Thank God for the internet! In the end I only paid $36 for a part, which came to just under $50 with shipping & handling. The Champ and I fixed it ourselves. Yeah, we baaaaad!!! Watch & Learn to do it yourself:
Author Archives: raisingachampion
How Bad Do You Want It? AAU Basketball Video
You already KNOW my motto: “RAISING A CHAMPION”. This is a very inspirational video I put together for the ESYC Elite AAU Basketball Club — whose club’s vision is consistent with mine. The background speaker features Eric Thomas, aka “The Hip Hop Preacher”. He’s phenomenal! I GUARANTEE YOU WILL ENJOY THIS. (and yes, that’s MY Champ, my son, doing the backyard drills).
Divorce: The Day After
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” … Truer words could not be penned when describing the disposition I had to take immediately after divorce some 3+ years ago. I can barely describe the hollowness I felt back then. Something in me died. I didn’t know it then, but I had actually experienced the tragic death of a loved one so dear and true to me: this person was the “we/us-in-me” that developed through the oneness of marriage over the previous 6 years.
I’d been asked by a number of people the same question: “Didn’t you see it coming?”. It is indeed a very insensitive inquiry. You don’t even ask that question of someone who is mourning the death of a loved one whose pending death was known. Neither should you ask that question of someone going through the process of divorce. (To the numb-nut that would ask that question, I say: don’t do it bonehead!). Why? It doesn’t make any difference once one spouse has already made up their mind to leave. (Stop being nosey, and be supportive.)
Divorce is a tragic death, and it is the damnedest thing.
The ugly truth now was there would be no “growing old” together. “Our house” no longer existed. All shared dreams dissipated. Simply put, 
divorce was and is death. Whether you are the divorce-initiating spouse, the responsive spouse, or even if there is mutual consent, the result is death. As of marriage, two lives had become one. As of divorce, that “one life” is torn apart, and dare I say, on a spiritual level rings true the culmination of marriage, “’til death do us part“, however, not according to plan.
As for me, I did not want divorce. So, when faced with this death I felt hate, hurt, vengeance, bitterness, and more. I was weighed down. I’d cry until my head pounded, and eyes could barely squint. Admittedly, I wanted to punch “him” in the face. I wanted him to get hit by a bus so all my problems would suddenly disappear, because that’s how things work (right?) . Yet, while dealing with a whirlwind of emotions, I had to somehow continue to function as a Mom (that’s right, capital “M”), and maintain productivity at work. I had to restructure finances, as there were a number of expense items to address. Daycare had to be paid. I had to figure out how to manage the mortgage of 2 homes, and pay a $10,000 home improvement debt. As a woman accustomed to sharing a home with a man, I was now concerned with the safety of my home in his absence. My chores increased as I assumed my new, unanticipated, unwanted role. Things were a mess, and so was I.
Self-medication, so to speak
During the day I was in a complete fog, and couldn’t see beyond the next hour. There was no “pass-interference” with the care of my son. I had to continue to be strong and not let my son be affected by what he observed in me. I had to maintain normalcy for him… feed him, sing to him, play with him, pray with him, comfort him. My tasks were many. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t afford to just crawl up in a ball and cry.
Sometimes I’d use my vacation time to just sit in the movie theater all day (my personal therapy). There were plenty of sleepless nights; the light-weight that I am would easily address insomnia with a glass of white wine (my special personal therapy). When the wine didn’t work, I’d just lay on the floor and moan, and pray, and cry, and moan some more (my super, special personal therapy), barely getting sleep, and waking up just in time to start the foggy day again.
That Surrendering Moment 
I was already experiencing the death of divorce, so my only alternative was life. To find life, I had to be strong. I was strong, sure, but had been “going strong” all alone. It was only a matter of time before I couldn’t maintain it all.
Soon I began to lose my hair, and I lost weight (and for those who know me, I can’t stand to lose an ounce!) When I’d pick up my son from day care, I’d arrive to his classroom, and just sit there — in a daze. I did this repeatedly. Observing me each day, my son’s teacher finally said to me, “You don’t have to do this alone”. She was right. Being strong on my own just wasn’t enough. Something had to give…
IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW HOW I FOUND LIFE AFTER DEATH — overcoming the whirlwind of emotions, dealing with the financial dilemma, continuing as a successful Mom and more, subscribe to this blog. In the meantime, share with a friend, and/or leave a comment. Let me know you’re “listening” …
Too Many Pattern Attempts on a Tablet: Solution!
Well, this one had me quite frustrated.
