Informal Critique

Helping Out A Friend In Need

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:34:00 +0000

Sometimes we have so much going on in our own lives I forget that others are dealing with things that are far worse. Tonight I'm putting together a care package to send to a couple we are friends with who have been having a very difficult year. The father has some major back problems, and that's led to a difficulty working. He had a discectomy, but it didn't fix everything and he's been in extreme pain for a couple years. He had another surgery a couple weeks ago to implant a device that will deliver pain medication directly to the damaged part of his back, but he is now on bed rest for a couple months.

On top of that the family found out a few months ago their toddler son has neurofibromatosis, so that have yet another thing they must deal with. Mom has to miss a lot of work to take both Dad and son to numerous doctor's appointments and MRIs, so I know they're struggling. Plus, they also just discovered baby #2 is on the way.

I was feeling pretty down this morning about a situation we're dealing with when thoughts of our friends popped into my head. They have it so much worse, and I shouldn't be dwelling on things that seem minor compared to what they're going through. I know my little care package isn't much, but hopefully it will help them out in some way by providing a few things they can use. I can't give much, but even a pack of diapers or a few cans of food mean that's a few less things they have to buy on their already tight budget.

Where Our Savings Priorities Lie

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:26:00 +0000

When it comes to saving money when we shop I see where Ben and I are different in our priorities. I spend a few hours a week searching for coupons and reading various blogs to see where I can save the most on our groceries. Ben, well he doesn’t really care about any of that. He’ll pay full price for food because he says dealing with coupons is a hassle. Oh, but he has no problem driving two town’s over to the cigars discount store so he doesn't have to pay full price on his cigars. He doesn't smoke them very often, usually on special occasions only, but he still goes out of his way to get them cheaper! I don’t think he even considers the fact that he’s spending more on gas to drive farther!

A Wee Bit Chilly

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:11:00 +0000

Brrr! It’s not as cold as it has been, but I’m freezing today. Even under 2 blankets I’m still shivering! I think a big bowl of hot soup would do me some good right now, but I’m so cold I don’t want to crawl out from under my blankets to make any. Hopefully if I sit here for a bit and think about warm things I might not feel chilled to the bone anymore. Let’s see…pool cabanas, sipping a drink on the beach with warm sand between my toes, bathing suit weather...I think I'm starting to feel a teensy bit warmer already!

Organizing Our Home As A New Year's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:24:00 +0000

Guest post written by Martha Hinderson

I guess that it isn't entirely our fault that our home is a bit messy. We recently downsized to a smaller home and we're still figuring out which belonging we have room for in the new house. That means that we still have a lot of boxes laying around and I wanted to do something about it. So one of my resolutions was to get our home organized so we can feel like we're finally moved in.

I looked online to see if i could find a little guidance for that task. When I was doing that I ran across some info on Home Pro Improvement and after I looked through it some, I decided to use them to help us renovate the kitchen in our new house. It's kind of old and in serious need of some modern updates. I'll be so relieved once we're through with that too!

But the task at hand right now is to organize our home. We've sat down a few nights to sort through things that we need and don't need. So we're about halfway there. I actually found a few things that might be worth some money that we can sell, so that will be an extra plus!

Burnt Out

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:21:00 +0000

I admit I've already slacked off a bit on my goal of decluttering. I spent so much time last week sorting and tossing stuff that I'm a bit burnt out on it right now. I had planned to spend the day going through clothes we no longer need, but I never got around to it. Hopefully I'll gain back some of that motivation tomorrow since Hubby will be stuck at home thanks to the rain and snow. Maybe I'll have enough of my own motivation going to in turn motivate him to help me finish cleaning out the utility room. We've got some stuff stacked up in there that is too heavy for me to move, so I'm definitely going to need his help.

Working Hard At Decluttering

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:15:00 +0000

I've gotten a lot more organized in the last few days than I thought I would. Ben couldn't work yesterday or today because of the rain, so he's been a big help. We cleaned out the closets in our room, part of the attic, and when the sun came out this afternoon we tackled a bit of the mess in the garage. By the time yard sale season rolls around I'm going to have a huge pile of stuff ready to sell.

We've got so much junk we don't use and/or need, so it's all going out the door. I mean why does Ben need a welding helmet and mig welder in the garage if he doesn't weld? He picked them up second hand when he was thinking about going back to school for welding, but that didn't happen. Now they sit in the garage along with tons of other stuff he doesn't use taking up extra space. That space could be used for oh let's say a car for me!

