Happy Papa's Day!!

Well, what a weekend for Papa!

I recieved 2 win notifications totaling over 3 grand, both for Papa!

I will post as soon as it is all official, don't want to jinx it, but, I bet most of you can guess what the big prize is since it was all because of YOU! And even though it was suppose to be going to Mason, he traded it to Papa for the car! Hmmm, the car is worth MUCH more! But, we can't ship it down to him or fit it in the car. So, we will keep it and save a TON of gas by Papa using it. He is totally excited, so is Mason now that he has a car to use!

So, a huge thanks to all of you for making Papa and Mason's weekend! I can only hope everyone elses is as wonderful as ours is turning out to be!

Wow, what service!!

I can't tell you who it is, at least not until I am able to buy the gift for my husband because I don't want him to figure it out. But, I have never gotten such unsolicited help from a website like this in all my years of buying off the internet.

I tried add what I wanted to purchase and then the computer froze up and it would not let me continue. So, I decided to just wait and look later.

Next thing I know, I am getting an email from a wonderful lady asking if I was having problems and if she could help.

How COOL is that?

She told me they were a new site and wanted to make sure that their customers were not experiencing problems and that she would be glad to help me in any way she could.

Who does that?

These folks do. And they have exactly what I want and I am sure every mother or father would love to have one too, but, not the one I am trying to buy! He, he...you will just have to wait till I can afford it and give it to Papa before I can tell you what it is. Unless you email me, then I can tell you. Papa reads my blogs, but, not my emails!

So, contact me if you need to know now, or look out for when I finally get one and give it to Papa. He will freak. I know for a fact he wants one, and will flip when he sees it. Even Kids would love this! Maybe I will order a extra one, smaller of course for a contest. Hold onto your hats folks, this is one company that is really looking after their customers, even when you don't know it!

Calling all Empty Nesters!

I feel like the lone man out in the blogging world.

Though I like a few blogs, that are moms of young children and how they are so much like I was so many years ago, somehow I do not fit. They don't want to hear from me, they are trying to get through the early years and are not ready to hear about the future. Though I will enter some of their contests so I can win prizes for my daughter and her husband for when they FINALLY honor me with a grandchild, I still find it hard to relate to all that are experiencing things and talking about situations that I have already gone through.

I am lucky to be a member of some that are not just all about being moms and who have other interests. It is so fun, and I learn a lot from them, though they don't learn much from me even though I usually talk 4-EV-ER! I think I have the longest posts known to man. They write wonderful, funny posts, have some great contests, not just for mom's of small children, they review books and household items and talk about everything!

Anyway, I went searching for the older set of bloggers, the empty nesters. Parents with kids that are soon to fly off, or who have flown off already. Ones that have kids that are married, in College and even ones stuggling with a relationship with one or more of their kids.

I am disabled, ughhh, I hate saying that over and over. But, I do have intrests such as the arts. I do all kinds of crafts and will hopefully have an inventory of knitted items, jewelry, paintings, home decor, etc. I even love to work in the garden, remodeling our new home which my body has limited me on but, I still try to do and am always looking for new ideas on how to get it accomplished.

I would like to trade stories, ideas, etc with anybody who can relate. To me it does not matter if you are a young mother, because if you like art or crafts like I do, we definitly need to talk. If you are disabled, we definitly can talk and if you are a Empty nester, I know we have a lot to talk about. It seems a whole nuther life begins when they leave and if they are in College. It is almost like they really are not gone, just spending the night a few thousand miles away! Especially since we are still supporting them somewhat.

So, if you are a Empty Nester, you enjoy arts and crafts, contests, or are disabled, and you have a blog, or not, come visit and play with me. And of course young moms or older moms are welcome! I will be having more contests, probably starting this month, and will be talking more about my kids, Sarah, Leah and Mason and how it is going with them.

