3 a day!

I think, know I don't take time often enough to count my blessings. This past week could have been a hugely upsetting and disappointing one, and in the past, it WOULD have probably totally thrown me for a loop, caused a major fibro flare, and put me to bed for a couple of days. Fortunately, the way that the cards fell, I am able to adjust, make a couple of changes, and move past the "problem". My life is absolutely not where I thought I would be 14 years after I got my Bachelor's degree, but while I'm not in an ideal place, I'm in a good place, and trying to embrace the lessons I'm supposed to learn, so that I don't have to keep repeating them.
A friend was recently told, as part of a recovery process, to keep a journal of positive things in her life. I realized that I could benefit from doing the same, and it will provide me with both motivation to write and a topic on which I can write, especially when I don't think of anything really awesome to write about. I enjoy writing, and I know that my only hope for improving my writing is to actually DO IT!
Amusing to me night before last was that my Li'lcat, who is still unneutered, (until we know that his brother, who is the standard Dwelf in the family isn't shooting blanks) decided that he is a STUD, much to the chagrin of his adopted sister Girlcat, who was spayed almost 14 years ago, when she was a kitten. She was totally NOT thrilled with his amorous intent… and since his body is about 2 inches shorter (from shoulders to hips) than hers, well, he just couldn't get his aim quite right, so she just had this little short cat with her scruff in his mouth pinning her down! It truly was HILARIOUS to see, though I know that she didn't see any humor to it. I've no idea what has caused him to suddenly decide he's a big stud… there's nobody in the house in season, though there are a couple that could be getting ready to come into season, and his sisters CAN'T come into season.
And today I saw the funniest NASCAR commercial EVER!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJV487KmR_4

Today's 3 blessings are:

*I have a comfortable, relatively climate-controlled place to live

*I have a lot of people in my world that I truly enjoy and can count on

*my cats, bladder, brain & fibro all let me get 10 hours of sleep uninterrupted last night

And tonight I'm going to make myself go lie down before 10:30, in the hopes of 7 hours tonight!

Power

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt

This is one of the things I struggle with, on a regular basis. I know that it is true, and that I am the one in control of my self-esteem, but sometimes I have an off day, or several off days, and I lose sight of the truth in it. I am a good person, I try to do the right thing, and I know that Karma is a bitch, so I do try to not put out an excessive amount of negativity, but there have been a couple of incidents of late that, at least temporarily, caused me to roll back into that insecure little girl. This time around, I'm kind of attributing it to still getting back into the groove of faire being over and some of the other changes that have happened at work and at home. I don't do change particularly well, and I know this, and there is more change afoot, at least at home, that, quite frankly, I'm not sure where it will land me, though I'm fairly certain that I have at least a few months to make my own changes if I end up having to move.

In the meantime, I am taking each day as it comes, getting faire packed back up again, getting winter clothes packed up, and reclaiming my bedroom and closet from the wreck that it's become in the last few months.

TIIIIRED

After 68 days of getting up before 7 a.m., and working all but one of those days, at least part of the day, the ability to sleep in, at least a bit, AND have a nap in the middle of the day has been an absolute blessing! Also a blessing is the fact that I didn't totally crash and burn before this. I had high hopes of getting much accomplished today, but alas, my body & my brain were having no part of it. I did manage to get a load of towels done, and a run to WalMart, but other than that, I've spent most of the day on the couch with a headache and a stopped up head, so nothing tastes particularly good. I'm not sure why I'm suddenly all congested, but I'll just start taking the allergy meds again and hope it clears up quickly. 
Scarby was weird this year, for a variety of reasons, but overall it was a good enough season. I had lots of fun working at Majikah Perfumery, mixing new scents, and trying things I'd never thought to try. I've already been offered a job working for them next year as well, which makes me happy and saves me the cost of a pass next year. It seems to me that attendance was down, except perhaps for Closing Day, and I suspect that much of that is because of the cost of passes increased so much that many people chose not to afford it, and instead came only one or two days all year. 
I'm hoping to make it to church tomorrow morning, but considering how tired I am right this minute, that may not happen, because I HAVE to be rested to go to work Monday morning!


