Man!

I just cannot seem to find enough time to do anything but work on my current obsession (sewing!!!) - which is clearly not this blog!

I am so into sewing right now it's crazy. I always love it but it has become like my drug.  If I weren't selling it, I guess I would stop. But I love it and I am so I won't.

I keep telling myself that when the current batch of bags and owls is done I will do a really freakin' awesome post about them.  You know, photos and the whole bit... haven't seen it yet, have yah?

Here is a photo or two, from a market I attended a few weeks ago. (Nag is hidden in one of the shots - can you spot her?)

;) T.

The Ugly Face of the Past.. Again!

Just now, as I sat down to make notes to later write a post about the craziness of my youth and how naive I was and still am, the phone rings.

It was Penelope. She and her bestie have been having a marathon sleepover since the second day of spring break (the first was my birthday) and last night they were at the besties house.

She was crying.

The bestie wanted to have a sleep over with someone else.

I lost it. I was angry and crying and of the edge of becoming hysterical.

Needless to say, I passed the phone to CH.

I so cannot handle my kids being unhappy in their friendships.

When I was 15 and left home, even though I started off going to the same high school, all of my friends left me. The people I had known and been friends with since I was five years old.

When I was in my 20s and H1 and I split, I went through the same thing again. I was older and hurt so much more.

I need to let my own issues rest and not act like such a loon when my kids friends let them down. It just hurts so much.

Me more than them I think.

I know it is the old hurts.

I know I expect too much of people once I call them friend.

I need t relax and let them have their own relationships and make their own friends and learn their own lessons. It is just so hard.

CH dealt with it. They are all sleeping over at the the third kids hours.

I think I am okay...

Rant over. Deep breath.

Back to what I was doing...

:/ Tina

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On Vacation

Well, no, I wasn't really.

Not at all actually.

I have been busy with an assortment of things which I will tell you about in a minute.

More importantly though, all of my writing energy has been directed toward creating my portfolio to submit for consideration to shops that sell handmade.  If you know of any in BC (and I would consider Alberta), please share!

My amazingly talented friend Krista took some portfolio photos for me.  I am really excited about them - they are perfect!

I have been busy sewing (mostly), walking (a bit) and stressing over my boys and their girls.

Of course you already know about The Mouth and The Boss and.... What shall I call my grand baby? For now, lets refer to her (comes to mind first!?) as Bitty (as in Itty Bitty).

Well now The Little Man seems to be sprouting his own set of relationship wings.

Keeping in mind he turned 11 on February 1st.  It would seem his 10 year old girlfriend (now referred to as his x) showed him her little boobs.  I have been freaking out about it for days.

I have finally decided that tomorrow I will be making the call that we all hate making and hate getting even more - I am going to call her mother.

I am not looking forward to it but if the tables were turned, I would want to know.

You know.  So I could lock my sweet Penelope in the attic.

Where she will remain until age 30 - or maybe later. I guess we will see.

I have no doubt her father will agree, 100%.  She would already be up there if it were up to him.

She will not be showing her boobs at 10 and knocked up at 20 by a handsome yet foolish 19 year old who has never been employed. Not my daughter.

Gulp.

:/ Tina

Secrets, Lies and Drama

I am going to be the BIG 40 on March 15th and I am so over dealing with high school crap.  Rightfully so. 40 is too old for head games and nonsense.

I am telling the secret. It is a lame secret anyway. Not the kind that can be kept. The information itself is not lame. Not even one little bitty bit.

In fact is is furthest thing from lame.  It is amazing and exciting and life changing for a whole lotta people.

Ready for it?

The Boss is knocked up.

I have not been positing because this is all I want to post about and I am supposed to be keeping it under wraps!

My 19 year old son has inpregnated his 20 year old girlfriend.

I am going to be a Gramma... Or a Nan.... Or a something... I am far to young to make such a decision.

The drama? Well folks, she is a) 20, b) not the wicked step mothers biggest fan and c) a raving hormon.  Do you remember how mature you were at 20? I had just moved in with H1 after 8 months of living out of a backpack "on the road". I cared about me and maybe him and I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do with myself. I was 180 degrees different than I am today.

I do know that not everyone is like I was. And that a baby is going to force the issue. They are both going to have to grow up faster than I did.

I a happy and excited for me and freakng out for them. They have lost all chance of things being easy. When they want something for their future they will have to work twice as hard as I did.

