please note...i wrote this in the morning before i realized that we were ankle deep in THIS!  now, i'm crying!  literally, gagging!  the only thing worse would be if biff went out of town, as earlier planned! misery loves company!

hi there! it's only tuesday and it has hit the fan!  our save the day septic guy is on his way.  who ever thought my life would come to this?  it's not like i was in my all women's college economics class and the professor spoke of the supply and demand of the septic system.  well, last night before dinner, the anderson brothers were in demand!  supply/demand!  i guess i fully understand business.....finally!

time to shove THIS.....have no fear....the anderson brothers have stepped in THIS before!

we are in full supply of this(mixup the letters and you get sh..) and there apparently is great demand for the anderson brothers.  we are, no pun intended, #2 on the list.  yup...that's us., #2.  there were 4 people that called our heroes before 7 last night!

our kids were wondering just how someone decided to go into this kind of business.  biff was explaining that forever and ever, in life, there have been people who have been smart enough to know that there's money to be made when there's a job that no one else would want to do.  hey, for the anderson brothers, life gives other people lemons, they make lemonade!

i can hear my professor's voice right now. an elderly hungarian man, who had lived through some tough times before coming to america. one of the economics lessons that i will always remember began with an orange.  o.k, of all of the boring black and white information we learned, this was my most visual...no wonder i remember this, with the accent and all.

little white haired, distinguished, blue eyed dr. horvath told us of "suuuuu-ply and deeeee-maaaanD", "i

was a leetel boy in hunnnn-ga-reeeee......there was very leetel food for dee fammmmm-eee-leee.  my seeee-ster had one oranGe and i had one oranGe.....i sat quieTTTleeee and beGan to peeeeel the oranGe slow---leeeeee, very slow-leeeee and the jooooos, it was making my mouTH water so......i took one biTe and eet was the mmmmmost WONderfullll taste that i had in quite sum time!  i was soooooo haPPeeeee to have thissss fine oranGe.i ate my oranGe, peeees by peeeees and was savoRing this jooooos of the oranGe.  when i was feeeeeneeeesheD with my oranGe my seester offered me her oranGe.      so haPPy to have her share, i took the peeeeses of that oranGe.... and i began to eat.  EEEEt was never so tasty as the first as that first oranGe! 

you see, when i haD the first oranGe, eeeet was most deeeee-liciousss and thennnnn, the seconD oranGe was not as spesh-eel.  this eeeeez suP-Ply anD Deee-manD!"

that is but one tid bit that i have taken with me.  much of my college learning was more life lessons than EEEEEEEk-o-nommm-eeeeeks...and certainly, this lesson of supply and demand comes to life this morning. our fine mr. anderson is in big demanD this morning!

thankfully, if there is anything out of this stinky story to be thankful for, grace and t.j. woke up this morning very slowly....biff and i poked and prodded....i called out to them.  finally, when they did pop out of their beds, they were moved by the aroma in our lovely home.  it was not pancakes. it was not bacon and eggs.

they were so moved that it got them right out of the house and off to school, concerned that a trail would follow them off like pepe' le pew from bugs bunny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hBFEObtQdM&feature=related 
i loved pepe' le pew!

did you ever have so much of THIS going on that you feel like stopping a dump truck and saying,"come on back, come on, come on....back it up, back it up....a little more....just a little bit more.....o.k......DUMP IT RIGHT HERE!  o.k. you got me that's it!!STOP!

oh! speaking of supply and demand, my littlemarymixup e-bay is doing just great!  i've found plenty of wonderful things to sell!  our supply is too great....so, we'll see if our over supply is what's in demand for others!!  i have so much to list....supply.....and not enough time.....too many demands for me to be in too many places today!  if you like the e-bay supply....keep watching, i have way more to list!!
http://stores.ebay.com/littlemarymixup

when it rains, it pours.

when it rains, it pours!  and i mean that quite literally.  it is really raining and it is really pouring. it's pouring buckets of water..... quite the metaphor for our lives right now!! this is our time of year that we try to live lean, as they say.

