For Sale

I've gotten a couple requests to make and sell my beanies. Since I'm in my current state of unemployment, I have decided it's a great idea! I'll be selling my handmade beanies for $20 plus shipping. You make the choice of any color, I can stripe them or do solid colors. I can also edge and do the flower in different colors. Flower or no flower, Bill or no bill. You decide! I typically make them out of %100 cotton but if you would like a lightweight acrylic or wool, let me know. Send an email with your childs head circumference to www.hinote1980@yahoo.com

Each hat takes about 2 days to crochet (providing I don't have to run after my crazy walking child all day long!) and will let you know ahead of time before it's sent. We'll work out the money details in email and I'm thinking of using Paypal or something like it. I'm so excited!

Back to the drawing board

Sooo.....the job with the Insurance company ended up not having the position anymore. I knew it was a longshot being that I didn't have my license. The owner really got my hopes up by telling me he was pretty sure they were giving me the job. About 3 days later he called to say he had met with his colleagues again and they decided it wasn't a needed position. Stupid me had already went and bought a few new work outfits and was totally stoked. The rejection kind of pushed me down again. I've been struggling with a bit of depression lately. I guess the non existance of any sort of money is beginning to take it's toll. I was so excited to finally contribute again. I was given a very nice offer though. The owner felt so bad about stringing me along that he offered to help me get my insurance license by paying for my study guides, as well as my test. I'm going to do it, but I really need something in the meantime. I've applied at quite a few places this weekend. It's really demeaning to have worked in upper level corporate jobs for the last 8 years and having to do anything I can do even get eight dollars an hour! I guess that college education would really come in handy right now. I'm thisclose to having my Associates degree and really need to go back to finish it. *Sigh*, I guess this is just my big pity party today.

My new obsession

Other than the adorably cute model, it's crocheting beanies with brims! I've been on a crocheting kick lately because it's faster than knitting and I just don't have that kind of patience right now. After years of trying I was finally able to watch enough online video tutorials to teach myself. I was trying random patterns off http://www.ravelry.com/ and finally found one I liked on Etsy. Since then I've been making these things like crazy! Mine doesn't look as good as it does on Rylee but I've got plenty of time before "winter" to get one done for me.

Pay no attention to the rediculous goofy smile on my face. This was the best out of like 10 pictures I took. I would get more except my new neighbor next door walked out right when I was doing it. Nothing looks more dumb then someone wearing a winter beanie outside in 100+ weather while taking a picture of themselves. I then pretended I was looking at the lense to find an imaginary smudge. He probably thinks I'm weird now and is telling his wife about the weird neighbor who thinks it's cold outside.

Mmmm....crackers up the nose

HAHAHA, this picture just makes me laugh. Rylee loves crackers and was eating a combination of Wheat Thins and Ritz. She would begrudgingly eat the wheat thins if I gave them to her. Yesterday she was eating a Wheat Thin when I offered her a Ritz, she spit out the entire Wheat Thin onto the floor in order to eat her Ritz. She completely demolished it in a couple seconds but left some for later.....in her nose.

Backyardigans

Sunday morning Scott actually woke up with Ry and me. Our lawn hadn't been mowed in about 2 weeks and looked terrible. We decided to do some major yard work. Scott mowed and I attempted the weed wacker. Let me tell you, if there were tickets being sold to me using it, it would have been sold out. I had an insane fear of the gas-powered machine and treated it like it was covered in prickly spikes. Once Scott gave me a lesson on starting it, the fear subsided a bit. It's still pretty difficult to start and stop it while holding it in one hand but I think I did a very nice job! After that I was motivated to do quite a lot!

For some unknown reason, our backyard was full of random rocks! I was tired of stepping on them while walking across and decided to get them all up. Boy did I underestimate that job. After almost an hour and a half of picking up stones I had already filled a huge bucket. Covered in sweat and downright parched, I called it off for a bit. Look at this bucket!

It was a balmy 100 degrees (104 with the heat index) by 5 pm when we decided to keep going. I took one look at the flower bed in the backyard and realized it needed my dire attention. We moved in here the end of February this year. The previous tenants were trash. The backyard was filled with broken lawnmowers, old bike parts, trash, bits of brick, and plenty of dog poop. The rental company cleaned up most of it but small things and the presence of all of it left a toll on the yard. Scott put the flower bed in and lined it with bricks once we moved in. It looked fabulous for quite some time, until the heat of summer hit. As I was looking at it I realized it hadn't been weeded or deadheaded AT ALL since we put it in! I took to deadheading while Scott decided to put in a vegetable garden. LOL, they don't sell seeds for vegetable anymore but we have a lovely patch of dirt now! Anyways, here's a picture of the flower bed, after being deadheaded. Hopefully it'll make a comeback as it looks rather sad right now.

No....

I must start this by saying I was an exceptionaly well-behaved child. The worst punishment for me were the words "Mommy is disappointed in you". Forget spanking, I was most miserable when I knew I had done something wrong. Neither parent was adamant about my punishments or upbringing so I can only say this insane rule-abiding personality was some sort of weird genetic wiring. I've always been somewhat of a smart ass but that's about it. I'm the person that doesn't cut in the parking lots or pull through to the next spot. I'm that girl that feels bad about forgetting something in the cart only to find it later and develops a stomach ache from worry. I'm just that damn moral, lol. As luck would have it, my wonderful daughter has seemed to not only inherited my husbands exact facial structure (seriously, when is this kid going to resemble me at all??) but she's also developed his attitude. My daughter said her first word the other day. Like most kids the usual firsts is Mama, Dadda, Doggie, More, Up.....etc. What is my daughter's first word? No. Yeah, that right the first word we could decipher was her giving me attitude.

