Wanted!

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Wanted: Housekeeper. Our current housekeeper is habitually falling behind on her assigned duties. (See attached pictures) She is about to get the boot out the door. New, more consistent, and efficient housekeeper needed. Persons applying must be able to straighten toys that continually seem to crawl back off the shelves, wash and put away the same dishes over and over multiple times a day, as well as deal with piles of clothing, pet hair, and muddy snow. House must be cleaned using only natural/chemical free products. Bonuses given for handling laundry and beds. Pay is on a self satisfaction scale only (there really is no money available for this position).

Also..... while we are at it..... I should place one more ad

Wanted: Male Cook. Need not be a chef. Someone who can plan and provide healthy, nutrition, well rounded meals, using natural or organic foods when available. Meals are served nightly in a "sit down/ family style". These meals must (magically) satisfy all 6 different tastes and "issues". "Issues" range from an aversion to different foods touching, to an over sensitive palate where all things seem too spicy. Please note: the food budget and time constraints do not allow for meals to be prepared on demand however, and one meal must somehow meet each persons need. Also most meals are consumed in under 10 minutes time. Persons applying must not expect gratification via compliments or rave reviews as these tend to be few and far between. Again, this is not a paid position.

Send all applications via my email.

Disheveled kitchen after current housekeeper/cook slacked off for two days!














p.s. I am the current housekeeper/cook and I fear my dearest is about to fire me due to the lack of work accomplished this week! LOL

Any day above zero is a good day

As I type I am watching the temperature rise.
It has gone from 24 to 24.3 degrees.
The sun is shining and the birds are (literally) singing!
It may as well be 80 in July. People are happier.
They were walking with their coats unzipped
I even saw one lady wearing capris! It was -14 yesterday
It is amazing what ~30 degrees can do for a body!

I had a meeting this morning.
Red Barn in field next to house

With temps warm enough to step outside of the car I took some pics on my way in (making me late for the meeting - oops) With spirits up we had a very inspired, creative, productive meeting. I believe a group of women on a mission could conqueror the world.

Red barn 1 mile down county road

When I returned home this handsome man had his arms out stretched to greet me.
made by wee one #3

This guy said "welcome back, welcome back....."
Purple finch

I live in an area of extremes - hot and cold, wet and dry. The weather truly does effect our state of mind. Today, while the sun is shining and it is above zero, I will say today is a good day.

Something we (hopefully) learn as we grow up:

The more I like me,
the less I want to
pretend
to be other people.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Me? Are you sure?

My phone rang one evening last week. It was a lady named Kate, from an organization in town. She was calling to ask me to speak at their meeting. She thought I would make an excellent motivational speaker for their meeting in March.
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Shhhh... come here, yeah you - come over here to the side (I have something to tell you.) Can you keep a secret? I have always wanted to be a motivational speaker..... However, beside a concentration in speech during college I have absolutely no training for this!
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The topic of the meeting is how to beat the winter blues. Which as we have discussed here can be a real problem in the winter. Now, I guess asking me to speak on this topic is like having a ex-drug user serving as a drug counselor. Except, really, it would be more like a current drug user serving as a drug dealer.
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I agreed but with hesitation. "Me? Are you sure?" I asked... she said, "Yes, a member of ours heard you speak before and was very inspired." Ha, ha, ha, really? Well, since it has been a secret ambition of mine how could I refuse?
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On March 12th I will be acting as a motivational speaker. I will be talking about how to beat the winter blues. I will speak for 30 minutes (gulp). Plus, I will be leading a craft project. ( Yeah she threw that in there after I agreed to speak!)
I highlight "I will" because - I said "yes", so there is no back down now!

Photographer/Magician Needed

I am in need of a new avatar picture. I have been trying to come up with a pic that suits ME. However, I have come to the conclusion that there are NO photos of me. (Man, I hope I don't die soon, my younger children will have no visual memory of me!)

