WORK!

Off to work I go on this Sunday, the last day of 2006. The store is only opened for four hours today, usually opened on Sunday for five hours.......woo hoo! Big deal. I have loads of paperwork to do and while customers are busy out in the host store (the bigger store that our little optical store is in) buying black-eyed peas and turnip greens, (good luck and lots of greenbacks for the coming year, it's the LAW down here) I will chug along closing out the year, and a successful year I might add with a modest gain over budget and last year's sales.
Think I'll just stop and get me a salad for lunch and take it with me. Or I should say a Zalad.
Oh, and I wanted to share the pic of my Grand Dog here that I borrowed from my DIL's My Space. Too cute not too share. Good Sunday to everyone!

Memory Lane

Ever since I posted about the teapot I keep remembering something I'd do a a child that I guess I'd forgotten until now. My mother had quite a collection of knick knacks. One thing was a teapot about the size of the one I'm using now. It was brown and had Chinese markings on it I believe. There was also cups. Well....I'd sneak it off the shelf sometimes and fill it with water and have a tea party with my dolls. If she knew I did that, she never said anything. I just remembered I'd also take from the kitchen some dessert dishes, they were wide mouthed and on a pedestal and looked like the glasses those people on soap operas used for their martinis.......so...I'd have apple juice and a grape "olive" and play like I was having a martini. I was a sneaky little child. But then I also remember putting on my Patton leather Sunday shoes and tap dancing away on our tile floor. I thought I was surely a dancing genius and didn't see what was so hard about tap dancing. But then I thought I could sing like those women in an opera as well, totally had no respect for their talent and thought I sounded just as good. Things seem so simple when you're a child. It's a shame we grow up and complicate things.

A new Set

Selling this to a friend for a gift.

Tea Time

Ok, for a long, long, time I've been searching for a tea set for just me, a small teapot and matching cups. Sounds easy enough to find unless you happen to live where I live. I did look on line but they were mostly too expensive or more decorative instead of useable but finally! It was a gift set for the Holidays at Walgreens and I love it and it's green too! (My favorite color,just ask anyone!) And.... because it was part of their Chistmas stuff it was half off which made it only $4.98! And it has four matching cups.......so let's have a cuppa tea, shall we??

Well!!!!! HUMPH! I wanted to show you a pic but Blogger won't let me load a picture right now...So, I will later, I promise, you've got to see it, it's sooo cute!

Oh look! I tried once more and Blogger did it! SO you can see it too! WE're having Apple Cinniman Spice Tea at the moment.

Oranges

Ok, not a very interesting subject but one I feel compelled to write about at this late, late time of night, or I guess I should say this early, early time of morning. You got it, I can't sleep. But I slept a lot today with the bad shoulder and all. SO......here's the deal. My stepfather has family in Florida and he was there this week and his uncle sent oranges back with him. Good, fresh, Florida oranges. They aren't pretty, mostly not even orange but they huge and juicy and good oranges. I've not had good oranges at all this season because I refuse to pay fifty cents each for the most pitiful oranges in the world at Wal-Mart. They come from Mexico or California or Peru......or some place and maybe when they are picked they are good but by the time they get here they are an awful excuse for oranges.
So....I'm excited about the oranges. They will share with me, but I've not gotten them yet but I can't wait!
Ok, I'm done ranting about oranges. Oh, and I've not shared my blog with anyone I actually know until tonight and I shared it with my DIL, "Hey Amy!" I thought it would be a good way for her to keep up with what is going on with me since we both live so fast we don't talk as often as we'd like to.
Plus Amy understands how my mind works most of the time and she won't judge me for being a little weird at times. So, there you go. I suppose I'd better try and get some sleep since I have work tommorrow.
Night!

