It's gnome-ish!!!

Made this for Jackson Gear

I'm pretty sure...

...that my co-worker thought I was kidding when I informed him that today (July 4th), I wanted to....sleep-in, go to the gym, sew, and read.  I was sooo NOT kidding!!!

Sleeping-in:
I slept-in mostly because last night, I disrespected today by staying up way too late reading and then some time around circa 1 a.m. my nonsensical neighbors (the ones that are kitty-corner in the back and to my right) shot off 3 single firecrackers.  [Is firecrackers one word?  I feel like when I make it two words that it represents "FIRE" and "CRACKERS."  Flame and snacks?  Ummmm...NO!]  Pow! Pow! Pow!  And of course, it was just as I was turning off my e-reader and ready to doze off to the happy land of slumber.  (Sigh.)  Thankfully the thrice pops were the only noises I heard for the remainder of the night and yes, I did drift off to sleep. 

The feline decided that 7 a.m. was plenty late enough for her human to sleep.  Some mornings I want to open the door and kick her out.  I mean seriously, does Maggie even know how good she has it here?  I think not!!!  Any-who...I threatened her very life and she stopped meowing.  I'm pretty sure my teacher voice works on her...lest she get a slipper heaved in her direction.

The Gym
Went to the gym.  45 minutes of cardio.  While working-out, The Price is Right was on.  I don't like the new version of this show.  When I was a kid, they had Plinko!  Does anyone else remember that???  Plinko - the good ol' days.  There was a board with a gazillion nails (or nail-ish looking things) and the contestants would stand at the top of the board and drop what appeared to be hockey pucks.  The pucks would travel down the board to the bottom where they would stop on a prize.  It was soo cool!  Today they had racetrack (again, is this one word or two?) with faux rats.  The military couple had to pre-determine which rat would win.  It was kind of lame.  Bring back Plinko!!! 

Inbetween segments, there was a ridiculous commercial for some new reality t.v. show coming in the fall.  I hate reality t.v.  Ok - wait.  The only reality t.v. that I tolerate and enjoy is the OLYMPICS.  Seriously - I really, really, really do not like reality t.v.  No, I hate it.  Loathe.  Despise.  Reality should be reality.  Reality t.v. shows are NOT reality.  They are hyped-up versions of YUCK that Hollywood thinks everyone wants to see.  We don't.  News flash:  Most people I know, and let's face it - I know some amazingly fabulous people, do not like reality t.v. either.  Where are these crazies that like that stuff???  Ick.  I'd rather watch all the Star Wars DVD on repeat for a week than watch reality t.v.  Do you know there are 6 Star Wars DVDs?  Do you know that would be 12 hours of one viewing...2 times through per day times 7 days.  I'd rather watch football than watch reality t.v.  Strong words, I know.  But seriously - reality t.v.  Bleh!

Any-who...

Sewing
Rhonda bought a cute Merona dress when we were thrifting on Monday.  The dress has a drawstring waist.  The top stitching was compromised.  The dress was brand new but it had the messed-up stitching.  I volunteered to fix the dress. 

After fixing the dress, I ironed and pressed fabric to make two super-cute pillowcases.  One is for Jackson (sock monkeys) and one is for Reagan (girlie-fru-fru).  I did learn a valuable lesson...

The original YouTube tutorial calls for 3/4 of a yard of main fabric, 1/4 of a yard for the pillowcase opening, and then 2 inches of fabric for the edge between the opening fabric and the main fabric.  I used ribbon for both pillowcases but learned (after the fact, of course!) that I had purchased too narrow (1-1/2") of ribbon of Reagan's pillowcase...so PLAN B - I used the top stitch feature and just attached the ribbon over the top of the quasi-missing ribbon from the first go around of stitching. 

If you need a cute, quick children's birthday/Christmas present - search YouTube for Magic Pillowcase Sewing Tutorial.  Honestly - I've made probably a dozen of these!!!  My goal:  too rid the world of blaz-ay pillowcases.  Well, too be honest, that's just one of my goals in life. 

Reading:  I downloaded a free Nook book titled, Ready or Not.  It's delightful.  I'm hoping to finish reading it today.  I must've selected LARGE PRINT because it says there are 896 pages and somehow I am already on page 599...which doesn't seem like I've read 598 other pages.  According to Goodreads, it should be about circa 290-300 which sounds reasonable.

