Sabreena is working on her Junior year class schedule. This is what it’s looking like
AP English & Composition
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors Chemistry
AP Biology
AP United States History
Honors Spanish IV
Drafting and Design CAD II
Art Fundamentals

This is a full workload with no room for rest. If she were to drop the Art and extra Science she could take on different fluff classes like Study Hall, Food Prep or Wardrobe Planning. Yes Wardrobe Planning is an option at this school but there are no Computer Science courses available. She’s looking at a career in Engineering possible Architecture so I think too many fluff classes are going to hurt her in the end.

For some reason we go through a lot of coasters. We either by crappy ones that get moldy or don’t keep the water off the table or they break or we lose them. Over the last 10 years we gone through dozens easily. I made a couple trips to home stores looking for new coasters and couldn’t figure out why they cost over $10 for just a set of 4 ugly ones. NO way was I spending that much just to hold my cup. I knew there was a way to make my own. Off to Pinterest I went. I went over a few different tutorials and come up with these.

Here is how I made them.
4-6 plain white (or cream) glossy tiles found in Home Depot, $.19 each
2 sheets of patterned scrapbook paper, $.40 each
Felt pads or sheets of felt, already owned
Mod Podge, already owned it
Foam brush, already owned it.
Polyurethane spray, $7 from craft store

Cover your work area with a drop cloth or newspaper. Measure and cut your sheets of paper to fit just inside your tiles. I like mine slightly smaller than the tile to give it a border.

Smear light coating of ModPodge on tile and place a cut piece of paper and quickly center it. Gently smooth it out so there are no air bubbles, wrinkles, creases and so that all edges are sticking. Set aside for a few minutes to dry. Repeat this step on your other tiles.

Once the paper is set into place apply another coating of ModPodge ON the paper. I like to cover it completely in one direction then another coating in the other direction. Set aside and continue working on other tiles. After 20-30 minutes apply another coating, this time just paint in one direction and take measures to apply it more smoothly, avoiding lines. Continue with the rest of the tiles.

Apply about 4-6 coats of ModPodge, let completely dry overnight and then finish with a glossy Polyurethane spray. Let dry overnight again, apply felt sheets or pads to the bottom and your coasters are ready to use!

I only made 4 because I doubted they would actually turn out. I was wrong and now I need to make 2 more for me and 6 for my best friend to match her bright new living room.

Yeah THAT Emeril, Emeril Lagasse of Food TV fame. I posted a review the other day about a purchase we made of his Emerilware cookware.  It was a mostly positive review and it fed out to my Twitter account. He picked it up.

The kids and I were sitting at the kitchen table just finishing dinner when I took a peek at Twitter.  I gave a strange audible “WHAAAT” and Sabreena looked at me. Then I squealed out loud.  ”Dude, Emeril just tweeted me”, I yelled to Sabreena. She giggled then I giggled.  Rob walked in moments later and he didn’t believe me. I handed him my phone.

AND I took a screen shot as proof.  Not a word about it being his PR firm or assistant or some other Joe Schmo maintaining his Twitter Account.  Don’t burst my bubble! I’ve loved Emeril since his the old old episodes of The Essence of Emeril back in mid to late 90′s. I was an early Food TV watcher. It’s from him I learned to say cinanananamon.

Wednesday night I received some news. My mother has breast cancer. We had been working on appointments and biopsies for about 2 weeks but the news was still a little shocking. I woke up Thursday morning and was literally assaulted by emails and blogs posts all pointing to breast cancer awareness, treatment and prevention. I opened up my daily subscription to SITS and found that their featured blogger Nikki Brown was a breast cancer survivor. I reached out and thanked her for her positive outlook and asked to send some good vibes my way. I then poked around my reader and found this post on NuggleMama. She spoke about taking care of business. As moms and wives we put everyone else first often neglecting ourselves. The video within the post shows how important it is to make a little time for our own well-being. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate against race, occupation, social status, age or breast size.

Back to my mom. She was diagnosed with Stage I Breast Cancer. The docs told her last week not to worry about anything that everything pointed to just a cyst. They were wrong. They now say it’s non-invasive, has a slow growth rate and hasn’t invaded her lymph nodes. If your gonna get cancer you want it to be this one. That’s reassuring, right. It’s far from a death sentence but the word cancer sucks. I’m sad that she has to deal with it but I know we’ll be there for her every step of the way.

creepy me, Mom and my sister Kim

These days we are living longer than we were ten to twenty years ago and we are seeing a lot more people using in home care more than ever.

I am not really sure what the average life expectancy is these days but I know my grandparent are in their 80’s and so is Melinda’s grandfather.  As people and parents get older they are more interested in home health care and I can understand why they are.  Elderly people need assistance with every day life like getting dressed, eating and taking daily medication.  As you get older you aren’t able to get around as well as you did in the past so having a healthcare professional come to you seems to make perfect sense.  Another reason is people tend to be more comfortable in their own home and if you are able to get someone to come to you that is a really cool thing.

I am seeing a lot of places that are now offering more than just in home health care.  They are helping with daily tasks such as preparing meals, running errands, opening mail, caring for the pets and are even providing companionship and conversation.  I really like the companionship option because if you are elderly and alone you would really benefit from this type of service.

