Sun. morning, Jan. 27, 2008

Hi, folks,
Well, I did receive a comment regarding last Sunday's post. Thanks, Tom, but if you read the blog, it said we have 5 smoke detectors built in, but they failed. How would we know they would fail, as they have worked fine in the past? The blog also stated we went out and bought one to put on the wall at the top of the basement stairs.
More update on smoke: It has finally cleared and is not hitting the nostrils anymore. Between doing all the laundry, washing walls, cleaning, spraying, etc. things seem to be back to normal.
Hubby did test the "built-in" smoke detectors and they worked okay. Just not sure what happened that night that they did not go off. Yes, I thank the "Deities" at work that kept us safe from more harm that the smoke could have caused. Thanks for your comments anyway.

This past month has been one disturbing month. There is a young woman going through a very rough and troublesome divorce with her estranged, and abusive husband. He is now claiming that an injury of some kind at birth has caused him to be violent and abusive. (Any excuse will do for him.) He is a piece of work. Now he is stalking her (did the birth injury cause him to do this too?) because she is going through with the divorce. She is scared to death of him and what he will do once the divorce is over, for her and their children. So am I.

Exactly how much time can one spend on the Internet? Sometimes it amazes me that I can start in the morning early, sometimes around 6 a.m., and the next thing I know it is 9 a.m. Sheesh. Just goes to show that it can be very time-consuming. Plus, answering emails, and doing postings on website, and conversing with others, taking care of business, handling researches for connections, plus trying to contact other animal organizations to link us to them, and vise-versa, ---well, it all takes time, and some days I run out of it!

We put our apartment (two apt. -one up, one down, in one building-where I used to have my dog shop years ago) up for sale this past week. I scheduled a visit (inspection) with the renters, and one does maintain the apartment she rents very well. The other is a whole different matter. (Husband and three small children.) What a mess. She promises to get it cleaned up before Tuesday as the Realtor called and someone wants to see it. I told her that it will only be a reflection on her part if she does not clean it up and if someone buys it, it will be up to them to either let her stay or evict her. She does have the option of moving out before the sale is final, but then we will undoubtedly have to clean up the horrendous mess they will most likely leave.

We are going to get a reprieve from the cold winter weather this week. Although the weather forecast is calling for rain on Tuesday, it is supposed to get into the 40's which will be very nice.

Okay, I have to go to www. authornation.com in a little while and do another posting there. Plus, father-in-law is coming down, and I have to run into town for some things.

Gotta go for now. Until next time, stay safe, enjoy often, and count your blessings!
Becky :)
P.S. Tooter the cat woke me up at 12:30 this morning. Didn't get back to sleep until almost 3 a.m. The cat is still alive. I wish she would stop doing that!!

Sunday morning, Jan. 20, 2008

BRRR! Good morning folks,
It is "zero" this morning and snow is on the ground too. Very, very cold!

Well, last Saturday night, hubby closed the screen on the fireplace downstairs and the screen caught the damper handle and closed the damper. Well, about an hour or so later, smoke woke him up, ( he fell asleep on the couch in the living room), and he rushed downstairs. The whole basement and the entire upstairs was filled with smoke! I was asleep in the back bedroom, and I woke up coughing! I jumped out of bed, raced through the house looking for hubby. I opened the basement door and hollered for him and he was down there opening vents and doors, starting fans to let out the thick, acrid smoke. I raced around the upstairs, (threw both cats in the back bedroom and turned on the ceiling fan), and proceeded to open more doors and windows to the outside, and also turn on all the ceiling and exhaust fans everywhere. What a mess! Within minutes, I was choking and coughing, and got a really bad headache and my throat was really beginning to get raw. The temperature outside was 30 degrees. Trying to get the smoke out was a dilemma, as the warm air inside was fighting with the cold air outside. Hubby brought up an osculating fan and we put it at the front door with it wide open. Meanwhile, I am running back and forth checking on the cats in the back room. Tooter was really upset and making crying noises. I couldn't let them out of the bedroom, least they panic and try to go out the doors that were open!

Finally around 3 a.m., the smoke was pretty much cleared away, but the smell was awful!
I grabbed a can of Lysol and Fabreze and sprayed everywhere, then went to bed to get a little sleep as I knew I had a major task before me the next day of trying to get rid of all the smoke smell.

I am so thankful that neither of us died of smoke inhalation (carbon monoxide poisoning), and we both were able to wake up instead of being overcome by the smoke. So many times you hear of people who have died in this kind of scenario. We are so blessed! Thank you, God! Wow!

