Customer Service 1

Just this past week I've had a variety of interesting characters for customers. In one day three tables side-by-side there was a two-top (table of two), a four-top (table of four) and another two top (table of two) all in a row. The first two had ordered steak and was so irate by the steak not being medium-rare that they got up and stormed out. The other two top decided to quiz me on the qualifications to cook the steak that he was considering and his methods as well as the cook/chefs education and standards. The woman at the second two top had ordered a salmon with veggies dish but sent it back because it was to fishy. The four top was fine and actually wrote me a note saying they apologize that I had to deal with that guy. This was all in the same shift, on the same day, in a literal row; all three of these tables literally were seated right next to each other until-the Polynesian dude stormed out without paying, the four left for the school dance and the idiot who wanted to quiz me on the qualifications of the cook and his wife had sent back her salmon (which I ate while they were still in the restaurant)-.

The Polynesian guy also says he's never coming back, I'm not sure if he's aware of it yet but not only am I telling the world about his dumb butt but I really don't care.

Next time anyone wishes to go out to eat please read your menu or get out.

 What you order is what you get and what you get isn't always what you deserve. I could get arrested if I gave you what you deserve.

No Solicing Please

I have a deep seated loathing of unsolicited services, especially from people who expect to get all my personal information and none of mine. Just in case that could potentially be misinterpreted please read the sign above.

1/ I have no money and am to broke to spend any time on your pain in the butt self so get your dumb self off of my property, off my phone and out of my inbox.

2/ My personal sense of politics is nobody's business so don't get offended when I tell you that's none of your business who I vote for or if I vote at all.

3/ Same goes for religion, it's not your business so don't go getting ignorant if I don't tell you what my religion is or even if I have a religion, that's personal and even if it wasn't it's still none of your business.

4/ I prefer the Samoa cookies please, mix coconut and chocolate and you will have a fan for life.

5/No joke here, just leave and don't come back unless I personally confirm that I asked for your visit or you are a friend of mine. No business or services beyond doing my laundry and offering me free food please.

I'll bring the laundry out to the porch for you. When you're done just leave it folded neatly on the bench so I can come out and pick it up later.

Ancient History part 1

I'm no historian but I do love food. One of my fascinations is what other cultures other than my own used to eat and how they at it. I've not done a lot of research but what little bit I've come across I find fascinating.

These dates look amazing and I would've loved to have sampled them. I've seen recipe books for sale on Amazon and eBay and intend to try them out sometime.

 Another sweet treat I've read about this is supposed to be one of the treats that Cleopatra used to eat. Unless I have the name mixed up with another sweet treat the website I found the recipe for it called it Cleopatra's Dulcis Coccora. The recipe books I've been looking at have recipes for anything from sweet treats, breads, fish, other meats, fruits and vegetables. It's an amazing list though no doubt incomplete since so much of history was never written down or was somehow lost.

This is no doubt a small sample of what a  typical roman table and spread would've looked like. This is probably part of what a simple or peasants table would've had.

 One of my first attempts (that I'm planning) will be some bread. Not sure which recipe I'll try but I do plan on it being some kind of bread. To bad none of the emperors had recipe books stored in any volcano proof location for later generations.

diy furniture : crate coffee table

A stunning example of creating something stunning out of something most people would either overlook or pay a small fortune to have someone else make for them. Basically it looks to me like four crates, a large piece of plywood, some wooden dowels and some wheels all pieced together and then finished off with a nice coat or two of varnish. With something set in the middle to support that lovely plant we see in the image it's a beautiful center piece to any living room.

Personal Economy part 1

 I found this really economically sound image of a room I would probably put together so I could maximize space and still be able to use it. Unlike the typical storage area feel a lot of people often create when they try to condense their living quarters this allows a person room to be able to get around, live in a space that might not have a lot of space and still be able to access their belongings. The image I found when looking for space saver furniture which turns out it's a real company in Italy that makes furniture designed to allow maximum living in limited space. Feel free to check out  space saver furniture through the link in blue.

For a great many people even this might be seriously cramped but for me I grew up with a lot of family members all being crammed in the same space so this would've been great for me if I'd been able to afford it at the time. When I eventually get my own space to use for myself and family I've been working on ideas for being able to replicate something similar so that I can, as was afore mentioned, make the most of life in a limited area.

This right here is an excellent example of making the most of a smaller space. Don't see how? Here's how, the desk lifts up so that the murphy bed behind it can be pulled forward without disturbing the laptop or anything on the desk area. It doesn't hurt anything that this is in such wonderful colors. Unfortunately for me the price tag (I forgot to get the exact price on it) is out of my budget range so I'll have to make my own attempt at creating something similar instead.

IKEA Idea

I've been getting the idea that I can figure out how to make similar projects to what IKEA sells.
  Some of these I could probably figure out how to copy but not all of them. I love the little table with the plants on it and the little chest with the simple design, those I could figure out easily. The little green stool is possible but I'll leave the red stool/seat alone.

