Facebook is evil

Facebook is taking over the world. That's my excuse for not posting or even reading blogs for almost two months. Since no one has emailed me to see if I'm still alive, I guess I am the only one reading my site. No worries. It's always been my place to speak my mind and keep track of stuff.

Quick wrap up...............

Effective 11/12/09....I finally got a full time job with the State of Florida. After almost 8 years and then 3 months of unemployment, a Temp to Perm postion with another company....I finally got a job 15 minutes from my house....and with the STATE. WAHOOOO. It has been keeping me very busy, learning new stuff, trying to keep up with my family....not enough time to blog. Apparently I've missed some stuff on other sites, really out of the loop. I've got enough of my own stuff to deal with so guess they will carry on without my input.

Thanksgiving was really quiet. The kids were with their dad in SC so we had a super quiet day. I didn't cook anything..ended up getting a cooked chicken from the store and ate on it for several days.

BIG NEWS from the girl...she has been offered an internship from MTV in NYC starting the middle of January. Really excited and happy for her but very sad at the thought of her being so far away. I expected her to move away after graduation but this is 6 months sooner than that. Guess I'd better save my $$ for flights to visit her.

Christmas is a week away and I haven't gotten a single decoration up. ME, the Queen of Holiday decorations. My DH wanted to mow the grass before the outside decorations got put out and he has been sick so it didn't happen. I redid the garage to get to the decorations and then had to move a bunch of crap back in the way of the boxes so they didn't get into the house. Tons of excuses but I am determined to get some up this weekend. They may stay up still Easter after that.

My sister has been loosing a bunch of weight. Saw some pics from her Stiocking party the other night. Looking really good. Hope to see her in person soon.

There you have it....a bit of updating from a litle bit to tell.

Go back to Facebook and check out all the real news.

Til Later...................

,

Sailor Doll and the Karate test

I went to some yard sales on Saturday before my sons Karate test. Not really alot of stuff or time so after awhile I started heading to the Dojo. I turned down a street to get back to where I needed to be and I came across a sale. I figured I'd take a look around before I drove on. I found this little Sailor Doll on one of the tables.

He called to me.

My dad was a Merchant Marine. I know this isn't a Merchant Marine uniform (or maybe it is, I never saw a uniform and my dad wasn't an officer anyway)but I knew I had to have the doll. I asked the seller if she knew anything about it and she said it was old and she'd bought it at a yard sale or auction. I told her that my dad had been a Merchant Marine and that the doll was "calling" to me. She said, "AW, that is sweet that he reminds you of your dad". I surprised her when I told her :"No, actually my Dad was an SOB"....and then I started crying.

Crying, standing in a strangers yard, holding a dirty-old Sailor Doll.

I paid for the doll and left, probably leaving the woman to wonder about the freak that had just been at her sale.

Why did I have the reaction to the doll? The hat looks like one my dad had. It's no secret that my dad and I weren't close. He died in September over 14 years ago. My little sister and my niece loved him and mourn his passing.

Me, honestly-not so much. Maybe the tears are from that part of me that still wishes I did care more. Wished we could have had the kind of relationship Fathers and Daughters should have. Wished my kids could have had a grandfather from my side of the family.

His birthday is tomorrow (the 10th). Rest in peace dad.


Green best testing on Saturday went OK. My son made fun of me when I suggested he wear a certain item to protect a certain part of his body...until the Black belt instructor asked each of the guys if they had theirs on....LOL It came in handy during sparing later. Mother, DOES know best. We will not have the results until later this week. In the mean time, here are some pictures :

Surprise

No, it is not Friday again. Thought I'd drop by and make another post. It's after midnight on the 31/Nov 1st and I should be in bed. Since we get an extra hour, I figured I'd share my day.

You are welcome.


I had a pedicure appointment this am. I BADLY need my hair cut/dyed but my hairdresser and my schedules haven't been matching. We made several appointments over the next few weeks to get everything done. I wanted it all done today since it is my only Free Saturday for awhile but she was getting wisdom teeth out and wasn't going to feel up to it.

Fortunately for me, she didn't realize you can't eat before you have extractions. Appointment canceled! She called me last night to see if we could rearrange our appointment for next week since she is going to try her tooth issue again-then. She agreed to come into the shop this morning to cut my hair before my pedicure.

As soon as she started cutting my hair and saw the amount of grey....aka WHITE ...showing instead of the blond I pay her for, she agreed to stay and do the color today.

I ended up at the hairdressers from 8:30 am until 1:30 pm but I was a new woman when I walked out. If they had done make up and wardrobe, I really would have been.

Now I'm all set for another 6-8 weeks on my hair and a month on my toes. My credit card took a hit but it was worth it! As soon as I wash my hair a couple times and the real color comes through, I'll be happy again.

Tonight the Boy and I sat outside at our neighbors house to give out candy. The boy decided he was to old to go around begging for candy and agreed to sit outside with the old folks. He was the most talkative he's been in a long time. He really likes our neighbors and their dog so he was having a great time. He started missing the candy begging about midway through the night but the neighbors had GOOD candy and they kept letting him eat it so he was happy. I also bought him a few bags at the store today so he won't be deprived.

BTW, what is wrong with giving out small "tombstone" erasers with your candy? I'm just asking, not that I would buy them on clearance and save them to give out tonight. Just asking your opinion.

(I have a couple of them left if you are interested)

Til later....................go turn back your clocks in case you forgot.

Welcome to Friday again

Seems like the only time I can blog is on Friday night. Another week flew by!! Don't feel bad, I read a weeks worth of papers while waiting for the boy at Karate tonight.

Guess what was waiting for me when I got home tonight? Never mind, I really HATE that game.

I'll tell...It was my Pioneer Woman Cookbook. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you do not know who Pioneer Woman is, what rock have you been under for the past few years.? Check out the link on my side bar and get caught up. Soon the entire world will know about her and her fabulous Cookbook. This is no ordinary cook book, it is one that may actually make me start cooking. The food looks fantastic and the photography is stunning.

I had to force myself not to lick the pages!

I also got my copy of the Cookbook by the lady that used her crock pot everyday for 365 days. She is the reason I have two crock pots now. Her cookbook is not nearly as beautiful but the recipes sound delish!!

The best part about the cookbooks? They were FREE....including shipping. SWEET!

How you ask? I used my Swagbucks to buy Amazon.com gift cards. When I got $30 worth I cashed them in on the books. When you ordered $29 worth, shipping was free.

Excellent.

Don't know about Swag Bucks? You really have been under a rock. YOU can find out the details on my side bar. Sign up, use me as a reference and we both win. Use the Swagbucks search engines and win. Save your bucks and buy great stuff for FREE.

I'm going to go lick my cookbook again and then get some sleep.

Have a safe Halloween. Don't forget to turn back your clocks on Saturday/Sunday.

Til later.................

DRUM ROLL

The boy got his first report card as a High School er. His first report card of his permanent record that will help him get into a good college or one that is for Juniors...not that there is anything wrong with those colleges.....

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you remember the drama we've gone through with him and school. He's spent more time on restriction than off over the years.

Having said that....he made....all A's & B's!!!!!!

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I told him I was going to frame it.

He thinks I'm kidding.

I'm not kidding.


Lots of news around the blogging world. I'm trying to get caught up. If I've missed something I need to know, email me.

Set your tape/dvr for The Bonnie Hunt show for Monday...PW will be on there.

I'm hoping to have some news of my own soon.......

Til later..

Miss me?

Who would have thought that working for a living would be such a crimp in my blogging world? I really miss being able to update during the day. 15 minute breaks, 30minutes lunch...ARG!

Enjoying the cooler weather? Nice. Wish I could spend more time outside to enjoy it. I have a VENDOR event next Saturday nut by then it is suppose to rain. Darn!

