I love how this is just now moving to the forefront on the 'common sense world,' after we've been trying to teach our kids this for Years!  Remember? Every time our kids would come home with a sore throat, they'd say one of two things:

"Mom- I'm sick and I'm NOT going to school tomorrow, or Mom I need an antibiotic!"

What would our responses be? Ha! If you ask my eldest daughter, she'll tell my younger kids, "Mom never let me stay home from school EVER! Even if I was near DEATH- she'd make me go to school!"  I giggle, because she's right… I never trusted her! I always thought, there must be a test, or a teacher she hated, or some other crazy reason like, maybe she just wanted to spend quality time with ME! LOL! As If! Sometimes things come out as I write, and I make myself laugh out loud- like that comment!

Truth is, lots of studies are coming out, and they're speaking the inevitable- we, as a culture have overused antibiotics to the point where viruses and bacteria are becoming resistant to them!  

Listen to this: Of the roughly 100 antibiotics we have, every bacteria strain that causes us some sort of illness, has developed at least one strain that is resistant to an antibiotic treatment.

Here's a scary number: Nearly 20,000 people die in medical facilities every year from antibiotic resistant bacteria. When it comes to blood poisoning and pneumonia caused by a Staph infection, we are down to our last effective antibiotic - Vancomycin.

We as moms, have tried to fight this since our little ones were little!  Too many doctors have treated them as 'wonder drugs' that are good for anything.  They've been  prescribed like candy! I've done the research and it shows that they are used by doctors 60 percent more than they should be, and More studies show that the more antibiotics are used, the quicker bacteria develop strains that are resistant to the drugs. But it gets even Worse! Listen to this:

Most people are not aware that they are eating antibiotics practically every day in meat products like beef,  chicken and milk. These antibiotics are used as a precautionary measure for the animals who are housed in less than stellar conditions. 

We have been using antibiotics without even being aware- because some farmer can't keep a clean barn, on top of giving them to our kids medically for things such as ear infections.  If I can keep a clean house, having 5 kids, HE should be able to keep a clean barn to keep our kids healthy!  It certainly paints a visual, I'll give ya' that…

Here's this farmer, spraying his cows with water guns filled with antibiotics, and the same with his chickens as they run when they see him coming! Clucking like crazy!

At least his animals are healthy from absorbing all the antibiotics on a daily basis- which is more than we can say for our KIDS???

OMG. Something new for me to go nuts over. Just what I needed.

I kind of feel, we should have been informed of this from the 'get-go,' don't you?  

 With Regret  



     Whitney Houston's death, while a sad thing, was the direct result of very unwise life choices. It dominates the news.



      Charlie Sheen is 45 and his story is all over the news because he is a substance abuser, an adulterer, sexually promiscuous and obnoxious. 



      Lindsay Lohan is 24 and her story is all over the news because she is a celebrity drug addict and thief. 



      Something as frivolous as Kim Kardashian’s stupid wedding [and short-lived marriage] was shoved down our throats, While…….. 



     Justin Allen 23 

     Brett Linley 29 

     Matthew Weikert 29 

     Justus Bartett 27 

     Dave Santos 21 

     Jesse Reed 26 

     Matthew Johnson 21 

     Zachary Fisher 24 

     Brandon King 23 

     Christopher Goeke 23 

     and Sheldon Tate 27… 



      These boys/men are all Marines that gave their lives last month for us. There is no media for them; not even a mention of their names. 



      Let's learn a lesson, and call attention to what really matters, and let the 'abusers and frivolous' take care of themselves. If they got themselves Into their own messes, they can get themselves Out

What do you think?

What is Wrong with this picture? I called,… I wrote… I went to the unemployment office… I made FRIENDS with these people from calling and writing so often! All of this, while trying to obtain my DRIVERS LICENSE, from being out of state! I'm not going to repeat that story- just believe my frustration level has reached new PEAKS!

I went, week 13, on a Monday morning, beaten down with clerical crap, tired, no hope… and just FED UP.  After waiting for my turn in the never-ending line, I reached the clerk, and after reviewing my status, social security number, and lack of funds, he said to me, "You need to speak with a supervisor."  I totally AGREED with him! 13 weeks??? R U KIDDING ME.  I said, "OK, …where is he/she?" The response was, (with a chuckle…) " It's Monday!"  I said, "Yeah? I'M HERE on a MONDAY?? Why isn't the Supervisor??" He politely, and I'll give him that- said, "If you wouldn't mind taking a seat, I'll see what I can do."

