Literary Works 2

The next 30, in alphabetical order:

The Centaur -
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Daisy Miller - Henry James
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
The Dead -
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
The Death of Ivan Ilyich -
Delta Wedding -
Desire Under the Elms -
The Deviners -
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant -
Doctor Faustus - Christopher Marlowe
The Dollmaker -
A Doll's House - Ibsen
Don Quixote - Cervantes
Emma - Jane Austen
An Enemy of the People -
Equus -
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
The Eumenides -
The Fall -
A Farewell to Arms - Earnest Hemingway
Fathers and Sons - Turgenev
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Go Tell It On the Mountain - James Baldwin
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

(to be continued...)

Literary Works 1

I thought I would post this in case any of you wanted to join me in my pathetic attempt to be extra scholarly. Haha. Seriously....the list below contains the most "famous" and most often studied literary works ever (according to data taken from college polls and literature examinations). My attempt is to be able to say that I have read each of these literary masterpieces sometime before I drop dead. (The ones I have read are in red...no pun intended). The first 30, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
All My Sons - Arthur Miller
All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
America is in the Heart -
An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Another Country - James Baldwin
Antigone
Antony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
As You Like It - William Shakespeare
The Awakening - Kate Chopin
The Bear
Beloved
Benito Cereno -
Billy Budd - Herman Melville
The Birthday Party
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Bless Me, Ultima
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Bluest Eyes
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Candide - Voltaire
The Caretaker
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Cat's Eye - Margaret Eleanor Atwood
Ceremony

Q:What's up? A: My Chin & Spirit

Thanks to all of my wonderful new-found blogger friends for the encouraging messages over the past few days. Things are looking up, and I'm feeling better in all aspects. I'm recovering from my case of "the blues" and a nasty cold as well. My Holiday Open House went pretty well this past weekend. (I will have to post a separate entry about that later). I guess Alan "read" my mood and decided he'd been a bit neglectful lately, because he more than made up for it. He volunteered to take a "holiday" the day before my open house so that he could stay home and help me take care of the girls and get everything set up, which was a blessing. I was stressing about how I was going to get everything done in time. Then, Friday night after my guests had left for the evening, he took me out to eat at my favourite Chinese restaurant in town. The girls went with us, but were obviously really hungry because they ate well and didn't give me any trouble. LOL Afterwards, he suggested that we stop and rent a couple of movies and put the girls to bed early. Another brilliant move. (Chalk up some brownie points). Unfortunatly it was late on a Friday night and everything that we wanted to see had been rented out already. We only ended up renting one movie....Shrek 2. I know, I know...but really...I needed a good laugh and I love that my husband is willing to suffer through something silly like that for me. We turned all the lights out and the room was dimly lit by my beautiful Avon Christmas display and the glow of the Christmas tree that the girls and I decorated the day before. The movie was okay (not nearly as good as the first one)...the snuggle time was much better -- even though Alan fell asleep about 15 minutes before the movie ended. Don't worry...I woke him up! ;)

My Virtual Model

I got bored and found a link to a website where you can enter your height, weight, measurments, body type, etc. and create your own virtual model. Then if you are really bored you can take your model and go shopping in several online clothing stores and "try clothes on" to see how you would look in them. I think the site was http://www.myvirtualmodel.com/del.com/ . Anyway, here I am. It's actually not a bad likeness except for the fact that my face is thinner and I have bangs.

