Can't Wait to Play Beading!

I spent hours today pouring over my beading books, and finally got around to placing my order. It was pathetic! But Sue and I will have fun this weekend being a bunch of slackers watching movies, eating food, and doing a fun craft. It's like a Mini Girls' Weekend! When will there be another official Girls' Weekend? Ummm, Mother's Day weekend? That soon? Who wants to scrapbook, and who wants to bead? And do we all want to gather in one place, or sit tight at our own houses with just our own little kids? Just some things to think about. And could I get some comments here?!!!! Sheesh!!! Maybe I should put the Mother's Day question in an email...

Time Log -

7am to 2 pm - doing the Mom thing and plotting the beading stuff, and barely got my order in on time, to arrive Friday. I know, because I called the company, Fire Mountain Gems and Beads www.firemountaingems.com just to make sure. Whew!
2 pm to 7pm - blew off some mental steam for a little bit, then started studying my web programming again. Yes, I thought I had it all figured out, but then I found I am very limited by the programming eBay allows, and what I had planned to do won't work, so I've got to dig around some more. Sigh...

Then, I found the kids, who are home this week on Spring Break, horsing around in Dani's room:

Attack! It's amazing how much they are NOT killing each other this week. They got pretty rowdy today playing Mario Part 8 on the Wii, and just horsing around a lot, but it was mostly in fun, instead of the usual "I hate you" "Well, I hate you more" flavor of sibling love we get between the older two. Good time, good times.

Then, I made cookies and grilled up a big batch of the chicken breasts I got on sale at Smiths' this week so I could freeze it for future meals. I tried to read my programming book inbetween, but I didn't get very far.

7:30 pm - went to Gerri Allen's house, and we poured over her bead collection. I think I may start up a beading group in my ward. It could be fun!
8:45 pm - stopped at Smith's on the way home. I was dying for a soda pop. Got a call from Zen, "You've been gone too long!" Sheesh, these people just can't live without me. Annoying and gratifying all at the same time. We read from the first half of Jacob 5, the Olive Trees allegory, one of my favorite sections of scripture. Prophesies are mental candy. We discussed the allegory with the kids, lots of interrruptions, mostly from a bored Connor, but it was good to read again.

10 pm - My blog posts, and much distraction looking at the bead website again. Big sigh... So many luscious beads, so little time and money.

Okay help me solve a dilemma, if you can, of what I should do with myself over the next three days. Here are the things that need to get done, and I can't do them all. Which ones should I postpone until Monday, or just abandon all together:

1. Taxes - Yes, people, I'm running out of time, and I really should get them done by Sunday, because Zen probably won't physically be here on the deadline, so he can sign them and I can mail them. Yes, I will efile, but I still have to mail the physical copies, don't I?. I could get an extension (is that hard to file for?), but procrastinating is bad, and besides, I'm pretty sure we're getting a big refund, and we could use the dough NOW.
2. eBay Store Programming and Listing - Darn it! If I could just get the store form programmed like I want it, I could zip along, list things, and really start bringing the dough with a bunch of auctions of the old stuff, to help cross-promote the new stuff, and bring traffic to my store. I know the long-term plan is good, but I've just have this ONE huge boulder in my path, and I need to clear it out of the way, so the money can flow, and the clutter can leave.
3. Mother's Day Albums - I really, really, really want to do a Mother's Day album with the sisters in my ward, somthing simple like Katie, Chris, and I saw at Pebbles. But I've got to design the sample and get the sign-up sheets going. Yes, as Sue pointed out to me, NO ONE signed up for my card class at Christmas, but even if I don't get a lot of interest, either that tells me my design sucks, or if I do get some good response, I've got a good idea that it will sell well in my eBay store, too. And this can't be delayed, because I've only got this Sunday, the 12th, and Sunday, the 19th for sign-ups, so I have two weeks to order in the supplies, if needed, before the class on May second, time enough for people to make an album, and still have a week to mail it to someone. Ordering supplies less than one week before class isn't going to cut it with some of the companies I order from. It takes some of them four business days to get stuff in, and I just don't want to cut it that close. So, either I do it, or forget it.
4. Hangin' with my Sis this weekend - Now, I KNOW this is going to happen, not negotiable.

