A Safe Home

I was watching one of those home improvement type shows on the plane from NYC back home and it was positively awful.  It was a show about home inspectors and what they find in their home right under the owners noses.

A young couple had purchased a home and after several months of living there developed breathing problems.  The "inspector" came in and found mold.  A crazy unbelievable amount of mold!  It started in their basement and was in the flooring, ceiling, and walls.  I thought that was terrible and then they checked the upstairs and it was in the flooring (spread from the ceiling in the basement), up the walls, and continued all the way to the attic.  Their home practically had to be gutted.

This was close to home for me because I will be finishing my new home in less than a year, and that home is a walk out basement in my daughter's family's newly built home.  I had investigated the best ways to finish a basement but now my search is intense.  I certainly do not want to do anything that would lead to the disaster like I saw on the "inspector" show.

The #1 enemy of a finished basement is moisture.  And concrete is porous and it ages.  With my flooring, I am going to use a top-quality silicate-based penetrating concrete sealer.  They come in a wonderful array of colors and looks.  Most important it will give me peace of mind that when I'm long gone, my family, my grand babies, will be safe from the harmful affects of mold and mildew.

This is a sponsored post for VSeal, however, all the points and views are my own.

Favorite Jewelry

My favorite jewelry is the jewelry from my past.  To be honest, I don't wear a lot of jewelry, so when I do wear something, you know it is something loved.

I wear my Grandma's wedding band. It is the simplest of simple, but on the inside it is engraved.  I can't read it because it is so small, (I used to know, but chemo has removed the memory of what it says.) but I know it is a message of love from my Grandpa to my Grandma.

There is a ten commandments bracelet, also a gift from my Grandma.  It is a gold chain with ten small, paper like charms hanging from it.  Each charm, you can imagine, has one of the ten commandments on it.  It is not the most attractive piece of jewelry, but definitely unique, and loved.

I gave my best friend a ring once, that was truly unique.  In fact, I had to have it made special.  It had a setting similar to a figure eight with one white pearl and one black pearl.  It was gorgeous.  My friend is Polynesian and my skin is glow in the dark white.  It was nearly as beautiful as our friendship.

Unique jewelry is always treasured.  Pieces of jewelry that you buy in the mall can be a dime a dozen, but truly loved jewelry has a look all its own.  And you can start your own collection of sentimental, and loved jewelry by collecting pieces of your own for your future generations.

I suggest http://www.salangonline.com for affordable designer, unique jewelry.  You can find old treasures at thrift stores and flea markets.  Where your jewelry for your children, pass it on, and then they will pass it on to their children and you will begin your generations of favorite jewelry.

This is a sponsored post for Salang, however, all the points and views are my own.

When Boys Become Men

I love the moment when your son comes to you and asks "Do you think I need to start shaving?"  It's funny how they always say "need"... as if the five single hairs that a scattered around the bottom of his chin command that he "needs" to shave.  But as a good mother, I withdraw from saying that 60 seconds with a tweezer and I could take care of your "need" to shave for another five to ten years.

You've heard the old saying that once you start shaving, the hair will come back thicker and more prickly.  When I told this to my son, it only excited him to begin shaving today!  Apparently, in junior high it is a sign of man hood when you "need" to shave.  And this old wives tail doesn't ring true in this instance, because my son shaved several times a day and still he was only working on keeping those five hairs under wraps.

The funny thing is that he lost interest.  And when he was in his late teens, early twenties, he still had not interest.  And he really "needed" to shave!  So I bought a shaving kit for men... or "dopp kit" is what my Dad always called them.  Although grateful, it still didn't give him the excitement I knew it would have when he was a boy.  I should have given it to him then.

But my boy is a young man now.  I know this because when he gives me a kiss, I can feel the stubble.

This is a sponsored post for The Art of Shaving, however, all the points and views are my own.

If We Could Only Find Him

I handle collections for the company I work for and it may sound strange, but I enjoy my job.  I frequently am told that I am the nicest, most polite collector.  I have to be.  The people I am collecting from are out customers and we want them to continue doing business with us.  And for the most part, this works.  For the most part.

There is always that occasional person who takes advantage.  I don't start inquiring on payment until the bill is at 21 days.  This gives the calculating and dishonest person, three weeks of purchasing before we cut him off.  Then collecting is a problem because usually they didn't have the money to pay anyway.  We end up having to take them to court, but this requires that we serve them papers.  And this is sometimes the hardest part of collecting... finding them.

