My Mission... If I Choose to Accept It!

Today I began my own "mission organization" to get my home and self into shape. I don't know which is going to be harder to accomplish.

When it comes to my home, I've been thinking about downsizing. I have three bedrooms and I'd like to go down to a two or one bedroom. My son is wanting to strike out on his own soon so I really don't need all the extra space. Actually, I might get a two bedroom apartment so that I can have an actual office/studio instead of using my dining room. I haven't decided yet but that's on my long list. The short list is: me, and organizing, purging the unnecessary items that are cluttering it up around here. I also have Mom's stuff to sort through which is difficult. I know her things are here and some have to be given away or sold. Got my work cut out for me, is all I can say.

A Good Day...

Today is such a nice, sunny, breezy day. I've been sitting on the porch with my sister and talking with my next-door neighbor for about three hours. I have the house all to myself today and I'm taking advantage of it. I don't have to work today which makes me very happy. So now, Simba, Sara and I are going to watch television and probably have a nap. This is Simba napping on top of Moosie-Lou, which was his Christmas present. :)~
Simba and Sara playing before napping.

Studio Friday: Aged/Antique

The only thing that I have to show today that is both aged and antique is my big bible. It belonged to my Nana, who got it from her mother. The copyright is 1892. When Nana passed away in the late 80's, my mom got it. Mom passed away last year so now I'm the 4th generation to receive it. It's not the kind of bible you can carry around. it's just for show I guess. It has gold lettered drawing and writing on the front and back cover which can't be seen very clearly in the pictures but it is still in pretty good condition. The outside binding has come off due to age and being moved around and looked at a lot in the past, but the pages are still together. It measures 13X10 and is about 7 inches thick. There's a lot of interesting stuff in it, including a "Presented to" page and a "Marriage day" page, and places for pictures and other special pages. The metal (brass) latches are still firmly attached and functioning. I'm really happy to have it to pass on to my son someday.

Discouraging Day

Today I ran errands all morning and went shopping at WM. Well, was I surprised to see a whole new section of scrapbooking supplies where there used to be only a small selection. The prices are out of control these days. What's up with WM?? It's making me think seriously about starting my own business because WM's prices are getting more expensive all the time. Prices are outrageous everywhere I go lately! Then, after hitting the stores, picking up basic necessities, I had to get gasoline and I noticed it's now $2.89 per gallon when it's been $2.99 for the past two months. Down a whole 10 cents!

It was a discouraging day. Just sucked! :)~

Studio Friday: Contrast

I'm a recovering cobalt blue glass collector, which means I've stopped buying it. I have too much of it. It's everywhere, including my dining room. I no longer hoard every bottle, plate, cup, paperweight, etc., that I see. I'm actually giving it away piece by piece. The first time I received a piece was as a gift from a friend, years ago and I was hooked. She collected the old stuff. I mean the original apothecary glass; Vicks bottles, Bromo Seltzer and other medicine bottles, from way back. I collected everything cobalt I could find. You can really tell the difference between the older and the newer glass.
I like the contrast of the glass when it's on a windosill as opposed to on shelves where the light can't get to it or through it.

It's raining this morning, so there isn't much light effect, but it's still pretty.

The Big 2-0!

Well, he did it! My son turned 20 yesterday. No longer a teenager, no longer a baby. I'm sad and happy all at the same time. I'm sad because he's been through so much trauma in his short life. I'm happy that he actually has this opportunity at life because he came so close to death that it is a miracle he is still with me. I'm so happy that he's reached this age. I want so much for him. I love that guy so very much.

He now says he wishes he was 15 again! : )~

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day and boy, I miss my mother. She died last year from complications from surgery. Out of three children my mother had, I'm the youngest and the only one who decided to have a child. Twenty years ago, tomorrow, May 15th, my husband Scott and I had a son. He was the most beautiful blue-eyed (like his dad) baby boy I'd ever seen and we were so proud to be parents. When my son was six, Scott died with leukemia. That was a hard time for us all. It's been hard raising him on my own, but I have a very loving, supportive family who helped out and it made things a bit easier. I've loved every moment of being a mother, good and the bad.

