Rest In Peace, Riley (Baby Grace)

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Thank God the monsters who are responsible for murdering this innocent and defenseless child are behind bars. May they never see the light of day again.

This horrific and unthinkable crime has ripped my heart into tiny shreds. I don't think they deserve to have their guilt or innocence debated in a court of law. They have admitted to committing this atrocity--let's save taxpayer money and avoid lengthy trials and appeals by going straight to the penalty phase. And let's save the taxpayers the expense of medically-supervised lethal injections--2 well placed bullets would get the job done much quicker.

And finally let's bury their cold, lifeless bodies in plastic storage bins. Maybe in a nice warm landfill, somewhere.

Now, I feel much better. Don't you?

Arrivederci.

Winding Down

The Thanksgiving 2007 holiday is winding down. It started out on a rather tense note: My daughter was driving home from college in Baton Rouge, using an alternate route since Interstate 10 has been closed for over a week due to a natural gas well explosion. Holiday traffic on the designated detour was the hellish to begin with; but to complicate matters, the weather report predicted 60 mph winds and quarter sized hail! Then, about an hour and a half before she got home, she called to say her boyfriend's flight had been cancelled (he was on his way home to Wisconsin!), and that she might go BACK to Baton Rouge and get him.

I almost fainted.

She made it home safely. What would normally have been a three-hour trip took almost 5 hours.
And her boyfriend had to go back to the dorm, but was able to get a flight the next morning.

Speaking of which...this is a boyfriend I actually have MET and of whom I APPROVE! He didn't come from the internet or a singles' "matchmaking" website; he is a fellow student that my daughter has had a friendship with for a couple of years. Whew! I can't tell you what a roller-coaster her first couple of college years were...she almost made some tragic mistakes. I had to threaten to cut her off financially at one point, and insist that she move to a school closer to home if she couldn't get her act together. She pulled it off and now seems happy, independent, fiscally responsible (mostly) and committed to finishing her education.

And my husband is struggling right now, but not because of his academic load. His finances haven't worked out the way he had hoped, but maybe things will come together in the next couple of weeks. The financial stress is making the academics harder than it should be, but I guess dealing with stress is just going to be a way of life...

And I am still working at two jobs and living with my in-laws. Not much I can say about that. I'd love to have only one job and my own place, but it isn't in the cards right now. My husband's sister is still not trying real hard to get her son back (like by getting a job and establishing a stable home), but she at least has been seeing him occasionally and talking to him on the phone pretty often. I really can't figure her out. Her alcoholism/drug addiction appears to be under some control right now, why doesn't she go the next step?

So, as the holiday winds down, I still feel content and at peace. I am thankful for all that has actually gone right this year, or at least wasn't as bad as it could have been (i. e., the wreck that my daughter was involved in). I will try to go back to both my jobs on Monday rested and with a good attitude. How's that?

Ciao.

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Giving Thanks: The Update

Well, sister-in-law showed up today, pretty much when she said she would, to celebrate her and her son's birthday! I was mildly stunned. She stayed about two conflict-free hours and promised to come back on Thanksgiving.

Another thing to give thanks for! Wonders never cease. Nephew turned 13, today. He's had so much sorrow and conflict in his young life. Even more than my daughter, who grew up with drug-addicted parents, but never had to endure the shame and trauma of being removed from her parents' home. (Because, even caught in the throes of active addiction, she always came first. Always. And I feel awfully proud of the job we did raising her and of the person she became. Some things we did right.)

He really deserved to have the kind of birthday he had today.

Ciao.

Giving Thanks

Random thoughts. . .

Today, I shall endeavour (I love British spellings) to break the shackles of apathy with which I have been bound, of late. Thanksgiving is but a few days away, so I will try to appreciate those things I have been given by the Almighty God.

Those of you who know me, know I don't attend church on a regular basis--or at all, really--but I have a deep and abiding faith in God and know in my heart that I have a personal relationship with Him. I give Him all the credit for what I have and I trust Him to carry me through the storms. My favorite saying? If He leads you it, He will lead you THROUGH it!

As Thanksgiving 2007 approaches, I will try to focus on positive things going on in my life:
**My primary job is going well. I get along fabulously with my in-laws, with whom I am still living, until my husband finishes his degree. (Only about one year to go!)
**My husband appears to be doing okay in school, and not "messing up".
**My daughter, while overwhelmed by her duties as President of Sigma Tau Delta at times, is also doing well in college. Her car seems to be doing just fine, too.
**My family is healthy, I haven't even had a cold, yet, this year!
**My dad and brother, who live in Houston, are doing well, however, my brother is working too hard. (He works for a major retailer, in receiving, so it's a seasonal thing.)
**My car, although quite elderly, seems to holding together.

There are a few negative things going on in my life, but I won't think about those today. Today is my nephew's 13th birthday, and also his mother's (my sister-in-law) birthday. She hasn't called him, yet.

Well, I must finish unloading the dishwasher, take a shower, and start my laundry.

Arrivederci!

Is It a Birthday or an Anniversary?

I wish I had something controversial or thought-provoking to write about today, because today I have been a blogger for two years! (So, am I celebrating the birth of my blog or my anniversary as a blogger??) I spent a little time reviewing the postings I published over the last couple of years with mixed emotions. There were some very bad memories conjured up, some good times re-lived, some political statements--not all of them politically correct, and lots of whining. I have enjoyed being able to "get it all out" so to speak, and not worry about what anyone close to me might say or think.

Either way, I have absolutely nothing of significance to write about, today I had a positively relaxing weekend with my husband and daughter, both of whom came home from college this weekend! (I am still worried off and on about what hubby might be "up to", but he'll either make it or he won't, and then I will know what direction to take the rest of my life, right? Right at this moment, he seems to be doing really well.) My sister-in-law still doesn't "get it", and just keeps asking what she would have to do to get custody of her son again. She's back with her third ex-husband, again, although she insists she won't remarry him, this after having spent the last month or so with the second ex-husband. Here's a clue for her: GET A JOB! She's got to establish stability and prove that she can maintain her sobriety and a stable environment to get her son back. DUH!

I almost wish I felt strongly about O.J. Simpson's armed robbery trial, the political maneuvering of the potential presidential candidates, MRSA, or the crisis within the Pakistani government.

I think I am having an attack of apathy.....