ScrapHappy

Actually, maybe happy isn't exactly the right word for me today...I woke up with a headache that reached migraine level several hours ago...ugh!

BUT..I hate just sitting around thinking about how badly my head hurts when it's like this, so sometimes I attempt to "trick" it into feeling better by diverting my attention on some kind of task or project.

Recently inspired by all the crafty blogs I've visited, I decided to haul out my scrapbooking supplies and create something. Honestly, I don't enjoy scrapbooking as much as most people do...I get WAY too frustrated with sorting through the pictures, trying to do the journaling, thinking and RE-thinking my layouts until it takes me HOURS just to do one page. My sweet ya-ya junior (also knows as my mini-me...my daughter) LOVES to make fun of me for this.

However, I DO love to make cards or other types of paper crafts using all my scrapbook supplies. For some reason, I just don't feel the same kind of pressure and so I'm able to enjoy it more fully.

So today I made this:

The Irish Blessing that you can't really read in the pic says:

~May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your house.~

I miss getting crafty with my Ya-Yas!! When Anna and Leah were teenagers, we would play Christmas music, drink hot punch, and spend hours together making Christmas crafts. It's times like today, when I'm sitting alone with all my scrapping supplies surrounding me, that I long for the geographical gap to disappear in an instant so that I can have my two best gal-pals with me. Remembering old times can be bittersweet, sometimes...yes?

Anna...I made this particular project with you in mind =)....but I liked it so much that I decided to frame it and keep it (he-he)! If you get your ya-ya tushy out here and craft with me, I'll make you one of your own!

Leah...of course you're invited, too...except Major Pete and his class puts a wrinkle in things for the time being...(darn him!)

Ya-Ya

"What I like about ME" Wednesday

So... I've done quite a bit of traveling through BLOGLAND these past few days and have made an amazing discovery:

there are zillions (yes, it's a number) of AMAZINGLY talented women out there!

Seriously...I was hitting crafty blog after crafty blog and leaving each site feeling a little less worthy as a mom/wife/woman/crafter/human being....you get the idea.

Which brings me to the point of today's post.

Because I know I'm not the only one who does this.

One of the unfortunate truths about the Ya-Ya species (read: women), is the fact that we have a tendency to frequently (if not constantly) compare ourselves to other Ya-Yas. We wish our body looked like HER body; we wish we had the cooking skills of THAT girlfriend; oh my gosh, if we could only be as "crafty" as Martha McNeighbor!

This is not healthy behavior, my friends...I'm sorry to have to be the one to break it to you.

So from now on, Wednesdays have OFFICIALLY become "What I like about ME" Wednesday. And yes...I DO expect you all to play along. As long as you play by the rules:

1. POSITIVE comments only...no negativity; no qualifying your comment with even an iota of self-debasement to counter your positivity. Comments like that WILL be deleted.

2. Your "What I like about ME" may be anything...even if you have to dig deep: personality trait, body part, something fabulous that you've done in your life...use your imagination, but make it a real, honest statement.

That's it...those are the only rules. The "game" is easy to play, especially since I will get things started for us each Wednesday by posting something I like about myself. Other Ya-Yas (read: the rest of you) will then follow suit by using the comment section to tell us something they like about themselves.

See? EASY!

So I know you're dying to hear my "what I like...", right?

Today, that's fairly simple. Today, I like the fact that I had an idea that may help us Ya-Yas to quit being so hard on ourselves and recognize our own individual worth as individual ya-yas. We don't have to be like everyone else, or ANYONE else for that matter. We all have great qualities that we sometimes forget. I just want to help everyone remember that.

Ya-Ya

P.S. ~ Anna, you may NOT opt out of this one...it's your Ya-Ya-bligation as co-author of this blog!

I love my Ya-yas

I love my ya-ya's . Sisters forever!!!!!

PLUG it in..

...as in "shameless plug"...

what? (you ask)

...as in, this little post is nothing more than a shameless plug for my new little side project.

Because I have so much time on my hands right now while I'm stranded at home.

And because I'm having so much fun in BLOGLAND, anyway!...and I'm already finished cleaning today.

It's new, so don't expect too much yet. (geeeeez! give me a little time, will ya?)

But go take a look, anyway. And make sure to become a follower, so I don't get my tender feelings hurt ;)

The Epigrammatic Librarian

Ya-Ya

Untitled

The past 48 hours have probably been the most difficult in days. I don't really have any explanation why, but they have. My body hurts all over and every breath feels as if it is going to be my last. Here are a couple of reasons why:

I find myself remembering special moments of my life that included my significant other. Example, My babies being born. My second child's birth was so difficult and he and my twin were there with me the whole time. Then, we had to hear the Doctor utter the words that we needed to be prepared for his death. Wow! Tough one there. Then, in an almost simultanious thought, I have a memory of being told how stupid I am. I hear words uttered in a name calling fashion that haunt me daily. How is this possible? Why do we constantly team good with the bad? Perhaps it is that reality called Life.

Next, anger hits me. The kind of anger that few can understand. Anger so bad that it makes me want to punch something so hard. Anger from broken promises. Anger from expectations that come with saying the words "I Do". Hmmm, right now I'm thinking more along the lines of "I Don't!" I don't want to feel anymore. I don't want to wake up in this mess I created. I don't want to bend over and take it. I don't want to be a doormat to the world anymore. I don't want to hurt my beautiful children. I don't want to be weak. I don't want to feel that I am stupid or naive. I just DON'T.

I am so angry and hurt.

Dear Leah...

