Buyer's Remorse

Last night I was invited to a 31 party, hosted by one of my awesome neighbors. If you're anything like me, you are reading this thinking, "what the heck is a 31 party?"

No, it has nothing to do with ice cream (though I wish they could somehow combine the two).

In short, 31 is a company that sells totes, bags, purses, etc. The catchy part is that YOU get to pick your own fabric, and can even personalize your bag with a monogram. If you're really lucky, you can even pick the color of your stitching. What's not to love? And, if you're like me, you get completely
S 
U 
C 
K 
E
D
    
I 
N
when it comes to these types of home parties. I usually fall SO in love with the products, that I end up being a consultant. Speaking of, everyone OK with their Wildtree spices and oils? Let me know if you need to order anything.

Every inch of my neighbor's family room was sprinkled with lovely bags of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Each one reached out to me as I walked by, but this one

and this one

grabbed hold of me ever so tightly. 

I bobbled back and forth between the two, comparing their pros and cons (I'm lying a tad about the con part - they had no cons).  Disaster struck the instant I was faced with the order form.  I quickly lost control of the muscles in my hand, and I accidentally ordered them both.

Crap.

I ordered the shoulder bag in the grey fabric (shown to the right of the picture) with an A, embroidered in turquoise.  Further impaired by bad judgement, I went on to order the wristlet (in the black and white pattern on the top).

Crappity crap.

Today I'm suffering from an excruciating amount of guilt, remorse, regret, and shame....to name a few.

Before I go through with cancelling my order, I thought I should make a list of the top 10 reasons why I deserve these delightful items.  Here goes-

10.- Because I never buy things for myself (other than shampoo, toothpaste, underwear, and mascara...but not until it becomes completely dried out and clumpy).
9.- Because winter isn't coming fast enough and I'm continually faced with 90 degree days, which makes me grumpy.
8.- Because my husband is traveling for work this week, and I HATE.  BEING.  ALONE.
7.- Because I just ate a ham & hummus sandwich for lunch.
6.- Because I woke up late this morning and made my husband's lunch, my kids' lunches, packed their backpacks, and made homemade pancakes (in the shape of storm troopers, Darth Vader, and Yoda) in less than 45 minutes.
5.- Because a shoulder bag with a turquoise A would make me giddy.
4.- Because a wristlet would come in handy for places where lugging a large purse around is frowned upon (Like when we visit our farm.  Farmgirl's don't carry big purses.).
3.- Because Christmas is 105 days away.
2.- Because today is my 13th wedding anniversary, and my husband and I have no plans to go anywhere, do anything, or buy any gifts.  My husband could give me the shoulder bag, and I could give him the wristlet.  Being the manly man he is, he wouldn't have any use for the wristlet, so he would kindly re-gift it to me.  He's always been very giving.
1.- Because I'm Amy, mother of 5 amazing boys, wife of 13 amazing years, and DARN IT.....I'm  kinda worth it!

New Year, New Goals.

2012 is bound to be a great year.  I can feel it.

In 2012, I will...

-be the mother of an 11 year old (which makes me really old)
-graduate from school
-celebrate my 13th wedding anniversary - love number 13...love my marriage.
-register Logan for kindergarten...despite his constant protest
-have 4 out of 5 boys in school
-attend 2 weddings
-have another boy celebrate his First Communion


In 2012, I want to...

-read more
-expand my garden
-learn how to sew
-learn how to can
-figure out a way to smuggle goats into my backyard without my neighbors (or the HOA) taking note
-move to a farm (if the goat thing doesn't go over well)
-date more (hubby and I rarely get out...extra emphasis on rarely)
-move to a farm (even if the goat thing works out well)
-blog more
-move to a farm

There it is, my 2012 list of what will and what just may happen.

What's on your list?

Hello...?

Is anyone there?  I totally forgive you if you've moved on to bigger and better blogs.

I've spent the last week geeking out....chicken style.  You name it, I've read it (including Raising Chickens For Dummies).  You see, I only have 40 days to prepare before my 4 little girls (in the form of baby chicks) arrive.  There's SO much to do!  Prepare the yard, buy a coop, load up on supplies, etc., etc.  I'm so excited, that I'm seriously having a hard time containing myself.  While waiting for the checker at the grocery to bag my things last weekend, I had this overwhelming (tourette-like) urge to grab him by the shoulders and tell him, "I'm going to raise chickens in my backyard!  Do you hear me? 
 CHICKENS IN MY BACKYARD!"  In my mind, I pictured myself gently letting him go and telling him I'd be back with fresh eggs to share.

We ordered 4 different breeds.  All cold-hardy, and supposedly leaning more towards the friendlier side....we shall see.  This morning we visited the farm to check out their chickens.  Just to take a closer look and follow through with our ongoing research.  I had to pry the boys away from the coop.  Not joking.  They did not want to leave.  Logan and Jack have named two of the chickens at the farm (Snowy & Princy) and the 4 of them have developed quite the bond.  I'm still not joking.  These hens, and their flockish friends, come running whenever my boys talk 'chicken' with them.  It's a good feeling to know I'm not the only one displaying obsessive chicken behavior in this family.

Aside from chickens, I've been doing my best to keep the kids as busy as possible.  On Monday, we made kites and hung them from our kitchen ceiling.  It was a project that took 3 hours to complete, but was VERY worth every second.  It makes the house look fun and springy, and I hear the song 'Lets's Go Fly A Kite' every time I come around the corner.  Dorky?  I don't think so.  It's the little things that excite me.

Aside from kite-making, we've been busy coloring, doing play-doh, and spending every sunny second we can outside.  On Tuesday, I gave the boys washable markers and let them decorate their canvas tent.  They each had their own panel and drew (what they tell me were) Indian (oops...Native American) designs.  Wes's side was the only one with no color on it.

Aside from himself, Wes managed to find a sharpie in my Sunday school bag and color on my great-grandmother's ottoman later that day.  I really did think I had done a good job of hiding the sharpies.  Apparently not.

There you have it.  My brain is swirling with thoughts of springtime and chickens.  I long for the day when I look outside and see my coop and my chickens catching rays of sunshine in the backyard.  I long for the day a neighbor knocks on the door and asks to borrow an egg.  And I long to send one of my boys to the backyard to collect it.

Suburbia-your suffocating grasp on me is weakening by the minute.

Did I tell you I'm getting chickens?