Preschool Songs!

My daughter is becoming quite the little singer. She has memorized these songs from her preschool, and sings these at home or in the car. It the beginning I wouldn't know the words, but after hearing the songs multiple times, even I know all the words. I have noticed lately that some of these songs all follow the same tune of, "I'm a Little Teapot" She is so cute with her little kid voice signing these songs. Here are 3 preschool songs, all using the same tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" (original song lyrics)

Back in August or September, my daughter was singing Song version #1: about an APPLE

I'm a little apple
short and round
I make a crunchy, munchy sound
if you bite into me
you will see
I'm delicious as can be!
(makes a chomping bite sound at the end 3 times.)

In October around Halloween time, she was singing Song version #2: about a PUMPKIN

I'm a little pumpkin
short and fat
alone in the garden
there he sat
a little girl picked him from the vine
(took him home, just in time)
____ ____
__put a candle inside_____
He's a jack-o-lantern....
*I don't know the rest of the words here* I will edit this blog post later, when Kara gets home. I'll ask her to sing the Pumpkin song...

Now there is one about a TURKEY with the same tune, as Song version # 3 about THANKSGIVING

I'm a little turkey
My name is Ted
here are my feathers
here is my head
Gobble gobble gobble, is what I say
quick! Run!
it's Thanksgiving day!

Strategic Gas Buying!

Currently (10/29/2012) the gas at most of the gas stations around here (in Omaha, NE) are at $3.17 today. The price of gas per gallon is dropping...conveniently around election season...as always. As a bonus I can save .05 cents more per gallon by shopping at the various stores with their gas stations!

First off, I grew up in CA and also lived the past six years in St. Louis, MO. I have seen the gas stations at the Costco and Sams Club Stores where one could get a discount on the gas prices...BUT ONLY FOR MEMBERS! Now I am living in Omaha, NE and there are grocery stores open to Public and non-membership, non-bulk style, WITH discounted gas stations! I love this!

Here is where it gets tricky... First you buy the groceries, to then get a receipt and then buy the gas to fill up. Tonight, I was driving on E, for Empty, on the way home from the gym. I almost slipped up and bought gas and then planned on going food shopping. I'm quick to play the game... and I drove a little further to get to the grocery store, bought my groceries and then the gas. Doing this saved me .05 cents per gallon. This made my price $3.12 vs. the $3.17 = $49.80 vs. $50.60. Every penny counts these days. Thank you to Hy-Vee Grocery! Another local store that does the discount gas is Baker's Grocery...and maybe some other stores, which I am not aware of. But these two stores are great to shop at AND have the discount gas price system.

Hy-Vee has an outdated way of doing their gas discount with having to show your receipt to the gas attendant inside the station; to then adjust the discount off the total gas price. Currently though, Hy-Vee stores are changing over to the plastic cards that go on a key ring and in wallets, to then scan for the discount. This will be up to date starting in November. The last day to use the receipts for the discount is October 31st on Halloween. I guess there may be a small gap in this transition, for people to get the little key card and add the scanners at the pumps...? So filling up tonight on my car, for the discounted gas was perfect timing. Score! I love getting deals and saving money.

The Baker's Grocery is already up to date, and have the plastic key cards to scan at their gas stations. When shopping at a Baker's, one would scan the key card at check out, while buying the groceries and then information is saved and automated on the little, plastic, key card! Then going to the gas station at Baker's, one would then scan the key card and the price of the gas at the pump automatically drops to the discount price, before actually fueling! This allows the customer to pay outside at the pump!

I realize this blog post may be a little on the "Blah blah blah" side, but I am so stoked about finding the gas stations at the local grocery stores; instead of only being available at the Membership grocery stores! This is helping me out big time! I don't have to pay a store (Sam's club) to shop there, I don't have to buy giant portions of food, to get discounted gas! This is not only .05 cents off each time, quite often there are coupons in the mail flyers for 12 cents off even and other ways of saving with these local grocery stores!
I'm a money saving momma, and proud of moments such as these.

The Dream I had

My dream was like watching a movie. I am not in this dream that I dreamt last night, but more like I am watching a movie as I sleep sort of dream...I was just seeing this play out.

It starts out with a Hooker, she looks like the kind of hooker in the movie, Pretty Woman. She had been with too many men in one night at this whore house that she works at. It was a swanky, 1920's style ladies house, like on the TV show, Boardwalk Empire

After a long night and it's now 4 am, the hooker is at a 24 hour Diner. The kind of Diner with a bar counter with round stools to sit at by the kitchen and coffee makers... and the booths are back to back in the middle of the Diner. The Hooker planned ahead, almost routine like. The last guy she was with, she takes the mans shirt, with the payment. He sees it as sexy, and she liked his shirt, let's her keep it and leaves. She knows she was going to this Diner for breakfast after...she needed to be a little more covered up... so she took the mans shirt.

She was wearing a blue mini skirt and a purple bra type tank top, that was shinny, like bathing suit material. At the diner, she threw on the white button down men's shirt, tied at the waist in a knot, buttoning the rest of it. She is still wearing the purple top underneath and the blue mini skirt. As she sits down at the booth, she hides a gun between her legs for quick access, like in the movie Pulp Fiction or something. This diner is in the shady part of town and this seemed routine for her to do this. She is sitting in the booth facing the booth in front of her. 

