Happy Haloween!

I Tried a Steam Cleaner

I always wondered how steam cleaners really worked, or more importantly, do they really work at all? I’m all about cleaning with products that will not harm my kids or my dogs. Also, I’m all about going as green as possible and doing my part. I may not be ready to give up bottled water, but I can clean greener. The thing that always made me hesitant were the what ifs. What if I didn’t like it? What if it didn’t really work like I thought it would? What if it was complicated? So, it was totally a win-win situation when I was approached to review the new Gurene Steam Cleaner. I would get the benefit of trying out a steam cleaner, without having to front any money, and more importantly, without fronting money and being disappointed.

What I liked the most about the steam mop was that it was easy to use, slid easily across my kitchen floor and did not streak the floor like my other mop did. Another thing I liked was that the steam was nearly instant, because it is caused from a flash heat system and not a boiler. Mostly though, my floors and windows were clean and streak free, and all it took was water. Normal ordinary tap water. It was so easy a kid could use it. Believe me, because my kids did the video below. SCORE!

I finished school Monday. Then I spent four days on a beach. Now, well, to be honest I'm kinda bored. What will I do with all this free time? I predict TV.

Healthy Eating and Fast Weight Loss

I have three daughters. Among the banter they exchange with various friends, cousins and acquaintances is always the subject of how to lose weight fast (and more importantly, keep it off). I have been telling my kids for years that it’s all in the moderation. We can eat darn near whatever we want too, we just have to do so in moderation. I can have a scoop of mashed potatoes, I just can’t eat a whole pan of them. I can have some Oreo cookies, I just can’t eat a half a package of cookies. It seems that kids have some idea that it has to be all or nothing. I want all of these brownies or I don’t want any at all. (insert pout here) (and maybe a foot stomp too)

Hello, My Name is Stella

I have a confession to make. I might be addicted to a certain game on a certain social network site that rhymes with placehook. On this certain addiction of mine, I am in the early stages of accumulating things like cabins and general stores and farm animals. I love a good quest, but I wouldn’t really call this a quest game. More like a take my mind off work and stall and distract me from my homework kind of a game.

Thankfully school ends on Monday and I can waste all the time I want on my new addiction. Of course, it probably won’t be nearly as exciting to me then.

Acne is a part of our family now

I have talked before about how my kids got the short end of the stick when it comes to skin issues. Their father had problems so severe during his teen years that he saw a dermatologist weekly. I have suffered from blackheads and hormonal breakouts since puberty. My 13 year old is having a hormonal breakout right now so I am online scouring for acne skin care products that will help her all the time, not just that time of the month. Color me frustrated.

Dieting and healthy body image

I was talking to my daughters this week about diets and healthy body images and how we can maintain our weight if we eat the right foods, and that mostly, the overall best advice I can give them is to EAT IN MODERATION. That means we can have a couple cookies or some ice cream, so long as we aren’t eating a package of cookies in one setting. My oldest daughter, who is 19, asked me about the newest diet pills on the market and if I thought they worked. It took our conversation to a whole new level because it is really hard to teach my kids about healthy body image when the whole wide world thinks we should all be a size one.

I just ate the best turkey pesto sandwich on the planet! Bring on the food coma!

Looking at life through a lens

Years and years ago I bought a camera. I took lots of pictures of the family and the animals and the yard. And trees and mountains and anything else that caught me eye. Even bugs. Then, two years ago, I got a new camera. It is a nice camera. It does lots of neat stuff and takes video. However, it is not quite the top end that I want to one day own. I have my eye on a Canon camera that has all the gizmos and shebang’s that a professional photographer would use. Because some day, I don’t want to be a professional photographer, I just want to take pictures like one.

VeloBinding

One thing that working in the legal field has taught me over the years is that I need to be resourceful, know people in different industries, and most importantly, how to be a YES woman. By that I mean, I can most always tell my boss YES when asked for something or if something can be accomplished. Years ago, we were preparing for a large trial, it was nearly midnight and I still had 20 deposition transcripts to copy and bind. The local copy shop was open and able to make my copies, but I had to track down someone with a VeloBind to rebind the original deposition transcripts. Luckily for me, I had a college friend who worked in a transcription shop and was able to meet me late at night to help me accomplish my task. It is good to know people. Very, very good.

