A Solution to Life's Craziness...

As a Mom, I never seem to have enough time in a day. I get up, get the kids ready for their days, feed them, dress myself and we head off to school and work. I spend 6 hours every day at work while the kids are at school taking my lunch break to pick up me kindergartener and taking her to daycare after her school day is done. Then I pick her up, pick up the other children and head home to clean, cook dinner and start our bedtime routine.

Somewhere in there I am supposed to be finding time for me. Time to exercise, time to relax, time to enjoy life. Needless to say, It doesn't always work that way.

My poor husband is no exception. He works an 8 hour day, has a 2 hour, round trip commute and comes home to his enormous "honey-do" list. The poor guy has tons of household duties awaiting him, a motorhome he needs to fix, his parents he needs to help move and a gigantic house waiting for him to rewire it top to bottom. I wouldn't blame him if he called a plumber, and electrician and a motorhome towing company and just got rid of it all. And yet, he just keeps trudging along, trying to get it all done. All the while trying to find time for himself as well.

So here is my solution to it all.... I'm going to Disneyland!

Stand by your man, Keep him healthy

Women, most of us take a daily multi vitamin of some kind. Some have calcium, some, like mine are stress relief assistance and some are a well rounded general health type. We know it's important to keep ourselves healthy and we know that most of the time we do not have the time or energy to eat what we need to to get those vitamins we need.

However, our men eat what we eat. So if we are not getting the proper nutrition, neither are our men! So how many of you bought a men's multivitamin for your sweetheart last time you were at the drugstore?

It's just as important for them to stay healthy and keep their energy up. After all, we need them! Who else would move the furniture for us to vacuum, kill the bug in the bathroom at 1am or knock out the wall when we get the wild idea to remodel. We need them to be healthy, and just like our children, they depend on us to keep them that way.

Natural Detoxification....

It is always important, especially in today's world of high calorie, high fat, high preservative foods, to help our bodies flush out all of the unnatural things we put into them. Your kidneys for example need lots and lots of water to flush out all of the chemicals and minerals that build up in them. Your colon, or large intestines, need regular treatment to flush the toxins they retain.

WebMD states, "The practice of natural colon cleanse dates back to ancient Greece. In the United States, cleansing the colon -- the large intestine -- became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. But when the theories behind it lost support, it fell out of favor. Recently, though, colon cleansing -- using, for example, teas, enzymes, or colon irrigation -- has experienced resurgence"

It is now highly believed that the toxins found in your body can cause all types of illnesses such as fatigue, exhaustion, naseaus, pain, cramping, headache and weight gain. One of the main theories behind detoxifying your body, dates back centuries to the belief that undigested foods, minerals and vitamins cause buildup in areas of the body. The buildup creates toxins that are then released back into the body and are rapidly absorbed into the blood by the very nature of where they are stored.

So I would think that a regular, natural detoxification of your body would be very beneficial to your overall health and well being. Natural detoxifications can be done many, many ways. Anything high in antioxidants like grape juice and green teas are a great way to help your body on a daily basis. And for those who are believers, many religions believe in fasting as a religious practice, however, God would never lead you astray! Fasting regularly is a wonderful way to give your body the chance to flush out all the toxins it's keeping. And a water flush is another great way to flush your body, especially your kidneys.

Take some time to find out which option or options would be best for you and try it. See if you can give yourself that boost you need.

I want your opinion...

I have been seeing alot of appetite suppressants being advertised lately, tons of appetite suppressant reviews that you can never be sure legit, and I am wondering if any of them actually work. I want to hear from people who have actually tried them and I want to know your results. Did they really suppress your appetite? Did you lose weight? Did you find yourself binging after they wore off? Did you find the side effects to be too much to handle? What are your experiences? I want to start an open conversation about appetite suppressants, complete with your experiences, thoughts, warnings and praises. So please, let me know what you think. Leave your comments below and lets start a discussion on this.

Why kids are better than 1 hour on the ellipticals...

Why having kids is better than spending an hour on the ellipticals...

#1 Laundry, Breakfast, Shopping, Cleaning, School Program, Dance Practice, Soccer Game, Football Practice and finally bedtime....

