Happy New Year to Everyone all over the World

Click here for a Happy New year greeting for all my friends in Blogland. I wish you all Peace and Joy and Happiness for the New Year. With today being the last day of this year I thought I would reflect on what this year has been like for me. I'll try to re-cap it the best I can.

January - I turned 44. Bob's flight was cancelled so he couldn't come here to
see me so we could celebrate our birthdays together.

February -Bob made it here and we ended up celebrating our birthdays as well
as Valentines day together. Wished Bob a happy 45th birthday by
phone. Helped my daughter celebrate her 26th birthday.

March - I walked off my job at Subway exactly a year after going back to them
because of the way I was treated. I spent 9 wonderful days with Bob
and his family over Easter. I also got to help Bob work at the
townhouse he was remodeling in DC. Wished my Niece a happy
birthday.

April - I started my new job at the restaurant I'm currently working at. Started
my 1st blog.

May - Helped my son...(my youngest child) celebrate his 24th Birthday. Went
visit my other niece to take pictures of her new baby girl.

June - Took a 3 day weekend and visited Bob again. Put my son on the plane
that flew him to Jacksonville, Florida to live.

July - Celebrated my grand daughter's 5th birthday at the lake with my
daughter.

August - Went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame parade for the 1st time in years
and took some cool photos. Helped my Mom celebrate her 73rd
birthday. Made a homemade card to mail to Bob's Mom for her 78th
birthday. Picked Bob up at the airport so he could spend a 3 day
weekend here with me. Wished a great nephew a happy birthday by
email. Wished my Nephew (little nephew's dad) and his wife a happy
6th wedding anniversary by email. Wished my best friend Cheryl and
her hubby a happy 6th wedding anniversary too.

September - Had my 1st ever colonoscopy. Had 2 polops removed that were not
cancerous. Wished my parents a happy 51st anniversary.

October - worked my tailend off and don't recall much else for this month.
Deleted my 1st blog and started this new one.

November - spent the best 9 day vacation in my entire life,with Bob. We even
took my grand daughter to go see the Care Bears Live concert. I got
to meet Bob's sister Valerie while on vacation.

December - Worked.....worked...and worked some more. Recieved the greatest
surprise ever for Christmas this year when my Bob flew in for an
overnight visit to be with me for Christmas.


How was your 2005??

In reflecting back over this year, I'm certain I missed some things I did. I just can't recall it all. I do know that this year has flown by. They say every year goes by faster. I am hoping this New Year coming doesn't fly by so fast that I forget things I've done. I'm sure the most important ones have stayed in my mind. (the use a my calendar helped too...lol) I want to let each of you know that I'm glad to have been associated with you if only here in blogland. It's been fun and I hope to enjoy your visits and I intend to continue my visits to you as well. This year has been filled with plenty of ups and downs and my downs were mostly self brought on. I'm positive this new year coming has many great things waiting for me and I intend to grab on to all of them.

Happy New Year!!!

I'm very angry at the moment!!

I truely don't understand how things are done anymore. It used to be if you post dated a check to pay something and asked them to hold it ...they would. Oh no...I'm in a new century of "electronics" and things aren't done this way. I am not a person that writes checks. In fact I should have opened a savings account not a checking account but the automatic deposit has to be done with a checking account. Anyway.....I feel the need to bitch about this to get it out of my system so I can get on with my day. 2 weeks ago I opened a new checking account due to the fact that I switched banks. I signed the neccessary paperwork for my paycheck to be automatically deposited...(something the company I work for does for us). The problem isn't with that. On the 30th of each month, I have an automatic withdrawl come out of my checking account for my truck insurance. I have had this done now for a few years and it works beautifully...until now. I had the insurance company stop the autopayment since I changed banks. I have recently signed and sent back the new papers so they can set this new account up with the autodeductions. I needed to send them a check for December's payment though. All I had at the time were the starter checks...you know the ones without your name and address etc.....but she said that was fine. I told her that the money would not be in my account until the 30th and that I would date the check for that date. Because of the Holidays I sent the check out so that my payment would be recieved ontime. This entire time I'm thinking things would be fine. I had everything set and in place. Well....guess again!!! I logged onto my checking account this morning to make sure my direct deposit was in my account and I was pleased to see that it was. However, the dollar amount was smaller than it should be....(I'm on salary so it's always the same). Upon further looking over my account I see the bank has charged me an overdraft fee of $32. WTF!!!!! Ok....by this time I'm starting to get boiling mad. I didn't do anything to cause this overdraft. After all it's a brand fucking new account and I know how much money I had in there. Come to see the check they returned was none other than my insurance check that was processed on the 28th of December!!!!!! I immediately called my insurance company demanding an explaination!! Oh, well that was a waste of time. I was simple told that everything is done electronically and when they recieve a check for payment they process it. I said BUT HOW CAN YOU DO THAT IF IT WAS DATED FOR THE 30TH!!!! She simply said they don't take postdated checks and she appologized for any inconvience about me being told I could send the check out. Oh..you appologize??!!! So Yoy will remburse me my $32 overdraft fee then?? No Ma'm I won't because you sent the payment to us for payment. I was not a very nice person at this point and used many colorful words of expression when she said this to me and she told me I had to deal with my bank for the fee that was charged. Well I wasn't very nice to the guy at the bank that I talked to either when he said that if I wrote the check there was nothing they could do about it since the check arrived electronically and they don't use dates. I wanted to scream so bad. This is the reason I do not write checks other than for my rent. No one can explain it to me WHY checks can get processed before the date they are written for. It's times like this that I detest most of modern technology. Bottom line is this......I paid my insurance with a check from an account that had insuffient funds in it so I'm out the $32!! That is Bullshit because I knew exactly when the money would be there and if they would have cashed it on the date it was dated for, it would have cleared with no problem. Guess I should have paid it late.....but then they would have charged me a late fee so I still would have been screwed. I never have overdrafts!!!! I know exactly how much money is or is not in my account down to the penny at all times and do my bill paying accordingly. For anyone reading this and wondering....I don't have everdraft protection because I don't qualify for it. I'm working on that....but shit like this doesn't help.

What a way to start my day.....it has to get better!!!

24 days from now......

I'm excited about what happens in just 24 more days....not only will it be my birthday but due to My Bob's wonderful early birthday present, it's the day I fly down to Jacksonville, Florida to see my son for a few days. Can you believe I'll be 45 years old already?? Sure don't feel like it....well some days I do but I try to ignore those days...lol. My son says he's going to do his best to have a Birthday party for me since I've never had one. I'm not quite sure what he has in mind since it will only be himself, his roommate Phil and Phil's girlfriend but I'm sure no matter what he comes up with I'll have a blast. I haven't seen David since he left June 30th to move to florida. This will be awesome. Bob did a very special thing when he bought those plane tickets for me. So since I love to have a count down to special things, this is my most current one.

Frappr Map is back

Please take a few moments to add yourself.

All Edits are now complete

I have just completed my last edit for today. The only thing I'm missing now is my Frappr Map. I'll get it back later and when I do...I hope you will all sign back up on it.

