New Dad Joke Book

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. This New Dad Joke book is awesome.  It has a Joke or a life hack everyday for a year.  

The Jokes are a bit corny but that's what makes Dad jokes. It brought back memories of my dad telling hus corny jokes.  Which definitely touched my heart. 

The book is well written and I love the way they made it a daily joke or life hack for a year. This is a great book for new dads. I will be getting all new dads I know this book. Here us a few samples of what's in this amazing fun book.

The company was easy to work with and shipping was fast. I really liked that.  I highly recommend this book. Here is the link so you can get your own copy of the New Dad, Same Bad Jokes book. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593436016

This product is Marine Mom Approved!!!!!

Food vacuum sealer test

I found this great little device.  Its a Skywot store Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer and Accessory Hose Compatible with FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer, Vacuum Sealer Kit for Regular and Wide Mouth Mason Jars. I love to Vacuum seal things. I buy in bulk and Vacuum seal them into smaller meal.. my best friend, my mom and son always makes fun of me for Vacuum sealing everything. Lol 

There are two ways you can use this Vacuum Sealer kit. You can either use it with a food sealer machine or you can use the hand pump that comes in the kit. Both are easy. I used the hand pump for my test. It was so easy to use. 30 to 40 pumps was all it takes

Here is the link to Skywot store Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer kit just click below 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1QJRNSK

When I got the Vacuum Sealer in the mail I was so excited.  I couldn't wait to open it up. It came well packaged. And the shipping was fast. Ordering from Skywot store was so easy and they are very professional.  I will definitely order other things from them. 

The quality of this Mason jar Vacuum Sealer kit is amazing.  Its made solid. It us definitely high quality. It is BPA FREE AND DISHWASHER SAFE: it is Made of high density ABS plastic, BPA free, non-toxic and odorless. It is important to know what its made of and if its dishwasher safe. This is such an easy way of preparing meal ahead of time or just preserving your fruits and vegetables from your garden or grocery store. 

Here us a close up of each piece of the kit.

THE TEST

Now the test. I took a little rice in a small Mason jar and set the lid on the jar.

Then I hooked up the manual pump. 

Next I just pumped it about 30 to 40 times and the jar was perfectly sealed. 

It was so easy to use. The seal on the jar was really good.  I was able to hold the jar up by just the sealed lid and it held. That shows you what a high quality this Vacuum Sealer is. 

So as you can tell I'm very Pleased with the Skywot store Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer kit.  It was super easy to use and the company was easy to order from and the price is low for the quality of the kit. I will be using this kit a lot. I can't wait until next spring when my garden is ready to pick so I can use this kit. I highly recommend this product.  This product is Marine Mom approved.  🥰

Thank you for reading my blog.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  Please like and share.  You are the best.  Have a blessed day. 

Memorial Engraved Plaque

I'm am so excited about this plaque. I lost my dad Sept 26,2018. Me and my dad were super close. We seen each other almost everyday.  We did a lot of things together.  We had so much fun. I am definitely a daddy's girl. He was the glue to our family.  My mom was the Rock. So when we lost him it cut to the core. I still get emotional when I see or hear something that reminds me of him. They say it gets easier everyday but it doesn't.  So this year I got this amazing personalized memorial plaque to honor him. It turned out so beautiful.  This is a great way to honor a loved one or a pet that passed.

I ordered it from the Polesem store on Amazon. Here is the link to order the memorial stone.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8HTDGTJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1662639938&sr=1-1&keywords=Memorial+Black+Granite+Engraved+Plaque+Stone

Polesom is so easy to work with.  Ordering the memorial plaque was so easy. Personalizing it was so easy.  They sent me a picture of what it would look like for me to approve before they made it. I really appreciated that. The memorial plaque is high quality. The engraving was perfect.  They had a lot of different icons you can choose from. We are hunters so I picked the deer. They have hearts, roses, butterfly, crosses etc. They answer your questions fast. Which is nice. 

There was a shipping problem with the mail service.  USPS lost my package. I tried tracking it through Amazon and they said it was delayed and if I don't receive it in a few day click here for a refund.  So I emailed the company and explained to them what Amazon told me. In just a couple hours they emailed me back. They were able to track it from their end and somehow it went to New York instead of North Carolina.  Lol but they told me when it will be delivered. They were fast and professional.  Very Pleased with them.  They had nothing to do with losing my package but they helped me out quickly.  👍👍👍

When I received my package it was packed very good. The box was perfect size and inside there was a Styrofoam box that the memorial plaque fit perfectly in. I was pleased with the care they packed it in. It came with two pieces that is the stand. They are high quality and sturdy as well. 

