Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 32.

Goodbye little groundhog peeking out to promise 6 more weeks of winter.
Goodbye outstanding parent/teacher conference #2 and a great 11-page report card that goes way beyond "your child is a pleasure to have in class."
Goodbye strange Pepsi packaging; if using real sugar is a throwback, what were they using?
Goodbye to my first guest blogging experience that went as smooth as silk. Check it out!
Goodbye struggling with way too many headaches to be considered normal.

Wrong on so many levels.

 Hello long weekend with no place to go; I smell logs burning in the fire and soup simmering on the stove.
Hello doing something about too many headaches and finally making the phone call to the doctor.
Hello bestest friend playdate that is long overdue.
Hello movie time with Grandpa and grandson while my mom and I shop - hope the movie is a long one.
Hello super duper bad-for-you food and having it be OK because it's the Super Bowl; I'm not rooting for any team in particular, but hurray for the nachos and cheese!


I'm sure many of us can relate to my lessons learned this week. It comes from a quote from my son and I think we've all felt this way at some point in our lives where, perhaps, the best decision wasn't the road we chose. Whenever we've had a tough day, my son and I go to Chick-Fil-A and share a milkshake and talk it out. This was a Chick-Fil-A week and on a grand scale, the offense wasn't a big deal but the lesson was about listening to your conscience and choosing the right path. We don't always get it right, none of us do, but his comment summed it up best. My son said, "You know, I don't have a problem hearing my conscience, it's the listening to it that I find difficult." Amen, son, amen!

Have a great weekend friends!

Rewind. Do-Over. Second Chance.

Have a seat, we'll be right with you.

We had dentist appointments on Saturday. My husband and I take turns going in because the dentist can only work on one of us at a time. I was first-up. When I was done, I sat with my son in the waiting room watching him play BungeeBall on his iPod Touch (purchased with his own money, mind you). As he was playing I was explaining to him the physics involved in making the momentum of the bungee chord do what he wanted it to do and go where he wanted it to go. It was fun!

Another victim patient came in, told his name to the receptionist and that's when I looked up. The name was a blast from the past. It was an old co-worker I worked with when I was a young, fresh-out-of-college engineer. He sat down and we started catching up. There was a lot of catching up to do as the last time I worked at the company was over 17 years ago.

Remember, I was young, I was fresh out of college, I had something to prove. To say I was determined to make my mark in the engineering world was an understatement. This is how this co-worker remembered me and was shocked to learn I was a stay-at-home mom.

Our conversation went a little something like this (man, I'm so disappointed in my responses):

Old Co-worker: So, what in the world have you been doing since you left our company.
Me: Well, I'm a stay-at-home mom.
Old Co-worker: Really? Wow, I never would have guessed it? You were always so determined, such a go-getter.
Me: (Silence. Insert chirping crickets here.)
Old Co-worker: Well, don't get me wrong, I mean, being a stay-at-home mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world...probably? (So unoriginal.)
Me: Well, you know me, I've been doing other things, too!
Old Co-worker: Like what?
Me: Well...(here comes the resume) I started my own college admissions consulting company, I write a daily blog, I'll be opening an Etsy shop soon to sell my jewelry designs, I'm writing a couple of books, I started some enrichment clubs for kids and teens, I help out at the school, blah, blah, blah.

It was a train wreck that just couldn't stop. Even after the wreck, the trains just kept dragging on the rails, inching into the point of no return; a black abyss of thinking who I am is defined by what I do. The only thing that stopped the wreck was the call of fluoride and a dental drill.

Man, can't I take my own advice? I write and I write and I think I've got it all together; I think I've got it all figured out. I've had the revelation of knowing who I am is not what I do. I've grown, I've become wiser. Then, when I get tested, I relapse. All those words I wrote become just that, words. So, I have to re-read posts like this one, and this one, and hope to get another chance to be tested again, so I can feel like I finally passed. If I could have a re-take, the following conversation would have earned me a solid "A".

