Getting Old(er)...

Wow.  The weekend was a rough one.  Some major life events going on.  While I did have a scrapbooking crop scheduled for Saturday, it was interrupted with a few things.

First, the youngest Girl tested for her driver's license.  Yikes!  This is my last "baby" and she's trying to drive?  Well, I got a reprieve, much to her tearful dismay.  She did not pass her first time 'round.  That gives us a few more weeks to work on the finer details in the car she's testing in.  This is my first child (of three) to be EAGER to grow up and want to do the things that "normal" teenagers typically want to do.  The older two had to be brought into adulthood kicking and screaming.

I'm not sure which is better.  The over-ambitious desire to grow up or the complete reluctance to grow up.

Another major part of my Saturday was spent looking at studio apartments for The Boy.  He will soon be 23 and I think it's time for him to try his wings out.  This place is AWESOME.  It's actually a sort of communal living setup.  It's for artists (of all types - music, theatre, painting, photography, etc.) and it's set up in an old school building.  The school was built in the 1800's so the original part of it is just beautiful.  They have kept many of the features of the school in the studios... original wood flooring, chalkboards, brick... and the ceilings are 14 foot high with nearly floor to ceiling windows.  We were able to look at many of the studios - those that are already occupied and those that are still under construction.  If I were 23 I'd be jumping through flaming hoops to get a spot there!

Check it out (these are just two samples of the different varieties of studios there):

Of course, The Boy is not as eager.  Dragging his feet is an understatement.  We found a vacancy there at the beginning of March and he didn't contact them until last week to express his interest.  Of course, the vacancy was filled the Day Before he contacted them.  Can you say "internal screaming"? 

It was his job to follow up with them with a thank you and an expression of interest in being put on a wait list for one of the studios still under construction.  I don't know if he did it.  He won't tell me.  I guess I'm being too nosy.  But Inquiring Moms NEED to know!  *sigh*  It's killing me to pull back, but pull back I must.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me... both with the apartment situation and the driving situation.  I'm split down the middle on how I feel about all of this, and my emotions are roiling... one minute I'm frustrated with the lack of progress, and the next minute I'm teary-eyed because I can't handle the inevitable changes. 

Through all of that, I did settle down some on Saturday evening (scrapbooking) and Sunday (visiting with a friend and then warming the couch for many, many... many hours).

But I'm really starting to feel... as the kids get older... that I'm just getting old.

I Bring You Proof...

Hello!

I have been mentioning for quite some time now that I have spent time creating this year.  Lots of creative crops and time spent in my scrapbook room.  And I have failed to show you anything of what I have been playing with.

So today, I present to you, my Recipe Project.

It is a goal of mine to use this year to weed out recipes that I, and my family, really love, and then keep them in one location instead of spread out in various recipe books, on Pinterest, on scraps of paper, etc.  So, I decided to create some homemade recipe albums that eventually the kids can fight over. 

Hah.

I like 'em, anyway:

I'm very excited for how they turned out.  Now I just need to get off my duff and get the recipes IN them... and get rid of the rest of the recipe "clutter"!

10 Things - Wasting Time vs. Wanting Time

Hey y'all...

Today I'm feeling a little on the "poopy" side.  As in, I'm bummin' a little.  I've spent a lot of time, lately, just feeling a little on the blue side and, therefore, I have found myself "wasting" a lot of time.  I have many more exciting 10 Things topics floating around in my head, but I find myself with little time left to write the post and so... here are Five Things on which I have been wasting my time plus Five Things I feel I should have spent that time doing...

Wasting Time on:

1.  NCIS

....this is my number one time-suck right now.  I watch endless episodes of NCIS on CLOO or USA.  It was so intense for a while that when my bedroom TV was disconnected while we were renovating the bedroom (yes, I know, completed photos to come), I had some serious withdrawal from not being able to watch it before heading to bed.

2.  House

...this has been my number two time-suck, right behind NCIS.  I end up watching this on nights NCIS isn't on.  On Wednesdays when they are both on, I bounce back and forth between episodes, watching the one that interests me most.

3.  Internet - I was going to say Facebook, but it's really the internet in general. I spend a lot of useless time bouncing around at night, visiting Facebook, my various email accounts, Yahoo (news and videos), Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, etc.  I spend a lot of time bouncing around, but very little time being productive.

4. My new smart phone -

...I text and play games on my smart phone now.  I'm sucked in so easily.  Currently, I play Pumpkins vs. Monsters or do Word Searches against the clock.  Pumpkins vs. Monsters messes up my vision, so I try to limit myself on that one now.  I'm almost done with it...

5. Having conversations in my head.  I'm not sure how better to explain this, but I have conversations with people who irritate me, anger me, hurt me, etc. in my head.  I speak my mind to this/these person/people and get them to stop the behavior that is causing me grief.  None of these conversations have ever been spoken... but plenty have been rehearsed.

Wanting Time For:

1. CardMaking - I have set a goal for myself at the end of every year that THIS year is The Year when everyone will get a handmade card for their birthday from me.  This means I need to build up my supply.  (It has yet to happen.)  I also wish to create random holiday/seasonal cards with the goal of getting one out in the mail to a different person every month. This, too, has yet to happen.