I will be there. As much as I can. As much as they will accept me.  I am there.

... So that is why I have not written. I do not know who reads this.  I hope you understand that it is supposed to be a secret

The Worst

Speller, that is.

Ever.

Sometimes I spell a word so wrong that spell check doesn't even know what I am talking about.

Sometimes I have to ask The Little Man how to spell stuff and he just turned 11.  Today, actually.

I just figured out that there surprise is not spelled "suprise".  I wonder, did I use to know and I forgot or did I never know.

People who love me make fun of me for this (and a few other things, but we don't need to get into that right now).

I don't mind. In fact, it makes me laugh without sound.

:o)  Tina

I am a Hoarder

So, I can see my floors again but there is still a lot to be done - and a lot that still has to find a home.  I am currently sitting with half of my bum on a very hard uncomfortable steno chair just so that I can reach out and touch base (hahaha - I just sang that in my mind!).

I was just puttering - making tea, getting dinner in the crock pot and I was thinking about my new 'boss' and the fact that today he mentioned that he was a hoarder.  I think, not like on Hoarders, more like on Canadian Pickers, but he did mention that he owns seven houses and one of them houses him, his wife, their two dogs and two contain his stuff. I am a bit of a hoarder too and was making a mental list and thought you might like to hear it:

My List of Shame

Information - patterns, recipes and quotes top the list but it is by no means exclusive to those things.  As of right this minute, I have 1,861 pins and 1,085 likes on Pinterest - I use my likes to quickly add something I want to pin once I have verified the link.  I never pin without a valid link. Pinterest was amazing for me - is - as it allows me to organize my hoard and keep it off of my hard drive.

Ribbon - I have so much ribbon it is nuts and I have really just started using it a little bit.  I still have ribbon from when I married H1 in 1997 and closing my shop has made this problem SO much worse... Is it a problem?  I think not. :)

Thread and Bobbins - This one will probably subside now that I do not have the shop.  When I closed, I took all of the remaining bobbins and thread before we really even began clearance.  I was pretty excited to be the proud owner of 1200 spools of thread and 1500 bobbins, cause you know I will use them. ;)

Gift Wrap, Gift Bags and Pretty Paper - Although not as severe as the ribbon thing, I do collect these things and find it difficult to part with them.

Cookie Cutters - Probably no body but my kids knows about this little obsession.  I have about 50 and I bake about every three years. I would buy more too.  They are just so cool.

China and Flat Ware - Especially bowls - I have so many I have lost count and I can not resist buying more if I see a cute vintage one while thrifting.  I have so many forks and knives in my cutlery drawer that I use plastic basket because one of those regular cutlery holders would not even come close.

Baskets - I love baskets.  Love them.  I have about 100.  Seriously.

Paper Clips - I can't explain this one.  It's like the button thing.  I will steal them, pick them up out of mud puddles.  I cannot resist them. Especially the colourful plastic coated ones...

I just paused and thought, hmm, what else.  How could I forget this one?!

BUTTONS - I probably have a million.  No joke.  And I LOATH using them.  I feel like I am giving them up and I will never see them again.  Can you say, crazy?

I am sure there are more, they just aren't popping into my mind right now.  I will add some if they come to me. :o)

I will be back soon, I want to get back into the swing of posting again.  I am missing my secret blog life, I just need to clear off a seat... I think I am three Fill in the Blank Fridays behind!

:o)  Tina

Liebster Award Nominee!

I love getting comments on my my blog - love it - I think the fact that I hardly get any makes them so much more special when I do. Last The other night I was even more excited when I found that had been nominated for a Liebster Award - even though I had never heard of this before it was still very exciting. Thank you Living La Vida Holoka! The Liebster Award is given to up-and-comers in the blog world with under 200 followers - I don't know about up and coming but I sure qualify for the under 200!

So here is the deal:

#1     Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
#2     Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
#3     Choose 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them to your post.
#4     Go to their page and tell them about the award.
#5     No tag backs!

So here goes...

11 Random Facts About Me 

#1     My family is the most important thing in my life.  I gave up my shop for them so that we could have a better life.  I would do anything for them. Anything.

#2     Do not lie to me.  I never forget and I will never believe you again. Ever. I will forgive you, though (please see #6).

