My brother Joachim is down from Chicago to defrost for about a week until he goes back to the snowstorm that's expected next Friday when he drives back! We went out for dinner and celebrated my oldest brother Angelo's birthday yesterday. We all squeezed into his SUV which had a mini DVD player in it, and we watched "Family Guy" along the way. To think that there are always complaints of people talking on cell phones, yet many nowadays have DVD's to watch or GPS's to play with. I think that banning cell phone use is about as senseless as telling a biker to wear a seat belt!

Angelo wanted a "Black Forest Cherry Cake", so as I am trying to still stick with my new year's resolution I opted for the chicken salad at dinner to help a little with the huge amount of fat and calories I was going to inhale! I must share and tell you that a new record was set! The cake was so beautiful, as my mother always out does herself every time she makes a cake. It was frosted with real white vanilla heavy whipped cream, cherries all around it on top and chocolate curls she made with a peeler all over it. She had one of those little candles that play "Happy Birthday" when you light it in the middle. The awe of the cake and musical candle must've put us all into a trance because we had already cut the cake and started eating it before we realized that the candle was still lit in the middle! It was the funniest thing to see him blow out his candle on an already half eaten cake!

My mom always would make sure we all had a nice birthday party. She always made one of her sinful, simply fabulous German cakes, put up decorations and put the pretty birthday plates and napkins out on the table. It was nice having a little family get together. Amidst the opening of the gifts, I heard about a less fortunate family on the news about a man in Rhode Island that murdered his parents, and then went out on a shopping spree with his girlfriend, then another story about a man in Ohio who killed his adoptive parents and step sister!

You know, it's a very sad thing if you have to wonder if a close relative could seriously harm you, but I'm sure that all those individuals would have never presumed someone in their very own family would do such a thing. The sad reality is, you really cannot trust anybody. I have learned that in this life, you need to take care of and protect your own self because chances are, nobody is going to do it for you. A Double Trouble Stun Gun is a great, NON-lethal self defense tool to have around your house.

If God forbid a family member has a bipolar disorder as one of the killers did, or if they just snap one day, at least you can use a non-lethal device on them to try to help the situation should they attack you if out of their mind! Many families have arguments where they don't talk to each other for months or years, but for the most part, many do make up in time. Never let your guard down, make sure you protect yourself today!

Yours In Safety,

Regina Jacques