Today I went off the deep end (lol).  My zebiesmom.com personal page needed to be renewed in three days, so I thought long and hard about what to do.  After about two weeks of praying and thinking about what I wanted to do, I decided to go ahead and go from a personal website to a store website.  What was really nice its was cheaper for the first year of the store website than to renew the personal one.  I am really taking a leap of faith and trusting that this is what I am suppose to do at this time in my life.

Now I have to decide if I am going to call the store Vickie's or Zebiesmom.  If I go with Vickie's there is no filing for a DBA.  If I go with Zebiesmom I have to file for a DBA.  I really like the Zebiesmom name and it's not that much to file for a DBA just time consuming and I have 40 days after I start selling to file.

Let me know which name you think I should use.   :)


The Last week I have been getting organized with all the things I plan on using to make the products for my store.  It's been fun and sometimes boring but it's the only way you can make sure you know where everything is (or at least that's the idea, so I have told "lol").  I am in no way OCD when it comes to organizing, but I have a bad habit of putting things away where I know I can find them and then forget where that was.  So I have decided to go back to the school of organized clutter (not everything has to be perfect), as long as I know the general area of where it is and can find it there I'm good.  Somethings I have very well organized in 3 ring binders and are labeled, but other things are not that easy to organize (like paper, etc...) so they fall under the organized clutter.  

These are only a few of the things that I have gotten done, there is still more to go :)

So now you see what I mean by organized clutter.

What are some of the things that you do to get organized?

It's time for me to get back at it!

Thanks for visiting and have a Blessed day,

Vickie

Today starts the Thanksgiving prep taking out the turkey putting in the fridge to start thawing, making sure I have everything I need for the big feast.  This year I am actually going to do most of the cooking in advance (at least I hope I do).

What are some of the things you like to do in advance of the big feast to help keep down the stress of preparing the day of?

For me so far I already have the green beans done they are in the freezer.  I did a big batch of them a few months ago and froze most of it in meal size portions. I already have some pies done and in the freezer too, so I just have to re-bake them that day.  The way I am doing the mashed potatoes I will make them the day before and finish baking them in the oven the day of too.  When it comes to the rolls I still haven't decided if I want to make them from scratch or just buy them all ready made.  Of course the gravy (the most important part according to my daughter Sonja) will be made the day of.

Just a little to big to my rotisserie so it has to go in the oven.

In other news on since my last blog entry as of this morning I have lost a pound (YAY) and all I've really done so far is started drinking water.

If you are trying to lose weight what are some of the changes you have made in your life?

Have a Blessed day and Thanks for visiting,

Vickie

Hello,  

It's been a while since I've been here, life has been a little crazy.  I lost my nephew Cody on October 16 only three days before his 21st birthday, that really caught me of guard.  I am really going to miss him.  My daughter Freya was 5 1/2 months older than him and my daughter Sonja was exactly six months (to the day) younger than him. 

 

This is one of the boards at his Celebration of Life

I am in the process of starting my new website it's zebiesmom.com.  I can't believe how much there is to learn, but it's only been one day and I'm sure it will get easier as I go.  I published it already so that I could see what I needed to do and how I liked it.  I set up a twitter, facebook, and pinterest account yesterday.  I'm sure there is some more I need to set up (maybe?).

My Pivotal Living Band is vibrating letting me know that I have been sitting to long, so it's time for me to go and get active (lol).  Yes I am working on getting in shape and losing weight.  I am learning to like water (it's tough).  

Have a Blessed day and thanks for visiting,

Vickie

I have taken a few weeks off to recharge my self and it really helped.  I went to my doctor had my physical, did a bunch of blood work (6 large tubes...oh my).  In the next few months I will have to have the rest of the test that are done that are for the one year check from when I had colon cancer last year (fun...yay right).
    I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year.  It's hard to believe that 2014 is over, but it's a chance for a new start.  I have been so blessed by family and friends after the loss of my daughter Catherine and my job in November.
     This month I've have made it a no spend month, but there has been some spending things that had to bought like a new battery for the car and a few other things that didn't have to be.  Most of the things that were bought were with gift cards from a friend, so I don't fell guilty for that.  All in all I did really great not spending money unless I had too.
       Today I spent almost two hours going through my all my emails.  This is something I have been putting off for way to long.  There were some many that I said I was going to read later and never did.  I had about 500 that just needed to be deleted because they no longer were any good (coupons, ads, etc.), and the rest that I wanted to keep but never put into a folder there was about 400 of those so now they are in folders and some that I read then deleted.  There are only about 10 more I want to read before I put them into a folder, but I finally got tired of reading and will finish the rest tomorrow.  I don't ever want to let my email get that bad again so at least once a week I am going to purge my main email list, I get over 200 emails a day (wow).

