HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I still can’t believe it’s Halloween already, I mean it seems like yesterday it was the fourth of July and before you know it Christmas will be here! My time sure does fly as you get older, remember when you were a kid and time just seem to drag by? I am just amazed at how fast this week has gone by. Sure would be nice if we could slow time down and let everyone have a chance to enjoy life a bit, instead of this hurried pace we all live today. Isn’t it funny how time has a way of speeding by us when we aren’t looking?

I guess, as we get older we lose the magic of what it was to be a kid and enjoy each and every minute of fun and the knowledge of taking the time to enjoy it for what it is. Right at this very minute you have kids that celebrate Halloween anticipating about getting their costumes on and what kind of candy they will get tonight, which to them will make time in itself slow down because of the anticipation of this upcoming holiday. On the other hand, us adults are worrying about if we have enough candy and if we run out will the stores be opened if we need more or will we make it home in time for the treat-or-treaters, thus making time fly by. You know you have to hand it to kids, they really have this whole concept of slowing time down to an art, a lesson us adults could learn from.

If we as adults could just tap into the anticipation that we felt as kids, just think how fun and magical life could be. I myself miss having fun like I did when I was a kid. Too much today my mind is focus on getting the bills paid, work, and what needs to be done instead of what kind of fun can I have today mindset. True, we all can’t neglect the important things in life of the “what needs to be done” but we could all make time to do at least one fun thing everyday. That sure would be a stress reliever if we made the time to do so. Maybe by taking the time to do at least one fun thing and acting like a kid, time just might slow down a bit for all of us. It can’t hurt to try, can it?

UNITED WE MUST STAND

As Americans we need to stand united against what is happening to our nation. We cannot let our elected officials get away with voting for their interest instead of what the American people want. If we put them into office with our votes we must hold them accountable if they do not vote the will of the people. Our government was established with the basis of for the people by the people. We cannot sit back anymore and let the special interest groups and large corporation dictate the will of many. I truly believe Americans our people built on strength and common sense. We have endured much through the years and have always been known to unite when there is a threat against our nation. We again can unite to make what was great in the past, great again.

After 9/11 the atmosphere changed greatly here in America when we were attack and many lost lives. We were a nation in shock but also united to stand up and fight against anyone who attacked us. Fast-forward to today and that shock and sense of united seems not to be. None of us have forgotten about 9/11 but in essence the moment of sheer shock has faded to a memory. I am sure if asked any American would say, we need to fight terrorism and make our borders secure and our nation safe. But I say look around because today are borders are not secure by any means and what has the government done to make us safe? Sure we have the Patriot Act and Homeland Security and still our borders are not safe. If the borders were secure we would not have so many illegal immigrants getting into our country and now Al Qaeda has found this hole in our security and have smuggled some of their terrorist into our country via Mexico. Why is this still happening? Why as Americans do we let our elected officials get away with not securing our borders? And why as Americans do we let President Zedillo from Mexico in our country to unite legal and illegal immigrants for Mexico’s sake, where he said to U.S. citizens of Mexican decent, “You are Mexicans, Mexicans who live north of the border, you owe loyalty to Mexico, not Uncle Sam.” Where was our government when President Zedillo made that statement?

There is no debate on the subject when it comes to our borders, they have to be shut down and locked up tight. Anyone here that is not legal must be deported or face charges and there can be no gray area on the subject. But yet we have elected officials debating and wanting to give citizenship to people here illegally or a pathway to citizenship. How Americans can even tolerate this is, is beyond me. There are some officials who want to give driver licenses to people that are here illegally as well as let them attend schools and receive government money. Plus our government as taken the 14th amendment and construed the true meaning to let anchor babies be considered American citizens. Now how can you tell me they are doing their part to secure our country and keep us safe when our nation is being flooded by undocumented individuals that they no nothing about and what their intentions are here in America? How are we any safer now then we were before 9/11 and how do these officials keep getting elected back into office when they do nothing to secure our borders?

As strong Americans that I know we are, we can send and be a very powerful voice if we stand united and let our government know we are not going to take what they are dishing out to us. Our government has been playing us for fools’ way too long and we need to put the brakes on this unacceptable behavior. No more should we let them get away with empty campaign promises and we must make them vote the will of the people and not what they think is best for us. We need leaders that are going to secure our borders and end illegal immigration once and for all and give America back to it’s people instead of selling off America to foreign interest. We must bring back pride into being an American citizen again instead of just giving it away to anyone that can sneak past our overburden border patrol. America is being invaded and we have a government that entertains the idea as being acceptable and we as a nation need to let them know just how unacceptable it is. I can only hope as Americans we wake up to what is happening to our country and stop what is happening before it is too late. Like what was said in the movie, The Patriot, “We must stay the course” and as Americans we must unite and stay the course!

WHAT TYPE OF THINKER ARE YOU?

Yesterday my kids got me thinking about how people think when I was driving my daughter up to meet her dad for the weekly visit with him. My son on the other hand decided to stay with me this weekend and take a break from his father. On the way up to meet him my son said to me that his dad thought the way he thinks is wrong. That floored me, how in the hell can a kid’s way of thinking (and I am talking general thinking here) be wrong? Sure there are some kids that have thoughts of the morbid and doing harm to others and by all means that way of thinking is so wrong but with my son, who I think has the biggest heart of gold, my ex is way off on his thinking. So the whole conversation on the way up to meet him was that my kids wanted to know from me what I thought about their way of thinking.

To me my son is an analytic type thinker; he is always trying to figure out who, what, and whys of everything. He wants to know how things work, why you think the way you do, and if there is no order or semblance he will get totally loss. He is very strong in math and that is easy to understand because math is done with formulas and if you understand formulas then numbers are easy. He is also very big hearted. He can’t understand hate or hurting anyone person or living thing and will go out of his way to help anyone. Animals must sense this about him because our pets seem to flock to him. If he is lying down or sitting on the sofa you can bet one, if not all of our pets are lying around him, they really feel at ease and safe with him. I believe it is his easy-going nature he has about him. So to me there is nothing wrong with the way my son thinks and where my exe thinks there is something wrong with him I am at a total loss as to his way of thinking (I will get to the way my ex thinks in a bit). I feel very blessed to have a son who has a passion with how life ticks and love for life itself. Trust me I let him know there was not a thing wrong with him and assured him his way of thinking was the right way and not to listen to what his dad said about his thinking (I mean hell, aren’t there some Noble Peace prize winners that thought like my son, who knows he might very well change the world one day).

Then my daughter wanted to know what I thought about her way of thinking. Well I have blogged about good ole Morgan and her flare for the dramatics so there is no doubt about the way she thinks, she is a creative thinker (no bones about that). I swear sometimes with her I can see the smoke coming from her brain when she is thinking about something. Morgan is always thinking outside of the box and she has so many thoughts going on at one time in her brain that she has a time focusing on just one idea. One minute she will make her famous “Morgan’s News” that she will post on her bedroom door to let me know what her siblings are up to (like her older sister getting a tattoo and not telling me) instead of running to me and being accused of being a tattler to rearranging her bedroom for the millionth time or changing her mind about a Halloween costume to changing her oh so creative Christmas list, all this can be done with her in less than half a day. She is also at a very young age of twelve, an entrepreneur of sorts. She has come to me with ideas of starting her own business from pet sitting, babysitting, to wanting to sell stuff (the last one she had accomplish to some extent when mad at her older sister one time took some of her make-up and clothes to school and try to sell them for profit). I also believe with Morgan she could very well one day be a fashion designer. She can come up with some really unique fashion drawings of clothes that would give the great designers of the world a run for their money but really with her I see an actress with her. She can get into character like nobody’s business (see my blog Morgan’s drama for proof of her acting abilities).

The kids wanted to know from me what I thought about their father’s way of thinking. For the most part with him he is an emotional thinker or what I call rose-colored, avoidance thinker. He believes there are no problems and if there are problems then it is not his fault it is someone else’s fault. When we were married we got into debt because of his thinking. If he wanted to play golf or hang out with his buddies he would go instead of using the money to pay bills or buy groceries. His way of thinking is if he put the bills where he couldn’t see them then there were no bills to pay and when the bill collectors called wanting their money then it was my fault that we had no money to pay them. He would also get so emotional over issues that he would work himself into a frenzy of tears and would just fall apart. One example of this was a FTD flower commercial promoting mother’s day, where someone sent flowers to their mom in another state. Well just the thought that his mom, who at the time lived in Florida and wasn’t with him sent him into a total break-down and I had to get the box of puffs out to console him and every time after that I had to change the channel when that damn commercial came on. It was also the same way with the TV show “Touch By An Angel”, for him the whole concept of that show got him thinking and crying rivers every time he watched it. He believes that hugs can change the world and everyone needs to love one another. In fact to him I was a very cold person because I didn’t hug everyone I came in contact with like he did (funny, a lot of times people that knew him would often run from him when they saw him coming because they knew they would get one of his bear hugs and that drove them nuts). His way of thinking is pretty much why our marriage ended because everything was my fault but for me I just couldn’t handle his way of thinking and dealing with an emotional cripple that had a real problem dealing with life and always needing his mom to help him deal with everyday life. Being married to him just plain exhausted me.

