Musings by Melissa

I have no idea, but I think we have a clock monster in our house.  It doesn’t matter how many times I change the batteries or how many times I reset them.  It’s inevitable.  The clocks in the boys’ room, Alicia’s room, and our room will always be wrong.  I hate going out and purchasing new clocks.  I did that for the clock in the family room recently, and it is keeping time now.  But the others?!?  Well, maybe the clock fairy will visit soon and get them running correctly!  ~smile~

(There… I’m done venting about wacky clocks!)

I saw a brochure recently about trafficed and exploited women.  The brochure was put out by an organization called “Women at Risk.”  This organization assists women who are at risk.  I appreciated their literature and was impressed with what I read.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this organization is based in Grand Rapids!  And, they have two locations in town where people can go and shop.  Everything in the stores is made by women who are at risk.  When a purchase is made, the consumer will get a card that tells them about the women who made their item.

Well, today I had a chance to stop by this store.  Wow!  I was impressed.  I’m not a big jewelry fan, but they had a lot of beautiful jewelry.  No diamonds international, but lots of nice stuff.  I’m thinking that I may start getting our daughter a nice piece of jewelry from this store every year for her birthday.  The prices ranged from $10 to $100, with most of it in the $30-$40 range.  They also had a number of blown glass ornaments for $15.  They were beautiful as well.  Handmade cards, scarves, purses, soaps, books, etc.

I purchased a book as a gift for a newborn.  (It’s a kids’ book.)  But I will be back to shop at a later date.

For those of you who are in Grand Rapids, the store is on 44th street, on the Wyoming/Grandville border.  It’s on the south side of the road, across from Ramblewood plaza.

For those of you who are from out of town, they do have an online store as well.

So, the next time you’re looking for a piece of jewelry or a gift for someone, check out what they have, and in doing so, you’ll be helping a woman at risk.

Okay.  I’m going to make an admission.  The road to recovery usually begins with admitting there’s a problem.  Well, my problem is that I hate to mop.  Oh, I sweep the kitchen every day (or have the kids do it).  But mopping.  Ugh!  I’ve bought various types of mops, and I’ve hated every one.  So, to appease my guilty conscience from not mopping, I bought each of the kids their own spray bottle.  They have fun “spot-checking.”  They get to squirt any stuck spots on the floor, and then rub those spots with a rag.  It’s not mopping, but the chunks of gunk get cleaned up.

Well, a few weeks ago we received one of those new-fangled steam cleaners.  At first I wasn’t too impressed.  I guess I wasn’t sure what a steam cleaner was used for.  I’m used to a mop and bucket of soapy water.  Errr,at least that’s what I should be used to!  But this was totally different.  There’s no soap involved.  The only thing involved is water, the steam mop, and some electricity.  (It needs to be plugged in for the water to make steam.)  That’s it! 

Well, I’ve used it a couple times on my floor, and it’s a lot more fun than dragging out that ol’ bucket.  I can’t say it leaves my floor looking like a floor out of “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine, but that may be due to a build-up of stuff on the floor.  (Hey, if it wasn’t a big chunk, the kids likely didn’t spot check it!)  I’m excited to give the shark steam mop a bit more time to see what it does.

I do a lot of shopping online.  The vast majority of birthday and Christmas gifts are purchased online.  I hate stores.  I hate crowds.  So, hitting the mall at Christmas-time is like torture for me.  So, I just hop online, and I go to a couple of my favorite online stores and type in something that we already own that we really enjoy.  Now, I don’t want to purchase the same item, but a little box will show up that says, “People who have enjoyed this item have also enjoyed these items:  ___”  And it will list a bunch of similar items.  Or it lists items that others have purchased with the item I’m looking at.  It’s a great way to get ideas when I’m idea-less.

Another thing I like about shopping online is that the items have reviews.  So, I know before I buy something if most people like it (and why) or if they dislike it (and why).  For example, my mixer broke a couple weeks ago.  I went to the local store and bought what looked like a really good one.  When I got home, I looked it up online while my husband took it out of the box to “play” with it.  I knew I was in trouble when it got terrible ratings.  It was at that same exact time that my husband said, “Hmmm…   I don’t think you’re going to like this mixer.  The low speed is really, really fast.”  And that was the same thing people were saying in their reviews.  Needless to say, we took it back and bought one online that had great reviews.  Yes, I had to wait a few days for my mixer to come in the mail, but I love my new mixer!

