Medical Lesson Learned: Ladies Only!

You know, I never thought I'd say it, but at this point I'd almost WELCOME menopause (or, the "pause", as I like to refer to it). Why? Because I am so tired of painful periods and cramps. Nothing works for me anymore. There is no over-the-counter medicine that works. My doctor doesn't seem to be phased by it and kind of looks at me like I am a big baby. Sometimes I am.

So with Frank being in his migraine mode and seeing that the Excedrin Migraine works wonders for him, I saw that Excedrin makes a Menstrual Complete medicine. In my line of thinking I figure that if this stuff is strong enough to tackle his migraines and succeed where no other medicine can, then surely this stuff - in the menstrual formula - can possibly help me.

I went, I bought, I took. The first two certainly took care of the cramps but I felt a little buzzy. I had just gotten home from going out for dessert with a friend and while I know this medicine has caffeine in it, I thought it was just a combination of that and the sweet dessert. Six hours later I wake at 4 a.m. with heinous cramps - the kind where I can barely unravel from the ball I'm in to walk to the kitchen to take something. But I do - two more. The bottle says that you can take up to 8 of these in a 24 hour time span so I feel okay in taking these two. Well, this began a horrific experience that I will not soon forget.

I took them at 4:16 a.m. I went back to bed and within 15 minutes my cramps were almost gone but my heart was beating erratically - I could FEEL it. I tried for over two hours to go back to sleep but could not. I got up and went about my morning but felt really weird, very shaky, kind of queasy and still my heart rate was not right. I had a bowl of oatmeal, hoping that food would level things out but it didn't. Five hours later my cramps are almost unbearable but I am afraid to take anything at this point.

We had a small Christmas party to deal with and so I stayed away from the sweets and chose some chips, popcorn, water, etc. to eat and while my stomach felt a little better, my heart did not. We ate a late, protein-laden lunch, still didn't feel better. At 4:00 p.m. I took a nap. I woke up at 5:00 p.m and STILL did not feel right. Frank got home at 5:30 and wanted to take me to the ER because he is convinced that this cannot be from the Excedrin. I told him I had gone on-line and researched this and all of these side effects are what can happen with this stuff but no time frame was given. I was still very weak and shaky and my heart was still beating weird and so he made me just sit quietly and rest. I did and by 8:00 pm I was tired but didn't feel quite so shaky.

I'm writing this on Wednesday morning, more than 31 hours after taking the last dose of this stuff and I am STILL not feeling right. I may have to call a doctor. I don't want to, but I may have to. The lesson here, be very, very, VERY careful when you take this stuff. Seriously, it scares the heck out of me right now.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on Christmas Cookie Math. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?

Okay, so now I am a tier 1 in my unemployment journey. Fun times. This is so NOT what I wanted to be but at the same time, this time of life has afforded me the opportunity to really look at what I want to do with my life.

Back in July, that drunken witch that my dad is married to said to me in one of her ridiculous rambling e-mails that basically I am a loser who is wasting my life. I took GREAT offense to that because really, I was okay with my life. I have a great marriage, two wonderful kids who are healthy, I have friends...I mean, we are by no means living the perfect life but we're happy. But that stupid comment in her e-mail just stuck in my craw, you know?

As I look forward to a new year (as most of us are at this time), I think that I am still doing what I want to do with my life. I'm working hard at a career as a writer and my marriage is still strong, my kids are still great, I mean...God has blessed me abundantly. I know I use this phrase a lot but I'll use it again - God did not choose to bless me with great wealth, but he blessed me with a great marriage and THAT is worth far more.

So as you are looking forward to the new year, what are your goals? Are you doing what you want to with your life? Is anyone out there living the dream? I'm just curious.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Life and Science Museum. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

Blessings and the Power of Prayer

Since becoming a Christian in early 1996, I have seen God do some pretty amazing things in my life. Have all of my prayers been answered? Yes. How can that be? Am I rich? Am I thin? No, I'm not but then again, sometimes God's answer is no. A very wise woman once taught me that and I have to remind myself of that point at times. God is not a genie in a bottle who grants wishes. Sometimes things have to happen a certain way and it's not for us to understand why - but someday we might.

As you all know, we have been struggling financially this year. Frank has not had a lot of work but, praise God, we had some money in savings that carried us through until this last month. Christmas was looking bleak and I was looking at ways to cut our already limited lifestyle back even more. It's not easy to do when you already don't have much.

