Preparing for a huge project.

Merry Christmas!!!

Yes, it is that time of the year.  Do you have your decorations in order?  Do you know what gifts you are getting your family and friends?  What about a tree?  Is it an artificial or a live tree?  Do you have your cards lists and handmade cards ready?

“Hold it one minute, The turkey has not fully digested, and you are asking me about my Christmas plans?” one might be saying.  “Wait a minute, I’m Jewish, I do not celebrate Christmas”, another person may be saying.  Still, another may be saying, “I celebrate the birth of Christ, so no Santa, elves, and mistletoe in my house”.

That’s fine, whatever, however you celebrate is fine, as long as you are not:

-    Overwhelmed

-    Fighting long lines for presents

-    Going with the status quo

You will be fine.  Trust me.  You will.  I am not an expert in this department, but I have news for you.  You do not, I repeat do not have to go through this alone. 

This Monday, December 3, 2018, I will have a 3-part guide of prep work to do for the big day.  It is a start, but I have one little catch, to view this guide, you have to read all three, and it goes like this:

•    Part 1 will be in the My Ambiance Life blog.  This is my writing blog.  Monday is usually where I motivate you in your writing and other subjects, and I have chosen to motivate the holiday you.  My purpose for you is to destress during holiday prep.  Life does not stop for the holidays.  I know because as I am writing this, I am also preparing for a craft fair at a school for next Saturday and finishing translating notes for a church meeting on this Saturday (December 1).  This is on top of everything I have to do for my business and my home life.  The holidays are just part of it.  I am sure you feel the same way.

•    Part 2 will be in the P. Lynne Designs blog.  This is my crafting blog.  I get back into the swing of things after a year of absence.  This is post will be about preparing for making cards and getting supplies together for that big day when you are making and distributing gifts.  I also have things for those of you who do not craft because everyone is not a crafter.

•    Finally, part 3 will be in the At Home with Tricia's Baskets blog.  This was my blog when I sold Longaberger products, and since they closed back in the summer, I have turned this blog into a home decoration, organizing, and family blog.  There is a little bit of travel in there too.  This post will be about prepping the house and family. Getting out a list of things to do, not only for the house but with the kids when they are out of school for the winter break.  There will be things you may want them to do to, especially if they are older.

So, your next question is, “do I have to read all three?” The answer is “no, you do not”. This is my mini gift to you as you are stressing about what to do next in your preparation for the holidays.

This is my first time doing a guide across all three of my blogs, and yes, I will be doing some follow-up starting with what I do to prepare for a craft show.  This is my first craft show with handmade products, but I have been in crafts show with Longaberger products, and I must say that I do admire the crafters and artisans that seem like they have everything together with their booths.

So, there you go, a huge project called holidays.  All I ask you is to enjoy the ride and relax.  You got this.

Peace on Earth.

Announcement: Traveling Plans

Getting away from it all without tearing your hair out
(c) 2016 P.Lynne Designs

Warning:  it may contain affiliate links

It has now come to my attention that you cannot go on the annual family vacation because someone decided that they needed to do everything on their vacation.  This option usually costs an arm, a leg, their home, and their first-born child.  Aww, the sacrifices we make as a family these days to make vacation living a fun adventure.

I am here to tell you that you do not have to do that type of sacrifice.  Not at all, my friend. I want to tell you a little secret.

BUT FIRST ….

A little announcement ….

I started this project when I had 5 blogs and on the verge of creating what is now forming into P. Lynne Designs. I had to quit because I was burning out.  I have been inching to get back to it, and that announcement is I am going to re-write my Disney Vacation book.  You never saw it because of that burnout.  I was adding too much, and I will be starting over again from the very beginning.  I never truly planned out this book, and that is the second reason why I quit writing it.  I never really planned on how much I was going to write.  I can discuss all of that later.  For right now, I want to get back started.  

OK, enough of that, back to the secret that is a vacation…

The secret to a good vacation is planning.  Notice I did not say the perfect vacation.  If you are a Christian, you know that only God is perfect.  Planning helps out a lot.  Planning keeps you sane and focused of the task at hand, and the plan is to have fun.  Planning for a vacation also helps you:

• ·         Know how much money to spend
• ·         What places in that area you want to see
• ·         Where you want to eat

And so on ….

Here are the areas you need to concentrate when planning

• 1.      Where do you want to go?
• 2.      Time off (both parents and children)
• 3.      Budget.
• 4.      Where you are going to live for the next few days
• 5.      Eating
• 6.      Activities
• 7.      Transportation
• 8.      Packing

Now I could go on about this, but for now, I will make it brief.