My DH had a birthday since last time I checked in with you. Very low key..we went to the movies and dinner. The new Bruce Willis movie was pretty good. Depressing but good. I love Bruce movies so anything would be great. After the movie we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday Endless fries....should I say more?

Took the boy out to the movies yesterday. We started to see "Zombieland" but I chickened out. I really do not like gore or scary movies so we say a kiddy movie called " Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs". Shared a large popcorn and had fun.

Super exciting right? What do you have to offer?

Til later...............

Not paid by the word

Good thing I am not making my living as a Blogger. On the other hand, If I was, I'd have time to Blog.

Work is going well but it makes me exhausted by the time I get home. Monday and Tuesday after work are the only time I have to run errands so I usually don't get home til 7-8pm. WED-Friday I have to run home to get the boy to Karate and by the time it is over, it's 8-9 pm. Between that schedule and leaving the house at 7-7:15AM I don't have time to post. I can barely get on Facebook either so if you are a "follower"---you must be bored by now.

This weekend was the last free one for over a month. I have Southern Living at Home vendor events fr the next 5 Saturdays. (I have Sundays and some week nights available if you are interested in having a get together with your friends). Since we are approaching the holidays, I image my weekends are going to be quite packed for awhile. At least I got my Scrapper room done so I can scrap/craft if I ever have any free time.

My DH "ordered" me to take this weekend to rest and get ready for my up coming schedule. He brought me coffee and breakfast in bed on Saturday and I enjoyed catching up on some of my recorded shows. (Another problem..super busy and now ALL the new shows are on. Our DVRs are packed!!! LOL. Really sad isn't it?) About mid afternoon I started feeling guilty and headed outside to power wash the front walk.

Yes, POWER WASH the front walk ....which then turned into power washing the driveway...or at least half of it. Our front walkway was practically black with places of green. Really depressed me every time I got home. Now it is all nice and clean-grey again. I even got the front door wreaths changed from Spring to Fall. Finally!! I picked up some flowering vines from Lowes to put on the trellis's (spelling??) that have been sitting on the side of the walkway for months. I didn't want to plant them until after the sidewalk was clean so I did it. The plants didn't get planted but the walkway & front door look nice. It's a start.

Today I was spoiled again by my darling DH. I finally came out into the living /dining room area about mid afternoon to watch the Bucs with my DH. I finished straightening up the desk area and got the rest of the stuff out of the kitchen for the first time in 3 months. I checked another thing off my list so I don't feel too guilty for being a slug. My DH doesn't mind if I take time to rest so why do I feel bad?

I hadn't read any ones Blog for awhile and was amazed to see what had been happening around the cyber world. HI Everyone.

The fabulous Gail Pittman sale is over but they have announced another sale on our Gallery & Tuscan line. Go to my website and check it out....

www.southernlivingathome.com/hinton and let me know if you want anything. As always, things sell out so don't delay.

Til later..................

TGIF again

When you are unemployed Fridays don't mean the same. Everyday is Saturday. Not having Mondays makes Sundays more fun.

Today is my first TGIF since starting work again.

WAHOO!

I can't believe that my first week is over. Went really fast. Had a lot of boring parts but that's to be expected. I've been observing and that can be boring. I'm sure I'll miss these days soon enough.

I still don't have a badge to get into the office or other parts of the building. Think I should be alarmed? I would be except none of the new kids have badges yet. Maybe next week.

Looking forward to my first "weekend" in three months. Spending it with my boys. Gonna have fun.

What you doing?

Til later...................

Getting back in the groove

Did I mention I rearranged two rooms on Sunday? LOL. Seriously, what an interesting last two days I've had. Being out of work for three months definitely spoiled me. So far it's been all Orientation and getting to know the lay of the office. LOTS to learn. The office is very crowded but is much quieter than you would imagine with that many people. Let me share alittle.....

I didn't sleep well Sunday night. I felt like a little kid getting ready to go to a new school. 6:30 am came really early. I figured I needed at least an hour travel time to be safe so that gave me 45 minutes to get ready. I've got to tell you, it was much easier to jump out of bed, into the shower, get dressed and run out the door back in the days when I didn't care about my appearance. I'm trying to finally be a grown up so that means-new clothes (dressier), makeup, hair dried and jewelry to match the outfit. Takes much more time but I do look good! LOL.

I got to the office right when I wanted to and was surprised to see several other people waiting to start orientation too. By the time it started, there were 15 of us. We learned all about the company, got lots of information and then they fed us lunch. The afternoon was more information, a tour of the office and some other details. Got out at 5 and then ran some errands.

Today was spent learning about the phone system. It is all done through the computer/internet. Very little actual touching of the phone it's self. Pretty cool system from what I could see. This afternoon we were put out on the floor to sit with someone and see exactly what they do. My gal was fairly new herself but really quick on the systems. Unfortunately, quite a few of her calls were in Spanish so I didn't understand what was going on. Tomorrow I'm supposed to sit with someone else and get another prospective. The girl today said we will have several more training classes and alot more side-by-side listening. She said it took about a month before she was put on the floor alone.

The office does have a "community" computer that you can check your private email/banking-etc. With only 30 minutes for lunch and 200 people to share the computer time, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to check things and certainly can't blog or go to facebook. I'll do my best to keep in touch.

How you doing?

Til later......................

The week in review

I know some of you think I have been in hiding all week because my beloved Patrick passed away. Not entirely true. I was, and still am, sadden by another life lost to the horrible cancer but I've actually had a very busy-exciting week. For those of you that do not follow me on facebook, I'll try and bring you up to speed.

Monday I had an interview with a staffing agency. I'd never heard of it before but was told they were the hiring agency for a company I wanted to apply to. I had a 10 am appointment and ended up being there until almost 1pm. I filled out tons of paperwork, took MANY on-line aptitude tests and then took their drug test. (they asked if I wanted to do it while there and I said that since I'd needed to pee for several hours-it was as good a time as any). After we were all done they scheduled an interview at the company I was interested in for the next morning.

I treated myself to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes near by (Greek month-had to go before to late though I wasn't really impressed with their idea of "Greek"...no Baklava? What the heck???). Ran some errands and then finally went to IKEA since I was near by and STILL hadn't been there since they opened. I sped through but it still took an hour. I know where I am heading when I have some spare money and a truck with me!

Tuesday morning I had the job interview. Seemed to go well even though it was with a different person than I had been expecting. He asked a bunch of those "Mental" questions about how you handled things in a past job. YIKES. He even said he was looking for specific answers. Well....why don't you tell me what you want to hear and save us both time and stress? LOL. At the end of the hour interview, I asked when I might hear something and he said by the end of the week or even later that day. I called the recruiter and told her what he'd said and she said she'd call me as soon as she heard anything.

I decided since I had an appointment on the same side of town as the interview later in the afternoon, I'd stay on that side of town and "play". I had an eye doctors appointment and then I went to several of my favorite thrifts in South Tampa. I found something at one of the stores and ended up going to the "fancy" mall to see if it could be real (it's not) I quickly remembered why I do not go to MALLS and especially the fancy one. $700 for sandals and $400 for a tank top.

Seriously? Why? Even if I could afford those prices, I'd rather shop like I do now and take nice trips, help out other people, save for retirement....

After I calmed down from the sticker shock I headed to my Tastefully Simple hostess appreciation dinner/taste new stuff party. It was fun and the stuff was yummy. I finally got home 12 hours after I'd left that morning.

Wed I kept waiting to hear from the recruiter and was getting nervous. I sent her an email and didn't hear from her. FINALLY at 2pm she called. At first she sounded like she was going to give me bad news but then I realized she was saying they offered me the job. I start MONDAY.

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I'm a bit nervous and trying to wrap my head around having a job again after three months of looking. The location is a bit further from home than my last job but that will be OK. It's near some of my former co-workers homes so I'll be able to meet them after work sometimes so we can keep in touch. The job is in a call center so that will take getting used to as I haven't done that kind of work in 8 years. I used to be really good at it so I'm sure it will be Ok.