Sue, I'm asking for your cut-the-monkey-foo opinion, you know you want to give it! See, girls, you think Sue's verbose lecturing tendency on her blog came from one of our parents, but no, it was her SISTER who warped her brain. Yes, it's true, I was the one who nagged her when we were kids. I guess it's a big sister thing. So, I guess the blame rests on me.

End Post #62, 2009

I Spit at You Two!

You know I wouldn't be able to resist a photo op, so here goes:

Yep, she did better if she could hold a spoon while I fed her, but she still ran out of interest and started spitting it out.



Joy - is it the spitting or posing for Mommy?

This is my favorite. I just love the spunky spirit!

End Post #61, 2009

I Spit At You!

That darn Foofie! I think she's decided she doesn't eat baby food anymore. I noticed her spitting her food out a few times over the last few days when she decided she didn't want anymore. But today, she would do that EVERY TIME I fed her just a few bites of baby food. The only things she would eat willingly were things she could put in her mouth herself, like baby cracker puffs, bread crusts, chips, etc., and of course, her bottle. Little Miss Independent! Zen and I have gone on and on for years about how once Dani got mobile, she was a sassy girl. Emma is doing it too, darn her! I'm just raising more Cox Independent Women. Sheesh! Wish I had pics, but spit-out baby food is kind of gross, and besides, I have to work fast to clean up the food before she spreads it everywhere. But maybe...

End Post #60, 2009

Too Much Beading and Too Much Grubs

Time Log -

Morning - exercised, showered, dressed, did all the Mom-taking-care-of-house-and-kids-stuff, and double-checked an order for brads.
Afternoon - fed kids lunch, did kid and house stuff I don't even remember, then got COMPLETELY distracted by ordering some bead stuff for the Mother's Day albums I'm working on, then it occurred to me that Sue and I could make some cute bracelets for the girls when they are here this weekend for Easter. That was the end of my productivity, as there were so many choices online I couldn't make up my mind. Then, Dani and Emma got into my bead stuff:

Destructo Baby. She loves tearing it all apart!

"Mu-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! It's mine, all mine!"

Dani made this ankle bracelet, which looked so big, that she tried it on Emma for a necklace, and it fit! I completed the anklet with a magnetic clasp, and the amazing thing, is that Emma didn't yank it right off. I see more necklaces in her future...

Foofie, stylin' in the tub right before bed.

Perfect for flip-flops and sandals. Summer is a-comin'!

Then, Gil needed me to run him to Taco Time to check on his job application, and to run him to the college. After 30 minutes of Gil's frustration trying to get us all out of the house he said, "I wish Dad was here! He could drive me right now!" I said, "Well, I'm the mother of four children." I know he's counting the days until he can drive himself places. Ughh. Then I suggested we all get a Taco at Taco Time while we waited for Gil. It wound up being an impulse-trip to a local burger joint called Grubs:


The Shamrock is their specialty - a double cheeseburger with the works. We also got shakes. It was good, but expensive. My $5 taco concept turned into $35. I got chewed out later by Zen when he got home from the Field. Add that to my frustration over wasting my day, and I was cranky by the end of the night when we read scriptures. Backtrack a little - after coming home from Grubs, I spent some time cleaning up all the bead mess, and finishing Dani's ankle bracelet. Then, it was kid and house stuff the rest of the night, with some occasional slobbering over beading projects. After putting the kids in bed, some time alone on my laptop soothed the troubled beast. Sometimes you just have enough of fifty people wanting a piece of you. But now I'll go to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and I hope to get more done. Zen will be home for two days. I hope he can field some of the more mundane things and basic kid stuff for me. A girl can dream...

Oh, Blog Commentors, Where Art Thou?

