Best Cranberry Relish

Cranberries. People either like them or want nothing to do with them. There is no middle ground. I myself am a fan. I even like the jelled stuff in the can. I also love the juice, and Cosmopolitan's in moderation,of course. On Thanksgiving a few years back, I was introduced to what I think is the best cranberry relish ever and think it only fair I share this delightful delicacy on Thanksgiving Eve.

You'll need a bag of fresh cranberries, an orange, brown sugar, and some nuts such as walnuts or pecans, or if you don't care for nuts just leave them out. I think a little celery would be a great substitute for the nuts but I haven't tried that yet. I used a blender but a food processor would be great.

Adjust the amounts of ingredients to your taste or the amount you plan to serve. I only used 1/2 bag of berries,1 orange,3/4 cup brown sugar, and about 3 oz of pecan chips. If your orange has seeds remove them but use the whole orange as a lot of the flavor is in the peel. Thanks to Nancy Ball for introducing me to the best cranberry relish ever.

My Style Hacks

I'm certainly no slave to fashion and I don't spend much time shopping. My budget at the moment doesn't allow me to do either, however, there are times when I know it's time to increase the options in my closet. What do I do? Well in this post I'll share some of my frugal fashion tips.

 Now I know most of you are thinking yard sales and consignment shops are the obvious solutions and those work great for most. I don't go to either. I just don't like going to yard sales or consignment shops. I've just never found either to be very successful options for me as most consignment shops are crowded which turns into an obstacle course when you are in a wheelchair. Yard sales involve several stops which means several transfers, and that's only if the site is level and has easy access. Too much time and trouble when you have no guarantee they have what you are looking for. I usually always have a general idea of what I'm looking for. This is important so I'll say it again KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. It doesn't have to be exact. Maybe you saw someone wearing a certain color or pattern and loved how it looked. Just start with that. Then shop at online discount dept stores for something similar. For example, I recently saw a vest I liked but it was very expensive so here's how I copied the look for less. The funny thing is I went out wearing my new bargains and not one but FOUR total strangers complimented me on the vest I was wearing. Each time I just smiled,said thank-you.    Puffer Vest $9 Jeggings $10 Boots $21

Trust me when I tell you I still love Ralph Lauren and all my other favs but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

Mononucleosis, Menopause, and Marshmallows Part 2

but finally it seems to gone. Never ever to return again I hope and pray.

 My time spent from behind the desk working for a reproductive endocrinology specialist allowed me to become very familiar with menopause and it's symptoms.  How would I of all people not know what was happening? It just seemed like everything that could happen was happening. What specifically you are wondering? The a/c on my car breaking , my favorite black shirt lost, the murder of Noah Newman's fiancee Courtney on their wedding day. These are not events that should cause a major flood of emotions. Oh,by the way, Noah and Courtney are not friends or family members of mine. They are characters from my favorite soap opera Young & Restless. To me, the most minor happenings of everyday life seemed huge and overwhelming.  Some women demonstrate a more angry and aggressive behavior during this time but I however began to feel cowardly and defeated. It's highly possible that those around me could have a totally different spin on things. Maybe I haven't acted as passively as I think. I found myself also unable to make simple decisions without asking someone's opinion. When I say simple, I mean as in what do I want to eat, where should I go, what time should I leave. Making a simple decision or answering a yes or no question suddenly became a difficult task followed by not feeling confident or content with my response.

I was struggling at best so I allowed my doctor to prescribe Welbutrin. It came highly recommended by several friends so I began taking as directed and excitedly awaited for my "normal" self to return. After taking the meds for about a week or two I was anything but normal so I discontinued them. Don't worry, I knew to decrease dosage gradually rather than stopping abruptly. I can't even find the words to describe what I was feeling but c-r-a-z-y comes pretty close. My faith has always been the foundation of my stability and for the first time I can recall my fears were greater than my faith and that scared me. My 'half-full glass attitude' turned into a 'half-empty glass that fell off the table and shattered in tiny pieces attitude". I was able to overcome and find myself again by controlling what lingered around in my mind. If it promoted fear and worry, it had to leave. That's right...so long...goodbye...no room for you here. I replaced the discouraging thoughts with favorite scriptures, positive quotes and music, replayed in my mind past trials and the victories that followed. They always do you know.