Two years ago, my son, Jamison (who was 17 at the time) was involved in a car accident that resulted in the death of his very best friend. Their friend's mother bought them a case of beer and let them go out on the road. For that case of beer a life was lost and Jamison wasn't expected to survive the night. He sustained massive internal injuries including: a crushed pelvis, which has left one leg noticeably shorter than the other now, a closed head injury (miraculously, no brain damage), collapsed/punctured lungs, kidney, spleen, bladder damage, and his intestines were split in two and had several holes throughout. He wore an ileostomy bag for weeks while his intesines healed. On top of all that, he has the memory of seeing his friend die before his eyes and he was pinned in the car unable to move, to help, even if he could have. His friend "J" let him drive the car and he didn't have a driver's license. As a mother, I wish I could take all his pain away, and the pain of the mother who's going through tremendous loss today, having lost her son two years ago.

All I can do as a mother, is be here and support and love him. More hard stuff is ahead for him but he'll get through it. He learned the hard way that a moment of "fun" has affected the rest of his life and the lives of others. The mother who supplied the drink hardly got a slap on the wrist and she was seen recently purchasing liquor again. Let's hope not for someone else's child.

Peace and love to all mothers everywhere today.

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Too much time on my hands...

...and I end up doing this, taking pictures. I'm just sitting here goofing around. Scary, I know. It's been a long day. :)


Working with focus...
Oops! I blinked. ...hmmm, bad hair day comes to mind.

Studio Friday: Robot.

When I read this weeks topic for Studio Friday, I thought it was interesting. I looked around and what I found to be my most useful little robot is my Aroma-Robot. It is actually a Febreze Scent Stories Machine. My friend Linda bought me this last Christmas and I just love it. It spreads the most calming aromas around my house from a disk that holds five different scents. My favorite at the moment is the Wandering Barefoot on the Shore disk. The disk "plays" for 2 hours alternating through each of the five scents and they waft throughout my whole house. It can be set to mild, medium or heavy scent. I keep mine set at medium and it seems just right. If you don't already have one I highly recommend it. :) Again, my picture is a bit blurry but the link will take you to the website so you can see a clear picture.

I hope everyone has a great day!!

Bitz..

I really hate being sick, but I'm sick. I don't think I can remember the last time I was actually incapacitated with a sinus infection. I've felt awful since last Thursday. Friday I went in to work with a fever of 101 and ended up coming home early. I couldn't stop sneezing and... well... you know, it was not pretty. Today is Tuesday, and I'm still having after effects of the whole thing.

Habits: One of my bad habits is that I drink too much coffee. I quit for awhile but then I went to lunch with an associate one afternoon and she was drinking coffee. It smelled so good that I had to have a cup. Well, the next thing I knew, I was right back where I left off, almost immediately-a pot a day and now I've started being jittery again. I read an article recently on How to Stay Younger Looking, and it said that drinking coffee makes skin look older and brings on wrinkles sooner. I'm ALL about trying to stay younger looking. my birthday's coming up in a few months and I'm going to be celebrating my 35th birthday. Again!

Oh well, off to a showing. Still sneezing and coughing.
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Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This is Simba in his new jogging suit. He hates it and wouldn't even take two steps with it on. I told him he's going to wear it at least once. I won. Isn't he adorable? :)

Sounds...

This week's topic for Studio Friday is sounds in your studio. When I'm in my studio/dining room, I hear my cat bathing and purring. I hear the coffee pot perking. I hear the traffic going by the house. I hear the clock ticking. And I'm happy to be in my home, comfortable and surrounded by the things that I love.

Busy days

This has been a busy week so far. Sadly for my boss, his son was killed in a motorcycle accident on Sunday and it was devastating to him and his family. He was second of five children and father to two small children. He was in the Air Force stationed in Guam when it occurred.

I've been busy cleaning out the spare room and basement this week, getting ready for a yard sale. The town where I live is putting on a city-wide sale the last weekend of May. I have so many things to sort through; from toys, to bikes, to clothes, household items, video games and game units. (We've had every single one of them!!) My sister and her friend are going to join in on my lawn. I'm hoping to do a lot of purging. Some things are hard to let go, but I'm trying to get tough with myself and let them go. I still have toys from when I was a little girl. It's a bit chaotic around here to say the least.

The weather has been really nice and sunny. It rained a little today, which has made the grass greener. It's supposed to be sunny and 68 tomorrow.