Dress success

My oldest daughter had been searching for the perfect dress to wear to a wedding in a few weeks. She looked at women's clothing catalogs, online stores and found a few dresses she liked, but the ones she did like were pretty expensive. Since I'm visiting her in AZ right now, we headed off to the mall today to see what we could find. I spotted a dress that was a bit different of a style for her, but I thought it would look amazing on her.

It did.

It was on sale.

Dress success.

Personalize your balls...

In the category of products I did not know existed would come the ability to buy personalized soccer balls -- Yes the title was a bit deceiving but for those of you who went in other directions? Tsk...tsk...

As a parent of five, one advantage I could see for personalization of sports items would be you'd have less arguing over who it belonged to. I can't count the number of times one of my would lose something then claim an item belonging to a sibling was theirs...

You don't develop courage by being happy...

“You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”

So says the quote attributed to the Greek Philosopher Epicurus and it is true. For many of us we don't have courage especially when it comes to our relationships. We let people that claim to love us abuse us emotionally and at times physically. We make excuses for them, blame or own behavior or jokingly talk about needing to find the best testosterone boosters out there to somehow make us more courageous.

I used to be an emotional doormat, going out of my way to give, and give and give some more even when nothing was given in return. It's a hard cycle to break and it may end up making some relationships no longer possible. It was easier for me to give in, but the damage I did to myself in constantly folding was worse than what I've gone through in cutting off friends and family members who are not willing to accept that relationships need to be based on mutual respect and realistic expectations of what a person can give.

Xbox versus Sega

My youngest daughter's boyfriend has been staying with us since before Christmas since his living situation with his mother was not one that was working out. One of the things he brought with him was his xbox 360. It's pretty interesting how advanced gaming has gotten but the other day when he and my daughter were bored they discovered our old Sega game system in the garage. They've been playing Sonic for a few days now, it's funny to watch them entertained a game that to them is simple but at the time? Seemed pretty amazing as far as game technology...

I feel like we have a health and beauty section...

Take three people between the age of 20 and 15 and one small bathroom and you can imagine the overflow of their various lotions, shampoos, conditioners, make up (for the two females) feminine products, acne solutions, cotton balls, face washing clothes, etc., etc. It wasn't bad when it was contained within the bathroom though at times things were packed so tightly one product being placed wrongly created a domino affect...

It wasn't bad when some of it migrated to the vanity or to the extra desk, though it had to be kept out of reach from my granddaughters. However earlier tonight it had spread to my dining room table...That's where I drew the line and the motto of the blog actually fit. "The revolution begins at home" and it did begin here, the war against beauty products and make up in my dining room...So far? I'm winning.

:-)

Technology I have to learn...

Yes, I'm a blogger and I have seven blogs, but when it comes to cell phones? I'm still a purist and a novice at heart, just recently breaking down and learning how to text message to the amusement of my family. Why? Because even though I've heard that iPhone's rock and that you can use an iphone dock, I don't want to take the internet with me with as much time as I spend on it when I am home. I think the MobileFun website is a great one to visit, it does show you what is available and it's organized in a way that I wish some of the sites are in the US would follow.

I have learned as an example about how important the right blackberry case can be, it can be the difference between seeing a phone get damaged by water and surviving to ring another day; though I've resisted having a blackberry, three of mine now have them. Two of them have the same blackberry model, which is another nice thing about the MobileFun site, they have pictures which make it easier to identify which exact phone you have. Another thing I should learn more about, is the bluetooth headset, supposedly my bunch tells me my phone is "bluetooth capable" and that would end my frantically looking for my phone when it rings...Though I'm not really sure I'd like wearing the ear thing, that was one of the things I don't miss about working in a call center is the whole headset thing. In a way I'd like my next phone to have a keyboard but I have a feeling with as small as they are? It wouldn't help my texting speed...I felt proud of myself when I learned how to get rid of the T9 and to use the abc, though the girls keep telling me if I'd just learn the T9 I'd be faster.

:-)

Sometimes I get tired of politics...

Last week I was fighting this virus/cold/flu whatever it is bug that's gone through some of my family and friends, I also was going through one of those periods where I was really tired of politics. It seems as if it's a never ending circle at times where so little is accomplished and so much is unnecessary. So, I could have focused on the latest hot discussion in my house as to where to buy weight loss pills, which considering I had little appetite, wasn't appetizing...Or? I could have let myself get lured into Facebook games, something I had avoided.

