Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Guess Who?

I am having another rough day. Quite similar to yesterday as a matter of fact, only this one is topped with a heaping pile of "What should the court do about your child's truancy" letter home from school today. More on that later.

FabricsandQuilts has made my day better by including me in this Etsy Treasury. Can you guess which entry is mine? I'll give you a hint: It's the item where "Thing Two" is striking a sassy pose with her hand on her hip.

First Random Tuesday Thoughts

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Before I get started, I picked this up over at The Un Mom You can link up over there. I don't know how to put that stuff here.

OK, now that's out of the way...
First up, I love our Wii. I don't play video games. I pretty much think they are a stupid waste of time. That is until we bought one for our girls birthdays, (their birthdays are 2 days apart. Yeah I know, that takes real talent) about a month ago. First I loved that my 5 year old can play it, for the most part. Then I relished the fact that it brings us all together to play. We hang out together, and poke fun at eachother, and do victory dances. It's kind of cool.

Now I am addicted to the damn thing. But... can someone tell me why I have to play the same two bitches in tennis, now that I am at 1900 skill points? Or... why when I stomp the forementioned 2 bitches, in a best out of 5 series, I only gain 4 or 5 points, but if they narrowly beat me I lose 34 points? I am realizing that playing a computer, is not fair.
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Congrats to my Aunt & Uncle on their first grandchild. But I have to protest... did it have to be a boy? Not that there is anything wrong with boys. It's just that I need a new baby girl to make stuff for. My brother called dibs on the newest baby boy. Couldn't my cousin have produced a girl? I am just asking.

I say this because of my business. I come up with these great ideas and I need a reason to make them. For instance, I have a new idea for baby blankets, embroidered with a name on them. I can't just make one for photos with a random name on it. It's a waste of precious fabric (and minky) and I will have no one to give it to. But I can't take pictures to show a sample on my website unless I make them. I wanted to do one of each, boy and girl. So if she would have had a girl, it would have made my life so much easier.

Oh what the hell? If your interested in a baby blanket made with pink minky and pink argyle flannel for the cost of materials (about $20) plus shipping, let me know. (missy@syhocustoms.com) I need a sample for my website. Has to be a newborn, and you have to have the spelling of the first and middle name.
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If anyone was interested, I live on the southeast coast of VA. Sunday night we heard a big deep BOOM outside. It shook our windows. My first thought was a transformer blew up. My husband and I went outside to look out into the dark night, where we saw other neighbors doing the same. Humm, no tell tale signs that the end of the world was coming so we went back inside.

Monday morning it was all over the local news. What was that big boom? Apparently a lot of people saw a big blue flash of light that went along with the boom. What was this mysterious occurance?

Monday afternoon, some spokesperson from space.com anounced that they were 99.4% sure it was "space junk" falling back down to earth.

I am not a conspiracy theroist, I'm just saying.... stuff burning up as it rockets through the atmosphere? Wouldn't that burn orange or yellow? Gas burns blue.
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Finally, why do my husband and I always want to have s e x at different times? It's a very rare occurance for us to be of the same mind on the same day.

Monday, March 30, 2009

I F * ing Knew it

I knew it was going to be a crap day when they started tearing down my ceiling.

I asked him when he said that they were going to be doing it, "what do I need to do to prepare?" "Oh no ma'am. We'll put plastic over the kitchen, we'll take care of everything." he says to me. I was prepared to move EVERYTHING out of the way. I have done demo on a construction site, I know the mess it makes. Why oh why didn't I listen to the OCD mommy inside of me and just move everything?

Well, it's OK if I had a mess to clean up, because the ceiling was finally being repaired. And it won't be that big of a mess, they are putting down plastic. And the roof would not leak anymore. I am, after all, a glass half full kinda gal.

All I can say is: I fucking knew it. No matter how optimistic I try to be in these situations, something always goes wrong.

Sure they put plastic down and started tearing down the ceiling. My mom and I went out fabric shopping and took the girls to lunch at their favorite hot spot, McDonald's. Trying to be nice, and stay out of the way.

When we got back, there was a new "patch" in our kitchen ceiling. And here this guy is, handing me a roll of drywall tape talking about "when you guys redo the ceiling I would take it all the way across the kitchen" I was in such shock I think I stood there with my mouth open, umm umm. I didn't even respond to this. How is it that I have to redo the kitchen ceiling? I mentioned to him, once the leak had stopped my (wonderful) husband was going to make new kitchen cabinets. And that while the cabinets were down I was going to do the wall behind them, which had peeled horribly due to said leak. Nothing in there about doing the ceiling.

