BrittanyG's Blog Spot

I'm not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing.

2009-03-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

I really want to become more disciplined at this blogging thing. This week I have found myself addicted to blogs, which has made me want to jump back in on the fun. I have been searching blogs for several different reasons, but mainly for DIY projects. I have so much craft supplies that I would love to use. Another reason for this is that Stefan and I are moving. Yah! For us! Finally we will be out of this little old house we were renting that also came with a $500 average utility bill. And that was just for us two. We are relocating to the Florence area (about an hour away) to a nice townhouse. The move date is April 4th. We are so excited, even though we will both be commuting to work 45 minutes to an hour away, for awhile at least. We have gone almost two years without a dishwasher. I said that when we moved into this house, it was no big deal. Oh how I will love to do something other than dishes… now if I could just fix that laundry chore that I hate so much. I am really glad that we have time to pack correctly and organize boxes by room. It makes moving so much easier.
Anyhow, crafting…we went on a cruise to Mexico in December and had a blast. We picked up a few handmade items on the trip. I also took some great, if I have to say so myself, pictures of old ruins and the Mayan culture itself. So, from all of that, we have decided to decorate with a Mayan-type theme. We just finished a 14x16 paper mosaic of a vector. We are currently working on the aging process with tea. Once it is finished, I will be sure to post it. Also, I have taken an old end table that we were going to discard, and refinished it with black. I have started taking pictures and paper items from Mexico to turn the top into a decoupage collage of our memories. I thought I had enough printed pictures, but that turned out to be incorrect. So, now I will have to get others printed so that I can finish it this weekend. I will be sure to post the finished as soon as it is.
Stefan was never the DIY type. But, with the slide of the economy, he has realized the joy of doing things that are somewhat free. He has really taken up painting. He just finished a nice piece for his mom that is a Greek scene with oil. Not only are we using our imagination more, but we get to spend quality time together listening to music and making fun, beautiful things.
Well, there is so much more I want to say to fill in the gap from last October, but for now, this is enough.
Any of you that read this and have or know of a good DIY blog or site, please let me know by posting a comment with the link. Thanks Bunches!

“Darkness of slumber and death, forever sinking and sinking.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2008-10-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Well it is a “Black” Friday… and no I do not mean the one after Thanksgiving where consumers rush to the stores to grab the latest items at the cheapest prices. No, it is a “Black” Friday in the world of Finance, and thus, LIFE.

And, that is my world. I have been striving for the past two years to succeed at this “man’s” job. In the past 6 months it has seemed as if I was inching closer and closer to my career goal. No that this has happened, I have pondered two things, (1) Keep going. Men are at the top of this right? Maybe a woman can change things. Or (2) Just give up and pursue a more promising career while I still have time.

The people now have a loss of confidence in the world's financial system has caused the Dow to drop 21 percent in just 10 trading days. It is heading to its worst weekly point drop, and one of its biggest weekly percentage drops, since being created 112 years ago.

I thought, well maybe I didn’t pay enough attention to my economics and history classes and I am thinking wrong, but I thought that after the crash of 1929, our so beloved federal government tied the market up with tourniquets, stopped the bleeding, and cured us of the disease so that this would never happen again. Well here we are. “We” have taken these tourniquets off, allowed the disease to re-inhabit, cause an infection, and open the doors for the blood to continue to flow. Not only have we sickened our market, but now we have infected other economies. (So much for me taking my passport, packing my bags, and leaving the country for a better market.)

It is a complete nightmare in my office. Phones are ringing off the hook. Clients are concerned, which they should be.

By no means, am I trying to make this a political post. But, we, VOTERS, need to read our history books. George Santayana said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” We need to learn. I need to learn. I have been reading things like the new bailout plan (yes the actual 495 page law), documents on ACORN, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA), the book Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky (to see what the actual make up of a “community organizer is and how they “brainwash”, and other various articles, blogs and documents on the economy now and then (then being whenever in history).

