Lucky me.....

Somehow.....the Republicans think I am a straight ticket republican and the Democrats think I am a straight ticket democrat. I have been getting so many political notices and bulletins and newsletters from both parties that I am just about ready to bang my head against the wall. I especially love the ones where they nonchalantly ask you to donate $500, but if you can't manage that, please consider $250. They talk as if that's such a small amount. I guess it is to those that have plenty.

And that is just ONE facet of my exceptional luck. I've also been getting scads of phone calls. Is that a word....scads? Well, it sounds right so I'm leaving it. You get the idea anyway. I pick up the phone and its a recording telling me all about how bad the republicans are. Then 20 minutes later I pick up the phone to a recording telling me how bad the democrats are. I figure its just a matter of time and I'll be getting stuff from the "Independent party" or the "green party" or the Mickey Mouse party!!

The primary is in August so I have about 6 weeks of this garbage......then it will be coming down strong for the November election. I'm so fed up with it all. It doesn't seem like our elected officials do anything they say they will and once in office, they don't seem to care about any of us until its time for re-election. The one and only time in my life that I contacted my Congressman to help me with something I wasn't even given the consideration of a reply from him personally. He had his assistant talk with me and they were not even able to help me with my request. I'm remembering all that, by the way.

I think a lot of us voters are finally remembering a whole bunch of things. Bad news for some of those now in office. You all keep smilin'.....makes everyone wonder what you've been up to.

Another Movie Review.....

Sorry I haven't been posting anything lately. I just haven't found anything interesting to write about....although I have been reading and commenting once in a while. Seems like I've been interrupted more often than not lately. Lots of solicitors. I know everyone is trying to make money....but to try and SELL products or services in an economy as depressed as ours is....is ludicrous.

Also I've been in one of my feeling sorry for myself moods. I just could kick my butt from here to Sunday when I get like this and even though I don't like it....it takes a while for me to work myself out of it. I therefore am on the lookout for things that will make me laugh.

I don't know what you all think, but I think that good comedies have fallen by the wayside. Either that or my sense of humor has packed its bags and left town. You know how you will read that some movie is "hilarious" or that it had the viewers "rolling on the floor with laughter". I can watch a movie that has had stuff like that said about it and not crack a smile during the whole thing. Afterward, I will think to myself.....there must be something really horribly wrong with me. Have I have gotten to be a dull- spirited, crotchety, grumpy, old woman? I oh-so-did- not want that in my obit.

But I can say one thing....I never give up. I have faith that out there .... somewhere....are people who know how to make a really funny movie. So I keep trying and I keep watching. So many people are going through so much stress right now that we really need something to lighten our day and put smiles on our faces. Last night I was rewarded. YES! Last night I watched a movie that made me laugh more and louder than I have in years. It was hold your sides funny. It was clench your legs so you don't pee your pants funny

OLD DOGS.....with John Travolta and Robin Williams for starters. There are a lot of well-known people in this movie....Travolta's wife and daughter included. Its from Disney and because of that, its family friendly. I loved it and my daughter and I laughed so hard on several occasions we honestly had tears rolling down our cheeks. Yes, this is a keeper. I'm glad I bought it. Go rent it or buy it and watch it....you'll get a kick out of it, I'm sure.

Have you ever been.......

scared? Really scared? The scary movie type of scared....but you can't shut it off like you can a movie. The type of scared where your common sense and your brain tells you you're being stupid.....but the rest of you just screams.....GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE! All your instincts tell you that this is DANGEROUS and for you to flee but you try and pass it off as an over-active imagination.

I've read that we humans have a built in .....radar..... for lack of a better name right now. We don't rely on it like we would have had to if we were lower down the food chain and lived in the wild, so we have basically dismissed it and we don't pay attention to it anymore. Big mistake! I always try to listen to my "radar". I, of course, will never know, but I do think its saved me a bunch of times. One time at a spooky RV campground comes to mind......ewwwww....gives me the creeps just thinking about it. But that was one of those "you had to be there" type of stories and wouldn't make for good reading. However.....this one will.

This is another police story. How much more safe can a person be, you ask. Inside a police station with help only as far as the pressing of a microphone key. In the front of the building a fireman sleeps peacefully but is ready to respond at the mere flick of a red button on your desk. A person should be pretty secure. Should is the key word here.

Our little police station is located about 10 miles from the main "big" jail. We had a holding cell and sometimes there would be as many as four or five in there, awaiting transport to the jail. If they had bond coming, we wouldn't bother taking them down there....we would just accept their bond and release them from our site. As a dispatcher, it was one of our many duties to monitor the prisoners in the cell. This was before closed circuit TV was installed, so we had to physically walk back there and check on them every 15 to 20 minutes. What a pain! The male dispatchers didn't get much lip, but us females sure did. I've had more propositions and more insults levied at me than the average woman, that's for sure.

