Last Post of 2008!

I am just sitting here with my family as we get ready to bring in the new year together. Chris and I are not the partying type and we enjoy spending time together as a family. It keeps us safe from all the craziness of having to drive home and pray that we make it safely and we know where our kids are and wouldn't want to spend it any other way.

Happy New Year to all of my friends! I hope 2009 brings all of you happiness, prosperity and most of all love!

Happy Birthday to my Man!

Today is Chris' birthday. I wanted to do something for him but all he wants is money for WOW (World of Warcraft for those who aren't in the know) and he woke up this morning with a pinched nerve in his back so he is going to be taking it easy and he will probably be playing his online game for most of the day. I did ask him if he wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner since we received a gift card for Christmas. He isn't sure yet.

Since we have gotten the Wii for Christmas, the kids and Chris have been playing it pretty much non stop. The Wii sports games that comes with the system is really fun to play. We especially like the bowling. Chris and Katie played tennis yesterday and I think that is how Chris threw his back out. Old Man! LOL!!! So... most of my day will be catering to the old fart (kidding, since I am three weeks older than him :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I sure hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas! My family and I have been busy the last two days visiting family and stuffing our faces with delicious foods!

The kids are happy with their gifts and I received 5 new books for Christmas that will keep me busy for a few weeks:) You can't go wrong with Stephen King and Dean Koontz! Chris has gotten movies and the T.V. Series House, Season 2 & 3. His next four days are going to be a House marathon! LOL!!

I probably won't be posting much tomorrow because I have two houses to clean and I know I will be exhausted but I am happy to be making money again! So it all works out!

Craig's List Rocks

I have heard about Craig's List before but never really gave it much thought. Until Chris' mom told me I should advertise the cleaning business on it. There is no cost to do this. I have a few ads on it and have gotten a few calls but sadly many of them were from people that are out of my service range.

Port Charlotte is almost 45 minutes away and to me that is just not cost worthy. But today I did receive an email from a woman in Sarasota. I called her number and left a message. She is looking for a Bi-weekly clean and I sure hope that it pans out. A lot of people that call me want a quote over the phone. I do not give prices over the phone. A lot of times in the past I have ended spending too much time on a home and all the extras they wanted but since I already gave them a price over the phone I could not in good conscience tell them it would be more. So... I do not do that anymore. There are reasons why a lot of companies do not quote anymore. More times than not they will offer a free in home quote because it gives them a better understanding of what exactly the customer wants. Many times a customer may think they know what needs to be done but in reality it is something completely different. I just thought I would put that thought out there in case there are people that don't have that understanding.

Two weeks of Bliss!

The new cleaning blog is up and so is my official company website. Please do me a favor check them both out and let me know what you think!

My Christmas shopping is almost done. I still have no idea what to get Chris that doesn't involve World of Warcraft! Ughh!!!! I plan to give him money for his birthday which is three days after Christmas so that he can apply that to his WOW account and get the new Wrath of the Lynch King that he has been talking my ears off about.

The kids are off for the next two weeks and so far my cleaning jobs are only on this Friday and three days next week. A lot of my customers have left for the holidays and some of them will not be back until after the New Year! Which is ok with me because I won't need to find a sitter for Katie! Jeff is working all this week except for Christmas and the day after so he is looking forward to a good paycheck. Chris will only be working 6 out of the next 10 business days! Things are always s l o w around this time of year! So the next two weeks I will be spending some much needed quality time with my family.

Getting better

I am feeling somewhat normal again. So far the only two to escape the agony has been Chris and Katie. Jeff was under the weather with different symptoms than mine. He had an earache and body aches but he was back to feeling better by Monday morning. I kept telling him that it was ok to stay home from school but when he knows he has tests, what I say to him falls on deaf ears.
The thing about Jeff is even though he may be sick, if he has something important going on at school, he will go no matter how bad he feels. His immune system is amazingly potent. He may get sick one or twice a year and when he does he bounces back fast. I was never like that. When I got sick I was down for a few days at least. Katie is like me in that respect. Jeff is like Chris. It's uncanny how much a like they are but they are not even blood related.

On a different note... I did do my cleaning jobs and I got them done without feeling terrible. I have the day off today but the next two days are booked. Today after the kids get home from school I will need to take the kids Christmas shopping for each other and Chris. Jeff needs to pick up a few things for a few of his friends and his Secret Santa gift for the Anime club he is in. I have also been nominated to make some cookies for his club on Friday. I told Jeff that HE can do most of the work and I will supervise him. I normally make Christmas cookies but I just have been so busy or sick to do any of it. I do not want to wait until the last minute so I am hoping to do some a little at a time every day. Hopefully that won't be to overwhelming.

Death can come now! No really!!!

I woke up Saturday morning with not much of a voice. I was hoarse and congested for much of the day until evening fell. Then that is when the party really started. I came down with one hell of a cold! Fever, body aches, runny nose and a very dry cough. I did what anyone else would do and loaded up on meds and O.J.

Sunday I felt like death warmed over! Fever, chills, body aches and the meanest stuffy nose on the face of the planet. Chris did a lot for me and even cooked dinner. I still managed to do some laundry and puttz around the house.

This morning was a killer. I couldn't even get myself out of the bed to go to the bathroom. Chris had to help me and he decided that he would stay home and take care of me. Every four hours like clockwork he was stuffing me with meds and replenishing my orange juice. Now I feel so much better except for the teary eyes and sneezing. I have taken everything to help alleviate that but nothing has worked until I sucked down a few Halls cough drops.

Tomorrow I have two houses to clean and I sure hope that these meds will help me get through the day if not I am going to be like a walking zombie!

Barley keeping my eyes open

Today was a long day. After dropping off my daughter at school this morning, I made my way to Longboat Key for a cleaning job. That is approximately a 35 minute drive from my house. The weather was lousy, rain and high winds made my commute seem never ending. I was supposed to be there at 9am. I called the client at 8:20 to let them know that I would be late. I was so happy when she told me that she figured as much because the rain is falling harder there and to take my time. I got there at 9:15. I didn't start cleaning until 10 because she is a talker. I was estimating that I would be there for 3-4 hours since this was a new client and I already knew it needed a thorough cleaning since they are snowbirds and only down here for the winter.

The apartment has not been cleaned in 6 months and the last cleaning lady never cleaned it after they left. It took me 5 hours! My client felt so bad that she gave me $20.00 dollars more than I told her the job would be. Apparently she was pleased with my work because I have now become her new cleaning lady. She gave me a key to her apartment and I will be cleaning for her every week and then once a month while they are up north for the summer. I also realized today that I am enjoying the independence of having my own cleaning company and being my own boss. The down side? I come home completely spent and exhausted. I had Chris and Katie help me with dinner tonight. They didn't mind. They could tell by the look on my face that I was fighting to stay awake. I am hoping that once I start to lose the excess weight that it won't be a problem. Only time will tell though!

Everyone likes contests and shopping!

Are you addicted to shopping? Do you prefer online shopping to conventional shopping? Would you love to win prizes for video tapping your confession for the love of shopping? Did you answer yes to all three questions? Good! Now mosey on over to check out the contest. Also when you do sign up please don't forget about the one that sent you. Just let them know by submitting my blog url, I may be eligible to win a prize also!

With that announcement, I would like to tell you more about the company that is promoting the contest. eBillme is an innovative company that provides a wonderful service. The ability to pay for your purchases using your bank account. "eBillme is the secure payment option that does not require a credit card. Simply checkout using eBillme and pay for your purchase through your bank’s online bill pay portal. It’s fast, easy, and best of all – there is no signup and you never have to share your financial information."
Many of us do not like to use credit cards because of the ridiculous fees and interest rates. I for one do most of my banking online and I also shop online as well for the things that are not available through name brand stores. For example, my cleaning products are purchased through a private company. I have heard about eBillme through many other bloggers and they have had great success with them. This company has an extensive list of retailers that accept their method of paying and you will find tremendous amount of goods on this site. It will not hurt to check them out and if you like what you see give them a try. They just may be your one stop shopping place.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Unlike last year, my birthday so far is going good! I received an email Hallmark from Kat and her boys, My parents called early this morning on their way to work to sing "Happy Birthday" to me, Chris was sweet and kept saying Happy Birthday until he left the house for work this morning. My children both remembered and Chris' mom took me out to lunch and gave me a cute candle holder in the shape of an old stove with a teapot on it.