When it comes to me, I believe I am a realistic, common sense thinker. I try to look at both sides and see the logic in both or I see things for what they are and not what they should be. Life is what it is and it is what you make of life is how I think. I believe you should follow the law and if you break it then you have to pay the consequences and there is no gray area there. I tend to be old fashion in my way of thinking like I don’t believe kids should be given contraceptives in school because in sense you are giving them permission to go have sex. Instead teach them absentness. I believe not to live beyond your means and be grateful for what you have instead of what you don’t have. I really believe that God should not be taking out of our pledge of allegiance and if you want to pray at school or work you can. Lets face it, faith is important and no one should be denied that. I strongly believe in having morals, values, and working hard to obtained what you want out of life, something I think people today have lost the true meaning in with life. These are what I believe in and how I think life should be; I guess I got that from my dad.

With life itself you have so many different type of people of different cultures, beliefs, and their way of thinking, which makes everyone of us unique and adds variety to life. There are some us out there who are a bit extreme with their way of thinking to the point it can upset the balance for all and then you have people who bring calm with there way of thinking that brings order back to life. It would be nice to have more people who can bring order and calm to the masses with their thinking instead of having people who are extreme (today I feel we have too many extremists running things and is why we as a human race are so out of balance). We all need to look at how we think, view life, and how our actions are affecting those around us. Are we upsetting the balance with our way of thinking or are we making a better difference with our thinking? You may be saying to yourself that your way of thinking does not affect the world but really it does. Look at it this way, how you vote makes an affect, how you react to someone can change their day for better or worse, and your opinion on an issue may just change someone’s way of thinking or life for that matter. Our thoughts and beliefs somehow connect us all in the scheme of things and our actions do in fact result in how the balance of life is affected. So the next time you give your opinion, cast a vote, or tell someone how you feel, stop and think about your way of thinking and what it may mean by letting your thoughts out and how it will affect everyone else, who knows you may end up changing the world.

DON’T YOU JUST HATE GUILT TRIPS!

Some people just have the knack to lay guilt on you anyway they can. Everyone has to know at least someone in their lives that can lay it on them thick. I call these people; “Pitymes” and these pitymes have such a way of playing the victim you would swear they were up for some kind of award. Ah come on you know the type! They are the ones that when you want to do something or you think a certain way that doesn’t jive with them they will be the first ones to say to you it isn’t fair or we always do what you want, then BOOM, they do their best to make you feel guilty for even suggesting or thinking what you thought. (In school did they offer a course on guilt tripping? Cause if they did no one told me about it.)

I was married to one and let me tell you if schools offered this course he would have gotten an A! He still to this day and I might add try as he might, lays the guilt trip on our kids and me. I can handle it but on the other hand my poor kids really don’t know what to do with their father when he starts his crap and making them feel guilty. Both my youngest are starting in their teen years where they want to start doing more stuff with their friends and not spend every weekend with their dad. Now understanding kids get older and so do what they want to do, do you think my exe would understand that? Oh hell no! Every weekend without fail he tells the kids he is getting them whether they want to do something or not. This weekend for instance my son wants to stay and do stuff with his paint ball club and his dear ole dad is laying down the guilt trip on him with the, “but buddy, I miss you and I only get to see you on weekends, I love you, don’t you love me” BS. For a young kid that is hard to handle coming from an adult and how is he suppose to answer that loaded question without making his dad burst into tears (an art form my exe is great at doing like my daughter who can vomit at will to get out of school, now you know where she gets it from). I know when my son gets older he will most likely take a page from my book when his dad pulls the crap and tell him where to go and believe me I can’t wait for that day to come (I see a scrapbook page in my future).

As I have gotten older I have become more thick skinned to the pitymes and have no problem telling them where to go, shut-up, and my other two faves, bite me or blow me (must say the look I get from them when I don’t buy into their victim act is priceless!). Today we as people get fed so many sob stories from people in our lives and the press that one could literally just get sick from hearing all the depressing stories. I have always been a believer that when things get tough and don’t work your way then find a way to make it work and don’t whine and try to get people to feel sorry for you. To me that is just a waste of energy and time. Life is tough; no way about it but how you handle the everyday drama is what makes you stronger. That is if you can handle it, we all know the pitymes can’t and would rather have someone bend to their ways so life is easier for them. This is where I stop being the enabler! I may seem harsh to the pitymes but I refuse to make life for them a cakewalk because really if they can’t learn to take care of themselves then who will teach them?

They have 12-step programs for just about everything, I think they need to make one for the pitymes. Now the true people that deserve help, I always give them a break but the ones who make it their life to lay the guilt trips on you and play the victims, well you are the ones that need help! If a pitymes 12-step program starts up then I offer my exe as the poster child for the group because good lord what a big baby he is. Just think how much life would be so much nicer without their consent whining and crying about how life is not fair to them. To them I say, “Quit your whining, grab a Puffs and deal with it ya big baby!

THE DREAM ACT IS DEAD!

Yesterday the Dream Act came up in Congress for a vote and it failed (thank God!). Finally Congress is using its head and listening to the American people. I believe with the upcoming election illegal immigration is going to be the core point on who is elected or not. True the press doesn’t want you to think that way and as we all know the press is pro-democrat (sad to say), but I am starting to see a trend within the American people, they are getting fed up with the issue of illegal immigration and nothing being done about it. I know I have been blogging a lot about this issue but to me this is a very important issue that affects every single American and there is no denying it, something has to be done before it is too late for our country.

The question here is what are you going to do about it? When you vote next time will it be with your head, heart, or for your party? This time when I vote it will be for the candidate that is strongest on immigration reform (I know I just shock you on that one didn’t I?). We as Americans have to send a message to our government that they need to take care of this issue and stop trying to grant people that came to our country illegally with rights. I was absolutely floored this week when I was helping my son with his homework and in the back of his textbook they had a special section glossary all in Spanish! I was like, hello we are in the United State and for the most part English is spoken here so why does this textbook have a Spanish glossary in it? Trivial, well maybe but lets look at the big picture here, by having a Spanish glossary in the back of this textbook aren’t the publishers of this textbook enabling people not to learn English and what a slap in the face for people from other countries (nonhispanics) that come here to live that don’t speak English, why didn’t the publishers have other languages besides Spanish in their textbook? See where I am going with this? Bottom line here is we have to stop catering to people that cannot speak English and we have to stop giving people that come here illegally government benefits! Side note here just to prove my point, my husband told me the other day that he knows someone who has been in this country for twenty plus years and still can’t hardly speak one word of English! Why you say, well because there is no need for this person to learn English because everything is printed up in Spanish and everywhere this persons goes they expect someone to translate for them. That to me is just horrid, if you are coming to another country to live you should learn the language! No wonder it is a mess here.

The other reason I am so big on immigration reform is that the United States cannot handle this kind of population growth, there is just not enough resources to handle the masses that come here undocumented. If our government keeps letting the wave of undocumented masses come to our country then in time America could very well become a third world country itself. Do you want that to happen? Do you want to see America so overpopulated to the point that we have people living on top of people? Do you want to see America plagued by disease and starvation? Do you want to see America for the most part jobless and poor because there are not enough jobs to go around? Grim picture yes but it could happen if nothing gets done to stop people from coming here illegally. Remember this, the terrorist that attacked on 9/11 came here undocumented and I find it appalling of our government to even entertain the idea of giving citizenship to people that come here illegally, after all do they really know who is here and what their agenda is?

Immigration reform is something every (legal) American needs to really think about when voting in the next election. Too much of taxpayer’s monies goes to supporting people that come here illegally. Don’t believe me then read my blog “Enough Already,” there you will see how much money goes to supporting people that come here illegally. Illegal immigration affects every single one of us in one way or another from jobs, education, cost of insurance, taxes, crime and medical expenses. I could go on and on with how illegal immigration affects us but I know you can research for yourself and see what it is doing to America. It just boggles me that the government doesn’t see it. I am going to list for you below those elected officials that voted for the Dream Act yesterday, please do your part and send them a message next time they come up for re-election and send them their walking papers. We need to let our government know we are not going to take it anymore and we want them to do the same on this issue. Together we can make America right again! Thanks for listening.

Akaka(D-HI) Bayh (D-IN) Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Craig (R-ID) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA)
Hagel (R-NE) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

PEOPLE WATCHING

We are all guilty of it but lets admit it, watching people is fun! How many times do you go to the park or mall where a lot of people go and you sit down and watch? People are funny creatures when you get right down to it. I often wonder when I am watching if some people even look in the mirror before they go out of their house. It really baffles me in what people think looks good on them (you know men in Speedos, yuck!). I also love to see how people interact and what they are thinking. Sometimes I wonder if people even really think at all, like I said we are strange creatures.

One of my favorite places to people watch is at concerts, to me it seems concerts really bring out the stupid in people. First off I about die when I see the groupie chicks trying their best to get back stage. They wear clothes that are way too tight and don’t fit right and have more make-up on then a clown all in the hope to get that cherished backstage pass so they can have a chance to be used and abuse by the road crew. I really wonder with these chicks if when they go to concerts if they leave their morals at home (and from the way they are dressed they seem to leave a lot more at home as well). Then you have the guys who either drink way too much or they try to dance and the ones who try to dance are dancing right next to you and you end up looking like you have been battered the next day. Concerts really do seem to bring the worse and sometimes the best out of people, my only wish at concerts is that if you don’t know the words to the song, don’t sing it! Plus for all you groupie chicks out there, if you are a bit on the heavy side don’t wear revealing clothes! I can tell you this for a fact, I have been backstage and one bass player from a major touring band who I had the pleasure of hanging out with and drinking beers one night, him and I had a blast people watching and we both agreed that heavy girls look like jokes when they wear clothes that let it all hang out! (Hey dude, if you are reading this remember, “OUTLAW SPANDEX NOW!”)