I was stopping by blogs this morning as I was adding them to my website and I found a great idea on Brico's blog. Now I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but when I read what he's doing I thought that was a cool idea. So I'd like to try that here. If you all would help me out by "hounding" me about my resolution, then perhaps I can stick with it. I inturn would love to "hound" you about yours...you just have to let me know in the comments what your resolution is. Here's mine. I have a membership to the gym that is automatically deducted from my checking account once a month. I NEVER get there. I'm wasiting my money and I am making a New Year's Resolution to spend less time on the computer and more time at the gym. I'm sure that if you start bugging me about whether or not I'm going, I'll get there so I don't have to lie about it. I'm an honest person and that would drive me crazy...lol. So....are you willing to do this with me? If so....fill up the comment box.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

I'm having a brain fart!!!!

So I was changing my yahoo avatar for kicks and posted it. That screwed up my blog settings somehow and all my previous posts where all out of line. I couldn't fix it even after deleting my yahoo avatar. I'm sure there was a code or something I deleted by accident. So I got the bright idea to just change blog templetes all together. Well that fixed the template and now my posts are where they are supposed to be. However, my haloscan is gone as are all the links to my favorite blogs I read. I can't for the life of me remember how to put them back on. I'm missing the little codes before the link. I remember this much <>a/Li> for after the link......anyone care to help my tired brain out with what goes infront of the links so I can get them all back?

Perhaps this is all because I ate too many holiday cookies and NO..I did not eat any of the RUM BALLS...(yet)...lol

I had a great Christmas with Bob and my family...I'll post pictures soon.

And the results are.........

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Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism 70% Type 2 Helpfulness 62% Type 3 Image Focus 58% Type 4 Hypersensitivity 70% Type 5 Detachment 34% Type 6 Anxiety 74% Type 7 Adventurousness 42% Type 8 Aggressiveness 62% Type 9 Calmness 42%

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Christmas came early..........

Many of you know I have been feeling down about the Holidays and it not feeling like it was Christmas. Alot of that was due to the fact that I have been worked to death with all the nights shifts lately. The stressing of playing the "waiting" game with my daughter as to whether or not she will go into labor at any moment plays a big part in my feelings as well. I have to admit the biggest reason I have been down is I simply have been missing Bob an awful lot. He has been a real stinker lately in keeping the biggest secret ever. He had his flight booked for about 2 weeks and couldn't say anything since he was trying to surprise me with a visit for Christmas. It wasn't until today when his flight from Dulles International landed in Detroit for a connection to Akron/Canton did I get a phone call from him saying...."You better watch out....you better not cry......(at this point I started to cry because I was certain he was telling me he couldn't get away to come here)...you better not pout....I'm telling you why...SANTA IS COMING"!!!! I was crying and excited and nervous and relieved all at the same time. I had to ask him if he was really coming and where was he. When he told me he was in Detroit headed for Akron/Canton....I couldn't hold back my tears and he said...."no crying...you're supposed to be happy". I was extremely happy...just tons of stress bottled up came out at once. As soon as I hung up the phone...I couldn't stop looking at the clock. At that point he was going to be here in just a little over an hour. I finished work and picked him up and haven't let him out of my sight since.....(even now as he's watching me type this). I'm so thrilled that he's here. The only down side to this visit as he has to leave early tomorrow. I did however get the #1 item on my Christmas list and that was to simply be able to sit on Santa's lap on Christmas Day. I called my Mom and Daughter so they would all come over today for our Christmas gift exchange. Everyone is gone now and it's just us 2 ( and the dog that is hogging Bob at the moment..lol). I just had to come on here and let everyone know that I did infact get to be with my Bob on Christmas. I couldn't have wanted anything more than that.....(except a longer visit).

I feel so much better and at the same time feel sorta silly for allowing myself to get so down. It's just so hard to be away from him like this. I hope you all are having a great Holiday with your loved ones. I wish you all Peace and Joy.

Hugs to all.......Merry Christmas.

Jan & Bob

Bragging about my Bob.....

Bob is a private kind of man. He hates to be the center of attention. He is very talented and smart and I just feel the need to brag about him for a little bit. He has worked at various different jobs in his lifetime, yet the thing he enjoys the most is building. Working with his hands and seeing immediate results is something he enjoys. I may be biased, but I have to say he's damn good at what he does. (I have to be careful not to get too personal with this). All the work he does is 99.9% all done by himself. He likes working alone so he doesn't have to worry about what someone else is doing. He knows his own ability and trusts his own judgement. If something were to go wrong, then he did it. I'm going to show you what he's been working on for the past few months now. I'll have to post them in "link form" as for some reason blogger won't work with me here and post them the way I want them too. I hope you enjoy seeing his work. Here is phase one...the foundation. Here is the 1st floor of the addition...(which I got to help put down on a quick visit there back in September). Now keep in mind, Bob doesn't always take pictures so that I have each and every step of the way. Here is the walls on the 1st floor of the addition. Here's another angle of those walls. A few days later...more work on the same walls and a post added for support of the 2nd floor work. After he got that far, he laid the floor for the 2nd story of the addition and added the framing for the walls. (another angle ). Adding more walls and framing for the 2nd story....you can really see it taking shape. Days later still, the roof framing began. Further still....more walls and roof framing. This old vent system had to be removed to make way for the addition and the new roof framing. Here's another angle of the new roof framing he put up recently. This is what he's done today. As you can see, he's getting the boards up on the new roof. Soon he'll have the addition ready to put on roofing shingles. He's also nearly ready to get it closed in by adding the windows and insulation. Before you know it, he'll be ready to tear out the old house wall and make the neccessary adjustments needed to ("blending" as I'll call it) the addtion to the main house. I look at all this progress he's made and I sit back and find myself in awe. He is amazing that he does 99.9% of this ALL BY HIMSELF!!. He is not a man that boasts about himself. He just does what needs done and doesn't see all the fuss. I'm just amazed by his abilities and I wanted to share him with you. Bob reads my journal nearly everyday.....(he's so gonna get me for this...lol)

I love you Bob...I felt compelled to share you the best way I knew how. I love that you work so hard and take such pride in your work. I have enjoyed working with you on a few occassions. I hope to be able to work with you more often in the future. Keep sending me your progress and before you know it we'll have that portfolio put together for you. Hoping to see you soon...I miss you.

My day is over.........

So the little Princess had her school assmebly tonight. It was cute...boring but cute. I have no photos as my daughter had us sitting at the top of the bleachers and my camera doesn't zoom in far enough. I did however get her on video with the camcorder. I have no clue as to how to get the video transfered to something so I can post it on here. I have an older camcorder that uses VHS-C tapes. I have a converter tape that you put this little tape in so you can watch it on the the TV through the VHS player. If anyone knows how I can possibly get it on a DVD and/or how to make it possoble to show here....I'm all ears.

Oh..and no baby yet. I think she fininally picked a name though. "Isaac Luke"...but since the baby isn't here yet...that could change...after all it's already changed about 4 times that I know of. If my grand daughter had her way...the baby's name would be Yoda....(I know..I said the same thing you're thinking!!!)


For now though...it's time for bed. I'm feeling a bit down as Christmas gets so close and even though I've been wrapping gifts...etc...it just doesn't seem like Christmas to me. I'm working from 10 to 8 tomorrow then off again on Friday. That will be nice. I might pop on here...I might not. Guess I'll wait to see how I feel in the next few days.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged to play along with this game by Pirate. Though I'm sure I've done this before or something similar...(I'm too lazy to go through my archives to see)...I enjoy these so I'll play along again. Just a side note for my dear online blogger friend Pirate....(it's JAN...not Jen...lol) WEll...here it goes..............


