Category: Tips and Hints

Empty Nesting, Life, RV Life, Tips and Hints, Travel

4 Must Have Items For Your RV Life

House Cat In Paradise

Welcome to “RV There Yet?” where I’m sharing stories, tips, tricks, and fun adventures of two wandering souls setting out on the second half of our lives traveling the U.S. and the world together.

When we bought our first RV 6 months ago, we read blog after article after post on must have items to make our RV life easier. The list we made was long, and boy does Amazon love us, so I wanted to take some time to share the items that have made our new adventures even better.

As I mentioned in our last blog “So, you want to buy an RV do you?“, you will make lists and more lists of what you will need, so let’s take a look at some of the must have items that we can’t live without. In no particular order…..

  • 1. We have a beautiful 83lb Golden Retriever named Teddy, so the first thing be bought was a fencing system to give him a play yard at each campsite. We chose this OFIKA Heavy Duty Metal Dog Playpen system because of the number of panels giving us many configuration options to choose from. Not only does this set come in two different heights (2ft tall to go along the body of the RV, and 40″ tall for the outside perimeter), it’s super easy to assemble and has multiple entrances to position where you would like.

    • 2. Next is quite possibly my husband’s favorite find, a smokeless firepit. Our Onlyfire Smokeless Firepit is amazing! Fire-starting with wood or charcoal is super easy, and it’s light enough that I can easily lift it into our truck. We’ve cooked over it and spent hours enjoying our campfires no matter which way the wind was blowing.

    • 3. Now, let’s talk about some fun. Check out our PEXMOR Electric Bikes. Talk about taking it all in. These bikes are powerful, the fat tires handle every terrain you can imagine, and they are tough. You can pedal on your own or cruise up to 30mph to get the most out of your destination. We’ve gone up the side of a mountain, climbed hills in the desert, rode along the loose sand and shoreline of the ocean, and over and along beautiful rivers. Hands down we get the absolute most out of our trips by being able to spend the day exploring on our bikes. Add to all of that they also have horns, lights, digital speedometer/readouts, and a phone holder/charger.

    • 4. And lastly for today don’t forget this super duty bike rack for your bikes. These electric bikes weigh roughly 70lbs each, so be sure to get a bike rack that can handle that much weight. Although our bikes are foldable, we decided to store them on this rack using the receiver hitch on the back of our RV.

    As always, I’m eternally thankful for other RVers who share items that have made their time on the road more enjoyable. I hope that while you are making YOUR lists that we can help you in the same way that others helped us. We are NOT Amazon affiliates and would love to hear if you try any of these items and what you think.

    ~~~

    Do you feel restless or caught up checking off those boxes of life that someone said we are supposed to? Come along with us as we begin the process of LIVING our lives, and not just the same day over and over again.

    Be on the lookout for our next blog posts discussing MORE of the coolest, and most practical things we bought for our RV adventures, and an overview of our first RV road trip to West Texas.  

    Adventure awaits, let’s go find it.

    Crime, gamer, harassment, Life, Swatting, Tips and Hints, video games

    The Fall of @DemonTheLord Part 2 – The Nightmare

    House Cat In Paradise

    You may THINK you are safe in your own home, but you are NOT.  Let me repeat.  YOU ARE NOT.  This is the take-away that I want readers to have.  At any time, anyone can make a simple phone call and destroy your life.  No warning……

    In my last blog post The Fall of @DemonTheLord Part 1 I shared with you the BEFORE.  The WHY.  This is Part 2.  This is what can happen with one phone call.  What can happen when threats against you are not taken seriously by ANYONE.  This is what can happen when anyone in your house is an online gamer.  This is what can happen when obsession turns to rage.

    NOVEMBER 2014

    I said that there was finally blessed silence, and after almost a year of harassment he had finally left us alone.  I also said that I had never been more wrong about anything in my life.

    APRIL 2015

    Saturday April 11, 2015 @DemonTheLord picks up right where he left off in November.  Five months later, and out of the blue he again spends most of the day harassing and threatening my daughter by phone and internet.  Again she tells him off, and to leave her alone…………  After an entire day of harassment, he asks her one question.  “How are your parents doing in Shady Shores?”.  Then silence.

    911

    A few hours later, around 5-6pm, this monster makes an anonymous call using VOIP from a random Google voice number to our local police departments non-emergency line.  This monster, whom I have the entire recording of, told an operator that he was a resident at OUR address, had MURDERED his mother (ME) and brother who were lying on the kitchen floor, had strapped a BOMB to his sister, and IDENTIFIED his sister by name as my daughter.  

    Between 6-8pm, WITHOUT US EVEN KNOWING, my ENTIRE privately gated neighborhood was evacuated by 25+ law enforcement officials.  The city cut the street lamps, emergency vehicles broke our front gate, and blocked anyone from coming inside.  All neighbors were told to turn off all inside and outside lights at their homes before leaving the neighborhood.  Kids were pulled out of bed in their PJ’s and stuffed into cars and evacuated in the dark so the knife, gun, and bomb wielding murderer in my home could be taken down without anyone else dying. 

    swat

    What were we doing you may ask?  We were in the process of selling our home to move, and had been packing boxes all day.  We had been eating dinner, with ice cream for dessert and watching X-Men before going to bed.