Mason, who is the most active one and I have the most videos of, gets talked about too much. I also want to talk more about my daughters. One that works, who is married and has been trying to get pregnant for a while. She is now on fertility drugs. This is Sarah and her husband Michael. They are facing many challenges with Michael loosing his job and trying to train for another in Ohio which has a high unemployment rate. Then the other that has disowned us, Leah. Who is so talented, and could be so successful but, got involved with the wrong guy that has complete control of her and her every move. She decided that because we won't let her take advantage of us or because we won't help support her indigent lifestyle, we are the ultimate in evil, and we don't love her or refuse to accept her for how she wants to live. Well, the last part is right. We willnever accept or support her when she chooses to live how she is living. But, we love her and know how smart and talented she is. She should be a huge success right now like her brother. But, for the last 3 years or more she has been on the streets or living in holes in the walls, partying, jumping from one job to another and living off the state.

I know that no family is perfect and everyone has their own dysfunction. This is what I like about meeting others so we can share not only the wonderful, but, the scary. I would like to see us come together like most communities do to share in our commonalities, worship, and have fun with contests and hobbies, talents.

So, this is the start of a new direction for my blog. I hope I meet some new people and introduce you to all my other great blogger friends. One of which designed my new look. Isn't it fabulous? One smart lady, and so talented with the cutest kids! I was blessed to run across her one day.

Hopefully when I get my prize finished, you all will enter and we will meet new subscribers we can share our lives with.

Couch Surfers....The site

So with all the traveling we have been doing, and trying to come up with ways to save money on hotels, plus finding out my youngest daughter might be hitting the road for some traveling, our oldest daughter let us know about a website called "Couch Surfers."

Reading the stories and the FAQ's it all seemed like a really cool, fun, educational and CHEAP way to travel to other countries and the US. Hundreds of thousands of positive experiences by over a hundred thousand actual "Surfers" in over almost 60k cites around the world in over 230 countries.

Sounds all great, especially reading about the safty features they listed:

Verification Our Verification System gives members the option to confirm their identity and physical location. When you see the little green lock on a member's profile you can feel more comfortable they are who they say they are.
References References are an excellent indicator of the type of experience you can expect to have when interacting with a member. What do fellow members have to say about them? What kind of references do they leave for others?
Vouching The Vouching System is taken very seriously here at CouchSurfing. Users can only vouch for members that they have met face to face and feel are trustworthy people. Respecting the significance of vouching is essential to the integrity of the network.

Then the Guidelines:

Safety for Surfers When surfing, be aware of your surroundings. Your safety is your primary concern, and your responsibility.
Safety for Hosts When hosting, evaluate your situation and your guest. Here are some things you might want to think about when meeting guests for the first time.

Then you read the "Terms and Conditions":

1.2 Identity Verification. Because user verification on the Internet is difficult, we cannot and do not confirm each user's purported identity. Although we provide tools intended to assist you, such as verification of addresses (see Section 1.4) and our "vouching" system, you are responsible for determining the identity and suitability of others with whom you may match by means of this Site. We do not endorse any persons who use or register for our Services. We do not investigate any user's reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background, or verify the information such user may submit to the Site (other than the address-verification tool). We encourage you to communicate directly with potential hosts and guests through the tools available on the Site.

There is a lot more information also regarding responsibility waivers, use of information, rights to terminate accounts etc.

At first looking at it I loved the idea and thought, this would be great! Like hiking through the UK but, KNOWING where you will be sleeping and touring in advance. Just knowing you will need some money for traveling and food, which I am sure your host mostly prepares for you. I can also imagine that the "Surfers" do help the "Hosts" with help, either through work or donations of food and groceries.

But, in looking closer at the site I did not see anywhere about warnings or blogs about not so positive experiences. And the site, though they say they wanted to be contacted "If you stay with or host anyone who you feel is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behavior, who steals from you or engages in any other disturbing conduct,you must immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and to us by contacting us at safety@couchsurfing.com;'

But, the kicker for me is:

" provided that your report shall not obligate us to take any action or cause us to incur any liability."

