Another great question!

From wayyyy back, I think there was only one question left to answer.  From Olivia:  What would you do right now if you knew you could not fail?  What is it that you might try right now if for certain you would succeed? xoO

The answer to that would have probably been different if I answered it right away, and then again maybe a month later, but today I say… I'd give the link out to my new online store, wait for word to spread, and then watch the orders to roll in.  *insert big cheesy grin here*   Seriously, I did actually do something not too long ago that I was very unsure of.  You all know Amazon, of course, but did you know that they recently launched a new department called 'Handmade at Amazon'?   I applied and was accepted to be one of the sellers there.  An artisan's work has to fit into one or more of the categories, which my jewelry and card making does, and be made by hand, which mine is.  It was exciting to be accepted, and a bit overwhelming at times, too … because it's Amazon, after all.  They are huge.  There were so many things to read!  I still don't understand some of it.  Setting up shop was a good amount of work so it's cool that I enjoy what I do!  I'm still making stock, photographing it all, pricing, etc.  And all the while I've had that nervous voice… oh, what if this happens and how will I handle that.  Ssshhh… quiet silly voice…. just do it!  So I'm doing it!

If you'd be so nice to go to my store and just take a peek around, even if only to offer a few words of support (or even a bit of constructive criticism) I'd sure appreciate that.  And if you know anyone personally or thru social media that you think might like to see what I'm doing please (pretty please with sugar on top) share the page information.  A small business can use all of the help it can get and I'm grateful for every kindness.  

With Love, Juji

Even though I don't actually have any greeting cards in the store…yet… they'll make it in eventually so I'm including a photo.

With Love, Juji


Thanks for the question, Olivia!  

Halloween

Hello!

Just to get my feet wet in Blogland again … let me take it slow and post a few pictures.   Since it was just Halloween…. you might remember our hippie theme from a few years ago, then last year the bums found a party to crash, and this year we dressed up again…  

Seriously, are we cute or what?!?   ;)

It took me awhile to get ready.  Ron painted toilet paper rolls that I could put under my hair to raise it up and out a little bit.  Once I got it all in place with clips he sprayed it for me, then I added a bunch of stuff.  

I won the Best Costume prize at my girlfriend's party and received a gift card for the effort!

My friend got this shot... soooo funny.  Ron wasn't really looking at me like it looks like he is, but must have just turned thinking she was done with the pictures… yeah, sure.  ha

So that's all I've got right now…. maybe I'll be back later for more updates.

Hope everyone is doing good and enjoying FALL!  

Let's pretend it's still March, okay!?

Yikes, I do wander out of Blogland for long periods of time, don't I?
I did not forget about your questions... here are some more and my answers:


From Valerie:

Wow what a great idea.
I can't think of any really intelligent questions to ask but here's a few off the cuff.

Which season is your favourite,spring, summer, autumn or winter?


I really enjoy all the seasons and am happy to live in an area where we get can experience each of them fully, however, my favorite is AUTUMN!  Absolutely! 


Do you have a favourite 'forbidden' food?

I probably like too many 'forbidden' foods ... bacon is probably the main one... 
or french fries.  Or french fries topped with bacon and cheese.  LOL

What's your take on nature questions, for example are you a bird watcher?

I like being in nature, but am not much of a bird watcher.  I enjoy them but wouldn't be able to identify too many. 
Walking or just sitting outdoors (when the weather isn't too hot) is wonderful.  

From Lorna:

1. Have you ever been mean to an animal? What caused it?

Oh, I love animals and would never be mean to one on purpose.  Well, as children, we caught fireflies in our hands and cupped them to see their light or put them in jars ... I'm sure some of the didn't survive.  It wasn't an intentional hurt though.  Okay, okay... probably a few spiders didn't make it out of my basement alive.  ;)    

2. Do you bathe or shower? Why?

I'm a bubble bath lover.  Unless it's super hot and I'm outside maybe doing yard work (not that that happens all that often) or some other activity and need the coolness of a shower to get rid of feeling sticky and sweaty, I just prefer a warm sudsy soak.  It's relaxing. 

3.If you had a one-way trip to either the future or the past, where would you go and what 
would you hope for there?

Since I tend to live in the past a little too much sometimes... I think I'll say that I'd go to the future.  Maybe about 10 years from now, check out what's going on with family and friends... see if there's something really awful happening or that had happened and maybe I can come back with the knowledge of it so that I can help change the outcome.  Although... you start messing with time or one event and then that could change so many other things that might not be any better.  So that's a hard question.  


