By Any Other Name

Par for the course.....

We had a bit of a birthday celebration tonight.  C is at her Winterfest dance.  M wanted to take us out to dinner, but I didn't feel like it and asked to save it for another time.  S wanted steak so I ended up cooking dinner.  We had steak that I cooked under the broiler since the grill isn't up and running at this time of year, baked potatoes loaded up with all the good stuff like bacon and cheese, and grilled asparagus.

Here's the bad news.  M ordered my cake a couple of days ago and picked it up this afternoon.  White cake, whippy frosting, etc from Kings.  He didn't notice that the cake was wrong and neither did I until we cut into it.  The cake had buttercream frosting on it!  We looked at the order form and he ordered it right, but the bakery idiots either didn't follow instructions or forgot to make it and gave him that cake instead.  I think the latter is what happened as I looked at the box and it had a tag on it like a cake would have that was premade and ready for those that need a cake at the last minute and a name can be added to order.

I'm not surprised as stuff like this always happens to me.....  Wrong cake, wrong food order, etc.  I was disappointed.

M took the cake back even though I didn't ask him to.  He was pissed.  The clerk couldn't understand why he returned the cake and what he wanted?!  "We can't refrost it...."  "No, $*#%!  Give me my money back.  You ruined my wife's birthday.  This is not what I ordered."  I guess I don't get a cake this year because he didn't reorder it.

Onward


I've not talked about music in ages....  I'm still listening.  I hadn't listened or attended to my Ipod in ages, but a couple of weeks ago I pulled it out.  I reviewed my playlists, took out some songs, and added some new songs.

I can usually tell the first time I hear a song whether or not I like it or hate it.  I also become attached to certain artists because I really get attached to their voices.  I took in a bit of the Grammy's.  I was thrilled to catch Rhianna and Eminem first and then him and Dr. Dre with a female singer.  I was very taken with her voice!  I thought I recognized it.  Thank goodness for the Internet because I found out who it was immediately.

It was Holly Brook, but she had changed her name to Skylar Grey.

I think I'll just change my name.  I won't have to do anything official.  I can actually just change my blog name whenever I want.

I do have a quilting thing to talk about.  What the hell is up with mug rugs?!  LMAO  Mug rugs are the new????  Everywhere I go...  I made a mug rug.  Look at my mug rug.  I made a mug rug but I can't bear to use it.  Let's have a mug rug swap.  Here's my mug rug tutorial.  It reminds me of candle mats of a few years ago.  It's freakin' quilted coaster, people....

I occasionally check in on a blog called Things I want to Punch in the Face.  (I particularly like this entry.)  I think there are a few quilting things that could be featured.

Embrace the Chaos

One of my favorite actresses, Amy Adams, was asked in a recent interview how she was managing motherhood and her busy career.  (I never really take anything famous people say seriously because how real can their situations really be as compared to people like me.)  I did take something she said to heart, though.  She said she had received some great advice from Annette Bening:  embrace the chaos.

I've been trying to do this and have been trying to get in this mindset.  It's helping me a little.  I'm the type that frets over everything that is wrong or that I'd like to change to the point where I start procrastinating and becoming paralyzed with inactivity.

I never thought I could do it all.  I just wanted to be able to do more.  I'm trying not to expect so much out of myself and my family.  I don't think it's the best way to go because I can see that nothing is really getting done and the kids aren't learning how to be solid citizens, but the other ways weren't working either.

I still have a ton of anxiety about just about everything, but I have anxiety whether things are going well or utter crap.

I'm very curious at how things will turn out!

Appreciation

I'm now officially 41.  I never been one to lie about my age, but I feel like I need to start.  I don't like that I'm over 40 now.  I'm not embracing my maturity.

I'm tired of being such a b*%#h.  Sometimes it's fun, but it's getting old being one 24/7.

I'm so busy being mad at people that don't want to be friends with me that I don't appreciate the ones I have, including my mom and my husband.  (Yes, these people are my friends.)  I'm so wrapped up in all my issues and perpetuating them that I ignore the good people that I have in my life.....

In  no particular order.....

1) My mom who makes a special effort every year to make sure we celebrate my birthday even when I don't want to.  She makes sure I get my King Soopers white whippy frosting cake without any unnecessary decorations that I would just scrape off anyway.  She fixes my special birthday dinner which is very labor intensive.  This is just the tip of the iceberg as she helps me out everyday....  I can't tell you how many times she's bailed me out!

2) My friend Peg of 10 years who always sends me an online card.  We don't talk much anymore because I haven't made the effort, but she never fails to respond when I send out an S.O.S.

3) Elizabeth who visits my blogs and almost always leaves a comment.  I don't feel so alone in my crazyness and that's all I need to stop me from going over the edge never to return.  We only met in person a couple of times, but I think we share a real bond.  I owe her big time and it shames me that I haven't held up my end of the bargain.