AND:

"13.2. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT (C) ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY OBTAIN THROUGH OUR SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; "

So, this makes me worry that all they do is veryify your address and rely on people and others that know that person, to be honest about who they really are.

Now as a mother, these things would stop me in my tracks. Sure there are supposedly all these great experiences that are going on all over the world right now and great freindships are being made. This makes it sound like the safest way for your child to hit the road to places they want to explore and have adventures at. But, where are the reports of misconduct? You know there has to be a few bad apples out there that are a danger.

Don't you think we need this to make an educated decision? We all know there are risks in everything we do and usually we can gather the statistics related to these risks. It is when we don't know whether or not 30 or 50% percent of the time something bad happens because we are only seeing the successful trips. Usually the risks involved have to be told when it comes to doing just about anything, eating, parking, taking a medication or having a medical procedure, buying different products, participating in sports or visiting Disney Land. All the risks are posted or explained. People will post about a bad experience somewhere. We post sexual offenders on the internet, criminal backgrounds are investigated and can be found out very easily.

So, I am searching the internet regarding blogs or sites that talk about the negative as well as the positive. I guess I want to be thorough so I can educated the kids about doing this kind of thing so they can make an informed decision.

We all know we cannot just say, "No" anymore. And tell them "Cause I said so!" They need to know how to find out all the facts and be prepared so they know when to walk away or stop before something bad happens since we are no longer there making sure they are safe every minute. It is almost even more scary now then when they were younger. At least then we were in complete control, so we thought. Now, we have so little. Oh, how it hurts when they run into trouble and you cannot fix it for them. They have to suffer through the consequences themselves. But, we all did it, had to do it and we are the better for it.

I am not easily finding facts except the good ones. Which IS a good sign. But, if anyone has information, please feel free to share. Never know, we all might join up and have a blogger group where bloggers travel around visiting other bloggers, etc. How much fun is that especially for all the moms with young ones or the empty nesters who are traveling around trying to see their "always our baby" adults. Of Course, I am not to sure the kids will let the parents crash on the couches, if they have one but, I am sure the kids will crash on others to get back home!

I did talk to someone about another person we know that is not a trust worthy person that is using the the site to try and plan a trip. This is where I worry. Knowing that even though this person has not done any serious damage, or is in legal trouble, but, that they have stolen from many people, lied and is not a responsible individual, makes me nervous. Will this person be able to restrain from stealing from others or taking advantage of them? It makes me wonder how many more irresponsible people are going around and taking advantage of good hearted folks that open their homes with blind trust.

This is something I think would be fun to do except for knowing that one fact or one person. How many people are like that person out of the 130k+ people that are members of just this one site. 1 out of 20, 50, 5 that are undesirable and how would we know?

So we need to be able to report on the bad as well as the good to know our odds and so we can better protect ourselves. And at least be able to create a better way of confirming people that can be trusted.

I will do some more looking around, and any help or information anyone out there that has information would be so appreciated, the good and the bad. I have been reading a lot of good stuff from the site. If we can arrange something for Mason for his trip, that would be exciting and a great adventure for Mason on his first road trip! He is a bit of a shy guy and might not go for it. But, we can check it out. I know my oldest daughters Dad use to live near Frisco, and he knew a lot of people. Hopefully we can get a referral for someone in this area. I am sure Mason would get a kick out of seeing the San Francisco area.

My Review of my new bathing suite

I just bought a beatiful bathing suite from

WomanWithin

I had to get one since we are traveling and will be staying at places with a pool. With all the pain I have I am looking forward to being weighless in the water. Since I grew up surrounded by water I have always loved to swim, body surf, boogie boarding, etc. I won't be doing any of that, but, just to float and move without stess on joints, etc, I know I will want to go swimming!

