Easily Give to Redcross Haiti Relief

I am currently out of work but I think everyone, everywhere can find at least $10 to donate towards relief in Haiti. There are millions of people suffering, hungry and homeless with many lost love ones and Redcross offers a simple way to donate via your cellphone. Just dial 90999 and type in the word Haiti and send the text they will respond and ask you to type YES to confirm your donation of $10 and thats it, they automatically bill it to your cellphone.

If you think your struggling and your having a hard time just imagine how the people of Haiti are suffering and struggling just to live another day. Sometimes we think our lives are difficult but we have never had to experience such devistation as what has occurred in Haiti. If I was able to travel to Haiti myself I would be there to help out, but since I can't be there to help out and since I don't have alot of cash right now I figured I can manage at least $10 and then do my part to push other people to do the same, just think if everyone gave just $10 how much money could be raised to help those suffering so terribly. We have to say a prayer for all the people of Haiti both the dead and the survivors and thier families so that hopefully they will make it through this dark time in their lives.

So, please give $10 to Redcross via your cellphone or go to Redcross.org and just think if that were your family member suffering, you would want someone to reach out and help and lets remember right now every little bit helps. Well,that is my request to anyone who seems my blog that you give to Haiti and that you pass the message on to others around you as well, family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, church members, just push others to give in anyway they can. Thanks again for your support and lets all pray for Haiti...Let them know they haven't been forgotten and that we care!!

40 Years Old and Going Back To School!

Well, I have been thinking of going back to school for a long time now, and watching my husband work on his degree for the past couple years and decided it's my turn to do something for myself. So, I am now enrolled in school and will begin my first class the first week of February.

Yes, its a little scary to think about since its only been about 22yrs since I was in high school but it is necessary for me to be competitive in todays job market. I have been online looking up grants and scholarships for women, GA residents and undergraduates and have applied for a few but haven't got much money yet.

SO, I am also doing student loans and hoping to push through both my Associates and Bachelor degrees over the next couple years. If you have recently returned to school and have any advice for me on how to manage my time, where to go and apply for student loans, grants and scholarships, I would greatly appreciate your help.

My daughter Taylor has been a big inspiration for me as well to get back to school, she does so good in school and she just loves learning and doing things. I want to show her that mommy can go back to school and do it as well, also I want her to know that it doesn't matter what age you are, that you can always still follow through with your goals.

I am open to any advice you may have for me, so please feel free to comment..thanks again and I plan on getting back to my blogging for 2010..

Spring Blues!!

It is spring time and aren't we supposed to feel all happy and springy? Well not me, I have been feeling a little down over the reoccuring rain we get every single week. I think it good to get some rain, but we have been getting rain every week for several weeks and I mean like 6-8 weeks or possibly longer.

Usually I uncover our pool end of March beginning of April, but this year temperatures have been lower and the rain just doesn't seem to go away. We get like 1-3 days of descent weather each week and then the rest of the week is over cast with possible thunderstorms. I think it gets a little depressing after so long of not getting to get out of the house much, or without seeing the sun shine more often.

I like a good rain at times so I can curl up and sleep in, or just have a movie day but after several days and then several weeks it gets really old.

My anniversary is this weekend and we were going to get a cabin on the lake but as the weather looks bad again this weekend, we are just going to go to a local lake of weather permits. It has been this way for weeks, for my birthday, now our anniversary, it seems I just can't get a break to be able to get out and enjoy nature. I love to hike, and go to the lake but the weather just have been really sketchy keeping us in more than out.

My daughter will be away for the weekend so I would really love it, if the sun gods would take over and push the rain god away at least for this weekend so that I can enjoy my anniversary weekend I would really appreciate it.

Spring time blues got me down but haven't knocked me out..So, I will grin and enjoy the weekend no matter what we do, but I really hope going to the lake will work out.

I will pray to the sun god's and see what happens!

Swine Flu Craze !

The Swine Flu or H1N1 virus literrally has people confused and I feel the media is causing extreme fears among people. Yes, of course it is a serious matter and people should take precautions in traveling, but we should not just stop living our lives or going about our day to day activities.