OH! My Shoulder

From time to time, and it can't be because I'm gettin OLD, I get what I suspect is bursitis in my shoulder. Today is one of those days. It started yesterday really so I tanked up on Alieve and slept with the heating pad and stuck Salonpas pads on various areas and so it is SOME better but still hurts. Usually I can get ahold of it before it puts me down. Some years ago when I first got it I didn't know what it was and so I just kept thinking I'd slept wrong and had a stiff shoulder. It about killed me and it stayed with me for weeks and weeks. (I have to be dead to go to the Doctor, but that's a whole other story). So, since then I've learned some tricks that keep it under control. But I'm glad I'm off today anyway, I'll take it easy. (Not that I wasn't going to do that anyway.)
Gerald Ford has died and that is all they are talking about. James Brown died right here over the weekend in my state, which was his state as well. Usually they die in three's. We'll see.
My son J is not communicating with me at all. A real kick in the ass since it is I who is paying for his cell phone and the who has bought the car he is riding in. It is his family, his grandparents, his brother and I who have supported him completely for the last five months, but WE are the enemy. I understand it is part of his illness but non the less hard to take, hard to swallow. It is his wife, the one who left him with nothing, not even the knowledge that she wasn't coming back to him that he has run to I suppose. They are still separated but she agrees with him as to not cause a "scene" and that doesn't help him. But I am helpless in this situation. And I don't know where it will end or what is going to happen to the child that I love with all my heart and soul.
So........we shall see. As we've seen for almost the whole 29 years of his life.

Wish I were with these people!

My youngest son, with is wife and daughter. Doesn't he look handsome in his uniform? I wish they didn't live on the other side of my world but hopefully I'll get another trip in this spring. Wish I were going TODAY!

Back to work today

I have to close tonight so I go in at noon and get off at nine.
I'm reading a book I got for Christmas, thirteen moons. It's a good book to get into. You can check it out here. It is written by the guy that wrote Cold Mountain. Barely into it but I like it so far. Not a book that goes fast which is what I wanted.
J is in bad shape. He came to my mothers yesterday before I got there and she pissed him off and he took off. He was looking for a fight I think but it upset her and she is too old to get so upset, especially on Christmas but he is all messed up and I'm not sure he is taking his meds which causes him to have rages if he isn't taken it. Bipolar is an awful disease and when the people who love him have a hard time understanding it, it is hard for everyone. It is hard for everyone anyway.
I just don't want my child, who is now almost a thirty year old man to end up on the street and I will fight to the end for that not to happen. But one thing I've come to realize is that probably a big number of homeless people that are mentally ill are not there because they don't have a family that cares. Sometimes you can do all you can do and still they end up in jail or the streets. I don't want that for J but time is marching on and if things don't get better I will be wiped out emotionally as well as financially and we'll be right where we started. I don't know the answer and my heart breaks for him.
Ok, enough of that! I hope the weather gets better, it is an ugly day and not all that cold but chilly and damp! Ok, coffee is ready and oatmeal too...off for breakfast.

So This Is Christmas

Happy Xmas (War is over)
John Lennon

so this is Christmas
and what have you done
another year over
a new one just begun
and so this is Christmas
i hope you have fun
the near and the dear ones
the old and the young

a very merry Christmas
and a happy new year
let's hope it's a good one
without any fear

and so this is Christmas (war is over...)
for weak and for strong (...if you want it)
the rich and the poor ones
the road is so long

and so happy Christmas
for black and for white
for the yellow and red ones
let's all stop the fight (2x)

a very merry Christmas
and a happy new year
lets hope it's a good one
without any fear

so this is Christmas
and what have you done

war is over - if you want it
war is over - if you want it
war is over - if you want it
war is over - if you want it

Merry Christmas!

Well, here it is, the big day. I hope every little child gets lots of toys and has lots of food to eat and gets plenty of attention from their parents today. Of course not every little child will have those things today, but I still wish for it.
We celebrated last night as we have forever. My mother can't wait until Christmas morning to open presents so we do it on Christmas Eve. Even when I was little she couldn't wait so.....she'd make an excuse for us to go somewhere and when we got home........tada.....Santa would have arrived! I never ever had Christmas on Christmas morning.......lol. That was ok by me! I made my kids wait until Christmas morning though.
We had a pleasant evening. J, my son came over and though he wanted to be smart mouthed and argumentive at first, he calmed down. My mother was in a good mood, and my step father, well he and I just go with the flow. Our times together usually are determined by My mother's mood and my son's temperament. But....it was pretty calm. And I like calm. At this point in my life I can't handle drama!
Anyhow......we'll have lunch together today and then it will be all over. We don't usually do much for New's Year, except of course.......WE have to have Blackeyed peas and turnip greens. It's the law down here!!!!
MERRY Christmas to anyone reading and I hope Santa was good to you!