Melinda’s grandfather for instance would really benefit from a companionship service as his wife passed away over two years ago and is lonely and rightfully so.  When you have someone in your life for fifty to sixty years and then you are alone that is a real shock to your system and could really just use someone to talk to.  Unfortunately family isn’t always available so it is nice to have this kids of service available.  

Home health care isn’t only for elderly people it is also being used more by expecting and new parents.  Having a new born is stressful and a TON of work and parents just need an extra hand around the house with various chores and baby duty so they are tapping into these kinds of services that are now offered. 

What are your thoughts on these kinds of services?  Do you feel old and young could benefit from them?

Handbags for a mission.

That’s a simple way to explain what PonyUP! Kentucky is all about. In an effort to raise funds to aid in horse rescue facilities PonyUP! Kentucky was created. Founder Rallie McAllister knew the gorgeous details of riding equipment horse leather would also make great details on handbags. Using this idea PonyUP! Kentucky has created a collection of beautiful totes and bags in a large variety of colors and patterns. There is a style for every woman no matter if she’s a horse person or not.

(Please excuse me chopping off my head)

At least 10 percent of all PonyUP! Kentucky profits will be donated to horse rescue operations. All bags are made in the USA; that means money spent here stays here. Horses are beautiful and majestic creatures. PonyUp! Kentucky is doing their best to maintain environments where retired horses can spend the rest of their days in peace.

Win you own PonyUP! Kentucky hobo bag (same size as mine) here at LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Check out the Rafflecopter widget below for contest details and entry opportunities.


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Rob and I don’t typically celebrate Valentine’s Day so when the conversation came up what I wanted I said nothing; in fact just last week we had a mini shopping spree for new kitchen “stuff”. I said I got all my gifts last week, I know I know so very un-romantic but it’s what I really wanted.

Apparently we are really tough on our skillets and sauté pans so we upgraded to Emerilware Hard Anodized Nonstick Cookware. We purchased a 10-piece set, the double burner griddle and received a 12” skillet for free (in-store special). I like little touches like the pour spouts on the saucepans. Rob instantly mentioned the mess we make when pouring the caramel sauce for monkey bread, it goes everywhere. The straining lids are a great touch too for those times when you just need to drain and put right back into the pan.

We had some problems with lids being bent right out of the box but Bed Bath and Beyond handled it without issue and gave us new lids.
So far I’ve been really impressed with the quality and non-stickness of these pans. We eat a lot of egg whites hate to add excess fat to the pan, I find that the finish on these pans allow for none to very little oil or butter.
If you’re in the market for new pots and pans and the thought of stainless steel scares you like it does me then this is a great set that doesn’t have to set you back a mortgage payment. Cleaning is easy and the trick to keeping them in good condition is starting off with low to medium heat instead of cranking it on high.

I think this good experience would guide me to other Emeril products like the Stainless Steel Fryer or Bread Maker.

I am not sure where I stand when it comes to shaving but I would love to know if I am the minority or the majority.  Do men love to shave?  I will be honest and say I 100% hated shaving until I received the Norelco Senso Touch 3D electric shaver. I would think ahead on what days I would have to shave for work and knew those days I would be irritated.

I know you are going to say that I need to say that because I received this for review but I am serious when I say this is the best shaver I have ever tried. I still don’t love to shave but I also don’t hate it like I used to.  My skin is extremely sensitive so I could only shave in the shower when my face was wet and the hairs were soft otherwise my skin would get so irritated and cut up but with the Senso Touch 3D I am able to shave when I get out of the shower with no problems at all.

The Norelco Senso Touch 3D (1290x) is a wet and dry electric shaver so I now have options.  I can use the shaver in the shower if I want which I still haven’t done or once I get out which I have done probably 25 times already.  With a tradition razor and shaving cream I would only shave twice a week otherwise my face would be all messed up but now that I am using the Norelco Senso Touch 3D I am able to shave daily with ZERO problems meaning no skin irritation or anything.  When I was in college I tried using an electric shaver and I HATED it so I was very hesitant when I received the Senso Touch 3D but I am pleasantly surprised and will NEVER go back to my old razor, we are through!!!

Here are a few highlights:

• Philips GyroFlex 3D system adjusts seamlessly to every curve
• UltraTrack heads catch every hair with just a few strokes
• SensoTouch Shavers with patented Super Lift&Cut Action
• Aquatec seal for comfortable dry & refreshing wet shaves
• Smooth, low-friction SkinGlide to minimize irritation

The Norelco Senso Touch 3D is super easy to use as well as clean.  It has given me a shave that my traditional razor could never give me.  It is close and like I mentioned it doesn’t irritate my skin which is huge because I wouldn’t shave just so I could avoid the uncomfortable feeling.  I’ve never used an electric razor and heard lots of things like it would take weeks for your skin to get used to it but the 1st night I was impressed.  Instead of shaving 2-3 times a week I can now shave nightly if I want and not worry about my skin afterwards.

The Senso Touch 3D is a shaver that I will be using for very long time.

Luckily we are offering this same shaver to ONE lucky Look What Mom Found…and Dad too reader.  Check out the Rafflecopter Widget below for entry rules and extra opportunities to win.


a Rafflecopter giveaway