It started out so simply, one of my daughter's telling me she needed my help in Sorority Life because she didn't have enough "house members" and was constantly getting beaten up by other sorority houses. All I had to do was join she said, I didn't have to play. So, after being harassed/begged/pleaded with I joined and named my character "ErinForcedMe" -- then I started playing. The downside is not that it's not fun, it is fun, but the energy given is really low, personally I think it's designed to make you either pay for more energy to complete the levels, or to do those silly click ad things where you have to go through 25 pages of junk clicking "no" "No" "NO" as well as to promote you playing other games while you are waiting so you can be tempted to buy more energy points or click on the silly click ads...

I have however discovered that it is fun to "ice" or "whack" people in Mafia Wars, much to the surprise of some of my family and friends...

Ramadan begins in the US...and my house...

No, I have not converted, I am still a Roman Catholic but one of my daughters is more interested in Islam and my youngest, never being one to be left out of anything is also practicing Ramadan this year which in the US began today. I have to admit the first day of Ramadan was profitable for me, because to take her mind off of not being able to eat or drink anything until sunset (8:24 pm - yes they knew on the dot) she decided to clean. My kitchen is now spotless and totally re-organized.

Ramadan also takes the topic of diets and diet pills one that's not discussed at all. What's being discussed is will the youngest make it, how many days before she breaks and decides that type of fasting is not for her. She kept opening the fridge and looking today, considering it's only day one? I'm not sure she'll make it until September 19th...

She's not a swinger...

Last weekend my husband and I took my oldest granddaughter to the park, she's not quite two years old yet. We had previously thought about swing sets when we get finished with the renovation at the other house, because my children always enjoyed swings from the time they were very young until...well some of them still enjoy swing sets, especially if it is a porch swing. However, at least at this point my granddaughter hates swings. At least swing sets, though I'm told that she does like porch swings. That written, she may out grow the swingset fear and there is another granddaughter who in a year or so may have a different attitude towards swings...

My last child entering high school is not starting out well...

I've had problems before with Toledo Public Schools, but this time around I'm getting so tired of the disorganization, the miscommunication and the downright stupidity. I received a phone call this morning that one of my youngest daughter's classes was not going to be taught this year. The fact that I had to actually go through hell to get her into the class before school was let out and the fact that had they not known they were going to offer it now should have been known a heck of a lot sooner is a huge frustration.

Since this is my last child to enter high school there have been times when classes were not offered but the school district my other four attended never handled it in such a late, slipshod manner.

Secondly, she's supposed to get her schedule this week, and the counselor won't have time to discuss this news that she dropped on me this morning via a phone call until Friday. Which really makes going through the whole schedule pick up this week stupid and pointless.

She received her schedule by mail just a few weeks ago - so if there were going to be changes made? It should have been done before now and there should not be any additional last minute changes like this. While I do appreciate being told before we go pick up her schedule, it demonstrates to me that customer service is not even remotely happening...

Sandals versus flip flops and sticker shock...

For years I resisted wearing flip flops, where you realize it's really hard to find inexpensive sandals that don't utilize the whole thong thing between your big toe and your second toe. This may not sound like something worth "ranting" about, but with my increasing mileage in walking, sandals most times are not comfortable and flip flops are to me less comfortable than walking barefoot and when it's really hot tennis shoes are just not appealing. While my preferred method when the weather is warm is barefeet, that's not a smart thing to do when trying to trek a few miles, even if the soles of your feet have become like leather. (Who knows someday I might want to be a firewalker - lol.) My favorite pair of sandals I've had for years, Dr. Martens, appear to have reached the end of their lifespan and it doesn't seem as if that particular style that I love is still available.

I finally tried one of the many pairs of flip flops in this house, magically finding a pair that matched, since most of the girls in this household seem to have no problem not wearing the same color on both feet, yes, you may think there is a pair just like that at home, but like socks, flip flops disappear around here. They also don't last long, which is not a big deal since most of them are pretty cheap but I'm used to having my shoes/sandals last for quite a few years, I just don't find the flip flops comfortable at all. So, my hunt for a pair of walking sandals has started, I've seen some that look appealing made by Ecco shoes but spending over $100.00 for a pair of sandals is a bit out of my range, though I now also see that the Dr. Martens are pretty pricey compared to how they used to be. I know, I've just given away how long it's been since I shopped for shoes if I think that over $100.00 is expensive, it makes me wish I would have done what I did with my boots, I really loved them so I bought two pairs while they were on sale, then? I'd still have an extra pair of my favorites...

The story of the juicer diet...

