A look into the common life.....

Religion VS. Jesus

2012-01-18T10:14:00.005-06:00

I know these videos have been circulating for a few days now. I love the position both men take. I think that they each make very valid points.
I am a very centrist person. I live in the middle on most issues. For that reason, I believe nothing is absolute or black and white. I think there are huge differences between plans and how they are implemented, in ideas and actions, in what we believe and how we behave.
I think there is a place and purpose for the church but, how it runs now is not the vision our Lord had. I would be very interested in everyone else's thoughts. Take ten minutes and let me know who you agree with more.

The Money Pit Series: Part 2 Starting the search

2011-11-22T11:54:00.003-06:00

So, now that we had a well laid out plan, we started looking around. I did not feel we were in a hurry and was content to wait until the right deal fell into our laps. My husband, on the other hand, now had a course of action and was hell bent on seeing it to completion. We started online and then began working the open house circut. Then, we approached a realtor who bagan pulling properties for us.

We actually went through three realtors before buying our home. We did not have a great time communicating with our second realtor. She sent us all over town to look at properties that never ended up fitting our criteria. The first had simply told us that she would not work with us if we were not ready to buy. When we did settle on a house, we bought from an agent at the company listed on the sign.

Before I go any further, I need to explain something about my husband. He is a very easy going guy who doesn't feel structure is always neccesary for production. He is also very independant and tenacious. The combination, however, can result in some impulsive and spontanious decisions that he stubbornly clings to, even when it may have been shown not be the wisest path.
I am the opposite. I want to think things through, weigh the options, sleep on it and then decide. I plan, make lists, and "talk it out" about a hundred times just to be sure.
It can make for some rather heated discussions in our marriage. Overall, we do provide a good balance for each other and I like to think we often find a common ground somewhere near the middle.

How we narrowed it down and made the decision to buy this particular property is a blog for another time.

The Money Pit Series: A long run of blogs about our home.

2011-11-22T11:49:00.002-06:00

I will preface this by saying that our home issues could have their own novel. There may be multiple posts on this subject. You have been forewarned.

In 2007 my husband and I began searching for a home to purchase. We did not have a whole lot of money but we made a steaady paycheck and shad some money in savings. We thought we could buy a nice starter home, perhaps something that needed a little updating. You know, seventies light fixtures and wallpaper, nothing big or crazy. We thought we could hand;e some do it yourself projects if it meant having some equity in the next few years.

The plan was to then buy a nicer home after my husband was commissioned and rent out our first home as an investment property. We had a plan of action! You know the saying, the best laid plans of mice and men.....?

Army Wife 101 Real Talk: Likes/Dislikes About The Commissary

2011-11-17T11:22:00.001-06:00

Army Wife 101 Real Talk: Likes/Dislikes About The Commissary

----> Please follow the link above and watch the video. Especially if you are a military member or spouse.

OMG! I agree with so many things in this video. 1) I do self checkout all the time at other stores and I NEVER have the problems I do at the commissary. 2) Just a little FYI, you can mute the crazy computer lady but that doesn’t stop her from effing up your order 10 times. 3) I have never seen a store out of so many things. All the time there are big empty spots and when I ask, they tell me the truck hasn’t come in yet this week. Well, you get a truck every week. Who is doing your ordering? 4) I buy a lot of produce… A LOT! I also try and buy at the commissary because they are so much cheaper than everywhere else. The problem is, their stuff is bad! I sometimes have to dig through the items in the display AT THE STORE because stuff is moldy, bruised, discolored, etc. Then, if I do manage to get it home, sometimes it is only at the house a day or two before I have to throw it out. 5) I also would say it is important to check the dates on everything you buy. I have purchased milk that goes bad a week after getting it home, things well past the expiration dates, items that I know I saw on the clearance shelf this time last year……..6) I know that “technically” they are tax free, but at least here, they charge a building and maintenance fee THAT IS THE SAME AMOUNT AS TAXES WOULD BE! Then you still have to tip your bagger and the kid that walks you out to your car. Sometimes I walk out and think that if I had just gone to the grocery store by my house, I probably wouldn’t have spent any more than I did here. 7) They do not have very many store brand options, so while the name brand stuff can be significantly cheaper than at your local store, you may not be saving money if you are willing to purchase off brand items elsewhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think it is nice to have a commissary, and there are a few items that do cost a lot less. I just feel that sometimes, we are given the bottom of the barrel stuff that other stores wouldn’t take. Or that are flawed. I also think that there is a real issue with how the stores are being run and managed. Ordering, produce and inventory turnover are a store by store responsibility. Yet, it seems to happen a lot of places. Perhaps someone who isn’t just a vet but someone with actual grocery management experience should be brought in…….. Just the rantings of a fellow army wife. Sorry I got a little crazy. lol

Tolerance, it isn't just for pagans anymore.....

2011-09-19T22:52:00.004-05:00

‎*sigh* Sometimes it frustrates me that Christians treat tolerance like a dirty word. Umm... have you read a bible lately? That Jesus guy? His main message was loving ALL people. Someone asked him what the most important rules were and you know what he said? Love God most and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is NO commandment greater than these. Hear that? NONE of those other rules are as important as treating those around you with love and respect. Not one. That is Mark 12:28-34 for anyone who cares to call me on my quotation. NIV is the way to be.
If you personally believe that what someone is doing is sinful that is fine. But we are not in any position to excuse or not excuse behavior. Only God is. You show them how to live a Christian life by leading a shining example not by damning their choices.
I read a review today of Modern Family that said "it is interesting to note that Cam and Mitchell are presented as a normal couple living an acceptable lifestyle" Then went on to talk about what a shame it was that our culture normalized what was once shunned behavior. Regardless of whether or not you morally agree with it, Homosexuality has been around since the beginning of time. It was often times (and in some cultures, still is) perfectly acceptable and normal. Also, these are neighbors and police officers and teachers that we see every day. My kids go to school with other children that have same sex parents. For us to say it isn't normal is ignorant. I see adulterers ALL the time and I see Christians turn their head and say it is none of their business. I think that if it really turns out that God doesn't love them after all, then he will handle that on Judgement day. Everything else until then I equate to a dad having to tell one sibling to stop tattling and being so bossy. All it does is get you in trouble too.
You know it was only 50 years ago that a black and white couple was against the law and considered morally unclean. Or 200 years ago when church was for men only, bc they had the mental capacity for understanding God's word. Or that a few hundred years ago, the thought of a lay person being able to handle the powerful message of the gospel was outrageous. Not to mention that for several hundred years the bible was edited, revised, books taken out, books put in... I think God gave us the capacity to love and be tolerant and he also gave us the power to evolve! Why is it that so often I find Christians who refuse to be progressive and move into a path of more tolerance and love?

The thoughts that run through my head....

2011-09-19T22:12:00.014-05:00

...while cleaning my kids' playroom today before the maintanence guy showed up.

Me- walking through the room
*Uh Oh, what's this? What kind of party was going on at this dollhouse last night???

*Prince Eric and Gaston are kicking it in the living room. Never really saw them as besties, -huh-

*Magic Carpet is passed out in the bath tub. Poor guy, that's always rough.

*Beast is face down in the front yard. There's always 'that' guy

*OH! OH! Belle is totally taking advantage though, because she has locked herself in the attic with Jafar. (Man, she has a SERIOUS bad boy complex!)

..........ahem........looks around to make sure no one was there..........sheepishly goes back to picking things up.............

I need to get out of the house more. I have resorted to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Plastic, brought to you by Disney. Now being featured at a toybox near you!

Going upstairs to do homework now. Move along, nothing to see here!

military retirements and health care

2011-08-22T18:30:00.002-05:00

I do appreciate that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is considering grandfathering in soldiers when they decide to butcher the retirement plan for the military. They want to "protect the current soldiers and keep the faith of the military families". He was quoted as saying that as long as they took into consideration the soldiers that were in, there was no reason not to go ahead and consider future changes. What I do not appreciate is that they are talking about doing away with retirement benefits after 20 years and making the payout kick in only after the legal retirement age. They are talking about decreasing the amount you get for retirement and they are talking about having it be just be a contribution only retirement plan. This all said, then, also adding that most soldiers do not even stay in for 20 years and so do not get retirement anyway.

They are also talking about significantly increasing the premiums for Tricare(military) healthcare because of the rising costs attributed to taking care of the soldiers and their familes. Not taking into consideration that we are at one of our highest numbers in a ong time and are downsizing our forces as we speak due to the withdrawl from Iraq. Also not taking into consideration that instead of increasing premiums for soldiers & their families, they should just making smarter decisions. If you only allow same day "sick" appointments and everyone else has to go to the emergency room, you are flushing thousands of dollars away. If the on base clinic is only open 4 1/2 days a week & the doctors still take extended lunches & vacations, so we have to go to a minor emergency or emergency room, you are throwing money away. I recently have had to make 4 appts with my doctor because I was told they can only talk about 1 issue at a time. They are too busy to take any longer with a patient. Direct quote from the nurse. 4 appts take a LOT longer than just hearing me out the 1st time. I believe all issues are tied together & should be addressed as 1 issue. It is not the families fault that these military health care professionals are paid salary so they don't feel they have to work. Or that we have to often times go a more complicated or expensive route to get the care we need.

Why are we singling out military families? Education of our children? Foriegn aide to ravaged countries? Why are the biggest budget hits to the very places we need to be protecting? Hilary Clinton says that her husband made the hard choices and gave us a balanced budget and that sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. I say that women and children first wasnt meant to be the quoted for the line to slaughter. Last I checked, and yes I checked, the Clintons made $20,400,000 in 2007. Their salary had increased every year from 2000 to that year also, so I can only imagine what it was in 2010. I know that they have big important jobs and I don't take away from that. What I do take issue with is the fact that to keep her in office and to keep these and all other government head's salary we are doing tax increases and premium increases and taking away from the retirement of people who I feel do a VERY important job as well.

I do not care if you consider yourself Republican or Democrat, military families and soldiers should not have to pay the deficit our politicians have gotten us into. Children should not have programs cut from their schools because the powers that be decided that as part of their retirement package, they should get the use of a private jet. We should not have to pull our relief workers from Africa because the President decided that the government paid vacation should be at a 9 million dollar ocean front estate in Hawaii for 9 days. If I don't have money to pay the bills, I don't go on lavish vacations. If I can't balance my budget I don't go buy a new car or hire a housekeeper. Why? Because these are "extras" They are fluff things that I don't need. I don't tell my kids that they can't eat lunch anymore because I can't pay for groceries (got to afford the new Benz), I don't tell the water company to suck it because momma needs a tummy tuck. If our country is broke, then it is broke. I think that there are better areas to make cuts and redistribution of funds. What do you think?

