So yes today is Valentines Day, a day I used to cringe, just want to curl under the bed, to fast forward the day. Well even though I have a love, I wouldn't oppose on skipping this day. Not because I'm not in love, or that I don't believe in love; to me you should love each other every day. It doesn't have to be romantic all the time but love should be shown daily. Why do we have to wait till Valentines day to get flowers, candy and a nice dinner? It's expensive to wine and dine for one day and many people struggle financially which places them with an additional burden. I know about this first hand. Valentines doesn't have to be expensive. I would rather attend my love at home by dressing the table for two, (even if its paper plates) have the in expensive wine chilling with glasses ready, cook a delicious meal (Aldi's to the rescue) and desert. Well of course desert is served after dinner, in the bedroom with Marvin Gaye, Sexual Healing playing (you will never go wrong with Marvin Gaye) in the background, dim the lights, on the bed there would be a heart made out of rose petals, side note: you can pick up a bag of rose petals at the dollar store..yes I'm going on the cheap side. You need to pick and choose your battles when it comes to your finances. You sex him up with a final massage with oils until he's knocked out! Nighty Night!
Well thats what I would have done for my love but instead I bought him an emoji pillow because he is constantly sending that particular pic via text and a box of chocolates.
I thought my gift was a great gift, he loves to text me the emoji and he loves chocolates. My honey arrived and to my surprise he bought me flowers, took me to dinner and gave me a gift certificate to take my car to the shop for an automatic starter to be installed! I was taken back. I wanted to jump an click my heels. I told him thank you and that I appreciate it but that its expensive and as much as I appreciate it that he did not have to buy me the gifts. He said that he knows how much I don't like the cold and he just wanted me warm. I threw on my sexy high heel boots that zipped up to my knees and a blue top that hugged my curvy shape and off we went to eat dinner. We had reservations to a place called La Esperanza it's a Mexican Restaurant. The place was packed, the food was very good and the Margarita's were delicious. I would definitely go there again. We came home and I served dessert! Nighty Night!
I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day, hopefully as much as we did!
Who wants SOD? I wanted to share this video below of
my sod installation last summer. The sod is holding up pretty nicely. It's very
green and no weeds. So I'm extremely happy.
My brother and his family came over to help rotor till the front yard. This is definately not a one man job. So if your going to install sod, gather up the troops. Unfortunately we don't have pictures of this part.
I purchased my sod at Tabernacle Farm in Tabernacle, NJ and the price was good and delivery was fast! The price of the delivery was so cheap I could not pass it up. The delivery guy asked if I had ever laid sod and when I stated no, he happily started the flow for me. He said to stagger the sod and keep it going.
Before you are able to dig into your lawn you should make a call to
the Before You Dig number. I live in New Jersey so I'm not sure about the rules in other states, but here is the link: http://call811.com/ to enable safe digging. They
will come out and mark lines as to where hidden underground wires or lines are
placed. Sometimes flags are placed on the soil. This is a free service to home
owners who will be digging. So take advantage of the free service.
Unfortunately, Comcast did not come out to mark the cable so we mistakenly cut your
cable....sorry neighbor. They were really nice about what happened so we
quickly fixed the line, but it was only temporary. Because they never came out to
mark the yard, I was not responsible for the repair so it was repaired for free. Yay!
You should water the lawn immediately after installation but mother nature was so good to me that week that she rained constantly for two weeks which helped me out in two ways. Free water and it saved me money on my water bill. Double Whammy!
To date, the lawn is the greenest in my area. I love it and it was totally
worth manual labor.
Thank you to all the people who helping me. I truly appreciate it!! I am not in no way advertising for Tabernacle Farms but just sharing my personal experience with their product. Shoot me any questions you may have. I love talking about my sod :)
My
dog, Bear, passed away on June 5, 2014 from seizures. He was 14 years old. He was a
great boxer. Bear was the highlight of my evening. A purpose for me to be home.
He was such a smart animal. He loved to play freeze tag (yes he knew how to
play freeze tag), peek-a-boo, loved his walks, and he loved me. My protector
and baby. We tend to nurture our animals as if they are one of us; actually
they truly are, and sometimes they are better than human kind. He would get in
trouble, just at my kids and he would get punished, just as they would too. He
knew my routine and knew it well. Bear would wait at the window for me to come
home and gallop like a horse until I would pet him, squeeze his cheeks and sat
next to him for a few minutes. Through my diminishing relationships, Bear knew
my pain and he comforted me by just being next to me, sometimes on top of me;
because he wanted you to know that even though I'm hurting, he's there to
comfort me.
Bear was never sick. One day, he couldn't get up. I took him to the
animal hospital where he was diagnosed as having severe seizures from old age.
It never dawned on me that I would ever lose him. I felt he would be with me
forever. After 2 days of medications, the Dr.'s said if he has another attack
we have to put him to rest. As I sat next to him in the hospital, he tried his
best to get up. He picked up his paws and tried but he was too week and tired.
