Vacation!

A friend of mine posted a blog asking where you would go if you had a 2 week paid vacation and why would you go there. My first choice would be to spend a week in Ireland. I have always wanted to go from the time I knew it existed. It just seems like a beautiful and magical country. I would love to explore the old castles, visit some genuine Irish pubs, and listen to the tales of the locals. Perhaps I could even catch me a leprechaun!

The second week is kind of hard to decide. I would either chose a Disney/Universal studios trip or a road trip to Williamsburg and Gettysburg. Our family went to Disney for my oldest daughter's make a wish trip and we had a wonderful time, I would love to experience that again with my children. My husband and I spent a day at Gettysburg with my sister when we took my mother down to visit her in Maryland. It was so interesting. I think it would be lots of fun to take the kids and spend more time there. I want to do the whole nine yards, from touring all the battlefields to taking the ghost tour. I believe Andrew would really enjoy seeing all the old cannons and statues. My sister has been to Williamsburg and says it is just as beautiful. Something about the history of both Gettysburg and Williamsburg just seem to call to me.

pregnancy tests go high tech.

Found this interesting little item on thinkgeek.com and had to share. No I am NOT pregnant or thinking I am (Thank heavens) just thought it was amusing. This item should be extremly useful to all those on a couple of social sites where I have seen a lot of "could I be pregnant?" questions and giving a list of symptoms. If you actually want to purchase this little gem, here is the link: http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/pteq.html

• 
  Carbon-Based Lifeforms Detected
  One line or two. Yes or no. Pregnancy tests are binary by their very nature. So when we found p-Teq's USB Pregnancy Test Kit that's chock full of extra scientific information, we knew we had to get this geeky goodness to our potentially spawning fans.
  The process starts off like most pregnancy tests. You pee on a stick, specifically the absorbent test strip at one end. But everything's different after that first step. Remove the cap from the other end of the stick (cleverly provided to keep you from accidentally contaminating the wrong end) to reveal the USB connector. Pop it in your computer. The power from your USB port starts the electrospray ionization process, creating a spectrograph of the various masses for your analysis. Get it? Your analysis? Urinalysis? *rimshot* Moving on.
  You don't actually get to see the spectrograph yourself. The mass analysis happens inside the device. And p-Teq's device only analyzes for specific chemical makeups, so you don't have to worry about this thing busting you for that "poppy seed bagel" you had yesterday. The mass spectrometry software on the device comes with several sequenced hormones, including hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin), hCG-H (hyperglycosylated hCG - for detection before your first missed period), and LH (luteinizing hormone - for detection of your most fertile days). We like the fact that it does all three. After all, if you're not pregnant and you wanna be, you need to know if now's the time to be gettin' it on.
  While most home tests can detect a level of 15-50 mIU/mL of hCG, the enhanced methodology of the USB Pregnancy Test Kit can detect 5-50 mIU/mL, and will show you the exact concentration via its friendly onscreen interface. In addition, the LCD display on the device itself will light up and show you the symbol of a baby, no baby, or multiples and your Estimated Delivery Date based on the concentration of hCG, hCG-H, and LH in your urine. So you can clear your calendar in advance.
  After you're done reviewing your test results, just pop the device out of your computer and change the test strip. The display will remain lit for five minutes and then automatically power off. Note: We recommend the use of horizontal USB drives for this product to prevent accidental moisture transference.
  No batteries required - draws power from USB
  USB 2.0 compatible
  Plug and play, easy operation
  Operating Systems: Win 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux 2.4 or higher, Mac OS 8.6 or higher
  20 test strips included
  99% accuracy*
  * 99% accurate in detecting hCG, hCG-H and LH. However, these hormones do not necessarily indicate pregnancy or ovulation, respectively. Extenuating circumstances can affect levels of these hormones in your body.

What will they think of next?

Does you husband yell and swear at you? Call you names? Hit you?