A couple of weeks ago, actually it was the Sunday right after Thanksgiving, my church had their annual special service where it is all about thankfulness. Everyone is invited to get up and speak and share (briefly) something that they are thankful for that God has done in their life. I don't mind public speaking but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to get up and speak. I love to talk so I have to learn to differentiate between WANTING to talk and being led by God to talk - especially in this type of situation.

As the service went on, my heart started to race and I felt very anxious and it suddenly became very clear what I was supposed to get up and share. A little background for you: I am back at the church that I first went to upon moving to NC. It was where I became a Christian and stayed for 8 years. I left for personal (albeit selfish) reasons and after being away for 6 years, I am back. So I stood up at the mike and told how I was thankful to be back amongst family. That the people of this church have meant more to me over the years than I could ever imagine. How if it hadn't been for the love of my dear friend A.D. who made it her personal campaign to get me back in the church, I don't know how I would be handling life right now. I shared how I had lost two amazing women from my life this year who I miss terribly and with being unemployed for six months and Frank not having work, well, it was good to be among my Christian family who remind me always of God's provisions. That said, I sat down.

After the service, someone came up to me and offered Frank a job. A large job. A job that he's been at now for over a week and will (weather permitting) take him through the next two weeks. I had another friend offer him a similar job. And on top of that, the guy that he works with just got word on a job that will start up in early January.

Can I just say how big of a sigh of relief I am breathing right now? I don't always understand God's timing. But what I have noticed in my own personal experience is that when I acknowledge all that HE has done for me and how I trust in HIM, he gives us what we need.

My mom has a favorite song by the Rolling Stones - "You Can't Always Get What You Want". We always laugh because it is so true. The thing that makes life more tolerable, and to be able to truly see the blessings that come your way is when you realize the difference between wants and needs. I want Frank to have work - is a selfish statement. I might as well be saying I want a million dollars. But the reality is that we NEED Frank to work to provide for our family.

God heard of our need, and he met that need - by blessing us with friends who we love, who are now our family. I love you all so much and there aren't enough words to convey my thanks to you. I thank God for all of you.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Morehead Planetarium and the Star of Bethlehem show. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

To Those We Lost in 2009...

Last week my mom and her siblings buried my grandmother's remains. It was a small, graveside service. Later that night, the church that my mom and aunt attend had a service for those who had passed away in 2009. This poem was handed out to everyone as they entered the church. It was written by John Wm. Mooney, Jr. It was copyrighted in 1989 but it was just so beautiful that I wanted to share it here with all of you for perhaps those you lost this year.

Merry Christmas From Heaven

I Still Hear the Songs,
I Still See the Lights,
I still feel your love on cold wintery nights

I Still shares your hopes and all of your cares
I'll even remind you to please say your prayers

I just want to tell you, you still make me proud
You stand head and shoulders above all the crowd

Keep trying each moment, to stay in His grace
I came here before you to help set your place

You don't have to be perfect all of the time
He forgives you the slip, if you continue the climb

To my family and friends,
Please be Thankful today,
I'm still close beside you,
In a new special way

I love you all dearly,
Now don't shed a tear,
Cause I'm spending my Christmas
with Jesus this year

*Today's Examiner.com article is on Christmas traditions from around the world. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

Enough of it Already!

Unless you've been living on Mars in a cave with cotton in your ears, you may have heard the news about Tiger Woods. I mean, haven't we heard enough? Every day the "girlfriend" number goes up. And how many of these women are actually legit? You know, just because he bought you a drink, doesn't make you his girlfriend!

I know that the world looked at him like some sort of Messiah, but guess what? He's just a man! A man with 750 jillion dollars at his disposal to do whatever he wants. NOT that I am agreeing with what he did in any way, shape or form, I just think that it is pretty much a proven fact that people with that kind of money do stupid things - thinking that they are above reproach - and then get caught with their pants down.

Literally.

I'm not a sports fan; I don't follow golf. I know who he is and I was fine with just knowing he was a golfer. I don't care to see 89 images of his Escalade all banged up or the fire hydrant that it hit. I'm sorry that his mother in law went to the hospital, I don't need to hear the 911 call. There are people in the world with REAL problems. He cheated on his wife? Sure. Did she beat the crap out of him with a golf club? I can only hope.

But in the end, I'm tired of seeing it everywhere. It's unnecessary and irrelevant to what is really going on in the world.

