The Ugly Truth

I've been in "The Zone" this week. The Crafting Zone. Due to storage constraints in the temporary apartment, I have only had bits and pieces to work with. So, when I found out that the new house still has an indefinite move-in date, I had to bring the rest of my craft supplies with me.

To my delight, not so much Lumpkin's, I have been craft happy for days!
The only problem is, I have so many ideas, that I don't know where to start, so I usually start more than two projects at a time! The pieces above have been prepped, dried, now have been painted and are waiting the next creative steps.

Since I never know what direction I'm going in next, I find it helpful to have all of my supplies, pretty bits, papers, etc. all around.

One thing that Lumpkin and I agree on, I need an organizational system. That would be much easier if our living arrangements were more permanent. For now, I'm using plastic totes, laundry baskets, cardboard boxes, pencil boxes, an older suitcase given to me by a family friend and plastic bags.

My friend was creeped out by the head below... he says it's not normal for someone to have this in their home. I say it is. Especially if you're making headbands and your model is in school all day!

I'm not alone in this chaos... I brought Leia's favorite blanket out and she likes to lie down beside the table while I'm working. She really doesn't care how messy it is at all!

Stay tuned! In the next couple of days I'll be sharing what I've been up to!

Temporary?

The temporary apartment... we're now into our second month here. Still waiting for the house we're moving into to be completed. The remodeling seems to be taking forever. A friend asked me if they were building a completely new house. Some days it feels that way.


It's not that the view is bad. Although we only have windows on one side, they face the town square, which surrounds the park. It's a second floor apartment, so we have a bird's eye view.

But do you notice the road right out front here (through the chains holding the store sign?)....
Yes, that's right. A STATE ROAD... a highway. Coming from the country, I like things kind of quiet. While it's not horrible, the morning traffic... yuck. Both bedroom windows facing the street.


Happy news though. It's all worth it for the privacy of being in your own place and having central air!!!! Sometimes it's kind of fun when Lumpkin and I peer out the blinds and watch the comings and goings of our small town. Every event is held at the park on the square. It's tough to see the other side of the square due to the trees.

It's also kind of cool, because not a lot of people even know there's an apartment up here. The building is an old building. It is three stories (would love to see that third floor), there's only one other apartment, and the downstairs is a carpet store. On the outside of the building, near the roof, it reads Masonic Temple. I imagine this building has been here for a very long time. We live next to the funeral home and across the street on the opposite corner sits the Corner Cafe. A couple of doors down from our door is our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Jefe. The library is straight through the park on the other side of the square

I'm not gonna lie though. I don't think I'll miss this sign.

One Of The Reasons Why I Love My Daughter

So I'm a little late telling this story, but it began before Lumpkins birthday, which is June 30th.
She texted me one day and said "If I could only get a cool phone, that's the only gift I'd want."
So I told her that after having been in the hospital a few days the month prior, I would not be able to grant this request. (We've been carrying Straight Talk phones for nearly two years - great deals, by the way) Being the awesome child she is, she said "I know" and immediately dropped it.

Two days later on my payday, I went to the local AT&T store after work to sign up for internet service at our temporary apartment, and GUESS WHAT??? I casually asked about the cell phones. Turns out, I didn't need a deposit, and they gave me a major discount on the internet service for buying the cell phone service. Given the cost and my income, it was the only birthday present, but I believe these pictures below say it all. My child is AWESOME.

You'd have thought I'd given her a million dollars. So grateful, so happy and the most amazing and loving child. Thank you Lord. I am blessed. She makes every day worth living. When times are tough, all I have to do is look at her face and know I am loved. I never knew how much my Mom loved me until I became a Mom too. It's the best job ever.

Date Night

Ali and Lumpkin. On a different day, a previous outing. To be young (and thin) again! Ali is Lumpkin's Besty and is now dating her boyfriend's best friend. I knew that these days were coming. I've known it all along. But it still didn't totally prepare me for the sitting up with the lights on, waiting and watching the clock, trying not to call and text too much.

Where do the years go? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was strapping her into her carseat, handing her a sippy cup, singing along to Tom Petty in our old Mercury Sable? Isn't she still in preschool? Tell me I didn't just buy a mini skirt and a pair of 4 inch heels. That must have been some other bad Mom.

It's a Blog Hop Wednesday!

Stop by and visit my friends here!

I Love My Dog

Please don't judge me for the 80's mirrored/gold decorating statement above my pup's head... it came with the temporary apartment. Leia is sitting on my lap, shown at HIGH ALERT because it's storming, which sounds suspiciously like fireworks... and let me tell you, my friends, fireworks are no friend to this pooch!

If you read my Monday post, I mentioned the gay hilarity of slipping in the tub/shower and crashing out onto the floor. I am not still laughing. Yesterday was terrible. I hurt in places that I didn't even learn about in my Anatomy classes. A lot of that is gone today, but the spot on my back that I landed on continues to pain me in a major way. Going to the doctor in the morning, insured or not.

My loving little dog Leia hasn't left my lap this evening. It's kind of nice, considering the feeling of being oh... I don't know, chopped liver? I was looking forward to an unusual for us, an evening alone with my daughter (what was I thinking?), when her boyfriend called... oh, to be 17 again! I would have left too!!! But at least I have the little pupster here. And there is a curfew.

Art Journal Page - Sort Of

I've had a lot going on lately. For those of you that stopped by regularly, you probably noticed that I wasn't here anymore. I just kind of dropped off the map. At first, it wasn't intentional. Then it was. I just couldn't make myself open up to anyone anymore. I had to withdraw for a while. I was incredibly unhappy. So unhappy that I didn't even recognize it myself. I made a promise to myself after my Mom died that I wasn't going to keep making the same mistakes and spinning my wheels. Life is too short to work a dead-end job (that doesn't even pay the bills) and makes you crazy in the process. I find myself unemployed again, and guess what? Incredibly happy!!!!

