My Sister

I expect my sister (Julia) to drop dead when she sees I've actually posted something on my blog, so I'm blogging about her this time so you get to know her before it's too late.

I don't think I've ever told her how amazing she is.  I try in little ways, but she's so busy listening to the voices in her head, or hearing only her own voice most of the time, that she can't hear how much I love her.  I've never told her that she's actually living the life I've always wanted to live.  I wonder how she'll feel about hearing that.  My life didn't turn out that way -- I moved away from my home town and no circumstances have ever taken me back.  (I have a good life, too; I just miss my family.)   I love my family and I crave them, but here I sit, in another country.  Julia lives in Germany, her children go to German schools, she lives right down the road from our mom, she married a good man and has a good life, she goes for walks in the woods, she goes to the Luisenpark where our Oma used to go, she can ride the streetcar or the bus to go shopping (I love that!), she is simply connected to the history I miss dearly.

She is everything I am not.  She will do anything for you, give you the shirt off her back -- she's very generous that way . . . . at least to the people she really cares about.  She's creative! Oh my goodness: the things she makes and cooks, and bakes -- because of all her effort last Christmas, it was one of the best Christmases I remember having.  She went all out for my family and me when we were visiting and she was 8 1/2 months pregnant!  My birthday came right after Christmas and it will go down in history as my best birthday E-V-E-R without a doubt because of Julia (and Mom).

Julia's Awesome Blog

And, boy does she have a funny sense of humor!  We laugh at the dumbest damn things you can imagine, and we laugh for a long time about them!  I think that's my favorite quality of hers. . . . . She's bold, too!  Julia does not hesitate to say what's on her mind -- she just spits it out. . . . . Also, she doesn't think she's dramatic, but I have to say, she is. (You just are, I'm sorry, but that's not a bad thing.)  That just adds to the high, upbeat energy she brings into a room.

When she was 9, her favorite movie was . . . . . .okay, let's see if you can guess from the song (make sure there are no kids in the room listening!):

Julia's favorite song when she was 9.

I warned you .........How can you not have fun with a kid who has that kind of taste?! I'm just so proud; it brings tears to my eyes.

She graduated from fashion design school.  I wish she could be my personal shopper because I can't buy anything that even remotely looks stylish.  I should give her my bank information and just have her send me stuff.  I remember how horrified she used to be with my eye brows!  I never plucked them and I sure as hell never had them waxed!  Have you?  It's torture. . . . . .any ways, I have since taken notice of them because of her.  I am sure she's totally frustrated with me when she sees me and wants to give me a makeover.  I would trust her to do that!

She was blonde for as long as I can remember and recently her hair wouldn't take the color any more.  She had to go back to her natural brunette and she complained, and bitched about it -- still does; she doesn't realize how pretty she is with her natural color.  Maybe she's afraid she looks too much like me.

She's so much more into technology than I am, too!  She forces me to catch up -- kind of like the eyebrow thing.  All in all, I think she's secretly Wonder Woman . . . . . . especially with the boobs.

When she was growing up, I always told her she was my favorite person, and she still is.  I may not tell her or show her enough -- but if I could choose any one to be my sister, I'd always only choose her.  I love you, Juli-la.

I Don't Like This Title.

Guess What!  I am what I rave about disliking -- I have been a procrastinator for all of 2012.  The more I think about it, the more I don't like the title of my blog page -- procrastinator-hater.  It's too negative, and honestly, I, just like very one else, do the best I can day to day, to wake up, show up, and make it to the end of the day feeling like I have accomplished something . . . . . anything.

So, from here on out, I am changing the focus of my blog.  The focus of my blogs will be how I see the world -- the world through my eyes.  You see, I feel like someone, God, the universe, the angels, my parents, gave me special eyes.  Even though I may not have seen someone for 30 years, in my eyes, they don't look any different than they did all those years ago.  It's a beautiful thing, but unfortunately, since nobody has the same eyes I have, I'm sure they see an old, 47 year old, wrinkly, spotted me!  But my eyes see even me as young, vibrant and wholesome.  Any ways, here's to saying it how I see it . . . .

These are my eyes, and they see a beautiful you!
(Oooh, I hope you're not creeped out!)

I can't help but think of that old movie,  The World According to Garp, with Robin Williams.  It was kind of a freaky movie (in fact, some of the images, not the nice ones, are seared in my brain), but you get the point . . . my blogs will be about the world according to me, the world as seen through my eyes.

My First Born is Married!

"He's not mine any more."

My first born son, Fili, married this past weekend.  The ceremony was lovely, and he  married a very lovely young lady, Bre.  I couldn't be more pleased for them or more proud of him.  But, during the entire ceremony, his little face was flashing before me.  Below are the pictures I couldn't get out of my head.  As you can see, they're all as babies.  Where has the time gone?

