All Around My Home

Monday Morning Me

2012-01-16T09:00:00.012-05:00

A new week has begun and I checked back at the calendar to find myself wondering how I intended to do all of this. I have so many deliverables at work, 15 end of year reviews to do, and a bunch of job interviews to prepare for. I better start figuring it out, right?

Around the house - this week I get a break. Monday is a holiday so there is no work, no dance, no school, and no CCD. Thinking how I can bribe my work, the school, and dance class to do more holidays like these.

What my kids are doing - Kelly started a new dance class a few weeks ago and really liked it. It's new for her because it's hip hop and the group is much older than she is used to. I am hoping she finds her rhythm. So far she is keeping up. Varsity baseball is coming up and I understand the team is thirsty for a thin, fast junior to start at left field. Any idea who they might have in the line up? I do.

I'm noticing - How much my house has been screaming for a new paint job. I don't know how I have lasted these past 8 years without it but it needs it desperately and I am starting to see paint cans around here. We are moving in the right direction.

I am proud of - A few people for making good choices. Kevin called me the other day on the phone. That in and of itself makes me happy. He was talking about his classes and his schedule and it looks like he is getting a lot of studying time in which makes me double happy. He told me he will not pursue intramural baseball because of his studies. Another good choice. Then there is Ryan. I am noticing more studying and better grades and college brochures.

Did you know? - I am coming up to a 10 year wedding anniversary. More to come on that but a little birdie whispered to me that 10 years is not diamond. It's coach purse! I hope someone mentioned that to the hubby.

On my table - 5 pint size paint cans in different colors. Did I mention how happy I am to be painting the inside of this house. Oh and I get a double bonus. We are going to be painting the outside of the front door too! I have always disliked that color.

Good thoughts - This may sound superficial but I love my bootcamp class mainly because my friends who go are so much better than me. Most people might get discouraged but I don't. I just use it as a way to keep up and that makes me push myself harder. I just wish my knees worked better.

Mother Duckie

2012-01-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

On my way to work this morning I saw one of the cutest scenes I had seen in quite some time.

The scene was of a mother duck walking with about 10 of her little baby ducklings running right behind her. At first it struck me because I can never get enough of little baby ducklings. They are so cute and tiny and yellow. They walk with their tiny feet so fast in an effort to keep up with their momma making sure to never get lost behind. They all go in the same direction. Not one ever strays or rebels.

The momma inevitably walks with pride. She is so gigantic compared to the babies but she walks slowly so they don't get too far behind. Occasionally she stops and looks back in order to make sure no one got lost. She is very protective so you probably shouldn't mess around with her or something bad might happen.

Eventually she waddles her way to a canal, hops in, and the babies follow. Content.

At first I was fascinated because of the cuteness of it all but then after they waddled off I couldn't help to think how much this scenario mirrors that of us human moms. I totally related to this duck!

At first I only had one little duckling.

Then there was a second.

Then 3.

And then there were 4.

When they were tiny humans they followed me around wherever I went. They went in my direction. They didn't stray or rebel.

So many times I looked back to check to see if they were still there and didn't get lost. Many times I found myself having to protect them from the nasty elements. I got myself in a few fights but that's what us mommas do. We fight for our ducklings proudly and fiercely and we don't apologize for it.

Eventually our ducklings grow up and leave the nest just like those little ducklings will eventually do. And maybe she will look back and relish on the days when her babies followed her around, paid attention, and shared love.

Embrace Changing Relationships

2012-01-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

The new year always brings about fresh changes, ideas, and goals. At least it does for me. Every year I set forth at least 50 goals. No lie! This year is no exception. So I wrote them down and am in the process of creating an action plan for them which is always the exciting part for me.

But somewhere along the way during these holidays I started to reflect about the past few years and how scurried life has become in my home. I have always felt really uncomfortable about the chaos especially since I don't think a lot of it is positive. Much of it causes stress and weariness on me which I know reflects on my family which generally takes us to a place I don't care to be.

I started thinking about how I can ease back on the stress and create more of a work life balance. Reflecting on this then made me start thinking about new goals and new outlook. I want our lives to be more easy going and memorable. I want to do more with my family and spend more quality time with them. I want to enjoy the laughs and the smiles and the little things like watching them play around the house or outside in the yard.

So in the spirit of making myself accountable for all of my new found goals and outlooks I thought I would share them here on my blog so I can hear any and all comments and gain new perspectives and look at my progress along the way. One of my first and most important new year goals is:

Embrace Changing Relationships

I realized that I need to start creating new relationships with my older kids. They are no longer little kids who need my constant direction and oversight. They are young adult men who I gave wings to and now it's time to let them fly.

One of them is in college and one is shortly there. They no longer need me to tell them the difference between right and wrong. I have been doing that for 18 years now and while I will always be there to step in and assist them, I have to trust that they learned something from my direction. So this is a new experience for me going from being a mommy to being a friend. I had a talk with my oldest the other day about this and how much I enjoy sitting and talking with him and how much fun he is to be around. It's such a new dynamic for us...actually CHOOSING to be together rather than defaulting to be together. It's one of the lessons of motherhood that no one ever told me about and something I never really thought of until he went away to college and suddenly I found myself wondering how to cope with him being an adult and away from me.

So as I learn and grow through this transition I am pretty certain that we will stumble and fall every now and then and that's ok. I won't be too hard on any of us. I will just take it as a new journey in life,enjoy all of life's moments, and pray that God will be watching over us.

When They Were Mine....

2012-01-01T22:51:00.001-05:00

Years ago when I first became a mother and then eventually became a mother again 3 times more, I thought it was the hardest yet most rewarding job in the world. I loved being a mom but you know how tough 2 am feedings are and long nights of 5th grade math and being up day and night while they suffer from fever and chicken pox. The potty training and learning how to walk and making sure the house is baby proofed. Then there is remembering the tooth fairy and playing Santa Claus and wiping tears when they scrape their knee or have to go to bed with no dessert. The late night school projects are tough as are worrying about them when they drive your car on their own for the first time. Their first heartbreak is brutal as is waiting for those SAT scores.

But all of those necessary tasks and worries are nothing compared to how difficult it is when you have to say goodbye to your child as he goes to college. I have done it and thus far it has not gotten easier. I give myself these pep talks that say things like "don't forget he is getting a good education" and "he will be back before you know it". I start planning out what my next care package will be and what the birthday gift is that I will be sending him. I schedule days in my calendar that will be good to skype. I do all of that because it makes me feel a little bit better and a little less lonely while he is away.

Giving our kids roots and wings is the best thing we can do for them but watching them use those wings to fly is by far the toughest job of all.

First College Semester

2011-12-29T16:04:00.000-05:00

It's so funny. In August when I handed my first born baby boy off to the major university that would now be known as his home away from home, I never imagined myself to feel as lonely without him as I did and do. It probably seems obvious to the casual observer that I would have these feelings but when one is in the thick of it it's easy to not realize.

Let's face it. Kids are usually off to college mentally even before they physically go off to college. Mine was no different. I could tell. The day after he graduated he was outfitted in his new university's latest garb and talking all summer about what he was going to pack and what his dorm room was going to look like.

And now that the first semester is over I am learning to love and cherish the little time I have with him even on the extended breaks. I cherish the new rare dinner where all 6 of us are gathered around the table. I have learned to communicate more by text message or on facebook. Life isn't how it used to be when I went to school but times have changed and I am adjusting. I admit it's hard to get used to but I also realize that this is what growing is all about, isn't it?

Most Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Ever!

2011-12-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

If you smell banana bread in my house it usually means one thing. My oldest boy who goes to college is either on his way home or his mom is getting ready to send a care package. I don't know when he started loving my banana bread. He was never a banana lover. But one thing is for sure...he cannot get enough of this banana bread. And in all honesty neither can anyone else in the house. It is THAT good.

Many people ask me to post the recipe and I have since agreed. So without further hesitation, here is the recipe for the most delicious banana bread ever.

(This recipe is for 2 loaves)

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more depending how chocolatey you like it)
add 1 cup nuts if desired

Heat oven to 350.
Grease bottom of two loaf pans. (I usually use a glass loaf pan because it cooks more evenly).
Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl.
Stir in eggs until well blended.
Add bananas, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
Pour into loaf pan.

Cook about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Dealing with Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP)

2011-12-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

A little over 3 weeks ago my 6 year old little man started complaining about an ache in his groin area. Because he is known for taking lots of spills on the playground I wasn't too alarmed. I took a peek and found a very alarming site. His testicles were beet red and had grown to about twice their normal size. Coincidentally the air conditioning was out at his school on this day and it was overly hot in the school. I thought maybe it was some kind of a heat rash. I asked him if he fell on the playground or if someone kicked him and he said no on both counts. He wasn't complaining too much that it hurt. Still I was worried.

I sent him to bed and decided that if they are the same way in the morning I would take him over to his doctor to check it out. Unfortunately nothing changed overnight so off to the doctor we went. When the doctor looked at it she did not suspect anything unusual but that maybe he did get hit and this was normal swelling and bruising. After completing an ultrasound to make sure there was nothing internal, the doctor could not find anything wrong on the inside. Such a mystery. The doctor cleared him and I took him back to school.

Several hours later when I picked him up from school as I do every day I took him home and lifted him up on the counter to look again at his private area. What I saw was horrific and shocking.

His legs were literally covered with these spots! They were bright red and slightly bumpy but did not hurt or itch. In all of my 18 years of having kids I have never seen anything like this. As you can imagine I freaked out and immediately took him to his after hours doctor.

When we got to the doctor's office they ran a blood test and a urine test. I couldn't imagine what they were looking for but all of the worst thoughts ran through my head. I heard words like "checking red blood cell count" and "protein in the urine"...words that would make any mother want to faint. I waited patiently as the doctor finally came back in to tell me that the blood is good and urine is clear. "Thank God" I thought although I had no idea what any of that meant other than clear and good are words I thought were positive. And then the doctor told me what it was:

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP)

"Say what? How do you spell that doctor?" Henoch-Schonlein Purpura. Let's just call it HSP. The after hours doctor was so sweet. He is semi retired. Old school. As I was scrambling for my web browser on my blackberry to google this he was opening a book for me to read. "This is a vasculitis and here is what it looks like". He showed me a picture of what looks exactly like my child's legs.

My next question is "ok where did it come from and how do we get rid of it". The answer was "we don't know and we don't know". Great. I know nothing.

Since this was the after hours doctor he recommended that since my son was not in any discomfort that I make an early appointment the next day with his regular doctor and discuss further treatments and follow up. I do that and the next day when we go back to the doctor we get a better understanding that HSP is a vasculitis which most likely stemmed from a reaction to an insect bite. HSP occurs when the immune system goes haywire. The result is an inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin which get red and can bleed. It can accompany joint pain and in some extreme cases can affect the kidneys. While the HSP was in active mode we had to go regularly to the doctor to have his urine tested for protein. Fortunately all of those tests turned out negative.

What I also learned is that HSP can appear in varying degrees. Some people have severe symptoms and others do not. I was going to have to monitor my little guy to see where he would be on the scale.

The first 5-6 days of the HSP were particularly terrible. He started to experience joint pain, swollen feet, swollen ankles, and swollen knees. My usually tough guy was reduced to tears and on a few nights it was so bad he could not walk because his feet hurt so bad. When I would sense that he was experiencing pain I would give him some advil which contains ibuprofen. This seemed to help him somewhat and since I didn't know much about this condition I was learning as I went along.

Each day brought us a slew of new spots just as the old ones were clearing up and every day there was some kind of joint pain. After trial and error I figured out that I would have to give him advil when he woke up in the morning and then again around 4 pm. This made the most sense to me since I was trying to control the inflammation and discomfort and tried to get ahead of the symptoms rather than wait until they got to be too much to tolerate. At night I would raise his feet on a pillow when he went to bed or if he was laying on the couch. I am not sure if this was a help to him but it kept him comfortable and that was my main goal.

The HSP remained active for the next 3 weeks and it was just last week that I noticed no more red spots and the joint pain was lessening. I started to dial back the advil and stopped the 4 pm dose. I was then going to monitor his pain level when I picked him up from school just to be sure. Fortunately at this point it looked like we were on the downside of this condition. After a few days I decided to start dialing back the morning advil dose. And so here we are 5 days with no advil and the spots are nearly all gone. My little man seems to be back to his old self.

A few things I have learned about this awful condition:
1. No one really knows what causes it to happen.
2. No one can really say how long it will last.
3. The best treatment is to treat the symptoms.
3. A large percentage of cases will recur.
4. HSP occurs more often in children than adults.
5. The urine must be checked because if proteins are found they need to be treated with a steroid to avoid kidney damage.

I feel much more prepared in case there is a recurrence. For now I feel thankful that we got through these last few weeks and my little boy is back.

Howdy Visitor

2011-11-16T21:46:00.001-05:00

I get hundreds of visitors to this blog every day. No lie! It's been going on for a few years. No lie! They even come when I don't post anything. I find this phenomenon to be fascinating. I know the number of visitors because I have a counter on my blog that gives me daily stats. The numbers usually go up around major holidays and I have visitors from all over the globe.

So the big question is what are they coming to look at? Quite frankly they are coming to look at this post. And this one. They want to make a rue (or is it roux?). So they go to google and type in the word "rue" or "how to make a rue" and my blog is the first entry on google to appear. Isn't that funny? So my visitors hit my blog and watch the video of how to make a "rue". Sometimes they even post a comment thanking me.

I have also had people criticize me for misspelling the word "rue" but I don't change it because everyone who googles "how to make a rue" also misspells the word. Hence that is how they hit my blog.

I have tried over time to get the people who go to my rue posts to burn my feed and stick around for other blog posts. I am not sure if they do that but I don't think so because I am getting substantially fewer hits on my other posts.

Either way if you read this I hope you stick around or burn my feed in a reader and come back and visit. There are lots of good things going around here...my oldest is coming home next week from college for the first time since the Fall semester started and there are many others fun things going on with my other peanuts.

Unless you want to make a rue. You can find that here too.

Age Gap

2011-11-15T09:47:00.001-05:00

A lot of people often ask me how things run in my family having two older teenagers (18 and 16) and two small children (8 and 6). The truth is that I never really have given it a second thought and not something I go around consciously thinking about. There are definite advantages as well as disadvantages to having kids with a 10 year separation.

In the beginning when the older ones were younger it seemed to be much easier. The younger ones were babies and therefore didn't have opinions on where we should go and what we should do. The older ones were much more attentive and loving to the babies. They were at the age where they were capable of helping me out with small tasks around the house like collecting laundry, getting me a baby bottle, and helping me with anything I needed. Of course as they grew up into high school teens that all changed and suddenly they had their own lives.

As you can imagine the desires of teenagers of which restaurant to go to, what movie to see, and what place to visit on vacation can vary dramatically from the desires of young kids. The teens don't necessarily want to go on It's a Small World and the young ones don't want to go on Space Mountain.

A lot of times the young ones act "silly" and the older ones can no longer relate even though they were just as "silly" when they were that age. The older ones don't remember when they begged to go to Chuckie Cheese but they did and can no longer understand the desire of the little ones to go there now.

The older ones are less tolerant now that they are older and "know better." They often ask me "why don't you just punish them when they get loud and scream and run around in a vortex?" I remind them that I did the same with them when they were this age. They don't seem to recall or believe me.

But then there will be the times when we are at my littlest one's t-ball game and his older brothers (who play high school baseball) are cheering for him and offering him hints of advice. Watching this phenomenon in action is indeed a rare scene but when it does happen it makes me feel so good inside. Sure I wish it would happen more often but when it does I relish in it and enjoy it.

