Come Write With Me!!

Okay, by now most most of you know that I am writing for Examiner.com and loving it! I have had some huge success this month and it is mostly thanks to wonderful people like you.

Writing has forever been a dream of mine but I never had the confidence to actually do it. Yes, yes, you've heard all of this before from me so why must I continue with it? Well, I'll tell you. Right now, Examiner.com is looking to recruit more examiners all over the country and Canada. Most people reading this blog have blogs of their own and therefore, are writers. So what better place for me to get the word out than here on my blog?

For every new Examiner that gets hired through my referral, Examiner will pay me. And believe me, at a penny a page view, I can use a little extra cash! LOL! So, if you have a specific topic that you would like to write about, go and check this opportunity out! There are literally HUNDREDS of topics to choose from! Should you decide to apply, please use my referral ID which is 25370.

I know I'll never get rich at this, but I am excited enough to be living my dream. You can too!! You can apply through my link HERE. Thanks!!!

An Unflattering Observation...

So I've come to a point in my life where I am taking a good look at myself. Some things I am pleased with - I am married to a man that I love that loves me, my children are happy and healthy, I'm writing like I always wanted to. Then there are the things that I am not pleased with - my weight, our finances, some family relationships that are forever ruined because of a deranged woman. But all that is really nothing new.

Recently, however, something new DID occur to me: I am an idiot. No, seriously, I am an idiot. Not in the sense that I do idiotic things (at least not often and really, I don't care about that). No, I'm talking about the fact that apparently EVERYONE around me is smarter than me. Sure, I play a mean game of Scrabble and am good at word games but education wise? I am a complete loser. I graduated high school, I know, but I was a middle-of-the-road-student. I wasn't near the top of my class but I certainly wasn't at the bottom. I didn't finish college because of family issues and finances. I really didn't regret it at the time.

But now? I mean, I hang out with a lot of great people and they all have degrees and talents and skills and knowledge that is so far beyond me that it is scary!! I'm starting to not mind not having a job and just doing my piddly little freelance-writing-for-a-penny thing because clearly that is all that I am worth and why should I be out there for the world to mock??

I have found that a lot of my friends are not only college graduates but they graduated as scientists or have doctorates or PhD's! Sure, they're all stay at home mom's like me but it was their CHOICE! I'm a stay at home mom because I am too unskilled to actually get hired for anything! I have to tell you, it is NOT a good feeling.

Good thing my computer desk is in a corner because now I can wear my "Dunce" cap in the proper location.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on standardized testing and the Iowa test. It goes well with today's blog, don't you think? You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Chick Flick Friday!

Remember when it seemed like every movie that Gwyneth Paltrow starred in she had an English accent? It had gotten to the point that people seemed to forget that she was American! She even spoofed that point (and herself) when hosting Saturday Night Live one time. It was quite funny! But my favorite of her British movies was "Emma".

Paltrow plays the lead, Emma, who fancies herself as cupid. The only problem is that she is really, really bad at it! She's constantly misreading people's feelings and it ends up being quite entertaining.

Based on the Jane Austin novel, I found myself wanting to watch this one over and over and I am not a huge fan of Jane Austin! A fun fact about this particular story is that it actually inspired the teen movie "Clueless" - which is another fun movie to watch!

Anyway, Gwyneth Paltrow is wonderful in this role and Jeremy Northan makes a wonderful Mr. Knightley. If you are a fan of Jane Austin (or not) and just want a nice classical romantic comedy, this one is a great choice. Enjoy!

Today's Examiner.com article is on grade levels with homeschoolers. To read it, click HERE. Thanks!

Craigslist...

Okay, so do you guys know about Craigslist? It's like a local e-bay only with no bidding. Kind of. You can go to the site, click on the city closest to you and then either post stuff that you want to sell or look for stuff that you want to buy. Posting is FREE!!

We have been kind of successful with both things on Craigslist. We've sold some stuff, we've bought some stuff. Recently, Nick decided that he wanted to get rid of some stuff and so we posted it on the list. I was amazed at how fast some things moved (a BROKEN iPod for $30) while he has some XBOX 360 games sitting here unclaimed. It just seems weird to me. We've posted books, movies, games and on his first day, he made $65. Not too shabby.

Then there's me. Anything that I try to sell does not move at ALL! I mean, ever. I've got a metal, two-door cabinet FILLED with books and curriculum that I can't seem to get rid of. They're all like new. I have posted them everywhere and not one person is interested in them. There are consignment shops that might take them but having worked in one, I know that you don't get a lot of money and you certainly don't get it fast so that's not appealling to me right now. I'm looking to clear away some clutter and make some money for Christmas.

