A Good Christmas

What constitutes a good Christmas? For some people it is lots of gifts. For others it is having a day off from work...and getting a bonus. For me it is being able to enjoy the day in my home with my kids.

They got less presents this year. We had decided that there was nothing 'big' or major they wanted or needed...and with the uncertainty of what is up ahead and the bad economic times...they just didn't need a lot. They are teenagers. They have 'things'...although Ms. Divine is fixated with labels. We buy her clothes and things that are just as good and work just as well if not better for less...they just don't have THE labels. I told her that she needs to learn the difference between what you want and what you need and how to compare and save.

I was just happy that we were all around the tree this morning and laughing and joking. Even Max was having a good time...he got pigs ears and a couple of toys. Pete the Hamster was grateful for his new nut log...that he bit apart and tried to store in his cheeks.

I baked way too many cookies but we have been giving them away. Not all of them but just enough to pare it down to only what we may eat in the next week.

We had lights on the house, a lighted and decorated tree, a ceramic lighted village, wreaths, greenery,the nativity scene, etc. Just enough to make it look like Christmas and enjoy it.

Our first Christmas in our new home...all of us together. After we opened our gifts, we all said a prayer together to thank God for His generosity...His blessings. You should never take any of it for granted because it could be so quickly taken from you.

On the news tonight was a story about a family with 5 kids...on their way home from spending the Christmas day at Grandma's house. There was a crash...their van was hit. They aren't sure if they all are going to make it and one of the little girls is going to lose a leg.

In the blink of an eye...your world can change. Just like that it can be taken from you.

My prayer for everyone this next year is this...that you do not take anything or anyone for granted; that you count your blessings and focus on the positive; that you are thankful everyday for what God has done for you (even if the only thing you can be thankful for, it seems, is that you are still breathing and get another chance to spend another day with loved ones or trying to rectify mistakes); and may you be able to blink without your world drastically changing when your eyelids open.

Looking Forward to the Visits

I had to stop and wonder today...is it better to have all the 'ills' of the year dropped on you all at once in a big lump sum or have them spread out in increments throughout the year?

While getting hit with one thing on top of another is nothing easy to live through, I think, as long as God gives me strength to live through it, I'd rather have it all at once. Then, I can enjoy the 'boredom' the rest of the year.

I don't think people appreciate 'boredom' as much as they should! It has been unfairly maligned! Now me...I have learned to appreciate it. In fact, I have bought it it's own easy chair and put it by the heater with some soft, fuzzy slippers and the very softest blanket along with its own mug with 'boredom' printed on the outside. I will wait on it hand and foot. I treat it better than my bestest friend.

Yes, I have come to look very forward to those visits from Boredom and invite it to stay as long as it can possibly stand me.

As for the Troubles...I invite them to visit all at once...throw them a big shindig of a party then shoo them out the door while I clean up the mess...in anticipation of my visit from Boredom.

Perhaps, Boredom may learn to amuse itself so that during its visits I can duck out every now and then and visit with Volunteer...who always seems to know some pretty good ways to help others.

I am hoping the Trouble party will be over soon and I can get the mess cleaned up. I really want Boredom to stop by for a lengthy visit.

Taking In the Miracles

With the way things are going around the country...and so many desperate people...everything to up in the air and unsure...this is a weird unstable Christmas.

It always seems like there is something to hit you upside the head or kick you in the pants.

We have all decided that we are thankful to be together under one roof...where it is warm and cozy...we have food and love...and have been appreciating the true meaning of Christmas.

There has been a lot of Bible reading and praying as a family lately. TJ took over the devotions and prayer last night. His friend Steven joined in.

Today's church service was a very good one. The kids drank it in...as did we. There is always lots of 'love' to be had from various members of the congregation.

This is the time of year that reminds us that miracles happen.

Merry Christmas to all...and may God richly bless your new year!

DONE!

yep, I'm DANCIN'! It took me A LOT of hours but I FINALLY finished all the spreadsheets and databases. They got sneaky near the end and said, "There are some input/formula errors on this sheet. Find them and make the corrections." Luckily they weren't all that hard to find. There was one program add-in that I had a little difficulty getting to execute. So, I finally let it go (I was working on it Saturday) and came back to it last night...started over from the beginning and went through the steps and VOILA! Then I could fix the errors in my last database and send it back into the instructor. THEN I breathed a big sigh of relief. Pretty much like Bethany must have done to be going back to school today all caught up in her work already. She has one science quiz to make up but she'll be okay...she said she had studied hard for it and was ready.

She is breathing easier...she is blowing her nose a lot and coughing stuff out...this is a good sign when you consider that by the time I got her in to see the doctor Thursday she didn't have enough wind in her to expel anything. The doctor said to give her the breathing treatments with the nebulizer until she is breathing normal. I am hoping today will be her last day. The 'medicine' that she has to breathe in gives her the jitters and she has a hard time getting any sleep. I told her that tonight I will give her a treatment at 8 o'clock so that she will be able to sleep when it is time. Bonus: she had a treatment first thing this morning before she got ready for school...it WOKE HER UP!

I managed to get a little shopping done this weekend. I had to have a break from the classwork and the computer. I headed straight for Huber Heights and Kohl's. The kids both have clothes on their Christmas lists and I got a TON of things for them for not too much spent. The one good thing about the bad economy is that stores are slashing a lot of prices on things. I got most of the clothes at 50% off.

And Saturday night we had Amy and Steven spending the night. Max loved it! We opened the basement door and he would run up and down the stairs...in and out of the rooms. I was busy going up and down myself trying to finish laundry. There is this monkey down there...a stuffed white furred pot bellied monkey swinging on a candy cane and wearing a red and green jester's cap. It has a motion sensor in its belly button and it will go off...start shaking and laughing and yelling things like "I'm just WILD about Christmas!" Max like to attack it. He has learned though, the meaning of the words, "No monkey upstairs." He has tried a couple of times to bring it up the stairs with him but someone always catches him and says, "No monkey upstairs" and he will go and drop it on the carpet down there and then come upstairs.


He has a vet visit today for his last puppy shot and to get his itching checked out. The last vet we took him to (in the county that we got him in) sold us some antibiotic pills and they did NOTHING but cost us a lot of money. Troy gave him a bath with baby shampoo last night and he doesn't seem to be scratching quite to much today.

My sinuses are killing me! It is the weather...can't make up its mind...cold...warm...but always wet. Mold.

Well, I need to get moving. I have cookies to make and if we are going to get out and do ANY shopping today, we need to do it this morning...the weatherman says we just might get some freezing rain late this afternoon with snow on top of it tonight. AND I have to get the cards in the mail!

Welcome

"The best laid plans of mice and men...."

Yesterday didn't turn out exactly as planned. Nothing like planned. And my poor Bethany!

She was having trouble breathing...no more coughing...she couldn't. So, I made the choice to keep her home from school and call the doctor's office. I had an appt. to have my van at the mechanic's at between 9 and 9:30. The steering has been not right. I got an appt for the doctor's office at 10:20.

The doctor listened to her breathing and frowned. Looked in her nose and frowned. He had a nurse come in with a nebulizer and give her a breathing treatment. Then he listened to her breath again and frowned some more. Her sinuses were full of pus and he said there was very little breathing sounds...her bronchial tubes were spasming and she was laboring to breathe. The sinus infection had gone down into her chest. So...he sent us home with a nebulizer and I have to give her breathing treatments every 4 hours...antibiotics for 2 weeks...and allergy pills.

The breathing treatments give her the jitters. She didn't sleep well last night. Of course I kept her home from school today too. She was still laboring with her breathing and was very tired. The doctor's office sent a note to her school. She is, however, through all of this, keeping up with her school work.

TJ and Troy left yesterday afternoon to go to Canton. TJ had a field trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for today. TJ took his school computer with him and was doing his school work last night in the hotel room.

I am still trying to finish up my work. I am trying to get laundry done. I have vacuuming to do. So what am I doing here? good question.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

FINALLY! I got my Christmas village all set up. I thought out of all the buildings I only had one actual house...and then I thought, that's odd! But last night I opened a box of my Snow Buddies to put on the mantel and under them was another house...and the skating rink. So now it is complete. I don't think I'll buy any more buildings because it would be too crowded otherwise.

I put my big snowman in the livingroom by the TV but Max wouldn't quit barking at it (he seemed rather threatened by the snowman) so I moved it in by the fireplace in the family room. I am thinking of setting it up as sentry by the Christmas tree.

I still have my door wreath to finish. I need my hot glue gun. I sent it to school with Bethany because the Science teacher asked to borrow some hot glue guns for a Rocket project they were doing. So, last night I told Bethany to bring it back home (they finished the projects last Friday) and I emailed her science teacher to make sure it gets here.

