From a forwarded email - had to share!

2010 Election

In November of 2010 the entire House of Representatives will have to stand for re-election; all 435 of them. One third of the Senate, a total of 33 of them, will also stand for re-election. Vote every incumbent t out. And I mean every one of them. No matter their Party affiliation. Let’s start all over in the House of Representatives with 435 people who have absolutely no experience in running that body, with no political favors owed to anyone but their own constituents. Let’s make them understand that they work for us. They are answerable to us and they simply have to run that body with some common sense.

Two years later, in 2012, vote the next third of the incumbents in the Senate out. You’ll know who they are because their names will be on the ballot and, in most cases, will be shown as the Incumbent.
We, the People, have got to take this Country back and we HAVE to do it peacefully. That’s what the Framers of our Constitution envisioned. Please, if you love this Country, send this (as I have done) to absolutely everyone whose email address appears in your address book. This thing can permeate this Country in no time. Let’s make it happen.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not.
- Thomas Jefferson

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.

-Benjamin Franklin

How do you feel about imports vs domestic?

I’ve been working on a side project lately, and it led me on a chase that I want to share with you.  I was originally searching for a certain style of black shoes. Then it went on to how much can a girl easily spend on two pairs of shoes to get you through most all occasions of the fall season.  And then it became a challenge to see if I could find some nice shoes, a dressy pair that could go from a day out to a night out and still be worn repeatedly without appearing to be, while also finding a pair of more rugged boots to get outside and play and work and not have to worry about doing any damage because this is what they were made for.  I found I could easily spend $550 or more for some stylish footwear.  The I decided with the economy, I would try to see just how cheap I could make out were I to actually purchase two pairs of shoes/boots to get me through the season.  I found some I liked for a total of $350.  So I aimed for $250 and hoped I could find something appropriate to my ideals for less than that total cost.

While on this search, I found that it is easy enough to get a good pair of outdoor hiking type boots AND some black pumps for under $250.  What a bargain, eh?  Espeically when  you consider that I found a single pair of beautiful black shoes for $800.   One pair of shoes.  And these were shoes that you couldn’t get away with wearing repeatedly or it would certainly be obvious.

What I learned is that this bargain comes with a cost.

How many of you shop online for your clothing or anything else for that matter?

Where do you shop?

Do you know if the item you are purchasing was made in your country by your people?

Do you know if the items are  even imported?

I found several shoe sites out there willing to take my dollars.   Some of them were willing to tell me every detail except one, about the shoes I was viewing.  That one being where the shoe was made or manufactured.  Some wouldn’t even tell me if it was imported at all.

I saw several on Amazon that do tell, but also more than one that didn’t supply the location information at all.

I am not necessarily anti-China.  I am anti-sweatshop.  And while its hard to find the information, I did find a lot at Ask.com.

I am not anti-Italian or anti-Brazilian, or even anti-German as far as buying products.

And I certainly, with this economy and so many people laid off work while companies close their doors here, am not anti-American.

Don’t get me wrong, I did find a few brands of shoes/footwear that are made right here in the USA.

Dexter makes bowling shoes.  I will never forget that…..lol

Carolina Shoes making hiking boots and other outdoor sports footwear and the prices are pretty reasonable.

There were a couple of athletic shoes brands made in the states, but I don’t recall exactly which ones at the moment.

Listen up Americans!

We can’t sell here, or export items that we don’t make!

We can’t start a company and sell it to the highest bidder if they are not going to keep that company here.  We can, but its not going to help our economy as a whole.

We have to step back from that 80’s era where everyone wanted to make a fast buck!   Its not that economy any more.

We have to step up and if you can’t make it or design it, maybe you could find that someone else in the great United States makes the product you are looking for.  We have to stop spending so many American dollars overseas.  Especially to sweat shops!  Those women working there aren’t seeing much money if any from the products you purchase from their companies.  Its all going into some greedy bastards hands who would have slaves doing their chores while they just rake in the cash.

We have to be more aware.  We have to pay attention.  We have to get this country back on it’s feet and make our economy strong once again.  We have to wake up and learn to do what we can with less.

I would love to have $800 to spend on one pair of shoes.  But as I say that, I know I would never spend so much on a single pair of shoes, or probably even a wardrobe of them.  So much more could be done with that money!   And we can’t afford to order boots made of polyurethane that don’t pass California codes.  Is anyone familiar with the term flammable?   Its negligent, it’s foolishness, and it’s supporting the wrong team.

Shop online, read the information provided, and ask the retailers to post where the items are from.  Let them know that this information is just as important as the shipping weight!

Because families and futures depend on choices we make now!

We can’t afford to be shallow.

What does “Made in USA” mean to you?

I’ve been doing a little “Windows” shopping, searching online to find items, like shoes, clothing, etc.  And I’m noticing there is very little online that is made or manufactured here in the United States.