 

CRASH

I knew going into the season working Scarby that it would be a long road, and that I would need to be extra careful to get appropriate rest, since I was going to be on the go for 75 days in a row, with no days off.  As it turned out, my schedule at faire the last 2 weekends of the season (this past one, and the coming one) are "breaks only" schedules, because my boss's sister-in-law is helping her with breakdown and hauling everything back home on Monday or Tuesday. This is excellent, as it gives me closing weekend to play with my bestie, assuming that she makes it out, at least Saturday & Sunday, plus part of Monday, and it gives me a chance to go run amok with Angela as she's  planning to be out & kiddo free on Monday. 
Throughout the season I've been trying and adding to my yes/no list various scents.  I've found several wonderful new things, and a lot that I LOVE in the bottle, but they just aren't wonderful on me. I've tended to have one on my left wrist and one on my right.  One day a couple of weekends ago, I had on Sun and Thunderstorm, and my boss suggested I mix them together. I wasn't crazy about it, but it did give me the idea to find a water scent to mix with the Sun, and I started sniffing the scents until I found the right one, and Liquid Sunshine was born. It's sweeter and more floral than I've been wearing, but it's garnered compliments from all but one person, and she's not a fan of the floral scents to begin with. The first weekend, we sold 8 drams of it, so this past weekend I got to mix up a vial sized bottle of it for sale. I know that at least 4 drams sold, but beyond that I have no idea.
On Sunday morning when I woke up, I knew I was going to have to choose between lasting a whole day out there, or going to work Monday morning (yeah, like there's actually a choice there). When the boss told me that there wasn't enough business for them to need me, even for breaks, I packed up my cooler, and headed home. Yeah, it was bad, I was POOPED, and by the time I got home, I fell into bed for a short nap before I got up and did as much of my household chore for the week (cat cages) as I physically could.  I slept another 9 hours and managed to drag myself up and to work, only to discover that my computer is DEAD. Yeah, it was a rough couple of days, but today's severe weather has completely missed us, and it doesn't look like anymore is on its way, so we're all safe, dry, a comfortable temperature, and ready to face another day!

Taco Ring

I originally got this recipe at a Pampered Chef party more years ago than I want to count, but it's yummy, and it can be adjusted to your personal tastes.

1 pkg crescent rolls
1lb ground meat, browned & seasoned with taco seasoning
1 can refried beans, warmed in microwave
1 tomato, diced
1 small onion, diced (may be cooked in with meat if you want)
shredded cheese to taste
1 bell pepper, diced, then mixed in with cooked & seasoned meat

Preheat oven according to crescent roll instructions
Spray round pan (like an 8 inch cake pan) with non-stick spray
unroll crescent rolls and arrange in a ring in pan, with points lapping up over the edge, wide ends will overlap in the pan, kind of pinch them together to seal it
Spread refried beans in a layer on dough
Sprinkle some cheese over the beans
Spread the meat/onion/pepper mixture over the beans & cheese
Sprinkle cheese over meat
Top with diced tomato
gently pull points of crescent dough to center & tuck under wide end

Bake for about 20 minutes, until dough is cooked and golden

Cut apart and serve with tortilla chips

***notes***

• doesn't have to be ground beef, leaner meats, even shredded turkey, chicken or pork could also be used
• crescent rolls, cheese, & refried beans are available as well
• other kinds of beans can also be used in place of the refried, but I would suggest mixing them into the meat mixture and just layering it in that way
• I've found that the stuffing gets hotter if it's warmed before it goes into the oven, so I preheat my beans, or warm them in the meat mixture while I'm letting the taco seasoning simmer into it

22 Days & Counting

Week 2 of Scarborough is behind me, and 22 days of my 68 consecutive day schedule are behind me, only 46 to go. It was a good weekend at faire, we had a decent weekend in the shoppe, and I got to do a little mixing, as well as adding to my list of scents that work well for me… I always forget how out of touch I end up feeling with what is going on in the world during faire season. By the time I get back to the computer on Saturday & Sunday evenings, I'm too tired to do any more than just check email, and maybe facebook before I crash! I've not done well going to bed early in several nights, but I'm hoping to be asleep before 9:30 tonight… we'll see.

Scarby 2011 Begins

I'm home, after my 14^th day in a row of work, and I'm looking at more of the same… at least 54 of them. Last weekend, when I was in Norman, inhaling a year's worth of fiber and 3 seasons worth of dirt, I was offered a part-time gig working at Scarborough for the season. It's not glamorous, but the people are awesome, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE fragrance oils, which is what I'm selling. I'm working at Majikah Perfumery, about 15 hours/weekend, and the rest of my time on shire is my own, which is great, it gets me entry, allows me to save on water, soda & food costs while I'm on site, and it's going to give me the opportunity to try some new and interesting scent mixes. I am TOTALLY not in standing on my feet for more than 30 minutes or so at a time shape yet, but I'll get there by the end of the run, I'm sure. Last night my feet were fairly swollen, but today they're not quite so much, but by the time I got off, they were screaming "HEY LADY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!" The location of the shoppe ensures that I'll see a lot of the folks I usually get to see, because while it's off the main path, it's very near one of the bridges, so we see everyone who goes from the gate across that bridge. It was much hotter than it usually is for opening weekend, but all of our regular crew managed to stay hydrated, and as far as I know, we didn't lose anybody to the heat.
It's going to be an interesting season, with some of the entertainment and vendor changes, and we'll see how it all shakes out! For now, I'm off to bed so I can get up and function tomorrow!