goodwill peacock

i don't think i had been to goodwill (or salvation army or d.i.) for probably 10 years until i moved here. i shopped there all the time when E was a baby, we were poor and it was a good place to find cheap stuff. i don't know why i stopped - i'm guessing i went in there pregnant and morning sick once, and the smell almost sent me over the edge.

well, the goodwill in our little town here is quite good, and sometimes i take my kids in there when we need to kill half an hour while waiting for karate class to finish.

we found E's halloween costume there a few years ago. i wish i had a better picture - she had a walker and knee-highs and orthotic shoes and an old lady purse. (i know you're catching a whiff right now, just from looking at that picture!)

i now go in every few weeks. sometimes i totally strike out, and sometimes i hit the motherlode.

i found this treasure about a month ago, just after i finished repainting and paneling my dining room:

i loved his mottled turquoise coloring. but he had some very special blue rhinestones glued to the center of each tail feather. i wasn't so sure about those, but since i wash everything i bring home from goodwill (you REALLY never know where it's been!) i stuck him in a sink full of sudsy water, and the blue sparklies fell right off.

he still smells like goodwill, though. i think its coming from inside, where the ceramic has not been sealed, and therefore absorbed stale cigarette/old person smell in his previous home.

i wonder if i can spray some polyurethane inside and seal the ceramic. what do you think? do you think that will stop the smell?

in the meantime, he is sitting in my newly painted dining room, making me happy. i just use a lot of air freshener.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you, sweet husband, for the beautiful roses. And thanks for getting some for my girls, too, every year without fail.

And thanks for letting me sleep this morning instead of making me get up and go to church, that was the best present EVER!

Thanks for being mine for the last 15 years.

Thank goodness THAT"S over!

By that I mean Christmas, of course.

I tend to be a bit of a Scrooge. I think it dates back to being morning sick and emotional and throwing the angel treetopper at Eric's head. It just hasn't been the same for me since then.

This one really wasn't too bad. I have learned to have very low expectations of myself during the holidays.

We didn't go anywhere, which helps. I really hate dealing with all of the Christmas stuff AND planning a trip. And how the heck do you EVER get all of

those presents back home?

So here's what we did:

Christmas in Killarney - Irish dance performance. Very fun!

Carnival of Carols - a big deal fundraiser for Erin's middle school show choir. They did a really good job!

Annie's 5th grade orchestra concert. I actually could see the very tippy top of her head.

For Christmas Eve, we went to my sister's house in Columbus and had a great time! Homemade pizza (my favorite) and acting out the nativity (with Lillian as the sweetest baby Jesus ever!), and then exchanging gifts.

Oh, and we forgot to take any pictures on Christmas day. But I left the decorations up for a few more days. Usually I start taking them down as soon as all of the wrapping paper is picked up.

I have goals to be a little better prepared next year, but that just means I have to think about Christmas all year, UGH! We'll see, I guess!

Sick...again!

It started with Annie on Friday, and then my tummy started hurting late Sunday night. (No doubt, too much ham.) Erin was also sick yesterday. I just stayed in my bed all day and slept, too achy to get up. Luckily, Eric had the day off for Easter, so he was home to take care of all of us. I feel much better today, but still quite tired.