I Just Called To Say......I Love You

2011-10-12T23:37:00.000-04:00

so the song goes....

Most of the conversations I have had over the past few years with my oldest college teenager have not exactly been about the latest news, politics, or weather. In fact most conversations have a lot to do with what he needs, when he needs it, and how much it is going to cost me. If you can relate to this you must have a teenager in the house or remember life when you were one.

The past few years of my life with him have been me trying to figure out how to engage him in REAL conversation about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But nothing ever seemed to work. It was frustrating at times and at times I would try to remember what a good friend said to me once: "Your teenagers mentally will leave you and sometimes for several years and then one day they return and you will wonder where they have been". I laugh saying that because I have been living it and it is so true. They do mentally check out and then one day they seem to check back in.

Such was my experience today. The ever-growing college boy who is in the "checked out" stage called me on the phone. Here is how our conversation went:

Me: Hey guy, how are you?
Him: Hey Mom, how's it going?
Me: Great here except I miss you.
Him: I miss you too.
Me: What ya been up to?
Him: Not much. School's good.
Me: Ok. Whatchya calling for?
::pause waiting for the "I need (fill in the blank)" request::
Him: No reason... just to see how you are doing. I love you mom.
Me: I love you too.

and then we went on to talk about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And it felt really great.

What To Expect When...

2011-10-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

In 1993 when my first son was born I received a gift from a friend who was a new mom herself. It was a book called "What To Expect When You Are Expecting". If you are a mom surely you know this book. The series continues with "What To Expect In the First Year" and then "What To Expect The Toddler Years". So imagine my surprise when I looked for "What To Expect When Your Child Goes To College". Guess what? The book doesn't exist.

I sure could have used a book this last August when I dropped my newborn baby from 1993 off to college. I don't think I expected anything except for one thing....lots and lots of tears.

It's funny. During the drive back home after leaving him I thought a lot back to when my parents dropped me off at college. I was so excited and happy and joyful at what lay ahead. A new chapter in my life. I couldn't understand when my Dad divulged to me that my Mom cried the entire drive home. It seemed odd to me. After all, I was very happy so why was she so sad. I think that's when it dawned on me that her sadness wasn't about me but about her. I suddenly became my Mom. That Mom. Every Mom who drops her child off at school.

My tears weren't about him. They were about me and how much I would miss him and how much I would love to still be holding him in my arms and feeding him his bottle and watching him make cute little faces with his chubby cheeks. When people ask me about him and how he is doing up at college I always tell them how much he likes it there. And then I tell them how much I miss him. And then I cry.

Killer Bootcamp

2011-07-02T13:39:00.000-04:00

Why does it seem that every week the bootcamps I go to are always harder than the prior week? Am I not getting better and therefore they shouldn't be as hard or are the exercises getting harder and I am struggling just as much to keep up?

Regardless, they are killer and very difficult to get through. But I suppose that is the whole point, right? I mean if they were easy who would get results?

Two things remain the same. The first is that no matter how hard the exercises are I always struggle through them but then feel amazing afterward. Yeah I might feel a little sore but overall my senses are stronger. My legs feel stronger. My heart feels better. I feel like I can breathe easier. I just feel awakened.

The second thing is that I love the people that I exercise with. It's like as if we all share the struggle. When one of us is wheezing, the other one is talking the other through it because we all know what it feels like. There have been days when I have come to bootcamp feeling like death warmed over and then there are times when I have felt ready to kick it. So I know the struggles and I know how others feel when they are not feeling so well either.

It's so great when we can all share the highs and the lows and can help keep each other going. That's the beauty of bootcamps.

Friday - Photo of the Week

2011-06-02T20:20:00.000-04:00

That was then:

This is now:

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Graduation Day

2011-05-31T20:06:00.014-04:00

Last Friday was my oldest baby boy's high school graduation. Of course he is no longer my baby boy standing at 5'9" tall. But he is my baby just the same.

He is my first born so to me that will always be something special. When he was born I went through all of the same thoughts that I am sure every mom goes through. Such as....

How much will I be in love with him?

or will he get along with his siblings?

or how special will it be on his First Holy Communion?

or how will I cope with his injuries?

or what kind of sports will he play?

or who will he take to the prom?

or how will I feel when I see him in his cap and gown?

They truly grow right before your eyes and every wonderment I have is followed by a wonderful memory. With my new graduate I feel blessed to have stockpiled 18 years of these memories. Congratulations to my boy and to all of the graduates and moms out there who survived all of the questions with beautiful answers.

Big Week Ahead

2011-05-22T22:55:00.003-04:00

Today starts a week that is sure to be one for the memory books....baseball banquet, graduation rehearsals, cap and gown pictures, and then the graduation mass and ceremony on Friday.

This past weekend I made sure I stocked up on enough tissues to last me. Little did I know that I would already go through one box just today alone.

It's funny how life comes around. I was thinking back when I graduated high school and watched my mom cry the whole week long. And then when my mom and dad dropped me off at college. My dad would later tell me that my mother cried the entire 4 hour drive home. I brushed it off and never really grasped that fact other than it was just my mom being "mom". And then whenever I came home from college, my mom would act like it was the first time she had seen me in years. She would hug me and seem to never want to let me go. Of course I hugged her back because I loved her so dearly and I had missed her too.

So life is coming around to me because I am now where my mom was back then. My oldest son is graduating high school and getting ready for college and I find myself crying at every waking moment...always making excuses that my contact lenses are bothering my eyes and that's why they are red. I stare a lot at the ceiling hoping and praying that the lessons I have taught over the past 18 years were good enough. I now truly understand what my mom was feeling back then. I really, really do.

My only regret is that my mom is no longer here with me so I can share in this with her. So I can ask her how she got through it and so that she could help talk me through this time in my life that we now share as mothers.

Darn Facebook

2011-05-17T18:49:00.007-04:00

It's all facebook's fault. I used to blog constantly and loved every minute of it. I loved documenting my life and posting some cute pictures of my family and life. I even managed to attract 50 or so readers!

But then facebook came along and changed all that. My blogging had dwindled down to random status updates and pictures loaded up via my blackberry. I moved into a new era with a different kind of reader. It was easy and with my hectic life with 4 kids on the run, it was also very convenient.

But I always look back at this revelation with sadness. I enjoyed writing my thoughts down in more than 200 characters. I like blog posts because they seem to be good at connecting my words and stories with pictures and links. Blog posts are meaningful.

In my busy life is there room for both? I ponder this all the time. In fact I have visited it so much that I have about 10 unfinished blog posts that I promise myself I will get to just after that last facebook and twitter update of the evening. Then I forget and the post would just sit there unfinished and undone.

When I look back at the couple of years of undone posts I think of what has happened in my life in that time...my oldest getting ready to graduate high school next week, daughter making her First Holy Communion

baseball seasons

first days of school, dance recitals...so much that I didn't blog about.

I vow to myself that I am going to start anew...blog more about my trials and tribulations because looking back on those times makes me laugh and I feel happy to share my laughter and good times with the few readers who happen to find my writing amusing.

Both Sides Now

2011-03-10T22:34:00.006-05:00

I listen to XM7 a lot in my car...why not? I was born in 1965 and though pretty young to remember 60s music I do recall some of it on the little AM radio in my Mom's 1966 Dodge Dart. Even though I've upgraded from the little AM radio to XM satelite radio the music is still the same. It's timeless and precious to me. The songs I listen to from back then are folksy and meaningful and speak to a simple way of life.

...I've looked at life from both sides now from win and lose and still somehow, it's life's illusions I recall, I really don't know life at all...

Good ole Judy Collins singing about angel hair, clouds, ice cream castles, and feathered canyons. What did she mean by that? What was she thinking? Was it that deep or was she just on a drug high when she wrote that song?

...Moons and Junes and ferris wheels the dizzy dancing way you feel...

I don't really know what she was thinking. But I do know it is a classic song that will always stand the test of time. When I listen to it on my ipod I think of life back then and how magical it all seemed. My childhood filled with love and family. The world was turbulent back then but I was innocent to it all. My world was all about Sesame Street and the Electric Company. It was all about playing hide and seek with my brothers. It was about having my best friend over my house to listen to 45s on my little battery operated record player. It was about not having air conditioning and never really caring about it. I don't remember worrying that money was so tight that we lived bare bones.

...Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say "I love you" right out loud...

I was busy listening to my records and playing Barbies and dreaming of what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was busy coloring in my coloring books and working hard to stay in the lines. We had one black and white TV. There were no such things as computers or internet or cell phones or electronic games. There were no distractions. For fun we went outside and played on the swing set or stayed inside and made forts with dominos.

...Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way...

Those were some great times. So thank you to Judy and all of those 60s and 70s artists that help me to remember old memories that bring a smile to my face every time.

Think about life this way....

2011-01-29T13:31:00.001-05:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

It's 7:00 somewhere...

2011-01-18T19:02:00.002-05:00

It's 7 pm on a Tuesday night and I am sitting in my car waiting for my daughter to finish her CCD class. I got up this morning at 6 am, left at 7:30, and haven't been home since. But I don't mind because I love it all. I truly do. I love my kids, I love my husband, I love my job, and I love my blackberry. I am having a love affair with them all!!!

So I try to do them all well and I can tell you that it is truly possible...well for me anyhow. The happy medium takes work and a kind and understanding boss who will understand if you have to run your kids to the doctors or leave to watch your daughter's class play or your senior boy's first baseball game of the season. But I also understand my duties and flex myself enough to work when the kids are in bed and I need to catch up.

So while I sit here in the parking lot I think about the rapid brain power I had to execute today...end of year appraisals, budget plan, goals worksheets, business plan, conference calls and lunch and an apple somewhere in between. I think about how happy I was to accomplish much at work while running out the door of work thinking about how much I couldn't wait to see my littlest man and princess daughter at the doors of their school. I was happy to then run over to the high school to pick up my son in his last few months of his last year of high school. And somewhere in the middle I met up with my darling husband who relieved me of my load so I could continue on to my daughter's CCD class.

After I leave the parking lot I have one more child to pick up...my basketball loving son who practices harder than anyone I know on his basketball team...through a horrendous cough and stuffy nose and hungry stomach. Note...McDonalds just might cheer him up.....

It seems like a lot and tomorrow I will do it all over again except tomorrow night there is a parent's baseball meeting and a college financial planning workshop. But at the end of the day I feel exhausted but fulfilled because after all of these years I have finally managed to achieve some sort of work-life balance.

PB&J factoid

2011-01-10T21:44:00.003-05:00

I was busy last night doing all of my "prep" for the morning which meant a boat load of lunches...one for dear hubby, two for dear teenage sons, and 2 for the little kidsters. The good news is that they all are ok with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So as I take out the bread and line it all up in an assembly line fashion (because I am an engineer after all) I start counting and realizing that I make on average about 8 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a day!!! That's about 3 giant loaves of bread.

Then I started thinking about milk. We go through about 3 gallons a week.

I am starting to think I need to invest in a bread factory and a cow.

I used to think that formula and diapers were expensive. Well they are but so is feeding growing teenage boys! It's a challenge for sure and it's a good thing my boys love PB&J.

How To Make A Rue

2011-01-08T17:36:00.002-05:00

Back by popular demand...

Last weekend when I posted my recipe for Mac n Cheese I promised to write a little bit about how to make a rue.

It's a few days late but it's here...my basic recipe on making a rue. A rue is very easy to make and extremely versatile. The most popular things that you can use a rue for is gravy or soup. But in reality a rue is a thickening agent because it's a flour base. What that means is that you can thicken any liquid with it to make the sauce or gravy. For example, if you make a rue and add chicken stock to it and stir until the stock and rue is incorporated and heated through it will turn to a nice gravy. Add some sauteed mushrooms and you have mushroom gravy. Add cheese to it and you have the base sauce for macaroni and cheese. You can also add mustard and it makes a really good mustard spread for sandwiches. You see, it's all about the method. You can get as creative as you want for a variety of dishes.

So without any more hesitation here is the recipe:

olive oil, one turn of the pan
3 pats of butter
3 tbsp flour
1.5 - 2 cups of stock or milk (see HINT below)
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir in with a whisk. When butter is melted, add the flour and whisk the flour in with the butter until the flour cooks fully and no longer looks white. The flour might clump up but that is ok. Add the liquid and whisk to incorporate until all the lumps are gone and the sauce starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness remove from heat and add to the dish you are making.

***HINT*** If you want to make a milk based rue or gravy (for mac n cheese for example) then use milk as the liquid. If you want to make a stock based rue or gravy (like for chicken or turkey gravy) then use chicken stock as the liquid.

Good Luck!

It's Not The Size That Counts

2009-12-19T18:46:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago someone I know wanted to buy my sons each a gift for Christmas. This person asked me if I knew what they would want. This was an easy question. My boys were just telling me about this certain type of Axe body wash/shampoo/deodorant kits that come in various scents. I love those gifts because my kids are getting to the age where they need to use deodorant and any time they request it I happily oblige (no offense to my kids but they are teenage boys who play baseball so that's 'nuff said).

When I came back with the kits from the store, the requestor asked how much I owe. When I said $10 each for a total of $20 I was told that was not enough. I was kinda surprised. "But that's what they really want and it didn't matter how much it cost."

It made me think back to all of these years that I have tried to show my kids that it's not the size of the gift or how much is spent on it but the thought and effort that goes behind the gift. Boy does that sound like my own mother but I can't help it. It's true.

The reflection made me think of my own cherished gifts. I have gotten so many of them over the course of my 44 years of life that most are bound to be forgotten. No offense to anyone who may have gotten me gifts in the past. It's not that I don't appreciate them and it's not that I don't love them but most times unless I write it down, I don't remember the details of those gifts 10, 12, or even 16 years later.

Except there was one gift I remember well. When my first child was born over 16 years ago I am pretty sure I received a lot of gifts, flowers and teddy bears. I am certain of it. I think. I don't know. I don't remember. But I do remember very clearly ONE gift that I got on that day.

After the baby was born, my mother, who was waiting in the lobby, came strolling into the room to see me. She had seen the baby in his bassinette and had the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. She was truly beaming with pride. She was a brand new grandmother for the very first time.

She was also carrying a balloon. A big mylar Precious Moments "It's A Boy" balloon that cost a couple of dollars. That was all she had. This big balloon and a big smile. She apologized for not having more to give me and I told her that was just fine. And I have never forgotten it. And I don't think I ever will.

Where Have You Been?

2009-11-20T10:56:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy lately with other projects that I simply have let my blog fall off the radar. With the holidays and my dad's recent passing, life still goes on and on and on. There is so much on my plate with my older ones in high school I am trying to keep up with all that goes on there not just with homework but with their sports as well. They go to a Catholic school so volunteering is essential and involvement is really key to their success. So that's that. Then there is baseball, cross country, and basketball. Practices and games and any other social activities that they need to be driven to. There is also the weekend SAT class for my older one as well as weekend baseball showcase camps.

The little ones are active too. My princess is in soccer but thankfully wrapping that up. She also has her homework and other activities she likes to do. She also has CCD.

The kids are not overbooked but I am. I don't really mind it in fact I think I am quite good at it. It keeps me busy and productive and I don't mind the work. I just feel bad sometimes when my blog activity takes a back seat.

My latest project is starting my princess' own blog. She is a terrific story writer and there is nothing more that I would love than to put her stories up on a blog for others to read. The stories are quite funny and interesting. She tries her heart out to get all of the words spelled correctly. Of course then there are the pictures that she draws to accompany the story. Truly hilarious and I would love to share all of that with my fellow bloggers. Maybe this weekend I will be able to set it up.

