H.....is for housewife

I did this for a while. I was working when I got married and so I continued to do so until we had our first child. By then we had saved enough to buy a small house in a subdivision filled with similar houses. And in those houses lived families about our same age who ended up having kids about the same age as ours.

I did the housewife gig until my youngest child was ready for kindergarten. By then we had moved to a larger house to accommodate our larger family and we owed more money. It was necessary for two paychecks. Of course I couldn't make it simple and just get a regular job. Noooo......I had to obtain a job that required me to switch shifts every 28 days. When I think back on it......I really don't know how I managed it. But, to tell the truth....it actually gave me a little rest from all that housewife-ing I had been doing for all those years. The only thing I regret about going back to work is that it takes you away from your kids and they really do need you to be available until they are at least in their teens......when they are independent and know everything. Ahem.

But this post is about being a housewife....someone who stays home and manages everything. People (men) who think that housewives do nothing all day are out of their minds. I was the first one up and the last one to go to bed. It seems like I was always busy doing something. But I honestly feel that I was a good housewife. I didn't burn any dinners and the mistakes I made around the house were honest ones (like the time I put marine varnish on the kitchen floor because I couldn't get a good shine on it with wax). Or the time I carpeted an entire hallway with pieces of carpeting I got for free which were no larger than 6" each. I nailed them down with carpet tacks. It honestly looked really good when I was finished. Years later when the new owners discovered it, they thought I was insane. (I heard this from the neighbors who still lived in the subdivision).

But I was just trying to make my home look nice without having to spend money we didn't have. And.....hey.....that kitchen floor was the envy of the neighborhood when it finally dried.....three days later. (honest!)

G.....is for guitar

I am in love with guitar music. Not the stuff where they go crazy and end up slamming their instrument to the ground and destroying it. I'm talking about smooth, easy, dreamy stuff. I love the blues. Blues music speaks to me. As does acoustic Spanish guitar.....the slow stuff that enters deeply into your soul and warms up your senses. I often put this type of music on, close my eyes and drift away. Sometimes I think it saved my sanity.

I am a senior citizen but I love Slash. Yes I do. He is tremendously talented. I bet a lot of you don't even know who he is, but he used to play with Guns n' Roses. He was the one with the long curly hair and the top hat. You never could really see his face. I don't like everything he plays....but some of it really speaks to me. (Listen to "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns n' Roses sometime) I also love Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd. Comfortably Numb is one of my favorites.

When my kids were teenagers they were a bit surprised when they found out that I liked "some" of the songs from some of the bands they listened to....most of them hard rock or heavy metal. Usually, though, the songs all had one thing in common....awesome guitar solos. I like country songs too and if they have an awesome guitar solo, so much the better! Easy Rock is my old stand-by but some of the songs stand out....Bob Segar's "Like a Rock"....take a listen to the guitar solo in that one. It always gives me goose-bumps.

So close your eyes and listen to the video I've attached. Its only a minute and a half long but you'll feel so much more relaxed afterward. Try it.

F.....is for family

Personally, I don't think there is anything more important than family. I always wanted a huge family....maybe that's because I came from such a small one. My mom was an only child, my dad was an only child and I am an only child. This means no aunts, uncles or cousins for me as well as no siblings. I dreamed of meeting my perfect soul-mate and having at least four children. Well, I met the guy I eventually married on a blind date and after a few dates, he told me that he was from a family of sixteen! Wow.....I was envisioning the family reunions right there and then. Of course they never happened.....at least not to the extent I was hoping for.

Realistically.....Life is not The Walton's and the amount of dysfunctional families out there is amazing. Being raised alone, with no siblings, I had no idea the kind of resentment that can brew within the confines of a large family unit. My husband advised me that out of all his siblings, he was only close to one brother, three years his senior. They had lived in the deep south all his life but now most of the siblings were scattered across the nation. He and his brother relocated here to my state in search of work and the rest is history. (I was the YANKEE of the family). I was determined not to have just one child but after my second one, I knew that I would be foolish to have more. My husband and I were not compatible at all. He was definitely not my soul-mate. We tried for years to make it work, but.....eventually we had to call it quits. I have since come to terms with the fact that my 'soul-mate' probably died in Vietnam, because I never did meet him.

