SIDEBAR #57 - Travis Alexander forum

[daisymae]

Tonight is the 4th episode of Hunting Hitler on the History Channel, 10PM EST. There are 4 more episodes for this series this year.

I've been researching this subject and found many articles on the Nazi's fleeing to Argentina so this is not new. I now recall Mengele, Eichmann and others that ended up in Argentina. Also Weisenthal captured Eichmann, brought him to Jerusalem where he stood trial. Up to 100,000 Nazi's fled to Argentina.

I'll be watching tonight.

 

[Zuri]

PP P#4

February 2007, CMJA made an impromptu trip to see Travis is Mesa, arriving around 2 am. She rang the doorbell and according to her, he was delighted to see her. She spent several days there and during the course of her stay, she went into his MySpace account and discovered emails of a sexual nature. She did not confront him.

They became exclusive on February 2, 2007. Sky was beginning to really be concerned about CMJA as she was very obsessive. She and Chirs both told Travis that CMJA was not welcome in their home after the listening behind the door episode.

While driving to the Oklahoma City Conference with CMJA, Travis heard the song "Live like You are Dying" by Tim McGraw. That became his anthem and he started doing some of the things in the song, like skydiving, hiking the Rockies etc. He put his business on the back burner and started traveling. Most of his trips were with CMJA.

However, when Travis was surrounded by his friends or PPL associates, he kept his distance from CMJA, which she didn't like. She was obsessed with marrying him. If Travis paid any attention to another woman, CMJA would get very upset and jealous. She cornered Clancy in the women's bathroom after Travis caught Clancey when she stumbled. She couldn't handle the thought of Travis touching another woman.

(Most of this book contains quotes from CMJA, so take it with a grain of salt lol)

By May 2007, CMJAhad moved out of her house in Palm Desert and started working at the Ventana Inn to save money. She would travel to Mesa and when around Travis's friends, she would announce that she was his girlfriend. She even told one of them , whom she had never met, that she was going to marry Travis. He was shocked as he knew Travis did not feel the same way. He talked to Travis and Travis acknowledged that he needed to break up with CMJA, that it wasn't fair to her.

For whatever his reasons were, Travis did not feel that CMJA was marriage material. He started to think about marriage and finding a moral, Morman woman. In June 2007, while visiting friends in Utah with CMJA, he went to take a nap. He had left his cell phone between the cushions on the sofa and CMJA fished it out and went through it. She found texts between Travis and other women, some of it innocuous.

CMJA saw that Travis had made plans with another woman and was heartbroken, but she said nothing to Travis about his cheating on her. They went on several more trips, including Niagara Falls and then to Huntington Beach, CA on a PPL trip CMJA had won (?). She discovered texts from a woman (Lisa) and texted back. She then deleted the message. She was cold and distant on that trip and Travis kept asking her what was wrong.

She confided in Leslie Udy about Travis cheating on her. After the trip, she confronted Travis by phone about the texts and his cheating and they broke up on June 29, 2007. Travis told her that neither one of them was ready to be in a relationship. Travis started pursuing Lisa. CMJA wasn't about to let go. Two weeks after they broke up, she decided to move to Mesa. Travis did not want her there, but CMJA said he did and even paid for the move. She moved to Mesa by the end of July.

(Is any of this true? As far as the timing goes? Most of All this is according to CMJA.)

(I am skipping a lot of the quotes of what transpired, according to CMJA. It is making me sick. No wonder many of you didn't like this book as it is from CMJA's perspective which some countering by some of Travis' friends)

On February 29, 2008, after his rock climbing date with Mimi, he came home to find CMJA sleeping in his home on a Love Sac. She claimed to have just fallen asleep. He began noticing things missing from his home and suspected that CMJA had taken them, including the first pages of the book he was writing. Travis' roommate noted how exasperated Travis was with CMJA always calling or showing up.

CMJA decided to move back to CA so SHE could put distance between them. Travis was relieved to have her gone. When she blew up the BMW engine, they used PPL attorneys to determine whose fault it was: the towing person or CMJA. (I guess it was CMJA as she continued to make payments).

After Travis started his blog, CMJA started one of her own. She would mirror Travis' posts and even use the same subjects, phrases and terminology, in an effort to show Travis how evolved she was.

On May 1, 2008, Travis asked Mimi to go to Cancun as a friend. He told CMJA he was going ALONE to help pay back a debt to a friend". She was disappointed because there were some places she had hoped to visit.

