A reminder

Be sure to visit http://www.revealedreflections.com for my blog posts on our travels and the joys of the Golden Years. Please subscribe to that blog so that when I post you will get an email notice.

I hope to see you there.

Mary

I'm back but am leaving again.....

I have neglected my blogs terribly. My husband and I have embarked on an exciting journey and I would like to share it with you. Please visit my blog http://www.revealedreflections.com
and go with us as we travel through the Golden Years. Please share your journey and struggles with us too. We would love to hear from you.

After a few weeks I intend to close this blog. Today is September 25. I will be deleting this blog on Halloween.

Don't forget to bookmark the link above.

Taking care of our teeth

I think my kids get tired of hearing me preach on the importance of taking care of their teeth and taking care of their kids' teeth. It is so important. Unfortunately dental care and any medical care is so expensive. If a person doesn't have insurance, well, they often just can't afford the visit.

In doing some research on this subject I came across a site that offers dental discounts. The site is www.usafact.org. Besides dental discounts they also offer help with hearing aid expense, vision care and even insurances. It is certainly worth checking out.

Read some of the testimonials. I was impressed and I think you will be too. Do check them out.

Saving those precious memories

Our grandchildren are growing up so fast. Two of them just had birthdays and two others are coming up in the Fall. I'm so glad that we all have digital camcorders in our family. If we miss the party, we know that we can watch the recording and it's just as if we were there.

When our kids were young we had an 8mm video camera. We had to have huge flood lights with it and a long cord as well. The whole process was clumsy. Now with digital ones they are all battery operated and you can go everywhere with them and take videos no matter what the environment.

These special times are so precious and as everyone grows up and older, those old movies are even more special. If you don't own one yet, I hope that you put a video camera on your list of things to get soon. They keep our treasures safe.

Staying healthy

I was talking to my cousin yesterday and he was saying he was looking for Mesothelioma lawyers. He has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He's been feeling so bad lately and we were all so surprised when they finally diagnosed his problems.

The most important thing we have at this time in our lives is our health and so we need to guard it for all we're worth. Especially eat well, and get some exercise each and everyday.

I think that it's also every bit as important to laugh a lot. Surround yourself with fun people who like to laugh and who have a great outlook on life. Laughter is so important and has been found to increase a person's immunity against sickness. So, be sure to add laughter to your day's activities.

Stay well.

My name is Mary and I'm a shop-aholic

Yes, it is indeed true. I love to shop. As we drove through Branson to see where things were, I saw a lot of shops and am eager to go see what there is to buy there. Being in an RV puts space limitations on me, however. Drats!!

I love to shop AND I love a sale. I used to think anything marked down was a good buy, but over the years I don't get excited until I see at least 50% off. That's a sale!!!

A week or two before we left Texas, I was shopping and came across a wonderful winter coat that was marked down to $9.99!! Imagine that! It wasn't my size, but only a couple of sizes too large. The wheels were turning as I considered how I could take it in here, shorten the sleeves there, etc. etc.

Well, knowing that we would be in our RV for who knows how long, I passed on that wonderful bargain and left it for a sister shopper who maybe needed it more than I do. I keep thinking of that coat, though. I hope that whoever ended up buying it really needed a bargain like that.

My handyman husband

As those of you who follow my blogs know, we're giving full time RVing a try. So far we just love it, though we've only been at it a short time.

I really appreciate my handy husband and how he can fix anything that breaks. We don't have a lot of room to store a lot of tools, so my handyman has had to narrow down his "arsenal" to the ones that can serve his needs best. I really think that he would agree that the one thing he uses more than anything else is his box cutter. Believe it or not, this is true. The electrical wires in our RVs driver's seat came disconnected and so he set out to fix it. Out came his box cutter to strip the insulation off of the wire so he could reattach it and get the seat fixed.

That seat is working just great again, as is everything else presently. That may change, but lucky for me, my handyman husband will fix whatever it is that stops working as it should.

An upside to a down time

Everyone I talk to is being more careful about money these days. Many have lost money in the stock market or watched the value of their biggest asset, their home plummet to a point of being worth less than they owe. That's hard to take.

However, something that I have noticed as I talk to people is that almost everyone is finding this time of not being able to afford extras is a good time to spend time with the family doing things that don't cost much. Having family movie night, as an example, and playing family games as well. More time with those we love is always a good thing.

Something else I have seen is that there are deals to be hand in most every area. An example of this is are travel deals that enable people to go to places that they normally wouldn't be able to afford. Bargains on air fares, hotels and so forth.