That split resulted in a split of the feelings of our children. Our son blamed me for "ruining" everything with divorce, where my daughter understood and sympathized with me and my reasons. They are grown now and each is a parent. However, the division has continued. It deeply saddens me.....maybe more than some people because of my belief that family is a number one priority. I am happy to say that my in-laws (his brother and his wife) still consider me family and treat me as such. They have never blamed me for calling it quits. I am a cross-eyed optimist, I guess.....but I am hoping that, in time, my children will be close.......or at least closer than they are at present. I also wish that my son were more attentive toward me, but my daughter works twice as hard to make up for the fact that he isn't. God bless the day I had her for she is my joy. As it stands now, our family reunion could take place in a teacup and we'd still have room for the band.

So, all of you who have large families....enjoy, enjoy enjoy. You may get frustrated once in a while over something "Aunt Millie" or "Cousin Olive" did or said.....but they're family and they belong to YOU. Pass the potato salad please......and, oh yeah - Keep smilin'!

E.....is for equine and equestrian

and those words sound so sophisticated for such a fun and laid back event. At least that's how it was for me. I know there are occasions when it involves lots of money and years of training and the horse is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars....but, for my own experiences, I'm talking about just the LOVE of riding. To get on a horse....most of the time bareback....and take off with the wind blowing in your hair, is one of the best things you can do for your heart and soul.

When I was 8 years old, my grandmother asked me what I would rather have.....piano lessons or a horse. What a ridiculous question! Even though I wish I could have done both.....of course I took the horse! Horses are a lot of work though. I was fortunate that we lived on a small farm so we had the room and the barns. My mother had previously owned horses so she was experienced in the care and feeding, as well as how to ride and saddle. The horse pictured is actually my horse and I owned him for 8 years. When I was 16, I sold him to a woman who was buying him for her 6 year old and I know he went to a good home.

When I owned him, I would meet up with other kids my age who had horses and we would all ride together. We loved to play "hide and seek" in the wooded fields. The rules were that you could not get off your horse.....so you not only had to find a place to hide yourself....you had to also hide your horse. So many times the horses would nicker to each other and betray our location. It was a lot of fun, as were the rides we took that stretched for miles on narrow, gravel country roads. We would stop along the way and have a picnic and we always remembered to bring along carrots for the horses. Of course they always had grass to munch on, so they weren't hungry.

I can't even begin to explain the feeling.....the ultimate freedom....of riding a horse. I would ride in our back fields almost daily and then over to an adjoining farm frequently to enjoy an additional 80 acres there. There were paths all through woods and around a small lake. It was so peaceful.....and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Just me, my trusty horse and my faithful little dog. How I wish I would have had the forethought to have had a camera with me. The pictures I have are only in my mind now. I have cherished those years all my life and can feel a smile slowly creep over my face as I think back and fondly remember. Just the sound of his hooves methodically hitting the ground and the squeak of the leather saddle under me.....the birds in the trees, ducks from the lake and the jingle of my dog's collar tags. When I'm stressed......I go back there mentally. I know I am so lucky to have these memories. So much so that I forgave my grandmother for tearing that picture out of the magazine. LOL (reference to the B post)

D.....is for Drive-Ins

Oh my lord.....my generation sure did love drive-in movies! I can't believe that almost every one of them are closed now. It was a wonderful date for teenagers. Lots of time to "neck" and if you didn't like your date that much, you could always watch the movie!! It was really convenient for families too. Mom and Dad could get an evening out without having to pay the babysitter.....the kids came right along. We'd fill the car with snacks, popcorn, pop and candy brought from home so we didn't have to pay the high prices there. The kids, dressed in pj's, hugging their blankets and stuffed animals, would snuggle back in the car and usually would fall asleep within the first hour or so.