What was I doing 10 years ago?: Wow..nothing like making me put on my thinking cap!!!...let's see...in December of 1995 was the year I reconciled all differences with my ex-husband and decided to accept him just the way he was. My Children were still in school and I was working for Subway as a Multi-unit manager. I was just struggling along as a single mom of 2 teenagers and working full time.

What was I doing 5 years ago?: December of 2000 was a tough year for both the kids and myself. My Daughter gave birth that year to my little grand daughter so she was only 5 months old at the time and it was also the first Christmas with their Dad gone....(he'd passed away in April). My Daughter and I were still getting back together on speaking terms after a falling out the year before while she was pregnant. 5 years ago seems like a lifetime ago but it really wasn't was it?

What was I doing last year?: I was back working at subway after not having been there in 9 months.....I hated it and wondered why I was even back....I'd already worked there for nearly 18 years.

What was I doing yesterday?: woke up pretty early...talked to my Bob for a little bit...went to the store for milk...sat and visited with my daughter and opened a package that came UPS with a christmas present in it from MY Bob's brother....he sent me a flower bulb to plant in a really nice vase...(Amaryllis)...took my daughter to the dollar tree for stocking stuffers for my grand daughter then went to work from 2 to midnight.

5 yummy things I like:

1.) Chocolate

2.) Carrot Cake

3.) Baked Sweet Potatoes

4.) the smell of Vanilla

5.) Banana Nut Muffins




5 things I know by heart:

1.) My Social Security Number

2.) My license plate Number

3.) My Daughter's Social Security Number

4.) All the numbers I use to call My Bob....the 1-800 # of the calling card the 10 digit pin number then all the numbers of both his cell phone and house phone...(I do not own a cell phone..lol)

5.) the safe combination at work since leaving it on day-lock is forbidden and I have to get in and out of it repeatedly on any given shift...lol



5 Things I do if I had lots of money:

1.) See my family members living comfortably.

2.) Travel to the places I've always wanted to go.

3.) have a much better clothing arrangement with stuff that didn't resemble my work uniforms..lol

4.) Be out of debt

5.) Not worry about living far away from family since it would be easier to travel more often to see them.

5 places I'd escape to:

1.) Ireland

2.) Australia

3.) Hawaii

4.) Africa

5.) Alaska


5 Favorite TV shows ......(this will be tough since I don't have TV and have no real clue what's even on anymore..lol)

1.) CSI

2.) House...( I think that is the name of a show I caught last month while on vacation)

3.) Law and Order SVU

4.) ???

5.) ???



5 Things I would never wear:

1.) My birthday suit in public

2.) Spike heels

3.) A mini-skirt

4.) leather pants

5.) those plastic rain hats that little old ladies wear when it rains...lol



5 Things I enjoy doing:

1.) journaling in here

2.) spending time with my grand daughter

3.) taking walks

4.) napping

5.) shooting pool or going bowling which I rarely get the time or have the extra money to do anymore.

I'll tag Gloria and Jenny, Nelly and anyone else that would like to do this....just let us know you are doing it so we can stop by to see it.

Sneaking in a post

I should be in bed....but I've only been home from work now for about 15 minutes. It's freezing cold here. It is only 3º and my truck didn't even heat up until about 8 minutes from my house. If only I didn't drive a 5 speed I could have a remote start and a warm truck for nights like this. Work is going pretty good...it just sucks that I've been on all these night shifts lately. I have another one to go tomorrow night.....(guess that's tonight since it's after midnight...sheesh). I'm off on Wednesday thank goodness. That night is my little Grand daughter's Christmas assembly at the school and I will be there video taping her kindergarten class signing. I'm so glad we found that camcorder battery. We have been using the camera around here for a little while so we can get used to using it before the assembly.

I have been feeling alot better but still not completely over this irritating scratchy throat and weird cough. Tonight my ears are hurting again. I have to put in some more drops when I go to bed. I wanted to thank all of you that stopped by and left well wishes for me. That was very nice.

I'm surprisingly done with my Christmas shopping!!!! The only thing I have left to do is to stop by Wal-Mart and purchase a gift card for my Daughter. I only had a few people to get things for so it was pretty easy to get it all done in a few days. If I only knew what to do with my Bob's presents. He's so busy working on this addition that I don't think he's going to be able to get away for Christmas. I promised him I wouldn't get my hopes up last month when he started to try to make it. I asked him if I should mail them to him or hang on to them and after a pause, he told me to hang on to them just in case. The weather for him this week is going to be ideal working outside weather and I know he has alot to get accomplished. Besides, trying to fly out on such short notice over Christmas has to be expensive. I promised him I'd be a big girl and be understanding if he can't make it here. That doesn't mean I can't be disappointed. Guess I have to keep waiting to see what happens. I Love him no matter what. I know that one day we won't have to worry about whether or not we can get together for a holiday.

Oh dear....it's nearly 1am. I have to get my butt to bed and get some good rest. Tomorrow(today) is here and I haven't been to sleep yet!!!!

This is what I'm missing about now.............

Taking a few days off......

Wow...Christmas is only 8 days away!!!

I have to work nights for the next 4 in a row and still find time to get things done. Leaving the house by 1:30pm and not returning till midnight cuts into tons of my time. I found it nearly impossible to think let alone write any thoughts. I have to stay away from the computer for a few days and get caught up. Plus I'm still trying to fight off this irritating sore throat stuff.

Hoping everyone has a great week and I'll try to do the same.

Happy Holidays!! Here's a greeting for anyone that missed it.

Holiday Greetings!!!

Happy Holidays!!!!

I have found a fun little game for you to play and when you have completed it, your Greeting Card will show up. Hope you enjoy it.


Click Here!

Happy HNT.....

I thought this photo of my grandaughter this past summer makes for a great HNT photo!! This was even before I really knew much about what HNT even was...lol


For anyone stopping by that still doesn't know what HNT is...there is a flashing link in the left sidebar that tells you all about it.....come join the fun.




*EDIT*......For a little fun scroll down to my previous post and post a comment...I'm curious as to what you all come up with.

Make a memory

Snagged this from Dale....

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you!

News article on Yahoo news today.......

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated his anti-Israeli rhetoric Wednesday, calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world.


His remarks drew swift condemnation from Israel, Germany, France and the European Commission. Germany said the remarks would affect upcoming negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad last week questioned whether the Nazi destruction of 6 million European Jews during World War II occurred and said Israel should be moved to Europe. He also provoked an international outcry in October when he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

But Wednesday was the first time he publicly denied the Holocaust. Touring southeast Iran, Ahmadinejad said that if Europeans insist the Holocaust happened, then they are responsible and should pay the price.

"Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in the southeastern city of Zahedan.

"If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?" Ahmadinejad asked rhetorically.

"This is our proposal: if you committed the crime, then give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country," he said, developing a theme he raised in Saudi Arabia last week.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the remarks "shocking and unacceptable." He said the German government had summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to make "unmistakably clear" its displeasure.

"I cannot hide the fact that this weighs on bilateral relations and on the chances for the negotiation process, the so-called nuclear dossier," Steinmeier said, referring to European talks with Iran on its nuclear program.

The German government said Chancellor Angela Merkel would call on the European Union to press for international condemnation at the U.N.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "The repeated outrageous remarks of the Iranian president show clearly the mind-set of the ruling clique in Tehran and indicate clearly the extremist policy goals of the regime.

