just life...

The Daily Rant

2012-01-25T21:11:00.002-05:00

While looking through my list of posts here I noticed that not all of them are too happy. The idea of this blog was to highlight how the little things in life can really be so wonderful. But life isn't always peaches and cream. So in light of that, I have decided to start a new blog. I know I already have a few, some that are completely untouched, so I should just delete them. But they will remain until a later date. Instead I have started a new blog entitled "The Daily Rant". It can be found on my list of blogs on the right side of the page. Or you can visit it at http://mini-dailyrant.blogspot.com. I really try to be a very happy person on a daily basis, so I may not post daily, but you get the picture. I hope everyone stops by a takes a peek. I will be keeping this blog open for the "wonderful" things that still do occur in life. But now I will have a specific place to vent about the things that I am not happy about. Comments are always welcome! Oh and by the way, it is not going to be for the dainty people out there. I may curse and scream (all capitals!). LOL So I have made it so that you must click to enter for adult content. Hope that doesn't slow down my followers! LOL

Any suggestions about the blog itself are very welcome as I am no web designer.

Enjoy!

Uncle Charlie Update

2012-01-24T13:49:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I have updated on Uncle Charlie. I had been going crazy trying to find out exactly who this person was. Last week when I went to the house I felt something, but very briefly. But I did find a picture of this possible Uncle Charlie. It was tucked away in the owners closet. Is that why I wasn't feeling anything??? Who knows. So, being a little investigator now, I looked on the back of the painting to see if there were any info. Viola! There was! On the back was a piece of stationary and the name of the person in the photo. It was Uncle Charlie. In fact it read as follows...

I have found nothing that even comes close to who he is. But....Maudie, whom is the writer of this note, I did find. In fact, I also found her sisters. Maudie passed away in 2006. From reading her obituary, she was quite and amazing woman in her time. Anyway, that actually lead me nowhere. I was really wanting to know how this spirit arrived in this house. By the info I have found, there is no possible way that Uncle Charlie ever lived in this house. Which does lead me to believe that he is attached to this painting. So, how does this all make sense? Well on Monday of this week my mom went back to the house, as scheduled. Uncle Charlie's painting was back on the wall where he originally resided. This just happens to be at the landing at the bottom of the stairway, where I first felt the chills.

Through Mom's investigative work, she has found out some info also. In fact, just the info I was searching for. Basically.....who was he and how did he get here? Mom, as always, came through with shining colors. She found out from the owner that Maudie was a distant relative and that is how the painting came to be in this house, it was given to the current owner. Uncle Charlie was also a relative of the two of them. Their exact relation I can't say, but now I know how this painting of him arrived in the house.

The story of his death was also quite interesting. On the back of the painting it mentioned Tuberculosis as his cause. Come to find out that was not the case. Back in the days, Charles was a maritime courier. He somehow slipped off a dock one day and was crushed between two boats. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died from an infection that resulted from his injuries. I guess from there his spirit attached itself to the painting and has been with it ever since.

Mom told me that the home owners children used to have to close their bedroom doors at night so that they were able to sleep because that was when Charlie normally came out. Which reinforces what Michael the eldest told me. Imagine growing up in a house your entire life and living with a spirit of a distant relative whom you have never met. WOW!! It's almost like the family sticks together....as they should, even after death.

Now I know what I know and that is very refreshing. I just hope that if I ever go back I am able to sense his presence and talk to him.

Melaleuca

2012-01-06T08:36:00.001-05:00

I have been using some wonderful products since March of 2011. These products not only clean amazingly, but they are also safe for my family and pets. When you say green, this is how is should be. All the products come with a regular top, no security system attached to open up a bottle. Reason being.....because they are not a danger to you like the ones they sell in the grocery store. Most cleaning products contain formaldehyde, these do not. Did you know even toothpaste has formaldehyde in it, gross. Most importantly, its bad for you. I have so many stories to share about these products. Maybe I will make a blog about it! LOL...I don't have that many stories.

Another part of being a customer of Melaleuca is that you also have the opportunity to make a business out of it. No, that does not mean selling door to door or having parties. What it does mean is that you can receive checks for just referring people to use the same products you are using. Seems easy huh, well not really. I have found that most people don't want to listen to a bunch of mumbo jumbo, because of course it's a scam. Wrong! I completely believe in these products. They do what they say they do. But man, trying to get someone even slightly interested in them is difficult. So how are you suppossed to do that? Well, Melaleuca has a wonderful team of training staff. You can go at whatever pace you want. If you want to jump with both feet in you can. I personally thought I was going to, but haven't had any luck. I truely wish that it was easier to convince people of how great these products really are. I guess only time will tell how this all works out. Until then, I will keep trying. I would love to make this work, as I know it could. :D

Uncle Charlie

2012-01-05T17:43:00.001-05:00

So, today I go back to the house where I had my ghost experience. This time I have my boys with me cause now they are interested in seeing if they have any feelings. My brother also showed up to check it out. Now usually there is no one there besides my mom and I. Today was something different. Not only my boys and my brother but also Micheal who is the son of the home owner. And wouldn't you guess...i couldn't feel anything anywhere. So am I crazy or is it because there were others there. I can't be sure but I will tell you this. Michael said that yes there was a spirit in the house. He goes by Uncle Charlie. The previous housekeeper used to talk to him. Awesome!! Michael said that he only comes out at night. I told him I begged to differ since it was day time, but whatever. So I am not crazy at all. Well...maybe a little.Lol I hope that if and when I go again, I can talk to him. Apparently, according to Michael again, this spirit has attached himself to a photo of himself. No one died in the house from what I was told today. But is that possible? I guess it is, who am I to say different. Either way it is exciting and I can't wait till our next encounter. Till then, keep your mind open. You just never know.

Mayor Update

2012-01-04T09:50:00.002-05:00

I finally got a call back from the Mayor. In fact, it happened the same day that I had my ghost experience. So, since I was busy when he called, he left a message. The message was very polite and to the point. He mentioned that he lived in my area and could assure me that he was taking it very seriously. He agreed that the school zone along with other issues need to be resolved. He has spoke with the school twice in regards to the congestion in the area. He also said that he would be forwarding my letter to the Chief of Police here in Homestead. I guess the squeaky wheel does get the oil. I was very pleased that he contacted me. Of course, it was after I send two identical letters to him. LOL Guess he was either busy during the holidays or thought it would go away. Not this squeaky wheel. I love a good challenge and I am determined to do something about this school zone. I sometimes get involved and then forget, but not with this. I see these kids everyday and I know that if I drop the ball, someone will eventually get hit by a car. I just can't stand the idea of this so I will push on and keep an eye on what happens.

Ghostly adventures.....

2011-12-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

Now I know most people don't believe in ghosts, spirits, or anything of the sort. But, some of us do and are able to sense when they are present. About a week ago at one of the homes that my mom cleans, I had a very strange and exciting experience. I have had many of these in the past but this one takes the cake for sure. A little history of the house first and then I will get into my story.

The house was built in 1924. I believe, so far, that it has had 3 owners. The third being the current owner and the woman my mom cleans for. I have done a little research to find the previous owners sold the house in 1981. Not exactly sure when they purchased it because online records that I have found only go back to the 80's. I also found out that the previous owners moved to Georgia, where the wife passed away in 2003. Now by the age of the previous owners, we assumed that they were not the original owners. My search for them continues. My curiosity leads me to believe that maybe someone perished in the home during the possession of the original owner. So anywho....

I have been to this house more than one time and have always thought that something was eerie about the upstairs portion. As soon as I would walk up the stairs I would get chills all over and a pain deep in my lower back. At first I though I was a little crazy for feeling this type of thing, but I have always been open minded to it. My first time up stairs left a memory for the future visits. In fact, just looking up the stairway from the bottom step would give me chills. We have even gone so far to ask an electrician who frequently visited the house if he had any feelings of the house. He confirmed that he too has had a few experiences. So back to the recent day.

I was vacuuming the hall way which runs along the back side of the house. This portion of the house was added on later and is not original. As I was moving along, I caught a dark figure to my right. That just happened to be at the bottom of the staircase. I saw this figure move into the formal sitting area. Immediately, I put down the vacuum, shut if off, and proceeded to enter the sitting room. In that room I got the chills. It was unbelievable to me because I had never felt it downstairs until this particular day. From there I started to wonder.....hmmmm let me check out the upstairs now and see if the feeling is there still. I walk upstairs and nothing. That is odd. Did this ghost move down stairs and I witnessed it???? Ok, Monica, you are not crazy, these things do exist. In the meantime, I am telling my mother everything as it happened. I walk into the library upstairs and the room was scalding hot. Never had it felt like that in there. I walk into the other two spare bedrooms upstairs, nothing hot or odd there. Ok, back downstairs to the sitting room. Again the chills arrive as expected. I decide that, now I know it's downstairs, to check the adjoining rooms. I walk into the foyer, which is also added on later, nothing there. The formal dining, original, nothing. Ok, back to the sitting room, chills again. I have now deducted that this spirit is in the sitting room still. Amazed by what is happening I realize that I do have a job to do and get back to work, still pondering the whole idea.

After some move vacuuming and then a break, I decide to try my intuition again. This time I walk straight to the sitting room and nothing. Nothing at all, not a chill to be seen, or felt for that matter. What happened? I walk into the foyer, nothing. I walk into the dining room, viola....there are the chills again. Did he move? Apparently he did! Now again very curious, I walk upstairs. Nothing there, no chills. I trot right back down the stairs and back the dining room. He is still there. My mom had even made a comment that I was crazy and I was chasing the ghost. She also admitted that she had also had feelings but never said anything to me until then. Her feelings were in the crossing of the threshold from the added on kitchen into the original dining room. She said that she had often stopped in her tracks immediately reaching that threshold. Still curious and now needing to vacuum the sitting room, I venture back. Mom decided to go out for a break. Something came over me to decide to talk to this being. Huh, I guess I am a little off my rocker. LOL I told him that I knew he was in there and I wasn't afraid. I also told him that I will see him next time I visit. The next hour continued as we cleaned with me going back and forth to all the rooms to see what I could feel. Time approaches for us to leave. One last time, I walk in the sitting area to confirm. He was there and I again repeated that I am not afraid and I will see him next time.

As you can imagine, it was on my mind the rest of the day. I told my brother and Jeff both about it. Both of which replying that they also wish they could have been there to see if they could feel it too. I am really excited for the next time I go. In fact, I am sorta wanting to make sure I do go with mom next time I can. LOL I am still on my search for more information on the original owners. I have a good feeling it may have been one of them or a family member. Who knows??? My search will continue to see what I can find out. Maybe I can relate to this person some how if I know who he or she is. I don't feel scared at all being there, just weird. That may be just because I truly can't believe this has happened. As open minded as I am, it is an amazing experience that I myself still can not believe really happened. I will keep you updated as my search continues.

An ounce of humanity

2011-12-06T08:07:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Jeff decided that he wanted to take the john boat on her maiden voyage. So I gathered up the boys and our stuff to head out. Since we didn't know how this was going to go, we decided to stay close. So we head down Cardsound road. There are little spots where we can launch it with no problems. On our way down the road cars are passing us left and right, but no big deal cause I was going slower than I should have been. Out of nowhere comes a little black car, hauling ass! Oh shit, what the hell is happening! This car is coming and so is one from the opposite direction. I blast my train horn at him to make him aware of what is going on. He proceeds to slow down and get back behind me. Phew! That was close. For a second there, I thought we were all going to have to be scraped off the road. Anyhow, now the oncoming car has passed us and the black car proceeds to pass us again. This time safely! Of course, I got pissed because my family was in the car. I bitched about it for a while and then it was over. Get the hell aways from me you MORON!

We continue our drive down the road and up to the toll. I rolled down my window ready to hand the tender my money. He looks at me and then back at the boat and says, "That's not a jet ski." I agree and say "No, its a john boat." He then proceeds to tell me that a car came through right before us and paid the toll for us, but he thought we had a jet ski on the back. I assured the guy that no its not but asked why. He said the man in the car was sorry for what he had done and wanted to pay our tolls for us. I asked the tender if the car was black and he could not recall. But he did say that it had to be us because the car had just come through and we were the next one in line. So, he handed me back my money and told us to have a great day. As we drove off, Jeff and I looked at each other in amazement! Did that really just happen? You mean there is a shred of humanity left in this world. Funny thing is....I wonder if he did it because he thinks I saved him by blasting my horn or did he realize what he did was stupid and wanted to make up for it! I guess I will never know, but I do appreciated the fact that he recognized his mistake and made up for it! Now if there were just more people who took responsibility for their actions, the world just might have a chance.

Here are some pics of our lil boat on her maiden voyage, which went great I must add......

Letter to the Mayor

2011-11-01T00:50:00.001-04:00

I have, for two years now, been frustrated everyday as I pick up my niece and nephew from their school. I constantly yell at drivers as they enter the school zone at outrageous speeds. What is wrong with these people, do the they have no concern for children...except their own. It saddens me, yet angers me everyday to see this behavior from grown adults. I would half way expect that SOME of them follow the laws that apply to these school zones. So, as I have done before, I decided to write a letter. This time to the Mayor, whom I know lives in my immediate area. In fact, I was told he was involved in a accident at the next intersection just north of the school I mention. Anyhow, here is the letter I wrote him. Comments encouraged!

Dear MayorBateman,

I am contacting you as aconcerned citizen/aunt of children that attend Gateway Environmental K-8 ElementarySchool. I have witnessed, within the past two years, many vehicles that enterthe school zone at a high rate of speed with no regard for the designated speedlimit (school and private buses included). I have made many calls to the localpolice dept. to try and remedy this problem. Unfortunately, they are unable tokeep a constant watch on the zones, which I do understand. I am truly concernedabout the safety of all the children that I see on an everyday basis crossingthese roads.

I would like to propose asolution to you, that is both cost effective and possibly half way completed. Themain problem exists on South Canal Dr. between the north entrance of Key’sGate: The Shores community and Farmlife Rd. I would like to suggest that around-a-bout to be built in front of the currently closed north entrance to TheShores community. This would assist in slowing traffic at the immediatebeginning of the school zone on South Canal Dr. A portion of the round-a-boutcould be incorporated into the pre-existing entrance, leaving only one side tohave to be developed. On a side note…personallyI also think that the entire intersection of Familife Rd and South Canal Dr. shouldbe a round-a-bout. I think that these are options that should be considered. Ifthis happened in both areas, the speed of traffic would be greatly reduced. Notonly that, but the children would be safer.

I have a few examples of thesame round-a-bout being effective in our own city. In my community of TheShores, at our resident entrance, we have a round-a-bout. Never are there anyissues concerning the incoming and outgoing traffic. Also, we have Palm Dr. andTennessee Ave (in front of Homestead High), which has been very effective in controllingthe speed limit in front of that school. Again, along Kings Hwy. proceeding just eastof the Church of the Nazarene there is a round-a-bout, again to prove to bequite effective controlling traffic in the area. The round-a-bout is a costeffective solution due to its simplicity. There are no extra funds spent tocontrol its functionality. There is no maintenance that would be associatedwith a traditional stop-lighted intersection, nor hazards that are related with4 way stops. This could free up funds that might be needed elsewhere.

I would like to thank you inadvance, Mayor Bateman, for taking the time to read my letter and hopefullythink about the issue I have brought to you. I know that you are also aresident of the local area and that we share the same concerns. I look forward tohearing from you soon. I hope that youwill truly consider this suggestion to protect those innocent lives that couldbe affected.

Sincerely,

Monica Torres

Just me

2011-10-28T23:38:00.000-04:00

I like to think of myself as simple. Now I know a few who would tend to differ on that subject. I guess what I am getting at is that I like to enjoy the simple things in life. Spending time as family, going on short trips, eating dinner together and so on. I think you get the drift. I do, pretty frequently, find myself as not myself. I feel like I give and give, with no return. I don't mean like gifts or money or thanks, but just maybe some time to myself to be myself. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy being the stay at home mom, but there is a time that I need to get away for ME! I spend every waking minute of the day for others and I don't feel completely satisfied for some reason. The only thing that I can come up with in my mind is that I am lacking socializing. Every day Jeff comes home from work, I bombard him with talk about how my day with the kids went. He listens, but in a man way. LOL Of course, I do have my mom, whom listens to me babble all the time, thank goodness for her! :D I also do have occasional calls from my cousin...she just cracks me up!!! Other than that....I feel a little empty at times. So bad that I find myself wanting to FB all the time, but it does interfere with the "norm". I get on as often as possible to have some type of socializing with other people. And really, I don't care for it because it is very disappointing how some people are on this famous website. I give my input anyway. hehe But realistically, I need some girl time or something. I have even considered...wait for it....putting my boys back in school so that I can pursue a daytime job. Sadly, just to fulfill the need to be around others. Obviously, the money would be great too. :D Oh, so I sit in my bed just wondering....when will it be MY time.

