It’s still hard for me to believe that it is 2020 … harder still to believe that I’ve been sharing blog posts with you since 2013! Time sure flies ? At the beginning of each new year, I usually go over website stats for the previous year. Those reports showed that these ↓ blog posts were the most popular.
#10 – A Personal Assistant ~ What It Is & What It Isn’t
https://www.tracyhelpsyou.com/personal-assistant-isnt/
#9 – Holiday Pet Care
It’s December 31, 2019 … the last day of this decade, my last blog post of this decade. Do you remember what you were doing on December 31, 1999? Do you remember the Y2K bug? Did you heed all the warnings?
In hindsight, we know that not only did all the computers continue to work, but they, and technology in general, have thrived. So many things that we take for granted today were not around (to the general public) twenty years ago. Continue reading
As you know, I love to travel. You also know, I am a detailed-oriented, planning and list making kinda girl ? I want to share some of my tried and true travel tips with you (a little bit of a tongue twister there).
Cruising is one of my favorite ways to travel. I love being on a huge ship, it almost feels like you are in a city … a city at sea. I love that you are always moving, traveling from one place to the next. I love that you wake up in a different port each morning. I also love that you have the same room and only have to unpack once yet get to experience so many different locations. Continue reading
I’m from Chicago, born & raised. I never left (ok, technically I moved to the suburbs), but I still consider myself a Chicagoan. I’ve lived through some tough winters in my lifetime. I was around for the Blizzard of ’67 (kindergartner), and lots of snow storms during my high school years in the late ’70s. I made a lot of cash shoveling people out and setting up lawn chairs with brooms laying across them … It’s a Chicago thing – DIBS, you can Google it 🙂 I also remember Christmas week in 1983, it was so cold that my pet fish, Oscar, (he was a giant, you guessed it, Oscar) died because the power was out for several days and the tank nearly froze. However, my most prominent, vivid memory is January 20, 1985.
Ironically, January 20, 1985, the coldest day in Chicago history, was the first day at my new job … as a ramp agent working at O’Hare airport. I remember coming in from running bags (as a trainee, I had to shadow each type of job position) from our incoming flight to the baggage claim … when we got back to the ready room, I had actual frost on my eyelashes (similar to my feathered friend above)! I was never so cold in my life. I kept asking myself why the heck I quit my job as a travel agent at a Michigan Avenue travel agency. I honestly have no idea why I didn’t quit then and there (I stayed close to 15 years), but I’m glad I didn’t because I have so many wonderful memories of my years there and met so many great people.
Which brings me to our current Polar Vortex. This time I was blessed to be able to stay indoors for the duration. I was blessed with a nice warm home to stay cozy and safe. My husband’s employer closed down for the extreme cold. We didn’t have any major emergencies, no broken pipes or furnace mishaps. My furnace was able to keep the temperature a reasonable 60 degrees, I wore layers and snuggled under a blanket to watch movies with my family 🙂 I also spent way too much time on social media. Everyone was posting about the temperature. Many braved the elements to throw boiling water into the air to watch it freeze, and some people recorded these beautiful frost bubbles. I am fascinated by them, they are so beautifully intricate and fragile … amazing! Sadly, they were also posting about some of the struggles they were having trying to cope with this extreme cold … frozen pipes, broken furnaces, etc. We had only one problem because of the weather, one (of 3) vehicles wouldn’t start. That’s OK, we had no place we needed to be yesterday. Late this afternoon, in a balmy -5 degrees, we replaced the battery and it started right up. They are predicting a high of 13 tomorrow … that’s practically a heatwave 🙂
For some reason, I’ve been feeling kind of nostalgic this week. I’ve been looking through old photo albums and reading stuff from my old journals and day planners. I’ve found that reminiscing can be a double edged sword; you get the happy with the sad. Continue reading
As you know from a previous blog post, we purchased a used travel trailer last month. That post detailed all that happened, but to sum it up, we were deceived and bought a camper that had several issues. We spent the month of May and many $$ to get it ready for safe travels … everything isn’t perfect, but we repaired what we felt were the most important items.
This weekend we are embarking on our Maiden Voyage with it 🙂
We picked it up from the RV repair place on Thursday, and I have been getting all our camping gear transferred from our old pop-up camper to the new one. It’s been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun setting up house in our new (to us) home away from home.
We have been watching lots of You Tube videos to learn how everything works. We’ve (well I have) read the owners manual cover to cover. We have camped for many years, but never in a camper.
We have to learn how to:
I’m hoping for a wonderful weekend filled with fun memories of this first camping trip in our new camper. And I’m hoping that these new fun memories will replace my first disappointing ones & help me to regain the excitement I had when we first decided we were going to buy a camper with a bathroom – a definite upgrade from our pop-up.
It is a glorious September afternoon. I’m working on my blog post while sitting on my new patio enjoying the beautiful weather. It is warm & sunny with a gentle breeze blowing through the branches of my gi-normous maple tree.