I have some odds and ends of Christmas stuff in another box but I am not messing with it all.

I am thinking I may have to put Mr. Snowman on the couch. It seems that Mr. Max has decided today that he wants to sleep on the couch. I don't know WHAT his problem is! He has never done that before. Just like a kid...everyday is something else. sheesh.

I also have to draper the greenery on the mantel...but I need to put the hooks up first. I have to FIND them...they couldn't have gone far becuz Troy bought them not too long ago.

And tonight I start on the cookies. I am not going too far out on a limb this year. I am only planning on 4 different kinds...right now. Unless the kids think of something they want that I had not planned on making.

It is another gray and dreary day...it was raining buckets this morning. It is all wet and hovering around freezing. You know what THAT means. I have to get out and go to Wal-mart to pick up Jr.'s pictures today...SOON. THEN I can get the Christmas cards out in the mail.

So...off I go! Have a good one everyone!

Splat!

It is snowing off and on today. Troy took Max out the back door and Max was so busy eating snow he wouldn't stop and do 'his thing'. Troy took a broom and was sweeping the snow off of the patio when a gust of wind hurled the snow in Max's face. I was watching from the diningroom window and started cracking up. He looked so funny! This white fuzzy face with two dark eyes poking out! He finally shook it off and went right back to licking snow.

I have a sore throat today. Troy and I went out to do some grocery shopping yesterday. We went to Aldi's first and loaded up on some Christmas cookie baking supplies. Then stopped at Kroger's on the way home. I was shivering the whole time. I think yesterday was the coldest day we have had so far. The high was supposed to be 32 but I don't think we made it..It didn't feel like it anyway. Wind chill factor...the wind was blowing pretty strong.

I have to finish up some more classwork. I have other things I want/need to do and am anxious to get all of this school work done with!

Troy's Christmas bonus hasn't hit the account, yet. He said he's been hearing something about Dec. 8th (which is Monday) and I hope so. I want to get this all overwith! At least the paycheck made it on time. And the bills all got paid up for another month. yay. Hey...I won't complain...at least we have money coming in to pay them with, right?

TJ has been going like gang busters on his school work...pulling in 100's right and left. He seems to be finally taking charge of his stuff. It only took me almost 6 years to get him to this point. Bethany still needs prodding. Hopefully she won't take as long to turn around as her brother, though!

Well, back to work. Everyone stay warm!

Hot DOG!

Super Squirrel to the rescue! Or not... @ Yahoo! Video

We got some sparkly snow today. Not a lot. But enough for Max to find out what a snowball is. Troy made one and threw it. Max pounced on it and took a bite. He pulled his head back and shook it, then batted at it with his front paws and took another bite. He continued that ritual until it was gone.

I only have this week and next week then I'm done with my classes. I got a wee bit behind becuz it got rather difficult there for a bit. My instructor doesn't seem to mind as long as I keep working on it and handing things in. I'll be glad when it's over!

Then the next phase happens...hopefully finding employment. I'd love to find a class in Grant Writing that I could take. That is the only other thing I'd like to add to my 'learned knowledge'.

Bethany got sent home by the nurse today. She was complaining late last night and this morning about her head feeling like it was going to explode and how nauseous she was. I gave her Theraflu and she went off to school...giving it a real try. But, around 10 a.m. the school nurse called me. She said Bethany didn't have a fever but she didn't look like she felt well...she was pale and complaining of nausea. I hesitated and she added, "We have a flu bug going around and the kids are just dropping like flies." Great. So I went and fetched her. I gave her some pain reliever when she got home and a decongestant becuz she complained of not being able to breathe. I don't think it is flu she has as much as a sinus drainage problem.

Other than that, it is rather quiet around here today. Just me and my homework...and TJ and his school work. Troy hasn't had many calls. Max is bored but he'll get over it. I placated him with some cut up leftover hotdogs. Now he just LOVES me!

Okay...back to work.

Pass the Blessings

It was a quiet Thanksgiving. The only small bit of 'noise' was Friday night when Ms. Divine had a friend come to visit. They went in her room and played 'Dance, Dance, Revolution'. For those of you that don't know, it is a number mat with sensors in it that you hook up to your Playstation. It plays music and you have to follow the dance moves on the screen. If noise level is an indicator of 'fun', I'd say they had plenty!

Jr. went to his friend's to play video games. Hubby played video games. I watched movies. It was my time to be 'blah'. Thursday's dinner and clean up was my thing to do. I let them know ahead of time that they would have to get out plates and fill them and nuke them for the next couple of days. I told them I wasn't cooking again until Monday.

I lied. I'm cooking today. A pork roast. I simply cannot eat turkey for a fourth day.

I got the Mr. outside yesterday to put the icicle lights along the front of the house. I put net lights on the front bushes. This week we will add the angel. It isn't a lot but it is enough for us.

Troy also finished putting the insulation around the plate of the house in the basement yesterday. Now we don't feel a continual draft through the house. As time and money permits we will have to continue to find and fix those places in the house that don't seem to be 'quite right'.

This week will start the decorating and list of cookies...what we will make...what we will keep...who we will give to...and there is the giving of toys, etc. to the church for the needy. The homeless shelters always need blankets, gloves, etc. It is not difficult to find decent blankets for little money. Actually, one of the shelters had a better idea...any backpacks you have that you want to be rid of, put hygiene items and hats, gloves, socks, etc. in those and drop off at the shelter...after all, most of those ppl carry everything they own with them. It was also suggested to include thermal underwear. But what size? If we could fill just TWO back packs, there is two ppl that would be helped. Right?

Not just holidays are tough, but life is tough, for a lot of ppl. When God blesses you, He expects you to pass on that blessing. As the movie says, Pay it Forward.

I hope everyone is blessed and continues to have a wonderful holiday season.

All The Answers From Above

Some ppl call it 'coincidence'. I call it answers to prayer, and, in some cases, real miracles.

I was reading a story in our paper about one of the local school principles...and how he used to be homeless as a kid. His parents divorced when he was 3...his mom was always under the influence of something. Social services took him away and after being bounced around in foster homes and group homes, at the age of nine (after witnessing a teenager in the group home he was in hang himself) this kid ran away. All he had was the clothes on his back...he slept under bushes. The kids would taunt him and call him Stinky (and worse I'm sure). Once in a while another kid would let him sneak into their house and they would give him food and let him sleep out of sight. He would get out in the mornings before the parents found him. There WAS one family that had wanted to take him in...they had been neighbors of this boy's mother. They had 8 kids of their own but they really wanted to help him. The mother wouldn't let them...so he got taken away by social services.

One night, while sleeping under a bush in the cold and rain, he prayed to God to just let him die. He just got tired of it all. He said he prayed along time then fell asleep. When he awoke in the morning he saw a rainbow and thought he had died and went to Heaven. Then he realized he hadn't but said he was feeling better.

As he walked down the street, it just so happened one of those 8 kids from that family that had wanted to take him in saw him. He ran over and said, "Hey! We have wondered where you went! Come home with me. We would love to have you!" And the rest was history. He lived with them for the rest of his school years. He finally had a family and food and clothes and ppl who cared.

He wound up in some branch of the military after high school but attended college to become a teacher. Now he marvels at being able to afford his own house, two cars, and have a family of his own.

God did not answer his prayers the way he wanted...but God answered.

Stories like that always bring streams of tears to my eyes.

I look around at where my family is compared to just 6 years ago. We are ALL in a whole different place...and I'm not talking about the town or the house.

I do, however, marvel at us sitting in a home we can call our own, again. AND God even supplied us with a lovable goofy pup!

God has been there and answered our prayers. He might not have answered them in a way we had at first wanted, but we left our hearts and our minds open and had faith. Becuz of that, the answer led us to such a better place.

On this Thanksgiving Holiday, I hope that we can all have faith that our prayers will be answered and the open hearts to follow where we are led.

Blessings for everyone!

M. I. Dunyet

First impressions are not always the wrong ones. My first impression of data bases was that they are just very tedious to set up. Then I started taking this class and decided that maybe I was wrong. My first impression was right. Once these things are set up it makes life so much easier...but it is the setting up that bites.


This has been a weekend and a half! It started with the Friday night invasion of Ms. Divine's two friends. The only good thing about Friday night sleepovers is that they are tired from a day at school so they tend to pass out by midnight.

Then Saturday afternoon Jr. comes loping home (he stayed at a friend's becuz there was a bunch of them getting together for an all night online video game session) dragging his tail and a friend with him. Ms. Divine's friends were just leaving. It was sorta quiet for a couple of hours...they all fell asleep...then we were descended upon by more giggling girls. They got dumped off here by their parents. I get to ferry all their butts to the local church youth Saturday night hangout.