CMJA started texting/sexting with Ryan Burns, and a May 3rd exchange seemed to indicate he had invited her to a PPL briefing in June. She told Ryan all about her relationship with Travis and that she had trust issues. She told Ryan that Travis had cheated, making her feel badly. He was completely taken in by her, even saying he loved how honest she was... So by mid May, CMJA decided to go to Utah and see Ryan.

On May 10, Travis caught CMJA logging in on his FB page. He was angry and let her know so. They had another fight on May 26th. Since CMJA had moved away and Travis realized that things were going nowhere with Mimi, he still had a longing for Lisa. He had called her and she never Answered, but on May 28th, she did and they talked. He was ecstatic as he was hoping to get back together with her if he could make amends and sway her.

Travis confided in Taylor Searle that at the end of May, he found that CMJA had hacked into his FB page and there were some unusual things/activity on his page. He called CMJA and blew up at her. Taylor was worried CMJA might try and hurt Travis, but Travis insisted that CMJA was harmless.

Enrique, Travis' roommate came and went over the days around June 4, 2008. His girlfriend noticed Travis' wallet and CTR ring on the counter and asked why Travis didn't have them. Enrique thought Travis was out of town and left them. His girlfriend noticed that Naps had no food and fed him and continued to do so over the next couple of days. Zach, his other roommate noticed some things too, but thought Travis had just been cleaning when he felt the railing was slippery. One of them got home late and saw Travis' bathroom light on and figured Travis had forgotten to turn it off.

 

[Susza]

Oh no, Zuri So many Jingles are coming your way. :grouphug:

And JINGLESJINGLESJINGLES from Switzerland coming your way.

 

[Susza]

Wagara, have a wonderful Happy Birthday. May all your wishes come true. :bdscroll:


Zuri.... jingles to you and Knox. Once again, you have brought him relief and hopefully continued good health.
I honestly don't know what I would do in your situation. If I could afford it, I imagine I would keep bringing him to good care. Unfortunately, financially I would never have been able to continue these treatments as long as you have. He has been lucky to have you! I guess my best words would be to not allow this to come between you and your husband. And do not let it interfere with your own health. So... health, marriage, Zuri ... in that order. Although, I must admit, I often put my own health on the back burner when it comes to others, including my pets.

Spellbound, I'm with you!

Zuri:YOU, your huz&you, your horse&you,...What do you think? Would this be a good order of priorities?
But, like Spellbound said, it's hard to give advice in such a special situation.
What does your tummy tell you?

 

[Hatfield]

And JINGLESJINGLESJINGLES from Switzerland coming your way.

One of my "Bucket List" items is to ski in Switzerland.
I would so love to travel there in the winter and fill up my large size Bota Bag with some expensive Sauvignon Blanc and take a Gondola to one of the tallest peaks and then ski down to some nice Swiss Town to shop and then do it all over again hitting different small valley towns.

OMG I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Ive been planning it my whole life and have yet to pull off that trip. I have to go there before I leave this planet.

 

[Susza]

Mollyandme, I have been through similar times. I stayed in a lousy marriage until the kids grew up, but left with $50 to my name. Stayed at a house my parents owned for one year, worked three jobs to make ends meet. Thankfully, I had no one else to support then. And somehow I did it all.

I eventually remarried and within a year I had to leave my GOOD job due to health issues and we had to depend on hubby's low-paying, unreliable job. His parents helped us out a lot financially, and like you I was terribly embarrassed. Somehow, I managed to push hubby into finding better employment and eventually things turned around nicely for us. We will never be rich, but it felt good when we paid the last payment to the in-laws when we were finally able. Part of our "debt" they wrote off as a gift or as "payment for my cleaning their house when I could", which really lessened the pressure, but I could not just take and not give back when I was able.

I understand the cost of child care and car gas and maintenance making a job's wages not balance out. I do hope you have applied for some assistance (food stamps at least?). Do you have friends or family that might need your services for pay, such as cleaning or yard work? Are you skilled at sewing repairs?

It must feel terribly sad to be separated from your husband when you need each other's support and shared responsibilities. I assume there is a reason you cannot move to where your husband and family are. I wish I knew what to say to make this burden a little lighter. Hang in there for those beautiful kids. They will learn to work hard and stretch a dollar from you.

Spell, you are SO lovely!

