A Job JUST FOR ME

Many of you know that I have been working full time. I was asked by the mother of my daughter's best friend if I needed some work. I was hesitant to do it but I was also quite desperate because my husband had just been laid off again. I was asked to work for the production and inventory control of GEMFormulas. This is a gemstone therapy based company that provides materials and training for gemstone therapists and their clients. We offer a wide array of sprays for the aura, remedies for the energy within and the tools to become certified gemstone therapy practitioners.
  What they did not know when they hired me was that my father raised us collecting "rocks". He was originally studying to be a geologist when we went to college and to this day still collects rocks and fossils. We were raised around crystals and gems and knew which rocks were best for fossil hunting, which ones were mud rocks for footprints and what kinds of geodes would contain the better crystals. I was already well aware of many of the stones that I would be working with. There is also a very strong new aged natural healing element to our business. Again I was very versed in a lot of this and being quite open minded I was able to work with my intuition to quickly sort and grade out the stones that were less than healing quality. Another thing that I brought to the table was my many years of management and business experience. I was nice to utilize what I had learned prior to becoming a mom in a new field allowing me to use my mind, my spirit and my strengths as a person. This job seems to have been made for me!

Nothing to say..

I have not been around much. OK, I have been around but I have not been writing much. I guess you could say that I have been stalling. There are days when I have a million ideas on what to write about and then there are days when I am just floating through the afternoon and not focused on anything in particular. When I am in a floating mood I will think of an idea and then go on and on in my head with what I would write and what I would say. I then realized that I have hashed it all out already and have nothing left to write. I have had a good solid week of this recently. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty to say.

Bargain Bits-

*Follow up on a previous Bargain Bits*
I must be on to something, it was not long ago that I was telling you to be wary of the perceived sales that are out there. Granted I was primarily focused on KOHL's but the latest announcement by J.C.Penney's is right on point with what I was trying to say. A store offers it's merchandise pricing as it is taken out of the back room and put on shelves at a premium. Manufacturer's suggested price is more like "I wish someone would pay this price" . It is a pipe dream number and never even close to what people actually pay. When a store offers sales over and over they are really just bringing the price down to what they were expecting you to pay in the first place. J.C. Penney's is now taking off the veil.

Learning To Drive

So, I have a sixteen year old. We all know what that comes with. Its not that he had been pounding down my bedroom door on his actual birthday. In fact it wasn't even his idea to get behind the steering wheel. It was mine.  I sat at the department of motor vehicles this past weekend, waiting for Nick to take his driving permit exam. I waited to see him either emerge with a huge smile on his face or the tell tale pale complexion of a kid that did not pass. He was both pale and smiling a bit of a guilty smile. He could only get five wrong and apparently he got the first five very wrong. Luckily for him, he was able to get the rest of his test right. He was official to start learning. I was starting to wonder what I was thinking.

Reanne'cipes

2 min Egg'n'Cheese
I am always in a rush it seems. After all of the running around and getting kids on the bus, house picked up and then off to my regular work, I never seem to have time to eat right. When I had lost all the weight by cutting out the fat from my diet I had looked up what was the best meal choices while on the road. I had figured out that an Egg and Cheese bagel from Dunkin Donuts was ok for my meal intake. I thought that it had to be incredibly fast to make because they were always fresh and hot and ready to go from the time that I placed my order to the time I approached the window. I figured out how to make it fast, at home and for less $.

Cool Savings!

Ill be honest, I was just looking for something cool to post for you and I plugged in the words Cool, Awesome, Savings and the word FREE! I totally forgot about coolsavings.com. I have been a member of this site for so long now that I forgot to tell everyone about it. Low and behold I had a graphic to post for you here so here it is. Aside from the awesome pig who is currently dressed as a bunny, membership is free. You get lots of coupons, offers and the latest sales and deals. This one is definitely one to keep in your bookmarks. To register just click on the pic (click the banner below)
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Free Valentine Note Cards

This one is a great find! Got to love FREE!!!
Click on the banner to take advantage of this offer.
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Richard Cory

When I was young, my dad would play a lot of Simon and Gargunkel. There was a song that they would sing called "Richard Cory" and I clearly remember the last line of the song that would shock me. If you haven't heard it yet, you can view the video I am attaching.
  My 14 year old honors student came home yesterday and asked me to critique a paper she was writing about her take and understanding of the poem "Richard Cory". As soon as I heard the name I knew what she was writing about although I did not know the official piece that was apparently written in the late 1800's. The one that I grew up with was tailored to fit within the 1960's but the theme is exactly the same with the same ultimate ending.