I Just Don't Get It

Why is it that men seem to think that when they say "I Do" they no longer have to say "I love you" and "I want you?" I was a virgin on my wedding day and I often end up asking Alan if he wanted me until he got me and now he doesn't want me anymore. I know that's really not it, but I do get frustrated. He doesn't get that I need to be more than just a Mommy and a Maid. I need to feel valued...to feel that I am important enough for someone to spend 10 minutes out of their 24 hour day listening to what (if anything) I have to say. My husband gets home from work and I apparantly am the fartherst thing from his mind. I understand that he works 12 hour shifts and deals with idiots all day. I get that. Really. But when he gets home, I have been dealing with two toddlers all day. Feeding them, chasing them, cleaning them, playing with them, entertaining them, teaching them, protecting them, kissing boo-boos, wiping tears and wiping bottoms. Yet I still take time to stop what I'm doing...go sit in whatever room he has migrated to, and ask him how his day went....what he did...who he talked to...what about...what went well...what went wrong. Then I fix his supper, feed his children AGAIN...give them baths, brush what few teeth they have at this point...and tuck them (often times kicking and screaming) into the bed for the night. By this point I'm exhausted and ready to turn the "mommy" switch off. Usually as soon as the girls are in bed the "work" mode kicks in and I sit at my computer for an hour or so trying to get some work done while it's quiet. Alan is watching tv anyway and not paying me any attention. At some point while I am working, my husband migrates from the den to the bedroom where he continues to watch tv. Sometimes he tells me he's going to bed in which case I usually immediately turn off the computer and join him. Most of the time though he doesn't say anything, and I think he's still in the den until I cut the computer off only to discover that not only is he in bed, he's asleep without even telling me goodnight. I have to take his glasses off his face (he wears contacts all day and takes them out when he gets home) and cut the tv off. Sometimes he wakes up and talks to me for a few minutes, but gets mad at me if there is something I want to discuss. He wants to go to sleep, he doesn't want to talk to me. But I haven't seen him all day and he hasn't bothered to make time for me. He does play with the girls when he gets home and pays them quite a bit of attention which I am grateful for. But I'd like to be worthy of a few minutes of his time as well. I don't think that's too much to ask. On the rare occasions that we do mangage to go to bed at the same time...if there is any affectionate activity partaken in, 99.9 percent of the time, I am the one who initiates it. About 70% of those times I'm rejected. And it's not just my husband. Sometimes I feel like life is going on without me and leaving me behind. No one seems to have time for me anymore. Not my husband, my mother, my sister...or my friends. If I call...I get put on hold, or they say they'll call back and don't. I swear I'm not a nasty, annoying person. I just don't get it! I am thankful for all that I have and count my numerous blessings daily. My "treasures" are stored in Heaven and not here on earth. My desires are emotional and not material. Does that make sense?

Blue Christmas?

*Sigh* Really, I just did. Sigh, that is. I don't know what it is...a change in the weather, the season, a lack of caffeine, or hormones (as most men would probably say), but I've been feeling a bit blue lately. Slightly depressed. I have to drag myself out of bed in the mornings and force myself not to run around in my pajamas all day. I'm feeling...lonely, useless, tired all the time...undesirable. :( I don't know why. Things have actually been better, so I don't know why I feel this way. I have a big Open House planned for this weekend which I have to decorate and cook for. Things I enjoy. My house is cleaner than it has been since we moved into the stupid thing (big mistake but that's another story). My kids woke up in a good mood this morning...that's a plus. And yet, still...all is not quite right with my world. I need a change of scenery. Alan gets off work at 6 tonight and will be home Monday and Tuesday before returning to work on Wednesday. I wish we could find a babysitter and just disappear together for the weekend. Something we've never done and doesn't look like we'll be able to do for a while. In the short time (only 4 years) that we have been married...we have only been "out" together one time since our first daughter was born three years ago and that was only for a couple of hours. We've never left the girls with anyone overnight or gone anywhere without them (not counting the two nights I spent in the hospital when daughter #2 was born). I kinda skipped over the whole independent, free college years. I went straight from the dorm room, to the alter, and then found myself pregnant four months after that. I just want....I don't know...I know I'm needed...but I'd like to feel wanted and desirable as well. I find myself wishing I could go out on dates again and experience a bit of the single life. Not that I want another guy in the picture...just some alone time with the one I've got would be nice.

