cupids keys

Summertime and the fun never ends...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:41:00 +0000

As you can see we have been doing lots of stuff even though we have had a really short summer. School got out late this year (June 26th) because of snow cancellations. Then, our summer here in the Northeast got off to a rocky start with early spring rainy weather lasting well into late July. We didn't think we were going to get any real summer weather at all this year. At least school here doesn't start up again until September and we get time to enjoy the summertime weather!

My little Magpie in particular has a rather full social life. She has had trips to carnivals, and amusement parks, and water parks. Plus we can't forget that the sixth (and of course her now all-time favorite movie) Harry Potter came out.

We have been to the beach more times this year than maybe the last three years combined. I'm not sure why, it's just turning out to be that kind of a summer with always something going on.

It's not only Magpie, the rest of us have had things to do too. The older two (being college students and it being summer) are generally off on a daily basis and have been just as busy.

For us "Older Folks" we've been the chauffeurs and the social planners, but have been enjoying the summer as well now that it's finally here. Building castles in the sands and feeling the sun beating down and drying the salt on my skin never seems to get old for me. A float in the pool seems sweeter knowing that fall is close.

All too soon I'll start worrying about not getting the back-to-school shopping done in time. The nagging has started about packing up the belongings to move back into the dorm room and clearing out the mound of papers from the homework center is becoming a priority on my list again.
For now though, I think I'll go and see if I can find a campground and plan a last minute camping trip.

I'm not ready to let the summer slip away just yet.

I've been away from my blog, but I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:28:00 +0000

It been a while since I've been able to post but sometimes life just gets in the way. Summer kind of does that to me. Lots of extra stuff to do, entertainment to provide for my little one, and places to be so I haven't been around the blogosphere much lately. I hope everyone has been out enjoying all the wonderful things summer has to offer. I'll be back tomorrow with an update of some of the things I've been doing that have been keeping me so busy!

Today's my Math Test

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I take my assessment test this morning but I thought I would share my horoscope because it gave me some inspiration:

Today marks the beginning of a new phase of your life -- suddenly, your outlook is going to be much more positive. You understand that things are possible and that you are capable! Starting new adventures and tackling new challenges feels exciting instead of intimidating, and your ambitions are going to be reawakened. This is a perfect day to take on a new goal -- pick the toughest one on your list and start moving toward it today. Success might be a long way off, but it is coming!

Wish me luck!

Is this for real?

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Today I am reviewing my math skills for the assessment tests I have to take tomorrow morning before registering for classes for September. My last math class ended in June of 1977 and I don't remember having done exceptionally well in it. It is an online review for the test and the software is not working the way it should and lets face it, after 30+ years neither is the part of brain containing my math aptitude.

I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to math. I have the needed skills at my disposal; balancing my checkbook, figuring out how much a percentage of discount will save me, knowing how much more I will pay if I choose to finance something instead of paying upfront, keeping a running total in my head at the store and looking at a cash register receipt and telling if it doesn't add up right. The ability to use a calculator for all other arithmetic has worked out just fine for me in real life.

I know that for quite a few careers there is a need for very precise mathematical skills and I am in awe of those who possess the type of mind that has the ability to see the beauty in scientific calculations.

That's not the kind of mind I have so I guess I'll get back to my review, and look forward to my Basic Foundations in Mathematics 101 class in September or whatever they choose to call the remedial math class :)

4th of July coming to a close.

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:11:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day weekend. We had some good old hometown fun with a carnival, fireworks and a parade. I had a little fun with my camera at the carnival and took this kind of eerie shot that I like. It reminds me of an old horror movie I saw at the drive-ins when I was a teenager.

We met up with Maggie's friend Heidi and her Dad and they went on a few rides with impossibly long lines. I remember this one from when I was a teenager too, the "Tilt-A-Whirl".

The fireworks were over the town ball fields. We sat on the grass on the side of the hill with what seemed like the whole town to watch them. Maggie sat with her best friend and they proclaimed them to be the best fireworks they had ever seen.

The next morning, bright and early, we were helping Maggie's Girl Scout Troop set up their float for the 4th of July Parade. This is a hometown parade, with awards for the best tractors, family floats, most patriotic house, best antique auto, etc. Our troop got the Jessie Carver Award for their float "Girl Scouts Have S"More Fun"

It really is amazing when you take the time to really look at the world. I have this picture in my mind of the world being different than the way it was when I was growing up but maybe it's not that different, maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. There always seems to be this push in our society "I just wanted to try something different for a change" or "we don't want to do the same old thing ".

Everyone seems to be yearning for change but what we seem to enjoy most is those things that have remained the same. The grass is always greener perhaps...