Old Co-worker: So, what in the world have you been doing since you left our company?
Me: Well, I'm a stay-at-home mom.
Old Co-worker: Really? Wow, I never would have guessed it? You were always so determined, such a go-getter.
Me: (Silence.)
Old Co-worker: Well, don't get me wrong, I mean, being a stay-at-home mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world...probably?
Me: Well, you know, I've finally got my priorities straight.
Old Co-worker: What do you mean?
Me: Well, I finally wised up to what's really important. I don't need the accolades of a boss to make me feel my worth. I feel it everyday in the eyes of my son and husband. Yes, it's probably one of the hardest jobs out there, but that's the difference. It's not a job, it's my life, it's my responsibility, and it makes me happy in the purest of ways.

Now, that's what I wish I would have said. I'll try better next time.


Ever come up with your best lines and comebacks after the conversation has been had?

What I Made Wednesday {Rag Heart Wreath} An Eco-Friendly Project

Happy February to you; the month of hugs and smooches and I'm sending my love your way! I am over-the-top excited to share today's W.I.M. Wednesday project with you. Why the excitement? Because today's project is being featured at the Fine Craft Guild, a crafting blog that features bloggers' crafts from all over the world, and they asked lil' ol' me to contribute a recycled craft project, so here's what I came up with and I hope you love it. It's super easy and super cute for Valentine's Day. If you can tie a knot, you can do this project!!!

All you have to do to see the project is click here, right here, and it'll take you directly to my eco-friendly Rag Heart Wreath project. 




Feel free to leave some love! Thanks so much for visiting me at the Fine Craft Guild, today! And, thank you to Rose from the Fine Art Craft Guild for noticing my Family Rules Project. It got her interested in asking me to contribute to today's post on their respected blog. Now, go over there and see what I did, click here.

Garden Dreaming

It's the dead of winter. Gusts of wind blow through me like I'm wearing tissue paper for a coat. A hat, a scarf, and woolly mittens fashionably don my head to my fingertips. My L.L. Bean boots are as reliable as the security at Fort Knox. I count on them to keep my toesies dry and warm. Yes, this was yesterday.

Today's weather forecast: partly sunny, calm, spring-like, could go as high as 58 degrees F! Atypical of a normal winter in Cleveland's Snowbelt,  but I'm not complaining. Instead, I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming about gardens; usually the types of gardens I don't have the money to build, but want to have as my very own, but only want to enjoy and not necessarily take care of (I loathe ending sentences with "of"). Sure, I don't mind strolling through on sunny days, clippers in garden-gloved hands, and clipping off a rosebud or two, but weeding and sweating? No, not in the garden of my dreams, anyways! The glistening of perspiration on the forehead would certainly ruin the image and getting down on hands and knees in my Lilly Pulitzer sundress would just clash with the moment of garden serenity. No, we can't let that happen.

Thanks to the wonderful cataloguing world of Pinterest, I share with you my Gardening Dreams board. Enjoy! The photos in this post are my own, taken last summer at Holden Arboretum, my favorite garden place of all time. Feel free to Pin them to your own boards. When this crazy winter is over, perhaps you can visit in the gazebo for some tea and scones. We should get another break in the weather as early as Friday (maybe summer-like weather, highs in the 80's - OK, I'm pushing it for Cleveland).

If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, I can be found right here. Or click the red button to the right!

Anyone else hooked on Pinterest?

Gratitude Journal Monday

Happy Monday, y'all! I think it's time to lighten things up a little. A Gratitude Journal doesn't have to be all serious all the time. It doesn't always have to go deep into the catacombs of our complicatedly beautiful, grateful hearts. Even the little things that may seem superficial on the surface can be part of our Gratitude Journal Monday declarations. If you're curious about starting a Gratitude Journal of your own, click here to learn more.

146. I am grateful for Pilate's where I don't have to jump up and down like a pogo stick to get a good workout.

147. I am grateful for Target, my affordable shop-therapy place.

148. I am grateful for libraries, another affordable place to feed my literary addiction.


149. I am ever so grateful for old, classic movies; when true class and elegance were the rule, not the exception.

150. I am grateful for the warm, fuzzy feeling I get while watching the snow storm from my kitchen window, knowing my family is safe and cozy in the next room.

Now it's your turn! Leave a comment declaring some of your own gratitude and thankfulness. It can be as shallow or as deep as you want because anything goes! 

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 31.

Chillin' at the mall.

