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Thursday, April 12, 2012

It's Great Thursday

Well at least that is the translation in English... I guess you can call it Good Thursday too... in Greek Orthodox tradition, we have a "Grand/Great/Good" day all week leading up to Easter Sunday.

Today, we went to the farmers market and got white eggs... Which I am hard boiling right now, while I write this short post.I successfully resisted the urge to buy a duckling at the market... I am sure Beau would make him breakfast!

After the eggs are boiled, the boys and I will color them...
Then this afternoon we will attend church and pay our respects to Jesus on the cross, with a flowery wreath.
The bells will sound sad as they remove (the wooden) Jesus from the cross and tomorrow they will decorate his final resting place with the flowers from the wreaths... and we will pay our respects tomorrow. Then in the evening, we will walk around burning yellow candles (mourning candles) after what I guess I can only describe as Jesus' coffin... This year I will take Cody with me. I don't think that a) I can trust John with a burning candle and b) it will be past his bedtime and c) the sensory overload will drive him bananas.

What are you doing today?
Hugs
Tina

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Easter Week

Well, it's Easter Week here in Greece... a week after half the world's lol :)

The boys are on their two week break from school and already in two days, I am pulling my hair out. It's one mischief after another... I can't even count anymore the number of times I grounded them, took a priviledge away or put them in time out! And it's only been 48 hrs!!!
How will I survive the next twelve days!?!?!?
On Sunday for instance, I put John on time out in his room for ruining the living room... and he climbed on top of my ironing board which I keep behind their door and broke it...
Then yesterday I put him in his room again for hitting Cody, lying to me and being sassy and he emptied his entire closet of freshly ironed clothes (each one by hand!) on the floor...

But don't think John is the only one misbehaving! Cody was on time out or had his Xbox priviledges taken away just as much as John... plus they have been waking up at the crack of dawn...and I've got tonsilitis (John gave it to me.. oh Joy!). But I am better now except the horrible runny nose, the antibiotics kicked in and today I am fairly ok.. except I need to sleep for about 2 months to feel rested ;)

I apologize in advance if I am slow replying to e-mails this week. I will do my best stealing moments on the PC but between me wanting to follow the Greek Orthodox traditions on each day of this week and the boys out of school, honestly I might not get a lot done. So please do not worry if you don't hear from me :)

A little birdie tells me though, I might have something special to show you next week... ;) and I am very excited and can't wait!!!

Happy Easter to all of you who haven't celebrated it yet... and Happy Easter belatedly to those who have!!!

Sad news

I have always been kind of a loner in life... I was too different as a child to really fit in at school. I was a quiet child but... different somehow... like John so I didn't have many friends. I was called names, a freak and other things. I was always excluded at parties... I was never in with the "cool" crowd. I always hung out with the nerds or those who others thought of as outsiders.
Of course when I was 12 my mom kicked my dad out so I was "that" kid as well...

Eventually I learned to hide who I really was and put a mask society would approve... so I would appear "normal" and things became a little easier for me. I picked up the social queues by copying others, mostly though without really understanding them but it worked.

I've always few people in my life. Plus the fact that the most important social years of my life I spent abroad, I only stayed in Greece because I wanted George.
One of the few people in my life who really knew me, was dad and he is gone.
Then I only have one close friend who is on the same page as me. In fact she is a sister in everything but blood. And today I learned she is leaving... permanently :( to the other side of the country.
We did everything together. Our kids did everything together.I tried so hard to appear happy for her. I didn't want to be selfish.. but then she started to cry and I started to cry... and it was all a big mess.

I have one other amazing friend and we talk every day and I love her but her child is older and though we do have a ton in common, she is just a little further ahead of me in the game.
I feel miserable. I live in a tiny apartment I hate, in a part of town I did not chose, away from any other family or friends... I've been here 10 years and I don't know anybody. Everybody is seems is busy with their own life.. I tried to make friends but I can't. I feel I am the one who always calls and makes invitations but if I drop it, they won't even miss me :(
I am not good at this social stuff... but I try.

I want to be happy for my friend.. I AM happy for her.. but I am also sad... and I can't stop crying. We will still talk every day but I will one see her a few times a year if that. I will no longer be able to pick up the phone and tell her "meet me there" and do fun stuff with our kids any more. It seems everyone in my life is moving on and I am stuck here... like wearing shoes that are too tight but I can't get rid of them... I am stuck here in Athens, in this tiny apartment, in this crummy life, doing things I don't want to do and not doing the things I want to do... I feel like I can't breathe...

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

About Gus and Ellis

My dear collectors,
I know a lot of speculation has been going on for a while now about the delay in releasing Gus and Ellis. I even know a few think I am the only reason of the delay so I wanted to make a post to clarify.

First of all, I do not control production. I do not make them myself and they are not ready to ship from the factory and are not getting shipped because I have no money. This is a lie! Money is not an issue for the delay in production.
I also feel hurt when I hear "this is the first time a kit has been delayed so much" when I can name at least two more that were just as or more delayed but I won't because I know the artists and I know they faced similar problems as me.

I started out making the kits the way I felt they should be made because I wanted to please *you*, the collector and reborner. I chose a good, German factory, with good quality vinyl even thouh it costs an arm and a leg to have them produced there instead of China... and I hold the factory in very, very high respect. But I am green at doing this. I had no idea delays like these happen and as I have been told, they are actually common!! The factories get busy too...

I am very disappointed it is taking so long, very, very stressed out (my boys told me the other day I don't smile anymore)... and I am pushing as hard as I can believe me.
Please understand that I want NOTHING more than to get them out to the dealers and you and that I have everything to gain by doing so! For example I thought that after they had been shipped off, I would have enough earnings to pay off the dark cloud of therapy debt that insurance won't cover for my sons and have a little extra to take a few days vacation locally and just breathe a sigh of deep relief and enjoy my boys to whom I snap at more often that should be allowed these days :(... I haven't had a vacation in almost a year... not a single day off.

Yet Easter is around the corner and not only have not gotten a vacation, or paid any debt, I spend my days in a dark gloom, stressed out beyond belief...for something that was supposed to be SO happy. I haven't paid my electricity bill because on top of the delay, I also got pneumonia that had me out of commission a good two months so I couldn't make any OOAKs to sell... and I do support my family and put bread on the table off the dolls as many of you know.

I DO understand you, the collector yearn to have them, I do too... but you must accept that for me the ramifications of the delays are SO huge in all levels... All I am asking if for a little more time. They WILL COME, and soon, the molds are made but I did ask for one correction to be made to a joint... Time, that is all I am asking. A little bit (more) of your kind patience.
Thank you so much for your time!!
Yours truly,
Tina

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