Roving Random

Linda is out this week, so we have a new hostess for this week's questions. You know the drill. Read my answers, then go here to copy the questions to your own blog. Or just to read lots of other people's answers. And now a random start--


1.  What is your favorite sign of Spring?
I love the blue skies and--wait. That happens all the time here. Okay, I like the warm temperatures and--oops, get that all year long, too. Well you can't beat seeing flowers in bloom or--you know, it's hard to know what season it is in paradise!

2.  Did you remember to spring forward on March 14?  If not, how did it impact your day?
I set my clocks ahead fairly early in the evening Saturday night. I was still late to church on Sunday.

3.  If soil, time, talent and climate were no problem, what vegetable would you plant in a garden this year?
I would plant rutabagas because I like to say rutabagas.  It's a fun word. I have no idea what it's like as a vegetable.

4.  If soil, time, talent and climate were no problem, what fruit would you plant?
I would plant kumquats and loquats for the same reason I plant rutabagas.

5.  What is your least favorite insect?
Seriously, who has a favorite insect? And more importantly, why would I want to know that person?

6.  March 22 was World Water Day. To celebrate, here are some water questions. Do you drink bottled water? If so, what brand?
Water has a day? Is that really fair? I mean, when is Chocolate Milk Day? That's a cause I could support.

7.  Have you ever been somewhere that it was not safe to drink the local water? If so, how did you handle that?
If the water's not safe to drink, why would you handle it? (And Uganda. We had a filter and we boiled water.)

8.  How many glasses of water do you drink per day?
I'll tell you if you tell me how many cups of coffee you drink per day. Seriously. Leave an answer in the comments. Or how much soda do you drink? (That's Coke or Pepsi-type products for those of you that call it "pop".)

9.  March 24 is the birthday of Harry Houdini.  Have you ever watched a professional magic show? Share.
I get to see a magic show every single time I need help around the house. My kids disappear.

10.  Have you ever been a participant in a professional magic show (up on stage!)?
Couldn't possibly. They're always wanting to stick you in a box and make you disappear, or they're laying you in a box and sawing you in half. I can't do that. I'm claustrophobic. Plus, most magicians "assistants" I've seen look beautiful and dumb. I can look beautiful and I can look dumb, but I've never been able to do both at the same time.

11. March 24 is also the birthday of Steve McQueen and Clyde Barrow. Do you like Westerns or gangster movies?  If so, what is your favorite?
What I'd like to see is John Wayne in a gangster movie. Or a gangster in a western. Because then you'd have a comedy.

12. (Really random)  What U.S. state that you've never visited would you like to visit someday?
I've had complaints that I don't really answer the random dozen questions, so I'm actually going to "answer" this one. (BTW, look at the words in blue. Those are answers.) I'd like to visit South Dakota and Montana. And as long as I was in the area, I'd like to swing through Idaho as well. Why? Because I've never been there. Didn't you read the question?


Well that was fun! Now hurry over to Southlakesmom and read some more answers! (Not everyone puts their answers in blue. Just wanted to warn you.)

Mystery Shopping Basics

In case you haven't figured it out by now, there were no Monday Memories this week. Not that I don't have any--actually I was having trouble deciding which memory to share. But instead I spent my time caring for sick and injured family members. Now that everyone's getting back on track, it's not Monday anymore. So I'll have memories next week.

In the meantime, I had a lot of comments with questions about my post on Friday. So I want to give you a few basics on mystery shopping.

The first thing you need to know is that mystery shoppers are independent contractors. They don't usually work for just one company. They sign up with and work for a variety of companies that offer mystery shopping services. When the company has a job that needs doing, they send out emails to their shoppers.

What do you need for the work? A computer with internet access (not dial-up). A printer and scanner are a must. A digital camera would help. You need an email address--I have one specifically for mystery shopping. You can get free ones at hotmail, yahoo or gmail. You'll also need a paypal account. It's very easy to set up, and it's free. Use your mystery shopping email address. This is a convenient and safe way to get paid for mystery shopping. Sometimes you can request a check to be mailed by the mystery shopping company instead, but payment by check takes longer, and more and more mystery shopping companies are moving exclusively to paypal for payment and reimbursement.

So where do you find these companies? Well DON'T simply google "mystery shopping" and start clicking on links. There are a lot of scams out there. And a lot of websites will offer you a list of mystery shopping companies for $25.00 or even $35.00. The first place you want to go on the internet is to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. This website can give you a list of companies that are looking for mystery shoppers. The website will also give some advice on the latest scams, and some ideas for mystery shopping.

When you click on the links for different mystery shopping companies, you'll need to fill out applications to work there. Some of the companies also ask a lot of demographic questions. The reason for this is because some shops require specific shoppers. Some are just for men. Some are for shoppers with a teenager between 15-17 (video store), etc. The more information you give them, the better your chances of getting notification on shops you qualify for. This can be a tedious process of filling out applications, but the more companies you're signed up with, the more work you'll get.

One term you may see often is MSPA certified. While you can simply mystery shop, if you go through the MSPA certification processes (silver and gold) you will qualify for more shops. And you will get higher paying shops. Many times you also get notice of shopping opportunities before others do.