He had another attack and I had to do the most dreadful thing, to put him down.
The Dr. asked if I wanted to stay. I told her yes! I was his mommy and I was
going to be there with him to the end as he was always with me. Thru thick and
thin. I kissed him, hugged him, and told him how sorry I was that I couldn’t do
anything to help him. Then he was gone. As tears rolled down my eyes, I cried
uncontrollably, sobbing, all I felt was an overwhelming pain in my heart. I lost my child. My protector. My comforter. My pumpkin.
It’s
been a tough year without him. Things are not the same. A whole year has passed and my heart is still heavy with pain. I had him
cremated and placed him in his favorite spot in the house; for he was never an
outside dog. I kiss him every day, I hold him, and I cry with him. People look
at me like I'm crazy to cry for a "dog", but not everyone are dog
lovers. It takes a unique person with a huge heart for animals to love them.
After purchasing my house five years ago, I have finally found the time to remodel my main bathroom. I live in a townhouse, big enough for the three of us; well ok we may have room for one more :) Get the hint; boyfriend? Any way when I bought this house, I knew eventually I would have to renovate the awful, crusty bathroom. The walls were green, the floor had old stick on floor tiles (not that there's anything wrong with using stick on tiles), the bathtub was a dingy yellow (builders grade) and the vanity was falling apart. I was dreading even going into the bathroom. So I started looking for some solutions to a few of my problems.
PROBLEM #1: I'm broke. I do no have the funds to spend thousands of dollars in redoing the bathroom with a contractor. I will have to do this project by my self with a budget of approximately $1,500; not much.
SOLUTION: Surf Craigslist, eBay, local thrift shops, dumpster diving, head first; (no sham in my game).
PROBLEM #2: I wanted to replace the old bathtub but my handy man estimated $1,700 just to remove and replace the tub, and that's a quote without actually buying the tub. His business card was introduced to the recycling bin fast. Someone stated to me if I had a low cut shirt, the price would have been dropped significantly. Not funny :) Well maybe a little.
SOLUTION: Good'ole Uncle Sam to the rescue. ($cha-ching$)
PROBLEM #3: How long will my bathroom be out of commission? How will we bathe?
SOLUTION: Well we do live next to a pond, skinny dipping after dark? Or, if we were desperate enough, we could always jump in the pool out back? Nope, my great girlfriend lives next door, she offered her home and bathroom to my kids and myself. I'm a lucky girl to have such special people in my life.
PROBLEM #4: I'm pretty handy but who will help me if something goes wrong; hence, plumbing?
SOLUTION: Well after talking to the BF he states he is very familiar with cleaning and laying pipes. Haha I said I don't need them cleaned, I need them fixed, he said all the same thing. I said that's debatable. Well; all kidding aside, he was an apprentice for the ship yard in Philadelphia so that's why he's skilled with plumbing.
PROBLEM #5: I'm a one WOMAN job! Caramba! (Latina coming out)
SOLUION: Lots of Union breaks. Suck it up Mama! You can do this!
SO....my journey began
Out with the OLD...and in with the NEW!
WOOHOO!!!
Well its brand new to me. I decided not to replace the bath tub, but instead to paint it. I did a lot of online blog reading and I found a site that totally helped me make my decision. The site was Addicted 2 Decorating. This site is a great site. Kristi is very talented and has a ton of DIY's, tutorials, inspirations; basically she is super amazing. She even has a video of her bath tub painted. So check out her site. So with that in mind I figured if she could make her tub look brand new, why wouldn't it work for me? I followed her instructions to the letter.
I began the bath tub in early March. There's a series of steps you must do BEFORE you begin to paint. I purchased two boxes of tub and tile paint (see description below). I applied two coats of paint, in which I allow the tub to dry very well in between. It takes approximately three days for the tub to cure. Don't take any shortcuts. You don't want to compromise your hard work you put fourth. I would strongly suggest you buy a respirator mask. I purchased mine at homedepot and it worked great. If you have a window in your bathroom, I would suggest you open it an place a fan in the window and have the air blow out. I couldn't smell anything except when I took my respirator off in between coats.
Model # 65021HA1-C Internet # 202080143 Store SKU # 275703 Household Multi-Purpose Respirator $29.97
MY MAIN SUPPLIES:
I'm a Amazon fanatic...AND Homedepot does not sell this item.
Rust-Olem Tub and Tile: Bought in Amazon click here
Shur-Line 03700C 4-Inch Foam Mini Roller with 12-Inch Handle click here
Here's a detailed video from Rust-Oleum showing you
the exact process yourself and the items items you will need.
Now all DIY'ers know that once you start a project, another magically appears. At first I just wanted to paint the tub but when the tub out shined everything else in the bathroom, I immediately knew this was not a small DIY project, this was a total bathroom overhaul project.....STAY TUNED!!!
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please leave your comments. Come back for more updates on my bathroom!