Some schools are closing or halting all sporting or extra events and for schools that have been affected and have cases of the virus prevelant I can understand taking precautions to avoid the spread of the virus, but I don't feel all parents should now be alarmed that the same should happen at their schools where there are no cases of the virus.

The Vice President made a major mistake in saying that people should avoid being in close confines with others such as the trains, buses and planes or any confned area at all. That sends a fear among people every where that it isn't safe to go to work or for their kids to go to school or for people to fly within the US or to travel abroad. No, I wouldn't recommend travel to Mexico as several cases have not only been confirmed in Mexico, most all cases in the US were of people who recently returned from trips to Mexico and not just Mexico City but several cases of people returning from Cancun have been confirmed and its to bad that we find this out now, just weeks after all the thousands of teenagers and college students just returned from spring break trips to different area's around Mexico..Maybe if this had become public prior to then people would have stayed home and not traveled and then bringing it back into the US.

The media has a way of always making things seem 100% worse than it is and yes, just like everyone else out there, I have my own concerns with the virus but I won't stop going to the gym or taking my daughter to school or going to the park or shopping at the store, we have to live our lives and they tell you the best thing you can do is wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer, and cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and if you begin to get flu like symptoms go to a doctor right away don't wait and take a chance that it will get worse, just go ahead and go and be tested and treated as soon as possible to prevent it from getting worse or spreading to other people you may come in contact with. It is simple, use your head and take precautions and in the case you ever do become ill don't try to treat it yourself with over the counter meds as they will not help you, just go to the doctor and if you are sick they will treat you, the sooner you are treated the better off everyone is.

I just say, please don't let the Swine Flu Craze sweep you up and mess with your life, we can't live our lives in fear, of what could happen. I mean you could get in an accident every time you drive your car. So, don't stop living your life and don't let other people get you all stressed out over it, just be wise in your daily activities and remind your kids to wash their hands regulary and give them small hand sanitizers to carry with them.

And please, everyone the Swine Flu or H1N1 virus is not transferable from eating pork, they say it actually doesn't even come from pigs that is why they changed the name from Swine to H1N1 to stop to confusion of people thinking that pigs or eating pork would some how make them ill. Some countries confused over the name Swine having to do with pigs or pork began killing off all the pigs in the country to stop the speard, and the pigs are not the ones who are spreading the virus it is transfered person to person, not by pigs or by us eating pork..

So, everyone have your bacon and eggs in the morning and if you wanted to cookout this weekend and have some baby back ribs, go ahead it is perfectly safe to do so...

Hard financial times also hard on pets !

As we are all facing hard times, it not only affects people, but can also affects our pets as well. As more and more people are struggling to pay their bills and feed their families, more people are forced to give up their pets all as they are unable to pay for their pets needs, or many people forced out of their homes are unable to take their pets to an apartment or to live with relatives.

This means more pets are being left behind at vacant homes, or in the street or dropped off at animal shelters hoping someone will adopt them before they are put to sleep. I also, face issues with my 3 dogs where I am currently unable to pay for their annual shots or flea and heart preventative medications. I feel like I am being a bad mommy to my dogs, but I just don't have the money for shots. I can't imagine losing my pets and I have cared for them for years, so I will not give them up and I will find away to always get them their food, it may not be the expensive bags of dog food but I keep them fed, they are inside animals not subjected to the weather and so I am doing my best, but unfortunately I just can't seem to ever have enough money to afford shots. As credit card companies raised their interest rates I had to close out my accounts and so I have no back up money any where, right now I am out of work and my husband is working but his income doesn't account for more than half of our monthly bills.

So, I think its extremely sad that people have to choose to give up their pets, as so many are like family and like children. When you lose a pet its like a death in the family you go through a phase of loss and have to learn to get over it, but to have to give your pet to a shelter not knowing who will end up with your beloved pet or if it will be adopted at all, its really sad.

