Ramblings of a Road Trip Mama

Our family has always chosen the comfort of road trips over flying for our vacations. When the children were younger, we didn't have to worry about how noisy they were, if they were bugging the other's on the plane, we have the travel trailer so we can rest assured that nobody has left anything gross in the hotel bed, we can stop at multiple places along the trip and really see some of the great nuances of our country. Oh, and our SUV has a dvd player, so the kids can watch movies or plug in the playstation to stay busy while my hubby and I get hours of wonderful conversation time.

This year the gas prices are going to really cause vacation cut backs, not just for us, but for just about everyone. We are excited to see some of the wonderful spots around Colorado that we've missed in our 18 years here, though. And, I'm researching ways to help us save money and gas on our short stateside trips.

I found a link to some gas saving tips (along with some other helpful info and checklists for road trips) from prestone










Click here to view the gas saving tips


An Island Life is hosting a series of summer giveaways, and you can enter to win a road trip prize pack



Click here to read An Island Life and enter the giveaway


Good luck and Happy Road Tripping!

Ramblings of a jewelry making fool!

So, I started this fabulous new business earlier this year .... Gems to Jewels!! It combines my love of crafting with my love of beautiful jewelry.

I have been making handmade jewelry since 2005, and shortly after starting I had several people ask if I could teach them. Well, I did several little classes for friends and fellow mom's clubbers, but really wanted to turn it into a viable business. I began searching for a good vendor or two where I could get everything that I wanted I began to feel like the industry falls hugely short. I don't want a huge beading store, and it seemed like I would need to purchase large minimum orders from several manufacturers in order to have the variety that I need.

Well, I thought, maybe a direct sales company so I can benefit from their larger purchasing power and advertising. Off on that search I went - I found about 5 companies that offer in-home jewelry making parties/classes/workshops, and contacted each. Within just a few hours Gems to Jewels had called me back (BTW - this was in January and I'm still waiting to hear from all but one of the others)

I did my research on the internet, since the other companies really weren't interested enough in having any more consultants to send information, and found that one of the 5 is really a boutique type business that offers a few of their products in kits that you can put it together yourself. The other 3 are pre-made make 'n take type.

Gems to Jewels really stands out - they offer real gemstones and sterling silver components, all sold by the component. This means that you can attend a workshop and create a meaningful piece or set that reflects your personality using gemstones that are special to you, at a price that suits your budget. You can design and complete or the consultant can finish for you. And in the end, you get a one of a kind piece that is heirloom quality!

Anyway, I obviously chose Gems To Jewels, and am loving it!!

Ramblings of a wife who knows men can be idiots

Well, It's been an eventful week and a half since my last post. Sunday after my last post the family all headed off to church. We arrived, got Chris off to sunday school and gathered in the espresso cafe to enjoy lattes and donuts. We enjoyed the service and headed back home, with Bri driving and Louis playing the roll of the responsible license holder. We got out of the parking lot and headed home, and Louis started coughing and sneezing. By the time we got home, his eyes were starting to swell. Of course, you know, he is a man, so here's how the conversation went.

Me, "Get back in the car, I have to take you to the ER."
Him, "No, I'll just wash my eyes and wait it out."
Me, "Are you out of your stinkin' mind - get your butt in the car!"

By the time we got to the ER (which, BTW, is in our neighborhood and takes about 2 minutes to get to from our house) his eyes were swollen shut and he was having a hard time breathing. I pulled up to the front door and sent him in while I parked. I run into the building and they already have him in back processing him - there are people in the waiting room bleeding, but for this severe allergic reaction, he came first. At this point he can no longer see, is struggling to breath, and can hardly talk. They shot him up with epinephrine, plus benadryl into an IV they've stuck in his arm, and admitted him to the hospital. When they get him settled in his room he's looking a bit like Mr. Magoo and I tell him how much better he looks (he can now actually open his eyes and see) and he looks in the mirror and finally realizes how serioius this all was - "this is better!?"

Anyway, they release him the next afternoon (Memorial Day monday) after keeping him overnight for observation and give him instructions to follow up with his primary care physician. Friday I'm looking in the calendar while he's off playing golf and don't see that follow up appointment, so I make one for him, and stronglly reprimand him when he gets home.

Oh, and by the way, they don't know what caused the reaction.

The 25th was our granddaughter Laila's 5th birthday, and we had planned a trip to chuck e cheese with her, her 3 year old brother, her 21 month old brother, our son's 4 year old daughter and 18 month old daughter, and our 6 year old Chris. Of course, that was overruled by the trip to the ER, so they all celebrated at home while Louis and I were at the hospital.

