Halloween!

Sorry I've been away for a few days folks, but as you read along, you'll see what has been taking up my time lately.

So, it's Halloween today. I still can't believe it. Seems like just yesterday, I was preparing for Z to start kindergarten and fending off triple-digit heat. To get in the spirit of things, I started a project for Z's class and finished last night around 9:30pm. Note to self: start the next project a few weeks in advance. I made up some goodie bags, baked some cookies, decorated them with Z, and packed them up for Aaron to drop off this morning. Of course, there were bumps along the way, like not making enough dough (though I thought I had figured it out to a tee before starting), glue that didn't like to stick the fronts of the bags, glitter EVERYWHERE ... but it was all worth it in the end. Here are the bags & cookies:

My poor kitchen table.


Before ...


... after.


The tissue paper I wrapped them up in.


Being hungry for dinner + smelling fresh sugar cookies =
a kid that looks like this.


Six of the twenty-four bags I made.


A close-up.


Ready for delivery.

In the midst of all the baking & decorating, we also carved our pumpkins. I'll give you three guesses on which one belongs to Aaron, and the first two guesses don't count:

Yes, it's this one.


Z's design - he drew it, and Daddy carved it.
He was adamant about the eyebrows & beard.


My doofy looking guy. As creative as I can be,
I just cannot transfer that creativity to pumpkins.

I will take oodles of pictures tonight of Z trick-or-treating, but I can't guarantee how good the photos will come out. I'm still using the crappy camera from my workplace, and it doesn't care much for night-time pictures. No update on my camera, by the way. Conn's officially sucks, and I will never recommend them to anyone in the future. In fact, I might even go out of my way to condemn them to anyone who listen. I've called three straight days in a row now, and each time I am promised a call back. Hasn't happened yet, not even once. Not impressive.

One last thing before I go. I'm happy to say that I stopped for gas this morning, with my gauge hovering dangerously close to "E", and it only cost me $20 to fill up my tank.

Excuse the quality of the picture - it was a cell phone photo,
taken at 6:30am while it was still dark outside.

Not a bad way to start out a Halloween Friday. Gas was $2.09 down by where I work, off Riverside. Finally, a pay-off for workin' in da hood. It almost wasn't worth it, because I left my bullet-proof vest at home, but thankfully everything worked out.

I'll hopefully be able to update longer on my next post. As for now, I must wrap things up since I'm doing this at work, and I have some stuff I need to finish before I leave for the day. Until next time ...

I've been tagged.

Ok, I'll play along.  Granted, I don't know if I have 7 blog friends to pass it along to, but I'll give it my best shot.  I was tagged by one of my dearest friends, Becca (her blog is here, in case you'd like a read.)

1.  I've wanted to be a teacher, an astronaut, a nurse, a therapist, a substance-abuse counselor, a vet, a social worker, a pastry chef, a mortician, a back-up singer, and a photographer.  Yet, somehow, I'm still in real estate.

2.  I can smell things other people can't & stronger than most people can.  It's sometimes a curse.

3.  I have an almost-irrational fear of terminal illness.

4.  I am mildly obsessed with wanting to travel the globe.  Another curse, when you don't have the money to fund such things.

5.  I have always wanted to spin the wheel on The Price Is Right.

6.  I will hold off going to the bathroom if I'm in public, unless its an absolute emergency.  Same for porta-potties.  They almost make me physically ill.

7.  I have a genuine phobia I wish I didn't have.  I get the increased heart-rate, sweaty hands, nausea ... the whole nine yards.  It's so embarrassing though, only those close to me know what it is.

There ya have it.  In turn, I am tagging all the people under my "I love to read ..." section at the top of the page.  Well, maybe not the Cake Wrecks girl, because her site really isn't for stuff like this.  Though she is a delightful person, (we've emailed a few times) & her answers could probably make me laugh so hard I would cry, I won't bother her with something like this.  

