Baby Put In Its Place

Was it a game or out of anger that a baby was locked in an overhead bin of airplane?

Why Men Date Dumb and Women Don't

Stay away from it anyway. Is that "dumb" woman going to take care of you, provide, and support you? Think about it!

Mom drugs daughter so she'd have sex with mom's boyfriend

A truly sad story of a mother who apparently drugged and alcoholed her daughter so the mother's boyfriend could have sex with the daughter and impregnate her. Read it here. The mother can't have children anymore, but wanted one with her boyfriend, who apparently was on board and tried several times to rape the 13-year-old girl.

A Bag of Prunes and a Box of High-fiber Breakfast Cereal Helped Complete Engagement

Man puts engagement ring in milkshake and she swallows it. For more on the engagement click here.

I do love the Crockpot too!

From the Green Cheapskate blog… My Crock Pot: Mean, Green, $30 Recession-Fighting Machine... An article on the value of the Crockpot/slow cooker, in these day and times. I will vouch for it. I’ve been using ours a lot recently… really for the first time since living out of my parents house, and I love it. My husband who works from home, has jumped on it too – which is perfect b/c he can do the prep at lunch and put it on and it’s ready by dinner. Our meats are tender and delicious. And the warm, fragrant meal just makes our home feel extra cozy.

I know these are made to stay on all day, even while we are away, but I do not recommend leaving it unattended for an extended period, like an 8 hour work day. I may be paranoid, but there is just too much that could go wrong. I am thankful to have a job and a home and I’d hate to burn my home down over some tender beef.

For your success, remember to prep and set in advance. When I first got to using the Crockpot, I’d put my beef stew on after work and it was never tender enough by dinner. But I have learned that less water (while attending to it) helps it cook faster.

Sometimes a request is really a demand

How often does this happen? A woman complained that the tv was too loud and asked her boyfriend to turn the volume down. The next things that happened are in dispute by the girlfriend and boyfriend. But the end result is indisputable... the boyfriend has a stab wound to the leg from the girlfriend. You read the First Coast News (Jacksonville, Fla.) article detailing the incident here and you can decide whose version of the story you believe.

Don't cancel the party, just change the way you throw it

I went to a great holiday party over the weekend. The party was hosted by a new friend of mine who is recently unemployed. When I mentioned to the party to some other folks, they wondered how or why someone who is unemployed - laid off - would or could host a holiday party. The answer is simple and, when told to me by my hostess, made so much sense.

She said she always has a holiday party. After being laid off a few months ago, she thought about cancelling this year, but thought it may dampen her holiday spirit. So, instead of cancelling, this year was a potluck. Everyone shared in the cost and the Christmas spirit, and we truly had a ball.

Of course, everyone has to evaluate their own budgets and really decide where they want to pick and choose, but I had a blast at the party and I am thankful it was still on. So, even though times are hard. Get creative, have fun and spread the holiday spirit. Stay blessed and be thankful!

The proper way to abandon a baby

Various news sources are reporting that a young couple in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, has been charged with child neglect after abandoning their child at a fire station. After reading the headlines and lead to the story, I was confused because I thought S.C. must have a safe law that allows people to abandon infants at the hospital or fire station. Well, they do, but because the parents did not ensure the child was safe before they left, they have been charged. Apparently they left the child in only a towel in 30 degree weather. When the baby was found, it's body temperature was only 88 degrees.

So, I understand the concern and am thankful the baby was found alive. I wonder, though, about how much and how well the law about abandoning babies is communicated in terms of what is required of the persons leaving the child. (I doubt if people are using this route, that they want to stick around.) I mean they didn't put the baby in a bathroom at a gas station or in the trash somewhere. I am just saying, it seems they made an effort to do the right thing. They didn't do it right, but the effort was there. I just hope their arrests and charges do not deter people from "doing the right thing" in the event that some other young couple decides they don't want or can't take care of a baby appropriately. Just FYI, the father of the child is 21, I believe, and the mother is now 17, but was 16 at the time of the abandonment. I do believe in other outlets like adoption, but like adoption I'd guess this is a tough decision to make for the parents.

You choose: Lap dance or care for your child

According to a recent report, a South Carolina man left his infant child unattended in his car in the parking lot of a strip club. While he said he only went inside to get a cell phone from his dancer wife, and didn't want to disrupt the sleeping child, police found him smoking a cigarette and receiving a lap dance. According to the man and his wife who took custody of the child after the father was arrested, it is all a big misunderstanding and a mistake. Read one article about the incident here.

