Quick like a bunny.

I can't be on here too long, as I can hear Charlie in the bedroom getting ready to work herself up into a hissy fit.  MUST.  BLOG.  QUICKLY.

We met with a potential room mate girl a few days ago.  I was worried that I'd be too weird for her (I *am* an odd duck), but as it turns out.... she's too weird for me!  She has a son who's 2 1/2, and I thought that it would be a perfect situation.  Um, not so much.  She said she wouldn't be able to rent both rooms... but I was willing to work around that.  Her son was really scared of Bryan, though, and I mean REALLY SCARED, so I don't know if I want to invite that brand of crazy into the house.  She also said that her son has a habit of escaping, and that we'd have to lock the sliding glass door to the pool at all times.  Um.  I'm all for locking the door and keeping an eye on a kid, but have you been here in summer?  That door is not going to stay closed during the hot-as-hell months, sistah.  It's just not going to happen.

So, I think that's out.  I just know how I am, and I tend to take on too much when it comes to other people's kids.  I did it with the kids I used to babysit, I did it with my nephew, and I don't want to do it anymore.  It's tiresome, and frankly not my place.  She was a really sweet girl, and her son was cute and very well-behaved, but there seem to be some underlying issues there, and I'm an asshole and don't want to deal with it.  I know.  I'm so lovely.

We need to leave in a minute to go have lunch with my grandparents (they're in town).  These are my paternal grandparents, the ones that are all rich and famous (in the sailing community) and all that crap.  I used to be really close with my grandmother, but after I married Ryan and had Marissa we kind of stopped talking.  She didn't approve of my life, and I thought she was a judgemental asshat.

We've slowly started talking again, but I don't keep in touch on a regular basis.  I feel like she'll never really approve of my life, so why would I want to talk to her?  She's just very old fashioned, and I'm, well, all newfangled 'n shit, so I don't see us being able to get along the way we used to when I was 12 and hadn't formed opinions of my own yet.

It's going to be interesting seeing the look on her face when she sees my eyebrow ring.  *wink wink*

The fates pooped on my head.

Yesterday was a flurry of activity.  We were going camping, you see, and I was SO DAMN EXCITED to go.  We were going with a couple of friends of ours whose anniversary happens to be a few days after ours, so it was going to be a combo camping/anniversary trip type deal. 

We got all my dad's camping gear, tested out the propane lamp, bought all the food and supplies, loaded up the cars, had the camping site reservations, and were totally ready to go.  Diapers were changed, hats were on, keys were in the ignition, gas tanks were filled, and oil was topped off.

We had to swing by the store on the way out of town to buy some more mantles for the gas lantern, but other than that we were in tip top shape.  Bryan and I decided at the last minute to take the Jetta and the Suzuki since we have a) a ton of gear for the kids, and b) a ton of kids.

As we were driving (Bryan in the Jetta with the babies, me in the Suzuki with Marissa) I noticed that the Suzuki was acting a little strangely.  We pulled up to a stop sign (Bryan was first, our friends were second, and I was last in line).  Everyone got through the stop sign, and right in the MIDDLE of this BUSY intersection, the Suzuki decided to die on me.  I freaked the hell out, threw that suckah in neutral, and pushed it through the intersection (the power of adrenaline can be an awesome thing), all the while yelling at the two cars in front of me, as they drove on their merry way to the store.

Marissa and I sat in the Suzuki just waiting for the other two cars to come back and get us, but it became pretty apparent that they didn't see me stop, and because there was something wrong with the battery on the Suzuki the hazard lights were very very dim, so I didn't think they could see us at all.

I, of course, DID NOT have the cell phone, so I eventually got Marissa out of the car and told her that we were going to have to walk to a pay phone.  A pay phone that is less than 5 minutes away when you're driving, but is close to 30 minutes away when walking on a busy, dark street.  In the rain.

We got about a mile and a half up the road when I saw Bryan driving back down the street.  He didn't see us walking (did I mention it was dark?  and raining?) so we hauled ass back down the street to try and catch him at a stoplight.  Poor Marissa was totally wiped out, so we didn't make it to him in time, but I knew Bryan would see the Suzuki and start looking for us.  I was worried that HE would be worried since we weren't with the car, so we tried to hustle as fast as we could back down the road.

Bryan finally caught up with us and drove Marissa back to the Suzuki, and I walked the rest of the way (there was too much camping gear in the back of the car to fit us both).  I finally got back to the Suzuki, and luckily was able to get my hands on the jumper cables amidst all the camping shit piled back there, and he jumped the Suzuki.  I decided to drive it home, since I was pretty familiar with the routine of it dying, and he was to follow RIGHT BEHIND me this time, so as not to strand my ass in the middle of nowhere.

As we drove back home I was thinking, "Wow, it's driving just fine now!  This sucks!  We totally should've just taken the Suzuki camping, it would've been fine!"  It seemed like the second I thought that, the car died AGAIN, and we had to jump it, AGAIN.  We made it home safely, and unloaded all the gear, and were really REALLY REALLY bummed that we weren't able to go camping.  I'm still really bummed.

Bryan set up Marissa's kiddie tent in the living room, and she slept in that last night.  Not the same, of course, but a decent compromise.  The whole camping fiasco was totally my fault, since I decided (at the last minute, of course) to take the Suzuki to Joshua Tree, INSISTING that it would all be gravy.  If we had stuck with the original plan, I would be hiking around the great outdoors and cooking eggs on a propane stove right now.  DAMMIT.

Tagged.

I was tagged by Sarah (and if you haven't checked out her site, she's great, so hop to it)....

