Dusting off the cobwebs

Well hellloooo there! *crickets chirping*

I know, it's been like a zillion years since I last posted but hey, it's not like I was going for some sort of bloggers medal or anything, it's just that there's this thing called 'TIME' which seems to be a rather hot commodity in this household these days... 'Cause I mean to tell ya, there's all kinds of crazy *&%# that's gone done since I last posted.

Let's see, where to start..... For one, I became a business owner, that's right, ME! Can you EVEN believe it? Because I sure can't! To be completely honest I must tell you I'm not the sole owner of the business. In fact, I'm in business with 5 of the most beautiful, amazingly bright and talented women on the planet! (yes, I know there are more of you but hey, your not my business partners so you'll just have to deal with second best.)

So here's the story... On January 3rd we went down to Baltimore and filed for a LLC under the new name of that artists co-op I once told you about. And yes, believe it or not, it's still afloat!... Who knew? So yes, I'm pleased to announce:

The Palette & The Page, LLC

You can check out our snazzy website and read all about it here: The Palette & The Page
We're also on Facebook!

The Long and Winding Road, indeed Mr. McCartney! The trip that I've been on with this endeavor since Nov. 2009, has been anything but smooth but now it feels as though everything is beginning to fall into place, mostly due to those AMAZING women I mentioned earlier.

In other news, since the last time I blogged, 'Computer Boy' became gainfully employed by that big red & white office supply company so many of us know and love. 'Computer Boy' is, of course, a 'Tech Support' and let's just say he provides the 'EASY' for the customers. Things seem to be going well with the job and all but after only a few weeks there he came home and announced he had NO plans of working for 'the big red office supply store his whole life'... He was DEFINITELY going to college!

Which leads me to my next bit of news... It's a bit premature because there's still some hoops which need to be jumped through but 'Computer Boy' is hoping to get accepted to a school on the other side of the earth... Uh, I mean country! It just SEEMS like it's on the other side of the earth. 'Computer Boy' is in LOVE with a school in Redmond, Washington which he and I went to visit back in November... And I have to tell you, with all of his computing experience, I can't think of a better school for him. In fact, it's highly doubtful there's any place on the planet he'd be happier. So he's gotten the SAT's under his belt and now he's working with a tutor on Pre-Calc in order to prep for the CLEP test he'll need to take before too long. Oh, and there's also the matter of a couple of essays he needs to write... But I'm not supposed to mention that because I'm like his mom, ya know, and I'm not supposed to be telling him what to do and when to do it, ya know... Because he's like, old enough to make these decisions on his own... But if it were me, and I desperately wanted to get into the school of my dreams... I'd TOTALLY have those essays in by now.... I'm just sayin'.

'Nature Girl' continues to rock the photography world. Her Smug Mug website continues to grow and the big news is she'll be featured for the month of June and the Syracuse Library in Syracuse, New York. If your interested, here's the link to her Smug Mug site and if you like her work and have some time, Please leave her a comment... Things like that make her head swell to biblical proportions and contribute to her drive to be the BEST!

Oh, and I guess I should mention my husband... He's working REALLY hard because after all, we've got the cost of a college education looming ahead.

So there you have it! WHAT?... That wasn't enough for you?.... Sheesh!

Overcoming Narcissism

While out in California I had the opportunity to spend time with my dad's wife. "D" is a very nice lady who I had the opportunity to host at my home some 15 yrs. or so ago. However, 15 yrs. is a long time to have gone without one on one time with someone and sometimes it's just not that easy to fall into the simple give and take conversation with someone whom you're not very familiar. Heap on top of that, meeting your sister for the first time in 18 yrs. and having your family along for the ride and well, there's just a lot of personal stress involved.

So yesterday, I received a call from "D" asking if I was mad at her or if I'd heard something about her that made me change my opinion of her..........

WHAT?

Okay, so this is where it gets weird and because you, dear internet, have only the most minimal of grasps as to just how insane my extended family is, this post will probably only make sense to just me.

A few days following the somewhat awkward visit at the home of my little sister, "D' called my other sister 'Deb' (who she's NEVER met) in order to ask her if for some reason I was angry with her, "D". I was out shopping with my daughter at the time the phone call was received but my husband was there and realized the sort of questions my sister 'Deb' was fielding and asked to speak with "D", because he's just awesome like that. Following roughly an hour long conversation "D's" feelings were soothed and she seemed to understand that I held no animosity towards her.

A week and half later we settled in back home and I decided to send cards to the family to thank them for their hospitality. I sent one to my dad and "D", once again assuring "D" that all was right with our world and if anything I was distracted by the overwhelming emotion of it all.... Meeting my little sister, meeting my little sisters family, my family meeting her family, seeing my dad, viewing old family photos, memories good & bad... Needless to say, I was caught up in my own head and I guess, I wasn't very good at making conversation.... which I guess, can be misconstrued as "Alright, I'll sit with you but I'm not going to like it.".... I guess?