#3    When some thing is really funny I laugh at the sky.  If it is really really funny no sound comes out, but lots of tears do.  It is the greatest feeling.

#4     I will do anything I can for you if I consider you my friend. I can always find a silver lining and I will do my very best to brainstorm and help you find a way out of your jam.

#5     I am an information hoarder.  Especially information in the form of books, recipes, and patterns.  Pinterest freed up so much space on my computer.  I have gone from 2500 bookmarks and 30,000 saved pdfs to 62 boards, 1740 pins and 950 likes (likes are the things I looked at on my phone waiting to become pins.)

#6     I am a wimp.  Physically, wimpy.  Emotionally, wimpy, but good at covering it up. ;)

#7     My husband was my next door neighbour before he was anything else to me.  The story is too long to put on this list, but I might write a Saturday Story about it one day. :)

#8     I am hands down the worse speller over the age of 10 in my family.  The older I get the worse it gets.  I have spell check everywhere!

#9     I secretly love country music... perhaps it is not that much of a secret...

#10   I loath competition.  It makes me feel sick to my stomach.  I don't know if it is why I don't play sports now or why I never really did when I was a kid.  Competition when my children are involved is even worse. Can't handle it.  At all.

#11   I have been married twice.  Right around the time H1 and split, my bestie, Surely, moved to London.  I miss her everyday and it has been 11 years.  I never miss him other than when I am doing housework as he was freakishly clean.

Okay so now...

Questions from Jessica.

When did you start blogging?  I started blogging about 5 years ago but I have only really been making any effort in the last year and half or so.  I would love to grow it into something that has followers, maybe makes a little money... the problem is that I really do blog for me and do not try to attract an audience by being consistent with my content or frequency.  One day it might be something I tried that I saw on Pinterest, the next it might be a book I read or something silly one of my short people said or something I made. I have big plans for tutorials but they never seem to come to fruition.

With the holidays coming up, what are some of your favorite family traditions?  I don't really have any favourites.  I love the whole holiday season and being with everyone at their happiest.

What's your guilty pleasure? I don't even know what the means.  I am not Cathloic and do not feel guilt. :p

What's the last really good book you've read? I am not sure.  It feels like a long time since I read something that I really loved...  probably Secret Daughter, way back at the beginning of September.  I think that may have been the last book worth blogging about. :o)

What is something that has made you happy recently? I can't think of anything off of the top of my head.  I have been feeling quite happy and as if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders since I decided to close the shop...  so maybe that.  Even thought, that somehow seems kind of like a betrayal to the shop - as if it were a person...

What is one of your favorite smells? Gardenia.  Love gardenia.  I also love the smell of breast fed baby breath, the ocean, the river near my home (especially on hot summer nights), and (my) clean laundry.

What is one food you probably couldn't live without?  I love food.  I am not sure that I could choose just one... maybe parmesan cheese - it just makes everything taste better! :o)

What is one of your best traits? I would have to say my sense of humour.  I think I am very funny.

How do you keep positive?  I don't really have a method.  I think that you are either a person who can remain positive, or not.  CH is a bit of a glass is half empty person but says that he is a realist. I am a glass is half full person and have been accused of wearing rose coloured glasses... I do have a knack for finding the silver lining. :)

What's something you would absolutely love to splurge on if money wasn't an issue? A European cruise.  I would love to go back to Italy and Penelope wants to go to Paris and I would love to visit Surely in London....  I would love to travel around Europe and the Mediterranean on a cruise ship more than just about anything.

What's something you love about where you live? My home:  The people in it.  My city:  Knowing so many people and the sense of community. My region:  The Kootenays are a wonderful, laid back place with a reputation for being friendly, beautiful and for growing pot.  ;)  My province:  Seriously, what's not to love.  British Columbia really is the best place on earth. My country:  Canada, sigh, beautiful, massive, kind, courteous, diverse, accepting...  there is a lot to love!

Okay, so now for my nominees....  this is where feeling like I lost the popularity contest haunts me...  I lack the confidence to reach out to people.  What if they ignore me or think I am stupid? What if they don't like my questions???  It took me a LONG time to find the right blogs to send the nominations to.  I wanted to send it to blogs that I legitimately enjoyed reading rather than the first 11 that I found mildly interesting, so...

The Nominees, In No Particular Order, Are... 

Fabric, Fat Ladies and French Fries

Charlie Sews Stuff...

