1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? spent a night away from Neil. Hubby & I went to Baltimore for my girl Dawn's wedding, and Neil slept over his grandma's house.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I want to learn to sew this year, but, that's been a resolution for a while haha.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nobody that I know personally, but internet friends did!
4. Did anyone close to you die? my Tante Jeannette passed. She would have been 99 yesterday. She passed in early November, lived a really good life.
5. What countries did you visit? just the US.....NJ/PA/MD/DE
6. What would you like to have had in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? peace of mind....Neil speaking typically, etc. Just leave me alone with my baby!
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Well, January of 2008 Neil really started walking on his own, and September of 2008 Sean got his job as a professional firefighter.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? probably the Handmade Faire Spring & Halloween Editions.
9. What was your biggest failure? oh gee lets not even go there, mmmk?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? nothing serious
11. What was the best thing you bought? we got a new car this year, and screen printing equipment, and just recently a plasma tv.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sean, he's been working like crazy and he got a great job with amazing benefits!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I'm sure there are many candidates, but I tend not to give a shit.
14. Where did most of your money go? mortgage?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Sean's new job, Neil walking..
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Gee...not sure. I'm not one to really listen to new music haha. Maybe........ah, I got nothing.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? hmm, well, last year I was stressed because Neil wasn't walking yet. Now I'm stressed because Neil isn't talking yet. I'd say it's about even.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same
iii. richer or poorer? Richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? reading
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? doctor's appointments.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent it @ my parents. Sean had to work :(
22. Did you fall in love in 2008? yep, 3 bunnies named Hendrix, Cash, & Elvis.
23. How many one-night stands? oh, too many to count haha, wtf?
24. What was your favorite TV program? mmmm.....damn, tie between True Blood, Dexter, & Tudors.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nah, again, I tend not to give a shit about people who are questionable like that, it's a waste of energy to hate them.
26. What was the best book you read? ahhhh I am ADDICTED to the Twilight series.
27. What was your biggest musical discovery? um....that "Jizzed in my Pants" song haha, I love a funny parody song lol.
28. What did you want and get? Sean to get a firefighting job!
29. What did you want and not get? Neil to talk
30. What was your favorite film of this year? did Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix come out this year? Idk, I liked that one.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 26, and I can't remember. Someone asked me how old I was yesterday and I said 28, birthdays have officially become obsolete.
32. Whats one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? if Neil was talking and more on the "typical" scale as far as kids go. I really hate going to all these doctors and poking and prodding and pushing.....UGH!
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? well, I'm sporting a lot more of my own screen printed designs, so that's something. Other than that, pretty much the same.
34. What kept you sane? having many creative outlets
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Colin Farrell?
36. What political issue stirred you the most? the annoying ones. oh wait, that's all of it.
37. Who did you miss? Sean! Haha, still adjusting to him working 24 hour shifts.
38. Who was the best new person you met? hmm, I met lots of crafty people through the Handmade Faire that I formerly only knew online. There are quite a few really bitchin' gals in that group!
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008: *I* know my baby better than doctors do. Maybe it's one I'm still learning, but, yeah, it's a valid one.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
" I like cold beverage yeah"
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
New Moon & Eclipse
I finished reading book 3 of the Twilight Saga last night. Eclipse. I really love this series. The more I read the more I love it. The connection that is built to these characters is really amazing. I find myself stalling reading book 4, Breaking Dawn. As much as I want to read the book and find out the end of the story, I don't want the story to end. I get silly like this with the end of other things too, I felt the same way about the Harry Potter series. I read all but the last two chapters of Deathly Hollows and I stalled a few days, not wanting the series to be over.
I don't think I ever posted about New Moon, the second book. I did enjoy this book, though it wasn't my favorite of the three, because I am totally in love with Edward's character, this book left me missing Edward quite a bit. In reading book three though, I see how all the events of New Moon were completely necessary. It's great how it all came together, really. It really developed Jacob Black's character, and I do love that character as well. The two really great characters, I'm glad it's not my choice which she ends up with haha. I mean, I'd definitely choose Edward, but, it would still be a heartbreaking choice! Haha.
Eclipse, on the other hand, was right up my alley. It may not have had all the action that Twilight did, but after New Moon I was really wanting the love story to come out more, and it certainly did. I mean, don't get me wrong, there was a good share of mystery and action, I think the movie will be amazing (they should get the Harry Potter team to work on these movies, so they're more true to the book). So, I was up until 4am last night finishing this book heh, I wonder where these dedicated reading skills were when I was a kid and it took me weeks to finish a book! The name of this book fits best of all, too. I mean, the other two names are great, but this one fits really well. You'll see when you read it. I'm happy I bought the hardcover version of New Moon & Eclipse, I'm going to get hardcover of Breaking Dawn, too. The Twilight book I bought is the "movie cover" so it's got the cast of characters on the soft cover. Ah, I didn't pick it out, the girl from Border's did, made me feel a little like a 12 year old girl, seeing as it came with a poster haha, but, my sister liked the poster so it worked out. It was nice having a pic of the Cullen family on the front though, to reference to while reading the book. A lot of times I make characters in my head and then I'm not pleased by the actors that play them in the movie's, the pics helped make it easier.
So, I'll probably pickup Breaking Dawn today, unless they're sold out. I am going to need another vampire series to read after this...so if anybody has suggestions, I'm all ears. I know there is a series that follows one of my fav shows, True Blood. The Sookie Stackhouse Series, I believe. I'm afraid to read those books and ruin the show though, so I'm torn there. Maybe I'll read book 1 and see what I think, since I've already watched the series. I'm not sure. I'm keeping my eye on Laurell Hamilton, her series might appeal to me a bit.
Gotta go, Neil's spotten the Thomas toys we bought for his friends for Christmas and is trying to pull a fast one!
Abbie
I don't think I ever posted about New Moon, the second book. I did enjoy this book, though it wasn't my favorite of the three, because I am totally in love with Edward's character, this book left me missing Edward quite a bit. In reading book three though, I see how all the events of New Moon were completely necessary. It's great how it all came together, really. It really developed Jacob Black's character, and I do love that character as well. The two really great characters, I'm glad it's not my choice which she ends up with haha. I mean, I'd definitely choose Edward, but, it would still be a heartbreaking choice! Haha.Eclipse, on the other hand, was right up my alley. It may not have had all the action that Twilight did, but after New Moon I was really wanting the love story to come out more, and it certainly did. I mean, don't get me wrong, there was a good share of mystery and action, I think the movie will be amazing (they should get the Harry Potter team to work on these movies, so they're more true to the book). So, I was up until 4am last night finishing this book heh, I wonder where these dedicated reading skills were when I was a kid and it took me weeks to finish a book! The name of this book fits best of all, too. I mean, the other two names are great, but this one fits really well. You'll see when you read it. I'm happy I bought the hardcover version of New Moon & Eclipse, I'm going to get hardcover of Breaking Dawn, too. The Twilight book I bought is the "movie cover" so it's got the cast of characters on the soft cover. Ah, I didn't pick it out, the girl from Border's did, made me feel a little like a 12 year old girl, seeing as it came with a poster haha, but, my sister liked the poster so it worked out. It was nice having a pic of the Cullen family on the front though, to reference to while reading the book. A lot of times I make characters in my head and then I'm not pleased by the actors that play them in the movie's, the pics helped make it easier.So, I'll probably pickup Breaking Dawn today, unless they're sold out. I am going to need another vampire series to read after this...so if anybody has suggestions, I'm all ears. I know there is a series that follows one of my fav shows, True Blood. The Sookie Stackhouse Series, I believe. I'm afraid to read those books and ruin the show though, so I'm torn there. Maybe I'll read book 1 and see what I think, since I've already watched the series. I'm not sure. I'm keeping my eye on Laurell Hamilton, her series might appeal to me a bit.
Gotta go, Neil's spotten the Thomas toys we bought for his friends for Christmas and is trying to pull a fast one!
Abbie
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Last week, I saw a film if I recall it was.....
these two vid's are absolutely worth watching, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
don't blame me if you're singing this song later, it's really obnoxiously catchy
and, for you Twilight Lovers (like me )
And, for those of you that loved both videos:
don't blame me if you're singing this song later, it's really obnoxiously catchy
and, for you Twilight Lovers (like me )
And, for those of you that loved both videos:
Monday, December 15, 2008
My family...
My Dad comes from a big family, 7 kids. He's the second youngest. My Uncle Mark sent me this little Elf Yourself thingy, it's just hysterical. It's missing my Aunt Marian, she lives in Colorado, and it's missing my Uncle Jimmy, he's passed, but this Elf Yourself is especially hysterical.
I never noticed how much they look alike until now haha. Though my Uncle Mike looks completely sinister haha, I guess it's fitting lol!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/NfOa0RGzjx2mRyav
So, what do you think, see a family resemblance? Here's my family's version, complete with Fiona, our Pomeranian, and Hendrix, our Angora bunny :)
I never noticed how much they look alike until now haha. Though my Uncle Mike looks completely sinister haha, I guess it's fitting lol!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/NfOa0RGzjx2mRyav
So, what do you think, see a family resemblance? Here's my family's version, complete with Fiona, our Pomeranian, and Hendrix, our Angora bunny :)
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Playboy
Normally I am fine with embarrassing myself, I really have no filter most the time and I am totally fine with laughing at myself, but today was an exception.
Christie, our Speech Therapist was here from Early Intervention, working with Neil. Sean was home because he's covering a late shift at Princeton. The mailman came, and Sean went out to get the mail. He came back in, shuffled through the mail, and pulled out a Playboy magazine!
Apparently they decided to send him a promotional copy because he's listed as a business owner, and they are trying to sell subscriptions/advertising.
Wow, what fun when Sean pulls it out of the pile of mail and casually explains how he must have gotten it as a promotion. It's true, but it sounded like such a load of crap. He might as well have said "oh, I read it for the articles" because it sounded like such a line! So yay, our EI gal probably thinks he's a perv haha.
Christie, our Speech Therapist was here from Early Intervention, working with Neil. Sean was home because he's covering a late shift at Princeton. The mailman came, and Sean went out to get the mail. He came back in, shuffled through the mail, and pulled out a Playboy magazine!
Apparently they decided to send him a promotional copy because he's listed as a business owner, and they are trying to sell subscriptions/advertising.
Wow, what fun when Sean pulls it out of the pile of mail and casually explains how he must have gotten it as a promotion. It's true, but it sounded like such a load of crap. He might as well have said "oh, I read it for the articles" because it sounded like such a line! So yay, our EI gal probably thinks he's a perv haha.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Merry Christmas to ME! Yay!
The store "Steve & Barry's" is going out of business, having a huge sale with "Nothing Held Back"
I jokingly asked the worker there how much for the mannequin, she said "$40" It's a nice one on wheels, foam filled and in much better shape than the vintage one that was my Nanny's that I've been using.
