Been too long since I've checked in here. Things have been chaotic and uneventful all at once. Uneventful as in nothing out of the ordinary has been going on. Chaotic because I've been having a pretty tough time coping.

A few years ago I went through some times that really taught me how my body deals with stress of all kinds...stress I'm aware I'm experiencing and stress I'm oblivious to. Mental, emotional, physical stress. I don't want to go there again. It has been for the most part under control but lately I can feel the chain reaction beginning. Yeah, there were two or three situations that came up where people were being ugly with one another and I found myself in the middle of it for one reason or another, either trying to smooth things out, or simply caught in the cross-fire. But nothing that was going to affect my life in any meaningful way. We've had a couple of birthdays in the family. I have a "spirited" toddler, a teenage daughter with a pretty serious boyfriend, and three kids in between them that I'm trying to homeschool. So it is nothing...and everything.

Ever get the feeling you are a hamster in a wheel, just going around and around and around and around...and nothing is changing? I think that is where I'm at. I honestly have no room for complaint because I am the single most spoiled stay-at-home mom I know. I do very little around here. But yet I feel like I'm "in charge" of it all and boy, that is more exhausting than one would think! The amount of time I spend either picking up after other people or nagging them to pick up after themselves and to pitch in and pick up after others...staggering. That is where the whole "hamster in the wheel" bit comes in. So yesterday I went on a work stoppage. I will continue to take care of my things and pitch in as much as I feel like it otherwise. If I see Lillian make a mess I will clean it up...but if I'm in the other room and there are three other people there when she does it...no longer my problem. I will do laundry. I will pick up around my computer and scrapping area because it bothers me more to have messes there than it does to pick up. Beyond that...I'm out of the game.

Really it shouldn't have much affect because if all goes as it should we are all pitching in to help one another anyway. The only thing that should really change is that if my kitchen has become such a dump that I can't see the counters...I'm not cleaning it on cleaning day like I normally would. If everyone wipes up when they are done in there, etc...even that shouldn't change. The only difference? I'm not reminding and nagging the rest of them to do what they can clearly see needs doing all by themselves. So pppptttthhhhh!!

Oh, I did prepare though. I have a sign hanging just inside my front door that says "Please note: The mother in this house is on a work stoppage. Please do not hold the condition of the house as a reflection of her. Thank you."

Okay, I didn't really segue very well. The point is that the constant reminding and feeling like a nag and like nobody is respecting my requests to do these things on their own...I've realized that this is all a big contributing factor to the stress issue. Hence, the work stoppage. I just need to figuratively wash my hands of the issue so that I am no longer thinking of it as one more thing I need to take care of. There's your segue...albeit bass-ackwards.

By the way...and you male readers may want to avert your eyes for a moment because I'm going to use the "H" word...okay, I know that hormones play a large role here. I think I am the verge of my cycles finally returning and hormones have always played a big role in how this all plays out in my brain. But I have to say for the record...it is like they say about PMS...it isn't that we get unnecessarily *itchy at that time...it is just that we can't bite our tongues in the face of fill-in-the-blank like we do the other three weeks of the month, you know what I mean? We are just acting like we should by-rights be all month long!

KNOW YOUR STATE MOTTO..........


Alabama
Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.


Alaska
11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!


Arizona
Yes, But It's A Dry Heat.


Arkansas
Literacy Ain't Everythang.


California
By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.


Colorado
If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.


Connecticut
Like Massachusetts, only smaller.


Delaware
We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.


Florida
Ask Us About Our Grand kids
And Our Voting Skills.


Georgia
We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.


Hawaii
Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru
Death To Mainland Scum,Leave Your Money)


Idaho
More Than Just Potatoes...
Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good


Illinois
Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"


Indiana
2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free


Iowa
We Do Amazing Things With Corn


Kansas
First Of The Rectangle States


Kentucky
Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names


Louisiana
We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign.

We re-elected Rep William Jefferson to Congress




Maine
We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster


Maryland
If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It


Massachusetts
Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's And Our Senators Are More Corrupt!


