Mom's Rants & Rave Reviews

Are Christians REALLY Christian???

2011-09-27T21:48:00.001-05:00

(Thanks JoAnn for sharing this!):

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

-Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

So, I have been listening to VCY America for years. I love listening to the sermons "Grace to You" and "Back to the Bible". And until recently, I have always enjoyed "Revive our Hearts" and "Truths that Transform". While I was listening to "Revive" a couple weeks ago, I became extremely agitated over the interview with a mother and a daughter who wrote a book about what its like to grow up as a christian child. During the interview, the mother stated, "As a parent, I made sure that I monitored every single person and child my children were friends with and dissuaded certain ones based on their backgrounds." Ok, yes, any good mother does monitor and keep track of who her children are friends with, to protect them. But when she stated that she told her daughter to limit her friendship with a young lady because her parents were divorced and the young lady's father was now engaged in a homosexual relationship, I became agitated. Ok, as a parent of a young impressionable child, yes, a lifestyle different than your own isn't a good idea to expose your child to and most definitely, please do limit your child's time in that person's home. BUT... Now, here is where I have an issue. If you are really a christian, and you truly are trying to teach your child about 'life', WHY would you forbid your child from bringing a friend to your home based on his or her parents living situations? I, in particular, would most definitely INCLUDE said child in my home life to show them a 'different style home', so that said child was exposed to other living situations. I thought that "christianity" meant tolerance; I thought it meant patience; I thought it meant teaching about God's Love for ALL his children. I let it go.

Then, today, I am listening to "Truths that Transform" and I hear a blurb about "Gays" being truly "evil". Ok, so now, this form of so-called "christianity" has gone TOO FAR! I do not care if you are green, black, blue, gay, straight, a prostitute, a priest or a devil worshiper, but seriously??? There is absolutely NO reason to indiscriminately lump every single person into a singular act based on one person's take on a situation.

IF you are going to call yourself a christian, then how about acting like one? How about learning a little tolerance, patience and remembering that God's Love is for EVERYONE? Unless, of course, you can point out in the bible exactly where it says "And God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believe in him shall have everlasting life - except for... (select groups, types of people, certain races, etc)" IF you can show me the except for line that specifically states that... then I take back what I said.

In the meantime, I shall pray for you... and hope you see the light!

Hugs!
Til Later!
Tracy

Tupperware - Best Value around!

2011-08-11T10:37:00.000-05:00

As a Tupperware Consultant, I am often asked "Why is it so expensive?" My short answer is "Because Tupperware is a LIFETIME investment!"

Let's say you are a family of four and you all take a lunch every day, from home for school or work. And if your husband is anything like mine, he prefers TWO sandwiches. (as did each of my boys!) So, right there, you are making 5 sandwiches a day (or, you EACH are making your own lunch! ;) ) You are using an average of 1250 sandwich bags a year or roughly $100. If you purchase Tupperware's sandwich keepers at $13.00 per set of 2, and get 3 sets, that's $36.00. Notice I didn't say 'a year'? Because that investment is for a LIFETIME! And in the first year of use, you have saved $64.00! And now that you aren't buying sandwich bags every year, just using your same containers, year after year... You have an extra $100 to put into something else!

My other favorite items from Tupperware are Modular Mates. These handy containers save $100s in groceries every year for me! The Super Cereal Storer is a great one! It keeps my cereal fresher for a LOT longer! The baking set helps me save flour that I'd otherwise have to repurchase every baking season. Plus, my least used items are brown sugar and powdered sugar, which both come in 1 lb bags. (Unless you are a mega baker, you don't go through that much of either one at one time!) Personally, I use about 1 cup of each, once a year. Of course, if you bake like I do, that's a purchase of 'one bag a year' since in its original bag, it doesn't stay fresh until I need it again. In the Modular Mate Oval 2, I can put 1 lb of each, use what I need and it stays FRESH until I need it again! My brown sugar??? NO CLUMPING and NO hard bricks, just nice soft ready to use brown sugar!

My next favorite piece is my Insulated Tumbler. I use it daily for water! What I love most about this is that I can put ice in it every morning and my water stays nice and COLD throughout the day. And if I tip it over, very little liquid spills out of it, only the small amount in the straw.

Would you like help learning how to save your family money?

Drop me an email and I can show you how to save money and earn your Tupperware for FREE!!!

And then it clicks!

2011-06-20T08:21:00.000-05:00

I am like a lot of my friends and appreciate a GOOD DEAL! What makes me appreciate a good deal even more is that I have a very limited income. This morning, I am going through my emails and I happen upon the usual array of "Weight Watchers" advertising, sales at Barnes & Noble, Walmart special deals online only, etc. And then the next one comes in the form of my daily digest from Flylady. Flylady is an AWESOME system for getting you on track and doing things in a more organized manner. (Particularly if you are as easily sidetracked as I am, from time to time!) Flylady Shop offers a LOT of awesome stuff to help make your life and home easier to deal with, organize and keep it clutter free. And I am the first one to agree, America is built around making money where you can. But seriously???? There are some 'tips' that should remain free.

Let's start with menu planning. Once you have planned your menu for a full year, 52 weeks, 12 months of daily meals, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TO GET A MENU EACH WEEK! Go back and utilize your menus from last year. Its June, do you really think that anyone in your family is going to remember that you served the exact same things last June 20th? And if you have been doing Flylady since 1999 the same as I have been (Yes that is 12 years) you have LOTS of options to choose from! IF you really are out of ideas, drop me an email, I will share some ideas and 'tips' with you ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Exercise: I watch the infomercials too! I LOVE watching Billy Blank's Tae Bo workouts myself! But let me point something out to you, ALL of the exercises shown in EVERY single infomercial, video, 'new format', have actually been around for YEARS! Is your memory really that short that you have forgotten doing those exact same things during gym class back in 19--???? I know this is NOT unique to the state of WI, but we have this AWESOME interlibrary system that works wonders! You look up the title of what you want (Books, music, videos, magazines, etc) put it in the request system, and wait for the library to call you up and say "Hey, your item is in!" (I actually receive an email instead to help the library save on the cost of phone use too!) And a couple of my friends pointed out, "But yeah, you can only borrow them for a week or two!" HEY! THAT IS A GREAT THING!!! This way your workout doesn't get stale, you get to try something new every week or two, and you can figure out which workouts you really do like the best BEFORE you invest a ton of money on stuff you actually won't use more than once or twice.

One of my FAVORITE places in the entire world to hang out at is The Public Library. What I love most about this place is that it provides me with the opportunity to get my entertaining reading, reference materials, exercise resources. My last favorite part about the library? Education!!! Any subject in the world that I am interested in, I can get from the library! I can study up on it and decide if its something I am truly interested in enough to spend the money taking those classes.

Now, you are right, not every library system carries EVERYTHING we are always looking for. That's when I suggest taking advantage of another system in our country: Second Hand Stores. Goodwill, St. Vincent DePauls, Once upon a Time, Second Time Around, Half Price Books (http://www.hpb.com/stores/), Play It Again, GameStop.... Those are a few of the 'chain' stores I frequent here in WI. But check your local listings for second hand and thrift stores in your area. (And yeah, certain items are probably NOT a good idea to take out of these shops such as appliances that could harbor 'bugs', pillows/mattresses that might have 'bed bugs')

If you don't see something listed here, by all means, drop me an email! I am sure I have the resource available for you!

Til Later!

HUGS!

Tracy

All I am saying is....

2011-06-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

That I am tired of people blowing smoke up my backside and telling me its for my own good. So-called conservatives keep telling me that "I" am a liberal because I don't go along with all these back alley deals being made in Madison to SAVE the big corporations in WI. You would be the same people who are also supporting buying products made in other countries. I have friends that sell so MANY products made outside the US that its not funny! Seriously??? You want to know what's wrong with this country? Its that we RECEIVE and SELL more goods and services that are produced OUTSIDE of this country than we do products made in the great UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! How many of you own a Keurig coffee maker? Produced by a company called "Simatelex" that manufactures their product in Shenzhen, CHINA! How many of you purchase the majority of your goods from Walmart, whose largest WORLDWIDE manufacturer of toys, clothing, etc are made in CHINA? While everyone is busy reading labels on their food content to get the least processed foods for their diets, they are not paying attention to the fact that the beef they just purchased came from Argentina. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! You are so busy whining about the fact that so called 'liberals' are running this country into the ground that you are SUPPORTING PRODUCTS THAT ARE NOT MANUFACTURED IN THIS COUNTRY, thus running the country into the ground even further!

UGH! Get off your high horse and start paying BETTER attention to what's really going on here. Small businesses, mom & pops, and "Made in the US" businesses are being DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS because you all are too damned busy fighting the WRONG FIGHT that you quit supporting "BUY US" and "BUY LOCAL" businesses. You complain about the high costs of purchasing stuff, but at the same time, IT IS YOUR OWN FAULT! You CHOSE to go to BIG BOX store to buy your goods and services because they were cheaper, that you quit looking at your products and services and finding out where they are made, and support companies that DO NOT PURCHASE local goods or made in the US goods any longer and are buying in bulk from Taiwan, China, and other countries just so you can save a buck and drive the local businesses expenses up. Because you quit buying locally grown produce, meats, etc, you drove our grocery costs higher. Because YOU are not telling your government to FIGHT HARDER for locally produced fuels and green energy, you are driving up the cost of our fuels by supporting companies who transport their oils and other fuels from OTHER COUNTRIES. Because YOU are supporting the LARGE corporations, YOU are forcing jobs to be sent overseas and then calling ME names because YOU were too stupid to see that YOU cost your country to die out.

The problem with this country is there are too many people fighting for the rights of other countries and citizens not of this country that everyone quit fighting FOR this country. You call me a liberal, you call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but my fundamental thoughts are Start fighting for your damned country people! QUIT letting our government CONTINUE to support NON-US GOODS AND SERVICES to be sold within our borders! QUIT BUYING FOREIGN PRODUCED PRODUCTS! START WATCHING MORE THAN YOUR LABELS ON FOOD CONTENT AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM!

Tell YOUR congress men and women "SUPPORT THE US AND SUPPORT OUR STATE" and ENCOURAGE TAX BREAKS FOR LOCAL COMPANIES OVER FOREIGN TRADE ENTITIES! And if that is liberal, then I AM A LIBERAL! I WANT OUR GOODS AND SERVICES TO CONTINUE TO BE LOCALLY PRODUCED, MANUFACTURED, AND PROVIDED!

And if you don't like it, you can kiss my MADE IN THE US BUTT!

Its all about the CHANGE

2011-05-31T09:56:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, I made a change in my life that impacted my life forever; I opted to finishing raising my children alone. For many people, that is a daunting task, particularly when faced with three teen-aged boys and a preteen girl. What astounded me the most was not the task itself, but the feedback I got from people I had known for years! For 15 years, I was in a relationship that troubled me a great deal. We had the basics, but it seemed we struggled all the time. Every couple of years, it felt like we had to start over from scratch, each and every time. Moving to a new place, starting a new job, acclimating to a new area or surrounding. It felt, at times, like a vicious circle I couldn't break out of or a carnival ride you just can't stop. It wasn't an easy decision to end a 15 year relationship and it definitely was not an easy decision to let the kids decide where they wanted to live and grow up.

I spent the next 5 years working, reclaiming my life and discovering more about myself. This is when I started getting feedback. Friends from high school commented that they hadn't seen me this happy in years. People I had previously worked with commented that I was looking younger and younger every day and seemed a whole new person. Even my mother commented that I was easier to get along with and talk to more rationally about everything. It didn't really click 'why' until I started rereading Anthony Robbins "Unlimited Power". Its about making consistent changes daily, and keep making those changes until you get the results you want!

Hey, if you don't like what's going on in your life, ONLY YOU have the ability to change it and make it what YOU want it to be! Its all about the CHANGE! Make the changes YOU want!

Until later!
HUGS!

Tracy

Struggling

2011-05-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

I have been struggling with a variety of things lately. Being 'unemployed' is very depressing. Every week, I file my unemployment claim, I go running around filling out applications and sending out resumes. I peruse careerbuilder.com, Yahoo HOT jobs (which by the way, aren't always so 'hot'), and monster.com. I get daily emails from various employment boards and newspapers for various jobs and still NOTHING! Since I lost my job in January, I have submitted over 800 applications/resumes and had only '3' job interviews.

Then, it doesn't help that my car blew up, and we are at the present moment down to one car, which is tied to the schedule of the breadwinner in the family! (Not complaining, just explaining! ;) ) And I hate to be the bearer of bad news to the car listers on Craigs List, but it is NOT a good runner if its missing key components that make it run (ie, motor, transmission, tires, drive shaft etc) Bills, let's not discuss those.... hard to pay them with no cashflow! ;) And I also realize that the day to day life demands that I put on my husband are also not a big help to either of us, but they have to be taken care of.

As with all struggles, there is good that can come from it. We have good health, for the most part. (Hey, we are getting older, parts are going to wear out! ;) ) We have a home, we have our kids, we have each other and really, in the broad picture of things, we are not doing all that bad! I take a moment every single day and thank God for the blessings he has given us! We have great friends, we have internet, we have the basics we need, and if we were without a few things, we would still survive! I am grateful for the life that God has given me and the opportunities that will come, in the future. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but they will come! And even with the cashflow issues, I am rich beyond my wildest dreams in so many other areas!

Hugs!

Til Later!

Tracy

Remember our Troops and say prayers

2011-03-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

Normally, I don't post about the television I watch. In this case, I will make an exception. Army Wives is in its 5th season and I have faithfully followed every episode. Most of the time, the loss of life we see on the show is just from residual characters who have spent less than a couple of episodes on the show. Last night, however, a character died that has been on the show every single season. We have watched him grow from a graduating teen into an adult over the past 5 years. At approximately 23 years of age, Jeremy Sherwood is roughly the same age as my own three sons. The war is highlighted in the current season and has always been a poignant part of the show. The show is about the struggles of Army life for the wives who are here at home, struggling every day, waiting to hear from their soldier, hoping they come home alive. As the mom of a military soldier, I know the potential for loss and am grateful that my own son did come home from Afghanistan alive and unharmed. The loss of Jeremy Sherwood from Army Wives will be felt for a long time. I ask that everyone remember, while Army Wives is just a show, it is showing us another side of our current reality. Remember the troops we still have in Iraq and Afghanistan and say prayers for their families and friends and hope that they don't have to suffer this kind of loss.

Support our Troops! Bring them home ALIVE!

Til later,
HUGS!

Tracy

Wake up to the changes affecting YOUR FAMILY

2011-02-21T11:00:00.000-06:00

I am tired of the debate fight going on in Wisconsin. Not because I agree with Walker, but because I am TIRED of people in the private sector jobs making light of these changes to the public sector as though its NEVER going to affect them. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! THIS IS AFFECTING YOUR JOBS TOO!!! Do you not get that taking away collective bargaining rights for other aspects of public sector jobs WILL come back to bite you in the butt too???? Its just like Obamacare. Oh sure, its great, it helps people who have no insurance get health insurance at a reasonable price, but at what cost to the people who already have it? For some, its already been a $1200 a year increase in their current premiums and a loss of other benefits like the ability to use their flex spending accounts for what they want. Prime example: The Pharmaceutical companies decided to make allergy meds such as Claritin and Zyrtec over the counter. The change in flex spending accounts for health meant that you could no longer use YOUR MONEY THAT YOU SAVED FOR THE PURPOSE to get ANY over the counter medications. Which now makes purchasing much needed allergy pills a 'non deductible expense' at a cost of up to $40 per month out of pocket for many people.

And I know a lot of you are going "So what does this have to do with me?" Right now, not a thing, but you think these changes are only going to affect public workers who get paid way too much to start with? (yeah, I have been listening and I have NEWS FOR YOU, the average teacher in WI is not making $40,000 a year and the cuts that have already hit most school districts, you have NO idea how much of their classroom has been out of their own pockets to start with! Most teachers make $9 an hour OR LESS in some areas. I have a friend who protects the very safety of the people of the state and he is VERY LUCKY if his base pay is $30,000 a year! GIVE ME A BREAK! He risks his life HIS LIFE PEOPLE, every time he goes into work to SAVE YOURS and we pay nothing for that???) But that's the thing: You aren't willing to bitch, unless it affects you personally! When the next set of changes comes through to affect the private sector, will you then be willing to stand up and protest for how unfair it all is??? OF COURSE! Because then it affects YOUR personal paycheck.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! YOU ARE NEXT!

A funny thing happened on the way home....

2011-01-30T11:17:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending my stepson's basketball tournament in a neighboring town. Near the end of the tournament, I was challenged by my past. A former classmate of mine from years ago is a teacher in the school which the tournament was held. He saw me, acknowledged me and we exchanged pleasantries. Now, in years past, the exchange would have been one that left me feeling cold inside and I'd have told whoever asked of the atrocities that this individual bestowed upon me as a youth. As it turns out, my husband heard the exchange and asked, "Who is that?" I turned to him and said, very confidently, "He is a friend of mine from high school." It was in the very moment that I realized I have completely forgiven everyone who made fun of me in high school.

I remember quite clearly events of my years in junior high and high school that tormented me for years after. I had a crush on a young man who was very physically appealing and his family were pillars of the community we lived in. The day someone revealed to him my crush was very heartbreaking and hurtful. I had made a very clear excuse for months that the route I took to and from school that went past his house was clearly the BEST route to take. It was, after all, the halfway point between my house and my best friend's house at the time. On this particular day though, someone had pointed out to him that "I" had a crush on him and followed him daily. During our walk home, he finally noticed me and turned to acknowledge my presence, "Tracy, if I had a dog as ugly as you, I'd shave his ass and teach him to walk backwards." To this day, I am not sure if he realizes the true depths of the pain he caused me, not just by the remark to my looks (yes, I took them to heart and felt 'ugly' for many years afterwards) but with the actual embarrassment of his screaming (it seemed like it anyhow) these words outloud, publicly, in front of many classmates and friends. Several heard them; comments were made for days afterwards that actually caused me to abandon my crush of him. And afterward, several other male members of my class took to taunting me and teasing me for weeks. Back then, I KNOW I would never have called any of these individuals 'my friends', not by any stretch of the imagination. My tormentors were definitely not friends back then.

Since that day back in 1980, I have grown up and now realize that the sins of our youth are not what dictate our actions as adults. The atrocities that we endured and bestowed upon one another were just missives that we needed in our passages to become adults. They were the stepping stones required to get through life and bring us all to a point where diversity and adversity taught us to respect individuality. Looking back, I may have hated the acts of the individuals who teased me, but overall, I enjoyed the experience known as "high school". I have many more great memories of my 6 years in Southern WI than I do bad ones. And as a forgiving adult, I can safely say, "Yes, that person who acknowledged me is a friend."

