And we've moved...

We've completed the move!!! We have been in our new house for two weeks.

Move day was crazy...move weekend was crazy, but we're in and we're getting settled.

I'm trying to sign the girl up for local activites for the summer to get her acclimated.

Today we had a family birthday party for her...and she had a great time with her cousins.

Again this year I made her cake










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Dogs Are Found

Shortly after my post on Friday I received a phone call that the dogs were about four miles away at a home near the Concord river. We were all relived that they were ok and coming home.

Best we can tell is they followed some high tension power lines to that area.

Both dogs are ok, tired, dehydrated, hungry, and a little scratched up, but ok.

I want to thank every one that helped look for them and spread the word that they were missing.


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My Dogs are Missing

I'm writing this with so much sadness.

On Wednesday April 11 at about 10:30 pm I put my dogs out for their last bathroom break before bed time and they escaped our fenced in yard. Now them escaping isn't unusual, they love to dig under the fence and have been doing it frequently. We have done so much to "Mac Gyver" the fence to keep them in, but they kept finding ways out. Just that afternoon they got out and I retrieved them quickly and my husband checked the fence for weakness and couldn't find the issue, so we thought we were good.

Once we realized they were out I went off for a ride to find them. I went to all their usual spots, but couldn't find them, after 45 minutes of looking I gave up and came home hoping they would come back.

On the 12th I took my daughter to school and came home to work on finding them. I've posted on Facebook and Craigslist. I've made flyers and called dog officers in four towns. I've contacted four or five rescue/ humane societies with their information. I have walked through the woods and along the high tension power lines. My sisters in law are out looking for them. People I dont even know are looking for them. My daughters classmates and their siblings are looking for them.

I am out of steam. I am emotionally spent. I am losing hope.

Here I am at almost 8 pm on April 13, and the dogs have been seen only once...back on the 11th at about 11:30 pm maybe 1/2 mile from my house on a street that I checked, but I missed them.

I think someone took them and is keeping them or drove them far away, or who knows what. They had collars on with ID tags and our phone number.

Before these dogs we had two of the same breed, who passed away...I don't know what's worse having your pet die or just disappear.

My daughter is sad, my husband is sad, I'm sad.

If you see my dogs please call me 978-771-0434. Their names are Ellie and Gracie.




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Sweet Anthem - Gwendolyn

I've only worn Gwen once and unfortunately I don't think I can wear it again...it's way to floral for me.

Here is the scent notes and description from Sweet Anthem: #052 — Gwendolyn
Amber, Black Tea, Lily of the Valley, Honeysuckle, Hyacinth, White Ginger

A friendly springtiming tea suitable for any queen we know – steeped with wild, aldehydic florals, a dash of soft ginger, and a slightly tepid musk to leave our heads swimming.

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You think you know....but you don't

Credit to Joys Hope and Cookie Mondays

Does the world owe you???

We're moving in about 6 weeks to a town about half way between where we are now and the husbands work. We're moving for a few reasons the biggest being this move will cut the husbands commute in half. The next is we do need more space and privacy for all of us. The husband likes to do wood working and he'll get a dedicated space for that. The girl and I like to craft, my poor sewing machine has cobwebs on it, and we'll get a dedicated space for that. Plus we get space to hopefully host a family holiday or two. And it's a better school system for the girl and this year we saw what a small class can do for a young mind.

Needless to say we're pretty excited, but I know there will be a few who question us, not nessacarily about the move, but about our income and how it's so unfair to someone else that we got SO lucky...see I'm back to that...and this is what I say to you...

We work hard, me raising the girl and the husband doing what he does. We've both worked hard for a long time. When we met in 1996 the husband was working in a factory and I was a customer service phone rep. Since then we've both grown and changed both personally and professionally and it wasn't luck, it was hard work and dedication. It wasn't handed to us. We both feel that hard work is the key.

Everyday I see my husband drive an hour to and from work. He travels so often for work that there are weeks that I feel like a single mom. But it's all worth it to us.

