Have you ever found someone's secret and been shocked?
These past couple of days, I have been rememberng some really unbelievable situations I've been in.
Many years ago, I was dating a guy. I had just come out of a relationship that lasted close to 4 years. He had been trying to meet me for some time. (He knew my sister.) He was about 7 years older than me. (Yeah, you would think he was mature...) I was still vulnerable. Perhaps this is why things happened the way they did.. I was very busy. I was in college full time, worked full time in a bank as a supervisor, worked part time at The Gap and worked occasionally on some print, commercials and extra work. I was also involved in a singing group and we met regualrly for vocal training and choreography.
He was in the music industry. He spent many hours in the studio, at performances with his artists, promotional gigs and more. We started spending a lot of time together, just hanging out. He quickly vowed to make me fall in love with him. I found that to be an arrogant goal. This is what really made the bond. During the time we were hanging out, his best friend died. Now I don't remember if he was murdered or died in the line of duty. I believe he was a detective. I was there for him during his mourning. As many of you know, when you help someone through a traumatic experience...it brings one closer. I believe this is we fell in love.
I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going with this.
His friend's wake was unusual. I was by his side, along with his buddies. I brought my friend with me for support. We were both hungry, since we had left work and gone straight to the funeral home. As we walked out, we saw a girl that I had attended high school with. She gave me a strange look. I wasn't friendly with her at HS, so I kept walking out. As she entered, there were hushes and whispers followed by glances in our (my best friend and I) direction.
Months later, things started going down hill. He was erratic. He would call at weird hours. He couldn't recover from his friend's loss. I knew something was wrong. I couldn't pinpoint it. There was one event that made me uncomfortable. There was one particular weekend weeks before, that I couldn't find him. He wasn't at any of the clubs or at his apartment. He hadn't answered his pager, car phone, business phone or home phone. After that weekend, I never had that problem again. When I confronted him, he said he was going through stuff. Since he was dealing with his friend's death, it kind of made sense. Or did it? It still bothered me. It just didn't feel right.
The next change was even more bizarre. He was becoming possessive and jealous. I was beginning to feel suffocated. I couldn't figure him out.
Secrets. Somtimes when you get involved in a situation, it is with one intention. The problem is that there may be unresolved issues, dark secrets or past actions that can snowball into an avalanche of problems. Deal with the issues. Don't try to have your cake and eat it too. It will backfire.
During a beautiful day, I was walking through the spring garden close to my home. I bumped into his "friend". He had always made it clear that he wanted to date me, but I ignored his advances. Perhaps his intentions were malicious in some people's eyes. Til this day, I'm thankful for his honesty.
"I think you need to know, where he was that weekend."
I braced myself. I didn't know what I was going to hear, but with an introduction like that..it knew it was going to be big.
"You couldn't find him, because he was getting married."
What?
I would have never guessed.
Why was that the farthest thing from my mind? Here's why:
1. He had his own apartment.
2. I had met his close friends. (He didn't have family here. He was raised by his grandmother, she had passed away.)
3. I often accompanied him to his work related activities.
4. I had his home number, business number, pager and car phone number with access at any time (except for that weekend).
Shocked, I didn't say anything. When he called me, he asked if I would marry him. He claimed to have bought me a ring. I ended our relationship. What followed was a stalker's story. Now, I doubt that his friend had told him he confessed to me. He would have beat his but. I didn't want to discuss the details. He lied and that's all there was to it.
Years later, I bumped into him. He wanted to explain the situation. I let him, but it didn't make anything ok. Long story short, he was sleeping with a girl. She got pregnant and her father made them have a shot gun wedding. They were divorced shortly after and she doesn't let him see their daughter. That's horrible for the child, she's actually about 17/18 now.
The part I hate the most about this part of my life is that I was dating a married man... Had I known about his relationship, I wouldn't have given him the time of day. Why would someone do something like this to a human being? His bad choices effected many lives.
Before you do something that you know is wrong, think about the repercussions. Your actions effect more lives than just YOURS.
Sometimes you pick up habits from people in your life. You end up spending a lot of time with the people that you work with and it's inevitable that you pick up some of their idiosyncracies when it comes to eating.
When I lived and worked in the Bronx, I was surrounded by many cultures. We were exposed to all kinds of food and traditions. What was the outcome? How many people do you know that eat matzo with mayo, butter or even caked with peanut butter?