So I'm walking through the store w/ all the clothes we picked out in a cart, AND wheeling a naked mannequin around behind us.
On the way out we saw empty T stands for clothing, they told me they were $30 - I said, hell yes!
They also had wooden hangers - 20 for $1
and Cherry Wood sign stands that are nice and tall, great for my sign and price list, $10 each or 3 for $15 (someone must have been bad at math!) we bought 3!
Well, the cashier rang us up, we got about 6 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of shorts for my hubby next summer, some t shirts, the mannequin, the metal T-Stand, 3 cherry wood signs, and about 80 wooden hangers - $66!!!!!!
I couldn't believe it. They ended up only ringing the Mannequin up at $20, the T-stand at $10, and the signs at $1 each!
Merry Christmas to ME!!!! These are going to be great for my display at shows. Figures I don't have another show booked for....months! Now I'm really hankering for a show!
I jokingly asked the worker there how much for the mannequin, she said "$40" It's a nice one on wheels, foam filled and in much better shape than the vintage one that was my Nanny's that I've been using.
So I'm walking through the store w/ all the clothes we picked out in a cart, AND wheeling a naked mannequin around behind us.
On the way out we saw empty T stands for clothing, they told me they were $30 - I said, hell yes!
They also had wooden hangers - 20 for $1
and Cherry Wood sign stands that are nice and tall, great for my sign and price list, $10 each or 3 for $15 (someone must have been bad at math!) we bought 3!
Well, the cashier rang us up, we got about 6 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of shorts for my hubby next summer, some t shirts, the mannequin, the metal T-Stand, 3 cherry wood signs, and about 80 wooden hangers - $66!!!!!!
I couldn't believe it. They ended up only ringing the Mannequin up at $20, the T-stand at $10, and the signs at $1 each!
Merry Christmas to ME!!!! These are going to be great for my display at shows. Figures I don't have another show booked for....months! Now I'm really hankering for a show!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A useless precog?
The last few weeks things have been happening a little differently. I'll be doing something quiet, where my mind will have a chance to think. Something random will pop into my head, example - today, on the way to the Pediatrician's office Bacon Lip Balm popped into my head. I thought about that thread on Etsy where it was discovered and everyone went crazy over it, the girl sold like 20 tubes in an hour or so.
I wondered what everyone thought about it, decided I would probably not like it, had a gross visual of someone putting leftover bacon grease on their lips, and then I arrived at my destination. I didn't think much of it honestly.
Well I came home, checked my blog roll and a friend of mine posted something this morning about - of course - Bacon Lip Balm. It wasn't the Etsy version, it was a commercial version, but still, how random?
The precog's are not always THAT useless. I'll have a thought like, "oh, I have to make a logo for Buy Hand Traditionally" and then a few hours later I'll get an IM from my MIL asking me to make a logo.
I'll think something seemingly meaningless, and a few hours later it comes back to me somehow. IT's happened more than a dozen times in the last few weeks.
Nothing has been extraordinarily useful. I mean, do I really need to know that sometime during my day, Bacon Lip Balm is going to be a topic? No. It's funny and interesting, but it's kind of random.
Maybe this is the start of useful precognition. Wouldn't that be nice? I could definitely see the benefits of a useful little ability like that.
I wondered what everyone thought about it, decided I would probably not like it, had a gross visual of someone putting leftover bacon grease on their lips, and then I arrived at my destination. I didn't think much of it honestly.
Well I came home, checked my blog roll and a friend of mine posted something this morning about - of course - Bacon Lip Balm. It wasn't the Etsy version, it was a commercial version, but still, how random?
The precog's are not always THAT useless. I'll have a thought like, "oh, I have to make a logo for Buy Hand Traditionally" and then a few hours later I'll get an IM from my MIL asking me to make a logo.
I'll think something seemingly meaningless, and a few hours later it comes back to me somehow. IT's happened more than a dozen times in the last few weeks.
Nothing has been extraordinarily useful. I mean, do I really need to know that sometime during my day, Bacon Lip Balm is going to be a topic? No. It's funny and interesting, but it's kind of random.
Maybe this is the start of useful precognition. Wouldn't that be nice? I could definitely see the benefits of a useful little ability like that.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Movie vs Book
We went and saw the movie on Friday. I am 100% certain that if I had not read the book, I would have absolutely swooned over the movie. The movie was good, but it was nothing in comparison to the book.
The connection that the characters Bella & Edward have in the book is so immensely strong and romantic, I guess there was just no way to put that same magic across the silver screen. That's one thing you can't fake with computer graphics!
So I've read New Moon and that was OK. I wasn't big on the whole Jacob thing. I mean, he's a great character, but eh, I want to read about vampires. I found myself scanning ahead looking for the character names that are vampires hehe.
Eclipse is good so far too. Though I've only been reading a chapter a nigh because it's about all I can stay awake for before the Nyquil kicks in. I've got some major congestion or allergies happening. No fever or anything, just achy and congested. A little soar throat too. It usually subsides throughout the day, so that's something at least. It's not contagious, it's allergies. I've gotten the same thing around this time of year for as long as I can remember.
The connection that the characters Bella & Edward have in the book is so immensely strong and romantic, I guess there was just no way to put that same magic across the silver screen. That's one thing you can't fake with computer graphics!
So I've read New Moon and that was OK. I wasn't big on the whole Jacob thing. I mean, he's a great character, but eh, I want to read about vampires. I found myself scanning ahead looking for the character names that are vampires hehe.
Eclipse is good so far too. Though I've only been reading a chapter a nigh because it's about all I can stay awake for before the Nyquil kicks in. I've got some major congestion or allergies happening. No fever or anything, just achy and congested. A little soar throat too. It usually subsides throughout the day, so that's something at least. It's not contagious, it's allergies. I've gotten the same thing around this time of year for as long as I can remember.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Twilight
I am almost embarrassed to admit that I was curious about the Twilight Series. I picked up the book about a month ago, read about 50 pages and thought "eh". I already knew the basic idea, he's a vampire she's a human...forbidden love, yadda yadda yadda...it took a while to get there in the book and I was impatient.
Then all the craziness happened with Neil's appointment at Children's Specialized with the Autism Screening and I dove into a ton of Autism books, Twilight took the back of the book shelf.
Well I took back to the book and decided to give it another go. I finally (it was like, page 150 or so) got to the part where he admits he's a vampire and WOW. I'm hooked! I gotta admit, just a few weeks ago I was laughing at these little tween girls on the news, screaming that they want to have Rob Pattenson (whoever plays Edward)'s baby. I remember laughing and saying sarcastically "have they even had their first period yet?!" but yeah....I can see it now haha. I'm such a loser lol, but I love the book. I'm a little concerned though, from the previews I've seen of the movie it seems they've taken some creative liberties....that scares me a tad. She seems a little more frightened in the movie than she comes off as in the book. We'll see though. I think we're going to see it on Friday night. Hopefully we're not the oldest ones in the audience hah.
I'll be picking up the next book soon. I'll probably finish Twilight tonight when I go to bed.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Side Effects May Very...
There is always a strange coincidence that occurs when I have a burst of creativity. I love to get motivated by something, something that makes me want to paint or draw....or anything! But I always have a very strange side effect, and that is WEIRD dreams. Yes, apparently my creativity doesn't like to take a rest so it filters itself out at night, in form of whacko dreams.Last night, I had a dream that I had my old cafe back (I used to own a coffee house, started it from scratch - a very chill, hippy kinda place, lots of fun) so, I had this dream that I had the cafe back, and it had been neglected so there was lots of work to do. Well - I found this crock pot that had been left plugged in and cooking the whole time, and I wanted to turn it off but it was so hot that it was glowing and pulsing orange. I was very frantic about it, when the door bells jingled and I knew a customer was there...so I ran out front to help the customer and guess who it was? Barack Obama and Bill Cosby....yes, and they both had thick, full beards. I was very star struck, for lack of a better word.
I was jumbling to try and make them cappuccino's, but I was also quite concerned about the crock pot catching fire. I was trying to handle both at the same time and Barack & Bill Cosby ended up leaving w/o their coffee. I was so bummed, so I tried to chase them down and bring it to them, but I must have either woken up or the dream went somewhere else at that point...so that's about as much as I can remember!
So, yeah....I guess if I had something about Barack and Cosby on my mind, it's better to come out in a dream than on a drawing/painting haha!
p.s I can't believe I actually found a ready made picture of Barack & Cosby.... it must be fate
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Feeling a little better.
I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I went for that awful appointment at Children's Specialized. I think I cried for a week straight. Then I read about a dozen books on autism, in addition to officially getting my "Google Degree" on Autism.
I know I've said it before, but it just isn't clicking. I'm not an idiot, I pick things up pretty quickly and I comprehend what I'm reading. I'd venture to say that I'm pretty intelligent. I have a pretty good grasp on autism. It's still not clicking with me though, I just don't think it's what is happening to Neil. I don't know what else it could be, but I don't think it's Autism. I mean, it could just be a speech delay....no big fancy diagnosis, just a need for extra help in speech & OT. I've gotten more confident in my opinions too. When it comes down to it, nobody knows my baby like I do.
We met with the Transitional Planning people, these are the 3+ version of Early Intervention. They are out of the school district. I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised. Even at the meeting, I heard Neil talking to a few of them. They noted his demeanor change when the talking changed from easy chatting, to a demand. I know that's an issue, but it's not something unfixable.
I don't know if it's the insane amount of praying that I've been doing, but I think Neil's speech is actually improving. He's starting to get it a little better. Today in TJ Maxx we looked at the snowmen. I have made the mistake in the past of looking where he was looking, noting he was looking at snowmen and saying "oh, look at the Snowmen!" or something. Now I point, I've been making a conscious effort to point and say "Snowman" more simply. I think I was talking to him like an adult too much, which makes me feel like an idiot, but, hindsight..
Well, when it was time to move on, I took the snowman from him and put it back on the shelf and I said "ok, time to say bye bye to the snowman!....Bye Bye Snowman!" and waved. Neil did the same thing, he said "Bye Bye No-Man!"
Tonight, when tucking him in instead of giving him his binkie right away, I tried to get him to say it. I do this a lot, but not always depending on how maxed he/I am at the moment. He has said "Banbee" before for binkie, but it's usually after a while, like 3 min at least. This time I did it and I did an easy sign of putting my pointer finger to my mouth - I did it about 3 times, and he put his finger to his mouth just the same way. I gave him the Binkie right away. It felt good. I *really* needed these little signs of hope.
The people at the elementary school, where his preschool will be are actually very nice, educated and easy to talk to. I was very pleasantly surprised. They didn't treat me like I was lying to make Neil look better, or like I had no idea what anything meant. They asked a butt load of questions, worked with Neil a bit, observed his behavior. They picked up on things that I actually agree with.
