May 2007

A couple weekends ago, Gabe’s team had their end of season party and celebration for taking the championship in the Easter Tournament. They had a paintball party and BBQ. Gabe, the team captain, received the MVP award.

BTW, if you want to see all the pix I took, you can go to: http://www.oaklandbearshockey.com/Paintball.htm

Did a show yesterday and a couple of special pieces found new homes. The lady that ended up with this…

… looked fabulous wearing it. I couldn’t be happier.

I was able to contribute to the purpose of the show (fund raiser for Children’s Hospital, Rowan Branch), but not as much as I’d have liked. Still, every little bit helps.

I look forward to making stuff this week. Now that the show’s over, I can try to turn my inventory over as quickly as possible. I just love new stuff.

Thu, May 24, 2007

Here’s a good question: Did you make anyone feel good today?

So, I’m finding lots of interesting things as I’m “cleaning up” my life. I found a paper explaining the rules to one of the projects I implemented when the children were about 6 and 9… it was called “marbles”. You’d GET marbles for doing things I wanted you to do and you’d LOSE marbles if you did something I didn’t want you to do… then you could SPEND the marbles you’d earned. So G and M each had their own jar for marbles.

Some of the “things” that could earn them marbles:

--Good grammar

--M doesn’t wear her hat

--Trying a new food

Some of the items on the list for losing marbles:

--Baby talking

--Getting sunburnt

Some of the things you could buy with your earned marbles:

--Mom reading to you

--Buying a booster pack

What’s interesting about these items is how time-stamping they are. They bring back things I’d forgotten about… things we don’t deal with anymore.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

If life is about learning and changing, then I’m probably ahead of the curve… I do a lot of BOTH.

Anyway, wanted to thank Mom for the nice phone conversation this morning. I don’t always cringe from advice… sometimes I actually listen. J

I’ve got some new listings up… you can see them at the top of the screen here.

Gabe got back from the Midget-16 tournament in Los Angeles. The team made it to the semi-finals, but then lost with about 30 seconds to go in that fourth game. Sounds like it was a great game, though. And from what I heard, Gabe played well.

We picked up his new helmet last night, but still have to talk with the artist doing the air-brushing. I can’t believe Gabe’s going to let the helmet out of his sight long enough to be painted. Ha!

Tonight he wants to look at that blocker and catcher.

Well, lots to do, so I’d better get out of here… hope to come back soon!

TTYL!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Hello.

I added two new jewelry pieces to my listings in here.

… and this Crystal Quartz bracelet…

I have to run an errand after work today, then when I get home I have three new bracelets to photo and list on eBay. One of them I am totally in love with. But I need more jewelry for myself like I need a hole in the head. Ha!

We all get email spam… but not all of it’s bad. Here’s one where we all try to find out a bit more about one another.

Here are the questions (in case anyone wants to copy and paste and send on their own):

1. NAME:

2. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

6. KIDS?

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? 8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM?

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

16. SHOE SIZE?

17. RED OR PINK?

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

22. LAST THING YOU ATE?

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

25. FAVORITE SMELL?

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON(S) WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

29. FAVORITE DRINK?

30. FAVORITE SPORT?

31. EYE COLOR?

32. HAT SIZE?

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

34. FAVORITE FOOD?

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES?

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

39. HUGS OR KISSES?

40. FAVORITE DESSERT?

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?

44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?

45. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES?

47. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?

48. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

49. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

50. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON VACATION?

And here are the answers I put when I responded back:

1. NAME: Laura Jane Bracken

2. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, Great Aunt Laura (I think on my Dad's side)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday during a staff meeting where we were told that my boss (I've been with him for 17 years) wasn't coming back... I was okay until the three secretaries started balling... I can't handle watching others cry.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Occasionally, but handwriting is tedious.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Summer sausage.

6. KIDS? 11 furry and 2 not so furry.

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Believe it or not, I've often wondered this. I've even wondered... If I were a dude, would I be attracted to me. Ha ha ha!

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I have a blog

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Me? Never!

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Indeed. Although I was supposed to have them removed... I'm such the procrastinator.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Probably not even for a million dollars (and that would have bought a LOT of beads)

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Grape nuts with fresh fruit on top.

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Blech... I hate closed shoes... so I shove them off the fastest way possible.

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? In a lot of ways, yes. But in other ways, I'm total mush.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Not a big fan of ice cream, but I do like praline, I guess.

16. SHOE SIZE? 7.5 to 8 (dress and tennis are different for some reason)

17. RED OR PINK? Ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah right. You all KNOW I'm going to say red.

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Physically, the car port. Hmph! Spiritually, my inability to be tolerant at all times to all people and situations.

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Wow, I have no idea. I have a lot of beady friends that I've either never met and/or only met once... I'd love to hang with them. I don't really have many friends, otherwise.

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yeah, I'd love to see who really cares about this stuff... and I loved reading the responses I've received from others... how interesting everyone is.

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Khaki capris and gray Nike sandals... do I get points off for not matching?

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Buffalo chicken salad from Chili's

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My co-workers on the phone... well, I'm not LISTENING to them... it's just the only sound in the office at the moment.

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? It's been a while since I hung out with crayons. My kids never liked crayons so I'm totally unfamiliar with the colors, other than from my own childhood... a million years ago. I always liked the name Burnt Umber, so I'll go with that.

25. FAVORITE SMELL? Amber (not the person, although she MIGHT smell good, I don't know... but I was referring to amber resin... I love that smell)

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A Kaiser nurse... I was trying to get an eye exam appt for Gabe... besides, I'm not a big phone talker anyway... I cringe when my phone rings.

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Hands... I'm kinda picky about hands and fingers, even the shapes of fingernails. I know; I'm a 'tard.

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON(S) WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Heart and soul!

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Kahlua (sp?) and cream

30. FAVORITE SPORT? Hockey :-)

31. EYE COLOR? Brown

32. HAT SIZE? Dunno... but I'm guessing I'm a pinhead 'cause when I used to ride motorcycles I know I always had a tough time finding helmets small enough for me.

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Not anymore... I'm not as vain as I used to be... how sad.

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Indian... mmmmmm

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? I'm a sucker for happy endings, but since I live with the Horror Geek, about 90% of the movies I watch are... well, horror.

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Batman's Beginnings (or whatever it was called)

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black

39. HUGS OR KISSES? Hm... Hugs are okay, but I think I usually feel uncomfortable. Kisses are intimate, so they're reserved for special people.

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Berry Cobbler

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Those who haven't yet.

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Kim Neely 'cause she sent me a similar email eons ago and I have yet to respond... still WANT to but feel like it'd be beyond lame for me to do that now... but those who know me well know how wretched I am at responding to ANY emails on time... or at all. :-(

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Okay, this is totally retarded... I'm currently reading 4 fiction books (non-fiction is a constant, so I don't count those). Gabe just finished The Da Vinci Code and insisted I read that... so I'm trying, but finding time to be alone with an actual book is no small feat. Then, we have three ongoing audio books for the car. Together, we're listening to Prey by Michael Crichton, then when just Mon and I are in the car we're listening to Green Mile by Stephen King, then when just Gabe and I are in the car we're listening to Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.

44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Banlieue 13 (aka 13th District), a French action film.

45. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Grew up on both of them.

47. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Home? Does home mean where I am now? In which case the furthest would be either Japan or England... too lazy to look up which one's actually furthest.

48. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Apple Valley (near Death Valley Desert), California

49. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Laura H.

50. Where would you like to go on vacation? Europe... I want to see museums.