I've figured out exactly what I'm going to do with any extra money I earn from yard sales and Ebay. I'm going to dump it all into a "buy Jenn a car" fund. I'm sure I won't save enough to buy the Infiniti I really want anytime soon, but I can dream.

Planning Goals for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:38:00 +0000

With the new year comes new goals I've setting forth to attempt to accomplish. I've never been one for making resolutions because I most likely give up after the second or third week and feel like utter crap for doing so. I will never, and I mean never make a resolution involving weight loss because it just won't work.

Instead I make a list of goals I would like to accomplish throughout the year, sort of a bucket list of sorts for that specific year. If I completely my list, great! It's great if I complete my list, but if I don't I won't fret over it. The goals aren't set in stone, and the list is more of a guide for me. It's a place I can add things I would like to do, and whenever I get some free time or money I can refer to the list for something I can get done.

For instance I have a few pieces of furniture I would like to sand and refinish. I know I can't do it anytime soon because I just don't have the time or money right now, but I can add those to the list. Then later on in the year I may be able to mark that off. The top item on my list right now is reorganizing my entire house and getting rid of many things I've held onto that we have no use for or room to house anymore. I've tried the "30 days to..." type things, and they never work for me. I always get sidetracked half way through and stop. Instead I'm making a note to sort through something each day as I have time whether it be an entire room or just one box. That I can handle.

Do you make resolutions? What about goals for the year?

Merry Christmas Y'all!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:59:00 +0000

We'll be so busy the next few days I probably won't have an extra second to sit down at my desk, so I wanted to go ahead and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Yes, this girl still says Merry Christmas...none of that happy holidays junk.

If you celebrate the holiday have your Christmas festivities started yet? Ours start tonight with dinner at my Mom's house. We'll have a dinner each night from now until next Tuesday, and both tomorrow and Christmas day are packed with various events we have to attend.

I can't wait to see how Ellie reacts this year when it's present time. Last year she was 14 months old, so she grasped the concept that something wrapped up in front of her means she gets to rip it open. She didn't really understand that she had more than 1 gift to open, though, so she wanted to stop and play with the first thing she opened. She's 2 now, and she's been helping my aunt and me wrap presents, so she understands that it's a gift for someone inside that paper.

When I wrapped Ben's present a few nights ago she was so excited to show it to him. As soon as he walked in the door she was under the tree pointing and saying "Daddy me buy presents. Me wap presents. You get presents." Thankfully she doesn't know what's in the box, or she'd be telling what it is. She hasn't grasped the concept that presents are a surprise lol. I got him a new phone through our discounted upgrade and a couple funny tshirts he's been wanting (no worries, he doesn't read this blog). She's tried to tell him the box is filled with everything from a baby doll to a new bike. He just laughs and says "Well baby, that must be an awful small motorcycle. What color is it?" She always replies "green Daddy!". Man, I love her and her imagination!

Anywho, it's about time for me to get dressed, and then I'll have to wake Ellie up from her nap a bit early to get her dressed and make it there in time. Hopefully she won't be too cranky! So, once again, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a joyous holiday full of lots of family, friends, and love!

Baby Planning 102

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:19:00 +0000

My little cousin had a baby girl last week, and now that we're financially back on track I admit seeing that beautiful baby had baby fever hitting me with the force of a freight train. Ben and I began discussing future children shortly after we had Ellie, and we had already come up with a plan for baby #2. We decided we wanted to start trying to expand our family shortly after Ellie's second birthday, but then we got slapped with the job loss and all that.

Let me tell you that's one sure fire cure for baby fever. I would see a baby, and instead of getting all excited and wishing for another one of my own I would be hit with the fear that we would find ourselves surprised with a baby on the way when we were so financially unable to handle it. We were having a hard enough time providing for our family of three.

Now that's behind us. Of course there's always the possibility that we could find ourselves jobless again in the future, but thanks to the contract Ben picked up with his current job we know it won't happen for a long time. We're ready to expand our family, and it couldn't come at a better time. Every single one of my married female friends that was planning on having more children is currently pregnant. It is so hard not to want another baby when my best friend just gave us the news that she can be added to that list. Now I'm the only one left standing without child.

