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.

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.

My Daughter And My Car!

My Daughter is recovering from 2 surgery’s she had in the past month, and struggling to go to be able to get up and go to work. I knew she wasn’t going to have any money there for a while after her last paycheck, and she didn’t want to dip into savings at all until she had turned 18. So there for a few weeks she had been penniless, so I had given her allowance’s for doing some chores around the house so she’d be able to get some things she needed to go back to work, for example; black pants and black shoes for work, shower accessories, and other little things she needs or wanted to get.

Well for the past week she has been wanting to see her boyfriend and constantly wanting to borrow my car to get him for the day so they can spend some time together. It was fine with me for a few days but it started to get the point where it was everyday, and it wasn’t until a few days ago she had stopped borrowing my car all of a sudden. She had just given me a few dollars today and said it was for the gas she burned in my car. Which I now think of her as an adult now for meeting her responsibilities in paying back the money she had owed me. I’m glad she works for what she wants, instead of her thinking she can live for free. I’m very proud of her now, she is going back to work tomorrow and now stable on her feet again, ready for her normal everyday life again.

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!

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.

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.

 

Niece Is Doing Great In Texas

Uplogix is headquartered in Austin, TX and my niece has just landed a position as an office secretary with the option of being promoted if interested and qualified in a short time frame, it is a growing company and urges their employee’s to grow with them. Since she has moved from home a few years ago and ended up in the great state of Texas, she seems to be flourishing, I hear nothing but good positive things about this young lady that I miss terribly since she has moved so far away. She and I were very close during her childhood, I am her favorite aunt and I adore her as if she was my own.

She always did great in school, almost a straight A student and very knowledgeable about computers and various other technical stuff that I have absolutely no knowledge of what so ever. I always knew that she would be an independent women who would go far and make a difference in this wacky world.

So now it seems that she is working at a company that deals with Solaris security and she proudly sent me the link to their websire  where I have learned that they are revolutionizing remote management they work by combining the localized control and survivable connectivity of a console server with the intelligence of an enterprise software solution, which in turn delivers you secure management.

Boy do I feel under qualified when I was cruising through their very technical site, I’m sure my niece will fit in perfectly there and they are very fortunate to have her, she is eager to learn and eager to live, I hope that they treat each other well and with respect due.

 

Awesome gift giving idea – Hot Air Balloon Rides

I have always had an interest in Hot Air Balloons, I have several hot air balloon figures and paintings around the house. Hubby and I just missed an opportunity to purchase a genuine one for a very low price years ago and have kicked ourselves in the rear several times since than. Hot Air Balloon Rides are not as rare as they were back then either, now a days there seem to be Hot Air Balloon festival and events in almost every state somewhere.

During the summer and autumn months is when you get expect to see the majority of balloons in the air and I love it when at certain  times we can even see one or two when we are out and enjoying the backyard.

There is a website that my parents sent me called www.xperiencedays.com and they have listings and listings of adventures for sale. Interesting and fun ideas for you to experience ranging from cruises, horseback riding, air combat, drag racing, hang gliding and tons more of the coolest ways to have fun or relax. Every package is designed for the first timer which is a major plus! My parents are thinking of giving us a gift certificate that can be used to attend my dream of taking a ride in a hot air balloon at a place that is locating very near to were they have moved to in Florida, since retirement. I’ve got to tell mom that this is a great idea and I love the website that she sent me and will share it with many others I’m sure.

I am definitely going to bookmark this site for further investigation and use.

Real Estate App

This goconnect real estate app would have been a welcomed checklist tool back in the day when I was in the real estate business. I saw what was going on with our economy and ducked out while the pickens were good. That seems like a life time ago, but it really was only since 2007 when I stopped working full time and decided to stay home with the kids. Hopefully when the kids are both out of school and out of the house, the economy will have lifted up and read estate agents can get back to work and make a good honest living.

With all of the technology that still coming out there will be a lot more great tools that I can take advantage of when the time comes. I’m sure a lot of things will be different, but I think it will all come back to me, much like riding a bike!

My Parents Make Friends Where Ever They Go

Since my parents retired and moved to Florida, they have had no problem meeting people and making friends, they are both very out going and lovable people that enjoy being around other people, I’m always getting email from my mom telling me about her newly made friends and her last email was no different.

She tells me how they met a very nice lady while playing golf one afternoon and she and my mom hit it off right from the start, and since then they have met her husband and my dad has fast become his best buddy. They all have very much in common and have been doing all kinds of things together since first meeting up.

florida golfing
Golfing In Florida