Mollyandme, you are NOT a failure but a wonderful, respectful and sensitive and caring person. If only I could help you... Take it day by day, accepting help doesn't mean being weak, focus on the love for your children & huz as I think it's a great source of energy - and yes, may be some of your skills could be needed by your friends and neighbours...
And please, come back and share with us when it get's too hard; don't stay alone!

And what Hope4More said: take a quiet moment for yourself every day; this is something that helps me a lot.

 

[Susza]

Oh YoN, wishing you a quick recover!!!

 

[Hatfield]

I'm so sorry you are going thru these rough times, our baby mommy. You know that everyone goes thru them at some time in their lives-unfortunately, this is your turn.
I just want to tell you something (think of me as some old Italian grandma who's been thru some pretty hard times).

Of course you are embarrassed, but this embarrassment will not put food on the table for your 3 precious babies. Because they are so young, they don't understand what you are going thru financially (and mentally). You brought those precious little things into the world- now you have to swallow your pride for them. You are a parent now and parents must take care of their children in any way possible.

I know you would walk thru fire for those 3, so walk thru fire now and take yourself and your embarrassment/pride to your county's social services office. Get all you can from them to help you- that's what they are there for- to help parents get thru the tough times for their children's sake. You need to develop, what my mother always said I had/have, a "faccia tosta" - a tough/hard face. That's a person that can hold their head up high when things are tough and embarrassing, with pride, and hide your embarrassment to get what you need to survive the hard times in life. Everyone needs some kind of help sometimes thru no fault of their own- there are no exceptions, IMO. Life is hard- always, with some little rays of happiness that you make for yourself.

As for your generous parents, thank them for their gracious help while you take whatever help they are giving you for they are your parents and would walk thru fire for you and their grandchildren. You are lucky because some people do not have family to help or ones that have the means to help.

When I hear "settlement", I think of months/years of waiting for it- especially from Workman's Compensation. I hope this is not so for you and your husband. Don't depend on this type of financial help- waiting around hoping for it at some future time. This is the present and you need to get help now.

Get yourself to a MD for help with your medical problems (most "ulcers" are caused by a bug called H. Pylori and are not from stress- not saying that your's are) and get to a psychologist/social worker for your mental help for some talking and meds if you need them, please.

You are so very young, my dear, and you will survive because you have to- for your children's sake. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel- maybe not the light you may want to see, but it's there waiting for you. You won't get to the light if you sit on your duff and wait for stuff to happen- you have to make it happen. Wishing and hoping will get you nothing but wishing and hoping.

I just know you can do this, baby mommy. You're no failure/brat- no good mother is, IMO. When your children grow up to be good people/citizens, you have achieved what all parents can hope for. That's really what's important in life, IMO. Your children need your help now by providing all you can for them and I know you will do this. You can do this.

Now you come here to this "faccia tosta" old lady and let me give you a great big hug and a kiss (and kiss those babies for me

:blowkiss:

Wonderful Post and Wonderful Advice. :cheers:

 

[Susza]

I'm so sorry you are going thru these rough times, our baby mommy. You know that everyone goes thru them at some time in their lives-unfortunately, this is your turn.
I just want to tell you something (think of me as some old Italian grandma who's been thru some pretty hard times).

Of course you are embarrassed, but this embarrassment will not put food on the table for your 3 precious babies. Because they are so young, they don't understand what you are going thru financially (and mentally). You brought those precious little things into the world- now you have to swallow your pride for them. You are a parent now and parents must take care of their children in any way possible.

I know you would walk thru fire for those 3, so walk thru fire now and take yourself and your embarrassment/pride to your county's social services office. Get all you can from them to help you- that's what they are there for- to help parents get thru the tough times for their children's sake. You need to develop, what my mother always said I had/have, a "faccia tosta" - a tough/hard face. That's a person that can hold their head up high when things are tough and embarrassing, with pride, and hide your embarrassment to get what you need to survive the hard times in life. Everyone needs some kind of help sometimes thru no fault of their own- there are no exceptions, IMO. Life is hard- always, with some little rays of happiness that you make for yourself.

As for your generous parents, thank them for their gracious help while you take whatever help they are giving you for they are your parents and would walk thru fire for you and their grandchildren. You are lucky because some people do not have family to help or ones that have the means to help.

When I hear "settlement", I think of months/years of waiting for it- especially from Workman's Compensation. I hope this is not so for you and your husband. Don't depend on this type of financial help- waiting around hoping for it at some future time. This is the present and you need to get help now.

