No Longer a News Junkie

okay, I haven't blogged since DECEMBER!! No one reason for that . . . just busy . . but probably the main reason is that I haven't really had anything specific to say . . . until now. But now I just want to vent! POLITICIANS ARE MESSING UP OUR ECONOMY!! Simply put but oh sooooo true! I spend a lot of time in my car during the day, driving to and from work. During that time, I once would listen to a couple of local talk radio stations. But I'm no longer doing that because it upsets me too much to hear about how the government is trying to fix our economy. I'll tell you how our economy can be fixed . . . POLITICIANS NEED TO STAY OUT OF IT!!! I will proudly admit that I did not vote for President Obama. He is wrong for our country for sooo many reasons . . . none of which have to do with his race! I briefly did listen to a national radio talk show a few days ago and heard one of President Obama's team members (he wasn't in the cabinet but rather a technical support person for his economic team). Anyway, the guy had the audacity to say that Americans were GREEDY!!! And he further said that things will begin to improve for our country once President Obama is able to fully implement his plans for the country. I just immediately turned off my radio and screamed back "I AM NOT GREEDY!! Politicians are greedy!!! They are greedy for POWER!!! THEY WANT MORE AND MORE POWER SO THEY CAN RUN AMERICANS' LIVES!!! I am 44 years old and thanks to God I've NEVER had to receive government assistance. I've earned every penny I've ever had in my hand! And as long as God gives me the ability to do so, I'll continue to earn money by working hard. In exchange for my working hard, my employer will continue to pay me a salary. I want to earn as much money as possible so that I can enjoy life and help support my family. Is that being greedy?!? No!!! It's being ambitious!!! It's wanting to be successful!!! It's wanting to be independent!!! How dare someone call me, an AMERICAN, GREEDY!!! I don't want anyone else's money or possessions. I want to earn my way!! President Obama has recently stated that certain executives who received bonuses (in the PRIVATE SECTOR) should not have received those bonuses. He said that there will be a time to receive bonuses and that now is not the time!!! How dare he!!! If those executives' employers believe that they deserve a bonus, then by gosh, they should receive bonuses. What business is it of our President's? NONE!!!! It's not coming out of his pocket!!!! But apparently he thinks that just because the country's economic situation is on the downside right now, then EVERYONE should be feeling the hurt!! Apparently, he feels that it's not FAIR that some individuals are prospering during this time. And if he had his way about it, he would personally oversee every single American worker's paycheck! NOW THAT'S BEING GREEDY!!!

Wheww!!! So you see I can no longer stomach listening to news talk shows . . . because I just get too upset at the things that I hear. So for now, I'll keep listening to my music as I drive back and forth from my office.

Blogging Again

It's Working

I think most Americans are finding ways to cut back these days. And I'm certainly no exception. In fact, I'm proudly announcing today that my efforts are paying off. Our power bill this month was about $80 less than last month's. Praise the Lord! I'll give part of the credit to the cooler days now that it's fall, but I also believe it's because I'm constantly walking through the house turning off lights in empty rooms. Empty rooms have no need for burning light bulbs. I'm trying to get that through to our son. I told him last night that I was going to start charging him a quarter everytime he walks out of his room and leaves the light on. His response? "Are you going to start charging Dad if he leaves a light on in a room, too?" To which my husband replied, "I'M the one who PAYS the light bill." A minor detail my son seemed to have forgotten.

My grocery money is going farther, too. We're eating take-out a lot less than we used to do, which is not only healthier for us but cost-saving as well.

I truly believe that eventually the economy will naturally get back on course, but I plan on continuing my cost-saving plan. Money is much too hard to earn for it to be wasted.

Family Time

Thanks to some unknown incident on a local highway I was traveling on my way home from work yesterday, I got home about thirty minutes later than usual. I call it an "unknown incident" because I never actually saw the reason for the traffic jam. Oh well, I already had my dinner cooked (left over roast beef from the night before), so I didn't let the delay get to me. I walked in the door, and my son said, "Mom, the power's been out . . . it just came back on." It wasn't storming or windy so again another unknown incident. Knowing that a delicious meal was only a microwave moment away, I non-chalantly took my roast out of the refrigerator and put some rolls in the oven. What a smart woman I was (I thought to myself) to have cooked this big roast the night before. As I was patting myself on the back, it happened . . . complete darkenss and silence. The power was out again. And there on the counter sat my beautifully sliced, COLD roast beef. I waited for a few minutes, hoping that the power would come back on . . . but it didn't. So, since my oven was still warm, I decided to put the roast beef in the oven . . . that would at least take off the chill. My rolls were fully cooked, at least, and I did have some potatoes that I had baked in the microwave. So, there we were, my husband, my son, and me - feasting on semi-warm roast beef in the dark.

