McCain is NOT George Bush!

JOHN MCCAIN IS NOT GEORGE BUSH!

Look, Obama wants all of us to think that McCain is going to be four more years of George Bush. That's not the case. Look at his record, he's not George Bush. Think for a minute about your family, your husband, your children. Do you want Obama going into the White House and turning this country upside down? He wants to pull our troops out of Iraq, now! I'm not for the war, but I'm also not for hanging out the white flag. I'm telling you, if we leave Iraq to the terrorists there will be another attack on the United States. Do an internet search on this, that is what alot of the experts are saying.

Do you know who Iraq's neighbor's are? Iran and Syria! They are so dangerous! If we leave Iraq before they are ready, the terrorists will move in and we will have a bigger disaster with our oil and who knows what these guys might do next time. A dirty bomb in a major city like Detroit? Mall bombings? Incurable diseases spread throughout our cities? I don't like that our men and women are at war. I don't like that soldiers are dead. I don't like the money we are spending. But we can't wave a white flag and be defeated!

If you made it through the stuff above, lets talk about the economy. Did you know that it's not all the fault of a President? Do you realize that Congress is really in charge? Who passes the laws in our country? Congress. Who is in charge of Congress? Democrats for the last two years! Who's fault is it that this country is in a financial toilet? Well, it's both parties. But the worst of the blame needs to be laid at the feet of Democrats. Did you know that in the last two years the Republican's have tried to get laws passed to get Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under control? The Republican's wanted more oversight on these CEO's that are making hundreds of millions of dollars and Democrats in Congress BLOCKED them!

Democrat Barney Frank is the House Finance Chief and Democrat Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd weren't looking out for you and me. Now, we're on the hook for $700 million bucks. We've bailed out these companies who have CEO"S that are getting hundreds of millions of dollars. Obama is silent about it. Today, I saw McCain saying that he would hold these men responsible for their part in the mess. He promises to go after them and they will pay. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should resign.

Read this transcript from when Barney Frank was on the O'Reilly Factor. He won't even take responsibility for the part he played. The news has him on tape saying that these banks don't need to be fixed. These banks also gave the Democrats alot of money. A LOT OF MONEY.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,432173,00.html

Look, if you're close minded and devoted to one particular party, nothings going to change your mind. I don't know how anyone can choose to ignore all the truth that is coming out about Obama right now. I don't know how anyone can look at Obama's record and not have fear for their financial future. McCain doesn't want to stay at war, he's not a war monger. Remember that he was a POW during the Vietnam war? He can relate to these men and women and he wants them to come home too, but also wants to protect us.

Your right to vote is important. So, please do the research before you just decide that you are going to hit the "Democrat Party" key in November. I have not been the biggest fan of John McCain because I think he's closer to the middle than most Republican's. Maybe that's what makes him the best choice because he is looking out for what's best for our Country instead of what's best for his party.

Sleepless in Lowell

I'm not dead, I didn't move to Mexico, I wasn't kidnapped by aliens, and I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I'm right here!

Sorry, once again I've been away for a while. I can't describe how crazy busy my life has been lately. Keeps things exciting though!

So, let me give you an update. First, my kids. I'll start with Jason! Lowell played Greenville Friday night and kicked their butts. 57 to 3! (Sorry Kathy). This was such an exciting game and the score really doesn't reflect how hard the Greenville team played. They really gave our kids a run for their money and it was a very exciting game.

I'll go on to John next because Friday night was Youth night at the Varsity Game. So, John got to go to the game and all the Flag football and Rocket football kids lined up and made the tunnel for the Varsity players. It was cool! The little kids loved it. Then at half time Scott took Johns team, along with all the other little kids, out onto the field and they all got announced! It was really cool. John loved it. All five of the boys on Johns team were holding hands as they ran across the field. John was so excited when he saw me in the stands waiving to him. It was a pretty cool thing.

Ok, Jourdan! She had an incident in science with Mr. Strajc. It's a really long story, too long for my blog, but in the end I had her put in the other science class, met with the principle and the superintendent of Lowell Schools, and I'm getting a copy of this teachers employment records under FOIA! In a nutshell, he screamed at Jourdan and called her a liar in front of the whole class. Then, he yelled some more and told her that she was going to have afterschool detention. Well, that didn't happen and I'm making a formal complaint against this asshole for verbally abusing his students! She's out of his class and doing super!

Little Sami starfish is walking. She is walking all over the house. She has been taking steps for about three weeks now, but she is walking all over and getting into all kinds of trouble. Ok, not bad trouble....but she's into stuff. Little stinker. She is so funny because I always ask her if she wants "this". So now, she'll hold something up and say "this". And yesterday, she said "stinky". Well,she was beyond stinky! Ugh!

So, my little baby girl is walking and even though she says "stinky" she will not say "mommy" and she will not sleep all night long! Do you think I'm going to have my hands full with this girl?

I don't want to forget Scott. HIs diet went good, and did I tell you that he lost 30 pounds and won his contest???? I think he won about $400! Well, it bought him a bumper for his truck. Yeah, that's what I did today. I had to sit around and wait while his bumper got replaced for $480! A $480 cosmetic fix! That's what we needed to do a couple months before Christmas, yeah...uh huh!

I better leave that alone, I'm not happy about it! Not even a little.

All that leaves is me. I've been beyond busy at work. I'm doing an internal audit of all our accounts for the last year...well, all the way back to Jan 2007. So, I've been busy. Plus I just turned in a 26 page mediation project that included two mediation hearings that I had to mediate. That was a really tough project. So, I got that taken care of and I only have 3 weeks of class left, and two more big papers. Then I'm done and maybe I can take a deep breath, relax, and get more than 6 hours of sleep.

Three Delicious Nights

Sorry I've been away for a while. I've been sooooo busy. I'm not kidding!

I'm taking a really tough class this term and it's eating up all my spare time. You know, the spare time that I have between 9pm and 6am when most people are asleep! Anyhow, I'm taking Alternative Dispute Resolution so I can take Family Law and Divorce Mediation next term. One before the other. Anyhow, it's a hard class with about 100 or so pages a week to read, discussion questions, a weekly test, and a team project where I have to mediate two classmates.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it but there isn't much time for anything else around here.

I'll talk about football for a minute, that's much more fun. So Lowell played Grand Rapids Union last Friday and kicked their ass! Jason played and he said their turf really sucked. I guess the field is really old and the stuff they have down is like outdoor carpet, with no padding. He was bummed because they had to wear tennis shoes on it instead of their cleats. Now they put down all kinds of rubber padding under the fake field, but he said this stuff was really miserable. Think of how those poor kids feel having to play and practice on it year after year.

Now this week we are off to Northview to watch Jason play. Mom and Dad are going with me too. Dad went to school at Northview so it's a big deal to him. Scott's not going because he has to work late and he's going to be home with Sami. She's not so happy and social once you get past 7pm.

Oh my goodness, speaking of Sami....Scott emails me at work today and asks me if I want to go to Sams Club after work. Well, ok. I'm hot and I'm tired, but he has been asking me for a week so I agree to meet him and Chicky and Sami there at 4:30pm. I tell Scott to make sure Sami has a dry butt, two bottles in her diaper bag, and clean clothes on.

When I get to Sams Club I drive up and Sami has a peach shirt on and hot pink shorts! I swear, Scott is color blind! It's bad enough that he will wear two different reds, or that he will wear a red Ohio State shirt and his dark green gym shorts.....but now he's doing it to my baby girl! For crying out loud!

So I'm giving him a hard time about it and he tells me that she has a change of clothes in the diaper bag. I mean, she has 50 different cute outfits in the closet and I open up the bag and he has a pair of hot pink shorts that are exactly the same as the ones she is wearing and a pink shirt that is just another shade of pink........

See what I'm up against?

I've tried laying clothes out for him to put on her.....well that doesn't seem to work either. He "didn't see them". Yeah, ok! Poor Sami. She's still cute as hell with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. And, I can't believe that I forgot to say this earlier!

THREE NIGHTS OF SLEEPING ALL NIGHT LONG!

I pray that I didn't just jinx it by telling everyone. Do you know what it's like to be pregnant and sick for 10 months....sick so bad that you didn't sleep through the night because you were so sick? Then you have the prescious little baby girl and you think....she'll sleep through the night in a few weeks. Then a few weeks turns into a few months.....and still no sleep. Then, before you know it, she is 11 months old and she has finally slept through the night three nights in a row.