I was officiating a basketball game, while The Champ, my 7-year old son, patiently awaited his game to start later that day. In the meantime, he wanted to play Angry Birds, and pulled out my Novo 7 Advanced tablet. (I love my Novo 7 Advanced tablet — only paid $155 for it!)
I’d configured my tablet’s screen to timeout after 10 minutes — only to be unlocked using a screen pattern. I taught my son the pattern, but for some reason — on this particular day — he’d forgotten the pattern. At some point — between his launching of an Angry Bird, and taking a bathroom break, my son was locked out of the tablet. After his numerous attempts to unlock the screen, the software did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the screen showed that death message: “Too Many Pattern Attempts”, along with a prompt to enter the Google (Gmail) username — an email address — and password. These are the same credentials used to purchase from the Android Market. The password to this account could be changed on a PC via the Gmail.com site.
In order for the tablet to verify that the Gmail username and password were correct, it had to be connected to a the internet — usually a WiFi network — to be able to access my Google/Gmail account. There was only one problem. My tablet was configured in such a way that it did not automatically connect to a WiFi network. I would manually “tell” my tablet to connect to a WiFi network (this prolonged the battery life). Now that I was locked out of my tablet, I couldn’t manually connect to a WiFi network. So, even when I entered the correct Gmail account’s username and password, the tablet would not unlock because it was not connected to the internet!
Did I mention that I love my Novo 7 Advanced tablet?
The Novo 7 Advanced tablet comes with a USB port — which, along with allowing file transfers, also allows you to CONNECT TO THE INTERNET VIA A DIRECT (HARD-WIRED, NON-WiFI) CONNECTION! I’d already purchased an adapter for the USB port to serve as a network port when I bought my tablet. In short, using the tablets USB port, I was able to connect my tablet directly to the internet, enter my Gmail credentials, and unlock my tablet. Here’s a summary of what to do:
First, make sure you can login to your Gmail account (on a computer) and verify the username and password. Then
EITHER:
1. Find a way to connect your tablet directly to a network instead of using WiFi (can be done if your tablet has a USB port).
2. Login to your tablet using your Gmail credentials, and you’ll unlock the tablet.
OR, more specifically, as I did:
1 Purchase a Plug-n-Play USB-to-RJ45 LAN Adapter 10/100, along with a USB Host Adapter — costs $3 to $15 (these came with my tablet order).
2. Connect the USB-to-RJ45 LAN Adapter to the USB Host Adapter.
3. Connect the USB Host Adapter to your tablet.
4. Connect the USB-to-RJ45 LAN Adapter to your network cable.
5. Connect the network cable directly to your internet Hub or modem.
6. Your tablet now has a direct connection to the internet. Enter your Gmail username and password, and you should be able to unlock your tablet. Make sure you enter the correct credentials!
If you want to buy tablets with great quality, price and service, visit www.topnotchtablets.com. Tell them I sent you!
Buttermilk Biscuits… Yum!!!
Shopping List: Flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter, buttermilk
Time before baking: 20 minutes or less
Amount: Makes about 10 medium biscuits. Take human bites.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I have a small convection oven which I use for this as well.
Mix 2 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 tea
spoon of salt in a bowl.
Slice up 6 tablespoons of cold butter into the dry mixture. Blend (with a fork, and then your hands).
Allow the mixture to flow through the fork as you press into it.
Now, rub the mixture between your hands (in circular motion) as if grinding it.
Do this until the butter is so blended with the dry mixture that the mixture holds its shape when you squeeze some in a fist. Wasn’t that fun?
Mix in 1 cup of buttermilk a little at a time. Continue to use your hands to blend the buttermilk, and your “butter/dry powder mixxy stuff”. 
Yes… yes I did call it that. You should have a fairly “wet” gooey mixture. Eat it. Wait… don’t eat it.
Sprinkle flour on a dry surface. With your hands covered with flour, take up some of the gooey biscuit mixture and shape it into 2x the size of a tennis ball, covering it with a light layer of flour. (The layer of flour will keep the gooey biscuit mixture from being too sticky to work with — less gooey, see?) Place the ball on the floured dry surface and prepare to roll out the biscuit mixture. If you don’t have a rolling pin, just put in your pre-school thinking cap, and flatten it out with your hands to about 3/4 inch thick.
Use a cup or glass whose opening is as wide as you’d like your biscuits. Cut your biscuit circles and place them in a non-buttered baking pan.
You can optionally brush the top of the biscuits with melted butter. Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes. Like I usually say… just don’t burn them.
Enjoy!
