Buglet on a Budget

You know, I'm one of those homebodies who could stay in her house for days on end. I just told an old friend in an email message that I think I may be turning into one of those ladies in baggy pants and a wide-brimmed hat, out in her yard planting posies. You never know. Maybe that's not the "plight" we made it out to be when we were younguns -- who knew then that we'd actually CHOOSE to be that person?

Speaking of cool people to be like -- I was just reading my daily bible today, and decided that Jesus wasn't just my Saviour, he's a really cool person. What a wonderful thing it would have been to have hung out with him when he was here. This makes me look forward to eternity with great anticipation. Who cares about gray hair and fading eyesight when you've got heaven in front of you? I have a renewed appreciation for aging!

On the project front: I finally went and did it -- I bought a dress form. Now I just need a name for it, so I can look at it and carry on when I want to rant and rave. Feel free to suggest a name!


Last weekend was a weekend of drama, drama, drama. Everyone in the house PMSing except for my sweet husband and the dog, the only men around. Even the guinea pigs were fussy. And the parakeets -- I always picture them with little hats and purses on their arms, chatty old ladies going on and on about who used to live where and wasn't she just like that?

I cut out no less than 4 aprons night before last, and have one almost done. These will hopefully go to Etsy and make some money! The Bug (daughter #2) is our consummate artiste -- tempermental, moody, full of teenage angst (at the moment), clearly discerning about the wonderful small details of life (Mom, did you see that?), and thoughtful. She is exploring her identity and currently is labeling herself a "gothic lolita." She has two guinea pigs who are her pride and joy and dearest friends, and she is a loner, as most artists are.


Anyway, she and I had a "Bug Day" because we hadn't had a real date together in awhile. I try and have dates with my daughters -- usually it means they just tag along while I go to Sam's Club or run errands, and maybe we grab something quick to eat. On Bug Day we visited Michael's, and she got a good lesson in budgeting. She wanted to buy beads to make necklaces to sell -- she's actually very good, does beautiful work -- and she had to fit it all within a budget. Ok, ok, so I bought some stuff as well. But she did the bulk of it, and she did very well. She started with a basketful, and when we added up the money, she had to cut it by half. She started by saying "But I cannot live without ANY of these beads!" Then she went to work, and left the store with $12 in her purse! What an accomplishment this was for her! She is typical for most artists in that she can create amazing beauty, but can't remember where she put the toothpaste. It will be very interesting to see how she fares when she gets out on her own.



She made her first necklace, which I think is just gorgeous. And so I am setting up shop at Etsy in order to sell these baubles for her. She has been trying to find a job, and those are slim pickings here in a small town. Not much for a teenager unless you want to work in fast food. So, the dress form I bought will serve two purposes -- it will enable me to fit and drape clothing I make, it will model it for me nicely when I want to photograph it, and it will also model Bug's jewelry very nicely as well! I got a great deal on it online, it came today, and I am very happy with the purchase.


A footnote on the parenting front -- Monday night the Bunny and I got into it. The Bunny (daughter #3) is my little clone. I can tell what this kid is thinking before she does. And I always can follow her line of reasoning, which is great because I cannot tell you how much trouble I got into during my teenage years trying to explain my poor judgement! So she insisted she was right and I was all crabby, and I told her in very calm tones that I was only responding to her crabbiness. This went on for about 5 minutes, then she stomped upstairs, slammed her door, and a few minutes later she was crying. I let her go for about 10 minutes, and then I went up and knocked. And knocked. And knocked. Finally she opened the (locked) door, and I sat down on the bed with her and just held her while she cried. This lasted about 20 minutes, in silence except for her sobbing. Then as she calmed down, I asked if she was more hungry or more sleepy -- she'd just come home from swim team practice. She said sleepy. As quietly as I could, I just found her pj's, had her put them on, and then I tucked her into bed and turned out the light. I sat with her until she fell asleep, about 10 minutes, and then came downstairs.


She hasn't said a word about it since, but we are speaking and on good terms. And she's never been one to hold a grudge -- so I guess when your kid has a total meltdown, sometimes the best thing to do is just be her Mom.