I am so pissed off I could spit fire!!!

My own religious beliefs being somewhat, unconventional, I'm usually a pretty tolerant person when it comes to other creeds. I'm glad people have them and that they give them fulfillment in their lives they would otherwise lack. I'm a very live and let live type of person, you know, if it makes you happy, I'm happy for you, even if I don't understand it. I even go so far as to have one of those funky bumper stickers where the word coexist is spelled out with different religious symbols, and I truly believe that we can, as long as we show mutual respect.
Enter the missionaries. Having lived in Utah for most of my life, I'm pretty much used to them. "No thank you, I'm not interested in hearing about your savior." "Thank you for your concern about my immortal soul, but I'm fine, really." "No I don't need anything, and I don't think I need you to come back either." I'm usually much nicer than that last one. My problem with missionaries is fundamental. You can't show mutual respect when one of you is trying to convert the other. That's nothing new though, it's always been that way.
What's new is a couple of them cornered my 15 year old kid while he was talking to a friend, gave him a book of Mormon and started talking about their god. I'm not sure if it's illegal to try and convert a minor in Utah without parental permission, but I'm sure it ought to be. I tried to track the pair down but as of yet I have been unsuccessful, they weaseled my address out of my kid though so I'm hoping I'll run into them soon, and I can tell them- Well, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to tell them, but I am not pleased and it probably won't be very friendly. I'll let you know how it goes.

School is back in session Woo-Hoo

My three kids went back to school yesterday and I couldn't be happier. They have stuff to do and friends to see, they are no longer stuck in the same house with nothing to do but stare at one another. They were tired of one another about a week in to summer vacation and I have been sick to death of them being tired of one another ever since.
Growing up, I used to be insulted at the idea that my parents were glad to be rid of me. Now I totally understand and apologize for any grief I may have given them because of it. It's a beautiful thing to arrive home from work with the house in relatively the same condition you left it, I say relatively because they do get home a little before me, but just haven't had the time yet to do their regular all day damage.
Anyway, I'm so happy I think I'll make up my own little 'back to school' dance!!! Again I say, Woo-Hoo!

So what have you done?

I've been thinking lately about how as a populace we seem to have a sense of entitlement. I'm talking about everything we seem to think we deserve just for existing. I've started with a broad brush, but this simple issue encompasses many problems both large and small. For example it can be linked to racism, sexism, immigration and nepotism just for starters.
A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with a co-worker. We were discussing some of the immigration issues we are having and different feelings about them. He said that some hold the belief that we are actually all immigrants, to which I chuckled and replied, "Not me, I was born here, I have the birth certificate to prove it!"
Then he got a little ranty, stating that so was he and his great grandfather, grandfather and father had all bled for this country so he deserved his citizenship. I let him dig himself in a little deeper before blurting out. "Cool, they should be honored for their sacrifice, but, what have you done?" After stammering for a moment, he was ashamed to answer that he had done nothing.
My point is that to begin with, for natural-born citizens, US citizenship is nothing more than a lucky circumstance of birth as are a lot of other things people assume they deserve.
I believe that it's important to know and be proud of your heritage, but also know that it doesn't make you any more deserving or any better of a person. You have to do that on your own.

My new toy

I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately, I've been a little preoccupied. The truth? I haven't even turned my computer on for a couple of weeks (work doesn't count). What's been keeping me so busy? I got an amazon kindle and I haven't been able to put it down.
If you haven't heard of them, let me fill you in. A kindle is an ebook reader. There are a few other kinds out there but I got this one. I just love it. It was rather expensive a little over $350, but in my opinion well worth it. This one, unlike the others isn't back lit so you can read forever and it won't strain your eyes. Also it comes with it's own internet hook-up, you can download books straight to your kindle from amazon, so far I haven't found anything that costs more than $10 to download.
I would not have bought it however, if amazon was the only place I could get books. I'm a library girl myself, I like reading for free. Luckily, my library has ebooks available, there is some formatting involved in that though. You can only read kindle formatted books on your kindle, so you have to take them to the amazon site and have them format them for you. If you use the USB port to send them to your kindle from there it's free, if you do it wirelessly, it will cost you ten cents, still not bad. The only problem I have found so far is that you can't necessarily find all the books you want in ebook form, it's a rather new idea though compared with paper bindings, I'm sure publishers will come around. It's not too bad though, I was able to download the new twilight book from my couch for the weekend it came out.
There is a lot more it can do, but I think if I go any further, I'm going to have to try to get some money out of amazon for promoting their product.
Anyway, sorry to be away so long, I'll try to do better.

Move to the right if you want to go slow II

At the risk of starting a fire all over again, I just had to follow up on the previously deleted post. I was rushing home from work in the middle of the day because my kids called me telling me that my oldest son had cut his finger and it was 'gushing blood all over the place'. After establishing that it wasn't spurting, I instructed them in some basic first aid and was on my way home. On the freeway I ran into the familiar issue with people in the fast or passing lane, who refused to go over 65mph. I will admit, I was speeding at about 80mph, not my regular behavior, but I was trying to get home to see exactly how many stitches my son needed, I consider that emergency enough to warrant the speed I was trying to travel. Well unfortunately these self appointed patrol men had the freeway bogged down as if it were rush hour. I finally was able to weave my way to the source and tried to politely signal my request, by flashing my brites, not by tailgating, and was totally ignored.
My son ended up fine, the cut was not very bad, it just bled a lot, but to make what I think is a very good point, you never know why the person trying to get past you is so determined.

Even Steven?

Just in case you guys out there thought that last one was about more than my worthless cat, here's another...

The Rules - According to Guys

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note...these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday = sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like camping.

Advice for the Ladies

If you want someone who will bring you the paper without first tearing it apart to remove the sports section Buy a dog.

If you want someone willing to make a fool of himself simply over the joy of seeing you Buy a dog.

If you want someone who will eat whatever you put in front of him and never says its not quite as good as his mother made it Buy a dog

If you want someone always willing to go out, at any hour, for as long and wherever you want Buy a dog.
If you want someone who will never touch the remote, doesn't care about football, and can sit next to you as you watch romantic movies Buy a dog.
If you want someone who is content to get up on your bed just to warm your feet and whom you can push off if he snores Buy a dog.

If you want someone who never criticizes what you do, doesn't care if you are pretty or ugly, fat or thin , young or old, who acts as if every word you say is especially worthy of listening to, and loves you unconditionally, perpetually Buy a dog.

