Can you tell I have been busy?

There is so much that has gone one that my head is still spinning.....
Ok, let's recap.

1) My son, Jeff, turned 17 this past Sunday. Although I did have a post planned my computer decided that for whatever reason it did not want to cooperate. Therefore it was inadvertantly erased. ARGHH!!! We celebrated it by surprising him with a trip to Busch Gardens. It was not easy by any means trying to coordinate this and allowing him to bring a friend that also was not aware that we were doing this. I really appreciate Patricia's mom for playing along. The kids actually thought we were going to the Aquarium in Tampa. I have to give Jeff credit because he did not once complain about what a crappy time that would be. He would have probably faked enjoying that trip if we actually went through with that.
Jeff has come a long way in the last year. I am so stinking proud of him. He is saving money to buy his first car, he is maintaining his grades very well and has taken on more hours at work. And on top of that he helps me around the house more since I have started back to school.
He has made one request for his birthday next year. He would like to travel to Europe. Specifically Germany, since that is most of our heritage. His father and I have taken his request into consideration and if all goes well we will be setting it up in the very near future. Chris is actually wanting to travel to Europe since his best friend, Phil is in England. I think this will be a great family getaway.

2) My last week of the first term in school finished last Tuesday the 22nd. I am extremely happy to announce that I currently have a 4.0 GPA!!! This achievement did not come easy and of course certain enjoyable past times have suffered. This blog is one of them.

3) Although I do get a week break in between each term, I have spent most of that week catching up on items needing my attention and making time to just relax.

4) My daughter, Katie, came down with the flu this past week. This poor girl was miserable. I feel bad that I may have been the one to give her the bug. I tried so hard to stay away from my kids when I was sick.

I can't promise that I will be posting regularly. But I will try to post once a week. Thanks to all that have stuck around. I really appreciate that. My next two classes have already started and I can already tell that this too is going to be another ten weeks of pulling my hair out!

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!!!!

Don't they look scrumptious? Katie is reving up for another banner sell out along with her Brownie troop. We have already begun our pre order sales and in the next few weeks starting in February, they will be out full force selling from their cookie booths at your local Wal-Mart and Grocery Stores.

Selling the Girl Scout cookies helps girls develop skills for success in the real world. With cookies as their product, Girl Scouts learn to:
• set goals
• plan
• collect and manage their money
• implement safety procedures
• keep records
• design promotional materials
• make sales presentations
• figure income
• monitor inventory
• distribute the product

So where does the $3.50 per box of cookies go?

.60 to the troop

.10 Girl Awards

.90 Cost of Cookies

.02 Cost of cookie sale

1.88 Benefits to Girl Scouts council - wide

Total- $3.50

Katie's troop has a goal of 2,000 boxes. That will bring in $1,200 for the troop. And because their troop leader is fully aware that many parents cannot afford the regular field trips and the camping outings, she chooses to pay for those events with the girl scout cookie money earned. Some troops use theirs for "special outings" ie... Disney World and Bush Gardens. I think this is a worthy cause to support. Wouldn't you agree?

Ok... so you may not like Girl Scout Cookies ( there a few out there) or maybe you have started a weight loss regimen ( a few cookies won't kill ya;) so why not support The Gift of Caring or Mints for the Military? For the cost of a box of cookies you can support one of these great programs.

The Gift of Caring: Cookies are collected and donated to various food banks and charities throughout the council.

Mints for the Military: Cookies for active Military personnel. A community service project that the girls enjoy participating in.

I am aware that there are some communities that do not have a local Girl Scout Chapter but if you are inclined to support the girls efforts I would be willing to set up a paypal link so that you can order cookies. Shipping of course would be additional and depending on your location what the cost would be or if you would just rather donate to one of the causes mentioned that would fine also.

In the next few weeks I will be posting on the girls progress and will also be sharing some delicious recipes that you can make with the cookies! So stay tuned.

It's that time of year people.....

and why does it always smack me in the face? I am talking about flu season. I swear the next person to come to work sick is going to get a knuckle sandwich from me personally.

I have been down for the count for five freaking days... My weekend was ruined and I have missed three days from work. I could take vacation days but screw it.. I am not wasting them on being sick. I have barely been able to do any school work. I am caught up but I do not like falling behind.

I have been pretty much a crab ass the whole time. I hate that my family suffers like this but when I get real sick I am freaking miserable. Can't sleep because of the funky ass dreams that fill my head. Talk about being delusional. Eat? No way, Jose. I do drink plenty of fluids though. The numerous potty trips can contest to that.

To top it off it is freaking colder than a witches tit outside and the wind is blowing like crazy. I feel like I am up in Ohio for crying out loud.

Ok... I am still crabby.. and I am getting off before I really let out some steam.

First Post of the new year...

I know.. I suck... Still trying to find a "balance" with family,work,Regalo Boutique,school and my blogging:) I am doing pretty good with scheduling everything I want to accomplish. Chris bought me a scheduler and I have been using it.

I am going to lose more weight this year. Hopefully I will reach my goal and by the summer I will want to be seen in a bathing suit.

Devote more time to the online store. Chris will be picking up more of the slack so that I can put a lot of my attention to my schooling. There are a lot of new products and girls. We got Linda Jackson cosmetics. I will let you all know when the new products are up.

Although my grade point average is a 3.8 so far, I want to do better. I would like to qualify for as many scholarships as I can so I do not have a big debt at the end to pay off.

Chris and I would like to buy a house but with the market the way it is and the financial institutions becoming stricter it looks slim at this point but we'll see.

Jeff is saving for a car. He works hard so we may help him out and Katie is growing up so fast. I swear that girl is going to start puberty early. She is only 8!

So we shall see what 2008 holds for this family.