It's not going well. However, back to Craigslist. I was impressed that a majority of the people showed up when they said they would and pretty much handed us the money and left. There were a few who either never showed or showed up hours after they said they would and I'm like "Really?" I just think that's bad manners and it totally ticked me off. I mean, I TOLD these people when we would be available and they agreed to come then. There were no calls saying they weren't coming or that they were coming late. Manners, people!!! Try having good manners!!! I guess that's the downside to picking things up in person rather than shipping them out. Sure you save money but you have to deal with this sort of nonsense.

I'm off to try and find some more stuff that nobody wants.

*Today's Examiner.com article is so ME!! It's on Homeschool Days at Walt Disney World!!! You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Arbonne Make Up Primer

My husband, the painter, does not like the sound of this product but I don't care. I LOVE it!! I usually buy my make up at Target or Wal-Mart and use brands like Cover Girl or Maybelline. But this Arbonne product is a MUST HAVE for me!

The Arbonne Make Up Primer goes on under your foundation to help it stay on and look fresh all day. Actually, the real name for it is Virtual Illusion Make Up Primer. Here is the description right from the website: "Create a flawless canvas for makeup application with this advanced primer. A blend of vitamins, skin-perfecting pigments, advanced cushioning and anti-aging ingredients work in harmony to help tone, smooth and minimize the visual appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores. The result is a velvety, matte, radiant finish. 1.0 fl. oz ( 1 oz. )"

All I can say about this product is that it really, really, REALLY works. I feel like my foundation lasts all day long. Now, Arbonne is not paying me to say any of this. I tried this product at an Arbonne party and I use it and I love it. It's a bit pricey - $32.50 - but I'm telling you, it lasts a long time and is well worth the cost. I tried another cheaper primer and while it was okay, I didnt' get the same, long-lasting results. Not that I have anything to look glamorous for, but sometimes I would just like for my make up to last all day, you know?

If you have an Arbonne consultant, ask for a sample. I think you'll enjoy it.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on record keeping. To read it, click HERE. Thanks!*

Oh, It's ON!

For you long-time readers of this blog (and Yes, this is a blog, NOT Facebook), you know that I stopped any family stories because of some issues that came up. I never went in to details because I was trying to make some peace but apparently, there is no making peace with some people so here it all is.

Dad's wife, Crazy Nancy, found this blog. It wasn't hard to do, I had sent her an e-mail over something and at that time, my blog address was part of my signature. Well, she went and read it and then e-mailed me about how DEVASTATED and HEART BROKEN my dad would be if he knew I wrote such things about him. She then went on to encourage me to confide in her if I ever needed to vent. Sounds nice, right? Well, what she wasn't saying was that she had gone and PRINTED OUT each and every blog that had a mention of family in it! Not the workings of a normal mind, if you know what I mean.

When we went to Florida in July for dad's birthday, which she INSISTED that I go to even though I originally declined because we really couldn't afford to (she offered to pay for our hotel, gas, food, whatever, just as long as we came), I finally met her for the first time. Well, it didn't take long to realize that this woman is in desperate need of a padded room. She heard voices, she heard things that people never said, she demanded to know why me, my sister and step-brother would say that dad would kill himself if she left him...none of which EVER happened. When she left dad in the middle of his party - class act, Nancy - we all looked at dad like "Well, you always said she was crazy, you just never said that she was clinically insane!"

During her three-day e-mail/text/phone message escapade, besides telling the whole family every sick and disgusting thing my dad had ever done in his life, how much she hated all of us and everything that we did that offended her (the woman has NO sense of humor and apparently gets offended easily) she tells dad that I write all sorts of heinous things about him on Facebook. She is OBSESSED with Facebook. Again, note to Nancy, this is a BLOG...spell it for me...B...L...O...G, not Facebook. She then proceeds to SHOW my dad all that I wrote on here, because she's got pages and pages and pages of it printed out!!!

So dad stops speaking to me (we haven't spoken since July), he takes her crazy ass back and after all she said and did - insulted him, his family, his friends, his GRANDCHILDREN (she said my born-again Christian son is a drug addict), he took her back and I am the enemy! Oh, and did I mention that during their brief separation she did everything humanly possible to get my sister's boyfriend to sleep with her? But really, hate me. Another point of interest that I think needs to be cleared up, all of my information about her and what a crazy, empty-headed bimbo she was that I got BEFORE meeting her? That all came from my dad and my sister. But because I said it and wrote it, I'm the bad one.

