Paperless Society?
There used to be lots of talk about becoming a paperless society, remember? With online banking and bill paying, the ability to fill out forms online, and even filing taxes electronically, you’d think anything sort of paper document would be quite scarce these days. I am here to tell you that paperless just isn’t happening! At least not the world I live in. On a weekly basis, I gather all sort of paper. Receipts from the carwash, the grocery store, the gas station, the drugstore and the library (the last one always gets me – since I know as a child, the librarian would simply stamp the due date in the book; no paper changed hands then!) Besides receipts, I might collect the church bulletin, a plethora of reminders scribbled on yellow sticky notes, coupons, and business cards from the dentist or hair salon with appointments on them. That would
How Do You Mend A Broken Heart?
How many of you have teens that have fallen “head over heels for someone?” I guess you could call it the first time your teen was truly interested in someone. You may also say your teen’s first “true love.” Whatever the case may be, your teen is absolutely crazy over this other person. My friend’s son was dating someone for a couple of months until she wanted the relationship to end. The disappointment was so overwhelming. The breakup caused her son to feel very upset and emotional. My friend encouraged her son to hang out with his friends and attend some athletic events to keep his mind off things. After a few weeks he seem to be over the breakup. However, the girl he was dating decided to start sending texts and invites him out to dinner. Meanwhile, my friend tells her son to ignore her texts and not to
Lost Lab and Owner are Re-united!
In this third and final chapter (blog post), there is a happy ending, and my Basset Hound, Happy, was happy about that. The lost black lab camped out with us for the weekend. Austin was growing fond of the lost pet and hoped that I would not be able to connect with the owner as he has been asking for another dog for 2-3 years. The low to the ground Basset has never been quite what he wants for a dog – he wants a large, rambunctious, roll and tumble dog to expend some of his energies with. Meanwhile, I continued with my research and endeavor to restore this very nice dog to its owner. Multiple attempts to reach city animal control/ “dog pound” were to no avail, especially on the weekend and reaching the voice mail with NUMEROUS automated options got old fast. The rabies tag had the name
The High Price of Living With Teens
I’m pretty sure I am going to have to get rid of my kids. They are simply too expensive to keep. I was having some stress already about the cost of owning teens lately. For one thing, my cell phone bill is atrocious. I won’t give you any actual numbers, but for this mom, they are shocking. And right now there is only one smart phone and two not-so-smart phones on our bill. So I am in the process of shopping for a new cell phone carrier to replace the current one. Good news: I found a carrier where we can have three new smart phones for the same price we’re currently paying. Bad news: It will cost us a bundle to make the switch by the time we buy (discounted) new phones, insurance, and start-up fees. Yikes. And the cell phone bill is just the beginning. I also have
Selective Hearing
I think Max has a hearing problem. Lately, it seems he hears only half of what I tell him. For instance, the other day as I headed out to work I reminded him of the several chores I wanted done since he had the day off from school. I spoke quite clearly to him when I looked in his room to tell him I was leaving. “Max,” I said, “Remember to do the vacuuming, run the dishwasher, do your laundry, and take out the trash.” He was still in bed at the time but he looked right at me and even nodded his consent. Max called me at work to see what time I’d be home so he could get the chores done before then, as is his way. I thought things were squared away. When I got home, I found they were not. I pointed out to Max that
