Never Say “Die,” Say “Damn!”

It isn’t classic, It may be profane,

But we mortals have need of it time and again,

And you’ll find you’ll recover from Fate’s hardest Slam,

If you never say “Die,” Say “Damn!”

Maurine Hathaway

Ca. 1920s

Isn’t this just the best saying?

Basically it says don’t give up, even though we may be frustrated or angry or even sad, we must never give up. In a clever turn of words, this phrase allows us to acknowledge our emotions and to indulge in them a moment by suggesting we curse at them. But never does it suggest giving in to those emotions; in fact it is cheering us on to overcome them.

I struggle daily in trying to be a good mom. Being a good mom is not a passive activity, particularly when parenting smart, opinionated, volatile and fast-moving kids. I need to have done the research, done the thinking (gotta be able to outsmart this fresh brains), be able to control my own emotions to keep things from getting out of control and be able to move fast to catch that errant ball that is rocketing toward the plate glass window.

But some days, I just am too tired and cannot muster up the energy to do what it takes to be that good mom. That’s where these little motto prints come in! I have them hanging in a powder room on the first floor of my house. I step in the powder room for a moment, take a look at these, take a deep breath, and mutter “Damn! “ (and maybe a few other choice words) and stomp my feet. I then re-emerge with a fresh attitude and strength to go on. I liken it to my Superman telephone booth.

As you may know I love all things antique and vintage (except my grayhairs!). I have been collecting these motto prints for several years. The first one I found it the one that is just words and border without any real graphics. I found this at a garage sale with my friend Michelle. I paid $1 and was hooked immediately and started hunting for more. They are rather hard to come by though and are usually more expensive that I can really justify (one of the signs of motherhood is never having any money for myself as it all goes to kids activities – they both play hockey!).

I believe the second one I found was the one of the little boy hanging from a tree by his shorts while picking apples. I found this one while at Round Top in Texas. I paid more that I really wanted; I think I paid close to $50. Gulp! But I thought the graphics on this one were so well paired with the saying.

The rest I found on ebay at various times and they were cheaper than the Apple one but definitely more that my first one. I am still hunting for more of these…. Never say die, right? Perhaps I will update the blog when I find a new one.

So, when things get tough today, and they will, remember,

“Never Say “Die,” Say “Damn!”

Who Am I

About me.. My name is Jennifer. My mom named me after an African American classmate in the 1960s whom she thought was breathtakingly beautiful. I suppose she hoped I too would be beautiful. I like the name, especially when said as the full name. It sounds sophisticated and maybe even sexy. But that is not me. I am more of a Jen. Not Jenny or Jennifer just Jen.

Jen just seems so much more down to earth, don’t you think? I think of myself as down to earth. I don’t worry too much about how I look, though I don’t wear a bathrobe and slippers everyday. I always wear sneakers because they are the most body conscious shoe I can find. And I wash may hair, but not every day….I have better things to do than to spend too much time messing with it. I also don’t spend too much time worry about what others think. I am quirky and a little different, I am happy this way.

I value humor, compassion, creativity and hard work. Humor and laughter mean the world to me and I could not function with out it. There is a quote by Victor Borge “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” I love that quote. My own version is “Laughter is everything.”. If you cannot laugh and see humor in life, then you are not living compassionately, intelligently and openly.

I am a mother. That is my primary role and one that I take utterly seriously. I have two kids who are so very different. As a result I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the best way to parent them and guide them. As a result of their distinctness, what works for one, usually does not work for the other. One is ADHD diagnosed and the other is not. One is a teenager (as of today she is 13) and one is still a boy person. Every day is vexing and perplexing on how I will manage to parent them and guide them on their journey.

I am a wife to a wonderful man whom I knew I was destined to marry. While “just friends” in college we eventually drifted apart. But I always referred to him as “the man I was supposed to marry”. Seven years later we were reunited; and at that moment, I knew we were gonna be together forever. We married 12 years after first meeting. He happens to be darn good looking, but the down to earth-ness in me is most drawn to his humor and creativity. He is the love of my life and he is my rock. I cannot imagine my life without this funny, creative, brilliant, strong, compassionate man in it.