New Clothing for Christmas. Go vintage!

I have noticed that retro styles seem to be making a comeback. I was okay with some of them, but tye dye will never be one of my favorite choices. Just saying. However, I did recently see some vintage t shirts that really made me look twice. Remember the old Dr. Pepper t-shirt. I loved that one! And The Wild Things! I had that shirt when I was a teenager. Good times I’ll tell ya. I just bought myself a new football jersey for Christmas. I might need another one.

Notary Stamp

I have been a Notary Public for around 12 years now. When I moved from Utah to Arizona, I did know how to go about becoming a Notary, let alone where I would go about getting my notary stamp or any of the necessary supplies. Last year, when it was time to renew, I almost did not get my stamp in time. It took over a month to get the stamp once I submitted all the paper work. Thankfully I have since found places that will expedite shipping. When you’re the only notary in the office, that can be a lifesaver!

The countdown is on...

In seven days I will graduate with a Master's in Psychology.

In six days, I will leave for a little beach vacation with my best friend and my two daughters.

In five days, I will pick up my best friend from the airport.

In four days, I will attend parent teacher conference and then come home and post my final paper for this last class.

In three days, I will post my last individual assignment in this, my last class.

In two days, I will sit down and research my final paper topic.

In one day, I will finalize my individual assignment so I can sleep on it before I turn it in.

Tonight, I am flitting about worrying about how I will fit in all that work, with my regular job, and the kids' homework, and a video review I need to complete, and I still need to do laundry and pack.

My eye just started twitching. Dangit!

Vacation, all I ever wanted

Speaking of Christmas and presents and relaxing and that kind of stuff, I'm thinking I want to take a vacation next year. The hard part is deciding where to go. I had considered the Ozark Mountains years and years ago, but I will be honest, that decision had something to do with a certain boy I had a certain crush on who happened to be from around there. I recently saw a link for Branson vacations and thought I would give it a look. There are plenty of attractions and comic theaters, not to mention the famous Shepherd of the Hills Amphitheater.

Now I just need to pitch to my family how great it would be to forgo presents this year and take a family vacation instead! Maybe I can sell it as Christmas covered in awesome sauce!

It's beginning to look like Christmas Cards

Every year I beat myself up to find the perfect setting in which to take the perfect picture that will adorn my family’s Christmas card. I also buy various cards for other friends and family members who see enough of our smiling faces. What I started doing a few years ago was making my kids send thank you cards at Christmas. I will admit, I did not always make them do it at birthdays and the older I got, the more I felt like that slacker parent about it.

This year, I knew was going to be different. For one reason, I graduate this month and have NO SCHOOL through the holidays. I haven’t been able to say that in YEARS. Years I tell you. And I am super excited to get back to baking Christmas cookies and making candies this year. I haven’t done that in forever either. The main reason is that I found the most beautifully simple Christmas Thank You Cards I have ever seen. These cards are new and made with a very sturdy matte card stock that is 100% post consumer recycled (and every little bit helps I believe). My favorite part about these wonderful thank you cards with a lovely Christmas theme? They’re dirt cheap. Like $1.25, to as little as $0.84, each. I can’t get cards that cheap, of this quality, at any department or drug store.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my birthday. 10.10.10. in binary code, that is 42. Which is how old I turned today. Weird huh.

On the 7th it was my husband's birthday. Nothing special with those numbers that I am aware of. He is special though. Keeper of my heart he is.

On the 14th will be our 16 year anniversary. If someone had asked me if I thought we'd still be standing after 16 years - I don't think my answer would have been yes.

Turns out I'm the lucky one in this situation. Happy birthday to me.

Safety First

Years ago my husband was a mechanic. He was supposed to wear protective glasses every day but especially when he was working under a vehicle. Well, I’m sure you know where this is going. He was working with another guy who asked him a question. Without taking the time to grab his glasses, my husband crawled under the truck to show the guy how to do something. As they worked together to free a part something flew into my husband’s eye. As we all do, he then rubbed that eye. Needless to say, by the end of the day we were at the Urgent Care having a piece of metal shaving removed from his eye. That rubbing I mentioned earlier, ya, that caused something called a scratch across the cornea. My husband wore a patch on his eye for a week. He was in pain. He is lucky he didn’t lose vision.

The Moral of this story: Wear your protective glasses.