My Best Friend's Gift

Rose Quartz and some glass and silver....hope she'll like the set.

I've been awake since 4 A.M.!

Not sure what's up with me. But here I am wide awake, making coffee at four thirty in the morning! Oh well.
I work for a good company, my bonus payout wasn't suppose to be until our next pay period which is next Friday but lo and behold! Bonus deposited today! YAY! I wasn't broke but close to it!
And I elfed myself, you can too.......take a look at this, funny to me! You can do it too! I sent it to my granddaughter, she should get a kick out of that!
My mom and I are going to the movies tonight to see The Nativity Story. I'm excited about that. I hope she'll like the movie. I've heard good things about it.
Oh well, coffee is almost ready and I'm hungry. I am off today thank goodness, so a nap will probably be in line around seven.......but then I've got loads of stuff to do!

I got it all done

Ok, after working all day (and not on my job) I got it all done and have everything packed up and ready to take to work with me. I have four employees and for each of them I have a Christmas bag filled with two little loaf breads, chocolate nut and poppy seed. My mom saved Crystalite containers all year and so they each have a container of REally Good Butter cookies. And they each have a cute little gift box with two bracelets inside. I think those are pretty good presents and I hope they like them.
We drew names and I got my gal a candle set, sea breeze, and it's wrapped and put in the trunk of my car. And cooking along side of my mother.......well, that was the challenge. But I made it through and I'm glad. Oh, and we'll give our Doctor a gift card from Home Depot, he LOVES Home Depot, so there you have it!
A day's work done and I'm exhausted!
Goodnite!

The people in my life!

Nearly everyone in my life seemed to be grounches yesterday. My son depressed because he can't find a job. My mother, because, well I'm not sure. I don't have an oven so I baked at her house last night, and I couldn't do anything right,didn't use the right bowl or pan or spoon!.......Instead of leaving me alone to bake she was right there beside me. It was not a nice relaxing evening. WHo knows! The good news is I get to have to today off! We're having our little Christmas thing in the office tommorrow so I've go to get things ready for that. And yep, got to use my mom's oven again. Hope she's in a better mood.
I also HAVE to remember that I have a conference call at one thirty today. We ususally have it on Tuesday morning but not this week.
Ok, I smell coffee! See ya!

Another productive day, I'm impressed!

Ok, another bracelet, and......even though I have to work today, I am not going in until late afternoon to close, and so this morning I got a batch of Divinity made and some of the butter cookies, (just a trial really to see if they are going to be as good as I want them to be)the cookies are good, I got to make them a little thicker when I actually get going so they won't be hard. I made the dough and refridgerated it so it is ready! I maybe can get off early tommorrow, if not I still have tommorrow night.
Sweetie, my little dog, got to frolic all morning outside in the 70 degree weather.....geez, Merry Christmas!

Productive Day

I got my shopping done for the baking I'm going to do, bought a few more gifts, and..........TADA!!!!!!!!!!! Got jewelry made.

Good Morning

I slept good last night, once I got to sleep. Trying to decide if I want to do some baking today or not. Not sure when I'll have the time again since Steph is sick and I'm not sure when she'll get back to work. I was planning to be off Mon. Tues and Wed. to get the rest of my vacation days before the end of the year but not sure if I will now. Oh well, I'll get it figured out I guess.
I really need to work on Jewelry, OH yeah! That's what I will do today. Be prepared for pictures!
I'll be back!