I found this post on another website and found it important enough to share here. I, like the OP was a victim of abuse at one time in my life and know that everything the OP says is the truth:

If you're reading this then either my title caught your attention or maybe it's because you're one of the many women here on this website (and so many others) who faces varying degrees of abuse every day here in the US and abroad.
If you're the former, you're welcome to read and comment...this is a topic near to my heart and is VERY important. The reason I'm writing to you today is because I'm the daughter of an abused mother and ... I'm also a victim of abuse so, I have some opinions on this topic and some perspective I'd like to share with you.
I want you to ask yourself this today and every day here after ... not for yourself, but for your children who you love so much. If you read NOTHING else in my letter please dedicate these questions to memory:
1. Is my husband, with all his faults, the sort of man I want my son to be like when he grows up? Would I really be okay with him growing into a man who treats others the way my husband treats me (and god forbid, if he's abusing the children too, how he treats them.)
2. Am I the sort of woman I want my daughter to grow into? If I make excuses for my abuser's actions, would I really be okay seeing my daughter treated as I am treated by my husband every day, by some other woman's son?
Too often women will endure emotional, mental, and physical abuse for a laundry list of reasons and never leave their abusers because they are confident that their husband "would never hurt the children."
Maybe you're one of those moms; so afraid of being alone or of all the difficulties you'd face on your own, that you would rather endure your abuser's actions ... "so long as he never hurts the kids."
If this sounds like you... if it could be you in time if things get worse... PLEASE heed my advice: Your son IS hurt by this man if even if he never says a bad word to your boy or lays a finger on him... he's hurt because he's smart enough to see what's going on even if you're hiding it somehow. He's learning what a man is from the most important man in his & your life. Your son, no matter how kind and smart he is, will remember YOUR most important lesson to him... how a woman should be with him... how she should accept being treated. Are you his role-model's equal? Are you his role-model best friend? If you're not these things, consider for a moment how your son views the dynamics between you and the man in your life. Your son will remember what to expect of women by watching you... and how to treat them by watching him.
As for your daughters, the man in their lives is very important... take it from a girl who grew up in an abusive home and went on her own way saying "I'll never be in relationships like that" and then did just that... all through college and who asked myself "how did I end up with a guy like this?" Because it sure as heck wasn't what I was looking to be with.
If you're sitting there at your computer thinking "you can't help who you love" (one of my own mother's favorite things to say in justification of why we couldn't leave) then imagine how much it will rip your heart out to hear your beautiful little girl say those same words to you one day... and worse that she will believe them. Your daughter learns what is acceptable for a man to be like from him... and she learns what is alright to endure from a man, from you.
Your children DO learn from your actions just as much as by your words and while not every child grows to be a clone of their parent's good actions and bad ones... many do. Please, stop the cycle of abusers and the abused. Take a long hard look at your life TODAY (don't wait) and ask yourself the questions above... then make a choice about what sort of life example you want to set for your children not as a loving wife, or a scared woman, but as a Mother who would give ANYTHING for your children. You may not fear that the man in your life will kill you or your children but the choice you make today may shape who they are in years to come.
This is your chance. Can you... would you REALLY give ANYTHING for your children as we mothers always say we can/would do if need be? If you're living in an abusive relationship, it might feel like you are being asked in this letter to do just that... to give your world up. I am sorry for your pain, truly I am, but today is the day you prove those words about your love for your children to be true *AND* I promise that once you've left, in time (may not today or tomorrow but soon) you'll come to see you didn't give up anything at all... you welcomed the chance for new and better happiness and have given a gift to your children better than ANYTHING money can ever buy this holiday season.
Have courage, YOU CAN DO THIS ... if you need a friend to encourage you then please, drop me any number of women here a line. So many of us would be happy to send some positive vibes/prayers/friendly words your way and be an ear to those in need. YOU'RE NOT ALONE. Just remember, you're not leaving a man who might love you the way you want one day... you're leaving for the children you know will never stop.
May God Bless & Keep All of You,
-Dee
Please... protect your babies. End the cycle of abuse.
Thanks for reading... here's some more information that might help
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Locate a woman's shelter on-line