"The combination of fanatical ideology, a warped sense of reality and nuclear weapons is a combination that no one in the international community can accept," Regev added, referring to allegations that Iran is developing nuclear bombs.

Avner Shalev, the director of Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the Holocaust in Jerusalem, said Ahmadinejad's comments required a "stronger response from world leaders."

"Every genocidal statement has to be taken seriously because the Holocaust occurred, and the world knows it. Therefore, we don't just condemn these comments, we believe that the international community and the United Nations should deal with them more seriously," Shalev said.

In Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso said the president's comments were "completely unacceptable."

"It is really shocking that a head of state that has a seat in the United Nations can say such a thing," Barroso said on the sidelines of a European Parliament meeting. "It calls our attention to the real danger of that regime having an atomic bomb."

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei also condemned Ahmadinejad's remarks.

Ahmadinejad said the West had harmed Muslims, invaded their countries and plundered their wealth.

"If your civilization consists of aggression, making oppressed people homeless, suffocating the voices of justice and bringing poverty to a majority of the world's people, we say loudly that we hate your hollow civilization," he said.

Ahmadinejad has been unapologetic about taking Iran on a more openly defiant course, insisting on Iran's right to develop its nuclear program — which it insists is peaceful — and often using rhetoric reminiscent of the 1980s heyday of the Islamic Revolution.

The president's views sharply conflict with those of predecessor Mohammad Khatami, a moderate who used to call for dialogue among civilizations and promoted a low-key understanding with the United States that stopped short of diplomatic relations.

Inside Iran, Ahmadinejad's remarks have been criticized by some of his conservative allies, who fear he is hurting the country's image. Moderate Iranians have called on the ruling Islamic establishment to rein in the president.

But Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate say, has backed Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's elimination.

Ahmadinejad criticized the United States for refusing to sell Iran spare parts for its civilian planes as part of its long-standing embargo against the country.

Iran has suffered a series of plane accidents — most recently on Dec. 6, when an aging U.S.-made military transport plane crashed into a tall building in Tehran, killing 115 people. Iranian officials have blamed Washington for the crashes, saying they are partly caused by the difficulty in obtaining spare parts.

"No country is authorized to impose spare-part sanctions against another country. Nothing can justify this," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad said the denial of spare parts was a reason why Iran would not trust Western promises to give it nuclear fuel. The country is currently at loggerheads with the West over its insistence on enriching uranium to fuel its first nuclear reactor, which is due to start generating electricity next year.

The Europeans, with U.S. backing, do not trust Iran to have its own enrichment process since highly enriched uranium can be used for nuclear warheads. Europe has offered to sell enriched uranium for the reactor, but Iran has rejected this.

The United States is pushing to have Iran referred to the U.N. Security Council, where it could face sanctions for violating a nuclear arms control treaty.

Ahmadinejad said that if Iran gave in on the nuclear dispute, there was no guarantee the West might not refuse to sell nuclear fuel in the future.

"I assure you that we won't step back one inch from our nuclear rights," the president told the crowd, drawing chants of "Death to America!"

Iran is due to resume negotiations on the nuclear issue with envoys from Britain, France and Germany starting Dec. 21 in Vienna, Austria.
This article has me so appauled and upset..I just can't find the words to make a comment about it!!!!!!!!!

PRE-SCHOOL TEST

Pre-school children were asked the following question:

"In which direction is the bus pictured below traveling?"



Look carefully at the picture.











Do you know the answer?

The only possible answers are "left" and "right."

V

V
V

V

Think about it ...

V


V

V

Still don't know?

V

V

V

Okay, I'll tell you.

V

V

V

The pre-schoolers all answered "left."

When asked, "Why do you think the bus is traveling in the left direction?" they answered:

"Because you can't see the door."

Feel pretty silly now, don't you?

I know ... me, too.

No blogging for me today

I woke up very sick today.
Felt it coming on all week.
My throat has been scratchy and irritated.
Today I can barely talk.
Bob says I sound like "Frank".
My throat is swollen and hurts to swallow.
I have a huge headache and feel upset to my stomach.
Going back to bed.
Wishing Bob was here to make me some hot chicken soup.
Sure wish he was here to hold me to.
I HATE being sick.

How I spent my relaxing morning

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf

I know...I need more excitement in my life but hey..what do expect from someone that doesn't have TV to occupy them and already have the apartment clean and even shoveled the snow.

What was your high score? Mine was 289.6....lol

Name Game

Okay..I stole this from Audra who stole it from her mom who stole it from femmi-mommy and.....oh dear...just read it....lol






What's your name say about you???? (click on the picture to play)

Father.....a.k.a....my dad (this is a long post)

fa·ther

noun (plural fa·thers)

Definitions:

1. man who is parent: a man who is the parent of a human being, or a male animal that has produced offspring
been like a father to me


2. man acting as parent: a man who brings up and looks after a child as if he were its father


3. man who is ancestor: a man who is an ancestor, especially the founder of a family or people
the land of our fathers and mothers


4. man who is founder: a man who establishes, founds, or originates something
the father of modern linguistics


5. prototype: something that is a prototype or original version of something else


6. man who is leader: a man who is a community or civic leader
the town fathers




verb (past and past participle fa·thered, present participle fa·ther·ing, 3rd person present singular fa·thers)

Definitions:

1. transitive verb become father of offspring: to cause a woman or female animal to produce offspring


2. transitive and intransitive verb be like father to somebody: to act as a father to somebody, especially by giving advice, comfort, and protection


3. transitive verb found something: to establish, found, or originate something
father a plan

I often wondered as a child if evryone had a father out there like mine or were my sister and I the only "lucky ones". I felt compelled the other day to write about my Dad after seeing him in the nursing home. I want to be able to post in here about this wonderful man that taught me so much about life and guided me and protected me............However, if I did that, it wouldn't be about my Father.....it would be a fairytale. Out of pure curiousity I looked up the definition of father (as you read or scrolled past to get to this post) and highlighted in red, the most critical part in my mind. As I was growning up I lived with this man that was the father in our house. (yes he's my biological father) As far back as I can remember ( which is very far) he was a loud man. Always yelling at someone. Sometimes yelled just to see if someone would run to him to see what was the matter. As usual here, I try to defend people that do wrong to others by mentioning they had a horrible past themselves (which he did). I'm sure that back in the 1920's and 30's and 40's growing up was mighty difficult espescially if there were rumors that your own father was connected to the mob somehow and that after your parents get their divorce and neither parent gets custody of the 2 kids and said kids are seperated and never mentioned again to the other sibling; that that would be tough in itself to live with. Having to be raised by a wicked grandmother most likely doesn't help one's self esteem either. Now that the defense is over...I also feel that in no way gives someone the "ok" to be an asshole and mistreat everyone in your household.....Father or not. I'm on the firm believe that God wants us parents (and God knows I have fallen short of this) to Father in his image. This...instead...is what we had to live with>>>>>>>................................