It's a miracle! It's a first day of autumn miracle! (Either that or the cold medicine)

Just kidding! :)

Ok, well my homework is done and I'm going to watch Hannity and Colmes. They are talking to a little kid who got suspended from school for wearing an Anti-Obama t-shirt! For crying out loud. If the New York Times can spout whatever flim flam they want, why can't a little kid wear and Anti-Obama shirt?

More For You To Think About

I was so excited about the football game that I didn't want to post anything new. I wanted the whole thing about the game and Jason to stay on the top of my blog.



Regardless, here I am. Today was one hell of a long day. Seriously! I haven't had any sleep for two nights, thanks to my little miss Samantha! She hasn't wanted to sleep for two nights and I don't know why. On top of that, Scott is cranky. For crying out loud, its his day off.



Guess I'm cranky too, lol.



Did you hear about all the crap from the Obama camp that Sarah Palin doesn't have enough experience to run for Vice President? Are you kidding me? On the news they were comparing her "experience" to that of the Messiah himself, Barack Obama. She has more executive experience than he does. He was elected to Congress on January 3, 2005. So, he has three years of experience? Yeah, that is enough to run the country.



It gets better!



According to the Washington Post "Barack Obama has missed 293 votes (45.7%) during the current Congress." WHAT? So, lets get this straight! As a congressman he's not working for the people of this country. As a congressman in the state of Illinois, he's not working for the people of his state.

Did you hear the news story about Oprah? I didn't realize she was the goddess of politics. She will not allow Sarah Pallin to appear on her show. She's had Obama on two or three times. What's up with that? Do you know how much money she makes???? Off her viewers! Some of whom may be Republicans! What a bitch.

Last, but not least, McCain and Pallin were in Grand Rapids tonight. I can't wait to see the news and hear what they have to say about it. Fox News is playing quite a bit of the Q&A. Speaking of Fox News, I'm watching Greta right now and she is interviewing Hillary Clinton's top fundraiser. Here is a part of the article:

"John McCain’s campaign says the Republican is picking up the support of a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee.
Lynn Forester de Rothschild has said she thinks Democratic nominee Barack Obama is arrogant and has a problem connecting with average Americans."

WOW, good for her. During the interview she stated that McCain is that middle ground candidate that we need so badly. This country doesn't need an extreme left or extreme right president!

Lowell 49 / Holland 0

The pride that a mom feels when she see's her 15 year old son walk in a pink parade, circle the field, and escort an 8 year old cancer survivor during introductions is incredible. I can't even find the words to describe how I felt last night when the Lowell Red Arrows hosted their Pink Arrow game. It made me cry.

Down the hill marching in a pink parade from the High School to the field with a police escort....wow that was cool. The band was in pink, then the cheerleaders in pink, and then players walking side by side with a parade of pink shirts behind them...all in honor of loved ones that were lost to cancer or who had survived cancer. Goosebumps.

I was standing there watching Jason escort Anna on the field when they read his name and said that he would play in honor of her, as a cancer survivor....and I saw a young man. I kept saying to my mom, "he's all grown up, mom". The feelings of pride in my son were overwhelming.

#60! We saw him on News 8, 13, and 3 several times during the weeks. That was really cool. When we saw him run out onto the field to play, it was even better.

At the end of the game all the players went to the south end of the field where families and friends were invited to meet the player who played in their honor of those names on their shirts. Jason said that Anna ran to him and was so excited to see his jersey was dirty from playing. He peeled a pink arrow sticker off his helmet, signed it and gave it to her. Her parents took picture after picture of Jason and Anna. Then, with the help of his teammates he took off his jersey and gave it to Anna. She was so excited that she put it on right away.

Anna's parents told Jason that they were getting ready to open a sports bar in Ada and that his #60 pink jersey would be put behind glass and hung in the restaurant. They asked for his address so they could invite him to their grand opening. Is that the coolest thing you've ever heard?

Jason wanted to buy his jersey and keep it. By donating it, he played in honor of a little girl who was so thankful to have her name on a jersey for the biggest game in Red Arrow history. Jason told me they were putting it behind glass, dirt and all! How cool is that?

I couldn't be more proud of Jason.

Bush 7, Terrorists 0

Morose that there hasn't been another terrorist attack on American soil for seven long years, liberals were ecstatic when Hurricane Gustav was headed toward New Orleans during the Republican National Convention last week.

The networks gave the hurricane plenty of breaking-news coverage -- but unfortunately it was Hurricane Katrina from 2005 they were covering.On Keith Olbermann's Aug. 29 show on MSNBC, Michael Moore said the possibility of a Category 3 hurricane hitting the United States "is proof that there is a God in heaven." Olbermann responded: "A supremely good point."

Actually, Olbermann said that a few minutes later to some other idiotic point Moore had made, but that's how Moore would have edited the interview for one of his "documentaries," so I will, too. I would only add that Michael Moore's morbid obesity is proof that there is a Buddha.

Hurricane Gustav came and went without a hitch. What a difference a Republican governor makes!As many have pointed out, the reason elected officials tend to neglect infrastructure project issues, like reinforcing levees in New Orleans and bridges in Minneapolis, is that there's no glory when a bridge doesn't collapse.

There are no round-the-clock news specials when the levees hold. You can't even name an overpass retrofitting project after yourself -- it just looks too silly. But everyone's taxes go up to pay for the reinforcements.Preventing another terrorist attack is like that. There is no media coverage when another 9/11 doesn't happen.

We can thank God that President George Bush didn't care about doing the safe thing for himself; he cared about keeping Americans safe. And he has, for seven years.If Bush's only concern were about his approval ratings, like a certain impeached president I could name, he would not have fought for the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq.

He would not have resisted the howling ninnies demanding that we withdraw from Iraq, year after year. By liberals' own standard, Bush's war on terrorism has been a smashing, unimaginable success.A year after the 9/11 attack, The New York Times' Frank Rich was carping about Bush's national security plans, saying we could judge Bush's war on terror by whether there was a major al-Qaida attack in 2003, which -- according to Rich -- would have been on al-Qaida's normal schedule.

Rich wrote: "Since major al-Qaida attacks are planned well in advance and have historically been separated by intervals of 12 to 24 months, we will find out how much we've been distracted soon enough." ("Never Forget What?" New York Times, Sept. 14, 2002.)There wasn't a major al-Qaida attack in 2003. Nor in 2004, 2005, 2006 or 2007. Manifestly, liberals thought there would be: They announced a standard of success that they expected Bush to fail.

As Bush has said, we have to be right 100 percent of the time, the terrorists only have to be right one time. Bush has been right 100 percent of the time for seven years -- so much so that Americans have completely forgotten about the threat of Islamic terrorism.For his thanks, President Bush has been the target of almost unimaginable calumnies -- the sort of invective liberals usually reserve for seniors who don't separate their recyclables properly. Compared to liberals' anger at Bush, there has always been something vaguely impersonal about their "anger" toward the terrorists.

By my count, roughly one in four books in print in the world at this very moment have the words "Bush" and "Lie" in their title. Barnes & Noble has been forced to add an "I Hate Bush" section. I don't believe there are as many anti-Hitler books.

Despite the fact that Hitler brought "change," promoted clean, energy-efficient mass transit by making the trains run on time, supported abortion for the non-master races, vastly expanded the power of the national government and was uniformly adored by college students and their professors, I gather that liberals don't like Hitler because they're constantly comparing him to Bush.The ferocity of the left's attacks on Bush even scared many of his conservative allies into turning on him over the war in Iraq.

George Bush is Gary Cooper in the classic western "High Noon." The sheriff is about to leave office when a marauding gang is coming to town. He could leave, but he waits to face the killers as all his friends and all the townspeople, who supported him during his years of keeping them safe, slowly abandon him. In the end, he walks alone to meet the killers, because someone has to.That's Bush. Name one other person in Washington who would be willing to stand alone if he had to, because someone had to.

OK, there is one, but she's not in Washington yet. Appropriately, at the end of "High Noon," Cooper is surrounded by the last two highwaymen when, suddenly, his wife (Grace Kelly) appears out of nowhere and blows away one of the killers! The aging sheriff is saved by a beautiful, gun-toting woman.

Back At It Again

Scott has lost 22 pounds, and he looks GOOD! He told me he is working on 20 more. Well, that got me thinking.......as I looked in the mirror.

In my mind, I'm not a fat person. I'm a thin person! When I'm sitting in a chair and I look down I don't see a really overweight person. Have you ever done this? Well, if you want a dose of reality go stand in front of a mirror. For me, it's a scary thing to do.

So, I've had to buy some new dress clothes for my new job. I've been really disgusted over the size that I had to buy. I'm in there trying on clothes at the store and I'm not happy. Well, it's not like the weight is going to just fall off of me.