I won't be cooking dinner tonight and Chris' daughter, Brittany, and her boyfriend will arrive sometime this evening and be here for the weekend. They will be staying at her grandma's house.

Ok... I am off to do some more errands and get some groceries.

Business Christmas Party

Every year, Chris' office Christmas party, is held at his dad's partner, Ben's, house. It was for adults only because there was just not enough room for everyone and their children. This year however, is going to be different. The partner has moved to a bigger and better house and all are welcomed. Jeff was going to act as the gateman to direct people where to go once they pulled into the complex. He won't be because he is actually going to be working a full 8 hours at his job at the mall. That job may fall on Chris.

Chris has told me that the new house is huge. He has a room exclusively for a home theater with home theater seating set up just like a cinema. So, maybe the little ones can be entertained in there with a movie marathon or something. I know Katie will be all into that. There is a billiard room with a nice bar (I will be probably be seated at the bar all night) and he will have a bartender on duty until everyone leaves. Food will be catered by Sonny's because Ben loves Sonny's and we will provide a few items like we do every year. All the VIP people of Sarasota will be there like every year and although you would think people of money are all hoity toity; this group is extremely nice and fun. Some of the big wigs responsible for all the condominiums on Siesta Key, Longboat Key and Casey Key (where Stephen King has a house by the way) will be attending.

Last year was good. We weren't expecting Chris to get a bonus because business was down. Although, they did surprise Chris with a bonus. This year we are not counting on it either but it would be nice. They have had to scale back on office staff, in total they have laid off three people, including, the office manager. So I highly doubt there will be a bonus but we shall see. Ben by the way did not buy this house. He rents it and he got a great deal on it. He got a bigger house costing less money than what he was spending. So that just goes to show you that even the well to do are cutting costs.

12 Pains of Christmas

I just about died when I found this song. It took me back to when I was maybe 17 or 18 years old, going Christmas shopping with my family and this song came on over the radio and we laughed so hard that there was not one dry eye in the car. My sister had taped it a long time ago and my father actually would play it at every Christmas dinner for years until the tape broke. I am going to have to email my parents the link.

Its on my playlist at the bottom of this blog. I guarantee you will not stop laughing until after the song is over!

Caviar dreams and champagne wishes

Chris and I were talking today about how nice it would be to pamper ourselves with a mini vacation for just the two of us. A friend of mine that has lived in North Carolina frequently talked about the Outer Banks of North Carolina as an historical not just on how the British tried to colonize the Americas but also where the Wright Brothers took their flight. I was never much into history back in school days but the older I get I find myself more fascinated by it.

There is so much that I would like to see, but, until the kids are grown and out of the house, it's not going to happen. I have started a vacation journal and jotting down historical sites here and abroad and maybe one day I can utilize that journal for the memories from visiting such places. For now though… it's a dream.

Hurry... Contest ends on December 8th!

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Call him Speedy Gonzales

Yesterday, Chris and I evaluated our expenses. We are budget minded individuals, and we strive to save money where we can. After receiving our car insurance invoice, we thought maybe we could save additional money there by taking me off of our combined policy and placing me with my own insurance. Our main objective, besides saving money, was to insure my Malibu for the cleaning business and possibly setting up a commercial account so that it could be incorporated into the cleaning business expenditures. It's not going to happen that way. Yes, I could get a great deal on my own but, Chris would end up paying a lot more with me out of the picture as a secondary driver for both vehicles. We can contribute that to his **ahem** driving boo boos. Chris has a lot of speeding tickets but luckily the points start coming off this coming March. The reason we pay a hefty premium now is because of Chris and his lead foot. With me out of the picture his premium would almost double. So for now I will continue to stay on until his record is clear. I say within the year it should be. That's of course he keeps his nose clean and the cruise control on.

Thanksgiving Pictures

My mom has such a flair for decorating a wonderful holiday table. I wasn't blessed with that talent one bit.

You can barely see me... I am sandwiched between my parents. My mom duped me into getting the rolls ready to go into the oven. Funny thing though, my kitchen is 3 times this size and I call it a one person kitchen.

Here is my dad, carving the turkey (one of them that is) Chris got the pleasure of cutting his fried turkey minutes after my dad was done.

It's beginning to look a lot like stuff your face time.

By the time everyone got ready to dig in there was not one place on this table that wasn't packed with a dish. Even the built in hutch behind the table was full with food.

I had asked Chris why he didn't get pictures of the family. His parents and our kids. Apparently the kids were next door playing until it was time to eat and his parents kept giving him dirty looks. I think we all know where he gets his camera shyness from. LOL!

24 days of insanity? I sure hope not!

Since I am still recuperating from whatever the hell I have caught, I am trying to be productive in my Christmas shopping by seeing what the deals are online. Chris and I have already purchased the big gift for the family. I can say we did a pretty good thing for the kids this Christmas. We bought a Wii. This was a decision that took months to make. Weighing the Pros and Cons and finally settling on purchasing it before Black Friday hit. We did our homework and figured better to do it now or not do it at all. Since, they would probably be unavailable, once the biggest shopping day of the year hit. Chris sacrificed his Xbox and all his equipment and games to be able to purchase an extra controller and accessories and four games. Total out of pocket cost for the whole shebang including the Wii…. $240.00!!! Not bad considering the Wii itself cost $250.00! I think we shopped smart on that one.

Now I am trying to locate wholesale electronics for two members of the family. I found a couple of good deals so I may actually be done with that part of shopping, now, all I have to do is find a few more items and my end will be 100% done. Now it will just be buying for Chris from the kids. Chris and I have forgone our gift giving to each other this year. We wanted to make sure the kids were taken care of and besides, with this economy, we have done pretty well considering. I let him off the hook for Christmas but he better remember my birthday or he will be sleeping with the animals. I am betting that Reese, Bentley, Cuddles and Belle will not like having a human in their bed this Thursday. We shall see though!

Sickies

I thought I would escape this flu epidemic that seems to be slithering it's way around town. It found me last night. In an instant I feel like an elephant just sat on my head. I have no energy, like it was sucked right out of me by some ginormous vacuum. I have been sleeping on and off and now I am just tired of being blah. So I decided to keep myself busy by jumping online to see what's going on with the rest of you and the Internet is quiet. So I will take that as my cue to go lay down and defeat this stupid virus or whatever the hell it is. Oh.. also Aunt Flo has paid a visit too. Isn't that sweet?!

Conversations at Thanksgiving dinner I could’ve done without…

We try and celebrate one holiday a year with both sets of parents for a specific reason, to minimize the "getting old" conversations. Or worse, "the olden days were better than now days"

Topics from suffering with fibromyalgia and osteoporosis, and other arthritis conditions and medications. My favorite conversations are when the tables are turned on me or Chris on how we were a couple of hellion children. Of course, our children love to hear these stories so that they can use it against us in the future. One of the conversations turned on me turning a ripe old age of 38 this coming Thursday. My own mother actually called me an old broad. Both sets of parents kidded with me about getting old and how 40 is beating down the door in just a few short years. Jeff chimed in with the "you could be a grandma by the time you are 40" to which I smacked him and told I better not be! Smartass teenagers.

The kids were enthralled by the talk of how things were when their grandparents were young and how they did perfectly fine without all the contraptions that are out there now. Cell phones are a luxury, video games are destroying the youth, DVD players are taking away from the kids using their imagination because let's face it people, all the kids are getting fat because they do nothing all day but sit on their asses. That may be true in some households. But our parents know us perfectly well to know that our children do not do that. They are limited to what they can watch and for how long and our video game playing is more of a family night game event. I think that because they are somewhat out of touch with things that all they can do is sit around and mull that idea around in their heads and then bitch and complain about it.