I do appreciate that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is considering grandfathering in soldiers when they decide to butcher the retirement plan for the military. They want to "protect the current soldiers and keep the faith of the military families". He was quoted as saying that as long as they took into consideration the soldiers that were in, there was no reason not to go ahead and consider future changes. What I do not appreciate is that they are talking about doing away with retirement benefits after 20 years and making the payout kick in only after the legal retirement age. They are talking about decreasing the amount you get for retirement and they are talking about having it be just be a contribution only retirement plan. This all said, then, also adding that most soldiers do not even stay in for 20 years and so do not get retirement anyway.

They are also talking about significantly increasing the premiums for Tricare(military) healthcare because of the rising costs attributed to taking care of the soldiers and their familes. Not taking into consideration that we are at one of our highest numbers in a ong time and are downsizing our forces as we speak due to the withdrawl from Iraq. Also not taking into consideration that instead of increasing premiums for soldiers & their families, they should just making smarter decisions. If you only allow same day "sick" appointments and everyone else has to go to the emergency room, you are flushing thousands of dollars away. If the on base clinic is only open 4 1/2 days a week & the doctors still take extended lunches & vacations, so we have to go to a minor emergency or emergency room, you are throwing money away. I recently have had to make 4 appts with my doctor because I was told they can only talk about 1 issue at a time. They are too busy to take any longer with a patient. Direct quote from the nurse. 4 appts take a LOT longer than just hearing me out the 1st time. I believe all issues are tied together & should be addressed as 1 issue. It is not the families fault that these military health care professionals are paid salary so they don't feel they have to work. Or that we have to often times go a more complicated or expensive route to get the care we need.

Why are we singling out military families? Education of our children? Foriegn aide to ravaged countries? Why are the biggest budget hits to the very places we need to be protecting? Hilary Clinton says that her husband made the hard choices and gave us a balanced budget and that sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. I say that women and children first wasnt meant to be the quoted for the line to slaughter. Last I checked, and yes I checked, the Clintons made $20,400,000 in 2007. Their salary had increased every year from 2000 to that year also, so I can only imagine what it was in 2010. I know that they have big important jobs and I don't take away from that. What I do take issue with is the fact that to keep her in office and to keep these and all other government head's salary we are doing tax increases and premium increases and taking away from the retirement of people who I feel do a VERY important job as well.

I do not care if you consider yourself Republican or Democrat, military families and soldiers should not have to pay the deficit our politicians have gotten us into. Children should not have programs cut from their schools because the powers that be decided that as part of their retirement package, they should get the use of a private jet. We should not have to pull our relief workers from Africa because the President decided that the government paid vacation should be at a 9 million dollar ocean front estate in Hawaii for 9 days. If I don't have money to pay the bills, I don't go on lavish vacations. If I can't balance my budget I don't go buy a new car or hire a housekeeper. Why? Because these are "extras" They are fluff things that I don't need. I don't tell my kids that they can't eat lunch anymore because I can't pay for groceries (got to afford the new Benz), I don't tell the water company to suck it because momma needs a tummy tuck. If our country is broke, then it is broke. I think that there are better areas to make cuts and redistribution of funds. What do you think?

Sometimes it is the little things

2011-03-31T20:18:00.003-05:00

Doing a 30 day photo challenge on Facebook. It got me thinking. Thinking about my favorite memories, my favorite people, my favorite moments. This video is of my oldest daughter a few years ago. Sometimes it is the little everyday moments that stick with you. The funny quirky most amazing things that happen on a tuesday night....

Scout suspended for pocket knife in car

2009-10-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

6-Year-Old Scout Suspended for Bringing Knife-Fork-Spoon Utensil to School - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

2009-10-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

6-Year-Old Scout Suspended for Bringing Knife-Fork-Spoon Utensil to School - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Posted using ShareThis

World won't end in 2012 Mayans insist

2009-10-12T12:15:00.001-05:00

MEXICO CITY (Oct. 11) — Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."
Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.
A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes "predictions" from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"
It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012.
"If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea," said Jose Huchim, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. "That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain."
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off.
But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon.
That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets.
Another spooky coincidence?
"The question I would ask these guys is, so what?" says Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the "Bad Astronomy" blog. He says the alignment doesn't fall precisely in 2012, and distant stars exert no force that could harm Earth.
"They're really super-duper trying to find anything astronomical they can to fit that date of 2012," Plait said.
But author John Major Jenkins says his two-decade study of Mayan ruins indicate the Maya were aware of the alignment and attached great importance to it.
"If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal," said Jenkins.
As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the "fateful" date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of.
Author Lawrence Joseph says a peak in explosive storms on the surface of the sun could knock out North America's power grid for years, triggering food shortages, water scarcity — a collapse of civilization. Solar peaks occur about every 11 years, but Joseph says there's evidence the 2012 peak could be "a lulu."
While pressing governments to install protection for power grids, Joseph counsels readers not to "use 2012 as an excuse to not live in a healthy, responsible fashion. I mean, don't let the credit cards go up."
Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift."
"The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe."
The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts.
Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012.
While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions.
"No one who's writing in now seems to remember that the last time we thought the world was going to end, it didn't," says Martin, the astronomy webmaster. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of memory that things were fine the last time around."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Baby snatched. Yikes!

2009-10-01T11:57:00.003-05:00

News Alerts
The latest updates sent straight to your inbox.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 1) - Eric Peterson heard a bang on his door in his quiet Nashville neighborhood and opened it to a woman covered in blood.
She pleaded with him to go rescue her children. She said she had left them at her house a few doors down to get help after a woman stabbed her with a kitchen knife. By the time Peterson got to the home, the baby was gone.
A woman posing as an immigration agent snatched a newborn from a Nashville, Tenn., home and repeatedly stabbed the baby's mother when she tried to intervene, authorities said Wednesday. Maria Gurrolla, 30, told reporters she had never seen the kidnapper before. "I need my baby back," Gurrolla, shown, said in Spanish.

Authorities are searching for the baby boy and the woman his mother says was posing as an immigration agent and snatched him from her home.
Maria Gurrolla told reporters she had never seen the woman before she showed up at her door Tuesday evening. She said the woman got a knife from the home and stabbed her several times.
"I need my baby back," the 30-year-old mother said Wednesday through an interpreter outside Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Gurrolla said she did not see the woman take the baby because she ran to Peterson's home. Peterson told The Associated Press she was "covered from her head to her toe with blood" with gashes on her neck and upper chest.
She asked him to save her children from the "lady in the kitchen" who had a butcher knife. When he got there, he saw a woman speeding away from the home. He brought Gurrolla's 3-year-old daughter back safely to his house, but found no baby, he said.
Gurrolla, who had a long scratch on her face, said the woman, whom she described as white and "robust", did not say anything about wanting to take the baby, who was on the sofa.

"She said she was an immigration officer and she was there to arrest her," said Gurrolla's cousin, serving as interpreter. It was not clear if Gurrolla was an immigrant, but police said she has lived in Nashville for at least 10 years. The cousin said the family did not want to discuss her legal status.
Police issued an Amber Alert with a picture and description of a 30-year-old woman. They questioned a woman matching the description in Buffalo, N.Y., but determined she wasn't involved.
Dr. William Dutton said Gurrolla had a penetrating chest wound and her lung had collapsed. He said she also had deep stab wounds to her neck, but was in stable condition. He said she still has physical signs that she gave birth recently. He described the birth as complicated but declined to elaborate.
A blue yard sign outside Gurrolla's home in the community of mostly single-family brick houses in south Nashville announces, "IT'S A BOY!" Police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said she doesn't know whether Gurrolla was targeted because of the sign.
Peterson said as he was making his way to Gurrolla's house, a woman with a ponytail was behind the wheel of a gray 2-door Honda that sped away from the home.
As he approached Gurrolla's yard, a young girl in a diaper walked from around the back of the house. He left her with Gurrolla and the woman he lives with and headed back to look for the baby.
He sent his pet pit bull in first to check things out, then went in through the back door.
"As I preceded into the kitchen, I saw a puddle of blood, a big puddle of blood," he said.

He searched everywhere but found no baby. When he told Gurrolla, that's when she first started to cry. Police said the baby's father was at the home later Tuesday night, and Sharon Kimble, who lives with Peterson, said the toddler's father came later to pick her up.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said investigators were interviewing Gurrolla and her family again about the abduction.
A sketch artist is working to come up with a drawing of the kidnapper's face.
"We don't have any indication at this point that this is anything but a stranger child abduction," Mumford said. "We're not ruling out anything, but we have no reason to believe that the family is not being completely truthful."
Mumford said police are retracing the mother's activities before the attack, such as a visit to a local Walmart. Hoping to find a witness, police released a photo of a car that was parked near Gurrolla's at the Walmart and later followed her down the road.
Aaron asked the public for tips on the case and said it was a top priority for police in the area.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-09-30 11:04:32

Sick Kids Make Me Sad.

2009-09-22T13:24:00.005-05:00

I love my friends and I want the best for them. I love being a mom and I want the world for my children. We have so many friends who have beautiful children that are not blessed with good health. It makes me sad. We know someone whos baby just had surgery at like 3 months for a heart condition. A small boy at our church was diagnosed with Moyamoya a very rare brain disorder.My bosses daughter has Ausbergers. We know someone who has a daughter with MD. Another just had a baby tested for Cistic Fibrosis. I can't even tell you the number of friends with Autistic children. My sister in law has a nephew that was born with Downs Syndrome. My brother's 17 year old best friend just got diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Ack! The craziest part? So many of these children are under the age of five. When we got the call about my brother's friend I hung up and with tears in my eyes had a serious conversation with my husband. Do we have a right in this day and age to have our children grow up healthy? Is it to much to expect our kids to reach adulthood unscathed? Maybe because so much of this is fresh in my mind I am overreacting. I am a girl after all. I just really am a little shaken by the fact that so many of the sweet kids we know are starting out their lives with such a big issue over their heads. Childhood is about chasing butterflies and frogs and eating ice cream not doctors visits and therepy sessions.
I feel a little helpless sometimes. I want to help but don't know how. I wish I could start a foundation or fund research. Rainbows in Wichita recently filed bankruptcy. Can you believe it? A lot of my friends lost their kids school funding. Someday, when I win the lottery (haha) I am going to work on helping children with disabilities. I have this incredible pull towards these families. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. I love you and want you to know that there are people out there willing to fight the fight with you. I got your back ladies!
I seem to blog about this a lot. I promise I am not all sadness and gloom. It is just something I am very passionate about. Especially recently. I should really proofread this but I probably won't so I am sorry if it is rambling and scattered. Love you but I should get back to work.........