So, today is a new beginning. (Yeah, I know....but that's what I'm telling myself.) I am miserable in this fat person's body. I look at Scott and I see how hard he has worked to look good. And here I sit, a big blob! Yuck! I was telling Scott this morning that I was ready. And, he was like, "yeah". Well that ticked me off but he told me that I was six weeks too late. Meaning he was six weeks ahead of me. Well, I told him that you have to be mentally ready to diet. Now, I'm finally mentally ready.

I got my haircut and highlighted. Well, my hair looks really blonde now....not exactly the look I was going for, but that's how it is for now. Next time, low lights instead of highlights. This is really summer hair and not fall hair. But, it'll be ok.

This morning I woke up early with Sami and decided today is the day. Today! Today! Today! I've had it. When I get hungry and want to eat junk, I'm going to look in the mirror and remind myself why I'm not going to eat junk. So, this morning Jourdan, John, Sami and I took a walk. Well, the kids rode and I walked. We went into town and fed the ducks and then we walked back. I think we went about 2 miles....maybe a little bit more. Then when we got back and Sami went down for her nap, I worked out a little with my hand weights.

I've had about 400 calories so far today. I'm hungry, so to avoid something bad happening I decided to sign in and post something. Here I am, and of course now that I'm writing, Sami is awake from her nap. Never fails, lol.

I don't want to keep embarrasing myself by talking about diets and then drop the ball. So I can't do that this time. Besides, the fact that Scott has lost so much weight is giving me alot of ambition. He looks really good and I don't want him to walk around with a fat wife. So, I'm at it again. Wish me luck!

Don't Miss All The Good Stuff

Hey everyone! I've added some really cool video's to my blog. Make sure you scan all the way down to the bottom of my site to see what else I have posted for you to see.

Let me know what you think.

Tracy

Yeah, Sarah Palin

Did any of you see Sarah Palin's speech last night at the Repulican National Convention? WOW! She was awesome. I liked her already, but her speech really made me like her even more. She showed that she is ready to be VP and she really got after Obama.

Speaking of Obama, and I'm not kidding about this, his whole gang actually has the balls to question whether or not a woman can be VP! Democrats are saying that she is a mother with five children and that she can't be a mother and a Vice President! What the hell? Doesn't this make you mad?

Does anyone question the fact that men work outside the home? Nope, doesn't happen. Are the Republican's making a big deal that Obama has two young children, yet he's running for office? Plus, his wife Michelle works outside the home. Who's taking care of their girls.....a nanny!

Women across this whole nation should be furious that the Democrats think a woman can't be a mother with young children and a public servant.

That's How I Roll

I was talking to my friend Kathie the other day about something that is probably so common but we are so busy that we don't realize it's happening to us. You see, like Scott, her husband works alot of hours. This can be so hard on a relationship. It happens to so many couples, reality sneaks up on you and you have a family to support and bills to pay. So, you work and work and work....and sometimes it's at the expense of your relationship with your spouse.

While talking to Kathie about how busy she and Steve are I discovered that Scott and I have been suffering from a big disconnect too. Ok, we aren't having "problems" and our marriage isn't "in trouble". I've just been really grouchy lately, pointed out to me by the kids and Scott, and I started to ask myself why.

I came up with alot of reasons for my grouchiness but it started my brain on something else. Scott is my ally! We always stick together and we team up to take care of business around here. Well, I've been pretty grouchity with him too. Hmmmm, but why?

It might be that we don't have even one day off of work together. There aren't any days during the week where we can just hang out together and relax. We've always done everything together. Shopping, errands, etc. Well, that's not happening. We haven't really spent any quality time together in over a month since I started working. I don't regret working, I love my job. Seriously, I hate being away from the kids, but I love my job!

It doesn't help that he gets up early for work so by 9pm he's out cold. Well at 9:00 I'm still fighting with kids to get into bed, doing homework, doing laundry, doing dishes, or a hundred other things that need to be taken care of around here.

So, maybe it's all Scott's fault, lol. No not really. In a relationship, there are always two sides to every situation. So, back to Kathie. She was telling me that a friend of hers recently divorced her husband because he would get pissed over her spending too much time with their kids. What? Are you kidding me? I say good riddance! Paul was that way, he'd get so pissed off at me for spending too much time taking care of Jason. Kiss my ass Paul!

Well, we decided that as adults we need to understand that our spouse is busy and that we are busy. Ok, thats going on like crazy in my house. We are both busy. That's just the way it is, we are both adults and I need to stop being so grouchy with Scott. I'm brewing and I'm bitter and I feel like we're growing apart, today. Next week I'll feel different. That's how I roll!

Birthday Cake Meltdown

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

Before I say anything else I want to say:

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jourdan! 13 years old on August 28th

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big boy John! 5 years old on August 29th

Wait, there's more!

Happy Birthday to Abbigail! 5 years old on August 20th
Happy Birthday to my sis Jamie! 29ish on August 26th (I'm being generous, lol)
Happy Birthday to my Grandpa, Lee Condon! 90 years old on August 29th (He shares a birthday with John)

August was a festive month for our family. Now, we have a down month and then we have a few birthday celebrations in October. (Jason hitting the big 16 and Samantha will have her very first birthday)

So now September is here and tomorrow is the first day of school. Wow, Scott has looked forward to this day since June 4th. He was giving the kids the business about it tonight over dinner. They didn't see the humor like he did.

John actually starts on Wednesday. He's very excited about eating lunch at school. I'm just nervous as ever because he's my baby boy and I can't believe he's old enough to be going off to school. I cried my eyes out when he went to preschool last year, I'm thinking it'll be more of the same Wednesday morning. I'm going in to work late so Scott and I can take him to school. Guess I'll have to skip the mascara that day.

So this new school year has got me thinking. In a year and 9 months Jason will be graduating from High School. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. He's my baby and even though he is taller than me, he's not supposed to be growing up and graduating so soon or going off to the Coast Guard Academy. (Or to Montana to go to the Univ. of Montana, whichever he chooses.) It puts me on the edge of an anxiety attack just thinking about it.

So, I won't.

For now.

You want to hear something even better? I was dusting and Scott was talking about putting the Christmas stuff out in only 10 weeks. 10 weeks isn't long at all. Shorter than summer vacation was. I think I talked about this in another post....I think. But Christmas will be soon upon us. To me, it feels like we just had Christmas. Now, it's sneaking up on us again. I'm so thankful that I'm working this year because it's going to help out on the Christmas shopping so much.

I'd be curious to know how many of you are already thinking about Christmas shopping? Have you already started to shop? I've bought two gifts already. Better than last year when I was shopping at the last minute, but that was because of money. I used to start shopping in July. Doesn't happen anymore.

I've been avoiding talking about this, but Scott has lost almost 20 pounds. My gawd he looks good. I'm starting to feel yucky about myself. Well, even worse than I usually do. Have you ever been out and about and you see a really good looking guy and he's with a fat, ugly, bitchy looking woman? And you think to yourself, how did SHE get that guy? Well, I'm heading down that road.

Yeah, I've already decided that's me. What the hell am I going to do about it? I've lost just about 10 pounds since I started working, but that's because I'm at work 8 to 9 hours a day and I don't eat. Well, then I'm not sticking to that when I have a day off. Now, we're heading into winter and I'll be stuck with the treadmill. I've wasted this entire summer! I really piss myself off about this. Scott and I have the same bad eating habits but he's gotten his under control, big time. He looks so good. I'm having a hard time keeping my hands off him. LOL. Poor guy.

Well, until I can pull my head out of my ass nothing is going to happen for me. I have to figure out how to get myself under control. Eating birthday cake just won't get me into a size 10!

Arrow Victory

The Red Arrows played Davison Thursday night and kicked their ass! You all know that football is important to me. I'm not just talking about Ohio State, who won today by the way. I'm talking about our very own Lowell Red Arrows. Jason is playing on the varsity team this year. I'm so excited. They played an away game on Thursday night against Davison and won. Jason told me that they are ranked 25th in the state and Lowell cleaned their clocks.

What I was most excited about is that Jason got to play. For a Junior, who was out the entire season last year with a broken foot, to get play time in a big game like this is exciting. He got mad at me for calling my dad and telling him, but he'll get over it. A mom is supposed to be proud of her son. He has worked so hard for three years for the football team and it makes me happy to know that he is getting play time for Coach Dean.

