Saturday, September 29, 2012

Raising A Child - Does It Take A Village or A Family?

 For many years our government has been stepping into families' lives and making decisions regarding what are called issues in the children's best interests.  After these many years of the "It Takes A Village" attitude of  government and community officials, what does the results of their involvement with the youth of this nation show us?   Raising a child, - does it take a village or a family?   Has the village approach helped our society raise a responsible, law-abiding, socially-conscious, educated generation?  Or has it brought forth a generation of self-absorbed, rebellious, unemployable, social outcasts who become involved in gang activities, school shootings and/or drugs and whom all have the attitude that the world owes them?!

Some have dared to fight the government and the legal system to try to maintain family relationships, to provide good homes for family members, to foster an appreciation and sense of belonging in a child, to boost the self-esteem not shred it into bits and pieces, only to have a judge say "No, you are not allowed to be involved, the child must endure what we say is best and not what the parent or grandparent believes is in their best interest."  The village takes over.

First there are the court hearings, the court orders, the changes in life style that a judge deems necessary, the constant investigating/reporting/visiting of Child Protection Services,  social worker visits,  parenting classes teaching one how the government believes they should parent and then comes the counseling for the child.  The schools pitch in with special education teachers, counselors and therapists for the emotionally handicapped child who has problems adjusting to all the new people in their life interfering with the normal parent/child relationship or family relationships they were used to and which are necessary for developing a sense of belonging, family-pride and self-esteem.

Granted, there are some people who have no business trying to raise a child!  It is those people who have made it increasingly difficult for other families to raise their children without government interference and/or constant monitoring.  Somewhere there needs to be a middle ground where the judicial system acts upon what is actually in a child's best interest rather than taking the attitude that it is always in the child's best interests for them to be under a court's authority - raised by courts, case workers, counselors, therapists and other village professionals.

A friend of mine is going through a situation right now which is a great demonstration of what I am trying to say.  My friend's daughter had a great government job with good insurance, a nice house, was living in Mississippi close to her parents who helped her with her two small children and was doing good being a responsible, loving parent.  Her ex, who lived in NY, went to court there even though it was not the state where his children lived, and managed to get it declared the state of residency for the little girl but not for his little boy (that didn't make sense to start with).  He then got a court order for his ex to have to bring the little girl to NY for him to visit.  Once there, an order was issued that the little girl had to stay in NY and could not return to her home in Mississippi.  The State of New York took over this little girl's life totally.  She now suddenly no longer has her home, her family, her friends or her sense of belonging and self-worth.  She is being placed into verbally psychologically and emotionally abusive situations and needs help out of this situation of having a village (the State of New York) raise her rather than her family in Mississippi!  The little girl's mother has had to quit her job, lose her insurance, give up her house and move to NY.  She now has 2 part-time minimum wage jobs with no insurance and an over-priced little apartment to live in and no family to help them as her family members live in Mississippi!

There is a petition on Causes.com which I urge all readers to sign!  It is time that we started telling government officials and judicial officials that we need to be able to raise our families and care for them and take care of them without their interference!  If a child is being hurt, abused, etc., then by all means the legal system should remedy that situation.  Not place them in a situation like that just because they have the power to do so!!!  Please sign this petition, hopefully it will help this particular case.  Each and every case is different and has to be handled one case at a time. 

Bring Trish and Baby Home Petition

Have a great day, hope that these issues never touch your homes and families because if they do, the tremendous heartache and worry that comes with them are excruciating, just as the emotional and mental damages that are done to the children who have to endure these things.  Help us protect our children from all dangers, including our own government and laws when need be!


Just Me Granny D

Friday, September 28, 2012

Mountain Lions at the Pond

Since moving out here on the side of a cliff, in the woods of Greene County, I have written a few posts concerning the wild life that surrounds me and visits my back yard and pond.  Coyotes are often around, deer are here daily, rabbits, racoons, opossums, squirrels, blue heron, wild mallards, turkey, hawks, snakes, and various other birds and animals make their appearances.  However, I was unprepared for what came for a visit a week or so ago.

While washing dishes I happened to look out the window which is over my kitchen sink.  This particular window looks into my back yard and has a great view of the pond and the path around the bank of it.  The cattails have been beautiful this year and plentiful on one side of the pond, next to the woods.  It is here that the deer came to drink and eat the pond lilies and the roots and stalks of the cattails all summer. When I first looked out, I thought a young fawn must be in the cattails.  But as I watched I soon saw it was not a deer.  At about the same time I was realizing I was not watching a deer, my hound dog started throwing a fit in the living room at that window.

