Ok, so my dream is not noble like Martin Luther King Jr's dream. Some might even say it is downright bad because it is materialistic. I don't care...it's a dream and considering dreams rarely come true........ :)
My dream is to be an awesome snowbird before I turn 90 and not able to enjoy it! I want to be independently wealthy so I can buy a house in the desert and a house in a small town in the mountains. I would LOVE to live in the mountains in the summer and fall. Cooler temps, no need to drive with oven mits on my hands, no scars in the shape of a seatbelt buckle, RAIN, clean air, no traffic, have everyone wave at you as you drive, walk or ride a bike down the street, small town festivals, children actually able to play outside, not dying of heat stroke just walking to the car, energy to do all that I want to do, fall colors and sooooo much more!
I would love to live in the desert during the winter and early spring months. No SNOW! Cool temps, but not so cold that you get frostbite on your nose, no shoveling snow, no driving in ice and snow and praying you can stay on the rd and so can everyone else, no scraping inch thick ice off windows, no having to start the car 30 min before leaving just to warm it up enough that you don't freeze to death, actually being able to go outside and not have to wear 12 layers of clothes and walk like a weeble wabble, no wondering if spring is ever really going to get here or just doing the fake out with the blossoms on the trees and the snow falling down and so much more!
Unfortunately there is this thing called work that gets in the way. That is why I have to be independently wealthy to accomplish this dream.
So this is my dream...pretty cool one I think. I know I would make a great snow bird!! Anyone want to help me to see my dream come true??!!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Benefit Yard Sale
There are so many ways to raise money for causes. As everyone knows, I have become a huge supporter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This Foundation is awesome! They have a walk every year and the money that is raised in that state stays in that state. This year my goal for the walk is $1,000. I am hoping to surpass that, but that is my goal. The only way I'm going to meet that goal is fundraising. I always tell people what I'm doing and let them know they can donate online. I love getting donations like this, but I also know that times are tough and if they are anything like me, they just can't spare that extra bit of change. So, it's time to get creative.
I had a benefit yard sale a couple weeks ago. I asked my friends, family and co workers to donate their stuff and all the money that gets raised goes to my walk. As usual, people really stepped up and helped out so much! Everyone has stuff they want to get rid of and it's easier to donate stuff than cash. I made it easy for them! I received some awesome stuff too! You already saw the dresser, which I bought. I also bought a skirt and a couple of purses and a sticker making thingy...shhhhhhhh. Anyway, I had a lot of clothes (I had so many clothes I couldn't even put them all out on the first day), kids toys, exercise machine, glider rocker, tvs, shooting accessories, baby stuff, fish tank and so, so, so much more!
The thing about yard sales, they are so much work, but oh so worth it. The work starts weeks before the actual sale. Asking people for their stuff, they bring it over and it gets stored in the garage. Then more people bring their stuff so it all needs to be rearranged. I must have rearranged my garage about 5 times before the sale just so I could squeeze my car in there. I literally had inches to spare by the end!! Then begging friends to borrow tables and a shade canopy since it's about 1000 degrees outside.
On the day of the sale I got up at 4:30 am and started putting stuff out in my driveway. I had to drag my kids out there because I couldn't put the canopy up by myself...now that was an interesting thing to watch I'm sure. I had people stopping at 5:30 am before I even had the signs out! Then you have to put enough signs out that people can find you. Not to mention taking it all down when the people stop coming...oh, and I had to do this twice!
Then the fun begins. People haggle and deal trying to drive you down to even closer to nothing than you already are. I had a big sign out saying what the money benefitted. Some people just don't care. Others were so amazing! I had people pay extra and people just donate money. I also had people thank me.
The reason I love these kinds of fundraising events is because I get to meet people. This is still a sensitive subject and some are still not sure how to talk about it. My putting it out there on a big huge sign gave them the opportunity they needed to start talking. I heard their stories and was able to talk with them about the one they loved and lost. The sister, brother, uncle, daughter. I will be forever grateful to hear their stories and be able to know that little piece of such a personal part of their lives.
Thanks to generous donations and people looking for bargains, I sold almost everything. I still had 6 bags of clothes left over and that was after selling probably 3/4 of the clothes that I had. I had about 5 pairs of shoes left, a few purses and some odds and ends stuff. All of the big stuff was gone! I raised $508! That is half way to my goal! Thank you so much to those that donated, those that lent me stuff, those that bought and those that gave me moral support! All of these things are so equally important! I will be having more fundraising activities so watch for them!