Michigan
First Line Of Defense From The Canadians


Minnesota
10,000 Lakes... And 10 Zillion Mosquitoes


Mississippi
Come visit And Feel Better About Your Own State


Missouri
Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work


Montana
Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-wing Crazies, and Honest Elections!


Nebraska
Ask About Our State Motto Contest


Nevada
Hookers and Poker!


New Hampshire
Go Away And Leave Us Alone


New Jersey
You Want A ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right here!


New Mexico
Lizards Make Excellent Pets


New York
You Have The Right To Remain Silent,
You Have The Right To An Attorney...
And No Right To Self Defense!


North Carolina
Tobacco Is A Vegetable


North Dakota
We Really Are One Of The 50 States!


Ohio
At Least We're Not Michigan


Oklahoma
Like The Play, But No Singing


Oregon
Spotted Owl... It's What's For Dinner


Pennsylvania
Cook With Coal


Rhode Island
We're Not REALLY An Island


South Carolina
Remember The Civil War? Well, We Didn't Actually Surrender Yet


South Dakota
Closer Than North Dakota


Tennessee
Home of the Al Gore Invention Museum


Texas
Se Hable Ingles


Utah
Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus


Vermont
Too liberal for the Kennedys


Virginia
Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?


Washington
Our Governor can out-fraud your Governor!


West Virginia
One Big Happy Family...Really!


Wisconsin
Come Cut the Cheese!


Wyoming
Where Men Are Men... And The Sheep Are Scared
Home of Brokeback Mtn.



The District of Columbia
The Work-Free Drug Place !

I almost forgot to post...the molar is finally through as of a couple days ago (though not without a little "encouragement" from me!)

You Keep Things Chill

For you, the whole adrenaline thing is totally over rated. You'll take safety over an emergency room trip. This doesn't mean you don't break out of your comfort zone. You just don't stray too far from it.

Are You a Thrill Seeker?

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance.You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver.You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

WhatColor Is Your Brain?

Marcia Erleen Negranza's Aliases

Your movie star name: Chocolate Maurice Your fashion designer name is Marcia Paris Your socialite name is Peanut Modesto Your fly girl / guy name is M Neg Your detective name is Cat Downey Your barfly name is Chedder Bunnies Beer Your soap opera name is Erleen Badgley Your rock star name is Snickers Cheetah Your Star Wars name is Marluc Negarn Your punk rock band name is The Silly Aspirator

http://www.blogthings.com/meganamegenerator/">The Amazing Meganame Generator

I am just totally on a scrapping "high" right now! I am going to be vendoring at a crop later this month (don't expect much in the way of profit but it is a ton of fun and a start at getting my name "out there,")and have a feeler out for a major one next month. Things at

The School of Scrap

are taking off like gangbusters with a major new sponsor,

Club Scrap,

and I logged on to

Faith Based Pages

today to see my layout on the home page! I know it is lowbrow to toot your own horn but please forgive me, I am just so excited tonight!

Who Should Paint You: Pablo Picasso

Your an expressive soul who shows many emotions, with many subtleties Only a master painter could represent your glorious contradictions

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

What Marci Means

M is for Mysterious A is for Altruistic R is for Rebellious C is for Caring I is for Insane

What Does Your Name Mean?

We have another toofer!

I have never seen a tooth hold on sooooo long without breaking through! Lil has one molar on the top and the bottom one is soooo swollen I have never seen anything like it. I was checking to see if today would be the day and caught a glimpse of something...on the other side!! Yup...she now has two top molars and the poor little thing still hasn't had any success getting the swollen lower one through.

Here is a cute thing, though. She hates me to check her teeth so I always tell her "Let me look at your teeth...oh! Pretty!" So now when I am trying to check on that pesky molar she tells me "No! Pitty!" Like, "Mom, they are still pretty, now leave me alone!"

No, these are not all the same child...four are Julia, my oldest, and four are Lillian my youngest...can you guess who is who??

Some more Lillian, for your viewing pleasure ~grin~