On with the new!

I just wanted to let all my followers know that I have decided to try WordPress for my blog. I have also changed the name of my blog to "It's a Bloggy Life"  You can find me at http://itsabloggylife.com/

Hope you come on over and take a look!

A Night (Mostly) to Myself

We had our annual after Christmas Christmas party last night. We went out to a place called Poor Boys and had a wonderful meal and great conversation. My husband told me that he was going to go hang out with his friend after dinner, my son stayed at his friends house and my daughter told me that she was going to stay at my cousin's house for the night. I thought...WOW...and night all to myself! I was actually quite excited about it until I had been home alone for about 10 minutes. I put in a chick flick and sat at the computer to just relax, but I just felt lonely. I wanted someone to talk to face to face.

Does anyone else ever feel this way. I mean, excited to have a night all to yourself only to feel abandoned?

The Long Wait at the Doctors Office

There is nothing more uncomfortable than being stuck in the same room as someone that you really don't care too much for!! That happened to me yesterday. I had to take my son to the doctor yesterday. Our appointment was set for 3:30. We were sitting in the waiting room...watching the clock and 30 minutes later, the ex wife of one of my husband's friends comes strolling in. We looked at each other and immediately looked away. At that point, I grabbed the magazine that I had already read cover to cover and pretended to read it again. The next 20 minutes was horrible and seemed more like an hour. She was sitting directly across the room from me. I felt like asking the nurse what was taking so long and insisting to be put in one of the rooms. I usually get along with everybody, but this particular person tried to ruin my marriage, so I have a hard time being cordial with her. Well, anyway, I was so happy to get out of that doctors office and away from her.

On a better note, my husband and I went to see Jeff Dunham last night! He is so funny. My stomach and cheeks are sore from laughing so hard! It was nice to have a night out with my husband too!

Childhood Dreams

Every child, growing up, had a dream. You know, what they wanted to be when they grew up. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be the one that helped deliver babies. My aunt is a nurse, so I guess that's why I had chosen that. As I got a little older, that changed and I had decided that I was going to go to college to be a physical therapist. I was so excited about that being my career. I went to talk to a counselor at school about it and I was told that because of my size, I would never be able to do that. I am 4 feet 11 inches tall and at the time, I barely weighed 100 pounds. In my mind, I knew I could do it. I was in gymnastics and I was able to lift a lot of weight, but that one person convinced me otherwise. I decided against it.

I am currently an insurance agent. I am very happy with what I do and what I have become. Not all childhood dreams come true, but what is important, is that you are happy with what you do. If you are not, you are the only one that can make a change.

Are you happy with what you have become?

A Funny Thing Happened....

Last night I had to stop at the grocery store on my way home from the gym. I had picked up my nephew on my way there. We went into the store and got the items we needed and headed back to the parking lot. As we were walking to the car, we were talking about how nice it was going to be to get home and eat dinner because we were all STARVING! My son got to the car first and started to get in. My nephew opened the back door and I handed him the bag of groceries. As I handed them to him, I had the strangest feeling that something wasn't quite right. I couldn't figure out what it was though. I took a look at my car again and it hit me! My son and I said at the same time  "Oh my gosh...this isn't our car!!!" My nephew looked quite shocked and immediately started to walk away from the car, leaving the door wide open! We were all laughing and I said "You need to shut the door!" He ran back, shut the door and within the blink of an eye, were were two cars down and safely in OUR car! My son said that he figured it out when he saw the manual window handle and that it smelled like cigarettes. Thankfully, the cars' owner wasn't coming out of the store behind us! That would have made an embarrassing situation worse!!

A Blog for Jenny???

A friend of mine called me today and asked me if I would like to come over and hang out with her. She and I had a really nice talk! Several different topics came up, but the one that has really stuck with me throughout the evening is one about my cousin. She and her husband recently lost their beautiful newborn daughter, Laila. She told me that she doesn't want to talk to people about it because it tears her up inside. My cousin has posted a few comments on her Facebook page, but for some reason I get the feeling that she doesn't want replies on it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't bring myself to reply to her when she posts on Facebook. My friend said that in her opinion, it is not good for my cousin to keep her feelings bottled up and she thought that a blog would be a good way to let them out without having to face other people. (As long as no one comes across the blog and follows it) I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of that! I mean, I have a blog and my friend doesn't. I will definately be mentioning that to her.

