Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all my friends a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Unexpected blessing....

I think I made it pretty clear here how I felt when our son came to stay with us a couple of weeks ago. We have been busy, busy, busy since then and it has been great. Our son has been so industrious and it kinda rubbed off on me. LOL!

I have been crazy busy at work, so have been working through lunch every day and until 5:30 in the afternoon. My normal hours are 8 - 5 with and hour lunch. I DO get paid for OT, so the larger checks are kinda nice, but they are not large enough to make me want to do this forever.

Without writing a novel, here is what has been done in the last 2 weeks:

• Hubby took Son to the VA to find out what needed to be done to get his benefits.
• Hubby hurt his ankle while doing it.
• Son went to a veteran's job fair and handed out 20 resumes and picked up a lot of information
• Son applied on-line to a LOT of job offers.
• I took a day off and went with Son to finish signing up at the VA Hospital for bennies.
• We went to the local community college and Son talked to the VA rep
• I went with Son to look at apartments in the area. I made sure to shame anyone that didn't give a discount to veterans. LOL!
• Son had job interview with Starbucks for a shift manager position
• Son had interview with a company for a route salesman position.
• Son interviewed with HR, hiring manager, branch manager and regional manager. 
• Son went on ride along to see how he would like the job.
• Son has been following up with unemployment office who still hasn't been able to get his UI bennies straight.
• Son registered with the school, though not for classes and is scheduled to attend orientation to see what he would like to take
• Son has second interview with Starbucks and was offered job.
• Son considering lower paid Starbucks job and attending college full time. Yesterday, Son gets voicemail that second company is interested in him for 2 positions; the one he applied for and one as the Facility Health and Safety Coordinator for REALLY GOOD SALARY. He was so excited and is weighing all options.

As you see, Son has not been lazing around doing nothing. Oh, and there is other stuff he has been doing. I just hit the high points.

The unexpected blessing is that Hubby and I have gotten to spend SO much time with Son. It has been such a pleasure and such a blessing to spend time with the young man the Army sent back to us. He was always a joy, but now he is a man and a wonderful man at that. My heart just bursts with joy pretty much all day long. 

Yes, I am a sap.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Safe Holiday Shopping.

I receive messages from the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas and though I would share this one:

In an effort to reduce your chances of being victimized by these “grinches”, the HCSO’s Auto Theft Unit recommends you take the following precautions:

 Do not carry large sums of cash, or a purse or wallet that can easily be grabbed. Large wallets that protrude out of the back pocket and handbags that cannot be secured are prime targets while you are shopping or walking to and from your vehicle. Make sure that all valuables have been removed from your vehicle before leaving home.

 Be mindful of your parking spot and park as close as possible to the doors. It is much safer to shop in the day time hours but if you cannot avoid being out at night, make sure you park in a well-lit, high-traffic area.

 LOCK your car and TAKE your keys. The failure to do these two things just enhanced your chances of becoming a victim.

 Walk in and out of the shopping center with other shoppers, and if you feel vulnerable at all, wait until someone is walking in or have a security guard escort you.

 Do not take packages to your car and then return to shopping. Thieves watch the parking lot for this type of activity and target vehicles with valuables inside. Packages should be secured in the vehicle trunk only before leaving to go home or to another shopping center. You do not want to arrive at another shopping center and be seen hiding and arranging your packages.

 When at a fueling station, do not leave your vehicle unlocked, not even while pumping gas. Thieves can gain access to a vehicle and snatch valuables inside in a matter of seconds. Children should NEVER be left unattended.

 When banking, make sure that you are aware of your surroundings when returning to the parking lot and watch to make sure you are not being followed. Thieves have followed banking patrons to their next destination which has resulted in both robberies of the person and burglaries of the vehicles.

 At home, park your vehicle in your garage. This significantly protects your vehicle from thieves. It only takes a few minutes for a criminal to break into your vehicle and take valuables and/or equipment. Never leave your garage door opener inside your vehicle. By doing so, you give criminals access to your home.

By taking these precautions, you are significantly reducing these crimes of opportunity.

Now, go out and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Way to honor a veteran, Bio Mom.