This also means I'll have to start gathering up all the maternity clothes I have because most of them aren't actually mine. My bff and I had our first babies 6 months apart, so except for a few seasonal items that I purchased the maternity clothes were borrowed from her. This time I'm thinking I may go ahead and start buying some maternity clothes before I pee on that stick and get a positive line. I want to be prepared, so I might as well start checking out maternity clothes stores for year round items while it's the time of year for sales. I'm confident we won't have any problem getting pregnant again. We only tried for about 2 months when we got pregnant with Ellie.

Our conversation was pretty much like this...

Me- (early January 09) Can we finally have a baby now? I mean we've been married 6 years, and you always said you wanted to have kids when your best friend did so your kids would be about the same age. Well, he's got one on the way.

Ben- Okay, I'm in. Let me go throw the condoms away.

Me- (2 months later sitting at the lookout on the mountain in the middle of a motorcycle ride) Hey, I just got sick on the bike, so I must be pregnant. I think we should stop at the store for a test on the way home. (2 hours later) Yep, I'm pregnant.

So yeah, I don't think it will be that hard for us to get pregnant again. I've even taken a few fertility tests over the last couple of months to make sure everything is A-okay, and it is. I might as well start preparing now while I can get the clothes I'll need on the cheap!

Just A Meme Post

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:55:00 +0000

I know I'm way behind on this one, but I felt like doing a couple memes today, so oh well. I'm going to start with last Sunday's Unconscious Mutterings since I haven't done this one in awhile.

I say ... and you think ... ?

Dedication :: Motherhood
Dream destination :: Ireland
Games :: Board
Hard as :: Nails
Convict :: Felon
Submit :: Hit Enter
Alcohol :: Poisoning
Clippers :: Nails
Hormonal :: Me!
Diet :: Exercise

Moving along...

The Saturday Six

1. What is your least favorite Christmas dessert? bread pudding

2. Which cartoon that was popular when you were a child could you just not get into? I really can't remember any. I loved pretty much all the cartoons!

3. What’s the most embarrassing cell phone ringtone that you’ve heard someone else’s phone play? One of my male friends used to have a Backstreet Boys ringtone. I'm not sure if he found it embarrassing, but it was pretty embarrassing to me when I was out in public with him!

4. When you’re having a bad day or you’re in a bad mood, which song best keeps you in that bad mood or makes it that much worse? Um...what kind of question is this? I guess when I'm pissed off and want to stay that way I listen to rock, but there's not any particular song that keeps me pissed off.

5. What was the first time that you remember truly feeling like an adult? Heck I still don't feel like an adult!

6. When someone first walks into a room, what is the first thing you tend to notice about that person? The eyes. I always notice a person's eyes before anything else.

Boys and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Thanks for the post from Lynn Guy

I love sitting at home with my boys and watching sports on the weekends, all three of them! My sons are all about basketball and my husband’s more of an NFL guy so at the end of the day there’s always some game or another on our TV. I got us Direct TV Chandler for the house so we’d get all the games they wanted and it’s really helped everyone stick together as a family which I love so much. My sons often invite friends over to watch games which I just adore because I can cook for them and there’s no shortage of fun young energy in the house. I think it’s great having them under my roof where I can keep track of them and my husband agrees – it’s worth it to us to renew the DirecTV year after year just to know what our boys are up to! They’re only 12 and 14 and though they still like us I know they’re itching to get out and about more often.

Back To Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:54:00 +0000

The last time I posted I was pretty stressed out, but a lot has changed in the last couple of weeks. Ben finally found a job, and he lucked up and found a really good job that is exactly what he’s been looking for. Finally! I’m no longer stressing, and I’m not back to working on getting our bills caught back up, the truck paid off, and Christmas presents under the tree. Well, we have to get a tree first, but that will happen next weekend. We won’t be looking for Disney vacation packages anytime soon, but it's nice to know that we're back on track and we can afford to get on with life again. It’s definitely nice not having to stress over things like when the power is going to get shut off, and I admit it was getting to that point. One more week without a job, and practically everything would’ve been cut, but I thank the Lord above things worked out.

What A Week!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Normally I can blame my depressed mood and insomnia on my Thyroid imbalance, but this week it has been caused by pure stress. When I’m stressed I get depressed, and when I’m depressed I just can’t sleep. I’ve been dealing with this a lot with the whole job hunt issue. Ben still hasn’t found a job (he’s got an interview in the morning so cross your fingers!), and my own job hunt has turned up nothing.

