While visiting Byjo in Benbrook this weekend, she took me aside to see if I wanted some of the things she'd packed up from Beckys over the last few weeks. (Just in case you are unaware, Becky is my sister that committed suicide about 3 weeks ago.)
Initially, a voice in my head (or heart) screamed, "NO!"
But I've gained a lot of weight and Byjo knew money was tight and I probably didn't have a coat that would fit me. She said she'd brought two jackets (one leather and one soft comfy) from Becky's earlier in the week for me to look at. So I went to look. As soon as I slipped the comfy jacket on, my eyes filled with tears. I felt so warm and cared for; it smelled like Becky.
Before I knew it, I left the garage with two nice jackets, a gorgeous "Lucky" leather bag, and three pair of shoes. I set them by the front door and went outside to cry where no one would see me. As I cry now with no one to see me.
Yesterday, when Byjo casually mentioned wearing a pair of Becky's pants a small part of me wondered how she could do that. I've never had anyone that close to me die. So close I would end up with their personal items. So close I'd even thing of trying their clothes on and keeping them.
I did understand about needing the clothes. Hell, all of us girls weight goes up and down like a frigging yoyo. I bet there are no less than 5 different sizes in any of our closets. I also understand the finances. Byjo is a stay-at-home mom of 2 children with a husband that not only supports them all but took out a sizable loan to help pay for Becky's funeral. Times are tight; and so are our clothes.
And we've always shared clothes. It would be a rare visit, that one of us didn't leave the others house without some new clothes. I guess it's just the way of sisters. What mine is yours; except for my man, my wedding band, and the last servicing of ice cream in the freezer.
Tonight, I sit here wearing a pair of Becky's house shoes and fighting the urge to wrap up in her jacket . . . just because I can. Oh, it hurts. There is no doubt about it. And I was doing a pretty good job of handeling (read avoiding) pain the last week.
But I came away from my experience today with two distinct thoughts:
1) If you can wear it, sit in it, wrap up in it, or smell it and it gives you comfort; take it. I truly believe Becky would be happy that anything she left behind would help us cope just a little with her loss.
2) A needing to tell the younger generation of my family . . . I ain't got crap, so don't get your hopes up.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
A Rose by any other Name . . .
My youngest sisters name at birth was Jennie Eva Estrada.
I remember my mother saying once that it was suppose to be plain Jenny; but mom didn't know how to spell and it ended up Jennie. (Guess that's a hereditary thing after all.) The name Eva was for her paternal grandmother.
The odd thing is that half the time when I am talking about her, or even to her, I'm not sure what to call her.
When she was very young, everyone called her what mom did; Eva. When she turned about 12 or so, she let us all know that she would prefer to be called Jennie, rather than Eva. While trying to change what you call a sibling is hard anyway, it was really hard for me as I seldom called her Eve to start out with.
My step-father attempted to teach all his children some Spanish when they were little. We all knew what most animals, body parts, and food was called. When Jennie Eva was around 2, he was trying to teach her to say horse.
Horse in Spanish is caballo (pronounced: Ka bye yo). Jeannie Eve had trouble getting her mouth around the word so Ernest would pronounce it really slowly for her, Ka Bye Yo. Being the I'll-do-this-my-way type of person she is, she selected to only use the last 2 syllables and a horse became a Bye Yo. Or, really more of a Byjo with her baby accent. Soon, every living animal was a Bjyo.
It didn't matter how much time Ernest spent trying to correct her, an animal was a Byjo and a Byjo they would remain. (Those of you who know her, shouldn't really be surprised by this.)
Some how, whether from our attempt to pick on Ernest or from her repeated use of the phrase, by the time she was 3, Jennie Eve had officially become Byjo to her immediate family. And as far as I am concerned, she still is.
So . . .
Byjo is in her 30s now and I am still trying to decide what to call her. When I'm talking to family members she is my Byjo. They know who I'm talking about and no one blinks; but they don't always call her by that name.
When I talk to friends of mine about her, I try not to use Byjo because if they ever meet her she will introduce herself by another name.
When I am talking to her I usually call her Byjo. But if I'm at her house surrounded by her friends or in laws I freeze every time I go to address her. I know they do not call her Byjo. But for a moment, I can't remember if she's Eva or Jennie. So I stumble.
I've been doing this most of our adult lives; stumbling over her name.
