2 be Bliss, as I dance along the road to Nirvana...

hey y'all. i've been waiting for my second wind all day. is it coming? shoot. i'll be ready for bed in a few. now days the one thing about staying up all night is that i know I'll be dead tired very early, when a "decent hour" for bedtime rolls around again. all this research has been kicking my tail this week. it's not the research itself. it's the copy-and-paste that i'm doing to compile the data. *sniff, sniff* i need a hankie y'all. i wanna read, i wanna get back to working on my bigger basket, and i'm starving too. but i don't feel like moving from the love seat. so i'm watching Oprah. there are two young transgendered young people on today's show. i've been very interested in this topic for a while cuz i've been researching it for a project i've been working on. for longer than i want cuz that's what happens with a lot of my projects. i haven't been writing at all. other than for work an...

dear Mr or Miz Raven, who ever you are, please stop giving out my phone number. i have taken two calls for you today already and the last caller told me you gave him my number on an application. that is something i DO not appreciate at all. it's not like i don't have enough on my plate without answering calls for a person i don't know. it's more than annoying. it's cruddy. why would you make up a number to put on an application? why not put "N/A", "none", or the ever-popular "none uh yo bizness"? i'd be happy to take calls for you (even messages) if you had called me first and we had a financial agreement attached to said phone calls. however, this is not the case. rest assured that when i find out who you are, i'm gonna report you to The Authorities. i don't know which Authorities but know that there is an Authority out there that reprimands people like you. that is all. bliss

hey y'all. i came across something good during my travels online today. yeah, when i was 'sposed to be working. it's about a project called "Feeling Groovy". there's a guy named Nigel Nix who's an English teacher in Germany. he has "...designed a program online to make people feel happy for at least one minute using video and sound." his goal is to make 1,000,000 people happy with this project. i haven't checked it out yet y'all but i'm gonna. here's the link so y'all can go check it out too: Feeling Groovy . .

hey y'all! God is good. i asked and i been receivin'. :-) angels are appearing to relieve my stress. i'm not joking. not the imagined winged beings. i'm talkin' 'bout the people God puts on our path to help us along the way. y'all know just the other day i was all stressed about Client A. yesterday baby bliss and i got to the library late. every chair and all the tables were full. we circled the place for a few minutes, hoping two seats would magically appear and that's exactly what happened. on our third round, we saw a table with only one occupant and we swooped down like vultures. we didn't know we were gonna be sitting with an angel. we asked if we could sit and he welcomed us to the table. baby bliss immediately noticed that he and i had the exact same laptop sleeve. except he didn't have a laptop and used his as a bag. baby bliss ran off to use an internet computer and the angel spoke to me. we ended up having a deep and ...

have y'all heard about the $100 laptop project, designed to provide children in "developing" nations with laptops? if you haven't, you can read about it when you follow the link. if you have, there's new information about the project and i'm giving it two thumbs up. starting november 12, you can "give 1, get 1" for $399. in other words, if you buy a $200 laptop to be sent to a child in a developing nation, you can get one for your own child for an additional $200. go here for the full details: Give1 Get 1 .

hey y'all. i do not like being stressed! i've been working on the Main Project for Client A. i've also been doing other Small Projects as they come up. the Main Project, though detailed and Very Important, has turned out to be fun. it's the other stuff that's stressing me. it's been a challenge to get back into the swing of being on someone else's clock. not literally because i'm not punching in. but when an e-mail or call comes in, i'm expected to be Jill on the Spot. in my meeting with Client A, i was told that they have an extremely high level of expectation. not that i'm not capable of doing it. but i'm still getting used to this gig. it's not like when you work face-to-face with folk you see every day. the majority of my contact with Client A is through e-mail. phone calls are rare. in-person meetings rarest of all. i'm still feeling these folks out and the learning curve is stretching out further than i...

good morning y'all. it is with a dichotomized heart that i sit and type this post. i had decided i wasn't going to blog on this subject because my emotions were just too strong about it. but God whispered in my ear this morning in several ways and so, i write. this morning i dreamed i was on my way out. where to doesn't matter and i don't know any way. what i do know is that there was a crowd of people out by the entrance to our complex. they were orderly but loosely woven into two lines. i wondered why in the world so many people were gathered and milling about like that, some sitting, some standing, some eating, talking, laughing... then it dawned on me. they were all waiting for buses to take them to Jena, Louisiana. i looked at the faces, all open and hopeful. none angry or sad. at first every face i saw was brown, like mine. then i looked deeper and harder. and God showed me more. there were other faces there. i saw caucasian and asian faces too. the...

howdy y'all. i'm over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas cuz i haven't been in a coon's age. i'm right on time for the latest, Collaboration (#45) they're asking what words of wisdom have been passed down to me through the years, by a family member, a teacher, or somebody similar. the best career advice i've ever gotten was from my momma, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day. when i was in 9th grade, she said if i learned to type i would always have a job. so i took one semester of typing. and she was right. when i lived with my grandma while i attended high school, grandma would always admonish me about laying around in my clothes after i came in from school. she said if they weren't dirty, i could hang them up and wear them another day. i thought she was crazy. what the heck did i know back then? when i became my own Principle Laundry Do-er, i began to understand what grandma meant. i repeat it to baby bliss all the time. maybe she'll get it soo...