Introducing the new me...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me in the physical world (as opposed to the virtual one), has been unable to ignore the difference in me. In past posts, I have mentioned a few times that I have been through some changes. Today, I'll show you some evidence. This is me last spring.

Fast forward to one year later... One haphazardly-tested generic medication that caused one medical crisis followed by one ineffective medication, replaced by two new medication changes that caused multiple side effects. Where does it all leave me?

17 lbs lighter...
missing the memory of bits and pieces of my past...
no feeling in my hands and feet for a hour or two every day...
and on a med that sometimes leaves me feeling very slow-witted...
and the knowledge that I'm not likely to ever get any better.

On the plus side? I'm still here and have this chance to start all over and I'm planning on making the most of it. My family is wonderful and gives me every reason in the world to want to keep pushing forward each and every day.

Oh yeah, and this is me now...

Social Secretary position now available!

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:10:00 +0000

I have decided to give up my position of family social secretary. It remains to be seen whether this will be a popular decision with the rest of the family or if in fact it will even be allowed to happen. Girl Scout meetings, soccer games, school functions, this one needs to be at work, dentist, doctor, and school appointments, birthday parties and cookouts, work obligations and even just plain work have to get written onto a calendar somewhere or they get forgotten somehow. Try to fit in opening the pool, fixing an appliance or changing the oil in your car and you realize that sometimes it just ain't happening.

My littlest managed to catch a virus this past weekend. She came down with a fever of 101. It was hard to believe, but all life as I knew it ground to a halt. We came home from the last soccer game of the season with a sweaty little trophy in hand and landed on the couch. The cookout for later was promptly canceled. Monday's work was postponed in lieu of a trip to the doctors and more time on the couch. Tuesday's work was postponed as I provided entertainment for a now healing and bored 8 year old. She is now back in school which is ending for the summer in 5-1/2 days. Wednesday's work is now pushed to Thursday or Friday as I now try to work on the Monday and Tuesday lists.

I think it's time to take a step back and revise my to do list:

1. Take a deep breath and make yourself a nice cup of coffee.
2. Remember that nothing on the list is life or death.
3. If it doesn't get done there is always another blank slip of paper just waiting to be made into a lovely new list... Check out this downloadable one from Vale Designs.

Have a nice day!

Out of the funk

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:49:00 +0000

Well I'm coming out of my funk. I've been trying very hard to come out of a holding pattern. It might have to do with the end of the school year, my inability to make any more progress towards school, or maybe just the general malaise of some of the people around me. I have been in Dr. Seuss's "The Waiting Place". If you haven't read "Oh, The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. you are missing a classic for both kids and adults.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679805273/?tag=yahhyd-20&hvadid=44687743011&ref=pd_sl_4n3kskf2sq_e

So anyway, I am now feeling like I am headed out of my funk. I have finished another swap on my group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Altered_stArt . This one was a charm swap and this was my contribution.

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but the charms are transparent images, sandwiched between glass slides. They are John Tenneil images from the original Alice in Wonderland books. I feel a certain kinship with Alice as I frequently feel as if I have fallen down a rabbit hole and ended up somewhere where things are just not the way I expect them to be. Just a part of being me I guess!

That it all boils down is that we are moving forward again. I am making artwork, college plans are in motion once more, summer camps/programs are fast approaching and summer is on it's way!

I know that at least one person in the family is looking forward to some long, hot, summer days!

No whining!!!

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:46:00 +0000

I have started a few different posts this week and discarded them. The problem is that before I post them, I reread them one more time. I want to make sure they reflect what I want to show the outside world. Well, I could have posted those posts... if I want the outside world to think I am a whiner! The posts were pessimistic and overly dramatic and as such they have been deleted. I don't want to be that person.

I am in a position where my parts of my life no longer fit me. It's not that I have a bad life, I have a good life, it just has different challenges than the life I had before. I can either sit and whine about the life I don't have anymore or I can find ways to adjust to one the I have now.

So today, I wanted to show you a banner I found a while ago, on a blog owned by Patty O'Rourke http://paporartist.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c02f453ef010536abf841970c-popup the quote is by Joseph Campbell. It kind of sums up what I'm trying to do.

The quote reads " We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." I guess that's what this post is about, getting rid of what is holding me back and letting things fall into place.

I tend to over-think everything and manage to drag every decision out forever. Invariably, it becomes a series of decisions instead of just one. Before you know it the smallest choice becomes the the heaven or hell debate.

