What time of the year is it?

The calendar says it's springtime and the trees are flowering out.

My house is being taken over by TIME magazine. Cameron wanted a subscription for Christmas and his Aunt Carol got him one. So this magazine comes every week and there are copies of it in every room in the house. I think it reproduces undercover of darkness. I hate to just recycle them so maybe I'll take them to school and leave them in the faculty room like you do when your garden produces more tomatoes and zucchinis than you can use.Oh and the tree that is flowering out; not really, it's snow from our latest snowfall. This tree is in front of the convent around the corner from me, the Sisters of Mercy. When we first moved into our house we would see nuns in full habit going for walks or driving around but haven't seen one in years. They must be in their 80's and 90's. Are young women becoming nuns these days? I can't imagine it's a very popular career.

Guess Where I Was

I've answered the call and have done my civic duty for the next six years. That's right, jury duty. It's over now so I can talk about it. It was an eye opening case. The defendant was charged with assault in the 3rd degree and criminal mischief in the 4th. The judge made it clear that in order to convict we had to be positive beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime. The onus is completely on the prosecutor, the defense attorney doesn't have to prove anything. The defendant does not have to take the stand. In his opening argument the prosecutor stated we will hear from multiple witnesses and police officers and see photos of the scene.

First, the cast of characters

D is the defendant.

V is the victim.

W is a witness

H is the husband of D.

All we know about D is that she married H in 2005. We don't know how old she is or if she has any children. She allegedly committed the crime against V and don't know if she has any prior arrests.

V is 27 years old and has seven children, the oldest being 13 years old. Three of those children are fathered by the husband of D. He doesn't see said children and does not help support them. We don't know how old his children with V are. V has been previously convicted and sentenced to 3 years probation for harassing D and smashing her windshield. She also has a restraining order against her filed by D. She is unemployed.

W is a witness called by the prosecution. We had a delay in the trial because she was in another courtroom on business of her own. She has been arrested 10 times and may have had a child by this same man.

V's story:
Early one May morning at 1:30 am, V was sitting on her porch with a bunch of people when 3 cars pulled up and 11 people got out. One of them was D. D and her cousin were climbing the stairs to the porch when V put her hand on the forehead of the cousin to push her down. At this time D had a straight razor and slashed her finger. V's mother pulled her into the house. As soon as she got in she heard a window break. She went over to the front door where D was breaking the door window. The falling glass cut her on the bridge of her nose and went all over her mother but didn't cut her. She went to the hospital where she received stitches, 5 on her finger, 2 on her face. So D is charged with assault and criminal mischief for breaking the window. V now has to have money taken out of her check from the Department of Social Services to pay the landlord for the window.
W is called to the stand and says that night just her and V were on the porch when all these people pulled up. D is coming up the front stairs and V puts her hand on her face to push her down the stairs. That's when D pulls the straight razor out and slashes V. V goes into the house and D continues up to the door with a hammer and breaks 6 windows and the glass cuts V.

That was it. That was the evidence presented to us. No police report, no pictures of the broken window(s) or receipts for new windows.No other witnesses such as the police, V's mother or any of the other 10 people that showed up. We adjourn to the jury room to deliberate. What we have are conflicting testimonies. Who was getting pushed down the stairs? My thought was if someone had their hand on my face I would not try and slice her with a straight razor since my face is right there underneath her hand. V says her door window was broken, W says 6 windows were broken. V says there were a bunch of people sitting on her porch, W says it was just the two of them.

In the end we the jury found D not guilty on both charges. When it came down to it it was a case of she said, she said. There is no doubt that something went down that night but there was just no proof offered to show that D. did the deeds. At first I was shocked at all these details and wished I could see this man that is being fought over. I hope that they will now stay away from each other before someone really gets hurt.

Easter

I thought I'd share a few pictures I found for the Easter holiday.

I can't claim credit for any of them though.

Cameron, son number 2, used to want a rabbit when he was younger. We got guinea pigs instead and he turned out to be allergic to them.

I thought this was a soft pretty picture.