Mutant Kitty

2011-10-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

It's funny how some people react to mutations, whether in people or animals. Yesterday, I took all the kids to the park to play because it was finally a cool, beautiful day. While there, some of the kids spot a stray kitten. If I would guess, I would say she is about 4-6 months old. She looks just like my cat Reeses which made me fall in love immediately. Upon picking her up and petting her, I noticed something odd. Her front paws had 6 toes!! OMG, I thought! This is a Hemingway Cat. They are a rare type of cat because of this mutation. Most of the Hemingway Cats in Florida live at the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West. I have always wanted this type of cat simply because they were different. It was funny to see how the other parents reacted to her. One mother was telling her little one to stay away from the cat because something was wrong with it. I tried to tell the mother that nothing at all was wrong with the kitty except that she had extra toes. I learned that they are also called polydactyl. Meaning, having more than the normal amount of digits, whether it be fingers or toes. So, needless to say, I had to have her. I was asking other moms if they were interested in taking her and giving her a good home. Both moms I spoke with were allergic, so the answer was no. I laughed and told them that I was too but I like pain and suffering. LOL In my mind I just wanted to check what the possibility of me keeping her was. I really wanted her and I had to make sure no one else did. A few of the parents have never even heard of such a cat. So, as we were leaving I grabbed her and took her home. On the way, the kids were worried about the possibility of keeping her. I told them that I would try very hard to persuade Jeff to let us. No problem! We got home and I walked in with kitty in hand, batting my eyelashes. I walked up to Jeff and asked. Of course his first response was no and that we already had one cat and one dog. For him, that was enough. So, I accepted his no as the answer and moved on to try and find her a home. In my search, I found the Hemingway House and I was going to call them to see if they were interested in having her. Luckily for me and the kids...Jeff changed his mind! Yay! We were so excited. We now have a very special addition to our home. I know she will be very happy here. We are all animal lovers and we will take very good care of our mutant kitty. Since our other cat was named Reeses, Sam thought a good name for her would be Butterfinger. How appropriate! The kitty and the name stays. We are so excited. She is such a sweet kitten too. I know she is happy to be here with us because she hasn't stopped sleeping. She has already found and used the litter box. Who says cats aren't smart! Phhhffffftttttt!

Isn't she awesome!

Mother always said....

2011-09-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

I never knew what the phrase "This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you"' meant as a child. I couldn't understand how if I was getting the smack, did it hurt my mom more than me. Are you kidding, MY butt was sore. Now that I am a parent, I can fully understand that phrase. Yesterday I had an incident with my niece that scared the shit out of me. To make a long story short, I couldn't find her and immediately started thinking the worst. I was knocking on doors of neighbors to find out she was never there. In the process of walking around, I stepped on a big rock and twisted my already injured knee. Fast foward a few minutes, she is found and at the house. Well, of course I was pleased that she was home but I was as pissed as any mother would have been. I walked into the house to find her patiently waiting for me on the couch. I grabbed her up and proceeded to beat her butt. I did some screaming at her about how you don't go places without me knowing, blah, blah, blah. Then I sent her home with her dad. I went into the room and started to ball. I was so upset and scared that I just lost it. Finally, when I calmed down, I realized that from spanking her I hurt my own wrist. Damn.....it did hurt me way more than it hurt her.

That time of year again.

2011-09-02T13:29:00.000-04:00

I know that you are not going to be surprised to hear this story because it is very similar to the last year. That meaning, every year when the kids come home from "daddy's", there is always a problem. This year is no different. Different problem, yes, not a different outcome. For summary purposes I will make this fast. This year the kids visit for 3 weeks (they don't want to stay longer for some reason), while up there things happen. The major issue this year was that Shy wanted a bank account. Funny, I live with her and she has NEVER brought it up before. But now she is with her Mimi and all of a sudden she can't wait another minute to have this account. Well, me knowing how Mimi is, it's just a ploy of some sort to control my daughter. So Shy was told that she would get money until she got a job. Really, do you know of any 15 yr. old girl these days that would get a job if she knew she was getting money already?? Anyhow, it happened. Without my permission, may I add. The adult woman never even called me to ask me about it. I only found out cause Shy asked me for her SS#. I said no, end of story, you would think.

So the kids get home, I already know what the deal is. My daughter has an account with money in it for her to do whatever she wants. Nope, guess what now you are back in my house. What makes Mimi think that she can control what happens in my house? Crazy freak!!! Get a hold of yourself, you're loosing it woman. So with much advisement, I take the card away from Shy. I decide now it's time to write a letter. Hmmmmmm, how shall I put this?? I was very proper in my letter, not nasty, bitchy, or anything else. I was straight to the point as to the fact I was Shy's mom and I will make these types of decisions for her. I am raising all of my kids to be self reliant when they go out in this world of ours. Responsible! My letter totaled maybe 10 sentences. Short, sweet and to the point. HER letter, pfffttt! Three pages long! LOL All about how I am a bad mother. Wow, didn't expect to get verbally attacked. Ok, someone pissed in her Cherrios! I really want to know, is this ever going to end? Her constant manipulation of my daughter. She doesn't even do this crap with the boys. Maybe she has a sick affliction for my daughter. Ewwww! Anyone know a good counselor for this woman????

What does it all mean?

2011-08-29T17:32:00.004-04:00

So have you ever had a weird dream that when you wake up you say to yourself, "What was that supposed to mean"? Well, I think we all do. So last night this is how mine went. I was sleeping in my bed from when I was a young teen. Next to me was my boyfriend Jeff. In the middle of the night, I awoke to find a shadowy figure standing over Jeff. I pop out from where I lay to see the figure ready in full swing to hit Jeff. As soon as he swung the bat, I grabbed it and took it away from him. He didn't resist at all, in fact he slowly walked around the bed to my side. While he was walking, I followed him with the bat in my hand ready to attack. He got to my side of the bed and sat down. I asked him what he was doing and he said "Sorry, but things get boring around here". I asked him what his name was and he replied, "Mark". Flash forward to me getting off my bed to walk out of the room, which was an iron gate. I started screaming for my dad to let me out. My dad came out from his room, which was to the left of mine. He unlocked the door and returned to his room. I had to use the bathroom, which was on the right of my room. I walk in and I see that my bathroom is a bar. Standing at the bar is a man and he asks me, "Do you come here often" ? I said, "yes this is my bathroom". I walk out totally confused as to what is happening. So, just because, I walk back in. The man is still standing there at the bar, so I walk in. I order a 6 pack of beer. The end, I wake up.

Of course, the first thing I say to myself is..."What the hell is that supposed to mean"?

I really have to vent!!

2011-08-21T23:57:00.007-04:00

I am not one that likes to air my problems, unless of course I have no answers. Well this is one of those time. I am in such a situation that I can no longer stand. It has been going on for about 15 or so years. I am less and less inclined to deal with this as time goes on. Let's just say the camel's back has now been broken. For countless years I have been dealing with a woman who believes that my eldest is her own. From the beginning I have had issues with this woman. The problem comes in because the woman is my childrens' grandmother, on their fathers side. She has been nothing but a problem since my daughter was born. Always trying to take control. I have had many issues with the gma, but she doesn't seem to get the hint. Now like I said, the camels back is now broke and I am at my wits end. This all stems from her most recent (summer visit) actions. And by this I mean, going over my head as the parent of my daughter. She blatantly did something which she had no approval from me to do. I know it may seem stupid for me to complain about this, but I know her and I know her intentions. The gma recently opened a checking account for my 15 yr old daughter. She told her that she would put money in whenever my daughter needed it. WELLL........that doesn't fly in this house when I am trying to teach my children responsibility. NOT AT ALL!!!!!!!! I spend my days at home with my kids, being a mom. I became a parent and from then on I have done nothing but live for my kids and their best interests. Now, after being away for 3 weeks with their father, they come home and as always....issues. This time its the bank account that I did not approve, but it was opened anyway. I don't spend my time devoting my life to my kids for someone to try and manipulate them right under my nose. HELL TO THE NO!!!!!!!

It never fails

2011-08-12T10:54:00.009-04:00

So last night we decide that we will be watching the Republican debates. Why you ask? Because my bf is a registered Republican. Ok...I say, we will watch it. So before the debates even start, he decides that he want to ask me one simple (LOL) question. "How do you look at Republicans?" Ugh....well....ummmm.... I think they are only concerned about rich people and could give a shit less about the lower income people. Now just a little back story here. I have NEVER been interested in politics. My personal opinion is that they are all crooks. In 2008, I registered to vote and I did. I voted for who I thought in my opinion would be a good leader. Again, not knowing anything about politics. Now I truly wish I would have never got involved. Yes, that is sad to say. Reason it is sad is simple. I am not respected in this house for my opinion. There is a constant fight between us in this regard. It never fails. If I don't agree with the bf then there is a big stink about it. I am told that my opinion is always wrong cause I don't have the facts. Here is my understanding of the word opinion. It is mine and I am entitled to it whether or not someone agrees with me. He goes on to state that Democrats don't know anything. LOL Isn't that his opinion.....yes! Do I tell him he is wrong, NO! But yet, because he is Republican, he is right. I hate this whole party thing. Why can't we just make politics work for everyone. I know that is difficult because people are so different from each other. That is one of the joys of being human, we are all different. So why when I express my view am I always WRONG????? On a side note, my personal opinion is that we need to get politicians out of there and put in a business person. Any who.....we have been good about not discussing politics for this reason, but now with elections in a year or so away, I have the feeling its going to get worse. UGH!!!!! Why doesn't he get it, we don't have to agree on everything in order to have a happy relationship. He thinks that if I don't agree with him that it is a problem for us. How is this even sane? He wants a drone to be his gf, not an individual. Pfffffttttt! Not here sweetheart, this woman is not submissive to her man in that respect. LOL I have my own brain and my own beliefs, no one will change that! Plus isn't that what attracts people to each other?

We Finally Did It!!!

2011-06-24T11:23:00.006-04:00

Ahhhh, yes!!! I can sit back and breathe again. I finally did it! I got my black belt. What a great feeling to have accomplished such a task. I have been training for this for almost 5 (long) years. Many injuries and tests later, the day came.

It's funny how for all this time I have just been going to classes, working out. No biggie right! Well then as it approached, it was getting serious. I kept thinking..."WOW, it's around the corner". And boom, bam, smack! It was here. The four months of training for the test itself, were like a month instead. I kept saying that I have plenty of time, it's four months. Yeah, right! No!!!! It went faster than I could blink. In fact, at one point, we were asked where we were. We kept skipping classes thinking it was no biggie. Well, apparently, our attendance was important in order to test for black belt. Duh, I knew that, but like I said time flew by and I didn't realize how many classes we missed.

Fast forward to two weeks prior. We did some serious working out and practice on our forms. Which...we had to learn four of. Yes, four! OMG!!! I only really knew two of them, my color belt form and Songham 1. Shit!!! I have lots of practice to do in two weeks. So, J and I busted out with the badness. Full gear in practice mode, well at least for us! LOL With the help of Sam, who also got his black belt. Oh, I didn't mention who did I? Well, side note...Me, Jason and Sam got our BB. Ok, so where was I? Oh yeah...

Testing day arrives. We have practiced and practiced till we are blue in the face and all our forms seemed like one long one. Which is really how it ended up being, one long one, in three phases. Man, I was sooo nervous! I could have filled a gallon jug with how much I was sweating. Then, they called J and I up to do our first three forms. Side by side, just the two of us. Jesse called us the "Wonder Twins" LOL Was that supposed to calm us down? No, now I am freaking out more. Let's bring more attention to us. So, the form...what??? We killed it! Better than we have ever done in class or anywhere else for that matter. I know I was amazed at how well I did. I was focused on exactly what I was there to do. We sat down, waited some time for the other testers to complete their forms and then our turn again. Now this time, side by side, we did our form for our belt rank. Rocked it again! I did stutter for a split second, ahh! No one noticed, I hope. LOL We finished! We did it with our forms. Soon to sparring and board breaking!!!!

Sparring as always was fun and really...not to much of a challenge. It is free sparring so you pretty much just make it look good for the judges. Easy enough! Board breaking was next on the agenda for the soon to be black belts. I was super excited about this for sure. I hadn't practiced but once, but I guess Jesse thought that was enough. We first had to ask permission when it was our turn to break, . We only had three tries to break two boards. Not a problem!! I love breaking boards. My turn. I get up, set up my boards, bow and viola! KIHAP!!!! First break was a forward elbow, second one a jump front kick. Like butter!!! The testing wrapped up and we had done it!!! J gave me big hugs. I knew he was excited, deep down!! hehe Brat!!!! Love you bro!

A few more days pass and it is now ceremony time. Again I was nervous. Now I had to deliver a speech...ewww I don't like this at all. When we get to the school, Master Isaac's calls us into the office. The talk with Master Isaacs settled me down...a little. He told us to sit back, relax and enjoy this moment. "This is just the beginning", he told us. He explained to us how we were to walk out and the process for the ceremony. We all had speeches and gold coins in hand, ready to accept the honor of a black belt. The round of applause was so amazing. What a moment!! At that moment I took a deep breath and realized "I DID IT" How awesome!!!

When it was our turn, we went up to accept our belts. The three of us went up as a family. There were actually three families of three. This was a record for IMA, not only for the families that were getting their belts, but also for the amount of students receiving belts at once. There were 15 of us! Woohooo!! After the belts we sat down. When called again, we got up to give Master Isaac's the gold coins and then our speeches, again as a family. I went first, Jason and finally Sam.

DONE!!!!!!

I am now proud to say that I am a Black Belt in Taekwondo!!!!!!

Now I can't wait for my youngest, Max, in October. Shortly after that will be my niece, Jasmine (who kicks ass) and finally my nephew, Jonathan (who also kicks ass)!!!! Hey....we all KICK ASS!!!!!

....

2011-05-06T21:32:00.003-04:00

I just don't know what is happening anymore.

I feel alone, where did everything go?

It's the whole world against me.

What am I to do???

My energy is being sucked dry.

I feel alone, where did everything go?

I am being suffocated.

When can I be me again?

My Mom

2011-05-06T12:55:00.002-04:00

With the holiday soon approaching, I would like to dedicate a post to my mom. Currently, she is off on one of her many adventures touring the land across the sea. She was invited by a friend to assist in transport of a pet. The airline requires a "person" for every pet on the plane. Lucky her!!! It has been some time since she has left the country, as she does try every year. So I find myself truly missing her. I talk to my mom everyday, more than once sometimes. Now that she is overseas, I miss her conversations. Funny thing isn't it. Most of the time its just nonsense we are talking about anyway, but she is always there to listen. In fact, she does more than that. She always has some sort of advice to give. If not from herself, then her "research". LOL She always finds the answer. Whether I am looking for it or not.

So, in the meantime, since I can't talk to her, she has been emailing me. I have been going by the house and checking on everything until she gets back. Her trip is short but I know it will seem long by the time she gets back. I hope you are having lots of fun MOM and BE CAREFUL!!!!!

Finally did it!

2011-04-18T09:58:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally did it. I competed in a Taekwondo tournament. It was such a great feeling. We arrived in Boca about 10ish in the a.m. We got settled in and the boys took off to watch their friends. We watched the Opening Ceremonies, which was cool! Then on to the competition. At this point I wasn't registered to compete yet. I waited till about 30 minutes before staging to actually have the guts to do it. The boys were staged first. I was able to see both of them do their forms. By the time it was sparring time for them I had to stage myself. I did miss them spar, but that's ok, I heard they did well. I am so proud of them just for doing it. I now know it takes some guts to get out there in front of sooooo many people. I am shy like that. :D

Time for me to enter my ring. There were about 6 or 7 women in the ring with me. I did not come prepared at all for this. Like I said it was a last minute decision. I do thank a fellow classmate for the letting me use her sparring gear so I could compete. I didn't practice anything. In fact, I even forgot my form, which sucked because I had a competition to do. I did the best I could in forms. I got lost at one point and just froze in place...long enough to probably have a smoke. LOL So being that is what happened I didn't even place in forms. Ahhh, oh well. Next, sparring!!! OMG was I nervous. Mainly because, in class at least, I don't take it seriously. I am always laughing and just not focusing as I should. Well, low and behold, I did awesome. All with no practice. I went in, got my points and moved up! What you say!! Yep! I did, not only once, but twice. Wooohooo! I am placing somewhere this time. So on to the next fight. I went in, scored, done. Now....I have to go against a really tall woman (at least to me). I still went in positive, I mean I surprised myself already so why not! Well, she had a different agenda, she was going to win. Haha and she did. One nice kick to the head and followed up by the remaining punches. She got me good. I was only able to score once on her. She was almost impossible to get near, her legs were everywhere! LOL I did have a great time never-the-less.

I will most definitely do this again.

Busy busy busy!

2011-03-30T08:52:00.003-04:00

Boy, these days are crazy! I just can't seem to sit still. Besides the normal everyday stuff, I have been doing Spring cleaning too. Time to get rid of all the junk we don't use. I figure if it sits in a closet for a year without being touched...time to get rid of it. That includes clothes and yes....shoes too. I know, what woman gets rid of shoes! LOL Well, I do if I don't wear them. We just had a garage sale this past Saturday and now I am cleaning out again. Time to fill the room again! Hehe! I really am just tackling my stuff. The kids have just cleaned out not too long ago, so I won't bother them to do it again so soon. It is nice to get rid of stuff. I have been donating alot of it here and there. I love that too.

I have also been getting some much needed things done to the house too. I love to organize and re-organize. Maybe I am a little OCD...just a little! I just can't let these little projects pile up. Then the pile gets unmanageable. What is a woman to do??? CLEAN!!! It never ends! :D

Overwhelmed!

