Lukie's Ludicrous Lore

What happened to Winter

2012-01-31T14:50:00.002-05:00

2011 - 2012 is the winter that was not. I don't think we have had more than a few inches of snow on the ground at any one time. On one hand it has been nice and on the other it is very disappointing.

With this nice weather teasing us, I have renewed my wish to get a motorcycle. I probably have a better chance this year because the new car that we got to replace our very fuel efficient van is a gas hog. That is the only thing that I am disappointed about regarding the car. 14mpg is horrible.

I am going to start looking to see what is out there for motorcycles and scooters. I will also have to keep my eye out for Olympia Motorcycle Gloves, because being protected is going to be a major issue for me.

When we were kids I drove three and four wheelers all over. I even drove my dad's motorcycle to school for a few months without a permit. I would think it is like riding a bike.

I have to research this course that New Hampshire has that allows you to get your license upon completion.

Ladies Basketball

2012-01-31T14:39:00.003-05:00

I am having so much fun with our basketball league. This week we should have four or five new people playing with us. We have a broad range of players both in ability and spiritually. I didn't realize it but we have several unsaved ladies joining us.

I guess that means that I have to start behaving better. That or they will see that being a Christian doesn't have to be boring or prudish. Oh my, we talk about everything from ability (or lack thereof) to wardrobe malfunctions.

Someone pulled me aside last week and asked if I was offended by something. I laughed. It takes a lot to offend me. As my co-worker said, you can call me every name and slap me across the face and I still would not be offended.

Web Presence

2012-01-28T09:00:00.002-05:00

Our company will have a web presence again. Actually we have always had a web page but we are going to try the web store again.

Dante has been working on getting our entire inventory listed and now it will be my job to start taking photos of our products.

My most important job, however, is going to be to get our web site listed with the major search engines. I am also looking into using a service like triangle direct media to increase the traffic to my site in order to rank higher on the search engines.

Cadet

2012-01-28T08:54:00.002-05:00

My little man is going to try his hand at acting. Each year our school performs a play. This year the choice of the speech director is Cyrano de Bergerac. Now I am going to show my ignorance but, I have never heard of this play in my entire life.

Cal has secured the role of one of the cadets, to date which cadet is still be determined. My son has a hard time lying and is like me and wears his emotions on his sleeve so I think this will be a challenge for him.

He is very excited, more than I had expected.

Exhausting Day

2012-01-28T08:20:00.002-05:00

Friday I participated, for the first time, in an event that our schools sponsors. The event is a New England competition for the arts. It has everything from musical performances to biblical preaching. Trust me when I say there is a lot in the middle of those two things. I would guesstimate that there are over 30 categories.

I really enjoyed myself and as I pointed out to Cal, I think that my "calling" is serving people. I enjoy making people happy. I don't respond well when people start demanding my services but when they appreciate my efforts I will knock myself out for them.

I arrived at work at 7:30 a.m. and finally left the building after doing the dishes at 6:30 p.m. I was on my feet walking the building the entire day. I didn't sit down for longer than it took to drive to the store to pick up the food for the event. I was so tired when I arrived home that I pulled into the parking space and honked the horn for the hubby to come and carry me inside the house.

Back to the event. The award ceremony is at the end of the event and kids win ribbons. The typical blue, red, and yellow. I wonder how challenge coins, would be received as a reward. They would most certainly be of more value in years to come. I think I might make the recommendation for next years event.

Our school did fairly well, we had several first place ribbons winners, especially in the "arts". We didn't seem to fair that well in the core curriculum, and I have to wonder why. I know that Cal took a math exam and mentioned that he rushed through it because basketball was waiting for him when he was done.

Mud Camp

2012-01-28T07:56:00.003-05:00

This weekend is the time of the year when Cal goes to something our church calls Snow Camp. This year, however, since we have only had a few inches of snow and, it has not been that cold, they have changed the name to Mud Camp.

Cal has some big responsibilities this year, he will be playing guitar and performing in a skit. I am pretty exictied about everything that is going on in his life right now. I hesitate to say this but he is really starting to mature.

He made the comment to me the other day that he feels he has to do "crazy" things or people won't like him. I pointed out that there are more people who don't like him because he is known for being crazy. He responded with "good point".

In a few weeks he will be off to another Snow Camp through Word of Life. They are located in the snowbelt of New York so I am hoping that he will have snow for that one. This might be his first opportunity to ride a snowmobile.

All these litte trips are costing me a fortune, and there are several other things that seem to be draining my pocketbook this winter.

Four and counting

2012-01-18T19:19:00.003-05:00

Cal got a 12 string guitar for Christmas. This will be guitar number four for him. His first was an acoustic, second was an electric, third was another electric (much "cooler" than the first), and then the 12 string electric/acoustic.

He was taking lessons but they stopped for basketball season. I am looking forward to him starting again because he has somewhat stalled in his growth. Of course, it would help tremendously if he actually practiced.

As is the case with my boy, Cal is already looking ahead to his next musical instrument. His father would love for it to be the lastest and greatest electric piano. I have a funny feeling that it might be some ovation guitars. There are some really nice ones out there but, the boy better plan on getting a job because I think four is more than enough.

Maturity

2012-01-18T19:10:00.005-05:00

I know that I will probably regret blogging about this but, my 15 year-old son is finally starting to get it. He is finally starting to act like a contributing part of this family.

I spoke with one of his ex-teachers today and she mentioned that she has noticed a huge improvement in him during the past couple of months.

He has given me a run for my money. You know when you are kids and your parents say they hope you have a kid just like yourself. My parents got their wish. He is a good boy but I honestly didn't think he was ever going to catch on. My boy has been given the impression that the world revolves around him and his father has reinforced this belief. It has been a huge obstacle.

Creating some theme frames for our family photos

2012-01-18T19:10:00.004-05:00

Guest post written by Tina Haverford

There's nothing that I love more to do in my free time than doing some DIY crafts with my kids. They're just as crafty as I am and we have a lot of fun putting up all our little craft projects around the house. While I was off for the holidays, I had a lot of pictures printed that have been sitting on my computer for several years now. So now it's like my family and I are reliving all these good times that we had in these pictures and my kids wanted to make some picture frames for them.

We looked online to find some good picture frame ideas. While I was online doing that I found some info on Installing new floors and decided to go through them to get that done.

We came up with some really great picture frames and also worked on putting the other pictures into some photo albums so we can actually enjoy those too. Overall, we just had way too many pictures to actually frame all of them, although we would if we could have.

Work

2012-01-12T15:20:00.002-05:00

There are some days that I am so frustrated at work that I am ready to walk out and never return. I had one of those days on Tuesday. I was so upset that I actually removed the chair that I have in my office for my friends to sit in when they come to visit. When a co-worker came to sit and "talk" I simply told her I had no interest in speaking to anyone. The chair has not been replaced.

Today, however, was one of those days that I love my job and most of my co-workers. I laughed so hard today that I actually lost my voice and the people from upstairs came down to see what we were laughing about. (this is the second time that this has happened). I was shocked that they could actually hear us. I guess we just don't understand how loud we are as we are rolling on the floor.

"Please Lord, tell me that the sound she just made came from her mouth?".

The cutest thing

2011-12-30T19:44:00.002-05:00

"E" (see the list of characters to the right) received an iPod Touch from Santa. He seems to enjoy the "facetime" feature. It is so cute to hear Cal and "E" talking. "E" just talks and talks about everything and Cal doesn't "know what to say". It is funny. The first few days they called each other several times.

I hope they keep it up because I know that Cal really needs and enjoys talking to his nephew.

The Vacation that wasn't

2011-12-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

My work was very generous in giving us the entire week between Christmas and New Year's off. The bad part about being part-time is the fact that I don't get paid. I was able to "bank" enough time so it won't hurt too badly.

I was so excited because this would have been the first vacation (for more than a day here or there) that I had since starting the job two years ago. I cannot tell you how much I needed this vacation. I have been having a difficult time dealing with just the everyday stresses of a job. Two years without a vacation is a long time. I work 34 hours a week so I am part-time on paper only.

Then reality hit and I soon realized that we would be car shopping during my vacation. The stress was on because we had to purchase a car this week. The insurance would only cover a rental for 20 some days and the first ten we didn't know the amount that we would receive.

It is hard to shop for a car when you have no idea what your budget is going to be. We started shopping the day the settlement check arrived. Because of our past sins, we knew that we would not qualify for the conventional loan and we most definitely had to look for a used car.

Monday, after no less then ten phone calls about different cars and a few trips to look at different vehicles we found what we wanted (or better described as what we would settle for). The hard part was the fact that our used 2005 was loaded, and when I say loaded that is what I mean. Our old van was a Limited and it had every option ever offered by Dodge. We could not find any vehicle that had everything. We knew that we would have to settle.

