My only brother passed away last week. He has no life insurance, so his 13-year old daughter will not receive anything. He doesn't have any properties either. He and his wife are separated for many years now, with the adopted daughter living with his wife. Now that he has died, it made us think how important having life insurance is if you have a family, especially if your kids are still young.

Traveling is already stressful, now, you've got to deal with paying for extra luggage fees! Some friends suggested that we take Southwest Airlines since there is not charge for luggage but we don't like S.A. (no offense!). Then add to the fees, the luggage weight was lessened! Our Atlantic luggages already weigh around 15lbs empty! We bought this brand because it is well made but now, it's up in the attic and used for storing out of season clothes. It's time to shop around for luggages that doesn't weigh much, maybe the Jack Georges brand is lighter. I'm also considering getting those duffle bag with wheels, looks like it is lightweight too. One thing I do when traveling is not to bring shampoo, conditioner and other toiletries that can be purchased in my destination, this saves space and weight too.

For the first time, my household has a family pet. He is a pure bred Bichon Frise. All fluff - he is cute but he can be rambunctious when playful. For the first three weeks, he's had accidents in the family room and the living room. It drove me crazy! I didn't want my house to smell like a kennel. Thank goodness for very good cleaning products made for these kind of accidents. I pat down the soiled area with paper towels (you can even do it with used table napkins or wedding napkins or toilet paper), spray it wih the cleaning product, wait a couple of minutes, then pat down with clean paper towel. After three weeks, Cooper is now using the wee-wee pad when he needs to go potty. It helped that he gets a treat whenever he does that too.

Drug addiction has long been a problem all over the world. I remember when I was growing up, my parents always reminded us about the dangers of drugs. I heard that some kids in our neighborhood experimented with it but luckily, I stayed away. I was also lucky that my friends are what you consider 'good kids'. Now that I am a parent, I am starting to talk to my 11-year old about drugs and its' effect on the body, along with the peer pressure.
For those who are addicted to any kind of drugs, help is readily available. There are a lot of rapid detox around the country. Having the help and support of the family and loved ones will surely help in the success of any kind of treatment.