I am a small business owner. I own a multifaceted online antiques and collectibles business. This is my passion; this is what keeps me sane (literally) in the chaos of my life. I love finding things that are really cheap (or sometimes free) and turning around to sell them and make some dough!! Plus it is real fun researching some of the oddities I come across. It is really amazing what some people deem as trash and how others will clamor to acquire that same item as a treasure. That is why my business name is FineLine Antiques. The tag line is “…. because there is a fine line between trash and treasure.” But I haven’t used the tagline much because I don’t want people to think I am charging them $50 for trash, even though, once in awhile, I am!

If you are so inclined to take a gander at some of my FineLine Antiques treasures, you can find them at:
www.fineline-antiques.com
www.swoonantiques.etsy.com
www.lucysclosetvintage.etsy.com
or our newsest venture
www.laughingfrogstudio.etsy.com

Now you know a little bit about me….feel free to share a little bit about who you are, I would love to know ya!

Pen Names

My daughter has been really inspired this year to read high-level books (think the Hobbit), to do creative writing, and to creative funny and inspirational posters.

Last evening over dinner, I was telling her I would set up a blog for her to start storing her short stories and other creative works. (She makes posters for her teacher to hang in the classroom - I am not sure where she got this art, so I don't know to whom to give credit. if it is yours, comment and I will attribute it to you) .
However, she is young and she is my daughter, so I don't want to put any personal information out there, particularly her name. So we talked about a pen name. I asked he to come up with a pen name that reflects something about herself with out being too personal. While she was hhhmmming and haw-ing, her 6-year-old brother shouted out, "Mrs. Um Um Like".

He was dead on. As a 10-year-old girl (who seems more like a 13-year-old), she has a difficult time explaining things or verbally telling a story orally without every other word being "Um" or "Like". Her brother was brilliant when he said her pen name should be Mrs. Um Um Like.

I think we may keep it.

Tell or Not to Sell - That is the Question

As an antiques lover and an antiques dealer, I often find good pieces to sell.The problem is, I often love these pieces and have a difficult time selling them.

Such is the case this week. I found two small-ish occasional tables of distinctly different styles, yet with equal "love-ability". I had committed to the idea that I was gonna sell these; I purchased them with the intent to sell. There was really no question.......

......that is, until my family chimed in.

As I was setting up attractive vignettes to showcase these tables, my family would walk by and say how nice it looked. What is interesting and unusual about these comments is that they were coming from a 10-year-old girl, a husband who hates when I drag home more stuff that ends up in our house and 6-year-old rough-and-tumbly boy!! Since when do they compliment me on my purchases and creative decorating? They never do this!

They were suddenly involved in my work, supporting my creative energies, complimenting what I was doing..... I was all a twitter. Then I thought, maybe I shouldn't sell these tables. They are just too cool and the vignettes I made work so nicely.

But wait, I bought them with the sole intention of resale, so that is what I shall do. I will sell them

....I think

.....YES - I WILL

......maybe

If you, like my family, like these tables you can purchase them from my store.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

This morning I was helping my 10-year-old daughter study for her test on the brain. I would ask her “What does the Temporal Lobe control?” She would answer, “Problem solving and emotions.”

I would then ask her, “What does the Occipital Lobe control?” She would answer, “Vision.”

Well she seemed to get most of the answers correct when asked in this format. So I decided to change things up and ask the questions in a different way. So then I asked, “What lobe controls emotions and problem solving?” She answered, “Frontal Lobe.”

Finally, I asked her, “What Lobe controls hearing?” She didn’t recall this one as well. She paused while she thought about it, at which point her 6-year-old brother chimed in, “The Ear Lobe.”

Talk about a good laugh over a plate of waffles. Leave it to kids to be so literal and so funny.