Rylee's obsession with the laptop and other electrical items has left me repeating No, No, No all day long. I've had to also start slapping her hand to emphasize my point. After she cried from being mad that I'd smacked her hand she reached for the laptop again. I said the obligatory "No" in which she looked me straight in the eyes and said "No" back to me. Scott was beside me and after he confirmed to me that she did indeed, say her first word, we both wondered what the hell should we do? I wanted to jump for joy that she'd said a word, whether it be from repetition or not. Another part of me wanted her to know she was wrong for saying it. What would you do? All I could do was look the other way while I tried to control my laughter. I also got a brief glimpse of the future with a fiercely independant 12 year old who thinks I'm the bane of her existance. Oh was a great though, lol.

Working girl

The time has come the walrus said.......for this girl to get a job. After a year of staying at home taking care of my angel, our money situation has dearly suffered. Being DINKS (dual income, no kids) for a few years made our spending habits not so responsible. I'm proud of being able to do it for at least a year. I was a daycare child until I was old enough to stay home on my own and always vowed I'd never do that to my child. I can strongly say I am no good at coupon cutting and generic buying so I have decided a few days of working a week will make for a happier household. For the last couple of months I've been scouring the classifieds hoping for some glimpse of a decent job like my last. For the past 8 years I've worked in Call centers doing a myriad of jobs. For 4 years I've been doing Workforce Management, a field that's hard to describe the actual job itself. I previously worked for Acer Computers before giving birth and going on hiatus. The job itself is great, the 46 mi drive however, was not. After searching and searching the papers I finally realized the job market here......SUCKS. A few weeks ago I was driving down the road on the way home and noticed a billboard for an insurance agency. Deciding to give fate a chance, I called to see if they might potentially have any openings. The owner seemed interested in my Call center background and had me come in to fill out and application and drop off my resume. After a week of no word, I got a call yesterday. They're thinking of hiring me to train their agents on phone ettiquette and scripting. This company is about 5 miles away- Nice! The same day I got a call from my old boss who was returning my call. My old job isn't available but they could hire me to do the job that I managed before. I feel terrible about being excited to work but the prospect of buying a bra or shirt that's NOT from Walmart on the clearance rack is mighty tempting. Now it comes down to the money game. Will the money from Acer be worth the 90 mi drive 3 days a week? We shall see!

Lions and Tigers and Bears....Oh My!

While Tim and Bran were in town we decided to hit up the nearby Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. What a fantastic place! Zoo's in my past included a couple penguin, some monkeys that were always scratching their butts and a couple birds here and there. This place was so much more than I'd expected! The park itself is surrounded by thousands of trees and shrubbery, making it almost jungle-like. Mind you, a tree in Killeen is few and far between so it was refreshing to see some live greenery. The animals were huge and exotic which made us all feel like kids experiencing something new. Every scene brought ooh's and ahh's from all of us. Save for the 108 degree day, it would have been perfect. Rylee was a champ the whole day and really toughed out the heat. The minute we walked in her cheeks got red and I started to strip her down. By the end of the day my poor redneck (and red-faced) child was stripped to her diaper and covered in water we kept pouring onto her to keep her cool. Right before the park closed she finally let out her frustration but fell fast asleep once she was strapped into her carseat in the air conditioned car.

Aunt B and Uncle T

This past week my BIL and SIL came to town. This was the first time they both had come down to see us and Brandi's first plane ride. Only the promise of extra hugs and kisses from Rylee could convince Bran to face her fear of flying down to visit...Oh, and a couple Xanax. The visit was truly one of the best we've had yet. Rylee latched to them like velcro and they were both too happy to oblige. It's no secret that Tim and I had some problems once upon a time and it's great to really be part of the family. Because money was so tight, we mostly stayed at the house drinking beer, playing guitar and playing games. We went bowling on Thursday which turned out to be much more fun than I thought it would be. It's funny how being terrible at something can make you let down your guard. Rylee made friends with the 'tween beside our lane (I swear, the kid could make friends with a rock) and had a blast herself. I know all the time they got to spend with Rylee will be remembered and is reminding them of how much they want to start they're own family. Hopefully something happened on this trip as an even better reminder ;) I was truly sad to see them go home. It was also pretty tough to watch the tearful goodbye they had to say to Rylee. Hopefully we'll be able to visit again soon.

John Deere Dress

I delved into the world of Pillow case dresses last weekend. After finding THE perfect fabric at Walmart of all places, I decided to give it a try. Scott's brother Tim is a huge John Deere fan and they were set to come here July 4th. The 3rd I finally decided to put it together. Haha, nothin like a little procrastination. I'd never made much on my machine other than a few half-hazard fleece cloth diapers and a breastfeeding cover up. I was suprised to discover that adding those little extra steps in sewing really does help. I pressed all my seams before sewing and made sure I was precise in my stitches. After an hour and a half of putting it together (ie. Rylee sitting on the fabric, eating the fabric, grabbing the electric foot of the machine and trying to grab my pins) I decided that naptime was the perfect time. In under 2 hours I was able to complete the dress to my standards. I initially made it too wide so she looked a bit risque on my first try. My attempt at a matching headband displeased her and ended up on the floor. She seems to like the dress though so I guess I accomplished something. Uncle Tim and Aunt Bran loved it and asked where I bought it.......I smiled extra wide with THAT compliment. The link to instructions to make this dress is found at http://www.jenleheny.com/pillowcase-dress-instructions