Off now to try & sleep, although it'll be difficult to do hearing my son hacking up a lung through the wall.  We have battled with this cough of his for years now, and nothing helps.  I've given him everything I can, even gone to extremes and included some hippie-remedy type stuff, but the cough is winning tonight.  Some nights are better than others, but this ain't one of 'em.  [sigh]  I feel so bad for the kid, and have gone to several doctors about it, yet no one can help.  All "remedies" only work temporarily, so I don't know what else to do.  What I do know is 4:30am will be here in the blink of an eye, and I'm going to be a waste-oid tomorrow.  Hope I don't look too disheveled at our first parent-teacher conference tomorrow at 1:00pm.  Ugh.

Holy crap, I just realized I have blogged like three days in a row.  Am I getting into a rhythm here?  That's a little exciting.

[hack hack]  It's all I hear.  I wish I could help him more.

Until next time ...

Good grief

I called Conn's today to check on my camera, and of course, they haven't even looked at it yet. This is just my luck. My parents know about this little black cloud that has followed me around since childhood when it comes to things like this. The little black cloud strikes again.

Needless to say, I was quite frustrated, and then became even more frustrated when the woman couldn't even give me a time frame on when they'd look at it. I reminded her that they've had my camera for two weeks now, but that didn't seem to create any sense of urgency on her part. Annoyed, I called my local store to try to get them to put a fire under someone's butt down there in San Antonio, and they promised they would have their service manager contact me asap. That was at 11:30am this morning. I'm still waiting.

Gotta go for now, as my son is wanting to put on a quick concert with his guitar by the fireplace. It's cold enough for our first fire tonight, so I'm off to "the show"!

Peace & pastries.

Z's school picture

In September, Z took his kindergarten picture for school.  This past Wednesday, they came in.  I nearly cried when I opened them and saw:

My God, where has the time gone?  When did he get so old?  He doesn't look six to me in this picture, which is only another reminder of how quickly time passes once you give birth.  My little angel isn't so little anymore.  [sigh]

Several people I have shared my reaction with regarding his picture, including my Dad, have told me that it's this sort of moment that makes people want to have more children.  

Uh, no.  Not so much.  

I don't miss having a baby, I miss HIM being a baby.  So, don't get your hopes up people.  The only way we're having another kid is if divine intervention is involved.  

It's just hard to believe that six years have already passed, and he's already on the path to becoming a young man.  I will treasure this photo, maybe even a teensy bit more than the others, because it will always remind me of how far we had come at this point.  My little guy makes me so proud.  

Thanks!

Thank you, to everyone, who responded about my new layout.  I've heard all good things, so I'll keep it like this, at least for a while.  (For the few of you who asked, no, I did not take the photo at the top of the page.  I wish I could say I did.)

I just had two days off from work, and it was wonderful.  Of course, it went by too quickly, but I tried to make the most of my down-time.  One of the things I did while I was by myself was arrange & upload my recent photos.  Tons of them were sitting in my iPhoto, so I wanted to make sure I got them uploaded, in case something ever went awry with my computer.  I ran across some recent sky shots, which made me think about making this blog about sharing some of my older photos.  I've always been intrigued by the sunrises & sunsets that have come my way, & I've photographed many of them over the past few years.  I'll show you a small chunk of my personal collection, and hopefully you will be intrigued, as well.  None of these photos have been retouched or enhanced in any way.  Nature is simply this amazing:

I hope you were as awestruck at some of these skies as I was when I snapped the photos.  It's amazing how beauty exists in something that hangs over our heads each day.  What a blessing.

[yawn]

I'm soooooo sleepy, so I guess I will not fight it any longer.  Celebrity Rehab's new season started, and I missed the first episode last night, so I'll be watching the re-showing of it while relaxing in bed.  Nothing like Dr. Drew to help a girl drift into peaceful dreams (I heart him!).  Hope all is well with you out there.  Take care of each other, and look up in every once in a while - you might get a great photo opportunity, as well as a beautiful painting to help you through your day.