I don’t know if my writing is up to par, but someday, one day, maybe even today! I want to be a writer. (I know that sentence is not correct btw).

Should I go back to school or get my Masters in something related to English? I already have my Bachelor’s Degree in the Humanities.

I’m wondering, what is a writer? A writer is someone who writes, wether for profit or pleasure.

I vow to continue to write, even if I never get paid a cent… why? because it is fun and the internet gives us all a wonderful outlet to express ourselves.

Although these are my goals, I am putting it under dreams because I’m not so sure everything is feasible. 3 years (September 2009)

- have three kids, attending preschool, 1st grade & 3rd grade
- find meaningful work based at home that helps support the family, possibly going into Boston for meetings, no more than twice a month
- be back in my size 6 jeans
- have time to do the things I like to do: writing, running, listening to music
- have my name in print in small places
- finish and sell my children’s books

Like many of you I’m a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM). I try to pick up some money here or there. I like to coupon and do rebates… I’ve occassionally made some small sales on eBay, I buy things @ thrift shops and flea markets. I do not buy from garage sales unless they are right in front of me, gas is way to expensive to drive around aimlessly looking for deals.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the effort to try and save and if I should spend to save. You know when you buy a shirt because it’s on sale for $19 instead of $30. Did you just spend or save? How many shirts does one person really need and how many uses will I get out of it? My average of shirts staying nice is 3 times before the inevitable stain.

Back to my point, I’ve once heard a model said she doesn’t get of bed for less than a million dollars. Although that’s ridiculous, I can understand her feeling a little. How much money do I need to be compensated to take time away from spending time with my children or preparing things for them… keeping the house clean, etc…

I am still sifting through opportunities and trying to figure out how much that figure is. These years are precious, however, the more kids, the more money that needs to come in. I will revisit this subject after some reflection.

Thank-you so much Wendy’s fast food chain, I know when my kids are good and we need to eat a meal out, you will be my choice over McDonald’s. I see no reason to use trans fat… most people will be willing to pay a little more for better ingredients. Now work on your toys so my kids will beg me to go and spend the bucks.

It all started 5 months ago when my daughter was a newborn. I heard a knock on the door and found a beautiful, peaceful woman at my door. She introduced herself and she seemed very pleasant, she saw I had the new baby and the other two and said, “can I leave these with you?” extending her hand out with a copy of Watchtower. I said yes, but I’m not going to convert or anything. She said, “that’s fine, I’ll be back another time”. I watched her get into the backseat of a loaded up car. I thought about it and realized I’m a Christian without borders, being raised a Catholic, married to a Baptist and now myself putting my kids in a Baptist environment. We probably have more in common than we think.

A few weeks passed and she came again. This time I was actually dressed and my house looked like it had been cleaned, so I asked her to come in. We spoke and exchanged pleasantries. She looked around and asked about some things. She left me with a nice study book (150 pages or so) and asked if she could come study with me. I said, “fine”. She said, “I’ll be back again soon”. I could tell she was on a mission and I had every intention of studying and making this worth her while.

A few more weeks passed and she came again. She asked if I had the book she had left so we could study. I went through a flurry of searching and could not find the book or my Bible anywhwere! The embarassment, the shame! ugghh! I finally found my emergency Bible I keep in the car. We opened our Bibles and she gave me her study book. We looked up the passages and she explained some things to me. We set a date & time for the next week. She was no sooner out of the driveway that I remembered the spot I put my Bible & study book! I thought to myself, I’m doing great I’m on an appointment basis!

I had the house all ready, tea steeping, mugs out, kids deprived of t.v. all morning ready to watch and sit motionless, back-up containers of goldfish in case they really get antsy. She arrived just on time and with a friend! After the introductions, tea pouring, passing Miss L around, the new lady was holding the baby. We started the lesson. All of a sudden, Miss L has a horrible accident all over the lady! It was really bad. She ran to the bathroom, I grabbed Miss L and started to change her. The original lady ran back and forth from both of us laughing, it was funny, but I was too stressed to see it. In the end I had to run down and put the woman’s dress in the dryer… After all the hand washing and cleaning up… We got back to the lesson.
After that making a date again.

