Hair twirling is in my blood (Self Portrait Challenge week 5)

I have some excellent hair twirling skills...



I've done it ever since I can remember, especially when I get nervous or bored or frustrated. When I was a very little girl I would play with my mama's hair while I was going to sleep, and I guess it just progressed into playing with my own and I'm the only one in my family that does it. So it's not really in my blood, but it sounded like a good title for this blog.



I don't know why I'm not smiling...it seems like a lot of my pictures are of me not smiling. I guess I was just concentrating so hard to get the shot it looks like I'm mad or something, but I'm not I swear.

See other great self portraits here

Saturday 9: We Travel Well

1. What part of the world and country do you live in?
United States, Tennessee

2. What is the furthest from home that you have been, and where is it?
Durango, Mexico

3. What travel destination have you enjoyed the most?
I will say Maine because it was the first time I tasted cookie dough ice cream and I just thought it was the greatest invention...ever!
*That sounds kinda shallow after I read it so I should probably say Mexico because it was for a mission trip and I really did enjoy seeing a different culture from my own southern...uh redneck world.*

4. What travel destination have you enjoyed the least?
a college choir trip to Folley Beach, South Carolina. It was just all kinds of messed up.

5. Is there somewhere you’d like to visit but have not, and where is it?
Yes, definitely Greece. The urge started with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and has been reconfirmed with the viewing of Mamma Mia. It just looks so beautiful and happy.

6. Do you prefer traveling to see historic places or to hit the beach and relax?
I enjoy both. I like laying on the beach for about 2 days and then I get bored out of my mind.

7. What popular vacation destination have you never considered because you think you’d not like it?
Niagra Falls

8. Where do you travel to most recently?
Orlando, Florida to work with the children at Wycliffe Bible Translators but gee whiz that was a year ago. I haven't been anywhere since.

9. Do you like day trip “mini-vacations”?
Yes. We go to Dollywood all the time since it's only about 3 hours away even though we haven't been at all this year. It's a very dry year for traveling at our house. And when I see this post, I laugh.

My Neighbor Loves Me!

Cause looky at what we found on our back porch when we got home this afternoon!
YUMMY!!!!!


A close up...just so you can see how yummy they are.

Spelling 101

Boy, I can't spell. I was looking through my older blog posts and I have a ton of misspelled words. This is one of my pet peeves, for people not to spell words right. And look at me, I'm slacking left and right with my spelling. I will try to do better next time. I promise.

It's more of an ability...really (Self Portrait Challenge Week 4)

Ok so I had a great skill all ready for this week but I realized it's not really a skill, it's more of an ability. A skill is something you learn and perfect, an ability is something you're born with and just naturally can do. I had to scramble around and think of something I'm good at and I this is my skill for this week:



This was my first attempt at making a doll from scratch (with a pattern) and it turned out a whole lot better than I expected. Whenever I'm asked what can I do I always say "not much" but that's really not true because I can sew, I just don't consider it an important achievement and that is not very good because I give myself far too little credit.

I have to tell this story because...well I like to tell stories. My second doll was from a bear pattern that I modified into a doll. You can read about where I made it here. I don't think about it much but that's pretty big considering it was only my second one. I gave it to a friend for her birthday and I was over at her house one night with another girl we both know and she saw the doll and made a comment about how big its feet were and the next time I make one I should make the feet smaller. I made excuses about how it was a modified pattern, it was supposed to be a bear with furry feet, and how it was only my second try. I really shouldn't have, and just brushed it off but it hurt to hear the criticism, even though she knows nothing about sewing or how to make a doll. Here's a picture of that one, and I really don't think her feet are that big:



So you want to know what my ability is? I can touch my nose with my tongue. Here let me show you:



How do you like them apples?

Saturday 9: My Favorite Things

Saturday 9: My Favorite Things

1. What is your favorite thing to do alone?

look at family pictures

2. What is your favorite thing to do with your best friend?

go to the movies

3. What is your favorite band?

Third Day

4. What is your favorite song?

I'm Not Cool by Scott Krippayne

5. What is you favorite part of your job?

Nap Time

6. What is your favorite TV show, on now?

The Mole

7. What is your favorite TV show all time?

Xena

8. Who is your favorite actor?

I don't really have a favorite favorite, I guess right now Will Smith

9. What is your favorite film?

I don't have just one favorite, so I'll say Connie and Carla. heh

it was bad, then it was good, then it was bad

Ignoring the fact that I had to go in to work 4 hours earlier than planned, my day went...ok. I get a call during my leisurely breakfast of cereal that went something like this:
Me: hello? (actually it was more like erro? cause I had my mouth full)
her: Can you come in now? Melissa's throwing up.
Me: grrrrrrr......
pause
Me: what do you want me to do about it?
her:what are you doing, can you come in?
Me: I guess, let me finish breakfast and get dressed.
That was the bad.