This one midnight shift, which had been pretty quiet by evidence of the empty holding cell, my officer radioed that he would be checking out a subject sitting in the middle of the five lane highway that went through town. Sitting.....crossed-legged, in the center turn lane. Its a wonder he wasn't run over but then again.....maybe even the cars were afraid. The subject was brought in and placed in the holding cell. He did have a warrant out of another department but he was definitely a couple sandwiches short of a picnic....either that or he'd taken some drugs and was zoned out. We never could tell which it was....sad to say. The officer put him in the cell and left. Now I am alone with this......guy. True the fireman is asleep up front but really.....I'm not going to wake him up to babysit me. I've been doing this way too many years.....watched way too many prisoners. The first time I check on him, he's sitting in the corner on the floor looking like Jack Nicholson looked at the very end of the movie, The Shining.....that "look" on his face. Chills went up my spine as I went back to the dispatch center. It was more than a little unnerving. Then I heard it. It sounded like there were 3 or 4 people in that cell. The guy was talking to himself and answering himself in different voices. You would have sworn that there was a bunch of people back there. I even went back and looked again just to make sure! I guess I could have put up with that except the one voice was Satan. He identified himself as such and it was pure evil sounding. It made all the hair at the back of my neck stick out, it made me almost freeze in terror. I tried to talk myself out of it.....told myself I had watched too many scary movies.....but the guy kept it up and it was terrifying. The things he said were terrifying and I wanted him OUT of there.

Well, of course the officers got busy and no one could come back for a while. I advised over the air that I'd like them to make this transport.....they asked if he was giving me trouble. Well, no, I couldn't say that he was.....cause he was only talking....in all those voices!!!!! The devil included. I knew I would forever be teased by the guys I worked with if I let them know just how scared I was.....so I hid it and put up with it for about 2 hours. I think I can honestly say that is the scariest experience I had ever had and I know it doesn't sound like anything in writing....but trust me, it was horrifying. It made me have a lot of respect for what some psychiatric nurses and attendants have to be around on a daily basis for their severe cases.

Yes....I know, I know. A lot of us pay good money just for the thrill of being scared. We read scary books and watch scary movies and TV programs......but we can always put the book down, shut off the movie and walk away and do something else if it gets too intense. Real fear is not like that. I hope I am never frightened in real life any worse than what I've just written about. Matter of fact, that one experience should do me for my lifetime, thank you very much. I don't need to be scared again period.

And even though I'm an old lady, I still walk a wide circle to avoid clowns.....I don't like them....they give me the creeps and I've always felt that way. I never let my children any where near them. I can't tell you why either.....its just that "feeling" I get and I'm not about to ignore it.

Anybody have some good true life scary stories they want to share? I know ya do.....we all do. LOL

Of Glasses and Smoke.....

We never suspected a thing because she never gave us cause to. It was the school that said she needed her eyes examined. So my oldest granddaughter went in to have her eyes checked and ...... unfortunately, she has to have glasses. She has moderate Astigmatism. She will turn 8 in a couple months and I just hate it that she has to wear glasses. I was probably close to 10 or 11 when I first started wearing mine. Her mother (my daughter) was about 10 when she first had to have glasses. I remember how the teasing from the cruel kids at school would bring on tears night after night.

We have hidden our dismay from her because we don't want her to feel bad or think she's ugly because she has to wear them. I just hope the cruel kids at school don't put her through too much hell over this. She gets them tomorrow and this is pretty good timing. She will have the summer to get used to them with no kids around to tease her. And yes......we remembered to insure them!

The other day at work one of the department heads waltzed into my office with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. You know with all the cigarette bans in place, its unusual to see something like that anymore. Anyway at first I just thought he was holding it in his mouth because he was stressed or something but then I saw him take a drag and blow smoke out. Heck, he even French inhaled! I looked over my shoulder and whispered..."are you nuts?....You can't do that in here!". He laughed and took another big drag and blew the 'smoke' toward me. I noticed then that I couldn't smell it.

To get to the bottom line here......what he had was the new "e-cigarette". Ever heard of them? They look just like a regular cigarette until you touch it. Its made of plastic and its, of course, heavier than a real one. The end even lights up like its burning. The cartridge is the 'filter' part of it, which screws on. That is where the nicotine comes from. He said that one cartridge is the equivalent of about a pack of cigarettes. When the nicotine has gotten weak and used up, you screw on a new cartridge. The "smoke" is a vapor that dissipates, leaving no odor....no smoky trail. He is a heavy smoker and he said that he couldn't tell the difference in taste and/or enjoyment from a regular cigarette. They are not harmful to the environment, not harmful to others around you, including children and babies, and from what I understand....not even harmful to you. Its the tobacco and smoke that's harmful, not the nicotine...but its the nicotine that is addictive. This e-cigarette makes sure you get the nicotine in whatever strength you want....light, medium or heavy. He says the cost of cartridges equivalent to a carton is about $15. I guess that's a pretty hefty savings right there.

