Category: Friends

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Alternative Schooling

A good friend of mine since Junior High school days keeps in touch by email, which is great, it works out real good, no more long distance phone bills that put a damper on talking much by the telephone and we can share so many things via the Internet. She just sent me an update of her always very hectic life down in North Carolina.

She has been married four times, maybe more, I lost count. And she has four sons that have given her lots of grandchildren that she is so proud of, they are a close knit family and they all live pretty close to one another, which I think is great! Four generations of them all within about 45 minutes from each other.

Well it seems that one of her son’s wife has a teenage son from a previous relationship, that is giving them one heck of a time and they have decided that they are going to send him to a boarding school that is located in Tucson, Arizona, that is a heck of a long drive to go to school. She was telling me all about their situation, all of the things that they have tried with little or no success which is so frustrating I’m sure, and she also sent me the link to the school fenster-school.com so that I could check it out also, which I thought was funny, but I checked it out anyway.

The poor boy has some mental health issues and refuses to take his medicines regularly  and the schools there in North Carolina (at least the part that she lives in) don’t think that they can help him anymore.  They say that what he needs is a more caring & disciplined structured  school so that he can really focus and achieve his academic success. He lacks motivation and bucks authority to the extreme.  They (the N.C. schools) provided them with the resources that were needed in locating some boarding schools that they could check out. And the Internet certainly helps now a days in researching things just like this.

I wish them all luck.  And I hope that she keeps me posted on their progress.

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The Junior Prom This Year

It will be nice to see my daughter and her current boyfriend all dressed up for the Junior Prom, at the end of the year. We have already been looking at dresses, shoes, handbags and all of the other accessories that it takes to dress up all formal like. He has been looking at various tuxedo vests to match the color of the dress, when my daughter finally makes a decision on her dress, which better be soon. He has a lot to do himself for this big event.

This will be fun. I never got to go to any of the formal dances back in my high school years, so this is all so new and exciting for me. Never thought that I would be one of those mothers that gets all crazy during these memory making moments. And to think this is only the Junior Prom. I can’t imagine what all is involved with next year’s Senior Prom although I’m sure there will be a limo some how involved.

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What’s For Dinner Mom?

I just went to the grocery store yesterday, but today it seems as if we don’t have a thing in the house that anyone wants to eat.  The kids are eating us out of house and home, both are just consuming huge amounts of food, I can’t keep up.  The oldest has become picky, which is so unusual for her, so used to eat just about anything and was willing to try new foods with no problem, but in the past year something has made her harder to please.

The youngest has always been a very picky eater from day one.  It is getting harder and harder to plan a meal that everyone enjoys.  She is pretty good about trying new things, but it is unfortunate that 99% of what she tries, she doesn’t like and makes a most horrific face to let you know how much she doesn’t like and doesn’t appreciate having to try it in the first place.

So tonight I will be fixing Sloppy Joes, I make it from a recipe that I got from a very close friend back in Jr. High School, it was her mother’s and I have been making it for a very long time, and no one has ever not liked it.  And I can tell you that a lot of people in the past 30 years or so have eaten them with great satisfaction.

I wish her mother was still around so that I could tell her about her recipe for this most wonderful Sloppy Joe sandwich which has brought pleasure to lots of folks.  I think she would get a kick out of hearing about it.  I miss you Mom Crawford!

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Something Cool

Something is getting popular now a days with all kinds of folks are having business cards printed up so that you can distribute them to who ever you choose to give them to. And with an offer such as “Free Business Cards” you can bet that my oldest daughter is ready to order.

She found a website called unlimitedbusinesscards.com and they advertise unlimited supply of free business cards AND free shipping.  You have to register to get access to the site which takes a few minutes but so many sites require this that you can practically do it in your sleep!

It seems that they can afford to offer these free because advertisers pay them to have their ads on the back of the free business cards, what a cool idea. They are what I call “Killing 2 birds with one stone”. It is an interesting proposition that they offer: After you fill out the form, your business card will become a product that our advertisers can choose to advertise on. Once we get 3 advertisers to advertise on your business card we will email you a link that you can use to upload your artwork or design your business card online choosing from over 13,000 templates. And they want you to agree to distribute all of your cards in a years time – interesting.

I actually registered and put in an order for some cards for Hubby to use and we will see how it goes from there, after we check them out I will allow our daughter to order some, free is a good amount to pay – I’m sure you would agree.

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The Missing Cutting Torch

Today started normal enough, at least until hubby went out to the garage to retrieve his cutting torch to lend to a neighbor, and it was no where to be found. I don’t know exactly why he would think that anyone here at the house would go out and take it or move it, but his voice is getting louder and louder, clearly showing his frustration at not being able to find this cutting torch. I wouldn’t know what to do with a cutting torch and I sure didn’t lend it to anyone, nor did I sell it to anyone.

When hubby is in a bad mood it really effects the whole family. Everyone walks around on egg shells and the air is so think that you really could cut it with a knife. All we can do is stay out of the way and pray that he finds the darned thing so that we could move on to bigger and hopefully better things to do around here. And the neighbor will just have to wait or find someone else that has one to borrow. Lord knows that we can’t afford to run out and buy a new one. Christmas bout did our wallets in this year!

