Friday, August 31, 2012

Guilty as charged...

Do you guys have guilty pleasures? I sure as heck do. And lately, I've been feeling like CRAP and just indulging away.

 Not only emotionally, since my Ma died and the divorce coming up on being final and work being kinda crappy...but physically my migraines are back and my back/hip hurt like HELL-o!
So here is what I'm guilty of, ladies and gentleman:

Mt. Dew:
If you know me, you already knew I had a Coke drinking problem, well you probably didn't know that it also included Mt. Dew. Well lately I've been just doin' the Dew, less Coke...more caffeine, because I haven't been sleeping I guess. And it's just so gooood!

Freecycle:
I used to freecycle when I lived in Manassas a good bit, but it was for things I needed. I've been just picking up things like horse head bookends, kitchen chairs (I got those because I wanted to paint them hot pink...why??) etc, just because they were free and I wanted them.

Online yard sale:
Pretty much the same as Freecycle. I have been actually SELLING some things on there though, so I'm trying to balance my spending with my earning.

Not doing chores:
Holy Moses, I haven't done laundry at ALL in over 2 weeks, Hannah had to literally scream at me to clean the bathroom (it was my turn,) my car is a disaster, my room looks like a bomb when off. I need to get it together. I don't think I have any clean underwear, literally.

Pop tarts:
Guilty, guilty, guilty. They are so Delicious! When I have a migraine, that's been pretty much all I eat. I'm a mess! Ugh.

I have a doctors appointment this morning, to hopefully help with the back/hip issues, and I see my neurologist on Tuesday to talk more about the migraines. In between now and then I have 4 days off and I'm going to clean, clean, clean...do laundry...put some things up for sale on the online yard sale to make some money, and hopefully get a little rest!

What are your guilty pleasures? Indulging any this Labor Day weekend?

Friday, August 17, 2012

Jack-a-roo

THREE months!
(I had him overnight this past Saturday! LOVE my Jackson)
Sleeping through the night like a champ...
Smiling on purpose...
Cooing and "singing"...
DEFINITELY knowing when his Momma not home...
Interacting with his brothers a bit...
Liking to be outside...
And looking quite cute in his bumbo and hat when his Emway puts him outside under a tree for a photo op...


Thursday, August 9, 2012

When there just are no words...

I had some awesome posts planned for this week, and I just can't bring myself  past all the tears and hurt to post. I'm sorry to those of you who read them.

I lost my amazing grandmother on Monday, August 6th at about 6am. And then I had to cry all the way to work, put on my big girl face, and work all day long. being an adult bites, big time!

It was one of the most horrible moments. Worse than any injury, or boyfriend breakup, or being abused by my ex husband, or being fired, or anything...Actually, it was the worst moment in my 28 years on this earth, and it still feels that way.

It's been 4 days now, and I still feel like it can't possibly be true. It hurts to breathe, I have had a migraine since then. Even though in the last 5 years, her Alzheimer's has been slowly taking her away from us, but she was still there...I could touch her, and I could hear her voice.

The other week I was looking at a photo of her from my cousin's wedding, in 2002, and I thought, "Damn, I miss her!" and I thought to myself, what a horrible thing to say about a person who is still alive. It was because of the Alzheimer's. 

There were times when I would call her every Sunday from Chicago and she would tell my dad she hadn't heard from me in years. But she always, always, ALWAYS knew who I was. No matter what...until about 2 weeks ago.

Two weeks ago she was complaining of persistent left arm pain, so my grandpa took her to the ER, I met him there, and I was in my scrubs still, because it was after work. I held her hand, and helped them keep her still to get an IV in. I helped her up to the bathroom, I helped her into the wheel chair, I helped her back into her clothes when it was all over. I'm trained to do this stuff, I can at least help my grandpa out by giving him a break. She looked at me and said "You all are so sweet here!"

It took my breath away for a minute,
she thought I was one of the nurses. I took her fragile face in my hands and said "Ma, it's Emily, your Emily. I'm here." She had no idea. This was the very first time she didn't know me. She told me I was beautiful, and "a good little nursie." So props for that.

I cried all the way home. I knew she couldn't help it, but it broke me a little.

That was the last time I saw her. I was no longer her "Em," but her "nursie," and that's OK...because that's what she needed that day.

I miss her so bad it hurts. I miss the crafts we made, the flowers we planted, the long talks about nothing. The time I accidentally turned the shower on her, fully clothed....when I was 7 and she never let me live it down. My little mop that I used to follow her around with when I was just barely walking. I miss watching the deer in the morning with her. I miss hearing about all the genealogy research she had done. I miss the cards she sent every time I went away to camp, and even into college...once a month, without fail.

People keep telling me it will get better, and I know it will get easier, but it will never get better, because I will never again have my Ma again.

I know she is no longer in pain, and she has her memories again, and she is looking down on us, and I am so happy for that. I love you so much Ma,
Love always,
Your Miss Em
and your "Nursie" when you needed me the most


This picture was taken just before my wedding. My wedding was held outside and she couldn't make it out there because of the slope of the ground, so we got her a special inside seat so she could watch from the window. This also meant that she got to see the bride FIRST, which made her day! Now that my marriage is over, I don't care a bit about ANY of the photos except these first few with my Ma! I love them and I will always cherish those first few moments I had with her before marrying that jerk face!

Monday, August 6, 2012

It's our half birthday!