Operation Open House

As some of you know, I have planned to host a "Holiday Open House" this year to promote my Avon business and hopefully generate some Christmas sales. (Santa needs all the help he can get this year!) I got the idea to try this venture from a dear friend and fellow Avon lady, Yiota. (Thanks girl!) I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that I have exactly two weeks to finish planning and setting up for this event which is set to take place November 19th and 20th. TWO WEEKS! OMG! How am I ever going to get it all done? My husband has exactly three days off between now and then, so he won't be able to help much. This means that I am left to do it all by myself while attempting to maintain some semblance of a sane household and exert a reasonable amount of control over the daily actions of 3 and 1. My mom is down in her back and unable to help, my sister lives out of town and is busy attempting to graduate college, and my best friend just had a baby! Yikes! I'm on my own for this one! What was I thinking?!?! First of all, I have to find time to get to the library so that I can finish printing my invitations. I have sent out 25 already and have about that many more to post by Monday. Then, considering that people are going to be walking around my house, it has to actually be clean. Not just the quick, throw the toys in the basket, straighten the couch cushions and sweep the floor kind of clean that I usually manage. THEN, being that it is a HOLIDAY open house, I have to decorate. I have made a new wreath for my front door and purchased the ever-popular icicle lights to hang from the roof. I have a lovely Avon light-up snowman to go in the front window, and the new Avon musical nativity to go in the center of the entertainment center atop the tv. I've got to pull out my poinsettia garland to drape the mantle and find my Christmas candles. (I think I used them when the hurricane came through and we lost power...but where did I stash them afterwards??? hmmm.) I've got to dig my artificial tree out of the garage and assemble and decorate it. I still need to purchase a tree skirt as I'm sick of that artificial snow crap that leaves sparklies all over creation. (The baby would probably eat them and the last thing I need is to change an irridescent diaper...fruit loops are bad enough). I am supposed to pick up the rest of my "decorations" from my DSM at our next sales meeting on the 15th. Miss V is allowing me to borrow her entire Avon Christmas display which consists of all the popular products from this year's Christmas brochures. Hopefully, I will be able to derive some orders by displaying them prominently throughout my house. Ok, what next. Oh..the food. Something simple...easy to eat with ones fingers...slightly festive. I've decided on a cream cheese and salsa dip with tostido scoops, a dish of mixed nuts, Hello Dollies (a delectable bar cookie consisting of coconut, chocolate chips, and caramalized sweetened milk on a graham cracker crust... YUM!), and then a plate of apricot scones. I'm also serving my Cranapple Orange Holiday Punch. (Email me if you'd like any of the recipes). Why I have to play Betty Crocker and serve homemade refreshments I will never understand other than the simple fact that I'm far too anal to open a bag of store-bought cookies and dump them on a serving tray. Oh well. Now on to the guest. Each guest will be given a brochure and an order form (oh crap! I knew I was forgetting something...I still have to type up and print out the order forms! argh!) and a pen upon arrival. The brochures will be numbered for door-prize drawings which will be held at 15-20 minute intervals throughout the "party." Each guest will also have the opportunity to reach into a stocking filled with lip balms, mini bubble baths, holiday shaped soaps, mini shower gels, mini body lotions, mini shampoos, mini deodorants, etc. and pull out a "welcome gift." No one will go home empty-handed. Hopefully, my guests will be able to either sit and browe through their respective brochures or tour the room and write down any products they are interested in on their order forms. All available display pieces will be marked with an index card containing the item number and current sale price. I also plan to hang some posters hi-lighting other great "gift ideas." I hope to be able to have four distinct areas in which to display and demo various items. I want to have a Mark. table, a regular Avon table, a Men's table, and a Wellness table. I will also have a recruiting area for anyone who might be interesting in selling or learning more about selling. On each table there will be various products for people to try, samples to pick up, extra brochures and flyers, and ready made gift baskets to purchase. Hopefully I will be able to get everything together in time. My main worry now is that no one will show up! If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment or email! :)

