What getting Laid off feels like...

Well, yesterday started as any day usually does for me. Wake up around 4pm. Eat dinner with the family and spend some time together. Then off to work at 9:30pm. I arrive to work get my things together and being to read my emails. Then all of the sudden the HR person enters our office and asks for me to go with her to the office.  I got that yucky feeling in your stomach, that feeling you get when you think you are going to be in trouble for something. I immediately begin to think of what I possibly could have done to get in trouble. HR is NEVER here this late, it must be bad!  Then I enter the office another lady is there and I immediately know what is about to happen.  They are letting me go.

The formalities begin with the discussion of how the company is doing and cuts they are making blah, Blah, BLAH!!!!! Shock has settled in. I have never been let go before, NEVER! I am a hard worker! I haven’t missed a day of work in a year.  I do my tasks and complete them on time.  Then I find out the WHOLE 3^rd shift crew is being eliminated.  Like that is supposed to make me feel better. I don’t even hear the rest, I’m pissed.  My last day will be June 7^th.  Oh and they won’t dispute unemployment. Um OKAY! Is this when I am supposed to say THANK YOU!  I grab my letter and leave.

I can’t even begin to explain the panic that rushed through me. My family, bills, the house, money, will we be okay. I felt helpless, hopeless, sad, Why that over the past several months has our family been hit punch after punch?  We are good people, I am a good person.  I always try to see the positive and good.  So, why when we take 5 steps forward do we get pushed 10 steps back. It was very disheartening.

One thing I know for sure that without my husband, I would have crumbled. His words of encouragement and his calmness just settle me.  He is my aloe vera to my sunburn, the peanut butter to my jelly, the rum in my coke. LOL! You get the point!

In the middle of this I come across this saying.  It goes,

Needless to say, I will NOT let this get me down. Yes, I am hurt but it doesn’t define me. It just happened. It is what it is. So here is to the future and whatever it may hold. I welcome it with open arms and I WILL continue to LIVE my life HAPPY!

June - 30 Day Blog Challenge

After blog hopping and seeing these fun blog challenges I decided to try one out myself for June.  Here is one I found that I liked the most. 

Via Can I get Another Bottle Of Whine

You can grab the pdf here: June Blog Challenge. If you want to share any of your stories feel free to leave a comment if you don’t have a blog.  If you do go ahead and paste the link to your blog on a comment, I’d love to read your stories as well!

First, post will be June 1^st.

A conversation with myself...trying to sleep

Now I am on a 3^rd shift schedule during the week so it is hard for me to sleep during the weekend with the family.  What I typically do is take only a 3 hour nap Friday sometime and try to sleep at night with everyone else. The problem is that by 7 pm I am exhausted and typically by 8 asleep on the couch. Making my sleepy noises while the family giggles at me!  Here is a breakdown of what a typical night entails for me:

 

9:00pm: ahhhh!!! my bed feels so good!! I am going to sleep like a rock star! Ugh.. my hair is tickling my face! Damn fan! Gotta adjust my pillow, fix blanket over head, oh maybe I should sleep on my other side.... no wait the other side was better.  Why is my hair still tickling my face?  geez!!!

9:15pm: Time to count! I love this backwards counting works so nicely... 99, 98, 97....

11pm: ugh, what time is it? It’s only 11!!! My eyes burn, ugh can’t breathe, should I get up? Do I have to pee, maybe I should get up and pee?

11:15pm: I was so tired earlier why can’t I sleep?  I should be able to sleep. I’ll try counting. 99, 98, 97… noooo, I really need to blow my nose! I can’t breathe!

11:30pm: (In bathroom) I don’t want to turn on light if I do that I will really be up. But what if there is a spider somewhere. Damn it!!! Light must go on! OH MY EYES, too bright, why do they burn? Must they burn?

11:35pm: UGH! I can’t breathe!!!!! SHIT I FORGOT TO BLOW MY NOSE!!!!!

11:40pm: FINE!!! Get up again and go to blow nose! DAMN SINUSES!

11:45pm: OH MY GOD!!! That snoring is awful! Does he ALWAYS snore that loud? I can’t imagine I’d ever sleep through that! Maybe if I nudge the blanket? Ahh it stopped.. no wait… it’s even LOUDER! Maybe a slight kick to the leg. Oh yeah baby! He rolled over!!!

11:55am: Let me try counting again, 99, 98, 97…..88, 87….87…87… oh wait! Damn it I lost my place where was I???? REALLY?!?!?!  99, 98, 97…

1:15am: oh boy.. I wonder what time it is? Don’t look at the clock! If I look I will have a harder time going to back to sleep…. I really need to know.. NO I won’t do it… DAMN IT! It’s 1:15! Well it’s still early enough. If I try to close my eyes I can still get a decent amount of sleep in.