This is what I got for all my trouble:

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My new and Improved? Ceiling? Trust me when I say 'It looked much better with a huge water stain and some peeling crap hanging off of it.'

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A huge mess on every flat surface of my kitchen. That drywall dust is a bitch.
Note the peeling wall in the background...

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Another huge mess on my previously clean floors. I just washed that damn rug.

Yeah, so after the inside patch job, they collected all their plastic and ceiling crap and went to work on the actual roof. Where they pounded and sawed the afternoon away. Which, thanks to the gaping wholes in the ceiling, led all that dust and crap all over my kitchen.

Needless to say, I am so pissed. Why? Well, because I asked him if I needed to prepare for this. I could have moved my bakers rack, my rolling storage, all the stuff on top of my cabinets and put everything out of harms way. NOW... I have to move everything AND CLEAN IT before putting it back. Including the rack of "clean" dishes that was on my counter.

Now if you will excuse me I need to call my landlord to figure out what we are going to do about this ceiling. Then I will be cleaning my kitchen. Cuz I had nothing better to do, right?

My nearly certain blah day

Well, it has come to a head. I have a great landlord, I love her. She doesn't charge us enough rent for this place, as she just wanted responsible people to live here and take care of the place. So it really bums me out when things like a new roof come up. We have been dealing with a leak from our kitchen ceiling for about 6 months. We call the roofer, he makes a repair, and then the next time it rains really hard, it leaks again.

So my kitchen ceiling looks like something you might see in a crack house. It's bad! For the sake of the structure of the house, the roofer has, this morning, ripped big holes in my kitchen ceiling. Found the leak and now supposedly repairing it from the roof.

My youngest is terrified of strangers. So this may turnout to be a long day. Only made worse by the fact that my oldest has no school today, so I will get to hear them fight all day.

Oh and did I mention my former, wet, gross ceiling is now coating my entire kitchen. I just went to make myself some breakfast in there and oh my goodness! I can not get to anything. I think the girls and I will be going out to lunch. I just called my mom to see if she would like to go to our favorite fabric shop. She should be here shortly.

Spring Cleaning SALE!!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. I have accumulated, no... acquired, nah... well to put it plainly I just have to much stuff in my studio. How can I buy more fabric if I have no place to put it?

25% off EVERYTHING in the shop. Rag quilts, Rag quilting kits, fabric bowls and some prims.

I will be listing a couple destash boxes too, for you ladies who love fabric.

Here is the link: SYHO Bonanzle Shop

Here is the coupon code: TwitterSYHO (not case sensitive)
Just enter the coupon code at check out.

Thanks for helping me clear out my studio!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Just what I needed today...

I got an award today, which is really awesome, when considering the kind of day I have been having. Thanks to Nanci over at Beri Fields for making my day...

Life in Left Field To Missy for telling it like it is--Keep up the good work!

Now I am honored to make someone's day. I am happy to share with you the bloggers who keep it real. The following give me my daily (or almost daily) reality check, no fluff, no bones about it, keepin' it real and tellin' it like it is!

A Reservation For Six

Ann's Rants


Bitchin' Wives Club

My Kids Might Be Martians

Sarcasm in a Skirt

You have to be a Comedy Goddess to Endure

Secret Spineless Whine

Milk Breath and Margaritas

Le ShallowGal

Biddy's World



The rules to this award are to “keep it going”, reward your own favorite 10 bloggers with this same Attitude of Gratitude award.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

To all my new followers...

Please refer to the "Disclaimer" on your right, before you decide I am a crack head, and run screaming for the hills. Thank you. You may now continue on your way.

Missy

Getting My Sh*t Together

Finally... Got the PayPal buttons on the site. Got the Digital gift certificates worked out. Been staring at this screen for weeks, getting everything put back together, after my massive file lose. But I did make some time to design a new line of baby bibs. These are just the first edition basic bibs. Trust me I have tons of cool new ideas after coming up with the pattern.

In the meantime have a look at these and tell me what you think.

