Riddle me this, Batman? If the government can suddenly afford 3.6 Trillion to save the nations financial institutions that made poor decisions and took advantage of weak government regulations, where was that money when we needed health care for the elderly and under privileged, for the schools that can’t buy new books, and for the other organizations that help the citizens of this country??? Are those organizations getting any of that?? I guess you have to be bigger than AIG if you want to have a hand out for hand outs, and have fewer morals. While we are saving everyone but the organizations that deserve it, lets cut the military back like the last Democrat in office did and see if we can’t bring this war home and fight it here, too. I bet that would really take the focus off our failine economy now wouldn't it?? Maybe our priorities would shift a little in the correct direction.

I'm probably more Republican than Democrat, and I'm not saying the GOP handles things better all the time. But America is based on free enterprise, capitalism if you will. So let the people generate the revenue, fix the tax laws to allow that, stop taking money from the people who work to give it to the people who don't. The people who are able can work for the people who make the money, hello. The government should support government institutions like schools and such, hello. That is what the taxes are for.

When you can't afford to support your own government, isn't THAT the problem? You should pay for what you expect from your government, and once that price is too high, then it's time for change. And I don't think this "change" that was voted for is really the change we need.

It is not the time to let the government have tighter reign on what makes America great. Even as uneducated in politics as I am, I feel like we are on the brink of something far more scary than just a "bailout" to save our finances. I think we are about to allow the government to control more than we ever wanted them to.

Shit rolls downhill, friends. If the goverment controls the institutions that caused this, and it was the government's policies and half assed regulations that allowed this abuse, then eventually, indirectly, this means the goverment now controls my finances, your finances, our banks finances, our employers finances, etc.

This is the same government that just ended a contract for CONDEMS from a US company to buy condems for 1/2 price overseas. This will lay off 300 more workers as of next week. Condems, friends. Of all the things. What will they end for US companies next? Who gets to decide who gets bailed out and who gets laid off? Not us the ones paying for it, that's for sure.

Think about it. Do some research. Don't research CNN and Fox news, research economists, legitimate ones. See what they have to say. They'll scare you far more than any thriller movie.

Hermione the Healer

My kitten is such a goofball.  She has to sleep with her paw on something like she's healing whatever she is touching.  Spot looks SO pleased!!  LOL.......she also plays fetch.  It's hilarious.  Video coming soon!!

A new baby girl!!

This is Isabel Grace, my brand new niece that was born today!! She's a little clone of our grandmonther, Dorothy Edwards, whom we all miss dearly.

Congratulations Cecil and Stephanie!!

Sad

My best friend left yesterday. She'll be gone for a whole year. 60 days in Ft. Sill, OK then about 10 or 11 months in Iraq. It's going to be a long year.

What's the big grin for? I'll tell you...........

The big cheesy grin is because I just checked my little goal tracker on my support website and was very suprised to learn.................drum roll please........................



As of today I am 292 days smoke free!!!! Yes, TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO days I have not even held a cigarette in my little paw.



(insert chubby white girl happy dance here)

GRRRRRRRRRR

Somedays just aren't fun. Kunf Fu Hamster is going to kick some rear for me. He promised.