I have re-engaged myself in my own Organizing Blog that is really my secret passion. Won't you please visit it here and consider adding me to your blog reader? There will be menus, easy recipes,and all kinds of organizing projects along the way.

Happy Friday everyone!

Drawings

2009-09-01T11:03:00.004-04:00

My princess was at it again. Yesterday I found her in my office at the desk drawing her little heart out. I can't explain this talent she has. Neither myself or my husband can draw. Well he is a little bit better than me and somewhat on the artistic side. But I notice with her she has a passion to draw and create art whether it is painting, sculpting, or making jewelry. I notice she loves to have her hand in something artistic at all times. Here are a two of the creations she came up with yesterday.

Here she is jumping rope while two bunnies watch her. She just learned how to jump rope which has quickly become another of her passions.

In case you didn't get a clear shot of what one of the bunny's faces looks like she drew you an up close picture of it.

My Perfect Pantry

2009-08-29T09:03:00.003-04:00

So excited! My pantry is featured this week here.

Check it out and also check out this blog and my other blog in general. I would love to have you as a reader.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Isn't She Cute?

2009-08-28T10:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday my princess came home from school and in her planner was her homework assignment. I am beginning to really love first grade! And I love that she is taking her work seriously enough to look like this.

Whew..where did time go?

2009-08-16T18:00:00.002-04:00

All of my followers must be thinking that I fell off the face of the earth. Actually I have been working hard at some various projects that just take up most of my time. One of them is this and the other is this.

For two weeks in July I was also away at jury duty which was a most awesome experience that I promise to blog about one day in the near future.

I've been working on some business stuff while trying to brace myself for the coming school year that is about to start in just 12 hours. The older ones are off to high school and the little ones are in elementary and preschool. Good thing I am organized or I fear I would never make it.

Back to planning dinners a week in advance, preparing and planning for school lunches, and waking up early in the morning to get everyone ready for school and out the door.

I have a new driver in the family so maybe I can get him to drive us to school. And then while he is driving us I might be able to catch a few zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's in the car.

RIP MJ

2009-07-05T12:23:00.003-04:00

Unless you have been hiding under a rock this past week, you know the tragic news of Michael Jackson. Now admittedly, I did not really follow MJ since "Bad". I just thought he was going off the deep end with the crazy behavior. I liked some of the newer music like "Man In The Mirror", "Feed The World", and "Black or White"...but his behavior and the accusations and the plastic surgery caused me to lose interest.

However this was not how I felt growing up. Now that I am approaching 44 years of age, most of my life had some piece of the Jackson empire in it whether it was the Jackson 5, the Jacksons, or MJ. In the spirit of this week I revisited my albums, youtube and my ipod to enjoy the music that I grew up with and was amazed at how so MANY songs from many different eras brought back a distinctive memory. I don't know of another group or singer that has spanned my life through music as clearly as MJ has.

When I was growing up in elementary school in the early to mid 70s, we all tried to do the robot dance in Dancing Machine. Even though I could not dance like this I knew the words and I sang the songs. Include in there "Ben" and "I Want You Back" (which is one of my top 5 Jackson songs). Then I went to junior high school from 1977- 1980 and we oozed the Jacksons and MJ there too with my personal favorites "Shake Your Body" and "Off The Wall". In high school, obviously it was Thriller. Gosh, they played so many MJ songs at my senior prom. I don't have a favorite but I know the words to each one on this album. In college, it was "Bad" which is one of my all time favorite videos. I loved MTV at that time. It was new and exciting. It was something that I had to distract me from my college homework. MTV was a neat outlet. Back then it was all about the videos that I really liked so much. "We Are The World" was a great video and I still love to re-watch it naming all the stars in the video and drooling over the younger and oh-so-hot Bruce Springsteen.

After I grew up out of college, I appreciated more of the charity type of songs that MJ produced and sang like "Heal The World" and "Man In The Mirror"...such beautiful songs about giving and loving and helping.

In the mid to late 90s and into the 2000's I didn't care for MJ because of the strangeness that followed him. I was disturbed by the molestation allegations and I still don't know how I feel about his involvement (if he did it or didn't do it). He didn't produce much after this and I lost track of him. But now that he has tragically died at a young age, I am really enjoying my ipod and youtube reliving my memories of yesteryear. It was such a great time to grow up.

How do you feel about MJ? Have you been reliving music from the past like I have?

Has It Been A Month Really?

2009-07-04T10:56:00.003-04:00

I just noticed that it has been a month since my last blog post...shame on me. I feel like I should join that group "Blogging Without Obligation". I must have lost some followers along the way. :(

But it was not without reason. With my summer vacation (where my laptop conveniently broke and I could not blog from the vacation trail), all of my kid's activities (isn't summer supposed to slow down?), and my business ventures and social networking it's no wonder I have not had any time to blog on here. Oh and did I mention that my home computer crashed too so I have been spending time trying to reinstall every program on there that gave me such great convenience?

So my goal is to blog as soon as possible regarding my summer vacation which took us through our great state of Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It was not just a vacation but a tour of colleges for my older guy who will be going off to college in two years. Every time I say that I shake my head in amazement that it is not far off.

I will also blog my kids activities between the baseball tourneys, the basketball league, dancing recitals, and swimming lessons, it will fill up the holes of my blog.

And when am I not pursuing a new business venture..ummmm..NEVER! It's always something in my mind. But check it out on my two newer blogs...and if you can follow me there or add my blogs to your reader I would be forever grateful.

The Mommy Organizer
Organizing Your Home and Life

Feed A Cold....With Exercise

2009-06-04T20:53:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning I woke up with the first signs of a cold..sore throat and post nasal drip. I started to become upset because we are going on our one and only summer vacation next week and the last thing I need is to be bogged down with a nasty cold on the trip. I took a few vitamin C which always gives me acid reflux but I take it anyway hoping to fight off the cold. All day long I was feeling the sore throat and it was making me feel tired and lazy. I contemplated calling off my personal training session. I don't have that many left and I don't want to waste one on a day where my performance is not optimal. But something made me keep the session and off I dragged my achy body to the gym.

When I got there I did my usual warm up which is a mile long jog around the upstairs track. It was ok..not my best and not my worst but the throat was bothering me and I was feeling lightheaded and my stomach was acidic from the vitamins and the drip. Disgusting.

When I got back to the exercise floor my trainer, Amy, tells me that today was going to be a unique day. We were going to be doing our entire hour long workout with these ceiling straps that dangle almost to the floor.

There were so many different exercises and they were extremely tough and left me winded and dripping with sweat all hour long. But I made it through somehow without barfing, although a couple of times I swear I almost was going to.

I was beat on the way home. I dragged myself into the house, took a shower, and went to bed. And then the most amazing thing happened this morning. I woke up and my cold and sore throat were completely gone.

Maybe there is something to this exercise thing. It must build up immunities. Maybe I sweated the cold out. I am not sure but there is one thing for sure...I know what I will be doing if I ever feel another cold coming on.

End of a Great School Year

2009-06-03T09:05:00.003-04:00

The school year is coming to a close and it is bittersweet for me. It's been a hectic year logistically because this is the first and only year that all 4 of my kids were in different schools. This made getting them to and from a big huge challenge. In all honesty that was the only draw back.

I enjoyed watching my princess in her first year of school. She really thrived in kindergarten much better than I had ever hoped she would. Her teacher was so wonderful and the year was filled with so many exciting lessons and activities. She started off the year learning how to read words and ended the year reading full books. Not only is she reading but I have noticed that she is actually understanding and comprehending what she is reading. She is able to feel what the author is saying. She is in love with the library and we just went and checked out 15 books this month for her to read.

I am also so pleased with the great progress that my baby boy is making too in his preschool. He is speaking so well now and his thoughts are so cute and keep me smiling. His latest venture has been on the computer. He loves the computer and enjoys playing on some of the reading websites like starfall and funbrain.

The older boys had a great year too. My younger teen ends his middle school years on a happy note. Straight As and a first place math trophy. He is off to a foreign school next year where the only person he will know roaming the halls is his older brother. He is going to miss his friends, I know that. But we are able to give him a really great opportunity at a wonderful private Catholic high school that will hopefully open more doors and teach him on a deeper level than he would have gotten at the high school near our house. I know he is sad but I have faith that he will meet some really great kids there too.

What can I say about my oldest boy except that I am finding bittersweet in all of the days that lie ahead of me. I no longer feel like I have oodles of time left before he is walking out the door to college. It's only two years away and suddenly two years feels like tomorrow. When he was on the JV baseball team I didn't worry because that meant he still had Varsity. But now he is at Varsity and there is nothing after that at high school. He is getting his high school ring in a few months and the milestones keep rushing in. It feels like it is all coming so fast. He is into men's clothing, shoes, and smelling nice. He is not shaving yet thank goodness. Still a baby face to me. I remember when he was a baby. I had all kinds of time with him then.

We are going off on our summer vacation next week and I think that there will only be a few more of them before he is off to college. I hear a lot of parents say our jobs are to give them roots and wings. I like the roots. I don't like the wings.

I promise to embrace the roots as long as I can and give thanks for all of my four wonderful blessings. I love them so very much.

My trusty old friend

2009-05-31T15:17:00.004-04:00

I knew something would eventually happen to my computer's hard drive. After all, it is older than my princess by a few months. That would make it 6+ years. The computer has seen me have another child since then. It has seen us buy a new larger flat screen monitor for it. It has seen us evolve with newer programs for preschool children that will only tax it's memory and processor speed. Two older boys would now do their homework on this computer that used to be just mine. It's been through thousands of downloaded photos. It never failed me, ever. Sure it's slowed down over the years and has caused me to reboot many many times but I felt loyal to it. I never looked to replace it. Yes I knew one day it would die. I knew I would have to back up my files. I kept postponing that process hoping that it would come more later than sooner.

But just last week I opened up my own account on igoogle and google docs. I got out of my denial and purchased a few jump drives and emptied all of my photos onto a jump drive, just in case. I started uploading my important files to google docs and also downloaded my outlook calendar to google, just in case. I was going to work on email and contacts this weekend. I was going to do the rest of the files today, just in case. But last night while working on my trusty Dell in the midnight hours while everyone else had gone to sleep, something went terribly wrong. The screen froze. But that had happened before and maybe I had too many windows open. I rebooted and then got the message that this might be the end. It was the blue screen of death. The one where it gives you the message that some important looking and too long sounding file is corrupt. What was I going to do. I had not yet completed my documents backup. I rebooted. It didn't help. I rebooted again. Nothing. The tower started making funny noises. This wasn't good. I knew it. My just in case moment came and I felt panicky. I lost my internet access. I lost my email. All of them. I could not get to my blogs or my reader. Nothing.

I went to my closet where I have carefully stored all of my computers disks and backups. The only thing I knew was to reinstall Windows and pray. I found the disk, put it in, and hope that something can be saved. It rebooted, reinstalled, but everything was lost. My internet access, drivers, files, email, applications, programs, and my bookmarks. I turned it off and went to bed. I couldn't sleep. I felt like I lost a special friend.

When I awoke this morning, it felt like a sad day. No computer. I was going to have to start shopping around for a new one. Initially I thought of just starting from scratch on the trusty old Dell but I have come to the realization that 6 years to a computer is like 90 years to a human. I am going to retire and bury my trusty Dell and replace it with another Dell, a newer and improved model. I am sure I will get to love my new Dell, once I buy it and set it up. But I know that it will never be the same as my old best friend. RIP my old Dell and I hope that the new Dell is as good to me as you were.

So Much Going On

2009-05-22T14:59:00.005-04:00

There is just too much going on but for some strange reason my brain likes being on overload. I have always been that way but never could explain it. A lot of times people say to me "Where do you get all of your energy" and I tell them I have no clue. I can no longer blame it on the caffeine from my daily diet cokes (jumping for joy). But the strange thing is that the more sedentary I am, the more tired I am and the less productive I become....ie, lazy...and I hate that. I guess I will never fully retire.

I cram a lot of things in my one day. It's like a personal challenge to try to get as much done but a lot of things that I do are just plain fun to me...like playing with my kids, polishing my daughter's nails, cooking my family dinner, making brownies, playing on facebook and catching up with old friends and relatives, sweeping up the mud and dirt that the kids drag in, working out with my husband, organizing, decluttering, cleaning, yada, yada, yada.

I feel compelled to tell how I do all of this every day. Take my 4 kids to 4 different schools and then manage to get myself to work, take on the demands of my job, pick the 4 kids up from the 4 different schools, make dinner, do laundry, get at least 2 of the 4 kids to some sort of sport or extra curricular activity, get baths done, homework done, get the kids to bed, and then get myself to bed. I swear seeing it written down on paper makes my head spin. I forgot to mention that I pay the bills, clean up, prepare for the next day, and countless other things. I have a husband who helps A LOT..thank goodness for that because I know people who don't have that support...but even with his help, I seem to be the one driving the train. I am ok with that because I am a bit of a control freak in that respect. Do you kind of relate to that because I think a lot of us moms do.

I love this life. I wouldn't slow it down at all because it keeps me fit, physically and mentally. One of my goals in life, god willing, is to be active, fit and healthy enough for my future grandchildren. I want to be a hands on mother and hands on grandmother. I can't imagine retiring because even if I retired from my working life, I would still find some other ways to occupy my time like spending time with my kids, babysitting grandkids, traveling with my husband.....

the list goes on and on and on and on and on......

My New Hobby/Blog

2009-05-20T13:45:00.004-04:00

I have a new blog and I am so excited. I have been busy researching content and drawing on personal experiences to fill the blog with all kinds of fun stuff. If you get a chance please visit it and I would love it if you would subscribe to my feed and follow me on this exciting journey. And if you are so inclined, please pass me along to other friends or tweets. I would really appreciate it.

The Mommy Organizer

And if you are ever in need of a blog makeover, this girl is a gem.

Teacher Conference

2009-05-20T08:59:00.003-04:00

This morning we went to our end of the year teacher conference with our princess' kindergarten teacher. We have really been very pleased with this particular teacher and the school in general. The school is so well run and organized. Her growth has really exceeded our expectations.

I was particularly happy to learn that the system by which she is evaluated for her reading level is very thorough. I don't know all of the metrics that the teacher is looking at but she did explain it on a high level. At the beginning of kindergarten they are usually reading at an "A" level and by the end of the year the school expects them to be reading at a "C" level. Our teacher's goal is to read at a "D" level. Our princess is reading at an "H" level so I am particularly happy about that. The one thing that the teacher explained to us was that the school has a really great resource center that allows the children to use materials that suit their individual learning levels, not necessarily the level of the other students. So if there are children that fall above or below the average level of the rest of the kids, the teacher can provide materials to each kid at that level. So that made me feel very good.

Her evaluation of her math skills went really well too. She knows how to tell time but now we are going to work on fractions of hours like half hour, 15 minutes past the hour, etc. She understands most denominations of money except for the quarter (but she sure knows how to spend it!). We will work on her money skills too. She also can add and subtract single digit numbers and can count to 100 by 10s and 5s and can count to 20 by 2s. So exciting.

One skill that I have been working on is money. I try to give her every opportunity to understand money because I think it is important to know these skills early on. When she got $5 from the tooth fairy a few weeks ago I took her to the toy store and helped her pick out something that was within her price range. I also let her pay for it at the counter and let her receive the change. We counted the change together. She has a piggy bank and we put our change in the piggy bank. Whenever she gets money she puts some of it in the piggy bank.

It will be bittersweet when we end the school year because I am going to miss her teacher very much. Hopefully we will still stay in touch.

