my son on the fourth stair with the ketchup bottle. He had poured a dollop onto the carpeted step and was dipping his fingers in it, placing his fingers in his mouth, and nodding "mmmmm!" at me.

No! Not "mmmmmm!" That's GROSS!!!
You do *NOT* eat ketchup off the stairs!!!

alas no job for me.

Club President gave me a call this morning and told me how perfet I would be for the job and listed all of the reasons why, including all of the member recommendations I received. As I was waiting for her to tell me when I could start, she gave me the word I dread. "However..."

However what?

And the however was that there were 5 other club members who recommended family members for the position. And although she said I was absolutely the best one of them for the job, I will not be getting it. She decided that, rather than choose one club family member over another to simply disqualify all the candidates and look for someone outside the club. She didn't want the other members to be upset if I was chosen, so she and the Board decided it would be in the best interest of the club.

Does that even make *sense*???

Frustrated right now... in so many ways.

Simone Olivia

will be in surgery tomorrow. Mom just called to tell me that she has a Diaphragmatic Hernia, a very rare and very serious condition that must be corrected surgically as soon as possible.

The good news:
* Surgery will be performed tomorrow when the right specialists can be available.
* She is 7 pounds, 10 ounces... a nice, healthy size. We want those lungs of hers to be well developed.
* She has people all over the world praying for her right now.

please please please pray.

she needs your prayers

Jeanine and Jared welcomed their baby daughter to the world this afternoon... details are still sketchy, but she is suffering with something wrong with her diaphragm and is now in surgery to repair it. I don't know anything more than that. Lord, please calm the fears of Jeanine and Jared right now. Give them strength to seek You out when they need You most. Listen to their cries for help. Guide the hands of the doctors. Strengthen their new baby daughter to come through the surgery with flying colors.... Wrap your arms around this new family. Help them find peace right now when all they feel is fear. Lord, make a miracle happen tonight.

labor day

My cousin Jeanine is in labor right now with her first baby. We don't know if she's having a boy or a girl. I can only imagine the anticipation, excitement, fear, joy, pain, and love that she and her hubby Jared are feeling right now... and the baby hasn't arrived yet!

We're waiting to meet you, little one... :)

jojo's party

was good times. At Mom & Dad's house and catered by Osaka. Mmmmmmmmmm. Sushi. Even Rick ate some! And he liked it!! It was his first sushi ever and he has decided that the only way he will eat fish is if its raw. LOL!

I decided against the flannels and the wools and went for a navy blue top/khaki skirt combo. Very cool looking (thanks elan for your fashion sensibilities). Club President wasn't there but a few of the board members were and they all thought I would be PERFECT for the job and declared they would say so at the Monday meeting... so, hopefully I will hear some good news on the job front very soon. THAT would just be awesome.

Back to Jojo's party though... Mom & Dad got her a pretty "Photos of Nevada" coffee table book and all the guests at her party signed it on various pages, like a yearbook. What a great idea for a guestbook and what a great keepsake for her of the state she is leaving behind. Sometimes they come up with the coolest stuff. Lots of wine was served (no surprise there), as well as Sake. I swear Mom had a glass of wine in each room of the house and as she mingled would nudge over and say "is that *my* wine?" and nudge over and have a sip. Then she would trot over to another part of the house and do the same thing. It was rather amusing, though not as amusing as later in the evening when she & Dad were on their, I don't know, fortieth glass of Sake (okay possible slight exaggeration on the glass count), and Mom kept saying, "Sa-ke. Saaaaaaaaaa-ke. Sak-e. Sakkkkkkkk-e. SAKE. sahhhhhhhhh-keeeeeey." over and over and over and over. Dad was his charming self as usual and was trying to speak "Japanese" to the guy at the sushi bar, but of course not really speaking Japanese, just making himself sound like he has a Japanese accent for the benefit of everyone in the kitchen (in case we didn't know how to properly pronounce "halibut" the authentic Japanese way LOL). That was funny, though not as funny as the time when a group was sitting around the firepot and a flaming pinecone tumbled from the mouth of the pot and rolled across the ground, landing just under Rick Wright's pantleg. Thank God my husband was sober enough to get a stick and shove the ball of flame out of the way before Mr. Wright ignited.

Yes, the party was lovely and so was Joanne. Wearing a pretty sleeveless cable knit sweater in an aquamarine that matched the jewels she was wearing, she was stunning, charming, and the perfect guest of honor. I'm going to miss her... I hope she spends plenty of weekends in Las Vegas hanging out with us. At least for the sake of game night. Without Joanne on their team, Mom and Dad have no hope of winning Trivial Pursuit. ;)

Artist Trading Cards

I am a member of the online community at Two Peas in a Bucket, and I have met some amazing scrapbookers and artists there. One of the members thought it would be fun to trade "Artist Trading Cards"... where we create/alter our own little baseball card-sized pieces of art. Mine looked like This. They were all so different and so cool. Some were heat embossed, some had been stamped, some were photo-based, some were sewn, and all were just amazing. Now I have a set of sixteen little works of art from all over the world (one girl sent hers from The Netherlands!!).

