Ringing in 2008

So we are riding on the heels of yet another New Year and the people of the world are going crazy with lists of ideas on how to "reinvent" themselves in the new year. I think I haev written a previous blog about "the Secret" I mean if anyone out there is lookign to reinvent, or change their lives. Right there is your road map. What good is a resolution? If you can quit smoking today, why would you be able to quit 4 days later?? Oh that's right becase it's a new year.
China's new year isnt untill february, and our New Year wasn't adopted untill about 250 years ago! It used to be in July or something ( I'm not sure of that, but Iknow it wasn't always in Jan.)
In short, I think that making a decision to do somethign better for yourself and or others you care abotu is great. Just do it because you know it's right, not because it's January. That's why no ones resolution lasts, it's based on false pretenses ( might not be the word I wanted to use, but you get it) so, go out and party. Have a good time. Don't drink and drive, kiss the one you love or at least kind of like, ah hell if your drunk and their ugly you won't remember anyhow, at the stroke of midnight. But overall, just be thankful to have made it another year.
From me to you Happy New Year!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is approaching and as cliche' as this is, I feel the need to give thanks for the wonderful things I have in my life.
I have been trying to live by a different "set of rules" if you will. You see, I have taken a liking to The Secret which is basically the law of positive attraction. I am a chrisitain so this is all in the Bible, but if you arn't religous and you watch this, you will not have religion stuffed down your gullet.
Anyway, this is all the more reason for me to be thankful because the more thankful I am the better my life will be (according to the laws of attraction)
My life has changed a lot over the years and lately I feel as though I too am changing at an incredible rate. My emotions are growing from adolescent to adult and it's a tranformation I'm trying to get used to. However, it's a good thing. I am thankful for my family and my children. My true and wonderful friends which are few. I am thankful for the life I have and all that I have been through.
In short, when Thanksgiving gets here, I will be more then happy to share what it is I am thankful for.

Ad-Sense

I was having a major problem with google ad-sense and it was making me crazy. Usually I am the one who handles phone calls and organizes the bills, etc. So when my ad-sense wasn't working you would think I would be all over it. Sadly I wasn't I somehow convinced myself that the problem would go away or fix itself. (by the way, the problem was un-targeted ads)

Eventually I did send google an email. It was through the trouble shooting. They sent me back some lame auto response about how maybe they hadn't scanned my site yet or something. So I waited, keep in mind I've had this blog for months at this point. Nothing.

One day, when I was feeling a little irritated I decided to take out my frustrations at the lack of targeted ads. I sent another email, went onto the self-help forum. I even went through the help thing where they guide you through steps. I eventually had to again e mail them. I e mailed 2 different people, and wouldn't you know it? I got a response from a real person! She told me she was going to look into the problem and get back to me. A few days later I received another e mail from her telling me she was going to forward the problem to her supervisor.

Guess what? Supervisor fixed everything and even sent me an e mail telling me things were all better and if I ever had another problem to feel free to e mail him! Now I was amazed because this is the customer service I live for. I have worked in the customer service industry for years and that is the types of service I provide. It is very rare that I get that back in return.

It may be a sad day when excitement comes from a place you should expect, but when you've got lemons......make lemonade!

A Year Gone By

The birthday girl will be one in 3 days and I can't believe it! I have been totally consumed with the party I've been planning and today was the first time I sat back and thought "this time last year I was beyond pregnant" now a whole year has passed.
I'm not sure how I feel about that. Don't get me wrong, I am more then excited at my little girl growing up, but how can I not be a little sad at the same time? She is 1 now and that means my son will be 3. You really start to realize how fast time goes by once you have kids and have something actually in your face saying "it's been a year, it's been 10 years, it's been 16, 20, 50 years!" With time moving so fast, it's hard to not feel like you could have done more in that time frame. Like maybe you failed this year. Maybe life should be a lot different then it was a year ago. For me, things are the same. Outside of the fact that I am not pregnant, my life hasn't changed much, if at all.
As I said before, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Being a parent seems to make time move so much faster then it used to, I don't think it's something that anyone can get used to, but it shows that you have to make the most of even the smallest things because they will all be gone too soon.