I love my husband (well most times) and I love my children (most times) but at times the interesting side dramas and how it creates more work for me can be either the source of frustration or I can decide it can be a source of humor. The juicer diet is one of those stories where the choice is up to me and I've opted to laugh rather than to throw things at them.

My fourth oldest daughter decided she wanted to go on this juicer diet and she was going to go on it with my husband. This is after several different types of diets and a diet pill or two. This of course first required that a juicer must be purchased, because how could one juice without a juicer? Of course someone else might wonder if there were not other alternatives that did not require a over $50.00 juicer but that person would be scorned as "a person of no faith in the power of juicing."

The previously mentioned person of no faith in the power of juicing (PONFITPOJ) (you can guess who that is) noticed that the daughter dropped out of the juicing diet rather quickly, in addition to discovering how much fruit and vegetables were required to make a small amount of juice. Not to mention how messy the whole juicer process was and despite the claims that the left over pulp could be used for breads and muffins...As the PONFITPOJ pointed out, the two dieters couldn't eat that stuff anyway as it was not on the juicer diet plan.

Now of course the juicer has sat there for 7 days without being used, though it is a pretty countertop decoration. The daughter has dropped the diet and the husband is trying to stick to a diet but is not using the juicer, he is instead actually eating the fruits and veggies which appears to not only be more filling but makes less of a mess for the PONFITPOJ to clean up.

This of course leads us to the moral of the story, the actual adventure was juicer than their diet...

The more it snows, the more some think of sand

It's January and some are probably tired of snow and cold weather by now, I know we've been lucky when it comes to snow but yesterday and today's snow storm does make the idea of an jamaica all inclusive resort vacation seem appealing. Since I know that if a miracle happened and we did plan such a getaway at least several of my children would insist on being included, any idea related to romantic vacations would be zero possibility.

The other night when we were watching 27 Dresses when they had the caribbean weddings theme at the end, two of my daughters turned to me and said it had been a very long time since we went south, far south. The last time was a trip to Florida and the time before that was the Bahamas. Then the snow came, which could mean either it's time for a vacation, it snows in Ohio in the winter or they cursed us...

:-)

New games equal need for more computer memory...

I cringe inwardly when one of my bunch finds a new computer game they want to try, because I know chances are my computer is going to be the "only" one that this game will play well on since I have the newer computer. Now that I have a laptop it's not as bad as it was before to have to attempt to kick my youngest daughter off of my computer to be able to finish work. Though, I'd much rather work on my pc than the laptop.

Unfortunately her older computer, can't be upgraded anymore without going into buying a new video card and other upgrades. In other cases though, sometimes you can buy computer memory and that will create the ability to play some of the newer games out there. The opposite can also happen, as in the case of some of their older games that are favorites, they can only play them on the computer that still has XP, the ones that have Vista don't cooperate with the game no matter how many "fixes" are attempted.

I always recommend doing some research on what the basic computer requirements are to play a game before you purchase it. If whatever computer is going to be used is the minimum? Chances are you will have a less than satisfactory game experience, the more above the minimum requirements you have, the better the game play.

Things you might not think about when one of yours moves back home...

Since our house at times feels like a revolving door of which one of my older girls has moved home and which one is now living outside of our home, I have become quite adept at organizing living arrangements. Though, my husband has lost his "man cave" I had tried to warn him not to get too attached, that chances are, one of of the girls would be returning to dispose him of his little basement hideaway.

As I sit here, he is currently moving his things back to the main floor so one of my daughter's things can be moved from it's current location of boxes and bags in my living room, to the basement. Something you may not think about in the whole, "OMG where am I going to put this" survival mode is insurance. Especially if you have renters insurance the addition of another family members electronic gadgets, gizmos and clothing might exceed your current limits. It might be a good time to check, and get an insurance quote while you are at it. Depending on how your coverage is set up, you may be able to get an additional discount with an extra vehicle and you should also remind your "back homer" to make sure they let their insurance agent know they moved, it can also affect their rates and might create some savings for them as well if they have a separate policy.

We don't live in our living room...

I wondered where the name "living room" came from, supposedly it stems from the Latin word "Lounge" and in some countries it's called a "lounge" as opposed to a living room, which would actually make more sense since very few of us actually "live" in our "living rooms." Ironically in our house we use the living room less than any other room, in part because my husband has his surround sound system in our bedroom so that's where most of the movies are typically watched. At times by our daughters and at times by all of us, some on the bed, some at the computer chairs in the room.

Our living room is small in this house, but I have wondered at times what it would be like to have a larger one, where you could have some type of a home theater seating arrangement. What made me start pondering this so late at night? Trying to get into bed earlier and having to brush crumbs from my side of the bed left by my youngest who evidently enjoyed some chips while she was watching movies earlier...