“We Are LCA”: A Champion’s Education…
A PIF (“Parent Involvement Fee”) is an extra amount you pay in addition to tuition in a private school. The good news is you can usually work that off in volunteer hours. (And you’d better believe I’ve been volunteering like a maniac!). The smart cookie I am, I joined the Technology Committee at the Champ’s school, Lehigh Christian Academy. (Boy do I love 7:30am meetings!)
One of my first tasks was to get the following video online. It’s a pretty good review of the school, and is indeed a school for Champions. Pay them a visit sometime. In the meantime, enjoy the video!
Lehigh Christian Academy of Allentown, PA
Child Support: “To Be, or Not To Be”
Yeah… that IS the question.
I could bore you with all of the NASTY details of going to court, but let’s face it; in the end, if you have to keep chasing someone to ensure your child is taken care of, you’ll end up neglecting yourself in some way, and ultimately not find a means to be independent — both financially, and mentally — and, you cannot put a price on freedom.
In summary, however, my story goes something like this:
- I proposed a minimal child support amount — to be settled out of court.
- My proposal wasn’t accepted. We went to court. The court granted me a greater amount.
- I received consistent payment for about 2 years — deducted directly from paycheck.
- Payment stopped. Why? You can’t deduct from a paycheck that doesn’t exist.
- Child support is in arrears and keeps piling up; every now and then I MIGHT see $25 or so per month. When the court threatens jail or fine, I might see a lump sum of maybe $300, after several months have passed.
- I’ve listened to stories of other moms whose child support arrears are 5x (or more!) as much as mine.
Yes, my son IS entitled to child support, but I can’t raise a champion, if I’m busy chasing a dead end. So, I’ve moved on. However, I needed to find a way to make extra cash, and I needed to do so relatively quickly — and without taking a night job. I had to think outside of the box… and… I found something!
I’ve found a way to make extra income from WITHIN my home, or practically anywhere I go. I learned how to mock the economy! The results: within just a month I made MORE than the court-ordered child support amount! What’s more, I can make that extra cheddar — and be financially independent, and mentally free.
Court is ALWAYS ugly, and I simply prefer to move on. However, if you’re a parent who is dealing with the stress of court battles over child support, I would be happy to share my court experiences with you directly to help answer any questions you may have. We can initially connect via email at raisingachampion@mocktheeconomy.com.
I’m raising a champion, so I intend to be one, myself.
If you “Like” this story, then “Like” my page at www.facebook.com/raisingachampion, and follow me at www.twitter.com/raisingachamp.
Sweet Potato Pie Recipe (with homemade crust!)
This is, by far, the Champ’s favorite dessert. Proceed to read at your own risk, for I will have to kill you afterwards…
Shopping list: yams preferred (or sweet potatoes) measured by the pound, butter, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, evaporated milk (or heavy cream) whole milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon flavor or lemon juice, flour, salt, shortening (Crisco preferred), vinegar
FILLING:
for each pound of potato:
1 stick of butter
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup evaporated milk
2/8 whole milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavor
1/4 teaspoon lemon flavor
Making The Filling
MASH & MIX all of the above
CRUST:
for each pound of potato
2 cups flour
1 teasp. salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1-3/4 cup Crisco
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
Making the Crust:
Mix the dry ingredients, and kneed in the Crisco…
Mix the wet ingredients, then pour the wet into the dry, mixing with a fork…
Then roll it out (extra flour thrown) for your pie pans…
Putting the Filling & Crust together
Pour the filling into the crust & bake, until … I don’t know. Just don’t burn it. Try 30 minutes to start, but no more than 45. Keep in mind that yams/sweet potatoes taste differently depending on the time of year. You can use that as an excuse if your pie doesn’t come out quite right. Ha!
[ AND NOW THAT I’VE TOLD YOU… I HAVE TO KILL YOU]
Homework: A Form Of Birth Control
No one reminded me about homework. On my wedding day, everyone talked about the “pitter-patter of little feet”, the midnight feedings, the diaper changing, and the teething. BUT NO ONE MENTIONED HOMEWORK.
That is almost unforgivable…
Homework to me is… a form of birth control. I STILL have nightmares — bad dreams depicting a life in which I still owe homework assignments in college, and even in high school. Ugghhh!!!! Had I been reminded of it — that I’d be re-living homework through the after hours spent with a child — I would’ve thought twice about having children.
So, it’s a good thing no one reminded me! At times I HATE homework, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my son — and the way the learned knowledge is shaping him into a Champion. There are times it’s been downright challenging, yet we find a way to conquer the difficulties. I’ll share our tricks toward our triumphs in upcoming posts under the “Homework Tips” category.
Raising A Champion 