So, How do I go swimming without feeling subconseous about my weight gain and looking okay even though I am overweight? Well, I ordered this suite and I have to say I love it! Even though they do not make larger sizes with smaller chests, it does provide the right support where I need it most and covers what I am sure folks don't want to see. Plus, the color and pattern is perfect for me! So, even though I have to take in the chest, I would highly recommend this site especially since it did not cost a fortune. The prices are all very reasonable, with mine being about $42!

This is the review I left them on their site.

Great style

CUsmile Bellingham, WA 5/13/2009

4 5

Pros: Great Tummy Control, Great Look

Cons: No size sm bust, Bust too big

Best Uses: Simming when traveling

Common problems with bathing suites is they are not made for larger pear shaped bodies. So you get a one piece bathing suite that has to be taken in so it does not hang so low when wet too far down the chest.

If you happen to be looking, I would check out this site. Big sale going on!

Finally a Contest! Enter to Win a Twisted Silver "Pulse" and Vogue Sunglasses!

Changes made in the entry deadline below in Bold.

Well it is about time!! But, I think it is perfect timing with the weather changing to get a chance to win these great, stylin "Vogue" sunglasses and versatile "Pulse" Jewelry by "Twisted Silver!"

I won these Sunglasses a while ago, but, never wore them since I am hooked on my ever so fabulous "Maui Jim" sunglasses. These Vogue glasses are great and have "bling" on the front and sides and beautiful red sides. They are frame less which I really like and they do not rest on your cheeks like a lot of sunglasses do. They also come with a super durable hard case and were valued at $110. When I tried them on the other day in the bright light they were wonderful! They have black lenses and really are great at elimanating the glare. It is almost as though you can wear them at night! They cover your whole eye so you do not have the sun coming in from the sides or top. If it weren't for the fact I have a pair of "Maui Jims" I would be keeping these for sure. I wish I could give away a pair of Maui Jim's! Maybe one of these days, but, I think you would be very happy with these. It seems they really put some quality into these and not just their name. You will love these especially if you like a bit of "bling" to add to the "Pulse" convertible necklace below!

This is what the Pulse will look like, Gold with clear glass balls.

This is another contest that I won from Twisted Silver!! I was so excited when I won, but, when I opened the box, it was not the silver chain with black glass I had requested. It was Gold with clear glass beads, which is what I am giving away. See picture above.

It was ok with me. I am not going to fuss over something that is free. I just figured I would have a contest and give it to someone that would love it. When I asked the gal, Tina from Twisted Silver, if I could post a contest with pictures, etc she was more then willing and then told me she was sending me the one I wanted.

"No need to do that!" I told her, but, she immediately informed me she was the boss and can do what she wants! Ha, ha! Ok, Send me what ever you like! No problem! She was very nice, funny and willing to make sure I got what I wanted. That is service you don't see often! So when she sent me the silver without the black beads I wanted but, with the white pearl like glass beads, I guess that is why I did not say anything about requesting the black, I did not want to see her send anything else!

I absolutely love their site. They have the kind of "Hippie Chick" jewelry I really love. You must click on her pictures and check out her site. The "Pulse can be used as a choker, necklace and bracelet. You gotta love convertible jewelry! It is valued at $70 but, just noticed they are having a sale at almost half price on this and others. So be sure to check it out.

By the way, when she sent the silver "Pulse" with the white glass beads and I adored it. I requested black, but, I think since I have everything in black the white was a "meant to be" since it looks fabulous with everything, including all my black! I wear it with my jeans and nicer clothes as a bracelet, choker and necklace, I just love how versitile it is!

So, what do you need to do to win? It is real easy and a little different then most contests. Please do this and then you will not be disqualified. I am posting all comments but, a few are not going to be counted due to no following all the rules, which are so simple...All you need to do is:

1. Go to
the Picture above with the "Deer" eating his treats and click on the "Vote" button. Then just confirm the vote. You do not need to be a member to vote. You must be 21 to vote for this contest! You can vote every 24 hours. , and each day you can get an extra entry for voting on this Brickfish contest. But, you need to leave a post that you did this. so I can track it.