So stop it!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on homeschool websites. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

Cluster Migraines

My husband suffers from cluster migraines. When I first met him over 20 years ago, they scared the hell out of me. I would have to sit back and watch this strong man being brought to tears by the pain. He's suffered from them since he was 15 years old. He's been to doctors, the ER, he's had all of the tests. No one can figure out what triggers them and no prescription medication has ever helped him.

The cycles don't really have a rhyme or reason, either. He used to get them, several times a year but for a very short time - like 2-3 migraines a cycle. Well, then he'd get less cycles, but more headaches. The way that the cycle is now, we can go up to 18 months between them, but the headaches come sometimes 2-3 times a DAY!

About ten years ago, he went in to a cycle right before our first trip to Disney. I was like "There is no way you can survive one of these headaches in Disney!" I mean, when one would strike, he needed complete silence and darkness for HOURS. There was no way that he could be in the middle of a park and walk to the exit, wait for a bus, ride the noisy bus back to the hotel, walk to the room... I mean, he'd be dead by then. On a fluke, we tried Excedrin Migraine and if he takes it at the very first twinge of a headache, he will be fine within 15 minutes. The problem? He is male. He tries to fight these damn things.

This cycle started up about a week ago. He had two that first day. What I noticed within the first three days was that they hit more over night. He fell asleep on the couch one night and did NOT get one. Solution? Sleep on the couch if you don't want a headache in the middle of the night! I don't know why, but it works. Our house is weird and I know that I wake up with a headache almost every morning so I can only imagine what his head feels like if it brings on a migraine. By the time he wakes up in the bed with a headache, it's too late; the Excedrin will not work.

We were on a good roll for about 5 nights when at 3 a.m. this morning, guess who came to bed? Besides waking me up by coming in the room, within an hour he was moaning in pain and trying to fight it at 5:00 he finally got up and went to take a hot shower (they help too). But by now I am WIDE awake and not feeling at all kind towards him because he brought this on himself! I mean, WHY would you deliberately put yourself in a situation that has been PROVEN during a cycle to cause a headache! I mean, I know the couch isn't the most comfortable place in the world but now, he's suffered with a headache, I've had like three house of sleep and I'm pissed.

I had to get out of the bed before he got out of the shower because there was no way I could be nice. When he gets one of these headaches, normally I am like Florence Nightingale - I'm getting his pills, I'm making him tea, I help him get comfortable...blah, blah, blah. But I just cannot find it in me to do that this morning when he purposely and SELFISHLY did this to himself.

I guess a career in nursing is out...

Here's a Question...

Okay, did y'all watch the finale Tuesday night of "The Biggest Loser"? I know I did! Okay, so I'm watching and I'm watching...little bit of frustration when Tracy almost won the $100,000 take home prize...watching, watching... and then a commercial for the Jay Leno show.

Do you know where I'm going with this?

I did not think that Jay was done live and yet there was a promo for him having the WINNER of the Biggest Loser right after the finale. WORSE - they showed a clip and although the face was blocked it was clearly DAN! How is that possible? I mean, if we watched a LIVE finale where the winner is just then finding out if they won, how then could Jay have had them on his show earlier for a taping?

Anyone out there know anything because I am stumped!

Holiday Meme!

Holiday Meme

Ok, there's tons of memes out there. I found this one over at Lola's Diner (I love her!) who decided to create her own holiday meme. Here goes: 1. What is your favorite holiday show/animated show?
My all-time favorite movie is "Scrooged" with Bill Murray and my favorite animated holiday show is "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

2. What holiday character do you think you're most like?
Mary from "It's a Wonderful Life"

3. What holiday character does your spouse think you're most like?
Mrs. Claus from "The Year Without a Santa Claus"

4. Favorite Christmas/holiday song?
If I'm in a silly mood, it's the Chipmunk Christmas song. But normally, I get really cheery to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" - not traditional, I know.

5. Most hated Christmas/holiday song?
Blue Christmas - especially the Elvis version

6. If you have an all holiday music radio station when do you start listening to it? I don't have one and I wish to all that is Holy that they wouldn't start playing holiday music in November!