2.  Scrapbooking - I have too many things started and not enough finished!

3.  Decluttering - specifically the "spare room" (ha) downstairs that is packed to the gills with junk.  I want to make this my own personal work-out room, but you can only move about 3 feet into the room.  It's bad... I'm a'sceared to go in there by myself!  :)

4.  Doodling or Zentangling - I wish I "believed" that I could doodle, but I do not.  I know that, as with anything, practicing makes you better... and yet, I am almost afraid to put a pen, pencili or marker to paper and draw or doodle.

5.  Reading - I have so many books sitting at my bedside, just waiting for me to pick it up.  I just... don't.  On top of all the things I over-commit myself to, I have joined a book club.  This means I HAVE to make time to read.  But it also means that this book is the priority, whether or not it would be something I would choose to read on any other given day.  At least I have something in my life for this one thing pushing me to "do"!

How about you?  What do you waste time on and then, looking back at that time, what do you typically wish you'd done instead?

Make sure to visit here for more 10 Things on the 10th!

The New Adventures of Old Kai...

source

 Guess what?  I started a new business.  It's not really "my" business.  Well... I guess it is.  I have come across some of the most wonderful tea I personally have ever tasted.  And as I drink tea practically every day from September through May, I must admit to having tasted quite a bit.

Over time, I have become partial to loose-leaf teas.  These are typically much higher quality of tea and often much more flavorful.  I have had tea brought to me from the UK and purchased loose-leaf teas from online shops.

Then I discovered Tealightful Treasures.  One of my sisters, actually, introduced me to it.  Several times, in fact.  So, before I committed to anything more serious, I purchased some teas from one of my sister's tea parties.  I was very, very, very impressed.  The English Breakfast black tea is some of the best I've tasted... it really stood it's ground next to my Harrods English Morning tea that my friend brought to me from the UK.

Anyhoo, I decided to test the waters and hold a couple of tea parties of my own (with the help of my friends).  They were successful and helped me make the decision to jump in and become a consultant.  Well, today my consultant kit arrived in the mail and I'm super excited!  There's so much that I want to try!!

Any tea drinkers out there?  What's your favorite?  I have so many new types and flavors to taste-test... give me a hint on where I should start...

I'll be placing a link in my side bar if anyone is ever interested in holding a tea party (virtual or, if I can get to you, face-to-face) or you can just order directly from my website.

Wish me luck!

Cavern Adventures

When I was a child I was fascinated with outdoors and nature.  My father probably thinks I slept my youth away, you know, being that kids tend to sleep longer hours than adults can seem to tolerate.  I've learned this as I've gotten older.  The Boy, for example, didn't get out of bed until after 2pm yesterday.  *sigh*  But I digress...

Anyway... I loved all things rock and water, grass and trees, and skies galore.  I loved touching different things feeling the texture and learning about the markings that some things carried (fossils).  I collected rocks and shells.  A pretty white stone in our gravel driveway was quickly pocketed.  The neighbor girl once found a small Geode in the gravel driveway and it was amazing to watch her break it open with a hammer and see the crystallized formations within.

Photo Source

Even now, I want to pick fascinating rocks up and pocket them.  I have to really resist picking those things up now.  I choose not to, typically just stuffing my hands in my pockets, simply because I have no where to put them... and I need to stop collecting stuff! 

Today's adventure, however, was a rock-hound's dream come true.  I went to the Ohio Caverns with The Hubs, The Boy and The FIL (father-in-law).  Complete with miniature flying bats, we walked down to 10-stories below the surface of the earth.  And Oh!  The wonders that were there.  And as we were not allowed to touch anything (for fear of ruining thousands of years of growth), I came home with nary a rock.  But I did come home with something... here are just a few photos, in no particular order, that I took...

The lines you see near the center of the photo above, over the water, is water dripping from the ceiling.

See the bitty bat?

How about now?

I have so many more amazing photos.  It was just breathtaking in parts down there.  If you ever get a chance to go spelunking**... or even take a tour through some nearby caverns like I did... I strongly recommend it!  It's amazing!


**How did I come by having an amazing vocabulary, you ask? Why, I read a lot as a child.  I learned about spelunking - no joke - from my Trixie Belden (teen detective) series.  :)

Public Service Announcement...

Thanks for all of your very kind comments about my Storytelling Sunday's "My Big Win".  As always, I enjoy telling the story; thanks so much for visiting and giving me a little love in the form of a comment.

Today, I'd like to bring to you a public service announcement... and a new app for your phone!

I'll let the video below speak for itself.  Ladies, line up and be entertained... but know it's about a very, very, serious topic: self-breast exams.





Love it!  :)

My Big Win!

Well, well… you didn’t think I’d make it, did you? I know it’s a little on the late side, being after 7pm ET as I am posting this… but surprise!  I’m here for Storytelling Sunday!  And today’s tale is about my Big Win!

What?!  Can you believe it?  The Mega Millions was Just. Won. and Kai is going to tell us about her big win?  Could it possibly be…?

