Summer time...

Ahhh... here we are in the middle of summer. Who says there is a shortage of jobs out there?

I have taken on several summer jobs, and they are going quite nicely. I'm working part-time as a taxi driver and have basically three clients, except on days where they have a friend with them. So far, the only tips I've gotten are kisses, hugs and grins from the back seat, but hey, that's the best kind.





I'm also working as a gardener where my herb, tomato and pepper plants are flourishing. I've even been able to use my abundance of basil to make six batches of homemade pesto, which got a thumbs up from one of my four-year-old regulars at my chef gig. Last night, I even threaded some fresh zucchini onto rosemary spears and grilled them - kind of fancy for a place that seems to cater to kids.



One of my most fun jobs is as an art gallery curator. The pesto loving 4-year-old is attending art school this summer and has filled our home with her beautiful creations. The Louvre better look out!


I put in for a few hours of vacation and used that time to create my own masterpieces. See, I've always been awed by pottery. (Blame it on "Ghost" which was one of favorite movies in high school!) Watching people create these beautiful pieces of art on a pottery wheel seems magical, at least it did until I started taking a pottery class.

Yes, I signed up for a night pottery class. Before the class started, I was imagining beautiful pots and gorgeous vases dotting the landscape of my home. I could already feel a swell of pride knowing that I was going to create such masterpieces.

The first night, we were handed a 25-pound bag of clay. I was surely going to need way more than that to make all of my pieces! The teacher explained the basics and sent us to pottery wheels to start our designs. (Nevermind that I didn't really understand much of what he told us about glazes, centering and firing.)

After gathering all of my tools, water, towels and beating my clay like he had shown us, I finally sat down at the wheel. Hmmm, now what was I supposed to do? The teacher was already off working on his own things so there I was with this ball of mud and a bowl of water.

I slapped it on the wheel and began making the most beautiful... uh, well, I'm not really sure what you would call it. The sad thing is that the pitiful little thing is the best thing that I made all night!

Since that night, six weeks ago, I have also made a mug, two votive holders and a bowl - none of which I set out to create. Yes, at their inception, each piece had promise of being a tall vase that would grace my mantel. However, somewhere along the spinning wheel, each piece of clay would fold over on itself and fall into my hands like mud from my flower garden. Being the resourceful person that I am, I made what I could with what I had.

Now, I am the proud owner of a miniature mug (they didn't us that things would shrink in the kiln), a thumb/rose holder (my first creation), a hideously tiny bowl and the two votive holders.

When I brought them home, the reviews were mixed. My husband said, "that's what you've been doing for six weeks while I watch the children?" The pesto-loving 4-year-old said that they were beautiful and that I was an artist just like her! One out of two ain't bad, but I don't think I'll add "potter" to my list of summer jobs next year!

Cold Remedy

On a cold day like today, I'd just like to curl up with a heating pad, a stack of magazines, some good music and a cup of tea.
I guess that I sort of got to have my ideal day if you put on some very rose colored glasses. I had the seat heater on while I drove kids to various appointments, read a stack of "I can read books" to my daughters, listened to the baby's classical cd and sipped a cup of coffee from McDonald's. Yes, I tried a latte from McDonald's. I don't even like coffee, but with an outside temperature of 16 degrees, coffee can't be all bad. Add an apple pie to your order and it makes the coffee even more bearable!

Potty Witch

Well, as most of my blog friends know by now, my three-year-old speaks her mind, and it's not always full of intelligent, caring thoughts, but I am outsmarting her, at least for now.
Let's go back eight months. That is when I began the process of potty training her. I'm now thinking it would have been easier to potty train a litter of cats, and I don't mean domestic ones.

Here's just a synopsis of what has gone on:

I've given every incentive I can find, tattooed her with Cinderella, Snow White, Dora, Aerial - you name it. She's so inked up that she is starting to look like she should be hanging at a triker bar instead of preschool.

I may soon lose my library card due to the fact that my reading list contains more books that contain the words "poop" and "pee" than are allowed.