2."MomNerd" Contest is over, Waaaahhh!! So you cannot vote for her anymore. Good Luck Sharla! Lots of folks were here to support you only, and that says how wonderful you are!

3. If you feel the need to spread the word to others to come and vote, leave me a post and tell me who you sent, AND have the person you referred let me know you referred them and I will give you an extra entry. And to the gals that signed up and everything I am sending a huge hug! It makes me feel a whole lot better especially after being stuck in bed for days!

Easy? I think so. Especially when you can do it daily for extra entries on the Deer! There is a change in the entry deadline, it is now May 31st, and not the 21st.

This is my first contest and I did not want it to be too difficult, so I am not asking for you to "Dig, stumble, twitter, post my really cool button my friend made for me on your site, or blog about the contest, etc. Or go to websites and pick a product that you would like. These are not reviews that the sponsors asked me to do, only brand new, never used wins that I received that are sitting in my huge jewelry box taking up room, LOL! I had a hard time figuring out what I would ask you to do, and all I could think of was that I did not want it to be so darned difficult. I am not a huge blogger, and don't want to become one overnight because of a contest either! But, like Sharla says, comments are the air I breath, as long as it is clean" and I feel the same way. So if you want to follow and sign up for extra entries, be my guest. I am disabled and almost live through the computer. And meeting people like Sharla, "The Mom Nerd", Cindy, Marsha, and especially my frends that live close that I can't see often, this is my only outlet besides getting the occasional craft project done!

Suggestions on what you would like to see more of on this site would be very welcome~

I am hoping to have more contests soon of some homemade projects. So be sure to check back. If you like knitting, jewelry, that have been hand made. This will be the place to be. It might seem like it is all about my son at the moment, but, this will change as my health improves soon. So if you do want to subscribe or follow, twitter, post my button, all that stuff, I will give you an extra entry. But, I am not going to make this mandatory to enter. I am still trying to get my blog geared more toward my arts and crafts plus some family life. My son has kinda taken over for some reason and we need to change this! So, ladies , if you want to have a couple pieces for the summer or gents who want to give some great gifts to your favorite woman, enter!

Good Luck and Thanks!!

I am looking at all the wonderful entries and wish I had one for everyone! But, I will pick via Randomizer, and a few of you have a great chance of winning, thank you for all your support!

A new and fabulous look to my Blog, come see!

A wonderful friend of mine, Sharla, re-designed my Blog! I wanted you all to come and see the new Look! And if you have time, please leave me a comment telling me how you like it. Do you think it it is more my style?

I simply love it! The colors and graphics all fit me to A tee! I love the Mediterranean colors, and graphics that she put in that header. You all know how much I love my knitting and crafts!

I also love the New button! It reminds me of my love of woodworking, and refinishing older furniture. I think she nailed me right on the head! Now, if people want to put my button on their blog, they can! Not that I have too many people that want to put my button on their blog! LOL!

So come and take a look, and please help me thank her, by giving a huge thank you for all her hard work and help in making my Blog so fabulous and much more personal in the way it fits my style!

I cannot believe that she did this for me for free! People pay money to get this kind of thing done. And for her to go out and do this for me is saying a lot of the kind of person and friend she is to me. She has not done it just for me, she has done it for others also. And she does not have a lot of time on her hands, when she works, and has twins! Plus she has her own blog that she has to worry about! This shows you what a giving person she is and how she takes time for others, though she barely has time for herself! So, thank you, thank you, thank you! You rock!

If you want to visit her blog, just click on the button above, called "the mom nerd" and it will take you right to her blog. She has lots of contests, reviews on books and all kinds of other great topics. So, if you have some time, visit her and maybe you might find a great contest to enter or book review or even a product review! She is funny and to the point. I love reading her blogs.