So I did.

Eventually they called me back to the 'the supervisor's office.' Whoa….You might as well have handed me both Dorothy's Red Shoes, and the Wicked Witch's Broom.  I just didn't know what to expect, and there she was, sitting behind her BIG DESK, leaning back in her swivel chair,… just lookin' at me… sizing me up.

I sat down, and explained my situation. Thirteen weeks is a long time, to not receive unemployment when you are deserving of it, … no? She asked, "Did you do something to your employer that might have caused him/her to deny the claim?"  I pictured in my head, my former employer looking like a large computer screen with buttons just waiting and deservedly so, to be pushed! But no… that is no reason to deny an unemployment claim. Absolutely Not… although the image, DID make me smile…!  

I said, "No, there should be No reason in the world why this has not gone through. Possibly a clerical error?"  She dug through the paperwork, and found- lo and behold, they had never responded to the claim. Imagine that…but, me, not being one to hold grudges, (until I see him face to face ), asked her, while she was trying to rectify the situation,…"What do YOU, Ms. Head of Unemployment Charlotte, really want to do with YOUR life?

She answered without skipping a beat: "I want to be a travel agent! I Love to Travel!"  I found this to be very interesting, considering I wasn't in the position to travel from Charlotte to Boone, until I collected this nonsense of a weekly paycheck. but I delved in deeper. "How long have you wanted to Do this, and how many more years do you have till retirement?" She answered and was Very forthcoming. "A few years left, and then I'm off to the Islands!"

I then noticed a glass globe on her desk… like a snow globe, and I picked it up, where she then said, "go ahead and shake it!"  I did. Gold flickered in and out of the scenery inside the globe, which really caught my attention, because I love things that glitter. She told me it was gold leaf.  I said, "Someone very special must have bought this for you," where she answered, "Yes, this is true. I Bought that for myself!"  At this point, we were both smiling, her content with her dreams, and me, still unsure if my employer would contest the claim, …but I LIKED her, so it was a worthwhile visit. See how i roll?

She told me she'd keep an eye on my claim, and follow through on it.  I then asked her, "within the bureau, do you ever look for motivational speakers, for instance someone that might be able to teach unemployed people, the art of 'reinvention?  That there even IS sucha a thing?" She got up from behind her desk, literally took me by the hand and introduced me to a woman in charge of such groups! Unreal! I said my goodbye's to her- and began talking to the new girl. Walked out with a list of potential clients and two new friends.  Not bad for a days business!

I decided to send the original woman a 'thank you' card, even though I still had no idea if the money was coming- but she was good to me.  I personalized it, (in case you want to know how effective these cards are check out www.Sendoutcards.com/RobinMarshall) best marketing tool I've ever used- I mean 80% return PLUS the real sentiment of a card! I just LOVE them!

A week later, she called me! She couldn't stop thanking me for the card, saying, In Her line of work, no one EVER says 'thank you,' so this meant a lot to her.  She then asked me, how's the case going? I said, "I received a letter that stated, I'm not NOT eligible, but what in the world does THAT mean??" She answered, "Give me your social!" I did- she typed it in the system, and Lo and Behold, she says to me, "Girl? You've been sitting with multiple thousands of dollars in your account since last Friday! Whatever we did, It WORKED!"

I just feel, if you ask people about themselves, and you genuinely want to know the answers, it makes them feel good about themeselves, and if they feel good about themselves, they'll feel good about You. Always Ask- but Always Care, about what someone has to say. They Matter!

Now? I'm just a little bit richer in the bank on a weekly basis, while I continue looking, but I'm a LOT richer with my new friend!  I love when things are just 'meant to be!'

xoxoxox

The moment arrives!  We need the thing we’ve hidden away,  for ourself- and then it happens:  We can’t find it. First, we try and blame the kids.  ”Damn it? I KNEW they’d find what I’d hidden? Nothing is sacred in this house!”  After that thought filters through our heads for a good :45, we look at the dogs.  More like, we GLARE at the dogs, as if saying, “OMG. You ATE it, didn’t you! Which one of you couldn’t keep your cotton’ pickin’ paws off my THING!”  We look from one to the other, while the realization seeps in… slowly, methodically, and almost like a ritual, because we recognize this moment:  we know it’s happened many times before. We hide our things So Well, that we outsmart Oursselves! We’re good ‘hiders!’

