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Having a husband in prison is a stigma in our society. However it is possible to cope and get through this difficult time in your life. Let me help you along the way and give you a few tips.

I myself am a “Prison Wife.” My husband has been in the prison system for the past 22 months. He was first in a minimum security unit, a place called “THE FARM, ” with open doors, and no barbed wire. Now, he is in a half-way house, hoping to come back home the summer of 2005.

The “Prison Wife” is the forgotten one, as she waits at home for her husband. Our society takes care of the sick, the dyimg, the homeless, but the prisoner’s wife is alone and forgotten.

She is faced with insurmountable problems….financial,emotional, psychological, social, stigmatization, health problems to face alone, children to take care of. She keeps the household “together,” until her husband comes home. She works, pays the bills, pays the mortgage or rent, the car payments, insurances. She takes care of the children, repairs for the house, and just about everything else under the sun. Holidays and birthdays come and go. She is alone and lonely, most often faced with depression.
Most find it difficult to even face another day. She lives in hiding because she is afraid the neighbors may find out. So she lies and says he is on a “business” trip, to protect herself…after all, the neighbors would be shocked to know a criminal’s wife lives next door to them. And, what does she tell the children? No one wants to let their child play with a criminal’s child.

When her husband leaves for prison, the wife goes through a period of “grieving.” She goes through the same “grieving process” that a widow goes through. The only difference is that the widow can eventually move on, while the prison wife cannot. The Prison Wife is a “wife,” without a husband. She cannot go out and socialize, and it is difficult to make new friends, as she feels she is being “unfaithful” to her husband.

After a certain amount of time (months or even years), it is acceptable in our socity for the widow to step out, and start dating and even re-marry. The Prison Wife who is faithful and dedicated to her husband does not have this option….some women wait years for their man to return…10 , even 20 or more years.

There are close to 2 million prisoners in our country….that makes me wonder just how many wives and loved ones are left behind and forgotten. We think about the prisoner, but never, ever, think about those left behind…..the wives, the children, the mothers, the girlfriends, to name a few. Those loved ones, who did not commit a crime, except the crime of “loving a criminal.” They did not commit a crime, and yet they are punished.

When their husband goes to prison, they are not notified by the prison system where their husbamnd is. I believe there should be some notification system in this country. The wife must sit and wait, until her husband is able to place a collect call to her.

There should be support systems in this country for prison wives. There should be follow-up programs for families of the incarcerated, to see how they are coping.

I will now give you some tips on how to get through this period of your life. It is from my own personal experience, and I hope it can help you………..after all, just remember, you are not alone……….there are so many of us out there experiencing the same feelings and emotions…the same problems.

“Ways To Cope”

1. Take one day at a time……..Do not think too far in advance. Try to get “through one more day.”

2. Plan small projects for each day, and try to reach a goal. For instance, I put all our photos in photo albums, during the first few weeks of my husband’s incarceration. When that project was complete, I started cleaning out drawers and closets.

3. Organize tour life…………I re-organized bills and mail, using folders and envelopes, and I kept logs, writing everything down.

4. Keep pictures of your husband around the house….I had pictures in every room. I even had one posted on the refridgerator door.

5. Join a church group. I started baking cakes for the monthly cake sale. I enjoyed doing it, and felt I was contributing something to society.

6. Get involved…acquire hobbies. Knitting, needle-point, gardening, writing, keeping a diary….anything. just do something, even if you force yourself to do it. As time goes on, it will get easier, and you will begin to enjoy it. I planted an “Angel Garden,” outside in the yard, with angel statues, and flowers. I also began writing poetry, stories and letters to the editor. I also began writing a journal, which became a very important part of my life.