I was supposed to be a left handed person. I used to grab everything from my spoons to eat with to crayons to color with..with my left hand. My Mother is left handed. Dad would have no part in me becoming left handed. I'm thankful that I have no memory of what is to follow. I've been told this account by my sister and my mother. Dad used to smack my left hand and put things in my right so that I would use the appropriate hand. He went so far as to tie my left hand to the highchair to force me to use my right. Would you ever do that to your child??
I was always and still am to a degree, a clutsy person. I'm sure as a little kid I did alot of dumb stuff because of that....(dropping things, knocking things over...etc). Dad would always yell at me. "Stop being so scatterbrained!!" I grew up thinking that's how I truely was since I heard that phrase so much. Dad did most of the yelling and name calling. He hit me once or twice but it never hurt and I even recall laughing later in my room because compared to mom's hits, his were nothing.
My dad always smelled like the gas station where he worked. Back then the service station guys actually came out and pumped your gas and checked under the hood for you. I grew up smelling the greasy oil smell on him. Dad wasn't a bad man 100% of the time. I have memories of laying on the couch with him watching tv. A mild moment for him. Dad used to take us on vacations. I loved getting away from the house and neighborhood. I used to pretend we were on great adventures when we were away. I used to think we were very far from home. Naturally now I know how close to home we were most of the time, but to a kid you have no clue. Some of my favorite vacations were when we went camping. (my sister has her own versions of our trips and I think it's because she was always the oldest and "knew more" or that I just shut stuff out). I loved camping. The Blue Ridge Mountains vacation were awesome. I hated camping at a place called "Burroak" ( I think that's how it's spelled). It was on a hillside and it rained and our tents slid down the hill and dad was yelling at mom for being in the boat on the lake and oh man it was a disaster. Sure dad was always yelling at us and going to the grocery store was living hell. He would actually stop and look around to make sure he had an audience then start bitching about tons of shit knowing everyone heard him. Oh how I hated grocery day.
The thing I hated most about my dad was his constant beating on my mom. Mom was a mean disciplinarian and oh man she would hit you with whatever was in her hands....but my dad would punch her with his fists all the time. She was just this little 4' 10" woman and she never faught him back. She had bruises on her all the time. He only ever hit her inside our house that I can ever recall. It was yelling at her and us and the belittling everywhere we went he did outside the home. We used to have a marble top kitchen table and during one of numerous arguements he shoved that heavy kitchen table as hard as he could pinning my mom against the wall. She had huge bruises across her stomach for a long time. Stuff like this and more than likely more than I can remember went on endlessly throughout my entire childhood. I literaly hated my dad. I used to stay away from the house to avoid him as I got older. I remember staying across the street at the neighbors house for a week at a time in the summer.
The one time I put an end to the abuse he used to dish out was when I was about 13. He started punching my mom and I jumped on his back and started beating on him. I yelled at him and told him I was tired of him always beating her. That if he ever felt the need to hit someone again it would be me and not her. Thinking back on this now it's amazing that I defended her like that. Mom was abusive in her own right to us girls. But I've always had a closeness with her. I always felt that she was an underdog of sorts with the lack of education she had and the way my dad always treated her that no matter how mean she was to me, I had to "protect" her. I hated my dad for a very long time. He stopped beating her eventually, but the mind games were always present. He would call her names and put her down for being "slow" and "backwords" for being left handed and for having graduated from "special education" classes. It took alot to forgive him. I fought that calling when it was time. I never thought he deserved my forgiveness but what if God felt that same way about me and all the bad things I ever did. As hard as it was, I forgave him. I accepted my Father for who and what he was. It's rather disheartening to see him age and get weak and helpless. Knowing he had the potential to be a good man. I saw good things in him from time to time. It's naturally always easier to remember the hurts and embarrassments. Hell, even playing board games as a family was an event in itself when dad was playing. I can't remember one game played that didn't end up in a fight and/or someone going away from the table crying and feeling worthless. But that's my dad.
When dad suffered his stroke back in 1996, he felt it coming on and wasn't sure what was wrong with him. I was working nearly 45 minutes away at the time and he told my mom he wanted to go to the hospital. She started to get ready to take him, but he said he wanted me to take him. (go figure). When mom called and said dad wants to go to the hospital but wants me to take him, I couldn't imagine what the problem was. Dad never wanted to go to a doctor for anything. Hell he barely ever let us kids go even when we should have gone. Like the time my sister wrecked her bike in the gravel street and had tons of gravel imbedded in her knee...he just took her to the bathroom, scrubbed her knee with soapy water and used the tweezers to pull out the gravel. Then there was the time by sister and I were fighting at the front door one sunday morning to see who was going out first to the car and dad yelled at us to shut the door and after it slammed shut on my thumb and my thumbnail fell off...I never went to the doctor. Anyway.....I left work and drove to their house and there he was. Standing in the livingroom with this little boy look of worry in his big brown eyes and trying to talk to me and nothing but baby jibberish was coming out of his mouth because he lost the ability to form words; and managed to get out that he wanted to go to the hospital. I helped him with his shoes and off we went. Quite frankly, I'm amazed he didn't die that day. I'm not being mean..just serious. His blood pressure was through the roof. It was hours later that they finally got him stable enough to come talk to my mother and I to let us know what happened. He indeed suffered a stroke. It effected the entire right side of his body. His speech was temperarily gone and so was his ability to swallow. He had no use of his right hand or right leg until he went through some therapy. He was in the hospital and rehab for quite a long time. Mom had to go through some real hardship taking care of this man that was her husband. This same man that beat her daily. This same man that ridiculed her for being a lefty and backwards and slow. He was now at her mercy. She felt it was her wifely duties to care for her husband and she did the best she could do. The hardship was not only trying to care for someone that suddenly can't function on their own, but the mental anquish of "why should I when you put me through hell" played in her mind. My dad was now learning to be a lefty. Imagine that. I still think God has great punishment. He started back to some of his "old"ways. He was fighting her every attempt to help him. He threatened to throw things at her and even threw the remote at her once. She dutifully handled dad for 3 years on her own and I helped out when I could. I had my own issues (another post) during that 3 years and as much as I tried I wasn't much help to either of them. My sister lives in California and it's not like she could have came over once or twice a week to help. Mom nearly had a nervous breakdown and called me at 3am to take her to the hospital one morning. She was having an anxiety attack. I've never witnessed one before to my knowledge and I never want to again. With the help of the emergency room doctor, we got mom to realize that it was still her wifely duty to take care of her husband by allowing professionals to care of him. That's when we finally put dad in the nursing home. Talk about tramadic. He threw himself on the bed and screamed that no one loved him and we were giving him away. It was the haredest thing to witness. It's like all those years of abuse were wiped away and here was this little shell of a man crying like a baby and actually turning into one. He was and stll is in diapers now and has lost so much weight that his dentures wont stay in so they took them out.
When I visited him the other day I barely could find that abusive man in there. I think he's finally vanished. I'm not altogether sure there is much of man still there. He's wasting away to nothing and it's hard to see. Here sits a body of a man that is confined to a wheelchair. Has no teeth and can barely eat. Needs to be helped in and out of bed. He can't even stand up. He plays with the watch on his hand none stop. He sits there and hangs his head and chews his tongue and mumbles. THIS IS NOT MY DAD.....WHERE DID HE GO???? I have compassion for this little man that I never in my life had. I get angry when I think of all the wasted years and all the usless hardship and emotional stresses we were all put under. For What??? To grow old and end up sitting in a place where you know no one and have a visit once in awhile from people that say they are your family??? God bless my mom for going 3 times a week faithfully. He is not only 5 minutes from my apartment yet I haven't been there in nearly a year. Why???? Mostly because I can't stand to see him this way. Another reason is I have no relationship with him. I sat there the other day and stared at him. He asked me 4 or 5 times if it was cold outside because I had my heavy coat on. He asked me several times if I was his daughter....(only because we told him I was). There is now conversation. I have no idea where to even start to talk to him about anything. I don't know him. I never knew him. I'm 44 years old...soon to be 45 and I have no clue what my dad's favorite color is. I've never known my dad to read anything other than the newspaper. Now I don't even know if he knows what he's looking at when mom brings him the paper. I told him I'd be back in a few days. I intend to. But will I? Will I put it off again like I always do? Will I finally start getting over there like I should because bottom line he IS my Father? He was never an ideal dad that's for sure, but he is still my dad. My children no longer have their dad. They don't have the choice to go see him or not go see him. (another post) So this feeling of compassion I get when I see my dad makes me feel sorry for him. I plan on going to see him more often. There is going to come a day when that choice is gone. My dad is 82 years old until February 23rd. Will he make it till then??

