Oh, Wonderful Blog! How I've missed you!

                        Ok. If anyone is still out there, I'm back. If anyone would have told me just HOW hard starting a business was I don't know if I would have believed them.
                        This darn "Premier Design' business is running me ragged. I really am enjoying being away from my kids for about 6 hours every week (if I'm LUCKY). I am really enjoying meeting some really great women. And I am enjoying thinking about something other then kids and husband and dog. BUT, I had no idea just how much time I would have to invest everyday on something as simple as selling jewelry. Between home schooling, normal everyday chores & errands, and now 'Premier' I am not left with very much time to do anything else. Such as my Blog.
                      Soo, much has been going on and I haven't had even a minute to write about it. Ok. Maybe I have had a minute or two but I used those minutes to just sit and enjoy the silence and the nothingness.
                       And silly me. I am trying to figure out a way to finish an "Interior Design" Course before next May, I am volunteering at my daughters school again this year and quite possibly making lunch every Thursday for the school. There are only 34-35 kids (haven't counted yet) so it really isn't that big of a deal, it's just one more thing. I guess sometimes we need to ask our selves what is MOST important.
                       Well, I know one thing that I miss and is important that I must make time for and that is my Blog. So again, if anyone is still out there I am back and hopefully it went be so long and in between posts ever again.
                        It is sooo nice to be back!!
                        

I'm a Jewelry Lady!!



4 pieces of Premier Designs jewelry that I own.



               I finally did it. I signed up with Premier Designs Jewelry and am officially a jewelry consultant. Yeah!!! If you haven't heard of Premier Designs, let me tell you it is some very pretty stuff. Some pieces I would go as far as saying, are stunning.  The jewelry is much prettier in person. I had trouble deciding on this company or another company and am hoping, in the very near future, to do both.

              I am so excited to finally be starting my business! And that's what it is, too. My business. I didn't realize when I signed up and paid about $430, that I was going to need so much business "STUFF". When you sign up for the price I did, you don't get any jewelry to start with.  I am going to be hosting my training show June 4th and am trying so hard to get as many people there as I can! If I can make a certain amount I can purchase a jewelry package that would be perfect in getting me started. Or at least buy a few pieces more than what I have already. A friend of mine so kindly said I could host her jewelry party and I don't have but 4 pieces of  jewelry to show. AAHHGG!

                  I just got my start up package today! It had some catalogs and order forms that I needed and lots of great info. on how to get started and get the most out of my business. I still need to get and do so much before my show and it is only 2 weeks away! I really need to get my wiggle on!

                  Well, I have hope that my training show will be a success. I don't know how I will do at it. I hate standing up in front of people and am usually shy. I have been working on my shyness though and I will do my best! I do so love jewelry and I do believe in this jewelry.

                  I can't wait to get my feet wet and I can't wait to be able to spend some time with some women and do fashion stuff. What fun!! One thing I know, is parties! I love 'em! I just have to remember not to go overboard on the prizes and even the games. Oooooohhh!! Maybe some themes might make the parties even more fun! Maybe.

We went "Camping"!

                       We (Rene, Sagan, Ayla, the folks and I) went "camping". If you can call what we did camping. The folks (Rene's parents) bought a pop up camper about a year ago and refused to use it without us, so we finally said "Let's do it".   
                    First the sleeping and bathroom situation was a pain in the bum!  I am not using a toilet with just a curtain around it just 1 foot away from where the folks are sleeping! So I had to wake Rene up in the middle of the night (just one beer will do that to you) and he and I had to walk across the grounds about 200 feet or more to go use the public toilets (which were very clean) and then back again. As for sleeping, the darn night light the folks needed to see when they got up to use the bathroom was down at the other end of the camper by our bed and was shining in my eyes all night long. It turned out to be very cold that night and we didn't bring enough blankets, so I was freezing! The camper has built in heaters under the mattresses that Rene turned on and warmed us up, but half way through the night I started feeling like a slice of bacon sizzling in a pan. And I woke up every time someone got up to use the bathroom. Even Dad wouldn't use the camper toilet and would get in his truck and drive over to the public toilets. Loud truck.  
                  Other then that it wasn't all bad, even with all my complaints. I got to relax a little and play games on my iPad (no one would play any board games with me) and we had 'KINGS INN' for dinner. If you don't live around here, 'Kings Inn' is a great seafood restaurant. They have this horseradish sauce that is just fantastic! And the firmest tomatoes to put the sauce on! Excellent salad and wonderful fried shrimp and fish. I'm getting hungry just writing about it!


My ping pong hubby



Sagan with his prize



                   Rene and I also got to play some Pool and Ping Pong! I haven't played pool in about 5 years! I love to play pool, so that is truly sad. And I have never played ping pong before. I wasn't very good but it sure was fun! Even Sagan "played" a little pool. He had a great time putting the balls in the pockets and watching them roll back to him. Ayla didn't want to come.



