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I have received so much spam from this company that I am now anti-christian louboutin.  I would NEVER buy their products. I’m not one to participate in boycotts generally.  Instead, I much prefer to accentuate the positive and patronize a business because of the good things they do.  But, multiple spam notices per day has caused me to think poorly of this company.  There are many, many other companies that make the same products so I choose not to buy from them. Boycott spammer

Sometimes people surprise you, sometimes not. Best-selling author Jennifer Chiavarini was exactly as I expected. Jennifer has received high praise for her thorough research and accurate depictions in her historical fiction books. Having listened to many of her books where she nailed the woven personalities, joys and conflicts of a groups of women, I knew Jennifer would be smart, articulate and congenial. I was one of about 60 people who attended Jennifer Chiavarini’s book signing at Anderson Bookshop in downtown Naperville, IL. Jennifer was touring to promote her most recent book “Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival.” This is Jennifer’s 23rd book. I thought I was going to be late. I had given myself adequate time but then found the downtown had streets closed due to construction. My GPS got me through by recalculating several times. It was one thing to get there, another to locate a legal parking spot, but I made it. I entered the store with my service puppy, West and was...

West and I were out an about a few days ago. We went to the library, the grocery store and then to JoAnn Fabric where an employee enthusiastically greeted me. She said she was hoping I would come in because she had a question about service animals. She asked if monkeys could be service animals. She asked this because a customer had come in with not one, but two monkeys and said they were her service animals. Oh my! No. Here in the US, monkeys are not recognized as service animals. The law allows for only dogs and miniature horses to be service animals. It was wrong for someone to misrepresent her monkeys as service animals. It is also illegal and disrespectful to people with disabilities. Why the confusion? Well, at one time monkeys were considered for service animals. They are smart, have dexterity and strength and are an appropriate size. However, monkeys are messy and generally speaking do not have the personality to be a service animal. Another thing that is causing confusion are s...

This evening I will be home with my husband and our dogs.  This is our choice.  Going out on New Year’s Eve is just not us.  But to all of you who are heading out, have fun and be safe. The days of making resolutions are behind us.  I’ve made resolutions.  Some were broken some were kept and over the years I have made changes in my life to be the person of substance that I want to be.  At the same time, I accept the things that I don’t necessarily like about myself but that are never going to change and don’t really have to.  I have a solid foundation.  I am not neat.  I am not “naturally” organized.  I’m not thin and don’t have a flair for dancing.  Oh well…  Being described as nice, caring, thoughtful, giving, polite, creative and nice (yes, I did list that twice and proud of it) are more meaningful to me. If you make a New Year’s Resolution, please consider what is ...

We all have miss-matched socks. It’s the way it is. We wear socks in pairs and yet after we put them through the wash, we find some that we can’t seem to match. For years I have set these aside in the bag of mismatched socks. I associate the song from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Island of Misfit Toys with this bag of mismatched socks. Periodically, I take out the bag and successfully play match maker and another well-known song pops into my mind. Eventually I admit that some will never be matched. I use them for cleaning projects before tossing them. One winter evening I took off my boots and realized that I had worn two different socks all day. These were high quality wool socks, one tan and white, the other grey and white. In the dim light of the morning they had appeared to match. That night I teased my husband about this since he had been the one to pair them up incorrectly. We both laughed and agreed that having warm feet mattered more than having them match. Since t...

Last summer I met a lovely woman at a girl’s night out. She was about ten years older than me and as I listened to her and watched her, I thought how I would like to be like her. She was trim and fit. She had an elegance and grace about her. She was my idea of a true lady. Sadly, last week I heard she was missing. Soon after I learned that she had taken her own life. I barely knew her but both felt bad for her and her family and was angered by this. She appeared to have it all. I wondered if something had happened, if something had changed. The more I thought about this the more I considered that she may have been suffering but that it did not show. And I wondered how many people walk around with their invisible pain, purposefully hiding it from others. I have many unanswered questions. Did she feel ashamed? How long did she carry this burden? How many people knew her and were unaware of what she was going through. How do loved ones deal with such a death? Losing someone is diffic...