Including some pysanky, Ukrainian Easter egg decorating since my husband is second generation Ukrainian.
Of course, the Easter Lily
This is about my skill level of egg decorating. Tell me it's not cute though.Easter is cancelled at this dog's house. Sorry bunny lovers.
The dog looks happy though!

And finally my sentiments to you!

Things I've Done

I've never done any of those meme things before but got nothing today so here goes...


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36.Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contes
t79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your artwork to someone you didn't know.
45. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

No More, I Promise

I know that I sure do complain a lot on here about snow and cold and lack of sunshine and wind and the winter list goes on. This is the last time I will expostulate. (I got that word from thesaurus.com) This picture was taken in our front yard a few minutes ago and in case you can't read the tape measure, the snow is at 17 inches. I'm sure someone somewhere has more snow than I do but I'm too busy wallowing in my own self pity to care.

Welcome Mr. Paterson

Yesterday my, well the state of New York's new governor, David Paterson was sworn in. I was at school so I missed it. I did catch a rerun of it on C-SPAN last night. I was impressed. First of all he's funny. Not funny like ooohhh, he's strange but funny haha, he has a sense of humor and did some jokes. Paterson was very upbeat and at one time the crowd in Albany was chanting his name. He ended his speech by voicing loud and clear, "let me introduce myself, I'm David Paterson, governor of the great state of New York."

He seems like a decent guy and I hope he can make a difference. What amazed me was since he's legally blind he used no notes or teleprompter. I don't know much about being legally blind but how does he do business? Does someone read every piece of paperwork to him. How does he know what he's signing. I'll leave you with an article highlighting some of his wit.

Wit leaves 'em laughing in the aisles
Gov. Paterson brought a little standup comedy to his inaugural address in Albany Monday:
In a joking reference to his blindness, Paterson recalled how Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver once stopped him from gaveling in a State of the State session. "Apparently I was about to bring the gavel down on a glass. ... The speaker at the last second grabbed the gavel away from me and he told me in his own inimitable way" - and here Paterson lowered his voice and imitated Silver's monotone - "'I will not allow you to turn the State of the State into a Jewish wedding.'"
On plans to have dinner with GOP rival and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (who is next in line of succession): "The other day we had lunch, and [Bruno] said, 'Listen, some evening if you feel like it, you should come out to the ranch and have dinner with me.' I'll go. ... I'm going to take my taster with me."
On Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco (R-Schenectady), who considers himself a decent basketball player: "[Tedisco] asked me the other day when he came by the office, 'Do you still play basketball, David?' I told him, 'I don't play basketball, Jimmy, I teach basketball. Maybe you'd like to come by for a lesson sometime.'"
"We don't know the path yet, but ... I know a little bit about finding one's way through the dark," he said in an allusion to his blindness."

Misc. Things

I spend most of my day working with 81 kindergartners. I work between two teachers and they each have a morning class and an afternoon class so I have four classes of the little cherubs. Today in one of my afternoon classes we celebrated a birthday. Now this class has had 17 students from day one. This mother knows this because they did valentines plus she comes in and helps every few weeks for a few hours. Today for 17 students she sends in a box of 16 Rice Krispies Treats. How stupid is that? Now who do you tell they aren't getting one? Luckily there was a student that doesn't like them. I know it's a pain when you need just one more but come on mom, buy another box and take one out to send in to school.
I'm in my second day of using Crest Whitestrips and am not crazy about the icky, scuzzy feeling of them on my teeth. According to this show I watch, Ten Years Younger, whiter teeth will take years off of your looks. Well I can't afford to get my teeth whitened at the dentist so I went the 31.99 route. I certainly hope they work and this yuckiness pays off.

"I heard the news today oh boy" Heather Mills and Paul McCartney were married for four years and today she received a 48.6 million dollar divorce settlement from him. Mills sought a whopping 250 million but ended up with getting $34,000 for each day she was married to him.

Not bad for 1461 hard day's night. Sir Paul is worth about 800 million and she wanted a nice slice of that pie. Come to find out, the bulk of that fortune was made before she was married to him. Really, how can she expect to get any of that?