Freezer Cooking Made Simple

This eBook is filled with all the information necessary to learn how to freeze foods and make those dollars stretch.  With information such as how to get started, what items you need, what foods freeze well and foods that don’t quite cut it when it comes to freezing, this eBook tells it all.  Worksheets, printable labels and even a few quick and easy recipes are included to get you started with healthier meals when living on a tighter budget.

As a mother, wife and just all around caretaker of my home I needed to find something that would take less time and save me money in the kitchen.  I went looking for ideas and found many that seemed to be the answer.  Most of them I found to be more time consuming than anything. Then, I came upon this eBook.

Freezing foods makes sense in all aspects.  It’s amazing how in just one afternoon you can have a freezer full of healthy foods to feed your family for a month.  This eBook will show you how.  It’s easy to understand, has all the facts you need to know and will give you the answers to any questions you may have.
Freezer Cooking Made Simple is set up so that even the newly married can find what she needs.  It explains why freezing foods can save you money and time.  It talks about what you need in the way of equipment, how to shop for foods and how to cook these foods.

There is a section that explains how to safely store your freezer meals including labels to help you remember exactly what you have and how to reheat it.  Susanne has included a printable shopping list along with a worksheet to help plan your meals on a weekly and monthly basis.   Best of all - there are even a few recipes added to get you started.

If you’re looking for a way to save money and time in the kitchen, I strongly urge you to take a look at Freezer Cooking Made Simple.  Once you read through it, put it into motion immediately. You will see that this is a very simple and easy way to make those hours in the kitchen count.  Shopping, cooking and freezing foods aren’t as hard as many of us believe.  Give it a chance and you will find the answer you’ve been looking for all along.

Promote your Business using Christian PLR Articles

PLR stands for Private Label Rights. PLR articles are ones that are written by someone and sold to others for their use. These articles are not used by the author because they are intended for others to use. Now Christian PLR articles are just that, they are Christian articles written by someone and sold to others. Christian articles may not necessarily be Christian related, but they could be. It’s possible that they are written and/or sold by Christian business owners.

PLR articles are sold to a limited number of people because you don’t want the market flooded with the same article or type of article. Some sites that sell PLR articles sell them to 10 buyers while others may sell them to 25 buyers. That amount is decided by the website owner.

There are many reasons why people purchase Christian PLR article packs. Some may purchase them so they can have more knowledge regarding a certain topic while others may purchase them to use for their business.

Christian PLR articles can be used on your blog, in your newsletter, on your website as content, or in article directories. Content that can be found in Christian PLR article packs is great because you don’t have to do much to the articles if anything at all.

When you use Christian PLR articles on your blog, you can create at least one if not more blog posts from one article. The reason for this is because blog posts are generally 200-300 words where as PLR articles are usually 500 or more words. You can be general when you are writing a blog post and that helps create more posts. Another option you have with this is to be specific but cover one idea from the article.

Using Christian PLR articles as content in your newsletter is great as well because you don’t have to completely write a whole new article. You can take a PLR article and edit it a bit and it’s yours and nobody else has it. Adding a PLR article to your newsletter helps beef it up and give your readers more information regarding the topic you are covering.

Christian PLR articles can also be used as content for your website. You can take bits and pieces of the article and include them on your site. Rewriting these paragraphs makes them original and that is good for page ranking. When you use them as content on your site you can add your own thoughts and opinions and that will give you even more content.

When you use Christian PLR articles in article marketing, you need to rewrite it so it’s not considered someone else’s. Rewriting a PLR article isn’t as bad as it sounds. All you do is rewrite sentences and add your own thoughts and opinions to it. The base of the article and the thoughts behind it are there.

