Simply Carolina Dreamz » Creative Chaos
Have you seen the commercial about the lady on the laying on the couch in the mall?
This particular commercial about the lady on the red couch in the middle of the mall is about migraines and 1/2 living. I have to relate this situation and peek at how my life is. I’m holding down my couch. I can see the Endo in the end of January, and I made the appointment in October. Now, new problem and I’m seriously considering a complete hysterectomy like my hematologist wants. This health is just getting to the point of ridiculous. I’m the one on the red couch.. think of me when you see it. Life is moving around me. Well, what more can I say? The only test that came back abnormal was my upper high cholesterol. The HDL? What a zoo. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, diet, Health/Nutrition, Rant
Tricare and Blue Cross are being banned from Walgreens RX in 2012
A few months ago, my daughter had to sign a petition, at Walgreens to save her ability to keep using Walgreens for her prescription needs. Last week, I was informed, over the phone and then, again, this afternoon, at the pharmacy.. Many insurance companies are not going to allow us to use the major pharmacies in the near future. Right now, I can fill two maintenance medications locally. Then I have to get a 90 day prescription and use the insurance company’s pharmacy.. When mistakes happen, which just recently happened to me, we are stuck with 90 days worth of a useless product or not enough after you’ve paid your bill. Its all a mess and only going to get worse. God Bless America. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing, Feeding the Needz, politics and religion
Strike Three – You’re Out!
My medical doctor has a serious problem. I have a serious problem because of it. I’m out of options of where to go for primary care so I’m avoiding primary care. First Strike: My medical doctor had me sign a contract that said I would only get my Ambien from him and only at CVS pharmacy near my home. When I called for a refill and waited three or four days for it to be called in, I happened to send my son to the Walgreens to get some other prescriptions, for me… and guess what else he brought home? My Ambien. Who broke that contract? Strike Two: My insurance company only allows two months of maintenance medications at my local pharmacy of choice and then I must get a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos
Embrace Vulnerability
Its okay to be vulnerable. Its okay to show who I really am. Its okay to be afraid, and get positive about it. I can become who I want to be. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Featured, Feeding the Needz, Stand For Something
An 800 pound Gorilla wants to pee in my Cheerios
The best way to explain it is to copy/paste the emails to you, removing all the guilty party logos, names, and email addresses. Then you tell me what you think. First, you’ve heard of Collected.info right? Collected.info is a Public Feed Reader. I enjoy gathering my Feeds to read there, so I can easily categorize and read for the curating I do. I made a mistake, though. I decided to make a genealogy one and name is after my genealogy site .com and well, umm, that might just make this an dirtier pee than I’m thinking, right now. Okay, here we go: http://familyhugz.collected.info/ Hello Heidi (name deleted to protect the gorilla) here from (name deleted to protect the gorilla). I’ve had several inquiries via email this morning about the feeds at Family Hugz.)(** note ** … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blog Admin, Creative Chaos, Featured, Rant, Stand For Something
Blog Education Learning Overload – Ebooks I need to read (and so do you)
There are some fantastic bloggers out there that can teach you so much about “blogging better” for SEO traffic. Many are really good at interlinking their own materials and setting a standard that all bloggers should follow. Even the big foot steps can be walked in to learn styles and improve your own posts and writing. I’m interstested in reading the all, as you should, too. I wanted to bring three ebooks to your attention: The first one is Kelby Carr’s Mom Blog SEO: Mom Blog SEO includes: How to find the best keyword phrases to drive the right readers for your blog Tactics that take a couple minutes before each post and can dramatically increase your traffic How to target the right readers and stop attracting the wrong ones How to boost your … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Linky Love
10 Things we learned driving through Texas
The daytime speed limit< for non commercial vehicles, is 80 mph. Plan your trip accordingly and only drive in the daytime. Free wifi at every rest stop, but there are more parking spots and picnic spots than rest stops on I-10. So don’t need to pee. It takes allll day to drive through Texas. Never go on a road trip with someone with gas. (name held to protect the guilty.) :) There are no radio stations worth listening to, if you don’t speak Spanish or live back in the 60′s. Three Four words: Jack in the Box. Tacos baby. We saw a gasoline price sign that said 7.77 cents. We don’t think they get much business. There are very few gas stations in the 80 mph zone. Make your reservations, on price line, for closer destination, so you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing
Best Blog Background Sound I’ve ever heard
I’m very anti blog background sound. I, usually, surf, with my sound muted. I love music. I just don’t love being scared silly, surprised, or even offended by someone elses different choices.. so I choose to avoid it. I had one blog that friends had loved the piano self-started background sound.. but that was an exception to my rule of background sound. Now, today, I happened on a site, browsing for digital scrapbook paper, and I started to hear birds.. and it started so subtly, that I thought they were outside my window, and not on my speakers! Here, you listen. Doesn’t it make you feel a little warmer? I think I’m already ready for Spring. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing, Featured, Inspiration, Unexpectations
I’ve been blogging five years now! Amazing..