One of the positive things I like about IKEA is the simplicity of the design of all of the furniture and supplies they sell. There's none of the flashy tendencies seen in American design where they have to have things bigger or with more bells and whistles. Swedish design is simple and nice.

I have wanted this dresser for years and have decided that if I can find the right template or furniture pattern I'll make something similar on my own. Not that I don't want to help support the businesses that I feel inspired by the design of but I have to make sure that I can save money for things that matter just a tiny bit more than furniture, things like food and being able to pay the utility bills.

Something I may have found the templates for but will need to purchase would be the furniture set for a childs room. I'll probably do something just a little bit different than the picture. (Mine won't be a plastic model for a doll house) but it'll still be nice.

  I'll have to take pictures of what I make when I finally start to make them. For now I'm going to be in the planning stage and gathering supplies and planning the design and colors, things like that.

Getting My Act Together part II

Each day that passes brings me one day closer to my goal of returning to the south and a higher level of humidity. I'm having loads of anxiety and panic attacks but I tell myself that I can do this because it's not just for me, it's also for my kid. The cartoon image is pretty close to just how far I'll be traveling by bus with my kid, I'll be traveling from Utah to South Carolina which is going to take three days. We will both be so glad to get off that bus for the final time.

I'm planning out what I want my place to look like inside and what I can do with the restrictions that come with renting a property. I can't do a huge amount with walls but I can hang things and put things in front of or hang them from the walls and ceiling.

I love these bluish and greenish shades, they are so calm and I definitely need to be able to be calm for the move so that I don't freak my kid out. I'll probably come up with a few projects for my kid to help me with so he feels more involved in making our new place more homey. One thing I'll do is paint a dresser, it won't look exactly like something out of one of the photographs that I find online but I'll try and the fact that he gets to help will make it fun for him.

I would probably do the outline in black just in case he tries drawing on the outside of it and it would still look really nice. That and he can have his little Star Wars figurines on the top and it would look almost like it was made for them.

Aside from planning how I'm going to get there I guess planning the visual theme in my future place is a pretty big thing because I need it to help my kid feel like he's coming home and guests will feel welcome. Not sure yet if blue is going to be the main color or something else but I'm gathering all the ideas I can. Including the instructions on how to make my own furniture so that it looks the way I want it to and not just like I settled for what I could find in a thrift store.


This would probably be an excellent idea for my kid, he loves outer space and Star Wars and other boy themed stuff. I won't be able to make it look exact but I'll see what I can do about doing something along these lines.

Getting the act together part 1

Getting my act together and trying to not fall on my face is not going to be an easy one. First of all I'm a single parent who seems to be prone to people trying to screw me over, usually for money that I don't have. I'm also in the process of getting ready to move at the end of the school year and so far the only people who know are a few of my friends and some of the local bus drivers. His teacher doesn't, and won't get to, know because she might tell my roommate. Those who I've asked about housing and other services in the state that I'll be moving to sort of know but only in the sense that they've been asked about housing that might be available at the end of the school year. Also my current job knows because I've warned them that I'll have to leave in order to move.

I have to plan how I'm going to move, where I'm going to live and work, where my kid is going to go while I'm at work and where he'll go to school in the fall. He hasn't been told because I don't want him to tell my roommate and her then get spiteful and decide to kick me out early because she thinks she's teaching me a lesson. I've not told anyone in my family either because they would tell her and possibly get me the same consequences.

I don't know about anyone else but this is super rough on me. I'll also need to be able to figure out how I'm going to pay the utilities and get food on the table that I've not yet purchased/made. I'm doing the research so that I can create my own furniture and possibly earn money from it on the side.

Some of the places I'm looking into are either one bedroom homes or two bedroom homes, they're pretty much the same cost as renting just a room in the area that I'm looking into in South Carolina. I was living there about a year and a half ago and miss the place a lot, so does my kid. I want to tell him that I've already purchased the bus tickets to take us there but I don't want to risk the consequences of HER knowing about it until I pick up our suitcases for the final time and walk out the door holding my kids hand.

By the end of the summer if things work out the way I'm hoping they will I could take us to the coast for a few days and let him experience the ocean from the eastern shore. I think he'd love it. I could also work on my hobby of photography and collect a few hundred if not a few thousand photos to put up around the house. The pictures that I've posted so far are my original photos I took myself.

One thing that I want to do and it would probably be super helpful if I can get a hold of the information is instructions, preferably pdf format, on how to make cardboard furniture. I'm no pro but I don't want for what I make to look like I just brought a box home from Lowe's and painted it because I'm either to cheap or poor to get something nice.

This right here would be a good start. I'm going to have to see what I can do about copying something from youtube because the search so far has been extremely frustrating and fruitless. I want to make a complete kitchen and dining room set, bedroom necessities and maybe some decorative stuff like a nice hanging desk or something. The cabinet below or something similar I really want, partly because it looks nice and partly because if I have something hanging I don't have to move it to clean under it.

If anyone has the instructions or the link to a website that I can get the instructions from I would love it if they shared that with me because I really do need it.

The pictures of the furniture I don't own, I found them on a google search for cardboard furniture.