We do have some shoes made here - but they are not fashion runway shoes, at least not that I have found.

Dexter has some bowling shoes.  How big of a sport is bowling internationally?

Carolina Shoes has hiking boots and other styles that are waterproof, etc.  And their prices were pretty comparable to items manufactured elsewhere.

There are athletic shoes made here, but I don’t recall the site names or brands at the moment.

I was searching today for some comfy clothing and decided to add in my search “Made In America”.

I came across a few sites, including one that lists companies who make their products in the US.  I was disappointed that at least two of the links I clicked from that site, led me to more “search” type sites.  These people didn’t make anything, but a space to land when surfing the net.  And while I will have to dig deeper, I am thinking that they can’t possibly know where the items are made, when they are a search site, and not a seller or manufacturer.

But here is the main gripe I have for today. During the above search, I came across a site called “Shop Made in USA”.  I thought, YES!  Finally someone has done it!  That site takes you nowhere.  But if you are interested, it is for sale!  I’d be curious to know what he or she is asking for it, and whether he or she is in America, or even an American?

I’ve noticed that so many online companies don’t even bother to tell you an item is imported, let alone where it was made.  I did notice that several entries at Amazon do say where an item is made, but not all of them.

If you want to go cheap, buy it from overseas.  And then be satisfied with what you get, because “you get what you pay for”.

At the same time, so many products sold here that are Made in USA are significantly more expensive.  With so many companies going belly-up, we need to lower those price tags just enough to make them more comparable.  Times are hard for most of us in the US.  While some of us want to buy products made here, sometimes we simply can’t afford to.

These companies should be willing to make a little less and earn some customers.  When times are better, surely a good amount of it will be made up for by having those loyal customers.

And as for those of us who want to purchase items made in America, we can consider it an investment in our future, in our kids and grandkids’ futures!

We need to not buy an item that is made elsewhere, especially if we can find it made here.

We need to decide now what items are necessary and which ones (that we have lived without till now) we can live without, at least for a while longer.

The USA has made other countries rich buying products made overseas.

When you consider the sweatshops that you read about, the money is obviously not going to the “workers”, so why put it in someone else’s greedy palm?

Let’s keep our money here, in America for Americans!

And if, for whatever reason, you may not be feeling patriotic right now, then consider this when making your purchases:

The Chinese are a little people, with little feet.  The shoes will likely run small for an American foot!

The Chinese and other governments do not have our standards and so when you look at a pair of boots online, and you scroll down the page to find out where the product is made, don’t be surprised when you see that it doesn’t mean one California code or another.

You can search those codes if you aren’t familiar with them, but I didn’t because I know that polyurethane is flammable without anyone having to tell me.  And I just don’t see wearing a long pair of flammable boots.

Conspiracy theories or not,  just consider what is shipped here daily.  I want some rubber boots, but I can imagine everyone getting a pair of one color or another and all of us walking about doing our daily tasks….when all of a sudden a small nearly insignificant bomb is dropped and all of our colorful polyurethane boots catch fire, with us still in them!  That may be a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but in some way it’s also true.

Buying products elsewhere, especially if we can get there from America, made in America, fuels the outside economy with your hard earned dollar, and brings in items that are substandard.

Next time you venture into Walmart, go to the Customer Service area.  Its  usually in the front of the store.  Somewhere in there, you will see a bulletin board.  Just take a peek at how many recalled products they have.    And you may remember the lead-based paint toys for small children, or the dog food, or the car seats with this or that flaw, and so many more items.  Wasn’t there something about a gas grill that was catching fire not too long ago?

These companies, these countries, don’t have to answer to us.  They don’t have to make their products safe.  They can’t get sued.  Who’s going to sue them?  Who’s going to win?  They aren’t going to come here for a trial.  Our lawyers and judges cannot touch these people.

When you consider all of those returns, just at Walmart….you have to look at it two ways.  One, how many people didn’t hear it on the news and their children are putting those lead based painted objects in their mouth?  How many dogs and cats died from tainted pet food by brands we used to trust.  And two, all of these products that have been returned…imagine how much that costs Walmart.  Especially, and I don’t know that this is accurate, if they can’t recoup their losses from the manufacturers.  Yet they still manage to be a huge company (that runs the air conditioning at 81 and 82 degrees in their stores in my area.  So even American cashiers at Walmart are feeling a bit of the “sweat shop” atmosphere, not to mention the customers.  Personally, I’d think with food in there, it would make sense to keep the a/c lower so the coolers and freezers don’t have so much work to do…but that’s just me.

I also want to make mention of a site I landed on when searching for “made in america” tee shirts.  Shopwiki has tee shirts that say “Made in America” in the print, but does not mention where the product was actually made.  I would think this would be important information and they are letting me “assume” or “jump to the conclusion” that these “Made in USA” tees are made and manufactured here in the United States.

