Goodbye 2012!!!

2012 has been a nutty year and instead of listing everything that went wrong or sideways, I wanted to say Thank You to those:


That introduced me to new cuisines

That listened about the car accidents, hospital visits and house selling adventures

That played music so I could dance

That reminded me that nothing good happens after 2 am

That remembered my birthday

That gave hugs

That made me question everything

That reminded me that unicorns do exist

That motivated me to spend a week in the mountains

That were fuzzy

That may not have agreed with my choices but could still be my friend

That made me sing without doing a thing

That took care of us during the hurricane aftermath

That reached out

That cried with me about Louise's cancer and passing

That gave love even with everything that they had going on themselves

That are still there despite the time and distance between us.



Thank you.

2013 will be better for all of us.

Marker...

Made by a family friend - a nice addition to her grave.

Why Kitty Drinks...

The Future...

I don’t think that our forefathers could have even imagined this kind of craziness when they drew up the amendments - freedom of speech being used by a church to protest at a child’s funeral and the right to bear arms protecting a crazed person who wants to kill innocents.

We all deal with these tragedies differently - some will go buy guns for protection, some will change their daily routines to ensure that they give extra love to their kids and/or loved ones, some will use it as a lesson to teach their kids about paying attention to their teachers, some will pay it forward, etc.  

If it was a foreign country, the shooter’s body would have been hung in the town square and beaten like a piñata before anything mentioned above happened.

What scares me the most is that once all the media attention dies down, people will forget.  The same way that the movie theater shooting was pushed to the background of our minds.  Life will move on in its usual rushed pace.

Maybe “forget” is not the right word – life will forge ahead and draw us along – something else will happen that will need our attention. 

I really hope that this incident will not be swept aside – we owe it to the future generations of leaders to make sure that they are safe until they can run the country.

Law of Averages

Horrific, shocking - what other adjectives can we use to try to describe last Friday’s school shooting incident?  Seriously, who the hell can shoot an innocent child?!?!? 

And how the heck did a week pass by so quickly?

The law of averages was against us – having gone to college in CT, many friends have settled in the state to raise their families as well as their parents still being local - of course we would know people affected.  But still a shock when I got the email early on Saturday morning that one of fellow band geeks from my years at school lost their daughter.  It created a sickening feeling since the email came from a friend whose children are in the same school and even though they were physically safe, they were affected in another way.

I know that there are people out there that want every little detail but I personally do not want or need to see a photo of a woman’s reaction to finding that her sister was killed or the sobbing parents as they leave the firehouse after finding out that their child was a victim.  I’m sure that the people involved do not need that horrible moment immortalized either.

What can we do?  Donate to the funds? Pray for the families? Write blog posts?  Make grandiose statements on FB?  Hug more people? Buy guns? Ban guns? Debate over guns?   

Nothing changes that fact that these kids are gone.

The sun was shining so brightly in Connecticut on Saturday that I did stop a few times to bask in the glow and wondered if this was a sign from the children that were the victims of the shooting. 

The feeling of “Has life gone crazy?” that weekend was fought off by being with friends on Saturday night.  We all had some guilt at enjoying ourselves but it was great to be with them for hugs and laughs.  Sunday was kid therapy – a visit to a friend to play blocks with his son and make “froofies” (fruit smoothies).  The moment that made me lose it though was when the little one conked the dog on the head with a piece of plastic corn on the cob and then gave the dog a hug (they’re the same height) and in his sweet little voice clearly said “I’m sorry Nico, I love you”. 

May we all find peace in our own way.

I Am Still The Light

I Am Still The Light

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's

house."

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring

Those children all flew into the arms of their King

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."

Then He looked down on earth, the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"

"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools"

"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

"Come now my children, let me show you around."

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

The Field Trip

The Field Trip 

Please don’t cry, we’re OK. 
We went on a field trip today. 

A secret place where there’s fun to be had 
And the principle’s with us so it won’t be bad. 

It’s full of toys and rainbow slides, 
Cotton candy and high cloud rides. 

A funny zoo full of different things, 
I even saw a man with wings. 

We’re not alone so don’t you fear, 
We’re chaperoned by Jesus here. 

It’s really nice so I think I’ll stay 
And hold your spot till your field trip day. 

Christmas is here and toys to be given, 
So please tell Santa that I’m in heaven.

Tribute...

Viegls Smilts Louise...

It figures that you would get a rare cancer in cats that was inoperable. The past couple of months were rough to see you deteriorate but you were a trooper as your body started to fail you. While it was so incredibly heartbreaking to feel your furry paws so cold and see your curious eyes dulled, it was time. I’m sure that right now you are having a blast with Lacite. We will meet again someday but right now you are needed elsewhere. 

Thelma was definitely confused at dinner time when she did not have a choir companion as well as not having her sister around to bowl her over to get to the food. But she still has warm laps and will be subjected to all the lovins now. 


From the moment that you came into my life with the “Oh! I live here now!” jump onto my high bed, you were quite the character. A million thank yous for the amazing love that you gave, the silly things that you did and the comfort that you always provided. 

Viegls smilts Louise. 


Aijā žūžū lāča bērni, aijā žūžū 
Pekainami kājiņāmi, žū žū žū

White Ghost?

Today's revelation - dobermans come in WHITE!! They are not albinos though - check out the blue eyes! Like the silver labs that are considered mongrels, this dilution in the breed is not looked upon with any favor. I think that the dog looks like a cartoon character!!

Figures that I am again drawn to something that is out of the ordinary - I will always love the French Bulldogs but I still can't justify spending $3,000 on a dog. Especially when there are SO many dogs in shelters that need homes. So, I'll enjoy these pups on the internet!