This is the reason I have this Blog.....it's my journal about my life...my thoughts...my everything. Some days I can sit here and go on and on and on. I've gone as far as I care to go today.

Punishment fit the crime?????.........

I THINK TO HELL NOT!!!!
This type of news article just really makes me very very angry. A number of reasons why. #1. how can anyone even think about doing this to anyone. #2. He thought he was doing the little girl a FAVOR!!!! WTF!!!!

I'm sorry...I got way ahead of myself. I think you need to know what has me so pissed off. Click HERE and go read this, then come back.

Well hopefully now you understand why I'm so angry.


Charges were dismissed involving the elderly woman because she had dementia and wasn't sure whether the assault was real or a dream. Both have since died.
Is it just me or does this not make any damn sense!!!!????? So what if the woman had dementia .... the "act" still occured and he admitted it!!!


Philpott told police after his arrest that he had sex with the girl three times over a one-month period because he wanted her to experience pleasure before she died.

So this man basically gets a slap on the wrist and told pretty much not to do this again. COME ON PEOPLE....SHE WAS 10 YEARS OLD!!!!! SHE WAS 100% HELPLESS!!! For this he is told by Judge Frank Plaut that he would re-sentence him to the original term for "one slip on one incident." WTF is that???!!!

WHY isn't this man in prison??? (Judge Frank Plaut first sentenced Philpott to 16 years to life but suspended the prison sentence and ordered probation and work release instead. )


I can't be the only one out here thinking this is just crazy. This man raped these to people and basically got away with it...why...because both victims have since died???? I just don't get it. Is there anyone out there that can make me understand such idiousy???

I'd seriously like to know the thoughts of anyone reading that article.

Interesting

What is your sexual appeal?
brought to you by Quizilla

Some thoughts before going to bed.......

Today was a good day over all. I got some stuff done around the apartment that I've been putting off for too long. I signed a few more Christmas cards and got them mailed out. I even had some fun emailing back and forth between Bob's brother and his brother's partner making fun of the weather report for Washington, DC today. Bob's brother sends out an email asking what you get when you rearrange the letters in Bob and Jan....lol...here's what he came up with..." BanJob". Nevermind....you'd have to know him to understand his humor but I thought it hillarious when I read it....it's only now that I think it just looks stupid...lol. I also went over to my Mother's today to balance her checkbook for her then we went to the Golden Corral for lunch. After that we stopped at the nursing home to see my Dad. I have been bad and haven't been there in forever it seems. The really bad part about it is his nursing home is less than 5 minutes from house. I have no relationship with my Dad. I haven't in years. I don't hate him anymore...I haven't in a very long time. The only thing I hate now is seeing him deteriorate right before our eyes. Don't get me wrong here; my Dad was never some big guy that worked hard all his life and is now shriveled to nothing. He was a man that was smart in his own way. He had great potential to be something if he would have applied himself. I don't think he ever really had any self confidence or I'm sure he would have made better choices in his life. My Dad was a great photographer. I loved his photos from Germany when he was in the army. He never persued it. My Dad was not a hard labor kind of man. I'll not go into alot of detail (right now) about him. I do want to do a post about him but feel I should talk that over with my sister first. Seeing him today nearly brought me to tears. He sits in his wheelchair and just mumbles. He stares at me with those deep brown eyes of his then trys to ask if I'm his sister. I get that alot when I go there. After the 3rd time of telling him I'm his daughter Janet, he points to me and trys to say my name and I say yes it's me. If my Dad makes it to his birthday next year, he'll be 83. His birthday is February 23rd. At this point in time I see no reason he won't make it. The nursing home called me today to let me know Dad's annual review is coming up so I made an appointment on Friday the 16th to take Mom over so we can talk to them. I don't know what they go over in a review, but I'm sure I'll find out. I have to ask my sister, she used to work at a nursing home. While back at my Mom's today, she and I were discussing my camera and my Dad's old camera came up in question. I asked her if she still had it and she let me take it home. She told me that Dad says he stopped using it because there was some tiny pinhole in the "shutter" thing that left dots on the pictures. We were discussing when my Dad bought this camera and we figured it was right before he and my Mother met which was in April of 1954. He bought this camera in Germany at an army PX store. It's an 85mm. I'm not even sure they make that speed of film anymore. I promised Mom I'd take care of it. I'm going to try to find some film for it and see if it works. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Here is a photo of my Father with my mom taken back in April of this year.....He looks different today. He has lost so much weight that his teeth won't stay in and they have taken them out. Now he sits there chewing his tongue while moaning all the time. I just think it's sad to see him like this. Perhaps my sister will share some of her photos of Dad in his younger years.


I need to stop for the night as it's late and I'm going to start repeating myself. Tomorrow is a new day....Hope everyone makes the best of it.

Late post...but I made it!! Happy HNT everyone...

Brico's not the only one missing his honey....I miss mine too!!! Still wishing I can sit on Santa's lap on Christmas Day. That could be a great HNT photo too......hmmmm.



Happy HNT!!

It's an early morning today

5a.m. comes really early. I wish if I had to get up this early I did it all the time like I used to for my old job. Only getting up this early twice a week or once a week gets me way out of the habit to getting up. It makes it hard. I much rather waking up when my body is ready. Usually about 7 or 7:30.

It's only 10º outside this morning with a high of 22º expected. Snow flurries too. It's that time of year so I should just accept it. It's just so darn cold and I hate that. Oh well.

I had a nice time at my friends house lastnight. She invited me over to sit in their hot tub. (pictures in a few days). We had a nice visit catching up on lost time. We shared vacation photos too. She and I are always doing that. I promised her I would make a greater effort to get my sorry butt over there since we've been best friends for years and we only live about 5 minutes from each other. I haven't seen her in months. The other sad thing is (I realized on the way home) that she hasn't been to my apartment yet and I've lived here now for almost 2 years. How sad is that?? It's mostly all because of the wierd work schedules I have. That and the fact that I have been becoming less socialable in the last 3 to 4 years. Great, I'm turning into a hermit!!

I'm happy to see that the Haloscan is working after all the frustration I had the last couple of days. I have no patience I guess.

Time to get ready for work before I'm late.

An Article in our local paper today.....

