Tulip's Tantrums

So, if you have actually made it past Sasha's big eyes and body, you can see that I changed my header picture; not quite what I expected! LOL I'm going to leave it up for a day or two, for pug lovers all over. :-) Toodles!

Do you ever feel like you're not quite there, wherever there may be? Perhaps everything in your life is going pretty well - the family is happy and healthy, the bills are getting paid, work is tolerable if not sometimes enjoyable - but it just feels like you're going through the motions? It's like being on the outside looking. Seeing things happen through a mask. Surreal. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say is making sense, but maybe you've felt this way too. In snooping around facebook , I found more family and friends. It's great how everyone's getting onto there, although I'm sure identity theft experts don't think it's a good idea for all of us to be posting our information for the world to see. While I can thankfully only imagine how horrible it must be to have that happen to you, on the lighter side - if someone really wants to be me, more freakin ' power to 'em! So long as they take absolutely everything that goes wit

Congratulations to Drey on his early graduation and 18th birthday present:

Now I'm an active participant in my life. You only get to be a mother once, why do it depressed? Oprah today is about depression (apparently sponsored by Cymbalta) and the above quotes are from the show. Three celebrities talk about how depression has affected them and their families. In searching for information, I find I've used up my computer time. Toodles for now...

Opa and Darrin! We had a fantastic open house for Opa's 75th. Thank you so much to everyone who came, and for all the help we received. Toodles!

I've been hearing that for years now, however it's gone from nickels, dimes and quarters to bills. :-) Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining - it's a part of life I'm thankful to have, one that many parents no longer have. Snippets: No Maddie news. Some people continue to be miserable, regardless of the passage of time and blatant attempts to get them out of their funk. Gearing up for Grad '07 both here and down south. Irish's are couch potatoes. So are pugs and dorkies. And cats. And teenagers. And dadumses. The dogs love stuffed Rollover bones , but they really hurt when dropped on a foot. I've really got to go and pack, or tomorrow's going to be here and I won't be ready. :-) I hope you have an incredible long weekend! Stay safe and have fun. Toodles!

Still no little Madeleine McCann . There are a couple of new articles, but not a lot. It was confirmed yesterday British police have compiled a detailed photofit of a suspect seen near the McCanns’ apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, the day Madeleine was abducted. The man, wearing light trousers and a blue top, had a partly shaven head and was spotted a few hours before Madeleine disappeared. Some sites: http://www.ceop.gov.uk http://www.findmadeleine.com http://www.findmaddie.com http://madeleinemccann.blogspot.com/ Dary got the gold car tuned up today, picked up Dre's suit and went to an interview. We still have to buy the tickets to the grad and I have to find a dress (joy, joy - wonder if Ed's Tent and Awning is still open?) - I have to pack for this weekend, get a trim on my hair, get the boys' hair cut, maybe get Kier's hair cut - that's a lot of hair! Anyway, this has taken me absolutely forever to finish and Dadums and Drey are home. Toodles!

The publication ban on the step-father's name, in the case of that allegedly, horrifically abused little 4-year-old girl, has been lifted. Darcy Don Bannert . T

Mother of the Year!!! In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth. The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into adepression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve. After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce tothe mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something tha thad never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only "orphans"that could be found quickly, were a litter of we

Madeleine should be celebrating her fourth birthday . Instead, she is missing and has been since May 3rd. Inevitably, hopes are fading for Madeleine's safety. While the remote possibility remains that she wandered away from the apartment, the most likely scenario is that a pedophile snatched her after watching the family, and could easily have taken her out of the country, slipping over the open border to Spain. Another possibility is that Madeleine may be a victim of child traffickers. One suggestion was that she was snatched to be sold to a childless couple. As police admitted yesterday they were no longer confident she was still alive, the McCanns asked for a time of private prayer in the local church. If the only choice is being with a pedophile or dead, then I hope Madeleine has breathed her last breath so she will not have to suffer any abuse. My heart goes out the McCann family in this horrible time. T

Chapstick or Lypsyl - or even maybe Labello ! When the heck did the word change to lipchap ? Who went around to all the schools and told the kids that lipchap (sounds like something the cat brings up in the middle of the night, doesn't it?) was the name for the wax you put on your lips? I think I've found the culprit <----- click here (for those of you who are new to the net and don't know that the underlined or different coloured words are links) . Anyhoo, had to run to the Park to pick up Dre's suit from the cleaner's and then get him fitted in it. Tried to hurry back for Miss Muffin's mother's day concert, but didn't make it in time. :0( Braunt has spring camp registration tonight, Kier's got homework and Dadum's and Dre are over at the school helping with equipment and stuff. I've got to run out to pick up a few things, and then it will be time for bed! I really need to get a good night's sleep - a couple of late nights

Drey needs some pictures for his grad - a couple baby pics and then some with his friends. We went for a walk today and as we walked past the junior high, I vividly recalled his grade nine grad and asked Drey about it. I said I can't believe how quickly the past three years has gone. Actually, how quickly the past 18 years have gone! I've had that tantrum before, so ... onward and upward! Drey's also excited about going with his friend J (not sure if she wants her name published) to her grad, back in Hanna! He has been chatting with old friends down there and I'm sure he'll have a great time! Drey and I took his suit back to the store to get altered. When we bought it, he needed the seat and the waist let out, and it was still a little tight. Now, he's lost 30 pounds and muscled up and the suit is big in all the wrong places. It's being cleaned first and they have said it will be completed by Thursday for sure - so we can grab it when we head thr

I am really impressed with Andrew Hanon's editorial in the Sun today. I hope we never have to hear about another Virginia Tech or Montreal's École Polytechnique , and thankfully I have not experienced a workplace poisoned to the point of violence. "Too often, managers and co-workers accommodate bad behaviour, excusing explosive tempers, rudeness or other disruptive behaviour with a dismissive "that's just his way" instead of seeing them as a sign of much worse things to come." "...in an economy like ours, where employees can leave for greener pastures at the drop of a hat, it's critical for companies to maintain safe, harassment-free environments. Putting bullies, gossips and other jackasses in their place is good for the bottom line; everyone will be more productive and the star employees are far less likely to look for another job. It might even save some lives." Managers and co-workers accommodating bad behaviour; that is something I

Do you ever wonder how miserable people make it through life? How constantly having a negative attitude and glass half empty frame of mind affects you, your family, friends and co-workers? When depressed, I really struggle with negativity. In fact, I would have to say I used to be and sometimes still am a miserable person to be around. I like to think that I can recognize that in myself, but I don't think I always want to recognize it either - and just want to vent and bitch and whatever. Here is an interesting tidbit from an ‘About’ article I read: http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-1-74-112-2117-1,00.html The Seven Deadly Habits of Truly Miserable People Unless you have a couple of crossed wires or a genetic glitch in your brain cells, most of the emotional turmoil you experience is directly traceable to the fact that you've learned to try to control those around you through these seven deadly habits, says psychiatrist William Glasser, MD. What are the seven deadli