I hurried and got my dog and locked him up in the bedroom and ran back to the living room window where I could see better.  As I stood there watching, a full grown and healthy looking mountain lion came on up out of the cattails and brought the path on up into my back yard.  She was beautiful.  She made the lions I saw at the zoo look malnourished.  She has definitely been eating well this summer!  Her coloring was magnificent and shining golden brown, while her face had black markings in it.  I will never forget her face as she stood and looked back at me as I was watching her.

I called Department of Natural Resources who referred me to the Forestry Service who then wanted to refer me to a biologist in the vicinity.  As I was speaking to the Forestry Service and watching the lion walk around my back yard smelling around and checking things out, I was further surprised to see another one emerge from the cattails at the pond.  I told Forestry there was a second one in my yard.  But still more shocking was the fact that the second one looked like it was probably about 4-6 months old and still had white spots on its face.  When it emerged from the cattails, the mother then turned and went back to the pond and to her cub.  They continued to hang out there in the back yard at the pond with the cub playing in the cattails for about another half hour or so. 

I told Forestry I was hanging up and going to slip outside to try to take some photos.  They said be careful, to remember that they are protected in the State of Indiana and that if I got any good photos to be sure and send copies to them.  I also was directed to a DNR Department of Natural Resources web page with information on the Indiana Mountain Lions.  I then did slip out my back door, spoke softly to the Mama that was watching me, walked about 1/2 way down my back yard to the pond and took a couple of long distance photos with my cell phone.  I have to get the photos off my phone now so that I can send them and post them for everyone to see.

Regardless of how magnificently beautiful these creatures are, I am not sure I want to share my back yard and pond with mountain lions.  Especially at night in the dark or on dreary foggy dark rainy mornings and my dogs want to go for a walk.  I already was weary enough of the coyotes that are all around.  Mountain Lions in the fog and mist watching me from the edge of the pond and the woods, looking to train their young to hunt, and me out walking my dogs -

Just Me Granny D

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Couponing for Free Groceries

Couponing for free groceries is simple, easy and doesn't take much time for anyone to do that wants to save money and perhaps eat good for free.  It has been demonstrated on TV by many on how to use coupons, how to use multiple coupons on products called stacking and various tips for couponers have been discussed and taught by many recently.  Shows such as "The Extreme Couponer" and "Couponing 101" have found success through teaching the basics to the world.

We all know that coupons regularly are included in our Sunday newspapers as well as whichever day the grocery store ads come out each week.  These inserts and store ads with coupons in them are great and convenient for everyone to clip and use.  The problem with this is that the stores know in advance which coupons are being printed and released to the general public in the newspapers.  It is to their advantage to keep those items at regular price or even to raise the price by a few cents when the ads and coupons first are released.  That is when most people try using their coupons, as soon as they get them.  WRONG!!

I can't say it enough.  Do not use your coupons the first week they come out in the paper, the stores are expecting you to and are doing their part to make sure that they still come out ahead instead of you.  Save those coupons for a few weeks.  Most coupons are good for at least a month if not 6 months or a year.  If you hold onto those coupons and use them when the store is actually having the product on sale, you will maximize your savings.  If your store has a double or triple coupon day, use them then to really maximize the benefits.

Besides newspaper sales inserts, grocery ads and Sunday inserts, there are several other great places to get some high savings coupons which will really help cut the grocery bill or get your groceries for free.  The internet has become a great source for this.  Many sites online provide coupons to print out at home, while others offer ones which can be loaded directly onto your shopper's rewards cards for various stores.  I personally shop at Kroger most of the time and load these savings onto my card weekly.  That way, even if my husband is who goes to the store, the coupons are available for his use on our store card.  (Most men don't want to take coupons with them, but like the savings - loading reward cards is a great way for them to have the coupons with them and not have to be carrying them along!) 


Besides the sites like Cellfire.com, Coupons.com, etc., there are also sites which offer opportunities to try products for free in exchange for writing a review of the product or for sharing coupons for the product with others.  There are many great sites which do this.  But mostly, the actual brand manufacturer's often offer coupons on their web sites for their brands.  Many will mail booklets of their brand's products coupons to you or will allow you to print them at home for use.  Proctor and Gamble is a great site for this.  I sign up every couple of months with their website and they mail me a booklet of current coupons for their various products.

Trying products out in exchange for writing a review is a great way to score big in the grocery store.  I recently agreed to host a party of my peers for product sampling and to distribute coupons to everyone at the party for a company wanting people to try their new organic, all natural meat line.


As you can see from the receipt above, I went to the store and purchased over $38 in meat and a bottle of ranch dressing for dip for chicken nuggets and it cost me $0.00 - that is ZERO my friends.  This is just an example of what one can do if they want to.

