Just Eeeew

I'm passing up Stupid Criminal Saturday for a story that's just plain gross.

Search for Las Vegas woman called off after husband finds her body buried in home's clutter

LAS VEGAS — A four-month search for a missing Las Vegas woman came to a ghastly end this week when her husband found her corpse in their home amid a labyrinth of squalor that had been impassable even to search dogs.

Bill James apparently had no idea that the body of his pack-rat wife, Billie Jean, was under the same roof as he helped police scour the home and the Nevada desert for any sign of her. Then he spotted the feet of the body poking out of a floor-to-ceiling pile of junk Wednesday, revealing in shocking detail the woman’s penchant for hoarding.

Police say they searched the home several times — even using dogs from a unit that helped locate bodies at ground zero after Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina. But they were unable to find the body of amid the piles of clothes, knickknacks, trash and other junk.

“For our dogs to go through that house and not find something should be indicative of the tremendous environmental challenges they faced,” police spokesman Bill Cassell said.

Clark County Coroner’s office spokeswoman Jessica Coloma said it could take weeks to determine when and how the 67-year-old woman died. The husband has been cooperative throughout the investigation and quickly notified police of his discovery.

One thing is not in doubt about the case: Billie Jean James loved to hoard. It’s a behavior that has received new attention this year with two popular reality TV shows — “Hoarding: Buried Alive” and “Hoarders” — that chronicle the lives of people who live in absolute squalor because they cannot bring themselves to throw anything away.

A similar situation could be seen at the James’ home in a desert-front cul-de-sac near the Las Vegas Strip. In the driveway sits two huge trash bins that require industrial-sized trucks to haul them away. The front patio is filled with knickknacks including old chairs, smaller trash bins and a 10-foot basketball hoop.

Inside, Cassell said James’ piles of clutter left just small pathways to walk and strong odors that hindered their search — generated by animals, decomposing garbage, food, clothes and other stuff.

“If there had been any indication that there was a remote possibility that somebody was back underneath that stuff we would have taken the appropriate action,” Cassell said.

Sari Connolly, who walked dogs with James and her husband daily at a nearby park with a group of friends, said the woman bought things at thrift stores each day and accumulated them in the house.

“She became this hoarder person and she wouldn’t let anyone come in her house,” Connolly said.

Connolly said one of Billie Jean James’ closest friends once asked to use the bathroom at the home after a camping trip, but James wouldn’t let her in.

“It sounds like it was beyond control,” said Connolly, who had a big banner made to help find James during the search.

Approached at the home Thursday, Bill James declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter.

Cassell said initial reports had James last seen walking away from the house in late April. He said along with the dogs, police visited the house several times and searched the desert with a helicopter equipped with infrared detection.

Friends and family searched the nearby desert several times on foot, horseback and with all-terrain vehicles. They created a Facebook page to help coordinate efforts, while the family offered a $10,000 reward in hopes of finding a woman described as a peace activist who to loved hiking, camping and the arts.

Nine digital billboards publicized her search amid the bright lights of Las Vegas to draw attention the search, and Connolly said they hired someone to hold a banner in a spot near the home where a woman reported possibly seeing James.

“This was certainly something that was not glossed over,” Cassell said. “We did everything that we could.”

But Connolly said she and friends think police may have botched the search.

“I’m trying to figure out how a body couldn’t smell so bad — that’s what everyone’s saying,” she said. “It’s the million-dollar question right now.”

The case is not completely surprising given the fact that 2 to 5 percent of Americans are chronic hoarders, said Dr. David Tolin, a hoarding expert from Hartford Hospital who co-wrote “Buried in Treasures” to help people who compulsively collect things.

“Every year, there’s at least a few deaths that can be attributed to hoarding,” he said.