The first part is where.  I will use Disney Parks as an example.  Let’s go with that for now.  You have dreamed of Disney, your family loves Disney. 

There are 6 different regions that hold a Disney Park Resort:  2 in the United States, 1 in Japan, 2 in China, and 1 in France. So, which one do you and your family want to visit?

For most people, it is obvious, go to the one in your country.  This is a little bit tricky if you live in either the United States or China, where there are two sets of resort parks to choose from.  Well, technically 3 if you are also close to Tokyo Disney.  OK, you decided to go to Disney World. 

Time Off

Once you decided where to go, the next question is when are you going?  This depends on your job and your children’s schedule.  The job is a no brainer.  If you are new in your position or company, wait a year before going.  Why?  Consider this:  There are people who have been there longer than you and have more experience than you.  Your company may operate on the “Low man on the totem pole” method (AKA Seniority) or the “earned time off” Method (AKA PTO).  In either case, it is best to wait a year to ask for any time off, so skip the vacation.  If you have been there for a while, you know by now when you can ask for time off, and when you cannot.  The tricky part is when you have kids in school.

School systems have gotten smarter since my last day in the 12^th grade.  I might say “dumber” since my last day, depending on where you live, and how much the school is willing to turn you into children services for a 5-day vacation to the “Mouse’s Florida Home”. As an aunt of 5 (3 of which are currently school-age children, 1 grown, and a great-nephew of age 2), I am in constant watch of the changes within the Columbus and Dayton Ohio school systems.   They are not as bad as some of these school districts across the U.S. and in other countries.  One school system in the UK can impose a fine on a parent if you pull your child out of school for anything but an illness.  Another school district in Oklahoma, U.S. can turn a parent into children services if a child has several unexcused absences (equal to that of a week-long vacation).  If this sounds like your school system, my suggestion is to do the typical Summer Vacation/Spring Break/Winter Break routine.  It works out in the end and no one gets arrested, fined, or working out visitation rights with children services.  Apparently, schools do not see an educational value in Disney.   

What is your budget? 

You can decide what your budget is this way:  What is your income and how much you are willing to save.  Disney has several options to work with every type of budget.  Figure how much you are willing to spend on transportation, living arrangements, food, and activities.  One website mentions a method called “Pre-trip costs”.  They also said to allow for spurges, such as foods you never tried before, activities you never done before (I am thinking about trying a zipline course on my cruise in September, even though I am afraid of heights, LOL), and so on.  If you allow these things, you feel less guilty when you overspend because it is already figured in the budget.

How are you getting there?

 Plane, car, train, or bus.  Teleportation is not yet available, and it probably will not be available in my lifetime, although I am not sure I want my atoms scattered throughout the cosmos for two seconds (thinking Star Trek thoughts, LOL).  Anyway, since the last one is not available, you have to do a bit of snooping around for this part of your planning.  What is the best price?  How much will it cost you to get there and around?  Again, it should be in the budget part of your planning.  For example, from where I live, I can fly for 4 hours at the current rate of $484 (April 19, 2017) and returning April 25, 2017, which is the typical Disney Trip.  (there is also a cheap trip of $107 I found in Google search).  I can drive, which using my car (a 2008 Dodge Caliber), I need to get an oil change (it is screeching that right now), and gas is now $2.13 at the station where I live and in Orlando, Florida, it is $2.10 ($.03 difference, wow).  My car is a gas guzzler, so I might opt for renting one.  The average cost of an SUV per day is $44 (for now).  Trains run about $1,200 for the round trip, and buses run about $141 for the trip to Orlando from where I live.  Let’s rent a car.

Where to stay?

Now where are you going to stay?  Disney World has two options:  On-site, Off-site.   This is the typical case for most theme parks today.  The advantage between the two is when you stay on-site, there are a lot of things to do outside of the actual park itself, many of the amenities are free.  Your transportation is free, activities are free at the resort (some, not all).  The problem with Disney is there are so many resorts (which there are 23 of them), and they are divided between value, moderate, and deluxe.  If you are the type of family that does not have that much money in the budget, always on the go, and you use the rooms as a stopping and sleeping point, maybe it is best to have a value resort.  Deluxe resorts are high-end resorts and close the parks.  Some may have eat-in kitchens, and you have lots of money to blow (splurge on). 