We still have one person who actually operates out of a truck!  Of course, we didn't know that at the time.  They had a business address, or so we thought, business license, etc... where everything looked legit.  But the fact that he works from his truck definitely makes his location... abstract?

With advancements in technology, serving papers to someone has become a little easier.  ABC Legal analyzes GPS coordinates, process server routes and travel time, and uses other technology to not only find the defendant, but provides time/date stamped photos.

Now when we are ready to serve papers... we know longer have to wonder... if we could only find him... because now we can.

This is a sponsored post for ABC Legal, however, all the points and views are my own.

Impressive

An apology can be difficult.  Admitting your wrong can be even more difficult.  And finding a business that will do both is not as common as you would hope.

I came across an article about Chargify Subscription Billing and was impressed.  The title was included the words "How I Infuriated Customers".  Talk about owning up.

Apparently, when Chargify was starting up, they decided to offer a free plan.  It was a generous thought... providing free service to allow businesses to grow and then upgrade to a paying plan.  The problem was that most of the businesses taking advantage of the free option were not businesses were going to become paying customers.  It also turned out that these free customers were requiring the most support.

Long story short...Chargify sent an email saying that free was no longer available and they had actually increased pricing on some of their plans.  You can imagine, they received quite a bit of negative feedback.  But this is where they stood out.  They came back and fully admitted that they should have communicated more to their customers so they would be aware of the coming changes.  They admitted that they should have given a discount to those customers who had supported Chargify from the beginning.

In the end, Chargify owned up to all of it.  They went back and did give better pricing.  They communicate frequently with their customers and most important... they listen to the feedback.

A company that admits when their wrong.  Impressive.

This is a sponsored post for Chargify, however, all the points and  views are my own.

Attend Those Events

I like food.  I like to eat.  And I eat carbs.  I also eat sugar.  I pretty much am open to trying just about anything.  My favorite food is unusual, eclectic, fun food.  I think my favorite is catered events.  There is just something so fabulous about h'ordeuvres!  And cute little dessert bars with mini tarts, eclairs, petite fours

I have been blessed with lots of opportunity to enjoy catered food.  Cancer fund raisers are wonderfully full of h'ordeuvres and other delicious treats.  I have had coconut shrimp with pineapple salsa (scrumptious) and tiny bites of filet mignon with a bacon wrap and smear of blue cheese (incredible), and a tiny spoon made of chocolate with a dolop of chocolate raspberry mouse in it (melt in your mouth fabulous).

I even attend one event where they had set up many, many different stations.  There was a mashed potato bar, a fajita station, Kobe beef, seafood, and countless others.  Their dessert bar actually had a pyramid made of chocolate with a cake and mouse mixture inside.  Unbelievable.

Weddings are also a great place to try specialty catered food.  I grew up in San Diego, and have attended a couple of weddings of dear friends out there and the food was fantastic!  Both events used Buckboard Catering & Events and again, the food was incredible.  Roast beef (so tender), meatballs (full of flavor), and a delightful and very unique salad.

So anytime there is an event with food, you can bet, I will be there.

This is a sponsored post for Buckboard Catering and Events, however, all the points and views are my own.

Eat Out!

I don't really eat out often, but maybe that's because I live in Utah.  I'm not knocking Utah.  It has many fine qualities, but food is not one of them.  We tend to have very bland home style cooking which can be wonderful for a lot of people, but if you yourself cook, it can be very boring.

Whenever I travel I eat through my destinations.  In New York, I love the bakeries.  They are real authentic delicious bakeries.  In Utah, we tend to make a dough and add chocolate chips for a chocolate chip cookie, or add blueberries for blueberry muffins.  You get what I mean.  It is very bland.  But New York has canolis, cheesecake like no other, breads that smell magnificent, buttery cookies.  I stop at everyone I pass.

Also on the east coast you have the Boston Back Bay Restaurants.  If you like seafood, let me just say that this town knows seafood.  You won't find a better clam chowder, or crab cake than right here.  Half the fun is that people expect and want clam chowder in Boston, so with each restaurant attempting to out do the other, the variety is astounding and positively delicious.

So matter where you go... who you may be visiting... truly feel the ambiance of where you're out and... EAT OUT!

This is a sponsored post for Vlora, however, all the points and views are my own.