This is him at 6 months.  He wasn't growing any teeth, so I put him in an outfit with teeth.  We were visiting my family in Germany at this time.  His Dad was in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm.

 

This is his first birthday.  We were at his Great Aunt's house in Albuquerque, NM. 

 In the following pictures, he's three years old.  We're still living in Albuquerque.

 

I didn't cry at the ceremony, but it hit me a few days later.  He's not "mine" any more.  It feels pretty heart-breaking and final, even though I have passed him on to a beautiful young lady who loves him very much.

I think there should be a special ceremony for moms and sons.  You know, one where I would graciously hand him over to his new bride.  The mother should be able to give away the son during the ceremony just as the father gives away the bride.  It feels that symbolic to me.  (In my case, I'd be holding on to his feet while his bride is trying to walk away with him!  Poor Bre -- I hope she has a lot of patience.)   I look at other mother / son relationships  and they just do not look very good.  I don't want that to happen to Fili and me.

Flash forward to the wedding day!  

My two youngest, Jolie & Sam, on each side of my nephew, Ryan.  Ryan took all of these pictures for us, by the way.

Here's a picture of the beautiful church.

This is my daughter, Jolie, who thought this day was all about her.  (I didn't have the heart to tell her it was really all about ME.)  Needless to say, I have already started saving for her wedding!

Finally, the lovely bride and groom, Bre and Fili.

Again, the bride, groom, my husband (Dan), and me.  What you can't see is that I have a death grip on the back of Fili's jacket with my right hand (just kidding!)

Our "new" family with our beautiful new family member, Bre! 

The wedding day was just beautiful.  We all had a wonderful time, and I can't imagine it could have turned out any better.  We have known Bre for five years.  She is fun, funny, smart, kind, pretty, thoughtful, helpful, competitive, which she willingly admits ;-), hard working, can laugh at herself, and best of all, loves coffee as much as I do!  Oh, and she loves Fili very much and makes him happy -- what else matters?  I know how lucky we are that our son found and married Bre.  I wish them both all the best that life has to offer and this is my promise to them: I will not meddle (I hope!)  Lucky for them, I'm still busy with two more kids. . .

I finished this blog and realized I didn't talk about my son.  As you can see, he's still three years old in my mind!  But somewhere along the way, when I wasn't looking, he became an amazing young man.  I couldn't be more proud of him and I tell him that all the time.  I won't even get started . . . . .

All Laundry Detergents are NOT created equal!

As we all know, skin is the largest organ in our body; it protects all other organs.  But, did you know that skin absorbs harmful toxins within 26 seconds?  Why would you want to sleep on sheets and use towels washed in detergents that STILL contain harmful toxins?  Cleaning BEFORE Melaleuca meant visiting the "chemical aisle" at the local grocery store.  Products were, and some still are, (think warning labels and "kid-proof" tops) loaded with caustic chemicals, phosphates, and chlorine bleach that made them CHEAP and easy to produce, but hard on the health of your family and the environment.  Melaleuca was created not only to be economical - super-concentrated formulas means less cost per use - but Eco-friendly as well, with formulas POWERED BY NATURE that are free of caustic ingredients. NO SAFETY CAPS NEEDED! Many of the so-called "clean and green" grocery store brands still call for safety caps.  Fact: They can't be as GREEN AND SAFE as what they want you to believe!

Better Laundry with concentrated MelaPower 6x Let's take a look at some differences between MelaPower 6x and other leading brands. The book Melaleuca - A Legacy of Wellness displays vivid pictures of laboratory test results comparing MelaPower 6x with other top brands. The pictures clearly show that MelaPower 6x outperforms the competition. In addition, we learn that "grocery store brands have been selling liquid laundry detergent that is mostly water to American shoppers for the last 60 years."   font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alkaline detergent residue on clothing can cause skin irritations. The pH scale measures acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The scale ranges from 0 to 14, acid to alkaline. The safest pH is closest to that of water, which is a neutral pH of 7, neither acid nor alkaline.  Interestingly, our body keeps our blood pH at 7.35 to 7.45. MelaPower 6x is non-caustic with a pH of 7.5. It is made with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients that are not only gentle to our clothes, but also gentle to our skin and better for the environment. Indeed, The Melaleuca Wellness Guide not only recommends MelaPower 6X for cleaning and removing stains, but also recommends it as the detergent of choice for persons suffering from skin sensitivities, rashes, asthma, and infections.

