Six Bad Mood Lifters (With Six You Get Cat)

Raise your hand if winter is getting to you. Maybe you have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) or winter blues? Here are some things I found help. With six, you get cat! Like the Doris Day movie? (let's see how many oldies out there remember that reference?)  Six Ways to Shake a Bad Mood

Am I a Neglectful Mother? Thoughts on Burying Children

I've been asking this question every year for the last 13 years. I seem to need to process annually. Am I a neglectful mother? I don't ask for a general absolution. I know my failings, am doing my mea culpae.

This is specific, and will probably get weepy. I've mentioned we lost two stillborn daughters, Mary Therese in 2001 and Isobella Raine in 2004. The little sisters share a grave in Spring Lake. And we do not go visit it.   Am I a Neglectful Mother?

How to Stay Married with Selective Deafness Liberally Sprinkled with Humor

We used to say grandma was conveniently deaf. She heard what she wanted to hear. And I've found in relationships, selective deafness is not all bad. Take men... please! Take them really far away from me! Seriously, I like men. But around 50, they develop dysentery of the mouth.

They're grouchy. They complain and pontificate ad nauseum to anyone else who will listen. They make rude loud remarks. Either because they figure they're deaf so everyone else must be, or they passive-aggressively WANT the person to hear. And they love haranguing, preferably the person least able to fix what's bugging them. And my husband has adult Asperger on top  of it.  Not that I'm perfect, mind. How to Stay Married, Be Selectively Deaf
And he freely and proudly admits it. So, here's 

Weight Loss Photo Journal February 2014 Update

I keep talking about how I lost a lot of weight. Currently, I'm down 93 pounds from my all-time high of 234 pounds. I've shared a few photo exposes, but here's the most recent one as of February, 2014. I'll try to do side-by-side shots. Left is of me Saturday, Feb. 1 and right is me at my fattest, July 2011. I hated having photos taken when I was so fat. In eight years, after losing two stillborn daughters and taking Paxil, I had put on 100 pounds. I weighed 110 pounds on my wedding day in 1987. As you might imagine that weight did nothing for the depression. Losing weight has helped a lot, with depression and menopause. Click for more pictures and stats.  My Weight Loss Photo Journey Update February 2014