A Graduation Week in Pictures

Our Week!

A Week of Memories and Continued Success

This has Been an expectantly busy whirlwind week in our family!

We have our first high school graduate!  Miss Z. graduated with honors! We are extremely proud of her! This is a wonderful and amazing accomplishment! She had the pleasure of graduating in a maroon cap and gown to symbolize all of her hard work! She will travel over the summer and attend College in the fall.

We also have a Kindergarten graduate! Mr. K. has worked very hard to overcome challenges and his disability to complete Kindergarten. It took two years,  special assistance at home and at school,  working evenings, vacations and more but my little guy did it! First Grade Here we come!

In addition, Miss. J is officially a senior. ( I can't believe how fast it has gone) She is only 16. She actually has the ability to graduate by fall if she were to choose. Miss. J. has decided to attend the senior year of high school to experience the traditions and make memories!

Our two homeschooling young ladies are working to complete their courses! Both will return to thr classroom.

Miss. A should be headed to High School as a freshman! Hello High School!

Miss. B will be attending a private school in the fall! She will be in the 8th grade!

Miss. S. will be continuing an exceptional program that will earn her probable college scholarships. She will be a junior this year!

I'm so proud of our wonderful " Brady Bunch" Blended Family!!!

Freezer Meals To Save My Sanity and Budget

We recently made a move and a new schedule has moved in to attempt to dominate our time. Both work and school schedules have changed. The schedule has cut into our normal time frame to make dinner. The result has been later dinners, dinner outtings and one epic dinner fail.

The problem: Late dinners cut evening quality family time short, cause grumpy children, impulse buying and going out to eat, reduction in healthy meals and quality food and the surprise dinner fail.

We have been adjusting to a new schedule and new bills. Going out to dinner is a luxury that i'd rather reduce or eliminate for awhile. I would like to create my new budget and stick with it. When we do dine out, i'd enjoy planning the outting and having a nice time. I would rather not dine out in desperation.

This past month, we have been adjusting to the new bill schedule and numbers. I feel that it has been a rough month. We are trying to budget to adjust to the new bills, pay off debt, plan school fees and similar and start saving in general.

This past week we had a dinner fail and unexpected company. I was making a comfort meal of a stroganoff. I prepared my ground beef, boiled my water, had my gravy ready to add to this one pan casserole meal. I was ready to add the noodles. As I poured the noodles Into the boiling water, I noticed the pan was suddenly filled with black spots. The noodles had an overabundance of what appeared to be dead boweavles. I was so upset. Unfortunately, I only did not have anything else thawed out. So, as dinner was already getting to the table late,  cereal it was.

We prepared for company this week as our oldest child is graduating from
high school! Grandma came to visit from out of state. We have a family of 8. The problem: unexpected company. Three additional family/ friends decided to take a spontaneous road trip. ( Without funds) We are not prepared for twelve in the home. We are happy to see everyone but we are still in recovery phase from our recent move. We've been stretching meals and had to order pizza once because half of the family were attending a planned event and we were left home without a vehicle to make a better strategy.

The resolve: Planning meals in advance including freezer cooking to save money. My children love menu planning. My youngest especially enjoys knowing what meal is on the daily menu. I just read a few interesting articles on the Money Saving Mom Blog and the Who Needs a Cape Blog! Both sites have great information to learn about the planning and incorporating of freezer and crockpot meal planning!

I will be sharing more of my plan in an upcoming post.

I would love to prepare freezer meals, crockpot meals and a neighborhood co-op!

Facebook Takes The Social Out Of Social Media.

Facebook has become a popular social platform for business. Both Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike have the ability to communicate with consumers . The ability to connect with the general public has allowed business the opportunity to prosper in the web 2.0 arena. Prior to social networking, business was limited by advertisement and marketing campaigns that lacked the ability to connect with the intended audience. Focus groups that attempt to portray a general picture of a company's client base has become obsolete. Facebook and similar web based social platforms have created the ability to interact with consumers rather than the traditional marketing use of advertisement and talking at customers. Facebook has opened the door to the possibility of connecting with actual customers that may shed light on consumer experiences and data in real time.

Facebook has paved the way for business to evolve. Consumers have the ability to share their "likes", experiences and interact with corporate executives. A customer's voice can be heard. Business growth and the economy are ultimately affected by the ability to engage with the public.

Although Facebook has given the internet and business the ability to grow and change, the social platform guru appears to have stumbled in the effort to provide opportunity for social interaction and growth in the business world.

Facebook sanctions the ability to " like" a predetermined quota of pages. The approximate value according to Facebook is the capacity for a single individual to only "like" 5,000 themed pages. The combination of subject matter is at the discretion of the Facebook user. It is easy to actually like many companies, products, clubs,  groups and so forth. However,  according to Facebook, people do not have the capacity to "like" additional products or services. I imagine that Facebook is not accounting for the true reach of an individuals ability to maintain preference, opinion and thought on a wide array of subject material. How can a company, Facebook in this example,  place a value on the freedom of  thought and interest? Freedom of the the mind is not limited to a particular niche or subject matter. I as an individual happen to be multifaceted. I learn, grow and discover daily. Why place a limit to thought, growth and ability.