Everyday life and changes

2009-09-11T23:54:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know, I have disapeared. I went back to work and life got crazy. School, jobs, kids, schedules, apparently my family still requires food. I don't know how you working moms do it. I am EXHAUSTED!!! Big V and little V are great! Valerie has been going to school half days but soon switches to full days. Nessa gets to start after her birthday and can not wait to go to big girl school with sissy. I am working half days right now but after they are both in school I am going back to working full-time. It makes me really sad. I love having my afternoons with the girls. When I am at work all day I miss them like crazy. ugh! BUT we need the extra income for now and I have a great boss. I work in the same building as my husband. We are right acroos the hall. So I can't complain too much, I suppose.
I have been planning Nessa's party. We decided on rice krispie treat cake. I am going to make it pink. Yum! My baby is getting so big so fast.
We had my husband's family reunion last weekend. It was a blast. We stayed out too late and when we got in the car I heard a little voice in the backseat..."Whew, I am so tired. It is almost bednight already" MIDnight was quickly appoaching so we whisked them home. We got to see his grandparents. They live a few states away and so we only see them about once or twice a year.
The Fair is coming! We take the girls every year. They are really excited even if they can't remember what exactly it is. I get fifty questions a day.....
"when are we going to the circus again?"
"the Fair, baby"
"whatever"
"What day is the parade?"
"it isn't a parade, it is the fair"
"whatever"
That is my four year olds new favorite word by the way.
Home improvement projects have been piling up for some time now. About two weeks ago my husband and I sat down and had a long talk about what we needed to get done. Then, we did it. Well, we are in the process of doing it. Steven has been amazing. He has fixed both of our toilets, a bathroom sink, tore out the kitchen cabinets, a ton of sheetrock removal, put up insulation, etc....We also replaced our bathroom vanities and our oven. Our bed fell apart and we knew someone with an extra in storage. What a lifesaver. Still on the agenda is rehanging a TON of sheetrock and then replacing all the kitchen counter tops and cabinets. After the begining of the year I think we are planning on replacing the floors. Then we should be about done with all the house projects on the inside. YAY!
So life in our house is crazy as always. How about yours? Anybody know any good maids that work for free? I need one. hahaha. Well, it is my bedtime so good night all!

Where do parents rights start? End?

2009-09-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

A Florida mom tried to rein in a new school-dismissal policy -- literally.

A new parking policy at Crystal Springs Elementary School in Jacksonville, Fla., requires parents to wait in line, inside their cars, while the students are released one-by-one. Fed up, one mom showed up on horseback, citing fuel costs and time spent waiting as the reason for her four-legged mode of transportation.

"I don't have the funds in my budget to sit in lines for an hour to two and a half hours to wait for my daughter," said the woman, identified only as Deidre by news station WJXT.

Deidre, who said she and her daughter often ride horses together, was prevented from taking the child home and was ushered off the property by police.

"Our first priority is the safety of our children, and during our arrival/dismissal, their safety is first and foremost a priority on campus," said Principal Jaime Johnson, according to WJXT.

Deirdre said Johnson refused to release her daughter, and in fact, pulled the girl back from her mother. "(Johnson) would not turn loose of my daughter's hand," Deidre told WJXT.

The principal stated that she did not think it was safe for the child to ride on horseback through the streets around the school, many of which are under construction.

Instead, a police officer drove the girl home, where she waited alone until her mother arrived.

Should the school have released the girl to her mother on horseback?

Random Thought Everyone Has.......

2009-08-27T10:44:00.001-05:00

Too funny not to share.......

Random Thoughts of the Day:

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger..

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say"..

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Autistic Man Hacked Into American Gov't Systems

2009-08-04T10:19:00.004-05:00

I am back to posting news stories. I thought this one was a little crazy. I have heard a lot of negative feedback on this story written by Kaiser Hwang. So much of it fueled by ignorance of the autistic condition. Let me know what you think.

Forty-three-year-old Londoner Gary McKinnon is facing extradition to the U.S. (as well as up to 60 years in a U.S. prison) if convicted of hacking into government computers, reports the BBC. He also has Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism disorder. After numerous failed attempts to have her son tried in the U.K., McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp is pleading directly to President Obama for help, having sent him a letter signed by 40 Members of British Parliament asking him to "bring this shameful episode to an end." Speaking outside the High Court last week, she added, "I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing."

McKinnon claims he was simply looking for suppressed UFO-related documents, and that the attacks were in no way malicious. Still, laws were broken, and two judges found that extradition was the proper response, but also admitted that extradition and prison in the U.S. for the handicapped McKinnon might be "very difficult indeed." With the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty recently failing to get a revision, it's unknown exactly what Obama's choices are in the matter. But Sharp is hopeful. Outside the High Court, she told reporters, "Obama wouldn't have this. He doesn't want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy." [From: BBC News]
Tags: aspergers, government, hack, international law, InternationalLaw, law, top, ufo, uk

New study on Autism

2009-07-29T14:46:00.002-05:00

Hey blogger moms! I read this study and was curious. Do you think that what your children eat affects their behavior? My children do not even have autism and I think it makes a difference. I would be interested in your opinion. Thank you!

Jenny McCarthy is wrong, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

Diet does not contribute to autism.

The autism activist who started her career as a model and Playboy playmate has made a crusade out of her belief that food allergies and childhood vaccines are major contributors to the rising number of children diagnosed with the neurological disorder.

However, Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 124 kids with autism for more than 18 years and compared them with "typical" children. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News' senior medical editor, was emphatic in reporting the researchers' conclusions.

"These findings are very conclusive," she said on the "Today" show following the release of the study Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "There is no link between illnesses of the gut and the signs and symptoms we see in children with autism."

This is good news for parents, she told viewers. "Because its means if you're putting your child on a restricted diet, or if you're doing colonics (which is a type of enema), if you're using extra vitamins and nutrients, and you're spending a lot of money and putting your child through that, there is no reason to," she said.

Children should only be put on wheat- or dairy-free diets after undergoing diagnostic tests, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim told The New York Times. She is a pediatric fellow in gastroenterology and an instructor in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic, as well as one of the principal authors of the report.

"There is actual no trial that has proven that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism," she said. "The diets are not easy to follow and sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."

Physicians listed with the advocacy organization Defeat Autism Now stick to their belief in the link between food and autism.

Dr. Rochelle Neally, a chiropractor at the Long Beach Autism Center in California questions large-scale medical studies. They are often backed by the big money of monolithic pharmaceutical companies," she said.

"What they call 'scientific' are these expensive double-blind tests," she said. "I tend to believe what I see in my office and what I've seen at the autism conferences I've attended for the past 10 years."

What she sees, she said, are often dramatic improvements in children's behavior when they are placed on a special diet. "The proof is in the pudding," she added.

The gluten-free pudding, that is.

That's the problem, according to traditional researchers. Practitioners such as Neally base their conclusions on anecdotal evidence rather than hard scientific investigation. "I think there's room for both," said Neally.

However, she said parents with autistic children are increasingly unsatisfied with science that comes without answers. "Parents are rebelling against traditional medicine," Neally said.

Dr. Eileen Comia, M.D., in Bloomfield, Conn., is another physician allied with Defeat Autism Now. She said smaller-scale studies are needed. "Any doctor who says there's no link between diet and autism hasn't read a single article on the subject," she said.

Actually, believers in the link between mind and tummy have read too many articles -- inaccurate ones, Dr. Patricia Manning Courtney, medical director of the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told US News and World Report.

A new study shows that Autism and food issues are not linked.

"A couple of highly publicized cases of autism and loose stools in the 1990s led to an impression that children with autism had a higher rate of GI [gastrointestinal] dysfunction," she said. "It wasn't well characterized, but that got the story onto the national scene."

There is a link between diet and autism, Ibrahim said The New York Times, but not the one McCarthy and Defeat Autism Now physicians believe. Children with autism are often picky eaters. With limited diets, they often have more cases of constipation.

Restricting their diet choices even more than they do themselves only makes the problem worse, she told the paper.

"We did find that two specific problems -- constipation and feeding issues -- were more common in children with autism," Ibrahim told WebMD Health News.

Valerie's first bumper car experience

2009-07-14T14:04:00.005-05:00

Cabin Cottage Cabbage

2009-07-13T16:38:00.003-05:00

We left Wednesday to go to South Dakota. We go every year for a family reunion on my Dad's side of the family. It was a blast. We swam and played washers and ladderball. We ate and laughed and had an all around good time. We stay at a beautiful camp ground right by a huge dam. There is beautiful scenery and cool water. We stay in small cabins with a big deck looking out over the lake. Every night we have a campfire complete with smores, guitar music, drinking and family.
My darling daughter Valerie had a talk with my aunt Donna who was talking about the cottages we were staying in. We have always called them cabins before. She walked around for two days telling people about how nice it was to stay in a cabbage. She got the top bunk in our cabbage. Where was Nana and Papa's cabbage? Was their cabbage like or cabbage? We laughed every time.
She also was old enough this year to participate at the KartTrax trip. They have go-carts, bumper cars and boats and the big kids go every year. The minimum age for most of their rides is four. So, this year Valerie drove her own bumper car. She was barely big enough to reach the levers but she did it and I have never heard her giggle so hard.
Today is our first day back home. I am exhausted but invigorated. I loved it and can't wait for next year.Now, if you will excuse me I have 20 loads of laundry that need done so we don't smell like campfire and dinnertime is sneaking up on me.

I love stories like this.....

2009-07-05T16:28:00.001-05:00

It is nice to hear about communities banding together and helping each other out. Love it!