Rubber Eyeballs

Halloween came and went this year without any serious tragedy for our family...which I might add is a HUGE relieve compared to the year I had to walk around the neighborhood in tears of worry and anxiety, excorting my costumed baby and various other kiddies on the trick-or-treat journey, while my husband was hugging the hubcap of his patrol car and being shot at! Yes, this year was definatly mild in comparison. Thank God! Once again Alan was at work, so I met up with the wife and children of his sargeant and the step-daughter of another officer, and we all went trick-or-treating together. The only "rough" spot was when 3 became upset over some Spongebob candy she was given at one stop because as she put so plainly "we don't like Spongebob!!!" Which translates to "Mommy and Daddy won't let me watch Spongebob cartoons on TV." Thank God for Skittles which she, to my embarrassment, received in place of the offending candy. We continued making our rounds and finished up around 7:00 mostly due to the fact that 1 was getting cranky, apparantly not understanding the point of receiving all these goodies in a pumpkin without actually eating any of them yet. By the time we had completed the smaller circle in our neighborhood, 1 had put up with as much as she was going to take and it was time to call it a night. The sargeant's wife and I parted ways, and the step-daugher rode with me and my girls back to her parents' house where Alan was supposed to meet me after work. Well, while we waited 3 helped her teenaged friends pass out candy and scare the crap out of other little kids with this big ugly mask. When she put it on, literally all you could see remaining of 3 was her ankles and light-up Care Bear tennis shoes! I mananged to catch some of it on video for future humiliation purposes. I have to admit it was pretty funny! That is until the teenagers discovered that they could REALLY freak kids out by pulling candy out of the troll-like mask's HUGE nose rather than the candy basket. This resulted in numerous "oh gross" "uggghhhhhhh" and "Oh my God's" followed by several little kids fleeing in tears which of course was then accompanied by teenaged laughter and 3 with hands plantly firmly on what would have been her hips demanding in no uncertain terms to know "what's so funny you guys?!?!" What I failed to notice, in my efforts to keep up with both 3 and 1, is that 3 was sneaking candy out of the basket and eating it in between trips to answer the door. I know, I know, it should have been obvious...but...somehow I missed it. Only when we walked through our front door later that night and I heard three groan "Mommy...my tummy don't feel so good" did I start to question her willpower and ability to handle so much candy without consuming it. We had just made it down the hall to the bathroom when 3 was violently sick. "Are you ok?!?!" I asked. "Yea." She said. "I just ate too many eyeballs." I assumed she meant the little chocolate balls wrapped in decorative "eyeball" foil. In her case they seemed to be made of rubber!

Aging and Angels

My 25th birthday flew in on the wings of angels yesterday. I was awakened from sleep by my three year old and a bouncing baby in my bed. My husband who had gotten up at 5:00am to get ready and go to work had come home around 8:00 to help the girls wake me up and wish me a happy birthday. Sometime during the week he had sneaked to a local gift shop while on duty, because he came into our bedroom bearing two beautifully wrapped gifts with enormous multi-colored bows. 3 handed me two cards first. One from her and her sister, and one from "Daddy" which I saved to read later in private. The card from the girls was a Precious Moments card with a sweet message. At the bottom both 3 and 1 had "signed" their names with their own brightly colored crayon. 3 immediatly offered to "help" me open my presents, and never wanting to be left out, 1 joined in on the fun as well. My husband gave me a beautiful fat little angel baby statue that bears a striking resemblence to our youngest daughter. From my daughters I received a pair of ceramic kissing cherub figurines - the boy and girl angels that are leaning towards each other with pursed lips. So adorable! Later, Alan came sneaking in with my cake plate that I hadn't discovered missing. His aunt had baked a cake for him and the girls to give me. My favourite kind - yellow with chocolate frosting! The celebration was short and sweet as Alan had to get back to work and the girls had to eat lunch and take a nap so they would be ready for trick-or-treating later in the evening. Me...I just sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a while...reflecting on what an awesome man I married and what precious girls we have together. Then I sneaked into my "office" to play a stupid but addicting computer game.

Another Year Older...Another Year What?

Well guys,
Tomorrow is my birthday. 25th birthday to be exact. I don't feel 25. Don't look 25 either...and I have to admit that's some consolation. I could easily pass for a college get...would DEFINATLY get carded if I ever decided to darken the door of a club...(never have), and really...look exactly the same as I did in my senior year of high school except I am (oddly enough) a few pounds a two dress sizes smaller. Go figure. I thought having kids usually had the opposite effect. However since I'm aware that nearly half of the female population would probably kill to be able to make that statement I am in no way about to complain about it! Anyway, I have absolutely no birthday plans. Well, other than taking my munchkins trick-or-treating. Our town and surrounding areas always "celebrate" Halloween on Sat. if it falls on a Sunday. Therefore I will be escorting around town a 3 year old "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and a one year old fat little "Flower". The thing that I'm most upset about, is the fact that my husband has to work all weekend. He just changed shifts at work and before the change he would have been off for my birthday and Halloween. Also, he was supposed to have been off for Christmas this year. Instead this will be his 5th year in a row working over the holidays. He hasn't been home Christmas since we've been together. But that's another story. I'm not sure what time he will get off tomorrow night. Usually it's 6:00, but I'm sure he'll have to take part in the "Halloween Detail" which means he'll probably have to stay over until 9pm or so. There go our dinner plans. Luckily, I've made plans to meet up with the wife and rugrats of another officer on his shift to go trick-or-treating so I don't have to go by myself.