7. If you have an all holiday music radio station do you love it or hate it?
Hate it!

8. Have you ever wrapped yourself as a Christmas present? Come on...you can tell!
Um...no

9. Who is Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer's father?
I found two different answers to this one. Anyone know for sure? 10. Do you drive your neighborhood or one near you at night to look at other people's holiday decorations?
Yes, I do. Not as often as I'd like, but I do it.
11. When you see a heavily decorated house do you think, 'oh that's lovely'? Or do you think, 'oh criminy, that looks like Christmas threw up all over their lawn'?
Oh, I get all giddy and excited at first and then I think "Don't these people have anything else better to do with their time? and "I wonder what their electric bill must be like!

12. Are you counting the days to Christmas with excited anticipation or dread?
Dread. I'm too poor this year to really get excited.

13. When was the last time you had your photo taken with Santa? Did you sit on his lap? It was 1993 and I was selling Tupperware and I sat on Santa's lap at our holiday Christmas party. There's a Poloroid of it somewhere!

14. Do you make a Christmas list for your spouse or significant other or do you rely on them to pick your gift(s) without a clue from you?
It varies from year to year. Sometimes I just shop for myself and let Frank put his name on the package but most years he goes out himself and shops.

15. When do you put up your tree?
The second week of December.

16. Real or fake?
Real - every since our first Christmas together. I had a fake one growing up but when Frank and I moved in together we decided that we wanted a real tree.

17. When do you take your tree down?
After January 4th because that's Nick's birthday and we used to keep it up to keep it festive in the house for company - now he still enjoys having the tree up for his birthday.

18. Do you shop the day after Christmas sales? What do you shop for?
Not if I can help it. If the kids get gift cards, we'll go, but other than that, I am usually shopped out by then.

19. Is your work/office having a holiday party this year? Will you attend?
Being that I am unemployed (except for my penny-a-page-view gig at Examiner.com) the answer would have to be no.

20. Do you have your New Year's Eve Plans set yet?
No. We really don't ever do anything on New Year's anymore because whenever we try to plan something, things go horribly wrong. It's just safer to stay home and make our favorite snacks and chill out.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on How to Pay for College Seminar. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

I Finally Got New Glasses!

Okay, the last time I got glasses was around 11 years ago. I had no choice, my last ones looked like something from the Sally Jesse Raphael show! Mine were green whereas hers were red but they were both HUGE!

So I got my glasses and they were fine. When I was pregnant with Michael and had to stop wearing my contacts (just another "perk" of pregnancy), I was fine with them. I went for four years without contacts and was fine with my glasses. Well, now I really am not comfortable wearing them for anything except walking from the bed to the bathroom to put my contacts back in! Remember my eye doctor appointment back in June where they kept trying to sell me glasses even though I kept reminding them that I was unemployed with no insurance? Then they told me how they were "affraid" to even TOUCH my glasses because they were so old? Well to them I say HA-HA!!

Zenni Optical has $8 glasses and I went and ordered my some glasses. I was not expecting quality glasses for that amount but at least I would be able to see. Always a good thing! So they finally came in the mail and I was just about giddy. They arrived a little over two weeks after my order was placed and when they came they each had their own hard-covered case and Zenni Optical cloth with it. They fit perfectly, they look great and best of all, I really can see in them! I am very pleased.

I ordered two pairs because at that low price, why not? Plus, without trying them on, I wasn't sure which style I was going to prefer. They are almost identical and the funny thing is that I like one pair and Frank likes the other. Go figure. But now I have a pair and a back up and with the shipping it cost less than $21.

Now that's a deal!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on virtual field trips. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

A Tiny Rant...sort of...

You know, for an unemployed chick I'm quite busy. I've gotten involved not only in several writing projects but I also joined about a half a dozen different little small groups/activities/clubs/etc. It's good to get out and see people and be productive but I am telling you... people can be really annoying.

There, I said it.

Okay, why? you ask? Well, I'll tell you. For starters, If you are in the middle of an emotional crisis with life in general, PLEASE don't take on the task of leading any kind of a group. We don't need to ride the roller coaster with you, okay? I have enough problems of my own without having to deal with yours too. Next, when someone takes the time to research something and gets a really, really, REALLY great deal for the entire group, don't nit-pick it apart and try to nickel and dime it to see if you can get even MORE free stuff. How about saying "thank you"?