No, it’s not dementia, we’re just smarter than we THINK we are.  Talk about ‘battling within your own head,’…Hmph! Who in their right mind, would Hide something from themselves in the first place- and then expect to find it, let alone NOT find it! In the back of our minds, we know… when we move, we’ll find all our hidden stuff, and it’ll be like our own private Christmas or Chanukah- a day filled with ‘our personal choice gifts!’  All things that only we would want.  They were good enough to hide, and a blessing to find!  It’s like getting that ‘present for no reason,’ that we rarely receive. That’s my rationalization: We took it upon myself, to hide the item, lose it, eventually find it, and rejoice over it! It’s our version of receiving that very special ‘gift for no reason,’ that we all would die for.  I just know, that if you can’t rely on others to do it for you, then we have to take care of it, ourselves.   It’s simple!

I was to meet up with a group, at what I thought was a ‘bowling alley/ pool hall,’ kind of place. I’m new to this group, and as a result, only know a few people.

I got there at the right time- although no one there I recognized, and there was No Bowling to be seen- it was just a bar and pool tables.  I was immediately uncomfortable, saw an open couple of stools at the bar, and sat down, trying to decide what to do!

Guy came over, dressed in a suit, (this is a Sunday night?) …so I asked him if he was part of this group!  He said, “No,” looked at me, and told me I’d taken his seat!  Baffled, I offered to slide over, he said, “No.”

Of course the Normal thing for me to have done, would have been to walk away, but,-  NO, I thought to myself, “there MUST be something TO this,…  to  meet a man, in a very different scenario than you’re used to,…knowing that this was NOT a “Mr. Goodbar”  situation, I was absolutely Not Looking for him- he was attractive, and after  we began talking, I found him to be extremely  spiritual,  complimentary, forthcoming, and he wanted nothing more, than to talk and find out all about me, almost like a ‘snake charmer?’  We went through all of the life questions, married, kids, family, where he promptly told me, “No, no, and no.”  Notice how I turned all around, and wound up asking Him the questions! LOL!

After an hour, he walked me to my car. I saw him miss his step a couple of times, which led me to believe he may have had too much to drink- although I’d only seen him drinking One beer while I was there.

I offered to call him a cab. He refused, but I insisted on swapping numbers, since he’d been  nothing but cordial, and as far as I was concerned- I wanted to text him, to make sure he got home safely-which  I did.

I got no answer.  Twice… no reply.

I waited till the next morning, and tried again- leaving a text that said, “Just Want to make sure you’re alive.”

I received a text back saying, “Yes, I’ll call you soon.”

The next thing that happened was, my cell rang, and I saw ‘Unknown’ on the screen, so I figured it was him, calling from a land line, and answered.

BOOM!  It was a woman, claiming to be his Fiance, and wanted to know WHY I was texting her ‘soon to be Husband!’  I asked her, why he just texted me Back? She said, “That’s impossible, he was laying in bed beside me!”  Can you picture this in your mind: The guy turned on his side, and texted me- saying he’ll call,… got up to use the bathroom, left his phone behind… and she looks at his incoming texts!

Just when we think we’re So Smart- we realize there’s always a ‘snake charmer’ around the corner.

I’ll tell you what I did-  but first, I’d like to know what YOU would have done! Seriously! What Would You Do?

I had all five kids record the same script… not knowing which kid I was going to use for it.  After listening back, and hearing the strengths in each voice, at different parts of the story, I decided to use them All.

It is the most Powerful Piece, I’ve ever created- and it makes me Proud to know, that my family came forward without hesitation to contribute.

After I’d finished cutting, pasting, producing, and listening Again- I brought all my kids into the studio, sat them down, and asked them to be still, and quiet, while listening to the piece we’d all just created.

You could have heard a pin drop. Five teens, not uttering a breath… while listening to what we’d accomplished… almost an impossibility, if you think about it… ‘Teens and Quiet,’…  just don’t belong in the same sentence!

