Thursday, April 21, 2005

This & That

  1. The weather here? Beautiful but COLD. It was in the 80's yesterday and 40's today. Too cold for even the kids. They are all watching TV and snacking on dry cereal while I upload flower photos. I totally suck as a mother sometimes.
  2. Yesterday my stepdad sanded my vestibule floor for me. Which was glorious of him. Because a) I hate sanding and b) it freed me up to clean my house. Yes, really. I dusted and swept and vacuumed. Who know I could be so domestic. It's been FOREVER.
  3. Little update on the weight front... I now weigh more than when I did on January 1st. So much for that goal.
  4. Exercise? I haven't in weeks and weeks.
  5. Actually, I am failing wildly on all of my goals and the year is 1/3 over. hmmm... not caring right now because...
  6. When I went to see if the doctor thought I should go off my little happy pills - he upped my dose instead. I'm feeling much more like my old self. In fact, it has been so long since I felt this way I'd forgotten it was possible to do things without having to talk myself into it and using all of my energy to convince myself it wasn't a waste of time and energy and that I actually CAN dust and vacuum. Life doesn't seem so impossible. I also don't feel like watching what I eat and exercising. (I've decided being in a better state of mind is worth it.) Besides, they just said people who are slightly overweight live longer. So, HA!

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Today was a Great Day


Today was the most beautiful day. Actually, the weather has been gorgeous for the last week. It was in the 80's today. EIGHTIES!! No rain. Blue skies. No better weather for the week the kids are on vacation. Life is good. No, life is great...

But (you knew there'd be a but), it is suppose to drop back into the 40's by Saturday. Rain tomorrow. Tomorrow is only Wednesday. That means the rest of vacation is going to suck. Kids stuck inside. Bored. Used to running around the neighborhood. Used to playing with friends. Trapped. With their mother. In the house. Nooooooooo!

What else?

STILL SCRAPING the front door. It will never end.

Many flower pictures taken. The flowers are loving the weather too. Too bad the cold will probably KILL THEM ALL.

Tyler got his braces on this morning. He looks SO. FRIGGING. CUTE. (Oh, and he let me cut his hair the other day so he is looking even more cute. And by cut I mean trim.) See for yourself:



And I got the shopping done.

And dinner was made.

And I even showered.

That is all for today.

Monday, April 18, 2005

The Vestibule

For all you wanting to see my vestibule fabulousness...

This is three base coats of Stadium Red, one glaze of Relay Red and another of Maleya Red. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do it justice...

Friday, April 15, 2005

Color Wash - Day 2

Put the first coat of color wash on. Looks lovely. I started with one shade lighter than the base and think I will be running to the store for a small can of one shade darker glaze to do over the top. Fun and easy. Who knew?

Loving it!

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Color Wash

Going to buy glaze to do color washing on the vestibule.
Wish me luck.
(I totally need it.)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

The Reason...

...we moved to the village.


This group piled into the backyard after school and
played for a bit before continuing home.
No rides needed.

Post In Which You MUST COMMENT

So I may have mentioned somewhere in my late night ramblings that I am considering a change of career direction. I'm still applying for jobs and not ever hearing back but now I am thinking about selling my photos at craft fairs.

Craft fairs? you say. Yes, craft fairs. Where I live there are craft fairs EVERY. SINGLE. weekend. All summer long. Now I certainly won't go to all of them and I will start locally.

I am fairly certain I will be sitting alone not selling a thing. BUT, I feel like I've been training my whole life for this. And I would actually USE my degree. Ok, not really but photography is what I got my degree in. Thinking about it now I realize I will use one of my last experiences of college life in this new endeavor. (No, not the fact that drinking 1/2 a bottle of champagne and many shots of Jagermeister will make you vomit repeatedly and green for graduation day. The experience before that.)

The experience of living through a gallery show. Watching people look at your work and comment about how it is not "art" and why is it in a gallery. All the while alternating between shrinking into the background and acting like a visitor - not the creator of the work they are dissing.

Unfortunately, doing this has some pretty big start up costs. Printing. Mats. Some framing. Space fees. And I probably have to apply for some sort of license. Look - I don't even KNOW if I have to do that. This is probably SUCH a bad idea.