Click here to learn more about PLR for Christians.com's PLR articles.

I Know Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are just a few things in my life that simply annoy me! One of those things is seeing lights on in a room or area that no one is in. Obviously, it is a waste of energy and money. I just found the hall light on and I tell my daughter (for the "umteenth" time) "If you are not in the hallway, do not leave the light on!" Her response...."I know mom!" I say "Well, if you know, then why is it still on?"  She says "I don't know?!" Then I say, "Well, I want it shut off from now on!" Again she says "I know, mom!"  UGH!!! It's a neverending circle with her!!!

So, that being said, my solution to this little problem will be to remove the lightbulb. That may seem silly since she could just replace the lightbuld, however, I don't see her doing that. I guess time will tell on that one. Now, does anyone have a suggestion for my husband putting his garbage on the counter above the garbage can......**SIGH**!!!!!

What a Night!! What a Peaceful Night!

Tonight, my house has been unusually quiet. My husband is at band practice and my kids, amazingly, are not fighting!

It has been a wonderful evening that actually started as soon as I got home. I kind of like it that he is getting off work at 1:00 pm now. He had dinner ready as soon as I got home. It wasn't an extravagant meal, but it was so nice to not have to cook. So, we ate a quick meal and he ran out the door for band practice. The kids went into their rooms and I came downstairs to start on the mound of laundry that needed to be folded. I expected the kids to be fighting all night, but that didn't happen. I thought..."WOW, it's too quiet. I think I'll put in a movie". I was actually able to watch the entire show without interruption while folding laundry.

Maybe this means that my kids are turning a corner and will start getting along better! I sure hope so! :)

***UPDATE***
Well, 10 minutes passed after I finished this post and the kids are back at it. Will it ever end? Will they ever get along? I long for that day!  **SIGH**  Where are my earplugs?

That's One Terrified Squirrel!

This past week, we got about seven inches of snow and with freezing temperatures, the roads have been pretty bad. As my mom and I were headed to lunch today, we were approaching a stop sign and a little squirrel started running across the road. The roads were very slick and hitting the breaks to miss a squirrel was not an option. Apparently, this little squirrel knew that white roads means that big objects (cars) are even more scary than usual. This squirrels little legs went into hyper speed. He ran so fast across the road, that when he got to the "tree of safety", he grabbed ahold of it and his back legs swung behind him. He almost flew off of the tree. It was seriously the funniest thing we had seen in a long time.

My Daughter

My daughter and I have had a rough 2010. We fought all the time. It was to the point that we barely spoke to each other. At the beginning of December, my boss mentioned to me that he wanted to hire another Customer Service Representative at the office and he was thinking that he wanted to hire my daughter. At first, I was really nervous about it. I was worried that we would fight all the time and it would make the afternoon miserable for everyone. Before she actually started working there, I told her that if this was something she really wanted to do, then she would have to be professional. She agreed and started her first job at an insurance agency at the age of 14. (15 next month) So far, I am happy to report that it has been great! She has picked up on the job so quickly! She is such a smart girl. She got her first paycheck today. Boy was she excited about that! I am so proud of her. She has grown into such a beautiful young lady.

My Favorite Bible Verse

A couple of days ago, I shared with you my favorite quote. Today, I want to share my favorite Bible Verse.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

There are so many things that people fear these days and they are very open about their fears. Things like the economy for instance. I can't begin to count the amount of times I have heard someone say "Oh...what if I lose my job" or "I am afraid I might get laid off" A little over a year ago, I was working for a company that was headed towards financial disaster. I'll be the first to admit that I was paniced! (I'm not perfect!!) After I got through my own "what if's" I called my mom. I told her what was going on and I asked her if I would be able to work with her part time if I happened to get laid off. She basically said she could do better than that. They were looking for someone full time! WOW!!! Did God open up a door or what?!?!?!

So, 1 year later....I have a brand spankin' new insurance license hanging on the wall of my very own office, and I am as happy as can be! Praise the Lord!

