Happy Halloween

Man: "Look how much candy you have! I'm going to take half and give it to the kids too lazy to go trick or treating for themselves!"

Witch: "oh crap, a democrat."

Now this is FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Always check your child's homework....


Mommy works at Home Depot and was selling a shovel!!!
Ya gotta love children!!!

Hot Roddin'

A few weeks ago, I met a good friend, Louise and her son, at a playground and we did some "hot roddin'" in the gravel!!

Voting

It is your right and privilege to vote. I voted in the first election that I could when I turned 18. I am concerned b/c many Americans don't take advantage of this opportunity. I am also concerned about the upcoming election. I mean, I am SERIOUSLY concerned with the outcome and what will come of our beautiful United States of America.

I am a Republican, but not a staunch one....I have my views on abortion and women's rights (amazing how those things change once you have children!).....but I don't believe that you should vote based on a person's color. I do believe that if you are of working age, and healthy, you should have a job. It is not my responsibility to foot the bill for a non-working adult. It is also not my responsibility to foot the bill of unemployed people having babies and more babies. But, I conceed that the system is broke when a person can make more money off of their babies from welfare, than they can by getting a job.

I have an inherent fear that many people will vote b/c they feel they will "get something out of it."....like: free health care, free anything. That isn't what this country was built on; it was built on sweat, the love of God, the love of freedom and family. Where has all of this gone?

All of this change that is talked about is going to hit Average Joe directly in the pocket book. Hey, we already support the welfare folks, but now that is going to be larger group of people. We are not a socialist society...never have been, not what this country was built upon.

Medicine: yes, health care sucks. But, should I have to pay for someone else to get medical attention? Nope, I don't think so. Canada has a medical system that folks like to compare ours to. That's great, but do you know that a lot of Canadians come to America for their doctor b/c they don't want to wait MONTHS to go to the doctor??? Try that on for size.

You can't lay all the blame on one person: George W. Bush. Nice try, but let's face it....there are 400+ folks that you and I voted into the House and Senate and they make the majority of the rules and decisions. So, if you REALLY want to clean house and have change, EVERY single one of them should be out of a job, including the two running for office.

Lately all you hear about is Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Really??? That's the media's biggest concern? What about the background of Obama? What about his religious beliefs, the money that is backing his campaign? Do you think that those folks that live in the ghettos of Chicago are footing the bill? Nope, but I bet some foreign interests are and that is what we need to be aware of and be fearful of. What about this missing birth certificate? Why hasn't the media run with that ball? Nope, instead they'd rather show Palin shooting a gun? Big freakin' deal!!!!

I pray that you will take the opportunity to vote next Tuesday. I pray that you truly look at what the candidates bring to the table....what is their baggage? Who are their special interest groups? Don't look at the clothes they wear, look deeply into their rhetoric and see them for whom they truly are. Remember, a wolf can hide in sheep's clothing and to give him the ultimate power of one of the most powerful countries in the world is a HUGE responsiblity. May God bless you and your family. May God help all of us when the dust settles from this election.

Vegas Baby!!!

We went and we survived...pockets a little lighter...but we knew going in that the house always wins, right????? Oh, but we tried to beat those odds!!!The water show at the Belagio.

Only in Vegas would you see this kind of "limo!"

The Atrium at the Belagio.

Caesar's Palace.

Malc and Joan are good friends!

Me and Marilyn.

Just chillin' with Mr. & Mrs. Moneybags.

Ready For Halloween

My child thinks she is a pumpkin and will tell you she is a pumpkin...

I already have her Halloween outfits picked out for the week (gotta get plenty of use out of them). We actually started wearing them last week!

While at the Halloween store, getting her costume, she looked at all the scary masks, and in the calmest voice says, "Oooooh, scary." It was humorous b/c obviously she wasn't scared at all!

Old Friends...I mean Long time friends!

