I just want to say I’m disgusted with the differences in the way the American public is reacting to Hurricane Katrina as compared with the reaction I saw to the Tsunami in December 2004. Within 24 hours of the Tsunami, I couldn’t click on a webpage which didn’t have a request to donate to Tsunami relief. I’ll admit I haven’t been surfing as much lately but my last Amazon order didn’t ask me if I wanted to donate the way it did in December and January. Costco did have signs at the register offering to take donations for the Red Cross to be flagged for Hurricane relief. I’m willing to cut people slack since the devastation is still sinking in for them but I really can’t cut any slack to the news media. Most of the reports I’m seeing keep asking one question: What is the government going to do about this? Just what makes it the government’s problem? This is one of those Acts of God excluded in your insurance policy. I think the stupidest question I’ve heard a reporter ask is “So what can the government do to prevent this type of thing from happening again?” Now if you had asked my MIL before she passed away she would have told you the government does have a secret project that can control the weather and the government probably caused the storm to hit this area on purpose. So were Louisiana and Mississippi Red or Blue states? Frankly, the conspiracy theory is almost as bad as the evangelist who is screaming “God has dealt justice to the sinners!” I’m just wondering how great the sins of the people trapped in nursing homes or hospitals in those areas and thus couldn’t evacuate could have been. I can see the condemnation of those in the prison but is kiting a check really worth a death penalty? As for the people complaining that those who didn’t evacuate were just paying for their own stupidity, just how stupid were the people on life support or those with spinal injuries? How do you move your household when the public transportation has shut down? Back to our televangelist friend, I always thought God loved the poor and the meek; yet, they were the ones with no means of escape.
So for those with loved ones in the afflicted areas, I hope they are safe. If anyone reading this that needs help, let me know what I can do. In the meantime, I’m making an appointment to go donate blood since at the end of the summer I know blood reserves are low and with all the injured the Red Cross is going to need all the help it can get.
So far the parent’s expectations of fights and riots in the hallways of Wasatch Churchill have not materialized but it’s only the 2nd day of school and the first game against the each other is a long way away.
Today is the first day back to school for my kids.For the last several weeks I’ve woken my boys at 6:30 and 7:30 so that they would be used to that schedule.My oldest on the other hand is a senior this year and thus on her own for her bedtime.She has a curfew when she has to be back to the house but I figure she’s entitled to set a bedtime that works for her.She’s going to be learning a hard lesson today.She’s allowed her sleep pattern in the summer to be stay awake until 2 or 3 in the morning, sleep in until around 10 or 11, work until about 3:30 or 4 and take a nap for about 2-3 hours. Last night, she realized that she’s going to have to start waking at 5:00 am and was getting nervous about getting to sleep early.However, she also had 2 glasses of cola at dinner around 7 pm.So, at 12:30 when she’s still reading and wondering why she’s nervous and not sleepy, I couldn’t help but point out that she had a stimulant with dinner!I’m pretty sure that she won’t do that again.
After all, she's going to suffer the consequences today. Remember part of being a parent is giving your children the opportunity to suffer the consequences of their failures in a safe environment.
Frontier Airlines shows satellite TV on their flights (for a $5 charge no matter the length of the flight). I don't have cable or satellite at home which is one reason my boys think hotel televisions are a treat. On my departing flight, I discovered VH1 Classic. All those videos, songs I remembered from my high school days when MTV was still visual radio. Anyway, after seeing Mama's Fallen Angel followed by Unskinny Bop it didn't suprise me that the next thing was an interview with Bret Michaels (who is releasing a solo album) followed by a solo acoustic rendition of Every Rose has it's Thorn. He also thanked the stripper he had been dating when he went on the road. He mentioned at the time he was young and stupid and thought a stripper could understand the word "fidelity" and knew that it meant more than something to do with music. And yes, he resents that many people think the song was recorded by GunsNRoses instead of Poison.
