Parents...

Well wasn't tonight special? Savannah and I had a great time trick-or-treating with friends. She has about 15 pounds of candy (which I ended up carrying in a Target bag while she had her light plastic pumpkin!) We went to a really exclusive neighborhood where they give out name brand candy and large candy bars. The entire town goes there for Halloween. There were witches, mummies, vampires, football players, and of course, parents, all over the place.

Some parents are really good. They hold their kids' hands, ride them on golf carts and wagons, or walk down the streets with them. Some kids are old enough to not need their parents with them, but some were out there all by themselves armed with only a cell phone.

Why would you let your 8 year old daughter loose in a crowded neighborhood, on Halloween, with only a cell phone for protection? What are some parents thinking? Savannah is almost 11 and this is the first year I haven't held her hand when it got crowded! Maybe I am overprotective but my worst fear is losing her. And this seems like a really good place to lose someone!

Stay safe this Halloween and watch out for the kids in case other people aren't!

You are what you eat (or you write what you read)

I re-read my last blog and notice that my writing is very different from the usual way I write. I even thought "how formal" - and began to look around for the reason. I just started reading "Pride and Prejudice" which of course was written 200 years ago. The style is what I call "heavy English." So I suppose that gets in my head and comes back out in my writing.

This shouldn't surprise me- I see it in the teenagers and the spoken language they use. Of course a 4 letter word leaks out every now and then, even though they don't hear it here. They also use the expressions of their friends (things that are cool are "fat," another word for "shoot" is "snap") and so the fact that I write what I read shouldn't surprise me.

It does remind me that we need to surround ourselves with people who we want to be like, we need to read books with the vocabulary that we want to have, we need to live in the environment that makes us the best we can be.

What do you Buy

Usually grocery shopping does not elicit much fodder for the blog. I dare say it is a routine experience that brings me little joy or inspiration. However, I am seeing it a little differently today.
Heading to the checkout, I was perturbed to see that there were only two lines open, with each having at least three people in them. Doing what I assume most of us would, I began analyzing the contents of each buggy to try and determine which line would move faster. (Now I must say, I am usually not very skilled at this, having chosen lines that move about as fast as cold molasses in the past.)

Having made my choice, I stepped in line beside a 20 something man holding a basket over his wrist. (It is a known fact that these plastic baskets hold fewer items than grocery carts, right?) Well, as he began to unload the basket onto the conveyor belt, I was shocked at the contents. It contained no less than 4 cans of chili starter, a box of crackers, and 20 cans of baby food!

At least I amused myself as I waited by picturing the supper this man was going to have... I sure hope he has a baby at home!

Top Ten Reasons to stay at (the other place)

When I first saw the "Top Ten Reasons to Stay at Yahoo" blog I was expecting a Letterman-style list of reasons. I can't believe someone thought of 10 reasons to actually go down with the ship! So, here is my list, for those who really can't seem to lower themselves into a lifeboat...
10. They're going to replace 360 with another product. It will have as many bugs as the last one, but you should remain faithful to Yahoo and ignore that pesky fact.
9. Its a scary world out there... stick with what you know.
8. Yahoo has so many products that they're proud of. Who cares if they don't work together?
7. Yahoo is checking out its competitors so it can borrow interfaces from others that are really good.
6. Yahoo will preserve your list of friends. They might even preserve your friends' comments to show for one minute every hour. It is up to you to figure out which minute that is, though.
5. Yahoo has been around a long time. They aren't going anywhere! (Yeah, no kidding- they are stagnant- this one was actually on the other list!)
4. Yahoo has brought in new help and fresh faces to totally redo everything. It will all be totally different than ever!
3. They will upgrade customer service modules to include a automated email response that reads "don't bother me with you're problems I just work here."
2. Mash is easier to use than Multiply. Why, even a child could figure it out!
1. Matt Warburton will give you his office number so that you may personally call him with any problems. He promises to get back to you within the next 5 years.

