Cock-A-Doodle-Don't

{5:30 a.m.}

I'm hearing some sort of rhythmic, throaty noise emanating from under my bed. I turn my phone on for some light and shine it under there, though, I really didn't need to. I had already assumed it was one of my dogs puking.

I can very clearly see that I was correct in my assumption.

I am now wishing I hadn't had the light from my phone to prove me right in such detail.


{5:57 a.m.}

I am boring a hole in the ceiling with my eyes as I lay in bed, listening to the dog who just woke me up with his partially-digested food, snore and snore. I'm not sure if I'm more upset that he's woke me up again or that he's sleepy soundly. Both.

I convince myself he's actually awake and is just laying there, with one eye peeking open, waiting to see how long it takes me to get out of my warm bed. I don't get up -- I fly out of my bed. This dog will not get the best of me! Ha!

So, I push both my dogs off their bed and lug it into the kitchen. Reason why this is a spectacular idea #1) Distance makes the snores grow quieter {or whatever that old chestnut is} and, #2) Dog vomit cleans up off of linoleum in a fraction of the time it takes to get it out of the carpet.

G'night.


{6:30 a.m.}

What is that? Hmm, must just be my hair getting situated between my head and the pillow.

But I'm not moving.

What the?!

If you thought I moved quickly during the snoring, you hadn't seen anything yet.

When something feels the need to crawl across my forehead in the early morning hours (actually, any hour of the day is unacceptable), I don't mess around. It will die. I will thrash around and pound every square inch of my bed until anything besides myself is unable to even offer an apology.

{I then apologize to Levi for scaring him witless.}

Mr. Spider, you picked the wrong girl on the wrong morning.


{Somewhere between 8:00 & 8:30 a.m.}

I am cozy and warm and finally sleeping when I am suddenly aware that Eric has come into my bed (Levi had left for work at some point.)

I ask the usual question first thing in the morning: "Are you wet?"

"Um, no. My bed is, but I'm not! I took my wet underwear off and put them in the sink and put these other ones on," is the response.

I could tell by his 3-yr.-old voice that he was proud of his problem-solving ability. Unfortunately, my brain was still on "irked" mode and this announcement didn't help. Mostly because just 3 days ago, I had sworn to myself that I was going to get his comforter to the laundromat. It had been folded up and stored in the office for the entire summer because it was too warm and it was a pain to wash every time he peed. Oh, and the teensy little issues of dog barf and the spider tour de Janelle.

So, I made it to the laundromat, used one of the commercial-size washers, inserted about 117 quarters, waited & waited, and got it clean! It air-dried in my backyard and was finally ready to use -- especially with the cooler temperatures! And now I have to do it all again!

*sigh*

I consoled myself with a huge slice of raspberry-cherry pie. Alright, alright, maybe not. But I thought about it.

Strawberries on my Cheerios'll work, too.

Farmer's Market Booty

And by "booty" I mean loot, treasures, lovelies, etc.!

Eric and I actually were out scouting yard sales when I saw the sign for the local Farmer's Market! I couldn't believe I had forgotten about such an event! I believe there was about 30 vendors there today and almost all had samples of their wares!

I tell ya -- nothing clenches a sale like the lure of free jams/breads/cookies/pies/produce/beads/hot pads/you get the idea.

Homemade Potpourri | Orange Spice

Homemade 7" Pie | Raspberry Peach

Seasoned Sea Salt | Makes incredible chicken!

Three other items were purchased that I did not get pictures of: a frosted sugar cookie and 2 homemade, gourmet dog treats {made with flour, garlic, and parmesan. $.25! I almost saved them for myself! They smelled so good!} Gracie and Gus barely let those get in the door!

I believe there are about 4 Saturdays left. This wonderland ends for the season on Oct. 24. It's from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. So worth it!

Breaking Up With Summer

Dear Summer,

I need to confess something to you. While in the midst of feeling your soft, warm caress this afternoon, I looked out the window -- only for a moment -- when I saw a. . .a. . .well. . .I saw a leaf fall to the ground. And I watched it fall all the way down.

{downcast eyes}

I know it isn't any excuse, but I want you to know the leaf hadn't yet discarded its green coloring. And while it may not have been any hue of red, orange, or yellow, it still distracted me from you. And I am ashamed.