My scrap room is now 98% done. I have completely cleared out the *big* cabinet and made it ready for more supplies (I have been warned that The Box is now The BoxES and previous Memory Makers Masters said the contents will completely BLOW US AWAY... and we need to arrange for storage NOW LOL). The only thing left to do in the room now is to paint the big cabinet. All my other cabinets are a solid white, but this one has been "antiqued" and doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the room. I have the paint, I have the hardware. I just need the motivation.

Tonight is a going away party for my parents' friend (and mine), Joanne. She's moving to Montana in November, so we wanted to give her a fun send-off. I painted a little picture for her and we used it as the cover of her invitations. Here it is:



Dress for the party is something my parents coined: "Montana Casual." What does that mean? Flannels and mountain boots? Thermals and suspenders? Lots and lots of fur coats? Fleece-lined hats? I want to dress the theme, but I am not sure how to do that. Especially since the lady that is deciding on whether to hire me is likely attending the party. Do I try to make a good first impression? Or do I dress the theme? Hopefully I will have figured it out by tonight.

words heard from the bathroom today...

"MOM-MMY! Riley touched my poop!"

The funny thing is that this was not the first time I heard those words. What is with my children and poop? And why is Riley obsessed with touching it? And when will Violet learn to wipe her own butt?
::sigh::

do I have what it takes?

A really cool job opportunity kind of fell in my lap today. It would be perfect for our needs, and would be something that makes Rick extremely happy to actually have *money* in the bank at the end of the month. The best part about it is that it would only require one day a week to do the work, and much of it I could do from home. It seems verrrrrrrrry promising... but the president of the organization has asked me to provide a resume so that she can see it and set up a formal interview with me.

I know I would be awesome at this job, and I am confident. But the thought of an interview really freaks me out! Why? Is it because I have been out of the workforce for that long? I think it goes back to when I was applying for a front desk job at the Mirage Hotel (which I ended up not getting). The manager who interviewed me, during a seemingly innocuous set of questions, pushed me to the point of complete stress and tears for no reason. I had no idea what her motives were, other than to frustrate and humiliate me. Later on, while I worked in another department at the Mirage, I learned of an "interviewing techniques" course that the managers receive. One of the techniques they emphasize for jobs that require customer service is the one I to which I was subjected... this idea that they will put pressure on me and get me to the point of frustration to see how I handle stress. I could not BELIEVE that this was not only common practice in the interviewing process, but actually *encouraged* by the HR department! I was very angry at that point because I believe that I did not get the front desk job precisely because I caved under the pressure of her questions. The thing is, though, I am a pretty level headed person when I understand their motives. When I am dealing with customers, I know that they are expecting good service and they usually end up angry when they are not receiving what they expect. And I can deal with that. But for someone to come out of left field with evil interviewing tactics has left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I can't go into an interview without wondering if the manager is going to pull a stunt like that on me. I feel like I have to be on my guard constantly. And in turn, I do not get to show the side of me I would like people to see... the happy, witty, fun Jessie.

Hopefully this interview will be different...

balance

Balance is what I need to find.
Balance...

Finding my center, surrounded by my children, husband, scrapbooking, the pets (when oh when did I become the owner of so many stinkin PETS??), the house, church, friendships, errands, working out, and other things pulling me in every direction.

I think that might have been my problem the past few months. Rather than finding a good balance in my life, I have been constantly on the edge of the next thing to do or see or be... I climb and I climb and I climb and I jump to the next ledge. I haven't stopped. I haven't turned around. I haven't stopped to BREATHE DEEP.

Skipping meals is not the answer... having a balance in what I do is. My house will slowly have the "bad stuff" eliminated from it. I have replenished the healthy stuff that I let fall by the wayside due to lack of time and energy. Stuff like carrots for snacking, cheese & crackers, yogurts, and whole foods. It requires more time and dedication on my part. The stuff has a shorter shelf life. I have to make an effort to be sure it gets eaten or it will go to waste. But I know it is the right thing to do. I am also going to institute a salad night once a week. I have done salad nights before, but never on a regular basis. I need to make Thursdays salad days. (I know, I know, Liane, Thursday is already Commando Day. But that's how I will remember salad days too... it's the whole "natural" thing...)

I am also reorganizing my scrap room into a much more efficient space, and although it's pretty much a disaster-in-progress, I see the end, and the end will be good. LESS CLUTTER. More space for me to create. A dedicated space for my commissioned projects and freelance work. A place for magazines. It is actually quite lovely in my mind right now... :)

I am returning to the ways of Fly Lady as well. I did sooo well when I was FLYer. My house felt more like a home and I could maintain it better. And I felt healthier too. I never really stopped FLYing, but aside from the shiny sink everything started to go by the wayside of "I just don't have the time right now." How lame is that? Why don't I have the freaking 30 seconds it takes to make my bed in the morning? And I love Kelly's missions and dedicated Zone work. Even if that was the only 15 minutes I spent on my home a day, I felt productive, happy, and proud.

