The digital died, my cell phone took fuzzy pics,....but the good news is, we did get a disposable camera and have pics there.

Now I have to remember to develop them!

Ok, we're back again for another round of "Blog Hopping" for the Virtual Girls Night Out! I think I'll need a nap today so I can make it through all the blogs for once. I try to catch up on weekends, but usually family and friends stop over. And Mondays I'm back to work on my home business, so I try to catch some blogs here and there.



This week I....what the heck did I do? It seems it went so fast!



Princess Der had music camp for two days this week. They did something at The Piano and Organ store at the mall. They had musicians from several different states come in and talk to the kids about the different uses for music. For instance there are careers writing music for commercials and movies. Playing music,mixing music,teaching, etc...Her friend spent the night for two nights and went also. The camp was FREE, went on for 5 hrs each day, and they served lunch.

...and they got to write a song and play the piano.....



You can't beat that with a sharp stick.



Of course, princess Der wants organ lessons now! We'll see what it cost and if there's a contract- you never know. It could be part of her homeschool education.



Last night, after tons of research and talking to (techy) employess at several (techy) locations over the last few weeks...I bought a Blackberry! It's an older model and I got it for under $100.00 from ebay. We'll see how I like it. When we're due for an upgrade, maybe I'll get a newer version. But from what I read, some "Crackberry" users are downgrading to this model because it's so sturdy and you can't kill it.



And it's pink! They had a choice between black or pink, so I went with the "el Pinko"



Those of you who know me would say, "Pink? For Carolee?" I mean, I hate shopping, hate dressing up (except special occasions), hate styling my hair, I HATE EVERYTHING- psyche! But anywhooo, I would be the last person you would expext to have a pink phone.



But honestly, I have ALWAYS wanted either a purple or pink car. So much for not being a "flashy" type! So here's a pic of my new phone:










Ain't she "Purty?"

I got notification last night that it was shipped. It's coming all the way from California, so may be a few days.










In other news....after Ron practically flipped out on the boys for not helping out, they have really been using their noodle! They came up with a plan. If everyone had a cup with their name on it and used ONLY that, we'd have less dishes. Duh, do they not remember the Christmas they each got a cup I decorated exclusively for them? And how they thought it was soooo lame? Well, now that they are doing dishes, it's a great idea! I don't know why no one believes me- I am always right :-)

So now for a while, the boys have been doing the ( now less) dishes at least once a day. I have to admit, Ron's son has done them more, but my son was out working for a week with a friend earning some money. Other times they do them together. Either way they (sort of) rinse them, then put them in the dishwasher. Usually it's a 1/2 assed job...

Princess Der was helping me yesterday by dusting the living room and sweeping the kitchen. My friend stopped by and "caught" her working. My friends hubby works with Ron, so I told her to let Ron know Princess Der was working her butt off!

So anyway, enough of our boring life...it's time to party! Get on over to Ann's and start blog hopping. See you around the blogosphere!

And Now for a Give-away!

You (yes, YOU!) could be the winner of FREE advertising space on my 2 blogs- Yes, FREE advertising for your biz or blog!

Working In My Jammies And Loving It (this one)

and Bloggers Connect

and also on my work at home resources page, Come On Home ... AND be featured on the featured member page on Come On Home .

This would all be for the rest of August and part of September. I may not be the most popular blogger or have the top spot on Alexa for my website, but hey...any advertising (especially FREE) has to be a good thing!

So, here are a few ways to enter. Each counts as an entry:

1. Tell me you want to win it in the comments section, along with a link to the website or blog you want to advertise

2. Mention it in your blog- leave me a comment and link to your blog

3. Tweet about it on Twitter- let me know in the comments that you have done that

4. Follow my blog -let me know in the comments that you have done that

5. Become a member and sign the guestbook on Come On Home

P.S. Forgot to tell you- this give-way ends August 9th and will stay on the websites until Spetember 15th!

GOOD LUCK!

We have a winner! Yeah! The winner of the book " The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson is ( drum roll, please) ta-da! Alicia of Beth Six. Woo-hoo, Alicia! I will be sending that book out to you A.S.A.P.

Wait, I need an address. Guess I'd better get that first.

And now, for the weekend update

I ( as usual) did not get through all the links that were listed Friday night on Ann's site for Virtual Girls Night Out. I promise to try to get to all your blogs this week!