Please know I never meant to hurt you. You have been good to me the last two months and I wouldn't trade those for the world. But if this is the end of our hot, seasonal affair, then I understand.

Until next year, my sweet, sweet Summer Sun. . .

Step Right Up, Folks!

Another year of corn dogs, cotton candy & "Can we do it again?!" has come and gone. And stomach-ache or not, we survived it.

I must say, though, this year was {far} more bearable than most. With the exception of a couple of days that convinced me we had arrived on the surface of the sun, the weather was incredible! And what's even more -- tolerable levels of people.

I'll take the heat over a {crabby} crowd any day.

Eric and I hit the ride scene on Thursday. It was one of the hottest days, but we found occasional refuge in the shade of telephone poles. There was not one line to be had. Not for the rides {or} the elephant ear stand! Did your jaw just hit your desk? 'Cause I totally heard it.

For those of you who may not know why such a statement is so unbelievable or would like to know what breed of people choose to stand in line to purchase an ear from an animal native to Africa, please allow me to explain: an elephant ear is a giant spherically-shaped scone, smothered in butter and either one or all of the following: powdered sugar, cinnamon & sugar, honey. They are usually boiling-lava hot but you eat them anyway because {even though your tongue can't actually taste it} your brain is telling you it's divine. It's a fact. Factual enough that the line for such a fried delicacy usually spans across at least half the entire area allotted for food vendors. {sigh}

This setup makes it irritatingly difficult for the ladies to make their way to the purse vendor on the far side {so I've heard...}

Saturday, I returned to the fair in the afternoon to play a small part in a Modbe fashion show. It was tons of fun with several cute girls and I got to wear an adorable top with some super-cute jeans. And we got our makeup done. What girl wouldn't want that?

I then got to meet up with one of my best friends {Suzanne Jarvis} and her husband {Jon} and their baby girl {Sydney}. We wandered through the animal barns and watched Syd squeal with delight at her first encounters with several animals: horses, goats, sheep, etc. The goats nibbled at her bare toes with their nimble lips and she giggled and giggled! It was {adorable}! We then enjoyed the final night of the rodeo with great seats and a full moon! And Suzanne got to experience Mutton Bustin' for the first time!

Monday, Levi, Eric & I made it to the Demolition Derby. It was great watching the clunkers go from the classic "boats" as we knew them to compact cars with no front bumpers and always-on windshield wipers. We got some nachos and Eric got a corn dog and we had a really nice, cool evening. After the derby, we grabbed some mini-donuts and Levi got a Tater-Pig, chatted up some friends and headed out before the crowds.

Fair 2009 -- Success

New Vintage

I updated my blog (yet again). Sorry, it's what I do. I get bored easily -- one of the reasons I hate flying.

Anyway, I really like how this turned out. It's simple and classic; not sure how you can beat that.

Ok, to be honest, I'm hoping it'll inspire me to post more frequently. Does that sound ridiculous to anyone but me? {sigh} I'm looking for motivation and pretty things have a tendency to motivate girls.

I hope you're still reading this.

Leave me comments reassuring me you haven't decided to question my intellect and what you use for motivation. ;)

My Digital Portfolio

I'm not sure how many of you know about my solution to paying for a website to showcase my design work (or how many of you know that I even do that), BUT nevertheless, I have a link to the right of my page that take those who chose to click to a small blog of my work.

J DESIGNS

I have been told that my business name is less-creative than my actual work, but I love it. The "J", of course, stands for "Janelle" though a number of people have tried to be "creative" (and by "creative", I mean "sarcastic", "funny", "that's quite a stretch", etc.) But that's to be expected from the people I choose to surround myself with.

Anyway, all of my work is completely custom. I get asked about pricing for certain types of work but can only really offer my hourly rate. I never put a one-lump-sum on any project because it is absolutely a guarantee that my client will find 27 of the most time-consuming details to change. Which is fantastic; I am happy to oblige.

I'm also happy to get paid for my time.

Anyway, you can click the word "J DESIGNS" above to visit it, if you'd like. And just because you may not see something doesn't mean I can't do it. It just means I haven't...yet.

And I know it's early (oh, for crying out loud, I can't believe I'm even going to say this), but it's a great time to start thinking about fun, custom Christmas greetings for super cheap!

Questions? Demands? --> j.dzyns@hotmail.com