I know. It’s been so long since I’ve written that there’s no point explaining. By now, I’ve blogged long enough to leave a record of my habits of unexpectedly disappearing once in a while.

So what’s new? Lots. Nothing in particular has me writing today though. I’m taking a yoga class. It’s fun. The boys are taking swimming lessons and yoga. They’re staring the baseball season soon. 

We remodeled our basement and we’re enjoying it. At the beginning of the year, we had a water softener and filter installed. I regret not having done it sooner. 

I’ve been very confrontational lately. Can’t quite figure that one out, since I normally avoid confrontation at any cost. It’s working out well though because there have been so many issues I’ve had to deal with these past few months. My phone service was all messed up, and I had to call about that. After the fourth time, I cancelled. NFLshop.com owes me $14, and I’m still working on getting that back. My carpet installers arrived 4 hours late. The furniture delivery guys damaged my kitchen wall (and didn’t even manage to get the sofa in the room.)  My neighbor’s aggressive dog keeps coming to my house. And so on, and so forth.

I’m feeling disappointment about the boys being back in school. There’s so much nonsense in school. The school fundraiser is on Saturday. I have a new dress. I’ll probably freeze my ass off like last time. I didn’t donate a piece of jewelry to the fundraiser this year. I considered it, but decided against it for some reason. 

Re-branding is going well. I’m almost on schedule. I’ve always struggled with getting the photos the way I want them, so I invested in some new lights which should be delivered today. Then, I just have a little more writing to do, and I’ll be ready to launch the new site. So, I’m somewhere between 1-3 days away from the launch. All the really hard scary stuff comes after that.

My mom is retiring tomorrow. Well, her last day is tomorrow.  It’s… weird.

That’s all I have for now.

I don’t need this advice from Naomi today, but I’ve needed it before and I know I’ll need it again when I feel like a raging failure.

Lots of ideas in my head. Lots. Working on a lot of different projects all at once. I’ve knitted and/or crocheted many hats, scarves, and bags. I’m reworking the triptych for the space above our fireplace. It looks like it’s going to work this time. I made a 14k gold bracelet that was supposed to be a cuff, but ended up more like a bangle. I’ve changed the clasp for it twice, but I’m not sure it’s good enough just yet. I’m still working on the thinking part of writing. I even wrote a little. I have more project ideas simmering, from knitting/crochet to jewelry to sculpture. Right now, I need to focus on my holiday projects. Unfortunately, those are the ideas I don’t have yet.

I’m thinking about teaching a class. The local community ed program is always looking for people to teach different workshops. I have tons of art/craft knowledge and experience, so it’s about time I put some of it to more use than entertaining myself. My biggest challenge will be (not surprisingly) believing in myself. Ugh, that sounds so pitiful. I’m not trying to sound pitiful. But really, knowing I have no resume worthy skills is a confidence killer for me. I’m working on it.

Our Halloween costumes turned out differently than I expected. Instead of my original plan, we did this. I think they’re pretty cool.

Rob’s parents are flying in tomorrow to stay with us for a week. We don’t really have room for guests, but we do what we can. Like always, Rob’s been breaking his back to make sure they’ll be as comfortable as possible while they’re here. His dad has already commented to Rob that he doesn’t want to be “sitting in dog hair” while he’s here. (I have a lab. She sheds and licks. However, there is no animal hair on the furniture.) He usually complains about something when he visits, so I’ve come to expect it. Do you think it would be wrong of me to suggest to him that he’s being ungrateful if and when that happens? Or do you think it’s better to continue to say nothing?

We’re giving them our bedroom and bathroom while they’re here. I’ll sleep on the daybed, and Rob will probably sleep on an inflatable mattress in the living room.

Rob’s dad can’t sleep without a television on at night, so we’re moving a tv up into our bedroom.

We have a new sofa being delivered today. We wanted to replace it when Rob got some of his severance money next month, but we made arrangements to get it before his parents arrive.

I’m going to keep my car in the garage during their stay so they have more room in the driveway for their car.

We’re not sending the dogs away this time. Also, I have no control over the weather.