In the meantime, I have been cleaning my house...sweeper, duster, mop. I had JUST cleaned my kitchen top to bottom. Hubby had decided to do wings and fries...which requires the deep fryer. BBQ, Parmesan-Garlic, and Teriyaki wings. Ms. Divine opted to eat a veggie burger with cheese before her friends showed up. I was trying to keep the laundry going. I herded them all to the van and dropped them off with the assurance that her friend M's dad was picking them ALL up and taking them to their respective homes.

I took a break to eat a few wings with the guys. Then, I went off to the other end of the house to continue cleaning. When I went back out into the kitchen I kinda lost it. SOMEONE feels that cooking is the end of it all. I had a FIT becuz I had JUST cleaned the place and washed, dried dishes and put everything away and here it all sat...grease and all. So I had to start ALL OVER again. I went downstairs to fold more laundry when Ms. Divine calls and asks if another friend could spend the night. It seems that said friend lives with her dad and really doesn't want anymore 'dad time' for the night. So, of course, I say 'yes' which means that now I have to go pick her and the friend up. AND I have to make up an extra bed for the friend.

In the meantime...Pete the hamster found the evening very 'disturbing'. I cleaned his cage(I have to do it myself once a month so it gets scrubbed with Lysol cuz Ms. Divine won't do it)...but first I swept the room his cage was in and he doesn't like the noise of the vacuum cleaner. He has a two story cage but likes to sleep in the box on top called the 'petting area'. When the vacuum cleaner is running he sticks his head in the tube that he would normally slip through to get down to the rest of the cage. I wanted to clean his cage, thus put him in his hamster ball. I opened the petting area but everytime I grabbed his butt to pull him out he hissed at me. SO, I just pulled the whole box off the cage...with his head hanging out. Then I grasped him behind his front paws and slid his butt out of the box. He was stiff and unyielding...and I plopped him in his hamster ball. If he thought THAT was not fun...he certainly didn't like the bath that followed! LOL But he DID seem to like getting back into a clean cage with clean bedding and fresh water and food. He immediately began to fill it full of...um...hamster droppings. LOL And since he was clean and all, when my daughter got back with her friend, they took him out of the cage and proceeded to fluff his fur and coo over him.

So...I pick them up...return home and continue with the clean up only my vacuum hose has become clogged...so I have to take that apart and get it unclogged (it apparently is not fond of having to sweep up dirt from the potted palm that Max had so nicely tipped over).

I FINALLY settle down to have something to drink and watch a show...I got to bed around 2 a.m. Max has been TRYING to sleep and just gives the various inhabitants of the house a rolling eyed look every now and then as if to say, "Don't you ppl EVER sleep?!?!" The rest of the ppl's in the house do not settle down and get quiet for at least another half hour...perhaps longer.

This morning, I get up and make sure to let Max out and feed him...Hubby decides to do one of those 'big breakfasts' for everyone. Biscuits, eggs, gravy, sausage, toast, hash browns. I gather them all around the table. And then I, of course, have yet another large mess to clean up. I told Hubby that I appreciate the efforts but from here on in he is responsible for cleaning it all up.

I no sooner get it cleaned up, the kids through the showers (and me sneaking one inbetween), sit down with a cup of coffee, the football game and the newspaper but there is a ringing of the doorbell. It is my sister, her hubby and 3 daughters. It is the middle girl's b-day and I had a present all ready. They had not been to our new abode yet so I gave them the tour. The girls seemed to like playing with Max. They stayed awhile and cleared out.

Our guests from the night before, however, were still here. It was almost 4 p.m. I offered them something to eat but they declined. So, I settled in front of the computer to do some homework. Steven finally leaves and Ms. Divine informs me that I need to give HER friend a ride home...apparently Daddy don't do that sort of thing. So, I take her home.

I am going to put up banners around the house so EVERYONE knows that I am decreeing Thanksgiving Day as a 'no over nighters/no mom taxi' free day.

And Max is pooped.

Observations while taking other ppl's kids home:

*While taking the Ms. Divine's overnight guest home (who lived on the other side of the park) a deer jumped out in front of my van. Luckily I was only traveling about 20 mph and could stop quickly enough.

*While taking her friend home after the movies (who lived on the other side of town) I saw a billboard on the corner of her street and read it outloud...it said, "More bars in more places" and then I announced, "That sounds like a lovely ad for moving to town...we have more bars in more places. Move in and drink up." They laughed until they saw the sign and said, "It's a cell phone ad!" I said, "I know that, but I saw the words first and it just sounds funny."

I Have NO Idea!

I have a live furry blanket. Max likes to lay on my lap. Whenever I sit down, he wants to climb up in the chair and lay on me. I don't mind most of the time. It keeps us both warm.

Today is cold. Just barely 20 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder. We got some snow yesterday but only a dusting. I have to make my 'run' to the grocery stores today and buy the last few items on my list for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm not even into it right now. I'm not into the whole shopping thing, period...Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. I am hoping that pulling out the Christmas tree next weekend and getting out some decorations will help. AND I am going to start planning a gingerbread house.

This is the weekend for finishing touches on sealing off the big draft problems in the house. We are still working on where the cold air is all coming from in the family room addition. We discovered one of the heat vents has more cold air coming through it that the actual heat. The cover is going to be removed and it will be checked out today. We may end up just closing it off and filling the opening with insulation. There are two other heat vents leading into that room. I think we can do without one...especially a defective one!

I am NOT going near the stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I know that the stores are supposed to have some of their best sales on that day but I can forego some of the sale prices. A lot of the stores will be having sales throughout the shopping season due to the bad economy. I will just have to keep watch for deals on what I need to buy...which at this point I'm not really sure what that is! yikes.

A Case for NOT Cleaning

Too many household cleaning chemicals are just that...a bunch of chemicals. And those chemicals are not necessarily safe. When it comes to cleaning, the simpler the better.

'Fancy' antibacterial soaps and sprays are not actually the best things to use. And when buying products, just because it says it is 'natural', 'green', 'eco-friendly' does not mean it is really safe.

Look online for REAL natural ways of cleaning. One site that will give you safe cleaning methods and ways of 'debugging' a house and garden is The Children's Health Environmental Coalition (http://www.checnet.org).

I have tried many types of cleaners that were supposed to make cleaning quicker, easier and kill more bacteria. Most of them ended up making me choke! In reality, when it comes to cleaning all you really need is baking soda, lemon juice, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and elbow grease. Also, a mixture of lemon juice, coffee grounds and hot pepper will get rid of most pests...bug and vermine alike. It will also keep your pets from digging in your gardens and around your plants.

Making It Harder in Our Own Minds

It is that time of year...where you find the 'leaks' in the home that need to be battened down to stave off the incrouchment of the outdoor freeze into the snug family abode. Since we are relatively new to this house, we are learning. There isn't anything major...just need a little silicone rebeading around a few windows, a new gasket around the front door...you know, normal stuff. Our first significant gas bill wasn't too bad. So far our utility bills for this house, compared to the last house we lived in for a wee bit over 4 years, are cheaper and not so shocking.

The leaf pickup came by this morning and cleared out the lightly snow covered piles along the curb. Our two different maple trees produced veritable mountains of them! While many of our neighbors used leaf blowers we did our leaf clearing the old fashioned way with rakes. It wasn't too bad, actually. I raked them twice on my own, the third time I raked the leaves up from one tree while TJ raked them up from the other tree. Troy went out and raked up after both trees once on his own and the second time with some help from TJ. The leaves have all fallen and there is a wee bit of snow on the ground...no more yard work for a bit.

We had talked about buying a snow blower but then, I am hesitant. We have never had long extended periods of snow build up. We USUALLY get one significant snow in the winter. Our driveway is not extensively long, although we DO have a LOT of sidewalk to keep clear since we now live on a corner and our lot is wide on both sides. We have as much sidewalk to keep clear as about 3 of our neighbors combined. However, I am thinking that with the four of us and two decent shovels, we should be able to keep it cleared. Next year, if, Lord willing, I am working outside the home, THEN we can get a snowblower. Troy isn't gone all the much in the winter but he has become less proactive as far as manual labor. LOL

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Last night our son shocked us with talk of MAYBE considering signing up for some sort of military service. His friend Mark will be leaving in a few weeks for the Navy and his friend Steven is talking with Army recruiters and is seriously considering going in after graduation. His cousin Kevin has been talking joining up with the Air Force and getting training as an airplane mechanic. TJ said he wasn't sure even if he DID join a branch of the service which one would be best for him to consider. His dad told him that it would be better for him to sign up with the Air Force and he could get training in the computer/video field. His dad was a Marine but he said that the Air Force would be the lesser of the evils as far as TJ is concerned.

I actually am impressed that TJ would even think about the service at all. To me it shows more of a maturity on his part. He also understands the economic climate and is thinking more ahead about his education.

