Here's a few questions I've been asking, "Why?" 1) Why do men take it personally when a male dog is getting neutered? Boo commiserated and even threatened to take the dog and hide so that the dog wouldn't make his appointment. Even now that he's had his surgery, Boo keeps saying, "Awww, he has no nuts. He is sad!" 2) Why would anyone allow their kid to lay on a dirty floor of a tire place and not even think about the shoes, dirt and germs that have been walking all over that floor. 3) Why do people insist on speaking Spanish to me when I clearly don't look Hispanic? 4) Why did I just make a great new spinach artichoke casserole only to sit down and have Boo tell me that he's not really "fond" of spinach or artichokes? 5) Why does it when it rains, it pours? I mean, not only did one tire have to be replaced last week but two more this week on Boo's big "monster" truck. 6)Why is pastrami so dang good but so salty? 7) Why...

If I don't boast enough about my daughters, it's only because I don't want to be accused of being an "obnoxious" mommy but I sure love them both. As I look at where my life was BD (before divorce) and where I am AD (After Divorce), I don't know where I would be if I didn't have my girls to get me through some moments. They saw me cry many tears. They saw through the "trying to be tough and smile and laugh" in spite of them knowing that I was crying and so very angry inside. They encouraged me to believe that I am beautiful and loving and a wonderful woman. In fact, I have saved voice mails and even emails and letters that I listen to and read over and over again. As much as they have been here for me, I do my best to be there for them. That doesn't mean that they don't respect me as mommy because they do but they will say in a heartbeat, my mom is my one of my closest friends...and I believe that with all of my heart. Today, my TV Boo cal...

I had the most wonderful lunch with Joanna . She reminded me of why I blog and the beauty of friendships that come from blogging. I'd rather not dive again into something that is now considered the past but I will say this....I'm breathing again now that the elephant in the room no longer exists. I had attended a Woman of Faith conference years ago, with my partner in crime, my twin sis. While browsing the speakers tables, we walked towards a table that smelled fragrant, like flowers. The table was covered in what looked like iridescent water drops. The speaker was an author, Barbara Johnson who wrote many books, namely one that stands out...Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life. The water drops were what she called "splashes of joy" and she generously handed my sis and I one. I carried that splash of joy in my pocket...as a reminder to find joy in everything. When moments would get stressful, I would reach in my pocket and feel the "splash of joy" and re...

I'm still paying for some of the things I've learned so I'll start out with... 1) Do not go fishing when it's 110 degrees and no shade! I swear I fried a few brain cells. 2) I will never, ever wear perfume when going fishing. Boo loves me even if I stink the bees love me when I smell like a flower. 3) Angels come in many sizes, shapes and forms. Met a terrific old man while fishing and his kindness and patient and friendly demeanor made me miss my dad. Yet, I was so glad to have Archie teaching me how to prepare to catch the big one. 4) Dove ice cream is close to being more my favorite than even Ben and Jerry's. 5) Boo and I speak a different love language (Based on the book, The Five Love Languages) but I am so extremely, passionately in love and know that he feels the same. i.e., he washes my car every single week. It can be 118 degrees and he will spend time doing it just because he wants to know that I'm driving a clean car. 6) I am loving wearing body oil ...

I received a rude awakening the other day....it hit me that blogging has many forms of relationships bundled up in one big ol' blogworld. In fact, blogging is very much like online dating but better. With blogging, you can follow a person and not get accused of stalking. You can have a blogroll a mile long and no one will accuse you of being a "playa". You can stop following a blog and there's no hard feelings (not usually.) But, there's also a frand factor that exists and one that I admit bugs me. A frand is someone that is a fan and a friend or someone that is a fan posed as a friend - thus, the meaning can be a positive or a negative, depending on the way you view it. The positive version of a frand is knowing that no matter what you do or say, your frand will always be not only be a fan of yours but will stick by you, through some tough stuff and the not so tough stuff. The positive frand would give honest input while always looking to be supportive and encour...