But, on the other hand, If you want someone who will never come when you call, ignores you totally when you come home, leaves hair all over the place, walks all over you, runs around all night and only comes home to eat and sleep, and acts as if your entire existence is solely to ensure his happiness...

Then.................

Buy a cat...

I am truly sorry

John & Patsy Ramsey are innocent. Patsy died in 2006 still professing her innocence while the public in general, myself included, believed either she had finally gotten what she deserved or that she had escaped final justice.
I believed that JonBenet's death was accidental, but that her parents rushed to cover it up, what with all the lawyers and such. Today DNA has proved me, and many others wrong on all counts. And again, today, I am a giant ass.
Let me just say for the record that I am ashamed of the things I said about them when I believed them guilty, and that I have learned from this that I shouldn't be so quick to judge, and that things are not always what they appear to be.

We've been betrayed

A month or so ago there was a high school girl raped about a block from my house across the street from my daughter's elementary school, or so I thought. At first it made me want to move, then I tightened security around my house, especially when it came to my children. I made sure they never went anywhere alone, and that my boys kept close to my daughter when picking her up from school.
At my neighborhood convenience store, there were signs posted everywhere, depicting the suspect with a phone number to call police if you thought you might have seen him.
At work we discussed the terrible event, I went so far as to say that if I were the girl's mother, I would be proud of her that she fought so hard, and that I hoped that sick freak died from an infection he should get where she had bitten his hand.
I'm not sure what the rest of my neighbors are saying since I just found out about this, but I imagine they are as angry as I am.

Anyway here is the article:

Clearfield police say teen lied about rape

By Ben Winslow
Deseret News

Published: Saturday, June 28, 2008 12:03 a.m. MDT

3 comments

E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + -

Clearfield police said a teenage girl's claims that she was raped in the middle of a church parking lot in broad daylight are false.

In a statement sent to the Deseret News on Friday, Clearfield Assistant Police Chief Greg Krusi said laboratory test results and other evidence analyzed did not match up with the girl's claims about being attacked.

"The juvenile was formally interviewed again by investigators at which time she admitted to fabricating the story due to personal issues occurring in her life," Krusi wrote.

The alleged rape was reported in May when the girl said she had dropped off a friend at a nearby apartment complex. She pulled into the church parking lot at 1985 S. Main to pick up some things that had fallen off a seat in the van she was driving. That's when she said a man entered her car, overpowered her and raped her.

The rape claim had police frantically searching for the man. They even released a police sketch of a man they described as in his mid-30s, with blond hair and a goatee. The girl said the man may have sustained a hand injury in the attack.

"Clearfield police detectives screened this case with the Davis County Attorney's Office, and they will be charging the female juvenile in juvenile court with filing a false police report, a class A misdemeanor," Krusi wrote.

Congratulations to my daughter

My daughter placed 3 times during the Feis this last weekend.
A Feis is an Irish step dance competition. She placed for her two hand, her slip jig, and her double jig.
Great Job Baby!

One Vote

Something very important happened today. The supreme court overturned a handgun ban in Washington DC. The problem? It was only by a margin of 5 to 4.

Here are some thoughts on the subject:

Benjamin Franklin: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Nov 11 1755, from the Pennsylvania Assembly's reply to the Governor of Pennsylvania.)

Thomas Jefferson: "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined or determined to commit crimes. Such laws only make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assassins; they serve to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." (1764 Letter and speech from T. Jefferson quoting with approval an essay by Cesare Beccari)

John Adams: "Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self defense." (A defense of the Constitution of the US)

George Washington: "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the people's liberty teeth (and) keystone... the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable... more than 99% of them (guns) by their silence indicate that they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference (crime). When firearms go, all goes, we need them every hour." (Address to 1st session of Congress)

George Mason: "To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." (3 Elliot, Debates at 380)

Noah Webster: "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe." (1787, Pamphlets on the Constitution of the US)

George Washington: "A free people ought to be armed." (Jan 14 1790, Boston Independent Chronicle.)

Thomas Jefferson: "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." (T. Jefferson papers, 334, C.J. Boyd, Ed. 1950)

James Madison: "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose people are afraid to trust them with arms." (Federalist Paper #46)

Times change, laws change, attitudes change and these men knew that. They also knew that if ever their people had to take back their country again from a corrupt government, they would need their guns.

In Memory 5/12/1937 - 6/22/2008

The Seven Words You Can Never Say On Tv

by George Carlin

I love words. I thank you for hearing my words.
I want to tell you something about words that I think is important.
They're my work, they're my play, they're my passion.
Words are all we have, really. We have thoughts but thoughts are fluid.
then we assign a word to a thought and we're stuck with that word for
that thought, so be careful with words. I like to think that the same
words that hurt can heal, it is a matter of how you pick them.
There are some people that are not into all the words.
There are some that would have you not use certain words.
There are 400,000 words in the English language and there are 7
of them you can't say on television. What a ratio that is.
399,993 to 7. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous
to be seperated from a group that large. All of you over here,you 7,
Bad Words. That's what they told us they were, remember?
"That's a bad word!" No bad words, bad thoughts, bad intentions,
and words. You know the 7, don't you, that you can't say on television?
"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits"
Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that'll infect your soul,
curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war.
"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits"
Wow! ...and Tits doesn't even belong on the list. That is such a friendly
sounding word. It sounds like a nickname, right? "Hey, Tits, come here,
man. Hey Tits, meet Toots. Toots, Tits. Tits, Toots." It sounds like a
snack, doesn't it? Yes, I know, it is a snack. I don't mean your sexist
snack. I mean New Nabisco Tits!, and new Cheese Tits, Corn Tits,
Pizza Tits, Sesame Tits, Onion Tits, Tater Tits. "Betcha Can't Eat Just
One." That's true. I usually switch off. But I mean, that word does
not belong on the list. Actually none of the words belong on the list,
but you can understand why some of them are there. I'm not
completely insensetive to people's feelings. I can understand why
some of those words got on the list, like CockSucker and
MotherFucker. Those are heavyweight words. There is a lot going on
there. Besides the literal translation and the emotional feeling.
I mean, they're just busy words. There's a lot of syllables to contend
with. And those Ks, those are agressive sounds. They just jump out at
you like "coCKsuCKer, motherfuCKer. coCKsuCKer, motherfuCKer."
It's like an assualt on you. We mentioned Shit earlier, and 2 of the
other 4-letter Anglo-Saxon words are Piss and Cunt, which go
together of course. A little accedental humor there. The reason that
Piss and Cunt are on the list is because a long time ago, there were
certain ladies that said "Those are the 2 I am not going to say. I
don't mind Fuck and Shit but 'P' and 'C' are out.", which led to such
stupid sentences as "Okay you fuckers, I'm going to tinckle now."
And, of course, the word Fuck. I don't really, well that's more
accedental humor, I don't wanna get into that now because I think
it takes to long. But I do mean that. I think the word Fuck is a very
imprortant word. It is the beginning of life, yet it is a word we use to
hurt one another quite often. People much wiser than I am said,
"I'd rather have my son watch a  film with 2 people making love
than 2 people trying to kill one another. I, of course, can agree. It is
a great sentence. I wish I knew who said it first. I agree with that but
I like to take it a step further. I'd like to substitute the word Fuck for
the word Kill in all of those movie cliches we grew up with. "Okay,
Sherrif, we're gonna Fuck you now, but we're gonna Fuck you slow."
So maybe next year I'll have a whole fuckin' ramp on the N word.
I hope so. Those are the 7 you can never say on television, under any
circumstanses. You just cannot say them ever ever ever. Not even
clinically. You cannot weave them in on the panel with Doc, and Ed,
and Johnny. I mean, it is just impossible. Forget tHose 7. They're out.
But there are some 2-way words, those double-meaning words.
Remember the ones you giggled at in sixth grade? "...And the cock
CROWED 3 times" "Hey, tha cock CROWED 3 times. ha ha ha ha. Hey, it's in
the bible. ha ha ha ha. There are some 2-way words, like it is okay for
Kirk Youdi to say "Roberto Clametti has 2 balls on him.", but he can't
say "I think he hurt his balls on that play, Tony. Don't you? He's holding
them. He must've hurt them, by God." and the other 2-way word that
goes with that one is Prik. It's okay if it happens to your finger. You
can prik your finger but don't finger your prik. No,no.