    That’s what we were doing while 25+ FULLY ARMED SWAT team members, police officers from 2 different cities, fire department officials, and Sherriff’s deputies were outside surrounding our home. They spent 1-2 hours in the ditches, behind vehicles, under neighbor’s bushes, in the woods behind our house with sniper rifles trained on all of our windows assessing the danger from the armed murderer and supposed bomb in my house. 

    I got a phone call at 9pm from an unknown number.  My phone was on silent, and charging in the bedroom so I did not see the missed call until 9:10pm or so.  The Sheriff’s Department had called my real estate agent who is also a long-time friend of ours (because of the for sale sign in our yard) to get my phone number.  They left a message that said basically “This is the Sheriff’s Department calling, please call us back.”  This was upsetting because I was worried something had happened to our daughter, but there were no details in the message, nothing.  THIS WAS THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT ONE CALL TO SEE IF THEY COULD REACH ANYONE INSIDE OF THE HOME.  Remember, just “can you call us”, no other details.  I called the number back and was hit with a 9 option automated system.  I just started pressing buttons trying to reach someone.  I finally was able to get through to a live person, told them who I was, and that I was calling them back.  I was upset, and asking them is my daughter ok, did she get into a car accident?  Is this about my daughter?  They said no accident reports, and they weren’t sure why I was called.  They tried to transfer me around but nobody could tell me why they called me.  This took all of 5 minutes before I hung up, and called my daughter.  SO, THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT CALLS ME, I CALL BACK, AND NOBODY KNOWS WHY I WAS CALLED.  Meanwhile they are still surrounding our house.  Why didn’t they know to ask me if there was a murderer in my house, was I ok, did I need help? 

    9:15pm  I go outside on my back patio to call my daughter.  I’m on the phone with her, and she’s telling me that she’s ok, but the monster had been harassing her all day again. 

    handcuffs

    9:20pm  That’s when all the yelling started.  My husband decides to walk outside, having been called by our real estate agent’s husband, Kris Saxon (who was a Bexar County Sheriff himself) that there were police headed to our house.  He walks out the door, surprises every law enforcement officer outside, and they start screaming at him to put his hands up, and get down on the ground.   My husband puts his phone on speaker, and drops it on the ground as he’s being handcuffed so our friends can hear everything that is happening.  I’m on the back patio still, on the phone with my daughter and I take off running through the house yelling into the phone that the police are here, they are doing something to your daddy in the front yard, and oh my God I think the swatting is happening.  I hang up on her and sprint out the front door only to be taken down by two officers with guns to my head as soon as I clear the doorway.  My brother came out after me and was taken down as well.

    What followed was a living NIGHTMARE for me and my family that had everyone but my daughter, who was not at our home at the time thank God, on the ground on our front sidewalk, in handcuffs, with dozens of high powered weapons pointed at us, as everyone was yelling at us and searching our house room by room looking for this supposed murderer. I just can’t even begin to describe everything that happened.  Chaos.  Terrifying, helpless, absolute chaos.  Thank God we had put the dogs to bed for the night in their kennels just 10 minutes earlier or all three of them would have been shot. 

    All three of us could have DIED that night if just ONE of these officers would have mistaken something we were doing inside our home as part of this “Swatting” call.  I’m not making this up…. This is what I was told by the Texas Ranger who was sent by his commanding officer in Austin who had been called when all of this started.  He said he was just there to pick up and remove dead bodies. Not a single officer that I spoke to had ever been on a real life swatting call like this. It took 2 hours to sort the mess out, and get everyone out of our home and neighborhood.  I don’t think I slept that night, and not one of my neighbors ever spoke to me again.      

    Am I mad at any one of these officers for being here?  No.  Am I mad at the first female officer in November who didn’t “Flag” my house as being threatened?  Hell yes I am.  If she would have DONE HER JOB in November and “Flagged” our home as we asked, the severity of what happened on 4/11/15 would have been lessened.  The police would have still responded to the fake call, but they would have been forewarned that we were being threatened.  They would have done MORE to try and contact us to see if we were in danger BEFORE evacuating the neighborhood, and surrounding my house with snipers, and 25+ officers to come running out of ditches, from behind bushes, and behind my neighbor’s vehicles to put guns to our heads.  

    gavel1

    THERE ARE BASICALLY NO LAWS TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING TO INNOCENT CIVILIANS!  Professional gamers are the #1 target of “Swatting” in the US, not celebrities.  Google the word “Swatting” and watch the videos of these innocent people just playing games getting taken down by police while streaming live on the internet.  THAT’S the payoff for these psychopaths.  They watch live as the people they are harassing have this happen to them.  They are anonymous, and think it’s very funny.  INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE DIED because of this terrifying trend in harassment.  