Off-site (or Off property) are your Hotel 6, Holiday Inn Express, Sheraton, or even there are some places where you can rent a home for a week (Airbnb is considered).  These places are your home.  You do not have housekeeping to come and make your bed, make cute little animals.  It is like you are living in your own home.   Some properties even have their own pool at each home.  You do need to leave the place where you found it.  I have a link to the advantages and disadvantages of staying off and on site above.

I am going to stop there because this post is growing as I type.  I know I have a lot of Disney World references in this post, and this is not sponsored by them at all.  As I have explained many times that I am still a big kid at heart, and I love Disney.  Your favorite vacation spot may be a cruise, Las Vegas, Spain, Italy, or even Africa.  It may be a quiet romantic getaway for 2 without the kids, or girl friend’s “get away from it all trip.”  Whatever the trip, the budget, and the time spend away from “normal life”, make it a good one by planning, budgeting, and “enjoying the moments” while there.  The world is not going to cave in a week, and you deserve it.

Learning new things 1: Being a Dutiful Daughter

An aid getting meds
(c) 2017 P. Lynne Designs

In December 2016, I announced that I was slightly changing the scope of this blog while creating a new one to replace my now closed Simply Organized Crafts Blog.  At first, I thought about combining it with this one, but I love the topics I cover on this blog and I would not have it any other way.  So, a new blog is underway.  It is called Home’s Little Lessons and I cannot wait to get started.  I have one other blog that needs attending to, but I think I am just going to get rid of it, and put it in with Home’s Little Lessons.   The reason is I will be an every once in a while Independent Longaberger Home Consultant after June 1^st.  I will stay on to get the discount and post a sale or two every once in a while.  Now that Housekeeping is done (a word quoted by Pete Werner of Disney UnPlugged), on with today’s post.

The other thing that I announced in December was that in 2017, I wanted to learn new things about myself, my city, my state, and my country, to name a few.  I never knew it would come so quickly.  One of the reasons why there was not a post last week was the art of becoming what I like to call being a “Dutiful Daughter” and the art of, “Be careful what you wish for”.  It may come true.

What is a Dutiful Daughter?

A dutiful daughter is a woman who puts aside all the things that she wants to do for the sake of her parents.   It is sort of the same as when a woman has all the dreams and aspirations of living her dream but put it aside to become a stay at home mom only you are helping your elderly parents.  So, when a parent says “Jump”, you do not question them, except to say, “How high?” This may cause sleepiness nights, eating at odd times, and taking breaks at odd times.  You make yourself an afterthought. 

For instance, I am writing this post at 4 am, when I should be sleeping.  Why?  Let me give you the back story:

This virus/flu/whatever you may call it has taken a toll on everyone in the United States.  Experts say it is the worst strain yet.  I have not been hit by it yet, but both my parents have been hit by it, as well as my oldest nephew.  The worst that hit me is my allergies, and that is it.  The person hit the hardest was my mom.  It starts out as a simply little cold.  She went to the doctors for that.  Then a few days later, she went back, and they said it was Bronchitis.  On January 7^th, she was admitted to the hospital with Pneumonia.  She was so week, until she was unable to walk.  When she recovered from that, they transferred her to rehab, so she could gain strength back in her arms and legs.  The way she is recovering, we all keep telling her that they will evict her on Friday to finally come home, and she is ready to go home.

Between going back and forth to the house to make sure both mom and dad are ok, then back and forth to the hospital, and finally back and forth to the rehab place can take a toll on a person, especially if you are the only “child” that can do it.  My brother lives out of town, and my sister does not have a car, plus I am the eldest, and usually in an African American home, after the other parent, taking care of things falls on the eldest child.

Do I complain about it?  No, and besides that, I love both my parents.  My dad has been sleeping at the hospital, and then at the rehab place with mommy, so I have to take care of things when he cannot do them.  It is the least I can do, after all the things that they have done for me since I became an adult.  They are still doing it, such as my finances while I am trying to put together my business.  They do not have to do that for me.

So, that is what I mean by being a “dutiful daughter”.  My brother is coming this weekend to come visit mommy, and to help with things around the house, such as finally taking down the Christmas tree, and other things.  Nothing matches with son, and I am most certain that if he lived here, he would also give dad a break every once in a while.

So, this is my first lesson in learning new things.   It is not like I have helped out before.  There was the time mommy had surgery, so I had to learn how to wash on a fly.  I was in my early teens, when this happened.  Of course, I have always made sure that my parents were OK.  Dad is an old-fashioned man, meaning “men take can of man’s work, and women take care of women’s work” that sort of thing.  Dad learned how to use the washer this week.  Mommy always did it.  When she gets home, I will slow cook a pork roast to stretch out the week, and I will cook other things for them.  Dad’s idea of cooking is “what do you want me to buy?”  That will only happen a few times.  They do have someone come in to clean the house, plus my eldest nephew still lives there, and he also has been helping out.