#2 "Why did you draw on the wall with permanent marker?!?" Scrub, scrub, up and down, up and down, scrub, scrub

#3 "You let the dog off it's chain?!?" "Here puppy, puppy. Here puppy, puppy" "No! Bad puppy! Don't run away from me!"

#4 "You had a crayon in the pocket of your jeans and I missed it?" Take the clothes out of the dryer, scrub, scrub, scrub.

#5 Kitchen cleaned, on to the livingroom. Livingroom cleaned, on to the..... What have you done to my clean kitchen!?!?

#6 Disneyland? Seriously?!? How about the beach instead?

Natural Eczema Treatment

I have long been a huge promoter of the wonderful health and wellness benefits of Coconut oil and here is yet another wonder benefit. Coconut oil works as a healing agent as well as a wonderful moisturizer so for those of you with eczema, try this.

Take a teaspoon of Coconut oil, mix it with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. After washing your hands with soap and water, massage the coconut oil and sugar mixture over the area affected by eczema. Rinse the mixture off and pat dry. Massage with another 1/2 teaspoon of plain coconut oil and pat dry with a soft towel. You will instantly feel the difference!

Wintertime Blues

It must be wintertime. I know this because my father just returned from Arizona. He was down there looking at Phoenix and Scottsdale foreclosure homes. He always seems to get the wintertime blues just about the time the inversion starts to settle in and he starts thinking that the grass is greener somewhere else.

But the good news is that soon the inversion will lift, the sun will find itself closer to the earth and melt the snow and he will start to get cabin fever and I mean that in every sense of the word. He's building a cabin up in the woods and he can't wait to get up there to play!

I Want to Win a Wii

I am very excited. Today my boss announced that the top seller will win a Nintendo wii with the Guitar Hero upgrade. Now, I'll admit, I do already have a Wii, but I do not have the Guitar Hero nor do I have a Wii that I can use. Every waking minute at least one child is on our Wii.

So if and when I win the Nintendo Wii from work, I will put it in my newly cleaned craft room and they will NOT be allowed to use it! Wahhhhhahahahah!!!!

I Hate Computers!!!

I work all day on a computer. These lovely little POS systems are supposed to make our lives easier, however for all their bells and whistles, they are inherently irritating! They never work the way you want them to, their programs can only work one way and a simple change can take six weeks to create, test and install, followed by another six to twelve weeks of troubleshooting and "bug fixes".

Well, at work we are in the six to twelve weeks of troubleshooting, "bug fixes" and hair ripping! I can't seem to get through a single order without needing technical support to finish it out. Considering I work partially on commission, this is negatively affecting my bottom line here people!!! Can't I just take the orders by hand???? Pretty, pretty please!?!

Job Market Woes

Is the job market really that tight right now? I would have to say yes. I was laid off for the first time in my entire working career in July and I did not get back to work until December. A full 6 months without work. And I normally find work really easily!

Of course, I'm not typically doing a Construction job search in the middle of winter, but typically I can find a good paying job, quickly and easily.

My brother is the same way and yet, he has been out of work for nearly 9 months. So, unless you are content flipping burgers at McDonald, Yes, the job market is tight.

But the sun is on the horizon. It is getting better and as long as we can all ignore the dreadful, creator of bad news, "the media", and continue to live our lives, spend our money and do our part to strengthen the economy, then things will just get better and better.

Have you ever heard of Destin Florida?

I have traveled many places and been to many, many cities. Destin Florida however, is one I had never heard of. Recently, I was reading about top destinations in the United States for Scuba, Fishing, Beaches and Relaxing. Destin Florida came up as one of the top destinations. Having never heard of the place, I decided to do some digging. Here's what I found:

There are beachfront destin florida hotels that offer breathtaking views, emerald waters and untouched natural beauty in a relaxing environment.

In October, they have their annual Seafood Festival to kick off their annual Fishing Rodeo ( I have never heard of such a thing!).

They have the state's largest charter fishing fleet and the the nation's largest designer outlet center according to their Visitors Information.

Sounds to me like I need to take a trip to Destin Florida and see how this new (to me) destination, stands up to some of the amazing places I have already been.

San Diego Area Hotel

This last week I had the opportunity to visit the San Diego area on a business trip. Part of the purpose of that trip was to site hotels. Over the duration of the trip we saw a combimed 70 hotels in the San Diego/Anaheim areas. But one in particular stuck out in my mind.

