I won!

I entered the give-away for the Avon bath and perfume set and I won!! I am so excited to try a new scent after all these years.
I won in another way, too. We agreed to sell our too-small-for-the-family car to the neighbors, who had only one child at home and were in need of a vehicle. We thought we were giving them the kind of break we'd been given, the kind that allowed us to get back on our feet. Instead, they took our generosity and ran with it. Literally. 18 months of lies and sneaking and we're finally through. We got a call that 3 days ago the car was repossessed from one of the two addresses the loan company thought might be our run-away neighbors. After nearly 2 years of treating us like blithering morons, they called 6 times withing a few minutes of losing "their" car. They were angry and then calmed down enough to ask us how they could continue buying it.

Are you KIDDING ME!?!? These people have BALLS. They ruined our carefully restored credit and in our efforts to keep our commitments, they forced us to make the payments they didn't make resulting in us tightening up our budget in any way we could. They took food from my children. When our attempts led us to overdraft fees and a bounced mortgage check we decided that a bad credit score wasn't what we wanted, but keeping the house was more important than a black mark for 7 years. I wish their daughter a happy, healthy, normal life. They, on the other hand, deserve every nasty fruit grown from the row they plowed and seeded with dishonesty and selfish disregard for anyone but themselves. Yeah, I sound bitter, but not in general, just toward them.
My lesson is that no matter who you are selling to/buying from, get it in writing, notarized, and don't procrastinate or let it slip by out of kindness. You and your loved ones come first, kindness to others is a virtue, but one that shouldn't hurt your family.
And because I have to spill my innermost thoughts ....
Lately, I've started to feel older. I felt 24 for years but this year I've noticed the loosening skin in my face, the dark circles that never go away under my eyes, the way my body melted away into flab. My children are getting bigger and in my eyes, more wonderful every day. I came to terms with them growing, but I can't handle seeing the same changes in my father and mother that I see in myself. They aren't allowed to grow older.
I already started changing my life to make better choices and live healthier for my children, but as I get older I am starting to do it for myself, too. I've discovered that I want to be attractive and energetic again. I am not going to accept aging without a fight. I am tightening up and starting to lose the softness once more revealing glimpses of the girl I used to be. I'm eating better and taking my vitamins. I'm paying special attention to my hair and face, both of which have been showing signs of being near 30. Extra conditioning, gentler care, and yes, I am buying lotions and potions for my face - ones that have made a big difference in my looks.
All of it makes me feel better about myself, I get a little more bounce to my step when I catch sight of myself and can see I have reversed at least 5 years in my looks. Self pride looks good on a girl, too. It helps that my DH really appreciates the efforts, too. He's been encouraged to make some big changes to his life as well. I think its' working for him. :)
Despite the awful weeks of snow and hail between the wind and rain of spring, we have had some sunshine and a bit of warmth. Enough that the grass that was neglected for years has been peeking through. It gives us a bunch of ideas for the yard that have me all a-twitter and itching to get my hands dirty. My tomatos are getting bigger and so is my basil. Next come wildflowers!