I'll be coming around for a visit soon, y'all!   Hope everyone is doing great and getting ready for a wonderful summer.  

The questions continue....

Ron asked:

What was the best compliment you ever received?

I don't seem to take compliments all that well sometimes, so maybe I've missed the 'best' one while trying to sidestep it.  LOL   For instance, someone will say 'You have really nice hair' and I'll say... 'OMG, it's been falling out so much, and it's so frizzy.'  

Well, thinking on it... here's not just one, but a few.
My daughter called recently and asked me to come over and take the kids to meet their school buses.  When I got there, Alex was all smiles.  I asked if he was so happy because he was going to school and he said... No, Mimi, I'm happy because you're here!   Love.that.kid!  xo

A sweet blogging friend from years ago that I'm friends on FB now said to me just today:
You are such a good wife.   I get a lot from reading you.  And I thank you for sharing your life.

And my husband, that man has a compliment for every hour of the day, but one I do remember is that he has always said he felt he was out of my league and that I could have had a better guy.  Silliness.  Utter nonsense, that is.  He's a smart man, yet, if we're playing Jeopardy and I answer an odd question he'll give me a look like ... really??  How the hell did you know THAT??   haha   He thinks I'm very intelligent.  Seriously, I am not.  I just remember odd things sometimes.  


What is your greatest strength and weakness?

I think of myself as a kind person.  I enjoy talking to others, learning things about them, sharing stories, laughing, etc.  Maybe it's not quite full on sympathy, compassion, and empathy at all times....although I try when I can to work on those.  Kindness is usually something that I can always do in one way or another.  

On the flip side...

Procrastination.... whatever I can put off, postpone, leave 'til later, push aside, reschedule, or forget about it.  Yup, that's definitely a big problem with me.  

What is your favorite thing to spend money on?

BOOKS!!!  

I'm not reading as much as I was for awhile but still have many in queue.   I have bookmarks in a few right now, one of them, Anne Rice's Prince Lestat.  She's one of my favorite authors.  

Answers and more answers ... and lots of pictures!

Bijoux says.... 

I was going to ask how you met Your husband as well. He is very hot! LOL!

Since I covered how we met in the last post, here are just some photos of my HOTTIE!  hehe  I don't mind sharing.  ;)  Actually, I did ask his permission to post these.  He doesn't really like getting his picture taken most of the time, but he knows that I *fix* our photos when necessary... which means pretty much all.the.time.    

This is one of my fav photos of Ron.  I took it on a short local camping trip we took in 1983.  He was laying in our little pup tent looking sweet and charming.  

Hmm... I don't remember when I took this.  It's in our bedroom.  He had just come out of the shower and his long, beautiful hair was still wet.   What was that I said about him not liking his picture being taking.... strike a pose, baby!  ha!   

I took this during our 25th anniversary trip to Cancun.  We were both enjoying a nice view.

People used to tell Ron that he looked like the bassist from Metallica, Rob Trujillo.  So he posed for this picture for a doppelgänger post on FB.

He's no wild metalhead though... just a quiet guy who'd rather hang out with his dogs these days than go to a rock concert. 

Shake it, work it.  He's been painting so long he's pretty good at finding his own shortcuts.  No ladders needed that day.  

Alex made him a hat.  :)  

When I told him what I was posting he says... eh, I'm real sexy in my sweats and cap, huh?  So I started teasing him and taking pictures.  He finally said NO MORE!  haha

He's my love.  He is sexy.   

How did you feel about becoming a grandma in your 40's?  I'm 51 and still can't even handle the thought!

Even though it was a bit of a shock when my daughter first told me she was pregnant, and there were a few issues to deal with, it became wonderful pretty quickly.  I was younger (19) when I had her than she was with Alex (23).  I absolutely LOVE having grandchildren!!!   Since I was younger, I didn't want to use the name Grandmom or any similar variation, so I picked Mimi for them to call me.  :)  

With preemie Alex

 With Sierra

 Feeding CJ

My grand darlings!

 Valentine visit

 Mother's Day get together

 Snuggling with CJ

 Our princess let me borrow her crown.

 Fun with mustaches 

 Before walking Alex to his bus stop

 He's a big happy baby!

Thanks for the questions!   

More questions....

These are from Birdie:

How did you meet your husband?

We met at a Wawa.  For those who don't know, it's a convenience retail store in a handful of East coast states.  He worked there, I was in my senior year at the high school nearby and shopped there.  One night, I was home sick and asked a girlfriend to go in and give him my phone number.  She did and he called me right away.  We talked for awhile and then he asked me out for New Year's Eve.  He'd made another date (not knowing me at the time...ha!)  and had to cancel that.  Sorry, girl. 