  It takes effort but it works and then you get your groove back and remember all the good things in life like marshmallows. That's right....marshmallows. Flame-charred on a stick, chocolate-covered, the glue holding rice crispies together, or my favorite which is big heaping spoon-fulls right out of a jar, marshmallows are great no matter how you like them. They are just versatile like that. No matter what you subject them to they still hold their favor. I like to combine my love of marshmallow cream, Hershey's chocolate, and vanilla wafers into what I think is the perfect sweet snack. My personal assistants didn't get it at first and were like "you want to eat what?", but after trying "my" version of an indoor s'more, they're hooked. Here's how it goes. You'll need vanilla wafers, marshmallow cream, and chocolate bars. Staples no Christ-centered home should ever lack. Especially if any moody females dwell within the walls. Take the marshmallow cream and spoon some onto the flat side of a vanilla wafer, top with a piece of chocolate and enjoy. You can add another wafer and eat as a sandwich cookie if you desire. I prefer mine open-faced as I feel another wafer disturbs my cookie to marshmallow cream to chocolate ratio.

Mononucleosus, Menopause, and Marshmallows Part 1

What do the the a fore mentioned"m" words all have in common? Me.Another "m"word. Imagine that.
First of all, I thought I was way too old to have mono and much, much too young for menopause. For anyone interested in knowing my age, I'm 49 but because most of my personal assistants are ages 18-25, I often think I am the same age as them. That is until they get this very lost look on their faces when I mention things like Tiger Beat magazine, the Partridge Family, and especially when I tell them that I once won ALL the record albums from Casey Kesem's Weekly Top 40 Countdown. Needless to say they are not impressed .Winning "those big round black things" is no big deal to them. This generation has never had to listen to A.M. radio just waiting and hoping they hear their favorite song or nor do they know what it feels like to have your "dialing" finger almost fall off from dialing repeatedly from a rotary phone to win a radio contest.

Buy anyways back to the mono.Research suggests that most people contracting mono are between the ages of 15 and 25 so that explains it as I almost never fall into any category associated with wording that includes "most people". I am never a "most person" that's for sure. I was so excited about the Summer of 2015 and had intentions of enjoying it to it's fullest potential. I was doing a good job of welcoming the warm weather season into existence too. Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend were great and then came Sunday. After church I felt a little tired so I laid down and napped. Unusually restful for me but not a big deal. Then I noticed feeling warm. No not a hot flash, I'll talk about those in a minute after I am finished with my dramatic mono story. Anyways, the warm when your eyes kind of feel hot. You know what I'm talking about.Right? Well the thermometer confirmed I had a fever followed the next day by a very sore throat,cough,and congestion. That was two whole months ago and last week was the first week I haven't had to lay down during the day. I didn't know if monukickingmybuttruiningmysummernucleosis would ever go away. Yes, I know that isn't a word. Spell check already told me, but as far as I'm concerned it should be, and in BIG BOLD letters too. Every time I started to feel a little better and thought it was almost over I would wake up with the symptoms again the next day. It seemed as though it would last forever which I found to be a huge inconvenience. Living with muscular dystrophy has been and is a challenge but at least I almost always still find a way to enjoy life. Mono was definitely a killjoy for sure.........

Chicken Pot Pie. It's What's For Dinner

What to have for dinner is the question I usually start asking myself around three o'clock, well ok, sometimes I start thinking about it way before then. Don't judge me. I usually just eat 3 or 4 saltine crackers during the day so yes I think about dinner all day sometimes.