who is "they" anyway....all i know is when i use any example for my kids about motivation or visualization and explain that "they say that...." basketball players have to visualize getting the ball through the hoop....and that we have to visualize what we want, our kids always respond with, "who are they...there is no they....they did a study.....people just make that stuff up....it must be parents that make that stuff up!" i work a bit on my explanation and just shake my head...someday, they'll understand what i've been talking about....someday.

when one of the kids has an head ache or some other bother in their body, i'll say,"just breathe.  breathe into where the pain is and feel it fade away."  o.k., it is a bit sensitive new age...but it helps. after that, t.j. will let me know,"mom, that's like you with cream...you have a cream for everything!!  itching cream, sunburn cream, heating the ache cream.....you give us cream for everything!

sometimes that's all i have....it's just one of those things....when the kids were younger, the creams could do anything....anything....like a super power.

i do have some creams that do help....like aloe for sunburn and heat cream for muscle aches....but, they've lost their powers.  so have i!

so, back to "they".....and they do say that when it rains, it pours!  today, it's more real than you know.  it's that time of year.  we try to live simply in these early spring months.  we have plenty of plenty in our lives, but at this time of year we feel best to stay tight. 

we had hoped to plan a little family vacation...just us...just family.  we need this time. we desperately need time together.  just us. alone. biff and i, grace and t.j. and time to have some fun together.  we need fun.  it's true.  so much of the school year, we have to be on everyone.  it's just life.  with teens, it seems like it's more so.  at this time of year, in between seasons....we all feel in between.....life!

for the last few years, we have planned....really semi planned....kinda...maybe....sorta planned to get some time away as a family.  to a warm, sunny beach. nothing super crazy.....just to be somewhere that we all love and where we all can have fun together! fun in the sun...they say.

it seems that even when we think it can happen, it's not quite....not quite in the cards, as they say! they.

this year has been the same.  we have some miles to use for planes and hotel.  we have all kinds of options.  it just doesn't seem like the right time.  business wise and money wise and getting that sinking feeling wise.

i try to live by that feeling...good, bad or in between.  this felt good, good, good, not quite sure, it's good for all of us and it's worth it, yes, good, good, business needs attention too, not good, not good, good for us, good for the family, good........and just not good, not gonna happen, not such a good idea, no!

no. it was that sinking feeling that did it.  sometimes biff is the one with the sinking feeling or caution.  sometimes, believe it or not, it's me. we went back and forth and back and forth....we finally came to the conclusion that we had that stinkin' sinkin' feelin'.  i hate when that happens!

so, now that we've disappointed ourselves and our children....we're making alternate plans...again!  last year, at the last minute....we were blessed with an invitation to southampton with our friends.  we were saved.  it wasn't sunny florida, but it was sunny, chilly and the best beaches in the world, bike rides, family, friends, great dinners and fun for all.  it was great....and we all had a wonderful vacation!

a few years ago, we had a similar situation....also with heavy rain that spring, we stayed home over spring break....and we had to rip the wall to wall carpeting out of our soaking wet basement!  slowly and steadily.....throughout the whole vacation, we  ripped out the whole basement carpet....that had been installed just the year before.  with tears in my eyes and dripping water from bits and pieces of that huge rug, biff and i trudged up the bilco stairs and....dragged the waterlogged carpet out to a dumpster.

talk about a metaphor for life...at that moment in time, the rug was pouring water, my eyes were pouring water and life felt like we were in the dumps.  it was not fun in the sun, but we did survive and we did have fun....somehow.  we know how to make the best of things.

we have never been able to get that basement back in order until.........finally, this year we got it back...almost.

and the rain came. and the rain came. and the rain came!  we pulled up everything we had down there....again.  we let it all dry.  dry in the sun. dry with the doors open. dry.

then, began the putting back together. little by little. we do have lots to get done though.  just as we prepared to get it back in order.........

more rain.  lots more rain! more and more and more.

as the say, when it rains it pours.  only this time, we had finally given into the reality that it may not be the best time for a trip.....when it rains it pours!  nope. that's not it.

we had some moments when it rained and it poured.... we told the kids that plans they were a changin'. it was not easy. not for any of us. yesterday, all i said was, "as

long as we're not toting a million pound drenched rug out to the dumpster, it will be a nice vacation...we'll think of something fun to do!