Our first date was 12/31/82.  We've been together ever since.

I think this was taken at his aunt's house on Easter, 1983.

This was after a lunch date we went on early last year.

When did you get into astrology?

When I was a teenager I read Cosmopolitan magazine occasionally.  It had horoscopes and special inserts sometimes so that was probably when I first got interested.  Years later, we had a set of Time Life Mysteries of the Unknown books and one of them was about astrology.  I was reading the different descriptions for each sign and picturing people that I knew and they seemed to fit.

Right around that time ('93), the mom of two school friends of my daughter came by to meet me one day so the kids could play together.  We became fast friends.  Later that year, for my birthday, she gave me a paperback book on astrology.  I still have it.   (Sadly, she passed away quite a few years ago.)

It was that year or or the year after we got our first computer and another friend gave me an astrology program knowing how interested I was becoming with it all.  I took a few classes, too.  They were adult evening school certificate type programs.  I joined a local association set up to support the education and art of astrology.  For years I was their Membership Coordinator, not a difficult job as they were a small group but it kept me connected to others with like interests.  I haven't been involved with them much lately though.  It seems that on meeting nights I'm busy with other things.  And in years past I guess I've just become a little less interested in the study of astrology and am only occasionally reading about it and looking at charts for fun.  I've met quite a few professional astrologers from the many lectures I've attended.  It's a fascinating subject and those who are involved with it full time can give a pretty impressive reading.

How did you get to be so awesome?

Oh, honey, the awesome goes wayyyyy back.  I was rockin' a red velvet dress like nobody's business.  And that mohawk curl... yeah, I got it goin' on.   Haha!!!

Birdie, how sweet of you to ask that.  Seriously, sometimes I don't feel very awesome.  Maybe it would surprise my friends here (and a few I have in person, too)  to know that I've dealt with depression on and off for quite a few years.  It seems to be mostly situational.  Lately, weather and hormones are giving me a one two punch!    I love a cold winter, and that we've had, but I also think less sunshine and not being outside much has been hard on me.  I had some bloodwork done awhile back and am vitamin D deficient.  I feel like a slug certain days and might not even be able to make sense of an article I'm trying to read.  And aren't we all usually dealing with a personal situation or two, or five.  Add peri-men symptoms to all that and ... please, step back... this could get ugly.   lol  My sense of humor probably helps me.  I try to find something of inspiration or motivation when things are off.  Reiki helps.  Relaxation.  Taking things one day at a time.  

Thanks for the questions!

p.s.  I think you're pretty super freaking awesome, too!!!   

Such good questions... I've got to get busy answering!

R.J. said.... 

That's a good one. Last night's dinner conversation with my son, his wife and two children in elementary school concerned the need for a college education. The pros and cons for that question are fun to consider. Of course our family is very pro education--as much as you can get, afford, or stand.

In today's world especially, I certainly think education is very important.   I don't necessarily agree that 'college' specifically is what everyone must do for that education though.  It really depends on so many things... goals, finances, etc.  I don't see the point in forcing kids into college if that's not what they are suited for or push them to get a degree in something they wouldn't actually enjoy doing. 

An example:  My son did well in high school, even participated in a grant program his school received for college readiness.   When the time came, he picked a major, and enrolled in community college.  Seemed like all started off okay, a couple semesters later though he was failing out, frustrated, and in debt.  We were disappointed, of course, but also, weren't financially able to cover him completely if he lost financial aid.  And that was about to happen.  We helped him pay what he owed and he moved on to find a full time job at a warehouse.  The working conditions and the salary turned out to both be lacking so after some thought he decided to apply to my husband's union for an apprenticeship position.  It took awhile to get accepted.  The program is accredited and many had applied.  College graduates were even applying because they weren't finding work in their fields.  So he tested,  was interviewed, and went on the wait list.  Eventually he got in and is now participating in their 4 year work/school program.  When completed, he'll only have the equivalent of an associate degree but gets to work almost full time earning a decent wage while doing it.  The building and construction trade industries are one area that men and women can learn through on the job training.  Even though there are many who'd argue against unions, in my opinion, they are absolutely necessary.  You know the saying... the rich get richer... and because that is happening more than ever in this country, the labor movement has to stand strong and fight for middle class workers.  Cue a bit of Norma Rae music here.  ;)   (A whole other topic to discuss, right? lol) 

Now on the other hand, for those like my husband's niece who wants to be involved in the education field (Superintendent eventually, I think), she'll need at least a university master's, but more likely a doctoral degree.  She attends college now, and is on track to achieve her career goals.  The cost of her education is very high, but, she did receive some scholarship money and her parents are doing well in their fields and able to cover her tuition and expenses.  In that case, a full college education is necessary.  No doubt about it. 