Thursday I took the day and went looking for some new work clothes at my favorite thrift and then at Kmart. I was very pleased to find 4 blouses at the thrift for a total of $10. At Kmart, they were having clearance and 40% off the clearance price. Sweet. I got four more blouses, a swim suit for next year, and a night gown for $16. I was also able to get my DH three pairs of his favorite kind of shorts for FREE. They were on clearance w/ the additional 40% off and I had a $10 rebate credit card from his Swiffer deal last month. I ended up paying .17 which included a drink for the boy.

I almost forgot my "exciting" event on Thursday...I finally went to a Storage Unit Auction. I've seen them advertised but have never been since they are usually during the week at Midday. I saw one advertised at my local place and went. I didn't buy anything but it was interesting.

Friday, I decided to treat myself alittle and use a bit of savings to get ready for the new job. I went to my hairdresser and got my hair cut...looks cute. Need to get the roots done but didn't want to spend three hours in the chair that day. After the hair cut, I splurged and got a pedicure. Haven't had one in years so my DH was very excited to see the little toes all painted again.

Next I went and got the oil changed, hit a local estate sale where I spent 1.25 and then I headed back to my old work place to have lunch with some of my peeps. I got to see several other people and they were all happy to hear I'd finally gotten a job. There were a couple people that had been trying to find me a job back at USF but it wasn't to be. I thanked them for their efforts and promised to keep in touch. While we were having lunch my DD dropped by the restaurant to say hello. Always so great to see her, especially with her busy schedule these days.

After lunch I filled up my car with gas, picked up a RX for DH and then took the car to the shop to get a Squeal checked. It had been making really scary noises for a few days so was afraid of what it might do. Turns out it was a loose belt from when they replaced them all many months ago. A few minutes and the car is back to it's quiet self.

Ran home to see the boy before he left for the weekend. Next up....back to Kmart for more shorts for the DH and then to Beall's to check out the Clearance and 40% off clearance and $10 off a $50 purchase. SEVERAL hours later, I had a new pair of pants, 4 pairs of earrings to match neclaces I got FREE from Premier, three new bras and a new pair of shoes for $40---out the door.

Funny (though not at the time) story about checking out at Beall's. After several hours in the store, a problem with the $10 coupon because ONE article was NOT included in the coupon and going back in the store to get different pants and another pair of earrings to make the needed total......my Debit card was declined.

Really? I've used it all day and I know there is still money in the account.....The manager suggested that it was declined because of the number of transactions in one day.

Could be. I know the bank probably said.."hey, this chick hasn't spent any money in three months and now she's had 5 transactions in one day, someone must have stolen it." Thankfully I had some money in my SLAH account and used that card.

Today I have been doing a little cleaning of the boys room and as soon as I finish this will head back to work on the rest and then the scraproom. Only one more day of free time. Sure wish I could have sat back and done projects the last three months instead of spending 12 hours a day, 7 days a week applying for work.

So, that is my week. What have you done? EMMYS tomorrow night. New shows have started. Football is in full swing and Nascar is down to the CHASE. Hope everyone is well. I'll try and post Monday night to tell you about my first day.

Til later.....................

BTW, just in case you remembered my new closet and the fancy hangers...yes, I know I've never shown you....patience.....anyway, my new rule is-when a new item of clothing comes in, an old article has to leave to make room (I only have so many special hangers and NO OTHERS can go in the closet). Thankfully I had items that should not be worn by a woman trying to impress her new boss and look like she is serious about her career. They were fine before when I really had no care about my appearance, but not now. I have $700 worth of FREE jewelry that I try and wear everyday (not all of it at the same time), I've been wearing makeup almost everyday (you can't go on an interview with my face and no makeup). I am trying to dress better. Really, you should see my new closet. Don't hate me because I have an entire new wardrobe for approximately $150 (including shoes).

See why I can't stand the thought of people spending $400 on a tank top. Foolishness I say!

Very sad

I usually don't make a big deal when a celeb dies. I'm old enough to remember when MANY famous people died or were killed before their time. I was saddened to hear about MJ but not surprised. I cried when Diana died. I was going through a divorce at the time so I may have been overly emotional, but it was very sad to see such a young woman die just when she seemed to finally be getting her life together after the "Prince" thing.

I am very saddened to earn that one of my all time favorite actors has passed after a brave fight against cancer. I'm not saying he was the best actor ever, but he starred in two of my ALL TIME favorite movies.

Patrick Swayze dies at 57.

I'll be in my room if you need me.

til later.........

Remembering 9-11

I'm way behind on my posts...sorry..and am rushing to take the boy to 9-11 ceremony but wanted to share a couple pictures I've owed you for awhile.

Me and The Girl on my birthday....














The boy on his first day of High School...............























Til later.............................

Working the coupons & Sales

I'd forgotten what a rush it is to do deals!!!

I finally hit Kmart for Double coupon days. I called my coupon supplier (on my way to her house to pick up last weeks inserts) and she was at the local Kmart. She told me not to bother going there as it was cleaned out and what ever was left, she was taking....that made it more of a challenge!

"her" Kmart:

4 HUGE bottles of Pert- $2 off each
4 trial size Degree- .75 off each
4 Sauve Body Wash $1 off each
Fixident $1 off (the cashier couldn't get this coupon to scan. She studied the box then the coupon and told me it was the wrong item. She pointed at the coupon where it said for 1.1 oz and my box was 2 oz. I calmly showed her the NEXT line of the coupon that said, "Or LARGER". She still c/n get it to scan. She said, "I'm going to have to void this item and you will have to go to the service desk to get it to work." I sweetly told her, "No. I've already waited in this line. It's the right product for the coupon. You need to make it work or call your manager over here." She finally went to the service desk, got the manager who came and punched a button to make it go through. GOOD grief. The EASIEST item gave me the biggest trouble!)

$33.90 before Coupons
$8.20 after ($1.26 of tax)
PLUS got $5 off next visit


Next I went to Target. Gave them two, One dollar off, ALL coupons that I had forgotten earlier in the week. Got my $2 and went back to the laundry aisle Got more ALL. (my DH"S favorite)

1st transaction:
2 bottles of ALL $1 off each
5 personal size First Aid kits $1 off each (.97 at Target)

Total $22.83 before coupons
Used $10 GC from last shopping trip
$6.89 after GC & Coupons & tax // got $5 Target card

2nd transaction:
2 bottles of ALL $1 off each
4 personal size First Aid kits $1 off each (.97 at Target)

Total $21.86 before coupons
Used $5 GC from transaction#1
$11.89 after GC & Coupons & tax // got $5 Target card

3rd transaction:
2 bottles of ALL $1 off each
Total $18.89 before coupons
Used $5 GC from transaction#2
$11.89 after GC & Coupons & tax // got $5 Target card

so now my DH has 8 bottles...should last a few days)

Next..went by Winn Dixie and got $4 back for 2-$2 coupons forgot on last trip

During son's Karate ran to my local Kmart for an HOUR power shop.

4 HUGE bottles of Pert- $2 off each (on sale 4.49)
4 Pert for Men $1.50 off each
4 Visine $2 off each
4 trial size Degree- .75 off each
4 Sauve Body Wash $1 off each (sale 2 for $4)
1 Nivia Lip balm $1 off (on sale $1.99)
Milk
Captain Crunch (clearance)

$71 sub Total before coupons
used $5 coupon from earlier trip
$8.74 after (1.67 tax)got another $5 coupon
AND I picked my son up on time!!

Sweet!!!!!~

til later..............

Happy Birthday Sis

Today is my little sister's Birthday. She is Nine years younger than me so if I tell you HER age, well......never mind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELL!!!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day. Enjoy the pool and the "boys".

Til later.........................

September

WOW. How did it get to be September already? I've been unemployed for two months now. Seems like two days. Looking for work is a full time job. I can't believe that I've been out of work for two months and my home projects are no closer to being finished than when I was working.