I am keeping my eyes open for a deal on a trip to Europe. Now all I have to do is convince my husband that we need to go there.=)

The best diet pill

Which of the over the counter products is the best diet pill? There are so many different varieties on the market today. I am wary of anything containing substances that I am not familiar with. So, I read the ingredients, do my research online until I feel I know all that I need to know about the product. Even then I won't take anything without showing it to my doctor and getting her okay. To me, that's just plain common sense.

We need to guard our health for all we're worth. Personally, I feel that keeping our weight down and getting exercise each day are the most important things we can do for ourselves. Add to that eating right, keeping a positive mental outlook, adding laughter to our day, exercise our brain ............... aw, forget it all. Just be happy. =)

Type 2 diabetes

I do believe that I qualify as being a "health nut". The older I get the more I realize how important it is to take care of our bodies. Keeping our weight down, getting some exercise, and making sure that we get all of the major food groups into our diet each day is my "job" and I take it very seriously.

My husband has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so that has made me even more mindful of what we eat. Getting his weight down was the first thing the doctor said he should do. At first we did some researched to try to determine which were the
best diet pills, and then decided not to take any, but to just watch what we ate. So far he's lost almost 20 pounds and his blood sugar is doing great.

Guard your health with all you have. It is one's greatest gift.

Household fixtures

I get so excited when we have a home redecorating project going. It is so much fun to pick out new fixtures. We aren't ready to make our final decisions, but I found a site that caught my interest. They sell Danze faucets. In my humble opinion, Danze is the gold standard in faucets. I have yet to find any other brand with the fine style that Danze fixtures have.

Have you seen the commercial on television where the lady goes into her architect, slams a faucet down on his desk and says, "design a house around this". I'm trying not to get too excited about any fixtures just yet. I don't think my husband would be very happy if I told him to design our kitchen around a faucet I fell in love with. =)

Getting more bang for our buck...

Research! Education! Ask questions and get answers!! Whether we're buying something to wear, something to eat, some furniture, a vehicle, wrinkle creams or whatever. We owe it to ourselves and to our pocketbooks to be informed.

I really feel that if we all did our homework before we bought anything, the quality of everything that is available today would be affected. By getting information before we buy we insure that we get the best buy for our money. If we all do this, then only the best buy would stand the test and inferior products would slowly fade away.

Old sayings like "you get what you pay for" aren't always valid. The highest price doesn't guarantee that you will have the best product for your money. Sometimes the better buy is the middle priced item. There have been times when the cheapest product we have found to be the best buy and where we got the most bang for our buck.

No matter what you are buying, know what you're getting and insist on getting the best price. You work hard for your money!!

Diet pills, to use them or not use them....

My daughter is on a diet and is using a diet pill that I don't know anything about. In order for me to relax about this, I did some research to find out what I could about it. There are quite a few sites that offer diet pill reviews so I'm reading all I can find on the diet aid products on the market.

Gosh, there are a ton of diet aids, appetite suppressants, metabolism boosters and so on available. As long as they state what is in them, you read the list of ingredients and familiarize yourself with those elements and make sure they are safe, then I say, go ahead and give it a try.

Education is key. We have to be our own physicians when it comes to over the counter medications. Read all that you can before using anything like that. If you are on prescription meds, I can't stress enough the importance of checking with your doctor to make sure that OTC products to interfere with your other meds.

Kindle DX

I love to read. I always have a book that I'm reading and I prefer paperbacks for ease of carrying in my purse to doctor's appointments etc.

My daughter uses her IPhone to read books on, and a friend of mine uses the Kindle by Amazon.com. Both of these devices offer the same thing, a handy way to have your book right there at your fingertips as you go about your daily activities.

I've been reading reviews on the latest version of Kindle, called kindle DX. You can see a picture here in the upper left hand corner. I don't have this device so can't speak to it personally. However, review say the screen is 6 inches, it's flat and easy to use. However, many don't like the quality of the picture saying it lacks the definition that a real paper would have. I need to see it for myself before I comment on that. It appears to be very clear and I do like the new size. It's a bit pricey at almost $500.

It's due to be released this summer. At that price I don't expect to be buying one anytime soon, but will stick with my paperback novels at least until it comes down in price.

If any of you buy the new Kindle or even have one of the older versions I'd like to hear from you about what you think about it. I'd be very interested in hearing from you. Do leave a comment or email me at mary1440@gmail.com. Meanwhile, I'm going to check with my friend to see if she intends to buy the new one when it comes out.

