Sunday, January 31, 2010

What does the inside of a dashboard look like?

OR...what a guy has to go through to find out why the radio isn't working!

Our 18 year old got into a fender bender a few weeks back - no injuries thank goodness, but enough damage to be more than his Neon was worth, so a "new car" it is. A white mid 90's Cavalier that still runs great, but with a few cosmetic issues including the radio cutting out.

The hubby had to tear apart the entire dashboard to find out that the antenna was loose from the radio! After tightening this and tweaking that, the radio still cuts out occasionally but my son says it isn't a big deal. A strategically place smack on the dash gets it right back. Gotta love the added charm of a used car!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Lightbulb moment #27

fren·e·my
(frěn'ə-mē)
n. pl. fren·e·mies Informal A person who is ostensibly friendly or collegial with someone but who is actually antagonistic or competitive.//-->[Blend of fr(iend) + enemy.]

When I first saw and started hearing the word, I figured some gossip magazine coined it to describe Hollywood rivalries. How clever-one word that everyone understands. I didn't expect to find an actual definition (http://www.dictionary.com/). I also didn't expect to find it so close to me!

Recently, I was expressing my frustration to a neutral party and the word "frenemy " came out of my mouth without hesitation...hmmm...that was the first time I had said it out loud and knew instantly it described what I've been experiencing for the past few years with someone I had considered a close friend.

Wow, what a great 'light bulb' moment! I finally knew that it "wasn't my imagination" nor "a personality flaw" nor "you misunderstood me." The snide comments, subtle put downs, passive-aggressive behaviors and creepy competitiveness over the years were all very real.

The old adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" no longer works for me! This is not how I operate (nor will I put up with it) in true friendships. Even though until recently, I hadn't put it into words, I had been pulling away and mourning the loss of this "friendship" for a long time. Thankfully, I finally learned the lesson hard and strong enough in December that I was able to leave it all behind with the old decade, the old year, my old attitudes.

I don't hate this person, I'm just DONE. What a relief!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

door decos

At work, I am known as the "flair fairy." I create little souvenirs to liven up the place a little for each season. Since I work in radio, I re purpose old Cd's as part of my creations. I used a combination of Stampin' Up! stamps, paper, punch and inks, leftover Christmas wrap, Tim Holtz distress inks, Jolee's stickers and plain old curling ribbon. I love the dark purple side and the grooves in the CD and the layered/dimensional look. The fact that it looks like a tree on the door was a happy accident that I didn't even notice until someone else pointed it out!

Here is this year's holiday door ornament:

Saturday, January 2, 2010

It's been a while


Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything, sheesh! There are a few reasons for my lack of posting:

1. I picked up a full time/seasonal job at the local Macy's and that took up most every bit of free time I had!

2. The rest of my free time has been filled up with audits, explanations, meetings, other ugliness and bad feelings due to a huge loss of funds at a not for profit entity I happen to be a board member of. There was no embezzlement, but mistakes were made by all and even though we are trying to move past that, accusations and suspicions abound. Probably the most stressful situation I have ever experienced!

3. The whole point of this blog has been to be a happy, positive place to post my thoughts, musings, creativity, pictures and any other random things I find interesting. With the above situations, I haven't felt incredibly positive/creative, so I just followed the old adage, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (thus all the blank space between Thanksgiving and now!)


With a new year comes the chance to start over, wipe the slate clean and move forward. It is also an opportunity to leave the creepy stuff behind-bad feelings, toxic relationships, pointless resentments, undue stress and anything else that sucks the joy out of life. I'm fortunate that most of the creepy stuff I need to let go is on the periphery of my life and I have the choice and the power to ditch it without much regret or angst.
As I begin to let things go, I will get my groove back and blogging will be something I look forward to again...stay tuned!