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Bibs for Boys and girls

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Bibs for the tattoo artist parent

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Pink and Chocolate are big this year

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We also offer a line of design your own bib. I am also looking for some feedback on the site itself. You don't need to buy anything (unless you want) but I would like to hear peoples thoughts on the site. What could I be doing better? www.syhocustoms.com

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Funniest Shit All Week Award

Hey ya'll, I don't really have time to write today, but I thought I would share this with you...

This is the Funniest Shit I Have Read All Week. Ann's Rants

Hopefully that will hold you over. I am contemplating another s e x blog entry, but I haven't figured out the right wording yet. I'll get back to ya.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Needs a TA meeting... Twitters Anonymous

Someone needs to take this CPU away from me. I have already wasted 2 hours this morning searching for women bloggers on Twitter. Like I need to follow more people? Like I need more blogs to keep up with? This is bordering on addiction. I do follow a couple of celebs, but mostly to see what they have to say about the world. What I really love about Twitter is knowing the minute someone posts about a new blog. MUST READ BLOGS. This is a problem.

I am supposed to be making new curtains for my oldest daughter today. She wants her curtains to match her horse quilt. OK. I also need to be working on my business website. I still have product to add, and code to mutilate. Oh and I needed to write a blog post... Well that's one thing I can check off my list now.

We had a nearly crappy weekend here. The weather was perfect. The kids were pretty good. I finished the throw quilt for my family room. Tori had a friend spend the night. So why was it nearly crappy. Well because I didn't see my husband much.

He doesn't work weekend right now, so we should have lots of time then. But Friday night he didn't come home from work, he went to a friends to have a beer, missed dinner. Sat. afternoon, he went back to the friends house to "help" him, I didn't even bother to cook. Gave the kids pick-n-plates instead. Sunday morning, I was feeling so abandoned that I had to jump on him to get his attention. He really likes when I, um, lets say, initiate. Then after lunch he went back to his friends house to, I don't know, hang out some more. He did manage to join us for dinner, but only because I cooked very late. Did I mention that he sees this friend everyday as they work together? What the hell? This is how lonely wives minds start to wander in strange directions, such as cheating husbands.

OK, that's enough bitchin' for today. Catch up with you bloggies later, I got shit to do.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

This Is Me Procrastinating.

After yesterdays post (which apparently no one read) everyone (or no one but me) knows I need to add the PayPal buttons to my website. This is going to take me all day, literally. So while I should be working on this task, I am having a hard time getting motivated. I am not looking forward to spending and entire day clicking through PayPal's merchant tools and adding HTML codes to every item on my site. URG!

Instead I am reading through all my favorite blogs. I missed a lot yesterday whilst buried in website hell. I really needed to catch up. While I love to read everyone's blogs, I end up wasting a lot of time here doing that. But I have decided that it's ok to waste time reading blogs, because...IT'S NOT LIKE THERE IS ANYTHING NEW ON T.V.!!!

Holy F'ng Shit. I am going to lose my mind if these Networks don't figure this shit out, and soon!
Remember the Good ol' Days... When a season of television started in the fall and didn't end until May? I am certain my memory hasn't faded so much that I forgot reruns in the season. It used to be that families would watch TV, NEW TV, during the cold months and reruns ran when it was warm. There was no incentive to run new shows while everyone was outside during the warm months.

Well, I must admit, I don't sit down to watch TV in the evening. I am usually goofing off with my family during the evening. I DVR all my favorite show. Then during the day when I have mundane tasks to do, I watch my shows. Quite often I will save up a weeks worth of shows and watch them all at once. I like to cut my patterns for the week while I watch TV. I don't generally sit on my ass and veg out in front of the tube. I like to multi-task. So if I have busy work that doesn't require my sewing machine, I do it while watching my shows.

In the past couple of years I have noticed a serious lack of New episodes. I can't be the only one who has noticed. All the networks do this crap... Play 2 consecutive new shows and then..."New in 2 weeks on blah blah blah". I am now starting to wonder how many New shows we get during a Season? I don't understand the smaller networks "seasons" either. They run 6 or 7 new episodes and then we have to wait 4 months for the "new season" to start??? What is that? Or how about the long breaks major network shows take? Heros took something like a 4 week break at the beginning of the winter. They had only run a few episodes at that point. What the hell?

Can anyone explain this madness to me? The logical person in me says they must have a good reason for doing this. But the 2 year old in me is throwing a tantrum screaming "where are my new episodes?"

