I am baffled. There are all kinds of folks asking for money - the guy / girl with the cardboard sign, the bell ringing Salvation Army person, kids with buckets at stoplights, plea's from Facebook, giveaways for donations, kids selling stuff for schools, Jerry's kids ............what is it that compels a person to give and to whom?
Sometimes I buy the stuff from the kids selling from school(can't resist a cute kid begging)
I've dropped change in the Salvation Buckets because they do good things and in the firefighters buckets for Jerry's kids
I will not give money to the cardboard sign carriers (I will hand them food and/or water) in my area - honestly - most appear to be drugged out .......or so high they can't stand straight so the cities actually have signs asking motorist not to give money to the pan-handlers - one time last year my husband handed a person $5 and we pulled into gas station and GUESS WHAT .........the pan-handler came bought beer at the gas station! his sign said please help me feed my kids!
Usually not to the kids with buckets (the middle of the road is not safe - and I don't want to encourage the behavior) and yes I know they are raising money for good programs - but really a 10/12 year old playing in traffic carrying a bucket is just not a good thing - put the parents out there with a sign - Raising money for my kids softball team !
So what I'm wondering is what makes YOU give - is it the cause, the kid, the story - and why I'm wondering is because a couple friends are trying to raise money for adoptions and both have hit a stone wall even with offering prizes ..........like good prizes like IPAD2 ........you get entries just for donating $10 which you might've done anyways. And I have tried doing stuff to help them also and fell FLAT on my face .......so am I saying something wrong .......you can answer anonymously if you wish - I just need to understand so that my next effort at least gets 2 donations LOL
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Why adopt overseas - and Pampered Chef
So for the eighteen months or so, I've been friends with a girl that adopted. Her family began the adoption overseas, but God had different plans and she adopted from US. When it was still an overseas adoption, I asked her - why choose overseas when there are children here that need to be adopted. It was an eye-opening conversation.
In the USA - families with 4 children are rarely considered- I know you are thinking but I've seen some special needs children that have been adopted into a large family - YES - they were part of the foster parent system - and the foster parents adopted them.
The wait list for baby/toddler is something like 10 years - your income has to be outrageous.
Overseas will let you adopt based on income/family size ratio - In the USA there are still orphanages but not as many - the shift is to foster care -
For both types of adoption you go thru home studies - someone comes in and checks out your house/family interaction etc (i really don't know much else that goes on but do know you have to pass)
So then I started reading some blogs of people that are in the process of adopting and I'm saddened by the conditions I read about - Children with Down Syndrome that are left to lay in rooms all day long - couple diaper changes and a bottle with a huge hole cut out of the nipple - 5 year old kids that look to be 6 months old - that can't walk, or talk and shy away from any physical touching - no hugs, no sitting on laps - that is just sad ...sad .... sad. Because of the countries they are in - the blogs are very careful to not complain too much about conditions because the country will just shut down adoptions. One already has ..........one has threatened to. ..........
So I say to myself - a child with Down Syndrome - is just as worthy of being loved as any other child - And my online friend Mandy and her husband and 2 kids are welcoming 2 boys near age 5 from 2 different orphanages .....I am drawn to her blog - and her story .......and her much anticipated trip to actually meet these 2 little ones which she will name Joseph and Samuel. I have posted about her and her fundraisers but another online friend Susie and I will be having a Pampered Chef fundraiser to help her try to raise the 3990 that she still needs to fulfill the adoptions.
I'll be posting about that in next day or so ------keep your eyes peeled.
In the USA - families with 4 children are rarely considered- I know you are thinking but I've seen some special needs children that have been adopted into a large family - YES - they were part of the foster parent system - and the foster parents adopted them.
The wait list for baby/toddler is something like 10 years - your income has to be outrageous.
Overseas will let you adopt based on income/family size ratio - In the USA there are still orphanages but not as many - the shift is to foster care -
For both types of adoption you go thru home studies - someone comes in and checks out your house/family interaction etc (i really don't know much else that goes on but do know you have to pass)
So then I started reading some blogs of people that are in the process of adopting and I'm saddened by the conditions I read about - Children with Down Syndrome that are left to lay in rooms all day long - couple diaper changes and a bottle with a huge hole cut out of the nipple - 5 year old kids that look to be 6 months old - that can't walk, or talk and shy away from any physical touching - no hugs, no sitting on laps - that is just sad ...sad .... sad. Because of the countries they are in - the blogs are very careful to not complain too much about conditions because the country will just shut down adoptions. One already has ..........one has threatened to. ..........
So I say to myself - a child with Down Syndrome - is just as worthy of being loved as any other child - And my online friend Mandy and her husband and 2 kids are welcoming 2 boys near age 5 from 2 different orphanages .....I am drawn to her blog - and her story .......and her much anticipated trip to actually meet these 2 little ones which she will name Joseph and Samuel. I have posted about her and her fundraisers but another online friend Susie and I will be having a Pampered Chef fundraiser to help her try to raise the 3990 that she still needs to fulfill the adoptions.
I'll be posting about that in next day or so ------keep your eyes peeled.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Food and Housewarming Parties
I love food - I love trying food at parties! ------- (and getting the recipes)
At my daughters housewarming Sunday - our friends Pati and Joe put together a yummy caprice (?spelled right?)
So thin slices of tomatoes, sliver of prosciutto, sliver of mozzarella (in milk juice LOL) chopped up basil - sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil - and you put it on small slices of round Italian bread. Now you are probably saying - oh yes ........I've seen that - but I'm telling you it was delicious - and you know that cause 3 platters were gone before the cheese lost it's chill.
And my dil makes this really weird salad (but yummy) with ramen noodles, sesame seeds - I think scallions - and a few other things - I am always excited to see that come to a party - I was really hoping my other dil would bring her yummy pasta salad - but Rebecca didn't ask her (dam)
The housewarming was awesome - lots of Rebecca's friends came to see her 1st home. She has always wanted a home with a pool - but I was totally bummed that it was too cold to even put a pinky into the pool - although Shelby donned her bathing suit and jumped right in - THIS IS FLORIDA - not supposed to be cold! - I'm blaming it on days of cloudy, overcast skies.
We have tote city beside her house and hopefully our friend that is moving soon can take some off our hands - until we have a bigger place to store them.
Ahhhhh - totes - are so much better than cardboard boxes - several years ago when my son moved from his shop - I bought the 1st 10 totes - you know the 18 gallon totes for like $5 (they were 3.50) - and we thought then - hmmm these are better than cardboard because the cans don't fall thru the bottom - they have handles to carry them - they seal so roaches don't get in them, they stack easy - and that began our building of tote city - he moved - I bought 10 more- then 10 more - a couple huge ones for pillows and blankets and hangers - They were awesome in storage - which wound up being over a year - instead of 6 weeks. We labeled them with masking tape on the top edge of the lids - so that when they are stacked you can stand and see in a stack what is in each box - So here is my advise on that: try to buy the same size/brand - along the way we have bought them for various things so there were some mis-matched ones - they don't stack as easy - so right not the same size ones are stacked - smaller ones inside - one lid on top and all other lids in one of the huge ones. -----just waiting for the next move.