End Post #59, 2009

I Was a Good Girl Today

This will be super-brief, because today was simple. Besides the usual mom stuff like changing diapers, feeding Emma, helping Connor, exercising, doing laundry, making dinner, etc., I spent EVERY extra minute from the moment I got up at 6am, until right now, 12:05 am, doing stuff for my business. (Unless you count the mega-long conversation Sue and I had on the phone this afternoon about children, namely unmotivated little girls, and Easter weekend.) I planned out cardstock colors for my Mother's Day album kits, I checked out some brad stuff online, I started editing the selling form for my eBay store, and I listed an auction for a Christmas gift, that was long overdue.

Sorry, not much info, but it was a productive day, if not very descriptive.

Do Better

Pic taken May 2005
This makes me want to take a trip to Temple Square to photograph all the spring flowers. Are they out yet? And what time of day is the best for taking pictures?

General Conference was great, as it usually is when you come ready to listen. There were some really inspirational talks. I hope I stay motivated to reread them, and listen to them again, if the audio is available on the Church website, over the next few months. I felt ready to get up, and get busy doing better. Reaching out to serve others more, get my act together financially, and attend the temple more. Good stuff! After listening to all the stories and examples, I also felt like counting my blessings, which maybe I make a big blog post about tomorrow when I've got more time, as I realized there are many in bigger financial straits than we are, and who have suffered through so much more. At least Zen is employed, and I have some skills to bring in a little money. It could be a lot, lot worse. My kids are healthy, we are all healthy, no major illnesses like cancer. We have each other, we are sealed together, we know that Christ lives, that He and Heavenly Father love us, that we have repentance and the Great Plan of Happiness, and that all the ills of mortality can be reconciled, either in this life, or the next, through faith in Christ. Life is very good.

Time Log -

8:45 am - get up, shower & dress, puttered around, looked at my Accucut dies
10 am - listened to General Conference on the internet while I made breakfast
12 noon - we cleaned the ENTIRE upstairs, bathroom & bedrooms included. Why? Zen had invited one of his coworkers over for dinner. It was iffy whether or not his friend was going to come, but we wanted to be ready.
1:20 pm - in my craftroom, looking at a catalog
2 pm - listened to General Conference on the internet while I looked at things in my craftroom, then I went upstairs to start cooking chicken (bought 2 big packs at Smith's yesterday, and they needed to be cooked & frozen), also made cookies
6 pm - finished cooking, ate dinner with the family at our kitchen table (an extremely rare occurence), then took a nap
8:45 pm - woke up, helped kids, searched for things on the internet, gave Emma a bath & put her to bed, wrote my post

End Post #58, 2009

Ice Show 2009

It always makes me nervous when I try to make a joke, and no one laughs. So, you didn't like my "Tribal Name" post? Come on, it had to be at least a little funny, even though I didn't put a lot of effort into it late at night. Tough crowd!

Dani and I participated in this year's Ice Show at the Rec Center. The theme was "Up and Away", things that fly. There were airplanes, bumblebees, fairies, pilots, etc. My group, the Adults, did balloons, to the tune, "99 Luftballoons", and Dani's group, Betas, did eagles, to the tune, "Fly Like an Eagle."




The pinwheel formation, one of my favorites. We did several variations in the adult routine.

Time Log -
8am - woke up, thought about my day, exercised, got an eBay package ready to mail, ran to post office, showered & dressed
10am to 12noon - watched Conference. There were some great talks, as usual. I particularly noted the one about addiction to debt. My ears were burning. I also multi-tasked by folding laundry, & washing new loads.
12noon to 2 pm - played games with Connor. Check out grocerysmarts.com, the grocery-saving system Lora introduced us to in an email several weeks ago. Looking forward to using it often. Shopped at Smith's.
2pm to 4pm - watched Conference, cooked lots of chicken while I listened to a live stream on the internet
4pm to 6pm - made dinner, cleaned some shelves in the garage to make room for the stuff I bought at Smith's caselot sale. Got ready to go to the iceshow
6pm to 8pm - The Ice Show
8pm to 10pm - hung out with the fam, watched tv on my laptop
10pm to 10:30 pm - got Foofie in bed, messed around on my laptop
10:30 pm - work on blog post
11:20 pm - do some scrapbooking research on eBay
11:55 pm - go to bed