My First Time....

Attending a Sales Meeting!

It was great! Nothing like I had expected it to be. The new District Sales Manager over my district is wonderful! She's friendly, considerate, loves what she does, and it shows. She will go out of her way to help any of us achieve our goals. Truly someone that I can honestly say I look forward to working with as much as possible. Now where...you ask....can you find such an incredible support system? Selling Avon. Become the CEO of your own business, by joining what I refer to as "my Avon team!" The first sales meeting I have ever attended was held Monday night in the back reserved room of a local restaurant. There were maybe 15 other women in the room, besides Miss V (our DSM), myself, and my 3 year old daugther who accompanied me. Miss V starts the meeting by stating that Avon gives her a script to follow for the meetings and the first thing she does is throw them out. Now that's my kind of manager! She knows and stated that we (as representative) don't really care what Mrs. Display Snowman is made out of ...we want to know how to make more money. Right again! Boy..she was on a roll. So she spent her/our time teaching and in some cases reteaching several sales techniques and giving us ideas on how to promote some of the new products coming out in future campaigns. She would stop in between to hand out flyers. To my surprise, my usually shy 3, decided she would make use of herself and quietly slipped off my lap to help pass the papers around the room. This was received by lots of "thank you precious" and "aren't you a doll" comments, and me smiling and shaking my head in wonder and amusement. Miss V continued her meeting and stopped at intervals to draw tickets for door prizes. My number came up third and I allowed 3 to go up with me to the BIG TABLE to pick out a prize. The table was laden with all kinds of Avon goodies from perfumes, to lotions, lipsticks, and candles. There were a few items from the accessories/apparel and children's section as well. As soon as we got to the table, 3's little eyes lit up and she began squeezing my finger tightly. I followed the direction of her vision...and saw it. There on the table in all her glamour was Avon's First Edition, Collector's Series Winter Velvet Barbie! It sells in the brochure (if I'm not mistaken) for at least $39.99! 3 looked up at me with those big, questioning, shiny eyes....and well...who could resist that silent (well-behaved) plea. Needless to say 3 and I were accompanied home by none other than Miss Winter Velvet herself.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 4

76. My porn-star name would be Shasta Cannon (your first pet's name and the name of your current street)
77. I will try most things once (as long as no danger is involved).
78. That is how I discovered that Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies really ARE yummy!
79. I have never tried smoking or drugs..and never will.
80. I have only had one alcoholic beverage in my life.
81. It was a B&J Strawberry Daquiri wine cooler.
82. I used to hate the color pink...now I like it...but only the pastel "baby pink"
83. I prefer the King James version of the Bible
84. Most issues for me are black or white...there is very little gray area
85. I always know what I want...sometimes I get it.
86. I have strong emotions...and good instincts...usually
87. I'm usually right
88. However, I'm not afraid to admit it when I'm wrong.
89. I sleep on two pillows
90. I sleep under a blanket and fan year round
91. I'd rather be cold than hot.
92. I love to play tennis but rarely get the opportunity
93. I like to ice skate..but suck at it.
94. I've never been bowling, but would love to try.
95. I rarely dream when I sleep.
96. When I do, sometimes they are like photographs..no motion.
97. Sometimes my dreams are like premonitions that come true.
98. I'm sensitive to medications..including sinus/allergy pills and Tylenol.
99. I have strange dreams when I'm taking medicine.
100. I'm fairly certain pink elephants and purple hippos in tutu's do not exist.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 3