I began blogging in 2005. It took me a little thought to think of that date. (Luckily its programmed in the html of the widget.) I never would have thought five years and three laptops later, I’d be at the beginning of a new blogging life. The big blog hack and crash, of 2010, has had its toll on my patience and some days its hard to remember all the hundreds of posts are not here, anymore. I’ll continue to dig through the back doors, and bring forward some of those lost treasures. As the holidays are in full swing around us, I almost refuse to leave my house, to sit in traffic or wait in any lines. IF I can’t have it easily, I won’t have it at all! I’m thankful for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blog Fun, Creative Chaos, Ephemeral Pursuitz, Featured, LowCountry, Unexpectations
The new form of DeadBeat Parents..
I’ve been wanting to blog about this subject for over a year but it was hard for me to consider that I really might tick some people off by what I’m going to say. Wednesday, I pulled into CVS, next to a car that was running, with rather loud music playing. The ONLY real problem I had about this is there was a child in the back seat, by himself. I want to say he was five or six.. but what is wrong with people? You can’t just leave them to run in and get something at a pharmacy. I’ve, recently encountered a worse situation, outside of Blockbuster and BB’s attitude about the “problem not being their problem” pissed me off even more. Both of these times I didn’t have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing, LowCountry, Personal Protection, politics and religion, Stand For Something, Unexpectations
I didn’t fall off the Face of the Earth.. at least, not quite..
I’m finally feeling better and then yesterday a huge tooth filling fell out. So in I went for an emergency walk-in with my wonderful dentist, who told me in Facebook Message that he’d be in at 8:30am. This tooth is behind the eye tooth, desperately needs a crown and probably needs a root canal first, because of the pain problems that it has. So, we had a couple of options. First, we could root canal the tooth and temporary crown it until January, with more insurance available and do a three tooth bridge. Second, we could extract the tooth, leaving the eye tooth (that also needs a crown) and the molar behind, that also needs a crown, as the major holding spots for a four tooth crown. When weighing the financial options, now that I have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing
A new series starting tomorrow.. 30 days of truth.. as raw as I’ll get.
