SAN DIEGO - A large U.S. study has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of the most common type of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

My husband has always been the moderate drinker and just as happy to not drink alcohol as to drink it. It has been me who cares to indulge more than moderately! Ever the helpful husband, today he emailed me the following:

(Found on Yahoo NewsBy Deena Beasley; Editing by Cynthia Osterman )

Maybe I should just point him to the articles on drinking in moderation reduces death rates amongst men (husbands in particular)- I drink and he has a greater chance of living!

Just kidding of course!

So I have been in the house for 18 months now and without purchasing any furniture specific to this home. It has been quite epic to say the least and we seem to be bringing down the neighborhood standard! With interior designers and home makeover professionals living in the street, pot luck meals at our house are somewhat wearisome with all the standing we do. I know I so desparately wanted a house with a kitchen bar so that mingling in the kitchen would be comfy… but I just forgot about getting the stools.

So my game plan is to ensure we have bar stools for the kitchen by the next get-together we organize. So now I have given myself a deadline - 26 January, Australia Day!

It has been a long haul to get here. Friends (and neighbor) have walked through the house. They suggested (and even supplied the manpower) to rearrange the existing furniture. Taken me shopping for accessories that ‘make’ the room. And provided advice on everything from where to buy linens online (overtock.com) to paint colors.

So my barstool search took me all over the web and back and I ended up at the first website I visited, BarStools.com. It seems that there are only so many providers and Barstool.com is tapped into most of them. They have the largest selection and unless you go for custom manufacturer they cant be beaten. Check them out.

Some days you just know you should not get out of bed. Today is one of those days. So my husband is away monday-friday for the next six weeks. Of course he left with the shower head dripping that has now turned into a steady stream of running water.

I searched high and low for the water main to the house. Finally, with neighbors help search and with the helpful information that the ‘W’ in the gutter lines up with the water main - Eureka- we found it! Excitedly we ripped back the cover only to find that the pipe has been installed upside down and was only an old fashioned on that would require a special tool to turn it - IF we could access it!

So a call into the City Water Department had me waiting for a promised service call to shut off the water until the repair to the leak was complete.

In the meantime I found clothes in the laundry that we not finished. Of course they were sitting wet in the washing machine from 3 days ago. I immediately put them back into the wash cycle to get them clean again. Why are forgotten clothes in the laundry never sitting dry in the dryer?

The city water board came promptly to shut off the water. Ecstatic that the response was within the hour, I then attempted to pull apart the shower handle assembly. No luck. I again sort help from a neighbor. While I sat waiting for the neighbor to arrive the washing machine starts beeping. The display code is one for service…OMG the washing machine is broken too?

In tears I fall onto my bed sobbing that life sucks and why me, and this ain’t fair, pull yourself together, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger - sob sob blah bah blah… Idiot! The machine doesn’t work when with the water shut off!

I pull myself together while the neighbor convinces himself that he can’t help any with the situation. I call a plumber. While I wait for the plumber I begin to spend time tidying the house some including the kitchen. I start to wash the dishes…

A blonde said, “I was worried that my mechanic might try to rip me off.

I was relieved when he told me all I needed was new turn signal fluid.”

On this rare occasion my husband and I went out on a date. Our wonderful baby sitter had put the children to bed and all was good for the night.

We arrived home and I was getting the run down on how the night at home went with the kids. There seemed to only be one hiccup. Ainsley had wanted the babysitter to sing her song about the witch to her at bedtime. The babysitter sang every song she could think of before she gave up. Ainsley was most upset and finally cried herself to sleep.

Ainsley Grace how sweet thou art
to save a witch like me….

We dropped the car off to the auto repair shop on Monday and my week just hasn’t been the same. I organized to have coffee with friend and fellow parent of my daughter’s classmate for Wednesday morning. And then I received an inviation to have breakfast on Thursday with a group of women from church.

So Tuesday morning I got all dressed up for coffee! No go! Then this morning, (Wednesday) I got a ride to the meeting point for the breakfast. Somehow I have been a day ahead so far for each day this week.

I am truly not trying to wish my life away!

Grandpa adores his grandkids and of course he believes they are all handsome/pretty and smart! We were just sitting around chatting one afternoon and Grandpa was commenting about just how my 4 year old girl is absolutely beautiful. He just finds it amazing that we have such a beautiful child. No one in his family is that beautiful, he jsut can’t figure out where her beauty comes from.

I pipe up and say that she gets it from her mother. In a very serious voice he says, ‘Nope, don’t see it!’

Have you ever found yourself putting the cereal in the fridge or the milk in the cupboard? Well, here is a new one for me… Yesterday I was driving in the car and about to turn the radio down because the air conditioner was up too high!

On our recent drive down to Orlando we stopped in at Grandpas for an overnight stay. We also stopped in on the return trip home. It was a great opportunity to break up the drive and visit with family.

On the drive back to Grandpa’s place we stopped at the local cemetery to visit the family graves. Grandma died a few years back and was buried in a double grave site with the tombstone just waiting for Grandpa to add his death date and rejoin his true love of 50 years of marriage.

Death is a difficult topic for children to understand, and real names versus family titles such as Grandma, Grandpa can be confusing. On the headstone it says Victoria Grace . I explained that Victoria was Grandma Vicky. Then I showed them the adjoining headstone for Horace and my number one son asked me if I knew him. I again explained that Horace is Grandpa. In shock he asked, “Grandpa is dead?”

We quickly explained that Grandpa is alive and well and just has his place for eternal rest ready for when the time comes. We will then complete the headstone engraving.

We recently returned from 5 days in Orlando. I had the pleasure of taking my three children ages 8,7 and 4 to three days of Disney theme parks. Just me and the kids in Orlando in July! What fun

As I pushed the three kids around the park in a doubl stroller other tired, perhaps frustrated parents would look in awe and say “and she has three kids!” Perhaps my efforts made others feel a little better that day!