I used to be a smoker so I do understand. I've been smoke-free for over twenty years and never crave them anymore. They warn you not to partake of this e-cigarette if you're a non-smoker....so I can't personally tell you what they are like. Anyone out there tried one of these yet? If they are as good as my co-worker says.....than this is a wonderful invention. Smokers can have their cigarettes without fear of harming themselves or anyone around them. Nothing smells of tobacco smoke because there IS no tobacco, so no odor. No worries of burning anything....its battery operated. The only downfall I can see is that you would have to make sure you didn't misplace it. Boy, I'll tell ya.....this is like having your cake and eating it too. I sure hope this catches on. I'm working on my daughter to try them. I guess the initial cost for the starter package is around $130. About the cost of two cartons of cigarettes.....and I guess the starter kit comes with enough cartridges for 5 packs of cigarettes.

Have a great weekend.......promise?

I'm not making this stuff up.....

honest. Memorial Day weekend is a time for family gatherings, picnics, BBQ's and reminiscing. My family is very small. My daughter suggested we get together for two days this weekend....Sunday and Monday. I was to fix one of her favorite hot weather meals on Sunday and then BBQ ribs on Monday.

Saturday I more or less vegged. Did some little things around the house and just enjoyed the lovely weather. Sunday I fixed the meal she requested. Its a simple meal so I didn't have that much time invested. The meal was ready by 3 pm. I put it in the fridge to chill and waited for her and her family to get here. We have argued many times in the past about her waiting until the last minute (when everything is all done) to show up and I made up my mind I wasn't going to do that anymore. Life is too short to be arguing about something like that. So when she wasn't here by 4, I will admit I was a bit ticked but let it slide. 5 o'clock came and went. 6 o'clock. I decided that if she wasn't here within a half hour I would go ahead and eat alone.....but I was not going to call her and chew her out for being late once again. She called me at 6:30 with a "Hi, how are you feeling today?" I said, I'm ok. Then she said, "what are you doing". I said, I'm waiting for you to get here so we can have our meal. Dead Silence. I said "hello?". She said...."Mom, that's tomorrow." I said yes, I know you're coming tomorrow too....but you requested we have a meal together today. She said once again....that's Sunday. I said Yes. She said that's tomorrow. I said NO....Sunday is today. Dead Silence. Then.....she said OMG, I have lost a whole day somewhere. I thought today was Saturday. Bottom line here.....SHE FORGOT. Because of her closed head injury, she does have memory problems, which makes me have to keep my mouth shut....when I'd really like to tell her off and say.....that's what calendars are made for!!! Sticky Notes! Strings tied on fingers!!! Needless to say, I ate alone....it was too late to do anything together by then. I was not a happy camper. I had made enough food for 5 or 6 people to have generous helpings.

So the next day, I start the preparations for the ribs early in the day and she does show up early also. We have a very nice day together. The meal was good and we watched a movie afterward. The only bad part was that she had to leave fairly early as my granddaughter is still in school and had to get up early the next day. I did not throw it in her face about her forgetting me the day before.....even though I really wanted to. Am I bad?

Tuesday I notice I have a new bill from my cable company and am upset, although not surprised, to see that its been raised $6.37......just like that. My cable company raises our bills approximately three times a year and its usually $3 each time. With the way the economy is, I just couldn't believe that this huge company has the guts to raise their prices once again. I figure we got the double raise because they neglected to raise it since the first of the year.....they've been too busy transferring channels over to digital I guess. Now maybe $6 doesn't seem like a lot to some of you, but it won't stop there....they will raise it another $6 before the end of this year and next year it will be the same. My bill for simple cable and internet is absolutely ridiculous but at this time I don't have much of a choice.....this company has a monopoly here and has had for quite some time.

I've been trying to cut corners everywhere I can to make my dollar stretch further. Last month I called my phone company and cut long distance from my bill. I rarely call long distance and if I do, I use my cell phone, which is also the most basic you can get. Its a no-contract 300 minutes a month phone I have for emergencies. I can make long distance calls without paying anything extra as long as I don't exceed my minutes. I can still make long distance calls from my house phone but I will be charged 12 cents a minute if I do. This adjustment shaved off about $18 from my monthly phone bill. So you can imagine my disgust when the cable company comes along and ups my bill over $6 a month......just because they can.

I called my cable company and I admit I was really disgusted with them when I did. When I finally got through to a human, I asked for an explanation of my newest bill and also to confirm that my bill had been raised. I wanted to yell at her but restrained myself. After all, its not her fault. I asked if she could transfer me to billing since she didn't really handle that area and she said there would be OVER a 20 minute wait and did I still want to transfer or maybe call back later. I figure a whole lot of customers are calling and complaining about the price hike, although it shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. This is a very greedy company, I fear. I opted to call back later.

Three hours later I called back and waited for 18 minutes. I spoke with one of the nicest ladies and she helped me trim down my cable bill. I thought I had the lowest package but I did not. Now I can only get channels below 100 but those are the ones I look at the most and the ones that the grands look at the most too. She even threw in a promo for me giving me $10 a month off because its a new plan. She said it will last for a year. I was impressed because its going to save me $22 a month! I'm hoping that in that year's time, either this company will realize how ridiculous their prices are and lower them .... or another company or two will come into our area and they'll be forced to lower them due to competition or I can switch.

