Sushi Inferno

Last night, my sister, Jenn, and my friend Lori and I went to eat sushi. We went to a nice local restaurant. We very seldom get together with just the girls. So, we were anticipating great chatter and yummy sushi. Once seated and reviewing the menu, neither Lori nor I could decide what specialty roll to order. Jenn knew exactly what she wanted. After a few times of telling our sweet waiter to give us a few more minutes to decide, the waiter offered to pick for us. We both nodded our head, yes, great. Being even more of a dear, he asked what do you normally like? Lori and I both answered...eel, shrimp, salmon ...not too spicy. We then decided we would split the two rolls between us. He told us "don't worry, the chef will make two wonderful rolls!" What a darling waiter! As we ate our shrimp chips and caught up, the waiter brought our meal. Lori and I did the "splitting." The rolls looked absolutely scrumptious. One was similar to spicy tuna, but had mounds of shrimp. The other was topped with unagi and red fish. YUMMY! We fixed our soy and wasabi and proceeded to dig in. I soaked mine in soy and put it in my mouth. I am hoping I can find the words to explain the "uh" taste...Let's see FIRE, inferno, burnt tonsils, peeling lips, raw acid down my throat. I was too surprised to react. I think I looked at my plate to make sure I hadn't accidentally, put the pretty little ball of wasabi in my mouth. I do remember, my sister looking at me and asking if it was good. I looked at her, then Lori. Lori had the Oh My look, yep, both rolls were fire encrusted, put any hot-spicy, habenero connoisseur to shame rolls! The waiter approached the table. Now, he is not looking so sweet and charming. He asks us if we like his picks. Lori clears her throat and squeaks, "a little spicy!" He smiles and says "hot?" Hot? yes kind of, more like incinerator. He brings us some ice tea to aid the fire. Ice tea? How about a fire extinguisher; we all burst into laughter. Holy smokes! Lori asked if her lips were swelling. We could not stop laughing. We could not stop analyzing the heat and the fire these little babies had! Upon further dissecting, we decided the red sauce may be the fire source. We scraped all remnants of red sauce off the roll...a little better-tolerable. When the waiter returns again, he asks if it is better. Lori tells him kindly "it's fine, we scraped some of the hot stuff off one roll and salvaged it. You really made us laugh." He says he feels bad, and will have the chef make us rolls properly this time. He explains that they were not what he told the chef to make for us. We tell him not to worry. We enjoyed the humor of the situation. He then makes it all very clear, "yes, your rolls had EVIL SAUCE on them." "Evil sauce?" We ask in unison. Nonchalantly, he replies, "uh-huh, EVIL SAUCE." Evil sauce, well that explains it. Can I just say, beware of the evil sauce and the sweet waiter.

Freebies-Completely FREE 2 bottles OPI Nail Polish & more

Happy Friday! I have listed a few of the great freebies that I received today. No gimmicks.
OPI nail polish:
http://www.teenfreeway.com/opi_nail/index.htm

Face Cream
http://tiger-moon.com/sample.htm

Kashi frozen entree...as seen on TV
http://www.kashi.com/picturehunt

The next one is for a free Crest Whitestrip sample:
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid65100.aspx

Another great Wal-Mart one-free Maybelline foundation:
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid65952.aspx

Gain laundry detergent & softener
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/100669/thankyou.iphtml?item=100669

Ok, that is probably all for today. Please enjoy & read my blog!

Come on Spring!

I am suffering from the winter blues. I am so eager for spring to come. I definitely have the itch. Yesterday, I meandered out into my backyard with the intention of shutting my kid's clubhouse doors. Suffice to say, I ended up spending from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 fluttering from one yard project to the other. I moved all my yard artifacts (that I am not sure how to get rid of); landscaping ties, cinder blocks, concrete pavers, old nasty firewood into nice neat stacks behind the clubhouse. I blew leaves into a four foot wall on one side of my house. Which I might add, as I type, the wind is whipping them back into their place in my pond and patio! I pestered my slowly waking gold fish in my pond by netting out pounds of old still beautifully colored oak leaves. I even transplanted some monkey grass plants to a new home around a tree. When I was finished, I drank a beer and surmised my completely satisfying day. A day's hard work with four callouses, dirt caked from head to toe, and pond water soaked sweats to prove it. My reward came this morning as I was seeing my daughter off to school. Like a framed picture in the middle of my lawn, which is the color of hay and has more bald spots than grass...was a beautiful golden flower standing tall in full bloom!!! Nature's sweet little token for my day's reflection of her.