Is alimony outdated?

My husband and I were listening to the news while shoveling down some scrambled eggs before running out the door this morning. There was a small blurb about how more judges are awarding alimony to men. It sparked an interesting conversation between us that almost had me late for work. Should alimony be done away with completely?
His position is yes, mine, no. I know, the first thing you are thinking is of course she's for it, she's a woman, but I would take issue with that. In today's world family roles are changing. It is no longer unheard of for the woman to make the money and the man to make the house run smoothly. My thought is that if the decision is made that one of you should stay home, that person is sacrificing their career for the betterment of the family unit. If that unit falls apart, where does that leave the housewife/husband after fifteen years of being out of the workforce. I think alimony should be awarded to assist them reentering the workforce.
My spouse argued that they have social programs for that. I don't think that is society's responsibility, and there, we were at an impasse.
I'm not saying alimony should be handed out haphazardly, I definitely don't think it should be the norm, but I do think there is still a place for it today.

How sad...

I hated to do it, but I didn't feel that I had any choice. I had to delete what I thought was a very interesting topic because of personal attacks and obvious flame bait. Also, unfortunately I had to change the way comments are posted, if you are one of those anonymous cowards looking to sling mud with nothing intelligent to say, your comments will never post so you might as well take your traffic elsewhere.
I began this blog for several reasons, one of them being I would like a forum where the discussion of various topics, banter and even open disagreement could help bring around better understanding for everyone involved, and that will always be welcome here.

Summer Vacation

My bored kids are driving me up the wall. They are ganging up on me. Every time I turn around I have a pair of blue eyes staring at me expecting me to find something to help entertain them. The fact that I work makes the matter worse. By the time I get home they have been stuck in the house together all day, are restless and ready to kill one another. I try but after a long day I'm out of patience. I can't wait for fall.

Do Not Call

I got a telephone solicitation on my cell phone. It was one of those really annoying ones where you get the recording first, then if you're interested in their product you are supposed to press a number to talk to a real person. Well I pressed the number to very politely tell them that they had called me on my cell, which is on the do not call list and if they could please remove me from any follow-up dialers. Before I got the first four words out they hung up on me. That really pissed me off, so I wasn't feeling like being kind or polite any longer.
They had left their number on my caller ID. I promptly logged on to www.donotcall.gov and reported them. I felt much better after that, and I would like to encourage others as well. It is kind of a pain in the butt but if you do it they will pay. Calling numbers on that list will get them fined up to 11k for each call made to a prohibited number. Vengeance is mine!

I forgot what a good looking son I have.

I couldn't take it any more. Every time I looked at him he was greasy, disheveled and dandruffy. I have told him more times than I can remember that if he wanted to grow out his hair, I was fine with it as long as it was kept clean and neat. He would swear up and down that he would, and insist he was doing just that when questioned, even though it was obvious he was not.
At dinner tonight I was so disgusted looking at him I could barely choke down my meal. I went straight for the shears. He was pissed, and it didn't matter that his little sister tried to tell him that she thought he looked better with short hair. "I think I'll look gay!" He roared at her, then glowered at all of us. Didn't stop me, I was on a mission.
I never even touched his hair, just ran the clippers over his head while he continued to glare about the room, his objection oozing out of every pore. As I buzzed his head I tried to lighten the mood, telling him funny stories and such. When I had finished, his siblings were voicing their approval and he seemed to be feeling tentatively better about the whole thing. Then I had him rolling with merriment when I backed up to get a better look at him and with a smile in my eyes stated "No, I'm afraid you were right, you do look gay."

Brown Thumb?

In my family I have a reputation. I'm not proud of it, but there it is. I can't grow anything. Alright, I exaggerate a little, those weeds that grow in-between sidewalk cracks, those I can grow. Actually weeds in general do seem to like me. The only thing I can keep alive on purpose so far, seems to be roses. My yard has a lot of roses, and weeds, and dead aspen trees. Usually I look around at my little 1/4 of an acre, shrug my shoulders and say "at least the weeds are green". Occasionally I will get a little fire under me to change my proclivities. This weekend I am trying to do just that.
My kids and I spent all day yesterday doing some serious landscaping, including emptying and moving those big whiskey barrels, taking down ornamental fencing, building planters and planting flowers. We planted yellow day lillies, mums left over from Memorial day, and some purple flower that while we were at Home Depot attracted the biggest prettiest butterfly I had ever seen. I don't know exactly what kind it is but it's a perennial and my daughter just had to have it, hoping it would attract some more of her favorite insect to our back yard. The day left us tired, sore and sunburned but we are all very pleased with the results so far. I worry, however, that I may be about to overextend myself. I plan to return to the hardware store today and purchase tomatoes and herbs to go into the planters I made yesterday out of the fencing we took down.
Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Sprint Sucks!