The trips to the concession stand weren't so great....especially if you had to use the bathroom. Seems like there was NEVER any toilet paper left by the time it was your turn to use the facilities.....and WHY was that entire floor always wet? But it was a small price to pay for all the benefits you got. We always saw dozens of people we knew. The girls would all gather around the big mirror and discuss their "dates", while refreshing their makeup and ratting their hair up a bit more. A few sprays of Aqua Net and you were good to go.

Back in the late 50's.....my heyday for dating.....it was a simpler time. Gas was about 15 cents a gallon, max, and you didn't have to pump it yourself. We would 'cruise' different drive-in restaurants looking for all our friends and then, if something good was playing, we'd all end up at the drive-in movie....after burgers, cokes and fries of course.

I have a lot of fond memories of those times. I know those of you who are my age have those same fond memories. I will never understand why they did it ..... and WHO decided to close them up anyway? It seemed like they were always crowded and doing a good business. I just don't know. What I do know, however, is that its MISSED.

I have noticed that some drive-ins are making a come-back. In our town we now have a drive-in restaurant similar to those of my youth....complete with carhops. This is totally different than fast food drive UP windows. Also, drive up banking has been popular for quite a while now, as well as drive up prescription pick up. But I really do wish they would bring back drive-in movies.

I have heard that there are a few still in existence. If you're lucky enough to have one in your town....enjoy it to the max. Remember the heaters we had to hang in the windows when it was winter? They did keep us warm. Either that or it was our teenage raging hormones that was keeping us warm. I remember really getting into trouble with my parents while on a date with the man I ended up marrying. We both fell asleep at the drive-in and woke up with a start. We were the only car left in the lot and the people who ran the place were on their way to our vehicle to find out the problem. We quickly put the speaker back on the pole and left. No cell phones back then.....and I was 2 hours over curfew. My mother was beside herself with worry.

Yes, it was a simpler time and I loved it. I'm grateful that I lived during that era. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Maybe a wealthy entrepreneur will take a chance and bring back the past.

C.....is for Commercials

Ah the land of TV Commercials! Commercials are irritating mostly because they are taking you away from a program that you actually want to view....even though they do offer an opportunity to quickly run to the bathroom or to the kitchen to grab a drink or snack. Commercials are not that long if you check each one individually....but on a commercial break its not uncommon for 10 different commercials for 10 different products or services loudly trying to persuade you to buy buy buy.

I have seen commercials that I just love, however. We all remember "Mikey", the commercial I have pictured. That commercial stayed in our memories for years and in so doing.....the product they were advertising stayed in our minds. (Life cereal) I love emotional, touching commercials. Make me cry and you've got me hooked. Anything with animals seems to be a good bet. Humorous commercials are great also. How many of you remember the Alka Seltzer commercial from so many years ago....about the HUGE dumpling that the newlywed saved and froze for her husband? I have many favorite commercials and kudos for all their writers.

However.....

There are an over-whelming amount of commercials that just plain make me mad. I realize that "s-x sells" and that is probably one of the main problems in our country today....but that's for another post at another time. So many commercials are just that. Nothing but s-x. (I'm not spelling it out completely because I don't want to be a google hit for the s-x seekers.) Anyway, have you seen the commercial that shows nothing but a young woman's behind in various poses and articles of clothing.....mostly underwear..... and the commercial turns out to be an ad for SHOES. This almost sent my brain into vapor lock. Then heaven help you if you watch daytime TV. I really try not to. The commercials will nearly fry your brain. The constant bantering about suing....for big money.....BIG money. Fall down your steps at home?.....are you a renter? Then SUE your landlord and get BIG BUCKS. Neighbor's dog growl at you? SUE. This has led to anxiety and loss of sleep and your health has deteriorated. Blah blah blah. In these days of people looking for easy money this just plants the seed. I've had two claims against my homeowner's insurance and both parties (spread out over a 20 year period) didn't carry it through because it was discovered they were "enhancing" their so-called injuries. Afternoon TV is almost nothing but lawyers and "get out of debt".