So when you say to me that so and so has it so hard the world is against him, he has no luck, or whatever you want to tell yourself that makes you feel better about how you enable him. I'll say to you...

The world doesn't owe you anything, you make your decisions to lay in bed, or go fishing or hunting, or get high, those are your decisions and you should suffer the consequences.

I will not feel guilty that we work hard to have what we want.


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Sweet Anthem - Margaret

Margaret is growing on me...it started out sharp for me, but has dried down to a nice grassy dirty scent, like new grass or just turned over loam.

Notes & description from Sweet Anthem: #053 — Margaret
Guava, Rose Otto, Vetiver, White Tea

When the war is too much to bear, find comfort in this ancient melange of rose and vetiver, and settle into the evening with a guava-sweetened white tea.


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Links of London

Have I blogged about Links before? If I have let me just say love Links 💗
If I haven't...let me say love Links 💗
The husband went to the UK for a business trip mid February and didn't get me anything from Links 😞 so he must have felt bad as he took me to the nearest Links store and spent too much on me...I felt pretty guilty about it so I returned the too expensive item and got a signature sweetie necklace that I just love and a watch over me evil eye charm, that I've been wanting for like two years. Let's see if I can link to them hahaha Signature Sweetie Necklace
Evil Eye


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Sweet Anthem - Corrin

Spring limited edition

There is an undertone of sweetness in this scent, which it think is the ginger. I smell black tea.

This scent is a little strong for me, not a favorite.


Notes and Description from Sweet Anthem: #025 — Corrin
Black Tea, Civet, Cherry Blossom, Moroccan Rose, Myrrh, White Ginger

Hey, don't you wanna buy her candy? Fruity strawberries, a smoky rosy center, an old trade route tea and expensive resins in between.




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Sweet Anthem - Rowena

I think I like Rowena, I've worn her a couple times and I find her interesting. She starts out reminding me of the beach a little, and some citrus, then dries down cleanish.

Notes and description from Sweet Anthem: #054 — Rowena
Cassis, Cognac, Green Tea, Golden Champa, Lavender, Pink Grapefruit, White Champa

Hypnotic: white and golden champa, green tea infused with lavender, all adorned with a trio of quintessential citrus notes — cassis, cognac, and grapefruit.


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Putting it out there...part 2

This part is the hard one and the husband will probably hate that I'm putting it out there....but here goes...

Contrary to popular belief I'm not perfect I don't claim to be and my life isn't perfect now nor has it ever been perfect. It's pretty darn good, but not perfect. I don't live in an ivory tower and have servants waiting on me, oh how I wish.
Oh, and I'm not rich, I'm going to go back to my last post...we work hard for our stuff.

I've been to counseling for a crap load of stuff, starting with the fact that I'm adopted, to the mind games my mother played on me as a kid/teen, the difficulties we had conceiving, the shock when we did, and the emotional roller coaster of post partum. I'll say right here, I probably should go back to counseling and I'm sure I will at some point.

Every morning I wake up to a massive adrenaline rush that takes either a 3+ mile run to wear it off or several hours, I've been like that since June 2006. I laugh when I should be angry and I can't control the inappropriate reaction at all.

I love my husband and my daughter, and neither of them is perfect.

I'm not a perfect mother and I won't ever be, but my kid will be able to read a plane, train, or bus schedule, if I have any thing to say about it. She'll work hard for her stuff and she will never think that the world or society owes her anything.



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Sweet Anthem - Colin

From the back log...I'm pretty sure I got the halloween releases but didn't review them, since the app was out of commission during this time. And I can't seem the make it through the Lulu Beauty samples. I've sniffed them, and I think that they will be good to try now, more that when I originally received them.

The last of the fall LE's from Sweet Anthem is Colin, but have no fear Meredith did a Halloween release that I'm expecting to receive soon. I'm also going to be reviewing another Etsy shop I found Lulu Beauty.

So anyway on to Colin...first sniff was cinnamon and clove, now I'm not sure what the mid note is right now. So I got cinnamon and clove from the cardamom, which I also really love the scent of. I'm thinking the mid note is the benzoin.

This one is my favorite of these samples.

