My Own Little Happy Place

Weight Watchers

2012-01-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

I have decided to go to Weight Watchers to get my health in check. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure a while back and I was able to keep it in check by watching what I ate and being more active, but when I started my job last June, I stopped keeping track of what I was eating.

While the new job is a very active job, keeping me on my feet all day, we have a big buffet there that we get to eat from during lunch (or dinner if working the night shift). With all those options, it's kind of hard to watch what you are eating. Yes, I did lose 10 pounds since I started working there, but imagine if I had been watching what I was eating. I probably could have doubled or even tripled that weight loss.

I started my program last week, and at my first weigh-in I was down 4.8 pounds. This second week has been a little bit harder, but I know I can do this!

Enter To Win One of Five iPod Shuffles

2012-01-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

The Randomosity Blog is giving away 5 iPod Shuffles. If you would like to enter the giveaway, click here.

Meijer Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print

2012-01-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, I was given the chance to take part in a Bzz Campaign for the Meijer Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print. Since I already shop at Meijer stores to begin with, and I am a huge photography buff, I jumped at the chance to give this one a try. I received a printable coupon for one, free 11X14 canvas print, valued at $39.99.

We live 45 minutes away from Meijer, but it's my favorite store to buy groceries at, so I make sure to go there as often as possible. It was kind of a spur of the moment when we decided to make our bi-monthly stock up trip to Meijer, and I hadn't had a chance to decide which picture I was going to use for my canvas, so I just made sure to grab my coupon and my 8GB SD card (I grabbed that one because I know it is full and has lots of good pictures on it).

When we arrived at the store, I sent my husband and kids to get started on the grocery shopping while I went to order my canvas print. The clerk at the store asked me if he could be of assistance, so I showed him my coupon, and he got me all set up at the photo kiosk. It didn't take long for me to decide on the photo I was going to use. Once I cropped it to size and made all of my selections, I completed the order.

The clerk told me he had no other current orders to process, so he should have it all ready by the time we were done grocery shopping, which was a nice surprise, because I wasn't expecting it to be finished until the next day.

I went ahead and helped the family finish up with our shopping and then returned to get my print. It wasn't quite complete yet, so I waited nearby for about 10 more minutes until it was done. I was so surprised and happy with the final product. The print looked exactly like the photo, but being on the canvas, it made my photo look more like a finished work of art.

I am really impressed, and I definitely plan on getting more of my photos made into works of art by getting them put on to the wrapped canvas prints.

Shown below is the canvas print I had made...

The Crayon Project

2011-12-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

I was browsing on one of my favorite websites, StumbleUpon, a couple of weeks ago, and I found this really cool art project, so I just had to give it a try. It was a lot of fun and very easy to create. With a little help from my daughter, we created a cool little piece of art.

The first step was using a hot glue gun to attach the crayons to a canvas board. I removed the browns, white, and black, and doubled up on my favorite colors. I also made sure to use only Crayola crayons. After having used the kids Crayola Crayon Maker in the past and seeing how the different brands of crayons melt, I knew these would work best as the other brands tend to be more oily and not as colorful.

Next, we used our blow dryer to melt the crayons. This part took a while, but my daughter really enjoyed watching the crayons melt. She made a race out of it to see which crayon could reach the bottom of the canvas first.

This is the finished product, and the red was the winner.

Here she is peaking over the edge.

And happily displaying the finished product.

Another perspective..

And one more (the blues and purples are my favorite colors)

And On To The New Year

2011-12-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is over and I have never been so glad to say goodbye to it than I was this year. Up until Christmas morning, I was very full of Christmas spirit. I was very excited for it to come, but then on Christmas morning after all the presents were opened, it all went down hill.

First of all, my son and my husband got into an argument because my son was trying to do something to his Xbox, and then he asked my husband to help. I knew that was a mistake from the start. Any time the two of them try to work on something together, they clash. Neither one of them has any faith in the other that they can fix things. My husband got mad, and my son lost his patience, and so began the worst Christmas ever.