This weekend we drove to see Byjo and her family and even when trying to tell Will (my son) what to call her, I stumbled. "This is your Aunt . . ."
Now, I have a notoriously bad memory. Next to my notorious bad spelling. But I hope she never things I truly FORGET her name.
For my baby sister is special. She has overcome a lot in her life and has made for herself a life and family worth being proud of. She's smart, beautiful, and fun to be around. She's always ready to help any one that needs it. And there is no end to the limits she will go to for her family. No, she's not perfect . . . she is related to me after all.
And regardless of whether I stumble over her name in an fool-hearted attempt to make her more comfortable in different situations; whether I call her Eva, Jennie, or Byjo; I always call her sister. And I always love her.
I remember my mother saying once that it was suppose to be plain Jenny; but mom didn't know how to spell and it ended up Jennie. (Guess that's a hereditary thing after all.) The name Eva was for her paternal grandmother.
The odd thing is that half the time when I am talking about her, or even to her, I'm not sure what to call her.
When she was very young, everyone called her what mom did; Eva. When she turned about 12 or so, she let us all know that she would prefer to be called Jennie, rather than Eva. While trying to change what you call a sibling is hard anyway, it was really hard for me as I seldom called her Eve to start out with.
My step-father attempted to teach all his children some Spanish when they were little. We all knew what most animals, body parts, and food was called. When Jennie Eva was around 2, he was trying to teach her to say horse.
Horse in Spanish is caballo (pronounced: Ka bye yo). Jeannie Eve had trouble getting her mouth around the word so Ernest would pronounce it really slowly for her, Ka Bye Yo. Being the I'll-do-this-my-way type of person she is, she selected to only use the last 2 syllables and a horse became a Bye Yo. Or, really more of a Byjo with her baby accent. Soon, every living animal was a Bjyo.
It didn't matter how much time Ernest spent trying to correct her, an animal was a Byjo and a Byjo they would remain. (Those of you who know her, shouldn't really be surprised by this.)
Some how, whether from our attempt to pick on Ernest or from her repeated use of the phrase, by the time she was 3, Jennie Eve had officially become Byjo to her immediate family. And as far as I am concerned, she still is.
So . . .
Byjo is in her 30s now and I am still trying to decide what to call her. When I'm talking to family members she is my Byjo. They know who I'm talking about and no one blinks; but they don't always call her by that name.
When I talk to friends of mine about her, I try not to use Byjo because if they ever meet her she will introduce herself by another name.
When I am talking to her I usually call her Byjo. But if I'm at her house surrounded by her friends or in laws I freeze every time I go to address her. I know they do not call her Byjo. But for a moment, I can't remember if she's Eva or Jennie. So I stumble.
I've been doing this most of our adult lives; stumbling over her name.
This weekend we drove to see Byjo and her family and even when trying to tell Will (my son) what to call her, I stumbled. "This is your Aunt . . ."
Now, I have a notoriously bad memory. Next to my notorious bad spelling. But I hope she never things I truly FORGET her name.
For my baby sister is special. She has overcome a lot in her life and has made for herself a life and family worth being proud of. She's smart, beautiful, and fun to be around. She's always ready to help any one that needs it. And there is no end to the limits she will go to for her family. No, she's not perfect . . . she is related to me after all.
And regardless of whether I stumble over her name in an fool-hearted attempt to make her more comfortable in different situations; whether I call her Eva, Jennie, or Byjo; I always call her sister. And I always love her.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Texas Shoe-Step
I know you've all heard of the Texas Two-Step, well, the last 2-3 weeks I've been doing the Texas Shoe-Step. And it's driving me crazy!
As you may, or may not know, I started my sewing/pattern business based on a pattern for leather soft-sole shoes. I started making my own shoes for Will, who weighed 10.7 pounds at birth and didn't develop ankles until he was over the age of 2.
Side fact: Will was so LARGE that the doctor that performed the c-section wrote across my tummy with a permanent marker "Big Will". I guess I should be thankful she didn't add, "was here".
Regardless, Will was unable to wear any shoes I could find for him. I finally saw a pair of Robeez at a playdate and ended up making him a pair. He wore nothing but those shoes for 2 years and even now; half of his shoes are still made from the same pattern. We were constantly being asked where he got his shoes and on a lark I tried markerting the pattern on craigslist . . . the rest is history.
