Photo: 1′Up

Hello everyone. Long time… I JUST NOW got DSL hooked up at my parents’ house in TN. Yea! So I should be posting with a bit more frequency now.

I returned from the Babywearing Conference in Chicago on Sunday. The conference was amazing! I learned so much and met SO MANY wonderful people! It is amazing to see so many like-minded people in one place. And it was very refreshing to be in an environment where I can wear and nurse my baby at any time, and still be part of the goings-on! Twilli responded REALLY well to everyone there too! She got to play with a lot of little babies and toddlers.

The TWILLI PIE PODEGIs were well received! I will be requesting testers soon, so please contact me if you are interested.

I met SOOOOO many influential people in the babywearing and attachment parenting realm! I probably don’t know the HALF of it! I plan to continue seeking wisdom from these people who have “walked the walk” and continue to share with us relative newbies!

It was awesome to traverse the city via public transit. (Gas was $4.47 - $4.89 per gallon there. Eeek!) And I did a LOT of walking! Babywearing makes a HUGE difference in that regard. And I was very pleasantly surprised at how much people helped me with my luggage on the train or in the train station/transfers! I guess I was quite a spectacle with a baby strapped to me, a backpack, a diaper bag/purse, and my suitcase pulled behind it all! lol

I will write more about the conference in the next few days. But I wanted to touch base and let everyone know that we are still alive and kickin’!

I realize I have not been posting a lot lately. I have been processing a LOT of stuff. Well a lot of it came to a head yesterday. A very dear family friend just lost his home and has left the state. I helped him pack whatever fit in the car, plus his 2 cats. And now they are gone!

This foreclosure epidemic is outrageous! :shakes head: I am at my wits end with how NORMAL PEOPLE are having to live!

Anyway, we are scrambling to make ends APPROACH a meeting point as well. And now our air conditioner unit is fried and it’s already summer heat here in South Florida. So please forgive me for not being a good little blogger and writing as often as I would like. I have to believe things will get better.

I would like to thank you all for your patience lately. I have not been writing nearly as much as I should be. Ideally, I would post 3-4 times per week. But these are crazy times. Our economy is severely bent! Everyone is feeling the crunch. But some are more effected than others.

I’ve been providing moral, social, and logistical support to a dear friend who is living in a condo that is deep in foreclosure. My friend “Joe” has been dealing with this stress for some time. His parents, who live out of state, actually own the property but let him live there while he was in college. But they have not discussed ANY of the financial matters with him. Personally, I think they are doing a disservice to him AND themselves by not sharing these vital matters with such a willing and fast learner. Instead, they tried to handle things on their own and told him “it is being taken care of”.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I am like family to him and none of our relatives live in Florida. So we’ve been trying to scramble and find resources, advocacy, etc. Unfortunately, Joe’s parents are not very internet savvy and he doesn’t have internet access. So I have been doing a lot of legwork.

While the information is very sobering and disconcerting, I am learning a lot. It seems like there are soooooo many people facing foreclosure or other financial crisis. But there are legitimate agencies that can help. The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to NOT WAIT to seek help!!! A real estate attorney told me, “These things are like cancer. If they are caught early, often they can be stopped.”

I am grateful that I have been able to be there for my friend. I pray that everything works out. And I would like to “pay it forward” by sharing some of these resources.

• HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies - There are so many scams happening now. Find a reputable agency through HUD: U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department website.
• NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES - This is the local Miami, Florida agency we are dealing with. (It is HUD approved.)
• Broken Credit Blog - This blog has some interesting information about consumer rights and foreclosure.
• Aging and Disability Resource Center of Broward County, FL - Here is an agency for senior citizens and disabled people in Broward County (Greater Fort Lauderdale).
• Legal Aid of Broward County, FL - Provides service provides legal advice and representation to low income residents. They have a department specializing in housing.
• National Consumer Law Center - This agency claims to defend the rights of low-income consumers. I haven’t fully browsed the site, but wanted to include it just in case.

Please share by LEAVING A COMMENT and let us know if you have found any other good resources or have experience with these matters.

An internet junkie, that is. I had suspected this to be true. But when our DSL went down last week, it was confirmed. Although I wonder what regular blogger ISN’T addicted to the internet! I was writing a post last week, and all of the sudden I lost my connection. (It made me realize I should compose my posts offline, and then port them into Wordpress.)

So please accept my apologies for going AWOL for a week. I hope to be back on track this week, although we will be traveling next weekend. So thank you for your patience! I have a lot of great things to share.

I hope everyone is having a very HAPPY EASTER!

I have been finding lots of great sites on Entrecard. I have also spent a huge amount of time exploring the blogosphere. At first I was feeling guilty about it. But I am no longer beating myself up for my natural tendency for A.D.D. behavior, especially when it comes to the internet and new media. (Don’t get me started on our A.D.D. society…)

I will bring some of the gems I find to the surface, for the benefit of the community, or for general amusement.

It had been about 15 7 years since I last tested my typing speed. I’m a bit disappointed with the score. It was 56 wpm before. But then I messed up the code and retook it. So now I am at 46. Oh well.

46 words

Speedtest

What is YOUR touch typing score?
What is your teeneger’s score? lol (I’ll bet they are a heck of a lot faster at TXT messaging!)

Please share by leaving a comment.

RANDOM THOUGHTS is the first of a weekend regular series.

1.) The map got UNSTUCK. I removed the “sticky” from the changing tables map. All this means is that it is not “stuck” to the top of the page anymore. Do not fear. It is still around. It is just lower on the page. You can get to it from the top links or the “changing tables map” category link, in the sidebar.

2.) You will start to see some posts about blogging and social media. While one could argue that it is “off topic” from parenting, I will argue that in order to be a WAHM, I have to keep up with the latest and greatest in money making options. I am thrilled that the blogosphere offers people a chance to show their humanity. Thus I’m HOOKED. I’m really enjoying entrecard, stumbleupon and facebook lately.

3.) Soda + junk food + video games + teen boys having a sleepover = BRAIN ATROPHY. But hey, it was O-Teen’s birthday get together. So I guess that makes it alright.