I can't even imagine. FOUR MONTHS??? Was her husband in the house the entire time??? I've watched some of the stories about hoarders, and sadly, I can kind of understand how it happens. I had a couple of rooms in our last house that were the dumping ground for things that I didn't feel like dealing with. There were piles of boxes all over the place. Luckily, I don't have nearly the storage space in the new house, so I'm forced to get rid of things and be more organized. I feel so bad for these people. Once you get into a point where your house is chaos, it's got to be terribly difficult to even figure out where to start to get rid of things. How sad that her life had to end like that.

Finally!

Don't get me wrong. I love Montana. And I will miss it. But I am sooooo excited to start our new adventure in life.

Pirate Munchkin and I actually arrived a month ago. But we had to go back to Montana this past weekend to get the last load of our things. It was raining the first time we crossed the state boarder back in June, so I wasn't able to get pictures that time. But with this past trip, I was able to stop and get the pictures I wanted.

Truth be told, it was a VERY hard trip, so when we crossed in to North Dakota, I actually got out of the truck and kissed the ground!

I'll update later about some of the difficult things we had to deal with over those three short days, but I just don't have the strength to deal with them right now.


But in other family news, I have to share the update on our baby. Monday, we had our first appointment with the new midwife. The whole family was able to be there for it, so we were all together when we got to hear the heartbeat! It was the greatest sound in the entire world! The baby was very squirmy and kept moving away from the doppler, but then it would move back. I've been a little nervous because I'm in the phase where I'm not really feeling movement yet, but I'm past all the first trimester symptoms. So, it was really nice to be able to hear the signs of life and know it was moving around in there. I'm still having a hard time believing this is real. I have waited a very long time for this baby.

Thankful

I'm stealing this from someone else's blog. It was such a good idea that I couldn't resist. The suggestion was to take a moment to list some things we are thankful for. So here we go:

1. I am extremely grateful for my wonderful husband. I waited a very long time for this guy, kissed a lot of frogs as the saying goes. He is my best friend, my own personal clown, the guy who's kisses curl my toes, the man who I can share my dreams with - and those dreams just so happen to be just like his.

2. The internet. First of all, I figure since I don't plan on listing in this blog where we'll be living, there's no harm in showing a picture of my beautiful new house. Thanks to the internet, before we took our trip up there to check out our new town, I was able to look through home listings and have an idea of houses I was interested in. I house hunted from over 600 miles away! We got word today that we officially get to move in August 1st! I'm really excited. I'll probably post pictures of the inside once we're moved in. But I'm also grateful that even though I'm moving so far away from so many friends, we'll still be in touch. AND, even though my little town only has one grocery store and one general-type store, I won't be limited to buying ANYTHING because I can order off the internet and have the UPS man bring it right to my door!

3. Pirate Munchkin. For all that she's mostly driving me crazy this summer, I love this kid more than I can ever fully express. It's a hard summer for both of us because I've been feeling pretty sick and exhausted and she's super bored. She got used to having projects and games and things to learn and friends to play with every day in kindergarten. I'm really looking forward to being in our new town where I can finally relax a little more. I don't care if we live in a sea of boxes for a while. That's why I'm inventorying all the boxes - anything we need will be really easy to find. I'm going to take time to walk the town with my little girl. We'll go to the park and to the pool. She'll finally get the one-on-one time she's been craving. She lost one of her front teeth last week, and I swear I have never seen a cuter smile ever. On anyone. Now if I could just get her not to pose when I take her picture and I could get a shot of the REAL gap-toothed smile!

4. I'm overwhelmingly thankful for the fact that I've made it to 12 weeks with this pregnancy. There was a time where I didn't feel like I would ever get to this point. But here I am. And so far, so good! I'm getting into the nervous time. For the next few weeks, the morning sickness (hopefully) will start tapering off, and it will probably be a while before I will start feeling the baby move. I do know of some women who started feeling the little flutters at 13 weeks, so maybe I'll be lucky and feel something much sooner than the standard 18-22 weeks. But I feel extremely grateful for this time in my life, and I'm trying to enjoy every single minute. And I look forward to January when I'll get to hold this special little baby in my arms.