Get yourself to a MD for help with your medical problems (most "ulcers" are caused by a bug called H. Pylori and are not from stress- not saying that your's are) and get to a psychologist/social worker for your mental help for some talking and meds if you need them, please.

You are so very young, my dear, and you will survive because you have to- for your children's sake. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel- maybe not the light you may want to see, but it's there waiting for you. You won't get to the light if you sit on your duff and wait for stuff to happen- you have to make it happen. Wishing and hoping will get you nothing but wishing and hoping.

I just know you can do this, baby mommy. You're no failure/brat- no good mother is, IMO. When your children grow up to be good people/citizens, you have achieved what all parents can hope for. That's really what's important in life, IMO. Your children need your help now by providing all you can for them and I know you will do this. You can do this.

Now you come here to this "faccia tosta" old lady and let me give you a great big hug and a kiss (and kiss those babies for me

:blowkiss:

Wow, I LOVE this post! Thank you!!!

 

[Susza]

I have a stupid question to ask so here goes. We received an email last week from a woman my husband had worked with for a short time. It was an invitation to a 'dinner party'. We accepted and yesterday she emailed back "Just a reminder dinner Friday is at*6:30*and the theme is Italian so please bring whatever you'd like."
Does she mean we should bring a dish, or a bottle of wine? Kind of ticks me off that we're supposed to bring our own food.

Well, I don't know but here in Switzerland this would mean bring a dish & a bottle

 

[Susza]

One of my "Bucket List" items is to ski in Switzerland.
I would so love to travel there in the winter and fill up my large size Bota Bag with some expensive Sauvignon Blanc and take a Gondola to one of the tallest peaks and then ski down to some nice Swiss Town to shop and then do it all over again hitting different small valley towns.

OMG I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Ive been planning it my whole life and have yet to pull off that trip. I have to go there before I leave this planet.

Hatfield, JUST DO IT!!! You're very welcome. I would take you to Courmayeur, a nice little italian village just at the other end of the Mont Blanc tunnel.

 

[Hatfield]

I have a stupid question to ask so here goes. We received an email last week from a woman my husband had worked with for a short time. It was an invitation to a 'dinner party'. We accepted and yesterday she emailed back "Just a reminder dinner Friday is at*6:30*and the theme is Italian so please bring whatever you'd like."
Does she mean we should bring a dish, or a bottle of wine? Kind of ticks me off that we're supposed to bring our own food.

I am probably not the right person to ask since I don't get out much and don't know much about entertaining etiquette. But I think it means to bring whatever you wish if you can. Like a side dish OR a bottle of wine. For me, I would expect the Host to have the main dish since they are throwing the Dinner Party.

I wouldn't sweat it too much because most of the guests wont care if you brought anything or not. The host may pay attention but that is on them and the worst that would happen is you may not get invited back if they don't like what you brought or didn't bring. LOL

The guests will be fine and typically the guests enjoy each others company.

I think this particular Host may have not been clear in their original invitation to you that they may be having a "Pot Luck Dinner Party" which is where everyone would be expected to bring some dish. For me, the definition of a plain old "Dinner Party" would mean the Host would be the one preparing everything and would not expect others to bring anything. So it surprises me that they hinted towards you having to bring something which makes me think it really is a pot luck dinner party and they were not clear about it.

BTW I am the worlds worst entertainer LOL Which is why I don't socialize much. Whenever we have anyone over we get too stressed out and we make everyone feel stressed because we are so stressed. LOL I am not good at those types of events.

Informal ones I am fine at. But formal invitations and stuff I am not real good at. LOL

 

[Hatfield]

Hatfield, JUST DO IT!!! You're very welcome. I would take you to Courmayeur, a nice little italian village just at the other end of the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Courmayeur sounds wonderful. I have seen a couple travel shows on Public Television and one of them visited some of those quaint Swiss Ski villages. They are so neat and someday I will get there.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

One of my "Bucket List" items is to ski in Switzerland.
I would so love to travel there in the winter and fill up my large size Bota Bag with some expensive Sauvignon Blanc and take a Gondola to one of the tallest peaks and then ski down to some nice Swiss Town to shop and then do it all over again hitting different small valley towns.

OMG I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Ive been planning it my whole life and have yet to pull off that trip. I have to go there before I leave this planet.