After this began, I tried to be the peacemaker and I just made things worse, so my husband left for a few hours, then came home and holed himself up in our garage. My son did fix his Xbox all by himself though, so the argument was basically worthless to begin with. Eventually, the time came to go to grandma's house for dinner. Since the argument happened, my husband decided he would rather stay home, and then after some back talk from my son, he decided to stay home too.

My daughter and I went to my grandma's for dinner, but the dinner event really wasn't anything to speak of either. This year has been a hard one for my extended family, as we all have very different political views, so nobody seems to want to speak to one another for fear that the topic will end up on politics and a verbal war will ensue.

So, I have vowed, I will NOT do Christmas again. I will personally celebrate the birth of Jesus, but the whole gift and family time thing is done. It is just not worth it.

All I can say is, bring on the New Year, and I pray to God it is better than 2011.

Moving On...

2011-11-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

And so Halloween is over, as well as October. Seems like it arrived so fast, and then just like that, it's gone for another year. Now it's time to put the decorations away, and break wide with the Thanksgiving stuff, and before you know it, we'll be moving on to Christmas and then another new year. Time moves on, and I struggle to keep up...

I've been working on and off at my job. They are going to be closing down for the season on the 18th of this month, but they've had a couple of cancellations, so that has meant time off. I hear next week will be packed, so I should get in a full week, and then after that I think that will probably be about it for me. Still trying to decide whether to look for a winter job, or just work on my Amazon store for the winter. Thinking the latter will end up being my decision, but I hate not having a steady paycheck and not being able to know how much I will bring in every week. Oh well, at least I will be able to get some organization back in this place. Seems like since I started working, it has gotten so disorganized here. Time to take out the trash I suppose...

Working...

2011-10-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

As you may notice, it has been a few months since my last entry. I finally found a job, so it has been a major adjustment going from a full time stay at home mom, to a full time working mom who also sells books on the internet as a side job. The job I got is working for the Walter Reuther UAW Education Center in northern Michigan. It's a pretty physical job, so by the time I get home from work, I am usually pretty worn out. I can't complain though, the pay is decent for our area, and since I've started working there, I've lost ten pounds, yay me!!

Other than work, life has been pretty dull, other than the constant arguing going on between my husband, kids, and myself. Somehow, I have to learn how to manage my time better so that everyone gets their fair share and I still get my "me" time, which is quite rare these days.

My marriage has been on the rocks, and I thought going to work would help, but it seems it has only made things worse. My husband doesn't understand the issues that I deal with, and I feel like he's being insensitive. I know that he loves me, because he's worked very hard to support us, but I just wish he would want to do more than work, watch tv, and sleep.

Still Looking

2011-05-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I am still on the hunt for a job. I have had a couple of leads, but nothing has panned out as of yet. It really is hard trying to get back into the workforce when you haven't been employed by someone else in 13 years. Yes, I have been self-employed, and yes, I have worked for my husband, but it seems like everyone who I have talked to about my resume, seems skeptical. One place, a temp agency, wanted me to produce income tax records or a DBA to prove I've been self-employed. No problem there, I can do that, but there is just no way I am going to produce my income tax records to go to work for someone who can't guarantee me a permanent job.

In the meantime, I keep selling the books. I have my good days and bad days, but lately it seems I don't have as many good days as I do bad days.

Looking For A Job

2011-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the time has come, the cost of living has forced me to have to look for a job outside of the home, to supplement our income. It's been almost 14 years since I last worked for someone other than myself or my husband, so it is going to take some major adjustment. I worry that I won't be taken seriously on my resume though. It's hard for them to call your boss, when you or your husband are the boss, but seriously, I've learned so much being home and doing my own thing, most of all self-discipline. Forcing myself to work when I don't really feel like it has been the biggest challenge, but I do it, because the bills still have to get paid, and I have to have some type of goals to accomplish for my own well-being.