2011-03-10T08:18:00.003-05:00

I always have so much to say in person. When I sit down to write, I freeze. This is something that has been happening lately. I have tried to write many posts, but never make it to posting stage. They continue to stay in draft mode! I have so much to say about what has been happening, but yet the words that are coming out, are just not right. I feel so overwhelmed with feelings that I am lost.

In the past few weeks I have lost two important people in my life, my grandpa and my step-dad. I have been struggling with my bf and the issue of working. I am trying to get my house back in order, from being away multiple times for days at a time. Things are just so crazy right now. I haven't even been teaching my boys. I feel so lost for some reason. Like parts of me are gone. I want to get them back but I feel like that is going to take time and that is something I just don't have lots of.

I have also come to realize different things that are important in life. Life itself is such a gift! I try to have a positive attitude everyday, though I am not always successful at it. The fact that I am trying should count for something. I am focusing lately on my own spirituality, which is not what most people would expect from me. Let's just say that positive energy is my focus!

Today, I woke up feeling great! I will be discussing a job opportunity that would keep me home, where I want to be. But will also give me an income, which is also what I want. I am excited about this, but a little hesitant because , who knows, it might be a scam. I am going in with an open mind hoping that all the signs are pointing here for a reason. Like my mom says to me, "Everything happens for a reason".

Emotions

2011-01-06T08:49:00.002-05:00

Well, today I woke up feeling quite emotional. I am not sure if it is the quitting of smoking or the fact that I will be getting my monthly friend soon. For whatever reason, I just want to cry. I don't feel sad, but I do feel like if I cried I would feel better. I have had some wierd ass dreams for the past few nights. Does nicotine really have that much of an effect on you??? Today is day 6 and I still have no urges, but my emotions are saying something different. Funny how your body changes right under your nose.

Anti-smoking

2011-01-03T15:46:00.005-05:00

This year I made a resolution to quit the awful, ugly habit of smoking. So far it has been three days with no urges. Awesome, right! Yep. But I also know that this is the beginning and it may get harder. So I decided to purchase an herbal non-smoking aide. It is all natural and all you do is smell it. The aroma is not horrible, but it is a potent, strong scent. In fact, it is so strong that I got a little nauseated. :P I haven't needed anything up to this point, so I am going to put this on the back burner, just in case. If all else fails then I will use it. If all goes well, then I will give it to my boyfriend and he can use it.

This year I am working alot harder on this resolution!!!

The name of the product is Smoker's Herbal Aroma. You can find it at www.stopsmokingherbs.com .

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T10:21:00.006-05:00

Well folks...it's 2011. It seems that 2010 went by so fast. I hope time slows down a little, it goes too quick. Hopefully this year will be great. I have a few things that I would like to accomplish. For both personal reasons and for my family.

First off and most important (for many reasons), I am going to quit smoking. I have coughed for too long and for what....a little white stick that does nothing good for me. NOTHING!!! So I have already purchased what I need in order to help with this resolution. I am crossing my fingers that it works. So far I have gone one full day without a smoke, and really, I didn't even crave one. Easy right...I hope.

Secondly, I would love to start eating way more healthy. I feel like I do already but some things need to be changed. My oldest son is 10 lbs. over weight and my daughter is probably about the same. I have to take all the junk out of the house. But for now...it has to get eaten. Horrible to say but I don't waste things either. So that resolution will start once all the other stuff is gone. I could stand to lose a few lbs. too. I feel comfortable in my skin but hey....a few lbs. won't kill me either.

Lady Bears....I hope to kick my business off a little stronger this year. Being that I started it at the end of the year, made it difficult to move. Especially since times are a little tough right now too. I plan on dropping a few off here and there to see what kind of business I can get. If it was meant to be, it will. I have a few more to make out of some old stuff of mine. (Pre holiday closet clean-out). And well, who knows right!

Blogging.....another thing that has gone under the rug. I hope that I can post more regularly. I do have many reasons to vent, so why not here. :D

Homeschooling has me in a bind. I mean we do real well daily, but I still feel like my boys are lacking somewhere. I guess I will have to pin point that one before I can make some changes. Hopefully, I get that done quickly. I am worried that I am not doing a good enough job. I mean I am the one responsible for their education. I am often told that I am doing great, but my expectations are higher than those who give me the credit. Or is it that I am their mom, so I am going to be more tough on them. Either way, something has to change.

Exercise has got to get into this house in a somewhat normal routine. My boys are in TKD and Shy is in soccer. Jeff has the gym at the station to work out at. Me....being that I injured my knee real bad in 2010, I am afraid to do too much. But...I will get back in there slowly and do what I can. I have to get that heart pumping....and soon! My black belt isn't that far away and I have wanted it for soo long. I have to do this...carefully!

I have many more goals for the New Year. I know I have to tackle them one at a time. I usually work real well under pressure, so we will see!!!

Memory Bears by Monica

2010-09-30T12:47:00.007-04:00

I recently opened a business called Lady Bears. I make memory bears from reclaimed materials that you supply. These materials can be old baby blankets, wedding dresses, jeans, sports jerseys, grandpa's old fishing shirt, etc... Use your imagination!

I have also added bears for Cancer Awareness. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the bears are ready just in time. 100% of all profits will be donated to "Florida Breast Health Initiative" whose mission is to educate and prevent Breast Cancer.

If you would like to order a Memory bear I can be contacted at ladybearsbymonica@att.net . Prices on bears are according to fabric type. I will require a $20 deposit sent along with your choice of fabric. You then will be contacted via email for a quote on your bear.

Cat litter anyone?

2010-09-15T07:08:00.002-04:00

About two months ago, I saw a commercial on TV about cat litter. It advertised a free bag, so what the hell right! I have to buy it anyway. They said that it was natural corn litter, which had many qualities. First and most important ( to me ) was that it was flushable. Yeah!! I hate sticking that shit (haha) in the garbage. Other qualities were that it didn't carry any odor, true! The urine and fecal matter would not sink to the bottom of the litter box, true again. It doesn't even stick to the scooper. The other quality was that it was safe for all your pets. That means the dog that sneaks in and eats the "crap" right out of the litter box. We all have that dog... So, I tell you. Now after using this for two months, I wouldn't use anything else. In fact, in the past two months I have only gone through two 7 lb. bags. That was something else they advertised, that you would use less. The "free bag" was a mail in rebate, which took a few weeks but that was OK too. I mean who doesn't like spending money, forgetting about it, and then getting it back in the mail. I DO!!!

I am not sure if they still have their promotion running, but feel free to check out their website and judge for yourself. www.worldsbestcatlitter.com You will be amazed too!

New business

2010-09-13T11:58:00.002-04:00

As of now I will be making memory bears. They are available for all occasions. Do you have kids? Did you keep some of their cutest clothes? How about rather than them sitting in a closet somewhere...make a bear out of them. You can use baby blankets, special holiday clothing, jersey's from a special sports team. How about someone that has passed. How about using one of their articles of clothing to make a bear. Maybe it was special to them before and it could be special again to you now. These things don't have to sit in your closets any more. You can even use an old wedding dress. You know those just sit around and turn yellow. Memory bears can be made from anything you choose. Even if you have a favorite table cloth that just doesn't work in the house anymore, but you don't want to get rid of it. Tons of ideas for all types of occasions.

Soon I will have some pics up for you to see the possibilities.

Boy it's been a while...

2010-08-31T08:49:00.003-04:00

Hello all! I know it has been a while since I have posted. I was busy with, ya know, LIFE!! I had a great summer out on the boat, fishing and diving, beaching it up, and oh, just hanging around. Now school has started and it's back to the routine everyday. Not that I have a problem with it...it keeps me going. This year is different though. I have many more responsibilities my way.

I have gained a few kids and lost one...well I know where she is, lol. My day now consists of getting up at the crack of dawn (6:30). I am not a morning person so this is the most difficult part. I have to be up to say "good-bye" to my girl who is now in high school and to let my niece and nephew in the house. After that, I somehow find myself going back to sleep. But I have decided to fix that and go online and do all my "stuff" before anyone gets up. So far, so good. At around 7:30 I bring my niece and nephew to school. Last year, no worries about being "on time" anywhere. I come home, feed my boys and get our lessons started. Good thing about this is that...we also finish real early. Which is really just in time to pick up my nephew. Funny how it worked out. When I get home with him, it's on to his homework. Wow, getting tired now. By the time that is finished it is time to pick up his sister at school. Turn around and do it again. Get back to the house and do more homework. Wait!!!!! Today is Tuesday, no time for HW today. We have to go straight to TKD. Yes, that is four days a week for us now! Sheesh!!! Guess the HW waits till after classes.

After all that is said and done...time to make dinner. Boy, I think I have gotten in over my head. Nah! I can handle it, I work well under pressure. Just a big schedule change in my life. As of next week I will also be going back to TKD. Black belt here I come. :D

I know that all these things are great for my family so I am here to help out as much as possible! I was just told recently that I could sleep when I was dead. Hmmmm!!! Long time to wait, but....OK!

Have a great day all!!!

Mother's Day to Remember

2010-05-10T21:06:00.007-04:00

As we have for a few years now...we go out on the boat on Mother's Day. We always have such spectacular days. They are always sunny with great seas, not many boaters out, nor do we ever get skunked on fishing. Yesterday was no exception either. But we did have more of an adventure than usual. It started out, oh, just as we left the dock.

We headed out from the dock at about 10:30ish. Reversed no problem. As we are settling in for the day out, Mom calls out that she has no throttle. No power at all. Crap!!! Are you kidding, it is Mother's Day. We can't have this, not for one minute. We all are searching on the boat to see what could be the problem, and what to do to fix it. Neither of us could find anything. In the meantime, we are in the channel at idle speed. So we are OK for now. But this isn't going to work the whole day. We all agree to get out of the channel, anchor, and take a better look. We get to a place to drop anchor and pull off the engine cover. After about 2 hours of taking apart and assessing the issues (throttle cable), we figured it out. This is what we came up with. Now don't laugh, oh....ok, its ok to laugh!!! We did. It worked great. A small pull and we sped up. A quick jerk got we were back to idle. We were able to troll too!! That brings up another subject for the day.

We finally get out and start trolling. We see fish jumping, birds flying, and some weeds, but not much. So we sit to have lunch for a while, trying to make our own weed line. Usually it works, but not yesterday. So we troll some more. Finally, we have a catch. But wait...what the hell??? Damn it! A dumb bird has caught one of our bait.We seemed to think it was some kind of Albatross. But either way it was dumb as shit. It didn't hook itself once, but twice. The first time he flew off. Not the second time. And as he was trying to eat the bait, Mom started reeling in the line. Of course, by doing that, the birds head was underwater, almost drowning. I told Mom to release the line for a little so he could catch his breath. She did this a few times until we got it to the boat. Once there, he tried to fly off, but duh...he was hooked. So Jason figured we needed to get the bird in the boat. He gave Mom a rag to throw over the birds head, so he didn't snap at her. He was pretty mad. Once we got him on the boat I knew why. He was hooked twice by the bait. One in the eye socket and the other the beak. The beak was no biggie, but the eye! Ewwwwww!! I almost got sick. I am sort of a weakling when it comes to that stuff. But, Mom and Jay did it. They got it out with no damage to the eye at all. We then released the bird over the side of the boat, and he flew off.

We decided it was time to head in to shallower water, since trolling was not going our way. We went in to about 25' and fished. We caught some groupers and grunt. I was able to take ONE home. I am soo glad too, I really needed a fish sandwich. LOL! It was starting to get late...time to head in. Wait no electronics...forgot to mention that. Yes it was a great day!!! We had to navigate by.....Jason's Iphone. Thank goodness it has a built in compass. It helped. So we hand throttle all the way in, but our sight alone. It was fine though, we only got a little off track.

We made it to the docks, phew! I will say, even though the day went the way it did, I never stopped laughing. It was definitely a day to remember!

Do I dare?

2010-04-28T20:43:00.004-04:00

Do I dare say something bad about the government? Of course. So now that it is a day later and I am more calm, I must vent. Yesterday, after waiting months, I had my first scheduled training class to work for the Census Bureau. BUT... and a big one at that. I was late. Now I know I was supposed to be there early. Well I didn't make it there early enough apparently. I got there 5 minutes early, thinking..."that is plenty of time". NOT!!! It took me 40 minutes to get there from my house. OK...I thought that would have been plenty of travel time. In fact I thought it really would have only taken 20 minutes, giving me plenty of time to spare. Well folks, not the case. Anywho. I walk in to the school, which I have never been to and realize I have no idea where I am to go for this training. I call my daughter and ask her to check my notes for a location at the school. She finds nothing, just the time, date, and location(generally). So I walk around a school I have never been to for about 10-15 minutes looking for someone to help me. Sure enough it is after school, nobody is there. Finally, I find a teacher exiting the building. So I ask if could he direct me. Sure, no problem, except that now I know where I am going it is 10 after the hour. So, I am late. I even knew that it was going to be a problem. I get to the media room and knock on the door, twice, no answer. What do I do??? I just drove for 40 minutes to get there, for absolutely nothing. Well, being me, I don't just let it go. I look through all my received calls for the past week. BINGO! I find the number of the girl that called me to change the schedule (again, 3rd time actually). She answered the phone and I explained who, what, where, blah blah. Her response was that I was late and she had already taken the attendance. She also said that she couldn't let me in and I was to call another number. She said either someone would answer or if not to leave a message. Getting more pissed as time goes.

I go outside to the benches and sit and call, sweat my ass off in the meantime. Of course, immediately I get an answering machine. No surprise. But, also not good enough. So I search through my phone some more. Yes, I find another number for the census, and get this....I get a voice! Whooohooo!!! Of course, by this time I am royally pissed so I can barely talk. I tell the man my situation and he responds...sorry but you needed to be on time. Duh of course I say, except not so sarcastically. I mean I do still want the job, don't want to burn this bridge yet. I told him how there was no direction given to me and also how there is nothing anywhere in the entire school stating where someone is to go for the training. He apoligizes for the problem, but they still can't let me in. That is it!!! Fuming, face red! I want a supervisor I tell him. "Hold please!" OK........

So I finally get a supervisor. I, again, explain what has happened. I get mulitiple apoligies from her. OK, but that doesn't change the fact that I have missed the first training. I even stated to her that I am aware of how bad they need people, but they don't give any leeway the first day for people to show up. Second day, third day, OK, I can understand. But the first day, especially with no direction. Pfff! So she tells me to sit tight where I am and she will call back in 10 minutes and we can resolve this situation. She had to take this to her supervisor. Guess what happened....nothing. She never called back, not in 10 minutes, not ever. Good thing I decided to call the boyfriend to ask what I should do. He said screw them come home. Funny how I wouldn't be let in after 10 minutes but yet she (supervisor) didn't even have the decency to call me back. So I have rules and they don't.

I get home finally and look at all my notes that I had taken when receiving my NEW schedule a few days earlier. Guess what...nothing about room numbers anywhere. In fact, I was supposed to go to another location for the last two days and I didn't have any info about that location either. Funny thing is, me being so CYA-ish, I even asked the girl before we hung up the phone if she would mind listening while I repeated the information she just gave me. I repeated everything and she confirmed, except for the fucking room numbers. Sorry but I didn't take my mind reading pills that day. So even if I was more than 5 minutes early, I would have been late just trying to find the damn room!

I am really not one to complain, but that was ridiculous. So thinking back to the beginning of this whole job thing. They were late 15 minutes the first day I even applied for the damn job. That is ok, I never complained about it...sometimes shit happens. I was very understanding. But not now!!!!! BULLSHIT I SAY!!!

I know that in the first 10 minutes of these trainings, not much was going on. I mean really, it is the government right! Instead I sit for an hour waiting for this to be "resolved". It would have saved me and them many headaches to just let me in, but NOOOOOOO! That is too easy! Why be easy. Waste my time all you want, dare I waste yours!!!

Fresh herbs

2010-04-18T19:51:00.002-04:00

Today, though rainey, I was able to plant my garden. I am soo excited to be growing my own herbs and veggies. I wasn't able to plant as much as I wanted...didn't have all the seeds. But... I did plant Thyme, Dill, Cilantro, Jalapeno peppers, and Yellow Onion. Hopefully next week I will be able to plant my Tomatoes, Green Pepper, and oh...whatever else I feel like. Right now I planted what I use the most in the house. Can't wait for all this freshness. There in nothing like growing your own goodies. I know it takes time for all these things to grow, but I feel like a little kid. I just don't want to wait to see the results. Along with this we recently (Friday) just made terrariums for "green" in the house too. Now I feel like I am going totally "green". In fact, the water supply for my garden is coming from the condensed water from the A/C unit. How bout them apples. LOL

Can't wait to post some pics of my garden once it's going!!!

Yeah, for Spring!!!

Death of a pet

2010-04-15T13:38:00.003-04:00

Sucks to lose a pet. Today our Bearded Dragon Khan died. My son Sam was so upset. He was a very cool pet. He did scare a few people though, hehe Stacey!! Sometimes they just don't last as long as you want them too. Wierd thing is...we just happened to get the kitten, so it sorta worked out. Funny how these things happen sometimes....He will be missed!