I realize that I've said it often that I don't miss working with the public in retail but I have been shocked, amazed and appalled at the behavior of some adults. If you are unwilling to step up to lead something, then don't criticize the person who stepped up to do it! If you think you can do it better, GO AHEAD! Oh, and my personal favorite that I recently encountered...if a rule is set and agreed upon by the entire group do not expect to be the EXCEPTION to it! You are no more important than anyone else! Quit your whining and complaining for crying out loud! Rules aren't made by one person in these types of organizations. There are committees, sub-committees, etc. and so anything that gets made in to a rule, is voted on by many. Take it up with them if you don't like it, but please don't sit an pout about it. And finally, along those same lines, when something is voted upon, agreed upon and SETTLED upon by the group, please do not take it upon yourself to start a campaign to change everyone's mind because YOU are the only one who did not agree. That's what happens in group organizations, not everyone gets their way.

Whew. I feel so much better. Thanks for listening.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Secret Keeper Girl Tour. You can read about it HERE. It's a great thing for moms of 8-12 year old girls. Thanks!*

What Can You Do?

As many of you remember, my grandmother passed away in January. She had donated her body to the program at a local university. She was excited to do it and it was something that we all respected.

Upon entering this agreement, you (The family) are told that you will receive your loved ones cremated remains in approximately one year. Okay, fine. My mom comes home from work the other day to find a "Final Delivery Notice" in her mailbox from the post office. She had never received any other notifications so was unsure what this was in regards to. Well after a trip to the post office, it turns out that it is Grandma's remains!! What the hell???

The post office claims that it's first delivery attempt was September 12th. Yes, SEPTEMBER!! It is now DECEMBER!! Where were these other notifications? No one knows! So along those lines, I am curious as to how this whole program of sorts is even run. I mean, shouldn't the University follow up with this sort of thing? Shouldn't the crematorium follow up with the family or at least notify them that they are releasing (mailing) the ashes out and to be looking for them? At this point, I'm like "Is this even Grandma?" I mean, how can I trust a program that is run so poorly? Plus, where is the post office's responsibility in all of this? How can you claim "Final Notice" when there is no record of a first or second notice?

Mom was pretty upset and I can't say that I blame her! This is her mother! I think that it is a disgrace that my sweet little grandma wanted to do something good to help the field of science and that her remains were treated with such disregard.

So what do you do? Do you have any recourse? I suggested going to one of the local TV stations that have a "Troubleshooter" type thing and getting the story out there. As of right now, I don't know what is going to happen but I will keep you posted.

*Today's Examiner.com article is on holiday events at the library. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

41 - Day Two

Okay, so I did, in fact, survive turning 41. It wasn't all that exciting but was filled with some wonderful surprises.

First, I was woken up at 5 a.m. by my husband who was in the throws of a migraine. I had to help him from the bed and in to a steamy shower because that is one of the only things that helps him. At 6:45 I got to walk out of the house and in to the pouring rain to drive Nick to work. But when I opened the door I was surprised by a bouquet of balloons and an incredibly sweet card from my friend Danette. That was so sweet that I almost didn't mind having to be up and out of the house that early.

I worked at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) today in the toddler room. I spent three hours getting animal cracker drool on me but it was totally worth it because all of the kids must have sensed that it was my birthday and were extra snuggly with me. I love that.

I picked Nick up from work after running some errands and when we got home, there was a bouquet of flowers waiting for me and MORE balloons! I LOVE balloons! The flowers were from two brothers from my middle school writing class (Thank you Calvin, Dave and Dena!!) and the balloons were from my girl, Nani. Thank you! We went inside where we all (me, Nick & Michael) had lunch together and watched a couple of episodes of "How I Met Your Mother". I baked myself cupcakes (devils food with chocolate icing) and talked on the phone with friends, my great-aunt, my mom, and my sister.

Did anyone pick up on what family member did NOT call me today?

Frank and the boys took me out to dinner to the Outback and it was delicious! It's really one of my favorite places to go and the food is always good. I love me some steak for dinner that I don't have to cook! Yummy! We also stopped at Barnes and Noble because there were a couple of writer's magazines that I had wanted and they are a bit on the pricey side for such thin reading but Frank got them both for me.

I got over 100 birthday wishes on Facebook and all in all, I am feeling blessed. So far, I'm kind of loving being 41!

I Don't LIke Getting Older...

Okay, so I'm 41 today. It's not as fun or as magical as last year's birthday hooplah. I just feel older. Sigh. Remember when you were a kid and birthday's were a HUGE deal? That's what I want. I want to just play and be silly and have people around me doing the same thing. I don't think it's going to happen. So in honor of it being my birthday and wanting to be a kid again, I hereby quit being an adult and I thank you, Beeg, for sharing this one with me!