But, why would major store brands make an alkaline detergent? The answer is that caustic alkaline formulas, which are inexpensive to manufacture, clean by breaking down dirt. But in breaking down dirt, they also break down fibers. It is no wonder clothing has a life expectancy of only fifty washes.  After changing over to MelaPower 6x customers regularly report cleaner laundry and less dryer lint.

I did my own experiment and bought small portions of other laundry detergents.  I put one load in a jar and shook them.  Below are some results:

This is Clorox with bleach; the orange stuff floating at the top of the water is animal fat. Notice it never quite dissolved and had a chemical reaction around the lid. It actually ate off the bottom of the lid on the inside.

This is Tide.  Again, never dissolved and had a serious chemical reaction through the seal.

Here is an Amway detergent; this one had the worst reaction through the lid, but it did dissolve.

Here is Melaleuca's detergent.  Nice and clean, no noticeable chemical reaction, and believe it or not, the LEAST EXPENSIVE detergent.

MelaPower 6x is available in formulas for regular and high-efficiency washing machines and also Scent-Free or Fresh Scent. The Fresh Scent fragrance is made from essentials oils. Whichever you use, it only takes a 1/2 ounce of MelaPower 6x to effectively clean a load of laundry. Using so little laundry detergent goes against our first inclination:  the more suds the better; but the overuse of soap does a poor job of cleaning clothes and can actually damage the wash machine.

ASTHMA:  Harmful detergents and other cleaners create a whole other slew of problems for people with asthma.  If the detergents don't rinse from the jar, they certainly don't rinse from clothes, bedding, towels, etc . . . ., meaning an asthmatic is breathing them all night through their pillow case and rubbing them on their body.

New Melaleuca Customer:  I suggest you do an empty load in your washer to clean out toxic residue from grocery store brands........ 

TIP:  invest in the Reusable Pump ($1.99) so you will never use more than a 1/2 ounce or in the Drain-Back Cap ($.99), also pre-measured to only use a 1/2 ounce. 
This month only, for just $1, you can have your own shopping account and buy Melaleuca's exceptional products.  

My obsessiveness is showing!

Please excuse my language, but I recently made a complete ass of myself, (Actually, I'm sure I do it more often than I realize!) There's just no nicer way to say it!  So, the story goes:

My daughter takes horseback riding lessons.

Jolie with Ashley, her lesson horse.

Jolie riding Ashley

Okay, back to the story.  The most affordable way for us to have her take these lessons is to buy a lesson card.  I can buy one lesson card with 5 lessons on it and that usually lasts us about five or six weeks.  The young lady who gives the lessons is very good at what she does.  But, she is young, and her writing is BIG.  (I'm getting to the point.)  There are five little squares on the bottom of the lesson card, kind of like a punch card, and "M" goes by the honor system.  The owner of the lesson card usually writes the dates of the lessons on the card and when the card is full, buys a new one. M never asks to see the card; however, when you buy the card, if that's your first lesson on the card, she will write the date in the first box.  Stay with me.

Her writing drives me insane!  I write neatly in each little square but she writes very big and messes up my card!  This past week I had to buy a new card.  Would you believe I worried about this new card for two weeks?! How was I going to get the card away from her before she wrote the date on it and messed it up?  So, I buy the card and she's getting ready to write the date on it.  I stutter a little bit (have no clue what I said!) and finally tell her "Let me write the date on the card."  She looks at me a little confused and says, "What?"  I reply, "You can write the name but I'll write the date."  She hands me the card and just says, "Okay."  Poor thing -- I'm sure she thought I was some kind of freak!  I can't believe I showed my craziness like that!

Okay, this is my card with only my writing.

This is the "other" card with both of our writing.

Does any one understand my pain?  I'm a freak..........wow, and I'm actually going to show my face on her ranch again.  And, I posted my freakishness on the internet!

On a positive note, my little business continues to grow.  As of May 15th, 2012, Melaleuca has paid me a total of $21,350.11 just for referring other customers to switch stores and to shop with them.  What other company does that?!  Oh, and I have some even better news:  they are finally opening a major operation in Frankfurt, Germany with plans to expand all over Europe, including Poland.  Now, I'll be able to write off (on my taxes) my trips to Germany because I'll be building my business over there, starting with my family and friends.

The Termites from Hell!

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Okay, so the termites weren't from hell -- they were actually easier to deal with than the termite guy!  Knowing how important it is to me to get things done, especially in a timely manner, you'll understand how this story could drive me insane.  Over three weeks ago I had a termite inspector come out to my home -- it was obvious I had termites.  No big deal . . . . .every one in this area, where wood meets dirt, has termites.  So, I call this guy out who has done some work for me in the past.  He gives me a quote, I call him to do the work, I call him to do the work, and then I call him again to do the work.  That should have been my first warning sign.  I basically had to beg this guy to take my money to treat my termites.