I recently received an email from my ISP stating that they would be discontinuing my service on 7/31/08 due to a recent FCC decision about bandwidth blah, blah, blah. That was a bit irksome, but I guess it's not really their fault.
Let me start by saying that we depend on the Internet to an unhealthy extent at our house and we have a setup that suits us perfectly. We have a receiver for Sprint Broadband Direct on our rooftop, and a cable that runs to our modem, then a hub which has an Ethernet connection wired to our "command center" (the only desktop) and wireless connections which my husband and I both tap into for our notebooks. I use the connection to manage all of our family finances online (Who actually writes paper checks anymore-I mean really!). I also use it to pipe into my office computer when I need to work from home. I use it to research, keep an eye on the kids' grades, price-shop, keep in touch with family and friends, find out what's going on in the world and of course inconsistently post on my blog (sorry about that, I'll try to do better). My husband uses it to track his schooling and can also often be found either playing WOW or checking out his favorite message board StarDestroyer.net. Our kids are also into it, checking email, getting homework help, the list could go on and on, even our tivo uses it. We got rid of our traditional land line a few years ago and have never looked back, working solely off of our internet connection and cell phones.
All of this goes to show that without our internet we would be lost. It took me some time but I was able to find a suitable replacement with our cable company, Comcast. We got a 'bundle' deal where we are going to be able to get that and cable TV on the same bill. We'll see how that works out.
But anyway, onto why Sprint sucks. I called the number given on the email and they couldn't help me, it actually turned out that the number was for Nextel, you know, the walkie talkie guys who partner with Sprint. I got a new number from them to try to talk to the right people. When I finally got someone on the phone they weren't the right people so they gave me another number. I played this game a couple of times until I had my fill and tried the live chat option. Again no help, none of the reps I talked to or chatted with were even aware that Sprint offered the kind of service I have with them, I explained that they did and I had been using that particular service since 2001 and that Sprint had been taking $50 a month directly from my checking account for the privilege. After almost three hours, I eventually gave up, printed the chat record, and called my bank. They agreed to let me disallow any further drafts from my account from Sprint. I figured that if they stopped getting money they would either a, get in contact with me, or b, cancel my service early, which was what I was trying to do in the first place.
Anyway, as previously stated, Sprint sucks!

BTY, all of our earthlink email addresses that we have through sprint are still active. I will get the new ones out to our contacts as soon as I know what they will be.

I think I understand a little better

I've posted before about how my oldest child simply puzzles me. Well, the other day I found a bit in him I could relate to.
To set the scene for you, we are looking into getting a tutor for the summer for our other son who is struggling a bit in English. When I was asked if I needed tutoring for all of my children, I explained it would only be the one because my youngest doesn't need the help and my oldest is only doing poorly because he couldn't care less, not because he doesn't understand the material.
This prompted a memorable discussion with my careless child. I was correct, he told me, he didn't need help, the reason he doesn't perform in school, he explained, is because he resents the fact that he is required by law be there. As angsty, and also likely false, as this explanation is ( I don't believe for a minute that he would attend school if he weren't forced to) I can, at least understand the statement, as those of you who read my earlier posting on Seat Belt Laws can probably attest to.
Maybe there is hope for some commonality yet.

Okay this one is really corny, but also kinda cute

I would just like to add that there are a lot of 'gems' in here...

Well, Girl Potato and Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they called 'Yam.'Of course, they wanted the best for Yam.When it was time, they told her about the facts of life.They warned her about going outand getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato,' and end up with a bunch of Tater TotsYam said not to worry, no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her!But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either.She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins.When she went off to Europe, Mr and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland ...And the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out west, to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped.Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.'Mr. and Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University ) so that when she graduated she'd really be in the Chips.But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry Tom Brokaw.Tom Brokaw!Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset.They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just......

Are you ready for this?

Are you sure?

**OK! Here it is!****A COMMONTATER

Seat Belt Laws

There has been a lot of talk lately, here in UT anyway, about seat belt laws. Frankly, I'm against them. I know that sounds kinda weird, who would be against mandatory seat belts? Let me explain. As my kids will tell you, I'm not against mandatory seat belts, they always snap theirs before I will move the car anywhere. I'm not hypocritical, I wear mine, and I give my husband dirty looks when he doesn't wear his, which isn't often. As I said, not against mandatory seat belts, just against mandatory seat belt laws.
I'm a tax paying citizen of this country, this country that was founded on the basis of personal freedoms, and I don't appreciate being forced by law to do what's best for me, even if I would do it anyway.

Who's that girl behind the curtain?

My daughter played the Wicked Witch of the West in her school's musical production of Over the Rainbow. They did it with two separate casts and two separate showings but the children all learned the parts together. It was a great experience for my little actress, she made quite a few new friends, she became especially close with the girl who had her sister part in the other production.
My daughter's performance was first and it went off without a hitch. We are all very proud, and she got her very first bunch of roses after her showing. The second showing didn't go as well, the second Witch had trouble with her song. Now in an elementary school production, you don't expect the actors to be able to sing, it's just kind of a bonus if they can, you do expect however, for them to try and learn the words to the songs. When it came down to it, the other Witch couldn't do either. She asked for my daughter's help during her song. At first, she was supposed to stand next to her and they were supposed to sing the song together, but the second witch decided she wasn't thrilled to have the first witch in her limelight. Eventually what was decided was that my daughter would hide behind the curtain with a microphone and sing while the second witch mouthed the words. This did not work exactly well. Because it's such a small stage, and an informal folding-chair set up, half of the audience could see my daughter and there were grumblings all over the place. By the time the song was over my daughter could see tears rolling down the cheeks of the other girl.
It broke my little witch's heart, and to make matters worse she had to face the ridicule of the rest of the cast, in fact, the 'Dorothy' accused her of trying to steal the other girl's fame, as she put it. This all happened last night and I have no idea what she is facing in school today as I write this, I hope that it's not too bad for either of the witches.
This situation has given me a new understanding however, of why some people try to be less than they are in order to gain acceptance from others. Hopefully, as one of a set of two very supportive parents we can help our daughter to work through it.

What makes me laugh today

-------------------------
Why did the chicken cross the road?
-------------------------





BARACK OBAMA:

The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The

chicken wanted CHANGE!



JOHN MC CAIN:

My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the
need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on
the other side of the road.



HILLARY CLINTON:

When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to
cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to
ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this
country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road.  But then,
this really isn't about me.......


DR. PHIL:

The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that
he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road
before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road.
What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by
not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.



