Sunday, August 22, 2010

Love Letter to Myself


Love Letter to Myself


Now, before any of you start laughing at me, this is a valuable exercise that might just save your life. Are you the type of person who puts relationships before goals by any chance? Do you long for someone to show you an absolute expression of true love, perfect and unconditional without strings attached, but your last partner was the polar opposite? Believe it or not, there are people out there who never had someone tell them they will be loved, supported and protected until the end of time. Seriously. Who would not appreciate a no-holds-barred love letter that expresses hot, passionate and steamy appreciation for your charms, including the scented rose petals at the bottom of the envelope? Now wouldn’t it be nice if you could express that heartfelt love to yourself? Here it is: We can absolutely find everything we need to survive if we make ourselves the object of our own love. Sounds simple, but look at the results: You would start to see that you deserve to carry out your dreams and not wait for a future partner to give this to you. We will stop wasting our time dating people, we know in our heart of hearts, will never be there for us when the going gets real tough. We will start to completely wrap ourselves with the true nature of love that we will learn to spot an imposter of love. So here it goes. Move aside Mr. McSteamy, for today I am devoted to expressing my heartfelt love to myself!
Dearest Me,
I have never met a more intelligent, sexy and beautiful person who is gorgeous on the outside as well as the inside. If you have any flaws at all, it makes you a better person, because I would not want you any other way. Just remember that I am no ordinary lover, but one who can actually promise to have your back for the rest of your life. I will never let you down. When you are down in the dumps, I will lift you out, by reminding you that life is an adventure and we are explorers of our universe together and always. I promise to hold you in high regard and not dampen your spirit when you encounter your darkest hours. When you have a dream you want to realize to its full potential, I will give you my fullest support both financially and emotionally and never to put any obstacles or roadblocks, of my own making, in your way. I will be there to carry out your every need and desire by making you a priority in life because I know that will make me happy too. I will never give up on our love because it is the truest thing we will ever encounter in our lifetime. I have never been more certain that this love is a divine gift that is worth protecting and safeguarding. I love thee ever so!

Lovingly Yours,

Your Divine Soulmate

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Whatever comes to mind


Sorry I have not Blogged in such a long time people! I've been so busy with just crazy life stuff that I got sidetracked. I just finished up these baroque chandelier earrings for Etsy and will be creating a lot more to show you here shortly.

Just finished up some classes at the local college as well to stay updated on my computer skills, so it left little time to dilly dally with social networking sites. I am busting my ass now to get caught up on my math skills in order to get signed up to a green technology program at another local college.

There are very few jobs here, so I might as well utilize my time getting some schooling done, so by the time the economy improves I will hope to make better use of my newfangled skills!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Tips for Buying Used Car for Teens


Venturing out to find a used car is far more intimidating than it was years ago. For one, it seems that people out there have not been taught honesty, as a prerequisite for modern living, from their folks just one generation behind us.

So my tips are engineered to find the right used car, even though the seller might not say what's really going on with the vehicle. Mind, this list is for people buying from a private seller rather than from a used car dealer. The latter, my friend, will need a trip down to get a book from Barnes and Noble on how to smooshz a smoosher.

Tips:

1) Ask the question "Why are you selling the car". Good responses are following: A) "I just bought a new car". This is good as the seller is inspired to sell quickly", B) "It's a gas guzzler". Some people are (surprisingly enough)honest so don't be afraid to ask more questions while they are on a roll.

A bad response would be following: A) "I buy and sell cars for a hobby" This is a hard seller to negotiate with because they will stay tight lipped about any problems with the car and the seller tends to stick to the original price. They might only open up if you mention "I noticed a problem when I test drove it" but, you need to be very specific about what you found.

2) Get the VIN number on the vehicle and go to this site and do a search, or with some other online searches. The main thing is to make sure that the VIN number matches the make and model of the car, but cut and patch shops are clever enough to find VIN number plates to match the make and model of cars, so you need to go deeper to find out if other factors match up.

3) Be sure to test drive the car in silence, which means no blasting the radio as you need to be aware of any sounds from potential problems. Open the windows so you can hear the sounds coming from under the hood, and other areas of the car better. I was able to detect a problem with a CV joint by following this rule of thumb.

4) Call the DMV to find out if there are any outstanding liens on the car. You can use the plate number that is on the car for reference backed up by the VIN number.

5) Always Always ALWAYS look under the hood of the vehicle. Just the other day I looked over a vehicle that had a very noticeable (unfixed I might add) top gasket leak from the oil surrounding that area.