They knew.  They Just Knew.  We had possibly created an award winning piece- that was not only Solid, because of Talent- but more importantly, They knew, that if their friends… and their Friends,’ friends- Listened to this- they just MIGHT help to save a Life.  It was instinctual!

The message is, “Kids talking to Kids, about the outcome of Drinking and Driving.”  Sometimes, when they speak to their own- it comes across Louder, and more Clearly. 

So here it is- and if you DO chose to listen with your child, sit close, no matter How much resistance they offer.  This is VERY GRAPHIC, and no matter how tough your kid may come across as being… they’d have to be ‘heartless’ in order Not to Feel the strength and devistation that this story tells. Here it is: Please- Please- Sit with your Kids and watch this video together. We can save LIVES with this. 
MY kids recorded this, for YOUR kids. We All Care. -http://ow.ly/8csHZ  Let me know how the family reacts. 

I deliberately left the photos in this video, at a lower quality resolution, because I wanted it to have ‘flaws,’ just like we do, and our children do. Almost like the story is succint, but yet blurry.

I hope it means the same to you, and yours- as it did to me and Mine.

Much love and respect to you, and let me know, if you could- “Did it, make that difference  that you were looking fr

They make me stop and wonder… for instance:

‘Dishearten’

 ”To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; spirit.”

What the dictionary is trying to say is, “never really have full faith in what you THINK is Love. There’s Always another side to it.

Would you visit?

If there could only be One more letter in front of the DMV, it would be a ‘G.’ Then it would be named Appropriately! The “Gawd Damned Motor Vehicle!” Seriously- I need to tell you this course of events that led up to my ‘Demise of Mental Validation,’ yet another spin on the ‘DMV!’

Once again, let me remind you, that, No Way in the World, could I Make this shit UP!

Started like this: I moved from NYC/Long Island, to just south of Charlotte, literally one mile away, in York County, South Carolina.  From the day I moved here, I had made attempt after attempt to get my driver’s license updated!

The first time I tried, I found out I needed many different documents, some of which I had, and some of which… I had, but they just weren’t Good enough! OMG- I’m shaking my OWN head, as I’m writing this…

I found out, that in order for me to switch my NY license to a SC equivalent, I needed my Social Security card- check! My NY license- check! A recent bill to validate my address- check! My birth certificate- check!…and my Marriage License! Wha???  I went home at that point, and started searching for the marriage license.  I had NO idea where it was… and upon further pondering, I actually started to wonder, if we really DID have one in the first place! I mean, …we got married on a BOAT.  Did we really Need one??

I called my husband and asked him, “Do you remember Ever getting a marriage license?” I could literally hear him shrug his shoulders over the phone… which of course spurred me on to bigger and greater things like, “HOW could you not remember this?? This is Monumental! Wasn’t this the ‘Boy’s Job,’ upon getting married??”

Another ‘audible shrug,’ which pushed my buttons even more! I asked him,… in a very nice tone, – to come search the garage. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been Nicer… I suggested, that it would be a Very good idea to find it,… otherwise I’d have to fly to NY, to get a copy, and while I was there, I may as well get what’s needed for a legal separation or divorce!  I mean,… what’s the difference, …if I’m gonna’ wind up in jail anyway, from speeding, or making a turn where I shouldn’t, while not having the proper Driver’s License to back myself UP!  This is ‘South-friggin’- Carolina!’  No one likes me, to Begin with!  I’ve always felt like the police, knowing that I’m a ‘New Yorker,’ are just Waiting for me to screw up!  Yes… this could all be in my head.  I admit it! I’m WAY outside the box, for these people, and I KNOW it!

Let me explain why the documentation that I DID have- Didn’t Work.

My Married name, is Bauver.  Did I ever use that name in business? NO.  Did I use that name when I got married? NO. In fact, on the ‘non-existant’ marriage license, -I had signed as Robin Marshall!

Did my husband come over and scour the garage for that license? YES. Did he find it? NO! Wait- it gets better here!

Neither one of us remembered where, or even IF we got a marriage license, so I started calling ALL the boroughs in NY and by process of elemination, I found out that we must have registered somewhere other than Long Island, where we got married. Amazing.

