No Blues on the Cruise

My son and I went on our cruise. I wish my husband could have gone but he didn't have the vacation days. It left out of Mobile, and because of Hurricane Ida ripping past LA (Lower Alabama), the cruise was postponed a day, changed from three ports to two, and one of those two was changed. But all in all, we had a really good time.
My son had frequent flyer miles so we decided to fly to Mobile. When the cruise got postponed, we didn't want to change our airline tickets and pay that fee, so we decided to go on and spend one night at a hotel. Our plane went from Huntsville to Memphis, and from Memphis to Mobile. (How crazy is that?) Anyway, it was one of those itty bitty planes that almost doesn't qualify as a passenger plane, and the turbulance had me really freaked out. Because of the hurricane winds, we bounced all over the sky and for awhile, I thought we were going down for sure.
I enjoyed getting to talk to my son. Hanging out with mom is not usually their favorite thing to do at his age, but he was great about it. One night in the theatre they had a show featuring Beatles music, which he now knows because of Guitar Hero (ha!) and during the show, neon green light sticks were passed out through the audience. It was really neat to see all those lights waving to Eleanor Rigsby. :-)
My son went up on stage to play trivia jeopardy, and did great but did not win, but the next day he played another game and won. He got the famous Carnival Solid Golden Plastic Ship on a Stick. He loved it.
We went to a origami class and made paper frogs that you can jump. We went to a towel animal class, and we watched (but did not participate in) a disco dance class (very Saturday Night Feverish).
I enjoyed the food but did a lot of walking and am happy to report my doctor said yesterday my weight stayed the same. No loss but no gain, so I was happy.
We went shopping in Cozumel and I bought a Coach bag. Ok, so for the price it might be a fake, but I wasn't sure. If I couldn't tell, no one else probably can either.
Now that I'm home, I am cleaning the house for Thanksgiving. Two of my children, one son-in-law, my granddaughter, and my mom are coming. I started making a shopping list today, and it got longer and longer. So I did a radical thing. I called Cracker Barrel and ordered a Thanksgiving Dinner for Six for take out. I pick it up Thanksgiving morning. I had them throw in a pumpkin pie. So I buy Cool Whip, make tea and we're good to go. And I won't be too tired to play with my grandbaby. I also got out of Christmas this year, and my sweet daughter volunteered to do it at her house. So I'm actually looking forward to the holiday season, almost. (Still have the mother-in-law to contend with.)

Stuff I Love

I now have four penpals that are inmates. One on death row, two with life in prison and one who gets out sometime in the next couple of years. I went yesterday to Dollar General and they had the cutest Valentine cards for 50 cents each, so I sent each of them a Happy Halloween card. I figured a little bright color woulnd spice up their concrete and steel.
Speaking of good deals, I love having my contacts now that I've gotten used to them, and while the doctor told me to buy Replenish to use with them (and I did at first) I discovered Clear Care on my own and wow. This stuff REALLY cleans them and they feel so comfortable after using that stuff. They feel like having a new pair every day. It comes with this little jar and you fill it up to the fill line, put the contacts in the little baskets on their cap and put the cap on the jar. A disc made into the cap reacts with the chemical and you can actually see the fizzing as it cleans. After six hours, it turns into plain saline, so you can put them straight into your eyes. You do have to wait that six hours though, or they will BURN. So I soak mine overnight.


The next thing I bought recently that I love is Lodge's CastIron Enamel Dutch Oven in Carribbean Blue. I got mine from Amazon. Nothing sticks, it's as heavy as La Creuset, easy to clean, very heavy. It goes from the stovetop to the oven. I love, love, love this thing.

Ok, so I was late getting on the bandwagon on this one, but if you haven't tried dry cleaning in the dryer, that Dryel stuff really does work. Clothes come out smelling fresh and without wrinkles. One sheet does six items, so it's economical. I use it all the time, and no more dry cleaners.

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Tide Total Care really does keep clothes looking newer longer, because your dark colors don't fade with washings. So I use it all the time now.




Avon Anew Ultimate Premium Elixir really does make you look younger. Really. I know how many products say they do that. But this one does. If you don't believe me, read the reviews online. Women love this stuff. I ordered the eye system by them to try, but haven't gotten it yet. Also, keep your butt out of the sun, and you won't age as fast. Make sure you get it in the black bottle and not the gold. The black is the PREMIUM kind.