New Edition

2010-04-13T11:36:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, we got a new kitty. Her name is Reeses, like the candy. She is soo cute. Funny thing is that Hannah, our German Shepherd, has really taken to her. It's almost as Hannah is now her mother. It is very cute, but a little annoying at the same time. We can't get near the kitten without Hannah being RIGHT there. Sorta strange coming from a dog that I saw toss another dog across the yard once. I just hope she calms down, I am afraid she is going to smother the kitten.

Once again...

2010-03-08T15:49:00.001-05:00

I recieved a call from my TKD instructor today urging me and my boys to come back to classes. He said he misses us. LOL. We miss them too. So instead of us all starting, I have decided to allow my youngest to start. He is a few belts behind my oldest son. So when he gets caught up, then the next one will start. Then when they reach my belt, I will go back. By then I think that I will be ready, no interruptions in life. Scheduling is difficult for me right now. I mean I am a SAHM, so I do have my daily responsibilites. I figure when we are the same belt, the time of day will be easier to work with. Rather than taking hours everyday to fit everyone in. As much as I love TKD, it is time consuming, considering we are all at different levels. But we are working in the right direction. We can't make it to black belt if we don't go at all. Baby steps is what we will be doing. Seems to be the right thing to do for now. Maybe later, things will change and it will be easier. Right now, I have to roll with the punches.

Now I got to get my daughter into something. But she is one of those difficult teenagers. She has her own ideas about what she wants to do, but they are not what I agree with....so it goes!

Here Kitty Kitty!

2010-03-05T09:48:00.000-05:00

Today is the day that I pick out my new kitten. One of (many) my mom's cats had kittens the other day. I have been wanting one since I moved in with the man, but he wasn't happy about the idea. So I posed a question to him the other day. "Since I take care of your dog all the time, why is it that I can't have a cat?" Well, I just got a look and then, he said "oh, ok!" Yeah Me!!! I am allergic to them, but I don't care. I have had them my whole life, I can deal, just need to take meds. I will not be able to pick it up for a while, as it was just born a few days ago. I have to wait until it is off mommy's breast. But ooohhh, I am soo excited. I have a cat already at mom's house, but she is really mean now. Can't have her in the house with the dog, something might happen. Calypso is a very dominant cat, and well, Hannah is a dominant dog, so the two just won't work together. I was told I could only have a kitten, whatever works! Yeah Me!! The boys are soo excited. They also have been wanting one. Since we moved in with my man, Mom's cats have had 3 litters. Finally we get a kitty! I will be taking some pics of my pick of the litter today. Will post later!

Have a wonderful day all!

Finally a great book

2010-03-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

I have been going through, what I think are some challenges in my life that I have no control over. Not that I have to have control, but I feel like life is spinning crazy. So thanks to my mom, I have started a read the Celestine Prophecy. She said that is was a great book and that I needed to refocus on things. So as of yesterday I started to read it. So far I am half way through it. Just can't seem to put it down. It has opened my eyes to many things so far. Insights that I used to have when I was younger, but somehow lost as I grew older. It's funny how we loose prospective of things, life just seems to get in the way sometimes. I have always been one to believe in the forces of our own Mother Earth. She is very powerful. This book has re-opened my eyes to the powers that we have to make the right choices and avoid the wrong ones. I think that I finally have decided to follow my own spiritual path, to help me make sense of the happenings in my life. Mom says that everything happens for a reason. I have always believed that, but not to the extent of what I have recently learned. I hope to continue to educate myself in the areas that I have always believed in. To start to notice more, who is draining to me and who empowers me in a good way.

The force of nature is a powerful thing, so much that it moves oceans. It must have an effect on us as humans also. I hope to use this knowledge to lead me to a greater realization of why?

Another day!

2010-03-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

Today was another visit to the hospital to see my cousin. He is doing better than I expected. Everyday I am more and more pleased to hear about his progress. Today when I went, he opened his eyes and looked at his mom. WoW!! He had a fever, but it is slowly reducing and they will have the cold blankets off. He was going to need a spinal tap to drain the cerebral fluid, not necessary now. Another WOW!! I know I never stated his condition earlier. At that time, it was too difficult to even type. Now...its a different story. He is doing great, considering what he has been through. I want to send a thank you to all the co-workers of my cousin. Alot of them have donated their vacation/sick days to my cousin, so he can stay on the payroll during this whole ordeal. The bad part of this whole thing is that we found out about the person that hit him. Ready for this...21 yrs old, no drivers license, and it wasn't even his car that he was driving. In fact, we aren't even sure if he is here in this country legally. Not sure totally!! But he was arrested and released already. He bonded out! Thank goodness for those bondsman, NOT!

He is in my prayers everyday and I know he will pull through this. He is a very strong willed person and he won't let this keep him down!!

Love you cuz!!!!

New Blog

2010-02-27T20:53:00.004-05:00

I have been so called writing a book now for two years. Obviously it is very slow going. The basic idea of the book is WHY??? Why you ask, why not! Well actually, it is a collection of thoughts that I have had and I started to write them down. Well, today a friend of mine was reading through them and gave me a great idea. She thought that many of my Why questions had answers, but they could be from different perspectives. So she mentioned that I should make a blog out of the questions, posting one a day. Now I guess the challenge is going to be...what is your answer to my question WHY? I would love to hear what everyone has to say. So go check out my new blog and see what kind of answers you have for me...I know I have many of my own.

http://mini-whyask.blogspot.com/

By the way, to my friend, thanks! Hope to hear your answers too!

What a great day!

2010-02-23T20:58:00.005-05:00

Today was such a great day! It is my four year anniversary with the best man in the world. The morning started out as normal. Wake up, get the kids going for the day, coffee, then to check email. Well, he had to run out first thing in the morning to get his smokes. He has to have one with his morning coffee. As he was off to the store, I quickly made the bed and put the card that I made on top. He arrived home shortly after that. He walked in the room and saw his card. He opened it up and read it. I did get him a gift, but I ordered it a little too late, so it hadn't arrived yet. Instead, I pulled out a print out of his gift. It is a new wallet, he really needed one! It will be arriving tomorrow, hopefully! He was really surprised. Which pleased me to no end because he knows that I like to purchase gifts that can actually be used. We shared some hugs and kisses. After that, lessons!

While we were doing our lessons, he said that he had to run out to get some things for the house that he needed to work on. He was also heading out to buy me the vacuum that I really wanted (since I recently injured the other one, oops). BTW, it is a Dirt Devil, LOVE IT!!!! It really sucks, hehe! So anyway, while he was out, I continued with lessons. About an hour had past and he was back. He brought in the wipers I needed for my truck and my vacuum. He walked in to the living room, where we were studying. He showed me what he had bought and told me to open the box to the vacuum. Well, since I was in the middle of teaching, I really didn't want to. I mean really it is just a vacuum, no emergencies right! Wrong, haha! So I opened up the box to uncover a wonderful gift, not just the vacuum. He got me two different bottles of bath goodies (which I love), a card, and a beautiful little silver anklet. What a surprise to me!!! I guess the funny thing about the whole surprise is that when I gave him his card, he asked if this anniversary was really that important to me. At that point when he had asked, I was besides myself thinking, duh, of course it does. So needless to say, HE GOT ME!!!

We finished our lessons and were on to do our good dead. That was to show our appreciation towards the rescue crew that rescued my cousin days earlier in an accident he was involved in with a drunk driver. Me, Jeff and my boys went to Publix, bought some goodies and headed to the fire station. We rang the door bell and waited for them to open the door. When they did come, Jeff explained who we were and if any of the crew on duty responded to the call. We were lucky, two of the rescue crew were there. We told them that we were there to thank them and give them some goodies for their job well done. They introduced themselves to us and asked us how my cousin was doing. They also had mentioned that they were discussing amongst themselves the incident. We told them that my cousin was in stable condition and doing well. We went into some details about his recovery too. They were soo happy to hear that he was doing well. One of the crew members mentioned that he knew my cousin from teaching one of his rescue training classes and that he was top of his class. He had also mentioned that my cousin had past his test and training. He never did get to take the test because of this accident, but they found a way to make it happen for him. We all talked a little more about the accident details and how they thought he wasn't going to make it based on his condition at the time of the accident. So, they were thrilled to hear the good news.

Just want to mention, if you ever have to go through any experiences where someones life is saved because of our civil servants, pay a visit to those who rescued them and show them how much you do appreciate them and their hard work.

The day didn't end there. We went home and my honey started to prepare dinner for me. Got to love it. We had a wonderful dinner and then got ready for our next celebration. A very important day for a few great friends. They received their black belts in TKD. Exciting as can be! Just going to give a shout out to my friends. Congrats to Shelah and Rainee for first degree. Kailee on your second degree! Way to go Davis'!!! Such a great accomplishment to achieve. Soon, I hope to have my own black belt. Guess I need to get back in there to do it!

Well, now we are back home and it's time to relax. What a great day I had today!!!

Love you baby! Hope to have many more years with you!!

To the King and Queen

2010-02-13T01:53:00.002-05:00

I just want to send a heartfelt message to my wonderful friends, King and Queenie. Congrats on your new home, I wish you so many wonderful years. You both have been so patient throughout this whole ordeal. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for you both. Owning your own home is such a wonderful thing! I am sooo happy that I could share your day with you today. I am also so glad that you are sooooo close to us now! So much more time we can spend together. I love and admire your whole family. My best wishes go out to you!!

Hope to spend many years with you, enjoying your new home!!!

I could go on and on about you, but I will leave it right here. LOL

Love you all sooo much!!

Outraged!!!!

2010-02-11T19:54:00.008-05:00

Today is Friday...on Saturday, last week, as I was leaving my community of The Shores, located in Keys Gate, I was hit by a guard gate. It resulted in damage to my passenger side hood and side mirror. I was driving through the already raised arms of the gate. During the time I crossed the gate, it suddenly fell on my hood and dragged against the side of my truck. Doing this forced my side mirror into the passenger side window. I immediately pulled over to report it to the guard house. I knocked on the door. The guard told me that someone would be right with me, that they were in the middle of a shift change. OK, so I waited. During the time I was waiting, a man was working on the gates. He was changing them from wood to aluminum. Now...was there something wrong with them??? I wonder. After about 15 minutes another guard approached me and asked me what happened. I explained what happened to him and he wrote NOTHING down on his incident report. After a minute or so, another female guard came up and told the first guard to just get my name, address, and phone number. She told him that he could write the report later. Not happy with that I gave him my information. I was then told by him that I would be contacted in regards to the incident.

So I contacted them yesterday after not hearing from them. I was passed around on the phone a few times before I actually spoke with someone. I do want to say that at no time did anyone on the phone identify themselves. Not very professional if you ask me. This is coming from a management company, yeah right!! Well, after telling my story for the umpteen time, I finally got a hold of someone to help me. I told her that I was following up on a incident. She told me that if I wanted a copy of the report that I would have to request it in writing. Ok fine, but I just wanted to know what the status was. She then told me that they, Miami Management Inc., was not responsible for any damages done to vehicles caused by the guard gate. They are protected because a sign is posted. Now, let me ask this...the sign is posted on the entry gate, not the exit gate, which is where I was. I was leaving my community. You do not have to have a clicker to exit. The gate is supposed to lift for every car that goes through. If the gate was already up as I approached it, why did it drop down on my car??????? Seems like there is a problem, and they are NOT responsible for it! So if it is malfunctioning all day, damaging cars, THEY are not responsible???? Hmmm seems like that is wrong! If I, as a person, damage someones vehicle, I am responsible for it, aren't I?? If I post a sign in my grass that says "If you walk on my grass, I will shoot you and I am NOT responsible", does that get me off if I do decide to shoot someone???? Hmm, seems a sign is all you need right? WRONG!!!! Major problem with society is that no one wants to take responsibility!!!

Since I am outraged beyond belief, I have decided that I am going to go through some evidence searching and I WILL get my repairs taken care of, from them!!!

They haven't heard the last of me!!!!

Sharing is caring

2010-02-06T09:30:00.010-05:00

As homeschoolers we are able to be involved in all kinds of things. Friday was one of those days. We started the day with our art lessons at my moms house. We were making Valentine's out of recycled paper. We added decorations such as beads, feathers, stickers, and ribbon. The Valentine's came out great!

After our fun with crafts, we were on our way to do some humanitarian work.

This work consisted of donating clothes and other necessities to Haiti. Thanks to Williamson Cadillac, we were able to get the clothes sent to them in a timely manner. Williamson Cadillac also donated a total of 30 trucks to the devasted island of Haiti. Hopefully everything will be of great use for these unfortunate people.

As a parent I am trying to teach my kids that other people around the world are, sometimes, not as fortunate as us. I do this in hopes that my kids will realize that "stuff" is not as important as
food, clothing, and shelter. The poor people of Haiti have lost all of their "stuff", which can not be replaced, but with some help, they can have food, clothing, and shelter. That is the "stuff" that is important.

Thanks again to Carol Williamson and my mom for organizing this for my children to take part in. Helping others is very rewarding and should be passed on by all.

We usually take donations from everyone and have garage sales. Instead, we decided to take all the clothes we had saved for garage sales and donate it to the unfortunate people of Haiti. Williamson Cadillac was the drop spot for our donations. They, themselves, have donated 30 trucks to Haiti.

Testing testing

2010-02-04T14:27:00.003-05:00

I had mentioned earlier in my posts that I was going to apply for a job. That job is for the census bureau. I left my house at 10:30 this morning. I got home at 1, phew! In that time I filled out an application and took a test. I missed only two of 28 questions. Not bad, I guess. I am sure that some people did worse. So now I know that I passed the test, I have to wait for a phone call to see if I will be hired. I am really excited!! It is only part time, but hey that's better than nothing right!! So, by Tuesday of next week I should hear whether or not I got the job. All the job really entails is going door to door to collect information from people. Not hard at all. The schedule is flexible and they pay hourly and for miles. Cool!! I guess I am just hoping for a little money that would help in so many ways!! I really enjoy being home with the kids and playing wifey, but sometimes a girl needs to get out. Since I do all my "hanging out" at home, at least I can get out and earn a few bucks!

Well, I will keep you posted. Ya never know, I may show up at your door!!! LOL

Just not feeling it!

2010-02-02T10:43:00.004-05:00

Today I woke up to the sun shinning through my blinds. I could hear the boys playing video games in the living room. I wake up, check my email, get coffee and go outside. It is beautiful out today, compared to yesterday. I have a couple of sick kids that just aren't motivated at all for lessons. So I decided that I am not teaching today. Instead we are heading out to the beach down the street from the house. We all could use a good soak in the sun. A day to relax and maybe take some pics. I am sure at some point, whether they think so or not, they will learn something. LOL Love how I can always squeeze that in somehow.

We haven't even been close to going to the beach in oh...3-4 months. Wayyyyy tooo long for us Floridians! We need beautiful tans and warm skin! At least I do, hehe! Everyone is getting their things together, maybe pack a lunch. I did see that it is going to possibly rain later, but that is a chance I am going to take. We just all need to just get out and chill!!!! So...times a wasting!!!

Finally!!

2010-01-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

I will have to admit that the past few days were rough. I have been crying uncontrollably. Why, you ask??? Money! That sucks! I never thought that I would be in a position to fight over money, because I simply don't have any. It really had nothing to do with that though. It was a matter of all the taxes crap! Man, this time of year sucks. But I am now happy to say that we were able to get over that hump like any other one. Problem about the fight was that now I am seeking gainful employment to avoid this again at the end of the year. I guess somehow it will be better. The job I am seeking right now will be evenings and weekends, but hey for $15.50 an hour, who can bitch! That's what I am saying....I can't wait to get more info. So far I know that it will be about 20 hours a week, until October. That is not a big sacrifice for a few months. Thanks to you Shelah!!!! I have my fingers crossed. This would be very helpful to me in sooo many ways! Never thought I would be excited about working again, ha!

Projects with my niece

2010-01-25T12:17:00.008-05:00

My Sunday was spent at home with all the kids, as usual. My brother had some things to do around the house, so I was suckered again! Just kidding Jay!

Since my niece is in public school, she always has some sort of HW on the weekends. This weekend was fun HW. It was a project that involved mapping out her neighborhood and labeling it. It had to be detailed...but what is detailed exactly in first grade? Well, being that my brother and I are quick to notice detail, we didn't have any problems. My brother had previously printed out an aerial view of his neighborhood from the computer. This made mapping it a little easier without having to walk around the entire neighborhood. We took her map and then she duplicated it on construction paper. From there, she added houses that are on her block. She added a few tree tops, street names, and bugs that she sees in her neighborhood. It turned out great. Once all the information was added, we took some yellow sand and made the lines in the road, just for added texture. It was fabulous....check it out!

That was just one of the projects we did. The other, which I thought was more fun, was a Valentine's mailbox. It had to be decorated with her name and a slot for her Valentine's that she would be receiving. I had the pleasure of doing the covering of the box. I also gave a few ideas to Jazzy, just in case. I think the final product came out beautiful. She will definitely get a good grade on this...

She is 14 going on grown!