    My daughter was streaming her games live when this happened to us, but she didn’t live with us….. he did not know that. Or did he?  He asked “How are your parents in Shady Shores?”.  Sounds to me like he knew she did not live there anymore, and decided to swat us instead.  I almost lost EVERYTHING that night, and am currently living with the aftermath, because that monster did not get what he wanted from my daughter.  I could have watched in horror my husband being gunned down in our front yard by snipers when he walked out the front door just because someone made a phone call.  A PHONE CALL.  No evidence, just one simple chilling phone call.  

    Let that sink in for a minute.

    If you have a gamer in your home that streams, go to your local police department and get your house flagged.  

    If anyone has threatened you, or your gamer, GO TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE AND GET YOUR HOME FLAGGED, AND MAKE A REPORT.  

    Make sure, ABSOLUTELY SURE, that a report is made.  

    Do NOT let them ignore, or shame you into leaving without this being done.  

    Copy and paste this link, and take this FBI article in with you that says to do this.  http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/september/the-crime-of-swatting-fake-9-1-1-calls-have-real-consequences/the-crime-of-swatting-fake-9-1-1-calls-have-real-consequences  

    If you are in Texas, use this web address http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx   Call, or write your Representatives, Senators, and anyone else who can help make laws to stop this from happening to you. 

    I’m doing all of this and more while I sit here terrified and helpless, waiting for this to happen again, and knowing that I can’t stop it.  I periodically listen to the chilling, evil swatting call that was made to remind me that we are still not safe.

    After the swatting the Corinth, Texas police department was kind enough to “flag” our house in case of future swatting calls.  We moved two weeks later.

    PART 3 COMING SOON.

    Crime, gamer, harassment, Life, Swatting, Tips and Hints, video games

    The Fall of @DemonTheLord Part 2 – The Nightmare

    House Cat In Paradise

    You may THINK you are safe in your own home, but you are NOT.  Let me repeat.  YOU ARE NOT.  This is the take-away that I want readers to have.  At any time, anyone can make a simple phone call and destroy your life.  No warning……

    In my last blog post The Fall of @DemonTheLord Part 1 I shared with you the BEFORE.  The WHY.  This is Part 2.  This is what can happen with one phone call.  What can happen when threats against you are not taken seriously by ANYONE.  This is what can happen when anyone in your house is an online gamer.  This is what can happen when obsession turns to rage.

    NOVEMBER 2014

    I said that there was finally blessed silence, and after almost a year of harassment he had finally left us alone.  I also said that I had never been more wrong about anything in my life.

    APRIL 2015

    Saturday April 11, 2015 @DemonTheLord picks up right where he left off in November.  Five months later, and out of the blue he again spends most of the day harassing and threatening my daughter by phone and internet.  Again she tells him off, and to leave her alone…………  After an entire day of harassment, he asks her one question.  “How are your parents doing in Shady Shores?”.  Then silence.

    911

    A few hours later, around 5-6pm, this monster makes an anonymous call using VOIP from a random Google voice number to our local police departments non-emergency line.  This monster, whom I have the entire recording of, told an operator that he was a resident at OUR address, had MURDERED his mother (ME) and brother who were lying on the kitchen floor, had strapped a BOMB to his sister, and IDENTIFIED his sister by name as my daughter.  

    Between 6-8pm, WITHOUT US EVEN KNOWING, my ENTIRE privately gated neighborhood was evacuated by 25+ law enforcement officials.  The city cut the street lamps, emergency vehicles broke our front gate, and blocked anyone from coming inside.  All neighbors were told to turn off all inside and outside lights at their homes before leaving the neighborhood.  Kids were pulled out of bed in their PJ’s and stuffed into cars and evacuated in the dark so the knife, gun, and bomb wielding murderer in my home could be taken down without anyone else dying. 

    swat

    What were we doing you may ask?  We were in the process of selling our home to move, and had been packing boxes all day.  We had been eating dinner, with ice cream for dessert and watching X-Men before going to bed.

    That’s what we were doing while 25+ FULLY ARMED SWAT team members, police officers from 2 different cities, fire department officials, and Sherriff’s deputies were outside surrounding our home. They spent 1-2 hours in the ditches, behind vehicles, under neighbor’s bushes, in the woods behind our house with sniper rifles trained on all of our windows assessing the danger from the armed murderer and supposed bomb in my house. 

