Oops! I did it again (and all cuz of Angel).

I said I wouldn't go back. I didn't really care for it. It was too "plain" and boring to me. Maybe because I threw myself in to the lion's den (as usually is the case). And after not going there for MONTHS now, I have reverted and retracted.

Yes people, I am once again a part of the BlogFrog blogging site community. And I have now prettied up my page, added it's FIRST discussion post (go answer damn it! I'm lost).

I've gotten now, eight followers (stalkers), and I am following nine (being watched over scrupulously).

So far, I am doing okay, just trying to get the old sea legs up and moving over there. I did place up two widgets here on my page. One for joining my community, and one to track the stalkers..er, I mean visitors.

So, now that Angel convinced me (twisted my arm) to rejoin BlogFrog, I am trying to get people to join me there as well. Like I don't do enough on the interwebz already!

If you wish to willingly (as in I won't drag you with me kicking and screaming...unless you LIKE that kind of thing) come see me over at BlogFrog, then CLICK THIS BIOTCH and say hi and join in the fun.

So, I hope to see you there. Seeing as I am now officially bored and want to converse with peeps.

I found a new home! Moms of TWEENS and of TEENS unite.

I have been with the site for now almost four months now. It's okay. Not as spiffy as FaceBook (or even CafeMom). But it's cute. And it's not just for *any* mom. It's for those of us going gray and bald (some of us at the SAME TIME!) due to having 'tweens' or teens.

It's aptly named Momster. And believe me, some of us can (and usually do) live up to the name! There are days where you just can't win the battle of Teenhood and you turn in to the Momster, which of course, your teen or 'tween' conveniently points out.

There, you can start or join groups, blogs, and discussions. You have your own profile page where the ONLY thing I have noted, is that you CANNOT post *current* updates like you can at FaceBook, or at CafeMom. Otherwise it is a nice site.

And *most* mothers on Momster seem to be of the more mature sect. Not the teen know-it-all's, first time moms with little babies (though some DO have younger kids, plus a teen/tween, like myself). There seems to be MUCH less distention on the forums there.

So MOTHERS of tweens and teens, if this sounds like the site to you, that you wish to join and commiserate with other moms like you, then feel free to FOLLOW ME over to MOMSTER.COM and see what it's all about. Hope to see you there...

Like what you read here and are a Facebook member? You're in for a treat!

Are you a Facebook member? Like what you read here in "The N(Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary"? Then have I got a treat for you!

Please join me at my new Fan Page on Facebook. There, you will find links to my latest entries, can post links to posts of months past that you want others to read, post Fan Pictures and talk about posts and other everyday things.

Also, feel free to "Suggest To Friends" and tell others about both the blog, and the Fan Page.

Thanks to each and every one of you that are following me. Both on Facebook, as well as through Blogger, or other means of following my blog.

To access and join my Facebook Fan Page, please click on the follwoing link...

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/The-Not-Always-Happy-Homemaker-Diary/107802929255760?ref=mf

April is for more than Easter. It's to Give Life, Give Hope....

Life. What a precious thing to have, isn't it? Most of us take it and all of it's gifts for granted. That is until something major happens and it makes you take a better look at that proverbial big picture.

That is how it is for over 100,000 people in the United States of America alone. Add in people all over the world, and you are looking at MILLIONS of men, women and children. Holding on to every single day as if it really is their last. Hoping for that one second chance.

Waiting for someone to give of themselves. Waiting....for a new organ, tissue, bone, or bone marrow.

Some will sadly die waiting for their turn. Some have been waiting only a few weeks. Some, a few months. And some have been forced to wait for YEARS to get "the call" to receive the Gift of Life.

During the entire month of April, those of us that have been touched by Organ/Tissue/Bone/Marrow Donation are celebrating Organ, Tissue Donation Awareness Month.

People that have been are a Recipient, a Living Donor, is a Donor Family, or a friend of someone who donated or received an organ/tissue/bone/marrow are banding together to spread the awareness of the need GLOBALLY, all around the world for people to SIGN UP 2 SAVE LIVES with their local Organ/Tissue Donation center.

Be it the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), on a website such as www.donatelife.net/CommitToDonation, or Google-ing for International Organ/Tissue Donation Registration websites.

When you sign up to be an Organ/Tissue Donor, you are saying that you are willing to freely give someone else, after your death, a second chance to live on.

For me, it was a Cornea for my eye. That is the "outside window" that protects your inner eye from injury and enviromental infections that could otherwise sneak in directly and attack the eye its self.

Without my Donor's gift of sight, I would be COMPLETELY blind in my left eye. As a Stay-At-Home-Mom that was NOT an option. I wanted to see with BOTH eyes, my three young children grow, be able to keep BOTH eyes on them, be able to SAFELY cross a busy street and have more of my independence back.

If you sign up to be a Donor, you are a HERO! To not only the Recipient. But, to their family and their loved ones. We ♥ our Donors and their families EVERY day. They are NEVER far from our thoughts, hearts, and appreciation.

Please, take a few minutes out of your time today to sign up to be an Organ/Tissue Donor. It's free, quick, and simple. Let someone have a full life and a second chance.

http://www.donatelife.net/    http://www.organdonor.gov/     http://www.unos.org/

    

Make assumptions again and see where it gets you. (Defense of a friend)

With the way that I am feeling right now, I will try my best to stay calm and (for the most part) respectful. Then again, after seeing my friend, Angel get ripped apart, although in a "Christ-like manner", I don't feel like being so polite.