Work is actually bothering me for once, which is fairly unusual since I stopped traveling. My BFF is headed to Iraq in 3 days and I won't see her for a year. Not that we have ever lived in the same places and have gone longer without seeing each other, but it still sucks. I've been such a wreck lately, a total emotional roller coaster. Luckily, Terry just seems to roll with it. He find me, in tears in the living room. He asks what is wrong? I tearfully inform him that I'm tired of being the only person that cares about everything and that I hate the living room. Not that this makes ANY sense at all, but Terry (bless him) simply gets out a tape measure and starts measuring and comes up with a new living room arrangement. Not even a week later, I start getting upset again, and now the kitchen has been re-arranged. How do you re-arrange a kitchen, you ask? Well, I will tell you. First you have to have a house that is tiny by even Chinese standards. Then you have to have a ginormous refridgerator that just LOOMS wherever it desires because this house was not designed back in 1928 to house a fridge. Then, you have to have a useless 65 gallon fish tank that takes an entire day to move and it's always in my way when I want to make my house more efficient. Then you have to want a breakfast nook, but the fish tank prevents this. Then you have to cry, your fiance then helps move the fridge to another available electrical outlet, then you have to still be upset (but not showing it) that the fish tank is STILL there. Oh, and then add grease all over the floor from when your fiance decided to fry mushrooms like an Iron Chef. There was oil splattering everywhere, he was flipping mushrooms in the air, occasionally there were some impressive flames. The result? Very tasty, tender mushrooms with dinner and oil covering my stove, wall, and half my kitchen floor. And, that my friends, is how you re-arrange a kitchen that was never meant to house a refridgerator and a fish tank. Or an Iron Chef.

Oh yes, and my favorite plant died.

In loving memory of my rosemary tree........a moment of silence..........(insert cheesy music here)

SPRING MUST COME SOON!! FOR MY SANITY!!!

Here is hoping........

So over the weekend, I noticed some serious grumpiness on my part, starting on Saturday. By Sunday I was in the throes of yet another debilitating headache. I've had about 6 so far in the last 2 months. By 4am Monday morning, as I'm huddled on the living room couch, tears falling, Terry took me out to his oxygen tank that the VA gave him for his migraines. About 5 minutes of oxygen really seemed to take the edge off, and I was able to fall asleep until my alarm went off 2 hours later. I called in sick to work, and spent all day Monday hopped up on pain killers and muscle relaxers, which did nothing. I still had a headache all day. Tuesday morning I went to work with a headache. Out of desperation, I called my old chiropractor and they had an immediate opening. After some rather amusing confusion of WHERE my doc is located (he's moved since my last visit) he was able to get lots of pops and cracks out of my neck. By the time I got into my car, the pain in my head had changed from that constant ache to the sort of pain you know is on the downhill slope. By the end of the afternoon I was feeling really good and by this morning I was feeling rather AWESOME.

But the awesomeness is now dampened. Terry FINALLY went to court for his DUI charges. They've pushed the date several times, so it's been over 4 months now. They changed what he was going to be punished with right then and there, so what we were expecting to happen is 6 months suspended license, ACT classes, $1000 fine. What he got is 6 months suspended jail time, 5 days house arrest, 1 day in jail, $600 fine, 12 month suspended license, ACT classes, and to put the cherry on the cake, regular check in's with a parole officer and random UA's. She was kind enough to drop the fine by $400 because he'll have to pay extra for the parole supervision. What a peach. Any breach of anything, being late to a parole appointment, missing any of the $100 payments he'll make to Rimrock Foundation and P&P.......do not pass go, do not collect $200, Go directly to jail for 6 months.

But it's OVER, and so because I always try to find the good in everything, there it is. 4 months of waiting is finally over and we can finally make some plans and just move on. We've been preparing for this, and Terry has been dry since the day he was arrested. So the hard part is over. Thank goodness. Although this ordeal has had it's ups and mostly downs, I think we are stronger as a couple because of it. I think some very hard truths were faced and dealt with when things were at their worst, and we made it. I admit, I had my doubts, but we made it, and we'll make it through this as well.

So, a funny picture to lighten the mood.............

Just adorable

I got this picture from my sis. Talk about adorable, yet you can tell that little girl is a HANDFUL!!!!

My Birthday

Well, I got to hand it to Terry. He truly surprised me this year!!! The awesome gifts, the spa day, and then the dinner where everyone was there that I didn't know about!!!

Totally makes up for all the crappy birthdays I've been having. I was pushing a streak of like 4 birthdays in a row where either something totally f***ed up happened or like on my 30th birthday where EVERYONE forgot and no one other than a couple of family members called me. I mean, no cards, no presents (Mom got me something nice) no party, no cake NOTHING. I've been SEVERELY tee'd off about that one for a long long time. I was under the impression that your 30th was something special and I was obviously misinformed. I had worked my butt off throwing 2 very nice birthday parties (Jen and Terry) and had to be at another very nice birthday party for a friend in the 2 months prior to my 30th birthday so it was pretty much just a huge fist to the face when no one even remembered me.