this afternoon, i dashed out with the dogs....in the pouring rain....to take the dogs to the farm to let them run and expend some energy....oh, they did!  fitzy ran off to unknown places....biff was passing by...he called to fitzy too. thankfully, she came back.  she burst through the car window!  proud of returning on her terms! 

i needed the walk too...to expend my energy or lack thereof.  thinking about what to do over vacation to have a little time....somewhere else.   i was soaked through.  my hair was dripping.  my face was wet. i was cold. the car smelled like wet dogs. i was beginning to smell like wet dogs.

that's when i got home.  just after biff.  he was already inside.  grace greeted me at the door.  our backyard is so saturated that our odors form the septic tank are seeping into the basement!!  well, it's true. now, the sh.. really did hit the fan!  when it rains it pours!

this e-bay has been so much fun!  i have a lot to learn...everyday is  different.  it's a surprise everyday! it's exciting to mail out the auction wins!

http://stores.ebay.com/littlemarymixup

who would think? me? at the post office?  one of my greatest issues....mail!  postoffice...getting the mail to the post office!  packaged!

it turns out, i love packaging the merchandise. i like it to look pretty when the winner receives it!  it really is my little store!

o.k.....it was a little tricky to get it done on friday.  i had some o'neill boots, in original box for pennsylvania....a black leather jacket for florida, a dooney and bourke bucket bag for new york state that was changed to florida because it was a birthday present for his mom!....a camera to turkey, for real! i mailed something to turkey!  if you know my mix ups, you know that was a huge event for me...in the post office.  i even had to get through the customs paperwork...can you tell that i'm feeling proud?  turkey wasn't the biggest trick, although writing out the address gave me writers cramp!

my biggest challenge was.....grace's pink electric guitar!...only going to pennsylvania but how about the box! i looked...i called people....i stopped a delivery truck!  i remembered our garage....a safe haven for boxes and tubs...i found it!  i had to take out some of the shelving that came with it..."new in box" as we say in the e-bay world!....i packed up the guitar...with lots of newspaper and a very large lid from one of our plastic tubs.. a little extra touch...so it wouldn't arrive....broken!  it was great!  esxcept for the top 4 inches....i wrapped that up  with boxes and taped it all together.  you've never seen a more mixed up looking package....i know it will get there safe though!! even the woman at the post office gasped!  the big job was taken care of...i really did it....grace had the turkey customer and the electric guitar customer.....next time, she'll have to come with me....i've already let her know that i'd have to charge her for that kind of stress!!  by the way, i was the last customer in the post office....living on the edge...but i got it done!  even with my postal issues.

i must admit, i have to learn where the best location is to contain the merchandise!  i have so much to sell that i don't have it all up on e-bay yet!  the descriptions take time...the research takes time...and keeping organized to mail it all takes time....where to keep it is my bigger project.  i started out in the family room!  we've outgrown that area...i have it all in tubs and i know what's what...but it doesn't do much for the decor!

this is what we have...not even from the antique stores that i frequent....not even from stores...not even from the outside world....just stuff.

do you have stuff?  you probably move your stuff out immediately.  i know, you don't have junk in your junk drawer.  your closets are organized.  your garage has cars.  your kids have nothing more than they need...the ideal amount of STUFF!

not us.  and we give away. we hand me down. we share. we sell.  we work at clearing out.  always.  that's my mission in life.  getting it out! i desperately want to be free of too much stuff!  i want to live simply.  the stuff just complicates things!

we are very blessed.  blessed to have such abundance...that doesn't mean that we need to have it all under our roof!

today, i have to get some more listings up!  i have to bring t.j. an english paper that he left on the kitchen table...i have to get our dogs out for a big run...in the rain...i have to clean the paw prints on the kitchen floor.

hey!  how did that happen?  it's only monday...i had kids and biff here all weekend...why is it more upside down on mondays?  anybody have the answer?  i still can't figure it out!

we did some outside work. we did lots of laundry.  we took care of a couple of projects....and today....it's all left for me!  i guess that's o.k. but i think i have the answer....i'll say."pick up your stuff

or i'll sell it on e-bay!" it might just work...i'm on a roll, don't stop me now!