Speaking of saving money. I recently shopped online at my favorite store......Kohl's, and managed to get my granddaughter a bunch of summer clothes....2 bathing suits, sandals and tennis shoes....everything was on sale, most of it 50% off, plus free shipping to boot. I'm not getting paid to tell you this....I just plain love that store. Their line of clothing is well-made and if you wait for the sales....very reasonable. For clothing for me.....they are not so good....but for the grands, its absolutely perfect. I have three stores that as far as I'm concerned have exceptional clothing for kids. Hanna Andersson I buy from online and the clothes are really expensive so I watch for sales only. Kohl's and Old Navy are the stores I use to buy the girls' most of their clothes. Great stuff and great sales. Check em out. This is not an ad.....this is my opinion.

Also my vacuum cleaner quit working. Its a good name brand and it just doesn't want to suck up the dirt anymore. I checked and re-checked and I can't find a clog, but obviously there must be one. The machine is not that old either, but its out of warranty (of course). I have found out that it will cost more to take this one in for repair and cleaning than it would for me to buy a well-known brand vacuum that's on sale right now. So I bought the new one for $67. ..... $100 regularly. We live in such a throw-away society and I really wish it were different but as long as they make it cheaper to buy new than repair old, this is our fate. I remember my very first glimpse into the throw-away mentality was about 15 years ago. I had a problem with the keys sticking on my computer keyboard at work and our tech company came out, unplugged it, plugged in a new one and tossed the old one in the trash. I stood there with my mouth open, not believing my eyes. He calmly told me that no one fixes keyboards, they are routinely tossed. Well, I guess I've had my say about a bunch of different things today. LOL. Hope you all have some good stuff happen to you and remember to keep smilin'.

Free samples.....

were once given out in abundance. I can remember receiving samples of nearly everything on the market....excluding, of course, alcohol, sexual items or aides. If you didn't have a baby but knew someone who did, you saved all your samples of baby items for them. I even got a baby t-shirt as a sample once.

I've received toothpaste, pantyhose, makeup, medicine...(gasp....yes, medicine)....well, aspirin, arthritis creme and cough syrup type stuff, but it's still considered medicine.....dog biscuits, deodorant, hand lotion....oh the list just goes on. And back before they passed a law against it, even cigarettes were given as free samples. A little box with 5 of them would be sitting in your mailbox just waiting for you to light up and pass judgment. It made it a joy to go to your mailbox....for hidden amongst the bills, you may just find a free sample or two. Like Christmas.....you never knew what you'd get......several times a month. I especially loved the little bottles of shampoo, dishwashing detergent or bars of soap. How about those little boxes of laundry detergent? And thinking along those lines....does anyone remember the so-called free towels and glassware in the boxes of laundry soap. I am saying "so-called" because I'm certain that we all paid a little extra for that soap. What WAS the name of that darned soap....Breeze? I can't remember. So much for creating a lasting impression on us consumers.

Free little toys in breakfast cereal....that were actually THERE....in the box. You didn't have to send away for them. I can remember dumping whole boxes of cereal in a bowl to find the toy so the kids could have it immediately (because they'd seen the pictures on the box and they KNEW) and then putting the cereal all back in the box again. Back then, they didn't care so much about getting your name and address and what type of products you prefer.....they just considered it a good marketing ploy. And it was.

Remember the gift stamps? Gold Bell, Holden's Red Stamps and S&H stamps (aka green stamps). I loved those stamps and obtained quite a few household items....absolutely free (except of course, you had to pay sales tax)....in exchange for my books of stamps. Only thing invested was time.....and spit. If you were smart, you used a sponge and some water to put them in the books. First starting out as a married couple, we utilized as many free offers as possible. In addition to his regular job, my husband worked part-time at a gas station.....back when an attendant pumped your gas, washed your windows, checked your air, water and oil. This one night a semi truck driver pulled in and filled up with diesel. He DID NOT want his stamps and gave them to my husband. When he came home with all those stamps.....there were HUNDREDS of them....I felt like we'd hit the lottery.

I can remember never having to buy a light bulb. You saved up your burned out ones and took them back to the power company and they gave you a new one for each burned-out one you turned in. They also would replace the heating elements on your electric stove burners and oven for free. Not even a charge for a service call.

Little by little the freebies stopped. Every great once in a while I will receive a free sample of something in the mail, but its probably not more than once or twice a year. There are places online that you can sign up for free samples, but your name and information is probably sold to thousands of advertisers in exchange for your freebie. For me, its just not worth all the junk mail or email I would receive. Sometimes you'll find a sample packet of shampoo or lotion tucked into a magazine.....but I don't consider that free because you had to buy the magazine to get it. Everyone likes to get something for free......REALLY free, no strings attached. I miss it.