7. Keep in close contact with your husband….Accept phone calls (if you can afford it, as prison phone calls are extrememly expensive), send your husband letters, cards,magazine and newspaper clippings, and computer print-outs of thingd that interest him. Send him pictures (old and new)…Men in prison love to look at pictures from home. It helps them from becoming homesick. My husband has almost 100 pictures that he keeps in photo albums, and loves to share with the inmates, and show them our family and home. If I change something around in the household,or buy anything new, iI take a picture and send it to him, so he always feels connected to our home. I also tkae pictures of the pets, the garden, and the cars.

8. Keep a notebook near the phone at all times. Jot down things you want to discuss with your husband when he calls. Remember, those are 15 minute calls, and there is a lot to say in a short period of time, so get organized beforehand.

9. Cry when you have to, but also try to stay focused. Do not be torn apart by the prison system. You are still a person, and a wife…and you need to be supportive to your husband.

10. Try to stay healthy. Eat right, avoid junk food and alcohol. Exercise. Try walking. After all, you want to be physically fit when your husband comes home!

I hope this article will be of some help to the wives and loved ones of prisoners, as they await their loved one while he is in prison.

My name is Frances Russo,RN,BSN,MA. I am a retired Registered Nurse,who is now legally- blind , and does free-lance writing, as a hobby. I enjoy writing short stories for magazines and poetry. During my life, I enjoyed education, and international travel, having travelled to 28 countries. I’ve lived in Manhattan, California, Las Vegas, and New Jersey. My husband is currently within the prison system, and I enjoy writing a journal, which has become quite popular. It is called “Reflections Of A Prison Wife.” Please visit my web-site! http://journals.aol.com/crystalmoon222/reflectionsofaprisonwife/

Over 5800 have read my journal, leaving comments and identifying with it. They find strength in my journal. I have recently been interviewed by 2 newspapers, and my story will soon be published , along with photos (ASBURY PARK PRESS AND THE PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY). My journal is the basis of a book I am writing.

If you are a woman, you may have experienced a decrease in your libido and you are looking to find ways to increase it. A decrease in libido can adversely affect your relationship with your husband or partner. However, in order to improve your libido it is important to determine what the cause was for the decrease.

For some women, libido decreases when they are feeling stressed, are depressed, experience anxiety or were victims of rape or other sexual abuse. These are all psychological problems and the way to increase libido if you suffer from any of these issues is to seek psychological counseling. Some women will only need short term counseling while others may need long term counseling in order to achieve the desired results.

Women’s libidos can be affected by the physical ailments such as alcoholism and drug abuse, anemia and diabetes. If you are suffering from any of these diseases, it is best to see your doctor. Your physician knows you and can help you battle any of these illnesses, all of which can decrease your libido.

Women who are unhappy in their relationships with their partners are often not as interested in sex as they once were. Sometimes communication is the answer. If you can talk to your partner about how you feel or about the issues that are troubling you then your libido will increase.

If you see a doctor regarding your decreased libido, he will probably check your hormone levels. Hormones affect female libido and if a woman’s hormones are out of kilt, she will show effects of a decreased libido. If you are not interested in taking hormones, then you can look into increasing your libido by taking some herbs. There are plenty of natural remedies on the market that are specifically designed to increase female libido.

By Richard Hairston,

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Star tattoos are excellent choices for getting inked. There are various options you have for star tattoos. Here are 3 excellent star tattoo ideas.

1. Nautical star.

The nautical star tattoo has a rich tattoo history. Starting with navy men who got this design inked as a symbol for strength, guidance and finding ones way home from safely from battle, the nautical star has continued to be popular throughout the years. Punks, military, mixed martial arts fighters and many other groups have chosen the nautical star as their favorite choice of ink.

2. Modern star.

There are many modern star tattoo ideas that you definitely want to look into if you are looking at star designs. Some of these can really pop out, while other modern designs are great for background or accompanying other designs. While the nautical star is more classic, the modern star is more of a current style with many variations. Online tattoo galleries will have excellent examples of modern star designs.