My youngest sister doesn't like September. She feels it is a "bad luck month". She (we) have had several bad things happen in September but I try not to hate the entire month because of it. Our dad passed away 15 years ago... a few days after my sister had a serious car accident..a few days before her birthday. Yeah, that would make you not like the month but I've always tried to have a positive attitude, even when life was hitting me upside the head.

I've been reading a book called "The Energy Bus". It is about a guy that is forced to ride the bus to work when his car gets a flat tire. He ends up having to take the bus for awhile due to other issues. The bus driver is a POSITIVE person that teaches her riders that you control the energy around you. She teaches that if you put Positive energy out there, it will create positive energy that causes great things to happen. I agree that a positive outlook helps every aspect of your life. I also believe that there is a higher power in charge of my life. I can take all of life lessons and make them a positive or a negative. I've had things happen to me that could have made me a bitter-mean person but I decided to not let the butt heads get me down. Granted there are alot of people that have had horrific things happen to them that were a thousand times more awful than anything I've been through. Many of them used the experience to make the world a better place.

I'm not preaching so don't get all up in arms. This blog is my life and my opinions. If you disagree or feel that the world is an awful place, I can't change your mind. I suggest that you take the experiences you've had, learn from them, decide what the lesson was and try and move on. Try to be on the Energy Bus of positive thoughts and send the negative ones out of your mind. It doesn't always work but it sure can't hurt.

Changing the subject, have a great trip Kip. Happy Birthday. Don't worry about bringing me back a T-shirt.

Going to go get ready for my day. I got up early to see the boy off to school, I've read emails, checked FB, checked my bank account (ouch), now I'm eating my left over birthday pancakes that were in the freezer, will get dressed and ready to run some errands as soon as the pharmacy calls, have an eye dr appointment later........just another day.

Til later......................

Date afternoon FInally

My birthday was 10 days ago and my DH and I finally got a chance to celebrate. We decided to head to our local theatre and see a movie. Our choices were limited due to the schedule but we decided on "Taking Woodstock" and are glad we did.

It was really cute and the fact that we were two of the FOUR people in the entire theatre made it even better. The other two people were teenagers and they sat in the last row. I never looked back to see if they were actually watching the movie. We enjoyed ourselves and laughed out loud alot! We were to young to go to Woodstock but appreciated the history of the time.

SPOILER ALERT............................



They really didn't show the actual concert, the movie was more about the act of bringing the event to the area and the people of the town. If you are going to hear and see the concert, rent the original Woodstock movie. If you want a nice, sweet little movie-go. It would make a really cute rental if you don't want to spend the $$ to see it in a theatre. WARNING.....several scenes of nudity-frontal-MALE nudity so I'd make sure you use judgement to take young kids. There is some language and LOTS of drug use (pot-acid) but appropriate for the theme of the movie.

After the movie I dropped my DH at home and headed to Subway to redeem our FREE meal. Can't remember if I shared my experience with our brand new Subway but it involved STALE-HARD bread, contacting the Subway website, getting a call from the owner-manager of the local Subway and an email promise of TWO completely FREE meals. I finally went and redeemed the email. $20 worth of free food for an original $5 investment.

The boy just got home so I need to go bug him. Hope you had a great weekend. My SLAH party yesterday was fun. Great group of women. Had a great time at my jewelry making class later yesterday afternoon. Made a cool necklace. Between all the free Premier Jewelry, the stuff I've scored at the thrift stores and the one I made yesterday, I'm all set.

Till later..........................

Gail Pittman Sale starts September 1st

Southern Living at Home announced an amazing sale on many of their Gail Pittman pottery items starting September 1st. Sale items are limited so check out this link and contact me ASAP. These would make great holiday gifts.

Til later..........................

UPDATE.....we just received an email from our CEO telling us more information about the GP sale....

We won't be going forward with any Provence pieces or Sienna dinnerware in spring, but we will continue to carry almost all of the Sienna accessory pieces. Gail feels it's time to move on to new and exciting concepts, and we agree....

SO, if you are interested in completing your sets or want these great items before they are GONE...contact me to place your order.

September 11th is coming soon

My DD and I took part in a celebration/memorial service September 11, 2002 in downtown Tampa. The sky's opened and the parade-etc was cut short but while it lasted, it was very moving. My DD said the rain was the victims crying.

She just returned from a trip to NYC and got to go to ground Zero. All she had to take a picture of was the empty space where a memorial should be. The least we can do is fly our flag to show our support to our country and it's people that risk their lives everyday. (Picture is one of the buildings they left unrepaired after the attacks)

I received the email below and wanted to pass the word.

On Friday, September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States.

Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

Action Plan: So, here's what we need you to do . (1) Forward this email to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you. (2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11.

Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day. Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America!

Til later...............

School starts and I had tests

Man, 6am comes early when you haven't gotten up before 8ish for two months. Since it was the first day of school for the boy, we decided to all get up at his "wake up" time to see him off. When the alarm went off I was having a strange dream and wasn't really sure what the racket was all about. The DH got up immediately and I waited a few minutes to take stock of the upcoming day and then joined him.

The boy was up and ready without much fuss. I decided not to bug him on his first day and try and take a picture. I figured he had enough stress with all the instructions he'd received about what was expected of him now that he was a high schooler. Since it was also-still dark, he was safe from his photo op....at least until he got home. I made him reenact his leaving so I could get a 1st day picture.

He said things went ok, he liked his teachers and his lunch account had money so all was good for the first day. He was a good lad and brought me lots of papers to fill out. His AG class list of dangerous equipment was my favorite. Lets just say that if they use all the equipment listed, he will know more about the privates of a cow/bull than I'd ever want to experience.

Speaking of tests, I had a meeting with a Staffing Agency today. I figured, any resource is a good one. I met with the Staffing manager and then took some Aptitude Tests. I did pretty good on most of them but failed the Excel test like a looser. I knew I had and told them why before they even had the results. I know how to use Excel but the test was not user friendly. I kept trying to click what I knew was the right answers but it wouldn't take the information. As a result I kept clicking other things to make it go to the next question and it would show as an error. Finally, about 2/3rd of the way through the test I noticed a button at the bottom of the screen that would have allowed me to do what I'd been trying to do to make my answers work. DUH!!
They said I could do the test again another day if I want to improve my score. I asked them to tell prospective employers that I really could use the program and to please ignore the current score.

That was my day. How about yours?

Til later........................

Otherside of the Hill

Since I am celebrating the 30th anniversary of my 21st birthday today......I thought I'd pop in and say THANKS for all the wonderful Birthday greetings I've received so far. I've gotten lots of love over on Facebook and via email and phone. Still feeling subpar but the love makes me feel a little better. Wanted to share this great greeting from my corporate office:

Supposed to have a nice Birthday lunch with my former Co-workers and current peeps so better get moving. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Take a page from my beloved niece J and tell people you love them. It will make their day.

Til later..........................

Out of Touch

Am still in bed, still not up to snuff. Got up this morning and decided I was not up to going to see Dr. J-my Chiropractor. Called and left a message with the answering service. Don't you know, the office called and woke me up at 10am because I hadn't come for my appointment! ARG!

Just how out of touch am I? Saw the list of new contestants for Dancing with the Stars and only "knew" four of them. Good. Means I can save myself weeks of torture trying to tape and watch the shows.

Luckily it is raining so I don't feel so guilty staying in bed again. Just read there is a Tropical storm somewhere. Since no one has called to set up an interview, I guess I'm ok to try and get better. Sure hope all this Cold/flu meds don't mess up any drug tests I may have to take for employment. At the rate we are going, they should be out of my system by the time anyone sees me.

Hope everyone else is feeling better. I'll sign off now before I spread my germs.

Til later................