To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby officially tender my resignation as an adult.
I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of a 6 year old again.
I want to go to McDonald's and think it's a four star restaurant.
I want to think M & M's are better than money, because you can eat them.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks.
I want to play kickball during recess and paint with watercolors in art.
I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple.
When all you knew were colors, addition and simple nursery rhymes,
but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
When all you knew was to be happy because you didn't know all the things that should make you worried and upset.
I want to think that the world is fair.
That everyone in it is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible.
Somewhere along the way I learned too much.
I learned of nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, starvation and abused children.
I learned of lies, unhappy marriages, suffering, illness, pain and death.
I learned of a world where children knew how to kill...and did.

What happened to the time when we thought that everyone would live forever, because we didn't grasp the concept of death?
When we thought the worst thing in the world was if someone took the jump rope from us or picked us last for kickball?
I want to be oblivious to the complexity of life and be overly excited by little things once again.
I want to return to the days when reading was fun and music was clean.
When television was used to report the news or for family entertainment and not to promote sex, violence and deceit.

I would spend my afternoons climbing trees and riding my bike.
I didn't worry about time, bills or where I was going to find the money to fix my car.
I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew up, not worry about what I would do if it didn't work out.
I want to live simple again.

I don't want my day to consist of:
computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness and the loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of:
smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind and making angels in the snow.

So...here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements.
I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, 'cause,

"Tag! You're it."

*Today's Examiner.com article is on the Raleigh City Museum. You can read about it HERE. Thanks!*

Yup, I finished this one too!

I was a writing DEMON in November, my friends! I completed a 50,000 word novel, I blogged every single day (sometimes twice a day) AND I wrote every day for the Examiner with the exception of one (dang it!).

So here's to me...and my writing...and to hopefully, someday, having a laptop of my very own where I can sit in comfort any place that I want to, when I want to and actually get some REAL writing done where I will actually MAKE money!

Now I'm off to write some more!

Thank God, It's Almost Over!

Can I just say how glad I am that this month is just about over?? I mean, seriously, this has been like the WORST month ever!

Why, you ask?

Okay, first there was the sinus infection. That wasn't pleasant. Then it was the strep throat. I am having some major neck and shoulder issues from being at the computer all day long, too. It's all making me feel very, very old. Then there was the three-day-car-repair extravaganza. Did I not blog about that one? Frank's van broke down two weeks ago and we thought it was merely a broken belt which would have been a quick fix. But this is us that we are dealing with and so of course it wasn't just that. We have AAA which we could have used to get the car towed to our house but the registration wasn't up to date and so we had to take care of that BEFORE we could tow the car. Once that got resolved, it was the next day, and we find out that it is not just the belt but also the water pump. Poor Frank worked like a fiend for a total of three days because numerous obstacles kept coming up.

Now add to all of that that as of this posting, he has been out of work for a little over two weeks. The savings are all gone. I'm still unemployed, my birthday is in two days and Christmas is around the corner. How much is my birthday going to suck? A WHOLE LOT!! I don't ever want to do much to begin with, but I do appreciate not having to cook on my special day (or at least have something better than Burger King!). I haven't begun to Christmas shop because there is no money and I am just ready to be done.

Then there was losing Collette. I was sitting at church today and I just sobbed the entire time that the music played because she was on my mind and all I could think was that she was up in heaven now, hopefully watching over us, and know how much we miss her. I lost two amazing women this year and I just can't seem to wrap my heart around it and not be so sad.

And then there was the computer crashing. Oh, it's up and running and all that but it's still not quite right. I'm going to try and get some more work done on it again this week to tweak all of the programs that are still acting a little floopy and it's made my life a little more complicated.

Oh, and did I mention that I heard Nick calling his girlfriend's mom "mom"? I mean, why not just get a rusty carving knife that just cut up some raw chicken and stab me in the heart!! Honestly, I died a little bit when I heard him say it!

So be GONE November! I am so done with you!! I just want, no NEED some good news!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on educational programs at the park. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Back from the mountains!

So we survived our Thanksgiving in the mountains. It got off to a rough start - mixed/crossed communications on arrival time - we arrived and no one was there. It was pitch black for the last 90 minutes of the drive which was a bit scary because that was where we were actually going UP the mountain; very narrow and winding roads. Scary!