At my daughters housewarming Sunday - our friends Pati and Joe put together a yummy caprice (?spelled right?)
So thin slices of tomatoes, sliver of prosciutto, sliver of mozzarella (in milk juice LOL) chopped up basil - sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil - and you put it on small slices of round Italian bread. Now you are probably saying - oh yes ........I've seen that - but I'm telling you it was delicious - and you know that cause 3 platters were gone before the cheese lost it's chill.
And my dil makes this really weird salad (but yummy) with ramen noodles, sesame seeds - I think scallions - and a few other things - I am always excited to see that come to a party - I was really hoping my other dil would bring her yummy pasta salad - but Rebecca didn't ask her (dam)
The housewarming was awesome - lots of Rebecca's friends came to see her 1st home. She has always wanted a home with a pool - but I was totally bummed that it was too cold to even put a pinky into the pool - although Shelby donned her bathing suit and jumped right in - THIS IS FLORIDA - not supposed to be cold! - I'm blaming it on days of cloudy, overcast skies.
We have tote city beside her house and hopefully our friend that is moving soon can take some off our hands - until we have a bigger place to store them.
Ahhhhh - totes - are so much better than cardboard boxes - several years ago when my son moved from his shop - I bought the 1st 10 totes - you know the 18 gallon totes for like $5 (they were 3.50) - and we thought then - hmmm these are better than cardboard because the cans don't fall thru the bottom - they have handles to carry them - they seal so roaches don't get in them, they stack easy - and that began our building of tote city - he moved - I bought 10 more- then 10 more - a couple huge ones for pillows and blankets and hangers - They were awesome in storage - which wound up being over a year - instead of 6 weeks. We labeled them with masking tape on the top edge of the lids - so that when they are stacked you can stand and see in a stack what is in each box - So here is my advise on that: try to buy the same size/brand - along the way we have bought them for various things so there were some mis-matched ones - they don't stack as easy - so right not the same size ones are stacked - smaller ones inside - one lid on top and all other lids in one of the huge ones. -----just waiting for the next move.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Praises and complaints
I want to start off by PRAISING GOD for the little things that mean so much
...............all 3 of my sons working on the broken car - and the promise to work out the transmission
...............the nurse at my mom's doctor's office that always manages to have enough samples to give to mom
...............the wind this weekend that kept the heat away as my sons struggled over the hunk of junk car
...............the window tinting cheap enough that my husband could surprise me with a tinted car
...............the friends that generously helped put in my daughters 4 windows
...............
with that being said - I'm very discouraged - NOTHING is easy for me - and I mean NOTHING - I feel like I am in a constant struggle with something - and I hear ya - turn it over to God - I can assure you, it has taken me a while to admit that there are things I can't handle alone - or at all - But what I don't get is why oh why do I feel the dark cloud all the dang time. And I know there are millions worse off than me - but also I personally know folks that just breeze thru life without a trouble in the world - WHY??
...............all 3 of my sons working on the broken car - and the promise to work out the transmission
...............the nurse at my mom's doctor's office that always manages to have enough samples to give to mom
...............the wind this weekend that kept the heat away as my sons struggled over the hunk of junk car
...............the window tinting cheap enough that my husband could surprise me with a tinted car
...............the friends that generously helped put in my daughters 4 windows
...............
with that being said - I'm very discouraged - NOTHING is easy for me - and I mean NOTHING - I feel like I am in a constant struggle with something - and I hear ya - turn it over to God - I can assure you, it has taken me a while to admit that there are things I can't handle alone - or at all - But what I don't get is why oh why do I feel the dark cloud all the dang time. And I know there are millions worse off than me - but also I personally know folks that just breeze thru life without a trouble in the world - WHY??
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
My Birthday Surprise
My adult kids totally surprised me !!! I am usually hard to surprise cause I'm nosy.
For birthdays - birthday person chooses their meal - so a few weeks before my birthday - my daughter and daughter in laws decided we should go to my favorite BBQ place for dinner (LOL) - it is 45 minutes drive from here and we usually only go there when we are going to or from Orlando to the outlets. But they convinced me that on a Friday nite it was not nuts to drive 45 minutes in rush hour traffic to eat at my favorite place - so that was the plan. So Friday morning my daughter calls, says I took your birthday off and I'm doing something with 2 of the grand-kids (normally I babysit them everyday) She says you will only have the 22 month old granddaughter. I found out later that they left her with me to keep me from spoiling the surprise by going home after I took mom to the doctor. (ahhh they know me well) - So my daughter slipped into my house and packed my bag while I had mom at the doctor - then she and my son and 2 of the grand-kids drove to Kissimme(Orlando) - and checked into the Star Island Resort and Club in Kissimme, Fl. Then went and stocked the suite with groceries for the weekend. And she made one of my favorite meals Baked Chicken Supreme. Also behind the scenes, my oldest grandson was being dropped off by his aunt (he had spent the week with her), but she drove him to the hotel and dropped him off (1/2 hour in other direction) Meanwhile, I was at DIL's house babysitting.
When my son and dil arrived home - we took granddaughter and my husband and I and headed for the restaurant (or so I thought)- My other son and dil were only a few mins behind us. And for those of you that don't know - I'm a backseat driver - even when in front seat. So as we approached the exit, I'm telling my son you need to get off here - he's like good thing you told me I've never been to this restaurant before, my dil asked me a question and I turned to answer and HE DROVE RIGHT PAST EXIT. I turned around and about freaked - you have to drive 41 miles north to next exit - it will be closed - he's like relax giving my brother time to catch up LOL - as he passed the next exit I realized something was up and was told to stop asking questions.
When we were just 2 blocks away I had to close my eyes until they parked and led me in - What a cool place this was - 3 bedrooms, 2 bath - fully setup kitchen - and dinner smelled and tasted awesome. They had decorated and even got me a pinata! - My 4 year old granddaughter last year made her parents buy each birthday person a pinata - she is relentless when she decides something and sometimes we just have to give in. So this year she asked what kinda pinata did I want - I said one with money! Well - they went to dollar store and bought fake dollars and coins and filled that pinata with money ! and of course lollipops.
After dinner we headed for the pool. The pool at Star Island Resort is family friendly - it has an area within the pool that little ones can play in - and goes to about 6 foot deep on far end. It was not overcrowded so it was easy to keep an eye on the little ones and it is open til midnight.
Later we needed a couple blankets and something in the kitchen - called and within 5 mins they were knocking on the door. We will go back there again - I'm thinking we liked this better than Nick hotel - which can get really really crowded.
Breakfast the next day was my son's bacon - he even brought his grill - and waffles
Lunch - my daughter in law made pasta salad and my daughter got this cool package of lunchmeat for subs that is a kit - for italian subs - 4 meats laid out on paper and stacked for 8 people - awesome kit.