And, I have to say I feel totally vindicated. After leaving the Speech & OT evaluation this afternoon, Neil & I went to get some shopping done in Target & TJ Maxx. We were in Target and strolling past the baby doll isle. We normally don't look twice at any isle that glows THAT pink, but as I was walking past I had a twinge of curiosity (remember the woman from Children's Specialized told me he was autistic because he didn't feed the baby doll) well, I grabbed one of the open baby doll boxes that had a "Try Me!" bottle that you could move and feed the baby doll with. I put it on the cart in front of Neil - he looked at it, grabbed the bottle and fed the baby. I was so happy haha. When we left the isle I said, ok, baby's going to go night night now, "Night Night baby!" and he said "Night Night!" as we were leaving. The store clerk was stacking boxes, and turned around to ask if I needed anything. I said "no thanks, my son was just saying goodnight to the baby dolls" ahh, how good it felt to say something like that! It's the little things, it really is.
Here's a current pic, for those of you who haven't seen him in a while:
I know I've said it before, but it just isn't clicking. I'm not an idiot, I pick things up pretty quickly and I comprehend what I'm reading. I'd venture to say that I'm pretty intelligent. I have a pretty good grasp on autism. It's still not clicking with me though, I just don't think it's what is happening to Neil. I don't know what else it could be, but I don't think it's Autism. I mean, it could just be a speech delay....no big fancy diagnosis, just a need for extra help in speech & OT. I've gotten more confident in my opinions too. When it comes down to it, nobody knows my baby like I do.
We met with the Transitional Planning people, these are the 3+ version of Early Intervention. They are out of the school district. I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised. Even at the meeting, I heard Neil talking to a few of them. They noted his demeanor change when the talking changed from easy chatting, to a demand. I know that's an issue, but it's not something unfixable.
I don't know if it's the insane amount of praying that I've been doing, but I think Neil's speech is actually improving. He's starting to get it a little better. Today in TJ Maxx we looked at the snowmen. I have made the mistake in the past of looking where he was looking, noting he was looking at snowmen and saying "oh, look at the Snowmen!" or something. Now I point, I've been making a conscious effort to point and say "Snowman" more simply. I think I was talking to him like an adult too much, which makes me feel like an idiot, but, hindsight..
Well, when it was time to move on, I took the snowman from him and put it back on the shelf and I said "ok, time to say bye bye to the snowman!....Bye Bye Snowman!" and waved. Neil did the same thing, he said "Bye Bye No-Man!"
Tonight, when tucking him in instead of giving him his binkie right away, I tried to get him to say it. I do this a lot, but not always depending on how maxed he/I am at the moment. He has said "Banbee" before for binkie, but it's usually after a while, like 3 min at least. This time I did it and I did an easy sign of putting my pointer finger to my mouth - I did it about 3 times, and he put his finger to his mouth just the same way. I gave him the Binkie right away. It felt good. I *really* needed these little signs of hope.
The people at the elementary school, where his preschool will be are actually very nice, educated and easy to talk to. I was very pleasantly surprised. They didn't treat me like I was lying to make Neil look better, or like I had no idea what anything meant. They asked a butt load of questions, worked with Neil a bit, observed his behavior. They picked up on things that I actually agree with.
And, I have to say I feel totally vindicated. After leaving the Speech & OT evaluation this afternoon, Neil & I went to get some shopping done in Target & TJ Maxx. We were in Target and strolling past the baby doll isle. We normally don't look twice at any isle that glows THAT pink, but as I was walking past I had a twinge of curiosity (remember the woman from Children's Specialized told me he was autistic because he didn't feed the baby doll) well, I grabbed one of the open baby doll boxes that had a "Try Me!" bottle that you could move and feed the baby doll with. I put it on the cart in front of Neil - he looked at it, grabbed the bottle and fed the baby. I was so happy haha. When we left the isle I said, ok, baby's going to go night night now, "Night Night baby!" and he said "Night Night!" as we were leaving. The store clerk was stacking boxes, and turned around to ask if I needed anything. I said "no thanks, my son was just saying goodnight to the baby dolls" ahh, how good it felt to say something like that! It's the little things, it really is.
Here's a current pic, for those of you who haven't seen him in a while:
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Keep in mind...
Through all this recent shit that's coming up. I am trying to remind myself that I have followed my gut in the past, and been right.
Examples:
I pushed, HARD to get him into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and got him an appointment in 3 weeks for his club foot, because I wanted the best for him. I tried that for the developmental peds, but, the waiting list is 2 years and iron clad.
The Dr's suggested I quit breastfeeding because it was "too hard". I went against Dr's suggestions and kept nursing. Sure, I was struggling with it but Neil was eating and healthy though it wasn't easy for me. I went through tons of shit keeping that up. Sure enough though, as far as colds, flu's, ear infections etc go - he is rarely ever sick. I think like, once a year, tops.
His head was measuring in the 110% among kids his age. His body was in about the -15%. The Dr's suggested cat scans, multiple diagnostic test to explore the reason behind this. I decided that he couldn't deal with any more stress than he was already in from all the other Dr's issues - club foot, platelets, allergies. I knew the stress of all the Dr's was too much for him, so I said no to further testing. Well, I didn't exactly say no, I just didn't do what the Doctor said heh. I'm brave but I'm not confrontational :)
When he wasn't walking before 18 months, I stressed. I contemplated therapy, etc. When he did walk at 18 months, I was relieved, but he didn't do it again until a month before his 2nd bday. I was worried, despite the fact that I knew having had the club foot he would be slower to walk. Well, we made the call to not stress him with doctors/therapy - and you know, one day he just up and started walking.
To tell you the truth, the only reason I got into Early Intervention in August was because I found out that after age 3, they no longer do home visits, it's all done in the preschool only. Being against putting him in preschool, especially special ed preschool - I jumped onto the Early Intervention band wagon. Otherwise? I might just be doing my own thing and biding my time with him. I haven't decided if I made the right choice there, but it's too late now.
So, yeah, I've been validated in my rebellious tendencies before. I've trusted my gut and kept a stiff upper lip....well, not exactly, I usually end up crying like a baby, but still, I persevere, I'm just red and puffy while I'm doing it. I just hate HAVING to do this. I hate being forced to make these calls. I just want to run off into the woods and tell everyone to bite me. My baby is perfect. Leave me alone. But, unfortunately the "normal" scale of society is a heavy weight on my shoulders. Not to mention that Neil is about 6' taller than almost all kids his age, so people assume he's older and expect a lot more out of him.
I hear all these stories about kids that didn't talk "and then one day out of nowhere they started talking" and I wish I could tell this story for mine. I mean, I heard these stories about walking, and sure enough it happened. I hear "Einstein didn't talk til he was almost 5" and "my (child/nephew/niece/friend's kid/god son/granddaughter) didn't talk til s/he was almost 4" and I think...... I'll never last that long. I can't tolerate this stress and sadness for a single moment better yet another couple of years.
Examples:
I pushed, HARD to get him into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and got him an appointment in 3 weeks for his club foot, because I wanted the best for him. I tried that for the developmental peds, but, the waiting list is 2 years and iron clad.
The Dr's suggested I quit breastfeeding because it was "too hard". I went against Dr's suggestions and kept nursing. Sure, I was struggling with it but Neil was eating and healthy though it wasn't easy for me. I went through tons of shit keeping that up. Sure enough though, as far as colds, flu's, ear infections etc go - he is rarely ever sick. I think like, once a year, tops.
His head was measuring in the 110% among kids his age. His body was in about the -15%. The Dr's suggested cat scans, multiple diagnostic test to explore the reason behind this. I decided that he couldn't deal with any more stress than he was already in from all the other Dr's issues - club foot, platelets, allergies. I knew the stress of all the Dr's was too much for him, so I said no to further testing. Well, I didn't exactly say no, I just didn't do what the Doctor said heh. I'm brave but I'm not confrontational :)
When he wasn't walking before 18 months, I stressed. I contemplated therapy, etc. When he did walk at 18 months, I was relieved, but he didn't do it again until a month before his 2nd bday. I was worried, despite the fact that I knew having had the club foot he would be slower to walk. Well, we made the call to not stress him with doctors/therapy - and you know, one day he just up and started walking.
To tell you the truth, the only reason I got into Early Intervention in August was because I found out that after age 3, they no longer do home visits, it's all done in the preschool only. Being against putting him in preschool, especially special ed preschool - I jumped onto the Early Intervention band wagon. Otherwise? I might just be doing my own thing and biding my time with him. I haven't decided if I made the right choice there, but it's too late now.
So, yeah, I've been validated in my rebellious tendencies before. I've trusted my gut and kept a stiff upper lip....well, not exactly, I usually end up crying like a baby, but still, I persevere, I'm just red and puffy while I'm doing it. I just hate HAVING to do this. I hate being forced to make these calls. I just want to run off into the woods and tell everyone to bite me. My baby is perfect. Leave me alone. But, unfortunately the "normal" scale of society is a heavy weight on my shoulders. Not to mention that Neil is about 6' taller than almost all kids his age, so people assume he's older and expect a lot more out of him.
I hear all these stories about kids that didn't talk "and then one day out of nowhere they started talking" and I wish I could tell this story for mine. I mean, I heard these stories about walking, and sure enough it happened. I hear "Einstein didn't talk til he was almost 5" and "my (child/nephew/niece/friend's kid/god son/granddaughter) didn't talk til s/he was almost 4" and I think...... I'll never last that long. I can't tolerate this stress and sadness for a single moment better yet another couple of years.
RE: my crappy week
Tuesday's appt at Children's Specialized Hospital didn't go as well as I'd hoped and I'm just feeling really bummed and not crafty at all. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything that's not autism research right now. Even though the lady that screened him was just a glorified RN (MSN, CRNP), she had some really tough things to say and said she would be surprised if he wasn't autistic. I still don't believe that he is, it just doesn't feel right to me but I can't sort through the true feelings and the bias mom "nothing is wrong with my child" feelings.
She's pushing us to go get evaluated by the team really quickly so we'll "know". It just all pretty much sucks. I don't feel like he's autistic, I honestly don't. I'm scared he's going to get that label and then be burdened by it the rest of his school years. It seemed to me that her evaluation was not nearly as thorough as the Early Intervention evaluations have been, but that she's about equally certified to those people.
She followed exact textbook rules for screening and I feel like it's all square peg into round hole stuff. She put a baby doll in front of him with a bottle, bowl, and spoon. Because he didn't feed the babydoll, he failed that part. Now, this is a 33 month old boy, he's probably never even seen a baby doll before.
