Hi Folks, Well as you can see, I have been dabbling again with a new format again. (note: it's rather dangerous to let me go on any courses) I really hope you all like it.

WOW...do we have a bumper issue or what? Everyone has been fantastic this month and I think this is our biggest issue ever. A great way to celebrate the first edition of 2006 isn't it?

I trust you all have a wonderful Christmas and are having a even more wonderful new year. Christmas was quiet here in sprogland and the little darlings got me just what I wanted for Christmas, a new laptop case with wheels! (no more broken shoulders for me)

There was one major event at Christmas, Junior, being a mature 16 year-old now got some cash instead of presents and he disappeared into town with his friends one day to spend it. I wondered why he hid upstairs the evening he got back and I soon discovered the reason why the next morning. My baby son now has face furniture! He has his bottom lip pierced! I suppose it's better than a tattoo. <sigh>To match it all he wears nothing but black now, complete with shoulder length black hair. It could be worse, least he hasn't started with eye-liner.... yet.

I am just about to book my trip across the pond for this spring and hope to meet a lot of you when we have out forum meet in Vegas. It will be such fun, I know the last one was. I think it's time I went back to visit the money I left behind in Vegas the last time I was there.

I've been retired for four months now and life is getting a little mundane so I think it's time I looked for new employment to keep me busy, part-time of course so I still have lots of time to devote to Casual Community News. I've enjoyed being a lady of leisure but isn't it funny how leisure time is so much more enjoyable when you have less of it?

I have brilliant news.... I have found a house!!! Providing all the legalities go as planned my hunt is over! <breathes a sigh of relief> Though, I think the hard work will start now, getting mine ready to sell and organising the new one but I am looking forward to it.

I hope you all enjoy the articles as much as I did and I wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2006.

Lynda

Lil'Bits from Ma'am

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! It has been a while since I have written anything and we are starting out a New Year. Been very busy again this time of year, with the storms here in Northern California, quite a bit of clean up at the properties. I am so looking forward to Spring!!!

Techie and I are about to leave for Las Vegas for a week of well earned vacation. We are going to see a few shows, one being Celine Dion which I have been so anxious to see since she started her show in Vegas. I am sure Croupier at table we will hit a few piano bars, a few adult beverages and of course contributions to the State of Nevada. Of course we cannot forget Fremont Street and all the light shows. I will be looking at hotels for our upcoming Forum Meeting Event this coming May. Watch for details, dates and hotel information in the next issue.

The forum has been busy and Casual Chat has been promoted several times with our fantastic message topics!! Of course if any of us here of "elbows" anytime soon we may all revolt!! The scheduled weekly events have improved and we are now having members in the rooms until all hours of the night and so great to see again. The games are popular and we have one of our members Natra with a new game "TABU" on Saturday evenings. Please check the Event Scheduler on the Forum Home Page.

This will have to be short this month because Techie is pacing, which means it is time to "hit the road" Hugggs to everyone and enjoy our forum, we have a wonderful staff that spends many hours to help keep this place running!!!

~Ma'am~

Parenting 103

(the super duper advanced course)

If you have been through parenting 101, and parenting 102, and you are still having some "issues", it is time for you to move on to the advanced levels. I am sorry to say, being a parent doesn't get much easier, but hopefully you will acquire some new tricks to help save your sanity.

The older they get, the less effective duct tape is. I know, you have depended on this modern miracle for years, but we must Duct Tape rolls face the facts…. the bigger they get, the stronger and faster they get (not to mention the fact that WE get older)

When dealing with children, the best approach is to use logical consequences. (actually, this works well when dealing with spouses and pets also) If they don't put their clothes where they belong…then take them away. If they don't clean up their dirty dishes after eating the delicious meal you have cooked, then don't feed them any more. If they don't make their bed, make them sleep outside in the cold The Dog House doghouse.

Behavior Modification is a key factor. As most of you know, my daughter and her 14-month-old son, Lil Will, live in my home. We have already begun using behavior techniques to make sure he learns the proper way to behave.

For example, now that he is walking, wandering out into the street is a major concern. Since getting up and down from my comfortable lawn chair is such a nuisance, I have devised a unique, but effective way of keeping him in the yard. I simply borrowed some of 9's very scary looking action figures (really, they are dolls, but since he doesn't like me saying "9!! Go pick up your dolls!!, we have compromised and now call them "action figures"). Anyway, I place them in strategic places around the edges of the lawn. When Lil Will wanders too close to them, I yell, "GO AWAY LITTLE BOY, OR I WILL EAT YOU!", in a very deep Another Ugly wrestler voice. It scares him so badly that he runs back to his mother's arms and cries for an hour. Problem of running out into the street solved. In addition, he is clinging to his mom so tightly that I don't have to worry about him picking up dirt clods and eating them. So not only have I prevented one problem, I have solved another.