Last weekend, one of my oldest and best friends, Byon, was in town with his wife Jacque and their beautiful daughter. We went over to another friends house, Malcolm's, to see his new baby boy. We had such a wonderful time. And we laughed at the fact that we are now all parents...something that if you'd asked us ten years ago, we might have laughed at you.

Blind as a bat.....

We arrived in Vegas Thursday evening....and it is tiring to sit in an airport for two hours, then the plan was delayed and then to sit in the cattle car, I mean plane for another two hours......just plain tiring. Added to that, there is a two hour time difference and my body KNOWS when it is time to go to bed....I try to fight it, but not very successfully. I was literally falling asleep at a machine...pushing that button was becoming very difficult. I finally gave up, it was after midnight, and went to bed.

I did my regular night time routine, which includes taking out my contacts. You see, I am blind as a bat. I take out my contacts right before bed and it is the very first thing I do in the morning. I don't shower, brush my teeth, comb my hair, nada, without first putting on my contacts. I can't see the alarm clock clearly from my side of the bed and it is less than 12 inches from my head!

So, I tuck my contacts into their little case for the night, crawl into bed and don't even remember hitting the pillow.

Next morning, up, put in my contacts....and wait, I'm having one heck of a time getting these suckers in my eyes...wow, the air and allergens are really bothering my eyes.....finally, after a few tries and a few "put them in, take them out, put them in again" and I jump in the shower.

Is it just me, or is everything still pretty blurry? Just changed these contacts, so they are good. Wow, my eyes must be REALLY tired. Wait, I can't even read my shampoo bottle clearly.....something isn't right here.

Finish in my blurry shower....open the curtain, gaze at the counter top and notice there is only ONE contact case on the counter (two contact wearers in the room).......I calmly poke my head into the room and ask Malc, where are his contacts?

"In the case on the counter."

Anxiety is starting to build like a volcano in my chest.

"Where are the ones that were in the case?"

I swallow hard.

"I threw them out."

The volcano erupts! Are you freaking kidding me????? Those were my contacts....few choice words........

Oh, it's ok, you can just wear your glasses. Where are your spare contacts? We can get some over-nighted. I didn't do it on purpose. Quit yelling. Calm down.

Can you imagine? My poor little contacts, my best friends, were dried up in the trash can, waiting to be re-hydrated, b/c my nimcompoop husband thought that I was being nice and set out his contact case on the counter????? Whatever.

Crisis was adverted; they are safely re-hydrated, in my eyes. The hardest part was wearing them for a few hours and thinking, "Wrong eyes, need to switch." I have different scripts for each eye.

Moral of the story: either have your own room, or hide your contacts from anyone else in your room.

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

It was a tear jerker!

So, I'm laying out, yes laying out, on the sun deck at our hotel....did you know I'm in Vegas??? And I'm reading my book (Malc was in our room napping; I don't do naps, who has the time?), but reading, alone is quite a treat all in itself!!!!

Back to the story.....I'm reading, notice that it is time to go back and wake him up, but wait, I only have a few pages until the end of Sister's Keeper and decide to push onward and finish it....and wow, glad I had on sunglasses, b/c I was CRYING as I read the final pages. OMG, this is one that I actually thought the curve had already come and you know how the book is going to end...oh, but no, Picoult can't do that, can she????? Nope, one right out of the blue and knocks you on your fanny!!!!

During the entire course of this book, you are asking yourself as a mom, what would you do? How do you sacrifice one child for another? As a sister, you know you'd do anything for your sister. But as a moral human, how much is too much to ask of one person? I thank God that I have never had to answer these types of questions and pray I never will.

Aside from a good read, this book really gets you thinking of a lot of uncomfortable issues. If you've never picked up a Picoult book, saying that I HIGHLY recommend them is an understatement. I have a new one to start, but I don't remember the name and it is dark in the hotel room b/c Malc is still sleeping (imagine that!) and I'm drinking my Starbucks. Can I tell you that you feel like you are in Mecca when you can WALK to Starbucks! Anyway, happy page turning.....share your reads with me!