Weakness? or Strength? or Just a Rant?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Ok, so if you know me, you know I'm going through all this legal stuff trying to get my divorce finalized and get this bum out of my life (or at least off my insurance!)  He gets papers today that have just about everything he wanted in them, and he calls to complain that he didn't want me to have full custody of our daughter. WHAT?? He hasn't seen her since June 10- by HIS choice! I keep saying he needs to come get her but he doesn't make a move to. He even wanted the clause in the agreement that he could see her anytime that he wanted (which of course got written as "any time agreeable to both parties" - I am not stupid, you know.) Anyway, I really have had about enough. He hasn't paid child support since June, either.

So I need strength here. I need to fight for her and for me, but I don't want this to affect her or his boys (who still live with me too- and he doesn't pay for them either.) So how do I get what we need without looking like the bad guy to them? They don't understand all the legalities of things and to be honest, neither does he. (This would be a little easier if he got a lawyer!) Grrrrr!

Bless you if you read this far... and send prayers this way! Thanks!

It's Friday!

Welcome to Friday night! The thoughts of two entire days with nothing in them used to be a veritable playground of fun. Hours could be filled with friends, music, alcohol, a frisbee, and a guitar. Every hour was planned, nights were long, and one event led straight to another. Life was fun and full of good times.

Welcome to Friday night in your 40's. A cup of soup, a good book, and nothing to do for two days REALLY sounds good! Don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends. Wouldn't mind a glass of wine every now and then. But the party girl is definitely the party pooper girl tonight. The best thing I can think of to do is nothing!

I thought about going shopping. I do need a few things, but for some reason that would require more movement than I seem capable of right now. This is one of those nights that if I could go to the spa I would. I just want to relax and be pampered, even if I have to pamper myself.

I am reading a wonderful book- "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you're looking for God, or your place in the universe, she takes you on a real adventure of her own quest. I can't wait to finish the book (but somehow it is also sad when you finish a book, even though you couldn't wait to read it all!) So 'ole Liz and I will be hanging out tonight- over homemade latte and chicken soup.

What is everyone else doing on Friday night?

It's Friday Night

Welcome to Friday night! The thoughts of two entire days with nothing in them used to be a veritable playground of fun. Hours could be filled with friends, music, alcohol, a frisbee, and a guitar. Every hour was planned, nights were long, and one event led straight to another. Life was fun and full of good times.

Welcome to Friday night in your 40's. A cup of soup, a good book, and nothing to do for two days REALLY sounds good! Don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends. Wouldn't mind a glass of wine every now and then. But the party girl is definitely the party pooper girl tonight. The best thing I can think of to do is nothing!

I thought about going shopping. I do need a few things, but for some reason that would require more movement than I seem capable of right now. This is one of those nights that if I could go to the spa I would. I just want to relax and be pampered, even if I have to pamper myself.

I am reading a wonderful book- "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you're looking for God, or your place in the universe, she takes you on a real adventure of her own quest. I can't wait to finish the book (but somehow it is also sad when you finish a book, even though you couldn't wait to read it all!) So 'ole Liz and I will be hanging out tonight- over homemade latte and chicken soup.

What is everyone else doing on Friday night?

So I'm Here

Ok, so I'm here. So far I've deleted half of the things that can go on this page. I'll start slow, you know, like in kindergarten when you only got 8 colors of crayons to begin with. It took a couple of years to graduate to the 64 box with the sharpener on the back!

Welcome to everyone else here- I'm not giving up on 360 yet, but I'll get my feet wet over here just in case!

Me

Multiply

Thanks to Anne for doing all the work on this and then letting us reap the benefits. If you want to know all she did read her blog here. Suffice it to say that she saved us all a lot of time trying new social sites with blogs. Her answer to the possibility (or near probability) that 360 will shut down is Multiply. This site seems to have a lot of the things we all like about 360 without all the childish things of Mash and MySpace. What it doesn't have is a lot of our friends yet! Check it out and consider an account- even if it is just a place to go when this one dies without warning. I'd sure hate to lose a lot of you whom I have grown rather fond of- or at least fond of your writing and antics!