She blew a balloon up and let it deflate and fly around the room, it landed behind her wheelchair in an unaccessible spot. He laughed, cheered, looked me in the eye and showed excitement -but because he didn't climb and get it, or ask one of us to get it, he failed. Instead he looked, saw it was unaccessible, and moved on to something else. It makes sense for an adult to act like that - like - if I drop something a foot from me, why should I expect someone else in the room to inconvenience themselves, climb past me and around a table to pick it up? He accepted that the game was over and he moved on. I'm sure if he'd have tantrumed, it would have been a fail as well. There really is one right answer, and if he doesn't fit it exactly then he fails.
I mean, whatever happened to JUST being a late talker? It's not that he's completely silent. He gets his point across just fine and he gets what he wants through non verbal skills like reaching, physically putting something in my hand (like a bag of goldfish if he wants snack) or just doing it himself, which is is quite fond of as well. I think he doesn't have a specific NEED to talk. That's why when he goes to my MIL's house, he uses more words and communicates more - because she doesn't know his non verbal signs like I do.
Einstein didn't talk til he was 5, I suppose he would have been classified autistic. It seems like in today's age, every kid that is slightly off the chart is autistic. There's no individualism, there's no difference of opinions, they're just not fitting into the perfect little charts that everyone has, and so they must be autistic.
We have the formal diagnosis evaluation with the team on January 28. It's only a few days before his third birthday. I don't know if we're going to take him to that or not. We may cancel it, I'm not sure. I feel like I don't want him evaluated and possibly diagnosed until I am on board with the possibility. I don't want him labeled autistic, and then it affects him the rest of his school years, having that label. What if he grows up to be a completely normal functioning child, and is stuck under a stigma that was given hastily? The fact is, nothing is going to change in his pattern of assistance. He'll still be eligible for the preschool, if we send him - and that's the only thing they are offering. It's not like we'll get speech therapy from an amazing speech therapist that works for the Hospital, one on one time, etc - it's the same thing I'm already doing through the Early Intervention program......just, if I do it through EI only, I do it without the label.
Now here's where I go off the deep end with the biased parent stuff. I *know* I must sound crazy. I feel like an innocent man in jail for a crime he didn't commit and saying he's innocent. I'm sure all the kids are out saying "no, my kid is not autistic!" but really, I got this feeling yesterday. I feel like they want to diagnose him with autism because at best, he would be high functioning (though there is no official diagnosis for high functioning, it either is or isn't in the medical world) but I feel like if they diagnose him, and then he "recovers" then that's something to show off with. The more kids they are able to recover, the better they look, the higher their rating, the more money they'll get for funding, the more parents they will have competing to get their appointments. I mean, I know, I probably sound massively conspiracy theory right now, but it makes sense. I can't think of another reason why this lady who is only a nurse (MSN CRNP - Master of Science in Nursing Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner to be exact) would pretty much diagnose after making a half hearted attempt at playing with him.
And why is it so hard for people to understand or acknowledge that the possible "red flags" he does have could be a result of all the scary and invasive procedures he went through as a child? Weekly painful casting, bone manipulation, surgery, blood test after blood test (sometimes up to 3 in a day!) I mean, why is it so hard to believe that this child acts differently around white coats/clinical situations? I take him back for 6 month checkups on his feet, and though he's almost 3 and has been walking steadily for nearly a year - but he will not walk for the Doctor. Does that mean he can't walk or that his feet have degraded? No! Dr. Horn understands that, and finds other ways to work with him.
For every "red flag" of autism that he has, he's got 5 things that he does fine that autistic kids usually don't w/o work.
Here's his red flags:
*Speech Delay
*Social Delay - ie: anxiety in structured play groups like tumbling tots (though he's fine w/ kids in freeform play)
spotty eye contact - 90% of the time he is fine w/ me about eye contact. With others/strangers, it's about 60% good and 40% not good.
* Doesn't like play dough / floam / silly putty
things he does that would be uncharacteristic for an autism:
*smiles, laughs, & general happiness - not grumpy or unemotional
*empathy - will laugh when we laugh, cry if we cry, be scared / anxious if we are, etc
*responds to his name about 80% of the time
*gestures by way of reaching, leaning, looking at object, physically moving my hands to the object he wants me to see, pointing with middle finger (but because he doesn't always point with his pointer finger, they say he doesn't gesture)
*does not make repetitive movement w/ objects/toys or body (no rocking, flapping, wheel spinning, etc)
* no irregular pitch/singsongy-ness
* no self harm
* no unusual attachment to objects
* very cuddly and lovey
* very social with other adults, or older children (like my 8 year old bro, his fav person in the world)
* sleeps like a champ
* doesn't freak out if routine is changed up
* plays with dirt & sand (would generally be a sensory issue same as play dough/floam)
* doesn't "parrot"
* can make silly faces/noises back to us when we do them
* holds markers correctly (not just fist grab)
* uses a fork very well, and a spoon pretty well (still tough with liquids, but eats yogurt/ice cream just fine)
so, if you've noticed that I'm in an unreasonably bad mood, completely unfocused, or just generally look like crap. It's because I've been stressing, and crying, and it's pretty uncontrollable.
She's pushing us to go get evaluated by the team really quickly so we'll "know". It just all pretty much sucks. I don't feel like he's autistic, I honestly don't. I'm scared he's going to get that label and then be burdened by it the rest of his school years. It seemed to me that her evaluation was not nearly as thorough as the Early Intervention evaluations have been, but that she's about equally certified to those people.
She followed exact textbook rules for screening and I feel like it's all square peg into round hole stuff. She put a baby doll in front of him with a bottle, bowl, and spoon. Because he didn't feed the babydoll, he failed that part. Now, this is a 33 month old boy, he's probably never even seen a baby doll before.
She blew a balloon up and let it deflate and fly around the room, it landed behind her wheelchair in an unaccessible spot. He laughed, cheered, looked me in the eye and showed excitement -but because he didn't climb and get it, or ask one of us to get it, he failed. Instead he looked, saw it was unaccessible, and moved on to something else. It makes sense for an adult to act like that - like - if I drop something a foot from me, why should I expect someone else in the room to inconvenience themselves, climb past me and around a table to pick it up? He accepted that the game was over and he moved on. I'm sure if he'd have tantrumed, it would have been a fail as well. There really is one right answer, and if he doesn't fit it exactly then he fails.
I mean, whatever happened to JUST being a late talker? It's not that he's completely silent. He gets his point across just fine and he gets what he wants through non verbal skills like reaching, physically putting something in my hand (like a bag of goldfish if he wants snack) or just doing it himself, which is is quite fond of as well. I think he doesn't have a specific NEED to talk. That's why when he goes to my MIL's house, he uses more words and communicates more - because she doesn't know his non verbal signs like I do.
Einstein didn't talk til he was 5, I suppose he would have been classified autistic. It seems like in today's age, every kid that is slightly off the chart is autistic. There's no individualism, there's no difference of opinions, they're just not fitting into the perfect little charts that everyone has, and so they must be autistic.
We have the formal diagnosis evaluation with the team on January 28. It's only a few days before his third birthday. I don't know if we're going to take him to that or not. We may cancel it, I'm not sure. I feel like I don't want him evaluated and possibly diagnosed until I am on board with the possibility. I don't want him labeled autistic, and then it affects him the rest of his school years, having that label. What if he grows up to be a completely normal functioning child, and is stuck under a stigma that was given hastily? The fact is, nothing is going to change in his pattern of assistance. He'll still be eligible for the preschool, if we send him - and that's the only thing they are offering. It's not like we'll get speech therapy from an amazing speech therapist that works for the Hospital, one on one time, etc - it's the same thing I'm already doing through the Early Intervention program......just, if I do it through EI only, I do it without the label.
Now here's where I go off the deep end with the biased parent stuff. I *know* I must sound crazy. I feel like an innocent man in jail for a crime he didn't commit and saying he's innocent. I'm sure all the kids are out saying "no, my kid is not autistic!" but really, I got this feeling yesterday. I feel like they want to diagnose him with autism because at best, he would be high functioning (though there is no official diagnosis for high functioning, it either is or isn't in the medical world) but I feel like if they diagnose him, and then he "recovers" then that's something to show off with. The more kids they are able to recover, the better they look, the higher their rating, the more money they'll get for funding, the more parents they will have competing to get their appointments. I mean, I know, I probably sound massively conspiracy theory right now, but it makes sense. I can't think of another reason why this lady who is only a nurse (MSN CRNP - Master of Science in Nursing Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner to be exact) would pretty much diagnose after making a half hearted attempt at playing with him.
And why is it so hard for people to understand or acknowledge that the possible "red flags" he does have could be a result of all the scary and invasive procedures he went through as a child? Weekly painful casting, bone manipulation, surgery, blood test after blood test (sometimes up to 3 in a day!) I mean, why is it so hard to believe that this child acts differently around white coats/clinical situations? I take him back for 6 month checkups on his feet, and though he's almost 3 and has been walking steadily for nearly a year - but he will not walk for the Doctor. Does that mean he can't walk or that his feet have degraded? No! Dr. Horn understands that, and finds other ways to work with him.
For every "red flag" of autism that he has, he's got 5 things that he does fine that autistic kids usually don't w/o work.
Here's his red flags:
*Speech Delay
*Social Delay - ie: anxiety in structured play groups like tumbling tots (though he's fine w/ kids in freeform play)
spotty eye contact - 90% of the time he is fine w/ me about eye contact. With others/strangers, it's about 60% good and 40% not good.
* Doesn't like play dough / floam / silly putty
things he does that would be uncharacteristic for an autism:
*smiles, laughs, & general happiness - not grumpy or unemotional
*empathy - will laugh when we laugh, cry if we cry, be scared / anxious if we are, etc
*responds to his name about 80% of the time
*gestures by way of reaching, leaning, looking at object, physically moving my hands to the object he wants me to see, pointing with middle finger (but because he doesn't always point with his pointer finger, they say he doesn't gesture)
*does not make repetitive movement w/ objects/toys or body (no rocking, flapping, wheel spinning, etc)
* no irregular pitch/singsongy-ness
* no self harm
* no unusual attachment to objects
* very cuddly and lovey
* very social with other adults, or older children (like my 8 year old bro, his fav person in the world)
* sleeps like a champ
* doesn't freak out if routine is changed up
* plays with dirt & sand (would generally be a sensory issue same as play dough/floam)
* doesn't "parrot"
* can make silly faces/noises back to us when we do them
* holds markers correctly (not just fist grab)
* uses a fork very well, and a spoon pretty well (still tough with liquids, but eats yogurt/ice cream just fine)
so, if you've noticed that I'm in an unreasonably bad mood, completely unfocused, or just generally look like crap. It's because I've been stressing, and crying, and it's pretty uncontrollable.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
crappy
what a crappy day. a crappy, crappy, shitty, crappy day.
how far can I trust my instincts and my gut feelings? How much of a risk should or can I take? I am sick of having to answer these questions. Life would be easier if I just ran off into the woods with my family and told everyone else to fuck themselves.
