Swimming Upstream!

Good bye summer, back to school... already.  Yet this has been the most relaxing summer in awhile- but perhaps a bit to relaxed as I am not as prepared as normal for this first day.  Even though today is all about cleaning, and a leadership meeting (complete with desserts- so far, Sara is bringing rice krispie treats, Jerry is bringing brownies and I made these weird black cherry red velvet vanilla chip cookies that I am not sure are good or just odd... hooray for art teachers who like to eat!)  I have high hopes of focusing and getting things done- determined to be positive and proactive, have decided that the Raleigh job is not meant to be (even though they haven't notified yet) so I might as well kick butt at this one.  Lots of plans, lots of ideas- but like what happens at wal-mart, I end up walking in with an agenda then wandering around aimlessly sniffing the candles.

Speaking of walmart, could someone *Please* tell me where they hide the hand-sanitizer?  It wasn't with the soap, or in the baby-supplies, or pharmacy or with the school supplies (I had wal-minions trying to help me)... so... maybe it is just our wal-mart or mayhap their is a secret location for such a thing.  Not that I actually use hand sanitizer (except in porta-potties)... it kills all the good along with the bad.... but you can use it to preserve bugs.  (and things? I want to try it on flowers...) what you do is put some of the gel into a bottle, then the bug, then more gel.  You have to heat it a bit on the stove to get all the bubbles out, but the results are one exceptionally clear suspended specimen.  (This would be a show-n-tell winner, folks with kids!  Or science fair!  It can also work with flat cases for butterflies and the like, though I like butterflies better dried under glass).  And another disclaimer- I don't kill bugs, but I do hunt for the naturally deceased. Mainly moths and butterflies, but sometimes the pretty beetles, and I found a walking stick this summer- which is the coolest.  Maybe a praying mantis will come my way... I've only seen live ones.  I know it's odd, because I am not a vegetarian in the least, and I am not squeamish or opposed to bones, but I don't kill things, even bugs. Unless they are bugs-that-bite which include mosquitoes, deer flies, fleas, ticks and the like. And roaches. Roaches bad, nothing redeeming about them what so ever.  Everything else can live in peace, including spiders, which I explain to my kids are not scary at all- they kill/eat the bugs that bite, spiders can't chase you down and catch you, and they don't really lay 'spider eggs' in your ears or belly buttons.  Spiders are our pals.

My brain is obviously butterflying all over the place this morning-  I should be focused, practical-sensible, ducks in a row, but all of my ducks are not quite in migratory mode and are thus flying around aimlessly.  Rather like the image above- it is a picture of something- I was working on a tshirt design for a contest.  The contest was a timed 60 minute 'theme'- mine was "the heroic struggle", so I thought of bears and salmon. The bear turned into a rock/wave/water idea (can you still see the bear?) but I am still not happy with the salmon- and my 60 minutes expired long, long ago.  Like several days ago.  But that doesn't mean that I am going to abandon the project- good thing/ bad thing, I work ideas to death and back instead of just saying 'oh well' and letting it go.  Tenaciousness- vice or virtue?