So Jason told me their team is really good this year. I'm very excited to go to their first game. It's a special game already but they are having the Pink Project that night and everyone will be wearing pink. Pink football uniforms, pink cheerleaders, pink crowd, pink popcorn, and pink battle sticks. I am really looking forward to it. The kids are playing against Holland and I'm just wondering how that will feel to them when they get their butts kicked by a bunch of guys wearing pink, lol.

I just can't believe that we're staring down September. The kids will start school in a couple of days, including John. I can't believe that he's starting school so soon, he's just a baby. Well, that's how I feel anyways. I'm going into work late on Wed so I can take him to school with Scott. We went last week and met his teacher and took a tour of the school. That was fun and he's really looking forward to going. Now I'm just wondering when the weather will cool down?

McCain / Palin

GO TO: http://www.ontheissues.org/

This is where you can click on any politician and see where he or she stands on issues that are important to you!

I'm so happy that McCain has picked Sarah Palin to run as VP! I was watching the news this morning and they were in Wasilla, Alaska. Palin was mayor of Wasilla before she became Governor of Alaska. It was cool because when Scott and I went to visit his friend Doug in Alaska, we were in Wasilla. Doug lives just a few minutes from the town and we grocery shopped in Wasilla.

At any rate, conservatives love her. She is big into reform and she has a high approval rate with people in Alaska. 90%!!! That's three times what Pres. Bush or Congress has right now. So, I'd say McCain did the right thing. Everyone is saying that it's a shock, but I don't think so. Scott Rasmussen said on Fox News many months ago that McCain was going to pick Palin, and sure enough he did.

My Friends, Please Read This!

The following piece is in an article I read online tonight. Now, you might be sick and tired of hearing me carry on about politics, but this is really important. I don't know why Obama is so damn popular with people. I think that what's happening in our country is that everyone is awe over a black man being nominated to run for president of the United States. He's educated, he speaks well, and he's proving that an african american can achieve this highest honor.

Well, here is my problem with this. I don't care what color a person is. If he's not right for the job then he shouldn't get it. Obama is screaming, "Change". I'm going to change it all! Well, what is he going to do. I'm asking my friends exactly what Barack Obama is going to do to make things better in your life? You, I'm talking to you. Do you know what he is going to do to make things better in your life? Read this section of article I found:

Sen. Barack Obama will portray himself Thursday night as an agent of change for mainstream America, but his eight-year voting record in the Illinois Senate shows the Democrat was on occasion an agent of isolation who took stands - particularly on anti-crime legislation - that put him to the left of his own party.


Mr. Obama was the only member of the state Senate to vote against a bill to prohibit the early release of convicted criminal sexual abusers; was among only four who voted against bills to toughen criminal sentences and to increase penalties for "gangbangers" and dealers of Ecstasy; and voted "present" on a bill making it harder for abusive parents to regain custody of their children, a Washington Times review of Illinois legislative records show. (Present is the equivalent of voting against something.)

Isn't that amazing? The Democrats think he is too liberal. Now, you all know that I am a Republican and that means I have a pretty big bias against the Democrat nominee. But please, hear me out. I told Sally this when she said she was a big time Democrat. You have to look at what each candidate stands for and decide who's values and beliefs are closest to your own.

How would you feel if someone attacked your daughter and this convicted criminal sexual abuser gets early release because the jail is too full. Remember Obama voted against stopping the early release of these types of criminals. Who is protecting our children here. An he voted against a bill that makes it harder for abusive parents to regain custody of their kids. Wait a minute, who's protecting the children here? While we may not be able to fathom abusing our children, the reality is that it does happen. Who'll protect these little kids?

Know your candidate. This might take some research. You have to know where the candidates stand on issues that affect the public. Now, you might not be a huge George Bush fan but he did do some good things for you and for me. He got rid of the marriage penalty on our tax returns. This means that people who were claiming married on their tax returns were actually penalized compared to single people on their tax returns.

President Bush also gave you alot more money for child tax credit. Have you noticed that you get $1000 for each child on your taxes? And twice you have recieved tax rebates thanks to his lowering the tax rate. Now, Obama has stated that he will revoke all of Bush's tax cuts if he becomes President. Do you understand that this means you will pay in more taxes and will get less back at the end of the year.

Another issue that you should consider is his feelings toward abortion. You might feel that you are pro-choice and you see Obama as pro-choice....so what's the difference. Well, there is a difference. You might feel that a woman has the right to choose, but Obama doesn't draw the line there. He doesn't want a parent to know when her under-aged daughter goes to a clinic for an abortion. He doesn't want Planned Parenthood or any other provider to get parental consent. He voted against a bill that protects a child who lives through an attempted abortion. He is against making partial birth abortion illegal. Do you know what that is? Read it carefully, partial "birth" abortion. It makes me sick to even think of it so I won't describe it further.

Obama is pro gay marriage. I'm sorry but some things should be protected. Do we want a country like France where anything goes and there is nothing off limits? Do we want our children to grow up in a country that has no morals? The Bible is very clear on how the Lord feels about a man and a woman compared to two men or two women together.

There are alot of issues that you need to be concerned about. He is spouting off about the Iraq war. Now, this is important. You might not agree with the war and like that Obama says he'll have us out in 16 months. Think about this for a minute. Are we safe if he pulls our troops out in 16 months? With Iran and Syria sitting right next door do you think they will just leave Iraq alone? I honestly believe that by walking away from Iraq we open the door to more terrorism right her in our own back yards.

Does everyone agree with the Iraq war? No, I don't either, but we have to be responsible. It is what it is and we have to be responsible about securing Iraq before we go. It's common knowledge that we still have troops in Germany, Turkey and other foreign countries where we fought in our history. Iraq will probably be another one of those places and we shouldn't leave ourselves unprotected. Barack thinks that Iran is a small country and doesn't pose a threat. OH, this is such a scary way to think.

Has Barack told you where he stands on anything? Do you know how he will accomplish this change he speaks of? Have you considered the fact that Democrats have had control of Congress for two years and our country is in worse shape than it was two years ago? The President isn't the only one to blame.

Did you read the article I posted about Speaker Pelosi and the gas prices? We really need more politicians who are to the middle of the road. I haven't been a huge fan of McCain because he really is the middle of the road. I have considered the alternative here. Obama is the number 1 liberal in the Senate and Joe Biden is the number 3 liberal. This is a dangerous combination. The reason I say you have to vote for the person who is closest to your morals is because a President will choose advisors based on his positions. He will appoint judges. He will appoint Supreme Court judges. His agenda will be your agenda.

Michigan Democrats Voting For Increase in Gas Tax

With Michigan facing such hard financial times why aren't our House democrats in session? Why aren't they trying to find a way to help the families in Michigan who are struggling to pay their house payment, their grocery bill, and fill up their cars? Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE ON VACATION.

Read the following article. If you think that a 25 cent diesel tax per gallon increase won't affect you, remember how your fuel get's to the gas station, how your groceries get to Meijer and Wal-Mart, how your trash gets picked up every week, how your natural gas or propane are delivered to your home.
************************

The Michigan Republican Party (MRP) blasts Democratic House Candidate Judy Nerat for supporting a 25-percent increase in the state diesel tax. If passed, the tax would have cost Michigan businesses more than $41 million so far this year.

House Republicans hammer Democrats for taking the summer off. An August 20th Saginaw News Editorial, also slams the Dems, hinting that they are no where near earning their more than $79,000 a year salary.

The House of Representatives has met just one time since June 28th and canceled yet another session last week. The Dems set the calendar and decide when work will be done on the massive problems facing Michigan citizens. Democrats have not scheduled for another official session until September 9th - a 10-week break since June 28th.

A Story From Kathy

It is hard to find a joke today without a dirty word or two in it, but, here is one:

Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods.
A small tree begins to grow between them,
and the beech says to the birch, 'Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?'

The birch says he cannot tell. Just then a woodpecker lands on the sapling.
The birch says, 'Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if
that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?'

The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree.
He replies, 'It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch.
It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever put my pecker in'

Now wipe that smile off your face. And pass it on!!

From my friend Kathy Merritt

It Was A Party!

Today was a fantastic day! We had a great party and the kids had a great time. I would say that we probably had 40 kids, plus a few babies, and parents, and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. It was a great time.

I was so glad that we rented the park. The little timers (that's what Jason calls the little kids) had so much fun at Creekside Kingdom. For the $100 it cost me to rent it, boy was it worth it. They kids were occupied and they were safe. They had so much fun seeing each other after losing touch during summer break. The sad thing with John is that all his friends from preschool are basically split between Lowell's three elementary schools. John and Ben will be in Bushnell, Aiden will be going to Murray Lake, the other kids will be going to Alto. A few are going to young 5's at Bushnell but I don't know how much interaction they'll have with them. So, it was a nice farewell to the summer.