I went to a job interview a couple of weeks ago, and it would have been the perfect job for me. It was local, I wouldn't have had to drive more than 10 miles, and I have plenty of experience for the position, but I never got a call back. I called the interviewer back twice, but she said they hadn't hired anyone. I don't know if she was just afraid to tell me they had hired someone else, or if they were waiting until the very last minute, but I guess I just wasn't what they were looking for.

Oh well, I suppose it just wasn't meant to be. I will keep trying and hope for the best...

Busy Summer

2009-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've been so busy lately, I've completely neglected my blogging efforts, but here's an update of what we have been up to.

First of all, the kids got out of school on June 6. Brenden passed and will be moving on to Junior High next year. Where has the time gone? It seems like it was just last year when I put him on the bus for the very first time to go to kindergarten. Sara flew through 2nd grade and I am certain she will flourish in 3rd grade as well. She absolutely loves going to school and she does very well.

After school concluded for the summer break, Mike decided it was time for a trip to Disney World. We left on June 20 and came back on the 27th. We drove down in our Ford truck, and made a few sightseeing stops along the way. We kept a journal of our trip and I plan on posting that on here soon.

As soon as we got home from the trip, we had to start making our Independence Day plans. We ended up planning to go to the parade, and then a get together up at my aunt Becky's house. We invited our new friends Robin & Mike, who brought his two sons along. We cooked out on the grill and then watched the town fireworks from the hill on Becky's property. After those were finished, we had a bonfire and let off our own fireworks.

I've finally had a couple of days off now, but tomorrow I have to go to a book sale, and I really need to get back to work on my book store. Sales have been trickling in, but I could be doing so much better if I put in more effort.

I also have been slacking on taking care of myself, so I am going to be headed to Weight Watchers to get started on building a better me.

A Message To The Tooth Fairy

2009-05-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

When one of my daughter's teeth came out recently, she wanted to keep it, so she wrote this little note to the tooth fairy. She never really gave me an answer when I asked her why she wanted to keep it, but the "tooth fairy" let her keep it, and mom safely stored it away in a memory box along with the note.

School Project

2009-04-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

My son, who is in sixth grade, had to create something to do with an historical event for a recent school project. It took him some time before he could actually decide what he wanted to create, with the materials we had on hand, but he finally decided to build a Pueblo Indian dwelling. We all worked on it together and it was actually pretty fun to create.

We started with a small styrofoam cooler and worked from there. The Pueblo Indians used "oven domes" to cook with, so we made one of those out of homemade salt dough, then we glued small stones in a circle, put a few twigs in it, sprinkled some of my husband's red chalk from his chalk line tool for embers, and sprinkled some ash from our pellet stove around that to create a small fire pit, and we glued some twigs down next to that for a wood pile that we topped off with some cotton to create a smoke effect. I took some small pieces of leather and we created rugs out of them and decorated them with some of the symbols that the Pueblos used to communicate with. Then finally, we topped it all off with a few mini clay pots filled with various items such as corn and indian seed beads.

It turned out really good and he was so proud of it. His teacher gave him the best grade possible, and while we were at the Education Fair, we heard several people who were looking at it talk about how cool it was, which made Brenden even more proud of himself.

Here's some pictures:

View from the side

View from the front

Corn in a clay pot & clay pitcher

Fire pit and stack of logs

View from above

Our Trip

2009-04-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it home from the trip. It actually turned out pretty decent. The kids had their fair share of fighting, but we had enough fun to overcome all of that. I took tons and tons of pictures, but wouldn't you know, I could not get the kids to pose for even one picture together where they were not actually arguing, so most of the shots with both of them in the picture have forced smiles.

We started out driving through Howell, the town I grew up in, to see how things had changed, and boy they have changed. It's amazing how time changes things in only four years. Funny though, as much as I've missed being down by the city, I realize how much of a rat race is really is, and it makes me glad I now live in the country.