It has come to my attention that alot of people these days rely on this very weird phenomenon called a Life Coach...i mean really people. Are you telling me that some of you out there really need to take advice from someone who woke up one day and decided that they were talented at giving advice to a complete stranger? That's what it's all about you know...most of these Life Coaches do not even have college degrees yet they make money off exploiting your " Misfortune" or as we Yayas say " Misadventures". It's a new world out there...one in which we accept no losers, only winners in the Game of Life.



Some of you may be thinking right now...what the hell is Leah talking about? Well,I will explain. Everyone these days wants to be told that "It's ok"...no it isn't people. Crap happens. We make choices, good or bad, and we are supposed to live with the consequences or rewards of such choices. We aren't here to have every little nook and cranny of our lives to become sugar coated with a glaze of joy...that's not reality.



We have to feel.

We are supposed to feel pain. We are supposed to feel joy. We are supposed to feel confused. We are supposed to feel enlightened. We are supposed to cry. We are supposed to laugh. We are supposed to give. We are supposed to take. Are you following me people?



It's life. For better or worse...that's what it is. Living means feeling and knowing all it has to offer, both good and bad.



With that said, you may be thinking "what in the hell does this have to do with life coaches?" Alright! I will tell you. I have decided to jump on this humorous bandwagon of lending people advice. Not because I wanna make money or even exploit ones misfortunes, but because I thought that it would be fun to spoof all of this. So, here is what I wanna do. Each Sunday, I thought it would be fun for all you YaYas out there to ask Dear Leah a question? We can share with each other our points of view and maybe even collaborate with one another on what to do.



Hmmm....i hear the wheels turning in your little minds as I write...." Does Leah even have experience to bloviate like this?" Absolutely! As a lifelong member of the psychiatric community club, I feel as though I could probably share with some of you the things I have learned.



So, with that said, let's give this a try. Ask Dear Leah a question...anxiously waiting.

House of Horrors?

A couple of posts ago, Anna mentioned a journey....and asked for input from our devoted followers as to why or why not we sisters should throw caution to the wind and JUST DO IT.

Now... (mind you)... we 3 have been talking about a sister trip for many years. And EVEN NOW, with "nearly" nothing to worry about except for airfare and fun-funds, there will probably be a hundred roadblocks in our way.

Honestly? I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist based on historical fact when it comes to this kind of stuff. I know that one day it WILL happen...but it will probably be later rather than sooner. Usually, I abhor being wrong. In this case, I would be delighted if I were!!

That being said, I really just wanted to share with you my list of PROS for the trip...and though I try not to be selfish most of the time, I'm going to indulge (just this once...yeah, right!) myself tonight by listing just my own personal reasons for wanting to go on this journey....and I'm limiting my list to my HOUSE OF HORRORS.

Okay. My HOUSE OF HORRORS has nothing to do with the people who live in it...I happen to love them all dearly. Nor is my house haunted in any way, shape, or form (sorry to disappoint...since it's October, that would have been cool, huh?) . My house is actually just the worst "lemon" in the Used Car Lot. Only it isn't a car (don't even get me started on those)... it's a house.

SCREEEEEECH!!!!!

What the heck just happened? I was all ready to list my grievances against my house when I decided to look back over what I'd already written first...and then I couldn't do it. Why? Because it's just a house. It's the people inside that I love that make it my home. That will never change no matter where I live.

As for needing reasons to go on this JOURNEY with my sisters? It's pretty much the same. The only reason I need is that I love them. I love being with them. Every memory that we make together is something that I will cherish forever. Enough said.

Ya-Ya

Pies

It has come to my attention that I LOVE Pie!!! Reasons....

If you have ever seen the movie Waitress then you will understand.

1. I hate blow jobs pie
2. I wish my husband would get run over by a bus pie
3. I am going to Boston Pie
4. The I'm always right Pie... i.e. your dick is not the cure all
5. Pie... Can I get hair with that? That's all I think about anyway
6. Your Pie is good, but the one I saw on T.V. is better
7. Knick Knack Patty Wack Pie.... No bones included

6 Random Factualities

1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness...yes i do in fact believe this which is why I also like to tweak it a bit and say that Cleanliness is next to Greatness as well.

2. Personally I hate these surveys...in fact they down right irritate me however because it is my beautiful yet annoying yayas that send them to me I do feel a sense of obligation to let them know how I truly feel.

3. I take great pleasure in helping others but I also take great pleasure in kicking stupid people's asses.

4. Oh I am sarcastic yet jovial when intoxicated

5. Yes!! I once had near death experience in a bar involving a toilet stool....that's all I'm saying...ask Anna

6. I really want to become a hairdresser, but I find that not so honorable.

Journey

It has come to my attention that a ya-ya trip is not only a necessity, but a must. There are circumstances which would allow for the trip of a lifetime! I'm talking the Motherland ladies. The only expense would be the airfare and whatever else we choose to splurge upon. So, with this being said, I am calling all Ya-Ya's to convince the others that it is time to take a stand and do something for us!

Ireland... Ladies! Airfare that's all. Then, a hop, a skip, and a ride on the ferry all the way to Scotland!!!!! If ever there was a needed trip, it is NOW!

If you are for this journey, send a comment and let us know your thoughts and reasons behind the trip. I'm speaking of pros and cons. I am calling all ya-ya's to share why they would drop everything to go on a journey or Adventure of a lifetime. Post your comments and don't hold anything back as far as reasoning. Why does a ya-ya deserve a trip with fellow ya-yas? Question of the Day.....