Sit back and relax...

It's been ages since I have posted and there are many reasons for that. So grab a cuppa whatever you like and perhaps a snack as this will be a lengthy post....

The holidays were hectic for me as I was working 2 jobs. I was working 40-60 hours a week which left me exhausted in and of itself. It was stressful - but I was making the money that I need.

The Friday before Thanksgiving I finally had a successful show. This was a small venue that took place at my Dad's work. He works in a hospital and they have an annual craft show for the employees and their relatives. I had a steady stream of traffic by my table all day - and I can honestly say that I will be doing this show again next year as it was worth my time and energy to do it. Would I have liked to sell more? Sure - but I did have some sales and I was pleased by the end of the day.

During this time, I also had some sales to some of my co-workers at Longhorn. So business was pretty good for me in December.

The same day as the craft show, my step-sister went into OSU as she was having problems with her pregnancy. I ended up staying at her house, dog and house-sitting for them as she was in the hospital for the next 7 weeks. I had use of her truck which was wonderful - and it great having the company of a canine again. Their dog Petey is a sweet and wonderful dog - so it was a real treat watching him.

Colette had a long stay in the hospital and finally, on Jan 3rd, our little girl, Alaina Renee, decided she wanted to come see what the fuss was about even though she was nearly 3 months early. Oddly, my other step-sister's birthday is Jan 3rd - so that was quite a birthday gift!!! Alaina weighed only 1 lb 12 ounces when she was born and was only 12 inches long, but all things considered, she is doing well. Today she actually made it to 2 lbs and 1/2ounce (hey when you are that tiny every little bit helps). She does have a hole in her heart which I guess is common for babies that are this premature. The doctors hope that it will close on it's own, but they are going to give it some time first.

So - I was working 2 jobs until this past weekend - Saturday I got a call not to come into work and that they had closed the Longhorn location that I had worked at permanently. I had heard rumors that they were closing the place 2 weeks after I began working there, so I was not really surprised. I actually got the second job at Steak and Shake because I had heard this rumor - figured it was better to have something else to fall back on if they did close unexpectedly. It's all worked out for the better though - I make better money at Steak and Shake and I like it more.

So after several months of craziness, I am now back at home and working only 1 job again. I am not quite sure what to do with myself. I am looking forward to getting back to my stitching and beading again although I did find a bit of time for myself to work on those things even with all the chaos in my life as of late. Of course, when I came back home, I had to give up use of the truck and it has been really hard getting used to riding the bus again. It eats a great deal of time out of my day. Hopefully, I will have some new pictures to post soon.

And last but not least, they have started my Dad on IV chemo. He had his first treatment on Jan 6th and so far has tolerated it well. Other than being extremely fatigued, he has not really had any side effects (knock on wood that it stays that way). If I had my choice between hair loss, nausea, vomiting, or fatigue, I would take the fatigue any day.

Ok - so that is all in my little bit of the world. I keep saying that I hope to be able to post more often, but this time I hope I can actually stick to it!