I'd appreciate some feedback.

To buy a new laptop or more memory?

I tried to download software today and was told that I don't have enough memory! Argh!! "How can that be?", I asked myself. It seems just a short time since I added more notebook memory. I guess because my husband and I use the laptop when we travel and share it, running out of memory is to be expected.

Some files take up so much space. I like to take photographs and my husband has to do so for his online business, so I guess that's our biggest problem. Technology changes so fast and our notebook is really becoming a dinosaur, so...... maybe we need to just bite the bullet and purchase a bigger and better one.

I usually check with my kids before I make this kind of purchase. They are all so computer savvy and they help me make a decision on whether to buy new or just upgrade.

We shall see!

Redecorating? Consider new floors.

I really love wood flooring, and I'm not alone in this. Wood and wood-like floors are very popular these days.

I've shared with you before that we have our house up for sale. After our listing ran out we discussed things we might do to make our house more appealing to young families and it was suggested that we put in wood floors.

Well, we opted for vinyl wood flooring because it's a lot less expensive. I like it and am sure that for families with young children, it's a great choice. The ease of care with this type of flooring can't be matched.

If you're redecorating, I can't recommend wood or wood vinyl flooring highly enough. You won't be sorry!!

An amazing time in history....

My neighbor and her husband are in the military and are being sent to North Carolina. They like planning ahead and covering all of their bases, so they researched housing, made appointments to see some places and even were able to arrange auto insurance in NC. That is so awesome. Don't you think so too? Never before in our history has moving been such a breeze. So much can be taken care of ahead of time, thanks to the internet and all that is available on here.

Besides the internet, there are those wonderful cell phones and other portable devices that make life just so much easier. This truly is an amazing time in history. I'm so glad that I'm alive to enjoy it all.

Dieting?

Are you dieting and getting ready for all of those summer fashions? Are you looking for an appetite suppressant?

Although I can't take most over the counter medications because of the prescription medications my doctor has me on, many people swear by the diet aid nuphedra . I've been reading up on it and find it to have many of the things I use already like green tea and ginger. The combination of ingredients help to boost your energy level which is a huge plus when you're trying to lose weight. Significant weigh loss can't be achieved without adding a good dose of increased activity along with diet modification.

Do let me know what you think if you are using this product. Good luck with your diet!

A new member of our family

Meet Little Bit, the newest member of our family. She's a Yorkshire Terrier and is three months old now.

We've had her for a little over a month and my husband and I just adore her. She's smart, cute, loving, and sweet. I could just go on and on. I can't begin to express the pleasure she has given us already and I know that we'll have years of pleasure ahead of us with this little sweet blessing from God.

Being a new "mother" I of course did some research to find some good sites where I could order pet supplies at a good price. One good site I found is www.jefferspet.com. They offer discounted prices for quality supplies. They seem to have everything I need so I don't have to look any further.

Our "Little Bit" is going to be so spoiled.

Paying attention to detail

Those of you who read my blogs know that we're selling our house and scaling back. The market is tight and so far we haven't had any offers. Our Realtor friend suggested that we upgrade our kitchen hardware and even the faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms. Details count these days.

I've been looking around and really like Grohe faucets. They have good prices and a wide variety of the latest styles. They offer classic styling with an up to date twist that the younger people are looking for. We've been told that young people with a family are the ones we need to market our house to. Young people are aware of details and we have to be too.

Prom time again

Today going to the prom is a huge event and a costly one as well. When we were in high school, the prom consisted of getting a formal gown, or wearing a suit and buying a corsage.

Today not only is there the expense of a formal dress or tuxedo, there is also dinner out at the fanciest restaurant and a ride in a limousine with the expense running into hundreds of dollars.

Our grandson and his date are keeping it simple and less expensive by grilling at the park and having a quiet picnic before the dance.Instead of a limo, he's borrowing his grandpa's truck so that they can sit in the back on a pallet covered with a blanket to eat. Getting back to basics is the key. I'm so glad to see young people taking money seriously.

Creature Comforts

When we travel away from home the thing that I miss the most is my bed. Don't you feel the same way? I think most people do. We have a great mattress. If I have a backache when I go to bed, it's gone when I awaken in the morning. This is all due to a good mattress that offers good support.

Our daughter and her husband recently bought a sleep number bed and they are really happy with it. When two people have different needs in a bed, this is a great option for them.

Like good shoes, investing in a good mattress is essential. These items are right up there with nutritious meals when it comes to what I feel is important to overall good health.