So yeah, yesterday "D" called me and once AGAIN asked if I was angry with her... Had I heard something about her?... Did I not like her anymore? An hour and a half later and I think I've FINALLY convinced her, after several apologies, that she did nothing wrong and I am to blame for the lack of communication. "D" told me she wanted to hug me as we sat there together, in my little sisters house, sort of staring out into space, at a loss for words or meaningful conversation. And now, all I can think about is how much I wish she had. I really needed a hug right then, even though I didn't know it at the time, I was just too disconnected with thoughts and memories.

It's so sad really, the chance to bond with a special person, a golden opportunity missed. All because of my narcissistic tendency to dwell in my head and not in the moment... And "D's" narcissism over whether or not she was liked.

I must take note and learn because it was such a waste of precious time and opportunity.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

Last night I was watching the show 'Bait Car' on 'TRU-TV' with my daughter.

Hoo-Wee!... What an eye opener.

Because last week I was dealing with someone who wasn't exactly honest with me and at the time all I could think was, "Wow, how does someone go through their life thinking a lack of honesty will get them out of the circumstances they've put themselves in, by lying in the first place. Obviously I'm being a bit vague here, but you know what I mean. Little kids typically learn early on, that lying usually results in more trouble than the initial indiscretion but it never ceases to amaze me when I come across an adult who never learned this simple lesson.

So, I'm watching 'Bait Car'... If you haven't heard it, the whole premise behind the police department's 'bait car' program is to entice an auto thief to take the rigged automobile and get caught. The real fun ensues when, after being caught, the perpetrator(s) try to talk their way out of the 'situation' they've found themselves in... And the more they talk, the deeper they sink into the bullshit they're dishing out.

My favorite part of the show last night, had to be the guy who explained his way out of stealing the 'bait car' by telling the police he surmised the car was stolen and he didn't want a 'stolen' vehicle sitting near his house, so he decided to 'move' it out of the area. Good one Jose, but I don't think the cops bought your story, especially after watching the hidden video where you giggled at your good fortune and the stupidity of the person who abandoned such a 'fine' vehicle (Cadillac Escalade.)

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

The Jewelry Lady

We're now up to 9 artists at the Co-op I'm managing. I have the luxury of pretty much flitting in and out of the shop, tending to 'important' business-like stuff but every once in a while I get the opportunity to linger and learn a little bit about each of the girls.

Last night I made an off-hand comment to the 'Jewelry Artist'. I asked her if she'd had anything to eat, after spending the entire day at the shop. When she said, "No." I teased, "So you subsist on nothing more than coffee & cigarettes?" That's when she said, "Well after I was shot I don't have much of a stomach left, so I don't need to eat much."

*blink-blink*

"Shot?"

"Yes" she replied. "I worked at a Burger King and one night I was robbed."

"Did you refuse to hand over the money?"

"No, I gave him the money and just as I was telling him there was someone else in the back, my co-worker came out carrying a armload of pans... When he saw the gunman, he dropped the pans. This startled the gunman who shot me and then my co-worker." "I was the lucky one" she said. "I was shot in the gut but my 15 yr. old co-worker, working his first job, was killed."

I guess in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit she followed with, "But they didn't get rid of me that easily, I went back."

I had to ask, "How can you even consider working in retail after something like that, I'd be terrified!"

"For a time, that's exactly the way I felt... The only place I'd go is to the physician and the grocery store and then I'd hide in my house... But I knew I couldn't do that forever, so I fought back."

I then asked her if that's why she walks with a cane?

"No" she said. "I walk with the cane because I was smashed in the back with a heavy metal fire door, while I was crouched down doing an inventory of salt packets, yes, you have to inventory EVEN the salt packets, at the restaurant where I worked. The only way to get through the heavy door was to put all your weight against it. One of the guys I worked with did so, I was on the other side and the door hit me squarely in the back, with such force, it shattered 4 of my vertebrae."

*blink-blink*

I've come to the conclusion that there are some people who refuse to let life ground them and it's these people who I hold in high esteem. Because there are some who have dealt with far less, who think the world somehow owes them. But people like 'The Jewelry Lady', push on with an attitude of refusing to give up on the business of living a full life.

Life Lesson at the Tip of My Finger...

Yesterday I spent a glorious afternoon propped between two lawn chairs on my deck, reading a book. The weather was absolutely fabulous, a cool breeze, a glass of iced tea and a blank 'To Do' list.

Whilst I lounged there reading away, I was interrupted by the tug of skin at my fingertip... "Damn, a hangnail!" I pulled at it a bit until it felt uncomfortable. I thought to myself, "You know, you should run upstairs and grab a pair of clippers to take care of this." I argued back with myself, "But I'm so comfortable sitting here, *whiny voice* I don't waaaant to get up." Back and forth, back and forth, this little argument played out in my mind until I finally made the decision to pull at the hangnail until it opened a sizeable painful opening on the side of my finger.

Had I taken the 2 or 3 minutes to run upstairs and clip off the offending tag of skin, I wouldn't be left feeling the nearly constant annoying burn, of the open cut on the side my index finger on my right hand... That would be the same hand I use for just about EVERYTHING I do.

2 or 3 minutes of physical effort were saved but I'm paying for it with a day or two of pain.