Reanne'cipes

Healthy Alternative Popcorn- 
We all love to snack. I love snacking even more when I am trying to diet. One of the things that I like to snack on is popcorn. Its hard to find a great balance of lower fat options with taste considerations in popcorn.  I used to pop it in a paper bag using the microwave but there was little flavor after that. I had tried using "I can't believe its not butter" spray but that required a lot of spray to lighten up the dry popcorn.  Finally I found a way of popping it that gave it both flavor and was at least a little more healthy than the other alternatives.
  Here is my secret....
 I pop it in a pan on the stove and use a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. I lightly coat the bottom of the pan with the oil and then add a single layer of corn kernels to the oil. Put a lid on the pot with a little breathing room on the edge of the pot to let the steam escape. Shake and allow the kernels to fall to the bottom of the pan as you pop. As soon as you hear the popping slow down, remove from heat.  Add salt to taste. I take my salt and put it in the silver bullet pulverizer to make it very fine so I use less of it. Trust me, its a great alternative to butter giving it great flavor.  If you are really brave, add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the oil or after with the salt. It provides a kick worth snacking on! Happy Snacking!

To mother a dog-

I have had 3 dogs during my 40 years of life. We had one named "Butchie" who was a black mop with curly bangs and although I had always been told he was a toy poodle, knowing now what I know about breeds and dogs he was definitely a mutt.  We got Butchie when I was maybe 3 years old and my brother and I could not say Bushy so it came out Butchie. I also had a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a cross between a shetland sheep dog and a collie. He was a rescue from the pound and we named him Lucky because we saved him from being euthanized. He was a beautiful dog. My whole childhood contains memories of these two with thoughts of playing in the snow, sneaking lima beans under the table and other kid stuff.

Rumor has it-

Rumor has it that Kraft Mac'n'Cheese will be giving away coupons all week for free boxes of the golden goodness!! I do not have verification on this but it may be a first come first serve thing so I wanted to give you a heads up. It is suspected that you have to "like" them on Facebook in order to qualify so get a head start!

Bargain Bits-

I have a lot of friends that are bargain shoppers. Each one has different strategies and different ways that they go about it. I have some that are coupon clippers and some that go to the clearance rack each week. I have some that will go out the day after Thanksgiving and some that wait to buy next years gifts the day after Christmas. I also have friends that comb the internet looking for savings. This I believe may be the best way to get the latest scoop and exclusive deals. Today a friend of mine sent me a post about Sketchers winter boots that were supposed to be $88 that were accidently on sale for $3 with free shipping if you had some free elite membership.

a time to be silent

Today I said goodbye to a sweet friend, member of our family and one of my babies. Our 11 year old dog passed away from a tumor on his liver. I am besides myself with sadness and loss. Today I will not post bargains or recipes. Today I am not going to be sharing my latest wisdom. Today I just say goodbye to Dale. Rest In Peace sweet puppy, may you chase golf balls for the angels. We love you. You will never know how much you will be missed.

Snarkastic Snickers-

My dad sends me little silly things all the time. I think that some of them I might share here. You will quickly see where I get my snarky sarcastic humor from. I will share some of this fun in a new set of blog segments called "SNARKASTIC SNICKERS"

I am a HUGE classic Mickey Mouse fan. This one made me giggle. I just wanted to share!

Valentine's Candy Twist

Here is a great idea for Valentines day!!! This is such a fun site. I have not ordered from here yet but sure had a lot of fun looking through it. Love is timeless and so are some of these goodies!!
OldTimeCandy.com offers Free Shipping up to $25 to APO, FPO boxes "
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