The choice about school was made for me yesterday. After months and months of debate and wrestling with myself over whether or not I should do this it came down to this: I got my financial award letter from the school yesterday. I got enough in grants to cover all my expenses. If I had just applied first, I wouldn't have worried about costs.

It just makes me wonder, is there anything else I am making a big deal out of that isn't?

This weeks progress...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Well, another week has gone by and I have indeed made a small amount of progress. I did contact the school and as soon as my transcripts show up, they can enroll me in my degree program and send out my financial aid package (yikes...).

They said they can also wait a little while for the paperwork to come in proving that I am who I say I am. Somewhere down the line this has become a question.

Here I was thinking I was the only one who wasn't sure who I was any more and now it seems that nobody seems to know who I am any more.

At least I am not alone in my confusion.

I really should not have procrastinated so long in changing over my paperwork to my married name. After all, maybe a decade is pushing it a bit much...

This is a little bluebird from the first page of the new art journal I just started. I am envisioning him watching me and trying to keep me in line while bringing me good luck. So far, so good. I just found out I won a Free bie Friday from Paper Crafts Connection . If you clicked the link, did you catch the title? "Calling all Procrastinators..."

no plans update!!!

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:09:00 +0000

So, what does a day with no plans look like? Well for one thing, Maggie and I went out in the yard and played, a little soccer and a little tag. She knows I don't last long but she's okay with that.

Then we poked around the overgrown and under-cared-for garden with Bentley who scrounged around looking for gnomes or whatever it is he's hoping to find under the ground-cover.

We cut a few flowers, the lily-of-the-valleys are finally in full bloom and smell wonderful and so do the lilacs.

I try not to feel guilty, but the garden will not get the care it deserves this year either. This patch of flowers has flourished despite my neglect. Time and energy will not be on my side this year, but that will have to be okay.

"Okay" is the theme for this year. "Okay" is better than "Not-Okay". "Not-Okay" was last year and this year is better. Who knows, perhaps I can persuade some bug-fearing older girls to pull some weeds for me...

Planning not to plan my day.

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Today is one of those rare days when I don't have a lot planned. It's 9:30 on a Saturday morning and after checking in here, checking emails and doing some cleaning up around the house, I will be able to make some decisions about how I would like the rest of the day to go. Usually, the day is all planned out for me. School schedules, work schedules, practices, games, meetings... they all define how I spend my moments and where.

Not today. Today is for making a plan to not have a plan for a change.

Maybe I'll check back in later... or maybe not.

One step closer to the goal...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:27:00 +0000

When I made the decision to go back to school, I knew that just getting through the process of applications, financial aid, program choices and schools would be time consuming. I also knew that more than anything preparing myself mentally would be the biggest challenge.

I made a committment to make some progress every single week. What I didn't count on is that some weeks the progress would be really slow. After spending hours getting my financial forms in on time, didn't I get a letter on the day of the deadline saying they picked mine to audit and could I forward on some more documentation?

My application is also incomplete because the fee has gone up since I submitted the request for the transcript to my prior college so it was not forwarded to the new school.

Also, it seems some of my id still needs to be changed to my married name. I've neglected it for 10 years and now that I want to go back to school it has become instantly important. Procrastination rears it's ugly head yet again.

So, this past week's progress has been this; sent in requested financial documentation, visited old campus to request transcript again, and collected documentation to change my name legally on a few remaining documents.

I guess it's still progress even if I didn't expect to have to do it right? This week's mission is to get the names changed and then call admissions at the school and find out if they have any more surprises waiting for me! I'll report back next Monday.

the business of weddings

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Well, you may have noticed from my "about me" corner that I work for my family's business. We own a function facility T. J. Smith's Victorian House that specializes in weddings. I've been doing a lot of market research lately. I'm having a hard time figuring things out. What are brides really looking for?

I've watched the extreme bridal shows like "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?", "Bridezillas" and "Destination Weddings", I've just never really met a bride like that. At least not that "Well I'm the Bride so too bad if you don't like it"-type bride. Maybe they are out there and I just haven't met them. Most of the couples I meet are pretty nice.

So, back to my question. What are Brides, and Grooms for that matter, looking for? We get a lot of calls for "We want something really nice, but we can't/ don't want to pay too much for it" We also hear "We have been to a wedding here before and you had the best ____ (food, time, etc)" or "We always drive by and decided to call when we got engaged because we love the place". It's so hard to know what to focus on.

If you were planning a wedding today what would be your top priority?

Changing my plans

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:16:00 +0000

I already wrote my post for today, but now it's my post for tomorrow. Today things have changed. My plans seem to do that a lot lately, so much more than they used to. Is it that I don't plan as well as I did before? Did I leave more flexibility in my days before so I could handle more variation? My days were so full then, how did I fit it all in? Now, I only get through the days. Everything seems to take longer.

