Category Archives: What I Learned This Week

What I Learned This Week – 5/5/13

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This week I learned that if you are going to stand on your feet for 8 1/2 hours, you need to have very good shoes.  I did not.  Then I proceeded to climb up to my 2nd floor and back down the stairs again to prepare for a garage sale the next day.  By Sunday morning, my feet felt like they were on fire.

My garage sale only made enough money to buy lunch for 2 1/2 people at McDonald’s.  But I did figure out that a 6 foot tall nutcracker is a good way to catch the eye of traffic as it passes by.

I blame my lack of writing productivity (blogging and otherwise) on the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The Vancouver Canucks and the Detroit Red Wings play on alternating nights.  After 10PM (when my toddler son, M, goes to bed) is usually my most productive time.

And, well, that was my week.

"Get out of here squirrel!  My giant nutcracker has no giants nuts for you, so just scram!  You have done enough damage around here, you filthy varmint!"

“Get out of here squirrel! My giant nutcracker has no giants nuts for you, so just scram! You have done enough damage around here, you filthy varmint!”

What I Learned This Week – 4/28/13

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This week I learned that Crystal Bowersox is really nice. Last weekend I happened to be in Blissfield, Michigan (my hometown) for Railroad Days, and Crystal, whose hometown is Toledo, Ohio (very close proximity), happened to be dining at the same restaurant as my family. It was Lena’s Italian Restaurant. (Their pizza rocks. If you are ever in the neighborhood, check them out!)

Adrian & Blissfield Railroad, Railroad Days, Blissfield, MI

Adrian & Blissfield Railroad, Railroad Days, Blissfield, MI

RAILROAD DAYS, you might ask? I know it sounds dorky, but if you are interested in trains, then it is not. I was raised by a mother that when she rode me around on the back of her bike, we would stop for the train and wave at the engineer. When we were riding around in the car out in the country, she would race to the tracks for the train.

NO, SHE WOULDN’T TRY TO CROSS THE TRACKS IN FRONT OF IT!

She would race up to the crossing, and then we would stop and watch the train go buy.

I do similar things for my 2 year old son, M, who is very interested in Thomas, and can identify most of the major parts of a steam engine.

Anyway, Miss Bowersox was eating with her family, including her son, who seemed very interested in my son. My family and her family chatted and she was nice enough to give me an autograph. I TOTALLY wanted to get a picture with her, especially since I had my brand new higher megapixel camera with me. But I was too chicken.  (Check out my new page of Celebrities I have met, called When Stars Align.)

It was totally awesome that she was there, because, well, no one famous EVER comes to Blissfield. I think the last time was when Little Texas stopped at the Blissfield McDonald’s in the mid 90’s.

Crystal Bowersox Autograph, 4/20/13

Crystal Bowersox Autograph, 4/20/13

I also learned this week that I am employable. I HAVE A JOB! It is only part-time, only pays half of what I used to make at my previous job, has no benefits, and is a further commute (by like 3 minutes). But, it is also only part-time, so maybe if my husband gets a full time job, I can still fit this job around his. And I don’t have to clean any bathrooms. And the button-down uniform shirt actually fits me better than my own button-down shirt I wear for interviews-go figure.

PARKER UPDATE: The Vet says he had good healing tissue, and she is no longer going to check his progress every week. We are putting prescription cream and aloe (alternating days) on his wound right now. After two times sewing up the wound (and it coming back apart both times), she is just going to let it grow back together on its own. Which means there is a big hole in his doggy armpit still, which I try not to look at. If we put a T-shirt on him, he can roam around the house (supervised) without his cone collar on.

Q.  What do you call a Pointer wearing a cone collar and a major injury?

A. Still a flight risk!

What I Learned This Week – 4/14/13

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This week I may have learned what my perfect job might be. I had an interview at a local botanical spot. It was only part-time, and the hours would have been perfect for my husband to work a 2nd shift job. (Alas, the new job he started a few weeks ago just didn’t work out, for multiple reasons. He really did try. Poor baby.) Lots of time to still spend with my son and not have to mess with daycare. It didn’t pay much, but it also would have been pretty low-stress work as well. I liked the boss and she seemed to like me a lot. But, the catch is that there is actually NO POSITION OPEN right now. She just suspects one of her employees is going to possibly quit soon. Ugh. Frustrating.