Here are some crazy combinations I've come across:
1. I had a friend and her parents were from Cuba. They used to put a large cube of CHEESE in their coffee. They said it was common place in their country.
2. My high school sweetheart used to put mustard inside his knish.
3. One time I had a coworker place an order at the deli. I told her to order a chicken cutlet sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mustard on a hero. IF they didn't have chicken cutlet, I would want a tuna fish sandwich on a roll. She bought me a tuna fish sadnwich on a hero with mustard. It was soo good, I still order that mistake!
4. My cousins put ketchup on their white rice. Eeeeww.
5. When I was little I LOVED mayo. I used to hate to eat, so my mom gave me whatever I would eat when I asked for it. I asked to have my mashed potatoes with mayo, so she gave it to me. I still eat them like that. My ex-husband makes fun of my kids because they like it too.
6. I had a supervisor that used to put Planter's Salted Peanuts in his PEPSI. He said it was common in the South, where he grew up. Anyone care to confirm that?
Got any funny combinations you want to share?
For those of you that didn't understand my last post, here is the explanation. Page Rank is a way that Google's Search Engine determines the authority of a website or blog. On of the methods used by Google to determine the page rank of a site was to factor in the amount of links that a site/blog had pointing to it. This is just a part of Google's secret algorithm.
With the evolution of the internet, companies discovered advertising on popular blogs like Dooce, Boing Boing, Engadget and TechCrunch was less expensive than traditional methods and the traffic was more targeted. Companies started emerging with the sole purpose of selling ad space on blogs in the forms of banners, text links and reviews. Not only did this create a sudden craze for backlinks (to increase page rank and make some money as a blogger). It created a need for more bloggers with good content to spend these major advertising dollars. It also created schemes and techniques to game the system. Some bloggers like JohnChow ran contests on their blog in return for links, faves on Technorati and RSS subscribers. Others like DoshDosh particpated in Technorati trains and still others offered free links for a review with a particular keyword text link. Another way to lure advertising dollars was to remove "no follow" tags from sites. This would cause google bots to follow any links in the comments or post. What's the poblem with that? This "adulterated" the "perfect" Google Algorithm. Search results no longer brought up the best information for your query, it brought up the most popular blogger's post or the company that spent the most money on a "get paid to blog" site. Google believes paid blogging and tex link ad companies were deliberately "selling" page rank by disguising it as a review, a link or a simple plug.
Not only was Google not producing their "perfect search results", they were losing out on advertising dollars. So what did they decide to do? Punish bloggers. How?
Step One in Google's Plan to Control the Internet
First Matt Cutts posted an entry on his blog that asked bloggers to report aother bloggers they thought were getting paid for links. (For those of you that don't know who Matt Cutts is...he is the poster boy for Google.) The funny part is that anyone can accuse their competition. It's like a witch hunt on the internet.
Step Two in Google's Plan
Companies that pay for reviews like ReviewMe.com or for text links like Tex-Link_ads.com base their advertising dollars on three things.
1. Google Page Rank
2. Alexa Ranking
3. Technorati links (or favorites)
By taking away a blogger's or webmaster's page rank, they greatly effected their earnings. For A-list bloggers like JohnChow, ProBlogger and others...it was not a big blow. Their page views, comments, RSS subscribers and popularity on the net still get them top billing. For less popular bloggers, it had devastating results. Many single moms, disabled and reitred individuals were writing reviews to supplement their income. The worst part is that Google started to penalize bloggers that hadn't even participated in compensated advertising.
Step Three
What made so many individuals angry is that Google continued to advertise these companies that paid for links and reviews. Many of the advertising companies still had their page rank, while bloggers were losing theirs. Bloggers were calling Google hypocrites. What did Google do? For a short period of time, Google pulled ads from companies like TextLinkAds and LinkWorth. It didn't last long. I'm sure they are some of the biggest advertisers they have. It didn't make for good business. I googled several of the text link advertising companies while writing this post. Google is taking their advertising dollars once again.
The Google Ewar is a little more involved than this. I just wanted to give a short explanation of what is going on.
