*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!

Busted lips...

Okay - this is completely petty - but I'm gonna whine for just a second. Kiddo 2 busted my lip last night! And when I say busted, I mean it. Big nasty mess, doesn't stop bleeding for 20 minutes, probably shoulda had stitches but oh well - busted.

I might not mind so much if  it weren't the second time this has happened in less than a year. And the problem is that it's all because of my stupid crooked front teeth. If the edge of that tooth didn't stick out just a bit, there'd be nothing to bust the lip on. It might hurt, but it wouldn't split wide open. *sigh*

So there - I'm done. Adding invisalign to the list of wants in my head.

Missing my buddy

4.5 years ago my mom passed away. She was my buddy. That was the first thing that my step-dad said to me when she was gone, "You're going to really miss your buddy."

He was right. I do. Every day.

This week has really been rough. The 21st was mom's birthday. One more reason to miss my buddy. Then today, my other buddy moved. :-(

Nine months after my mom passed away we got a new neighbor next door. This is always a worrisome event. It's a rental house, and it's relatively cheap. We've had a string of redneck, howl-at-the-moon-at-3 am kind of folks. Then this family moves in. They're not from 'round here. They're from Arizona.

I hesitate to introduce myself, but a couple of weeks after they move in, she does. Her name is Cathie and we spend the next half hour chatting. Both of us have other places we need to be, but we couldn't stop talking. Over time, we get to be friends, really good friends. Before I realized what happened, I had another buddy.

She's the kind of person that actually laments never having had the chance to meet my mom. She makes me laugh. She says things I would NEVER say!! She inspires me to strive to be more conscious of the things I say and do. She believes in me more than I believe in myself.

And...

Today I lost my buddy. :-(

Fortunately, I've only lost her to Phoenix. But I'm going to miss her terribly. I'm getting weepy just thinking of it. I keep looking out the window - wondering where the van is, looking for her kids. And it makes me sad.

It can be okay though. I'll miss our Sunday thrift store shopping, and having someone to go to Target with at 8pm, but at least I can hop on a plane to go see Cat - that's a definite improvement. So I'll see somewhere new and hang on to this buddy.


Buddy Mom, meet Buddy Cat.

I'm an addict...

I guess I have an addictive personality - in a very specific and weird way. When I find something like I like to read, I become ridiculously addicted. Terry Pratchett and Elizabeth Peters both have their very own shelves in my library. I have to own everything they've written, and I'm getting close!

My most recent reading addiction as actually been a blog, which is funny because I have a hard time reading my friend's blogs regularly (sorry guys!) I really am the worst. I'll pop in with a random comment and they'll smack immediately back with, "There you are! We thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth!"

However, The Pioneer Woman got my attention. The story of how she met her hubby (Black heels to tractor wheels), the recipes, photography tips, homeschooling info and everything else just make me go all fuzzy inside!

So here's to my silly addiction... head on over and see if she can make an addict out of you too!

Long time, no post.

Yeah - it goes that way doesn't it? Well, here's a little snapshot of what I've been up to since 2008!

Nope there isn't a lot of knitting, sewing or any other thing similar in there. *sigh* But that's okay. We've been having a great time of it!

Michael William Bouvier Jr. was born 09/12/09. On 8/26/10 we had to have a tumor removed from his finger - that would have been a harrowing experience if not for the people at Shriner's Hospital for Children here in Greenville, SC. If you ever get the chance, please support these people - they really do the most amazing things!

Sam's still... well, Sam. :-) She's a girlie-girl, then she's a tom-boy. She's a mess! And we love her all the more for it.

Maybe I'll get to some more posting here in the near future and resurrect this nearly-dead blog! But for now, I have kiddos to feed!