Don't get me wrong I love our parents to pieces but sometimes I could do without their banter about the good old days. I am sure when I reach their age I could very well be just like them. Here's hoping that I will notice that before it happens.

Thanksgiving went too fast.

Well, I think we have all gotten our fill of turkey for the next year. Between my mom and Chris we had two turkeys that had a combined weight of 33 pounds. Why did we have two turkeys? My dad loves his stuffing and he prefers it stuffed in the bird while it cooks and Chris and his dad won't eat just any old turkey. Oh no… it needs to be fried. I have such easy going parents. When I told them that Chris was going to bring a fried turkey the only thing my dad said was, "Good, more leftovers for me". Snicker… I don't think they counted on all the leftovers once the eight of us were finished stuffing our faces. I ended up bringing not only our own leftovers from the turkey, relish tray, butternut squash but also half of their leftovers. I see turkey sandwiches on the menu for the next week.

My mom is known for her pies. She has been baking pies for as long as I can remember. Today was no exception. She truly out did herself in the pie department. She made the traditional pumpkin pie, a blueberry pie for my dad and Jeff and an apple pie especially for me. I wish I had her baking skills for pies but alas, it isn't my calling. It is nice to get together and enjoy the company of loved ones and it was especially nice that their neighbors are so friendly that they invited Jeff and Katie over to play with their visiting grandchildren. I swear they had a game of tag going for over an hour. Not only will the tryptophan put the little darlings to sleep but the exercise they got will also keep them out tonightJ.

I wanted Chris to take pictures of both our families together and he did bring the camera but forgot his memory stick so he couldn't have saved any pictures on his camera because it is full of work pictures from inspections. So… I will have to wait for my mom to get hers developed to get the duplicates. I have been trying to start a family album of holidays shared and it seems to get sunk before even launching it. One of these days it will happen.

Ok.. My eyeballs are drooping and I am getting extremely tired.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you enjoy your turkey with all the fixings. My family and I will be going to my parents. This is the first year since we moved back to florida that I will not be cooking. However, I have been in charge of the relish tray. So, I am off to start putting that together.

We have an aspiring Equestrian in the family

If you guess Katie then you are right. Since our home backs up into the acres of land that is the home to two beautiful mares, we have been outside every chance we get when we know the horses are nearby. These beauties are so well mannered and very friendly and they will even come to us when we whistle for them. I have made sure that we keep plenty of apples and carrots on hand so Katie can feed them and familiarize herself with these magnificent animals. Chris was joking with Katie yesterday about getting a couple english saddles so that we can ride them.

That was a BIG mistake. Katie will not stop talking about being able to ride the horses. She says she has seen performers race horses and make them jump gates and fences and how much fun she would have if she could do that. I think I am going to have to introduce myself to the owners of the horses and see if they would be willing to let Katie ride a horse a few times or if they could possibly teach her everything there is to know about taking care of a horse, because I am pretty sure her next question is going to be whether or not she can have a horse of her own. OY!

Mindy’s Green Solution is taking off steadily

I am still working on my new blog. There are some technical screw ups that I am working on. It shouldn't be too much longer. If I was home more I probably would have had it figured out by now. Anyway…

Today I received three phone calls from potential customers of my cleaning service. All of them have booked me for next week and we shall see if I become a permanent part of their cleaning schedule. One of the new clients had asked me if I was a franchise. I told her that I did not take part in any franchise opportunity and I asked her if that was important to her. She revealed to me that although she realizes the benefits of buying into a franchise it all depends on the company you buy into. Her experience with cleaning franchises, have not been good ones and it was very hard for her to grieve her complaints and get any results. I listened and empathized with her and I did ensure her that because I am a one woman show her requests and or complaints would not fall on deaf ears.

For the most part I am excited about getting more customers but I am also nervous that I will get too many and not be able to handle all the demand. I really do. not. want. to have to hire employees. I am not saying this to be greedy, but I have been in this business long enough to know that this kind of work is not for everyone and majority of the ones that think it is a piece of cake job do not last for more than two weeks. I also would have to run background checks to make sure that I am hiring someone responsible and trustworthy. I have seen way too many thefts and criminal acts to be naïve. Chris and I have discussed the possibility of having to hire at least two people. But, I am not going to count my chickens before they hatch sort of speak. I have to not think about this and just deal with it if it does happen. Otherwise I just get myself all worked up.

I need a makeover....

If there is one thing that prevents harmony in my relationship with Chris it most certainly is my need to defend myself all the time. Oh and my thought process so that would make it two things. For the most part we tolerate each other's quirks. Having been together for 10+ years you try and look past certain traits. However, when your attributes seem to be getting in the way of enjoying peace and harmony in the relationship it is definitely time to evaluate the reasons for said short comings.

Chris and I have had our troubles. It has never been "easy" with him and for the most part I have always thought relationships were hard to begin with. I have learned that I need to be more aware with how I perceive things.

For example: I have this uncanny ability to take something and overly process it so that I can deal with it the most comfortable way I can. Let's take the ex landlord and his ex wife for instance. They have pretty much declared that they will be keeping the security deposit. Their letter came certified but it did not state why or how much the things that they are claiming cost or if they intend to take it further and come after us for more money. I immediately got pissed and stated to Chris that we need to take them to court to fight for our deposit. He sees it differently. Although we both agree that their claim is unsubstantiated he wants to approach it from a different view. He does not think that forking out $300.oo to bring a civil suit justifies the $600 we are entitled to. We put down a $1000.00 deposit and there is a valid claim to relinquish 360.00 for a french door that needs to be replaced due to the fact that our deceased dog, Scooter, damaged during a thunderstorm. Seeing as though the landlord and his ex refused to do a walk through with Chris, we could not even acknowledge that we would've taken that responsibility. Chris wants me to trust him more with handling issues like this and for the most part letting him handle majority of things his way instead of mine because. let's face it, I for the most part, go around like a gun fully loaded looking for a target. My analogy by the way, not Chris'.

I am always assuming the worst in a person. I have seen way too many situations go foul and it's just easier for me to think this way. I just assume that if a person has done something wrong it is usually for one reason only. When in truth there could be several different reasons. I tend to assume A LOT which is not healthy and more importantly not right. Chris wants me to be more mindful and incorporate basic logic into my thinking process. He is always telling me that my facial expressions are monotone and it is difficult for him to know what mood I am in. Unless I open my mouth and then it is known. I also give him looks of disdain quite often. When I think back on this I am shocked at myself. I love Chris. I would never want to hurt him but lately that's all I have been doing. I guess I need to revamp myself not only physically but mentally as well. Do any of you venture to take a guess how long this is going to take me or better yet do you feel the same way about yourself or about someone you love?

I am tired of being fat.

I am in a bit of a funk today. This time of year it seems easy to get into this state of mind. I don't know what it is about the holiday season that creates the state of depression. I mean, we spend time with loved ones that we may or may not see all too often during the year, Delicious foods with pleasing aromas fill the air and the family unity symbolizes love, peace and happiness right? While I look forward to that I have trepidations because I am just not happy with myself and my appearance. I know that many of you may think it is silly to worry about that because after all family and friends accept us for what we are and not our appearance. But still….

My biggest problem is the fact that I am at my heaviest weight since I was pregnant with Jeff. I gained a whopping 60 pounds then. It took me two years to lose it and I maintained the weight even while pregnant with Katie. I gained a healthy 20 pounds with her. Ever since moving to Florida five years ago it just seems like the weight is steadily increasing and the thing that really pisses me off is that I have done absolutely nothing to promote it. I have been increasing my walks in the morning in effort to lose but it's not happening. I have gained 20 additional pounds since March. I am seriously considering taking Phentermine 37.5 mg to help me lose at least 20 pounds that I have gained.