I had a benefit yard sale a couple weeks ago. I asked my friends, family and co workers to donate their stuff and all the money that gets raised goes to my walk. As usual, people really stepped up and helped out so much! Everyone has stuff they want to get rid of and it's easier to donate stuff than cash. I made it easy for them! I received some awesome stuff too! You already saw the dresser, which I bought. I also bought a skirt and a couple of purses and a sticker making thingy...shhhhhhhh. Anyway, I had a lot of clothes (I had so many clothes I couldn't even put them all out on the first day), kids toys, exercise machine, glider rocker, tvs, shooting accessories, baby stuff, fish tank and so, so, so much more!
The thing about yard sales, they are so much work, but oh so worth it. The work starts weeks before the actual sale. Asking people for their stuff, they bring it over and it gets stored in the garage. Then more people bring their stuff so it all needs to be rearranged. I must have rearranged my garage about 5 times before the sale just so I could squeeze my car in there. I literally had inches to spare by the end!! Then begging friends to borrow tables and a shade canopy since it's about 1000 degrees outside.
On the day of the sale I got up at 4:30 am and started putting stuff out in my driveway. I had to drag my kids out there because I couldn't put the canopy up by myself...now that was an interesting thing to watch I'm sure. I had people stopping at 5:30 am before I even had the signs out! Then you have to put enough signs out that people can find you. Not to mention taking it all down when the people stop coming...oh, and I had to do this twice!
Then the fun begins. People haggle and deal trying to drive you down to even closer to nothing than you already are. I had a big sign out saying what the money benefitted. Some people just don't care. Others were so amazing! I had people pay extra and people just donate money. I also had people thank me.
The reason I love these kinds of fundraising events is because I get to meet people. This is still a sensitive subject and some are still not sure how to talk about it. My putting it out there on a big huge sign gave them the opportunity they needed to start talking. I heard their stories and was able to talk with them about the one they loved and lost. The sister, brother, uncle, daughter. I will be forever grateful to hear their stories and be able to know that little piece of such a personal part of their lives.
Thanks to generous donations and people looking for bargains, I sold almost everything. I still had 6 bags of clothes left over and that was after selling probably 3/4 of the clothes that I had. I had about 5 pairs of shoes left, a few purses and some odds and ends stuff. All of the big stuff was gone! I raised $508! That is half way to my goal! Thank you so much to those that donated, those that lent me stuff, those that bought and those that gave me moral support! All of these things are so equally important! I will be having more fundraising activities so watch for them!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
DIY
I'm really liking the refurbished furniture lately. Not that I have room in my house for it, but I can dream anyway. A couple weeks ago I had a benefit yard sale. Several people donated their stuff that they were going to take to Goodwill. I got some great stuff!! Anyway, that's a whole different blog post. :) One of the things that was donated was this dresser. I bought the dresser from my yard sale.
It was pretty rough looking, but it was actually sturdy and stable. It just needed to cosmetic work. This was my chance! A lot of people want the chance to re-do furniture, but if they are like me, they have no idea where to start and no energy to really do it. This time I just bit the bullet.
I went to Home Depot and talked to the guy there. I found some primer that he said would stick to anything, even laminate wood. Then I bought paint and sponge rollers and ran home to get started. I got it primed and painted in one day and let it sit for about 3 days to make sure it was good and dry. I bought some new handles from Hobby Lobby that were half off and now my son has a nice big dresser that looks completely different!!!! It is old and you can tell it's old, but it looks great and works great!
Now I have all these great ideas of what I want to paint in my house!! My daughter's dresser, my dresser, my night stand, my hutch. I found a 2 shelf bookcase at a yard sale today for $5. I'm going to paint that too and use it for my business. So exciting!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Father's Day
Father's Day is a bitter sweet day for me. I love my dad so much and I love the man that he is! I see a lot of him in myself. I called him on Sunday to wish him a happy day. It was so great to talk to him and at the end of the conversation I had to hang up quickly because I was in tears. I haven't seen my dad in it seems like forever! Due to money and car issues, I just can't seem to get out of the city and up to the mountains where I love to be. Everytime I plan a trip, something happens to keep me from going, so I haven't seen my dad in a long time and I miss him so much!
My step dad is gone. I miss him a whole lot. He was ornery and funny as hell. Oh, we can't forget stubborn!!!!! I never thought there was anyone as stubborn as him, until my kids came along. They are his bioligical grandchildren and that is one of the many things they inherited from him...his stubborness! He could have given them pretty much any other part of his genetic make up, but no....he had to pass that on! haha I'm trying to teach my kids to use that stubborness for good instead of to defy me or their teachers...sigh...still trying!
The sunday before father's day, we were getting ready to leave church and my daughter said, "Mom, I don't want to go to church next week." "Why?" "Because it's Father's Day and we are singing to the dads. During practice I started crying really hard and I just don't want to be up there crying in front of everyone." As the week went on she changed her mind and decided she might like to go. My son on the other hand, was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to go or not. By the time Sunday got here, I made the decision not to go. I just couldn't do it. I guess I'm just a big ol' wuss.