Next week I am house-sitting for the first half of the week.  Off to Cherry Valley I go!!!  I'm actually quite excited about house-sitting...  There is a Keurig coffeemaker!!!  AND THEY HAVE A HUGE BATHTUB!!!!  I know the last thing probably sounds ridiculous, but my cottage only has a stand-up shower and I miss luxurious baths. 

I cannot believe it's July 4th.  My co-worker informed me that before we know it, it will be fall!  Goodness.  Let's not wish the summer away.  I mean, FOR REAL!!!!!  I want to embrace summer - similarly how a small child picks up a kitten.  By the neck and squeeeeeeze!!!  Don't get me wrong - I heart fall.  Infact the other morning, it was 50 degrees here and I daydreamed about hot apple cider.  YUM!  After 0.3 seconds, I stopped that nonsense and thought about fresh strawberries and raspberries.  In season fruit...my fave!!!

Hope you had a wonderful,

delightful, happy 4th of July!!!

Jackson and Funny Angie

 Jackson told me that the three orange lines are my laughter.  :)

 

2 friends + 2 acquaintances + 3 complete strangers + Fun Angie

While at Michael's working on my sewing journal, I received the following text from Gloria:  "Reagan is looking for a present for you. One thing she found is a giant birdcage ~ she said you could hang it up & trap your cat! No joke, she really said that." I miss that girl and our charming chats.

After reading Gloria's text, it took several (sev-er-al) seconds for me to get control over my hysterical laughter.  You know when something is really funny and you want to share it with the others but you can't because everytime you start to tell the story, you just crack-up...and it leaves your audience in suspense???  Yeah.  That soo happened with this.

Thrice I attempted to share what the text said...finally, FINALLY, I was able to tell them what Reagan had said.

The group of crafters tonight was comprised of 2 dear friends, 2 acquaintances, and 3 complete strangers.  I always feel bad when I laugh uncontrollably around strangers.  Acquaintances -- I don't mind so much.  My 2 friends know and love me.  They know I am not right...and they appreciate my not-right-ness.  I like to think so. :)

Any-who...
Even though the text was sent over 4 hours ago, I still laugh when I think about it.  I think it's because I can picture cute, almost-4-years-old Reagan hauling a giant birdcage around and then coming up with a master plan to trap my cat. 

I miss that girl.  I miss our random chats.  I miss her inquisitive mind and her sweet spirit. 

In the middle of boring ol' Tuesday...

...a text message with this picture (see below) came through and MADE MY DAY!!!

And to think - the postal service wanted to charge me an extra dollar for delivery confirmation.  Fiddle-faddle...I got something more fabulous than a pale greenish post card with a signature!!!  :)

I Spy

The beauty of playing I Spy with a 5-year old and his 3-year old little sister is that the difficulty level is well...around a 5-year old and a 3-year old level.

Said Jackson, "I spy something orange..."  (small pause)  "...and it's next to Funny Angie."  (another small-ish pause) "...and it's a PUMPKIN!"  

He concluded the I Spy with much clapping and cheering!!!!!!

Jackson

Reagan

Cutest frog ever!!!

Bedtime stories and punching

My favorite part of babysitting is when the children put on their jammies and they ask you to snuggle with them.  (Sigh.)  

Tonight Jackson and Reagan asked me to snuggle AND read them stories.  Not wanting to harm the lay-out of Jackson's stuffed animals, I inquired where we should read said books.  Jackson's bed was the preferred location.

We snuggled in for the reading of three books - two of which were about penguins.  (I love those delightful birds!)

After finishing up the books, I tucked Jackson in and gave him a goodnight kiss.  He sleepily looked up at me and said, "I sure do love you, Funny Angie."  

Miss Reagan was desiring a cup of water before she would consider climbing under her pink covers.  

After she was snuggly warm under her covers, I asked her what she was going to do tomorrow.  She replied, "Punch Jackson."  I really wasn't expecting that so my reply was "Well, you should really be kind to him.  He's your brother.  Goodnight" which was sealed with a goodnight kiss.