I don’t know about you, but I learned long ago what “assume” means, and I’ve been disappointed once or twice on the conclusions that I have jumped to.  For now, I don’t assume.  If these companies want my American Dollars, they are going to have to show me that these products are made here.  Just because it’s printed on the shirt, and even if they printed it here in the U.S., I want to know where the item is made.  Don’t be fooled!

"Made in America" - manufactured where?

If anyone is interested, I will begin a list and post it soon of companies that offer American products, made in the USA!

For now, this site seems to be doing exactly what I’m looking for:

http://blog.locallectual.com/?tag=made-in-america

Now, if I can just find something I like and can afford!

BUY AMERICAN!

Ideas for Reforming America

There is so much wrong in the world today, people I know, people you know, who can’t afford health insurance, who somehow earn just enough to be above the pay grade to get help from Medicaid.

Many people say it starts with our immigration, and that the minorities get better access to benefits and help from these great United States.

I had to ask myself, if I lived in, originated from, a poorer country, what would I do?  What would my dreams be?  Where would I go to make those dreams come true? 

And of course, the answer is America! Think about it.  These people want to better their lives and have a good place to raise their kids, just like you and me.  It’s not their fault.

Whose fault is it, you may be asking.  Its ours.  Its yours and mine, the American people.  We have not been paying attention. We have not stepped up to the plate. We have not insisted that reform is necessary. It is time for some serious changes here, fellow Americans!

When I heard a while back that the president of the United States will earn $600,000 every year AFTER his reign, I was surprised.  I know of one former president that I would love to give the chance to come back into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and let him earn that money…let him make some investments with his brilliant mind, and let him steer this country back on the right track.  Bill Clinton, we need you and your exceptional skills back in our government.

But Clinton can’t come back in, not as president.  Maybe if Hillary had gotten elected, or if she runs again and doesn’t bow down, then we may have a chance to get Bill back into the White House. 
Someone decided years ago that a president should not be able to serve more than 8 years, or 2 terms, in office.  While I strongly disagree with that “rule”, I also consider who puts these kinds of laws into action.

The Congress and Senate pass the bills and laws that you and I, as Americans, live by.  All these rules they deem important, but they only apply to you and me.   Senate and Congress officials can stay in as long as they are re-elected.

So I suggest we pass some new laws, some that apply to our LAW MAKERS! And while we’re at it, let’s take their votes right out of the counting. Because I can see the potential for their votes to count for more than ours.

Lets only let them serve a set amount of years.  If we made such a law that your Senator for your state, could only be in office for 8 years, think how much faster they may be willing to work to get things done.   No one wants to go out without having made some sort of accomplishment, right?  And if they do, well, at least when their term is done, we’ll be less one leech.

Anyone know how much money a Senator makes annually?

How about a Congressman?

I’d say its pretty good money, since they keep going back. And nothing gets accomplished. If it’s broke, fix it, people!!

Let’s set a standard for them as well.  No productivity, no paycheck. I know it seems a little harsh, but its the way of the “free world”, right? If you have a production job, and for whatever reason, you aren’t “meeting your quota”, you would expect a change in your job title, job description, or you would be looking for another job, right?

And then I have one more idea.  Let’s you and me, citizens of the US who pay our tax dollars…..and who can’t afford our own insurance (if you aren’t in that category, then I’m sure you know at least one person/family/neighborhood that is) - let us take away their benefits. No more private planes, unless they are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets that is. And, oh yeah, lets not forget about the bouncing checks Congress got away with writing a couple of decades ago. Wonder how many of them are still in office, “serving” the public?

No more tax payers paying for the government’s health care, when we can’t afford our own. Let them apply for food stamps and medicaid and then pay their own medical bills and prescriptions out of pocket when they are declined for making at least one dollar more than the allowable amount.

No more tax payers paying for the government’s retirement, when my own mother who is 66, has to have at least a part time job to pay her bills, AND her insurance, because Medicaid just isn’t enough. I thank God that she is healthy and well!

No more lengthy terms in office without getting anything accomplished for the American People. No work = no pay!

No more American’s paying for the housing of these government officials while they reside in D.C. for part of the year before taking their MONTH away from office….all at the same time!!!  THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

What job have you that you and your whole company can take a month off at once?

Who does the job when they are gone?  NO ONE! (I guess it’s not much difference than when they are there, huh?)

Just some ideas for Reforming America from one poor or middle class citizen to another!

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!!!

Instead of everyone bitching about what’s not getting done, think of some ideas to get things done. 
And hey, another idea, if you are the one who comes up with an idea, and it gets used, then perhaps you (or I) should at least have a finder’s fee or a monthly bonus in the amount of a government officials paycheck!  I bet that would get some GOP’s off their asses and awake and moving to the beat of a different drum or two.