The malls of America, what a great place to people watch! There you have the yuppies, the stroller brigade, and the OMG teenage crowd! Hell I could go on with the list of people that go to the malls! The yuppies you can always spot, they are the ones that only wear the conservative clothes, blueberrys attached to them, and only have the most posh shopping bags in their hands, juggling a cup of Starbuck’s joe as they run around the mall like they have so many important things to do and they are out to change the world so get the hell out of there way! Wouldn’t you once like to stick your foot out and trip them? I know I do! Then the stroller brigade, they are the ones that drive minivans, have kids they can’t control, walking slower than dirt and do their best to get in your way, doing all of this while screaming at their kids and looking like they are in need of day at the spa (make that a week at the spa). Believe me when I went to the mall when my kids were young, I did everything I could not to bring them and why these parents want to subject the masses to their screaming kids is beyond me. Do us all a favor stroller brigade leave the kids at home or don’t go to the mall. Then finally we have the OMG teenage crowd, no brainer in spotting that group. They are the ones that are saying OMG, you’re so gay, oh shut up, and I can’t believe Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab! They also have the major tendency to be rude, look at you like you came from another planet, and just love to annoy any adult that comes close to them. Got to love that bunch, I just wish malls would hand out cattle prodders to all adults so that when this group gets in your way you can move them out of your way.

So next time you are out in public and you get a chance take some time, sit down, and watch people. It is fun and educational! I am sure you will get a laugh like me when you see women that wears a stripe shirt with a flower skirt, guys that wear pants that hang off of their butts, and the person that try to dye their hair at home only to have it come out blue. You will have a good laugh and if you are feeling down this can be a real pick me up as well. People, got to love’em!

NOT ENOUGH TIME IN A WEEKEND

Too bad weekends aren’t longer, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get things done in just two days. My list of things to do just keeps getting longer and longer to the point that there will be no way for me to get them all done. Sure makes me wish I could clone myself. Now with my new job working as a transcriptionist for a hospital there is no chance of getting those holidays and long weekends that I used to look forward to because as we all know hospitals don’t close which means I work 52 weeks a year straight.

Every weekend I do my usual, I get up on Saturday to clean and do laundry, which can for the most part take a good chunk of my weekend. Then try as I might I try to get to my craft projects but after a long week of transcribing and then cleaning, who has the energy, lord knows I don’t (again that whole cloning thing is starting to look real good). I wanted to have a yard sale this weekend but last weekend I got sick and couldn’t go through the mountains of stuff to get ready for it, so no yard sale this weekend. I really want to catch up on my scrapbooking (those damn pictures are piling up), because I really miss doing it but laundry keeps screaming at me. While it is fall I would love to go and walk in the mountains and take pictures of the trees (yeah I know, more damn pictures for me to scrap, crazy huh?) but after I get the cleaning done its too late. So what to with not enough time in a weekend to get everything done that I want and need to do?

I propose that weekends be four days long, that way you have two days for doing the stuff you hate and two days to do the stuff you want. Seems very logical to me. I am willing to work longer workdays to have a four-day weekend. If I can’t have that then clone me or get someone to help me out (I can dream can’t I?). Just think, you go to work on Monday then before you know it Tuesday is your middle of the week and then Wednesday becomes your Friday! Man would that make the workweek fly by! Not to mention think about all of the congestion and emissions that would be cut down if the workweek was shorter! Fewer accidents, less people calling in sick, and fewer people getting stressed by a long workweek sure would be a lot nicer.

So call your elected official today and ask them to vote for a four-day weekend for all Americans! They might just do it because really as it is now are government is useless anyway, lets give them something to do!

AMERICA TODAY (IN MY OPINION)

The state of affairs in America today is a sad one the way I see it. I do think if our forefathers were alive today they would be shaking their heads in disgust. Today we are a country at war outside and inside borders. There seems to be turmoil here everywhere you turn. Americans have lost faith in our government; really I do not blame them in some ways I have lost faith in them too. I would just like to know what happened to the government for the people, by the people?

Today I see our elected officials vote on how it will benefit them, special interest groups or big corporations. No more do I see politicians voting for what the people want. I just want to know when and how did this all happen? How come our government let big money dictate how they vote and why did the mighty dollar take precedence over what the people want? It seems to me that our elected officials have forgotten how our government came to be and why. They really need to re-read Declaration of Independence to understand why our government was formed. They have lost touch with the pulse of its American citizens for power and wealth.

We have soldiers in Iraq that need our unified government’s support but all I see in Washington are Democrats and Republicans squabbling amongst themselves on whose party is right or wrong with this issue. I am sure if I was a soldier over in Iraq fighting for our country I would be totally disgusted with our government. Party politics aside our government needs to understand, we are in the war nothing is going to change that now so lets do everything we can to support our men and women over there at any cost, because damn it they need us just as much as we need them!

I would also like to see our government to something about jobs in America being outsourced or taken away by the influx of illegal immigrants. Sure I can understand why corporations want to save money by outsourcing but to me this is a total shame and it is to me selling jobs out to the lowest bidder. What the corporations fail to realize is by saving money this way they are making the American economy weaker because if Americans don’t make money then how can they spend money. If companies go to illegal day labors (or as I call it job prostitution) for workers, and for the most part do not pay taxes because they are illegal, how is that helping to make America’s economy stronger? It isn’t and our elected officials do nothing about it because they are paid off by special interests and corporations not to do anything about it.

Our justice system today is in itself criminal. We have known criminals getting off for technicalities when it is plain to see they committed a crime. There should be no gray area here, if someone commits a crime and the evidence proves it without a doubt then regardless if someone didn’t dot their “I” somewhere they should be punished. The safety of the people should be the priory not the criminal’s rights and when you commit a heinous crime you have no rights! I can see where our law enforcement feels helpless in this area and the government should do everything they can to support them by creating laws where criminals cannot fall through some loophole technicality.

Finally my dear elected officials, you as our elected officials need to do something about illegal immigration. How you as a government are handling this issue is a crime in itself! Our population grows out of control and you do nothing to secure our borders. We have people coming into our country we no nothing about, where their allegiance stands, manipulating our system to get government benefits that should only be for legal Americans, and coming into our country without being medically check, thus risking the health of the American citizens. What does our government to stop this? NOTHING! Oh but there does seem to be one answer and that is called amnesty, which is a joke! If our elected officials would stop and look, they would see that the majority (and the majority constitutes as LEGAL CITIZENS) of Americans do not want amnesty, they want all illegals deported! But for the most part our elected officials that want amnesty are blinded to what Americans want and only see future votes for themselves by letting illegals become citizens.

So to all of our elected officials in our government you have been placed on notice by the American people! Start being the government that our forefathers wanted, for the people, by the people. Its that plain and simple because I as an American citizen will vote you out of office and will keep voting any elected official if they do not do the will of the American people!

STOP THE PRESSES!

NEW FLASH! My brother-in-law will be going to Martinsville this weekend to see a Nascar race! I believe this is MAJOR headline news here! Why you asked? Well because he couldn’t give a rat’s a*s about Nascar. I find him going to be oh so humorous. If you asked him about Nascar, he would tell you it is nothing but a bunch of cars going around in circles. HA! Wonder what his opinion will be after he sees the race. To bad I am not going with him because I see a really good scrapbook page on this whole event.

Ok, I know the next question, if he hates Nascar so much, then why is he going? The answer to that is because he got stuck! His ex-wife had planned on taking his sons to the race but something came up and she couldn’t, so now he has to take the kids kicking and screaming all the way down to Martinsville. So if this weekend in the wee hours of Sunday morning you hear a loud an ear-piercing scream that sounds like a hyena in its throes of death, don’t worry it is only my brother-in-law going to the race.

To give you a picture of my brother-in-law, he is one of the most hardheaded people I know (a trait that his mother and I know only to be inbreeded into men of our family). I bet you any amount of money he will go to this race and most likely really enjoy himself but will he admit it, now that is the question. Studies have shown that most hardheaded people will NEVER admit to wrongs, just like my brother-in-law. I could tell him the sky is blue and he will tell me that it is purple and he is right because that is the way he is. It is almost like arguing with a liberal and anyone who has done that will know what I mean (there is just no arguing with them).

So tomorrow he will go (kicking and screaming like I said) and I know deep down he will love it. I at one time thought like he did and became a true believer/fan of Nascar after I went to a race. You just can’t help but get addicted to it once you see it for yourself, there is nothing like going to a race and seeing, smelling, and feeling the excitement of it all. Even if he doesn’t admit to loving it after he goes I do hold out for a bit of hope with his sons. If they (his sons) come back from the whole event loving it then the payback for me will be them wanting to watch Nascar every week and wanting to make dear ole dad take them to another race! I would laugh if that happened. Then my brother-in-law in all of his hardheadness will have Nascar fill every crevice of his being until he admits to liking it (boy, I know that would be a hard cup of Joe for him to swallow).