But my mother is trying to convince me that people really will pay for photos to hang on their walls. That they wouldn't rather just get out their camera and take them themselves. That if I make the handmade note cards like I plan that people will probably buy them and I won't be sending them out for the next 10 years trying to use them all up.

If I do this I should really apply for a grant. I know they're out there but it would probably be too late for this year. That and I should really take a grant writing course. I don't even know what it is that they teach at these things. I guess how to give the grant people what they want to ensure you get the grant. What do I know?

I do know if I am going to do this I should probably start getting my act together NOW. While I'm still interested in doing it. While it seems like not quite such a bad idea. Before I realize that I can not possibly do it because I will have to sit there while people look at my photos and then walk away empty handed with looks of pity for me. Looks that say I am delusional if I think someone would actually PAY me for my photos.

What do you all think? For real. No being nice. Please. It would be much better to hear the big, bad truth now then to sit in the sun being humiliated in front of the whole community. After I spend all this money.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Ramblin'

First, eww! Moms should not comment on such things to their children. Even grown children who are married and a mother of four. Eww! And so early in the a.m.

Second, that rambling post? Sorry. I was up until 3:30. Unable to sleep. (And again, eww Mom!) So of course I woke up late and Alex got up late and I got a whopping 3.5 hours of sleep. Definitely not enough.

But now? Now I am showered and dressed and trying to shove the middle two children onto the bus (where is the damn bus anyway?) and just waiting to take the littlest little to preschool so I can TAKE A NAP.

Take a nap and be ready to pick the little up from school and go grocery shopping. But first SLEEP. because I am so tired and even though I am on my second cup of coffee it is not helping and I am spilling things and not functioning well. I think I need a coffee IV.

And further proof I need sleep... still rambling.

WARNING

WARNING: I was lying (or is it laying? I never get that right.) in bed. Unable to sleep. My mind racing with things to do and concerns about the children and why God WHY is my iron still low when I am taking 822% of the recommended daily allowance. EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY TWO PERCENT! And what right do I have to bitch and whine and be depressed and your basic Eeyore personality when I have so much. And I really hate Eeyore types. When I hit upon my lack of career direction and the new direction I'm considering taking and the one I am leaving behind because everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) wants to be a writer and although I can construct a sentence (although not right now apparently) and possibly allow people to read it without them wanting to scoop their eyeballs out with a spoon (and there have been blogs that have made me consider doing this if I don't get it off the screen RIGHT. NOW. - and I'm not talking about the ones that are just not interesting to me. I mean the ones that MAKE ME WANT TO CLAW MY EYES OUT they are so poorly written.) where was I? Oh yeah, I certainly don't have what it takes to write professionally. I seem to be missing the consistency and that something special that many want-to-be and are-right-now writers have...

Wait, this was suppose to be a warning. hmmm... seem to have gotten carried away with my train of thought. I guess that's the best warning there is for the upcoming post. And yes, this is not the actual post. HA! You thought this torture was almost over. And right now you are reconsidering the whole eye thing and wondering if there is a spoon nearby.

I seriously should delete all this and start over but it is 6 hours until I'm suppose to get up and my brain is speeding ahead and I tend to do foolish things when in this state like send hasty e-mails to agents and editors and apply for jobs I'm not qualified for and start lists for projects that seem like such a good idea right now in the middle of the night but come morning I will be so exhausted I will want to laugh at the thought of doing any such project and will never even cross off the first thing on the list and will probably just throw the damn list away anyway because I need sleep damn it and now I'm going to take a nap.

I guess that was enough of a warning. I seem to have run out of steam. Let's see if I can get back to my original idea. It is something I've been wanting to post about for a while but whenever I sit down to write it goes away. Wait. Where did it go NOW?

Saturday, April 9, 2005

Blogger Ate My Post

Blogger ate the post I wrote yesterday. It was actually sort of amusing. (Of, course. And there is no way you can prove it wasn't - so there.) I usually copy them before trying to publish, just in case, but I had a crying child come in and needed to make dinner and forgot. Gone. All GONE. I was unable to reconstruct it and it was time sensitive. Can't post about it already being Friday and insane when it is now Saturday and life is moving at a much more reasonable pace.

I will tell you that this week has flown by.