Thanks for doing all the work and letting us have the knowledge, Anne!

Moving Out- For the Wench

This is my blog entry in The Wench's writing challenge. You're supposed to choose a song and write a story around it- expand on what is going on in the song. Yes I'm a day late getting it written so I know I won't get as high a grade as I could but it seemed like too much fun to pass up... so, here it goes!

<http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Vrd8KCtylU>

Anthony is 18 years old, just graduated from high school, and can't figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Should he go to college like Mama Leone wants, or become a cop like his dad was? Oh, if only his father hadn't been killed, maybe he could give him some advice. But the only advice he seems to get is from his over-worked mother and Mama Leone, who at the moment is obsessed with moving to Hackensack, NJ. (Why anyone would move TO New Jersey is a wonder to him, but Mama Leone has always been a bit wacky.)

So Anthony is bagging groceries in the mornings and hanging out with his friends in the afternoons. You know working too hard can give you a heart attack, so he likes this part time gig. His mother wishes he could get a better job, partly so he would not have time to hang out with his friends so much and part so he could help her out more with the rent. But Anthony is trying to save up money to get out of this place before he stays here forever. He doesn't care much about moving up, just moving out.

He dreams of his life as he sweeps the sidewalk in front of the store. Who will he be? Will he become that cop, or some corporate schmuck in a suit and tie? Or will he still be here sweeping sidewalks forever? He spots Seargent O'Leary as he makes his morning rounds. The well pressed uniform fits well on his frame- the belt with his assorted tools of the trade makes him look more important, as does the badge on his chest. He walks tall and seems proud of his stature in the community. And he just bought a new Cadillac, too so life must be pretty good for the man.

What Anthony doesn't realize is that the good Seargent moonlights as a bartender at Mr. Cacciatori's down on Sullivan Street so that he can make enough money to buy that new car because a guy should have something nice once in his life, right? And that his highest hopes are to one day make Lieutenent so that he can finally get off the beat and out of the way of flying bullets so that one day, his wife doesn't have to support the family alone and get rid of the new Cadillac and take the bus.

He spots Anthony across the street and thinks of the life of a cop. How you never know what each call will bring. Will his oldest son have to sweep storefronts to support the family one day, or will he be free to go to college and hang out with is friends? Will Anthony ever have a new cadillac? Hopefully he'll grow up to be a corporate big wig and not follow in his old man's footsteps.

Anthony dreams of the day that he has more answers than questions...

Sgt. O'Leary dreams of the day that he has more answers than questions...

Entry for October 07, 2007

Well I had a great birthday trip! We went to Damascus Virginia to ride bikes down the Creeper trail. If you have never been, I highly recommend it! We stayed at a B&B right on the trail called the Buchanan Inn. I love old houses and anything with history and this had it all! Even had a creek right outside our window that Savannah loved playing in!

For those of you who know that she possibly broke her ankle on Thursday, fear not. This child rode 17 miles on the bicycle, played in the creek, and had a wonderful time. I am going to be really surprised if it really was broken, because she hasn't complained about it the entire weekend!

The trees are already starting to change colors up there and it was so beautiful! Jim and Annette Goode, who run the B&B, were darling people- and she was such a good cook it is going to take a month to lose the pounds I gained there. She made the best french toast that I have ever had! She also served fruit and lean meat so maybe it wont be so bad- there was the ice cream at the end of the trail that called my name! I figured since I didn't have a birthday cake that I could have some ice cream- surely 17 miles worked that off! It was really easy riding, though, so you wouldn't have to be in great shape to make it. If you think you'd like to go and want to know more let me know. I'll be glad to tell you about bike rentals and places to stay!

Thanks for all the good birthday wishes! I love you all!