You need to know that some shops require you to purchase something. Sometimes the companies want you to send the item to them. Other times you can keep the item as part of your pay.

That's the basics of getting started at mystery shopping. Tomorrow is Random Dozen, but on Thursday I'll cover a few tips to doing successful shops.

BTW, someone asked me what my favorite place to shop is. You gotta love the restaurant shops. Hubby and I get dinner out, and someone else reimburses us for a meal.

Happy shopping!

I Have A Secret!

Well with a title like that you came running, didn't you? And is your mind scrambling frantically through the various secrets I might be hiding? Are you thinking ...

She committed a crime.
No.

She has another child somewhere.
Isn't six enough? 

She's murdered someone and buried them in the backyard.
Only in my writing.

She's pregnant.
ABSOLUTELY NO!

Let me say that again:  ABSOLUTELY NO!

Just want to make sure we're clear on that.

And by the way--NO!

So what's my secret? I'm a mystery shopper. I actually shop stores, restaurants, hotels, etc., to make sure they're meeting all requirements of their respective corporate offices. Tonight I mystery shopped a restaurant. Nothing like getting a free meal in exchange for observing a few details about the restaurant, food, servers, etc.

I do not wear a disguise.

My husband says this is the perfect job for me because it combines my two talents:  shopping and being critical.

He is no longer going with me when I mystery shop restaurants.

Anyway, since I'm so close with so many of you, I mean except for the whole never-met-you-in-real-life thing, I felt bad for keeping a secret.

So now you know.

And knowing is half the battle! (Can you name that action figure?)

Have a great weekend!

A Typical Day with the Boys

My husband was out of town for the last couple of days so the boys and I had some quality (!) time together. We're now ready for some quality time apart. Hence, they are staying home with their father tomorrow while I go to work.

What did today include?

A stopped up toilet. At work. Stopped up and overflowing, actually. It took two rolls of paper towels to clean it up. The faint smell of clorox lingered in the office air for the rest of the day.

The boys eating everything in sight. And asking for more. (Could this be the reason for the first problem? Just askin'.)

Schoolwork left at home when I took the boys with me to work.

Piano lessons when three of the boys hadn't practiced all week.

Letting the dog out at 11:30 at night, only to have him decide he wants to play with the two armadillos in our yard. We almost never got him back in the house.

All of this was topped off by Joel during Patch the Pirate Club. The two ladies that work in Patch are sisters-in-law. I chatted quietly at the back of the room with one, but apparently we were distracting. The lady in front cocked a disapproving eyebrow at her sister-in-law. Said sil (sister-in-law, duh! What else?) immediately assumed a repentant look and straightened up.

Since my behavior was not even acknowledged, I smirked at my partner in mischief and gloated that she got in trouble and I didn't. (Sometimes I am so mature!) SIL immediately complained that I was making fun of her because she got in trouble. I assumed an innocent look and declared that I would never do something like that.

Joel was sitting on the back row. "Hey!" he interrupted, looking at my not-so-repentant friend. "I know my mom." Pause. "She would definitely do something like that."

And I thought he was going to defend me! The other lady actually gave Joel a piece of candy to reward his "honesty". I held him up for it after the meeting and demanded half.

And that was my day on Wednesday. How was yours?

Randomly Irish

The top o' the marnin' to ya! (Because really, who wants the bottom of the morning?) Sure and it's time for the Irish Random. Read through my answers and then go to Lid's at 2nd Cup of Coffee and link up with your own.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how superstitious are you, honestly?
If you usually read my random answers (and really, who doesn't?) then you know that often I pick a "5" on a number scale. However, this time I can honestly say I am a 0. Seriously. I'm not superstitious. I'll walk under a ladder, I'll let a black cat cross my path and I never throw salt over my shoulder. I'm not very coordinated and I think the granules would probably accidentally go down my collar and that would be very irritating.

2. Julius Caesar is quoted as saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Which circumstance or experience of yours does this saying best describe?
Childbirth. I'm an expert.

3. If I peeked in on your day like a mischievous little leprechaun, at what time would I most likely find you blogging?
If you peeked in on me like a leprechaun, then I'd smack you in the head and steal claim your pot of gold. Then I'd pay someone to blog for me.

4. Re springing forward for Daylight Saving Time, is there anything you've ever been really early or really late for?
I was really late for my own birth. My mother carried me for ten months. The woman was a saint.

5. What are you most looking forward to concerning Spring?
The end of these freezing cold temperatures. Really, I can't take this fifty degree weather much longer. 

6. Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland and are picked on St. Patrick's Day and worn on the lapel or shoulder. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day?
My eyes are green. Does that count?

7. One of Caesar's assassins, Casca, said, "But, for my own part, it was Greek to me," which of course means he didn't understand something. Probably his own lines in the play. Anyway, what is something that is "Greek to you," something incomprehensible or indecipherable?
The mind of a male. I live with six of them, and I still can't figure out why they do the things they do.

8. Is March behaving more like a lion or a lamb where you live?
I think it's behaving more like a cat. Arrogantly unconcerned with what I want, and in no hurry to move along.