Sagan "playing" pool



Me playing pool!



                   Sagan and I had a birthday party of a friends little boy to go to. He had just turned 3 and Sagan and he are best buds. So we left just a few hours after getting to the camp site and drove back home and went to his party. It was dinosaur themed and the kids had a great time. Sagan won a stuffed triceratops and has been sleeping with it ever since.



Sagan's dino nose from party



                  The place we stayed is called 'Sea Wind'. It is gated and very clean. Only $25 a night and it has a game room (hence the pool table and ping pong table), a rec hall (perfect for a family reunion or wedding which was held while we were there), a skeet shooting range, a pond, a laundry mat, horse shoes, and lots of other fun stuff. So, yeah, I think I could go back there to "Camp" out.





Enjoying grandpa's watermelon





Ayla playing iPod



                 

Sagan pretending that this chair is a camera and is "taking" pictures of us. What an imagination!













Home Schooling Success

               Well, I have been home schooling Sagan for about a month and a half now. And so far it is going pretty good. The little man is very smart. Smarter than he lets on most times. He is catching on to everything we have covered very quickly. Which makes me feel good about the whole home schooling thing. I know the 2 of us can do this.
               We started earlier then the school year so I could test the waters, so to speak. See how he would take to the structure. The everyday or almost everyday working on school related stuff. We haven't settled into a routine, yet. Partially because I don't want to fight him on what we are going to do and when we are going to do it. He is very head strong! If it isn't his idea, he usually doesn't want to do it. But I'm working on that.
                Home schooling a preschooler is a bit different then home schooling a, let's say, 4th grader. A 4th grader can be told/shown what to do and you can leave them to their work for awhile. You can go do the dishes or do something productive that needs to be done. A preschooler, however, needs the constant attention and instruction. Needless to say, I don't get my chores and other important things done. But I am learning to adjust. I am hoping by the start of this next school year, we will have a great schedule down that works for the both of us.
                During the summer I still have to work on the "lesson plans" and curriculum. I want to make sure we are going to touch every base and then some. Right now he chooses the letter of the alphabet he wants to work on and then we put it on the board. That is our letter of the week. We are learning any, even the vowels, that he chooses. We have already covered, D, J, M,  and O.
                 He LOVES to use my iPad for learning, too. I got him about 20 apps so far and he is really getting alot out of them. They really have some great Montisourri apps. I am trying to use as many different teaching aids as I can. It helps to keep his interest and even when he doesn't want to "work" that day he always ends up learning anyway.


Working on our shapes




Beading





Drilling fun






Roll Playing





Discovering Nature







Artist at work



                 When Ayla was little she was a true sponge. She soaked up any and everything that I taught her and was ready for more. Sagan on the other hand has taken his time with everything since the day he was born. I really have to be creative sometimes to get him and keep him interested. My children are almost night and day. (I wouldn't change them for anything though.)



Finger Painting




Our little classroom




Our Classroom



These are just a few pics of some of the stuff we do and will continue to do. I am hoping we can expand and set a good schedule that will still leave us with time to volunteer at the school, run our errands, get my chores done and 

iPad app

still have lots of fun. That is one really great thing about home schooling. We can set our OWN schedule. As long as the learning gets done we can do what we want.



(This app is a Montissouri geometry app. There are alot more colorful ones on the iPad for him to play.)

Treasure Your True Treasures

          I watched the news this morning. I usually don't get to watch the news. I am too busy in the mornings before Sagan gets up and then after he's up it goes to child appropriate viewing. Watching the news just reminded me of just how lucky I am. I actually try to remind myself what is truly important everyday. But sometimes it hits home more then others. Watching the news really made it hit home today.
           With the flooding in Mississippi and so many people having to abandon their homes, the first full face transplant in America to a man who got his whole face burned off in an electrical  accident where he worked two years earlier  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ , all the
tornadoes hitting the east coast and all the people loosing not only their homes but loved ones as well, the terrible earthquakes in Japan and all that devastation and all the acts of violence that surrounds us everyday it shouldn't be hard, at all, to realize what is truly important.
            Life truly is too short. You never know just how much time you have, so enjoy every minute of it. Show your children how much you love them. Spend some extra quality time with them. If they have been extra naughty, take a pause and rethink the punishment. Have some friends over and play some board games. Throw a party. Tell those you love, you love them. Take a deep breath and feel how good it feels to breath. Enjoy a sunset, a sunrise.  "Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" As Auntie Mame would say http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4218159129/ .