5. My love and my belief in the Lord. Nothing in my life would matter without this. I am who I am because of my faith. I would never have gotten through the challenges in my life without prayer. I know that all of these blessings come from Him. I know that this new move is part of His plan for my little family.

6. My mom. She is the most amazing woman I know! You will never meet a stronger woman than my mom. I can't even imagine how she got through 17 years of being a single parent. (I had a hard time just dealing with a YEAR!) She touched countless lives as a teacher and was well loved there. She was also a very respected member of society. She mentioned one time how nice it was that she would get instant respect when people found out she was her parents' daughter. My grandparents were highly loved and respected people. What Mom didn't know was that I get the same respect - when people find out I'm HER daughter! Mom taught me many different, important things in my life, but one of the biggest ones was that happiness is a choice. Life is going to throw a lot at us - both good and bad. We have to decide if we're going to let the bad things drag us down, or if we will be happy despite them. Will we be grateful for the good things in our lives, or be upset because of what we DON'T have? Thanks to my mother's wonderful example, I've chosen to be happy - no matter what. And I'm trying to teach my daughter the same thing. And since she reads my blog, I have to tell her I LOVE YOU MOM!!

7. My father and his many talents. My dad is a very interesting person. He's got a lot of issues in his life and hasn't always made the best choices. But he has amazing abilities. He's an excellent musician and has been responsible for introducing me to so many different kinds of music I never would have been exposed to otherwise. My dad has always been good with woodworking. There is a beautiful kitchen that he made for my sister and me when I was little. It's in Pirate Munchkin's room now, and she loves it just as much as I did. He's made several other things through the years - including a rocking horse that he created based off an old photograph of one my mom had when she was little. Then, a few years ago, he discovered a new love based off his old woodworking abilities - refinishing furniture. One of his first attempts was a dresser that was in pieces in his house when he bought it. He put it back together and gave it a beautiful new finish. From there, he's redone my favorite rocking chair and the child-sized rocking chair that was my sister's. He's currently working on the cradle he built for my sister when she was born. He will have it done before we move to ND next week. My rocking chair, tiny rocking chair and cradle are all going to have matching finishes. People are going to be very jealous of my nursery!

8. My step-dad. (Otherwise known as Dad. He's earned that right.) Just like I waited a long time for my wonderful husband, my mom waited a much longer time for him. Although they got a little sneak-peek first. They were college sweethearts! Eventually, time brought them back together again. The love he and my mom share for each other brings tears to my eyes! They've certainly had their challenges in their 10-year marriage. His health has been bad for half that time. But they joke around and tease each other. They learn and grow together. They are an amazing team. He considers me his own daughter, and adores his little granddaughter. And I'm very grateful to him that he's figured out a way for my mom to be in ND when our baby is born - despite his health issues.

9. Our new adopted family. It started as a friendship with a co-worker. Someone who Surfer Pirate only worked with for a month or so. They just hit it off together - and now they consider each other a brother. D. is the one who pushed us to consider this move to ND. When we decided to make the move, we instantly became a part of his family. His parents and siblings and even grandparents now consider us one of them. I've been concerned for a long time about how my kids were going to grow up without cousins. Summers wouldn't have been complete growing up without all my wonderful cousins! My husband's natural family aren't very close, and I have only seen my nieces and nephew a few times. My sister is gone now. And while her husband has remarried (and they have a baby girl due in September!), they live very far away in Nevada. But in our new town, we have a built-in family. Cousins from a few months old to 13 to run around with and play at the family farm. The 4th of July is a family day - complete with 4-wheeling, bonfires, barbecues and fireworks. I look forward to years of family get-togethers.

10. My animals. They are a GREAT source of entertainment. I couldn't imagine living in a household without pets. I'm extremely grateful that Surfer Pirate shares my love of animals. Although I have to admit there are days when I'd love to shave the dogs and cats bare. I get really tired of cleaning up fur.