***************

no photos in this post...they won't upload...something new to figure out! i'd better go bring t.j. his paper...it's pouring out there...really puring...connecticut news keeps reporting floods! oh, great...i better start selling everything we own in the basement!  watch for it all on e-bay!!

just sayin'

this is my blog. it has been so much fun writing.  i have spent time writing and having fun with photos.  i know there are many blogs out there with very specific topics....very specific for people to get just the information they desire. there are family blogs...art blogs.... about blog blogs...exercise blogs...shopping blogs....movie blogs....dog blogs....infinity and beyond blogs.

and then there's me.  just a bunch of  stuff...just some day to day stuff....what's going on with a wife, a mom, a dog "owner", a cat "owner" a friend, a sister, an aunt, a daughter in law, a sister in law, a shopper, a mom who's trying to bring up our kids...with the help of a great husband. i'm a woman who's pretty happy in my life. 

i'm grateful, passionate about lots of people, places and things.  i'm always honest.....i "go direct" these days.  i don't have the time to talk behind people's backs.  if i have something to say about someone, it's usually something that i'm sure i've said to the person i'm talking about!

how could i deem myself the one to judge!  besides, most of my time is spent judging myself and how i'm doing ....as a wife, a mom, a friend.....a dog "owner" and how the dogs see me...do i walk them enough...do i give them enough time....

you can only imagine how i do that as a wife and a mom.  goodness, i'm even critiquing myself as i begin my e-bay business!  thankfully, i don't judge my womanhood or my mom-hood or my wife-hood based on how many dust bunnies i have or how great my grout looks.  there would be big trouble if i judged myself based on my becky-home-ecky skills!

i'm also exhausted, enthused, excited,sometimes discouraged, sometimes scared, energetic, sometimes lonely....which is ironic because sometimes i have no time for myself.... sometimes frustrated, sometimes sad, sometimes disappointed, sometimes , sometimes, sometimes.  in no particular order.  i do try to be grateful everyday....just because it's the only way for me to live and stay happy in a busy world.  there's so much to be grateful for!

as a mom, there's no real way of knowing whether i'm doing a good job, a great job or a job that's not quite good enough....all i can do is do my best!  some things we do our best at and that's not enough...we could have done more!  one thing for sure, this is the biggest job of my life!  and it's the job that i've put more energy and time and life than any other thing in my life....ever! and i'm still learning.  at the end of the day, almost every day since our kids have been born, i kiss them goodnight and i say my own little prayer thanking God and also hoping that i'm doing it o.k.....well really, better than o.k.

i'm sure there are lots of people who may judge just what kind of job we are doing...there are plenty of people who judge in this world!.....i wish there were as many people who would share the joys and ups and downs and share their own with us.  sometimes people say i'm too honest....i tell it like it is.  i do.  why bother going through life faking it.  i have nothing to hide!  

the funny thing is, many people that i know have said, "i can't believe you write all of that stuff on your blog!" ..."what's the point of the blog?  you don't get that many followers."...."why bother writing if no one will read it?"....."why don't you see how you can get more people to read it?"

sounds good to me. i mean, why write it?  especially if i have no followers.  why bother. why bother if it's not anything that anyone cares about?  i don't know.  why would anyone want to read all of this??

i don't know. who knows?  who cares? i have a few followers.  i hear some nice things when some friends read it.  i guess. 

oh, wouldn't we all love followers....supporters...people cheering us on!  people who pat us on the back...tell us what a great job we do....a mutual admiration society is just fine with me.  after all, i'm a  leo!  i crave praise, even in a blog.......

but really, everyone in this world is so busy...who has the time?....who has the inclination?...who wants to bother to read this stuff when they have their own stuff to do? 

i don't even think my family reads this! too busy. it's funny because we've had this life for a long time....just our life...mix ups and all!  we talk to some family...here and there...we talk to our friends...when we can.

yet, nobody has a clue about our life...nobody really gets to see our kids everyday, really get to know them...in person!  as they are...everyday.  through the goods the bads, the ups the downs. family may see them on occasions....but, that's not who our kids are....that's just a tiny spec of who they are.