On Tuesday, we drove an hour to look at the car, and a few other makes and models. We decided to get a 2007 Dodge Caravan. We filled out all the paperwork and the salesperson sent us home to come back at 4 p.m, when we could drive away with the car. We drive the hour home, got all the ridiculous paperwork together, waited a few hours and then drove back. We sat in the waiting room for 30 minutes and then had the privilege of being called into the office of the "financial officer". This guy was as smug as they come. He felt the need to remind us of all our past sins and problems. Thank you very much but we were very aware of the "problems" He then showed us the "offer". The deal was 25% interest, $1,700 fee, 25% down, and a loan that was longer than the life expectancy of the car. I let the "gentleman" get to the 25% interest and $1,700 fee before I stood up, shook his hand, and told him he was out of his mind. I left the hubby sitting there. I walked out, told Cal to get in the car and waited for Dante.

This place did such a job on us. It was horrible. Not only did they think that they had us over a barrel, but they made us think that we would NEVER get approved through a bank. (which is what this smug finance guy told us).

Wednesday, we spent the entire day arguing. I think that both Dante and I really started to panic. We had no idea what our next step would be. How can we buy a car if we can only get approved for a loan that in the end costs us almost 40%. We spent the entire day saying mean nasty things to each other (more me than him) and looking for cars that we would be able to purchase with the limited cash we had.

Thursday, we decided to get back on the horse. We went to look at a car and filled out the credit application. Once again everything played out like it did on Tuesday. They told us we were qualified but had to call us back with the terms. We were on pins and needles. We waited the entire day to find out that this company is awesome. They approved us without the ridiculous requests and paperwork and, the interest is one third what the first company tried to charge us.

Friday, we picked up our new car. It is not a car we ever considered looking at but, in the end, love. I am so glad that God put the obstacle in our way of the shady car dealer in order to point us in a different direction. We do not have a mini-van. We purchased a Honda Pilot. I am a little nervous about the gas mileage but in the end it is awesome.

I cannot believe how easy the process was once we were on the right track. The first car dealer was a scum and I will spend a fair amount of time giving them a negative review on every web site possible.

So in the end my vacation will be a stress free Saturday and back to church on Sunday.

Tis the Season for Surgery

2011-12-22T16:36:00.002-05:00

I must confess that I don't think I have ever known so many people who are having surgery.

My husbands brother fell and broke a hip and he is in surgery. One of my ladies from basketball just had surgery on her knee. I know two ladies that will be having surgery for breast cancer. The list seems to go on and on.

I am thankful that I don't know anyone who is having laser spine surgery.

Of course, Cal having his teeth pulled was classified as surgery and that is the closest to home. He had to have several stitches and that doesn't help the smile. He has two large black clumps on both sides of his front teeth.

Hopefully after the stitches come out things won't look so bad. He will have the top braces put on in mid January and that will also help tremendously

Prayers Appreciated

2011-12-22T15:58:00.003-05:00

It seems to be the time of stresses in our family. We have a history of December being a difficult month and this year is the same.

Cal had to have two of his teeth pulled, his eye teeth. The thought is, because one of those teeth didn't survive being knocked out, to pull them and move everything else forward. This is fine but it leaves him with a very unattractive smile for quite some time. This also comes during his basketball season which will probably have to end early.

The situation with the car is just a little stressful. We did OK with the insurance but quickly found out that we cannot "replace" the vehicle we had for what they paid us. We obviously got a great deal when we purchased the car originally. Now we are trying to find a car within our price range. The van that I want is probably not "the best" minvan on the market but it is what we can afford. Of course, Dante wants the best. I understand but we do have to live within our income.

I have to take the last week of December off, and of course because I am part time I don't get paid. Just what I need, a decrease in income.

If you could just keep our family in your prayers it would be appreciated.

Party

2011-12-19T05:57:00.003-05:00

We will be having our staff Christmas party this evening and I am confronted with the fact that I really don't have anything "fancy" to wear. Yes I have plenty of skirts, and a fair amount of shirts but nothing fancy. I am just a plain girl.

Our dress code at work requires a skirt or dress that is mid calf length. Most of my skirts meet this requirement except for a few summer ones that barely touch the knee. I wear them anyway and I am sure that I look ridiculous but they don't make scooter skirts that long.

What I need is to break down and go shopping for plus size dresses to have for Sunday morning and these occasions where I should be dressing up just a bit.

I am not feeling well today (or yesterday for that matter) and do not look forward to going back out this evening to a party, but I do have the perfect gift for our swap and that is making it worth the effort.

Almost Done

2011-12-17T19:43:00.002-05:00

I am almost done with Christmas shopping. Not because I really want to be but because I am desperate to try to keep things under control this year. We have already spent much more than we had wanted to but because money has been tight for several years our want list is much larger than normal.

My list is mostly household items. I wanted a new living room set, love seat and over sized chair. I hope Santa can get that down the chimney.

Promises, Promises

2011-12-15T06:28:00.004-05:00

Each year I promise myself that this will be the year that I use my cross country skis. They actually made the move because I was positive that in our new town I would most definitely use them.

We live in a great location and have a nice park within walking distance and it is an ideal location to get out on the trails and ski again.

This is about the time that I start looking for Black Diamond Compactor Poles to try to make the walk to the trails as convenient as possible. I would also love to use the poles for other winter activities that I am sure I will take part in during the next few months.

This will be the year! I have always used the excuse that I had to wait for Cal to get older because Dante would NEVER do an activity like this. Now that Cal is older he is very much like his dad with little desire to actually spend time outside in the snow that he claims to love. Winter is his favorite time of the year.

Not the best way to start the week!

2011-12-15T06:00:00.005-05:00

Monday after arriving home from work around 3:30, Dante said that he needed to get an order ready and run it to the post office. I told him to go ahead and I would start dinner. Cal also declined to ride along.

I started dinner and few moments later Dante appeared with a good-bye kiss and he was on his way.

The next sound I hear is the front door crashing open and Dante bursting through. I came out of the kitchen and asked him what was going on, I had no clue. He didn't answer me the first few times that I asked, because he was concentrating on calling 911. Finally he screamed that the car was on fire. I looked out and saw smoke coming from the hood of the car. It didn't look bad and it certainly didn't look on fire. I did notice a little fire underneath and assumed that is what he was talking about. I grabbed the pot of water that I had on the stove and threw it under the car. That was when I noticed the entire engine compartment was red with flames. Yep that pot of boiling water was like spitting on the fire.

Within minutes the entire engine was engulfed in flames. Both Cal and I had already changed into our PJ's for the day so I yelled to Cal to get changed and then we would need to get out because the car was parked very close to the house. By the time we changed and got back down stairs the fire was large enough that exiting through the front door was not possible.

We ran to the back door as Dante starting banging on the window for us to get out of the house - just in case. The Christmas tree blocked the back door so I grabbed it by the middle and laid it on the floor and Cal and I exited just as the police arrived.

The police officer started banging on the doors of our neighbors and made them leave their units. I guess Dante and I should have done that before but by that point no one was really in danger the cop was just being cautious.

The fire department arrived a few moments later and put the fire out. The car is obviously totaled and now the fight with the insurance begins. As I type this the car is still sitting in front of our unit, stinking to high heaven. I called the insurance company yesterday and told them that it needed to be gone by time I got home from work because the smell was making me nauseous and giving me a headache. I don't think they really gave a hoot.

Dante mentioned that they called back and said "maybe" Friday. I love being at the mercy of these people. They have no trouble collecting my premiums each month, but when I need them they suddenly have trouble with the simplest requests. If this fire had been in front of a store would they have left the car that for five days, I doubt it. I have had insurance with this company for almost my entire adult life with only one small claim over ten years ago.

Now we wait to see how little they will give us for the van. I am just praying it is enough to actually get a replacement but I worry that they will low-ball us and we will be up a creek.

I will update you when this is all over and let you know just how "on my side" the insurance company is being.

Flying South for the......

2011-12-06T19:14:00.002-05:00

summer? Dante broke the news to me today that he would really like to go to Flordia to visit his kids. I guess the plan is to meet there this summer. Dante's son would be coming from TN and then his daughter, of course, lives there.

I have not been filled in on many of the details, probably because I would not be able to attend anyway. I think it would be great it Dante and Cal could do this. It would give them the opportunity to see the little kids.

It will be interesting to see if this works out!

Home with the kids.

2011-12-06T18:34:00.001-05:00

The Author of this post is Herschel Compton

Being home with the kids all day means I watch a lot of satellite TV. I wake up and immediately turn on the Today Show which is great for getting my news and celebrity fix for the day. After that goes off I switch over to Dr. Phil which is usually either an interesting topic or something relevant to my life like how to deal with your in laws or something like that. I also really like House Hunters which comes on at noon here and then when that’s done I flip to Hoarders. That show can really depress you but if the people get better then you feel better by the end of the episode! There’s something great about Criminal Minds, too, which comes on after Hoarders because it really makes you think about whodunit and all that stuff – it’s a bit graphic so I have to make sure the kids aren’t home but you know, they could stand a bit of real world topical conversation every now and then, you know?

Missing Blog

2011-12-04T13:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I get confused with Facebook and blogging. I thought I had blogged about "breaking my ribs" but it seems that I just talked about it on Facebook.

We have stared a ladies' baskeball night at church. In November we had a very competative game and in my confusion I dove for the ball. Now apparently I was confused and forgot that I was not 20 something and 125 pounds overweight. I landed on my chest and my breast was shoved into my ribs. It knocked with wind out of me and I was desperate to not act hurt. I jumped up and ran down the court and sucked it up.