Book Talk - It's back...but it isn't Friday

When last we met, I was reading David Baldacci's The Camel Club. I did finish it and it did get a lot better...just took awhile. I guess that it didn't capture my attention so much b/c I had already read the second one! ha, ha

My next reading selection was Jodi Picoult's, The Pact. WOW, talk about a book that draws you in and won't let you go! This is about two teens, who are practically brother and sister (parents are best friends) and then in their early teens, they begin dating. Emily, the young teen, has this horrible burden, that she won't share with anyone and she becomes increasingly depressed. Eventually she decides the only way to make things get better, is to commit suicide. Chris, as any boyfriend would do, tries to stop her....unfortunately, he is there when the act is done and first degree murder charges are brought against him. The book takes us back in forth in time and in her usual fashion, Picoult has a mighty twist at the end that you'd never see coming. I was a few pages to the end, Rileigh is tugging on my arm to play with her and I couldn't put it down; I had to know how it ended. I was not disappointed!! Fantastic read!!!

I'm on to my new book, no big surprise, another Picoult story, My Sister's Keeper. I'm not even finished with the first chapter and I want to go pick it up to see what those characters are up to. How does Picoult do it? How does she come up with such controversial topics? So, you ask, what is this one about? A young family finds out their daughter has a rare form of leukemia and decides to have another child, via envitro, that is a genetic match so that this younger child can be a bone marrow and stem cell grocery store for her older sister. The question that the story revolves around is: Does she have the right to say no b/c she doesn't want to give anymore of herself (literally) to her older sister any more? This is yet another HUGE page turner. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Happy reading!

Are you rude?

Oprah did a show this week on the rudeness of Americans. 80%of Americans think that other Americans are rude, but 95% of Americans don't think they are rude!!!

Here are the questions asked (all yes/no questions): my answers next to it
1. Are you cronically late? no, just a few minutes to work....does that count? Also, if it is your husband making you late, does that count?
2. Have you ever typed and email while you talked on the phone? yep, sure have, it's called multi-tasking
3. Have you ever interrupted a face-to-face conversation to take a non-urgent cell phone call? no
4. Have you gone through a supermarket 10-item express lane with more than 10 items? yes, only if there isn't anyone else waiting and/or the clerk gave me the ok
5. While among friends or co-workers, have you yawned without covering your mouth? Gosh I hope not!
6. Have you ever texted or talked on a cell phone in a movie theater? nope don't ever go to the movies...would I, just texting...talking, never
7. Have you let your dog relieve himself on your neighbor's lawn? don't like the word "let", but has he? yes, and I went over and cleaned it up.
8. Have you ever cut in front of someone in line? no, didn't we learn about this in elementary school?
9. Have you ever stolen someone's parking spot? never
10. Have you ever let your child kick the back of the seat in front of him and not apologized to his victim? no, she hasn't had the opportunity to do this, but if and when she does, I will apologize
11. Have you ever not RSVP'd to an event by the date requested? NEVER, this is my number one pet peeve when planning an event/function
12. Have you ever gossiped? duh??? does this one even count? if you DARE say, "No." you are SO lying!
13. Have you ever taken someone else's food or drink from the office refrigerator? oh, H%&* no, that is beyond rude! And gross, you don't know how clean their kitchen is!

There was also a book discussed, Choosing Civility. He wasn't a great speaker, but the book sounds interesting and it discusses how rudeness affects our health...sort of like kharma and you don't want to be around bad kharma.

And remember, if someone is rude to you, kill 'em with kindness, don't just kill 'em! :-)

Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA

I don't know the history of this bill, but I'm sure when it was written and passed it was for a very good reason. But, with most things, people take advantage of the situation.

