How to get rid of cockroaches yourself and not spend thousands on an exterminator.

How I got rid of my worst nightmare. So disgusting. This summer, I saw a bunch of bugs on the kitchen counter, I thought to myself... What are those? Then I kept seeing them. They were scary looking. Then I told my husband, "OMG, we have cockroaches". He didn't believe me. He is from Florida. He was like we don't get cockroaches out here like we do in Florida. Absolutely disgusting. How did I get them? I live in a Townhouse. We're they from the neighbors? We're they from a cardboard box? We had a pipe leaking water, I read that this can cause cockroaches to invade your house. Where ever they came from, they needed to leave, and never come back, and I was going to be sure of that. I hate bugs, especially cockroaches. I was mortified. I wanted to stay with my parents. The year before, I successfully got rid of bed bugs. Here is a link to how I got rid of those nasty creatures: https://www.mylifecom.net/2019/09/that-time-i-had-bed-bugs-and-how-i-got.html I researched on the web on how to get rid of them. I cleaned my house thoroughly with bleach. This suckers carry e coli, disease, and nasty germs in general, since they crawl around everywhere, like the trash and the sewer, and so on. They breed and they lay eggs fast. Just like bed bugs, you gotta be on top of it, and kill them and their eggs. I could not have roaches crawling on the counters and getting my kids sick. So repulsive. I would have nightmares at night. So, after I cleaned my house, I bombed it, fumigated it. When you bug bomb your house, read the instructions thoroughly. You need to blow out the furnace and water heater pilot lights, and unplug all your appliances. I had my husband do all this. I used: Cockroach fogger. You leave the house for three hours, take the pets out, all living things, return 3 hours later, and air your house out. Then I sprayed the house. I sprayed the baseboards, the walls, under the sinks, under the toilet, in dark places, and the crawl space. You also need to spray outside. I sprayed the whole exterior of the house, 6 inches up from the ground. I used: Ortho Home Defense. This spray doesn't have a nasty odor, or bother my asthma. The other sprays do. Then we put out combat roach bait The roaches eat it, and take it to their nest. Roaches eat dead roaches so this is really effective. Then we put out roach gel my friend from Texas recommended this. Then we put out diatomaceous earth This is fossilized powder that cuts their exoskeleton and dehydrates them and they die! This is awesome for getting rid of all bugs. It comes with a sprayer. You spray it around the baseboards, I put some on the counters since it is food grade and safe. They also sell it at the health food store for consumption but it has to be food grade. I clean it up with a broom and reapply in 3 months. They are not allowed back ever! Essential oils! We have a diffuser. They hate the smell of peppermint. You can also put peppermint essential oil on the counters to keep them away. They also hate lemongrass, and citrus. You can also mix baking soda, flour, sugar, and borax laundry detergent. They will be attracted to the flour and sugar, eat it and die. Put it on the floor, along with the DE. I haven't seen any cockroaches in a long time. I am going to keep spraying the bug spray at least once a week with my weekly cleaning. I also spray with other cockroach sprays I will not have this happen ever again. There you have it. Michelle the exterminator. I should get a job as an exterminator. HA! Don't think so.

Aging got me like...