So there's a short list. I actually planned on only listing 5, but once I got started, I couldn't help myself. If I had the time, I could go on for many more hours. :)

A Big Announcement

I've made it to 12 weeks, so it's time to officially announce! I'm pregnant! The baby is due January 25th.

A few people already know, and I have a really hard time NOT randomly telling strangers, so I'll answer some of the questions I already know will be coming up:

Q: Do you know what you're having?
A: No. It's too soon to know.

Q: How are you feeling? Have you had any morning sickness?
A: Oh yeah! And exhausted, and cranky. But I'm looking very forward to the second trimester.

Q: How far along are you? You're showing!
A: Actually no. I'm not showing yet. That's just early pregnancy bloat - I've looked like that for about 8 weeks now. But maternity clothes are sooooo comfy that I let it LOOK like I'm showing.

Q: What are you hoping for?
A: I already have a girl, so I'm really hoping this baby is a boy. But if we have a girl, we'll be just as happy. We really just want a healthy baby.


That's all the questions I can think of for now. I know there are other ones. Luckily no one has tried to rub my belly yet. I'll probably slap the first person to do that. My closest friends and family will be allowed to, but strangers and general acquaintances had better watch out! There's a t-shirt I really want that says "Touch the belly, pull back a stump!" I'm not a big fan of strangers touching me!

Just had to share

How funny is that??



Hoping you're giggling as much as I am.

Drowning in Boxes

You don't realize how many boxes it takes to pack a whole household until you actually have. to. pack. up. an. entire. household.

I already felt like there were boxes everywhere I turned. Then, I got those boxes packed and realized I need more boxes. LOTS more boxes! It's scary how little I've packed so far and I've used up almost all of my boxes already.

Boxes. Boxes. Boxes. Boxes.

I have a great big one in my living room right now. We got it from our tool guy. I'm sure it probably had a really big toolbox in it. I think I want to curl up in it and take a nap.

Nope. Don't Have To

I was complaining one day to an online friend about annoying solicitors coming to my front door. There was this really obnoxious girl who rang my doorbell. I was very clearly on the phone, and one of my dogs was at my feet. She started by asking me if I was busy. I was so stunned by such an obviously stupid question that I responded with sarcasm "Um... YEAH." Instead of making her little schpeel brief, she proceeded to try to make small talk about my dog. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? She finally got to her point - wanting money for some school trip thing. Except it wasn't any school group I've ever heard of. Can you say SCAM??

Anyway, as I was complaining about this obnoxious girl, my friend said "You realize you are under no obligation to open your door to anyone, right?" Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. She pointed out that I screen my phone calls - this is no different. She said she will sometimes ignore the door when it's even someone she knows - if they haven't called in advance and she is busy doing something else.

WOW!

What a thought!

So I vowed to ignore the door when I didn't feel like answering it.

And today was my chance. Some girl I've never seen before showed up at my door with a clipboard. And I just sat here. If she had taken a few steps back on my porch and looked at my front window, she would have seen me sitting here ignoring her. The TV was very clearly on. The dogs were barking. She may have even heard Pirate Munchkin asking me why I wasn't opening the door. Didn't care. She rang twice. I still ignored her. Finally she left.

AH, SWEET VICTORY!!

I'm so proud of myself. This may become a trend.

North Dakota!

In telling people that we were moving to North Dakota, we have heard several things over and over. "Do you realize how COLD it is up there??" (usually with all kinds of drama about layers of clothing, heating costs, and even details on how long it takes for skin to freeze!) "You are going to be sooooo bored! There's nothing to do there!" and my favorite "It's so ugly out there!"

To the people who've said these things? If you think the gorgeous rolling hills of North Dakota are ugly, you are crazy! And honestly, if you feel that way, you are welcome to stay away. I like quiet rural areas, and we don't need you and your negativity around.