This other lady comes in, and sits in the booth across from the Hooker. She is more of a factory worker type woman, with her strawberry blond, stringy, long, hair and bangs. I think she may have worked the grave yard shift? She was coming to this diner at 4 am after a long night in the factory. She was wearing a long faded blue skirt, and a women's thermal knit shirt (the kind with the 3 buttons at the neckline left unbuttoned). The kind of skirt was with those little buttons all the way down to the hem line, long and flowy. Her face is dried up with wrinkles, from too much smoking in her lifetime. She sits down in her booth also pulling out a gun to hide between her legs. She looked like she could be smoking a cigarette right now, only this was a non-smoking Diner... she was on edge. 

The Factory woman notices the Hooker at the booth in front of her, and nods her head at her. It was a nod, like they were in the same boat. It was the end of a rough night, surviving out there, in the shitty part of town. All they both want to do now, is sit in that Diner and eat pancakes with a tall cup of stale coffee... and let it all go, and just relax finally. Sitting alone in their own booths. 

The Hooker noticed the woman also had a gun between her legs. She leans forward and says to the woman, “Hey, you think your night was rough? I was with one too many men in one night... more men then you have murdered all together in the past decade.” Now, I don't know where this gal got the idea that the Factory woman was a Bounty Hunter? Maybe she knew more than meets the eye?

 I am dreaming all of this, like watching a movie, and it is getting intense. The two women are on edge and waiting on their pancakes with guns in their laps, sipping on the crappy Diner coffee. The hooker is getting inpatient for her blueberry pancakes...The Factory woman is about to respond to what the Hooker just said to her...it looks like she is going to spill her life story out to her, and BAM! I wake up, dream ends, the damn dog wakes me up to be let outside! I slept soundly through the night, with this crazy, off the wall dream, and didn't get to see how it turned out! It's now 7:30 am. I wanted to write this all out before I forgot the details. My daughter is sleeping in, husband is at work... I guess I can go back to bed and sleep in a bit, maybe finish that dream?

Fashion Critic Martiel Reports

The Emmys were on last night, which I didn't actually watch. While the show was on T.V. there were photos  being posted on Yahoo of the celebs wearing there gowns on the red carpet. The list of photos grew as the night went on. I was online researching things and surfing the web, occasionally checking out the Yahoo photo posts of the dresses. I have my own two cents of fashion critiquing, to put forward.

So, before I turn on the Tele this morning, and watch all the "Fashion Police" and E channel bashings of what celebs were wearing last night to the Emmys... I want to be the critic and blog about the fashion faux pas I saw.

Here it goes. Imagine (You) a good friend of mine and I are sitting at a cafe, sipping on our pumpkin lattes, and we are gossiping over the dresses we saw on the red carpet last night.

Starting off we have this red dress mess, worn by Anna Gunn. She is an actress on a show called Breaking Bad.
             What? She didn't just match the carpet red color... the designer made the dress out of the red carpet! is this even sewn together? It looks like she got rolled up in the red carpet, as she stepped out of her limo!

Next we have the dress worn by Edie Flaco. She is an actress on a show called Nurse Jackie, and use to be on the Sopranos.

Does this belt make me look fat? This dress is interesting with its contrast in white on the sides. Notice the skin tone fabric on the sides, how it makes a Barbie size waist illusion for her. The dress looks like she is standing behind it for a photo opp. It looks like a card board cut out in front of her?! I wonder what the back of the dress looked like? 

This dress I love, as one of the top dresses for the night. Worn by actress, Hayden Panettiere. I always like when a dress has gold in the design when worn to the Emmys. The gold part complements the Emmy Award. This dress looks beautifully draped on her in this gold material. The contrasting blue fabric is delicate and adds depth to the dress. This is very well designed and her clutch matches nicely, her hair done up and with minimal accessories. Hayden looked stunning.

The actress from 30 Rock, Jane Krakowski looked stunning in this melted down, chrome dress. The clutch goes well with the color matching, but the two textures are different. I like the snake texture of the clutch to go well with the sparkle dress, it adds to the edginess of the whole ensemble. I don't like the green ring she wore with it. The ring is clashing. She could have worn a necklace too, the neck line is too straight across, to have no necklace.

What was Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) thinking when she rolled out of bed that morning...She woke up at the Hotel and decided to wear the comforter as a dress? What is this frock, that she tries to pass off as a gown to where to the Emmys? WITH pockets! and NO CLUTCH? Seeing the different styles of clutches they choose with the dresses are almost as exciting to see as the dresses. She's probably wearing flip flops under the dress also! Why not? She wore a comforter.

Kat Dennings from the show, Two Broke Girls. She didn't quite have enough money for the designer to match the right shade of red for this dress. The red is a little off in matching the Red Carpet, and a little off on the red color of the cartoon character, Jessica Rabbit! Vavoom! Those knockers are going to fall out of her dress! What she does have going for her, is the hair style flowing down in loose curls and the jewelry matches nicely, to create a pretty Goddess look for her. If the dress wasn't this rust orange... trying to be red and a different color all together, like teal, it would be a great dress.

I love this color and classic style of the dress. This was a top pick on best dresses, I think. This Ice Blue color is beautiful on Julianne Hough. She is a dancer on the show Dancing with the Stars. She doesn't have a necklace on, but with the dress and neckline, it is not needed. Simply elegant. She maybe could have wore some long, tear drop, earrings with an aqua marine stone. The earrings would dangle just below her short hair style.

Kelly Osbourne Rocked this dress, WITH matching hair color! She looks fabulous in this gown, and is all grown up! I love that her hair is purple to match the dress. The train adds onto the dress for that classic silhouette. If this were are "Red Carpet color" dress it would be too ordinary and seen before, but because it is purple, it is different and edgy like Osbourne.