    I got a phone call at 9pm from an unknown number.  My phone was on silent, and charging in the bedroom so I did not see the missed call until 9:10pm or so.  The Sheriff’s Department had called my real estate agent who is also a long-time friend of ours (because of the for sale sign in our yard) to get my phone number.  They left a message that said basically “This is the Sheriff’s Department calling, please call us back.”  This was upsetting because I was worried something had happened to our daughter, but there were no details in the message, nothing.  THIS WAS THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT ONE CALL TO SEE IF THEY COULD REACH ANYONE INSIDE OF THE HOME.  Remember, just “can you call us”, no other details.  I called the number back and was hit with a 9 option automated system.  I just started pressing buttons trying to reach someone.  I finally was able to get through to a live person, told them who I was, and that I was calling them back.  I was upset, and asking them is my daughter ok, did she get into a car accident?  Is this about my daughter?  They said no accident reports, and they weren’t sure why I was called.  They tried to transfer me around but nobody could tell me why they called me.  This took all of 5 minutes before I hung up, and called my daughter.  SO, THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT CALLS ME, I CALL BACK, AND NOBODY KNOWS WHY I WAS CALLED.  Meanwhile they are still surrounding our house.  Why didn’t they know to ask me if there was a murderer in my house, was I ok, did I need help? 

    9:15pm  I go outside on my back patio to call my daughter.  I’m on the phone with her, and she’s telling me that she’s ok, but the monster had been harassing her all day again. 

    handcuffs

    9:20pm  That’s when all the yelling started.  My husband decides to walk outside, having been called by our real estate agent’s husband, Kris Saxon (who was a Bexar County Sheriff himself) that there were police headed to our house.  He walks out the door, surprises every law enforcement officer outside, and they start screaming at him to put his hands up, and get down on the ground.   My husband puts his phone on speaker, and drops it on the ground as he’s being handcuffed so our friends can hear everything that is happening.  I’m on the back patio still, on the phone with my daughter and I take off running through the house yelling into the phone that the police are here, they are doing something to your daddy in the front yard, and oh my God I think the swatting is happening.  I hang up on her and sprint out the front door only to be taken down by two officers with guns to my head as soon as I clear the doorway.  My brother came out after me and was taken down as well.

    What followed was a living NIGHTMARE for me and my family that had everyone but my daughter, who was not at our home at the time thank God, on the ground on our front sidewalk, in handcuffs, with dozens of high powered weapons pointed at us, as everyone was yelling at us and searching our house room by room looking for this supposed murderer. I just can’t even begin to describe everything that happened.  Chaos.  Terrifying, helpless, absolute chaos.  Thank God we had put the dogs to bed for the night in their kennels just 10 minutes earlier or all three of them would have been shot. 

    All three of us could have DIED that night if just ONE of these officers would have mistaken something we were doing inside our home as part of this “Swatting” call.  I’m not making this up…. This is what I was told by the Texas Ranger who was sent by his commanding officer in Austin who had been called when all of this started.  He said he was just there to pick up and remove dead bodies. Not a single officer that I spoke to had ever been on a real life swatting call like this. It took 2 hours to sort the mess out, and get everyone out of our home and neighborhood.  I don’t think I slept that night, and not one of my neighbors ever spoke to me again.      

    Am I mad at any one of these officers for being here?  No.  Am I mad at the first female officer in November who didn’t “Flag” my house as being threatened?  Hell yes I am.  If she would have DONE HER JOB in November and “Flagged” our home as we asked, the severity of what happened on 4/11/15 would have been lessened.  The police would have still responded to the fake call, but they would have been forewarned that we were being threatened.  They would have done MORE to try and contact us to see if we were in danger BEFORE evacuating the neighborhood, and surrounding my house with snipers, and 25+ officers to come running out of ditches, from behind bushes, and behind my neighbor’s vehicles to put guns to our heads.  

    gavel1

    THERE ARE BASICALLY NO LAWS TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING TO INNOCENT CIVILIANS!  Professional gamers are the #1 target of “Swatting” in the US, not celebrities.  Google the word “Swatting” and watch the videos of these innocent people just playing games getting taken down by police while streaming live on the internet.  THAT’S the payoff for these psychopaths.  They watch live as the people they are harassing have this happen to them.  They are anonymous, and think it’s very funny.  INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE DIED because of this terrifying trend in harassment.  

    My daughter was streaming her games live when this happened to us, but she didn’t live with us….. he did not know that. Or did he?  He asked “How are your parents in Shady Shores?”.  Sounds to me like he knew she did not live there anymore, and decided to swat us instead.  I almost lost EVERYTHING that night, and am currently living with the aftermath, because that monster did not get what he wanted from my daughter.  I could have watched in horror my husband being gunned down in our front yard by snipers when he walked out the front door just because someone made a phone call.  A PHONE CALL.  No evidence, just one simple chilling phone call.  

    Let that sink in for a minute.

    If you have a gamer in your home that streams, go to your local police department and get your house flagged.  

    If anyone has threatened you, or your gamer, GO TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE AND GET YOUR HOME FLAGGED, AND MAKE A REPORT.  

    Make sure, ABSOLUTELY SURE, that a report is made.  

    Do NOT let them ignore, or shame you into leaving without this being done.  

    Copy and paste this link, and take this FBI article in with you that says to do this.  http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/september/the-crime-of-swatting-fake-9-1-1-calls-have-real-consequences/the-crime-of-swatting-fake-9-1-1-calls-have-real-consequences  

    If you are in Texas, use this web address http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx   Call, or write your Representatives, Senators, and anyone else who can help make laws to stop this from happening to you. 

