My interview with Oprah

Well, sort of. This is my first time of playing along with Mama Kat's writer's workshop and this week's prompt is: Oprah says we all have a story. If you were on her show, what would your story be? What would you be talking about? What advice would she give you?

It's funny because I have seen the commercials lately to promote her final season. In these commercials she says the thing she has learned after doing her show for so many years is that we all have a story. We all want to be heard and we want to know what we said made an impact on someone. I agree.

While my life is nothing extraordinary- I don't come from a place of trauma, or of extreme circumstances- I've lived quite a life. Most of us have had some struggle at some point in our lives: divorce, loss of a loved one, miscarriage, financial worries, infidelity... the list goes on and on. So many times along the way I wished there was someone who really understood and knew what I was going through at the time. I say really understood because unless you have been in that person's shoes, you have no way of truly understanding what they are dealing with.

That fact has caused me to bottle up my emotions lots of times, a fact that is foreign to my husband and his side of the family. They can and will air their dirty laundry to anybody, anywhere. I know it drives other people crazy, too, but that's just how I am.

Why do I want to tell someone about the hard time I'm having only to have them look at me like I had grown a third eye? "What? What did she say? Quick, look away...pretend you didn't hear and maybe it'll go away..."

Or to have them try and rationalize the situation, giving a logical explanation for everything when they don't have a clue. "Well of course you feel that way. You probably aren't eating enough spinach. Studies have shown that people who eat spinach are practically perfect in every way (actually that's Mary Poppins)."

Or worse yet, they feign a polite smile, tell you they are so sorry and then they avoid you like the plague. "Oh, is that Mary over there? Last time I saw her she was babbling on about some sob story. I don't want to hear that again."

So yes, Oprah, everyone does have a story. It may not seem significant or you may not understand, but it's their story and it's important to them. And if we could learn to be a little more compassionate, maybe more people would be willing to share their story, therefore helping others who are dealing with the same thing.

the cutest invitation in the world

I just have to brag on my aunt. I gave her an idea of what I wanted to do for Savannah's birthday party invitations. I wanted a bug theme and I had a note card from a while back that was a ladybug with opening wings to reveal the note inside. I didn't show it to her, I just described it to her and this is what she came up with...
How cute is that?! Then you open the wings and read the party details! My aunt has one of those fancy-schmancy Cricut (cricket) machines that cuts things out. It's pretty amazing.

Hopefully the rest of the party will go just as well. It was her birthday party last year that inspired me to write this post. In the meantime, happy Labor Day weekend, ya'll!

Designer's Challenge

I need some decorating help here. So all 3 of you that read this blog, let me know what you think:
I want to put some curtains in our bedroom. Not so much for privacy or light, but I just think they'd look nice. I was looking at the latest issue of Southern Living and I got curtain envy. What can I say?
Here's my problem...there is a window and a set of french doors with a transom. I want to put curtains on both. I want them to be a little above the actual window/door frame by a few inches. If I do that, I need curtains approximately 98 inches long. In my brief curtain shopping experience, They only come in 63, 84 and 95 inches. Do I go with the 95 inch and let them be short a few inches? Do I go with the 95 inch and add on some fabric myself? You know me...I am not paying for custom made curtains.

So, what do you think?

Le Gourmet Cracker Barrel

Taking a break from the visiting in-laws for a little bit. This time it's Steve dad, his step mom and her granddaughter here from IL. It's been a pleasant enough visit so far(all 48 hours of it), but they are just different. Even Steve thinks they are so don't go accusing me of being biased against the in-laws. They are nice people, but just...different. Case in point:
1. They considered stopping to eat at Cracker Barrel on the drive here, but step mom said it was expensive and so dad turned right around. Cracker Barrel!
2. The never heard of this "Rue 21" store and thought they'd check it out. To me, it's a teeny-bopper store and they have nothing for me. The in-laws loved it! They got $2, $3, and $4 items and are excited to find out they have one back home!
3. They've also never heard of capers, drinking bottled beer or putting chicken on pizza. OK, the part about the beer was an exaggeration, but they joked about buying a case of bottled beer, because that would be a splurge!

Slacker Cleaning

Now that I am unemployed, the first thing to go were the house cleaners. Steve was quite brutal, in my opinion. My last program day (last day with kids but not last day of work) was on a Tuesday. By Thursday, Steve had cancelled the services of the two lovely ladies that had been coming every two weeks to clean. So that jobs belongs to me again! I don't hate cleaning, I just hate making time to clean and having the energy to clean. That's all.
But here's a slacker tip for you...If you're like me there is constantly hair all over the bathroom floor. Sure you could hall out the vacuum but why bother? Most of us own and love our swifters! Really, this a fabulous product I have owned since they probably came out. The problem: those refills tend to run out and they aren't exactly cheap. My solution: used dryer sheets. Simply lay one on the floor and put the swifter head on top of it (mine are not big enough to "lock into" place, so just the pressure of pushing it around makes it stay under the head). Ta-da! It may not pick up the bigger pieces of trash/dirt, but it does a super job of getting up the hair! And last time I checked, I have plenty of used dryer sheets and hair.