Take away lesson for you:  The lesson I want you to see out of this is tri-folded.   (1) Make sure you learn all the basic of taking care of yourself before you graduate from high school.  You never know when you may need it.  The one thing I need to learn all over again is how to wash.  The current washer I have is a two-cycle washer.  I do not have all the bells and whistles that today’s washer have.   (2) Be kind to your parents, you never know when you may need them beyond the 0-18-year-old contract, or they may need you someday.  I am blessed that my parents have been married over 50 years, never once discussed the possibility of getting a separation or a divorce (although one time when I was 10 and heard them arguing, I was sure it was grounds for one (Overactive mind of a 10-year-old at work)), and my father never laid one hand on my mother in an abusive situation.  Love pats, yes, abusive, never. (3) Take care of yourself during a time of crisis.  My mother is constantly asking me if I am eating, and when I tell her the truth of the things I am not doing to help me be the best me, she gets mad at me, and tells me that I must do it.  This includes taking care of the things for my business.  Make sure you eat, sleep, and so forth.  You are not doing yourself and that person (rather it is a parent, spouse, or child) a favor if you are sick.

Have a great week.

Internet GEMS and computing

(c) 2016 Graphic Stock

I am not sure why I am calling this post “Internet Gems and computing”.  Perhaps when I learn them, they are a gem to me.  You have to realize something.  I am not a Millennial.  I was not born into a push button, selfie world.  Computers came into the home when I was a pre-teen/teen, something like that. I learned a language that went a little like this “10 Print Hello”.  I forgot what it was called.  I was learning how to type on a typewriter.  I played games on an Atari and Nintendo 64.  My first computer was a Radio Shack computer.  I saved things on a floppy disk, and the list goes on and on. 

So when I say things like, “I learned how to delete a blog on Blogger, it is like learning how to drive.  I am going over photos that were saved on CDs, determining what photos to keep, because I am getting a 5 TB (that’s Terabyte) external drive, with 1 TB solely dedicated to photos.  When you are a business, you think about things like this.  I already have 4 cloud storages, but I am decluttering, and I need the space.

Sprinkled throughout the “Interwebs”, as a person Awesomely Luvvie coins the internet, are my comments on how much I love learning Photoshop.  Illustrator and InDesign are next on my list, and should be starting soon.  I am learning how to create a website without coding.  How is that possible?  My bestie friend Renae Christine from Rich Mom University is showing me how.   Yes, I could have paid hundreds of dollars for someone to make my website, but I am a hands-on type of person.  It is no fun to hand your precious “baby” over to someone, and when they try to explain to you what they did, the language goes over your head.  No fun at all. This way I know what I want, what I to put on my website/blog, and if something goes wrong, I can fix it, instead of waiting until the next morning.  I do not have time for that, and neither do my customers.

So these are my GEMs.  No acronym.  In case you are wondering which blog I deleted, it was my Disney blog.  I have something better than the sad, pitiful, neglected blog I was posting. The other two (Simply Organized Crafts and P. Lynne Designs) blogs are being reformatted to a self-hosted WordPress (I am working on that), and as soon as I do that, I am merging this blog (still a separate blog) into P. Lynne Designs.  The last blog (Tricia’s Baskets) will be part of Simply Organized Crafts, but again a separate blog.  This will give me the privilege to delete my Blogger account (I think), but overall Google will not have their paws on them.

So you are wondering why I wrote this… That is the big thousand-dollar question.  Stay tuned.

My bout with Suicide

(c) National Suicide Center Logo

All this talk about suicide and Robin Williams made me do a little soul searching.  Everyone who knows me always see me as this bubbly person, and I have been all my life.   I think God for this amazing life, with an amazing family, and He has blessed me with so many things, including being able to sell for a great company like Longaberger and own my own company, and He has given me all this talent. 

I am here to confess that at age 22, I almost took my own life.  Yes, I was so upset that I was not in school, I did not have a job, and I was still living with my parents.  I had problems with the constant itching from Eczema, and the doctor prescribed for me Atarax (Sp?).  So one day, I was sitting in my room, on the floor, and looked at them.   I poured them all on the floor, and thought, "If I took 10, which would do the trick, my parents will never have to worry about me anymore."  God dispatch his angels to stop me, and I all of a sudden heard myself say, "What the heck am I doing?"  So I picked them, and put them back into the bottle, and never thought about taking my life again.

