Here’s to Knowledge…

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”

-Sidney J. Harris

Image Courtesy of Pexels

Creative Punishments

Back in my teenage years, I was a bit rebellious. I got my first tattoo at the age of 16, and my first piercing followed just 2 weeks later. These were the first of many, which I now regret, but what do you do?! One day I’ll get them removed. Every time that I was presented with an opportunity, I would test the waters in hopes of a reaction. Fortunately, I never seriously damaged my future.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

In the early days of dating my ex husband, I “accidentally” fell asleep at his apartment. I made sure to wake up early that next morning so I could sneak home before my mom realized that I wasn’t there, only to discover that my car was missing from the parking lot. I was frantic, trying to figure out why in the world someone would steal my “almost” antique 4 door Honda Civic. After realizing that I was left with no other option, I dialed my mama’s number. I said, “Mama! Someone stole my car!” Her reply to me was, “I know. I did. Now get your ass home.” CLICK!

Anyone that knows my mama can tell you that she’s ALWAYS happy (or at least appears that way)! She always has a vibrant smile on her pretty face, and she is ALWAYS a delight to be around. This particular incident (momentarily) changed all of that. I knew I was in for it!  You know, looking back, I can only recall 2 times that I royally screwed up. This just happened to be one of them. The other time was when I had my know it all attitude at 13.  I started laughing at her while she was beating me for being disrespectful. I guess she didn’t find that comical.  She ended up throwing a suitcase into my chest and told me to get the “F*@! out of my house.”  I TOTALLY deserved it!

Now that I am entertaining the growing pains of Motherhood, I have learned a WHOLE new respect for my Mama. I’ve been hit coming and going! I’ve been confronted with situations that most parents didn’t even realize existed.  Mind you, 98% of the time, I couldn’t have asked for better behaved children, but like each of us, they’re not perfect. Being a mother would be SO much easier if there was a guidebook that had explicit instructions on how to handle each and every situation! You want to teach them correctly, but at the same time, you want to make sure that you don’t cause irreversible psychological damage that requires extensive therapy to heal from.

Anyway, several years ago, my youngest decided to test the waters. He started stealing and ended up destroying someone else’s personal property. So, I grabbed him up and escorted him to the police station. I told them what his infractions were and told them to lock him up. Unfortunately, they aren’t “allowed” to do that anymore. Apparently, some of these dingbat mothers pursued this effective option and later filed complaints that the officers were “too harsh.” Forgive me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that the freaking point; to put the fear of God in them?! Some of those parents just need a good beating I tell you!

I’ve tried just about every punishment known to man! What works for one kid, doesn’t phase the next. The Iron Chair (exercise) was effective with my oldest, the simple threat of a spanking terrified my daughter, and my youngest… I still have yet to figure him out. He’s had whippings from his Principal, had absolutely everything taken from him, I have prevented him from taking part in our Christmas traditions (which he loves!) and I have even gone so far as to have him pack his bag, and then taken him on a drive informing him that we were on our way to a boy’s school since he didn’t want to behave for me. Perhaps I’ll discover what works one of these days.  Fortunately, we’re in the clear at the moment.

Over these past 17 years of parenting, and 12 years of working in childcare, I have realized that girls are a WHOLE lot easier to raise than boys are. They’re more expensive, yes, but SO much easier!

Now, it’s your turn. What are some of the creative punishments that have occurred in your life, either from your upbringing or from your personal list of trials and errors as a parent? I’m anxious to hear new ideas!

My First Product Launch

I decided several weeks ago that today, August 26, 2016, I was going to unleash details about my newest product. I have been compiling information for the past 12 years of my life, and have finally decided on the direction in which I want to use this knowledge. My original game plan was to create an informative guide for those in need, then I thought it would be more appropriate as a detailed e Course, but have decided instead to create the Ultimate Inspiration Pack.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

We all talk about following our dreams, fueling our passions, but let me ask you this…how do you go about STARTING down this path? My Inspiration Pack will provide you with all the steps necessary to ensure that you start your journey successfully. I will be providing more details as time progresses.