Gee… I wonder if he is updated on his shots? If he isn’t he just might catch Nascar fever!! Ha Ha!

A LITTLE STORY

Once upon a time there was a man named Sam who lived in a very nice big white house on a hill. Sam made a great living and lived a very comfortable life and never wanted for anything. One day Sam was outside his big white house and saw a scruffy ole dog in his yard that looked like it had seen better days. Sam, who had a big heart decided to take in the scruffy looking dog and give it a better life. Things were going great for Sam and the dog he named Scruffy, Scruffy earned his keep by protecting Sam’s big white house and being a loving pet and Sam paid Scruffy back by caring for him medically, feeding, and sheltering Scruffy.

Then one day Sam and Scruffy were outside and saw a poor cat that was skin and bones begging Sam for a better life. Like a true hero, Sam took the poor cat in to give it a better life. The cat, which Sam called Boots, paid Sam back for his kindness by catching mice and being a loyal and loving pet. Sam felt complete, he had two loving pets that he had saved and gave them a better life and in return they helped Sam by being loyal and loving pets. Life couldn’t get any better.

Sam being the big hearted person that he was could never say no to any animal that came to him looking for a better life. His big white house on the hill became over run with dogs, cats, birds, and so many other furry creatures looking for a better life that Sam didn’t know how many pets he had and couldn’t care for them all. Before Sam knew it his big white house on the hill became ran down and unlivable, his beloved pets that he took in didn’t have enough food and he couldn’t pay to give them medical attention. Sam was in tears because many of his pets were suffering from hunger and disease all because Sam was big hearted and couldn’t say no to any animal that wanted a better life. Sam’s neighbors looked at him as an animal hoarder and a blight upon the community, where before they had always looked at Sam as a strong leader and someone they could look up too. His house was a mess all because he couldn’t control how many pets he let in.

Sam went to one of his neighbors named Ben, who lived in a big red house up the street for help. He pleaded to Ben for help to get his house back in order. Ben just shook his head at Sam and asked him how many pets did he have? Sam in tears said to Ben that he didn’t know because there were so many of them that came to him for a better life that he lost count after one hundred. Ben told Sam that he lost control of his house because he couldn’t say no to any animal that wanted a better life. It was Sam’s fault for not knowing how many pets he had and knowing how many he could actually care for. Ben then asked Sam what did he get in return for having all these pets that wanted a better life? Sam said they give me nothing back and the ones that did, Scruffy and Boots left me because they got tired of giving to me and getting nothing in return. Ben told Sam he was sorry and couldn’t help him and that Sam should had seen what would happen by taking in all those pets and only he was to blame for letting this happen.

Poor Sam went back to his broken-down, unlivable, big white house on the hill where there were so many pets screaming at him to feed and care for them. Poor Sam just couldn’t care for them he had run out of money, food, and medicine for them. Sam had given all that he had until he had nothing left. In tears, Sam told the hundreds upon hundreds of pets that he couldn’t care for them anymore because he had nothing left to give them. Instead of helping poor Sam, who had given them everything he could for a better life, all of his pets left him in disgust because Sam couldn’t meet their needs. So now Sam is all by himself again but this time his big white house on the hill has been reduced to a slum and he has nothing to show for himself for being so big hearted to all of animals he helped.


What the story means: Sam represents the government of the United States. Sam’s big white house is the United States. Scruffy and Boots represents taxpaying citizens of the United States. All of the pets that came to Sam that he didn’t know about represent illegal immigrants looking for a better life.
Moral of the story: He who doesn’t know how many pets live in his house will end up with nothing but a house that is unlivable and all alone.

ELLEN DEGENERES NEEDS TO SHUT UP

I am still in shock this is making big headline news. Give me a break Ellen needs to shut up. She signed the contract and she should abide by it. Using her celebrity status to try and coherence the woman that runs the shelter is nothing but tacky. I saw Ellen’s plea to the owner of the shelter on her show and didn’t feel one bit of pity for her, she made herself look like a real joke on national television. Celebrities kill me with how they use their status with the public to get what they want, whether it is a puppy, politics, or legal matters they try to get out of. I say to them deal with it like the rest of us do.

It is really a shame that the owner of the shelter is now facing death threats and Ellen’s attorneys threatening a lawsuit. I am glad that Batkis is not backing down from Ellen and her scummy tactics. I feel it is a real shame they are putting the daughters of Ellen’s hairdresser on T.V. pleading to have their dog back (New flash kids, it was never really your dog to begin with). A contract is a contract and Ellen should stand by what she signed and because she is a celebrity she should not be allowed any special concessions.

I believe celebrities shouldn’t open their mouths unless they are asked to. Lord knows half of the stuff that comes out of their mouths is nothing but ignorant. No doubt with the up coming Presidential election we are going to have enough of their insane opinions on who should be President (that reminds me, I need to go to the drug store and stock up on anti-vomiting medicine). As if what they feel and think is going to decide for me on whom I vote for. I think the rich and famous need to walk a mile in the shoes of the not famous for a while and see what it feels like when no one cares what you think, say, or what you go through everyday. If Ellen didn’t have her fame we sure wouldn’t be hearing about this so called puppy scandal. So do all of us a favor Ellen, apologize to the owners of Mutts and Moms and then shut up and deal with it.

TONE FOR THE DAY

When I woke this morning I felt today was going to be a great day. Today I start my full time job, finally after two months I am working and that feels really good. Somehow though it seems that the way today is starting to turn out it may not be a great day. Kind of makes me want to go back to bed and try to start the day over again. I do try everyday to wake up thinking that every day is going to be a great day because the internal optimist in me won’t let me think otherwise. Damn if only my crystal ball was working I could see what is in store for me, then I would know if today would have been one of those days I shouldn’t get out of bed.

I got up this morning and like I do every morning, I get on the computer (that was my first mistake today). I opened my email and saw an email from one of my friends. Yesterday I had forward to her an email that I received from my power mall showing the latest sales they were offering and one in particular was a side table that I thought was nice and thought she would like it too since it was her kind of furniture. Big mistake! The table came from Plow and Hearth where her daughter had worked and was fired unjustly. My friend basically blasted me for sending that horrid email with Plow and Hearth on it. I was taken aback a bit with her response; I had never intended to be mean and spiteful by sending the email. I just saw a table that I like and thought she would like it to, it was a common table and one I am sure you could get at any type of furniture store. The fact that it came from Plow and Hearth didn’t even dawn on me. Her email response got my crappy mood going this morning.

Then as I do every morning, at 4 o’clock I woke my husband up for work and then took Baz out. At this point I was starting to calm down from being blasted by my friend and felt that the day would turn out to be better after all (wrong again). Once my husband came out to the kitchen and instead of saying good morning, I got instead to tell the kids that if they leave the carport light on again he was going to remove it because if he hadn’t of gotten up at 11 o’clock last night it would have been on all night long. I have no idea why that just ticked me off when he said that because the kids were wrong for leaving the light on (my kids are great for forgetting to do a lot stuff they are suppose to do). I guess it was the email from my friend still burning me up inside that made me ticked off by what my husband said. Maybe I was just wishing for once he wouldn’t wake up grumpy or he would had told me good luck on my job today.

Regardless, I can’t be mad at my husband and sooner or later I will get over being blasted by my friend. I can only hope that what happened this morning would not be a prelude of things to come today because I really don’t need it starting a new job. That internal optimist in me is screaming not to let that happen but sometimes I just want to tell that internal optimist to just shut up and let me wallow in my crappy mood. I do know if I stay in my crappy mood then like dominoes falling everyone that comes in contact with me will be crappy towards me and lord knows I don’t want that. So I will wallow in silence for a bit, get over it and move on, after all maybe later today will be better and that gives me something to hope for.

KIDS TODAY

Today I just have to laugh when it comes to child rearing experts. I just want to know where their wealth of information comes from? I also want to know just how many of these so-called experts have kids of their own? It seems to me in today’s world with kids that people are actually following what these geniuses are saying, which to me would explain why there are so many problems with kids today. I see so many kids today that seem to have no direction in life and for that matter don’t care about life and how their actions affect their future. What happened?

Today’s society has lost its grip with what worked in the past when it comes to child rearing, at least in my opinion. I see today’s kids as electronic couch-potato junkies with no imagination, manners, or values. Kids are focus on the material things in life and their heads are filled with the everyday supply of violence from television, games, and everyday life. Who’s to blame for this? Well parents for number one. Today both parents for the most part have to work outside of the home, which leaves most kids either at home alone or at daycare. Then you have the other type of parent who is at home but just doesn’t care what their kids are doing. I also believe Hollywood is to blame for how kids are today with the on slot of horror/gore movies, violent programs, and the glorification of celebrities that have drug problems and those that brake the law (what great role models they are). Video games are also to blame with Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Dead Rising with the object of the game to shoot as many bad guys as you can (What a great concept, lets teach target shooting to imbalance kids so they know how to go out shoot people or steal cars).

I for one would love to see the return to what I call the Mayberry days, where crime rates are low, kids are outside playing with friends and in before dark, and kids know that if they got in trouble there would be hell to pay for their actions. I would love to go back to when parents knew where their kids are at all times, we knew that when our kids were out they are safe, and kids spoke to adults with respect and had manners. I would also love to go back to where a crack on the butt wasn’t called child abuse but discipline. Back when we had the Mayberry days life just seemed to be better for kids.