For over a week, I was not able to breathe, laugh, cough, or heaven forbid sneeze without extreme pain. During that time it seemed to get worse each day instead of better. Last Sunday I seriously considered having Dante take me to the emergency room.

That must have been the turning point, because after I made it through that day I have been getting significantly better each day.

I doubt if I broke anything because it did heal quickly but, during that first week I was wondering if I had cracked at least one rib.

It was extremely painful and just simple motions brought tears to my eyes. I certainly was not attempting to jump pool fencing, but small tasks, like doing the dishes were difficult.

I have learned my lesson and will not play above my ability again.

Happy Birthday Bub

2011-12-04T12:49:00.004-05:00

Today at 1:57 my wonderful son will turn fifteen. Yes, fifteen. He is pretty excited because in NH you can get your driving permit at 15 1/2.

Cal is our miracle baby, and I have had to retell this story many times over the years. I think that Dante is going to tell our story for the ladies ministry! Each year they tell an abortion story during a ladies event.

Any way, back to the birthday wishes. He received his presents this morning and is waiting patiently to go out to Friday's for this birthday dinner. I received his school pictures the other day and will be sending those out to friends and family soon!

Two Year Anniversary

2011-12-04T12:16:00.003-05:00

On November 1st I celebrated my two year anniversary with the church. While it has been difficult at times, I really love my job. I enjoy helping my co-workers, and church members. I also enjoy my ministries that I have with the teens.

I will be the first to confess that if someone offered me full time employment with benefits that I would have to seriously consider the offer. I would be open to just about any job or field, including Audiologist Jobs.

The ideal situation, and what I pray for on a regular basis, would be that the church make me a full time employee.

I am starting to fit in better and learn the ins and outs of ministry work!

Black Friday

2011-12-04T12:06:00.002-05:00

I participated in Black Friday for the first time in my 42 years of life. I met my mom at her hotel at 4:30 and we headed to our first store. We had to wait in line for only a few minutes before we entered the store. We split up, at that point, just to make sure that we were able to get the items that we wanted. Success!

That one store was really our only plan. Then we just decided to shop with nothing in mind. We stopped at Target and made a few purchases. I was shocked, the stores were empty. I am thankful that the die hard Black Friday shoppers were home in bed after being up at midnight.

We made a few more stops and I dropped her back at the hotel to shower and get ready for more shopping with the boys. She met us at our house and then the five of us headed to Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and Lowes. We had a great time and I purchased some beautiful poinsettias from Home Depot. All in all, it was a successful day and a great time with my mom.

Lighting of the Tree

2011-12-04T11:50:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I decided that I need a walk, a long walk. I headed toward the center of downtown or affectionately known as The Oval. After sitting on the freezing bench - a stone bench - for about fifteen minutes, I noticed people starting trickling into the area. I decided to hang around a few minutes more even though my backside had had more than enough.

Within a few minutes they starting singing carols and it seemed that I was taking part in the tree lighting service. It was fun and I sang along with a few songs.

Then came the moment that most had been waiting for, I cannot say that I had just because I was there by accident. The countdown began and at the end the lights glowed. It is a 25 foot Balsam Fir, and apparently the largest in quite a few years. The lights were a little disappointing, they were all white and frankly there needed to be a couple thousand more. That being said, I cannot tell you how much I love our little town. We have more events than most and the people seem to enjoy each others company.

The mood was very Christmasy, and I half expected there to be couples with engagement rings
and mistletoe all around.

Church Rant

2011-12-04T10:50:00.004-05:00

This little rant is for the family of six, seven, or eight that insists on sitting in the second or third row at church. You seem like a nice family and have been going to the church for many years, I am sure. You dress all your kids (number still unknown) up real nice and sit in a very prominent section. It seems that you bring your family so they can "perform" each Sunday. Oddly enough, that is the only time I have ever seen you. In the three years that we have been coming, I cannot think of a single event, other than Sunday morning, that we are blessed with your presence.

Now most families send their small children to Sunday School, but not you. I can understand this on one hand and then on the other, it is quite frustrating. Each and every one of your children leave service at least TWICE during the thirty minutes message. Of course, because you sit right up front it is a huge distraction. They seem to leave at will with little direction from you! They have to walk toward the stage and out the front door. Did I mention that I am still unsure about the number of children, that would be because they never all seem to be in the service at the same time.

If you are looking for a way to get your children seen on TV and maybe someone will see their "performance", maybe you should take others into consideration. How can we concentrate on the message when your children are on the go! One leaves, one enters, three leave, two enter and so on the entire service.

Blog?

2011-12-01T06:43:00.002-05:00

To blog or not to blog. The time has come to make a final decision. If I am going to continue to blog I must be more diligent about it or, frankly I just need to shut it down. I have made it "work" instead of enjoying the task. If I cannot enjoy it then why bother blogging.

I think my biggest road block is the fact that I don't write well. I thought after all this time I would see a significant improvement in my ability. I have noticed a huge difference in my spelling skillz but nothing with my sentence structure and grammar.

Some days when I go back and read something that I wrote in the past I feel like such a moron because it doesn't even make sense to me and I am the one who wrote the stupid post.

Lessons

2011-11-28T05:34:00.002-05:00

Cal has asked for a 12 string guitar for Christmas. Dante took him to the local music store and listened to him play and apparently the 12-string is easier than the six. I don't know, they really don't have me convinced. I am of the opinion that shoes don't make you run faster and jump higher and 12-strings are not going to magically play better than 6-strings.

Cal has been taking guitar lessons since the beginning of school. Honestly I am not a music lover and truly do not hear it correctly. It all sounds like a bunch of strumming to me. I would love to hear him actually play notes instead of strum chords.

Dante thinks he has oodles and oodles of "talent". I think that he needs to practice because nothing comes easy to this child, he has to work at things. Picking up the guitar once a day and strumming for five minutes is not my idea of working.

Cal is playing in a youth group band so to speak. Once a month he plays with three or four other people during teen worship. I thought that would light his fire but so far....... nope!

Trying Again

2011-11-15T06:47:00.002-05:00

Went to the gym yesterday and hoping to go after work today. I guess I am going to have to try to get into a groove on my own. Cal is playing basketball (sorta) and is going to be too tired to do everything he needs to do and go to the gym. I really would like go on the weekends as a family.

Ladies

2011-11-13T17:16:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to decide if I have the extra funds to purchase my co-workers a small gift this year. I have worked at my job for two years and have not been in a position to get gifts. I don't know if this year will be different but I am trying to think of things.

I would love to purchase them women's spa baskets, but reality is, I will probably just pick up some trinket.

If you cannot tell by my past posts I am really in the Christmas mode. I am a little stressed because Cal's Christmas list is growing each day and he is 15 - lists become more expensive the older they get.

Nice Weekend

2011-11-13T17:08:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we went to our quarterly CBD sale. I must confess that this trip was one of the best that we have had in several years. Everything went very smoothly and we had a great time. After CBD we headed up the coast for seafood. I don't really enjoy seafood as much as the boys do but, we had a good time.

We also did some shopping in Kittery. It was just a very nice day. Last time we attempted this trip CAL has stayed with a friend overnight and thought that the rule of no milk in the morning didn't apply. Well, he was very sick the entire trip so we had to cut it short.

He learned his lesson. The no milk rule is not there because we are horrible parents but because he will become very sick if he drinks it in the morning. He can have milk later in the day but not first thing and he cannot EVER have milk before going in a car, no matter how short the ride.

Tis the Season

2011-11-13T16:52:00.003-05:00

I am so excited about Christmas this year. I doubt that I will be able to give my husband a gift that he appreciates or uses more than the Keurig, but it is not about the gifts but the reason for the gifts.

I have often wondered why we buy each other gifts to celebrate the birth of Christ. But honestly that just takes too much thought. I will just continue to enjoy the season and have fun shopping. If you don't have fun buying your loved ones gifts then you really need to step back and rethink the entire situation.

I only purchase gifts for people to whom I am closest. I don't believe in purchasing just to purchase. This year will be more about necessities when it comes to Dante. He has a lot of needs so I will concentrate on those items. One thing he really needs are Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses. My husband has rather sensitive eyes so I try to purchase a higher quality product.

We have decided to focus most of our resources on Cal this year. His birthday is also in the month of December so that makes finances a little more difficult.

The Christmas Singing - Blog Tour

2011-11-10T15:26:00.012-05:00

My first Christmas book of the season, and I picked a great one. Cindy Woodsmall's The Christmas Singing was a charming story of Mattie Eash. Two years prior Gideon Beiler broke her heart by ending their engagement with a confusing excuse. She is now courting a very nice Amish man by the name of Sol Bender. They are happy but deep down Mattie knows that she does not love Sol the way she loved Gideon.
After Mattie's store burns, due to her careless mistake, she decides she needs a change of scenery and returns to the town where she thought she would be spending the rest of her life with Gideon. Gideon is there but Mattie can never forgive him for going outside the faith.

This was a fantastic story that kept you guessing as to who Mattie would finally end up marrying.

Would you like to see an excerpt from the first chapter? Click here.

I would recommend this story to all my readers and frankly this story has made me a Cindy Woodsmall fan. It has also peaked my interest in the traditions and lifestyle of the Amish.