Staying at home

I think one of the best things you can do is to be a stay at home parent. I know this isn't possible for everyone, but I think it should be. It angers me that it is so hard to make a decent living while staying at home with your kids. You need to fill out surveys for $.40 cents a piece and then get a million ads in your inbox. Or you need to invest all kinds of money and have it maybe not work out.
Society knows it's a great thing to be able to stay home with your children, yet it's almost impossible. I sell Avon. I have been doing this for almost a year, and maybe I'm doing it wrong, but the money just isn't there. I heard all these testimonials about how women made 1 million dollars selling Avon, and I'm thinking, "where do you live?" I'm no idiot, and I just can't seem to catch a break. I have searched all over the web for good paying jobs I can do while staying home to take care of my family and I haven't found anything without a catch.
I guess this blog is more a rant then anything. I know if I was writing blogs about celebrities not wearing underwear, I would be on t.v, in magazines and being interviewed by Oprah. So what's up, has taking care of your family really taken a backseat to whether or not Brittany Spears will get custody of her kids?? Who cares?
I guess America does.

Party Time III

Oh! I'm running so behind. I am never this behind on party stuff. I'm
usually so organized that I have everything ready and I'm just waiting
for the party. So now what right? Well I finally finished the
invitations. When I say finished I mean that I still have 2 more to
make and I have yet to put on the eyes or write the actual info inside.
You could kind of call that finished right? Okay, Okay I know, it's no
where near finished, but I am patting myself on the back for actually
having them all cut out and put together. Took way too much time.
So, last minute bad news, I was going to have the party
at my moms like I do every year and she tells me that it's a no go. She
insists that she told me before and I'm sorry to say, but that simply
isn't true. ( see I knew there was a good reason why I hadn't filled
out the invites yet) Could you imagine thetrauma? The new dilemma is finding a new place to host the party, hmm....the jury is still out on that one.

I know that the party is mostly for the adults (especially when it's
the first one)but I enjoy looking back at my first b day party pics and
seeing everyone that was there. I think it's a generally nice gesture
to do for your kids. Besides I like planning parties.
I received a little party checklist in the mail from toys r us. Very cute, they
mentioned something though that I was unaware of. It said in the pamphlet to register for gifts. I remember when my son turned 1 ( now 3) and I thought " I wish I could register for specific gifts" there were so many things I specifically wanted him to have. However, I didn't want to be a jerk and have people thinking they HAD to get him certain things. However, here is toys r us, telling me to register for my daughters first birthday. Interesting....I'm going to look into that more. Awesome idea is if I do say so myself.
Which brings me to what I should even ask for. We own practically every toy known to man. I want her to have new things,but we have EVERYTHING!!!
Back to the party, I will finish the invitations for sure tomorrow. No matter what I will, I just have to get them off of my mind. I'm going to go through my addresses and make sure I have every ones address so i can then address envelopes. After that I have to go back over the menu and make sure everything in that department is in order. I will mail the invites and anxiously await my R.S.V.P.'s
More to come....stay tuned

What I have to say about Paula Deen

I love her! How could anyone not love, this southern food cookin,down to earth, rags to wishes, spunky woman? I recently had the joy of reading Paula Deen's new book "It A'int All About The Cookin" and what can I say? It's not. This woman has an amazing story and was even on Larry King last the other night.
For those of you unfamiliar, Paula has 2 shows on the food network. She is not a "chef" but she can cook. To me, that's what it's all about. Sure I enjoy watching the expertise of Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Alton Brown, but when it comes down to brass tacks, how many of us can cook like them. Shoot, how many of us would truly enjoy what they cook? (sea urchin anyone?) However, I know that no matter what day of the week I can turn on one of Paula's shows (Paula's Party or Paula's Home Cookin') and see somthing I might (and have) tried to cook myself.
This woman is a sucess in more ways then one. She is a mother of 2 boys and did everything she could to make a way for them. She is all about family, and found love over 50. You could say she has lived 2 lives. Both very different, however both connected by one common denomintor, FOOD. GOOD FOOD.
My grandmother is from louisiana, so some of the things Paula descibes in he rbook, I am familiar with. There are others that I am itching to try.
The book is an easy read. I ready a lot, however someone who doesn't should not be discouraged by it's thickness. The book was enjoyable and she even includes recipes not found in her cookbooks. She tells a story, the story of her life from her point of view. With her southern drawl and cussin. She calls us ya'll and makes you feel as though you are sitting in her kitchen and she is talking to you and only you.
Anyone who enjoys food,cookin', eating or just a good story told by a truly amazing woman, I suggest you read this book.