Layla17's Blog

I was just in the middle of having a very productive day and my dryer broke.  I had 4 loads of laundry done by 12:30 pm and I was hoping to have another 3 or 4 done by 5 pm.  I was in the middle of my 5th load of clothes, when the dryer stopped working.  The dryer isn't really that old.  I'm not really too sure what happened to it, but I heard a rumbling noise and then it stopped working.

My socks didn't even dry on the 5th load and the dryer ran for about an hour.  I'm really surprised that the dryer didn't have them done.  Usually, my socks are dried in a half hour, so it might be something to do with the dryer not getting warm enough.  My husband should be home in a few hours and he will have fix it. 

I seem to have the worst luck with appliances.  This happens to be the fourth dryer I've been through in 5 years.  The Maytag man said that I just do a lot of laundry in a year.  I might have to consider taking my clothing to a Laundromat, until I can get my dryer fixed. Regardless, dryers happen to be my most disliked appliance, because they never seem to be reliable.

I am an avid collector of different arts and crafts.  I spend a good amount of time on eBay and various other sites looking for intricate and unique crafts.  After about three years of craft hunting I've started to realize that there are certain places that I am able to find the best crafts.

eBay offers great ways to find those rare and exotic crafts, while normally the prices are quite reasonable.  Various other sites like uBid and other online auction sites also feature unique items, but the best place to find unique crafts are at fairs and bazaars.  These fairs and bazaars generally have homemade crafts that were made by the people selling them.  There is always so much more meaning to a craft, when you meet the person who made it.  It makes you feel as if they actually made if for you or with some kind of intention for a specific type of person.  They can also give you great tips on where to place the craft or special features it has.

I would recommend shopping at some fairs and bazaars for your arts and crafts , because you get a much better sense of the culture that goes into the object. 

My sister has lived nearby for as long as I can remember and now she is planning on moving a few states away.  This is going to be a big change for both her and I, because we do everything together. I'm both happy and sad that she is going, but it will be the best move for her.

She is moving with her fiancee by next Spring, when her new custom home is built.  She is having it built specifically to her tastes, so it should be everything that she wants in a home.  Schumacher homes is doing the building and from what we know they are a very reputable builder.  They just signed the contract on the new build last weekend, so everything is set. 

My family and I plan on going to visit her every few months, because my children have grown quite fond of her.  I guess it won't be quite as drastic as I'm playing it through my head right now, but the fact that my baby sister is no longer going to be nearby is going to be a tough thing to deal with in the first few months.

After a Summer filled with outdoor activities, we will be spending more time indoors in the coming months.  We decided to buy some new furniture and carpeting for our family room, since we'll be spending more time in there. 

I have been shopping online for the new furniture for a few days now and I haven't really found anything that really suits my family.  We want a sectional that is extremely comfortable with a few extra features.  It's actually a fairly entertaining task, because I love to shop for new furniture.  We're going to select our carpet sometime this upcoming weekend.

These new purchases should really make our family room much cozier.  We plan on getting some house cleaning done, before we actually move the furniture in.  All in all, our living room should be much nicer for the indoor months.

For the last few days I haven't been feeling too well, so I've been restricted to the sofa. During this time I spent a substantial amount of time watching television and reading.  I don't really have any favorite shows and spent most of my TV time flipping between various soaps. I must say that I was completely shocked at the number of credit card commercials on daytime TV.

Most of them center around credit card consolidation and other debt relief companies.  While it was nice that there are companies out there making themselves known to help people out, I didn't realize that there were so many of them.  I half expected that many of them were owned by the same singular company.  It just shocked me that there were so many redundant commercials. 

Daytime TV makes me so happy that I have a DVR box to fast forward through the commercials and shows that I don't like to watch.  No more credit card commercials for me. 

I'm not one to complain about my neighbors.  In fact, I have the best neighbors a person could ever ask for.  We do a number of activities together and our children always get a long well.  Their new dog is quite the pain in the you know what. 