Dinner - my daughter and daughter in laws made homemade tortilla's - and my other son made his delicious salsa
Breakfast the next day was eggs .......delish - then we had to pack and leave but not before going in the pool one more time.
Dessert - a huge chocolate chip cookie cake .........yum
So just when I thought the surprises were over - they gave me a Kindle and a Vera Bradley case for it.
I felt so so special that weekend- nothing is better than hanging out with your 4 adult kids- 2 awesome daughter-in-laws and 4 grand kids.
For birthdays - birthday person chooses their meal - so a few weeks before my birthday - my daughter and daughter in laws decided we should go to my favorite BBQ place for dinner (LOL) - it is 45 minutes drive from here and we usually only go there when we are going to or from Orlando to the outlets. But they convinced me that on a Friday nite it was not nuts to drive 45 minutes in rush hour traffic to eat at my favorite place - so that was the plan. So Friday morning my daughter calls, says I took your birthday off and I'm doing something with 2 of the grand-kids (normally I babysit them everyday) She says you will only have the 22 month old granddaughter. I found out later that they left her with me to keep me from spoiling the surprise by going home after I took mom to the doctor. (ahhh they know me well) - So my daughter slipped into my house and packed my bag while I had mom at the doctor - then she and my son and 2 of the grand-kids drove to Kissimme(Orlando) - and checked into the Star Island Resort and Club in Kissimme, Fl. Then went and stocked the suite with groceries for the weekend. And she made one of my favorite meals Baked Chicken Supreme. Also behind the scenes, my oldest grandson was being dropped off by his aunt (he had spent the week with her), but she drove him to the hotel and dropped him off (1/2 hour in other direction) Meanwhile, I was at DIL's house babysitting.
When my son and dil arrived home - we took granddaughter and my husband and I and headed for the restaurant (or so I thought)- My other son and dil were only a few mins behind us. And for those of you that don't know - I'm a backseat driver - even when in front seat. So as we approached the exit, I'm telling my son you need to get off here - he's like good thing you told me I've never been to this restaurant before, my dil asked me a question and I turned to answer and HE DROVE RIGHT PAST EXIT. I turned around and about freaked - you have to drive 41 miles north to next exit - it will be closed - he's like relax giving my brother time to catch up LOL - as he passed the next exit I realized something was up and was told to stop asking questions.
When we were just 2 blocks away I had to close my eyes until they parked and led me in - What a cool place this was - 3 bedrooms, 2 bath - fully setup kitchen - and dinner smelled and tasted awesome. They had decorated and even got me a pinata! - My 4 year old granddaughter last year made her parents buy each birthday person a pinata - she is relentless when she decides something and sometimes we just have to give in. So this year she asked what kinda pinata did I want - I said one with money! Well - they went to dollar store and bought fake dollars and coins and filled that pinata with money ! and of course lollipops.
After dinner we headed for the pool. The pool at Star Island Resort is family friendly - it has an area within the pool that little ones can play in - and goes to about 6 foot deep on far end. It was not overcrowded so it was easy to keep an eye on the little ones and it is open til midnight.
Later we needed a couple blankets and something in the kitchen - called and within 5 mins they were knocking on the door. We will go back there again - I'm thinking we liked this better than Nick hotel - which can get really really crowded.
Breakfast the next day was my son's bacon - he even brought his grill - and waffles
Lunch - my daughter in law made pasta salad and my daughter got this cool package of lunchmeat for subs that is a kit - for italian subs - 4 meats laid out on paper and stacked for 8 people - awesome kit.
Dinner - my daughter and daughter in laws made homemade tortilla's - and my other son made his delicious salsa
Breakfast the next day was eggs .......delish - then we had to pack and leave but not before going in the pool one more time.
Dessert - a huge chocolate chip cookie cake .........yum
So just when I thought the surprises were over - they gave me a Kindle and a Vera Bradley case for it.
I felt so so special that weekend- nothing is better than hanging out with your 4 adult kids- 2 awesome daughter-in-laws and 4 grand kids.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Fundraisers and helping others
I've been trying to share the fundraisers that some of my online friends are having. I wanted to thank you for taking a look, maybe ordering or just sharing the post about the fundraisers. I can remember when I worked I would be overwhelmed at all the fundraisers that were happening, and sometimes felt obligated to buy. Just wanted to let each and every one of you know - I will never know if you bought something or not. -
no obligation, no feeling bad !
A little information about Madison (Amanda Woodard is her mother) She has Spinal Muscle Atrophy - she lost her ability to swallow at age 10 months. Recently Amanda posted a video of Madison using her 1st switch toy - her mommy holds the device which looks a lot like a snow cone only larger - the snow cone part is a globe that has lights that will spin if Madison squeezes the little switch in her hand. And she was able to make it spin 4 times on the video -
And some information about Mandy Rhodes- She and her husband are adopting 2 orphans from overseas that have Down's Syndrome. Her fundraiser is to raise the 30,000 for the adoptions. They already have 2 bio children and feel called to adopt these boys.
Most important is please PRAY for these families.
no obligation, no feeling bad !
A little information about Madison (Amanda Woodard is her mother) She has Spinal Muscle Atrophy - she lost her ability to swallow at age 10 months. Recently Amanda posted a video of Madison using her 1st switch toy - her mommy holds the device which looks a lot like a snow cone only larger - the snow cone part is a globe that has lights that will spin if Madison squeezes the little switch in her hand. And she was able to make it spin 4 times on the video -
And some information about Mandy Rhodes- She and her husband are adopting 2 orphans from overseas that have Down's Syndrome. Her fundraiser is to raise the 30,000 for the adoptions. They already have 2 bio children and feel called to adopt these boys.
Most important is please PRAY for these families.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Old people coupon also
I was shocked to see how many "old" people were in line at Beall's last weekend. Beall's emailed me a $10 off $10 or more purchase and I went with my daughter to get a "Gator" shirt for watching the game. Well, I'm old - 57 - but these people were older than me and they had HANDFULLS of the $10 off coupon. I had printed 1, thinking that was the rule - but some old lady in the 15 people deep line said - honey you need to go copy that coupon - there is a place right across the street. HMMMM - tempting - then she went on to explain that yesterday the cashiers were letting you use as many $10 off $10 coupons that you had in separate transactions, but "today" they were only letting you do 3 transactions - then you had to go to back of line. She had 9 boxes of K-cup coffee - on sale for $11.99 - she was bragging $1.99 for each. So let me also tell you there were 3 sets of 2 cashiers and each had lines 15 deep. I'm always the line stander when we shop on Black Friday, I hold the place in line and my daughter and daughter in law's shop and bring it to me. So I'm standing near the Tervis cups in line and wishing I had the time to go copy some of my coupons - so another line-stander - hears this "old lady" tell me to go copy mine - I said I don't have time to - she says well I used 15 yesterday and this is the last of what I want - so I will give you what is left - WOW ......
she gave me 4 more - so I got out of line and went shopping - I bought a box of sweet southern ice tea K-cups for 1.99 - and a couple infant toys - My daughter bought 2 "Gator" shirts and a pair of "Gator" shorts the shorts were on sale from $40 to $24.99 then $10 more off - the shirts were $20 - on sale for $12 - then $10 more off - When it was our turn at the register - I asked the cashier before I used them if we were allowed to copy and use several coupons and she said yes, all day yesterday they had people with 10 or more holding up the line - so the only rule "today" was only 3 transactions per person then you had to get back in line. Amazing cheap shopping day !
she gave me 4 more - so I got out of line and went shopping - I bought a box of sweet southern ice tea K-cups for 1.99 - and a couple infant toys - My daughter bought 2 "Gator" shirts and a pair of "Gator" shorts the shorts were on sale from $40 to $24.99 then $10 more off - the shirts were $20 - on sale for $12 - then $10 more off - When it was our turn at the register - I asked the cashier before I used them if we were allowed to copy and use several coupons and she said yes, all day yesterday they had people with 10 or more holding up the line - so the only rule "today" was only 3 transactions per person then you had to get back in line. Amazing cheap shopping day !