Cat & Vee

Krista Stitched

Trail Trecks

The Cluttered Quilter

Best of Both Worlds

Johnny in a Dress

The Sewing Chick (she has 204 followers, 4 over the limit.  I am a ruler bender...)

The 513

Motormouth Studios Photo

An My Questions...

{one}     Have you ever seen a ghost?

{two}     What country (countries) are your ancestors from?

{three}   What is your favorite day of the week? Why?

{four}     Who is your Bestie? Why?

{five}      Who do you admire the most? Why?

{six}       What was the best road trip you have ever been on?

{seven}   Are you a night owl or do you go to bed with the chickens?

{eight}    What is the first thing you can remember?

{nine}     What achievement are yo the most proud of?

{ten}       Have you ever driven (or ridden on) a motorcycle?

{eleven}  Do you believe in reincarnation?

It's always nice to have some recognition from fellow bloggers... or anyone else for that matter.  While my blog is an outlet for my own thoughts and feelings - my rants really - I really do love sharing all of this with whomever stumbles upon it and decides to take the time to read it.  I've happily accepted this nomination (Thank you again)!

Have fun and pay it forward!

:o)  Tina

Fill in the Blank Friday

It's Friday - how can that even be. This week, like all the rest sped by.  I am looking forward to the weekend and getting stuff done in preparation to moving my shop home. :o)

This week I made a dozen little owls, two whales, three owl bags, most of a messenger bag - none of which have had their picture taken yet.  :o)

I am very excited for the next chapter!

{via}

1. My favorite feeling in all the world is the feeling of my family's hugs. Penelope with her little shoulders and arms like licorice whips and her big heart. The Little Man with his bear hugs and his too wise for his age ways. CH and and his comforting 'safe place' hugs. Pretty much love the hugs - but the kiss are pretty great too.

2. My favorite smell(s) is (are) gardenia, clean laundry (from my own house), (Body Shop) vanilla and breast fed baby breath (don't pass judgement on me, it smells so good. Penelope use to suck on my nose and it was the best smell ever).


3. My favorite taste is salty. Hands down. I also am very appreciative of savoury.

4. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was... I should say my children or something along those lines - and they really are exceptionally beautiful but I always talk about them and when I read the blank the first thing that came to my mind was once when we all took a drive though the Pend Orielle road the summer after there was a huge forest fire. It was early evening and the light was perfect. The tress where all black and the grass and low growing plants that had come back were the most bright amazing green I have ever seen in nature. You could actually see the rays of the sun coming out of the sky. it was the kind of thing that would make a person believe in God.

5. The best sound ever is my children laughing together - although Penelope singing to herself all the time is a pretty close second. The love you feel for your children is so amazing and powerful - I feel compassion toward people who do not have children, by choice or not. To miss out on the magnitude of over whelming love would be so devastating.

6. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is rain on hot pavement, and the river in the summer heat.

7. My favorite of all the senses is sense of sight or sense of touch - I can't decide. I love to see beautiful things as much as I love to feel them. If I was forced to decide.  I f I had not choice?  Well, if I had a choice between never touching Penelope's cheek again or never seeing it, I would have to give up the sight. If I had a choice between never feeling a safe secure embrace from CH or never seeing him - I am going with the hug. You get the idea. I guess I decided, didn't I.  :o)

Have a wonderful Friday.  I'm off to the game!

:o) Tina

I am Sally Albright

{via}

A long while back I did a post that was a list of interesting things about me.  I would like to do a list of weird things about me but then you might not read my blog any more because you might think I am a total wing nut, so I will give them to you slowly!  :o)

Have you ever seen When Harry Met Sally?  There is scene in the movie where Sally is ordering pie?  That is me.  She is totally neurotic about a zillion things - she is me.  Serious.

But I'd like the pie heated and I don't want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it, if not then no ice cream just whipped cream but only if it's real; if it's out of the can then nothing.        ~Sally Albright

If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?

:o) Tina

Thinking

Why is it that when I am little stressed I cannot stay away from the frickety frackin internet??

I circle around my house.  Sit in my chair and open up FB.  See more of the same old thing over and over.  Get up. Circle around my house.  Sit in my chair and open up FB.  See more of the same old thing over and over.  Get up. Circle around my house. Sit in my chair....  I think you get the idea.

Why am I stressed? Because I am bad with money and now I have to spend my week putting out fires!