Goodbye full, 5-day week of school; haven't seen you in awhile and it'll be awhile until I see you again.
Goodbye soothing sore throats, steam showers, and dinner-in-bed.
Goodbye newly added Webkinz addition, Midnight Monster named Patches who happens to share a birthday with our wedding anniversary - sweet coincidence.
Goodbye strange, up and down weather patterns that didn't play nice with my sinuses.
Goodbye enjoying spending time, talking, and sharing with a great friend that encourages me and believes in me more than I do sometimes - thanks.

Hello Winter Fest fun, inflatables, and Glee Club performing the National Anthem before the basketball game - so proud of my son and all those participating.
Hello to no sleeping-in and dragging our tired bodies to the dentist; I know it's only twice a year so I shouldn't complain.
Hello watching The African Queen before returning it to the library to avoid a late fee and attempting to keep my library account fee-free in 2012.
Hello eating healthier, getting in more exercise, and cleaning up our act as well as our house.
Hello cool Valentine's Day craft I'll be working on that will end up as a guest post very soon on Fine Craft Guild's blog - so honored and psyched to be invited to do this.

This week's lessons learned had a trickle-down effect. My son's learned lesson was the seed that sprouted into my revelation this week; a key to parenting, I think. Long story short, my son bought a toy through Amazon, a Beyblade, with his own money. Looking at the Amazon listing anyone would think it was that exact pictured Beyblade that would be showing up at our door. When the package arrived my son's excitement and anticipation went through the roof as he peeled open the package's tape. The box, all in Japanese, that was to house this "Super-Rare" Beyblade (here's where you insert an ooooooh!) had pictures of said-Bey (lingo for Beyblade, gotta be hip to the lingo) all over the packaging, highlighting said-Bey on every side of the box. My son frantically opened the box and voila!, not the Bey on the box; not the Bey pictured in the Amazon listing; no Super-Rare Bey today, my friend.

Japanese Marketing

My son started weeping, which turned into crying, which turned into an all-out waterworks-fest. I called Amazon, they are kindly crediting our son his money when we return the Beyblade. Come to find, the Japanese box is intended to be a "random" Beyblade buy. Although never indicated in the listing, the box contains a random Bey; it may have the super-rare one, it may not. Ahh, Japanese marketers are little stinkers and tricksters, aren't they?

I looked at my son and tried to be as compassionate as I possibly could but I couldn't help but think, "buyer-beware", he just got the lesson. He should feel lucky he'll recoup the money he spent. But, alas, a little boy's heart was broken.

Said-Bey highlighted all over the box!

My lessons learned: I think broken hearts can be good for the soul, no matter what the age. I think disappointment offers its own gifts, if we just unwrap it. I felt badly for my son's disappointment, but I also accepted the situation as an opportunity, an example, that not everyone plays fair in this world, that life isn't meant to be rosy and peachy-keen all the time. There will be times of disappointment and there will be feelings of being taken, sometimes. But, it's in the way you deal with the circumstance that builds character.

Life's lessons, if you seize the opportunity as a parent, can begin in the sandbox!


Have a beautiful weekend, friends! See you on Gratitude Journal Monday.

Recovery of Mind and Spirit

Dear Reader, Please accept these roses as my sincere apology.

Don't expect too much today. I'm pretty much spent from yesterday's post. Did you notice it took until the afternoon to get published? Did all you e-mail subscribers notice that you didn't get an e-mail from LOVD with the latest post yesterday (you'll get two today, I'm sure of it)? It took two whole hours for me to get that post done yesterday. Oh, I'm not complaining; it is what it is. I want to be thorough when sharing each step of the Family Rules Project, because I want even the non-crafters out there to do it!

I woke up yesterday at 5:00 am, greatest intentions of diving right in to finishing the last installment of the Project. But then, sinus pressure woke up when I did and all was lost. I popped some Excedrin, got a cold compress, and went back to bed, never falling asleep, mind you, just waiting for 7:00 am to arrive so I could wake up my son, make breakfast, and drive him to school.

So, please forgive my lack of creativity and wittiness today as I recover from writing my Mother-of-All posts yesterday. Your kindness and forgiveness is much appreciated and I hope you come back here as I get my groove back. I'm sure even the best of you out there need a little time to recharge sometimes. Well, no worries, I'm back tomorrow in full force to share more love and life as only LOVD can do. Stick around, it gets better from here!

Do you ever put your whole-self into something and feel completely drained afterwards? What do you do to recharge and about how long does it take to get back to your old-self?