To top it off someone knocked on the door at 9:30am, and Ben opened the door to find a cop asking for me. I freaked out wondering what the heck a cop would want with me. He was serving me papers…from a debt collection company…for a debt I paid off years ago. Of course that stressed me out to the max because I thought I had let something slip through the cracks completely forgetting to pay it. I pulled out my records, and I have receipts showing that debt paid in full. It’s just some random junk debt buyer trying to scare me into paying something I’ve already paid. As I’ve got the receipts it’s a pretty cut and dry case, so I’m not too worried about it now. Yesterday, it did add to the stress, though.

Then I sat down to blog last night, and the O key on my netbook broke off the keyboard. I hit the key, and one of the plastic clips on the bottom of it snapped right now. Just great! I popped the zero key off and stuck it in the O’s place because I just can’t do without my O key. It’s practically impossible not to use it! See, three O’s in that sentence alone! I can still use the zero key, but I’m hitting the little rubber connection underneath, not an actual key. I’ll have to do some more rearranging, find another key I hardly ever use to replace it, and I’ll just have to live with a weird looking jacked up keyboard for now. I doubt I can find a replacement letter, and even if I could I couldn’t afford to buy it right now!

Classic Arcade Games Melt My Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:52:00 +0000

As a child of the 80’s I grew up in love with all the arcade classics like Pac-Man. I remember going to Pizza Hut with my parents and quickly inhaling my food so I could drop my quarters into the Pac-Man game. My sister would always leave crying because she was too small to understand how to play. Of course, I wasn’t very willing to help her because I didn’t want to interfere with my own playing time. Yep, I was a mean one.

My love of the classic games didn’t subside as I grew older. Ben and I both enjoy playing arcade games from our childhood, so when I saw that ArcadeClassics.net is giving away a pacman arcade machine I was quick to learn how I could grab myself a chance at winning. I’ve always wanted to own a Pac-Man arcade machine. My dad had a Superman pinball machine when I was a kid, and every Christmas I woke up hoping there would be a Pac-Man game sitting in the living room ready to take it’s spot right next to the pinball machine.

I can’t afford to buy my own machine now, but I would love a chance to win one! If you’re interested in the machine entering is easy. SIgn up for the monthly promotion from from ArcadeClassics.net, and you will be entered to win the Pac-Man machine that comes complete with 12 built in games, authentic joystick control, and classic graphics and sounds!

Shopping For The Dads

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Ellie and I are setting out on a task today. Ben's off helping my dad at the pasture, so while both our Dad's are occupied we're going shopping. As usual finding gifts for dad isn't an easy task. What do you buy for the man who already has everything? We’re going to hit up one of the local all day flea markets to look for handmade and one of a kind gifts. Nope, I’m not planning on buying something used and falling apart, but there are a lot of venders that sell custom creations, so it’s a great place to look when you need something unique. I’m hoping to find something for my Dad there. As for Ben, we already know a quick trip to the video game store will suffice. Wish us luck! I already know Ellie will want to buy everything in the store!

Finding A Few Minutes To Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:11:00 +0000

I've been kind of quiet on all my blogs this week, but it's for good reason. Boy do I feel like I've hardly had a moment to sit down. The little one went to stay with my aunt for a little while this afternoon so I can get some things accomplished that are hard to do with her here. I've been trying to write Thank You Notes to all the party guests who brought her birthday presents, but it's hard to do when you've got a 2 year old that likes to snatch your pen away and beg you to draw kitties!

Anywho I just wanted to pop in and say I'm not dead. I'm still around even if I'm a bit quiet these days. Sometimes it's just hard to find time to blog.

Editing Videos With Great Software

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:37:00 +0000

I often have friends and family ask me to edit photo or video for them because they either don’t know how or do not want to deal with the hassle. I enjoy doing both, so I will take on the project more often than not. Most of the time when a person sends me a photo to edit I can quickly open up Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 and have the photo edited in a matter of minutes.

When it comes to videos I’ve had a few problems finding an editing software that I truly love to use, so I often find myself trying different ones before I complete a project. Now I may have found the solution to my problem. I didn’t realize that Corel offers such great video editing software! After reading about VideoStudio Pro X4 I’m ready to download the free trial and give it a try. I have a feeling I’ll be satisfied as this seems like the software I’ve been looking for! With my birthday right around the corner maybe I can convince Ben this would make a great birthday present!

Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Scrunching Gel Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:01:00 +0000

I’ve noticed lately that one of two things has happened…maybe it’s a combination of both. Either my hair is changing, and my styling products that I’m in love with just aren’t working the same anymore, or my favorite curling gel isn’t what it used to be. Whatever is happening I’ve been having a hard time getting my naturally wavy locks to scrunch with my usual scrunching spray.