Quite a bit of Saturday (and Sunday) was devoted to trying to weed the garden and stake up the tomatoes. What a chore! While we were in Dallas, the plants, which were about an inch high when we left, were about a foot high when we returned- as were the weeds! It looked like a field. My one hoe is on the misisng list. I mean who steals a hoe (unless it's the OTHER kind of hoe!) ?





Saturday afternoon, some friends stopped over. The fellow has worked with Ron for about 6 months or so. He is from around here, and they recently moved here from California. I love his wife- she is so nice and down to earth. While they were here, my nephew and his son stopped over. He probably wishes he didn't!





Somehow, we always have a project going on in our heads. For a while, Ron has wanted to add a deck off the side of our porch for the grill and maybe a chair for him to sit in while he cooks (ladies, don't you love the summertime?). Well, the plan was worked out Saturday, and yesterday they built it. With the help of my nephews nail gun, it was up in no time.





Here are a few pics from the last couple of days. I actually left my camera outside in the rain one night, but once it dried out for a day or two, it was fine! Now, don't believe the dates on them. I never set the date on my camera- no evidence- Ok, I'm kidding here. It's more of a lack of patience. I mean, that takes a whole 30 seconds or so to set it, ya know? Anyhoo....

The other day, Little Man took it upon himself to start walking to the neighbors to see if the "girls" (neighbor's granddaughters) were there.

Here is the finished product from porch view:



(Ron has already made it his home :-)

Actually, the whole Fam Damily (as my dear departed dad used to say) came over for the deck building party. So that's why it's a mess - it's had lots of use already! (notice, I DID pick up the beer bottles 1st!)

For those of you non-redneck folks: Yes, we used old wood for the most part. Hey, my nephew does remodeling and building and whatever else. We get a lot of scrap wood and stuff from him. It's free, and as Princess Der would say, "It save's trees!"

They have been adding onto Princess Der's (former) school. She was EXTREMELY upset (like tears in her eyes and all) that they had cut down all the trees in the woods behind the school to build.

But back to the old wood on the porch- I do intend to one day paint it all so it all blends. Will it ever get done? Hm... do pigs fly?

But anyhoo, just wanted to touch base with the world before I get to work here.

You'all have a great week and we'll chat soon!

IT"S FRIDAY-YAY! Welcome to Virtual Girls Night Out!

So......Put on your jammies...

Pull up your easy chair

...and enjoy some great reading right here in the blogosphere. So, here goes...




GOLDEN CHILD DOES IT AGAIN!






















Tonight we went to the Golden Child's award ceremony at school. Golden child and his GF won several awards! I wasn't totally surprised. The last few conferences I have gone to, the teachers just rave about Golden Child. How he participates in class. How he always helps others. His humor. His very genius.

No, seriously though, this is a major accomplishment. All of my kids are smart, start out school ahead of the game, then fall behind. They just think it's boring, same stuff every year, yadda, yadda. My oldest got his GED. He was a bit of a troubled child, and it really all started with school.

Both Golden Child & my oldest failed 6th grade. My daughter, who was the 2nd smartest kid in kindergarten and had like a 4th grade reading level in 1st grade, may fail 6th grade this year. What are the chances of that?

Anyway, about 2 yrs ago the decision was made for Golden Child to go to the area alternative school. He's a great kid- adults (esp GF's mothers) love him, other kids like him , and the girls always have liked him. He just didn't like school.





Well, he didn't love the new school at first. Now, he LOVES it! He has to go next year for two gym classes and one academic class. He ALMOST graduated this year like he should have, but he'll do it next year.

He's got the drive- he's a hard worker. His first job was on a farm. He's going down there tomorrow about a tractor or haying job because there's not much work around here. So he knows hard work, and he's determined to graduate.

Anyway, the awards:

Consistent effort in U.S. History

Outstanding effort in Living Environment

Outstanding participation in Physical Education

Outstanding effort in Health

Outstanding Class Participation in English

I'm surprised he didn't get another one. He did two independent study business classes and he devoured the subject and completed them so fast it made the teachers head spin (that's momma's boy!)

Anyway, Golden Child has come a long way, baby!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

P.S. The GF got even more awards- she got one for maintaining an average of 85 or higher all year. I think I'm going to go get them a gift certificate for a local restaurant- they deserve it :-)

I'm so glad I work at home now. Otherwise, I would have been spending Saturday morning working at the library where I used to work. Great job, but not as great as being my own boss.