Picnic Fun

2009-05-09T18:18:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was such a great day with my two little ones. First stop was at the daycare where they had a special breakfast treat for all of the moms. Donuts and juice. I was so glad to have some time to spend with my little man while we drank juice and ate donuts together.

Afterwards it was off to my princess' school where they had a special Parent Picnic filed with fun and games in the morning and then a picnic lunch. The games gave me great ideas for future parties here at the house with my little ones.

Bouncy Ball Races

Bubble Making Station

Sack Races

Eating our lunch together

Time to go back to class

The whole class together

Time for a goofy picture

Even though I was so hot and sweaty and exhausted from all of the activities I really enjoyed making friends with some of the other moms. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. It was so nice to be in a circle of friends.

Lost First Tooth

2009-05-08T18:46:00.001-04:00

The other day my princess lost her first tooth. I have to say though that I have been through this with my two older boys so the novelty of this has worn off a bit. Even so, she's my princess and this is yet another reminder that my little girl is growing up.

She looks so different.

She is still my precious princess.

A Very Special Princess Birthday

2009-05-06T01:46:00.003-04:00

I am not a big believer in going somewhere expensive and overpriced for birthday parties. I have done this in the past like the bowling alley or Chuckie Cheese but it has been rare and everytime I have done it, I remind myself that I can put on just as good of a party at a fraction of the price right at home. This year I did just that for my princess...it was a pool party with lots of games and swimming right in our backyard. Even the cupcakes were homemade. A Dad of one of the girls who came told me that he really enjoyed just relaxing in a backyard home party instead of those over-stimulating, headache inducing, game room type of parties. Here are a few photos that commemorate the occasion.

First we had to make the cupcakes....

I made them with a regular chocolate store bought cake mix and lined the cupcake tin with pink liners. I frosted them with a vanilla buttercream frosting that is so easy to make. The recipe is below. After frosting the cupcakes, I sprayed a pink color mist food coloring on the cupcakes to give it a slight tint. I then sprinkled on some ice cream sprinkles to give it a party look. Play around with the food mist colorings and decorations for a fun cupcake.

Buttercream Frosting:

1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened or Crisco
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk

In large bowl, beat together sugar, butter, vanilla and milk until smooth. If necessary add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. Mix everything well.

Chocolate buttercream frosting - add 1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa.

After the guests arrived, we jumped into the pool with some pool toys and rafts.

More Swimming

Even the little guys played together

After getting out of the pool, we played a few games such as egg race, sack race, and fill up the jug with water (I was having so much fun with the last one that I didn't get a photo of it). For the egg race, get two hard boiled eggs and two large spoons. Make teams. Each person has to walk around a cone and back balancing an egg on a spoon. If the egg falls off the person has to pick it up and put it back on. The team that finishes first wins. Fill the jug up with water is also fun. You need two empty jugs, two buckets of water, and two scoops. The object of the game is for the first person on each team goes to the bucket of water, scoops up water in their scooper and goes over the jug and drops the water into the jug. They run back and the next person does the same thing. The first team to fill the jug up to the top wins. Because the kids were smaller I used a half-gallon empty jug to fill up and a small paper cup as the scooper. The kids had loads of fun with the games.

More Egg Racing

Sack Race...we recruited the teens to make this game more interesting and believe me, this was the most fun to watch

Slide

Happy Birthday 6 year old!

Willpower

2009-05-05T09:23:00.003-04:00

For as long as I can remember I have been a diet coke addict. It's been so long that I don't remember when it started. My habit usually took me to anywhere from 2-3 cans a day. I tried to stop so many times but it never worked. I even blogged about it.

But 11 days ago on a Saturday morning, in the midst of my big workout regiment, I admitted to my trainer/friend that I felt sluggish because I had not had a diet coke yet. She looked at me curiously and we started talking about it. I admitted that I had a hard time breaking the habit and I felt I needed it to get me going in the morning. Just talking about it made me feel better about wanting to do something about it. She asked me to try hard to stop this time and if I did drink a diet coke I would have to admit it and then she would work me out 200% harder on our next workout. I think that worked because it got me to stop and now I am 11 days clean of diet coke.

Definitely I think about it a lot. I think about how good it would taste right about now. That's when I turn my thoughts to something else and grab my bottled water. People are asking me "are you getting headaches" or "are you going through withdrawal" and the answers are surprisingly NO. Which led me to wonder how much of my "addiction" was physiological or psychological. I think it is the latter.

I don't think I could give any good advice on this subject since it took me so long to cure my own self. But what worked for me was an objective third party to give me a good challenge that I could not pass up. For some reason, this time, it worked.

Let Them Misspell

2009-04-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

My daughter is in kindergarten and we are so lucky to have a really wonderful teacher. Early on in the year the teacher spoke with us about her plans to teach them how to write sentences and short essays. I was pleased with her aggressive approach. One of her requests to us what that when she writes that we do not spell any words for her. We were supposed to encourage her to write the words how they sound. Spelling them for her does not get her to think about the word and phonics. So we did what sounded reasonable to us.

I deeply feel from that logic that my daughter has really learned so much about phonics and words and has improved in her spelling all on her own. And the essays we get from her are so cute and funny. The words are sometimes really big and to see her give her 100% effort on getting them right really warms my heart...and helps her to learn so much more. So if you want to really help your kids learn words and how to spell them, let them make mistakes on their own.

Menu Monday err..Wednesday

2009-04-15T13:25:00.001-04:00

I like the idea of starting a Menu Monday....I had the menu all planned last weekend but failed to put it on my blog so here goes...a little bit late but here nonetheless.

Monday - Leftover Turkey from Easter, Stuffing, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes.

Tuesday - Ribeye Steak, buttered noodles, green beans, brownies

Wednesday - Pizza, mixed green salad

Thursday - Shrimp with orange pasta

Friday - Asian pork in the crockpot

Saturday - hamburgers/hot dogs, slaw salad, brownies

Sunday - Lasagna, garlic toast, mixed green salad

Enjoy your menu this week!

Generalizations

2009-04-08T11:31:00.007-04:00

I just loathe generalizations. They really are just a way for someone to lump a person into one group that someone has expectations of to behave a certain way or develop in a certain manner according to the group...or something like that. When people make generalizations they don't take into account certain "other" factors.

I never witnessed these generalizations as much as when I started to have children.

At first it was my decision to go back to work and send my child to daycare. Lots of people asked me how I could do that...you know, send your kid off to a strange place so strangers could raise him. I heard a lot of comments like "why do people have kids if they are going to send them to day care?" and "kids in day care turn out to be much more aggressive than kids not in day care."

Then it was my decision to not breastfeed. It just wasn't in me. Why do I have to explain it? Well really I don't. But people kept asking me "WHY NOT??" as if there was something inherently WRONG with my own personal decision. I read a lot of opinions of how breastfeeding is best. It probably is...FOR SOME PEOPLE...again, generalizations...breastfeeding is not for everyone and why did I need to explain that? People would tell me "but children who breastfeed have a better chance of fighting off childhood illnesses". That may be true. But I have formula fed all 4 of my children and have never had an allergy or an illness of any kind.

And then there was the obvious generalizations when I got divorced. I heard a lot about how my boys would never make it. They had no chance. They would struggle their whole lives. They will have a difficult time in school. They will have a difficult time with relationships. Their grades will fall. They will have behavioral problems. I heard it all. I felt the judgments. All of them.

It's been a difficult road being Catholic and divorced. Not that any other faith doesn't carry the hardships that come with being divorced. But my religion in particular comes with its share of judgments..after all, if you get divorced and remarried you are breaking Canon law. But that's for another post that I plan to write one day.

But with each passing day that my older boys live in the generalizations, they continue to amaze me how they seem to be proving them wrong. My oldest boy was just invited into the National Honor Society. He is making a 4.0 GPA and is going to Catholic high school. My younger son is also making a 4.0 and will go to the same high school next year. I watch as they get selected by their teammates to be captains of their sports teams. I watch them help people out all of the time. I watch them volunteer their time to helping handicap kids play soccer. I watch them help elderly people in the store. Every day I watch this stuff go on with my boys...the ones who were supposed to be aggressive because I sent them to day care, sickly because I didn't breastfeed, not amount to anything because I got divorced.

But their successes are no accident. I make it a point to take them to church every Sunday. In fact I fought my ex in court so I could have every Sunday with my kids. I even pay for that Sunday in child support to my ex just to have every Sunday. People have asked me "why is Sunday so important to you that you would pay your ex to get that day?" My answer is "church." It was supremely important to me to have my kids grounded at church and in school. The rules in my house were always church, school, then sports.

These hard investments into my kid's inner banks have not always come easy. I prayed one day to start seeing the rewards and I am so happy to be seeing those rewards come to be. And it makes me so proud. So very very proud.

Happiness Is Tied To.....

2009-03-31T14:13:00.001-04:00

I love this story.

It's how I have been feeling lately...happiness with my husband and kids but also happiness with myself. It's such an important message to busy moms (and dads!)....

Week At A Glance

2009-03-30T14:35:00.004-04:00

I have decided to check in with myself each week to share some random thoughts and some not-so random thoughts..

This week's activities - Well, tonight I am treating my two older boys to a Miami Heat game. It's a long overdue Christmas present that I have been promising them. Tonight they retire Alonzo Mourning's jersey. The rest of the week we have four baseball games, a soccer game, CCD, and I am going to a home party with my SIL where we hopefully get to eat free food (or portions of food). I have two workout sessions planned. My husband is going to do his first triathalon Sunday so we are going to the beach on Saturday so he can test out the ocean water and I can get a glowing tan. On Tuesday night, my husband is attending a college financial workshop at my son's high school.

In school - Princess is learning her single digit subtraction and taking her class photo. The older boys get their report cards and both will have straight A's in the same semester. That has never happened EVER.

Working Out - Back to the grindstone after two days off. Two days is a lifetime when you are training so it's gonna be a tough week this week. I have a Thursday bootcamp and Saturday training session. I will have to do an hour of cardio on Friday to catch up.

At Work - Work is always busy especially in the current environment..tough economy, lots of high electric bills, hot months quickly approaching, and a stimulus bill that will bring weatherization to our state. It will certainly bring a spotlight to us.

Blogging - I am still developing my new blog and will be unveiled as soon as it is complete. I can't wait for this exciting new challenge.

Here is a picture I am sharing.

New Blog Is Coming

2009-03-29T22:03:00.002-04:00

I've got a new blog coming and I am really excited about it. I got the idea a few weeks ago...actually it's a blog I started awhile back but then never kept up. But this time it is going through a major facelift and I retooled and am excited about the prospects. The theme of the blog is organization and I am going to focus it around parenthood and working and having kids and all that good stuff that makes many of us feel disorganized. So many times I get asked how I work and take care of four kids and keep a clean house and keep myself going. I feel flattered that my friends and coworkers ask me and I enjoy giving away my secrets and some of my non-secrets.

I have developed certain patterns and habits over the course of my entire adulthood and some habits go way back to my early childhood (yes I was organizing my room when I was a little girl, go figure!). But they have never been as noticeable to me since when I had my first child over 16 years ago. Back then I was a nervous new mom and I asked my own mom how I would ever do it. Her one reply was "you have to get organized." And my first thought was "oh I can do that" and thus set off my internal philosophy that in order to have order you must set the wheels in motion to get there and create habits to keep you there.

Or course every so often I fall off the wagon and find my house in utter disarray but I can assure you I am not comfortable in that kind of zone. It is not usually long after that I go into purge or organizing mode.

So many tips and tricks have been learned along the way. I have often felt like I could write a book and maybe will do that one day. But a blog is something I can do for now and fulfill the part of me that likes to blog and also fulfills the need within me to share a little bit of myself and my lessons learned.

It's All So Confusing

2009-03-25T13:00:00.002-04:00

I think I really got sucked into this whole world of social networking. At first, a few years ago, I didn't know much about it until the tragedy at Virginia Tech happened and that was when I learned about Facebook. Facebook was the social medium that students used to keep track of who survived the tragedy. So I was curious and signed on. I didn't do anything with my account and never really thought about it until the middle of last year when a relative "friended" me and I signed back in (after trying to remember what my password was) to "friend" him back. I can't remember if it was then that I started toying around more with facebook. I do remember that it was during the presidential campaign because I was interested in the political aspects of being on facebook (groups, friends who had similar political interests, etc.). Facebook has really bloomed since those days and I really enjoy it. I have connected with family members that I have only seen once or twice in my life and now "talk" to them every day on facebook. It's a fascinating medium and one of the only ones I used. Until Twitter.

I started using twitter because everyone was using it and I wanted to figure out what the big deal was with twitter. I signed up for an account and am now up to over 80 followers and I am following over 100 people. Some of them I know. Some are famous people and policial/news organizations. Some are complete strangers. But now I am equally hooked on twitter. It doesn't stop there either. I am hooked on tweetgrid, tweetchat, tweetboard...it's all good and fun. You can even buy a twittershirt.

Then there is linkedin, stumble, and digg. I better quit while I am ahead or I will not have any time left in the day for my "real" work.

Whirlwind Of Activity

2009-03-12T09:18:00.004-04:00

These past few weeks have just not calmed down at all which is one of the reasons I have not been on my blog to give any kind of updates. Right now it seems I experiencing my own "perfect storm" of activity that has not let up and doesn't seem to be letting up at all in these next few weeks.

After my first jewelry show (which went really well and beyond my expectations), it feels as though God doesn't think I have enough to do so He upped the ante on me. My high schooler started his baseball season and my middle schooler started his track and baseball seasons. In the meantime my precious princess started soccer and is getting ready for her dance recital. Good thing my tiny man doesn't have a schedule or I would be completely bonkers.

At the same time that I am experiencing all sports coming together at once, my gym decides to run an outstanding special on personal training which is good for me because I need it badly (20 lbs must be lost of my body before beach season) and they are running good ads I am thinking because of the slow economy. So now I injected another committment into my busy schedule.

In the midst of all this, my work life seems to have gone on steroids. It is so crazy busy here at work because of a myriad of reasons too numerous to mention but I can summarize by saying that I drove over 700 miles in these past two days! And it probably won't let up anytime soon.

Did I mention that this past weekend I watched as my #2 child was confirmed. I wished I could have spent more time on the luncheon afterward but instead threw together some lunch items and a chocolate cake. It must have gone well because everyone raved about my chicken salad (which took no time at all and I might post the recipe one of these days). The cake was out of the box and the icing was a chocolate ganache (melted chocolate chips, whipping cream, and butter). Oh, how I long for the days when my sister-in-law and I had sooo much time on our hands that we actually enrolled in a cake decorating class. Of course that was B.C. (before children) and I wouldn't exchange those kids for anything (except maybe a few minutes of extra sleep in the morning). Here is a photo of the proud day. It's my son with my brother who was his sponsor. I love this picture.

And just when I seem to have a spare moment in the schedule something comes in to block it...like the dentist, getting my hair cut, getting my son registered for high school, making cupcakes for the church carnival, sorting out my scrapbook photos, and organizing every room in my house!

I think I know my problem....I told someone once recently that I like being busy. It keeps me on my toes and active. Watch what you wish for....

Craft Show/Flea Market - What a Day

2009-02-21T21:06:00.004-05:00

Today was my first EVER craft show and I am so glad I did it because I experienced so many emotions during this day that I don't think it is possible to sum them all up in a nice little package.

I went into this show with the goal of it being a fact finding mission. I had absolutely NO expectations. In fact, if I sold one thing I was going to consider the day successful. Second, I did not know what to expect. Would the visitors like my jewelry? Would they hate it? Would they laugh at it? Would they ignore me? Would they buy it all in the first hour and then I would have nothing left to sell? Would I leave there with my tail between my legs at having been there all day with not one sale? Was it priced too high? Was it priced too low? Was my display good enough? Would I forget something? Would I be able to make change? Would I even have to worry about it if no one came to my table?