A full day ahead

Work today and then I'm going to see about my best friend who has the flu. She has a five year old and a husband who has to work tonight and he gives her little help or sympathy at all when she is sick so I can at least take care of little Robbin tonight and make her honey and tea and maybe some chicken soup.
My son went to visit his wife this weekened (they are separated but I suppose not for too much longer) and my mother is driving me nuts wanting to know when I'm going to help her do Christmas baking. I guess I am kinda of running out of time as Christmas will be here soon!
Anyway.........that's about all I've got going today, pretty boring stuff. I've also got more jewelry to make but maybe I can get some of that done tommorrow.
Happy Saturday!

A Good Day

Work was good today. Maybe not as busy as we'd like but busy enough. My son, J has a job interview with UPS tommorrow. That would be nice even if it is for a Driver's helper and is temp. and part-time. Any money in would be good for him at this point.
This is cool! Click here: MERRY CHRISTMAS

Goodnight all!

Turquoise for Someone on my list

Ok, not sure who'll get this one. People tend to either hate turquoise of love it. But it did turn out really pretty. I've had these big stones of turquoise for quite some time so glad to finally show them off a little. Bali silver spacers also mostly.

Tangerines Smell Like Christmas to me

No matter what time of the year I peel a tangerine it smells like Christmas to me. I guess people have different smells that remind them of Christmas, gingerbread baking, Christmas tree smells, whatever but it's always, ALWAYS tangerines for me. I suppose it must have a lot to do with the big box of fruit that Santa always brought me for Christmas. It was only for CHRISTMAS that I got tangerines so they were very special to me. The box was a big box covered in tin foil filled to the brim with tangerines, oranges, a few grapefruit, apples, bananas, grapes and always an exoitic fruit, like a coconut maybe or a pineapple, or mangoes, or kiwi fruit. And sprinkled throughout the box was nuts in the shell, walnuts, brazil nuts, never pecans cause we had them out in the yard. Nope, these were special things straight from Santa.
I started with the tangerines because they were my favorites! My mother enjoyed doing this so much that when I had my own kids she did this for them too, to be delivered by Santa of course, but somehow it never excited them like it did me. I guess maybe because they could have that stuff whenever they wanted throughout the year but to me.........man it was magic! In my mind's eye I can see that box in that shiny foil paper and though I didn't pay attention to it until I'd opened all the wrapped presents, I always expected it to be there and it was I think until Santa stopped coming to see me. What a shame.

Kind of different

This is a Bracelet I made tonight and happened to snap the pic on a magazine. I was gonna crop it and get rid of the eye but I sort of liked it.

Monday, Monday

Today was a pretty good day. Customers pretty nice, employees pretty much ok, son in good mood and went to his threapy session. All is well in my world tonight.
A little T.V. and I'm off to sleep.

Some Creations for Christmas presents

This is just all glass beads in black with a little round Swarvoski pendant I made. It's really pretty on, not sure who'll get this one yet.

And then the Rose Quartz, a carved pendant. It's quite elegant as well.

An Evening Well Spent

This is the little almost six year old munchkin I spent the evening with tonight. She is my namesake and the daughter of my best friend. I don't think her tongue quit for more than ten seconds the whole time we were together but that's ok, she is quite entertaining! Her father took her mom out tonight for her birthday and so she and I spent the evening together.
She and my own granddaughter are three weeks apart in age. That year I saw two little girls come into the world, upclose and personal too, thank you very much! And both of them have brought into my life lots of love and smiles and for that I treasure any time I get to spend with either of them.
I'm tired, she wears me out......lol. Goodnight!

In Search of the Best Butter Cookies

Ok, I'm in search of the World's best butter cookies. I've decided to make some for gifts this year. When I was a teenager I remember someone I worked with bringing in some Butter cookies for Christmas, they were yummy but she refused to give us her recipe. To this day I've not tasted any as good as these. So this year I'm looking for recipes to try out and hopefully by before Christmas, and before I gain twenty five extra pounds I will find some. Here's a start
Today I made my best friend a chocolate cake for her birthday and I made two bracelets, dang it! I forgot to take pics and I've got them wrapped already! Oh well, they are pretty, you'll have to take my word for it. So I'm all set with her.
Other than still being cold today, there was not much news. Tommorrow I go back to work, and I'm ready actually!
Alrighty then! Goodnite!

