Surprise

Wow has it been a crazy week! Alan is out of town this week so I thought I would just pick up the house a little and maybe make some cards but that didn't happen. I took Monday night and just zoned out all night, Tuesday I picked up a little and figured I would just finish Wednesday after work and then start on some cards. Well that didn't work at all. My brother called me Wednesday afternoon with a surprise! He's coming up this weekend with his girlfriend AND the kids. Now I love to see my family (especially since most of their cars don't travel north)but this last minute thing is killing me. It wouldn't be so bad except that the allergies this year are horrible and my head hurts so bad by the time I get home from work that I can't even see straight. I can't tell my brother no because I've been asking for him to come up with the kids all summer but more than three days notice would have been nice. So I took the day off today to find the bedrooms they are going to be sleeping in and clean the rest of the house. Not my first choice of things to do on a Friday off of work and it would have been nice not to do this alone but travel is part of Alan's job and without his job I wouldn't have this house to clean. So I guess I will just suck it up and do the best I can. Craig knows I haven't been feeling well and he is family after all so whatever condition the house is in will be fine.

Now all I have to do is talk him out of going downtown. He wants to take the kids downtown because they've never seen Chicago and the last time his girlfriend was here she was in High School. He wants to see things downtown like the Mag Mile and the Navy Pier but then he also would like the kids to take the train. I tried to explain to him that those two things don't work hand in hand. If we take the train there is a lot of walking involved (too much if you ask me). If we drive, we have to take separate vehicles, pay to park and pay for anything the kids want to do or eat. Now my brother does not have a lot of money now that he is supporting his out of work girlfriend and paying child support. That being said I don't know what to do with them. I don't want to go downtown and Alan has already said that if we go, he's not going. I wouldn't mind if they just drove downtown and looked around but he said the kids kind of have their hearts set on a train ride. I just don't know what to do. I guess I will figure it out before tomorrow morning.

On a different note...I'm stil unsure about the scrap store. I really haven't talked to the owner, just my friend Cheryl (the manager). I guess that will have to wait until this weekend is over. I will let you know how it goes!

I must be getting OLD!

Well, I went to work at the scrap book store for the first time today and I have to say...I must be getting old. Apparently I'm not as tolerant in my old age as I used to be. I don't know how long I will last there because I'm not sure I can stand to work there after today. Sad but true. I enjoy the people and the atmosphere (kind of) but I realized today the owner puts unrealistic expectations on her employees. She is great at running an online business but I think she has a lot to learn when it comes to day to day operations at a brick and mortar store. My friend Cheryl is the manager and she is a really great person and definitely a trooper but she is apparently cut out for retail and I am not...I knew there was a reason I didn't go back into retail after college!

Anyway...I will probably continue to go and crop there every once in a while but I think my working days are over...it was just going to be too much work!

I'm Back

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Since my last post, my friend found out that she does not have Devic's disease so that is a relief but it still begs the question...what would you do? But I don't want to be too heavy on my first post in almost 4 months.

It's been a busy summer. We've gone to a couple of races, spent some time with family and celebrated Erin's baby dedication and first birthday. She is getting so big and she is so smart for her age. She is just talking up a storm. I'm going to hate to see her cell phone bill when she gets older! It's so amazing to watch her take everything in and learn so quickly. Every day brings something new. We only get to see her a couple of times a week and each time we see her she is so different. I wish sometimes that she would just stop growing but I know that won't happen...but I can wish for it anyway!

I've learned something this summer...no matter how tired I am of taking medication...NEVER stop cold turkey. I didn't realize what stopping a simple anti-depressant cold turkey could do to my body and my mind. I thought I was getting really ill and it was starting to scare me. I went to the Dr. and she did tests and everything came back negative. I kept looking things up on the Internet and it finally hit me one day to look up symptoms of withdrawal from my anti-depressant. BINGO! I started back on my meds and with in one week people could tell a difference in me. I could tell the difference in days. While I hate having to take any kind of medication, I have learned that at least for the anti-depressant I will wean myself off with a doctors help.

I have found a new passion this summer as well...sorta. I like to make cards and knew that card making and scrap booking went hand in hand but I always told myself I would never get into scrap booking because those people are crazy. Well, call me crazy. I did a few pages for my dad for fathers day and I was hooked. My husband commented on how long it took to make just one page but it was the most relaxing thing I did. I am no pro by any means but I do like to do it and I have met some amazing people at the new scrap store that opened up close to my home. In fact, I was just offered a job at that store tonight and I'm accepting the position. What better way to support my habit and learn from the pros!

Anyway...that's been my summer. It's been crazy and a little frightening at times but I'm ready for fall, pumpkins and apple orchards!