This is more than just a bad photo of the actress frowning, like she wishes she were somewhere else, that night. This dress is disastrous! Lena Dunham created and stars in the HBO show, Girls. I haven't watched the show, but she looks like a young actress and this dress is not for her to wear. This dress would be nice on a more mature actress, like Glen Close. This dress could possibly be saved as a cute dress if she brought the hem line way up to her fingertips, and wore cute shoes to match. I like the lace over the grey fabric, but not that much of the lace. When the dress gets altered to just about the knee, she could also pair it with a pantent leather, skinny black belt with a silver buckle. Her hair would be nice to add on a silver head band for an accessory. As my mom would say, this dress is too "frumpy" on her.

I actually tried editing this dress to work with it and make it how I imagine it to look. I did a basic cut and paste, using the paint shop program...nothing fancy, but it gets the image across, as to how this dress should have looked. I even drew in a little head band and belt for accessories.

The Colbolt Blue color is stunning on actress, Lara Spencer. She is from Good Morning America. This blue dress is one of those "Va va voom" Excellent pick for the Emmys! I like the black floral applique on her shoulder. The shoes match perfectly, being black and with the scalloped edge which compliments the shoulder edge.

Last but not least, I saved the best for last. A smashing couple, they are both in the perfect Emmy attire. Actor Ricky Gervais is handsome with is sharp black on black tux, even with the shades he looks handsome. Along side him, is his elegant Girl Friend, Jane Fallon. She is wearing the classic "Red Carpet Red dress" it is just the right style with the one shoulder, long and slender gown. I love the rosette detail to tie the dress all together. The ONLY BIT I did not like is Jane's clutch! It looks like she is carrying around a paper towel roll! The clutch doesn't match at all.










I took the liberty of using paint shop program and editing together some clutches that complement well with Jane's red dress. Loose the paper towel roll, and choose one of these (pictured above) instead.

As like every year, people tune in to see what the celebrities are wearing to the Emmy Awards. Then, on the morning after, we love to pick apart the dresses and point out all the fashion faux pas. We watch Joan Rivers and the other Critics analyse what they wore that night, and even pick out the Best dressed celebs. It's become tradition around this time of year. So with this blog post, I put in my own two cents of fashions hit and misses. I do hope you enjoyed the comments and I admit that I don't know anything about the designers of these gowns or even know who some of these actresses are. I just thumbed through the Emmy Arrival photos and picked out images that caught my eye. There are many more photos to place on the Best and Worst Dress list, but these were just a few to blog on.

Nano Nano! 7th Generation

Happy Birthday Sweety, I got you an iPod Nano!
(images of the iPod Nano Generation 6, *photos off Yahoo Image search)

Petite Square size

Watch band case to use

Clips onto clothes for walking

Originally my dad ordered, online, an iPod Nano in gold color for my birthday. The order was never shipped because my zip code was wrong. That was corrected and then I got it in the mail. The Nano was the wrong GB size, so I exchanged it for the 16 GB and kept it the same gold color.

New Gen 7 iPod Nano

Now today, the supplier calls me to say the 6th Gen iPod Nano no longer exists! They are out of stock to fill my order for the Gen 6 Nano in a 16 GB size. There is now a 7th Gen iPod Nano to have instead... for an even exchange. It won't cost me a penny more, to get the brand new version.

 iPod Nano Gen 7 is in different colors and a rectangle now vs. the small square shape. The new Nano also looks like there is not a clip feature to be able to clip it to my clothes for walking? Bummer! The colors of this Gen 7 version have more of an 80s feel to it. The "green" is like an Aqua color and the purple is more of a Lilac color and the "blue" is a bright teal color. I had a hard time choosing from the new color selections and just went with the "green" Aqua color.

Gen 6 color selection

 I liked the Gen 6 colors better. The green in Gen 6 Nano was more of an Apple green. I loved the Gen 6 iPod Nano in the Gold, which my dad picked that color out, when he bought it online for my birthday. I really just wanted the Gen 6 Nano, with its small square size. These are obsolete now. Even the Apple Store, online, was out of stock of the Gen 6 version. I have been looking for the past year, for an MP3 Player to store all my songs off of CDs. I have researched and learned all about the different styles of iPods. Narrowing my decision to the cute, little, square, iPod Nano in the 16 GB size Generation 6, with a clip. I even picked the colors of either the Gold or the Apple Green.

Am I looking a gift horse in the mouth? I not only got the iPod Nano as a birthday gift...but in the end it gets upgraded to the newest addition of iPod Nano Gen 7. I should be flabbergasted that I get the new one for an even exchange from the Gen 6 one...but I'm just settling for it instead. I settled on the Gen 7 with Aqua green color, and rectangle shape.

 From the old 70's TV show, Mork & Mindy... Mork would say, "Nanu Nanu!" or for the iPod, I say, "Nano Nono!"

Tomorrow's Date Is Unsettling To Me

Am I letting my mind get all tangled up in thought? Am I the only one to realize...am I thinking to much into this?

The other night I was settling down to bed, chatting with my husband about the week ahead. I need to get the car tuned up on Monday...he has a meeting coming up... I work on Sunday, September 9th...Wait it's September 11th coming up? This year is 2012, 11 years later!

I remember how there was so much speculation and calculations with the numbers all adding up to the number ELEVEN. The Twin Towers even looked like the number 11. This year happens to be 11 years later? Is something going to happen? Are we going to have another attack? Nothing has happened on any of the previous anniversary years of "9/11" but those were not 11 years later...am I looking into this and starting to freak out over nothing? Why was I starting to cry, why was I even thinking about all of this on a Friday night, back on Sept. 7th?