6) Ask "Are you willing to let me get this inspected by my mechanic independently".....if they show any signs of hesitation it should send off warning signals in your brain. Do not let them intimidate you by saying they already had it checked by a mechanic and it shows no problem, etc. The only answer you want to hear is "Sure, no problem".

These are just a few tips that will help in your search. Of course, it gets more complicated, and not all my warnings apply in all situations. Just coach your teen before you look at cars with him or her not to become emotionally attached to any car they look at. It will not help the negotiations with a teen screaming in your ear that they love it and want it now. Also explain that the main focus is to find a car that runs well and that cosmetic appearance is secondary.

Good Luck!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

My heart goes out to all the people and animals suffering in the Gulf Coast in which their livelihoods are being destroyed by the oil spill.

I pray that the oil can be capped so that no more oil leaks out. Also hope that many will join hands and dedicate their time and energy in the cleanup without waiting for the permission from the government or BP. Further delay could cause irreparable damage.

People on the East Coast, be prepared for the worse disaster our oceans have ever experienced and do not think for a second that we will not be affected. Everyone must look into their own hearts and dedicate some of our time to help out in this crisis without waiting for payment from the government or BP to get started.

We only have one planet between us all to share and protect..... and now repair.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Faux Brick Project



Had a wonderful time last weekend re-doing my daughter's bedroom in faux brick using materials left over from being a painting contractor several years ago. It did not cost a dime! I was thinking there always has to be something to run out the door for, but I had everything I needed. It was a miracle to say the least.

My daughter is very talented as she took instruction very well when I showed her the technique of putting the brick on using a stencil template. When I did this kind of thing for a living, it was always particularly challenging to train newcomers to decorative painting as everyone has their own signature technique. In other words, if you want to have it look consistent over the entire wall have only one person doing it. Otherwise, it turns out looking like a variety show with different patterns showing up at less opportune moments, with the possibility of having to start over.

But, when you find the right person who listens well and does a good job at copying your technique....it is worth more than gold to a decorative painter. Looks like I found that in my very own daughter. Now, don't worry that I am one of those parents who will want her to "follow" in my footsteps to gain some kind of living my life through my kids routine. It just makes me smile knowing that my daughter somehow inherited my "gene" and goes to show that sometimes artistic talent runs in families.

When someone shows talent in your family always encourage this, even if they do something entirely different, as artistic ability is a rare gem indeed that needs to have that one mentor in their life to really make that talent blossom. I never really fully developed my creative ability as no one, except myself, knew that I would make it a career later in life. Just think if one has a mentor in the field that can show the possibilities of creation in it's full splendour! Create or die should be the motto!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Spring Gardening Fever



I wish my garden looked like Tintinhull Gardens. I lived in the southern part of England for six years and really enjoyed seeing as many gardens as I could. At one point I could name almost every plant by it's Latin name...that is how "into" horticulture I was. When I came back over here after my divorce...I did not have too much time to garden as I was overwhelmed with just trying to survive as a single parent. But, I did manage to hold on to some of the passion by at least having a small vegetable garden every year and some flowers in pots.

Now it is absolutely necessary to grow vegetables just to save money on my grocery bill!

It helps that my boyfriend let me borrow his John Deere riding mower...instead of it taking me three days to complete the lawn with the decrepit push mower....it will just take me about 30 minutes! Now I actually have more time to get my hands into the soil and plant for a RRREAALlly GOOOOOd ShOOOOOw that Ed Sullivan would be proud of.....if you remember him then you might be in the same age bracket!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Hip Hip Hooray on Ex Getting Married!


Three cheers for my ex getting re-married in Florida! I am so thrilled for the happy couple! Here is a picture of my daughter (with her half-brother and cousin) all dressed in a lovely red dress and her nails were done up...can't see them in this picture but I know as she sent a separate pic with just her hand!

It's been almost 15 years since the divorce, so people will probably wonder why it has not happened for me yet. I guess it's really hard to find a really good man these days. Now that the economy has took a bad turn, it will be even harder to find a guy that has the disposable cash to take us women out on proper dates! We all need to hold ourselves to higher standards, but we don't want to be gold diggers either. Sometimes the problem comes from thinking that we will just "bump" into our potential man in the grocery store or at the gym.....maybe that works for less shy people as I don't just strike up conversations in the meat department...no pun intended!

Not everyone is suited to marriage anyhow. I quite like the fact I can go where I want to go, see who I want to see, do what I want to do without someone nagging me about these things. But, when the time comes to take the plunge...I am certainly not going to lower my expectations just because my former other half has beat me to the whipping post alter!