Friday, September 2, 2011
What is left of Ryan's truck
I would like to start out saying God watched out over my son, it is a miracle that he walked away with only 2 scratched knees, couple small burns from air bag deploying and soreness. His truck bed shifted forward kinda off the frame - What you cannot see in this picture is the broken windshield with the indent of my son's head :(
The Lincoln looks worse. The easiest way to describe it would be - had he hit the front passenger door - his bumper would've been touching the driver - BUT he hit the back passenger door - it actually pushed the "car" off the frame. We've been unable to get anymore information about the man in the car, at the hospital we heard he had some broken ribs - please keep praying for him, but we don't know his name, it is on the police report which isn't ready. The man driving the Lincoln was ticketed.
So here's what happened:
My son was driving east on a very busy 6 lane highway (3 east/3west) - speed limit is 45 - the man was coming west and had pulled into the turning lane to go south into his development - he did not see my son's truck and turned smack dab in front of him - Ryan tried to stop, it was lightly raining, but even in the best conditions there is no way he could've stopped his truck even going 25.
Accidents happen - sometimes there is just no way to avoid it -
The Lincoln looks worse. The easiest way to describe it would be - had he hit the front passenger door - his bumper would've been touching the driver - BUT he hit the back passenger door - it actually pushed the "car" off the frame. We've been unable to get anymore information about the man in the car, at the hospital we heard he had some broken ribs - please keep praying for him, but we don't know his name, it is on the police report which isn't ready. The man driving the Lincoln was ticketed.
So here's what happened:
My son was driving east on a very busy 6 lane highway (3 east/3west) - speed limit is 45 - the man was coming west and had pulled into the turning lane to go south into his development - he did not see my son's truck and turned smack dab in front of him - Ryan tried to stop, it was lightly raining, but even in the best conditions there is no way he could've stopped his truck even going 25.
Accidents happen - sometimes there is just no way to avoid it -
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
A friend told me about Pinterest
My friend Brittany from Testosterone Tamer told me about a great place to organize my "findings". It is called Pinterest - it works very similar to bookmarking a page, but it is really a virtual bulletin board. The really cool thing is if I'm trying to show my daughter or daughter in law some ideas for recipes or decorating, instead of having to click on each bookmark - now i have a bulletin board that they can look at - then we can click on the link for any that we want instructions for. I am hooked - I've only been Pinning a few days but I think it is an awesome site. If you wanna take a look - click on follow me on Pinterest or you can go there directly at www.pinterest.com. So if you want an invite just let me know.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Bad Dream Catcher
My 4 year old granddaughter has bad dreams. Her parents have tried all kinds of ideas to re-assure her that they are only dreams and not real, but she's not buying it! So one night I was babysitting and had to go all around the room and scoop up all the bad dreams into my hands and throw them out the door. The next day I was at my favorite Dollar Tree and VOILA a bad dream catcher! (A.K.A. butterfly net)- so now before her parents kiss her goodnight - they wave the bad dream catcher around the room and it's been days since she had a bad dream.
Why I coupon #2
I love trying new products (until I find one I love) and having coupons to discount the cost of the new product is awesome. Not too long ago there was a $2 off the Benadryl Itch Relief Stick - which costs $2.29 at my Walmart and Target. My out of pocket was 29 cents. I LOVE THIS STUFF ! I will buy it even without a coupon - I even tested it on myself to see if it actually stopped the itching because the kids are all under age of 4 and sometimes can't vocalize what I want to know. You do have to rub it across your skin to get the roller moist - but once it is moist a couple rolls and voila - the itching subsides. For a couple BIG bites I had to roll it on again after about 10 mins - but that one had raised up big on me before I could get to the roll-on stick.
Just so you know - the mosquitoes in my area are on high alert when my grandchildren are headed for the door. The mosquito lookout texts all his/her friends to let them know a feast is coming out the door, because these sweet kids walk out the door and instantly have at least 2 bites. We do have spray on stuff for them when they are headed out to play, but when going to the car it seems like they should be able to walk 14 steps to car without having to have on bug spray - since riding in the car with that stuff on them just seems icky. I have one of these sticks in the diaper bag and one in my purse!
Just so you know - the mosquitoes in my area are on high alert when my grandchildren are headed for the door. The mosquito lookout texts all his/her friends to let them know a feast is coming out the door, because these sweet kids walk out the door and instantly have at least 2 bites. We do have spray on stuff for them when they are headed out to play, but when going to the car it seems like they should be able to walk 14 steps to car without having to have on bug spray - since riding in the car with that stuff on them just seems icky. I have one of these sticks in the diaper bag and one in my purse!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Stockpiling
Thru my couponing, I've been able to build a little stockpile of FUI (frequently used items). For us, Charmin toilet paper, paper towels, Safeguard soap, Ivory soap, razors, shave cream, Dawn dish soap, toothpaste and All laundry soap. I know it sounds like "brand snob" but allergies have determined what products I can use. As for the Charmin, I like it best so I get that!! I really don't stock up too much food, I've really not mastered rotation so it doesn't expire - there are food items that I'll get if on sale and I have coupons ...and it is a product I use! As for an Extreme stockpile - I don't have one.
We live in a tiny house, and had to really pull out some creative ideas to store the tp and paper towels. I have a tiny hallway - with 3 doors - bedroom and little closet opposite of each other and bathroom on one side - so my husband measured and cut a board and we have it above the door frames - so it is supported on 3 sides - I intend to paint the bottom of the board white so it blends in with ceiling, but for now - my stockpile is out of the way.
In the little closet are small clear totes with lids to store the razors. I found one of these at goodwill http://www.organizeit.com/large-expandable-wire-shelf.asp?cmpid=SLI. I stack washcloths under it and toothpaste and shave cream on the top shelf - along with the triple antibiotic cream from Dollar Tree. Yes, dollar tree, works just as well as neosporin and only cost $1.