We had to renew our mortgage this week.  STRESSSSFFFUUULLLL.  Anything to do with borrowing money - except from PITA - and I am a ball of nerves.  I need to pay the outstanding balance on my taxes and renew my insurance before the end of business on Thursday so I have to jump through a bunch of hoops for ICBC so that they will give me my settlement.  Jeesh.  Ativan here I come!

I have walked away having learned a very important lesson.  I read a quote the other day that summed it up perfectly... Surely would love this.  There was a reason she called me Cleopatra Queen of Denial.

Feel a little calmer now.  Writing always calms me down. Besides that, what will be will be, right? and there is nothing I can do beyond my best to make it all work out smoothly.

:o)  Tina

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, I know its lots of words.  But it is funny and it is SO me!

Source: via Tina on Pinterest

:o) Tina

Thinking

Am I too old to transform my life?


:o) Tina

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thinking

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Christian Bale?  And yes, CH knows.

What led me to tell you this?  Why the new Batman movie - The Dark Knight Rises - of course.

:o)  Tina

Secret

Sshhh

Secretly my favorite show is the Big Bang Theory.  It makes my tummy hurt from laughing just about every time I watch it and who doesn't need a good laugh!

:o)  Tina

PS  That is not to diminish my love of Sister Wives and Parenthood, but Big Bang is on every night!!

Toot Toot (But Not the Kind You Think)

This is me with PITA- I am the taller one
with the enormous double chin and the
perfectly smooth, thank you very much,
hair. Toot Toot.

PITA has taken to calling me Tootie because I like to "toot" my own horn.  It's true.  I sometimes do - but only when it is something worthy of a toot.  It is not like I go around bragging and talking about how great I am all the time (I really don't - I am so not like that) - it is only when I am proud of something or happy with how something turned out.

For example, my hair on picture day.  LOVED it.  It was so smooth and shiny.  I have wavy, light brown hair.  Until I was about 30 I had pin straight medium to dark blonde hair - it has been adjustment to say the least and because they are so much harder to come by now, I really LOVE a good hair day. (PITA straightened it and my friend Jessie coloured it for me a few days before so it was not all me.  I am a firm believe that you give credit when credit is due and will not ever take credit when it is not mine to take!)

I also toot my own horn on an regular basis, somewhat indirectly, by talking about how awesome my shorties are.  How beautiful, smart, kind, considerate, and funny they are.  They are so freakin' amazing. I made them that way (although not single handedly) so, Toot Toot.

Another thing I toot my own horn about is sewing.  I am good at, and I have been designing things from my head a lot over the last year or so and I get excited.  I just cannot help myself.  So the other night, I started an Etsy shop to list some of what I make for sale.  I listed an owl bag at 11:30 at night, it sold by morning.  Can you say Toot Toot?! I am pretty excited about that.  It is such a compliment when people buy the things I create, a pattern or a finished item, it just feels so good! So Toot Toot - and THANK YOU!

The fair is in town this weekend for our annual Silver City Days festival.  I am hoping to get some good pictures of all of the colours and lights and the excitement the shorties are bound to be exuding.  I am also looking forward to Mouth having some fun for a change rather than spending all of his time in his room playing video games. Jerk.

:o)  Tina

Photo Shoot!

My Shorties (The Little Man, Penelope
and Mouth)

We (the Ihas family minus John plus a few PITAs of various shapes and sizes) had profession photos taken on Sunday.  You can see them all here (while you are peeking, you may as well like the page!), but these are a few of my very favorites.

Me and PITA together.  <3

My pretty little PITA looking all calm, cool, collected and beautiful.

One of PITA's little PITA's - looking ready for trouble as usual!

The littlest member of our family - LOVE this baby.  You might remember him from this post.

CH and his "big" brother - who just happens to be PITA's Dad.

PITA's hockey guys.

My kids and Noah goofing around.

A little more serious this time.  :o)

Awww.  It looks like we actually like each other.  Well, I guess we do sometimes.

This is everyone but PITA's Dad who had to leave early to fix a roof or some other  such reason.  From baby Hayden, Trevor (PITA's husband) Penelope, me, CH, Noah, The Little Man, PITA, and Mouth.  <3

Pretty awesome, eh?