The kids did their traditional thing. Every year since Tom died, we have gotten balloons and the kids attach little notes they have written to their dad to the balloons. They then go outside and release them up to heaven for Tom to see. Every year it makes me teary eyed and every year I pray that they never outgrow it and that Tom sees the notes.
I asked a friend how his Father's Day was and he turned around and asked me how mine was, since I am the mom AND dad. Nice of him to ask! I don't look like a dad, but hey, I can put a new door knob on a door!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Father's Day!
My step dad is gone. I miss him a whole lot. He was ornery and funny as hell. Oh, we can't forget stubborn!!!!! I never thought there was anyone as stubborn as him, until my kids came along. They are his bioligical grandchildren and that is one of the many things they inherited from him...his stubborness! He could have given them pretty much any other part of his genetic make up, but no....he had to pass that on! haha I'm trying to teach my kids to use that stubborness for good instead of to defy me or their teachers...sigh...still trying!
The sunday before father's day, we were getting ready to leave church and my daughter said, "Mom, I don't want to go to church next week." "Why?" "Because it's Father's Day and we are singing to the dads. During practice I started crying really hard and I just don't want to be up there crying in front of everyone." As the week went on she changed her mind and decided she might like to go. My son on the other hand, was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to go or not. By the time Sunday got here, I made the decision not to go. I just couldn't do it. I guess I'm just a big ol' wuss.
The kids did their traditional thing. Every year since Tom died, we have gotten balloons and the kids attach little notes they have written to their dad to the balloons. They then go outside and release them up to heaven for Tom to see. Every year it makes me teary eyed and every year I pray that they never outgrow it and that Tom sees the notes.
I asked a friend how his Father's Day was and he turned around and asked me how mine was, since I am the mom AND dad. Nice of him to ask! I don't look like a dad, but hey, I can put a new door knob on a door!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Father's Day!
I'm Back!!!
Woohoo!!! I am back on the internet!! OMG, I don't think I have ever been so happy!! I haven't had internet on my computer in probably at least 7 months, probably longer. Thank goodness for my mom and a smart phone.
I had a problem with my computer. Don't know what it was, but I had no money to get it fixed. Extra money to fix things is a rare thing around. So, I did something that I really didn't want to do...I did a system reboot and took it back to the beginning. As much as I hated to do that, I am now back on the internet.
Now I can blog whenever I have the ideas pop into my head, instead of jotting a note down and waiting until I get over to my mom's and hope I remember what the hell I was talking about.
Watch out everyone, I'm back!!!
I had a problem with my computer. Don't know what it was, but I had no money to get it fixed. Extra money to fix things is a rare thing around. So, I did something that I really didn't want to do...I did a system reboot and took it back to the beginning. As much as I hated to do that, I am now back on the internet.
Now I can blog whenever I have the ideas pop into my head, instead of jotting a note down and waiting until I get over to my mom's and hope I remember what the hell I was talking about.
Watch out everyone, I'm back!!!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sharing
As I have said before, nearly every Sunday is an inner fight about whether I want to go to church or not. It's not that I don't love the people there, or don't believe what is being taught...I can't even explain why I don't want to go most of the time. Maybe it is because Tom is not there, maybe it is the fact that I am imperfect (as we all are) and I feel like I am being a hypocrite as I sit there getting my fill. Every Sunday I struggle with this and yet, when I go I always enjoy it and I always leave with great intentions and feeling the spirit so strong. Do I follow through with those intentions?? Depends. I have so far to go that it is overwhelming.
Today, I didn't want to go. I asked both of my kids if they did and they both said yes. So we went. I am so grateful to have my kids who are such good examples to me. The sad thing is, I am supposed to be the good example to them.
I really enjoyed church today. I felt so uplifted. One of my friends gave a lesson and she shared some very difficult trials she has had to endure lately. She is amazing and strong! It is so hard to share things that are so deeply personal and as I was sitting there with my heart breaking for her, I realized that her sharing her personal trials and struggles, she is helping so many other people! Though our trials are unique to us, there are others who have struggled with similar trials. Some are suffering through them at this moment in silence. Who knows how many of those women in that room were struggling with something similar? Who knows how she touched someone's spirit by letting them know they are not alone. We not only can rely on God, but we can rely on each other through our struggles. Isn't that what this life is about?? We struggle, we learn, we pray and then we turn around and share our story and through that we try to help someone else. We are saying, "I have been there. My shoulders are strong if you need to lean on them."
So please, do everyone a favor, share your stories. Sharing will not only help you by putting a voice to it, but you never know who you could be helping!
Today, I didn't want to go. I asked both of my kids if they did and they both said yes. So we went. I am so grateful to have my kids who are such good examples to me. The sad thing is, I am supposed to be the good example to them.