In the flower bed outside the front door we have a cross with flowers in honor of my dad. So we put the plaque by the cross. It made such a beautiful tribute to him. To be able to honor my dad with such an amazing memorial plaque is amazing.  We got a bit emotional when we set it up. So not we are greeted by my dad every time we walk in the door. 

When winter comes we will move the memorial stone inside on the mantle next to my dad. My mom decided to bring it in so she can see it without freezing outside.  She is 82 and gets cold easy. Lol

So if you are looking for the perfect way to honor a loved one or a pet I highly recommend this memorial plaque.  It is beautiful.  I want to thank Polesem for making me this amazing memorial for my dad. This plaque is Marine Mom approved.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please like and share the blog. I appreciate each and everyone of you. Yall are awesome. I hope you have a blessed day. 🥰💞❣❣

Mom's

MOM'S

Today I want to talk about mom's.  The most important person in a child's life. I had the BEST  parents a child could of had. My parents worked together to raise me and my sisters. I think mom's are the strongest influence in a child's life. Mine was. 

My mom was the  Disciplearion in our household. That made her very unpopular growing up.  She spanked us, grounded us, took our stuff away as punishment.  My dad always had her back but somehow he stayed the hero and mom was the mean one.

As a child I spent most of my time with my dad when he was tinkering with stuff in the garage. Fixing things around the house and working on lawn mowers and cars with him. I was a daddy's girl for sure. He was my hero, my rock, my universe. I have a ton of memories of my dad and me doing things. Working on a mini bike, rebuilding a motor for an old fiat car. He used to bring me home little 3 or 4 foot gators for me to play with. He would tape their mouths and let me play with them, then release them back into the wild the next morning.  (Boy you can't do that now lol)

My mom and  I spent time in the kitchen cooking and baking. But the one things I remember the most is she worked all day so that us girls could have the things we had. Now growing up  she was the mean one and got a lot of crap from us girls. We blamed her for almost everything because she was the face of discipline. Which made her the unpopular parent. Which was not fair at all. She always said one day you will understand and now that I'm grown with kids I do understand.  Im now that mean one blamed for everything.  Im the one my kids resent because I was the only parent who did everything the fun stuff and the discipline. Its not a fun thing being the bad guy. 

Come Christmas my mom would spend days making cookies and candy.  I would love to help her. She made about 25 or more types of candy and cookies. Which i still do today except i don't make near that amount. She made homemade noodles and chicken and homemade bread.  I loved helping her. Especially cutting the noodles. I still make my chicken and noodles homemade just like her. Its my kids favorite dish. They used to help me make noodles too until they out grew the whole helping mom cook is cool stage. Lol

 

I remember once I was able 5 or 6 years old. I did something wrong and my dad said wait until your mom gets home. You are in trouble.  Well when she got home I was in trouble. I was outside playing and she told me she was going to spank me. I dont know what got into me or what I was thinking.  Well its obvious I was not thinking lol I stuck my butt to her and shook my butt and said " you have to catch me" and took off. Those were the worse 5 words I could of spoken after my mom worked all day. I took off running and ran to the Canadiens house 2 doors down. All my mom said was you have to come home sometime.  I should of taken the warning then and went home. Lol well the Canadiens made up 98% of my neighborhood so they were only there a few months a year. The best few months for me. They were like grandparents to me and I was like the grand daughter they missed. The gifts and cookies were awesome to me. When I got hungry a few hours later which it was dinner time after all.  Boy my mom didn't forget and she spanked me for doing wrong and running away from her.  Lol I swear she didn't forget anything.  

Fast forward to my first 

Car. It was a 1971 Ford pinto. It was a tacky orange and blue Florida Gators color. I had it painted as soon as I could lol. It was embarrassing to drive anything that tacky orange and blue. GO DAWGS Red and Black 100%. Well I paid for it myself.  I had been saving money for a long time. My brother in law at the time hired me to mow their rental houses and help him collect garbage from the rental houses. That job sucked lol I was paid $3 per hour which was a good rate back then. Anyway I was proud of myself for buying my car, however it was not off limits to my mom to take it away. In my mind I didn't understand how they could take my car when they didn't buy it.  But they did and I rebelled.  They left for work before I went to school and I was home from school before they got back. So I started stealing my car from the garage.  That lasted a couple weeks until my clutch went out on the way to school.  Yep busted lol. The look of disappointment on my mom and dads faces will always haunt me. It cut to the bone. But they still loved me.

