February Reflections 2025

One of these days, I’ll actually catch up to these Reflections’ entries. I really want to finish these because they’re an extension/expansion of the daily journal I write in.

Feb 1

Pinner’s Conference! Mom and I made the trip up to Kansas City for the Pinner’s Conference again this year. You can read about last year’s trip here. For those that don’t know, a Pinner’s Conference is:

Pinners is two incredible events in one: a hands-on conference with 100+ creative classes led by top presenters, and a vibrant shopping show with hundreds of unique businesses showcasing the best in DIY, fashion, crafts, cooking, beauty, photography and more.

You don’t need Pinterest to join us, just your creative spirit! So join us and see where shopping and learning come to life.

They host these conferences in various places around the US: Kansas City, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and even St. George … Virgin Islands? (no clue).

If you’re even remotely into crafts, THIS is the conference for you. Not only do you get to shop various crafts booths, you can sit down at a make-and-take-it table and make a craft to take home, (it’s not free), AND they offer craft classes throughout the two-days where you can again, learn how to make a craft and take it home.

It’s a lot of fun. Mom and I had a blast last year so we decided to go again this year.

Mom wrote a lot more detail on your blog post, you can read that here.

There were two crafts that I participated in that I really loved this year:

This wall hanging that says, “Faith Can Move Mountains” … and it really can, if you believe.

Here is what the final project looks like:

And this CUTE home decor piece we worked on … I think this might have been the very last class – saved the best for last, in my opinion …

Here is the final project …

I also bought two more kits to paint and switch out with the cow …

We were pretty pooped after two days of the conference, so we packed up our goodies and hauled it the two blocks back to my car. (We had to park quite a ways away from the conference center). We ate dinner at Wendy’s and crashed. The next morning, we met David and Angie (my brother and his wife) at a place called “The Shack” for breakfast. It was really good food and a fun send off before we drove home.

Can’t wait for next year!

Feb 3

Sooo tired. The weekend trip to KC really did a number on me. Had a hard time keeping my eyes open for work today.

Feb 4

Kevin dropped his phone one too many times and it wouldn’t turn on. He took it to a Verizon shop but they wanted too much to fix it so he bought a refurbished one on Amazon for a lot cheaper. It’s supposed to come tomorrow. It’s amazing how much you miss your phone when you don’t have it!

Feb 5

Lost a chicken today. We have two chickens left – Kevin is talking about getting more but .. it’s so much work for him. And yet, he really enjoys it so .. who knows if we buy more or not. We have a program at work called a rewards program. It’s a program that your peers can use to thank you for being a good team player, going above/beyond, etc. I cashed in some points today for an Amazon gift card and bought a little printer to print some pictures from my phone. Looking forward to using it!

Feb 6

Getting bored with my job. I guess this means I’m getting more comfortable with my job duties. Rumors are floating around about another mgmt position opening up and my supervisor thinks I would be a good fit. I’m seriously thinking about it … but I’m not sure I would want to be in meetings all day. I really do enjoy being a worker bee … just sort of bored with it right now.

Feb 7

Blake is between jobs. I wish he could find his niche in life. He’s just not sure what he wants to do. One thing about Blake though, he’s slow to make decisions but when he makes a decision, it’s WELL researched and thought out. Just hope it finds something soon, he’s living off his savings right now and that makes me nervous. Brandon is still pursuing his digital art passion. I have to admit, the kid is persistent and has been trying to make a go of it for the past nine years. He’s got an impressive portfolio and he’s self-taught, which takes a lot of discipline .. just wish he could find something in the field. It’s a very competitive field though so … all he can is try.

Feb 8

Saturday with mom. We had Chick-Fil-A for lunch while watching Survivor. (I’m really getting hooked on this show!) Fired up the laptop and we talked to my sister while we painted/finished our projects we bought from the Pinners’ conference.

Feb 10

Mom got her passport today!! I’m SO relieved!! She actually got it quicker than I thought she would. Now I don’t have to stress about documentation for our upcoming cruise in August. Got my little printer today – it’s so cute!

Feb 11

Got our yogurt maker, inulin and probiotic stuff today! I’m excited to make some yogurt. I watched Dr. Berg’s video on how to make yogurt and I want to give it a go. This yogurt is supposed to be good for your gut, too, helps replenish the good bacteria.