And just consider what all we could get accomplished?!?!?

Back To School “Help”

Folks, it’s getting to be that time of year again.  The kids are going back to school.  The tax-free-weekends have already started.  The big companies are eager for your business.  Including the scavengers.

I was going through the “snail mail” a couple of days ago and had a letter that offered BACK TO SCHOOL help.  GREAT, I thought, hoping to find some useful coupons or can’t pass up deals on things we really need.  Things that might be on the Supply Lists the teachers print up for us.

I was aggravated when I saw it was for a loan from a “loan company and tax service”.  That’s not even a bank!

Now, I wonder, how did this company get my name and address.

Who is selling this information without my consent?  Because I’ve never done business with these people before!

Shouldn’t they AT LEAST have to pay you a finder’s fee for using your information?

Richest Country in the World - No Insurance

Living in one of the richest, if not the richest, country in the world, it is quite disturbing when a friend needs medical attention, but has no health insurance.

A 33-year-old male, (we’ll call him Jethro) goes to a local emergency room with stabbing pains in his back that are only relived when the pain is instead stabbing his chest.  The ER doctors diagnosed him with kidney stones and sent him on his way.

Jethro is pretty tall, over 6 feet, and the way he is built, you might notice that his lungs are well above where his kidneys are.  There is no way this has anything to do with kidneys.

Finally Jethro finds a doctor willing to dig a little deeper.  Turned out he had a tumor, attached to his lung and his rib cage.  The doctors said it was not lung cancer, but some sort of gonadal germ cell tumor in his lungs.  They tell him its the easiest to treat and within 6 months he should be well, with a few shots and a sugar-coating.

Jethro lives in a tri-state area where he has access to small town communities or big city accomodations.  The ER he had visited was, of course, big city.  Because he has no insurance, they referred him to a doctor in his own state.  Jethro is unmarried, and lives with his aging father to help out with whatever needs to be done. And at the time of all of this, with the state of depression the US is headed for, he is also unemployed.  His father is retired and gets a small pension each month.

So to get some help with his medical bills and groceries, Jethro gets signed up for Medicaid and Food Stamps.  Apparently he was in the highest bracket for his unemployment benefits and because he didn’t have a home in his own name, the local government has labeled him “indigent” and so he is approved for the medicaid, which certainly takes a lot of the bills out of the way.  However because of his living arrangements and the amount of his unemployment check, they denied him Food Stamps because he earns too much on his UNemployment check!  That’s a whole ‘nother rant though.

What is wrong with this country that we will butt into the problems of other nations and criticize the handling of their peoples, while we treat our own poor and helpless as second-class-citizens in a third-world- country?

Meanwhile, Jethro has been put through the ringer with horrible chemo therapy that made him sick and collapsed several veins with the injections. This has not “cured” the cancer, but instead doubled the size of the tumor.  Did these well-trained physicians miss something?  Did they underestimate this “little cancer”?  Or perhaps, because he is uninsured, they see that as permission to use him as a guinea pig?

Jethro was diagnosed with cancer this past March. Within 6 months, the doctors predicted he would be cancer-free. His last chemotherapy was about 1 month ago and he started the radiation just afterwards.  The radiation was expected to ease the horrible and constant pain, while reducing the size of the tumor.  At that point, they were hoping to decrease it enough to be able to do surgery and remove the tumor.  Jethro had his last radiation one week ago, and now we wait for the verdict from the doctor.

This is why it is so important to have faith.  Jethro is such a good man, though he’ll be the first to tell you he is not perfect.  He is so young and still has so much life to live.  I have high hopes that God has taken this into His hands and that He decides to grace us all with the presence of “Jethro” for a while longer.

May you be lucky enough to befriend such a person at least once in your lifetime.

And may our own government figure out a way to allow each and every person here to be insured and have the best chances and least worries should such a situation arise where medical help is needed for the best chances of survival.

I can’t help but wonder when the doctors underestimated this time and again, if they would have had more incentive to properly diagnose and treat were Jethro properly insured.

Here’s a link I came across today:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               http://www.capitolconnect.com/ama/voicefortheuninsured/

If this could help, and you would like to participate, please click the link and fill out the  information.  They will get it to your legislature.

Who Can Fix The U.S.A.?

The election process only works when people vote.

And it helps to have someone worthy of that vote.

Our country is in a bind, ladies and gentlemen.

I recently received an email about having oil in the midwest that we can’t touch because of issues with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

We import oil at 60-150 USD per barrel.  Is it more environmentally correct to fight wars and haul crude across the seas, paying more than we can afford in blood, lives, and yes, even money?  Do we have our priorities straight?