All of these questions swam around in my head all week. I had no answers because I had no experience at this. I got to the venue yesterday because they let you set up a day early. I got to my little 8x6 table. It was in a great location but looked so little sitting there all by itself while everyone around it was putting together these massive displays. I started with the material I bought at JoAnns...pink and white..that covered my little table. I bought some displays at an online wholesale display outlet so I put them out and on top of some boxes that I covered in white tissue paper. I put out my earring displays for all of my earrings. I put out my little card holders for the prices of my jewelry that I bought at Michaels for real cheap. I also put out a really nice fake bouquet of tulips that I bought on clearance at Michaels because it looked pretty and made my table a bit more attractive. Believe me when I say that this was a low budget set up.

This morning I got up real early and made my way to the show with my one basket with all my jewelry and other necessities in it. Other people had shopping carts full of merchandise. All of my jewelry fit into a shoe box. When I got there I put all my jewelry out and proudly displayed it. I wasn't really nervous...remember, I had no expectations. I went in there thinking that if I learn one thing and sell one thing I would have considered it a success.

I met the couple at the table next to me, in front of me, and diagonal to me. They were so helpful and nice and experienced. I think they saw this was my first show. I must have had that rookie look to me. The couple next to me were selling shirts..$5 each..."can you believe it's that low?" was what I heard for the next 8 hours. He was loud and talkative but very cool and funny. I didn't mind at all that he talked a lot because he got a lot of people to his table which was right next to mine so that meant people came by my table too.

The woman diagonal to me was especially sweet. She came to my table a few times and gave me some much needed advice. She said "your jewelry is way too good for this show." I was taken aback at that and asked her what she meant. She said that I should go for shows that are less "flea market" types and go for more crafty, upscale shows like bazaars. She quickly educated me to what people expect at "flea markets" and I really appreciated her advice. I will follow through on that.

About an hour into the show, the crowds started picking up and more and more people were coming through and stopping at my table. I was listening intently to the things people were saying about my jewelry. Was it too expensive? Was it too small? And then I made my first sale. A woman picked up some earrings and really loved them. My first sale and it was two pair of earrings. I was so excited. I already exceeded my expectations by one pair of earrings. I texted my dear husband and while I was texting him more people were stopping by my table. Several minutes later a woman bought three pieces. Oh My. I was really getting excited now and decided that I should start tracking my sales. I was so excited I forgot to write this stuff down. I started actually having fun. This is pretty cool. People are actually paying me for something I made. People were giving me really nice feedback. They LOVED my earrings. They thought some of the bracelets were so cool and neat. The next two hours were pretty hectic as the lunch crowd starting really coming in and it wasn't until about 1 pm that it started to die down. And as the show started winding down and people were packing up I counted up my sales...26 items sold and about $180 made. It was an awesome day and way exceeded my expectations. I was totally exhausted not really from standing on my feet all day mainly from the swing of emotions that I was feeling. And now I get to do it all again tomorrow.

I would be remiss if I didn't summarize what I learned today.

1. Being a vendor is TOTALLY different than being a customer. TOTALLY. When I am a customer at a flea market I feel bad when I walk by booths as if I am totally rejecting the vendor. I don't want to hurt their feelings. But as a vendor I totally didn't feel rejected by people walking by. I just figured that not everyone is there to buy jewelry. They may have something else in mind and that was perfectly fine with me.

2. Know what a flea market is and understand that people are there to buy junk for cheap and to get deals. Understand the customers that will come to your show.

3. Sell items that are related to the product you are selling in addition to the product. For example, one of the biggest hits at my table was my earring stands.

It was the most requested item. In fact I am going to sell them all off tomorrow for a profit. I never guessed that this would be the thing that everyone would be talking about but when I asked people why they liked it so much they told me that cute earring displays are hard to find. Also, I got more requests to buy the fake flowers from Michaels that I bought as a table decoration. I finally sold them to a lady for a few bucks more than I paid for them. Who knew?

4. Offer many price points (which is what I did) but this show just reinforced with me that I need to offer cheaper items as well as the occasional high priced item.

5. Many adult women were buying my earrings which tells me that my earrings are probably too "adult" for little girls. Since I am trying to create a line for little girls/preteens I am not sure what it is saying to have mostly adults fall all over my earrings.

I know there are other lessons learned and I will probably sort it all out in the next few weeks especially as I try to find my next show. But this time I will be searching for the shows in various parenting magazines so I can get optimum coverage with kids.

My First Craft Show

2009-02-14T17:41:00.006-05:00

This coming weekend I am going to my first craft show but not as a shopper this time but as a vendor. I have a pretty good start to my sample jewelry line and to be honest I am not sure what will sell so I just made a little of everything and when I see how it sells I will focus on the hits and try not to dwell on the misses. Here is a preview of just some of the stuff I will have on the table.

Where Have I Been?

2009-01-29T10:40:00.004-05:00

I cannot get over the fact that I really have not blogged anything of real quality for the past month. It's been crazily busy around here and all of any spare time that I once had is now gone.

Admittedly I have been feeling a post-holiday down period. My mood has shifted and my "happy" level is really down too. I was talking to a good friend the other day about this and I was explaining that I just feel plain tired and worn out. I also have been feeling like a slave in my own house. My husband helps out and there is a balance there but definitely there is trouble looming with the balance of work that my kids have been doing. She recommended a wonderful book to me that I have really comsumed. It's called "The Blessings of a Skinned Knee" and it is written by Wendy Mogel. I am halfway finished reading it and already I feel like it has totally changed my outlook on parenting and what I am doing wrong when it comes to raising my children to become self-reliant people.

I highly recommend that ANY parent go out and read this book.

Since reading this book, I have enacted a better balance of responsibilities around my house even for the 5 year old and 3 year old. They also have to share in the household chores.

For my 3 year old he is responsible to make his bed, dress himself in the morning, brush his teeth without being told, put his toys back in his toy chest. I also have him help set the table. He is in charge of the placemats, napkins and silverware. He is to be in bed and lights out by 8:30 no questions asked and no crying allowed.

My 5 year old is in charge of making her bed, dressing herself, making breakfast for herself and her little brother, brushing her teeth and hair without being told, setting the table, and helping me with dinner preparation. She is to be in bed and lights out by 8:30. No crying, no talking, and no questions asked.

The older teens are taking on much more responsibilities such as laundry - cleaning, folding, and putting away, making dinner, cleaning the dishes, setting the table, cleaning their rooms, and helping with some outside chores too.

All of them get incentives but only when everything is done. For the little ones the incentives are up to them. They can choose extra play time on the Wii, a rented movie, a trip to the ice cream store for an ice cream cone, etc. The older kids get beefier incentives because they are doing more work but I let them pick them incentive among a list of options.

So far the results have been really great. The kids are doing more work around the house which helps them to learn how to be more self-sufficient and it also helps me balance the workload which in turn boosts my "happy" levels. I have also raised the bar on my expectations of respect inside the house. For example, there is now a zero tolerance for interrupting anyone in the house. If someone is speaking everyone must wait their turn to speak. This also includes interrupting when someone is on the telephone. It seems like common sense but a lot of times these common sense items tend to get unaddressed and eventually the house becomes tense and chaotic.

But greater than that is the sense that everyone is participating in the family effort and that everyone understands that in order to keep this family and house moving in a positive directions we need participation by everyone because we are all in this together. There is always more work to be done but I am enjoying taking these first steps.

Easiest Chicken Soup recipe ever

2009-01-09T10:52:00.004-05:00

If you have a crockpot you won't want to pass up this quick and easy chicken soup recipe. And if you don't have a crockpot, you need to go out and get one. It is the best investment any busy mom who wants home cooked meals can make. And this is coming from a person who doesn't have a lot of kitchen gadgets.

I made this soup last night for myself and my better half because both of us are fighting terrible colds and I thought chicken soup would be just what we needed after a long day of coughing and working.

Ingredients

Whole or cut up chicken
Cut up pieces of carrot
Cut up pieces of potato
One or two medium onions peeled and cut up into sections
Salt and Pepper to taste
Macaroni or noodles

Instructions
Throw all of the ingredients into the crockpot
Turn on the crockpot to slow for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours
Pour water into the crockpot until the ingredients are covered or semi covered
When soup is ready to eat, cook up macaroni or noodles for the soup.

This is so easy. It takes 5 minutes to get it all together and tastes delicious and you don't have to slave over a hot stove making dinner which is so helpful when you are feeling sick.

Enjoy.

Dinner Plans from a 5 Year Old

2009-01-09T10:31:00.002-05:00

This morning this is how it went

Her: Mommy, what are we having for dinner tonight?
Me: I am not sure. I have not thought of it yet.
Her: Can I pick what we eat tonight?
Me: (reluctantly) Ok. What did you have in mind?
Her: Crackers, peanuts and brownies.

First Craft Show Coming

2009-01-08T10:01:00.002-05:00

I am so excited. I just signed up for my first real arts and crafts show. And I don't know a thing about what I am doing. But that's the real fun part of it...not knowing a thing and learning along the way.

I scoped out this show last November and it frightened me a bit. There were so many jewelry vendors and I noticed a lot of things they were not doing that I would do. I also noticed that none of them sold youth jewelry. Everyone was selling adult jewelry. Another good point for me.

I need to get organized though. I need to make sure I have enough jewelry (but not too much) for the show. Since this is my first, I don't really have any idea of what will sell and what won't so I don't want to make too much of something that doesn't sell. Since this is my first show I won't go into it with really high expectations. This is mostly a learning venture.

I will try to make the most of the show though without spending a lot. I plan to get some cheap styrofoam and fabric to cover it for my displays. I also need to make sure I have enough of a variety of jewelry to see what customers like and don't like.

I have also been learning a lot from the internet. I downloaded an e-book from an experienced artist who is very successful at art shows and home shows. What I have learned is in the first few shows that I should put stuff out there and see what sells. So I will not just put out necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some other things I will put out will be keychains, cell phone dangles, and webkinz jewelry.

The show is at the end of February so if I can get everything together by then I will be a happy camper.

Easy Pot Roast Stew

2009-01-05T12:48:00.003-05:00

I was flipping through my crockpot cookbook to find the easiest crock pot recipe for over the holidays that would cook enough food for my big family but be so easy so that I would not be slaving all day over the stove. I found the easiest pot roast recipe EVER. The best part is that it takes no measuring. Here is how it goes:

Ingredients:

White potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
Carrots peeled and cut up into small pieces
Large pork roast or beef roast (doesn't matter what cut or size, whatever you like and the size you want it)
Jar of mango salsa
Frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the roast and put in the crock pot.
Add potatoes and carrots to the crock pot.
Pour the salsa on top of the meat and veggies.
If the salsa is a bit too thick add a little bit of water to it and stir to thin out the salsa.
Turn the crock pot on to MEDIUM for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Before you are ready to serve, add the frozen peas.
Serve over rice or noodles.

So Delicious!

Back Into Routines

2009-01-02T11:42:00.003-05:00

It was pleasantly hectic over these past few weeks with family down and all of the holiday festivities. Our normal routines and schedules were definitely out of whack and I had too much take-out/restaurant food. Don't get me wrong. I love restaurants but I love eating at home and cooking a lot better. Last year I tried to limit our family restaurant eating to a couple of times a month. This year my goal is to do as good or even better. I find that as I grow older the crowds, noise, heavy food, and expensive bills bother me much more. It's hard to carry on family conversations and that sometimes irritates me as well. Am I getting too old?

Probably not. I just think that my personality is moving towards that of a much simpler person. I love 30-minute meals and crock pot cooking and have learned how to be good at both. I love to save tons of money at the grocery store. This year I will learn how to do more creative things with ice cream. (It's the family favorite).

I also have learned how to buy really nice wardrobe staples and how to change them up with accessories. It's amazing what you can do with a plain white shirt, a few tanks, a pair of jeans, and assorted pieces of jewelry.

This year one of my resolutions is to play more family games at home. I may even subscribe to Netflix. I plan to read more and spend more time with my kids. I plan to take more photos and videos. I plan to blog more about all of the things I do to simplify my hectic life. I love to share my successes.

This past Christmas I sent a Christmas card to all of my co-workers. One guy came to me and thanked me for the card. He said to me, "I don't know how you find time, with a full time job and 4 kids, to send Christmas cards." His comment gave me pause. I don't have the luxury of a lot of free time so I have learned how to run my life in the most efficient manner so that I do have free time to do the things I love the most. I plan to write about all of what I do. Maybe it will be enough to fill a book. I would love that.

For now stick with me on my blog because I plan to spend a better part of this year's blog posting on the many things I do to keep this wel-oiled machine going.

Merry Christmas To Everyone!

2008-12-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blue Topaz Birthstone Bracelet

2008-12-17T10:16:00.002-05:00

Check out my newest creation. It's going up in the etsy store tomorrow.

Teenage Lessons

2008-12-11T11:09:00.008-05:00

One of the thoughts going on in my head today is of a 17 year old kid who was killed in a car accident this past weekend. The kid lives near my neighborhood and goes to the local high school. Many parents I know knew of this kid or has their own kids who knew him. The newspaper didn't do a very good job of explaining the nature of the accident but I got some inside info.

The accident happened around midnight. The kid was speeding through a gated community racing to get to his friend's house. He and his friends were notorious for speeding and driving recklessly. He was also drinking prior to getting into the car. He also was not wearing his seat belt. He wrapped himself around a tree. He was not killed instantly. He lived for another 3 days but if he had lived he would have been severely brain damaged.

I used this example quite poignantly with my own two teenage boys, one who is learning right now how to drive. Fortunately I didn't have to get far with my explanation before it was THEM who asked me "was he drinking?", "was he speeding?", "was his seat belt off?" I told them yes on all counts.

Raising teenagers is a tough business. In my opinion it's the hardest phase of parenting that I have been through. You are battling many things going on at one time such as hormones, know-it-all-itis, and still undeveloped brains. When you combine that with the dangers of driving, it's difficult.

I decided that I would always be as direct with my teens as possible with a lot of the risky behaviors that they will face. Everything from sex to drugs to drinking to driving. I present all of the facts as best as I can and we have LOTS of discussions. I am as open and honest as I possibly can be. And it appears to be paying off. My sons have come to me to discuss their most private inner thoughts that they tell no one else. They ask me to keep their feelings private and I respect that. They know I won't lie to them or make fun of them. And sometimes it's difficult to see the rewards but when they come I feel so much better that what I am saying and doing is getting through in many different ways.

Nativity Bracelet up on Etsy

2008-12-06T17:07:00.003-05:00

I have a new Nativity Story bracelet up in the etsy store for $8 + $2 shipping for a total of $10. If you know anyone who would be interested, send them a link to the store. This is the perfect gift for anyone including a religious teacher or friend. I can make it in adult size or child size.

What Do You Think?

2008-12-03T19:02:00.002-05:00

I got the oddest email today. About a year ago I wrote an article on hubpages.com. At the time I was trying to develop my writing skills and this site is great for that. You can write articles about anything and everything. I decided to write about how I overcame clinical depression.

Since writing the article, several people emailed me thanking me for sharing my powerful story. I never really imagined that anyone would read it but I am glad if it helped anyone. I have often thought about writing a book on the subject but always turned that idea away. There seems to be enough depression books out already on the market.

But today a comment on my article came to me via email, almost a year after I first wrote it. The girl introduced herself as a staffer who works on the Montel Williams show. It seems he is writing a new book where he talks about overcoming depression and is lining up guests to be on the show who have experienced similar feelings. She would like to send me details.