So, while I'm recuperating from yesterday's injuries and searching for a job I can live with, I decided to pursue some different art techniques I'd been wanting to try.

Also, I thought, unintentional, was the symbolism in this first piece. The little saying isn't new, and certainly not mine, but I've loved it since I first saw it on Pinterest. My Sisters will understand the birds, the key, maybe the reddish hair... but the rest of it is all me.

To give you a little background, my Mom, (I talk about her a lot!) was very creative. I never thought I possessed that gene. We had art in school. We had the same art teacher from first grade through high school. We were not fond of each other. She certainly never led me to believe I had any sort of talent, and I had no desire to learn from her if I did. I took one art class in college. I was proud of the work I did there and kept it for years, but still, never really did anything else.

When I found blogs on the internet (cue the angels singing)... I thought I'd found my people! I've still struggled to find my niche. I still don't feel especially creative always, I'm not really a furniture painter, although I may do one or two pieces, but I've found a few friends and their blogs, some etsy shops, and ideas on Pinterest that gave me the smallest inkling that Hey!... I can do this too!!!!

I'm learning every day. There are so many ideas I want to try. So many techniques. Everything is so new to me! It's an adventure finding out how each product will work and what the end result will be. Even if I never do a thing with any of this but put it in a box and get it out and look at it once in a while, it is making me so happy! I think I finally understand the piles and piles of craft and art supplies that my Mom amassed while she was alive and I'm elated that now I'm working with those same brushes, hopefully with the same joy. I sure hope she's smiling down on me as I work.

Here's Hoping For An Injury Free Monday

Had a huge day planned... Church in the morning, Family Reunion at Noon, and Community Night from 4:00-8:00pm on the Square in town. I let Lumpkin take her shower first, as she takes a little longer to get ready. I hopped in the shower, turned around to wet my hair to wash it... didn't even make it that far... not even a drop of water on the hair.

Next thing I knew, KABAM! Backwards, out of the tub, my upper thighs catching the top edge of the metal piece where there used to be a glass door instead of a shower curtain and almost head over heels, all of my weight, like a ton of bricks on the center of my upper back, landing on the floor. I hit so hard, it knocked all of the air out of me, I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't move. Scared the crap out of my kid... she's crying, I'm moaning, unable to move, trying (in my little nurse head) to assess any possible horrible disfiguring injury, while I'm lying naked on the shower curtain.

Is she scarred for life? Actually one of the first thoughts in my mind, because you know this isn't a pretty picture. Am I going to be able to get up? Are there going to be emergency personnel in my bathroom seeing me naked? Of course, I probably know most of them... I'm finally able to squeak out,"It's ok, go on..." waving her out. "Ill be out in a minute."

By the time I drag myself to the bed, I'm chuckling in embarassment, trying to get her to laugh, instead of crying, but all I succeed in doing is making her mad because she's so upset. She truly did not know what to do. So tonight was Emergency 101... in the event of a true emergency, this is what you should do. I thought at 17 she knew... so my Bloggie friends, never assume... you might ask your kids what they would do if you were a big goober and fell out of the tub!

P.S. I think I'm Ok... just extremely sore. I also have some technicolor bruising on the backs of my thighs. Gonna give it another day or two on the back. I always manage to have some major fiasco when I am uninsured.

A Belated Birthday

My Birthday was yesterday. There really wasn't a cake... so there weren't any candles. No party at all, really. I did get a lovely gift and card from my baby girl. She's the sweetest! And my family will does a combined party for my sister and I later in the month. We used to do one that included my Papaw. He would have been 96 on the 11th of this month. I miss him. When I get into my new home, I'm going to plant a big sunflower, just for him!

All I really wanted was a little kiss and a hug from a special someone... and I got that! So I'm a happy girl! But for those of you that might have missed my birthday, see the pic below. You can send him to Hope, Indiana. I'm sure Angelina has bored of him by now... tee hee...

Straight Talk - A Clear Winner

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love the Straight Talk commercials where the people feel richer because of all the money they are saving.  I think my favorite is the older couple in the mall parking lot where the woman is trying to open the the expensive car door with the automatic button in her hand and it's not working, so her husband reminds her it's because they drive a station wagon... LOVE IT!!!

You can save a lot of money by switching to Straight Talk.  My daughter and I have used them for two years.  You get unlimited talk, text and internet, all for $45!  Even easier, you can get it for the whole year for $500.00!  All this with no contracts!  If you don't need the unlimited, you can used the "All You Need Plan".  It offers 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data for even less per month.  There are no surprise bills with Straight Talk.  If your credit isn't the best, it's okay!  There are no credit checks!

hook, line and sinker

The coverage with Straight Talk is fabulous.  It is nationwide.  It has excellent reception/connectivity.  I didn't have dropped calls with their network the way I did with the contract phones.  Speaking of their phones, Straight Talk only uses quality, name brand phones such as LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung.  There are reconditioned phones available for purchase - great for first time phones!

everything you need

There are no activation, reactivation or termination fees.  411 calls can be placed for free!  Straight Talk offers so much for their users! 

mom knows best

 

For those of you that place international calls, Straight Talk offers International Long Distance Service with a prepaid calling card service that allows you to place international calls from the comfort of your home, cell or office.

 

call a friend

 

You can find Straight Talk online or at your local Walmart Stores.  We purchased our phones at the local stores and I found it convenient to add time to my phone either online or on my phone.