I have been working on an informative breakdown of this new, FANTASTIC product, but my explanation is a bit unorganized at the moment. Last Sunday I spent the day in the Emergency room, and have been on 3 antibiotics since, and then Monday evening my son was involved in his first car accident. So, needless to say, my explanation is clouded by a mother’s emotions and a fuzzy medicated head. This product deserves my best, so I will save it for another day. I wish each of you an exciting weekend worth remembering!

Till next time…

A Little Motivation for your Day…

For those of you who are unaware, I have been burning the candle at both ends lately. I have finally committed to my book, and will be announcing soon, my anticipated launch date. I will tell you that I have given myself just 6 months to complete it. Every time that I put a specific date on a project, something inevitably gets in my way, and I feel like an utter failure for not getting it done “on time.” But, whether I stick to said date, or whether I’m a few days off, the important thing will be that the 1 single project that has haunted my mind for 12 years, will finally be complete. It’s been a LONG time coming!

So, with that being said, I wanted to do something just a bit different than normal today, and I hope that it inspires you in the ways that it has me. I have decided that I am going to live my life from here on with positivity and purpose, and I am welcoming The Law of Attraction into my day to day. I will Ask, I will Believe, and I WILL Achieve!!! I have always been a realist, but I know that I need to embrace optimism into my life. The vibes that I am tossing out into this vast planet will not disappoint! I WILL be successful in all that I pursue, and I WILL conquer my dreams!  On Christmas Day, I will be hitting my 4 year mark in my ultimate 5 year plan. I have been saying since last year that 2016 is GOING to be my year, and I believe, DOWN TO MY CORE, that I am correct in saying this.  The wheels have been placed into motion, and there is NO going back now! I love each one of you for the contributions that you have made in my life! I am SO blessed to share this life with you!

YouTube has an abundance of inspiring, thought provoking, and emotionally gripping videos available for the taking, and I have decided to share 2 of these videos that spoke to my soul with you today. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!

I am anxious to hear your thoughts on these videos!

How to Fix Ingrown Toenails for Good

With summer being in full swing, the days getting hotter as each week passes, and the clothes shedding and getting skimpier each day, my attention has been drawn to feet. Yes, you heard me right, feet! Everywhere you look, you see someone in flops, with toes exposed to the world. You can tell A LOT about a person by their feet believe it or not. Do they have years worth of skin/callus accumulation or are they well maintained? Are their nails trimmed and manicured, or did they bypass grooming that area all together? Some people actually go overboard in the cutting department and end up doing more harm than good.

The topic that I have chosen to discuss today is Ingrown Toenails. Thousands of people suffer from this painful and unattractive condition, but 9 times out of 10, THEY are the root cause of the problem! Years ago, I spent SO much time “maintaining” my nails that I caused my toenails to become ingrown. I had a tool that would scrape any trapped debris out from underneath the nail, and I actually became a bit obsessive with it. I always went WAY too far, and ended up causing the surrounding skin to bleed and, over time, flair up with gooey infection. I jacked them up SO bad, I wouldn’t dare slide on a pair of flip flops!

One day my boyfriend (husband now) noticed them and told me to quit using that stupid scraper and let the nail grow beyond the end of the toe; not much…just a bit. From that day on (once the infection healed) I have not had any problems. I still have my scraper, but have learned self control; thank goodness!

Several co-workers have asked my advice on the topic, and once they followed this one simple step…

Let the Nail Grow and LEAVE it Alone!!!

their problems disappeared. A few people have more extreme cases and should discuss it with their physician, but for the masses, this one tip WILL work. I wish that I could provide you with a before and after comparison, but when I was going through it, the last thing pointed towards my toes was a camera; sorry.

If you are suffering with ingrown toenails, these bulleted points should aid in some relief:

• Soak daily in a hot, Epsom salt foot bath
• Boil out the infection with Hydrogen Peroxide and then sterilize with Rubbing Alcohol
• Before bed, pack the wound with medicated Neosporin or the round jar of Carmex-cover with a band aid and thoroughly clean the area when you wake

I’m sure there are a million other things that you could do to provide relief, but these 3 tips are what my brainstorming session provided.