What else has kept us busy? Let's see ....
~ our daughter and her 3 kiddo's arrived back from Florida/Texas and have been staying with us
~ school is out so our three minor children are home most of the time
~ I worked for D11 through the school year, so now there are numerous studio and jewelry related tasks that I need to catch up on
~ summer is almost here and there are so many yard/houshold chores that need to be done so that we can enjoy the season

Ramblings of a wife shopping for Father's Day

If you are anything like me (or, rather, your hubby is anything like mine) it's incredibly hard to shop for Father's day (or his birthday, or Christmas). My hubby tends to get the things he needs as he needs them and isn't typically interested in 'fluff' (ie. stuff that he doesn't need). In my search for the perfect gift, I came across Amanda & Kristin's Father's Day Gift Guide ....



check it out!!

Ramblings of a mom who's kids know their parts

OK, so my hubby had CNN headline news on this morning and a report they did caught my ears. It appears that the long standing play, "The Vagina Monologues" has changed it's name to the "The HooHaw Monologues". This happened because a woman called and complained after passing a billboard advertising the play with her niece in the car and the little girl asked the woman what a vagina was, so Aunty Dear was embarrassed. She should be, but Mom should be mortified that her daughter would even have to ask.

Now, I've never watched or had the urge to watch the monologues, and I neither defend or oppose the play, I just think that not educating our children is a big problem in our society (but that's a blog for another day)

It didn't say how old the girl was, but it is my opinion that if she is old enough to read, she is old enough to know what a vagina is. I mean, SERIOUSLY, pet names for body parts are not cute or funny and when kids find out the real name it just becomes a problem that they didn't know all along.

I have heard teachers and moms tell stories of when a child finally learns the real name for these body parts and the kid thinks it is the funniest thing ever - causing them to go around spewing the new "bad word" in every imaginable (and, I'm sure, quite embarrassing) situation. And, of course, at school where another 1/2 of their classmates (probably more) are learning the word for the first time.

Had these children's parents (specifically mothers, since we all know how 'involved' most dads are in child rearing, LOL, again, a blog for another day) used those word with their children all along, it would be a non-issue. Words that are a part of a child's vocabulary (excluding curse words) won't get used in the inappropriate ways or places.

From infancy, my children started learning body parts - in the baby bath tub, I would tell them that I was washing their knees or drying their shoulders .

Anyway, what do you think, when is it appropriate to tell your kids that they have a vagina instead of a hoohaw?

Ramblings of an ex? Alaskan

So my hubby and I moved AWAY from Alaska in September 1990, shortly after our wedding and just before the winter weather set in. While it wasn't the *only* reason we left, we were happy to get away from the cold weather, the snow, the lack of transitional season (ie: spring & autumn.)

We moved to Colorado and were pleasently surprised by the weather here. Our first autumn (yes, a real autumn!!) when I took our then 1st grade daughter (that would be Yennae) trick or treating and the wind breakers I took for us got carried the whole way (this after a childhood (mine) of getting costumes 2 sizes too big so they would fit over snowsuits). Fall got over and winter set in, and the weather was still so mild that most of the time we were just in light jackets or sweaters. I'm not sure if we had any snow that year for Christmas, but it obvioiusly it wasn't a big deal if I can't remember.

The 15 winters between have been equally mild. We typically get a few snowstorms a year and as soon as the front passes the snow starts melting, and within a few days the snow is gone. Once every several years, we may get a blizzard which dumps a bunch of snow on us and after that it can take a couple of weeks for the weather to warm up enough to melt the snow entirely, but not really often enough to complain about.

This year has been a drastic change! The week before Christmas we got a blizzard (this was after an early blizzard less than a week before Halloween), now here it is, 5 weeks later and my kiddo's had a late start yesterday as the roads recovered from the 5th snowstorm in as many weeks. And, the weathermen have predicted another one this weekend.

You might think I said ex? Alaskan because I feel like I'm home lately, and you would be partially correct, but there is another reason. In the past week or so my husband and I have been batting around the idea of going back, and I don't mean just for a visit. Many have heard me say, "Alaska is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Now I am rethinking that philosophy.