Rob had three job interviews on Friday. One was a phone interview for the job in Baltimore. It was his first interview with them, so we won’t know anything until they finish their first round of applicants. Another was a follow-up phone interview for the job in St. Louis. No official offer has been made, but he’s been told the job is his if he wants it. The people in that group have already been talking about when he joins them, not if he joins.

The third job is in Michigan. Like Missouri, a formal offer hasn’t been made, but an offer letter has been drafted. We expect the offer to be made this week. Unless one of the out-of-state jobs makes Rob an offer that’s too good to refuse, it looks like we get to stay in Michigan. And that thought makes me very happy.

The storms stole our electricity on Friday night, but the weather after the storm passed was beautiful. Our ice cream got a little melty during the 24 hours we were without power, but the blue skies, bright sun, and cool breezes made up for it. The area just east of us was hit the hardest by tornadoes. The weather forecasters congratulated themselves for the early warnings that prompted people to seek shelter and avoid serious injuries. However, I remember being extremely disappointed by their lack of coverage for our area. Of course, they’re all over the damage now that we’re the big story.

We spent Sunday at Soak City with the freebie tickets we got from our Cedar Point trip. We told the boys we were taking them to the pool at one of the schools about an hour drive away from us. They passed the time with their Transformers toys in the back seat for two and a half hours before they realized we were in Ohio. The weather was perfect, the water was perfect, and the pizza was perfect. It’ll probably take me all of today to recover from so much fun.

I have the whole day to myself, but I don’t know what to do with it!

I started a new craft project this weekend. It involves knitting, felting, and sewing. So far, I’m getting only fair results, but each attempt is showing improvement. I’ll post some pics if I get something that looks less amateurish. I think I’ll need to invest in a felting needle to get the effect I’m hoping for.

***

My dad belongs to a group that holds a family picnic every summer. This year’s picnic was yesterday. Last week, I complained about the water temperature in Florida being too warm. Yesterday, I got the other extreme. The temp outside was only in the 70s. The water temp was in the chattering teeth range. But, being the stupid, water park loving Michiganders that we are, we braved the water anyway.

One of the other activities was a pie eating contest. The prize was a PS2. My boys don’t like pie, so chose not to participate. Two of my cousin’s kids competed though. (The girl on the left, and the boy on the right.) Can you guess which kid won? Ahem.

***

My MIL is up from Naples and is staying with us this week. Unfortunately, our weather hasn’t been very welcoming. The forecast is rainy and cold, which changes at least one of our plans.

Just minutes before Rob had his second phone interview for the job in Missouri, he got a call for an interview for a job in Maryland. I’ve never been to Maryland, but there’s something about it that appeals to me. I feels like it would be different, but in a good way. I know very little about Maryland that would be useful to us as we consider moving there. Okay, I’ve checked the homeschooling laws, climate, and the cost of living. Oh, and I looked at Baltimore with Google Earth. But other than that? I’m clueless.

I’m not eager to move exactly. It’s the uncertainty of it all that has me so restless. So everytime Rob gets a lead, I feel the need to find out at least a little bit about the area in which he’s looking. But that’s to be expected, right?

BTW, if anyone can tell me anything useful about the Baltimore area, I’m all ears!

Ever have one of those “wtf” days? When I pulled into the parking lot of the bookstore today, a pickup truck pulled out of his spot and out into my side of of the aisle, forcing me to stop in the entrance to the aisle. He stopped to let me pass, but another car was coming toward me behind him. So, you know, I had to wait for the other car. But apparently the guy in the pickup truck didn’t check his rearview mirror and notice the car behind him was preventing me from going around him because he got all pissy with me for what must have appeared to be me just sitting there.

THEN…

While leaving a second bookstore (I never did find what I was looking for, btw), I was stopped at a red light on a very busy road. When I glanced up at my rearview mirror, I saw a car several feet behind me with a bike under it’s front bumper. The kid was fine. I, however, was not. I nearly pulled into the next driveway to scream at the stupid kid who was old enough to know better than to ride into traffic on a six lane road.

I have locked myself in my house with no intention of driving myself anywhere for at least a little while.