2010-01-22T17:24:00.003-05:00

Well today my oldest turned 14 years old. I thought 13 was bad, but now I am another year closer to her wanting to drive. Now, I told her she needs to get a job to start saving money for this "so called" car she will be getting. Not sure about anyone else, but I had to pay for my own car, gas, and insurance. I believe that is the right thing to do. Why should she be "given" a car? Do you think it is wrong for me to teach her that you must work in order to have the things you want, not need. She is very well behaved for the most part, but there is just this little part of me that says...she is still a teenager. OK, yes, when do you start letting go a little? I mean...I let her do things already...movies with friends, hang out at the mall, etc. When, if ever, do I start letting her go places for longer?

OMG, as she ages so do I!! LOL Is this one of those things that as you get older yourself it becomes easier to handle. Right now all I can think of is when she starts driving. I have so many worries about her, mainly because of how I am as a driver, whoops!! I am also worried about boys, even though we have had many talks about what they are after at this age. She tells me that I don't have to worry about it, like that is going to happen. She is going to want to hang out with boys more and more. I know that she is confident and smart...but how confident and how smart????

Well, I guess all I can do is...what I have been doing. When will all the worrying go away? When do you feel confident enough in them to let them live? Answers to these questions and more to come.....when I figure it out!

BTW, Happy Birthday to my little girl Shyanne!

Does that say what I think it says?

2010-01-19T16:29:00.003-05:00

So, as always I need food in the house. With five people here, it goes fast. I make my list and take off to Publix. As I walk in the store, I notice the lottery counter. I remembered that I had purchased some tickets for last Saturday's drawing. I usually forget to look at them for about a week or so. This time I remembered a little earlier. I walked up to the automated ticket checker, pulled out my tickets and scanned the bar code. Does that say what I think it says....what??? Ok this can't be right. So I scan it again. Sure enough, plain as my eyes could see...I won! Well, not much, but any bit helps right, especially these days. Well, it wasn't just 5$ bucks either. I won $73.50!!! Yahoo. I just couldn't believe it. I even told Shy to check out the scanner to make sure what I was reading. Her eyes opened wide and she said, "Did you just win, mom?" Yep! So now the question is what am I going to do with the money? She mentioned that I needed gas. Kids....what do they know!

So, tomorrow I am off to shop for something. Not sure what yet, but I will find something. Oh and I am sure you are asking, why would I spend it and not save it!!! Because I can!!!!

Get Paid with InboxDollars.com

2010-01-18T15:19:00.001-05:00

Get Paid with InboxDollars.com

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Ramp 48

2010-01-16T18:40:00.003-05:00

Today, my boys and I went to Ramp 48. It is a religious based skate park. No, they don't push religion on anyone...psht! It is a ministry in a skate park. Go figure! Well, I must say, it was really cool. Everyone there was very nice. Bunches of kids everywhere. I know that the boys had a blast. They fit right in with all the other skaters. There were kids of all ages, getting along! No pushing or shoving. All the kids were patient waiting for their turn. If one kid fell off their board, another kid would bring it to them. I had a blast watching all this. It was really a sight to see. It really is amazing that there are real good kids out there...besides mine! Hehe!! About the ministry part, well I guess that is held on certain evenings during the week. I really didn't ask to much about that. But if you are interested in finding out more..check their website. www.ramp48.com

It was $10 bucks per kid for the whole day. We got there at 11:30 am and left at 3:30. It was quite a drive too, Ft. Lauderdale!! But all in all it was worth it. Why? Because it made my boys' day. They have wanted to go since before Christmas, and today was their day. I was glad to be able to bring them. I did take some pics and video but ... since they were off in a distance, you really can't make them out. Oh well, I will know when I look at them.

Spinning for Haiti

2010-01-16T09:55:00.004-05:00

As everyone has heard, Haiti has been hit with major devastation...horrible. We as Americans are helping out as much as possible with donations of money, supplies, food, water, and much more. Today for one, my mother and daughter will be spinning for the cause. All donations will be sent to help out Haiti and all the people affected by this horrible event. I personally hope that everyone, in some shape or form, can also help. I do understand the Haitians live everyday with no food and water, etc. But this is different! This is not a choice of theirs. Many of people have lost their lives and lives of family members.

What ever you can do to help, do!!! Even a few dollars will go a long way for these poor people.

Time to get back to things

2010-01-15T16:43:00.002-05:00

Well, it seems as I look through my own blog, that I have been seriously lacking. Wow! Looks like I have allowed myself to get caught up in so many other things. Most of which are not even worthy. Sort of like playing Farm Town on Facebook all day. Well, not all day, but at least in between the moments that I am not doing anything else. I love to play but I just am not getting anything out of it the way I did when I was blogging. At least with my blogging I could get things off my chest and be free about how and what I say.

The time is now...to get back to blogging. I hope that I will be disciplined enough this year to do so. I know that many of you are on my list read my blog, but don't even think about it when nothing is written. Well, I am back to fill you in on the nonsense that goes on in my life. I will try to be more positive as it seems some entries were horribly negative. The whole idea of my blog is that its the little things, right!!!! The little things are what counts sometimes and I am back to remind you all that they are. That is if I can focus on those things too. Sometimes it is hard when you are having struggles.

Right now everything in my life is going just perfectly and I couldn't ask for more. I will be back tomorrow to fill you all in...until then.

New mother of a pinky

2009-10-01T15:25:00.004-04:00

On Monday, I went to the pet store to get some food for my bearded dragon, Khan. I was told a few weeks ago that he could eat pinky mice. They normally eat crickets, but the pinky's are like a treat. It has been a few weeks since he had one, so I decided to get one of them along with the crickets. I must say that it is a little disturbing hearing the crunch as Khan eats, but that is nature for you. My kids know that this is what happens and they are ok with it. So we put the pinky in the cage with Khan and wait....nothing is happening. What is wrong? I know he has to be hungry. Oh well, maybe just not at the moment...

Well, here it is Thursday and the pinky is still in the cage. Khan is showing no interest in the mouse. I dangled it in front of him and nothing. I left it out in the open so he could see it wiggle, nothing. Now what? I have this little,cute,baby mouse for food and it is not getting eaten. Well, they are called pinky's for a reason, they are pink. Now since a few days have past, the mouse is no longer pink. It is starting to get its' hair. Not good! If it gets too big, Khan can't eat it. Something about the size of the lizard vs. the size of the food. So, for the past few days I have been nursing this pinky just to keep it alive, so it can be eaten. Now it is growing and soon will not be able to serve as food. That just means another pet. That is exactly how I got my other rats, the snakes wouldn't eat them....ugh!!! I can't just let it die, ahhh, for the love of animals!!!!

It has gone as far as the pinky sitting under Khan for warmth. Now lizards are cold blooded, so I don't get it. It's like one of those weird connections between animals that you see on Animal Planet.

I am nursing this little mouse with a eye dropper. I have to make it use the bathroom by rubbing it with warm water. I have to keep it warm with a heating lamp, which I have for Khan. I am not sure what stage of mini mouse he is in, but his eyes are still closed. I must have patience for this. I will have to do some research to see how long I have to keep up with this. For now, it seems, we have a living, breathing, science experiment... What a fun way to learn.

Pharmacy's duty to customer

2009-10-01T14:16:00.005-04:00

Today I go to the Dr. because I can't breath. I sit in the waiting room for about 1/2 hour, not bad. I get in to get my exam, Dr. checks breathing. He is making faces, not good! He says that a few more days would have put me in the hospital. Not to happy with that outcome, but I am getting meds to get better. So all is good.

From the Dr.s office I go to get a chest x-ray. Doc says the wheezing is not good and needs to be checked out. Sat in that office for about 1/2 hour, not a big deal. Things are going well so far. Now off the the pharmacy to get the Rx filled. On the Rx was 4 different meds. One antibiotic, one steroid (for swelling), and two inhalers. Ok, fine, I have to take them to get better. I get to the pharmacy and drop off the Rx. It's gonna be about an hour, so I decide to leave and rest until then.

Two hours later it's time to go pick up the Rx. Well, I get there and now there is a problem. I am sure that everyone can relate when I say, now I am pissed. I am not feeling good to begin with and now I have to deal with this crap. Well the assistant at the pharmacy says that one of the inhalers is no longer covered by the insurance, fine, not much I can do about that. The other inhaler has to be pre-authorized. Excuse me!! What the hell is the point of having an Rx from the Dr. if it has to be pre-authorized? I thought that's what an Rx was... So, of course, I lash out at her, maybe not her fault, but she could have called me in advance or just sent the paperwork herself, right! Wrong! That would be going to far for a customer. Well, I know if it were me I would do what was necessary to get the Rx filled by the time the customer got back. Or, if out of my hands, contact the customer so the necessary calls could be made in a timely manner. I mean, I am not getting an Rx because I am well!!! Duh, fucking duh!!!!

So I leave with 2 of 4 Rx's that I need. While in the parking lot I call the Dr. The nurse answers the phone, I explain the situation, and she asks me to go back inside and have the pharmacist call the Dr. so they can switch the meds. Ok, I am still there, so no problem. I get back inside, same bitch, says "Why can't the Dr. call us?" I don't know, just make the freaking call already! Well, "the pharmacist has to be the one to call the Dr." He is standing right there, so he heard what was going on and proceeded to call. As far as the pre-authorization, I had the ASSistant fax over the paperwork to the Dr. while I waited. Once the pharmacist was on the phone, I left.

Now lets see what tomorrow brings! Will I have to deal with the ASSistant again and her bitchiness (is that a word?)? Or will I get the meds I need to get better? Let's just hope for their sake I get my meds...it's not going to be pretty if not!

What to do?

2009-08-13T14:11:00.002-04:00

Sometimes in our lives we come across decisions that are hard to make. I am having some trouble handling something that recently happened to me. I received a text from my ex. stating that he would be willing to give up his rights to our kids if I dropped child support. Well, here is the dilema. First, he doesn't pay child support to begin with. Second, he is not involved with his kids at all. Ok, doesn't seem hard right, well...based on that, no! But the dilema lies in how I would even approach my kids to tell them about their fathers idea. Or do I say anything at all? Do I let him make the decision, though it may be wrong. I can't understand how this would even be an option for him. He lives far and doesn't get to see them often, but when he does have them he spends his time on himself. Selfish, huh you don't say! Well, fine not my problem. But again the problem is in the kids. I just can't stand by and let him do that to MY kids. So where do I go from here? How could a parent just say to themselves that it is ok to walk away from their children, for (again) selfish reasons. I could never do that to my kids, they are my life. But now I am torn because I want to protect them, but at the same time, he is not serving as any type of father figure in their lives. Do I let him go through with it and screw the money, or do I force him face his responsibilities? I should be concerned with my kids feelings, money means nothing to me. But I just can't let him get away with not helping take care of his kids like he should be doing. Too many men walk away from their kids and its not right in so many ways. I am here for them no matter what. Should the trash be taken out of their lives for good?

It still exists

2009-08-07T09:01:00.004-04:00

Last week, as I was unloading my truck full of groceries, I was approached by one of our neighbors. She somehow managed to have her mini SUV roll into the street with the hood up. So she asked me for some help pushing it back into the driveway. Well, being that the driveway had a slight incline, it was very difficult. I had to take of my shoes to get a good grip and still the SUV didn't move. She ended up getting out of the car and helped me push from the back. After many attempts, and much sweat, we were able to get the car just barely off the street. I then asked her what the problem was because the hood was up. Well, apparently, the car wouldn't start and she needed a jump. The problem was the it was in the garage with no way to get near the battery to jump it. Little did she know that I have a portable 5-in-one tool that helps with that sort of thing. (Thanks to my man keeping me safe)

Now that we have the SUV in the driveway I can jump it and get it started for her. I get to the battery and hook up the negative side to the terminal. As I look at the positive side, to hook it up, I notice that it's not even connected. Well, that just might be the reason why it didn't start originally. Duh! Well, my neighbor is a little girly girly, so she wouldn't have known if it was staring her in the face. Just then, Jeff pulls up from work. Just in time. I walk over to him, tell him the problem, he grabs his tools and returns to fix the issue. Nothing big of course, just a little tightening of a screw. She thanked us and we went home to finish the groceries.

Now this is something that I would have done for anyone. I guess I am more willing to help than not. Especially if I can. The same goes for Jeff, he is very helpful to everyone.

Last night, we get a knock on the door. It wasn't real late but we also weren't expecting anyone, so it was a surprise. I was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen after dinner so Jeff went to get the door. I could hear some talking and then the door shut. Jeff walks in the kitchen with a bag and a note. Hmmm, what could this be, and who from? We open the letter and it says:

Jeff and Monica,
Thank you for helping me with my car. I really appreciated it. Hope you enjoy this bottle of wine.

Sincerely,
(her name)

Well, well, well, well, well!!! That is sooo nice, I couldn't believe it. Like I said, I would have helped anyone that I could of. Do I deserve such a nice bottle of Merlot?? I guess I do. I guess there are still people out there in this world who really do appreciate help. I will always help someone in need, just because it makes me feel better about myself. Giving is what I do! But to be thanked and shown appreciation, well that just doesn't happen that often, but I am glad to know it still exists!!!!

Oh the rain

2009-05-30T18:44:00.003-04:00

I can't begin to tell you how much I can't stand the rain. Ok, so we need it. But, do we need so much that my backyard is now a pool. Yes, it does disappear pretty quickly, when it gets a chance to...but man, you just can't get anything done. I have to mow the grass and clean out my truck. I do have a garage but it will just get too hot in there to vacuum. I know I am bitching for no reason. Oh well!! haha I am a Florida girl and I love the sunshine. I wonder if tomorrow is going to be the same. I certainly hope not, the kids are getting restless inside. There are only so many hours in the day that you can play video games without getting bored with it. I am hoping for sunshine and blue skies....I know that is near impossible. It is our rainy season here and it just gets worse. In fact, in two days it will be officially hurricane season. Sorry for those travelers whom have no idea what it gets like here. Ha! oh well, we also need the money here in Florida from the tourists. My mother just informed me that we are number 3 in the US for the most unsafe places to travel to. Nice huh! Well if the locals don't get you the weather will. LOL!!!

Have a great remaining of the weekend! Hope it is sunny for you!!

Long time

2009-05-20T10:46:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone. I know it has been a long time since I blogged, but it has been crazy. I haven't even checked any of the blogs that I follow. I feel so overwhelmed lately....not sure why either. It's not like I don't have anything to say, just not getting around to doing it.

I am feeling a little trapped lately. I have no job and yet my bf does not want me to get one. Ok, fine but being stuck indoors really sucks sometimes.

I got an invitation from my brother to go visit family this wonderful Memorial weekend and I am not permitted to go. It is my fault that I got involved with someone who goes away for 24 hours at a time. Does that mean I have to suffer? I feel like I am stuck! No money to ever do anything with my kids and no time to do it either. Ho hum...I have become wifey. I have to vent!!!

I love my bf with my whole entire heart, but yet sometimes he makes me so angry. It's like I am now a possession of his. I do what he says, not to cool with me. I have always been an independent woman and now I feel like I am being kept. Granted, it is wonderful to be able to stay home with my kids, but do I always have to stay home? I feel guilty if I do something without him when we are at home. He says it doesn't bother him if I do, but yet when I want to leave to visit FAMILY, then it is an issue. He works two jobs, by his choice. We barely spend time doing things together. So why can't I get away from MY monotony once and a while?

I haven't seen my uncle and aunt in a very long time. This weekend is a fun, family weekend and I can't go. Grrrrrr! It makes me so angry. Ok, breathe!

Guess this is the life I chose so I have to deal with it!

Sam's #9

2009-04-28T10:58:00.017-04:00

On Sunday afternoon, we had a small party for my eldest son Sam. It was tough for me because I was a bad mom and went out the night before. Ugghhh!!! But nevertheless, it was fun.

As always, I made my food to fit the theme. I think that it is better than decorations. At least you can eat it...I had donut tires, graham cracker stop lights, and checkered flag cookies. UMMMMMM!! I didn't have any, but by the faces on the kids, I knew it was good. The cake was like a street race, with cops even...Sam's idea!

The theme of the party was racing. I had the kids paint some wooden race-cars at the start of the party. So for games... we did races. The best one was the 3 legged race. I paired up the kids as evenly as possible. They were falling all over the place. We also did a fill the jug game. I took empty milk jugs and wrote "gasoline" on them (to keep with the theme) and then had the kids do a relay to fill them with sponges. The boys were against the girls. Being that there were more boys, the girls got extra sponges. Ya know, females can totally multi-task better. The best part of that game was the fact that my nephew T, kept pouring his sponge in the girls' jug. He got it after three or four times. It was probably the reason the girls won, because it was very close.

For all the pics go to:

From Sam's Birthday

Worldwide Cleanup Day

2009-04-21T16:30:00.008-04:00

A few weeks ago, I received a cause invite from one of my fellow facebookers. I accepted! The event stated that today, April 21, 2009 was Worldwide Cleanup Day. It was asking that everyone around the world pick up at least one piece of trash today, instead of throwing it out. I decided that this would be something good for my family to take part in. Well, unfortunately, I now see that only one of my three children are truly concerned with the protection of the planet. The one I am speaking of is my youngest. He is great. He volunteered to go with me today.

We decided to go to Biscayne Nat'l Park. I figured that would be great considering that he was now sworn in there to be a Jr. Ranger. Plus it was his idea, how could I say no. I think that he also had other things in mind because he took his wallet with him. He had spotted a compass last time we were there and now he had money to buy it. Kids are pretty smart!