In my opinion, such as it is, if they all stuck with humor the product or service would be remembered and the commercial would actually be watched. Who doesn't love the little dog with anxious dreams about his precious bone? The song alone is a winner. Good job, Traveler's Insurance.

B.....is for Books, Books....everywhere

.......and not enough time to read them all.

I have had a love affair with books my entire life. My mom told me that I used to sit on the floor when I was just a toddler and carefully look at magazines....not even wrinkling a single page. One day my grandmother saw me looking at a picture in a magazine that she thought was not age appropriate. Back then, it sure could not have been anything racy but, nevertheless, she bent down and ripped the page out of the magazine right before my terrified eyes. Mom said I was heart-broken! She related that I cried and cried for what seemed like hours. So my love of books, magazines and pictures has been around since before I can even remember.

I once had a sweatshirt that read "So many books, so little time" and it stated exactly how I felt. One year when I was in my teens, my mom had a birthday cake made for me. It looked like an open book, much like the picture in this post. On it she had written "Oh give me a good book to read and let the rest of the world go by". Yes, my mom sure did know me. But then, I inherited my love of books from her.

I probably own over 500 books....maybe more. All but a handful are hardcover. I have two stacks of books in my guest room that are each four feet tall. These are the books that are waiting patiently for me to take one in my hands and become friends with it and the joys it holds inside its covers. And, yes....it seems like there is "too little time". Every time I get the stacks reduced a bit, I add more to them because new books have come out that I just MUST read.

I love the feel of a book in my hands and the smell of a brand new book. I will often just open one up and bury my nose in it and inhale deeply. I know this all sounds crazy.....but this is just a little bit of my personality. However, I do own a Kindle. I like the convenience of throwing it in my purse and always being ready to start reading. It will never replace an actual book for me, but I've grown rather fond of the convenience. Good grief.....a Kindle can hold over 3,500 books....or so I'm told anyway. I have about 15 on mine right now. Its also quite common for me to have several books going at the same time. I think the most I've had going at once has been 3.

My son does not read books at all. He's missing so much. My daughter will read voraciously when she's in the mood. She devoured the entire set of Philippa Gregory's Boleyn series in just a few weeks. My grandson is a reader but doesn't read too often. Hopefully, my granddaughter will enjoy reading enough to do it often.

So I am very grateful to all the authors out there......for, without them, we would have no books to enjoy. With them you can escape anywhere in (or out of) the world. Anywhere your heart desires and never leave the comfort of your living room.

Right now I'm reading The Passage, which is can't-put-it-down terrific........ and on my Kindle, Torn the second part of the Trylle Trilogy. which is just a fun- easy reading fantasy story, but it does hold your attention.

Thank you to those of you who welcomed me to "The Challenge". I hope I can follow through. I, too, am looking forward to reading new blogs and meeting new people so I can add you to my list of awesome bloggers that I've come to know and love. Thank you again for your warm welcomes! Enjoy the weekend and find joy in the fact that Spring represents new life and that can also be interpreted to mean, "A new look on life". Keep smilin'.

This is a great "A" post.....