51. I have been cutting/styling my own hair since I was about 11
52. I am ambidexterous
53. I eat, write, and brush my teeth left-handed
54. I sew, use scissors, and do everything else right-handed
55. The second toe is longer than my big toe, but only on one foot
56. I twist or play with my hair when I'm nervous or concentrating
57. I like to be busy
58. I can do about six different things at once...ie..phone/tv/internet/eat/read/write
59. I like to be in control of most situations
60. Things that I can't control make me nervous
61. I was an English major in college
62. I took about 6 years of Spanish classes
63. I love the outdoors
64. I'm highly allergic to insect bites
65. I'm afraid of the ocean
66. I'm also afraid of storms
67. I have many craft projects in progress at once
68. I get bored easily
69. I like to bake anything..bread..cookies..cakes..etc.
70. Baking is soothing to me...
71. I LOVE the kind of nachos and cheese you can get at a ballpark
72. I don't like hotdogs.
73. I don't like pork...except for bacon once in a while
74. I like being known as the creative/artistic one
75. I have a younger sister who could not be more my opposite

100 Random Things About Me... Part 2

26. I collect "pigs"
27. I still sleep with a big plush pig named Hampton that my husband gave me when we were dating.
28. I hate feet (except tiny pink baby ones).
29. I collect anything "Precious Moments" by Enesco
30. My favourite male vocalist is Steven Curtis Chapman
31. My favourite female vocalist is Rebecca St. James
32. My favourite musical group is Avalon followed closely by Newboys and Smalltown Poets
33. I would be a Scorpio if I believed in astrology and horoscopes
34. My favourite color to look at is blue
35. My favourite color to wear is wine/burgundy.
36. Sometimes I keep watching the cartoons even after my daughter has left the room
37. I'm glad that Care Bears, Rainbow Bright, and My Little Pony have made a comeback
38. I can only eat pb&j sandwiches with apple jelly
39. My favourite ice cream is vanilla with Hershey's syrup
40. I like Blue Bell's Rocky Road if I'm feeling adventurous
41. I'll try just about any crafts related project at least once
42. So far cross-stitching is still my favourite.
43. I love to take a long bubblebath with a good book
44. I have been known to occasionally fall asleep in the tub
45. I think everyone's personal vehicle should have a name...mine is "Tory"
46. I love to cook...if someone will help me clean up afterwards
47. I love the way everything looks really green right after a hard rain
48. I like the smell of burning leaves or a woodburning stove in the fall/winter
49. I'm not all that fond of swimming...
50. I'm more likely to remember your phone number than your name.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 1

1. Autumn is my favourite season
2. I prefer to spell "favorite" the Old English way "favourite"
3. My birthday is the day before Halloween
4. My favourite cake is yellow with milk chocolate frosting and little mellowcreme pumpkins on it
5. I no longer actually EAT the mellowcreme pumpkins..don't ask me why..I dunno
6. I consider myself a romantic
7. I love Shakespeare...and anything related to it...books, movies, etc.
8. I love to read.
9. The longest book I've ever read was Gone With the Wind...well over 1000 pages.
10. I read Gone With the Wind in about 6 hours and then proceeded to read the sequel..Scarlett.
11. I am allergic to cats
12. I love dogs..especially when they are puppies!
13. I have a black and tan mini dachshund
14. I can only drink coffee if it's cold out or my throat hurts
15. I LOVE Starbuck's French Vanilla Cappuchino
16. I cry when I'm sad or watching/reading a sad movie/book
17. Sometimes I cry when I'm really happy too
18. I love baseball.
19. I'm a huge Atlanta Braves fan.
20. I collect baseball cards.
21. I sell Avon
22. If I wear makeup, I like it to look natural.
24. I cut my own hair
25. I like my pizza with ham, pineapple, and mushrooms