He keeps digging under our little fence and going to the bathroom in my new flower beds and lawn.  He has been doing this for about 3 months now and we've spoke to our neighbors about it.  They've been trying everything with him and it doesn't seem to work.  Whenever, he is let loose he always comes right over into my lawn and starts doing his business. It's quite frustrating, but I am sympathetic because my neighbors are having their battles with him. To his credit he is a very well behaved animal, but then again I never see any aggression in dogs . Our neighborhood has been very fortunate with our animals.  They all get along well too, so hopefully these little mishaps end soon.

I'm sure eventually our neighbors will solve their animal problems.  Preferably, sooner rather than later, because my poor flowerbeds are suffering.  Thanks for listening to me rant everyone!

My family and I are probably the last people on Earth to become energy savers, but we're finally doing it. We have decided to make a real effort to not to waste energy or water anymore.  We're going to limit ourselves  on many of the activities that we normally wouldn't be thinking about.

My son who is notorious for taking 30 minute showers will be limited to 10 minutes maximum.  We also installed low flow showerheads . These will help us cut down on the excess water used for showering and bathing.  It is definitely an easy way to eliminate a lot of wasted water. We aslo installed energy and water efficient appliances. We set sleeper timers for the televisions, because my husband has the horrible habit of leaving the television at night.

We're really trying to go the extra mile to keep our energy costs low and keep our lifestyle nearly the same.  Everyone needs to make a little change for the enviroment, so we do expect a bit of a hassle in the beginning.  

After all of the stressers have come to play in my life, I have decided to looking into some sort of yoga or destressing classes.  I think this will greatly help my chances of having a more peaceful life and make me more easy going through life's path.  I'm chronically sick and haven't really had the best quality of life in the past 2 years, so I decided to look into how to detoxify your body . It seems like there are various methods to do so, but yoga seems the most appealing to me.

I'm more than happy to give up a few hours of my day to give myself some time to relax and mend from the daily grind. I have trouble taking a lot of time for myself during the week, because I want to spend most of it with my family and friends.  After being sick for the past week, I'm finally fed up with this revolving trend of sick and healthy.  I'm scheduling an appointment for my free trial session of yoga and am looking forward to it very much.  

Hopefully, this yoga experiment will pay off and it will be the perfect way to help my body become healthy and resistant to environmental hazards. 

I'm new to the whole idea of competitive racing and all that goes along with it.  I've been used to various other sports such as soccer, football, baseball, and basketball.  Recently, my son started running for his Jr. High School cross country team and it has been a big change.  I really don't see much of the race, until the runners come down to the home stretch.  It really is very exciting to see the boys run a long race and then come down into the final stretch and give it all they have to give.

My son's race was quite funny, because he was in the lead coming into the final leg of the race and he was doing so well. (He has converted over from playing soccer like his older brother, so it has been an interesting experience seeing him training for running.)  He was leading all of the other runners by a few yards, until all of a sudden his shoe fell off.  He was running in one of his shoes and one of his socks for the last 200 yards of the race.  He managed to win the race by hobbling over the line, just ahead of the 2nd place runner.

It was a hilarious experience and I'm sure one that he nor I will ever forget.  I'm glad that I've been exposed to a new sport. 

After months of debating with my husband, we have decided to consolidate my student loans. We decided to consolidate all my loans into one single monthly loan payment. This was a big decision for us, since I do have a considerable amount of college loan debt.

The consolidated rate will lower our interest rate about 2.5% which is pretty reasonable. Another big plus from the debt consolidation will be the lower overall payment per month. We will be paying around 50 dollars less per month than we have in the past. These two pluses will definitely be a big advantage in the upcoming economic hardship.

We made the decision so we could free up a few extra dollars per month. We feel that it will help us find a little extra money to do some fun things with our children, during the Autumn season. It also makes bill paying much easier, because we don't have to write out three separate bills every month. It definitely cuts down on the number of checks and postage being used.

I like to clean my home thoroughly with the changing of the seasons, so I decided to get a head start on my Fall cleaning by getting my house cleaned a little early. I'm having my carpets and windows cleaned from a professional cleaner sometime next week. I'm looking forward to a tidy home, before Autumn sets in.

