Fresh Air Fund

The Fresh Air Fund still needs host families in the following states:

Connecticut
Delaware
Massachusetts
Maine
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ontario
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Virginia
Vermont

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 12 years old, who reside in low-income communities in New York City and are eager to experience the simple pleasures of life outside the city. I am able to send my kids to California for a few weeks each summer to stay with thier Aunt on her farm. They get to play in the river and with the farm animals and grow and pick food and sleep outside, under the stars. They are very lucky to have this opportunity and I think all children deserve to experience similar summer vacations and create life long memories. If you cannot host a child, please consider donating to the cause. Thank you.

Seen (uninterrupted) any good television lately?

Now that summer is here, while the rest of the world is outside enjoying summer activities, those of us living in the scorching desert are staying inside more. Thankfully, just before summer, we gave up on the constant hiking of our cable bill and got ourselves Direct TV. Best decision I’ve made in a very long time.

I didn’t realize that with the Direct TV Service I could get so many more HDTV channels or that the movie channel line up would be so large. I appreciate the different movie packages offered and the freedom of watching a movie and if I get interrupted, I can pause, rewind or even record whatever I was watching and come back to it later.

Having three daughters, four dogs, a husband and a house to run, I need the flexibility that my Direct TV System offers more than I need the telephone! Honestly, recording a movie that is on right now and watching it later is more convenient and appealing to me than driving to the movie store and renting a movie and then having to watch it RIGHT NOW so I can take it back and not have to pay late fees. It makes it all worth it for me. What can I say, I’m a simple girl with a fly by the seat of her pants life.

And then Life Happens

I am on Facebook to keep up with people I used to work with and a few family members; I have a MySpace to keep track of my kids and what they're doing online. I Twitter, I blog, I work full time and I go to school full time pursuing my Master's degree in Psychology.

Recently I was in Utah for a family funeral. While there, I discovered that I miss some things, and I don't miss other things. It's funny how you're just plugging along one day and then life happens and you find yourself on a whole other course, in a totally different direction.

If anyone had asked me five years ago what I wanted to be doing, I can guarantee you that none of the above would have made my list.

Time for a little cleaning

I have been hearing a lot of radio and television commercials for detox and cleansing of my inner body. Not the soap and water kind, the inner workings of my self where apparently, there are built up plaques and fecal matter just hanging around inside my colon and they make it hard to lose weight, feel good and even fit into that favorite pair of jeans. If you have been considering a colon cleanse and we not sure where to begin, I suggest reading up on colon cleanse reviews and going from there. There is so much information floating about, and it is hard to determine what is legitimate and what’s not and what to believe and what to discard. I appreciate having a site to go and read up on various products in a compare and contrast fashion. Don’t be one of those people who falls for a scam, do your homework and take care of your body. It’s the only one you’ve got!

Why wouldn't you wear a comfortable shoe?

Robin Williams used to do a standup routine and he talked about lots of funny stuff and I recall he said something about women who wore comfortable shoes. I am a proud comfortable show wearing woman. I prefer something neutral, comfortable and stylish that I can wear to work and to the grocery store. Since I am on my feet all day long, the last thing I want to do is go home and change before I run to the grocery store or other outing. That is why I really appreciate my Dansko clogs. They are super comfortable, work well in dress slacks and look good with jeans also. They are my favorite shoes for every day. Dansko also makes sandals that are comfortable and don’t squish my toes or leave my heel hanging off the back.

Looks like I better get a second job...

My daughter's 10th birthday is coming up soon. She wants to take a trip to an amusement park and she wants to take a cruise and she wants to go on a road trip and she wants to see the ocean (which is no small task considering we live in Arizona).

She has also asked for a whole slew of new items like a Nitro Notebook that is pink. That she can use to play school. She also wants a tent so she can sleep outside in the backyard since I told her the bugs would eat her if she slept out there in a sleeping bag. To her, a tent is like a little miniature house that’s safe and warm and cozy.

She would also like all new clothes, a new dresser, some new jewelry, the new collectors edition of Transformers Monopoly. When she was finally done listing off her new birthday loot, I asked if she was all done and she said “um, no. there is one more thing I need, the new Diva Sunglasses Craft Kit.”

I didn’t know there was such a thing.

My Reading List

In no particular order (and must be done by Thursday):

The American Psychological Association Publication Manual, 5th ed.

Health Care Provider's Duty to Warn, Regan, J., Alderson, A., Regan, W. (2002). Southern Medical Journal.

Psychiatric Malpractice: Basic Issues in Evolving contests. (2007). Dondersine, H., Cozzolino, A., Greene, J. & Novak, B. Psychiatric Times.

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 551 P.2d 334 (1976).

Psychological Testing and Assessment, 6th ed. Ch. 7. (2005). Cohen, R. & Swerdlik, M. McGraw-Hill.

Losing Weight

If you've read this blog for any amount of time then you will probably recall that I have struggled with my weight for the past two years. Prior to that, I didn't have a problem keeping the weight off. All of that changed right before I turned 40. Now, I don't have any motivation. I am tired all the time. If I sit down on the couch, I will fall right asleep. What I need is a good fat burning pill that will speed up my metabolism just a little tiny bit. Because honestly, I think if I could just get that little kick in the rear, the couch would look less appealing and moving around would be that much more appealing.