My grandmother who is a retired nurse has always been conscious of her weight throughout the years. She would count calories and really do a good job at sticking to a healthy eating regiment. When she was 40 years old she had a total hysterectomy done because of the onset of endometriosis and the beginning of menopause. Back in those days there was no such thing as a premenopausal condition. She gained weight soon after because she was never put on hormones. She packed on about 40 pounds in just a few short months. Let's face it, after the age of 30 a woman's metabolism severely starts to decline. It makes it so hard for us to lose and maintain weight. She lost it with a very strict diet (which if I can remember right, she was starving herself) and she has maintained and even lost more in the 40 years since. We talked about my problem with not being able to lose and gain with no rhyme or reason. I told her about my walks and being physically busy in hopes to rev up the metabolism. What she told me next shocked the heck out of me. Although exercise promotes our bodies to stay in shape it is not the means to lose it. Watching our calorie intake and eating better foods, not eating fried, over processed, and food packed with preservatives. Family history of obesity is a major factor on how to avoid the inevitable. In her opinion, I could exercise all the damn time and still have a hard time taking the pounds off. I need to give my body a catalyst to help it fight the pounds and that is by eating differently than I have been used to. The American Standard Diet has declined in nutritional value over the years and we are a nation of steadily increasing porkers. I think maybe we should go back to how life was in the 50-60's when we grocery shopped daily to get the freshest of foods and made everything from scratch. I don't remember too many women of the sitcoms of those days being overweight. They were on to something that has been lost.

Not going to happen this holiday season…

With the holidays looming over me, I have decided to not give in to the temptation of all the foods. I know it's going to be tough without the assistance of dietpills, but, I am determined to not gain any more weight than I have already. It is getting so dang hard for me to lose it though. I walk Katie to and from school roughly a mile round trip and that is twice a day. I also clean houses that average out to 8 hours a week plus my own house. I am not sure what else it that I can do to boost the metabolism and burn the fat.

I know that I am premenopausal so that is a strike against me but this is getting so old now. I mean there are plenty of women that go through this and not gain an ounce. I on the other hand gain a pound just by looking at something scrumptious. I have the will power but my body fights me all the way.

Are we headed for a Depression?

Correct me if I am wrong, but, wasn't the bailout supposed to help? Citigroup has just laid off 53,000 employees. I am so glad that Chris and I decided not to buy a house at this time. This is ridiculous.

"Citigroup Inc. is cutting approximately 53,000 more jobs in the coming quarters as the banking giant struggles to steady itself after suffering massive losses from deteriorating debt.

The plans, posted on the company's Web site, are being discussed by CEO Vikram Pandit at the company's town hall meeting in New York Monday with employees.

The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20 percent from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels. The total workforce reductions include thousands of jobs that will be lost when Citigroup completes the sale of Citi Global Services and its German retail banking business.

The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. The company said that in addition to job cuts, it plans to lower expenses by about 20 percent, and that is has reduced its assets by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of the year."

What's next? Pretty soon no one and I do mean no one is going to be able to get a loan for ANYTHING!

Chrysler has come out with their version of an eco friendly electric car that is absolutely hideous and a joke!

It looks like a glorified golf cart. One accident in this puppy and you can kiss your butt goodbye! Also it doesn't go over 25mph and its range is about 30 miles. It starts at $20,000 and can come in a one seater, two seater and minivan. It comes in many different colors that remind me of something a Teletubbie would drive.

Also, I have noticed that manufacturer's are reducing the amount of their products but keeping the prices the same. For example;

Pepsi has reduced the amount of their 12 and 24 packs to 8 and 18.

Toilet paper has reduced in roll size.

Some canned goods have the same size can but less quantity inside the cans.

If things do not change soon we are in deep poo!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Rob. I used to hang out with him on Summer vacations in Florida. He and his brother, Jeff, would visit their grandparents usually the same time I visited mine. Way before the internet we communicated the old fashioned way, snail mail. LOL!

I am just glad we were able to reconnect after several years. He still looks the same now as he did back in the day.. So. not. fair!

I survived.

Katie and I made it through another camping experience with her troop. We got there without incident. It was a little tougher finding the campground this year because we were driving in the dark. We still made it on time though.

Once we got there I pulled all the way into the campsite to unload our gear and then had to park at the front entrance because there are only two cars allowed at the site. From the time we got there until 12:30 a.m. the girls were on hyper overdrive. It didn't help that the girls had banana boats (which by the way are very good) and smores and some even had a hot dog or two at 9 p.m. I seriously wanted to smack one of the girls in our cabin. All she kept whining about was wanting to PAR TAY! Seriously? A 9 year old was saying this. The co-leader and I got to sleep at about 1:30 a.m. as were trying to get some of the girls to settle down. Surprisingly, Katie and the Co-troop leader's daughter fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. They were also the last ones to wake up the next morning. However, PAR TAY girl was awake on and off throughout the night. I remember waking up around 5:30 a.m. when the screen door was opened. The Co-Troop leader left to use the restroom. The PAR TAY girl wanted to go with her. Then the rest of the early morning that same girl just moved around a lot. She happened to be in the top bunk and my daughter was on the bottom. When everyone was up and going by 7 a.m. Katie mentioned to the girl that she had been very rude the previous night and she hopes that she will keep her rudeness in check for the rest of the day. I stifled a laugh but what Katie said seemed to work because this girl was polite the whole day.

It rained for some time so we kept the girls busy inside the mess hall with crafts. A mess hall with twelve active girls and four over tired adults was something else to witness. These girls transformed into polite, caring and even helpful little ladies. Once they got all the excitement out of their systems they were actually polite and well mannered girls. It became a joke among us adults that one of us must have put something calming into their drinks at breakfast early that morning.

I actually hated to leave early. Katie and I had to leave an hour earlier than the rest of them because I needed to get my son, Jeff, to work. Chris has been instructed by his company that the car in which he drives should be used for company business only. It's their way of cutting back on expenses. They can't afford to buy another car and this one has to last at least another year. I sure hope it does because it already has over 100,000 miles on it and it had extensive work done on it a few weeks ago.

So all in the entire camping trip was pleasant for the most part but, I am happy we have another year to go before the next one.

 

For those of you who would be interested in making banana boats, here is the recipe:

 

Banana

Chocolate – preferably Hershey's milk chocolate bars

Small marshmallows

 

Peel back on part of the banana's skin

With a knife cut a section down along the banana where you peeled the skin

With a spoon peel out the banana where you just cut

Arrange chocolate pieces and small marshmallows

Replace the skin and wrap the banana in tin foil

Put the banana inside the camp fire but not directly into it.

Leave it there for approximately 15 minutes

Take it out of the camp fire and let sit for 5 minutes. Take the tin foil off and enjoy

I am sure you could do it in the grill as well. I am not sure if it would work in the microwave (excluding the tin foil of course)

Kat*** It may even work on the G-Broil George Forman grill. Let me know if you decide to try it.

The problem with children nowadays, is their parents….

I am not saying that children are deviants or criminals either. I am talking more about attitudes and smugness.

Katie has been a part of Girl Scouts since Kindergarten when she started out as a Daisy. Now that she is in her second year of Brownies the attitudes of some of these little girls is mind boggling. Since Katie has been able to sell Girl Scout cookies (this coming March will mark her third year doing so) most of the girls want to be "friends" with Katie because for the past two years she has been the top seller in her troop. Chris and I do not plan for it to happen but we do participate in more cookie booths and accosting more neighbors, friends, and family members to buy at least one box. We do so because it helps the troop, not for Katie to reap the reward of being the top seller. We have noticed this trend with some of the girls that bombard Katie in the beginning of the Girl Scout season until just after the cookie season is over. The rest of the time in Brownies Katie is pretty much non -existent to these particular girls. We noticed it last year and so did the troop leaders. What is sad is the co-troop leaders daughter is one of them. This year has started out no different.

