Pics from last week of the granddarlings

Here's something that made me go hmmmmm

I was checking out Ebay today (bidding on a Wonder Woman figuring and vintage rooster salt and pepper shakers. Keep your fingers crossed for me!) and I thought I'd do a little search on my book and see what it was going for. That's when I ran into this guy who is selling my $10.95 (retail) book for nearly three times that on Ebay! You can literally walk to your bookstore and get one for eleven bucks, or go to Amazon where their often of sale (and Kindle is even cheaper)... but NOOOO.... this fella upped the price.

I wrote them a little note asking what the deal was, but no response as of yet.

Happy National Margarita Day!!

And to celebrate, I have been drinking MARGARITAS and oh-so loving them!!! I loooooove holidays!

I know where I'm going... but no clue how to get there

So I read that space exploration will open up in 2018 for people who want to go to Mars. Currently only millionaires and the like will be able to afford the 501 day trip. My hope is that by 2020 it'll be more like a weekend venture for cheap and I could pop up and take a gander. If not, I'll settle for the moon... even though the moon just doesn't seem so cool.

In other news, I survived the ice storm from last night and all is well. Power is still on and I successfully walked the dogs this morning with - 0 - incidents. This is good news considering my history with falling on anything wet, slippery, or snow covered : ie decks, steps, roads, grass, floor, etc. I have at least TWO concussions to move... err... I mean to prove it too. Damn head injury aftereffects.

And while I sit here and drink a delicious cup of tea all the while planning my Friday, here are a few passive aggressive comments for you to enjoy...

Another reason to homeschool

The hours are long. The work can be tough. And there's all these state mandated rules that HAVE to be followed AND benchmarks that must be passed....

But homeschooling works for us right now and I'm not ready to give it up just yet.

Then I hear things like this that makes me cringe whenever I think of putting Si back in a brick & mortar public school (he attends an online/virtual public school )  -----

View PhotoAssociated Press/Jimmy May - In this Feb. 10, 2013 photo, Kelly Guarna's 5-year-old daughter Madison pose for a portrait in Mount Carmel, Pa. The kindergartener was suspended from school for making a "terroristic threat" last month after her mother said she talked about shooting a Hello Kitty bubble gun. (AP Photo/Jimmy May) 

Waiting in line for the bus, a Pennsylvania kindergartener tells her pals she's going to shoot them with a Hello Kitty toy that makes soap bubbles. In Maryland, a 6-year-old boy pretends his fingers are a gun during a playground game of cops and robbers. In Massachusetts, a 5-year-old boy attending an after-school program makes a gun out of Legos and points it at other students while "simulating the sound of gunfire," as one school official put it.

 

Kids with active imaginations? Or potential threats to school safety?

 

Some school officials are taking the latter view, suspending or threatening to suspend small children over behavior their parents consider perfectly normal and age-appropriate — even now, with schools in a state of heightened sensitivity following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December.

 

The extent to which the Newtown, Conn., shooting might influence educators' disciplinary decisions is unclear. But parents contend administrators are projecting adult fears onto children who know little about the massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators, and who certainly pose no threat to anyone.

 

"It's horrible what they're doing to these kids," said Kelly Guarna, whose 5-year-old daughter, Madison, was suspended by Mount Carmel Area School District in eastern Pennsylvania last month for making a "terroristic threat" with the bubble gun. "They're treating them as mini-adults, making them grow up too fast, and robbing them of their imaginations."

 

Mary Czajkowski, superintendent of Barnstable Public Schools in Hyannis, Mass., acknowledged that Sandy Hook has teachers and parents on edge. But she defended Hyannis West Elementary School's warning to a 5-year-old boy who chased his classmates with a gun he'd made from plastic building blocks, saying the student didn't listen to the teacher when she told him repeatedly to stop.

 

The school told his mother if it happened again, he'd face a two-week suspension.

 

 

.......................................

 

Ohio Virtual Academy folks..... that's who we use.

 

 

Cheers,

 

TJ

things that made me smile today...

Granddarlings over this weekend... snapped a few photos of their adorable faces!

closure

It's always painful when you get actual closure on a relationship. When you hit that point where you say - in no way could I ever sit across from that person at a table and look them them in eye ever again. The breaking point can be different each time, but you always know it when you careen into it. I've had several closure moments - one of which was today. 