We both grabbed gloves and a trash bag. As we drove to the park, we couldn't help but notice all the trash everywhere all over the road. It definitely takes more than just two people to do this. I certainly hope that we were not the only two out today doing so. In fact, as a fellow facebooker had stated, we shouldn't just wait to do this one day a year. We should always do this as a community, no matter where you live. The fact of the matter is...it doesn't happen as much as it is needed. So, if people all over the world can take part on one particular day, it will still help to clean up some trash. Something is better than nothing! It even rained while we were there and that didn't stop us.

We spent two hours at the park and were able to fill half a kitchen trash bag. Not bad considering that the park was just cleaned up this past Saturday. Much of the trash we found was recent. Some of it was fishing line that had been stuck in trees for some time, just missed I guess. Nevertheless, we felt great about what we did today and hopefully we can continue to do this on a more constant basis, and all over. I do know that we do our part by not littering, so why not do our part in cleaning up. Unfortunately not everyone sees things the way my family does. There would probably be less trash if everyone was even a little more concerned with the planet.

Pics on grill

2009-04-21T16:28:00.004-04:00

Well, I know it was about a week ago that I promised the pics, but here they are...

We grilled Orange Glazed Carrots and Smoked Beer Can Chicken. Jeff did a great job! He is really getting good at this.

Grilling Gods!

2009-04-14T09:48:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago my bf decided that it was time to buy a new grill. We had a grill, but it was just not enough, I guess. Never had complaints about it, but it was still not enough. Now when a man says that it is a little hard to understand. How is it not enough. There is plenty of space for charcoal and definitely enough space to put food on for 6 to 8 people. I just didn't get it. Until he came home that one particular day.

First of all, he comes in and says that he bought something for me, yeah right! No idea what it could be. This was obviously a spur of the moment purchase. He explained that it was one of the credit card deals, whatever. So after it was all put together, I then figured it out. Ahhh the grill! Now, the one he got has enough. It is a dual grill, with gas on one side and charcoal on the other. It even has a little side burner for oh, side dishes I assume. Wow, very cool I tell him. Now what, "I hope you get your money's worth out of it!" Well he was sure that was going to happen. He must have had grill on the mind or something because everything was about grilling. Any store that we had been in since the purchase, we were looking for grilling accessories.

So...we decided one day last week that we were going for a relaxing walk at The Falls, a shopping mall. Crate and Barrel (love that store) was one of the places that we hit up on our walk. After walking around the store for about an hour, we are on our way out. Suddenly, bf sees a book on the lime green Weber grill sitting in a front display. Loved the grill I must add. Well, its a grilling book with techniques and of course, recipes. We literally sat there looking through this book so long, that the store was in the process of closing. A store clerked approached us and asked if we were going to buy it because they were closed. Well, not hard to decide, so we got it.

On the way home we were amazed at the recipes we found in there and the wealth of information. These are 5 star recipes. We couldn't wait to get grilling...

So far we have made, about 7 or 8 of the many recipes in this book and I tell you what. What? This has got to be the absolutely best recipe book I have ever had. I mean the food is sooooo mouthwatering. We now want to grill everyday. Unfortunately, I have not yet taken any pics of this wonderful food, but I promise I will, next grilling, which is tonight!

Some of the recipes already made by us are:

Porterhouse steaks with Red Wine-Shallot butter,
Flank steak with Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Stuffing,
Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil,
Cedar -planked Salmon with Tarator Sauce,
Roasted Peppers, Grilled Onions, and Feta Cheese Salad,
Asparagus and Prosciutto with Lemon Vinaigrette,
Yellow potato salad with Pistachio Pesto (minus the nuts, couldn't find them),
and dessert.....Grilled Banana S'mores....to die for!!!

Tonight we are having Smoked Beer Can Chicken and Orange Glazed Carrots. Ummm good! I will try and take photos and keep you updated. Or... if you so desire check out the book yourself and try some or all of the recipes at http://www.weber.com/cookbook/WayToGrill/.

I am sure that if you like to grill, you will thoroughly enjoy this book!!

Bored!

2009-04-06T17:26:00.003-04:00

Here it is Spring Break and I am bored out of my head. My kids are gone to their dad's and I find myself with nothing to do. Yes there is always housework, but I do that all the time anyway. So what to do??? I went grocery shopping, not eventful! I have a few things that I can think of, but nothing that really strikes up my interest enough to get motivated. I have a book I could read. I have a bike, should go for a ride. But the truth is I just want to relax. There is a part of me that feels that I should be doing SOMETHING!!! Ahh. Why is it when they are home, I go crazy trying to get everything done. When they are gone, I don't feel like doing anything. Should I stay bored and just catch up on ME time??? I think I will.

Boy, it's going to be a long week!

Camping Pics

2009-03-30T12:35:00.002-04:00

Come check out our camping pics from this weekend.

Camping

New season

2009-03-27T10:25:00.004-04:00

Ahh yes, it is warming up outside and the fun times will now resume. Not like we don't have fun all the time whenever. But Spring and Summer are definitely my favorite seasons. (Florida doesn't have seasons, hehe) I love the fact that wearing practically nothing is acceptable. Not nude, Dad! Ya know, shorts, tank tops, sandals, and don't forget the bathing suit. Well to kick off the season, we are going camping in our own backyard. Not the yard of my house, but the wonderful Everglades that we live so close to. Let's see, in attendance...Me, Jeff, my kids, Paige (Shy's friend), Jason, his kids, Ivia, her girls, Bryan, Heather and Aidan. It's going to be so much fun. We haven't been camping in like two years so it should be great! Hope to catch some stars at night, where there are no street lights. I love the great outdoors! It's time to get back in the groove of things and be outside. That is "why" we live in Florida.

Pics will follow soon.

Our boring day at home

2009-03-19T17:16:00.006-04:00

Today we were unsure of what science project we could do. We have been on a science kick for about a week now. We decided to do something to break up the monotony of lessons. For Christmas, the boys got some cool stuff to build. We pulled out the boxes and chose what we thought would be cool.

It took a few hours to construct because there are lots of small pieces. Plus, everybody had to have a turn making part of it. Some were quicker than others. There were a total of three stages of construction.

I would say that today we learned how to follow directions. We also learned the mechanics of how one action creates another action. All and all, it was fun.

So this is what we ended up with....

We thought it turned out pretty cool!

Another great weekend

2009-03-16T11:50:00.005-04:00

Well, we had another great weekend in the sunny state of Florida.

It all started out with breaking boards at the Karate school on Saturday. The kids had a blast. It was a promotion for the school to get kids in, but we are always invited anyway! It lasted about an hour and boy did it go fast. Jesse, the instructor is awesome. He doesn't have any kids of his own, yet, but he sure knows how to handle them. It was quite comical at times. There were some real little guys and gals breaking, real boards too. I think the youngest was 3, that being my nephew JT. The kids listened pretty good, considering there were tons of them there. The parents as always were impressed with their own kids. It is really cool to watch all of them do their thing. Like little ninjas.

The rest of the day was spent in the backyard of our house. The neighbors had a party and the kids were invited to come over. They had a bounce house for the kids. That is one way to attract kids to a party. There were a few injuries due to the bounce house, but since they are kids there are more able to "bounce" back after getting hurt. Nothing major really. Just a bloody lip and a few smacked skulls. Believe it or not, both my kids. Damn! I didn't do so well with it, but Jeff was there so...no probs. We ended up retiring early that night. Something about running around all day gets kids tired. Yeah!!!

Sunday was even better. Back to the beach at Crandon Park. We just went on Tuesday of this week, but who could say "no" to the beach. The kids got burnt a few days prior so I made sure that everyone was covered with sunscreen. I went as high as 50 spf this time. Really, after 30 I don't think it makes a diff, but whatever. It was great. Lets see, in attendance was...Me, Jeff, my kids, Jason, his kids, Ivia, her daughter, cuz Kevin, and Yara...phew. We all packed food and drinks for the day. What a long day it was. We were there from about 11 a.m. till about 4 or so. The kids made sand castles, played in the waves and pretty much everything else you can do at the beach. It was an absolute gorgeous day.

Pics can be seen at

Weekend 3-14-09

Just so..not sure

2009-03-12T11:26:00.003-04:00

Have you ever woke up in the afternoon, lol, to wonder what you were going to do for the day. Well today is one of those days. I have been so busy trying to get my house under wraps with laundry and cleaning, blah, blah , blah. Well, I also have lessons to teach. This week has been science week and today I am just out of ideas, plus do I have the time? How am I supposed to teach and get all this crap done. Do you sit in a messy house for a few days and not teach? Do you not teach and clean the house? I sometimes feel like I don't teach enough to my kids and other days I feel fine about it. How do I know what is "enough". Soon we will have to get evaluations so that the kids can be promoted to the next grade level. Am I going to pass?? I think it really boils down to me. Have I taught enough all year? I am stressed. Some days I feel like three hours of lessons just isn't enough. Other days I may do only one hour because I have so many other things to do.... Aaahhhh!!! I do know that even when I am not teaching, my kids are still learning. They do watch TV programs that are related to learning, History Channel, Animal Planet, Cash Cab (lol). I guess I am just stressed because the end of my first year of home school is coming. I don't want to be disappointed in what I have accomplished as far as the kids are concerned.

Open for business...

2009-03-06T14:50:00.003-05:00

OK, so we are now open for business!!! We have already done some quotes and even finished a job (tile). If anyone is interested in having some work done to their existing home, kitchen, or bath. Whatever it is, we can do it!! I have been working on a blog to be our home page. It is under www.GTConstructionofSFl.blogspot.com. Check back frequently for updates on pics and other news events.

For questions or comments see our page. All of our contact info is listed.

That sucks!!

2009-02-26T10:29:00.003-05:00

I am so excited as I have already mentioned to some. I got a new vacuum yesterday! Sounds crazy, but get this...

So, I am vacuuming one day and all of a sudden the damn thing starts making all this noise and black pieces start coming out of the bottom. Immediately I stop. Ok, what could this be?? I tell my wonderful man to check it out and please fix it. Well, after he takes the whole entire thing apart, down to the little wires, he sees that there is a problem with some rubber piece which is a cushion of some sort for the motor. Ok, whatever....So fix it!!! I have some cleaning to do. Well, easier said than done. He calls around vacuum repair shops looking for this piece. Now the vacuum is like 5 yrs. old or something, so we are having a hard time. I go online and finally find it for like $4. Awesome right! Well, at the same time, he is on the phone with Bissell. He talks to them about the part and they tell me that it is obsolete and that the part is not available anymore. Great!!! I need a vacuum.....So I told him that I would order the part online and it would be done. Fine, no not fine. He wanted to go through Bissell. Well, they told him to cut off the cord of the broken vac and send it to them. Now I have nothing at all to vacuum with. So he spliced some wires and fixed the other one temporarily, thanks!!

So yesterday, I get a knock on the door and it is FedEx. Hmmm....what could this be? I look out the door and there sat a entirely new vac. AWESOME!!!!! I know that just means more cleaning, that is OK with me. One thing I don't like is having to do things without the right tools...Now I have a new vac that really sucks and good. Hehe!!!

Could this be the start of something good??

2009-02-25T14:44:00.001-05:00

So, I am sitting there listening to the news as I am teaching lessons this morning. I know, "I'm not watching anymore..." I have to blame my bf, he always watches it. Anyhow...as I am listening, I hear something about California and the possibility of making marijuana legal. Hmmm! I said to myself, seems interesting, need to hear more. So I wait till it comes on and listen. From what I understood, if they legalize it, they expect to generate 1.3 billion dollars in taxes. Most people of course don't agree with that. Some say that people would smoke more if made legal. From how I see it, they wouldn't. They are people all over the US that smoke it now illegally. Will they smoke more??? I guess we won't truly know till it happens. On the other side of things, how 'bout the jobs it could create? It is like agriculture, right. So we could have people keeping the crops, packing, selling, etc...Sounds like bunches of jobs to me. Could it really help the economy. Think about this... instead of spending money trying to fight something that has been and will continue to happen, how about earning some money on it. Shit, more that half everyone I know smokes...in fact I know more people who do, than don't. Would they smoke more, I don't think so. I think it would be the same, except they would easily be able to go get it...I know that I would pay taxes on it and have it regulated just like alcohol. In fact, it's too bad alcohol is legal, because really it should be the one illegal....It does more harm to you than marijuana does. I can't say that I have heard anyone anywhere that uses alcohol for medicinal purposes????? If you know, please inform me...on the other hand, marijuana is used for many things medically. It is also used for other purpose besides medical. Did you know the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper? You can read more about hemp and its benefits on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp.

Ok, maybe I am just rambling, but I know personally that if it became legal, I would more than likely not even drink alcohol. The damage alcohol does more than outweighs the benefits of marijuana, whether it be in full form or just medicinal.

If one state legalizes it, will other states follow? Maybe if they see an increase in state tax revenue. I know I would. Quit trying to fight a loosing battle, embrace it and use it for good instead.

I know there are many other issues out there regarding this and I would love to hear your imput!!!

Family Vacation

2009-02-22T15:49:00.019-05:00

Well, where do I start. Thanks to Uncle Sam, and all my hard work, I was able to take my family on a wonderful vacation. It will probably be the last for some time as the economy sucks! Anyhow...

We decided to go on a cruise. With the help of a good neighbor we were able to get a good deal, so we booked it. This was the first for all of us. We went to Key West and Cozumel, also a first.

We departed the Port of Miami on Monday the 16th, about 4 p.m. We were on our way. We first ate lunch as soon as we boarded the ship. It took some time before our room was ready, so we got started immediately. (Now I won't try to bore you with every detail, I do have some pics). Of course, the first nite we partied. The ship had all kinds of things for the kids to do and so they did. We barely saw them the whole 4 days. AWESOME!!!!

The second day we arrived in Key West. Since the partying was so heavy the night before, we didn't depart. We had been there many times before anyways. So that day was spent mostly in the sun, hanging out with a few people we had met the first night. It was so relaxing, I just couldn't believe it was really happening. We departed Key West about 2 p.m. and were on our way to Cozumel, Mexico. Yipee!!! We had our elegant dinner at 6 p.m. and boy was it good! After that, Jeff, Max and I went to the Captains Coctail Party. Max really wanted to meet him. After that we went to the pool and dropped Max off at the game room with Sam. Well, the second night didn't go as well, something about a hang over and a rocking ship that doesn't mix....

Third day we did some more hanging out and relaxing. In the meantime, the kids are hanging out with their new friends. My boys were back and forth, from mini golf to ice cream machine. I guess they were in their own worlds too. Every evening around 9 or 10 they asked to go to Camp Carnival, which was a fun place for the kids under 11. There was also a 12-14 yr. old club, thats where my big girl hung out. I must say I rarely saw her! She had a blast. So anywho, we arrived at Puerto Maya in Cozumel at 1 p.m. We took a taxi ride to Playa Corona and went snorkeling. The water was beautiful and crystal clear. A little too cold for us spoiled Floridians, but still just as wonderful. We had lunch at Three Amigos Restuarant at the port. After a few hours on shore, then back on the ship, the kids missed their new friends. Again, more hanging out and partying. That night was till 6 a.m. WOOOWW!!!!

Then comes the forth day. The fun day at sea, and that it was. Back to sunning and eating and having fun. Kids doing their things, parents doing theirs. We basically hung out with the two same couples that we met the first night. They were a blast too. It is so nice to mingle with people, just love it!!! We did some dancing, mostly everynight! Had to, I just don't get much of that at home anymore, ya know reality...We didn't hang out too long the last night, had to be up wayyyyyyy tooooo early.

We arrived back at the Port of Miami at 8 a.m. on Friday the 20th. Nothing amazing obviously, except for how much we were going to miss all the people we just spent four days with.

I have more pics if you are interested... go to http://picasaweb.google.com/Minicaca73/FamilyVacation?authkey=XP2xj2upItY&feat=directlink

So in Love...

2009-02-08T10:15:00.005-05:00

Today I am so in love with life. I woke up feeling great, refreshed! I want to find something to do today, but like always I have a house full of kids. Maybe that is what is so great. I love to see the kids happy, and not bugging me. Shy had a friend sleep over and so did Sam. So we have a total of 5 kids in the house. Seems to be the normal on most days. Sometimes it is more, but 5 is the average. I knew I should have had more, lol! NOT!!! The best thing is that they do go home, hehe!

So, the sun is shining and there is gas in the car. Maybe a ride to the beautiful Florida Keys would be in order. Ahhh, that sounds good. I could just listen to music and let the kids do whatever. Maybe after breakfast I will ask them what they think. We have been in the house all week, because the cold weather. Today is just beautiful, no need to be inside today!!

There are, of course, things I need to do today, like clean. But I can do that later. The house is a clean one anyhow. Lots of people think it is too clean! I agree, not today, or not right now.

I am making progress with my business so that is another thing I feel refreshed about. Like I said I feel so rejuvenated today.

Call me crazy...

2009-02-01T20:40:00.007-05:00

Ok, so you may think that I am crazy, but I am suffering a loss tonight. It is because of my little pet rat, Socks. She died tonight while we were out. She, after 3 yrs of life, got a tumor. This is very common among older rats. It ended up hindering her breathing because it was right under her neck. She had the tumor for quite some time, so eventually she was destined to die. Of course, it is always sad to lose a pet.