I was ready just like before, I also had studied and waited. Waited some more… two shows went by and they were not here. I’d been stood up!! After another show I was in total disbelief. I went out to water my roses and pack the kids up in the minivan. While I’m out there, here they come! almost 2 hours late. She’d totally forgotten about our meeting and was coming to apologize… they all were apologizing… I told them it was no big deal, and it wasn’t, it just stunned me as I’m used to being in a position of power with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’m the one who used to slam the door in their faces when they’d come to the door or not answer at all… after all I was a latch-key kid and didn’t want to let people in, but the truth is I was scared they’d tell me something about myself I didn’t want to hear.

Back to the story, we set another date and she apologized and that was fine. Somewhere in this period, I decided I needed one place to keep our Bibles and study books. I found the perfect basket where I can stand them all up. I keep the Bible Basket by the front door. In a pinch I could grab the basket, when at home I can just keep them visually out but not cluttered.

We met two other times and set another date for yesterday. Once again, I was ready, kids in a position ready to be quiet for 1/2 an hour, tea steeped, mugs out, Bible, study book, and now a notebook for notes, I was really happy and excited to study with her! I waited and waited… an hour into it I realized it had happenned again. I had been stood up. I realize now that there is a great sense of urgency all of a sudden. What made me accept that first pamphlet and let her in my home and now my heart? I don’t know what happenned yesterday, I hope all is well with her, but I now realized how much our time together means to me. Maybe that’s what I was avoiding all along, contact with other people, in any case, I’m glad that we are studying together.

I was in the sixth grade and attending IS 126 in Queens, New York. My English teacher was a lovely lady, she was a little out of place, very neat, well-mannered and Greek. One day she assigned us homework. The assignment was to draw a map of a park we’d like to visit. I got home and got the big, white piece of paper that my mother had folded in her file cabinet. I got a pencil and a ruler and started writing in things. I made everything in geometric shapes, making sure every inch of the paper was filled. I did not draw trees or flowers, I simply wrote in the names of the different locations in the park.

I remember a spot, “take time to smell the flowers” and “Acorn Alley” which was between “Sunflower Street” and the Wishing Well. I don’t remember much else but I do remember the look on her face when she saw my paper. I knew she liked me and always tried to make me feel good. Her eyes lit up and she read everything, she showed the whole class (most of which didn’t hand in a paper) and I felt so proud. It was really the first time in years anyone had complimented my work.

In fifth grade I had Mrs. M… we were her last class before she retired. She was close to Edith Bunker as you could get. She wore the same type of dresses Edith wore, same setting-lotion curl hairstyle and same high-pitched voice. She played the piano every week when we’d go to assembly. I remember one assembly in particular when one of the other classes was performing a play and Mrs. M was at the Piano. Another teacher stood at the head of the row and counted us out… 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 I was number 8 and Marie, my best friend and bobsey twin had to go to the end of the next row. Mrs. M would have let me go with Marie and take the girl behind us to sit where she wanted me near the parents who came to see their kids perform. I was at the end near the aisle which had a good view even if it was lonely.

The play was about to start and we were told to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Keep in mind this is Queens, New York in the early 1980′s. Two men stayed seated, I noticed that but did not think anyone else had. Several of the men around them started a scuffle of sorts… telling them to stand up and they remained seated. There was some high toned whispering and finally the men uncrossed their arms and stood up for the Pledge and songs. When I sat down all I could think about is who they were here to see, why didn’t they stand up? Now they would have been carted off as terrorists. The play was not remarkable in any way and I don’t even remember the name or what it was about… it’s funny what a brain retains and what it flushes.

When we got back to the classroom Mrs. M was tired, it showed, I could see her feet were swollen by the way they popped out of her sandals, even though she was wearing stockings. She was really ready to retire. Something happenned with one of the boys and she threw the eraser and jumped up and down in a tantrum saying, “you kids are gonna drive me to drink” about ten times. I’m not kidding, most of the kids laughed… Marie even laughed a little… I felt sorry for her, she was a poor old lady and this was her last year. This was not the only time she did this… she did this a few (at least two other times) during the year. One time she jumped so high she broke the heel from her shoe and had to go to the teacher’s lounge. Looking back, I can’t even remember what set her off. Once again, I guess that was not the important part.