Free stuffed animal and blanket from Babies One Step

http://www.babiesonestep.com/feb_giveaway.html
This is a great offer from Babies One Step. Really simple...no long surveys, no signing up for anything...they even pay shipping....

3 sets to choose from and they are all really cute!

Found this offer on http://www.theadventuresofsupermom.com/

Offer ends 3-15-09

Unemployment Brings Opportunities

In the last 24 hours, I talked to two good friends who are losing their jobs. I can relate. I lost mine at the end of October. As usual, I told them how sorry I was...that it is very scary and daunting. But on the flip side, it's amazing how the old adage, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. One of my friends is looking at his job loss as a chance to start a brand new career. He is really excited. The other has decided to go solo, and start her own company. She is looking forward to working from home and seeing her kids more. Both these people have long roads in front of them. Both have new worries and mortgages that must be paid, but I can't help but feel their renewed sense of purpose and energy. I can't help but think had they not lost their jobs, they might be doing what they don't want to be doing for another 20 years. Adversity often brings new opportunities, just waiting to be grabbed. I find myself in the same position. Money is tighter, but I look forward to the day again. I am painting and writing again. Now if we can just keep our mortgage's current, maybe we will find a new happier road in life. Maybe it's just another insight to Americans as survivors.

Cooking my aquarium

My writing often helps me reflect on my life. Sometimes, my short literary notes even teach me little life lessons. Today, my writing gave me a small epiphany and a good belly laugh. Proofread, proofread, and proofread again. I just reread on old post where I had listed my hobbies, blah, blah, blah, cooking my fish tank. No, I don't like to pan sear my aquarium. I can only imagine some full-blown aquarium aficionado, calling me into the SPCA. The absence of a comma; and the meaning changed. The absence of that small symbol and misunderstanding. The comma-a short pause. Ah, the difference of one little comma. Good thought for life. Stop and take the time to check for commas. A short breath to surmise the full statement. Now, maybe I should go back and re-read all my writings. I could use some more life lessons.

Twitter Me

Have I finally reached the point that I will need to stay attached to my laptop at all times? I have 5 or 6 emails, 2 different IM's, an ignored archived MySpace account, and probably 10 other sites that I receive 100's of reminders and emails from that all tout me as a member. And today, I signed up on Twitter. I already feel that my various computer outlets are like badly ignored step-children. My brother asked me the other day why I don't respond to emails. I had to ask what email he was using? Oh, that one...I don't check it that much. Now when I log into my computer, I confess I mark myself as being away from the computer. Yet, here we go again. One more techie-stay connected-app club that I just had to sign up for. It's amazing that I am still remembering passwords. And worse yet, I think I joined Twitter, because of my other addiction...the news. Yes, I am a news junkie, and CNN promoted Twitter, one too many times and guess what??? it worked. I joined Twitter. Marketing works. What's next a membership to manage my memberships???

Eating Odd Things!

Today at lunch time, I opened the fridge and summed up the various leftovers and lunch meats. None of which, met my palates approval. Hmm, marinated artichoke hearts sat in a jar in the side of the fridge. Sounds good. I fixed a glass of my blood juice, Mountain Dew, turned on the news, my lunch ritual, and proceeded to eat my lunch straight from the jar. Now I ask you. Am I unique? Does the fact that a jar of marinated artichoke hearts suffice as a compatible substitute for that ham sandwich or Big Mac? Does it make it even odder that I followed the salty sour goodness with 3 chocolates from my 10 year olds Valentines Day present to me? Just after lunch, my friend called, and I confessed my little lunch bag. She laughed and said she often did the same thing. I said, "really? You eat artichoke and chocolate for lunch?" She laughed, "oh yuck, no, but I won't tell you some of my weird combinations, I specifically keep on hand!!!" Which got me to thinking, growing up, my mom would always gross me out, as a snack, she loved saltines with butter and a little sugar sprinkled on top. I think we all have closet food combos that just nurture our own quirky personalities...What about you? Brave enough to list out loud?

Reality of EBAY

When I lost my job, I panicked. Money really doesn't grow on trees or magically appear. AND unfortunately, the one check I do receive is nice, but it really doesn't cover more than the mortgage. It's nice to keep the house, but the kids really don't understand not having lights, water, TV, heat etc...Ha! So I gave good old EBAY a try. I am writing this to give some reality based perspective on EBAYING. First, the set up. Pain in the tush. Yes, fix a drink, a cup of coffee and be prepared to spend a few hours in front of the computer. Once, you're up and running, it will be time to actually sell something on EBAY, and once again, be prepared to read, learn and spend another few hours in front of the computer. All in all though, if you are realistic and learn from your mistakes; I would suggest that anyone can make an extra couple hundred dollars a month with just a few hours invested.