Take everyone and have a Blessed day

Life after Catherine's passing

Hello everyone,
    
    After my daughter Catherine went home to be with the Lord in November, I needed to do something to help me deal with the emptiness that it left in my life. Taking care of her took so much of my time (which I didn't mind, because I loved her a lot) that now I almost don't know what to do with myself, so I started turning her room into my sewing room (pictures below are of the progress).  I still have two special needs children (adults now) at home that I take care of, but they don't have all the medical needs that Catherine had. 
    Losing her was the worst part, but with her passing I also lost most of my income because I was her IHSS worker.  I still have a few hours with my other two girls but not enough.  Our income was cut almost $4000.00 a month in a matter of one day.  My other two girls are Autistic and were denied their DAC by Social Security so we had to get a lawyer and file for a hearing.  In order for me to find a job away from home I am limited to the hours I can work which is from 3:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. since I don't drive (right now...long story) because my husband goes to work from 12:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (up to 1:30 a.m.) and I have to be home with my other two girls.  I am praying that doors are opened for me to earn money from home.
    When you lose someone you love it's easier to think about all the things that need to be taken care so you don't feel the pain that it left (at least for me).  I still find myself thinking about doing things or not being able to do things with Cat (Catherine's nickname) or seeing something that she would love to have, watch or listen too.  I miss her and when I think of her now I smile more than I cry because now she is able to walk, run, dance, talk and so many other things she couldn't do on this earth.
  

Have a Blessed day and thanks for visiting
Vickie

Hello everyone.
      You may be asking where did the blog name come from, why Zebiesmom?
That's a good question thanks for asking (lol).  When my youngest daughter Sonja was between 8 to 10 her dad had been exposed to chemicals at work and had to go to a doctor in L.A.  There was a pharmacy in the building and we went to look to see all the cute things they had. There was a small zebra that she really wanted so we got it for her, and she named it Zebie.  It became part of the family, she took it everywhere.  During a time when Sonja had problems communicating what she wanted she would use Zebie as her voice.  For example instead of telling me she was thirsty, she would hold Zebie up and say mom Zebie's thirsty.  So after a few years of this you guessed it, I became Zebiesmom and it's stuck ever since.  Sonja is 19 now she still has Zebie and to this day still she sleeps with her every day.  If I have to give Zebie a bath (in the washing machine) I have to make sure she is done that day because Sonja has trouble sleeping with out her.  Sonja has other zebra's but they are not as special to her as Zebie.
      When you have children with autism you learn to live in a different way.  For me it really taught me how to see the world from my both my daughters point of view.  Having two daughters with autism also taught me that no two are alike, even if they share some of the same problems.  How they cope is so different from each other, what works with one doesn't work with the other.  What work last year or even five minutes ago may not work now.  Life can be a real adventure with them and I never stop learning.
     Now for venting.  A few months ago while Sonja and Catherine (who had a lot of medical needs and who past away in November) were still in public school on medical home schooling we had an IEP for them.  The new special education district person was there (I not giving her name), she had the nerve to tell us that we (Catherine's father and I) should put Sonja and Catherine into a group home because they were such a burden to us.  Trust me when I tell you that it took God to hold me back from jumping over the table to choke her.  I don't think I have ever been so angry.  I may not of given birth to Catherine and only been her mother from 2008 but to me she was just as much my daughter as Sonja, Freya, and Natasha are.  Sonja and Catherine were never a burden to us.  I'm not saying that anyone who has put there children in a group home did the wrong thing, that is a very hard choice to make and for some it's the right thing to do.  For us it was not and I am so glad that God has given us the grace to keep our children at home, because just about two months later Catherine went home to be with the Lord.  So we were able to be with her and she was with the people who loved her the most on this earth until the very end.  Ok enough venting, but just one piece of advice if you have special needs children don't let anyone tell you what they think you should do, unless your asking for what they think.  Remember they are not in your shoes and even with my special needs children I'm not in your shoes. Follow your heart and try not to feel guilty for what ever decision(s) you make.

Have a Blessed day.

Zebiesmom (Vickie)

P.S.  I hit something on my keyboard, I thought I lost this post and was going to have to start over.  Thank God it was saved in the draft section.  That was a close call (LOL)

A little about me

Hi,
     This is my first blog so I'd like to tell you a little about me.  My name is Vickie Sanders, I live in Southern California with my husband a two of my daughters.  We just lost one of our daughters Catherine on November 3, 2014 she had just 20 on September 5, 2014.  We were very blessed to have her that long, because when she was born my husband (we are a blended family) was told when they sent her home at 15 days old that the machine they sent home with her would let them know when she died.  Needless to say they were very wrong and she stayed on this earth for 20 years.
    The two daughters that are at home with me are Freya (20) and Sonja (19) from April 19th to May 24th all three of the girls were the same age until May 25 when it's Freya's birthday.  It always funny to see the reaction of people when they were all three the same age. 
    I have two older children from my first marriage a daughter named Natasha who is married and has two kids (who are the greatest grandkids ever, yes I know that's what all grandparents say) and a son Niel.  It was hard on them when we left Hawaii and their father and I got divorced.
     I remarried in 1993 and had two more children Freya and Sonja who are both autistic, and sadly their father past away in 2007.  Which brings me to my husband now, he lost his wife in 2006 and we were married in 2008.  The funny part about my husband now is, I knew him when I was 18, I use to date his best friend right after high school.  After my husband died I was looking for friends from high school and found my husband on the site (we went to the same high school he graduated a year before me) we started talking and the rest is history (as they say).
     I guess that's enough for now I don't want to give away all my secrets all at once (lol).  Have a blessed day.