Undeliverable

I have a simple relationship with the United States Postal Service. I hate it. My loathing is specifically directed at my current military base post office, but it simply embodies everything that makes me crazy about the post office at large.

My adoption experience has been tormented by postal service angst. Now they are disturbing my etsy shop which is closely tied to my adoption. It's a double whammy against me. For the proceeding episodes of postal service sabotage check them out here and here and here.

I ordered fabric, thread, etc...everything that you need to make Ethiopian Adoption Flag Blankets.
It should have been delivered today. The postal service says they tried to deliver the package to my door, but it was "undeliverable" due to snow. Not only that, but I wasn't even given the option of picking up my package UNTIL TUESDAY!!!

We have a ton of snow. I get that. Here's my issue...
EVERYONE ELSE IS DELIVERING TO MY DOOR.


UPS: Delivering
Dominos Pizza: Delivering

If the pizza guy can make it to my door then I should think that the stinking postal service could man up and give me my package.

I don't think my expectations are too high. I think the post office is just that lame. 

The good news is that I'm running a giveaway and the snow should be melted to a level the post office considers manageable by then. If not, I'll just ask Dominos to deliver it!!!

Giveaway! My first giveaway!!

ATTENTION:

I'm having my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!

And it's a good one!

My sister is a knitter extraordinaire (both my sons wore "Uproar" home from the hospital) and has an etsy shop called

UPROAR 

(She's in the process of restocking her shop with her latest and greatest creations. She was attending the birth of one of her friend's babies last night so we're cutting her a little slack)

She's been a huge help to me as I started my shop and through morale support throughout our adoption. She's the one who planted the seed of adopting from Ethiopia in my heart several years ago. She and her husband are are planning on adopting internationally as well and the proceeds from her shop benefit their adoption.

--------------------------------

The giveaway is for 1 item of your choice from her website. The item can be custom made for your little one and she does a brilliant job of taking an idea that you have and turning it into a beautiful gift. She can also add satin liners to any hat to make it more gentle on your little one's hair (try getting Target to do that for you!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can win 1 entry for each of the following:

 Please leave a comment for EACH ENTRY

* be a follower (old or new)

* visit Uproar and tell me what your favorite item is

* become a facebook fan of MamaEnat

* Share this giveaway love on facebook or on your own blog

-------------------------------------------------

You can win 2 entries for each of my buttons 

(see the left and right of your screen) 

that you add to your blog!

Let the entries begin!!

This giveaway will end on February 19 at 3:00pm.

Consolation Prize

I keep entering giveaways and I keep not winning.
Apparently I am not lucky.
I prefer to think that all my luck is being directed at...
a quick court date,
fast travel,
and finding a treasure chest full of (not cursed) pirate gold so we can afford the rest of the things we need to afford and maybe have enough gold doubloon left over for that Disney Cruise...
Anyhoo....

When you add up not winning giveaways, being stuck inside for a week (with my husband two small children whom I love, but good grief!), and still needing a wardrobe for my sweet girl then you get...

ETSY SHOPPING!!

I like to "pounce" through shops that haven't had a sale yet. I've never bought anything from one of those shops yet because I have several requirements from my shops and lots of times I don't find those things in these shops. This time I did.
I found:
NoPaparazziPlease

She has really cute designs and has actually added several shirts since I've made my purchase, so I'm trying not to be bitter. :)

I bought this:

 

I got this one (in dark pink/light pink on a t-shirt) for free with my combined purchase:

And this is my piece-de-resistance
Take this shirt:

Add the colors of the Ethiopian Flag
And a heart because we love Ethiopia
(and I couldn't figure out what initial to use...)

AND LOOK AT THIS AMAZING SHIRT!!!

 

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

Twisted Poetry

The perversion of this poem came to me spontaneously one night while reading to Peanut from Eloise Wilkin's "Poems to read to the very young", which is one of our favorite books and is one from my childhood.

Here is the poem as it was meant to delight young minds:

Spring Rain

The storm came up so very quick

It couldn't have been quicker.

I should have brought my hat along,

I should have brought my slicker.

My hair is wet, my feet are wet,

I couldn't be much wetter.

I fell into a river once,

But this is even better.

--Marchette Chute

*********************************

Here is the poem as it runs through my head making me feel guilty...with a smile...

Winter Fat

The fat rolls snuck up so very quick

They couldn't have been quicker.

I should have done my running,

I should have done my Pilates.

My legs are fat, my stomach is fat,

I couldn't be much fatter.

I gave birth to babies once,

but this is even fatter.

--Jamey--

About Me

Some of you have noticed my newest features on my blog the little links underneath the header that take you to empty pages. Bow before my technological ability!!

I'm working on them. :)

So, for the ABOUT ME page I was going to start, but I could only think of lame things to write and while my blog may be lame frequently I don't make it lame on purpose so why don't you all reply and tell me what you want to know about me.

We'll have a little "Question and Answer" session with Jamey.

Ohhh, ahhh!

The other thing that you haven't noticed about my blog is that I'm now tracking all of you via Google Analytics. Thanks, Liz!! I'm taking blog stalking to a whole new level. I just learned that I can even see what states people are from and I have to say there are quite a few states I'm pretty disappointed in....

Oh, snow!

We were preparing to Maryland we were told to expect MAYBE ten inches of snow over the course of the winter. We were excited. I grew up in northern Ohio (just south of the snow belt) and so I like my seasons. We were told there would be a couple of snow falls that were about two or three inches and maybe one "big" snow of four or five inches.

So, in December when we got 20 inches that was crazy fun, minus the fact that we had to drive out of the snow to get to Christmas...that was much much much less fun, like not fun at all.... And so now, it's February and we have about 30 inches of snow outside. Wowza.

As soon as I realized we were actually going to get a ferocious amount of snow I tried to get to the fabric store. Not possisble. People were freaking out and places were closed before a single snowflake had fallen. I tried the PX (think Walmart meets Department Store), but they only had uniform colored thread: green, navy, white, brown. Not helpful. I needed yellow.

Do you know how many Ethiopian flags you can make without yellow thread?

zero.

So, I used up what I had and then spent the time I should have been sewing on this long indoor weekend banging my head into the wall.

I usually buy yellow thread in bulk because I use so much of it. My last trip to the fabric store I was rushing and I forgot to restock, but then as I remembered on the way out I didn't think it would matter because I go to the fabric store frequently...except when buried under 30 inches of snow...

So, this is what I made instead:

I don't know why it's sidewise...blogger did that when it uploaded...

This is the Ethiopian "Spirit" Blanket.

It has yellow "doo-dads" sewn between the layers and yellow minky on the back. It has contrasting blue thread (not yellow on the star) and the rays were made with crazy shiny metallic gold thread.

This blanket is temporarily available off Etsy so if you're interested in purchasing it let me know. First come first serve.