I guess I'd fit in a little better being such a protective mama bear.
how far can I trust my instincts and my gut feelings? How much of a risk should or can I take? I am sick of having to answer these questions. Life would be easier if I just ran off into the woods with my family and told everyone else to fuck themselves.
I guess I'd fit in a little better being such a protective mama bear.
Monday, November 3, 2008
I am a Ninja
Wow, ok - maybe it's the caffeine, maybe it's my super mom ninja skills, but I am totally on point right now. Seriously. I feel like I should be searching the place for radioactive spiders or something.
As probably a few of you know, I play the cello. I haven't done it in a long time, which I am sad about, but - still. Anyway, I have 2 cello's - I have a really good one (named Grendel) that I play on when I do play, and I have the one that I got when I was in 7th grade, (named Bull). The one from 7th grade has obvious sentimental value to me. While Grendel stays in the case, safe from running toddlers and leaping dogs - Bull sits and leans between the wall and the buffet table near the entrance to my kitchen.
Well - today I was herding Neil and Fiona (dog) out of the kitchen. I had Neil's pbj on a plate in my one hand, and he was drinking his juice as he was walking to the living room. Carrying food makes Fiona spin, she kind of backwards walks, jumps, begs....it's annoying and cute at once. Neil was walking and Fiona leaps around him, knocking the cello over (Bull).
Somehow, I manage to grab the cello and keep it from
1. crashing on the floor
and
2. hitting Neil
also, I did not drop the pbj. It was like super human - grabbing the cello just inches from Neil's head, saving the cello (which I would have been completely devastated if it had broken) and not skipping a beat!
So, beware - I am quickly consuming caffeine and honing my super human powers!
As probably a few of you know, I play the cello. I haven't done it in a long time, which I am sad about, but - still. Anyway, I have 2 cello's - I have a really good one (named Grendel) that I play on when I do play, and I have the one that I got when I was in 7th grade, (named Bull). The one from 7th grade has obvious sentimental value to me. While Grendel stays in the case, safe from running toddlers and leaping dogs - Bull sits and leans between the wall and the buffet table near the entrance to my kitchen.
Well - today I was herding Neil and Fiona (dog) out of the kitchen. I had Neil's pbj on a plate in my one hand, and he was drinking his juice as he was walking to the living room. Carrying food makes Fiona spin, she kind of backwards walks, jumps, begs....it's annoying and cute at once. Neil was walking and Fiona leaps around him, knocking the cello over (Bull).
Somehow, I manage to grab the cello and keep it from
1. crashing on the floor
and
2. hitting Neil
also, I did not drop the pbj. It was like super human - grabbing the cello just inches from Neil's head, saving the cello (which I would have been completely devastated if it had broken) and not skipping a beat!
So, beware - I am quickly consuming caffeine and honing my super human powers!
Election Day
I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but tomorrow in the US is election day. As an American citizen, this fact may have escaped you - it's not like there's been political commercials, mailers, flyers, phone calls, yard signs, door to door solicitations, personal letters, buttons, stickers, bumper stickers, broadcasts, and of course corporate and small business endorsements that have been in place to remind us that there is an election tomorrow.
I think it's funny that people are complaining about "dirty trickery". Apparently there are a masses of false info going out in various forms saying things along the lines of "if you are a republican - vote on the 5th, if you're democrat, vote on the 4th" or, saying that if you have unpaid parking tickets, or a criminal conviction that they might be arrested at the polls. Now - maybe it's just me being mean and cynical - but, I kind of feel like if you're dumb enough to fall for that....well....maybe you can't be trusted to make an informed decision and vote? I don't know, it might just be me, but I have an intolerance for stupidity. Sure, they aren't exactly funny jokes but I mean seriously people, it's not like voting is a new thing.
If somebody went around putting out flyers that said "if you're over the age of 50, you can only drive on even days, under 50 drives on odd days" do you think anyone would honestly believe it? And if they aren't smart enough to know a scam when they see one, do they have any place on the road? No!
I'm just sick of protecting people from their own stupidity!
P.S. if you were irritated or felt wronged by my post, please at least remember to go get out and vote on Wednesday November 5, 2008.
I think it's funny that people are complaining about "dirty trickery". Apparently there are a masses of false info going out in various forms saying things along the lines of "if you are a republican - vote on the 5th, if you're democrat, vote on the 4th" or, saying that if you have unpaid parking tickets, or a criminal conviction that they might be arrested at the polls. Now - maybe it's just me being mean and cynical - but, I kind of feel like if you're dumb enough to fall for that....well....maybe you can't be trusted to make an informed decision and vote? I don't know, it might just be me, but I have an intolerance for stupidity. Sure, they aren't exactly funny jokes but I mean seriously people, it's not like voting is a new thing.
If somebody went around putting out flyers that said "if you're over the age of 50, you can only drive on even days, under 50 drives on odd days" do you think anyone would honestly believe it? And if they aren't smart enough to know a scam when they see one, do they have any place on the road? No!
I'm just sick of protecting people from their own stupidity!
P.S. if you were irritated or felt wronged by my post, please at least remember to go get out and vote on Wednesday November 5, 2008.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Pics from Crissy's Party
I'll post some of the more pg pics from Crissy's party here, if you want the full scoop you'll have to see my facebook. For the first time ever,there's actually pics on my camera that I *didn't* post anywhere, cause I um...well, let's just say they are incriminating, and I do love my friends and wouldn't want to incriminate any of them too bad haha.
The costume breakdown:
Me: Tonks from Harry Potter (Nymphadora Tonks - anything for pink hair)
Crissy: Shaun of the Dead
Amanda: Naughty Maid
Dawn: Doctor (cop out!)
Jenn: Rocker Fairy (wings got lost after the first few rounds of shots)
Angela: Red Riding Hood
Lindsay: Sherrif
other than that, there was another sherrif/cop, and a devil's bride!
the jagger, and the southern comfort was FLOWING. HEAVY! Crissy was making jager bombs, there was also a magical "kool aid" drink that Jenn, our resident Shot Ninja made up, and then of course just straight up shots of Jager or Soco. Ahh good times.
Of course, Neil was sleeping over @ his Grandmom's house :)
The costume breakdown:
Me: Tonks from Harry Potter (Nymphadora Tonks - anything for pink hair)
Crissy: Shaun of the Dead
Amanda: Naughty Maid
Dawn: Doctor (cop out!)
Jenn: Rocker Fairy (wings got lost after the first few rounds of shots)
Angela: Red Riding Hood
Lindsay: Sherrif
other than that, there was another sherrif/cop, and a devil's bride!
the jagger, and the southern comfort was FLOWING. HEAVY! Crissy was making jager bombs, there was also a magical "kool aid" drink that Jenn, our resident Shot Ninja made up, and then of course just straight up shots of Jager or Soco. Ahh good times.
Of course, Neil was sleeping over @ his Grandmom's house :)
Score Card: Abbie -0 -vs- Mother Nature - 1
Well the Handmade Faire was Saturday. It rained, and was extremely windy - not just a little rainy, it was like, build an ark rainy, hell....build an ark with a sail for the wind. There were enough crafty people there, I'm sure we could have come up with an ark.
I ended up having 95 vendors, including myself. 48 of which ended up having to pack up early - myself included. Thankfully, inside the tent had 48 vendors, which - even that in and of itself is a big show for this area. The indoor vendors seemed to do pretty well, a few I talked to said they did very well. My husband was counting shoppers, from 10-1:30, he counted about 1400. After 1:30 he couldn't count anymore because that's when I started to break down my booth, and he was no longer in a good place to count. I'm estimating about 1700-2000 people, total. Quite possibly 2000 people, since hubby's counting was happening between manning my booth, helping me keep my vendors tents from flying away, and watching our toddler. The goodie bags we made disappeared in less than a half hour, and we were giving them one per group, not per person.
I feel like I have unfinished business now! I worked my butt off for the last few months promoting this, advertising, finding vendors, organizing things, figuring out the best placement for all my vendors so they would compliment each other correctly.....and, Mother Nature literally rained on my parade. I just wish all my hard work could have come to fruition.
I suppose I am happy that despite the weather we got nearly 2000 shoppers. My vendors were amazing, and I heard some glowing reviews, but.....I still can't help but feel like it should have been better! I worked for better! I'm just disappointed.
My house is a wreck from the pre Handmade Faire cram. There's pieces of paper, and just general crap all over the place. I've made some headway with it but it's still just crappy. Neil is in a terrible mood, screaming and uncommunicative, and destructive with his toys. He's never destructive with his toys, I'm not sure what it's all about but it's making me crazy. I feel restless, but exhausted at the same time. I can't just sit still. I'm feeling like I *should* be cleaning, but I want to be creating, but then....I have this blockage where I don't let myself create in a messy house. I'm just feeling like an idiot. Somebody smack me.
Though, I will say that after the Handmade Faire, I went to my best friend Crissy's house for a Halloween Party - some old friends & some new friends were there, and we had a blast. I am never one to turn down a shot of Jagger or Southern Comfort (Soco, or, as Sean calls it - "neil's third parent") haha.
Here's some pics of the good times on Saturday, I did meet some awesome people, and I got some amazing stuff - including a handmade hat from Jon, I love it! I havne't stopped wearing it yet!
Here's Jonathan - I bought my awesome hat from him!
A shot of the crowd:
My amazing hubby, manning my booth for me:
and another shot - Heart Felt Baby
I am currently stalking her etsy shop, waiting for her to list more arm warmers, she sold out at the show before I could buy a pair! I wanted these striped ones she had! Ah!
I ended up having 95 vendors, including myself. 48 of which ended up having to pack up early - myself included. Thankfully, inside the tent had 48 vendors, which - even that in and of itself is a big show for this area. The indoor vendors seemed to do pretty well, a few I talked to said they did very well. My husband was counting shoppers, from 10-1:30, he counted about 1400. After 1:30 he couldn't count anymore because that's when I started to break down my booth, and he was no longer in a good place to count. I'm estimating about 1700-2000 people, total. Quite possibly 2000 people, since hubby's counting was happening between manning my booth, helping me keep my vendors tents from flying away, and watching our toddler. The goodie bags we made disappeared in less than a half hour, and we were giving them one per group, not per person.
I feel like I have unfinished business now! I worked my butt off for the last few months promoting this, advertising, finding vendors, organizing things, figuring out the best placement for all my vendors so they would compliment each other correctly.....and, Mother Nature literally rained on my parade. I just wish all my hard work could have come to fruition.
I suppose I am happy that despite the weather we got nearly 2000 shoppers. My vendors were amazing, and I heard some glowing reviews, but.....I still can't help but feel like it should have been better! I worked for better! I'm just disappointed.