My tips:

• Use EBAY pulse to get an idea what is selling
• Use any contacts you have to obtain those items that sell-for example, old tools-your dad
• Sell "lots" of clothing-I have had the best luck with my son's (age 12) clothing.
• Mix in good with the bad-Abercrombie with some Target t-shirts.
• Use key words that appeal to your buyer- for example, I use "skater" clothes in mine
• Sell 5-10 pieces at a time.
• Use designer names if real in title. MUST DO!
• Don't overwhelm yourself, list a few new items each day.
• Round weight to the nearest pound to estimate shipping cost.
• Use 1st class mail when it weighs less than 13 oz. ( I always offer parcel post & I charged too much quite a few times, by not offering 1st class mail).
• Always answer questions honestly and fast.
• Ask every buyer for good feedback.
• Be specific on when you ship from the start.
• EBAY and PAYPAL make 30% on your sale, sometimes more.
• Figure the 30% on everything you sell, especially if you do a friend a favor and list their items.
• Start with a low starting bid...proven over and over that this works best.
• Don't assume, because no one else is bidding on a similar item that yours will not sell.
• If it doesn't sell, re list your item, changing the title or category.
• If it doesn't sell re list once more.
• Keep it simple
• http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/nothard2remember918_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

RED WAX ON MY CARPET

Lovely, just lovely, those really pretty red candles that smell so good burning, look horrible melted down my desk and onto my carpet. Holy smokes, great big blotches of red wax all over my tan carpet. Doesn't help that it's the first thing you see upon walking into my office. EEK, quick scan on google-my iron-a brown paper sack-medium setting-VOILA!!! Completely gone...be generous with the brown paper sack, iron over the wax with the brown paper sack on top(best to remove as much of the wax with a butter knife first). Go to a fresh spot on the paper sack, iron, until the wax is gone...worked like a charm.

Cure for wrinkles

I think I have found a cure for wrinkles. I am 41 and I will admit I am just like every other woman. I spent my teen years generously slathering the wonderful concoction of baby oil and iodine on my skin. I spent my summers in the pool or the lake with the red glowing burn worn almost as a badge of beauty. As I hit my 30's, I noticed that I was getting more freckles, then I noticed the small laugh lines (who named them that? they will make a grown woman weep not laugh) around my eyes and mouth. Not until I was in my late 30's did I develop a serious regiment of taking care of my skin. No sleep until my face is washed, sunscreen, night cream, eye cream. As I hit my 40th b-day, I started getting the panicked buyer syndrome. I have drawers and cabinets full of products, promising to erase the 5 lines on my forehead, the grooves that always make me look like I am scowling, the crows feet at the corner of my eyes. Not to mention, the red blood vessels that burst as a consequence to giving birth numerous times. Or for the brown spots that often like to appear as the mustache above my lip. Alas, there was no magic cure. I have yet to wake up to find a whole new me that looks like Angelina.

Until, this year. Over the last 4 months, everytime I walk past my bedroom mirror, I notice that my wrinkles have vastly diminished. Especially, the 5 grooves on my brow. How you ask? Removing people and situations that cause stress. It doesn't work, as much, for the smile lines, but hey my forehead grooves rank a lot more noticeable for me. It occurred to me that since I lost my job and I am no longer in the office everyday, dealing with people and communicating through problems and issues that my lines are almost gone. I can tell that my forehead is much smoother. I spend my days now mostly alone. I have no reason to be animated. The computer doesn't care for any reaction from me. The lesson to learn, your attitude and instinctive facial habits do have an effect on your looks. When your mamma said not to make that face it might stay that way...she was right.

My New Blog

Just wanted to make my first blog, my introduction. My name is Cherie. Mom of four, two 19 year old boys, a 12 year old boy and a daughter, the princess who is 10. I have a great guy in my life whom I cherish, because there have been quite a few not so great ones and it's been a WHILE. I focus on a happy home. I live my life through trials and tribulation. I keep a sense of humor and try to find the good in people. From there, you get a sometimes over-analyzed to a sarcastic perspective of life. I just recently lost my job, and have been working at home on many, did I say many, uh-hum "projects". I design and sell a major brand of jewelry, but that has had it's own issues, which I am sure will be blogged about. I eBay, craigs list, have a website and in general, am your girl for hire, if it helps me pay the bills. My friends say I am industrious, I think I am just in the search of the almighty dollar.

Some of my interests are the lake, yard work, painting, cooking, my fish tank, analyzing and socializing. Stay tuned for more.