I don't know what to make of this email. I am always skeptical of a scam. So I wrote her back and asked her to give me more details. It does seem strange that she would be emailing me on Dec 3 to come and tape a show on Dec 16. The timing seems too close. I am a terrible skeptic. Still I will see what comes of this and post an update as soon as possible.

Oh and if you would like to read my article, I have posted a copy of it here.

Over ten years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I knew something was wrong but didn't know what it was. I was going through two very traumatic experiences in my life and thought I was just momentarily sad. It wasn't until the sadness turned really dark and gray and I felt that I was growing out of control. But years later I have recovered and I would like to share how I accomplished this.

I am not a licensed anything so from a medical standpoint I am not qualified to diagnose anything. But I do have experience with my own depression and I feel it is important to reach out to those who are depressed and may not know it. On the other hand perhaps you do know you are depressed and don't know what to do about it.

The first step in recovery is recognizing that you have clinical depression. I have learned that there is a big difference between temporary sadness and clincal depression. For me, I felt depressed even when happy events were occuring around me. I recognized I was depressed when I cried through my niece's baptism. This was a huge, happy event for my family and all I could do was think about myself and cry in the back of the church. I believe this was my wake up moment and when I decided I needed help. The signs of my depression were constant crying and not knowing the reasons for the crying, not being able to sleep, not eating properly, not being able to concentrate and having trouble functioning in life. All of these symptoms occured for me on a regular basis over a long period of time. Some people experience more dire signs such as attempted suicide. If you feel suicidal please call 911 and get more immediate help.

I never experienced feelings of suicide but I did imagine how wonderful life would be if I were not living. The world looked totally gray to me. I didn't appreciate or enjoy living things or life around me. These are additional symptoms that you may be experiencing.

After you identify the symptoms and might suspect you have a clinical depression, the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a good therapist. If you work and have an EAP program, you can find a therapist through the program or your insurance company. You can also look online or get a referral from a friend. You can also enlist the help of a local church or community group that might be able to offer referrals or advice.

When you have picked out a therapist you will need to determine if he/she will be a good fit for you. The first visit with the therapist is key to establishing a lasting relationship. You will need to feel comfortable in order to be able to speak candidly about all that you are feeling. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the therapist. You want to feel hopeful that the therapist is on the same page as you and sharing the same goals as you for your recovery. If you are not comfortable with the therapist do not be afraid to admit it. It's important to remember that a good therapist does not want you to be there unless you really want to be. You won't hurt the therapist's feelings if you decide to go elsewhere. In my own experience, there were a couple of therapists that I felt did not help me move toward recovery so I moved on from them as well and kept trying.

Some therapists might recommend medication. This is strictly up to you and your therapist as to the best treatment. If you don't want to be medicated it is ok to say so to your therapist. You do not have to take medication in order to recover from depression. I did not take medication during my treatment but that was strictly a personal decision.

Talk therapy is a very important part of your treatment. Talk therapy is being able to talk through your feelings to your therapist and allowing the therapist to give you feedback, ask questions and perform techniques to help you work through the pain and depression. Talk therapy is a long process and does take time and patience. In my own experience I did talk therapy for approximately 8 months and eventually transitioned to a point where I started feeling better. Every individual responds differently and may take longer or shorter depending on the intensity of the depression.

Lastly, it helps tremendously to have the help and support of family and friends. Personally, I did not have many friends and I distanced myself from my family during my depression. This prolonged my treatment and if I had to do it all over again, I would have brought my family in closer. It is very easy to push everyone out of your life during this troubling time but it really does help to have them around to comfort you during this difficult time.

You really can recover from clinical depression. It is not easy and does take work but it is manageable and one can recover and lead a happy life.

New Items In My Etsy Store

2008-12-01T21:55:00.002-05:00

I added several items to my new store and I am working on developing some pre-teen crystal earrings. I have the 4-9 age group developing nicely but I think I will venture past 9 and do something for 9-13 and call it "preteens". Look for more to come on this development. I hope to have some items put together this week.

NF- Making it through another year

2008-12-01T19:32:00.003-05:00

Today was the yearly appointment for our princess and her genetist who diagnosed her a few years ago with NF-1 which stands for neurofibromatosis type 1. Initially my thoughts were filled with fear and I didn't know much about this condition. Princess checked out in great condition. There are no new cafe au lait spots except for one that started last year on her buttocks that grew quite large and dark. It has not gotten any worse or raised at all for the past 6 months so that makes me feel a lot better.

You would never know she has NF-1. Her teacher was quite surprised when we told her about it but she was very interested to hear the information. She is reaching all of her milestones in school and thensome. We just got a great mid-term report today on that end. She loves her dance and soccer and reading and is a totally normal playful child.

Our truly wonderful doctor who is one of the finest in the country told us today that there are remarkable breakthroughs in the area of medicine and NF-1 and we might want to attend a local conference in January to learn more about it. All I know is that there are some clinical medicinal trials taking place today that give hope to a slowing or stopping of the progression of fibromas and that possibly this would be available within the next 3 years.

I am so excited to hear of this and can't wait to go to this conference in January.

Black Friday

2008-11-28T10:40:00.002-05:00

I will never understand Black Friday. It's the most insane day of the year. But that's just my opinion. I do everything I can to avoid going out on Black Friday, even to go to the grocery store. I guess I am in a period of my life where "stuff" just isn't that important to me. The sales are ok but the "stuff" would have to be practically free to get me in those crowds. Here in my house, I am collecting a lot of our "stuff" to give away. We are going back to bare necessities because in my house it leads to happier children and happier parents especially me who loves to declutter.

So when I read this I get equally frustrated with days like this.

Decluttering Fool

2008-11-26T09:45:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again where I do my pre-New Year cleaning. You see, most people do "Spring Cleaning" but I don't because if I wait for Spring to come it is already too hot to be crawling around in my attic and garage. So I do mine during the cooler South Florida months and the best time is usually around Christmas. I figure I am crawling around in the attic anyway bringing down my Christmas decorations so I kill two birds with one stone.

But the decluttering that usually occurs in every room in my house is going to be spilling over to my home computer. It is in desperate need of decluttering. I am going to tackle a variety of categories on the computer.

First mission is email. While I keep a pretty clean inbox (no larger than a half page is my motto) I tend to build notes up in folders. So the folders are going through a massive cleanout.

Second mission is the favorites. I have accumulated a lot of favorites that are no longer valid bookmarks so out they all go. After they are all gone I will then organize them into folders, nice and neat.

Third mission is photos. I have a ton of photos on my hard drive. I have two systems for this. First, I upload all of my photos to ofoto.com. I love that server because if I need to order a picture it couldn't be easier and affordable too. Because I don't like to put all of my photos in only one spot, I am also going to utilize a flash drive and use that to backup my photos. A flashdrive case holds the drive and it gets put into my safe. The photos then get deleted off my hard drive. It frees up quite a bit of disk space.

Fourth mission is other files. Again, I utilize two flash drives for this so that one can backup the other and they get put away for safe keeping. This year I am toying with online servers such as gmail where you can upload documents but I am still concerned about hacking and safety so there will be more research into this. Once everything is uploaded and backed up, it all gets deleted off my hard drive.

Fifth mission is the desktop. My desktop tends to get cluttered because when I am actively working on a file, I tend to save it to my desktop so I can get right back to it easily. Sometimes I forget to take it off the desktop so this is what I have to clean up.

Once I am finished with decluttering my PC I go through a disk cleanup which cleans out all the old programs that I never or rarely use and then go through defragmenting.

When I am finished my computer feels like it just went through a spa treatment and is happy and working efficiently once again.

Make A Rue With Me

2008-11-25T14:59:00.002-05:00

Last year I posted this and it has to do with making a rue. I think at the time I was doing some cooking posts and thought that learning how to make a rue was one of the better pieces of knowledge I had as a cook.

What I didn't know at the time was that this post would be BY FAR my most googled and hit on post. When I look at my page summaries this one comes up over any of the others combined. And all week I have been looking at my stats and it is off the charts this week. Of course, it is Thanksgiving week and probably a lot of people are looking for gravy recipes.

So I do a little experiment and I go to google and I type in "how to make a rue" and lo and behold, my post is the first hit to come up! No wonder so many people are hitting my blog.

Now if I could only figure out a way to get my jewelry blog to come up as much. Still figuring that one out.

In the meantime if you want to know how to make a rue, just come here.

Where Did My Boy Go?

2008-11-21T23:02:00.003-05:00

I remember the day that I gave birth to my first child as if it was yesterday...every little detail and memory of that day. At the time I swore it was the happiest day of my life and it was. I have had 3 more happiest days since then and each one not happier than the other. I knew that time would fly the minute he was born because everyone told me it would. And it has. He has gone from being the quietest baby to the noisiest teenager. As a child he was never big on demands but as a teenager that's a whole different story. Way back then he was a real guy's guy. Now he is showing an interest in girls. When he was little he would go on the computer to learn how to read. Now he goes on the computer to send off emails or research a school project. I remember how cute he was in that car seat and now I am teaching him how to drive. He used to call me "mommy" and lately he has cut that short to just "mom".

It's such a shock. Each passing day is one day closer to him turning 18 and another day closer to college and I am about 99% certain that college will be a pretty long distance from home. There are days when I wonder if I am doing the best job I can do. I am sure I fail at times but then there are times when he does or says something and I know I am doing something good and right. A big part of me wants him to be independent and able to cope in life and another part of me wants to just hug him closer and stop time. I knew this would happen and I knew I would always feel this way wanting to make time stop and keep him small and young and always looking for more kisses from me.

I got a newsletter from his high school regarding graduation photos for the seniors. He is not there yet...just a sophomore. But when I saw the letter I fast-forwarded to 2 years from now where it will be ME who will be doing the graduation photos. It will be ME who will buy graduation announcements. It will be ME to help mail off those college applications. It will be ME who will have to figure out how I am going to get through his 18th birthday.

I am not sure how I will prepare for this but there is one thing I have learned and that is that no matter how hard I pray, time just isn't going to stop for me.

Jewelry Update

2008-11-21T11:26:00.002-05:00

I ran across a snag in my latest necklace creation but I should have it fixed and into my etsy store by end of weekend. Check here to view the story.

Also, I will be doing all of my jewelry blogging here from now on so please please add me to your reader and join the fun. I could use the support and feedback. There will be lots of information there on new items in the store, craft fairs, and other fun and games.

See you there!

New Etsy Store - so exciting

2008-11-18T16:44:00.003-05:00

So excited about my new etsy store. I just started uploading items to the store and it does take a bit of work to get it all there and accurate. Right now I have 4 bracelets uploaded with many more to come tonight. Check back for more news.

The Disney necklaces are coming very very soon...in the next 24 hours! So excited. All the girls at my daughter's school are fighting over them!

Oh So Cute Jewelry

Reason For H.O.P.E.

2008-11-16T22:05:00.003-05:00

I was in church this morning and usually right before the holiday season kicks off we have a guest speaker who comes in to talk about an outreach center called H.O.P.E. that was first started by the pastor of our church that helps needy people in our community. The church collects food for the food bank regularly and I give regularly to the bank.

But today I felt the need to do more. So the guest speaker came up and talked about the Adopt-A-Family program that was kicking off just in time for the holidays. If you adopt a H.O.P.E. family you will do whatever you can to help make the holiday nice for that family. I decided that we were going to sign up. You do not know the family that you are choosing. All you know is how many children and adults are in that family. We got a family with one child and two adults.

When you open the envelope there is a piece of paper in there that describes the ages of the children, sex, and first name(s) along with anything that the family might be requesting. It turns out that the child in the family that we adopted is 2 months old and is a boy. The family says that it needs "anything."

When I saw that I was deeply touched in many ways. It touched me because I have 4 children of my own and I realize how blessed they are to have the comforts of life that they do have. Secondly it touched me because the parents didn't seem too demanding of any one thing in particular. Perhaps because they are so needy that they asked for anything that we could give. And last, it touched me because I never imagined that the luck of the draw would give me an infant that we could help. There is something really powerful about that thought given we are approaching the Christmas season.

My mind went into high gear as our family talked about what to do for this family. First thing is that we should get some baby essentials like basic clothing. We will also buy a few cases of diapers and wipes. For the family we are going to give them a Publix gift certificate for food. After we do all that we will start thinking about toys and books. I am looking forward to this week to start shopping and planning for this family. If all goes well and we have some money left over we may go back and adopt another family. After all, it's the season of giving thanks.

New Jewelry Sample Designs

2008-11-09T20:31:00.004-05:00

I was toying today with some new jewelry designs. A good friend of mine gave me some really good business advice. I have been really struggling with developing a target jewelry market. But as I was telling him how my idea of a jewelry making business came about he saw how enthused I was in describing all of the jewelry I was making for my young daughter. I also told him I was inspired after last Christmas when I was shopping for my young nieces and could find nothing in the jewelry section that was age appropriate that didn't look cheap and didn't look hoochie-mama. Enter my young daughter. She is also coming to an age where she loves little girl jewelry and I cannot find anything that is unique enough to her personality. So I set my sights on learning how to make it my own and it has kind of taken on a life of its own.

So I told my friend how much I love to make jewelry for myself. He then noticed I was not sticking to a target audience...young girls....go further though and say young girls age 4-9. Make a line. Get a website. Give the jewelry away. Do shows. Create a buzz. So I am excited. Before anything I need to work on that line and I spent much of last week shopping for beads, supplies and things I think would be unique to my business.

I created some jewelry samples this weekend much to the liking of my daughter because she gets all the leftovers. That's double good for me because she will wear the stuff to school and one day I hope to keep creating a buzz. For now I am going to share a few of the samples with you. But remember that I am playing with beads and stringing materials. These are not finished products and things I will be selling because there is a bit more fine tuning I want to do to the product to make it look more finished. But you get a peek at my progress. Also I am posting this same post at my jewelry blog. I would sure love it if you would bookmark me and check my progress there too.

Here I am tinkering with memory wire. This stuff is great for kids for many reasons. First, you are not bothered by a clasp so the child can take it on or off at will. It doesn't fall off either because the memory wire conforms to the area and overlaps around the back. There is no sizing involved because, again, the wire conforms to the neck area. It cannot choke because it is open at the back. The only drawback to the memory wire is that you can only make short choker style necklaces with them so I will have to create other alternatives to this style.

Here I am playing with my multi-colored Hello Kitty beads. This is a stretchy cord bracelet for a little girl. I love all of the colors. Who knew that Hello Kitty can be found in all different colors.

More pink Hello Kitty beads on a memory wire choker. This is also so cute. Too bad the photo isn't so great because I was running out of natural sunlight. Will try again tomorrow.

Volunteer Hours

2008-11-07T10:16:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago when my teenager came home from his first night of CCD to kick off his last year he gave me a bunch of papers that describe what he is going to learn that will help him prepare for his upcoming Confirmation in March. I have been through this before with my oldest one. Part of the preparation is the requirement to do some volunteering at home, school and church. We talked about what he could do for the hours and some of his teachers recommendations. He tell me "my teacher says that every 5 hours of helping around the house gets 1 hour of volunteer time." I think that's all well and good and will get him to his requirement but is that REALLY volunteering? Is it really helping someone else out (other than me who gets the added benefit of extra help around the house)? While I could really use the help, I am not in desperate need of it and will he really learn something from that to prepare him for adulthood?

I ponder this thought and then listen to this where he speaks of something greater.."It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."