My husband is listening to me think this out loud, and comfort me into saying, "I don't think anything will happen...and if it were to happen, the Government probably realized this date a few months ago and have been planning together and coming up with a strategy...The President will probably be on "vacation" that day and in a bunker to be on the safer side"  blah blah blah. He was trying to make it all better and calm my thoughts. Then I am thinking back to that day in 2001, and how it was on a Tuesday...I instantly hopped out of bed and checked the calendar on my phone, Sept. 11, 2001 WAS on a Tuesday, and here it is 11 years later on a Tuesday again! IT WAS SO SPOOKY. Gave me chills.

Now on this day it is September 10th, Monday. I need to take my car in for a tune up, in about an hour...I hope tomorrow is just another day, which happens to be September 11, 2012. I hope it doesn't matter what date the day is tomorrow at all. I hope President Obama is out campaigning for his Election and running around with a sense of calmness. I hope that Tuesday is just a Tuesday, and we can all live on like it was all a distant nightmare... that will NOT repeat itself, and we can move on from this. Maybe we can even enjoy our Tuesday, tomorrow.

My plans for tomorrow is work, and then I am off at 3pm to enjoy the rest of that Tuesday with nice weather, and maybe an ice cream or go to a park to play with my daughter. I am not going to let "them" win or mess with my thoughts. I will enjoy my Tuesday and I will enjoy September, November, December and all the rest of my years to come. I pray for the safety of our Nation and I pray that tomorrow is just another day. I hope that I simply got carried away and that my mind was tangled up in thoughts. Thoughts that are just that, thoughts, and not anything but a crazy thought.

I'm sorry, I brought any of this up, stirring up any sad memories, that you (the reader) may have of this sad day that once was. I had to blog it and get it off my mind. I am pretty sure my blog is not the only blog out there about this similar subject. Enjoy your Tuesday, and embrace those you love.

*image is of our Current President, Obama at the Memorial site. Found it by image search on Yahoo. It seems fitting to post here on the blog post.*

The Adventures of Moving

The movers are bringing our furniture (and the many boxes) in their big ol' Semi truck, on our little street! Can't wait! Bye bye Bachelor Pad. Toss out the plasticware and unwrap the dishes! Unpack my K-cup Coffee Maker, and sip on coffee while sitting on a comfy sofa! I can move the lawn chairs to the lawn! Deflate the air mattresses, and sleep, restfully, on a King bed; with throw pillows and a soft comforter! I get to use dresser drawers and not live out of a suit case! Our daughter will have her kiddie table in the backyard again, for sunny afternoons eating a Popsicle! Andrew will have his computer desk and nice chair instead of this card table and metal folding chair. When I sit in this metal folding chair for too long, my but falls asleep. I want to swivel in my desk chair, and type in comfort.

Turned the box into an instant book shelf.

 Lawn chairs in the living room, "Sofa"

It is amazing to think of all the comforts that we pack away and stuff in boxes. When I went a week without my comforts and things, it was like camping indoors, on just the essentials. I look forward to my comforts, I don't look forward to all the boxes those comforts are packed up in! It will be a while where boxes are cluttering up our comforts and making it uncomfortable to live around, but soon the boxes will be flattened and recycled. The items and furnishings will soon be filling our home up with the memories and comforts these bring. I hope everything fits well in our town home, after downsizing from the 3 bed room house to this 2 bedroom rental...? We got rid of so much already, but I believe we may get rid of some more of our things soon to make room in the smaller space. What ever we end up with, it will be far better than the lawn chairs, plastic-ware and air mattresses. No more camping out indoors!

The Life of a Penny

This, 1977, penny is 1 year older than I. Just think the life this penny has had...where has it been? Whos hands have pinched it? How many times has one picked it up off the ground, for good luck? How often has this penny been wished upon or kept inside a piggy bank...? I can imagine how this penny came crashing down with other cions upon the piggy bank being broke open, by some small child.

How many close calls has this one penny had on a railroad track...with a kid hoping to smoosh it flat...only the train roaring by nocked this penny off and the boy picked up this penny back up, stashing it in his jeans pocket, as he runs down the street to buy gum...spending that penny instead. This penny survived another day...35 years and counting. This 1977 penny will live on. I spent it as part of my money transaction for a banana split. Who knows where this penny will turn up next? Maybe as change to the next customer, and then in the ashtray of that persons car, with its friends nickle and dime?

It's fascinating to me to see this penny. And YES, I see pennies every day and we often dismiss the value of a penny. It is merely pocket change and wishes in fountains. But this particular penny, from 1977, struck me into thinking how it is just a year older than me. I have had a pretty good life thus far, with some bumps in the road along the way. In the end, I've had great adventures and new hopes for a future with many more great years to come. This penny has been through many towns or countries even? This penny has been around, more than just the bottom of an ash tray. It's places that I too want to go to these places! I think I just compared myself to a penny? I am getting a little coo-coo, now, but I like to think of it as philosophical!

Good Times With Good Friends

After living here in St. Louis, MO for 6 years, my family is now moving to Omaha, NE. Six years is officially the longest time frame that Andrew and I have lived somewhere. We had lived in an Apartment back in Burbank, CA for 5 years. We were married during that time of living in Burbank. Now living here in St. Lousi, MO, we have become home owners and parents in the past 6 yrs. We have made career improvements, home improvements, and most of all self improvements, here in St. Louis. I have really grown to love this area; and the baseball team isn't all that bad either! The Cards have won TWO World Series Championships while we were living here! In 2006, the year we moved in, and again in 2011 our last year here.