Well, I've added other styles and they all sell well enough. But I came up with an idea of adding elaborate appliques to the shoes to make the actual shoe an animal -- not just so it had an applique of an animal on it. Before you knew it, I had 31 different designs drawn out and ready to test. If it was just one pattern, I would make it up myself. But every one of these designs is different. I need photos taken after each step and photos of the finished shoes. And having photos of different sizes would be nice too. Then, I need someone to try out the instructions and pattern pieces to make sure they are understandable.
For those of you with no clue, one pair of these shoes can take an adequate seamstress 3-5 hours to make. Depending on her skill level, familiarity sewing with leather, and the design she is working on.
So there was no way I was going to have that time, nor the need for 31 pairs of shoes for Will -- some of which are definite "girl" designs. :)
My first stop was to contact the women of my yahoo group, but through them I only got 13 designs out to be tested. The wonderful thing about using these women, is that they are familiar with the basic pattern and will use their own leather. I just email them the files and they send me photos back . . . so the dance began.
The next thing I did was post looking for women to do the sewing for me. I offered patterns, leather, even my extra serger as enticement. I got responses, that required responses, that may or not may have responded back. About a week after the post, a woman and I agreed to meet in Round Rock to drop off the leather and patterns she would complete for the serger. I was spending a girls weekend with my friend and when we were locked inside for our scrapbooking marathon, I called the lady twice and she never came. She never emailed or called me again. The dance continued . . .
That weekend, another woman emailed me about doing the swap for the serger and I arranged to meet her and drop every thing off. When she started working on them, I got 5 emails one night. They were to much cutting out to do. Dip. They were taking longer than she expected. Spin. She wasn't sure she could finish them. One, Two, One. We finally agreed she would do all the detail work and I would take them back and finish them up. And the dance goes on . .
I still had over 10 designs left. So this time I posted in the baby section that I would supply all the leather, patterns, and email support they needed to complete the shoes in the colors, designs, and sizes of their choice. Two women from about 40 miles north of where I live wanted to do 2 pair each. I tried for over a week to get them both organized to meet at once. As these women were going to make their shoes to keep, I had to email them files to select which design they wanted then redo the pattern pieces to fit their needs. Dose Doe. I also had to supply the standard pattern, and all the leather needed to make the shoes. Which is very time consuming. I agreed to meet the women half-way to cut down on all our expenses. But one woman fell through, so I drove that distance to drop off two shoes for testing. Skip-to-my-Lou . . .
Another woman has called or emailed me about 20 times and she had trouble understanding how to pick out which styles. Was never available for pick up. Actually had me sitting inside a Burger King for 1-1/2 hours while she sit outside. And still I have her prepared patterns and leather in a little bag. It dangled from my door handle all day because she was going to come by the pick it up and never did. Bow to your neighbor . . .
And sadly, that is the tip of the iceberg. I've been trying to explain, detail, and set up meetings with women like crazy and I still have 8 designs left to test. One woman just contacted me again, the no-show from Round Rock, and she is willing to do 8 sets. One, Two, One. But when I emailed her back and told her I would not drive that far up north again, she never emailed back. Spin!
Some designs I sent out to my yahoo group over 3 weeks ago, I still haven't seen completed and they were suppose to complete them in a week. Oh, they have excuses . . . I was in the hospital, I broke a hip, yada, yada, yada. Dip . . .
The thought keeps circulating in my head to just make them myself! But, while I can run around all over town during the day with Will, I can't sew while he's awake. And he's always awake. The only time he is asleep, I'm writing. So I will continue my Texas Shoe-Step in the hope that I manage to get them all tested during this month and they are ready for me to tackle next month when my book is finished. Bow to your partner . . .
As you may, or may not know, I started my sewing/pattern business based on a pattern for leather soft-sole shoes. I started making my own shoes for Will, who weighed 10.7 pounds at birth and didn't develop ankles until he was over the age of 2.
Side fact: Will was so LARGE that the doctor that performed the c-section wrote across my tummy with a permanent marker "Big Will". I guess I should be thankful she didn't add, "was here".
Regardless, Will was unable to wear any shoes I could find for him. I finally saw a pair of Robeez at a playdate and ended up making him a pair. He wore nothing but those shoes for 2 years and even now; half of his shoes are still made from the same pattern. We were constantly being asked where he got his shoes and on a lark I tried markerting the pattern on craigslist . . . the rest is history.