I can't imagine what the animals go through themselves, you are the only home and family they have ever known and to be thrown in a cage in a shelter with hundreds of other dogs barking and cats has to be a terrifying experience and very stressful for the animals. I think what has happened to our economy, is just an awful thing, as it affects business', homeowners, families and yes, even our pets.

To my babies, I am so sorry I can't afford your shots right now but I will do my best to keep you protected from illness, fleas, and heartworms until I can afford to get you all your necessary shots.. Is there anyone out there offering pets services to help families struggling to care for their pets if so, and they are in the Atlanta, GA area please let me know so I can see if I can get help for my 3 loveable babies, Gizmo 14yrs old, Oreo 4 yrs old, and Chaos 2yrs old..

Struggling economy means struggling families !

Are you like so many other people out there struggling just to get by each month, living paycheck to paycheck? So, many people in my own family have been affected by the down turn in the real estate industry and are just getting by, where as before they lived pretty good life styles.

My sister and her husband owned a flooring company and had just recently expanded right before the real estate industry turned south, and this past year they ended up having to close their business and now are both unemployed and like myself there are no unemployment benefits for people who are self-employed so when we are out of work we are just out of luck.

My cousin in Florida is a builder and out of work, my husband and myself own a home inspection and appraisal business and we lost 90% of our business causing my husband to have to take a full time job else where after owning and running our own business for 10yrs now. I am stressed out most of the time due to the finances and my husband is working all the time making less money than we made running our own company and the bills are falling behind. I have been cutting back anywhere and everywhere I can to try and save us some money.

I also, have family members in commercial real estate that have been affected, not to the extreme as people on the residential end of the real estate game but it just goes on and on.

I see people who had great lives, great homes, all losing it do to loss of jobs or having chose the wrong type of mortgage loan, with skyrocketing mortgage payments..It really is sad to see what has happened to our country and all over the world really in such a short time span of 2 years now I guess its been. It seemed like June 2007 is when things really began to change and it just went down hill from there and I just wonder when things will really turn back around.

In 2007 they said by mid 2008 we would be okay again, and as that didn't happen they changed it to end of 2008 and then it just went on and on with predictions of when the housing market would turn around and guess what? they were all wrong it still hasn't changed. So, I just pray that things will get better and I am blessed to still have my home and not be behind on my mortgage, we both have vehicles 1 paid for and the other will be paid off within 5 months, so I guess I am one of the luckier ones. Even though we struggle, stress and complain about our situation, we know there are other people out there in far worse situations than us and so I thank god that my husband has a job, that we can pay our bills, maybe not always on time but we still get them paid and I hope everyone else out there going through tough times can just hold on and keep pushing forward, it has to get better, it has to!!

Working from Home !

Working from home, can have it's up and downs! One thing I really love, about working from home is that is has given me the opportunity to be home and watch me daughter grow up. Now that she is school aged, it allows me to attend school functions & be home when she's sick without having to explain, why I need to take time off to be with her. Not to say that she never attended anytime of childcare from someone else she did as due to my work in real estate I am not always able to be here every day all day as I have clients to see but for most of it, she has been able to be with mommy.

Also, working from home allows me to set my own schedule and I can choose to take time off when I am sick or want to go on vacation without asking permission. The down side is that I am self-employed and so there is no sick pay or vacation pay, so when I am not working that means I am also not making any money.

Another thing is that when business slows down as it has over the past year and a half or so and there is no business, I don't get a paycheck like I said before if I am not working, I am not making money.

Working from home can be great but it can also be very isolating as you don't have an office full of people to communicate with and so you have be very self motivated to work from home. Also, I found that I gained weight do to lack of movement, I mean really I walk from my bedroom to my office and around the house throughout the day but it offers little to no exercise. So, ladies and gentlemen make sure to set aside time to workout before you end up like me, out of shape and struggling to get back in shape...But over all I can't complain as this is what I wanted to be able to do all along and so I am blessed that I have been working from home for almost 10yrs now!

If you want to share your work from home challenges please leave a comment!