After we checked into our hotel, the kids enjoyed some swimming in the pool, and then my son just had to go try out the treadmill without my knowledge and he wiped out. He had little imprints on his chin from the tread and a big gash on his lip from his tooth. He stayed away from the treadmill for the rest of our visit. LOL

Our second day was spent down in Detroit visiting the Henry Ford Museum, driving downtown to show the kids the Renaissance Center (aka the GM building), watching the animals at the Detroit Zoo, and showing the kids where I used to work off of Telegraph Road in Southfield. I was quite surprised, even with the Final Four going on, there was hardly any traffic, although the zoo was quite busy.

On Sunday we drove down to Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor and then I just had to stop at Colasantis in Milford before we finally hit the road to come home. Colasanti's is a market, slash deli, slash bakery, slash nursery, all rolled into one. When we lived in the area, it was one of my favorite places to shop. I miss it immensely and wish I could find something up here that compares, but as of yet, I've had no such luck...

Here's a few shots of our trip...

This is a cactus flower from the botanical gardens.

The polar bear at the Detroit Zoo as seen from the underwater tunnel.

The Henry Ford Museum, note the plane flying overhead.

The kids swimming in the pool.

The Night Before

2009-04-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, catching up and passing time while I catch the final episode of ER. I have to rise early tomorrow for a mini-vacation with my mom and my two kids. We are going down to my hometown for three days. I moved away from the Detroit suburban area four years ago this month, and I have only been back a couple of times, the last time being when I attended the funeral of my ex-husband in 2005.

Anyhow, the vacation will involve a little trip down memory lane, as we plan to drive by some of the old haunts. We are also planning a visit, per my son's request, to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, and a trip to the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, for my daughter, who wants to see the polar bears and the penguins. And as for me, well, I want to visit the University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens. My mom wants to do some shopping, so I am sure we'll be making stops at a few thrift shops and nurseries along the way. I can't wait. The funny thing is, I have been to all of the places listed many times. When we lived down there, I would make a point to go at least once a year to both the zoo and the museum, and the gardens, well, I went to them at least once every couple of months, it is just such a wonderful place to visit, even if you are not a big plant fanatic.

I am feeling a little nervous though, funny as it sounds, I have grown to love the country life and the thought of dealing with all the traffic and rush rush kind of scares me. Not to mention, the NCAA Final Four will be going on in Detroit this weekend, so the traffic is going to be a little higher volume than usual.

I'm sure I will be fine though, that is as long as my kids can keep from fighting for more than an hour at a time....

Saying Goodbye

2009-03-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have a MySpace account, that I started about two years ago, to help network with other internet booksellers and ebay moms. For a while, I really liked it, I never had any problems and could share links in my blog, bulletins, and profile updates. Well, all of that is a thing of the past. I switched over to the Firefox browser last year when I was having delays with Internet Explorer. It turns out MySpace doesn't like Firefox very much because I seem to get lots of error messages when I try to update my status. Then I started having problems updating my music player. Now, I think I have reached the breaking point. I am a lover of photography, for those who didn't already know, and I frequently share the link to my photo blog with my MySpace friends. Until now, I have never had any problems, but a few days ago, I posted my blog link after changing the background on my blog, and I asked my friends to give me their opinions on it. I got an email this morning from my aunt who is one of my MySpace friends, and she said she clicked the link and got a message from MySpace that they had blocked my link, the reasoning being that my site was a spam site and contained inappropriate content. Anyone who has ever seen my photo blog knows that the majority of my photos are of a naturalistic content, and every now and then I may share a photo of a family member or local event. I do not post nudity, profanity, or even political or religious content, so I am quite offended that MySpace would block my link. I am seriously thinking about closing my page down and focusing on my Facebook and Twitter accounts....

Love Notes From My Daughter

2009-03-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

My little girl is such a sweetheart. She loves to read and write (she is the second best reader in her class), so almost every day, she writes me a message. I got these two in the last couple of days. The top was is in reference to my son (her older brother). They've been fighting like cats and dogs lately. The bottom one is telling me that she can't wait until Mother's Day. Hmm, I wonder what she has in mind? I almost can't wait just to see what she has up her little sleeve.