Okay, I feel better now. I've had nothing but support here, so the above comments haven't been directed to any of my dear readers. Just needed to vent. :)

Anyway, I've been there, I've seen it, and I'm in love! Our new little town is everything I could have hoped for. The landscapes we've seen all the way across the state are beautiful!

I didn't know what to expect. I haven't been too far east in Montana before, and I know eastern MT and looks very similar to ND. As we got farther east, I kept waiting to see something ugly. Nothing. I will admit that I have a tendency to fall in love with areas where it's recently rained - and it had definitely been raining everywhere we went. I had been told it was flat. I expected to see nothing but wild grasses for miles. What I found was beautiful rolling hills and lots of interesting scenery.

And the smells! We had the windows partially down for most of the trip, and the smell of the flowers growing wild along the sides of the roads was amazing!! So sweet and clean!

I will admit the first few days were really hard to deal with. I get cold easy, and I had thought a sweatshirt would be enough of a jacket. I didn't account for the difference higher humidity makes! It was rainy and sooooo cooooold! Come to find out the first day we were there, the humidity was at 90%! The next day, it was 78%. But after a nice sunny day, I got aclimated to the new area pretty well because the next rainy day, I was just fine.

As far as nothing to do? We went 4-wheeling, we went out to eat, there's a bowling alley and a movie theater. We're not too far from Fargo where we played mini-golf and raced go-carts. There's also a HUGE concert in October in Fargo that we're really looking forward to. Yes, our little town doesn't have a lot going on. But that's a big part of what we love about it - life is simple. Crime is very low. We saw law enforcement patrolling all the time. We walked a large part of the town and felt completely safe the entire time. People watch out for each other and take care of each other.

We have a couple of options of houses to buy when our house in MT sells. We have a house to rent for now. And the best part? Surfer Pirate's new employers are wonderful people who appreciate and take care of their employees!

I can't wait for our entire transition to our new town to be done! This is such a wonderful change for our little family!

Thoughts on Love

So much for my earlier claim that I don't have much to say tonight.

I was reading my sister's blog tonight, and just thinking about how much she means to me - how much my whole family means to me. And that reminded me of church today.

Today at church, everything pretty much had the theme of Love. This sweet (and very tall!) family spoke about love. Then, we sang this beautiful hymn that never fails to make me cry. And then we had a lesson on Christ and how much He sacrificed out of His love for us.

I just can't help but be extremely grateful for all the love I have in my life.

Specifically, my sweet husband, Surfer Pirate.

I've been in love before - a couple of times. My first love was in high school, and I can certainly say I loved him completely. I had all these big dreams for our future together. And then that relationship ended, and I was left shell-shocked - not sure what had even happened. A few years later, I fell in love again. I believed I knew him. I thought I knew all there really was to know about him. We got married and made a life together. And I found out that he wasn't at all who I thought he was. I tried to love him through everything, but never really received that love in return. And then THAT relationship ended - leaving me sort of shell-shocked (although not nearly as blind) again.

And then I met this crazy surfer. Who wasn't at ALL what I thought I wanted! But through all our differences, I was always encircled by the overwhelming amount of love he had for me.

We were talking tonight about something that happened when we were dating. I was very frustrated with him over it, and had sort of wondered what on earth I was doing with this weird guy. He leaned over to me and said. "But you loved me then - you just didn't know it yet."

And he's right. I loved him for a long time before I acknowledged it. I didn't want to love this guy who didn't fit the "Cookie Cutter" image I had in my head. (A term he STILL teases me about!) But I did - in spite of myself. And when I let myself realize that, I was excited and thrilled to find that I finally had it! The kind of love I had always wanted! Someone who would love me as much as I loved him. Someone who would go out of his way to do things for me just because he knows it would make me happy. Someone who puts ME first. It's pretty amazing.

But that's not even the whole thing! He is also crazy in love with my little girl! When he and I first met and he knew that I was "the one" for him, he sort of postponed some of his bonding with me in order to focus on bonding with her. The result was a man who is completely wrapped around that little girl's finger. They positively ADORE each other!