Run down and poopy

Guess my decision to stay in bed on Thursday was getting ready for what was to come. Friday the boy and I went to the YMCA for our first co-workout. The boy got his orientation and I went and tried the Beginner Yumba.

I love to dance. I miss dancing. How hard can it be?

For those of you that have tried Yumba, STOP LAUGHING.

I almost died and only lasted 30 of the 60 minutes. Actually, I didn't almost die but only because I didn't go full out. My calves were screaming.

I left class and joined the boy out in the equipment area. We walked the treadmill, used the bikes and then I gave him a tour of the rest of the Y. As we walked by the place where I'd had my class, I noticed the "older lady" that had been Yumba-ing in front of me was in the next class.

Seriously, we just (ok-she just did) an Hour Yumba class and now she was in the "seated yoga" class. Yikes. I felt bad enough and then we walked back to the front an read a newspaper article about the "older seniors" that took the Yumba classes.

Girlfriend is 83 years old!

OK, so then I felt even worse.

Later Friday I started feeling really bad. Stomach hurt, felt awful. I headed for bed and hoped I'd feel better on Saturday as it was my PARTY SWAP day.

Saturday morning I awoke to a bad cough but determined to make it through the day.

Ended up having a nice Jewelry party. Earned another $200+ in free jewelry. Had a few neighbors come over and one of my "oldest & dearest" friends. HI G!!!!

Took a brief break after the party and then packed to go to my SLAH party. Took some of our "Yard/patio" items as well as some Christmas items the Hostess had requested. Met her Mom (in law??), her two daughters, a friend and another friend plus two adorable grand babies. Had a rather quick party as she wanted to drive to Orlando to look at a RV for a trip later this year. Thankfully the nice family helped me pack and transport to the car as a bad storm came up just as it was time to leave. I ended up getting soaked but it felt rather good since I was burning up at that point.

Founds lots of Cold/Flu meds in the cabinet, thanks to my previous bargain shopping. Started slamming meds as soon as I got home. Have spent all day today in bed and feel a tiny bit better.

Could be worse, apparently my DD's friends that she just traveled with have been diog. with Swine flu. FUN! My oldest Grandnephew has a cold or the flu and is feeling poorly. Hopefully my DD doesn't get sick and I'm hoping that the meds I have here will help me.

Speaking of meds and sickness, I really must ship the COBRA payment tomorrow. Still be under our deductible but it's better than nothing. Thank goodness for the stimulus package or COBRA would be a real bear!!

Til later.....................

Posting from my bed

I decided last night that I was staying in bed most of the day.

Because I can.

I made it till about 10am and then started feeling guilty for not "doing something. The boy, who had made the same decision last night, came into my room about the same time and I asked him to go get my computer. Thankfully he also brought the plug so I've been on line ever since.

Checked BOTH email addresses, checked Facebook, sent reminder emails about the Jewelry Party (are YOU coming??), talked to my Director and learned a valuable lesson about my FedEx account, semi watched MANY hours of HGTV and now am updating here.

What are YOU doing?

The boy has his school orientation this afternoon so I must get moving soon. Looking forward to checking out the new school but still freaked out by the fact it is HIGH SCHOOL.

Have a busy day on Saturday with my double PARTY SWAP day. Hoping to meet some new people and make some new business connections.

No news on the Job front. Still submitting resumes and waiting for the right position to appear. I hate being in limbo. I really would like to get hired, have a few days before starting so I could finish some home jobs with no guilt.

Speaking of home jobs, I took the disposable camera to be developed. If the closet pics turn out, I'll scan and post them soon. It's amazing how happy looking in the closet makes me now. It is still not finished but the "Jewelry shelf" arrived and the DH will be installing it soon. I want another dresser unit for my "undies/Pj's" but am not in a hurry. I also would like another storage unit for the rest of the "Stockpile" but am willing to wait until I find another one at a yard sale/thrift store. Big lots has one on sale this week but not ready to pay $20 when I've gotten the others for under $5. I must say, when your clothes are organized, it's amazing how easy it is to get dressed. I also realized an "Over- shirt "was missing because of the organization. I found it in the Garage (don't ask) and now it is in the wash and will be matched up with it's undershirt soon. Would never have noticed without the new closet organization.

Now if I can get the garage and scrapbook/office back in gear I'll be really happy.

So, if you are nearby and can come to the BLING party on Saturday morning, let me know and I'll give you directions.

Til later........................

While we are on a roll.................

Thought I'd do another exciting post about what is happening in my neck of the woods.

Well, my chair, at my kitchen table, where I have been sitting most hours for the past almost 40 days.

But, I digress.

Had my Southern Living at Home party on Wednesday night. Just like riding a bike. If the wheels turned really fast and you ran off the road a few times.

Kidding. I was probably more nervous than I should have been. It didn't help that there was a HUGE mirror right in front of me. I kept catching my reflection and it would throw me. All the years of drama classes, performing in live productions and I DO NOT like to watch myself speak to a crowd.

Is it just me?

Anyway......................I have another party on Saturday the 15th and am really looking forward to meeting new people. Now that I have the main part of my "presentation" prepared, I'm sure things will go smoother. One of my "Baby consultants" wants to come to watch since she hasn't done a show yet.

YIKES.

Kidding again. It will be fine. Good grief ,when will I learn some confidence? I'll be a year older in a couple weeks. (HINT-HINT). It's about time I get over the butterflies.

SPEAKING of parties....I'm having another Premier Jewelry party on the 15th. This is my second-party trade and hope we have another nice turn out. I've never tried a Morning party before. Hopefully it will mean gals can leave the kids with someone and come have some fun without stress. I have several friends that couldn't come last time because they didn't have a sitter.

If you are in my area and want to come play with some beautiful BLING...contact me for details.

The boy is home and back on schedule. It is so strange to see him as a "full fledged Teenager" and hear the difference in his voice. We just got his first High School newsletter. Hope that is a good sign that this school can get information to the parents BEFORE the events.

The girl is in NYC. Having fun with friends, seeing the sights.

Yes, I know she owes me money.

Yes, SHE knows she owes me money.

Yes, she still had the nerve to text me this morning and ask FOR MONEY.

I laughed my A** off and texted her back "Thanks for the best laugh I've had in awhile".

Unemployment, the best way to avoid guilt when you say NO to your child.

How has your week been? My dear niece sent the last of her babies to School this week. (yes-they are early..must be in case of snow days??) She was sharing her experience on her Facebook page and Thanked "the people at ABC for their help that morning" coping with the pain of her little one going to school.

Not knowing that school had started, I naturally thought she meant the LIQUOR Store.

It was an honest mistake and in no way reflected my need for a drink. I'm just tired.

Think I will go check the web and see what my peeps are up to. Check back and see how the job hunt is going. Or maybe you can just check to see if I've lost the remaining sliver of my mind.

It can go either way.

Til later........................

PS, my closet is FINISHED. Don't hate me but it looks fabulous. Now to get the disposible camera processed. But on the bright side, I found the BIG camera so I can take pics of the AFTER if need be. You can just image the before. It was Bad!

Great idea for a Father to be

I do not get any kick back from this and I DO NOT know any expectant fathers. I saw this and thought it was pretty cool and decided to share.

That's just the kind of gal I am.

Go here and see a really cool-no one else will have one-gift for anyone you know that is expecting a baby. Well, someone who's wife or daughter is expecting. If THEY are expecting, that is a whole 'nother website.

Til later....................

Tuesday?

One disadvantage of being unemployed is apparently you never know what day it is. How did it become TUESDAY the 4th of August. I have to tell you that I'm a million times busier now than I ever was when I was working.

Seriously.

It's hard work looking for work. Not to mention that the end of July was CRAZY!!!!! I was staying up until 1-1:30AM and on the last night of the month I finally got off the computer at 3:20Am. It takes awhile to close out hundreds of orders and make sure they are perfect before the deadline, especially when the catalog is changing and the ALL YOU 24 issue deal was ending.