I could come here and tell you I won the Mega Millions, but after last year’s post on this date, I’m sure many of you would guess, quickly, that I was just foolin’ ya.  Instead, I thought I’d tell you about the time I won something… and it made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!  

When I was a child, I remember feeling like my family was so unlucky.  Things were always breaking down, we couldn't have anything new (I lived on hand-me-downs), and it just always seemed like one more thing went wrong.  I remember often looking up at a horseshoe that was nailed to the wall of our back porch and thinking that the luck had all run out of it because it was nailed arch up, ends down (upside down).  I hated that horseshoe.

But that's not what this story is about.

One day, while I was riding my bicycle back from the corner mom-n-pop store, I looked up from eating my forbidden candy bar to see one of my sisters running down the middle of the road.  I don’t know why, but it made a huge impression on me that she was just wearing socks on her feet.  Immediately terrified, I casually dropped my hand to my side and dropped the candy-bar-that-I-knew-was-getting-me-in-trouble to the ground.  I slowed my bike as I reached her. She was yelling at me, waving her arms and pointing toward home, but the fear that I was in trouble roaring in my ears kept me from hearing what she was telling me.  Finally, as I nearly came to stop beside her I heard, “TV Powww!  On the phone!  You don’t have time!  Go!”

My eyes flew open and my feet started pedaling as swiftly as they could.  TV Powww!  Was she serious?  Could Ranger Bob REALLY be calling me??

Let me interject here to let you know how important TVPowww! and Ranger Bob were in my life.  After school, I would come home and watch the Ranger Bob cartoon show, featuring TV Powww!.  Ranger Bob was some funky cowboy guy and one portion of his show was when lucky kids, who mailed the TV station their name and phone number to be entered into the drawings, were called and they could play the TV Powww! game.  This was a game similar to Asteroids, but the trick was, the kids would trigger the gun in the game by shouting POW! into their phone.  Three kids would compete each day and whomever shot the most asteroids (or whatever it was) won!

Now, back to my story.

Pedaling as fast as my legs could carry me, I skidded on the turn into the long gravel driveway leading to my house, nearly wiping out.  That would have been bad.  Gravel embedded into your skin isn’t pretty.  I already knew that from experience.

As I reached the back door, I hopped off my bike, letting it finish the ride without me, crashing into the yard.  I ran up the two steps to the porch, through the porch and up the last step into the back of the house.  Another sister was holding the phone out to me.

Breathless I said, “hello?”

Ranger Bob said, “Well, hello there!  Are you ready to play some TV Powww!?   

I think I said yes.  I’m pretty certain I said yes, but I have no idea what I said, in all honesty.  All I could think of was, “OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!” 

Ranger Bob said, “Okay, can you see your TV?”

I panicked.  Could I?  It was in the living room and I was in the kitchen… and (here I go dating myself, as if the game show already hadn’t)…and…and… well, the phone was attached to the wall of the kitchen!  Could our super-long cord reach far enough for me to see the TV?  

I stretched it out making it to the living room doorway.  I angled myself so that my ear and mouth were somewhat facing the kitchen but my eyes could peer into the living room.  My sisters tried to move the (gigantic console) TV to an angle so that I could better see the screen.  

“We’re going to have you test it so I can make sure you’re loud enough,” said Ranger Bob.  “Okay… ready?  Say, 'pow'!”

“Pow!”  I said. 

“Louder!” Ranger Bob coaxed me.

“POW!” I shouted.

“Good, just like that.  Okay, are you ready?”

I could barely breathe.  The commercials on TV segued back to the Ranger Bob show.  I could see him on the TV announcing me… ME!  He showed the previous two contestants scores. That meant I was the last to compete today!  It was all or nothing!  

My vision sharpened as the TV moved to the game screen.  I vaguely heard the 'ready-set-pow!' from Ranger Bob.  My sisters were kneeling on the floor in front of the TV (but not obstructing my vision) and I started yelling, “Pow!  Pow!  Pow!  POW! POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!”  I had to find the right timing… I could see there was a delay between when I wanted it to shoot and when it was actually shooting so I started shouting early.  “POW! POW! POW! POW!”

And then it was all over.  Ranger Bob came back into my vision and excitedly said that I was the winner, with the most points! 

I.  Was.  The.  Winner!

My sisters were jumping up and down, and I was giddy with excitement.  I don’t remember thanking Ranger Bob (although I’m sure I did, the well-mannered kid that I could be) and then the conversation was over.

I won!

A few days later, my winnings came in the mail.  A check for thirty-one dollars (the channel number TV Powww! was on was Channel 31).  The not-yet-knowing, but budding scrapbooker in me pleaded with my mother for a copy of the check before we cashed it so I could have some memento (read: proof) that I won something in my life.  I remember watching her make the photocopy, muttering that it was probably illegal to do so, but I didn't care.  I was just so ecstatic that I had that copy to put away as proof... *ahem*... a keepsake.

If I could ever find the old-school scrapbook I taped it in, I know I would be just as thrilled to see it today.

Thank you for joining me on my visit down memory lane.  I hope you enjoyed your stay.  Please come back again soon but in the meantime, enjoy some other stories here…