Facebook has not only limited the number of interest an individual may have, but has now incorporated sanctions to punish Facebook users for liking or unliking pages, for liking more than a few pages or products each day or week, participating in business campaigns including but not limited to sweepstakes, giveaways, sharing of post campaigns and similar interactions. Without warning,  Facebook accounts are being sanctioned due to a set of unspecified rules. The action of " liking" interest, participating in business campaigning and similar social interactions does not actually qualify as the breaking of the platforms user agreement or governing internet law. No laws are being broken.

No one is being hurt by my boss, my preacher, my neighbor, individuals reading this post or my own preference in " liking" a business,  product or service or participation in business campaigns that encourage growth for a particular Facebook business account. If I choose to enter a blog giveaway that has offered a reader the ability to connect with a particular company or product that the blogger has reviewed, become educated about a business,  product or service with the bonus of winning a contest prize by simply engaging in a social action ( "liking", commenting and/or sharing) should not be punishable by Facebook. After all, social interaction is the purpose of a social media platform.

I believe that business campaigns enrich the internet including Facebook by creating opportunity for companies to engage with new clients and exchange social interaction. Facebook is a great platform for the evolotion of business and social networking. The current restrictions that Facebook have adopted include "blocking" ( prohibiting the user from performing a particular action such as sending a friend request or "liking" pages on the website.) the user for at least the next 30 days from performing social interactions. Blocking a user from participating in social interaction is counterproductive and antisocial.

Ultimately, the Facebook restraints WILL lead to loss of business and economic prosperity. Companies and small business will lose likes and their audience for sharing promotions and sale opportunities. Users will lose awareness of opportunities and social interaction. Small business including blogs will take a hard hit by the Facebook changes.

If you would like to maintain freedom of thought, freedom of speech and social interaction, support business including your favorite brands and small business, you should share this problem with your family and friends and sign the petition to end the restrictions upon social interaction placed by Facebook.

You can locate this important petition here.

Ultimately, the Facebook restraints will lead to loss of business and economic prosperity.

The Grand Floridian Resort Photo Tour

The Grand Floridian Resort located at The Walt Disney World Resort in Kissimmee, Florida!

The theme of the resort is turn of the century Florida.

Walt Disney World's 1900 Park Fare Review

I was surprised with dinner reservations at Walt Disney Worlds's 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian Resort by my husband to celebrate my birthday! I was aware that he planned to take us to WDW for dinner. I thought that we were going to a restaurant in Epcot. I do enjoy the Epcot location. However, I've wanted to try the restaurant at the grand floridian resort for a long time! I was really excited by the surprise of having a special dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort. The resort is an exquisite and beautifully themed Resort. Picture it, turn of the century Florida in all of it's grand appeal. The resort and the restaurant are shaded in hues of white and ivory. Even the costumes the cast members wear are themed and elegantly feature a light white linen springtime couture style.

 the restaurant is beautiful and would remind you of the Disney motion picture Mary Poppins. The décor includes carousel horses,carousel rabbits,carousel seahorses and even carousel camels. Although the restaurant is a buffet style meal, it is definitely an upscale restaurant. I felt like I was going to a royal ball. Upon entrance of the resort restaurant, guest are given a slip paper to represent an invitation to the Royal Ball. Guest then move into a small line to have your picture taken by photographer to capture the memories at the moment. The backdrop for the picture is an absolutely beautiful Walt Disney World mural with Cinderella's castle. At this time the guest choose to have a photograph taken or continue to make your way to the entrance of the dining room. once inside of the dining room guests are seated to the reserved table and presented a story book menu offering specialty drinks and alcohol. Although we decided to skip the menu, another server pleasantly greeted us with the menu. Don't let the name of the menu fool you, there were some really interesting drinks including non alcohol specialties on the menu. We opted for a simple Coca Cola. We then met our server, Michael, a 42 year member of the Walt Disney World Resort. We enjoyed his company, his service, and a few wonderful stories that he shared about his own family and experiences at the Walt Disney World Resort . He was was a pure pleasure to meet and have the honor of being served by.

When we reached our table, our table was already set with fancy eco-friendly reusable napkins,silver and sea salted butter. The dinner buffet included an array of colorful salads,seafood,sushi,vegetables,carved meets including a New York strip style beef which can be accompanied by a creamy horseradish sauce and also a beautifully baked ham with the accompaniment of a cherry chutney. The buffet included a specialty area for small children at their level featuring child friendly foods such as pizza,macaroni and cheese,chicken strips and fresh green beans . The items that I recall on the buffet were salads including a basil mozzarella ball tomato salad, Asian salad, an interesting grilled vegetable salad including squash and zucchini, peel and eat shrimp, fresh sushi, jasmina rice, mashed potatoes,potato casserole,baked breads and rolls, A salmon that featured a mango chutney salsa topped with fried plantain strip, new items on the buffet included potstickers and Asian ribs, there were still several casseroles and soups like the signature chilled strawberry soup, a Guinness stew additional casseroles including root vegetable casserole, potato casserole and the list goes on.