This past Saturday, I did eight loads of laundry (furniture covers both up and down), and scrubbed down the entire basement. What a job. But, it still smells of wood smoke downstairs. I suppose it will take time to dissipate. At least I can't smell it upstairs anymore. Why are built-in smoke alarms never went off is a mystery to us. We went the next morning to the hardware store and purchased a smoke alarm for the upper hallway to the downstairs, and also a carbon monoxide detector, which hubby installed immediately in the basement. This all happened about a year ago too, and now hubby has fixed the damper handle so that it does not happen again! Yes!

This week was also a very disturbing week. I can't reveal details, but I truly believe a gal I know and her two children are in the gravest of danger from her soon-to-be-ex-husband. He is really nuts and is now stalking her. He has repeatedly told her she is going to die and I believe without a doubt he means it. Please pray for her and her children.

I have had the honor of being listed on several authors websites that I have made friends with at http://www.authornation.com/. I am really excited about this, and hope it will generate more sales for my books. I have also reciprocated and put them on this website as well. My computer guy is working on making a listing of: "Off-site links" for anyone interested in their books as well, so check it out as soon as it gets on here. One of the books, "Hold On Jessica, Don't Let Go" will be listed under "books to read" and is an excellent book about a two children living with an alcoholic parent. A very good book and I highly recommend it.

I'm considering doing another website at http://www.authorsden.com/ . An author friend of mine, Debbie Alferio, (a very good writer- "A Forever Kind of Love"), recommended it. Websites are very time consuming, but hey, I have to get the word out there about my books in order to sell them!

Gotta go for now. Until next time, stay safe, and warm, and be blessed this day. Life is a precious gift.
Becky :)

"Cassidy" A very special little girl. Monday, Jan. 14, 2008

“Cassidy - A very special little girl” - by Becky Conrad © 2007

This child of beauty, a beauty so rare.
This child of God, with special parents who deeply care.
Your parents were chosen in an unspoken pact,
to give you life regardless of strife.
A short time has passed in your very young life,
yet you have struggled and fought,
a determined little lass.
This journey you are on destiny knows no bounds.
When your eyes sparkle and your smile turns into a frown,
your parents are there to guide you,
encourage you and not let you down.
Your struggles and accomplishments,
they hold so very dear.
In a world full of wonder and also disdain,
your bright cheery smile and twinkling eyes,
gives them courage again and again.
Your purpose is beyond our comprehension,
with guidance and love from near and afar,
your Lord holds you close,
He is always near, never far.
Like the setting of the sun at the end of each day,
may you know in many hearts,
you are only a prayer away.
Your purpose has been given,
beyond our understanding,
the course of your life,
rests in His abundance, not withstanding.

I gave this poem to Cassidy's loving parents, December, 2006. Cassidy is a child born with Cerebral Palsy. She has a lot of seizures, and cannot feed herself, nor can she swallow food, but relies on a feeding tube. She cannot dress herself, stand, crawl, walk, or any physical function so many of us can do. She is a child with a radiant smile, beautiful blonde hair, and she does giggle when things make her happy. Cassidy is going to have her 5th birthday April 20th. She and her wonderful caring parents, (very dear friends of mine), are going to take her, February 20th, once again, as they have many times, to Case, and doctors from Rainbow Children's Hospital will there be too. She has been to Rainbow numerous times. The specialist are going to try and pursue more routes to improve her quality of life. Keep this happy little child, and their parents, in your thoughts and prayers. Be blessed today. Life is a gift.

Have a blessed day,
Becky :)

Sunday morning, January 6, 2008

Hi, Folks,
Well, it is going to be an interesting week. I went to bed last night feeling a little poorly. Woke up this morning with a little laryngitis. Bummer. I have a meeting tomorrow night for the CCAPL. I'm supposed to take scalloped potatoes because we are having a "pot luck" dinner before the meeting. I'll just have to wait and see how I feel. There is so much sickness going around it is unreal.

This week, on Thursday, I took my both of my elderly neighbors to Statcare in town. They were there for over four hours. (Not sure what the "Immediate Statcare" means at this point!). Anyway, I went and got a can of Lysol and sprayed my car with it, as both were coughing a lot and sniffling. Especially the man. I guess it didn't really do any good.

They did x-ray both of them to see if either one had pneumonia, cleaned out his ear, gave him a breathing treatment, which didn't do a whole lot of good because when we left to wait on the prescriptions, he was really wheezing, breathing hard, and still coughing a lot while sitting in the car.