We have an overnight camping trip on Friday. When the cabin roster was posted and the girl's parents found out that their daughters were not bunking with Katie, they threw a fit. I could not believe the tantrums these parents were throwing. One mother actually complained that her daughter has no chance with Katie as a friend because they are purposely keeping them apart. Seriously? If you really want your daughter to interact with Katie than where were you in the summer when Katie would call to invite said girl over to play? Or better yet why would you not allow your daughter to come over or sleep over? This truly does not make any sense. Out of the 11 girls in the troop, Katie would make the 12^th; Katie has four girls that are consistently friendly and truly wants to be her friend before and after the cookie sales.

Last year our troop was given 20 slots for different booths on certain weekends throughout Sarasota. Two girls per slot time which is roughly two hours give or take. Chris, Katie and I did 11 slots. We participate in the cookie booths to help raise money for the troop in whole. For the last two years since we have been selling cookies, we have made enough money for the all girls' dues each year, pay for camping and other activities, and throw parties. None of which is an out of pocket expense for us parents. We think it's a great idea to do so and that is why we volunteer to do so many booths because we know Katie can sell (she inherited that skill from her dad) and we like that fact that we are not shelling money out every time the kids would like to do an activity. It's an added bonus for Katie "if" she makes the top seller. Truly though, it is not her goal. Katie works harder than most of the girls that shared our booth. She was spunky, cute and very attentive to the people that she approached. The other girls complained, whined and pretty much pooped out after being there for only 30 minutes. Some parents didn't even stay to help out which left Chris and I in charge of someone else's kid. That will not happen this year. If the parents aren't willing to stay than they can just take their daughter with them. That was mentioned last year at the end of the year party. The troop leader was pissed to find out we were also babysitters.

I am not sure how we are going to deal with this coming year but I do not want to segregate Katie from the troop come Cookie time. It is not fair to her.

Slowly, but surely, getting things in order....

We had a very productive weekend. Got a lot done but still feel like there is a lot left to do. There is just not enough time in the day to do everything. Especially with the time change.

On Saturday, we went to Kat's house.

Chris and Jeff(while he wasn't watching Saturday morning cartoons) replaced the drywall from Kat's leaking A/C unit. Now that she has a new one it is working the way it should and no more leaks. I cleaned her kitchen and bathroom. I know she told me at least twice not to do her dishes but I really didn't mind doing it and besides with the dishes cleaned I was able to clean the sink.

We will need to go back this Saturday to finish with the drywall ( we had to wait for the drywall mud to dry). Chris will sand it and get it prepped for when Jo (Kat's sister) is ready to paint. While Chris does that I will clean again. I like to do it and I know Kat can't so it's a no brainer for me to help out.

Once we were finished, we grabbed lunch and went home. After lunch we tackled the trimming of the bushes and shrubs with the help of Chris' mom. We worked in the yard for two hours. We have a small white picket fence that starts at the walkway and runs along the side yard to the back yard. It's not a big area but it is enough for Bentley and Reese to run around in. There use to be and fence with a Jasmine vine type plant that interwined near the walkway to the front door. We took the whole thing out because it was just so overgrown( you couldn't reach the front door without this shrub attacking you). While we proceeded to chop down the shrub we noticed that the fence that was holding it up or vice versa was rotted. Chris called Tara (our landlady) and asked her if it was ok to take it out. She had no problem with it whatsoever. She is cool like that. So out came the fence and the shrub. We worked on several overgrown plants, trees and bushes until we were literally spent. We put everything in a pile for the next day. Chris' dad and mom would come over with their big chipper.

After we dropped Jeff off at work, we went grocery shopping. We came home put everything away and then went to Wal-Mart. Katie still had a gift card she wanted to use and I wanted to get a trash can. Katie got the movie that she has been wanting, Mary Poppins, and I came out with more than what I intended. That's always the way.

Sunday, after church, we finished with the yard and then set to work on my marketing items for Mindy's Green Solution.

Chris did a lot of work designing and putting together my brochure, post card, and business card. He has a knack for that stuff and patience

Tell me what you think:

Vacation is only a dream…

I posted earlier how Chris and I have been having our difficulties. I think what we need (besides me readjusting my attitude) is some alone time. We don't take time for ourselves. We do almost everything with the kids. I am not saying that is a bad thing but sometimes we just need to be alone.

It would be nice just to pick up the phone and make some Las Vegas hotel reservations and go away for a weekend. However, with the holidays around the corner, it would not be the best time. I would even settle with the grandparents taking turns watching the kids while Chris and I stay home. Hmmm… maybe that is a good idea after all.

Mindy’s going Green

I started a new blog. Well more like an advertising blog for my cleaning business, but, with a little more substance. It will have more than just how to contact me if you live in Sarasota about cleaning your house. I will post about short cuts to cleaning and letting you in on the products I use. Maybe even how to get them for yourself. Not sure which route I want to take with that. Kat knows how well they work and she is really good at selling something that is worth selling.

It's not 100% ready yet but I will definitely post about it when it's done.

Apparently I am the only Procrastinator in this family….

I for one procrastinate on getting some of the boxes cleared out and put away. Chris informed me yesterday that I shouldn't have put the dogs' Heartguard and flea/tick treatments under the bathroom sink. Potentially one day that sink could possibly leak and therefore all the medications for the dogs would be ruined. He has also questioned my logic for putting other things away. Then, just before bed, he proceeds to tell me that he is used to me doing things wrong. Maybe I should just stop doing anything all together.

There are a few things I could point of to him but it would fall on deaf ears. Apparently what I say doesn't matter so I am going to vent them here.

My dad has a motorcycle that is 28 years old. Right now it is sitting in our garage. Chris and Jeff both have mentioned many times how they need to get a few Harley parts to get the ol' girl in running shape. It has been sitting in our garage for over a year now.

Chris on more than one occasion has mentioned how he would like to trim up the hedges that border the walkway to the front door. I asked him this weekend when he planned on doing that… he told me once he fixed his character on WOW (World of Warcraft). The trimming never happened.

He vehemently told me when we were moving to remind him to put the pictures up on the wall so that they didn't sit around for months like the last time. I did what he asked and guess what… they are still sitting around.

Our bedroom is so cluttered it is unreal. My closet is already set up but Chris' is already cluttered. We have three boxes and a big tote all full of Chris' belongings that have yet to be put in their spots. Our room is pretty much his. All his stuff has a spot and there is barely any room for mine. Chris' book shelf is set up next to my bed because he has no room for it on his side. But there is nothing on it. He actually got mad at me because I asked him when he planned on putting his stuff away. He told me that everything in the boxes went on the bookshelf but he is not sure if he wants to put it back on the bookshelf so I need to back off and let him think on where everything should go.

He thinks that I do nothing all day. Never mind that he always has clean clothes. Never mind that he always has food to eat. Never mind that dinner is roughly on the table shortly after he gets home. Never mind that the house smells clean and fresh (because it damn well is). Never mind the kid's homework is done before he gets home. Never mind that there is not one spot of piss or poop from the animals anywhere in this damn house ( because I make sure the dogs go out every few hours and the cats litter box is cleaned out at least three times a day before he gets home).

Ok.. I am done ranting… It's time to go clean the litter box…

Congratulations to the President elect: Barack Obama

If John McCain can concede with dignity, so can I.

Now I am quite interested in what Obama is going to do and I am even more interested in the change he promises. Quite frankly I didn't feel he explained it all that well. I am relieved to hear that his first priority will be the economy. Either way I am pretty sure that would have been the first priority no matter who won.

I will say that I do have respect for Obama. Not necessarily his politics. But, that is why America is so great. We can agree to disagree and we are not a nation of conformity. Everyone has the right to think what they believe and the majority of the Americans felt that Obama was the best choice. It was an extremely close race and I knew it would be.

John Mc Cain told Barrack Obama that he would help in getting our Nation back on track. They both have the right idea. Putting aside our differences and helping one another. We as Americans need to do the same.