    I’m doing all of this and more while I sit here terrified and helpless, waiting for this to happen again, and knowing that I can’t stop it.  I periodically listen to the chilling, evil swatting call that was made to remind me that we are still not safe.

    After the swatting the Corinth, Texas police department was kind enough to “flag” our house in case of future swatting calls.  We moved two weeks later.

    PART 3 COMING SOON.

    Empty Nesting, Life, Tips and Hints

    The Top Two Rules for Happiness in Paradise

    House Cat In Paradise

    There are so many things that go together to make a marriage work, but there also has to be those top things you do 24/7, 365 without fail.  Things that after time come naturally, and are so ingrained in your relationship that it changes your personality.  In our home “Paradise” as I call it, we have two rules, or guidelines, that we established 26 years ago that we live by.  They are ingrained, and just something that we do without thinking.

    yelling

    1.  We NEVER yell, or raise our voices, at each other.  UNLESS, the house is on fire, or I need MSP (Mr. Sexy Pants, AKA: my husband) to kill a bug of some kind.

    My Mother had a sign in our house growing up that said “Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire”, and it made an impression on me.  I can remember back to the exact day when MSP and I yelled at each other the last time….. it was 2005.  The house was not on fire, it was a rare, but bad argument, and it’s also been 11 years since it happened.  I remember it because it was so rare.

    The higher the decibel of the argument does not increase the odds of your being right.   In fact, instead of having a conversation in a normal tone of voice to work out the issue at hand you have now made the entire situation into an screaming match.  Can you think better when someone is yelling at you?  Can you be rational when you are waiting for them to stop yelling so you can scream at them?  In my experience, the answer to both questions is a big NO.  There is no argument or problem that cannot be resolved at a normal tone of voice IF you really want to work it out.

    cursing

    2. We NEVER curse at each other in anger, or 99% of the time in our day to day lives.  Very rarely you will hear one of us do this just joking around, and it’s so rare it will stand out if you really know us.

    In my opinion, again, when you curse at the one you love, it is a HUGE sign of disrespect.  I love my husband too much to ever want to disrespect, or demean him in any way.  When it’s done in anger is the worst.  Calling the one you love a bitch, or an asshole (or all the other great one’s out there) when you are trying to work something out is demeaning, disrespectful, and childish.  Again, I can remember the EXACT day, time, and where we were at, the last time MSP and I cursed at each other.  It was in 2005, during the same argument in which we were yelling at each other.  I still remember how hurt I was hearing those words.  The yelling was bad enough, but the words we said burned a hole through my heart.  No matter the outcome, neither of us won that day.  I think we inflicted more damage on each other trying to resolve our issue than any damage the issue had done before we even started speaking to each other.  Eleven years later I still regret every horrible thing I said and the way I said it.

     

    broken-heart

     

    No relationship is perfect, but these two rules, or guidelines, have helped us for the better part of 26 years and I wanted to share them.  Let me know what you think, and if you have any rules, or guidelines that have helped keep your marriage, or relationship strong.

    Muah,

    Jeanie

     

    DIY, Do it Yourself, Save money, Tips and Hints

    DIY (Do it Yourself) Weekend in Paradise!

    House Cat In Paradise

    DIY (Do it Yourself) Weekend in Paradise!

    DIY-logo

    After one year in our new home, my husband and I finally decided to tackle an eyesore area in our backyard that we had designated for a future BBQ grill area by our pool.  This area had been driving us crazy since we moved in and had to remove existing landscaping that included sego palms that were poisonous to our dogs.  After removing the offending sego palms we were left with this.

    IMG_1975

    Huge boulders, a ton of small river rocks, and lots of dirt that created mud for the dogs to run through and bring into the house.  Plus, it’s pretty much the focal area in front of the pool, and the first thing our guests see when they come outside.  I hated it. I had been browsing Pinterest for months looking for ideas, and showing them to MSP (Mr. Sexy Pants, aka my husband for those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook), until we finally agreed on a landscaping gameplan that we both loved.

    Now the work began.

    I spent a half day on weekend #1 removing all of the top layer river rocks and relocating them to another area of our backyard.  Four solid hours of digging, raking, loading into a wheel barrel, and shoveling  until the area was cleared out. This left me with a lot of dirt, and a number of half buried boulders to remove. AND a new grill to buy! Yay!

    IMG_1978

    Begin weekend #2

    I spent another half day digging up and dislodging the half buried boulders.  As I am not Super Woman I unearthed them and left them for MSP to remove.  The largest rock weighed in at over 200 pounds.  The next morning add in one husband, and one brother and we’re ready to go.

    IMG_2027

    Boulders removed, save two that we liked, and relocated to other areas in our backyard.  Then MSP had to dig up, and cap off, two existing sprinkler heads that we would no longer be needing.  Step #3 was to level out the remaining dirt in preparation for landscaping fabric, and landscaping sand to use for leveling even further.  MSP used a 10 foot long 2×4 to drag across the area with a level on top of it for measurement.