I teach graduate courses for the University of Phoenix - Online, in their education program. I've been doing this for almost six years and I love it. I recently started a new course and received an email that one of my students has ADA modifications. Ok, I'm cool with that. I had to acknowledge that I had received this information.....but they had to have a signed verification....so I had to fax this form back to them. I did it. As I was reading over the requirements, the modification is that the student gets extra time, usually about a week to ten days. I can live with this. But, I wanted to be sure that I read the modification correctly so I emailed the liason and asked to be sure. "Yes, this is the normal time, but they can actually take as much time as they want." Are you KIDDING me???? What world is this? What type of professional career allows you to take as much time as you want to complete a project????? To add to this frustrating situation, if all the assignments aren't turned in on time, I have to fill out more paperwork to give her an incomplete, then when she finally decides to turn in her work, I have to grade it, re-submit her grades.....get the picture?? All the burden is on me. Granted, I do not know what her disability is, I'm not privvy to that, but I don't think this is realistic. We are in week five of a six week course and she has turned in NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To continue to add to this, I have to do weekly evaluations on my students; fair enough. Well, I just left her missing assignments blank. Apparently this is wrong b/c I was notified from another area of the university that I'm not complying with UOP policy b/c the evaluations were incomplete. I am supposed to give her a zero and then change it later. Hmmmmm, never got that in my training!

So, this is just a vent that I'm all about making necessary modifications when needed, I teach children with disabilities...but we also teach our children that they must over-come their problems and function in the real world. This adult student is obviously not living in the real world and I have to suffer through this. May I NEVER have another ADA student. It goes back to our society being all about making everyone feel good and leveling the playing field and everyone gets a chance BS. Face it folks, life is tough and the toughest survive. Plain and simple.

Ok, I'll get off my soap box. Have a terrific weekend!

Update on going green

I went to the health food store today and spent some money....but also go my mom a b-day gift, so it's all good. I tabbed my book and decided to start where I needed stuff first. I purchased the tampons I told you about and some facial lotion (just about out, so I feel good that I'm not letting things go to waste). Tampons are a little more expensive, but for your health, isn't it worth it? The facial products are more expensive than grocery store products, but less than department store products....so pick your budget.

I am going to make some rose water, which apparently is a great refresher and/or toner for your skin. If you'd like to make some, let me know b/c I'm going to dry out some of my roses. My roses are ROCKING right now b/c of the weather. Rose water used to be a big deal, back in "olden" days when roses were hard to come by.....basically all you do is boil some water, soak the petals, squeeze out all the water from the petals and TAAA DAAA, you have rose water. I also bought a cute glass bottle for $2. I don't want a mason jar sitting on my bathroom counter!

Have you purchased a Klean Kanteen yet? I looked at them while at the store, but want a bigger one b/c I drink A LOT of water during the day. I'm going to order mine on-line so that I can get the size I want. These are environmentally friendly and you can toss out all the other water bottles so that you don't have to worry about using the wrong kind of plastic. Word of note: the book goes into great detail about the ins and outs of plastics.....I'd rather just avoid it...too much to worry about!

That's it for now....I'll keep you posted.

Save Lids to Save Lives

Ok, so have you seen the pink Yoplait lids???? Are you saving them??? Why not? Yoplait is willing to give a minimum of $500,000 and up to $1,500,000 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure...each lid is $0.10. So, start eating some yummy yogurt and save the lids...so you are out a few bucks to mail them, so what? The money is going to a REALLY good cause. Also, it has been awhile since I ate "name brand" yogurt...and WOW!!! this rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

These were taken yesterday and I ALREADY have them back from the photographer, Be True Photography! This was a mini-shoot, 10 minute session, you get all the pictures, most also in black & white, on a disk and via email and the release to do with them as you wish for a mere $45; WHAT A DEAL!!!! They get a live Santa for the next mini-shoot!!! :-)

Going Green, for your Health

October is breast cancer awareness month. This hits a little too close to home; my grandmother had a mastectomy last week. She is doing fantastic and is already home. I hope to have half of her heart and energy at the age of 87!!!! So being more healthy is at the forefront of my mind.

About a month ago, my sister introduced me to a book, Easy Green Living, and I was reading it while the television was on non-stop football today! Go figure! Anyway, it is amazing the amount of unnecessary chemicals that we are exposing ourselves and our children to, DAILY!!!!! There are links and associations to all sorts of maladies and cancers.....so I ask, "WHY???? Why do we do this????"