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

TGI Friday's

2011-11-06T07:42:00.002-05:00

Has quickly become our favorite place to eat. If there is a restaurant out there that has more "customer loyalty rewards" I would love to hear about it.

I have not paid more than $25.00 for our family of three in ages. Each time you visit you get the rewards and then you also get the coupon for a free appetizer on your next visit. We almost always wait until a $ off coupon pops up online and, If I get the right waitress she will allow us to use multiple coupons.

On Friday we visited and Dante received a free rib dinner. Both Cal and I ordered $10.99 meals. They gave us a $17.69 meal for free and charged us for only the cheaper meals. Most places will only give you the free on the cheapest meal.

Now if I combine this reward program with MyPoints, we eat free several times a year. Don't know about MyPoints? Drop me a line in the comments and I will get you set up. Especially at this time of the year MyPoints can be a goldmine.

Allergy or Cold

2011-11-06T07:12:00.002-05:00

Every year at this time I get what is either allergies or an annual cold. In years past I have treated it as a cold for two weeks before I realize it is allergies. This year I started off treating it as allergies and I am not sure if I guessed right because the medicine is not doing a thing for me, except knocking me off me feet.

Everyone at work is taking this opportunity to mock me at every turn. Great Christians aren't they? Granted I probably deserve this treatment as I cannot seem to let even the smallest slip pass by without harassment.

My mom who wears medical scrub pants, for work in a dental office, and thinks that makes her a doctor, suggested that I try a different allergy medicine. I think she may be on to something because we both seem to have very sensitive side effects to medicines.

I am going to try the other allergy medicine and see if that helps. If not people are just going to have to deal with my very annoying voice.

If it works I think I should purchase my mom some scrubs for Christmas at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/, as she does qualify as Dr. Mom.

I might get to see my mom for Thanksgiving this year. It should be fun in our new location. I might even go shopping on Black Friday.

First Time

2011-11-02T19:39:00.004-04:00

We have electricity for the first time since Saturday. But that topic is for another post. I had such a productive day today. I left work early because I knew we had a ton of laundry to do and Dante had a lot of shipping to do because we had been out of business for the few days.

Below you will find my list of chores.

Laundry - I did five loads of laundry and when I say that I have done laundry, I mean that I have folded and taken care of the laundry. Unlike my husbands idea of laundry means leave it in five different laundry baskets or even better just dump them on the bed and wait until it is time to go to bed and then proceed to stuff five loads into one laundry basket.

Two large sink full of dishes. Gosh they pile up fast when you don't have any hot water to wash them

Cleaned the fireplace. What a mess. Trying to stay warm using a decorative fireplace just doesn't work well.

Completely unloaded and disposed of an entire refrigerator/freezer. Taking all the shelves out and washing every inch. It still smells but I put some baking soda in there. I have no idea why we didn't think of doing anything with it BEFORE everything went bad. I guess it is just the optimistic personalities that we have. We just knew the power was going to come on any second.

Made dinner of ham and macaroni and cheese. I didn't have the right cheese but it came out ok. I don't think I will find myself in any cookbook any time soon but it was nourishment.

Watered houseplants and disposed of the veggie garden that I had moved inside trying to get a few more peppers from the plants. Unfortunately little tiny bugs infested the veggies before I harvested them.

Packed up our Halloween decorations. Now this was not a huge task, as it is only one bin but it is complete and that is a huge task for this family. We love to start things and finish days or weeks later.

Hit the brick wall. I am so tired. My allergies are officially back (I get them this time every year.) I am just thankful that I recognized them for what they were right away. For several years I treat them as a cold for two weeks before I realize what is happening. My head feels like a balloon.

Several bags of trash taken to the dumpsters. I am sure we lost over a $100 worth of food. I am just thankful that the chest freezer we purchased a month ago did an awesome job. When we opened it for the first time this afternoon just a few things on top were thawed but still very cold. We didn't loose anything from there

Oh my word I wish I would have heard about the raleigh house cleaning service before I spent the entire day breaking my back. I do still have to vacuum, clean the bathrooms, and mop the floors.

I even had time to watch the most recent episode of Hawaii 5-0.

Family

2011-10-23T17:23:00.003-04:00

I don't talk about my family much but with the holidays just around the corner. I emailed my sister a few weeks ago to see if she would help surprise my mom for Thanksgiving. She email back with a non answer and I have not heard from her since.

I guess I am the black sheep of the family. I am the person that they try to hide every thing from. This past summer my grandmother died and I had to find out from a friend on facebook. My family had no intention of telling me.

My grandmother was in her 90's. We thought she was going to outlive us all. One area that always gave me concern regarding her was her lifelong problems with her thyroid. I remember her having hypothyroid treatment austin pretty consistently.

I know those types of conditions can be hereditary, I don't know of anyone else in the family that has been affected but I am sure some of these conditions can come later in life. I am not the spring chicken that I once was.

The King of Questions

2011-10-23T17:17:00.002-04:00

Cal is the worst with questions. Dante and I can be in the room talking and every few seconds Cal will have to interrupt to ask questions about our conversation. The funny this is that we scold him every time, but he still continues.

Right now we are watching the football game and every time we make comments to each other Cal has to ask what we are talking about. I think the boy needs to get outside for a while.

Today was a day of rest. We have not left the house and I think it is starting to get to everyone.

Basketball

2011-10-21T07:10:00.002-04:00

We had our third basketball gathering last night. I think that I am improving and not as much of a handicap to my teammates. I am probably one of the oldest ladies on the court and I am definitely the most overweight.

Basketball is so much exercise and manly exercise at that. I think I might wear my ed hardy trucker hats the next time.

I think this event is turning out quite nicely. We had eleven ladies show up last night and five of them do not attend our church. That makes this ministry an outreach and so far a pretty successful outreach.

Disappointed

2011-10-16T17:24:00.000-04:00

The lady at the coffee store talked us into trying the "pods" instead of the k-cups. We tried a sample and then immediatley purchased the holder and 36 pods.

So far that has been a mistake. The pods are breaking in our unit and our coffee is full of grounds. The taste of the coffee is good and they have many more flavors but in the end, if the coffee is full of grounds, it is not going to work.

Fantastic Day

2011-10-16T17:09:00.002-04:00

Dante suggested that we go for a hike to some falls that are a few miles from the house. What a perfect day. I thought it might be a little cold but in the woods it was perfect. We didn't complete the entire hike because Dante and Cal wanted to turn around but I made them promise that the next time we would do the three mile one-way hike.

We had tried this hike this summer but the bugs drove us crazy and ruined the entire trip. Now the bugs are gone and it was perfect.

It was such a relaxing hike, I didn't think about any of my problems/stresses for the entire time. I could have stayed out there all day.

We brought the camera and took a ton of pictures. We took so many that our
nimh rechargeable batteries ran out, next time I will remember to have them fully charged. I will try to post some pictures later but this computer does not have a memory card slot.

Waiting Patiently

2011-10-16T16:46:00.002-04:00

My high school friend that I have been looking for for quite some time (the same friend that is in a relationship with a famous person) made contact with my Florida LPGA friend. She relayed the message that I had been looking for her and gave her my contact information. Now I wait patiently for her to contact me.

I guess this will determine just how close we really were.

Halloween

2011-10-16T16:32:00.002-04:00

Some people don't like to celebrate Halloween because of what it stand for, in their minds. Personally I love Halloween. I don't get into the zombie, vampire, evilness, or scary side but I do love the pumpkins and other cute decorations. It is what you make of it.

That being said our church offers an alternative to Halloween. We get together and roast hot dogs over barrels and have games for the kids and so on. However, this year our family has decided that it will be more beneficial to our community to stay home hand out a treat and tract. I think we will reach more people by doing that rather than providing a free food night for the 20 or so families that might wander onto church grounds.

I wonder if it would go over well if I dressed up in sexy nurse costumes to hand out the candy at my door. Actually it would probably scare the daylights out of more than just the kids.

First Volleyball Night

2011-10-08T09:03:00.002-04:00

We had our first volleyball night at the church the other day. While it was fun I think basketball is going to be more popular. You not get nearly as much exercise during v-ball. The b-ball nights I left the gym with sweet dripping from my body. V-ball, I barely broke one. I think I am probably better at v-ball than b-ball but I am looking for exercise.

The other problem with v-ball is that it was just a get-it-over-the-net game. There was not much bump, set, spike. Granted I probably would have to invest in some thrust bearings in order to get this large frame off the floor to actually execute a spike.

All that to say, we really had a great time and even better fellowship. There are some ladies that I have not had a chance to have a personal conversation with and, this gives us all a great opportunity.

High School

2011-10-08T08:41:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe that my little boy is in high school. Yes, he is in 9th grade this year. Things are not much different for us but, for him it seems more different than he expected.

His school had a significant increase in high school enrollment this year and I think the school itself is having some adjustment issues. Hopefully they will iron out before long and the kids can settle down and get serious about their school year.

Unfortunately this year he will have another Science Fair. Oh I cannot tell you how much the parents loathe these silly events. He would like to do something with his paintball gun but what that is is still up in the air.