Tightening of the belts and purse strings

Chris' company is going through some restructuring. No.. not in a bankruptcy kind of way but scaling back on expenses and such. Like I mentioned before, Chris' is bringing in our water cooler that we don't use because we get our water from the fridge receptacle now. They are also cutting corners on insurance. Mainly on health and life insurance. Chris' is the only smoker in the office but he smokes cigars and not on a daily basis. So I am not sure he would fall under the category of smokers life insurance or not. His bosses don't seem to think so.

Since the company has downsized and let go of their office manager, they are down to just two employees and the partners which is Chris' dad and good friend. They have enough work to sustain Chris and the other guy and they are really hoping to weigh through this economic crunch that we are in. Tightening of the belts and seeking more contracts is their main focus right now. I think they will pull it off.

It's been a daunting few weeks...

and I really hated not being able to keep up with my posts. We are officially moved in and have been since October 30th when we turned over the keys to the landslums. I can tell you right now we will be taking them to court. They refused to do a walk through with Chris and told him that they would be keeping the deposit without stating why. I am not going to go into full detail because it still pisses me off to no end and I would rather save my energy for the day we get in court. We are well within our rights and Chris has taken over 150 pictures of the house before we handed over the keys. I am confidant that this will work out in our favor.

Now I am focusing my energy on getting the new house organized and settled. I still have some boxes out because I am not quite sure where to put all our crap. Can you believe it? We had a garage sale before we moved and I think we will need to have one in the near future.

Jeff and Katie are settled into their new routine. Jeff now takes a bus to school instead of being driven by his dad every morning. It gives Jeff more time to get ready in the morning and he can now take showers in the morning instead of the night before. He likes the fact that he gets home earlier from school. Normally I would pick him up but by the time he got to my car and we would have to wait for the buses to leave before we could inch ourselves into traffic.

Katie and I walk to and from her school. She absolutely loves that. I like the fact that I am getting good old fashioned exercise. I may even shed a few pounds doing this. That's of course if I do not have houses to clean. I don't have all my days booked just a few. Tuesday's and Thursday's are my solid days. I am hoping that word of mouth advertising does the trick. I know it takes time to establish and grow.

The dogs and cats are really getting along well. Except that the cats find the birds and hamsters a little too interesting. We lost a hamster last night. Cuddles was trying to get inside their cage and knocked the cage off the table and it flipped and landed on it's top. Bear survived but Pooh did not. Katie was upset and I felt so bad for Pooh. She was just so tiny and what an awful way to go. Reese whined the whole time while we wrapped Pooh up and cleaned the mess from the cage. Every time Cuddles tried to come over and investigate, Reese would chase her away. I checked on Bear this morning to see if he was still with us and apparently Katie had the same idea because she beat me to it. She was so cute when she explained to me that she worried all night that maybe he had "eternal bleeding". She is something else.

Ok.. I am off to get more done and I need to clean out our water cooler for Chris. The office is cutting back on their water delivery and Chris is bringing ours in.

Remembering Scooter

Beloved Scooter
November 16, 1994 - October 21, 2008

A week ago last Friday, we said goodbye to our beloved Scooter. We knew this time was coming and we figured we had until the end of the year. In just a short amount of time she rapidly declined. Although she didn't pass away in the presence of her family, the vet assured us she went in peace.

Scooter would have turned 14 years old in November. We were not fortunate enough to have had her the whole 14 years. We found her in a pet shop that the owner rescued from a kill shelter. She was the only dog there that did not bark. She coward in her pen and she looked so pitiful that I had to check her out. Chris and I fell in love with her immediately and we made her a part of our family. She was five years old. That is somewhat middle aged for dogs but we didn't care. It took her almost a year to get used to us and she had several bad habits that we broke her of but she was the best dog we have had in my opinion.

She loved us unconditionally and she always demanded our attention. She would wrap her paw around my leg when she wanted some loving. When we brought the puppies into our home she was a bit miffed but she took to them like a mother and the puppies absolutely adored her.

For a week Reese has been in mourning. She has taken over the blanket that Scooter had and will defend it from Bentley and the cats. Bentley took to whining at night and scoping the house in search of Scooter. They have gotten used to Scooter not being around but they are taking over in the affection department.

I have had many dogs in my lifetime but Scooter holds a very special place in my heart. I will never forget the big baby.

Is Barrack Hussein Obama really eligible to be the President of the United States?

I would never be comfortable allowing any one to be the President of the United States(POTUS)if he was not a natural born citizen as it states in the Constitution.

There are three requirements to be able to run for President.

#1. He must be 35 years of age.
#2. He must have at least 14 years of residency in the United States.
#3. He must be a natural born citizen.

That is surely not a lot to demand of one who would want to run our country. Apparently Barrack Obama thinks so...

There is a lawsuit now brought into play by Philip J. Berg a democrat and attorney in Pennsylvania. This lawsuit is demanding that Barrack Obama show proof of his citizenship. John McCain was required to show proof. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father was stationed there in the military.

Please watch this in its entirety..


I want to thank Shelly from The Mom with Brownies. She did a lot of research to find the information she has posted.

I will not vote for a man that will not produce the necessary documents to prove that he is eligible to run my country. We have a lot at stake here and we do not need a shady, dishonest, self seeking individual to muck it up even more.

Lost and found in Katie’s room.

Little by little I am accomplishing more in the packing up the house department. While I was cleaning my daughter's room, I notice she has accumulated many objects that I thought were gone. I have been missing a necklace that my boss and his wife gave to me from their trip to Italy, nail polish, nail file, double A batteries and Chris' crank flashlight. Actually Chris forgot he allowed Katie to his flashlight. He did so she wouldn't run down the batteries in his Mag Lite. Now I understand why the cats are always rowdy around Katie's bedtime. She uses the flashlight to get the cats hyped up. Geez….

The kitchen is in disarray and I am limiting the family to just the basics. One plate, cup, bowl and silverware. Which means the small remaining dishes will have to be washed by hand instead of the dishwasher. This should be interesting, seeing as how my family, mainly the kids, think that every time they get something to drink they need a new cup.

We heard from the new landlord, she told Chris that we officially get access tomorrow. The carpets will be cleaned in the morning but we may move in boxes and little items tomorrow evening. The furniture will be moved on October 25^th. I am rather relieved that we get to take our time moving rather than having to hurry up in one weekend.

 

 

Pimple problem at my age…. OY!

Just how many acne treatments is one supposed to put up with before any results are proven effective for a long period of time? Since I started going through pre menopause, my skin hasn't been kind to me. I still get my monthly visitor and though it may not be predictable when it's coming every month, my breakouts tell me the time is getting close. I don't want to be reminded in that way though.

I have been using store bought brands for well over a year now. They will work in the beginning and then lose the battle as I use it daily. I really need to find a product that will work on a more consistent basis. I never had a real problem as a teen and young adult. Even though my skin would break out every now and then, I was able to bring it under control. Now… it's like fighting a useless battle. It's also embarrassing being a woman in my late 30's having to worry about what my face is going to look like the next morning. I never had this much stress as a teenager.

I don't want to use a fad skin program, I want one that is actually going to work and keep working in the long run. Does anyone know of a good skin regimen?

I cannot wait until the moving nightmare is over

Chris has decided to hold a garage sale this weekend. Let me rephrase that. Chris has decided that I should hold a garage sale this weekend. He and Jeff will be over Kat's house installing drywall. I love how I get roped into this stuff. Thankfully I will have my mom to help me since I hate doing garage sales on my own.

I have been sweating my butt off organizing the house and knowing what items will go where. I have been cleaning like a fiend and moving heavy boxes by myself and I don't know why but, my appetite has increased significantly and I am gaining weight. I can't understand it. I have been watching what I eat, drinking loads of water and being way more active and I am gaining weight. I was going to swear off diet pills altogether but I think I need to find something that will just give me a boost in the energy department. I am guessing I need to be more active than I have been. Although my levels of activity increased…so… I am not sure what to think about that.

