Inspiration Daily: 03. 23. 10

Untitled by Hanne::

Shop Closing + An Awesome Sale

Hello lovelies!  Marichelle and I just announced the sad news that we will be closing our Nice Package business come tomorrow.  For now we are happy to be able to extend a special 50% discount off of everything in our shops until tomorrow at midnight.  After that our virtual doors will close.  Come on over to our etsy and big cartel shops (where the majority of our products are) and stock up now while supplies last.

Thank you all for the wonderful support you've shown us in the past year.  We will miss you.  xo

Inspiration Daily: 03. 22. 10

Quoting Cletus by Mathias

Curveball

Hello lovelies!  I want to fill you in on the need for my emergency blog break last week.  I won't be able to share every single detail because of time (and I really don't want to bore you all), but will do the best I can to explain.

To begin with, my daughter and I are moving again...in 7 days!  We only found out just last week and I've been frantically trying to throw everything into boxes and tie up ends that I thought I'd have another 4 months to tie up.  The background story is this:

Last Summer we moved across the country from our home in California to start what we hoped would be a fun and fresh start for us here on the East Coast.  From day one things started to go wrong.  First it was the black slime coming up into our kitchen sink making the room unusable.  The fridge gave out shortly thereafter.  Next it was the bathtub drain, and then nasty stuff started to come up our bathroom sink as well.  From outside appearances this place is not a dump, so we had no idea what we were in for when we rented the place out.  I wish that was the entirety of the situation.  Unfortunately our apartment is also sandwiched in between two sets of unsavory neighbors that I wouldn't wish on anyone.  On one side we are assaulted by the daily barrage of their screaming fights coupled by the strong scent of marijuana and cigarette smoke that seems to seep through our walls.  Second (not as bad) is our neighbor who likes to wake me up early in the morning by ringing my doorbell incessantly until I answer...and then proceeds to go into tirades about the alarm system in her unit...asking if I ever hear it go off, etc, etc (completely nuts).

Next, I've been having some health issues that are making blogging/work very difficult and painful for me...and I strongly suspect that these are in great part due to the growing stress I've been under over the past 8 months.

Finally...and the reason for this sudden acceleration in our moving schedule (we were already planning to get out of here when the lease ended in July)...is that my daughter has been suffering from horrible bullying at her school.  If you follow me on twitter then you know a bit about what has been going on for her.  I've also just posted a more detailed infor in this post earlier today.  Basically any attempts I've made to have the threats, verbal and emotional abuse stopped by the school went nowhere.  The last straw came this past Tuesday when my daughter was thrown against the wall by a girl in her class.  After she crumpled to the floor in pain a lunch aid came over to see what had happened and told my daughter that she would report the attack.  She didn't.  I only heard about the incident from my daughter when class got out that day.  I just could not wait around for another more violent act against my daughter to take place and I went into the office and withdrew her from school immediately.

So dear ones...I am packing up my life again and moving to Oklahoma.  Yes, it sounds crazy even to me.  But my family lives there (after relocating there last year) and I really feel the need to be near to them once again after such an ordeal.  We have found a sweet little house that seems the perfect place to find the peace and happiness that we were so hoping to have here in New Jersey.  I will be sad to leave behind the friends I have made here but know that this is the right step for me to take in my life right now.

This week I will be doing my best to keep regular posts up here on Creature Comforts and then some incredibly generous blogging friends of mine will be writing a few guest posts to get us through the following week as I pack the moving truck and drive to Oklahoma.  I thank you all in advance for your support and understanding.  I will try my hardest to keep everything flowing as smoothly as possible here on CC during this process.  xox Ez

Enough is Enough

One quote has been racketing through my brain for the past few days, and that is: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do" by Eleanor Roosevelt.  Today I found out why when my daughter came out of school and told me that she'd been intentionally slammed against the wall by another girl in her class.  The force that she was smashed into the wall with caused her to crumple to the floor in pain.  The lunch aid on duty saw what happened, recognized the pain my daughter was in and said she would report the assault...but then proceeded to walk away and do no such thing.  If you follow me on twitter then you might recall the extremely difficult time we've been having with her school and the relentless bullying that she's been enduring.  Reporting the offenders has gone nowhere and the bullying has only gained momentum.  The last time I spoke with the school about the threats and harassment I was told by the school's guidance counsellor that this is "normal every day behavior and that my daughter should get used to it because 6th grade would be worse."  This was said in response to my concerns over daily threats from a girl who said she was planning to beat my daughter up on the last day of school.  Other kids were in on the plan and found great enjoyment in reminding my daughter every day how fun it was going to be to see her get beat up...and that they were planning to bring their video cameras to record it.  And yes, her school claims to have "zero tolerance for bullying"...hosts anti-bullying rallies and conferences...and coats their hallways with anti-bullying posters.  Clearly talk and action are two entirely different things.

So I did what I never would have thought I could do...I pulled her out of school.  My daughter's physical and emotional health were hanging in the balance and I could not just sit around idly and wait to see what would happen next.  I need to be her advocate.  She needs to know that even if an entire school system thinks abuse is acceptable or is willing to look the other way...I will not.  How else can I teach her to stand up for and respect herself?  I know I've made the right decision, but it is a choice that is not taken lightly.  This change of course means that a lot will be in flux for us in the coming weeks.  Not only have I pulled her out of school, but we are packing up and relocate to Oklahoma (you can read more about our move over on Creature Comforts) next Monday (yes, only a week to pack).

I am trying to remain as positive as possible and feel hopeful that good things are in store for us in the near future.  I have tried to make the best out of our move to New Jersey and what has been an overwhelmingly negative past 8 months...but there comes a time when enough is enough.  I have come to realize that this place is just not for us, and we are moving on.

Thanks to all of you who have offered your kind words of support here and on Twitter!  Your encouragement and thoughtfulness has helped me more than I can say.  I will not be updating this blog for a while (until we have things set back up in in our new home).  See you then.  xox Ez