WOW.

So, the boy is home--except he goes back to his dad's tonight until Friday night. We've had fun getting back in gear with having him around. I made him try on all the jeans in his closet yesterday. ALL the pants that I bought right before school ended before summer break.

He ended up with TWO pairs that are not to short. Thankfully I'd bought a couple pairs we thought would need hemming. Since I DO NOT hem, they were still long. At least four pair are "Jethro Bodeen" short. Anyone need size 16-18 boys jeans that apparently fit a boy SHORTER than 5'8"?? NO, the tags got taken off when we bought them. They fit then. Plus my DH insists on WASHING all clothes as soon as they come in the house. Rats.

Took the boy to Beall's for their 70% off clearance with a $10 off $50 coupon. Don't really have the $40 due to the work situation but he can't wear two pair of pants all the time. We ended up getting three pair of shorts. One clearance and the other two reduced but not clearanced. Still got to use the coupon. I bought myself a shirt to get to the total needed. Didn't try it on and it ended up not fitting. Will take it back and get the $ BACK. Since I bought a Dressy shirt and pants for a total of $6 at the SALLY yesterday, hate paying $15 for a shirt---even on sale.

BTW, did you know that the apparent Shorts style for a 14 yr old boy looks like my Grandpa would have worn...had he worn Plaid shorts? Hysterical but the boy was THRILLED. Got him a pair of "South Pole" ones that he is wearing today. Wish I could take a picture but I have misplaced my digital camera.

If you could see my Scrap/office you'd understand. That is my next project.

Speaking of Projects, I redid my master closet over the last several days. (Another reason I haven't posted). I got those special hangers they sell on HSN..(they had a HUGE -get 50% more free sale, NO shipping and 5 easy payments..I have a CC for those occasions). Anyway, it looks so nice to have ALL the SAME hangers..all color coordinated with the Master bedroom/bathroom. All the clothes are hanging neatly. I still have the rest of my DH's side to do but it looks really nice so far. I took a Before picture but it's on my Disposable camera so we'll have to wait to see them. I weeded out and got rid of clothes that I will never wear again. I have a HUGE box of hangers to share with the food bank/thrift store nearby. Wish I could have afforded to get hangers for the Boys room. Wonder if they still have the anniversary sale on line? hmmmmmmmmm?

Working on my SLAH business. Really want to meet new people and start having regular parties again. August is a fantastic month to have a get together so I'm trying to let everyone know. They already announced at convention about the FREE $130 value Savannah Beverage Server for a $500 party and then Saturday they added DOUBLE HOSTESS dollars. WOWZER!
Check out my website for details here.

Almost forgot...ALWAYS ask questions and see if you can get a better deal especially in these times.

I've been needing a replacement cartridge for our fax machine. I priced them at Office Depot and decided to check Staples as I have their membership card for Cash back. When I was looking at the cartridges, the Asst. Manager happened to be near by and asked if he could help me. I told him that quite frankly, I was thinking about going back out to my car to call Office Depot to verify a price on their fax cartridges. He said, "lets go check on my computer". We went and he brought up the Office Depot website and we discovered that OD was cheaper. As it turned out, the box I was holding was the Entire cartridge and I actually just needed the "ribbon". We checked those prices and then walked back to their section where we saw that Staples was OUT of the ribbons. At that point he offered to Order a box of theirs, give me the Office Depot price and have it delivered to my house at no extra charge, and it counted towards my Rewards. Sweet!

Working on printing a lot of stuff I need for my August parties so will close. I just wanted to say hello and check in with my blogger peeps.

Prayer request: Tim and Melanie. He'll know why. Thanks.

Til later...................

Sold some stuff, made some new friends

First an update on the boy.....took him for his Dr. appt on Thursday for his pre-high school, yearly checkup. He was 5'8 and 140. WOW! Where has my little boy gone? He is now officially 4 inches taller than his mother.

Spent Friday getting ready for the Scrapbooking yard sale. Pulled stuff out that I've been dragging to the last three or four Scrapbook yard sales. Went into my scrapbook room (can you still call it that if you haven't scrapped in at least two years?) and pulled out some "new stuff" to add to the pile.

Sale was today and if you missed it, you missed it. There appeared to be great deals. I can only discuss what was on my table. My friend L. was there and she was my guardian all day. She wouldn't let me even think about buying anything. Just the sort of friend I needed. I did meet a lot of nice people and made some new contacts. Looking forward to touching base and see if we can't get together and actually USE some of our craft stuff.

Spent the afternoon with a dear friend and former co-worker. She has an adorable house and it is decorated exactly the way I love. Had a nice visit and then I headed home and spent some time with DH.

Finally watched Slumdog Millionare. Guess I had no idea about the plot except for the obvious-TV show. Reinforced my feelings that I do not want to visit INDIA. No offense meant. It was very depressing. Glad we finally watched the movie and did enjoy the love story of it. Our favorite line was when the main character asked his brother about a "Girl" (if you've seen the movie you understand) and the brother says, "Still?". We could relate.

Doing some work on the computer while DH watches his Nascar. Going to send some emails to the people I met today and then will call it a day.

Hope you had a great day with your friends/family. HUGS to all my friends and family that are under the weather or recovering from surgery. Hope you feel better soon.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....I almost forgot......I got to see my favorite little man today. Hi ROOOOOOO!!

Til later..................

Scrapbook YARD SALE

If you are a crafter, or want to be, and are in the Tampa Bay Area...check this out:

SCRAPBOOK/CRAFTS Yard SALE

When: Saturday, July 25th
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church
14920 Hutchison Rd Tampa, FL. 33625
Time: 10am-2pm
Cost for entry: FREE

There will be at least 13 vendors set up with TONS of stuff for sale.

Hope to see you there. Feel free to share this information on your blogs/websites. We have enough stuff to sell to make everyone happy.

ALL YOU magazine changes coming

I've been offering the ALL YOU magazine subscription for almost a year. It's a FANTASTIC magazine in content, plus the $30-60 a month manufacturer coupons each month.

As a Southern Living at Home consultant I've been able to offer 24 issues for $19.95. I donate $2 a subscription to our charity, CUT IT OUT. Well, I'm sad to say that all great deals must change.

Effective August 1st when the new SLAH catalog comes out, the number of issues we can offer goes from 24 to 12.

Don't get me wrong, 12 issues at $19.95 is still a much better deal than WALMARTS $2.24 (or more-I haven't checked lately) an issue or the $23 for 12 issues that ALL YOU offers.

BUT....

24 issues for $19.95 is a MUCH better deal.

To get in on it before it ends, go here:
https://www.southernlivingathome.com/wbslah/skins/s05/catalog.aspx?repid=389581
2. Click on:
"How to Purchase"
"Hostess page:: Type in your Hostess/Click "continue:" (Use Cheryl (first name), Hinton(last name)
Click on "name"
Type "40776" in the Product search field/click "GO"
Click on Item #
Select this item

3. Finalize/Continue to Check out
4. Fill in your address & information.

*** There is no additional charge for the magazine to be delivered directly to your home. The $10 charge mentioned is only for the direct shipment of PRODUCTS. PLEASE do not click that box! (unless ordering products too. See information below)

*** The confirmation statement about stuff being shipped to the hostess only applies to Products, not magazines.

*** Orders will be submitted to SLAH on the 30th to be sure to get the great deal. I can not submit without payment so make sure you follow the payment instructions or email me for assistance.

You should start receiving your issues approximately 6-8 weeks after the order is submitted to ALL YOU.

**********If you would like to take advantage of the SUMMER SALE specials before they are gone, go here:
www.southernlivingathome.com/hinton

and check out the flyer. You can add those to your magazine order but will need to pay Shipping & Handling as described on the invoice for products.

If you are local, I will make arrangements to meet for delivery. If you are out of the Tampa Bay area, please add the additional $10 for the Direct Shipping fee to your home. If your order is $75 or more, I will pay the extra $10.