1:20am: Oh Man!! I forgot I have that gift card for the dress barn. I should totally use that today. What do I want to get? Do I need shirts or pants? I really need summer carpi's. Maybe that is what I will get? Where are my summer carpi's? I can’t believe I haven’t taken them out yet! I’ll have to do that too.

1:30am: ohh wow! That was a great sleep! Wait.. why is it so dark? What time is it? ONLY 1:30!!!!!!  Shit it felt like I was asleep for 8 hours.. ugh now what???? Hmm I think I have to pee again. I can’t possibly have to pee again, I just went.  OH MY GOD WHY DO MY EYES HURT?????  I really need to sleep.

1:40am: He’s too quiet! Is he sleeping or awake?  Whisper: honey?? Honey??.... IS HE BREATHING??? I can’t see! OH MY GOD what is that dark shadow??? There is a shadow??  GET A GRIP!!! No one is there! I need a light… where is the remote, I’ll turn on the TV. I swear I am not watching any more scary movies!!!!   Ahhh.. there. See I knew it was nothing. Oh, he moved, he’s breathing.

1:50am: Gotta buy bread, oh and I really need more eggs. Oh and I CANNOT forget that damn Parmesan cheese for the kids. I do NOT want to hear about that again.

3:00am: SWEET! Got a hole other hour of sleep! WOOT WOOT! Oh YEAH! I ROCK! Oh What was that noise? Probably the cats… or someone has broken in and is taking my girls. Oh STOP!! It was just the cats! Right??? DAMN IT!!! I really watch too many scary movies!  I gotta check.

3:10am: Kid 1 all is good! How can she sleep like that? OH MY GOD her room is such a mess! Kid 2 all is good! JESUS!!! Damn cat scared the shit out of me.  UGH, gotta pee!

3:15am: brrrrrrr! Bed is cold! Mmm perfect! 99, 98, 97…..

4:00am: yawn… what?!?! It’s only 4! Wahhhhh! Why??? Is Todd up? NO! maybe I’ll just lay here and hopefully go back to sleep.

4:10am: I give up!  I'm up! I'm up!!

Celebrating Life

This past weekend we celebrated the life’s of two very important people.  First, was my husband’s grandpa Bud’s celebration.  I absolutely adore this man with my whole heart!  Saturday we celebrated his 86^th Birthday.  The girls made cards and letters for him.  Cristina’s advice was for Grandpa Bud to “listen” to his body and know when to relax, because he works too hard. We enjoyed a lunch at a China Buffet place that happens to be his new favorite, since Rich’s burnt down this year.

 

Then it was off to celebrate my mother’s 60^th Birthday. We went to her house talked a bit and took some pictures. I wish I had the one of her, my sister and me but that is on her camera.  Then we were off to BRAVO!, the Italian restaurant in the Bayshore Mall Village. It was very nice. We opened gifts, told stories, some jokes and had a good time.

Here are some pictures of our day.  Just some good ole’ fashioned family fun!

 

 

 

These are the gifts I made for her this year. This sign with her last name on it along with a saying in spanish: "Dios bendiga nuestro hogar con el amor y la felicidad". Which means "God bless this home with love and happiness"! (Yeah, I nailed it and she loved it!)

 

Then I made a jar of "60 reasons why I love you!" This was very fun to do and for me a bit emotional. For those of you who know me it doesn't take much to make me get emotional though! ( I did have the reasons in there when I gave it to her.)

Well that is it. On that note I will tell you to... Love the ones your with!

Gifts for mom

For Mother’s day this year I made both my mom and mother-in-law a plaque with a picture of the girls and a quote.

Now forgive me because I didn’t even think to take pictures of the process until I was done.  That happens way too much! I don’t know why either because my phone is practically surgically attached to my hand.

Anyways, here is what I did in WORDS:

1. Find your wood that you want to use. I was lucky enough to find this wood in my husband’s scrap pile in the garage. You can paint or stain whatever you wish.
2.  I then looked for a quote on the good ole interweb and recreated it in publisher to look like subway art. When I created it I made them bubble letter in word art so they weren’t solid words just outlines.
3. ***Be sure to flip your words over! You want to create a mirror image*** Like this…  It will leave a light stencil for you to fill in.  I watered down brown paint for more of a water color effect.

Picture borrowed from Domestically Speaking

Once painted modge podge your picture where you want it and the rest is up to you. Embellish it how you want and hang how you want. Have fun there are so many options! This is what I ended up with! THEY LOVED IT! I only wish I would have taken a picture of them when they opened it!