:o)  Tina

The Hypocrite Game

My brother has a crazy ex-wife.  I think we all have a crazy somewhere in our closet.  I have two H1 and CH!  Hahaha.  But really he does.

So here is tonight's story.  Long story, so pay attention.

The Little Man and my brother's daughter have a lot of conflict.  Part of that conflict comes, I think, from a sibling rivalry that has developed between them as a result of my Mum mothering her because the ex-wife was too unstable to do it for a few years so my (sweet, big hearted, sometimes a little nonsensical) brother had custody and a job that took him away a fair bit.  I think the other part of it is personality.  She pushes his buttons over and over again and he retaliates, as boys do - with physical force.  He is a strong personality and intolerant and she is a strong personality and manipulative and all of that put together does not always mesh well.  Keeping in mind that these two are 10. 10 people.

So tonight, I am talking to Nag via FB chat:

Nag: JH Waiting for the crap to hit the fan when Emily's cousin whines to his mother that I gave him hell for trying to force his way into my house. Bring it on. I'm tired of that little bully.

Me: ? What

Nag: that was JH's status..... anything to do with your side?

Since we are the ONLY side, there was then a lot of me freaking out and swearing and typing in all caps.  Mumma bear instinct kicked in at 100%.

I asked Nag to ask him to remove his status.  He didn't.  I sent him the following message:

I was informed of your status and would appreciate your taking it off. 

If there is a problem please call me at 250-364-1646 rather than making accusations about a 10 year old on a public forum. Please remember that there are 2 sides to every story.

If you do not remove it, I will assume you would like me to come over to discuss it.

Thank you, Tina

Nag and I continued to converse.  Me with a lot of swearing and typing in all caps.

I went and got the story from The Little Man who was in his room feeling like a turd and feeling very confused because I totally lost on it on him - which I never do - and, as I was to find out because of the way he was treated by my niece and subsequently JH.  My niece stole money from The Little Man ($1, but with him it is the principle of the matter and I suppose when you are 10, $1 is substantial), he followed her home to her mother's (the ex-wife), she (the niece) told him to get off their property and then went in the house.  He went and knocked on the door and asked for his money back and JH, the ex-wife's boyfriend, kicked him out.  He went to get his friend as a witness and when he arrived back there, he was given the money back and told by JH that he would make sure he never set foot on his property again.  By this time, I am so totally beside myself I am ready to get into the car and drive over there and beat the tar out of this 40ish man for trying to intimidate my 10 year old son.  I was PISSED.

While The Little Man and I were talking, JH responded.  This is what he wrote.

Hello, Tina.

First of all, this is a private page, viewable not to the public but to friends who I've added. Secondly, I did not identify your son by name, nor did I identify yourself. I referred to him as "Emily's cousin." Thirdly, you yourself should remember that there are two sides to every story considering that on 12 May, 2011, on your own personal blog, which is indeed visible to the general public, you made baseless comments about my partner, at which time you mentioned no names. Although referring to said person as "your little brother's ex-wife" isn't exactly the best way to maintain an air of discretion.

Now, if you'd like to stop playing the hypocrite game, and remove your post about Heather from your public blog, I'll remove the post about your son from my private facebook page.

Regarding your son, yes, he and Emily had a disagreement in which Emily allegedly took $1 more from Dominic than she was offered. Her mother and I had Emily give the whole $2 back. End of discussion. Regarding him trying to chase after Emily into my house and force his way past the front door, I sent him off the property and advised him that he is not welcome in my home or on my property.

I, Heather, and Emily's father are tired with and frustrated by the constant bullying your son does to Emily, be it at school, in private, or at the aquatic centre. And I will certainly not allow it to continue in or near my home.

Very well written.  I have to say I was taken off guard by that.  The ex-wife, scored herself someone with a brain.  So I wrote another, long angry message back.  I took the high road (thank CH for that) and I didn't send it.  But I did copy and past it so you can read it and I can feel a little bit of vindication.

So what I wrote was this:

Clearly you were looking for a fight with me when you posted your status, I am so sorry but I am going to resist providing you with it. It is difficult and I want to, but I won't.

If your status is not gone by the morning, I will call the police and see what recourse there is, if any. I would hope that you take the adult approach to the situation and remove a slanderous comment made about a 10 year old.

What I wrote first but did not send was this:

Clearly you were looking for a fight with me when you posted your status, I am so sorry that I cannot resist providing you with it.