Creative thinking is what will get you through this journey of parenthood. Don't be afraid to experiment, sometimes the long term damage done to the kid is worth it. I mean, after all, even if you don't feed them * all * the time, at least they will not be overweight, right?

Above all, hang in there. Just keep reminding yourself, that one day, they will move away and never come to visit you. (ungrateful snots) <s>

Teri

My Hero

My mother is restless. That isn't a good thing. When my mom gets restless, things...happen. Some are good things. Some are not and some well, you decide.
My mom is 77 years young. She is a little old lady that is loved by all. If she had enemies they would even love her! She does not have a bad thing to say about anyone. She is a colon cancer survivor who, when the doctor told her she had cancer, just smiled and nodded. Her blood pressure didn't move. My sister and I were falling apart inside and she was smiling and nodding.

Mother sign

When asked if she was okay, her response was, "Why wouldn't I be? It's in the Lord's hands so why worry?"
She not only survived colon cancer surgery, she also survived emergency surgery a week or so later when her stitches in her colon ruptured. Poison seeped into her veins as we rushed her to the ER. The doctor said it was his fault and she stood a good chance of dying. My sister and I were talking about what we would do if...when the doctor came out once again shaking his head. She not only came through surgery, while he was in there he found gallstones, so he removed her gallbladder.

All this started Mother's day. Fathers day she went back to the ER for starvation because she couldn't eat. She had a bad side effect from pain meds. But the whole time, she was a sweet women that everyone loved. She went through chemo. The lightest dose. Once again the doctor's shook their head because she said she felt the best she had in years with chemo. One year later she had an Acoustic Neuroma. Had to have a radiation
blast.

Then she painted her carpet. She had seen it on Home & Garden TV and wanted to try it. So she got a can of paint and a roller. It worked. Sort of. We thought maybe it was brain damage. The doctor said she would have some damage. She is deaf in one ear. But no. It was mom being restless.

So when I hear hammering or see her walk by with something in her hand, I don't ask. Sometimes it is best not to know. I just
hope she is around for a long time to hammer and paint and plant. She is going to make a glorious angel but, she is so needed here on earth. This world needs people like her. I love you mom.

RandomActs

Hawaiian Holidays

Well folks I have not long returned from my holidays in Hawaii (with a little stopover in Vegas) and I was browbeaten……..errrrrrr asked to write a little something about my trip. I have visited the Hawaii a few times over the past years, "lucky you" I hear the cry, but really its quite reasonably priced (or was) from the UK especially over the Christmas & New Year periods. The other times I have visited I made stopovers on the way out just to break up the journey but this time I made the journey in one go, via London and San Francisco. Setting out at 5am on a dark wet and cold December morning is no fun and the new US immigration, fingerprinting & retina scan procedures can be a bit of a drag…….. but 28 (yup 28) hours later it was worth it I checked in at the hotel getting on for midnight, luckily the bars don't close early, dumped my bags and went in search of that most reviving of elixirs beer!! There are a lot of tales and advice on how to beat jetlag and I've tried a few remedies in the past but a few (well quite a few) drinks are the best I've come across so far, I slept like a log what was left of the night and some of the morning too.
Hawaii is a beautiful place and if you ever get a chance to go take my advice & make the trip its well worth it. I stayed only a few minutes away from the famous Waikiki beach which is a great place if you like sun, sand and people watching Waikiki itself is very heavy into the tourist trade so there are bars and restaurants aplenty. Getting around is easy most places are within walking distance and if you want to go further then the local bus service is only $2 a ride (doesn't matter about the distance).
	I didn't do much travelling around this trip, it was chill out time for me, but I did take a hike to the top of Diamond Head. It isn't an easy walk and takes about 1-½ hours but the views are wonderful and I certainly would recommend it for anyone who visits the Waikiki area.
	Just catch a bus to the Diamond Head stop and walk through the tunnel to the park entrance then a couple of short hours gasping for breath and bingo! I have visited the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour in the past, it's a very sombre and thought provoking place, I did intend to go again but with one thing and another never got there.
In Waikiki there is the International Marketplace that's full of little shops and stalls but in the middle of it (well over it) is a bar called "Coconut Willies", it's been there since the 1940's and has local bands and musicians playing most days. The food is good and you can get a jug of beer for $10, which is a pretty good way to cool down on the way back from the beach. I would also recommend taking a trip to the Polynesian Cultural Centre it's a full day and it features "villages" from 7 different Polynesian cultures including New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa and Tahiti and its very interesting. The costumes and the dancing in the evening show are spectacular especially the fire dancers. If you ever take a trip to Hawaii one thing that you shouldn't miss out on doing at least once is to watch the sunset from the beach (or in my case from the beach bar) they are something else.