Jourdan had a boat load of girlfriends at her party too. I think she had close to 20. They probably got a little bored because the park isn't as much fun for girls their age. But we played some games and girls seem to stay busy. Plus, it took Jourdan forever to open all the gifts these girls brought. John too. Both of them have very generous friends. Really, they got so many nice gifts that it was like Christmas for both of them.

So, the food was good, the cake was good, the weather was perfect, and the games were good. Can't ask for more than that can we?

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! Jourdan and John's birthday party at the park. We're so excited. We've been planning this party for about 6 months.....and I spent about six months in wages to pay for it, lol. We've been shopping all day. It's all we've done for three days getting ready for this party. I think we're ready.

I had a pleasant surprise today. I took all four kids into Grand Rapids and we were gone for almost 4 hours. There was no fighting, no bickering, no name calling, no picking, no bitching. It was amazing. I didn't yell at the kids, they didn't yell at me, and they didn't yell at each other. I think I'm on to something here. Just buy them what they want and they are too happy to bitch at me or each other. Sounds like a plan!

Jason told me last week that I never buy him cool shoes. Ok. Well, I just bought all his school clothes at Hollister and American Eagle. If you have kids and they wear any of this stuff you know that you just about need a second mortgage to buy an outfit. So, after that I get the shoe guilt from Jason. So, I tell him to get online and show me these "cool shoes" that he wants. Nike Shox! And.....and you better sit down for this.....they are $140! For one pair of shoes. One left shoe and one right shoe. Not gold plated. Not diamond enhanced. Not signed by any famous person. Just $140 shoes.

Once I got over the shock I told him, "yeah right". After buying him $100 cleats for football, a $15 pink arrows t-shirt, all his school clothes, $20 worth of socks, and metal inserts for his cleats there was no way I was buying him Nike Shox! Yeah, well remember I said he was happy today?

Actually I don't mind buying him the shoes he wants. We got 20% off at MC and he was very happy to have them. I'm happy that he's happy.....that's all that counts. Now, he has cool clothes, cool cleats, and cool shoes! For Jason, life is good. For me, I'm happy that he's happy. Nuff said.

I'm having a little tiny bit of anxiety over this party tomorrow. Most of you know that all is not well in my family. My sister and I had a falling-out and it has pretty much flushed our family down the toilet. We can't have a family event because my sister is a bitch. She said some things to me about my kids, Scott and about me that I can't forgive her for. So, we don't do anything as a family. My worry is that I still invited her daughter and I don't want her showing up thinking she's welcome. It'll just turn ugly and I don't want to be put in that position in front of all our friends.

I've asked my mom about it. She doesn't kow, she tells me, because she hasn't talked to my sister. Well, I've made my feelings pretty clear to her. She didn't get invited, but I don't know how else my neice would get there. Well, until she calls me and apologizes nothing will be right and she won't be welcome in any way with my family. I'm calling my mom back right now to talk to her about it.......she doesn't like to be involved, we'll see what she has to say.

...............................

This Is Why Gas Prices Are Staying High

The Pelosi Windfall By Bob Parks Thursday, August 14, 2008
What if it were discovered that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is holding up the drilling vote because she WANTS the gas prices high, so her personal investments in alternative energy would make her a lot of money?


Which brings us to Madame Speaker’s 2007 financial disclosure form. Schedule III lists “Assets and ‘Unearned Income’” of between $100,001-$250,000 from Clean Energy Fuels Corp. — Public Common Stock. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) is a natural gas provider founded by T. Boone Pickens. Yep, that T. Boone Pickens — former oilman turned wind-power evangelist whose ads touting a national wind campaign are now as ubiquitous as Viagra promos.
Pickens and Pelosi share the same talking points downplaying the need to drill and open up more access to American oil. Instead, the Pickens pie-in-the-sky plan proposes to replace natural gas with wind power in power generation and theoretically free up natural gas for America’s transportation needs.


Now, let’s follow that money.


As reported on dontgomovement.com, Speaker Pelosi bought between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in Pickens’ CLNE Corp. in May 2007 on the day of the initial public offering:
“She, and other investors, stand to gain a substantial return on their investment if gasoline prices stay high, and municipal, state and even the Federal governments start using natural gas as their primary fuel source. If gasoline prices fall? Alternative fuels and the cost to convert fleets over to them become less and less attractive.”


If this is true and the mainstream media catches wind of it (big IF), Pelosi could single-handedly doom the Democrat Party’s hold on the Congress and Senate.


It sucks we have to rely on the media

You can read this on: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4461

And Now We Shop

The week is finally wrapping up....workwise for me. Today is my day off. I've been sick as a dog and thought I might get caught up on my sleep last night. Yeah right, Sam was up by 5:30 am. She likes to torture me. She's all about waking up early. And that's after not sleeping all night. Hmmmmm!

She's so funny. She is one active baby. Scott and Jason don't know how I can chase after her 24/7. This is after just 3 weeks of working.....ahhh they are finally understanding what I'm up against. The only difference is they blockade the doorways and sit in here with her. They don't do the laundry, the dishes, the housework....they just take care of her. Well, that's a good thing because I want them to take care of her. But, men don't get it when it comes to doing it ALL.

Today, we are going birthday party shopping and school clothes shopping. Yes, I'm into punishing myself. Taking a baby shopping is not the best decision I've ever made but that's just how it is. I keep telling myself that Sam will be ok, she'll be happy. I'm just fooling myself.

So Janice is meeting me at Costco to order the kids birthday cakes for Sunday. I hope they want something good. Costco makes the best cake that has this mousse filling... OMG it's so good.

So that's my agenda for today. Probably some homework too. I started a new class yesterday. "Alternative Dispute Resolution". It looks really hard but I haven't dug into the book yet.

Have a great day.

Did You Know?

Obama voted against a piece of legislation called the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act", which was intended to extend legal rights to an infant born even after an attempted abortion.

Go To: http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/Obamacoveruponbornalive.htm

Did you see the interview with both candidates at Saddleback Church! Think about this:

McCain answered his questions quickly but with thought and no preconceived notion that he had to fool some of the voters. He spoke from his heart. When the good Reverend asked him "Where does life begin" he stated emphatically, "at conception".

When Obama was asked, he fumbled and himhawed and finally his response...."whether your looking at it from a theological standpoint or a scientific perspective....answering that with specificity is above my pay-grade". WHAT? He is running for President of the United States. He can't answer this very important question. Did you see this interview? He stumbled and stumbled and soundled like a complete idiot saying this.

McCain said flat out that he is Prolife and that his Presidency would have Prolife views. Obama....what would your presidency hold for unborn babies?

You could just see Obama's wheels turning during this whole interview. He really had to put thought into his answers before he opened his mouth. What was going on inside his head? "Who will I piss off by saying this?" So, just answer with vague responses. The little people out there are idiots and they won't realize i'm not actually answering these tough questions. Yeah, ok.

Next, the whole deal with Iraq. He'll pull out our troops in 16 months regardless of what our military leaders say. That is smart. We'll be having another 9/11 with this guy at the helm. The middle east will become unstable because Iran will move in and then oil prices will be $200 a barrell. I've always wanted to pay $8.00 a gallon for gas.

So, if he's not listening to Gen. Petraeus who is he listening to? When Rev. Warren asked him he said he would seek the advice of his wife and his grandma. WHAT??? He's a moron. Doesn't he think that Gen. Petraeus would be the wisest person to discuss the issues we face today on the war against terror? We've been safe since 2001 because of men like him. I guess Michelle Obama or his grannie know more than Petraeus does.

Now, this hits everyone. What about offshore drilling. Obama said that if you put air in your tires it'll make up the difference of the high gas prices. Put air in your tire and you'll magically feel better about the $130 it cost to fill your car. Ok.

While offshore drilling may not completely save us from foreign oil, won't it help? Won't it help to have millions of barrels of oil coming from our own drilling? When we don't have to buy the overinflated oil from the sand-diggers we'll finally get some relief at the pump. Won't happen unless we start drilling domestically.

Did you know that Democrat Speaker Pelosi blocked a vote to lift the ban on offshore drilling and then adjourned congress for a 5 week recess? She doesn't care that you are paying too much for gas. She has ownership in an alternative fuel deal and will stand to make alot of money if gas prices stay high. I'm going to post an article on this....so read above.