Have you ever suffered the pain and embarrassment of Ingrown Toenails? Do you have any additional tips, tricks, or sources of relief to add to the list? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below…

Managing your Super Busy Life

For those of you who have subscribed to follow my blog, you are aware that there are several freebies available to you on the club page.  Included among these items, is an eBook that I put together that will aid you in managing your busy life.  I have decided to share this valuable resource with others around the world that are not familiar with my presence here on WordPress, so I have posted this eBook for sale in my Etsy shop.  If you haven’t gotten your FREE copy yet, make sure to click on the link (Join the Club) below (on mobile devices) or on my sidebar (if using a PC) to join the club.  If you would like to support the cause, head on over to my shop and purchase it for only $3.00.

On Sale Now

Make sure to tell ALL of your friends about this great guide of tips and tricks.  I spent a good decade as a single mother, and these are the techniques that worked best for me!

If you’ve already read this eBook, let me know how you felt about it in the comments below…

How to Make a Squash Card

Are you ready to learn another really cool card technique? As with the last one, this is super easy to make. It can serve as a stand alone card, or you can pair it with a standard greeting card.  You can also include it inside of an explosion/surprise box, or you can place it inside of a pop up card like I am doing. There is no right or wrong way to make it. So, let’s get to it, shall we?

You are going to need a minimum of 2-7 inch x 7 inch heavy duty card stock squares (you are welcome to make as many as you would like depending upon your needs). As with the Never Ending Card, you are going to want to enhance the life of the card by using a sturdy “base” paper. Once you have your squares prepared, you are going to grab either a ruler or your scoring board. Then, with a stylus or your bone folder, you are going to score your squares at 3.5 inches vertically and again at 3.5 inches horizontally.  You are going to fold your top right and your bottom left in like so:

Repeat this process for each square. Now, you are going to adhere your squares together.

Using your double sided tape, glue stick, tacky glue, or whichever sticky substance you prefer, you are going to apply it to the top left corner of your square. You are then going to take another of your prepared squares and place the bottom right corner on top of the sticky corner from your first square. Make sure that your edges line up and then press to create a tight seal. Repeat this step for each additional square that you choose to use.

Once you have constructed your squash card, it is time to decorate. If you choose to use a pattern scrapbook paper, you are going to want to create 4-3 1/4 inch x 3 1/4 inch squares, 2 of which you are going to slice in half diagonally (I folded mine and then measured about 3/4 cm from the edge to create a slight gap between them) per how ever many squares you decided to create. You can use the same pattern for all, or you can shake it up; completely up to you! I chose to ink the edges of my pattern paper (and base paper) to give the distressed illusion. Taking the time to do this just really seems to make it pop off the page! You also have the option to color/paint/doodle on your base squares as opposed to using paper. It all depends on the project that you have in mind.

Once your decorating session is complete, it’s time to place it in it’s new home (if you so choose). Like I said, you could throw it in a greeting card, a pop up card, an explosion/surprise box, or in a gift bag/box. It could stand alone as a stocking stuffer, tuck it in your kids’ lunchbox, or it could serve as a fun little “note” to leave under your BFF/honey’s windshield wipers. Fill it with photos, expressions of your love, or little doodles to brighten their day. Share the love without breaking the bank. It’s a win-win all the way around!

For those of you in a hurry that are just looking for the dimensions, here they are again:

• A Minimum of 2- 7 inch x 7 inch squares-Score at 3.5 inch (vertically and horizontally)
• For Decorative Paper: 4 pieces of 3 1/4 inch x 3 1/4 inch squares per each “base” square that you create

So, moment of truth…

How did you like this tutorial? Have you ever made a squash card before? Do you think this is a DIY project that you’ll tackle? If you decide to, I would love to see how it turns out!

How to Make a Never Ending Card

So, I’m sure that you’ve seen those wicked cool cards that flip, and flip, and flip, and…

Yeah, those. How cool are they, right?! So, I finally ran across a tutorial on YouTube that explains, step by step, how to create one, so I took notes (on dimensions) and discovered just how super easy they really are to make. To see the video, click HERE.

