I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging for quite some time. As a matter of fact, back in the old MySpace days, I used to blog quite frequently. I like to write. I like to share. I have MANY opinions. Seems like blogging is something I was meant to do.
A little bit (or a lot) about me…
I’m a forty-seven year old, married woman. I have three siblings, and both of my parents have passed. I have the cutest dog on the face of the planet, and two parrots. No Kids. I live in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. I have worked mainly in the food and beverage, office, and graphic design industries, with the exception of a minor attempt at music journalism in my twenties.
I’m the kind of person who immersed herself into projects. I love being creative. Whether it be refinishing a piece of furniture, or creating a DVD Slideshow, I put my all into it. In the last 7 years, I have refinished a kitchen, refinished a bathroom, installed a fire pit patio in my back yard, removed wallpaper, painted paintings, learned to knit, learned to woodburn, made mosiac items, refinished furniture, made candy from scratch, replaced light fixtures throughout my home, made the gamut of homemade bath/beauty products and essential oils, and even tried couponing.
In addition to the voluntary projects I have engaged in, there have been many more that qualify as necessity rather than personal enlightenment. My Father passed away August 14, 2011. He left behind a house FULL of everything he ever owned…ever. It took my siblings and I three years of traveling back and forth to Las Vegas, several dumpsters, truck rental, cleaning, repairing, selling, movers, tears, aggravation, feelings of doubt…it was rough. We learned a lot about ourselves and what we were capable of. We also learned a lot about our Father.
February 6, 2012 my Mother passed. This time I was on my own. I had to make all of the decisions and arrangements. My Mother was my best friend…my soulmate…the love of my life. I had to face the saddest thing I could ever imagine, without the one person who always helped me get through all of life’s challenges. I learned a lot about arranging a celebration of life, rather than a mourning of death.
Our first couple years of homeownership were super eventful. The Blizzard of 2011 was 4 months after we moved in. Then, in June, the flooding started. We had a massive rainfall, which resulted in our basement flooding approximately 2 feet of sewage. SEWAGE!! We cleaned it up, replaced the water heater (a story in itself), and hired Perma Seal to install a sump pump and line the basement. 2 months later, it rained hard…again. Try as the sump pump might, it couldn’t keep up with the amount of sewage coming up through the drains. Replaced the water heater…again. Cleaned and decontaminated the basement…again. It wasn’t until it flooded the third time that we decided to buy a tankless water heater to avoid having to replace them ever couple months. Learned a few other tricks and hacks to help minimalize the damage, and make the cleanup much easier when it inevitably floods almost every year.
My husband has Epilepsy. I’ve had to learn what to do when he has a seizure, how to prevent them and how to handle what happens after a seizure.
I’ve had a family member who was murdered, one who was hooked on heroin, and one with Alzheimer’s.
I have gone into business with, and gone to work for, people I considered friends…both times I ended up getting screwed over.
I have been in a music video, and an extra in a TV pilot. I have seen hundreds of concerts, and met a few rock stars. I was an avid View Askew fanatic, which led me to several events where I was able to meet amazing people….and even participate in a prescreening of Clerks II in New York.
I guess the point I am trying to make, is that I have seen things, done things and lived through things. These are the types of things I will most likely be talking about. Hopefully, the things that I will be sharing here will be helpful or enlightening…or at the very least amusing.
Grains of Rice 