Prior to me receiving the book in the mail (sorta like Christmas, early!), I had switched to Tom's of Maine deoderant (bought it at HEB, didn't have to go to the health food store!), based on a conversation I had with my sister about the ingredients in deoderant. So, I really like it b/c it has lavender in it and I LOVE lavender. What is even better is that there aren't the unnecessary aluminum, triclosan, ethanol, talc and propylene glycol. These ingrediants have been linked to breast cancer. If there is even a tinny link to breast cancer, why are we allowing ourselves to use these products, DAILY!!!!

I'm flipping through the book, amazed at all of this and I come across feminine products. Did you know there is a possible link between dioxins found in tampons and endometriosis and infertility???? Why aren't we shouting this from the tops of all the buildings? The book goes into detail about the production, growing and manufacturing of the cotton and the tampons and how lethal it is. No wonder we have so many infertility problems. Solution: organic cotton, chlorine-free bleached tampons. Now this is one you'll have to either order on-line or go to the health food store for. But I ask you, isn't your health worth it? Here are some sites for these tampons: http://www.natracare.com/ , http://www.organicessentials.com/, http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

As I go through the book, I will be sharing different ideas for you to try. I am frugal and must run out of some cleaning products prior to making my own. But the ingredients are so simple: vodka (yep, the cheaper the better!), baking soda, vinegar, and essential oils. Minus the essential oils, most stuff can be purchased at the regular grocery store. What a great way to save some money as well as taking better care of yourself and your family.

Trip to Sea World

Little got to go to see Shamu last weekend with PaPa and Nanna....she had a great time, except for the unexpected stomach bug that showed up at Sea World, too!!!! Didn't bother her as much as Nanna and PaPa having to change the yucky diapers!!! She's all better now and LOVES her MuMu!!! They watch Sponge Bob together!

WOW & OMG

Hair today.....

Gone tomorrow!!!!

After how many years, I've gone and done it! I cut my hair off today (ten inches to be exact!). I'd been growing tired of it, bored with it, didn't know what to do with it, afraid that it was aging me....so I cut it off and will be sending it to Locks of Love. I'm not in love with it yet, how can I be, I almost cried when she cut it off....but it is for a great cause and my hair grows VERY fast......and think of the time I'll be saving in the morning!

How many is too many?

I want you to take a moment and tab over to your email(s) and see how many emails you have sitting in your inbox......I'll wait for you to come back...tick, tick, tick....ok, so now you have the magic number in your head!!! What is too many? I happened to check mine out yesterday while I was in my "swimming" email (like most folks, I have more than one email account; I have four). I had almost 300 email!! Are you kidding???? Who needs that many emails????? Not I! But, how do you determine importance? have you answered, acted on all of them? Do I need to save them?

That then begs the question: If you are organized and you file your emails, will you ever go back and look at those? I have files for Blackberry pictures, ISR, registrations, potential students and the list does go on and on.

For my school email, I try to keep my inbox down to less than 30, frequently cleaning out my sent file. For my university email, it is less than 20 b/c we do almost everything in our on-line classroom, so I don't have a need to keep stuff past the day of grades being posted. My Yahoo account is basically defunct and then there is my monsterous swimming account. I did clean house yesterday and got it down to less than 150....but that is still HUGE to me. I'll have to work on that....yeah right, in my spare time!!! Happy emailing!! :-)

My Peeps

I have updated my bookshelf, tunes to listen to and moved some stuff around. I even added a new section, "My Peeps." I'm currently sad b/c I don't have any peeps. I'd like you to sign up and be one of my peeps...it just means you follow my blog...nothing serious or anything....doubtful you'll even get a Christmas card from me!! ha, ha.....help out a sista, ok????

Future Runner

Here is our future runner!!! Don't worry, we'll get her more appropriate running clothes and gear when she gets a little more serious about her training!