My house is a wreck from the pre Handmade Faire cram. There's pieces of paper, and just general crap all over the place. I've made some headway with it but it's still just crappy. Neil is in a terrible mood, screaming and uncommunicative, and destructive with his toys. He's never destructive with his toys, I'm not sure what it's all about but it's making me crazy. I feel restless, but exhausted at the same time. I can't just sit still. I'm feeling like I *should* be cleaning, but I want to be creating, but then....I have this blockage where I don't let myself create in a messy house. I'm just feeling like an idiot. Somebody smack me.
Though, I will say that after the Handmade Faire, I went to my best friend Crissy's house for a Halloween Party - some old friends & some new friends were there, and we had a blast. I am never one to turn down a shot of Jagger or Southern Comfort (Soco, or, as Sean calls it - "neil's third parent") haha.
Here's some pics of the good times on Saturday, I did meet some awesome people, and I got some amazing stuff - including a handmade hat from Jon, I love it! I havne't stopped wearing it yet!
Here's Jonathan - I bought my awesome hat from him!
A shot of the crowd:
My amazing hubby, manning my booth for me:
and another shot - Heart Felt Baby
I am currently stalking her etsy shop, waiting for her to list more arm warmers, she sold out at the show before I could buy a pair! I wanted these striped ones she had! Ah!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Promoting
Things have been crazy. There is so much work to do these last two weeks before the Faire that everything else is put on hold. We got some awesome 12x18" posters in, and we've been blanketing the town with them - we'll be going out again today too. Our yard signs came in too, they look really good I'll have to grab a picture.
On the personal side, I a new batch of my prints made up. This time I also bought bags and boards for them, and wow, they look amazing. I am really happy with them. They'll debut at the Handmade Faire on October 25.
In other news, John from Greco Wood Crafts Blog has featured some tips I sent him for choosing a good art show! Thanks John!
Abbie
On the personal side, I a new batch of my prints made up. This time I also bought bags and boards for them, and wow, they look amazing. I am really happy with them. They'll debut at the Handmade Faire on October 25.
In other news, John from Greco Wood Crafts Blog has featured some tips I sent him for choosing a good art show! Thanks John!
Abbie
Monday, September 29, 2008
So busy
Wow, I can't believe it's been over 10 days since I last updated. Things have been so busy, I haven't had time to breath better yet post haha.
Let's see, what have I been up to - well, of course I've been busting my behind working on Handmade Faire stuff. We've had an influx of late applicants that are just too cool to say no to. So, we've decided to keep our applications open for the time being. It's really no skin off our back since we have the space to grow with the outside being so large, so, I figure why not. Things I have to do with that still include:
send in posters for print again
create a graphic for yard signs
order yard signs
find out about getting the banner up over Main Street
if I can get a banner up - create & order banner
do a real big push for promo's & give aways, we've got a few but not enough. I have to hit the Etsy forums.
Get out to local restaurants & stores and ask for promo/door prizes
Finish floor plan, get it approved by Flying W
Ah, there's more but if I list them all I might get bummed out!
I've also been busting my butt getting the new EtsyNJ.com website up and running. I'm one of the leaders of the group and I decided to put together an interactive website for the group. Hoping that the members will get in there and blog, post about their new items, etc. So far everyone is really taking advantage of the events calendar, so that's great.
The EtsyNJ street team is advertising in my favorite magazine, WeirdNJ. The issue just got mailed out and I believe it's on news stands now too. Mine came in the mail today, I was so psyched! The ad is on the second page of the magazine, really great placement if you ask me! I have been an avid follower of WeirdNJ since about 1998, and when I had my cafe in early 2000, we sold back issues and current issues of WeirdNJ & advertised in there too. So, yeah, love the magazine. Pick up issue #31 and look for the EtsyNJ ad - you'll get a secret URL that will give ya a special from participating EtsyNJ members!
Still in the search for a second car in the meantime. Also, Sean started his new job last week - it was all training. This week he starts his normal schedule, he's on his first 24 hour shift tonight! Ack! Cheryl's coming up tonight to keep me company hehehe.
Let's see, what have I been up to - well, of course I've been busting my behind working on Handmade Faire stuff. We've had an influx of late applicants that are just too cool to say no to. So, we've decided to keep our applications open for the time being. It's really no skin off our back since we have the space to grow with the outside being so large, so, I figure why not. Things I have to do with that still include:
send in posters for print again
create a graphic for yard signs
order yard signs
find out about getting the banner up over Main Street
if I can get a banner up - create & order banner
do a real big push for promo's & give aways, we've got a few but not enough. I have to hit the Etsy forums.
Get out to local restaurants & stores and ask for promo/door prizes
Finish floor plan, get it approved by Flying W
Ah, there's more but if I list them all I might get bummed out!
I've also been busting my butt getting the new EtsyNJ.com website up and running. I'm one of the leaders of the group and I decided to put together an interactive website for the group. Hoping that the members will get in there and blog, post about their new items, etc. So far everyone is really taking advantage of the events calendar, so that's great.
The EtsyNJ street team is advertising in my favorite magazine, WeirdNJ. The issue just got mailed out and I believe it's on news stands now too. Mine came in the mail today, I was so psyched! The ad is on the second page of the magazine, really great placement if you ask me! I have been an avid follower of WeirdNJ since about 1998, and when I had my cafe in early 2000, we sold back issues and current issues of WeirdNJ & advertised in there too. So, yeah, love the magazine. Pick up issue #31 and look for the EtsyNJ ad - you'll get a secret URL that will give ya a special from participating EtsyNJ members!
Still in the search for a second car in the meantime. Also, Sean started his new job last week - it was all training. This week he starts his normal schedule, he's on his first 24 hour shift tonight! Ack! Cheryl's coming up tonight to keep me company hehehe.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Just around the willow bend...
Ok, so, aside from having Pocahontas songs stuck in my head, I have a new project I'm working on. It's nice to actually play with something crafty that I'm not pressed for time on - like the Jersey Devil shirts...which, shit, I still need to make more XL's and list them all in my Etsy Store.
So, yeah, aside from doing craft chores, and of course the ever life consuming work for the Handmade Faire - (still accepting applications, btw) which, don't get me wrong, I love, but it makes it hard to do anything else. Holly, from leafpile.org and I have been crafting inbetween sessions of me teaching her how to work her site hehe, and today she showed up at my house with a garbage bag full of curly willow.
Now, any ordinary person may have said something like, "why are you bringing your brush to me?!" but oh, no - no no no, of course we have a crafty use for curly willow. I'm in the process of trying to turn it into a wreath as we speak. My living room looks fabulous.
I thought about not doing anything with it yet, cause - what if a spider crawled out or something? Ah. I get the creeps just thinking. But ya know, I'm strong and brave now, fyi.
So, I'm making a wreath. It looks a bit scrawny at the moment but it's a good start. It would make a really good halo or head dress, but, only if I had a giant head.....which I actually do, but not this giant....seeeeee
So, yeah, the living room is full of leaves and branches. Of course hubby does not even think twice about it, he's used to my craziness.
Ok, lets play I Spy........can you spy the wreath I'm working on in this massive pile of leaf?
if you can, I'll give you a cookie. Also, I'm pretty sure curly willow was the wood that Hermione's wand was made out of. I'm hoping to find a good "wand" in this bag! Might help complete my halloween costume :)
Sean does say that if I shake a branch at him and say "Wingardium Leviosa!" one more time.....bam, right to the moon, hahaha.
So, yeah, aside from doing craft chores, and of course the ever life consuming work for the Handmade Faire - (still accepting applications, btw) which, don't get me wrong, I love, but it makes it hard to do anything else. Holly, from leafpile.org and I have been crafting inbetween sessions of me teaching her how to work her site hehe, and today she showed up at my house with a garbage bag full of curly willow.
Now, any ordinary person may have said something like, "why are you bringing your brush to me?!" but oh, no - no no no, of course we have a crafty use for curly willow. I'm in the process of trying to turn it into a wreath as we speak. My living room looks fabulous.
I thought about not doing anything with it yet, cause - what if a spider crawled out or something? Ah. I get the creeps just thinking. But ya know, I'm strong and brave now, fyi.So, I'm making a wreath. It looks a bit scrawny at the moment but it's a good start. It would make a really good halo or head dress, but, only if I had a giant head.....which I actually do, but not this giant....seeeeee
So, yeah, the living room is full of leaves and branches. Of course hubby does not even think twice about it, he's used to my craziness.
Ok, lets play I Spy........can you spy the wreath I'm working on in this massive pile of leaf?
if you can, I'll give you a cookie. Also, I'm pretty sure curly willow was the wood that Hermione's wand was made out of. I'm hoping to find a good "wand" in this bag! Might help complete my halloween costume :)
Sean does say that if I shake a branch at him and say "Wingardium Leviosa!" one more time.....bam, right to the moon, hahaha.
Too nice for my own good!
Well, I'm a little bummed. But, it's my own fault for being too nice, and not thinking before I speak haha.
The other day at the Flea Market there was a couple selling some vintage stuff, one of the things was vintage typewriter. It was pretty old, had a good charm to it. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was those awesome typewriter key bracelets that I've seen on Etsy.
They had the typewriter marked for $10. Quickly speaking without thinking, I said "you know, you should list this on Etsy - artists make jewelry out of the keys and you could get way more than $10 for it" they were interested, I like being nice, so I told them about Etsy, and the typewriter jewelry people are into. Almost immediately I regretted telling them, because as I spoke about it, I convinced myself that I should try it.
In reality, I don't have time to make a bracelet like that, but you know me, I'm a craft addict. It is literally an addiction - I HAVE to try something. It's hard for me to see something I like and not want to figure out how to make it. Even if I end up buying it, I want to know how to make it, even if I never do. I enjoy buying and wearing other people's work, don't get me wrong - it's just, I want to at least KNOW and TRY it myself too.
Well, immediately I regret not just keeping my mouth shut, and buying it. I contemplated sending my friend over to buy it, but I figured that would be wrong, or mean, idk. Well, today I was crafting with Holly from Leafpile.org and was telling her how I should learn to keep my fool mouth shut! See what I get for being nice to people?! Ugh. Well, she knows the lady and called her for me, to see if they were still selling it. I figured it couldn't hurt.
Well, turns out the lady took my advice, and is listing it on ebay this week. She offered it for sale to me for $40 or $45 with the condition that I made her a ring or pendant or something, idk. I passed, obviously. Ahh well. See. Normally I'm a bitch to strangers (hah, sorry, it's true, I enjoy being unapproachable to people I don't know) , and it always works in my favor. Figures - when I decide to be nice, it ends up beating me in the ass. Ahh well, live and learn.
I'm off to Etsy/Ebay to stalk/admire typewriter key bracelets. Anybody out here make them?
