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.