As part of my whole BALANCE thing, I have decided to be sure I do something fun that my KIDS want to do each day. Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch at the Gilcrease Orchard and picked TONS of little and big pumpkins... at least 12... and even after getting a pint of fresh pressed apple cider it still cost less than $8 total. Gotta love it. And I was reminded of all the other excellent, fresh fruits and veggies for the picking there. I think we will go back on Monday and get our week's worth of green foods, especially since it will be like a whole $5 for a basketful.

Since I vowed no more skipping meals ... off to make lunch.

how much

string cheese can one boy eat in a day?

I'll tell you. Today he had 6 pieces.

SIX.



So I have been trying to be healthy around here.
I've cut out (almost) all sodas from my diet, relying on water.
I joined Curves in June and have been going 3 times a week at least.
I've been aware of reducing my portions and eating healthier (although I haven't been cutting out sweets and stuff, cause I think I'd die if I did that so I am just reducing those as well).

And today I went to the gym and got weighed in for the first time since July.
I am three pounds heavier. And everywhere except my calves and hips (which remained the same) has grown. By an inch.

WTF?

Talk about a freaking downer.
So, why, again, am I leaving the house every night to work out? Why am I denying my self the true pleasure of a Coca Cola Classic? Why am I saying no to that second cookie when I *REALLY* want it? Why??? When it's obvious that my efforts at cutting back and being healthy are completely backfiring?? What is the freaking point of all this, when everything I have done the past few months has meant absolutely NADA?

I am upset. I am angry. I am frustrated.
I am tired... TIRED of working out. TIRED of drinking gallons of water. TIRED of it all.

arghhhghg............................................

Why is this the hardest part?

Coming up with a cool title.... it's sometimes more than my little brain can handle.

So I took an online IQ test the other day and I fared quite well, although I was disappointed the score wasn't higher. What's up with that? Why do I care? Why can't I just be satisfied with being (actually, quite) smart? Why do I need to be a "genius?" One of life's little mysteries. Oh right, it's not a mystery at all. My goal in life has always been to be the best at everything I do (dang those parents of mine for putting crap like that into my head!!), and, frankly, I want to be a genius. I used to be "Brains Unlimited" in junior high and high school. While I never knew what my original IQ score (pre-kids) truly was, I am actually attributing my current score to the fact that I have children. A recent study shows there is a good chance my IQ has significantly lowered as a result of having two kids. I always thought they were draining brain cells through my milk. Now I know for sure. Or at least, that's what I can tell myself. *snort*

I need more storage space in my scraproom. Rick is kind of beside himself about that. Oh well... he'll get over it. I am slowly, slowly kicking him right out of there. Soon he'll be on his little computer in the hallway.... mwahahahaaaaa...

But, no, really... I need more storage space. My countertop is full of product and boxes of stuff I just can't get to, and I have nowhere to actually create my art. So I have decided to build a shelf unit right abouve this desk that will hold photo boxes, supplies, and other miscellaneous things so that I can have space for stuff like my paper racks... as well as space to S-P-R-E-A-D out. I want to be able to feel *creative* here, and currently I don't. I think I'll need to do a little closet overhaul as well. But hopefully I will be able to do all this before I get The Box from Memory Makers.

Have I mentioned *The Box* yet?

It is supposed to contain *TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS* worth of scrapbooking supplies!! Some companies have donated their ENTIRE LINE of products!! I am seriously beyond thrilled. Of course I haven't bought a single scrapping item in a month now cause I want to wait to see just what's in The Box... and of course I am grateful I don't have The Box yet cause I have NO ROOM for any of it right now! Better get offline and back to cleaning the space out... and I'll head to Home Depot tonight to get the hardware for the shelves.

Oh and the kids.... they are actually doing great. Riley now says "Apple Juice please Mommy" plain as day when he wants some. And everything that is in a can or bottle is "Daddy's Beer" LOL. I decided that I'll just keep it that way for now since it is the perfect reason why he isn't allowed to drink sodas, etc. Kids. They crack me up!

Stinky Poopses!

What on *earth* has my son been eating the past few days? Ewwwwwwww.

So our fish are doing great. So are the frogs, Junior and Steve. Violet also finally named the guppy. Zack. Of course the Neons are Silly, Pilly, Willy, and Killy. Where on earth does she come up with these names??

I've been working a scrapping convention here in town called Memory Trends. It's one of the largest trade shows in the industry, and there were many many big named people there and I made loads of connections. I worked for a booth called Michael Miller Memories. They have treated fabrics that act just like paper (can be trimmed, die cut, run through the printer, etc), but give your pages the look and feel of fabric. SUCH cool stuff! I had a ball playing around and experimenting with their stuff. They liked me, too... and asked if I would be willing to teach at consumer conventions such as CKU or Camp Memory Makers. This might be a very cool career opportunity for me! I am pretty jazzed.

So I am trying to settle back into the routine of being Mom again. It's been tough working the past three days... I don't envy those moms that do it on a regular basis. I missed those kiddos (although it was nice not to have to change diapers or clean up after their messes for awhile! LOL!)

More later... after I take a little nap... :)