My carpets are always cleaned quarterly to keep them looking clean and stain free.  Although I clean my carpets occassionally, they never seem to look as nice as a professional job.  I always have my carpets treated with stain remover to prevent any type of stain issues.  After our puppy had a few accidents recently, the carpets will be getting a much needed treatment. This will definitely increase the longevity of my carpets.

The windows are usually done twice per year.  I get them cleaned in the spring and in the Fall.   I've tried cleaning my windows, but I never seem to eliminate all of the streaks.  One of my neighbors actually owns a window cleaning service, so we usually have him do it for us.  It's good too keep money in our community, so I don't feel as guilty about getting it done more than 2 times a year if it's needed.

All in all, it's good to get some house cleaning done, before it gets cold.  I'm looking forward to some newly cleaned carpets and windows. 

Around 3 p.m. today I'm going to the take a nice walk through my community and around some surrounding walking trails.  I just feel like getting outdoors and spending some time with myself and my iPod.  I just got this new solar Ipod charger that I'm looking forward to using.  I left it outside for awhile to get some power stored in it, so when I get back from my walk I will plug my iPod into it.

My walk should be around 45 minutes and then I'll be taking the puppy for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  I would bring him with me on the entire walk, but I think that I would end up carrying him on the way back.  He has a long weekend ahead of him, since we're going to the lake and all, so I don't want to wear him out today. 

I'm looking forward to collecting my thoughts and spending sometime reflecting on the past weeks' events.  It's been pretty crazy with all of the new additions to my life.  My sons have started sports and we got a new puppy, so some "me" time won't be a bad idea. It's always good to have time to destress, if you haven't tried it then I recommend it.

Our family decided to take a weekend getaway to our lake house to spend some time with our new puppy.  It should be a great time to play with our puppy.  I'm a bit cautious about letting him run free on the boat, because I don't want him jumping in the water.  From what I understand about taking care of a puppy , they can't swim well or most of the time at all.  I don't want any mishaps occurring, while we're out on the lake.  I'll probably be holding him most of the day, oso I'm not too concerned.

We plan on letting him run around the house to get some fresh air and stretch his legs after being stuck inside most of the week. I'm sure the kids will attempt to teach him how to play fetch and play frisbee, so hopefully he's quick learner. I don't really have much faith in him learning yet, because he's usually really busy sniffing things. He is really curious and it's funny to watch him get into a little bit of trouble.  He's a little devilish, but he means no harm.  I usually let him get away with anything he does.  I just yell no, so he knows it's not an appropriate for him to act that way.

It should be a great weekend full of laughs and fun times.  Hopefully, I'll remember to take my camera to get some pictures of the puppy at the lake.  

It hasn't been a big situation as of yet, but I already feel like I'm going to be the one who gets stuck cleaning up after the puppy.  It's not a horrible problem.  My boys took the puppy out for a walk yesterday and he was filthy when he got back.  They let him in the house before they wiped him down and he made a mess of my carpet. Luckily, I just bought a can of Resolve carpet cleaner.  The spots came up easily, so it was a problem.  A little house cleaning will never hurt anyone and the puppy is well worth it.  He's has quickly made himself at home in our house.

I'm trying to teach my sons how to clean him off properly, so there isn't a need to follow him with carpet cleaner in hand all the time. I'm considering making the spray him down in the garage before he comes in the house, but that seems a bit drastic.  I'm sure he would love the quick bath anyway.  It would make things much easier for me and it's not too much to ask of my sons.  They knew they would be expected to help out with him, when we brought him home. They have been good about cleaning up his mistakes, so all in all I can't really complain.  If anyone has any recommendations for me... I would great appreciate it.  I'm new to this whole pet ownership thing, so any little cleaning tips would be much appreciated.  Thnaks in advance. 

I'm thinking about finding a part time job doing some sort of accounting or finance activities.  I have a bachelor's degree in accounting and minor in finance.  I would love to do some work in one of those fields just to see if I still have the knack for it. I'm not sure what type of field exactly, but with the economy being so poor I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities in credit card consolidation agencies.  I guess with the economy being so poor I can't really be too picky with where I work. 

