All In A Day

This pesky vine has been haunting me now for about 15 years. I’ve cut it back so many times and it still continues to grow. I’ve treated it with chemicals, I have kicked it, cursed it, tried to dig it out of the ground all to no avail. My neighbor told me that I should pour gasoline on it. I’m not doing that because as sure as I do it, then something will ignite the gas and my house will explode.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn and decided to cut some of it down. I had to hold the pieces very carefully because the thorns are deadly (well not really but they sure do hurt!). I put the pieces in with the grass clippings and accidently grabbed the bag to close to one of the thorns. OUCH!! ?!@?@!!! Wow, did it hurt!!! So most of the time I just leave it alone and let it take over the corner of my house.

If anyone reads this and knows how I can actually kill it and be done with it, please leave a comment. I don’t even know what kind of vine it is but it sure is a stinker!!!

I would like to take this moment to wish all of your Mothers a wonderful day tomorrow!! Even though I’m not a Mother, other than to my dog, I know it takes so much to be a good Mother these days. I’ve read so many blogs in the past 6 months and it amazes me what all you’ll do to take care of your babies as well as your husband. I know many of you are single parents and that’s even harder to do.

Also I’m finding that many of you are SAHM and my hats off to you for that. I was blessed in my child hood to have a SAHM and I think it was wonderful. I think my Mom did a wonderful job of raising 4 kids and keeping the house running smoothly while my Dad was out “killing the beast” to keep us fed and clothed.

I won’t make this post long and lengthy since I don’t have the experience to talk about so …..

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

I have a very bad habit of saving my emails. I do have a procedure and I try to stick with it but many times I don’t. I have files set up for specific needs and I send many read emails to each file for reference. I know that is probably a dumb idea and what I need to do is write down the info in a notebook if I feel it is important. But many times I don’t.

Last week I decided I had “had enough” of this slow desktop computer of mine. I know the saved emails must be causing my computer to slow down. So, I decided to start deleting the old ones. Oh my gosh!!! I am almost ashamed to admit. I had over 8000 saved emails. Isn’t that just awful.

So last week I began deleting a full page at a time. Hopefully this will help. If anyone reads this and has any suggestions on how to delete them quicker than what I’m doing or has any info about saving emails, please comment. Currently I am just deleting a full page (25) at a time. I know there must be a quicker way even though it only takes 5 seconds to delete a page.

Yesterday I had a flat tire on my PT Cruiser and noticed it at 7 am when I was leaving for FT job. Something happened while the AAA was changing the flat. I was embarrassed yesterday when it happened but now I’ve decided to share it with the world. I’ll have to admit it was funny and I’ve laughed at myself several times since then…

AAA came to change the flat. Two guys were working on “jacking up” the car to remove the flat tire. Before they started the process one of the guys said “Mam can you please confirm you have the emergency brake on for me please?” So I walked around to the driver side and looked in. I was confused because I thought he meant another type of brake. I couldn’t find anything other than the brake in the center of the console that I ALWAYS have on except when I’m driving. So, I walked back to him and said “uh….sir….I don’t have an emergency brake.” Then he looked at his assistant, they both looked at me with a strange look on their face. The assistant and I walked around to the driver’s side and he looked in and said ” oh yes… you have an emergency brake.” Lord knows what they actually thought.

I was thinking about it today and I remember in older cars that had the emergency brakes that were under the dash on the driver’s side of the car. You had to actually press down on it with your foot. That’s what I call an emergency brake.

Have you had to laugh at yourself lately over something funny like this?

Kathy, @ Is 8 Enough?, tagged me on May 4, 2008 and I’m just now getting around to it. I’ve become blogging buddies with Kathy and I truly enjoy reading her blog and leaving comments. She is a loyal reader as well as a loyal entrecard dropper. Thanks Kathy!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was grieving over a lost love. My heart was broken in a million pieces and it was overwhelming to say the least. I was very involved in Dale Carnegie classes which was helping me to “move on” so to speak. I was working as a recruiter for the accounting industry.

2. What are 5 things on your To Do List for today? Transmit work data, call my cousin, edge my yard, ship Etsy sale, mail letter to Debra.

3. What snacks do I enjoy? When I snack usually it’s on nuts - almonds, walnuts or pistachios.

4. Things I would you do if I were a billionaire? First of all I would give a hunk of money to Joel Osteen Ministries @ Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Then I would pay off debt and by my dream home, treat my family and treat couple of my dear close friends.

5. Three bad habits. My worst habit at the moment is staying up too late and not getting enough sleep. Lately I’ve been getting about 4 hrs sleep per night during the week. Another bad habit is not cleaning my house more often. Third bad habit is focusing on Entrecard too much and not having balance in my life.

6. Five places I’ve lived. Camden, Arkansas; Magnolia, Arkansas, Dallas, Texas; Bedford, Texas; Mesquite, Texas

7. 5 jobs I’ve had. Babysitter, insurance clerk, accounting clerk, receptionist, sales representative.