Now that you understand what I'm talking about, if you want to see your page rank...download the Google toolbar and make sure you have the page rank tool displayed. It will tell you your page rank in the blogosphere. The perfect score is 10 which you will see every time you visit www.google.com. The A-listers have 6 pr and above. By the way, even The WashingtonPost and Forbes lost their page rank in the first wave of penalties. Some of the blogger's page rank was restored within days while others are still being penailzed.
Welcome to the business side of blogging....
Has anyone heard about the buzz surrounding A-List bloggers losing their page rank due to their business dealings with textlinkads, payperpost and other advertisers? Some people lost their page rank completely, while others were penalized a point or two. Google isn't playing....
Has anyone else had google search their blog every day?
Just wondering? I lost the page rank on four of my blogs. I'm not too upset because I still have other ways to generate income, but knowing one entity has so much control over the internet is a little scary.
So, has Google's e-war effected you? How so?
Yup, she was intimidated by him. According to my daughter and another child in the class...he didn't talk back. He did say..."You don't want my mother to come here..." She verified that exactly how he said it.
This is what she said:
"The classroom was out of control." (Yup, that's The Diva's major complaint. She yells and tries to intimidate the kids that she chooses.) "I couldn't take attendance because it was so chaotic." Now, why would a teacher admit to this incompetence? I did agree attendance is important in a time of bomb threats and school shootings. Hey, I'm reasonable.
Anyway, she told me she couldn't get them to settle down. She stated he was staring at her and someone said something inappropriate ...mind you while she was staring at him. She said she couldn't say it was him...but she told him to leave anyway. So, I asked..."So you pinpointed him...could it be because you are afraid of him?" "So, you threw him out because you were scared of him staring at you....." Yes and no. Proceeded by "What are you trying to say?" Are you trying to say something?"
Question: "Do you usually throw kids out of the class?"
"No. I talk to them in the back room, but I had to gain control of the class."
"By throwing my son out of class?"
"Yes. The class was still disorderly, but I was trying to gain control. I had to show them."
"By throwing my son out of class?"
"He has charisma. He is well liked. With teens, they egg each other on."
She used my son to try to gain control of a class she can't control.
Long story short yes...but then she said...Are you accusing me of racism?
She adds:
"I just want to let you know...I didn't write him up. But after talking to you...I think I should have."
Perception is reality.
I'm definitely living in the wrong place. I swear I'm living in the twilight zone.
Perception is reality?!?!?
Ok. How did it end. I tell her a little about the racism I've encountered. She told me she would have never done that....
She told me my son was well behaved and she NEVER had a problem with him in the past. She told me, "she really dont know him that well. She didn't teach a class...it was study hall. Regardless, she never had a problem with him before." He was well behaved, but in this particular day she decided to exert her authority and use my son as an example.
Ok. Yeah.
Next. She asked where I live. I tell her. She tells me she lives in so and so town. I tell her "Oh, that's great. That town is so integrated. "
Her next words:
"Oh yes, we have all kinds. A nice mixture. Between you and me, my husband and I always say all the poor whites live in my town and all the Blacks own the houses." This was preceeded by giggle- giggle.
Nah...she's not racist.
What say you?
What happens when perception is reality, but it's distorted?
I've lived in a neighborhood where I'm a minority. My school district had less than 5.9% Hispanics in 2004. Blacks, Native Americans and Middle Easterners were even less. So, I've been battling racism since I moved here.
I've been pulled over so many times, I lost count. Why? Well, because they can. Have I gotten tickets...no. I make sure I cover all the bases. I don't give them ammunition.
My sons are dark skinned. My daughters are fair. My son's have gone through hell from both students and staff. My son has been physically assaulted. Were the kids that were guilty brought to justice? Nope. Not even detention. This has been happening since kindergarten. Is there anything I can do? No. They say that they are being fair. How? Especially when my son didn't fight back. One time in the Middle School, a boy wrapped a chain around his hand and punched my son in the middle of his chest. The nurse was so alarmed, she called me at home. She told me she was directed not to call me, but he was really hurt. What happened? He got an asthma attack. I took him to his doctor and the ER. Did the boy get any disciplinary action? Nope.
Now he's in the high school. He is 5"10" and 200 lbs. He is shy and currently has 90 and above in all his classes. He got thrown out of class yesterday. He asked her why. She said..."you were looking at me".