I got this replica ring at the Cards Game!

 July 5, 2012. At the Cardinals Game with my friend, Julie. 

New adventures and places to explore are waiting for us in Omaha, NE. I don't know how long we will be living there. I don't foresee it being another 6 years...I believe this move is going to be less, with the idea in mind that we both want to eventually get back to California...or at least to a state that is driving distance away from it. But, who knows!? Nebraska may be our next big milestone in life? We are taking up fishing once we get settled in there! Lake Zorinsky is by our new place, and a few other lakes near by, so Fishing and Kayaking are two hobbies to take back up. 

Me fishing over the 4th of July weekend in Omaha, NE

Something that Nebraska doesn't have, are the friends we made here in Missouri. We are going to miss each and everyone of them. We are close enough by, to where we can make road trips and still visit or they can come us and visit us... but it wont be the same. 

Living here, was fun! Being able to: call a friend up and be spontaneous, meet up at Red Robin for dinner, take in a Cardinals game, go to the Japanese Fall Festival, have a play-date with our kids at the Butterfly house, and at the Magic House, have a good laugh catching a chick flick at the Wehrenberg or AMC Theater...and just spending quality time with a good friend. Thank you to all of our friends, here in Missouri. We will keep in touch through, all the social medias, texting and phone calls. 

Photo of a Morpho Butterfly, I took the Butterfly House

Fun displays, like this one, are found at the Magic House. 

Fun-filled Summer Day

A Toddler and her Momma, with fun under the sun! On a Sunny Sunday, Kara and I were wanting to escape the heat and go swimming. First we slept in, till 9:30am, and then made pancakes (a sad attempt at making the pancakes), my cooking is very hit and miss when it comes to pancakes. Some mornings these turn out so golden and perfectly round, other mornings they turn out completely opposite. Still eatable, just not so pretty.

Photo I took of the lazy river

Photo taken from the Water Park website

After our pancake creations, we then went to North Point Water Park. A place to unwind, cool off from the Summer heat, and enjoy our lazy day along the Lazy River. At the water park was a river of water going around the perimeter of the park. (park in photos above) People would float along that river in rafts and pass under water falls and glide under bridges. I had never floated in a Lazy River before, but it seemed fun and relaxing. I took Kara to check it out with me. The lifeguard, at the entrance of this, told me there are 2 person rafts where one of the sides has a bottom to it, made so one can't put their legs though in the water. This was the perfect raft for Kara and I to float in. I was on the side with my legs through it and she was on the other side to sit safely in the raft. It gave me peace of mind. We ended up staying in that Lazy River for almost 2 hours! It was so much fun. Then we took a hot dog break and sipped lemonade. 

When we were done with the swimming. I called my friend to meet up at a Frozen Yogurt place, she didn't get my text message in time and we were getting in the car to go home (it is now 6pm) and ended up going to her house for a play-date with her son. Kara and her little friend are a few months apart. My friend was also pregnant. Kara wanted to see the baby in her tummy once more, before she's born.  

Heading back home, we went to Sonic for a burger and ate that while driving through the car wash at a gas station! Kara loved the car wash! I described to her all the different steps, there was, going on in the car wash. At the end of the day, it is now 9:30pm and bed time for the both of us! We had a jam packed, busy day of  fun in the sun. Our day was so spontaneous, and I loved it! And to top it off, Kara made a poo-poo in the potty!!! She is getting so good at that! We are about 90% potty-trained now! Proud Momma!

Sarcasm Taken Literally

After receiving our order of family photos in the mail, I was dissatisfied by the quality. I called customer service on the invoice of my order. The representative was rude to me in a sarcastic way, saying snide remarks through out my conversation with her. I could tell she gets calls to return items often, I was not the 1st caller for her. The way she was so quick to have me return it all and have the order be reprinted, and how she didn't try to hear what was wrong with the photos. She just wanted to send me the return label for me to mail it all back. She wasn't asking what was wrong with the order or trying to talk me into keeping the order as is. It was all just odd, and too easy to return. Then as I was telling her, that I had already thrown the box away to mail the framed photos back...she was getting sarcastic with me. I couldn't stand how she was getting rude about it!

Me: Oh, well I don't have a box long enough now to send back? the box has already been recycled?
cutting me off in sentance
Her: I will mail you a return address label to cover the postage of the frame.
Me: I don't have the right size box?
Her: Mam, I don't care if you mail it back to us in a paper bag...we just need the original order back to be able to reprint and send you your new order.
Me: A paper bag?
Her: Yes, send it back in a paper bag! (She is saying this with sarcasm)
Me: OK I will wait for the return label and mail it back.

Two days later, I got the return label in the mail to send my order back... Guess how I packaged it up?

I grabbed two paper bags out of the pantry and wrapped up the picture frame and paper work. Using my packaging tape, I taped it all up and mailed it out! Sent it back in a paper bag! Just as she had suggested.

I was so frustrated by her, I took her sarcasm literally and did as she said to do. It felt good, even if it was a little childish on my part. The paper bag packaging was actually the best way to mail it in the end. There wasn't a box long enough for this frame. The frame holds three 5x7 photos in a row and was long.