Random Moments of Silliness

Have you ever witnessed someone doing something so random that you just can't help but laugh at them? I have to tell you about this one.

My husband is a gum chewer. When the gum get old and gross, he tends to stick it somewhere. That little habit annoys me like no other!! Usually, I will find it on the bedside table or stuck to the plate he used at dinner. Well, tonight, I looked up from the computer. He was laying on the couch watching the Jets/Colts football game. I noticed something stuck to his head. YES...it was his gum!!! I told him that he was a goober, and I went on about my business. Next thing I know, he was hitting himself in the head, so again, I looked up at him. He had decided that the gum wasn't stuck well enough to his head, so he was hitting it to make it stick better. At this point, I just couldn't help but laugh out loud.  I started writing this post and got about halfway done with it when I looked back up at him and he had it stuck to his nose. Oh my goodness....where did I find this man?!?!?! 

Never a dull moment in my house, that's for sure. (By the way, I tried to get a picture of him, but as soon as he saw the camera come out, he took the gum off of his face and said, "No way...you'll post it on Facebook or something" He knows me so well!! Hahaha!)

My Favorite Quote

There are so many famous quotes out there, it is hard to choose just one favorite, but this one is is pretty high up on my list. I found this quote last year when my husband and I were getting ready to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I was so shocked that it came to me at such a remarkable milestone in my life, and just how perfect it described the way I felt about him! I was never able to find who actually said it, but I would love to know!

♥ ♥ “I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.” ♥ ♥

Just Bragging

So, I was sitting here at the computer trying to decide what to blog about. My husband and our son were playing their guitars across the room from me. I was watching them and thinking of how proud I am of both of them. My husband is a self taught guitar player. Literally, he woke up one day and went to a music store and bought a guitar. He started getting online to learn how to play and he also found an On Demand guitar lesson. He is really good now. Our son just recently started playing the guitar. The school that he goes to has a guitar class. He started getting bored with the songs they were learning, so he started playing different songs at home. His teacher has said that he is playing at a third year guitar level.

Currently, we have six guitars in our basement....three each (Not a single one of them have dust on them, so they do get played quite often) My son just bought himself his first electric guitar at Christmas and he is very proud of that guitar!

So anyway....just thought I should brag about my two favorite guys!  :)

Spotlight on Someone Special! ♥

When you have someone in your life that is always there for you, you may feel that it is important to shine the spotlight on them for a day. Today, I am going to do just that! This post is for my sister, Corrie!!! Corrie is a wonderful sister (even though we had our "battles" growing up) and a great friend! She is always there for me when I need her. She has always helped me up when I was feeling down. She is a wonderful listener and always gives great advice! She is so smart. She always helps me with my "Excel Problems" and never gets upset about it! I could go on and on...she is simply amazing and I love her with all my heart. ♥ ♥ ♥

Corrie has several businesses that she runs. She is a Virtual Assistant, a Ghostwriter and she and her husband make cross necklaces and key chains. She also has several blogs that she manages.  As a Virtual Assistant, she does many things for busy business owners such as researching and submitting articles to various websites and managing emails. In her Ghostwriting business, she writes articles and blog posts for business owners. She also re-writes PLR articles. Speaking of PLR articles, she also runs PLR for Christians.

As I said above, Corrie and her husband make cross necklaces. You have to see these, they are amazing! They are called "The Disciples Cross". The simulated leather cord represents the straps that were used to beat our Savior; the wrapped wire represents the thorn branches that were twisted into a crown to mock the King of Kings; and the nails represent the large spikes that were driven into the hands and feet of the Lord of Lords.


You can check out Corrie's websites by clicking on the following links.
http://www.ghostwritertotherescue.com/
http://virtualfreedom4you.com/
http://heavenlycrosses.com/
http://plrforchristians.com/
http://wahm-articles.com/blog/
 
♥ ♥ Corrie, I just want you to know how much I love you! You are amazing and I am now, and I always will be proud to call you my sister and my friend!  I love you!!! ♥ ♥

Freedom of Speech on Social Networking Sites

Today, I feel the need to talk about my opinions of other peoples Freedom of Speech on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and My Space. This is something that has been bugging me for a couple of days now. Maybe by getting it typed up, I will be able to stop thinking about it so much!! Ok, so here goes.