I would like to help people get in my position, so I think some sort of non-profit financial institution might be my best bet.  I do have a pretty good amount of experience.  My total years of experience in accounting and finance are around 20 years, so it should be somewhat easy to find a decent job.  The only problem might be that I don't want to work full-time. It would be nice to work around 24 hours per week.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday would be the best days to work.  Hopefully things workout and I'll be employed soon after my children go back to school. 

After much debate between my husband and I, we decided it was a much better idea to just have a doctor diagnose his problem.  He's going to the doctor tomorrow, so hopefully he will have a few blood tests done and everything will be solved.  I wanted to that those of you who gave me feed back on various colon cleansers .  Your help was much appreciated.  It's nice to know that there are people in the tblog community that are here to help others. 

I will be sure to keep everyone posted on the diagnoses of my husband's condition.  He says he is feeling a bit better since we have changed his diet.  We're adding more fruits and vegetables into his diet, while eliminating most fatty meats.  He's started eating less red meat and more poultry.  The change in the diet seems to be working well and hopefully with the help of a doctor we can get him back to normal in a short period of time.  

Again thanks for all of your help.  

As I mentioned in previous posts that my older son received a phone because he was spending more time with his friends and had soccer practice.  Well my younger son recently entered junior high and he will start cross country next Monday, so we decided it would be easier to communicate about pick up times if he had a cell phone too. We got him a fair simple phone like my other son and he can only call a few preset numbers.  It is our way of keeping things fair between our two sons, while making sure they are safe.

Our older son was completely alright with the fact that the younger one didn't have to wait as long as he did for a phone.  He understands that it is strictly for calling us and we actually bought the two boys a cover and some other small cell phone accessories to kind of appease them. We like being fair parents, but sometimes it's difficult to make the difference in ages equivalent.  

Both of our sons understand that they have a responsibility to keep their phones safe and in working condition.  We plan on upgrading their cell phones for them sometime next year, because we purchased a "premium package" to upgrade our phones yearly.  We didn't tell them this, but it should be a nice surprise for them come next year. 

My younger son decided to join the junior high cross country team. His favorite sport is basketball and he figured it would help him get into good shape for basketball season. He has been running every morning for about an hour or two to get into some kind of shape. He has always had a good amount of energy and endurance, so I don't think he'll have any problems with it.

The most interesting experience for me has been trying to get accommodated to a new sport. I don't know much about running or cross country, so I've been reading up on it in a few ebooks. I didn't realize they ran as much as they do and in such a short time period. It seems like quite a workout. I was unfamiliar with the tights the boys wear. I didn't know that it was acceptable for boys to wear them, but I guess its fairly cool in the Fall.

I'm still trying to get used to the whole idea of running through forests on trails. It seems like there could be a lot of potential hazards in the forests for the athletes to trip over, but maybe that is me just being an overprotective mother. I'm excited to learn about a new sport and really hope that my son takes a liking to it.

After much begging and pleading on my sons' parts, we decided to get a puppy.  This is our first animal as a family, so it's a pretty big deal.  My husband has mild allergies to long haired dogs, so we were forced to get a short haired puppy.  We are a bit concerned with taking care of a puppy , but I've been reading books to get some extra information.  I'm not entirely new to owning a dog, since I had a few black labs growing up. 

Our puppy is a pure bred boxer. I know that boxers are a bit hyper and high strung, but we're hoping that she mellows out around 3 or 4 years of age.  We picked her out at our local pet store.  When we were looking at the puppies, she seemed the friendliest and most cordial.  She is a sweetheart of a dog with the traditional boxer markings.  She has a light fawn color with some brindle and the white striped nose and forehead.  She even has the dark rings around her eyes. We decided we wanted a dog that would be playful and be a decent size.  My sons are absolutely thrilled that she is coming home tonight. They spent all night getting everything ready for her.

I'm really excited for our new puppy.  I will be sure to post pictures as soon as we get her home.   I can't wait to welcome our newest addition to the family tonight!

My husband has been contemplating a new business start up.  He is thinking about starting up a residential cleaning business.  He is going to provide the capital for the business and his brother is going to do the work.  My husband would essentially be the silent partner in the venture and my brother in law would do all of the work. Eventually, both of them will have no immediate part in the business and they will basically be the supervisors, but they are concerned with the immediate success. 

