Baby Alex

Baby Alex is in Brenner's Children's Hospital here in Winston-Salem. He is my cousin's grandchild. I am praying for him and all those that love him. The details are here: http://www.wxii12.com/news/17159711/detail.html. As I pray, these words keep going through my mind:

• 19 days old
• fractured skull
• 8 broken ribs
• injury to liver
• bleeding in the brain
• bleeding at circumcision site
• father's mental health history (stoic = mentally ill)
• mother's mental health (?)
• criminal records
• felony child abuse

White men can't dance

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/3-girls-1-schmuck.html

Redefining Middle Class

I heard recently that "Middle Class" is being redefined as a result of the current economy. That makes sense because we can all afford less and will be required to lower our standard of living accordingly. Would someone please make that clear to today's kids? My son's 12th birthday is coming up, and he's asking for the moon! He needs to lower his expectations to match my disposable income. My daughter will turn 16 in October, and she tells me she's in no hurry to drive since she won't be getting a car. It seems that's the norm for kids now. You turn 16, and you automatically get a car. She wants to get a job this summer, and she'll be learning about income vs. expenses. I plan to charge her for one gallon of gas each time I take her to work. After all, there are no free rides in life.

Economic Stimulus Rebate

My economic stimulus rebate showed up in my bank account last week. I usually hold on to my income tax refund, but I'm spending this. I'm kinda investing it in my children. I'm spending the whole thing on a beach house for a week. They will be there the whole week, but I'm only there for the first 4 days. Their dad is coming down mid-week and will stay the remaining three days with them. It's been 8 years since they've had a vacation with their dad (before the divorce). They are SO excited, and he is too. My parents, and probably my friends too, think I'm nuts, but I really feel great about it. After all, I'm not giving up anything since we never stay more than 4 days at the beach, and it's not money I was actually expecting. Plus, my daughter is almost 16, and she won't even be interested in a vacation with her parents soon. Besides, losing my sisters so young has changed my perspective on "waiting" to do things. Maybe we should all take half of our economic stimulus checks and do something nice for someone else. Somebody that would not expect it from us...like an ex.

North Carolina BBQ Society

Eat More Pig

http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/

C. G. Hill Memorial Park

Wow, what a beautiful little park! Fishing, paved loop around the lake, restrooms, picnic tables with grills, gazebo, & shaded benches around the water. This park is perfect for kids with bikes, skates, or scooters as they can circle the lake. It's also great for handicapped folks because there's very little slope to the bank or paved loop. We saw brim, catfish, turtles, geese, and ducks today. We're going back soon to fish and maybe grill out. http://www.co.forsyth.nc.us/PARKS/cghill.aspx

Spare the landfill

In recognition of Earth Day, let me share something cool. Here's a way to keep things out of the local landfill. Free (local) stuff! www.freecycle.org

Cheating

Wake up, people! If your spouse/significant other is frequenting Myspace or facebook, they are at a minimum "looking" and probably already cheating. Don't be stupid! NOBODY frequents these sites unless they want to see and be seen. Lord, I wish I could just shake every single person who has told me their spouse or special someone had a page on there...but "it's just to keep in touch with friends". Take it from someone who lost their marriage and subsequent boyfriend(s) to internet temptations, it's over! Take immediate action or prepare to pack.

Jimmy's Seafood & Oyster Bar

I love good seafood. What's good to me is not necessarily what's good to many folks in this area though. For instance, I do not like seafood such as you'd find at Mayflower or Libby Hill. It has to be prepared properly and have good flavor...and I don't mean the flavor of grease. My boyfriend and I tried Jimmy's about two months ago and really enjoyed it. Then, about a three weeks ago, I found Jimmy's listed on restaurant.com. I'd never purchased anything on restaurant.com, but I decided to give it a try. I bought a $25 gift certificate for only $10. I made the purchase on Friday, printed out the certificate, and we ate there on Saturday. What a bargain! We had a wonderful meal for only $27 (including our tip). Things got even better last week. I got an email from restaurant.com advertising $25 gift certificates for only $4 !!! Unbelievable but true. I bought another for Jimmy's and two more for other places I wanted to try. You have to read the details and be sure you go on the allowed days of the week, but it's such a great deal. And I definitely didn't mind leaving the required tip at Jimmy's because our service has always been excellent there. You can buy the certificates for restaurant in any zip code. I'm going to check before I go on vacation. You can't go wrong at Jimmy's, and you can't go wrong with saving money either. One more thing about Jimmy's... Folks say you should never order anything but seafood at a seafood place. However, I ordered the ribeye last weekend, and it was incredible. It was as good as what I've had at steak houses. Honestly.

The Birds

Last night I watched The Birds with my teenage daughter and her friend. It had been years since I'd seen it. Yes, it still scares the teenagers. (Somehow, that made me feel less old.) They pointed out the odd camera angles and the absence of music between scenes. Hitchcock really knew what he was doing because it's still effective.

Day One

As the saying goes, today is the first day of the rest of your life. That makes it sound like there's a lot ahead, but maybe there's not. I choose to live each day as if there's not. I'm frugal and cautious, but I know we have more regrets about what we don't do than about what we actually do. My sisters both died in 2002--nine weeks apart. Cancer. One had it for less than 2 years. The other had it for 12 years. One was 46, and one was 51. I am now 45. I choose to LIVE my life in such a way that if someone says something bad about me, people will know it probably isn't true.