Way To Go Bill!

North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said today. News of the pardons came hours after former President Bill Clinton met with the North Korean leader to discuss the case of reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee. This paragraph courtesy of CNN. I was listening to the news as I got ready for work and it was announced that former President Bill Clinton was making an unannounced trip to N. Korea to speak to "Dear Leader" about the release of the two journalists. At the time I thought "good luck" & went on with my day. A little while ago I logged on & saw the announcement. My first thought was "way to go Bill!" Not to make light of something that is very serious, but my second thought was "thank God we're not imprisoned for wandering into Canada or Mexico". God Bless the free world & pray for the unfree.

M's Broken Arm

It's been a few days since I've been able to log on. Saturday night right after I dropped him off at his house my son "M" broke his arm & I was at the hospital for the rest of the weekend . A little boy was swinging on a rope swing that M happened to be standing next to, when he let go he flew into M causing him to fall. When he fell he landed on his right arm giving him a double fracture, that is breaking both the bones of his lower arm. I had just gotten to work when it happened & had to leave when my mom called to tell me about it. Met them at the hospital for the quickest ER visit I think I have ever seen. Remember, this was Saturday night, you would think that the place would be packed with all the drunks but there was very few people there. Not one drunk & disorderly in sight. Whisked through registration, xrays & admitting. From ER door to hospital room was less than four hours. He had to stay for surgery the next day. Surgery Sunday, home late Sunday night. I have to say that despite a lot of pain, he did really well. He's 21 but, socially, he's on the low side. Maybe a ten or twelve year old. Very shy & awkward. Has trouble with new people & things. But, I'm really proud that he did so well. No complaining or whining, thanked everyone that came to visit (besides his sister) and his nurses. So a long weekend for both of us.

New Blog

Hello, This is a new thing for me. Not the first blog I've started but maybe one that I'll actually keep up with. Let me tell you a little about myself & my family: I'm 43, work 44+ hours a week. My husband is 42, an unemployed construction worker. Last year he went out on medical leave for knee surgery for 4 months. When the doc released him his job was gone. There is no construction work in our area right now. I also have 3 brothers in the business who are also out of work. Between us (my husband & I) we have 3 adult children, one 6 year old daughter, one 6 year old granddaughter & a two year granddaughter. The 6 year old granddaughter lives with us, so basically we have two 6 year olds. I work out of the home taking care of a mentally handicapped woman, trying to get as much over time as possible. I'm also a serious coupon addict. Coupons have been the biggest reason we've been able to keep up w/all the bills. My savings at Food Lion alone has been over $1200 for the past year. That is a lot of groceries! I also save at Walgreen's, CVS, Kroger's. In my area these are the highest priced stores yet I do much better at these stores than anywhere else. My goal is to get better. Better at tracking my savings. Better at sharing my savings. Better at saving, period!