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Today I continue my struggle with my database homework. I am slowly getting it but there is still one piece of code that is eluding me. I am determined, however, to figure it out! I may have to go back farther in my book to see if there is something I missed. My instructor seems to be none too forth coming with any help. I have always been rather stubborn about things, though, in that I have always wanted to do it on my own. Bethany, unfortunately, has that streak running through her. There are times when it is good BUT right now it is a hinderance. She is struggling with some Social Studies work (mostly becuz she hates social studies...another thing she inherited from me) and I cannot get her to produce the work she needs help with so I can sit down and give her some clarification and study tips. She has never wrapped her mind around the fact that I used to be a teacher since the only thing she has known me to do is some substitute teaching work when she was really young. I only taught regularly for a year right after she was born and then I quit and we moved to another state. She does know, however, that I am really good at being able to help her with her math homework. I can quickly and easily explain something to her that she isn't quite getting. Once I explain it, she goes "OOOOHHHHH!" and then she is off and running. TJ was always the same with math. After I sit and explain it to them they just sit there and blink and then there is "OOOOHHHH!" followed by "are you sure that's all there is to it cuz it seemed like it was a lot harder than that when the teacher explained it". I keep telling them that they are just making it seem harder in their own minds.

And now...speaking of making it seem harder in the mind...time for me to seek out my own homework solutions. I KNOW it isn't that difficult...it is JUST a database for pete's sake! It isn't like trying to unlock the 'secrets' of cancer cures.

Sharing An Old Post

(the following is a post I made on another blog I have. I wrote this at the beginning of October and it got quite a few giggles)

It is early morning and I am not feeling well AT ALL...have you ever been so nauseous that your mind kinda 'imagines' things or it twists things it hears and sees together in a weird design...sort of what I would think going on some hallucinegenic 'trip' would be. I wonder if Taco Bell is putting something 'secret' into their refried beans.

I did something very UN-nice yesterday but I am getting kinda tired of sales ppl knocking on my door. This neighborhood seems to get more than its fair share of them! But there was yet another one knocking on my front door yesterday. I opened the door and he looked groomed rather well...considering his 'partner' was in the back of a pick-up truck with a freezer in it and they apparently were selling meat (I kid you not).

He started with his schpeil and I just cut him off and said, "I don't want any" and as I'm closing the door he says, "I just thot you'd know someone that wants to save some money..." I said very loudly, "Nope...don't know any of those people." and finished closing the door.

I know I should not laugh but...if you read the first paragraph you will understand....maybe.

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Troy wants to build a back porch onto the house. He smokes and won't smoke in the house. Right now he puts the garage door up and steps out there. He complains that he feels like everyone is watching him and that most of the time he ends up having to talk to Derek or Corkey. He said, "I have to wave at ppl and talk to them."

I reminded him that they ARE watching but it CAN come in handy sometimes like if you need an alibi for something, say, a murder....then they can tell the cops that they saw you at home at that time smoking your cigarette in the garage or with the end of the hose shoved into the chipmunk hole trying to drown them.

**again...read the first paragraph of this post**

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The drive to school to drop my daughter off was also interesting. I had the radio on to local radio station, of course, and they were bantering back and forth. The stuff that follows that is in parenthesis is what they were saying on the radio.

(He just put the microphone down and said something to me...do you know what he said? He said,'hey idiot, you're on' I had a headache yesterday and he text messaged me with 'how's your dumb head?' and he called me a 'face head'! )

Ms. Divine...cracking up and looking at me, "What the heck is THAT? FACEhead?"

Me, looking at the SUV speeding up behind me as I get in the turn lane at the light to turn into the school parking lot, "Hey, buddy...you can go as fast as you want but it will not negate the fact that there is a line of cars in front of me that we have to wait for...AND a red light!" I look at Ms. Divine, "I don't know. Isn't that like calling someone a Cheekbutt?"

"A what?" laughing harder.

('now how about the nasty things you have been saying to ME all morning?' "Like what?" 'oh...I don't know, like hating every move I make? Bob can back me up.' "Okay Bob, tell me one thing you heard me say mean to him this morning." 'ummmm...I got nothing.' 'OH COME ON!')

Me:"We have a turn light now, let's all move becuz the front of this guy's SUV is interested in getting into the back of my van."

Ms. Divine: "EW!"

Me:"How about Fingerhand or Toefoot?"

Ms. Divine: "That sounds like Tofu. Is that an insult to call someone Tofu?"

Me: "If you mated an SUV and a van...it wouldn't really look a whole lot different than it does now. What IS the difference?"

('Tell them the text message I sent to you AFTER I asked you about your dumb head! I said seriously, how are you feeling? I did that so you would know I really do care.')

Ms. Divine: "But why would you call someone Facehead?"

Me, as she is exiting the van: "Have a nice day! Swim with the dolphins!"

At that point my daughter froze in mid-door close and gave me this look like I had just called her 'Facehead'.

WHAT? No one is concerned with how MY dumb head is? I think I will just be a Facehead today.

Have a nice day and frolick with the squirrels BUT don't go visit the chipmunks today as I plan on sticking the end of the hose down the chipmunk hole later and turning on the water.

>
Max and Pete checkin' each other out


Curious Max


Max over the shoulder sexy pose [[EMOTICON:LOL1]]

SURPRISE!

I have a secret...I do not deal very well with surprises...good, bad or indifferent. I have a well ordered world in my head which includes a calendar and a time table. I guess I am kinda OCD to a certain extent. Anything that knocks the schedule in my head out of whack gives me anxiety (most ppl don't see that because I have become pretty good at concealing it on the outside but in my head I am screaming). That is why I ask my husband ahead of time about his travel schedule...if he plans on being at home or if he has places to be...there are times when he has a last minute trip he has to make. I can deal with those for the most part unless we had something planned and it is 'written' on my 'mind calendar'...then I have to rearrange things in my head. This does cause a small spike in my anxiety until I get it all settled. It is also why I make out weekly homework plans for my kids from their teachers' web pages...so I know what is going on when and what is due and what they might need some help with.

TJ has gotten better about arranging things with me as far in advance as he can. Bethany, on the other hand, is one big anxiety for me. She does not keep track of things. She doesn't pay attention. And I am really beginning to believe that her doctor was right and she does have a significant case of ADHD and should be on meds for it.

One thing I did for myself a long time ago to help be prepared for situations and stave off 'surprise' anxiety was to keep a box of school project supplies. I learned that from being a teacher because there was always a kid or two that didn't have what they needed. This box has saved me MANY times from bouts of anxiety. This morning was one such time.

Ms. Divine's science teacher had in her lesson plans that they had rocket supplies due today. I asked her about it on Monday. She was vague and acted like she had no idea. On Tuesday I asked her again...she just shrugged. On Wednesday she said she would find the paper...she didn't. So, this morning, while she was eating breakfast I asked her AGAIN, since it was supposed to be DUE today. She produced a paper from her backpack for me with a list of supplies: paper towel tube, piece of strong cardboard, hot glue sticks (and glue gun if possible), 3-5 rubber bands, plastic easter egg, straw, and plastic grocery bag. I just gave her a dirty look then put all this stuff into a bag...plus a few extras for other kids that didn't have any of their supplies of the day. The only thing I didn't have extra of was the paper towel tube and I told Bethany if she had given me the list even LAST NIGHT I would have had extras of those but I had put them in the garbage and the garbage men had picked it up already.

She did the same thing with me about information concerning a field trip they took to a play on Thursday. Actually, if it hadn't been for her friend Amy coming over after newspaper on Wednesday night and staying for dinner, I probably wouldn't have gotten ANY information.

I have always tried to be prepared. When I am not, it causes the anxiety (which is bad enough) but then the anxiety is always followed by depression. The anxiety I can work through...the depression is like trying to swim through congealed gelatin. I hate it.

I have taken the time to get to know how my kids are and anticipating things. When they were small I would carry things with me at all times that I know they would like and anticipate hunger or boredom (the hunger made them cranky and the boredom made them hyper...both of which would make ME anxious). While Troy always told me I was being pessimistic by thinking through everything and even being prepared for the worst case scenarios I just told him I wanted to be prepared. He wanted to argue with me about it. One day I sat him down and explained to him that surprises gave me anxiety...anxiety led to depression and I was just anticipating as many situations as I could in my head so that I could deal with it without the anxiety...it was my own type of survival. Once I explained that to him, he quit arguing with me about it.

Trying to avoid anxiety is why whenever we moved to a new place I studied road maps and got out and explored. Having some of the same rituals for me and the kids always made things seem a little more settled...such as finding the town library and getting library cards...and when I unpacked things I always place certain appliances on the counters and then certain things just naturally got put into cupboards near those appliances. Troy and the kids then would know which cupboard to open to find certain things and did not have to 'explore'.

