It's a beautiful day!

I got a delivery today - 2 different kinds of angels! I didn't even know she was sending the one style. The suncatchers were a surprise. How amazing is that!? The site didn't have the item listed, so I couldn't get pics of them - I hunted and found pictures of the item, but they're not great pics - they do the angels no justice.

Speaking of angels, did you know that if you do an MSN search for
"Erin Angel" my blog comes up first (on page 2 anyway)? Weird.

On the grieving parents poetry anthology, I'm working on that ISBN # and pumping some sources for ideas. I think, due to the vastness of my ignorance, it may be a slow process, but I think it could really be a success.

Tommy, my oldest son, actually started his first job today. He looked terrified before he left, grandma made an excuse to go to the store so she could check in on him. He was cleaning up his 3rd spill of the day - and not all that thrilled about it. I hope he enjoys the rest of the job more than the cleaning!

So - today, ALL of my children were "elsewhere" except Terra. Terra is sleeping blissfully, as is the beast within and for the first time in weeks I'm not being pushed, pulled, begged, or getting my ass kicked from the inside out. It'll last another 30 minutes tops, and I'm off to enjoy the 30 minutes of wonder.

Hope you're all having a beautiful day, like I am.

Another Chapbook?

I'd love to do a memorial chapbook of poetry written by bereaved parents - and of course, profits go to the charity. I think it's something that would even go over really well in the hospital - at least the one where Alexis was born, they were all about brochures and most of them included poetry. Of course, I'd have to find a dependable publisher. I know the one who published the last one would be interested, but I can't set something like this up with her - it's too important to me to give to someone who can't answer emails or fill orders dependably.

I think I shouldn't start any new projects right now - but this is definitely one that I want to keep on the front burner. Any and all ideas and suggestions are more than welcome folks - like, as in, anyone know a dependable publisher that might be interested? OMFG! Brain storm!

Hold that thought folks - I just had one hell of a lightbulb! God I love blogging, how did I ever think things through before!?!?!

sheesh

I never realized how many little details and complications there would be to making this charity idea work!

Or how slow progress would be after the first flurry of activity - or - believe it or not - how competitive other places who are involved in similar endeavors would be! I've getten some really, let's kindly say, "unfriendly" letters from other grief support sites that I've contacted. OK, let's just call a horse a horse, some of them have been downright nasty, like I'm competition. I'm not trying to compete for anything. I just want to help people.

Link trades seem to be worth blood, sharing resources is apparently a no-no... I don't get it. I mean, I've found some great people, especially vendors who are more than happy to help out with donations and/or discounts... and I've found a lot of really helpful useful stuff on the web to use for this project... and I'd be willing to share 100% of it with anyone who was looking to acheive the same goal as I am.

I'm not understanding the hostility!

News About Poetic Acceptance(s)

For the Poetic Acceptance for grieving parents:

I got my Employers Identification Number (EIN). Silly that I needed one, but it accomplishes a few things. It makes registering as a non-profit one step closer, and, should this charity somehow suddenly explode and need more than I can do for it, I can hire someone, legally. It also means that when making purchases, I don't have to pay sales tax - I can pay them quarterly.

just a few more days and my Paypal account should be fully functional, Friday from what I can tell.

I actually have 2 items available for purchase, the personalized printed Tshirts, and the ceramic angel bells.

Most of the other items should be arriving within the next few days so they'll be available soon too.

The Jaycees guy never did show up, but he asked what line of business Scott was in. When he found out it was landscaping, he asked Scott to come give him an estimate on some yard stuff he needed done. Needless to say, Scott went in a flash, we need the extra cash. But he took the license with him, so I suppose I missed out on the opportunity to meet him and talk about the charity.

For Poetic Acceptance the blog:

I added a couple of poems last night, and then decided that things like those are the type of poems no one knows how to respond to. Meaning new visitors probably won't leave a comment at all, because they don't want to just say hi on one of them - so I added a tag board to the sidebar. This way anyone can say hi whenever they want - regardless of what the latest posts are about.

For Poetic Acceptance the chapbook:

No News, my order of books still hasn't arrived. I'm not getting responses from the publisher at all. I'm very dissatisfied.

I'll have to email her again today, if I still get no response, I suppose I'll have to resort to the telephone, which won't be good for her - I can't edit my statements for tone and manners on the phone.

Mine

Mine

I've worn you smooth, fingering your face
like a coin in my pocket - your weight
a constant comfort carried against my thigh.

You've become secret. I can only hold you
in the dark, when no one is looking
and with each stroke, proclaim you mine.

Poetry

To those who will never read it.

To those who will never read it.

To whom it may concern, and I wonder if you even know who you are:

It didn't, you know - in case any of you ever read this. It didn't help a bit. It didn't change the date or make me sleep more or think of her less - it just proved that you have no clue, or no respect, one or the other. I still have to wonder which.