A couple of days ago, my husband put a post on his facebook stating his opinion of "skinny jeans" worn by boys. He basically said that he didn't like them and that in his opinion, they shouldn't wear them. He received several comments on this post. Most of the people agreed with my husband, however, one guy got on there and said "Dude those were my dead brother’s favorite, jackoff. Think before you make another post." At first, I thought he was kidding, but he came back on and said that he was serious. I was shocked and angered!! To be quite honest with you, him calling my husband a jackoff and putting it in a place where the world can see it offends me greatly, but I understand that he has that right, just as my husband has the right to say what he said!

I believe that my husband has the right to put whatever he wants on HIS Facebook page and whoever doesn't like his thoughts can unfriend him. If they CHOOSE to be friends with him then they should keep their mouths shut. I mean honestly, if we have to try and base everything we say on whether or not it is going to offend Joe Schmoe from Kokomo, then no one would ever talk. Not only that, but we do live in America and we have the right to talk and to say what we want.

Mexican Skillet

Today, I thought I would share a recipe with my readers. The recipe comes from my husbands stepmother. Every summer, our kids go to Colorado to spend two weeks with them and last year, she made this meal. My son LOVED it!! In fact, I was told he loved it so much, he had 3 or 4 helpings of it! When they came home, he made me call her to get the recipe so I could make it for him! So, here it is...Mexican Skillet

2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
8 oz salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 lb hamburger
1 can of mexican style tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1/2 each red and green peppers
1 Tbsp garlic
cheese
green onions (optional)
sour cream (optional)
Fritos (optional)

Start by dicing the onion and peppers. You will need to have them ready before you start cooking the hamburger. Cook the macaroni as directed on the package.
Brown hamburger in a large skillet pan. Add diced onion, peppers and the garlic as the hamburger is cooking so they become soft. When the hamburger is browned, add the salsa, tomatoes, and corn. Continue to cook until the corn is cooked through. Add the cooked macaroni and stir together.  Top it off with the cheese and let it melt before serving. Add sliced green onions and sour cream if desired, and serve with Fritos.

This is such a quick and easy meal and better yet, it is very filling! I made this meal a couple of days ago and I meant to take a picture before we dug in, but I was too slow...Sorry!!

Winter and Your Car

This past Sunday was a little rough for me. After I got out of church, I had several errands to run. We just had a pretty bad snow storm and the roads were really bad, but I had to go to the mall, the grocery store, and the library. I was on my way to the library. It was my last stop before heading home, and had I not had overdue books, I would have skipped it all together. Anyway, I was almost there when the car in front of me braked suddenly. I was quite a distance behind her, but with all the snow on the roads, I still slid. I almost hit her when my car slid into the second lane, barely missing another car. Praise the Lord, there wasn't an accident at all!!

So, this incident got me thinking about winterizing your vehicles. My dad is a mechanic and he is always telling me all these things I need to do with my car and he gets upset when people don't take care of their cars. So, here is what needs to be done to get your car ready for the winter months ahead.

Tires - Get some good winter tires. At the very least, make sure the the tires you have on your vehicle have the right amount of air in them. Also, be sure that your spare tire in in good condition and also has the right amount of air in it!

Battery - Have your battery checked or replaced if needed

Fluids - Have your oil checked and/or changed. Also, have the antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid checked.

Wiper Blades - Purchase a new set of wiper blades. If you can't see clearly, you could get in a serious accident that was completely avoidable!

Gas - Make sure that your vehicle's gas tank is full. There is nothing worse than running out of gas in the middle of winter...Trust me, I have had it happen! 

Put together an emergency kit in case you do have car trouble. In this kit, you can include items such as a warm blanket, a bag of cat litter, a flashlight, and gloves. Always let your friends or family member know where you are going and when you expect to arrive when you are traveling in bad weather. Don't get in a rush! Your life and the lives of those traveling with you are worth the extra time it might take you to get from point A to point B. Be careful out there!!