Couple splits home in divorce, literally

Cambodian couple agrees to a split... To avoid going through the legal system, a divorcing couple decides to split everything in half, including the house, literally. For more on the "split" and why they divorced click here.

Can your hear me now...

Did the United States government listen to soldiers personal phone calls made to family and friends, back in the U.S., during their deployment in Iraq? Some say so. Did they have the right to? Congress is looking into the matter. For more details on the investigation and to see what made have been said during the calls home click here.

Future serial killer

7 year old Australian boy breaks into zoo, kills animals, and feeds others to crocodile. Is this the making of future killer? At least this didn't happen here...yet. For more details click here.

Learning about love

A friend sent this article about love and relationships.... a few interesting facts. I think we've all heard that people in relationships are happier people, that's No. 25 on the list. But what about No. 20, that a man's beard grows fastest when he anticipates sex? Or No. 10, that women of the Tiwi tribe of the South Pacific are married at birth. Interesante.

Moms tend to be comforting

A recent article tells of a N.Y. window installer who called his mom on the phone while waiting to be rescued from a teetering scaffold 70 stories high. He said he didn't tell her where he was, which I'm sure would have worried her. I bet she was a source of calm for him.

Divorce Talk Radio

Read this WCNC article about a web based radio show centered on divorce. Probably a good service, but also a sign of the (bad) times. My face scrunches up just thinking about the idea of this show (that promotes divorce). I haven't listened (yet - I might and then come back and comment), so I should give them the benefit of the doubt and believe the people listening have already chosen divorce and are listening for advice through the process. So, it's a public service then? Free legal advice? Read the article and tell me what you think... in fact, listen to the show too.

Intruder killed with his own weapon

Wife, mother of two starts struggle with 'potential' burglar that leads to her husband shooting the two bad guys, killing one. To read more about how Texas mother protected her family click here.

Tough life

It's tough out there.

Check out "Rich Man’s Burden" by DALTON CONLEY from The New York Times.

Thank goodness I was wrong

You probably have heard about the Lenoir, N.C. woman who survived 5 days in her crashed pick-up truck 75 feet down in a ravine off the side of a road. The story has become nationwide news. I'm in N.C. now, so here the story wasn't just the that Amber Pennell had been found, we heard about it when she first went missing.

It was something like this: A man reports his young 21-year-old wife and mother of two missing at 2 a.m. She never came home from work. He said she was driving an unfamiliar car so he was worried about her and he was sure she didn't just choose to disappear because she would never leave her two young children without their mother. I'm not sure how this sounds to you, but to me it sounds like the getting-all-too-familiar Drew Peterson-esque story (speaking of Drew Peterson, no one is lately.... I guess the election got heated enough to become the media's main focus). I was convinced that this husband must have had something to do with his wife's disappearance. They searched for days for Amber. I saw her picture and heard no new news daily. And I really thought her husband was involved. I am soooooo happy I was wrong. What a blessing that Amber was found, ALIVE! They said the first thing she asked about was her children, then her husband.

I don't know what to think about Drew Peterson and I definitely don't know all the facts of either of these situations or the seemingly similar ones that are sprinkled in our news, but sometimes things are not as they seem. Good thing the police and search and rescue didn't stop believing. Always keep a positive outlook and hope for the best.

Gays and lesbians can provide safe, loving, nurturing homes too

According to the Associated Press, "a proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas." This new proposed law would prevent unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children. A previous law that outright said banned gays and lesbians was struck down by the state supreme court. So this effort will attempt to accomplish the same goal as gay marriages are banned in Arkansas and the state refuses to acknowledge gay marriages which took place in another state.

This new law on the ballot is aimed to judge what's right and wrong. I believe foster and adoptive parents go through background checks and home visits, etc. to ensure they are fit to be parents. We know nothing is fool proof, but should sexual orientation be a factor? All I'm saying is, unless the members of the the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee are on active rosters to adopt and foster children, they should not be attempting to limit the already limited pool of people who wish to adopt the too many children who are wishing and praying everyday for a family and a place to call home, based on if someone is straight or not. Gays and lesbians can provide safe, loving, nurturing homes too.

Dead man standing...

Angel Pantoja Medina stood for three days during is own wake. According to his mother, "He wanted to be happy, standing." A local funeral home was able to help Medina's mother fulfill his request.
Some might find this strange or odd but there are all kinds of requests made by families of the deceased. As long as a customer is paying and the request in not illegal, unethical or a shock to the conscience I think a funeral director should try his best to honor the request.