This is the latest pic of her...

May she rest in peace...

We still have my other rat, Nena. She is way alive and kicking (Stacey). She helped Socks in her last days by holding up her head up to help her breath. Something about rats that people don't realize is that they are very personable. They love affection. Socks was a very loving rat. You could hold her on your shoulder for hours. She only bit when you stuck your finger in her cage. LOL! There were many of times that I would take her out in public. People freaked, why because it was a rat. Some people just don't understand..

It's funny because I didn't like her at first because she was the cause of my other rats' death. I blamed her for a long time before I could accept her as being, well, just another pet rat. I have loved all my rats. But after this I am done. I don't think I can stand to lose any more pets.

She will be greatly missed....

I just don't get it..

2009-01-30T18:34:00.003-05:00

Here I sit crying about someone I have never met. Today I spoke with one of my old co-workers just to say "hi" and then he throws me for a loop. A mutual friend of ours, just recently had his son move in with him. Ok, then why am I crying, sounds like good news. Well, unfortunately it is the result of a tragedy. A few day ago, right here in Miami, my friends ex-wife was killed by her current boyfriend. Nobody knows why, but he shot her 6 or 7 times, killing her within moments. My friend now sits with his little boy wondering how he is going to do it. He has to help this little kid through this tough time and become a full time father to boot. All because some f'n weirdo decides that he is going to take the mothers life. I can't help but feel sad. It is just such a crazy world out there. The killer did, the next day, kill himself. But that doesn't make it better. Now there is another little kid out there without a mother because some asshole couldn't keep his cool. Don't people understand that once you do something like that, the person does not come back, its over. No second chances, no reset, no nothing. I just can't take all this shit. It is soo sad! Makes me want to take my family and go hide somewhere in the world where no one can find us, just in case someone snaps for a stupid reason.

Why don't people think things through before they act????

Damn it's a sick world!!!

2009-01-29T11:42:00.004-05:00

So here I am this morning watching the news. I will honestly tell you that after the attacks on the U.S. on 9-11, many years ago, I stopped watching the news. I thought it to be to sad and miserable. Recently, I have started watching again. Reason being, because I was going to vote and I had to be informed. Well, the election is over and we now have a new president. So, I still do watch the news to keep up to date on what is going on. The only problem is that I realize that I am not just watching politics anymore, its back to the same ole sad news.

In the past few days there have been so many, how do I say, fucked up people on the news. First, a few days ago, a man in L.A. gets fired from his job and decides to go home and kill his entire family. Not something I would do, so yes that is fucked up. Next, I hear of a man in Colorado that gets totally intoxicated and tries to get into a home that he thinks is his. Well, turns out that it isn't and the homeowner shoots him and kills him. There was no threat to the homeowner, but because of certain laws he had the right to do so. Again, fucked up! Then today, an Australian man, who just can't take anymore, decides to throw his 4 yr. old daughter off a bridge. She lands in the water, is rushed to the hospital, and later dies. As it happens her two older siblings are in the car watching the whole thing. Of course, he is charged with murder. Major fucking crazy. The two other children in the car, more than likely, will be mentally screwed up for the rest of their lives because of this. Now what are they going to do when they grow up?

I just can't take this anymore. I think I am going back to just not watching the news again. If there were positive things, maybe. I just don't understand how so many people can sit back and watch this day in and day out! I am the type of person that likes peace and happiness. Why is it so many people enjoy these horrible stories they see on TV. To me all it does is confirm how many weirdos there are out there in the world we live in. Personally, I have enough of my own problems to want to hear about others'. Maybe to some, it makes their lives a little easier and they don't feel so bad about their situation. In my mind, it just makes living more scary.

Why can't the news have positive stories... A woman saves a child from drowning. A man stops on the side of the road to help an elderly woman that is broken down. Teens help to save animals trapped inside a sewer drain. Unfortunately, there are just not enough of these good stories for me to watch anymore. I think that I will stick to my comedy shows instead. At least they make me laugh.

Family and Friends

2009-01-26T12:16:00.010-05:00

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. I spent (what is usually my lay around and relax day) in the Florida Keys with my great family and special friends. The day was filled with sun, water, and food. We arrived in Key Largo about noonish. The fun was just starting! There was volleyball, fishing, kayaking, eating, dancing, laughing, and more. The kids (mostly) were kayaking all day. At one point, I had to call out to Sam because he was too far out in to the bay. I guess you could get carried away just paddling in the vast blue of water. The seas were flat, perfect day for boating. I was amazed that it actually got HOT. I know it is the end of January. Aahhh, to live in Florida! Wouldn't trade it for the world.

So we hung out all day until the sun went down. A few of us hung around and talked on the docks until it was just too dark, and cold.

Here are some pics of our wonderful family picnic day!! I am not good with words, but the pics tell it all!!!!

Finally 13

2009-01-23T13:36:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, my oldest child turned 13. This would be my precious little girl, Shy. I surely thought that I was going to shit about it, why you ask? It just makes me feel older too. I have a teenager now. I have been told by lots of other parents that it really isn't that bad of a thing. Honestly, I feel as if she has been a teenager for awhile already. I mean the attitude has been there and the snotty-ness. So really nothing has changed...Or has it? Shy is now growing into a young lady. I hope that I have steered her the right way so far. I guess only time will tell with how that really goes. She is a very smart and beautiful girl. I know she will make the right decisions in life. Of course she will, she is my daughter.

Happy Birthday my little girl!!! I love you!

What a day!

2009-01-20T19:49:00.002-05:00

Today has been a truly exciting day. We inaugurated the first African American President in to office. I started watching the TV at 8:30 this morning and am still currently watching it. Today I have laughed and cried. This is an amazing time that we are in now and I am so happy to say that I was able to contribute to it. Hell, my kids even watched the programs with me today. It was actually their History "in the making" lesson for the day. We discussed all topics today. The kids had all kinds of questions. I am so glad to have been able to witness what happened today. I know this in itself means a lot to a lot of people. I trust that our new President Obama will be able to handle his position to his fullest power. I also have trust that he will do for us, as Americans, what he has promised to do. I understand that he does not make all the decisions, but I know that he will make the right ones. I also understand that he can not fix everything that is wrong with our United States right now, but he will be on the right track for these repairs to be made down the road. They say that "Rome was not built in a day" and nor will the fixing of our country. It takes time and patience. With Obama we will begin to accomplish this.

Hope everyone has had a joyous day as I have had!!!

God Bless America. Land that I love!!!!!!

BARACK OBAMA!!!!

2009-01-20T11:47:00.004-05:00

Not much more to say except for WELCOME to our new President!!!!!

HEEELLLOOOO!!!!

2009-01-10T20:20:00.003-05:00

Well, I am back from a busy holiday. I have accomplished so much lately. I am happy to say that the last box from the move is now unpacked. Everything is sorted for garage sale (some day). I have managed to keep the kids busy with their studies and add a little extra to it. I still have not yet obtained a job, but the search still does continue. I have applied online at most larger retailers and I will be starting my search locally at smaller places. I know of a few that I am interested in working at, but will they work with me. I only want a part time job, so this could be tough, or maybe not!

Besides all that, I must say that I truly do enjoy being home with the kiddos. Shelah was right, it is more relaxed. We had a wonderful week of studies and chores, but with NO complaints, yeah!! a plus. We collected ants for an ant farm and watched it through the week. We had a little problem because we put soil in it too (farm was all gel), and somehow little plants started to grow. Not what we intended, only because with it grew mold. Not good! Actually, yuck! Today, I got rid of the ants and cleaned out the farm. In hopes of trying again, this time with black ants. The previous were red and hard to catch, well they caught me how 'bout that.

Tomorrow I hope to relax, or wait do I have anything to do. Nope, I was supposed to go out on the boat with mom and Jason and the kids, but....and a big one at that. The boat needs a water pump, very important! So not only are we not going out, but now that's just another expense in the boat. I know that is not at all what mom was wanting, but hey, things happen for a reason right! he he

Well, time for me to get. I have been on the computer all day it seems. Jeff has been busy in the garage for hours working on the truck, ha, that's funny. Sorry, he he!

DONE, DA DA DONE, DOOONNNNEEE!!!

2008-12-16T19:02:00.003-05:00

Yes, I am done with school. Today was my last exam!! I passed it with an"A", 98 to be exact! I can finally say that I am a college graduate. A personal goal that I had set when I ended the last relationship (my kids father). I didn't go full time, as I mentioned I do have kids. But, I have attended, summers excluded, since I got pregnant with my youngest, Max. He is now six years old! I did it regardless. I am so excited, that I went and bought myself a 6 pack of my fav. Corona!! Sweet!! I will be celebrating alone tonite though, because Jeff is on duty. That is totally ok with me. I did this by myself and I can sure party by myself about it!!! I feel a little embarrassed because I am 35 yrs old, but I can say that I did complete school. Either way, it serves a personal accomplishment and a great example to my kids. Now that I have done this, btw, I will be receiving my AA in Business Administration. Which is enough to prepare me for my next venture, starting my own business. I will be starting with my boyfriend, a construction business. So, from this point on any education that I seek will be specific to the construction field. I figure that anyone loves to see a chic with a tool belt on....haha!!! So now that this is out of the way, the real fun stuff begins!!!

Good Morning Brother of Mine

2008-12-12T08:30:00.004-05:00

I have received phone calls from you so many times about not mentioning you in my blog, well not today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!!! WE LOVE YOU.

I hope that you were surprised when you walked out the door this morning!

Tree Trimming

2008-12-11T16:19:00.007-05:00

We finally got our tree!!! Ywah!! The kids were so excited. We started with it at about 9 last night. We checked all the lights prior to doing it, just because they always seem to not work from the previous year. Well, wouldn't you know it, when we do start to hang them last night they don't work. How did that happen from one day to the next? Who the hell knows. So needless to say we spent part of the evening trying to get them to work again. We had already hung the outside lights and put a few aside for inside. Now we had a limited amount, we had to get them working. That took, oh about an hour. So after being totally frustrated, I told the kids we would finish in the morning with the ornaments. Fine, no prob with them. First thing this morning, after coffee, eating breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, and finishing laundry from the night before we hung the ornaments. It was fun. We managed to break a few, that always seems to happen too. Nothing important to me, just plain ole balls! hehe...We decorated some of the inside of the house and we are now done. The tree according to the kids "was the best tree we ever had." This pleases me so much. I think it truly made my day today. I hope this happiness continues, so that I will feel better about the holiday myself.

It starting to feel a lot like Christmas!!!

It's getting closer

2008-12-10T13:01:00.003-05:00

Everyday I think about what has to be done. With Christmas nearing, it is alot. Not only do you have all your everyday things...laundry, dinners, schoolwork (mine), cleaning house, blah, blah, blah. But now the holidays are here and there is lots to do on top of all the rest. Yesterday, we finally put up our lights outside. Looks good! Got a little frustrated with the kids for NOT helping. But Jeff did and that is huge. He doesn't even have kids but he was doing it for my little ungrateful brats!! He he he...I shouldn't say THEY didn't help, because Max, my youngest did. He helped me to not only put them up, but also help decide where to put them. He is great. He will be getting something special for sure. Shy just sat there pointing and saying "no, not there." Thanks for the assistance! Sam was on his bike somewhere with the boys next door. I guess that is OK too. I just feel like it is always up to me to make everyone happy. It's a tough job.

So, tonight we get our tree. This should be fun! The kids do love to decorate it. We usually have the traditional family tree with all the kids ornaments, bought and hand-made. I usually buy them each a new ornament every year. A little family tradition that I started with my kids. I figure this way, when they are 18 yrs. old they have a collection for themselves. Sometimes when you are starting out you have nothing to put on your tree without having to buy a shitload of ornaments. Plus helps to remind them of childhood Christmas'. I think its a good idea. I love the tree once it up. The rest of the interior decoration will also be done tonight. I do hope it all works out the way I plan, because I still have school work to do. There is always next week for that I suppose.

Another birthday, 33 this time!

2008-12-05T09:34:00.014-05:00

Yesterday was my boyfriends birthday. He turned 33. He (for once) took a day off for himself. He always works, works, works. I get a little bent because life is more than just working everyday. Especially when you have two jobs, one being part time...(back on topic) When he woke up in the morning, he went outside to let the dog out. That is when I snuck in his little present. I placed it on his pillow and pretend to still be sleeping. I got hims a bottle of Euphoria by CK. Of course he noticed it as soon as he walked in the room. I jumped up and said "Happy Birthday". We laid in bed for oh, a few minutes...then the next gift, ha ha!! Afterwards, he had a small fast breakfast, during which he received more "Happy Birthday's" from the kids as they woke up.

The rest of the day was his. He was able to get some much needed work done on his truck, relax, and watch TV. I had to study so he was pretty much on his own. In the afternoon, I took the kids and told him that we would be back later. We drove up to Dairy Queen and picked up his cake. It was a Reese's Peanut Butter Blizzard Ice Cream Cake!!! Um mm it looked so good. The kids were so excited to be doing this. They just love Jeff, so this surprise was, well, cool! We had dinner later on, after I got back from school. Then the song and dance. We didn't have candles, but we sang any way. It's just not a birthday without the song. Jeff blew out the invisible candles and on to cut the cake. I was a little nervous, I didn't take the cake out the recommended amount of time prior. So I figured that it was hard as a rock. And it was! But, after lifting the entire cake by the knife, Jeff was able to cut through it without breaking the knife. It has happened before....We all had huge pieces of course, and then off to bed. We watched TV the rest of evening full from dinner and cake.
I know it doesn't seem like much, but I know that he was very happy and that is all that matters to me. Look, he almost smiled...Like I always say, it's the little things!!!

Fun or Dis"fun"ction Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T17:00:00.009-05:00

Every year we spend the holidays bouncing around. Most of the time we go to only one house for Thanksgiving. This year was a little more special. Due to work schedules, good and bad, we were able to hit up two houses. It was my fathers turn to have us over, we usually switch back and forth between families. Divorced parents, what can I say. I have been doing it for years. In fact since my kids are in the same situation, they spent this one with their dad. Made me sad, but it was his turn. So any way, we were able to spend turkey day with the big turkey himself in Clermont, love you Dad! Also present were my grandparents, aunt, uncles, cousins, and even cousins kids. Our little group was late getting over to the house, but nobody died of starvation. So we enjoyed our wonderful meal and like always, sat around and talked. To my brother's surprise, they threw a Happy Birthday (real early I must add) for him. I think my dad was upset about not having Max over so he had to do something for someone. Ha!! Parents, I swear! So we hung out for a while with the "older folks" to satisfy their family time. Then it was off to dad's for the remainder of the evening. We were able to hang out a little more comfortably there. Have a few beers and bunches of laughs. Long story short, family occasions are a little on the lame side now because of past circumstances. Anywho...the rest of the night was fun. Just a bunch of gibber jabber of well, nothing, but fun nonetheless. My father had to work the next day on Black Friday so we high tailed it up to Crystal River to see my Uncle and Aunt.

Charles and Mel live up in Crystal River, along with my cousins Haley and Connor. They are only about an hour north of Dad. We haven't seen them since last Thanksgiving, when it was their turn. We (of course) sat around talking for a while. Then the fun. Mel recently obtained a Mule, some sort of macked out golf cart. We went through trails at high speed, ha, not too fast. Lots of fun getting smacked by branches as we are driving by. For some reason being in the woods is always fun. Then it was time for relaxation. We do still have to drive home in the evening. Why you ask, well, Jeff and I both have to work. This is what happens when you date a firefighter. For the past two years, he has had to work on Thanksgiving Day. So this was officially our first year together for this particular holiday. I loved it. We sat around the fire drinking some beers, had some dinner and them time to shove off. Nobody wanted us to leave, but sometimes duty calls. Another name for duty, SHIT! Oh well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do....

We left around 7 pm on our way south. We had to stop and pick up the kids at their dads in Venice, Fl. One way it was about 7 hours. Damn, I was tired when we got home. We unpacked the truck and I went to bed. Jeff had to be up in a few hours to go to work and so did I. The holiday ended with a bang, being my head hitting the pillow at around 3 a.m. I know next year will be a little easier because it is mom's turn, right here in Cutler Bay, ha ha!!

Birthday 6

2008-12-02T16:37:00.006-05:00

Last week, (I know its been a while) my littlest man turned 6. He was counting down the days since last month. His birthday was on the 25th of November. We didn't have much planned but I was able to get some of his best buddies to Nana's house. In the past, we did nothing for Max because of his birthday being so close to Thanksgiving. We always had a cake for him and presents but never the friends. Last year, we started to actually do something for my little man. This year we were able to invite friends. It was last minute, but it was a success. He wanted a monster truck cake, which was hard to find to order, so (the great mommy that I am!) I decided to make the cake. Seems to be what happens most of the time with my kids. I guess they know that I am capable so I end up making them myself. I must say that I have had good luck in the cake making department. Since this time the theme was monster trucks, we had to improvise. I went with the traditional white cake and went to town with decorations. Max and Sam donated some of their cars and monster trucks to add to the cake. I also added sand and dirt (crushed graham crackers and Oreo's). I made ramps and jumps with full crackers and a tire path with halved Oreo cookies. The cake was a hit, not only to look at, but yummy, also to taste.