To all my friends from Adams-Friendship, Orfordville, and Evansville, may life always give you the BEST of everything and may you always look upon our years in High School with FOND FOND remembrance of our years together!

HUGS!

Til Later!
Tracy Fiebranz Hoffman

I have had my losses too

2011-01-15T09:36:00.000-06:00

My mom died almost 6 years ago. I know this because she died just the day before my daughter's 11th birthday in March 2005. Our family has been plagued with several losses early in the year: my own sister died the day my daughter was born at the exact time and in the exact same hospital that I delivered my daughter; my grandfather died in February of 1984, my grandmother on my mom's side September of 1983, my grandma's husband Ed, January 1999, my grandmother February 2003, my mother in law Lenore April 2002, my father in law Cal June 2002. Each of these people played a role in my life, some very significantly.

I spent every summer with my grandma and my grandpa on my dad's side from the time I was 5 until I turned 13 (we moved to WI then, and it made summers with grandma MUCH harder to do), so their significance in my life was tremendous. I learned to cook, about corn, potatoes, and other gardening things (I still can't grow anything to save my life!) and I learned about my family's history during those summers. When I wasn't with grandma and grandpa, I wrote to them, once a week. Yes, an actual letter that you put in the mail and send off through the post office! When they traveled south in the winter, I wrote to their winter address.

When grandpa died in 1984, it was the first time I experienced a serious family loss. I was just 19 and had never experienced 'loss' of someone really close to me before. It was very sad. But my grandmother pulled me aside and said these words to me that I will never forget, "Do not mourn your loss! Rejoice in God's gain! For the goal of life is to experience everlasting life with Jesus and God for eternity!" She meant it! She meant every single word of it to the core of her very being.

Yes, its still very sad that I cannot see or speak to these people on the phone every single day, or at least, when I want to or need to, but they are always with me, in my heart and in my memories. There are MANY TIMES I try calling Lenore to tell her something funny or significant that I know she'd like to hear. My own mother, I talked to her almost every single day on the phone, in life, and that was even before we had 'unlimited calling plans for one price'.

Now you ask, why do I bring this up? Lately, I see so MANY of my friends writing about significant anniversaries of people who have died and commemorating the people they have lost: infants, parents, grandparents, siblings and the thoughts seem almost depressing. It reminds me of my own mother who every year on her birthday and my daughter's became depressed over the losses she faced on both of those days. Nothing we did or said could change the significance of those days for her. My grandmother died in September of 1983, and she was buried on her daughter's birthday.

So people, DO NOT MOURN YOUR LOSSES!!! REJOICE IN GOD'S GAINS! FOR THE GOAL OF LIFE IS EVERLASTING LIFE WITH JESUS AND GOD FOR ETERNITY!

HUGS!
Til Later!

Help Dawn Meehan: Author of Because I Said So! Blog

2011-01-13T17:49:00.000-06:00

Infomercials and other false claims...

2010-12-14T10:02:00.000-06:00

SO, I am listening to some infomercials this morning.... and thinking, "REALLY???? That product will really change my life??" One of the products was WEN haircare products. So, this product is the best thing for ALL hair types??? And yet its going to cost me $90 to get 'all these great products'???? Okay, I totally get that I need to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate, but really??? $30 a month for products??? I can't find something GOOD for my hair without it costing that much??? Burt's Bees produces JUST such a shampoo, in a bigger bottle for $8. I can get that at Walgreens! WHY would I order through an infomercial then?

Weight loss systems... WHY are we always looking for bigger and better? Is there really anything better than tried and true systems? For example, the Guru of weight loss and exercise for over 30 years has been, hands down, Richard Simmons. Why is his "Sweating to the Oldies" not more touted than it is? He has a proven record of YEARS of weight loss AND exercise. Instead, people opt for the 'convenience' of things like "Premade meals" from programs like ediets.com or nutrisystems.com. eDiets offers me 7 premade meals, prepackaged and all I have to do is pop it in the microwave for a tidy little chunk of change: $175 a week or $25 a day. Nutrisystems offers me a cheaper option... 28 full meals for $388 a month or $14 a day. (that is not including shipping, btw!) WOW! What a deal! But what NONE of these systems share with you, up front, is that when you go off their system, you are going back to square one. SO, what do you do to lose weight effectively??? Join a program that teaches you how to eat sensibly, lose weight slowly (after all, you didn't just put all that weight on last night, did you???) AND teaches you how to do it through LIFESTYLE CHANGE! There are a few really great systems out there, let's start with the oldest and the BEST.... Weight Watchers. Go to a meeting and learn HOW to be effective in your weight loss. The newest? Sparkpeople.com ITS FREE! and you learn from people who are doing it the same way you are!

Thats my rant for the day....

Bye for now!

HUGS!

My career.... What do I want to do when I grow up..

2010-12-08T10:12:00.000-06:00

Leadership WI has been the most awesome experience I have ever had in my entire life and we aren't even through the first year! Every time I walk away from one of the training sessions, it makes me think more and more about 'what I want to be when I grow up'. All of the things we have studied thus far have been PHENOMENAL in the experiences and I have questioned my 'future career'. Now, there is no question about it at all... what I am doing for a job right now is NOT ENOUGH for me. Don't get me wrong, Customer Service is always a PLUS in my book, but income and advancement and intellectual growth are not possible in my current position. I have interviewed for many wonderful and fine positions in the past several months, but obviously, I haven't gotten them. I have used the "Its my time commitment to Leadership WI that is killing my chances", but today, I had an "aha" moment and thought.... "Perhaps the reason I am not getting these jobs is because, while each position is a great opportunity in and of itself isn't because of my LW commitments, but because I am projecting that my future goals are not conducive to the position I have applied for."

This got me to thinking... "What is it you really want to do with your LIFE, Tracy?" Incomewise, I want to become a director for Tupperware. A very dear friend of mine, and my sponsor in Tupperware, has inspired me to want to achieve more and DO more with Tupperware. Georgene Mulder, Waupun, WI celebrated 50 years with Tupperware at Jubilee (Tupperware's annual training and celebration) in Orlando, FL this summer. She will be turning 75 years old in the next few weeks and had one thing to say to me "If it's to be, Its UP TO ME!"

Tupperware is a long time product and business that not only can I stand behind, but it also allows me the FREEDOM to do the other things I want to do with my life as well and that is volunteering my time to WI Lions. It gives me the ability to set my own schedule and do the things I want to do and participate in while giving me an ongoing income!

I want to be just like Georgene Mulder when I grow up, and look forward to the next 50 years with Tupperware! (I will be 96... I CAN DO IT!!! IF ITS TO BE, ITS UP TO ME!!)

Until Later,
HUGS!
Tracy
PS: and while you are at it, go check out my Tupperware site!

Today's Rant is brought to you by Webster.... The makers of a gadget called Dictionary

2010-12-06T16:08:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I know that every single person on the planet does NOT learn at the same rate. Cool, I can dig that! But I do know that in the United States of America, EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL in the nation was provided with at least ONE dictionary PER classroom. And now with access to the internet, we have our dictionary online. I say USE THEM!!!! It is completely and utterly incomprehensible that people cannot learn how to use the English language PROPERLY. You is spelled Y O U... not "u". Are is spelled A R E .... not "r". SERIOUSLY!?!?! Is it really all that impossible to learn and type all your words out properly???

My husband and brother are the two worst spellers I know, but even they are willing to either ASK or look up how to spell a word properly. Why can't other people? If you are going to take the time to type out a conversation with me, whether online or on a cell phone, don't waste my time trying to decipher what you mean by giving me a jumbled mess of letters that could mean anything. Lay it on me straight, in proper English!

Thats my rant for the day! Brought to you by Webster, the Makers of a nifty little gadget called "The Dictionary"

Later!

Hugs

I am at a loss...

2010-12-05T08:41:00.000-06:00

Over the years, I have learned many things. One of them is "if you don't like your current situation, CHANGE IT!" Another is that hard work really does pay off. Right now, I am working a job that I don't necessarily particularly like, but I am doing it, because having a job, even a low paying job is better than doing nothing! It barely helps me pay our phone bill every single month and sometimes my paycheck isn't even worth the paper its written on. (minimum wage is like that!) Last week, I was even asked "With your background, why are you working HERE?" Because of all the job interviews I have had since February, this is the ONLY job that allows me the time off I need for Leadership WI. I guess when I am interviewed, I am doing something wrong, not presenting it right or something. But for some reason, being a fellow in Leadership WI seems to be the catalyst that turns employers off. True, the time commitment to LW is pretty significant, but its spread out over the next two years pretty well. I won't be going to another training session until January 2011.

By comparison, my problems are small though. I have a friend who has it worse, for sure. I am going to call her Georgia, simply to protect her and her family. Georgia has a job, like mine, doesn't pay a lot, but it pays. She doesn't enjoy it, but she goes every day that she's scheduled. She has 3 kids: One teenager, one middle schooler, and a tot just into school this year. Her husband, due to illness, cannot work. His handicap is enough that he can't do a lot around the house either. Very minimal tasks, at best. She can't seem to make ends meet and they have had to move 3 times just in the past 6 months, due to failure to pay rent. This past move, the Social Services office even told her this is the last time they can help her, because they are not getting their deposits back when she moves out of each subsequent place. She came to me, because she's not sure what to do about it.

My advice? Put deadbeat hubby in a retraining program through the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. I do NOT care what the disability is, there is always a way to work around it and find a job! Seriously??? Ask my friend who has COPD and works every day. Check out the people in wheelchairs who work. Ask Joni Mitchell what its like to have NO use of anything from her neck down and seems to do just fine! Get yourself enrolled in a part time college program doing SOMETHING and pay your rent regularly! The programs that are available to these individuals are NUMEROUS. Rent: Get on the waiting list for Rent Assistance. Section 8 is AWESOME!!! I had a friend who made $10 an hour working 30 hours a week, she paid $58 a month in rent, while Section 8 picked up the rest and its DECENT housing!!! Sign up for Medical Assistance.... most employers, who don't pay over minimum wage, either what they offer for health insurance is beyond your income OR they don't offer it anyhow. Sign up for foodstamps... Family of 5 should easily get $400 a month, at least! And SAVE coupons and shop sales! (I am the queen of stretching foodstamps! I did it for YEARS!!!) There are also food pantries that will help generally once a month. Most states also have the Share Program which provides a decent amount of food for little to nothing. (This is the link to ours in WI http://www.sharewi.org/ but most states in the US have one of their own) Shop Goodwill and St Vincent De Pauls and other thrift stores. I still shop them myself! I have found some AWESOME clothes, furniture, heck, even appliances!

Her response? But I don't know how to do it or where to go!

Listen, I raised 4 kids on welfare, worked fulltime (3rd shift) and went to COLLEGE fulltime during the day. And you are going to sit there and tell ME you can't do it and how rough it is??? I am at a loss...

Til later!

Hugs!

Its been FOREVER ...

2010-11-20T21:01:00.000-06:00

since I last posted on my blog! SHAME ON ME!!!

I tell ya, life is one of those ever changing things where one minute you are busy, busy, busy and the next, you have NOTHING to do! HA! Well, I'd like some of those 'nothing to do' times on rare and limited occasion!

I haven't posted since July... and for that, I am sorry! I started out the summer helping "College Girl" get ready to go to college, plus working and transporting her to and from job and class. Then, we got her all settled into college and struck up life as 'just the two of us' again. Between trips to Oshkosh to see College Girl, work, Lions Club meetings, Tupperware, the Chili Cook-Off.... its been hectic to say the least! And now, the holidays are soon upon us!

I will try to do better about blogging!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy
http://my2.tupperware.com/tup-html/T/tracyhoffman-welcome.html

Liberty Barbie Give Away

2010-07-02T16:57:00.001-05:00

Go check it out!!!

http://ebaysellingcoach.blogspot.com/2010/07/independence-day-giveaway-statue-of.html

Memorial Day

2010-05-28T15:48:00.001-05:00

Memorial Day is traditionally a day we honor those who have lost their lives in service to our country. The proud men and women that served with them show special recognition and those of us who are grateful for all they have done for us show special recognition and its a day of being thankful, being grateful and remembering those who have served our country.

While I was listening to the memorials on VCY America this afternoon, it struck me that only those who have died are being honored. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think Memorial Day should be as much about honoring ALL our brave men and women, even those who returned home as well and walk among us every day.

I am going to personally thank those people that I know who have served, no matter their capacity in the military:

My son, Anthony Fiebranz
My uncle, Jerald Fiebranz
My husband, Timothy Hoffman
Michael's father: David Lueptow
My adopted son, Drew Doeden (who is also getting married today to his new wife, Emilie Bright)
My friends: Kevin Cook, Brad Ruff, Scott Sebero, Dawn Cook, and Guy Svehlek
Andrea Fox
Mitchell Russo
Spencer Russo
(I know there are others, I just can't remember them all right now...)
And all the friends and family of all those who I have mentioned, who also served this country in the military and anyone else you can think of, tell them I said THANK YOU! I TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY AND MY FREEDOMS!

THANKS!

Til Later!
HUGS!

Tracy

Friends... How many am I allowed???

2010-05-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

I was talking with my daughter a couple nights ago about 'friends' in general and how many best friends a person is allowed at one time. To me, that's like asking how many people you can love and having to say "Sorry dude, you are going to have to wait your turn, my heart's already over capacity in the love department! As soon as someone falls off, I will get back to you!" Friends and love come in all forms, shapes and sizes. And each of those friends we love/like for various different reasons.

When I lived in Newport growing up, my best friends were Laura, Terri and Nancy. When I moved to Battle Creek area, Laurel became my best friend. Then I moved to Albany, WI and it was Rodney, Fred, Lonnie and Tanya. Orfordville - Kathy, Lisa, Schatze, Julie, Dave, Tim, Jessica, Terri. Evansville - Kevin, Brad, Sherri, Cherie, Lisa, Mary, Ron, Shane, Scott, Jim, Rocky. Adams - Christine, Kristen, Debbie, Tim, Marlene, Rhonda, Penny, Brenda, Mike, Chris.

And then I grew up, moved on, got married, got divorced, had kids, changed jobs, changed towns, moved again, dated new guys, changed friends, changed jobs again, weddings, funerals, reunions etc... and then, along came 2007. I moved again, back down by where I graduated high school, started a new job, and got a call from an old friend I hadn't heard from in years. I met him when I was dating his best friend, back in the late 80s. We talked, started dating... and here in May 2010, we are 1 year into both our second marriages and LOVING IT! Friends??? Not only is he my best friend (and husband), but he's also my brother's best friend.

Friends, through our lives, we will have LOTS and LOTS of friends. Some we keep in constant contact with, some we talk to once in a while, some we rarely hear from or see. They are still in our hearts, and always our friends. And you are allowed as MANY as you want!

Til Later!

HUGS!

Tracy

I am who I am...

2010-05-26T09:32:00.000-05:00

I have been 'informed' more than once this week that I am too critical, and too harsh of sorts. And at first, yes, I did want to apologize and say "I am sorry, you are right, I am too critical and too harsh" and then I thought about it and NO SIR I AM NOT!

You see, I grew up being told by my grandmother, my grandfather, my mother and my father on a regular basis: "YOU CAN BE WHOEVER YOU WANT TO BE! JUST WORK FOR IT!" And honestly??? That is what is WRONG with this country today. Too many people want to be what they want to be, without the WORK that goes into it. So, I am NOT too critical, I am NOT too harsh, your standards of what you are willing to accept for yourself, your family, and the people around you are TOO DAMNED LOW!

Listen, this life, you only get ONE shot at it. Once its gone, its gone and you won't ever get it back. Do yourself a favor and REACH HIGHER. Hey, I did! Leadership WI wasn't something I actually was able to picture myself doing. I thought "Oh yeah, they are never going to pick me, they want REAL people who have done something special with their lives, not losers like me!" And even during our introductions I thought more than once "Wow, I wish I could be like that....(Do that, be that person etc)" and then it dawned on me... "I wonder how many people think that about me?"

So, tonight, with the pride that comes from doing what you love to do, I am accepting the honor of being my club's President for a year, taking on the job of being District Zone Chair, and continuing my educational pursuits with Leadership WI, my church, Lions club and striving towards being the BEST that I know how to be! I am who I am..... and if you think I am too critical or too harsh... Your standards for yourself are too low, Reach HIGHER! BE who you want to be!

Til later!
HUGS!

Why do we need labels??

2010-03-29T09:33:00.003-05:00

I have never been a big fan of limiting labels. I personally dislike labels for two reasons: 1 - they enable someone to have an excuse to do or NOT do something. 2 - they are a way for too many people to get things they don't deserve. Let me clarify that.

Excuse - When I was growing up, there was a young man that had Down's Syndrome and he would pinch on a regular basis. Instead of teaching him NOT to do that, they just said "Oh, he's special, so we just let him do it!" WHAT?!?! So, just because he has a brain disorder, he isn't teachable?? I totally disagree!

Getting things they don't deserve - SSI is my 'fave' of these groups of things people get that they don't deserve. "Oh I can't work because my back is bothering me, the pain is disabling!" REALLY!?!?! If your rearend is not in a wheelchair, then YOU ARE NOT DISABLED TO THE POINT YOU HAVE ANY EXCUSE NOT TO WORK! And what really disgusts me is the people who get SSI that have an even more lame excuse NOT to work, it can be anything: just too lazy to work, depression, drugs, alcohol, you name it. There is no serious excuse with the advancements in technology that we have today that can ever get me to believe that you can't do MORE than ever before. ADD/ADHD have at least 50 medications that resolve their issues to calm you down and make your brain function at a slower pace. Depression, just from one website, I found over 100 medications to help eleviate the symptoms of depression. (And how about something more natural? Get off your butt, get out in the sunshine, exercise and WORK! Those cure depression better than anything else!!)

Seriously, what LIMITS you is not the label you have, its yourself. I am a 45 year old woman with arthritis in my knees, neck and hands. Try and keep up with me! I dare you! My hands may ache, but I will keep on typing. My knees and back may hurt, but I am going to keep on moving. My neck may be so sore I have a headache, but I am going to keep on going! There are NO EXCUSES WHY you allow your labels to limit you to what you can do!

My son was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 11 years old and at 21, he is a lifeguard at a resort. Seriously, he is working with little kids at a resort and helping them in and out of the water with a disorder called epilepsy. He has been known to have as many as 100 seizures an hour, and yet, he is not letting those limit his abilities to work.