Kroger sends me coupons in the mail each month.  They are ones that are picked for me according to the merchandise I normally purchase in their stores.  At first I wasn't sure if I liked that my shopper's reward card allowed them to monitor my purchases in this manner.  However, after over a year of their mailing me coupon packets monthly, I find I have saved enough money that I know I don't care if they monitor what I buy as long as it helps to save me money in their store, at their pharmacy, at the gas pump or any other way!

I often will log on and go to manufacturer's websites before going to the store to see if they have a coupon available for something I intend to purchase.  Coffee, dog food, laundry detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, cat food, cleaning supplies, etc., are all products that most manufacturers do keep coupons online for their consumers to benefit from.  Food items vary all the time according to what new flavors, products, line of product, or whatever is new and being promoted at the time.  Some food items have coupons available for them ALL the Time!  For instance, Yoplait yogurt most always has coupons available, Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets are two more products that are usually always available.  You just have to take the few minutes to check, clip-print-or load, and save money.

 
Eat for free this week!  Check those ads against your grocery list and search out those coupon savings that are available for use.  You could be very pleasantly surprised!  After a year of paying attention, clipping and printing and uploading, see how much money you have saved.  A friend of mine recently took a vacation for a week on what she had saved from couponing in the past year.  Maybe you can finance that trip, that new laptop or phone, or a trip to the movies by just watching what you spend where and how much of what you spend is from using coupons or using actual money.

Good luck and enjoy!

Just Me Granny D

Friday, August 10, 2012

Couponing

 I grew up couponing and saving stamps.  My Mom saved the yellow Top Value stamps from Kroger.  I saved the S&H green stamps from other places.  Every year at Christmas, my two brothers and I were given the Top Value stamp catalog to pick out the things we would like to get for presents.  We each usually could spend one book of stamps each. That was back in the late 50's and the 60's.

Today, the economy has taken a backwards turn and once more people are saving stamps, joining store reward programs, looking for rebates and sales, and clipping coupons.  I had never stopped!  As far as I am concerned, I was raised to know the value of those coupons and stamps.  They meant the difference in what we could afford to eat, where and what we could do, and whether there were presents for Birthdays and Christmas.  Our entire lifestyle was dependent upon my Mother's wages and stretching those meager wages with stamps, sales, rebates and coupons!!!

I raised my family the exact same way.  I clipped coupons, saved UPC codes, collected boxtops, mailed in rebates, shopped night owl special sales and did anything possible to stretch my actual wage dollars.  By doing so, we ate better, enjoyed more activities, dressed better and were able to have a better life than if I had just depended upon my income from working.

It is not difficult or time consuming nowadays to take advantage of couponing.  With the advent of the internet, there are now coupon sites online where one can print the coupons they want each month, or other sites where you can download your coupon to your reward card for a specific store in order to use it with your card at the store automatically.  No more forgetting to take your coupons with you, they are automatically on your keychain reward card!!!

For further savings, many stores offer double and/or triple coupon days.  Find out if your store does this and what their schedule is for doing so.  Some stores have a double/triple coupon weekend once a month.  This is the perfect time to take advantage of using some of those smaller value coupons, such as the ones for 25 cents off or 40 cents off.  Most stores double or triple coupons whose original value is 50 cents or less.  That makes those smaller cent coupons become large savings on products and on some will make the item actually free.  A point to remember is that stores usually only double or triple manufacturer's coupons not their own store coupons.

Store reward cards are a great way to save.  Yes, the store is collecting information concerning your personal buying habits with these cards, however, through the use of that information they are able to offer you special savings and coupons tailored to meet your buying preferences and habits.  I receive a coupon pack in the mail monthly from Kroger with coupons specific to items I normally buy there.  This is their way of showing customer appreciation and a great way for me to save more money.  Other store reward cards I have offer cash back on purchases, coupons which can be downloaded to the card, gas discounts and a wide variety of ways for me to make my money stretch so that I can now spoil my many grandchildren!!!

A friend of mine has for the past couple of years tried using couponing to fund her vacations.  It has worked great for her and she has enjoyed a couple of great vacations!!  She started taking the amount she saves on her grocery bill with coupons and depositing that amount in a savings account each week.  She can afford to do that - some of us can't, but it's a good idea for those that can.  She then uses the amount she has saved each year for her vacation fund.  She went on a Disney Cruise Vacation this year!!!!

Couponing is a practice that I highly recommend to all.  It can stretch dollars, allow one to afford a better healthier diet, and enhance one's lifestyle.  For the few minutes each week that it takes to look through the coupons offered by your stores and online couponing sites, the difference it can make is amazing.  Try it - I guarantee you will find that regularly using coupons, rebates, mail-in offers, reward cards, etc., will make a difference for you in today's economically challenged world.

