Why Holiday's Make Me Cranky (and a Mother's Day wish for YOU!)

Some of you may not know that my husband works at a wholesale florist. It was started in 1955 by my granddaddy. I am very proud of him and all the work he did so that the business could still be around today. However, that does not mean I am without complaint, or at least, without comment, because there's no point in complaining about something you can't change, but it helps to get it off your chest.
So here's my gripe. For every holiday when it is "an accepted social convention" to give flowers, the preceding weeks are a living hell for me (and others in this industry). Valentine's Day, my husband was at work. Easter Sunday, my husband was at work. Mother's Day (and our anniversary) are a week away, and where's my hubby gonna be? Probably at work. (I left out my birthday, since it's not a flower giving holiday that screws it, it's the company's open house that they have that weekend every year. BAH!)
Now, you say, who am I to be complaining. After all, the job market sucks, I don't have to get up and leave the house everyday, all I have to do is take care of the kids and keep the house clean. Well really? Is that all I do? Is that all any stay at home mom does? "Take care of the kids and keep the house clean." Sounds simple enough, right? (for those of you who are not SAHM's, the rest of us are rolling on the floor laughing our a$$'s off at this. Mainly because it's damn near impossible to do both by yourself.)
These holiday's force me to attempt to do it all myself (or just let it pile up, like it has lately) because when my husband gets home, he goes to sleep. Many times, right in the middle of the living room floor. So, not only am I taking care of the kids and "keeping the house clean" I am stepping over someone every time I want to go into our bedroom (until I piss him off by waking him up enough times and telling him to move), I am taking care of our animals, keeping track of birthdays, appointments (okay, so I'm not so great at those two either), outside time every day (insisted upon by the Mr. in the house) shopping, inventory, meals, bottles, diapers, baths, etc. I am washing clothes and cooking food for someone who doesn't even notice. A zombie. For two weeks (up to 3), every damned flower giving holiday, I live with a grumpy, underfed (not my fault), ill-rested, foul-mouthed (he's a truck driver) slob. I love him, I just sometimes wish they had cots where he worked....
But, by all means, buy some flowers this Mother's Day. I'm sure they will be well received (just don't bring me any, unless I can plant them or eat them). And make sure to be nice to your florist, because if you piss them off, they will ruin everyone else's day that they come in contact with, and if you're in my area, then that probably means my hubby.
Hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day. And if you get flowers, enjoy them. (said with the most sincerity I can muster right now.) Wishing all moms, mommies, mama's, grandma's, maggies, meema's, grawmy's, granny's, abuela's, and anyone I forgot, a wonderful Mother's day. May you get shown all the love you deserve. Without mothers, we would have no future, for our children are our future.

with (one)Love,
from the swamplands

Packrats Unite. Keep Your Stuff and Make It Useful.

Okay, let me start by saying that you will not find me riffling through your garbage at 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm not looking for some random piece of mail or credit card app. The trash that I like is simpler stuff. And most of it is my own (or at least, from someone in my family).
Jars, old ratty shirts, fabric scraps, old furniture, old buckets or bowls. There are so many uses for these things...there just aren't enough hours in the day to do them all (unless, of course, you forgo all meals and household duties on a 4 day craft binge, but hey, that's your problem).
If you are planning on a craft binge, you will have to get the rest of your ideas elsewhere. Today, I am only offering one, and you may have seen it before. Here it is: Using your old t-shirts to make re-usable grocery/market/shopping bags.
There are many sites with many good step by step instructions on how to do this. Here are the bare bones basics.
Pick the shirt you want to make into a bag. Wash and iron it per tag instructions (or however works for you, it's not my business how you iron your shorts).
Figure how tall you want you bag, and mark a line across the bottom of the shirt (a straight line, please). This is your cut line. Cut this line, and cut the sleeves off. You may also want to cut the neck down the front and back in a semi-circular way, so the opening for your bag is bigger.
Turn the shirt inside out. If you have pins, pin the bottom of the shirt, so it doesn't shift when you are sewing. If you are sewing the seems around the opening and arms, fold them over and pin them too (you may also want to bring the iron out again to help get a good crease, but again, to each his own).
While the shirt is inside out, sew your seams. Back stitch at the beginning and end of each stitch for extra strength. You can also you back across for extra strength. (TIP: remove the pins as you are sewing, right before they are to go under the needle. If you leave them in, you risk damaging your needle. You can do this without stopping the machine, just sew slowly. This will also help prevent crooked seams and tangled threads.)
Turn the shirt-now-bag right side out and enjoy your new creation, knowing you got to hold onto something you loved, and you kept something out of the dump.
Hope you like this idea. If you have any up-cyclying ideas of your own, please feel free to leave them in the comments or on my facebook page.

Duplicate Followings

This is my fault. Apparently I created 2 Google accounts with the same email address (not sure how that got through the cracks, but that's not my problem). My point is, if you have me twice on your followers list, I apologize. I am trying hard to get it worked out. I thought I had deleted the old account, but apparently I didn't.
I will get this worked out as soon as possible. Sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.

Welcome to Motherhood!

A friend said this to me earlier today. It struck me as odd. After all, I've been a mom for 4+ years now. But then I thought about it. What it boiled down to was something out of the ordinary came up and I didn't get the response I was looking for.
This must be a situation stay at home mothers ( and working moms too), go through alot. I haven't had to. Like I said, this was out of the ordinary. It hurt my feelings and pissed me off all at the same time (the situation). But when she said that, and I got over the shock, I realized, she was completely right.
That is a fact of being a mother. You have to put aside your own discomforts, wants, and sometimes needs, whatever they may be, and do what needs to be done. Don't rely on, but be thankful for, help. And most of all, give your children the best you can with what you have.
Thanks for the good advice friend. :)

Updates - Plants, Books, Writing, Sickness, and Goodbyes

First, I apologize to those who are (im)patiently waiting for the plant blogs to start. Between sickness and getting the garden going, I just have not felt like writing.

Second, I will no longer be doing book reviews. I have only done one and it sucked. (the review, not the book). I haven't done a review/report since high school and even then I wasn't very good at it. So, my apologies go out this time specifically to Robert Frasier. My review did not do his book justice. Sorry Rob! If you get a chance, check out his works. He's an excellent writer....me, not so much.

Third, I feel crappy. When I feel crappy I do not write as much.

Fourth, I am very scatterbrained, I have OCD, and I have a very short attention span. The first plant blog is already written, minus the pictures and the medical information. All that needs to be done is to add those and the 1st plant blog will be up. I will not give a time frame, because I do not know when I will feel like finishing it.

Well, that's about all the updates for now. Saying a late "see you later" to a friend who has currently gone off grid and has not given specifics as to when he will be back. We miss you on the boards, and I will miss your comments and insights on my posts.

I will get some new posts up soon. Got the pics taken, just need to get them sorted and get in the mood (for writing!....geez, get your minds out of the gutter!)

That's all for now. And remember, I'm pulling for ya. We're all in this together.