    IMG_2029 IMG_2030

    Once finished with the fabric, sand, and paving stones, we added red bricks that matched our house and pool to make a separate landing, and mark a step up area for the grill.

    IMG_2031 IMG_2032

    Last two steps were to pour over new river pebbles to fill in the area between the pavers, and add in the new grill.

    IMG_2033 IMG_2034 IMG_2037

    The final stage of this project took 4 1/2 hours of work by 3 people on weekend 2.  Total time: 2 weekends, and 12.5 hours. Grill purchased at Lowes.  Landscaping items purchased at Home Depot.  Total investment: Grill $499 plus tax, Landscaping items $350 and a bottle of Tylenol for some super sore muscles.  We love it, and it’s now a clean, beautiful addition to our backyard!  AND we saved probably double what we spent doing it ourselves versus hiring someone else to do it.

    Let me know if you have any questions!

    Muah,

    Jeanie

    Tips and Hints

    Keurig Kold drink maker review. Is it worth the price? Have you even heard of it?

    House Cat In Paradise

    KEURIG Kold drink maker.  Is it worth the price?  Have you even heard of it?

    KOLD

    As you know I am a coffee maniac, and a Keurig Hot owner as well.  As soon as I heard that Keurig was making a cold drink maker, the Keurig Kold, I just had to have it.  I mean the Keurig Hot has given me such joy, right?  Of course I NEEDED a Kold to complete this companies strangle hold on my beverage consumption.

    Then the day arrives, and my $369.00 (plus tax and shipping), white, bundle of joy arrives in a box the size of an apartment mini fridge. (Disclosure:  my Keurig Kold was a gift) To say I was shocked is an understatement.  I was expecting a machine the size of my Keurig coffee maker…..  Nope, this bad girl is HUGE.  Luckily I work out, as she was pretty heavy also.

    IMG_1939 IMG_1949

    After unboxing, and reading the “get started” instructions I decided to wait for MSP (Mr. Sexy Pants, aka my husband for those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook) to get home and help me out.  This was not just a plug in and go sort of machine.  It needed to be primed, filled with water, and settle in for a 2 hour “get Kold” period before you can use it.  It’s just like a little refrigerator.  The motor, or whatever is making the water cold, is kinda loud also.  To be fair there was a fast start step that involved using ice, but as my machine didn’t come with any Kold pods, I wasn’t going to be able to use it anyways.

    So, now I needed pods.  They aren’t sold in stores here…..  In Dallas/Ft. Worth they are, but not in San Antonio.  Boo.  Off I go to the Keurig website and order there (you get a BOGO coupon with your new machine).  They have soda (Coca Cola products- Dr Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Coke Zero), sports drinks, seltzer waters, margarita mixes, as well as mojitos and more.   At least there are plenty of options to get you started.  Yes it carbonates your cokes, no it doesn’t include booze.  You have to add your own booze to the mixers.

    IMG_1941 IMG_1944 IMG_1948

    The pods are double the size of regular pods.  They are also NOT recyclable (WHY do you insist on making me feel guilty Keurig!!!!????) See my previous post on my guilt over the Keurig Hot coffee pods, and how I switched to Intelligent Blends and their 100% recyclable k-cups.  Now I have to wait, and research, and obsess over someone else making Kold pods for this new machine….

    Here are my pro’s and con’s

    Pro’s

    • interesting conversation piece
    • cold drinks on demand for those of us who only want a coke once in a while, not a whole 2 liter bottle
    • great for parties, built in bartender, self serve mixed drinks in a variety of flavors
    • price for the machine and the pods have dropped almost in half since January when I received mine.

    Con’s

    • price- ($369), although I just price checked Amazon yesterday and you can get them now for $203 (jerks, 4 months later the price drops)
    • size- huge, needs considerable counter space
    • energy usage- must be plugged in 24/7.  Runs constantly.  If you unplug you go back to the 2 hour “get Kold” period again before use
    • pods are not available everywhere.  Unless you live in a market that has them you will have to order them online and wait
    • Expense for pods- while the prices have recently dropped you will still pay, on average, $.75 to $1.50 per pod.  They come in 4 packs and range from $5.99 for mixers to $2.99 for sodas, waters, teas, and sports drinks

    Bottom line is that I LIKE, not LOVE my Keurig Kold and would not have one if I did not receive it as a gift.  You may feel different if you own a Kold, let me know what you think.

    Muah,

    Jeanie

     

     

     

    Books and Authors, House Cat Question of the Day, Tips and Hints

    House Cat question of the day: Brazilian waxing. Would my “lady bits” ever forgive me, and would I survive?