But Terry TOTALLY MADE UP FOR THAT!!!!! The whole weekend was incredible. Kudo points are still being tallied...........................

2009

2009 is shaping up to be a great year! I was completely unable to sleep during the first official full night of 2009. Foreshadowing, anyone??

I seem to be trying to make up for slacking in 2008. Already for 2009 I have set some very strict money saving goals, so all spare cash will be going into that immediately. I am also planning a wedding and that cash saving thing might crimp that a little, but it's early in the year, so here is hoping!! I'm going to be the Team Captain for a Shape Up MT team of 7 people and our goal is weight loss :o) And all this is by May 1!!!

This summer is our Hayes Ranch Centennial, which I am sure will be as chaotic as the 50+ Anniversary a couple of years ago (Keri lost her cool several times during that venture). Let's all hope my BIL Brandon can refrain from any hospital visits that cause him to miss the fun.....LOL.....

My step son Tristan will be here for the summer. This will be my 3rd summer as step mom Keri, so hoping to improve my step mommy skills even more!!

In the fall, it will be wedding details. Another friend is getting married in August, then my wedding Oct 31. I am nearly done with the "planning" part, so I'll be watching craft shows like an eagle all year for invitation deals and centerpiece deals.

After the wedding, there is no honeymoon planned at this point, so we will then prepare for a full frontal assault of the holiday season. I shudder at the thought as the 2008 holiday season is still haunting my dreams!!

Also some key things in 2009 - April 14 will be my 1 year anniversary for quitting smoking!!........Terry and I will be working hard on building our business/website even more this year........and hopefully, some preliminary house hunting/planning will ensue :o) ....also, I want to be involved in more community walks this year, and to start doing some serious biking. I discovered after quitting smoking that I really do enjoy riding a bicycle!!

Also, my fledgeling gardening abilities will be put to the test again this year.......so far I have killed my rosemary tree, Jen's amarylis bulb, and half killed my "foliage plant." This summer I should see my transplanted tulip groups bloom in the front yard, the iris bulbs won't bloom but there should be some green, the wild rosebushes will decide to give it up forever or just bloom out of sheer spite, and hopefully my inherited rhubarb plants will grow again!!!

I tell you, staying at home has been difficult for the past year, but I seem to be getting better at NOT travelling and getting involved in other things than racking up airline miles and Holiday Inn Express points!!

I guess I'd better start off by getting some sleep this year, eh??

Scary stuff

We had just a little bit too much excitement this morning. As Terry and I were opening the garage door and I happened to look down our VERY long VERY ICY driveway and there lies a body. Terry started running toward the prone man while I called 911 and went to wake up my neighbors, who happen to be paramedics.

Terry was able to get a response out of the man, he was quite elderly. He had blood running down the side of his face where he had hit his head and his glasses had cut near his eye. My neighbor, Tyler, was able to talk to the man, and we found out that he was our other neighbors grandfather. His car was parked nearby as well. He had been trying to walk to his grandson's door when he fell coming up our driveway to get to the sidewalk.

He seemed ok, but we had to convince the poor man to keep laying in the snow. He complained about how cold it was, but we made the poor guy lay there, bleeding until the ambulance got there. He was very upset we called an ambulance, and we explained to him that he didn't have to go to the hospital, but we needed to make sure he really was ok. The firemen and paramedics got him standing, two of them almost going down in the process. We got his grandson up and had him come out. By this time there was quite a crowd.

Finally, the paramedics took him to his car so the poor man could sit down and get warm while they checked his vitals and cleaned up his poor bloody face. One of the lenses of his glasses was missing and his glasses were bent around his face.