After dinner, the power was still out (according to the power company, it should be on by 10:30). That meant that we had three hours to keep ourselves entertained with only one flashlight! It's a good thing we're a close family and enjoy each other's company. We played charades, then I made finger puppets on the wall (I make a pretty good finger bunny rabbit). After all of that fun, we decided to take a walk. We could see the power trucks going up and down the dirt road behind our house. So they were working on the problem (whatever the problem was).

The evening continued with our son playing his guitar as we sang some old hymns. And then we talked . . . we talked about school, work, politics and we talked about the September 11 events (since this is the 7th anniversary week).

The power came back on a little after 10:00. I had dirty dishes and clothes that all needed washing, but it was too late for all of that. Even though the evening chores didn't get done, we all enjoyed our family time together.

Talking Politics

Like many Americans, I watched Governor Palin's amazing speech last night. It was one of the best political speeches I've heard throughout my lifetime. One thing that impresses me so much about Governor Palin is the way in which she articulates her thoughts. I noticed that from the very first time I heard her speak when Senator McCain introduced her as his running mate. And like so many Americans, I'm becoming more impressed with her as time passes. My husband and son are both impressed with Governor Palin as well. My son's reasons for liking her so much are not only because of her political views, but because he think's she's "hot". I'll have to agree that she is a very pretty woman.

So, I'm excited and proud to be a McCain/Palin supporter. I'm looking forward to helping make this team the next President and Vice-President of our wonderful country!

God Bless America!

The Flip Flop Witness

Over a year ago, my 71 year old mom was mugged and robbed by a worthless thug! After months of investigating, a suspect was apprehended. The loser has been in jail for the past few months. Yesterday my mom had to appear before a grand jury regarding her case. Now my mom has always prided herself as being a fashionable woman. So she arrived at the courthouse dressed in her, as she described to me, "cute, pink capris pants, matching t-shirt, and flip-flops". Present in the courtroom were the presiding judge, an assistant district attorney, and the panel of 16 jurors. My mom said that she was somewhat nervous but composed as she answered the questions from the judge and prosecutor. When the hearing was finished, my mom left the courthouse and met a friend for some shopping.

When my mom arrived home from shopping, she was changing out of her "cute capris" and noticed that she was wearing one green and pink flip-flop, and one red and white flip-flop. Not only had she worn the two different colored flip-flops shopping, but she had worn them at the hearing! When my mom was telling me her story, she told me how embarrassed she was that she appeared in court that way. I told my mom that she shouldn't worry because perhaps the jurors just thought that the entire mugging incident had left her so distraught that she wasn't even able to dress herself appropriately. This may even add a few years to the sentence.

Womanhood

The symptoms are there . . . I'm tense, I look as if I'm three months pregnant, and I feel like my back-side weighs 50 pounds. I know my "monthly time" is nearby. That's okay, though. I'd rather be HAVING it than NOT having it. If I weren't having it, that would mean that I was either pregnant, or post-menopause. And I wouldn't want to experience either of those conditions at this point in my life. So I'm perfectly content in experiencing a little discomfort and inconvenience for a few days each month.

Finding out about entering womanhood is a memory forever etched in my mind. You know how we always remember where we were when we heard about a major event? Like when the space shuttle exploded, I was at work and one of my co-workers who was watching the launch on television came out of his office to tell us about the explosion. And when I found out about John Lennon being shot, I was at my high school. Well, when I found out about womanhood, I was in my bedroom (which was decorated with bright floral drapes and bedspreads - it was the early '70's). I can still remember where I was sitting. My two older sisters had taken it upon themselves to tell me all about growing from a child into a young woman. However, they only told me "part" of the story. These are their exact words, "when your b_ _ bs get bigger, you have to start wearing these" (and they were holding up a maxi pad). It was kind of like "show and tell". That's it. That's all they told me. And I suppose I was in too much of a shock to ask any questions. I don't remember anything else about that fateful afternoon.

Okay, so I then knew that when my breasts got larger, I had to start wearing pads. I'm a fairly smart person so I deducted from my sisters' information that I had to stuff the pads down my shirt. They didn't tell me WHERE I had to start wearing the pads, just that I had to start wearing them. So for the next year or so, waiting for my breasts to grow, I would discreetly look at older girls and women to see if I could tell if they were wearing a pad underneath their shirt. Surprisingly to me, I never could tell which really made me feel better because I was concerned that everyone would be able to see the pads.

As time passed, my sisters never mentioned the subject again (and I certainly didn't ask). So I went until I actually entered womanhood thinking that maxi pads were stuffed down your shirt when your breasts grew larger. Needless to say, when I did enter womanhood, I immediately deduced where the pads went.

Several decades later, my sisters and I still laugh about this. This clearly shows that it's always best to tell the WHOLE truth.