Mind Scrambler from Chris Grabenstein.

Hi, everyone. We got back from Cleveland on Sunday. Four days to visit a dear friend (who has ALS/heavy metal poisoning) and to take the girls to The Cleveland Clinic to see Dr. Marvin Natowicz, neurometabolic geneticist brilliant kind doctor.


Last week Chris Grabenstein debuted his latest in the fabulous John Ceepak mystery series. These mysteries take place at the Jersey Shore and are great reads. Ceepak is a "Sea Isle" cop, an Iraq war vet, honest to a fault and has a partner named Danny Boyle who's learning the ropes. Chris and I share an agent. Chris keeps him a bit busier than I do, but I hope that changes soon. :) Chris also wrote an amazing middle grade that appeals to ALL ages called "The Crossroads." Awesome ghost story that takes place in Connecticut.

Check out Chris's site HERE.

Trust none of what you hearAnd less of what you seeThis is what will be, this is what will be. —Bruce Springsteen, "Magic" Copyright, Bruce Springsteen, 2007

ohn Ceepak and Danny Boyle are making the rounds in Atlantic City (interviewing witnesses for the one crime left unsolved at the end of HELL HOLE) when Danny runs into his former crush, Katie. She's working as a nanny for the children of a magician named Richard Rock, the headliner at one of the big casinos. When Katie is found strangled to death backstage, it is up to Ceepak and Danny to find out who killed her. Their lives and the lives of others depend on it.

MB12 revitaPops Are Here!

You've got to check out the revitaPop, methylcobalamin (MB12) in a tasty lollipop.

I tried my first revitaPop at Autism One last month (HERE.) Holy cow! Within seconds I felt a distinct "ping" in my brain and I became more alert, bubbly and energetic. Trust me, if I hadn't felt anything I'd have smiled and walked away from the booth to go find coffee.

Click HERE to view a quick video of testimonials from Autism One. You'll see familiar faces, including Kimberly Linderman, yours truly and our Contributing Editor Abdulkadir Khalif.

The revitaPop tastes great (I tried Pomegranate) is gluten and casein free and uses no artificial colors or flavors. I was really happy to learn from Dave Dobkin (that's he in the photo), that the folks at revitaPop employ people with developmental disabilities to sort, pack and ship the product. And they support Generation Rescue and the new Rescue Family grant program. revitaPop was created by Stan Kurtz who also invented the MB12 Nasal Spray and is President of Generation Rescue .

There is a patent pending on revitaPOP's novel administration of MB12. Their first shipment sold out in days. Their next shipment arrives this week.

Go to http://www.revitapop.com/ to learn more.

Swedish, English, who cares?
We're being deluged with rain.

What Makes Us Fight? (In a good way.)

I often wonder why some of us fight/challenge/take on/refuse to roll over and play dead and others accept, or at least pretend to accept, choosing not to fight much at all. Not just autism. Cancer, a bum hand in life, job loss, divorce, MS, ALS, you name it.

I see a lot of beautiful, strong women facing cancer on FaceBook and it blogs. I worry so much for my kids. But I am healthy. And grateful.

This scene from Sex and the City is one of my favorites. It's for fighters everywhere.

Another rainy day.... UGH! What a rotten Spring/Summer so far. It's raining and 57 degrees this morning.

We made it!

We moved out of the old house and into the new house. Phew! Why is it I scrub my way out of a house but no one scrubs my way IN to the new house. We have those giant pock marked tiles throughout the kitchen and eating area - boy are they hard to clean! My pal Maureen suggested an EnviroSteamer by Eureka - a discontinued item. It's much bigger than the Shark steamer. I found one on ebay! (Thanks, Maureen!) Only $17 shipped!! Should do trick.

The house is beautiful - it's just lovely. The owners painted the exterior and the kitchen is fabulous. (Note: test kitchen appliances, stainless steel is sometimes PLASTIC and your fridge magnets don't stick. Waaaah!)

We have a guest room again. Come see us!

So Tired!

Mark and I have moved umpteen loads of stuff into the new house. Six loads just today! Man, I'm tired. Tomorrow the movers arrive. I do wish our grant had come through - we're drowning in moving expenses, even as we try to do as much work ourselves.

Remember that flood we had last December? It took all our moving boxes! So we're using four big plastic tubs. Pray for us.

Moving on Up?

We're moving across town this week. The house is a very nice Dutch colonial in a lovely neighborhood. It's near Mia and Gianna's school. The owners are a fine couple - who take excellent care of the house. They have a 20 year old daughter who might be available to babysit. We've met our neighbors and they seem terrific. We're very lucky to have found this house. I'm trying to fire myself up for moving. I love the house we're in. It has simply stolen my heart. Isn't that silly? I love the layout, the kitchen, the office space for Mark and the ce-ment pond. Oh my we'll miss the ce-ment pond. But, we're onto something new. We've done it before. We can do it again.

High School Graduation. 1981. I was 17.

Thanks to Judi Q.G. for sending me the photo. Judi, Amy and I were roommates sophomore year. Then I moved into a "trouble triple" for two years, down the hall. Lordy be we had some fun. Think college but you're in high school. And yet, we were never untoward.

We were respectful of our own bodies and our friends lives. We were cautious to the extent teens can be cautious. We studied hard, followed most of the rules and went to good colleges, from which we graduated in four years, not five or six. We had real boyfriends, and yes, some of us were sexually active. But we loved these boys and were not promiscious. There was no such thing as "friends with benefits."

We respected our parents and followed the rules of our homes. We used payphones to make calls and made collect calls to Mom and Dad. We typed our papers on onion skin. White out was our friend.

Some of us came from wealthy families. Some did not. My folks were comfortable but by no means wealthy.

If you have teens, I hope they can have all of the advantages my parents gave me and forge friendships that last a lifetime, like I have.

High School Graduation, June 3rd 1981 This is my graduation from high school. That's me with my roommates, Judi and Amy. Man did we have fun! The girls wore long white gowns and the boys white duck pants, navy blazers and their school rep ties. Tres preppy! Well, it was a New England boarding school.