And that is PART of what makes me tick in a nutshell. If I don't get my daughter's ADHD under control...she is going to continually amp up my anxiety!

Getting the Communication All In

Don't you get frustrated when someone tells you something important but THE REST of the story comes in later? There seems to be lots of times that the communication is lacking.

For instance...my daughter is going on a field trip tomorrow with her Social Studies team to see a play. You know how I FIRST found out about it? I read something about a Thursday field trip on the MATH teacher's lesson plan site. Thursday's plans said, "No plans because of the field trip". So, I happened to ask Ms. Divine about it that evening at dinner. At first she told me it was LAST WEEK'S field trip then I told her it was on this week's lesson plans. She blinked and stared for a moment then said, "OH! Yeah!" then she told me about it. I asked for a permission slip. She said she would get one. I asked for it last night...she said she would get it out of her backpack...she didn't. I forgot...which means SHE forgot. So, tonight I asked her at the dinner table about it AGAIN. Her friend Amy was with us for dinner. She said there was no permission slip unless you were not packing your own lunch but buying theirs and if that was the case, it was too late already. I looked at Ms. Divine and said, "So, I am supposed to pack you a lunch. And just when were you planning on informing me of THAT? In the morning when you rush upstairs to down your breakfast in 5 minutes or less?" She just looked at me and blinked. So I told her I would make her a chicken sandwich. She said, "Tomato" I said, "But I have no tomatoes. Perhaps if you had let me know YESTERDAY I could have picked one up at the store." She said, "Something veggie then." I said, "Something chicken then." "Fine."

Troy got a call from a customer about navigation equipment not working properly on a company jet and they wanted him to be in Cleveland in the morning. The jet manufacturer (Bombardier) had sent a rep and he was enroute. When he got there he called Troy and told him he was emailing him the diagnostics. Troy looked it over and was ready to pack to go...when he got a call from ANOTHER company avionics guy that told him that they had swapped out some computer equipment a few days ago, the navigation wasn't working quite right then but they flew the jet to California ANYWAY!!!! I saw the look on Troy's face. They are supposed to call him when they mess with the computer. It was a reset problem. He told them what to do. They did it...then called him back and said it seemed to be working fine. So...Bombardier footed the bill for sending a rep there for nothing. At least Troy didn't have to go.

Also...from a few weeks back...I had gotten upset becuz Ms. Divine had a few friends here before a football game. I made a large dinner and fed them all...then had to go pick another one up...and I dropped them off at the game. Normally they would all walk becuz it is not that far. I took the time to see how each one was getting home after the game becuz I needed to know if I had to take them or if they were coming back to our house for the moms' to get them (as they do most of the time) or what. I said I didn't want anyone to get left by themselves and I didn't want (Ms. Divine) to walk home alone. They all assured me they were walking back to the house and Meggan's mom was picking them all up. Well, Meggan's mom went to the game and they all went home from there...leaving Ms. Divine on her own. I was NOT happy. Meggan's mom knew I wasn't. BUT, today, as I picked Ms. Divine and Amy up from school newspaper and I said something about Meggan's mom must be ticked becuz I got upset about Ms. Divine being left behind becuz she picked Meggan up and didn't let her come over. Amy said, "Well...it MIGHT be my fault. Katie had told me that (Ms. Divine) was walking to the coffee shop with her after the game so I told Meggan's mom that." I then asked Bethany where she was when they left. She said, "I was with them, I turned to say something to someone and they were GONE!" Amy just looked at me funny. All I said was, "You guys are responsible for each other. You ALL have to communicate. Amy, you know how Katie is and you should have asked Bethany. You ALL have to check with each other. When one gets left behind, things can happen that aren't too pleasant. I am not saying Meggan's mom was wrong, but if it had been me and I knew that everyone had come together, I would have asked the girl herself. Even then, I am on the phone calling the parents to make sure it is okay becuz I would not want something happening to any of you guys. I would never forgive myself." Slowly but surely I am hoping these girls get it! The High School band will be making a trip to Disney World when Ms Divine is in HS. There will be no trip if they can't keep better track of each other!

Maybe I Can Breathe Easier for a Bit Longer

Yep...hang on for that long bumpy ride. Our country has weathered bad times before. Economic down turn and wars...think of the Carter administration and what Reagan inherited. However, with the technology we have now, the global community is closer...harder to keep secrets and stay at arms length. I don't remember EVER hearing about other countries reacting to our elections. I'm sure there were reactions before but this election has many different things thrown in...besides the changing of the guard.

Don't tell me it had nothing to do with race. That is basically all that is being talked about now. But, as my son pointed out...Obama is not our first BLACK president...after all, his mother and her family are white. So, that would make Obama our first Malado president.

There has been a rise in gun sales. Ppl are hoarding their firearms in anticipation of a change in gun laws.

There also has been a lot of talk about 'taking Obama out'...it is advertised out in the open, of course. It is an under current. You can find plenty of things on the internet. All I can say is this...I pray nothing happens to our President Elect or there are going to be a whole lot of ppl wishing they had bomb shelters to barricade themselves in. The rioting would be out of control and beyond belief. Our economy is teetering on the brink as it is...major rioting and the damage it would do would be the final push to send all the precarious brinks of our economy tumbling over the edge.

Christians need to pray each day for the safety of our country...for wisdom. Pray that there will be a nationwide Christian revival. God is the only one that can put things right.

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My husband's company had a teleconference today with all the departments. So far, the company seems to be holding its own. There will be holiday bonuses this year but raises will be delayed for a few months. Hopefully there will be no layoffs if they can do a big enough retirement buyout. Troy's territory is being expanded. And I am just glad he still will have a job and that the company is still going strong.

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Max the pup is still living. LOL He is doing better about things. Some things. He gets picky about HOW he wants to go outside sometimes...he prefers to be taken out on a leash and walked around the house rather than be hooked up on the cable. Too bad. I had to get Troy to quit taking him out on the leash every time he went outside to smoke. Max has to get used to going out on the cable.

Max has also gotten picky about what he wants to eat. Troy has wanted to give him some ppl food sometimes and I stopped him. TJ put his leftover eggs in with Max's dog food yesterday and then Max didn't want to eat just dog food after that. He gets hungry enough I guess he will.

Troy bought Max one of those really large rawhide bones. When he first got it Max gnawed on it for 4 hours!!! He still gnaws on it but not as much since he gnawed one of the knots off the one end.

He has grown quite a bit already in the few weeks we've had him...at least Troy says he has. I'm not sure.

Oh well...back to my homework. I didn't get it all done and handed in last week becuz my school blackboard site wouldn't let me on! I finally got it fixed so now I HAVE to do my work!

Robot Pet

Today as I look over the headlines and stories on my internet home page I see a few things that caught my eye.

1) Kathryn Heigl (of Grey's Anatomy fame) was being 'written up' by the fashion police for her 'middle aged wardrobe'. It said her hairdo was out of date and she was wearing 'mommy jeans'. wow. The fashion police would sure not like me. My hair do is similar to the one she was shown sporting and 'here here' to 'mommy jeans'! Kathryn...in MY world you rock! You just keep on dressing for us middle aged outdate mommies!

2) There is a story that says that migraines cut the risk of breast cancer. If that is true then I shouldn't have to worry about EVER having breast cancer. I guess migraines are good for something after all! I would so much rather have the migraine! Sure it can be debilitating BUT the longest I have had one last is 3 days. Then, guess what...I get to live after that and don't have to have chemo or radiation therapy!



Bethany went off to school today armed with all of her make-up homework (she has been home sick for 3 days...severe headache and nausea...and I had it before her) and a picture retake package. The first pictures they took of her, she was not sitting up straight, not smiling, eyes half open and hair in the way. There was a place on the retake order form to put 'special comments' to the photographer. So I put, "Make sure she is sitting up straight, hair is out of her eyes, and SMILING!" I stopped short of 'be a professional like you are getting paid for!' It just really grinds my coffee beans that you pay out so much money for those crappy school pictures and they can't be bothered to actually take a GOOD picture! The kid sitting in the chair does not know what they look like! You have to trust the photographer! And these ppl are supposed to be professionals!

I don't know why I should expect better out of a professional photographer. After all, so called professional sports figures get paid MILLIONS of dollars and can't do their job, either!

It is raining and the temps are supposed to go down by tomorrow. yay.

Still having trouble training the dog. Just when he seems to be getting better, then he gets WORSE. I got rid of the last dog for less. I am thinking this one just might be finding himself in a crate after all. I thought my son kept me running when he was a toddler! This dog beats him...paws down.

I think from now on I'll stick to hamsters. or better yet...a robot dog!

Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

The Shock Factor

Today I, as well as so many of my Christian friends, am in shock. There is a thread of fear running through all of us. Some of them have expressed to me their lack of comprehension of what just happened...or why...concerning the elections yesterday.

But I told them I remembered something my mother told me that Rev. Hagee said...that God would not let anyone be in power that He did not want to be in power. Troy said (with a large sigh) that God let Obama become president for a reason that we cannot comprehend. And then he said something else, "I cannot believe that this country would embrace a man such as Barack Hussein Obama so shortly after 9/11, especially. How quickly they all forget." A light went on...

I thought back to the Jewish nation...when God had Moses lead them out of Egyptian captivity...only to find, when Moses descended from the mount where God gave him the 10 commandments, that they had made idols and were worshipping them. How quickly they forget.

Perhaps Obama is there to remind ppl...to force the Christians, and others that cried out to God after 9/11, to look at who/what they are putting their faith in...instead of God. How far this nation has strayed from its Christian beginnings...how in times of turmoil this nation has chose to put its faith in a godless human instead of God Himself.

Christians need to pray and follow God...at ALL times...not just when they find it convenient.

As I prayed for understanding, this is what God gave me. Our country is so full of those that spit on the Bible and scoff at those that worship God and have faith in Him and call them stupid. This country has become so very godless...perhaps Obama will unknowingly point the way back to what is really important...putting our faith and beliefs back with God.

God...I pray...be merciful.

Max(imum) the Bold

Max didn't like the little goblins that stopped by for their candy. He peeked at them then backed up out of view.

He seems to be 'housebroke' already. He made it through the night last night without relieving himself anywhere in the house. He did a good job of it yesterday too. He has gotten used to the yard anchor and cable. He gets his walks around on the leash too. By the time 9 p.m. rolls around he is all done in and ready to snore through the night. Troy took him over to visit with the people behind us. And Troy made it clearer what it is about those ppl that makes me NOT want to get too close to them. They are 'know it alls' and take it upon themselves to tell you everything and act like there is something wrong with you if you don't see things their way. They were insistant about Max needed to be crate trained. WHY? We are here and he is being house trained. I don't see any reason to train him to be in a crate. If he is trained to know what to leave alone and NOT go in the house, then we shouldn't need a crate, should we? If they want to put their dogs in crates, then that is their problem. To each their own but they give me 'advice' I didn't ask for and act as if we had no lives before we moved in beside them. I'm 48 years old and I do know a FEW things! If I don't know, I will ask.

My two teenagers went out begging for candy Thursday night. While Bethany put together her own outfit (we went to Salvation Army and JoAnn Fabrics) TJ's outfit needed some cutting and sewing together. We found the jacket at Salvation Army but I had to make the vest and tie. He got his own makeup and did it.



TJ is The Joker from Batman Returns (ala Heath Ledger) and Bethany is some character named Eva from a music video. She had wiped off most of the dark red lipstick by the time I took this picture.

The weather is gorgeous today and is supposed to be really great for the next 5 days at least. That will give me time to work in the yard. I still have tulip bulbs and iris bulbs to put in for spring plus flower beds to clear out. I am going to try transplanting a few things to different spots.

Hope everyone has a good week!

New Member of the Household

Meet Max:



We rescued him from the Animal Shelter. Instead of the $700 French Bulldog that the petstore tried to sell us, we got a $50 Boxer/Heeler mix. The funny thing is, he has a brindle coat (along with some white and black spots here and there) just like that French Bulldog had.



Max is 4 months old. He was brought to the shelter by his owners. They had an older dog that just did not like Max. And they said that Max was too energetic for them. He took to Bethany right away. Then I was out voted by TJ and Troy. Max just looked at me and gave me those sad eyes.


All tired out and going for a snooze

He took to his new home right away. I had bought a bed that turns out to be too small so we have to exchange it...or so I thought. He found it last night and curled up in it in the diningroom. He keeps going back and curling up in it.

He doesn't seem to like going outside by himself but he will eventually get used to the cable and anchor. I noticed that if he hears another dog bark he gets frightened. BUT he will guard the doors. He will squeak but there isn't any bark...unless he hears a noise at the front door. Then he'll let out a few barks and a low growl.

He won't venture downstairs. And when he saw Troy get in his car and leave this morning, he wanted to get in my van and go for a ride.

He had a bath with doggy shampoo with oatmeal in it to keep the itches away. Then all he did was scratch himself. Since I didn't have any baby shampoo, I gave him anthoer quick bath with the hamster shampoo and he quit scratching.

He hasn't noticed Pete and Pete doesn't care as long as he still gets his veggie treats.

He knows the word 'no'. He started to pick up one of Troy's slippers and I said, "no, Max." and he looked at me, dropped it and walked away. He picked up something else and I said, "no, Max' and he dropped it and walked away.

When we all went to bed last night, he squeaked outside our bedroom door for about 5 minutes then gave up and laid down. I expected to see a big mess this morning. It wasnt' too bad...one little puddle on the floor by his bed. I used the clorox wipes and took him outside (after a scolding). When we came in, he hid under the diningroom table and watched me with big sad eyes. I let him stew for a bit the clapped my hands and called his name. He came running with tail wagging.

Whenever Troy goes to sit in his chair, Max instantly jumps up on his lap. He likes it when Troy puts the foot rest up cuz he likes to lay there and go to sleep. Spoiled already.

Wonder what he'll do when the trick 'r' treaters come around tonight?

School Work

I kinda feel sorry for those parents that don't take the time to help their kids with their school work. You know why? I believe I have learned MORE helping my kids with their school work NOW than I learned when I went through school. Are they giving them better school books than we had?

Actually, I'm not sure if I am learning all THAT much more or if what I'm doing with them is actually dredging up things in the back of my mind that I forgot I learned.

I know...you had to think about that, huh? LOL

I was helping my daughter with some social studies work tonight. They do this thing on the computer called Study Island. We would read through the questions and then the four answers you had to choose from. I would help her eliminate the answers that were clearly WRONG and discuss with her WHY they couldn't be it...then we would discuss the other ones and reason out which one it would have to be. Unfortunately, half of the stuff was about the Incas and Mayans...I never really paid a whole lot of attention to that stuff...I had a vague recollection of any of it. BUT, the other half was about trade routes and exploration. Now THAT I could remember! I didn't have to dig so far for that stuff anyway becuz I had helped my son with that stuff just a few years ago.

I remember when I was helping him with HIS social studies and geography and world history that I did learn a few things. I learned about how the Muslim religion was actually a predominate religion across Europe and North Africa. I also learned about how the African ppl were the ones that sold their own ppl into slavery for money and goods. This stuff was NOT in MY history classes.

My favorite thing to help them with is math. I like math. However, they are both good at it...they don't LIKE it, but they get it...so...they don't ask me for much help.

I like the discussions I have with my son over some of the literature he has to read. He just finished the Edgar Alan Poe short story called "The Fall of the House of Usher". I have never been an Edgar Alan Poe fan but I DO remember that story. What I did remember was the whole family had inhabited the same house and had all eventually gone mad and died from the madness. And when the last member of the family went totally off his nut and died the house imploded upon itself. The visitor to the house had escaped before the house totally imploded. I think EAP must have been quite mad in his own right.

The kids are coming to the end of their first quarter of school. Both of them started out badly...getting behind in their work and it took some real butt kicking on my part and getting them organized to get them caught up. whew. However, come Monday it is a clean slate and there will be NO falling behind.

speaking of falling behind...I had better get my classwork done tomorrow since I won't be around this weekend to do it!

State of the Unions

I decided to load on a copy of my final paper that I wrote for my Labor Relations class. I did a lot of head shaking over this. Considering the way the presidential campaign is swinging, I guess that the Muslim factions and Labor Unions are pretty comfortable sharing a bed.

Public Sector Unionization: Why It Is Growing and How It Affects Everyone
Nancy S. Adams

In this paper I am presenting some statistical trends in public sector unionization along with an overall statistical trend in unionization of both the public and private sectors. I compare and contrast the difference in unionizing in the private sector and public sector that shows why there was such a big shift into public sector unionization. This leads to the a presentation of the pros and cons of public sector unionization and its affect on all citizens. Lastly, I discuss some union backed legislation along with a ruling by the Supreme Court against union dominance.

Recent Statistics
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union membership rose in 2007 and accounts for 12.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers. This is only a 0.1 percent raise from 2006 statistics. In comparison, union membership rate in 1983 was 20.1 percent.

Public sector membership rate is nearly five times that of the private sector employees. The professions that have the highest union membership rate are in education, training, library occupations, and protective service occupations (police, firefighters, EMTs). Local government workers have the highest union membership rate.

1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union even though they were non-members. A little more than half of that number were government employees.

