Can I just tell you that hormones are running rampant in our house. My ten year old girl and 14 year old boy are both experiencing all kinds of changes in their bodies right now. At the same time. Under my roof. Requiring my love, understanding, and patience.

Whatever.

First there are the physical issues. the oily skin, the face acne, chest acne,the boobs, and the hair. Are you kidding me?  I did not sign up for this. Technincally I did I guess since I adopted my kids and did actually sign paperwork saying that I would take care of them. But I was prepared to deal with their emotional issues, the ADHD, the Bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. I was not thinking about puberty at that time!   To top it all off is my son's voice change. As if his teen angst and shitty attitude were not enough, now he's got this low gravely voice to go with it that just grinds on my nerves.

When it gets so nuts I literally stop in my tracks wherever we are, close my eyes, and take a deep peaceful breath. Or I explode in a barrage of curse words. Whichever feels right at the time. What's your best time out tip?

Oh my goodness it has been so cold! And every new environment I enter gets colder! I need something to combat these shivers.

Here's what is weird. The temperature seems to change so significantly in a short amount of time. First I will notice that the temperature has come up because I will suddenly be sweating in the middle of the day. So I lower the thermostat just a bit. Hours later I am suddenly freezing. I go downstairs to the basement and shake from the cold. Then come back upstairs and it's even colder! How did that happen?

Going in and out of houses is always cold and painful. And miserable. Foreclosures are the worst - no heat on and probably a window or two broken and an ice pond in the basement. I wish someone would invent a small battery operated electric blanket that you could wrap around you or wear under your coat like a shawl to give you added warmth when in extreme conditions. Maybe I should invent it. I did invent lounge chairs with holes cut out for the face when you're tanning your back years before they came out. I just didn't know how to sell it. Hmmm. Anybody want to be my partner? :)

I don't know about you but even if they were gicing away Disney vacation packages, I don't think we would be able to go. Things are so tight right now and I'm sick of it. Do the packages even include air fare? I don't know. But we'd still have to spend money once we got there. Heck I can't even afford to buy food on sale at Kroger right now, how am I going to pay for over priced theme park food?

But I wonder, can we really afford not to take a vacation? I haven't taken time off in two years and I am living a rage I have never known before. I'm tired, I'm groucny, and everybody is on my nerves right now. In fact, this blog on on my nerves. Is anyone else suffering from "need a vacation from recession induced vacation?"  Anybody know how to cure it? 

I have recently started running, which is a good thing. I'm 41 now, my body has gotten stubborn - it doesn't move like it used to, it holds onto more than it used to - it requires more work to maintain that it used to! Here's the problem though- I live in Michigan. And it's winter. I can feel the cold air and chilly wind just dilling my delicate 41 year old skin. After my first couple of times I had a rash and my eyes were burning for days. Anyone else experience this? Damaged skin due to being outdoors in the elements is an easy enough fix, though, I have found.

After experimenting with a cariety of thick night creams I have found that slathering a generous amount of Vaseline actually protects my face from not only wind damage but it actually feels warmer too.  Just don't forget to wash it off afterward, especially if you have il skin! 

What's your favorite sport skin care tip?

The very first article I wrote "professionally" was an acne solution for kids piece.  It was fun and funny and included pitures of my daughter.  it wasn't a huge pay day for me but it got my foot in the door and gave me the confidence and excitement to write more. If you wan to get started writing -either for passion, for extra income, or both - just think about what you know and what you like- there is a venue otut there for whatever you write. In my case my 9 year old was having issues wiht oily skin. So I wrote about it and offered solutions to readers. What's something relevant in your life right now? Write about it. Tell us how to do somehting. Then publish it.  Bam! You're  writer.

Eye cream, lip cream, foot lotion, tanning lotion, stretch marks cream... Does it ever end? I've been primping and groooming and plucking since i was 14. I don't even want to think back for enough to my first sit up or yoga pose. I'm 41 now. I still want to look good but I resnt that I have to damnit. And that it's so hard! At what point it is okay to stop worryig about it and obsessing over it? Does that time ever come?

You know, I have always said things like, "Even if I had the money I would not pay that much for a ...." Fill in the blank. In those days, although I didn't have enough money to over pay for such items, I had enough money to buy the version that I could afford.  And now that my funds are so tight that I can't afford to buy many of the things that I have never been without, my attitude has changed.  I want a new Coach bag. I would pay $600 for a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.  And there is no limit to what I would pay to resupply my make up and skin care sets. NO LIMIT! Why is this? 

As difficult as it is to find a job right now, I probably shouldn't complain about the one I have. But I will. Shortly after I adopted my children I started selling residential real estate. I thought it would be perfect for me.  I am good with people, I enjoy looking at houses and I genuinely find joy in helping people.   The schedule is what sold me though. In control of my own hours I could work around the kids school, special needs, and activities.  Good plan, right? Wrong. I am not in control of my schedule! I am at the beckoned call of fickle, disloyal home buyers, foreclosure banks, and title companies. I cannot believe the number of emergencies and last minute to-dos that pop up in this business. Those spur of the moment priorities always seem to pop up at 3pm when I have to pick my kids up from school. I have a bad repuation for being a late pick up. It is so stressful. But I love it.  And on a day like today, a snow day, when the kids are home from school, I don't have to make arrangements for them or let down my coworkers by not showing up for work.  I get to work at home, too.  Now that I think about it, I don't really have any reason to complain.

