THE WRATH OF FROZEN PIPES

My husband and I recently returned from an out of town trip where we were gone for six days. We found a note on our door saying "call me asap, i cut your water off." So we called the man... Who told us over the weekend several homes in our neighborhood had pipe problems and when they were at our neighbor's house, they were working on the water flowing out the back of his home, when they heard water at our house. He described it as Niagra Falls coming out of our back siding. We obviously weren't home so he turned our water off in case there was damage on the inside. Well, there was. Our living room ceiling was bowed down with water weight and our brand new carpeting underneath was wet. We thought the problem stopped there, but when the experts came out, they water tested 5 rooms... All were soaked. When they ripped up the floors we saw all the water and it was horrible.

Because it sat for three days, it had time to soak through even the dry floors. So the areas that looked fine to us were full of water underneath. We had dryers and humidifiers set up for days. And now we're preparing ourselves for the rehabilitation. I'm not looking forward to it, but it could have been worse. We made it out without damaged clothes or any significant furniture damage. We mostly just need new ceilings, walls, and floors! Come to find out the builders did not insulate the outside pipes properly and it's the same story for most of the homes in our neighborhood. We took all the right precautions before leaving town, but it didn't matter. I believe a lawsuit is in the works against the builder... Should be interesting!

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE GPS

I am all about GPS systems. In fact, I recently purchased one. But I fear they are leading drivers into a sense of mindless wandering. I call it obsessive compulsive gps disorder... Or OCGD. You probably know someone with OCGD. Symptoms include pure panic if the GPS is not nearby and fully charged... Setting the GPS when you are three blocks away from your home and know where you're going... And any other obsessive behavior when it comes to the device. Sure, they are helpful when you are traveling, in an unfamiliar area, or even a familiar area, but want to scope out what's near you for food, gas, atm's, etc. But there are people who set it NO MATTER WHAT. They could go to the corner gas station, and they search it in the gps and set it before taking off. It worries me that these people are taking their OCGD to such a level that they will become incapable of driving without it. If the electronic voice you've named Monica, or Janice, or Lucy... Does not tell you to "stay right" or "recalculate" if you've missed a turn... Will you drive indefinitely wondering where you are, where you're going, and what your name is??
Maybe that's a little extreme, but still... Don't be annoying! Do not set your GPS when you don't need it. Maintain your ability to drive.. and make u-turns... And veer left all by yourself! Thank you kindly.

HANNAH'S HOPE

She found light at the end of the darkest tunnel.
It's a story about a teenager who's level of faith is inspirational. She battled cancer through high school and even in her hardest times... Thanked God for choosing her. She has shown incredible strength, bravery, and hope while facing a death many of us would wallow in. A story as incredible as Hannah's tells itself, but it is equally important for the storyteller to allow her inspiration to shine. This story by News Channel 7's Connie Legrand touched my heart in a big way and I hope it will reach you as well. This story is only three minutes long and will stay with you a million times that.
Just click to catch a glimpse of Hannah's Hope.

EXCELLENT BIRTH CONTROL

This is from a press release from Christina Elston. She writes the Health-E blog on Parenthood.com. I read this and thought, "whoa"...

Your precious new bundle will cost you a bundle, and bring you both joy…and anxiety! It's estimated the average family will spend more than $10-thousand dollars on child-related expenses this year - much of that on medical and child care!

I do not have children but I would dare to say that is a conservative figure. Add up clothes, food, school activities, birthday parties for classmates, trips to chuck e cheese, the list goes on.... and of course medical costs...
I bet your children take in much more of your salary than that! Anybody feel like guessing how much their child costs them a year?

I WANT MY KIDNEY BACK...

There's a story out today on CBS News where a man is suing his wife during divorce proceedings... Because he wants his kidney back! He donated a kidney to her several years ago when hers were failing. Then a couple years later she had an affair and filed for divorce. He says he's hurt, angry and humiliated. He at least wants from her whatever the value of his kidney is because it saved her life. I think his lawyer is planning on more than a million dollars. This is the first time I've ever heard of something like this. Obviously, no judge will require her to remove the kidney, but I do wonder if he will be compensated for making such a sacrifice just to be the victim of infidelity. The claim is pretty out there, but wouldn't you feel the same? Wow, so many variables going on here...

I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Hear from the broken-hearted "want my kidney back" man here.

GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Let's start by listing a few I know I can keep:
1. Eat more ice cream.
2. Find a church that I like.
3. Be a good wife to my new husband
4. Encourage my love of cooking
Now the tougher ones:
4. Get active in some way.. working out, dancing again, etc.
5. Find a way to be near my family & friends
6. Finish my house!

Old-Fashioned Love

I watched a piece a few days ago on an 80-something year-old man who says the cure to his wife's Alzheimer's is cuddling. He's an inspirational individual who met his one true love very young and says his advice to other couples is to crawl in bed and cuddle as much as possible. It all sounds heart-warming, but is there any truth to it? Doctors say yes! They say touch can help patients like his wife, and she has certainly shown a dramatic improvement since he began holding her every day.

An article for the Boston Globe states the following:
"Rita's agitated behavior may be improving because Sol's touch is decreasing her levels of cortisol - a stress-related hormone, said Lynn Woods, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing."

You can watch his story here:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/touch-may-counter-alzheimers/1258649488

Stories like his are captivating, not only because it's so wonderful to suggest human touch may actually help her condition, but it's an astonishing love story. It got me thinking about the older couples I know in my life. My parents, for example, starting "going together" in 8th grade! My mother went out with him to make another boy jealous and says "he just kind of grew on her." He walked several miles out of his way to pick her up and walk her to school every day... through snow, sleet, whatever. My older brother first proposed to my sister-in-law the first day of kindergarten! I was talking about this with a fellow producer who said her parents are high school sweethearts and every year return to the place they had their first date in their hometown. I sincerely hope love is still like that now. It seems all the amazing love stories are from times far away from our own. They tell stories of parents, grandparents, maybe aunts and uncles. I wonder if the rules of love are changing...

Perhaps the way the world is today creates a whole new medium for people to meet and fall in love. The internet, of course, plays a huge role. The need to go to college probably makes a difference as well. People were married earlier, started families earlier... all out of high school. Would those same couples have stayed together through the college years? I certainly hope so, but I think our way of life today creates a hard atmosphere for old-fashioned love. I hope everyone can still find it somehow. I know I have : )