OPRAH:

Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is
why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the
chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of
life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just
drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the
chickens.



GEORGE W. BUSH:

We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just
want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not.
The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle
ground here.



COLIN POWELL:

Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite
image of the chicken crossing the road...



ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:

We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet
been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.



JOHN KERRY:

Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now
against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about
the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain
against it.



NANCY GRACE:

That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it
in his eyes and the way he walks.



PAT BUCHANAN:

To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.



MARTHA STEWART:

No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I
had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when
the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any
insider information.



DR SEUSS:

Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes,
the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been
told.



ERNEST HEMINGWAY:

To die in the rain. Alone.



GRANDPA:

In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody
told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.



BARBARA WALTERS:

Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to
the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of
how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to
accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.



ARISTOTLE:

It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.



JOHN LENNON:

Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in
peace.



BILL GATES:

I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads,
but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your
check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken.
This new platform is much more stable and will never
cra...#@&&^(C% ......... reboot.



ALBERT EINSTEIN:

Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath
 the chicken?



BILL CLINTON:

I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition
 of chicken?



AL GORE:

I invented the chicken!



COLONEL SANDERS:

Did I miss one?



DICK CHENEY:

Where's my gun?



AL SHARPTON:

Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens

Today I'm a giant ass

I accused my oldest son of swiping my wallet out of my purse, and he didn't. Just as a little back story, he's been in trouble many times before for stealing. He's taken money, game boys, video games, anything he can get his hands on, but not my wallet. I thought maybe he had taken it, knowing I had some cash in there and stashed it because he didn't have time to take out the money out before someone came into the room. I thought he would take out the money, and return the wallet hoping it wouldn't be missed, and that when I discovered that the money was gone, maybe I would think my husband needed the cash for something. He's tried that before, since my husband and I work opposite shifts and then he goes to school while I'm at work, we're not usually in the same place at the same time and it's easy for him to get away with it, which he has on more than a few occasions. In any case, I was wrong, he didn't do it.
In actuality, my wallet got left behind at the noodle place I picked up dinner from last night, but because both of my younger children said they had seen it in my bag since we had gotten home I thought it was not very likely that I had left it at the restaurant. I stayed home from work, and kept my son home from school until the noodle place opened this morning and I got the news that they did indeed have my wallet.
I apologized humbly and sincerely to my son before taking him to school and going to work. We've talked about it and he acknowledged that he is the logical first choice when something goes missing, that even if he were guilty he would profess his innocence, and that he wasn't actually punished, and wouldn't have been unless I could have proved he had done it. All those things aside, I still accused him, almost certain he was guilty, and as I said before, today I'm a giant ass.

What makes me laugh today

I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

I work hard because millions on welfare depend on me!

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

I'm not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing.

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.

God must love stupid people; He made so many.

The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!

Procrastinate Now!

I have a degree in liberal arts; do you want fries with that?

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the
memory.

Ham and eggs. A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment  for a pig.

The original point and click interface was a Smith and Wesson.

Make your words sweet & tender today, for tomorrow you may have to eat them.

Go CA!

I used to be against gay marriage. Flatly against it. Probably because I thought it was weird, but that was a few years ago. Then I began the evolution toward my current opinion on the matter. It started when I heard stories about longtime same sex partners and I thought, Aw, how cute they love each other just like real married couples. I started thinking that maybe they should be allowed to be acknowledged in some way, but not marriage, definitely not marriage, maybe some kind of domestic partnership. But why not marriage? This is the one that took the most consideration on my part. The domestic partnership, I felt should include all the benefits of marriage, all the same rights and acknowledgments, but why then, should they not be allowed to marry?

What I realized about myself, I didn't much like. I realized that the reason was because I was holding onto an archaic, bigoted notion that because gay relationships were a little odd to me, that if they were acknowledged as married in the traditional sense, it somehow cheapened or threatened my marriage. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I felt that way, but it's true. Then I came upon my epiphany, the only ones who can cheapen or threaten my marriage are my husband and I. It's our relationship, no one else's and we are responsible for how strong it is and the amount of meaning it has. It was ridiculously selfish of me to try and deny gay couples striving for the same depth of commitment because what they do in their bedrooms creeps me out a bit.

The Best Person for the Job

About a month ago, I had the nerve to say out loud, at work, that if McCain chose Huckabee for a running mate, I was definitely voting for Obama. The look on his face could be best described as absolute horror. “You, as smart as you are, coming from a military family, and with a military background yourself, you would vote... Democrat!!!” He practically spat out the last word, as it seemed to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I might,” I replied, “I haven't decided yet”.

Yesterday my boss forwarded me an email (I will paste it to the end of this posting). It detailed some of McCain's experiences as a POW along with some of the other great things he and his wife have done, most of which I already knew, some of which I didn't. I think what my boss was hoping, was that if I understood what a good man McCain was, I could vote for no one else. I think that what my boss is missing is that I would never vote for someone I didn't think was a good person anyway. That's why I could never vote for Hillary or Huckabee.

Look, absolutely and unequivocally, McCain is a war hero. He is a rare man, I respect and admire him greatly and if he had been able to run eight years ago instead of Bush I would have voted for him (I didn't vote for Bush, either time). I believe whole heartedly that he would have done a better job than Bush has, but that was then.

As I see it, the biggest problem we have today is what newsies are calling the 'energy crisis', it seems to be driving everything else, no pun intended, including our economy. The only candidate I've even heard address the problem is Obama. It's still early yet, and I am undecided still, but it seems to me that barring evil persons, we should elect the person who we think can best solve, or at least recognize and try to solve, the biggest problems we are having right now.

Anyway, here is the article...

What Americans should know about McCain !!

Politics aside, when it comes to Character, Honesty, Ethics and Integrity, who do you think comes out on top...........

Wall Street Journal

*Getting to Know John McCain*

By KARL ROVE

April 30, 2008; Page A17

It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day.

No, not that Doris Day. The Doris Day who is married to Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton.

As we ate near the Days' home in Florida recently, I heard things about Sen. McCain that were deeply moving and politically troubling.

Moving because they told me things about him the American people need to know. And troubling because it is clear that Mr. McCain is one of the most private individuals to run for president in history.

When it comes to choosing a president, the American people want to know more about a candidate than policy positions. They want to know about character, the values ingrained in his heart. For Mr.

McCain, that means they will want to know more about him personally than he has been willing to reveal.

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."

The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained.

Had it done so, he never would have flown again.

But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain.

Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr.

Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.

Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

Another story I heard over dinner with the Days involved Mr.