Pros
* Alaska is so majestic and beautiful
* it still has so many unspoiled wilderness areas
* there is the permanent fund dividend (an annuity paid to Alaskan residents that varies from $500 to over $1000 per person each year)
* my children have never had the opportunity to live near family like that - I so miss the big family gatherings I grew up with
* summer nights are so fun when the sun only goes down for a few hours (or is that the teenage me talking?)
* it would mean a fresh start
* no sales tax
* Aurora Borialis
* (for my hubby) ice fishing

Cons
* Colorado is majestic and beautiful as well
* our adult children live here in the states and a move to Alaska would mean we couldn't visit them and our grandchildren very often
* The weather here is not usually this bad
* we love to take road trips, which in Alaska would be just within the state
* there are certain people still in Alaska that we intentionally moved away from
* while those late summer nights are fun ...
* they aren't as warm as the ones here
* they get annoying when you can't get enough sleep
* they come with winter nights that are much longer - with the sun rising after you have arrived at work or school and ofter setting before you get back home
* even though there isn't sales tax, the prices are slightly higher there, which kind of counteract each other
* earth quakes
* (for my hubby) shorter golf season

So, it would seem there are more in my cons list, but are the pro's weightier? Who knows? This is just an idea that we are batting around and don't intend to leave here for at least 2 or 3 years. I guess we will continue to discuss this for the next couple year and make a final decision based on how our business is doing by then and what kind of winters we have here between now and then (we will also be watching the weather in Alaska and making our comparison)

Ramblings of a non-"Turista"

I almost forgot to update .....
We did go back, tried to get there toward the end of the movie so we could watch the part we missed without having to watch the entire movie. Well, that *almost* worked, LOL, we missed a few minutes in between the majority of the movie we saw on the "pop bottle bomb" day and the end. Oh well, now I will have to wait for it to be shown on HBO.

Ayway, we had decided that it was senseless to go to he movies for the last 20 minutes of something then leave, so we decided to watch 'Turistas'. I just have to say that I wish I had logged on to Yahoo Movies before I chose that movie. It was definately graphic, but intensely DULL! I swear I felt every minute that I sat in that theatre, LOL. The Yahoo Movies ratings showed it at a C- from both the critics and the general public - I think I would rate it at a D, though.

Ramblings of a bummed out movie go-er and a worrying mom

This is not a review and I will not be giving away anything that happened in the movie.

I went to the movies - Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell. I was sitting there enjoying the movie and all was well, until about an hour and 45 minutes into the movie when the theatre lights suddenly came on and a theatre employee runs in and informs us that there has been 'an issue in the theatre' and we should all meet in the lobby.

While we were all crammed into the lobby, I could see fire trucks outside the theatre and then I saw firemen going into a side exit. The managers gave us all rain checks and had us leave. So I headed home and got there just before the news. About half way through the news they started reporting on the breaking news. Turns out someone set off a sort of a bomb in the theatre - something about dry ice in a bottle. No injuries, but there was some damage, and the police don't know who was involved.

So, here I am wondering what happened to Harold Crick. (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T tell me!!!)

Anyway, back to being crammed into the lobby - I noticed some teens in there calling there rides to get home. These kids had t-shirts and no jackets and a cold front had come through earlier in the day so it was pretty cold and starting to snow. Plus, it took me about 2-3 times longer than usual to drive home because the roads were slick. So, I'm sitting there wondering (worrying) about these poor kids - what if there had been imminent danger (a bigger bomb, someone with a gun, a fire) and the evacuation was not to the lobby but directly outside? I got to thinking, what if my daughter had been there alone and had to wait for me to get there to pick her up?

I know that I'm a worrier, it bugs my kids and hubby when I get to thinking about things like this, but I just can't help it.

Well, let me know your thoughts on this .....

Ramblings of a happy helper

Blog Prompt 11/13: Imagine you save a man's life and later find out he is the richest man in the world. He offers to either buy you a new house and land or fix the house and land you already have any way you want. Describe either your new house and land or what improvements you would make on the land and house you already own.

First of all, I just want to say that if I were to save someone's life or perform any other service for another person, that just knowing I have helped is reward enough.

BUT, since this man is so generous....
Our current house is way too small, we've lived here for 15 years and it's always been too small. We have 3 bedrooms in a split entry home. There are 5 of us, a dog, and a photo studio all sharing the small area. Too small and no property space to expand.

My dream home would have 2 separate entries OR 2 separate buildings - one for our home and one for our business.

The home part would have bedrooms for all 3 kiddo's, a master bedroom that has enough room (right now we barely have enough room to walk at the end and on either side of our bed.)