Now, because all that wasn't enough, she continued to cyber-stalk me and my blog. Because it's not enough that she already had dad not speaking to me, it apparently was best to keep it going. She then printed out anything and everything that I wrote about anyone in the family - particularly the boyfriend she was trying to sleep with - and sent THEM copies of the blog. She taunted my step-brother via text messaging whenever she could, and told him that I wrote terrible things about him...again, on Facebook. She told him that dad hates both me and him and that Karen is the favorite and soon our family will be obsolete because he has her. LUCKY HIM!! DING, DING, DING!!! What a prize!!

So I did my apology here on the blog, I tried to be nice and if my being in their lives was so offensive, I kept away. When Nick got accepted to college, I tried to call and dad refused to answer. I had a friend who was going down to Florida and would be in the area stop in to say hello for me (she said she was bringing him a hug) and he never acknowledged it. When my step-mother died last week, he never called to tell me.

And here we are. Why now am I letting loose? Why now, am I pouring it all out? Because that crazy bitch had the AUDACITY first, to even GO to my step-mother's funeral where she had NO RIGHT to be, but while there, STILL felt the need to tell everyone who WAS there about all that I write on...you guessed it...Facebook. WHY am I even still an issue? I've left you all alone. I live 700 miles away. And really, is a FUNERAL a place to be spewing your craziness?

GET A LIFE, NANCY!!! Oh, and get lots and lots of ink for your printer, crazy one, because family stories, are BACK.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on BooksFree.com. You can read it HERE. Thanks and enjoy!*

Leg Stress

So I've been having some pretty major leg pains lately. I mean, bad enough that I have to take something for the pain. It would start on the outside of my knees and radiate out from there. At first I thought it was from the walking but since getting sick, I haven't done any power walking. So I mention this to my mom the other day on the phone and she tells me it's my desk chair causing the pain and the fact that I am sitting at my desk all day.

And you know what? She's right!

I'm now in search of a desk chair that will alleviate the pain and be affordable to me. Not a simple task, I can tell you that! I went on line (because I am already here!) and searched Walmart.com and then Staples.com. Both had chairs that would work except the Walmart one actually SAID that it helped with leg stress. So I hopped in the car and drove to both places - because they are each within 5 miles of my house - and neither store had those chairs in stock! They were both on-line purchases only. What are the odds of that?? Then, because I wasn't annoyed enough, the guy at Staples looked at me like I had 12 heads when I mentioned needing a chair that would help with my leg stress. How do you sell office furniture and not know about that?

Needless to say I am still sitting on my desk chair that came with my bedroom set when I was 13 years old (hard chair - formal, like a dining room chair) except now I have a pillow on it. The pillow has helped a little but not much.

The seach continues...

*Today's Examiner.com article is on homeschooling during the holidays. You can read it HERE. Thanks!! *

The Biggest Loser Update

Okay, so I can FINALLY go back to watching The Biggest Loser!! Yeah!!! I mean, I know Tracy has been gone for over a week but I didn't find it out right away. I am very sad that Abby had to leave the ranch - I was really hoping that she would win.

I've kept myself busy on Tuesday nights so I wouldn't be tempted to tune in and watch but once I heard that Tracy was gone, I felt free to go to the web-site and catch up. YEAH!!! I really did miss the show. I can only hope that maybe NBC got some complaints about how this whole situation was handled and not do that again on future seasons. And if they haven't heard anything and would like my opinion, here it is:

Dear NBC:

I really do love the show "The Biggest Loser". I find it to be very inspirational and normally a high quality show. This season's issue with Tracy should not have been allowed. It did not make for "good" television and did not fit with the expectations of this particular show. Tracy had health issues from the first ten minutes of the first episode. At that point, a spot should have been held for her for a future season but she should not have been allowed to participate this time around. It was not fair to the other contestants and really, did not fit with the premise of your show. She managed to lose weight by sitting still! How does that fit in with the diet and exercise training the other teams learn from Bob and Jillian??

For the sake of keeping with a quality show, meanness is unnecessary. This woman was heinous to watch and I know that I, personally, stopped watching (and encouraged others to do the same), until she was gone. Please don't do stunts like this again. It doesn't help.