I can't wait until this whole moving nightmare is over. I hate moving. I hate everything about it. It's just so tedious and time consuming. Plus it has ruined Katie's plans for a birthday party because we just won't have the room to accommodate her friends so we told her that on Sunday we will do just something together as a family. See a movie, go out to dinner and of course probably visit Build A Bear so she can get another one for her collection. I suck as a mom big time. ..sigh…

Still packing

My business is launching off the ground nicely. I have two more clients to schedule on a weekly basis. So far my Tuesdays and Wednesdays slots are almost full. I have avoided Fridays for the time being since my children are off from school this coming Friday and I am not quite sure I want a heavy scheduled Friday just yet. I still want to keep some time for my own house. I absolutely hate to clean on the weekends because I do not get any down time as it is on the weekends. One thing I am thinking of adding to my expenses is a cell phone that will be used strictly for business calls. So I am now on a search for unlocked cell phones. I already have a business line hooked up with voicemail that will accommodate calls when I am not available to answer the phone.

I know that we are moving but it was vital to go ahead and set up the separate phone line so I could get my business started. I am not extremely busy that I cannot handle doing a few houses during the week and have time to pack the house. So far the whole downstairs with the exception of the kitchen is pretty much packed. I have neat rows of boxes stacked up along the back wall. Once I get more boxes the kitchen and bathrooms will be packed with the exception of the last minute necessities. The upstairs will be the last to pack. I will keep 7 days worth of clothing out for my family and pack up all the rest.

I am excited, anxious and stressed all at the same time. I hate moving but when it needs to be done, I try to make it as smooth of a transition as I possibly can. Chris and I rearranged the garage to accommodate what is being sold in the garage sale this coming weekend and what is being moved with us. On Saturday, my parents surprised us with a whole family room set of furniture. Their neighbors who have made their Florida residency permanent, have bought new furniture for the home and needed to get rid of their old but still looks like new furniture. We received a Queen sized sofa bed, a loveseat and two nice and plump chairs. Chris then informed me this morning that his co-worker and his wife want to give us another sofa bed and recliner. I seriously do not know where I am going to put all this but Chris insists we take it all. He is determined to find a place for it all. Whatever….

My eight year olds shoe addiction.

I have been going through the family's wardrobe to see what still fits and what is going to be a huge pile for the Salvation Army and/or Goodwill. Now, I know the kids and Chris have a lot of clothes but the amount of shoes they have compared to how many I own is ridiculous.

I have one pair of nice dress shoes, one pair of sneakers and one pair of Crocs. Three pairs of shoes to my name. That's it. Nothing more and nothing less.

Chris has two pairs of sneakers, three pairs of dress shoes, and two pairs of work shoes.

Jeff has two pairs of sneakers, two pairs of dress shoes, two pairs of sandals, and one pair of Crocs.

Katie has the most pairs of shoes and this girl is going to be the teen from hell if she doesn't break away from the "Gotta have shoes to match every outfit phase". It is so amazing how much an eight year old girl knows about shoes. I told her that we need her curb her shoe addiction when she told me she wanted a pair of Asgi shoes. I told her when she gets a job she can buy all the shoes she wants. But, until then, not gonna happen.

Know the FACTS!

Florida Issue Alert Senator Barack Obama's latest television advertisement doesn't tell the truth about John McCain's health care plan. Senator Obama falsely claims that John McCain's plan will cost Americans more for health care than they are spending now, and will leave more Americans uninsured. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07PCWZEYZO4) THE FACTS Barack Obama and Joe Biden have consistently lied to Americans about John McCain's plan. Their claims have failed every fact-check - from CBS to the Washington Post. John McCain is not going to raise taxes on middle class families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the only candidates in this race that plan to raise taxes. John McCain will reform the tax code to offer more choices beyond employer-based health insurance coverage. While individuals will still have the option of keeping employer-based coverage, every family will receive a direct refundable tax credit - effectively cash - of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance. Senator Obama claims that Americans will spend more under the McCain plan, but the truth is that your employer could provide you with health insurance as good as a Member of Congress, and you would pay no more in taxes - regardless of your tax bracket. In fact, you would have some additional money left over from the McCain tax credit to put in a health savings account. Call to Action John McCain knows that Americans are worried about health care costs, and he believes we can and must provide access to health care for every American. Senator Obama continues to air misleading advertisements about John McCain's health care plan in Florida, and we are depending on you to help to share the truth about John McCain's message. With less than four weeks until Election Day, we need your support more than ever. Can you help the McCain-Palin ticket by volunteering at your Local Victory Office for a few hours each week? Your efforts to share John McCain's message of real reform and real change will make all the difference on November 4th.

Carry My Cross

Carry My Cross by Third Day

As long as I remember, I've been walking through the wilderness. Praying to the Father And waiting for my time. I've come here with a mission and soon I'll give my life for this world! I'm praying in the garden and I'm looking for a miracle. I find the journey hard but It's the reason I was born. "Can this cup be passed on?" Lord, I pray your will be done In this world. So I'll carry my cross And I'll carry the shame to the end of the road through the struggle and pain. And I'll do it for love. No, it won't be in vain! Yes, I'll carry my cross and I'll carry the shame.

I feel like I'm alone here and I'm treated like a criminal. The time has come for me now even though I've done no wrong. "Father, please forgive them." They know not what they've done In this world. So I'll carry my cross And I'll carry the shame to the end of the road through the struggle and pain. And I'll do it for love. No, it won't be in vain! Yes, I'll carry my cross and I'll carry the shame.

Three more days and I'll be coming back again! Three more days and I'll be coming back again!

I loathe packrats!

As most of you know already, I am moving in just a few short weeks. So… I have been pulling my hair out trying to figure what we are taking with us and what will be going into the moving sale next weekend. While I have been slaving away in the garage yesterday, I came across this box of cable wire and connections. Chris is known for collecting mass amounts of junk like this. His packrat disorder has gotten way out of hand. Before we moved in to this place I made him go through all his clothes and donate to the Salvation Army what he didn't wear anymore. He had clothes from back when we were in high school! I know his own mother harped on him all the time to get rid of things that he hasn't used in over a year. His philosophy differs from "normal" people though. Once he gets rid of it he will need it.

Anyway, when Chris came home from work to find me still in the garage making a somewhat organized mess, he mentioned something about a CAT5e box not supposed to be in the trash pile. I thought I heard him say that it looked like a CAT 5. And I got upset with him. Sure it looked like a hurricane went through here. I have been sweating my ass off all day trying to tackle the garage and organize shit all by myself what the hell did he expect it to look like? I think he about peed his pants laughing as he picked up the stupid cable box that I threw in the trash and put it into the pile he knew we were keeping. Grrr….. Stupid packrat!

I hate packing!

It's been a very hectic few days. And no end is in sight in the near future either. Oy!

On Saturday, Chris, Katie and I went over to Kat's house to remedy her A/C problem The one that we gave her was not working right and eventually started to leak and spout water all over. So… Chris took that unit out with the help of Kat's son, Mark (My son, Jeff, worked earlier than normal because he was going to the Homecoming dance that evening). They put back in her old one and it wouldn't even blow any air. The fan bit the dust. Kat had to have a brand new one put in. Now, because of all the donations and support she has received she was able to buy a new one and she is also able to take that off the rent. So it worked out for the best all the way around. The new one is working great! Chris wanted to have it run all week to make sure no leaks would occur and we will be going over this Saturday to finally tear down the old drywall and replace it. Eventually we would like to repaint the entire room for her but that will take some time that unfortunately we will not have the time for in the immediate future.