Here is the description...Thick air of cardamom, incense, and myrrh set the stage for many a-ghostly and storied song, and provides asylum for spice-laden spectors who steal sweet maidens into the dead of night. Amber, Benzoin, Cardamom, Frankincense, Honey, Myrrh


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Putting it all out there...

So one of the blogs I read quite frequently is Cup of Jo and I just love reading her posts about motherhood and life in general. Recently she posted about being real. It was a moving post and it's prompting me to do the same. I'll warn you that this will probably be long and all over the place but ahhh it will feel good.

I once had my mother say to me that I've had it easy, that I got lucky with much of what I do or have done...she thinks it's luck, apparently all the hard work I've done since I was a kid has some how gone unnoticed. I haven't asked for every thing to be handed to me. I've set goaIs and worked hard for them.

The summer between sophomore and junior years in high school I decided I wanted to go to college. I changed my entire class schedule and buckled down and worked hard to raise my GPA and I went to college. Also during that time I started working a part time job, only during the summer, but since then and up until November 2011 I've always had a job. In fact at one point I was working and finishing my bachelors degree, which isn't unusual for a lot of people and I'm not complaining, I'm just saying. I've also worked three part time jobs on several occasions to keep myself afloat. I've, also, been so sick and with out health insurance several times.

And I've done plenty of stupid stuff, like racked up credit card debt, and dated a**holes, so I guess you could say luck was in play when I met my husband. I'm also lucky that we have the girl, she is a gift...that occasionally makes me crazy, but a gift just the same.

Let me say it feels weird, disconcerting (is that the right word?) not to be working, but the husbands work/travel schedule and the girls schedule do not make it conducive for me to have any type of a job. So I'm dealing with it...

I see my bachelors degree languishing and fear that when I do want to go back to work I'll be unemployable. Having gone from a project manager, to an admin, to a nail tech, then stay at home mom. How's that for a blow to the self esteem.

So all that hard work is just luck, I guess...

This may not seem like me putting it out there, but there is more to come. This one just seemed to flow about this.

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Blanket apology for my social ineptness

Every so often I feel like I need to issue one of these. I frequently feel like I'm putting my foot in my mouth. Either that or I'm over analyzing my social interactions with other moms.

So if you're my friend or an aquantance and I do or say some thing totally stupid forgive me. I'm really not that dumb, I forget to engage brain before mouth sometimes. Or I just get on a roll and it all spews out good or bad.

Oh, and yes I'm opinionated.

I don't make friends easily. I'm an observer...I just take it all in.

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Sweet Anthem - Miranda

Note: from my back log

Another fall LE.

So I think I could fall in love with this one. It's spicy with a little chocolate underneath.

Visit Meredith's blog here for an update about Miranda here

Here is the description...We fall, but our souls are flying. A baleful blend of banded peppers and woods, tragically impaled with bloodshot immortelle blossoms. Black Agar, Cocoa, Immortelle, Pink Pepper, White Agar, White Pepper


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Sweet Anthem - Maureen

Note: this is from my back log...

Fall LE

So Maureen must have a little cinnamon in it since I smell it and my skin is tingly from it. Maybe some pine?? As usual Meredith makes it tough, really tough since I got none of the notes, and usually almond jumps right out at me.

I'm not sure right now if I like Maureen or not.

Here is the description...These thousand dreams could wake you; a complicated, seductive "floriental" for any girl child in the dark. Almond, Chai Tea, Fig, Moroccan Mint, Moroccan Rose, Myrrh



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Trying to get back in the groove...

Hi there....I'm trying to get back to this. I think of it every day. I miss you dear blog.

I have some posts from the fall still in my queue. The blogging app that I use on my iPad had some iOS 5 issues and wouldn't work for several months and to be honest I don't really like the blogger interface on the web, so I lost my groove.

So I'll post my back log and I'll try and blog a few times a week if I have something fun to say or rant about....like our upcoming move to a new town or the crazy people who will be moving into our current house, cuz they are worth a few pages of venting, dumb asses. Sorry lovely neighbors 😒


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