It's always the same dilemma. Have my personal assistant cook something or grab something quick from the drive-thru. Time is a factor as my evening personal assistants are scheduled to work 5-8pm usually. I don't buy up groceries ahead of time so eating from my kitchen requires a trip to the grocery store. Shopping time + prep time= a long time before dinner and not much time time left for other tasks. Sometimes the solution is to choose something from the grocery store's hot bar, that is if I like what they have on the the menu. About three afternoons a week I call a local grocery store and ask what's on the hot bar. This whole process could take about 10-500 minutes of being passed around from one voice to another, then another,and another,then back,and then waiting while they either find the menu or have me hold again while they go look. I'm in no way criticizing their service as they do a bang up job. Let me also add that I've noticed the process has become much quicker and only speaking to 2 to 3 different people lately. They also make the best hamburgers around here. Yes, I call my local grocery store deli and order a hamburger. It's allowed.

A few years ago I hired a new personal assistant and mentioned calling the store to ask what was on the menu. She said "Your that girl aren't you?" and she had a look on her face like somebody just turned on a light. I said "Excuse me. What girl?" She explained that she had worked briefly in the store's bakery/deli department. "Did I ever talk to you on the phone?" I asked her. She responded with "No, but they told me there was this girl who called a lot asking what was on the hot bar."  Like I said, I call them a few afternoons a week.

Yesterday I decided to have chicken pot pie. I had my morning personal assistant prepare it yesterday so I could have it for dinner last night. It's really easy, inexpensive, and it tastes good so I'll share the recipe.

 Combine 2 cans of Veg-All drained, 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup, 1 can of chicken drained, season to your taste. Pour mixture into a thawed ready to bake pie crust. Top with another thawed pie crust making a dome,you know,turn it upside down. If it acts like it doesn't want to leave the pie pan just force it out by pushing in on the pie pan. The pan is pliable and will bend. Crimp edges together with a fork,poke some holes on top and bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for about an hour. Let it cool a little before cutting/serving.

It's Here! It's Here! It Finally Came!

It's here, It's here! It finally came!  Those very words probably shrieked out of the mouths of the other 999,999 subscribers. What you ask? My Ipsy bag that's what.

What is Ipsy? Ipsy is a monthly cosmetic/beauty subscription service and NO I'm not trying to sell you anything so keep reading. Subscribers receive 4-5 products each month . Each bag is customized to products you would most be interested in based on a profile created by answering questions regarding your beauty/skin care regimen.

How much does it cost? It costs $10 a month and you can pay for a whole year or one month at a time. You have the option of cancelling at anytime. I've often been told I have commitment issues which is probably why the $10 a month and cancel anytime options sold me.

My personal assistant Sam came to work one day talking about Ipsy with such excitement in her voice. Anything sending me a few of my favorite things, you know,lipstick,nail polish,perfume for $10 a month sounded like the best thing since sliced bread to me. Before Sam left my house that night we were both Ipsy subscribers and counting down the days until our glam bags shipped and their estimated arrival. Our lives and beauty routines would never be the same but changed and improved forever from that day forward.

I think everything about my first Ipsy glam bag is marvelous dahlings, simply marvelous. Even the insulated mailer is glamorous looking isn't it? All pink,shiny, and pretty it is . So,what did I get? I got a pair of tweezers,spray in dry shampoo,eye shadow,facial cleanser/exfoliate, a cute make-up bag, and last but certainly not least, my favorite thing lipstick.  I love lipstick Did I say that already? Well I do, and my new "Killing Me Softly" lipstick by Teeez Cosmetics  captured my heart. It was love at first blot. I wasn't sure about the color but it works for me. It was easy to apply and stayed on. When I say stayed on, I mean after eating a Hardee's Jumbo Hot Dog, I still had lipstick. Seriously, who still has lipstick left after a hot dog? I do,that's who.

There are companies out there offering similar subscription opportunities for nearly everything. Snacks,pet toys,cookies,razors,you name it. Sorry guys,this post has probably not been of any interest to you but if by any chance you're still reading, you'll be glad to know there is a Bro Box for you. It contains grooming and skin care products for guys.

I loved my first month of Ipsy and can't wait to receive next months glam bag. I hope I get nail polish,perfume, and more lipstick. As far as this gal's concerned you can never have too many lipsticks.

Working From Home

People often ask me about my work at home job so today I will do my best to share a little about my work at home(wah) experience.  