WIN $30.00, just by voting!

How would you like to have an extra $30.00 in your pocket?

It is very simple!

Just click on the MomNerd site here.

$30DollarCASH Giveaway!

Then Follow the directions to vote for her friend. every day that you vote, gives you an extra entry!

Oh, no, say it ain't so!

It looks like my computer is about to go on the Fritz!

So I'm taking it to the doctor today.

I do not know how long I will be without it. But as you know, this is practically My whole life!

besides all my arts and crafts, plus my knitting , my contests and my blogs are everything.

So if you do not hear from me in a couple of days, it is not that I am ignoring you , it is because I do not have a computer.

But please, please, keep voting for Mason and his scooter! Yes, I have resorted to begging! And since I will not be around, I will not be able to Bugknew everybody to vote!

So please say prayer for my computer, so that I do not lose it or have to buy and other! I can't afford another computer! I will miss everybody, but I promise I will be back!

Having Technical Difficulties

Please Help!

It looks like my posts are not being delivered to my subscribers! If you can click on the comments below and let me know if you are recieving updates, I would really appreciate it!

Hopefully you are. If not, that means, this very "tech challenged" gal will have to pretend to know what she is doing and fix the problem!
Thanks for you help!!

PREPS ALL-WHATCOM COUNTY PREPS: Boys’ athletes of the year finalists bios

Here is the picture they put in the Herald Paper, one of our favs!

Andrei Lintz, and Brady Bomber Both 3 sport athletes took 1st and second. But, they weren't picked for the best in their individual sports. Mason was the only one in his two sports, to be picked number one in both.

PREPS ALL-WHATCOM COUNTY PREPS: Boys’ athletes of the year finalists bios
MASON MCHENRY School: Sehome Year: Senior What he did: Won the Class 2A state championship in the 800- meter run and set a meet record with a winning time of 1:52.53 … Finished second in the 1,600 this year behind teammate Colin Flynn … Holds the 2A state meet record with the winning mark of 4:15.70 in 2007 … Led the Sehome boys to their second straight state championship … Finished seventh at the state cross country meet in 2007; the Mariners finished second behind Burlington-Edison … Will run at Arizona State University next year ... Was named The Bellingham Herald’s All-Whatcom County Runner of the Year in cross country and track and field. Coach’s quote: “Mason is the most gifted athlete I have ever worked with. In his two seasons of track, he has established himself as not only one of the greatest middle distance runners in the state of Washington but one of the top in the country. His accomplishments and talents on the track, along with his positive attitude and fun-loving personality, will leave an incredible legacy.” — Sehome track coach Jen Leita

Hard to believe that the Greater Bellingham Running Club denied Mason the award for the best runner in High School isn't it? I wrote to them and asked them why they awarded it to another athlete that had not half the acommplishments, but, have not yet gotten back to me to give me any reason's as to why he was not considered as the top runner in the County, much less the State.

The other athlete is a great kid and I congratulate him. I would never consider the award taken from him. He is a great kid. Not as talented, yes, but, a hard worker and who did his best and who Mason respects very much.

Now, with the NCAA taking so much time approving his transcripts and us getting the financing, we have no idea how we are going to afford getting him to ASU. Eash day it costs more and more money, which we cannot afford without me working. What a pickle. You get your son where he needs and wants to be, but cannot afford to send him. Talk about stress. Wish us luck, or if you want to help, you can hit the donate button.

I talked to the coach, who was at the Olympic Trials this week and finally found out when Mason has to be there. He needs to be there before the dorms open, so we will have to find a Hotel room for him also. No, I am not stressed at all! LOL! We ALL are.

We are very proud and hope he makes it to the Olympic Trials the next time. Looking at all the athletes he has a long way to go and lots of hard practice. Something he is good at. Wish us luck!