I missed Podunk...

I live in a relatively small town. Okay, so it's bigger than the one I grew up in but that ain't sayin much. With a population of just over 20,000, I'd call it small. Anyway, over the weekend we had to travel to "the big city". I've gone there all of my life for shopping, etc. as we don't have certain luxuries here in Podunk. After the tournament was over I took the little one out shopping. Hey! this place has TWO malls - what's a girl to do.

The first thing we see is a lady holding a plastic pet habitat with one hand and pulling along a small boy with the other. Both of whom looked like they could use a time out. A few stores down I see a large sign that reads - FREE HERMIT CRABS with purchase of a habitat. Well, being the animal lovers that we are and since I was more than impressed with my 3 year old for getting up in front of a crowd and competing, I trotted on in. At this point I've forgotten all about the woman and the child we met coming into the mall - Foreshadowing at its finest!

Now I probably don't have to tell you that my plan to purchase the cheapest habitat (14.95) and get a free crab turned into getting a larger habitat - because it came with TWO free crabs and as the sales lady kindly explained to me they are happiest when living in pairs or colonies. Well she didn't manage to talk me into a colony but I couldn't very well sleep in house with a sad crab as a pet. So one larger habitat, TWO crabs, some hermit crab food and $30.00 later my kid and I walked out two proud hermit crab owners. I've already taken him to one mall earlier that morning, he's been up since 6:30 am and didn't get to bed til midnight the night before. So other than seeing that I won't be winning 'Mom of the Year' you can probably see the disaster that's playing out. I couldn't - I was blinded by all the shopping there was to do and couldn't be done once I returned to Podunk!

Since I idiotically purchased our new pets at the first store we came to, I was forced to carry the poor creatures into the store with one hand while holding a very tired, very rowdy and very LOUD little boy in the other. But I HAD a coupon for 15% off for the store just down from the crab shop - I COULDN'T let it go to waste. After all, I have a growing little boy to clothe.

Upon entering the store I knew immediately I couldn't hold my child with one hand and the crabs with the other and shop. So I very kindly requested to place my 5" x 7" crab home behind the front counter. To which the very put-out looking young lady replied you can put it up there.......at the front. The point in my asking to put the crabs down was to keep them safe while allowing me to shop. What this lady is suggesting is not only for me to place them on the front counter but to place them on the FRONT of the front counter. There are approximately 8 children in line with their moms. Many of which are holding a child in one hand and something else in the other - I felt for them. It would have been a veritable crab buffet. So I very politely proceeded to place my baggage on the BACK of the front counter. Not out of downright rebelliousness but just because I knew that she couldn't have possibly thought through what she'd suggested. I had turned around for what had to have been less than a minute only to find our new pets had been shoved to the front of the front counter and are at the moment teetering on the edge! Okay, I admit I wanted to yell and scream but I did not. I very calmly (on the outside) took my child in one hand and our endangered crabs in the other and gave up on the coupon. We walked out of the mall both looking as though we needed a time out!

I wish my story ended there, I do. But being the brave woman I am I ventured over to the local WalMart of which there are also TWO! Not because I don't have one in Podunk but because my Walmart is out of something important. I was in dire need of an item of decor for my newly renovated bedroom. I am stopped at the doors by the greeter lady and was made to wait for a CSM only to be told I could NOT shop at this Walmart because I had crabs!

I couldn't wait to get back home.....where the WalMart greeter knows me by name and if an employee at the local clothing shop treats me badly I can call her momma!

The Karate Kid

So my blogging took a break over the weekend. I have a very good excuse. My little man competed in his very first Taekwondo tournament this weekend. He's a Tiny Tiger and competed in forms and one-steps (which are "steps" toward self-defense). I'm a proud momma! He's pictured above with his Mema and Daddy (yes, both are biological!) ;)

My husband - (as well as his mom, myself and now our child) are martial artists. He has been training for 21 years and has had his own martial arts school since 1993. He's now a 5th degree black belt. I met him when I began taking lessons at his school and then became his secretary....you know how those secretaries can be! We've been married for almost 7 years. I am NO LONGER his secretary!! ;)