Congratulations to Helene for winning the book, The Husband Project - 21 Days to Loving Your Man by the terrific author, Kathi Lipp. Please email me with your address and I'll get it right out to you! ************************************************************************ I had had my share of online dating disappointments. This single thing wasn't what I expected it to be. So many toads...then, on a whim and of course, a free weekend on a particular dating site (not the two popular ones), I signed on. A day later, I was "winked" at by Boo. I hadn't seen a picture of him although he'd seen one of me. Funny thing is, Boo is not very computer savvy so his roommate at the time, who has since passed away, signed him up. She told him, "You need to find a wife!" We emailed back and forth for at least a week, still without me knowing what he looked like. I was checking on grammar and any hint that he could be a Nigerian scammer. The more I talked to him, ...

Continuation from the last post.... The snake enticed me with sweet compliments and what appeared to be romantic promises. We talked (chatted by email) about getting together for the first time. At the moment, he was out in West Africa with his daughter, working on a contract. (Supposedly, he had his own contracting firm.) Finally, the suspense was too great and I decided to give him a call to hear his voice. He made some excuses about it being expensive to call overseas. I rallied with, "I have a phone card". The next excuse was, "I have a thick British accent". I rallied with, "I love accents!" Finally, he relented and gave me his phone number. His voice was....scary. It wasn't a British accent at all. It was a Nigerian one. Not only that, he was supposedly in his hotel room with his baby girl sleeping soundly, yet, there were sounds of forklifts and warehouse echoes. I asked what the noise was and he replied, "The tv." Of course, he never ...

before you meet your handsome prince. I used to always tell my daughters that and then, suddenly, I was out there, back in the dating scene again, kissing a few toads. I never planned on being single again in my forties and in fact, in my thirties, I remember commenting, "I can't imagine doing the single thing again. I'm so glad that my marriage is stable and I don't have to worry about finding Mr. Right. Wrong!!!! Boy, was I ever wrong! My always in the back of my mind saying is, "Feel the fear and do it anyway" and that's what I did. Once I knew in my heart that I would never revisit the marriage that I once had, I began to think about dating. But, it had been years since I dated and I didn't know where to begin. Heck, I didn't even know how to flirt. So, I took the leap and went head on into online dating. I NEVER thought I'd go there. But, in order to live by my mantra, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway", I had to give it a try, an...

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Husband Project post and you'll be entered to win the book, Husband Project, 21 Days to Loving Your Man. On with Things I Learned Thursday... 1) A good way to de-stress is to be a kid....read a children's book, color and play with Play Doh. 2) Wintergreen lifesavers really do spark when you go in a dark room and chew them with your mouth open. (Don't ask how I know that one.) 3) Never create a recipe with the ingredient, seitan (pronounced satan) for a Top Chef competition. The name itself spells being voted off. Note to self, never make chile rellenos with seitan...ewww. 4) Being unemployed is not fun or enjoyable or relaxing and if someone tells me that one more time, I'm going to....SCREAM!! 5) According to TV Boo , screaming at 2 am while driving with the windows rolled down can be exhilarating and calming. 6) Boy dogs always smell like stinky feet or fritos. 7) When planning a fishing trip, if the description of the locati...

I cut my toenails too short.... I walk and feel pain at the tips of some of my toes because they are exposed and waiting to be smooshed, stepped on or stubbed. That's what vulnerability is...being exposed and not knowing what may come your way and how to deal with it. I've experienced enough to last a time but one that sticks out is that of someone that I thought was a friend. I now know that she was a frienemy...disguised as a friend but really an enemy. I had one of the best jobs around. I was the principal's secretary at an elementary school/office manager/vice principal/substitute teacher and photocopy mechanic as well as a parent advocate. I wore many hats but LOVED the kids and the staff...most of them. A parent volunteer would come in and help in the office and it became a regular, every day thing. She was kindhearted and even willing to answer phones or sit in my place (for free and without pay). At the time, I was going through the divorce and she quickly embraced ...

