The Return of Randomness

Gone are the days of summer, when so much was going on that I barely had time to breathe.  Here are the days of autumn, when so much fills our schedule that I barely have time to breathe.  I'm just trying to check off one small thing at a time, things that I would rather push aside than give my attention to:  favors for friends, editing pictures from our family reunion, and finally uploading the photos from our vacation that was 3 weeks ago.  Blogging is one of the things on my list that I've pushed aside but that I've really wanted to find time to do.  Today is a great day for that, even though I have places to go and things to do.  Son #2 is home sick from school (ALREADY!) so I can't leave to run my errands.  This is sick day #2 and I'm shocked it hit so early this year.

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I have a job now.  That's the main thing that is keeping me so busy.  It's not a real job, in terms of employment, but it takes at least 20 hours a week of my time.  My brother, cousin, and Hubby bought a photo booth together.  They all have real jobs.  So, who do you think gets to manage the business?  This girl.  The truth is, I absolutely love it!  I get to stay at home and do things I enjoy.  I answer the phone, schedule appointments, google maps, manage the website, and design photo strips.  So far, I've only had one client get mad at me, and she was just a jerk. 

Going on the photo booth jobs is usually a blast too (when things don't go wrong).  Hubby did a birthday party with me last Saturday and the people we met were so nice!  The best job so far was a fundraiser full of rich people.  They were all drinking wine and sampling food made by the best chefs in the area.  We set up right next to a golf course where the weather was picture perfect.  Our view included mansions and a lake, and we were serenaded by a guitarist.  Yeah, I actually got paid for that!

We ran a Groupon to help us find business, and boy, did that sure work!  We have every weekend through November booked solid.  Sadly, we're not making too much off the Groupons, but we've already got a couple calls for full price jobs.  This may be the start of something big for me.

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Through all this, I still have 4 kids to take care of and a house I'm not cleaning.  Big Sis lost her two front teeth and Baby Girl is overusing the word "actually."  For example, "My room is actually not clean." or "I actually just want to play blocks."  A moment ago, I asked her if I could have a hug.  Her reply was, "Not really."  I just want to squeeze her all day to prevent her from growing up.  It's not working.

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Son #1 auditioned for the Youth Philharmonic in May.  We received a letter saying that there was a new director and he wanted to personally hear all the auditions himself.  So, #1 auditioned again last week.  He left the audition very down and distraught.  He said he bombed the song and messed up the scales.  He was rusty from not playing all summer (we don't own his instrument and had to leave it at school).  I was worried what this rejection would do to his self-esteem.  Yesterday, we got a letter saying that he got in!  Already!  I was so proud of him because this is something he totally did on his own, without anyone's help.  (Well, I had to drive him there because he's 13, but that doesn't count.)  I'm wearing my Proud Mama Hat right now.

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Baby Girl had a birthday since I've blogged last, but I haven't even looked at the photos from her party yet.  Another thing I'm anxious to check of the list...

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I haven't been cooking anything interesting lately, but I'm excited for Fall comfort food!  With the weather being so cool right now, I actually feel like getting out Fall decorations and hanging orange lights somewhere in the landscaping.  Yeah, right.  I'll do that right after my nap and pedicure. 

 

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Oh, the Marathon!  It's mere days away.  Wanna guess the last time I even ran?  I can't answer that question because I don't remember.  It was before vacation, before I got sick...maybe 4 or 5 weeks?  I am totally not going to be able to do this.  I'll likely have a comical story of how I flopped on my face in a week.  I've determined this is my last marathon.  I just can't dedicate the time to running that I should and I don't need something else to make me feel guilty.

 

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Do you ever worry that you're getting stupider?  Sometimes I do.  I don't feel like I'm gaining that great wisdom that folks in their old age are rumored to achieve.  I keep finding myself doing dumb things- like leaving the vacuum at the top of the steps while sweeping the steps with the hose.  Guess what happens when you've reached the end of the hose?  The vacuum falls on top of you and breaks.  Smooth move, Ferguson!

 

I was the one responsible for setting up all the financial mumbo jumbo for our photo booth.  These people I'm related to sure do have a lot of confidence in me!  I don't understand stuff like that!  I received an email from a company with instructions of how to set up my account to begin processing credit card payments.  I looked at that email and felt like a dyslexic ESL student.  I had to make the kids leave the room and I studied each sentence like I was back in college cramming for finals.  The good news is that I eventually figured it out, but it took way longer than it should have.

 

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Son #1 somehow installed a bogus toolbar on my laptop.  I totally cannot get rid of it.  It causes everything to run smoothly and puts ads everywhere on my computer.  Since my brother gets totally mad at me whenever we mess up our computers, I vowed to take care of this problem myself.  I googled the name of the toolbar (which I won't even mention for fear that it will suddenly overtake this computer too) and found steps to remove it on a website.  Yeah, didn't work.  Then I read that this toolbar is almost impossible to remove and must be done manually.  There was a warning that said if you aren't highly computer literate, you shouldn't attempt these steps for fear of destroying your entire computer.  Yeah, I stopped right there.  I'll just have to live with it, I guess.