The other big change this year is that he has to start thinking about SAT's and then a little bit later comes gmat prep. We do have a few years to think about the best way to handle those tests. Right now VeritasPrep looks very promising. This means that Cal is going to have to start putting his nose to the grindstone and get those grades up where they belong.

Pumpkin Festival

2011-10-08T08:34:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the Pumpkin Festival. Dante and I have volunteered to work at one of the booths selling food but after that the day is ours. They block off most of the oval and a side street. It seems to be a little smaller than last year but the food seems to be significantly better. Who in the world dips onion rings in pancake batter. YUCK.

I love our little town. We will probably walk ten miles today going back and forth, it will be a blast. Last night after Cal's soccer game (which they won! First win this season) we headed over for a few minutes and watched the corny pumpkin lighting ceremony and awesome fireworks.

Oh that reminds me...... we are not going to the church this year for Halloween so I need to get something to give the 1,000 kids that might come to our door!

Sisters are Nuts

2011-10-08T08:21:00.001-04:00

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

We got Home-Alarm-Systemsat the house and Lord, if my sister didn’t have the hardest time working the thing. She’s always coming in really late as it is and she’d always set it off and forget the code forcing me to get out of bed to stop the alarm. I’m glad we have it since it’s not the safest neighborhood and the house we live in was bought by my dad who would KILL us if anyone ever broke inbut I really wish Karol would listen the next time I try to sit and show her how to work the thing. My younger sister Katie is talking about moving in, too, and she’s not only ditzy, she’s messy, so we’ll see how that goes. I have a feeling if she does that she and I are totally going to get into it at some point but I guess that’s all part of being sisters and learning to deal with each other as adults. No one tells you about how hard that part is!

Some added exercise.

2011-10-04T19:18:00.004-04:00

I started a basketball/volleyball evening at church. Because the facility is so busy we cannot start until 8:30 and last week we went to almost 10:30. We are having a great time and I am doing much better than I imagined I would. So far we have had one volleyball night and two basketball. The basketball has been better attended but hopefully volleyball will make a come back.

Work has been much better recently with my boss finally having more confidence in me to make decisions without constant micromanaging. I keep joking with the hubby that he might have to look into Network Installer Jobs because I don't see becoming a full time employee anytime soon. I really need to get a job that offers benefits. The ideal situation would be that our business starts doing the amount of sales that we did 15 years ago, but I won't hold my breath.

I think getting involved in church things outside of work has actually helped me to start enjoying my job more!

No goal yet

2011-10-02T17:26:00.002-04:00

Cal has not scored a goal in soccer yet but I fully expect it to come before the end of the season. He is getting better with each game.

I had forgotten how much I love this game. I most certainly cannot play the way I used to and that makes it difficult for me. I don't dare slide I might break a hip. I don't know how to play without sliding. I also cannot run the way you need to run when you play halfback.

I need to get back to the gym and build up my running stamina, not only for soccer but for ladies basketball.

Reveal my "secret identity"

2011-10-02T17:20:00.002-04:00

I have some pretty strange news that has the potential to reveal my identity but it is just to strange to keep a secret.

I will try to tell the story so that it is not searchable on google.

One of my good friends in high school has just announced her "relationship" with a certain famous person.

I have tons of picture of us together and told Cal that I should go dig them out and sell them and get rich. Obviously I am kidding about selling the pictures. This person is in at least one of my pictures on facebook.

I cannot tell you how I feel about this entire situation because that would not be fair to anyone involved. I am not "happy" but it is probably not for the reason you would expect.

Hard to believe

2011-10-01T09:29:00.003-04:00

It is so hard to believe that I have not blogged in over two weeks. Work has been wicked (a word we say a lot here in New England) busy at work. I have been working over my scheduled hours almost everyday since school started.

I have added many new responsibilities since the school decided to use an entirely new software. It causes me double the work when I have to schedule facilities or vehicles. Now I have to pull the information off their system and add it to the church system. It is a little on the silly side but I do see the benefit for the school.

I have many topics to wrote posts about so come back again soon!

So many wants, so little money

2011-09-10T14:01:00.002-04:00

There are several things that we were hoping to do before the cold weather sets in. With the way business is going this month it most certainly will be waiting a while longer. We really need a freezer. Just a small one, nothing big and something that will have very little impact on our electric bill.

If business doesn't pick up soon, I am going to need title loans Pennsylvania style just to give Cal lunch money next month. I so dislike the majority of our income coming from being self-employed. That is probably the main reason that I will never be able to quit my job.

Crazy Weather

2011-09-10T13:49:00.002-04:00

My family is safe from the recent flooding. My father lives right next to a river but he said it only raised up about two to three feet. The odd thing is this recent storm went all around them. Literally, they sit right in the middle of all the damage. It is strange to see this storm compared to the 1972 flood.

I grew up hearing about the 72 flood and I didn't think I would live to see something they are saying is worse. The people of PA seem to have been hit the hardest. The thing that is going to add to stress of those poor people, is the fact that insurance companies will be denying most of their claims.

I hope that organizations move in quickly and provide aid. I pray that most people will be able to rebuild and become bigger and better than ever.

Total Defeat!

2011-09-10T13:28:00.002-04:00

I have decided that I am never going to be happy because of the way I went about getting it.

Yet another Epic Fail

2011-09-09T20:22:00.005-04:00

I didn't go to the gym once this week. Each day there seemed to be some excuse, I was able to convince myself not to get up.

Cal has a soccer game tomorrow and I hope that I find my mojo again and get back on track. I can feel myself gaining weight by the second. I have wondered if the e cigarette curbs the appetite like a regular cigarette.

I think I will stick with will power, even though it is not working that well. It might also be time to go carbs free. They are making me feel lousy lately. That is a huge battle though. I love my carbs.

Confused

2011-09-09T20:06:00.002-04:00

I am not really sure what I am doing to myself but, for the past week I have been having dreams that I am pregnant. My dream is very real and each time I can feel the baby growing inside.

I think it might have something to do with the fact that my former co-worker had a baby about six weeks ago. Today she arrived at the office and I actually held the little guy. Now this is very strange for me. I avoid babies like the plague. They make me want too much.

He was passed around the office very quickly so I really only held him for about two to three minutes but now I cannot stop thinking about him. My husband and I have one child. We have always wanted more but I think God only wanted us to mess up one child and not four like I have always wanted.

The dream of having more kids is over and I should not be teasing myself like this.

Just a little jealous

2011-09-08T16:55:00.003-04:00

Camping is a huge activity in our church. They have an annual camping trip and several of our friends have campers or at least go camping several times during the summer. I must confess that this year I was a little jealous. We don't have a camper or any camping equipment for that matter.

I camped a lot as a kid and always claimed to hate it as an adult but I am starting to dream about a small pull behind camper. I would love a seasonal site were we park it and leave it. I don't know if I would want to haul that behind my car several times a year.

I am not jealous when one of them talks about rv repair, but when they start talking about sitting around the camp fire singing songs my heart skips a beat.

Waiting for Morning - Blog Tour

2011-09-04T12:50:00.006-04:00

I have never been a Karen Kingsbury fan. I am the type of person that shuns things that seem to be overly popular. I also steer clear of authors that mass produce, Kingsbury seems to have a new book out every few months. I am about quality not quantity.

"Waiting for Morning" by Karen Kingsbury was a very plesant surprise and has caused me rethink my theory. One of the biggest turn-offs for me in regards to books is to know what the ending will be before you hit chapter three. This was not the case with this book. It was fantastic from beginning to end. The topic was fresh and exciting and not typical by any means.

Hannah Ryan had her life destroyed one late summer day. Brain Wesley was at fault but Hannah was determined that it was all God's fault. In her attempt to obtain "justice" Hannah came very close to destroying the only family she had left, her daughter!

I recommend this book to any of my reader's who enjoy fiction.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Secret Want

2011-09-02T19:27:00.003-04:00

OK I have a secret want to share and, if you know my husband I will ask that you please do not discuss the following post.

I want to get my motorcycle license. Several of the ladies at work have them. This is ok with our Pastor because he is a motorcycle nut. He has never preached from pulpit that women should not be driving them because it is not lady like but I am sure he would love to. He has also never made it clear as to whether we should be wearing a skirt or not. At work it is strictly skirts below the knees.

Anyway I digress. One of the girls asked if I would go with her to get a license. Here in NH you can take an course and at the end you get your license. I would love to do this. I could see myself on a bike. Believe it or not NH is a huge motorcycle state. The no helmet law helps - not that I would ride my bike without Arai Motorcycle Helmets securely on both myself and my passenger.

There are several problems with this however, I don't have a bike and even if I did I would not have a place to store said bike in the winter months. Considering that it would be in storage more than on the road I don't think it would be cost effective.

What a hoot!

2011-09-02T19:07:00.002-04:00

I work with a group of people that were born and raised Christian, fairly conservative Christian at that. Sometimes they seem to be untouched by all the filth in the world. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.