I never once Questioned if they loved me. The rules were strict but it was because they love me. I couldn't understand why I could only ride my bike 3 driveways one direction and 2 driveways the other direction.  Well it was because they didn't want me to get hit by a car. I remember when we got our pool. I thought I was hot stuff. We were one of the few people who had a pool. However there were rules and I didn't understand why and thought they were mean. We couldn't swim if our parents were not home. They turned a shed into changing rooms where we hung up our bathing suits and towels. They would put the stairs up on the pool and padlock it so we couldn't access the pool.  So we use to take a ladder and set it up next to the pool and climb over the railing.  We thought we were smart. We knew when our parents would get home they were like clock work.  We gave ourselves plenty of time to get our  suits and towels dry. They never knew until the Canadians came down and then they told on us. Lol we couldn't win for losing when they were in town. Lol

I couldn't date until I was 16 and by then my dad had a reputation of beating up boyfriends.  Lol he hit one boy that my sister was dating and knocked him out of our house. Thats a long story lol anyway I wanted to go to a Rock concert.  White snake and Great white. Lawd did I want to go. But nope my parents said no. Rock music was the devils music.  I bought my tickets fir my friend and me.  We came up with a plan on how I could go. We paid this dork kid to come meet my parents and take me to the drive-in.  Once at the drive-in I would jump into my friends car and change clothes on the way to the concert.  What could go wrong right. Lol he came and meet my parents and we started to the drive-in.  What I did plan on is my parents following us to the drive-in.  Lol yep I'm thankful they didn't actually go to the drive-in that night. I got to the concert in my concert outfit.  However the only thing I remember from my first Rock concert became my family motto. I drilled it into my boys head. David Copperdale of great white got on stage and said if you remember anything about this concert remember this saying " don't be silly when its chilly , put that snakeskin on your willy." Most important thing I learned.  I'm not sure if she even know that, well she does now lol

My mom has been by my side no matter what. That influence and love and dedication is amazing.  I made sure my kid's grew up knowing their grandparents.  I didn't really know either set of my grandparents.  Growing up we lived far from them. So I made sure my kids have memories of my parents.  I took them over to thor house almost everyday or several times a week. I was a single mom working 2 jobs so they would watch the boys on my shifts on Friday and Saturday night. My parents for 10+ years has Kinzie's Santa Village.

Every year The Kinzie Santa Village grew. We had over 500 kids come and get their pictures taken with Santa and Mrs clause. They got their pictures taken ,a full size candy bar, a candy cane, a teddy bear and pick a gift from Santa's sleigh.  It was a family tradition for most in our neighborhood in Florida where we use to live. A couple kids that came as little kids started volunteering with us as teens. Thats how much it meant to them. For some kids that was the only presents they got for Christmas.  We started in October testing lights and in nov we started setting up the lights.  Once the kids seen the magic mailbox come out they knew Santa would be coming soon.

I made sure my kids helped out so they can learn to give back to others. I have so many memories from helping out with the Santa Village.  I have pictures and videos that I treasure since we lost my dad. He was the center of our family but my mom was the Rock. 

When we lost my dad my mom moved to North Carolina. I moved here in like 2015 or 2016. I bought a house about 15 min from mom and dads house in North Carolina.  We came to visit them on vacation and fell in love with the area. So moving was a no Brainer.  I'm so thankful to have my mom here with me. I'm thankful my parents loved me enough to discipline me. I'm thankful to of had a mom who taught me important life skills like cooking and how to be a strong woman and a good mother. I'm thankful my mom has been there to support me no matter what. She may not of agreed with my choice but she let me make mistakes so I could learn from it. I'm thankful to have my mom still she is 82 yrs old. I'm thankful my mom is one of my best friends.  I hope she out lives me because I can't imagine life without her. It was hard to lose my dad but I had my mom which made it possible to keep going. I know everyone doesn't have a great mom but I'm thankful I did. I know some of my kids think I'm mean and thats ok because once they have kids and they grow up they will see I'm not the bad guy after all. They will see I love them no matter what. If they need me to be the bad guy thats ok because when they realize I not the bad guy after all.  I love my children no matter how what they do, what they say and how they act. Thats what my mom taught me. So please respect your moms and dads. You only have one set when they are gone they are gone. You can have other people in your life you think fill the void or a step mom or dad however they will never be you mom or dad. Like it or not you only have one set. Treasure the time with them. Make the memories with them. Once they are gone the chance is gone with them. You will have to live knowing you screwed up and didn't spend time with them. Every time I  see anything oversized or funny I make her take a picture with it. And there has been a lot of those memories. Here are a few of those memories for you to see the most incredible mom anyone could have. I love you mom.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please like and comment.  If you have a mom story please share it in the comments.  Please share my blog on your social media or share it with someone you think would like reading it. Have a  blessed day.  

