Choosing to Not be Offended

WARNING: This may be offensive to some.

It's interesting to me how easily offended we are.  Mostly I mean women.  I know we are in general emotional creatures; we have hormones that tend to fluctuate (uh em... I mean rage), we are sensitive in a way men simply can't understand.  But ladies, why are we so easily offended?  Our toes are so easily stepped on.  Our feelings are so easily crushed.  Our hearts are so easily shattered. AND goodness knows our soapboxes are ENORMOUS!  Maybe I am stepping up on mine now but I hope that I am speaking in love and that it falls on soft hearts and open ears.

5 min. Friday - Story

TODAY'S PROMPT:
Story...

5 min. Friday - Beautiful

Okay, so here is the deal I said I was going to join in this and so today I am actually doing it.  I have felt so busy lately that I haven't blogged at all.  BOO!  But today I join in and this link up I think is definitely worth it. Check it out by clicking the image below.

Today's prompt.
Beautiful...

Potential Roller Coaster

PREFACE/DISCLAIMER:  I reread and tried to edit this post but it is sort of beyond editing, it's insane.  Enjoy.

I have found almost everything humorous today.  I have giggled, chuckled, almost cried laughing at multiple things throughout the day; and if I'm honest this isn't my typical state of being.  I would say today things just happen to be funnier than normal but I don't think that is the case.  I can truly say I am a little worried for tomorrow.  It kind of is like when you know you are "homoronally" pissed and irritable   You know it but it doesn't change the fact that your are still pissed and irritable   Well today I was the opposite of that.  Everything is funny.  Here are some examples.

Cruisin'

Wow am I behind on blogging.  I haven't blogged in so long it is crazy.  Honestly, for me, blogging is like journaling and journaling is like therapy.  So the break in posts isn't a good thing for my heart and soul.  Writing is a a way for me to process my thoughts and feelings and blogging makes me edit and review.

The past few months have been so busy.  We have been traveling, Phil changed jobs, my freelance jobs are keeping me on my toes (and at my computer); it's been busy.  I feel as though I have been out of town more than I have been in town but I love the life adventure I have been experiencing.

Our first trip was a cruise!  I had never been on a cruise before so I was pretty excited.  And we had a great time so I was not disappointed.

Our ship the Carnival Magic.

Cruises are a funny thing though.  They are kind of like summer camp.  Or have you ever seen the movie Dirty Dancing?  It's just like that; a bunch 'wealthy' adults being entertained.  It seemed too cheesy - too fake and people were eating it up (figuratively and literally). So sometimes I had a bit of a hard time with that. I met folks from Indonesia, Philippines, Panama, Australia, England, Nevada - everywhere. Many, perhaps the majority, of the crew on board were from less fortunate countries and lives working hard (very hard - long hours) to make and send money home.  They were away from their homes, families, children for months at a time.   I didn't intend to make this post to have a social commentary but it was something I walked away with in my mind so I thought it was important to at least acknowledge that the dynamics of the boat were strange for me, often humbling as I vacationed in luxury.

So it wouldn't really be vacation without a bunch of fun and that we had.  It felt like we were always on the go, something to do or see.  We went to magic shows, comedy shows, fancy dinners and casual meals.  We laid in the sun, went down the water slides got massages bought watches and perfume and had a marvelous time. The cruise was 7 days with 3 stops to Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, and Cozumel.

In Jamaica, Phil and I floated the river.  The river looked very dirty because it had been raining in the mountains and that was stirring everything up as it came down the mountain.

The river was very still and we were tied to a group of 10ish with a guide that basically paddled us down the river.  He was a really nice guy that liked to go by Shrek.  

These are a few pics of the view up through the mountain.

My favorite part of the cruise was our second stop of the trip at the Cayman Islands where we went on a Stingray excursion.  Originally I thought this excursion would be boring and with too many people and while there were SOOO many people I didn't even care I just loved watching the stingrays.  I even got to hold a couple!!!!

I'm READY!!!! --- see all the people.

snorkle kiss.  haha.

Cayman was the most beautiful place and the day was perfect.

The whole Gang!

Me and my Buddy.

Other than what was your favorite part of the cruise the other main question I am asked is did I get sea sick. Well yes I did!  Not completely sick but off enough to wish I had gotten a prescription.  

I took this video below one day to show how much the boat was moving.  This is our door knocker.  Keep in mind that I completely stopped the sign and just let it pick up speed on it's own.

And here are a few other random photo favs.

So that's it.  As our maitre d' would say, we had "fun fun fun"!

What do you want to know about home schooling?

Hey everyone, I am working on a post about my experience being home schooled.  Since I seem to have a lot of friends thinking and considering home schooling for their children I thought it might be useful for me to share my experience and what I know with whomever is interested.

Before I write what I think you might want to know I thought I would try and find out what you really do want to know.  So I am asking!

Here is a brief outline of what I thought I would share:

• Why we were home schooled.
• The transition from public school to home school.
• Co-ops/Socialization
• Curriculum

Leave a comment and let me know what most interests you.

Chemical Free Cleaning

I think I have fallen in love with white vinegar!  I decided the other day that I wanted to experiment with some DIY natural cleaning products.  So I did a little research and found that white vinegar was an ingredient most commonly referred to.

Here are a few things that I have played around so far.

• Laminate floor cleaner (used it to spot mop and was quite pleased....looking forward to the full floor mop up)
• Kitchen counter cleaner (not for marble!!!)
• Air freshener
• Dog ear cleaning solution (afterward the dogs kept sniffing each others ears which was cracking me up)
• Stainless Steel sink cleaner
• Gnat trapper (worked better than I expected)

I found this site which, as it is aptly titled, has a TON uses for white vinegar!!!

Here are a few fun things I found out while researching.
1. When a recipe calls for alcohol it can be rubbing or drinking like vodka.
2. Lemon is a great ingredient to add it is a fresh smell, degreaser, and whitener.

So I bought a spray bottle at Walmart to mix up my first solution of white vinegar, water, and lemon.

So there you have it.  My potion a la clean!  I have to admit though there is a part of me that has been so {fooled/tricked/taught/reliant} on the harsh chemical cleaners that I don't feel like things are clean and sanitary unless they smell like chemicals, have a label on the bottle shouting antibacterial.  I might need to make a label for my bottle... or become a chemist. hmm.  I mean seriously sometimes I just want to swab the counter after I wipe it down and look under the microscope to see how clean it is.  Needless to say the complete transition to chemical free or perhaps more likely chemical-less in my house will be a slow process as I retrain my brain but I think I'll get there one day.

Next solution to try is white vinegar and baking soda for a good scrub down for the bathroom tub.  oh boy.