You will not BELIEVE the newest example of what a crappy parent my kids’ mother is. Our son has been out of the Army since October 1. We have not seen much of him and didn’t push it, thinking he would let us know if he needed anything. We did know that he stayed with his sister for a while and that did not work as, according to her, he was coming in late at night and waking her up. And now that she is a full time working stiff like the rest of us, that did not fly with her. So he moved out. His side of the story is a bit different, but that is water under the bridge.

A couple of weeks ago, we found out he was staying in a hotel. He said he was looking for a job and wanted to wait until he found one to decide where to live. Then he would find an apartment close to work. That made sense to me.

On Monday, I received a message from my children's other mother through Facebook asking if Son can stay with us a few days? What?!! We told had told both of our girls to let him know he could stay with us any time he needed to and when we saw him Nov 3 (we had a get together to celebrate a few birthdays), we told him the same thing.

So, I replied to Son's mom and told her all that and questioned why he was having HER contact me. She replied that she was just doing it on her own. That they were waiting for a call from the VA liaison. And he needed a place to stay for a few days. I reiterated to her that all he had to do was call.

So, Son called Bob and came over Tuesday. And we found out that the call his mom made was to the HOMELESS VETERAN’S COALITION. WHAT THE HELL!. He is not homeless. Son is supposed to receive a call within 48 hours, so we are going to wait and see what he is told. But what kind of mother, who lives in a big house, (She moved back in with her ex-husband and they have 4 or 5 bedrooms.) would send their child to a homeless shelter. OMG! I am just dumbfounded! Can you tell?? I know that her ex and none of our kids got along, but you would think SHE would stand up for her child and let him stay there in one of their 3 or 4 extra bedrooms for a few days until he got something figured out. But I guess that would not be convenient for her.

Please don't think that I have anything against the Veteran's Homeless Coalition, but I think its purpose it to help homeless veterans. Not recently separated veterans that have plenty of family who should be willing to lend a helping hand. For a bit.

Anyway, he is at our place right now. Hubby said he cannot stay indefinitely but we will work to help Son get on his feet. I say, he served our country and we will not let him be homeless. I felt so bad for Son last night. I don’t know what his dumb ass mom has said to him but he kept saying he didn’t “want to be a burden.” I told him he was NOT a burden. And he said he didn’t want to disappoint us. I let him know that could not happen. It was like he was broken. It broke my heart.

Since pretty soon after returning from Afghanistan  he was having some stress issues and was talking to a health care provider on base. I think he might need meds adjusted, so found the site for him to apply for his medical benefits since he has not done that yet. Hubby agrees that he thinks that might be something that needs to be done, so he went with Son to the VA Hospital Wednesday to sign up in person and see if he can see someone pretty quickly. They only got part of the sign up stuff done as they got a late start in the day. They were going to go back on Friday, but Hubby hurt his leg, so I said I would take the day off and go with Son if he wanted me to.

Thursday, Son spent the day at a veterans job fair. He was stoked when he came back.  Oh, and we have had many conversations over the last week and you know what? He does not seem broken anymore. He is positive and excited and looking or work with a vengeance. After the job fair, he spent hours submitting applications on-line.

Friday morning he got calls for 2 job interviews for next week, we went to the VA and he finished getting signed up for his benefits. We went to the local jr college so he could get information. Then we came home for a while and he got on the computer and submitted more applications. Then, we went out apartment hunting. LOL! We were busy all day and it was well worth it.

Today he went to breakfast with his mom and one of his sisters, but before they could start eating, his mom got mad at him...he is not sure why....and LEFT! Yes, he and his sister drove across town and she left. So Son and his sis went to eat. Son says that his sister said that HE didn't do or say anything that should have pissed off their mom. He was understandably upset and I let him vent when he got home.

But he went and looked at apartments on the way home and he has been on-line applying for jobs for a few hours. He it being totally productive and a perfect houseguest. He even took out the trash on his way out today without us even thinking to mention it. LOL!

He will be fine, and he will never be homeless. He is my hero

and we will happily help him. I can do no less.

Day 3 of my 4 day weekend.

I am sitting in an exam room at my doctor's office. Never fear...I am not here for anything serious. Just a sinus infection and refill scripts for maintenance drugs. I am heading to the lab to get blood drawn after this. Then I am getting some donuts for breakfast. Yum!