This week’s work week has been a dream. I worked two hours later on Monday and am working through lunch today to leave at 2 and then be off tomorrow. Why can’t my schedule be like that every week? Oh what a dream that would be. I guess I shouldn’t complain though. At least I am one of the lucky people who doesn’t have to work weekends. Anymore. Sure I did my fair share of that back in the day. And I hope to never do it again. Except for that who parenting thing. They say that job is 24/7. Something tells me I won’t mind it as much though.

I will leave this evening and drive 4 hours to the Dallas metroplex area. Specifically Garland. I’m looking forward to this long weekend because I get to see my father. Whom I have not seen in 18 months. It should be interesting.

I’m also planning on making a flag cake for a certain competition that is going on. I can’t promise it will look good. And last year’s competition was stiff, so we’ll just have to see. I’m pretty sure it will taste good though. I seem to do much better at making my cakes taste good versus look good. And really that’s what is most important right? Except for when you are being judged via photograph.

Happy 4th of July everyone. I hope you all have a great time. And remember? Safety first.

Well I finally did it. I did the thing I’ve been saying I was going to do for years. The thing I’ve kept putting for one reason or another. Although the main reason was always money, there was and still is a bit of fear in me.

Today I enrolled in college. It’s just one class and it doesn’t look all that exciting, but it’s the prerequisite class for all the other (hopefully fun) classes I want to take in the future. It’s been 10 years since I was in college. All 40 of those credits I earned once upon a time are long gone, but that’s ok. I’m going back now and I’m making a promise to myself to keep going until I learn the things I want to learn. Getting an actual degree will just be bonus.

Now someone hand me a paper bag to breathe into.

• I finally set up a Cafe Press shop for this blog. So now if you want to walk around sporting a t-shirt that looks like my blog header, or a really cool BlogHer button… you know where to go.
• I found a website that I can order buttons from cheap. Custom Band Buttons is their name and I thought I’d tell you about them now in case you wanted to order from them. Of course I’ve only just placed my order so I can’t vouch for them yet or anything. But if they come through for me, I’ll dedicate an entire blog post to them. Because they have the best prices hands down.
• I added a few more things to my Etsy shop over the weekend. If you’re into zombies or ninjas you should totally check it out.
• I took the photos of the new stuff I made with my new camera. I didn’t start out the weekend in search of a new camera, I figured since my husband was getting a new toy, that I was deserving of one as well. And this camera takes video with sound, which my other one didn’t. So it will be much more fun to take to BlogHer.
• Only 17 more days!!!!

My family is a close one. We have always been close. Even when my sister and I were growing up and I hated the ground she walked on and she did everything in her power to annoy me, we were still close. My father traveled a lot for work and it was just the three of us girls all the time. We never were daddy’s girls, we always went to momma. And that remains true to this day.

I remember as a child people would tell me that one day my sister and I would be best friends. That all the fighting and bickering and hating would pass and that once we were grown up we would have a great relationship. I thought they were all crazy. They weren’t.

Nowadays my sister is my best friend. We are very much alike in many ways and yet different enough to make it interesting. She’s the one I go shopping with, try new recipes with, lay out by the pool with. She’s the one. My life would be incomplete without her. In fact, the relationship we have now is so good that it makes me wish my parents had given me more siblings. It’s the reason I tell myself that I want to have three or four kids. I am saddened anytime I hear of people who don’t get along with their siblings.

This year has been a really rough one for my sister. I haven’t blogged about it before now because I didn’t feel like it was something to be shared. And I won’t go into the details about it, but I do want to mention it. My sister and her husband divorced in May. The divorce became final just a few days shy of their third anniversary.

I’m sure most people don’t even flinch when they hear stuff like that anymore. Everyone gets divorced nowadays. You have a big fight, get divorced. You cheat on your spouse, get divorced. You lose your job and become depressed, get divorced. It’s no big thing. Except that it is.

For the record, my sister did not want this divorce. She wanted to fight for her marriage. She wanted to fight for the man that she loved and took vows with and gave herself to completely. But that has to be something that both people want.

Like they say, time heals all wounds. And I can see in my sister that she heals a little bit more each day. It’s easier of course because they didn’t have any children together, so there’s not the extra burden of trying to heal for two. And we have such a wonderful and supportive family that she doesn’t ever have to feel alone. I realize that there is still a void that we can’t fill. And she may never look at love the same way again. Once faith and trust have been broken, they are hard to repair. I also know that she has much love to give. And I know in my heart there is someone out there who can and will know how to love her the way she’s meant to be loved.