Sincerely,
Stace

I think that says it all, don't you?

*Today's Examiner.com article is a response to a comment left to me regarding how homeschool graduates do once out in the "real world". You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

NaNoWriMo Update!

Okay, so remember how I joined not only the National Blog Writing Month for November? And that I also joined this group - the National Novel Writing in a Month for November? And that I should have my head examined?

Well good news! I finally got started! That's right, I finally got started on the novel. I'm not giving away any details because the main purpose in this is not that this particular story is going to get published but that it gets you writing. You have to have 50,000 words by the end of the month. I didn't actually get started on mine until the 11th. Why? No one knows. I'm a procrastinator, I guess. So that first night, I sat down after putting Michael to bed, Frank was out with band practice and Nick was out picking his girlfriend up at the airport. I had the house essentially to myself. There were no more excuses, I had to get started.

You know what? I typed 3,693 words. That equaled ten pages. The next afternoon I typed some more. I got up to 6,295 words. I typed some more after dinner and hit 10,000 words!! I was so psyched! As of last night, I was at 20,127 words!!

Is this going to be a literary masterpiece? No. Does it feel good to actually be doing this? Yes. Things are going so well in the other areas of my writing that it feels good to get my groove back on with the novel writing. Who knows, I may break out one of my completed manuscripts and start searching for an agent again.

Who knows!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the National Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Chick Flick Friday!

I told you I love Matthew McConaughey in the romantic comedy because here he is again! "Failure to Launch" is a personal favorite of mine because in our family, we actually HAVE a guy like this and we just laugh and laugh about it.

A guy like what? you ask. A guy who still lives at home with his parents because he is too lazy to move out and fend for himself. Mom cooks and cleans for him and although he is successful and gainfully employed, he just won't move out! That is our Matthew McConaghey character, Tripp.

Enter Tripp's parents who are tired of having him still living at home. They enlist the help of Paula (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) who makes a career out of pushing the baby birds of the world, like Tripp, out of the nest.

It's a total battle of wills on all accounts that will have you laughing out loud. Again, this movie has an amazing supporting cast that just enhance the storyline between Tripp and Paula.

For those of you who have ever known a man who just won't leave the nest, you are sure going to appreciate this movie. Lighthearted and funny, it's a bit predictable but still entertaining.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the National Homeschool Honor Society. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Mixing Things Up This Year!

I am a creature of habit. One of the things that used to make me squirrelly when we lived up in New York was that on the holidays everyone expected us to be everywhere on one day. Of course that only happened after we had Nick and the fact that my parents were divorced and Frank's parents always had everyone to their house just made me CRAZY!

Once we moved away and had our first holiday on our own, I found them to be much more pleasurable. For a few years we would go to Frank's aunt's house - she lives like 90 minutes away. But after a while we decided that we preferred doing the holidays at our house. We would invite friends and it would all be very casual and laid back. No pressure to impress. Well, Thanksgiving had two pretty steady themes - either Frank's parents were here visiting, or we'd be down in Florida visiting them. There were a few years that we hung solo but for the most part, it was always with my in-laws and that was fine. I loved it.

Well this year I'm mixing it up! I'm getting daring and caving in to some pressure but I think it's going to be good. We are going to...drumroll please...
The Mountains. Yes, we are actually going AWAY to some place that isn't Disney for a few days. Can you believe it? And not just any mountains, my friends. Oh, no. We are going to the mountains to stay at the same place that Nick stayed back in September with his girlfriend's aunt. That's right. We are hanging with the future in-laws for a holiday.

I'm still feeling weird about it. My parents NEVER spent time with any of my boyfriend's families (or even with my in-laws for that matter). So I'm going to be in a strange house, eating strange food - remember, this aunt is a famous nutritionist who only cooks healthy! There probably won't be so much heavy, fat-laden stuff that we all enjoy so much. I may have to have a second Thanksgiving when we get back. But the point is that we are going to go away and do something NEW!! We've got a house-sitter and now we're ready to go. Sort of. On Thanksgiving.

Yeah for us!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on Scholastic Warehouse book sales and library book sales. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

WOO-HOO!!! I'm Number THREE!!!