Feb 12

Snowed about an inch today. Weather like this really makes me thankful that I work from home!

Feb 13

Lost one of our really good UAT people today. She’s a nurse and is moving to the MED/IV group, which makes sense given her nursing background. I’m sort of relieved, we didn’t have enough work for the amount of people we had on the team but also … the people remaining are nice, but not very bright so … more work for me, for sure.

Feb 14

Watching A LOT of videos on what to pack and how to pack for our cruise in August for Alaska!!

Feb 15

Saturday with mom. She came over and we went to Fazoli’s for lunch then Michael’s to see if they had any wooden rings for a project. Treated mom to Starbuck’s, (I used my gift cards, otherwise, I NEVER go there – can’t stand the company, quite frankly), then back to my house to watch Survivor. We were going to get together with my sister, but we ran late and my sister ran late so we canceled it. But, I think mom and I need to get together earlier so that we have time to Zoom call my sister.

Feb 18

Snowed about five inches today. Blake came over and picked up his passport. He’s going back to work at Wal-Mart overnights. He just can’t settle on a job right now and he needs to make some money. He’s going back to overnights, which I’m not crazy about, but it’s something. I keep telling him it’s only temporary, don’t give up on finding something else and if that means he has to take a class, or get a certificate, so be it. Don’t give up.

Feb 19

My supervisor called me and encouraged me to apply for another supervisor position that opened up. I was very flattered but things are so crazy right now with mgmt, I just don’t think I would be a good fit. I was tempted for a hot minute, but ultimately, no. I think I would be miserable.

Feb 21

Super busy day. Now that we’re thawing back out, patients are making it back into the clinics and providers are busy working people in that missed their appointments. Spent a lot of time working RAD’s pendings, which pissed me off, and put me behind, so mgmt got involved and asked (told) them to take their own damn pendings back. (I added the damn part). Wow – so it CAN be done – they CAN work their own crap? Hmm … today only showed me that going to mgmt, for me, would be a huge mistake. I’m too opionated and headstrong … they want a yes woman, I’m NOT a yes woman.

Feb 22

Saturday with mom. Got her out of the house. We went to the mall and walked around. Ate Chick-Fil-A for lunch, shopped at Bath and Body Works, (didn’t buy anything – I don’t pay full price – only when stuff is on sale – they’re way too expensive), watched Survivor, talked to sis and did some more painting. I wish I could do more for mom … she’s by herself way too much and I know it depresses her.

Feb 23

Kevin said Blake text him about a tube TV he’s had his eye on for a while. He saw it on Facebook, (or was it eBay?) but it sold before he could make an offer. When Kevin was out doing his treasure hunting, he said he actually saw two, text Blake the serial numbers and Blake wanted the second one. Kevin said Blake was literally shaking when he took it back to the house, he was so excited. He came back over to our house and picked up some old games we had in storage along with some cords to make it work. It was really nice to see Blake smile. He’s been in a funk lately.

Feb 26

My cousin text mom – mom’s sister is not doing well. She has dementia and has had to go to a nursing home because it wasn’t safe for her to stay home by herself anymore. Mom would take her out every Thursday, just to get her out of the home. She had these weekly get together for years, but it’s become harder and harder for mom to take care of her sister – she’s lost so much of her speech and motor skills .. Dementia sucks. It drains the life out of people so they are only shells when it gets done with them.

Feb 27

My aunt died. Mom text me after work and I called her. She was able to go over to the home and see her but my aunt was in so much pain they had to give her some pretty heavy-duty pain medication so she wasn’t really aware of anything going on around her. Mom was planning on going back later in the day, but my aunt passed away before she could go back. This was mom’s younger sister, by just one year. Death is so strange, people are here, and then suddenly, they’re not. Mom only has one brother left in her entire family. I feel so bad for her. She’s had a rough two years.

Feb 28

I had the day off today. I take the occasion Friday off to give myself a long weekend. Well, sort of. When I’m off Fridays or Monday, I typically work Sundays to make up the time and so I don’t have to use PTO, so it’s not really a long weekend, but it’s nice to have off, just the same. I didn’t do much, but I did start another batch of yogurt. I wish I could figure out why it tastes so sour.

Thanks for reading!