well, an era has ended. and let me just brag about my son for a moment. my son jon is a big, sweet lump of a moy (man-boy). he got more awards than anyone last night, even tommy brown who is the smartest kid in the class. by the end of the night the tears were coming unbidden down my face. people looked at me every time he got an award. as if i had something to do with it. jon has been a treasure since he was a baby. every time he went down to accept an award, he looked like a giant "lurch". you would never believe someone that big came out of 5'2 me. and omg, would it kill you to smile, kid? the award i am most proud of is the christian witness award. now let me preface that by saying i go to church on an extremely irregular basis and jon never goes. i mean, he has chapel at school but on sundays he is asleep when everyone else is praying. he plans it that way. the christian witness award goes to the kid who is the best example of doing God's work. wow! the christian studies teacher came up to me afterward and told me that it was between two people so she asked all the other teachers and they all told her it was jon, hands down. she told me something that makes me tear up even now. she said that none of the teachers had ever heard him say a bad word about anyone. and that he always is kind to everyone. i really thought the award would go to a kid who goes to church every week and/or to one who is in the youth group. but it went to my big, sweet lump of a moy. karen
ps oh, and he also made honor roll!

i read other people's blogs and not only do i feel inadequate, i feel old. i have decided to do an age verification before i read anyone's blog from now on. no one under 40 (does that make me ageist? is that even a word? am i insane? don't answer that last one!) anyway, today is going to be a lazy day for the boys because jon doesn't have to show up to school until 6:30 tonight for graduation. rob still hasn't gotten the call from costco-dude to know whether or not he is getting an interview. i am assuming he will at least get an interview because ginny was nice enough to recommend him. he needs a job. of course, he doesn't think so. but i have always been his safety net and now he needs to learn how to be on his own. plus, no one will hire him unless he's had a job. yes, i really did say that. i know it sounds stupid, but it is true. any type of position he gets after college will not be much if he's never worked before. so rob may graduate from csun with a degree in history and a job at mc donalds. heaven forbid! have a good one. karen

so today is the last official day of junior high for jon. they had a party that i drove to. i also sent cookies (that no one thanked me for, i might add). one girl had the nerve to ask if they were homemade. as if i would send anything else! how rude! :) i was talking to my friend angie while we were waiting and telling her that reading other people's blogs makes me feel inadequate (it really does) and then she told me about her blog (which i promptly went home to read) and now i feel even less adequate than previously! she writes poetry. and it's good poetry. i am going to go slit my wrists now. and you wonder where jon gets the drama from....

what a sweet thing to say tina. right back at ya. and hang in there, i got your back. today, jon has another half day due to finals. he graduates from middle school on thursday. i am so looking forward to summer! even tho there is summer school and football on the horizon. i just shipped our first fabric bouquet. it was really expensive. i ended up having to bend the roses in half. i feel bad but otherwise it would have been $15 shipping! plus, the wire bends really easily back into position so hopefully the dude won't be mad. i sent him a convo to notify him. so please, jdhemingway, don't ding our feedback! anyway, i am off to pick up jon and then i am bringing lunch to my dad and bev because she isn't feeling well. have a good one! karen

I am sure you all know by now, but Karen is the sweetest person. She is constantly giving of herself and thinking of others. I could not ask for a better friend! And that, my friends, is directly from my heart. Life with Molly has been very trying as of late. We are trying to get to a level of medication that can calm her. She is bipolar and she is either extremely intense, hyper-focused, loud, demanding and volatile, or depressed, scratching herself and hitting walls. Some days it does becoming overwhelming. I pray constantly when we adjust or change medications that this will be the magic cure. I know she will never be a "normal girl". But all i wish is that she would be a happy, calm girl. The rest I can handle. Anyway, sorry to be a downer this morning, but it has been a long time since Molly was happy and therefore, it has been a long time that i have felt any peace.

this month the etsybloggers picked birthdays as the topic for the blog carnival. so here goes - i was born august 22 and no, i won't tell you the year. let's just say it was (said in a booming announcer voice) "at the dawn of time...when dinosaurs walked the earth", and you will be close enough. and tina was born february 9 and she (hard to believe) is as old as i am. for tina's birthday this year, i told her i would like to take her to a movie and maybe to eat. she doesn't get away very often because her daughter is mentally handicapped and requires round the clock care. and tina is a great mom. i know sometimes it must be all she can do not to throw up her hands and walk away. she is the most compassionate, patient person i know. anyway, so i made my offer and she agreed and we arranged for her husband to be home to watch molly and then when it came close to the day, tina decided that she would much rather go to downtown los angeles and shop for fabric! which of course, i was horrified at the mere idea! :) we had a great time and it wasn't even my birthday. on my birthday tina and mary ann give me gifts but the only way my sons remember is if their father buys them a card and makes them sign it! but that is okay by me, i am glad to be alive for another year. my family has gone to disneyland every year to celebrate my son's birthdays (together) and that is always fun. we stay at the grand californian for two nights and three days and go to the parks and swim and just goof off. a good time is had by all.

hello fellow etsians! i visited the etsybloggers featured bloggers shop today. oh my goodness she has some beautiful things. i especially like the coral wrap fringed stole. it is a lovely color that would make anyone's skin glow! the blue skies and puffy clouds scarf is the exact color you imagine when you think of clouds and blue skies. and the workmanship is wonderful. i like that she embellished it with buttons so it will stay in place. very clever! check out her shop and give her a heart.