The amount of love in my home overwhelms me with it's beauty. It's something that I've deserved and wanted for decades. I searched high and low for it, and found it in a most unexpected place.

And now that we (all) have it, we're never going to let go!

Not Much to Say

I haven't blogged much lately. And I can't even blame it on the move.

As far as the move goes, I don't have much motivation. It's overwhelming how much I have to do. An entire household isn't an easy thing to pack up. And I think I'm dragging things out because I really don't want to deal with the tough challenge we're going to have soon.

I can't get into what that challenge is for the sake of my family. But once we're settled in to our new town, I can fill in the blanks.

So here I sit, day after day, knowing I need to pack things and not wanting to do it. My living room sits full of empty boxes waiting to be filled.

But the really fun news is I get to see my new little town THIS WEEK!! I'm so excited about that I can hardly stand it! We're taking the first load of stuff up this week (and yes, THAT stuff is packed), and it's the first chance we have to see where we're going to be living and start meeting some people. While there are definite advantages to going somewhere that a handshake actually means something - like the fact that an awesome worker can be hired based on a phone call and word-of-mouth, it does create some challenges - like accepting a job offer in a town you've never even visited! Along with seeing my new town, we're going to make arrangements to look at the house we're thinking we want to buy. I'm really excited to see it in person. Internet pictures are so limited.

But that also brings out again, just how amazing the internet is. I can house-hunt in North Dakota without leaving my living room in Montana! That was completely impossible not that many years ago. Technology is wonderful!
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The title of today's entry pretty much sums it all up. Just not much to say. No motivation to pack, no motivation to blog. I even skipped yesterday's Stupid Criminal Saturday. I started to post one, but I realized it was pretty much the same story as last week - drunk idiot calls 911 for a stupid reason and gets arrested for misuse of 911.

Hopefully soon, there will be more to say. :)

Stupid Criminal Saturday!

Florida police: When mom takes grown son's beer, he calls 911

By: Associated Press,

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla.

A 32-year-old Pasco County man who called 911 to complain about his mother is facing criminal charges.

According to a sheriff's office arrest report, Charles Dennison told a deputy that his mother took his beer and he wanted her arrested.

Dennison was reportedly "very intoxicated" when the deputy arrived at the New Port Richey home.

Dennison told the deputy that he would keep calling emergency responders if his mother wasn't charged. He has been charged with making false 911 calls and was jailed on $150 bond.

It was unclear if he had an attorney.

Somehow I just don't think this guy has an attorney. 'Nuff said.

Naughty Boy

I hadn't planned on using a real picture of Pirate Puppy. But I couldn't find a neutral picture that fit what I was trying to say. So consider yourselves privileged that you get to see my cute baby.

He's LOTS bigger than this now. He was 3 or 4 months old with this picture was taken.

This boy loves his mama. He gets very upset when he doesn't get his snuggle time with me. He LOVES to be in the kitchen with me when I cook or wash dishes, laying quietly on the floor. He's just happy to be in the same room with me. If he gets in the way, I just have to shove him across the floor with my foot. (Gonna need a big kitchen when we move so there's room for him to sprawl!) When he goes to bed without me, he'll wait by the bedroom door until I come into the room. He'll lay on his back and wait for me to scratch his belly. Then he goes to my side of the bed and squishes himself underneath the bed (it's a VERY tight fit).

He's very devoted. I think it boarders on addiction.

Most puppies chew. When they're teething, they need stuff to gnaw on. It's been a long standing rule in our house that if you don't want your shoes, clothes, stuffed animals, etc. chewed on, don't leave them on the floor. Unattended stuff will end up under our bed with lots of little holes in them. He's pretty much outgrown it now. Aside from his occasional craving for socks, generally, things are pretty safe around him.

But he has one thing that he will chew on any chance he gets.

Something that apparently completely smells like Mama, and he just can't seem to help himself.

He likes to chew on my bras.