Surely we can find more meaningful work for a 14 year old to do within the community. So I start digging on the computer and find a volunteer organization within the county that we live. They organize all sorts of smaller groups and volunteers and match people up with their skills and the communities needs. Perfect. I join and next week myself along with my two boys are going to an orientation class where we will be able to pick from all kinds of organizations to help our community.

We are going to start off at my older one's Catholic school where volunteer students gather once a month in the cafeteria to feed the homeless and then take ourselves to other shelters where they will need us to help. We will sign ourselves up for Special Olympics duties. My boys are so fortunate to be able to play any sport they want without having to suffer a handicap. Wouldn't it be so wonderful for them to be able to give of themselves in this capacity to someone who does suffer? We have already started to make rosaries for troops and pitching in every week for our church's food bank. But it's all new to us and I suspect that for every thing that we do together we not only get to that service hour requirement but hopefully touch lives and enrich our own.

To All People

2008-11-05T11:40:00.003-05:00

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

It's not the speech but the way the words inspire that makes it great.

More Jewelry In The Store

2008-10-18T16:34:00.007-04:00

I am so excited to show some of my latest creations that are up and available in my store.

For Halloween I made a few different earrings.

A new ID lanyard. The green beads are so feminine.

Awareness jewelry is so beautiful and for a great cause. Donations to the awareness fund are made every time I purchase these beads.

Below are two different bracelets...

This one below is my absolute favorite.

and an awareness ID lanyard....I love this!

What do you think? I have so many new ideas for Christmas and projects on my table including more awareness jewelry, earrings, and pins.

Time To Brag

2008-10-11T22:34:00.006-04:00

Thank goodness that my princess isn't like me at all when it comes to an artistic side. Up until recently I never had an artistic side and I always felt that this has limited me in certain aspects of life. But not my little girl. She LOVES to do anything with art whether it is coloring, pasting, watercolors, computer drawing and any variation of the above. She has now started to create books including her best attempts to write in sentences and spell words. She does her own illustrations. The only thing I help her with is binding the book together. Her recent creation was a book she wrote for her dad. In the book she writes the sentence "I will never give up on you." Where she got that saying I don't know. Maybe I have said it to her before and she has never forgotten it. Either way I believe she has a gift.

So this morning she was tucked in her room at her desk. She was pretty quiet and I decided to peek in on her to see what she was up to. She was cutting and pasting and coloring. There was a pretty big mess of paper scraps on the floor. I let her finish and when she came out of her room, she shared this with me. It's a creation she made for our entire family. The saying at the top of the paper is from a plaque she has hanging above her bed that says "I love God and God loves me. God bless my family and God bless me."

No Dining Out Allowed

2008-10-11T16:43:00.002-04:00

My month long moratorium on dining out has proven to be quite successful in this first month that it has been implemented. I made the decision that in order to quickly pay off our vacation credit card charges I would have to implement a few spending moratoriums. The first one is on dining out. So this past month we have not dined out once and I was pleasantly surprised when the VISA bill came in to see how little we spent based on months past and how much more I could pay off because of this. I am feeling very optimistic that we will be debt free going into this holiday season.

But the moratorium took some really extensive planning on my part. It is quite difficult at time with my hectic schedule to continue to ensure that all dinners are made at home and in a timely manner. But I am an engineer by trade and a career analyst and process supervisor in my job. Certainly I can create a "meals at home" process from all that training at work.

I sat in front of my computer and created a calendar for each month. In that calendar for each day I chose the meal that I was going to prepare also based on the schedule of activities. So for days where we have baseball or dance planned the meal will be a fairly easy one such as spaghetti, salad and rolls. Sundays are reserved for the nicer, bigger meals like lagasna or turkey and trimmings. I also managed to incorporate some of my kids favorites. How I accomplished this was I took a survey with all of my kids and asked them to tell me their top 5-6 meals they really like for me to cook. I simply filled in the calendar days with some of the favorite meals.

I am still playing this game and loving it so after I pull up my shopping lists, I grab my weekly calendar with meals filled in and go about writing up a shopping list of what I need for my meal plan.

I build in one easy day a week for those inevitable times when we literally are running in and out. On those days we have frozen pizza and salad and everyone is happy including mom.

I had my doubts at first because it does take a bit of planning ahead and sticking to the plan but so far it's working out nicely.

Thrift Shops

2008-10-07T06:23:00.001-04:00

I just read this story online regarding a rise in sales at Goodwill and thrift stores around the country and I have to chuckle to myself because the phenomenon is nothing new to me.

I have been a regular at these types of stores since I was a poor college student living on grants and student loans. Every dollar counted. I relished at finding awesome sales and cheap deals. And now that I have a decent job and salary to accompany it, I can certainly afford to buy an occasional item in a retail store. But I have been programmed to look first at the cheaper thrift stores. And if you find a high quality thrift or consignment store in your area, you have won the jackpot. I have found both and I frequent them a lot.

Case in point is a kids consignment store near my house that I have been going to for 15 years. They are so extremely picky about what they accept so I know that when I buy something there it will be odor-free, dirt-free, and spot-free. I have actually purchased stuff there with the original price tag on. But the other day I was there looking for discounted school uniforms when I stumbled upon Halloween costumes. I found a perfect $6 Thomas the Tank Engine costume for my little man. I snagged it and brought it home and he loves it. The exact same costume is going for $22 at the Party City down the street. I don't know who was more excited - me or him. Oh and while I was there I bought a couple of cute pajama sets for him at $4 each versus $10 at Target. Clean, spot free, and dirt free.

I don't stop at kids stores. I frequent the adult consignment stores for myself. I have found really amazing designer shoes and purses and jewelry and sunglasses along with clothes too. The key is to find a shop that has the quality and kind of merchandise that you like.

I know a lot of people have a problem with wearing previously worn clothes but when I buy my second hand clothes I wash them thoroughly and in some instances I will send them off to dryclean if the clothes are for me. If shoes or purses look a bit dirty I will go to my local shoe repair store to clean them up for like $5-$10.

There are certain things I don't buy used like underwear or bathing suits. But everything else is fair game.

One of the other reasons I love these shops so much is because all of the items are sorted by sizes and then by colors and since I have very limited time to shop I can go directly to the spot I want and look as opposed to department stores which have racks of clothes scattered over a large area and some sizes are not there which is a huge waste of my time.

So before you shake your head and say "this isn't for me" try it out and you might be glad you did. You might be surprised at what you will find.

New Jewelry Ideas

2008-10-01T14:01:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to be coming up with a few new jewelry ideas by the end of this week. I will have everything posted by then and on my new blog. They will also be in my store as well.

This is a great time of the year with some really neat Halloween and Christmas gift ideas especially for the little girls. I also have some really beautiful pink pieces in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The best thing is that these pieces are all at very affordable prices and are going to make really nice gift ideas.

Stand by. I will have pictures for you all very soon.

Big Decision Coming Up

2008-09-29T21:40:00.002-04:00

I have a big decision to make soon and, no, it has nothing to do with the upcoming election. It has to do with whether or not I want to commit myself to another half marathon.

I blogged this same time last year about a half marathon that I ran earlier this year on January 12. It was an amazing accomplishment and a feeling I won't soon forget. Since then a lot of people have asked me about the marathon. They ask me how hard it was, how much training I did, how tired I got, how did I motivate myself, how did I prepare?

When I explain what the hardest part was about the marathon my answer takes most people back a few steps. To most people it may seem like the actual 13.1 mile run is the hardest part when in fact that couldn't be further from the truth. What is the hardest part (at least for me) is the decision to actually do it. For me, once I make this big decision there is really no turning back. I am committed. Baring an injury or crisis of some kind, there is no quit in me.

And that is where I stand today. Looking at a marathon that will come in February 2009. Which means I have to start right now to get myself into shape and start to train for another great feat. But I haven't made the final decision. I teeter on it. Should I. Shouldn't I. Should I. Shouldn't I.

I am giving myself to the end of this week because if not I will never have enough time to train myself. I will let you know what I finally decide.

A Sad Text Message

2008-09-28T08:53:00.003-04:00

I was at the store yesterday making a purchase when a text message came to my cell phone just as I was approaching the cashier. It was from a friend of mine who, over this past year, I have been developing a friendship with. Her daughter is in my son's daycare class and she works in the office at the day care. We have attended kids birthday parties together and other functions outside of day care. Our conversations are usually about kids or school or tv shows. We have never talked about politics or news.

So I get this text message and here is what it says:

"Can you believe Obama is screaming about change? Do U know what CHANGE means? It means Come Help A N*** (substitute the N word) Get Elected."

When I read it I thought it was spam of some kind. Until I looked at the sender and saw that it was my friend who sent it to me.

I was so upset and flustered that I didn't realize that the cashier at the store was asking me for payment. I was shaking so bad that I could barely get my money out of my purse. I fumbled through but as I left the store I couldn't contain the tears. I made my way back to the car where my husband and kids were and he asked me what was wrong.

"I am sick. Heart sick." I showed him the text message and he got as upset as me.

On the way back all I could think was that this friend of mine who I really liked is truly a RACIST and not very smart. First of all, she has no idea which political candidate I am supporting (which just happens to be Barack Obama) and had no thought that perhaps I was not in line with her. She made a bad assumption. Why would she assume that? After all, we have never even uttered a word ever about politics. Second of all, I suppose she assumed that I am a racist like her and that such a comment would not offend me. The latter point leads me to believe that she leads a fairly vacuous, intolerant life.

I am not naive to think that there aren't racists out there. What is shocking is the brazen attitude. There is just no excuse for it. As I get ready for church today, I will be sure to send some prayers her way and then try to prepare myself for tomorrow when I will see her again.

We Interrupt The Election Season...

2008-09-22T11:14:00.003-04:00

to announce a historic moment that is going to occur this week.....

Bring on Must See Thursday night on NBC.

The Office

What Do I Know....

2008-09-15T13:46:00.008-04:00

I'm just a baseball mom to 4 kids who works 40 hours a week. I intended today to speak of my joyful weekend where my little princess started her first season of soccer but instead decided to deviate a little. I hope you don't mind a little political intervention on my blog. I don't usually blog about politics and that is by choice. I don't really care for negative comments and I don't like shutting down comments and really everywhere you turn is someone's opinion on this election.

Today is a bit different and I am about to break my #1 rule of this election season which is never to talk bad about the person you are NOT going to vote for. After all, if you really support your guy (or girl) then you should be talking about how he (or she) is going to make your life better as opposed to how the other guy (or girl) will make your life more miserable.

This time is different because I feel strongly in defending my honor as a woman, wife, mother, and company worker. I also feel the need to write because everywhere I turn I keep hearing and reading about St. Sarah Palin...you know, the woman who has prompted even those working-mom naysayers who I frequently would run into after I had kids and went back to work to change their opinions and say "women CAN do it all!" I keep wondering why they aren't asking Sarah Palin if working so soon after having babies is really in the best interest of her children. I often fielded that question.

What I do feel for Sarah Palin is embarrassment at the selection. I feel embarrassed for her because she was used as a pawn in the political game and I am not sure if she realizes it. I had to turn away and cringe when she implied that she knew about Russia because you could see it from land in Alaska. I needed the smelling salts when Sen. McCain mouthed these same words. I feel embarrassed because she won't talk to the media and then uses it as a badge of honor to her base. I feel embarrassed because she repeats the same mantra over and over and never once changes the message. I feel embarrassed because she put herself in the same sentence as Hillary Clinton. In the spring Sen. Clinton is a “whiner” according to Gov. Palin for her complaints about sexism, in the fall when you want to get some of those 18-million-cracks-in-the-glass-ceiling-voters you have nothing but word of praise for Sen. Clinton even though your stance on the issues could not be farther from one another. I feel embarrassed because she still seems to think that the U.S. invaded Iraq to get the guys who did so much damage to Americans on 9-11. I feel embarrassed for her because she is being used to wage a sexist war against her opponents. She either doesn't care or doesn't seem to get it.

As a fellow working woman, I know how hard it is to work amongst men. I know what the perceptions are out there when a woman gets hired over a capable man. I just started a new job a few weeks ago and have been in new positions many times along my career. Each time I work extra hard in those first few months to prove myself. To show my boss and my compadres that the best person (not woman) for the job was chosen. I volunteer to speak at meetings. I volunteer to fill in for my boss. I do all that because I want to put myself out there that I deserved what was awarded to me. Where is Sarah Palin? Hiding behind a teleprompter. Hiding from interviews. Speaking words that are written for her.

I firmly believe that the election is not about whether Sarah Palin can do a job and have kids at the same time. Both women and men have been proving it true for many, many years. The election isn't even about whether I like her or her running mate. The election is about what they are going to do for this country on day 1, day 2, day 3, and so forth.

Sarah Palin would have done a lot of us a big service if she would have said "Thanks but no thanks" to that potential job in Washington. Just like she said "Thanks but no thanks" to that Bridge to Nowhere.

Getting Past A Fear

2008-09-10T10:38:00.002-04:00

One (but not the only) fear I have is a fear of big needles. Well, really, any needle for that matter. I am not sure when it started though I think it had something to do with a bad experience I had 16 years ago when I was giving blood for a blood drive. One of the nurses who was administering the needle for my blood withdrawal really didn't know what she was doing and totally inserted it wrong. It was working for the first portion of the withdrawal but then as the bag started becoming full, the needle started hurting worse and worse until I could no longer take the pain and it had to be removed. Fortunately there was enough blood in the bag to be useful but the experience scarred me for life. I have never gone back to donate blood since then.

But lately I have been reflecting a lot on how small donations can mean a lot. I ramped up my grocery donations to my church's food bank and signed up to be a Special Olympics volunteer. Just then a notice came home from my son's daycare that the Red Cross would have the blood bank at the daycare on Sept 11 for anyone who wants to donate. I decided I was going to get past my 16 year fear and set aside an hour in my day to make a small donation. If I can do it, so can you.

I am very confident that things are going to go well this time and I am actually looking forward to it and making future donations.

An Interesting Dinner Conversation

2008-09-09T11:54:00.003-04:00

An interesting discussion happened at the dinner table yesterday regarding politics and the presidential election. It actually started because my older kids were talking about how this subject has been coming up in their history classes. I then started feeling that I didn't do a good enough job in discussing this subject with them. So off the conversation went and it was a lot of fun.

I got them to start really thinking about issues and I really tried hard to explain candidates and what each of their policy plans are and how they affect America. I explained the process of elections from primaries to the general. I decided that my explanations would be based primarily on fact though it does get a bit hard at times to not inject one's personal opinion. I still try and then try to warn them when it is my personal opinion.

I never wanted my kids to grow up deciding a vote just because their parents vote for a certain party or candidate. I always want them to be able to decide for themselves and to mature enough about what is important to them.

I also teach to them that everyone is equally entitled to a vote and opinion and that above all else we should be respectful of that very idea.

New Things In My Store

2008-08-31T17:57:00.007-04:00

I am so excited to add a few new things to my online store including a new little girl swarovski bracelet, cell phone/bookbag/luggage tags, and little girl earrings. Here is a link to the store and then I have put my photos here.

My Store

Swarovski bracelet:

Must Have Tags:

Earrings:

Coming soon will be a new line of beautiful and colorful swarovski pearl earrings and more jewelry for the "princess" section.

The Mommy Wars

2008-08-31T09:19:00.002-04:00

Sometime back in 1992, I made the decision (along with my then-husband) to go back to work after giving birth to my first child. I was lucky enough to have an extended maternity leave of 4 months and had saved enough personal vacation to extend that another month. I was also lucky enough to have a supervisor who was very understanding of the transition I would have to make upon going back to work and was willing to work with me. I explained to her that always my child comes first and we worked together on those issues that would inevitably come up not just now but in the future. I promised myself I would never push my baby on anyone if he was sick or needed me and I would never let work get in the way of an important function that involved him or any future kids.