Pyramid Poem

Long ago, my daddy Kenny taught me the art of poetry and how to write poems. Since then I love to make up poems and scribble it down on paper time and again. One particular style of poems, he taught me, was called the Pyramid Poem. It is simply a poem that starts out on the first line with one word, and continues with two words on the next line, then three words, and so on. You can write the poem to any length of lines, just have to follow the formula of one more word added on... to then look like a pyramid/triangle.

At work today, I was spending time with a resident, talking about poetry. This is the poem we came up with together, using the Pyramid layout.

Titled SPRING

                                                             Purple
                                                        Beautiful Colors
                                                    Trees in bloom
                                                 I love this season
                                            Tulips arrive in many colors
                                          Baby bunnies for us to enjoy
                                     Running around, the little girl and boy
                                 Tis the season for the reason for joy!

Poem by: Marti and Robert
March 24, 2012

My Name Annoys Me Sometimes

My name is Martiel. Pronounced Mar-T-L. I have often heard the same couple of comments or questions about my name time and time again for about 25+ years. I also get a handful of ways that my name is mispronounced. I get, Mar-teal, Mar C L, Mar tell, Mary tell, Michelle, Martial, etc. Those are the common ones I hear all the time!

This morning, I went to Starbucks for a coffee and breakfast sandwich. I had some free time on my hands, after dropping off my daughter at preschool, so I decide to go inside and order instead of the drive-thru. The gal taking my order asks for my name to write on the cup. She got every annoying question and comment about my name in one interaction with me. All with in a few minutes of taking my coffee order, she bugged me about my name.

Here is how it went:

Me: I would like a Tall, iced, caramel, latte
Her: what's your name? (to write on the cup)
Me: Martiel, (spelling it out, MARTIEL)
Her: Oh, pretty name...Is that French?
Me: Yes
Her: Parlez Vous Frances?
Me: No, I don't speak French
Her: You're not French? Oh
Me: Nope, just my name is French
Her: I bet people call you Martial (Marshal)...
Me: Ya, only when they mispronounce my name...
Her: oh.
Me: I also go by Marti, it is easier...

Other guy with my freshly made coffee: Tall Caramel Machiato, for Mar-tell.
Me: For Martiel? I ordered a Caramel Latte, not a Machiato?
(UGH!)
The other lady again: OK, Marti, let's remake the coffee for you and refund the difference.
Me: OK.
She hands me the correct coffee order and 20 cents change for the difference.

By the time this was all done, (which to me seemed longer than it may have actually been) I think it would have been better to have just driven through the drive-thru and not have gone inside for a "pleasant time sipping on a coffee in a cafe" I ended up not staying for the cafe experience of relaxing with my coffee. I went back to my car and ate my breakfast sandwich, and sipped on my latte as I drove, running my errands.

Hotel Staff Basics Are Good To Follow In Life

With Hospitality, there comes great customer service and team effort that the hotel staff works with. I worked for hotels in different departments for 5 years. I have since left the Hospitality industry and moved onto another career opportunity. I love my current job working in a Retirement Home. I work as an Activities Assistant. I get to hang out with the Residents there, and do fun activities. Even though I don't work in a hotel any longer, the hospitality aspect to customer care is still relevant to follow with the way I work today.

This is a list of Basics that people should follow in their own work environment, and in interacting with people. These people you interact with can be: Guests, Clients, Vendors, Associates, Residents, Students, Teachers, anyone. This is a list, teaching us ways to help, care, respect others, resolve issues, and work day to day. This is not just points to be followed by Hotel Associates. I really think this should be shared with others outside of the Hotel Brand. Read through these, and where the words "guest" comes up replace it with "client" or "customer" and for the word, "hotel" replace with "your company name."

There are 20 points listed. It took me a while to type it all out...I reworded some bits to not mention the hotel name and keep it anonymous.

Courtesy of Hotel Basics:

1. Perform
   a. Know every aspect of my job
   b. Focus on accuracy
   c. Be reliable and consistent
   d. Use my knowledge and skills to assist others
2. Great Impressions
   a. Maintain a professional appearance
   b. Own the appearance of my area
   c. Smile and be friendly and approachable
   d. Follow "clean as you go"
3. Welcome 
     a. At 15 feet, make eye contact and smile
     b. At 5 feet, maintain eye contact, greet the guest with "Good Morning/Evening"
     known as the "15/5 Rule"
     c. Use the guest's name
     d. Say "Welcome to (Name of the place or your area)"
4. Know
    a. Stay up-to-date on the local area
    b. Know the (hotel) Company facilities and services
    c. Stay informed of daily (hotel) Company activities
    d. Communicate my knowledge clearly and accurately
5. Prepare
    a. Prepare for each guest's arrival
    b. Plan for VIPs and Special Guests
    c. Ensure I have the right tools and information
6. Anticipate
    a. Watch and listen for cues
    b. Ask questions to learn more
    c. Remember and record preferences and requests
7. Personalize
   a. Take ownership of the guest's needs
   b. Recommend the right products and services
   c. Think of creative ways to say "yes!" *try your best not to say No. and find out a way or answer.
   d. Ensure the guest is completely satisfied
8. Do More
   a. Look for opportunities before being asked
   b. Do more than is asked
   c. Look for creative ways to make the guest feel special
9. Improve
   a. Find opportunities for improvement
   b. Participate in creating solutions
   c. Learn new skills
   d. Eagerly share ideas to continually improve service
10. Make a Difference
   a. Contribute to an exceptional guest experience with every action I take
   b. Work with others to achieve department and (hotel) goals
   c. Take care of each other so we can take better care of our guests
11.Passion For Service
  a. Ask how I can help
  b. Focus full attention on the guest
  c. Maintain appropriate conversations in guest areas
  d. Respond sincerely, saying "I am happy to take care of that for you."
12. Empathize
  a. Listen carefully to understand
  b. See things from their perspective
  c. Acknowledge their feelings
13. Resolve Problems
  a. Own the problem and take immediate action
  b. Know how to use each step in the L.E.A.R.N. process
     Listen to the problem
     Empathize with the guest
     Apologize
     React to solve the problem
     Notify a supervisor about the problem
  c. Do whatever it takes
  d. Resolve to delight and build trust
14. Respect
  a. Be sincere and kind
  b. Be considerate of individual differences
  c. Acknowledge the value of others' contributions
  d. Deliver on my promises
15. Thank Every Guest
  a. Say "Thank you for choosing (hotel/company name) and wish the guest a good day
  b. Inquire about the guest's experience to genuinely encourage feedback
  c. Encourage the guest to return
16. Courtesy
  a. Use good manners
  b. Use terms the guest can understand, no jargon or slang
  c. Use positive tone and body language
  d. Use proper telephone etiquette
17. Teamwork
  a. Treat everyone as if they are guests
  b. Help others without being asked
  c. Respect the rules of my team
  d. Celebrate our accomplishments
18. Care
  a. Use resources wisely
  b. Treat the hotel as if it were my own
  c. Preserve the environment
  d. Serve our community
19. Safety & Security
  a. Work Safely
  b. Report unsafe conditions immediately
  c. Respond appropriately in an emergency
  d. Safeguard the privacy and security of guests and associates
20. (Company) Pride
  a. Act professionally
  b. Talk enthusiastically about my (company) and (brand)
  c. Know and demonstrate (all 20 of these basics)