Let me know what you think.

New Year's resolutions revisited

Some of us vowed that we would lose some weight and get healthier in 2009. How are you all doing with this?

Well, I'm here to confess that I haven't lost a pound. I haven't gained any either which is great news. However, once we got caught up in preparing our house for sale everything else when by the wayside.

Rather than eating regular meals we've been grazing, eating a little here and little there. That isn't a good habit to get into. It's harder to make sure you don't take in more calories than you should in a day. Keeping track of what we eat if vital to losing weight.

I've been reading about Solo Slim and have been considering giving it a try. The ingredients are all natural which is important. With my health issues, I need to ask my doctor about it first. It looks like a good option, though.

Cell phones vs land lines

My husband and I have been talking a lot about canceling our land line service and just keeping our cell phones. Although we still get occasional calls on our home phone, people primarily call us on our cells. That insures that they connect with the person they want to talk to, for one thing.

In the earlier days of cells phones, service wasn't as reliable as it is now. Wherever we go we are able to connect to a cell tower, so we never lose calls or find ourselves without service.

We both have businesses that we depend on our cell phones for, but again, more and more people have our cell numbers and just call them. I do think that the time to get rid of our home phone has come.

Any thoughts on this?

Going green

Going green is a subject that is on the top of my priority list. I have become aware of my carbon footprint and once one is aware, then this knowledge nags us until we do something about it.

Needless to say, I am nagged a lot. I know I am not doing enough. We all must continually find new ways to recycle, and find new ways to reduce our use of fossil fuels.

My biggest areas of offense are the use of plastic bags and plastic bottled water. Each time I use these items that awareness I spoke of starts to nag away at me. It says, "Mary, this water bottle will still be here thousands of years from now". So far I have managed to cut down by refilling that bottle with chilled water from our faucet.

Another thing that we're doing is that we are slowly replacing our light bulbs with led home lighting. Little by little our house is becoming more energy efficient.

Have you found some unique ways to lessen your carbon footprint? Share it with us. I look forward to hearing from you.

We're getting a new puppy

Those of you who read my blogs regularly know that our precious Cocker Spaniel Gabby had to be put down last winter. Not only my husband and I have been mourning her, but our grandchildren have as well. How precious is that? They have such tender caring hearts.

Our grand kids have been asking when we're going to get a new dog, and we've decided that we're ready to now. We must get our yard ready for our new family member, however. I've been getting aluminum fence installation quotes because we want to keep our new pet safe and our back yard doesn't have a fence. We don't want to lose the openness that our yard has by putting up a privacy fence. An aluminum fence seems to be just what we need.

You can be sure that I'll be posting pictures of our newest family member in the near future.

What I'm reading now....

One of my favorite authors is James Patterson. I have read and enjoyed many of his books. One of his ongoing characters is Alex Cross, a multi-faceted young man whose love of family and love of what is right and good in the world keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. I ordered "Pop Goes The Weasel" from Amazon books and since I started it, can hardly put it down.

Our "main man" Alex Cross's fiance is kidnapped while on a family vacation, supposedly by the Weasel, a mass murderer who kills for sport. I am on tender hooks waiting for our hero to rescue said damsel, though so far there aren't any leads to her where abouts.

Will he find her in time? Will they get married? Is the Weasel the only killer in this story? You have to pick up your own copy and find out for yourself. A great read!

Our grandson's graduation

Yes, I know, school isn't out for a few months, though I want to plan ahead for a graduation gift for our grandson. He has worked very hard to get through school and we are so very proud of him.

I've been looking at luggage for him and have found some great sales going on. I even found a close out sale for close to 80% off. Now that is some bargain. I plan to give this company a call and find out more about the items for sale.

Gosh, it seems just like yesterday when I was graduating from High School. Well, that yesterday was 50 years ago. Time sure does fly!

What I'm reading now....

I just finished "The Bone Garden" by Tess Garritsen. I hadn't read anything by this author before, but our daughter Wendi gave us the book and said she knew we'd enjoy it. Gary read it first and raved about it so I had it waiting for me to read after I finished the 1400+ paged "And Ladies of the Club".

In "The Bone Garden" the author starts out telling her story taking place in the 1800s. Then she switches to the present and begins to develop that part of the story. Throughout the book she takes us back and forth bring both time period's happenings together and by the end has neatly tied them together, and wrapped them with a bright red bow. I didn't enjoy this back and forth process and grew a bit weary with it. However, I must say that once I was done, I felt that it was a book I would highly recommend. How did Ms Garritsen manage that? The sign of a gifted author perhaps? Husband Gary has since read many of her other books and has enjoyed them all.