CLARE, Mich. (July 4) - "Cops & Doughnuts" is more than a punchline. It's now a bakery in Michigan — owned by nine full-time employees of the Clare Police Department.
The newly renamed bakery opened Wednesday, offering doughnuts, cookies, muffins, brownies and bread. It also has mugs and T-shirts bearing the "Cops & Doughnuts, 100 Percent Cop-Owned" logo, and phrases including "You Have the Right to Remain Glazed" and "Handcuffs and Cream Puffs."
Officer Al White says the officers were concerned when the Clare City Bakery's owners decided to throw in the towel. The 113-year-old bakery would have become the sixth empty storefront in Clare's three-block downtown.
The officers were on hand for the grand reopening but have hired a manager and will employ local students as staff.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-07-04 13:48:18

The dress I wore to the wedding

2009-06-30T17:57:00.004-05:00

So many people have asked me about my dress that I thought I would blog about it. I wore it to the wedding in my previous blog. It is by the brand London Times. It is sooo comfortable as well. I bought it at an ebay store. Pamela Rae Premium Fashion Outlet. She always has the prettiest dresses. If you know what size you are then I definitely recommend her site. All the dresses are amazing quality and so pretty. I have bought from her probably 5 or 6 times and never been disapointed.

http://myworld.ebay.com/pamelarae228

Photobooth

2009-06-29T22:40:00.005-05:00

We went to a friend's wedding and they had a photo booth at their reception. You got to go in and take as many pictures as you want. They print them out and hand you a copy and then at the end of the night, the bride and groom get a cd of all the pictures of their guests. I thought it was the CUTEST idea! Here are some of our pictures. It was an outdoor wedding so we may look a little warm. Yes, my little ham went in and did some herself.
NOTE: For some reason Blogger is cutting these pictures in half. If you click on the pictures it will take you to the page where you can see all of them and other photos from the wedding.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-24T22:28:00.002-05:00

Valerie strikes again....Pow!

2009-06-23T15:51:00.003-05:00

So, we have been working on Father's Day cards and getting them out. The other day I was having them write one out to a gpa that lives farther away and I told Valerie that she could put it in the mailbox. So she runs out there and Steven lifts her up so she can reach. She opens the front flap, slides the card in, sticks her little face in there and says, "Please send this to my papa!" Then hops down and runs off.

We were sitting at dinner last night and talking about our pet fish. We had just told the kids about a fish we got to put in Valerie's nursery before she was born. Steven stuck it in the window and it died. Valerie asked us what we did with the fish. I said Daddy had flushed it down the toilet. She looked at Steven with a confused look on her face and says, "You didn't eat it?" He chokes on his food a little and says, "No, you don't eat fish that small baby." I said that when we were kids I had a fish that died but we buried it in the back yard. Valerie whips her little head around and says "Gross, mom. That would make your fish taste like dirt!" I don't think we got through to her....

In other news, Valerie has decided to follow her father around the house and call him old. A LOT! He will yell from the bedroom "I can't find my pants!" Valerie walks by and tells him "Thats cause youare old daddy" He got a pretty wicked sunburn Thursday. He was hobbling around and bumped his knee. "AGH! My knee is killing me." "That is cause you are getting old Dad" I laugh every time. Hasn't stopped being funny yet.

For Father's Day my Mom got my Dad the original Batman movie, with Adam West. Valerie asked if they could watch it too and my dad said that was fine. They could have a movie night.(It is all my kids have talked about for three days by the way!) Valerie grabs the dvd case and says "Oh My Goodness! Is he naked?!" I grab the case and check. "No baby he is wearing tights and a body suit." "Oh, well he kinda looks naked." God help us all.

Sad that all of my blogger friends have left me.

2009-06-22T09:24:00.001-05:00

I am sorely disapointed in the lack of posts and comments lately ladies. I need my daily belly laughs to get me through the monotony that is my week. Come on now. Post!!!

World Refugee Day 2009

2009-06-19T17:03:00.001-05:00

I am looking for the rest of her speech but this moved me to tears and I just had to share.

Recital and life

2009-06-15T11:33:00.003-05:00

Haven't blogged lately. My girls had their recital this weekend. They did pretty well. I thought their little costumes were to die for. Went to fight night. Loved it. Rented Rocknrolla and watched it at my Daddy's house on his new big screen. Yay! Came home and watched Underworld:Rise of the Lycans on our 37" tv. Oops, did that a little backwards. Steven ripped out half of our kitchen cabinets so we can tear out the old nasty sheetrock. Ugh. Mostly just hanging out and doing the normal mommy/wife stuff.

For all you Monty Python fans

2009-06-07T00:04:00.002-05:00

NOTE: the offering of sacred shrubberies in front of the sacred word.....

Why?

2009-06-06T08:44:00.005-05:00

Have any of you moms ever had this conversation?

Setting the scene: Driving down the road, a few minutes late(I won't lie), trapped in the car with your kids and nowhere to run.....

Vanessa-"Mommy, what's dat?"

Me-"Daddy's shoes"

Vanessa-Why they Daddy's shoes?

Me-Because he wanted them

Nessa-"Why he want them?"

Me-"He needed them so he asked me to get them"

Nessa-"Why daddy get shoes?"

Me-"he had to have something to wear on his feet"

Nessa-"Why he need somfin' on his feet?"

Me-"Cause everyone wears shoes baby girl"

Nessa-"Why everyone wear shoes?"

Me-"To keep their feet protected so they don't hurt their feet"

Nessa-"Why people hurt their feet?"

Me-"Sometimes people step on something without shoes and that can hurt their feet"

Nessa-"Why they step on somefin'?"

Me-"Ahhhhhhh!!! No more why questions!!!!"

Nessa-"I got boo boo on my feet....."

Response to my previous blog

2009-06-03T14:07:00.002-05:00

.....This is a response to my previous blog written by my dear friend Lindsay. I really loved what she had to say and wanted to share it with my readers. Please, please feel free to also comment and share your thoughts.....

*Please read everything before commenting or getting upset. I realize that this only represents my side, and that is because it is the only side I can rightfully represent.I just want to say first and foremost I don't think my friend meant all pro-lifers, just the one I mentioned who is very prominent in the community and said something that is vile and disgusting while in the same breath saying he was against the murder, his words didn't sound much like he disagreed to me. So I'm sorry if what she said on my post offended you, and had I thought it was offensive I would have said something but I really agree with her message. From the other side of all of this, when all I really want to hear from anybody is how disgusted they are at the heinous murder of an innocent man, on this I can agree with you this is certainly NOT the time for politics, all I seem to hear is how afraid that the conservatives are that the liberals are going to use this against them. (Not that all conservatives feel that way, but the ones who get on the TV sure seem to). That is upsetting and offensive to me. I feel like a man is dead and a new game has already begun over how we are allowed to grieve. I feel like those comments back me and others into a corner where we can't say what we feel and express our immense sadness and outrage without it being some political mess. I think after a tragedy like this many people will say things they don't mean, but lashing out is often a part of the grieving process, I feel like I have the right to be angry, to be upset, and more importantly to be sad, and I feel like that is being taken from me. On top of that to hear leading pro-life orgainzations issue statements that are so backhanded as what Randall Terry from operation rescue said, it really does make the "pro-life" side of the argument look bad. (I used quotations because I don't believe there are only two sides to any argument, I think the vast majority of people who are "pro-life" don't fit into the same group as Randall Terry and those people who say such horrible things, but it gets difficult to express things coherrently if I start seperating the groups out because there aren't any other widely used terms) I agree that not all people who are "pro-life" even begin to agree with each other (especially with the radicals or those who are saying hateful things) as I wouldn't agree that all "pro-choice" people agree with each other, but that is what the devicive political game tells us to believe, and when it gets emotional sometimes that is the first thing that gets forgotten, on BOTH sides of the issue.To me, right now, this is a really hard time. For those of us that have our reasons to be "pro-choice", on an aside I hate the designations pro-life and pro-choice, it is reasonable to question our safety for speaking our mind. I've seen some pretty terrible things at rallies and protests, and I've known people who have been injured volunteering at Tiller's clinic. This is definately not the first time that violence has ocurred during this debate, this isn't even the first time somebody has tried to murder the man. Do I think that all pro-lifers engage in this type of behavior? No, not even close, MANY of my very close friends are "pro-life" and I know that they would never hurt anyone, and that they really do value life and are respectful in the disagreements, but I think that there will likely be a backlash toward the radicals, who tend to be more vocal and prominent than the sane people with good morals and values. I also don't think this backlash will be out of hatred or anger, but fear. Not that the fear is new, but now somebody is dead, so the fear is stronger. (Note: I don't mean a physical backlash, just verbal, and I don't agree with it, but I do understand it.)Also, we lost a strong, dedicated, upstanding, member of our community. A man who stood up for what he thought was right, and never wavered in his dedication to serve the members of not only our community, but the women of this entire country who desperately needed him. This is a time of grief, and sadness, and sometimes people say things in grief that they wouldn't normally say.So in short, I don't agree with anything anybody is saying at this point, other than that we need to focus on healing the wound left by Dr. Tiller's loss, first and foremost by showering his family in love and support, showing respect to them while they heal by not speaking ill of the man before he's even been burried, and by healing our community which has been shocked by a terrible tragedy.I don't want to start any arguments today, just share how I feel right now. I support a woman's right to choose and I think almost all of you know that by now. It is not my goal to change anyone's beliefs, and I can promise you will never change mine. I have heard all of the arguments, I've been called all the names. I made my choice based on the facts at hand. I've talked with many women who have been faced with an immensely difficult decision and chosen both ways, I know in my HEART that they had the right to make that choice for themselves. I also know in my HEART that every person has the right to choose for themselves whether or not to agree with me. I wrote this in response to an amazing woman with whom I tend to disagree politically, but who is as open-minded and loving as the day is long. I want to share what I'm going through (and lots of others like me) with her, and with everyone who truly wants to know. I know that she may disagree, but she does it respectfully, and that she cares about all people and their well-being no matter what they believe. If it wasn't for you Amber I don't think I would have had the strength to say what has been weighing on me these last few days, for that I must thank you.That being said I welcome constructive comments and thoughtful conversation, but any hatefulness from either side will be deleted and ignored. My heart is too heavy from this tragedy to deal with any more hatefulness.

My response- I really appreciate what you are saying and I do not disagree. In fact I whole heartedly agree with most of what you are saying. I was not attacking your friend. I have had that point of view expressed to me (or in front of me, or I read it in reference to the situation) by no less than 10 people. It was really starting to frustrate me. Because I am someone who is openly pro life, there have been days this week where I have been made to feel like I was somehow partly responsible for this tragedy because of my political and relious beliefs. I think that you are simply, and more eloquently I might add, expressing my argument from the other side. As always, I love hearing what you have to say and I love you!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-03T09:39:00.002-05:00

Pro-life and Pro-choice, doesn't matter

2009-06-03T09:08:00.004-05:00

I read this today.."Who could be ''pro-life'' yet feel that killing someone for being ''pro-choice'' is justifiable? Hypocrites."
Every day for the last 3 days all I have been reading is more of the same. "How dare the pro-lifers take such a valuable man from us"
"Just remember all of you who oppose abortion, two wrongs don't make a right"

I would just like to say that just because you are pro life doesn't mean you justify violence as a means to end abortions. Or that we are ok with Dr. Tiller's murder. Why would you not say that about the individual who killed him. Must you really lump everyone who is prolife into that? How is that different from lumping everyone together based on skin color. Everyone who is white wanted Martin Luther King dead? Really?! How could you actually think that? Are you so blinded by ignorance that you must stoop to outrageous stereotypes? If you really think that of all pro-lifers then you must know, that if all we cared about was furthering the cause, this would hurt us more than help us. "We" have just given the pro lifers a martyr. A way to rally for their beliefs. How does that help "us pro-lifers" again?