There is a reasonable explanation for my lack of photos --->I am the one behind the camera and my dearest is typically the one behind the video camera. This works well for us - but it causes an obvious problem - my dearest is never on any video (except his voice) and I never have a good photo of myself. Plus, when you have wee ones the pictures inevitably are of them, not each other anymore. The first picture I used was from our family portrait this summer. The one I am using now I quickly snapped in a mirror located in our dining room, (with my husbands cheap work camera of all things!) it is anything but flattering.

I have scoured my pics looking for a good shot. The very few pictures that I did find of myself are from right away in the morning (not my best look), or are when I was in the hospital (where I have frequent flier miles), or late at night after the day has beat up on me. (See below)

Maybe I should place a blog ad: JustJules in search of a good portrait photographer. This photo must be suitable for an avatar picture on blogger. Photographer must work for free, or a home cooked "supper". Travel to Northern Minnesota is not included but mandatory. Feel free to be inspired by these pics.... Finally, please apply only if you can work photographic magic.

Yeah, I'm screwed!


The few photos I do have of myself are better not seen....

Photo taken Christmas morning

The Art of the Nap

Oh naps, how I love thee....
I am a napper. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't take a nap. Those that know me best can attest to this.

Now some day that means getting to just lie down and relax my body enough that I am able to drift off for only 5 minutes. Some days, like today, this means pulling the shades and crawling under the full mess of blankets and drifting off hard enough and long enough to dream. Today I slept for over an hour. Yesterday I barely clocked 15 minutes of rest from laying down to rising.

There are many reasons I nap, the main two reasons conflict-----> I am a night owl ----> I have to rise early .

---->I am a night owl and tend to stay up until midnight. This is in my nature, but, it is also the only time the house is quiet and I can 1)think 2)do my own things 3) get anything that takes more then 10 minutes accomplished.

----> I am forced to wake long before the sun even thinks of shining. I need to get three wee ones on the bus at 7 a.m. and my dearest out the door by 7:15 a.m. They need to be fed, dressed, lunches packed, backpacks packed and ready, and fully clothed in their layer of snow clothing etc. Then I turn around and get one more wee one moving and out the door in time for preschool.

I have always needed more sleep then the average Julie (why would I say Joe? His average amount of sleep doesn't affect me!) Anyway, I have become so good at these little naps that I have some pointers. Now, this is for those who have children, children that don't nap anymore (3+ years old)

1) Don't crawl into your bed unless you are guaranteed at least 1 hour of sleep. Use the couch or chair or other comfortable spot instead.
2)Find an incredibly comfortable position that you can assume every time. Take the time to get into this position this will save you from rolling and fussing and wasting valuable napping time.
3) Place the phone and t.v. remote close by.
4) Plan your nap around your child's favorite program.
5) Lay down a few minutes before the program starts.
6) Provide all necessary things for your child - juice, snack, pillow, blanket, etc.
7) Call your friend and tell them not to call for the next hour.
8) Settle in - give your child instructions to wake you after the program is over. "Ok, honey, when Go Diego Go is done wake mommy up." (napping longer then 30 minutes will make you feel worse - unless you can sleep longer then 1 hour)
9) Let your mind wonder don't worry about all you are not doing. Know you will be a better person in less then 1/2 hour.
10) Allow yourself at least 20 minutes to wake fully before trying to really accomplish anything after rising from your nap.

Elapsed Time - 10 minutes to fall fully asleep, 30 minutes sleep, 20 minutes to fully wake again = 1 hour.

I am a better person for napping - It helps me be more patient, organized, productive, and just all around bearable! I guess I explain it away as this - I can either "waste" 1 hour napping/waking back up or I can "waste" from 1 o'clock on feeling tired, grumpy, and just plain miserable. Plus, there are proven health benefits to a "power nap"

Yes, naps - I love thee! It is a fine art for sure.

Of course this post is written on the side of humor - please don't leave me nasty comments saying I am abusing my child by sleeping while they are awake, or that I am endangering them. If you want to see a child whose health is in danger see an over tired, over stressed/unappreciated mom on the verge - then we will talk! :)