Just before the divorce was finalized my sister decided to get an apartment very close to my house. She also decided to invite my mother to live with her. My mother had been living with friend for the past three years. A friend who had been gracious enough to let her have a room in her house. In a nutshell, my mother could not afford a place of her own. So this invitation from my sister was one of those bittersweet blessings. This means that now both my mother and sister live less than a mile from me. And this makes me very happy. Sure I wish the circumstances were different, but I cannot tell you how comforting it is to have them so close to me. Even though the tagline of my blog is mostly a joke, there is also some truth to it. I have a hard time making friends. I lost a lot friends when I got married. People change, lifestyles change. And let’s face it, it can be just as hard to make new friends as it is to meet a good man. So having two of the most important people so close to me helps me to not mind so much that my (real life) friends are few and far between.

We have found the silver lining in all of this. And what doesn’t break us only makes us stronger.

If this is your first year to attend BlogHer then let me help you out. Let me tell you the things you want to bring with you and also some other helpful tidbits. If I had known these things last year I would have saved myself a lot of trouble.

• Pack an extra empty bag. The amount of swag is insane. Heck the amount of GOOD swag is insane. But you will still find yourself grabbing the not so good swag because it is free. So take a large suitcase and put a smaller one inside of it and pack your clothes in the smaller one. Then you can use the big one for all the swag. Keep in mind the airline might charge you for the extra bag, but it will be so worth it.
• Pack two sets of clothes for each day. You will want to wear something different to the cocktail parties than you did to the sessions. (unless you are a dude, in which case you will probably wear the same pair of jeans the entire time. p.s. why do you do this guys?)
• Go back to your room and drop off all of your swag and things before you go to the cocktail parties. Last year the conference was like a mile or more away from the hotel which meant that I didn’t get to go back and forth like I would have wanted. Which meant I carried a two ton backpack plus a purse and a swag bag the entire time I was at the cocktail party. This year will be different since it’s all being held at the Westin. But still, make sure you do it. You will want your arms to be as free as they can be for all the group hugs and photo ops.
• Wear comfortable shoes. Now some of you might be able to prance around for hours at a time wearing high heeled shoes. I am not one of those people. And you never know when the chairs will run out and you will be forced to socialize standing up (oh the horror!). Make sure you have comfy shoes on. Maybe even stash a pair of flip flops in your bag/purse just in case.
• Bring contact cards. I know I’ve said it before but I mean it. When someone hands you one and you don’t have one to give back you will do that thing where you say how stupid you are that you didn’t do it and how you meant to etc etc. Yeah let’s just skip all that and go ahead and do it. You’ll be grateful. Especially when they make you do that speed dating thing on the beginning of day one. Which I have to admit was very hard for me to do. Every time someone asked me what my blog was about I was all stammering and stuttering and said things like “I dunno. I don’t have kids so I guess it’s just about me. And sometimes I watch tv and talk about it.” LAME. This year I need to come up with something better. Anyone want to help me figure out a way to better describe my blog to strangers?
• Take more pictures. I’m sure you all think that this one is silly, but do you all realize that last year I only got two photos of me and Isabel? And that she is wearing sunglasses in both of them? And that my hair is super scary in both of them? Seriously, she’s like my best friend and I didn’t get one decent photo of the two of us. This pains me. You can bet your booty I will not allow the same thing to happen with me and Rhi.
• Do your hair and makeup. Last year my hair looked dreadful in every photo. This is because I didn’t have the proper haircut. Please go see your stylist and get yourself a cut or hairdo that you aren’t just going to throw up in a ponytail or clip after your third (or tenth) cocktail. I have already remedied this by getting a new haircut a couple of weeks ago. I will also be getting my brows waxed and my feet pedicured right before I leave.
• Do not be shy. Bloggers are real people and not celebrities. You do not need to stand across the room with your zoom lens trying to catch a photo. You can walk right up to them and introduce yourself and they will smile and shake your hand. They might even hug you. Just ask Emily. She didn’t know me from Adam but still totally gave me a hug when I asked her for one.
• Do not let the internet pick your flight times for you. I realize it may be a little late in the game to bring this up, but last year I booked through hotwire.com and in order to get the awesome deal they presented me with, I had to blind book. Which meant they got to pick my flight times and I didn’t get to find out what they were until after I handed over my credit card. This was a huge mistake and not worth the money they saved me. My flight in was ok but the flight out was awful. It was like some 7:30 am flight which meant getting up at like 5 am. And that is just not pleasant. Although let me say that I booked again with hotwire this year, but they let me pick my flight times. I am not sure why they let me this time, but I am forever grateful. Because again they saved me lots of money. And this time I’m taking a really late flight out of SFO that will have me arriving home at midnight. Good thing my husband is a night owl.
• Do not room with people you don’t know. I had to learn this one the hard way last year. And by “don’t know” I don’t mean people you haven’t met in person. I mean people you don’t know at all. To save money I shared a room with three different people last year. I knew none of them. Now they were all nice ladies and this is nothing personal against any of them, but I wasn’t very comfortable. It’s hard to share a bed with someone you don’t know. And the pooping. Or shall I say, the lack of pooping. As is traveling doesn’t mess with your system enough as it is, try rooming with three other women. I didn’t have the room to myself once which meant no pooping. Now other people may not have issues with pooping in public bathrooms and whatnot. I am not one of those people. And for some reason I just could not shut up about it. This year will be different. I am not going to talk about it for one. And for two, I’m sure I’ll have some alone time with myself in the hotel room to do my business should the need arise.
• Another reason not to room with strangers is because it makes stealing the toiletries harder. Last year the hotel stocked the room with Bliss products. Which totally ruled except I didn’t want to steal any of the stuff because I didn’t know if anyone was actually using it or if I was supposed to share. But then when they didn’t take the do not disturb sign off the door the first day and we didn’t get replenished… I was mad. So when I woke up at 5am Sunday to leave town, I took what I could find. And I’m not ashamed to say it. This year will be different. Rhi and I will know how to share and we will also know how to distract the maid and raid her cart. Will we be lucky enough to get Bliss products again? Probably not. (but if anyone knows what products we will get, could you let me know? kthanx)

