I've been PAID!

Yesterday I received an exciting and unexpected package in the mail.


It had this beautiful, handmade card from my niece, Elisabeth.

Remember this fun post last year?

Elisabeth sent me this cool plaque for my Pay-It-Forward.



It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but it is all made with tiny, artistically placed glitter! It is based on a Greg Olsen painting called "White as Snow." I can't imagine how she did it. It's pretty amazing.


I am displaying it on this wood stand on a shelf next to my red wall. It looks really nice.

If you see this before you get my thank you note, I LOVE IT that you made this for me, Elisabeth. Thanks so much!

To Leisel and Jessica: I have had it in my mind all year that I had until April to get your "Pay-It-Forwards" to you. After pulling up last year's post, I see they are already overdue! Please know that they are really cool and they are almost done!! (I won't mention that they've been almost done for six months now...I will finish them quickly and get them to you.)

To see what I have done so far for my "Pay-It Forwards" see these posts:

Kelly

Jill

Yours will be worth waiting for, Leisel and Jessica. (Ha, ha!)

That 70's Dance

(First off, I just want to apologize for the poor quality of these photos. I didn't think of taking pictures until we left, and I only had my camera in my purse. And as the whole FAM will tell you, Mom's camera is the WORST. And yes, I know they might have turned out better if I'd turned on the flash, since it was 7pm, outside. Someday, I might learn to be a halfway decent photographer. I'm not there yet. ANYway! I apologize. Cute kids, nonetheless!)


Friday night there was a three-stake 70's dance that Maddie went to with her friends, Savannah and Silas. There was a prize for "best costume" so they went all-out. (They did not win a prize. HowEVER, the girl who did win - whose costume was not nearly as cute as these kids', BTW - INSISTED that Silas' costume was better than hers and gave him the $25 Olive Garden gift card she got as the prize. I think she just thought Silas was cute.)



Maddie and Savannah borrowed costumes from Allyson's stash. Aren't they great?


Silas is wearing (are you ready for this?) Savannah's flare jeans and a red satin-y (I think?) shirt that he found in his own closet! (I told Silas if I never saw him in those jeans again it would be WAY too soon!) Gotta love the afro, too. Little sister, Sophia, also got in on the act.

A fun way to spend a Friday night when you're 14-16.

More catch-up, again!

Because I am compiling my posts into a little blogger book as a sort of family history, I have been going back and filling in some of the gaps from last year. Still more to do, but...

If you want to see my post on Julie's 13th birthday, look here. Ally's 11th birthday is here and Maddie's first day of school last year is here.

It Doesn't Get Much Better

In the bathroom at Chuck E. Cheese:

Sydney looks up at me with her big blue eyes, as she's drying her hands:

"I missed you.

I love you.

You're the BEST."

I know she's just repeating what her mom says to her when she gets home from work.

But she said it to ME.

I love being a grandma.

"Pinch Me and Die"

Maddie has had this shirt in mind since last year.

She thought up the slogan herself (and has a couple of others for years ahead...)

Allyson found the font, typed it up, and e-mailed it to us.

I edited it in PhotoShop.

I printed it on t-shirt transfer paper.

The first shirt I bought, washed, and dried didn't fit right-- so I bought, washed, and dried another one.

I ironed the transfer onto the perfect shirt.

Maddie wore it to school and got lots of comments and compliments.

Maddie came home from school and said, "Mom, I like making my own St. Patrick's Day shirt."

:)

Working Mom

Today I went to my first job interview in 32 years.

Yikes.

I was nervous, but not as nervous as I thought I'd be.

It was just for a substitute teaching position, like every other out-of-work person in Las Vegas is applying for, so Allyson prepped me.

It was actually pretty easy-peasy. (You have to speak like that if you want to teach little kids.) I think I had good answers for all the questions. (And no, really, I didn't use the word "easy-peasy" once.)

Next step - fingerprinting and FBI background check.

Yikes again.

Cautiously Optimistic

No work for over a year.

Savings ALL gone.

Line of credit on house extended almost to max.

Finally realized, after months of not paying ourselves, "Hey, we've paid unemployment insurance for 2o years. We could actually collect some of that now." Signed up.

Monday, received a contract for a small job in the mail.

Tuesday, got a call saying we were signed off and approved for another contract.

Today, a third contract verbally awarded.

So much for unemployment insurance payments. (But, yes. We'd rather be working.)

Nervous till I have three signed contracts in my files.

But cautiously optimistic...and smiling...