Finally, he sets a date and time and doesn't show.  Would you believe I was surprised?  He resets the date and time and manages to show up on the set day but not at the correct time; he comes in the afternoon instead of in the morning.  Needless to say, it's a Friday and he can't finish the job.  Can he come back on Superbowl Sunday and finish the job?  I say, of course, since he'll be here at noon and it should only take about three hours.  Guess what?!  He didn't show, and he didn't show, and he didn't show.  For two weeks I call his phone almost daily and I send him texts and he doesn't return any of my calls.  My phone messages get nastier and nastier until, finally, he calls me back!  I answer his call, I say his name, and to my surprise there's a woman's voice on the other end of the line!  I had been leaving hate messages at the wrong number but the woman felt sorry for me since she could tell I was getting upset and she finally called me back to let me know I'd been calling the wrong number!  Bless her heart -- I wish I had her address so I could send her flowers!  I'd charge that cost to the termite guy (even though it was my mistake)!

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Flash forward, I finally have the right number and begin my stalking, hateful messages again.  He finally calls me back this past week and schedules for Friday afternoon at two.  Guess what?!  He cancels, but at least this time he called me before the appointment time.  Can he come Saturday between 11 and 12?  I say yes, because my family and I don't have plans to leave the house until maybe 3pm on Saturday.  I called him at 11:30 to see where he was and he was only twenty minutes away and was on his way.  Two hours later he rolls into my driveway with his wife and two babies!  He wanted me to meet his family . . . . . . .I could have screamed!  I'm still just absolutely shocked.  So, I invite his wife and her two year old into my house (the three month old is asleep in the truck.)  His wife, who is in a wheelchair, was just "hanging around" in my driveway so I couldn't leave her out there. . . . . . . (Oh, and I learned from his wife that they'd been running errands all morning and that they had more to run!  I don't think he had any intention of showing up at my house today.)

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I spent the next three hours entertaining his wife and watching the two year old; my youngest is ten so my home is definitely not childproof any more.  I just drank a lot of coffee and poured a bunch of Baileys Irish Creme into my coffee cup!

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Oh, the best part was, when he left, he told my husband and me that if we have a barbecue this summer, we should call them and invite them over to eat with us.  Yes, you read this sentence correctly!  We were to call him and his family over so that we could feed them at our home.  I'm stupid -- I didn't know that's how it worked.  Okay -- it's over.  I went to dinner with my husband, finally, and I drank heavily!  Our plans for the day were ruined but we still had our dinner.

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Change of subject:  so, I helped three families save money by converting their homes to healthier, safer products in January so my February check jumped $40!  I'm very excited about that. . . . .  .I'll let you know how many families I help in February (I'm behind!)

Working my plan . . . .

Remember in my first blog (it was so long ago!), when I gave myself the goal of setting two appointments?  Well, I met my goal and even went one over!  I introduced three people to my company and helped them change their lives for the better. . . . .  .that's three families who will now use only environmentally safe products in their homes!  Not only will they rid their homes of harmful toxins such as formaldehyde, bleach, and ammonia, just to name a few, they'll no longer be pouring phosphates (fertilizer) in their drains, which eventually ends up in our rivers, lakes and streams (horrible for the ecosystem!).  Shopping with my company is a win-win situation for all involved; I know it sounds cliche', but having lived it for ten years, I feel like I have the right to say that.

These things said, I'll tell you one story:  One day, about 9 years ago, I was cleaning my toilets.  (No, that's not the last time I cleaned them!)  Any ways, I had been shopping with my company for about a year.  My daughter, who was maybe 1 1/2 years at the time, came into the bathroom, picked up the toilet cleaner, and sprayed it right in her eyes and on her face.  Would you believe nothing happened?  She had no stinging or burning in her eyes at all; she wasn't happy, but she also wasn't hurt.  If I had been using any other toilet cleaning product from the store, I'm sure we would have been in the emergency room.  It was at that point that I decided even if I never told another person about this company, I'd never go back to buying harmful  products from the store.

Okay, this is the same daughter (on the right) many years later -- see, her eyes are fine.  We're sitting in a cafe in Strassburg.

Oh, and one more picture: (don't look if you have a queezy stomach.)

If you have a choice in laundry detergents. . . . (oh, you do!), which one would you choose:  the two outside jars (very common store-bought brands) having the nasty chemical reaction, or the one in the middle that's clear and is less expensive than the other two?! It's no wonder so many people, especially children, suffer from asthma and eczema.  They are breathing those fillers and rubbing them on their skin.

See how easy it is for me to share this information -- it's actually a responsibility.  I will introduce at least two more families to my company in February.