9. "An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." -Winston Churchill. If you had one extra hour per day every day, what would you do with it?
I would spend my time figuring out how to fit thirteen hours on the face of a clock. I'd make a fortune!

10. Legend says that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold hidden deep in the Irish countryside. Aside from real gold or money, what material item would be in your dream pot of gold?
I'm assuming this material item would be on top of the gold in the pot. Because seriously, what good is a pot of gold without any gold?

11. "The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." Robert Louis Stevenson. Look around you right now and tell us about something essential or beautiful very near you that you take for granted every day.
It's first thing in the morning, and I can't help but think that I take my bed for granted. I don't visit it near enough. I really feel I should curl up and spend some more time with it this morning.

12. Just for a bit o' fun, click here(www.blogthings.com/irishnamegenerator/) and then report your Irish name. Mine is "Zoe O'Sullivan." I love it!
I'm sure this is all very scientifically calculated based on my gender and the number of letters in my name. The first time I checked I was Zaira Flynn. Then I was my cousin, Eimear Flynn. And finally I was a singer named Zoe Carroll. I thought Jill was hard to live with because of that oh so not funny, "Where's Jack" joke. But seriously I think I got a deal compared to some of these monikers. Is Eimear even a real name? 


See? That didn't hurt a bit! Now hurry over to Lid's before you miss out on something fun!

The Dangers of Cinnamon Toast

Cinnamon toast was a great treat when I was growing up. It's not too bad now, either, come to think of it. I was the middle of six children with two older sisters and three younger brothers. Breakfast at our house was always a scramble for whatever you wanted to fix that day. There was usually cereal and some instant oatmeal. But the big draw for breakfast was poptarts.

Mom only bought so many, and the rule was first come first served. One morning I rummaged through the kitchen and found two poptarts that had not yet been claimed. I enjoyed them thoroughly, and was just finishing up when my brother, a year and a half younger than me, came into the kitchen.

Apparently he knew there were two poptarts recently because he went directly to the cabinet for them. When he realized they were gone, he demanded to know who had eaten "his" poptarts.

"I did," I told him with no remorse. "Your name wasn't on them. You snooze, you lose." (I was so clever back then. And I usually got up earlier than he did.)

Brother insisted that, since I had eaten his breakfast, I owed him something. he demanded that I make cinnamon toast for him.

If it was in the kitchen it was fair game, and I hadn't done anything wrong. I started to tell him what to do with his cinnamon toast and his sense of entitlement when a thought stopped me. I swallowed my anger and managed to smile. (He should have known then to watch out.)

"Fine," I agreed. "I'll make your cinnamon toast. Two slices?"

"Four."

I carefully toasted and buttered the bread and then sprinkled it with sugar. Then I reached into the cabinet and used the cinnamon on one slice. The other three slices got healthy doses of chili powder. Hey, it's the same color! I popped it into the microwave just long enough to melt the sugar and then took the plate to him.

"Here you are," I said cheerfully. And here's where my full genius lies. I knew he would be suspicious if I were too happy to serve. So I pulled the piece of authentic cinnamon toast off the plate and ate it, telling him that was my pay for fixing his breakfast. He gave a token protest and then settled down to his breakfast.

Would you believe he scarfed down all three pieces of toast without hesitation? I waited until the last bite  disappeared and then asked sweetly, "Did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"Yes," he answered graciously. "Thank you for fixing it for me."

"Your welcome. And did you enjoy the chili powder I used instead of cinnamon?"

He stared at me in shock for a moment before the storm broke. The upshot was, he told Mom, but when she heard the whole story, she said he deserved what he got.

I win.

This is my memory for this Monday's Memories. Tell the truth. How many of you have pulled a prank of a sibling? Care to confess here?

How many of you read this story and then immediately thought, "She ate two poptarts and a piece of cinnamon toast for breakfast?" I'll have you know I was in high school, and I could eat a whole lot more than that without gaining a ounce. Who's laughing now?

Fighting the Giants

One of the sermons during our conference last week focused on killing the giants in our lives. The speaker pointed out that giants are things that we have to conquer, or trials we're going through or a sin over which we just can't get victory. He used the story of David and Goliath in I Samuel 17, and then he used II Samuel 21:15-22. That second passage talks of giants that needed to be fought toward the end of David's life. According to Scripture, these giants were brothers of Goliath. The sermon was a real encouragement to me, and I just want to share a few points with you.

1. Not everyone fights the same giants. Some of the things I struggle with might seem silly to you. On the other hand, I may have absolutely no trouble with something that you fight against all the time. Have compassion for people no matter what their giant is.

2. Not every giant will attack the same way. Goliath boldly went out before the entire Israelite army, insulting them and their God and challenging them to come fight him. In II Samuel 22, one of the giants was sneaky. He got behind enemy lines and almost killed David before one of his men struck him.

3. The same method does not kill every giant. What worked at one point against the giants in your life may not work at another point. Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in how to battle the giants.

4. No matter how big the giants are, or how great their weapons are, if God is on our side, then the giants are no match for us.

Just wanted to share a little encouragement today. Been fighting any giants lately?