Every single item that we tasted was so good. We were quickly, might I add too quickly, filled to continue sampling the offering. Eventually we did make it to the buffet to sample dessert. There was a lovely bread pudding with a cool vanilla sauce and fun items like cookies and gummy bears,I believe cobbler and a highlight for me, a seperate bar of petite pastries with beautiful fruit tarts, miniature chocolate mousse with chocolate shells, cheesecake, carrot cake and all kinds of little pretty treats.

 It was really really neat. As far as the dinner, my only disappointment was that my dinner roll was on the hard side. Similar to chicago style, but a little too hard for my preference. However, I will add that the dinner roll had a very nice taste and that salted butter was really interesting. Our service was great, our dinner was great, the dessert buffet was great, and even the characters that visited our table were a lot of fun. It was truly a magical evening at Cinderella's ball.

At one point, characters dance as music begins to play and Prince Charming and Cinderella begin to dance the waltz. Guests are even offered the opportunity to dance with the characters and with one another. The characters were great. Cinderella of course with stunning,Prince Charming was indeed charming and handsome, even Cinderella's evil stepsisters and stepmother were a joy. Although we were only a table with two adults, the characters definitely stayed in character. we truly enjoyed ourselves.

After dinner, we took a stroll along the Grand Floridian Resort grounds including viewing a 1929 Cadillac, Cinderella's carriage, the wedding pavilion, studio for wedding planning, the pool had a wonderful play area for children. One section of the pool, featured a play area for children with all kinds of springing water fountains and even had a huge Mad Hatter's hat filling with water and the Hat turns over and pours many gallons of water on to the waiting children.

 It was a wonderful birthday present!  l highly recommend taking your family to the Grand Floridian Resort to see the beautiful grounds,dining at the wonderful restaurants and enjoy the splendor that only Disney world class service can bring to a magical Disney vacation. I truly cannot wait to go back again and to bring my children to enjoy all of the fun and wonderful offerings of the restaurant.

The Ugly Truth Paxil Withdrawal Is Real

The continuation of my antidepressant experience. In the last post, I shared my opinion that antidepressant medications are over-prescribed and overused. I believe that they are also understudied. I began to withdrawal from Paxil four long weeks ago. I knew that I intended to request a change in medication to stop taking Paxil. Aware of the physical consequences, as I tried a few years ago to ween myself from the medication, I knew it was a possibility that my new doctor would probably wish to introduce a different antidepressant medication. ( still I am not depressed but have anxiety and as most, I have stress.) I met with my new doctor. I requested the discontinuance of the medication only to learn that my doctor is very against the use of Paxil and intended to change medications anyway. I was Informed that the doctor felt it is a nasty medication. I learned it was probably the culprit of a 47 pound weight gain without change in diet or activity, strong side affects including changes in sexual health , fatigue and mood swings to name a few. I was asked to discontinue the use of Paxil. If I wanted, I could take half a dose of Paxil with half a dose of the new medicine for one week then discontinue Paxil entirely. In the last four weeks, I followed the doctors suggestions. I've experienced a great deal of discomfort. I've read that the basic unanimous belief amongst the United State government "FDA" and the medical community at large is: THERE ARE NO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS FROM THE DISCONTINUATION OF PAXIL Yes, there you have it, no withdrawal symptoms only the possible underlying problem resurfacing. I read that many people have searched for answers about how to comfortably, safely and with minimal symptoms stop taking Paxil. I also read from a source that I do not recall that " Paxil withdrawal is second only to heroin" ( unknown source) I have experienced the withdrawal symptoms from Paxil. I'vei experienced: .The feeling that my head is heavy and feels like it will literally fall off. I'm guessing this is virtigo? ?? .Dizziness .Nausea .Stomach Pain .Blurred Vision .Mood Swing and feeling over-emotional .Headache .Thirst and dry mouth .Flu symptoms including aches and pains. .Weakness .Overall Feelings of being sick .Irritation I've had a headache that lasted for 13 days. 13 days. Since, I've had off and on headache. I've taken OTC Tylenol, prescription ibuprofen and even Benadryl. Yet, the headache remained. It has been horrible. I have also had stomach bloating, fullness and fatigue. I realize that I have also been dealing with the new symptoms of the new medication during the last two weeks but the first two weeks of withdrawal were so terrible. I honestly don't understand how the FDA and doctors think there are not symptoms associated with Paxil withdrawal. Paxil withdrawal is real. It will eventually get better. * Please note : I highly recommend seeking the assistance of a doctor when discontinuing the use of any medication. I am NOT a doctor. I've shared ONLY my own personal experience and opinion. Do not use this information in replace of real medical evaluation, consultation and care.