On Monday, I went to see the assistant principal. Why? He addressed my son disrespectfully, screamed at me on the phone and proceeded to do the same to Little One's father. He actually pushed his chair back, got up and started shouting at him, pointing his finger at his face. I feared for our safety. No wonder my son was afraid. The principal passed by the office and kept going. Someone told him we were in there. He came in and said:
"I thought he was in here with students, someone told me that there were parents...so I decided to see what was going on...."
My jaw dropped! Can you agree with me? If he passed by and heard him yelling irrationally and it didn't phase him...it's safe to say this is the assistant principal's normal behavior. We couldn't get a word in edge wise. He told us he was finished with the conversation and we could leave. Guess what?!?! The principal told us...he didn't see anything wrong with the asst. principal's behavior. He said that it was our perception! We were being treated in a rude and unprofessional manner and he stood up for him.
Yesterday, my son was thrown out of class by the teacher. He asked why. She said..."I don't like the way you were looking at me." That was why she sent him to the principal's office. My daughter couldn't believe what she witnessed. She told me he wasn't being disrespectful or anything. It leads me to believe that she is afraid of him... because he is a large Hispanic male. He told her he didn't want problems. He told her I had been there already and that she wouldn't want me to go again...since I had such a bad experience. She said.." Tell your mother she is welcome anytime."
I called at 9:19 am and left her a very pleasant message in a Snow White tone of voice. She still hasn't called back. It's 11:38am. I don't think she's going to call. She's probably scared of me too...
I'm tired of the racism in this district. Let me break it down...$1800.00 mortgage-$900.00 goes to escrow for school and property taxes. I have the right to be heard and feel safe even if it wasn't costing us $900.00. Everyone should be treated fairly. We all breathe the same air and bleed the same blood. Why should someone's distorted perception of reality dictate how some students and parents are treated?
I'm still waiting for a call. I think I'm just going to show up wth my ex-mother-in-law. She's a school social worker for another district. I don't feel safe entering the school alone. Mondays' visit taught me one thing. Justice in this school is not blind. It's about the color of your skin. Being a parent doesn't mean I'll be treated with respect. I'm the wrong skin tone...
I've been so busy with life, I haven't updated here in some time. I miss this site, people are so warm and friendly here.
What has been going on? More of the same and a few new things too!
The Little One (#7 and autistic) is progressing nicely. His vocabulary is increasing rapidly. He's still behind, but he surprises us every day with new words. He's also getting more and more active. I spent Tuesday evening at the ER..again.
The Comedian is at the top of his classes. A big change from last year. His new found interest in school? He wants to go to college to study computer programming. Can't wait for that...
The Diva has a new found interest for taaaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaa:
global warming. She has been a vegetarian since January. She's starting an eco-freindly club in school. It's all in the works. She's currently involved with clubs that have her attending meetings with the local politicians. She's doing some great networking for college.
The Entrepreneur is getting taller and his voice changed. No more babies for here. The Little One already lost both of his bottom teeth, I cried....
The Chatterbox wants to start a band with her siblings. She's into rock music now...
The Princess is happy with her school placement. Her teacher is great, so far.
Sleepy Dwarf is in CT in the Navy. He's currently in the Naval Academy. He loves it and that's great.
That's pretty much it. During all of this growth, the fridge broke, the minivan repairs were grossly underestimated and I got hit with the senior ring and baseball registration fees-unexpectedly. Some things never change...
I've been going through many, many trials. After paying $2200.00 in repairs for my mini-van last Wednesday...it broke down Thursday! Hello!?? Of course, the used car I bought for my niece (with the $$$ she saved) has been giving us trouble too. The car shuts down repeatedly when we try to go in reverse. All my computers and my laptop are down!! Can you say...loss of income? I refuse to panic, instead I started really getting into the Word, worship and praise.
I created a site to encourage myself as well as others:
I hope you are blessed as you listen to the beautiful songs of praise and worship. I update this site every weekday. (We managed to salvage one computer.) If you enjoy it, you can subscribe and you will get an email every time I update it.
Be blessed!
SuperMom in NY!
Would you like to win a FREE copy of The Secret?
Visit my blog Getting Out of Debt and read all the details. It's very simple and anyone can enter, even those that don't have a blog. There are about 6 different ways to get an entry worth a total of 8 points.