Impatient in Alabama

Ok. So I'm attempting to breach the land of Leadership in Avon. So far...I can't claim total success. I just had my first recruiting appointment last Monday and it went really well. I mailed the signed contract to the Atlanta branch leadership office on Tuesday. A week ago. Now I realize that today's snail mail (while not as trendy and lightspeed swift as email) is still an improvement over the Pony Express. Maybe I'm just getting impatient. Ok..alright..I'll admit it. I passed impatient already, but you don't understand. I NEED to get this contract confirmed. My recruit NEEDS to be able to place her first order. I NEED my recruit to have at least a $50 order, and I NEED to be able to sign up at least 2 more recruits in the next 2 weeks! My life would be so much simpler if I just knew when and if that stupid...albeit very necessary contract had been or will be processed and when my online YourAvon.com MANAGE page will be updated with my link allowing me to process those lovely, wordy, pain in the you-know-what contracts online, rather than relying on the little slug to carry it from my small town post office, through heavy traffic, dodging squealing car tires along the way...to the branch office in Atlanta! *whew!* Thanks for letting me vent. I feel somewhat better (well, other than the impatience gnawing at my stomach and pressing vice-like on my chest making it oh so difficult to draw in that precious oxygen). Fellow Avon ladies...Leadership members...someone...anyone...feel free to comment! Really! :)

Bouncing Back

After our yard sale a few weeks ago, we decided to use some of our proceeds to get my oldest daughter the new carseat she had been needing for several months. "1" had outgrown her baby seat and was ready for the next step up which unfortunately for her, "3" was still inhabiting. So after the yard sale we purchased a new youth booster seat for "3" and gave "1" her hand-me-down carseat. Worked out well for both girls. "3" was really proud of her new ride. The first time she "test drove" her new seat, it was nighttime. "Mommy! It's WONDERFUL!" she exclaimed. "It's SO pretty!" This was the commentary of a child who was discovering for the first time all the street lights, traffic signals, and buildings lighting the darkness from the new perspective of her mobile world; having been previously unable to see out the side windows of our car. Today however, my husband and I made an unfortunate discovery. Somewhere in all the excitement of the new carseat and extended view, we had forgotten some vital information. As children, both my husband and I suffered the malady of motion-sickness. To be more specific...car-sickness. This thought never crossed either of our minds until we were on our way to my husband's doctor's appointment in a town about an hour from home. We started our journey alone..just the two of us this morning, as my mother had come to babysit. Alas, "3" chose today to have a separation anxiety attack and so we opted to allow her to accompany us while "1" stayed home and entertained her Nana. Up until now, "3" had only been in the car for short distance rides: to the grocery store...to Nana's...downtown...etc. Once again, this never crossed our minds UNTIL...we were about 10 minutes from the doctor's office. The ride had not been a smooth one. We traveled at greater speeds than usual, for longer distances than usual, around more curves and turns than usual, with apparently more ignorant drivers than usual. (We were cut off and nearly run off the road twice). All of the occurrences in combination obviously did not sit well on "3's" stomach. With no warning, 3's latest snack of chocolate milk and teddy grahams came back with a vengeance spraying the back of my seat, covering her clothes, and saturating a completely horrified stuffed "Nemo" fish. I flashed my ass to the downtown metro world as I dove head-first over the front seats in an effort to catch the geyser in the ever-ready Walmart sack I found floating around the floorboard. It was over as soon as it had begun and with the imperturbable attitude of a small child, "3" announces in a calm voice... "My tummy feels better now." I wish she had hinted to me that it didn't feel well in the first place. Oh well. Live and learn.