What I didn't realize at the time was that whether or not I liked it I was going to be thrown into the "Mommy Wars." I was totally clueless of the term and the internet wasn't around for me to figure it out. But the judgements and questions certainly were there. Many women who I knew or were acquaintances of actually challenged me on my decision. I heard a lot of "why would you have a child if you were going to pawn it off on a day care worker?" I took offense to those questions. Those women don't know me, they don't know my family situation, they didn't know my level of love and committment, they didn't understand my relationship with my son, my husband and God.

Back then (and still today) I am a lover not a fighter. Certainly I have opinions but I don't presume that my opinions are the right way...it's just the right way for ME. I couldn't understand why there was (and still is) such a thing as mommy wars. Why not be supportive of each other and build each other up? That's my thinking anyway. Thank goodness we live in the greatest country in the world where we CAN make that choice freely and openly. We can work outside the home or work inside the home. Either way, it's work. Hard work.

The Mommy Wars never got easier as I had more kids. In fact, with the internet coming long, I read more about the wars. I read forums that pit working moms against stay at home moms and all the time I scratch my head. More judgments, more presumptions, more perceptions. I don't quite get it.

I read a lot of reports about kids in daycare. The statistics say that day care kids are more likely to grow up to be aggressive bullies. Day care kids are more sickly. I think to myself "but my kids all went to daycare and they are not bullies or aggressive and they go to the doctor only once a year for a checkup (knock on wood)." Maybe the stats are true. I don't know. But they aren't true for me and my family.

And then on Friday I see something I never thought would ever happen. A working mom on a Republican ticket. How very interesting! Whatever your thoughts of her are politically (I don't blog politics) I have to wonder if Governor Sarah Palin was ever asked why she decided to go back to work after her children were born.

It definitely makes me wonder.

California Dreamin' - Day Three

2008-08-26T09:23:00.006-04:00

Continuing with my California Dreamin vacation series.....

After our nice drive up the PCH and past Santa Barbara, we ended up at a resort on the oceans at Pismo Beach. It is a really nice beach area fairly close to the town of San Luis Obispo. The beach has a really nice boardwalk and pier type of area where we had a BBQ dinner. It's very touristy here so there are lots of ice cream stores, candy stores, and souvenier shops.

After dinner we walked toward the beach and found a candy store where they sell all kinds of chocolates and salt water taffy. Silly me thought salt water taffy was only popular on the East Coast. Anyway, this particular store also sold chocolate covered bugs. That's right...BUGS. We were fascinated and thought why not try some bugs. So the older boys and husband tried chocolate covered scorpions while I played it safe and went for the worms. Both were really no big deal. In fact it just tasted like crunchy chocolate.

We moved along and watched the sunset off the pier and it was quite beautiful but very COLD. I could not believe how cold it was for an August day.

After much needed rest, we woke up the next morning and enjoyed a nice leisurely morning at the hotel. We mapped out the day and husband suggested that we might want to venture over to the sand dunes. Curiously I said yes not really knowing what to expect. After a fairly short drive we drove down the highway and saw signs for the sand dunes. This venture took us on the beach where we literally drove on the beach (I thought that you could only do that in Daytona) and then to a trailer that sold dune buggy rides.

After a quick education and $250/hour, my older boys and husband decided to give it a try. Geared up in helmets and safety belts, the kind dune buggy guy strapped them in and they were on their way. While they were out dune-buggying, I stayed on the frigid beach with my two little munchkins trying to figure out a way to keep two little people entertained while surrounded by a mountain of sand and 40 degree beach water. We decided to sit in the sand and just play away until the older ones came back. They tell me that it was an awesome experience and that a few times on a few intimidating 40 ft sand dunes they actually were a bit afraid but said the entire experience was worth it.

After leaving Pismo Beach we enjoyed a scenic ride up the Central Coast of California. I enjoyed looking at the mountains since we don't get to see much of that kind of land in Florida. Our goal was to get to Monterey before dinner. We ended up making good time and had some time to kill so we ventured over to a nice park right near our hotel. Although I didn't take any photos while there, this little town is so quaint and cute. It was still quite cold and I still had my jacket on but we had a lot of fun at the park. We ended up retiring for the night pretty early because the agenda for the next day was going to be pretty full.

Next up: Monterey Aquarium, Pebble Beach, and the moment we all were waiting for....San Francisco!

Is This My Daughter or Hannah Montana??

2008-08-23T16:02:00.001-04:00

First Day of School - Bittersweet

2008-08-23T11:03:00.004-04:00

First days of school are always bittersweet...for me, anyhow. It's yet another reminder that my dumplings are growing up. It's always a day of firsts. This week it was a major first for my princess - first day of kindergarten. I have been watching her excitement grow all year long awaiting this day. We bought her uniforms, new shoes, new belt, new bookbag, new supplies box, new lunchbox, new water bottle to go in said lunchbox. I made her a new pair of earrings.

We walked her in to make sure she got to where she needed to be. We briefly met with the teacher in the cafeteria. And then the teacher gathered them all in a line and walked them to their class. My princess waved to us the entire time she could see us. She was BEAMING!. And we were crying.

And then there were the older boys. One in high school, one in middle school. It's his last year of middle school.

Next year they will be going together. Maybe even driving themselves. I shudder to think that I have only 3 more years with my oldest before college. It's not that far away. Where did the years go?

When you first have kids, people tell you that the years will fly by. I know they do and I know they will. I try to make the most of each day but that doesn't stop time. You always want to hold them and kiss them like you did when they were firstborn.

So I do what I always do. Embrace the moment and let myself cry. Because this is life.

California Dreamin' - Day Two

2008-08-17T22:41:00.001-04:00

Day two of our California tour found us on a leisurely drive through L.A. and toward the beaches. I then had a brilliant idea that we should meander through the town of Calabasas. Why Calabasas you ask?

Perhaps it has something to do with this...

This is the store where they film the show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" which is one of my favorite E! celeb reality shows. I felt like a paparazzi jumping out of my car to take photos of the storefront. In reality the town is so beautiful and shows more of the country side in the mountains in LA County.

After we left Calabasas we headed over to Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway where we were hoping to run into some stars hanging out at the beach. I am pretty sure I saw Matthew McConaughey but upon second glace it ended up being an impersonator of this character...

I don't know how I mixed the two of them up...maybe it was just my imagination wanting to see Matthew and his beach tan.

So after not seeing so many stars we continue up the PCH for a leisurely drive toward Santa Barbara. The PCH is really nice but I was not too impressed with it in the L.A. area. It looked to me like any other highway with beach on the side and with my being from Florida it didn't look much different than the beach roads I have seen all my life.

We finally make it to Santa Barbara right in time for lunch and I am really impressed with how beautiful this beach area is. The weather is picture perfect. Air temperatures are mid-70s with low humidity. The wind made it feel a bit chillier and the water temps are much colder than what I am used to here in Florida. We find the Santa Barbara pier and it was amazing to me that you can drive your car on it. We did that and found a cute restaurant to eat lunch right on the pier. After lunch we walked up and down the pier. There were tons of sailboats in the water and was such a relaxing time. We made our way down to the beach and played in the water and sand and just soaked in the California air.

After we left Santa Barbara, we continued up the PCH to a beach called Pismo Beach where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening on the boardwalk. We ended up at a little candy store on the waterfront that is known for fudge, salt water taffy, and chocolate covered bugs. Of course, we had to try some bugs so we tried worms and scorpions. I have to say that was interesting watching one of my kids chew up a scorpion but in reality they tasted like crunchy rice krispies dipped in chocolate. The night ended as we watched the sunset and then turned in to end another fun filled day on the California coast.

Stay tuned for Day Three where I will talk about our first ever dune buggy rides on the famous sand dunes at Pismo Beach and the most beautiful ride of our lives as we drive up the PCH through the mountains of Big Sur. I can see why it is called one of the nicest drives in the entire country.

First Day of School Anxiety

2008-08-15T12:32:00.003-04:00

My precious princess is starting her first day of school this coming Monday and last night was the first night that I saw her cry about it. I asked her why she was crying and she said that she is going to miss all of her preschool friends when they all go to new schools. Even though I told her not to worry, that they will probably see each other at the preschool camp on occasion, I couldn't help but think of how we all experience this type of anxiety no matter how old we are.

I thought that all of the talking in the world with her probably won't rid her fears of the first day in a new school. After all, I am experiencing the same fears as I start a new job in a few weeks...and I am 42 years old!

I understand where she is coming from being a creature of habit myself. I like it when I know everyone and everyone knows me. I like knowing where the restrooms are. I like knowing all about my boss. I love having my same ole friends around who know all of my quirks and when to laugh at my jokes. I hate forgetting the new co-workers names because there are so many of them that I cannot keep track of them all. I hate trying to learn a new organizational chart.

I am finding a lot of similarities between me and my princess' feelings at this moment in time.

So I decided to try to help her much like I am helping myself out...by just reminding her that it is ok to feel scared and nervous and anxious. Trying new things will always make you feel that way no matter what it is we do in life. But once you get past it your eyes will be opened to a new world filled with new people, new experiences, new friends, new tasks, new challenges and this newness will eventually become familiar once again.

It's hard to explain that to a 5 year old so I did the best job I could. And then I told her I would buy her a "lunchable" and a brownie to take to lunch on the first day. I think that is what did the trick.

California Dreamin' - Day One

2008-08-12T11:40:00.008-04:00

After a really nice 4 1/2 hour flight from the east coast to Long Beach, we made our way to our hotel for some much needed rest in the Los Angeles area in anticipation of our first full day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. We definitely had to move from east coast time to west coast time.

After a decent highway drive from the hotel to Magic Mountain, one thing I noticed was that it is DRY in California. The mountains are huge and beautiful but also very brown! Which probably explains why everywhere you go you see signs on conserving water. Also, in August, it is a fairly nice 80s temperature in the city but when you go to the valley where Six Flags is it gets into the upper 90s.

Six Flags was a really fun day as you can see from our picture on my new banner. I have never seen more roller coasters in my life than at this park.

If you want to see them more up close and personal go here.

In addition to the many coasters was a really awesome kids area. There were a ton of rides for the little ones including a real Thomas the Tank Engine Train! My little guy was in pure heaven.

Of course he wanted ALL of us to squeeze on this train which we did lovingly for him.

My prince and princess enjoyed the many other kids rides like the tank engine roller coaster, Tweety's bird cage ride, the spinning tea cups, the carousel, and a pounce and bounce ride. The little ones were having so much fun there that we decided to hang around for a while with them and let the big boys loose to run around on all of the roller coasters.

However, the best ride of all in kiddie land was not really a ride. It was a playground called The Looney Tune Lodge. This was a huge fun zone filled with slides and thousands of foam balls to throw all around and put in these big cannon-like devices so they can be catapulted all over. It was loads of fun and a great place for kid energy.

Overall, I would rate the experience a huge success. After all, how many theme parks can you go to and get a plate of sushi? Not many.

Day One finished with a very hot, sweaty, and tired group of people as we headed back to the hotel for a nice bath and good night sleep.

Stay Tuned for Day Two where you will hear about my paparazzi moment, our drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, and how I swear I saw Matthew McConaughey.

Back From Vacation

2008-08-12T08:50:00.002-04:00

We are finally back from a very long and fun-filled vacation that took us all the way across the country to the great state of California. Our plane just landed at 5:30 this morning and boy am I tired. I have to choose between the 10 loads of laundry that await me or sleep off some of this jet lag.

There will be weeks of blogging to come on the trip with lots of pictures! Stay tuned.

Why Do They Call This Yoga?

2008-08-02T12:00:00.003-04:00

I went to my first yoga class this morning. I think they need to rename this to "Body Pretzel Twisting" which is how I felt before, during, and after. The instructor says "just put your right leg over here, your left leg over there and twist your arms back there" and I am thinking "how exactly are the human bones supposed to twist in this manner" until I look around and see other women doing it. Ugh, I think, I have given birth to 4 children through my hoo-ha so surely I can get into this plank position. Well that was the easy part. Staying there and balancing on one foot with both arms over my head for 20 minutes was the challenge.

In the end I got through it and I want to continue...not because I am a masochist (well I am sort of) but because I want to be able to master getting both of my legs behind my head. I just love a challenge.

Come Visit My New Store

2008-07-24T19:31:00.002-04:00

It took me a while but I am so excited to be showing off my latest creation.

I am going to work hard on building it up and then advertising it. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of craft and jewelry shows in my future and I am going to enjoy blogging my adventures here.

Also, as promised my premiere sidebar widget has changed and is now showing my new store line.

Enjoy!

Lost Highway

2008-07-15T20:37:00.003-04:00

Tonight Bon Jovi is in New York for their last concert for this season. So on behalf of the Jersey Boys I am embedding one of my favorite current videos.

Another Fine Tour Ends

2008-07-13T18:21:00.002-04:00

If you have visited my blog in the past few months you have surely seen the widget to the right. It's my featured link to the tour schedule for Bon Jovi. Every day when I visit my blog I notice that list shrink. Now they are down to only two more concerts and eventually my widget will need to be replaced with a new feature. I have been working hard (but not hard enough) at my replacement widget so stay tuned this week to find out what it is.

I Am Not A Runner

2008-07-10T22:57:00.003-04:00

I have been thinking about my insane decision to sign up for another marathon next year. It will be my second. If you weren't catching my blog earlier this year, I posted incessantly about my first half-marathon. Now after taking several months off and waiting on a clean bill of health, I have decided to get back into some sort of training.

But I am really NOT a runner at all. I know this. I don't know strategy. I have a pretty big butt and flat feet. These two characteristics do not exactly make for a runners body. But I am a goal setter and I have determination so I like to think that those two things can help carry me through some training and an actual race. Well, at least they did last time and I did finish! In the middle of the pack too, I might add.

So as I threw my body on the scale last week, it confirmed what I had already known. I need to lose at least 10-15 pounds before I get into a running schedule. Not a problem! Just set goals and get determined, right?

So I laid out a really aggressive exercise plan that takes me to the gym 5 days a week with one of those days being yoga for an hour and then bootcamp for another hour. I also laid out a pretty aggressive 1200 calorie-a-day meal plan.

I am not sure how I will incorporate this plan into my blog but I will figure it out as I go.

Mark Your Calendar

2008-07-09T06:38:00.000-04:00

For This!

I just got a big thumbs up from my doctor and passed my physical with flying colors...everything from an extensive blood workup (had to add B Complex to the list of daily vitamins) to EKG to nuclear stress test to heart ultrasound and echo.

It feels good to be back exercising like I used to once again.

Why Sports Is Cool

2008-07-06T19:28:00.002-04:00

I am not a huge tennis watcher but I watched all day today because I love to see an underdog win.

On a separate note, how cool is it that a 41 year old mom beat out a bunch of young pups at a shot at another Olympic medal. I also love that at the end of her race she couldn't see the scoreboard because of her aging eyesight. I can so relate. She is my new hero.

Edamame

2008-07-04T14:29:00.002-04:00

I was recently watching a talk show and stumbled upon a conversation they were having about these.

The hostess said that if you buy them frozen and then boil them up, throw a bit of salt on them, they are a delicious snack and so nutritious for you. I have been thinking that my choices of snacks lately are not very health conscious so perhaps I should give it a try.

I found a few bags of these frozen pods and cooked up a handful and threw the salt on. They are so delicious. I can't believe I have gone all this time without them.

Now I enjoy them as a delicious snack after work and before dinner knowing that they are rich in vitamins and fiber and extremely low in calories. Give them a try!

Bon Appetit.