Today we have child rearing experts that tell us, when are kids are breaking the rules we need to sit down and have a talk with them. Great idea, but what if you have a child that doesn’t listen to one of your chats, then what? Tell them to go and sit in a corner, restrict them, or take away privileges? What if that doesn’t work, then what? When I was growing up I knew as a kid if I didn’t listen to my parents I got a crack on the butt, it got my attention and made me think twice before repeating the same offense. I will state, I am against child abuse and there are people out there that feel a crack on the butt is a form of child abuse, but a simple crack on the butt was the standard back in the days of old and I certainly don’t see masses of adults today that got a crack on the butt suffering from it. I just believe when all else fails that sometimes a good ole crack on the butt doesn’t hurt; it just will get the kids attention (so shoot me for my belief, it didn’t hurt me and I didn’t feel abused by that growing up).

Growing up we didn’t have internet, video games, and our parents didn’t let us veg out in front of the T.V., we had to go outside, do chores, or get our homework done, basically we weren’t allow to be lazy. I see too many kids running lose, staying out all hours of the night, and glued to the boob tube for hours on end. Somehow we as parents have to get a grip on raising our kids. Family values to me seem to be a thing of the past and that is sad. We need to get back to those Mayberry days for the sake of our kids and their futures. We need to instill values to them and teach them that when they do wrong there are consequences. There is more to life then material things and a hard days work never hurt anybody. If we don’t, then the kids of today are going grow up with no compassion for life, no imaginations, and expect to get whatever they want without working for it, and finally violence will not shock them. Do we really want that? I know I don’t and will do everything not to let that happen to my kids. I want my kids to grow up and be productive law abiding adults with morals and respect for others. So instead of listening to child rearing experts, I think I will go by the way I was raised because in my opinion my parents did a damn good job.

ANIMAL PERSONALITIES

I have four pets, three cats and one dog and with all them they have their own very unique personalities, as I am sure all animals do. Sometimes I wonder how they all seem to get along living under one roof but somehow they manage. There are times I have to pull my hair out with them because like kids we have our squabbles and I get stuck in the middle-playing referee. Sure life could be easy without them but really I couldn’t imagine life without them. They all have their way in some respect keeping me sane (and sometimes that is a really hard feat).

Tigger is the oldest of my pets, an orange and white cat that can be moody and is the biggest wimp of all my pets. Tigger will run from his own shadow and if you say boo to him, he will run in sheer terror. He is the pure definition of scaredy cat. Tigger can also be the sweetest cat when the moment suites him. He will do anything to sit on your lap and be petted and if you don’t pet him he will head-butt you until you do. At night he is surgically attached to my husband, Jeff trying to soak up his body heat (a good source of heat, my husband is known as lava man for the heat he puts off). How Jeff can sleep with Tigger so close to him is beyond me. The funny thing with Tigger is he loves to talk; you can carry on some great conversations with him. He will meow his head of until you respond to him, then once you do, you’re stuck because whatever he has to say is of extreme importance and he needs to be heard now!

The second of my pets is Jinx, a huge 20 lbs., gray black tabby cat we adopted at the shelter to give Tigger a companion. Great idea we thought at first but as things go Jinx became Tigger’s nightmare. He wasn’t Tigger’s buddy he became Tigger’s bully and bully is the best way to describe him. When I hear Tigger’s loud piercing scream, I know that Jinx has just jumped on Tigger’s back scaring the ever-loving crap out of Tigger. There are moments although fleeting that Tigger and him get along but Jinx sees himself as the supreme king cat of the household and nobody better try to take that away from him. Jinx’s life is ruled by his stomach and if he is not fed when he wants to be fed he will drive you nuts until you do feed him, hence the reason why he is so huge. If you say “git-r-done” Jinx will appear out of nowhere looking for the laser light to chase, that is Jinx’s crack. He can even hear you get the light out the drawer and he even knows the smell of that light.

Then Kodi came into our lives, a little black kitten that I almost turned into road kill (trust me, I wasn’t looking to get another cat after everything we had been through with Tigger and Jinx and their love/hate relationship). I brought him home and he became almost immediately the mediator between Tigger and Jinx. He looked at Tigger as his father figure and he was the challenge that Jinx needed to his thrown and also kept Jinx distracted from jumping on Tigger all the time. The little peacekeeper cat fit right in and became the little love of my husband with his squeaky little to almost nonexistent meow. He also loves to see how he can irritate Jinx by giving him a taste of his own medicine and jump on him when he least expects it and will sleep with Tigger because he knows how much Tigger doesn’t like to sleep alone. Kodi lives for his furry little mice toys; he is a collector of them. Many times when I am cleaning I will find his stash all over the house. Most of all Kodi makes an art out of sleeping. I have never seen a cat sleep in the positions that he does, he is the epitome of relaxation.

Finally there is Baz, the only dog of our pets. We got Baz because I pleaded with my husband to let me have a dog. So for my last birthday he broke down and let me get one (best birthday present I ever had). I thought it was best to get a puppy since we had three cats and didn’t want to take a chance with an older dog and it not liking cats. Jeff and I went to our local shelter and there was Baz with his two brothers. Baz is a lab/rottie mix and we picked him because he seemed to be the calmest of his littermates. Well as we found out looks can be deceiving. Baz is a spaz but a lovable one at that. Baz is happy go lucky and a true bewilderment to our cats with the exception of Tigger. Tigger loves him and I only think that because Tigger must look at Baz as his protector from Jinx and also when Tigger was a kitten I had a golden retriever that Tigger thought was his father so he was use to dogs. Jinx on the other hand looked at Baz as a threat to his reign over the household. Here was this puppy that was about the same size as Jinx and looked nothing like a cat. To say Jinx was beside himself was an understatement, he was ticked off we got him and to this day Baz and him test each other for complete ruling of the house. Kodi just plain doesn’t know what to think about Baz. Baz does his best to try to figure out these strange feline creatures he lives with and does his best to try to get them to accept him but only time is going to do that. I think first he has to get out of his puppy stage and calm down before they truly accept him. Baz is now close to 80 lbs at nine months and still thinks of himself as a lap dog. He loves to chase his tail and chew on his rawhides and has a real knack for driving my cat-loving husband up the wall. But all in all he is one big ole dopey dog that I love to death.

Life would be easier without them but then again it would be boring also. I need my scaredy cat, bully cat, peacekeeper, cat, and my big ole dopey dog because each one of them fulfills a need within me. They are part of our family and a great source of entertainment.

SOLVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

I believe I have come up with a way to solve illegal immigration! I stumbled upon this revelation while I was on an immigration reform forum. The majority of the posters, including me as well would like all people that are here in our country illegally to be deported. We have no problem with people that come here legally for a better life but it is quite obvious we do not want people here illegally that reap the benefits of our country that should only be afforded to legal citizens only. Then on the other side, you have posters that support illegal immigration and those posters are quick to tell you that all illegal immigrants are umbrella under our constitution and bill of rights and we have to give them a chance because after all they are human beings (I would love to see the constitution and bill of rights that they are reading, I am sure the one they are reading also give rights to coach roaches as well, after all they are one of God’s creatures). Plus, they are quick to tell you that if you support deporting all illegal immigrants they resort to calling you a bigot and a racist (Ouch, that hurts…NOT!).

That is when it dawn on me, while I was on these forums, on how to solve illegal immigration! This is how it works (makes sense to me). I think that anyone who supports amnesty for illegal immigrates (this also includes all elected officials that vote for amnesty), should have to post their addresses and phone numbers on a database for all illegals’ that come to the United States, then all of these illegals’ would know where to go to be supported. The illegal immigrants would know that these people have opened their hearts, homes, and wallets to them and also when tax time rolls around then our government would know where to send the bill to support all illegal immigrates that are a burden to our government system.

To me this is a win, win situation because then I and many others that feel like I do, do not have our tax dollars go to supporting people that are here illegally and the ones that feel they have every right to be here can have them and support them, after all illegal immigrants are human beings (man, I was really shocked to find out they were human beings!). Let me state this for the record, I am not a racist or a bigot, I have many friends of different color and nationality and I have no problem with people that come here for a better life, that is if they come here legally. I state this because no doubt if a bleeding heart liberal finds this blog I am sure I will get the comment that I am a racist and a bigot, well I say to you I am not and if that is the only comment you can come up with my friend then you prove, yet once again that ignorance is bliss.

The bottom line here is I want my tax dollars to go better education for my children not to Jose and Maria that are here illegally to teach them English. I want a better health system for all legal Americans so those that don’t have and can’t afford health insurance don’t have to worry about getting sick because they can’t afford it. I want better job opportunities for all legal Americans because lets face it, illegal immigrants are taking the jobs and doing so at lower wages which in turn causes professions such as trade to lose out on opportunities because a contractor can get an illegal to do it cheaper.

In the eyes of a bleeding heart liberal, I guess to them I am bigot/racist for wanting these things but then again there is no reasoning with them either. So I say to them, you can have all illegal immigrants! Love them, embrace them, and care for them as only you can. Set an example for all of us mean and hateful people that don’t want them here. But remember this, when your home property value gets driven down because they don’t care about your home like you do, burn the American flag and spew anti-American sediments at you, and demand that you educate, feed, clothe, and give medical aid to them and their anchor babies, please remember that they are human beings and deserve to be here just like you. In your eyes the constitution gives them every right (like you claim) to be here and gives them the right to claim the United States as their own (really because they were here first right?).

