Hey Y'all....sorry I haven't been around for a little while. I didn't mean to make anyone worry. Have been so busy fixing things around the house and cleaning up the garden that by the time I sit down at the computer I am too exhausted to type anything. Last weekend I had to rebuild my son's bedroom. He has a loft and there were a couple of the rafters that were sagging. So we had to tear the floor out (which meant emptying everything he owns out of his room) and then replacing the beams. It took us all week to get everything out of my livingroom and diningroom. Along with that we have had a lot of weeding to do in the garden. I also have my first highschool graduate in the house this past week. One down, two to go. Have been trying to figure out the adhesive thing too....still having things fall apart on me. I did start a new project last week and hopefully will have pics to post soon. It is my own twist on something that someone posted a while back and I wanted to try. I hope you all will forgive me for not being around much lately.

Yes, she was found, thank God. Here is an article about how she was found. She was pulled over for a speeding ticket in San Angelo and when the police ran the plates, they found out the car was stolen and she was a runaway. Hopefully, the parents will drop the stolen vehicle charges, but I'm sure she will have to pay that speeding ticket. At least she is safe. Here is a link that might be useful: Article - Meg Cherry Found

To set the record straight on e-cards and viruses - established companies like Blue Mountain do not send emails out that have viruses in them. I don't know about other companies, but there are quite a few out there. Blue Mountain did have a problem but it was over five years ago. Most viruses are sent through "phishing" - that is, the email SAYS it is from Blue Mountain or your bank, or Amazon, or some other trusted entity, when actually it is NOT sent from there. How to tell if you're being "phished"? Well, at the very bottom of a standard browser there is a title bar. When you put your mouse cursor over a link, the address that the link is going to appears in that bar. If it doesn't say amazon.com or bankofamerica.com or what-have you, it is not coming from that site. To try to fool you it may say amazon.something.com. That's not amazon.com. But something.amazon.com IS amazon.com. There HAVE been instances of phishers who have been able to show a fake address in that browser bar. But they were able to do this only on Internet Explorer browser as far as I know, and IE may have solved this issue, so make sure, if you MUST use IE, or any other Microsoft product, to keep it upgraded and up to date. And practice safe web surfing - when you search for something, don't go to just any site that pops up in the search results. Look at the description and check the address in that address bar before you click.

This is a very old thread (more than a decade!), but I have read every comment because I was just invited to a gift card shower and am very turned off. Unfortunately, it is my brother’s fiance’s shower, so I cannot just send my regrets as I would in another case. (My mother is also mortified and when she heard it would be this type, she shortened her list of close friends to invite.) i have a few thoughts: I have come to question the ritual of showers now in many circumstances. The history of bridal showers comes from a couple of centuries ago when townspeople would send off young brides with small things to start their households. It has evolved into more formal parties over the years and it seems the expectation of how much should be given has increased significantly from even 20 years ago. The purpose of a shower is to help a couple start their home. Now that the majority of couples are getting married when they have already established themselves, are combining households, or are getting married for the second time, they often don’t need many household items. I need to preface the rest of my post and say I actually love attending showers. I love an intimate shower and take great care and thought in showering a bride. My husband and I have three children and do not have a lot of extra money, but I take great pride in still doing my best to choose a meaningful gift (typically off of a registry, but choose one of the items that is something I also love or reminds me of our relationship), wrap it beautifully, and come genuinely happy for the bride and ready to celebrate. I struggle with “trends” like an unwrapping assembly line, where the shower is so large that a bridesmaid unwraps the gift I wrapped with special paper and ribbon and pass it to the bride to make it faster, instead of her seeing the special touches I made because I love her. I struggle with a gift card shower where I feel like my budget is on display. Even if the bride isn’t announcing dollar amounts, I’m sure the friend taking notes for her thank you cards is, and I feel like I have to come up with more. I am happy to give a gift small in physical size or send the gift to the bride and wrap a printed photo of it so she can be surprised and announce to other interested guests. If someone is invited to a shower, they should be close enough to the guest of honor to know if they are traveling or moving, and most guests will take that into consideration without being told. i am happy to spend my money and take the time to shower someone I love or the spouse to be of someone I love, but no one likes to feel like they are being used for a gift and most people don’t have lots of extra money sitting around. Please also take intonconsideration that I will also be giving you cash for your wedding, potentially traveling to get there any staying in a hotel, paying for a babysitter, maybe new clothes, possibly going to/paying for a Bachelorette Party. If you don’t need anything, please don’t ask for my cash just because you think you should have a shower. i am editing to add: If you had a gift card shower and think your guests loved it or thought it was fine because they didn’t say anything to you, it’s because they won’t. Graceful guests do understand that the party is about the bride and would not want to burden her with stress as she is planning her wedding.