Did I just wake up one day and decide to seek a wah job? No, that's not exactly how it happened. For years I worked as a front desk receptionist at a specialty medical office. One day a patient was telling me she worked from home for LiveOps. I looked at the website and read about the job requirements and what I would need to do before applying.

 They required a dedicated landline phone so I had another phone line installed in my home.  High speed internet connection was also required which I already had. I had my computer serviced to make sure it met the security and operating requirements, purchased a $10 headset that plugged into the jack of an old speaker phone I already had and applied.  

 I then started researching other wah jobs. My go to sources were a couple of great forums. Work At Home Moms(wahm.com). I wasn't anybody's mother but these gals knew all about wah opportunities so I signed up right away. Work Place Like Home(workplacelikehome.com) was another helpful resource. I was overloaded with information. It became my hobby to learn how one could earn a paycheck from home.

 I then applied with another company,West, and was hired soon after. I completed the training and worked weekends and off days while still working as a receptionist. I started with West in October of 2007 and quit my receptionist job at the end of ’07. I received an invite from LiveOps in December of that same year, submitted to a background check and started with LiveOps in January ’08. I have also worked for a company called Pleio as a Good Start Agent and also contracted with a few secret shopping/auditing companies too. I also worked briefly as a phone actress or phone sex operator. Really?  No, probably not.  I'm just trying to make you laugh and make sure you are still awake. Did you? Are You?

Yes, you're probably getting a little bored by now and this is a blog and not a book so I’m only going to continue with information I think is helpful to those considering a work at home job.

Some wah jobs are independent contractor positions and some  positions are employee status positions.

 There are wah jobs requiring set schedules and some allow more flexibility. I prefer to work my own schedule which just works best for me.

The  pros to wah jobs for me are no commute expenses and flexibility.  The cons for me are I miss the socialization of interacting with others and having to be self-disciplined. 

If you are considering working from home you should check out http://www.wahadventures.com/. This gal has done a wonderful job in gathering and posting helpful information and job leads.

People often associate wah jobs with scams. There are many legitimate opportunities out there but use your head. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. The only money I’ve ever had to pay for a wah job was a reasonable fee for my background check. 

All my wah online jobs have paid by direct deposit and I have always been paid.

If you are interested in working from home or just curious, I hope you found this post helpful.

Monday,July 20,2015----8:00 am EST

Check out tomorrow's post Working From Home. I'll share a few words about my work at home experience. The post will be available at 8a.m. Thanks!

Goin' Naked: My first blog. This is scary. All those random ran...

Goin' Naked: My first blog. This is scary. All those random ran...: My first blog. This is scary. All those random rants,raves,ups,downs that were before held privately or amongst friends will now be naked an.. exposed for all the world to see. I am not very computer savvy and hope that the word naked doesn't attract  creepy traffic to my blog.

For years I have been faced with the challenge of trying to learn what my purpose is. What gifts or talents am I supposed to be using? I, like many others, read Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. I enjoyed the book and was encouraged by it but didn't come away with any general title for myself. As a Christian, and according to the catechisms, I know I was created to glorify God and enjoy him forever but so was everyone else. What special talents did He give me? A friend told me one day how she thinks that some are given the gift of "just being" and how she thought that could be true of me. She pointed out how she thought "just being" would be an easy gift as opposed to a gift that requires action or doing. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with her words as I was hoping for something a little more important or glamorous. How would "just being" help others, change the world,change me, my ego,my popularity, change the balance in my checking account? We see clearly who I was most concerned about don't we? Myself. Perhaps that could've been what was in the way of finding my purpose. I kept tripping over my big self. Others tell me they are encouraged by my life, they find humor when I share funny stories, and they are reminded of God's faithfulness as I wake up and do it all over again each day because I trust Him.

What can you expect from my blog? People are always asking me questions about everything. How did I find a work at home job? Why am I in a wheelchair? Why do I watch Teen Mom? My faith. I'll cover a little bit of everything and not always about me and my disability. Just life in general and living it to the fullest.


Tina