Good luck and be sure to subscribe to that blog. I'll be giving away prizes on a weekly basis. The prizes will increase in value as the weeks go by....
online shoppingcoupon codesI'm still waiting for these kids to finish getting ready. So, let's talk about online shopping vs. store shopping. Many people don't like to shop online because they don't want to pay shipping and handling charges. Let's look at this a little closer. When you go shopping whether to the mall or department store-you spend money. No, you say. I beg to differ. You spend money on things like: gas, meters, tolls, transportation (bus, cab or train), food and the bargain you can't pass up! Now, add all of that together and compare it to a $5.00 S&H charge....hhmmm makes you think.
Want to save even more shopping online?
There are sites like couponchief.com that specialize in coupon codes. What are coupon codes? They are promotional codes you enter on a website during the checkout process that saves you money! Here's how it works. Say you want to buy a computer for your college bound child. You visit couponchief and click on their Dell coupon codes section. The page will display all the coupon codes available for your purchase. You choose one and enter it and you save some cash!
The holidays are creeping up!
I suggest you bookmark this site. Take advantage of the money, time and energy you can save! Who wants to deal with crowded stores, bulky coats that must be carried, rude sales associates and the endless search for parking? Here's a solution: start your wishlist now.
Here's mine:
The Chatterbox already asked me for a set of drums for Christmas.
The Comedian asked for an ipod.
The Diva wants Ed Hardy.
The Entrepreneur wants an electric guitar.
The Princess wants toys.
The Little One wants more toys! Lucky ME!
So, I bookmarked this page. You can bookmark the site. By doing this, I'll be able to find them easily. Ohhh..and some of the sites have made it even easier.....by accepting PAYPAL! Yay......ME!
Now you know how to use coupon codes. Be sure to add couponchief.com to your favorites! They even have coupon codes for vacations-like airlines, luggage and even hotels!
This week, I started back to school shopping. Right now, I'm waiting for The Diva and The Entrepreneur to finish getting ready. After they're done, we'll pile into the car and take a ride to the Bronx. There I will meet up with The Chatterbox (who's visiting her mom) and The Comedian (who's visiting his Dad). Then we'll hit the stores. I'm not going down there to specifically visit one store. I just needed to drop off The Entrepreneur (he'll be visiting his Dad), while picking up The Comedian (he's coming back home). The Chatterbox will be visiting my parents in Puerto Rico with her mom, brother and sister.
By the way, we aren't going to NJ after all. When I went to purchase the concert tickets, the meet and greet tickets were sold out. The Diva decided to not go after all. It all worked out. The weather is horrible for the beach anyway! The Diva didn't go to PR because of the hurricane and tropical storm warnings. My parents were afraid of her traveling alone. So, we decided to go to Virginia for The Jonas Brothers' next concert at the VA State Fair. I'm buying those tickets today. I hope for The Diva's sake, they're not sold out. I'm looking forward to that trip. It will be much needed R&R after all the bcak to school whirlwind!
Geez, I hate waiting.......
DivineCaroline is a website by women for women. (Men are not excluded, they can visit and contribute as well. However, the content of the site will always be about women.) It's name came from the thought that women are divine, combined with the name Caroline (which belonged to a freind of one of the founders that was inspirational). The point of the site is to have a place where woman can share their lives, worries, triumphs and disappointments. What makes it different? You can share your favorite recipes, anecdotes, parenting tips, marital avice and more! Each article displays the author's name. Best of all, it is a very professional looking site. It is one of the best I've seen.
Why would you want to contribute to this site?
If you are a freelance writer or want to be one, it would be a great way to become known as a niche topic writer. Write about your favorite hobby. You can publish an article about your favorite parenting tips, review favorite children's toys or even share your popular recipes.
How can you get people to see your involvement?
DivineCaroline has widgets that can be displayed on your blogs or websites. You can choose your favorite category such as Parenting Tips and Advice, Finance or the one you contribute to the most and place the widget on your myspace, friendster or facebook!
Visit the site today and register to add your content. They are currently running a huge contest to win several thousands in gift certificates. The contest ends October 1, 2007. Hurry and enter for your chance to win!
Take a look at the site below!
If you're decorating your home and are going to buy blinds, start your shopping here! Why? What if I said you could Shop for Free Window Blinds ? I'm serious. This site is so original, it was granted a US patent!