I am very saddened by this tragedy. The family had to witness what happened. Our prayers go out to them. Regardless of what you believe, this was a horrible terrible act. A wife is without her husband today, a daughter does not have a father. Regardless of what your beliefs are, THAT is what should matter. That is what we should be dwelling on this week. Go with God Dr. Tiller, I pray that your family finds peace in the wake of this horrific tragedy.

My girls have been busy

2009-06-02T18:48:00.004-05:00

My kids have both been pretty busy in the last few weeks. Valerie finished up her first year of preschool and we are nearing the end of the dance year. We are a week away from recital. Life has been going full steam ahead.

Mondays are our chill days. The girls and I have a tendency to stay in our pjs all day and don't leave the house until it is time to go to the gym in the evening. So, the girls were downstairs watching Dora and I was at the table drinking tea and reading a book. Now, all you moms of young children will understand this next part. They got to the end of their episode and Dora and Boots are talking about everything that happened on their adventure. Then they look out and say, "What was your favorite part?" Which is followed by about thirty seconds of silence and then, "I liked that part too!" This particular time Dora asks her question and then looks expectantly at my children. My darling Nessa looks at her and says, "My favite part waas Dora's hair!" She is sooo my little girly girl.

Today I went to a luncheon for a sweet wonderful lady at the church. We ate a lot of delicious food and then when my children got a little restless we decided to take off for naptime. I put both of the kids in the car and told them to sit in their seats. I buckled Nessa and then went and climbed in on the driver's side. Valerie started screaming from the backseat, "Mommy!! Mommy! You can not drive yet!!! I am NOT buckled!" I hopped out and went to strap her in. "Sorry baby, Mommy forgot you weren't buckled yet. Silly me." "I know", she says, " That's why I like Daddy better. He never forgets things."

OUCH!

Award time!

2009-05-28T15:27:00.004-05:00

So my lovely friend NeedSleepy gave me a blog award. I love her! So now I pass it on. I must say that these are the ones I have been reading lately.

-How to Survive Life in the Suburbs -Winn Photography

And to my handsome husband I bestow this award

Warrior,daddy,pushover

Thank you for reading my blog! I know I love reading yours!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-27T21:45:00.001-05:00

Thank you Engrish.com for making me laugh every day. Stores I won't shop at any time soon.....

Marriage comes with serious decisions.

2009-05-20T21:20:00.004-05:00

So Valerie decided to talk marriage with me again. I must say it disturbs me a little that my four year old and I have regular discussions about her wedding.

She asked me if you got married at Disneyworld. I said that some people do. She asked if she could. I told her if that is what she wanted to do she could but there were lots of options. She could get married at our church or in a park or on the beach. She said, "What about Nanna's church?" I said sure she could get married there. She decided that was the place for her.

Then she says, "But I don't what boy to wear on my wedding day. Oh, I mean what boy to have there on my wedding day"

I told her she could worry about that when she was a little older and it was closer to time to get married. She said ok and walked off leaving me contemplating a serious question. Did she mean a groom or a designer. Her favorite show is Say Yes To The Dress, you know.

Either way, I think I am in trouble.

Dirt Salad

2009-05-20T21:04:00.005-05:00

Oh, Valerie has been doing so many funny things lately that I can't blog fast enough to keep up!
Lately, I swear she has morphed into a boy. (If you don't believe me read previous blog.) Yesterday the kids were playing outside and Valerie was using a stick to draw in the mud. All of a sudden she stands up, holds the stick n front of her face and says, "Wanna see me eat mud?" and before Steven could say no she licked it. Not a little lick either but one of those huge, I just got my favorite ice cream licks. Then she gagged a little and started spitting. Steven grabbed her and told her she needed to go in and wash her mouth out.
She was coming in and she said, "I really thought it would be delicious but it was disgusting!"
Really? Really?
Today Steven re-enlisted. We went along to see it and take pictures. It wasn't too big of a deal but exciting for us. On the way back out to the car Valerie grabs some leaves off of a hedge. She is studying them the whole way to the truck. I buckled her in and shut her door. Steven and I talked for a minute and then he got back in the truck to give her kisses. She was spitting out the leaves right as he opened the door. "Ugh, I thought they would be food!" Steven-"Stop eating stuff!"
Me- Why? Why Lord why?

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-20T16:29:00.003-05:00

Welcome!

2009-05-19T10:42:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!
My handsome hubby just got himself a blog! Go check him out over at WarriorDaddyPushover. I love him and I think he will provide a fresh and funny view of our lives.

Valerie the Valient

2009-05-18T15:14:00.003-05:00

My four year old found a snake in the back yard this morning. She told me it was over there under those rocks. I figured she had found a worm. I told her to leave it alone and went back to reading my book. Then she kept messing with it. and playing over by said rocks. I told her to leave it alone again. She told me it was fine because she killed with that rock. I noticed my dog Thunder kept sniffing at it and pawing at the ground. Weird, I didn't think that a dog would care that much about a worm. Maybe it was one of those little green garden snakes. I decided a responsible parent would go over there and check. Ugh. So I put my book down and went over to check it out

OMFG!!!!! It really was a snake. Not anything huge but about 15 inches long. I picked it up with a stick and brought it up to the deck. Valerie is right behind me the whole way...

"I told you it was a snake. It was trying to bite my sister so I smooshed it with a rock. I did. It was at the zoo and it escaped. It got out of the glass and the cage and flibber flobbered over to our backyard. I think that is weird. But that is what it did all right. yep. It just flipper flobbered over here all the way from the zoo. It is a little weird. But I only ready killed it."

I went in to get my camera and when I come out, there she is swinging it around and picking it up and telling me how cool it is.

Steven came home for lunch and Valerie showed him her kill. He said, "What does that make you? Valerie the snake slayer?"

"No, Daddy I was just called Valerie the Valient"

Note: That is what I call her when she comes into our room in the middle of the night after a bad dream. We talk about Valerie the Valient, a beautiful princess who vanquishes monsters and is soooooooo brave that she can do anything she sets her mind to.

In doing this I may have inadvertantly created my own Monster. One who is afraid of nothing. Gawd I am so glad I didn't have boys. Girls are enough.

Oh Yeahhh!

2009-05-16T20:57:00.007-05:00

Little Nessa has had us in stitches all day. A lot of stuff she does/says wouldn't really be funny if I just rewrote it here in blogworld. You have to see her little facial expressions and her wild hand gestures to get the full picture. But she has had some pretty hilarious stuff today that I had to share.

Tonight at dinner the girls put on a pretty spectacular performance. There was singing and dancing. Vanessa was mostly harmonizing with Valerie and echoing whatever she sang. All of a sudden she grabs her stomach and belts out "Yoooooouu don't want a tummmy ache! Yooooooou need my piiiiiiiggy tails!!" My piggy taaaaaaaails!" My mine piggies!" While rubbing her little hands on her head.

She has this cup that she drinks out of that is a kool-aid man cup. So, tonight she is drinking and she points to his face and says "This is mine porcupine and she says "OH YUM" in her deepest little two year old voice. I almost fell out of my chair. To my knowledge this child has never seen a kool-aid commercial. It was so funny!

For three easy payments.....

2009-05-12T09:27:00.003-05:00

So this morning Steven was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Valerie comes in....
Valerie, "Daddy, what do you think you are doing?"
Steven,"I am just shaving baby"
Valerie, "The tv says you don't have to do that. You just go to the dotcom and order and then you don't do that again. You just rub on and rub off. You should go to the dotcom Daddy, then would never have to do this again! You don't ever have to worry"

Me- OMFG! I hate that NickJr has commercials during Dora. My daughter is an infomercial.

News, Breaking New Trends

2009-05-11T14:19:00.004-05:00

I started this blog as somewhere to write out all the crazy news and stories I read about every day. I am a news junkie!! I love it all. So the next few posts are something I ran across that I found interesting and want your opinion about. They are about Body Modification. Please take the time to read and comment on what you think.

Pictures again. Body Modification

2009-05-11T14:07:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I posted about new "piercing styles that our kids will probably think are so lame and not that big of a deal. Today, new tat alternatives. What you see here is called scarification. They cut your skin in an intracite design and then allow it to heal. I provideed a fresh picture and a healed picture. Also included is a tongue tat. I thought this was funny. There were others in interesting places but this one just caught my attention. Also, I saw some pictures of tattoo-ing the whites of your eyes. Another crazy place.

The spock ears are part of the body modification phase. People can get implants under their skin like ridges and shapes. They can manipulate the existing cartilidge as well. Some of it is very interesting and cool. Some people get magnets inserted under their skin. I don't really understand that one. Just some crazy new options in the world of body art.

So, do you think that there is appeal in these new forms or are they crazy. Is it just for those who seek extreme attention or will this be commonplace in ten years. Let me know!

Warning! Graphic images

2009-05-11T13:54:00.005-05:00

I came across some crazy pics a while back and wanted to talk about body altering. I have no problem with most things. Tats and piercings don't bother me. I do think some take it to an extreme but everyone has their excesses. These, though, I thought were crazy! Today is piercing pics wait until you see tomorrow. I have tattoo alternatives.

So, the first picture is a uvula piercing. Said to be dangerous because of the danger of swallowing.

Next I have two examples of "lacing" which has become very popular with younger girls. I guess you can't leave the ribbon in all the time, you can only wear it for a few hours before taking it out. Last, but certainly not least, meat hooks. Some fringe body alterers hang for hours on meat hooks like some crazy form of meditation.

What is your opinion of all this? I would love for you to share. Insane or beautiful? Would you try any of it or stick to the more basic styles? Please feel free to share!

Stellar outfit

2009-05-11T13:45:00.004-05:00

So my sister was talking to Valerie last night at my parent's house.

Tasha, "Valerie you have dog hair all over your dress"

Valerie, "What?!?!"

Tasha, noticing that Valerie is fairly upset now, "Don't worry it looks stellar. You can hardly tell."

Valerie,"Stellar?! I have dog hair on my pretty outfit! Seriously....It's almost ruined"

Valerie starts madly wiping her dress. She gets all but the last few hairs. She then proceeds to lick her hand and wipe it along her outfit until it is clean again.

