HEADACHE!

I have had the most ridiculous headache the last three days and my eyes have been hurting really bad. I don't know what the deal has been. It is like a migraine but different. Heading back to lay down again. I just felt the need to do something.

Funny Late Night Talk Show Quips

"Are you folks worried about the economy? Stock market crumbling. Everybody's crazy about this. Don't worry. George W. Bush says he's got something in mind to give it a shot in the arm. And if that doesn't work, Cheney is going to give it a shot in the face." --David Letterman

"Florida is the big one for the Republicans. In fact, Florida is the first state where Rudy Giuliani is seriously campaigning. See, for Giuliani, primaries are kind of like marriages. The first two or three don't really count." --Jay Leno

New Mantle Decorations

I went to Hobby Lobby last week. I love that store! Anyway, I got new mantle decorations since there are no big holidays for a while. I hated it being bare and I can't afford the TV Craig wants to put in there so it was off to Hobby Lobby. I figured PATIENCE was a good reminder to have more patience about all the things that are taking too long in my life or annoying the hell out of me! Tell me what you think.

Bird Bush

On my way to the kids school, there is a bush that looks like a big bird from a distance. Craig pointed it out to me and now I can't drive by without seeing it. The day was a little grey when I took the picture.

Farmers Volleyball Won!

I was able to carpool with some Moms to Carthage last night. It was quite a drive to get there but it was worth it because our team actually won the volleyball match. Sam's team has won a game before but lost the match. The way it works is best two out of three games wins the match. Who ever gets to 25 points first wins the game. We have been close before but everyone was happy the girls finally did it.

Bush's Economic Plan

I was reading an article about Bush's new economic strategy. I do not understand this man's thinking. He finally admits, "There is a risk of a downturn," the president said in his remarks at the White House, regarding the economy." Risk of a downturn???? In my opinion it is way beyond that.

The article then went on to say, "The president and Congress are scrambling to take action as fears mount that a severe housing slump and painful credit crisis could cause people to close their wallets and businesses to put a lid on hiring, throwing the nation into its first recession since 2001." I think we are beyond this as well. There are so many people who have lost their homes in this country. There are so many who have filed for bankruptcy. There are so many who can not get any credit, even if they wanted to spend it. There are so many who can not pay their bills. The price at the gas pumps are bleeding people dry.

Also, "He also called for tax relief for individuals — probably to come in the form of one-time rebates. But he did not say how much money Americans would get to keep or the amount of other tax incentives that could be in the package. Nor did Bush detail how the nation would pay for such a plan."

I am all for tax relief don't get me wrong. In our business, we pay a little under $0.30 per every dollar Craig takes as income to taxes. But this is not the way to do it in my opinion. Our country is drowning due to our national debt. We are risking our security by owing so much money to other countries like China. The war is taking a lot of resources that could be used in better ways. I just don't see this as a smart move. A one time rebate check for $1600 is not going to turn things around for the average married couple who is struggling. That doesn't even cover a lot of peoples' house payment for one month.

Click on the title if you want to read more. Thanks for listening to my tirade!

P.S. Before I even got this posting done, the stock market had already began to fall because of Bush's announcement.

Fortune Cookie Mystery

I was reading an article about the fortune cookie. Through diligent research, a researcher can prove they started in Japan. The picture is from 1878 of a man making them in a Japanese bakery. The article said, "She has turned up many references to the cookies in Japanese literature and history, including an 1878 image of a man making them in a bakery - decades before the first reports of American fortune cookies." If you want to read about it, click on the title.

Been Too Busy

I have been lagging on my blog but boy have I been busy. I am back on the job hunt again, trying to get some homework done and the kids game schedules are killing me. It seems like we have something almost every day of the week. Sam had three volleyball games this week on top of our normal stuff. Now for 2-3 hours every Sun. there is softball practice. I know you are thinking, softball - what?? It is Jan. But in our town, softball practice starts in Jan. - indoors at the school. YUCK!

Political Play of the Day: on 'Hill Force One'

Funny!

Protein Is The Winner!

For all of you out there that haven't read scores of diet books, science has once and for all proven that protein works the best at reducing hunger. If you would like to read more about the study which is going to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, which I know you all read :), click on the title.

Peacock

I got sent an email about this albino peacock. I had never even thought about it but I guess there are albinos in every species. This one is amazing.

Beautiful Sunset

I was picking up Sam from volleyball the other day and saw a beautiful sunset. I just thought I would share.

On The Job Hunt Again

I have started my job hunt again. It is such a discouraging thing. I was just going to go to the temp agency after the holidays were over but they don't have any secretarial type jobs right now either. How crazy is that?! When it comes down to it, I have to have a job where I can sit most of the time. My bad leg won't take long hours of standing. Right now, I have a lot of resumes into places. Hopefully one pans out. I really want the money to finish this old house of ours.

