Another Dance... Another Dress

The high school just had another school dance.  At this dance it became apparent that any dress code we may have had in place has gone out the window.  I have frequently wondered why on Halloween, kids and adults feel it is OK to dress completely inappropriately... immodestly.  Now we have the same issue applied to school dances.

Why would a girl who will not where a spaghetti strap shirt, or even a tank top to school, be suddenly compelled to go completely strapless at a formal dance?  Or a girl who wears shorts with a good 6"-8" crotch seam, find it just fine to wear a dress or skirt so short it barely covers her rear end?  And more importantly, what comes over the parents to overlook this as an acceptable choice?

Parents live for this stuff.  We can't wait to take pictures.  First, there are pictures of the exchange of corsage and boutineer.  Then the pictures of just her... and then just him.  Then the pictures of the two together.  Then you have to have the entire group.  If they are meeting at your house, this works out great.  If they meet at another's house, it is no problem for parents to go on over with their camera in hand to get pictures of just the girls, then just the boys, best friend combos, and then the entire group.  The combinations are endless until you get the look from your child.  You know... the look that says I will never go to another dance if you don't stop now.  So as we are taking these pictures, why do we not notice that what our kid is wearing is completely immodest and inappropriate?  Do we get so caught up in the moment... that they look so grown up... what?  What is it?

I sure don't know.  With five daughters we run every check from a practice at bending down to pick up something off the floor, to my standing on a stool to dance and see what I can see if the boy is much taller than my daughter.  And having two boys... and now control over what their dates wear... I am so grateful when I see their dates in a modest dresses.  Thank you to all you girls out there and the parents who care.

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

A Choice to Body Cleanse?

I live in a medical world.  Those of you who know me, know that medical has been the trial in my life.  We all have our "stuff" that life throws at you, so really, I'm no different than anyone else.  Having spent so much of my life with doctors and in clinics, labs, and hospitals, I am a bit naive when it comes to home or herbal remedies.

When a friend of mind told me about her desire to do a body cleanse, my immediate reaction was "Why on earth would you want to do this on your own iniative?"  I have been subject to a body cleanse on three occasions... none of which I would repeat if you paid me!

With my family history, I was strongly advised to undergo a colonoscopy.  Needless to say, a complete cleansing of the large and small intestine is necessary for the colonoscopy to be, shall we say, accurate?  To keep it short, this first colonoscopy led to another, with the accompanying cleansing, and finally a surgery to remove my entire colon, for a third cleansing.  Nothing was enjoyable about any of the cleansings, and no, I did not feel refreshed or energized by emptying out everything inside my intestine.

My suggestion to my friend was that if you want to do a body cleanse, then get a colonoscopy at the same time.  This way, you kill two birds with one stone!  And if you find the body cleanse is not for you, well, at least you have checked a preventative, and helpful medical procedure off your list!

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

SBA Loan or Credit Card?

A few years ago, I started my own small business.  To say I know nothing about starting my own business would be kind.  I already had a checking, savings, and credit card with my current bank.  I figured the easiest thing to do would be to open another account, a business account and get another platinum credit card.  So rather than take the time to fill out the necessary paperwork for SBA Loans, I simply got a credit card.  Huge mistake.

Starting your own business give you the freedom to do what you want to do.  You are your own boss, so you make the decisions.  I also love the feeling of accomplishment in starting my own business.  The problem is that no matter how creative the idea, you have to have some business knowledge.  None of which did I have.

With a credit card that had a $10,000 limit, I felt perfectly free to get things rolling.  I charged the cost for the creation and the manufacturing of the product we were going to sell.  I wanted inventory to sell.  We needed to be able to take credit cards, so I charge the fees to set us up with a credit card handling company.  We needed a website and a domain name.  We needed to copyright our logo and name.  The list could go on and on.  The problem turned out that I was putting all of this on a credit card with a not so favorable interest rate.

I also believe that if I would have taken out a SBA Loan and put the cash into a checking account, I would not have spent so freely.  There is just something about a credit card that makes it feel like you are not really spending.  Needless to say, we are still trying to pay off over $8000 in debt with a great deal of this amount being interest.  Lesson learned.

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

Car Floor Mats? A Must For Our Family

I have mentioned before how incredibly meticulous my Dad and my brother are about keeping a car clean.  When they come to visit, there are parts of my car cleaned that I didn't know existed.  Little cracks and crevices where you open the door.  Little spaces when you move the seats forward or back.  Tiny areas when you move the seat belts.  And the floor mats... well... I have never owned a car without them.

There have been catastrophes that could have brought my brother to just burn the car to the ground rather than try to get it clean enough.  I remember an entire jumbo Coke spilled in the front passenger floor, but my Dad had got me the most amazing car floor mats.  The had a high rim all around, except for by the door where they curved downward and out of the car.  So the soda kind of sat there and then we lift the rimmed side and it all poured out onto the street!  Amazing!