My handsome little man

getting along

Molly



Friends



 

Like father, like daughter





Cheetah



              So look at all you have and be thankful. Take a few moments and don't worry about the bills, the chores or any of the other numerous worries we have these days and just be thankful for what really matters. Treasure the true treasures!!



(I would put up a picture of all my friends, family and the kids at school if there were enough space. I treasure each and everyone! I am a truly lucky person!!)







What a Great Mother's Day!

                   Happy Mother's Day to ALL Mother's!! Mother's Day isn't even over yet and I have had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. My wonderful hubby has been spoiling me rotten. And it hasn't even been just today. My fun started Friday.


My garage sale loot



                   Friday I went to a garage sale and got 125 pieces of clothing (name brands in excellent condition), 14 kids story books, and a real Eureka 4-in-1 multi purpose vacuum cleaner for Sagan. It works great and Sagan loves to help me vacuum and now he can help for real. The total was $15.50!  Most of he clothing items were only $ .10 each. The vacuum was $1!  Saturday I went back to the same garage sale and got 17 more clothing items (mostly jeans) and 8 more books for $13.30. I ended up with 142 garments, 22 books and the vacuum for the grand total of only $28.80!! Most of the clothes were Ayla's size and what doesn't fit her or she can't grow into, I can eBay. I LOVE garage sales! And later that evening my honey took me out to Asian Buffet for dinner. I LOVE my sushi!



My little Helper



                   In addition to getting to enjoy a good garage sale Saturday, The kids, husband and I went to our towns annual Old Time Fair. We didn't do much but walk around and look at the items each booth had for sale but it was still fun. The kids wanted to play on some blow up rides they had but we decided $10 a child was too much. Especially if Sagan couldn't play on any but 1 or 2. And there were alot of big kids. So we went home and set up the pool, our own jump-o-line, and the kids tent. Then we went to lunch at Dairy Queen. (I haven't cooked a meal since lunch Friday.)



My shopping rewards



                   Later that afternoon, I got my hair cut and actually got a style (one that I always revert back to because it suits me). I had considered going shoulder length but chickened out. They say people look younger with shorter hair styles and it is so true. I look like a little girl with short hair. So, I opted to keep my length and go for what I know works for me. I LOVE it! Then I went shopping and the hubby said he didn't know what to get me for Mother's Day so treat myself, so I did. I found 6 tops (on sale no less) at Rue 21. I don't usually like their stuff but actually found quite a few things I liked this time. Then I stepped next door to my favorite store to shop for clothes, Maurices! I intended to go there first but since I spent a bit at Rue 21 had to watch myself at Maurices. I found 3 tanks (on sale) and a great cream vest. I didn't go in looking for the sales, they just found me. :-) The best part of the afternoon was that I got to do it all without the children. I went home and again didn't have to cook. The hubby made me a bowl of cereal. (I like cereal.)

                   Sunday morning Rene made breakfast and cleaned up after! What a great hubby!

My new hair cut and two new tops



Then after a leisurely morning doing a few chores like laundry (laundry waits for no man. It just keeps getting bigger if not attended to) and tiding up I went to Walmart, again without the children, to do a little grocery shopping. I took a detour before heading to Walmart and stopped off at Rue 21 again to pick up a purse I had seen but didn't get the day before. I left with 3 more blouses, 2 t-shirts ($3 each) and a canary yellow purse. (They have a cute matching wallet I think I will have to go back for later.) All items on sale!





                After getting home and putting away the groceries I met the family over at the folks house (grandmas and grandpas). Again I didn't have to cook! Mom made Tacos. They were great! Thank you mom!! Now that the kids are in bed and it's quiet, I think I'll play my new mystery game app I got for my iPad and close out a wonderful weekend.

                I hope all you moms out there had just as good a Mother's Day as I had!! Again, Happy Mother's Day!! You deserve it!

I Won! I Won! I Won a Book!!

             The book is Rock Hard - Sinners on Tour by Olivia Cunning the follow-up book of Backstage Pass and I won it from  Amy J. and her blog My Overstuffed Bookshelf. I was visiting her site and trying to catch up on all my reading and found a character review and description of the main character Sed Lionheart (written by the author herself, Olivia Cunning) and then noticed the contest. I thought, "Why not?" So I entered. And I WON!!
            Sed is the lead singer of the rock band Sinners. And From Olivia's excellent description I can visualize him perfectly. OMG *Fanning myself*! You can read the description for yourself and get to see all the wonderful pics she included at http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/04/guest-post-giveaway-with-author-olivia.html# . I am still reading the book and so far it is VERY good. I was drawn into the story from the beginning! I can't wait to finish reading this book (if my kids will leave me alone!!). It is getting better and better each chapter I read.  am definitely going to have to get the first book Backstage Pass.
             I will write more of a review when I am done with the book. Which will be soon, I hope.