Well, its supper-time so I'm going to pull off of memory lane and get into the house and see what I can get on the table. Hope all of you have a great up-coming week and most of all, enjoy this nice Sunday evening.
Keep smilin'.

Did you know.....

who Bob Howard was? Well neither did I until I clicked on a link that glnroz posted. I think we should all know this great American Hero's name. It should roll off our tongues like we've known him all our lives. Go here and watch the news video and be proud. I am.

R.I.P. Bob Howard. God Bless.

Why is it.....

that some people just get such a thrill out of embellishing facts? I've seen enough examples of it to know that its considered part of human nature, but it mystifies me. I think....sadly....its just another form of control and makes people with low self-esteem feel important.

Case in point. Two days ago I received a call from my daughter. I was at work. Now, her subdivision sits nestled between two pretty well-traveled roads. She has four exits/entrances in her sub; three of them onto one road and one on the other. She often takes the exit that is least used and that's the one that is the only one out onto one of the roadways. When she tried to go that way, the road was closed; completely blocked off by police and other emergency vehicles. She turned around and went back home and questioned some of her neighbors as to what was wrong. The story she got was varied but it basically came down to this. There had been a horrible accident. A cement truck had tried to take the curve too fast, flipped over and landed on a car filled with teenagers and killed them all.

Filled with dread and concern, she thought maybe I could find out more info at work but the only thing I could find out was....yes, the road was closed due to some sort of accident. Usually they close the roadways when there is a fatality and so that part of the story made sense. The more information she sought, the more horrible it became. Thankfully, she knew where her own son was....he was with her. But he has so many friends who drive and he was only able to get in touch with a couple of them. One of them claimed he had gotten "close" to the accident scene before being turned away and that he saw three bodies laying on the roadway covered up. Anyone who has teenagers or knows anyone who has teenagers were all worried. The end result of this ended up to be.....yes, a cement truck did lose its load on the roadway and made a horrible mess. But no one was hurt. The road had to be blocked in order to start clean-up procedures. The so-called bodies laying alongside the roadway was nothing more than globs of cement.

While I'm very thankful that it was nothing more than this.....I am appalled that this story got so far out of hand. Someone had to have started it and what kind of satisfaction did they get out of making so many people worry? Did your elementary school teacher ever play that game in your class where she tells the first kid in class something and they pass it on.....from kid to kid this information is whispered and at the end....after being told approximately 30 times, the end story comes out so different its ridiculous. She did this as an example for us to not always believe what we hear and I'm reminded of that class exercise more often than I like to admit.

I guess for some people there isn't enough heartache and drama in the world and they have to create more. I really do try not to pass on gossip but I admit....sometimes I have. But I have never embellished or added to it. Of course just by repeating it, I guess I'm nearly as guilty as the embellishers. Note to self: Work on that. Hey, out there....remember to keep smilin'!

Read my Lips....No More Vets

Yes, Tuesday was the day. The dreaded ... go to the Vet day. Of course it had to rain that day. Not just a little shower either....it poured.

As soon as I grabbed her leash, she knew she was in for a car ride and she LOVES to ride in the car. She pranced merrily out to the garage, stood on her back feet and danced outside the car door. I felt so danged guilty.

The vet's office is about 2 miles away. She was fine in the parking lot, leaving her mark in approximately five different places. However, as soon as we entered the waiting room, it was another ballgame. She turned into a shivering mass of jello. I was the first appointment after lunch so no one else was in the waiting room and they called us quickly. I'd like to know how a 17 pound terrier can suddenly morph into a 1,700 pound horse with all the strength to match. She stiffened her legs and refused to move. I didn't want to drag her by the neck so I had to carry her. I was not her favorite person at this time. Inside the little room she suffered the indignities of having her temp taken.....rectally, of course. The look on her face was almost priceless. Just when she started to relax a bit, they whisked her off for her blood test and to get her nails trimmed. She looked disgusted when she returned but gave me the happy face in an all out effort to make me feel sorry for her and take her home right then. Then she tried hiding behind me and if she could have gotten into my purse, she would have.

All in all, everything was ok and $244 later I emerged with a very-happy-to-get-out-of- there dog. Now it was still raining but not as hard. At this point I'm only 2 blocks or so from the grocery store and I'm out of stuff like bread, milk, creamer for my coffee and getting low on dog food. I decide to take a quick run in there while I'm out. With the temp at 48, I know she'll be ok in the car for a few minutes.

At the grocery store parking lot, I unhook her leash so she won't get all tangled and hang herself. I attempt to exit my vehicle and leave her inside. She's sticking to me like Velcro and I have to do some maneuvering, going out the door butt first. (this must have made a pretty picture for the old guy sitting across from me). In my attempt to quickly shut the door before she could jump out, I smacked myself right in the face with the car door. Honestly I hit myself so hard I almost knocked myself out. I have a bruise alongside my cheek that's about 6 inches long to show for that bit of stupidity. I sure hope makeup will cover it up so I can look halfway decent for work tomorrow. I didn't dare glance at the old guy in his car cause if he had been laughing I probably would have kicked the front of his car and made the airbag go off. (did you ever see that youtube video? OMG, go here and check it out. I guess maybe I have a warped sense of humor but I laugh every time I see it. Oh well....back to my story now.