I’m not tagging anyone because at this point I don’t know enough people to tag yet. If after reading this and you want to play this tag, feel free to do so and link back to me. Also leave a comment that
you would like to do this.

Many people use credit cards and have no problem with them. They manage them without any issues because they pay the balance in full each month. They also choose the credit card with the best interest rate in the event they have to carry a balance. Many people also use credit cards because they earn travel miles and they find that reward very “rewarding.” Also many people like to track their spending each month, so they use credit cards for that purpose.

Unfortunately when I had credit cards I didn’t do any of the above. I abused them; I didn’t live within my means. I purchased things I didn’t need and always had a balance. Then eventually I got in trouble with them and couldn’t pay my balances.

It has been a nightmare for me. Last year I was able to pay off all of them. And since then I only have one with no balance. Recently I was placed in a situation when I had to use one for my car rental. But immediately I set aside the money I knew I had to use for the credit card and as soon as I get the bill I will have it to pay. That way I won’t have to pay the interest.

My suggestion is if you can respect credit cards and your money, then choose credit cards that meet your needs. Before you make a decision, I would recommend getting a credit card rating before you choose. That way you will find out if the rates, rewards and the different programs with that card meet your specific needs.

I think we all need a vacation sooner or later. I know I haven’t had one in awhile and I think I really need to get away for either a weekend or a week. I love Colorado and have skied there many times. I love the mountains, the fresh air and mostly the cool nights. WOW, you just about can’t beat that.

Another place I would love to visit again would be St. Thomas, U.S Virgin Islands. I was blessed to vacation there in 1997 for an entire week. I was a guest to someone who won a trip there. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, ate at the finest restaurants, shopped at the various stores in the down town St. Thomas, visited the island of St. John and had lots of fun with various other activities.

This year if I decide to go to St. Thomas I will need to book my reservations soon as flights to USA can get sold out quickly. I’ve often heard of my friends who’ve made their reservations too late and missed a great trip.

I was ready to leave for work this morning at 7 am when I was surprised with a flat tire on my little rental PT Cruiser. Good Grief!!! was one of many thoughts that went through my mind. Then Oh Crap was one of the nicest things that came out of my mouth. I’m sure many of you have witnessed this same situation as you are preparing to leave for work.

So I called the roadside service for the rental company and now I’m waiting on them to arrive. Then I have to take it to Firestone for the repair. Good Grief!!!!

I think I must attract every nail in Dallas, Texas to my tires. Seems like I usually have at least three flat tires a year if not more. And…sadly…I never know when it will happen. I check my tires often before I leave in the mornings and I try to avoid streets with lots of construction but sometimes none of that works either.

So, here I sit writing a post and dropping entrecards.

Do you get flats very often?

I’m a big fan of Tina Turner. Today Oprah broadcast her show from Las Vegas where Cher is entertaining at Ceasars Palace. Today’s show was all about the two divas, Cher and Tina. It was an awesome show where Oprah interviewed each about their younger days as high profile entertainers.

Tina and Cher sang a duet together and then Tina announced she will begin her US Tour October 1, 2008 in Kansas City, MO.

My husband, SSG Joseph Hiatt, returned home in January 2006 from Iraq. During that time, I stayed home with our son, Andy. Right before that, I stopped teaching and I’m so grateful because that year was extremely difficult. On to brighter things, the year he returned Cecilia was born. Renuzit saved our poor, pitiful noses and still is in many ways. Now down to business, we have been trying to improve our home with windows and upkeep, but the bottom fell out this year. Our basement started leaking badly. The basement was partly refinished before, but now it has to be gutted. We have B-dry systems scheduled to come in July to fix the leak. We need the basement area because our family room, 2nd bath room, and our laundry room are there. In the last few months, our upstairs living room started leaking, too. We learned from a roofing expert that our chimney has to be rebricked and new flashing put around it from the roofline up. I have earthworms in my laundry /bathroom. Mold growing everywhere. Renuzit air freshener has been our odor lifesaver. This home makeover would help so much in putting our home back to what it was before so maybe the lovely smell from Renuzit will match the lovely sight of a beautiful living space. Thanks, The Hiatt Family

Hi Everyone!

Renuzit Tri Scents is having a Home Makeover Contest and the voting has begun for the semi finalist. Please visit the site and vote for your favorite. The winner will win a $20,000 home makeover with Tanya Memme.

Above is the one I voted for. As you will see from the above picture and short story, the Hiatt family has had some very tough times in the past several years. Mr. Hiatt, who has served our country in Iraq, is now home and the entire family is trying their best to survive their struggles with their home. Renuzit Tri Scents has helped wonders dealing with these struggles but the best way for them is to win this makeover.

Also while at the site you will find helpful information from Tanya on tips to enhance your home.  She give great suggestions on how to transform a dull home to a more enjoyable home.  Also Tri Scent coupons are available to print from your computer.

So with that said, please visit the semi-finalist gallery and cast your vote. It’s easy, quick and you will make someone very happy!!!!