Well, I recently heard about a new site called ebillme.com, and it seems like an interesting concept.  You can go to this site and look up what you want to buy, just like at any other online store, but the different thing is that you don’t have to pay with your credit/debit card.  In other words, you don’t have to give the store your personal information.  Instead you click on the ebillme button, and you will receive a bill in your email.  That bill can either be paid at a bank or you can pay it online from your online banking account like you do other bills.

Interesting concept.  It’s free to use, and they do offer 1% cash back on purchases.  So, that might add up after awhile.  I didn’t read all the fine print, so I don’t know if you need to spend a million dollars in a calendar year in order to qualify, but it might be worth looking into.

You can buy anything at this site from books to tools to televisions to computers.  One of the computer sites even had cyberpowerpc coupons.  Hey, in this economy every little bit helps! 

I can’t recommend this company because I haven’t used it yet.  But I will definitely look into using it in the future, especially when I want to make a purchase from a “new-to-me” company.

I recently received a Kettlebell.  I was very excited about receiving it since I had gained quite a bit of weight while I was waiting for my ankle to heal after my ankle surgery and because I had heard positive things about it.

I was surprised when I opened the package to find that the Kettlebell was much smaller than I anticipated.  I received the five-pound Kettlebell, and I guess I thought it would be bigger.   My hands aren’t big, and I had a bit of difficulty sometimes slipping them into the handle part quickly.  Perhaps the ten-pound Kettlebell would have been better for me.

Anyway, I started the exercises, and I was pleased with how they went.  I liked the fact that each exercise was over in seconds and then on to the next exercise.  Then the whole group of exercises would repeat.  This was beneficial because if I had difficulty with an exercise, I knew it’d be over in a matter of seconds, and then I’d get to do an exercise that was easier for me.

I was a bit disillusioned with the fact that it took a bit longer than anticipated.  I remember hearing that the workouts were only 20 minutes!  But in reality, yes, the workout is only 20 minutes long, but add about 20 minutes for warm-up and cool-down.  I thought this was slightly deceptive.  Not a huge deal, but it just made me feel like I had been lied to.

I continued faithfully with the Kettlebell until I got to the point in the exercise where it was more than my bum ankle could handle.  That was a tad discouraging because I had hoped to stick with it.  But when I had to sit out for more of the exercises than I could do, I knew it was time to shelve the Kettlebell until my ankle was stronger.

One of the bonus things is that my kids enjoyed doing the Kettlebell with me.  We only have the one bell, so we had to take turns.  Even Justin would make a Kettlebell for himself out of k’nex so he could join in!

And now, winter is upon us, and it’s COLD in our family room!  Too cold to go do a workout, but once it warms up down there, I’m sure I’ll grab the Kettlebell and start swinging it around again.  I knew it was working my muscles because I could feel it the day after my workouts.  I’m excited to try it again and see how much better my ankle does now that it’s been a couple months.

Is this the best piece of exercise equipment on the market?  Well, I’m not the best person to gauge that, but I think most exercise equipment is beneficial if you have the perseverence to stick with it.

Alicia with Kettlebell

One of the features on my new laptop is one that I think I’m really going to like.  I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s a little slot for memory cards.  So, if I want to load some of the pictures from a camera to my computer, I just have to remove the micro sd card from the camera, put it in the slot on my computer, and walaa!!!  The pictures show up.  No messing with cables and hoping the right program is installed.  I’m really going to love this feature.  So, if you’re in the market for a new computer, you may want to look into this.

I should have mentioned this yesterday, but alas, I guess I’m getting a bit forgetful in my old age.  ~smile~

One of the things that my kidlets have really enjoyed while I’ve been sitting here with my leg up is listening to stories online.  Here are some of their favorite sites:

http://www.whitsend.org/  Adventures in Odyssey’s “Whit’s End.”

http://cbhministries.org/dgl/home.php  CBH Ministries’ “Down Gilead Lane.”

http://www.lifeatthepond.com/  “The Pond.”