Andi's Basketball Game

Andi had her first basketball game of the season last Sat. This Sat. we had two, back to back. She made 6 baskets today and was feeling very proud of herself! She is on a team with some of her best friends, who are triplets. She has been on their team for the last three years now and their Dad always coaches which is really nice. Sam had her first volleyball game on Thurs. They lost but she did a great job during the game.

The Discussion

My friends and I have really been talking about politics a lot lately and the tremendous problems that face our country right now. In the last debate, only Ron Paul, who has no chance of winning, brought up some of the important issues that we have been talking about. We have to bolster the dollar. We have to start reducing the national debt. This enormous debt we have accumulated has put us at the mercy of other countries like China. China and India are going to be huge players in the world market even more than they already are.

We have to find better sources of energy. I can't remember who said it but one of the Republicans - we need to stop paying the people who are funding terrorists. We are paying to fight the war against them and we are paying to funding them every time we go the gas station. It is ridiculous but we have an oil man for a president. There is no getting around it. Plus, those companies are compounding the hardship on the American people by making record profits off of us.

I do agree with Sen. Edwards. He said the lobbyist and some companies are ruining this country but it is also our political system. It cost so much money to run a campaign now that the politicians feel like they have to take the lobbyists' money. I don't have the answers but I hope we can elect someone who has at least a few.

The Debate

I finally finished watching the last presidential debate. I have watched almost all of the democratic debates and only two of the republican ones. This last one was a back to back Republican and Democrat debate. I found it both interesting and entertaining. I liked Bill Richardson's comment, “I’ve been in hostage negotiations that were more civil than this.” That goes for both the republicans and democrats. For those of you who do not follow politics that much, here is how it stands so far:

Iowa Democrats - Obama, Edwards, Clinton
Republicans - Huckabee, Romney, Thompson & McCain tied

Wyoming Republicans - Romney, Thompson, Hunter
Democrats don't vote until March 8th

New Hampshire Democrats - Clinton, Obama, Edwards
Republicans - McCain, Romney & Huckabee

Nevada is next on Jan. 19th. Then it is on to South Carolina on Jan. 26th. We will have our primary when half of the country has theirs, Feb. 5th. If you want to find out more about it all, click on the title. Go out and vote!

Clinton Wells Up: 'This Is Very Personal'

I think she was really being real here. I feel very passionate about this election. I am glad she let her guard down a little.

Tornados in January!

I can not believe the weather we are having. Last week it was bitterly cold. There was lots of snow and temperatures hovering around zero. This week, all the snow is gone and it has been in the 60s for three days now. It has been nice to be outside though. There was tornado warnings for my area last night. A severe storm and tornado warnings in January. CRAZY!

Wow, How Would You Like This Stalker?

I can't even imagine being stalked by this huge guy! Scary! That is why you will never find me more than 5 feet into the ocean. It creeps me out! Give me a swimming pool any day. If you want to read the details, click on the title.

Neti Pot

A while back I invested in a neti pot. For those of you who do not know what one is, I recommend you click on the title and it will take you to a You Tube demonstration. You use this special pot and fill it with warm, sort of salty water. You then tip your head to the side and slightly forward and pour the water up your nose. It will come out the other side. If you have ever had sinus problems, this thing really works. If I have a sinus headache, I use this and it will go away fairly quickly. If you have a cold, it will help lessen your congestion and seems to help the cold go away faster. I have always gargled with warm salt water to treat a sore throat so it makes since that it would work for your sinuses too. Just don't put in too much salt or it will burn. There is a special formulated powder you can buy if you want but I just use salt water. You can buy one at any pharmacy or Walmart even.

What A Mess!

My refrigerator tried to act like a freezer yesterday. To say the least, it was a disaster! Half of the soda and some of the beer popped open spraying its contents everywhere. The veggies were mush. The worst part about it is that I just cleaned it all last week. I do not regularly take out the shelves and scrub them all down but I did it last week and then this happens. Frustrating! The thermostat went bad and thankfully Craig was able to fix it. Things could be worse I suppose. Thanks for listening!

New Years Party

We went to a fun New Years Party this year. Quite a few people from the town I live in get together every New Years. Everyone rents a hotel room. We all met in the banquet area and everyone brings food and drinks. The kids get to swim and hang out and the grown ups get to talk, drink and relax. Someone brought the Xbox guitar hero game. That is a lot of fun. The parents were playing it as much if not more than the kids. There was kids against kids and kids against parents arm wrestling. Very funny! Sam won her round and Andi lost hers. We had a great time. We didn't have to worry about driving in the bad weather and the kids got to have a fun time too instead of going to Granny's.

Happy New Year!

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Hopefully you will find the year to be more healthy, wealthy and full of love and friendship.

The past few years have been tough for me so I am hoping that 2008 will be much, much better. Unless there is some catastrophe, there will be no surgeries or major medical procedures in 2008! That will make the year better by itself.