Anyway, since the songs have been earworms all week, I'm now the proud owner of Poison's Greatest Hits. And to think in 1986, I thought this was headbanging druggie rock. My kids think it's elevator music.
I know financial theory.I know if I spend less than I earn I will have money to save and earn interest for me.When I had nothing at all, I was obsessively anal about tracking my money.When DH’s mother died, we were able to pay off everything but our house and instead of staying put and paying off the house, we found a bigger place.I don’t regret that decision.Yes, we went from 1950 square feet to 5600 square feet. (As one acquaintance from the UK said, I have the room for a small village in my home).Along with that move, since I didn’t have any credit accounts to track, I stopped recording the family’s daily spending.
What a mistake!!I still have not filed my 2004 taxes.The main reason for that is that I have not balanced my checkbook since December 2003 and not only my checkbook but since my husband, the artist, will not look at the finances, I have not balanced the business accounts either.So, after filing a 2nd extension (something I haven’t done since the year we were messing with the first of the estate expenses) I decided I just couldn’t wait any longer and so I’ve set the goal of doing 2 months a night so that I’ll be ready to drop everything off with the accountant after labor day.I just hope I don’t owe any money this year since the interest and penalties will be nasty.This will be easier for me if I get my friends to check up on me and make sure I’m keeping my schedule.
(Typed from the handwritten transcript on 8/21/05) So, I’m sitting at gate A2 in BNA, I’ve just watched Whizgidget’s plane taxi past the window. I know it’s her plane because I waited for it to pull away from the gate. (I’ll admit to hoping she would have trouble and have to deplane so we could have even a few more minutes together.) The area around me is amazingly clear and uncrowded for an airport. I think it may be the scent of the leftover salsa from Friday night dinner which is now in my bag with the remaining chicken tamales. It did make Kari’s eyes water and FyreRaven accused Suz of trying to kill Kari. Personally I thought it had a great flavor and it cleared my sinuses. At this point, I’m terrified to total my market receipts. Terrance Nolan is such a sweetheart (and an incredible designer) that you can’t help but want to buy one of everything in his shop. I did think that I stayed very restrained there all things considered. Picture This Plus is where I did the most damage. I got hand dyed fat quarters of fabric, the Splash kit, Bunny Buns (which will become Bunny Butts when I stitch it), FireWing’s Sentinel and a beautiful piece of DaVinci to start it on. I visited Hobby Lobby for the first time (It’s very similar to Roberts without the humongous scrapbooking section). And I met some great people. There were so many people that I wish I had more time to talk with – Goldie (who made me want Egyptian Sampler), Cheryl, Terry, Dana (who was a riot at dinner), Builderlady (Wendy) who didn’t get to come to dinner with us because of the Northwest strike, Annette whom I only got a few minutes with, Autumn who was probably the biggest surprise (I always pictured her taller; towering over me), and GwenaLynne.
Sally always has great ideas and I know she will be an incredible asset in planning the TWBBWWGTG in Toronto 2006.
I’m so glad I got to spend time with Reneegr and had the opportunity to make up for missing February in the Secret Stitcher rounds. (She got to take an Opps Dump).
Melanie’s necklace that is in her icon photo – it’s even more gorgeous in person than in the photo.
(Added today) DD wants me to find a different piece of fabric for Sentinel. She wants the DaVinci for Middy. Maybe he’ll look good on Winter Storm?