actually, that's why i miss my mom so much!  because she cared.  she took the time.  she spent the time.  she didn't judge.  she laughed....alot.  about the ups and downs and ins and outs with biff.....with me.....with grace......and with ted.......and daisy and fitzy and the cats!

she spent time with us.  she stayed with us to visit....to really spend time.  she didn't like to stay too long..."guests are like fish...after 3 days they start to stink!" she used to say.  but, she also lived with us through tears, tantrums, sickness, frustration, laughs and singing, church, baseball games, halloween parades, trick or treating, kids swim lessons, splashing in the pool, picking up shells on the beach.....just stuff...the simple stuff...the things our kids remember.  special stuff and special memories.

you can't buy memories.  you can't get that on a visit a couple of times a year.  you can't have the wonderful connection....it's just not real...and that's sad.  sometimes that happens.  it's out of our control.

sometimes, we try and try and the timing just won't work...that's hard.

oh, we talk to lots of people...in fact we don't even have enough time to really "talk" to some.  and lots of people talk to us.  it's funny though....still with all of that talking, not everyone even asks how we are...or how they are.  as a friend says, " there are lots of people talking about their kitchens!"  and that's true.  everyone wants to talk home improvements. many want to bore you with their busy jobs....yawn...like that's who they are...it's just what they do.  lots of people talk about how busy they are...

soooooo busy!  when did that start. busy.  we are all so busy.  there's no time to say hello.  gotta go.  gotta get to practice.  gotta get to the store...gotta, gotta, gotta.

i was just talking with one of my favorite friends....actually, she's family.  we were talking about how many people consider the computer and e-mails and facebook and cell phone instant messaging real forms of communication.  i just don't buy it.  it's not real.

it's not spending time with people..."live action" as the kids used to say about the movies that were people and not cartoons! i know lots of people who "count" computer "talk" as real.  if that's good enough for them....i guess that's all they need!

i prefer hearing the voice...better yet, seeing the person and hearing their words go with their facial expressions!  nothing can beat that!  nothing.

friends see our kids much more.  the local friends see them through the ins and outs and ups and downs.  the friends have kids going through some of the similar situations...playing on the same teams, going to the same schools.....they know our kids.

probably, in my mother's era, families knew more about families. they lived in closer proximity to each other....they lived close to where they worked...they lived in the same towns....they had alot of emotional support from each other....so they say.

some families may be better off  separated by a few states. oh, come on! we all know those stories....they are everywhere....every family has one of those stories.  even perfect families have those stories!

that's why we need a sense of humor!  and that's why we need friends.  we pick our friends!  sometimes, we find families in our friends.  sometimes it's easier with friends. sometimes our friends know us better than some of the family!!  i think that's o.k.  it's great for the kids to have lots of different types of family!  

we've been blessed to have friends and family...not always as often or as close as we'd like....but we are grateful.  it's important for all of us.  it's important that we have more than just us....it's important that our kids have more than just us!  kids need to know that they are a part of more.  family is very important....but in a world of busy - ness, kids need lots more!

last week, i was at two meetings about looking out for our kids....all of our kids.  the one's in our family, our friends' kids, neighbors' kids, kids in our community.....just kids.  we got a lot of information.....and we learned a lot!  kids need us.  kids need to "feel the love" as biff and i always say.

it's true.  most of us do. kids just need more.  they need to be encouraged. kids need time...time spent together...talked with...engaged....looked in the eye....encouraged....approved....love from lots of different people....kids need connection.

so do we.  if we're lucky, we get some connection that's real...more than an e-mail masquerading as connection and feelings shared.  i know at the end of the day....when we're home...just family....quiet....loud....happy or sad....angry or exhausted....up or down.....in my case, lipstick or no lipstick!......i'm connected.....we're connected here at home....and that's enough!  still, more connection is better.....for everyone.

i guess it's a good thing that i like writing my blog....because i like writing. it feels good for now. it's good for me. i like hearing that others enjoy it...of course, that's nice...that's a bonus!

just like being a mom....it's nice to hear that your kids are good kids...that they're liked...and loved.if we worked at it just to get the praise and the pats on the back, it wouldn't be the same.  taking care of them, being there and loving them is all that matters.

just sayin'.