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Urg, Going Blind Looking At This Computer

As mentioned in a previous post, I moved a bunch of files around on my computer and that destroyed my website. DUH! I should have know that, but I flaked. Anyway I have been working tirelessly to replace files and redesign the whole site from scratch.
I finally got a first publish up today. For those who don't know, designing your own commerce website is a huge task. So I could really use some pats on the back for this one. Especially when one takes into consideration that I did it with my pre-schooler jumping up and down next to me. So feel free to check it out. Take a look around. If you find any errors, please let me know about them. www.syhocustoms.com
Oh yeah, and if you wanted to buy something that would be awesome. But I haven't added the PayPal buttons yet (another full days work) so just request an invoice.

Thanks in advance guys, for all your input.

Friday, March 13, 2009

All I can say is HOT DAMN

Hubby and I decided to go to the St. Patrick's Day parade over in Norfolk tomorrow with some VERY Irish friends of ours. Since there will be lots of drinking we decided to see if my Mom would keep the girls tonight into tomorrow. We will have to be there at like 8 am. Of course my Mom, being the awesome woman that she is, said yes.

It only occurred to me last night that Dear Husband and I will have the entire evening, and most of tomorrow to ourselves. This is exciting, because it is so rare. We only ask her to keep both girls about once a year, on our anniversary. Which is very close to Christmas, so we go Shopping that day for our girls. It's not really like a date night. It's nice to just be by ourselves and hang out on our anniversary, but tonight will be different.

Oh the excitement. What ever would we do? Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted.

Missy

Update:
We are such a boring couple. We went out and got a new Wii remote. Picked up dinner and came home. After some very yummy Arby's, we played Wii together until we were so tired that we went to bed and passed out.
The next day we got up early (early for him anyway) and went to the parade. Which was promptly canceled. We went with some very Irish friends of ours and hung out at their relatives house. I am pretty sure hubby got a good buzz off the jello shooters. I stood around for hours freezing my ass off. All in all, a big fat bust.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Meeting the S e x Post Quota

It occurs to me that all the "cool kids" have no problems using all the foul language they need to express their points. Nor do they feel obligated to avoid talking about s e x or poking fun at religion.

I, on the other hand, feel like my blog should be a little muted. Don't get me wrong, I have a foul mouth, especially in my head. It was much worse before I had kids. And I talk about s e x, to the people I know. But for fear of scaring away potential customers I try to tone it down in my posts.

Now I am thinking maybe I should just write my profile to say something like "sorry about the potty mouth, and the tasteless subject matter. I'm really not trailer park white trash, I swear. But if you can manage to take it for what it is, you might find that it is funny." What do you think?
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Let me just start by saying I really enjoy, um... "time" (that will be the code word for s e x in this post) with my husband. He, of course, thinks we don't spend enough time together. But after having read somewhere that most married couples have "time" together less than once per week but more than once every 2 weeks, I feel good about the amount of time we spend together. We are above average for a married couple with 2 kids.

I don't really mind spending time with him during that visit from evil Aunt Flo. But that is generally for his benefit. Mostly I opt for the shower. I don't really enjoy our time under those conditions. I am too stress out about the mess, and I generally think it's kind of gross. This is leading up to: It is rare for us to spend time together while that Bitch Flo is here. Which kind of sucks because she over stays her welcome most months.

So this time she packed her bags and headed out of town on Sunday. Sunday afternoon, when my hubby was feeling frisky, I told him I would be back in action on Monday, because I like to wait a day, and feel more "fresh".

Monday I walked Tori to school. When Lex and I got home, I set her up on Noggin.com to play computer. Then I headed for the shower. I was really looking forward to my shower, as I noticed the night before the hair on my upper legs was approaching and inch long. I know it's gross, but I only shave the lower half in the winter. So I shaved all the way up to my hips.

Now I'm feeling good. I am clean, and with freshly shaved legs. It's a beautiful spring day, sunny and warm. I am having an all around great day. I got some work done in the studio. Picked up the house a little bit. All the while looking forward to spending some time with my husband later that evening. (It's funny how you don't want time, until you can't have it.) Anyway, like I said, I was having a great day... That is until that Bitch decided she hadn't spent enough quality time with me and came back! Urg, I was so mad. I spent all that energy shaving and making myself beautiful, and for what? Damn it!

