I’m for gay marriage.

Yes, I’m for gay marriage, so if you are not, you can stop reading now, or tell me how you are very offended by my views. But you know, we live in America, and this is the land of the free! We also have freedom of speech, so yes, you can say you are for or against something without fear of reprisal. This is freedom of speech.

Also, some people feel this is not traditional; well, why does everyone have to be traditional? Are we so afraid to tell our children about more than one way of life? Are our children not capable of thinking of different points of view, and then making their own decisions?

My son is eight, and when I told him about Prop 8, his basic response was that’s dumb; why does marriage have to be only between a man and a woman. I completely agree, and I think it’s long time that same sex couples have the same rights as married couples have. Let us not revert to the time when we did not allow mixed race marriages, where we did not allow people of different races to marry, solely based on the color of the skin.

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. say? Something like he wanted his children to be able to live in a country where they were not judged by the color of the skin. I’m for that too, and I think that freedom includes not judging people by their sexual orientation. Who are they hurting? It’s not like they are forcing babies to smoke crack on railroad tracks when a train is coming! They just want to get married. Let’s let them!

I do custom orders

I sell clothing for preemies, babies, children and adults through my web site: http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com. Blankets, baby wraps, diaper soakers, slippers, socks, and dishcloths are also available. Don’t see what you want? Please e-mail me at loritate102@yahoo.com, and we can discuss a custom order. If it’s knitted or crocheted, I’m your girl! And remember, five percent of every sale is donated directly to my town’s battered women’s shelter. Thanks for helping!

How to not pay for child care

With the recent recession, everyone is looking to save money, right? Well, my husband and I figured a long time ago that the traditional 8 to 5 jobs weren’t going to work for us, so we avoid paying for child care by working split shifts.

My husband works from 4 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and I work from 5 to 9 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, when my husband is home, and can watch our child. We spend time together on my days off, and on weekend nights.

Here’s how we have made this venture successful:

1) Communicate through notes. What have you done, what do you need me to do, good job on this, what were you thinking with that, thank you, thank you, thank you, you rock! The you rock! is very important, because we like to be positive and supportive.

2) Don’t discuss upsetting things when people first wake up or when they are hungry. Tempers tend to flare, and then we are fighting about stupid stuff, like why Jack stayed with the bad guys on Lost.

3) Spend time together as a family, but also value private time. Spend time by yourself often. It’s OK not to do everything together; sometimes you just need a break.

4) Split the chores. For example, I wash the dishes, and do the laundry (with our son’s help) in the morning, and then my husband does those chores in the evening. We share the homeschooling duties, and the major chores.

And we don’t pay child care, saving about $200 a month, because one of us is always available to watch our child ….. Woo hoo!!!!

Finally, some industries that support untraditional shifts are retail and driving jobs. For example, I work in customer service, and my husband works as a courier and dispatcher for a courier company. Companies that offer untraditional shifts include Home Depot, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Michael’s, and Office Max.

If you are paying more than you’d like for child care, you might want to give slit shifts a try. Thanks for reading, and have a happy day!

Help for battered women

How can battered women get help? Perhaps through a trusted friend, or family member, or perhaps by calling a domestic abuse hotline. Our local battered women’s shelter has an office in town, and I have decided to donate a portion of every sale I make to the battered women’s shelter. Care to help me out? Just check out my site at http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com!

And consider this …. Abuse does not discriminate. Anyone of any color, shape, size, race or intelligence can be beaten. There are many kinds of abuse, both emotional and physical, and sometimes it’s hard to know what’s happening until it’s too late.

These women need help, as if they even have the courage to leave, they usually must do it with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Their self-esteem has usually been reduced to smithereens, so if they even have the confidence to leave, it’s a very important first step. These places need our help, and they are getting it from me.

Will you help?

How to get free yarn and other stuff

It’s great to get free stuff, right? I found this out when I got several free skeins of yarn for my business, http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com.  Here’s how you may be able to get free stuff too!

1) Freecycle! Go to Yahoo, set up a free account, and then click on Groups. Search for “Freecycle” in your area. Freecycle is a group that tries to give unwanted items a second chance by offering them for use just one more time. Your trash could be another’s person treasure type of thing.

Anyway, join the group, read the rules, and then post a message for what you want. You can also post messages to get rid of stuff you don’t want, like old mattresses or freezers. (I actually did that!) People respond to you by e-mail, and then you can make arrangements to meet.

Please be safe, and meet somewhere public with lots of people, just in case!

2) http://www.craigslist.com — Check the free listings in your area. There may be something you can use!

3) newspapers – Check the “for free” listings. You never know what you’ll find.

4) Barter. Let people know what you want, and what you are willing to offer. Talk to friends, family and co-workers. For example, would you be willing to mow a lawn for a garbage bag full of yarn? (I totally wouldn’t, but that’s only because I pull a muscle every time I mow a lawn. I would be willing to trim the hedges, though …. )

5) Chat with people about your passions. You never know who may have yarn (or something else!)going to waste in a basment or attic.

6) Project Linus — Look them up online, and find a chapter in your area. If you donate handmade crafts, mainly blankets, to the organization, you may receive donations of yarn or fabric with the understanding that those products would be used for charity projects too.

And just remember, it may be fun to follow your passion, but it could be even more fun when the material is free!

Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!

Pursuing the dream

Well, life is never boring at our household. While I am pursuing my craft business, http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com, we have listed our house for sale, figured out my husband doesn’t like his job, and considered adoption. It’s just a mile a minute at our house! Oh, and did I mention my son has ADHD, we have two very protective dogs, and my husband wants to get a Great Dane? I honestly think we deliberately do things to stir things up!

But sometimes maybe that’s what you need to do, to give yourself back the illusion of control.

As I’ve said before, I just need to keep doing things I enjoy, getting regular sunshine and exercise, and hopefully, it will all work out. I have faith!

Thanks for visiting, and have a good day!

Why it’s idontmatch ….

I started this business, http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com. I sell children’s clothing and blankets, and I’ll be putting women’s clothing (slippers, hats, etc.) on the site soon.

I realize idontmatch is a rather strange name for a business, but here’s why that’s the name. Ever since I was a child, I have not matched up with other people. My thoughts are different, and the way I do things is way different.

For example, I used to have a rainbow and a sun painted on my office door. I eat frozen pie, and I like it. I cry really hard at Disney movies, and I think nothing of running through the parking lot yelling and holding my son’s hand.

In any case, this attitude leaked over to my business. I sometimes don’t use patterns, but usually I just make stuff up, and if I don’t have enough of one color for something, so what? I just use whatever color I have available, which has made for some fairly strange looking clothes. Now sometimes my items are all one color, but that is more by accident than anything.

I have been crocheting and knitting since I was eight years old, and I love it, because it is relaxing, challenging, and fun! Not only do I share my talent with others, but a portion of every sale from my business, http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com, benefits our city’s battered women’s shelter.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you visit my web site, http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com. Have a great day!