Isn't this a creepy picture? They are CPR training dummies. I took a CPR class on Friday and I guess my days of doing anything on my knees are over. (I know where those dirty minds are going with that one) But seriously, after spending what seemed like hours on my bum knees my right knee has been talking trash to me big time. I wear a brace on it and have a slight hitch in my giddy-up as my grandfather used to say, but these past few days it has been much more pronounced. Nine years ago after an MRI my orthopedic doctor told me I had 80 year old knees in a 40 year old body. Today they feel like 150 year old knees. Now if you're good at math you can figure out how old I am.

Time's up! I can take these ookie things off of my teeth. As far as I'm concerned ookie is a word.

Oh look! It's snowing big fluffy flakes outside.

Argh! It wouldn't be so bad if it melted when it hit the ground

but since the snow pack isn't melting it just piles up.

Good thing we paid $24. to go to the garden show yesterday.
While it's not quite the same as spring at least

it's colorful and you can pretend it's warm outside.

It was a small price to pay for my sanity.
At least for a few days.
We planted 100 daffodil bulbs last fall

so I'm anxious to see them come up.
I have seen and heard some flocks of geese

flying overhead so that's a good sign.

Holy Crap!

Unbelievable.

And I thought men stayed in the bathroom for a long time.

They got nothin on this woman.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 12, 7:27 PM ET
WICHITA, Kan. - Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years — so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.


Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.
"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."
Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.
"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."
He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.
"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,'" Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."
The boyfriend called police on Feb. 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.
Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.
"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.
She was reported in fair condition at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Want my opinion?

Remember this post?

Maybe you don't but this post is sort of a continuation of it.

It came about because of this picture.

Two young teenagers were murdered basically due to their lifestyle. We have way too much of this thug culture today. I hate to see young life wasted. Back to the picture. It was splashed over the front page of our newspaper in living color. When I first saw it I gasped out loud. It was a shocking photo but realized that it's true; a picture is worth a thousand words. But I knew that some would complain. I also knew that sometimes I just can't keep my opinions to myself. As soon as the first complaining letter hit the paper, out came my pen and paper (well, my keyboard) and the words started flowing. My only problem was keeping it under 175 words. Below the first letter was written by another reader, the second was written by me. This is the third letter to the editor I've had published over the years. What do you think about these differing opinions?

Books

While reading the news on the Internet I came across this story about a person in Finland who returned a library book 100 years late. I can relate to that. I love to read and can spend hours in a bookstore or library. The problem with bookstores is that books these days are so damn expensive so it's a luxury to buy one. On the other hand, at the library you can borrow these books for free! Except it never turns out to be free for me since I never seem to get them back by the due date. Right now I think I owe about 10 bucks and change to my library. The most I've owed was $24. I know, stupid huh.

Gross

I live in one of the highest taxed states in the union. I live in a state with a declining population because of those taxes. I live in a state with a very high cost of living. Now I live in a state in which the governor has been caught in a prostitution sting. Oh Governor Spitzer, what were you thinking? Did you really think that you could hire a high priced hooker and get away with it? It's pretty hypocritical of you to say that you will clean up New York state's political mess and bring ethics back to our government. Your poor wife and 3 teenage daughters. I can't imagine the emotional damage done to them. I'm speechless for a change.

Head for the Hills!

I have tried and tried today to post some pictures today on this blog but Blogger is not behaving today and it's pissing me off. Picture a lion roaring and looking very mean.These days it doesn't take much. I have been grumpy for a while but it has now moved onto to full blown bitchiness. I'm so tired of a few things and I hate this time of year. Now usually I'm all about the anticipation of things. I'll use Christmas as an example. The few weeks leading up to it are better than the actual day to me. Friday is my favorite day of the week because I'm anticipating the weekend. My most favorite time of year is springtime but...I HATE this time of the year even though it's leading up to spring. This is one anticipation I don't like. That and waiting for the ketchup to come out of the bottle. I don't know if you remember the commercial with Heinz ketchup and Carly Simon.