What US citizen doesn’t have a family member or personally know someone who is in the military?  If that’s a stretch, then maybe what US citizen doesn’t at least know of a family with a member in a branch of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and/or Border Patrol? I’m afraid that if there is a stretch left, it might be that you “knew” someone who fought bravely for his or her country.

We need someone brave and strong and moral to lead this country, and fix it.  Not just boost the economy.  Not just offer some quick fixes.  Not just bring our men and women home, and certainly not just to send them right back out again!  (Seen the movie Stop Loss?)

We, the people need someone to show us how to be strong without being the neighborhood bullies.

We need someone who will bring our jobs back to the United States, and not lease them out to every other country, especially the ones with sweatshops and basic slavery.

We need to learn to buy America, and “made in America” needs to mean something good again.

We need to shop at our local mom/pop shops and keep the money here, instead of putting it into the chains with the headquarters overseas.

We need to work on our own country before we go around telling everyone else what they are doing wrong.

We need to offer military training to other countries so they can defend their own borders.

And when we go off to war, we need to know who we’re after, and go after them until we get them.

We need a hero who will stand up for the US first, and worry about being politically correct after we’ve taken care of our own home.

Where is our hero?

Who would be willing to even consider such a shitty job, with crappy hours, and loads of reporters waiting on you to make the first mistake?

Who would be willing to clean up Washington, DC while he/she was there?

Who would be willing to change some laws?

Who would be willing to set term limits for all of our government offices that participate in running this country?

We need to start looking now!  Someone needs to step up to the plate and knock us a home run!  We’ve only got 3 more years, to find you, to tell people about you, and to get you elected and moved in.  We need you yesterday!

Dogsitting

Have you ever dog-sat? As in, been responsible for someone else’s pet? If you are considering doing so, you might want to reconsider.
In your life there are certain people you just can’t seem to say no to. And so we are left for a week with a playful rambunctious pit bull mix.
I’ve heard stories, and I’ve had a run-in of my own with a “pack of wild pits”. They were smaller, and because they didn’t turn on me while I tried to beat them off a spaniel dog, apparently they were also the more “gentle” of the breed.
But this one, her name is Molly. She is quick and sounds quite vicious when her bowl is involved. While she might be a tough breed, she sorely tested her limits today. When my husband came home and she put four distinct claw marks on his car…. he was ready to apologize while reporting the death of said pup to her owner. (Hope she doesn’t screw up anymore because this is only the second day of seven!)
Wanna find out quick who the alpha male is here?
Claw up that paint job again!

No animals were harmed in the making of this story, and so far none have been killed either.

Update: We made it through that week. Molly survived as well. By the end of her visit, she and I had come to an understanding. Should my loved one wish to leave Ms Molly with us again, I suggest he visit with her more often, so neither of us forgets the rules.
Ah, its nice to only have our own pets to deal with again!

Trying to Teach an Old Dog New Tricks….

I am in the process of learning many different things, at once.
This is not such a good thing. I get easily distracted and tend to get less done than usual. Like getting an article posted vs learning the back end of Word Press.
So I appreciate your visits, and your comments, and of course, your patience while I try to figure which direction is up.
Please don’t forget about us here, thinking because I’ve been inactive that I am not doing something. And be ready because I’ve got some back-up standing by. So when we get this where we want it, you’ll be entertained by some rabid rebels. In other words, please check back soon!

Pop Star Propaganda

Washington, 05 March 2008 — Just days after San Francisco-based Financial Title Company filed notice of a trustee’s sale of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Valley Ranch, CNN reports that the self-proclaimed “King of Pop” is working out financial details to keep the property.
An auction had been set for March 19 at the Santa Barbara County courthouse. Michael left Neverland in 2005 after being found not guilty of child molestation charges. He reportedly owes more than $24 million on the estate.

- By Mary Morningstar

Source: VOANews.com

Just wondering if anyone remembers this? Good manners tells us to not speak ill of the dead.  I wonder if all this publicity over Michael Jackson’s death is just the opposite of good manners though.  The press was posting scandal after scandal while the talk show hosts were full of puns and jokes and people coming out of the woodwork to say their child had been abused.

And now, the legend of pop is dead and hasn’t been so popular in many decades.

Today I heard a child say, “I like Michael Jackson before he was white when he took that bat and broke those windows because God let him do it.”  There was a reference to “Bad” in there somewhere. I don’t know this child well, so I don’t know if this is his summary of Michael’s life or if he was repeating someone else’s.

In the past couple of days I’ve seen so many advertisements on the pages too about getting my Michael Jackson tee shirt, or showing off my charm bracelet with an image of Michael Jackson, and I don’t even know what else I didn’t even bother to read.

While ‘jazzercleaning” the other day, I put on the 70’s music channel and they were playing some of the early stuff. Then about an hour or so later, when I turn it off, they’re playing his voice again. How long before the Michael Jackson Thriller station is part of the Sirius tunage?

