Mom Knows Best

My daughter and I went shopping yesterday and all I can say is that winter clothes are the best!  I love winter for many reasons… the crisp cold air… the holidays… the snow… baking… snuggling up in blankets.  But I think the thing I like most about winter is that the cold makes people dress in modest clothing.

Summer is awful when it comes to dressing modestly.  There are far too many people out there wearing things that they really have no business wearing.  The first thought that crosses my mind is where is your mother?  A mother has the responsibility to be honest with her children in saying that something is inappropriate.  I am certainly not from the 50’s Leave It To Beaver age where I am wearing a dress to clean the house, or white gloves to run to the store, but honestly is it too much to ask for a girl to wear a skirt or dress that covers her rear end… even when she has to pick up something off the floor?  There are shorts out there that look like underwear.  And men are just as bad.  Shorts slung down below a beer belly with the Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned?  It is certainly not an image I want imprinted in my brain.

But winter is full of warm corduroy pants, sweats, full and bulky sweaters, hats and gloves.  Everyone is covered up.  I am covered up.  And with the holidays and all the yummy baking and Christmas goodies there are no worries about any slight bump or bulge from gaining a few pounds because it is covered with my thick warm sweatshirt, or puffy down coat.  And there’s such variety!  In the summer it is camisole, camisole, camisole.  In winter it is, cardigan, sweatshirt, flannel shirt, cashmere, wool pants, and I could go on and on.

It’s comfortable and cozy, and those vital parts that Mom’s should teach their children to hide are covered.  

This makes winter clothes loveable. 

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Our Morning Juice

You know how there are those people who simply can not wake up in the morning without first having a cup of coffee?  And there are even people who can’t start their day without a soda.  Well, for me and my family, it is juice.  This became painfully apparent when I hosted Thanksgiving with all 14 of us staying in my small but cozy home.

In preparation for the week, naturally, I went grocery shopping.  I purchased 2 – 89 ounce orange juice, and 2 – gallon size apple juice.  The first couple of days, the juice slowly disappeared, but by the time all had arrived, I was buying juice almost daily!  Blurry eyed, with hair a mess, and bad breath, one by one, they would all stumble into the kitchen looking for the wake up call of juice.

We love juice.  So much so, that when we talked of “cutting back” we all knew we weren’t talking about cutting back on our juice consumption.  We were talking about cutting back on making so many dishes.  And it began.  The first person would make his/her way to the kitchen and take their glass of juice… but then leave the cup on the counter and without even thinking about it, the next person would pour their juice in the same cup.  And so it went… drink your juice and leave the cup.  The juice disappeared, but we had cut our dishes by more than half!  And, unfortunately, we all caught a cold.  I wonder how that happened with so much Vitamin C in our systems?

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Xango and their mangosteen juice by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Why Organic Meat?

When it comes to organic foods, I have always understood the theory behind eating organic produce.  If they spray chemicals on fruits and vegetables, then it makes sense that we might be exposed to those same chemicals if we don’t wash the produce properly.  And even then, it also stands to reason that some chemicals may not wash off completely.  But when it came to organic meat, I just didn’t get it.  I mean, they don’t spray a cow, and even if they did, what would it matter?  We don’t eat the skin of a cow.

Apparently, animals raised for natural beef are not fed antibiotics or growth hormones.  In fact, they are raised in a much healthier environment and fed with organic feed and nutrients.

In addition, animals raised for organic meat are treated in a more humane way.  They are not confined and spend time in the outdoors in the fresh air.

The manure produced by organically raised animals is used for farming.  Mass producing industrial farms produce so much manure that it can spill over and contaminate wells spreading diseases such as E. coli and other pathogens.

All in all, I can better understand the reasoning behind organic meat and I support it, however, I still prefer produce.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for an natural beef
company and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

With or Without

Growing up, I never wore make-up.  I’m not sure if it was because I was a tomboy, and consequently, my focus was on sports, or because my mother never wore make-up.  I only have one sibling, a brother, so make-up was just not in our house.  Then I had children… and five of them were girls.

From the very beginning, the oldest held a fascination for make-up.  I never understood it, because she did not grow up seeing her mother use it.  I don’t even own any.  Never the less, she begged and begged to be able to wear make-up.  With four younger sisters, the family rules of make-up began.

There was positively no make-up use, with the exception of nail polish, in elementary school.  Let me just say, that sixth grade without make-up is apparently a travesty and my rule bordered on child abuse.  The rule was enforced despite my helping out at the school and seeing 12 year old girls with foundation and some with fake nails!  Some had even began to pluck their pre-pubescent thicker eyebrows.  Years from now I knew they would be wishing they hadn't.

Upon entering junior high you were presented with a clear mascara.  A wonderful invention.  It was like putting a little Vaseline on your lashes to make them shine.  It satisfied my girls need to feel like they were really applying something.