Businesses creatively banish brats
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 By MARTHA IRVINE AP National Writer



CHICAGO - Dan McCauley had seen one too many kids at his cafe lying on the floor in front of the counter, careening off the glass pastry case, coming perilously close to getting their fingers pinched in the front door. So he posted a sign: “Children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices.”

To him, it was a simple reminder to parents to keep an eye on their children and set some limits.

But to some parents in his North Side Chicago neighborhood, the sign may as well have read, “If you have kids, you’re not welcome.”

PARENTING DEBATE

That one little notice, adorned with pastel hand prints, has become a lightning rod in a larger debate over parenting and misbehaving children.

“It’s not about the kids,” says McCauley, the 44-year-old owner of A Taste of Heaven cafe, who has no children but claims to like them a lot. “It’s about the parents who are with them. Are they supervising and guiding them?

“I’m just asking that they are considerate to people around them.”

While he has created some enemies in his neighborhood, McCauley has received hundreds of calls and more than 600 letters, the overwhelming majority of them supportive. One letter-writer from Alabama typed out in bold letters: “In my opinion, you’re a hero! Keep it up.”

It is a sentiment that people feel increasingly comfortable expressing. Online bloggers regularly make impassioned pleas for child-free zones in public, while e-mailers have been forwarding a photograph of a sign in an unidentified business that reads, “Unattended Children Will Be Given an Espresso and a Puppy.”

While it is common policy for upscale restaurants to bar children, owners of other types of businesses also are setting limits on kids.

The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, for instance, does not allow visitors who aren’t guests to have strollers; hotel officials say it is to prevent crashes with other pedestrians. The Bellagio Hotel does not take guests younger than 18 without special permission.

Some parents are fine with the limit-setting and complain that too many of their peers take their kids to places traditionally meant for adults, such as late-night movies and rock concerts.

SEPARATE SECTIONS

Robin Piccini, a 42-year-old mom in Bridgewater, Mass., gets annoyed when she has hired a baby sitter for her daughter, only to end up seated at a restaurant next to unruly kids.

Some business owners are creating separate spaces for kids and families, in an attempt to accommodate as many generations as possible.

All Booked Up in Suffolk, Va., is among bookstores that have separate sections where kids can play and rest. Many ballparks have alcohol-free “family sections.” And a few restaurants have added separate dining areas for parents with children.

Zulema Suarez, a professor who studies parenting, applauds attempts to strike a balance.

“There needs to be a give and take,” says Suarez, an associate professor of social work at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. “Children don’t need to be allowed to run wild and free, but they do need to be allowed to express themselves.”

Too often, though, our cultural emphasis on freedom and individual rights gets taken to the extreme, becoming “a kind of selfish entitlement that undermines our ability to function as a civil community,” says George Scarlett, a professor of child development at Tufts University in Boston.


I'd like to add my own comment on this article. I have 2 kids (now grown naturally) so I know and understand what it's like to "parent" them in public. Now I have always been a disciplinarian. If my children acted up (depending on what it was) I would smack their bottom. ( I hear some sighs out there...go ahead and disagree...we all share our own paretnal styles). My kids never screamed in public. I could take them out to eat and they would behave. If they got loud and/or rowdy..we left. They always just "knew" to be good in stores. There were occasions don't get me wrong. Like the time my son grew "spaghetti legs" and fell to the floor because he couldn't have a toy he wanted. That was the one and only time he did it. I truly believe this shop owner has a great idea and parents need to know how to make their children behave in public. "indoor voices" is a great thing and I certainly hope it picks up and more places hang signs like that. In no way is he saying that if you have kids you aren't welcome. Whomever said that must have unruly kids and felt it was directed at them.

Oh well...that's my 2 cents on it all......what's yours?

I want you all to take notice of the previous post....

I'm holding my breath that this has worked. I see that it "says" Haloscan has been added. It took less than 10 minutes and the dog even dropped his ball on my keyboard in an attempt to get me to play with him...lol. Maybe that was the missing link before in this puzzle...lol

Note this.....It this doesn't work...I'm NOT TRYING again...it shouldn't be this difficult!!!

GONE SHOPPING!!!!!..................................................

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

I'm going to attempt this again

Not sure what the outcome is going to be in here...But I'm going to give this whole comment box change a second try. Jenny..you gave me great advice and I looked into blogger help...I'm just too ignorant about it to understand it. Dale...I'm headed back to Haloscan right now to see what the heck I can figure out. Kathi....I KNEW someone would shout it out with me.....thanks for not allowing me to be alone here....lol

Okay...wish me luck...I'm limiting my time to an hour...have the timer set. If I can't get something accomplished by then...I'm done trying and to hell with it...lol. I'll just go shopping.

Only I can screw something easy up!!!!

Okay here's the deal......

I am trying to make commenting here alot easier. I'm tyring to install Haloscan. I see it on other blogs and you never have to use word verification anymore and spammers just don't get through.

Problem:
I went to Haloscan this morning to see if I could figure out how to put this in my blog. Seemed easy enough. Sign up..make an account and hit auto install. There was a link posted in here that Haloscan was now installed. I opened the comment box to see it and discovered it was still blogger with word verification. I went to the troubleshooting page and tried a "suggestion" and believe it or not...I think I screwed up my template now. I'm afraid to "add" anything or "delete" anything because I have no clue what all these codes are.

Can we say major frustration!!!!!!!!!

Anyone out there care to offer help to a non-techy person that has any clue what the hell I'm even talking about???????????????

I've been tagged!!!.......

I'll do my best to give an accurate account of all my 7 answers. I was visiting Keasty's blog this morning and the funny thing is...while I was reading his, he was reading mine. I love a good coincidence. Wendy and I just did the same thing a few days ago...lol

Well here are all my 7 answers:


Seven things that attract me to my Bob: (he used wife, but Bob & I aren't married so ...)

1.) His personality....he doesn't try to be something that he isn't.
2.) He's a very hard worker.
3.) He's honest and doesn't try to hide his past from me.
4.) I love his brown eyes.
5.) He makes me ever so comfortable when we are together.
6.) He loves my dog and makes him feel loved too.
7.) His willingness to be supportive and understanding of my life and all I've been through.
(only 7 huh...I could go on)


Seven Things to Do Before I Die:

1.) Move in with Bob.
2.) Travel to Ireland.
3.) See my Grandkids graduate from highschool.
4.) Fly in a hotair balloon.
5.) Witness my son stop smoking all the things he smokes and actually feel good about himself.
6.) See my Daughter in a happy loving relationship.
7.) Have peace in my heart knowing that I've done all I can do.


Seven Things I Cannot Do:

1.) Swim without having a fear of drowning.
2.) Ignore someone who is down on their luck.
3.) Get into a debate about politics & or religion.
4.) Understand mean people.
5.) Walk and chew gum at the same time...(literally..I either trip or bite the inside of my cheek).
6.) Find the willpower to go to the gym regularly.
7.) Make a yo-yo do anything it's supposed to do.