Things that are making me bitchy

I can't stand anymore winter. I can deal with it up through most of February but after awhile the cold, the snow,the wind, it wears me down. The dreariness of it is awful, it's like all of the color has been leached out of the world. Everything is grey from the road salt, the snow, the road, your car and the sky are the same shade of grey.

My health has sucked this winter. I know I've complained about this on here before but I'm going to do it again. Since October I have been sick more than I've been healthy. I'll catch something and have it for a few weeks then healthy for a week. New germs come along and I'm sick again for a few weeks. Sometimes sick enough to be down in the bed other times sick enough to just feel miserable. I just got over another cold but am now suffering from sinus headaches that are killing my eyes. My eyes are tired, sore and some days feel like they're going to pop out of my head. How's that for a visual. A few times it's been bad enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. Sort of like a red hot skewer poking into my brain. Let me tell you, when you feel like this it is very hard to work with 5 year olds. As much as I love them it doesn't take much to make me crazy. Of course I have to keep that inside but when I get home; bitchy.

I feel I've aged more this winter. My knees have not been good, especially the right one. I have to wear my brace everyday. While the brace doesn't take the pain away it makes my knee feel better in the sense that it supports it and makes it feel more stable. It doesn't feel like it's going to collapse. When I don't wear it I pay for it with more pain and my knee gets tired.This in turn makes other joints hurt like my ankle, hip and back. As it is, when I walk I favor the right leg. I like to wear skirts with stocking or tights but don't like the brace showing so it's been pants all winter.

Ladies, you know we have those times when we just don't look good. I'm not liking my hair. My skin is so pale. My eyes are not bright. Wrinkles seem like they're popping up over night. I just feel and look dull.

I'm just not myself and I've struggled with this feeling before. I don't like it and I don't want to go there again. Please.

So you can see why I've gone from being cranky once in a while to down right bitchy. Sometimes I just have to go up to the bedroom and close the door.
I do tend to keep a lot inside but have been letting it fly lately. My poor family.
Thanks for reading this if you stayed with it til the end.

I feel better now.

Uncle Sam is Calling

Receiving mail addressed to our sons from the US Armed Forces is not unusual. My oldest son, now 21 starting getting recruitment information soon after he became an Eagle Scout. Same thing happened when number 2 made Eagle. They were both offered Officer's Training School but who knows where they'd end up.For four years now number 1 has been off their radar since he's been in college . That is until a few weeks ago. He graduates in May and will be a registered nurse. Seems the Army is interested again and in need of some nurses. If he didn't join the Army four years ago to get his education paid for he's not going to enlist now.
Son number 2 will graduate from high school this June and guess who's courting him? Over the last several weeks the Marines and the Army have called him. He talked with the Marine recruiter for a good 5 minutes answering their questions. Was he going to college? What is he interested in? When he told them he wanted to become a high school English teacher they had a program for him. He finally told them no thank you, he wasn't interested.
Now if either of my boys wanted to join the military I would be petrified but very proud. I have nothing against the military and I have the utmost respect for the young men and women that inlist. Our nephew was in the Army for seven years, spending his last year as a First Sergeant with the 101st Airborne where he specialized in urban warfare. He served in Iraq where yes, he killed people and lost soldiers that were under his command. One thing that concernes me is that my son is just 17 years old, can they be calling him? Obviously they can and do but it seems like if you're not even old enough to vote; you're not old enough to be recruited by the Armed Forces.

English

A few months ago while grocery shopping in Wal-Mart, (a place I usually try to avoid but damn, they do have some good prices on some things) I happen to notice a product, (I can't remember what it was because I suffer from CRS disease, (can't remember shit) can you have parenthesis within parenthesis? Anyway, I was very surprised to see that the Spanish version came before the English version on the package. I thought wow, what's happening here? Often times up here in New York we have the French translation written on things being close to French speaking Canada but this was a first for me to see English in the smaller font and second to Spanish. I told my dad about it and he just sent me this video. Check it out. I haven't figured out how to put videos in my blog so I have just the link. Do I agree with it. Yes I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEJfS1v-fU0

Life is Short

We all have a mental picture of the people we know. I usually see them as they were when I met them. When I look at my husband I don't see the silver lacing his hair or the crinkles around his eyes or the few pounds that he has gained over the years. In my mind's eye I see him as he was when I met him 27 years ago. In my mind's eye I do see my parents as they are. It scares me to see them aging before my eyes. I see my children as they are, young and vibrant.