I wonder though, if the burden fell upon all who support illegal immigrants and their rights, how long will it be before they have had enough like the majority of Americans and change their tune? I for one would love to see it happen. I say lets give my plan a little test run and just see what happens. If I was a betting person, I bet it wouldn’t take long for all supporters to jump their bandwagon and start singing a different tune if they had to foot the bill for illegal immigrants.

MORGAN'S DRAMA (ACT IV)

Yesterday it was a fight to get Morgan out of bed but somehow she managed in her weak and dying state to get up and move to the sofa where she collapsed from apparent weakness from her short walk to the sofa. Fear started to rip through my body wondering if my poor daughter was ever going to get better. I had spent most of my week searching the internet looking for what was causing Morgan to be so sick but alas none of her symptoms matched up to a definite illness. My mind started to wondering if I should start making Morgan’s final plans and how would she have wanted her funeral to be, after all she couldn’t tell me she was way too weak to let me know how she wanted. I wiped a tear from my eye as I was trying to hold back the flood of tears in thought of losing my sweet dear Morgan because without her life would be less colorful and have no meaning. What was I going to do?

I tell you what I did; I told her that she was going to school! Morgan of course didn’t answer me at first because, well you know, she had to play “I am more than dead and too weak to answer you right now” game. Somehow she did manage to ask her brother in a low voice so I wouldn’t hear her if he was going to stay home and that it wasn’t fair I was trying to make her go to school because she was really sick. Again Morgan fails to realize that I wasn’t trying to make her go to school, I was TELLING her she had to go to school. Knowing Morgan I had to brace myself for the drama that was going to happen with her, for being that it was Friday she was going to fight me on it until the very end. I was ready, my gloves were on and I was ready for battle. There was no way she was going to stay home.

It was close to 7:00 in the morning and Morgan had to be at the bus stop by 7:30 and she hadn’t even got into the shower yet to get ready. I went in to drill sergeant mode and order her butt in the shower NOW! (Here is where the real drama begins) Morgan must have mustered up some energy because she screamed at the top of her lungs to me, “WHY DO I HAVE TO?” I told her because no one wants a stinky kid sitting next to him or her in school and she better get her butt up now because she was going. Morgan got up and on her way to the shower (I must say storming to the shower and sounding like an enraged elephant stampeding through the bush), she had to let me know of her displeasure that I was making her go to school with words like, “geez, oh my god, and this isn’t fair.”

I am at this point very amazed at the fact that someone so sick could cause such a commotion. Morgan was crying, slamming doors, and throwing things about to let me know of her anger. While she was in the shower I called my husband, Jeff to tell him of the latest drama with Morgan and he said to go ahead and let her stay home but if she did then she would have to stay in her room for a month without her stereo because he was going to take it out or she could go to school, it was her choice. After Morgan’s 15 minute shower, I told her what Jeff had said (next round of drama coming up), where she screamed at me that she never asked to stay home and that she was going to school. She didn’t want to stay home? Then why was I dealing with all of this drama if she didn’t want to stay home? Oh that’s right, dumb me, we are talking Morgan here and a lot of the times there is no rhyme or reason for the things she does or says.

Morgan managed to get ready for the bus on time but not without storming through the house and screaming at anyone or thing that got in her way. She reminded me of the nickname my dad had given her when she was a baby, hurricane Hattie, because she could tear through a house and cause major destruction with getting everything out in her path. I also saw her act like a version of Glenn Close from Fatal Attraction, it was very scary but I was not giving into her wanting to stay home.

Upon Morgan’s arrival home from school it seemed like that whatever illness that had grabbed a hold of her during the week was gone and she acted like everything that happened in the morning never happened! Oh my god she was cured! Praise the lord Morgan was going to have a great weekend and not miss it from being sick! How could a mother be so lucky? Whatever, anyone knowing Morgan knew she would miraculously recover, there was no way that child was going to be sick on a weekend unless she really was sick. So now I am happy to report that Morgan is once again a picture of health and whatever mystery disease she had through this past week is gone. One thing is for sure; I bet the mystery illness may leer its ugly head on Monday yet once again to deprive Morgan of some valued education. If I had to give this illness a name I would call it Noschoolitis.

MORGAN'S DRAMA (ACT III)

I didn’t think there would be a need for act III but good ole Morgan didn’t see it that way, I guess. As I said yesterday she did go to school kicking and screaming as only Morgan could. After she left yesterday I had to calm down from all the theatrics she performed in her final attempts to make me change my mind and let her stay home (Let me tell you after she left alcohol and starting a drug habit was starting to look pretty tempting to me). No sooner did I start feeling the calming affects of peace and quite the phone rang shattering all that I did to get my blood pressure down from heart attack state. As you may guess, it was Morgan calling me to let me know she was in the nurse’s office.

In my mind at time she called I could only assume that she was missing limbs and she was bleeding profusely because I had told her that would be the only reason for me to come and get her. Of course you know what happens when you assume, right? Morgan and not the nurse was on the phone to tell me that she was really, really sick and I needed to come and get her because she didn’t think she could make it through the day. You have to understand that the nurse and Morgan are on first name basis and the nurse knows all of Morgan’s tricks only because I had clued her in. Thank god for me the nurse has five kids of her own and knows all too well about kids trying to get out of school so she was on the same page as me, so instead of her calling me, she put Morgan on the phone to plead her case with me. I guess the nurse didn’t want to hear me go off about Morgan and her feeble attempts to get out of jail free issues, lord knows I wouldn’t.

Morgan with her Oscar winning performance of death was very quite after she told me of her impending death if she had to stay in school was waiting for me to say, “Oh my poor dying child, let me drop everything and I will come and get you!” I can only hope she wasn’t holding her breath waiting for me to say that because no doubt she wouldn’t be here today if she was waiting. In my very sarcastic tone I told her that I wasn’t shocked at all with her calling and in fact I knew she was going to call (I am just ticked off I didn’t place a bet because if I did we would have been out of debt and I could retire and never have to work again!). Morgan you would think would have just given up knowing that I was on to her game but being the actress that she is kept right in her sickly, dying character with her weak, trembling voice wanted to know what she should do? (Drum roll please), I told her to go back to class, in my ever so motherly “I love you my dying princess” tone.

If yesterday you heard a loud crashing sound as if the world was coming to an end, don’t worry because it is not. The sound you heard was Morgan’s world crashing all around her. Her only response to me was, “Ok”, in a very dejected tone. I am sure once Morgan got off the phone with me she had to turn to the grim reaper and tell him that the jig was up and she had to go back to class. Later in the day I told my husband of Morgan’s latest attempt of trying to get out of school and by no means was he shocked at all. We both knew how this week with Morgan was going to play out because with her, she is like a cheap novel that has an end with no big surprise to it. We then both decided that Morgan was to be told that if she pulled the dying routine again with us then she was going to be put on restriction.

Yesterday Morgan did make it through the day; in fact she even stayed after school for her math tutoring (how my poor dying child did that is beyond me?). I picked her up at 4:30 yesterday and had decided that was the best time to drop the bomb so to speak about restriction if she pulled the “I’m so sick and dying” routine on us again. After telling her what will happen to her, she went right in to another Oscar winning performance of the classic victim character. Damn she was good I must say, anyone looking into my car would have thought I had a child that was suffering from some sort of epileptic seizures. Her hands were flying about in frenzy as if she was trying to land a 747 plane and spewing, “Oh my god mom” as if she I had just told her the world is ending tomorrow (most likely for Morgan the world was ending). I heard, that I wasn’t fair, I’m really sick, and oh yes, I am dying! I heard it all and then some more, Morgan was not going to go down without a fight but then again I didn’t expect her to. In the end though, I do believe she got the message loud and clear.

Today being Friday, I have a funny feeling that Morgan will do her best to try once again to stay home and play sick. Why you may ask? Well let me tell you! Last night after she had calm down and I am sure was thinking that I had forgot all about that stupid restriction thing, she started coughing and I mean the dying cough (Again one must remember Morgan can do a great dying cough on command, so all you producers that need a kid with a dying cough give me a call!). I have just woken her up and I am anxiously waiting for her next stellar performance of “death becomes me” to begin. The only reason she started the whole coughing fit last night was because in the car on the way home yesterday she had said that it wasn’t fair that I let her brother stay home because he was coughing. What Morgan fails to realize yet once again is that her brother couldn’t utter a word without going into a coughing fit and that he was REALLY sick unlike her. So for Morgan, she figured if she started coughing like pneumonia was setting into her poor sickly body that there was a glimmer of hope that I would buy into her whole sick routine and let her stay home today (again, hope she is not holding her breath!).

Not sure if there will be an act IV tomorrow but with Morgan I bet there will be. Doubt me? Her brother just came to me and told me that Morgan had just ask him if he felt like there was a lump in his throat when it was hurting because that is how she feels now. Oh my goodness does this mean that the grim reaper is not done with my poor dying child? Does this mean I will have her call me again from the school nurse’s office, and does this also mean I should call the hospital and have ICU on stand by just in case the cold hands of death grab my poor daughter’s body yet once again? If I do I will sure let you know about it because as it stands right now Morgan is going to give it her all.

