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Enter the B Party Glam-paign Giveaway!
As a thank you for all of your fab support, I’m giving away 12 Glam-paign Gift Packs full of doll-tastic B Party prizes!
Entering is easy dolls. Re-blog this post by 5 pm (EST) on November 6, 2012 (Election Day!) for a chance to win! http://dolltasti.cc/Tz7Lug

Lessons - Red, White and Blue

My little guy is my nephew.  He lost his Mother when was 8 years old. He is currently 9 years old.  His Father has not been part of his life for three years and since his Mom's death stated that he wants his son.  I could write and write about why uniting the two would be a bad idea.  Thankfully, the judge decided the same thing...at least for now.

My little guy has ADHD and sometimes, is easily over stimulated.  He also is on the autism spectrum.  Working with experts, we are working on being more flexible.  But, all and all, he is a happy little guy - just wanting to be loved.  Everyone expresses how lovable he is.

Last Friday, my nephew became President Obama for his biography project.  We practiced his speech for two days.  The morning of the speech, my nephew started crying when he realized that he had a lot in common with the President (lost of his Mom, the parental divorce, living with loved ones).  I was nervous about letting him go to school that morning.

Yesterday, I learned from two teachers that my nephew did an outstanding job on his presentation. He impressed his classmates and gained their respect.  Dressed in a tuxedo, he took on presidential characteristics - bright, commanding, confident. 

Thank you, President Obama for being a great inspiration and inspiring hope.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga

My nephew, age 9, lost his Mom last year and really connects with the stories in Star Wars.  He lives with me and we created his room into a Star Wars dream room, complete with RD2 fish aquarium and a full size Darth Vader.  There is a birthday card that plays the music and old vhs tapes of the movies.  Sometimes, he plays Star Wars with his many lightsavers.  Everyone knows him as Darth Vader.  For Halloween, last year he was Darth Vader in the school parade.  However, he forgot his costume at school and we had to make him into Darth Maul with makeup to go door to door for trick or treating.  It would be a blast to have the Star Wars:  The Complete Saga dvds (blue ray) to enjoy with him.

Books, Books, Books

Some may find it hard to believe I studied engineering in undergraduate school because I love to read.  Each time we move (and yes, it has been frequently), the movers cannot believe the share number of books I have in my collection.  Of course, I try to reduce the number of books (by donating them) but the process is so hard for me. Last move, the movers had to purchase more and more boxes to corral all my books.  Perhaps, now is the time to discover a Kindle.

I actually boxed up two boxes of books over the weekend and went to a donation center yesterday.  I donated clothes, odds and ends, but just couldn't part with the books. I have the Golden Books that my children loved to read.  I have books that belonged to my great aunt and my beloved father.

I remember while in college that I had a stack of milk crates near by bed that were over following with books. I was very, very lucky that the crates never fell on me.  It could have been a mystery for someone to solve. (Yes, I love mysteries!).

During my middle school years, my brother worked at our local library.  I would follow him to work so that I could spend hours lost in the world of my favorite authors.

Presently, I belong to one book club that counts on me to summarize our discussions - which are always lively. We are reading Jane Hamilton's book When Madeline Was Young.  We try to read a new book, every six weeks. Some favorites have been The Help (Kathryn Stockett), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson) and The Thirteen Tale (Diane Setterfield).

In addition to reading for my personal pleasure, I work with my nephew (age 9) on his reading skills.  He loves reading about dinosaurs, insects and storms.  I am hoping that he will always find the wonder that I enjoy in the written word. 

Books have always been like precious jewels to me.  Reading is simply delicious!!

Where Do I Begin

I am on a mission - a mission to declutter my house.  I have been spending time (let's say lots of time) peeking into my closets and also visiting the basement (aka - think storage unit that never ends).  I am realizing that I may just keep some items much too long.  Now, with technology, I can always just take a digital picture and have the item with me forever.  Life is just too short for clutter and too long not to make memories.  I guess I will try my best to make inroads one day at a time.

Loving Kisses

Having my nephew who recently turned 9 years old live with me and my family has been an opportunity to enjoy those loving kisses that little one share with you often unconditionally. This morning, I received so many wonderful loving kisses as I "rushed" him to finish his breakfast and scurry for his bath.  Amazingly, we made it through Mother's Day, his first without his loving Mom and then days later it was his Mother's birthday.  Strangely, enough a school assignment came home for him and I to read together and it was about kidney disease (something she had also experienced at the end of her life).  Today, after the kisses, my husband and I went to court to regarding guardianship and ended up with another future court date.  As I look at the name of my blog, I am trying to see the positive spin I put on the events of the day.  Actually, I know I still have a few more weeks to be a positive force in my nephew's life.  I am going to do all I can to make these weeks just the best and I will always enjoy his loving kisses.  The futre is never promised.  Nor, I do not have a crystal ball and I cannot fortell the outcome of the court's decision (whenever that will happen).  So, I am just going to do the best I can.  Have you received a loving kiss today?

Vera and Me

My daughter Kim and I embarked on our annual trip to Ft. Wayne, Indiana this past Friday for the Vera Bradley outlet sale.  For the very first time, we made it into inside the coliseum to wait for the doors to open. That was a great surprise because all the other 5 trips we made to the salel we were always waiting outside in the elements.  In our divine spin, we met some wonderful Vera Bradley devotees, some wearing "test market" products that could only be purchased at a certain store (i.e., Washington, DC area) and others who traveled even further than our 2-1/2 hours for the sale.  We didn't spend as much as we did last year and I guess that is a good thing.  Our plan of attack included going through the sale with the sale brochure, trying to find the items we were pinning for, searching out great bargains that peeked our interest and then getting together, reviewing our finds, purging and then heading to the cashier area.  Viva Vera Bradley.