Yes, yes, I am actually woo-hooing about being number three. Number three in what? you ask. Well, I'll tell you.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I received an e-mail from the moderator of our local homeschool e-loop called Spice-line. I know this woman and have interacted with her at several homeschool functions and yet I was surprised to get an e-mail from her. Apparently, her husband reads Examiner.com and saw that I am the local homeschool writer. So she asked me if I would like for her to put out a little plug/promo for me! Of course I said yes and you know what happened? My normal daily readership is about 40-60 page views. Yesterday it was at 300!!! I now have 14 subscribers AND I was the number three Examiner in Raleigh AND the number three Education & School Examiner in the COUNTRY!!!

OH...MY...GOODNESS!!!! Yes, yes, I made $3.00, friends!!! WOO-HOO!!! I am so close to rolling in it that I can smell it!

So right now, I am feeling pretty darn good. As my good friend Danette reminded me today, I really am living my dream. I knew what I wanted to do and I am making it happen. The money will come in time but for now I am doing something that I always wanted to do and it is making me happy. YEAH!!! It's just so exciting!!! Please keep clicking for me. You don't have to read, just click!! I really do appreciate each and every one of them! Thank you!!

Bad Mommy Moment #72

I have often mentioned here on All Stace the differences between my children. Besides having a huge age gap, they are as different as night and day. Nick is dark haired, Michael has light. Nick has brown eyes, Michael has blue. Michael is very gifted athletically, Nick is not. I mean, their personalities, their temperment are just worlds apart.

One thing, though, that seems to get to me more than anything else is pictures. I take a LOT of pictures. I scrapbook and I love it. Nick, is very photogenic. I mean, even in the womb the boy cooperated with a camera. Not Michael. Nick always takes a good picture. Even when he was in to wearing all black, not shaving and having shaggy hair, he still managed to look good. Poor Michael is not comfortable having his picture taken. It is RARE to get a good picture where he is not looking like a deer in the headlights or as if someone were holding a gun to his back.

So back in September it was picture day at school. I always order the package because we have so many people to share with. I know it's more expensive than going to Wal-Mart but it saves me time. The first round of photos I did not like. I apologized to Michael and told him that we wanted them to be done over. We did that last year too so he was okay with it. Well, yesterday we got the re-takes back and I think they were worse than the first. Was the photography bad? No. Was the quality poor? No. Did my child look like someone who had fallen asleep behind a dumpster and was pulled out and photographed for ID purposes? Yes.

Shouldn't I love these pictures merely because they are of my boy? Shouldn't I look at that little raggamuffin and think of how he looks like this a LOT and embrace it? I can't and I feel HORRIBLE about it! I know that I had my fair share of horrible photos growing up and my mom still kept them. We have a long running joke about a picture she had taken of me right before I had my open heart surgery at age 4. I HATE that picture - and it's kind of morbid. But she loves it and cherishes it. Why can't I do that?

Bad mommy moment. Seriously, bad moment.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on special deals for homeschoolers. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

What does your Christmas say about you?

Your Christmas is Classic

Your wish for the New Year is more happiness. For you, Christmas is a spiritual holiday. You can't separate it from your beliefs. You are patient when it comes to Christmas. You don't celebrate too early, and you don't like seeing holiday decorations in October. You like to have an authentic, traditional Christmas. Doing it the old fashioned way is important to you. You like to celebrate Christmas your own way, and you don't like to have to compromise. You are too busy to really get into Christmas, but you try to do a little to celebrate. You like giving to your friends and family during Christmas. You focus on the people you're close to.

What Does Your Christmas Say About You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the homeschool season. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Happiness...

I got this one from over at Lola's Diner last week and it took me like forever to really think about it and put it down here in to a post. The question was put out there as to what we are doing in these tough times to bring happiness in to our lives. I'm over-simplifying, I know, and I apologize. To read Lola's entire post, click HERE.

Okay, so what have I been doing to bring more happiness to my life? Believe it or not, writing more. Yes, yes, I know I've complained about it all but it really does help me a lot to write. It is like therapy for me. I still wish I could go back to writing about certain topics but until some issues are resolved, I'm keeping my fingers still!

With the holidays approaching and two kids in the house, I am stressing a bit. But we have always struggled at the holiday season because it is Frank's slowest time. We never have money in December. We are fortunate that we have wonderful relatives that give generously to our children and they have never felt slighted on Christmas morning.

Next week, I am getting together with a bunch of friends to scrapbook. A wonderful friend has offered her home for us to use for the day. We are all bringing snacks to share and are just going to scrap and enjoy each others company. It cost nothing (unless we have to buy supplies beforehand) and the result is priceless.