I truly advise, no matter your political stance, if you are not sure what these things are that I have just previously discussed and those words and names that the candidates use really mean, that you take part in teaching YOURSELF history take your OWN position on the matter. NOT what others, the news stations, your parents, or your peers believe will occur or fix this “crisis.”
Please VOTE. Please enlighten yourself of our current situation and why we are where we are.

(Now… I will step off of my soap box in hopes that no offense was taken)

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." ~Edgar Cayce

2008-10-08T13:10:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since my last post. I have done quite a few things since then. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we were going to Tennessee for a flint knapping event. We did make it there, had a nice country breakfast, and enjoyed the event. Stefan learned how to throw an atlatl, or a spear thrower, which was used by the Indians for hunting. Now it has become a sport. It was very interesting to see how these were made, the physics behind them, and the different techniques used. After that, we started flint knapping. We both started, and did very well at, a point. But, we both ended up making a small mistake that caused the point to disappear. It is a very hard and precise art. I now own my own flint knapping kit and Stefan owns his own atlatl. (I just hope we don’t end up with a dead animal from the means of the atlatl for dinner one night!)

Also, I have been working on the fabric postcards. They are turning out to be a nice hobby. Here are the ones that I have done since the last post.

And, of course, it is Sox-tober… I mean October. The Red Sox are at it again. On to the ALCS! Hopefully we can beat the Rays for the championship and then be on to the World Series. It was an interesting series with the Angels, and I will admit that there was a lot of luck going around that dugout. I just hope that no luck will be necessary for the series with the Rays. Bring them on!

Stefan and I have started attend a 6 week, 3 nights a week, tax course offered by H&R Block. It is more than I expected. It is called the Basic Building Blocks course. On the first night, our instructor handed us a book bigger that the Huntsville phone book, as well as two other smaller books. I was shocked. The instructor stated that organization is the key to this course. So Stefan and I both cut off the spines to the massive literature and put it in a three ring behind with tabs and stickies and re-organized it a little better. Hopefully, we will both be able to make the required score of an 80 on the final exam. That way we will have a chance to be hired by them during tax season. H&R Block has a nice compensation package for seasonal workers. If anyone is interested, I would definitely recommend it. Even if you do not work for them, the course is fantastic for tax payer knowledge, and is, guess what…tax deductible!

Other than that, things in my life are okay. Work is picking up despite the financial “crisis.” Classes are growing bigger and bigger by the week. We are still looking for a different place to live. Maybe one day we will settle and agree on a home. But right now, it’s just not the time.
More later.

"The only sure thing about luck is that it will change." -Bret Harte

2008-09-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well... it has been awhile. I have completed my 19 days of straight work. Whew...that sad thing is... I don't recall it being that productive. Very busy putting out "fires" rather than working towards my deadlines.

But for other news...

I went to the doc. He said that all my blood work is fine and that the craving for salt is "normal." Now I am only one more doctor's visit away from working out. But until then, I have taken up a new hobby. It is making Fabric Postcards. I have created my first on tonight. I took longer than I expected..but then again.. I am not the most domesticated femal, and sewing isn't one of my strong points. But all in all it was a great way to pass time and be creative. I hope to continue you doing these and start a "mailer" with friends. I plan on sending out a lot for the Thanksgiving holiday as well.

Here is the one I created tonight. There are still somethings I need to do, like trimming the threads, but other than that..not too too bad for the first.

I know that the more I do... the more ideas I will get. While making this one I had to start writing down my ideas they were coming so quickly.

Also... we will be going to Manchester, Tn in the morning for a flint knapping session. Maybe the next time I post I will have an arrowhead that I made to show you guys... haha I seriously doubt that, but we will see.