To be fair to myself, there have been some extras thrown in this week. My puppy Bentley, found some fox poop this past weekend. Now I didn't figure this out until Tuesday (after we had already shampooed him 3 times). I did a search and I found this forum http://www.dogclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2272.0 . Well this morning it became apparent that the odor was still not waning and that a bath of some type was again in order. I did another search and found that coffee grounds could remove the smell.

My plans for the morning were canceled and Bentley was treated to a Dark-Roasted Scrub followed by a Coffee Rinse and an Moisturizing Oatmeal Shampoo. He is now basking in the sun, au natural, while I decide whether or not his collar is salvageable. It still has a lingering odor that for some ungodly reason, he still finds lovely. Thank goodness my husband removed the source, I'm sure Bentley would return to it, he finds it irresistable.

"By The Sea" my new altered tin

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Here's an altered tin I made for a swap over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Altered_stArt The theme was "By The Sea" and the other entries were unbelievable. I haven't participated in a lot of swaps, but if they are all like this one, I'll have to participate in a lot more.

I'll be posting more of my artwork as time goes by, but I am still learning the ins and outs of about the blogging world and apparently still have lots to learn... (any help greatly appreciated, feel free to comment at will.)

The outside of mine looks like a piece of luggage because no matter if I only go to the beach for an hour, it's still like a little vacation to me.

And here, when you open it up... I want you to smell the salt air.

Finally, escape to the fantasy world underneath the ocean

complete with a little map inside a bottle.

After all... who couldn't use a map to tell them the way to life's treasures?

Mature College Students...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:26:00 +0000

yep, I'm thinking about joining the ranks of the college bound. Well, more than thinking about it. I set the wheels in motion yesterday. Actually, this is yesterday's post, written the old fashioned way, in a notebook (spiral-bound, that is) while sitting in my car. My application to school is in and my financial aid packet is filed. Going back to school at age 48 is a daunting thought, but staying stagnant is not acceptable to me either. My life has changed and I can fight that or change as well. I can't fight the fact that physically and even somewhat mentally as well, the jobs I have held in the past are no longer suitable for me. I have lots of options still available to me so now is the time to make some changes. So, now I move on...

Here we go again...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:42:00 +0000

School vacations... sometimes I love them, and sometimes I just can't stand them. Today I seem to be in the middle. It's raining again. It''s cold again.

Because I had yet another medication change last week, my work is behind again. Medication is such a problem in my life. If I don't take it, I will end up in the ER, but the side effects can feel almost worth it at times. (You did hear me say "almost" right?) My meds are leveling off now and I'm starting to feel okay, so now what do I do?

I have lots to do but I feel like I should be spending more quality time with Maggie. It's her vacation and she's bored and wants to do something on this rainy day.

I have just made my decision because I am hearing those three little words being said. "I love you" she says, for no reason other than just because she wants to tell me.

Maggie has won this round. "I love you" beats "I gotta finish" hands down... even if it means staying up late tonight to finish some work. At least for today, we have a clear winner.

Gray skies...

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:38:00 +0000

...another day of cloudy gray skies in the northeast. I can't seem to remember a winter ever having dragged on quite so long as this one. I thought it was just me, I've been physically and emotionally drained since the end of last summer and my mood has been less than optimistic. Now, the weather is starting to warm , more people are out, spring sports are starting up and everyone's talking again. It seems it's not just me after all., but on the other hand, it's not everyone either. That means I have a choice...

Yesterday's sky was clear and blue so we decided to take a short walk though the cranberry bogs. I took a picture of our "Hobbit Hole" It always looks to me as if a small creature could poke it's head out at any time to see what's going on outside. Maybe it will and I can catch a glimpse. I am ever hopeful for that glimpse or maybe like my puppy, just for another walk on a blue-sky kind of day.

Where did they go?

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:07:00 +0000

If you happened to stop by at the end of last week you might have noticed that I had indeed started posting to my new blog. However, when you came back you may have noticed those postings were now missing...

It's because, I read and reread and reread them again and again and they just sounded DEPRESSING. Not at all what I had in mind when I wrote them. I actually meant them to sound quite the opposite. My life has changed drastically in the past few years and I have to change the way I see the world and how I fit into it. In a way, it is very liberating. So this blog is about the "new me" and discovering who that person really is.

Not quite ready for prime time!

noreply@blogger.com (trish) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I'm just getting this set up, so please bear with me as I'm somewhat bloggily-challenged at this point. I promise to come back tomorrow and finish what I've started today !