I'd love a great room that flows into the kitchen - a nice open feel that has plenty of room yet is still cozy. Of course, the basement would be set up to maximize family fun time and keep the teens home more often - a home theatre, plenty of room for the teens and their friends to 'hang', maybe an air hockey or foosball table, and maybe even a bowling lane.

Oh, and a couple of little luxuries for me ... a central vac and a laundry shoot.

There would be a solarium with a pool and hot tub and lots of plants - kind of like my own little tropical island. I would like a big multi-leveled deck with an outdoor kitchen and lots of comfy places to sit and a fire pit for those cooler autumn (or warmer winter) evenings.

Once you step off of the deck, the rest of the back yard would be like an oasis - trails, trees, flowers, benches, a koi pond with a bridge. This space would be a nice place to relax throughout the year, but also a great place to take our customers for some outdoor portraits. Of course, there would also be a playground area (all this dreaming for me, I guess I should include the youngest Colbert, LOL)

The garage would be a 2 car plus an RV slot.

The business part would have a scrapbook store with plenty of wall space to showcase some of the portraits we have taken. Off of the store/gallery area would be several areas:
~ A play area for the customers children - probably a circular area with 1/2 walls to keep the kids coralled but still in view of their parents.
~ a 'latte lounge', with comfy overstuffed chairs - this space would serve as a waiting area for the portrait customers as well as serving beverages for our customers pleasure.
~ a portrait studio - this would be larger than normal with different sets at each corner and along the walls. There would be a door that leads out to the back yard for those outdoor shots.
~ an office area - with private preview viewing areas (maybe 2) that have big screen monitors for viewing proof slide shows and plenty of good lighting; a production area where the printing, sorting and packaging takes place and space for storage (good lighting is also essential in this area; plus private offices for both my husband and myself.
~ A crop room - this has room for at least 10-8 foot tables, with 2 rolling office chairs at each table. Each crop space would have a cup holder hanging from it. At least one full wall would be counter space for tools for the croppers to use (this room is another place that plenty of good lighting will be needed.)
~ It would be great if the register area was back by the crop area, but still in full view of the front door. The side of the register counter that faces the crop area would be lower - regular table level - so I could tend the register and still be involved in the crop. Next to this table level area for me to crop at, there would be a regular height section to do demo's and make 'n takes at. There would also need to be a slotted storage area under the register section of the counter to store customer’s portraits to be picked up. I'm picturing the register area as round. It would probably work well to also have that latte lounge close enough to the register so that whoever was working could easily see the barista area from the register and vice-versa. And, of course, you would need to be able to see the entire store area from the counter so that you could watch for customers who need assistance without hovering over them.


Once again, it is so nice to dream, and until this dream comes to fruition I will have to suffer with my too small house and no room to add my scrapbook store to the business.

Ramblings of a transplanted Coloradan

Today's blog prompt 11/9: 13 things I like about living where I do

They have these "Native Coloradan" bumper stickers here. I'm not allowed to get one because I wasn't born here, LOL, but they have this great bumper sticker for people like me ...

My top 13 reasons I love living in Colorado ...
13) chilly nights by the fire with a mug of cocoa
12) seasons (I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska - and it always seemed like we had 2 seasons. Just summer and winter, not much transition between the two)
11) Garden of the Gods (see pictures below)


10) Pikes Peak - the inspiration for "America the Beautiful" (see pictures above)
9) The beautifully changing aspen leaves - if you go hiking and just stand still for a moment they not only *look* beautiful, but the sound of them rustling in the breeze is also beautiful
8) It's never too hot
7) It's never bitterly cold
6) camping
5) We had a blizzard (see my blog entry ... Blizzard) on Thursday October 27 and 2 weeks later it was in the mid 70's on Wednesday November 8 and I was wearing flip flops
4) If it's not a blizzard with ton's of snow, it can snow one day and be melted the next day - we've even had days where it's snowed in the morning and been melted by the afternoon of the same day
3) beautifully blue skies in daylight and a blanket of stars at night
2) Colorado sunsets (see the Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak during sunset picture above)
and the number one reason I love Colorado
1) Colorado sunrises
'nuf said!

PS I would have loved to do this completely in pictures without any comments, but it took me 3 hours to find the perfect pictures that I *did* use, and since I have some actual work to get done today I will have to let those I did include suffice.

Ramblings of a Mom

Blog Prompt 11/6: In your area/family, how do children address adults? What manners do you stress in your family and which do you let slide? (This applies to adults, too, not just children).