Whoever came up with Sudoku puzzles was a genius. I do them all the time. The inmates I write to do them all the time. My son loves them. They are just freaking fun and all you have to do is be able to count to ten. By the way, if you know of any other fun puzzles, let me know what they are.
Well, that's my household recommendations for the day. ha. No, really, when I find something GOOD, I will tell you.
Also, if you haven't seen these websites, they are worth looking at. www.centsofstyle.com, www.postsecret.com, www.librarything/suggester (put in a book you read and liked, it suggests others), www.recipezaar.com (I love getting my recipes from there) www.pogo.com for games, and www.jasoncage.com for "ear candy" (you can listen to funny stories). If you have some favorite websites, please list them in your comments. How do you spend your time online besides googling?

Writing to Prisoners

Matthew 25: Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Most people go through life trying to find their calling, what they were actually put on this earth to do, and I had decided my calling was being a mother, because that is what I've always gotten the most satisfaction from. Then circumstances brought a young man into my life who was on death row and needed a friend, and I became his friend, doing what I can to make his life tolerable. I thought I was doing this for someone else, but it has been me that has gotten the benefit. I've learned how to love someone without judgement, because I leave that part up to God. I've stopped grappling in my mind with whether or not I think he's guilty, or had a fair trial because he was poor and had to use public defenders who didn't seem to put much effort into a defense. I've just taken on the role of being his friend, which is what he needs.

I added a new widget to the margin of a website that supports prisoners family and friends, so I wanted to explain why I added it. If you've ever thought of becoming a pen-pal to someone who would be forever grateful for a letter or card on a regular basis, you might want to check out websites like these:

http://www.deathrow-usa.us
http://www.writeaprisoner.com

Please don't start unless you are going to be faithful in writing. Getting a letter is the highlight of these people's day, and losing a friend can be devastating. When you send a letter, you will have a captive audience who has the time to really listen to what you have to say and share their thoughts with you. Also, if you are not prepared to lose your penpal to execution, choose a lifer and not a death row penpal. I knew my pen pal's family, or I don't think I would have chosen a death row inmate to begin with. Now I'm glad I did, but losing him is going to be really tough if it comes to that. If you can handle a loss, death row inmates are needier than anyone.

So now I think maybe God put me here for two purposes, to have and love my children, and to write to these inmates. I have always loved to write.

It's been awhile....

I haven't posted to my blog in awhile. There's not a lot new around here. I went back into counseling two weeks ago, and the doctor changed the meds for the depression, because I have had days lately when I don't want to get out of bed, go anywhere, talk to anyone, etc. He said it could be a seasonal thing but whatever, he has me on a new med and it's kind of early to tell a lot but I think it's helping.
I have been going to visit my friend on death row monthly for the last two months, and plan to go again in November. It gets my mind off me and onto helping someone else. My therapist thinks this was a bad idea to become friends with him, because if he is executed, it will be like losing one of my children. (He is the age of my daughter.) But I am not going to pull out of this at this point, because he really needs the support, and he is not getting much support from family.
My mother-in-law is coming for three weeks this Christmas. If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know she comes in the summer and during the holidays every year. And every year she stays for longer. I have no choice in these visits. I am told when she is coming. My therapist says I do have a choice, but I don't feel like I do. She's his mom, he's all the family she has, and because I have sons and would want to be welcome in their homes, I can't say no. My complaint is that she expects me to wait on her when she's here, she's bossy, and she stays a longggg time. I told my husband this time I am getting out by myself some when she's here. My neighbor ladies have all volunteered to let me bring my Kindle over and read at their houses. ha. I will probably take some days out to the library. My daughter is doing Christmas this year, and my youngest son wants to have it next year, so that's great. I like not having that to do. I am cooking for Thanksgiving for whomever can come home.
I have been keeping a diary, even though I'm not posting a lot on here. I bought a software program with a password. My son gave me advice on how to set it up without anyone being able to ever get into it. So I feel secure in venting whatever in it without worrying anyone will ever read it. I think everyone needs an outlet like that.
The lower I get in the depression, the more I feel God is with me. I feel close to Him right now, and I'm grateful.
My youngest son bought a house and he is really excited about fixing it up.
That's about all the news for now.