My friend Brittany at http://testosteronetamer.blogspot.com/ showed me this: http://pinterest.com/pin/119901199/
so now I'm on the hunt for 1 or maybe 2 - wouldn't that be great for hair clips, brushes, detangler spray for a little girls room!
We live in a tiny house, and had to really pull out some creative ideas to store the tp and paper towels. I have a tiny hallway - with 3 doors - bedroom and little closet opposite of each other and bathroom on one side - so my husband measured and cut a board and we have it above the door frames - so it is supported on 3 sides - I intend to paint the bottom of the board white so it blends in with ceiling, but for now - my stockpile is out of the way.
In the little closet are small clear totes with lids to store the razors. I found one of these at goodwill http://www.organizeit.com/large-expandable-wire-shelf.asp?cmpid=SLI. I stack washcloths under it and toothpaste and shave cream on the top shelf - along with the triple antibiotic cream from Dollar Tree. Yes, dollar tree, works just as well as neosporin and only cost $1.
My friend Brittany at http://testosteronetamer.blogspot.com/ showed me this: http://pinterest.com/pin/119901199/
so now I'm on the hunt for 1 or maybe 2 - wouldn't that be great for hair clips, brushes, detangler spray for a little girls room!
Why I coupon
I've been retired 5 years now, and making ends meet takes a little work. Couponing has helped me stretch my money further. I shop a LOT at Publix - I love Publix - it is always clean and fully stocked - 99% of the cashiers are friendly and helpful. I take mom shopping every Sunday and she gets annoyed if I follow her around, so I set up my binder and work a few deals while I'm there. Publix has store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer's and if something is on sale - I've gotten some awesome deals. One this week - Mento's gum - is BOGO - (save 3.29) well you can use a coupon on each - so I have 2 - $1 off coupons - so 2 - 50 pks of gum will be 1.29 - how great is that :)
So, from time to time I check up on mom and pull out any coupons for the stuff in her cart.But sometimes I miss knowing about a BOGO item, as the cashier it ringing mom up, she/he will say Oh this is BOGO and will ask the bagger to go get another item for mom. Now that is great service!
My daughter and 2 daughter in laws have now started couponing also. We try to get together Sundays to go thru the sales ads, clip the inserts and match the coupons to the things we are getting from the ads. It is exciting for me to see them save money and very helpful because they tell me of some of the deals I have missed.
So, from time to time I check up on mom and pull out any coupons for the stuff in her cart.But sometimes I miss knowing about a BOGO item, as the cashier it ringing mom up, she/he will say Oh this is BOGO and will ask the bagger to go get another item for mom. Now that is great service!
My daughter and 2 daughter in laws have now started couponing also. We try to get together Sundays to go thru the sales ads, clip the inserts and match the coupons to the things we are getting from the ads. It is exciting for me to see them save money and very helpful because they tell me of some of the deals I have missed.
Hurricane Irene NOT COMING
Ahhhhh sigh of relief ! Irene has set her path on New York. Just praying now that it moves a little more east so it doesn't tear up North Carolina/Virginia with her winds.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Hurricane Irene coming
It's been a couple years since a hurricane really threatened our area. Wow I dread it ! Gas is so expensive and the dang generator uses 5 gallons every 12 hours - ugh. We do have the shutters that we just have to slide into place and screw down with their handy dandy spiffy screw down things ( not sure of their name!) We were lucky to get most of the shutters from the trash! yes people throw them out when they upgrade to roll down shutters - But mom's house is all windows and despite buying plywood numerous times for her windows (one of my brothers) always finds a use for the plywood after the storm - Seems like storing it away numbered would be the best thing to do - but no one listens to me there.
Then there is food - and batteries - ice -gas for the grill - deck of cards - put flashlights in handy spots - candles and matches in bathroom. When we put the sliding shutters on our front windows we wisely purchased 2 clear shutters so we get a little sunshine in and we can see out so someone (me) doesn't open the door to see what's happening out there. I do get claustrophobic so the clear panel will help with that. The oddest thing is almost all of the hurricanes that have forced us indoors - have "hit" during the night- so we can't see all the scary stuff - just hear it. Just praying the wind pushes it off our coast a little more so we only get some rain.
Then there is food - and batteries - ice -gas for the grill - deck of cards - put flashlights in handy spots - candles and matches in bathroom. When we put the sliding shutters on our front windows we wisely purchased 2 clear shutters so we get a little sunshine in and we can see out so someone (me) doesn't open the door to see what's happening out there. I do get claustrophobic so the clear panel will help with that. The oddest thing is almost all of the hurricanes that have forced us indoors - have "hit" during the night- so we can't see all the scary stuff - just hear it. Just praying the wind pushes it off our coast a little more so we only get some rain.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Buying grandchildren presents on a budget
Christmas is rapidly approaching and many of us grandparents are struggling on our budgets now. I have a tote box that I put in a handy spot to store some of my gifts. So here's some ideas for you:
JC Penney's mails out $10 off of $10 purchase cards - I've used that to purchase PJ's, decorative pillows, cute little purses for the girls / boys are a little harder but how about PJ's, some of the pillows can be for boys, many shirts for girls and boys are within the $10 range.
Kohls also mails out $10 off $10 purchase cards - they have a few counters of toys both for boys and girls - many are around the $10 range. Today I scored a Cinderella and Prince poly pocket style dolls - it was 12.99 on sale for $10.29 - so I paid 29 cents plus tax.
Target has great clearance sales on toys - many games were just on clearance for as low as 4.99. I do take the time to read about the game before buying it as I'm gonna be the one stuck playing it. Guess Who has proved to be my 4 yr old granddaughters favorite game along with a Curious George Discovery Beach game.
Sports Authority has sent me 2 different sales ads in the mail and wahoo .....inside were $10 off any purchase cards - which I scored free Nike socks :)
Disney Store also does some great sales - I usually find them thru Hip2Save.(see below)
Before you do the next step, I suggest you make another email address for yourself that you will use for giveaways, alerts and emails from blogs. I keep one for my personal emails so that it doesn't get clogged with junk mail. I follow a couple of blogs: Hip2Save, Slickdeals are 2 of them. I signed up for Tanga emails- I was recently able to purchase 2 little kits for in the car with tire pressure gauge, a pen and something else in a nice little case - it was free - I had to pay shipping - (from Tanga) - Hip2save is very popular and the deals go quick - but I've gotten some great deals - Slickdeals post a lot of the deals a few minutes before she does, but I sometimes find it hard to follow. So far with the deals, I've gotten Woman's Day for mom ($3.99, All You magazine for me (11.98), and a National Geographic Jr (for $7) magazine for my granddaughter and Taste of home magazine also for $4.99. All were year subscriptions and when the deal comes around again I'll get for my daughter in laws and mom for Christmas. There are men's magazines also that come up fairly cheap.
I also follow My Frugal Adventures on facebook. Many and I mean a lot of business have facebook pages now and do giveaways. I've scored free Aussie shampoo and Herbal Essence shampoo recently. They mail you a coupon and you go to the store of your choice
Til next time happy inexpensive shopping
JC Penney's mails out $10 off of $10 purchase cards - I've used that to purchase PJ's, decorative pillows, cute little purses for the girls / boys are a little harder but how about PJ's, some of the pillows can be for boys, many shirts for girls and boys are within the $10 range.