On the rare times that I'm tired/distracted/whatever and forget to put my bra safely away, I can guarantee that I will find it under the bed ripped to shreds.

Bras are not cheap.

I appreciate that he loves me and needs some sort of security blanket that smells like me, but does he have to eat my bras?

Weird boy.

A Bittersweet Day

First, I need to show off my new shoes. Aren't they cute? They're low. They're fun. And best of all, they're SPARKLY!!

And they look beautiful with my red toenails.

But the question arises: Why did I need to go out and buy cute shoes today?

(For the record, you never need an excuse to buy cute shoes.)

But today, I did have an excuse.

Two years ago today, my sweet sister passed away. She was OBSESSED with shoes. She had been sick for quite a while before she died, so she was able to think about what she wanted for her funeral. First, she wanted to be buried with one of her favorite pairs of shoes. I got to choose which ones. I picked a gorgeous pair of Steve Maddens that were a very subtle multicolored brocade type of pattern. Very unique, and incidentally, they actually matched her casket! It was meant to be. The other thing she wanted was that everyone wear their favorite shoes to the funeral. Her online friends who couldn't attend the funeral did a collage online of pictures of them wearing their favorite shoes in her honor that day. The funeral was a great place for people (like me) who love shoes. Someone was even wearing those big plush animal slippers! (Wish I could remember what the animal was.)

Anyway, my mom mentioned this morning that she had to go buy shoes today. (Dr's orders! Gotta love a doctor who gives you a prescription to buy shoes!) I thought that sounded like a very good idea, so I found these little beauties on sale for $12.99!

My sister would totally approve. :)

Saturday Surprise

When I first saw the title of this article, my thought was "WHAT???" I knew I had to read it. I figured it was some weird loophole. What I didn't expect was how the story would touch my heart. So instead of Stupid Criminal Saturday, today, I'm declaring today Heart Warming Saturday!

Maryland man who stole, crashed plane to pay just $40

By: Associated Press,

FREDERICK, Md. — A homeless man caused about $12,000 in damage when he stole and crashed a single-engine airplane at a Maryland airport — but he’ll pay just $40 in restitution.

Frederick County Circuit Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr. expressed surprise Thursday upon learning of the small amount.

Dwyer asked: “Only $40?”

Prosecutors explained that insurance had paid for all the damage except for a $40 deductible.

Fifty-one-year-old Calvin C. Cox has served half of his nine-month sentence for the December theft. His lawyer has said Cox stole the plane because he was homeless and cold.

At sentencing in April, Dwyer authorized work release for Cox so he could earn money to pay restitution to the plane’s owner, Mid Atlantic Soaring Associates Corp.

This story seriously makes me want to cry! Here's a homeless man who stole a plane in order to keep warm. Yeah, so trying to fly the plane probably wasn't the best decision. But instead of having to pay the entire $12,000 in damage, he only has to pay the $40 deductible? AND the judge arranged a job for him to be able to make the money? There IS still good in the world!

Never Underestimate the Power of the Large Purple Beach Ball

Pirate Munchkin has a very large purple beach ball.

She doesn't play with it very often, but today was one of those days where she felt the need. It's pretty strong, so usually she likes to sit on it. Sort of a child-sized yoga ball.

She also has issues lately with putting things away when she's done with them.

Generally, that drives me crazy because I taught her when she was still a baby that when she finishes playing with something, she needs to put it away before taking something else out.

My bedroom always looked like it had exploded when I was little, and I was trying to avoid that problem with her by training her early. And it's worked! Her room is always practically spotless. (Except her desk, but she gets that from me. I always have piles of papers on some surface or the other. Her little desk is just a mimic of whichever table is the latest dumping ground.)

So tonight, when she left her beach ball behind to go do something else, I snagged it. I was sitting in the recliner and just started rolling the ball around with my feet.

That's how I learned that a large-sized beach ball is the PERFECT footrest for sitting in a recliner. I can still rock, and that wonderful purple ball rolls right with me!

She may never get it back.