I did start going back to church around 6 months ago. That has been the most helpful to me. It's not like I had lost faith in God or anything, but I just didn't have a church that I wanted to attend. I'm back at the church I first started going to 14 years ago and it is home. Being surrounded by such wonderful people and hearing strong sermon's every week has really kept me from having a constant pity-party.

So what about you? Where is your happiness at this time of year? Link up to Lola, too, if you want or let me know here. I'm curious to hear how we can all life one another up!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the homeschool school room. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

We said goodbye...

In the same manner as we did back in January with my grandmother, we held a small memorial in our backyard today to say goodbye to Collette. I had purchased purple and white balloons and some lillies and we went out in to the field behind our house, each said a goodbye and then released the balloons with the flowers tied to them. I always tell Michael that when a balloon flies away that it goes to someone we love in heaven. We truly hope that these reached her.

Rest in peace, Collette. May our Heavenly Father be holding you close this day. You were loved. You will be missed.

A Beautiful Life Gone Too Soon

I woke up Saturday morning to the news of my stepmom passing away. Many of you may remember that she was my dad's second wife. She had a brain aneurysm eight years ago and after suffering for so long, her body just finally gave out last night.

It's not like we did not know that this day was coming. For most of us, we wished for her sake that it had come sooner. No one should have to suffer as long as this sweet, wonderful woman did. My heart aches each and every time I think of her. She was so cheery and always had a smile on her face before this happened. She was an amazing grandmother to my children. Frank often tells the story of how she saved Nick's life. You see, when Nick was born, I tried breast feeding him. I was not producing enough for him and was very stressed and upset but the nurses in the hospital made me feel like a failure for wanting to quit. So I kept at it. On our second day home from the hospital, Collette came over to help me with whatever it was that I needed. Nicholas was screaming and crying, I was crying, Frank was pacing - we had no idea what to do to comfort this baby. Collette took one look at him and said "This baby is hungry!" She ran out the door, went to the store, bought a case of formula and a bunch of those Playtex bottles kits, came home, sterilized everything and after we fed him that first bottle? The boy slept for 12 hours!! She was truly a lifesaver. As first time parents, we were so afraid to do the wrong thing but Collette, being a mom, knew exactly what to do. We will be forever grateful for that one act alone.

She was always cleaning. Seriously, she worked at the deli with my dad for just about their whole marriage and whenever you saw her, she was cleaning something. When we went to their house, there she was, cleaning. That's why this picture of her is so perfect and makes me smile. Even dressed up (this was taken at Nick's christening) she had on a pair of rubber gloves! You could eat off of the floor when Collette was around!

I have struggled with extreme guilt about not being able to see her more since the aneurysm. I hated the fact that I couldn't be there. There was even a time when I wanted to try and get her moved here (from Florida) but I knew my dad would not agree to it. He divorced her three years ago - saying that his lawyer had advised it so that Medicare or whoever could not take anything from him in order to cover her medical expenses. So this vivacious, lovely woman became basically a ward of the state. I think it is a very sad way to end up.

I am not going to pretend that she was a faultless human being. I openly admit that I did not like her when I first met her but I think that had more to do with my being a teenager and not wanting my dad to date anyone. As the years went on, she was always honest with me - if I hurt her feelings, she told me so, and I know that I did often. I didn't agree with the lifestyle she and my dad chose to live but that was my issue. The one thing that I can and always will say to describe Collette is that she was REAL. She didn't lie to any of us and she was great to my children. She did everything that she could to keep our family together (which is no easy task) unlike dad's new wife. Collette was the true grandparent in that relationship. My children both cried for her - and Michael really has no memory of her EXCEPT of her being in a nursing home - 80% paralyzed and unable to speak!

So rest now, my angel. Thank you for the love and support that you showed to my family. I am glad that you are finally free now of the demons that chased you in life and that in death you can have peace. We will never forget you and will always love you.

Award Time!!

Much love and thanks to Vicki over at Frugal Mom Knows Best for this award. I'd like to thank the academy...no, wait, again this isn't one of those circumstances. Dang it! I do love getting awards and when I over-slept this morning and stumbled to my computer and found this in my in-box, well, it made my day. Now if only I actually DRANK coffee, maybe I would be able to wake up! Seriously. So thank you, thank you, thank you, Miss Vicki!! I am honored.