I have not had time to put a second coat on the vestibule. And although it is too late for the advice of a tinted primer, I will definitely use the advice when we get to the foyer. Thanks to all who suggested it.

I found out Dylan is blind this week. BLIND I tell you. He was being difficult and annoying and a pain in the @ss at the eye doctor's. She finally showed him the giant E and he couldn't see it. THE GIANT. FREAKING. E. Well, that was what he claimed anyway. Until he realized we weren't buying it. Then he FINALLY noticed it was an E. Seems he wanted new glasses. I have never spent such a short a time with one of my children (about an hour) and not been able to get away fast enough. Thank God for school!

In other news, Tyler was in a talent show last night. I was definitely more nervous than he was. There were singers and dancers and even baton twirlers. He did a gymnastics routine I hadn't even seen. AND I had no one to be nervous with me because Jeff took two of the kids to temple.

I know it sounds heartless for him to miss our first talent show - I've never even been to one, forget perform in one - but Sunday school requires 6 service attendances and Alex has been to one or two. And we are running out of Friday nights. And Baseball starts any day now. Baseball, Alex's favorite sport. Baseball, that's on Friday nights.

Oh, in case you were wondering, Tyler did great and much clapping and Whoohoooing ensued during his performance. (and I video taped it)

Now I must check on the children. Feed them and possibly start coat 2 on the vesitbule.

Thursday, April 7, 2005

PAINTING...

one coat down. TEN to go. Ten? you ask. Why ten? Surely she is kidding. Exaggerating. Delusional.

Well, to that I say... NO. I'm not. Have any of you attempted to paint a room RED? Have you?

(If you have, I apologize for the badgering.)

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Chicken Pox Update

No chicken pox.
I am not happy.

PAINTING - No, Really

The trim is second coated. Must tape then do walls.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

Scary. Project moving forward? Can't be.
Not in this house.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Monday Rundown on Tuesday

Yesterday was Monday. A busy day in the davis household. Grocery day. Preschool day. Errand day. The day Tyler got 2 teeth pulled.

Very exciting and yet not at all. Everyone was worried about him. But, apparently getting baby teeth pulled is no big deal. He left the dentist, had lunch and went back to school. (Where he ate a second lunch. hmmm, does anyone know if Nitrous Oxide gives you the munchies?)

As for today? Painting woodwork in the vestibule. And no. That project STILL isn't finished. And it seems it was started in AUGUST.

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Goal Update

I thought since it was a new month I would once again update my goals. I've decided I'll revisit them at the beginning of each month and see where I'm at.

So... let's see what's happened this past month:

  1. Get a job at my employer of choice. (I'll let you know where and why if I ever get a job there)
    Not looking good. I can't even get an interview. BUT, I'm still checking for openings and applying.
  2. Sign a book contract/re-evaluate writing career.
    Getting ready for a conference in May.
  3. Begin a baby book for my FOUR-year-old.
    Not even thinking about it.
  4. Organize my photos so I can update the kids' albums.
    Must still separate for each child. (Yes that means I've done NOTHING since the last update.)
  5. Possibly even update said albums.
    HA!
  6. Stay on top of disaster we call our home.
    Getting there. I have decided to make my home improvement projects my new 'job'. I started the lists yesterday. Am making a schedule and will start with putting it into action tomorrow.
  7. Do more with my children.
    We have actually been playing lots of games. The kids seem to like it.
  8. Not yell so much.
    Eh.
  9. Take more photographs.
    Photos of kids' events are plentiful. Photos to satisfy my creative side... not so much.
  10. Lose weight.
    Not doing WW anymore. 1xx-2. (1xx being my starting weight in January. You didn't think I'd actually tell you my weight did you? HA! Will never happen.)
  11. Exercise more. (that means any little bit will count.)
    HA! HA! Not happening anymore. Will try to get back to it this month. Maybe.
There you have it. Sad but true. I will try to do better this month.

Friday, April 1, 2005

Update

  • The last Easter egg was found this morning.
  • All the Easter candy is GONE.
  • No pox yet.
  • Weather is beautiful and Springy - must go back outside.
  • Oldest son is video taping everything. Including me - he is so grounded.

April Fool's (NOT)

f I have to hear how I have a bug of some sort in my hair 
ONE. MORE. TIME.
And the having to act upset? Getting v. old.