Well, I've added other styles and they all sell well enough. But I came up with an idea of adding elaborate appliques to the shoes to make the actual shoe an animal -- not just so it had an applique of an animal on it. Before you knew it, I had 31 different designs drawn out and ready to test. If it was just one pattern, I would make it up myself. But every one of these designs is different. I need photos taken after each step and photos of the finished shoes. And having photos of different sizes would be nice too. Then, I need someone to try out the instructions and pattern pieces to make sure they are understandable.
For those of you with no clue, one pair of these shoes can take an adequate seamstress 3-5 hours to make. Depending on her skill level, familiarity sewing with leather, and the design she is working on.
So there was no way I was going to have that time, nor the need for 31 pairs of shoes for Will -- some of which are definite "girl" designs. :)
My first stop was to contact the women of my yahoo group, but through them I only got 13 designs out to be tested. The wonderful thing about using these women, is that they are familiar with the basic pattern and will use their own leather. I just email them the files and they send me photos back . . . so the dance began.
The next thing I did was post looking for women to do the sewing for me. I offered patterns, leather, even my extra serger as enticement. I got responses, that required responses, that may or not may have responded back. About a week after the post, a woman and I agreed to meet in Round Rock to drop off the leather and patterns she would complete for the serger. I was spending a girls weekend with my friend and when we were locked inside for our scrapbooking marathon, I called the lady twice and she never came. She never emailed or called me again. The dance continued . . .
That weekend, another woman emailed me about doing the swap for the serger and I arranged to meet her and drop every thing off. When she started working on them, I got 5 emails one night. They were to much cutting out to do. Dip. They were taking longer than she expected. Spin. She wasn't sure she could finish them. One, Two, One. We finally agreed she would do all the detail work and I would take them back and finish them up. And the dance goes on . .
I still had over 10 designs left. So this time I posted in the baby section that I would supply all the leather, patterns, and email support they needed to complete the shoes in the colors, designs, and sizes of their choice. Two women from about 40 miles north of where I live wanted to do 2 pair each. I tried for over a week to get them both organized to meet at once. As these women were going to make their shoes to keep, I had to email them files to select which design they wanted then redo the pattern pieces to fit their needs. Dose Doe. I also had to supply the standard pattern, and all the leather needed to make the shoes. Which is very time consuming. I agreed to meet the women half-way to cut down on all our expenses. But one woman fell through, so I drove that distance to drop off two shoes for testing. Skip-to-my-Lou . . .
Another woman has called or emailed me about 20 times and she had trouble understanding how to pick out which styles. Was never available for pick up. Actually had me sitting inside a Burger King for 1-1/2 hours while she sit outside. And still I have her prepared patterns and leather in a little bag. It dangled from my door handle all day because she was going to come by the pick it up and never did. Bow to your neighbor . . .
And sadly, that is the tip of the iceberg. I've been trying to explain, detail, and set up meetings with women like crazy and I still have 8 designs left to test. One woman just contacted me again, the no-show from Round Rock, and she is willing to do 8 sets. One, Two, One. But when I emailed her back and told her I would not drive that far up north again, she never emailed back. Spin!
Some designs I sent out to my yahoo group over 3 weeks ago, I still haven't seen completed and they were suppose to complete them in a week. Oh, they have excuses . . . I was in the hospital, I broke a hip, yada, yada, yada. Dip . . .
The thought keeps circulating in my head to just make them myself! But, while I can run around all over town during the day with Will, I can't sew while he's awake. And he's always awake. The only time he is asleep, I'm writing. So I will continue my Texas Shoe-Step in the hope that I manage to get them all tested during this month and they are ready for me to tackle next month when my book is finished. Bow to your partner . . .
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Other names for, lets say a "carrot"
Back when I was REALLY getting into writing, I was writing for the sole purpose of getting published. The easiest market to break into is romance. Within the romance genera they were desperately seeking erotic writers. It would seem writing steamy sex scenes makes some writers uncomfortable.
I find that pretty funny. They can write in detail about killing, abusing, rape, etc., but they can't write about consensual sexual relations between a man and woman. Regardless, I get side tracked.
When you are writing about sex a lot, and in great detail, you get tired of calling . . . lets say a carrot a carrot 100 times in a roll. So, as recommended, I started a journal. You are encouraged to read the same type of genera as you are writing. So every time I was reading an erotic romance and come across a scene where a body part was mentioned, I would jot down the alternative verbiage in my journal.