Union Shift from Private Sector to Public Sector Growth
The loss of private sector union membership, and the inability to rally, has been blamed on various factors. One factor of blame is the change in the economic environment. The markets are more open to foreign competition. Companies were finding it more cost effective to move out of country, taking advantage of globalization. Major advances in technology made movement of business easier and lucrative, along with cheaper labor costs. Unions could no longer guarantee their members both higher wages and job security. It made joining a union increasingly unattractive.

A second factor to be considered in the decline of private sector union membership dates back to the Reagan administration years when there was a recession. Many companies faltered under the weight of union demands and contracts. A great percentage of workers were without jobs. This brought about a new era of thinking for many companies and a reorganization. Human Resource departments made changes that would give workers a reason to give union organizers the cold shoulder. Company administrators and supervisors realized that if they treated employees in a more union-like manner, the employees would not feel a need to bring the union in to represent them.

With the loss of favor in the private sector, unions needed a fresh source of membership. They turned, in full vengeance, to the public sector. This was a virtually untapped source of membership.

Comparison: Private vs. Public
Growth in employment in the private sector is higher among nonunion members than union members while employment growth in the public sector is about equal between union members and nonunion members. In order to understand the difference in union growth in the two sectors, one must understand the difference in job growth.

Job growth rate in each sector is comparable. However, in the private sector, employment growth is due to both the growth of existing firms and the creation of new firms. Older firms may phase out, which results in the loss of union membership. While the growth of existing unionized firms can add to membership it does not offset the loss of a whole unionized firm. When new firms are created they, of course, start out as nonunion. Unions have to go through the whole process of fresh organization. This takes much time, effort and money.

In the public sector, employment grows with population growth and the demand for services. There is not a major loss of jobs or union members since there is not a loss of jurisdictions and government units generally always continue to exist. Most job growth is brought about by expansion into jurisdictions that are already organized. Therefore, union membership can grow without the need for new organization.

While private sector jobs can be lost because of globalization, technology, and foreign competition, public sector jobs are more stable. It is also because of this stability that there is a higher rate of union membership in the public sector compared to the private sector. Private sector goods and services can be lost to the global market and foreign competition while public sector services cannot be traded. Public sector union bargaining may be threatened with the possibility of outsourcing some of the services to the private sector. Most governments are unwilling to lose their control over their services this way, though.

In the private sector, unions have a more difficult time delivering higher wages when the the firms they work for are facing lower profit margins and flow of income due to competition from global markets. In the public sector there are no such constraints or competitions. When compensation increases that increase can be offset by higher taxes. This, of course, affects all citizens.

The Good and the Bad of Public Sector Unions
With unions moving more heavily into the public sector their role becomes more political. Government agencies and officials begin pandering to the unions. Unions promise financial backing and votes for candidates in exchange for wage increases, passing union endorsed legislation and government protected jobs.

State and local government officials begin supporting card checking (compare this to someone watching over your shoulder as you vote) to push through unionization. With this accomplished within the public sector, it only builds a stronger base to pass legislation calling for card checking in the private sector. Card checking creates bigger and stronger unions that expand their power. Officials are elected through campaign support and then lobbied to implement policies that favor the union.

When unions gain power and officials bow to them in exchange for time in office, wage increases that are covered by higher taxes and contracts that cannot be broken begin to wreak havoc on the government’s economy. Some local governments, such as Vallejo, California, have gone bankrupt under union wage contracts.

Public sector unions are something that have had positive results for some public sector professions. The unions create a more job secure work environment for employees. Wages,benefits, and employment conditions are equalized. Employment is protected by a contract and not contingent on political or personal viewpoints of the employer. With job security, public employees are more productive and there is far less turnover. This saves money that would be used for training new hires. Also, with fewer turnover, this makes the protective and safety service departments more stable and efficient. It creates a sense of comfort and security for the community.

The Legislative Leash
The constitutional principles of the first amendment has protected the rights of each state to set its own policies regarding the unionization of government employees. These states are known as Right to Work States. Unfortunately, some states have enacted laws that empower union officials to exert monopoly-bargaining control over public safety employees and other public sector employees. Now the union backed Congress members are poised to pass a bill known as H.R. 980—The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. This is a monopoly-bargaining bill and will strip hundreds of thousands of safety service employees of the freedom to negotiate on their own with their employers and MUST be represented by the union. This bill has already received the stamp of approval by the House of Representatives with the support of nearly every House Democrat and many House Republicans.4 On May 14, 2008 a Motion to Table this bill was passed by the Senate.5

Union advocates contend that this bill is to protect the right of safety service employees to join a union. That right is already under protection in every state. Opponents of the bill believe that a better title for it would be The Police/Fire Monopoly-Bargaining Bill.

History has shown that states that enact monopoly-bargaining laws experience a dramatic increase in strikes and work stoppages. As public officials are forced to give in to union demands, it becomes a heavy cost for the citizens. Politicians are more likely to cave into the unions to gain their support. Problems are not fixed and costs are not cut, taxes are just increased. This leads to the public supporting an inefficient government.

The only hedge against such legislation is a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Daniel Locke v. Edward Karass. The ruling states that employees not protected by Right to Work laws still have the right to refrain from formal union membership. Union officials may charge nonmembers for union activities such as collective bargaining that relates to their jobs. However, unions cannot force them to pay for non-bargaining activities like union politics and lobbying. The Court is yet to determine where and how to draw the lines that will set the criteria for determining whether an employee can be forced to fund Big Labor’s lawsuit machine.

In the meantime, Big Labor is busy trying to push another bill through Congress known as H.R.800 entitled The Employee Free Choice Act, which is totally misleading. It is a bill that will promote card checking and intimidation of employees. This bill would force an employer to recognize and bargain with any union that presented signed cards from a majority of its employees. Senate Republicans have managed to block the bill, so far. At present it has passed the House of Representatives.

Unions can be a very good thing for employees to help give them a voice and change unfair employment practices. However, when Unions become power hungry and take away its members rights of choice and the rights of others to choose to not be respresented by a union it gives itself a black eye and a bad name. Members and nonmembers alike should be allowed the choice of whether or not to pay for funding campaigns of candidates for whom they would not choose to vote. If Public Sector Unionism keeps growing the way it is, U.S. citizens will no longer have a voice in choosing which politicians they want to run our government or how our government is run at all.

They All Fall Down

It seems that history as we knew it growing up is being 'changed'. The books are being rewritten with the 'truth'. For social studies, Bethany chose to do a research paper on Christopher Columbus as her project. I thought I would share it with you:

Christopher Columbus

Friend or Foe?

Were the voyages of Christopher Columbus a mixed blessing? His venture to the New World gained him lasting fame, but as some have come to realize, he’s less of a friend than a foe. Some still argue he is a hero to us who discovered new lands for us, but others say he is a villain, who took the Americas from the natives, yet we still praise him as the one who “discovered” the Americas, when technically, the original inhabitants were already there and discovered the land themselves. We continue to celebrate the second Monday in October on October 21 as “Columbus Day”.

Columbus began the idea of hoping to find a westward route to Asia after his wife died. He started into finding plans and theories. When he started his route, he aimed to create a trade route for Spain. He also aimed to Christianize the natives he expected to find non-Christians, which some may argue is a great point of why he is a friend, but he’s not completely innocent. He was very ambitious and was actually in the lands looking for fame and fortune. He wanted to become a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea, vicery and general of all the lands he found, and one-tenth of valuable items that were discovered on the lands. When he returned after his first trip where he landed somewhere in the Bahamas, he returned to Spain to spread the word and was noted as “Admiral of the Ocean Seas”. He expected to become rich, but by the end of the journey, he returned to Spain after four trips, and still no wealth. Columbus only received a fixed amount for reaching the New World first.

Have you noticed he doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer? To finance his trip in 1484, he went to King John of Portugal who refused. He then went to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. After a year, they also refused. Columbus went back 2 years later and asked once again, yet after a month, they still said ‘no’. Finally, Father Perez, a Spanish monk, continued to negotiate with the rulers on behalf of Christopher Columbus. He talked to the king and queen for Columbus and successfully persuaded them to finance Columbus’s journey.
Christopher Columbus wasn’t very smart in realizing where he was. Earlier before starting off on his venture, he overestimated the circumference of the Earth. When he realized the Earth was spherical, he accepted his mistaken beliefs and found the journey he hoped to complete was accomplishable. When he and his crew first sighted land, he thought they were in the Indies, so he named the natives Indians. When he reached Cuba, he thought it was China. He thought the world was much smaller than what it actually is. Also, to add to the fact that he was greedy, when the Santa Maria wrecked near Haiti, he built a fort and left 40 men to hunt for gold in what he thought was China.