McCain serving as one of the three chaplains for his fellow prisoners. At one point, after being shuttled among different prisons, Mr. Day had found himself as the most senior officer at the Hanoi Hilton. So he tapped Mr.

McCain to help administer religious services to the other prisoners.

Today, Mr. Day, a very active 83, still vividly recalls Mr.

McCain's sermons. "He remembered the Episcopal liturgy," Mr. Day says, "and sounded like a bona fide preacher." One of Mr. McCain's first sermons took as its text Luke 20:25 and Matthew 22:21, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's."

Mr. McCain said he and his fellow prisoners shouldn't ask God to free them, but to help them become the best people they could be while serving as POWs. It was Caesar who put them in prison and Caesar who would get them out. Their task was to act with honor.

Another McCain story, somewhat better known, is about the Vietnamese practice of torturing him by tying his head between his ankles with his arms behind him, and then leaving him for hours. The torture so badly busted up his shoulders that to this day Mr. McCain can't raise his arms over his head.

One night, a Vietnamese guard loosened his bonds, returning at the end of his watch to tighten them again so no one would notice.

Shortly after, on Christmas Day, the same guard stood beside Mr.

McCain in the prison yard and drew a cross in the sand before erasing it.

Mr. McCain later said that when he returned to Vietnam for the first time after the war, the

only person he really wanted to meet was that guard.

Mr. Day recalls with pride Mr. McCain stubbornly refusing to accept special treatment or curry favor to be released early, even when gravely ill. Mr. McCain knew the Vietnamese wanted the propaganda victory of the son and grandson of Navy admirals accepting special treatment. "He wasn't corruptible then," Mr. Day says, "and he's not corruptible today."

The

stories told to me by the Days involve more than wartime valor.

For example, in 1991 Cindy McCain was visiting Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh when a dying infant was thrust into her hands. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life, so Mrs. McCain brought the child home to America with her. She was met at the airport by her husband, who asked what all this was about. Mrs.

McCain

replied that the child desperately needed surgery and years of rehabilitation. "I hope she can stay with us," she told her husband. Mr.

McCain agreed. Today that child is their teenage daughter Bridget.

I was aware of this story. What I did not know, and what I learned from Doris, is that there was a second infant Mrs. McCain brought back. She ended up being adopted by a young McCain aide and his wife.

"We were called at midnight by Cindy," Wes Gullett remembers, and "five days later we met our new daughter Nicki at the L.A.

airport wearing the only clothing Cindy could find on the trip back, a 7-Up T-shirt she bought in the Bangkok airport." Today, Nicki is a high school sophomore. Mr. Gullett told me, "I never saw a hospital bill" for her care.

A few, but not many, of the stories told to me by the Days have been written about, such as in Robert Timberg's 1996 book "A Nightingale's Song." But Mr. McCain rarely refers to them on the campaign trail. There is something admirable in his reticence, but he needs to overcome it.

Private people like Mr. McCain are rare in politics for a reason. Candidates who are uncomfortable sharing their interior lives limit their appeal. But if Mr. McCain is to win the election this fall, he has to open up.

Americans need to know about his vision for the nation's future, especially his policy positions and domestic reforms. They also need to learn about the moments in his life that shaped him. Mr. McCain cannot make this a biography-only campaign - but he can't afford to make it a biography-free campaign either. Unless he opens up more, many voters will never know the experiences of his life that show his character, integrity and essential decency.

These qualities mattered in America's first president and will matter as Americans decide on their 44th president.

*Mr. Rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.*

Greeting Card Holiday

On this day honoring mothers, I would like to remind everybody that a mother is not just the woman who gave you life. She is the woman who dressed and bathed you, who kept you fed and warm. The woman who supported you when you were weak, and set you straight when you were wrong. She is the woman who listens to your problems, and gives you advise. She is the one who cries when you hurt and smiles when you are happy.
I am lucky enough to have three of them, and I am truly grateful for them all. The first one gave birth to me, the second bought me my first bra and the third one was and still is, my friend. So even though I know this is a commercial holiday, mostly cooked up by greeting card companies to make more money, the truth is that it's never a bad thing to take a day to acknowledge how much certain people mean to you.
So here it is, Happy Mother's Day! I love you all - even the one I no longer speak to.

Parking lot Princess

One of the things that just drives me crazy is the way people behave in crowded busy parking lots. I have three main issues, the first one is the people who will wait, with their blinker on, for shoppers returning to their cars and continue to wait while they load up all their groceries in order to get a good parking spot. They are either absolutely oblivious, or absolute ass holes. The end result of this is a line of cars who can not pass, all waiting for this one person to get her parking space so that she will not have to walk an extra forty feet.
Another problem, people who don't return their shopping carts. Listen people, it's not like you have to take them all the way back to the store, just to the cart corrals they have all over the parking lot. They put those there so that runaway carts don't damage vehicles. Which brings me to my next point.
This issue can probably be attributed to the same type of person who is responsible for the first one. My car has been dinged and bumped into more times than I can count. Either by shopping carts, or people opening their doors too wide, or because they backed up too far, and I have never to date had a note left by anyone.
Listen, I'm not perfect, I have been responsible for some dinging myself, usually due to the fact that my middle child is the proverbial bull in the china shop. Yet, if there was ever damage, no matter how small, I would track down the owner and apologize, and offer to pay for it. Too many make excuses, they might feel that if their kid did it, it's not their fault and they should not be held responsible. Well, they would be wrong, as a parent they are responsible for any damage their child might do to another's property. Also, there is a golden opportunity being missed here, the opportunity to lead by example. When your child sees you do the right thing, they learn to do the right thing themselves, when your child sees that you have no consideration or respect for the property of others, then what do you think they learn?

Left brain Right brain

I found this article interesting http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html
I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it is interesting.

Being a Liberal not so liberating?

 I was listening to my usual mindless radio comedy this morning and
heard about an article in the Washington Post that got me thinking. 
Here's the link...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202012.html
It quotes studies and statistics (always suspicious) stating that
Conservatives are happier than Liberals at all income levels, and
that they have been since 1972 when they started keeping track.
 If true, it poses the question, why?  The author, George Will
suggests that one of the reasons may be that when a Conservative
earns wealth he allows himself to enjoy it, while a Liberal is racked
with social guilt over the ideals he had to put aside to attain his wealth.
 I've also heard it said that if you're 20 and a Conservative you
have no heart, and that if you're 30 and a Liberal you have no brain. 
That would seem to imply that it is through your brain you will obtain
happiness, but isn't ignorance supposed to be bliss?
 Another explanation worth exploring, I think, comes from
analyzing the attitudes of both hard core Liberals and Conservatives. 
The basic Conservative mindset being 'I'll take care of mine, you take
care of yours and we'll work together when we both have something
to gain from it'.  Liberals on the other hand seem to have the weight of
the world on their shoulders.  They see the problems and suffering of
others and adopt them as their own.  Since the world will never be empty
of such things, it seems that the true liberal heart may be doomed to
discontent indefinitely.

