Where do you go for advice?

Where do you get advice?  Dictionary.com defines advice as, “an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action or conduct.” I tend to think of advice as counsel or wisdom coming from someone I respect, or believe has pertinent experience in a specific area. As a teenager, I was especially interested in the advice of my grandmother. Just prior to my wedding, I sought the advice of my older sister. As a newlywed, in my twenties, I often went to my mother for advice. Now, some thirty years later, I still value my mom’s thoughts and my sisters’ wisdom, but now I have a new source of wisdom: my daughters! Additionally, my husband has proven himself as a source of valued wisdom from the first day I met him. As a Christian, I  find wisdom in scripture – especially the book of Proverbs. There are many other ways I seek advice, but for now, I would like to hear where you find advice.

My Junk Sells Better than Your Junk

CStratton

It was time for our subdivision’s annual garage sale Here we go.
I hauled all the stuff with no logical place or need in our house, out of the attic and into the garage. Somehow my treasures didn’t seem so chic against the cold dusty garage floor. I guess merchandised is everything, right.

This time I determined to get rid of all my stuff. If it got to the garage, it goes home with someone else. Nothing, absolutely nothing would go back through that garage door. Armed with a pack of post-it notes, I priced each basket of treasures at $.25 each. The elegant gold framed flower pictures I let go at $20 and $10 each. And the bread maker, why did I let my mother talk me into purchasing that monstrosity. It cost a pretty penny but $2.00 would find it a new owner.

Pretty pleased with myself, I knew this time I’d liquidate my stuff. Even the rain didn’t discourage me. I waited and waited while a couple of younger women showed up and looked. No sale. The next couple bought two placemats and a necklace. Ho Hum.

Four hours later I lowered the garage door and had to go face my husband standing eagerly in the kitchen waiting for my entrance, he who thought I should just haul it all to the Goodwill. “How much did you make?

Should I tell the truth and see the satisfaction on his face? “Before or after I pay myself?” I laughed. I didn’t dare tell him I only made $6.25 for all that junk.

Just then our neighbor, a single guy, rang the doorbell.
“Hey, great garage sale. I sold about $1600.00.” He had a little bit of a smug look on his face.

I slammed the door. Hmm, he probably counted the car he sold in the final count.

Hey, what have been your experiences with garage sales. Any suggestions for a more successful sale?

Swine Flu – Is it the end of kissing?

We all know that the swine flu loves places full of people. I just left the pediatricians office with my boys and went home and took a shower. It looked like the set of some horror movie, children were walking around wearing masks with coughs that sounded worst than a 40 pack a day smoker! All I could picture is the germs swimming around that office as everyone sneezed or coughed on each other. Just going to the doctor can make you sick!

Colleges are taking matters into their own hands. They’ve setup quarantine dorms for those with the flu, taking precautions in the locker room as students spend a lot of time in a confined space. Some schools have had to cancel their home openers due to players infected with the swine flu. Other colleges are cancelling events that draw students together for fear of spreading the flu. They’ve even asked students to kiss with masks on. Kiss with masks on?

Then swine flu could keep students safe because we all know that they won’t be sharing pencils, food, beer bongs, glasses or shots! Of course, they will heed all the warnings and kiss with masks on. Can you put sanitizer on your lips? My husband and I tried that and it was pretty uncomfortable. Has the swine flu brought kissing to an end? Can you really French Kiss with a flu mask on? What precautions are you taking? Have you tried to kiss with a mask on?

If you could go back to a place you’ve been in your life, where would you go?

I’d go back to Ireland with my Dad for our birthdays. Our birthdays were 2 days apart, I was turning 34 and my dad was turning 67. We took two weeks and drove the Southern half of that Gaelic country, sleeping in bed and breakfasts, touring during the day. We kissed the Blarney Stone (that’s how I became a writer), toured the ruins of Bru na Boine, saw the Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) at Trinity College in Dublin and sampled our fair share of shepherd pie, irish lobster, corned beef, Irish stew and Guiness, including the Guiness Brewery, yes they did give everyone a free beer.

My Dad got sick and died from malignant melanoma 6 months later and when I lost him I left two little bottles of Guiness in his casket. He’d never traveled out of the country and this was his trip of a lifetime and I am blessed that I got to share it with him. Whenever I miss him, I remember the joy, the wonder and just being together with him in this special journey. In my birthday card, he wrote, “This will never happen again.”

What about you, do you have that one trip that makes you smile, that place you’d go back to again?

Not Seen on HGTV Network

Not Seen on Home and Garden Network
CStratton

Recently I received a forward. It was a photo essay on creative ways to fix things. Maybe you’ve seen it: it features a car with duct tape flashlights for tail lights, a Pringles can used to fix a broke pipe on an automotive engine and a house window air conditioning unit rigged up to a car window. All seemed to be working feats of engineering, strange but inexpensive ways to solve problems.

The pictures reminded me of our legendary family Rube Goldberg creation. My husband grew up in an old farm house that had need of repairs. One night during a terrific storm, his parents’ bedroom ceiling sprouted a hole. Now in an Indiana thunderstorm you don’t wait till morning or you could have a flood on your hands. My father-in-law-to-be got out of bed and went outside to his junk pile. He picked out two or three long drain spouts and some bailing wire and raced back inside. Before long he’d attached the drain spout to catch the ceiling leak. He rigged up another drain spout to that one. The entire creation, attached with bailing wire, stretched across the width of the ceiling and poured out into a bucket on the floor, positioned to catch the indoor deluge. The creation, quite durable lasted several years, saving him a boat load of money on roofing repair.