I am also trying to get into this couponing thing. I have been so busy with work and teaching classes lately, I haven't really had time to shop around. But I have been getting the papers. I plan on cutting and organzing more of those on Sunday. Maybe one day next week I will be able to get some really good buys... considering I havn't used coupons in 3 weeks or so I should have a few saved up.. maybe even multiples.

Well off to bed... leaving the house at 6:30 in the morn...

g'night

Music is played for love, Cruisin' is made for love, I love it when we're cruisin' together

2008-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

I just love that song...

Anywho, it has been one crazy week or so.

Lets see.

Last Monday: was Labor Day. Its was nice being off of work.
Last Tuesday: I bought a (new to me) car!!!! SEE ....

It is a 2006 Chrysler Pacific. I was extremely impressed with how clean it was, the low mileage for the year, and the price. I like the room that I have in it. It is a little bigger of a car than I originally purchased; however, I am happy with my purchase. Also, my mom said "That car should have came with grand kids."
Last Wednesday: I had a terrible day at work. It was customer stupidity one after the other. I even had to work until 6:30 pm and drive and extra 30 miles for a customer in Tennessee that couldn't follow directions. But, hey, that's life.
Last Thursday: Work was okay. I have hired my grandmother to do some work for me from her house. It is going great. Its just hard answering computer questions from an hour and a half away.
Last Friday: After work, I went over to my bosses' (yes, husband and wife) house. The husband and I are starting an eBay store. His house is like a museum as thrown up in it. He has collected things for over 30 years from all corners of the earth. And, yes, he has multiples of some of those things. So, we are taking pictures and uploading them to the web. It has been a learning experience. I have learned about rough emeralds-that they are not JUST ROCKS. I have also learned why one would but a "rough" emerald. I have also learned that a megalodon shark's tooth is not a dinosaur's tooth just because it is prehistoric.

Last Saturday: IT'S THE WEEKEND... nope just kidding I had to work. I drove back home to Tuscumbia to fix my grandmother's PC and to add the new scanner so that it would be easier for her to transmit data to me. I hadn't planned on being there all day. I was simply just going to visit with her, fix the machine, add the new hardware, and then go and see my dad and friends from back home. However, that was not the case. The whole desk had to be reorganized, the scanner driver had to be installed 4 times, and then the automatic feeder would not work. But needless to say, its all fixed... well almost. Enough to do the job though. Then I went and visited with my dad. Oh yeah, I also got to see my lil bro's new car-a Chrysler Sebring 2006. Very sharp. Dad seems to be doing well. After that, it was about 9:00pm and time for me to make the long drive back in the rain. Well as I gt into town, I find out that Stefan is at a friend's 40th birthday party. So, I make the trip over the mountain to Hampton Cove to join in one the fun. We had a blast. We haven't had any alcohol in f-o-r-e-v-e-r...It was nice visiting with friend's we only see once in a blue moon, drinking, enjoying the nice night, and watching all the goof balls dance.

Sunday: Well, since neither of us were able to drive from the party the night before and we had taken a cab, we needed a ride to get the vehicles. No one could be reached. So we took the good ol' Monte Carlo (my old vehicle) to get breakfast, then over the mountain to get Stefan's car, back home to drop the oldie off, and then back to get the new car... fun...fun....fun. After that, I decided to get a newspaper and cut the coupons. Then I put a LARGE quilt in my washer to be cleaned while I was getting my coupon trip together to CVS, WalGreens, and Kroger. Well, I then heard CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! That was the sound of my washing machine breaking! Stefan and I tried cleaning it out and fixing the thing...there was just now hope... we did not have the knowledge.

Monday (Yesterday): I got online and did some research and found out that the for the most part, the pump was clogged. But that I may have also burned out the motor assembly. (a $60.00 cost just for the part alone.) Well, I told my boss and he was able to fix it. All for JUST $6.00!!! I couldn't believe I had gotten off so lucky!

I was also able to finish my coupon gathering and sorting. I am looking forward to shopping this weekend. I have a lot I need to buy, but I think I have found ways to get the stuff for half the price! Hopefully I will get really good at this stuff and be able to save a LOT of $$$$!