WAY too much excitement for me. I'm VERY squeamish around people fluids. There is blood on my driveway and it just makes me shudder to think about it. I'm very happy that the man who fell is ok. Like I said, he was quite elderly, but was able to remember his name and speak clearly. He doesn't remember falling, though.

So be careful out there. It's more slippery than Obama out there.

I'm so popular!!

Yay I have a follower! My SIL Michelle and I can stalk each other electronically now!!!! Therefore the happy baby dragon!!

It's that boring today..........

So today is my first day of blogging. I'm at work. On Christmas Eve. I think that explains enough.......LOL....... I'm THAT bored today, and I have an hour to kill before leaving for the day.

So here is a picture of my kitty, Hermione. In this picture she's about 5 months old and sitting in a tree, being all pretty and posing. The hidden secret about Hermione is that she is truly some sort of SatanSpawn. I am NOT joking. My pretty (albeit fake) Christmas tree so far has borne the brunt of it. At least twice a day, Terry or myself has to re-bend tree limbs back to where they should be, hunt down ornaments, and find the insanely invisible ornament hangers.

Ink and Spot still hiss and growl at Hermione. She's been with us for 6 months now and they STILL pitch a fit when she comes near them. Being the true cat-parents that we are, Terry and I emphatically defend our babies to each other. For example Terry will yell "Hermione, leave Spot alone!" To which I reply in my most calm psycho-woman voice "Spot went over there on purpose it's not her fault!!" Such is our entertainment.

And here are "My boys." Terry and his completely awesome sons, Gavyn (middle) and Tristan (right). Gavyn is 3 and Tristan is almost 9 now. I take lots of pictures of them because if there is one thing I learned from my mother and grandmother, pictures are black mail at some point in your life. I look forward with great anticipation of future embarassing moments when dear old Step Mom whips out cut kiddo pics..........(insert evil laugh here) Not sure where Gavyn got that little pimping pose.........LOL.....

And these two lovely bundles of.....lazy.....are Ink and Spot. Spot being the fat shaved one on the right (the spot on his nose is a clue, too) and Ink is the pretty pink nosed one on the left. Ink is particularly phsychotic and freaks out all the time. He's also got this adorable twitch and it takes people several visits to actually SEE him and believe that we aren't making up some invisible cat friend for Spot. Spot can't decide if he's cat, dog, or human and is an alarming mix of all 3. He listens to commands like a dog, but shows off his disgusting man-habits like an old man. Then he'll do something completely cat-like, like sleep all day. They are Terry's babies and he fusses after them as such.

And this is just another random picture that makes me laugh hysterically. WTF is one of my favorite things to type or say, and I still to this day find people who don't know what WTF stands for. Well, people, here it is. The Explanation.

And this is just simply hilarious!! Terry plays Warhammer 40,000 (pronounced Warhammer 40 K) and they have lots of violent battle scenes as artwork on books, in their codex's and it's a part of the 40K culture. This cracks me up and whoever thought of it has a charmingly twisted sense of humor. Because what is completely opposite a galaxy ruled by an Emperor that is confined to his throne for the last 10 centuries, every planet found is forced to become part of the Imperium by the Imperial Guard, where elite forces, called Space Marines fight not only hostile planets but dedicate their existence to the eradication of Chaos?? ...............uh......... so........ Yeah, so I read them to, OK? Don't judge me. Oh, and that huge fist the cute little kitty is holding up, yeah, that's called a power-claw or something even more hideous. Space Marines have more hydraulics than a car-club. Probably has some incongruously oxymoronic name like Doom Kitty Fuzzy Death Paw and comes from the Litter Cluster which is in the Purring Chaos Death Gate part of the galaxy.

Whew, I killed enough time to finally leave!! Blogging IS useful!!

Hmmmm..I am one of THOSE people now!!

My first blog that isn't on myspace! I'm far too excited about this. My SIL Michelle has one of these and it looks fun, so I figured I'd try my hand at it, even though there isn't much in my life to blog about other than my personal whining!!

So here is an interesting picture that never fails to absolutely crack me up! It's called Peep Show and it's the sort of random thing I love.