Yesterday...

Spent part of the day at a 'joust' with the kiddos, SIL and nephew. Mostly a wonderful time - there was the bit where Sam decided to melt down and we spent over an hour in the car so she could calm down. But we'll move past that and remember the fun parts. :-)

SIL with the kids - yup - I didn't have a costume for Sam :(

My little pumpkin

Out knight (or Sir Knight as he called himself) on the pony ride

She had fun!

The bunnies were hard to see - it was called a petting zoo, but you weren't allowed to touch any of the animals. More of a looking zoo methinks. 

Nephew slew the dragon

And the girl has an arm for the bean bag toss. 

A good time was had by all. 

Everyone have a happy and safe Halloween!

Red, gold and blue

This picture is a couple of years old - the drive to dad's house for his 70th - but it's how I feel today - bright with hope and beauty. :-) Now let's go for a drive!

It's a new day -

and I'm sleepy thanks to kiddos who decided that 1:30 am was a good time to be awake. I know it's part and parcel of being a mom. And even though I stay home with said kiddos, that doesn't mean that I'm going to get a nap today. When else am I supposed to mop the floor??  :)

Anyway- in regards to my lofty goal and stinkiness of yesterday - fortunately the stinky, mean email people decided that it was best to let well enough alone - thank heavens. So hopefully that's the last that we've heard of that.

AND - so far today is a better day in being conscientious - so far. :) As much as I'm a dreamer, I am a realist after all and recognize that it's been a pretty easy morning so far. 

In reflecting on yesterday, even though my lovely DH started a firestorm with his VERY contentious (I'm loving this can you tell?) email, he stood up for himself and someone else. He called someone on the carpet who is professing certain beliefs in the public arena, then turning around off-stage and treating people just horribly. DH did it with honesty and without simply "bashing" this fellow. It was balanced with compliments for what the other guy is good at. Compared to the reply that he received  it was a masterpiece. And really - I'm proud. :)

What have we come to that we all have to be so careful of someone else's ego that we can't speak the truth any longer? That's not right. People who are afraid to speak the truth (granted that we do it in a balanced and loving way if possible) aren't people who change the world - even their immediate world and circumstances. They're people who stay where they are, accepting mediocrity and never making a difference to themselves or anyone around them.

Fear is a very crippling thing, and I'm glad that DH didn't bow to it. :) I'm a proud wifey. :)

Now - to continue on in being conscientious. HA!

The best laid plans...

In an effort to be conscientious, I lost my temper and yelled at everyone in my house today - wait - that didn't go as planned.

I don't like it when *real life* steps in to my goals. I like my plans.

I would appreciate it if know-it-all stinkyheads wouldn't harass my DH about his company late at night so that he will feel compelled to write ill-conceived responses under the effects of PM cold medicine, which result in stinkyhead's wife/manager writing more stinky emails at 3 am so that everyone can be even and insulting.

*sigh*  So I put an end to it all this morning with a four sentence email from DH's account. Not verbatim, but the gist is - Thanks for your quick reply to the email that wasn't sent to you. I expressed my opinions to Mr. X only, and haven't and wouldn't express them elsewhere, therefore negating your accusations of slander. Don't worry about us using Mr. X's name anymore - it will not be referenced in future. Thanks, and best of luck.

Why couldn't this have just happened in the first place??? Why did it even have to turn into stinkytown with stinkyness and screw up my nicely planned morning trip to Trader Joe's?

It all goes back to the fact that the more I know, the more I find that I don't know much. I don't understand people.

What really bothers me though is that I let it get to me. I let this silly man and his silly wife-manager screw up my morning and torque me until I yelled. Grrrr. Must find more tools for emotional coping. It's been so long since I've lost my temper like this that I'm at a loss. Time to do a little more tinkering on me.

*sigh*

You know - when I was transcribing, I typed contentious one time by mistake. The word was meant to be conscientious. Actually, auto-correct was partially to blame. :)


That seems to pretty well describe a lot of what's going on in my life right now. Where people (including me at times) should be conscientious, they are being contentious. And it's getting old. Really old.

I know I don't always understand people and their motivations - that's not my job. But there are times when it seems like the world has been turned up on its ear and I'm just looking around wondering when I can get off this silly ride.

A prime example is my daughter and her cousin. I used to watch him 4 days a week, and now it's just from time to time when his grandmother has a doctor's appointment or the like. Today is one of those days.

And - as it goes - instead of having a fun day together since they haven't seen each other in a bit - contentiousness replaces conscientiousness. *sigh* Why is he the only person on the planet that she feels compelled to scratch or bite??? I know that kids do this - I know that they have to learn how to effectively deal with their anger and frustration. The problem is that right now I'm not sure that I'm effectively dealing with my anger/frustration. :(

So today's/this week's goal for me and my house is to figure out how to help conscientiousness replace the contentiousness. (A lofty goal - I know).

SAFF '10

What fun we had yesterday at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair! It's so amazing to see what these people do with their animal fibers. Of course, Sam had a delightful time with all the animals, especially the alpaca. Oh my!

 Did I mention the llamas? Sam felt like waving to say hello. :-)

 
(Can I have one? guess not.) I was surprised at how affordable it is to buy a sheep. I don't know why I was surprised. I suppose I just don't see livestock as something that is attainable. Upkeep - yup, that's a different story, but it doesn't stop me from wanting my own fiber producing animals.  :-)

There was a tractor show going on next door - we didn't get to stop by, but it looked like fun!

And the mustang - not ours - or anyone we know, but we had to have a picture. So thank you to the obliging (if unknowing) anonymous mustang owner whose beautiful car we photographed.

So there you have it. Michael took time away from deer season to come spend some time with us and my family - and it was wonderful!

Let the upswing begin!!

As you've gathered, the past month has been rough. But I'm in firm belief that the upswing has begun. Even though DH's back is causing him some pain, he's working today - woo hoo!! Income? What's this thing you speak of? LOL

I'm still on the job hunt, but at least there may be an end in sight for the bulk of the $ woes. As for the rest of it, it's getting better by the day. Catching the kiddos coloring on Sam's WHITE bed today was just par for the course. :-)  At least it was in yellow!