Then again, someone has to take the 'high road' right? May as well be me I'm guessing.

I've NEVER claimed to be a 'perfect' Christian/soul. And I never plan to. It is true that I am for equality for the GLBT Community to get married. I am one that can vote Democratically or Conservatively. I don't read, let alone have I memorized the Bible texts as much as a Christian should (in many minds).

But I love God no less. And He loves me no less. And for someone to tramps all over a friend and her PERSONAL walk with the Lord to me is a sin in and of its self. *Some* Christian "fanatics" are so freaking uptight and in to everyone else's Christian walk, snubbing them for every little "fleshly fault", that they refuse to remove the plank from their eye before removing the speck from another's.

This is why I can't stand those that are called "Holy Roller", "Bible-Thumping", "Dogmatic" Christians.

Believe me when I say I KNOW first-hand what I speak of. Especially the hypocrisy. I've lived through it, via my Dad's mother when I was little. She would force me in to attending church, scare me in to submission, and nit-picked everything I said, did, felt or believed. Even when it came to religion and MY way of worshiping, believing and practicing my Christianity.

When people in general start making generalized assumptions about those they know NOTHING about, and especially those that they THINK that they know about, said person is treading in dangerous and deep waters. They are the ones showing that they know NOTHING about a problem or situation. Especially when you don't sit down and find out what is TRULY going on from the "horse's mouth".

And for someone to make a general assumption about me, my knowledge of something, or of my faith/walk is treading in shark-infested water with me. I don't make personal "attacks" or assumptions towards others. And for a "Christian" to do it unto me is well...un-Christian like. Too bad they are so blinded by their "religious ways" that they are not able to see that they are doing more harm than good.

My friend, Angel lead me to a certain chat room a few months back for a church that she attends. Both online and in person. I watched a sermon and was fitting right in with those in the chat. For the first time in a long while, I felt like I "belonged" and that I was truly cared for. Angel gave me hope in Christianity and my faith again.

Now, that room has been shut down. No longer can I go and see those I befriended and be a part of a wonderful ministry. At least for now.

But one of the nay-sayers of the room decided to claim I know "nothing" about what all went down and why. Too bad she decided to "call me out" on false pretense and assumptions. Because I know more...WAY MORE than she thinks I do.

And worse yet, she hurt a dear friend and sister-in-Christ. That for me is 1,000's times worse. And I refuse to stand here and let it happen.

BRING BACK THE CHAT ROOM!....And stop being a "always right" Christian who talks the talk, but can't seem to walk the walk.

"Retard!"

As of just a little while ago, I became a member of a FaceBook group that advocates for children and adults with mental and physical handicaps. The group centers their advocacy around educating the public about using the term "retard" when referring to severely handicapped persons.

Here is the link for the group. Check it out if you are interested. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5039649875 (Please Don't Say "Retard")

My son, as some of my readers know, is deemed by our state as being handicapped. He has several mental disorders that affect his ability to have a "normal" life that his peers have. He struggles daily in some form or fashion with his symptoms, which are many to count.

At one time, I myself was legally deemed handicapped. I even had a special parking sticker for my parent's car. I required a tracheotomy from birth, until I was almost a teenager. And I also had required carrying around specialized equipment in the car where ever we went, in case I needed assistance with clearing my lungs.

There were countless times through those years that men, women and children alike would gawk and stare at me. They would point and snicker. There would be whispers here and there as well. And there was also the occasional "If that were MY kid, I wouldn't take IT out in public. Not when they are RETARDED like that".

Sometimes, it was loud enough that my parents could hear it plain as day. Those people WANTED THEM TO hear what they said.

Other times, people would say it low enough, thinking that they aren't being heard. All the while, my parents could hear them. Believe me. And those people knew it by the way my parents would cut their eyes and walk away. With their heads held high of course.

Words DO cut. They do HURT others. Especially when the words are used in an inappropriate, meaningfully hurtful, non-medical terms. Especially the word 'retard' or 'retarded'.

Here is the definition for "retarded"...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard

re⋅tard

 /rɪˈtɑrd, for 1–3, 5; ˈritɑrd for 4/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-tahrd, for 1–3, 5; ree-tahrd for 4] Show IPA

Use retard in a Sentence

See images of retard

Search retard on the Web

–verb (used with object)

1.	to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.

–verb (used without object)

2.	to be delayed.

–noun

3.	a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.

4.	Slang: Disparaging. a. a mentally retarded person. b. a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.

5.	Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine so that the spark for ignition in each cylinder is generated later in the cycle.

My letter to CafeMom as to why I am LEAVING their site

I've enjoyed MOST of my time on CafeMom. But as of late, the site has really gone down. Mainly due to many of your members.
They are violating TOS after TOS and "getting away" with it. The lack of maturity among many of the "ladies" on this site has become appalling.
When I first joined CafeMom, it was truly a place of support and friendship. Now, CM has become a place of backstabbing and childish name calling.
True, my leaving won't affect the site as a whole, being more and more "mothers" join everyday.
But, I hope that by seeing what a (soon-to-be) former member thinks about the website as it now is, that the staff and Powera That Be of CafeMom wake up and realize that their "place of support and friendship" is NOTHING like it once was.
And in the end, I hope that those that help "run" this place start trying to get it back in to the shape it was when I first joined your establishment almost three years ago.
Thanks for the "ride", although at most times, it was a bumpy one.
Sincerely,
Melissa Cowart