It only takes a second, and if you really think about all the amazing things you have in life, and if they outweigh that one bad thing, then your life is not half bad.  You are going to have some problems, because I have them now, it is called life.  I know what I thought about at age 22 was nothing compared to what Robin Williams went through.  He had all this amazing talent, but after the cancellation of his show, rehab, and whole host of things that only he and God truly knew what he was going through.  I just hope and pray that he did make peace, although it does not sound like it, because if he did, this would turned out much, much differently. 

Please, if you even for a second thought about taking your own life, like I did, please get help.  I should have, because those thoughts can easily creep on you again.  Thursday, at Longaberger's consultant's convention, there was not a dry eye, when the story of Jackie was played.   

Jackie, (I am not sure if I can reveal her last name, so for privacy, I have deleted it) had gone through so much.  First, she had a stroke, then her husband left her because of the stroke.  Next, her sister, her only sibling died.  My guess was that her parents were already deceased, they were not mentioned in the video.  Her son, who had been serving in the Navy in Texas, had come home from a tour.  While he was at home, he showered his mom so much, Jackie never knew the pain he was harboring inside.   He even told his mom, that his dad was not worth keeping and for Jackie to not go after him.  Her son spent 9 months at home, and one day, Jackie found him in his room, and he had taken his own life.   She knew why.   After the funeral, she mentioned that she did not want to live at that point, and went into a bout of despair.  She said that if it wasn't for her team, her faith, God, and Longaberger, she would not be here today.

I wish that Mr. Williams could have heard this, and say that despite my problems, I am so glad that I am still here, and that this too shall pass.  That is what I always tell myself before thinking the worst.

If you know someone, who may decide to take their own life, the National Suicide center suggest you to look for these signs:

• Talking about wanting to die or to kill themselves.
• Looking for a way to kill themselves, such as searching online or buying a gun
• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.
• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.
• Talking about being a burden to others.
• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs.
• Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly.
• Sleeping too little or too much.
• Withdrawing or isolating themselves.
• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge.
• Displaying extreme mood swings.

There is a hotline for you to call, and that number is 1-800-273-8255

I hope that this will bring you some comfort, and if you are contemplating taking your life, please get the help you need.  Your life is much more precious then you will ever know, and so much more.

Be true to Yourself and others...

...When offering a service they could use.  I am surprised by the number of people who actually claim they have a legitimate business.  I am not talking about people like me, who try to make an honest day's wage in the form of a home or small business, or even the ones who work for someone else.  You are fine.  I am talking about the people who claim they have some get rich quick business, in hopes that the get their "sucker born every minute person."  Sure, we all want money, that is the point of working, but it should not be to the point of robbing a person blind.  We all have valuable skills that can be used for the common good, but I could tell you of the countless people who flood my inbox on a daily, wanting my time, and my money so that I and others like me can line their pockets.  

Look, no one likes the idea of depending on the government to pay for bills, feed the family, and help find  and pay for housing.   If you have to depend on the government, that is fine too, but do it temporary.  During the time of dependability, gain some skills.   I know it is easier said than putting fourth an effort.  Some people think that asking for help are for the lazy and the dumb.  No it is not.  It is for people who need a little boost, until a person can find a better way of doing things.   For people who judge, you do not know a person's situation.  There maybe generations of people on welfare, but has anyone ever bothered to ask that family why they are on welfare in the first place?  Has anyone ever bothered to ask that young mother why she is pregnant for the 8th time.  If you were in that person's shoes (and we are all one paycheck from being there ), what services would you want someone to teach you?   Is it how to interview for a job?  Childcare needs?   Utilities?    Healthcare options?

For those of you who are currently on some type of assistance, what is holding you back for getting all that you want?  Is it pride?  self esteem issues?  Lack of skills?  Lack of resources?  Envy of others not necessary like you but of your race?  The lack of wanting to know a higher power who is bigger than all of us?   Hum, I think I might have struck a nerve here, but I am going to let you ponder that for a moment, and it is sometime to think about.

We all have something to contribute to this world if we all just stop and think about it.   For some reason, at least where I live, help stops at age 21-24, and for what?   There used to be a time where people are kind enough to offer help just to offer it, and people kind enough to except it.   Now there is this "don't touch me", "text me", "I do not want to speak to you", and "if you come near me, I will sue you" type mentality.  We have our head buried in the sand (cell phones, Ipad, laptops) to the point where even teens text each other when they are across the table from each other.   We talk, but we do the wrong type of talk.   Ponder that too, and I will catch you later.