And if you really think I am being harsh.... maybe you should give your attitude an altitude check and go see what Nick has to say about it at Attitude is Altitude and then come back and tell me if I am 'harsh'... are your problems worse than his???

Til later!

Hugs

You must understand.... Internet is a PUBLIC forum, seen by everyone!

2010-03-28T11:48:00.003-05:00

Some people are under the misguided delusion that the 'internet' is a protected place and they are free to roam about where they want with no reprecussions. In fact, the OPPOSITE is true. For those of us who have gmail accounts, use google as our search engine and blog on google, EVERYTHING we do is recorded and stored in a 'file' with our individual IP addresses. In a public interview, the CEO of Google did say that he is WILLING to share any of that information with the government or other agencies that would need access to that information. And you really think its not? CDC took a bet with Google's executives that Google would know before CDC where swine flu outbreaks were occurring first. The results were ASTOUNDING, but Google came out on top! They knew before CDC where those outbreaks occurred.

Anytime you feel like you are 'safe', do your own google search for yourself and find out just WHERE you are posting on the internet and what information about you is viewable to the WORLD. You might be surprised!

Here is a GOOD example of how long you can be 'found'... Hofy's Duct Tape Mounting System has been 'circulating for OVER 10 years. This is something that was posted in March of 2000 and look, here it is 2010 and there was a post on it, almost exactly 10 YEARS to the day....

So, seriously, before you post.... Think about it, HOW MUCH do you want people to know about you? How traceable do you want to be? Is what you posted something you feel secure in defending?

Til Later!

HUGS!

Tracy

Voice of America or well, of my own little corner of the world ...

2010-03-25T15:00:00.003-05:00

I am coming to realize that I am my mother's daughter and as such, I don't often enough keep my mouth shut. One of the things that really irritates me as a woman is the fact that so often, men of a certain age think that we should just sit down and be quiet. I am also realizing that women of a certain age think that my generation is too pushy and forward and 'advanced' for our own good. This has never been an issue and generally I ignore the 'poo-poo' references to my comments and suggestions. Recently, however, my judgement as a business woman and as a viable member of the community has been questioned and in a very hurtful way. I don't mind criticism. I actually relish it as a way to improve and move forward and progress as a human being. This is not the case in this particular instance.

I was nominated for a very prestigious program within the State of WI. I went through the process of researching the program, submitting my application, being interviewed for the program and finally, selected to participate. First, I have the utmost respect for the person who nominated me. I believe that his business and community service acumen is quite astute and he is, in my personal opinion, a leader among leaders in more than just his job and daily life. He is, without a doubt in my mind, a true humanitarian and willing to listen to ALL sides of a subject and provide meaningful feedback as well as viable solutions and other information as needed. I am still honored to tears that he took the time to nominate me for this program and for that, I will always be grateful to him for recognizing in me something I didn't recognize in myself, at first.

With that being said, I am awed and hurt by remarks made about me and to me regarding my new 'venture' in life. I was personally hurt and offended by comments made that I am being 'scammed' and 'taken' in regards to the direction I wish to go with my life as far as leadership goes. It pains me greatly to think that people I care about and THOUGHT respected me as not only a member of their organization, but as a leader to the same organization would regard my training efforts to become more of a leader, as a scam, without doing the research themselves to find out more information.

It really is very devastating to think that people around you think less of you when you are trying your hardest to do more and provide more and learn more. I am just VERY GLAD that I have the people around me that I do who actually do support me. I have a husband who is proud to call me his wife and believes in my abilities and my future as a leader and supports me, not only as his wife, but as an individual. I have other leaders around me who see my efforts as just a stepping stone to bigger and better things as a leader in my own rights and I have friends who see that what I am doing is "God's work towards making me a better me" as well.

What really inspired me today was listening to our local Christian Radio station and hearing a gentleman state "Do you remember the scene in Star Wars where they froze Han Solo in time and saved him there? As people, we have a tendency of resisting change in the same way, 'freezing people and things in time and not wanting them to progress or change over time'. God, however, has another plan for us, and as people, we must quit resisting that change and embrace it, for what it is."

I believe in my heart, that this is the message God wishes everyone to hear. Instead of resisting the change, embrace it and progress forward! Relish in the gifts of God and build upon that to make this world a better place! And accept that some leaders come to us with different ideas, but not all those ideas are bad ones, just ones that need to be better formulated and worked with!

Til later!

HUGS!

Tracy

PS: This has NOTHING to do with the current state of affairs of our own federal government and its new Healthcare Reform Bill! Its on a more personal level!

Vote NO to Healthcare Reform OR Vote out the Politicians that think its a good idea

2010-03-22T16:04:00.002-05:00

Perhaps I am just a misinformed boob, but I don't see this 'healthcare plan' as a good thing. I got my "Healthcare Reform" news from this spot at CNN. Now, of course, I realize that CNN is not the foremost 'authority' on national news, but I did pay attention to the article anyhow. Especially the part about "IF ANYONE refuses to participate in this program, they will be FORCED to pay penalties" EXCUSE ME!?!?! IF I refuse to pay for overpriced INFERIOR health insurance that even the politicians have a choice in taking, IN AMERICA, LAND OF THE FREE, I have to PAY FINES for my decision!?!?! Because after all, my basic rights, FREEDOM OF CHOICE are now being taken away from me. Did I get that right???

And my next favorite part "The cost to taxpayers is estimated to be $940 BILLION over a 10 year period of time" BILLIONS!?!?! and not just one or two BILLION dollars, but 940 BILLION DOLLARS!?!?! Am I getting a raise too to cover all these additional fines, penalties and taxes that I will NOW have to cover over the next 10 years too??? Am I going to see it as a rise in gas prices again? MORE taxes on cigarettes and alcohol sold in my state? Or is it just going to be an outright "Here's your bill pay it" sort of taxation???

I think Thomas Jefferson said it best when he said,"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

That's my final word on this topic!

Til Later!

HUGS!

Tracy

Attention!!! YEARS of marriage does NOT constitute any understanding!

2010-03-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

Over the years, I have spent a LOT of time with a LOT of different types of men and I am here to tell you, you wives are NOT paying attention. Men's style of communication is not emotional, its more logical and analytical. When they say things, they aren't thinking of the emotions that it will provoke, they are thinking in terms of getting their point across.

Now, with that in mind, my 45 years of life have lent me more than just an insight into how 'men think', but also how to avoid as much conflict as possible. 17 years with the same man and LOTS of miscommunications led to the falling apart of a relationship that to this day has left me with a lot of bitter feelings towards relationships. It, however, did not stop me from getting married again to the great man I have. That is not to say that Tim and I don't have our problems, because WE DO and always will have problems. Its a fact of life. You cannot combine two personalities together, no matter how compatible, and expect life to be all roses and sunshine.

Tim and I are as compatible as two people can possibly be. We think WAY too much alike, but at the same time, we are still opposite sex and conflict WILL arise. As such, one thing I have learned over the years is to pick and choose your battles. Is it really worth the argument to worry that his priority is NOT your priority? Should I 'fight' with Tim because one of his weeks of vacation is solely dedicated to EAA's Air Show in Oshkosh??? Or should I learn to adapt my schedule to meet his needs for that week and let him have his fun? I don't spend that entire week following him throughout EAA grounds while he takes endless pictures (up to 20,000 in a weeks time) of airplanes, old and new. I generally find something to do that I enjoy the days he is there from dawn to dusk, and the days I decide to go with him, there are things there that I enjoy without him, and things that we enjoy together. (The last two years, we have gone for the Jeff Dunham performance 'together') This year, the biggest change for that week already is that I will be out of town three of those days and not sure when I will be back. I am already disappointed because I probably won't make it back in time to go for the Lt. Dan Band performance on Friday evening, but at the same time, we both know that we are doing things we enjoy, separately.

The last thing I have learned is a two parter: 1 - screaming accomplishes NOTHING! 2 - discuss it once, and then DROP IT. Even if the conflict is NOT resolved, needling on the subject is like picking a little at a time at a scab until it bleeds, whats the point?? A good example is mine and Tim's discussion regarding church. I joined the local church, he said with his schedule, he'd prefer that I not HOLD him to going every time hes home. I told him that's fine, so long as he does understand my need to go, when I go. (Hey, I don't make it every Sunday... things to happen that get in the way from time to time!) I go to church, he joins me when he has the time, we are both happy! And because I never push the issue or needle regularly, hes more willing to go, more often with me! ;)

Marriage isn't about the number of years you have been together, its about the amount of respect you have for one another and how much you want to learn about each other, daily, that doesn't include 'conflict'. If you really want a better insight into your relationship, sit down and watch "Fire Proof" together and then do the activities from the book. We did, and we are HAPPIER because of it!

Til Later!

HUGS!!!

Tracy

Journal gets a workout tonight!

2010-03-16T19:14:00.003-05:00

I have been trying for an hour to get a blog posting done, and my thoughts are jumbled and I am not sure what to write about now that I am staring at a blank page to write. So, what do I write about??? The weather was PERFECT for the day I had! Life is great and I never take it for granted and I know now more than ever before that the choices I make and the roads I travel are always the best ones for me, even if at the time, they seem like they shouldn't be.

When you are growing up, perceptions are not always what they seem and as you get older, things that seemed one way, you get to view them from a different perspective and over time you understand the routes you took in your journey much better. Would I trade my experiences for any other? Oh HECK NO! Even when things seem bleak and dark, there is an end in sight and eventually those experiences make me realize that the journey I took to get here, was definitely my intended path. So, now what do I do with the path I am on now?? A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step and every day is just another step in that journey. Will I ever reach the end??? I hope not for a long long time, because right now, I am enjoying everything I can about life and loving every minute of it as I go along.

Til later!

HUGS!!!!

Tracy

Its Raining, Its Pouring, my dog is snoring....

2010-03-11T14:17:00.002-06:00

Its been a dreary rainy foggy day. No birds chirping, everything damp and cold. So... its been a lazy crazy day for me! I found a bunch of scrapbooking stuff in the back of a closet, and am now sorting through that. Picking up things here and there along the way, but overall, not doing a lot. (I am old, don't want to tax myself by doing anything too strenuous and straining, you know, like housework!)

Actually, I can't say that, I have spent a portion of the day preparing for Lions Club activities over the weekend. I also have been working on my schedule for the next couple of weeks and planning my activities to include business building tasks also. I think I am going to go to the library after TJ gets home from school and find something to add to the dinner menu at the grocery store as well.

Oh well.... back to the scrapbook stuff...

Til Later!
HUGS!

Tracy

Walk down Memory Lane....

2010-03-11T10:28:00.002-06:00

I have never been one that's looked to the past with any form of regret, nor do I ever do that "What might have been" thing... (the song fits, so I am using it! ;) )

Today I spent some time talking with a very dear friend of mine. It was incredibly good to discuss the past with someone who was there to share it with me. He reminded me of things I had forgotten... like the time a friend and I got together and gave him his dream car, a Camaro. I totally forgot about that! It was definitely a memory worth sharing!

Over the years, you tend to forget the unpleasant things and only remember the good things. While I was chatting with with my friend today though, I remembered some 'unpleasant things' that actually were good things too. I considered writing about them here, but I think they are memories better shared privately with dear friends, new and old.

Just know, Kevin, if you are reading this, you have always been a very special person and while life has taken us in different directions and provided us with different obstacles and challenges, its made us the great people we are today and for that, your friendship can never be anything less than perfect!

Til Later!
HUGS!!

Tracy

Leadership WI

2010-02-28T07:49:00.002-06:00

I am still flying pretty high today. A quite a few people don't get it and all I can really say is being chosen for the opportunity to participate in Leadership WI is a honor beyond all honors for me. I was chosen from amongst an extensive group of applicants that have all excelled in their fields and have the potential for future leadership within their respective businesses, communities and within the state. This training program consists of 11 training sessions that focus on State Government, Leadership, Urban/Rural Issues, Rights of individuals/communities, National, Technology and Innovation, Regional, Global Economics, International, Diversity, and Environmental issues. The training is hands down the best education around. The networking is lifelong, and the experience is beyond anything you have ever done.

To find out more about it, Go to the Leadership WI website and read 'About'. This gives you a great overview of what this program is all about.

I am HONORED to have been nominated by Lions District Governor Rick Daluge and even more honored to have been accepted and I plan to do everything I can to make this experience even better for myself and those around me!

Thank you!

Til later!
HUGS!

Tracy

THE PATH® Christian Radio: CDR Radio Network

2010-02-23T05:49:00.000-06:00

THE PATH® Christian Radio: CDR Radio Network

Today is a NEW day!

2010-02-22T21:13:00.003-06:00

I was digging through a box, and I found a book I bought a couple years ago that I have never read! (Shame on me!!!) Today, I have decided to start working towards a new goal! There are 365 pages in the book, so today, being Monday, 'beginning of a new week' I am going to read one page a day.

The book?? "Giant Steps" by Anthony Robbins - a 365 daily lessons book on self mastery. Since there are copyright laws, I won't attempt to 'write out' the information in here from the book, but as each day goes, I will share with you my results. Today's lesson is about determining what your dreams are and sharing them with yourself in writing.

"Nothing happens unless first a dream" Carl Sandburg

And as Anthony Robbins says "Live with Passion!"

Hugs!

Til Later!
Tracy

My Daily Routine List

2010-02-17T07:58:00.002-06:00

Some days, My routines are interupted by 'work' outside the house, but as often as I can, I try to stick to this schedule, along with my daily zone.

Morning Routine:
Get up, dressed to shoes, make bed (provided Tim isn’t in it)
Take Meds/Vitamins
Swish and Swipe Bathrooms (10 minutes tops, each)
PUPA 10 minutes Living Room
PUPA 10 minutes Dining Room
PUPA 10 minutes Bedroom
Morning routine DONE

Afternoon routine:
Lunch
PUPA 10 minutes Living Room
PUPA 10 minutes Dining Room
PUPA 10 minutes Bedroom
Start dinner
Afternoon routine DONE

Evening routine:
Dinner
Kitchen clean up SHINE SINK and SWEEP FLOOR
PUPA 10 minutes Living Room
PUPA 10 minutes Dining Room
PUPA 10 minutes Bedroom
Evening Routine DONE

Before Bed Routine:
Jammies
Personal Care
Make To Do list for tomorrow (No more than 10 items)
Pick out clothes for yourself for the next day
Relax for 30 minutes before bed
PICK A REASONABLE BEDTIME (try to work toward 10:30 pm bedtime to become routine)

HUGS!

Til Later
Tracy

My routines and zones lists

2010-02-01T12:57:00.002-06:00

Let me start by saying: I have been 'flying' using the Flylady system since 1999. I joined at a time when not only my life but my house were in TOTAL CHAOS. Since that glorious day, I have not only changed my life and moved several times, I have finally perfected the system for my family.

When I moved in with my husband in May of 2008, I took over responsibility for a 5 bedroom, two story house with living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a full basement. My husband had lived in this house for a number of years with his family, before he divorced and kept the house after the divorce. I moved into TOTAL CHAOS again. Every room had years of clutter and dust in it. (In my husband's defense, he started a job 6 years ago that has him gone from home 90% of the time, so the 10% of the time he is home, he's always been doing odds and ends, trying to remodel various rooms, feed cats, clean litter boxes and do his own laundry) I was unfortunate enough to break my foot shortly after I moved in, but it gave me the entire summer to totally declutter the house. I literally worked through the entire summer cleaning every room out of the accumulations that had been acquired over the years, not of my own doing. I weeded through bags of paperwork, to determine if it was trash or important, disposed of baby clothes and other clothes for kids that were no longer able to wear them, reorganized cupboards and got rid of the excess that wasn't necessary from the combining of two households of dishes, and spent hours wiping down cobwebs and dust that had settled in every nook and cranny. After I got the house in the condition that was easier to manage, I was healed and it was time to go back to work again. By this time, I had determined that I wasn't managing as well doing my routines the 'old way', so I sat down and devised a plan that worked for me and my husband.

Zone Cleaning List: Instead of breaking my house down into Zone work each week, as suggested by Flylady, I figured out that I can deep clean each room of my house within 1 hour. So, instead of trying to set aside time each week to do a little bit in that zone 'every day', I set up my schedule to do a different zone every day.

Monday - Deep clean the living room. I go into the living room and totally deep clean it. Dusting off bookshelves, television, gaming system, stereo components. I sweep, mop, get rid of cobwebs, dust lamps, fans, assorted artificial flowers and candles, etc.

Tuesday - Deep clean the kitchen. Since I do dishes and sweep every night, this room is relatively easy to get through. I make sure to clean off the tops of the appliances like microwave and refrigerator, wipe them down, reorganize cupboards that are disorganized, declutter things that aren't being used and mop. Of course, I also do the ceilings for cobwebs, windows, etc too.

Wednesday - Deep clean the dining room. This is probably our most abused room, since its where we congregate the most often. Until the office is completed, we have our computers here, so it can get to be quite cluttered quite quickly! (yes, computerS... we each have a computer that is exclusive to us... and you probably don't really want to know how many total we actually have in the house that work!) I have to go through everything on the dining room table, clear it off every week, and do the dusting, sweeping and mopping that needs to be done. We had a carpet under the table, but I have determined that the cat hair that it attracts makes it more hassle than its worth, so we removed that. My biggest 'hotspot' problem in this room is the magazines we 'collect' for the laundromats in the area. I really need to devise a different system for keeping track of those as well. When I deep clean the dining room, I also clean litterboxes as well, because Thursday is trash day.

Thursday - Deep clean halls and entry ways. We have a hallway between dining room and bathroom downstairs, one hallway upstairs, the stairs, the entryway by the front door and the entryway in back. These I have been making a habit of picking up as we go during the rest of the week, so its been a breeze to keep track of these and get things done quickly in these areas. Mainly, its picking up piles that have accumulated, especially by the front door (it leads to the upstairs) and sweep and mop the floors in those areas.

Friday - This is my 'laundry and office day' except on the days that I work at the store. I picked Friday because most of the time this day is hard to get in touch with other people to do sales or numerous other things I'd like to do, so I do my book work, track my mileage, filing, bills, etc on this day.

Saturday - Deep clean Bedroom - I haven't convinced my daughter that this is important yet, but I do go in and clean up my room and reorganize things in here every Saturday and dust, sweep and mop.

Sunday - FREE DAY! This is my day of rest. Other than general pick up and clean up around the house and daily routines, I don't do anything special on this day.