4) Dianne who keeps me in stitches (and Melissa, too.)  She is one of the most thoughtful people I know.  For instance, I received a wonderful care package yesterday with Twilight items and CADBURY EGGS!  I think one of the definitions of friendship is when another person recognizes your obsessions, never makes you feel silly or guilty for them, and even FEEDS them....

5) My husband.  Despite everything he loves me.....

I appreciate you ALL!  I will try to show it more!

Shannon Mom M.D.

M took the kids to the doctor's this afternoon.  Day #3 of sick kids with no improvement and Z worse.  A actually went to school today.  I was at work.

It's official.  They all have the flu, Influenza B, including A or should I call him Typhoid Alex since I sent him to school today?  The recommendation is that they all stay home the rest of the week since rules say that people should be quarantined for at least 48 hours after their fevers break.

Just call me Shannon Mom M.D. as I was pretty sure we had the flu and that there wasn't much we could do about it except ride it out.  I've been monitoring fevers and other symptoms to be sure they stayed within the non-alarming range.  However, we decided on taking them to the doctor.

We have the letters to prove flu from the doctor and to provide to the school district if they should ask.  (Yes, a couple of months ago I received letters for S and A about their excessive absences in the first semester and a possible need to provide doctor's letters should they have any more....)

They're all off Monday for President's Day.

C's main concern is if she will get to attend her dance on Saturday.

My plans for frivolity tomorrow have been dashed.  (I was going to treat myself to lunch and a discount showing of Harry Potter since I haven't seen it yet.)

Yep, should have gotten a flu shot.  Oh, yeah, right.....  M is the one that brought this home and was sick first and he was the only one who did get a flu shot this year.

Lemons, No I Meant LEMMINGS

What's that word when you're a follower to your detriment?  Lemmmmm....on, no LEMMING!

I frequently give over to better judgment and become a figurative quilting lemming.

You know as defined:

Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.  (Wiktionary)

or

Lemming is now slang for fierce and loyal avid supporters of someone or something who are narrow minded and foolish. These types of people mindlessly follow even if it means their own destruction.

(Blurtit)


I've been known to force myself to like a new quilting style, fabric, tool just to be a part of a group.
 
Mindless, that's me.
 
It's no secret that I've become really jaded about the quilting world.  I didn't always use to be this way.  Quilting has never been about the quilts and that is the problem!  But, identifying the problem has never been the road to solution for me.
 
I started quilting because I loved fabric.  I had limited sewing experience.  I had no family tradition to call on. When I started learning to quilt I was unfamiliar with the Internet and didn't even have regular access until 1998.  I learned as much as I could about quilting on my own, but my love of the craft grew as my sewing skills improved and I reached out to others online at places like World Wide Quilting and Yahoo Groups.  I participated in Round Robins and Block Swaps routinely.  I did so because doing so filled a gaping social void in my life.  I was rarely with the things I worked on and, in fact, was usually frustrated by the craptastic stuff I received back.  I got annoyed but chalked it all up to the price I paid for belonging and having quilting friends.  Everything was fine as long as I didn't gripe to much and went along with the crowd.
 
The quilting world is just like high school all over again.  The Haves and the Have Nots.  The Haves are leaders of groups and Bees and have blogs with a mass of Followers.  Everyone looks to those to see what they're working on, which fabric they've purchased, which tool they're using, which Blog Tour they're a part of, the Giveaway being hosted.....  You could be appliqueing a giant vagina on the ugliest fabric imaginable as a 12 month free BOM, but everyone would be clamoring to participate because a Quilting Have was hosting or sponsoring it.
 
Yeah, I'd be a Quilting Have in a heartbeat.  For now, I'm just a Quilting Lemming.

The Purples

I've got a case of the purples....

We're all experiencing illness at one stage or another at my house.  Z is starting his round even though he's finishing day two at home.  He thought he was sick until really getting sick tonight.

I'm pretty sure it's the flu and once again I'm kicking myself and accusing myself of child abuse for not getting flu shots.

I felt well enough to sew tonight.  Hey, I had to have something to do while watching Westminister Dog Show.  (Yay!  The Scottish Deer Hound won...I was afraid the Tribble...I mean, the Pekinese would win.)   I started the purple quilt for this month's challenge.  I don't know what I was thinking picking this pattern or the focus fabric, but I don't have the energy or inspiration to change either at this point.  I'll even have to make things worse by buying more of the focus fabric.  It's not that I don't like it.  Most of the other fabrics are from my stash so I'm compromising.

S, who is still not so patiently waiting for me to bind the owl quilt, is trying to figure out how to lay claim to this one, too.  She likes purple and thinks that this quilt should be hers.  Whatever....

What's with Giveaways?!

It seems like I can't visit a blog anymore without an author hosting some type of giveaway every other day.

Giveaways celebrating something like their 38th post or not even celebrating anything at all.

My favorites are the ones that require you to become a follower.

I've even been guilty of hosting giveaways in hopes of bribing people to visit.

gag me with a spoon