I was standing talking in a group of four. Two of us where at the top of the stair and then two others joined us standing at the bottom of the stairs. Somehow the topic of laundry came up. It was not really the discussion just a little rabbit trail. The one lady started to tell a story and she said "When my husband and I were first married, he melted my underwear." She then continued the story but frankly I had stopped listening. Why, because I was busting a gut, so was one other person in the group - which shocked me, normally these statements would go over her head as well. The lady telling the story stopped and with all seriousness said "what is so funny, I have not gotten to the funny part yet." I responded with "Please say that first sentence again", because I have no problem corrupting these ladies. She repeated her sentence and stood there looking while I again roared with laughter. Finally after a few seconds she realized what she had said.

She then squealed with laughter and turned about twenty shades of red. Then she quickly tried to rephrase her statement. She was such a good sport about it and we have laughed heartily for days about the story. I told her that I could not wait until the next time I saw her husband.

I have definitely brought some life to the office. I have introduced these ladies to a small segment of the outside world. I love and envy their innocence at times.

Coconut Oil

2011-09-02T18:01:00.002-04:00

During prayer meeting I was updating the ladies on Cal's teeth saga. It looks like he has a abscess on the tooth that fell out so they have decided that the best course of action is to take out the two eye teeth and move everything else forward. I think this is an awesome idea and it means that in the end he will only need one implant instead of two or three.

One of the ladies who went to college for nutrition said to rinse with coconut oil that it will bring out the infection and will help in other oral hygiene ways. She went on to say that cooking with coconut oil is the best and that olive oil can spoil at high temperatures. Now I have no knowledge as to whether these statements are true or not but it all sounded reasonable.

One of the other ladies mentioned that she had a large jar at home and would bring it in for me. The next day the jar was on my desk. The problem is it stated it was for hair and skin care and didn't mention anything about using it for cooking or food preparation.

My co-worker assured me that it was safe and I could indeed ingest it. She also stated that you can use it for skin care but I think that eb5 might be the better choice for my skin.

I am not sure I am ready to take her word for it yet but have warned everyone in the office that if I don't show up to work one day you better check on me and check the coconut oil jar first.

Please Daddy

2011-08-28T19:22:00.002-04:00

When I was a little kid we would also sing the song "Please Daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas". Not that my dad did, he saved that for Friday nights. He drank heavily until I was in high school and then my mom convinced him to quit.

Once my parents were divorced, after I left home, Dad started in again. He thought that it was something that my mom made him do and he was no longer willing to give it up. He was funny in a ridiculous way. He was like a teenager that was finally free from a controlling parent. In the same way that I behaved when I left home.

Anyway several times over the years Dad has attempted to quit. The longest was for about the past year. He had some medical scares and it convinced him to try again. Well he has fallen off the wagon. He just called a few minutes ago and he was flying high.

I have tried to tell him that when he calls and is like that, it makes me very upset and unwilling to communicate with him. I think it is a simple request, please daddy don't call me when you are drunk.

Trying something new

2011-08-27T18:03:00.002-04:00

The town we live in has a ton of restuarants. Most of them we have never tried. I love our little town and want to support local businesses. I mentioned to Dante the other day that I want to try every one within the next year.

Today we tried a little breakfast cafe on the oval. I had pancakes and Dante had french toast, eggs, hash browns, and toast. He really enjoyed his meal and it looked quite tastey. I didn't enjoy mine as much. They had three large pancakes but honestly they were too sweet. I don't know if it was the "pure New Hampshire syrup" or the pancake batter.

Now the worst part of the meal which had nothing to do with the restuarant. Half way through the meal this couple sat down and the male started snuffing his nose. Now this was not just a gentle snuff every now and again, this was a strong fluggy (I have no idea how to spell that) snuff. The type that make you gag. He must have done this 15 to 20 times. He didn't even stop when I threw my fork down on my plate and glared at him. He was only about six feet away from me. I made several comments to Dante to the point that he wanted to crawl under the table.

What a disgusting pig. I wanted to ask to be moved but the restuarant was pretty full. Then I wanted to ask the pig to pay for my meal that he totally ruined but Dante would have been pretty upset with me if I did.

Would not do it again.

2011-08-27T17:49:00.003-04:00

Many months ago my hubby purchased a netbook for me! I really wanted it and had done my research. After using it for several months I must confess that I would not do it again.

I would spend a few extra dollars and get a full size lap top. The screen on the netbook is too small and I find myself trying to scroll around to get a good view. Don't get me wrong for a low to moderate user the netbook would work great, but I use my computer a lot.

I bought it mostly for the convenience of blogging, but it is difficult to have multiple pages open and even more difficult to place links in my blogging. I also wanted to work on our company needs, like making flyer's and working on the web site. That has not been possible.

Next time I will just shop for discount computers and try to save money that way.

There are many conveniences with the netbook, it is light and boots up quickly. I just have more complex needs than what this machine is capable of handling.

Island Coconut

2011-08-26T20:26:00.003-04:00

The Island Coconut is in my top five flavors. Once again I like coffees with a light flavor that do not overpower your taste buds. I don't enjoy a coffee with an aftertaste and this coffee is appropriately subtle so you won't have to worry about that. As is the case with most of the flavored coffee, the Island Coconut is a light roast. The smell is just as enjoyable as the taste. Sometimes flavored coffee can smell much better than it tastes, but this did not disappoint. .

A few jobs

2011-08-26T00:18:00.002-04:00

When I was still in college I had a few odd jobs. I worked in a video store, insurance company, literacy program, collections agency, convenience store clerk, and a pizza joint. Several of these jobs were done at the same time. At one point during college I had three part time jobs.

All of these choices lead to my first job where I met my wonderful hubby, Dante.

I look back on these years and wonder if I would do anything differently and have to say that I am very pleased with the way things have turned out and would keep them the same. That is not to say that I didn't make mistakes. Wow, I have definitely exceeded my allotment of mistakes.

Attack

2011-08-26T00:11:00.003-04:00

I have no idea what happened to me tonight. I woke up around 11:00 with this burning sensation in the back of my throat. I tried water but it was not helping. It was strange. It was like my throat was really dry and felt on the verge of cracking.

Finally I tried a cough drop and it seems to be better now. Then about 30 minutes later I wake up choking (on my own spit) but once you inhale something into your lung you cannot stop coughing.

As I sit here typing my right nostril is totally plugged and my left ear hurts. I am a mess. I went to bed highly annoyed and this is not helping the situation.

Disappointed to say the least

2011-08-26T00:03:00.003-04:00

I have not been to the gym all week. I am very disappointed to say the least. I am too easily swayed into not going. I have good intentions but the moment Dante say's "let's not go" I respond too quickly.

Honestly I miss it. It has been impossible for us to go in the mornings this week and, by time I am done with work I am starving and need to eat. After eating, I have no desire to go to the gym and rediscover my food on the treadmill.

I am very proud of myself that I have used almost every piece of equipment at the gym. About the only thing I have not tried yet are the yoga mats that they have in the abs room. I have seen many people on them but I have not been comfortable enough to do that type of exercise in front of everyone.

School starts on Monday and I hope we get back into the routine of going in the morning.

Crying Shame

2011-08-24T16:26:00.001-04:00

I have not been to Coldstone in over a month.

I have received several comments at work about how they can notice that I am slimming down. While Coldstone is worth every penny, I don't know if it is worth every workout.

Childhood

2011-08-24T16:15:00.003-04:00

I don't talk about my childhood often, it is not that it was not good but just that....... what is there to talk about?

I recently reconnected with a family friend on facebook and we have been talking about the remember when's. It is funny that so many of her memories I did not remember and vice versa.

One memory that we both were very clear about was riding four wheelers. We had a blast racing them around the family farm and even once took them to a homemade race track and raced each other. I think my mother might still have the picture of us covered in "mud" (it was a cow field but I want to believe it was just mud.)

I don't remember a time when our family did not have ATV's. We used them for chores and for fun. I loved going on day trips with my sister into the state land and riding for miles. I cannot imagine allowing my kids to be gone that long without a cell phone now days. My how things have changed.

My sister and I had all the fun while dad spent many hours fixing them after a long ride. He even built one from scratch, he used many polaris ranger parts but we reserved that one for the flat land around the house.

A few years back Cal had the privilege of taking a short ride on a four wheeler that my brother owned. He had a blast.

Not a good week

2011-08-24T16:07:00.004-04:00

This week has not been a good one for the gym. Cal and I visited on Sunday afternoon when we broke away from the cult, but we have not been since.

Soccer practice started and Cal has been too tired and without him there just is not the motivation that we need. Both Dante and I are too willing to talk each other out of going.

The morning seems to be the best time for everyone, even though the first few mornings I thought I would not make it through the entire day. I just cannot seem to make myself go after work but we might do that after school starts.

Did I mention that school starts on Monday. I am pretty excited to see how God will work in my son's life this year.

Bad News Post

2011-08-24T16:00:00.003-04:00

Even bad news seems to be a gift from God. Cal had to go to an orthodontist appointment today and we learned that the tooth that was knocked out last July has abscessed and will have to be pulled.

The good news is that we are going back to the original plan of pulling both eye teeth and letting the other teeth fill in. While this will leave Cal with a few gaps in his teeth (right in front) it is the best plan now that something has to be done.

They will have to shape the molder with something similar to an abrasives tool. This should save us a ton of money in the long run because now that means only one, maybe two, teeth will need to be implants.