House for Sale....AGAIN

Well it's that time of year again. We tried selling our house for the first time well over a year ago. We had outgrown our house before my husband and I ever moved into it....and that was 7 years ago. Now that there are three of us - well 6 of us if you count the 3 inside dogs. Heck my dogs think they're people. I'm lucky I can get them to go outside to potty. And NO ONE EVER told me how much stuff a child comes with. We had to take a few of his toys to storage yesterday to clean up what our realtor referred to as "clutter"! Nice, huh? Anyway, he was a trooper about it - especially for a 3 year old. He even helped. But I did overhear him on the phone with his Poppy telling him that Mommy & Daddy had taken ALL of his toys to storage. LOL

I never knew how stressful selling a house could be. The first time we tried it our child was young enough that he had a regular nap time and I was a stay at home mom so truth be told, I had a regular naptime, too. Which meant that the both of us regularly stayed in our pjs for most of the day...okay all day except on grocery store days. And they actually expected us to get out of the house without so much as a heads up. I spent most of my days driving around the neighborhood in my pjs with a half naked toddler in the back. Eventually I asked our neighbor across the street if we couldn't just park our car and sit in her driveway. Gas is expensive! We finally gave up....well it was more like our realtor, who is also a friend of ours, gave up on us! Now that he's in preschool and I've gone back to teaching we aren't holed up in the house in that generally vegetative state anymore. This time we might actually gitrdone!

What I'm working on

I get my creativity from my mother. She could do anything. She was an expert seamstress who once made a Vera Wang wedding dress for one of her customers just from looking at a picture. She also had the greatest knack for interior design. I always wondered why she wasn't famous...

When I was going through my mom's house shortly after her passing, I found a clown doll she had made for me a long time ago. It had a stryofoam head and block body covered in awhite clown suit with little red hearts all over it. I loved that thing. It brought back many memories.

I have begun working on circus collection that I am very excited about. Many of the dolls will be mixed mediums - paper clay & fabric and some fabric dolls. My first piece will be based on the clown doll my mom made for me.

Stay tuned...

Goodbye Mom

You'll hear...er read...me talk about my mom alot. She was my best friend. I lost her recently. Very suddenly and unexpectedly. I am devestated. It's funny though because now that she's gone I find that I am more determined to live than ever. She gave me life and I feel I owe it to her to live it to the fullest. I read once where someone said 'Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, "Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!" '

I hope you enjoyed the ride, Mom! I love you!

Momma Always Said...

.....You can write and you should keep doing it! I used to write poetry when I was in elementary school and that lasted until sometime in high school. I don't know whether I was any good at it. Mom's can be biased.

I have toyed with the idea of writing to Stephen King. I love his books! I have a story I want to share with him and I am convinced that if he'd just read my letter he and I would be working on a book deal by the end of the year.

When I was younger and would have friends over for the night my mom always told the story of the ghoul - it's a true story. When she was growing up there was a creature who would dig up fresh graves of young women and consume parts of their bodies. I kid you not!! It was even in the local papers. No one could figure out how the thing got into the graves without equipment and there was no evidence any had been used. Then there's the problem of consuming the bodies when they contained embalming fluid.....and living. And since the marks on the bodies were determined to be teeth marks, something was defying all odds and living to do it again. Eventually the thing went away. Mom always said she thought it had returned to the sea from where she believed it came. Police had tried tracking it on horseback or with dogs. The animals would not follow the inches deep footprints the thing left behind. So noone really knows where it came from or better yet.....where it went to. I wouldn't believe it either if I were you but my mother never lied.

To Blog or Not to Blog...

For the longest time I had no idea what a blog was. Having not yet approached 30 I never considered asking someone. I considered my self tech savy....I couldn't let anyone know that I didn't know! So I just went with the flow and followed along. Eventually I figured it out. I said to myself 'so a blog is like an online diary.....hmmmm......why on earth would anyone want to publish their diary online??? Then I began reading blogs and I must admit I quickly became addicted. Afterall, reading someone else's diary has been fun since I was in grade school! But let someone read mine?! I don't think so.....

Then I realized that I have so many stories to tell. Every time I create something new, there's a reason. Everyone of my creations has a story. So here I sit......blogging away!