Yard sale find

A few years ago while yard sale hopping I found something I didn't know I needed. Familiar story huh, isn't that what usually happens when you are at a yard sale? I paid $5 for it and my son and I hefted the thing into the trunk of my car. Now it's broken and I need a new one.
Our beat up, old, loud yard sale trash compactor has become an important appliance in our house. We are a family of eight, that includes two parents, three kids, two dogs and one cat. As I'm sure you can imagine, that means a fairly large amount of garbage. Before the compactor our can was so full we couldn't close the lid, and occasionally we would even wait for the truck to empty our container and continue down the road, then we would run across the street with it refilled. With our compactor, our garbage can is usually only about half full on garbage day.
Well, a week ago our beloved compactor bit the big one, and this morning, our can was stuffed full again. I've been looking for a replacement but it looks like it's going to cost us anywhere from $500 to $900 for a basic model, and since it's a relatively unpopular appliance, I'm having a difficult time finding reviews or ratings to help me compare them. I'll probably end up just getting the cheapest model, but even so, that's way up from $5. All for something I didn't know I needed until I had one.

What makes me laugh today

Hey everybody it's Cinco de Mayo! Time to stuff yourself full of your favorite Mexican food and drink. Why? Mexican independence of course, but independence from who? Just start asking people if you don't know. People will be happy to tell you, the Spanish right? What's cracking me up today is that most people, even most proud Mexican-Americans will tell you it was the Spanish. The truth, it's actually not Mexican Independence day at all that's actually September 16th. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican Militia at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. More truth, it wasn't a victory over the Spanish, but the French.

I'm paying off some bills

About a year ago I took a look at my family's bills and decided it was time to get rid of some debt. I'm now to the point where in about another year or so we will be debt free, except for the house.
I use a pretty simple system I came up with that works well for us. There are many different options out there if you're looking to better your debt to credit ratio, consumer credit counseling, consolidation loans there is even a scheme I've heard of where you open several low rate cards with grace periods and preferably introductory offers and while making your regular payments, you also transfer balances back and forth between the cards to avoid paying interest. I've seen that one work but it can get complicated and you really need to stay on top of it to make sure it doesn't come around and bite you.
My system is not nearly so involved. To start with my husband and I both work, he gets paid every two weeks while my payday is once a week. Before we started this we were making minimum payments with a little extra if we could manage it. Upon implementation, we kept up with all the minimum payments but instead of adding a little extra here and there I decided to put the focus on one debt at a time. I started out with the store credit card that had the highest interest rate with the lowest balance, and just begun by putting and extra $20 on it every payday until it was paid off. When that one was taken care of I took the next one like it and paid $25 on it every payday until the balance was gone and then just continued paying off credit cards and then adding another $5 a paycheck to the next one. We got up to about $80 per paycheck and felt the pinch about the same as when it was $25 because every time we upped our paycheck payment we had also gotten rid of another minimum payment.
I like this method because it is very easy to use and doesn't require any special provisions, and I am very proud of the progress we are making. I can't wait until the only debt we have left is our mortgage.

Talking Heads Piss Me Off

I've about had it with these mouthpiece ''journalists'. They are all over the place, we are drowning in them.
The big one around here is Sean Hannity, I actually used to watch him on Hannity and Colmes. It could be rather thought provoking to see them duking it out and showing different aspects of the issues they were debating. Then he got his own show on the radio and the Hannitization of America began. What a disgrace, just because a person doesn't know each and every lyric to each and every verse of the national anthem does not make them Un-American!
Another one that I actually used to like is Bill O'Reilly, back when he had the O'Reilly Report, before the Factor when there was still enough room in the broadcast booth for him to sit next to his ego. He seemed to make logical arguments and think things through back then. Once he started blathering on about the evil secularists, of which I am undoubtedly one, and crying about the war on Christmas, it was obvious he was no longer looking out for me. Now he just seems to follow in lock step with the religious zealots.
I've picked awfully hard on the conservatives here, I know they are just as bad on NPR. Possibly it's because I have been known to side with them on occasion, usually when it has to do with money or firearms, and when I look around, I am embarrassed at who is standing with me.
Opinions are like assholes, I know, and there is nothing wrong with making your living on those opinions, but if you're going to do that, please, for the betterment of mankind, think your opinion through, don't just go spewing partisan political bullshit.

My poor unlucky jasmine

Okay, I admit it, gardening is not my strong suit. My husband likes to say that I have a brown thumb. I do manage to keep my rose bushes alive, but that's about it. The tulips I planted two years ago never came up, and then there was the disaster with Grandpa John's whatever-they-were flowers I tried to transplant, after three weeks they were all dead. Anyway, putting all of that aside, I was inspired by the smell of jasmine last year and decided to give it another try. I planted them in big pots because after researching online I found they would not survive the harsh winters where I live, and I would need to bring them inside while Jack Frost visited. They spent all winter in my kitchen where I took loving care of them, even going so far as to make a chicken wire like barrier so that my cat wouldn't use them as litter boxes, since we never could convince her that that's not what they were. About a month ago I took them back outside.
As of now I have no blooms, no new growth and they are starting to look a little fragile, but this time it's not my fault, I think that the gods must be against me when it comes to horticulture. This spring has been so crazy with temps all over the place, two days ago, we were in the lower 80's and tonight it will be below freezing again. I ran outside with two large garbage bags to cover them and hopefully ward off the chill. I haven't given up, as long as there is still green left in them I will keep trying, but I could use any advise anyone out there has to give. My poor jasmine, they must have drawn the short straws.

Best casual shoes ever!

One of my favorite things right now are my Converse All Star High Tops. I have two pairs one is black with gothy red skulls all over them. The other pair is black with punky graffiti looking writing. People always seem to be noticing them and loving them as much as I do. I don't get to wear them as often as I would like because I have an office job but I occasionally sneak them in at work anyway. TTFN

America's new dumbest criminals...