What brings me to this subject is today my husband and I attended the funeral of an old friend. We all worked together at the local gas and electric company. Tom and my husband started in my department the same day and worked side by side for many years. We were all in our very early 20's. Tom was a magnet for people, everyone he came in contact with loved him and he had many friends. He was so very charismatic and treated everyone like they were special. Often times he would turn and look over his shoulder and wink at me. Of course I always had a smile for him. He loved the ladies and we didn't think there would ever be one that could reign him in but one special girl did. Stephanie is very quiet and we were all surprised with his choice. It turned out to be perfect. She grounded him and it worked. Tom was very athletic in high school playing football and baseball and later on the company baseball league. His love of baseball took him all over the country to many major league parks. Golf was also a passion of his.

Ten years ago Tom was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The same disease that took his father's life in his 40's. He eventually had to leave his job. This disease robbed him of the use of his body, put him in a wheel chair and eventually even stole his voice but not his spirit. I saw Tom in my mind's eye today as the young, healthy and beautiful person he was when I met him in 1978. I know that he walked into heaven, released from his debilitating illness. The church today was standing room only, filled with friends from every aspect of his life. He was 53.

This is the second funeral of a friend that I've attended in 5 months. During the service I had thoughts of Ginny and it was a double whammy for me. I thought this was supposed to happen when you get older. It certainly makes a person think about their own mortality. Please take the time to tell others the good things you like about them, don't waste your time with the jerks in life. As the teacher I work with says, "be the duck" let the water roll off your back don't let others bring you down.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: It's the weekend.

The Bad: I'm getting another freaking cold. Just another in a long line of them since October.

The Good: I had filed a grievance with our health insurance company over some medical expenses that they denied coverage for and we got the news today that they have reversed their decision and will cover them. It pays to complain sometimes. While it was only for about 500. bucks it was a lot to us. I feel bad for others that have much worse medical bills that are not paid.

The Bad: I got a summons for jury duty today. Starting March 24 I am at their mercy for a week. I've paid my dues. I know it's a civic duty and all that jazz but honestly, leave me alone. I have been called for jury duty my fair share of times. This is my fifth time!! I've served twice on federal jury duty and that lasts for 3 months. I've been on an actual jury twice so lighten up. Go pick someone else. Like my husband, he would love to do it having never been on a jury before.

The Good: The new Stephen King book, Duma Key is finally getting good. I was beginning to think it was a bomb since nothing really scary or odd happened until page 421. I enjoy his books with my favorites being The Stand, Needful Things and It. If you like Stephen King, try reading Dean Koontz. They write somewhat similar stories in that some are scary, some are creepy and some are strange. Favorites that I would recommend by Koontz are Whispers, Phantoms, Odd Thomas and my favorite of all books, One Door Away From Heaven, a book that really touched me and a book that I cried at the end of because it was over.

The Bad: I'm getting another cold. Oh, I said that already. It sucks.

The Good: My husband is starting a business with his brother doing architctual drawings on auto cad. He got paid for his first job and we bought a flat panel high def TV for our bedroom to replace the ancient one we had.

The Bad: He has to spend a lot of time working on the aforementioned business at night after he works at his regular job during the day. At least I have a nice new TV to keep me company.

The Good: Our son had a nice time in Florida with his grandparents and finally arrived home safely after being delayed in JFK for 7 hours.

The Bad: Our dog Cody stinks but where do you give a 75 lb. dog a bath in the winter? Not outside with the hose.

The Ugly: I have another freaking cold!!!!!!!!