It was the day of the unmentioned -
the day of the conspicuous "shhhh"

The Day of the Crystal Mother,
clapper wrapped in pink-baby-blue,

there were no words, no names.
Mostly, there were no balloons.

Blah

It's Sunday - Post Secret day. I friggin love Sundays just for that reason. Someday I'll get up the nerve to send a card.

I have so many things I should be doing - one thing that should already be done, but I think the chaos of the last 2 weeks have finally caught up with me and i can't seem to make myself do anything more. Oh god, I just remembered I have a newsletter to get done, and I haven't even started it yet!

So the IBPC results for the month are posted over at cafe cafe (see poetry/writing blogs dropbox for the link) and Jenni of Jenni and Jack fame won! I'm so happy when people I know win! Of course, I'm disappointed that I didn't even get an HM, but I should be used to that. I've been nominated several times and I've never placed!

My oldest son starts his first ever job tomorrow, so much for the military academy I guess. He was all excited about it until the paperwork came. I decided not to push him, knowing full well I'd push him into it and he'd just decide to quit once he got there if it wasn't what he really wanted. I'm disappointed. More disappointed than I'd expected to be. So he'll be employed. At least there's that. I'll spend a big part of my day tomorrow running around getting all the paperwork for that done. I have to legally sign him off the highschool roster, get his working papers, and get him to his employer twice tomorrow.

And then of course, there will be the things I was supposed to do/have done that I'll have to get to. Plus all the regular every day stuff. *sigh* Obviously, tomorrow will be a busy day, but damn it, I'm taking today - or what's left of it anyway - OFF. (as if that's even possible with 5 kids!?)

Ugh, I'll never manage to actually NOT do anything!

Impatient

There are certain drawbacks to being bi-sexual, married, pregnant, and having your uber-religious mother live with you - I'll let you all, in your various states of mind, figure out the obvious.

*sigh*

In other news, which would of course be, in my presently obsessive mode, Poetic Acceptance news - I'm feeling like things are at a stand still for the moment. The paypal account is still basically useless for donations until it's verified, which will be September 1st. The last batch of emails I sent out to various possible donors have gone unanswered, or with no's or semi-yeses.

Until I get some traffic, I'll have no buyers at the store, meaning no gifts to be personalized. Until I have buyers, and/or donors, I can't afford to register as a legal non-profit organization, let alone help anyone.


I'm ready to start doing this - but then I've always said my biggest downfall was that I'm short on patience!

Finally!

Alright, one more thing done in my endeavor to become a non-profit. I opened up that bank account this afternoon.

I haven't had a bank account in something like 5 years I guess. Last time I did, I bounced a check, I think it was for like $16... ended up costing me nearly $500 before I could get it all straightened out. It was a nightmare! I closed the account and didn't use a bank for years for anything.

Since I won't be spending out of this account, with the exception of a few dollars here and there for the supplies to personalize the gifts, which actually, I bought part of today out of my pocket, because I was impatient and found some great really pretty ribbon dirt cheap and some other things on sale too. And I opened the account, which now has $60 in it.

Yeah, I know, not a big balance, but hopefully it will grow, and soon :)

And I've been to Paypal and entered all the stuff for them to verify the account, so I'll soon be able to accept all forms of payment and donations.

Official Visitor?

So Scott mowed the jungle we call "yard" yesterday. We live on one of 2 main highways through town, so mowing is necessarily preceded by clean-up of garbage that people carelessly throw out their windows as they pass the house - and of course, clean-up of the mess the neighbor's dog drags into my yard from their garbage can, or ours or, well, someone's anyway.

Clean-up yesterday brought us a treasure - a county beer and wine license! yay we can sell beer and wine legally now! Or, well, we could, if we were the Monroe Jaycees. Of course, we aren't. What we are is nice enough to find who was president and find his email in their listing and email him to let him know we'd found it.

I mean, otherwise they'd have to re-do all the paperwork and repay the fees or some such thing, and I wouldn't wish county-style red-tape on anyone.

Anyway, he, or one of his representatives will be stopping by to pick it up later. I don't think I've ever had a city official over to the house before - hell I'm not even sure he IS a city official. Should I be nervous? I'm not, but I can be if it would be more proper...

To be honest, in a charitable selfish sort of way, I'm thinking this man might be a great man to befriend for a contact for the Poetic Acceptance charity? If for no other reason than to let me know where the fat pocketbooks in town are - isn't the Jaycees a charity type organization?

Shit,if I'd have slept more than one hour in the last 36 I might know the answer to that question.

Speaking of the charity - I got my first shipment of actual merchandise today, which made it feel all that much more solid, no longer an empty promise I'd paid lip-service to for the last 4 years. I also got a bit more support in the way of discounts on items at various online stores. Now if only there were money in my pocket with which to make use of said discounts!

Patience Erin, patience!