Valerie, " Oh, and Tasha. It is my jumper. Not just a dress. heeeelllooooo!"

and off she flounces, leaving Tasha and I in tears. Gawd, what am I going to do with her in ten years. I am doomed.

To all the Mommies!

2009-05-11T13:28:00.002-05:00

So, being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. I don't need to tell you all of the side effects that go along with children. I have two beautiful little girls who are the biggest, most important job I will ever take on. Yet, it has been and continues to be the most wonderfully rewarding as well. I had an amazing Mother's Day yesterday. I have two happy, healthy kids and a pretty awesome hubby. I feel so blessed.

I have so many dear friends who also have beautiful children who are not healthy. Some have physical disabilities, others developmental. I can not imagine what it is like to have to see your child struggle every day to accomplish simple tasks. I don't understand what it is like to have to fight to get health care coverage or special funding for extra equipment for your baby. I don't cry the tears they do over the lives their children will never have. These brave amazing women who still love their kids fiercely, who can't imagine life any other way. What I do and the struggles I go through are nothing compared to these fighters. They are my heros and they are the example I live by when dealing with my two young ones.

To all my wonderful mommy friends. I hope Mother's day was a great day for all of you. I want you to know that I love you guys and I love every one of your pretty and handsome babies. I can't imagine life without my amazing friends who share in the same circumstance and whom I can lean on for anything thick or thin. I can not believe that our children are growing up so fast! My kids are shooting up right before my eyes! God Bless Everyone of you, please know I am your biggest fan.

Jesus

2009-05-08T14:09:00.002-05:00

So I am finally writing a funny story about my baby girl. Vanessa is two and I love her sooo much. She is so sweet and a little more quiet. Either way, so the other day we were at lunch and she sat up on her knees and was talking to my husband about whether or not that particular day was a church day. (My kids love church days)
Then all of a sudden she said "Jesus died on the cross like dis" and spread out her little arms and scrunched up her eyes.
Steven said "That's right, good job! And then he came back"
Vanessa "To life?!?!"
Steven "Yep, to life."
Vanessa"WHOA! WOO HOO!" and throws her hands up and starts clapping. She was so excited.
She never ceases to amaze me. Kids soak up so much.

I have been abandoned

2009-05-07T15:13:00.004-05:00

To all of my wonderful friends out there.....

Where the hell are you??????????

I miss your funny stories, I miss your bad days, I miss reading about your crazy kids and that guy in your house. I have been waiting anxiously for new posts but, alas, none have come. I have posted a few myself in an effort to lure you back to blogdom. Come on, I live for your juicy gossip. I need the extra laugh. Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and tell me a good tale. I will give you rest and a giant margarita.

Kansas Considers Cutting Budget for Disabled Benefits

2009-05-06T19:08:00.004-05:00

Several of my close and dear friends have children who have developmental disabilities. They are sweet kids and these families only just get by with what little help there is. There are long waiting lists and little funds. So many kids are not getting even close to the care that they need. Now they are talking about cutting this down even further. Please take the time to read this and contact your legislation. A simple email goes a long way. Thank you!!!!!!

-AMBER

The Kansas House of Representatives is set to consider a budget bill which will cut more than $20 million from services for Kansans with developmental disabilities. This represents a near 10% cut in funding for DD services in the state of Kansas.

What does this mean?

1. A complete loss of all discretionary State dollars that are used to support more than 2,000 Kansas children and adults with DD. Roughly 22% of all Kansans with DD rely on these dollars to live in communities across the state.

2. An almost 50% cut in Family Support Grants which are used to provide vitally-needed help to families who care for a loved one with DD.

3. A cut of more than $8 million in the HCBS DD Waiver, which was already critically underfunded, which will result in an even larger waiting list for help (current waiting lists already number more than 3,900 children & adults with DD).

How does this affect you?

These cuts will result in job eliminations in communities around the state, and potential wage cuts to direct-care staff who we know already make wages at, or near, the poverty line. One Kansas DD service provider has already calculated that 15% wage cut will need to be enacted in order keep the organization's doors open.In Sedgwick County over 300 individuals are served in residential, day programs or supportive home care through State Grant Funds. A reduction could eliminate some of these individuals from services and the remainder would have their services drastically reduced.The State Aid reduction of $1.2 million will impact the dollars utilized for crisis support and programs for youth that are provided by The Arc and Rainbows United.

What can you do to help?

Call your legislator right now. You don't need to be an expert on anything but your own experience at your job & your reaction to this news. Imagine how a cut like this would affect your life; your family's lives; the persons you serve & their families. Tell your legislator that IF they pass this bill it will affect the lives of individuals in their own community

4 going on 14

2009-04-30T20:36:00.002-05:00

So I keep telling people that my oldest daughter is a teenager in disguise. They always laugh politely and give me that face. You know the one, "Ya right lady! She is four, it can't be that bad."
Well, aside from the obvious tell-tale signs the big doosie just happened.

Valerie loves make-up, she loves jewelry, she loves going and getting her hair done. She is prone to having a fit about getting what she wants, she has an attitude the size of Texas,no joke!! She is my little gossip queen!, She says she looks ugly or stupid if I don't let her wear what she wants. She is a tad bit bossy and she thinks boys are cute. She talks about her wedding and getting married. She LOVES shopping and shoes. She loves to dance and shake her little booty.

Now, some of this stuff is funny, some of it drives us crazy. We have worried more than once about the crazy things she will do when she gets older. Tonight, though, I recieved my answer when my FOUR YEAR OLD snuck out her bedroom window! That is right, slid the window open popped out the screen and took off into ther great unknown. Fortunately she only really wanted to pick flowers in the front yard so I caught her quickly and then her night was over. I almost had a heart attack. It doesn't help that little sis wanted to come join in the fun but she had just gotten out of the tub. So I go down and open the front door to find Valerie walking around the flower beds and Nessa butt naked running acroos my front yard. AAAACCCCKKK!

What next? Will the little boy next door start getting smooches? Will she try and steal the car when she is 9? I need a drink!

us old folks

2009-04-16T10:17:00.002-05:00

So the other day Steven and I were getting things done around the house. We were talking and just hanging out. We were coming up the stairs when Valerie ran up behind us and yelled as she ran by "Hey! You guys remember your old, right? You aren't even new!" And passed us with her young spry legs. Ouch!

Pirates

2009-04-14T13:15:00.004-05:00

So Valerie has been playing with her cousins a lot lately. They are really into pirates. They sword fight and say ARRRGGG! They are swashbucklers and pillagers. They have eye patches and tall black hats. The whole bit. So, of course, there has been an increase in pirate talk around my house as well. Now, I think it is so funny how many differences there are in how boys play and how girls play. At my house there aren't really "bad guys" or "evil dudes". There are ponys and princesses and babies and mommies and daddies and barbies. If it doesn't fall in those categories it pretty much doesn't exist.
So the other day after having a long sword battle with Josh and getting saved from the "evil bad guys" Valerie decided she wasn't going to be a victim any longer. She was a strong individual who was going to take charge of her fate. No more relying on boys to save her, she could take action on her own. She began talking to us about the most effective ways to dispatch villians. She was creating many a "what if" scenario when a brilliant idea came to her.
"Daddy, I could smack those pirates in the face with my dirty spoon. Yep!"
Then she smacked her lips and ran off with spoon in tow to vanquish all demons from the house.
That will show em!

She thinks my faucet's sexy...

2009-04-14T13:05:00.004-05:00

So a week or so ago Steven was switching out the faucets in our bathrooms. He was laying on the floor with his head under the sink swearing quietly when Valerie walked in.
"Hey baby" he says. "What do you think of the new faucets? "
"I think they are sexy" she says.
My husband promptly drops his wrench, bangs his head on the sink, sits up and says "What did you say?"
"I think it is sexy"
"Do you even know what that word means?"
"You know Daddy, fancy"
"That word does NOT mean fancy. Don't say it again please."
"ok"
and off she goes skipping down the hall completely unaware of the damage she did to her poor father's heart.

Boys have cooties.

2009-04-10T19:29:00.002-05:00

Kids are hilarious. Valerie makes me laugh one hundred times a day. So I am going to start trying to write them down more often. Feel free to add your own at the end of any blog.

So, last night we were driving to the gym and Valerie was sharing with us her vast knowledge of animal sounds. We got to donkey and she began to explain the differnce in tone between girl and boy. "Girls go like this (high screechy heehaw) and boys go like this (low gutteral heehaw). Steven says"So that is a boy sound, huh?" Valerie replies, "Yep, I speak boy. And human and animal." AHAHAHAHA

This morning Valerie is talking to Steven and all of a sudden she said, "Only boys lie. Girls don't lie, only boys do."

That's right, I am raising a little sexist and I think it is HILARIOUS. Next week she is going to burn my bras.....

Two for Tuesday

2009-03-03T18:52:00.003-06:00

So it is the second sexy man day. Today I chose Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds and Jamie Foxx. They are both super sexy men with phenomenal *ahem* talent... So, What are your choices? It is harder than you might think.

That's a good one!

2009-03-02T14:15:00.003-06:00

What is the biggest whopper you ever told? Was it ever revealed? I have told a few lies in my lifetime. Some of them now are pretty funny. I try very hard these days to always tell the truth and keep my fibbing to small little white lies every now and again. Never the less, it is always funny to remember some of the ones from days past. Sneaking around with the boyfriend. Trying to keep friends from fighting. Sparing someone's feelings. Some I have kept secret all this time. Most I have dished b/c time seems to make most rather irrelevant. I would be interested to hear what you consider your biggest lie. Or your funniest. My kids tell hilarious lies all the time. Mine, well, I told someone that I did not have hickeys all over my neck it was actually a horrible allegic reaction to wool. Then I had to pretend to be allergic to wool the rest of the time I was in high school. Pretty crazy. Pretty dumb, pretty damn funny. Is that a wool sweater you are wearing? Nope, can't touch you today, I am horridly allergic. Oh yeah. So start fessing up to those big ones you have told and don't leave me the only one airing out the dirty laundry!

Manly Monday

2009-03-02T12:32:00.003-06:00

So all the ladies have been posting one sexy man a day on their blogs and I thought, What the heck? I will throw out my choices for sexiest men out there. I apologize in advance if my choices overlap anyone elses. Now, everyone knows I am gaga for Brad Pitt, Will Smith and George Clooney. This is a list of those people I drool over that are a little less well known. Oh, and I am probably going to do two a day since there are so many hunky choices to choose from. So my Monday choice is my to favorite guys from Friday Night. You may have seen these two on Sara Conner Chronicles. HELLO! Robert T Jones and Brian Austin Green. Brian A Green has been dating Megan Fox and used to be on the original 90210. He is so sexy! You will also soon realize that I have a thing for sexy black men with bald heads. hahaha. Keep coming back ladies ther e is more where that came from.