Here's how it works:
You purchase the blinds you want. Their prices are competitive, so you should save a bundle! After making your purchase, you get a referral link. You then tell all your friends, family, coworkers about it. Send them the link in an email and when anyone makes a purchase, you get 20% of their purchase. You will continue to get the 20% of all your referrals' purchases until your purchase prices is covered. You have up to 5 years to recover the purchase of your blinds! Imagine. You can create a banner, put it on mommy forums, traffic exchanges and even your myspace. You can also add it to your signature on your email. That way, the next time you send everyone that funny joke you got, you're advertising your link. I don't think it would be that hard to get your purchase price back!
Here's their press release. Read it and see what I mean:
FREEblinds.com Debuts Patent-Pending Shopping Concept
June 20, 2007
St. Augustine, Florida
FREEblinds.com, Inc. (www.freeblinds.com) announced today the launch of their FREEblinds.com website, a Next-Generation Internet shopping site offering an extensive variety of window coverings with the ability to earn back 100% of their product purchase price. It’s just the first of many websites providing customers the opportunity to get their products for FREE through the patent-pending FREEshopping.com Rewards Program.
With the look and feel of other consumer websites, FREEblinds.com operates in similar fashion. First you shop from a vast array of products offered at some of the lowest prices to be found on the Internet; you make your selection; then submit your order. It's at checkout where the similarity to all other sites ends. Upon conclusion of checkout, the customer is assigned a unique code, and presented with the option to share that code with others interested in purchasing window coverings. Then each time a referred customer’s order has been completed, 20% of the referred customer's product purchase amount is Rewarded (via a check refund) to the original referring customer. This process continues for each referred order until 100% of the original customer's product purchase amount has been returned. Customers have a full FIVE years to earn back their product costs. And, every referred customer has the same opportunity to earn back their total purchase amount through the Rewards Program.
The process of "Totally Free Products" was created by FREEblinds.com and FREEshopping.com founder Joe Mehm. A pioneer in online retailing, Mehm asks, "Why shop anywhere else? What’s better than free?" And, since we sell our products at the most competitive prices on the Internet, even if you don't earn a single Reward, you will still save money." he asserts. "That's reason enough to shop at FREEblinds.com. Then giving customers the opportunity to earn back 100% of their product cost, is just icing on the cake!" Mehm concludes.
The process making this concept possible is so distinct, so unique that Mehm has been awarded Patent Pending Status by the United States Patent Office.
Simply put, the customer rewards are offset by savings realized from reduced expenditures of conventional Internet advertising. FREEblinds.com pays past customers to bring in new customers. While it might be said that one expense just replaces the other, this process does much more than that. Internet advertising costs, as with other conventional advertising costs, are not tied to results. Therefore, one pays for advertising whether business is created from that advertising or not. With the FREEshopping process, advertising is only paid after sales are made, for revenue already generated. And, like a gift that keeps on giving, satisfied, fully Rewarded customers are naturally going to continue to tell others how smart they were to shop FreeBlinds.com, now creating business free from any advertising expense.
To make it easy for customers to get their referrals started, FREEblinds.com has positioned valuable tools at the end of order checkout to help automate the referral process. Customers can easily print a sheet of referral cards formatted with their name and referral code. Another feature allows the customer to enter the names and email addresses of friends and family, so that an automated link explaining the program is forwarded to them along with the referrer's code. And, for those customers with their own website, MySpace site, etc., a section of copy and paste text is available for pasting a small banner on their site. Once pasted on their site, any purchase made through that link, embedded with their referral code, automatically posts a credit to the customer's account. It then becomes possible for a customer to receive all of their money back without ever having to refer someone personally.
FREEblinds.com...the first of an exclusive group of fine merchants offering consumers quality products along with the process to receive back 100% of the cost of their product purchases. Next-Generation shopping is here today!
Contact Information:
Media Relations Director:
Robert (Rewards Rob) Till at (866) 254-6314 ext 10.
RewardsRob@FREEshopping.com
www.freeblinds.com
FREEshopping.com vendor program:
Joe Mehm at (866) 254-6314 ext 18.
Joe@FREEshopping.com
www.freeshopping.com
So there you have it. I love a great deal, so I'm going to get a cup of coffee and choose some blinds. Having a house with 6 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 5 bathrooms, 7 kids and 9 pets means something always needs to be replaced. I never told you about how my jack russel terrier (Rockefeller) ate the cord to the blinds. Let's just say, even the pets want to have their time in the limelight in this circus!