When I got to her doorway, she said, "I love you, Fun Angie."  I turned around and blew her a kiss.  

What a delightful evening with two of my favorite kiddos!

P.S. When I informed their father of Reagan's special agenda for tomorrow ("Punch Jackson"), he said, "Well...atleast she has a plan."  

College Roommate, Hangers, The Marble, Trudy, Plant Killer, and Thrifting

Do you ever have a day that seems to just fly by and at the end of that day, you can pinpoint little tasks that you completed but nothing really big?  And it seems like all the little tasks you did don't really add up to the amount of time you were at your place of employment.  That happened to me today.  I'm not exactly sure what happened.  (Ok, when I typed "I'm not exactly sure what happened" - I have this voice in my head that says it like my college roommate, Brenda.  College was HOW long ago, Angie Good?  Seriously though...that's something Brenda, aka: Ol' Girl, would've said.  And actually she would've began the sentence with "I do believe..."  Oh the funny memories that pop into my brain at random moments and then get typed in a blog post.  It's scary what goes through my pretty little head, isn't it?  And yet, you still come back for more...some of you DAILY...my stalkers maybe even hourly.  No worries.  I'm not creeped out that you stalk my blog.  I'm honored that you actually wonder, What will the girl with curly hair say today?  It's like that moment in the movie, You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan types to Tom Hanks, "What will NY152 say today?")

I need to focus.  Wow!

I'm doing pretty well with the whole switch-the-hangers-after-you-wear-and-wash-your-summery-article-of-clothing project.  I think tomorrow I will wear something that I haven't worn.  I am, however, starting to notice that I have favorites...  I know, I know.  You aren't suppose to have favorites but I think that rule only applies to teaching...right?  

Speaking of teaching, I get asked if I miss it.  I don't really miss it because I work with grown-men who sometimes act like 2nd graders.  I have one particular co-worker, who happens to be my absolute favorite...perhaps because he frequently picks up our coffee tab at Starbucks...  This favorite found a glass red marble.  It's slightly larger than a golf ball but not bigger than a tennis ball.  He (said co-worker) believes we should ask the marble what we our goals for the day should be.  He also randomly will pick up the marble and hold it up to his temple and contemplate a question that I have posed to which he will begin his reply with "The marble says..."  He's crazy but honestly, he really is my favorite!  Tomorrow I am going to adhere a sticky note to the marble that says, "You should really pick up Starbucks for Angie on Friday.  Sincerely, the marble."  The marble has good manners.  :)

There - I have officially blogged about the marble situation.  I don't want to forget this weird moment in time.

I had the most amazing thing happen yesterday.  My friend Trudy was on my mind all day so I went to Hallmark and purchased a "Thinking of You" card because I had a $5 coupon and I wanted to find just the perfect card for her and my card stash is kinda low.  After purchasing said card, Trudy called me.  Apparently I had been on her mind all day.  We have determined that it's been too long since we last go together, so tomorrow night we are going to sit on her patio and drink decaf coffee.  Oh happy day!!!!  Also - she remembered that I want to attempt to keep alive another aloe vera plant so she graciously transplanted one of her aloe babies for me.  I really don't want to be known as the girl who kills aloe plants.  It's not becoming.  I mean - I don't have to have a green thumb...but to be known as a plant killer...well, that's just sad.  Downright sad.

On another random foliage note, I cannot wait to post a picture of my lilac shrubbery as in the my-neighbor-chopped-it-down shrubbery.  Guess what?  It's growing back and it seems to be slightly out of control.  Perhaps the thing needed a near-death experience...I don't know but I am thrilled to see the hearty green shoots coming up!!!!!  

Tomorrow is Thursday which is not quite Friday but oh so close!!!!  This Friday I am actually leaving work 2-1/2 hours early to meet my friend Sara for therapy/thrifting at our favorite thrift in Janesville.  And then after thrifting, I am returning to Rockford to watch Reagan and Jackson which I am sure will provide me with an excellent blog post.  Reagan is 3 and Jackson is 5.  I love the marvelous children in my life.  They sure do liven things up!

Well...I am going to publish this post.  I do apologize for the randomness this evening.  

Have a delightful Thursday!