Routines:

Morning Routine:
Get up, showered, dressed to shoes, make bed (when dh is not in it... nice part, when he gets up, he makes it himself!)
Breakfast
Swish/Swipe bathroom
General pick up
Prepare for the day
To Do List/Schedule check

Afternoon routine: (this sometimes gets divided in two when I work part of it in the morning and part in the evening)
Declutter area on list
General pick up
Exercise/Self-Improvement
Start dinner
Check mail - take care of immediately
"Zone work"

Evening routine:
Kitchen clean up - Counters, shine sink, sweep
General Pickup
Create To Do list/Schedule for tomorrow
Choose outfit for tomorrow

Bedtime Routine:
Jammies
Pamper
Relax

Those are my routines and my 'cleaning schedule'. What makes it easy for my family is that my darling hubby knows what needs to be done, and when I am working and he is home, he will pick up where I leave off and complete a task for me. He says that my routines and cleaning list make it easier for him to help out when he knows what I need done.

Til later!
Hugs!

Tracy

What motivates each person to do what they do???

2010-01-28T08:56:00.003-06:00

I am a FIRM believer that you are what you make of yourself. I have spent a number of years studying self-improvement books and self-motivation techniques and I am most impressed with Anthony Robbins clear-cut approach to life. Its simple, common sense strategies that we are actually born with but 'forget' to use. Some of us are 'stuck' in the spots we are in because WE believe thats where we belong, or thats what we deserve or in some cases, we aren't in control of our own lives.

Hyrum Smith, one of the founders of Franklin Quest Co, believes that there are 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management that will help a person to overcome that 'lack of control' in their lives.

Those 10 Laws are:
Law 1 - You control your life by controlling your time
Law 2 - Your governing values are the foundation of your personal fulfillment
Law 3 - When your daily activities reflect your governing values, you experience inner peace
Law 4 - To reach any significant goal, you must leave your comfort zone
Law 5 - Daily Planning leverages time through increased focus
Law 6 - Your behavior is a reflection of what you truly believe
Law 7 - You satisfy needs when your beliefs are in line with reality
Law 8 - Negative behaviors are overcome by changing incorrect beliefs
Law 9 - Your self-esteem must ultimately come from within
Law 10 - Give MORE and you will have more

Each person has their own inner sanctum of where they feel safe, secure and totally at peace and sometimes to reach it, you must approach life from a different angle. If you'd like to learn more about Hyrum's proven techniques, check out his book "The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management". Its a truly inspirational book!

And if that isn't enough, check out this video! Nick TRULY is an inspiration!!!

Til Later!

Hugs!

Tracy

One Light Bulb at a Time

2010-01-26T07:46:00.001-06:00

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one
grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a
billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following,
obviously written by a good American ..

Good idea .. . . one light bulb at a time . . . .

Check this out . I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for
some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose
attachments . They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace
Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there.
They were made in USA . Start looking ..

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects
someone else - even their job . So, after reading this email, I think this
lady is on the right track . Let's get behind her!

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked
made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.

My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... now I have switched to
Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce
dryer sheets . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE
brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value . " I picked
up both types of bulbs and compared the stats -

they were the same except for the price ..

The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing
that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the
Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA from a
company in Cleveland, Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that
are made right here .. So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . ... .
yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The
Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the
dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce sheets I have been using for
years and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job
you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so
we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from
overseas companies! (We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )

Let's get with the program . . . .. help our fellow Americans keep their
jobs and create more jobs here in the U . S . A ..

I Passed this on ........ will you ???????

This is a completely EXCELLENT IDEA!!! Buy American Made!!!!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Noah's Ark

2010-01-18T23:05:00.002-06:00

Noah's Ark
Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark.
ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

My instructions were to send this to the people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Please pass this on to people you want to be blessed.

Most people walk in and out of your life.......but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart!

Another email that I got that I wanted to share!

Til Later!

HUGS!
Tracy

Old Farmer's Advice

2010-01-18T07:00:00.002-06:00

I actually got this in an email and LOVE IT! So I am sharing (No idea who the original writer was, but GOOD advice!!!)

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere Tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

Meanness just don't happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; It messes with their heads.

Don't corner something that you know is meaner than you!

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with the pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain Dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, first thing to do is stop diggin.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you will probably ever deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgement comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgement.

Letting the cat out of the bag is a WHOLE lot easier than trying to put it back in.

If you get to thinking you are someone of some influence, try ordering someone else's dog around.

Live Simply.

Love Generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he will just kill ya!

And:

Til Later!
Hugs!

Tracy

Is it just me or is it a lack of caring in your job??

2010-01-10T07:20:00.003-06:00

I realize that I am one of the pickest people on the planet. But while I am very picky when it comes to being a customer, you can rest assured that I am equally picky when it comes to you being MY CUSTOMER also. My grandmother taught me at an early age that a job worth doing is a job worth doing right, the first time. And while I get it, we all have off days or moments where mistakes are made, unfortunately, in a customer service role, you only get one chance to get it right. I have been fortunate that a customer will come into my store and be hopping mad about something and generally 96% of the time, I can get them calmed down and ready to come back and see me the next time. (this is what the role of a customer service provider is supposed to be!) Think about it. When you go to a restaurant, don't you go there more for the good waitress you had there the last time, versus the good food? When you go to a store, don't you seek out the friendliest and most helpful people to ask for help, check you out, bag your groceries? My son is a bagger at a grocery store and the numerous times I have been there to pick him up, I have seen firsthand people who will get in a LONG LONG line of other customers just to wait for HIM to bag their groceries. WHY? Because while he hates the job itself, he does it well! "Might I suggest paper for the canned goods, Ma'am? It will provide a more stable carrying experience to ensure you get in the house with them. How about I double-bag too, just to make sure? Did you find everything you need, or is there anything I can run get for you while Katie is checking you out? You have a wonderful day/evening and please be sure to stop back in any time! We'd love to help you again!" And where did he learn that??? 14 years of growing up in my mom's office and listening to a grandmother talk that way TO her customers, 19 years of listening to his mom and how she talks to her customers and watching mom in action at work. And yes, I am just that way. If you come into my store/restaurant/call me on the phone looking for candles, it doesn't matter that my day was horrible or even that you are the most pain in the butt customer that I do know, YOU WILL NOT KNOW IT TALKING TO ME! I will make you feel like my day is peachy keen dandy and you are the only customer I care about!

So, now why is it that you would get a job as a waitress or a cashier or any other position that requires working closely with the public and not give it your all, your 155% every single day? Why did you come into this restaurant to work (or well, pretend to work) where I decided to eat and talked 11 other people into going with me, just so we could all SIT and WAIT and have the worst dining experiences of our lives? The food was barely passable, but you never came back to really check on us. We were drinking beverages and talking and waited 20+ minutes between drinks to get refills and when we did get them, we either had to go up to the bar ourselves to get them OR ask another server, because you had vanished. The appetizer showed up less than 1 minute prior to our meal coming out, so that none of us were able to enjoy that before we got our entree. And to make matters worse, the appetizer was hotter than our food and several of us got burned on the appetizer anyhow! And what made it worse was there were 12 of us, 4 of which got a DIFFERENT waitress, because your establishment didn't make proper accommodations for our party because reservations were not allowed. The four that got a different waitress had great service, decent food, regular refills and a dining experience that went beyond ours.

I am thinking that instead of working in the industry I work in, its time to start my own business where I teach people how to do their jobs more friendly and efficiently. I am thinking, is it possible to teach people to care about the jobs they are doing?

Til Later!
Hugs!
Tracy

Flylady and its intentions

2010-01-08T08:22:00.003-06:00

Several of my friends have commented off and on over the past year or so how much they miss my motivation and my presence when it comes to drilling on AIM. I told them, "But the people in 'unnamed chat area' don't like how I do things and I manage to get in trouble every time I am there, what is the point?" OH NO! Its not like that any more! Oh really? Then why was I just informed that I was not doing things 'right', once again?

Hey, the deal is that Flylady is NOT AS STRICT as some of you seem to think it is! Flylady is not about sticking to a RIGID way of doing things. Did you all not read the welcome email??? (its been years for me, but I do recall...) FLY = Finally Loving Yourself! Now, while I get that not everyone has been flying at the same level as one another, and I truly get that not everyone has all of their routines down to where they want them, I am satisfied with my life and my routines.

Is my house perfect? OH HECK NO! But I also have a set 'schedule' for doing things too. Here's part of the problem if I get off that 'set schedule'..... I work retail, and most of the time its from 11 in the morning until 7 at night. I have to leave for work at 10 am (winter driving conditions) to make sure I am at work on time, and sometimes don't get home until 8 pm. So, if I do something out of order or off that schedule, then my 'routine' is messed up completely for those days that I work those particular hours and THEN I do get behind.

As a SHE, I totally get sidetracked and forgetful and I have developed a SYSTEM over the years that works best for ME and my family! First, I use a daily planner, literally daily, hourly, minutely, when I have to, just to keep track of my schedule. And yes, I have my house broken down into DAILY zones instead of going by the schedule of flylady... Again, its what works best for me and my family.

I started dating my husband in April of 2008. Since we have known each other for over half of our lives (he's my brother's best friend and been a 'family member' since 1989) some of the typical 'lets get to know each other' stuff was already out of the way and I agreed to move in with him by June. (he has two cats, and was spending 100% of his non-working time at my apartment, it made sense, since he owns his own house too!) Again, since I have known him for a number of years, I also moved into this house with the full knowledge and understanding that when his ex-wife moved out, she didn't take a lot of things with her and with his job, he hadn't been able to get all the rooms decluttered and cleaned out. My only question was "What cannot I not get rid of?" Pictures and important papers were the only things that my wonderful hubby wanted me to make sure to keep. My only request was 'please carry down the heavy stuff for me' since shortly after moving in here, I broke my foot.

Yes, I could have gone the flylady way and decluttered this house according to her system of not getting overwhelmed by a task, but the system was too slow for me! Being a flybaby for as long as I have been, I wanted to get it done and over with so I could move on and establish my routines in my new home! As it was, it took me three months to get 7 rooms cleaned out and decluttered of all the trash, the dirty diapers, the baby clothes, the broken toys, the junk mail, the busted glass that was left behind when a marriage fell a part. There were tears along the way too as we discovered together, things from a life with someone else that had been forgotten, and I discovered just how much of a family member my dh was BEFORE I married him.

So, if you all want to get bent out of shape because I don't FLY like you do, fine... but the point of Flylady is not to tell others how to live their lives and how to do their houses a specific or certain way but how to get to the point YOU PERSONALLY can start Finally Loving Yourself and are able to be happy with your home, and your family and your own personal life so that YOU can do the things that are IMPORTANT TO YOU! I am already to that point, and since that bothers so many people, I will just stick to myself. If you want to talk to me, or me to help you in a DIFFERENT chat area, let me know! I am just an IM away for everyone who wants to be a part of my life!

Til Later!
HUGS!

Tracy

In honor of Ryan and Dave....

2010-01-08T07:21:00.002-06:00

The days go by, boring as all get out most of the time, once the snow flies and off to doldrums we must travel. People by nature become boring creatures of habit that for lack of anything better to do, report on facebook their non existence in a white wonderland of snow. In an effort to make sure that Ryan and Dave NEVER fall into the banter of boredom and doldrums, I am going to share a few of my fave sites for laughter with you all! (These are NOT PG sites, so don't click on them if you don't enjoy a little perverted humor and a side of the world that is overrated!!)

First we start off with Ernie's House of Whoop Ass, a humorous look at life through the sarcastic and hysterical eyes of Ernie, who loves to find the perverse side of life as often as he can! Or, for your viewing pleasure, there is Ketchup, an interesting look at misunderstandings!

I will leave you with that for now... ;) It will keep you occupied for a bit!

Til Later!
HUGS!

Tracy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

2010-01-03T08:37:00.002-06:00

Wow, what a ride its been eh? While everyone was talking about resolutions and the New Year and what's in store for them, I decided it was time to get back into OLD HABITS. I look back to 1999 when I first started Flylady and I think to myself about all the work that lay before me getting into the habit of cleaning my house daily and setting up routines. Back then it was a 3 bedroom Ranch with one bathroom and four young kids. A couple years later, I was living in a 3 bedroom apartment with the same four young kids and it seemed like I'd never get the routines down by the time we moved into a 5 bedroom house with three stories, two bathrooms and a boatload more places to hide stuff!

In 2007, I finally got into the habit of making my habits stick! LOL YES! I only lived in a two bedroom apartment that I could totally clean in under an hour and yeah, by then I only had the one daughter at home to worry about, but still, the habits finally stuck! Now that I am living back in a 5 bedroom 2 story house with 2 bathrooms (ok, the one is still completely ripped apart and not back together yet, but soon!!) I have learned FINALLY how to prioritize and get things done the way I want them!

Its been a long 11 years to get to this point, but I am SO GLAD I stuck with it and its working! The toughest part for me was figuring out the zone work. I loved reading all the emails from flylady and getting the tips and ideas for 'how to', but I found early on that I didn't like being in only one zone for a WHOLE week. I felt like I was accomplishing nothing and it seemed like if I went the entire month waiting for that zone to pop up again, I was getting too much clutter and mess to deal with by the time that zone came up again, so I modified. Now I have a zone a day, plus my usuals (dishes, swish and swipe, sweeping, general every room pick up). I feel more like I am accomplishing a lot, even if a particular room needs extra attention one week. I don't seem to get as bogged down and frustrated either now. And by doing it that way, I also have dh's support and help more often too! My control journal is smaller too! I just have a detailed list of 'what I do' in each room and a list of where everything is in that room and it works for us!

Flylady is an awesome tool! I believe everyone should utilize it how it works best for them! Share your ideas with each other, but don't expect others to 'be like you'. You have to do what works best for YOU and your family and YOUR situations. and FINALLY LOVE YOURSELF! (thats what FLY stands for!!!)

HUGS!

Til Later!

Tracy

Customer Service.... In Reverse..

2009-11-10T22:02:00.002-06:00

As you all know, I work in fields that are customer service related. I spent the summer waitressing and now I am working retail in a Cellular Store. This time though, my 'rant' is about an experience where I was the customer. So, Monday evening, I stop in at our local Walmart to pick up a few items that I am in need of: Thread, needles, cat food, a soda. My cart really didn't have that much stuff in it at all. Its about 9 pm in the evening.... And there are only about 4 cashiers. 2 are express lanes that have several people standing in line already and I pick a line that has only one other person in it. Yes, the lady ahead of me had a basket full of stuff, but I was patiently waiting. All of a sudden, the cashier shouts out to her service lead, "Hey, I was supposed to go on break 10 minutes ago." Without a single word to anyone in the line, the service lead comes over, shoves MY cart out of her way, basically, out of line, shuts off the light of the cashier and puts up a sign 'closing the lane' and stomps off. The cashier informs me that she's going on break. No warning whatsoever. Now, in my defense, there was ABSOLUTELY NO ONE BEHIND ME! So I am forced to walk to the OTHER end of store to find another cashier that is open. Again, the express lane has several people standing in line already and I get behind another couple that have again, several items in their basket. I wait patiently and finally get checked out at 9:40 pm. I have now spent more than an hour in a store where I should have been OUT within a few minutes. It took me 10 total minutes to get the few items I wanted, and 50 minutes to get checked out.

Yes, I was mad! But, to make matters worse... I called the store manager today and you know what she tells me??? "Its up to the service lead to determine when her staff goes on break, I will not question their tactics, whether you like them or not!"

EXCUSE ME!?!?!? I work retail myself and I will guarantee you, MY BOSS would fire my ass OUTRIGHT on the spot if I were to tell some customer "Gee, sorry, I can't wait on you because I am already late for my break/leaving to go home/lunch etc." And rightly so! So, when did CUSTOMER SERVICE go out the window? When did it become a priority to NOT wait on a customer but to ensure that the store is inefficiently run? Where I work... The CUSTOMER COMES FIRST! We do whatever we can to ensure that the CUSTOMER is waited on in a timely fashion. We acknowledge their presence when we are busy, give them at least the courtesy of knowing what we are doing could take some time, if they would like to wait and make sure that they are the next to be waited on as soon as we are finished with the customer ahead of them.

Common courtesy, boys and girls! That's all anyone wants, thats all anyone expects! Just a little common courtesy!

Til Later !

HUGS!
Tracy

Geocaching in Minnesota

2009-09-12T21:19:00.002-05:00

I disappeared with the hubby for a few days to Minnesota. He had to go up there for a recertification for his job, so I tagged along. I spent some time with my daughter and a couple other people I wanted to see that I haven't seen for a while. It was great reconnecting with an old friend, my niece and my sister in law. Then, in the evening, after the hubby was done with his classes, we wandered around Maplewood, Woodbury and the Mounds Park area geocaching. We only found 17 of them (the 18th one alluded us!) because our Nuvi was acting up horribly! It was showing the roads as we crossed them, but it wasn't having us turn on several of them that would have made life easier.

We found a series of caches in one of the mall areas of Woodbury and started doing them. Most of them went in order, basically from one parking lot to the next. Then the next one came up on the Nuvi and directed us back out on the main road, down a couple miles and out into a residential area. Once we got into the residential area, there was nothing 'public' there, and it appeared like the Nuvi wanted us to forge out into someone's back yard and trek back up a hill into another mall parking lot. The ordeal took us about 1 hour in all to get out of the residential area and back into the mall area again and continue on. We did find that cache; But then a couple caches later, Nuvi misdirected us again. Some of the caches we found were VERY unique containers and locations! My hats off to b.boudreau, JW&Crew and DOC for their very unique and original geocaching containers! They were AWESOME finds and definitely what we would do for caches in an urban area like that!

While we were out and about, we educated a fellow traveler from out of state about the fine art of geocaching also! He happened upon us, and asked a few questions about what we were doing. So, we took him on a 'find' with us and he was truly intrigued by the experience and definitely plans to check out the sport as soon as he is back home!

Hubby and I had a very good trip! Wonderful time, great friends and family visits and just some 'us' together time! Oh, but its good to be home again too!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

As summer ends...

2009-09-05T13:37:00.002-05:00

Labor Day has always marked the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. This year is no different. In some areas, school started last week, on the first of September, but in most, school will not start until September 8th. The beginnings of fall have been in the air for many weeks around here in WI. It seemed like we really never had a full summer at all. It went from winter to spring to fall in a flash.

The part that makes me the most sad as I watch the days fade into fall is there were so many things I wanted to do this summer and never got to do them. I didn't get the chance to take any of the kids to a water park. I didn't get the chance to make good on my promise to Matt to take him to House on the Rock. And I didn't get to spend as much time with my husband as I'd have liked to, geocaching. With fall soon upon us, I am hoping that the opportunity to geocache more will present itself, even with me starting a new job soon.

