My retail hell... really ignite's every time I go to the grocery store... well to be honest any store I go to... we are receiving less product but paying more for that product..
As an example ..Campbell's Soup they made the tins smaller.. less volume but I'm paying 50% more than I did before they made the size reduction now... same thing with cereal the boxes are the same height but they made them narrower.. but once again I'm paying more and receiving less..
The list is endless I drink coffee the jars have become smaller but the price .. has gone up doubled... you mentioned a video game..op.. look how much you're paying for a game 80 ..$90... just for a disk with some information on it... they pump them out by the millions probably only cost them Pennies on the dollar... and nowadays you can even download them directly to your system but you're still paying through the nose.....

It used to be you received value for your money... now it seems corporations think how can we give the end-user less but get more money.. from them..

I went to my local grocery store the other day I picked up a pack of gravy mix for a .1.33.. it's just a package with some powdered gravy mix in it.... on the same shelf I noticed cans of diced tomatoes .. quite large cans by the way...for$ 0.88
Now how on Earth can a metal can filled with diced tomatoes.. cost $0.88 but a little pack of gravy mix cost a ..$1.33....
There seems to be no Rhyme or Reason no real value placed on what you're buying anymore..

Hi.. nice to see your sense of humor has not changed...lol.. and yes the pit needs some attention.. nice to see you

Thanks and that's great advice.. and no matter if it's missing your children or a loved one family or friends children or a four-legged critter.. the pain is just the same.. thanks again I like the part about making the book nice touch

My weekend... well it's minus 30 below here.. so there will be no long walks in the park...lol.. spent Saturday running errands with the girlfriend picking up groceries.. went for a drink afterwards... Sunday today.. cleaning my place vacuuming mopping dusting.. make something to eat and then head out for a little while.. just to keep the boredom at Bay... so to speak... then back here with the girlfriend for dinner some TV.... and..hmmmm.. who knows!!.. what an exciting life I live..lol..

Hi and nice to be seen LOL..
The sleepover is a great idea...
. I try to have them over at least once a week or every two weeks for dinner but it's hard to get both boys here at the same time... so I usually just go out with one or the other and do something like a movie or get something to eat.. it does help with my anxiety over the issue.. and you threw a dating life in the mix..well.... you start to feel torn in two different directions... how to have a relationship with your kids when you're no longer living with them ..and balance your own life without them full time and your dating life..

What I know about what women really want.. is somebody that does what they say they're going to do and not just give everything lip service... they want somebody reliable honest hard-working no matter the job... they want to be treated with respect.. and also to be made to feel very much like a woman at times... yes they want flowers on those special occasions.. and even on those not so special occasions.. they don't want somebody that can fix everything for them they really just want somebody that will listen to them. Honestly hear what they're saying... hold them when they need to be held support them when they need supporting and accept them for who they are... like all of us I suppose we want to be loved and accepted for our good and are bad

I struggle with the fact that my children do not live with me full time..or at all.. when I left my marriage .. I left my children with their mother . In the home they were raised in.. at the time that seemed to be the best choice.. however i did suggest to my boys! that if I was to get a bigger place would they be willing to come stay part-time even?...But my boys made it clear they were happy where they were.. they had everything they needed.. they were not fond of the idea of going between two homes. After hearing this from them the matter seemed settled. and quite honestly. I was happy not to have the expense that comes with renting a bigger place.. and the fact that I see my boys almost daily . And talk to them by phone regularly was a contributing factor as well . But what I was not prepared for was how much I would miss them and being in the same space with them. Cooking meals for them being there for them when they come home from school or seeing them off in the morning.... I was not prepared for what a big impact the loss of those little routines.. are the absence of having them in the same space 24/7 would have on my well-being and peace of mind. And how that would make me feel.... even though I do see them and talk to them regularly.. but in the beginning I sometimes felt as though I had abandoned my children... although I have come to terms with the fact that that is not the case.. . but now I just feel sometimes! And deeplee the absence of them I ache to be with my boys full-time regularly..

Any coping advice would be appreciated.. or perhaps your own experiences in this matter... positive advise..only please

So true so very true..lol... I was searching for a reference... to describe how I feel about being back... Hotel California fits it perfectly..lol... Blondie or two kids still around?..

..
Thanks it's good to be back... don't know if I'm staying.. more of a visit check things out..
I did not realize how much I missed the people and this place . Until the other night when i was having a conversation with some friends about chat sites and dating sites we once were active on... later that evening I looked mingle up online.. and all the memories came flooding back

How do I feel right now?..

Right now !..I have that feeling that you get when you haven't returned home for a very long time.. but upon arriving home! you realize some of your neighbors have moved away and somehow the neighborhood has changed.. the trees that once were saplings have now blossomed into mature trees..
. Some landmarks have being torn down and new ones put in their place... it somehow still feels like your old neighborhood but at the same time strangely different....
it's a comforting feeling coming home mixed in with the cold harsh reality ...that life goes on without you..

Thanks

Hi and thanks it's been a long time .lol..
Since I've being back on Mingle...
It's nice to see some familiar faces and new faces as well...

What I'm thinking right now.. some things change but some things never change.. which is a very reassuring thought..lol

Walking through these empty rooms that are still overflowing with memories.. empty walls were the shadows of pictures once hung. scratches on Floors from furniture being shuffled from so many people sitting and laughing... The Emptiness of the rooms ...still holds the echoes of laughter and conversations and memories of people that have come and gone.. empty rooms are never quite ever empty. .phD