North of Beaufort, SC

I don’t like blogs where the writer bitches and moans about her household and gives details about every little thing that no one else but her cares about. I’m sure you’ve read blog entries containing detailed descriptions of a baby’s poopie diaper, embarrassing stories about a child, a droll about having to do too much laundry (don’t we all?), a description of an argument between a husband and wife or other personal stories not meant for the general public. That stuff is uninteresting and quite frankly a turn-off.

So let’s see if I can tell my story without whining, turning you off or being boring….

Stuff breaks in your house and car, but not all at the same time (within 1 week). Scratch that – it does break all at the same time. Check out these facts:

• Had to get a new air-conditioning unit. The old one was OLD. This is VERY essential and expensive in sunny hot Florida. Having squeaking problem and trouble with my $1,000 rebate.
• Turned on the dishwasher (just a little over 1 year old), stopped working in mid cycle. Will not even turn on. 5 year service agreement people say cannot be possible that it will not turn on.
• Plastic bracket that holds veggie drawers in the fridge broke completely off. Cannot find the parts.
• Timer that turns front outdoor lights on stopped working. Tried to self repair and zapped the line. Got an electrician. He fixed it
• Seal from glass cooktop on my commercial quality stove broke and pushed up glass for the 2nd time in 6 months.
• Mysterious leak from bathroom onto wood floor in hallway. Plumber cannot figure out what it is.
• My car needed new rear brakes. Auto place failed to put all the screws back in the front of my car and one big chunk is falling out.
• My husband’s car needed 4 new tires.

Now, I will not get into the crazy details of why each of the above items has been a nightmare to get fixed and why only 1 of the above is now properly fixed after many hours on the phone. You just would not believe me. I know I should not “Sweat the Small Stuff. And it is All Small Stuff.” And yes, I can think of many things that would be so much worse, but I won’t. But I have to say that when all that small stuff piles up, it turns into a giant volcanic mountain of a migraine headache. Ever have a migraine? We need to show our children that stuff happens, but we can handle it calmly and maturely.

Life is difficult. But I am not complaining.

Or am I?

http://www.cksinfo.com

Please read my restaurant review on Wandering Educators from my visit to Tybee Island, GA. If you love Pizza with a crispy crust, you’ll love this place!

My favorite photo from my vacation

My husband and my dog

As I write daily and send my thoughts out into the big black hole of cyberspace, I often ask myself, “What in the heck are you doing?” Is anyone reading? Does anyone care? But then I realize that even if no one comments or if I am just talking to myself, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is therapeutic and forces me to think of topics to write about every single day.

Blogging is a lot like authoring a book. It is a lot of work. I work hard to sell my book to parents, teachers and students. I hear back from a few readers about how much they laughed or enjoyed reading it. Is that enough?

I have a fan. She is a 10 year old girl who is a student a school I visited. She emails me, and tells me what is going on with her day. Her emails include dozens of animated pictures of smiley faces waving, marching and dancing about. I correct her grammar, and she doesn’t seem to mind. When she experiences challenges, she expresses her disappointments. But then she always ends with a positive look at the situation. She just sent me a photo of her dog and the mess he made tearing a feather pillow apart in her bedroom and a photo of little sister blowing a giant bubble gum bubble. She loves sharks, and she loves life. She is excited for her Mom on Mother’s Day and for her Dad on Father’s Day (same day as his birthday), and she talks about how wonderful her parents are. She is the brightest, sweetest girl, with a big future, who puts a giant smile on my face with every email. Is that enough?

You bet it is.

Ever wonder what Spanish Moss really is? It thrives here in the south, especially among live oak trees that provide the plant with perfect minerals and nutrients. Spanish Moss is actually a flowering plant, an epiphyte, which means that it relies upon another plant to grow, since it cannot grow on its own (much like orchids). It is actually part of the bromeliad family of plants. So you see, it is not really a moss at all. I love the way it looks and the shade it provides!

Check out my book review on LA Parent.

And Here’s to You, written by David Elliott and illustrated by Randy Cecil.

This is a fun and easy project! You may have most or all of these items at home. If not, they can be found at the craft store for little money.

Materials:

• Wooden box of any size
• Acrylic paints or craft paints
• Paint brushes
• Paper – Colorful and or textured
• 4 round napkin rings
• Unfinished wooden knob (craft store)
• High tack glue

Paint the box inside and out whatever colors you wish. I glued corrugated paper I had onto the top and then made a paper snowflake to glue on top of that. Paint the wooden knob and then glue it on to the top front of the box so it can be used to open and close it. When everything is totally dry, glue 4 napkin rings to the bottom to make a beautiful base. You can get really creative with this project. Perhaps decoupage pictures from a magazine, drawings or photos on top or glue some beads on the sides. You can also line the inside with paper, felt, fabric or just paint it.

It makes a lovely gift! The one you see here I made with my daughter 3 years ago as a gift for my husband. When he comes home from work, he puts his wallet, cash, business cards and wedding ring in there. I even glued a small velvet box in there that holds his ring. No more searching the house for his stuff! And no more clutter on the counter!

Awesome photos of Aspen courtesy of Shelley Rosen from Airlift Ideas.

A long time ago, I came to the realization that one should unpack one’s bags as soon as returning from a trip. Having just returned from my vacation today, I want to share a story with you.

After college, when I was in my early 20′s I moved from Miami to Denver for 2 years. I came home for Christmas one year for a couple of weeks. When I returned to Denver, I left my luggage on the floor of my bedroom for a couple of weeks and just used what I needed out of there. After a while, I noticed that my apartment wasn’t smelling that great but could not figure out where the smell was coming from. I came home from work one night and decided to finally empty out my luggage, because I realized the smell was coming from there.

Lo and behold, my Grandmother snuck a glass ball jar of homemade tuna salad into my luggage with a note that said, “I wanted you have something to eat when you got home tonight.” Little did she know that I would not unpack the bag for 2 stinkin’ weeks! And anyway, who sneaks tuna salad into a person’s luggage? My late Granny, that’s who! (I really miss her even though that incident made me gag.)

Emptying your luggage as soon as you get home is important, not only because someone may have put perishable food in there without you knowing, but also because it is stressful to live out of a suitcase. I hate tripping over it, looking at it and then having to iron all the clothes because they are squished and wrinkled.

I am happy to say my luggage was emptied within 45 minutes of my arrival.

http://www.freeclipartnow.com