So here are the rules with this baby: This award is for having a blog good enough to wake you up in the morning and keeping you going all day! I need to give this award to 7 different blogs that I think are blogs that keep you going:

Lola's Diner
Momma Made it Look Easy
My Kids Are My World
A Lil Enchanted
It's a Woman's World
My Money Mission Online
Stacie's Madness

These are all some rockin blogs that always get my attention so go and check them out! Vicki also awarded me with the Over the Top Award and I do thank her for that one, too. I've gotten it already and done all of that so I will just say thanks and anyone who wants it, can take it, because really, we all deserve awards for taking time out each and every day to share a little bit about ourselves and making the internet a friendlier place!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Parental Rights Conference here in North Carolina this month. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Thank you, PJ!!!

See, it is things like this that so make me love the blogging world! I put out the request today in my earlier post about making a badge/widget for Chick Flick Friday and PJ over at PJ's Prose heard the call!! Thank you, PJ!! You totally rock!!

So here it is!!! I will include it on my next installment of Chick Flick Fridays!!

Chick Flick Friday

So this is something new for me - I'm creating something that can be a weekly installment. We'll see if I can make it last! If any of you are crafty and know how to make a badge of some sort that is cute (I'm thinking a chick holding a DVD or something of the sort) I would appreciate the help!

I am a fan of chick-flicks. I LOVE to just sit and either watch them with the girls or when I am home alone with a tray of snacks. Snacks that will from now-on be of the low-fat/low-cholesterol variety. Blech. So I was going through my selection and for our first installment of chick-flick's I have chosen "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. Oh, how I LOVE this movie.

Kate Hudson stars as a magazine columnist who does "How to..." types of articles and after watching a friend go through a break up, she decides to write an article on how to lose a guy by doing all of the things that can make guys break up with you. She is absolutely HYSTERICAL in this because let's face it ladies, we've all done SOME of these things.

Matthew McConaughey (who I adore in the romantic comedy genre) is a competitive ad man who gets himself involved in a bet to land a bid advertising campaign. The bet? To make a woman fall in love with him...in ten days.

So both of these characters go in to this relationship based on a lie and it is hysterical the lengths that she will go to in order to make him break up with her and how much he is willing to take in order to keep her around long enough to fall in love!

The casting is great, the supporting cast is hysterical and it's not so far-fetched of a story-line that you can't get past it and enjoy the movie. Break out the popcorn, sit back and enjoy. You won't be able to listen to "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon the same way again!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the homeschooling law here in North Carolina. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Bad Cholesterol

So in all of my fun and frolic last week with feeling bad, it turns out that on TOP of everything else, I have bad cholesterol. Oh, not all bad. My good levels are good but the bad levels are...bad. When the doctor called me with the results she's like "You need to be on a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet". That translates to "low-taste, low-yumminess diet."

I cook with butter. I LOVE butter. I know that I can use LESS of it, but...it's just not as yummy. I'm a food snob in case you haven't noticed. So I started cruising the internet for a menu plan and you know what you find? "Foods to help lower your cholesterol" but no real menus. I need a menu. I do better if it is laid out for me a little bit otherwise it is all up to interpretation and that never ends well. I mean for instance - dark chocolate is good for you! Okay, but eating 12 pieces of it a day is NOT good for you. But do they tell you that? No. So with these cholesterol lowering foods, how much? In what combination? How many times a day? Why can't I eat ice cream, exactly? Or maybe, how much ice cream is okay BEFORE your cholesterol goes through the roof?

I NEED ANSWERS!!! I am so stupid when it comes to these things! So I will go and I will search. And search. And search some more. I'm already on this darn computer writing like a fiend. I might as well take hand-cramp breaks and search for a diet that is idiot-proof for me.

Wish me luck! I'm baking cakes right now and I don't give a damn about the cholesterol involved!!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Curriculum Exchange of Wake County. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Can we reform THIS???

Okay, so because my husband is self-employed and has been forever, we don't have health insurance. Yes, yes, we are one of THOSE people. Luckily, our kids are eligible for health insurance through the state's insurance and that has been a HUGE blessing.

Unless you forget to send in your renewal paperwork.

Who KNOWS where my head was at on this one but I got the paperwork back in July and just pulled them out the other day because we got the cancellation notices in the mail. Yes, yes, poor parenting, I KNOW!! So most of the paperwork I had filled out back in July so I finished filling in the rest and drove it over to the local human services location that is like two miles away.

I walk in and hand the pile of papers to the lady at the desk and she's like "Oh... you'll have to fill these out again." So I ask "Why?" and she tells me it's because the DATE on the first paper says "JULY". Are you kidding me? I told her that all of the information was EXACTLY the same. I provided CURRENT proof of income information on my husband and everything else was EXACTLY the same. Nope. No good. Here's another stack of twenty pages for you to fill out. I mean, this woman would not BUDGE on the issue.