I'm currently reading "Mary, Mary" by James Patterson. Once I finish it I'll go back to Ms Garritsen and see what else she has up her literary sleeve. Stay tuned.

Looking for ways to save money....

Aren't we all looking for ways to save some money? Today on Oprah a woman claims to have saved over $200 a month on her energy bill, just by unplugging her appliances. She claims that things that are turned off are still pulling electricity, and proved it by lowing her power bill from $286 to $86 a month. I don't know about you, but I'm going to give that a try.

Another big thing is changing all of our light bulbs to led light bulb. They use a lot less energy and last for many, many years.

I do believe that LED lights need to be recycled rather than just thrown away. That is something we need to look into. Find out where you can take yours in your community.

We're in this thing together and every little bit of savings helps so much more than we realize.

Creative expression....

One of my favorite means of creative expression is sculpting. I generally get out a chunk of clay and start working away letting the clay show me what it wants to become. The hours fly by when I'm working with clay and before I know it, morning has turned into night and my husband is home wondering where his dinner is. =) I'm fortunate to have a very patient and understanding husband who will, in that instance, start dinner or order pizza so I can keep working. I'm blessed!

Over the weekend my husband was working away out in the garage. I didn't know what he was doing until he brought in a table for me to use when I sculpt. It has a round top that is mounted on a flange with bearings that enable the table top to turn as I work. My husband put his creative talents to work to aid me in expressing myself creatively. What a team. Don't you think?

Inauguration

What an awesome occasion for Washington D.C. The presidential inauguration has affected all of the local businesses from smallest restaurant to the airports. Wouldn't it be exciting to be a mouse in some one's pocket for all of the doings? I would love to be able to be there.

Our country has come a long, long way since the swearing in of JFK as pictured in this photo. The swearing in of our first black president is something that we can all be proud of.

I am not a Democrat and didn't vote for Obama, but I have a lot of hope that he will live up to his words and bring change for the better for our country. We need it.

Let's all pray for our new president and his family.

A great site for Christian entertainment

During these troubled economic times, it is all the more important that we keep focused on just Who is in control of our world. As Christians, it's a time when we need to saturate ourselves with Christian principles by reading Christian books, and listening to Christian music. Nothing helps me more when I get upset about the uncertain future than putting on some sacred music and having it playing in the background as I work around the house. Nest Entertaiment.com is a great place to find just what you need in Christian entertainment.

This is God's world and we are His people. Even when we mess things up, He knows the beginning and the end. He can see the way out of problems when we can't. He can, He desires to, and He will help us through.

I'm so glad that I know the Lord in a personal way. He keeps me grounded and feeling safe. I wish that for you all as well.

A great food supplement

Everyone I know is either dieting or at least vowing to eat better and be healthier in this new year 2009. I think that it is vital for those of us who are watching what we eat to make sure we take a supplement as well.

One of the better ones out there is Decaslim. I have heard it referred to as a "super food" because the ingredients are all natural and made up of foods that you must have to be healthy. Lots of vegetables and a good amount of fiber, all in one pill.

I always tell my readers to check with their doctors before taking most over the counter medications. This is one that you can't miss with. It's safe, all natural, a great food supplement, and it sells at a reasonable price. What more could we ask for?

Spring fever in January

It is unusually cold here in the South East today. Okay, so compared to what my Minnesota friends and family are having this winter, this is spring weather. Maybe that's why this Minnesota girl is having spring fever in January.

I was looking out at our back yard this morning and was longing for some flowering trees. I can just picture two or three Flowering Cherry trees scattered around in our yard. I really love the Kwanzan Cherry tree. That is the one that is so famously photographed each spring in Washington D.C. Their pink blossoms are breathtakingly beautiful. If I buy them online they are guaranteed and would be replaced next season if they didn't fair well. Hm, the more I think about this the better it sounds. Am off to buy some trees.

Creating an atmosphere of relaxation

Most of us women try to create a relaxing atmosphere for our family and friends as well as for ourselves. Some of the ways I do this is with candles, soft lighting, certain kinds of music, wind chimes and water falls.

When it comes to the latter, wall fountains are one of my favorite accessories. Once you find just the right place for one, I'll think you'll leave it running all of the time in the background. Water falling has a natural ability to relax a person, and even when we're not paying any attention to it, that pleasing sound penetrates our subconscious. A water fall is on the top of my list of ways to help my body relax.