Just Me Granny D

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Grandparents' Rights and Court

As a Grandmother who loves her grandchildren very much and enjoys spending time with them, I find that I have no rights to do that without a Judge in a courtroom telling me if I can or not, when I can, where I can and for how long at a time.  Just being a paternal or maternal grandparent by blood does not mean anyone in the United States has an inherent right to be a part of their grandchild's life!

Grandparents' Rights and court seem to go hand in hand in our present day society.  Whereas in the past, grandparents were not only allowed but expected to step in and help with grandchildren, nowadays, thousands and thousands of grandparents in the US are finding that their rights and help comes after the village.

"It takes a village to raise a child" became a popular slogan back in the 1990's.  Hillary Clinton coined the phrase after she helped to get guidelines in place for parental rights, grandparents rights, foster care and adoption guidelines, etc.  By the time all the new guidelines and laws were in place, she was right - It takes a village to raise a child these days, because family is discounted and often prevented from helping to care for and raise the children within their family.

More often than not, family members are restricted in their involvement with grandchildren or nieces and nephews due to the actions of one or both of the child's parents.  As a mode of recompense, there are a few laws available to address this matter.  Depending upon the state a child resides in and their specific laws, various defining factors must exist in order to file a petition for a judge to hear the evidence and possibly issue an order for the family to visit or a grandparent to have contact with many children.  Sometimes this is because of a criminal act and sometimes it is because one parent or the other simply objects to sharing the child with the other parent's family.

Trying to establish grandparents rights in court can be extremely emotional and difficult to accomplish.  To begin with one has to find out if they even qualify to file.  Just because you are the grandparent does not give you the right to file for grandparents' rights in many states.  Some states require that specific criteria has to be met to file and then the grandparent must show just cause as to why they should be given any rights to visit or have a relationship with the child.  You must prove that you have a better case for why you should be allowed to be included in the child's life than the parents or state have to keep you out of their life and away from the child.

Court can be surprisingly daunting and expensive.  While an extremely stressful situation, the results can be rewarding enough to more than compensate for the stress and expense.  Having grandparents' rights upheld and put into place by the court can place that precious child back in your life and you back in theirs.  With the rights comes the responsibility of making sure decisions you make in the future have no negative consequences upon the child and that you act with his/her best interest in mind at all times.  Otherwise, you could find your self back in court facing a judge deciding if you get to keep whatever rights you won the first time around.

I believe that if we went back to families helping family members, grandparents caring for grandchildren, aunts and uncles being role models and helpers, parents realizing there are two parents for each child not just one, and courts looking for family members to care for children when needed rather than the current rush to foster care, more children would grow up with a true sense of identity and self worth.

Grandparents rights and court go hand in hand across this country currently.  The disconnect of families has grown into a problem that fills our courts daily.  Grandparents should prepare when the first grandchild is born.  Getting an agreement signed between grandparents and parents to legally ensure visitation and inclusion in children's lives is a document as necessary in this day and age as prenuptial agreements, living wills and last wills are.  To protect your rights and be certain that things will work out as close to your expectations as possible, don't procrastinate having an agreement drawn up, signed and filed.  If you put it off, the day may come when you find it is too late to get one signed and you are in for the fight of your life to be able to continue to be a part of your grandchildren's lives.


Just Me Granny D

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

In the Beginning There Was God . . . An Alien

My Bible tells me that in the beginning there was God!  I don't question that - I accept that and totally believe that.  But what else was there in our beginning besides God?  Where is God actually from - a different galaxy or universe, a different plane of reality or perhaps from absolute nothingness?  Where ever God was in the beginning, whom he was with and what existed then are questions that leads to great speculation by many.  One thing that doesn't need speculated or guessed about is the fact that in the beginning there was God . . . an alien.

Alien is life that did not originate from earth.  Therefore, by definition God has to be an alien.  It is said God is life and he originated from somewhere before earth's existence.  Then in our beginning he created earth with her many creatures and wondrous bounty.  The living creations originating on earth are non-aliens and as time advanced, these creations eventually gave God the distinction of being an alien.

Was God all alone in nothingness before his creations?  If so, why?  How did he come to exist and from where?  If he wasn't alone, who was there?  If he wasn't from nothing, then where was he from?  Remember, the Bible says he created the Heavens as he created earth.  When he commands that no one takes another God before him, was that command about other Gods or Goddesses that existed and were around? 