With the end of something, the start of something new is always around the corner. I hope each of you takes time to enjoy every day and live it to the fullest. Remember, our time on this earth is short and you need to make the most of every opportunity to tell those around you what they mean to you! Don't ever let a day go by where you don't tell people how much you love them! None of us gets out of this life alive!

Til later!
Hugs
Tracy

Do you know what the word 'tips' stands for when it comes to serving?

2009-09-04T13:13:00.003-05:00

Some of you know I have spent the entire summer waitressing 3rd shift in a 24 hour family style restaurant. It's been an unusual and strange summer for me at the same time as tiring and exhausting! 3rd shift has always been my favorite time to waitress because you get the best of both worlds in WI Dells then. You get the late night after the waterparks and other attractions close just before bed snacks and desserts crowd and then you get the atypical bar crowd. I have worked this shift off and on for 20+ years in WI Dells and always LOVED it! This year, however, has been a totally different story and without explanation. First has been the come and go crowd of workers that just don't seem to have any consideration for their co-workers. A much lazier crowd of 19-26 yos descended upon WI Dells this year and seemed to think the rest of us 'co-workers' should be at their beck and call and really wreaked some havoc on business by 'up and quitting' or 'getting fired for really stupid stuff' unexpectedly throughout the summer.

Typically, I am the cheerful one that finds ways to make others laugh and feel good about themselves. I am the ever cheerful server that no matter what the day has provided, still serve you with a smile. When you walk into my restaurant, the last thing you care about is that my cat puked on my good shoes just before I left the house to come to work, or that my kid called and needs another $50 to make his rent, or that my husband got home from work as I was leaving to go to work and that I haven't seen him in two weeks because our schedules are not meshing right now. You don't care that my refrigerator broke down again or that my washing machine ate up my apron and forced me to buy a new one. And that's fine, I don't share that with you. That information is reserved for my friends who are much more sympathetic to my trials and tribulations in life, as I am theirs! So, when I walk in the door of the restaurant, all anyone sees is the smile and the cheerfulness that I am about to exude on everyone I come in contact with, including my fellow co-workers who are getting ready to leave for the night and aren't so cheerful themselves now! I cheer up the waitress who had a table walk out on her during dinner because the cook refused to cook a special order for the 10th time! I make the manager laugh at another one of my gawd-awful jokes that I pulled out of my email before work. I flirt with the cook who is waiting for his shift to end and HOPING that I don't give him any orders before he leaves. (I do that so that he's not so grouchy when I put in that last minute order before he turns the kitchen over to my cook who is again, late!)

My brother and I reminisced about the 'good old days' of restaurant work. We both worked the summer of 1986 together at a restaurant in WI Dells. For the 20 weeks of 'summer' (mid April - mid October), we got to see what it was like to make GOOD money! The average server back then, relied on whatever was made during the hectically busy summer season to sustain them through the winter. WHY? Winter in WI Dells is typically very slow, if you can work an entire 6 hour shift and leave there with $100 in tips every day all winter long, its a GOOD thing. Typically, $50 a day in tips is more normal. During the summer though, table turnover is good, and you generally get between $400 and $600 a day in tips, easy. Which means that in a typical week, you are pulling in a good $3000.00 in tips alone, or $60,000.00 for the entire summer! This is GOOD money! Now, let's fast forward to 2009, which we are in now.....

This summer though, I have had a lot less to be cheerful about when it comes to work! First and foremost is TIPS! The term tips, I learned back in the 70s and early 80s, from Little House on the Prairie, when Pa was defending Ma in one of their adventures in tvland! He walked up to a surly group of rabble rousers who were 'hitting' on Ma and told them, "TIPS means To Insure Proper Service and I expect you to treat her with a little more kindness before you leave and apologize to her for your poor behavior" (or something to that affect!) It was a lesson that stuck with me all these years though. To Insure Proper Service is really a culmination of good values, good work ethic and good manners. And I was raised by parents and grandparents that told me at an early age 'Any job worth doing is worth doing right, the first time!' But like everyone, I am only human and I do have some limitations. I am prone to making a mistake once in a while. I am not completely infallible and without fault, from time to time. We can't always be perfect, though I do try my darnedest to come close with my customers. Occasionally, I will forget the creamers when I bring your coffee, or the dipping sauce for your chicken strips and yes, sometimes I will mess up and put croutons on your salad when you asked me to leave them off. Rarely though, do I show up at your table and serve you fries without ketchup (or ranch), and you are not going to have to 'wait' to get syrup for your pancakes, its right there! And usually, if its a special order, I will go out of my way to remember it. I am quick to correct an error though and always apologize and if its a HUGE mistake, yes, you will see a discount at the register, especially if you were particularly nice about the mistake. But, alas, even in my perfect world, there will be the occasional person who no matter what you do, its not right.

These are typically known amongst the 'wait staff' as UNFORGIVABLY RUDE. This would be the group that I have had almost every single Saturday for the past month and a half. The group consists of mom, grandma and two very rude children (mine would have been sent to the car without a meal had they pulled even HALF of what these two children pull on me!) It starts the same every single Saturday "What is your soup tonight?" 'We don't have soup after 9 pm' (and why would you want it anyhow??? Its been on that steam table probably since 6 pm and tastes NASTY!!) "Do you have lemon pie?" 'I am sorry, we are out' (Excuse me, its midnight, and my baker left at 9 am this morning and we have had over 500 people in here since she left and you want WHAT!?!?!) Then we get down to ordering. "I want my eggs just a hair between over easy and over medium, not too well done, but not slimy either and bacon that's crisp but not too crisp and hash browns that are golden brown but not crisp, dry wheat toast, and grape jelly" I want this burger here, without the lettuce tomato and onion, don't make it too well done, but don't leave it raw either and I need just a little of that sauce on the side. "Get me a soda with 3 cubes of ice and a blue straw instead of a red one" Then when I bring the order, "You forgot my 7 pickles on the side with an equal mix of mustard and french dressing" "Get me a soda refill and make it 4 cubes of ice this time" "The eggs have hair in them again, don't you know how to cook?" (no, I am a server for a reason and its not HAIR its a tiny little 'egg string' that happens from time to time when you cook an egg!)

Now, typically, when this group comes in, they are my first table of the night. I work 3rd shift, from 11 pm to 6 am. Once I walk in the doors, I am bidding the dinner servers and managers a good night as they hightail it out the door after their hectic shift! Its me and a cook, by ourselves, all night long and I am left with a cash drawer that typically has around $200 in a variety of forms that usually is only a few $5s and $1s and assorted coins for change. I have ZERO access to the safe to make change for those endless streams of $100 bills people bring in. My general crowd is usually pretty good and either whips out a debit/credit card to pay for their purchases or is willing to hand over a driver's license while they run to the all night Walgreen's to get change to pay their bill. And they are all pretty congenial and cheerful about it. OH not this group! This Grandmother does the same thing EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY NIGHT, she gets testy with me because I cannot accommodate her 'wish' that I magically create change from a $100 bill that she KNOWS from the last Saturday night I CANNOT make change for! I usually get some testy remark, again, that she KNOWS from the last Saturday night, about the fact that we do NOT have Lemon pie or Pumpkin or Pecan (Hey, not sure where you are from, but Pumpkin and Pecan pies are generally HOLIDAY pies, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, not your atypical summer fare type pie! And Lemon, Cherry, Blueberry, Raspberry are atypically GONE after the dinner crowd has devoured it!) Midnight at night on a Saturday night is a horrible time to look for anything special in WI Dells. If you want Soup, Baked Potatoes, or your choices of pie, show up around 7 pm and you will more than likely get it! Don't come into my restaurant at midnight and expect me to have ALL that stuff on hand, when the baker doesn't come in until 4 am, and is gone by 10 am. And don't be upset to find out she only made 3 or 4 of a pie, simply because we have a limited amount of space for holding pies that typically only last a day or two when it comes to shelf life. And I don't understand why after 6 weeks of coming in and being told this, that your memory is so short you can't remember it from week to week after being told 6 times! (I know I am getting old and I know even my memory is failing from time to time too, but usually after I have been told something twice, IT STICKS and is committed to my memory! And guess what??? Since I have had these particular people at least 6 times IN MY RESTAURANT, I not only have committed their faces to my memory, I don't even have to write down their DEMANDS - yeah, not order, DEMANDS, to remember what they want!) I will even promise you, when they come in this coming Saturday, Grandma is again, going to get testy because we are out of lemon pie, don't carry pumpkin or pecan pie in the summer AND try to get me to take a $100 bill to pay for their order. I will even bet you every penny that they leave me, that there will NOT be a tip on the table when they leave!

And that is my other gripe about this summer. People, the servers waiting on you at the average restaurant makes $2.33 per hour (some areas its a little more, but not much..... its definitely NOT enough to survive on) and depend on those tips to make up the difference in their wages to MAYBE bring them up to the current minimum wage. When you stiff a waitress/waiter, it really bites into their income and can seriously cause hardship in their lives. Typically, the average restaurant server waits on approximately 35 tables during an average dinner shift. The average per guest rate for a dinner, with coffee or soda, and a piece of pie is around $12 per person. At 15% per person, that's approximately $1.80 per person 'tip'. Let's pretend in a perfect world that those 35 tables were only 2 person tables, and you got the 15% per person. The average server then makes approximately $126.00 in tips for their 4-5 hour shift, which is good, since for their hourly wage, during that 4 hour shift, they only made $9. So, let's say, that every other person 'stiffed' that waitress/er.... Now that server who just busted her(his) butt making sure you got everything you wanted to eat, PLUS your multiple refills on beverages, while waiting on 4-10 other tables at the same time, just made $63.00 instead. Do you really want to pay YOUR bills, your mortgage, YOUR gas to and from work, on that same $72 this person just made because you felt the need to not provide them with their income??? Now imagine if you will, the 3rd shift server who typically gets around 10 tables TOTAL in a 7 hour shift BY HERSELF, gets stiffed by every other person. You just took my MAYBE $36.00 a night in tips down to $18.00 and remember, I make $2.33 so for my entire night of being completely ALONE and waiting on every single table by myself, plus seating every customer BY MYSELF and running the cash register BY MYSELF, and also cleaning up the ENTIRE DINING ROOM and getting the wait service area clean and set up for the next shift BY MYSELF, I have made a total of $35 for the ENTIRE SHIFT. Break it down, it averages out to $5 a night. Do you know that is WELL below minimum wage???? Would you continue to go to YOUR JOB and do the job, whatever it is you do, if your boss only paid you minimum wage??? But yet, you come into my restaurant, demand that I wait on you, serve you whatever you want, and do it with a smile and expect me to be happy with less than minimum wage for it???? All because you refuse to get change for that $100 bill you KNOW I can't cash and didn't have a seasonal normally only available during the holidays pie you wanted?? Remember, I am the one who cheerfully came in and waited on your butt at 11 pm to 6 am even though I got VERY LITTLE sleep all day long, because one of my kids was sick, or my husband needed my help with something or because I needed to go to a doctor's appointment or some other thing that can ONLY be handled during typical business hours, and I cheerfully waited on your pathetic overly demanding family at midnight, just to have you take a HUGE bite out of my income and make it impossible for ME to make my bills now because you decided I deserved NOTHING for the hour's worth of my time that I spent bowing to your every whim.

By the way, my typical night this summer has been an average of 5 tables. My average 'take' of tips is usually around $30 a night because for the most part, 90% of my customers do tip and tip well. I have a regular that comes in once a week, he orders a burger fries and soda & typically leaves me $10 tip. I have certain people that I can rely on to leave decent tips. Its the 10% of my customers that drive me batty and make me realize "You can't fix stupid". Last night, probably one of my WORST nights when it came to tips. I had three tables total, in my 7 hour shift. My usual $1 coffee drinker, my normal 20% for his bill tipper, and then another table that consisted of 4 adults with two coupons that brought their $48 bill down to $25, and left me a WHOLE $1 in tips, bring my grand total for tips for the entire 7 hour shift to $3.50. If I had been tipped fairly by the table of four, I should have walked out this morning with $10.00. Which, for 3 tables, would have been GOOD money! Last night, definitely made my decision to make this coming Saturday night my last night of waitressing, a GOOD decision. You can rest assured, I will not return to waitressing ever again in the rest of my adult life, because this summer has definitely been a waste of time for me. My very last paycheck, for the majority of the summer, that now runs from the end of May through til the beginning of September is pathetic to look at my 'total accumulated wages'. For the past 16 weeks of working 7 hour nights, 5 nights a week, including my tips and wages combined, has been a grand total of $3217.38. Do the math: $200 a week, $40 a day, or $5.75 an hour. I made minimum wage, but not by much! And definitely NOT near what the wages were back in 1986, wouldn't you say??

Think about that, the next time you are tempted to 'stiff' a server at a restaurant. They are working for their living too!

Sorry for the long vent this time! I just had to get that off my chest! ;)
Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Is Your Shampoo Dangerous? - DivineCaroline

2009-09-01T22:37:00.001-05:00

Is Your Shampoo Dangerous? - DivineCaroline

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First day of school....

2009-09-01T17:33:00.002-05:00

I watched today as the kids filed by on their way to school! *sigh* I don't get to appreciate the first day of school any more or look forward to the end of summer. I really do miss some things about having TJ around. The mouth? yes, that I can do without, but I really do miss my baby girl otherwise! I really enjoyed the 'drama' of her teen years; the cute boys at school, the new girl she met today and is hanging out with, the "UGH! Mom, you just don't get it!" while I laughed knowing full well I get it more than she thinks! It's not easy with her now living with her dad, but I will get through this.

*sigh* The first day of school.... and here come the kids home already! Where has this day gone?

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

So, I know its been forever...

2009-08-29T20:30:00.002-05:00

But if you have me on your facebook, you know what I have been up to all summer, which is WORK WORK AND MORE WORK! I have to work again tonight, but then I am off for the next 4 glorious days in a row before I return to work for the very last three nights of summer in WI Dells. Anyone not familiar with WI Dells, we have open tourist season pretty much from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend and its usually pretty hectically busy. This summer is probably been the worst season I have seen for myself working third shift for tips. The tips I have gotten from each table are AWESOME, but I just haven't had that many customers this year. Most of my nights are more cleaning than anything else.

So, on top of working from 11 pm to 6 am, I have also started my new Gold Canyon business and its really been doing well! If you are not familiar with Gold Canyon, they are just the most AWESOME candles around! Besides lasting forever, the scents are FABULOUS! (ok, yes, lasting forever was a tad bit of an exaggeration, but they do last a LONG LONG time!) And this past Tuesday, I got to meet with the sales director of the company and swap ideas for the coming holiday season! It was an AWESOME FANTASTIC WONDERFUL experience! Lots of free gifts for those of us who attended and some GREAT input from demonstrators that have been in business a while. Go check out my Gold Canyon Website and experience for yourself the wonderful scents and home decor available for the upcoming holiday season!

Since the summer season is soon over with, I will start posting more on my blog!

Til later!
Tracy

Another weekend of Geocaching

2009-05-19T09:44:00.003-05:00

We took off early Saturday morning and geocached our way to Muscoda for the Morel Mushroom Fest. For those not sure what geocaching is, its taking a gps unit or two and going around the world (yes, WORLD) in search of hidden items (caches) just for the sake of saying "I found it". Some caches have tradeable items that you can exchange and keep. Some have trackable items where you pick them up, move them along to another cache so that people can track the mileage and location progress of their 'travel bug' as they are called. Some are easy to find and some are more difficult. Tim's and my current challenge is to find the more difficult to find caches. And most of the time, we take an easy one and turn it into a more difficult one by way of not following directions!

We had one such cache this past weekend where that is exactly what we did! We read the description that said "Follow the trail, cache is located within a few feet of the trail". HA! Our GPS unit (the Delorme PN-20, handy little device!) showed we were within approximately 100 feet of said item and the trail appeared to go down a slope that didn't look very 'friendly'. Instead of staying on the trail as we should have, we bushwhacked our way through the woods instead! Tim's exact words to me were "Pretend you are a billy goat!" as we traversed our way down the side of this hill through the woods! Of course, the moment we came upon the cache, we did discover that the 'trail' was right there and not as 'bad' to have followed as we thought!

What was really cool about our day is that we added another state to our caching finds! We now have MN, WI, IL and IA on our list of cache finds. It was a good day! This is definitely our time to spend together doing something fun, getting exercise and the kids all enjoy going too!

Anyone interested in finding out more about geocaching go to the geocaching website and check it out!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Review "Nickel & Dimed"

2009-05-07T07:05:00.003-05:00

A few years ago, while living in the Upper Peninsula, a Fox Valley group decided to do a review and 'training' of the general public in a month long project dealing with what its like to be poor. I had met with a couple of people from the group, provided them with articles that had been written about me when I was a poor single mom raising kids on low income. Their response to me was that I was 'not authentic enough for their project'. I had reviewed their curriculum and told them there were some flaws in their theories. For example, they had a financial advisor coming to show people how to invest their income, even if it was low. The flaw in that theory is that people with low income actually have MONEY to invest. If you are a single parent, raising say 2 kids, on $8 an hour in the average city in the US; chances are quite likely that there is no disposable income to invest. You are already struggling just to make rent, utilities, phone and keep up with ongoing school expenses, car repairs, gas just to get to and from the job that's keeping you barely going. JOB = Just Over Broke. Most people don't realize that JOBS are for people who have no income to invest. Careers are what people get when they have the education necessary to obtain a CAREER and then they would be able to INVEST.

The thing that amazed me about this whole 'group' was that they were going to use a recent author who wrote a book called "Nickel & Dimed: On NOT getting by in America". I had done a cursory glance at the cover of the book and read a bit about the research the author did to obtain the information for her book. What amazed me was the reviews. Newsweek's review was "Jarring, full of riveting grit.... This book is already Unforgettable!" The New York Times Book Review said, "Valuable and illuminating... We have Barbara Enrenreich to thank for bringing us the news of America's working poor so clearly and directly, and conveying it with deep moral outrage.... She is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism."

SERIOUSLY!?!?! SERIOUSLY!?!?!?! DID these people actually read this book??? Personally as a working class poor person in America, I was COMPLETELY OUTRAGED by the author's audacity to throw herself into a project with her own life. Let's see, by page 4 of the introduction she had stated that she had three rules she would have to follow... 1 - not rely on her education to get her a job 2 - take the highest job offered and 3 - live in the cheapest accommodations possible but also in the safest areas. SERIOUSLY!?!?! And of course, Poor people have those options??? And then on page 6, she really showed her inabilities to be truly poor. Her exact words "If things ever got to the point where the next meal was in question, I promised myself as the time to begin the 'experiment' approached, I would dig out my ATM card and cheat." When is the last time you saw a poor person yank out an ATM card and just hop on over to the nearest IHOP to prevent starvation?

