Maybe Not For The Young

I've mentioned before that I work at a company that receives and ships product via semi trucks on a daily basis. Our company frequently is looking for new drivers and we have had young employees who are looking for advancement take the necessary steps to gain their CDL license.  Sometimes this goes well, and other times, not so much.

We had one driver who could do everything, and I mean everything, required to pass the CDL test except for backing a trailer into a dock door.  And once he got it in his head that he couldn't do it, well, he really couldn't.  With this being required on both ends of driving... the picking up and the delivery of product, this just didn't work out.  And then we had the nervous driver... who was so overly cautious that he ended up causing more harm than good.

You have to possess a certain ere of confidence when driving one of those massive semi trucks.  Not too much. You do want to side with caution.  But you also have to be able to do what is necessary to get your load around town, or across the country for that matter.  We had one such nervous driver.

Upon entering the freeway, he remained overly cautious..... going ever so slowly as to get his truck into a lane.    Knowing that he would be on the freeway for quite sometime, he was shooting for the far left lane.  He hesitated, then accelerated, hesitated again, accelerated until he got the trailer swaying from left to right.  Once this swaying gets started, it is very hard... very hard to stop it.  Only an experienced driver can maintain this type of motion.  The entire trailer fell on it's side, naturally dragging the cab with it, and the whole thing slid on it's side down the freeway.  Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the fear in the young driver was very real and remained with him.

It's safe to say, that driving a semi is no casual thing.  There is skill and mental capabilities required... to say nothing of basic driving experience which comes with age.  And anyone who is not aware of this should not have any business giving it a try.

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

A Beautiful Smile

My Mom has a beautiful smile.  She always has had that perfect toothy grin that everyone admires.  Every picture I have ever seen of her shows off her smile.  And I know she likes her smile.  She is not a vain person by any means, but she is very comfortable in her own skin.  In her high school days, she was considered very attractive and had many beaus.  The pictures of her show off a wonderfully clear and lovely complexion, her lovely smile, happy eyes, and her wow-like figure.  Her waist was so tiny.  I don't think any of us had as tiny of a waist has her... even when in elementary school.  She was the perfect example of 36" - 24" - 36".  And despite all of these wonderful qualities, it is still her smile that people notice first.  Thank goodness her love for tennis developed after she was married and had children who were well into their teens... and after their were vast improvements in cosmetic dentistry.

My parents played tennis on a regular basis.  They played doubles.  My Mom played with a women's tennis group while my Dad was at work, and we were at school.  She had a wonderful group of friends and loved the game along with her social network of fun girlfriends.  I will never forget the Saturday where Dad and Mom were playing doubles.  My brother and I frequently went to shag the balls for them and we would play our own version of tennis on another court.  Well, there was quite a lengthy exchange of volleys.  It was the kind of point that you just couldn't believe could go on that long, but hit after hit both sides just kept scrambling to return the ball.  And then my Mom raced to make a final last save and somehow her swing came right back at her and that beautiful smile... was missing her left front tooth.  Her racket had knocked it clean away!  Well, I guess not completely away.  There was a small crooked stub of a tooth protruding from the gum.  I will never forget how just one tooth can drastically change a smile.  We all just stood there in shock.  Of course, my Mom was mortified... and it was a Saturday so who were we going to get a hold of now?

We had lots of time over the weekend to gather recommendations and Monday morning she was on the fast track to getting her beautiful smile back.  Honestly, I can't tell which tooth it was and she is still the most beautiful Mom around.

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

Growing Older

I have always told myself that I would not succumb to getting any "work done" as I grow older.  I don't color my hair, although, I confess this is mostly due to my laziness.  I am a low maintenance woman and if I colored my hair, I would have to continue as my hair grew out.  To be honest, I like the color of my hair and I don't have a problem with gray in my hair.  I'm 51 and so there should be some gray.  I also like my wrinkles.  I love the words in Martina McBride's song "This One's For The Girls" where she says, "every laugh line on your face... made you who you are today."  I firmly believe that and don't mind them at all.  But there is one thing I think I would consider.  My smile.

I love to smile.  I love to laugh.  People have always told me what a great smile I have... well not lately.  I have come to notice that my teeth are yellowing.  I never knew what it meant when my Grandpa would say that he is  "growing long in the tooth".  Unfortunately, I get it now.  My dentist says that it's not because my teeth have grown longer, but my gums have receded... making my teeth appear longer.  There are also little cracks and crevices, or spaces between my teeth.  I had braces, but then again, that was nearly 35 years ago.  I guess I can assume they would move somewhat over the years.

So I think I would consider cosmetic dentistry.  And I must admit that if I am willing to consider fixing my smile, then everyone should be able to fix anything that they are not comfortable with.  If your neck skin is sagging and you don't like it... and your willing to go through what is necessary to fix it... then I say "Just Do It!"

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

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.