Zero on the Richter Scale

I have zero motivation. Zero desire to do much of anything and every time I sit down to do my homework, I think about what I need to do at work tomorrow. All day at work today, I thought about the homework that I needed to do tonight. It's a vicious cycle. No start, no end, just constant.

Maybe some Skittles will help...

Ch ch ch changes

I am bored with this template and I think it needs a face lift. Keep an eye out for changes in the coming days...

Rugs really do make a room

I'm always saying how I love my house just the way it is, except for my kitchen sink and counter tops, the fact that I don't have an in-ground pool, and as my daughters age, they are slowly growing out of their bathroom. But, other than that, I really do like my house. I like decorating it and making each room individual while tying them together as a whole. One thing that helped in that regard was the variety of kitchen rugs and other rugs that I have purchased. They really bring my color scheme together, while allowing each room to maintain its own unique character and theme. Rugs really are wonderful accessory points, and if you get bored, it's easier to change a rug than paint an entire room. Just sayin.

Let's talk Rehab for a little minute

I have in my family several members who have spent time in a drug rehab facility. Some made the decision on their own, others were forced to get therapy by the court system. Either way, they always did better when they emerged from the treatment facility. Right up until life happened and then, some of them would relapse for a short period, others would check back into a care facility and others would revert back to the way of life they had known before drug rehab without looking back. I get the link between family and support, but every person I’ve known who has battled drug abuse has had an existing support system in place that they then turn their backs on. It’s not that the addict does not love or want his/her family around, it’s that the drug takes over and the addict is no longer thinking clearly, they only think about getting their next fix. Sometimes I feel that it really is the family who suffers most. The abuser knows we’re there. He/she shuns us because we are the voice of reason. We have to sit in therapy and profess over and over the same thing we’ve been saying, “we love you. We’re here for you” and it is like punishment for some of us because we keep saying and reinforcing our love, and we keep being stepped on and pushed away because the addict is not learning how to live a sober life on the outside.

Moving Cross Country?

I moved from Utah to Arizona and it was hard. A pain in the you know what to be honest. We packed the house, loaded the moving van, loaded the car and the truck and the dogs and the kids and the plants and headed out. Fifteen hours later, we arrived alive and just wanted to take a very long nap. I moved only one state away, if I had to move any further than that, I would pay for cross country movers to move my stuff because honestly, I moved almost 800 miles and it was very trying on me, my patients, my marriage and my anxiety level. I think there is a certain peace of mind that comes with knowing you only have to be responsible to get your family to the destination and you can leave the material goods to the professionals.

Take a small step toward peace of mind

I was forty years old when I bought my first home. I was proud of myself on one hand, kicking myself in the butt on the other for having taken so long to get my life together and actually be able to buy a home. A home that my children could grow up in. A home we could call our own. The first thing we did when we closed was paint the house. The kids got to pick a color for their bedrooms and I got to paint my kitchen. We finally had the home we always wanted (well, except that I hate my kitchen sink and countertops and I wish we had an in ground pool - but other than that, it's all good) and the home my kids will spend the rest of their childhoods in. That was important to me. The second thing we did after closing was secure mortgage life insurance so that in the event of an accident, god forbid, the house would be paid off and the kids would not have to face the trauma of moving after losing a parent (or parents). This seemed like a very basic, natural step in the right direction for our family and it saddens me that other families to not take this one, simple step, to protect the thing they have worked the hardest for, and truth be told, something that will provide them some peace of mind in this crazy world we live in.

Happy 4th of July People!

I am supposed to be working this holiday weekend. My kids are in California, I’m here, working and blogging and working. The upside is that I used today as an excuse NOT to go grocery shopping. Ha. That alone makes the working part acceptable to me. I’m still sitting here, in my tee-shirt and underwear, having not left the house. All. Day. Long. THAT is how you should spend a holiday weekend!

Vacation Destinations - Get a Great Deal

Keeping in theme with my last post, it is summer time, and for many people, that means vacation time. I generally scour the internets looking for the best deals and websites that can offer the best deal. Not just because of the recession either, mostly because I don't see any reason to pay more just because I'm too lazy to find a deal. There are deals EVERYWHERE people. Westgate is one of those DEAL websites. If you want to go to Orlando (and not just because I said it’s only my list of places to visit) or if you have a need to visit Vegas or even Park City, Utah (which is beautiful and I know because I used to live in Salt Lake City and we went to Park City weekly), then you should check out Westgate for your travel arrangements.

Orlando Florida - Can I get a ride?

I have a list of places that I want to visit, either myself, with my husband, with my children, or with all of us as a family. Florida is one of those places, high on my list. I don’t want to take Orlando vacations just to visit Disney World or Universal Studios, I want to visit the state. I want to hang out on the beaches. I want to feel the humidity and see a sunset from the beach. There is more to Orlando than theme parks, and that is why it is on my top ten list of places to visit before I die.