A lot of people draw on them or throw some pics on them and give them to their special someone for Valentine’s Day. Me? I grabbed some patterned scrapbook paper and inked up the edges to give a distressed look, and will include them in my exploding boxes. A little something extra for that overall “WOW!” factor that I’m going after. Here are some pics of where I’m at with them right now. I’m sure that I’ll do something more to them before it’s all said and done.

Well, let’s get to those dimensions so you can throw a few together for yourself. If you have any questions, throw them my way; I love helping others out!

First, know that you will have 4 sides to display whatever you choose. For the “base” of the never ending card, you are going to need 2 squares that measure 4 inches x 4 inches (or bigger/smaller depending on your needs). I used a heavy duty Kraft card stock from Hobby Lobby. I don’t want a dinky piece of paper that will rip after only a few uses! Once you have these, you are going to want to score both squares vertically at 1 inch and again at 3 inches. Crease these in both directions with a brayer or bone folder to ensure flexibility within the card. Once you’re happy, you are going to cut both squares in half (at the 2 inch mark). NOTE: You are cutting horizontally-NOT between your score lines; you want those on all 4 of your new 2 inch x 4 inch rectangles.

Once you are good to go, I want you to place your new rectangles like this  in front of you.

Next, grab your choice of adhesive-most folks use their double sided tape dispensers (a.k.a. snails), but I opted to use a little tacky glue instead to prolong the life of the card-it’s a good thing my “practice” one had tape on it though, as I adhered too many sides together and it wasn’t working properly, so pay close attention to this next part…

You are going to add a small corner’s worth of adhesive:

Now, lining up the corners, place your “landscape” rectangles on top of your “portrait” rectangles like so…

and apply pressure.

If using glue, allow to dry. Now, you’re going to want to make sure that she works properly. Open and turn, open and turn, open and turn, open and turn. How cool is that?! AND, the best part is that YOU created it!

All that’s left now is to decorate. If you choose to use scrapbook paper, you are going to need:

• 8-2 inch x 2 inch squares
• 8-1 inch x 2 inch rectangles
• 8-1 inch x 1 inch squares

NOTE: Make sure that you plan where each of them go if you are using multiple styles of paper to ensure that they coordinate properly.

For those of you who are in a hurry and just looking for the dimensions, here they are again:

• Base Paper-4 inch x 4 inch (2 squares)
• Optional Scrapbook Paper:
  • (8 squares) 2 inch x 2 inch
  • (8 rectangles) 1 inch x 2 inch
  • (8 squares) 1 inch x 1 inch

Well, that just about does it. What did you think of this project? Have you ever made these before? Do you think you’ll try it out? If so, I’d love to see it! Drop me a line…

How to Make Cheese Enchiladas

I acquired this recipe from my step mom 25 years ago, and have yet to find a soul who doesn’t absolutely love them. Everyone begs for the recipe, and this dish is a special request each year for my son’s birthday dinner. He never can get enough! So, let’s get started…

Ingredients:

• Burrito Size Flour Tortillas
• 2 cans Mild Enchilada Sauce (Old El Paso)
• Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese (some of the other cheeses cause a greasy enchilada-yuck!)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 13 X 9 casserole dish with your cooking spray.
2. Pour ¼ of a can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish and gently swish around to get a nice even layer.
3. Pour your remaining enchilada sauce into a shallow bowl, and take your tortillas and (one by one) dip them into the red sauce (both sides).
4. Gently shake off the extra sauce and place in your casserole dish. Sprinkle a generous portion of cheese on one side of the tortilla, and then roll it up. Repeat process until your dish is full.
5. Spoon some sauce onto the top of the enchiladas to prevent them from drying out during cooking, and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top. Put into your preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until the inner layer of cheese melts. Pull out and serve.

You are welcome to include any additional ingredients that you choose; my step mom liked using mushrooms, black olives, and onions in hers back when she taught me how to make them. I generally pair this dish with a heaping portion of refried beans smothered in cheese, chips, salsa, and some guacamole. Pair it with your personal favorites and enjoy!

I would love to hear what YOU think….

Inspiring Quote for the Day

“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.”

-Sonia Ricotti

–