The day started out with my 11 yr. old daughter, 17 yr. old son & I making Valentine's cookies.

While that was going on...........

While the kids started cutting out the cookies, I decided to clean out the refigerator.

It's not like I set out to punish myself, but this particular recipe called for cooling the dough for ease in handling. There was barley room in the fridge to accomodate even the small bowl that I had the dough in. I guess time got away from me. Business, doctor appts., home, family and Girl Scouts all kept me from getting to that fridge (ok, I know, more excuses!)

Once the dough cooled, there was only thing to do - dig in and take care of the mess! I figured I had an hour or so until my grandson came over.

I started heaving out bowls of stuff that I can only describe as...........well, indescribable! Leftover mashed potatoes had an orange tinge to them, while the accompanying bowl of gravy sported some white fuzzy stuff. A clump of cheese had green splotches that resembled warts. I happened to remember reading somewhere that white fuzzy stuff and clumpy, lumpy green stuff is what pharmaceutical companies use to make pennicillin.

Thinking back to all those trips to the doctors with the kids for strep throat and earaches, a light bulb went off in my head! Hmmm....maybe I could keep the white matter and little green wart-like things. Maybe I could try my hand at homeopathic medicine. Anyone up for a little white and green lumpy & clumpy tea? Not sure where to begin with that little project, I pushed it aside for another day. I threw out the stuff. I'm sure I'll have more again one day!

I continued on with my duties. I unearthed a plate that yielded a piece of dried, cracked mystery meat. I was just ready to throw it in the garbage, when an idea struck. Having heard about dehydrated food (add water and presto-chango- it's instantly hydrated). I decided to experiment. My dog was to be the proverbial guinea pig. Supposedly, they won't eat bad food. I put the hunk of meat in a bowl, and proceeded to add water. I expected the meat to soak the water up like a dried out sponge, miracuously transforming into a juicy filet mignon. The water simply rolled off. I wrapped the whole mess in plastic wrap and threw it in the microwave. Several minutes later, it still resembled shoe leather. The dog turned his nose up at it, so I tossed it out!

I really needed to get to work! The kids were ready to bake their cookies and I was still cleaning! I reached my hand in and pulled out a pound of hamburg I had taken out of the freezer days ago to make hamburger helper. A wave of guilt rushed through me. I was so busy that day that even hamburger helper couldn't help me! (I know what you're thinking. "She not only doesn't make a homemade meal, she doesn't even make a prepared meal!") Oh, well............I'm sure the kids ate SOMETHING...they're still breathing.

Suddenly, we heard a rather loud truck in the driveway. David was here with the baby. They always seem to come 1/2 hr-45 minutes earlier than they say. How could I forget? Yikes! I grabbed a dish rag and quickly wiped out the now empty fridge. I looked around at the million of dishes on the counters from the fridge. And said, " Oh well.....maybe later." Grabbed the baby, kissed him and got right down to teaching him how to cut out cookies with the little bit of dough we had saved for him.

We baked up the cookies and planned on frosting them later........For once, they turned out perfect! Every cookie seemed to have the perfect thickness. They were cooked perfectly. We were planning on frosting them & writing cute sayings on them. We had hearts, lips, bells,etc... Thought we could write things like , "Kiss me" on the lips, "You can ring my bell" on the bells, etc... with frosting.

Grandpa came home from work, Grandma (me, of course) gave him a cup of coffee and recommended he get a cookie (non-frosted) b-4 they are gone. We went to bed with one (unfrosted) cookie left. I gave Ron his card & an empty cookie tin :)

We had the babe until about 9 p.m. The dishes got done, the fridge was clean. We had no cookies for midnight snack, but it was a good day all and all.

Grandma Aggies Butter Cookie's

1 c. (2 sticks) butter
1 c. Sugar
1 egg
1 tbl. milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cream butter; gradually adding sugar. Beat until light & fluffy.Beat in egg, milk & vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients. Gradually add to creamed mixture.
Cool for ease in handling.
Cut with floured cookie cutters.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Decorate as desired

Just because you work at home, does that mean you have to be stuffed into a home office 8 or more hours a day with the door closed? Doesn't being your own boss mean running your home business from anywhere?