This Sunday, my son The Comedian is turning 15. Time is flying by so fast. I'm so glad that I spent every possible minute with my kids. I knew that someday, they would be going off to college and so it was always my priority to nurture each relationship. People wonder why my kids spend so much time with me, why they want their friends around and how they confide in me. Hey, I invested my time and emotions. Many people can't be bothered with their kids when they are young, then they wonder why they can't relate when they're teens? I think that's a no brainer.
Next week, I'll be staying at a hotel at Ocean Grove NJ with The Diva and The Little One. I'm taking her to another Jonas Brothers Concert! She likes to see them in concert, so I take advantage of every opportunity to have a mini-vacation. The Little One loves the beach! The Comedian, The Entrepremeur and The Princess will be visiting their Dad in the Bronx. The Chatterbox will be in Puerto Rico. Her mom (my sis) is visiting my parents there. She goes almost every summer. The Diva was going to PR this weekend, but there were hurricane warnings. My mom panicked and told me to cancel the trip. So, to make it up for it...we'll be going to the beach in JERSEY! Yay. I'll have my laptop and my camera. I'll be posting pics form there!
My minivan should be repaired next week! YAY! I miss it. Driving with the kids in a Corolla sucked-and that's putting it mildly. They were cramped. I had to keep the Little One in a booster seat, so that took up a lot of room. I can't wait to get my van back!!!!
That's pretty much what's going on. I've gotten some advertising requests which I'm ecstatic about. The company is paying me $320.00 for links in a few of my 15 blogs! I just love blogging and working on the internet. I have to start back to school shopping for the 6 and that gets expensive! Anyway, if you guys haven't signed up for PPP, Payu2Blog or any other of the paid blogging companies-you're missing out. With PayU2Blog I've received many free products to review. Here are a few: life coach CDs, FREE AIR Jordans for my son, a canvas portrait of the Princess -retail value $89.00, a personlized pacifier, lingerie, wooden blinds and more! Here's my site that will give you all the details: http://www.squidoo.com/supermom_in_ny/
Enjoy your day!
***PS***
I forgot to add that Sleepy Dwarf is in the Naval Academy. He went on March 12th and has been doing very well. He's at the top of the class, so he's excited. (He came up second in the first course, now he's trying to be #1.) Amazing how a little motivation can change a person. We'll be visiting him in CT around Labor Day weekend. The Little One is excited because he misses his big brother and loves hotels..
I have a blog about gift giving and many times I receive email from people asking for help. Most people have a hard time buying a gift for a person that they claim "has everything". It's safe to assume this person has the ability to buy whatever they want and need. That's when creativity comes into play.
One gift that is always welcomed by almost everyone are pictures or canvas paintings that have been professionally framed. People love to see pictures of themselves, loved ones, pet portraits, special events or favorite vacation spots on display. These are great for home of office. Being surrounded by the people, places and things you love brings comfort.
What if you want to give the unforgettable portrait?
There is a website that can help you turn that special picture into a family heirloom. PaintYourLife.com helps you turn pictures into beautiful works of art.
How can PaintYourLife.com do this?
Getting your picture turned into a work of art on canvas is easy. All you have to do is upload your photo or send in the hardcopy to the appropriate address. The next step is choosing the type and size. The artists specialize in different styles and mediums (oil, charcoal, pastel, etc). They choose the most suitable one for your picture. After that, you pay a 20% advance payment. They accept all major credit cards. For those of you that are ebay sellers or paid bloggers....there is good news. They also accept PAYPAL. You know I love that!
Once the piece is completed, it is inspected. What happens if it doesn't meet the quality standards of the company? The assignment is sent back for modification or given to another artist to repaint. When the painting is ready, a photo of it will be uploaded to the site for your review. You will receive an email confirmation for notification. On your approval of the piece, the remaining 80% of the balance is due. After payment is remitted, your painting will be shipped in a tube or framed. It is sent by express delivery.
These works of arts are perfect gifts for:
anniversaries
birthdays
family reunions
mother's day
father's day
christmas, hanukkah
or any special event!
For more information on how you can get your special work of art, visit PaintYourLife.com! The following is a picture of one of their beautiful masterpieces.
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