I love music. When I was a little girl I used to have my own record player and a big stack of my mom's 45's. She had a lot of music from the 60's that I enjoyed learning the lyrics to and I would listen to them often. I also would listen to the radio and remember liking many different types of music. There was the music from the 50's and 60's that my mom liked, along with country and disco in the 70's. My dad liked Johnny Cash and other country musicians. I still love listening to Johnny Cash. The memories his music brings back....

Anyways, I am always looking for new music to move me and I have found the perfect band for what I like. The band is Blue October. They've been around since 1996 but have just recently become known for their two new hits "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean". Their lyrics are thoughtful, intelligent and real. They write about their real life experiences with mental illness, drug use, lost love and more. The lead singer is Justin Furstenfeld. He's been through some stuff and it comes out in the music. He pours his heart into all that he does. If you get a chance, go check out their Myspace site and have a listen.

Here's a link:

There are so many products out on the market for what ails you that it is difficult and sometimes costly to find something that actually works. I know I’ve been frustrated by certain cold medicines because they seem to have zero effect on my symptoms and at the time I don’t have the energy to take them back and look for something else so I suffer through it instead.

One product that I will endorse is Theraflu in the powder form. You use this product with hot water and drink it like a tea. This medicine has helped get me through days at work when I would rather be in bed. Recently though, I’ve found this product difficult to find. I know they’ve come out with those dissolvable strips but I don’t think they work as well for me as the hot water medicine.

Another product that I wholeheartedly endorse is Emergen-C. It comes in a packet, powder form and you pour it into a little bit of water. The powder fizzes to mix and you drink it. This product is loaded with 1,000 mg of Vitamin C and other mineral complexes etc. It’s a miracle drug and works wonders. A friend at work is sort of a health nut and he gave this to me once when I had a cold. By the end of the day I was feeling much better. My sore throat was gone and I didn’t feel all worn out and crappy. I still had some of the symptoms of a cold but none of the achiness and discomfort that goes with it. Now whenever I start to feel a cold coming on, I take a packet of Emergen-C once or twice a day and I’m better in no time. I’ve managed to avoid four colds with this stuff. I recommend this product to everyone at work and even give them a few packs to take for themselves. Truly a miracle drug. The only problem I have with this product is that it is soooo hard to find. I've looked several places for it to no avail and eventually turned to the internet. I found it on-line and purchased it that way. I hope the word gets out so I can buy it without the hassle.

Richard Jeni was one of my favorite comedians. I found out this morning that he died from an apparent suicide attempt. It makes me sad and I have to wonder why he felt the need to end his life. Whenever I hear of a suicide I always think of the surviving family members and wonder what they did to help this person. For some reason, the finger always points to them, like they were to blame. Why didn’t they try to help? I know that sometimes people are beyond our help, but it still makes you think about it. I recently heard about a friend of ours from church that we used to hang out. His brother committed suicide a few months ago and I know that he’s devastated about it. I also know that he did all he could to try to help his brother. It will take years for his family to recover.

Suicide is such a sad thing. Do people that contemplate suicide feel that there is no one they can turn to? That nobody can help ease their pain? Do they try to reach out or are they too far gone to try? How many people that we come across every day think about killing themselves? I wish I knew. I wouldn’t hesitate to help.