A no diet Thanksgiving...

This year will be a bit different of a Thanksgiving, this time none of my four daughters are on a diet, which always resulted in their wanting to eat some of their favorites yet trying to deprive themselves and me telling them that it was okay, that they could have a small amount of holiday food without their whole life crashing down before them and their diet being ruined or their needing to take diet pills even longer because of one family dinner...

So at least this year, no one will be saying, "MOM! Why did you make that, you know I can't eat that!"

:-)

My 14 year old daughter shares her thoughts...

I debated posting this, but after she wrote this report, my 14 year old who is disgusted with the political process was even more disgusted with some of the comments she received from classmates when she turned this paper in. A good many of the boys in her classroom stated to her that a woman should not run for president and then there were those who were not even aware that there were third party candidates running for office. This is the same child who unfortunately experienced a hateful phone call from an Obama supporter who thought she was me when she answered a "private" call that she thought was from her boyfriend. I asked for her permission to post her essay and she granted it. As a parent, it's sad that so few parents and our educational system teach our children that there is more...My child is the only one who knew about Washington's speech...

McKinney and Clemente: Power to the People

In 1796 the first President of our Nation, George Washington warned us in his Farewell address that we should not let "the baneful effects of the spirit of party" enter our political system. Candidates like Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente who are the Green Party Presidential and Vice Presidential representatives show that part of our nation still believes that the two main parties should not be in total control. The courage it takes to run a presidential campaign where you know the media will not give you equal or fair coverage is one of the reasons I selected these candidates to write about. McKinney and Clemente as the first two women of color to ever be on a presidential ticket on a majority of states in the US is a historic first that I think deserves attention.

The platform that McKinney and Clemente have on the economy, education and foreign policy is very detailed. On the economy most of what they have stated is about equal pay for equal work and the need for our government to do more to insure that people have the right to a job. They feel too many minorities and the poor do not have access to jobs and that the government should do more for people than businesses. On education, it's stated that they feel everyone who wants to go to college should be able to without being thousands and thousands of dollars in debt when they are done. Inner city schools would get more help in their idea of what the Department of Education should do and there would be more affordable day care programs to teach preschoolers and to help parents be able to go back to school. McKinney and Clemente both oppose the war in Iraq and our government spending billions of dollars on war. They would create a "Department of Peace" to try for more peaceful answers to some of the problems in the world. Bringing troops home from over 100 countries where they are stationed, cutting funding to the Pentagon and the Department of Defense and sending the Army Corps of Engineers to nations to help them build infrastructure are some of the plans they have.

After I decided to write about the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney for President, I found out just how hard the media and the other two parties make it for anyone to find out about them. They aren't allowed at any of the debates, they aren't supported by any of the unions or any of the other groups that are in power here in the US. Picking her and Rosa Clemente to write about is more of a protest vote because I don't believe that either of the other two main candidates or Parties really cares about us. All they care about is getting elected and trying to keep their power. Both political parties have been promising people things for years that they never do. Money and power is more important to them than every day people. Some people believe that voting for a third party candidate is a "waste of their vote" and I don't agree with that. I feel that it's also one way to tell the two main parties that they are doing a really bad job and people are tired of it. My mom always tells me "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" which seems true. We didn't listen to George Washington. McKinney and Clemente campaign slogan of "Power to the People" is what they are trying to do, give power back to the people rather than the parties, so if I could vote, they are who I would vote for.

Today is Seether day...

This which is "Fake it" and "Rise Above This" were my songs of the day. This is despite my daughter telling me I'm too old to like Seether, little does she realize I listened to them before she did.

:-)

She'll walk a mile for make up...

Those of you who have been following our personal saga of life without a car know that it's been a challenge, especially for my youngest daughter. While she rides the bus home from school she hates riding the bus. She loves to wander with her friends, walking from one house to another but actually walking to a destination? Such as asking her to walk down to the carry out for a bottle of diet pepsi, isn't going to happen.

Yesterday she asked me if she could walk down to the drug store because she was out of eye liner. For a girl her age, that is a crisis, I pointed out to her that it was almost a 3 mile walk there and back, and off she went for what was really her first shopping adventure without having an adult or one of her older siblings being there. I'd like to say she spent her money wisely, but she didn't, she blew everything she had on make up and some other acne treatments that I had refused to buy for her because of the price. But? Just as everything, she'll learn and at least rather than wait for something she wanted, she took responsibility for getting it.