What is this? Nose hairs, and they are black, totally obvious. I'm scared to wax my nose hairs. I used to never have them. They keep germs out of your respiratory system. They have a purpose, besides making me feel ugly. I guess I can cut them.
 Grey hair? I have white hair. I like to pluck it out. I don't like the reminder that I'm approaching 40. But grey hair means wisdom. I am getting wise with all my life experience. HA! I wonder what color I should dye my hair when I go grey, my natural brunette color or go blond?
Back pain, hip pain, arm pain, everywhere pain. Arthritis runs in the family. I lift up and transfer humans at work, it is taking a toll on my body. Exercise; like stretching helps this. Exercise in general is supposed to keep us young and healthy. Who has time for that? Between work, taking the kids to school, cleaning the house, taking care of my parents. I gotta make time. Take care of yourself and your body will take care of you when you age. That's what I've learned from being a caregiver in assisted living.
 Fatigue. I'm exhausted all the time. Besides being a working Mom, am supposed to be this tired? Exercise again, and good diet helps. It is so difficult to make time for this.
I don't have wrinkles yet. I don't know why. I love to be in the sun. I forget to wear sunscreen. I have age spots and freckles though.
My Mom is approaching 65. She looks incredible. She looks about 40. I honestly thinks she looks better than me some days. Advice from her for skin care: use beauty cream with SPF 30, wash your makeup off at night, use aging serum, also aloe vera oil from the plant lol. Say what? Drink plenty of water, and try not to stress. Let's see if I can look half as good as my Mom when I'm her age.

Jimi Hendrix

48 years ago, (on September 18, I'm a few days late), we lost a rock in roll legend. My late Uncle introduced me to Hendrix at the young age of 11. His music was different to me when I was young, but I loved he way he played guitar. I learned later in life, he played with his teeth, and he was also left handed. He claims to be self taught. I'm mean I wouldn't doubt it, he's awesome! His music is incredible. I can never get tired of listening to him. In my opinion, he is the greatest guitarist of all time. I grew up listening to him, I was raised by hippies. HAHA. Now I like to clean the house while listening to him. There could never be another as great as him!

How I quit smoking....

I am a former smoker, thanks to Nicotine Gum. It may be expensive, but in the long run, I am saving, due to the health issues smoking causes, as everyone knows.

How did I start? I was at my neighbors house having a drink. She is a smoker, and I started socially smoking. Not good I have asthma. 

I woke up the next day, after drinking and smoking with my neighbor, and I was craving a cigarette. So, off I went to my neighbors house I went for a cigarette. Almost all my co-workers smoke, so it's a social thing as well as addicting.  I kept smoking for 3 months. 

My husband was mad, I would wease at night, my asthma was bothering me. Then I had pneumonia. I was so sick. This definitely taught me a lesson. I went to the store and bought Nicotine gum. It is pricey, but it definitely replaced the nicotine cravings! 

I would smoke one in a while, I think it's a social thing.

I had the Jakle and Hyde thing you go through. Oh I can't have another cigarette, I need to quit, but I'm craving one so bad! Just drove me insane. Thank goodness for this gum. 

I have been chewing nicotine gum for 4 years! I spend about $30.00 a week on the gum, but it works and I have not smoked in three years. I don't care how much I spend, I don't want to be a smoker, I want to be able to breathe.

Now I need to wean myself off the gum, but I love this gum. It's a stress reliever. I have done research, I don't know the health effects, but my doctor told me it's not good for your cardiovascular system.  

It burns your throat at first, but give it a try! For your health.

My journey though debt consolidation. National Debt Relief review.