Ok well I think that about wraps it up. If I think of anything else I’ll come back and add it. By now you all are probably tired of hearing me talk about BlogHer. Which is sad because it’s only going to get worse from here.

Also? If anyone is interested in doing any guest posting for me while I’m gone please let me know. The gig doesn’t pay well, but maybe there can be some free swag in it for you.

I have a new blog layout thanks to the wonderful Teresa over at Chic Blog Design. I’ve been a fan of Teresa’s work since I stumbled upon her Scribble Scratch blog a few months ago. Most of the templates you’ve seen here lately have been hers. Her free ones that is. Well now she has finally set up her own blog design website. And I might suggest visiting her and snatching up one of her lovely designs while they are still affordable. Before long she’s going to be crazy popular and charging accordingly no doubt.

Someday, God willing, this here blog of mine will be able to offer kick a$$ templates. However, my CSS for Dummies book still confuses the heck out of me, so let’s not hold our breath waiting.

Boy I sure haven’t been posting much lately. I’m not sure what’s up with that. But after reading Marilyn’s post today I decided to copy her meme.

Here are the rules:

1. Put your iTunes/music player on “Shuffle”
2. For each question, press the “Next” button to get your answer
3. You MUST write down the name of THAT SONG no matter what. (aka NO CHEATING!)

Ready? Set? GO!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
“Sore Thumb” - The Format ( “so please just leave, you don’t mean that much to me” hee. I guess don’t ask me)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
“Tension Is A Passing Note” - Sixpence None The Richer (can I just say I don’t recall owning this song? and also ” but tension is to be loved when it is like a passing note to a beautiful, beautiful chord” I don’t know if that describes me or not)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
“Beautiful Love” - The Afters ( “far away I feel your beating heart. all alone beneath the crystal stars.” yeah baby yeah.)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
“Knockin Over Whiskeys” - Hayes Carll (how appropriate)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
“Canyon” - Paul Alan (she rises and falls, at the whim of the tide. her every turning mystery, still she rolls on faithfully… and she sweeps away the life of bitter tears I’ve cried and all that once was old suddenly new. and this guarded heart a mountain cold with pain and pride… and she carves a canyon through. and she carves a canyon.) This could totally describe me and my husband.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” - Avalon (not so much my motto, but sure I’d like to go to Heaven)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
“The One Before Me” - The Derailers (this one makes no sense, but it’s a darn good song)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
“Daylight” - Remedy Drive (this is a recent download so I had to sit and listen to the whole song to see if it fits, “hold on, daylight is coming to break the dawn. daylight is coming.” yeah not so much)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
“How Wonderful” -Leeland (this song sings of the love of Jesus. so yes, it is very fitting “how wonderful, how lovely is Your name… You captivate our hearts, You save us by Your grace.”)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
“Never Gonna Fly” - Radney Foster ( “you wanna feel the wind, you gotta take a ride. you better dream big, if you wanna touch the sky. you can’t be scared to risk it all. you’re never gonna fly, if you’re afraid to fall” Bud, does this describe you? I think it kind of does)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
“You’re Looking At The Man” - The Derailers ( I love this song so much because my husband and I always change the lyrics at the beginning. They say “See that girl over there by the jukebox… the one with the drink in her hand.” Well we always change it to “the one with the waggily tail” and then we giggle because we are silly.)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
“These Pages” - Mainstay ( “Words that You didn’t say were haunting these pages. Faces You didn’t make were all I was seeing. The way that they painted You wasn’t a picture of one in control - and I don’t think they know who you are” This song is about the word of God. And that should be what my life story is all about.)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
“The Feel Good Drag” - Anberlin (This is a song about a no good girl. So I think this does not fit me.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
“No One Mourns The Wicked” - Kristen Chenoweth from The Wicked soundtrack. (hee)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
“Hey Valerie!”- The Derailers (wow these guys are popping up a lot. but um, my name isn’t Valerie so I guess this doesn’t really apply)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
“Here With Me” - Plumb (now I got married in Vegas. on top of the Stratosphere. But if we had a real wedding I don’t know that we would have danced to this song, but some of the lyrics are fitting “It doesn’t mean anything without you here with me. And I can try and justify, but I still need you here with me.” )