It is funny because just the other day Cal came to me and said "What do you think about having all three of these teeth pulled and just having flippers made?" It was like God was planting the thought and giving him the peace to make the decision.

Good News Post

2011-08-24T15:56:00.003-04:00

God has been blessing this family in small ways these past few days.

Cal made the soccer team. He is pretty excited, he really worked hard this year and frankly it shows. I don't know how good of player he is because I have never really seen him in action. He will also be playing for our town league and hopefully will learn quickly.

Dante called me at work to say the washing machine broke. We just cannot afford this right now and after many phone calls and trials we were able to fix it.

There are some other items that just seemed to fall into place and go our way the past few weeks. God is good!

Are you ready

2011-08-18T19:34:00.002-04:00

for some football? Football is my favorite sport to watch. I go crazy during this time of the year. I think it helps that the season is relatively short. My favorite team is the Patriots and for the most part I don't watch a game unless they are playing.

This is the time of the year that I yell and scream at the TV and my husband is convinced that we should have a medical cart handy because I get a little out of control.

I view it as exercise. I have been known to run along side the TV when the guy is going for a touchdown, or to scramble when the QB is in trouble. Our living room is much smaller than I am used to so I have to be careful that I don't hurt someone.

My Son the Musician

2011-08-18T19:20:00.002-04:00

Cal is going to start taking piano and guitar. Now he has had lessons on both instruments before but he promises to get serious this time.

He has the opportunity to get lessons from someone that Dante considers the best piano player he has ever seen - in person.

The guitar lessons will come from a kid at school. We tried lessons with our local guitar shop but honestly was not pleased with the "attitude" that comes with regular guitar people. I don't want my son to be a hippie.

I am hoping that he does get serious. I think he has a lot of talent. Honestly I am the most musically inept person so I will have to take Dante's word for the fact that he has talent.

Collector

2011-08-18T18:21:00.002-04:00

My mom used to collect dolls. This is when the economy was much better and we had had disposable cash. That is something that I don't think we will ever have again - disposable cash. Anyway I digress, my mom has hundreds of dolls. One of my favorite is the Cory Doll. Most of you will understand why it is my favorite. He is cute little boy in a baseball uniform with a bunny.

She has several that look like real babies. I always thought this was a little on the strange side but she loves them. I always wanted to get one of the dolls that look like your child. The ones that you send in a picture and they try to match your child with a doll. I think they even have an option to personalize your doll here.

I would be really interested to know how many she has and the value. I don't know if she had anything real old but I know she always bought expensive dolls when she bought them.

Personal Best

2011-08-16T17:44:00.002-04:00

I am so excited. I have been practicing soccer with Cal and one of the things that he needs to work on each day is juggling. I have been doing this along with him and today I reached my personal best. I juggled 12 times. Usually I can consistently do five to six.

I don't remember much about my childhood soccer days but I do know that I was not very talented at juggling. I was good at knocking people down.

A fad I wish would return

2011-08-15T20:40:00.003-04:00

I remember when I was in college it was fashionable to wear http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/ in public as you would regular clothes. I loved it, because honestly, there is nothing more comfortable than nursing scrub pants.

My mom works in a dental office and she is constantly asking me to look out for discount medical uniforms. Me, I have to keep a look out for ankle length skirts and dresses. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find conservative dress clothes in such a liberal world. Impossible!

I would so enjoy wearing a uniform, like the kids do in school, or better yet some pink scrubs. I wonder what my office manager would do if I showed up in scrubs one day. After she about fainted I am sure that I would be asked to go home and change into something more church appropriate.

Honestly there is nothing modest about me climbing in and out of a passenger van with my skirt sticking to the seat.

Another Epic Fail

2011-08-15T20:26:00.003-04:00

I am still down seven pounds since we started working out but I think that after a full month I should be more than that. I mean I was down eight pounds the first two weeks.

We have been going more regularly now that Cal is back from camp. I think we are averaging three to four times a week. I would love to get to a point where we are consistently going five times a week. I don't want to get all crazy with this.

I need to loose a lot of weight before I can start running on the treadmill. I tried walking for five minutes and then running for one, the other day, but trying to speed up and slow down the treadmill was too much for me, I am not that coordinated.

I was able to impress all my co-workers by benching fifty pounds ten times.

Community Service

2011-08-15T20:20:00.002-04:00

I am trying to start a "community service" group for teenagers at church. So far it has been slow going. I want to get ten to twelve teenage boys and girls to do work around the 10,000 properties that we own. We cannot keep the lawns mowed and flower gardens looking nice with the staff we have.

Right now some of the lawns have not been trimmed the entire summer. The portion that can be mowed on a rider is done once a week, but the part that would require redmax trimmers is not being done.

Please send some prayers my way because if they allow me to do this I am going to push for several other "groups" to help out in other areas. I just don't understand the red tape involved in getting volunteers in to help. I think that sometime volunteers try to come in and take over and before you know it you have a group of people in your business but honestly we need our church members to get involved.

What a hoot!

2011-08-10T15:38:00.003-04:00

We hired a new girl at work and let me tell you, she is a hoot. Before she arrived I was the one that would stick my foot in my mouth and end up apologizing for my "inappropriate" talk.

I have NEVER come close to anything this girl says on a daily basis. She is a lot of fun but sometimes is even a little too much for me.

Today she told us a story about how in college her roommate would always steal her food, so one day she baked brownies and put an entire bottle of ex-lax in there. We thought the story was funny but reminded her that "today" she would be seeking legal advise. Her defense is that she put a note on the brownies "please, do not eat". Yeah I don't think that would hold up!

I love you too?

2011-08-10T15:36:00.000-04:00

Today Dante and I were talking and I told him that I was not sure I would be ready by November to make the Mt. Monadnock climb. I really need to lose forty to fifty pounds to make it safe on my knees and ankles.

Dante being the wonderful hubby that he is, stated that I could not do the climb until he could afford health and life insurance. Well Dante, why don't you check out trustedquote.com because you have just given me that extra motivation that I needed.

Off to the gym

2011-08-10T05:17:00.003-04:00

We are "trying" to get ourselves around in the morning to hit the gym. 5 a.m. comes pretty early and we have not been that successful. The problem is we are less successful waiting until after I am done at work.

When I get home I need to get something to eat, because I hardly ever eat at work. Then I need a few moments to digest and by then it is the gyms busy time and I have no desire to have a hundred people see me almost pass out.

Business, it's starting to get fun again

2011-08-09T16:39:00.004-04:00

Business is starting to get fun again. Of course, it goes in spurts but I am happy for now. I have some marking ideas and want to try to concentrate on the web site again. I have been looking into seo services because we just cannot afford to use some of the methods that we have used in the past.

I can no longer afford to spend hundreds of dollars each month on a web site that barely pays for itself. I need to find a ppc company that is going to make me profit not just break even. I would like to have some more brochures, postcards, and other direct marking material printed. I think that we need to do more box stuffers and turn some ebay customers into direct customers. We have been in business since 1989 we just need help with our serm.

I would love to start learning Indesign. They use it at work and since I already have a pretty good knowledge of that type of software, I think I can pick it up quickly. Unfortunately I am in facilities and designing materials is not part of my job.

Favorite time of the year!

2011-08-09T16:29:00.003-04:00

I think I am addicted to back to school shopping for school supplies. I love Staples at this time of the year. The only thing that is annoying this year, is all the limits they put on their sale items.

You can purchase a pair of scissors for $.50 but they only allow you to purchase one. I do understand they these are lead items that they might actually be losing money on and they just want to get you in the store to see all the other items that you cannot do without but, if you have a need for three pairs you have to keep going back.

I cannot imagine having a large family to shop for, it would take you a month.

Dante and Cal are falling into their trap. They go in for the sale items and walk out with $15 to $20 worth of unexpected items. I don't mind their restriction of having a minimum $5.00 or even $10.00 but if I need five scissors let me purchase five. Of course you will have the people that purchase for resale, which I used to do. I don't mind a maximum purchase of say five or ten. One to two is just annoying.

You win!

2011-08-09T15:27:00.002-04:00

We were on a back road in the next town over a few weeks ago, and this idiot in a pickup decided to pass us on a very narrow road. This road is so narrow they don't even have a yellow line painted down the middle. He goes flying by, barely able to keep his vehicle on the road. A few moments later when we pulled up to a very busy stop light, there in front of us, was this "Driver of the Year".

I was so amused that I started yelling at him and congratulating him on making it to the stop light first. I told him how many trophies and awards he should win. We actually sat there for the a goodly amount of time. I had the opportunity to tell him everything he wanted to hear, what a great driver he was, what a stud he was, and on and on.

He kept looking in the mirror, he might have been a little scared of the ranting lunatic behind him, but when the light turned green he burned rubber so badly his pickup was smoking. Then I had to congratulate him on the $20.00 he wasted on gas and the 10,000 miles he burned off his tires.

Ouch

2011-08-09T15:20:00.002-04:00

I was discussing with a trusted friend today some of the issues that we have been having with Cal. Defiance, Anger, Disrespect. This person looked at me and with a little smile said "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". Then he proceeded to repeat a conversation that he had with my wonderful husband a few days ago. Thanks for watching my back honey.