Ok so then I get there 30 minutes later and we're doing our kid watching thing and Chrissy says "you wanna go with me to Chattanooga tomorrow?"

OK let me take a break here to tell you that tomorrow the Antiques Road Show will be filming in Chattanooga for their upcoming season. That's right people I said Antiques Road Show. You had to enter a lottery to get free tickets and out of oh...116,000 people that put their name in the pot only about half of them got lucky enough to receive 2 tickets each. I wasn't one of them. And darn it I wanted to be. Chrissy wasn't one of them. But her friend was.

So I couldn't figure out why she was asking and it took a few for it to click as to what she was asking me. I jumped up and down and hollered and said woo hooo! Oh wait. I said "WOO HOOOO!!!! You bet I wanna go!!! How did you get tickets?" And she told me her friend got sick and didn't want to go.
That was the good.

So I called my sister and was telling her the exciting news while unbeknown to me she was on the phone to her friend who had changed her mind and was telling her she had decided to go. Talk about shattering your hopes. Man, I really wanted to go and you can call me a geek or whatever but that is very exciting to me. I told her it was ok, but she had to make a sign that says "Hello Leia" and find the twins and make them hold it so she can take a picture of them waving and holding the sign. That is the only thing that will make it better.
That was the bad...again.

Oh, but it got better.
About 20 minutes after I came in, Melissa (the throw up girl) was spotted by the owner of the daycare at McD's laughing and talking to some of her friends. And this is funny because the daycare owner lives right beside McD's and can stand on her back porch and see everything that goes on outside. I don't know about you, but if I'm gonna pretend to be sick to get out of work I will not be seen anywhere near my work or any place affiliated with my work. And to top it off she came back to the daycare to give her sister (who also works there and has been caught sleeping on the job by a parent...but that's another story) the money that she had cashed for her. How stupid can people be? You don't have to answer that, because I've seen stupid first hand and it ain't pretty.

Oh, and it got even better.
The final thing, I swear. Our problem child is being moved to a different daycare. We have 4 daycares total, and he is moving on up to the pre-k house. That nullifies anything bad that happened today, and we will be doing a little happy dance on Monday. I might even make cupcakes. With sprinkles.

Here, look at this picture. Just because.

My skills (Self Portrait Challenge week 3)

I've been doing the self portrait challenge thing on and off now and started when it was self portrait Tuesday but have never officially joined. I was going to start last month but I really am not comfortable showing my nekkedidity to the world yet. I know a lot of people took the risk and did, and I really did take some pictures but I just couldn't bring myself to post them. If you want to see other self portrait posts look here or here or here, or even here.

But on to this month. I'm gonna try to do this every week but we'll see what happens. Since the theme is skills I was like, "I can totally do this cause I got skills..." but trying to find something I can actually call a skill is hard. I can sew a fair stitch, I can cross stitch a bit, I can make you a fabulous single crochet blanket, and those are good skills to have but what do I have that would be impressive to someone? Not much it turns out. I am probably giving myself far too little credit but I never was one to brag. Is that bragging about not bragging? I can do one thing that some people are amazed at. I can read a book upside down. I think it comes from the years of working with kids. I know that's not a major thing but it's something that I can call mine.

So this is me reading upside-down to the childrens at the daycare. The picture came from a cell phone so forgive the grainy-ness. It's not a great picture (no offense to my very talented, sweet, wonderful friend that took the picture...apologies forever and I'll buy ya a big honkin' drink when you get home) but I'm not aiming for greatness. I do feel like there are so many other great posts by people who are participating in the challenge and I don't measure up to most of them.



But since I'm on the subject of sewing skills I was thinking the other day that nobody in my family is continuing the tradition of quilting. My grandmother quilted, her husband's sister quilted, and I'm sure other women in my family also had the wonderful skill of putting pieces of fabric together to make a beautiful quilt. I don't want that to die so I intend to do something about it. I do have that skill of putting pieces of fabric together, I just need to hone in on it and put it into practice. And also make the time. I have a quilt top that I started in high school (which has been eons ago) and it's almost finished and I need to get up off my lazy butt and finish it. When I do I'll put up pictures. Lots of them.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a room that is organized.

2. lots of plastic containers is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without saying bye to the dog.

4. If I were a condiment, I would be honey because I'm just that sweet.

5. Rudeness is really high up on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was how bad I didn't want to get up to go to work.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to not working, tomorrow my plans include Red Cross Shelter Training and Sunday, I want to go swimming!

Anonther life lesson to add to the books

Do not, I repeat DO NOT try to take your contacts out without washing your hands first after you have handled a supposedly not hot banana pepper. And especially don't rub the water you've washed your eyes out with repeatedly down your face...unless you want to be face down in a bowl of milk. That's right I said milk.

Think about it.