All in all it made for a very happy birthday boy! Thanks to all who showed up to make this a very special birthday for Max.

I hate this place!!!

2008-11-24T12:57:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I come in to work and I am happy as can be. I love dealing with all the international customers, you learn alot from them. Well, today is one of those days that I can't stand. Is it because it is Monday? Or is it because I feel like I get screwed here. Maybe both, but whatever. We are supposed to receive commissions for all the reservations that we make here in this office. Usually, most companies, pay these commissions regularly. Whether it be once month, or once per pay period. Well, it has been two months since we got ours and I am fuming! I tell my boss to PLEASE!!!! submit them this pay period because it has been so long. Well, dumb ass forgets and now, because Thanksgiving, it is too late to hand in. Damn, that sucks! With the holidays coming, I could really use the extra money. Besides the fact, that I work for this money so I deserve it!!! What to do, well, not much I can do, except wait another 2 weeks. Ahhhh!!!

Picnic in the park

2008-11-22T09:15:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, this week, a friend and I, and our combined 6 children went to Pinecrest Gardens. It was a beautiful cool day. Everyone was dressed for warmth. Shelah had a photo scavenger hunt ready for the kids. At first, my kids were not interested, until they saw the other kids taking pics of all kinds of things. Wow, this is so cool! Why is it that as adults we think so many things are great ideas, and kids, well...they just want to complain. Those are my kids. I try to involve them in so many cool things, but they always turn up their noses. Not this time, Shelah did a great job. The hunt was very successful, and the kids had lots of fun. We sat for a while and had our lunches, PB and J was on the menu that day! Umm good, what kid doesn't like that. The kids played for a bit on the playground and then we continued the scavenger hunt.

The list was long, but all the kids managed to get everything on them, except the raccoon. Way to go kiddo's. They had so much fun. Now all we have to do is develop the pics and put them in a book. We figured that we would have a scrap booking day to finish the project. Of course, we will have to go to my mom's house for that, she has all the good stuff for scrap booking.

The other exciting thing that happened that day was Max loosing his second tooth. He was crying for a bit, because he said it hurt. He actually bit an apple and that made it come out. Ha, another one bites the dust.

Brrrr.....

2008-11-19T08:59:00.003-05:00

It is so cold out today, I think my fingers are going to freeze and just crack off. I often wonder, how is it cold, we live in Florida. Well, it is that time of year when we get our little cold snaps. It is so funny (I guess we are spoiled) that a drop in temperature like this forces out all the jackets, sweaters, hoodies, and such warm clothing. We are wimps here in Fl. I personally, on any regular day, can't take anything less than 80 degrees. I think I am part reptile. I will take any warm, or hot day over this cold. I do know many of people that say, "its a nice change", my ass it is! If you want it cold, move north. I do admit, the skies are always beautiful when it is cold out. Not a cloud to be seen. As long as the sun is shinning, it's not too bad. I guess that I can deal with the, oh, maybe week of cold for the whole season. Just don't go to crazy with the cold. I don't have enough clothes for this!! That is always a reason to shop, hmmm!! That sounds good too! Oh well, today I will remain indoors for the most part. I only venture out when absolutely needed.

Have a WARM day!

Junior Rangers

2008-11-17T21:40:00.007-05:00

On Thursday of last week, I took my kids to Biscayne National Park in Homestead. It happens to be only 7 miles away from our house. I figured that the kids don't get out too much on the days that I work, so I took them on a small field trip. The focus of the day was the great outdoors. We first went to the visitors center where the kids got their activity books to complete.

The Junior Rangers pr0gram requires that you complete 3 activities in each of the 3 national parks. The parks are Biscayne National, Everglades National and Big Cypress National Park. In order for you to obtain a badge in each park, you have to complete three activities. Then after you complete them you have to turn them in to the park rangers. At that time you obtain your badge. Once you have 3 badges, one from each park, you get your patch. The patch has Junior Rangers on it and the list of the 3 parks that you visited.

I recommend this to any child that is interested in their environment, on a local level. I think that it is very important to be educated on your home town environment. Here in Florida, we have a diverse environment that we should not take for granted. We need to help others become educated and help preserve the things that we do have.

In the next few weeks I will be taking my kids to the remaining parks to that they can complete the Junior Ranger status and obtain their patches. I am not sure, too much, that my eldest will participate in this, but I know my other two kids, boys, will. It should be quite fun!!! I know that my kids will be environment conscious as they grow older. They almost can't help it with a mom like me.

Garage Sales

2008-11-17T16:00:00.007-05:00

This weekend I had a garage sale, twice. I thought to myself before it all happened, "Do I really want to do this?" Well, I know that other people would be attending and sharing the day. What I didn't realize is that I would have so much fun. This, honestly, is the best garage sale that I have ever had. Not only did I have a great time, I also made the most money this weekend. Sweet!!! I came out with a little over $150. That is so nice. I really do appreciate that I was able to sell my shit and come out with a little extra money. I did miss the races, but that was going to happen anyways! As far as the fun, well I don't know where to start...

Saturday, was the best! I woke up at about 5 a.m. and got to mom's by 5:30, I think! Well, we were slow going, but after some coffee we were just fine. We got everything out by 6:30, and we were ready to sit around for the day. We had the most customers the first day, for sure. I guess there are lots of people that go to garage sales. The first lady was the most rude of everyone that day. She just walked up abruptly asking for perfume and jewelry. I had to think for a moment, but she jumped back at me asking if I was meditating. Nasty bitch! She was the only one though. The rest of everyone that came was sweet as can be. I met some really nice people, with interesting stories. I spent most of the morning having Bloody Mary's. Reason being, like always, some friend said that they would be bringing some Margarita's, but didn't. I can't drink Tequila that early, hell no! So I thought Bloody Mary, yes, a few thanks! Wonderful day, calm afternoon. Real warm! So needless to say, I was the only one that was drinking at 7 am. Oh well, wouldn't be the first time. Ha! We finished up around 12 or 1 p.m. It was time to head home. Some errands to run, then time for the Gator Game. What a disaster that was, of course, for the other team. We came out shining! Of course. Our night ended early, because of the number of Bloody Mary's that I had that day. Have to be ready for the next day. Sunday was slow, but still fun. We didn't have as many people, but who we met was just as interesting. I think that I enjoy the people more than the money, well, naaaa!!! Sorry everyone, hehe. The same couple that stood me up the day before with the booze finally showed up when we were packing it up for the day, thanks guys!!! You know what couple I am talking about. Soo...after we put everything back in the house we had some beers! Yes, finally someone to drink with. I don't feel so bad today. We sat out in the front yard with a bucket and ice. Jason was there both days. I really enjoy his company. He is a good, reliable brother! Plus he makes me fucking laugh so hard, my sides burst! It's nice to have a guy like him around, ya know, someone you can be friends with and they don't want to screw you! Sorry, Jay. haha!!! Seriously, its true. The night ended at Jason's house. Just him, me and the kids. Made a fire and drank some beers. Don't get to hang out too much with my bro, but when I do, it's always great! Went home around 9 or so, then ended the weekend watching T.V. till I fell asleep. Really had a great weekend, even though I thought it was going to be more work than anything. I would have to say that I would do it again, soon!!

Race Weekend

2008-11-14T11:55:00.006-05:00

I know I was told not to whine, but I am going to anyways. Only because it is hard not to when all I do this week is deal with all the NASCAR fans. I work at an RV rental station here in Miami. We are all booked up because of the races, which I am not able to go to this year. Why, you ask, because there are still seats available, but I just don't have the funds. It is so sad for me to hear about all the fun everyone is going to have. Tailgating and eating some good ass food!!! Oh yeah, the race too!! Ha!

Maybe if things go well I will show up on the big race day. If I can get cheap tix!! That would make the kids happy, but not Jeff. He would be on duty that day. Boy he would be hating big time. I couldn't do that to my baby, why, I wouldn't want him to do that to me. Especially the races, which I love more than him. This all started a few years with me and my bro. We go to Indy every year, and we started doing the NASCAR too. We have so far missed two years, boy we are slacking big time.

I know this is probably far fetched, but...

GO GORDON!!!!!

I just received a call from my bro pissed that I didn't mention him. Bro I would definitely take you, that is a given!! I shouldn't have to write it. You are included in all my plans! BRO!!!

Ho hum!

2008-11-10T14:41:00.005-05:00

Today I am tired as shit! I have done nothing but work and work and school. I studied all weekend just to get a test done on Sunday! I was able to spend a few hours with my man on Sat. night, thanks to my mommy watching my kids. Then the whole day Sunday, I read my chapters and took the scheduled exams. What a relief to get that stuff done. Mom also had the kids on Sun. so I could catch up with school work. She said that she just wanted to give me a break from the kiddo's, but I know that she just misses them and that is why she did it. You are not fooling anyone Mom, haha!!!

Today has just been boring as hell. I have studying to do, actually just have to send an email. But I will do it later. I want to take it easy so I can slowly transition into the week. I don't want to rush anything! I have to slow down and take time to smell the roses!! Hopefully this week will be normal for me and not last minute things. I do plan on having a garage sale on Saturday and Sunday. So if you are looking for something to buy, stop by my mom's house and check it out.

So busy!!

2008-11-06T11:08:00.006-05:00

I know that it has been a while since I posted, but I have been soo busy! Now that my fave holiday is over, I can sort of rest. I have already accomplished alot this week so far. First off, I voted, for the first time. I am very excited to say that I voted for the now new President. I now feel as if I had something to do with the outcome. I will be following him throughout his term. I feel very confident that he will be the right choice.

As most of you already know, I wrecked my beautiful truck a few weeks ago. What to do now? Tuesday, I went looking for vehicles knowing that I had to return my rental on Wednesday. Thanks to a great friend, Shelah, I went to a specific place after driving around all day. Once I arrived to the dealer, I fell in love all over again. I found the SUV that I was looking for, and not to mention at a GREAT price!! Nothing happened on Tuesday, except for finding the truck. So Wednesday came and it was time to turn in the rental. I had my wonderful man pick me up from the rental agency and bring me straight to my new choice of vehicle. After some time of doing paperwork and so on, I drove off with my new SUV. I am so happy! It fits my little family just perfect. I am thrilled that I found this deal. My mom says that everything happens for a reason. I am a believer of that, because this all came at the perfect time. The best part of this sale was something that I didn't expect, it came with a train horn, hell yes!! Not only will everyone see my little happy face plate, but they will also hear me coming too. Ha! I love it. And here she is...

But my day didn't end with that. My 5, soon to be 6 yr. old, lost his first tooth too. He was soo excited and so was I. They grow so fast and we have to cherish these little moments.

I do want to apologize for all the things that I have missed this week! I am still trying to complete school at the same time of all these crazy life happenings. Hopefully, next week will be completely back to the norm.

Have a Happy Day! I know I will.

Kids Halloween

2008-10-29T12:29:00.014-04:00

This past Sunday, I had a Halloween party for the kids. It was a blast!! I know that I thought so. I spent the whole month planning this. From different treats that were spookish to games that fit the day. I had the most fun watching the kids play the games. Their expressions are priceless. Our party started at 4 pm and ended promptly at 8 pm. I think it was because it was on a Sunday. My whole evil plan was to get all the kids sugared up and send them home, ha! I am sure that it worked. I started the party with a game called Mummy Wrap. It consisted of a mummy to be wrapped and toilet paper. We split the kids into teams as best as possible. Then from there the job was to see who could wrap their mummy the fastest. It was hilarious watching the kids try to figure out the best way to keep the TP on and get through the roll fast.

We ended that game and started to eat pizza. After that, we started a fun game called body parts. It was just food in containers that had some little added thrills to it. The fact that the kids couldn't see it is what made it great. Some of the foods were slimy and gooey. The faces were irreplaceable. Watching them reach in to the bucket to feel what was inside and immediately a disgusted face, good stuff!!! I laughed my ass off. Even some of the adults at the party made some faces. I would have to say that was my fave game of the day.

After some more snacks of junk food, we had a costume contest. There were winners in each of three age groups. The kids did great on their choice of costumes. I just love Halloween!!!

A little while later, after more snacking and running all over the place, we settled down again. This time was to decorate baby pumpkins. I gave the interested kids, markers, crayons, paint, glitter and even some stickers. They had a blast. The little ones of course went overboard with the paint and glitter, but no big deal, nothing water cant handle.

Lastly, I gave the kids a special ice cream treat. Most of them couldn't even finish it. Too bad, more for us later, ha ha!

Like I said the party ended promptly at 8 pm. Just enough time to clean the entire house and rest for the evening. I would like to thank everyone who made it. Not only did you have fun, but you all made it soo fun for me too!!!

Can this be true?

2008-10-22T12:46:00.002-04:00

Today is such a special day that it seems too good to be true! She is moving out! We get the entire house to ourselves now. Yippee! I am excited, the kids are excited, and most of all, Jeff is excited. We can now start our little lives together, uninterrupted by outside sources. We have been together now for about 2 1/2 long years! We have had to drive back and forth, to and from, live out of boxes, and even cram 3 kids in to one room. But that will all be over as of today!!! I just can't express how happy I really am.

I know her moving out is just the beginning. Now we have cleaning and more moving ourselves. My mom has been itching to get me to get my stuff out of the spare bedroom. Today is also a good day for her, she just doesn't know it, he he! We are a very busy family, so the moving will not be today, maybe tomorrow, if we have time. If not, then definitely on Saturday, of course, after the girls party!! We are so anxious, we might just have to move tomorrow! I know that this is something that has been long awaited, can we wait a few more days? We will have to see how it goes!!!

TOTALLED!!!

2008-10-11T19:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a very upsetting day for me. I was on my way home to pick up the kids, minding my own business when BAM!!! I was hit by a car. I was turning left in the median and out of nowhere an oncoming car! As soon as I saw it, "oh shit". I was T-boned on the passenger side. I could feel my truck being lifted as the Honda went under me. I was tossed around like a rag doll. Totalled my precious truck. I was in shock! I actually turned off the engine and put the car in park. I was trapped inside with my seat belt. I had to climb out of the seat belt and through the window to get out, I did not at all want to be inside the truck. As soon as I was out, I ran to the other car to check the passengers in there. As I was running towards them, I noticed that my purse and other belonging were on the ground in the middle of the street. Very good indicator as to where I could have been if I didn't wear my seat belt. Unfortunately, they were cut up pretty bad. I also noticed that there were no seat belts on any of them. There were two children and a father in the car. I ran around to all doors to see if everyone was OK. There was a teenage girl in the backseat with a pretty good gash in her forehead. There was a teenage boy in the front seat that was cut all over his face. I think that he hit the windshield pretty hard. I was devastated by this. I love children, in fact, I just love everyone. My heart was feeling for them. I myself also suffered a few injuries. I have a bruised hip, split eye and a bruised foot. I will tell you that I am very happy that everyone made it out alive. This is something I could not bear, if it were worse. I was able to locate the kids through a friend and he told me that everyone will be OK. Their wounds were superficial, but because they were on the face, they bled a lot. I know there are more details that I could provide, but I will spare you from those, I really can't bare to describe it. I am really grateful that my kids were not in the car with me, even though I always make them wear their seat belts. Here are the pics of my truck...

I will miss her very much! I loved that truck!

Also, I want to thank everyone who called to check on me. I have so much love surrounding me, and this makes me so happy.

I am still very shaken up by this, but I know that I will be OK. Mentally it is a brain fuck! What could have happened????? I know this will take some time to get over, but like everything else in life, I will eventually get over it.

Not again!

2008-10-10T10:17:00.004-04:00

So, yesterday I am at home all day with the kids. It was a great day! In the afternoon, the kids went to the dentist. Let me tell you, this is hard for me to understand. I am 35 yrs. old and I have always taken care of my teeth. Knock on wood, no cavities, no serious dental issues. But my kids, are another story. Since my daughter was born, she has had every possible tooth filled because of cavities. She again, had one yesterday. But, she has also an infection in her mouth and maybe her tooth, so it can't be filled till the infection is gone. Wow, kids! But that is not it. My sweet little boys, Sam and Max. Between them they have four cavities. What am I doing wrong? Or is it just genetic? I know their father has had much dental work. But are you kidding me! My oldest son has three, two of which are in permanent teeth, so they have to be fixed. The other is in a baby tooth, but from what I understand, if it doesn't get taken care of it can pass to the adult tooth. Max, my baby boy, also has one in a baby tooth. Should I fill that? Well considering he is loosing his first teeth now, I think it would be wise and only because it is not one that is falling out. Good thing I have insurance for them, otherwise it would cost me a pretty penny!

So, in two weeks I will have to listen to drills in my boys mouths. Poor Max, he is only 5, and getting fillings. Is this just a way for them to generate money? Or is it really necessary to fill in baby teeth? Either way, I guess if it isn't coming out of my pocket, then I will do it. Unfortunately, it will though, be coming out of someones pocket.

I was just reminded from my little brother of 32 years, that he also has now got what seems to be the beginnings of four cavities. I have to knock on wood again! I have none, ha ha ha!!! Love you bro. And yes you are very much a part of my life, dork!!