12 Books I Plan to Read This Year

In my younger years, I was not what people would call an avid reader. In fact, once I graduated from High School, I didn't pick up a book to read in my spare time until about a year and a half ago. My husband loves to read. Early in our marriage, I would get so annoyed with him when he would sit and read for hours. I felt like he loved his books more than me. Silly, I know, but I felt leftout and ignored. It actually wasn't until a friend of mine recommended an author that she liked that I stepped foot into our public library. The librarian looked at me in shock when I told her that I used to have a library card...16 years ago. I did read the book that my friend recommended, but I stumbled upon a Christian author, Karen Kingsbury. I love her books. I have yet to read one that didn't put tears to my eyes. I think I have read most of her books, but there are a few that I haven't. So, the 12 books that I plan to read this year are listed below!

1. A Time to Dance
2. A Time to Embrace
3. Unlocked
4. Leaving
5. Take Four
6. Every Now and Then
7. Gideon's Gift
8. Maggie's Miracle
9. Sarah's Song
10. Hannah's Hope
11. Between Sundays
12. Where Yesterday Live

Debt Free and Payin' Cash!!!!

I have decided that this is the year that my family will be debt free (with the exception of our mortgage)!! I am now a licensed insurance agent and that means I will be making commissions. I am going to use those commissions along with my VA and affiliate marketing income to start paying off our bills and to get the things that we need by paying cash. I really feel this is an accomplishable goal. We only have two credit cards, one doctor bill and one home improvement/business loan to pay off.

The first item that I am planning on paying cash for is a second computer. I decided this morning that we need a second computer because my husband and I are always kicking each other off of the one we have. I haven't decided whether or not to get a laptop or another desktop computer. I personally don't like laptops. I guess my biggest problem with them is the lack of a mouse. If we go that route, I'm pretty sure it will be for him and not me!

The second thing I am planning on purchasing this year is a new dishwasher. We have one, but there is something wrong with it that causes our dishes to smell really bad. I think that my daughter will be happier with that purchase than anyone else in the house. It is currently one of her chores to do the dishes every night and she dreads it. If it were up to her, we would use paper plates, plastic forks, and plastic cups every night!

The third and final thing I hope to pay cash for is a new front yard. I want to fix up the front deck and lay some new grass down. When we extended our driveway, we somehow ended up with a lawn full of weeds.

Well...there you go. Those are few more of my goals for 2011. I will let you know throughout the year how we are doing!

Happy New Year ~*2011*~

Well, here we are. It is 2011. Oh my gosh! It is so hard to believe how fast 2010 went. There were several significant things in my life in 2010.

The first one was that my amazing husband and I celebrated 15 years of marriage!! We started our lives together on September 16, 1995. We were both very young. He was 18 and I was 19. We had people tell us that we would not make it. That was a very hard thing to hear when you are so young, but I am happy to say that even though we have been through some tough times, we are as happy and in love now as we were in 1995 and I believe that with God's help, we will have many more anniversary's to come!

The second event I am going to tell you about is that our youngest child became a teenager! WOW! It was hard for me to imagine having two teenagers in the house, and on June 25, 2010, it happened. Caalab is a wonderful kid. He is very helpful and rarely gets angry! I hope that he remains that way in the years to come!

The third thing that was a big change in my life was that I became a licensed insurance agent. I started working for The Stengel Agency in November of 2009 and almost a year to the day later, in November of 2010, I took the exam and passed it on the first try. What an accomplishment!! I was a nervous wreck for a week leading up to the test! I am happy with my new career! It has been a big change, but I love it! Best of all, I work in a Christian office with Christian people! Praise the Lord!!

I am ready to go forward and see what 2011 has in store. I usually don't make New Year's Resolutions, so I will just call this a goal. My goal for 2011 is to try to document my life better, good or bad. That is the reason I started this blog in the first place, and I got too busy to do it.

Here's to 2011!!!

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