I often stop by my local gas station for a Diet Dr. Pepper on my way home from work and two out of the last three times I've been there they've had a 'Drive off'. Pretty self explanatory, a drive off is when someone fills their tank and drives away without paying.
With gas prices soaring I can understand the impulse but aside from the fact that stealing is wrong because the government hates competition, to quote one of my all time favorite bumper stickers, I can't believe people actually think they are going to get away with it. I know that people are stupid, but really! So, just in case there are any more people considering being stupid, let me let you in on a little secret. There are cameras everywhere! It's that simple, as soon as you pull up to the gas station you are on camera. You, your car and your license plate duh! You know, those things they use to keep track of which cars belong to who, well as soon as you 'drive off' they know who you are and where you live, don't be stupid. Look, we are all feeling the pinch right now, but there are other things you can do. Trade in your Gas guzzling SUV for a more efficient vehicle to start with. Or if you don't like that idea there are of other things you can do to save fuel. Anyway, I'm done ranting, it's time to watch House.

You know what Calamari is right?

I picked up a frozen seafood stir fry in a lemon butter sauce at the store today to try for dinner. I didn't notice the calamari until I got home. Calamari is one of those things that I've always been hesitant to try. The idea of tentacles makes me a little nauseous, but I had already loaded it into the pan before I seeing the ingredient on the box. I don't know how I missed it at the store, I read the label's ingredients like I always do before trying anything new, and skipped past that one without it registering.
I briefly considered throwing it out but inspected the contents of the pan and noticed that thankfully, there were no tentacles to be found, just strips of white meat. I decided it would be worth a try. It was excellent, I served it on top of brown rice and my children, including my 10 year old daughter seemed to be enjoying it. I should have let her finish but I couldn't help it. Bad Mommy. "Do you know what's in there?" I gestured toward my daughter's plate as she took another bite and swallowed, then shook her head. "There's shrimp, scallops and calamari. Do you like it?"
"It's good" she answered nodding and taking another bite.
Bad Mommy again, "Do you know what calamari is? It's squid."
My daughter's large blue eyes became gigantic, her mouth hinged open and forgetting all pretense of table manners she slowly began to scoop the half-chewed contents out with her fingers. "I think I'm going to throw up." she dramatized.
She now says she hates calamari. It didn't matter that she liked it before I told her what it was, if fact it might have made it worse. All I know is that I will never forget and always giggle when remembering dinner tonight. Bad Mommy!

It was raining on my plasma screen TV

Today I finally laid the last planks on my kitchen floor. I've been putting the floor down little by little, it was the final repair after my dishwasher supply line disaster.
One Saturday morning a couple of months ago my husband and I awoke at an obscenely early hour to the sound of rushing water. At first it was that sound you hear in the back of your mind while you're dreaming, in fact I don't think it would have woken me if my husband hadn't gotten out of bed. I heard "Holy Shit!" and shot out of bed, instantly completely conscious and yelled "Holy Shit!" as I arrived into the kitchen wading ankle deep in water. My husband was rummaging under the sink for the shut off valve.
Immediately I turned on my heels and ran downstairs, headed for the main water shut-off, pausing momentarily to look into our family room. What I saw there brought forth another "Holy Shit!" It was raining on my plasma screen TV. My 60 inch High Def Plasma Screen TV with a built in DVR, we hadn't even had it a year. Actually it looked more like a small waterfall pouring down directly into the vent on the top/back of the TV. I tore myself away and shut off the main.
I won't bore you with all of the cleaning-up details but in the end we had to replace the ceiling and carpet in the family room, the floor in the kitchen, which was actually only 4 months old, the entertainment center, and of course the TV. We figured out that the water could have only been running for about twenty minutes, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if it had happened while we were at work.
I ended up having to file a homeowners claim to pay for everything, there was a $1000 deductible, but I just about broke even since I did all the grunt work myself.
Anyway, I'm just so relieved that the whole thing finally over so I just wanted to say WOO-HOO!

Things I just don't understand...

The thing I don't understand today is... Why my fourteen year old son would rather sneakily shovel handful after handful of powdered sugar into his mouth and lie about it, than to ask for a snack. Sometimes I just don't get this kid.
It was actually pretty funny watching him deny it considering the evidence was all over the front of his shirt. I can't believe how stupid this kid thinks I am.
Other weird stuff he has been busted sneaking? About two dozen Splenda packets. He swiped them, ripped them open and ate them all in one sitting. Throat drops too, you know the kind that numb your throat and entire mouth? I don't think he thought they would do that though, he was used to nicking the Halls, one of those times I wish I had been a fly on the wall.
Anyway, his whiny response when questioned as to why? "I was hungry and I wanted something sweet" Now I'll admit, I don't keep candy around and only occasionally buy it (I have this thing against High Fructose Corn Syrup) but you can't tell me that fruit isn't sweet, and I'm sure it is a hell of a lot better at filling your stomach than a Splenda packet, even a bunch of Splenda packets, can you imagine-Ick! Or, he could have a granola bar if he wanted, but no-o, he would much rather sneak handfuls of powdered sugar and lie about it.
Maybe he just likes the idea that he's getting away with something, you know, it's more fun because it's against the rules. If that's the case, I'm in for a hell of a ride in the next couple of years. Wish me good luck, I'll need it.

Politics at Secretaries' Day Lunch?

My boss took a couple of co-workers and I to lunch at the Prairie Schooner, a local steak house, today for a belated Secretaries' day treat. After ordering drinks and appetizers my well intentioned boss began breaking the ice with, "So, who is everybody standing behind for President?" There was an audible pause. Let's just say my super-conservative LDS boss is not exactly the most open minded, he tries, but often times, just can't see how anyone with an opinion other than his can be anything but an idiot.
I'm working on him, and he's slowly opening his eyes. He can now accept that being a good person is not predicated upon being a Christian, but only because he got to know me first and then found out about my non-Christian status. He doesn't understand it, but he's grown to accept it. My eventual goal is to have him see that he can have his political leanings and I can have mine and we can still co-exist with neither one of us having to be an idiot. Don't get me wrong, my boss is a great guy. He's very considerate and treats me well, but he can be a bit stubborn.
Anyway, back to the audible pause. Poor guy, no one at the table answered him. Well, better put, no one at the table answered his question. My answer was "You don't really want to know where I stand on this one do you?" My co-worker answered "I thought you were never supposed to discuss religion or politics at a business lunch" and my other coworker answered with silence. The antagonist in me however wanted to answer that question, and then add, "I would also like to see marijuana legalized, and gay marriage allowed. Not that I'm a pot smoker, or gay. I just happen to be of the opinion that for the most part unless we're doing real harm, we should be able to do as we wish and government should mind it's own business.