We watched our first episode of American Idol this past week too.  They were down to 13 contestants and it was going to be a 2 hour special. This is where I usually start to get interested in the show, because the silliness seems to have gone with the first castoffs, and the ones left are going to be heard. This week the contestants could pick a Michael Jackson song to cover. And one must wonder if this was in the writings last week, or if they had to learn his songs in just a couple of days?

I’d already read predictions of the expected music sales to skyrocket, and that was printed the day after his death.

I guess he’d love the theatrics of it all, if he could see this great world’s sorrow and economy boost.  I just can’t help but note the ironic humor of it all. 
I had a comment on here asking if I had read this article of Michael Jackson’s death, with a link, and a question about whether I was going to write about it on my blog.  That was the night after he died.  And when I searched that title, it came up as comments on several other sites as well. I deleted it as spam, so you won’t find it here.

Why is Michael suddenly so popular?  Where were all these fans even a month ago?  Who gets all these profits now?  Is he really gone, or is this just some sort of conspiracy to get us to buy a whole bunch of American pop star collectibles in Chinese bulk on sale exclusively at Walmart’s Rollback Prices?

And then I have to admit that I have frequented more searches of late as well. Mine were for educational purposes though. I am only in this for the rant!

To Be Happy

After having a rough past couple of weeks of my own, I was feeling pretty good when I started writing this, and that frozen strawberry margarita was just the thing to makes me wax a bit more poetic.

When you find that you are not content with where you are in life right now, here are some questions to ask yourself.

First, you have to know what it is you are looking for. 
What will make you feel whole and balanced and happy? 
For many of us, that is a huge question. 
But if we don’t know the question, how will we recognize the answer?

Know what you want.

Close your eyes and imagine what love means to you.  
Keep ‘em closed. 
What does happiness feel like? 

If you know what discontent feels like, does that mean you can recognize “contentment”?
Know what you want.
Once you know what you want, don’t settle.

What if we are happy, now that we look a little closer!
Talk about a time-saving bargain!
No emotions were hurt in the production of this post.
Happiness is a level that can be achieved by any one.
Happiness cannot be bought, nor sold.
Happiness is a state of mind.
Happiness is…
But those other emotions have to come back so we can appreciate being happy!

I guess you can fill in the blank with any emotion….

Bitchiness is a level that can be achieved by any one.
Bitchiness cannot be bought, nor sold.
Bitchiness is a state of mind.
Bitchiness is…
But those other emotions have to come back so we can appreciate being bitchy! <–Don’t know if this one applies…..

I was shocked to hear Michael Jackson had died. There have been so many rumors and innuendos about him and his family, but who among us KNOWS the truth? My truth is that he was an awesome singer and dancer. Thriller…who knows someone who didn’t have either an Lp or cassette collection without at least one copy of Michael Jackson singing something. Someone in the family had a 45 of “Ben” and maybe “ABC’s” on the flip-side.
I don’t know what kind of man he was, but the music world has lost a vital legend of influence.
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While searching the news to find more about Michael, I also learned that Farrah Fawcett had died.
She was always so beautiful, whether she was the flirty undercover angel, or the “don’t start none” had enough beaten wife in “The Burning Bed”. The woman had spunk.
It is good to see Ryan O’Neal on Bones which is about the only way I didn’t associate him with Farrah. I also learned that she had always said no to marrying him, she’d finally said yes! I guess that’s about as close as one can get to a “happy ending”.

Farm Town

I’m really liking this game.  I can walk away from it without planting grapes now.  So I am in recovery.  But the interesting thing is that I asked my husband to get some watermelon (and even pumpkin) seeds so our 8 year old son could plant them. He isn’t involved in 4-H.  I’m not even sure his school has one.  But I thought it would be a good thing for both of us to learn.  My thumb has always been pretty black.
If you’re a member on facebook and you have tried this game, Farm Town, then you know how many people are addicted to playing it.  You can grow your crops and as you level up, more options become available.  For more coins, of course.  So I shouldn’t have been surprised when my husband tells me that not only is the Walmart out of watermelon seeds, they have no seeds of any fruit or veggie in the store.
You might consider doing a bit of shopping on the sides of the road as opposed to the supermarket this summer!  Talk about FRESH!

Any farmers with green thumbs have some tips to share in case we do find a seed to two to plant?

–pix removed

Then and Now

Not to give away my age, but to consider how things are different now than they were just a few years ago, I wanted to share a couple of thoughts.

First, I was trying to remember when I didn’t hate drinking water. I was thinking back to when I used to go out to eat as a kid…the table always had a napkin, fork, spoon, knife, and a glass of ice water for each person. Sometimes there were a couple of packets of crackers too. I used to drink that water and save my coke for the meal. Refills weren’t free.