Saturday night we had dinner with the TWBB group. There are some pictures floating around the Net with me laughing so hard that I'm bright red. First off, let me quell one rumor that I’ve heard. It was the woman across from me who was drinking the Red Headed Slut, the one next to me had Coke and Rum, and I was drinking Diet Coke with Lime. Yes, I use caffeine to slow my hyperactivity. I live in the West. Some things are not available in general restaurants but are available everywhere in the South. I was looking forward to catfish, hush puppies, with pecans for dessert. When I scoured the buffet table there was no catfish, no hush puppies and, on the dessert table, the only pies were lemon cheesecake. I don’t expect the cooking staff to make fish and hush puppies for me, but I know they have to have pecan pie or tarts in the back. Being me, I asked if they would mind bringing out some pecan tarts. Okay, so I may have been a little more dramatic. I recall something along the lines of my entire trip to Tennessee will be ruined if I cannot have a dessert with pecans in it. I’ve learned that loud requests get ignored at best and result in ejection from the restaurant at worst. So, I ask softly and I’m rarely rejected. When I got back to my seat, I mentioned that I would be getting pecan tarts shortly. The one with a [url=http://fyreraven.blogspot.com...]Redirected Psyche[/url] , started giggling and said, “At least this time I won’t worry about getting a tray of food dumped on my head, you tart.” I honestly had no clue what they were talking about. Being short; I have trouble reaching restaurant tables, and well it seems that at breakfast when I leaned over to emphasize a point of conversation (at the time the waiter was bringing our food) it appeared to those taller than I, that I was “flopping” my assets on the table which shocked the waiter into almost dumping the food on Wendy. I guess the astonished look on my face set off the [url=http://www.suzemo.blogspot.co...]Natural Lunatic[/url] , who told me she didn’t buy my innocent act, she knew that all I had to do was tilt my head, stick out my chest and of course the poor man was going in the back to grab his nuts for me. That was the comment that made me lose it. I’m laughing and a camera flash went off, it’s then that I realized Suz throws her shoulders very far back when she sees a camera. And she has the gall to accuse me of sticking my chest out? I’m practically rolling off my chair and poor Kari is trying to find a way to get out of the way. I’m just about to get it under control when Wendy makes a red headed slut comment. I’m a red head, on the tail of Suz’s comment about sticking my chest out this one seemed funny beyond control and I was running for the restroom (which is outside the restaurant, across the lobby and down a hall – I barely made it.) When I got back, my pecan tarts were waiting for me – Eduardo was disappointed that I just wanted Ice Cream and not bananas foster, and when I asked Maged for a knife he grabbed his apron pockets then his other pockets before going to get one for me. He flirted back before giving the knife to me. Maybe I should have let him cut my pecan tart for me like he begged to do.
I bet the restaurant staff doesn't make the mistake of thinking that cross-stitchers are little old ladies that need to be right close to the buffet. They really should have put us in the back room. Especially when we had the later roar of laughter when 1Terry signed "THE END" of the signature cat.
First let me explain that I’m a light packer compared to most women I know. I’m a firm believer that anything I forget can either be replaced or I can do without it for a week or so. You would be amazed at what you can do to clean your teeth when a toothbrush is not available. But, I’m drifting off topic… Before I leave for the airport I do online check in if I can and if not, I memorize the confirmation number for my paperless ticket. I’ve learned to double check my wallet to make sure that my ID is indeed in there along with the main credit card I plan to use for the trip. When everything is indeed packed, I put my hairbrush in my purse. If the hairbrush is still on the bathroom counter or on the banister, I’m not all the way packed. It’s not a superstition, it’s a memory device. (Yes, I’ve left the brush behind on 2 trips). Once I reach the airport the first stop is the skycap. The $2 tip is so worth not waiting in line inside the airport. (Did you know that Frontier Airlines does not do curbside check in, you cannot use the skycap if you fly Frontier?) I should add I can pretty much guarantee that any bag coming out of my basement will set off the gunpowder residue sensors. It’s not necessarily gunpowder either; it could be flash powder from the older cameras. So after setting off the sensors, I either get someone who is reasonable and will listen to me, or we get an orange tag, or I get to watch as they hand check my checked luggage. Since this is time consuming, I’ve learned to carry-on luggage on the departing trip and check under on the way back. So, a week before I go anywhere, I mail anything that I can’t carry on to someone on the other end. (Hotels will accept things if you have a reservation.) This means I have no prohibited items on my person. After getting my boarding pass, I step for the nice TSA line. I can guarantee on taking my shoes off since spiked heels have a metal spike in them (duh!!). If I have any electronic devices in my luggage I can count on getting to know a TSA employee better than I expected to that morning. By the way, it helps not to wear a suit jacket or over sweater when you know that you’ll be doing that. After the TSA line, I head to [url=http://www.gotoatg.com/news.h...]Crismon’s News and Views[/url] . At Crismon’s I buy the same three things: a bottle of water, a puzzle magazine, and a poolside novel. Doesn’t matter if there isn’t a pool in the picture, an occasion will arrive where I will be grateful for having the book. At this point, I’m ready to go to the gate and board my flight.