Being a Brit Christmas away from the cold, rain (or snow) of home is always great thing for me so I enjoyed the warm weather (and the cold beer too) although it takes a little getting used to having so many shops & restaurants open on Christmas. New Year was a lot of fun too, the fireworks display from Waikiki beach is magnificent, and of course the bars are still open when it's all over.
Sadly all trips must come to an end at some point and of course so did my visit to Hawaii but I had one more thing to look forward to I had booked a stay in Las Vegas on the way back but I've prattled on enough so perhaps I should leave that story till another time. Woolyback

Jann Arden

Jann Arden Do you have an artist/musician that you are fond of? Do you wonder where their talent comes from and if they are really as talented as you think? Do you follow their website to see if they are really all they are cracked up to be?

I am a fan of a lovely Canadian woman named Jann Arden. Jann lives in the outskirts of Calgary and I was still living there when she hit it big. I remember watching her on Dave Letterman and Jay Leno and Good Morning America. She hosted the Juno Awards and to me she was the perfect Mistress of Ceremonies and I almost felt like she should be a talk show host.

Jann Arden’s idol was Karen Carpenter but listened and enjoyed Petula Clark, Lyle Lovett, Carly Simon and numerous others. She cut her first solo record at the tender age of 17 under the name of Jann Richards (her real name) and became a fixture in the Calgary music scene by singing cover songs of Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth and Foreigner. Arden recorded her first album, 'Time For Mercy', in Los Angeles with collaborator Ed Cherney (Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt). The album had several hit singles letting Arden go on to win two Juno’s in 1993 for Best Solo Performer and Best Video. The album has sold an impressive 250,000 copies to date. Arden's second album, 'Living Under June' (also recorded in LA with Ed Cherney), sold six-times platinum in Canada and 500,000 in the US (despite a snubbing from their AAA formatted radio stations) for total worldwide sales of 1.3 million. The single "Insensitive" went Top 10 globally, including #1 in Australia and would be used in an Italian TV commercial.

I have been a fan for quite some time and enjoy listening to her music and reading her blog http://jannarden.com/journal.php . After reading her journal I know she is talented in real life and has the same fears/worries that we all do. I hope you all take the time to read some of her blog, and maybe hear some of her music.

JustDar

Spencer's Progress

As most of you know, the last few years have been somewhat challenging with Spencer's medical needs. What started out as migraine headaches and Specific Learning Disabilities, has led us down a very long, stressful path. One of which seemed to have no end and only ended in more questions at every turn. Last September we finally found a doctor (still keeping fingers crossed) that seemed to really understand. He set us up with Neurology (we've only been waiting for almost 2 years now), and
also Developmental Testing (about time).

As I am writing this I am once again back in Gainsville. Our longest trip yet. We left our house on January 19th. Our first appointment was with Neurology on Friday the 20th....and yes, it actually was a good one, and we left with a feeling of hope for the second time. His doctor (and yes, this guy is now one of his doctors), ordered blood work to be done that day. We have to call them back on Monday to see if they were able to get the EEG and MRI scheduled for this week while we are here.
We even told them that we would arrange to stay a few extra days if need be.

So, now we are at the YEAH......can we say FINALLY!!! We have only been waiting 3 years for someone to follow up on the Arachnoid Cyst that was diagnost 3 years ago. We will finally learn if it has gotten any bigger or not and if anything actually does need to be done. I can also say that this doctor seemed very displeased over the confusing diagnosis of Absance Seizures. He says you either have it, or you don't, and everything seems to point to the fact that he does. Which led him to ask
why wasn't he on meds for it....especially since it is appearantly
causing problems in school.<SS>

Next, we have an appointment on the 26th (which is why we are actually still here). That is the day that they will spend anywhere from 4-8 hours doing the developmental testing.

If all goes as planned, we will leave this place on the 27th to go back home. I was lucky enough to get us a room that has a little mini kitchen in it, and last time we were here we found this great Recreational area with a humungous playground....which has been a sanity saver. Well, what sanity we have left anyway.

I will have to continue this next time......or maybe even just by
posting to everyone. I am just so thrilled to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel getting closer. For a while it has been
there....but just out of reach. I think we might actually reach it this time.

Oh, I might also add that I will be back in Gainsville (for at least one day) on May 1st. That is when we are scheduled to see Spencer's new Neurologist again.

Tavispav

Issue XXXIII 27th January 2006

Return to Casual Chat

Click on an article below

Editorial

Parenting 103

My Hero

Hawaiian Holidays

Jann Arden

Spencer's Progress

Your Article

Lil' Bits from Ma'am

Your Article!

Lil'Bits from Ma'am

Parenting 103

My Hero

Hawaiian Holidays

Jann Arden

Spencer's Progress