Facebook Adventure

2011-08-04T17:07:00.002-04:00

I love facebook. It has brought me back in touch with several high school friends and it is fun keeping in touch. It has also caused me to communicate with people that I really didn't know that well in high school but we seem to have much more in common in our older years.

Isn't that funny people you were best friends with you have hardly anything in common now. Then, people who you really didn't associate with back then you are better friends now.

I have several friends that are very involved in raising/riding horses. I am sure they would be very interested in The Equestrian Corner horse riding apparel. One friend has her kids involved in riding and they seem to spend every weekend at some sort show. I find it all very interesting but know that I don't have the love of horses for this type of hobby.

Epic Fail

2011-08-04T16:55:00.004-04:00

This week I have been a total failure in regards to my weight loss and getting in shape. I only visited the gym one day so far and that was Sunday. I had a great workout on Sunday but have failed to have the willpower to get back to the gym.

Cal has been at a camp this week and he is usually my motivator. Dante is just the opposite. I think he likes me being fat, but that is a story that is best left untold.

I don't know how much weight I have gained back but I am sure it will be a couple pounds at least. Cal will arrive home on Saturday and so hopefully I will get back into the swing of things early next week.

My eating was a little more out of control. It is funny but when you work out you tend to think more about what you are eating and how much of a waste your workout will then become if you give in to temptation.

Time to Upgrade

2011-08-03T19:05:00.003-04:00

I have noticed recently that my camera is not giving me the quality pictures that I see on a regular basis on facebook and other blogs.

It is a good little camera but frankly it is over ten years old. I think there has probably been quite an advancement in technology. This is not a purchase that will happen in the near future but something that I am going to keep an eye on. Maybe I will add it to my Christmas list, or should I say that it will be my entire Christmas list.

Right now I have no clue what I am looking for, and I am not ruling out anything. I think I want something more advanced than a point and shoot but don't know if I want to get as sophisticate as a SLR. I thought the EX-H20G digital camera looked pretty awesome. I will take my time and do the research, as my job has caused me to become quite the research guru.

It's Tough No Matter What.

2011-07-31T18:05:00.005-04:00

Authored by Rickey Combs

Divorce is a terrible thing and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone but I’m so much happier now than I was 5 years ago when my husband and I were together. I was only 20 when we got married which is just far too young if you ask me and that’s what led to most of our problems in the first place. We were only married for about two and a half years but it was long enough for both of us to realize we didn’t want the kind of life we had. I moved out and started my own life here in DC and things have been on the upswing ever since! I got a townhome that’s 100% mine and a http://securitychoice.com/ security system at that; I even got the cat I’d been wanting for years! My husband and I are still friends and occasionally speak but he’s remarried now and I’ve been dating steadily since the divorce. I like having my freedom and look forward to where the next few years will take me!

Desiring God - Blog Tour

2011-07-31T17:30:00.005-04:00

Stand up, speak up, shut up. John Piper would do well to remember this old cliché about public speaking. Brevity is not Pastor Piper’s strong suit. Such is the case with Desiring God on DVD.

John Piper is, without a doubt, scripturally sound. His speaking is always fundamentally solid, Biblically accurate, and filled with detailed research. One can learn much from the teaching of John Piper.

Biblical soundness aside, however, John Piper is, to say the least, wordy. His public speaking, like his extensive writings, is long and laborious. If two words are needed to make a point, John Piper uses four. The listener can easily be lulled into complete boredom with Piper’s incessant droning on and on.

That having been said, to be fair, I would recommend John Piper’s videos to anyone wanting to receive sound Biblical teaching. Accurate preaching of Biblical Truth is a rare commodity today, and John Piper certainly presents the Truth with great clarity.

I just wish he would make his point with less verbiage.

Obviously, given Pastor Piper’s enormous popularity, many people would disagree with my assessment of his lengthy writing and speaking style.

I received this DVD for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Well I'll Bee

2011-07-31T09:46:00.002-04:00

I received my first bee sting in many years. Actually I cannot remember when the last time I was stung. This is also the weirdest sting.

Dante and I were talking Cal to a summer camp yesterday. It was about a four to five hour drive. The hard part, it was mostly on double lane highway (you know one lane each way and not many passing opportunities). Any way, we are driving down the road and a big semi passed us in the other direction. All the sudden I feel something slam off my knee and then a burning sensation. Whatever it was came through Dante's window and bounced off me.

If it were not for the burning I probably would have just brushed off the spot and not given it another thought. I am very thankful for the burning. I start looking around and for a few miles I don't see anything. There is not a red spot and I don't see anything on the interior of the car, but because of the burning I kept searching. Finally I locate the nasty creature and he is still alive. He is on the floor by my feet. I believe he is a white faced hornet and he is huge. He seems to be trying to sting the carpet. I squish him until he stops squirming.

If I had not located him, I very easily could have taken off my shoes, which I do quite often on car rides, and then I would have been stung multiple times.

I tried to pick him up and throw him out the window but he was stinging the carpet so hard that he was embedded in it. I had to leave him. Later when we stopped I took the carpet out of the van and scraped him off. I have heard that a bee can sting you even after he is dead, and even if the stinger is no longer attached to the bee, as was the case here. It took me much longer than expected to get the stinger out of the carpet.

On the drive home I noticed that my knee was red and itchy. I don't think he got me hard but enough to have it burn like crazy.

Husband's Mother

2011-07-28T14:38:00.003-04:00

My husband's mother passed away several years ago, even before Cory was born. She was a funny lady that just wanted someone to dote on her exclusively. I remember the day that Dante told her we were pregnant with Cal. She became very upset and wanted to know if that meant that we would spend less time with her.

I do have a few fond memories of her, like her fondness of sugar free truffles, truth be told she loved all the sugar free candies. Each holiday I would start shopping for something new and different. It is funny, but to this day, I still take notice when I see an add for sugar free candies.

Driving

2011-07-28T14:24:00.002-04:00

This weekend we will be taking an 8 hour car trip. We have not been in the car that long in many years. The last time would have been when Cal and I went to visit my family three years ago. Dante reminded me that that trip was even before Cal entered his new school.

That seems very hard to believe and I argued for several minutes before conceding that his statement was indeed true. I wanted to get back down for another family visit because several family members might not be with us next summer, but we just had things that took precedent over family which I have never been close.

Unplugged update

2011-07-27T18:43:00.003-04:00

We are doing really well without technology. I must confess that I am getting tired of the boardgames that Cal likes, however. Personally I love Phase 10, Yahtzee, Uno, Sorry, and other non-thinking games. Very little strategy and a whole lot of luck. Cal loves to play all the games that take several hours to complete.

The boys are sitting here playing Battleship while I catch up on the blogging. Cal leaves for summer camp on Saturday morning and the camp is a no technology camp so we won't have to worry about him breaking the rules there. They do not have TV, computer, not even a bluetooth barcode scanner.

After Cal returns home there are only two weeks until school starts. I think we are going to make some of these rules permanent. Life is so much more simple, without the world influencing my kid.

Harvest

2011-07-26T17:10:00.002-04:00

Cal just harvested our first tomatoes of the season. This year we decided to do a patio garden. We started small with just a few tomato and pepper plants. Everything did really well and we have lots of veggies on each plant.

Our neighbors a few doors down go crazy with their garden. They grow almost everything in pots. I don't want to have that much work but next year I would like to increase. The only thing that didn't do well at all was spinach. I have to do a little research. I think that I need to harvest it long before I did and it went to seed. I hope to post a few pictures this evening but the gym is calling me. I have to let my dinner digest and then I think I am going to head down for an hour workout.

Slave Boy

2011-07-26T16:22:00.003-04:00

Slave Boy is Cal's new nickname at work. I have been bringing him in each Wednesday and having him do some community service work. It is good for him but the ladies have been teasing him because I make him work hard while he is there.

I have him doing all the things that summer interns should do! Tomorrow he is going to wash down some tables. Last week he spent the entire day cleaning up after our week long VBS. I have him doing some pretty nasty jobs but there is one thing that I won't have Cal do, and that is try to get rid of the nasty urine odor that plagues all the men's bathrooms. Seriously guys, can you be a little more carful.

Pin up!

2011-07-26T16:20:00.003-04:00

I had to pin up both sides of my skirt today or my new nickname would have been flasher. I had my keys in my pocket and the next thing I felt was the skirt starting to fall. I am glad that I didn't have anything in my hands and was able to stop the show.

Unplugged

2011-07-25T18:21:00.003-04:00

We have decided to go unplugged again. Several years ago we cancelled the cable and went a full month without turning on the TV. We are trying that again but we have expanded to include several other electronics.

Cal has had all electronics, except a CD player, taken away. He behaves so much better without all the distractions zapping his brain. He is a totally different kid. Sometimes I wonder why we even allow him to have computers, IPod's, Wii's, and TV to begin with.

Dante and I still need the computers to do work but we are limiting our time. We have enjoyed our time as a family. We have found that we love Down Gilead Lane, Adventures in Odyssey, and The Screwtape Letters.

We have actually had conversations, real conversations.

The other area in which "unplugged" is helping is our exercise. Several times in the past few days when we have been bored (oh I hate that word) we have packed up and drove to the gym. I have finally found the diet pills that work, and I am very excited to be losing my extra luggage.