summer is gone y'all. it's still sunny and kinda warm where we live but i can tell the sun is running outta steam. she's tired and ready for a rest. not that i blame her cuz this summer was HOT. our sol sista put in a lotta overtime this year. but i'm already missing her and we haven't even officially gotten to fall yet. i know i'll still see her when the calendar says january, but i won't feel her like i do now. she won't rub my back or caress my cheeks like she's been doing for the past several months. she'll be taking her loving strokes to some other hemisphere. she's getting ready now, packing her rays one by one and sending them further south each day. i'm jealous. why can't i go with her? why can't she stay here with us? true, our winters are moderate and mostly sun-filled. unlike where we used to live... still. i want heat and light. does that mean I'm selfish? or am i just one of many sun-sistas, women...

hey y'all. i was supposed to blog about this morning's dream. i had it all written out in my head, composing as i brushed my teeth and rushed baby bliss to get dressed so we could head out to the library. now we're here and the dream blog post has poofed its way outta my head. lemme think on it for a while... in the meantime, i'll write about something else. we're in the library right now. (what else is new, right?) i'm sitting in the kid's section, my favorite location for undisturbed working. i know it sounds weird but despite crying babies and shushing mommies, it's easier to work here than in the adult's section. maybe it's because i know i can make as much noise as i need to without having to worry about being too loud. (right now i'm making lots of phone calls for the project i'm working on.) what is disturbing though is the book on tape that's been playing for the past hour or so. i'm not sure why it's even b...

okay y'all. i'm just in the mood to write right now. '-) i should be going back to correct those darned numbers. so i can feel better about myself. ROFL seriously. i need to do it and i'm gonna. so i can go back to numbering my most recent posts. ooops! now don't i sound like a sleepy head? i just remembered that i don't have to worry about that cuz most of the last 25-50 posts (i think) are numbered correctly. duh bliss. DUH!

baby bliss and i were at the library earlier today. she was on the internet computer watching "Drake and Josh" on Nickelodean. (is that spelled right? don't feel like googling it... too tired...) when she was done she came over and said, "mommy i was gonna blog you but i didn't know how. i couldn't get past the blogger start page." do y'all think she's trying to tell me something?

dang it y'all! i was in the "edit posts" module and noticed my numbering got wack around post 113. why? Why? WHY?????? and how? How? HOW??????????? probably blogging in my sleep again. *shaking my head* and now, being the semi-perfectionist that i am, i must go back and make amends. thankfully, not all the posts after # 113 are affected. just some... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

hey y'all. a sista is tired thanks to baby bliss and the morning photo shoot . we had a 7:30 a.m. wake up call, an 8:30 a.m. departure from bliss headquarters, and a 9 a.m. arrival at destination. the event was previously scheduled for a more reasonable hour last week but the photog had an emergency and we were moved to today's time slot. some of y'all might know the preparation that goes into this kinda thing. for those who don't, lemme say a few words. first, i saw an ad online for a photo studio that wanted models. i was interested for baby bliss so i checked out the place with the BBB and googled it too, to see if there were any negatives (comments and/or reviews) floating about. i finished my research with a trip to the company's website. everything looked legit so i subbed a few photos of baby bliss. soon after, we got an e-mail response and a phone call to set up an appointment. the follow-up e-mail is what started the tizzy. baby bliss's...

well y'all, i've been looking for work. every so often, i get the urge to do something more . usually cuz i need/want more $$ coming in. last week i talked to a small business owner who wants art for her shop. i e-mailed her photos of the baskets, hoping she'd be interested in them. she liked them but wants them bigger. much bigger. so i started a new basket this weekend. i'm gonna see how wide i can make the base before it gets weird. i also have a meet-n-greet/interview with the CEO of a regional magazine later today. i got the hook up from a family member but my editing/writing skills got my foot in the door. i know that what is for me will be mine and i'm thanking God in advance for this wonderful opportunity. i'll be able to work from home (with occasional forays into the corporate office) and they know i home school so baby bliss is welcome to tag along. what more can a momma ask for? this all means we'll have to learn to adhere to somet...

drumrolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Susan Amanda Candace now i've gotta run and tell them all what they've won. :-)

oh my Gawd y'all! i've been given a Rockin' Girl Blogger Award by my blog-sista Aly Cat , who's a Rockin' Girl Blogger herself. thanks girl! :-) here it is: isn't it cute y'all? i read that the award was invented in june 2007 by a blogger named Roberta over at Blogging Made Devilishly Simple. wow Roberta. you came up with a winner cuz i've seen this award in a whooooole lotta places and i had no idea it was a new concept. and now, in keeping with tradition, i've gotta tag a Rockin' Girl Blogger or two... so lemme go check my list a few times to see who's "it". brb...