So my journal was separated by tags for male and female, then by body parts within each. I did find it useful in my writing. But of coarse, the girls found it and freaked out. They were both in high school at the time and the idea of their mom even thinking about male or female body parts seemed to freak them out. I told them what is was for and encouraged them to add alternative verbiage they might be aware of.
Tori left the room like I might be contagious. But Bonnet hooked her momma up.
Years after my last attempt to write, I came across the journal and after a good laugh I threw it away. The only thing the erotic writing experience left me with was an uncomfortable memory of Lew proofing some of my writing and an enjoyment of reading erotic novels.
So when I signed up to write a novel in the month of November, you know it was going to be an erotic novel. Now I wish I had my list. On the off chance times had changed, I did a search on the Internet for alternative names for carrots and hit the jackpot. Well, the jackpot if you need a good laugh. Not so useful for what I really needed.
So my good deed today, is to share a funny with those of you that end up here looking for an alternative name for a "carrot".
Partial list from http://justnet.com.au/rudestuff/
blue-veined junket pumper, ding dong, dipstick, dork, doughnut holder, firm worm, free willy, goober, hairy bagpipes, hang down, John Thomas, joy stick, knob, meat, meat whistle, organic dildo, ol' one-eye, one-eyed trouser snake, percy, piece of pork, pink oboe, pole, pork sword, salty dog, skin flute, spunk stick, throbber, tool, trouser trout, wife's best friend.
I left out the less-imaginative listings.
Now I dare you to not think about this list the next time you are looking at a carrot; be it your own or someone else's.
ADDED A FEW DAYS LATER
Alternative words for Kitties
Today, during my writing, I came across another episode where I could have used a naughty thesaurus. Since my last search for information of this nature was so successful, I thought I'd waste some of my day and see what useless list I could find to share with you.
So, in the act of fair-play; here is a partial list I took from the Cunning Linguist at http://www.vaginalady.com/words/words.htm.
Afro clam, baby cave, badger, bear trap, bearded clam, beaver, beef curtains, Bermuda triangle, bikini burger, bread-box, cat, cherry pie, coochie, cooter, dew-flaps, flesh tuxedo, joy box, kitten, mantrap, mossy cottage, muff, nether regions, nonny-no, poonani, poontang, quim, shaved kitty, silent beard, sugar basin, Venus flytrap, vertical smile, and hooha.
Once again, useless for my needs. Someone out there really needs to write up an erotic writers guide to body parts.
I find that pretty funny. They can write in detail about killing, abusing, rape, etc., but they can't write about consensual sexual relations between a man and woman. Regardless, I get side tracked.
When you are writing about sex a lot, and in great detail, you get tired of calling . . . lets say a carrot a carrot 100 times in a roll. So, as recommended, I started a journal. You are encouraged to read the same type of genera as you are writing. So every time I was reading an erotic romance and come across a scene where a body part was mentioned, I would jot down the alternative verbiage in my journal.
So my journal was separated by tags for male and female, then by body parts within each. I did find it useful in my writing. But of coarse, the girls found it and freaked out. They were both in high school at the time and the idea of their mom even thinking about male or female body parts seemed to freak them out. I told them what is was for and encouraged them to add alternative verbiage they might be aware of.
Tori left the room like I might be contagious. But Bonnet hooked her momma up.
Years after my last attempt to write, I came across the journal and after a good laugh I threw it away. The only thing the erotic writing experience left me with was an uncomfortable memory of Lew proofing some of my writing and an enjoyment of reading erotic novels.
So when I signed up to write a novel in the month of November, you know it was going to be an erotic novel. Now I wish I had my list. On the off chance times had changed, I did a search on the Internet for alternative names for carrots and hit the jackpot. Well, the jackpot if you need a good laugh. Not so useful for what I really needed.
So my good deed today, is to share a funny with those of you that end up here looking for an alternative name for a "carrot".
Partial list from http://justnet.com.au/rudestuff/
blue-veined junket pumper, ding dong, dipstick, dork, doughnut holder, firm worm, free willy, goober, hairy bagpipes, hang down, John Thomas, joy stick, knob, meat, meat whistle, organic dildo, ol' one-eye, one-eyed trouser snake, percy, piece of pork, pink oboe, pole, pork sword, salty dog, skin flute, spunk stick, throbber, tool, trouser trout, wife's best friend.
I left out the less-imaginative listings.
Now I dare you to not think about this list the next time you are looking at a carrot; be it your own or someone else's.