Mommy award

2009-02-25T15:24:00.005-06:00

I received an award from NeedSleepy for being a good mommy. Can I just say that you really brightened my day! so here is the deal. The rules for this award are, as follows:

1) Admit that ONE thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are NO LONGER allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

2)To remind yourself that you ARE a good mom, list SEVEN things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself of EVERY DAY that you rock!

3)Send this to FIVE other Moms of the Year that deserve forgiveness and a reminder that they, too, are the best moms they can be!!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you!"

My embarrassing awful thing would be my weight. I know that may sound weird as a mommy embarrasment. Here is the thing. Nearly everyone we know is overweight. So my kids think that the cooler you are the bigger your belly. (Papa's are both pretty big guys and they are the girls faves) They are all the time sticking out their little tummys and saying "look how big my tummy is!" So I feel it is my job as a mom to show them what a healthy woman's body is supposed to look like. And I have not been doing so well at that job.

1) I love to hear my kids playing together and loving each other. They are best friends. They don't like being apart and I think there is nothing sweeter in this whole world then seeing them snuggled up in one of their beds, where they were playing and fell asleep. When they say I love you to each other it warms my heart.

2) I love to cuddle with my girls. Nearly every morning they wake up and come crawl into our bed and just want to be held for a little bit. I can lay there and hug and kiss them as much as I want. It is an amazing way to start your day!

3) I love seeing them learn new things. They soak so much in. I always loved to learn and watching my girls get excited about going to a museum or the zoo makes me so happy. We decided to send Valerie to preschool at three because she had been saying for awhile that she wanted to learn to read. Nothing makes Momma more proud than having smart babies!

4) I have two girls. I love that! I won't lie. It is so much fun to put them in beautiful dresses and hairbows, or take them to dance class in little tutus. I think it is cute when they play princess and sing and twirl around the room. I love that they like to go shopping and get new clothes and shoes. I love that we can sit and giggle together just because we are the ladies of the house.

5) I love sitting down with my kids for family dinner. I love how they joke with Daddy and tell him all about their day. I love that they make silly faces at me to get out of those last couple bites. I love that when Steven can't make it they are super disapointed because being together as a family is important to them too.

6) I love to take my kids outside. Whether it is our backyard, the zoo, or the lake. They love being outside. They like to watch the animals. They like to swing and blow bubbles. They love sitting around a campfire. They are such good little campers! We always have a blast when we are outside.

7)I love when my girls laugh. I think this is on every mom's list. There is truly nothing in this world than listening to your happy child laugh out loud. You can not help but laugh along! Valerie has gotten out of more trouble than you could ever imagine because once that giggle starts mommy is done!

I send this award to all moms out there! Fill this out and know that you are an awesome mommy with some amazing kiddos!

My Wish List

2009-02-25T15:01:00.007-06:00

Things that I want. No budget just wants that you think about, dream about or lust over. They can be plausible or extrordinary. Whatever. My list of wants are semi realistic. Probably just not in the near future. I want to see yours too! Go ahead. Dream big and blog it out.

1) A "real" wedding ring. When Steven and I got married we were just kids. I bought him a $60 gold band and I had my $100 promise ring. For our first ann. I upgraded his to a real ring. Well, a few years ago my ring was lost and I was devestated. Ever since I have been wearing the gold band he originally wore at our wedding. Now, obviously that is low on the priority list when you have a family. Someday though, my dream of diamonds will be fulfilled.

2) An SUV again. Two years ago my Durango was hit by a drunk driver and totaled. My husband talked me into replacing it with his truck. Ugh. I dream all the time of more space for people and somewhere to put groceries where they won't get rained on and I don't have to tie them down.

3) Lasik or PRK. I am legally blind without corrective eyewear. My eyes are becoming increasingly intolorant of my contacts. I want to wake up and not feel like Velma.

4) I want a HUGE house. I am talking in the neighborhood of 4000 square feet. I want a master suite with seperate walk in closets and a jacuzzi bath. I want an enormous kitchen and dining room for holiday dinners. I want a spare bedroom or two for visiting relatives. I want to have a house that you get excited to go to. There is nothing like going home for the holidays and being four deep on the living room floor.

5) A professional grade camera. Any of the Nikon D-SLR. They take the most beautiful pictures. My sister in law has the d40x, my sisters friend has the d200. They are amazing and I want one.

6) I want several more dogs. I am a huge sucker for a puppy. They are the cutest and I wouldn't mind having more. I want a puggle and maybe a boston terrier. The american eskimos are super cute too!

7) I want land. Not much, maybe just a couple of acres but enough that our neighbors are not right on top of us. Enough that our animals had room to run. Space all our own.

8) I want to own a motorcycle someday. Steven and I joke all the time about when the kids move out getting his and hers bikes and hitting the road. I also want a camper. I love being outside.

9) I want one of those roombas. The robot vacuum/mop. I want something that I can just turn on and it does the work for me. Hallelujah!!!

10)I want a Kindle 2. How awesome and super sci-fi are those things. My inner nerd is drooling over the idea of having all your books, textbooks, mags, etc on a little electronic pad.

11) I want to travel EVERYWHERE! I want to travel the US. I want to travel all over Europe. I want to see somewhere tropical before I die. I want to see the world.

12) I want to be able to give our daughters a financially secure future with money for college and money for weddings and money left over for us. I want to have the life and give them the opportunities our parents were not able to always give us.

Say What?

2009-02-25T14:40:00.003-06:00

So my daughters new obsession has been Barbie movies. God help us all! They watch them over and over. Mostly it is a lot of singing and dancing with a little story thrown in. Either way, so one of the movies the girls got for X-Mas is Diamond Castle....ooh aah. In this movie they sing a song about feeling connected. "I feeeeel cooonneeeceted!!" My girls have been running around with their little arms widespread, spinning around and belting this from the top of their lungs. Now for the funny part. My two year old still hasn't mastered diction. So when she sings it it comes out sounding a little more like " I feel Nekked!" Oh yeah! My darling Nessa feels free and nekked. Strangely enough she most often sings it while unclothed. Teenage years are going to be a bitch.......

Playing Catch Up.....

2009-02-25T13:37:00.005-06:00

So I haven't been keeping up with my blogging. I owe my lovely friends 10 facts about myself and a meaningful quote. So, that is my goal for today. Next week I am going to post my daily hot guys. I just need to compile my sexy list. I am kind of playing catch up. Soon I will conquer laziness and procrastination.....soon.

So ten facts about me.

1) I don't do well in large crowds. They overwhelm me and make me anxious. All the commotion and people talking over each other is a lot for me to handle. I also don't like when lots of people are talking at once. Same reason. My husband makes fun of me. I punch him. Then I feel more calm.

2) I love to spend time with my family. They are the most important thing in my life. All of them: my husband, my children, Mom, Dad, Mom and Dad in law, brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents. I love that my kids get to see both our families all the time and family are going to be their best friends. They are the best and it is fun to be together.

3) I have no idea what I want to do in life. Still. I have wanted to be a dancer since I was 3. When that slipped by I was left lost. I still am kind of wandering around without direction as far as a degree and career is concerned. I have toyed with about 100 ideas and still haven't settled on any one thing. I keep just hoping I can lose 60 pounds and dance anyway I guess. hahahaha

4) I love to dance. I can not even explain the feeling. I am considerably heavier than before so I am unable to do some of the things that came so naturally before. It is VERY hard for me but I am just blessed that I am still able to dance at all. I live and breathe to dance.

5) I love UFC. It rocks my world. I would give my left buttcheek to go to a fight! I know it isn't very girly but I love it all the same.

6) I love shoes. Heels really. I think they are super sexy and they always fit. I never wore a pair of shoes that made me feel too fat.

7) I don't like soda. Or really any carbonated beverage. I think it is kinda gross. I haven't really drank soda in almost 5 years. Every once in awhile I try it and remember why I stopped. Yuck!

8)I love singing. Eveywhere, in the car and in the shower, around the house with my kids. Just not in front of people. I loved singing in small groups or choirs but solos make me feel like throwing up.

9) I love food. All food. I think it is fun to try new things. I love to cook and bake. I love to experiment and discover new tastes and ideas. Plus, there is nothing that brings a family together like a good meal. My family sits down almost every night for a family supper. We talk about our days and just eat together.

10) I used to think that I didn't have any friends and that I would never know what it meant to have a "real" best friend. Now, I havbe some of the very best friends in the whole world. So many good people that I can really count on. I love you with all my heart and I don't know what I would do without you!

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. -Thomas Jefferson

Now, I do not have five friends on here who haven't already done this but I will tag Shauna, Kathleen and Tiffany. Love yoU!

Stop and Hear the Music

2009-02-14T20:53:00.002-06:00

I am sorry. I found this just so absolutely facinating and I just had to share. Some of you may know that I am a news junkie. I read it all from finances to entertainment but this one was really good. I don't know why it caught my attention but I felt it was worth sharing.

A Violinist in the Metro
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

I can't believe I did that!!

2009-02-14T20:35:00.002-06:00

So I thought it would be fun to try this. My silly little sister suggested setting up a "truth box" on MySpace and having people anonymously sending in their most embarrassing stories. So feel free to do one of two things. Pop on over to my page and give it a go...OR, if you are not shy, go ahead and email them to me. I am going to post them every time a get a few. I will probably add some of my own. God only knows I have plenty! Hahahahahaha...Get your friends involved. Have them turn in stories or just do it for them. My page address is myspace.com/ambersmilz. Have fun reminiscing!

Awww....love is in the air!

2009-01-10T17:55:00.002-06:00

So we are sandwiched somewhere in between my anniversary and Valentine's Day. Which got me thinking. You know about all the mushy stuff and the hard stuff. All the laughter and hard work that goes into long term commitments. So I am reaching out and asking....

What is your definition of :

Marriage

Commitment

Romance

I thought of a ton of other words but I think those three can be the most controversial and are some of the most important. I want to know how you feel and what comes to your mind when you think of these things. Memories, profound statements, deep thoughts. It would be wonderful if I could hear from you. Thank you.

Rest in Peace little Fish

2009-01-08T10:52:00.002-06:00

My Valerie is such a wonderful blessing. She is my first born and is just like her father. My friend SuperMom discusses her middle daughter sometimes. She describes her daughter in a way that is very similiar to my oldest. She uses words like independant and stubborn and strong willed. I read her stories and think "YES! My daughter has done that, and that, and that, oh her daughter hasn't done that yet? Only a matter of time" So, I invite you to read an excerpt from my MySpace blog about my child's latest mishap......