It's true! I've been blogging at Just Whem and Osc for about 6 months now! Some of you may or may not remember that this is NOT my first blog. I started blogging about 2 years ago, at my Rosenbergh Fam blog, but because I left my husband (and for good reason!)

Because I was soon to be no longer a Rosenbergh, and we were no longer a "fam," I started this. Just a crafty/personal little blog about me (Whem,) and my dog (Osc.)

All that said, I DID have some wicked awesome projects over at Rosenberghfam.blogspot.com, and since it's been so long, I'd like to post some of my faves for you all to see!!

1. Congrats Mike and Mandy. Hand painted and decorated rocking horse for a co worker's baby shower. This was such an awesome project, and my ex and I did it together (note:this is an OLD post, we were still getting along! ha ha) so this is something you and your hubs or a girlfriend can do together and the baby-to-be can keep for YEARS to come!
 
2. Reduce.Reuse.Recycle Thrift store bowl and candle stick upcycle! This was so easy, but looked so elegant as a candy dish in my office at work! These types of items are ALWAYS very easy to find in thrift stores, Goodwills, yard sales, etc...I've made several more since then. Don't always go with the shiny black either...I've made some in turquoise and watermelon and bright yellow. Go for it!!
 

3. My homemade granola. I've tried a lot of recipes, this one is simple the best, hands down. I REALLY like to put dried cherries in it, and then put it in vanilla yogurt. I used to make a HUGE mason jar full of it, then bring in a big thing of yogurt and my manager at Chicago Cardiology and I would eat it everyday for breakfast. Man, I miss that place...the job, not Chicago...just to be clear :)
 
4. 40 sucks gift/craft This is really cute, I've done it for a lot of people, and I've done it for 30th, 40th, 50th etc birthdays. Also I've done "Cancer Sucks," for a friend's little boy who was in the hospital getting chemo, and "Retirement sucks," for a friend who had a forced retirement due to a back injury. Take the idea and run with it! I used a clear paint bucket. But you could use any container really!
 
5. Iris folded birthday gift Made this little beauty for my Momma for her birthday. Iris folding is so easy, but it looks SO amazing. Put it in a frame and you have yourself a masterpiece!
 
6. Monogram wedding guest book This was a last minute "guest" book that a co-worker asked me to make. She and her boyfriend threw together a quick wedding for various reasons, and I had told her my feelings on traditional guestbooks (hate them, they just collect dust and go in the closet, never to be seen again!) so I cam up with this! I ended up selling 3 more to people who had seen the one at her wedding! 
 
7. Scrappy flower hair clips. I made about a thousand of these (OK, maybe only 100) for a craft show at the church. They were all made of scraps or upcycled jeans or clothing. They are really cute, and I also hot glued some onto pens that us girls at work LOVED. I had to take some pictures, and I didn't have anyone to model them, poor Lyla girl!
 
8. Bleach pen tees have long been a go to craft for me! I have done them with the nephews, for gifts, with friends, etc! I just LOVE how they turn out, and you can get colored T shirts at Goodwill or Salvation Army for 99 cents, and who cares, you are bleaching it anyway, right? So that makes this a really cute, cheap, and easy craft!
 
9. Coupon organizer speaks for itself! And its just so darn cute!
 
10. Cheesy pumpkin! I just love this guy! So funny and so cute!
 
So, there you have it, my top 10 favorite projects from my former blog! Hope you enjoy them!
Have a great week, everyone!
Emily

Sunday, August 5, 2012

It's NOT?

I took this picture on a recent Virginia Beach trip. Their sign is kinda ridiculous.
No.1 looks way too much like Not!
 My dad used to always have me belly laughing over it as a kid! He would say, "Not Chinese? guess we will just go home then!" I just HAD to pull over and take the pic and send it to him, for old times sake. (And yes, people were honking at me in the Food Lion parking lot to move!) Oh well!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Hannah's grad party!!

Here is another post that I am (way) late on:
My little sister's graduation party. (Picture heavy post)

As I had mentioned in this post, my "baby" sister graduated from VCU in May. We couldn't be more proud of here. Here is my whole fam, showin' off our baby girl!
The next day we had a little par-tay here at the house for her. I would have gone ALL OUT, but she specifically requested that I didn't, because she KNOWS how I can be! She wanted low key, some BBQ, live music, and family....so that's what she got!

Well, kinda...You know I had to decorate a *little* because that's how I roll, right?

First I framed one of her Graduation announcements (that I made, so much cheaper, prettier, and easier to personalize to YOUR grad ex: you can put their minors, that they graduated cum laude, etc) and put it on the table and used it as a cheap and easy decoration!
Next I made a garland of black and gold circles with my 3 inch circle punch and strung them all together and put it up in our sun room, since most of the party was outside, and the sun room was kind of a "transition" room and could be seen from inside and out:
Hannah had mentioned really wanting this ceramic ram from Z gallerie, and since VCU's mascot is the Ram, Erin and I got it for her as her graduation present. I knew all about this ram from one of my FAVORITE blogs, younghouselove.com and Sherry's mishap with the very same ram!
So anyway, since we had rammy, we used him, with her graduation hat as decor!

(Rammy has since been spray painted a shiny gold and looks fantastic!)

So that was pretty much it, since she made me keep it low key...I also had some black and gold balloons scattered about, and on the mailbox, that I didn't photograph.

Here is the grad, and her other half, Joshua, and their pups:
Oh, and live music, we DID have that! My dad, uncle, and aunt provided some fantastic music the whole night, while we ate BBQ and drank pomegranate margaritas!

That's my dad, hes pretty awesome :)