UPDATE - GIVEAWAY - The Husband Project One of my blog readers will be chosen to receive a free book, The Husband Project. Kathi Lipp has so generously offered to do this. To be entered, all you have to do is comment here on this post. That simple...comment and you're entered! The giveaway will be Tuesday, August 25th. ************************************************************************* I have no idea where I found out about Kathi Lipp's book, the Husband Project but when I did, I was thrilled to order it and then grab two friends to sign up to hold me accountable. Although I'm not quite married (yet), the desire to love my man still exists...so I jumped head first into the projects. The projects are very easy to do and of course, you can be very creative as well. The great thing is that you are supposed to share with your accountability partners, your project buds, what you did and how he responded. Sometimes, it means breaking down and really giving intimate details...

One thing that life has taught me is to appreciate the differences in others. Being a twin, most of the time, we were always treated like we were the same...no distinction. Oh, but there was, if only people made the effort to know and appreciate those distinctions. I had dimples, my twin didn't. She had a beauty mark, I didn't. I needed coke bottle glasses and she didn't. I had a wrinkley nose thanks to allergies, she didn't. But even beyond that, our personalities were different. But, we appreciated and blended those differences to make a pretty cool pair of twins. Now, Boo and I are VERY different. He and I are more different than we are alike. He loves sports, football, especially. I love music. I love cheese on everything. He doesn't care much for cheese. He is a realist, I'm a dreamer. I am laidback, funny, spontaneous and he is practical, serious (most of the time) and very old school in his way of thinking. I have to admit that it has taken me awhile to a...

Being unemployed, I'm a learning machine! Well, if I can retain all that I've learned then I'd be a genius. Things I've Learned.... 1) The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Living in the moment creates more of a sense of contentment than looking far ahead. 2) When wine tasting, always swirl the wine around and sniff and then swirl again. It makes it seem like you know what you're doing when you really don't. 3) I've been mispronouncing the word "salmonella" all these years. Thanks to Married Boo for setting me straight. (It isn't samo but salmo). 4) Carrots and peanut butter is yummy. (Thanks Tami and Caleb for bringing that to my attention.) 5) If I have a chance to come back as an animal, I choose the pig. They love playing in mud, don't care if they're fat and know how to kick it hard with a smile on their face. 6) Pit bulls have been given a bad rap. My pit, Humble is the most wimpiest, loving, cuddle bug. He would l...

Does anyone use their imaginations anymore? When I was a kid, I used my imagination all the time. My twin and I would pretend to be radio disc jockeys and we'd sing our made up hits and then announce our next hit. We even had commercials. "And now a word from our sponsors." Sometimes, I imagined the ground was on fire with only a small tight rope to walk across to safety. (Water hose for tight rope.) If one of us fell off the tight rope, sad to say, we perished. Other times, we pretended to be one of the Brady Bunch kids. There was always an issue of the day like Nay Nay (Jan) losing her diary key and Me (Cindy) finding it and reading Jan's diary. As always a mom or dad didn't spank Cindy's butt but felt her forehead and determined that Cindy (me) wasn't being bad, I was just running a slight fever. Off to bed I went where we then went into doctor and patient imagination. We would get so caught up in our imagination that I swear, sometimes, we never even...

I'm writing an article for a magazine on friendships...women friendships. It may be a topic that's overdone but in my opinion, it's not done enough. I mean, there's lifelong friendships that exist from grade school and then there's friendships that exist as a result of happenstance....serendipidity. Often times, blogging friendships grow from that...serendipity. When my daughters were growing up, I would say to them, "To have a friend, you must be friendly." It sounds corny now but back then, they truly believed that in order to be a friend, it began with you. You reached out first, you lent a hand, or a shoulder to cry on, or arms to hug or even a treasured rock to give. I grew up believing that too. When I have a friend that is in need, I immediately spring into action. "Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come over to help? Stay there, I'm on my way...and no, I'm not taking no for an answer." Friendship means not taking sco...