Meanwhile, my husband's shop lost power yesterday. So I can just imagine as he was driving home, early, from work what he was thinking about. Let us not forget that I had told him the day before that Monday was The Day. I mean had I not told him that, he might have decided to go have a beer with his buddy from work or something. But no, he drove straight home, probably thinking about the good good lovin', er, I mean time, he was sure to get with his wife.

And... This is the story of my life. I can be having a great day, well rested, not stressed out and feeling frisky myself. But the moment I let my poor husband know he is sure to be spending time with me, it's like the tides shift all of the sudden. And then, for some reason, events are set into motion that all but insure there will be no time together.

I had to tell my husband as he walked in the door, "I was having a great day, until I realized I wasn't actually done with Flo" He took the news very well, but he is used to this sort of thing. We have figured out that if I am playful and flirty with him, pinching His butt while he cooks, or grabbing him in the hall for a nice long hug, there will be no time that day. I have really started trying to NOT indicate that I would like to spend some time. Because I wish I could spend more time with him, and telling him about it seems to ruin the whole ordeal.

Well it is now Tues. morning. And she is still holding out. Making me miserable, and generally being a pain in the ass. I am now in sweats and a ponytail. And, let me check, yep, I can feel the hair on my legs already.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Totally Random...um...Friday?

OK, I know, I know, I am all kinds of late on the totally random "day of the week". But first of all, I was still rejoicing in Hubby's return to work. I had things to do, like sit on my fat lazy ass. Second... I didn't really have anything all that random to say, and NOW I do. So I am a little bit of a rule breaker, well usually not, but we can pretend.

What brought about these rambling, random thoughts? Well house cleaning. I look forward to spring cleaning. I know I am a freak, but the closet I come to sanity is a clean house. And you have plenty of time to think about random shit when your washing windows and cleaning floors.

Dear Mother Nature:
I know I shouldn't complain, but we go through this every year. I feel it's high time I spoke up about it. Why in the hell do we have to go straight from the dead of Winter to Summer? I mean, really? Mon, Tues. and Wed. when I walked Tori to school in the morning it was 18 degrees outside. Now (Friday) it's 70 degrees out. I know we live in a region that normal doesn't have the good fortune of enjoying Spring. But frankly, I love Spring and I would like to spend some time outside with my kids playing in it. If you could find it in your heart to turn up the heat a little more gradually, it would be much appreciated. Oh and next time you decide we should endure 18 fucking degrees, please be kind enough to dump some snow on us so we can have a snow day, and not walk a mile in it to go to school.

Am I crazy?
I feel like my kids rooms are their responsibility. I take care of the rest of the house. I am even kind enough to pick their crap up off the floor and throw it in their rooms so they don't have so far to go to put it away. I mean they are 10 and 5 now. They are perfectly capable of putting things where they go. So it is bad that when I vacuum the hallway I look into their rooms and say "I have no problem vacuuming your floors too. After all it's my job as a Mom (who stays home) to do these sorts of things. But I can't do it if your floor is covered in crap." I think my kids floors get vacuumed maybe 4 or 5 times a year. That's about how often I can see them.

No can comprehend...
Kind of back to the weather thing. I love to beat a dead horse. But the Ice Cream Man came around today. Two things about this bother me: First, it was 18 degrees out 3 days ago. How did we go from a dusting of snow on the ground to snow cone delivery in a matter of days? Second, don't you think it would be in his best interest to wait til the kids actually got out of school. I could be talked into eating ice cream if my kids drag me out there to get some. But I can totally resist when there is no one jumping up and down screaming "Ice cream man!!!"

Did I mention I love Spring?
I am pretty sure I did, but let me elaborate some more. I love when the weather gets a little warmer. I can throw my kids outside. Then when they fight I don't hear it. I mean when they are with-in ear shot and they fight I am obligated to break it up. But if I can't hear it, I can't be held responsible when my 5 year old has had enough of her sisters crap and hauls off and decks her. Am I right?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Having a Fat Lazy Housewife Day!!!

I blogged yesterday about the wonderful news of my DH being employed again after 4 long months. Well he is at work again (I know, it's wonderful) and I don't feel like doing a damn thing.

While he was home, he was on the computer A LOT! He discovered myspace (I know he is a little slow) and the wonderful "ap" games you can play with complete strangers. And so he played, most of the damn day. This did not sit well with me. I have been a lazy housewife for the last 5 years. I am used to the days being mine, and the computer too!