:)

Helloooo!  Can you believe that it's already Monday?  Wow -- where did the weekend go?  

Friday -- I took the Gear kids to see Beauty and the Beast at Rockford College.  About 45 minutes into the play, Jackson turns to me and says with an adorable smile, "Funny Angie, this is not a movie!"  Too which I replied, "You are absolutely right, Jackson.  This is a play.  Those are real people up there."

Saturday -- I stopped in and saw Missy for a few minutes.  She worked wonders with my eyebrows!  :)  And she was gem and saved me a bottle of "Behave" hair gunk...which just sooo happens to live up to its name and make my straight hair obey!  (Happy dance.)  

My Saturday afternoon was quite productive...all (ALL) summer skirts and tops and sandals were sorted through and purged.  One large bag was filled and dropped off at the thrift on my way to hit the gym.  I love sorting through mounds of clothing and asking myself, "Do I love this article of clothing?  Could someone else love it and wear it more than I am?"...and getting rid of what I don't need, want, and/or use.  It's invigorating!!!  For me, anyway... :)

Sunday -- Our lesson was on Judas betraying Jesus.  What convicts me the most is that the Lord reveals an area(s) in my life where I have acted/thought/behaved in a way that although I did not sell Jesus to the religious leaders for 30 pieces of silver...yet, I have betrayed Him.  

After church (and after perusing the Weather Bug website and seeing the forecasted spring showers for our area), I headed to the thrift in search of a raincoat.  One was found...it was the wrong size!  DRAT!  Again -- this is another reason why I wish the thrifts in our area would hang items up by size.  How difficult would that be, really?  It's not complicated...small, medium, large...  Anyway...after the thrift, I did take a quick perusal of Burlington Coat Factory -- as I figured they are a COAT factory and since I am searching for a raincoat/spring jacket...(sigh) Nothing at BCF screamed, "Buy me, Angie Good!"  Oh well...it looks like spring is here to stay -- so I will just have to continue searching for said raincoat.

There you have it.  My weekend.  I hope your weekend was equally as adventurous!!!  

Happy Monday, Blog-Stalkers!!!!

This little gal and her brother have very special places in my heart.  I have known them all of their lives.  Jackson, who is now 4 -- where did four year go? -- and Reagan, who is now 2, are such rays of sunshine in my life.  Even tonight, when Jackson wanted to wrestle and rough-house...it was great fun!  We had a couple of teaching opportunities.  :) 

After baths and putting on jammies, I let them have graham crackers and milk.  Aren't I just the bestest babysitter ever???  Here's our conversation as I was tucking them in to bed...

Jackson:  "Funny Angie, my tummy is making noise and saying it is hungry."

Funny Angie:  "Jackson, your tummy is not hungry.  It's just saying it's full."

Brief pause.

Jackson:  "Funny Angie, tummies don't say they are full.  People say they are full.  Tummies can't say that.  My tummy is not full."

Funny Angie:  "Goodnight, Jackson.  I love you!"

Quote of the evening

Jackson, age 4:  "Funny Angie, may we watch Incredibles tonight?  Please!"

Angie, age NOT 4:  "Jackson, I love your good manners.  Certainly we can watch that."

After 2 minutes of trying to get the DVD player and the TV to work together, Angie says, "Jackson, I cannot figure this out.  Every time I come over, I cannot remember..."

Jackson:  "Red goes with red.  Yellow with yellow."  He, then proceeds to take this plug-in contraption and inserts the red prongy-thing into the hole marked red and the same with the yellow end. 

Angie:  "Wow -- that's great, Jackson!"

Jackson:  "I am a genius!!!" 

And quite modest too...  (Insert laughter!)

Very literal :)

Tonight I spent a couple hours with my friend's two year old.  Here's a snippet of the evening...

(Reagan fidgety and kind of having a slight I'm-really-bored-sitting-here-in-the-car hissy fit.)
Angie:  "Reagan, you are fine.  Calm down.  We are almost to the cottage.  Don't have a cow."
(Reagan silent for several seconds.)
Reagan faintly "Mooooo..."