Now I know these are very helpful to the hotel, that these originated from, but these basics are a way to act and care for (guests/clients/people) in any workplace. I can't disclose the name of the hotel, that this list of 20 basics came from, because I don't even know if I am "aloud" to share this with the public... or if this is a "secret business knowledge" for only associates of that particular hotel brand. I think these are good to share. I plan to continue to follow a great set of basics, for my own use of work ethics.

**If you happen to know the hotel of which I used this list from, please keep it anonymous. Even though I don't work for the company any more, I don't want any trouble for sharing the great list of work ethics.**
 

Kara Will Be THREE!

Wow! Our little, daughter is almost 3 years old! She has already become the 3 y/o toddler back in late January I started to see the transformation. Kara went from being 2 to 3 overnight with subtle changes all at once. Even though she officially turns 3 in age at the end of March. She physically has become a 3 y/o already. For instance, she is potty trained, figuring out problems with ways of being resourceful and growing and changing for the better.

Her potty training is 90% done. There are a few accidents here and there, but for the most part, she goes the whole day with no accidents and we are still working on overnight sleeping, etc. Knocked the potty training out by age 3. I am proud of Andrew and I as the parents on the tough times with Potty training! It was/is hard! Not fun at all, having to clean up messes and deal with a routine and try to teach a person how to use a potty, when for us (the adults) potty time is so "easy" and comes naturally for us to do. It was hard to get in a toddlers point of view and look at it that way. Through a toddlers eyes, they've gone their whole life (2-3 yrs) walking and standing in a diaper/pull ups and pooing/peeing any time they feel like it. Then they have to all of the sudden stop wearing diapers and sit on this giant toilet (with kiddo size seat adapter)...but still as a toddler, that can be scary. It would be so easy to just bounce back to an easy diaper. For Kara, she likes wearing her big kid panties and going potty, and getting a sticker each time. But she also is still learning, as well as we are to, the parents. We have to figure out potty training along side Kara and teach her.

Lately, Kara has been telling me, "Momma, I'm not a baby anymore. I'm a little girl!" She is realizing she is 3 now and a little girl. She points out some of her old toys (photo above) and tells me these are for babies and that she's not a baby anymore. Now the dolls are babies and she is taking care of the dolls. It is so sweet how she handles her dolls now, more motherly and covers them up with her blankies, pushes the doll in her toy stroller, feeds it a sippy cup. So very sweet, she is. Instantly overnight this just clicked and she was all of the sudden, older. I am blown away in the difference between 2 and 3.

We were hanging out in the living room, and she brings me a little purse of hers with a long elastic to me. Asking me to tie the elastic to the purse handles. She figured out that in doing this she could make long straps to wear the purse like mommas purse. When I tied the elastic to the purse she said, "Thanks, it's just like mommas purse!" and placed it on her shoulder! (see photos below) I was so blown away by her figuring this out, on her own, and being so resourceful. I love that she was so creative. If she could have tied it all together, then she would have. She came to me for the help with a vision in her mind. The difference between being 2 and 3 once again.

Her vocabulary has improved to an easy 7+ word sentences, since around 2 1/2. Now that she is 3 it's much more complete in thought, with her words used and questions that she comes up with. She is curious about so much and wants to know more about how something works or where it came from. Before it was just a simple thing, like being out of bananas. Now we are out of bananas and she wants to go to the store to get more. She understands now, that the bananas don't just come from the kitchen; she knows that we get these from the store. She knows we could just go to the store for more! Simple as that.

One day, I told her we were out...a few minutes later she is playing with her dolly and putting the doll in the toy stroller, collecting her purse and sippy cup...next thing, she looks at me and says, "Duke (the dog) and I are going to the store, Momma. We are getting bananas!" I said, "ok. go get bananas, see you later." I know she is only pretending and she can't actually go to the store. I will, though, get a little more worried when she starts riding a bike and says something like that. I hope she doesn't actually try to ride her bike to a store for bananas?! For now it is just pretend. I am proud of her figuring this out, that she wants to go and get bananas at the store and understands the whole process. This is just another example I see in her being a little 3 y/o compared to her being 2.