ADDED A FEW DAYS LATER
Alternative words for Kitties
Today, during my writing, I came across another episode where I could have used a naughty thesaurus. Since my last search for information of this nature was so successful, I thought I'd waste some of my day and see what useless list I could find to share with you.
So, in the act of fair-play; here is a partial list I took from the Cunning Linguist at http://www.vaginalady.com/words/words.htm.
Afro clam, baby cave, badger, bear trap, bearded clam, beaver, beef curtains, Bermuda triangle, bikini burger, bread-box, cat, cherry pie, coochie, cooter, dew-flaps, flesh tuxedo, joy box, kitten, mantrap, mossy cottage, muff, nether regions, nonny-no, poonani, poontang, quim, shaved kitty, silent beard, sugar basin, Venus flytrap, vertical smile, and hooha.
Once again, useless for my needs. Someone out there really needs to write up an erotic writers guide to body parts.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Paul Heads Back to Iraq
I got an email from Paul's wife letting me know he definitely ships out on Friday. He will be stationed in Iraq for an entire year. For those of you going, "Who is Paul?" He's the youngest of my brothers. He turned 30 this year and is married with a baby girl who is not even 1. He also has two sons from a previous marriage; there somewhere between 10-15. I'm not really good with specifics.
Anyway, she sent this awesome list of things to send Paul over the next year. Paul was stationed overseas for a long time (5 years or more?) a while back and I'm not sure I ever sent him a package. I'm pretty sure I only wrote him once or twice.
Paul is 12 years younger than me and I left home right before my 16th birthday; so we don't exactly have a lot of combined history to build on. I guess it would be safe to say we really hardly know each other. While in Brady for Becky's funeral Paul made the comment that while he loved her, he didn't really know Becky. I'm afraid that the same thing could probably be said of Paul and I.
And I can't stand the thought of attending his funeral, or his attending mine, with those same words floating between us. (Or around the dead one . . . whatever, you get the point.)
So I sent him an email last week forewarning him that I was going to force myself down his throat via email the entire year he's in Iraq. I'm going to tell him about my past, present, hopes for the future, disappointments, business, writing, family. I told him by the time I was through he'd be pucking Misty.
Of coarse, I did tell him that if his time was limited on the Internet he could skip my emails and save them for later and he was under no obligation to respond. I just don't know how else to go about building a relationship with him. The more you know about a person, the more you know the person . . . right?
Anyway, I learned a lot about Paul from the list his wife sent:
Chips ahoy cookies -- boy at heart
Cheese its -- doesn't mind crackers in bed (probably more than I wanted to know)
Sunflower seeds -- doesn't like to sit inactively; needs something to do at all times
Slim Jims -- likes to pick up the tempo -- Snap into a SlimJim!
Tortillas -- thinks of his family and childhood while overseas
Choc. Chip Granola Bars -- feels the need to have healthy snack on hand, but not serious about it
Pop Corn Kernels -- give him a feeling of "American" and going to the movies when he's not working
Powdered Kool-aid --that boy at heart thing
Powdered Gatorade -- thinking like a soldier; need electrolytes to counter the loss of fluids sweating
I really posted this list so when I lost it -- and I will -- I would have a place to look it up. I have no real hope that I'll get many package off to him. But I'm going to aim for 3 during the year he's over there. I know, I suck.
If you want to send a soldier a package, here is his address:
SGR Estrada, Paul
268th NSC, 504th BFSB
APO AE-09351
And here some great pointers on sending packages to Iraq:
http://www.bootsonground.com/shipping-packages-overseas.htm
Love ya Bro that I don't know!
Anyway, she sent this awesome list of things to send Paul over the next year. Paul was stationed overseas for a long time (5 years or more?) a while back and I'm not sure I ever sent him a package. I'm pretty sure I only wrote him once or twice.
Paul is 12 years younger than me and I left home right before my 16th birthday; so we don't exactly have a lot of combined history to build on. I guess it would be safe to say we really hardly know each other. While in Brady for Becky's funeral Paul made the comment that while he loved her, he didn't really know Becky. I'm afraid that the same thing could probably be said of Paul and I.
And I can't stand the thought of attending his funeral, or his attending mine, with those same words floating between us. (Or around the dead one . . . whatever, you get the point.)
