Maiyalicious

Every day, when I pick up the girls from Daycare, I get a sheet of paper outlining Maiya's day for us! They tell us what books they have read, games they have played, how she ate, when she napped, etc. They also have a space for comments, and each day they write "Maiyalicious!" And she IS!! I don't know what is about those baby cheeks...but they are simply kissable!

Here is Maiya posing for the camera. I love her fake smile (with eyes closed)!!

And yet again...

Oh, I caught them un-posed!

I braided her hair one day, then took out the braids the next day. I thought her crimped pigtails were absolutely adorable!Oh yeah...and Ella is cute, too! :)

And while I'm at it...

Gee...I'm on a roll, tonight! So many posts...

Maiya has turned into a total ham in front of the camera, lately.
Here are some poses she came up with on her own!

And this has to be one of my favorite shirts that Ella owns. In case you can't read it, it says "Happy Camper." Could it get any more fitting than that?

But wait...I shouldn't give you the impression that she's always a happy camper...
Here's a photo taken just moments later....

I look forward to the day when she cooperates with a photo shoot.
She always seems to throw a hissy-fit!

A visit from a Kansan!

A friend of mine from my high school days has been working as a singing entertainer on a cruise ship this summer. He has been in port on Sundays, so we've been playing tour director those afternoons after church. Today, we swapped, and he got us guest passes on his ship, the Seven Seas Mariner, and we got to be the tourists, for once!

Here we are with him in the theater. It's quite a nice, intimate theatre--and it made me itch to stand at a microphone again. Oh, I have to admit I miss those days.

Ella as a future performer in lights? Perhaps...

Overlooking Skagway in the distance...(too bad we couldn't just float away...)

And the two of us, overlooking our home together for the past 8 summers.

Girls will be girls!

Ella has some seriously brilliant ideas at the store. For example, she decided this belt tied around them would be a perfect way to make sure they "don't get lost!"

Keeping the girls entertained at the store on Saturdays can be very difficult. Sure, I usually have a 3 feet distance rule from the TV, but when they're happy...I try not to interrupt...

We've been kid-swapping with some friends from the ward on Friday nights. Air popped popcorn in my 80's popcorn popper (and you think I'm kidding?) is a must on these nights.

Oh, the joy of friends! We will miss them when they move, and we do, too!

My first...

Broken Polish Pottery dish!



As you know, I am very vertically challenged. That means that my cupboards' LOWEST shelf is BARELY within my reach. Dumb me...I knocked this bowl out of the cabinet as I was reaching for a nearby plate. The bowl fell onto a hard metal pan underneath it (in the dryer rack), and split it in two! So sad! Unfortunately, this is my FAVORITE size bowl, and it is veeerry unlikely that I'll ever be able to find a matching shape again (this pattern was limited edition). Now I am down to just 2 others this same size (it's a good thing I like their pattern better, anyhow!).

Now it will join the box of other broken dishes that I don't have the heart to throw away. I have quite a stash of pottery that has been damaged in shipment over the last 5 summers. I've never broken a piece at home...this was a first. It's too pretty to toss, and I swear that SOMEDAY I will have to do something creative with all of it.

Old Underwear and Socks...

A conversation we had with some customers at our register today:

Husband: "Good thing we're throwing out our underwear so that we can pack this in our suitcase"
Wife: "Yes, we packed all of our old underwear and socks on our trip, so after we wear them, we're just throwing them out! They're disposables!"

Now, it's one thing to do that...and another thing to TELL people you're doing that! ;-)

CLASSIC!

( P.S. I wonder what their room steward is thinking each day as he takes out the trash?!)

A Customer Service job...

makes you lose faith in people.

Seriously, I think it's created a bit of a cynic out of me. For example, when a lady today brought up a children's hat without a tag and asked for the lower price of some of the other hats on the rack, I immediately doubted her honestly. I went and grabbed a matching hat priced at $3 more, and explained to her that was the price. Sure, perhaps she might have just picked up the hat and brought it to me, not knowing the actual price. But the cynic in me (who no longer trusts people) immediately thought that she must have pulled the tag off, and specifically requested the lower price, so that she could "fool" me.

And a week or so ago a man brought up 2 funky wire necklaces packaged in the same plastic packaging, priced as only 1. I honestly wouldn't have noticed this man was about to sneak 2 of the necklaces out (instead of the 1 he was buying), unless Jared happened to open the package and catch the difference. Could it have been a mistake? Or did he put that extra necklace in, tear off its tag, and try to pass it as one? My question, exactly...

So, what I'm saying is...

I don't trust customers.

And anyone who asks for further discounts might as well just be stabbing me with a knife. Ouch! I even told a guy yesterday, "It's people like you that are putting me out of business!" And, we both laughed about it--but I have to admit it's the honest truth.

People want "Alaska Made" or "US Made," which I have often tried to give them. They also SAY they want "quality" and "useful" products...but the truth is that they'd rather buy a $5 piece of junk that says "Alaska" on it (that will shortly after go in a garage sale back at home), than buy a nice quality souvenir that may actually have a useful function for years to come. And I feel that turning my business into a souvenir knickknack shop, or "fine" jewelry store, is akin to sleeping with the enemy. No interest. No thank you!

And that ends my rant today...