When we got home, she headed straight for bed and after giving me a dirty look, curled up to nap the rest of the afternoon. I can't blame her. She'd had a rough day. I wonder if vets make house calls for animals smaller than horses and cows. As for me, I made myself a nice big cup of coffee with creamer and indulged in some no-bake cookies that I also picked up at the grocery store. Yummmm.....doesn't get much better than this. And....oh yeah....just thought I'd throw in that it quit raining as soon as I got all my errands done and was back home.
p.s.
For some odd reason, every once in a while when I visit blogs it will automatically leave a link to my latest post on the blog I visit. I don't know why it's doing this (if you can help me, please email and tell me what to do) and it does it randomly. It doesn't seem to matter if I leave a comment or not, so I don't think that's the trigger. I've tried to search in Blogger to find out what causes this and how to make it stop, but I haven't been successful. So I apologize, in advance, if I've left a link to my post on your blog or if I leave one in the near future....please delete it and I'm sorry for the inconvenience....its not being done on purpose. Honest!

Have you ever thought.....why am I me?

Maybe I’m an odd one, I don’t know….I’ve never really discussed this particular subject at length with anyone. When you were a child did you ever sit and think about yourself…..what makes you YOU….and furthermore, why ARE you, you? This is frustrated thinking because, of course, you have no real answer. I used to throw that one out at my mom once in a while….”mom, why am I ME?”….. and watch as her eyes would glaze over. She would mumble something that was so unimpressive that I never could remember what it was. It wasn’t, however, the answer I was seeking.

Now I am in the last third of my life and feel like I’ve learned a lot, not only from books but from experience. I tend to still think of that same age-old question and have come upon a quasi-answer…..for lack of a better word. I think that from the moment of birth we join a network of souls. Every single soul has a purpose, some have more than one purpose, but we all have a purpose and each one is important. The main purpose for each of us is to help each other. Ah, but not in the sense that you’re thinking…..not digging into your purse for an extra dollar or helping someone with their yard work. No, this kind of help is on the spiritual or emotional level. And it’s all planned way ahead of time….its part of the network, the soul or souls you’re pre-destined to help…its all part of an interaction and your part is as important as an ingredient is to any recipe. You may never see them again after you’ve helped them or you could end up forever friends.

Just think for a minute about the news articles you read depicting the story of ..…..the total stranger who popped up at just the right time to save the toddler who fell into the lake…or the stranger who happens upon a vehicle accident and pulls the passengers out of a burning vehicle. Now, not nearly as physical but every bit as important in the total scheme of things is ..….the lady at the check-out who took so much time writing her check and holding up the line it made you run 15 minutes later than usual and because of that you avoided being involved in a horrible accident that occurred on the highway. (actually she held up the whole line for that amount of time, thus altering the fates of all in the line) The incident can be monumental and receive public acknowledgment or it can be something minute that only a few know about….but each occurrence is equally important….and I believe, predestined. We call these helpful heroes who save lives Angels and they are indeed, just as much as the person who affects our lives by making us late or early or take an alternate route home, but I also believe it is all planned from the very beginning and very much part of the network.

My daughter, during one of the low points in her life, said to me, “mom, I am in so much pain and I feel like such a failure because I’m unable to do things I once could do, I don’t understand why I’m here…I don’t feel like I have a purpose and fear I may end up being a burden”. Wow, what an awful thing for her to feel and equally awful for a mother to hear. I told her my philosophy and actually pointed out 2 or 3 instances in which she was very beneficial, on an emotional level, to souls she hardly knew. In one case a person could be dead now if it hadn’t been for her and that person did relay that information to her, most gratefully.

I don’t know if I’ve written this well enough for you to get what I’m trying to say….but if nothing else, I’ve given you some food for thought. I look at things differently than I did 30 years ago. Now, if something happens to interfere with my schedule or makes me run a little late, I just take it in stride….knowing that I will be exactly where I’m supposed to be, at the time I’m supposed to be there. In the meantime, enjoy each and every day. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day tomorrow and if your mom is still around, give her an extra special big hug. If you’re a mother, I hope your day creates some wonderful memories and no matter what…….keep smilin’. .

Eye Candy.......

everywhere.....just everywhere. Green grass, trees leafing out and the flowers....oh the flowers. It amazes me how these delicate looking flowers can withstand the brutal winters we have here.....hidden underneath the soil, sleeping and waiting for the sun's warmth to entice them from their sleep to poke their heads above ground and explode in gorgeous colorful beauty for all to see. I love summer but this time of year is special. Its rebirth....and anyone who slows down long enough to absorb the beauty of it is rewarded with a calmness.....something soothing for our busy minds.....a time to take a deep breath and just sigh and say.......oh yessss.