I haven't been the biggest cheerleader for McCain. I have felt like he is not a full Republican because sometimes he sides with Democrats. Well I started thinking about something he said recently. He said that he has sided with Republicans when it has been in the best interest of our country, and when it wasn't he sided with the Democrats. That made sense to me. Can Obama say that he looks at what is best for our country? Or does he stick to his ultra-liberal gang and vote with the far left regardless of the effects on our country? Well, if you do a search online for his voting record you will see that he is near the top of being the most liberal senator in Congress.

I've already talked about the bill he voted against that protects little babies born alive after attempted abortions. I've said this before, if he had it his way we would all be driving Geo Metro's, paying $5.00 a gallon, they would be doing abortions on every street corner, children could go have abortions without parents even knowing about it, we would never cut down a tree, and we'd only use one square of toilet paper to wipe our ass.

This only applies to the little guy of course, politicians don't have to live by the same rules.

We're Not Perfect

Ya know, I read a comment to one of my posts that has me thinking. As mom's we need to remember that we are not perfect. We can't make everyone happy all the time. We have to take the information we have at any given moment and make the best decision we can. That's all we can do. Do we make mistakes? Of course we do. We're human.

Mom's try to be SuperMom. It's just not reality. If someone seems to be like SuperMom....well you aren't seeing the whole story. Nobody is SuperMom, period!

So, if you make a decision that pissed somebody off...well, just tell yourself that it's unfortunate they feel that way and that you made the best decision you could. Then, move on! Feel good about yourself. Mom's have a very tough job. We juggle kids, their schedules, husbands, pets, our homes, and work. We are allowed an occasional meltdown. If it happens, pull yourself up by the bootstraps and say, "hey, I tried".

Don't be so hard on yourself. Yes, I'm talking to YOU! You are a wonderful and beautiful person and I'm glad that I know you.

WTF!

The "Obama" Prayer

Our Obama, who art from heaven, or Hawaii, or possibly Chicago,

Liberal be thy name,

Thy presidency come,

Thy will be done,

On Earth, as it is in San Francisco.

Give us this day our daily handouts.

And forgive us our individualism,

As we forgive those who don't properly inflate their tires.

And lead us not into the Clintons,

But deliver us from McCain

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,f

or two full terms.

Let's Party

Good morning everyone!

Little Sami Starfish didn't let me sleep again last night. I think her teeth are bothering her so bad. Thursday night she didn't sleep well so I was tired all day Friday. It took me over an hour to get her down last night....which is very unusual. Then, just before 1am she woke up and it went downhill from there. She was up 6 ot 7 times! Not just fussing a little, but screaming bloody murder to get out of her bed. So, it was a long night.

Now, she's sitting her her highchair eating toast and is happy as can be. Little stinker.

We mailed out invitations to the big party yesterday. We mailed 55! I was telling Kathie and Ann yesterday that we'd sent out that many. Ann says, what are you doing? Having everyone bring a dish to pass? No. I'm just going to wing it I guess, lol. It hadn't really occurred to me that this was a HUGE party and that one invitation might mean 2 - 4 people. This is good, the kids will love having a big party for their birthday. I just pray that the weather is good for us.

So, Scott is taking a vacation day. We'll pull it all together and we'll have a great time. Jourdan and John are very excited! I wanted to order two cakes from Sam's Club but I don't think my membership from work will be added yet. We'll see. If not, I'll be baking up a storm too. Nobody will go hungry that's for sure.

It's Easier To Talk

Last night I added a new blog to my site. It's for sharing recipee's. I've already posted one for Snickers Cheesecake, so you can check that out if you want. The link is on the top right side. In addition to that, I made it easier to talk on my blog. I changed the settings so anyone can post and you don't have to go through all the security stuff. Basically put in a name you make up, or you can check "anonymous" and post, if you want to talk to me.

So, it's finally Friday. YEAH! It's a beautiful morning. I almost feel like fall is getting here. I know that it's still August and there is plenty of summer left, but the cooler nights and mornings make me feel fallish. It's my favorite time of year. I don't like winter, snow is too messy. I hate having to bundle the kids up before I go anywhere. I worry about Jason being on the roads this winter on his own. I like fall. The days are sunny and cool, my favorite time of year.

I signed John up for Flag Football last night. We went with Aiden's mom, and he signed up too. John is really excited about playing. He hears Jason talk about football every single day, so now he has his own football to talk about. When we were leaving we ran into Janice, she was signing Brady up for football too. This is going to be a very fun football season!

Lowell Pink Arrows?

Our illustrious football coach, Noel Dean, has decided to put our Varsity football players in PINK jerseys for their first home game on September 12, 2008 against Holland. At first, I thought this was crazy. The poor players are going to get teased like crazy. Well, I hope that's not the case.

Lowell is going crazy right now for pink. The football players will be in pink jersey's. The band will be in pink, the cheerleaders in pink. I think it's going to be a "pink-out". I wonder what the Holland players will think.....and their fans? We're going to have to kick their asses to prove they are still guys. But that's ok.

So everyone is flocking to Pep Talk to buy "Pink Arrow Pride" t-shirts. If you wear one to the first game you get in free. You also get to walk in the parade from the school down to the field and take a victory lap around the track in honor of a cancer survivor....or one you have lost to cancer. So, what's all the pink about? Cancer! All the money we are paying for the pink is going to benefit breast cancer. What a fantastic deal huh?

The players had a chance to buy their jersey's. They were $200! I guess that quite a few kids didn't buy theirs. The ones who didn't have theirs bought will be auctioned off by silent auction after the game. The chick from pep talk told me tonight that she has a bid in as high as $1000! Wow! Another for $500.

So, it's for a good cause. It'll be interesting to see all of these kids in pink. I'm thinking it's going to get some news attention. Normally, I don't like busy games like that. But since Jason is playing this year, I will certainly be there.

Work

Well, I survived week two at work. I'm still training, but things are starting to come together. I discovered yesterday that being at work has been great for my eating habits. I have lost.......oh.....I think around 3 or 4 pounds since I started working. I think what happens is that I get to work and before I know it it's 1:00pm and I have a small lunch. Then it's 5pm. So, at least the day goes by fast. And, if I were home, I would be eating.

Scott has been working really hard at losing weight for a couple weeks now. He's in a contest at work and he is determined to win. I don't know how he has the energy to exercise like he has, but he's doing it. After working 12 hours he's coming home and running. Yesterday, I was gone 10 1/2 hours and I was so exhausted by the time I came home that I didn't even want to change my clothes.

I did of course, and cleaned up from dinner, folded three loads of laundry, and put a load in the washer and the dryer. No rest for the weary! Well, I should say, no rest for the mom's. But today is my day off so I can catch up.

If I could only find the energy to walk with Scott after work. He asks me everyday but I feel like I have been thrown to the lions by going back to work. I am still getting used to being gone 9 hours a day. I won't always be this way, but until I get into a weekly routine at work, it'll be hectic. I should still be walking with Scott, regardless.

Is anyone else excited about school starting again? My kids are! I think that Jason is just excited that football is just around the corner. He's been having two-a-days for practice this week and they are even practicing on Saturday. Scott said he's been really tired this week and I can imagine. He's up at 6am for practice for 5 hours of running, hitting, and throwing. I know he's exhausted too. But, he's excited to start playing. Especially since he was out all last season.

Jourdan is excited to see what changes they've made at the Middle School. They've been doing remodeling all summer long. She misses her friends too. We're just getting ready to do her birthday party invitations today, so she's excited about that too.

Last, but not least, John. He's starting Kindergarden this year and he is so ready to get back to school. He was so sad when preschool was done. I felt bad for him because he wanted to keep going to school, and he needs to go back to school. He really misses having something to do. I think he get's bored at home. He wants to see his friends. He's really excited that he gets to go to school for a whole day like Jason and Jourdan and that he gets to eat lunch at school. That is a biggie!

So today, we're off to get school shoes....I think. Plus, invitations for the birthday party we're having for Jourdan and John. We need to print those and get them to the post office today. Their party is a week and a half away and need to get them in the mail. I've only been planning it for 3 months....not like I could have done it sooner....what a moron.

Football Is Near

If you know me, you know I LOVE football. The Ohio State Buckeyes are my favorite! They are about 6 weeks from their first game and we are so excited. One of my favorite things to watch on TV, other than football, is the intro to College Gameday. It's a video and song sung by Big & Rich and I've put it here on my blog. Hit play to see it!