Many theories exist as to the making of the Pyramids, Stonehenge and other ancient marvels.  Myths and stories exist in areas of other Gods and Goddesses in various cultures, teaching the people, cohabitating with the people, and leaving their marks and their beliefs on communities.  Statues and temples were made to honor the different Gods and Goddesses of the ancient past of earth.  Were these Gods and Goddesses with Our God when he created earth and mankind?  Were there many aliens wandering the wonderland we call earth?

Are you thinking?  Do you know the answers?  The only answer I know is that in the beginning there was God . . . an alien.

Just Me Granny D

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

God, Gods, Goddesses, Angels, Demons, Spirits and Life- What Do You Believe?

God, Goddesses, Angels, Demons, Spirits and Life -
What Do You Believe?

So many different beliefs, stories, myths, history and questions.  We all believe in something.  Our world and it's constant fascination with the occult and witchcraft, vampires and werewolves, demons and angels at war, myths of Zeus and Poseidon, stonehenge and pyramids, Aztec's and Nostradamus, we show the ideas and beliefs of their actual possibility are flickering somewhere within.

Everyone believes in something.  Perhaps there is something in everyone's religion and beliefs that in actuality might show they are all bits and pieces of ONE - Is it possible each is just it's own chapter in a much bigger book of life!?!

If we believe in a hereafter and an afterlife of any kind - then we must also believe there is only one hereafter that we all believe in!  There isn't a different one for each religion - there is only one - I don't care if you believe in your spirit coming back or that St Pete will meet you at the gate or if you believe you will burn in fiery hell - it is one and the same - it is from the point of death to your body that your soul advances to a hereafter point -

My Bible is comprised of ancient writings from the libraries of the Pope of the Catholic Church and were commissioned to be put together as a Bible by King James, which is why it is called The King James Version.  They went through innumerable ancient writings and chose which writings they wanted to include in the Bible and which they would leave out!  An example would be the writings concerning Jesus as a child.

Other writings which were not included are "The Dead Sea Scrolls", writings contained in the Catholic Bible, the Hebrew Bible, and other religious books.  Some of the writings in these books are actually different translations of the same actual writing.

Leaders of Religions teach these books and just as society in a whole has evolved and changed over the years, so have religions - evolution in teachings for daily living, but basics always remain the same. Do you have faith that you are learning your life's lessons and living your life here to secure a better afterlife for your soul?  Or are you not feeding your soul and your faith?  Are you letting your spirit wither and harden in preparation for an afterlife of hell?

Perhaps you say you don't believe - that when you die you just die - there is no physical evidence of an afterlife - To that I say that the rebirth of the earth and all her bounty each Spring is proof of rebirth.

What do you believe?  Is it logical or is it faith?  Faith is not born of logic - faith is born of life's experiences and God's miracles and answered prayers.  Faith is nurtured and grows as one lives their beliefs, learns their life's lessons, and lives accordingly.

Perhaps all the various religious writings and books, the myths and stories of ancient Gods and Goddesses, angels and demons should all be put together.  If all the different translations were actually put into one translation of the exact writings, and all Indian and Aztec and Greek and Egyptian, etc., and were all combined into one story -maybe there would be one book of life with many different chapters. 

God, Gods, Goddesses, Angels, Demons, Spirits and Life - my Bible tells me there are other Gods besides Him who is named Jehovah.  He tells me not to take another God before him.  My Bible tells me of Angels and Demons, of Spirits, of witchcraft and monsters.  What do you believe?







Just Me Granny D

Monday, February 6, 2012

Living to Die, Dying to Live

Are we all really equal?  Two definitive facts say we are.  Each of us were born into this world.  And second, each of us were born to die.  To the essence of are we all really equal, well each of us are living to die, dying to live and in those aspects we are all definitely equal.

It is what we do with the life we are given that makes everyone unique and each life a gift and creates so called inequality.  The lessons of life for each of us are the same yet different in the methods used to teach each individual.  For some the true meanings of grace, humility, respect, generosity, compassion and the many other lessons are easily learned.  Others have a difficult time with various aspects and are doomed to repeat mistakes until the specific lesson is mastered.

Living to die is what all of us do daily yet not many of us actually live as if each day might be the day that we reach the goal for which we were born - dying.  If everyone were to live each day as if it might be there last, I wonder how much more love and compassion might be showering upon each of us.  How many arguments might be averted and how many family dinners would be shared?

Everyone is dying to live their life as they want to live it.  Exactly how is that going to be?  How has that been?  If the Dr walked in and told you that you had one week to live, would you be dying to live?  Would you be making major changes to your lifestyle or would you be confident that you have been living to die and are ready to meet your maker on the other side?

After all, if we are dying to live, then we should definitely be living to die!



Just Me Granny D