Kohls also mails out $10 off $10 purchase cards - they have a few counters of toys both for boys and girls - many are around the $10 range. Today I scored a Cinderella and Prince poly pocket style dolls - it was 12.99 on sale for $10.29 - so I paid 29 cents plus tax.
Target has great clearance sales on toys - many games were just on clearance for as low as 4.99. I do take the time to read about the game before buying it as I'm gonna be the one stuck playing it. Guess Who has proved to be my 4 yr old granddaughters favorite game along with a Curious George Discovery Beach game.
Sports Authority has sent me 2 different sales ads in the mail and wahoo .....inside were $10 off any purchase cards - which I scored free Nike socks :)
Disney Store also does some great sales - I usually find them thru Hip2Save.(see below)
Before you do the next step, I suggest you make another email address for yourself that you will use for giveaways, alerts and emails from blogs. I keep one for my personal emails so that it doesn't get clogged with junk mail. I follow a couple of blogs: Hip2Save, Slickdeals are 2 of them. I signed up for Tanga emails- I was recently able to purchase 2 little kits for in the car with tire pressure gauge, a pen and something else in a nice little case - it was free - I had to pay shipping - (from Tanga) - Hip2save is very popular and the deals go quick - but I've gotten some great deals - Slickdeals post a lot of the deals a few minutes before she does, but I sometimes find it hard to follow. So far with the deals, I've gotten Woman's Day for mom ($3.99, All You magazine for me (11.98), and a National Geographic Jr (for $7) magazine for my granddaughter and Taste of home magazine also for $4.99. All were year subscriptions and when the deal comes around again I'll get for my daughter in laws and mom for Christmas. There are men's magazines also that come up fairly cheap.
I also follow My Frugal Adventures on facebook. Many and I mean a lot of business have facebook pages now and do giveaways. I've scored free Aussie shampoo and Herbal Essence shampoo recently. They mail you a coupon and you go to the store of your choice
Til next time happy inexpensive shopping
The Power of God and Praying Friends
I accidentally stumbled across something that hurt my heart, not only for me, but my husband. He often tells me he was an unwanted child and adult, and I have to say the adult part I've seen the unwant, not only for him but for myself and our children. I pray and pray and hope that someday his heart will not hurt. As for my discovery, I texted a friend and asked her to pray for me - that I would not reach out and open a can of worms. To just let it go and get on with life. MINUTES ..........JUST MERE MINUTES AFTER HER PRAYING.............I calmed down and was rational. and the message to me was what good would come of stirring it up. You cannot take possessions into Heaven - you love someone and remember them in your heart. <3
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Donate what you didn't spend today
There are so many families that have crossed my path the last year and most need some kind of help. I only have a little bit to offer, but you know what - that little bit is just a little bit more than they had.
Today I will donate what I didn't spend buying myself a new binder, the one I have is just fine - and the $12 is getting donated to a family adopting 2 little boys from Eastern Europe that have Downs Syndrome and are in an orphanage. The whole time I was drooling over the binder, I just kept thinking about Mandy and her fundraising efforts.Here is the link to her blog: http://findingourlittleone.blogspot.com
Last week I mailed 2 $5.00 Target gift cards that I received for purchasing razors! These went to a family who's daughter has SMA - It is small amounts I know, but grandma is on a budget - and just think if 10 of my friends sent the same 2 $5.00 gift cards that cost them nothing - She would have $110 in gift cards. Today I found out she could use iTunes gift cards. Her daughter watches movies on the Ipad2 - that her parents download from iTunes. Now I'm hearing some of you say .........Ipad2 ......wow. SMA - is all I can say. My niece had that - she lived 4 months. She could not move - not her fingers, toes, head - only her eyes and her little lips would sometimes form a smile My niece could not swallow so she had a feeding tube and so does this little girl. When I see pictures of my friends baby, I see the love and care that went into her room and the little outfits she looks so cute in - and I think how brave my friend is - because hidden in the background is all the medical equipment necessary to make the baby's life easier. Her mommy does not complain and I think to myself, I complain about packing and carrying the diaper bag - how lame is that! Special chair, special carseat, special oxygen along with the diaper bag ......... (I need to stop complaining)
This little girl was born - May 5th - the same day as my grandson. He walks, and climbs, and eats and talks and cries and laughs - This little girl lays on her back on the bed with her head propped and watches the movies. I hope I have not upset my new friend talking about her but she is a wonderful mom and deserves any break she can get ............ If you wanna send gift cards - please let me know <3
Today I will donate what I didn't spend buying myself a new binder, the one I have is just fine - and the $12 is getting donated to a family adopting 2 little boys from Eastern Europe that have Downs Syndrome and are in an orphanage. The whole time I was drooling over the binder, I just kept thinking about Mandy and her fundraising efforts.Here is the link to her blog: http://findingourlittleone.blogspot.com
Last week I mailed 2 $5.00 Target gift cards that I received for purchasing razors! These went to a family who's daughter has SMA - It is small amounts I know, but grandma is on a budget - and just think if 10 of my friends sent the same 2 $5.00 gift cards that cost them nothing - She would have $110 in gift cards. Today I found out she could use iTunes gift cards. Her daughter watches movies on the Ipad2 - that her parents download from iTunes. Now I'm hearing some of you say .........Ipad2 ......wow. SMA - is all I can say. My niece had that - she lived 4 months. She could not move - not her fingers, toes, head - only her eyes and her little lips would sometimes form a smile My niece could not swallow so she had a feeding tube and so does this little girl. When I see pictures of my friends baby, I see the love and care that went into her room and the little outfits she looks so cute in - and I think how brave my friend is - because hidden in the background is all the medical equipment necessary to make the baby's life easier. Her mommy does not complain and I think to myself, I complain about packing and carrying the diaper bag - how lame is that! Special chair, special carseat, special oxygen along with the diaper bag ......... (I need to stop complaining)
This little girl was born - May 5th - the same day as my grandson. He walks, and climbs, and eats and talks and cries and laughs - This little girl lays on her back on the bed with her head propped and watches the movies. I hope I have not upset my new friend talking about her but she is a wonderful mom and deserves any break she can get ............ If you wanna send gift cards - please let me know <3
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Looking Down
I would like to start out by saying I'm not bragging - I'm challenging you to Look Down.