church was soooooo good yesterday y'all. we had lots of music, lots of laughter, lots of love. i had a few good cries too. i hope i'm not boring y'all with this church stuff cuz i'm not a church lady. it's just that this is so new for me, being into church like this. i haven't belonged to a "religious" organization since before baby bliss was born. my life's journey has taken me to many places and some of them have felt real home-y. that's how our church feels to me and i'll stay as long as it feels right. it's comfortable. embracing. warm. (and not just cuz the air conditioning could be a little cooler.) enlightening. fun. uplifting. i like to take notes in church, like i do most places in real life. in addition to being wonderful facilitators, our ministers are both very funny and entertaining. a few sundays ago, i realized them gals turn a phrase so purty that some of what they say would make interesting dialogue for my f...

hey y'all! how was your (collective) weekend ? mine was busy. baby bliss and i semi-house/dog sat for a friend. i say "semi" cuz we didn't sleep over at her place. thank God/Goddess/Universe for friends with pets . baby bliss has been begging for a pooch for too long now but a weekend of keeping up with somebody else's lil pooper was all it took to convince her that no four-legged critters will inhabit her immediate future. hallelujah! the entrepreneural (is that a word?) baby bliss was paid for her services but i'm willing to bet she won't want to work like that again any time soon. the most valuable part of the lesson: cleaning up pee pee and poo poo comes with the job. for today's language arts assignment, baby bliss will draft then finalize a short story about her experience. we now move on to the news. * * * ladies (and gents too), if you have chaps working fast food , tell them to be careful! a 20-year old young lady...

from baby bliss: "mommy why are you blogging?! we're supposed to be getting ready to go."

hey y'all. i've been over to the Crazy Hip Mamas blog and i see that i'm not the only one outta sorts these days. mine is a fuzzy, i-can't-quite-get-it-together feeling that i get every so often. this time it's cuz i'm congested and cough-y and super overbooked all at the same time. totally yucky feeling... but i digress y'all. the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas are blogging about friendship in Collaboration #44 . and that's what this entry is 'sposed to be about too, so here goes. i've had lots of friends in my life. some short, some tall; some who could sing like angels, some who would scare the devil out of hell with what they call a tune. i've met people who were wonderful friends for a day and some who have been friends since 2nd3rd4th grade. some of my friends are only e-mail buds. some are blogging buds (like some of y'all reading this). some i call once a month, some i might call once a year. i have friends i haven't seen sinc...

oh happy day!  we were late for church sunday cuz we overslept by 28 minutes and we dragged our tails getting outta here. on a nicer note, i discovered a better route to church. it's not faster but i like it better cuz the first leg is highway driving. when our road winds back into the city , the scenery is fresh and new cuz it's not our usual route . that makes it a nicer drive for me. '-)  boy howdy was church good! our friend S___ went to another of our churches so i sat near folks who i didn't know until the end, when we hugged and cried on each other . baby bliss goes to the kid's section now without my prompting. i'm happy for her cuz for awhile she was too shy .  one time she went and came back crying 10 minutes later, saying she didn't know what they expected her to do.  after church, we stopped briefly at the library to return a movie. our next stop was bloom to get chips and soda for the cookout at our ministers' house . we took the few hou...

saturday was busy too. baby bliss left in the early a.m. to go hiking/mountain climbing with our friend S___. i was blissfully home alone for several glorious hours. later the three of us went shopping at value village thrift. my best buy was a black dress similar to a favorite black dress i already own. i was overjoyed to find this newest dress. a plain black dress can go from the library to the white house with a few changes of accessories. the best thing was that red labels were 75% off and i got the dress for 62 cents. :0) that tops a previous best buy of a few weeks ago from v.v.t., when i got a dress for 75 cents. and i'm not talking about clothes with strings raveling, torn seams, or lint balled up all over 'em y'all. 99.5% of the clothes i get at the thrift are very gently worn. the only exceptions i make are for clothing baby bliss or i will use for lounging. i like the v.v.t. better than goodwill. goodwill's discounts aren't all that good and they'r...

hey y'all! hows your holiday weekend going? our's is busy, busy, busy. as usual... friday we were awakened to the cacophony of my husband getting ready to hightail it to his family reunion. he wanted to give me the bill money before he left town (good thing) but he could have been quieter about it. some days i suspect that mr. bliss gets a perverse pleasure in scaring me awake. never mind that baby bliss and i were supposed to get up with the roosters to return some items to the library so they would be counted with the previous day's returns. i was doggie dog tired cuz i was up writing that post in friday's wee hours. mr. bliss got us up early but not early enough. that meant the returns would be late any way. so we decided to shower, get dressed, then head to the library for our usual hanging-out-at-the-library stuff. we got there around 10 and stayed until 4 or so. i was totally content to stay longer but baby bliss got bored after she finished her li...