These subscriptions would make great gifts for the person that has everything.


Email me if you have any questions about anything.

Til later.................

Time to head home

Sunday morning came MUCH to early. I didn't really go back to sleep once the first alarm rang. I had a couple of hours after the last roommate left to get myself ready and check emails before the big day-o-travel.

Caught a ride to the airport with a consultant I met at the convention. Had a short wait and then on to Atlanta.

Thankfully, my fabulous Step son was able to meet me and take me away for a hour. Got to grab lunch and then swing by his cool loft apartment to check out the "Man cave". So cute and hip and such a great place for two young, single, college age guys. Great view of Midtown/downtown ATL. Got a picture of the boy for his dad, threw down some food and then ran back to the airport.

This next part is the best part so WAKE UP...................

I made "friends" with the Flight Attendants for my ATL to TPA flight. They are based in Tampa and were happy to be heading home for the final leg of the weekend.

I won't bore you with all the details but lets just say, Someone ended up getting bumped up to First Class on the flight.

SWEET!!!!

I made friends with the gal next to me, who had also been bumped up for offering to fly on a later flight, and we acted like the Beverly Hillbillies in First Class. So true. We even had our new best friend, HI VICKI, take our picture.

True. I'll show you when Holly sends me the picture.

Arrived in Tampa, was FIRST one off plane, FIRST bag off the conveyor and as I walked outside my DH was just driving up to get me. Home by 10pm. Perfect end of my trip.

Exhausted but excited for the future. Don't you wish you could have gone with me? You can. I'm going to be actively looking for team members.

Did I mention that next June, they are sending qualified consultants and directors to the ATLANTIS in the Bahamas????? For 5 days? All inclusive? I'm sooooooooooooooo there!

Til later.......................

Winding down in the Big D-Day 3

Saturday was a very full day with meetings, training sessions, a HUGE lunch and then more training.

Guess who I ran into, outside the lunch venue?

If you said "the Director that was in charge of the team meeting that I DID NOT attend" the night before, you score 10 points. She asked where I'd been and said that they had missed me and.............................I'd won a trophy.

WHAT????? Apparently, once they took out the directors from the mix, I was 5th top Salesperson for consultants in our line. Sweet.

Saturday night was a MAJOR dinner and awards event. I went, had a fabulous meal, got my trophy from the Director, stayed for some award announcements and then headed for the room.

My roommates got back a couple hours later and we were up talking for AWHILE. Since they were needing to get up at 4am on Sunday, we finally stopped talking and got a couple winks of sleep.

Til later..............................

Dallas day 2-Big announcements

After a rush to get three "High Maintenance" gals and me ready (just kidding peeps) we went down to the HUGE ballroom for our meeting. Imagine 1700 women, LOUD music and flashing lights first thing in the morning.



After a long day of travel, three glasses of wine and a tummy full of sugary snacks.



Fun.



Serious, it was ok. They started out with a big production number (we always have Broadway performers) then our Director of Marketing and Field Development (Gary Wright) came out on a Bucking Bronco ala- Gillys and Urban Cowboy. (if you didn't get the reference, you must know Bonnie--LOL--Hi PEEP!!) He made some announcements and then introduced the NEW owner of our company. We had known the company was for sale but they didn't finalize the deal until 2pm on Thursday. I won't bore you with the details but the new owner is someone that worked for SLAH back in the beginning of the company. He talked about new incentives that will be very exciting. Sounds like now is a good time to join my team if you have been on the fence.



Several more people spoke and then Gary came back out and started announcing the top 10 consultants for Magazine sales for the past year.



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If you read my facebook page you already know that, yours truly was announced as the 5th highest consultant.



I screamed and went into the UGLY Cry!!!!! Seriously. Check it out....























After I got down from the stage and finally stopped crying, I went out and called my DH. He was so happy and proud!!!

The rest of the day was spent attending more meetings, trainings and then I was supposed to go to a Team recognition party.

I ended up doing my own thing instead. I've never been to Dallas, I wanted to check things out, so I took a free shuttle to Grapevine--Texas. It's a cute little town with OLD buildings that have been made into shops. I walked around and was trying to decide where to eat cheaply when I discovered a vendor faire going on with Artists and best of all.............FREE FOOD from local restaurants.

SCORE.

I ate my fill and then walked down the street to the trolley station to wait for my ride. Once back to the hotel, I walked across the property to the top of the parking garage to wait for the fireworks show. It was shot off across the lake from the hotel and was beautiful.

Next stop.....my room and sleep.

Til later...................

Southern Living at Home-Dallas-day 1

When I scheduled my flight to Dallas, it said I'd have lay-overs in Atlanta going west and coming back. At the time it seemed ok since I have family in ATL and parts North.

Never put your eggs in a college students basket.

Actually, it's not the Poodle headed boys fault. His car decided to act up and he had to get it fixed. On the day I flew to Dallas. Darn.

I ended up with a 5 hour layover.

To cheap to pay for Internet in the airport.

Laptop bag, CPAP machine and Pocket book (why didn't I empty that thing before I left??) were to heavy to lug around. Thanks to our Post 9-11 world, you can't leave stuff anywhere and they have removed all the lockers. I sat and stared at a restaurant across the terminal from me for several hours, debating if it was worth it to drag the 50 pounds.....plus my big-o-butt over there.

Nope.

Finally arrived in Dallas at 5pm their time, found a ride to the Hotel, located my room, ran up-dumped my stuff, ran down to the convention registration, then ran across the hotel to my first "Meet and greet".

Let's just say that by that time I was glad to see free wine. Three glasses in fact. Quickly. Chased down with some appetizers. Feeling much better.

An hour or so later, it was time to run back to my room to change into my PJ's for the next event.

Yep. PJ's, Pajamas. About 30 of us in a Directors suite. So cute!

Changed to Coke Cola and candy at that event. As you can imagine my tummy wasn't really happy with me at this point.

Stayed about 90 minutes and finally retired to my room. My roommates were there and we finally got a chance to "meet" and get to know each other.

What a sweet, adorable three gals they are!!! HI PEEPS!!!!!!!

Laughed and chatted until much to late then time for sleep...at least for a few hours.

Til later....................

So much to tell you #1

I've been updating my facebook account so I'm going to assume that's why no one has missed me here.

My feelings, my story, sticking to it.

Rather than bore you all at once, I'm going to spread the love over a few posts.

The mystery shopping trip to the local restaurant was good. My DH really enjoyed the food. I submitted the information and faxed the receipt. They said I didn't answer all the questions but I don't believe it. I went back over the form several times before submitting it so I'm really confused as to what they think I missed. I got 9 out of 10 as my score. Guess I'm getting alittle anal in my old age. I want a 10! They sure better pay me my $25.

I had a job interview last week. Faced off in front of 5 people. YIKES!!! I decided to go for broke and tried to use humor. Some seemed to get it, some looked at me like I was crazy. The really ironic thing, one of the interviewers had worked with my DD's & DS's dad back in the day. What are the odds? I asked her not to hold it against me. LOL.

Left for Dallas Thursday morning......

Til later......

Mystery Shopping & daily report

Shhhhhhhhhhhh. Getting ready to leave in a few minutes to enjoy a nice dinner at a local restaurant as a Secret Shopper. I've done this a couple of times and it is fun but stressful. You get reimbursed your meal costs but you have to fill out a detailed form and you can't take notes at the restaurant (at least not where anyone can see you). Hope I remember all the details. I'm taking my DH but he'll be no help. LOL. Not an insult, he'd agree.

Spent the better part of the day on line submitting resumes, updating my resume, updating my profile on a Network site (sorry if you got an email to join" me and were bothered by it. I tried to send it to my business contacts but a few may have leaked through), dealing with my Healthcare company, working the SLAH sale.....btw..if you haven't placed your order yet....WHY NOT????? Don't you like to save money?