3 things you wish for (just for you)

• (ooh, look at me stealing Sarah's bullets)  New glasses that make me look like a rockstar
• A new pair of shoes that are so ugly they're cute
• Knitting friends (irl)

3 things you would do to/for yourself if there was no one to judge you (or if you had the guts to do it!)

• Pierce my lip
• Have dredlocks
• Live in a house with no running water or electricity (It's official, I'm such a FREAK!)

3 bad habits you have

• I bite my fingernails
• I take everything personally
• Cursing.  I have a mouth like a (very dirty) sailor.

3 insecurities you feel

• I feel *very* insecure about certain friendships I have
• That I'm not doing enough as a mother
• That the way I dress sometimes embarrasses my family

3 talents/skills you wish you had

• To be able to snowboard
• I wish I had some grasp of graphics/web design
• To draw (like, at all)

3 things that you would do if you had more time

• Plant a garden
• Visit with my best friend
• Do more craft projects with Marissa

3 things that bring you peace/relaxation

• Crocheting and knitting
• Reading, to myself or with the kids
• Cleaning the house (makes me MUCH more relaxed when everything looks nice)

3 things that spark your creativity

• the sewing forum that I visit
• the weather
• Randomness (billboards, trees, magazines, just depends)

I'm supposed to tag three people, but I think instead I'll tag anyone who wants to play along.  If you do this meme let me know in the comments so I can check it out!

A year ago.

A year ago today I was in the bathroom applying my makeup, trying to make myself look beautiful.  My hair was in curlers, Marissa and Phoebe were running all over the room, and a friend was snapping pictures as people milled about adjusting themselves and smoothing their wrinkled clothes.

The phone rang, and it was time to go.  I hugged my best friend, and I cried.  I grabbed my earrings, and I cried.  My entourage gathered around me as we whoosed out the door, smelling of perfume, hairspray, and excitement.

We were barely contained in the elevator, everyone grinning and saying, "It's almost time!"  All I could think was, "We have to get there, we have to be quick.  Is this really  happening?  We have to get there....", and before I knew it the car was racing down the street, taking turns as fast as it could.

When we got there I was more nervous than I thought I would be.  We all couldn't stop squealing, and there were hugs, a few strained moments, and more excitement.  There was a final shuffle of people, and before I knew it I was being ushered inside.  The people cleared, and when I saw Bryan standing there in his suit I knew that whatever happened next would be perfect, and it would be right, and I couldn't wait.

That day was a whirlwind rush of activities, people, and emotions.  This past year I have laughed, and I have cried, and at the bottom of it all I feel whole and complete, just as I did on the day I married Bryan.

A year ago today I embarked on a grand adventure.

Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Squaring stuff away.

Good lawd have I been busy lately!  There's been a whole lotta drama going on with my Etsy shop, and while I won't get into it, let's just say that someone not only copied one of my ideas, but took my description WORD FOR WORD and used it as her own.  While I'm all for free enterprise and all that crap, I draw the line at plagiarism.  That's just screwed up, so Jihad on that chick.

Anyway, Elaine has acted as my buyer, and bought some super kick ass sling material for me.  I have one listed, and I'm going to be listing the others in the very near future.  I, myself, have found some pretty kick ass fabric, as well, so I listed a few more slings and am so happy with how my little shop looks!  I went ahead and listed some coloring bags, and within the first, oh, hour or so of them being listed one of them already sold.  I totally heart it when that happens.

I'm putting together a Planet Zebes mailing list, and I have plans for Solarveil slings for summertime.  I'm also going to be crocheting a couple of baby blankets and listing them to see how well they do.  I've changed a few things around the store as far as descriptions and my bio go.  I have plans in the near future to drop Etsy altogether as the result of the above-mentioned incident, plus a few other things.  I don't like that I can't categorize my items.  I don't like that a person can buy something from the store and not pay for it...... EVER.  I don't like having to pay a listing fee and a final value fee (some months it's not a big deal, but this month it's really costing me a chunk of money).

I'm playing around with the idea of having a month-long special, like free shipping, or 10% off, or a free gift with purchase.  Etsy doesn't allow coupons or discounts or contests, so I'm going to have to really think about how to implement it.  Hey all you shoppers out there!  Tell me what you think of those ideas, or what really draws you as a customer when a store has a special deal or promo going on.  I'd love to get an idea as to what customers really like.

Anyway, we've really been revamping the house and moving furniture around and clearing out our space.  We were supposed to have a yard sale today, but Bryan's (legitimately) sick, so I'm going to do it tomorrow instead.  We have a dumpster here, so I'm going to be getting rid of a lot of crap and clearing out the upstairs rooms to make way for.......... a room mate!

I don't relish the idea of having to live with someone else again, but my dad has *promised* to keep the house for another year, provided we can pony up some additional rent.  Seeing as how the upstairs is not exactly living up to its full potential, I think we should move some unsuspecting person up in there and take money from them, no?  I have to clear out those rooms, and shampoo the carpet, and paint the walls, and probably either make new curtains or have dad fork over money for new miniblinds, but it's kind of exciting to make the space nice and clean.

Bryan and I are clear on one thing, though, and that's that the room mate(s) will be room rentals ONLY.  While they will have full house privileges I don't want to run the risk of having to try to accomodate someone else's crap downstairs.  I think it's a pretty fair trade, and what with the small amount of rent we're asking, plus two bedrooms upstairs with a private bath, plus washer/dryer in the garage, plus the pool, plus super kick ass ME to hang out with, it's a pretty enticing deal!  I guess this means no more naked Tuesdays, though.  *sigh*  You can't have everything.