A friend of mine in high school had a scratched up old foreign import, badly in need of a paint job. Being a future art school student, she covered the entire front end of the car with a paisley design. Talk about a work of art! Her patterns of yellow, orange and red enamel swirls would have made great fabric for a designer dress. I’m sure she could have driven that vehicle to the art school scholarship interview and received a full ride.

In these tough economic times I salute those who have weaned themselves off of Home and Garden Network. Let’s get real. Who really cares if your car has a few dents in it if it’s a masterpiece? Why not use that bike lock to keep your car door locked. Let’s here it for creativity and frugalness!

Have any creative fix-it stories? Please submit them!

Remembering….

The news re-broadcasted a flashback of events from September 11th 8 years ago. I started to turn the channel to a happier place but something made me stop and watch.

As the years go on, we tend to not think about what happened that day as most of us would rather be in that happier place, what made me stop and watch also made me remember. I forgot about people jumping out of the top of the Trade Center given the choice to burn alive or as I like to call it a Leap of Faith.

Leap of Faith
Oh God, how hard it is to understand,
How this tragedy came to stand.
Watching in horror as people jumped from that place,
Praying that it was a leap of faith.

No choice, but to let it go,
Feel God’s love as it flowed.
Hoping as they fell they are caught,
Praying for the peace they sought.

Our faith tells us it’s peace they found,
As they leapt, God’s love surround.
Their leap was just a few seconds in time’s sands,
Their soul an eternity in God’s hands..

Remember today by showing those in your life how much you care about them because life is oh, so short.

Happy Labor Day!

Did you know…
The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary

149.1 million
Number of people age 16 or older in the nation’s labor force. Among the nation’s workers are 80.0 million men and 69.1 million women. These men and women represent 66 percent of the civilian adult population. And that’s not just fast food!

7.3 million
Number of workers who hold down more than one job. “Moonlighters” comprise 5 percent of the working population. Of these, 3.8 million work full time at their primary job and part time at their other job, and about 293,000 work full time at both jobs. Now that’s multitasking!

10.3 million
Number of self-employed workers. This doesn’t include Stay At Home Moms.

20.3 million
Number of female workers in educational, health and social services industries. More women work in this industry group than in any other. Manufacturing was the most popular industry among men, with 11.3 million workers.

4.5 million people work from home. Again, that doesn’t include Stay At Home Moms, who have the best/hardest job out there!

24.3 minutes The average time it takes to commute to work.
Of the 233 counties with populations of 250,000 or more, Queens (41.7 minutes), Richmond (41.3 minutes), Bronx (40.8 minutes) and Kings (39.7 minutes) -– four of the five counties that comprise New York City – experienced the longest average commute-to-work times. Makes you glad you live in the Triad, right?

More Than 100 hours
The amount of time the average American spends commuting to work each year. (This exceeds the typical two weeks of vacation time taken by many U.S. workers over the course of a year.) Let’s all ditch the cars and take a vacation!

Any great stories from your labor or labor day holiday?

Source: US Census Bureau

The First Day of School

Do you remember your first day of school?  Do you remember the first day of school for a child, a niece or some other special child in your life?  School has started and there are many children and young adults experiencing their first day of school or college.  I cannot remember my first day of school, but I can remember taking my daughters to school for their first day.  I can clearly remember leaving school that morning with a sad, emptiness in my heart.  

This week my great-niece told my sister, “Do you know that you have to raise your hand before you can even talk?”   My sister told me that she remembers her first day in school.  It was 1960 and she said she was scared to death that she would not be able to find her way back to her class.  Below are a few more first memories from friends:

1966 – Way back when….every one didn’t go to Kindergarten, but there was a kind of ‘readiness’ week for upcoming first graders and I went.  My mom said I came home from the first day, crying.  When she asked me what was wrong, I tearfully burst out, “I didn’t learn to read!!!”"

1964 – “I would not ride the bus and my Dad took me to school and on to my classroom.  He was chatting with my teacher and when he got back to the car, I was sitting in the car ready to go back home.  Boy did that make him mad.”

1980 – “I had 2 flowers (made from pink tissues) tucked into my book bag for my 2 teachers. I also remember counting to 100 every morning.”

1990 – Mom had to walk me to the top of the driveway so she could take a picture of the bus driver and me! I still have the picture!

2001 – I cannot remember my first day of school, but I can remember my first day of college!  I was scared out of my wits; however, I was excited about getting to stay out as late as I wanted!

1980 – First day of junior high – 7^th grade.  I remember thinking I would never find my way around such a big place.  There was an assembly in the gym and I just felt completely overwhelmed.  I wore a short sleeved, golden yellow sweater, jeans and blue suede tennis shoes.

1979 – I was tardy because my dad and I had to finish watching Captain Kangaroo before we left for school.

Way too long ago to remember mine – but I can remember always taking pictures of the children on their 1st day with new book bags and they still laugh about that!