    House Cat In Paradise

    House Cat question of the day….. Brazilian Waxing.  Would my “lady bits” ever forgive me, and would I survive?

    images

    It’s getting warmer outside, summer is upon us ladies.  That being said it is also time to consider bathing suits for the season, and the taming of the “lady bits” in said bathing suits.  This is a massive undertaking if not handled regularly, and incredibly serious stuff for those of us wandering around in two band-aids and a cork by the pool.

    imagesQ726X37N

    Come on, don’t cringe…..  You and I both know that the struggle is real whether we talk about it or not.  To shave, or to wax runs through your “OMG, it’s bikini season” fuddled mind every year just like it does mine.  Sometimes we just want to give up and wear shorts, but that’s a cop out my dears…….  No worries.  I got this for us.  I’m not embarrassed to ask all the stuff you are thinking

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    I know exactly nada about waxing down under other than it can hurt, and women swear by it.  So, I am taking my real life questions to the most qualified person I know who will shoot me straight.  April M. Monterrosa everybody!  Not only is she my friend, but after you see my interview below, you will see why she is also my expert!

    Shine beautifully

    Jeanie- April, I’m so excited for you to meet my community, and help us figure out the great mystery of bikini waxing, and the ever whispered about Brazilian wax.  So, I’m a pretty modest person, and getting a bikini wax, or a Brazilian, conjures up all sorts of graphic images for me.  I imagine you’ve run into this before.  How do you manage shy clients, and first timers?

    April- For my new clients, I reassure them that they are in great hands, as I have over 20 years of experience in skin care and waxing. For extremely modest clients, I drape them with a towel and only uncover the area I wax and then cover them up and go to the next section I’m going to wax. Being a bit covered up seems to help them feel more at ease and relaxed.

    Jeanie- How does one “prepare” for a lady bits waxing service?

    April- The most important thing in preparing for your Brazillian wax is to be clean; taking a pain reliever also helps those that have a low pain tolerance, and wear loose clothing. Do not shave or trim before your wax either.

    Jeanie- So, break it down for us.  Bikini wax means the front.  Brazilian wax means all the way up your backside, right?  I’m so confused.

    April- A bikini wax is removing any hair outside the panty line in the inner thigh area. A Brazilian wax is removing all hair in the pubic area and your backside is optional. There is also a French wax which is similar to a Brazilian but with a landing strip left behind.

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    Jeanie- Which one is more popular, and do both men and women come in for these services?

    April-The Brazilian wax is the most popular and both men and women come in for these services.

    Jeanie- How long does it last, and what price point should your clients expect?

    April- It all depends on how fast one’s hair grows. Some clients come in every 4 weeks, while others can go up to 8 weeks before their next wax. My Brazilian waxes are $75 and if you purchase them in a series of 3, you get 1 free. (4 waxes for the price of 3)

    Jeanie- 4 for the price of 3!  OMG, I just love a good deal.   Any advice for those like me who are on the fence?

    April-  Just do it! Ha! Brazilian waxing is my most popular service; once you have one, you will never want to shave again!

    Jeanie- So now I know!  You are the best!  Thanks for spending some time with me today.

    Alright my friends, you read it here.  Now YOU know too!  If you have any other questions let me know, and this is how you contact April to set up your waxing service, AND take advantage of that special 4 for the price of 3 deal!

    Brazilian Wax $75

    Shine Beautifully

    Affordable, Luxury Spa & Beauty Services
    Call or Text: 210.896.4445
    Address: 123 SouthBridge
    San Antonio, Texas 78216

    Tuesday – Saturday: By Appointment Only.
    *GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE* 
        *Facials are for Men, Women, & Teens*

    Tell April that Jeanie sent you, and do not forget to check out her first published book available RIGHT NOW:  Shine Beautifully: A Collection of Innermost Thoughts, Quotes, & Poetry

    Muah,

    Jeanie

    april  April Mae Monterrosa is a proud Latina mix residing Deep in the Heart of Texas; she has written for SAXtreme Magazine, Chicano Life Magazine, been featured in Good Housekeeping, is a Sea World Wildside Ambassador, founder of Wonderfully Wise Women & Texas Beauty Bloggers online communities, and an independently published author.

    April Mae Monterrosa is also the proud owner of Shine Beautifully.  A quaint little gem amidst the North Central side of San Antonio located inside Visions for Hair Salon. Shine Beautifully was born as a side job where April provided beauty treatments for personal clients during her free time. Happily & unplanned, it grew into a full time business. April’s had the privilege of working in some of the top luxury resort spas in San Antonio, including JW Marriott, Marriott International & Hyatt. April also has elite day spa experience, including having worked at Woodhouse Day Spa as a lead esthetician & trainer, freelance instructing on facial protocols & product knowledge for medical spas and Sephora. She has been invited & participated in representing different beauty lines like CoverGirl, Decleor, Sonya Dakar and contracted as a makeup artist for up and coming authors. She regularly attends continuing education classes, seminars, & workshops in order to further her knowledge & provide her clients with the best services possible. She loves helping others by not only making them feel amazing through the art of spa & relaxation but, also helping them see their own natural beauty shine through. She believes motivation, encouragement, & support go hand in hand with the beauty industry.