It could have been the beautiful bathroom faucet and vanity area, it could have been the sharp black and white color scheme. Most likely however, it was the historic value of the property. It is on the National Historic Register of Hotels so they have to have a certain amount of nostalgia in the hotel. They pull it off beautifull with light sconces lining the hallway walls, decorated with sepia toned pictures of the hotel and surrounding area, as it used to be.

The hotel itself is beautifully and timelessly decorated with black furniture and contrasting white bedding packages, giving the historic hotel a very modern appeal. The rooms are spacious enough and yet perfectly cozy for a couples retreat.

They are situated in the heart of San Diego city, giving you the impression of a bustling metropolis, a stark contrast from your usual bay, beach and sand ideas of San Diego.

If you get a chance to take a trip to Disneyland this year, I would highly suggest taking a couple days and heading to San Diego. Take a trip to the World Famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World and spend some time on the beach. And if you are a History Fan, like me, make time to visit the USS Midway. It was commissioned 1 week after the end of World War II and stayed in commission until 1992 when it was decommissioned and later made into a floating museum.

Christmas Shipping Woes

I have to be the worst family member anyone has ever had. I don't send out Christmas cards, I seldom buy gifts for anyone but my immediate family and when I do I never seem to get it shipped out in time if at all!

Take for example the tiny little nativity I picked up for my sister while I was in Hawaii... It's just a teeny little thing but I got it for her because I know she collects nativity's and it is very different from anything I had ever seen. I was actually pretty excited about. But did I get it shipped intime to arrive for Christmas? Of course not! All I had to do was shove it in a small flat rate shipping box, drop it off at the post office and away it goes. Can I manage that? Why no, I can't! What a horrible person I am.

But for what it's worth, I'm sorry Sis! I did get you something and eventually I am sure I will see you and give it to you. Merry Christmas anyway! Love ya!

The One Stop Shop

I was out Christmas shopping today and I decided to stop at the dreaded Wal-Mart. I call it the dreaded Wal-Mart because a) I always spend well over $100, b) noone ever smiles and c) you see some of the strangest people ever!

But of course I spend well over $100 every time I visit. They have everything! You can find food, bicycles, automotive repair supplies, tires and even equestrian apparel. You name it, they probably have it. Not to mention the scored and scores of people you see there! Now if you really want a good laugh, visit www.peopleofwalmart.com. It will frighten you!

Weight Loss Clinics

Around the country there are thousands of weight loss clinics like the austin weight loss clinic. They pop up on every corner in all major cities, just like a disease. But on the other hand they are helping to fight a disease. Obesity is getting to be a very destructive disease in the US. Something like 75% of the population is unhealthy and overweight. That's actually a very disturbing number, but even more disturbing when you look at the fact that only 30% of thge population is actually doing something about it. The rest are just sitting around, eating there McDonald's Quarter Pounders and sucking down their fries, just waiting for the heart failure to happen. Wake up people!

Did you know...

My ex-Father in law took a trip to Egypt a few summers back. While he was there, he was told that there are real, certified diamonds just lying there in the sand. He spent many days sifting through the sand and brought me back three, small sized sand diamonds. They were a yellowish color and perfectly polished by the sand. I have tried a few times to have them cut but it has always been to expensive. So I still have these three little yellowish rocks that I am not really sure what to do with. But the thought was nice. Has anyone else heard anything about these Sand diamonds?

My Baby Brother is now a Married Man!

My baby brother got married last night on the beach in Maui. It was absolutely beautiful! THe wids was blowing which kept it cool, the waves were crashing and the sun was setting. My brother looked amazing in his pink tuxedo vest and black slacks. Carli was absolutely stunning in a black and pink gown, not traditionall I know, but the whole wedding was un triditional to our mainland cultures. The preacher blew a conkle shell horn to announce Carli's decent onto the beach, they had a sand ceremony and a Lei ceremony. The whole thing was perfect and so perfect to their personalities. And I now have an amazing new sister in law!

A Woman Scorned

I thought this was one of the funniest stories I have heard in a very long time. It's a joke that was told to me when I was going through a divorce and it just really hit the spot for me.