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
“Wait, wait, wait” - The Format ( this is kind of cool. “don’t don’t tell me when it’s coming no, don’t don’t I just wanna see it for myself.” )

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
“Waiting On The World To Change” - John Mayer (yeah waiting for anything is not a hobby of mine)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
“The Believer” - Rhett Miller ( wow, this song sounds like it’s about a person who committed suicide. I would like to not go there right now. )

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
“Glory To God In The Highest” - downhere (this is a Christmas song. and all my friends like Christmas. and I like to buy them Christmas presents. so sure why not?)

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
“I’ll Cry Too” - Nouveaux (now does this mean that this needs to be the title of this blog post? cuz that’s how I interpret it. so um, ok.)

*****

Ok well some of those were strange questions. But this was fun nonetheless. I’m a little surprised that no George Strait popped up since I just loaded his 50 number one hits into my ipod yesterday.

I discovered Brendan James last week on itunes. I immediately fell in love with his music. Please go give him a listen. The songs Green, Dirty Living, and Hero’s Song are especially my favorites. Also, he gives an interview on the latest Jay and Jack Show podcast.

It’s not often I come on here and tell people what they need to go and listen to, but I have to recommend him. It’s the best thing I have bought on itunes this month.

How does one become uncluttered? Seriously I want to know. My life is one cluttered pile of mess after another. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to become one of those people who puts things back in their place.

I come home and take off my shoes. Sometimes I kick them off in the entry way, sometimes the living room, sometimes the bedroom. But where I kick them off is where they stay. Same with my purse and gym bag, I just throw them down when I walk in. I don’t bother to assign a place for them and make sure they are always there. Clothes that come off stay on the floor where I shed them. And with the exception of groceries, things I buy at the store will often sit in the shopping bag on the couch or dining room table for days. Why am I like this? And how do I fix it?

I decided to clean out my closet this weekend of all the clothes that I don’t or won’t wear. (it’s not because I’ve gone down any sizes though, sadly) And even after I filled two large trash bags full of clothes, I still found myself having to squeeze every single article of clothing into my closet. What’s up with that? I know I love to shop so I try and do a bit of purging or donating every six months or so to compensate for it. Still my house looks like a bunch of packrats live there. And there are only two of us.

It doesn’t help that I am one of those people who gets easily overwhelmed at the mess of it all. It’s hard for me to step back and just take on one task at a time. And I’m also one of those who can’t bring herself to clean the kitchen while her husband plays on the computer. It’s like I need him to be in another room cleaning as well or my motivation goes out the window. Am I the only one who is like this? Am I just lazy? (don’t answer that)

I swear my mother thinks that I am not her child. She is the exact opposite. “A place for everything, and everything in it’s place” is her motto. I’m pretty sure my dad is a tidy person as well. Where did they go wrong with me?

I don’t think I can afford a maid or a cleaning service. And really, as a married couple with no children who live in an average sized house, we should be ashamed to have to hire out cleaning help. Does that mean I don’t constantly consider it? No. In fact I’ve paid my mother on more than one occasion to clean my house. I even used to pay her to clean my apartment. When I lived alone. (for the record, my mother cleans houses and buildings for a living if that makes it any less horrible)

So please somebody tell me what to do. Surely there is someone out there who used to be just like me. Someone who can tell me exactly what they did to get their house in order. Bonus points if tequila is involved.

*****

Let’s also not forget to go wish Lizzy congratulations on the birth of beautiful baby Clara today. Well, I’m sure she’s beautiful. I haven’t seen any photos yet, but I hear she looks just like her big brother Sam. This reminds me that I haven’t mailed out her gift yet. It’s probably buried somewhere in all that clutter I need to get to.

Guess who has jury duty this week? NOT ME! I can’t say the same for my husband. I bet he’s wishing now he liked to read. Yesterday he sat in a waiting room pretty much all day. And now he’s back again today to do the same. This time he took his sketch book and ipod. If my laptop battery wasn’t shot I would have let him take that.

I am so glad that I have never been called for jury duty. (knocks on wood) Although it would be a good way to catch up on my reading.

*for those who don’t get this reference all I can say is go rent season 1 of 30 Rock. You won’t be sorry.