More Ohio Babies

Cop's baby

Is it wrong of me to expect the police to 'serve and protect?' This cop not only killed his pregnant girlfriend (which he said was accidental?) but instead of following police procedure, disposed of the body with the help of a high school friend.

So the guy was mean, dumb and shouldn't have been a cop, let alone a boyfriend or baby-daddy. This little family story disturbs me so much more. How in the hell do you kill your baby in the microwave. What circumstances lead up to that? Somebody put that baby in the microwave, closed the door and pushed the buttons. How, how, how could that even occur to someone??

Free Travel

This sounds interesting. I may have to follow the adventure.

It reminds me of the one red paperclip guy's brother who had an adventure. Check their accomplisment here: http://hitch50.com/

Resilience

Give yourself some positive self-talk by using these statements and tips from the Mayo Clinic:
Use the above link to read the entire article.

Characteristics of resilient people

Statement:

I'm able to adapt to change easily.

I feel in control of my life.

I tend to bounce back after a hardship or illness.

I have close, dependable relationships.

I remain optimistic and don't give up, even if things seem hopeless.

I can think clearly and logically under pressure.

I see the humor in situations, even under stress.

I am self-confident and feel strong as a person.

I believe things happen for a reason.

I can handle uncertainty or unpleasant feelings.

I know where to turn for help.

I like challenges and feel comfortable taking the lead.

Credits: Based on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Connor K.M., Davidson J.R. ©2003. Adapted by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Tips to improve your resilience

Use these tips to help become more resilient:

Get connected. Build strong, positive relationships with family and friends, who can listen to your concerns and offer support. Volunteer or get involved in your community. "A sense of connectedness can sustain you in dark times," Dr. Creagan notes.

Use humor and laughter.
Remaining positive or finding humor in distressing or stressful situations doesn't mean you're in denial. Humor is a helpful coping mechanism. If you simply can't find humor in your situation, turn to other sources for a laugh, such as a funny book or movie. (When my son went through a major depression in middle school, he really got a lot of relief from renting comedies, watching comedians and even read about becoming a comedian.)

Learn from your experiences. Recall how you've coped with hardships in the past, either in healthy or unhealthy ways. Build on what helped you through those rough times and don't repeat actions that didn't help.

Remain hopeful and optimistic. While you can't change events, look toward the future, even if it's just a glimmer of how things might improve. Find something in each day that signals a change for the better. Expect good results.

Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings, both physically and emotionally. This includes participating in activities and hobbies you enjoy, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, and eating well.

Accept and anticipate change. Be flexible. Try not to be so rigid that even minor changes upset you or that you become anxious in the face of uncertainty. Expecting changes to occur makes it easier to adapt to them, tolerate them and even welcome them.

Work toward goals. Do something every day that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Even small, everyday goals are important. Having goals helps direct you toward the future.

Take action. Don't just wish your problems would go away or try to ignore them. Instead, figure out what needs to be done, make a plan to do it, and then take action.

Learn new things about yourself. Review past experiences and think about how you've changed as a result. You may have gained a new appreciation for life. If you feel worse as a result of your experiences, think about what changes could help. Explore new interests, such as taking a cooking class or visiting a museum.

Think better of yourself. Be proud of yourself. Trust yourself to solve problems and make sound decisions. Nurture your self-confidence and self-esteem so that you feel strong, capable and self-reliant. This will give you a sense of control over events and situations in your life.

Maintain perspective. Don't compare your situation to that of somebody you think may be worse off. You'll probably feel guilty for being down about your own problems. Rather, look at your situation in the larger context of your own life, and of the world. Keep a long-term perspective and know that your situation can improve if you actively work at it.

The Forgetting, part duex

"Every morning is the same."

I tried to give her a synopsis of Groundhog Day and got a blank look. She didn't know who Bill Murray was.

"Nobody comes to see me."

My brother comes once a week, but she doesn't remember.

"My own sister won't come to see me."

"Mom, Aunt Linda has MS. She doesn't go anywhere. She's had it for a couple years."

"I never thought I'd end up in a nursing home. How long have I been here?"

"Over a year. You came here after your ankle surgery as a result from a fall and then had to come back for good because of your falling so you could be in a safe place."

"I hate it here."

We had parts of this conversation over and over and over. Time to gently exit.

"I'm glad I was able to come see you today. Usually I babysit my granddaughter."

"You have a granddaughter??"

"Mom, Katy got married and had a baby last year. Rob's son and his girlfriend did also and are expecting another baby soon. Don't you remember us coming at Christmas? Everyone brought their kids and babies?"

"I remember that day."

That day was very exciting for her, but we noticed that she didn't call any of us by name.

Help! I'm LOST!

