Dear Chevy

Dear Chevy,

I've leased my lovely 2013 Traverse for a year now and I am pretty happy with it so far.  It provided the leg room needed for my 15 year old 5ft 11 son, the 3rd row is awesome for when the 12 yo just needs to sit by himself.

But there are a few design flaws that need to be worked out.

1. Placement of the Hazard lights button.  Ok the placement isn't so bad, but it's SO sensitive. I've turned it accidentally more times then I care to mention.  The answer call button on my phone isn't as sensitive!

2. Speaking of phones.  Not very happy that my droid (galaxy s3) isn't compatible with the USB port. Luckily I was given an older iPod so I can have my own music.

3. Whoever designed the headrest for the front seats did not have siblings in mind.  Being able to just push it forward is making me a bit twitchy... My kids are usually pretty good, but this is one way no sibling can resist annoying the one who called shotgun first!

4.  The invisibility mode button is apparently invisible, but I think I figured out what triggers it.  I think it has something to do with low washer fluid. 

Like most of us, I don't really ever have to add fluid because they do it when they change the oil, but this winter ran my supply low. I picked up a bottle yesterday but didn't get a chance before I went out this morning to add it. Cruising to the beach, I was cut off by a woman who clearly couldn't see me as she ran the red light making a right turn onto the road I was on.  I mean there was no one behind me so she must not have seen me barreling through the intersection at 40 mph.

Then coming back, a township garbage truck decided to straddle both lanes on 35 north while eating & drinking.. I'm guessing the invisibility mode was still on then too.

I was going to add it before taking the 15 yo to hockey practice, but being it is a new car I couldn't find the latch to release the hood (under the hood, not the "button" in the car) so I figured I'd wait until I got home.

Well that almost caused a nice accident as a young woman decided she needed to be in my lane while I was in it! Good thing my brakes only have about 12,000 miles on them and that my horn is nice and loud.

I've filled it now, so hopefully that shut off the invisibility mode & there won't be any further craziness!!!

I really wish this invisibility feature had been explained to me before I left the dealership last year!!

St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day!  What's better than a holiday that calls for DRINKING!

Honestly, I rarely drink. It's not that I'm some goody goody, because I'm really not. It's just that I hate the bloated feeling the next day and it's really just empty calories.  So unless I'm out dancing, I limit my intake and rarely drink at home.

But St. Patrick's Day is built around drinking nowadays.  And the Belmar Parade :)

Last year I tried my hand at making Shamrocks out of wire & sea glass and they were a HIT!

So I"m going to do it again this year!

I have this one listed in my The Craft Star Store

https://www.thecraftstar.com/product_details/107425/shamrock-green-sea-glass-silver-necklace-pendant-st-patricks-day-irish/

And I'll list new ones soon.

I made these recently but they're not listed in my online store yet. 

Thanks for looking!

Valentine's Day & SNOW!

So if you live anywhere on the east coast, you got snow of some sort. I was lucky to get rain all day and then a little snow over night.

However, all this bad weather I'm sure put a damper on your Valentine's Day shopping.  So I'm here to help!  I'll be home all day today, Friday February 14, 2014, so I'm offering this ONLY until 7pm eastern time today.

You get the red heart with your names added. Send it to your local printer or even just set it as their phone or computer background!!! Paypal only! Between now & 7 pm (eastern time) get it in your email within TODAY!!!!  I'm trying to get them done as soon as they come in, so you should have it within an hour.

Send me an email if you want one beachwritingsnj@verizon.net

Follow me on Facebook for more offers like this!

Sports Photography

My older son is on the high school ice hockey team.  I figured it was a good time to try out sports photography... well inside sports photography. I'm not the best, but I have fun doing it. I do have a lot to learn yet.

World Cancer Day

Some of the people I have lost to cancer

My Aunt Pat (Dad's sister)

My Aunt Jan (Dad's sister)

My maternal grandmother

My mother

My friend Lou Bartiromo
Several siblings of friends

Several online friends 

My friend's 4 yo daughter Avery

Mike's Uncle Walter

People who are still around thanks to major advances in Cancer fighting drugs

My cousin Jo Ann

My friends Beverly & Lori

Please support Cancer research so that 2nd list can be longer than the first. 

So I'm fat again

Well half as fat.

Back in June of 2011, before all the issues with my neck, I had lost 65 pounds.

Read about it here.

Well I gained  back about 30 thanks to my back and laziness.

I'd like to stop that train in it's tracks.  I've been working out for the last few weeks.  Nothing crazy.  Just riding my bike and some yoga. But I feel good and I want to keep this up.

So tomorrow I start  back to eating right as well.

Wish me luck!  I swear giving up sugar is harder than quitting smoking!

It doesn't have to be hard

I totally made something so much harder than it needed to be.  Do you ever do that?

I have wanted a bike stand for my bike for a long time.  Because of my spine issues I am limited to how I can work out.  And honestly I think walking on a treadmill is the MOST boring exercise.  Even if I'm watching TV I still find it boring.

But riding my bike. Oh I love riding my bike and as long as I don't fall off, it's a perfectly fine exercise.  But it's winter so that is just not going to happen.  So I hit the "complete order" button and bought myself a bike stand.

This  is what it looks like.

Not my bike.  My bike is a girls bike & it's purple of course.

Ok I get it and days later, I start putting it together.  The manual says to take off the bikes rear axle and replace it with the one they give you so that it's easier to take on and off.

Yeah, it wasn't that easy & finally realized I don't have the right bike tool to do it.

Crap.

Ok back to the internet for more reading.

Long story short, I didn't need to take off the axle, it works just fine with the one that comes with the bike.

Grumble grumble stupid instructions grumble grumble.

So I put my tire back together and put everything back the way it was, including the brakes which you have to basically almost remove to get the tire off... and I put it on the stand.

Well would you look at that... it fits.

Few adjustments later, a good show on the iPad and I'm riding my bike!   Yeah me!

I wish I had just tried that in the first place.  But I was trying to be good and RTFM!  So much for that! LOL

Ok putting it on the stand makes it slightly too tall for me so I'm going to need step stool LOL but otherwise it's AWESOME!!

Makes about as much noise as an exercise bike but once the warm weather is here I can take it apart & store it until the weather gets cold again.  In the meantime I don't have this huge ass clothes hanger sitting in my living room!

Now let's just hope I don't fall of it.

LOL