 

Now that she is actually turning 3 next week, we have her birthday party coming up! I am keeping it very simple. It's a Prince and Princess themed party at the house, cake and party favors. I bought the party favors from $1 sections of stores which are great deals! The kids she invited will come over dressed as a prince or princess. I'm dressing up too! Why not!? It's going to be fun! Kara wants her birthday cake to be PINK with Sprinkles! Easy enough, not to hard to please when she is 3. The birthday parties are only going to get more complicated and expensive as she gets older. This will be her first official birthday party with her friends all attending. I hope it goes well and everyone shows up! I'm so excited, being her mom and watching her grow is beautiful!

Potty Training is Hard But it is Working!

Don't go poopoo on the floor, nooo! she says. She is repeating what I say. "Don't go pee in my panties! Nooo." says Kara. Or, she also sees me about to step in the shower, she is telling ME, "Don't go pee in the shower, momma...Nooo." I tell her, "Don't worry, I am already potty trained, and I won't go pee in the shower."

But she is really getting it. She knows where NOT to go potty and to wear her panties with out going pee in them. So far today, Kara has gone pee two times in the potty and stayed dry til 11am this morning. She started to pee in the panties but we were close to the potty she finished up in the potty. I got her cleaned up and new panties to put on.

 Today we have been playing music that I found on the Huggies website. A Potty dance song in different versions. We now have the songs downloaded on our computer desktop, to play all day. Today is dedicated to all potty theme, potty training. We're going knock this out and get it going, this is one determined momma!

Her preschool will also continue the potty training with her wearing the panties! They are on board too! At preschool they will help her learn tomorrow on her school day. I am glad they are there to help with Potty training. If we had to switch tomorrow to the pull-ups, for preschool to use, then it is like taking steps backwards and loosing all the hard work of today. Plus she has some classmates also using the panties and potty training. This will encourage each other and see one another use the potty. All together being potty trained and maybe have it sink in more.

She is also making the connection on her own. She is confirming with me this thought process she has, in her little toddler mind... "Momma goes potty, Dadda goes potty...Ellie (one of her friends) goes potty..." and I tell her "Yes, we are all potty trained! Now it is your turn, Kara to get potty trained! Let's learn how to go potty and try our best not to pee or poo in the panties!" Then Kara says, (in her cute toddler voice) "OK! let's do it!" To have this little conversation and hear that she is ready and we are doing it...this was one of the best moments for me as a mom!

Yay! she just went potty for the third time this morning! She going pee. It is 11:41am and we have the whole rest of the day to go; so far just the one minor pee accident in the 1st pair of panties. Kara is doing so good! And I, being the mom, am her potty cheerleader! I am overacting the happy/excitement, making a big deal that she just peed in the potty! GOOD JOB KARA! YOU DID IT! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! YOU CAN DO IT!!! clapping our hands. Then we go to the computer and play the potty songs again and dance around.

So far so good. I am back to the blog, and it is 1:12pm. We had lunch and she's still dry on her panties! We are doing so well with this potty training day. I am still anticipating the poo moment. She hasn't done a poo yet today...normally by now. I KNOW, this is T.M.I. especially if you are just reading this blog and NOT a parent of a toddler, this blog is not very exciting. But I am really writing this for myself to look back on years from now, and document the day of triumphs! Also I write this particular blog for my other parents out there in the same boat.

Trying to potty train a toddler is SO HARD to do. We (the adults) just have to stick with it. Truly an experience as a parent and an experience as the toddler! We are both learning. I just have to stick with it and keep being the cheerleader and encourage the potty times. Even when Kara just sits on the potty and doesn't actually "go", I still tell her, "Thanks for trying, you did a good job!" Keep it positive.

Christmas 2011

This year Christmas was small and just celebrated by the three of us. I decorated our tree with Kara. She is a toddler, so all the ornaments she hung up, were in the same section of the tree, at her eye level...So I would coach her in where to put the next ornament; and how these all look better, when spread out along the tree. She had so much fun hanging each one up. Later as the weeks progressed we would get an ornament here and there from people. She made a few ornaments at preschool and I made one at my work and she made another at our church. First thing Kara would do after coming home, with a new ornament, was go directly to the tree and want to hang it up. Photos are shown to see her ornaments.

 I made the candy-cane ornament at my work, and Kara hung it on the tree.

 The sparkly peach ornament Kara made in Preschool! So pretty.

 The little snowman ornament, Karas preschool teacher, Ms. Lauren made for everyone.

 Kara made the green ornament with stickers that says, "Peace" at our church.

As a fun little detail to Santa stuffing the stockings, I left out Santa's hat by the fire place (shown in photo), as if he left it behind. I told her, "Look! Santa left us presents in our   stockings. Oh and look! He forgot his hat!" Something that I did forget this year was to put out cookies and eggnog! If I would have remembered to do that, then I would also need carrots for the Reindeer...but we were out of carrots anyway.



Kara made a present for us, at her preschool! It was so sweet to have our first gift from our daughter as something that she made at school. She is 2 1/2 and this will be the first of many school crafts to come for many years through out her school years. Those are the special gifts that I look forward to as a parent. This crafty present she made was a snowman with buttons and a little snow-hat. The Snowman was made from an old sock! Haha!