Both my step-daughter and I were going to miss this week's episode of LOST. My cousin was in town and we were meeting him for dinner and she had a meeting. She said she almost rescheduled it. "I am going to have to tape Lost tomorrow night, because I have a meeting at work. I almost made them change it!"

I thought she meant the show - uh...she meant the meeting. Her reply:

And, yes, Lost is going to reschedule for me so I don't miss tonight's episode. LOL. That is funny. You make me laugh.

Oh, and have fun at dinner tonight. What time do you think you will be done? I will call Lost and make sure they don't air tonight's episode until you get home. I can identify with being scatterbrained! I laugh because I can relate!

Ah but in the end, all is not LOST because it's on TONIGHT! My step-daughter is incredible, don't you think?

Depression

Author Tim Ferris listed "three concepts that I and others have found useful for preventing the inevitable ups and downs from becoming self-destructive thinking and behavior:"

1. Depression is just one phase of a natural biorhythm and thus both transient and needed...
2. How you label determines how you feel.
3. Gratitude training can be used pre- or mid-depressive symptoms to moderate the extremes and speed the transition.

Since I have bipolar disorder IMHO he hit the nail on the head for people who are not mentally ill. Reading the plentiful comments, I ran across the Ten Greatest Lies About Bipolar Disorder on Bipolar Central:

Lie #1:
You can survive without medication.

Lie #2:
You can’t control bipolar disorder.

Lie #3:
You only need the right medication and a great psychiatrist to be stable.

Lie #4:
Bipolar disorder is not a real illness, and not that many people have it.

Lie #5:
All people who have bipolar disorder are violent.

Lie #6:
People who have bipolar disorder can’t hold down a job.

Lie #7:
There is a machine or software program to scan your body or brain and determine if you have bipolar disorder.

Lie #8:
Someone with bipolar disorder will never get better.

Lie #9:
All psychiatrists are the same and give the same quality of care.

Lie #10:
There are natural proven cures for bipolar disorder that big business is hiding.

A Poem

By a great teenager I know.

Rain

Tat-tat-tat
Dancing on the roof
Streaming down the pane
Pooling on the earth

Puddles turning to rivers
An unsteady beat
Plays an up roar crescendo
Fresh green and brown watercolors
Smudged to fill the yard

Left-right-left
The wiper blades whip
A curtain across the wind shield
Head lights cutting the pour

Drenched through your coat
Foot prints three inches deep
Mud caked between your toes
Splashing your reflection’s face

The engine groans
Sighing from the water’s rage
The paint streaking across the black surface
Like a soaked blood stained cloth

Your head lifts, your gaze shifts
It shines and glints from across the way
Your mind in trance
Your feet wander with your eyes

Your pace quickens
The stereo blares
Trickles from the tree branches
Turn to buckets, breaking twigs

I run to the door
The tail lights turn
Tire tracks branding the street
The rain thins

Tail between your legs
Breathe, hot against the scarlet stream
Your eyes wide and awed
Heart beating with the rain

Tat-tat-tat
Dancing on the roof
Streaming down the pane
Pooling on the earth

Ohio Baby News

The bad news and the good news.

The span between evil and goodness is long and narrow. Being truly heroic means doing the best thing at the right time. Heroism is tested under circumstances. A person is not a hero by just thinking so, but by doing acts. I don't know if I am a hero until I am presented with a situation that requires my heroism. The good at heart would most likely be heroes. Someone who puts others before themselves would be a hero. Following the Golden Rule is heroic.

Bad people require bad thoughts, bad intentions and know before a situation presents itself how they will react. An evil person has an evil act playing in their mind over and over and when presented with an opportunity, will strike. Instead of stopping for one minute and thinking to tell someone what's going on and ask for help -- they will tear apart an innocent person's life not even caring that they're also ruining their own life.

My Little Rae of Sunshine

Rae Loves Orange Soda

Katy with Rae:

The Metallica t-shirt wearing Xbox playin' baby!

And she can play ping-pong!

The Forgetting

Things I forgot to take on my trip to Europe:

My new pointy-toe high-heeled boots I brought to wear with a skirt out to dinner. I had to wear slacks with my scruffy shoes.

Bathing suit - meaning no swimming for me in the heated indoor/outdoor pool.

Books to be read: The new Preston/Child book and a fantasy Snow White novel.

Guide books that I had borrowed from the library for Paris and Luxembourg so that we bought one for Paris at a used bookstore in Paris, which was kinda cool.

The scarf that I bought on my LAST trip because EVERYONE wears scarves in Europe. Hubby took a blanket from the airplane and cut it in half so that we both had scarves. He can be handy that way

Nausea medicine which I didn't need, but you never know.

And after forgetting all that, I forgot to buy chocolate to bring home!