So I sent him an email last week forewarning him that I was going to force myself down his throat via email the entire year he's in Iraq. I'm going to tell him about my past, present, hopes for the future, disappointments, business, writing, family. I told him by the time I was through he'd be pucking Misty.
Of coarse, I did tell him that if his time was limited on the Internet he could skip my emails and save them for later and he was under no obligation to respond. I just don't know how else to go about building a relationship with him. The more you know about a person, the more you know the person . . . right?
Anyway, I learned a lot about Paul from the list his wife sent:
Chips ahoy cookies -- boy at heart
Cheese its -- doesn't mind crackers in bed (probably more than I wanted to know)
Sunflower seeds -- doesn't like to sit inactively; needs something to do at all times
Slim Jims -- likes to pick up the tempo -- Snap into a SlimJim!
Tortillas -- thinks of his family and childhood while overseas
Choc. Chip Granola Bars -- feels the need to have healthy snack on hand, but not serious about it
Pop Corn Kernels -- give him a feeling of "American" and going to the movies when he's not working
Powdered Kool-aid --that boy at heart thing
Powdered Gatorade -- thinking like a soldier; need electrolytes to counter the loss of fluids sweating
I really posted this list so when I lost it -- and I will -- I would have a place to look it up. I have no real hope that I'll get many package off to him. But I'm going to aim for 3 during the year he's over there. I know, I suck.
If you want to send a soldier a package, here is his address:
SGR Estrada, Paul
268th NSC, 504th BFSB
APO AE-09351
And here some great pointers on sending packages to Iraq:
http://www.bootsonground.com/shipping-packages-overseas.htm
Love ya Bro that I don't know!
New opportunities for marketing my patterns
I've had two very exciting advertising opportunities come forward in the last week.
1) An alternative (read Gay) newspaper publisher in Southern California contacted me about sponsoring my patterns in 5 different papers they print. They are doing a "green" section for the new year and want to review and recommend my washable mop head, duster, and nursing pad patterns.
After agreeing to anything they wanted, other than sex, I sent them the files via email to get started on.
Then, while at the library with Will yesterday, I noticed a ParentWise magazine on the freebie shelf. I picked it up and emailed the marketing/sales director last night about 2 . . . when I was too tired to worry about the consequences.
2) They are reviewing my soft-sole shoe pattern in their December issue. The scary part is the reviewer will actually make the shoes and then the pattern will either be listed in their Cool OR Crumy list. Since this same pattern has received three different positive reviews from different people on www.patternreview.com; I'm not to worried.
Go me!
1) An alternative (read Gay) newspaper publisher in Southern California contacted me about sponsoring my patterns in 5 different papers they print. They are doing a "green" section for the new year and want to review and recommend my washable mop head, duster, and nursing pad patterns.
After agreeing to anything they wanted, other than sex, I sent them the files via email to get started on.
Then, while at the library with Will yesterday, I noticed a ParentWise magazine on the freebie shelf. I picked it up and emailed the marketing/sales director last night about 2 . . . when I was too tired to worry about the consequences.
2) They are reviewing my soft-sole shoe pattern in their December issue. The scary part is the reviewer will actually make the shoes and then the pattern will either be listed in their Cool OR Crumy list. Since this same pattern has received three different positive reviews from different people on www.patternreview.com; I'm not to worried.
Go me!
Talk to yourself Much?
I was up until after 2 this morning writing like a mad woman. Or really, just being a mad woman trying to write. Either way works for me.
Then I was up at 7:30 filling orders and trying to get things in order before Will woke up. That wouldn't be so bad, but the electrical leading to our AC caught fire last night, so my sleep wasn't peaceful.
Even that wouldn't normally phase me, but I haven't really been sleeping well for weeks. So to say I'm a little loopy this morning is an understatement.
I was responding to a customer query off my Etsy site by email when a screen I had never seen appeared as I attempted to send the email.
The top of the screen said, "Trying to talk to your self again?" I responded to my own email address instead of the customers.
Then I was up at 7:30 filling orders and trying to get things in order before Will woke up. That wouldn't be so bad, but the electrical leading to our AC caught fire last night, so my sleep wasn't peaceful.
Even that wouldn't normally phase me, but I haven't really been sleeping well for weeks. So to say I'm a little loopy this morning is an understatement.
I was responding to a customer query off my Etsy site by email when a screen I had never seen appeared as I attempted to send the email.
The top of the screen said, "Trying to talk to your self again?" I responded to my own email address instead of the customers.
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