We also love Baby Bell Cheese.  A great little invention where a tiny wheel of cheese is encased in a bright red wax.  Well let me advise you to never, never throw this wax onto the floor during the summer.  The wax melts and to get it off of the floor mat took nothing short of a jack hammer and hours of wiping.  All I can say is thank goodness for the floor mat, because it would never have come out of the carpet.

My brother looks at me in amazement that these things could be happening.  Why would you have a jumbo size Coke in the car?  And why are you eating cheese in the car and why would you throw the wax on the floor?  He then proceeds to tell me that my car depreciates in value with each and every time I take a trip through the drive thru with the kids!  Well... at this rate... I'm sure I'm in the negative.

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

Semi Trucks and You

I work for a company who ships and receives product by the semi load so I have come in contact with many a driver.  First let me say that there are many, many excellent semi truck drivers.  I know both women and men drivers who take the responsibility very seriously and are extremely safe.  All have taken great lengths to pass the CDL Driver's test, which includes in depth safety instruction.

The first thing to remember is that safety starts with you.  Always follow a semi truck at a safe distance.  A semi truck driver usually does not have the use of their rearview mirror due to the large trailer attached.  They rely soly on their side view mirrors to see what is behind them.  The best thing to remember is that if you can see the truck's side view mirrors, then the driver can see you; if you can not, the driver can not see you.

Also, keep in mind that it takes a semi truck much longer to stop than your average automobile.  This should be pretty obvious, in that the more a moving object weighs, the longer it will take to come to a complete stop.  Semi trucks use air brakes for added stopping power, but it is still no enough to allow them to stop on a dime.  So you take the safety precaution of being an offensive driver and stay clear, giving a semi truck plenty of room.

Again, semi trucks are large and can be intimidating, but we can all do our part in working together with semi truck drivers to create a safe environment on the road.

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

The Perfection of Internet Marketing

I have an absolute obsession for See's Chocolates.  Of all the chocolate out there, and make no mistake, I love them all, but See's is my absolute favorite.  Maybe it's because I grew up with it.  My mother taught me at a very young age how the chocolate sprinkles indicated a Bordeaux center... my favorite.  I know them all.  Beverly, Butterscotch Squares, the Pineapple Truffle, Pecan Buds, California Brittle and Peanut Crunches, and the list could go on and on.  And who does not enjoy the fact that the very minute you walk in the shop, you are handed a full size piece to sample the creamy goodness.  Most recently, we were given a Tipperary Bon Bon as our sample which is positively melt in your mouth goodness.  It soon became a problem.

You see, the Tipperary Bon Bon is a rare find at times.  Apparently, there are nine little old ladies in the entire company who make this delectable candy.  This means there are times we you can not find it in your store.  In our calls with See's we soon found out that you can order them via phone and they will ship them straight to your door.  We have been ordering 2LB boxes of ALL Tipperary Bon Bons regularly.  The very best part of this has been the flood of internet marketing.  Never shall I forget that I am running low on candy.  A See's ad is on every web page I visit.  It is in my email daily and I absolutely love it.

Because of the constant reminders of See's, I now will never reach for the last Tipperary Bon Bon without knowing I have already got a new box on the way!  This is the kind of help with my memory that I want in my old age!

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

Small Fix for a Big Problem

With five daughters, bathroom use is always at a maximum.  I have two water heaters just for the very purpose of long, drawn out showers where my girls spend countless time shampooing, conditioning, and shaving.  I had no idea that hair could create such plumbing problems.

The drain in the shower just kept getting slower and slower.  It reached the point where during my relatively quick showers, that by the middle of it I was ankle deep in water.  Fortunately, I have a wonderful plumber whom I called to give me advice on the situation.

He came right over and I was thinking he would just magically pour some Drano down the drain and magically all would be well.  This did not turn out to be the case.  After taking apart the bathtub drain and using a "snake" he pulled up more hair than I would have thought humanly possible.  Honestly, my daughters should be bald by this accounting of hair.  I could have built an additional daughter with waist long hair with all the extra hair in the pipes!  And it wasn't easy for him.  He kept at it for nearly an hour and still kept bringing up more and more hair.  Quite frankly it was disgusting.  Then he handed my a fairly substantial bill and one other item.  It was a tiny little screen with a sunken center to it.  It cost all of .98 cents.  He said to just put this in the drain hold whenever we shower and he will never again need to come out for this type of problem!  A very small fix for such a big, and gross problem.

So we dutifully put the screen in place each and every time we shower.  Sure we have to empty it after our showers, but again, .98 cents and a little effort to avoid the thoughts of having the plumber pull out all of the disgusting stuff again is so totally worth it!

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