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What to buy, what to buy

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of FriendGiftr. All opinions are 100% mine.

What do you buy for the person who has everything? I have no idea, I tell ya! My cousin, Erica, is pregnant with her second child. At our church, the youth held her a baby shower and I was absolutely clueless as to what to buy her. Erica already has a little girl, Ava, and saved all of Ava’s old clothes and toys since they knew they would be planning on having a second child. So, Erica basically has all the essentials already. This seriously left me clueless because there are only so many outfits one kid can use, ya know? All of our family had already planned on buying little Klara outfits as well as gift certificates for diapers.

This is the time that I wish I knew about FriendGiftr which is an online site where you can buy gift cards for all occasions. If I would have known about the site ahead of time, I would have bought Erica a gift card to Pottery Barn Kids since she has been talking about buying a new crib for Klara and already had one picked out there. If Erica decided she did not want the gift card from Pottery Barn Kids, FriendGiftr allows the receivers of the cards to swap out their card for a different merchant’s card at no additional cost. I mean come on, how cool is that? Also for those gift emergencies on the go, FriendGiftr services are available through their website, Facebook, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android! They are literally accessible everywhere! Obviously, FriendGiftr has now been bookmarked and will be kept in mine for this upcoming holiday season! Gift cards are the gifts that keep on giving!

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Security is a must

My grandfather’s health has been deteriorating lately and he has a bad case of Alzheimer’s disease. Around Christmas, he would remember almost all of us without any hesitations but after the first of the year, he hasn’t been remembering anyone lately. Right before Jonathan and I got married, he got really bad. He didn’t remember his own wife. He told my step-grandmother, Alice, that he didn’t know who she was but she better get out of his house and tell Ann to come to him. Ann, my Nana, has been dead for quite some time. I know it hurt Alice’s feeling but honestly, I could care less. Alice was a predator when my Nana died and has done everything in her power to put a wedge between my grandpa and my family. I personally don’t care how my grandpa is since we don’t have a relationship at all but I still don’t want someone targeting him. That’s still my grandpa, ya know? Even though he did something horrible and unforgivable to me, I still wouldn’t wish Alzheimer’s on him!

I visited my dad yesterday for Grayson’s party and my uncle Kenny was there as well. When we arrived, my uncle and his family decided to leave but not before I heard him and my dad talking in a loud whisper. Evidently my grandfather is getting even worse and now they are wanting to put a security system in as well as a video recorder and voice recorder. Evidently, Alice purposely leaves the doors unlocked and encourages my grandpa to run away. My grandpa, dad, and other uncle all live on 150 acres of land so you can imagine what would happen if my grandpa got lost on our land. Also, there is a busy highway near the farm as well. I really believe Alice is waiting for him to pass away so she can take over the land and give it to her family. Ever since the conversation I overheard between my dad and uncle, I’ve been researching security systems and reading consumer reports.

I want a system that is reliable and will alert us if he tries to leave the house. We also prefer a security system with hidden cameras and a voice recorder. We’d like to know exactly what she is saying and doing to him. They also think she is over-medicating him but that is almost impossible to prove that she was doing that on purpose. We’re in a no win situation. Since I can’t help with what she is doing, I’ve been busy researching security systems online. I honestly don’t care who the system is through even though I’ve mainly been checking out Home Security Team and also been piddling with the site http://www.broadviewsecurity.com/. Hopefully if I can gather some research, I can hand it over to my dad and uncles so they can make the decision. I don’t want to be in on the decision but I will do whatever I can to provide them with adequate information since I am a lot more tech savvy than any of them. I just want the situation to work itself out. I just don’t want to see my dad and uncles hurting because of how someone is treating their dad.

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Nostalgia

Isn’t it funny how memories can make you feel like it was just yesterday that something happened when it was really years ago? I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandma and my nana lately. I think a lot of this has to do with Grayson getting to know my mom and my step-mom. Him spending time with my mom has made me realize how much I miss my grandma because she was there for me at every turn in my life. This also made me realize how little I remember of my nana. I really only have one memory of my nana when I spent the weekend with her and my grandpa. I can remember us watching movies while eating popcorn. I can literally taste the popcorn since a few pieces were overcooked and I also can smell their house which smelled like fresh baked apple pie and cigars. Yes, I know, that’s a weird combination since my nana was always cooking and my grandpa smoked cigars religiously. I just know that it is my mission for Grayson to get to know his grandparents so when he is my age he has plenty of memories to recall!

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Road trip!

My cousin has always been sheltered most of her life. Her parents are the overbearing type and that makes my heart go out to her because unlike me, she was never encouraged to be her own person. For the past year now, she has been coming out of her shell. So much in fact, that she decided this summer she would pack up her Ford Escort and hit the open road. I am completely ecstatic for her because this has been a long time coming.

Her first trip was to Ohio to meet up with her boyfriend she has been seeing this past year. They met when she went to Ohio last Winter with her family and ever since then he has been coming down to visit her and vice versa. So, with her boyfriend in tow, they set out to explore the west. They wanted to see the historic Route 66 and then visit the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, amidst all of her sight seeing and freedom, her car decides to break down. She called my dad freaking out because there was no way she was going to call her parents so they could rub it in her face that her first bit of freedom turned out to bite her in the butt! So my dad helped her locate a Phoenix auto repair shop to help get her some assistance. Thank God her boyfriend was with her because I can just imagine how panicked she would have been by herself which I wouldn’t blame her. My dad was worried about her car because before she left he already replaced the timing belt and checked the oil and other fluids. It turns out that my cousin had to have a new water pump. Once it was fixed, she was back on the road to more exploring. I am very proud that she did not let the drama of the car ruin her trip.

I am so excited for her to be home the end of this month and to see all of her pictures. She has already e-mailed me a few from the road on my cell! I am so jealous. I think I will have to talk Jonathan into taking a road trip with me!!

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A new alternative

There is one thing I cannot stand and that would have to be being around a smoker. The smoke clogs my lungs, makes my eyes puffy, and gives me a horrible headache. I am quite sure you can tell I’ve never been too keen on the bar scene because being in a smokey bar just isn’t my thing. My cousin has been trying to stop smoking forever and has tried everything. She was searching the internet one day and saw an ad for an e cigarette. So since she had tried everything else, she ordered one. The e cigarette has helped her curb her smoking and is now down to two cigarettes a day and plans on stopping smoking completely within the next month. I am so happy for her because I know this is a big feat for her. I can’t imagine how hard it has been for her but at least her journey is almost over!