"Life's journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say, 'No,' the courage to say, 'Yes,' Decisions do determine destiny. The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be." ( "The Call for Courage," Ensign, May 2004, 54-55)
My office is freezing, the other side of the building is baking and we have fans on the computer room (it's on the other side). I would love to start wearing sweaters to work so that I can stay warm enough to type. But I would bake if I had to go to the claims department or outside.
I do love winter fashions though. I can never tell if what I have for summer office wear is appropriate. Winter though, I love the fashions. Wool skirts with boots, pullovers, sweaters. Things to hide the flab on my arms and belly. Although today, I do feel thin and you can't say anything to dissuade me. I love long skirts, the swish of the material as I stride through the office, the clunk of my boots on the floor as I head from one office to the other. It gives people the opportunity to hide when they hear me coming. Summer however, I move quietly on spike heels and get to overhear comments on how mean and nasty I am for making people do their jobs and expecting it to be right and done in a timely manner.
Yep, I definitely prefer winter. It makes it fair in the office - In winter, I can hear the boss coming and get off the Net.
I love camping in the mountains. The smell of pine, the small furry creatures, being far enough from anything and anyone that I can sunbathe without worry.
DH. however, prefers to camp in the desert so I'm always grateful when he takes us to the mountains to camp. I love the high Uintas. There are beautiful lakes, incredible vistas, lovely flowers and where we were camping, wild raspberries. It's been a long time since I've been able to go berrying. I showed the kids all the wild berries we could find, mountain current, wild raspberry, gooseberries. We also had a talk about what to do if you get lost. All the kids have whistles and matches with them anytime they leave the truck. DH said he wants to take a belly pack or a camel pack and make it mandatory equipment when we go out camping so the kids will always have water, a space blanket, a protein bar, matches, whistles. We also talked about strangers, people calling your name in a search party are not strangers. If you are lost in the woods any person with an ATV becomes "not a stranger." Just some thoughts on my weekend.
On the radio today, the following statistics were given - Only 5% of the American public will ever purposely set foot in a bookstore during their lifetime. The average American male will not read another book to completion after graduation from school. Why do these comments scare me?
Life is a series of changes despite some peoples desparate attempts to make things stay the same. I remember hearing once that if you think you're standing still, you're actually moving backwards. With the rapid pace of today that seems so true to me. The world around us continually ebbs and flows and remains in flux. If we have no firm foundation of character from which to make our changes, then we're just so much kelp in the ocean of life, tossed about by every little thing that comes our way.
Okay, advertising is designed to make you sit up and take notice. If you notice it, then it worked. I applaud the ingenious person who scheduled the PSA on getting your kids to exercise by having them walk to school right in front of the ad for the larger M&M's (55% bigger).
Now I appreciate the concern over the rise of childhood obesity. I have a son who battles with it but have we really dropped to the point that we have to remind parents that walking to school is good for their children? Then I remember the carpool line up and the shock I that the Hummer with 2 kids in it only drives 2 blocks after sitting in the parking lot burning gas for 20 minutes. I don't see why the mother doesn't just walk the 2 blocks grab the kids and walk back. It's a beautiful neighborhood and there are sidewalks the whole way. It's not like my kids where if I don't drive up to get them they have a 1 hour bus ride that includes 1 transfer and also requires them to cross a major street. I also remember back to my neighbor who told me I was abusive because I expected my 1st grader to walk 1/4 of a mile between the house and the school. Funny, it's abusive for my kids to do it but it was fine for my parents to send me 1/2 mile each way? I could understand if she was alone but there are 6 girls walking together. Where is the problem in that?