    Tips and Hints

    The guilt was killing me. My great escape from the dreaded K-cup…..

    House Cat In Paradise

    If you know me you also know that coffee is the cornerstone of my life.  I have been a daily coffee drinker since the age of 15, and as a result I am the proud owner of my very own “Gold” Starbuck’s card.  Yup, it’s got my name on it and everything.  🙂

    For 10 years I was a proud Bunn coffeemaker owner.  I had two of them so I could take one with me when I travelled.  No waiting for coffee for me.  Nope.  Twenty minute brew time- no way.  My faithful Bunn gave me an entire pot of coffee in about 3 minutes.  I gave every member of my family a Bunn on various holidays, because I love them, but also so I did not have to wait the dreaded 20 minutes for coffee when I visited them.  Yup, that’s me.  Mrs. Thoughtful.

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    My poor Bunn

    Then one day… I was introduced to the Keurig (insert Angels singing here).  I bought a travel Keurig first, and then upgraded to the full size one once I was hooked and no longer using my poor Bunn.

    Travel Keurig
    Travel Keurig

    Full size Keurig
    Full size Keurig

    This brings me to the “great escape” as I now call it.
    I’m so much more aware now of recycling as much as I can versus 3 years ago.  I use cloth Walmart bags when I shop……. Once I found out that my Keurig k-cups were not recyclable I started obsessing over it.  I mean, just my contribution to landfills with the number of k-cups I went through was staggering.  Add in millions of people and I could just see the earth filling up with k-cups.     Then I heard about this viral video

    It’s the best 2:27 of your day.  K-cups raining down from the sky, a Godzilla like k-cup monster terrorizing the city and it’s people……  Just go watch.  🙂

    Then one day I ran across a Facebook advertisement for Intelligent Blends.  Being a coffee snob I was hesitant, but the coffee pods being recyclable was the straw that broke the k-cups back.  Intelligent Blends had this great sampler deal. For just $4.99 I got 8 coffee pods to try, and I was hooked.  Now I order 100 at a time, and have it on auto-ship for every 4 weeks.

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    Instead of paying roughly $1.00 per k-cup and filling the landfills up I now pay $.38 per coffee pod and recycle my little butt off.  $38.03 per box of 100!  Yay me!

    So, if you are trying to do better like I am, if you are a coffee maniac like I am, if you like to save money like I do, and you want a big recommendation…. here you go.

    Let me know what you think, and if you have any questions.

    Muah,

    Jeanie

     

    Tips and Hints

    My life will never be the same. Thanks Amazon

    House Cat In Paradise

    I have to admit that technology mocks me at every turn.  My dear friend Lisa Pietsch is fond of reminding me of this each time a device, app, or other electronic something is giving me fits.

    But, every once in a while I run across something that makes me squee, and is so user friendly that I can get through it with no “help me” phone calls to Lisa.  Enter the amazing Amazon Prime Now app.  Yes, you can get it on your desktop, but I default to my phone.

    prime now logo

    Exclusively for Amazon Prime members, this delivery service offers 25,000+ items including household items, groceries, meals from your favorite restaurants, gifts and more…. Oh my.

    If you are NOT an Amazon Prime member, here is a link to learn what it is, what you get, and how much it costs.  I pay $99 + tax one time per year (around $107 or $8.92 per month) for my Prime membership.  Free 2 day shipping on Amazon, Prime Music (my go to for all things music), Prime movies (just like Netflix), my Prime Now, and so much more….

    IMG_1897  Screenshot of my phone showing what the app looks like.

    This morning I had about 30 things that I needed from the grocery store, but just getting over a post-vacation cold I didn’t feel like leaving the house.  Then I remembered my Prime Now app.

    I took my list that I had put together and started searching each item out, and adding it to my cart.  Five minutes later I reviewed my cart, hit check out, and selected my delivery time for today.  Since Prime Now is attached to your Amazon account, they automatically bill your payment card on file, so it’s really just once click processing.  Now delivery is free unless you want it in under an hour.  I chose 2-4 hours from time of checking out and it was FREE.  Add in a tip for the beautiful, amazing, life saving delivery person, and bam, I’m done.

      Welcome screen to start your search

        Checkout screen showing list of all items purchased.

    Once the order is placed I get a tracking screen that tells me they are putting my order together, and when they are headed to me I will get another update showing the progress of the delivery vehicle.  Talk about convenient. All I need to do is put some pants on LOL!

    IMG_1895  Tracking screen with status (being prepared, out for delivery…)

    Is that the doorbell???  Yay!  It’s here…. 1:04pm!  Right in the middle of my 12noon-2pm window.

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    Don’t forget you get $10 off of your first order!

    10 off

    Also note, you can change the default 10% tip amount when you order, but they will not accept cash tips at the door.

    Happy Sunday Lovies!  Let me know if you have any questions.

    Muah, Jeanie