I believe that Brothers Judd said it best on their website Brothers Judd Daily when they said "Her essays about this experience first appeared in Harper's but are here expanded, barely, to a book length account in which we find out much about Barbara Ehrenreich, fairly little about the difficult lives of people she worked with, and nearly nothing about what she would suggest we do to make their lives easier." I agree with their review COMPLETELY! (please click on it to read their total review!)

Personally, as a former 'working class poor mom', I am offended that this woman of affluency would have the audacity to assume she knows anything at all about the subject of being truly poor. She has a Ph.D in Biology and has been a celebrated writer for many years, prior to writing this book and had accumulated numerous assets, retirement funds and various other forms of income to fall back on when she started this project that took up about a years worth of her time. And she did this completely alone, no friends or family, which made her actual experiences pretty much unlike those of the truly poor.

I applaud authors like Laurie Hertzel from Three Dog Blog who actually took the time to get to know me, before she wrote about just a snippet moment in my life and those of the other women she interviewed for her article on the working poor in 1995 for Minnesota Monthly. Those are the people who didn't pretend to understand what it was like, but asked questions to find out what it was like and get to the heart of the subject without passing judgment and providing whimsical insights into their own theories of our miserable lives. Don't get me wrong, I love my life, my children and my experiences have gotten me where I am today and without them, I definitely would NOT be the person I am now. I am grateful for every moment.

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

TOH Field Editor

2009-04-27T14:47:00.002-05:00

Newly married, starting a new job AND I also just became a Taste of Home Field Editor! Talk about an awesome week!! If you haven't ever been go to Taste of Home Community and register! Awesome recipes, great new friends and terrific tips and advice for cooking, baking, canning and more! Come check it out!!! (you will see me on the boards, I am tsf1264 over there!)

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

The honeymoon is over!

2009-04-27T14:06:00.002-05:00

Now we get to start our lives as husband and wife and get back to every day life! Its been a truly wonderful first year with this marvelous man and all I see in the future is more wonderful years to come! Early on in our relationship, I told Mr. Hofy that I loved the fact that our relationship reminded me so much of my parents wonderful relationship. It is very awesome when you find that one person that connects with you so well that you both like the same things, do the same things; Heck, we even think alike in a lot of different areas!

Hugs!
Til Later!
Tracy

The Kiss

2009-04-23T13:00:00.003-05:00

Right after we were pronounced 'husband and wife', this pic was taken! There is the happy couple!

Enjoy!

Where does the time go???

2009-04-21T06:41:00.002-05:00

It seems like one day I am doing great, and posting regularly; Then all of a sudden a month goes by and before you know it, I am married and I haven't posted a THING in forever! It seems like just yesterday, I was a single mom planning a wedding....... no, wait, that was a month ago! Now, here I am three days into being a MARRIED WOMAN! WOW!!

Talk about cool eh? I will try to do better about writing, but this week... I am off on my honeymoon! WOOHOO!!!!

Talk to you all when I get back!
Til Later!
HUGS
Tracy

Life's been hectic

2009-03-24T10:27:00.002-05:00

Between planning a wedding (small one), stepdaughter in the hospital, work, Tj's activities, Lions Club activities, spring break, geocaching and other fun stuff, life has been pretty hectic for us lately! When I have gotten a few minutes to sit down and write, I haven't been able to come up with anything good to write about! It's almost like my mind goes into complete shut down mode and my writing is blocked!

I am gonna try to get on here more often and write, but guessing not this week!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Never make assumptions

2009-03-04T11:28:00.004-06:00

You are right! I have no idea what its like to walk in your shoes, but again, don't presume to know that I wouldn't understand what its like to raise boys that have very poor decision making skills. Since you did not live in my home while I was raising mine, you have no idea the costs my children have incurred on my behalf, due to their poor decision making skills.

For example, the $9000 it cost me to replace pipes in my house because one of my boys decided he didn't like a tshirt I provided for him to wear to school, so he stuffed it down the washer drain, causing a backup, not only at that pipe, but in the bathroom in the basement, the sinks and toilets on the other two floors and the amount of damage done by waste water on the floors, counters, and carpeting that had to be replaced also.

Or, the $3000 to the garage, when two of my four decided to get into a fight over 'where' the bike should be parked, taking out not only the BIG garage door (bent it right up the middle!) but also the garage door opener. Let's not forget to mention the damage done by the fire they started 'as an experiment'.

How about the time they were beating on each other and decided to take out not just a couple windows and screens but destroyed three walls in two different rooms? My now 22 yo (who still lacks in the decision making skills department) decided to play mumbly peg with a steak knife on three of the four walls in his room, and then repaint it, GREEN! My now 18 yo decided to paint a huge anarchy symbol on his bedroom wall, IN RED NAIL POLISH! (he said it was about 18 bottles worth) My now 20 yo swung around an electrical cord and took out the doors on my china cabinet. And that's only a portion of what I have dealt with in 23 years of raising kids! My stories of each individual child's poor decision making skills are immeasurable, for all 4!

Sure, my kids haven't ever tried to stuff each other in dryers to hurt or even threaten each other, but they have punched each other severely, tried to choke the life out of each other, threatened to cut each other's throats, even gotten me involved and hit me. But, while they made some very POOR choices as young people, I can't with good conscience cut them completely out of my life forever. They are still my children, and I love them to pieces! And eventually, the mistakes of their youth will fade and the good that they can do will come through and they will be adults who look back on their youth and say, "Man, mom, HOW did you ever put up with that crap from us? and why?" I will just smile and say "Because I love you!"

*Edited notes: TOO FUNNY! I no more than got this posted and my 22 yo sent me a text message about his latest 'lack of thinking' event... and included a current pic of himself. I responded back with a comment of "And what does this mean?" His response was "I thought you loved me! Did that change in the past few days?" LOL OF COURSE NOT! I was just not sure what the event and the pic had to do with each other! 'Nothing', but he wanted to send something 'current' of himself, pic-wise. And for those of you who know of his recent debacles with insanity... 30 days in jail, but no word on his military status yet!*

That's my rant for the day!
HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

So, what do you do...

2009-02-17T15:50:00.002-06:00

When you discover that you have a following that you didn't know you had? I am standing in line at a local store today, and overhear a conversation about ME on the internet! This woman was relating to another about my previous post "While I am waiting.." and how intriguing it is that someone would have such a conviction as mine. I listened to her for a few minutes, discussing this blog she was reading, and not realizing its MINE. So, I inquired "What blog is this? I am definitely interested in reading about another person's quest in their search for the "Truth" and would love to visit it as well!" So, she tells me "Mom's Rants & Rave Reviews" and mentions that the 'author' has a unique and sometimes comical look at life, teenagers and her own relationships with other people. She made a couple other comments while I was chuckling and then I asked if she watched the debates from today's posting. She hadn't, so I recommended she watch them so the 'whole' of the post made more sense. I finally had to tell her, Its my blog!

WOW! I have a following! So, now, those of you who lurk and read, POST A COMMENT! I'd love to hear from you too! I am definitely interested in the people who come upon my 'blog' by accident too!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

While I am waiting..

2009-02-17T07:14:00.005-06:00

I have a christian viewpoint and belief. I completely respect those whose viewpoints are not Christian. I have many friends that do not believe EXACTLY as I do. I have Wiccan friends, as well as self-proclaimed atheist friends. We have a true understanding that each of us is entitled to our opinions and just leave it at that.

During the course of my life, I have studied various religious endeavors in pursuit of "The Truth". Lutheran is the religion of my childhood, though I was confirmed in the Methodist Church. I was baptized as an infant and then later in life, I came to believe that baptism is something where you commit yourself to God and having been raised by parents who believed that I had the 'right' to choose my own spiritual path, I was baptized again to recommit myself to God. I have attended Jewish ceremonies, Catholic Mass and funerals, 7th Day Advents, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons, to some), as well as Methodist and Lutheran faiths. In each of these, there is a common 'thread' that stands out: There is only ONE GOD! One of the things that I have come to realize over time also, is that it really doesn't matter 'what religion' you are in, God is the creator of all things. This is MY belief! Its not up for debate, its not up to be questioned, its not YOUR choice to make, its mine and MINE alone, FOR ME! What you do regarding YOUR beliefs, that's up to you, and not my choice!

Ok, with that said..... I watched a debate from approximately 2 years ago, on Nightline "Does God Exist?" Part 1 (I actually watched the whole debate, so you will have to do some clicking and searching to see all of it yourself as well!) and found it very interesting! Do the arguments change my views or beliefs on christianity? No, they actually didn't! If anything, the "Rational Response Squad" made my convictions even stronger, simply because there was no evidenced proof to support their side. As to 'evidence' of Jesus, Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus and countless other historical references and texts point to his existence. There are countless references to Mary Magdelene, who was at the Last Supper as well as countless other references to many historical facts regarding Jesus' life AND untimely crucifixion. I will give equal time to the atheists of the world, there is a group that calls themselves "Rational Response Squad". Check them out, there were the other half of the debate "Does God Exist?" But they don't convince me that 'there is no God' based on their evidence of 'science' either.

But let me point this out to the atheists of the world.... IF I am right and you are wrong, you are going to hell, simply because you didn't accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior (there is more to it than just that, but its the starting point). But, if I am wrong and you are right, NOTHING happens, its just 'The End'. So, who is wasting the most time? You, who don't believe in the existence of anything not explained by scientific proof? Or me, who wishes to continue a study and a belief in a power greater than myself, regardless of scientific proof? The ultimate question....

That is what I am going to do, while I am waiting....

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T15:49:00.001-06:00

There is the symbol of our love! My beautiful PERFECT engagement ring! Yep! I got it for Valentines Day! And it is JUST totally perfect!

Til later!

HUGS!

Tracy

I dare ya!

2009-02-10T11:13:00.003-06:00

A recent topic of conversation has been the movie "Fireproof" and the book discussed in the movie "The Love Dare". Its been a journey of discovery for me as well. In life, we all go into various aspects of our relationships expecting certain things to just happen. Sometimes, those things don't just 'happen' by themselves; you need to guide them along the way. In the book, "The Love Dare" it does just that, gives you proven methods to guide them along the way, the right way.

Now, I am not unhappy with my relationship with Tim, but I rejoice in it every single day. At the same time, we have daily challenges that are always going to wreak some kind of havoc on our relationship whether it be other family members, friends, day to day life itself, or other outside influences. The only way to guard against these are to 'fireproof' our relationship. I also see our soon to be marriage as a lifelong commitment to one another that needs daily checking and work. It is the one thing that is absolutely without a doubt the first and foremost priority to both of us. We are both so deeply committed to each other that we both see the value in the work we do towards our continued healthy relationship.

I applaud Stephen & Alex Kendrick and Lawrence Kimbough for coming up with something so great as a study into love and the "The Love Dare" 40-day challenge! Its absolutely incredible! And to quote the movie "Love is not a feeling, its a commitment to work at continuing it!" That is my lifelong goal!

***Update: WOW! WHAT A MOVIE!!! Very awesome movie! I don't care what the 'reviews' were on the acting, it was a GREAT movie! Changed my life! Epiphany!***

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

TAGGED!!

2009-01-31T18:28:00.004-06:00

I got tagged by VeggieMom and now its your turn to participate in the photo game!

Here's how it works:

Find your 5th photo file folder,
then the 5th photo in that file folder.
Post that picture on your blog.
Tag 5 others to do the same.

So, now here is my pic:

(I had to actually skip my 5th folder and move onto my 6th, because the pics in folder 5 are not ones that are allowed to be posted on the internet for legal reasons)

This is a pic of my brother's fingers, opening a nano cache. (If you want to know what that is, go to Geocaching website to find out!)

Here are the 5 that I tagged:

http://www.feistyirishwench.blogspot.com/

http://www.lifewiththreedogs.blogspot.com/

http://mom2my4gr8boys.blogspot.com/

http://mrmcknob.blogspot.com/

http://www.mominreallife.com/

And the award goes to......

2009-01-13T12:25:00.004-06:00

LOOK WHAT I WON?!?!?! THANKS, VEGGIE!

The Rules for passing on this award:

#1 You must link back to the person you received the award from.

That would be "Insanity, Table for 4"

#2 You have to nominate 10 bloggers who are deserving of this award!

My 10 nominees for the fabulous blog award:

Three Dog Blog

Feisty Irish Wench

Boobs, Injuries & Dr. Pepper

What the heck was I thinking?

My Semblance of Sanity

Heather's Space

Good & Crazy People

Don't Get Me Started!

Cheaper than Therapy

This is Reverb

Go check out their sites! They are awesome people!!!

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

With $300 you get FREE!!!

2009-01-12T08:25:00.002-06:00

What does that mean? If you hold a Pampered Chef Cooking Show or have a Pampered Chef Catalog show and collect $300 worth of orders (or more... more means MORE) you start getting a lot more for free! Free products, Half-price and discounted products, 60% off Host Specials, FREE shipping AND this is the best part, 10% off ANY product you order ANY time for the next 12 months after you hold your show! You can go to a friends show (with the same consultant of course) and get 10% off. You can call me up and say "HEY! I need to order -----!" and get 10% off!

What a deal!

In January, you can get your choice of two scraper collections, at 60% plus up to $315 (or more) in free product!

Email me for more details! tsfiebranz@gmail.com

Til Later!
Tracy

Sorry, been off fighting some inane bug...

2009-01-05T09:19:00.002-06:00

And when I return to the land of the living, I find that thinking of dieting at this time of year is bad for you, according to a study done in the UK. "Now is not the time to think of dieting" was listed on a website that I had to read. Now, let me just add my two cents. If you are getting sick because you are dieting, then you are DOING IT WRONG! Why do I say this? Because, after talking with my doctor, dieting at this time of year is the BEST time to diet. WHY? Because you are providing for your body all the nutrients and vitamins you need. Because you are more health conscious and because you are looking for ways to exercise that don't include going out in the ICY COLD AIR of winter (especially if you live near the tundra as I do!).

This inane bug I have has nothing to do with dieting. It probably has more to do with foolishness on my part from Friday night when my eldest child and a few of his buddies from NC were here for a visit before heading back. What foolishness you say? Oh, lets see, we played quarters, and then once the inebriation set in, I went outside, without a jacket on, or gloves or any kind of proper winter in the northern tundra cover and smoked with the lads. Oh, I wasn't cold at the time, no, I had plenty of anti-freeze flowing through the system for a short period of time. But thus, I have spent the last two days in bed, feeling like I couldn't get warm again and slept a good deal of the past two days away. And food? Oh I ate the most horrible diet things: sauer kraut, meat loaf, veggies, eggnog. Mix that with the rum I was doing shots of, and well, I deserve the bug that gripped me.

Call me crazy but... I think someone from the UK is a little daft, because reality is, if you are dieting properly, you should be getting 100% of all the stuff your body needs without all the extras: fruits and veggies, lean meats, grains and cereals, dairy products and cutting out all the stuff your body does need: excessive sugars, soda, candy bars, COOKIES, fruit cakes, all the stuff that pops up in overabundance at every holiday party each year from Thanksgiving through New Years.

Now, I am off to diet some more! Join me for some awesome YOGA! (In the warm indoors of course!!)
Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Mobile Blogger

2009-01-01T09:54:00.002-06:00

Well, I found something cool today! I can send messages to my blog, via my cellphone, as a text message, save them to 'draft posts' and publish them later! See? the new year is pretty cool isn't it?

This is a picture off my cell phone! Neat eh?

Til later!

Hugs!

Tracy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-01T09:22:00.005-06:00

Just think, a whole year has gone by now and another one about to begin!

For several of my friends, its nothing new and nothing will change. For others though, Life has a way of making itself seem NEW again, every January 1. For me, its like that. 2009 is a year for me to start over fresh, just like I have done each year before this.

I have 12 months in which to make christmas next year more than it was this year.
I have 2 months to get TJ what she needs for her birthday. (what she wants is impossible!)
I have 4 months to figure out how to get Tim's birthday present.
And I have 8 months to get everything together for my wedding.

I was talking with a very dear friend this morning who told me this year is going to suck the same as last year did. And I realized, we each are responsible for what we make of the time we have. If you want your life to be better, its not up to me to make it that way, its up to you! YOU are the only person who can make things better or even worse for yourself.

Every day, I wake up and realize, even if the day doesn't go the way I wanted it to go, I have the greatest blessings in the world. I have 6 wonderful children who I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world. I have the best mother in laws in the world. (Lynda and Betty are the best! I wouldn't trade them for anything! I adore them both in ways they can't even begin to imagine!) I have a dear wonderful dad, who I love with all my heart! And I have a father in law that compares to no one! And best of all? I have the greatest man in the world to share it all with! Sometimes we forget the things that are most important to us. And that which is important to me are the people in my life: My friends, my family, my kids. (not necessarily in that order!!!)

So when you are thinking about your new year, and how it will start to shape up for you, start this year out right, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS! And remember to go here and follow the directions all year long!

Til Later!
HUGS!!!
Tracy

Holidays have come and gone.... well, almost!

2008-12-28T11:47:00.002-06:00

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. Christmas is usually my absolute favorite time of year. This year, it didn't seem to be as 'great' and grand as I had hoped it would be. And at first, that really got me down. And then today, while I was writing this post, I realized, it was a way better Christmas than I had first thought. This year, I got to spend it with my favorite people: family. And most of the people I enjoy spending the day with, were here. (Mike and Matt chose to stay in MN, so I haven't seen them at all this year for Christmas. I hope one of these years they see fit to come spend Christmas with us. They are always invited and welcome to join us!)

I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do this year, but I did most of them. And I got to spend them all with a great wonderful man and his family as well!

Now if the New Year would just arrive....

Til later!
Hugs!
Tracy

Amazing!

2008-12-14T14:18:00.001-06:00

Needle Art

Check this out!

Til Later!
HUGS!!!

Recipe for Life

2008-12-11T07:17:00.003-06:00

This was actually an email from my dad. I loved it so much that I have saved it in a couple different formats to print out and save even off my computer. Very cool, very inspirational and VERY NEEDED in this day and age when people are stressing so much about so many things. No clue who the original author is but KUDOS to the person who first came up with this recipe for life, its AWESOME!

