Volunteer Work

As we all know the job market in America is in a very sad place right now and those of us living in rural America are effected even more due to the fact even in a good economy GOOD jobs are hard to find in these areas anyway....Many very qualified ppl are out of work nation wide or taking minimum wage jobs in which to make ends meet...My own husband in this number, a certified Airline Mechanic is now changing ppls oil and tires at Walmart..

So what chance does a newly graduated student with no work experience have at finding even a minimum wage job....My eldest daughter is taking time off before college as she graduated from high school a year early, and though she made the honor roll all her senior year, she can just not compete with the older more "work" experienced ppl hunting for the same jobs. Even our local fast food restaurants are predominantly an older "supporting a family" work force.

Do you know how heart breaking it is to watch the confidence of a child be shattered week after week as they search in vain for a job...Giving her a sense of "nothing to get out of bed for" each day...So I suggested to her she find a local charity to volunteer at each week...This will help give her a sense of purpose and also look very good on future scholarship applications...Plus as an added bonus she will get some hands on work experience.

Starting last Thursday she began working at the local Haven Hospice Thrift Store and loves it...It is so heart warming to listen to her tell me about her day, and the joy she gets from working for such a good course as the Hospice...She is already working the register and is being trained in the back on how to sort and price donations...She is building relationships with the other ppl that work and volunteer there and comes home with a sense of self worth...I think when she eventually does get a job interview this will show thru in her over all attitude and hopeful impress future employers.

So anyone one out there reading this who is currently facing the same job hunting trials, I strongly recommend volunteering in your own community...You never know how much you giving will give back to you.

Kelsie - A very proud mother.

Teaser from the studio...

I am working on a new fashion for the 16inch Sybarite dolls...
It is Country meets High Fashion,
in what I hope will be a WOW moment...

Only time will tell *wink*

Sara's Post

Mummy took me for my first haircut at the Hairdressers today.

Mummy tied locks of my hair in some ribbon and added them to a tiny baggie along with a card with my name and today's date on it.
Then we put them inside some really pretty card.

Now what are we going to do with them Mummy??

Put them in the mailbox ...

Close the mailbox good and tight so they don't blow away...

I wonder where they are going??

Be Still My "Heart Cage"

A couple of weeks ago while visiting one my favorite antique stores "Vicki and Fred's New and Used Furniture" with hubby I came across an amazing heart shaped bird cage and floor stand...It stood about the same height as me 5"4'...It was so lovely and I wanted it sooooo much, but after discussing it with hubby we both decided that a large metal floor stand and a 2yr old were not a good combo in any house.

So at the store it stayed *sad*...but I could not stop thinking about it...And then happened upon one on a random blog and it was like a sign...I just had to have that heart shaped cage and stand...I even worked out that if we were to place it on the front porch, it would not only look perfect, but would not be such a temptation for Lil Sara to pull it onto herself.

The very next chance we got, hubby and I headed down to the store to buy the cage...Oh so sad I was when Fred told me he had sold it 2 days earlier...But here is the real kicker...It had been in the store for 3 YEARS....arggggg.

All was not lost though...Tucked away on top of a dresser was a miniature version of the heart cage...And I guess Fred felt bad for me because he reduced the price by 30% and let me have the table top heart cage and stand for just $10.

Couldn't wait to get home and remove the dusty vines.

This is how it looked when I first got home...Super cheap looking plastic ivy...the florist foam was crumbling and it was all caked in dust....the little quail on the inside was very cute but not the right scale for such a small cage...So I very quickly removed everything to expose the lovely cage and stand underneath...

I switched the Dollar Tree bird from my other large birdcage with the oringinal Quail...
Not sure he will stay in here either, was just trying him for scale.

The stand is a touch over 18inches tall, and the cage is 8x8.5 inches....I have not decided what color to paint it yet...Though the current colors match my Robert Juniper Print in the living room, I do not think the styles are a good match...Mic suggested pink and it live in her room (she is out of luck because she has no where to put it in her room), I am leaning towards white paint of course and switching it for the large cage in the guest room... Then hanging the large cage on the front porch, which was the original plan for it when I first painted that one....For now I am just glad to have my "Heart Cage"

Kelsie

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Kelsie's Wish List...*updated*

We all have them...A list of dream items that we want or we believe could be very beneficial to have around...I like everyone has a super extravagant "Please Santa" list which includes things like a Pink Chanel Purse (look this one is on sale for 50% off ), A nutritionist/personal trainer to help me take my post baby body to a size 2 like all the Hollywood hot momma's...but these are just fleeting pipe dreams and honestly not true WANTS...

My true wish list is much more practical and definitely less girlie...

1: A wood-chipper/mulcher, so we can begin seriously clearing some of this cherry laurel off of the property...I would need a pretty heavy duty one to get thru the amount of work it has to do...the added benefit would be all the lovely mulch I would have for my garden without having to pay for it...This item would pay for it's self many times over I keep telling hubby.

2: A couple of Rotating Barrel Composers....This is really because I am too lazy to want to go out and turn over a compost pile with a pitch folk...But I figure if I had a couple or even one of these babies I could cook my own compost for my square-foot organic veggie gardens.

3: The materials to build my square foot garden beds and get started growing a fall crop...though more likely I will have to wait for spring to do it :(

4: Complete Canning Kit so I can put up and store all the delish veggies and pears that I grow...

SIDE NOTE: Froze my first batch of pears today...Will see how they turn out before I do more using the peel-cut-freeze method.

5: A Dust-buster...I have a 2yr old, need I say more lol.

6: Ok, so this is more a need to replace these things - Large Crockpot - George Forman Grill - Fry Daddy.

7: A nanny - so I have time to play with all the toys listed above lol.

What is on your less than girlie wish list?

Kelsie

PS: Thnx to Becca for reminding me, I also need a food processor...I found the best recipe for sausage rolls but I do need a food processor to get the required texture for the meat...but flavors are spot on...*happy dance*