Well, after reading Jamie's post, I decided to also join the A-Z Challenge. The button is on my sidebar if you'd like to join us. I'm number 973. This challenges you to write a post for every day in April and each one begins with the next letter of the alphabet. X should be interesting, I'd say. Anyway....this is going to be a real challenge for someone like me who only posts about 3 times a month. LOL

But now on to my "A" post. I'm so proud to say that last night we went to Parent-Teacher conferences and my granddaughter is on the All A Honor Roll! We are so very proud of her. She's only been at this new school since February 14 and has worked very hard. Her hard work shows! They also had the kids stand up and do reviews on a book they've recently read and they also had to make up a poster board presentation and then actually perform a task that was mentioned in the book. My granddaughter made a huge valentine....showing how to cut out hearts and put ribbons on them. She then passed out home-made valentines. This was from the Junie B. Jones book, Mushy Gushy Valentine. These are great books for the 1-2 grade level. She was very surprised when she won the 1st Place ribbon for best in the elementary category. Again....I'm so grateful that we transferred her.

So that's it. My A post is all about my granddaughter, whose name starts with an "A" and her being on the All A Honor Roll.

TGIF.....have a good one and a wonderful weekend.

Just a quickie.....

Yes, unfortunately, I had to have another shot. Finally, today, my eye has stopped complaining but its still all red. The eye doctor was very happy with things when he looked at all the images of my eye. He said the problem has almost completely reversed itself. This second shot should keep it from happening again. I'm still not seeing as well as I once could, but he's optimistic that my sight will improve with time and the distortion will go away. My next appointment is in 6 weeks.

We drove down there and back in freezing rain. Thank goodness my daughter is a good driver and I felt at ease with her behind the wheel. Because of the weather, school had been canceled and we had to take my granddaughter with us. She was very good. She had brought along about 1,900 Barbies to occupy her time there. We stopped on the way home and had brunch. By the time we finished, the numbness was wearing off and my eye was beginning to really hurt. I was glad we were only a mile away from home at that point.

My granddaughter took her test for her orange belt in Karate today and obtained it. She is one proud little girl......and we are very proud of her as well. She is FLOURISHING at her new school. She gets up in the morning and is anxious to go. At her old school, she hated going and would leave the house in tears every morning. They advised my daughter that she was failing, yet at this new school, she has tested right at grade level and one grade higher in reading. I think she was so upset all the time at the old school that she had given up and wasn't even trying anymore. I'm so grateful that we got her out of there. Its awful to see a child so unhappy....especially when you can fix it. One of my daughter's friends is also pulling her two children out of that school. I really do think that things need to be investigated there. And another thing....KUMON, where my granddaughter has been enrolled since last fall, has gotten so overcrowded that they have had to move into bigger quarters! Parents are dissatisfied with the public school system and their lack of interest in actually TEACHING. More and more of them are doing just what my daughter did....enrolling their children in programs that will actually teach them something. I suspect something will be done very soon to improve our inefficient and defective school system.....which, in years past was one of the best in the state. Parents are not going to put up with it much longer.

I think Smocha may be right about it being Firefox that's causing my problems with Blogger. Even though a lot of you have said you can see the Followers pictures.....I cannot. But they are all still listed when I look them up on my account. So, obviously more research is necessary. Hopefully one day I'll sign on and they will mysteriously be there. LOL

Hope everyone is doing OK in your little corners of the world. Here, we are anxiously awaiting flowers and green grass. Even though the calendar says its Spring....Ma Nature has a different idea. Its 24 out right now. Keep smilin'! (so much for a "quickie" post....sorry, I just got to rambling.)

Followers......where did they go?

All the little pictures of my followers have disappeared. Anyone else have this problem? Sometimes Blogger acts very strangely and then in a few days it straightens itself out. I've been waiting for about 3 days now, but my Followers have not reappeared.

So, all of you that were/are "following" me......I did not delete you. I'm hoping they will all return as suddenly as they disappeared. If not, I'm hoping I can find out how to "fix" it. Any help you can offer is appreciated.

Tomorrow I go back to the dreaded eye doctor and freezing rain is predicted ALL DAY LONG. Yep, I'm in good shape all right. If my fear of doctors doesn't do me in, my fear of sliding all over icy roads should do the trick.

I'm still here.....