A lady and her husband lived together in a beautiful mansion, over looking a lake. With a beautiful winding driveway and flowerbeds surrounding the home, it was a dream come true. However, one day the woman came home to find her husband in bed with a 20 something bleach blonde. Now this woman was not by any means stupid. She knew that she did not have a job, although the house was completely paid for, she could not possibly afford to kick him out so she played it cool, filed for divorce and in the settlement she let him have the house with the agreement that a.) when he sold it she got 1/2 of the equity and b.) she could have one more night alone in the beautiful house before his mistress moved in.

To make for a speedy divorce, her husband agreed to her terms. So on the night following the divorce, she made herself a beautiful dinner of shrimp and wine, lit a candle and dined.

But as she was cleaning up she started placing the tails of the shrimp and other leftovers in the curtain rods, under the carpet and in the tv stand. Then she turned out the lights, locked all the doors and smiled as she walked herself to the car.

The next day her husband moved his new bride to be in to the luscious house and they started their new life together. But before long, a rotten smell began permeating from every corner of the house. The new bride scrubbed the walls and floors, washed the drapes and scoured the whole house, but to no avail. Before long she could not stand it any longer and demanded that he sell the beautiful home. However, with the smell permeating the entire house, he had alot of trouble getting any interested buyers. He lowered the price and lowered the price until it was selling for less than houses a tenth it's market value. Finally, it seemed a miracle, he received an offer from an anonymous buyer for the very low price he was asking. His brand new marriage already on the rocks and his new wife threatening to leave, he was glad for any buyers and he accepted the offer.

The stress of his divorce, his new marriage and the house had ultimately cost him his job and he was struggling to make ends meet. He bought his new bride a moderately priced home in a downtown suburban neighborhood and since this was not what she had bargained for, the marriage ultimately ended.

The wife on the other hand, who had been the anonymous buyer, took her half of the equity from the sale of the house and went through the house, removing all of her carefully placed treats and cleaning the house thoroughly. She turned around and sold it for market value, bought another elegant although slightly smaller house on the lake and used the equity from the re-sell of the home to live luxuriously until she found another man who loved and adored her and took care of her every whim.

The moral to this story is: Never underestimate the wrath of a woman scorned!

The Bridal Shower

Seldom do I walk into a house and find myself spell bound. Saturday was the exception. Now, most houses I visit are beautiful, exqusite even gorgeous, this one can only be described as spell binding. It was huge from the oversized wood and glass entry doors to the modern furniture, to the custom made, dark mahogany entertainment center and matching round dining table that expanded to seat up to 26.

The baby grand in the entryway happened to be a player piano that emited the most beautiful tones, filling the room with a glow of it's own. The fireplace was floor to ceiling rock with the opening being at least 6 feet under the easily 20' high ceilings. Even the furniture was oversized, but then it had to be not to be dwarfed by the size of the room.

The kitchen hosted a full granite counter and center bar with sinks in three places. The stainless steel fridge was flush mounted into the wall and featured two full size doors and the dual cooktops and matching built-in, head heighth stoves gave the impression of a grand catering company.

Upstairs featured a master bath, complete with jetted tub, flat screen LCD television and his and hers walk-in closets. Multiple other bedrooms littered the second level, but the kicker here was a 90 ft by 20 ft room, simply for the childrens playthings. There was a pool/pingpong/foosball table in one end and anothe LCD flatscree in the other surrounded by a wooden play kitchen, pint sized recliner chairs and a myriad of toys. One the return to the main level one had to walk along what can only be described as a catwalk type hallway, fully carpeted with beautiful, ornate railings, that opened to full view of the main level sitting area. The basement was unaccessable to us as it was a 3000 sq. ft. appartment for the lady of the houses' daughter.

The grounds, from what I saw of them were spectacular and the home itself is just about everything I could ever want in a home. As a side note, the lady of the house has 6 children of her own, married her husband who brought with him 4 children and they adopted 6 more for a total of 16 children who are now all grown and married with children of their own. 27 Grand children to be exact. So family get togethers are seldom small and the expansive room is necessary to accomodate everyone. All I can say is I wish I had her Husband's job!

If he won't do it.... then I will!

Now please don't get me wrong, I love my husband dearly and I appreciate all that he does do, however, I can get really frusterated at times over the stuff he DOESN"T do. And I do understand and sympathize with the fact that he has just SO much to do. My biggest problem of all is that he gets frusterated when I do it. It's not that he thinks I can't do it, he just thinks that I have enough of my own stuff to do and he gets embarrassed that he didn't get around to it.