I’m doing something new, starting tomorrow. Many in the blogosphere are doing it, so google it if you wanna read others and if you want some link love here, leave a comment and we’ll check yours out, too. 30 Days of Honesty - This might get a little ugly.. but you’ll hear it from me. Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself. Day 02 → Something you love about yourself. Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for. Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for. Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life. Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do. Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for. Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like sh*t. Day 09 … Read entire article »
Filed under: 30 Days of Truth, Creative Chaos
#ConvergeSouth Keynote @BrentDPayne
I could watch this about four more times and still learn something from it. Its that good. Some stuff I knew. .. most I didn’t and its good SEO traning.. enjoy … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Unexpectations
Brain Overload
I can’t imagine why my brain is on overload. I have one camp and two conferences swimming up in there, that need to be blogged about. I’m a full-time student. I’ve met some fantastic people, in the last few weeks. Have you ever been in a meeting and felt you knew a total stranger, before? I was in a panel discussion sesssion, at #convergesouth, in greensboro and I just felt I knew this guy on the panel. I don’t know why I felt I knew him. He mentioned Silicon Valley. Okay, a Cali guy. He mentioned he worked at Yahoo. OH MY GAWD. When the panel ended, I cautiously asked, as I reached out my hand, “Ernie? Y360 Ernie?” What an amazing experience. My first blogging gigs were at Yahoo 360, until Yahoo “threw us under … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Linky Love
#ZA Food Storage Deal of the Week ala Bi-Lo
Bi-Lo is having a huge Buy 10 for $10 Sale, mix and match, this week. I happen to still have the bonus $50 in Bi-Lo gift cards, from the promo. Girlie and I set out to see what food storage miracles we could procure on this sale. We found 50 pounds of assorted semolina pasta, 10 – 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes, 10 – 28 oz cans petite diced tomatoes, 12 – 15.5 oz cans garbanzo beans/chickpeas, 10 – qt bottles Powerade, 6 yellow crookneck squash, 2 unwaxed dental floss, 10 – Betty Crocker 8.5 oz chocolate chip cookie mix, 20 – Martha White 7 oz assorted muffin mixes, 4 – 16 oz sour cream, 8 pints 1/2 and 1/2, 6 – 8 oz cream cheese, and 6 1/2 pints heavy whipping cream. We … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Creative Domestication, Foodie Frenzy, LowCountry
Reading Moving On – Sarah Ban Breathnach
Sarah Ban Breathnach is a genius! Anything with her name on it, will get my attention now. I’ve been stuck, in my book, on the same “chapter” for over a week. It just spoke to me, and I couldn’t move on. So, I read it again, this morning. How does it know me so well? That section is titled “Bleak House” and starts, “I don’t know which is worse, remembering a painful past or ignoring an excruciating present.” Sarah painfully compares her present with her past, when she was in full “Simple Abundance” swing. I don’t have to feel that I failed the path I wanted to be on, after reading “Simple Abundance,” because I’m just normal, from what I’m reading. I gift that book because it speaks to me. Its a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Book Love, Creative Chaos, Ephemeral Pursuitz
Why I Wist – a peek inside me
my wists When I first found out about wists.com, I started adding fun things, to it, to give others an impression of what I like.. it was like a way to introduce me to others.. silently. I didn’t do it for gifts. I didn’t do it for the shopping aspect. I did it to share what I like, what I notice, what I see.. I didn’t really look at it as a shopping social network, because I didn’t really use it that way. Last Christmas, I streamed my wist list, here, on the blog, because I was constantly being faced with answering questions that the wist list could answer for me. And I got a camera, as a gift. Nice. Thanks family. I love you, too. But, this year, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blog Fun, Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing, Unexpectations
Do you Paperback Swap?
New arrivals, this week: The Modern Woman’s Guide to Life The Quotable Book Lover MLA Handbook for Writer’s of Research Papers Writing Down the Bones Perfect Phrases for Resumes Looking for God in Harry Potter Office Proffessionals Desk Reference Unfinished Business Building Belief While discussing Writing Down the Bones, on Twitter, I was able to add a couple more books to my wish list: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life :: Anne Lamott On Writing :: Stephen King These were added to my other wish list books that I’d love to touch: The Omnivore’s Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals :: Michael Pollan Peace and Plenty: Finding Your Path to Financial Serenity :: Sarah Ban Breathnach SparkNotes: Women’s Literature :: SparkNotes Editors I feel there is no hope that I will ever receive The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I’m almost the 900th person waiting … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Frugality
Online Course disconnections..