So a couple months ago I grabbed a coupon for a free Herbal Essences product on their Facebook page. When the coupon arrived I stuck it in my coupon binder thinking I would use it when it was time to stock up on shampoo or conditioner, but because I’ve been getting some great shampoo and conditioner coupons lately I finally decided to use it for something else.

I headed to the store and picked up some Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Scrunching Gel. It’s an extra hold gel (level 2 out of 3 on the Herbal Essences scale). I figured hey it’s free, so it’s worth a shot. I knew if I didn’t like it I could just chock it up to trying a new product without wasting any money.

The verdict?

I am absolutely in love with this product! All week I’ve been playing around with it, scrunching my hair one day, flat ironing, adding the Totally Twisted gel, and using it to help hold some random curls the next. The best part is this product is half the cost of my old scrunching spray that isn’t do it’s job anymore, so I’m going to be saving money, too! The tropical mystique scent smells so yummy, too, and Ben loves it. I think I’ll have to give the rest of the Totally Twisted line a try now starting with the Shampoo and Conditioner.

Came Across It

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Thanks for the post from Heriberto Sanders

I came across some good direct tv specials the other month and I got a bunch of new channels for my house. I’ve never been one to watch a lot of TV but boy has that all changed! I love being able to come home from a long day at work and veg out and one of the channels I get now that I never did before is Oxygen. It’s for women and well, I’m a woman, and though some of the stuff on there is cheesy I like a lot of the reality programming. There’s a show called “Downsized” that follows this huge blended family around and I think it’s just the neatest thing watching their real life unfold. There’s also some great wedding shows on the channel and since a lot of my friends are getting married I think those are interesting, too. Bridezillas is a little extreme but I like the David Tutera wedding specials and some of the cake shows a lot. I don’t know why I’ve started watching so much TV!

These Are So Cool!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:13:00 +0000

Oh my goodness how cool are these camera goggles for scuba diving? Seriously if I had the cash to blow without a care in the world right now I'd order a pair! I'd be looking for excuses to use them! You would probably find me on the bottom of Lake Jocassee whenever I could get a chance searching out parts of history to snap photos (it's a man made lake with old homes still beneath the water). Who knows, I may be able to actually pick up a pair of the 3.1MP goggles soon depending on how I finances go!

Starting A New Online Business Venture

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Who knew I would have such a hard time starting my new business? It's not that I'm having a hard time starting it. It's that I'm having to find time to create product while my child has decided to blossom into a spitting, biting, temper tantrum throwing almost 2 year old (2 1/2 weeks and counting down!), and that has made it very difficult to find time to create. By the time she goes to bed I'm so exhausted that I just don't have the mental capacity to come up with new ideas. I have slowly created a small stockpile of product over the last few weeks (what wasn't snatched up by my photographer friend as photo props!), so I'm now ready to start my new business website.

The hard part now is coming up with a business name that A. I like, B. doesn't sound corny, and C. isn't already taken. I'm still nameless, so I've been concentrating more on finding an ecommerce software solution to use. I like that most of them come with a trial period so I can figure out which one I want to use before I actually make a monthly commitment. I plan to start doing craft shows, but having my own business site will potentially increase my sales because I'll have a wide audience. Yes, there are those free to use commission on sales only websites out there designed specifically for crafters, but they are so flooded with others selling similar products that I feel it's very hard to get any decent "face time" with potential buyers. I'd much rather have my own one stop online shop where you can find everything I make without having to wade through hoards of other products you may not be interested in seeing.

So now is the time for me to crack down and come up with a name. Hopefully I will be debuting my new online store in a matter of days, but that will all depend on how my creative thinking goes while listening to the little one defy me. I'll be so glad when the terrible two's are over!

Holiday Shopping With Coupons

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:31:00 +0000

It’s that time of the year again. It’s time to make your holiday shopping lists! This year I’m keeping my list simple because I’m working with a small budget, and I’m going to seek out the best deals I can find. My list consists of the little one, the husband, and a few family members. Beside each name I’ve written down the types of items I normally buy for those people, and I’m going to shop by matching up those categories with the best coupons I can find. For instance my brother-in-law is a total geek like me, so I normally get him something from one of the electronics stores. I already know I can always find best buy coupons, so I'll shop according to the coupons. I can't wait to see how much I do actually end up spending shopping this way because I won't have to skimp on gifts, but I bet I'll still spend a lot less!