To be continued (I am sure of it).

MORGAN'S DRAMA (ACT II)

Praise the lord my Morgan made it through yesterday. I was close to the time with her coming around from near death, instead of 11:00 she started to come back to life around 10:00. It was the phone call I received from Ma Fidd checking to see if Morgan was still with us or not that brought Morgan around. Once she overheard the word flu in our conversation she snapped back to life. It seems Morgan thought that is what she had was the flu since she heard on the news that October was flu month but what she failed to realize is that October is when you should get the flu shot not get sick with the flu. Here my little drama queen thought that everyone got sick with the flu this month. Once I explained it to her she made a speedy recovery, thank God!

In fact not only did she make a speedy recovery but also once I told her I had to go to the store she became the poster child for 100% healthy! Amazing how shopping can bring her back from near death, to say I am shock is to put it mildly. I believe I will have to call AMA and let them know of this new cure. Yesterday she was near death, couldn’t eat, and I believe she was seeing the bright light as well, to feeling wonderful, very hungry, and full of energy by noon time. How could a mother be so blessed? I did take her shopping with me because I knew full well if I left her at home then she would have had a field day on the computer and doing whatever else she pleased. When we got back from the store she had lunch and didn’t even leave a crumb, to me this was astounding since just a mere few hours before she couldn’t keep anything down.

Now that is was the afternoon I knew it wouldn’t be long for Morgan to ask if she could go onto the computer, that itch to get on myspace was about killing her at this time. She knew I had banned her from the computer since she was so sick but that didn’t stop her. Morgan then decided to get back on my good side that she better do some chores, so little miss sickly vacuum the living room and gave our dog, Baz a bath as well as walk him for me. Oh yes Cinderella was trying so hard to prove to me that she was such a good girl and she deserved to get onto the computer. Well it didn’t work and talk about the fit she threw and how unfair I was because she did all those chores for me. Funny how the little manipulator didn’t realize I was mad at her for playing sick just to miss school and this was also after I told her I was mad at her for that.

Now lets fast-forward to last night. Morgan knew that she had to go to school the next day because I told her unless she was bleeding profusely and had limbs falling off of her she was going to school. Do you think she would give up, not my Morgan, oh no! Right before bedtime she started with the prelude for today, she was getting all stuff up and couldn’t breathe. I told her to take cold medicine and go to bed. This morning I am at the computer and she woke up around 3:15 this morning with a headache and she also told me that she didn’t feel good at all because she didn’t get one bit of sleep last night (funny, when I passed by her room this morning she was snoring so loud she could have woke the dead). I then again told her to take some more cold medicine and go back to bed because she was going to school regardless how much sleep she got last night.

For drama purposes Morgan did take the cold medicine but instead of going to bed she went to lay down on the sofa so I could again bear witness to how sick she was. Ten minutes had passed then she got up and went to the bathroom and was in there for about five minutes. Once out of the bathroom (I must say this was all so shocking to me), she came to me to let me know that she had thrown up. Oh no I thought to myself, my daughter is falling back into the grasp of the grim reaper! I may loose my precious dear Morgan to some ghastly-unknown disease yet again (Whatever)! I came to my senses and told her she better purge it all out because she was going to school! After all she wasn’t bleeding profusely and all of her limbs were attached so she didn’t meet my criteria for staying home. Upon that being said Morgan seem to come back to life because she knew she wasn’t going to win this battle.

Morgan’s brother on the other hand is a different story, when he says he is sick, he is sick. He will go to school no matter how he feels because he doesn’t want to get behind in his classes. He did go to school yesterday but came home feeling and looking awful. His strep throat has cleared up but now a bad cold has set in and he couldn’t stop coughing. I had decided last night to let him stay home today and get as much sleep as he can so he can start feeling better. Once Morgan realized that her brother was staying home today she tried one more time pleading to me that it wasn’t fair that I was letting him stay home and making her go to school. I will give Morgan credit she will not give up. She will beat a dead horse into the ground until you can’t tell what kind of animal it was when she is all done. This morning all the way up until it was time for her to go to the bus stop she was beating that dead horse to a pulp.

Morgan is now at school but I bet you any amount of money I will be getting a call sometime today from the school nurse letting me know that Morgan has thrown up or Morgan will come up with some new disease and needs to come home. I am sure of this and I am sure at this very moment the wheels in Morgan’s brain are working overtime to figure out how she can finagle the school nurse or me to obtain her goal in coming home. Today being Thursday I know Morgan would love to make a long weekend out of this and she is going to give it her all to do this. But with me being the mean mommy that I am, Morgan is going to stay in school and if the school nurse calls me, I will let her know what I told Morgan about bleeding and no limbs because that is the only way I am going to go and get her.

MORGAN'S DRAMA

Morgan, my youngest daughter, lets just say that child is a work of art. I really believe they broke the mold when she was created. Morgan is at the age now where the world is supposed to revolve around her, where her every whim is to be answered, and she knows everything. She is headstrong but very creative and she has the flare for theatrics. Dr. Phil would have a heyday with her and Oprah would just shake her head and say “Girl what are you thinking?” She is in herself an adjective because there are so many words to describe her.

Morgan is a tween, not quite a teenager but too old to be a child and at the age where a mother just wants to bang her head into a wall and say, “why oh why?” Today I felt compelled to blog about her because as usual with Morgan, she pulled one of her Oscar winning performances at 3:30 this morning. She is claiming to be sick, a claim she does often in hopes that I bend and let her stay home from school. I knew this was coming only because her brother has been home sick with strep throat and with Morgan, her game has always been monkey see monkey do.

Her claims of dying starting on Monday when she came home from school saying her throat was starting to hurt (understand this is how Morgan starts the big build to an Oscar winning performance). Then yesterday she wasn’t even at school for an hour and I get a call from the school nurse with the claims of her throat starting yet again to hurt. Last night (Oh the drama of it all) we had dizzy spells and a headache but she had no problem woofing down dinner and driving the dog into a frenzy of rowdiness. The climax of the death of Morgan came at 3:30 this morning (lucky for Morgan I am up at this time or I would have put her out of her misery myself.) with her feebly trying to call out to me in her throes of death for help. At this time I am at the computer and all I hear is a sound like one of the cats were dying so I got up to see what the commotion was all about. Thank God for me it was only Morgan dying and I must say she should win the Oscar this year because that child put on one stellar performance for me. There she was in bed splayed out like she was ready to be sacrifice to the Gods telling me now that her belly hurt and she felt like she had to vomit (One has to understand with Morgan that she can make herself throw up by coughing too much, a feat she has perfected to get out of school at a drop of a dime). So I tell her to go and throw up and what did she want me to do about it.

Now please don’t think I am a cold and heartless mother but Morgan is the queen of playing sick, she wrote the book on it and she is very good at crying wolf. I knew her throat wasn’t hurting she had no signs of strep throat, no fever, and has had boundless energy, this was just good ole Morgan feeling left out because her brother got out of school for being sick. Morgan has the ability to come up with diseases that AMA hasn’t heard about and if you are a producer of a soap opera in need of a dying child I have one for ya! I guarantee you will win a daytime Emmy for her performance, she is that good. Ok let’s get back to the drama.

Morgan, after about five minutes, came out of her bedroom and fell dying on the sofa (mind you feebly coming out of her bedroom because the sickness that had over taken her poor body was making her so weak.), so I could bear witness to just how sick she was. I am at the computer, so I can’t see her and she knows this so she then proceeds with the moaning and groaning as if there are only minutes left to her life on earth. The moaning and groaning stops but then the coughing starts up and you guess it, the vomiting came next. At this time I am shock, what is a mother to do? Call 911, take her to the hospital, or fall on my knees and plead to God to save my dying child! No, I just told her to get her dying ass into the bathroom and clean up the mess she made in the living room. I know at this time you all must be on the edge of your seats wondering if Morgan survived, well she did, thank God! Ah yes I can hear the gasp of relief from everyone. After she cleaned up her mess in the living room, she ask me if she could stay home from school, in her very weak trembling voice as if these will be the last words she will ever be able to speak. I told her she could but just for today (hell give me a break, after all the performance she put on was stellar!), and that she was not allowed on the computer. Morgan exhausted from her performance fell asleep.

You may be thinking that I bend and let Morgan stay home? Well the answer to that is yes and no because if I sent her to school I would have ended up having to get her (remember she can vomit at will), and I really didn’t want to hear moan and bitch to me about how sick she is for the next week or so. If I let her stay home today then the drama will end and I also have a plan to teach her a lesson (He, he, he). Par for course with Morgan, she will be dying until about 11:00 and then hunger is going to kick in along with boredom, that is when operation living hell will begin. Since she has been vomiting I will only let her have a bland diet today, if any. This will just about kill Morgan because she loves to eat and we will have one of her favorite dinners tonight just to top it off. I will torture her with watching T.V. shows she hates (remember she is dying on my living room sofa), and when she miraculously recovers by about 1:00 today she will only be able to lie there doing nothing until her brain will explode with boredom. She will not be able to call friends, draw, or go to her room and play her stereo, after all she was near death this morning and I want her to make a full recovery. By tonight she will be begging me to let her go to school because she feels so much better. Oh yes, victory will be mine!