How fun is it to live in Michigan and be an Ohio State fan! It really pisses people off. It's like being a Republican in Michigan. Nobody likes you and there is alot of pointing and staring! Sore losers, lol. Just kidding. I'm hoping to send Jason and Scott to a game for Jason's birthday. That's what he's asking for his birthday. We bought him tickets before to see Ohio State play Michigan State. We bought them online from a season ticket holder who wasn't going because MSU sucks! Well, I don't know about that, I've always like MSU. It's M Go Blow that I don't like. But, I must admit, the rivalry is fun. It get's everyone in a tizzy.

It feels like fall to me tonight. I opened up all the windows earlier because it was so nice outside. There is a cool breeze coming in and it smells like fall. I love that smell. I like all the night music that the little insects make....I wonder what those are called? It reminds me of when I was a kid....I'm talking about the fresh air from a cool night smell. I remember sitting on the front porch with my dad when I was a kid. He would be drinking a beer and we'd sit there and look at the stars. It was forever ago, we didn't even have the garage on the house....so I must have been really young. Anyhow, it just reminds me of a cool summer night. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

Janice and Reggie are camping at Silver Lake right now. They picked a great time to go because it's not so damn hot. Then, to have the beautiful, cool, fresh air of the night....perfect!

And, believe it or not, it's just after 10:30pm and all is quiet in my house. Sami went to sleep around 8:30pm and John was out shortly after. He played outside today and never had a nap....so he was tired. He didn't even make it into his jammies. Sami did! She had her first Oreo tonight. Well, she was black and had to go straight into the tub. So, she smells baby-fresh and no more chocolate from head to toe. It was really quite cute. She even tore the thing in two and ate one half, then the other half with the frosting on it. She was digging it, but boy did she make a mess.

If you're interested, Youtube has alot of good Ohio State video footage. Come on, I know you're all closet Buckeye fans!

Petition For Lower Gas Prices

Hi everyone!

I was doing a little research for a political post and came across an article that I thought was very interesting. As you all know, several weeks ago President Bush lifted the ban on offshore drilling and the price of a barrel of oil dropped by about $25 in the same week. Now, our gas prices are going down a little bit.

Here is the stickler, I still think we are paying too much. Would you be happy paying less than $2 a gallon again? Yeah, me too. Have you noticed how much more diesel is? Scott and I are getting raked over the coals by paying so much for diesel.

So, Pres. Bush lifted the ban on domestic drilling and it was Congress's turn to do the same. They need to take a vote on it to see if it will pass. 75% of American's agree with offshore drilling. Right now $700 million a year of our money is going overseas to terrorists. We can drill for oil right here in the United States and keep some of this money ourselves. Instead of $4 a gallon, we could be paying under $2.00!

So, what does Speaker Pelosi do? She refuses to let the thing come to a vote! Then, she lets everyone go for a 5 week recess. Well, she had to run around and promote a new book she just wrote. That is much more important than helping us working people by getting gas prices down.

Do you realize how much the cost of fuel affects your life and your budget. It has caused the cost of food to increase by 25%. It costs 25% more to heat our homes. It costs $100 or more to fill the tank when it used to cost $30!

Here's the deal, Newt Gingrich is collecting signatures to show Congress that we want them to vote on an energy bill that includes more domestic drilling. The fact is, the more oil available, the lower the price will be. Makes sense doesn't it? Because right now, the terrorists have us by the short-hairs and they can set the price of oil at any price they want. So, go to this website and sign the petition that says you want Congress to pull their head of out of their ass and vote on this so we can get a little help, financially, before the heating season starts.

go to:

http://www.americansolutions.com/

You can sign the petition and send it to your friends. Send it to everyone.

There are some people who are so quick to judge President Bush. Blame it all on him. These are the people who don't know how government operates. First of all, President Bush doesn't make laws, Congress does. Bush has the capacity to veto a law, but Congress can go back and overturn that with a 2/3 vote. But the bills are introduced, voted on, and passed for defeated in Congress. Who is in the majority right now in Congress? DEMOCRATS! They've been there for two years!

Look, this is a bi-partisan petition. It doesn't matter who you like. What matters is whether or not you want the price of gas to go down. So, please pass it along.

Tracy

The Man In The Other Bed

THE MAN IN THE OTHER BED



It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he coul d see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene. One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'


Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy. 'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'


This was sent to me via email from my friend Alice.

Where Is the Honesty?

I found the honesty Friday, August 1, 2008! After our fantastic vacation in St. Ignace I did the stupidest thing. It was so stupid that it made me cry! On our way home from up north we stopped at the Welcome Center rest area in Claire. We all got out and I thought Scott was going to stay in the truck while we went in. He decided to go in and get a map, so I grabbed my wallet off the dash and brought it with me.

When I went into the bathroom, I waited for Jourdan to come out and she took Sam. You know the big stainless steel toilet paper holders in the bathroom? Well, I go in and I laid my wallet on top of that. Then, I walked out without it.

What an idiot! So, I don't know I've done this and we all get back into the truck and Scott decides to have me drive. I get back on the expressway and immediately there is an exit for Claire. John and Jourdan are saying they are hungry, so I go across 3 or 4 lanes of traffic to get off the highway. A miracle in itself because I had the camper behind me.

We pull into McDonalds and stop. I go to reach for my wallet and I immediatley realize I left it in the bathroom stall in the rest stop! I AM FREAKING OUT!!!! All of our money is in MY wallet. All of it, and my credit cards, debit card, soc. sec. card, the kids soc sec cards, library cards, and a crap load of other important stuff. Of course, I start to pull back out of the parking lot...we're way in the back....and some stupid old woman is driving a motorhome and she can't figure out how to drive the damn thing through the parking lot. She just stops and blocks all the traffic. In the meantime, I'm behind her....tailgaiting her in my truck with the camper behind us and I'm having a fit.

So, after ten minutes we finally get back on the expressway only to pass the reststop. The northbound exit is before the onramp we used. So, I'm having a meltdown...and I'm driving. Scott is yelling at me to pull over so he can drive. Then he tells me to get on HWY 10! What? Why HWY10???? Since I'm having a meltdown I do and then there are no exits. No exits, just a barren desert filled with highway.

I pull over and let Scott drive. Just down the road we see an "Authorized Vehicle Only" turn-around and we use it anyways. The whole time we're heading back....and now we're about 6 miles away from the reststop and it's been 30 minutes....I'm praying in a whisper:

"Please God, let it be there"

over and over and over! Well, I guess he was listening. I literally ran inside and it was gone from the bathroom but when I went to the counter a woman said it was in the drawer. I opened up the zipper and all of our money was there. If you opened a wallet and saw $100 bills, what would you do? Some honest woman found my wallet and brought it to the desk. Nothing was missing....it was all there. I asked if they knew who it was, they said no.

A woman went into that reststop and did something that most people would not have done. She was honest and kind enough to return my wallet to me with our vacation money still in it. Maybe it was my guardian angel?

To Keep My Sanity

I didn't get home until almost 7pm tonight....that is a new feeling. I'm working and I don't know how excited I am about it. It's not the work, it's what I'm missing at home that is making me feel icky. My boss tells me yesterday before I leave that he has a meeting in the morning so not to come in until 10-11ish. He was going to show me how to do payroll. Ok!

So I get to work at 10 and he's busy the whole day. I'm busy the whole day and don't get out of work until 6:30pm. I'm super tired and not used to being gone all day like this. I can work whatever schedule I want, but I get so wrapped up in what I'm doing all of the sudden it's 6:00.

Well then I get home and the kids are running out to the truck before I even get out. Tonight I came in the house and John is crying, Sam is in her bed screaming, Jourdan is bitching.......what did I get myself into?

I feel like the house is falling apart in my absense. Scott says everything is super-fine. I don't feel that way. I feel like I am gone about 20 hours, I'm tired, I miss the kids, and then I come home and it's utter chaos. Scott thinks, and I agree, that once I have a set schedule that they can depend on things will be better. If I'm getting out at 5pm on a regular basis then everyone will know when to expect me. He said it's a little frustrating not knowing when I'll be home. I can understand that. I definitely need to go in earlier and get out by 4ish.

I'm trying to remind myself of why i'm working:

• To help out with bills.
• To have Christmas money.
• To have money to buy groceries. (Do you know how much a teenage boy eats????)
• To buy school clothes. (Do you know how much a Hollister shirt costs?)
• To have birthday money for the kids.
• To be able to go out on a date with Scott and actually be able to afford it.
• Set money aside for vacation next summer. (We saved a year for this years vacation up north.)
• To keep my sanity.

Did I cover everything? I still hate being away from the kids. I missed out on alot with Jason and Jourdan when they were little. I am really sad to be leaving and going to work. People keep telling me that it'll be good for me and good for the kids. Well, it just feels stressful to me right now. But, I think we'll get into a routine and then things will be ok. Bottom line, they are here with Scott and that's good for him too.