I walk out mumbling under my breath on the stupidity of it all and maybe THIS is the type of nonsense that should be reformed! I mean, come ON! What a waste of time and paper! Twenty pages of the same information except the DATE? OOoooo....I still get mad just thinking about it. But, being that we NEED to do this, I come home, sit down, roll up my sleeves and get to it. I'm barely in to page one when the phone rings. Human Services. Long story short, I do NOT have to re-fill out all of the paperwork. They have no problem working with what I handed in. Granted, it wasn't the desk woman calling but I sure can't wait to waltz back in there today with a few extra pieces of information that they requested and fling them at her!

Not nice, I know.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on Why colleges should want homeschooler's and it can be read HERE. Thank you!*

A Fun Giveaway!

I love giveaways. I just never WIN giveaways. So if I cannot win one, I will at least try and help somebody else win one!

Frugal Vicki over at Frugal Mom Knows Best (I LOVE her!) is doing a really cool giveaway right now. I'll give you a quote from her site: "Why is it that bad habits are SO easy to acquire, but good habits are near impossible? I know there are about a bazillion things that will directly benefit me if I start drinking more water, but for some reason no matter what I do, I can't seem to drink my eight glasses. Believe it or not, I even made myself a little chart similar to my son's potty training chart. Didn't work. So, I was happy to find Habitwise. Though skeptical, I figured it couldn't hurt, right?"

I'll be honest with you, after reading the rest of Vicki's post, I was all about hearing about Habitwise. Well, it turns out, you HAVE to learn a little more about Habitwise in order to enter the giveaway! So go and check out the site at Habitwise.com and THEN head over to Frugal Mom Knows Best and enter to win!

Good Luck!!!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on Homeschooling with un-supportive families. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

National blog posting month!!!

Since I don't seem to have enough writing to do, I decided to join not only National Blog Posting Month for November but also the National Novel Writing in a Month Challenge!

Should I have my head examined? Um...yes.

*Oh, and today's Examiner.com article is on Homeschool Co-ops. You can read it HERE. Thanks!

A Lesson in Convenience

As I have mentioned in many posts of late, our teenage son really has no desire to be around us. Okay, fine, I'm dealing with it. He left the house Saturday morning to go to work (at 5:50 in the A.M. might I ad) and a friend was going to pick him up. From there he and the friend were going out, he was going to sleep at the friends house - since it was Halloween - and come home on Sunday. Early in the day was what I was told when I asked.

We don't make plans, in general. Unless we are specifically going to someone's house to visit or someone is coming here for dinner, the day is up for grabs. So, after sleeping in late Sunday because of a sore throat and cough, I made us lunch and tried to call the boy. No answer - his phone went directly to voice mail. Frank was in need of some new sneakers so around 3:30 we went shopping - with still no word from the teen. We went to Target - no luck with shoes. We get back in the car and drive up the road to Payless and lo and behold, my phone rings. Guess who?

"Where are you?" he asks. The weird thing here is that the phone number showing up on my phone belongs to my friend Adrianne. So I'm like "Um, where are YOU?"

"I'm at Miss A.D.'s house."
"You forgot your keys, didn't you?" I ask.
"Yea, where are you?"
"Shopping."
"You said you were going to be home!"

Big sigh of frustration on my part because no such conversation ever took place.

Long story short, the boy now is going to meet us as the Payless because he needs a key to get in to the house. Fine, we'll be here. He comes storming in, like this is all OUR fault that HE forgot his key and so I told him that he can send his friend on his way because now he will stay and SHOP with us!

You can imagine how well that went over.

He yells, he pouts, he stomps off. Really, he's 17, not 4. After leaving the shoe store, we stop at the grocery store. Hey, I had things that I had to get and I was not going to let anyone dictate to me how fast I had to get done. This caused a fight in grocery store. The ride home from there was LOUD!

So here's my thing. Were we wrong? I mean, the boy forgot his key. He was ticked off because he had plans and by not getting in to the house, he was going to be rushed and behind schedule for HIS social life. Should we have just given him the key and sent him home? Shouldn't he be inconvenienced for being irresponsible and selfish? We reminded him of all of the ways that WE are inconvenienced by his actions and that seemed to do the trick but seriously? Way to ruin the day!