That was also back when we drank water out of the tap, the waterhose, and the school water fountains that may or may not have been filtered. It was the best tasting water and it was free!

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Of course that was during a time when a different kind of recycling was big. You had a 6 pack of 32 oz glass bottles of Coke - that you would return to the store to get your deposit refund. I assume the store sent these back (or let them be picked up by) the coca cola company to be cleaned, refilled, and re-sold. That was before you had to call to see what days the recycling center was taking cans.

I have searched to find a 32 oz bottle of coke on the net, and have failed to come up with one. I cannot remember if they came in a 6 or 8 pack. Best of luck if someone can find a pic.
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I remember before they asked if you wanted paper or plastic. And I remember reluctantly helping my mom carry in groceries in paper bags, which used less bags in my opinion.  They were certainly always heavier and bulkier and full of groceries that were bagged by a professional who knew not to put cleaning supplies in the same bag as meats.  I also remember rushing to help our neighbor when she came in with groceries. She was nice and made us feel so heroic about helping her. Plus she gave us a quarter. And then those paper bags were reused. We had to fold them and stack them. I don’t remember what we used them for. Although one time we did find a couple of brown bags full of pornomags behind the hedges when we were young. I don’t think the two were related, but who can tell?

Volume versus Frequency

During this hot summer day, I have told my young son to be quiet, numerous times.  It’s not that he’s loud, but he’s constantly chattering.  We were playing a video game and I would have to ask him if it was his turn.   This being such a frequent occasion here, I’ve even made a “rule”.  This is  the  “rule” of  “no talking when it’s not your turn”.  Obviously, he can be quite distracting.

If you knew him, you would without a doubt recognize that he is a very astute eight year old.  And before an afternoon was out, I suspect the thought running through your head would be more like “who can talk that much?”

Obviously I was blaming him for my low golf score…or would that be “horrendous handicap”?  Either way, I was aggravated.  Deciding it was time to cook dinner, I walked away from him and the tv after that last game of golf.   And it wasn’t long till I heard him jabbering away again.  I asked who he was talking to, and my talkative youth answered “myself”.  I corrected myself to say, “well y’all are going to have to be quiet!”  He thought that was so funny, and soon I couldn’t help but laugh at him laughing.

Just after dinner he started again.  It was like he’d just refueled with a tankful of high octane, and he was full-steam ahead, all over again.  I know that’s lot of preps, but I just want to make sure you understand! 

I advised him to be quiet with a bit more determination this time.  I told him that the next time I had to say “Be quiet!” it would be with great volume.   As I was stating this, I was getting louder.  I told him that I’d been thinking about it, and that he doesn’t really pay attention to what I am saying until I yell.  And I could see the realization in his eyes.  In this case, volume comes out the clear winner.

I think we’ve both learned something on this week of summer vacation.

I’m hoping that tomorrow will mark a difference, for both our sakes.

Recruiting on a Sunday

I’m not actually bitching here, but I found this kind of funny and wanted to share.

Yesterday was Sunday, (Happy Flag Day America!) and around 11am there was a knock on the door. It was a couple who were trying to bring my family into the Seventh Day Advent church. Now, I find this oddly amusing, as I was raised a Southern Baptist. I don’t want to go all into religions and beliefs, but if you are familiar with Southern Baptist churches, you may understand why they are having to reestablish their churches and congregations to get young people back through those doors. Which is why I was home on a Sunday around 11am in the first place.

My initial thought was how odd it was that they were coming around during church hours to invite. My husband had answered the door and when I asked him what church they were from, and he told me, it made a bit more sense. But in a way, isn’t that rude? To go to someone’s door on a day that most consider holy, inviting them to join a church. Working on a Sunday….etc. Several things came to mind to object to this, but most of them were tossed into the wind with the knowledge these were Seventh Day, which means they consider Saturday to be their holy day.

I am not one to be a regular attendee in church, obviously. I am not one to go out looking for people to save either. I do put the word out when I have the urge, but I try not to push my spirituality onto deaf ears. The whisper gets more than the shout.

I wanted to ask how a Seventh Day person would react to a Southern Baptist (or other organized religion) would feel if someone knocked on their door on a holy day to invite them to try a different route. Then I realized that Saturday is the day that a lot of recruiters (including Baptists) go out to bring the sheep into the church. So they (the SDA) could be equally offended. Supposing they weren’t in church and were home to answer the door, of course.

Just one of those odd thoughts I wanted to share and hope you find a bit interesting.

-While looking for a picture to make this article pop, I found one that seems to have caused a lot of …commotion.  I can’t seem to get it posted here, but you can google “Pimp My Church” for the image.  Most of the comments I read were negative, as was my first reaction to seeing the image. Then I am reminded of the movie, “The Fighting Temptations” and how they went about getting people into the church. If it gets someone there, learning something they didn’t know, then isn’t that the goal? What do you think?