Ivan the Terrible

Hurricane Ivan came roaring through this past Thursday with an angry demeanor, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. I believe it was still classified as a category 4 hurricane when it reached landfall near Mobile, Alabama. The eye passed over Mobile, but the areas on the left side of the hurricane received the brunt of Ivan's force. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach suffered large amounts of damage, as 90% or so of the beachfront condo's (including one owned by a cousin of my family) were flattened. Dolphin Island reported 100% decimation. By the time Ivan reached us here in Central Alabama, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm but it still showed fierce intent to wreak havoc where it could. Many old/large trees either lost big limbs or were uprooted completely...crushing whatever had the misfortune to by lying in their paths: cars, buildings, homes, churches. The roof on a local business was peeled back to the ventilation system, and several storefront windows were shattered by flying debris. This is to say nothing of the hundreds of locals without power due to damaged or fallen lines, exploded transformers, and blown fuses. State wide the number of people sitting in the dark reached well over one million. Our power was just restored this morning about 7:45 a.m. The day that Ivan made it's appearance in our town, my husband was working. I packed up my kids, a few pieces of clothing, diapers, water, non-perishables, and flashlights with new batteries and headed for my grandmother's much sturdier brick home where I rode the storm out in comfort with my grandmother and mother. My husband popped in and out when he could to dry off, grab a bite to eat, and report on any damage our town had suffered thus far. Afterwards we returned home to assess the damage and were pleasantly surprised to find only a scattering of small tree limbs and other debris strewn about the yard. The house was fine other than being hot due to the lack of power needed to run the air-conditioning. None of my family had any power, but some friends of ours did and we spent the night and next day with them. Our 95 degree home was just too hot for my babies to stand. Especially "A" as she was running fever as a side-effect of some booster shots she had the previous week. Last night it was cool enough in the house with all of the windows open, to return to our own beds. This morning I awoke to the sound of chainsaws clearing streets and powerlines of fallen limbs...and then I heard it. The wonderful beeping of alarm-clocks and various other electronic devices throughout the house signifying that our power had been restored once more. I glanced up at the ceiling where the bedroom fan was slowly starting to come to life after 4 days of hibernation. Time to get up. There was a refrigerator to be cleaned out and chores to be done. It was going to be a long day.

To Make a Long Story Short(er)... Part 2

I knew he promised to come back to me, but it was more than I could hope to believe at the time. But he did. He got home late Friday night/early Saturday morning -- threw everything he could (in order of importance) into the back of his little pickup, called work and quit his job, then at the last minute told his family he was leaving. They were shocked. (To this day I still thing some resent me for his decision to move 800 miles away). When Alan called me on Sunday, he said he had a surprise for me. 5 minutes later, he was on my front steps. I nearly died. I laughed...cried...tears of pure joy. A weight had been lifted from my heart and I could breathe again. I was back in Alan's arms...where my heart knew I belonged. He moved in with his aunt and uncle until he could get a job and find a place of his own. They are like second parents to us now...we both practically lived there that year. Alan was hired by a local police department and enrolled in the Police Academy. That was difficult because we were separated for a while. He was there, and college had resumed for me too. Six months after we met, on December 23, 1999...Alan asked me to marry him. Six months later on June 23rd, our wedding was held in my grandmother's home infront of our immediate family. It was short, sweet, simple and completely perfect. I was 19 when we got engaged...20 when we got married....21 when our first daughter "C" was born, and 23 when her baby sister "A" made her entrance into the world. We've been happily married for 4 years, and as I think back on it now...how two 8 year old little girls managed to keep in touch for over 13 years is more than amazing. It's an act of God...the God that brought me my husband...my soul-mate...my now and forever best friend.

To Make a Long Story Short(er)... Part 1

I finally realized the chapters in that last post could go on and on...so here is the "Reader's Digest" version of the ending.

Alan and I spent the entire weekend together stealing precious moments together while we helped his brother's family move into their new house. He stayed with his grandmother for the following week and we were together 24/7. Somehow, my curfew at home magically dissolved, and my Mom stopped waiting up on me to come in. Alan and I would spend the day together, go out, come home, eat dinner, rents some movies and fall asleep together on the couch in his g'ma's living room. Then we would wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and he would hurry to get me home before my parents realized I hadn't made it in yet. (Later I realized that they knew perfectly well what time I got home each night...but wonderfully decided not to make an issue of it). Getting out of his truck after only our second date, I told him I loved him. (Something I had never said to anyone else). I didn't want him to feel like he had to say it in return so I jumped out (hitting my head on the door) and ran into my house. He called me within five minutes...his only words... "I love you too." Our week of bliss passed much too quickly, and before I realized it Friday had come. It was time for Alan to return to Texas. To his family...his job...his life without me. As we stood in my driveway in a pathetic attempt to say goodbye, something happened. The wind changed....the mood shifted....and I was questioning my own hearing ability as I heard Alan promise that he would come back to me...for me. Letting him go was to this day the hardest thing I have ever done. My heart broke and tears poured down my face as I watched his little purple truck round the corner at the end of my street and drive forlornly out of sight. I cried myself to sleep that night, and didn't want to get out of the bed the next morning. Nothing mattered. He was gone.