I’m sure there are other story sites on the internet, but these are some of our favorites.  Enjoy!

For 3-4 years now I have been involved with Women in the Outdoors.  The first year or two I was just a participant, but the past two years I have helped to plan our annual event in the Grand Rapids area.

So, what is Women in the Outdoors about?  Well, we are a group of women who either:

1- already enjoy doing outdoor activities.
or 2- have a desire to participate in or learn more about outdoor activities.
or 3- a combination of 1 and 2.

Most of us who attend WITO events already enjoy being outside, but we’ll be the first to admit that we don’t participate in everything in the great outdoors.

And that’s where WITO events come in.  This year’s WITO event will be on September 26, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  For $45 (or $30 if you’re a student), you will get to participate in a full day’s worth of activities.

From archery to fishing.  From geocaching to kayaking.  From outdoor survival to turkey hunting.  From pistols to rifles to muzzleloaders.  From trap to skeet.  Don’t know the difference between trap and skeet?  Don’t worry, you’ll learn.  Everybody was a newbie once!

Because it’s all women, there is no intimidation.  We’re all here to learn and to help each other learn and to enjoy the great outdoors.

The $45 registration fee includes 4-5 classes, lunch and snacks, and all the materials/equipment you’ll need to participate in the various classes.

If you have your own equipment and want to bring it, feel free.  But it’s not necessary.

If you’re in the Grand Rapids area, and you’re interested in attending this event, let me know, and I’ll get you a brochure.  It’s a great event.  You’ll meet some great people and learn some new skills.

Recently I’ve read a couple articles about crime rates and how people are purchasing more guns and ammunition than they have in years.  And yes, I must admit, that I purchased myself a handgun this past winter.  My decision to purchase a handgun was not to join the bandwagon of others making a similar purchase though.  My family enjoys shooting, and I am hoping that shooting my handgun is something that Alicia and I can do together.  You know… female bonding time! 

Some of my friends think I should get my CCW permit, but I’m not so sure about that.  While I am not against carrying handguns, I’m just not sure it’s the right choice for me. 

Today I stumbled across an interesting website that sells self defense products, and the neat thing about this site is that it specializes in self defense products for women!  I haven’t purchased anything from this site, but I am considering it.  In addition to regular containers of pepper spray, they carry pepper spray that is concealed in a lipstick container.   They have fake cell phones that are stun guns and flashlights.  The things they carry are amazing.

So, if you have time to browse their site for a bit, I think it’d be worth your time.  (Go back up to the link to get there.)  There’s also a section of tips for staying safe and home and when you’re out and about.  I hope you’ll read the information, and I hope that you’ll never need to use it.

There is a neat organization in West Michigan that I love to support with my business.  It’s Love, Inc.  The Inc stands for In the Name of Christ.  So, yes, this is a relious organization.

While I’ve never read their mission statement, I have had opportunities to refer people to them.  And I have had many opportunities to shop at their resale shop!  ~grin~

What Love does is take donations, of money and of second-hand stuff, which they resell.  They use these donations to help people in need.  But they are responsible with the money.  (Unlike our big government!)  In exchange for taking classes on budgeting, for example, students are given gift certificates for gasoline.  This provides an incentive for these people to learn and apply something beneficial in exchange for gas for their vehicle.

Another service Love provides is to the local church.  Not a week goes by when a church does not receive a hardship letter or a phone call requesting financial help.  But what is a church to do?  A church secretary certainly doesn’t have time to check out each request for help.  And while some of the requests are genuine, many are often people scamming just to see what they can get.

That’s where Love comes in.  Many churches refer such letters and phone calls to Love.  Because this is the line of work they are in, Love knows more than the local church who is really in need of help and who just always has their hand out, waiting for a free lunch.

If you have a chance, stop by a Love, Inc. store.  They are full of good deals.  (Especially on books!!!)  Or consider writing them a check if you have the means.  Your funds will definitely be put to good use.