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When my mother was diagnosed with Diabetes I was totally shocked. Sure, we both knew we were not taking care of ourselves like we should but it was a totaly wake-up call for me. The last time I was jolted like that is when my father told me he had skin cancer. The question is, will I be afflicted?

As the mother of young children, it does worry me, I would not want to jeopardize any time with my children or cause them heartache. The next question is, what can I do to prevent this from happening to me?

Skin cancer is preventable with care, wearing hats, sunglasses with UV protection, slathering on sun screen and avoiding sun burns will go a long way.

Type II Diabetes is avoidable by losing some weight (I’ve seen figures from 5-10%), getting 30 minutes of exercise several times a week, and being aware of the glycemic index and how certain foods affect blood sugar.

These are things that we know are good for us, so why is it so hard to do? For me, the risk of inheriting my parents problems was enough for me to also do the other things that I know are good for me… like getting a good night’s rest, monthly breast exams, and pampering myself. I hope you will all do the same with or without a wake-up call of your own.

Barefoot Books Stallhoder

I would like to introduce myself as a Barefoot Books Representative. I love the products my company sells, books, puzzles, puppets, music cds. All of our items are beautifully made and multi-cultural. If you decide to browse the site and make a purchase, I would really appreciate you using my link http://db.mybarefootbooks.com so I will get credit. Using my ID does not cost you anything or affect your price, but it does help me immensely. You can purchase directly on the website, www.barefootbooks.com

I can also help you create a fundraiser online… no paperwork. If you have an email list of clients/donors I can create an email for the event, you send it out with a special code… the purchasers visit the website and enter the specific code for your fundraiser and you get the agreed upon percentage or the sale. With the holiday season coming up, you may know of a non-profit, library or business that may be interested. Of course we can also do the old-fashioned fundraisers with catalogs, but most people prefer this new method.

If you are considering joining as a stallholder under me, I will place any other stallholders on my team from your state under you. This is a big incentive to join up with me and receive a 20% discount for starters (this will increase with increased sales). This will also establish your regional dominance.

Thank-you for reading all this.

Kindest Regards,

Delphine
US-1008197
http://db.mybarefootbooks.com

technorati tags: books, barefoot books, book, children’s books, kid’s books, kids, reading, education

If you want to get a great price on something, you’ve got to do your homework!

It’s not enough to just know the item you want, the best deal can be had by researching online.
There are discounts available for almost any site and any product. Recently my mother wanted to buy a new digital camera, she knew exactly the model she wanted, she sent me out on the internet to get her a deal. I went to www.circuitcity.com and found the item she wanted. It was on sale online as a web-only special — but was still available for in-store pick-up. I then went to a coupon code site. There are lots out there, find a good one and was able to get her an additional 10% off by going through their link. In the end she saved $70 and was able to go to the store to pick up the item the same night! She is now a believer in my online deals and has vowed to consult me before she makes any other purchases, especially for electronics. Almost every online retailer has coupon codes at one time or another.

Another way to save is using sites that use your referrals, like www.mypoints.com (please use kirkette@yahoo.com or “kirkette” as a referral) which give you points for your purchases. Points are usually per X per dollar or flat X points for purchases over X amount. You can get gift certs for fast food, gas, department stores. This is a win-win situation for you. Also sign up for their bonus mails… they will email you several times a week with point offers. I have them filtered to go to their own folder. Then I open the email, scroll down, click the point offer (it will open in another window) and decide if it is something I want to act on (there will be an expiration date) or erase immediately. Every few screens I minimize my email screen and close down the windows I’m not interested in after reading the email. Even if you do not shop one bit online you will make enough doing this to get a free gift cert every few months.

The key is to know what you want to buy. Look at the deals individually as they may or may not be able to be combined. If you know the code to enter… you can enter the site you want to purchase from through mypoints, then go through the process and add your coupon code, getting points and the discount. You must be vigilant before hitting the “submit order” button.

Have fun shopping and saving online.

P.S.: Don’t forget to use your credit card that gets points and pay that balance off monthly!