Everything outside is perking up and I love it. Today I awoke at 7 a.m. to a very dark morning. I let the dog out and heard the rumblings of thunder and then saw a few flashes of lightning. I got her safely back inside and within five minutes we had a thundershower. A nice soaking one that does the plants and grass so much good. I looked at the dog and she looked at me and we decided mutually that this is Saturday.....and Saturdays can be what you want them to be if you don't have to work. So we went back to bed and snuggled under the comforter and listened to the rumblings of the thunder and the rain pattering on the roof before dropping back to sleep for a couple more hours. These are the occasions that I experience a sense of well-being and thankfulness. Thankful for the blessings that I have, that I'm warm and dry and safe.

Its been cloudy and rainy all day and the same is forecast for tomorrow. I don't mind because I know we need it to make everything out there grow. I checked my peony bush and right on schedule, the ants are frolicking all over the buds, encouraging them to open up and expose their beauty for all to see. You know peony bushes are fussy. This particular one belonged to my best friend and next door neighbor. When she moved out of state, she told me I could have the peony bush that grew beside her front door. Another friend dug a hole close to my front door which faces the same direction as hers and walked over to her house, dug up her bush and brought it over here and plunked it into the hole by my door. This was in November. I don't really have a green thumb even though I love plants and some of my green thumb friends told me that peony bushes are finicky and it would probably not bloom for a couple years since it had been moved. So I prepared myself for it but was pleasantly surprised when it did bloom, right on time.

Now this has always been a funny story with me because it was as if the peony bush didn't realize it had been moved since it was facing the exact same direction and apparently my friend plunked it down into the new hole the same way it was taken out of the old one. Anyway, it bloomed and I picture it opening its buds and taking a look around only to be shocked that it had been moved while it had been sleeping. After gasping in horror, it promptly lifted its leafy skirts, curled up its roots and refused to bloom for two years afterward, being all indignant over the move. But finally it got itself calmed down and back on track. It has doubled its size and has bloomed every year now for 18 years. This picture is a few years old and doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. Its just beautiful.

Another best kept secret.....

I've always had pretty good skin....but this winter has really played havoc on me and my skin. I started getting dry patches on my legs close to my ankles. I hate this. When I lay in bed at night I can feel the roughness and it drives me insane. So I decided to utilize the Internet and see what I could find to fix this problem.

In the course of 5 months I have used so many different products that say they will fix dry skin ("guaranteed"......HA). I have paid as much as $40 for 1.5 oz. of product. Now I realize I could have even gone higher and found products twice that price, but I simply refuse to spend that kind of money.

Low and behold I came across an old stand-by that I used 10 years ago and had forgotten about. I didn't have ultra dry skin back then or it would have left a bigger impression on me and I surely would have remembered it. This is the best kept secret for sure. Queen Helene's Cocoa Butter Cream. I bought it at Wacky-mart back then for about $4 for a HUGE jar.....15 ounces. I just replenished my supply by going through drugstore.com and it was $5.79 with free shipping. Still a bargain. But the main thing is that IT WORKS. It works, it works, it works. I may have to use it every night for a while....maybe forever....but it works.

So, I'm all about saving money and therefore am passing this info on to you who may also suffer from dry skin. I am in no way getting paid to tell you about this.....its just my own observation. This is not fancy cream, it doesn't smell like French perfume....but it works and that's all anyone really wants. Try it, I know you'll like it Keeping yourself up doesn't have to be expensive.

Now.....on another note. I watched Avatar last night. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I did not have the 3-D version and I still enjoyed it. To think this came out of the imaginations of so many people.....I am amazed. I think this is suitable for kids over 10, even though there is some battle going on. There's no nudity and I don't think there is any profanity.....I got so wrapped up in the film...if there was, it slipped by me. I will watch it again this weekend with my family. Its really very good if you like this kind of movie (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, ....fantasy type movies).

I cried yesterday.....

I cried because I just don't understand. Nothing will ever make me understand cruelty. I cannot understand mean-spirited people.....what makes them tick....how can one find happiness in making someone else sad.

A couple posts ago I wrote about my journeys through Blogdom and the many different emotions I feel while on those excursions. I've been reading this one certain blog for quite some time now and she is one of the most awesome women I've come across. This is the woman who brings me down to earth when I'm feeling sorry for myself.....when I'm the guest of honor at my own pity party and I feel neglected or whiney over something that has really no substance at all. The Nie Nie Dialogues is written by Stephanie Neilson, a woman who was, along with her husband and a pilot, involved in a plane crash. The pilot was killed but Nie Nie and her husband survived with burns over large areas of their bodies. Nie Nie, I believe, had them over 80% of her body. She does not look the same as she did before that fateful crash, but inside, she's the same loving wife and mother and she's beautiful.

She's been through countless surgeries and is in constant pain. Her faith in God and the love for her family gives her strength. She is brave beyond words. She finds joy in almost everything.