Everyone arrived around ten p.m. and luckily we had a key to get in so we were already settled. When we woke up the next morning, I was blown away by the view. I don't think I could ever tire of looking at it! The house that we were staying at was high up on a mountain and had a small, man-made lake that Frank and Michael fished, we drove over to Chimney Rock with the intention of going to the park and climbing the mountain but they were closed. We ended up walking along their River Walk which was pretty breathtaking, too.

Thanksgiving night the winds whipped up something fierce and in all of my life I had never heard wind howl like that. It was pretty intense and creepy, but I seemed to be the only one bothered by it. Dinner was wonderful (and healthy!) and we left Friday afternoon with the hopes of visiting with some other friends who live in the area. Unfortunately, the hostess was deathly ill and so rather than head back over to the mountain retreat, we headed home. I'm not going to lie to you, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way and feasted on a lot of unhealthy foods - I had chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits! And a Coke!

All in all it was a nice change of pace but I really am just too much of a food control freak (especially on the holiday's) to do something like that again. Any other time of the year would be spectacular - there was mention of how on the Fourth of July you can see more than a half dozen fireworks displays around the mountain in her back yard - now THAT I can do!

I hope that all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!!

*Today's Examiner.com article is on homeschooling the only child. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

What is the fascination with trash?

Do you ever want to get your husband or your children to pay attention to anything?

Simply throw it in the trash!

Yes, I'm serious. In my house, I can have papers on every surface of our home - you can be walking on it, eating on it, sleeping on it, heck, even eating on it and no one will think to look at it to see if it is important or for them. But once it goes in the trash? "Why is THIS in the trash?" "How did THIS get in the trash?" "Why are you throwing THIS out?"

Um...why did you not notice it sitting on the couch for the last week? I mean, it had YOUR name on it. Why could you not read that until it landed in the big heaping pile of trash in the pail?? And you know the sad thing here? I'm not making this up!

My boys share a room. It is piled high with crap. Today I asked them to please clean it up a little. I even offered a shovel. The declined. So Nick threw out a bunch of stuff that had been scattered about the room and not five minutes later Michael comes up to me and asked "Why is that envelope with Nick's name on it in the garbage?"

Sigh. It didn't even make it in to his range of vision while on the floor in his room when he stepped on it and over it a dozen times. Covered in garbage, NOW he's drawn to it. Frank does it to me too. He NEVER looks at the mail. Ever. Until it is in the trash. "Hey? What's this?" "Garbage," I answer. "Why?"

REALLY???

*Today's Examiner.com article is on A Beka Books. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*

Scam or Confusion?

Okay, so we're sitting here having dinner one night and the phone rings. We have caller ID and so if we don't know the name or number, we let the answering machine get it. It was a California call and we did not recognize it so we let the machine have at it.

This woman starts talking about looking for some relatives of someone who she has some possessions of and she's been researching and researching and if we knew of this person (who is now deceased) could we please contact her so that their belongings could go to their rightful family. Well, I convinced Frank to answer the phone and talk to this woman because it was just too odd not to! So he talks to her for like ten minutes and agrees that he will speak to his parents and IF we are related we will get back to her. Long story short, we're not. End of story.

Or is it?

Today I come home to find a FedEx envelope by my front door. So I open it and in it is two DVD's plus a letter from this woman telling us that we ARE related to this deceased person and as such she is mailing us FIVE BOXES of ... get this...
SCIENTOLOGY books, CD's and transcripts! But wait, that's not all...she encourages US to start using the program ourselves!! I mean REALLY?? Now, I believe I have mentioned this before, but I am a Christian. I got to a Baptist church. I was actually raised Catholic but now go to a Baptist church where I am very, very happy.

So I call this woman (because all of her contact information is on this very businesslike letter on Scientology stationary) and I get her secretary. I'm told that this woman is not available and to call back later. Luckily I have unlimited long distance calling otherwise I'd really be ticked off at having to field this expense! I call back later and got the woman I needed to on the phone and explained to her that we are of NO relation to the deceased and do NOT want these boxes. Her response? "I had it on very good authority that you were related." A statement that she repeated THREE TIMES.

I have a feeling that these boxes are going to show up here anyway and if they do? They will go directly in to my trunk and take a very quick drive to the local Goodwill. So is there really confusion on who this guy was related to or is Scientology just looking for a way to get their stuff out there? Is Tom Cruise (who I DESPISE, btw) going to come-a-calling?

I hope not...

*Today's Examiner.com article is on The Woodcock-Johnson standardized test. You can read it HERE. Thanks!*