Remove your status or I am calling the police. I will not have you slander my child. He is 10. Heather is an adult. And it is pretty obvious who you are talking about as well as Emily does not have any other cousins in Trail.

Baseless? Are you serious. You forget that Heather was a member of this family for several years. In my experience she IS unstable for example, she tried to kill herself - more than once from what I understand - but the incident I am referring to is the time Emily was there - alone. That is pretty unstable. In my experience she IS malicious for example, her treatment of my brother - her husband and the father of her child - the way she went about ending the relationship, the way that she treated him and the things that she said to him when they were together. Malicious. And I know she has been to you as well Jason, Emily is not a secret keeper.

Having said all of that, Emily and Dominic do not get along. Period. She pushes his buttons and he reacts. That is how it has always been. Dominic is a child and cannot be expected to be in control of how he reacts when provoked, I think he takes a lot from her. Knowing Emily as I do, I am surprised that it does not happen more often. None of this excuses the way that you treated him this evening when he was at your home.

Dominic has been told that from now on he is to treat Emily as if she were a stranger. He is not to talk to her or acknowledge her in any way. I am going into the school tomorrow to talk to their teacher and the principal to let them both know that this is the new status quo. I will not allow it to continue as Dominic's mother I am not going to tolerate his being shouldered with all of responsibility and blame.

If your status is not gone by the morning, I will call the police and see what recourse there is, if any. I would hope that you take the adult approach to the situation.

When I make new friends, I always tell them that one thing they need to know about me is that I am always late.  I think they need to know two things.  That I am late, and that I am extremely loyal and demand the same.

So anyway, the saga continues:

JH: Would you mind explaining what part of the comment is slanderous?

Me: As previously stated, I am refusing to be goaded into an argument. I am not 10, and my buttons are not so easily pushed.

If you would like to discuss this like an adult I can be reached at 250-364-1646 or you can call me tomorrow at work 250-364-1274 or on my cell phone at 250-368-7607 or you can even come over or stop by the shop to chat.

Perhaps if a face to face visit is a route you would like to explore, we can have the kids present to offer both sides of this on going story and settle it once and for good.

JH: And what about your comments about Heather on your blog? I would say there is more slander in that than anything I happend to put in my comment. As well, you use quite clear identifiers.

And allow me to add, in my honest opinion which I am entitled to under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 2(b), and not as a statement which could be considered libel (or as you incorrectly refered to as, slander), it is my personal -opinion- that you and your entire family are nothing but bullies.

Again, I propose that in exchange for taking down your comment obviously refering to Heather in your public blog, I will remove my status from my private page.

Me: As previously stated, I am refusing to be goaded into an argument. I am not 10, and my buttons are not so easily pushed.

If you would like to discuss this like an adult I can be reached at 250-364-1646 or you can call me tomorrow at work 250-364-1274 or on my cell phone at 250-368-7607 or you can even come over or stop by the shop to chat.

Perhaps if a face to face visit is a route you would like to explore, we can have the kids present to offer both sides of this on going story and settle it once and for good.

JH: No thank you. Good night.

Me: That's is what I thought.

As a result I got nothing sewn and I am totally exhausted.  The worst?  I am sad for my poor son. This is making me tired.

What a night.  Stupid ex-wife's not so nice, apparently likes to pick on 10 year old boys, boyfriend (whose the bully now?).  Obviously he does not know me or my family - none of us are bullies.  My Mum and my brother are the wimpiest of wimps and my Dad chooses to avoid at almost all cost.  CH is somewhere between me and my Dad.  Penelope not even worth talking about.  Me and Josh have a big mouths and we know how to use them but that is where is ends.  And The Little Man, he is a little boy.  Period.  I am still pretty mad and it has been hours.  I think I need another cup of tea and some more chocolate...

:o) Tina

P.S.  JH, if you are reading this thank you for the material and thank you also for adding to my stats!  :o)

I Feel a Blog Post Coming On

I think I am a much better blogger when something makes me stressed or sad than happy.  When it is all good, I am too busy enjoying it to blog...

I am fine.  Don't worry.  I am just tired of being poor. And I am tried of trying to find a way to not be poor.  If anyone has any ideas for anything I could do to add to my business or as an aside from my business PLEASE tell me - this family needs more of an income!  We are coasting along but that is it and being stressed about it has caused me to miss so much.  I need another revenue stream, and I need it soon or this ship is in danger of sinking...  McDonald's here I come...