Internet Rant

I have done a couple of searches to see if I could find anything to inspire me.  The only thing that really has set me off a bit was going to a site  to see if it existed.  The search I did was for “www.madeinalabama.com”.  I found it, it linked me to another site, and I am certainly not recommending it.  It was something pink…and it appears to be a porn site.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are a fan of porn, and you go on the internet looking for it, that is your business.   However, when you go to a site that in essence has little or nothing to do with porn, such as made in Alabama, I think it sucks bigtime that they can throw out a page asking that you be 18 before you can enter.  I’m sure you might have to break out a calculator if you are underaged to get the right year.  But of course no child would think of doing that.

I know there is a place to report such a site….but since the name in the address changes, and since you have to prove that you are over 18, does this make it acceptable?  Legal? I need to know more about the Pissed Off Mommies.com.

That’s my gripe for today!

WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

From:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTkkEKE5LtPih_5Jcc-3MpD0gOYQD98OH0U00

Find out more about WHO’s level 6 preparedness here:

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html

This is not to panic..just to make you aware so you can inform others….

And here is a bit more info from a source at Wikipedia:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/AntigenicShift_HiRes.png

If you are sick, stay away from high risk persons (elderly, children, health poor) AND their CAREGIVERS!

Other than that, it looks like its a ride-it-out and hope you’re saved sort of thing!

CONsPIRACY Theories

Today I had intended to come in here telling you about the wasp conspiracy.  Only to find that mike likes my posts so much, he stated he would become a subscriber.   Yeah well, before I got the big head and became overly flattered, I clicked to see the whole of what he had to say.  And would you believe it was a direct link to his site?  Now, isn’t that just rude?  What if I went to mike’s site and put in a link to mine?  How would mike feel about that? I marked it as spam, and am heartbroken to have to label a potential subscriber, but alas, I will get over it and this too shall pass.

So on to some edu-ma-cation, as a certain college girl likes to say.  I am fairly decent with spelling words, and its because I have this thing in my head where I divide the word into smaller and easier parts.  Conspiracy is a perfect example. I do fine with the con, but in order to make sure I get the back end of the word correct, I have to think “piracy”.  So how does this work?  Con is a negative term…or perhaps a negative prefix would be more accurate.  Then piracy…also full of negative connotations.  I remember something about two wrongs don’t make a right.  No, that wasn’t it.  Two negatives become a positive.  That was it.  Does this mean there is some truth to CONsPIRACY?  Something to think about at least.

Now for the reason I came to talk today.   I have this issue.  And without going into grave detail, I was in vulnerable position when I heard the distinct buzz of something bigger (and meaner) than a fly.  I decided my…project could wait and asked the person responsible for letting the wasp in handle it’s exit.  I finally had another opportune moment when I heard that distinct buzz again.  Another one!  Only I couldn’t find this one, so I have hoped it would go away before the next time I would be in that area.  I had a third opportunity and was in that same vulnerable position for a longer duration when I heard it again.  This time, I looked a lot harder for it and could see a lot better because it was already daylight outside and there was a window nearby.  Luckily, when I saw it, it was on the edge of the window.  By the time I could get to it, I couldn’t see the ugly red wasp with the big stinger, but I went ahead and shut the inner window in hopes he was trapped between it and the outer window.  I am proud to say that it is now trapped between those two windows, and with the heat the sun has been putting off for the last two days, I suspect that he will no longer be a threat, immediately (because of the windows surrounding him) nor later, in case someone opens a window, because he should be well-done  and extra crispy by noon or so!

And this is why we don’t stand at doors holding them open for any length of time, right dear?

Heat Wave

What shall I bitch about today? Let’s see. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, and our a/c unit, which is less than 30 days old, decides to freeze up! We called the guys who installed it, and they are coming out today.

I was awakened by a huge chunk of ice falling off the intake part of the unit at 7:30am. After doing a few things online and then showering, I decided it had been long enough for the unit to be operational again, especially since it is already getting warm.

Earlier we were discussing this situation and he was disappointed that I had turned the unit off last night. He said I should have left it on so they wouldn’t come and tell us that there was nothing wrong with it. I asked if he would feel the same way had the unit burned up. He said yes, because at this point, it will still be under warranty. My answer was if they come out today, and can’t find anything wrong with it, then tonight I would leave it running so it would be frozen by the time they come tomorrow.

Now, keep in mind that today looks to be just as hot as yesterday was. Hubby tells me he’s called the company and the repairman asked that we leave the unit off until they get here. GREAT! I asked when they might be expected and he said in a few hours. UGH! Not so great.

But I must say that it’s funny how I usually bitch about the things I ask the man of the house to do, that don’t get done. In this case, I am glad that he left that ugly window unit still in the kitchen window. Because yesterday and today, it will be useful!