So (on one of the last days of summer) … I decide my topic will be about ideas for making a handmade gifts for Christmas. That’s right, I said Christmas … but only because you need plenty of time to plan and work on your gift projects. Otherwise, I am a believer of enjoying each holiday as it comes, not rushing it 🙂
I have always loved doing crafts. Making or creating something is a labor of love. I feel like the finished product has a little piece of me in it ♥ However, I have learned (the hard way) that in order for me to love making the gift for someone, I have to allow plenty of time to finish it … not be rushed to get it done in time.
That being said, here is my game plan:
• Search Pinterest, craft websites & blogs to pick the projects I want to make
• Only choose a handful of recipients, so making the gift remains a joy ~ not become a burden.
• Decide early on who will be getting what gift
• Buy all the supplies I will need for each project ahead of time, (that way I can have multiple projects going at the same time)
• I’ll work on the gift while watching TV in the evening
• I can switch up which gift I’m working on, so I don’t get bored … like I can work on my knitting project if I don’t feel like making jewelry.
Some of the handmade gifts I given in the past are … a knitted or crocheted scarf, note cards for stationary, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, personalized photo frames, a “scrapbook style” keepsake shadow box, bath salts, and, of course, baked goods 🙂
I really enjoy giving handmade gifts to friends. I feel that because time is such a valuable commodity, the time I spend making the gift communicates how much I care about them. I hope they enjoy receiving them. Of course, because it is so time consuming, I only choose a few friends to make gifts for each year. My other friends receive store bought gifts … I love shopping too <3
I haven’t decided what I want to make for this year’s gifts yet, but I’m glad I’m starting to think about it early … because, as we all know, times flies by quickly.
Labor Day weekend is upon us. I know I’m not alone when I sit here shaking my head, thinking “where did the time go? Summer just flew by !!
Although there are still a few weeks before Autumn officially begins, Labor Day Weekend is (for all practical purposes anyway) the unofficial end of summer. Many families celebrate this long holiday weekend by taking a road trip.
Traveling by car has many advantages for families … especially those with young children 🙂
~ AAA has reported that the price of gas hasn’t been this low since 2004. Spending less at the pump puts more $$ in the vacation budget — sounds like an advantage to me.
~ Your kids are in familiar surroundings … in their own car seat, have their own toys, their favorite snacks, etc.
~ You can take as many breaks as needed – when you need them. You can get out to stretch your legs or sooth a cranky child.
~ You choose meal times and where to eat.
~ You could go “old school” for the weekend … unplug (give your electronic device their own vacation). You could use an atlas to map out your route. If you happen to miss a turn off along the way, just say “we’re taking the scenic route”.
~ Continuing with the “old school” theme, you can play games like “I Spy”, or sing songs together, color / work in puzzle books, or play the license plate game, etc. Have light-hearted conversations … use this time to re-connect with each other without electronic distractions.
~ Take time to make unplanned stops … pull over to the see kitschy things like “the world’s largest ball of yarn” 🙂
(Photo Credit to Getty Images)
Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ … Peace on Earth & Goodwill to Men. However, in the 24/7 world we live in, sometimes the preparations for Christmas can be anything but peaceful … it can be downright hectic.
Everyone’s to-do list gets longer during the holidays. All the festivities are great fun, but they also add more to our already busy schedules. Our December to-do list has additional items like sending out holiday cards, decorating & baking, shopping & wrapping, not to mention holiday parties & get- togethers.
Tracy Helps You is here to, well, help you 🙂 We can take care of some of your to-do list items. We can do some of the more routine stuff on your list, or we will Christmas shop and wrap your gifts for you. We can get your Christmas cards written & mailed out for you. We will even go to a party for you, oh wait … you probably want to take of party attendance yourself (we understand, lol).
Hiring Tracy Helps You will free up your time to do the most important things … spending time & making memories with the people you love, your family and friends!
November 30, 2014 ~ Today I am thankful for nostalgic Christmas memories. Our family starts decorating for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I’ve never really gotten into the Black Friday shopping thing, so my choice is easy. Over the weekend, we set up our Nativity and the village; we hang stockings and lots of garland. We decorate our entryway on the inside and outside. We finish with decorating the tree on Sunday.
I’ve always loved Christmas decorations. My decorating style leans toward nostalgic / vintage as opposed to trying to re-create a magazine photo shoot. I own lots of decorations that I’ve had since my childhood. Many of my ornaments and other pieces have great memories attached to them.
Each year, we hang the lights and ornaments while Bing Crosby sings White Christmas to us. We drink egg nog and eat chocolate chip cookies, warm from the oven. I have lots of ornaments … as I unwrap each one, I share the memories they bring to mind. I share stories of Christmas’s from when I was growing up. We reminisce our family’s memories. Some of my ornaments are from my great grandmother – some from friends – some I made myself. Many times the ornament represents something significant that happened that year. Sharing memories this way is one of my favorite family traditions.