We are moving this month to an exact model house that we are in now for $300.00 less in rent. We tried to work something out with the landlord (the one that never likes to return calls). Just last month the landlord called us to see if we would be interested in buying the house from him. After he and his wife got a divorce, their settlement left them owning all their property (one house and two trailers used for their landscaping employees) 50/50. Except for the house he bought shortly before we moved in here. He wanted to get out from underneath her. Chris told him then that there were way too many structural repairs to have to deal with and that there would be no way we would pay more than $100,000.00. Chris told the landlord that he would have to take a bath on the sale of the house. The landlord told us he would get back to us on that and that he understood exactly what we were talking about. Never called us back! Surprised? I'm not. However, Chris did mention to him in that same conversation that either he could consider selling to us (which for the record I did not want the house) or seriously consider coming down on the rent and that seeing how the economy is now a lot of places are coming down on rent. He straight out told us that his ex-wife has the say in that and because they have to pay an additional $100.00 dollars a month to pay the mortgage, (Hmmm… I am pretty sure they took advantage of the subprime market) she would probably tell us to look for another place. Chris told him if she was not willing to come down then they have our last months rent and we will look somewhere else. That is exactly what we did.

We will be moving out of here by the 22^nd. Sooner if she has the carpets cleaned earlier. And as I mentioned before it is the same exact house except for a few modifications. Jeff will no longer have to deal with the utility hookups being in his bedroom closet. The Utility room is down stairs where there a third bathroom is where we live now. I am 100 percent fine with that. Jeff is really fine with that. Although he will lose access to the bathroom from his bedroom, because a huge closet is there in the new house. And we also have a linen closet in the new house. The lanai in the new house is actually a sunroom and deck area. We like that better and they also have converted one half of the garage into a lounge room. We don't need the garage for the cars, just our bikes, my dad's motorcycle, Chris' tools and my cleaning products. We don't use the double garage now except for storage. So we can deal with the garage just being for storage.

So… when we informed our landlord of our intention of leaving, he became upset. He asked if we were unhappy with our neighbors. WTF? Chris told him that we were very happy with the neighbors. He then asked if we could hold off on the whole moving gig because he and his ex wife were in the middle of refinancing and possibly could match what we would pay the other landlords. Uh… NO! Sorry… Can't do that, we have already made a commitment to the people. He actually told us that we were being very selfish because he was very willing to negotiate if we just let them know.. Can you see the type of people we are dealing with? We DID discuss this with him a month ago. He never got back to us on anything we previously discussed with him last month. When Chris' repeated back to him word for word on what he said about his ex wife not willing to negotiate and we told him that we would find another place. The landlord's response? NOTHING! What I really find amusing is that when I came home from taking Kat to the doctors and picking my kids up from their grandma's house, there was a FOR RENT sign already in place in the yard. UNFUCKINGBELIEVEABLE!!!! Seriously this guy is a douche bag and a half! Within in an hour of me leaving and Chris coming home for lunch, he already put up a sign. Yes he certainly has the right but I just can't believe how quickly he got to that when he has never and I mean NEVER responded to anything that went wrong with the house. The whole huge ass tree branch situation, the leaks from the A/C that also leaked into the garage and that section of the ceiling coming down, which did damage to our stuff in storage and the leaks from the roof causing ceiling damage to the front of the garage. And last but certainly no least the whole tick debacle. It just amazes me how he was like Speedy fuckinggonzales with the For Rent sign.

Chris seems to think that we will lose the deposit simply because the landlord is mad. I say he can fuck himself if he thinks he is keeping any of it! But of course Chris' just wants to get away from the Looney shits and may very well let them keep it just to get the hell out! What do you think?

Introducing..... Mindy's Green Solution.....

That is the official name of my cleaning company. I will be using all natural cleaning products from the Melaleuca Company. The only way to get these products is to become a preferred customer. They do not sell in any stores. I have used their products in the past (Oh... about 12 years ago) when I worked for a cleaning company. The products are like no other and I love the fresh citrus and melaleuca plant smell. No harsh abrasives, ammonia or bleach are a worry in these products. Now because they are all natural hence the the "Green" in Mindy's Green Solution!

It's just me at the moment doing all the work. I would rather have it that way than have to hire on people. I don't want overhead and I don't want to have to run background checks and drug tests. If I ever get to the point where it would be reasonable to hire people I may.

I have set up a new phone line exclusively for the business and Chris has made fliers, brochures and business cards and I have already set up appointments. My first test run was with Kat's house, shortly after she came home from the hospital. When she feels up to it she will write up a letter of recommendation. My grandparents have already "hired" me to clean their house twice a month and they are spreading the word in their neighborhood.

I don't think I will need to do much advertising in the way of paying for promotions or mailings. I have always believed in word of mouth advertising. Hopefully I will be up to at least 10 customers in a few months. I am hoping for more weekly customers than bi-weekly or monthly. It will be so much easier to schedule that way.

You have the RIGHT to know the TRUTH!

If we as Americans are to make an informed choice to decide who is qualified, experienced and not one to hide where he actually stands with this whole housing and economic fiasco.... I suggest you think long and hard before you cast your vote. Look for the facts yourself!

I have searched every link in this video and found the facts to be true!

Now I am MAD!

This is why we need regulation! Accountability people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need to stand up as Americans and make our government let these corporations and Big Executives fail and take responsibility for the crisis we are in now! PERIOD!!!!!!!

Hormones stink

I give up. I have tried relentlessly to find the best acne treatment for my son. For years he has battled acne. I don't get it though. I didn't have bad acne when I was a teenager, nor did his father. So I am at a loss where he gets it. I know his doctor has said on more than one occasion that his hormones might play a very active role and if he follows a cleaning regime and avoid harsh chemicals he should clean up in no time. That didn't work. Jeff showers daily, washes his face daily, he is conscious of not touching his face and we have restricted his sugar and caffeine intake and still nothing. I am tempted to try all those supposedly sure fire cures or treatments but they are out of our budget at the time being.

I just feel so bad for him having to live with this. I will give him credit though… he doesn't allow it to hinder his life. He has many friends and he does get a lot of girls that call the house so I know that department isn't lagging but man… he deserves a break.

Time to show your boobies!

I just want to thank everyone that participated by nominating Kat for the first $359.00 of the BoobieThon money raised to go to her. I say that because she has been awarded the money. I truly believe we had a hand in the outcome and I am sure they felt she deserved it since she has put forth many hours of volunteering with the BoobieThon in the past. Again, everyone, Thank you for making this a reality for Kat.

Speaking of the BoobieThon, this month marks Breast Cancer Awareness and the BoobieThon runs every year to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation. So, if you haven't already why don't you submit a photo your girls to the fund raiser and help them raise money for a very worthy cause. Men… you are not excluded… all are welcome!

 

Economy bailout plan B.

I had to write this because I truly believe this is an awesome idea.

Our government was trying to pass a 700 billion bailout to the financial institutions with taxpayer's money. I had a real hard time swallowing that one myself. Of course it didn't pass.

So why not go about it in a different way using less money. They tried doing this with the stimulus package and it did virtually nothing to stimulate the economy because it was in amounts that would absolutely stimulate nothing. So let's take it to a different level.

For example: Let's say there are 335 million people in the United States. Out of those 335 million they are approximately 280 million people between the ages of 18-60. If the government issues checks of 250 thousand to each and every one of them that is a taxpayer it would cost roughly about 75 billion dollars. If the government wants to use the taxpayer's money than I whole heartedly believe it should go to the taxpayer period. This would allow everyone to pay off debts and allow the taxpayers to spend also which would boost the economy. Now I know that a percentage will squander their share (still boosting the economy) and a percentage will hoard their share. But the majority will do what will be intended. The financial institutions would still benefit from this as well just not at the obscene level. My figures are just an estimate but let's say that the government gave out 500 thousand dollars it would still be only 150 billion. Still a hell of a lot lower than the 700 billion dollars. See where I am going with this? Now I understand many government officials would squint at this because of their greed. Reality check here people. They want to spend our money but not to the benefit of the taxpayer. I truly think we should contact our representatives and senators and urge them to push this forward. How many of you would benefit from having to get out from under your subprime and revolving loans? How many of you would love to be debt free and stay that way? How many of you would like to be secure in your jobs? How many of you would like to see the small business owner be able to stay in business? Our nation founded the government with the understanding and the drive to make sure that it was by the people, for the people and of the people! It is not that way anymore is it?