My back yard needs some serious work. If you're in the back looking at the house it appears okay.  There is a little bit of landscaping around the deck and the back of the house. There is a shepard's hook, a bench, an assortment of lawn ornaments.  But if you're standing inside the house looking out at the back, it's hideous. No fence, no trees, trampoline, swing set, and neighbor's ugly back yard.  I don't know anything about pond filters, shade trees, or brick pavers, but I know I want them.  We are squeezed in pretty tight between our neighbors on a cul de sac in a busy subdivision with no trees.  Where is the peace? The serenity? Nature's beauty? I guess I have to create it which I cannot imagine is going to be cheap. But before I sweat the money I need to learn about the products. So that's what I am doing this Pre-Spring. Learning and planning. Wish me luck! 

What does your back yard do for you? Is it a paradise for sipping iced tea and listening to crickets chirp on a summer night? Or have you neglected it?

I think that gift registries are the niftiest things for POS systems.  Even in times like these when I can't do a lot of buying, I get some joy from browsing and creating wish lists.  It's almost LIKE buying. Except that the product never arrives in the mail.  But you still get that little buzz associated with the shopping and the clicking. Merchants may not make any money at that time, but when I am ready to buy something I will likely return to that site, browse my list and buy. I have wish lists set up all over the internet, for my own personal shopping and so if anyone ever wants to buy me something they are never without ideas! Do you take advantage of gift registries?

So what do you think about Ellen on American Idol so far?  I was pretty excited about it from the moment I heard she was going to be the new judge.  There has been a lot of negative talk about her qualifications and potential use of comedy in place of judgment, but I was pretty confident she was going to be an asset to the show.

American Idol is the one show that makes me wish we had a big new flat screen tv. My husband excitedly tells me about all these great tv deals he runs into and I always say "NO. Not a priority right now." But for the last few weeks when I settle in to watch the show I wonder, "What was I thinking?!"  It would be great to be viewing a bigger. more high tech screen!

Anyway, Ellen aside, the show isn't packing the punch it was for me last year at this time. Whether it's the talent or the editing, I'm just not really feeling anyone yet.  How about you?

I would like to take issue with something. I would like to know why guy stuff is considered "good" "cool" "acceptable" "sensical" or whatever. While girl stuff is considered "fluffy" "wasteful" "nonsensical", if you will.

Men, in general, like to watch sports. GAMES.  No one laughs at that. Many women like romantic comedies. This gets laughed at. Just because its target audience is women, why should chick flicks be disrespected? 

I like to Facebook, play word games, and research music, entertainment, and parenting tips online. My husband calls this girlie and time wasting. Meanwhile he browses sport stats and car & truck accessories and this is time well spent? 

No one need be embarrassed to admit they partake in an activity that is described as "manly". But when "girlie" is used, suddenly we are in "guilty pleasure" territory. 

Now of course there are men who like romantic comedies as well as sports, and women who enjoy sports with or without romantic comedies. I am not saying that people are stereotypical for what they like.  I just don't like the fact that many things that are lumped into the typically female oriented group of interests is looked down upon compared to those in the male oriented group interests.

I have just decided to embrace my "girlieness" and spread it around with my interest in news, politics, sports, health, and so on.  What do you think? Am I being too sensitive or have you, too, noticed the subtle demeaning of women's interests?

 I admit it. I miss spending money. And having "stuff".  I want to order the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame cd collection in the next ten minutes for a ten dollar discount. I am drawn to Dooney & Burke day on the shopping channel.  I am tired of the current condition of my house and I am just certain that new window treatments will turn our disposition around from depressed to top of the world. 

REALITY CHECK: If I had all those things I am fairly certain  a few more things would present themselves for me to dwell on that I don't have. This is a common problem, as I understand. Obsessing so much over what we don't have, what we can't have and what we are sacrificing, that we forget to acknowlege and appreciate the wonderful things we do have - Whose exitence in our lives would brighten the days more than custom blinds and new hand bags if only we gave them equal focus time. 

What are you focusing on that is taking your attention away from the wonderful things you already possess? How do you give thanks for the gifts you already have?

 

 

 

I adopted my kids together when they were 3 and 7 years old so I am out of the loop when it comes to baby accessories. Never had to buy a Bob Stroller or an Einstein jumper.  I burped, fed, and changed enough nieces, nephews, and kids of friends that I never really felt I missed the "baby" experience. Something weird is happening to me now, though.

You see I never wanted babies. Ever. As a really young kid I formed this opinion that for me to have a baby - when so many children already exist with no parents - would be silly. I also never had that itch for babies, nor did I go GOO GOO for babies the way a lot of people do. I am a mushy sentimental type, and I've always been crazy for kids in general, just not baby crazy. 

With the adoption of my kids came a slight side effect of the "goo goo ga gas". No they weren't babies, and I didn't baby talk them, but some door was unlocked inside me that made me more baby friendly.  A warmer side of me emerged. Also, a crazy hollering woman on the verge of a nervous break down appeared, but that is for a different post. :)  

I am 41 now. There isn't a speck of babyness in my now 10 and 14 year olds. And sometimes it aches deep in my chest. Where in he world is THIS coming from? Do I want more kids? Is it common among women my age?Will a puppy quench my thirst to nurture a helpless being? LOL. Help! I don' like this feeling!