So, YES, overall I'm pro-education!  I just think there should be viable options for various situations.

Thanks, RJ!!  Interesting question!   

Questions

As seen around the Blogosphere lately some blog authors have asked their readers to submit questions about all sorts of things.   I want in on this!  

I'm open to most all topics.  If I can't answer something or don't wanna I'll say so.

My favorite color is purple.  I'm making pasta for dinner tonight.  So don't ask those things.  I know you'll come up with something much more interesting.  

If you want your question/s to be anonymous ... send me an email.   Otherwise, I suppose just leave them in the comment section.  

This could be fun!

GO!!!

Tibetan Singing Bowl

Ron's presented me many gifts over the years for assorted holidays.  For Valentine's day he's given more traditional gifts like jewelry, chocolate, and flowers some years, but occasionally he's surprised me with something odd.... like an iguana.  'Cupid' grew and grew until we  finally gave him to someone who had other iguanas and more space.  One year he even got a small heart tattooed on his chest with my name in it.  Nothing says love like getting permanent ink jammed violently into your soft flesh with needles going about 2,000 times a minute, right?  ha!   

This year, he got me a very old (18th or 19th century) Tibetan Singing Bowl.  I was supposed to pick one out for my birthday about 3 months ago but never got around to making a final decision.  He doesn't forget things so easily.  Instead of asking me again to decide on something and hear me say... okay, sure... yes.... and then get nothing, he just found one of the websites I'd been looking at and ordered one.  Done.  

I love it!  The sound is quite nice.  You can strike it like a bell, or play the rim of it in a circular motion.  It you go too fast, it rattles, and that doesn't sound very good.  Because it can be used in meditation, you must listen to the sound it produces and find the right pace and pressure.  It shows you how it wants to be played.  

What's the most unique or favorite gift you've ever received, from anyone, for any holiday or reason?

Before I turn 51 ...

You know, I've been thinking lately... there's something missing in my life.  What???  What could it be?  I'm starting a new diet, had a wonderful and wild love affair, learned how to arm knit, worked on a committee to eradicate cancer from the planet, and got a new lipstick, and going to buy shoes today.

So, what.... what could be that void I'm feeling?   Then I had that AHA moment and knew....

BLOGGING.   I miss my blog.  

I miss you ALL!!!  

Backtracking to November when I went MIA....

the biggest, funnest thing I did was CELEBRATE MY 50th BIRTHDAY!   

I'm not sure Greta liked the decorations I chose.  The sound of the tissue paper being opened must have driven her half crazy.  She wanted to rip them up.  I had to move everything to the porch to make sure I didn't wake up to shredded flowers the next morning.  

Ron did manage to get them all up on the ceiling a day or two before the party.

I took a picture of a cake I liked to a local bakery.  They came pretty close to what I wanted.  I got a few butterflies and added them, and only a few purple candles... there was no way 50 would have fit.  

My girlfriend gave me a ribbon and a crown with her card so, of course, I wore them.  So happy to have my daughter (and son, and many friends)) celebrating with me.  

It was a FUN night!  Actually, that whole weekend was great!  Ron took me to Philly that Friday night and we went to a neat cocktail lounge.  We got the impression of it being more like a 'speakeasy' type of place when I first found it online although it's not described that way by the owner.  It's quirky.  You have to know where it is as there is no sign on the door or advertising anywhere.  Word of mouth type place.  It's called Hop Sing Laundromat and is on Race St.  IF you get in... and I mean IF because I've read quite a few reviews about people being turned away or asked to leave for different reasons... you are sat down in a little entrance room and given the rules... no cell phones, cash only, etc.   Once inside the main room it's just a very lowly lit bar/lounge.  Interesting atmosphere, but nice.  The drinks though.... ohhh... I don't know what they do to them... but ... ooohhhh.   If you enjoy a cocktail, and don't mind paying around $14 for one.... theirs are delicious.  Absolutely!  So two drinks each and we were flying.... wow.... so we paid our bill, left a decent tip, and fell out the door into Chinatown where we had dinner, dessert and tea.  It was a great time!

What is everyone up to???   I can't wait to buzz around Blogland and find out!   Have a wonderful weekend.  

More later.....