Yummy Temptations

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:06:00 +0000

I’m going shopping tomorrow with my best friend for her new tv, so I’ve been wasting time tonight by sitting here looking at samsung tvs. You know what the problem with wasting time is? It makes me hungry, and when I'm hungry at nearly midnight that is not a good thing. I ended up consuming a whole cajun turkey sandwich and half a bag of BBQ Baked Lays.

That’s also why I don’t like to keep junk food in the house. If it’s not here it can’t tempt me into eating it! Oh, and I don’t care if they’re “Baked” Lays. They’re still fattening potato chips! It’s Ben’s fault. He bought them to go with his lunch today at work, and he brought what he didn’t eat home. Shame on him for tempting me! LOL. Seriously though. It’s no wonder I’ve gained 11 pounds in the last month. If I don’t stop eating like a horse I’ll be as big as one by the end of the year!

A Complete Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:35:00 +0000

It seems the more I try to fix the things that are going wrong in my life the more things go wrong. Really the only thing that has gone right lately was Ben finally finding a job. This week has been particularly stressful because I’ve been at odds with my family. As much as I try to fit in, I don’t, and it leads to major issues. It’s not like I’m this wild rebellious person. I just have different views on the world, and I do things differently. I don’t hide in a corner scared at the least little thing. I get out there and do things, and if I fall on my face oh well. At least I tried. Apparently it’s wrong of me to try new things.

For instance I’ve been working on starting up a new business, and my family knows it. A few days ago a group of family members sat me down and tried to tell me I was wasting my time and money because no one would ever be interested in buying my product. I’m just not the type of person who succeeds, so it would all blow up in my face.

What kind of people say that to someone they supposedly love and support? I definitely don’t have their support in anything, and most of the time I feel like I don’t have their love either. Yesterday evening I was rearranging stuff in the attic making more room to store Ellie’s baby clothes that no longer fits when I came across a box that my Grandma must have left behind without realizing it. It was tucked back in a corner on the far end of the attic, so I’m sure she never ventured that far when they left this house 18 years ago.

Of course I was nosey and opened the box to see what was in it. There were trophies and awards my aunt earned in hair competitions, My mom's bowling trophies, and all kinds of things showing the accomplishments of her children. She encouraged them to try their best, yet she and my mom both seem to go out of their way to tell me I’m going to fail at anything I do. Memories of my childhood came flooding back, and I remembered many other times I was told not to do something because I would always fail. There was the time I wanted to take piano lessons, and my Mom said I’d never stick with it so she wouldn’t let me. Then there was college. I had my heart set on one career, but both of them went on and on about how I couldn’t do it. They finally wore me down until I chose the career choice they felt was best for me, and ya know what? I hated it, and I dropped out of college because I couldn’t stand it.

I sat there wondering how they could justify acting that way and telling me I would fail without giving me a chance. I’ve never been a quitter. When I try something I try hard, and I do my best to succeed. If after giving it my all I fail that’s different. I tried, and I’m proud of myself for trying. I will never tell my daughter she can’t do something. I will always make sure she knows I believe she can do anything she sets her mind to, and no matter what the end result may be I will ALWAYS be proud of her for at least giving it a try.

Sweating It Off

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:07:00 +0000

If you’ve been looking for good fat burners, but you don't have a lot of money to spend I have a solution. After running around my house cleaning like a mad woman while the AC is broken I feel like I've lost at least half of the 7 lbs I've packed on over the last 2 months lol. I'm seriously sweating like a pig wrapped in a blanket on 4th of July!

Most of my house is clean now, though. I still have massive piles of laundry to finish, and while the current load is going I’m going to sit here in front of the AC soaking up what little bit of cool air it’s putting out. We can add recharging the AC to our list of things we need money for!

Speaking of money, Ben finally got some good news about a potential job. He doesn’t have the job just yet, but after a short interview and a glance over his resume the potential boss told Ben to call him back on Monday, and he may have a spot open for him. It’s a residential construction job, and since they’re starting the framing on the new house he may have room for an extra hand, but he needed to go home and crunch the numbers to make sure. Pray, cross your fingers, and plead that the guy can add him to his crew. With the unemployment rate in our county jumping to 11.4% this month it’s getting even harder to find a job, especially in construction, and we really need him to land something soon.