I have a great grand mother and her family that came from Bern (IIRC it was Zuri who told me it was one of the most beautiful places on earth. So, it's up to Susza and Zuri to take us there on our trip. They can share with us the thrill of skiing and sledding, and the local cuisine.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

1945 - Burl Ives made his concert debut. He appeared at New York’s Town Hall. We lovingly listen every year for the voice of this old-time radio personality as the narrator and banjo-pickin’ snowman in TV’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.


[video=youtu;_nYopnZ9Y7g]http://youtu.be/_nYopnZ9Y7g[/video]

 

[Val1]

One more thing, baby mommy:

If Social Services don't help that much, go to Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and/or your local church for help. That's what they're there for. There's also your town's food bank/pantry.

"Facia tosta" my dear and keep your chin up and smile.

Just to add to the list, if these types of organizations are down/up? that way, the Kinsmen, Lion's Club, Shriners International and even the Ishtar Transition House may be able and willing to give you a hand up, or at the least guide you to who can.

The best advice was already given, just take it one day at a time.

























My sob story below, read at your own risk.:escape:
I was in a somewhat similar situation for a time, my dh had a horrible work related accident five months after we married and I was already pregnant from our wedding night and had just been laid off. Back in those days employers could get away with that.(my dh's dominant arm had been literally ripped off at the shoulder, broken his neck, back, and jaw leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, plus head injured)

As if that wasn't enough stress, mentally and physically, within the next year we had had a second child from the first and only time since his accident we have been able to "do" anything(doctors had even pushed for abortion because of all the heavy meds my dh was on) and had just used all of his insurance payout from his arm to put a down payment on a home closer to where both our parents lived so we could have access to family support, when my dad died. Thankfully we had seen my folks the week before, while shopping for the house.

While we were finally getting over the move that had come with its own problems, my dad's funeral, plus just learning to live with our two babies(13 months apart) and my dh who had finally managed to recover enough to be able to finally dump his wheelchair and walk on his own when his pain allowed(he's classified as a partial quad and to this day is still on heavy meds for phantom and other injury related pain), Worker's put him in a pain clinic for two months where we weren't allowed contact except on weekends(it was part of his therapy regimen), when his mom suddenly went septic, fell into a coma and died a few days later.

Anyway, point is, all you can do is live one day at a time and collect the happy memories with your loved ones as they dance past. It's those memories that make it all worth it.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

1975 - Montego Bay - Bobby Bloom hits the charts. I've always loved flowers on my skirts




[video=youtu;gXjVd0TeOX0]http://youtu.be/gXjVd0TeOX0[/video]

 

[Hatfield]

Just to add to the list, if these types of organizations are down/up? that way, the Kinsmen, Lion's Club, Shriners International and even the Ishtar Transition House may be able and willing to give you a hand up, or at the least guide you to who can.

The best advice was already given, just take it one day at a time.

























My sob story below, read at your own risk.:escape:
I was in a somewhat similar situation for a time, my dh had a horrible work related accident five months after we married and I was already pregnant from our wedding night and had just been laid off. Back in those days employers could get away with that.(my dh's dominant arm had been literally ripped off at the shoulder, broken his neck, back, and jaw leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, plus head injured)

As if that wasn't enough stress, mentally and physically, within the next year we had had a second child from the first and only time since his accident we have been able to "do" anything(doctors had even pushed for abortion because of all the heavy meds my dh was on) and had just used all of his insurance payout from his arm to put a down payment on a home closer to where both our parents lived so we could have access to family support, when my dad died. Thankfully we had seen my folks the week before, while shopping for the house.

While we were finally getting over the move that had come with its own problems, my dad's funeral, plus just learning to live with our two babies(13 months apart) and my dh who had finally managed to recover enough to be able to finally dump his wheelchair and walk on his own when his pain allowed(he's classified as a partial quad and to this day is still on heavy meds for phantom and other injury related pain), Worker's put him in a pain clinic for two months where we weren't allowed contact except on weekends(it was part of his therapy regimen), when his mom suddenly went septic, fell into a coma and died a few days later.

Anyway, point is, all you can do is live one day at a time and collect the happy memories with your loved ones as they dance past. It's those memories that make it all worth it.

Its so sad to hear but thank you for sharing because it helps reminds us that no matter how dire our circumstances are there is always someone else out there in a worse situation. And if they can do it then so can we.

Hope things have gotten much more joyful for you since those rough times.