When I was growing up the big concern was the long term effects of latchkey children. We came home to empty houses, we fixed a snack, did some chores, and our homework or at least that's what we told our parents in reality we got home, fixed a snack and watched TV until we heard a car pull into the driveway. Today if you let your 7 or 8 year old come home and care for themselves for 3 hours between school and when you get home from work, you're an abusive parent. My how things have changed in the neighborhoods I live in. The reality is that in many neighborhoods kids do walk home from school and they do arrive in empty houses and they have no clue if a parent will be coming home that night. So why is DCFS harassing the parents that do come home on a schedule instead of taking care of the homes where the children aren't sure where their parents are?
As of last night we have 3 new family members. DD brought home 3 birds last night. The first one is a Conure. My daughter is convinced that it's a female and still quite young (the legs are pink). The other 2 are zebra finches that mew. They have this sighing mewl that they make all night long so far it's cute. I just wonder how long it will be until it becomes annoying. The beagle is fascinated with the Conure. We also took Mr. Darwin to look at puppies but today, he just wasn't in the mood to play with them or do anything beyond ignore them. So no new puppy yet.
I'm exhausted. I got the massive report done at work today, then I came home and started packing the truck with all the stuff to cook Dutch oven dinner for 75. The good part is I only had to supply the teriyaki chicken. All the other dishes were being prepared by other people. Dinner consisted of Teriyaki Chicken, Barbacue Meatballs, Parmesean cheese rolls, Rice and Cobbler for dessert. We started heating coals around 5 pm and dinner was served at 7:30. We had another couple show up to help cook and she made an incredible Lemon Meringue pie! The cool thing is that I've admired this woman for ages and I've tried to become friends with her but I've always felt she's pushing me away because I'm younger than she is and couldn't possibly understand her problems. It's gotten to the point where I've joked that I want to grow up to be her. Today though I feel like we really connected. She saw me working in the coals just like she was. Our DH's were comparing rifle notes. We know a lot of the same Hunter's Ed people. We talked about taking the black powder rifles to the range. (She said she didn't know that I shoot? ) Needless to say, it was a great day. What was really fun was when DD came by and Beth read her palm. It totally freaked DD out because she was dead on. After DD left, Beth turned to me and said, "You don't ever have to worry about that one. She's an old soul who knows who she is and is grounded enough that the freaks and the flighty souls are afraid of her." But then, I already knew that. I've always considered palmistry to be on par with psychic parlor tricks. But I've never talked about DD with her. DD said, "Hi." and that was it no pumping for information, no looking for confirmation, just looking at DD's palm and talking as fast as she could without looking up. The only clue to DD's personality was her black T-shirt that read, "The problem with normal people is that they're normal." By the way, the food was all cooked on time. Everything tasted good, I'll clean all the ovens tomorrow because I'm too tired to do anything but check my email, post this, and head to bed.
P.S. Anyone have suggestions for about 15 cups of rice that are left over?
I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.And I loved it.I do feel that the advertising campaign did the movie a dis-service.It was not scary.It was hilarious.A few of the jokes were double entendres that had the adults rolling and the kids wondering.The only bad part was that the film broke, the best part of that was the girl behind us who did a wonderful Verruca voice and loudly said, “Daddy, I want the film to continue. Make them fix the film.”Her father played along and the two of them entertained us for quite awhile.(The film was stopped for about 20 minutes but they restarted it a few minutes before it had stopped.)
I really don’t see what parents are complaining about, if anything, this is the first movie in ages that re-affirms the importance of parents and good parenting.But then, then the only thing I found objectionable about Little Mermaid was that the spoiled brat got everything she wanted.The one thing I loved about this version was that you got to see the rotten kids as they left the chocolate factory.The one thing I missed was that I really wish Grampa Joe had hatched a chocolate bird in the return to the factory just like he had hatched them in the old days.