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Singing The Flat Tire Blues

Our oldest daughter still doesn’t have her own car, so I end up allowing her to use my vehicle to do her running around in.  Most of it is to run errands, she doesn’t use it to joy ride around in, for the most part.  She is a good driver, when ever we go somewhere together in my car I have her to the driving, and I tell you that she is a good driver and I am with her a lot.

The one thing that she needs help with is knowing and taking the shortest way there, and that drives me crazy because I go the way that is the shortest and quickest because I am always in such high demand and in a hurry trying to get everything done for everyone, I mean, I’m a working mom on a mission.

A friend of hers called last night (he just got back from serving in the military, somewhere in Japan) and he really needed a ride home from an ASAP meeting so I allowed her to borrow the car so that she could do that.

This morning I wake up to hear Hubby asking me if I knew that my car had the spare doughnut tire on it, ugh – what a way to start the morning!

It appears that after dropping her friend off she was on her way home and there was a large rock in the road and she run over it. So called the friend and he and his Dad came and put the doughnut on it for her and then she came home. It was late and she didn’t wake us up to tell us about the flat tire.

Well she is now out running around getting a new tire and having it in put on my car so here I sit with no vehicle to do my errands in. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. But first I have to make it through this day. We have Parent/Teacher conference this evening at the youngests school and then I go directly to work and get off at 9:15 tonight. Wish me luck!

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Online Banking Solutions

Well the “Pink Stuff” was hit at my sister’s house this afternoon, we had a nice time with the dozen or so of the family that were able to attend, my eldest daughter decided to go with me at the last minute, which was nice. We really had a nice time during the drive down, listening to music and laughing together. I had her drive because she still doesn’t know the way to her aunt’s house enough to get there by herself if need be some time, she is a good driver and it gives me time to look around at the scenery for a change instead of focusing on the road and traffic and such.

One of my brother’s came with his wife that is such a doll, we don’t get to see her very often so I made sure and took the time to visit and chat with her as much as I could. She caught me up to date with her attempt of starting up her own business that is keeping her super busy and worn out physically and mentally. She is working with a company called Northern Trust that she hooked up with on the Internet, that has assigned her a financial advisor that she thinks very highly of and is trusting him to guide her in these important financial decisions in the opening her very own florist boutique.

All of the paperwork involved is tremendous so she is happy doing the majority of their business online and has even started up her business checking account and is talking about retirement plans already with her personal “Relationship Manager” from Northern Trust.

It is good to see her so excited and up beat about the whole thing and is keeping a sense of humor and I hope that it all works out well for her. It will be great to be related to a florist.

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A New Recipe From The Red Hat Society Cookbook

Tomorrow I am driving down to my sister’s house, where there is going to be several of my family members and friends gathering to visit with her son, who is home from college for a short time. Everyone has been asked to bring a side dish or two. I am baking some brownies and trying a recipe that my sister sent to me some time back that is taken from the Red Hat Society Cookbook, pg 276, so I’m told.

I made this delicious fruity desert called “Pink Stuff” and put into two different containers to refrigerate, one container to take tomorrow and one for Hubby and the kids to try tonight to see if it came out all right, being it is the first time that I have made this recipe. Well it sat in the refrigerator for only 45 minutes when it was discovered by one of the kids, word got out  and now it is all gone, just like that. Well at least I know that it tastes good and should be a hit tomorrow. I’d like to share the recipe with you.

“Pink Stuff”

  • 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 container (12 oz) Whipped Topping, thawed
  • 1 can (20 oz) Cherry Pie Filling
  • 1 can (15 oz) Crushed Pineapple, well drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) Mandarin Oranges, drained
  •  Red food coloring – a few drops, optional

Stir together the condensed milk and whipped topping in a large bowl, and then fold in the cherry pie filling. Then you fold in the pineapple and oranges. If you want a deeper pink color, add a few drops of red food coloring. Refrigerate at least 4 hours prior to serving.

 

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Memory Foam Pet Beds

It is never easy to see your pet(s) aging. There are so many health issues that come along with owning any type of pet throughout their whole life span, but when they get so old that you can see how they are suffering, it is a real bummer. Our 9 year old Pug is starting to show signs of aging and the pain that goes along with that. I have done all that I can for him, even purchased memory foam pet beds to make it more comfortable for him during his waking hours.

There are a bunch of great deals online for pet beds and I would encourage anyone who owns a pet that is in pain, for what ever reason to go ahead and purchase a memory foam pet bed for them as well.

memory foam pet beds
Solid Memory Foam Pet Bed – Suede Cover
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The Perfect Fence

Perfect for any setting, SimTek Fences are a great vinyl fence alternative, Its strength and durability help it to stand up against the toughest abuse, including repeated hits from a baseball hurled at over 90 mph. Unlike other imitation stone fences, the SimTek decorative backyard fence features the look and feel of natural granite stone. Its absolutely perfect for my home and as well as my business At home it provides a sleek and comforting look, as well as it being sound proof which is perfect for my family get together’s which are always so very loud and messy from all the fun the games the entire plays and dinner with loud music playing.

My neighbors haven’t complained once yet ever since I got a SimTek Fence. Unlike a concrete wall the SimTek Fences they offer are basically maintenance-free. Their fencing requires no painting or sanding, and it is actually graffiti-resistant, and its easy to just spray it all off quickly with a high pressure washer.