Hello,
The last couple days the news has been consumed by the terrorist activity in Paris or the Mizzou protest that were earlier this week.  My heart goes out to all those families that lost a love one due to the attack in Paris.  It's truly said to read about the activity and the innocent lives that were lost.  I read this afternoon about a young lady that laid on the floor in the concert hall and acted as if she were dead and survived the attack.  The innocent people that survived will never be the same again.  That is such a horrific event to witness and try to deal with.  I just can't imagine the heartache those folks in France are feeling.  I guess it's similar to what we felt after 9/11. 

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Hello,

I ran across this article on MSN today and found it interesting.  The article is explains how studies show that Americans used to get happier in their 30's but not anymore.  It says teens are happier.  Let me say this, of course teens are happier than people in their 30's!  Little to no responsibility other than being a teen and going to school.  I guess when you get to your 30's most people are probably out of their parents house and living independently.  That could make someone happier depending on their home situation with their parents. On the down fall though, you have bills - electric, rent, gas, food, etc. 

The article lists one of the reasons is because of marriage and a stable relationship.  I always hear that people are waiting longer to get married or start families so maybe that's why.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/americans-used-to-get-happier-in-their-thirties-not-any-more/ar-CC6hqb?li=BBgzzfc&ocid=U146DHP

What do you think? 

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Hello,
Well here it is November 1st.  Halloween is over and now it's only between 3-4 weeks before Thanksgiving.  Halloween at my house almost was a bust.  My son would not take a nap for anything before it was time to head out for the evening.  On the way to a friend's house to trick or treat and then hand out candy he decided to take a nap in the car.  Which was all good except when I had to wake him up he was not happy and with that he refused to put on his costume.  Thank goodness we got where we were going early and he warmed up, woke up and then was ready to put his costume on right before we all started walking down the sidewalk.  He didn't have any desire to be put on the dragon costume but I had brought a Mickey Mouse costume for a back up.  He decided he would dress up as Mickey.  Before that I thought he was just going to have to trick or treat in his orange jack-o-lantern shirt.  Hopefully next year he'll like to dress up a little bit more. 

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Mistakes

Hello,

I understand everyone makes mistakes and I just really hate to admit when I make a stupid mistake.  Let me tell you what I did, last week I talked to my mother-in-law and asked if they wanted to go to the Polar Express and take our son this holiday season.  They are from out of town and agreed to stay a couple extra days after Thanksgiving to take him.  I ordered tickets the day they went on sale not knowing how fast they sell out I didn't get the time we wanted but needless to say I got some tickets and thought all was well.  This weekend I was looking at the tickets and saw that I mistakenly ordered the wrong date!  I actually ordered tickets for 11/20 instead of 11/27.  I was a little embarrassed to tell my mother-in-law how I goofed.  Luckily she understood and I sold the tickets.  We will try to get tickets for a different time throughout the season.  I was looking forward to taking our son and I truly disappointed myself with this mistake.  Ugh.....

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Hello,

This week I didn't know what to blog about so I started searching MSN's website for ideas.  I was going to blog about the Oregon shooting but it's just too sad and depressing.  I continued my search and came across an article about a retiring police officer in Tuscaloosa, AL.  What I found so interesting is after 35 years of being a police officer he never used one sick day over his career.  The article starts out by saying how he learned something from his parents and that was to get up and get going on whatever he had to do every day.  You can tell with is work ethic he is in a different generation than those in the workforce today.  Now days it's ridiculous to see how many people call in sick.  If you are truly sick then I agree with calling in because you don't want to spread it and get everyone else sick however so many times people are calling off work out of pure laziness.  I wish more people today had a work ethic like this retiree.

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Hello,

This week I wanted to share what a fun time my family had at Eckert's in Millstadt.  It was more than we thought it was going to be.  I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've lived in the area all my life and have never been there.  My son had a great time.  We originally were going just to pick apples but he was having so much fun at the petting zoo, riding the rides and playing on the playground.  When we finally went and go to on the trailer to go pick apples my son enjoyed picking and eating them.  He tried all the different kinds of apples they grow there.  We brought 16lbs of apples home that he picked!

If you and your family is looking for some fun outside this fall I would highly recommend going.   The St. Louis metro area really has a lot of fun family things to offer.

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce

Hello,

I'm going to vent a little in my blog this week about respect.  Earlier this week my family and I were out of town and notice there were a lot if people standing along the side of the road holding the American flag.  Since we were not familiar with  the area and did not know what was ahead we kept driving with the flow of traffic.  However, it wasn't far down the road and we saw on a sign that a soldier had died.  Of what, we don't know?  This small community stood along the road to show respect to the fallen soldier.  When we saw the flashing lights ahead of us we stopped along the side of the road along with several other cars.  I got frustrated with those who did not stop to show their respect.  What happened to people stopping?  How can you feel good about yourself and keep driving when a soldier has lost their life while serving this country?  Just saying.....

Thanks,
Jennifer Bruce