Yay for me!

I had an interview yesterday and was hired at my faaaaaaaaaaaavorite bookstore!

And the biggest perk is the very sweeeeeet discount store employees get!

"Paycheck? ummmm ... what paycheck?"

Muwah!

Thanksgiving 2007

We're So Thankful!

We were able to travel to Ohio
and spend Thanksgiving with my sister.

I didn't realize how much I missed being with family on the holidays!

Above is the gorgeous table she set for the occasion.

Her hubby's family also joined us for the feast!

It was a great time and awesome food!!! YUMMY!!!

Here is Uncle Steve with his nieces (this was brave for a dad of all boys!!!)

I've never been a big "spring-time" cleaner ...
but I LUH-UV to get things clean in the fall!

I think it must be knowing that the amount of daylight is getting shorter
and that snow is coming soon

I love getting all the spices cleared out ... old ones tossed and saved ones organized

lining up the flavors of teas I have in baskets
hot cocoa and marshmallows out and ready

Winter is coming!!!!!!

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Blah Blah Blah!

Money Stinks!

Unfortunately, we find ourselves needing a bit more than we are currently finding in the bank account on paydays ...

so I applied for a job.

Actually, it seems pretty cool and rather interesting.
It's at a jewelry servicing store.

They are supposed to call me in a few days.

I hate zee waiting! :)

In an attempt to better understand the smoky air
those back home in Southern California
recently found themselves breathing ...

we fired up the heater tonight

mmm ... the smell of burned dust
(cough)

I love autumn!

The colors amaze me every year!

The Long Climb ...

I labored as I climbed
not daring to look behind me
focusing on the top ...
the icy peaks I finally reached

I braced myself
to brave the downward slope
preparing to conquer ...
the bottom I found

Alas ... we can no longer ski on what-was our laundry pile!

(Steve will be so shocked when he gets home from the airport!)

Steve left for Florida today ... he'll be gone for the week.

Blah!

I really miss him when he's gone. It's silly ... but I just like knowing that he's right down the road at work every day. It's disconcerting to have him so far away.

Thankfully, I've got my boys with me.

Little do they know that we have some deep cleaning to do together this week.

Muwah!

Matthew had his best friend over for the night. He and Kyle are working on a video game they want to make. I thought I'd throw in some ideas.

"You should have a mermaid," I said. "No games have mermaids."
I was then given a lesson in all the games that contain mermaids.

"What about something off the wall? Like a rabid turtle?"
I could hear their eyes rolling to the back of their head while Matthew said, "moooooom!"

"You should have random things ... like if you can have a pet bear, 1 out of every 900 times you use it, it should just turn around and eat you!"
Apparently they don't think this is such a workable idea either.

I'll keep trying ... I just know I have a brilliant video game idea somewhere in my head!

Life in general

Today it is mid-October. My oldest son will be 17 next week ... wow. I'm quite aware of this fact, and yet at the same time, quite unbelieving.

I find myself pondering life the past few weeks ... where has time gone? where is time going? what is it *I* want out of life?

I find that I'm refusing more and more to merely "survive" ... I surely don't want that for my children! I don't want to spend the rest of my life "surviving" .... albeit that is better than an alternative of not surviving!

But I find as I'm encouraging my children to find a path in life that truly brings them happiness, I question why it is that so many of us let go of that dream for ourselves.

Let us all do what it takes to go about our daily lives doing those things which we dream about doing! Perhaps it is simply taking time to smell the flowers outside your window .... or maybe something so large you fear it can never be attainable. Bah, say I! Let us attain it!

Such are my thoughts today ...