I've just sorta been like Snoopy on a lazy day....trying hard not to think about my next appointment with the dreaded eye doctor. This time I know what to expect and, of course, that sets off a nice case of nerves. That event will take place next Wednesday, the 23rd.

I sure do wish I could have said that my eyesight was back to normal....or even just near normal, but sadly, that's just not the case. The floatie has dissolved but my actual eyesight is still distorted and blurry in areas in that one eye. He did say it may take a few shots....so I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm trying not to think about any of it.

In the meantime, I've been keeping busy as much as possible; working, reading and sleeping. HA! Actually, I've been working on a logo for a friend of my daughter's. He has a relatively new business and wants it for that. No wonder people who do that for a living make so much money. It's HARD WORK. It not only pulls on all your creativity, its also very time-consuming. What he wanted me to draw free hand did not turn out to my liking.....so now I'm looking for an alternate method. Plus.....you know I have to be in the right mood to even work on this kind of stuff. I haven't gotten very far on it.....but I have made some progress.

Granddaughter is doing well in school and in Karate. She will be testing for the orange belt in a few weeks. Grandson has moved in with his girlfriend and the first thing they did was get a kitten! A Bengal kitten! I certainly hope they did not bite off more than they can chew as I've heard these cats demand lots of attention and are very vocal if they don't get it. Time will tell.

Sorry I've been so rotten about posting but there just hasn't been anything worth writing about going on.....and I know you all don't want to hear about my aches, pains and ailments. Its raining here right now and supposed to get up to the 60's by Thursday. Maybe that warm weather will give me a boost of energy....ya think??

Oh yeah.....today is my birthday. (nonchalantly throwing handful of confetti in air) We are going to do something as a family this weekend for it. All I want is a cake and no fuss. I remember when birthdays used to be fun and full of surprises. Now it just makes you amazed that you've chalked up another year and managed to stay out of jail. Keep smilin' everyone. Thanks for visiting.

The story continues.....

I went back to the retina specialist for my checkup. My vision was still bad in that eye even though the floatie had mostly dissolved. This time they only dilated the eye that was giving me the problem. And sure enough....my vision tested much worse. Back to the scans and photo-imaging. End result is that I have now developed something in that eye totally a separate issue from the 'floatie ordeal'. Its something called myopic degeneration, not to be confused with macular degeneration. But its just as serious as far as I'm concerned.

About what I understood is that since I'm so near-sighted (myopic) the retina has thinned over the years and its gotten thin enough that blood vessels had started growing up through it. This has just started to happen and it was caught right away and the cure rate is extremely good because of that. My vision has been distorted because the blood vessels have changed the surface of the retina. I'm no doctor by any means, but this is what I understood. Anyway, I have to have injections to my eye. I had the first one Wednesday. Yes! Injections IN my eye. Sounds awful and I didn't dare let myself think about it. This medicine is supposed to shrink the blood vessels and make them retreat.

He washed my eye down with Betadine (that's probably spelled wrong).....which I did feel. Then he numbed my eye.....which I also felt. But the actual injection.....I did not feel. Thank God!

When I got out of there it looked like I had been the loser in a fist fight. My eye was swollen and extremely red. I have to put antibiotic drops in it and also liquid tears in it. Today its sore and feels like someone put a handful of sand in it. The liquid tears help that. I have to be careful of infection. Eyes seem to heal fast and I can already see and feel an improvement and its only been a bit over 24 hours since I had this done. What they injected me with is usually used for some other disease and therefore my insurance will not cover it. Its $82. I have to have another one in a month. Hopefully that will be it. Hopefully.

The doctor's office called me this morning to check on me and see how I was doing. I think that is extremely thoughtful and something a lot of doctors fail to do anymore.

So......how is everyone else doing?