A GREAT RECIPE FOR LIFE...

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings.
You'll be smiling before you know it.

Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy

What will Obama do for the job market? (Story from Monster.com)

2008-12-09T13:30:00.003-06:00

I thought the idea behind this story was a good one and I liked the promise that it gives. Don't get me wrong, I have yet to see a president elect do what he says hes going to do during an election. Doesn't mean I haven't given up hope yet that it might some day happen!

What Will Obama Do for the Job Market?

by Dona DeZube
Monster Finance Careers Expert

If he keeps his campaign promises, President-elect Barack Obama could increase the number of jobs in green energy, healthcare, government, education and small businesses, while decreasing the number of government contractor positions.

Here’s a look at how the incoming president’s economic plan could affect workers in these and other industries:

From Graveyards to Green

Whether he’s able to convince Congress to fund his ideas, Obama will take office during a time when a weak economy and the credit crisis have the financial services, real estate, construction and auto industries looking like employment graveyards, says Martin Green, a business professor at Franklin Pierce University in Concord, New Hampshire.

Some job seekers from those hard-hit fields may want to consider moving into the green energy field, since Obama has said he’ll spend $150 billion over the next 10 years to support the development of green industries including biofuels, hybrid cars, wind energy and a digital electric grid.

Those in commercial real estate can look for renewable energy project work, such as developing wind farms or solar plants. Construction workers can transfer their residential building skills into jobs laying lines for new power plants.

Energy-generation companies need salespeople, says Christopher Melillo, an energy recruiting practice leader for Kaye/Bassman International in Plano, Texas. “That’s an easy transition for anyone trained properly in the mortgage industry to generate new business,” he says.

Former mortgage salespeople can also take advantage of another Obama promise -- to help Americans struggling to pay their mortgages -- by seeking work as debt counselors.

Those at the top of the financial services industry may not do as well under an Obama administration, because the recent $700 billion bailout comes with conditions. “For the financial services industries, the regulators and oversight groups are going to have a final say on compensation packages, including what a CEO can get paid,” Melillo says.
Click here to read the rest of the story.

My Hobby? Hunting Tupperware, yours?

2008-11-21T07:38:00.007-06:00

"I use a multi-million dollar space based satellite system to hunt down tupperware containers hidden in the woods. What's your hobby?" (author unknown, but I like it!)

I saw this posted on an article I was reading about geo-caching and loved it! My handsome counterpart had mentioned it a few days ago and I was hooked on it! When we first started geocaching, I really didn't expect it to be anything big that we did, just an every so often pastime. Now, its a way of life for our family. My dad was the first to stumble upon it back in June (Actually, I was the first to hear about it, back in January, when a co-worker mentioned it.) and he signed up. Then my brother got hooked a few months later and started seeking out local geocaches. Of course, then my nephew got hooked, and then I checked it out, talked Tim into it and well, now we all geocache.

This is my brother on a find he and my nephew did a couple months ago.

This is how far we will go to find a cache! Yes, sometimes its MILES AND MILES of traveling between waypoints. Tim and I just did a multi-cache (that's locating one cache after another with clues towards finding the final 'big prize cache') that required us to travel as much as 6 miles between waypoints. HAD A BLAST WITH IT!

Many times, we go together as a large group, so that we can knock off as many as possible in a day's time. I think our longest cache time to date has been 7 hours. We did two huge multiples that day. We were only able to knock off about 9 caches that day, because the two took HOURS to complete and one of them we haven't found yet.

Our best caching day was 16 total caches. Lots of park and grabs that day. We do more park and grabs on the days we have dad with, because he named himself "The Lazy Cacher". He'd prefer not to put on the number of miles that we are willing to put on to find a cache. And I don't blame him most days! As you can see from the pic above, thats how far ahead of Dad we can get sometimes. (Yes, us young whipper snappers can get going pretty fast!)

Entering the information into our own logs as well as logging our visits at each cache is part of the fun and the game. We even double-check dates before we head out to see 'who' was the last to find it (or not find it). This helps us determine if the cache is going to be easy or difficult sometimes as well. Our personal challenge cache right now is one called "Cattail Park". We have all logged it as a "Did not Find" but are persistent in locating it. We know its there, the cache owner has verified that it hasn't moved, but we haven't found it yet! It should be an easy one, but its proven to be difficult for MANY people. A total of 17 cachers (some of us team cachers) have gone out looking for this one. It has not been officially found by a cacher since May 25 of this year, though several of us have tried since then. Last attempt was on November 13. Cache owner verified again, November 6 that it still in the exact spot he hid it in. It's a toughy! Its something small and we will be relentless in our pursuit, but we haven't found it yet!

Dad entering a find into his handy little pocket notebook, so he can log it later on Geocaching.

Ammo Can Cache - not the biggest Team Hofy67 has found yet, but good sized!

And as you can see, from the smile on Alex's face, its all worthwhile! When a cache is found, its truly a good day! No matter how big or small!

Nano Cache - these little buggers can be hard to find, BUT FUN TO LOOK FOR!

If you are looking for a great way to engage the kids in something other than television and video games, this is the way to go! Great exercise for the whole family, great way to spend the day together and work as a team towards a common goal. At the same time, CITO helps the environment as well. (CITO = Cache In Trash Out - several cachers will ask that you take a trashbag with you and clean up the trails and area around a cache to get the litter cleaned up and make our areas beautiful. What better way to save our environment and keep America clean?)

See ya on the caching trails!
HUGS!
Til Later
Tracy
(pictures are courtesy of TFG)

Lovely Day for Geocaching

2008-11-19T17:04:00.002-06:00

So, this is what we do for fun now! We run around the countryside looking for GEOCACHES!!! Oh its a lot more fun than it sounds! We really have a good time with this, and get some great exercise at the same time! A couple weeks ago, we had about a 3 quarter mile walk to get to the cache. It was a great time! We got to see a lot of the countryside near our home as well as fresh air. And the spot on top of that hill where the cache was located, well, BREATHTAKING on a sunny day!

I can't divulge the locations of where these pics were taken at, but just know that caches are nearby and its SOMEWHERE in WI! And again, we had a great time!

Geeks in the woods, yeah, that's how my brother first described it. And yep, that pretty much sums us up as a group! LOL But we have a great time! The kids are involved too! We have TJ going with us, and my nephew, Alex (would love to see Doc out there too some time also!) and of course, Tim's son, when we have them, my brother Todd and my dad!

If you are ever interested in checking it out, go to Geocache Website and CHECK IT OUT! Its a good time, broken up by a treasure hunt and a nice walk (usually!)

HUGS!
Til Later
Tracy

Schools

2008-11-18T17:13:00.003-06:00

Is it just me or are our schools just not WILLING to challenge a child? TJ recently moved back in with me from MN. We took her to plan her schedule and the guidance counselor asked her what classes she wanted to take. TJ told her: Band, Choir, Spanish, Algebra. The rest of her classes she is required to take, so she didn't get much choices when it came to them. So, Band, no problems, Choir no problems. Spanish, the teacher said its too late in the year for TJ to START the class. WHY? She's already had 8 weeks of elementary Spanish in middle school and was doing very well in the class. The teacher is not testing her, or giving her a chance, and I find that unfortunate. I believe that TJ is up for the challenge and should be allowed the opportunity to take the class. Algebra, the teacher wants her in Applied Math instead. WHY? Because while she can come up with the answer, she cannot 'write' the way she obtained the answer out. EXCUSE ME!?!?! I can do the math in my head as well. Can I explain how I got the answer? OH HELL NO! But does that mean I don't know how to do the math? No. Does that mean I should be put in a remedial math class? NO! Why won't they just allow the child to do the class? WHY is it required that you have to explain your every step to every single problem? As long as the child is not struggling with the class, I guess I am not understanding WHY the child cannot take the class? Unconventional is my middle name! Why can't it be my child's middle name as well?

OH I KNOW WHY! Because we think WAY TOO FAR outside the box!

I think the schools should allow more 'freedom' from the child to be challenged. I allowed TJ to pick the classes SHE wanted as a way to get her involved in doing her own school work and being responsible. Allowing her to pick and choose the classes she wants to take keeps her challenged with her mind and keeps her involved in school. Now they want to throttle that challenge and limit her abilities. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Don't worry, this rant isn't over with yet!

Hugs
Til later!
Tracy

So, Doctors....

2008-11-17T16:17:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I call the clinic that says my child's Primary Care Physician is at, only to be told that "Sorry, I don't know why you were assigned this PCP because she is not accepting any new patients until next JULY" Ok, so now between July 2009 and NOW, if my daughter gets sick, it means what??? Oh yeah, take her to an emergency room and get nowhere! If she just has a simple cold? Oh, sorry, there is NO ONE AVAILABLE FOR HER! How ridiculous is that? Do you remember the days when there was one doctor for the WHOLE family? Gone were those days now! I can't get my daughter in to see MY primary physician. I can get her into Geriatrics (shes only 14 years old, people!!!) I can get her in to see the onocologist.......... IF she had cancer. I can probably get her in for a prostate exam too, again, too bad shes not a BOY!

So, I call the health care company, to get reassigned a physician, a 3 hour drive away from home. OH COME ON! Could we BE any more ridiculous? A clinic down the road is accepting patients, oh, but they don't accept my insurance. A doctor that does, doesn't practice at the hospital I am willing to go to (only at the hospital I am NOT willing to take a dead dog to). Is it really all that much to ask that I get my CHILD into the same clinic where I go?

Yeah, it is! Or so I was just told! BLAH!

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

My political views, for what they are worth...., NOT MUCH!

2008-11-04T22:20:00.003-06:00

I, for the most part, KEEP QUIET about my political views. Because, like religion, my feelings are pretty private. I won't lie to you all, I am very disappointed that McCain didn't make it into office. WHY? I am highly concerned about a president that refused to stand for the Pledge of the Allegiance to our flag. That has been a core part of our history for many MANY years and it seems pretty important to our government that it remain a part of our future as well. With so many changes already, like the fact that we can't use the word "God" in so many different places that it concerns me just how much more 'change' we can endure as a country. "In God We Trust" has been on our currency for as long as I can remember. Will that change too?

So, my political views, for what they are worth.... They are actually about the 'issues' that plague this country. First and foremost a concern to me is WELFARE REFORM. For years, I have repeatedly said, "Welfare reform has to come in the form of teaching INDEPENDENCE from the system of welfare instead of DEPENDENCE on the system." Quit giving people more assistance and providing them with an out all the time. MAKE THEM EARN IT! Hey, I have seen criminals have to do community service in order to 'earn' their keep in order to pay back to the communities for their crimes, however petty the crime. So, why not set up a true community service program and MAKE PEOPLE EARN THEIR WELFARE. Teach them a trade. Dang, I did a search of basic jobs in my local area, and for pete's sake, a housekeeping job at a hotel is going for $8-$14 an hour. Come on, that's not that tough of a job, and most people can do that while the kiddies are at school and be home in time for dinner! And before anyone says "Oh you don't know what its like to live below the poverty level to start with!" Go to Minnesota Monthly's website and request a copy of their issue from February of 1995 or just go to Three Dog Blog and ask the actual author of the article "does Tracy know what shes talking about?" She interviewed me and even commented on it back in August about the article "Every now and then the hack is glad she is a hack"

Ok, enough about that. Let's talk Pro-Choice. Now, first off, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH ABORTION! (I have four children, DO YOU THINK I BELIEVE IN ABORTION???? I think NOT!) Pro-choice, this would be those 'little things' that we all should have the RIGHT to decide on our own.

Seatbelts - I OWN THE DAMNED CAR! If I do NOT want to wear my seatbelt and 'become a hood ornament in an accident' (thanks honey!!) That should be MY GOD GIVEN RIGHT! Instead, our federal government considers it an offense punishable by a fine of anywhere from $50 - $250, depending on the state.

Smoking - This is now a punishable offense as well. Can't smoke on the streets, can't smoke near doorways to buildings. (Ok I do get the need to eliminate smoking in 90% of all businesses, and I am fine with that!) And, here in Madison, WI, DO NOT GET CAUGHT SMOKING IN YOUR CAR on Capitol Square. Excuse me, but the smog produced by my car, and the busses that run around that square probably emit way more dangerous toxins into the air than the cigarette I am smoking IN MY CAR, and again, I OWN THE DAMNED CAR! Now you are telling what I can do in my car again!?!?!

Ok, I have had my say..... for what its worth..... NOT MUCH!

Thanks for reading!

Hugs!
Til Later!

Tracy

Geocaching Part 2

2008-11-01T08:50:00.001-05:00

Ok, Part 2 means that you might want to scroll down and find the First Part of this 'story' before you read this.

Ok, so now I have Tim hooked. He has GPS in hand, and during his down time at the hotel in Chicago, he looks up caches that intrigue him. And he went to a site and ordered some custom 'Geocoins'. (these are tradeable items that are placed in caches to 'trade', or SWAG as they call it - "Something we all get" - SWAG)

He has printed out 'log sheets' already for creating our own hideable caches. He's poured over cache after cache in our area looking for the 'cool stuff' (Travel bugs are the biggest want find, as well as new caches and being FTF - first to find- so he's diligently searching them out) He's already set up our 'caching bag' too. We have about 40 sheets printed out now of geocaches to find. And he wants me to take a couple of our finds and go 'stash them' in caches while I am up in MN this next week. (I really hope he can go with me, I don't like doing this without him, feel sorta like I am 'cheating' when I go caching without the man now!)

Our day yesterday, we left the house at 10:30, and spent until 5 last night, caching! OH, let me tell you, we found some REALLY COOL caches! Wow, these people who place these things are creative! (Sorry, can't share with you 'how' creative right now... my brother might see those hints and locate the cool ones more easily than he should, by reading my blog! HA! I want him and Alex to 'look' first before I share the hints with them!) Oh, I can tell you about the one. Its a hollowed out bolt and its sitting next to several other bolts so it doesn't look 'out of place'. Very clever indeed!

And what did we do for fun last night? You'd think it was handing out candy to trick or treaters, wouldn't you? HA! No, I created a couple new databases for caches we want to go looking for, printed out a few more 'info sheets' on caches that I need to find, and Tim searched out new and unique geocoins to order for us to make us 'even more noticable' in the geocaching world! What geeks we are! LOL

So, now if any of you are interested in geocaching your way across America (or any other country) you have to go to the Geocaching website to register and go ahead and add 'hofy67' to your friends list once you are! We'd be glad to be on your list. (That's us! We are Team Hofy67: Tim, Tracy and Boo-Boo!)

Come to the dark side, we have CACHES! LOL (sorry, I couldn't resist!!!)

HUGS!
Til Later
Tracy

As if we didn't have enough stuff going on in our lives...

2008-11-01T07:57:00.005-05:00

Geocaching.... This is an interesting hobby! We are geeks to start with, owning three laptops between us, and having several more computers in the house. And being the true geeks that we are, we even have several that other people want us to look at and fix hanging around too. We both own 'geeky cell phones' (you know, the ones that require rocket science knowledge to even answer a call!) We have a multitude of other geeky electronic toys as well. The geekiest one I own is a multimeter that I don't know how to use at all, but won't give to anyone else, because its well, geeky! LOL Its so cool, because you can hook it up to your computer and download the information from it right into your computer! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! (you do remember, I don't even know how to use it right?? teeheehee) Ok, so I digress...

Anyhow, we have a house full of geeky toys, wood working tools, and 50 million projects going at once, some of which are home remodeling projects. Now, on top of this, we have 9 and a half months to pull off a wedding, we get the kids every other weekend, I bowl every other Sunday, we both have a multitude of other employment and volunteer related activities as well. And then we add to it (THANKS TODD!!!) GEOCACHING, in our excessive amounts of spare time! (that was sarcasm by the way! -wink, wink-)

What is geocaching? As defined in Wikipedia, Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. (The blue links lead nowhere, I didn't grab them from Wikipedia, so if you want to know what each one is, go to Wikipedia's Geocaching definition to see what the links to go!)

As my brother Todd defines it, "Its getting the geeks out in the woods!" Yeah, you put a handheld computer (GPS device) into the hands of a geek, to read N-W coordinates and seek out a variety of caches (containers) cleverly disquised with either a log book of sorts, or trinkets of the geocaching trade inside. Now some of these containers are the size of military ammo boxes or gallon jars 'camoflauged' in camo tape. Others are tupperware sized sandwich containers and yet others can be REALLY SMALL and called "Nano" (this is one my brother and nephew found, just to show you how SMALL they can get!) Now, my brother started doing this in September and frankly, I think its awesome for him for two reasons: 1 - hes out exercising (YAYAYA TODD!!!) and 2 - he gets to spend more time with his kids, especially his 15 yo son, who LOVES the hunt of geocaching! And this is where I got involved! I kept trying to come up with things we could do as a 'family' on the weekends when we have the kids, to get us OUT of the house and actually spending time together. (Hey, when you only have a few hours time with the kids, you gotta be creative so it doesn't come down to sitting in the house talking, watching yet another movie, or playing another computer game while the minutes tick by too quickly!)

So, my brother arrived a week ago, and well, Tim was skeptical that this could be any fun. And quite honestly, that day, HA! It was cold and raining and very windy, which made it even more possible that it might not be any fun! Todd came in and asked Boo-Boo, Tim's young son, "Wanna go on a hike?" Boo-Boo responded with a very definite NO! Todd repeated his question worded a different way, "Wanna go treasure hunting?" Well, Boo-Boo was less definite about the 'No' then, so we all suited up, heavy jackets and gloves and all! (it was only 40 degrees outside and raining, remember???) Todd pulled out not one, but TWO handheld GPS units. One is his 'car' unit that attaches to the windshield and actually TALKS and tells you where to go. This is his 'paperless cache system'. It holds the downloaded info on where each cache is located, complete with hints and 'history'. The second one is less user friendly and more geeky and pinpoints 'exact' locations off road. The three caches we hunted out were within walking distance of our house. Todd told his son to stay back and only 'look' if Boo-Boo couldn't find the 'cache', since Alex is MUCH more experienced at the hunt. First one was too easy, another geocacher was there ahead of us, so we found that right off because we watched him put it back! Second one was a little more difficult, but Boo-Boo, being a typical 7 yo, figured out the 'game' quickly and hunted with gusto and even found an item he wanted in the second one! By the third one, we were all getting a little chilly, but that didn't stop us! We trekked on, and Boo-Boo found an EVEN BETTER item that he liked more than the second find warranted. (And we all wished we had had a camera to record the find as well as the pure joy on that child's face!) So, now, Boo-Boo is hooked! Treasure-hunting won't be a problem with him from now on! Tim, on the other hand, was a little more skeptical. He still took some convincing.