In the ninth grade you were allowed a real mascara, but nothing heavy.  Upon entering high school, the eyeshadow, in neutral shades was allowed and a faint touch of blush.  Fortunately, these three items, mascara, eye shadow, and blush was perfectly fine with them.  Sure there was the occasional “go get me a Kleenex” so I could “soften” their application, but all in all, the rules worked out nicely.

My message was always that they were beautiful with or without make-up and I stand by this still today.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

I Want A Tank

It’s always a right of passage in a teenager’s life when they turn 16 and can drive.  For a parent, it’s a passage into stress like we’ve never known.  There is the stress over the cost of a vehicle that ultimately will be ruined through multiple fast food drive thru opportunities and other normal teenager uses.  And, what type of vehicle, short of a tank, will safely surround our beloved offspring that we have worked so hard for sixteen years to protect from harm?

When the first of my children was close to turning the magical age, she was very well aware of the minimal financial resources she had at her disposal.  She was the oldest of seven children.  There is the expression that “you either have kids or money… but you can’t have both.”  Well, she knew we were a part of the first group.  This is what jumped her into the purchase of a red Ford Fiesta for $500.  True, the cost of the vehicle was manageable and the insurance on this piece of junk was next to nothing despite her being in the high risk group.  The problem was the match book size and cracker box construction.  I planned a Buick Lucerne type car where a large amount of mass and substantial sheet metal would keep crash forces from my priceless cargo.  She loved it, and thankfully, it died within a year.  I jumped the minute it looked weary so that I could make the next selection.

An Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was just the ticket.  It had over a 100,000 miles on it.  It was perfect.  It was the tank I was looking for in everyway.  No CD player.  Definitely no iPod capabilities.  Solid.  This car lasted through many a driver in our household and withstood the pressure.  A daughter hit a pole and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  The pole was dented at a good 45 degree angle, but the Oldsmobile… didn’t have a scratch.  Next, a daughter rear ended someone.  Again, damage to their puny vehicle was substantial and required we contact our insurance carrier.  The Oldsmobile didn’t even look like it was involved.  Then the car reached the point where the DMV issued a “Selvage Title” which again, dropped our insurance.  In explaining to my children what this meant I said, “It means the car is worthless”.  You could total the thing and insurance won’t pay us a dime for it.”  Again, thankfully, no one ever did.

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog about ChicagoSubaru and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Just like anything else in life, filing for bankruptcy has it’s the positives, the negatives, and the oh crap!

If you have ever been in the situation where you can not pay all your bills, you have lived with the fear of answering your own phone.  You have experienced the stress of going through your mail.  And heaven forbid… the knock at the door.  A huge positive with filing for bankruptcy is that once your petition is filed by the court, a “stay” goes into effect, which stops all of the annoying credit collection attempts previously mentioned.  Another positive includes getting a fresh start financially.  There are times when the bills are just too unmanageable and starting new feels good.

Negatives include the obvious black mark to your credit report, but chances are if you are in this kind of financial trouble, your credit report has already been damaged.  There is also a feeling of guilt that you have bailed on paying back your debts.  And then the stigma the general population has toward people who file for bankruptcy, to which my standard reply is the cliché “Never judge until you’ve walked a mile in that person’s shoes” and even then, “Never judge.”

And I personally, and very recently, just came across the ugly of filing bankruptcy in Utah.  Yes, there was a time, many, many years ago, where I had to file for bankruptcy.  I won’t go into why, but suffice it to say, that the debt was out of my hands.  The bankruptcy is not on my credit report.  It has been that long.  I have learned from the experience and now maintain an excellent credit score, but no matter.  I applied for a credit card, and despite my credit report with no negatives, I was turned down.  The reason?  I had once long ago, held a credit card with this institution which was included… you guessed it… in my bankruptcy.  This is the ugly.  I will never be a good risk in the eyes of this particular establishment.

So when considering bankruptcy, please take all of this into consideration.  All of it.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Websites and Why You Need One... A Good One

You have a business.  Do you need a website?  There really is no debate.  Yes.  Of course you do.

Just look a the statistics.  There are more than 20 million shoppers online, right now!  They are purchasing everything from books to computers to cars to real estate to jet airplanes!  In the U.S. alone, there are more than 250 million internet users, and nearly double the users in China!  People are online.  There is no way you can reach that many people by opening a store or office without creating a website.

And think of the exclusive nature of a website.  When you go to the mall, there is store after store after store doing all they can to drag you in to purchase their merchandise.  Once someone is on your website, it’s you, all you. 

There is no better way to communicate with the public.  Websites provide a wide range of media flexibility.  Besides text and pictures, you have video.  And just the other day, when looking for a hotel, I went on several virtual tours of the properties.  You can even create interactive charges to engage your online guest.

It doesn’t matter whether your business is a big operation, or small family operated.  If you don't have a website, you're losing business to other companies that do.  There is one exception to this rule.  If you have a poorly created website that only frustrates your customers.  You website needs to look professional and be user friendly.  This sends the message that you take your business seriously and value your customers.

Your website is important to your business.  Make sure you see it as an asset, because it most surely will be.

I am participating in a blog campaign from Bucks2Blog for an online website builder company and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.