I haven't spoken to a former friend in several months due to an incident in which I was hurt deeply. This person recently sent me a birthday card, which confused and ... I dare admit... gave me a twinge of hope that perhaps we could speak once again. But today I was given my answer: Absolutely not!  After our long disconnect, I did expect for the subject of WHY there was a disconnect to be brought up .. maybe even act interested in my feelings or a little apologetic (rather than a nonchalant How You Been?... kind of in tune with Haven't heard from you in a while... as though nothing was at issue. ). After a forced, insincere apology, this person added a "butt" and then a stubborn justification as to why that apology was insincere. This stubborn "but" -once given - well... it HAD to be known that this "but" would end all possibility of any reconciliation. And yet there the "but" was. Once I seen that "but" I knew.... I knew that this person didn't get it.... nor get me.

You see, I have a problem with people known their actions hurt me, but they refuse to ask why. Rather, they assume my reasoning. But this conclusion is formulated using only one side of the equation - their own! Therefore, they have THEIR ego behind why *I* feel a certain way. 

To not even entertain that there may possibly be another reason - other than their own - as to why someone is upset/hurt/angry is arrogant.Their ego and sense of righteousness forbids them from seeing any other possible explanations or opinions other than their own. And because they only see from their own position, they can acquit themselves from all wrongdoing and justify their actions. Then blame can be shifted back to the person who is hurt, because they are being irrational or in some other way - wrong. 

And that's when I walk away.

A true friend will ask why you're hurt.  They won't assume it. They will entertain the idea that, perhaps, they don't fully understand why you're hurt or angry or disappointed. They will apologize for hurting you - even if it were unintentional and even if they truly don't think they are in the wrong... but merely because you are hurting - and the apology will come without prompting. They will be open to understanding your feelings and want to clear the air. This is the mark of a true friendship. An even relationship with mutual respect. This is what I wanted. This is what I was hoping for today. To be asked why I felt hurt and for this old friend to make some type of attempt to make amends.

 All I wanted was for my feelings to be acknowledged and to to be asked why I was so hurt... "but" that didn't happen. My feelings were incorrectly assumed. And now, my once beloved and adored ex-friend will never know why I felt the way I did.  I doubt the ex-friend will ever figure it out... and given today's events,  even cares to.

Such a shame.

more on my bad ass (lol) ink!

Got me some ink yesterday!

Oh yes! Mama got her TAT worked on yesterday (tat is tattoo slang for those of you who aren't as cool as me) from my son, Alex. I had this b&w sun tattoo that was fading a bit and needed lots of lots of color. And that is what Alex did! And I LOVE it! Now remember when looking at this that my skin is still bleeding a bit and it's all welted and, well, seeping. But it'll look amazing in about a week!

And now my arm sleeve can begin. I envision Marilyn Monroe, my favorite quote, maybe a bit of Betty Boop.... ummmm.... the list goes on and on.

 (Don't mind the blue lines below it. Those are cloud reference marks for the sleeve. They aren't tattooed in.

And in case you were wondering, it doesn't really hurt today. Just feels like an ouchy sunburn. And it wasn't too bad getting it. The line inking, for me, hurt more than the brush inking for the coloring and shading.

This cracked me up for the longest time today!

As I mentioned before....

 My bedroom is my favorite room in my house. With it's high antique, four-poster bed to all the antique dressers that's been handed down from grandparent to grandchild and the many little odds and ends I've placed throughout... it is a nifty little place to hang my hat at the end of the day.

I've snapped a few pics of some of my "treasures"... Hope you like...

 This is a mere fraction of my vintage camera collection.

 Blaire is my 15+ year old Siamese Cat named after the Blaire character on Facts of Life (because my kitty had super blonde hair when we got her). She is Jasper's sister, tho they look nothing alike. What's funny tho, is Jasper acts like a Siamese cat - meaning he cries and talks super loud and all the time. Blaire is a bedroom kitty. She almost never leaves my room. In cat years she'd be 80 or 90 years old. She literally lays on me when I sleep... all frickin' night long.

Mom sculpted the little mushroom gnome years ago. It's about 2.5 inches tall. My old cameras again. A little peacock ring box Chrissy gave me a few years ago. We both love peacocks. The necklace holder I made from an old plant holder I found in some junk a long time ago. The Marilyn Monroe doll Silas gave me for the holidays plus my Betty Boop - who used to sit in my old studio. Lastly, the book I've been thumbing through ... about all the weird and creepy places to visit in Ohio. I have a hankering for some road trips and this book is going to help me plan one out.