I miss Brick N Mortar classrooms. I feel this disconnection, in my online courses, that I can’t describe. Its like not remembering the professors names, or knowing who’s talking, when I’m reading hundreds of discussions on message boards. Last week’s essays were very religious. This week’s are full of non-English names and places I can’t pronounce. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates The Fall River Axe Murders by Angela Carter The Wild Beast by Peter Maass The Damned Human Race by Mark Twain Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell Immortality by YiyunLi It seems like I’m learning History in ENG 101, English in CPT101, and How to break my keyboard in AOT106. We won’t talk about Marketing. I still have that text, laying next to me.. more to-do’s. There is so much … Read entire article »
Filed under: Back-to-school, Creative Chaos, Feeding the Needz, Uncategorized
Getting the hang of going back to school..
I think I’m, finally, getting the hang of online courses. I do think a brick and mortar classroom would be easier. I spent most of my time, last week, trying to figure out when things are due and what’s expected. I still have no word on my Federal loans. I managed to write my first paper draft, and a couple of essays, in English Comp. I’ve been very active in the discussion boards in my marketing class. I’ve typed my heart out in keyboarding lessons and time tests. I’ve learned how to use the drop box in CPT 101. I even aced a couple of quizzes. I even managed to blog a couple of times and to curate for bliss reads, too. Let’s hope next week is as fruitful. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIS HORWITZ ~ I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Back-to-school, Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing
k12 charter school
We’ve decided, this year, to enroll Girlie into the K12 Charter HomeSchool program. Keeping her schedule straight, is harder, for me, than I think it is for her. I’m now carrying two calendars, and a third to leave at home. All these online classes to keep straight for both of us has my head spinning. Yesterday, we lost internet for one of her class connects. What can we do? Today, a teacher dropped internet during a class connect, with nearly 300 students there for Orientation. Glitches happen. Her subjects include fast tracked or block courses of Algebra and Geography/World History, Biology, and Physical Education. I think we are working through the kinks for attendance. The early morning seminary class is at 6:30am, this year, so that’s been a little more helpful. Oh the fun joy … Read entire article »
Filed under: Back-to-school, Creative Chaos
Back-to-School Update
Well.. There is an end to the nightmare that was called registering. I happened to be part of the 30% that had to verify my FAFSA with the Financial Aid Department. I hadn’t dreamed I was going back to school, by July 9th, which is the first cut-off date for financial aid.. so I had to buy two of my books, outright, yesterday. (They only had two of the four I needed.) Cha Ching $252.52! I still must say I don’t know much about how the grants and loans work. Yesterday, I was told that it would take a week and that no funds would be available, for me, for books, until next Wednesday. School starts Monday. I’ve never taken an online course before. I have no idea how this will work. Everything, on the schedule … Read entire article »
Filed under: Back-to-school, Creative Chaos
Fun stuff going on in the world of PaperBack Swap
Are you using paperbackswap? You should be. I’m having so much fun with it and have saved so much money, that I would have spent in the big name bookstores. Here’s a look at my current statistics: Let me explain what you see.. I have 7 books, that I’ve requested, with 7 of my book credits, from several different members. My current list has the following books on it: Life Balance (Linda and Richard Eyre) Endowed from on High (John D Charles) Looking for God in Harry Potter (John Granger) What I wish I’d known before my mission (John Bytheway) Romancing the Ordinary (a Sarah ban Breathnach book out of print that I’ve been looking for everywhere.) A Woman’s Worth (Marianne Williamson) These 7 remain in this queue until the member has mailed the book to me. The second tab has … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Frugality, Unexpectations
Planner, Calendar, and Coupon Binder
I really didn’t want to buy another planner. I really needed to get my calendar and planner organized. I really didn’t want to buy another planner. Oops. Sorry. *wink* So I go to Staples.. The Boy needed to meet someone there, to pick something up.. so I’m feeling rather proud of myself that I know where my Staples Reward card is.. I check.. I take it with me.. so far so good.. I find this binder, that I love.. I hate that its made in China (MIC) but what can I do? I don’t want to “make” a binder. It was really hard to take photos of it, while its empty, so I’ll share the photo on the front, that shows better the features. The accordion file part is detachable and slides … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Frugality
Your footprintz