A Lipstick Jungle

My sister’s house is finally on the market. It’s been a difficult decision but she’s made it and is happy it’s all over. Now, she’s looking at other properties so that she’s ready when a buyer comes along since she’s priced it to sell fast. Of course, along with this is finding the right home insurance quote for where ever and whatever property she decides on. Since this was a former life of mine I think I can help her find the best rate for the right coverage. It’s one thing to have good rates but to cut your rates by cutting coverage…as I’ve always said, be very careful what you cut; it could cost you in the end.

It’s been crazy going from the tropics, to south east US to the Midwest and then to the dry cool air of the mountains. My skin has really been getting dry, especially my legs and face. My sister has some great skin care products that she’s used since she’s lived up here that keeps her skin toned and not dry. She said she’s tried lots of skin care products but some really do work better than others. I’ve been using it and wow-it’s really great. I can tell that it really gets into the skin and doesn’t leave me greasy…I like that - a lot. If you have any skin care tips send them my way. I’m game for any.

When my hubby and I were first married we had a great townhome where our gardens were beautiful. We had one area of the yard under some huge trees that didn’t get much sunlight so my hubby suggested that we plant hosta plants around the base of the trees. We did and - wow - they were beautiful. We were able to get different colors of green leaves from variegated to dark green with beautiful flowers that bloomed from them. The best thing is that they came back every year and with very little care…were stunning. Ever since then, when we’ve had an area of our yard that was shaded we’ve planted hosta plants.  So amazing and beautiful.

My hubby has been doing real well with me gone but there are a few qwerks he’s trying to work out while he has the house to himself. I’m so excited that he’s painting accent walls in the living room, office and bedroom. He’s also installing shelves in the closets and laundry area. They will be such a huge help. Problem is that he has to go through concrete or concrete block. It’s not like homes in the US where you can nail easily…it takes a good drill and concrete drill bit. ugh! He’s been working on our kitchen faucet for over a month now with some easy fix-it’s but…nada. It’s still leaking. He called me last night and said he found the answer to his prayers, a Delta faucet. Well, not sure if a faucet should be in anyone’s prayers but…he installed it today and voila…no more leaking!!!! Funny how fixing a leaky faucet can make a happy day.

My sister has quite a few things that she’d like to sell but they are not yard-sale type items. She has some awesome artwork, chachkies and knick-knack’s. We were looking at ebay but…the fees are crazy and to list an item takes close to forever. My account with one online auction site has been frozen more than once because of online predators and they’ve made it more and more difficult to use. Well, we’ve found a great new free online auctions site, Webstore, that looks like the best place for us. Oh…did I say it was free? When I want to sell something online I want free, easy to use and free from online problems with my account. Oh…did I say Webstore is free?

I was just thinking about some of my favorite gifts from when I was a child. One that I saved forever was the rubber stamp my parents gave me of my name “Diana Maul”. It was so special to me. I liked the script of my name and being able to stamp my school books, my coloring books (yes, it was a gift when I was very young), my reading books and lots of games and special projects. Just thinking back to stamping my name on ‘everything’ was such a great feeling. If you’re ever looking for a gift for a child…consider getting them a rubber stamp of their name. It’s inexpensive, personal and will be used for many years to come.

Do you know excited I am to have my camera back??? I am totally stoked! I’ve been shooting everything I could. Yesterfday my battery died…ugh. But, I didn’t get my memory card back…so I bought a new micro sd which wasn’t bad at all. Still, taking photos of the mountains is so perfect right now since most of my portfolio is about the sea and beach. Do you know that there is still snow on the mountains? It is so cool.  I’m going to do a panorama of a couple of the peaks. I’ll try to post them as soon as they’re done

It’s fun looking back at the old days…knowing I don’t have to repeat them. That’s one of the benefits of the past…no repeats necessary. It helps to look at the past when it comes to relationships, jobs and families. If you’ve had a relationship with someone and it didn’t work…would you go back? If so, why? What makes it different this time than the next? Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing time after time - expecting different results? Some of us do change, for the better, and that’s great. But, we must change for all the right reasons…because it’s what we want to do. Because we think it is right. We cannot change for another person, for another reason for another time. While times change, like fax machines versus faxing online, calling an agent for a life insurance quote versus getting term life insurance online quotes…who and what we are…do not. Changes are good…but we must always keep it in the forefront of our minds…we cannot change another living person.  We can only change ourselves…for ourselves.

So, I’m wondering what kind of memory my son has in his camera. If i’ts a 4gb micro sd I’m getting one for my camera.  I’ve been trying to figure out which photos of my son’s I’ve copied and which ones I still need to copy. I’ve copied his entire camera…that’s so many photos. I have no idea how big his memory is but…he has over a thousand photos in his camera. And, on top of this…he has all his Facebook photos, friend’s photos…and more. Lots and lots of photos…or shall I say…lots and lots of memories. Love it! 

Did you know there’s reason besides over eating that people gain weight? I’ve been thin all my life, or should I say small. I never knew how blessed was until I started taking meds and started stacking on the pounds. So, what do you do? A diet pill won’t work against meds that create the weight gain. I’m going to walk - a lot when I visit my son. It’ll be a lot easier than walking here at home where there’s crazy hills and unstable street pavement. Not sure if it will help…but it sure won’t hurt!