Abbie
The other day at the Flea Market there was a couple selling some vintage stuff, one of the things was vintage typewriter. It was pretty old, had a good charm to it. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was those awesome typewriter key bracelets that I've seen on Etsy.
They had the typewriter marked for $10. Quickly speaking without thinking, I said "you know, you should list this on Etsy - artists make jewelry out of the keys and you could get way more than $10 for it" they were interested, I like being nice, so I told them about Etsy, and the typewriter jewelry people are into. Almost immediately I regretted telling them, because as I spoke about it, I convinced myself that I should try it.
In reality, I don't have time to make a bracelet like that, but you know me, I'm a craft addict. It is literally an addiction - I HAVE to try something. It's hard for me to see something I like and not want to figure out how to make it. Even if I end up buying it, I want to know how to make it, even if I never do. I enjoy buying and wearing other people's work, don't get me wrong - it's just, I want to at least KNOW and TRY it myself too.
Well, immediately I regret not just keeping my mouth shut, and buying it. I contemplated sending my friend over to buy it, but I figured that would be wrong, or mean, idk. Well, today I was crafting with Holly from Leafpile.org and was telling her how I should learn to keep my fool mouth shut! See what I get for being nice to people?! Ugh. Well, she knows the lady and called her for me, to see if they were still selling it. I figured it couldn't hurt.
Well, turns out the lady took my advice, and is listing it on ebay this week. She offered it for sale to me for $40 or $45 with the condition that I made her a ring or pendant or something, idk. I passed, obviously. Ahh well. See. Normally I'm a bitch to strangers (hah, sorry, it's true, I enjoy being unapproachable to people I don't know) , and it always works in my favor. Figures - when I decide to be nice, it ends up beating me in the ass. Ahh well, live and learn.
I'm off to Etsy/Ebay to stalk/admire typewriter key bracelets. Anybody out here make them?
Abbie
Sunday, September 14, 2008
New Tablecloths!
Whoo hoo, this week has been busy. My MIL & I took a trip over to Jomar's in Philly, which, they're an awesome fabric store - and really great prices. I've needed some good table covers for a long time, I'd been using chopped up pieces of felt in a mix of black, brown, and tan - I umm...hated it, for lack of a better word.
So, I found this brown teddy bear kinda material, but it's still pretty light (not fur or anything) and it doesn't shed - plus I got this funky purple & green fabric for an accent. Long term idea is to have it pinned up and hanging from one of the walls, so I can put my prints, etc on there - but....that's going to take a bit more of ingenuity on my part, possibly even a bit of sewing, so it will just have to wait, until I learn to stop being so completely stupid with a sewing machine.
So - I'm putting 2 pics here to compare the difference, now that I have to the floor table coverings ---
Here's my booth at the Beach Plum Festival on Island Beach State Park last weekend (which was a great festival, btw) -
And here's a pic from this weekend's Flea @ Kirby's Mill, normally I'm not big on Flea Markets, but I love Kirby's Mill & doing shows in Medford. Plus Holly from Leafpile.org is a good friend of mine, and she was running the flea, it's always a fun day @ Kirby's Mill.
I'm really happy with it, it makes a bigger difference than I even anticipated. It didn't cost all that much, either - Jomar's prices are fantastic, $3 and $4 a yard!
So, I found this brown teddy bear kinda material, but it's still pretty light (not fur or anything) and it doesn't shed - plus I got this funky purple & green fabric for an accent. Long term idea is to have it pinned up and hanging from one of the walls, so I can put my prints, etc on there - but....that's going to take a bit more of ingenuity on my part, possibly even a bit of sewing, so it will just have to wait, until I learn to stop being so completely stupid with a sewing machine.
So - I'm putting 2 pics here to compare the difference, now that I have to the floor table coverings ---
Here's my booth at the Beach Plum Festival on Island Beach State Park last weekend (which was a great festival, btw) -
And here's a pic from this weekend's Flea @ Kirby's Mill, normally I'm not big on Flea Markets, but I love Kirby's Mill & doing shows in Medford. Plus Holly from Leafpile.org is a good friend of mine, and she was running the flea, it's always a fun day @ Kirby's Mill.
I'm really happy with it, it makes a bigger difference than I even anticipated. It didn't cost all that much, either - Jomar's prices are fantastic, $3 and $4 a yard!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
True Blood
Just watched the premiere episode of True Blood, and I gotta say it
was fantastic. I have always been a sucker for stories where humans
and vampires co-exist - Buffy and Angel years ago were favorites. This
show looks like it will kick ass though. I already can't wait for next
weeks episode.
was fantastic. I have always been a sucker for stories where humans
and vampires co-exist - Buffy and Angel years ago were favorites. This
show looks like it will kick ass though. I already can't wait for next
weeks episode.
Abbie Galie
Http://www.OriginalAbbie.com
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, September 5, 2008
Amazing News!
My wonderful hubby has been a volunteer firefighter for a few years now, and an EMT for about 2.5 years. There's been a lot of times when it's really waring on me, because he works at his normal job about 50-55 hours a week, plus he does duty crews with EMS every week, and some weekends - and on top of that runs Fire calls when he's home. Spring and Fall usually bring a lot of classes at the fire academy, which keep him out late nights.
He's been wanting to make the jump from volunteer to paid for a while now. He's high on the state lists (I think he's scored #32 in the state) for the jobs, but the State has been taking about forever and a day to get on the ball with hiring. We've been patiently waiting, for well over a year for these companies to get their butts in gear.
Well, about 2 weeks ago he interviewed for a job at Princeton University, and he got the job! He'll be a firefighter/emt/security for the Lab there. This is on Princeton University's campus, but it's not - from what I understand - it's not a student lab. Some of the greatest physics minds of our generation work here in an effort to create a new form of energy through fusion. In which case - energy would be cheap, and abundant - it would be amazing. Well, because of the nature of what they do - they require their own fire dept!
This is going to be great for us. Pension, excellent benefits w/ low co-pays, it's a Union - so pay and raises are managed very nicely. What is really awesome is if Sean wants to go to school, at any accredited University - he only pays 15% of tuition, they will pay the rest. When Neil goes to college? They will pay 50% of Neil's tuition. It's amazing. Princeton is about an hour from where we live now but he will be doing 24 hour shifts so really, he'll only work I think like 9 days a month. I think the schedule is like - 24 hrs on, 48 hrs off - once you work 5 revolutions of that, you get 5 days off. Sean will be home a lot more.
He'll be on a 90 day probationary period, and after that he'll be in the Union!
We are so thrilled. Not sure when he starts. Mon & Wed he has some physical/medical evals to do, and then he'll probably get a start date. I think he's planning on staying @ his current job and cutting back hours, since he'll have all those days off. He's going to do that for a while so we can stockpile a little money away just incase.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Hare Brained Idea...
So my MIL, Pola - aka WebmavenNJ and I have talked for a while about having angora rabbits, and spinning their wool to make yarn. Years ago I had an angora rabbit, Commander Bun Buns, but we never spun her wool, the cafe took up a majority of our time then, whereas now, I have a lot more time to focus on art and craft, even if it's an ADD version of it sometimes, with my son Neil getting my attention hehe.
So, these bunnies happen to be hard to come by, but we did end up finding bunnies! We picked them up yesterday. Pola is keeping 2 of them, and I'm keeping one. They are three brothers, born July 8, 2008.
So - meet the bunnies. They are a musical bunch of English Angora's. First, introducing the bunny that will be staying with me:
Meet: Hendrix
Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (male)
Chocolate Tort in color
likes: This boy is a mushy little love - he loves being groomed, snuggled, and exploring on and off the leash. Loves leafy greens, oddly not into carrots - yet. He likes exploring and playing, but is also happy to sit quietly and just be pet. He engages Neil a lot when Neil looks into the cage, hopping up on the edge to see him closer, etc. He was also first to snuggle on the frozen bottle that I put in their cage when we came in from outside, he really enjoyed that!
Meet: Cash (as in Johnny)
Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
Lilac Tort in color
Likes: This is the big boy of the group. His face is in the food dish quite often, and you can tell he's got more meat on his bones than the other two. He is also the most curious, and a great escaper. He manages to compress his body, to fit through small spaces in order to see what's on the other side of barriers I set up in failed attempts to contain all three at once. Cash will be living with Pola in a few days when his cage is ready.
Meet: Elvis
born July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
R.E.W - Ruby Eyed White
Likes: What doesn't this little cutie like? He is so docile and happy. He will lay on his back on my legs and let me groom his belly and feet! When I took them outside, he would just plop down and eat whatever grass was in front of him. He clearly enjoys green food, as upon close inspection you can see some of his lip fur is green from eatting spinach, romain, grass, etc. He is quick to clean himself up though! He also enjoys siting on the perch in the cage and looking down at his brothers. We're calling it his throne - he *is* The King afterall. He will also be living with Pola.
These little guys are sure to keep us busy. Don't mind the green in their ears, if you can see it (I think only the pic of Elvis is viewable) the green will fade - they were tattooed with their pedigree #'s in their ears before coming home to us, so the green will ware off shortly.
So, our plan is to harvest their wool as we groom them - it's not harmful at all to harvest their wool. It's actually harmful not to harvest it, as they will ingest it and get woodblock which could kill them. Their wool just brushes out, and we're saving it. Once the wool is harvested it will be cleaned, carded, and made into roving which can then be dyed and spun. Angora wool is the warmest wool available - warmer than even sheep and alpaca! It's a lot softer and less itchy than sheep and alpaca is too, which makes it very luxurious.
I'll be bringing Hendrix with me to the Kirby's Mill Flea Market on September 13 in Medford, NJ if you want to see him in person. I will be at the Beach Plum Festival on Sept 7th too - in Island Beach State Park, but it's a bit of a long drive for Hendrix, so he's staying home.
I have more fantastic news, but I'm going to save it for tomorrow :)
Abbie
So, these bunnies happen to be hard to come by, but we did end up finding bunnies! We picked them up yesterday. Pola is keeping 2 of them, and I'm keeping one. They are three brothers, born July 8, 2008.
So - meet the bunnies. They are a musical bunch of English Angora's. First, introducing the bunny that will be staying with me:
Meet: Hendrix
Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (male)
Chocolate Tort in color
likes: This boy is a mushy little love - he loves being groomed, snuggled, and exploring on and off the leash. Loves leafy greens, oddly not into carrots - yet. He likes exploring and playing, but is also happy to sit quietly and just be pet. He engages Neil a lot when Neil looks into the cage, hopping up on the edge to see him closer, etc. He was also first to snuggle on the frozen bottle that I put in their cage when we came in from outside, he really enjoyed that!
