Today's Miracle Mind ?

Awwww, Reni is so cute! Tough when the auto won't go go and it always seems to cost more than what seems right to correct any car problem. It's so nice to see you here in the blogging world again; I hope you get to be here with us more often, like it used to be.

Sorry you weren't feeling well. Isn't that something about the phone calls you got? It's funny how little communication goes on between people sometimes.

Something is definitely wrong when somebody is a ##### all the time. Obviously, she's not getting her life together or getting as much out of it as you if she's as much a ##### this year as she was last year. Well, at least you can smile knowing that YOU'VE made improvements, so YOU'LL never be like her! (You know that you do have a right to speak up if she does anything offensive or that will hinder your job performance...but, otherwise, I'd "kill" her with kindness. She sounds like the perfect person to smile at all the time, even more if she starts getting agitated, and always say nice things like "have a nice day", "thank you kindly" or "you look very nice today"...these lines often work best after a ##### delivers a nasty line, uses an attidunal tone, or rolls her eyes. Zing it to her, sweetly and with the biggest smile you can stretch out on your face.

Doesn't sound very good at all.

I guess cheating has always been a part of all sports. Funny, they'll kick people out (strip them of medals, if necessary) if there's a drug violation, but other violations will be "ignored". There has to be PROOF in most cases...if only suspicions, they have to keep investigating, not come down with a final decision right away. I think she is way too young or overly underdeveloped...let's see what if anything comes out of this. (I have seen people...yes, Americans, too...lose their titles well after the Olympics are over.) It's too bad that cheating is so common or people wouldn't even have to suspect anything.

Oh, that is soooo funny!

Angie, I know you know that I said this before, but "Welcome Back" is worth saying again. Time has already passed since you wrote this and I know you still have your hands full, but I hope things will eventually get better for everybody and that you will have more time to enjoy yourself and do the things you need and want to do for you. When you feel up to it and you have a chance to chat a bit, don't hesitate to get in touch, ok?

Great news! Good things do happen to good people, you know! WTG!

It sometimes makes you want to shake your head and roll your eyes in disbelief. Maybe, just maybe if your store's policy allows you to ask, you could ask, "Is that it?" or "Do you have everything you need?" before you start ringing up. Once you start ringing someone up, they will be more committed to feeling they have to stay with whatever they have. If they think of something else, you can always say, "Let me finish ringing this stuff up and we'll see about holding it for you while you go back into the store to do more shopping. You'll have to get back in the back of a checkout line, though, but your things will be safe until you return to claim them." I only say this because I know of some stores who INSIST on this policy, some allow it and will suggest trying to use it.

Sometimes I think it's a little "safety valve" on the part of the doctors (oh, pardon the pun) because there may be a lot of people who will not agree to the surgery if they were as well prepared as you wish you had been. Not only have I heard it from you, buy my boss now has also said that, if he had known what it was going to be like, he may have not gone through it, yet he is getting better and stronger as time goes on. He still says, "Never again", which is a clear indicator that he very well might have passed on it if he had any full, real idea of all that was going to happen and what everything would be like.

Because everybody's situation is different, just like you felt you had to know as many answers as you could, regardless of bloggers and other friends you know who have been through similar situations, there will be people who may read and learn from your writings but will still need to pursue their own information. But, it is a good thing for you to write everything down because it creates a good record for you and a great reference point for others to use. A lot of people trust and respect you, so they will take your posts seriously and use them when facing their own decisions if there should be a need. Good job, Martin, and, yes, you should keep writing about it.

I can't speak for everybody, but I certainly have those weeks! I think most people do, but I can't be too sure of that...but, at least I know that I'm not alone in this! Now I know you suffer from these outbreaks, too!

I'm rooting for you!

My only dislike about fall is the "end of summer, uh-oh winter is coming" reminder it represents each and every year. But, where some flowers go away, other autumnal ones appear...apples are the best, grapes can't be beat, the cranberries are vibrant, the air is becomes crisper, the entire look of nature takes on such new, rich colors. The back to school anxieties associated with fall are not fall's fault...the anxieties would be the same no matter what time of year school started, plus there might even be resentment if it started in the summer. Things are not dying, they are preparing the way for new things and, then, while other things sleep in the winter, other things can be done and seen, only to have it all anew again in the spring, to play in the summer, and to start relaxing again in the fall. I hope you get past all the anxieties, can find some real beauty in all the seasons, and look forward to the next great summer that will come around next year.

Both girls are beautiful, that's for darn sure. They resemble each other very much and, yes, when comparing one to the other at the same ages, they do look very, very much alike. They are growing up, aren't they? It makes you cry but it makes you proud...I know that, for any sadness there may be at the thought of their leaving "baby-dom" and "little girlhood", there is much joy in watching them grow into fine young ladies as they will be when they reach adulthood.

Are you sleeping better now? Chamomile tea and a good book (or a bad book, maybe something boring or redundant...hey, that's redundant, isn't it?)can often make a person drowsy enough to doze off naturally. A couple of other natural tricks is to take a few naps during the day to offset your new sleeping pattern at night without having your body lose the vital sleep time it needs OR do just the opposite and absolutely refuse to sleep or "rest your eyes" during any other time other than bedtime so you can train (re-train) your body as to when exactly you will sleep. Maybe a mild over-the-counter non-addictive sleep aid can be helpful, too. Turkey makes some people sleepy...have you had a turkey sandwich for a late dinner? Having relaxing music or sound effects playing softly in the background may help, too. Hopefully, you are already sleeping better and won't need any of my suggestions, but you can always store them away for future reference.