After taking care of the dog-sitting dogs and then driving all the way to the cottage to check on Maggie...
Angie:  "Reagan, do you want to get on the crazy train with me?"
Reagan nods her head several times while replying, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Several seconds later, coming from the backseat, a very faint "Choo-choo!"  Well then...ALL ABOARD!

Don't you just love children?  Oh my....they make me smile and laugh OUTLOUD!  They are very literal.

This literal-ness reminds of me of my first year teaching 2nd grade.  I remember standing in front of the classroom and telling them that we were going to write out our spelling words on the back of math homework, and then I said, "You know -- kill 2 birds with 1 stone?!"  The gasp was audible.  Their faces fell.  I became "Miss Good, formerly-our-favorite-second-grade-teacher" to "Miss Good, BIRD KILLER!"  Once I realized that they had taken me literally, I quickly explained that it was a figure of speech...and then I had to go on to explain what a figure of speech was.  It sort of snowballed from there...

"Is that Jesus?"

I love spending time with the special children the Lord has put in to my life.  And I love how I remember little bits-and-pieces of our conversations after the fact...

Last Wednesday, I spent a couple hours with Jackson and Reagan.  We began our evening with a meet-up with Miss Rhonda at Starbucks.  It's our once-a-week coffee fix right before church.  No worries, Mom, we drink decaf!  :)  And mine is unsweetened and icky.  Icky but healthy...

Any-who...last Wednesday, Jackson was staring at the Starbuck's sign...here's how our conversation went.

Jackson: "Is that Jesus?"

Fun Angie: "No. that is the Starbuck's lady on their sign."

Jackson: "Hers got funny hands."
Fun Angie: "I know. They look like hooves."

Jackson: "What are hooves?"

Fun Angie: "Want another animal cracker?"

Engaged

Somewhere in the middle of a discussion about Lightning McQueen and Thomas the train, Jackson and I shared the sweetest moment...

Jackson:  "Funny Angie, when I get older, I am going to marry you!"

Angie:  "Well...that sounds great but first you've got to grow up, big and strong!"

Jackson:  "Yeah.  And I should go to school."

I love Jackson!  I don't even know where he came up with the notion to propose marriage.  Let me just say...He's a smart young man and he knows a good thing when he sees it!

~ Angie

Out & About With Miss Reagan

Tonight, on this 10th day of Christmas, I got to spend some time with Reagan.  I have two funny moments...

1st  -- At Panera, we had this conversation.
Angie:  "Are you hungry?"
Reagan nods enthusiastically.
Angie:  "Do you eat soup?"
Reagan - more nodding.
Angie:  "Wait a minute...do you eat boogers?"
Reagan:  same enthusiastic nod and a huge smile.
Angie:  "Hmmm...let's just share my soup and see how that goes..."

2nd -- While getting out of the car at Target...
Reagan points to my brown hat on the seat and then she points to my head.
Angie:  "Do you want me to wear my hat?"
Reagan nods.
Angie:  "You are a smart girl!  Bundle up in the winter!!!"

~ Fun Angie

"It's gunna be a good idea!" said Jackson

I love spending time with my friend Gloria's children, Jackson & Reagan.  Jackson is 3 and Reagan is 1-1/2 years old.  They are bright, sunny spots in my life. 

Last night, Jackson was messing around in the basement while we watched 101 Dalmatians.  He found a box and said to me, "Funny Angie, do you wanna see me stand on this box?  It's gunna be a good idea."  Of course, I said, "yes, why don't you stand on it!"  Then I got to thinking...I bet he said, "It's gunna be a good idea" because his mom and dad ask him, "Jackson, do you think that it's a good idea that you do that...?" 

How funny.  Here he was prefacing his action with "It's gunna be a good idea.

I love that kid.

~ Angie

Polar Express

Today I was informed that Jackson would like to go on a trip with "Funny Angie" (he has upgraded my name from just Fun Angie) to the North Pole on the Polar Express train.  I must confess...the entire trip sounds delightful!  Before I book the tickets, I want to make sure they will be serving the hot chocolate the SAME way they served it in the movie.  And then I would like confirmation that we will indeed be seeing Santa.  I'd like to talk to him about my list...and maybe get in writing and notarized that I, Fun/Funny Angie, am on the Nice List...just in case there are some questions in the next 7 weeks.  :)