This is just an initial thought, so there hasn't really been any really permanent decisions made. There is obviously a lot of paperwork and other details to workout, but if all goes well there will be a new cash inflow in our home.  It is nice to see my husband and his brother working together to make a profitable business.  They have the utmost trust and confidence in one another, so I'm sure this should be a very lucrative partnership.  Each of them has a 50-50 stake in the company.  My husband is funding the company and his brother is doing all of the work. 

My son's soccer team has quickly entered the preseason in full swing. Our team doesn't really have a slow preseason, because they start scrimmaging other teams within the first week. They have already had three scrimmages in the second week and are scheduled for two tournaments in a week. I can always tell it's soccer season, when I have an entire load of laundry that is socks. My son has around 10 pairs of black knee high socks . It makes it easier for both of us. I don't have to wash one pair of socks everyday and he always has an extra pair.

I always look forward to a good season. My son's team is always competitive and look pretty good so far this year. We have some stiff competition from our rival team, but we have managed to win every game against them for the past few seasons. All in all, it looks to be a pretty exciting season with plenty of nail biting games. My husband and I have made it to nearly every game in past years. We usually split if our other son has a midget football game. This year will be more of a challenge, because our younger son has more games. Sometimes I forget, which son has a game until I look at my schedule, but you have to love watching your children play sports.

My son has reached the age where he is starting to go out with his friends without my husband and I.  We decided it would convenient for him to have a cell phone to contact us, if something should happen or if he needs a ride.  Although many people have sworn against giving their children cell phones at a young age, we thought it would be safer to know where he is and what he is doing.  It will help him gain our trust and still give us a good amount of control over his activities.

We aren't giving him a fully loaded phone.  It is just a simple Nokia phone that is part of our family plan.  If he learns to use this one responsibly, then we will allow him to add features and other additional functions.  He doesn't have any crazy cell phone accessories or a bluetooth headset.  It is a basic phone that allows him to get into contact with us.  It's sad to see my son growing up so fast, but it is also good know that he is safe when he is with his friends. The cell phone will also be great to know when he needs to be picked up from practices and various other events at school.  The hardest thing to figure out is how to explain to my younger son why he doesn't need one.  

As most of you can tell from my previous posts, my family and I are avid hikers.  We have recently come to realize that most hikers are "greener" than us.  I don't mean newer to the activity, instead I mean healthier for the environment.  We still use flashlights that rely on battery power and when we are done with the batteries we merely toss them in the trash.  Recently, we made the upgrade to a crank flashlight .  We only purchased one so we could see how they work and so far it's been great.  The light is just as bright as a normal flashlight, but we use no batteries.  We  hardly ever have to crank it, so it's fairly efficient. We have decided to purchase 3 more of these miracle flashlights, so each family memeber does his or her part to be "greener."

We plan on looking to various other solar powered accessories to replace our traditional hiking gear.  We already use a solar heated shower system, but that type of technology has been around for years.  My children  have really been doing a lot of research to help my husband and I find more Earth-friendly gear. It is great to see them concerned about the Earth.  If anyone has any tips on hiking "green" please feel free to post a comment. 

I wouldn't normally do this, because the nature of this situation is quite embarrassing, but I trust the tblog community to give me decent feedback.  My husband has been suffering from dizziness and horrible cramping, so we've been looking into a colon cleanser .  We are weighing the pro's and con's of each type.  There is a lot of hope that these different natural medications will help him detoxify and straighten out his life.

Since my husband spends most of his days traveling, he eats way too much fast food.  He isn't really over weight, but his cholesterol isn't in the best shape.  Most of these different treaments offer fairly quick results and promise to remove toxicity from your system.  My husband has already started eating healthier by packing his lunch to avoid quick meals at fast food joints.  We're just looking for that extra something to help him get over the side effects of a poor diet for so many years.

I know this is a relatively embarassing subject, but it would be great to hear from people who have tried this various products.  It would help to get an idea of what type of side effects to expect along with the nature of the herbal remedy itself.  The biggest question is do they work well?