My first vacation EVER!! Yes, believe it or not
it was my first. I've been a single mom since the age of 17 and worked up to 3
jobs all at once while attending college. If your a single mom, I give you
credit. Awe hell if your a mom in general we all deserve credit. Because I
raised my kids alone, I could never go on any type of vacation due to my
finances. I was single recently for a year due to another failed relationship
so about five months ago, I met this amazing man, in which, I will discuss how
we met in another post. He was in shock that I have not only ever been on a
vacation but have never flew out o the country. So one day he told me to read
my email, and sure enough it was there...reserved sets to Mexico! OMG..I was
stunned. Even though the trip was about four months away, I quickly ran up the
attic, practically breaking my neck, to pull the dusty old suitcase my mom gave
me and dragged it to my room. I cleaned it and then just stared at it, like a
dear with headlights. I said to myself "now what"?. My daughter
laughed and said "well you now put clothes in it to wear". So the fun
began picking out clothes from my closet and tearing up the drawers for
bikini's. I was definitely a newbie traveler.
I didn't have a passport so I had to apply for
one. Nothing like getting a horrible mug shot that will stay with you for 10
years. But Yay!! after waiting 2 long months that felt like two years, the day
has come to go on vacation. My boyfriend also found out that I have never been
in a limo before, yes its true..don't judge me..lol..so he arranged for the
limo to pick us up early in the morning.
1st Limo Ride
After 3.5 hours on the plain and going through
customs, we finally arrived at the resort. The resort was absolutely beautiful.
It was for ADULTS only so sorry kids, step aside. Its our time for some
R&R. The resort only holds approx. 200 rooms so its quaint but not to
personal. Palm trees are beautiful, there was warm weather in the 80's and the
service and food was outstanding. They made sure you had drinks in our hands
all day long.
The swim up bar was refreshing and that's where
we were able to meet so many other people from around the country. Our room was
turned down twice a day. Each day there was some type of swan or bunny on the
bed and red rose petals. The beach was breath taking. Sand felt like silk, the
water was so clear you can see the corel below and the water was warm. They had
tons of huts there to refresh yourself from the sun and or tan all day.
A few weeks before our vacation, I began to shop
for additional bathing suits. We talked about being "that couple",
you know, the couple with matching outfits..LOL..yes we were that couple.
Everyone loved our ensemble. We joked with the other guest when they looked at
us and smirked by saying "yes were that couple" and they cracked up
because we were reading their minds. They got a kick out of it. Even though you
cant see it he does have the shorts on. I love this bathing suit. My favorite
one.
Since we were going to be in Mexico during
Halloween we had to get costumes. After looking around we found a cool Top Gun
costume which I spruced up a little by adding fish net stocking and a sexy
boostia for the top portion. It really worked well.
There was tons of
activities to partake in. There was volleyball, horseshoes, ping pong, water
activities, poker, rifle shooting, kayak and even feeding the turtles...side
not: speaking of Kayaking we went out on a kayak trip in the water with five
other couples and one couple was expecting. When it was time to come back, the
staff member stated that the first one is the winner back to shore. Well that
prompted everyone to lift their ores and take off. Some how the lady expecting
came flying passed us with her husband, leaving us last. How does this happen...lol..we
were laughing so hard that we couldn’t paddle. It was like she had a super baby
in her belly. They flew passed us...I couldn’t
stop laughing...so that was the joke of the day that we lost to an expectant
mother. Good for her! Her baby has to be healthy. God bless. Anyway, At the
evening there was cinema night, more gambling, salsa and Spanish lessons.
In
the Grand Ballroom, there was opera singing, more food, and since it was all
inclusive, all the alcohol you can have until you passed out. I still can't
seem to remember anything Tuesday past 12:00 pm..:) There was entertainment
shows at night in the main room; from juggling, to magic and the newlywed game.
While there we were able to see the Euphoria Water Show which was amazing. Left
us speechless.
In addition, since we were there for Halloween they had their Mexican
tradition...Dia de los Muertos, meaning
day of the dead. A Mexican celebration. It was great to see the staff dressed
up in costumes. The staff was having a ball with their costumes. It were great
that they were familiar with their guest and they knew everyone by name, making
it more personal, so they became our new found friend. They were outgoing, energetic
and knew how to keep the party going.
House Keeping Killer & Scarecrow
Freddy's Back
Chuckie go easy on me.
Therefore, for my
first official vacation it was an amazing one. I had such a memorable time. Had
tons of fun meeting lots of amazing people and wouldn't mind going back in the
near future. I am not going to lie, it was tough coming back home after a seven
day vacation, but reality hit and besides, it made me regroup my thoughts and
reset my priorities in life as a whole. I guess I really needed a vacation. I
want to thank my boyfriend Joe for taking me and allowing him to be a part of
my first official vacation. I would want to spend it with anyone else.
I have not been
paid to advertise Secrets Resorts, I am just blogging about my experience while
vacationing there. If you want to check out their website here's the link: http://www.secretsresorts.com/capri-riviera-cancun
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