Granted, I do have plenty of my own stuff to take care of without adding his to do list as well, but sometimes things just need to get done. So today, I did it.

I took the furnace motor that he repaired back to my mother's house and re-installed it in the furnace. Works like a gem! Then I went to Home Depot and bought my own caulking gun, a tube of high quality caulk and a couple of caulk removal and installation tools. I have since come home and removed the old caulk from the tub and cleaned it up so now it's ready for new caulk.

This is all very new to me. I have never done this kind of thing before but this was important! Not only has the old caulk given way and allowed the shower to flood my office in the basement, but it is also leaking to the outside of the house which tells me it is causing more problems than just soaking my basement carpet! So I had to get it done. And besides, it's not like I am installing granite tile or anything, I am simply spreading caulk. It seems to be alot like some of my crafts. And so far, it has been pretty easy. I'll let you know how the rest goes later.

I am learning more and more about life insurance since my step-dad passed away. I can't believe that people really get Cash Value life Insurance. It just doesn't make any sense to me, but then I am not an expert in the field either. I just hear what the salesman wants me to hear. I am wondering what other people think about the matter. My question is why pay nearly 3 times as much for a 10th of the coverage. Granted, term life insurance gradually decreases in value, but later in life you are not going to need as much insurance as you do now. Right now I have a Husband and children that I stay home with. If I were to suddenly pass away now, not only would he be left with the funeral expenses and the loss of my mediocre income, but he would also be left without child care and that can be very, very expensive. The amount of Cash Value Life Insurance that I can afford would never come close to replacing the financial stability that I currently offer to my family.

Term life insurance on the other hand, from what I understand, is less expensive and offers greater coverage, more to the tune of what my family would actually need to replace me. term life insurance rates are much lower than Cash Value insurance but, the coverage gets lower as I age, then again, so do my expenses. My house should be getting paid off, my children grown and the cars paid. By the time I am "old enough" to pass on, I should not have many bills or expenses to leave my husband.

Is there something that I am missing? Something I do not know about? Please let me know your comments and feelings on the matter. I am just struggling with the fact that a mere $50K is not nearly enough to cover the costs associates with losing a loved one.

The Return From The Road

Just a helpful side note from my last post... when my friend found it time to return West to be with her Grandchildren, she also found it difficult to move a decades worth of stuff, gathered over time and needing to me moved quickly.

She spent alot of time looking into different options from U-haul to long distance moving companies. She found that the best option for her was moving pods. As strange as it sounds, moving pods are nothing more than steel boxes delivered to your driveway, into which you move your belongings at which point the company picks them up, tosses them on to the cars of a train and delivers them to a location near your new home.

She found that moving pods are an inexpensive and quick way to move your belongins long distances. No on the other hand if most of your belongings are antique and/or high value pieces, I would highly suggest you take the route of hiring a long distance moving company as they are licenses and insured to protect your valuable items.

Hit The Road

My friend, mother of 5 and avid homeschooler decided one day that it was time to go. Her kids had lived in Utah long enough and needed to see more. So she sold her home, found a used rv for sale, packed it up and hit the open road. She eventually settled in South Carolina where her family lived. She spent a good amount of time there before heading back this way to be with her oldest son and grandchildren.

Now my point in telling you this story is not to suggest that you dump your house and savings into buying an RV and heading out, but rather to suggest that you get out more. See more of what our beautiful country has to offer. We have Vermont with gorgeous leaves in autumn. There are the redwood forests and theme parks of California, the white sand beaches and exotic landscape of Hawaii and the history rich area of Washington DC, Virginia and Pensylvania. Then there are the 7 National parks right in our own backyard. Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands, All right here in Utah. Then There is Yellowstone and Grand Teton right next door. These are easily weekend trips and just as inexpensive as it comes when you go treking in an RV.

Rv's offer you the convience of taking your home with you. No need to eat out or pay for expensve hotel rooms. The biggest expense is the RV itself and the gas required to get it there. Way less than the cost of a single airline ticket!

But even if you go by car and stay in a nice hotel, just go! Take advantage of all God has given us to enjoy. Get out and Hit the Road!