What's the deal with Scented Pads?

WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!!

CONTENT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE!

Let me take a moment of TMI (Too much information)!!!!

I want to meet the person who thought a scented pad was a good idea. I HATE the smell of scented pads. You know that when the package says “CLEAN FRESH SCENT” that it’s going to smell like a lab created too perfumy, not really fresh smelling scent.

I mean honestly, why would you try to mask the “period” smell, which let’s be honest ladies, sometimes isn’t that nice with a “CLEAN FRESH SCENT”? UGH! I think it just makes things worse! It makes me want to take 10 showers a day! I don’t EVER feel FRESH when I am on my period and those CLEAN FRESH SCENTED PADS don't help! I HATE periods and am thankful that I get like 3 a year!

I mean why not go ahead and make it a “New Car Smell” pad, “ALL GOOD UNDER THE HOOD”. Or better yet a “REDRUM” “It’s a Blood Bath in there” scent. Or even better how about this just let it be and don’t use perfumes at all!!!!

I’m going to be painfully honest here. I have nothing to hide. There are many days I take two showers a day, 1 when I start my day and 1 before I go to bed. It helps me sleep better okay! I have gotten a period this month that was truly my first “BIG” period in a LONG TIME! I contribute this to working with a whole bunch of hormonal ladies and shit syncs up for whatever reason! I had NO supplies what-so-ever so I had to use the ones I buy my daughter. Like I mentioned earlier I get like 3 a year, maybe and they never last more than a day or two.

I remember opening up the plastic wrap and thinking, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” Clean fresh scent it said, feel fresh and clean all day it said! UM, I FELT none of those things all day long! I felt gross, like a “Lady of the night” after a great Money Making night, smelly, used up and in need of a shower. They were the grossest smelling pads ever!!! That was even before I used them!

All I can say is it must have been a man! It’s the only thing that makes sense! No woman in their right mind would ever and I mean EVER create something like that! AND I KNOW I AM NOT TH EONLY ONE WHO FEELS THIS WAY!

No Thank you, Not Interested!

The True Meaning of Mother's Day...

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Let’s take a moment to breakdown what this really means.

Here what is planned…Mother’s Day Brunch at my house…

Friday:

• Organize meal and what I need to get.

Saturday:

• Clean, clean, clean and clean some more. Apparently I only clean on “Special” Occasions. Where did all that dust come from LORD!
• Get the shopping list in order. Go to store, no wait 3 different stores, come home and unload groceries.  Finish Mother’s day gifts. Make flower arrangements for house and gifts. Sit for a bit. Finish getting supplies ready in kitchen…Go to Bed.

Sunday:

• Wake up at 5, shower drink coffee, quick dry hair and let the cooking begin.  Coffee bar ready, mimosa bar ready, brewing, chopping, washing dishes as we go. Make bacon, then hash browns, then eggs, check chicken baking in oven.  Pancakes check (just warmed those). Eggs Benedict working.  People arrive provide drinks, assist with platters, questions, greetings, wishes, laughing, cooking, organizing, cleaning.
• FINALLY sit for a moment eat some food.  “Oh, can I have a Mimosa?” SURE. Get up make mimosas, organized the clutter, wash a few dishes, Mother in Law kicks me out she wants to do.  Put dry dishes away.
• 2pm everyone is departing. Finish cleaning kitchen, putting dishes and appliances away. Kitchen back in order through a load of laundry in. Crash on the couch!

 

 

MOTHER’S Day – A day to celebrate mothers and all the hard work they do every day.  SO, let’s plan a brunch and make them work some more!

Now, in all honesty I do love the craziness and hosting big family parties. I love my family!  I wish my house was bigger so I could have more people over, the more people that come the better.  It is however a TON of work.  Let me mention my husband was right there in the kitchen with me working away like a bitch! We did it and it just proved to me more that we make a GREAT TEAM! I LOVE THAT MAN!

This year I got wonderful gifts from my daughters. Emily gave me a candle from Bath and Body works and the smell is LOVELY!  She also wrote out a very thoughtful card thanking me for always listening to her and helping her deal with “friend drama!” brought a tear to my eye!

Cristina decided that this year she wanted to make a model of me!  So after much discussion with her father, he took her to hobby lobby to get all the supplies she would need. This is the result of her hard work and creativity!  I honestly have to say that this is the BEST gift I have ever gotten.  I swear it makes me smile just thinking about it.  Here is what the model looks like…

 When all is said and done, I really don’t need a special day of the year to know I AM LUCKY and BLESSED! HOWEVER, it sure feels good to be made a big deal of once in a while, even if it does mean I have to work like a dog!

Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE COFFEE!

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I LOVE coffee! Now I don’t drink like a gallon a day I drink one cup maybe two once in a while. I love the smell, the taste everything about it! I look forward to when I can have my cup after I come to work. YUMMY! I think it reminds me of when I was little with my grandma. Seriously, I was an avid coffee drinker at the age of 10ish. She would make her coffee along with warming the milk on the stove. She would then strain the coffee and skim the milk and mix, making a very rich and creamy coffee.  To this day I LOVE her coffee but I can only get it when I am with her visiting in Puerto Rico.  I have an Aunt who makes her coffee equally as good and she is also in Puerto Rico. Bummer!

Anyways, back to how much I love my coffee. I always tell my co-worker this but as I take my first sip of coffee I feel like ELF does when he eats his breakfast of spaghetti and chocolate candy, syrup etc.  You know, LIKE THIS:

 

That is exactly what I picture myself doing when I take my first sip of coffee.  YUM! I do it in my head though. Lol!

 I LOVE COFFEE!

A few of my FAVORITE homemade cleaning recipes

There a few cleaners that I like that smell naturally good when you clean.   About a year ago I decided that I was going to make ALL my home cleaners. I cleaned out the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink of ALL the cleaners I used and was ready to toss them out.  My husband knowing me and how I get with projects like such and tells me that maybe I should keep the cleaners in the garage.  After trying to be shocked by what he was implying I gave in and agreed that would be a good idea. J  I then went out and got the supplies needed to make the cleaners.

I have since kept four of the cleaners I initially made and ditched a few of the others.  I kept the All Purpose Cleaner, Degreaser, Window Cleaner and Carpet Deodorizer.  And if you were wondering, YES I did end up going into the bag of cleaners I was going to toss out! WHATEVER!!!

I can’t tell you how much I LOVE these cleaners and how they smell.  Not like chemicals and fresh and clean.  Don’t get me wrong I still like to bleach my bathroom but for the rest of the house I use the homemade cleaners.

I hope you enjoy the cleaners as much as I do.

 

For supplies you will need:

•  Spray bottles, I purchased mine at the Dollar Store and I would by a couple extra as they are cheaply made. You can also reuse bottles from old cleaners that may be sturdier.

• Essential Oils – bought at the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC any health store should have them.

• Baking soda, vinegar, borax, washing soda, rubbing alcohol, mild dish soap, castile soap  & cornstarch – all found at Wal-Mart.

 Side Notes:

• I use more drops of Lavender and Lemon in the recipes.  I just like it a little stronger smelling. J You can add more or less for your needs.

• Degreaser works really well.  However, when it dries it leaves streaks. You have to use something with Vinegar to cut through it. I typically will degrease then after it dried use the window cleaner on my stovetop and anything else I will use all purpose cleaner after.
 
• Tea Tree oil is VERY STRONG smelling.  I do use both drops in the all purpose cleaner.  Once it is mixed in it is not as strong.

All Purpose Cleaner

1 Tbsp. Borax

2 Tbsp. White vinegar (distilled)

½ tsp Washing Soda

Hot Water

A few drops of a mild dish detergent (dawn, joy whatever you have works)

5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

5 drops of Lemon Essential Oil

2 drops of Tea Tree Oil

In a 16 oz. spray bottle add vinegar, borax and half hot water.

Swish around until borax has dissolved.

Add the drops of dish detergent and

fill the rest of the bottle with hot water.

 Add essential oils and SHAKE!

 

Window Cleaner

¼ cup Rubbing alcohol

¼ cup Vinegar

1 Tsp. Cornstarch

2 cups Warm Water 

In a 16 oz. spray bottle add rubbing alcohol, vinegar

and cornstarch. Mix Well.

Then add the warm water.

 

YES, I AM SURE ABOUT THE CORNSTARCH!!!! In all the research I have done this recipe works the ABSOLUTE BEST!!!! It is streak free and makes my windows and especially the mirrors shine and sparkle.

Just be sure to SHAKE the bottle before using!

 

Kitchen Degreaser

2 cups Warm Water

¼ cup Castile Soap

10 drops Essential Oil (Lemon)

In a 16 oz. spray bottle add water, soap and Essential Oil.

Mix and done!

**Remember follow with either window cleaner or all purpose cleaner to cut through streaks.**

 

Carpet Deodorizer

2 cups Baking soda

20 drops Essential Oil 

Really there is nothing to this one. I just mix and shake!

I use an old parmesan cheese shaker for this.

 

Have fun and I’d love to hear if they work for you. You might actually enjoy cleaning a little bit more!