Better run. Supposed to be at the site between 4-9. It's time!

Til later..................

Public service announcement for the Unemployed

In the interest of keeping it real.

Helping my peeps.

Educating you on things you may not be aware of.....

I bring you tips I have learned while seeking employment for the first time since 1998.

Those of you that were in grade school in 1998 can kiss my grits and disregard these helpful tips.

If you are to young to recognize the phrase, "Kiss my grits", you may also disregard these tips.

1. If a company contacts you saying they saw your resume on XYZ website and think you are PERFECT for their organization. They are probably looking for a SALES person.

2. If you arrive at an "interview" and there are already 10+ people in the lobby and a steady stream of people come in while you are waiting, they are probably looking for SALES people or are a multi-level organization and you should run.

3. If they inform you that you will be attending a "Session or Presentation" that explains their company and or the position, they are probably looking for SALES people.

After several of these experiences, my DH taught me key questions to ASK when being set for an "interview" to avoid falling into one of these traps. These may seem logical to you but as stated above, I'm rusty at this stuff. Cut me some slack.

1. What exactly does this position require, ie: what will I be doing? The ad/job posting can be tricky.

2. How is the position compensated? NOT the same as asking what does the position pay. If they tell you COMMISSION, it's a sales job--NOT Customer Service like the ad claimed.

3. Where will I be located? If they say, In the Field.....it's SALES.

Like I said, most of this may be obvious to most of you but I've discovered the ads can be tricky and I didn't feel comfortable asking questions BEFORE the interview.

I now know better.

Trust me, when you are unemployed-you need to save gas. Don't go-if you don't know. Even if they represent themselves as a well known company, they could be a "Marketing company"...hiring SALES people for the "well known" company.

Marketing....another Buzz word to avoid.

You're welcome.

Til later.........................

Dinner and a movie

It was brought to my attention that I was fuzzy about the Dinner and a Movie plan. Add to that, the fact I never shared what we ended up doing and I'm sure you are all on pins and needles to be brought up to speed.

Are you sitting down? You may want to grab a bite to eat. It's a fascinating tale.


Seriously.

Well, not so much but it's a story my DH says will age well.

As you may recall, we had 2 tickets for a FREE movie and a BOGO for Ruby Tuesday. Well as it would turn out, the movie we wanted to see, Star Trek, has apparently left most theatres for a Galaxy far, far away. On July 4th it had limited seating/theaters where it was being shown. None matched our time schedule.

We decided to go to our local theater, PAY to see a movie and that resulted in us deciding to use a $10 off coupon I'd received for my birthday at a local restaurant.

Yes, those of you paying attention may realize that my birthday is actually in AUGUST not July. I'm not sure why the restaurant thought I had a birthday in July but I wasn't about to argue. Besides, we don't have a Ruby Tuesday near us or the local theater.

Hold that thought.

Soooooooooooooooo, we decided to go to the Matinee of our local theater and see Public Enemy. At the risk of offending some readers that I know have already seen the movie and LOVED IT, let me just say....Johnny Depp--great actor. Christen Bales--Ok actor.

Movie.....full of holes. At one point the woman behind us actually said--very loudly..."Oh come on!!". I must admit the same scene had seemed ridiculous to me too. I have a very high threshold for entertainment so was willing to let it slide.

Over all, I gave it a 3 1/2 stars out of 5 and my DH wanted his money back. LOL. If you knew his recent track record in picking rental movies, you wouldn't hold his opinion very highly so judge for yourself.

After the movie we went to the restaurant. My DH had his reservations when we pulled up and it actually said *****Restaurant and LOUNGE. He looked at me like--are you kidding? I offered to go somewhere else but he said, "No-It may have great food."

We walked in and as we were being seated we had to walk by the people getting ready to:

wait for it........

SING KARAOKE.

OMGoodness.

Now again, those that know me--know that wasn't a problem for me. My DH looked like he'd been shot. LOL. Not that he was afraid they would ask him to sing, just that he was going to be in the same room as people that were going to be singing.

Yes, this is the same man that LOVES the audition shows of American Idol but he doesn't enjoy Karaoke of any sort.

I know.....we are VERY different.

So once again I offered to leave before we ordered and he said no...he'd be alright. We ended up being there for at least an hour and he didn't fall out of the booth.

I'm not saying he will admit he enjoyed himself but at least his eyes didn't start bleeding. Of the four people that look turns singing, 1 was good...the others made us laugh behind our napkins. The best part was at the end when a 80+ year old blind man (I only say that because the waitress kept bringing it up. Didn't she ever hear of Stevie-Jose-Andre?) got up and sang two songs. He was really good. BTW, the food was good!

After surviving the restaurant we drove up north a bit, to the same parking lot as last year, and watched the local Fireworks. Nice!

Remember when I told you to "Hold that thought"? Guess what we passed on the way home from the fireworks?

Extra points if you said RUBY TUESDAY. Poop! The same Ruby Tuesday that we have eaten in before. Yes, I lost my mind.

There you have it,the fascinating-true story- of our 4th of July.

You may now resume your lives.

Til later....................

Butterfly Project

Just when a hint of worry crosses my mind, God sends me a reminder that I have a wonderful life and that this latest "situation" is just a bump in the road.

If you haven't already heard of the Butterfly Project, please go here. It's ironic (not really considering the source of ALL knowledge) that my DH is watching "Defiance" which is about the Holocaust, just as I became aware of the project.

I've always been touched by the stories of that awful time in history. I visited Auschwitz in the mid 70's and I swear the buildings that housed the ovens still smelled. I became so overcome with the "souls/presence" of the murdered, that I had to leave the tour and return to the bus. Last year I dragged the Boy to the museum in St. Petersburg. I tried to get him to read The Diary of Anne Frank but he never would.

Please consider contributing to this project or support your local museum. Go, take your family, discuss and help those events never occur again.

Til later................

If you need more proof that your life is precious and never as bad as you think, read this. (read all the comments too-you never know who you will see there..HI Loretta!!!!)

Another beautifully written post by the CF husband. If you still have not read his blog, you MUST go to the link on my side bar, take a few minutes (hours) and read the story of Gods love in these amazing people.

Happy 4th and other thoughts

So I said, when I was laid off, that it would mean more time for blogging.

Apparently, I lied.

It's not that I don't have alot of "time" now, it's just that I feel like I should be spending my time seeking employment.

I enjoy having a roof over my head.

I have spent time running errands and visiting with former co-workers that are still my friends. I went to CVS yesterday and enjoyed getting $30 worth of products for $6 OOP. Just like the old days. I've watched TV with my DH. I haven't really slept in, I still wake up when the sun comes in my windows

I've spend hours getting my resume updated and posted on various "employment" websites. I'm hoping the non-responses received is due to the Holiday weekend and not my lack of appeal.

ON paper , I'm very appealing.

I found a great "interview outfit" at my favorite thrift yesterday for $6.25. Best thing is that it was half of that because it was "Red". It fits nice and will also make a great outfit for my SLAH convention.

Today we are going to keep our "tradition" of seeing a movie-having dinner-then going somewhere to watch Fireworks. We'd planned to do it for super cheap as I have a coupon for BOGO dinner and 2 free movie tickets. Problem is, the movie we want to see isn't playing very often near the restaurant we have a coupon for. Our quaint little local theater has another movie we are interested in but no free tickets for that location. The BOGO coupon is for a restaurant we don't have near that theater. I did get a FREE meal coupon (for my upcoming birthday) to a local restaurant we've yet to try, so we'll use that. We'll end up playing for the movie but it will be OK. That leaves us tickets for another night.

What are you doing today? Take a moment to thank your stars (I prefer to thank God) that we live in a country that is FREE. I may not have a job at the moment but at least my country is a billion times better off than most. I will find a job or figure out a way to legally make enough money to cover our needs.

God Bless the USA.

Til later.....................