It seemed that the villainous reputation ran in the family. The Admiral partially quieted a revolt by comprising with Francisco Roldán, an office holder. So many letters of complaints had gone to the Castile, all of the letters regarding Columbus’s brothers, so the rulers sent a royal commissioner by the name of Francisco de Bobadilla and told him to act as he saw was best. Bobadilla meant well, but he already had in his head a bad opinion of the Columbus family. He put the Admiral and his brothers in chains and sent them to Spain. Andrés Martin who commanded the ship where to sail offered to remove the shackles, but the Admiral refused. He wanted to look restricted by the sovereigns. In November 1500, Columbus went to court. He received a kind welcome from the monarchs and reassurance that the imprisonment and chains had not been by their orders. No one knew that 20 years later, he would be on his deathbed. He suffered from arthritis and malaria at only 53. Though, he finally brought back gold from the Americas as he had hoped for in all his greediness. He also owned most of Hispaniola, so he died with a sense of accomplishment. Many grieved for him, thinking he was such a great man. He later died in Valladolid on May 20, 1506 after spending his last few months in bed, suffering.

As you can see, Christopher Columbus was a foe, unexpectedly so. Still, people choose to believe he is the hero and Admiral for the Crown of Castile we’ve all read about who “discovered” the New World.

Just My Thoughts on a Sticky Race

No one really wants to know my views on the political debates or the whole big crock of beggars stew. But after all the digging into labor relations and the economy that my classes have sent me into for the past 2 years, I DO have something to say about one very important point.

Barack Obama wants to lure the country along with speaking about lowering taxes for the middle class and raising taxes on business and anyone that makes over $250,000. Of course this gets everyone interested! "HEY! More money for ME! Let those greedy business owners and stockholders pay!"

I agree that in the business world there IS a lot of greed. Unfortunately it is what makes the world turn. Perhaps putting some checks and balances on it...instituting more accountability would be a much better idea.

Let's face it, when ANYONE buys stock in a company they want a really good return...meaning BIG PROFITS. Those big profits are not only good for the stockholders but it gives the companies the means to expand...thus creating more jobs. If you tax them more it eats into the profits...stockholders bail...companies lose money...loss of jobs. If middle class America doesn't have jobs, they won't have to worry about ANY taxes. (oooo...even better! NOT)

There are lots of 'small' businesses that make more than $250,000 per year...ON PAPER. By the time they pay for the health insurance that Barack Obama is proposing that ALL business owners will be obligated to have for all employees...plus the high utility prices...why own a business? Again...less jobs.

I have nothing against health care reform. I just don't like the idea that EITHER candidate has.

People keep talking about how the middle class carries this country on its shoulders becuz of the taxes it pays. It sure feels that way...BUT...why do they have a paycheck to pay taxes FROM? Becuz of business. We SHOULD be kind to businesses...that are doing HONEST business. If anything, as I said, put accountability measures into place. AND give them incentives to keep their business in THIS country. Put some curbs on Unions that get power hungry themselves and make it impossible for companies to keep operating in the black. Businesses need to work with their employees so that everyone can be satisfied and Unions have no reason for being.

Frankly, out of the two candidates, what I'm hearing from Obama sounds more like a big flush job. Right now we are circling the pipes.

I was not happy with McCain's performance in the debates. Although he did make some really great points last night, unfortunately his demeanor is all that most ppl noticed. And Obama can sit there an keep punching towards the fact that he has plans to help young ppl be able to go to college, etc. but just WHAT are those plans? You said you want to take a scalpel to the budget to find the money to fund your plans. Well...DUH! McCain has those plans too. Anyone with any brain wattage would have that plan. Nothing new.


Okay...I said more than I had started out to say. Here is one more thing to consider...
Our government is made up of a check and balance system. With a majority Democratic Congress just how much check and balance will be going on if there is a Democratic President?

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In OTHER news:

Had my last Labor Relations class last night. Whew. Handed in my paper (which I will post later) but I wasn't REAL thrilled with it as it was only allowed to be 6 pages long and I had to edit it like crazy. However, our team presentation was GREAT! I got matched up with just the right guys. Everyone else's presentation seemed pretty thin and uneventful by comparison, if I do say so myself. I think the instructor was definitely surprised by my part of the presentation becuz I was pretty quiet in his class...unlike the big mouths that sat in the second row. When I was doing my part of the presentation (I use a lot of eye contact) I saw some looks on even THEIR faces like, "oh! I never thought of it that way". Our group was one of two that the instructor had no questions for when we were done. That is a GOOD thing becuz he only asked questions when the presentation was like swiss cheese.

My one team member, Elden, added the cherry on top with his part of the presentation becuz he had called the Obama and McCain headquarters here in Ohio and asked them some pretty pointed economic/union questions. Then proceeded to point out why Obama's views will only serve to pandor to unions and it backed up my points of the presentation about how unions will end up running the country and regular citizens will no longer have a voice...neither will business owners.

ANYWAY...the class ended on a really high note and I'm pleased!

Just One Foot in Front of the Other

I am almost to the end of my 8 week course in Labor Relations. It has been a whirlwind and A LOT of work. I can actually say I have learned quite a bit from this class. Not so much from the instructor but from the reading! I never paid much attention to the business world before. Now I've learned a whole lot of stuff that could keep you from sleeping at night. There are things that I have learned that make this year's elections even more upsetting.

TJ was pretty sick this week and I ended up taking him to the doctor's. I got really sick myself...still not feeling good. Spent today doing a lot of teeth clenching to stop myself from taking it out on everyone. I told Troy that my body has been out of whack too long this week and it is really wearing on my nerves. Hopefully Sunday will be better.

I started reading a biography about Charles Schultz. Just the first chapter was a real eye opener! Made me suddenly look at the "Peanuts" cartoon in a different way...and, no, it is not bad...just different.

Applied for two jobs, too, with two pretty large companies in the area. It would be nice to get to work and start putting some money away. It would also be nice to send more money with each house payment so we can get this place paid off early. There are a lot of things that would be nice. Things are good now...and I won't complain.

Good Memory and Good Points

I would love to have this squirrel's memory!



It has been a long week and I have a long weekend ahead of me...too much classwork. While the rest of the family plays I will be working.

The biggest surprise of all was getting our security deposit back from the ex-psycho landlord! ALL OF IT! and without a fight. whew. Now...we are done with him. Hallelujah! Life has its good points!

And This Is How My Mind Works Most Days...Scary

Although Bethany can walk to and from school, now, I still hop into the van some mornings and give her a lift anyway. It is my time to have a quick exchange of silliness to help start our days off right. Usually something on the radio gets us started.

This morning it was one of the bunches of local radio personalities talking about some 'meeting' with Andy Taylor...formerly of that androgenous late 70's/early 80's band known as Duran Duran. They were talking about Andy's separation from the band and the book he wrote about his days as a member of said band.

So...who was the rock and roller that first decided they could write a book about their days as a rock star...ppl would spend lots of money on it therefore saving them from having to go back out on the road and wear themselves out playing at State Fairs, mall openings, etc.?

Back to the original thought: Andy Taylor's book and the 'meeting'. They were talking about a place in the book that described Andy's single most awful day with Duran Duran. I looked at my daughter and said, "It was the day when he mysteriously ran out of lip gloss, eyeliner and hairspray all at once! The trifecta of terror!" She just started giggling! I told her I was never much of a 'Duran-ee' (as their fans were being referred to) but her Aunt Dawn was. I told my daughter that I do believe it was Andy Taylor that liked to swap make-up with his wife...although I think there was another Taylor guy in the band...I don't know. I wasn't much for 'wild boys' that wore way more make-up than I.

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I got into the parking lot and instead of getting into the drop-off line I pull into the first row of parked cars and Ms. Divine scoots across to the sidewalk. This morning I was just about to pull into a spot when the oh-so-thotful soccer mom in front of me pulled in and straddled both places! so, I pulled ahead...behind the scooter that apparently some employee of the school rides there everyday. And in pulling out of said parking lot I almost side swiped the scooter.

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I was having a chat with someone last night that mentioned that, financially, he was trying to get 'ahead'. And me, being the weird thinker that I am said that everyone was always talking about getting 'ahead' and I wondered just where that is and do we know when we get there? Can we tell if we pass it? AND if we pass 'ahead' just where are we?

I look around me and wonder if I am there. Am I 'ahead'? Or is 'ahead' like that carrot that is dangled on a stick in front of a horse...it is always out of reach.

Troy asked me what I want for my birthday and with much consideration I said, "nothing. I think I am at that place where I have pretty much everything I want." He rolled his eyes and said, "Okay...is there anything you NEED?" Well, if I have everything I WANT, then why would there be anything I NEED? I mean, wouldn't you WANT anything you NEED? Therefore, given you WANT anything you NEED and there is nothing left that you WANT, then wouldn't you have everything you NEED?

Okay...I should go find something else to occupy my brain. Y'all have a good day!