Thank you to those who serve our country!

Just a thank you on this Memorial Day to all of those who have served our country, and to those who paid for our freedom with their lives. I can never repay those who have given me freedom. Free agency is the crux of our existence. Those of us who possess it are extremely blessed. As a proud mom of a US Marine, I feel grateful and humbled at the sight of our American Flag and all that it stands for. Our country has been there for other countries longing for freedom. We don't go to war to conquer and take land, we go to defend freedom. All the servicemen and women, all of their families, sacrifice time, money, comfort, convenience, and lives. Separations are a way of life to them. Being able to do stupid or grand things is a right we have been given, paid for by our brave men and women in uniform. Sleep well America, my Marine has your back!

A little bit of LOVE

A friend of mine asked if I owned the movie "the Vow"...which I did not. This prompted an inventory of the chic flick love stories that we did have in the house. We do not buy every movie that comes out, so our collection is probably pretty small in comparison to other collections. But, I did realize that there was a lack of movie types that I like, and I was missing some of my favorite love stories (some I have on VHS!) so I decided I needed to quickly order a few from Amazon! I typically don't like to watch a movie more than once. But these favorites I can watch many, many times! Just wanted to post my all time top favorites:

*Bridges of Madison County* my #1 favorite!! ( I took the time to watch it yesterday...ahhhh....)
Hope Floats
Somewhere in Time
One Fine Day
Where the Heart Is
Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson, and Kate Winslet version)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Take the time to re-watch some of these! Share some of your favorites!
P.S. I Love the sound tracks for each of these movies, also.

have a nice day!

I have a pet peeve concerning my family. For Years while the kids were growing up I would tell them to have a nice day, or a good day, when they left the house. I would tell this to my husband. At some point I realized that no one would return the sentiment. So I would ask everyone, "Why don't you tell me to have a good day, too, why don't you just say, 'you too!' ?" Their response was the same as it will be if they read this post. "Can't believe you make such a big deal about it!" "I don't know" "oh, my gosh....." etc. etc. So I tried not to say it to them anymore. It was difficult. For probably 5 or more years now I have not said it. I notice I slipped up the other day. No response from the recipient. During the years I have noticed that my family members will tell other people to have a good day. I have heard them respond to people at banks, store, passerbys who extend the sentiment to them by saying "you too!". I don't get it. Whenever someone tells me "Have a good (or nice, or great...) day" I make sure I tell them thanks, and  to have one in return.......Psychological evaluation, anyone?  I really want them to have a great day! I am not just absently saying it. Do they not want me to have a good day? See the post below on how you can try to have a great day:      (and yes, you can wish me a good day too, I will thank you!)

How to Have a Good Day: 11 steps - wikiHow

How to Have a Good Day: 11 steps - wikiHow

Discipline & Crazy Rules!

Something that has really disturbed me over the years is watching parents discipline with crazy rules. My kids know what I mean, because I have pointed these rules out to them for YEARS. Let me give you an example: 4 year old roaming the neighborhood without any supervision. Parents find out they have caused some sort of problem so they ground them from a holiday, say, HALLOWEEN, even though it is 8 months away. When Halloween came around, yup, no trick-or-treating for that kid! I am not making this up. Or, children can't play with face cards, but they can be left unattended everyday, while both parents work, equipped with computers and cable TV. Or, absolutely no sleepovers ('cause you can't trust anyone!) UNTIL you are 13 (really? when do you think it's more dangerous?)or until 18-22 years old and then your boyfriend can spend the night regularly because it is too late to go home. Or, you are in church and the kids in front of you are smacked up side the head because they poked each other. Or, children used sidewalk chalk on the porch and so they are given a scrub brush and comet to clean it off immediately. (Probably rained later that afternoon.) Or, telling your kids "I don't care what you think". I believe that most behaviors have built in consequences. Good behaviors, good consequences. Bad behaviors, bad consequences. I rarely had to discipline my kids (probably because they are perfect) as their actions usually had some sort of "punishment" of its own. I don't think I ever grounded one of my kids; ok, maybe once or twice. I figured that it would only be punishing ME! Since this is a favorite subject of mine, I will probably revisit it from time to time. Any thoughts from anyone?