My favorite Olivia & Peter kiss-the first one, Season 2 Finale in the alternate universe. Photo: nypost.com

My favorite Olivia & Peter kiss-the first one, Season 2 Finale in the alternate universe.
Photo: nypost.com

The other thing I learned this week is that Fringe is highly addictive. I watched the series during it’s regular run. I missed very few episodes. It was “Must-See TV” for me. (I know, wrong network!) Today the SCI channel (who knew that even existed?) was running a marathon. I watched like 6 hours of Season 3 straight through. I was not fond of the final season of Fringe. It was very depressing. But while watching those doomsday episodes, I had forgot how much I had enjoyed all the earlier episodes. And how watching Peter, Walter, Olivia, and Astrid become a deeply caring family really was a joy for the first four seasons.

And as a chronic shipper, it was amazing for me to actually be delightfully surprised when Peter and Olivia got together.

What I Learned This Week – 3/31/13 “Hoppy Easter!”

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Photo: WarmBodiesmovie.com

Absolutely LOVE this pic.   It is my current desktop on my puter.    Photo: WarmBodiesmovie.com

 

This week I learned that Jesus was a zombie.

That is the whole point of Easter, right?

Celebrating when Jesus rose up as his zombie self to prove their was undead life after death?

My family went to church this morning (Shhh, don’t tell my mother. She would highly disapprove.) We went because I found a super-cute Easter outfit for my son at Once Upon a Child. My mom always said “the only reason to get an Easter outfit is if you go to church.” So, if you look at it that way, it is kind of her fault.

We also went to see my asbestos friend and her family.

And because the church was having a potluck breakfast and Easter egg hunt. It would be my son’s first Easter egg hunt, in a relatively riot-free environment.

My husband didn’t realize they were going to have a regular service after. He ended up going in the nursery with my son and taking a nap (New job, screwed up schedule, remember?). I stayed to listen to the sermon for two reasons.

The first and biggest reason is that we usually attend the church events, but not Sunday service. And the few times a year we do attend Sunday services, the church either doesn’t collect an offering or collects it for some charity other than themselves. While that is nice, it doesn’t make good business sense. They need one of those drop boxes for donations. It would make them more susceptible to burglary, but I would give more often. So, I had to stay until they collected the offering.

The second is that it only seemed polite. Get breakfast and eggs and ditch? That didn’t seem nice. And my whole family came, it seemed like at least one of us should actually stay in the church area (I can’t remember what it is called) and listen to the sermon.

The pastor talked about how Jesus rose and stood right next to a chick he had known and she didn’t recognize him.

Um, maybe because he was a rotting re-animated corpse?

And, corpse or not, if he rose again, what happened to him then?

Did he just say “Hey dudes, I did it!” and disappear into colored vapor? Did someone have to exorcise him? Did they have to kill him again? Shoot him with a silver bullet? Cut off his head?

Inquiring minds want to know. My entire biblical education amounts to watching the Charlton Heston movie “The Ten Commandments.”

I tell you, my new enlightenment today on this old story makes it seem WAY more interesting and contemporary. Because, you know, the zombies are coming soon…

Photo: austinist.com

Photo: austinist.com

What I Learned This Week – 3/24/13

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This week I learned that my husband starts a new job–yaaaa!  It is a factory job and he really did not enjoy the one he had before.  So, here is to hoping he can get a little enjoyment out of it while making money to pay the bills.

Personally, I learned that employers want you to have giant windows of availability. I happened to get an interview last week for a place that I submitted an application to in December. At that time, I told them I could work any of the 18hrs that the store is open. This was true for the past 3 months since then. Of course, 6 hours after they call me for an interview, my husband gets the call about his job. Which, it turns out, he won’t find out what shift he will be on until Wednesday. At my interview, it turns out I need to be available to work 10am-10pm Monday through Sunday to be hired. We left it at “I would get back to him” if my husband’s schedule turns out favorable. That might be a great schedule if I had like a 12 year old who could take care of themselves. Not so great for the mother of a two-year old who most likely could not afford daycare on that salary.

Today (which should really go on next week’s post–deal with it) I learned that actor Billy Burke, Charlie Swan from the Twilight movies and currently starring on NBC’s Revolution, sings. As in, records songs and videos and stuff. Heh, who knew? Check him out here: www.billyburke.net/

And finally, cleaning up leftovers from like two weeks ago, here are further duct tape projects I made after the tote bag, before becoming distracted by a much larger creative project.

Domo Wallet, made from duct tape, outside

Domo Wallet, made from duct tape, outside

Domo Wallet, made from duct tape, 3 pocket interior

Domo Wallet, made from duct tape, 3 pocket interior

Domo drum, made from duct tape and a toddler snack can

Domo drum, made from duct tape and a toddler snack can