Then on Friday I went into work to call girls for Monday's W.I.S.H. I should have taken the Lysol with me as my boss was sick too during the week and I had to use her office to do my calling. I did wipe the phone down with Purell and used my own pen. But, I forgot to wipe the doorknobs! After leaving, I stopped at the store and of course, used the shopping cart. That is the number 1 place germs are rampant! Even though I left my gloves on most of the time, I had to take them off at different times while I was shopping. Bummer. Do you think we should all just stay indoors for the remainder of the winter? (I wonder how many people would end of losing their minds?) Of course we know that isn't an option, but gosh, so many people are sick!

On a brighter note. I am having my website guy put some of my poems on my website. Plus, I have some "one-liners" I wrote too. Check them out and let me know what you think of them! Good or bad? My brother-in-law gave me a really neat book for Christmas. It deals with poetry and is very good. I have read some of it, and certainly plan on doing more as soon as possible.

I finished reading Ann Rule's "The Stranger Beside Me". What an incredible book. She is such a good writer and I visit her website often. I just started reading her new book, "Too Late To Say Goodbye" last night.

Okay folks. Gotta go and get some things prepared for the meeting tomorrow night, plus other stuff. Yesterday I worked on tax stuff for over eight hours. It's that time of year again!

I wish you a blessed week. Stay safe.
Becky :)

A brand new year!

Hi, everyone,
Well here we are starting a brand new year. Almost hard to believe it is 2008 already. I'm not quite sure where all of 2007 went, but it sure went fast for me. I have discovered the older I get the time goes more quickly. Hmm. Not sure why that is yet.

I have a lot of goals, short-term, and long-term set for myself this year. I want to have more book signings, give more away books to more domestic violence shelters, and try to have more speaking engagements on domestic violence and abuse, and also being an author. Plus, I would like to develop another website I was just told about, which is also "free." Although websites can be quite time-consuming, I believe they are worth it. The Internet has so many vast opportunities at our fingertips, literally, and if I can use it to reach more people and make them aware of the staggering statistics, ramifications, how to be a survivor, and the reality of it all, the more the better!

I would have blogged earlier this morning, but decided to do laundry, take down decorations, and put everything away. Even got the living room back to normal.

I talked with my sister this morning in Georgia, and they are doing fine. I called my brother but he must have gone somewhere for the day. Maybe I'll reach him later. He was up here for a Christmas visit, but we did not get together although we talked on the phone. Maybe when he gets back again from Florida. I have not seen him in over a year, although we talk on the phone periodically, he is very busy too.

The wind woke us up this morning! It is snowy, and blowing quite hard. The birds are even having trouble getting to the feeders! When hubby went out to feed the dogs, he discovered Clara's large, plastic dog dish has vanished to parts unknown. Hmm. It probably was like an airborn-saucer. Hubby went into the garage and got her a large, heavy ceramic bowl to use. If the wind blows that one away, well, it might mean our roof might go too! I certainly hope not! Speaking of the roof---I saw the contractor that is suppose to replace our roof yesterday. Because of the rain, and the thawing of the ground lately, he didn't want to do the roof until the ground is frozen as he believes the truck they use to haul all the debris away would sink into our yard. I can understand that. So, we just have to wait. As long as it isn't leaking, it's okay with us.

This Friday I have to go into work, call my W.I.S.H. girls for Monday, then I have a CCAPL Board of Directors meeting at 6:30 p.m. that night. Then on Monday, the 7th, is our first meeting for the new year that evening. We are hoping the weather holds out, because we have also scheduled a "pot luck" dinner before the meeting. I'm taking scalloped potatoes! Yum! Sure hope they turn out okay.

Hubby's brother and his two boys, plus Dad and his girl-friend, were here most of the day on Sunday. I cooked a ham and all the things to go with it. We had a good time, and the boys and I played a lot of pool downstairs. The youngest thinks I should turn pro! Ha!! He is cute and recently got glasses. They are very nice and he looks very handsome in them for being 9 years old. His brother is also a very smart fellow. He is very gifted and plays the piano and the violin.

They will be leaving at the end of the week to go back to Iowa (where the boys live), and brother-in-law lives and teaches college in Nebraska. They are coming for a visit later on in the week before they head back to their prospective homes.

I recently posted a poem on www.authornation.com . Hope you like it. Just a short one. It is called: "Time." Under "Members" type in survivor_beckyconrad and that will take you to my page.

I sure hope all of you have a grand, safe, healthy, and happy 2008. Keep in touch. I love hearing from you!

Best regards,
Becky :)