She now has a plain potty seat, a Dora potty seat and a Princess Throne potty.

She can take off and put on her own pull-up.

Oh and my favorite, she's eaten her weight in M&Ms.

In other words, she has the upper hand. It's not pretty, Dr. Dobson wouldn't be proud, neither would Dr. Spock for that matter.

A few months ago, we hired the potty whisperer to come. On the phone, she told me that for $60, she would have her fully trained by mid-December. She came the day before Thanksgiving and we are still wearing pull-ups.

Said daughter did not like the woman and it was very obvious. After an hour of bathroom torture, my precious little girl changed the Potty Whisperer's name to Potty Witch. Soon after, she got on her broom and flew away - never to return! That money was down the toilet - at least something made it there.

Well, now I get to the good part, the part where I have the upper hand. I have recently discovered that all I have to do is utter the words "potty witch" and whatever she is doing wrong is automatically corrected.

If she needs to clean her room and won't do it... I no longer resort to singing that silly song, "Clean up, clean up" I just softly whisper "potty witch" and reach for the phone. She goes into speed cleaning mode.

If she won't eat her dinner, the same trick can be used. We've had a clean plate every night for two weeks!

Hey, I may not have gotten the promised goods from the P.W., but I'm getting my money's worth!

Top 10 Holiday List

Top 10 favorite things about the 2008 holidays - in no particular order:

1. Seeing my three-year-old so excited about Christmas. She genuinely thought that Jesus was going to show up for his birthday party at her school, after all who wouldn't come to their own birthday party?

2. The Ped Egg. Yes, it really works. I love the fact that I can scrape my feet and take off what looks to be about 8 oz of Parmesan cheese for $9.99! Sorry, Joe/pedicurist, but I won't be seeing you as often - I've found myself one good egg!

3. Seeing my family. Spending time with my parents was great, and we also saw my sister, nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins and made great memories as we stuffed ourselves with great food!

4. The kitchen... not just any kitchen, I'm talking about "the kitchen." Santa brought the girls the nicest play kitchen I've ever seen and it is being used far more than my own these days!

5. My new craft room. Yes, I am getting a craft room built in the basement! I asked hubby for it for Christmas and now work has begun on my new, little room. Watch out, my creative side is about to have its own space!

6. Getting to feel the sunshine again without whipping winds. After such a brutal winter already, it was so relaxing to feel 77 degree weather again!

7. Seeing all of the cute pictures of everyone on the many Christmas cards that came in the mail. It was really nice to get to open all of the cards, too. I hadn't really thought about it, but we don't get that much mail anymore - well, the kind where your name is spelled right and they aren't just writing to offer you a credit card.

8. The after-Christmas feeling that I actually did ok, I think people were basically pleased with what I found for them. I like to think that they aren't just going to throw it in the back of the closet, but that they will use it, love it and know that they are special to me.

9. My new favorite find on the holiday aisle this year were the candles that run on battery instead of an actual flame. I've seen them before, but I actually tried them this year. What a score! They give the same ambiance without fear of children or pets knocking them over or for fear of forgetting to blow them out!

10. Well, I'd be neglectful if I didn't mention the food. I'm not that crazy about turkey, but the other stuff... yummy! My mom made the best meals all week - even my favorite egg custard pie! And neighbors and friends brought yummy goodies and had us over for dinner over the break, too. I have to say that tasting all of those familiar flavors that we partake of during the holiday season gives me a warm and satisfied feeling.

Still in the bathroom...

I'm still here and yes, I know that the wireless works in the bathroom, but I haven't resorted to dragging my laptop in there - yet! I've probably spent a good 10-12 hours on the bathroom floor this week already. We've had some successes and lots of "trying!"
I am hopeful, but not unrealistic.
So, what else is going on... school started today for Hunter. This is the first year they can ride their bikes - he's now in 3rd grade - so he went off by himself this morning all decked out from head to toe.
The girls are at the sitter and I am working today. Wouldn't you know it, I have a big chunk of time to work and I have writer's block! Yikes! I've been fighting it for a couple of weeks now, I think it's all of that time I am spending in the bathroom reading "It's Potty Time." I'm just going to have to make myself write and edit it later. Have a good day!