 

BEST FRIENDS

What is a Best Friend? Can you have more then one Best Friend? I'm going to explore that today. 

What is a Best Friend? 

According to Websters 

best friend

noun

1. An especially close and trusted friend. 

2. "She's my best friend."
3. "We have been best friends since high school."
4. 2. a person's most desirable or valuable possession or resource
"Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but gold is more affordable."
To me it means:A best friend is someone who is there for you through thick and thin. It's someone who listens and understands you. Someone you can call anytime about anything you feel you need to 'tell' or 'vent'. It's someone who will stand up for you in the times when you need it most, keep your secrets close, and someone you can trust with your life. 
Someone who will help you out anytime you need them. At 3am you get your heart crushed and they will be there supporting you. Talking you away from the cliff when you are depressed and ready to give up on everything.  Someone who will go to the 24 hr McDonald's or Burger King to get a milk shake or the 7-11 for a slurpee when you are sick.  
Someone who is more family then friend. Someone who knows what you think and feels what you feel. 
Can you have more then one Best Friend? I do think you can have more then one Best Friend.  The relationship won't be the same. Each one is unique.  One will just be a friendship vibe and one may feel like a family vibe. Some may think they have a Best Friend then realize they are just a close friend, not the one person you want to confide in or help them hide the bodies. Lol

My Best Friend Shawna and I.
Shawna and I are two peas in a pod. We are more sisters then friends.  She hurt her ankle and I  flew from North Carolina to Florida and stayed 3 weeks to help her out.  There was no thinking about it. She needed me and I was there. Im glad I did because now I have my Bella. My beautiful girl and my princess, my best friend, my gang gang.  Lol 



Shawna and I talked every day on the phone when I moved to North Carolina. What is strange is we have a bond that is almost like a twin bond. If I get hurt she can feel it and vise versa.  Its hard to explain the how and why if the bond. But its there. 
She came to North Carolina on vacation and fell in love with it. She moved up here with me. Whats funny is we are so much alike yet so different.  We disagree on the fact camo is a color. Lol 
We both see the same doctor.  I call him Dr Cutie.  Thats how he's programed in my phone lol. I had a pain stimulator installed in my lower back in 2017. That was life changing for sure. For the better. So I had her do a trial for the pain stimulator and she liked it. So Dr Cutie installed one in her lower back as well. I helped take care of her so that she didn't mess up the leads in her back. It was so successful she had one installed in her neck. I made sure she did not do anything that would mess up the leads in that on as well. Because that is what BFF's do. 
I do most of the cooking.  I use a lot of spices. Everglades Seasoning is a must have at all times in my house.  She swears I need a spice intervention.  I have 2 spice cabinets and 2 baking cabinets.  Shawna does most of the laundry.  Which I hate to do.  So it works out great. I took her panning for gold. Its so much fun. We didn't find any that day but the hunt is what's fun. I love to take pictures so we go all over our area and explore and take pictures.  The view here in North Carolina is so beautiful.  
For Christmas we shopped for our grandkids all year long so we go back to Florida for Christmas with a truck load of presents for the grandkids and family.  Its nice that all our kids and grandkids live in the she town. So sharing the cost of the trip made it possible for us to go. This year I didn't get to go to Florida for Christmas 😥. Shawna had to go down there early because mama Faye was having surgery on her hip and Shawna helped take care of her. So I knew she would be there a while. She has been down there almost a year now. 😭 
Unfortunately right before she left I hurt my right shoulder.  Well in January 2022 I found out I was having surgery in February 2022. Shawna was helping her daughter watch the kids because their grandpa was ill. So she couldn't come home. We talked everyday on the phone.  She helped get the grandkids enrolled in homeschooling.  So now she is doing homeschooling with her grandson everyday.  I think more people should do homeschooling.  You are in control of their education and they won't be indoctrinated and radicalized by liberal teachers but that's a different post lol. With gas prices so high and the prices of everything has gone up so much she can't come home Oct 4th for my next surgery.  Thats her birthday as well. I know we will talk on the phone everyday.  She checks in on me.
I'm so thankful to have Shawna as my sister/best friend. I wish everyone could have a friendship like ours. However I do miss having her here. I miss doing stuff with her. I miss dressing up like Winnie-the-Pooh and a unicorn and walking the dogs at night and freaking out the cars driving by. I miss the cutting up and laughing all the time. But no matter how far away she is we are still BFF. 
Thank you for reading my story. If you have a topic you want me to post about just comment here or email me at Brendasthoughtsblog@gmail.com or use the contact me at the bottom of the page.  Thank you and bless you and your family.  