Well, that's it for now... back to work!

"Sittin in a slow-mo..." Saturday

2008-08-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well today was.. a Saturday. Very uneventful. I tried very hard to sleep late. However, that was destroyed when Stefan decided to wake me and let me know that he was leaving to go watch some karate type class. I then went to the post office and to the grocery store. Kroger was the first attempt at my couponing. Well, this wasn't true couponing. I looked through the sales ads to see the good deals for this week. We don't eat like normal humans here at my house, so not very many items that we use were on the list. However, I did get some different things to change up the monotony. Didn't do too bad on the spending.

I then cleaned house and did the laundry-I so despise laundry. I can't imagine having a family with "2.2" kids that have school clothes, after-school practice clothes and pajamas. I would be doing laundry for the rest of my life. I am a little surprised that I actually have memories of my childhood other than my mom only doing laundry...because boy did I go through some clothes-and that is not counting the two brothers!

After chores were done, I lounged and watched some Saturday afternoon football. Not into it this year as much as usual. I am not your typical "Alabama" person football fan. I like Auburn and Alabama, but I am not a HARDCORE eat, sleep, drink it fan. Surprisingly, I still like Michigan. Which is somewhat strange I guess, and I like the Boston Redsox.A SOUTHERN girl who likes NORTHERN teams.. hmmm???

After football, Stefan came home and we had some delicious porkchops and watched a pretty decent Red Sox game.

After that, I did some more research on cars. This is not fun. I don't know what I want. I don't know what I really want to pay. It is somewhat stressful. I did find a few that I am interested in on autotrader.com. I will check them out..maybe. But tomorrow, we are going to Arab to look at two car lots and then to my parent's house. We will see what we come up with.

Well, it is getting late... off to bed.

g'nite to whom is out there

Muggy-ness...

2008-08-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Well today has been extremely hot and humid outside. I didn't do much at work today. No motivation. So I went to physical therapy and to look for a car. My car is on its last leg... But hey.. its gotten me from A to B on several occasions without a payment. I almost purchased a Jeep Liberty but hesitated. I have come to terms as to why... just sorting things out I guess.

So I have started my couponing 101 lessons. I have saved several threads and I am learning how all this works... so many abbreviations for different kinds of savings! I did print some coupons from Target that I will probably use this weekend. But I am still learning the ends and outs of the whole CVS and Wal-Greens trips. Hopefully this will be fun and save a lot... maybe save enough each month to justify buying a car. Hmm... a nice Jeep to put my savings in....

Well.. back to work!

Weird Wednesday

2008-08-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today was....weird-hence the title of my first blog. A typical “hump” day at the office. All the intense of the expansion of this little 4 (wo)man company. We work as if we have a staff of 150-It may just be that big one day. But right now, huge deadlines, goals, and marketing bridges are of more importance than the interview process that will turn this company into a cubicle workplace. (I hope we get big, just not that big-I enjoy the “Office Family” feeling. You don’t have to be concerned how things are perceived into the office politics, those just don’t exist right now.

I received the typical e-mail that many of you may have gotten as well. You know, the one that says Mars will be as big and as bright as the Moon tonight. And, that it only happens once every 300 years. Well, before I finalized my sleeping around this event, I decided to look into it a little more. Of course, it is not true. Thank goodness… I love my sleep. ZZZzzzzzzz….

I can feel the essence of Fall creeping up on us slowly, as is “The Fall Classic.” I enjoy a weekend filled with the dress attire of gym shorts and an old faithful pullover while watching the post-season action of baseball. And, it is always better when the Red Sox are participating.

So, I have been reading a fellow classmate’s blog (Mamma Clemmons) on here and I decided that I should have one as well. I am still learning all the features and what not, but hopefully you will see more posts from me as the days go by.

But for tonight… so long.