Insomnimusing: Allons-y!

Do you mind terribly if this post has no particular focus? "So what else is new?" you say. Yeah, I do tend to ramble and wander sometimes, so if you're here, you're probably used to it. What's up? Well, if you recall, my daughter Gin had a trip to the emergency room a few weeks back. She slipped on the stairs and turned her ankle. There was no real injury, but I guess she was feeling particularly fragile that day, so she insisted on going to the hospital. The bills are in: $1,026 all told. How's that for ya? Pooh's getting a new car soon - new for him anyway. My mom's decided he needs one, since his 1998 Toyota Corolla has been through some few levels of hell. She's giving him her 2000 Honda CR-V. I've got a 1999 CR-V. And she's replacing hers with a 2004 CR-V. Have you noticed, we love the CR-V? Yep. We do. It's the perfect car - except for a frustrating audio system with a PITA volume control (PITA=pain in the ass). Seriously though,

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile . All opinions are 100% mine. Boost Mobile . You know it's cool. You know it's fresh. You know it's what you want. And they make it easy. Did you know how easy? With Boost Mobile's Re-Boost you can add more minutes whenever you want, however you want. You can pay in person. You can pay online. Or you can even add minutes right over your phone wherever you are. If you don't even want to think about it, you can even set up automatic payments using your credit or debit card. Honestly - it just doesn't get any easier. And of course, Boost Mobile is more than just a phone. Who's willing to settle for just a phone anymore? Boost Mobile will keep you connected with your social networks. Facebook and Twitter don't need to keep you tied to your computer anymore. You can take them with you wherever you go. Got a craving for an awesome sandwich and find yourself stuck in the world's slowest driv

It's amazing what can get accomplished in a long weekend if you actually set your mind to it. Some weeks ago, we had a pile of clothes suddenly appear at the bottom of the stairs. Miraculously, about the same time, the carpeting of my daughters' bedroom suddenly appeared as well. I started tackling the pile, then it suddenly disappeared. The carpeting in my son's room appeared about the same time. I later discovered the storage room below the stairs filled about halfway with Mt. Laundry. I informed the children, we would be scaling Mt. Laundry this weekend. First thing when I got home Friday after work, we started into a continuous cycle, and as things came out clean and dry on the other end, they got sorted to remove anything stained, damaged beyond repair or too small to wear anymore. Saturday, we got Book and went to my mom's for lunch. We decided it was time to break down her pool for the season, so in our quest to figure out how to drain it without flooding the nei

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC . All opinions are 100% mine. As many of you well know, I'm in the newspaper business. I work for a community newspaper in a rural county, so naturally, the school systems are a big topic in our paper. More than once - in fact, more than a dozen times, I'm sure - I've looked at the stories and said, "I should have gone into teaching." From the standpoint of a journalist, it starts to look like a pretty good deal. Now you can get your Master of Arts in Teaching from the prestigious USC Rossier School of Education online, with the privacy and convenience of working from home - around your schedule. The program includes a highly interactive online course combined with real-life field experiences. There's also a tuition reimbursement program, and you can complete the accelerated program in as little as 12 months. Scholarships are available, and you have the opportunity to become a part of the elite USC Trojan

Ding dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The one that liked to shove its broomstick up the backsides of its employees for fun and giggles. The one that continually made bad business decisions, bringing the misery upon its employees. The one that went off half-cocked and half-assed pushing through poorly thought out get-cash-quick schemes while refusing to consider ideas that would genuinely increase profits and serve customers better. The one that..... Oh never mind. They're not worth the effort of trying to itemize their acts of utter idiocy. In sum: my paper's under new ownership, and I don't think there's a broken heart to be found in the office anywhere about now. Nor would I expect to find one in any of our sister newspapers' offices either. Suffice it to say, the old company saw its ruin in unrestrained greed and selfish tyranny. I, for one, am more than happy to have been around to see it get its comeuppance. It's overdue. I welcome our new ownershi

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA . All opinions are 100% mine. No two people with disablities are exactly alike, and they don't have the same mobility needs. The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association understands this and can help you find an NMEDA qualified dealer to provide a safe, reliable vehicle with the modifications and enhancements you need. NMEDA doesn't sell anything. They're a non-profit trade association that will help you find a dealer you can trust to get the handicapped-accessible van or vehicle modified as you need it. NMEDA qualified dealers provide an in-person evaluation to be sure you are getting the right driving solution to meet your needs - as well as any training you might need to learn to use the modifications of your vehicle. NMEDA not only can match you with a dealer, they also have the Quality Assurance Program. This is the only nationally recognized accredited program for the adaptive mobility equipment industr

Ok, maybe I don't really do the "fretful mom" thing. If the cat scratches Munch and she comes running to me, I don't give her, "Oh, you poor baby!" I tell her, "Go wash it with soap and water, and stop picking on the cat." I got to spend this evening in the hospital emergency room with Gin. She fell down the stairs and twisted her ankle. Personally, I thought it was an overreaction. We spent two hours there. (Surprisingly brief, I know.) She got an x-ray and an air cast and has to get crutches. Why? - because they're not going to say, "You're fine. It's a little owie. It'll go away." However, by the time we got home, she was walking around on that air cast like it was nothing. Seriously, there wasn't even any swelling. I took a much harder spill down those stairs a month or so ago, but I dealt with an achy hip for several days, watched the massive bruise change colors over the course of a week or so and moved on. Life