Today Valerie decided that Vanessa's fish had died. So she climbed up to the shelf where I thought I had put the fish out of my children's reach and dug it out of the bowl. Then she unceremoniously dumped it down the bathroom sink. I come running at the sound of Vanessa screaming. After getting her to calm down enough to tell me what is going on I ask Valerie to explain herself. Well, he wasn't swimming and so I put him in the sink. I go running from sink to sink "which one?" praying, hoping I can save him. Valerie- "Oh, he went down the drain I put water on him." I explain in a very LOUD voice to Valerie that her sister's fish was asleep and that if there is something wrong with the animals you come and get Mommy first. Not try and take care of it yourself. Because now sissy's fish has most certainly gone to join the large fisbowl in the sky. Which, of course, made Valerie cry. I made her apologize to Vanessa. Valerie-"Mommy will buy you a new one Vanessa" Me-"Valerie say you are sorry" Valerie-" I am sosososososososososososososo Sorry!!!!!" Me-"Good, now go to bed. I need a break or perhaps a drink. All this before ten in the morning? It is going to be a good day!

Sometimes it makes you sad.......

2009-01-03T10:32:00.004-06:00

So, some retard in New Jersey named their child Adolf Hitler. No freakin joke. Then he goes down to the local grocery store and says "Hey, my kid wants a birthday cake. Put happy Birthday Adolf Hitler on it. Thanks" So, of course, the store refuses. Man throws a fit makes a scene and then drives to Wal-Mart where they whip him up a neo nazi cake in five minutes flat.
So now there is a big fuss. He is yelling about a lawsuit and the supermarket is saying they defend their actions 100%. I love my mother who upon hearing about this said "That is probably the reason he named his son that. Imagine how much he thought he could get from the first business or school that refused him. Oh, and his siblings names? JoyceLynn Aryan Nation and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie.

"They're just names, you know," father Heath Campbell told the Easton Express-Times. "Yeah, they (the Nazis) were bad people back then. But my kids are little. They're not going to grow up like that."

"Other kids get their cake," Campbell complained. "I get a hard time. It's not fair to my children. How can a name be offensive?"

The kids are growing up in a home festooned with a swastika in every room. The father wears boots that once belonged to a Nazi soldier, and claims a relative was a member of Hitler's feared Schutzstaffel. They do not believe the holocost actually happened.
The parents insist they are not racist, although they don't believe in mingling the races.
And Heath Campbell claims he doesn't understand why people are shocked when they hear his son's full name.

Daily news writes" Someone get him a history book

It's a bird! It's a plane! Dear God, it's a baby!

2008-12-30T12:59:00.004-06:00

So I am back to post again. The reason? Crazy people and their crazy babies!

So I am surfing around on the computer this morning and I come across a story. Some lady goes in to have a c-section. They get her in there and cut her open and the doctor reaches in to pull out the baby...then exclaims"Oh my goodness!" Promptly calls someone else over to help him lift out the baby b/c it is 14 FREAKING POUNDS! Are you serious?! So, here are my issues. One, how do you as her doctor have noooo idea that the baby is going to be larger than normal? Two, as the mom with that tub o butter inside of you, how do you not think, hmmmm, maybe this baby is cutting off my insides for a reason? She has another kid. It isn't like she hasn't been pregnant before and just didn't know it could be different.

Or, we could talk about the woman who had her 18th child this past week. That is right folks she has enough children for her own small town. She was quoted as saying"This was the ultimate Christmas gift from God." Pardon me but I call BS. If God sent me an 18th child any time, much less Christmas, there would be much weeping and nashing of teeth. Cursing and bitterness would also make an appearance. I guess on the bright side there are so many of them now that it is like having a fulltime live in staff. You could teach one to be a maid, one a butler, chef, groundskeeper, tutor, etc.... She probably is just sitting around trying to keep her uterus from falling out at this point.

There is also a 70 year old woman from India who just gave birth. She said that she decided to try fertility treatments b/c her and her husband had been trying to have a baby for 50 years. She is so happy to have had a baby in the twilight of their life. You have been trying for fifty years and it just occured to you to do fertility treatments? Obviously, if you have tried that long something hasn't been working for a long time. Plus, now you are most likely not even going to get to enjoy that child's life. You are going to be to old to share most of it with them and my even damage that child by dying while it is so young.

All these crazy people and their crazy desires for children. I am so overwhelmed by my two kids I can not even imagine! Wait until you hear the story I have for next time. It is yet another tale of parents making life hard for their offspring. Until then!!!!!

On the next post....Hitler in Springtime.

2008-12-29T18:38:00.002-06:00

So Christmas is finally over! Thank goodness. If I had to do anymore freaking family gatherings I was going to puke. Oh, and speaking of puke....my kids decided last night to take turns throwing up everything they have eaten for the past two weeks. YUCK! All those holiday goodies are adding up to extra holiday laundry for the momma.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Christmas season most of the time. This year just seemed more hectic than normal. I hate getting so caught up in the craziness and forgetting to sit back and enjoy some of it. Where is the quiet evening at home cuddling up and getting naughty over hot mugs of cocoa? Instead, it is my teenage freshman sister running around the house screaming about the 3rd guy who asked her out today(O-M-G!) and my 19 year old sister freaking out and digging through her boyfriends car to find out what he bought her so she isn't caught by suprise when getting proposed to. (She got an ipod touch by the way) My mom freaking out and having the yearly meltdown about, well, everything. "What are we going to eat xmas day?" "When do I start cooking?" "What if no one shows up? " " What if everyone hates their gifts?" "What if no one gets me anything? " Baking and cooking for a gazillion people and events. Buying gifts and cards and writing wrapping and wrestling them under the tree or into the car. Steven complaining that I didn't get him what he wanted(a blowgun) when I literally recieved nothing for our anniversary or xmas. After paying 1000 dollars in tickets for him and still getting him a gift. Bastard. Our kids running laps and flying Barbies around my parents dining room while screaming Frosty at the top of their little lungs. All I want is to sleep until 10 am and then sit in my jammies reading a book. Or have my husband offer to pick up the house and I sit and play video games for an hour or so. I know, I know. Laugh it up all you married women. I can dream.

So, now is the time to get to the Y and lose the extra pounds. It is time to destress and work on my post holiday attitude. Also, our lives will be shook up in another month or so. My husband is taking some leave and will be home for about 6 weeks in mid february. That could go either way. I will most likely be grateful for the extra help with the kiddos and not so happy about the extra laundry, dishes, and attitude. hahaha. Most importantly, he will be done with recruiting and our family can go back to being a happy one. YAHAYAHAYAY!!!!!!It is the time of year that I always vow to spend more time on friends. There are so many that I don't see nearly enough. My daughter and my birthdays' are coming so that is always a great excuse to see everyone. I really want to start getting some aspects of my life put back together.

I feel sometimes that since becoming a mom my life has fractures into a million pieces. The crazy has taken over, hence the green crayon on my wall and the toilet paper in the bathroom sink. I feel like it has blessed me too. How else would I know that you are supposed to eat chicken noodle with goldfish crackers? Even though this time of year is nuts my family, overall, adds so much joy and happiness. I am so thankful for everything I have and I wouldn't take anything away. Adding a maid would be awesome though.

I guess I feel patriotic today

2008-12-15T19:12:00.003-06:00

I was so motivated today! I drank coffee. For those of you who do not know me, I never ever drink caffeine. So what happened was a great energy high that lasted for pretty much the entire afternoon. I even exercised. Hooray!

So, there are two political stories I read about this week that I feel are worth mentioning. Of course, one of them is that the president was attacked by flying shoes this weekend.He made a surprise visit to Iraq and a local protester took off his shoes and threw them at Bush. Now, I don't know about you, but I was raised that no matter what your political opinions, you respect the president. You can disagree with him but you still must acknowledge that he is the leader of our country and as such should be treated accordingly. How ridiculous. I have seriously been reading articles that said he deserved it. Can you believe that?

Two, there was an article this week talking about how difficult it is going to be for the secret service in the upcoming weeks, months, etc... to protect Obama. He is the first African American president and with that comes the increased danger for assaination from racist factions. As sad as this is it is so very true. My father actually admitted his hesitance to vote for Obama for this reason. He said he feared that some nut would shot Obama and it would lead to race riots the likes of which haven't been seen for decades. Let me just tie this in to my afore mentioned issue. I can not believe that this is such a problem in 2008. I could never imagine judging someone based on nothing but their skin. The concept perplexes me. I dislike all kinds of people for their behavior but your race or religion makes no difference. Get over your bigotry people. Grow up and learn that it is, as cliche as it sounds, what is inside that really matters. I do not agree with Obama's policies and no I did not vote for him.....BUT he IS our president and he will be leading our country for at least the next four years. I know that is a huge responsibility and a monumental task. I respect him for taking that on and trust him to make the right decisions for the American people. God Bless America and thank you to all those who help make our nation safe and our country great.

2008-12-10T09:12:00.003-06:00

So I was reading through all of SuperMoms posts and getting a little jealous. Apparently she thought she was too overweight and went to the doctor. She told him she had tried the usual and it wasn't getting the job done. He prescribed some miracle pill and the result is that she has lost 20 some pounds in like a month. I, in reading this, called my doctor and scheduled an appt......for TODAY. I want in on the miracle weight loss. I too have done the over the counter stuff and the diets. Don't get me wrong I don't want it to do all the work for me, but a little help would be sooo nice. I know that most of us have been pretty damn thin at one time and it is just weird to know that I am a "fat" girl. I am so tired ALL the time. Hopefully, this pill is an option for me. PLEASE GOD!!!! Let it be an option for me. I have been food diary-ing (though that hasn't happened in a week or two,oops!) and trying to work out some everyday. Maybe this will help keep me accountable. Either way, I have to get the weight off and keep it off. Cheer me on folks!

So today is Friday and I wrote the first part of this on Wed. My weight at the doctor was 163. That is enormous for someone who is only 5 feet tall. My doctor said some of my weight gain is probably do to my birth control and no they do not prescribe it. At all. I am going to start working really hard to get some of the weight off and will try and update every few weeks.

My first one!

2008-12-09T00:38:00.002-06:00

So, aside from myspace, I have never really blogged before. I am a blogger virgin. I nevr really felt that I had anything interesting enough to contribute. Then a wonderful friend of mine said I should give it a try. If nothing else it is a good release, she said. Fair enough. She gave me a few start up ideas and here I am venturing out into the cyber frontier.......