my happy place

It's taken me a while to get there this week but I just found it.

I bought books.

I freaking LOVE book stores.  I love watching people sit and read.  I love the smell of books.  I love holding a brand new book.  I love to look around and see so many books that I feel overwhelmed.  A good overwhelmed.  I love getting a yummy coffee while browsing the books.

Tonight, I went to Barnes and Noble for two reasons.  To pick up some books that were recommended by a great friend on addiction/recovery/intervention.  Mom is coming home.  That's why it took me a while this week to get to my happy place.  It's going to be a rough week.  But I am bound and determined to teach my family what addiction to opiates really means.  I am also bound and determined to get my family back.  With or without my mom.

I also went to the bookstore to get the following book that I saw on Knack a while back.

Also got the following which I am totally psyched about!

No more spending money.  Off to do some reading.  Hope you are all having a fantastic week and I hope to catch up on your blogs soon!

need your help

Hello Hello!  I sure haven't been a fun blogger lately.  Sorry about that!  Just have a lot going on.

I am about to open up a new Etsy store.  I have oodles (yes, oodles) of jewelry supplies.  Tons of beads, wire, jewelry displays, etc that I am just never going to use.  So - what better way to get rid of it than to open up another Etsy store.  It's how I found all my stuff so...

Problem - I am not the most creative person in the world.  I am swamped with work and everything else right now.  That translates into having absolutely no brain power. 

Here is a link to my jewelry store...http://www.itssimplyyou.etsy.com

Any ideas?  I need your creative genius!

And a HUGE thanks to sweet Morgan for helping me out with the craft show this past weekend!!

decisions decisions

I'm either about to throw my Tivo out the f-ing window or maybe I will eat an entire carton of icecream.

weekend to-dos

Does this picture just make your day or what?  Precious.

Today I am getting ready for the Daniel Island Fall Fair where I will be selling my jewelry tomorrow.  Sweet Morgan is helping me and it's going to be an early morning so thanks lady!

After the market on Saturday I will be watching my Tigers play beat Florida State.

Sunday I will be cleaning out my closet and switching out to my winter clothes.  Yikes.  I better have a huge bag to donate afterwards as I never wear half the stuff I have!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

trust doesn't come easy for me

How do you know when the past is really the past?  How do you know when someone really won't hurt you again when they say they won't?  And don't say that you have to trust them b/c that is how you get your heart broken over and over again.  At some point you unfortunately have to put up that wall and move on with your life.  It's not easy and it's incredibly sad.  It takes years to build that wall and keep it up.  Sounds unhealthy I know, but in this case the wall needed to be built.

My mother is an addict.

There, I have said it.

The shortest possible version of the story is that she has been addicted to pills since before I was born.  She has been a very good mother and a very bad mother.  My entire life I struggled to not give up on her.  Five years ago I was done.  I moved to Charleston to get space and it was the best decision I could have made.

We had an "episode" a couple of months ago and she is now living with my uncle in North Carolina.  Hopefully she will pull herself together.  This is the best chance she has ever been given.

Do you know any addicts?

If not, you have surely seen House, Intervention and/or all the celebrities out there that have problems.

It's crazy.  Addicts know what they are doing.  In most cases they know exactly what drugs they can mix and match together - what amount of alcohol they can add to it - it's insane!

My mother's drug of choice is Vicodin.

But she adds all kinds of other things to it (including oxycotton) depending on the day.  It's amazing to me how one person can take all that she can without just dying.

And manipulative?  Wow.  She has her two brothers wrapped around her finger.  Whereas they do know she has a problem and they really are trying to help her, she still has them snowed.  She is SO good at blaming me, my dad and my brother on her being so miserable.  It's exhausting.

Reason for this post - I just checked the mail and there was an apology card from her.  Frustrated. 

visit to the coastal carolina fair

First I had to check out the precious farm animals...

Why I am not a Vet is beyond me.  I LOVE ANIMALS.

Next was the food...

AND an elephant ear before calling it a night.

Also, my friend Amy talked me into riding a few rides...

And then there were the games...

That one was taken specifically for our little miss bananas.  :)

And my favorite little moo cow.  Hope the video works!

move over jim...

I'm just getting started!

 

 

You can't really see it in the pictures but his prized Hall of Fame award is tucked away inside the big mound of lemon jello.  It was pretty fantastic.

On to the vending machines...

oh happy day

I just reactivated my Tivo.  Had to order a wireless adapter but should be up and running next week.  Yeay!

been buried

Between wanting to divorce my mother and work last week, none of my posts would have been very positive so I decided to spare you.

But now I am back after a weekend home to visit with my dad.  Which meant folding his clothes, cleaning his bathroom, watering the plants, etc.  Love the man to death but he needs a woman taking care of him for sure! 

I also got to have fun with my bestie for her 30th birthday.

Caught up with several other friends that I hadn't seen in way too long.

Now this week I am trying to wrap up an entire work week into 3 days b/c I am on vacation Thursday and Friday AND get ready for a craft show this weekend.  I am selling my jewelry at the Daniel Island Fall Fair on Saturday and can't wait!

Also playing a prank on someone at work tomorrow...here is a sneak peek...

Hope you have all had a wonderful week and I can't wait to relax next week and catch up on your blogs that I have missed so much!

tied up with strings

I had a bad day.  I want to divorce my mother.  Seriously.  Still trying to decide what is TMI for this blog so for now I will let it go at that. 

So...I was looking for some packaging ideas for my jewelry and found the following...

Aren't they adorable?

yep - that would be two in a row

For two nights in a row...I have cooked dinner.  This is big.  Huge.

Sunday Night:

Tonight:

before

after

yummy yummy yummy!

beware...

Since I have been obsessed with The Office lately, I suggested to a few coworkers that we play some pranks to liven it up a bit.  Well wouldn't you know...my red Office Space stapler is missing....

It's On!

paws in the park

I volunteered at Charleston Animal Society's Paws in the Park this past weekend.  This event is one of my favorites for many reasons.  Among them would be I adopted sweet Maddie Moo at this event 2 years ago.

It was a great turnout and it was so much fun!

angels and demons

I babysat this angel last night..

Who had a demon cat...

(and this wasn't the half of the scratches)

And I started this book...

I know I am little behind at reading this and think it's going to be a tough one to get through.  For some reason old people make me cry.  And animals.  Hmmm...

Couldn't resist posting this picture that I just found...

facebook funnies

 

  

Woohoo...almost Friday!

hissy fit

About to throw a full on temper tantrum...yes at the age of 31.

I just developed some film and what I was looking forward to seeing was...

a - the pumpkin patch from two weekends ago

b - reid and rivers decorating the pumpkin last night

c - maddie moo dressed up in her squirrel halloween costume

What I got was the pumpkin patch.  That's it.  What happened?

Film may not be for me.  Not sure I have the patience for this.

cold feet

When I moved this summer I had to take my fall/winter clothes and store them in Columbia.  No storage space stinks!  Anyway - it got cold and I have nothing but flip flops to wear.  Although it's not that odd to see flip flops being worn year round in Charleston...my feet have been freezing!

Loving the following...

 

 

All from DSW

Overstock

Zappos

I am very excited about wearing boots but I have to tell you that it's rough at the beginning.  I wear flip flops every day of my life.  Even to work.  So it feels SO claustrophobic when I have to start wearing shoes.

WHEN am I going to win the lottery?