When I was growing up, it was all "Mr(s). Lastname", and for that time that was the appropriate thing. As I grew up, "Mr/Miss Firstname" started to become popular in my area (I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska) and that is how my younger siblings addressed adults.

As time has gone by, the formality of Mr/Mrs/Miss seems to have gone the way of the stonewashed jeans and shoulder pads we used to wear in the 80's.

My teens address adults, for the most part, by their first names. Although there are some adults who have been introduced and always referred to by "Mr(s). Lastname", so that's how they address those adults.

My preschooler refers to most adults as "Miss/Mr Firstname."

Now, I don't know how other adults feel about this whole thing, but it just makes me feel so old when my kids friends call me "Mrs .Colbert", so I am much happier with "Miss Melanie" from the preschoolers and just plain "Melanie" from the teens.

But, who knows, trends come and go, so we may see the days of minors addressing adults with more respect come back again - I just hope that shoulder pads are gone for good, LOL!

Now, manners,
* One of my biggest pet peeves is children who interrupt adults just to show mom that they can twist their fingers together, or some other nonsense. Now, I know that whatever that child has to say is terribly important to them, but the interruption makes it painfully clear that their parents, like so many other now a days, hasn't bothered to teach their children basic manners. This is one thing that I am trying very hard to make sure my kids wait their turn to speak. They know that if I am on the phone or talking to someone in person (this doesn't necessarily mean just conversations with adults), that anything they have to say can wait (except emergencies of course) Does this mean that they always wait? They are children, so no. The 5 year old is still learning, but the teens do wait *MOST* of the time.
* Bad table manners are right up there with interruptions, I just cringe when I am around someone who eats with their mouth open, slurps, smacks, talks with food in their mouth. But since I still haven't been able to teach my husband the importance of good table manners it is hard to teach the kids. For the most part they are so much better than their dad, so I guess sometimes modeling good behavior in the face of bad does work.
* Saying please, thank you, may I, I'm sorry. Funny thing is, my preschooler has these down (hmmm, was that my influence or Dora the Explorer, LOL), but my teens have been slipping.
* Thank you notes - WOW, when I was a kid they were written the DAY you received a gift. Now I'm lucky if I even get an email or phone call to let me know that the gift arrived in one piece. In one case I had to contact a family member of a couple I had sent a wedding gift to and see if they had even received it. I finally received a note almost a year after the wedding. Worse yet, the busier I get, the more I let this slip myself. My children are supposed to write notes or at least write a personal note in a card from the family, but sometimes those cards don't make it out until a month or so after the gift was received. It didn't occur to me how awful I had gotten at this until my mom called almost a month after my preschoolers recent birthday and asked if we had gotten the card she sent with money in it. She was worried because it was cash and since I was still working on the TY cards I should have called her right away to let her know that the card had arrived. What a bad influence am I?

(*watch out - rambling woman about to get on her soap box*)
I hope that I have taught my children the importance of manners and respect - as I think that one of the biggest problems that our society faces is disrespectful teens and young adults. I have watched two of our children grow up and tried to instill these things in them, but watch as so many other parents don't care enough for their children to make sure they know right from wrong. And now I can only hope that I am being a proper teacher to the three left at home. Anyway, that's enough .... for now!

Ramblings of a Queen

blog prompt 11/2: What would you do if you were queen for a day?

I would start by getting up early (but not TOO early) so I could fully enjoy my day. After a luxurious bath (rather than the rushed shower I usually get), I would enjoy a scrumptious breakfast (cooked by someone else, of course!) while reading my email (nothing new there, but it would be so much more enjoyable to take my time)

After breakfast, I would head to a spa and enjoy a morning of pampering, knowing that my chores were being taken care of by the 'hired help' (you know, the teens in my house really hate it when I call them that, LOL)

While I enjoyed a light lunch, someone else would be taking care of my preschooler and whatever lunch he wanted for the day. After lunch I would spend the afternoon scrapbooking.

When the older children get home from school, we would all jump in our indoor pool for a swim while someone else prepares dinner. After dinner, we would retire to our 'rec' room and decide as a family whether we want to watch a movie in our home theatre, go bowling on our private alley, or maybe just enjoy each others company over a board game.

Soon, the preschooler would be heading to bed and the teens would be off to do homework in their rooms, at which point my husband and I would have an actual adult only conversation over a bottle of wine.

Wow, it is fun to dream!