Yesterday in her post she writes an open letter to a cruel woman who has apparently been sending her mean and hateful emails. Since she didn't divulge the complete content, I am guessing it was about Nie Nie going to the beauty shop recently to get her hair fixed and nails polished. Apparently this mean-spirited woman thought she was spending donated money for that. I'm not sure but all I do know is that it was mean and it was unnecessary. And the post implies that she is sending these types of emails frequently. It hurt Nie Nie and it was uncalled for. If I could have driven over there and carefully....oh so carefully....given her a hug and told her how much she is respected and loved, I would have done so. But Nie Nie answered her questions with class and dignity because that's just the kind of person she is.

How can someone be so cruel? Unfortunately, there are a lot of them out there who take delight in doing cruel things. It takes the kindness of hundreds to wipe out the cruel deed of just one person. Do they think of that as power? I can only pity them. I know that eventually they will experience the cruelty themselves....brought full circle. In the meantime, lovely people like Nie Nie have souls that shine amid all their challenges and this cruel woman cannot extinguish that light. To say Nie Nie is admired and loved is an understatement and I just hope that she can block out this unnecessary hurt and keep remembering that. I would recommend all of you go read her story. She's even been on Oprah!

In the meantime, don't forget to do your Random Act of Kindness. The smallest gesture is ever appreciated by those in need. When you look in the mirror do you like WHO you see? If not, then make some changes until you're happy with you and I'm not talking about physical beauty either.....but you knew that, didn't you? Big hugs.

Armchair Critic....some movies

I've been looking at some movies here recently and have read two books so I will give you my opinions.

New Moon....second of the Twilight series. I'm not a fan. I got the first movie out of curiosity because I did not read any of the books. I didn't care for the first movie that much, finding too many mistakes in it (which is a past-time of mine....looking for errors that the directors should find. ) Anyway I got the first movie and it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either. My granddaughter, however, loved it. So I got the second movie for her more than anything. It was even worse than the first one. Actually, this one made the first one seem excellent by comparison. They leave you totally hanging at the end....making it a movie with no ending. A shameless promotion to keep buying their movies to find out what's next. It's reminiscent of a TV soap opera. My advice is not to waste your money. However, they are so popular.....I can't understand exactly why....but their popularity seems to hold.

Then I watched The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. I hesitated with this one because I thought it was all about football and it really wasn't. I guess it was about the capacity to love more than anything. Based on an honest to God true story with actual pictures of the people involved at the ending, its a movie well worth your time. It was excellent and I can understand why Sandra Bullock won the award for this one. You won't be sorry you watched it and will want to see it again.

Next up is The Princess and the Frog. OMG.....what a delightful movie! Its just as much for adults as it is for kids. Lots of music and feel-good scenarios. The plot line is a good one too. There is one small sad part that very young kids may tear up over so use your own judgment over whether it may be too sad for your child. Its the death of a firefly, one that plays a pretty prominent part in the movie but they even turn that into a feel-good occurrence. This is another great movie.....another Disney one, of course.

Then there is Sherlock Holmes. You know Robert Downey Jr. is an excellent actor and you either love him or hate him in movies. The original Sherlock was always quite droll but never really got himself involved in anything strenuous or any kind of fighting other than using his wit and intelligence. Sherlock has been reinvented. I like this new Sherlock.....a lot. He's not only super intelligent but he can hold his own in a fight too. There are bits of humor here and there that make his character and Jude Law's Dr. Watson most likable. The movie was very good and I really liked the fact that everything was explained.....how the crime was committed or how the escape was managed...etc. I think they are on to something here and I hope that many more Sherlock movies grace our screens. I don't think you'll be sorry for watching this one at all.

The last movie is an old one. I don't know how I missed this one. I had read the book but somehow managed to miss the movie. It, too, stars Sandra Bullock, along with Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Ashley Judd and Kevin Spacey. A Time To Kill. This is a powerful movie that revolves around the attempt murder and rape of a 10 yr old black girl in the deep south, Mississippi. It causes all sorts of problems as the perpetrators are two white men who are caught and must face justice for their crime. This movie is not for the younger set, obviously. It will leave you changed...... I know it will affect people differently, depending on your background and where you are from. It has a message to deliver. A powerful one. It made me cry and I'm not sorry I watched it.

The books I read are Breathless by Dean Koontz and A Dog's Life, An Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. Breathless was just ok as far as I'm concerned. Koontz has certainly written much better books but this one was light reading and ended upbeat while basically setting itself up for more stories to come based along these same lines and/or the same characters. A Dog's Life was good. It was easy and fast reading, meant basically for the younger set (10 and up) , I'm sure. It intrigued me because it was the story of a dog's life told from her point of view, she was the narrator of the story. Anyone who is an animal lover will love this book. You can finish it in a day.

Well, that's it. Hope I was able to help you out if you were wondering about certain movies or these two books. I have pre-ordered Avatar so I will be watching that when its released. I hope its as good as I've heard that it is. Have a great up-coming week everyone. And....of course.....remember to ......Keep Smilin'!!