Seven Things I Say Most Often:

1.) What the F***!!..(sorry if that offends some...but it's true)
2.) Are you serious?!
3.) I Love You....( to my Bob)
4.) I hate my job.
5.) That's awesome.
6.) Cool
7.) Good job!..(mostly when Deydra is here showing me her kidergarten work papers)


Seven Books (or Book Series) I Love:

1.) John Grisham Novels
2.) The Hobbit trilogy and the Silmarillion (JRR Tolkien)
3.) The Chronicles of Narnia. (CS Lewis)
4.) Where the red fern grows
5.) I robot (Issac Asomov (i didn't spell his name right)
6.) A Child Called It...The Lost Boy & A Man Named Dave (David Pelzer)
7.) The Bible...(though I don't read it like I should I still get alot out of it)



Seven Movies I Would Watch Over and Over Again:

1.) Remember the Titans
2.) When a man Loves a Woman
3.) Dances with Wolves
4.) The Shawshank Redemption
5.) Forrest Gump
6.) Shindler's List
7.) Man without a Face

Seven People I Tag To Do Seven Sevens:

1.) Jenny
2.) Kathi
3.) Wendy
4.) Pirate..(if he has time)
5.) Gloria..(when she gets home from her trip)
6.) Dale
7.) Sis B

Waiters request

I found this and it really made a lot of sense. Please send it to everyone that you know that eats out.


The next time your out eating at a resturant, look at your server.
>Do you think they are really happy to be doing that job? The answer
>is no, they are not. Its a tougher job than you think and you should
>pay them accordingly.**
>
>This is for everybody who goes to a restaurant...
>
>It is 2005 and servers in Texas/Colorado make $2.13 an hour. That is
>two dollars and thirteen cents an hour. That's it! Most servers
>receive checks that are voided that say $0.00 because of taxes.
>Servers rely on tips and they rely on the guests they are serving to
>tip them, so they can pay their bills. Many say, "Well, if you dont
>like it, then dont do it." No one likes waiting tables but someone
>has to do it. We all have bills and this is our way for paying them.
>
>Put yourself in OUR shoes. Just think about it....
>
>
>1. If you are not a child and get something from the kids menu
>(which we DO NOT have to do), tip as if you received an adult meal
>and leave the server an extra $1 @ least!
>
>2. If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump anything on
>the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra
>$5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILDS mess & to restock the now
>unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter nor their
>parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Dont let
>your kids sream and run around the restaurant. It's very distracting
>and annoying not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a
>server with hot food in their hands. Have control over your kids
>people. You are PARENTS!
>
>3. If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes
>after you pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes (including the first
>15min). We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we
>cant seat it, we CANT make money.
>
>4. Telling a server they are the best or excellent service is not a
>tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money.
>COMPLIMENTS DONT PAY OUR BILLS. Its not that we mind the praise; its
>just that you say were good and then leave 10 % this is not good.
>
>5. Prayer cards and any other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. It is
>insulting that you assume we are w/o religion and must save us.
>Again, like ..4, we cant pay bills w/prayer cards. P.S. We'd go to
>church on Sundays if it wasn't mandatory to work on Sundays because
>EVERYONE who goes to church follows it by eating out. Also don't try
>to preach to us while we are working. We don't go to your work and
>put you down so don't do it to us.
>
>6. We know that you have just given money to God, but Sundays are
>not discounted tip day. 8% is NOT a good tip. 10% is NOT a good tip!
>
>7. It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since
>then. 18% the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your
>servers. Just look at the tax line and multiple by 2-3, this gives
>you your minimum tip amount (remember: alcohol is not taxed). We tip
>out a certain percentage at the end of the night; anywhere from
>2%-10%. If you dont tip, we end up paying to wait on YOU.
>
>8. Say what you mean; plain means nothing on it. If you get a (ex.)
>burger plain and we bring it that way, dont treat us like idiots
>because it doesnt have ketchup & mustard. What you order is what we
>bring. We are not mind readers. If we were, we wouldnt be working in
>a restaurant.
>
>9. Do not take your bad day (or past experience) out on us. It is
>not our fault. We dont take our bad customers out on you. Its only
>fair you do the same for us.
>
>10. If the prices go up or we start charging for things that used to
>be free, do not take it out us. We do not make these decisions. We
>don't even want to enforce them because we know that it will end up
>hurting our already low tip in the end. Unfortunately our bosses
>have no problem taking the $ out of our tips if they see us give you
>something for free that shouldn't be. They will never say anything
>to you either because you're the customer, so its on us.
>
>11. If you get a discount because of bad food or something, do not
>take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly
>regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give
>us. Also, if the manager gives you a discount because of this, you
>tip of the ORIGINAL total, not the discounted one. Also, if you use
>a coupon, you tip based on what the total was before the discount
>people.
>
>(I had to add a few more important things for everyone to remember)
>
>12. Holidays for us don't exist. Example: If you are eating at our
>restraunt on a holiday like Thanksgiving and you wish us a happy
>thanksgiving, do you honestly think we are having a good
>thanksgiving. No we are stuck at work because it is mandatory for us
>to be there serving you lazy people who don't want to cook instead
>of being at home with our families. So be a little more thoughtful
>when tipping because we are stuck there working and by the way: we
>DONT get paid overtime for working holidays, we get a "thanks for
>working" from our Managers.
>
>13. If you come into the restraunt 10 mins before closing or any
>time near closing hurry up and order your food and get out. OR dont
>come in at all close to close. Everyone is ready to go home and now
>they have to wait on you. The kitchen has already started cleaning,
>dishes have been washed, tables cleared, ash trays empytied. It is
>rude! Closed means closed not social hour. It is so rude to sit
>there and take time. We can't leave until you leave because we have
>to do sidework and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want
>to stand there waiting for you to leave because you are rude and
>inconsiderate.
>
>14. If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, don't sit there
>taking up our booths/tables for hours. We are not starbucks or a
>hotel restraunt. Orderyour food, eat, and leave. If you want to chat
>then fine, leave a tip accordingly.
>
>15. When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are
>doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are
>doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the
>beginning. It's really nice when the guests aks us how we are too.
>It makes us feel like we are not just waiting on you for an hour or
>two. Example: Server: "Hi. How are you doing?" Guest: "Iced tea."
>Now reading it, cant you see how rude that is?!
>
>16. Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restraunt. This is
>probably the rudest thing to do. If you are on your cell phone when
>we walk up to greet your table we will walk away until you get off
>your phone! Dont get mad at us for not approaching the table why you
>are on your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention
>for a couple of minutes.
>
>17. If you are a jerk or are rude to your server, NOT just your
>server will know... everyone that works there will know. Do you want
>everyone to know you as the jerk who yelled about being charged
>50cents for extra ranch?
>
>18. You are not our only table. Many servers may have up to ten
>tables at any given time. Dont think you are the only ones that have
>our attention. We not only have to wait on our tables, we have to
>run food, find a manager when something needs to be taken off a
>check, refill dressings, restock... there are many things that our
>job involves besides you and your needs. Even though the guest is
>taken care of first, think about everything else we need to take
>care of.
>
>
>SERVERS READING THIS: Please repost this so the word can get out,
>since so many people are uneducated about tips and our lives depend
>on this - atleast for now......
>
>signed,
>all your fabulous servers out there, all the cooks who care if you
>get your food right because it's a pride thing, AND because they
>want to see their friends who serve make money, and all the managers
>who actually care if their servers make money or who where once
>servers themselves

The Year 1905........

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!
The year is 1905.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!


Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905 :

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.


Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.


A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.


There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.


The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.


Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.


With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union..

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year,


a dentist $2,500 per year,


a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and


a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home .

Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.


Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.


Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease


5. Stroke


The American flag had 45 stars.


Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.


The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!


Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.


There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.


Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.


Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.


Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)


Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.



SO, to think I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter of seconds!
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.