Meet: Cash (as in Johnny)Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
Lilac Tort in color
Likes: This is the big boy of the group. His face is in the food dish quite often, and you can tell he's got more meat on his bones than the other two. He is also the most curious, and a great escaper. He manages to compress his body, to fit through small spaces in order to see what's on the other side of barriers I set up in failed attempts to contain all three at once. Cash will be living with Pola in a few days when his cage is ready.
Meet: Elvisborn July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
R.E.W - Ruby Eyed White
Likes: What doesn't this little cutie like? He is so docile and happy. He will lay on his back on my legs and let me groom his belly and feet! When I took them outside, he would just plop down and eat whatever grass was in front of him. He clearly enjoys green food, as upon close inspection you can see some of his lip fur is green from eatting spinach, romain, grass, etc. He is quick to clean himself up though! He also enjoys siting on the perch in the cage and looking down at his brothers. We're calling it his throne - he *is* The King afterall. He will also be living with Pola.
These little guys are sure to keep us busy. Don't mind the green in their ears, if you can see it (I think only the pic of Elvis is viewable) the green will fade - they were tattooed with their pedigree #'s in their ears before coming home to us, so the green will ware off shortly.
So, our plan is to harvest their wool as we groom them - it's not harmful at all to harvest their wool. It's actually harmful not to harvest it, as they will ingest it and get woodblock which could kill them. Their wool just brushes out, and we're saving it. Once the wool is harvested it will be cleaned, carded, and made into roving which can then be dyed and spun. Angora wool is the warmest wool available - warmer than even sheep and alpaca! It's a lot softer and less itchy than sheep and alpaca is too, which makes it very luxurious.
I'll be bringing Hendrix with me to the Kirby's Mill Flea Market on September 13 in Medford, NJ if you want to see him in person. I will be at the Beach Plum Festival on Sept 7th too - in Island Beach State Park, but it's a bit of a long drive for Hendrix, so he's staying home.
I have more fantastic news, but I'm going to save it for tomorrow :)
Abbie
Monday, September 1, 2008
Instant Karma
So, most of you know that I used to own a restaurant called the Jersey Devil Cafe, in Medford, NJ. It was an adorable place, fantastic food, great atmosphere, phenomenal coffee & espresso, and good people.
My business partner and I had a falling out in February of 2004, and that was the last time I was in that cafe. It was a hard road to travel after leaving the cafe, because it had been my life for so long. Nearly 2 years to the day after my business partner threw me out - I brought my son home from the hospital. I was always a believer that things happen for a reason, and when I brought my son home, I was happy to understand the reason why the whole ordeal with being thrown out of the cafe happened. I could not have been a complete, dedicated mother that I am today - and run the cafe. It was one or the other.
I am also a believer in Karma. What goes around really does come around - and usually 10 fold. I put my life into that cafe, and every touch of it. I hand painted every table, my artwork was on the walls. We came up with an entire menu from scratch, secret recipes, specialties, the whole 9 yards, same as the drink menu. When I say I put my whole heart into it, I really did. We would work most days from open to close, as early as 6 to as late as midnight some days. There were days that we were understaffed, and I would be busing, waitress, and cooking at the same time, but ya know - we managed and the town loved us for it.
In Feb of 2004, my business partner locked me out. Lots of dirty, underhanded happenings went on from there. It's not my place to take revenge, or even judge. A time comes in everyone's life when you have to meet your maker and explain yourself, and I am sure that's not an experience she's prepared to have. Until then, there's Karma. What goes around comes around - you get back what you put out. You've all heard the old sayings - and they're true.
A few days ago my old cafe caught fire, it apparently burned up the wall and onto the second floor where my old business partner still has her offices. Her office took the worst damage from what I hear. The reality of the situation is, that if I had still had my cafe there this would not have happened. I was so paranoid about fire, especially after having experienced one myself in High School - I was meticulous about keeping my machines perfect, not overloading any plugs, etc. You could say I am OCD about fire safety, and rightly so.
Now, I still live walking distance from this building. My husband is a firefighter, and when I heard the pager go off for a building (fire) at Main & Union Streets, my heart sank. Despite the buildings current inhabitants - I loved that building. That building had a spirit (more than one, literally and figuratively) it had history in those walls, including my own history but it dated back so much further than that. The building was majestic and a beautiful focal point in town. It's historic, over 200 years old, the building will be missed by many. As sad as it was to loose Margie, my dear old neighbor last year - and Frank Salicondro, the music man of Medford, who passed away also - I'm glad they weren't here to see it go, it would have broken their hearts.
Frank had saved the Stagecoach building years ago, when it had been abandoned and someone wanted to buy it and put a Dairy Queen in there. He fell in love with the historical aspect of the building and he saved it, opened his own restaurant/diner for a while, had his music enterprises on the second floor - concerts on the 2nd story porch, it was just beautiful. So for that I am so sad that the building burned. On the other hand, with someone like my ex business partner, what I see is Karma. What goes around comes around, it always seems to find a way, almost like it's fate or destiny.
But ya know, all the crap she put me through - and I was 19, 20, 21 and 22 years old when all this was going on? Young? Yes, absolutely. Too trusting? Probably. Naive or Weak? - no way. In the end, all that bs happened for a reason, and now I know just how capable and strong I am. No more monsters under my bed :P
Friday, August 29, 2008
Voluntary Insomnia?
I swear I am nocturnal. I just do not want to go to bed. I stay up working on the computer in the uninterrupted quiet that I am not allowed during the day when Neil is awake.
I am, of course, researching angora rabbits. I really want to get one, my MIL is getting two soon. She's taking Commander Bun Buns (RIP) old rabbit hutch and fixing it up so she can use it. I'll be keeping my bunny inside, with an occasional front porch appearances, if its nice out heh.
It's now 12:30, I started this entry like 30 minutes ago, got interrupted ( see, that's what I get for basking in the quietness) by an email, and completely forgot til now.
I think I'm going to call it a night, go up to bed and watch tonight's episode of Swingtown, I just love that show. I love the teacher character, he's so cute.
I made nothing artsy today. Boo on me. I did a lot of work on websites though, and stuff for the Handmade Faire if that counts as artsy?
Tomorrow Neil is spending the night at my MIL's house, and we're going to go into Philly and checkout Dark Knight on the IMAX w/ two friends of ours.
I am, of course, researching angora rabbits. I really want to get one, my MIL is getting two soon. She's taking Commander Bun Buns (RIP) old rabbit hutch and fixing it up so she can use it. I'll be keeping my bunny inside, with an occasional front porch appearances, if its nice out heh.
It's now 12:30, I started this entry like 30 minutes ago, got interrupted ( see, that's what I get for basking in the quietness) by an email, and completely forgot til now.
I think I'm going to call it a night, go up to bed and watch tonight's episode of Swingtown, I just love that show. I love the teacher character, he's so cute.
I made nothing artsy today. Boo on me. I did a lot of work on websites though, and stuff for the Handmade Faire if that counts as artsy?
Tomorrow Neil is spending the night at my MIL's house, and we're going to go into Philly and checkout Dark Knight on the IMAX w/ two friends of ours.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Bunny
I want a bunny. And I can't have one, that makes me sad.
Sean says "not now, in a little while"
which is the same man translation used when you say
"Can you take the garbage out?"
and he says
"Sure - in a minute"
when that "minute" is actually an indefinite amount of time, possibly never?
yeah, that's what "a little while" means in this case.
BOO! Remind me to use that term when he wants Mercenaries 2 for the XBox in a few days.
Sean says "not now, in a little while"
which is the same man translation used when you say
"Can you take the garbage out?"
and he says
"Sure - in a minute"
when that "minute" is actually an indefinite amount of time, possibly never?
yeah, that's what "a little while" means in this case.
BOO! Remind me to use that term when he wants Mercenaries 2 for the XBox in a few days.
I am a basketcase
See, you may not know this if you've never talked to me at length or met me in person - but here is proof positive that I'm a certified basketcase:
my mother in law, webmavennj.etsy.com made this basket. I forget the name she had for it, but it's pretty special.
Today Holly from leafpile.org (still pending site) came over and we crafted a bit. She had these funky wood hearts that she'd found at a garage sale. They're slices of a tree that are already naturally shaped like hearts. Pretty cool. Here's what I did with mine, a little beading, etc.
Neil's napping right now, he doesn't have a fever or anything but I think he's feeling a little under the weather. It's not like him to sleep this long, and go into bed so early. At least I got to watch the latest episode of Weeds.
my mother in law, webmavennj.etsy.com made this basket. I forget the name she had for it, but it's pretty special.
Today Holly from leafpile.org (still pending site) came over and we crafted a bit. She had these funky wood hearts that she'd found at a garage sale. They're slices of a tree that are already naturally shaped like hearts. Pretty cool. Here's what I did with mine, a little beading, etc.
Neil's napping right now, he doesn't have a fever or anything but I think he's feeling a little under the weather. It's not like him to sleep this long, and go into bed so early. At least I got to watch the latest episode of Weeds.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Blog CPR
So, although I spend a lot of time online, working, keeping in touch with family and friends, researching and learning, finding inspiration - I am so bad at keeping up with my blog that it's not even funny. I resigned myself a while back to ignore this blog and focus on the blog - http://www.Blog.originalabbie.com that I run off my website, and have had for ohhh....how long, 3 years? Though, I've had originalabbie.com for about 6 or 7 years now, in some form, sometimes I go back to the wayback machine and look at my old site, wow, if I must say so myself I've come a long way in a lot of things web related haha.
Well, I think I'll give this blog a try for a while, I think I'll have a better will power to continue to update this blog since it's web based and I can update it from any internet connection. My iPhone can update, etc, so, I'll have more opportunities to keep it up to date.
So, here it goes.
Well, I think I'll give this blog a try for a while, I think I'll have a better will power to continue to update this blog since it's web based and I can update it from any internet connection. My iPhone can update, etc, so, I'll have more opportunities to keep it up to date.
So, here it goes.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Red Haired Step Child...
This blog gets sorely ignored, it's true.
If you want to see what's actually going on in my life - check out my site:
My Online store:
www.OriginalAbbie.com
My Blog that I don't ignore:
blog.OriginalAbbie.com
My Etsy Shop:
AbbieRoad.Etsy.com
You can also find me:
Flickr:
Twitter:
IndiePublic:
View my page on Indiepublic
The EtsyNJ Street Team:
If you want to see what's actually going on in my life - check out my site:
My Online store:
www.OriginalAbbie.com
My Blog that I don't ignore:
blog.OriginalAbbie.com
My Etsy Shop:
AbbieRoad.Etsy.com
You can also find me:
Flickr:
www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Artwork & Jewelry. Make your own badge here.
Twitter:
IndiePublic:
View my page on Indiepublic
The EtsyNJ Street Team:
Monday, February 25, 2008
Updating with Flock
This is all new, I'm trying to upload with flock...lets see how it goes!
Blogged with Flock
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