I really enjoyed church today. I felt so uplifted. One of my friends gave a lesson and she shared some very difficult trials she has had to endure lately. She is amazing and strong! It is so hard to share things that are so deeply personal and as I was sitting there with my heart breaking for her, I realized that her sharing her personal trials and struggles, she is helping so many other people! Though our trials are unique to us, there are others who have struggled with similar trials. Some are suffering through them at this moment in silence. Who knows how many of those women in that room were struggling with something similar? Who knows how she touched someone's spirit by letting them know they are not alone. We not only can rely on God, but we can rely on each other through our struggles. Isn't that what this life is about?? We struggle, we learn, we pray and then we turn around and share our story and through that we try to help someone else. We are saying, "I have been there. My shoulders are strong if you need to lean on them."
So please, do everyone a favor, share your stories. Sharing will not only help you by putting a voice to it, but you never know who you could be helping!
Organization
I am still on my quest to organizing my life. I am so completely and totally frustrated! I go through my house and see how much work I have to do, I get overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. Consequently my house looks like a tornado went through it! All I seem to do is move stuff from one pile to another.
Here is an example. Since I started my purse business, I have been over run with fabric and no place to put it. So several months ago I bought a couple of book cases and organized my fabric by color and stacked it on the shelves. Looked great until I started the next business. Now I have ribbon, thread, yard and product I have made laying around everywhere and no place to put it! On top of that I have my scrapbook bin which is completely out of control and over flowing, stuff from classes I took a while back that are just stacked, all my cricut stuff stacked, some 72 hr kit stuff in my closet because I don't have anywhere else to put it and now I can't walk in my closet...and all of this is just in my bedroom!!! Agh!!! For someone who likes things neat and orderly, this is pure hell for me!
My dream is to find a 4 bedroom house or a house with a den or something that I can use just for my business. Where I can have walls of bookshelves for my fabric, ribbon, paper, yarn, product, etc. I would have a big huge island in the middle for a cutting counter that is big enough for me to lay all of my fabric out instead of having to fold it, a long counter top to put my sewing machine on so I can stretch out and a place for my kids to do their craft projects without having to mess up my kitchen to do it. Then, when I'm done working on my projects, I can just close the door and walk away...now THAT would be heaven!! I found a 4 bedroom house in my neighborhood for rent. I called knowing that it was probably out of my budget, but I crossed my fingers and toes hoping that just this one time it would be affordable...well, all the crossing didn't work...it's about $600 over what I pay now for my small 3 bedroom house. I guess I am meant to wallow in my own disorganization!
I needed to find a recipe a while back. It was one that I had printed on a piece of paper and I couldn't find it in the crazy stack of recipes that I have. Drove me crazy! So, yesterday I bought a very big 3 ring binder that I got on clearance and I am going to start organizing my recipes and putting them in the binder. I figure I can start small and 1 step at a time and maybe by the time my kids are grown and gone I will be organized!!
Here is an example. Since I started my purse business, I have been over run with fabric and no place to put it. So several months ago I bought a couple of book cases and organized my fabric by color and stacked it on the shelves. Looked great until I started the next business. Now I have ribbon, thread, yard and product I have made laying around everywhere and no place to put it! On top of that I have my scrapbook bin which is completely out of control and over flowing, stuff from classes I took a while back that are just stacked, all my cricut stuff stacked, some 72 hr kit stuff in my closet because I don't have anywhere else to put it and now I can't walk in my closet...and all of this is just in my bedroom!!! Agh!!! For someone who likes things neat and orderly, this is pure hell for me!
My dream is to find a 4 bedroom house or a house with a den or something that I can use just for my business. Where I can have walls of bookshelves for my fabric, ribbon, paper, yarn, product, etc. I would have a big huge island in the middle for a cutting counter that is big enough for me to lay all of my fabric out instead of having to fold it, a long counter top to put my sewing machine on so I can stretch out and a place for my kids to do their craft projects without having to mess up my kitchen to do it. Then, when I'm done working on my projects, I can just close the door and walk away...now THAT would be heaven!! I found a 4 bedroom house in my neighborhood for rent. I called knowing that it was probably out of my budget, but I crossed my fingers and toes hoping that just this one time it would be affordable...well, all the crossing didn't work...it's about $600 over what I pay now for my small 3 bedroom house. I guess I am meant to wallow in my own disorganization!
I needed to find a recipe a while back. It was one that I had printed on a piece of paper and I couldn't find it in the crazy stack of recipes that I have. Drove me crazy! So, yesterday I bought a very big 3 ring binder that I got on clearance and I am going to start organizing my recipes and putting them in the binder. I figure I can start small and 1 step at a time and maybe by the time my kids are grown and gone I will be organized!!
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