Well.....I drew a pig

My friend sent me an email with a link to a personality test in which you "draw a pig". So, being adventurous, I decided.....why not. I drew the pig (as best I could using mouse and cursor) and the results amazed me because they are more true than you could imagine. LOL

Go here if you want to read it. Go here if you want to take the test yourself. To be fair to your own test....don't read my results until you've drawn your own pig and received your own.

In other news.....my eye keeps improving but my sight in that eye is still very bad. My appointment has been changed to the 23rd so hopefully by then I will notice a bigger difference.

My daughter is pulling her 8 year old out of the public school system. We are both deeply disgusted with the things that have been going on at that school. We have waited for a year and a half for things to get better but they have not. We thought that perhaps it was the teacher she had last year and we were willing to see if things changed this year with a different teacher. Some things improved but others have not and the children.....for the most part....are just plain MEAN...and they are getting away with it. She will be attending a private Christian school starting Monday. Stay tuned for updates.

Hope all is ok in your little corners of the world.

Potpurri.....

or....a little bit of a bunch of things.

First off.....my eye. It has improved but its been happening so frustratingly slow. My vision is still distorted and it really throws my depth perception off. My follow-up appointment is in 10 days, so hopefully I will be all better by then.

The blizzard is old news by now. We did not get nearly as much as was first predicted (24")....thank goodness. But we did get about 10 inches and its snowing again today. They say we may get another 4" to add to what's already on the ground. The wind was miserable though. It was coming out of the north which made it even more cold or maybe it was just the thought of "north wind" that did it. At one point my sliding glass door froze closed. LOL, I guess that's a heck of a lot better than having it freeze open! My poor little dog had to go out in snow that was as deep as she is tall. She took it all in stride though. She went out, did her business and then was at the door ready to come back in to the warmth.

We are breaking in our new supervisor at work. None of us quite know what to expect and most of us are a little bit nervous. He's probably just as nervous about us. Its been amusing to watch some of the employees interact with him. I guess I can safely say that there have been no surprises.....the suck ups were at their best and the lazy ones were breaking their arms patting themselves on their own backs, trying to convince him how much work they do. Its unbelievable. Anyone could see through what they are trying to do.....I'm shocked that they can't see it themselves.

My daughter had a friend.....a man her own age. (40's) She's known him for quite a few years but they've only just been friends. She thought highly of him. They tossed around the thought of perhaps him moving in with her and sharing expenses. She has a huge extra bedroom and he said he could help her around the house doing stuff that she can't do....like shoveling snow for example. They enjoy each other's company and get along well. He stayed over at Christmas and was included in our family festivities as well as dinner. A few days later, after he'd left, she noticed that half of her medications were missing. The pain pills she has to take as well as muscle relaxers. To say that she is devastated over this is an understatement. Now we've found out that he has a drug problem. We haven't seen him since then. He's not stupid....he knows that she has missed her meds by now. What was really sad is that she had to go 20 days in pain.....just because this addict wanted to get 'high'.....she had to suffer. This is why my daughter has trust issues. This is the second time this has happened to her....the first time it was a babysitter that did it. And no....she didn't make a police report. Even though she is 100% sure he took them, she has no real proof. He was once an honorable man and he has to live with what he's done and I know it will eventually haunt him. And so.....now we know why "his own family" was not helping him out. He's been unemployed for a year, getting unemployment and hasn't even been looking for work. It should have raised flags with us, but we've known him for so long....it just didn't. Sigh....live and learn.

On a happier note.....my 8 yr. old granddaughter has energy to burn and has been getting yelled at in school because she never stops moving. We figure busy hands are happy hands so my daughter enrolled her in Karate school. She goes Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Top that with taking Kumon (tutoring for math and reading) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as well...... plus bible school on Wednesday evening, this little girl doesn't have much spare time. However, my daughter is totally exhausted!

Well, I'm going to cuddle up with a good book....its snowing like crazy outside and the perfect night to do something along those lines. Whatever you're doing....be safe. And...of course....keep smilin'!!