A Little Plug For Sees Candy

2009-02-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

My husband is from southern California, and ever since we have been a couple, he's told me about his favorite place to get chocolate, a place called Sees Candy. He swore it was the best chocolate in the world, and I always just dismissed him and figured "yeah, whatever". That was, until his mom sent us a box of Sees Chocolates for Valentine's Day this year. Oh my, one bite and I was in heaven, this stuff is just plain decadent! My favorite is the one shown above, it's called a Milk Chocolate Bardeaux. It is pure delight. They have a website, so if you ever want to give it a try, or send a little piece of heaven to someone you love, check them out at www.sees.com . I guarantee if you like chocolate, you will not be disappointed.

Drive-In Theaters

2009-02-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

When I was young I used to love going to the drive-in theater. We'd load up our pillows and blankets into car and head to the theater. Once there, us kids would go play on the swings while the parents would go load up on goodies from the concession stand. When the movie started we'd all rush back to the car and have our goodies while watching the movie. Then would come time for intermission and it would be a quick potty break and another quick trip to the playground before the second movie began.

Once my teenage years came around and I had a license, my best friend and our boyfriends would usually double date. I'll admit that not much movie watching was done at that time, we were too busy making out or doing whatever else us kids did back in the 80's. Unfortunately the 80's were a time of change and not many theaters stayed open after the 90's came around.

There are a few still open here and there, but there aren't any in my neck of the woods. To get to the nearest drive-in, we would have to drive about 3 hours away. I sure wish there were one around here though. What a perfect way to enjoy a cheap night out, especially with two kids. The price you pay to go to a cinema is so expensive, and to be able to go to a show and let the kids be kids without having to constantly hush them up would be wonderful...

This picture shown above is from am movie theater that I used to live by. I only went to this drive-in one time, but it was one of the bigger ones in the area. I took this photo several years ago, after the big screen, concession stand, and speaker stands had all been torn down and replaced by a gas station. The sign stood for quite some time before they finally took it down.

If you would like to see where the nearest drive-in still in operation is, you can check this website http://www.driveintheater.com/

Winter Blues

2009-01-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

It has been so snowy here this year, and now we are getting single digit temps along with a wind chill that is supposed to fall into the negative 20's. It's really taking a toll on me this year. I hate going out into the weather and have found myself becoming somewhat of a hermit.

Aliens

2008-10-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out some of my files today when I came across this picture. My son drew this when he was in the fourth grade. He loves science fiction.

Fast Five

2008-09-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

This came in my email today, so I thought I'd post it here. Feel free to tkae the questions and use it on yourself...

1. What is your favorite fast food?
McDonald's Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad, I love the dressing and the little crunchies they sprinkle on top. Yummy!

2. If you could break a habit.. what would it be?
Biting my nails. I've been a lifelong biter and have tried just about everything short of acupuncture..

3. What kind of movies do you like to watch?
I've never been one for chick flicks. I'm more of a science fiction and thriller kind of girl. Some movies I really like are Star Wars, E.T., Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, and American History X..

4. What color is your bedroom?
It is white

5. What color would you like your bedroom to be?
I like it white, it's clean looking, but if I had to go with another color, I'd say a pale yellow. It's got to be a warm tone because I always seem to be cold...

My First Post

2008-09-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, well, here it is, my first post to this blog. I've got a couple of other blogs, one showcasing my photography efforts, and one showcasing my postcard collection, but they really don't let me "get it all out", so I've created this little gem as my place to let loose and share my daily thoughts and musings. I actually created this blog a month or so ago, but didn't really know where to begin with it all, and to be honest I don't even know where to begin right now, so I just said heck with it, and I'm writing this as it goes. Here you will learn about me and what I think. I also plan to share a few funnies and photos along the way, so I hope you enjoy the ride!