For anyone believing Morgan is sick, you can send get well cards, flowers, and if you like, and you think she really is dying, you may set up a memorial fund in her name. I am sure Morgan will be so honored if you do so (she just loves sappy suckers that fall for her act). For everyone that really knows Morgan (Hey that means Suzie, Ma and Pa Fidd, and Ashley), you have my permission to call and give her a hard time (nothing gets her goat when people don’t fall for her dying act). I just think today would be a wonderful day to teach my little drama queen a lesson about playing sick and missing school because her butt is too lazy to go. Hmmm, think I will call the producers that made the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and see if they want to make another movie called Morgan’s Day Off? Lord knows Matthew Broderick’s performance can’t hold a candle to Morgan’s performance. Ah yes, I do see an Oscar in Morgan’s future.

THE VALUE OF STUFF

Within the next few weeks I am planning to have a yard sale, which means it is time to go through my stuff and there is a lot of stuff to go through. My mother-in-law is also at the same time going through her stuff and she too has mountains of stuff as well. Lately our phone calls have been about the so called stuff we have been going through, some of which to us have value and some we bang our heads for keeping so long. All this made me realize how funny people are about their stuff they accumulate through the years, cause lord knows you can’t take it with you. Never the less we all are victims of hoarding some kind of stuff to validate us for being here or because there is some connection to the past that brings joy and a smile to our face when we see that particular keepsake. Oh the treasures we find going through stuff.

I myself am not so much a collector of stuff only because growing up my mother instilled in us that if you aren’t using it throw it away but I do still have a few treasures from my past. I believe my mom was that way because there were so many of us and we really didn’t have the room to keep all that stuff which would explain why I am the way I am today, much to the frustration of my husband. I know I drive him nuts when I go on one of my cleaning tirades and I accidentally throw out something that was of value to him where I see it as junk. It has been hard for me but I have learn that what I see as junk and of no value may have value to someone else. So now when I go on my cleaning tirades I put my husband’s stuff in a pile for him to go through and let him decide what is of value and what is not. After all who am I to determine the value of his stuff?

My mother-in-law on the other hand is the keeper of stuff and her home is a treasure chest full of valuable keepsakes of her past. She has made an art of keeping stuff because to her they are a link to what was. I know when I go to her house and pick up an item there is a story that goes with it, which then what I saw as unimportant becomes something of value. She has become to me the family historian and the keeper of the family treasures. One may ridicule her for having so much stuff but who are we to do so? What may seem to someone as junk may have true and endearing value to someone else and because of that we have no business to decide for him or her what is junk and what has value.

There is one very important thing one has to remember about going through stuff, whether it be your stuff or someone else’s, and that is don’t be too quick to judge someone for what they deem as important. Don’t tease someone for wanting to keep their stuff because really how would you like it if someone tease you for keeping something you thought was important? In time people do come to terms and realize that some of their stuff needs to be gone through and will let go of what they thought to be important. There is one very important lesson I have learned in going through stuff and that is I will not push my husband or anyone to get rid of their stuff because I see it as junk. If I did that then I might as well slap them across the face and rip their heart out because to them, their stuff has value, value to them that is worth more than any amount of money. I for one do not want to hurt someone I love over something so trivial as stuff; life is too short for that.

So today I will keep going through stuff, I will sell what I don’t need and I will find a place to put the stuff I decide to keep. Whatever I decide to keep as well as whatever my husband decides to keep I know we will not ridicule each other on our decisions for keeping our stuff. I also know as we go through our stuff, my husband won’t decide for me what is important when it comes to my stuff and vice-versa. We both know after all if we did that there would be hell to pay and who wants that.

EVIL STEPMOTHER

I will start off saying that all stepmothers are not evil but the one my children has to deal with fits into the evil category without a doubt. Call this a venting blog but I have had enough with her ranting and raving about my children. My ex-husband married this monster because he was in love with the idea of being in love and wanted a wife. He met her online, like he did with all of the other women he had dated after we divorced and every single one of them he fell in love with and she was going to be the one he married. But as luck goes the one that married him wanted a husband just as bad as he wanted a wife so they got married for all the wrong reasons and now my kids are paying for his mistake.

When my kids first met this monster of a woman, she was as sweet as can be to them. She did the usual to impress them by buying them gifts, telling them that she loved them, and would take them out for all the fun things I couldn’t afford to do. She was a dream come true to my kids but as time went on they saw her true colors. Just to give you a little background on my ex-husband and me, we agreed to a non-contested divorce and when it came to the kids we agreed to let them live with me and he would get them on the weekends and he would pay half for everything that had to do with the kids. Everything was working fine between him and I except for the paying half for the kids but I let it slide because he was going through some hard times with jobs and such. When the evil one entered the picture that is when everything started to go downhill between us.

Once my ex-husband popped the question of marriage to her and she accepted, she then started to change her tune when it came to my kids. Now my kids were pitted against her two kids, with mine are better than yours crap. She would bad mouth me in front of my kids as well as my exes’ family and would tell my kids that I didn’t love them. To say I was livid is to put it mildly I was beyond livid. When I talked to my ex-husband on the matter he said he would talk to her but nothing ever came of it. She kept right on going with belittling my kids behind his back and still does today. I am the one that has to deal with their tears when they come home to me. Believe me if I had the money I would get a lawyer and take full custody of my children so they wouldn’t have to deal with this monster but since I pay about 90% in supporting them the funds just aren’t there.

The evil one latest rant is that my son is going to go to college instead of taking a vocational class for HVAC because that is what I think he should do and my son wants to do it. My son has never been a strong student in school and has had to deal with a learning disability so school for him is tough. So him and I thought it would be best for him to learn a skill that he could go out and make a good living after he graduates from high school. Then if he wanted to he could go to college later but at least he would always have a skill to fall back on if college didn’t work out for him. To me this was just a common sense thing for my son to do but the evil one told him over her dead body that this was going to happen. To me this monster has real balls to even think she has a say in what my son does for his future. Personally I think she needs to be jack-slap for opening her mouth.

I would love to see the evil one and my ex split up for the sake of my children. To me this is just not healthy for them to be around her. I get so tired of picking them up every weekend to hear that she told my daughter she is a fat thief, my son is dumb, their father’s mother is an alcoholic, their stepfather (my husband) is lazy, and I am a slut. I am fed up with her saying she is going to take me to court and take my kids away from me, to be honest; I am just plain fed up with her and her big mouth. I know if we ever came face to face she wouldn’t have the balls to trash me because anyone that knows me knows she wouldn’t have a hope in hell with me. I have taken down men bigger than me and she would be just a fly on the wall for me. Who knows it may just have to come to that point but she is forcing the issue with me when she treats my kids that way. She should know better than to harass the cubs of a grizzly bear mom and that is what she is doing to me.

I feel I am in a catch 22 right now. I don’t want to make things worse for my kids because if she knew they told me everything she would make their lives harder and they really want to see their dad. Their dad on the other hand does nothing to stop her and is not willing to come and visit the kids on the weekend. I on the other hand know what I have to do but don’t have the money to do. So I just keep pulling my hair out, give my kids advice on how to handle the witch, and pray I don’t meet her face to face because I will stomp her a** if I do.

This is a sad sorry situation my kids are in and I feel helpless as to what I should do with this evil witch. I just hope God gives me strength from ripping her apart and tells me what I should do to help my kids because I am at wits end.

LEADER OF THE PACK

I often get asked a lot of questions about dogs since more than half my life I have worked with them, owned them, and care for them. So I guess in some ways I am an authority on the subject of dogs in general. My whole fascination with dogs started for me when I was very young, I loved them and if I could have had a million of them I would have. I drove my mom nuts bringing home every stray I came across but more than my love for dogs I wanted to know what made them tick. So my quest for knowledge on dogs began at a very young age and I have the scars to prove it.

Dogs are pack animals and anybody who knows and loves dogs like I do knows this. Just watch the Dog Whisperer and Caesar Millan will tell you this on every episode and his approach to working with dogs has always been my approach. For instance, I owned a pit bull named Brewster, I got him when I worked for an animal hospital, someone had dumped him there, as a puppy and I just couldn’t resist him. Now I owned Brewster during the craze when everyone thought pit bulls should be exterminated as a breed all together, so owning him was no easy task due to public opinion of the breed. I knew right from the git go I had to be his pack leader and set the rules for him, so instead of me trying to get him to understand my language, I trained him based off of how a pack leader would train him. Brewster understood that I owned him and not the other way around. I always showed him dominance and when he would try to assert dominance over me, I jump right back at him like a king in fear of losing his throne. He knew and understood what I wanted from him and never once did he act like a mad raging pit bull you hear about in the news.

Life with a dog is great, a challenge but great; they love you no matter what. When I am asked how to train a dog, I always tell the person they have to think like a dog first. Dogs are already trained; it’s the owner that has to be trained. Dogs are really simple animals, all they want is to know where they fit into your pack. You lead them they will follow, you let them lead and you will have problems. Baz, my lab/rottie mix who is now eight months old, is at the age where he is trying to test me on where he stands in our family pack. Everyday he will try to show me that, “hey look I can be dominant too”, and everyday I show him that is not going to fly with me. He is learning and he knows who the boss is. Yes, it is very important to teach your dog basic commands but the first thing you have to teach your dog is that you are the leader, then teaching them the basics becomes easier. So if you are pulling your hair out because your dog won’t listen to you, ask yourself first if your dog looks at you as a leader of his pack?