Also while he was home, he would come up and talk to me, all the time, about things I don't really give a shit about. No offence honey, but I don't care what happened on Lost, or about the new toys you earned on Mobsters!

And let me not forget the ever irritating boob grabbing. (Note to guys: WE DON'T LIKE IT!) My girls are about worn out. I got to the point that I could anticipate when he was coming in for a grab and block him. That is sad!

Oh yeah... the cooking and eating. He is a Food Network junkie. And with all that extra time on his hands he was freed up to make a total disaster area of my kitchen. When he was not cooking he was eating... and making more dishes in the sink. I tell you there were days when I washed dishes (by hand as we have no dishwasher) with such distain I could have easily hit him over the head with the cast iron skillet.

But today... The sink is empty. And there is no threat of someone putting something in it. And my girls are safe, warm and relaxed. No one is going to interupt any phone calls or impromptu naps or my MP3 blaring in my ear while I sew, with mindless chatter. The computer is OPEN, as you can plainly see, I am blogging!

The day is mine (and Lexi's) to do with what I please. I do have lots of things that need to be done. I need to vaccume, dust, water plants, make beds. I am sure there is laundry around here that needs to be done. Then there are the things I should be doing... Working on the new line of boys boutique clothing I have been playing with. Putting all the finished product on the website, and adding the paypal buttons.

But I really feel like 'ah who gives a shit?' I am totally due for a day of sitting on my ass and being a fat lazy housewife. Crist, we don't get weekends off. Or sick days. I think having a lazy housewife day is a small compensation for the hell we sometimes endure, being wife and mother.

Whew, I had almost talked myself out of a mental day, listing all the stuff I should be doing. But I think I have thoroughly justified it now!

Can't wait for Spring... And early start

It's been a long time since I made kids clothes. For retail sale anyway. I have always made clothes for my girls. Not so much for Tori anymore, as she is 10 now and it's just not "cool". Plus she is kind of a tom-boy so that fluffy frilly shit has no place in her closet.

Lex on the other hand is totally a girly-girl. Her clothes can't have enough ruffles on them. The fluffier the better! So I have really enjoyed making clothes for her. And she loves to have input on building a new outfit. She has a great eye for what kids will love.

Back to what I was saying... It's been a long time since I developed any children's clothing for retail sale. I used to make kids boutique clothing on a custom order basis many years ago. It became quite a chore to keep up with orders. And then it became more like "work" than fun. So I kind of backed off that end of my business.

Now my kids are older. Lex will be going to school in the fall, and I feel like I have more time during the day. Still not enough time to do everything I want to do. But it's so much better than when Lex was a baby. So last month I started developing a new spring line of children's clothing. I only have the 4 girls outfits ready for orders right now. But I am planning a boy's line and a few more girls sets too.

Now I have to get them up onto the website. Have I ever mentioned that I hate the web part of this business. I would much rather just sit in the studio and sew. I put some one eBay (evil I know) and Etsy. Now I have to work on the business site. URG!

Anyway, here is a preview of the outifits I made. Lex is totally in love with all but one. She is not a fan of the green sage and eyelet dress. I think she feels it's to formal for her. I should have them up on the website by the end of the week. www.syhocustoms.com




Monday, March 2, 2009

Everyone Say It With Me Now... Happy Dance

Way way back in (what seems forever ago) November, my darling husband lost his job. Through no fault of his own, his division of the company shut down. We (he) went through about a month of depression over this, even though he had no control over it. He felt like a loser. I said to him "Did you go into work and tell your boss he's an asshole? No? Well then it's not your fault." But nothing I said could console him.

I knew we would be fine. I knew we would be able to pay the bills. And I must say we did pretty well. I only started freaking out when April 15th ticked closer, as that is when unemployment runs out.

About a month and a half ago, he was one of 40 applicants for a job in a cabinet shop. He interviewed, and he waited... And waited... Then last week he was notified that he was 1 of 2 applicants being considered for the position. He went in on Friday for a second interview.

And... he just left for his first day of work. That's right it's time for the Snoopy Dance!!! He went to work! And he will go again tomorrow, and the rest of the week for that matter. He is now employed full-time! At, get this, a better pay rate than his last job. What are the odds in this economy, to be doing better than you were a year ago at a new job?

It's snowing here today. So when he left this morning I told him "Please drive carefully. I managed to make it 4 months without strangling you. I would hate for you to die driving to work on your first day!"