Other than that, the trip was awesome. Pictures to follow.

What is the meaning of this?

Warning: the links in this post may be rated R

The story behind my blog name: A wife of a friend of ours has a nickname that combines 'mother' with her last name like this: Mo(ther) + Ho(the rest of her last name) to equal MoHo.
So my nickname is MoCo - I usually use MoCove for my nickname online. So MoInk is a variation of that which means Mo(re)Ink. Well, my daughter looked up Moink in the urban dictionary. I like number 1 because it could possibly replace the f-word. That would make my blog traffic tremendous, wouldn't it! Also, number 3 is good because, well, I'm a bit crazy like mentally ill crazy. But I would also say the urban dictionary crazy.

Drop Kick Murphys

. . . are my new favorite punk band. They are punk meets folk, if you can believe it. They cover traditional folk! So imagine the simplicity, the purity of folk music. No drumming, just strumming. All acoustic. . . . the original unplugged versions of everything. Songs from the common folk of the world, for the common folk. Take this music and add it ALL - DRUMS, LOTS OF ELECTRIC GUITARS AND REALLY BIG REALLY LOUD SPEAKERS. Then for my favorite part - a guy who plays the bagpipes among lots of other traditional instruments. That's the Drop Kick Murphys. I love them!

Of course, I have to credit my son with turning me on to this band. He asked for their latest CD for Christmas and we've been listening to it in the car driving back and forth to school.

Thanks Chris!

January's Travel News

At the end of this month, hubby and I are going to Europe! One week of working for him in Luxembourg will be sandwiched in between weekends in Paris. This will be our third trip - hard to believe, I know! Paris is a very famous city in France, so I'll tell you a bit about Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe nestled between Belgium, France, and Germany. (Lichtenstein is the smallest country, or principality) This small country played a mighty role in WWII and has excellent monuments and museums. General George Patton's grave is in Luxembourg.




The country is ruled by a Grand Duchy. But the most excellent place in the country and the best kept secret is the Sporthotel Leweck.

Last time we stayed there, our suite had a view of the Bourscheid Castle.

Now, how very, very fortunate am I??

Post No. 1

. . . of the new year! For Christmas, loving hubby gave me my very own laptop! Now I have the best computer in the house. Of course, I aim to blog more often and improve my blogging skills. (not this very minute, though)

The holidays are over, the guests are gone, and there are still leftovers. We were busy here and a few of us passed around a crappy flu which I'm still trying to recover from. After we counted down to 2008 with Dick Clark, I had to go have a moment. Last year when I saw Dick Clark on TV, I was hopeful for my dad's recovery. This year was a reminder that dad is gone and I really miss him and think about him often.

Our granddaughters are wonderful, cute, funny, and we love them so much! Avah had her 1st birthday last week.

one red paperclip

Kyle Macdonald traded one red paperclip for something better and then traded that item, etc, etc until he had traded up to a house. His great story is in the new book One Red Paperclip which I read in three days. Kyle's story is inspiring and his writing is fresh and funny. Each chapter is about a trade - only 14 to get from paperclip to house! And then the great finale which I won't ruin for you, but let's say it's bigger and better than the house

There's Nothing Wrong with Napping

I KNEW it!! I take a long nap every day that I can.
I found this on Gizmundo where there's
Good News and Positive Stories ... Served Daily
and don't we all need more of that?

The Goonies

I love The Goonies. Also the Princess Bride - both have "Where are they now" articles on this link. Another Goonies movie would be great! These two have made it to my DVD collection which I am very particular about. It is a very small collection.

Suicide by Hillary

My mother-in-law on talk radio:

My doctor was in a rock band last week

Last Monday, my son and I went to the doctor with sinus infections. The doctor commented on my son's punk rock t-shirt saying, 'their drummer is sick.' Turns out he is a drummer. In a rock band. AND had CD's at the checkout desk and said we could have one. The group is called altered and CD title is Dreaming Awake. Of course, as soon as I listen to the CD (it's good) and check out their MySpace, I read this bulletin:

After almost four years and one amazing & crazy ride, ALTERED is
stepping away from the music scene.

Nice. I'm a few days late. But hey, they have free downloads so check it out!

Brought to your attention by Mocove

Two of my favorite blogs each had a great post. girlfriday refers to our fear of talking about sex in her post You Might Feel Dirty Reading this Post . And on BookLust for Silly Poetry Friday, there's this gem by Dorothy Parker:

General Review Of The Sex Situation

Woman wants monogamy;
Man delights in novelty.
Love is woman's moon and sun;
Man has other forms of fun.
Woman lives but in her lord;
Count to ten, and man is bored.
With this the gist and sum of it,
What earthly good can come of it?