Bath & Potty

Sorry that is has been so long since I have posted... I have a new job. I'm now working retail at Bath & Potty. Yes, I work from home, but we have quite the inventory that I must keep track of. Most of my work is done in the bathroom, that's where the displays are all set up and where I try to entice my best customer, well my only customer, to shop at Bath & Potty. It seems her loyalty is pledged to Forever Diapers, despite our growing inventory of earrings, princess attire, shoes that light up, beautiful dresses, movies and the ever trusty chocolate.
Yes, I have tried it all, but my sales numbers are looking like bankruptcy might not be too far down the road. My customer loves to look at my wares, but window shopping is about as far as it goes!
Here's the problem: we only have three weeks to convert our customer because Forever Diapers must close its doors as preschool doesn't have that store in its mall. Any suggestions are being welcomed as I have the world's most stubborn customer - she makes a donkey look like an obedient puppy.
I hope you all have a great day!
Jenny

Bargains galore

So, if you know me at all, you know I love a bargain, and that helps because I really love to shop. My passion for shopping runs so deep that I think I could identify my favorite stores blindfolded just by how they smell when you walk in... Dillards being one of my favorite smells - it's a mix of new clothes, good perfumes and leather. Not that I would want to wear it as a perfume, but a scratch and sniff sticker wouldn't be a bad idea.

Just like most relationships, mine and shopping go in waves - we have some good weeks and some weeks where we really don't have time for each other. Last week was a good week, a really good week! Last Tuesday, I was really missing my friend, shopping, and decided to brave it with both girls... beyond brave if you ask me. First stop: McDonald's to quench my craving for my morning Dr Pepper and to make McKenzie happy. Unexpectedly, I found my first bargain of the day: a huge Dr Pepper for only $1 and on top of that, a free movie rental with the purchase! The day was off to a good start. Thirty minutes later we arrive at the stores we want to peruse. Toys R Us is first - buy two Guitar Hero games for Nintendo DS and get one FREE!! That is a $50 savings! I sold two of the games to friends who also needed some summer bribery items and we all three became instant "heros"! McK had a birthday gift card to use, so she got a doll and I found a free coupon for a Thomas the Train (12.99 value) and got that! (I put it back for a birthday party gift.) Can you say savings???? And that was only the second stop! OK, I must stop here and say that the first bargain wasn't seeming so good now as I had already had to go to the bathroom twice in Toys R' Us! It wouldn't be so bad, but I have a double stroller and two small children with me that I must tote to the bathroom, too!

After the second pit stop, we moved on Hobby Lobby where they had 80% off home accents - my bedroom is so much more beautiful now and for such a huge savings! I then found a store where they weren't carrying kids furniture anymore and bought a new dresser for McKenzie's new room (I'll get to that later.) It was $179.00 reg and I got the last one for $16.00! No, it's not the finest in oak furniture, but it will work for the time being. Have you ever seen what kids do to their furniture? Oh, I really had to go to the bathroom again in here, but I could hold it - bargain number one was really starting to tick me off now.

We went to the mall next and you guessed it, the first stop: the bathroom in Dillards. Fifteen minutes later we are back out looking for more bargains... we found some and spent three hours there. I won't bore you with the details, but it was a great shopping day - minus the continuous bathroom stops thanks to my giant bargain number one.

Now later in the week, I decided to move McKenzie out of her bedroom and leave Ellee in McKenzie's room - it was just getting too crazy with crying, etc... to leave them together. So, on Friday I began my search for McKenzie's new bedroom attire... by Saturday she was sleeping like a princess in her new room. I found so many bargains and did the room on a budget and she loves it!

So, this week, shopping and I are going to spend some time a part - my husband thought we might be getting a little too close, so to appease him, I guess I'll spend a few days away... if only I had that scratch and sniff sticker!