Disappointed...

We attended the Washington CK Scrapbook Convention this last weekend and we had a sales table at the evening crops on Friday and Saturday. Everything went very well, Jose and I had a fun time together and stayed in a really nice hotel for a really great rate - only $87.00 per night thanks to Expedia.com. But I have to tell you how disappointed I am...I had a woman take me for $250 worth of product. I wish I had trusted my gut instinct about her. Another one of those times where you kick yourself for not listening to your instincts. She kept asking how much something was and saying "I'll take all of them!" It was as if she was on a shopping spree. I just had this weird feeling that her credit card was not going to go through and I was going to be sorry. I asked to see her driver's license and I remember the look on her face, like she was thinking really fast. She said it was at her crop table and she would bring it back to me. If I had been smart I would have told her I would hold her things for her until she came back, but I tend to think that all people are good people unless they prove otherwise. Unfortunately, I am proven over and over again that I shouldn't make this assumption.

She did come back but I was at the bathroom. She left a piece of paper with Jose with her what was supposed to be her drivers license number. I thought that since she did come back that maybe she might be for real so I let my worries go. On the drive home the next day, I found myself thinking about her and that charge quite a bit. I had prepared myself to not be surprised when her charge card didn't go through. Sure enough, out of about 30 charges over the weekend, her charge card was the only one that didn't go through. I tried the phone number she left me and sure enough..."we're sorry, the number you have tried to reach is not in service".

I called information and tried to see if there was a Nikki Johnston in the Mt Vernon area which is where she said her address was and they didn't have anything. So, either it was a credit card that was cancelled or it was not her credit card.

I am going to try to do some research and see what I can find out but chances are it won't lead to anything. It is so sad that there are such awful people out there who are willing to take from others for their own satisfaction. Jose told me that we need to learn from what happened and make changes to avoid it happening again and he also said that when people do things like that, it comes back to them in different ways. As much as I hate to feel revengeful, I actually hope that is true for this woman.

Another "Jovanna-ism"

I really don't want to forget this exchange I had with Jovanna tonight so I am recording it here. Jovanna had a meltdown tonight and decided that she was going leave (runaway) so she grabbed her pillow and blanket and a block of Tillamook cheese. Jose told her, "oh no...leave the cheese" (LOL). So she went out the door and I stayed far enough away that I could see her but she saw me so then she knew I was keeping an eye out for her and then she started walking further away. I finally got close enough to her to talk and told her it was time to come back inside. She told me that she was going to go and live somewhere else with someone who loves her. I asked her where she was going to go and she thought for a moment and then said, "I'm going to live with Grandma and Grandpa!". I asked her how long she thought that would last and she said it would last as long as she wanted it to. I said, "O.K., let's go call Grandma and see what she says." Jovanna thought for a moment and said, "Well, Grandpa will make Grandma let me stay, he loves me!" I asked her who would take care of her and she said "Grandpa will!". I reminded her that Grandpa was sick and she said "Grandma will take care of me then!" and I told her that Grandma is taking care of Grandpa, who is sick. She said that Grandpa will make Grandma take care of her. Again, I told her that if she thought that was going to work then let's go call. I asked her how long she thought she would stay there and she told me she would stay as long as she wanted until she was ready to come home. I told her to really think about that and how long Grandma would tolerate that. She spent a few minutes thinking and then she began walking back towards the house and said, "I'm going to think about this for a couple of hours and I will let you know what my decision is."

Oh my!!!!!

Toot!

About a month ago I decided that I wanted to work towards having one of my layouts published. I have been trying to submit my creations to the magazines consistently and I am so excited that my dream and goal of getting published is coming true! You may notice that my layout in my post below has been removed! Ironically, my "Bucket List" layout will be published in an upcoming magazine and one of the items on my Bucket List is to "get published". Guess I better make my bucket list longer so I don't end up crossing off all of my items on my list!

Bucket List

I finally finished my bucket list layout. This was a fun lo to make but very serious too because it definitely made me put some thought into what I want on my bucket list. If you haven't made a Bucket List lo, you should!

I know you can't read the journaling and my bucket list so here it is:
Bucket List
Travel across the country and see something special in every state.
Demonstrate self-control
Get published
Win a photography award for an amazing shot
Write a book about something important - my life experience
Leave something inspiring behind that will continue on to help others

Journaling Quote on the right side:
so many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable and then, when we summon the will, they become inevitable. Christopher Reeves

Who do I wish I had stayed in contact with over the years?

Scrapdango has a blog challenge to blog about who is the one person we wish we had stayed in contact with through the years. I knew exactly who this is for me as soon as I read this challenge. I made a friend when I was in college. Her name was Balinda. She was the most real and genuine person I think I have ever met. She was a great support for me while I was in college and we continued to stay in touch for several years after college but after having a disagreement about whether my X (notice that I say X because she was definitely RIGHT!) was right for me or not, we lost touch with each other and it wasn't until many years, maybe 8 years later that I tried to track her down. I did find her but when we talked briefly on the phone, it wasn't the same. So much had happened in both our lives during those years. She had finished her education and had become an eye doctor. She got married and had a brand new baby when we spoke. I spent 10 years in a miserable relationship with that same X and had a child with special needs. We just didn't have that connection and spark in our conversation that we had years before. I am sure that had I not been so stubborn and had listened to her years earlier that we would have stayed in contact over the years and would have been able to maintain our connection to each other. I often think about her and wish I hadn't lost her friendship but I do cherish the years that we were a support and friend to each other.

Cosmic Bowling with Friends

We had such a busy, busy weekend. I took Jovanna to her Shine Team Cheerleading on Friday evening and then from there we headed to Game Night which is this awesome group that holds this great family fun event once a month for kids with Aspergers or who are on the Autism Spectrum. We had a really good time! Then on Saturday we spent sometime with my new friend, Kris and her two wonderful kids. We went to the library and out to eat and then to Cosmic Bowling. The bowling was a fundraiser for Jo's Cheerleading group and we just had a blast! Here's a few pic's...


I feel so lucky to have met Kris and her family. I enjoy talking to her and spending time with her and I look forward to developing a great friendship with her and her family.

I was blog surfing the other day and came across Karen's blog and gave this a try...
(I used to be a lot faster but as with everything as I get older, seems to get slower)

57 words

Speed test