Sometimes I love just holing up in my office, shutting the door and getting to work. Othertimes, the day to day walk down the hallway can feel like......like going to the office. Like a J-O-B office. Yuk! I gotta have a change. Maybe it's too much aloneness. And then there are times, just because I CAN it's nice to get a change of scenery. That is one thing I love about being my own boss. I don't have to be confined, I can march to my own drummer.



For instance, since moving the old bunkbed out of my office and changing things around, it hasn't been working for me. It doesn't flow the way I like it to. It feels cramped and stuffy, not right. Not to mention, I get bored easily. I JUST KNOW Spring is around the corner. The office is feeling a bit claustrophobic.A sunny spring day will cause me to lust for the great outdoors,to listen to the birds as they sing in the trees and relish in the new flowers popping their little heads out of the dirt.



So last Spring I created an" outdoor office ". It's a great place to hang and play on the Internet - placing ads, answering emails. It is a little noisy with traffic now & then. Although we are somewhat "countrified", we do have a small family owned store a few miles away. Delivery trucks need to take our road to get there. Of course, you have your school buses and garbage trucks as well. So, depending on the time of day, I may or not sit out there and make phone calls.



Last summer I worked at the beach a couple of times. Not only did I make calls to my team to let them know I was working at the beach (you REALLY can work anywhere!), but also did some prospecting calls. I also left a paper trail (cards, flyers in bathrooms, handed to people, etc...).

With a laptop , wireless Internet, cordless phones & cell phones you can conduct business almost anywhere. The last month or so, I find myself working more and more at the kitchen table in the morning. It's bright and sunny, the coffee pot is right behind me, and since I am usually posting ads at that time I can catch up on the news on TV.



I can leave the computer out here all day and do some business, do some housework. A lot of houswork can be done while you're on the phone. Later as nighttime falls and the kids go to bed I find myself more and more bringing the computer to bed with me. I can sit up with pillows behind me and make any necessary calls, tweet my friend's, socialize ,do my blog, or listen to a training call, whatever. When I'm done, I put the computer on the shelf by the bed. In the morning, I get up, grab my best friend (computer) and back to the kitchen it goes.



I know what everyone's thinking, why not change the office back the way it was? Time, my friends, time.

Between working a biz, Girl Scouts, kids, Dr. and dentist visits (me & kids), a grandkid, yadda-yadda. Ok, I'm making excuses I'm sure.

But, hopping around from "office to office" works until THAT DAY arrives - you know THAT DAY.


A day that has just a few more hours, no problems, no appointments......ya know, the 12th of never.


So until then, if you can't find me, check the living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom (not really) the park, the zoo, the doctors.........who know's where I might be found! If you really need to fnd me, call or tweet! Later!

Thank the good Lord I work for myself! I swear, if I still had a J-O-B, I would have been fired yesterday for sure. Over the weekend, my daughter broke a tooth. Thank God it was a baby tooth! That entailed an unexpected trip to the dentist Monday! That's all fine and dandy, but she also had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning. Even if I had gone back to work afterwards( If I were so unfortunate to have a job), I wouldn't have been there the rest of the day. Around 2:30, my 16 year old son calls and asks me to please come, he & his girlfriend had just been in a car accident. Holy moley! He said they were ok except some burns and bruising from the airbags. The whole way there (about 15 minutes) my heart was in my throat (or so it felt). I could feel it beating & I was afraid I was having an anxiety attack. Thank the Lord, they are ok. Just writing about it is making my heart pump!

I have been SO busy. Alot of interest in our promotion. I have been hitting the streets hard with flyers. We have a new member bonus program launching soon, and it sounds great! I'm going out again today as long as the weather complies. I love doing flyers. I hop in the car and drive all over. I have a regular territory, and each week I advance out a little. I usually go shopping, go to bank, etc...while I'm out. Kill two birds with one stone and also I can deduct my mileage! That's like getting paid to shop!

One of my team members is in the army and is being deployed to Iraq! I feel so bad for him- he has a wife and kids! I'm really sorry too because he seemed like a nice fellow and I barely have gotten to know him! That's what I love about this company. The people you meet and work with, the friendships formed. We have single parents, retired doctors, teachers, you name it! It's almost like a huge extended family. And when our "Family reunions" a.k.a conferences come around, we don't have to ask a bosses permission to go. We just go! How great is that? I Love working at home in my own home based business!