We called a NY friend, (just like the game shows) and after notarizing a document which gave him the ‘ok’ to get the license, we sent him on his way to Front Street in NYC to get us a copy.

Thinking back to the day we got married, I remembered, we couldn’t find a Rabbi! We unknowingly chose to marry on TISHA B’AV, which is a day in Jewish history, meant to mourn the destruction of the temples and repeated violence against Jews, … who knew???  I wasn’t religious enough to know, but apparently every Rabbi in town, aside from the one we got, knew about it?  We finally found a Female Rabbi- which back then, was a little unusual..but we were desperate, so we grabbed her!…  The fact that we couldn’t Find the license, on top of that history, would make Anyone wonder, if we were legally married- even the people at the DMV!

Let’s move to my Social Security card- where it reads Robin Bauver. WHY?? I don’t know! I had had that card since I was a kid! It Should have read Robin Marshall!  At that point, I became a bit numb… but I still persevered….

My Birth Certificate reads,… I really need a ‘drum roll’ here…             Robin Lewis! Why? That was my Dad’s birth name, when I was born! He legally changed HIS name, when I was approximately 9 years old.  Did he legally change MY name? NO.

Our friend came back with our Marriage Licence! Yup! Just as I’d suspected, it was signed ‘Robin Marshall!’

Quick recap:

Birth certificate- Robin Lewis

SS card and NY License- Robin Bauver

Marriage License- Robin Marshall

- so they looked at me, like I had 2 heads- at the DMV…  oh, … and it gets even better…

While going through my Dad’s papers, after he died, I found a document that showed he legally changed his name to Marshall. I elected to bring that along, for back-up, even though it was never requested.

Today- after 2 months of trying to get this all together, after losing employment, after dealing with the loss of my Dad, I walked in to the ‘Gawd Damn Motor Vehicle,’ with all the proper papers, and two things happened:

First: the paper I’d elected to bring, that they didn’t request? The documentation showing my Dad had legally changed his name? They insisted I needed the ORIGINAL.  I said, “You guys didn’t even ASK for this!! I brought this ON MY OWN!  He’s DEAD! I don’t know where the original Is???  She just shook her head.

Then, the icing on the cake: She took my license and ran it through the system, just on the  slight chance that her supervisor just MIGHT approve this- what shows Up?  My License has been suspended for over a YEAR- and I was never Notified! R U KIDDING ME!  I almost jumped out of my skin, at that point.  I asked her to get me a phone number in Albany, to find out HOW this was possible!  She did.  I called while standing there, pissing off the next DMV victim that was patiently waiting their turn!

Turned out, there had been an insurance payment that had been late, 2 years ago- that had suspended my license way back when!  Of course, that car is fully insured, and has been SINCE.  When I asked ‘why had I not received notification of this?’ The answer was, “it’s a clerical error, and we didn’t have a forwarding address on you.”  I said, “THAT’S RIDICULOUS- Everyone ELSE DOES??  My Husband came in here to the SC- GDMV and wasn’t asked for HIS marriage license,  his name was on the same insurance policy, and HIS license wasn’t suspended? Why is THAT?”

So here I am AGAIN- waiting for the ‘fix’, while driving with a non-existant license, and a bunch of South Carolina people shaking their heads at me!

I even put on really good make-up and a nice shirt for this picture!  I was prepared to Smile!  I’m ALWAYS prepared to smile! Not today. THIS is why, I attended a Christmas Party, with relatively NO ONE I knew, and had a GREAT Time! We played that gift swapping game, and I Stole the most adorable coffee mugs from a woman that was trying to hide them behind a coffee table! Ha! I was Watching… it was harmlessly vendictive, but if felt Damned Good!  I’ll include a picture of the adorable mugs!

Now, after faxing PROOF of insurance, …I wait for two weeks, for all to clear up, and Pray that I don’t get pulled over… where if I do, for sure… I’ll wind up in JAIL.  Does Anyone have bail? Just in case??  I’m good for the money, just lacking in ‘attitude skills.’ I WILL give you one of my kids for collateral- absolutely.  I’ll even let You Pick!  They won’t mind? It’s a breath of ‘fresh air’ for any one of the five! Guaranteed!

xoxoxox  Thank you for caring enough to read… and relate!

Robin