Ring Size Gauge

Glitz Design has these awesome World Famous Multisizer Ring Sizing Gauge.  It is so easy to use. The shipping was fast. The Multisizer works like a belt. Just push the end through the buckle and slip it on your finger. Tighten it up and the number the arrow is pointing to is your ring size. I love to do crafts. I make some jewelry and this amazing tool will help me so much. I can now make rings to fit the person.  If you make jewelry then this is a must have item. I highly recommend this product and company.  This product is Marine Mom approved.  

You can get your own just click the link below. 

https://www.glitzdesign.us/collections/glitz-design-special-offers/products/glitz-design-gemoro-superior-instruments-multi-sizer

#glitzdesign #diamonds #rings #finejewelry #earrings #brendasthoughtsblog #brendasthoughts

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my Blog. My name is Brenda and I'm a single mom of 3 boys,Graphic Artist, cook ,maid, and all around Mrs. Fix it. lol Yall know what I'm talking about, dont ya. I'm sure many of yall hold the same titles. I'm no chef but I can cook and I have learned to make recipes easier and the prep time faster. That is what I'm hoping to share with you. I like to test products and give my honest review about that product.  I like to give sound advise to people as well. I won't say I am right all the time but I do give common sense advise. I love doing crafts and share them with others. So this blog will be a fun. I'm just a Proud Marine Corp Mom and I can't wait to share my thoughts and ideas with y'all 💓. 

When I was a kid I use to love to cook and bake with my mom. She taught me so much. Some of which I am excited about sharing with you. I am no Gordon Ramsey , my plating is not perfect,  my food is not fancy but I can say my food does taste good. My recipes are simple and easy to make and the ingredients I use are probably already in you cupboard. I don't use any fancy ingredients I So I have learned to adjust the recipes so the have simple ingredients and they are easy to make.

In my kitchen I have items that is pretty much the staple of everything I make. More in Likely you have most of them in you kitchen already, and they are priced cheap. Cheap is a good thing especially if you are working with a tight budget. here is my list of must have in my kitchen at all times. Butter, sugar, flour, House Autry chicken flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika.

I love doing product reviews. I try products then I post my honest review. I like being able to share my thoughts on the items I try. There are some items that are amazing and some that just don't live up to expectations.  I will tell you exactly what I think and how that item works, if it's easy to use or easy to put together.  If its worth the money they charge for the item. I. Super excited about sharing the product reviews with you. 

I love doing crafts. That is my stress relief.  Being creative and being able to make something beautiful is an awesome feeling.  I love taking raw material and turning it into cool and exciting things. There is no limit to what you can do. I love showing people how to make great gifts on a low budget. 

I also love to take pictures.  Its a hobby that I have passion for. Im still learning how the camera works but I love being able to capture moments in time. I love taking pictures of landscapes, flowers, people and animals. There is a magic to preserving precious memories. 

I love doing graphic art. I can do almost anything you want. Graphic art is only limited buy your imagination.  I do a lot of Georgia Bulldog art. Go Dawgs.  I am self taught. I have been doing graphic art for about 12 years now. Its another hobby I have. Im really passionate about it. I have helped others interested in graphic art to make the best art they can. I help them with tips and tricks I have learned along the way. This is also a stress relief for me. I will post some of my art from time to time. 

I'm a Proud Marine Mom and I can't wait to take y'all along with me on my journey.  I hope you will like my blog and please like and share the blog with others. Thank you so much for reading my blog. 😘💋