Hugs!
Til Later
Tracy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-31T09:16:00.002-05:00

This is the first year that I have no kids to worry about parties, costumes, etc. All I have to worry about is passing out candy and not scaring the little kids into never going back to that strange lady's house again! I was trying to decide if I want to dress up at all this year and I think I am going to skip it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Please enjoy your day and evening safely and Trick or Treat responsibly!

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

ACK! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!

2008-10-31T08:57:00.003-05:00

This wedding is going to change soon. I have hit the bridal shops and started checking everything out. No wonder there are so many Bridezillas out there! Here's the problem I have: I HATE SHOPPING!

Ok, so now I go into these bridal shops, I want SIMPLE. Nothing fancy, doesn't have to be expensive; as a matter of fact, I'd prefer something a lot more plain. I just want a simple long ivory dress that doesn't make me look pregnant and doesn't require 50 people to help me put it on. I also don't want 90 miles of material 'flowing' behind me. (The image that comes to my mind when I see these long trains is kids riding on the back screaming, "GO FASTER!" while I dust the floors for miles around!) And these women at these stores 'OH we can bustle it for you, so it hangs in back neatly!' Oh? And I wanted to sit 10 feet off the chair too? NOT!!!!

What I have learned in the past week is that there is NOTHING cheap about a wedding. Nedrebos is where I am looking at renting tuxes from right now (could change if the other places end up being cheaper, let me tell ya! AND if they have Oasis or as close to it as I can get!)

We are doing as much as we can ourselves, such as wedding invitations. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! This one invitation that seemed perfect for me, you have to order a minimum of 100 - I will probably only need 50, tops - its a plain piece of simple cardstock, with words on it, they want $419.00 This includes two envelopes, and the reply cards. Just so you know, Staples has 'invitation kits' with 50 invitations, reply cards, two envelopes $30. Probably $20 for ink in the laser printer. Ba da bing ba da boom! Invitations!

Then, I checked it out, just because I can, caterers: Now, this is for them to make food and drop it off, thats it. Deposit $1000, about 150 people (Figured high, in case someone extra comes along that we want to invite) total $2250 for food at $15 a person, PLUS $100 for cake set up, PLUS $100 for them to provide someone to cut the cake and serve it. PLUS $500 for them to come back and pick it all up and $300 for dishwashing services. Grand Total APPROXIMATELY $3250. And thats if there are no further increases in gas (Yeah RIGHT!) or food costs!

And I haven't even called yet about the reception hall. (I know its gonna be HIGH!!!) And DJ, thats not going to be cheap (Bands no way! thought about it, there are too many songs that I like, that I don't want some cheap local band to slaughter) and definitely NO WEDDING PLANNER! I figured out REALLY quick yesterday at Bridal shops, these people want to make money, they will try to talk you into ANYTHING but what you want. 6 times I said "No, I don't want the 75 foot long train, isn't there a dress with NO train?" What part of "I don't want to attach 90 miles of fabric to my ass as a bustle and try to sit on it later on. And besides, I am a klutz and you are working hard to find more ways for me to trip!" OMGosh! WHO wears these heels under their dresses with those LITTLE TINY STRAPS?!?! Are there really that many brides out there that WANT the uncomfortable task of high heels to try balancing on first, during the ceremony when they feel like they are going to pass out, and second, during the reception when they have had ONE too many glasses of champagne and ARE going to pass out?

So, now I am thinking, I don't want to invest a small fortune into the most important day of my life. I want simple. And how can I get that? Easy!!!!! Blue jeans, Tuxedo Tshirts for the men, Bikini Tshirts for the gals! THERE YA GO!! Done! Wedding planned! Reception? BARBEQUE! Because, thats who we are! Ah! Wedding made in heaven!

Ok, I am kidding! But ACK! Are you serious?!?!?! They want $900 for THAT?!?! This is gonna be a long process! I am only devoting one day a week to worrying about this dress though!

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

And here a week later...

2008-10-29T23:36:00.003-05:00

And yes, I am still wedding obsessed! LOL Everyone is like "Geesh, you have a year to worry about all this!" Excuse me, its 10 months and there are a LOT of things that DO need to be done for a wedding of any decent magnitude! Ok, fine, its both our second marriages, but hey, I didn't have a real wedding the first time around and well, this marvelous man that I am marrying is indulging me and my traditional ideas. (Of course, both of us heard a commercial today for a "Two and a Half Men" rerun on a local television station, where Charlie is telling Alan that hes decided to take the plunge and get married. "Yep, we are in it for the long haul, 15 to 20 years" Alan, his brother, points out that marriage is until death. Charlie retorts, "Yeah, and if I am still married in 20 years just kill me!")

So, its a partially traditional wedding dress, in ivory and the guys will have those sweet looking 'vests' under their tux jackets *yes monkey suits sans organ grinders* in Oasis (someone's fancy word for teal, btw!!!) and the gals will be dressed in Oasis dresses. We will have that tradition of a flower girl (mini bride in my book) and ring bearer (mini groom). And yes, I will be asking my dad to walk me down the aisle, since he wasn't provided with the opportunity (nor the desire) to do that during my first marriage. And we will do this in front of 100 or so of our closest and still living relatives and friends. From there we will geocache, I mean trek our way over to the reception.

Reception, now this is gonna be an interesting week before the wedding for me. My best friend, Kelyn, is not only going to stand up with me at the wedding, but her and my wonderful groom are preparing the meal for the reception. I have two worries in this. First, where do we 'rent' the dishes necessary to feed 100+ people and WHO is washing them afterwards?? I am kidding!!! I am ordering custom paper plates and napkins!

UGH! Oh, I have so many other things to do!
HUGS!
Til later!
I am off to sleep!
Tracy

Wedding date is set... Let the planning begin...

2008-10-23T12:37:00.002-05:00

We have tentatively set the wedding date for August 21, 2009. Just waiting now for approval of the vacation time to solidify it.

OMGosh! There is so much to do! Time to plan a menu (HA! Tim's department!) order dresses and tuxes, order flowers, create wedding invitations, reserve the chapel and the hall, OH! Can't forget the music for the reception!

So little to do and so much time to do it in! Oh wait, I meant so much to do and so little time to do it in! 10 months! I am up for the challenge!

Til Later!
Hugs!
Tracy

A Funny thing happened on my way to Twitter last night...

2008-10-22T09:48:00.005-05:00

On my way to Twitter to check out the #GNO, (girls night out - Every Tuesday - go to Moms Blogger Club, sign up, sign up over at Twitter, then go back to Moms Blogger Club and sign up for Moms on Twitter and then you can join in #GNO!) I went to the kitchen to eat of the yummies the sexy guy was preparing: his special homemade chili and a couple pots of his 'sauce' (I don't like to call it bbq sauce, because its SO MUCH more than just that! but it is the best!!)

So there I am, hugging the man, thanking him for being the best cook in the world, telling him how much I love him, getting ready to Twitter.... when all of a sudden, HE ASKS ME TO MARRY HIM!

And aren't we just the cutest couple you ever did see?? And yes, I did say YES!!!!!

So, we will be getting married somewhere around the 21st... not sure the month or year yet, but it will be 21st. (Reason? We have known each other for 21 years, our first date was on the 21st of April, and he took me to see the movie "21" on our first date, coincidence? I think not! Neither was his asking me to marry him on the 21st of October, our 6 month anniversary!)

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Oh and a NEW LINK!

2008-10-20T10:42:00.003-05:00

I guess today is the day I find all the COOL new blogs and here is another one, MomDot. Go check it out!

Don't forget to check out my links on the side too! I have added a few new ones there as well!

Til Later!
HUGS
Tracy

And then while playing around.....

2008-10-20T09:40:00.003-05:00

I found the Mom Blogger's Club and had to check that out! Of course, I joined! Its another AWESOMELY COOL WEBSITE! You have to go check it out!

There are some really awesome moms there plus some cool products, reviews, and a whole bunches of other cool mom and kid and family related stuff!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Learning more!!

2008-10-20T08:32:00.002-05:00

See? Old Dogs can learn new tricks!

Dawn, mom2my6pack, had this new thing a couple weeks ago called Twitter. Of course, I had to sign up and do it myself! so now I am working on getting the hang of it too! It's pretty cool!

Check it out! Twitter is pretty neat!

Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Tony is back stateside!

2008-10-19T09:54:00.002-05:00

I am a happy mommy this morning! Though, I wasn't totally thrilled about being woke up at 5:30 am, I was ecstatically happy that it was my son telling me he is back stateside now! I don't get to see him now til Christmas, but as long as I can give him a call or send him a text every so often. I am happy!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

I hope you had the time of your life!

2008-10-05T20:29:00.001-05:00

Time of your life!

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

This song has been stuck in my head all day! No clue why, its just been there. The one thing I do know is that every single day, you want to live your life to the absolute fullest and make sure that you do have the time of your life! You really don't know what each day will bring, but make it the best!

Til Later!
Hugs
Tracy

I do understand!

2008-10-05T19:28:00.002-05:00

Last night, Tony was online and letting mom know that plans are still in place for him to return home from Afghanistan by the middle of this month. During our short online conversation, I told him that I was glad he was safe and coming home very soon. He then let me know that he has another deployment coming up next year, to of all places, Iraq! Being a mom, of course, I cringe at the thought of my child being overseas, yet again!

Tony told me that he was having fun. When I voiced my 'mom concern', he told me that I just don't understand and he can't explain it to me. Actually, he doesn't have to explain it to me, because I do understand! This child is so much like his mom its not even close to funny! He is just one of those adaptable characters that have learned to make the very best of the situations he's in. It doesn't matter the situation. He will do whatever he can to make the situation funny, light, and be good natured about it to calm the people around him. And because of his personality, the guys around him probably appreciated his humor during times of stress. I do the same thing myself!

What Tony doesn't get about his mom is that 'military' is something I DO completely understand. It's a way of life that I, myself, once wanted to do. I made a choice, and that choice was him. Choosing your children over your career, its not an easy decision to make, when you are a single mom. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! But at one time, I wanted to be "An American Soldier" and fight for our country too. So, I do understand!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Don't go shopping with your children!

2008-10-05T19:23:00.002-05:00

About a week ago, my brother and dad stopped by and had dinner with Tim and I, on their way home from geocaching and RC racing. During dinner, my brother decided to regale us with a tale of one of my youngest nephew's recent shopping trips with Todd's girlfriend (mom to the nephew). It seems that mom and Doc (my nephew) were in Walmart and mom was trying on some tops. She was having a tough time finding any that fit her the way she wanted them to. She then commented out loud, in front of Doc "I have such a tough time finding tops that fit". To which Doc announced to her, "It's because you are fat".

Naturally, I died laughing! Tim thought for sure I was going to fall off the chair and roll on the floor til my butt fell off.

(Posted for your amusement, honey!)

Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Back to the two of us...

2008-10-03T11:52:00.002-05:00

Tim and I went yesterday and dropped off the 20 yo boy with my ex, in MN. So now, its just back to just the two of us again in the house! Life is going to prove interesting now. Since we both work some weird and odd hours, life should become rather 'mundane' for us as well. I am actually looking forward to life with a lot less drama for a while though. Between work and the schedules we both have for other social activities, we should slowly evolve into a quiet existence for a little while.

AH! Won't that make life grand???

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Was checking out the Feisty Wench's blog...

2008-10-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

When I came across a blog recommendation for The HandBag Planet.

They are running this cool contest, where all you have to do is enter your name, email address and then post it to your blog, and you get additional entries into their drawing. 1 handbag every hour for 24 hours! How cool is that? So, now I am recommending it on my blog and saying GO CHECK IT OUT! There are a couple cool looking bags on there!

Til Later!
Hugs
Tracy

Kitchen Reorganize

2008-09-28T13:55:00.002-05:00

This is the before pic of my cabinet. It was a mess, after my son got done putting dishes away.

I got in there, reorganized everything and now it looks like this

With the baking sheets, cooling racks and cutting boards moved here.

Now if I can just get the KID to put things back like this when they are done being washed!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

New way to transport..... CATS!?!?!

2008-09-26T19:54:00.003-05:00

So, I am packing my briefcase, and getting it set up for my next Pampered Chef show... And look what I found inside...
And I thought, well, maybe I can coax him out.... Nope, Hobbes is not to be deterred.

He started to stick his head out, then he pulled it back in...

Then I tossed a treat... he stuck his head a little farther out... but went back inside!

After I finally finished snapping pics, he finally snuck out and parked on a chair!

LOL
Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy

No truer words have been spoken

2008-09-24T14:54:00.005-05:00

This should be posted in all schools and work places

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
If you're reading this in English- Thank a Veteran!

I absolutely POSITIVELY agree 100% with these statements, and give credit to Bill Gates. IF hes not the one who said this, please notify me and let me know who really did! (Edit notes: on an urban legends site, I found out that the true author was a gentleman named Charles Sykes. So, my credit is revised and given to him! WTG Charles Sykes!)

Til later!

Hugs!

Tracy

Happy Mom Tonight!!!

2008-09-20T23:55:00.003-05:00

Well, I got to talk to my Marine Son online tonight for a few minutes. VERY EXCITING!!! I haven't been able to talk to him in about three months, so when I found out he was online, I checked to see if I could see him, and I DID!

Found out he's ok, gonna be overseas another 30ish days, and expects to be back stateside around the middle to end of October. His intentions are to come home around the beginning of November for a few days. He also said he'd see if he can get home for Christmas!

Here is my two favorite Marines, Lance Corporal Anthony Fiebranz and Lance Corporal Drew Doudan! (they were getting ready to go to the Marine Corp Birthday Party last November. My Tony is the one in green on the left, Drew in blue on the right!)

All I care about right this second though is getting to see him HERE, LIVE and IN PERSON!!!

Til later!
HUGS!
Tracy

Wo-Zha-Wa

2008-09-17T06:57:00.003-05:00

Wo-Zha-Wa
Gesundheit!

No, that's not a Wisconsin sneeze. It is a festive celebration of autumn, Wo-Zha-Wa Days. Wo-zha-wa is a Ho-Chunk phrase meaning, basically, "Let's have some fun!" (I actually got this off this blog "In Dodd, We Trust", so I want to give him credit for it!!!)

I spent the WHOLE weekend, starting at about 2:30 Thursday afternoon there in WI Dells. We set up our Lions Club Beer Tent, right next to the Jaycees food tent and were ready for business first thing Friday morning! We opened up the tent about 11 am and started serving beer and selling raffle tickets.

The Band, Scuttlebuttin', played for us both Friday and Saturday night. They are AWESOME! If you want to hear them next year, head on up to WI Dells for Wo-Zha-Wa, they will be LIVE at our beer tent! (Then you can meet me and all the Lions Club gang too!!!)

Saturday, I got there at 9:30 am, left finally about 9:30 pm... Was back by 9:30 Sunday, and worked the tent all day there. I tried to act like I didn't know anything about football, when the Packers played against the Lions Sunday, but well, being the person that I am, I couldn't pull that fake off for long!

I stuck around our tent long enough to do the raffle and call all the winners, and after that I came home. Monday morning, let me tell ya, my ENTIRE weekend caught up with me then, because I was SO SORE it was beyond funny!

How well planned is this Wo-Zha-Wa? Check out the page for Wo-Zha-Wa Days Events, its already listing NEXT YEAR! See ya there!

HUGS!
Til Later!
Tracy

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

2008-09-08T20:40:00.001-05:00

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is reserved. You are a bit of a fussy eater, and you have very specific ways you like your food prepared.

You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren't exactly your downfall.

Your taste in food tends to be quite eclectic and wide. You are an adventurous eater, and you like many types of cuisines.

You're a self loathing middle class person. You act a lot classier than you are, and you secretly feel like a fraud.

You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you.

You are laid back and extremely easygoing. You never make a fuss, and you try to enjoy every moment.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

What kind of Coffee Girl are you?

2008-09-08T19:58:00.001-05:00

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated

You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys

Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.

And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

What Family Role do you Play?

2008-09-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

You Are the Daughter

You very keyed in to emotions. You care deeply and are quick to forgive others.

You often get lost in your own thoughts and daydreams. You find it difficult to stay focused.

At your best, you are sweet, sensitive, and innocent. You bring joy to people's lives.

You are open and expressive. You love sharing your optimistic, dreamy vision of the world.

At your worst, you feel powerless and like a victim. Your fear can paralyze you.

You tend to complain and whine. Whether your complaints are legitimate or not, you're not one to solve your own problems.

What Family Role Do You Play?

WI State Championship Chili Cookoff

2008-09-06T20:52:00.003-05:00

The wonderful man and I spent the day in Green Lake, WI. at the WI State Championship Chili Cookoff. (sorry, no pics! We both have digital cameras and NEITHER of us thought to take one with at all!) Our morning started out around 11:30 am, tasting a wide variety of salsas and other items made with various assortments of chilies and tabasco for spice and seasoning. Iced tea with tabasco was interesting. Chocolate Chip Cookies with chilies, well, the man loved them. Me, well, not so much! I enjoyed the smokies to start with. The guy told us to keep coming back he was going to make them hotter as the day went on. By 1:45 pm, I was done with his smokies, they were too hot for me!

After a few times through the chili cooking tent, we spent about an hour wandering around Green Lake 'sight seeing'. The nice part for me is that Tim's family is from the area, so he was able to give me a little history of the town as we walked along. We enjoyed our little walk, stopped at a gas station on the way back to pick up my MUCH needed Coca Cola and then walked back to the chili tent to get in line for the public tasting.

Chili tasting - We each tried 8 different chilis out of the 37 that were there. I am not even going to embarrass myself by trying to tell you 'who' they were, since I have the memory of a crack baby and will definitely mess them up anyhow. I just know that of the 8 I tasted, 2 were ok, 3 were beyond LAME, and 3 were OUTSTANDING. Of the three I really liked, 1 was probably the spiciest I tried there and they didn't even make the cut for the spiciest chili! (The one that did win the spiciest, to me was totally spiceless) The other two, they didn't even make the top 10, which blew my mind, because I thought they were by FAR better than at least three of the ones that did make the top 10. (its a good thing I am not the judge at these things, because let me tell ya, I'd have chosen different winners for sure!!)

All in all, awesome day! I had a marvelous time with Tim, his dad and step mom. And I did tell the wonderful marvelous man that NEXT YEAR, without fail, HE MUST enter his chili in the competition. Yes, I am biased, but his is by far the BEST chili around and he can outspice any that were there! But next year, I will be taking the camera!

Til Later!
HUGS!
Tracy