One more Day of my little Vacation

I've pretty much accomplished nothing during my time off but it's been nice. Tommorrow I'm baking my best friend a Birthday cake and I've made her a couple of bracelets. Maybe I'll post pics of the jewelry tommorrow, my camera batteries are dead right now.
Because of the ordeal with my son, I'm a little strapped for cash so I'm glad she likes my jewelry, she is in fact one of my biggest fans.
It is gonna be chilly tonight, actually darned COLD, burrrrr! South Georgia is not known for cold winters but we may just have one this year.
Nothing exciting in my boring little life today, just enjoyed doing my own thing.
My son has an interview tommorrow, let's hope he gets the job!
Nighty night!

Got two Christmas gifts bought

Before I went to Atlanta for my work meeting, I'd done just a little bit of Christmas shopping online, and until today I'd actually forgotten it. But the two I bought came today so there! I've officially started.
One of the items that I bought for my hard to buy for Step-father. Years ago somebody came him this little glass house that you put incense cones in and the smoke comes out of the chiminey. The thing about this is he is such a bear about any kind of scent we were all blown away when he began to burn the Lavender incense that came with it. He fusses if my mother burns candles or uses air freshner so this thrilled her only to discover Lavender incense "cones" aren't that easy to find, at least not in our area(Not an unusal thing about most anything)......SO anyway, I ordered him some from somebody on E-bay.....so yay!!!
And then the other thing was the purfume that they've almost quit making for my mother. It is Forever Krystle. She wore it for years and then couldn't get it anymore and I've actually tried forever to find it on the internet only to find it was out of stock but I lucked out at last and found that.
So here I sit, with Forever Krystle on my wrist, smelling my mother.......lol.
SO..........now, let's see who's next on the list.
Only 19 days left!!!!!!!!!!!

A Bit Depressed

Ok, I went to Atlanta for a meeting over the weekend, came home Monday night and have holed up in my little house ever since and I've got to get out today if for nothing else to go shopping. I'm off until Saturday, trying to get in vacation days before I loose them.
I think my body is experiencing, (and my mind) menopausal things and although I branded myself as a warrior and decided to look upon menopause as a rite of passage, who am I kidding? This sucks! I don't feel like myself. I never seem to feel good physically anymore(that could be helped if I'd get off my ass and do my walking I was so good at doing for three years) and I just feel like my world is in a mess.
I feel like nobody loves me or wants to be around me (I don't want to be around them, so we're even!)
It's just not a good place to be but here I am.
Here I am. Not too much good for anything.
My mind is boggled, my body hurts and betrays me, my spirit is shot and I don't know where to go from here.
So there you have it, welcome to my pity party. Feel free to go at anytime and PLEASE take me with you!

My Life turned inside out!

Well, it's been months since I've posted but I intend to get back to blogging now and hopefully I can.
Back in August my oldest son's life took a turn and he needed help badly and so that's what I've been busy at. His wife left him, he was left with nothing, no place to live and badly in need of treatment for depression. Things are looking up a bit for him now and of course his wife had re-appeared but that's something I can't help and even though they are not back together yet, I've no doubt they will be soon. But they are grown people and all I can do is hope he can get his life together.
A few years back he was dianosed with Bipolar but never got good treatment but for the last few months he is seeing a threapist and getting the medication he needs. His family which consist of me, his brother, and his grandparents came together and helped him get an appartment, (he's not working yet) and just this week I helped him get a car (he has nothing) and so we'll see what happens next.
Mental illness is nothing new to my life. I grew up with a mentally ill father during a time when it was not as well understood or treated as well as it is now. My son is much like he was. When depression sets in it is painful to watch, and when mania sets in, it is impossible to get along with him. The meds thank goodness help that for now.
So, anyway, that's my life for now but things are calming now a bit now. One of the dreams I've put in this cedar chest is for my son to know some happiness in this lifetime. I hope he is on his way to that now.
I'll be back, I promise, even though I have no readers, I'll be back for me!