Just a reminder....to enter into a fantastic, once in a lifetime chance GIVEAWAY at On Being..... The drawing is tomorrow so enter today! I don't know what it's like to be a singleton...I'm so used to being a pair. It's all I've ever known. In fact, when I think back on my childhood, I picture my twin and I holding hands. Most every picture that my mom has of us, we're holding hands. I'm almost sure we held hands in the womb. Even now, when we're together, there's a sense of comfort that she's close by. Yesterday, we were hanging out and in the midst of a huge crowd of people, we got separated. I didn't have my cell phone with me so I panicked. I decided to use my "twintuition". I stood off to the side to see if I could "feel" that she was close by. Nope. She wasn't. Then, my heart really started pounding. For a minute, I felt what it would be like to be without her...no longer having her to call and talk to and get in...

There are only 28 people entered in the GIVEAWAY!!! Time is running out. Head over here to check out On Being...... and enter to win a fabulous prize package!!! My friend, Georgie has her confessional booth open and ready to roll. Although I'm not Catholic, I've never been able to picture myself sitting in a confessional booth and confessing stuff like, "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned....I took what didn't belong to me....there was a shopping cart that had stuff in it...I needed a cart and there was no one close by...so I took it." Actually, if I was Catholic, by now, the Priest would've told me to take my sorry bottom home and think about my wrong doings and stop confessing every little darn thing running through my head. But, in all seriousness, confession is good for the soul. It releases endorphins which in return releases adrenaline which releases pheromones which lead to lots of romantic rendezvous. So, go and confess...your honey will thank you. ...

It's Thursday already??? Don't forget the totally awesome giveaway on the second of the three blogs that I have: On Being.... The prize winner will be announced on Monday, August 10, 2009. Also, if you'd like to be interviewed, please drop me an email. Things I've Learned.... 1) When I wish quietly for a trip to the beach, one angel, in the form of my daughter, answers that whisper. 2) I'm blessed that my girls have never decided to trade me in for a new model....a new and improved mommy that doesn't get lost, sing at the top of her lungs and can be a klutz. 3) Bugs are very good at playing dead. To a point of faking rigor mortis even. 4) According to Boo, the hardware store, (Lowe's) can evoke even a hard on for most guys. It's their kind of store. In fact, he could probably spend hours looking at door knobs, ladders and water hoses. 5) If you say you got candy in your eye, you get tons and tons of kisses! 6) Cayenne pepper mixed in dirt will not stop...

***Don't forget - my other blog, On Being.... is having a terrific GIVEAWAY! Check it out!*** When I was growing up, I had a Big Mama. Well, actually, my Big Mama was my great grandmother. To me, Big Mamas, Nanas, Grammies, Ma'dears, Nannies always represented to me, the most funnest, loving, cookie baking ladies around. When my daughters were born, both of their grandmothers lived a distance so sitting with them and coloring and playing with play doh or just listening to them wasn't possible. So, as a gift from God, the girls were given a Nana. Nana was someone that I had met, older and wiser and loving and patient. She took me under her wings as if I were her own daughter and in return, my daughters also became "hers". My daughters loved their Nana until sadly, her and Papa moved to Las Vegas and soon after, Papa passed away. Although Nana lives farther than a quick drive down the street, not a day goes by where I don't think about what a terrific example of...

I'm excited to introduce to you, the relaunch of On Being..... There is one heck of a giveaway there and someone will the be the fortunate winner. Please check it out and remember, if you'd like to be interviewed, please drop me an email.

I seriously don't get it. I watched the Today Show and saw footage of a 7 year old boy driving his parents car and leading the police on a high speed chase. The reason...because he didn't want to go to church. He drove 2 miles and at times, erratically. He went through two stop signs. He didn't crash but stopped right in front of his house and ran into the basement until the cops knocked on his door and the dad answered. What gets me is that he didn't get punished, he got rewarded. Why should he have the privilege of being on the Today Show and making his behavior seem like he deserved a reward instead of a butt whoopin'? I really wanted to strangle the parents when they said, "But, we punished him. He's on room restriction for four days and no tv and no video games." Whoopee freakin' doo doo! The kid could've been killed or killed others. He was smiling as he spoke of his punishment. I've never seen a dead man walking, grinning from ear to...