So my friend Jessie's brother (you got that?) was telling me that he knows some people in the UK who have a dozen or so websites and make like $6000 a week from Google Ad-words!  I suppose if I did not do everything in such a personal way, that I may be able to make it a little more profitable.  I don't know but I like to do everything with love and pride and apparently way too much heart.

What brought on this round of self pity?  I took Victoria to dance.  I hate taking Victoria too dance.  It makes me feel poor, inadequate and helpless.

Yesterday while cleaning off the front porch - which was cluttered with an enormous amount of garbage - I just about fell through the floor!  CH was not surprised (which added to the good time!) and said that he knew it was there. Not too sure where we are getting the money to fix that. Crap.

There are just too many bills left at the end of the money.  I need a job.  That scares me a little.  I think I am too bipolar for a real job.  Maybe it is just the stress since CH went on disability, but I have such a hard time feeling happy all of the time the last couple of years.  It feels like work, when it used to be so natural.

Having said all of that, I am going to take this one step further by simply saying that I think part of my difficulty with this is that I, simply, did not picture my life as being such a struggle.  I thought that I would have it easier.  I really did.  I always assumed working would be optional for me - I am the Mum.  I need to just suck it up and stop feeling sorry about it and CHANGE IT.  I always say, "If you don't like your life, change it."  I need to take my own crappy advice and find a way - where there is a will there is a way (I always say that too).

If you have a job or a job idea for me (preferably a clerical rather than service type job, due to the bipolarism) please contact me!

:o)  Tina

Fill in the Blank Friday

Yeah, it's Friday!  Not that matters, I enjoy everyday.  :o)  The only real difference is that the kids get to stay home (which I like) and there is no early bed time for them (which I also like even though I realize it is just me being lazy).  This weekend will be busy.  Work on Saturday, Mirror Mirror with the shorties on Saturday night and then a baby shower for my friend Andrea's new baby, Austin.  All I really want to do is sit and home and recover, sew, and catch up on my pins but the show must go on!

the little things we do

1. My greatest strength is my imagination.  My brain never stops, ever.  I am good at finding solutions to problems, can always find a silver lining, and I am pretty creative.

2. My greatest weakness is my my imagination!  It leads me down paths I something do not want to go.  I hear and see things when I am alone that make me feel creep-ed out (and are most likely not there) and I would never, ever, walk through the forest alone.  The most mundane horror movie terrifies me.  I am also terrified of anything happening to my children, not that everyone isn't, but I can see it in my mind's eye.  Having an active imagination also leads me down the path into daydream land more often than I would like (see number 4).

December 2009
But trust me, they are just as gorgeous today!

3. People always compliment me on my beautiful children and my crafting abilities. My kids are really gorgeous (and amazingly intelligent and kind) - like they should be in ads for trendy clothing companies kind of gorgeous. I think that their kind and thoughtful personalities shine through and that is what makes them so freakin' beautiful.  My crafting (sewing) abilities are definitely on the upswing too. :o)

4. If you found me procrastinating you'd probably find me sitting at my desk looking out my office window or at my sewing table pretending to busy...or pinning things on Pinterest (I do a lot of that).

5. The most cozy place in all the world is my bed getting my feet rubbed by CH, with his feet. If I don't get a proper foot rubbing every night I feel gypped.

6. Something new that I tried recently was going outside of my comfort zone and trying new recipes. I am a total foodie - but I am not good at trying new things, let alone cooking them but part of my 31 Days of Pinterest has been trying some new food - and so far so good, we are 2 for 3. 

7. This weekend I would like to finish my 31 pins.  I am a few behind due to unforeseen circumstances and really want to complete the challenge I set for myself.

31 Days of What?

OMG!!!!  I had to write about this because it is so freakin' hilariously ridiculous. This evening, I posted the following on my Facebook status:

My daughter received TWO awards at school in the last week for being kind. :o)

(Penelope is very kind and at 7 does not think of herself first. Neither of my kids do. They are very nice people and CH and I have made sure of it.)

I got a comment on that status as follows:

whoot whoot we sure need more people like her great job

The person who wrote it? One of my childhood bullies!!!! That's right. Why do I have her as a friend? Because I am pretty much the nosiest person you will ever meet!

:o) Tina