Gary and I went to Walmart Thursday evening - it was a later than usual shopping adventure - to look for a shirt for me - now I know why............it was for my birthday surprise trip (more about that later). I had casually mentioned that I liked a pink shirt I had and wished I had bought the blue one - he says well where did you get it- I said Walmart - he's like lets go. So for those that don't know - at 7:30 in the evening - Gary does not jump up and say let's go 'anywhere' LOL - I should've been suspicious - but instead I was thankful for his willingness to go with me. No shirts that I really liked, but we wandered around to get a few other things. At one point we passed the shoe department- and had to pass a man in his 30's trying on shoes - he was dirty and smelly, but was trying on work boots and politely let us pass him in the aisle. We headed for one more department then headed to checkout - and there was the shoe stranger again - ahead of us in line. It was at this point that I looked down - to a man with one shoe and one foot with only a sock and the cheapest pair of sneakers in the store in his hand. The lady ahead of him was in a courtesy wheelchair cart - and he unloaded her cart for her when he saw her struggling to do so herself - gently placing her bananas and other fruit on the checkout counter. As he was doing that - I whispered to my husband to look down - afterwards our eyes met and he pulled his money out of his pocket and I silently agreed. He started talking to this man about the weather and rain and such - and the guy says yes that is why I'm here, the glue on my other shoe could not hold it together anymore - so I had to throw it out and come her for a pair. Gary asked if he believed in God, he did , Gary asked would you like this (and handed over his little pocket bible). He got a little teary eyed and said are you sure you want to give me your little bible - Gary says yes, I'll get another. ..........but along with the bible he passed him $10, not a lot of money, but a lot to someone without any. The guy said thank you sir - it has been a rough month, my girlfriend had to go into hospital with food poisoning from eating a 2 day old hamburger - I begged her not to eat it but she was hungry. With this I can get her something that won't be spoiled. OH MY GOSH We take so much for granted - just as the lady in the wheelchair was finishing off her transaction, Gary whispered can we buy his shoes too. WELL OF COURSE. So he offered and you know what the guy did????? He said that would be so nice of you and pulled out the $10 that Gary had given him just 5 mins prior and said here sir you can have this back, I'll use the shoe money I was going to use for the shoes to get some food.
This is not the 1st time we have had the opportunity to share shoes with someone- there have been other times, the one that sticks out the most is years ago at McDonalds. It was around Christmas, so cold out (Florida cold) the manager was telling a homeless man he had to leave because he didn't have shoes on. My husband says hey can you wear size 9 - the homeless man says sure - right there in McDonalds he took his shoes off and gave them to the homeless man - then says what did you want to eat - I'll buy it for you. The manager was speechless, but the sad thing is - he didn't tell my husband he had to leave because of no shoes.
So my friends, I challenge you to LOOK DOWN - does the person have shoes?
Gary and I went to Walmart Thursday evening - it was a later than usual shopping adventure - to look for a shirt for me - now I know why............it was for my birthday surprise trip (more about that later). I had casually mentioned that I liked a pink shirt I had and wished I had bought the blue one - he says well where did you get it- I said Walmart - he's like lets go. So for those that don't know - at 7:30 in the evening - Gary does not jump up and say let's go 'anywhere' LOL - I should've been suspicious - but instead I was thankful for his willingness to go with me. No shirts that I really liked, but we wandered around to get a few other things. At one point we passed the shoe department- and had to pass a man in his 30's trying on shoes - he was dirty and smelly, but was trying on work boots and politely let us pass him in the aisle. We headed for one more department then headed to checkout - and there was the shoe stranger again - ahead of us in line. It was at this point that I looked down - to a man with one shoe and one foot with only a sock and the cheapest pair of sneakers in the store in his hand. The lady ahead of him was in a courtesy wheelchair cart - and he unloaded her cart for her when he saw her struggling to do so herself - gently placing her bananas and other fruit on the checkout counter. As he was doing that - I whispered to my husband to look down - afterwards our eyes met and he pulled his money out of his pocket and I silently agreed. He started talking to this man about the weather and rain and such - and the guy says yes that is why I'm here, the glue on my other shoe could not hold it together anymore - so I had to throw it out and come her for a pair. Gary asked if he believed in God, he did , Gary asked would you like this (and handed over his little pocket bible). He got a little teary eyed and said are you sure you want to give me your little bible - Gary says yes, I'll get another. ..........but along with the bible he passed him $10, not a lot of money, but a lot to someone without any. The guy said thank you sir - it has been a rough month, my girlfriend had to go into hospital with food poisoning from eating a 2 day old hamburger - I begged her not to eat it but she was hungry. With this I can get her something that won't be spoiled. OH MY GOSH We take so much for granted - just as the lady in the wheelchair was finishing off her transaction, Gary whispered can we buy his shoes too. WELL OF COURSE. So he offered and you know what the guy did????? He said that would be so nice of you and pulled out the $10 that Gary had given him just 5 mins prior and said here sir you can have this back, I'll use the shoe money I was going to use for the shoes to get some food.
This is not the 1st time we have had the opportunity to share shoes with someone- there have been other times, the one that sticks out the most is years ago at McDonalds. It was around Christmas, so cold out (Florida cold) the manager was telling a homeless man he had to leave because he didn't have shoes on. My husband says hey can you wear size 9 - the homeless man says sure - right there in McDonalds he took his shoes off and gave them to the homeless man - then says what did you want to eat - I'll buy it for you. The manager was speechless, but the sad thing is - he didn't tell my husband he had to leave because of no shoes.
So my friends, I challenge you to LOOK DOWN - does the person have shoes?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Finally I hear God
So for most of my adult life, I've heard people remark that God told them this or that. I never heard God speak, not in my head, out-loud or in my dreams and felt maybe, just maybe he had nothing to say to me! But in this last year, there is no other explanation but God had his hand on stuff.
I have a very touching story of how he used me, but can't post about it quite yet. But I will tell you of another time.
I need to preface this with my mother is 84, and although I have a living sister and 3 living brothers, one of which lives with her, all her care is up to me. I make and take her to all doctor appts, hair appts, and grocery, order her prescriptions, pay her bills and unfortunately have watched her slowly and now more rapidly slip into Alzheimer's. It has not formally been diagnosed, but I know it either that or Dementia. My youngest brother that lives with her can only borrow the neighbors car when he needs beer or go out on his boat. Although he is a mechanic, he decided he couldn't fix his car and junked it!
So my only request to my mom is to please let me sleep late on Saturdays since Mon thru Friday I babysit my 3 grandbabies ages 14months, 22 months and 4 years old from 7 am til 7 pm. So one Saturday she started calling at like 8am, the reason for her call, she wanted to go get the prep stuff for some test that I didn't want her to have.(she called 3 times in less than hour) The test was not even scheduled since 2 days earlier she was in hosp with BP 229/112. Both her cardiologist and I felt too soon after that to go thru "cleansing" for some gastro test. Mom and I had talked about it and she knew she was going to wait, but on Saturday morning, she decided she needed all the stuff so when appointment was scheduled she would have it. I tried to explain to her that she didn't need it yet because test not scheduled and when it was - we would go get all items she needed and put them in a special place so she would have them (Gatorade, Popsicle without red dye and some crap she had to drink) So some of you might be thinking, well just go get the stuff to ease her mind - because if I did the 16 yr old son of my youngest brother would drink the gatorade and eat the Popsicles as he has never been taught some things are off limits or my mom would drink the gatorade which has too much salt for her which would cause other issues.