My husband and I are not good with money. My parents really are but I didn't follow in their footsteps. My husband is the type to want to spend all the money faster than making it. My husband is great though, don't get me wrong, we all have our downfalls.
For the past ten years we have been using credit cards and paying them off. Now that I am approaching my 40s and he is approaching his 50s, we finally learned our lesson the hard way. Right now we are going through rough times but it is well worth it. We are tired, we are working overtime, we miss our kids but we are going to be able to give them a better life and put them through college.
When I went back to work after being a stay at home Mom, and looking back I never needed to go back, but I wasn't used to having all money to spend. I got a lot of credit cards because I could afford the minimum payment. Huge mistake, one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. Do not ever do this. I went to town. I like going wherever I wanted buying whatever I wanted but didn't need and spoiling the kids. Now I need to teach my spoiled second born needs before wants. Now we all make mistakes and learn from them. I have a difficult job as a caregiver and I have sure learned my lesson.
My husband and I have about 15 credit cards. Absolutely ridiculous. The first way we tried paying it off is he went to a credit Union and transferred the credit cards onto another credit card from the credit Union. Big mistake if you don't have self control and discipline. Then we maxed out the cards we payed off.
Then after that we took out a home equity loan but it didn't count against us as in if we miss one payment we lose the house. Don't ever do this. Then again, history repeats itself, we maxed the cards out that we payed off. Both of us must be hard headed. Finally, when we couldn't make our monthly payments we called National Debt Relief. They were very friendly, supportive and helpful. They found all of our debts for us by looking them up. They consolidate with your creditors and come up with monthly payments that are less than what you were paying beforehand. They settle your credit card balance and you pay less than what you owe! You just pay national debt a monthly payment.  We got sued by a creditor, and I was freaking out! I was freaking out! I was looking for a second job, and side hustles. I thought I was going to lose my house, get garnished and so on. No, no, no, this didn't happen. I was worried for no reason, they went to court for me and made a settlement with my creditor. I didn't lift a finger. National Debt Relief is exactly what they say they are, a HUGE relief. Your credit score will drop drastically but you can always rebuild it. We bought two new cars so that we are set before this and we also refinanced the house beforehand.  I have one more year left. I cannot wait. I will be saving so much money and be able to rebuild my credit. It is a good alternative to bankruptcy. It is the second to the last alternative with bankruptcy being the last alternative. I heard that you have to pay taxes for the credit cards that you pay off but we'll be fine.
This has definitely taught me how to work hard. I've been pretty spoiled my who life.
I recommend having self control when it comes to finances. Please learn from me. Don't get credit cards if you don't have self control. Use credit cards only if you can pay it off right away. For example, you save up for a computer, put it on the credit card and use this saved money to pay the credit card balance off. This will build your credit. I recommend the snowball effect by Dave Ramsey. Start by paying off your smallest debt first and keep going. Also try working overtime or a side hustle or a second job, to pay off debt. Do this while you're still young. Make sure you have a 401k and are saving up for retirement before you are too old to work. I work with some 60 and 70 year old caregivers. Trust me you don't want to be working that hard when you're older.

Animal Checks

How I got pregnant after two years of trying. Trying to conceive tips.

I got married at 21. My husband and I were trying to have a baby. I took us two whole years for me to get pretty with my daughter. So for those of you who are trying to conceive, here is what I did.
I got an ovulation calendar off of the web. I followed what it said. It got with my husband one day before ovulating, according to the calendar. My cycles are pretty regular.
Before we did our deed I put a pillow under my lower back so maybe my cervix was more tilted. I don't know if this helps but it worked.  After we did our deed,  missionary position, I also put my legs up for about 20 minutes against the wall so the little spermies could get to the egg. I was pretty determined after two years of trying, we thought we were infertile. Two kids later and no more, we were wrong.
Lo and behold about 3-4 weeks later, I was exhausted and smells grossed me out. My husband said "I think your pregnant". I took a first response test and I was indeed pregnant. The sixth week I was so nauseated and sick to my stomach, fatigued, quit working and quit school. I had hyperemesis, where you are extremely nauseous and sick to your stomach.
Everything worked out fine and I have two happy, healthy, intelligent, beautiful, not so baby anymore, girls.

That time I found out I had an adopted cousin through 23& me. ( Adoption story that turned out fantastic)