3. Multiple stars.

Star tattoo ideas do not have to be limited to just one star. Matter of fact many feel that getting multiple stars is the way to go. There are very few tattoos that you can get away with having duplicated within the same tattoo space as you can with stars. Multiple stars can stand on their own, or they can accompany a different image. Some people make sure to leave space for additional star tats to be added in the future. Sometimes each star will represent a person, a situation, or a life changing experience in a persons life.

Want to see the best modern and classic Star Tattoo’s? Definitely check out this online gallery – http://top-tattoo-designs.blogspot.com/

You’ll find hundreds of the best, most high quality tattoos available, which can be printed out and taken to your local tattoo parlor to get inked – http://top-tattoo-designs.blogspot.com/

If you suspect infidelity and you want to find out the truth you need to know how to avoid breaking the law in the process. Here are some key tips to legally find the truth.

Before we provide some tips, we advocate trying to save your relationship if you find your mate has been cheating. This should involve some form of professional counseling or meeting with your church minister to talk things out. Above all, do not attempt to punish the cheating mate by taking matters into your own hands. This will only result in serious ramifications for everyone involved. Do not allow your emotions to overrule your common sense.

You also need to check laws in your State (USA) or country to make sure you are not in violation. An unmasked mate could cause you a great deal of legal trouble so proceed with due diligence. If you spy on your mate with one of the many electronic surveillance devices, you risk breaking the law. You want to avoid using devices such as so-called room “bugs,” and video or telephone recording devices. Many devices actually violate federal law and can only be used by licensed professionals or by court order. You need to employ other methods to get at the truth.

Now that you know some of the legal and personal ramifications, here are some tips to help you catch a cheating mate.

If your mate uses a computer, you can install Internet tracking software on the computer that will allow you to know where your mate surfs and what they are typing when they are online. This can help you keep track of them and quietly satisfy your curiosity about whether they are actually cheating. Internet tracking software is not expensive and beats the higher cost of hiring a private investigator. This is the best way to know what your mate is doing when he or she is online.

To build an airtight case against the cheater, you need to have abundant proof. Where you find one sign of infidelity, there are usually several other corroborating signs just waiting to be found. Cheaters nearly always display multiple telltale signs. Knowing what to look for is the key.

For example, duplicate gifts are especially suspicious. You should question when two identical gifts, or receipts indicating that two identical items were bought, show up on billing statements. This is a common trick. The cheater will be ready to explain why two pairs of diamond earrings, or two identical gold bracelets show up on a credit card statement. For example, they may claim it is a billing error. However, it is common to find that an affair partner is the recipient of the second gift.

If you suspect workplace infidelity, offer to attend all company parties with your mate. If your mate gives an excuse as to why you cannot attend, this is a warning sign. If you are permitted to go, observe how your mate interacts socially with co-workers. This can reveal the presence or absence of a workplace affair. If the suspected cheater is romantically involved with someone on their job, their body language and behavior around the affair partner will give them away.

A cheating mate will usually communicate with his or her affair partner in some way on Christmas Day. It may be a phone call, an e-mail, a text message, or even a quick visit to drop off a Christmas gift. If you have previously found signs of infidelity, the telltale signs found during the Christmas season could provide the final proof that you are dealing with a cheating mate who is indeed having an affair.

Remember, you might be wrong so gather a significant amount of evidence before confronting your mate! If you accuse them of infidelity without any proof, and they are innocent, you can do serious damage to the relationship. The trust will be broken, both ways and broken trust is almost impossible to restore.

Find out if you have a cheating mate. Jim DeSantis is an award winning broadcast journalist who provides a Free ebook Catch A Cheating Mate – here! No email or signup required. It’s an instant free PDF!

Here’s a typical scenario:

You’re absolutely certain that your spouse has been cheating – and cheating for some time. He/she is showing many of the most common signs of a cheating spouse. So where should you proceed from here? What are the next steps?

Before you start making plans to follow your spouse around, you should take a step back and re-examine the evidence you have thus far. It is a credible? Powerful? Or is it simply circumstantial? It’s crucial that you establish your reasons for wanting to gather evidence against them. If you’re marriage the damage caused can be irreparable.

If you’re fairly certain that your spouse is fooling around with someone, you’ve got to make a plan and start taking action as soon as possible. The longer you leave things, the more involved your spouse will become with the other person.

Not all evidence is created equal. As you start your quest for proof against your spouse, you’ll notice that much of what you gather will be mediocre. In other words, document you were to approach your spouse with such weak evidence, they would have no trouble denying it. This is not what you want. You want proof that is so indisputable that your spouse will have no choice but to admit everything. If you approach them with weak evidence, not only will they deny it, but any future evidence gathering will be put in jeopardy. Once you alert them to the fact that you’re on to them, they’ll make sure that nothing is ever left to be found.

So where do you find such powerful evidence?

There are three places to look:

1. Physical evidence such as paper receipts and movie stubs can be service in your spouse’s pockets or in their car.

2. Computer evidence such as their browsing history and chat logs can be gathered, provided you have sufficient access to their computer log-on.

3. Cellphone evidence. Of all the evidence available, the contents of your spouse’s cell phone could prove to be pure gold. The one obstacle you need to overcome is finding an appropriate time to access their phone. If you manage to do this, you’ll want to write down every number in the address book and recent calls history. Check the last number they called by simply pressing the send button. Also, access their text messages and see if there’s anything suspicious. Don’t be surprised if their cellphone history is always erased. If they have something to hide, they’ll make sure that their phone is “clean.” Don’t worry though, if you continue to check this on a regular basis, it’s only a matter of time before you find something they’ve forgotten about.

Are you wondering who that cell number belongs to? Enter it Here to find out!

http://lovesdestiny.com

Individual style should be applauded. It takes guts, personality and confidence to pull off certain looks, and anyone who expresses their individual style with gusto should be proud. But there are a few fashion no-no’s that should really be avoided at all costs, because, let’s face it, they just don’t look good on anyone. Be a fashion do by following these fashion don’ts.

1. Socks And Sandals
Just don’t do it, it really doesn’t look good. I understand wanting to be comfortable, but if socks are truly necessary, put on a pair of cute tennies or slip ons. Better yet, find a pair of sandals that are comfortable enough to wear without socks. Oh, and don’t even think about wearing black socks up to your knees with shorts and any type of shoes. I won’t even get into my opinion on Crocs at this point, but let’s just say that unless you’re gardening, I wouldn’t recommend those either.

2. Your Underwear Peeking Out Of Your Pants
Ok, So Brittany Spears did it, and so did various other teen stars and it was cool for a while. Let me give you a hint: unless you actually look like Brittany Spears, you probably can’t pull it off. Even if you can pull it off, there’s a difference between letting your thong hang out on stage in front of thousands of fans an paparazzi, and showing it off at the grocery store or in line at the movie theater. Trust me, no one wants to see it, and people are probably making fun of you as soon as you’re out of earshot.

3. Wearing The Baggiest Clothes You Can Find
No matter what size you are, you are going to look better in clothes that actually fit you, rather than big, baggy clothes meant to hide your figure. Beauty is not size dependent, and most people will tell you that a person of any size who looks fashionable and put together always looks better than someone in baggy clothes that looks like they are wearing a tent. Find a style that works for your body type, and that you like and be proud of it. The more confident you are in your own body and style, the more people will be drawn to you and appreciate you for who you are and your individual style. Sit on a bench at the mall for a couple of hours watching people go by. Who looks great, and who looks like a slob? Find a role model and try to emulate them. If all else fails, watch a few dozen episodes of What Not To Wear, and see resistant fashion disasters morph into beautiful, put together people.

4. Over-accessorizing, or Not Accessorizing at All
Even the best outfit can benefit from a few well placed accessories. A great handbag, and nice necklace and some simple earrings can easily take an outfit from ok to fabulous. They don’t have to match, they just have to be in the same or a complimentary color family. But a word of warning: don’t overdo it. Great big dangly earrings, 4 necklaces, 3 inches of arm bangles and a huge, sparkly handbag is going just a bit overboard. Keep it simple, but interesting, and make sure that your accessories compliment your outfit, not overpower it.

5. Being Self Conscious About Your Style
Above all, find a style that you love (and of course that follows all of the above mentioned rules). Wear colors that make you happy, and styles that make you feel beautiful. The absolute worst thing you can do is wear clothes that make you feel uncomfortable, or that you don’t love. Clothes and accessories are meant to be fun, that’s why there are so many choices. Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale, all of those meaningless purchases could be traded for one fantastic piece that you adore, and will last a long time. Buy pieces that are classic, as well as a few trendier items that can be mixed and matched. You will never regret spending a little more on a great pair of black pants that will last for years, and you can update them every season with a new top or some jewelry.

Find your inner diva, and express your style for the world to admire by following these simple rules. A Little fashion knowledge can go a long way in allowing you to express yourself to the world in a positive, confident way.

Visit http://www.missy-j.com for fashionable, affordable accessories, and http:http://www.missyjblog.blogspot.com for more fashion advice and ideas.

If you’ve found this article, I have to assume that you either strongly suspect or know for sure that your spouse has had an affair. I know from experience that in all likelihood you’re experiencing a slew of overwhelming feelings (likely none of them positive) like betrayal, shock, severe hurt, and intense pain. You may also blame yourself, wonder how you could have been so naive, or blame your spouse entirely for his or her actions.  Every single one of these questions and responses are perfectly natural and normal.  You’ve been dealt a harsh blow and there is no right or wrong answer. The days following learning about an affair can go by in a daze or the blink of an eye and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or lost.  This article will provide tips and prompts to help you deal with these feelings and sort out / deal with the affair.

Don’t Blame Yourself, Beat Yourself Up Or Second Guess Yourself: Until an affair actually happened to me, I used to wonder how in the world a wife could blame herself for a husband’s affair.  I just did not get that at all.  But then, in the days after my husband’s affair (once my shock and rage at him wore off) I started to wonder where in the world I went wrong. How could I be so stupid? Was I not exciting enough? Pretty enough? Sexy enough? A good enough wife and mother? Did I not meet his needs or give him what he needed to be happy? Did he have to go elsewhere for excitement or satisfaction?

I have a friend who kind of went through this same sort of thing but in the opposite realm. When she found out about her husband’s affair – she completed overcompensated. She wanted this thing fixed immediately so she sucked it up and put all of the blame squarely on her shoulders and made drastic changes to herself and her bedroom.  The “crises mode” of the situation actually created a spark between her and her husband. Then, she hated herself because she felt that she was a “door mat” for just wanting her husband back. She asked herself where was her self respect? How could she allow him to do this? So she felt negatively about herself just as I did and her self esteem was hit as hard as mine was, but for different reasons.

Both of these reactions cause all sorts of internal bad feelings that doesn’t help you heal at all. Although these feelings are so perfectly normal and understandable it’s important to understand that no matter what you did or didn’t do – the affair is not your fault. It just is not.  Your spouse is the one who made the decision to be unfaithful.  Whether he / she is going through a mid life crises or he / she thinks their needs are not being met or he’s / she’s having self esteem issues, how they chose to deal with these problems was a decision that THEY made.

There are many spouses with issues who chose not to cheat but to instead communicate and work with their wives and husbands to work through these issues.

When You Are Ready, Evaluate And Understand Exactly Why The Infidelity Happened And Your Feelings On What You Want To Happen Now: I will always maintain that a spouse who cheats is the guilty party.  However, each marriage has certain factors that can sometimes contribute to infidelity.  This is not always the case. Sometimes it’s a simple self esteem issue or stress manifesting itself, but sometimes there can be issues in a marriage or communication style that contributes to infidelity. 

Whether you want to save the marriage or not, it can be helpful to hear (when you are calm and ready) just exactly why the infidelity happened.  However, you don’t have to take these reasons for face value.  Really listen to what your spouse is saying and honestly evaluate if these issues they’re bringing up have any merit or are valid. 

Sometimes, a spouse will just make excuses or refuse to take responsibility, but sometimes, you will actually get the truth as painful as it may be.  In my own case, my husband was not feeling heard in a highly stressful situation.  At first I thought this was all just a silly excuse, but when I evaluated more honestly and closely, I had to admit there was a few slivers of truth there.

What you chose to do with this information is completely up to you.  If you don’t want to save the marriage, at least it is a learning experience that you may revisit later in a future relationship.  If you do want to save the marriage, this information will be invaluable for you in the future so that you can address these things to make the marriage stronger and ensure the infidelity doesn’t reoccur.

Now, it’s important that you really take some honest time on your own when you can be calm and reflective (this may take time) to determine what you really want.  It may be that your spouse has been a good one up until this point and you still love him or her and ultimately want to save the marriage. Or, it may be that a pattern of betrayal and dishonestly is emerging that is a deal breaker for you.  Either answer is valid and OK.

Define what is your best case scenario that, if you could achieve it, would help you heal. For some, this is to just pick up and move on by yourself, without letting this one event ruin the rest of your life.  For some, it’s to get the marriage back to a loving and trusting place. Whatever your “best case scenario” is, always promise yourself that you will keep this in mind from this point forward.

Because if ultimately you want to save your marriage, then it doesn’t make sense to continue to lash out at your spouse and continue to punish them months and months after they’ve said they’re sorry or allow an unhealthy obsession with everything having to do with the affair (or the other woman) to continue to sabotage your marriage and your happiness. If being happily married and at peace again is really your goal, try your best not to engage in behaviors that are going to keep this from happening (while still being true to yourself.)

Don’t Hesitate To Get Help To Deal With The Infidelity If You Need It: An affair can be heavy burden on the party who was cheated on. Your self esteem is likely going to take a huge hit. Although it may feel weird to do so, take this time to focus on yourself and your extreme self care.  See friends. Pursue those things you love.  Do what makes you happy.  This will make you feel better and will show both you and your spouse that you have enough self respect that this isn’t going to beat you. 

You may ultimately need some to help with your healing and with dealing with the infidelity.  In my own experience, although I wanted to save my marriage and to forgive my husband, I was stuck.  I would feel forgiving toward him one second and rage at him the next.  He was patient with me and I was trying to be patient with him, but we couldn’t move forward. 

It’s normal to have difficulty in the early days after learning about the affair, but if you get stuck and can’t move past it, don’t hesitate to get the help you need. There is no shame in it.  Ultimately, I needed out side resources to get me out of this cycle that was just holding me back.  Once I had this, I was able to slowly move forward and today, although it took some work and effort, I can honestly say it hasn’t beaten me in the least.

Dealing with the infidelity in my marriage was very difficult for a time. With a lot hard work and effort, our marriage and my self esteem recovered. I now know myself, my husband and my marriage much more intimately. I no longer worry that he is going to cheat again. You can read my very personal story on my blog at http://saving-my-marriage-after-the-affair.blogspot.com/

If you suspect that your spouse is cheating on you, you don’t have to go to the expenses of hiring a private detective to find out if your suspicions are correct. You can easily learn the tricks of the trade about how to catch a cheating spouse and your spouse will never know that you are onto him/her until you confront him/her with the evidence. Gathering the information and the evidence will be very tough if you still care for your spouse and it is hard to find out that your feelings are not being reciprocated or that you have been betrayed.

You do have to become deceptive and start doing sneaky things in order to find out if your spouse is actually cheating on you. This way if you are wrong and there is nothing going on, he/she will be none the wiser and will not feel that he/she no longer has your trust. The thing is that if you find out there is nothing going on you may feel guilty about being so deceptive but you do have to be able to live with this guilt.

Catching your cheating spouse will involve such things as examining all the receipts that you take out of the pockets. It will involve checking computer and telephone records to see what sites he/she has been on and where he/she has called. If you have Caller ID, you can check the numbers of the incoming calls to find out if there are any unfamiliar numbers and then find out who these numbers belong to. Most people are aware that their number will come up on Caller ID and take steps to block the number when they call. This will make things a little more difficult. One sign you should watch for is that if your spouse never bothered with erasing the list of calls and now faithfully does it after every call, then this is one sign that will confirm your suspicions.

Use every opportunity to answer your spouse’s cell phone. More than likely this is how he/she is communicating with the other person in the relationship. You should do a check of the numbers on the cell phone and use a reverse phone look up on the Internet to find a name and address associated with this number. Check the text messages on the phone to see what messages have been left. Chances are if there are any you won’t have to go any further with your investigation once you find incriminating evidence.

If you know your spouses email password, then you can check the emails that he/she receives. Your spouse may have met someone on a chat line and is now becoming very interested in that person. If you notice that he/she logs off or closes the screen as soon as you enter the computer area, this should alert you that there is cheating going on. You can take the time to check the sites that your spouse has visited and there are many computer experts who will show you how to do this if you do not know how.

For more information on how to catch a cheating spouse, signs of a cheating spouse and cheating husband visit http://www.SignsOfACheatingSpouse.net

I have heard the word blog thrown around the last few years, but really did not pay much attention to it! I just recently started an internet business and thought I would start blogging to see what it was about! I looked at a few blogs and found out that basically people write about anything. I’ve always enjoyed writing. I wrote essays in high school and college and thought it was fun! Of course I did not tell anyone, because I always heard others saying things like “Oh, yuck, we had to do an essay in that class! I hate essays!” So, I thought I must be kind of weird.

Another thing I did back in high school some twenty something years ago, was take a typing class. I don’t remember why I took the typing class. Computers were not around much. Hardly anybody had there own computer at home back in those days! The typing in this class was done on the old IBM type writers. Funny, I don’t see those around much anymore! Anyway, a decade or so later, I found myself in an office sitting in front of a Dell computer and realized that I could still type. And actually pretty darn fast. Yipee! Now I find myself constantly typing something into the keyboard. I have an eBay business, work in as a firefighter, and do internet marketing. In all three of these careers, I use my typing skills.

The blogging is fun because a person can express themselves and get their opinions published. If you have an agenda, blog! Maybe someone will read it. Millions of people are on the internet these days and odds are some of them will want to read your blog! My blog is about my life, my job, my faith, my opinions, my businesses… lots of my’s in there huh? Of course, there are blogs about politics, the environment, and just about anything! I saw one today about mobile homes!

What I like about the blogger site I am using is that you can add all kinds of things to your blog site. On mine, I have a poll about Sarah Palin. Drop by my blog before Sept. 12 and take the poll. I’m interested in what people on the internet think. Tell me if you like Sarah Palin or if you think she should go back to Alaska! LOL! Here’s the link: My Blogspot I think tomorrow I will blog about hurricanes!

Richard A. Davis is a full time firefighter, homeschool Dad, Ebayer, and internet marketer. He resides in Texas. Married for 20 years with three children, two dogs, three cats, four birds, one hampster, and a fish!

This cruise began Abecita us with a two day stay in Istanbul minus one suitcase that Delta Airlines lost. We had been in Istanbul for a couple lingerie days at the end of our last cruise, and my wife fell in love with it. We spent the time checking out things lingerie didn’t see on the last trip, and shopping for underwear, pantyhose, shoes, and other things Kathy needed after the lost luggage fiasco. There we were, at the Grand Bazaar, Kathy in a pair of my boxer shorts and a T shirt the ship gave her. But we found some great bargains on knock-offs.

The Millennium set sail for Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey in the early afternoon. The next day we arrived in Kusadasi, known for its very extensive ruins at Ephesus. These are the most impressive ruins we have ever seen, be sure not to miss them when you are in Kusadasi. Cleopatra and Mark Anthony were tourists at Ephesus!

We toured a rug factory which was actually a rug store. However, they gave a very interesting presentation on how Turkish rugs are woven and how to determine the quality of rugs. We saw a demonstration of a young girl weaving a rug.

While in Kusadasi we spotted an internet cafe sign and so we went on in. They were quite excited that we had come in; they uncovered their single computer, taped some cardboard to the window to reduce the glare on the screen, and brought us some cokes to drink. After we finished surfing the net we asked how much we owed. They said “nothing!” and they wouldn’t let us pay for anything. Odd but interesting and nice.

The next day was a day at sea with no stops at any ports. We consider days at sea as our lazy kick-back and relax part of our cruises. So we “bagged some rays” by the pool and checked out the drink of the day.

The next day we arrived in Limasol, Cyprus. Originally we were supposed to go to Haifa Israel, but due to some Middle East unrest, the destination was changed to Limasol. There was an interesting castle that we toured, and then we went looking for an internet cafe. We found one and did a little updating of our website while we were there. Internet cafe’s can be found in most cities and it is truly amazing to see the differences. There isn’t really much in Limasol.

Our next port of call was Alexandria Egypt. The port was HUGE! There were quite a few sunken ships poking up out of the water as we entered the port…wonder what that was about? Our ship was greeted with a giant red carpet and a large band playing music.

We took the shore excursion to the Pyramids, about a three hour bus trip. The buses traveled in convoys with police escorts. I presume it’s an anti terrorist thing. The Pyramids were awesome! We got to actually climb up on one of the pyramids. There were also cool tombs that we toured, and of course, shopping for jewelry and papyrus art.

Our next port of call was Athens Greece. Since we had been to Athens recently we opted not to take any of the excursions and just went to the Plaka. We found yet another Internet cafe where we could update our web site. Although it was about 3 flights of stairs to get to the cafe, were given the “Computer with a view” .. Just out the window was a spectacular view of the Acropolis. And we found another fabulous open air cafe.

We arrive next at Naples, Italy. The day was kind of a whirl wind of a day as we took a hydrofoil to the island of Capri where we toured the island, an interesting and beautiful island and playground for the rich. Then on to Sorrento where we had lunch and wandered around the scenic town, and finally we toured the amazing ruins at Pompeii. There are enough ruins at Pompeii to spend weeks there and still not see everything. Thousands of years ago and they had plumbing fixtures…running water in their homes, taverns, saunas, and all sorts of surprising things. A very busy day!

Next stop, Rome and the Vatican City including St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Vatican museum. At the Vatican, we visited the Sistine chapel which was mind blowing. Following that we visited the Coliseum. The Coliseum was another amazing place. Kathy was really impressed with the Trevi Fountain in Rome (she threw in the required 3 coins so we could come back to Rome).

Our next port was Nice, France. We visited a famous flower market, had coffee at a little side walk cafe, and we took a shore excursion to Monaco. Monaco isn’t very big! We could stand in one spot and see the whole country. There are lots of shops on the tiny narrow winding streets. We had lunch (at an open air cafe) and Kathy liked the Roquefort cheese so much she asked the waiter where should could get some, and he directed her to a market. We bought some and brought it home with us.

The following morning we disembarked in Barcelona and within hours we were on our way home! Another fantastic cruise ship adventure under our belts!

William Lund is an avid cruiser, and he and his wife Kathy cruise at least once a year. Mr. Lund invites you to visit his cruise reviews website: Cruises R Fun Mr. Lund also has a blog at: Pondering Everything