So after 3 phone calls, I gave in said fine, I'll come take you to get the stuff, I'm on my way. I will not lie, I was mad - mad cause I couldn't sleep late, mad because I'm the only one taking care of her, mad because she is slipping away into her own world and there is nothing I can do about it. So I'm driving down road, mad and talking to myself, when outta the blue as I'm passing a palm tree, I see a palm frond come detached from tree in slow motion and "float" down BOOM right onto my car. I couldn't get outta the way, but I will also say I had no idea how heavy those things are. Well I kept driving, but immediately I am now mad about my car and that dang palm frond thinking it had scratched my car.
And in that instant I got it - like God was saying want something to be mad about - BOOM - how about this - stop being mad at your mom for waking you up, and your brother for not stepping up to help and the Alzeimer's - be mad because this palm frond just screwed up your car. I pulled into my mom's driveway and tried to get outta the car to go get mom and the door wouldn't open easily - I had to really shove it open and I looked at my car and the entire bumper and part of door looked like an elephant had rammed my car. It wasn't a little scratch it was a FLAT bumper instead of a pretty curved one. And that interfered with my door opening. I do thank God that the dang thing didn't crash into my windshield and kill me, because then who would take care of my mom?
So the next morning my husband calls the city, because the palm tree was on their property - guess what the guy told him ................The palm frond falling is an act of God --- the city is not liable. Yep even he knew God was talking to me.
So my husband and son banged out the huge dent and the door opens now - it is not as pretty as before, but a daily reminder to me that I need to be more aware of what I'm mad about.
I have a very touching story of how he used me, but can't post about it quite yet. But I will tell you of another time.
I need to preface this with my mother is 84, and although I have a living sister and 3 living brothers, one of which lives with her, all her care is up to me. I make and take her to all doctor appts, hair appts, and grocery, order her prescriptions, pay her bills and unfortunately have watched her slowly and now more rapidly slip into Alzheimer's. It has not formally been diagnosed, but I know it either that or Dementia. My youngest brother that lives with her can only borrow the neighbors car when he needs beer or go out on his boat. Although he is a mechanic, he decided he couldn't fix his car and junked it!
So my only request to my mom is to please let me sleep late on Saturdays since Mon thru Friday I babysit my 3 grandbabies ages 14months, 22 months and 4 years old from 7 am til 7 pm. So one Saturday she started calling at like 8am, the reason for her call, she wanted to go get the prep stuff for some test that I didn't want her to have.(she called 3 times in less than hour) The test was not even scheduled since 2 days earlier she was in hosp with BP 229/112. Both her cardiologist and I felt too soon after that to go thru "cleansing" for some gastro test. Mom and I had talked about it and she knew she was going to wait, but on Saturday morning, she decided she needed all the stuff so when appointment was scheduled she would have it. I tried to explain to her that she didn't need it yet because test not scheduled and when it was - we would go get all items she needed and put them in a special place so she would have them (Gatorade, Popsicle without red dye and some crap she had to drink) So some of you might be thinking, well just go get the stuff to ease her mind - because if I did the 16 yr old son of my youngest brother would drink the gatorade and eat the Popsicles as he has never been taught some things are off limits or my mom would drink the gatorade which has too much salt for her which would cause other issues.
So after 3 phone calls, I gave in said fine, I'll come take you to get the stuff, I'm on my way. I will not lie, I was mad - mad cause I couldn't sleep late, mad because I'm the only one taking care of her, mad because she is slipping away into her own world and there is nothing I can do about it. So I'm driving down road, mad and talking to myself, when outta the blue as I'm passing a palm tree, I see a palm frond come detached from tree in slow motion and "float" down BOOM right onto my car. I couldn't get outta the way, but I will also say I had no idea how heavy those things are. Well I kept driving, but immediately I am now mad about my car and that dang palm frond thinking it had scratched my car.
And in that instant I got it - like God was saying want something to be mad about - BOOM - how about this - stop being mad at your mom for waking you up, and your brother for not stepping up to help and the Alzeimer's - be mad because this palm frond just screwed up your car. I pulled into my mom's driveway and tried to get outta the car to go get mom and the door wouldn't open easily - I had to really shove it open and I looked at my car and the entire bumper and part of door looked like an elephant had rammed my car. It wasn't a little scratch it was a FLAT bumper instead of a pretty curved one. And that interfered with my door opening. I do thank God that the dang thing didn't crash into my windshield and kill me, because then who would take care of my mom?
So the next morning my husband calls the city, because the palm tree was on their property - guess what the guy told him ................The palm frond falling is an act of God --- the city is not liable. Yep even he knew God was talking to me.
So my husband and son banged out the huge dent and the door opens now - it is not as pretty as before, but a daily reminder to me that I need to be more aware of what I'm mad about.
Birthday Week, can't wait for Social Security
Yesterday started my Birthday week - soon I will be 57 and only 5 more years until I can apply for Social Security. I think that if the politicians change the rules of SS - they should be willing to support the senior citizens personally.
So I know this might not be popular, but anyone that knows me, knows I say what is on my mind. Why in the hell are they building a spaceship that costs billions of dollars to go to somewhere we have already been? We've been there, can't live there, and unless they are planning on sending all child molesters and murderers to orbit the moon forever I see no reason to waste "our" money.
Many seniors can't even buy food - I have to help my mom buy her groceries - how do you look at an 84 year old lady and say sorry your SS money is gone this month you can't buy that.
So I know some will say - well you are going to take SS early - so "I" am also placing the burden on the system ! I have worked since I was 14, I didn't have the choice of not paying into Social Security. My family is living off my husbands off/on job. Sometimes he works 8 hours sometimes 40 in a week - it is random. So I withdraw money from my 401K to pay the monthly bills (electric, water, gas, gas for car and food).
Our savings plummeted with the economy! We are thankful that we paid off our house and own it free/clear.
I guess I should start writing the Florida Representatives as they prepare to sheer off our debt. I'm thinking Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman should be appointed to that committee also.
That's it for now
So I know this might not be popular, but anyone that knows me, knows I say what is on my mind. Why in the hell are they building a spaceship that costs billions of dollars to go to somewhere we have already been? We've been there, can't live there, and unless they are planning on sending all child molesters and murderers to orbit the moon forever I see no reason to waste "our" money.
Many seniors can't even buy food - I have to help my mom buy her groceries - how do you look at an 84 year old lady and say sorry your SS money is gone this month you can't buy that.
So I know some will say - well you are going to take SS early - so "I" am also placing the burden on the system ! I have worked since I was 14, I didn't have the choice of not paying into Social Security. My family is living off my husbands off/on job. Sometimes he works 8 hours sometimes 40 in a week - it is random. So I withdraw money from my 401K to pay the monthly bills (electric, water, gas, gas for car and food).
Our savings plummeted with the economy! We are thankful that we paid off our house and own it free/clear.
I guess I should start writing the Florida Representatives as they prepare to sheer off our debt. I'm thinking Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman should be appointed to that committee also.
That's it for now
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