It turned out more than fantastic.
I did a 23 &  me DNA test almost two years ago. It was fun and interesting to find out where my ancestors came from. Then I looked at my DNA matches, (where you view your DNA relatives). I saw my Uncle, then I saw more people I knew. I saw a close match and didn't think anything of it. Then my Mom called me up because I gave her my password to my 23 & me so that she could see my results. She told me one of your Uncle's had a baby and put it in up for adoption. I was excited but I misunderstood her. I was like "a baby"? I wanted to keep the baby, I love babies, she was like no, one of your Uncle's fathered a child that is older than you and is looking for their biological family.
So right away I logged into 23 & me, I was beyond excited, I was estatic, I could not wait to meet my new found cousin already. I wrote him and told him "Hello long lost cousin, please write me with any questions you may have it's so nice to meet you". He also had very vague information about his adopted family that matched up. He posted on his profile that his Grandpa was a principal and yes, my Grandpa was indeed a principal. So, we just talked about everything. My late Uncle who was not his Dad also contacted him and encouraged me to reach out to him. My Uncle has since passed a few months ago in July from a sudden, unexpected heart attack at  the age of 63. I got to finally meet my cousin at our Uncle's funeral.
I knew my other Uncle was his father because my Uncle on 23 & me matched him as an Uncle.
Anyway, my cousin was born to a 17 year, in the Texas cradle society, a home run by nuns, for unwed mother's. She stayed there throughout the pregnancy. This was in the early 70s. She gave him up for adoption, two days later to a wonderful couple from Mexico, who gave him a great life. His adopted  Dadowned a farm in Mexico. They were well off.
Anyway, that left me stuck in the middle. I would talk to my cousin at least once a week. We really clicked. He wanted to meet his Mom so badly. I was determined to find his Mom. I would search through sites like ancestry.com, David Grey's people finder, adoption sites and the search turned out void. I mean I poured my heart and soul into this search  I was spending a lot of time researching trying to find his Mom. It was a sealed private military adoption and she had him at a military hospital. See her Dad was a Captain in the air Force. We wouldn't be able to find his Mom no matter what we did.
After a year of talking to him, I told him to take a ancestry.com test because his biological sister and father took one. I knew his younger sister by 20 years would pull at his hearts strings and reunite everyone. So he did and a month later, his sister contacted him through ancestry.com.  She was so happy! She said she was going to talk to her Dad, my Uncle, his Dad.
So then finally all the puzzle pieces started coming together. He talked to his Dad and he said that he could ask him anything and he will answer. He asked who his Mom was. My Uncle told him. He then found his Mom. He emailed his Mom a long letter, and she replied "whoa", I promise I will email you in the morning, I need to process this.
To make a long story short, he got to go and meet his Mom and his brother. I didn't get to see it but it is such a beautiful thing. His brother cried because he always wanted a brother. His Mom too cried of course. Then he got to meet his Dad and sister. Which is obviously my Uncle and cousin. I was so incredibly happy for everyone!
I remember when my Grandma had Alzheimers she told me that there's "one that I don't know about", referring to babies in the family, then it clicked. I should of listened to her because Alzheimers patients don't always lose long term memory.
I was so glad to help him find his biological family. I wonder what it is like to be adopted and not know where you come from biologically speaking. He had outstanding parents and a good upbringing. He has his master's degree, he felt like he belonged in his adopted family but he still wanted to know where he came from for learning  his identity as a person. He is from Mexico, which is cool to me because I've been fascinated with the Latino culture. I grew up in a Latino predominant area. I can speak Spanish with him. He is so intelligent, he speaks English better than me! It's also fascinating because of the genetics vs environment factor and how much each factor plays into our lives.
I finally got to meet him. It was the most awesome thing in the world to learn that you have a cousin that you have never known about, until you are 35 years old. We had the best uplifting family reunion that words can't describe. He came out for our Uncle's funeral. My heart was just shattered. I was close to our Uncle. He died so unexpectedly of a heart attack. My cousins visiting really uplifted my spirits and brought me out of a depression. We went out to eat and to an outdoor mall, we had BBQs and visited until late hours of the night. We have a big family so it was loads of fun. I talked about what my Uncle was like, whom he'll never get to meet.
We had the most awesome 4 day family reunion. Then he had to go home and we all miss him. We will see each other again soon.
Now totally 100% recommend getting a DNA test through 23 & me, or ancestry, or both. You may have family secrets like me. You never know. I also have third or fourth adopted cousins looking for their families so I don't think it is rare. I know not all adoption stories turn out great, but mine with my cousin did, and I couldn't be happier.