 

[GigiG]

Good morning all from the rainy east coast,

I need a little advice or opinion. the past two years have been incredibly rough for me, prob the hardest in my life for a multitude of reasons. i have been staying home with the kids, the oldest is 4, youngest is 16 months. I got a new job but after a week, the cost of day care and gas to and from work was not good, plus with traffic I couldn't get to their school by the time they had to be picked up and both my parents work and my husband is in The old state we used to live in dealing with all the workers compensation and legal stuff from his accident that occurred on the job. It's a huge mess and I have never been so bad off financially in my life. The state my husband is in randomly cut off his workers compensation bc one of the Drs filled out form wrong. The lawyer we have said they would get it fixed but it hasn't been yet. I am so embarrassed. I got health insurance through the health insurance market place for me and the kids until this nightmare ends and I can start work again or whatever once we get our settlement but until then I'm just so stressed. I always had great insurance through work and now all I can afford is this terrible Aetna plan, My once perfect credit is now ruined, I can't afford a darn thing, it's seriously embarrassing. My parents told me to make a list of all living expenses and they would take care of it until my husband and his lawyer get things straightened out but I'm so embarrassed, I feel like such a burden on my parents. I feel so naive for thinking something like this would never happen to me. I always spent within my means, paid my bills, had a job, etc so this is just very very stressful, embarrassing, and I feel like a failure. I know my parents offered to help,but it's still embarrassing.

Has anyone ever been through tough financial times and came out the other end ok? Im so stressed I have ulcers, my hair is falling out, panic attacks, and just feeling like a failure. I'm trying to be grateful for all the good things (Family, and friends) in my life but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now in terms of this financial mess. My husband says he will handle it but some previous poor financial decisions he has made without my consent leaves me skeptical that he is doing everything he can to assist his lawyer properly. Sorry for the rant. I prob sound like a brat but I don't know how else to describe it

Mollyandme, first off, I want to commend you for reaching out. Despite your current situation, your survival instincts are right on. Seeking help and support is primary to getting over this bump in the road. You should give yourself a pat on the back for that. I sincerely hope you will be open to all the advice that's been offered. There are some pretty good people here.

Secondly, if my own story gives you any hope: I was a young single mother with two little kids. NO husband, NO job and NO family support. We lived on nothing (Social Services weren't as good as they are today). Sometimes I wanted to give up, but my kids were so young and innocent and seemed happy. I had to go on for them. They didn't know that I was struggling, and I didn't want them to know.

At some point, I met another mother in a similar situation. We agreed to watch each other's kids while the other went to work ("free" childcare).

During that period, I learned to live on a lot less than I had ever thought possible. Cereal? Not in the budget. I made pancakes from scratch (it's just flour, baking soda and milk (or water, in a pinch). It cost pennies! Funny thing is that my friend's kids were jealous that my kids were so lucky to get to eat pancakes!

After a while, I got a job that payed fairly well. But by then, my kids were tweens and teens, so their "needs" cost a bit more. Then there's trying to pay for college...

Fast forward to 2014 when I was laid off from my job. Bummer. Looking for work when you're over 50 sucks. But I took it in stride, largely, I think, because I had already weathered that kind of storm. My years -- decades -- of frugal living worked in my favor. I was able to ride it out until I eventually found a new job.

So, all I'm trying to say is that this too shall pass, but there are lessons to be learned here that will serve you well for the rest of your life. I know it seems improbable, but this might be a blessing in disguise. I would urge you to do what you can to instill an appreciation of frugality in your children. The world we live in is too fraught with uncertainty.

Even if you can't see it right now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there. I guarantee that you can get there from here. Have faith. And please know that you have a lot of caring souls in your corner rooting for you.

 

[Caylee Advocate]

One of my Mother's fav cookie recipe that she made every Christmas:

Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
powdered sugar (for rolling baked cookies in)

Cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla.
Whisk together flour and salt; add gradually to butter mixture; stir in chopped nuts.
Chill dough if it seems too soft.
Form dough into 1 1/4" balls and place onto parchment-lined or ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or just until the cookies start to turn light golden-brown; remove from oven and allow to cool slightly;
Remove them from baking sheets and roll, a few at a time, in powdered sugar until evenly coated; cool cookies completely on wire racks.

I will also be making some Yummy!

Oh my gosh, I will make these. Do you know if they taste like Archway's Wedding Cake cookies? If so, I will be in a sugar coma after the first batch. :happydance: