With the 25th wedding anniversary of my parents on the horizon, my siblings and I have been trying to come up with gift ideas for them.  This will be no small event as it is becoming increasingly rare to see couples make it to the 25th anniversary and still be together.

While we are still undecided on what we should get mom and dad for their anniversary, we have come up with some great ideas for party favors for the guests.  We have decided that all of the men will get a set silver cufflinks to commemorate their attendance at the anniversary.  We have also been able to pick up some engraved cufflinks for the original groomsmen from the wedding.

We will also consider getting some fun gifts as well.  For example, we bought some clip-on neckties to remind the guests of the choice my father made of what tie he wore to his wedding day.

All in all, is looking like it will be a fun event.

The worst thing I ever did at work was lose some very important employment documents. I did not want to tell anyone, as I knew that it could very well cost me my job. I did not know what could have happened to them, other than that I must have filed them somewhere that they didn’t belong.

I decided to look over the HR policies to see if there was any way that I could get out of the bind without being fired, but as I saw it, they had every right to let me go. I stewed over my dilemma all weekend, as I knew that, come Monday, I would have no choice but to go and let my supervisor know what had happened.

She was very understanding and told me that it was not the end of the world. I would have a lot of paperwork to do, as I was going to have to fill out all of the business forms by hand, but I got to keep my job, so there was no complaint from me.

I first knew that I wanted to go to the same college as my sister when I went there to visit her one weekend. She is two years older than me, so it was exciting for me to have the chance to stay in the dorms with her. I was a little bit nervous about the coed shower cubicles, but she assured me that privacy was respected and it calmed my fears a little bit.

I admit that I really never got out much before and I had never seen electric showers in my life before. It was also a crazy feeling to be around so many college kids that treated me like I was one of them. I fell in love with the people and the campus and I decided that this was where I was going to attend.

When I started my senior year of high school, I talked to my guidance counselor about what classes I should take in order to get the degree that I wanted. He helped me with my application and I just know that I will be accepted. I can’t wait for college life, coed showers and all.

I have always wanted to travel in Europe. I have a friend who spends a good part of the year in Italy and Greece and I have always wanted to go with her. It seemed, every time I planned on going, that I was held back by family obligations or a lack of funds.

I decided that I was not going to let anything get in my way of going last winter, as I heard about the great results of my friend getting cosmetic surgery abroad. There was definitely some potential for me, as there is so many things about my appearance that I would like to change.

I booked my tickets and my appointment with the plastic surgeon and I was on my way. The trip meant so much more to me than I can even describe in words. I had the best time of my life and I saw things that I could have only ever dreamed of seeing. It was so great that I plan to go back next year.

When I was finished college and had started working as a medical office assistant, I decided that it was time to meet someone special and get on with my life. I took the plunge and went to some free online dating sites, not really expecting much. I thought that it might be kind of fun, but I certainly did not expect to meet my future husband there.

I went to a site to find local singles and I was a little bit overwhelmed at how many people were registered on it. I was a little bit apprehensive, as I know that many people lie on these sites and you never really quite know what you are getting until you decide to meet in person.

I met Gabe after a few weeks of chatting and we hit it off instantly. I met a few more people after meeting Gabe, but I never really had a connection with them. I am happy to say that we are now married and are expecting our second child this summer.

A few years ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to sell our home in the city and move to an acreage. It was something that we had always dreamed of doing, and though it took longer than we had originally planned, it was a great move for us.

Shortly after the move, we found out that the company that my husband works for had some bouncy castles for sale. We thought that, since we now had the room, it would be a wonderful addition to our yard for our children. The move had been a little bit tough on them, as they had to go to a new school and make new friends, and we thought that this might be just the thing to cheer them up.

When we brought it home and started setting it up, the look of sheer joy on my daughter’s face, as she saw the inflatable slides, made the decision well worth it.

I remember many years ago before I was married my boyfriend told me about this amazing person that he had seen on the Oprah show.  Apparently, this man wrote books on relationships and my boyfriend was awed and amazed at how intelligent and informed that he was on the subject.

We all know now that this was Dr. Phil and I follow Dr. Phil advice to a tee.  That boyfriend, is now my husband and we religiously watch the Dr. Phil show together every day.  It is one way for us to learn better communication with each other as well as spend time together even if that hour is all we get.

I have seen way too many people in bitter and unhappy relationships and I promised myself a long time ago that I would never be one of these people.  I am not saying that every day with my husband has been roses and cherries, but our relationship is something we take very seriously and is something we will always work very hard on.

Mr. Rogers used to sing a little ditty he wrote: “Everything grows together, because you’re all one piece. Your ears grow as the rest of your grows because you’re all one piece.” Then it goes on to name one more piece that grows, in this cumulative song.

This point was brought home to me recently when I injured my knee and started having pain in my hip. I didn’t really understand it, but my chiropractor does, and so I’m in good hands. I’m still hoping I won’t need any “bionic” replacements any time soon.

A friend in Anaheim, however, was telling me on Skype a month ago that she was in so much pain she could hardly think straight some days due to knee and hip pain. While we were chatting, I searched online for hip and knee replacements in Orange County. She emailed me today that she’s already had surgery and has started therapy. I told her I could now introduce her as “My friend, the bionic woman.”

I have never been a fan of loud noises.  In fact, I would say that I have never really been a fan of noise at all.  Not only does a lot of noise annoy me, but I find that it causes me a lot of stress.  So I try to avoid noisy situations whenever I can.

But as we all know, avoiding noisy situations all the time is just not a realistic goal.  I have tried so many times to get rid of all that noise coming from the road in front of my house with little luck.  Not only has the ear plugs failed, my fan didn’t mask the sounds, and keeping the windows closed has not worked.

So in desperation, I went to the store to see if I could find anything that would help.  I purchased a white noise machine and brought it home to try out.

Guess what?  It worked.

Not only is my place silent, but I love it.  It is like I have died and gone to heaven.

When my parents decided to move to South America to become missionaries, I was less than thrilled. I was fourteen years old at the time and I was not happy with the fact that I was going to be leaving my perfect life behind. They assured me that it was going to enrich my life, but that is not what a teenager wants to hear.

I remember being so nervous the first day I had to attend Spanish School Antigua Guatemala.  I thought it was the end of the world and I know that I’d had a bad attitude towards my parents from the day I found out we were moving. I did not give them or my new life much of a chance at first.

Another thing a teenager doesn’t like is to have to admit that they are wrong, but it was soon something that I had to do. I fit in really well with my new friends and before I knew it, I loved living there. My attitude did a complete 360 and I finally became the grateful person my parents wanted me to be. I think that may have been one of the reasons behind their decision in the first place.