Working Girl

Hi everyone! As of yesterday, I'm once again a working girl. I am working in the main office of Two Men & A Truck doing all of their bookkeeping and payroll. I'm really enjoying it so far. Two days almost 10 hours and I'm exhausted. I'm really not used to being away from home. It's a part-time job so I won't be away from the kids too much, but the hours are a little longer while I'm training. But, so far so good!

I'm laughing because I'm making like I wasn't a working girl before yesterday. Four kids, one husband, and two dogs......yeah, I wasn't working! HA! Scott has been great. He's been here taking care of the kids while I work and then he'll work the days that I'm home. I did have to tell him that the laundry is OFF LIMITS! He doesn't comprehend that you can't throw EVERYTHING in the dryer. All of his cotton shirts would be about 8 inches above his waistband if he did the laundry, lol.

So, along with the job, it's life as usual around here. I'm almost done with my American Women History class. This is my last week and my big project is actually due tonight. I've been working on this thing for 8 weeks. A paper on Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President. And she did it in 1872! She was also the first woman to speak in front of the House Judiciary Committee. She was also the first female stockbroker on Wall St.

Anyhow, I don't want to bore you with that. It's been my life for the last 8 weeks for every spare moment I have once the kids are in bed.

Right now, as I write, I'm on hold with AT&T. I'm waiting for tech support because my email isn't working. I didn't know until Alice called and said her emails were returned to her. So, if anyone has sent me an email today and it got returned, please resend it tomorrow because I didn't get it. Let's see, I've been on hold for......22 minutes and 32 seconds. Hmmmm! What a waste of time. It really irritates me that a business can place you on hold for so long and then expect you to be Mrs. Niceguy! I'll be ripping someone a new ass if they ever answer the phone.

Well, I have a few odds and ends to write about but I'll save it for another day. I have to finish this damn report for class. Sami is in bed, Scott and John are on a walk, Jason is downstairs and Jourdan is hanging out in the garden picking greenbeans. So, while I have a quiet minute I'll do some homework.

PS. John learned how to ride his bike today without training wheels. And, his knees are blood free.

St. Ignace

Did you think I was gone.....forever???

No, we were on vacation. We went camping in St. Ignace for the week. We had the best time! The weather was about 72 degrees and sunny all week long. It was fantastic. It was quite the shock to leave yesterday with the temp being 72 and when we got out of the truck in Claire, it was 86 degrees!

We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed camping. They spent most of the week on the beach. Sami even got in the water. It was so cute. We were hanging out on Thursday on the beach. Scott and John were flying a huge kite we bought at the Mackinaw Kite Company, Jason and Jourdan were swimming and skipping rocks, and Sami and I were hanging out on a big beach blanket watching all the activity. Pretty soon, she crawls out into the sand. Hmm, this looks good enough to eat....and she did. Then she headed down to the water. Luckily the lake is really shallow so she crawled to the edge of the water and sat there while the waves came in over her lap. She LOVED it! I'm going to see if I can post some photo's on my blog. I think I can, but haven't tried it yet.

We did the usual. The first day we went to Clydes for lunch and then hit all the shopping hotspots. Indian Village, Castle Rock, Murdick's Fudge. John was giddy with excitement over Indian Village. I got the coolest pictures of the kids on the boardwalk that runs behind it....that's what I'll try to post on my site.

John was in St. Ignace when he was only 2 but he couldn't remember any of it. It was a whole new experience and the kids had a great time. We went to the lighthouse and they climbed that, and several other stores, of course. We even drove up to Sault Ste. Marie so the kids could see the Soo Locks. When we got there an 800 ft freighter was just pulling in and they got to see it being raised up to go up river. It was perfect timing.

And, we visited Mackinac City, of course. We went into the shops and bought bags of popcorn from the Popcorn Factory. Jason, John, and Scott picked out a really cool 7ft kite at the Mackinac Kite Company. Most of all, John loved going back over the bridge.

I took probably a hundred photo's. We have a camping scrapbook that we keep of all the trips we take in our camper. Jourdan and I are chomping at the bit to work on this vacation. I have to go get the pictures printed and we'll work on it this week.

So, for our long awaited week in St. Ignace we had a GREAT time. The kids had so much fun. There was very little bickering, which is amazing. But we all had a good time and hope that we get to go back last summer. The only part of this great vacation that really pisses me off, over $550 in diesel for the week! We don't need to drill for oil domestically? Stick it up your ass Barack!

Ode To The Garage Sale

For three weeks I have been getting ready for a garage sale. Yes, I said three weeks. I've you've put one together before, you know what I'm saying. So, Scott and I had to get the pole barn cleaned....it was a pit! Now, it's not!

So, lots of hours cleaning the pole barn and then the search for the things that I've desperately held on to for 20 years that I haven't used or taken from the boxes in almost as long. Things were different this time. After moving our shit four times in one year, I had a different attitude. I was boxing and pricing and showing no mercy. My mission, to make enough money to fill my truck with diesel!

For the last week I've been like a mad woman with my price stickers and black marker. Trying to decide if 50 cents was too much, or is 25 cents not enough???? My mom said the greatest thing to a lady who stopped. She made a comment on how great our prices were and asked how much something was. My mom says, "not coming back into my house price"! I LOVE IT!

You know, in our poor economy here in Michigan, garage sales are a great thing. There was a joke going around back when we were getting our stimulus checks about spending it at a garage sale and keeping the money in America. (I'll get to that point in a minute.) So I've come up with a few thoughts on garage sales:

GOOD: You can get a $50 item for 50 cents and you don't have to give any sales tax to Granholm to piss away on new toilets for our highway reststops.

BAD: You got a $50 item for 50 cents and spent $55 in gas driving all over town going to garage sales.

GOOD: You made $58 on your sale.

BAD: You spent $10 on signs, $16 for the ad in the paper, $10 on donuts, $20 on pizza, and $18 on stuff that your friends brought to sell that you can't live without, so you're $16 bucks in the hole.

GOOD: You're keeping your money in America by spending it at a yard sale.

BAD: If you spend it all on gas you're just buying another gold toilet seat for some sheik in a dessert country who has too many wives and too much money.

GOOD: You can donate whatever you don't seel to Goodwill for a tax write-off.

BAD: It'll cost you another day and $10 in gas to get it there.

Ok, those are just some thoughts on the whole garage sale process. It's not really all that bad. I had lots of help today. My mom, bless her heart, was here bright and early and stayed all day long. Janice was here and my sister Jamie too. We actually had a pretty good time and sold lots of stuff. We were wheeling and dealing from 8:30 am until 6pm.....gotta love that.

Deeper In Debt......Just To Fill My Truck

I went to Ionia yesterday, which I hardly ever do anymore, and had to get fuel in my truck. Well, it's bad enough that gas is over $4 a gallon but diesel is completely out of control. I paid $75 for 15 gallons of fuel. Of course, this makes me extremely angry because when I got in the truck I looked at my gas guage and it was between 1/4 and 1/2! For $75!

Think about how much you pay for gas each week. Then consider how many hours you have to work at your job to pay that amount. Now, understand that since the Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007 that gas prices gave gone UP $1.58! They won't let us drill for oil domestically. They want to continue giving our money to the foreigners. Do the Republican's have a better plan?

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R) explains that the Republicans have introduced 7 different bills on energy that Palosi refuses to bring to the floor for a vote. He says that we have to drill NOW!

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) says that the Republicans are hypocrites because there is already land available for drilling. (We've discussed this before.) There is even land available in Alaska.

OK, the land that the Democrats are talking about is a 20 million acre piece that is 275 miles from the pipeline in Alaska, so it's not economically effective. I'm sure if they could get the oil they would, but this is far too remote. The Republicans want to drill on a 2000 acre piece of land 75 miles from the Alaskan pipeline.....it could bring oil in a year! Plus, the fact that we are drilling should bring prices down. That's the whole deal with speculators and how they predict that oil will be short....prices go up. Well, if we are drilling, oil will go down in price.

Don't the democrats think that if there was oil available in the land already set aside for drilling, they would be there? They want to make money. I always had the impression that all the oil was in the Middle East. Not true. I read somewhere that we are sitting on bigger reserves than when they have in the Middle East. I'll have to check on that, but I did read it somewhere along the way.

Putting pressure on Congress to lift the ban on offshore drilling is the only way that we're going to get prices down in the immediate future. To be perfectly honest, I can't believe that the democrats aren't more worried about this since its an election year. I'd love to see Palosi kicked out on her backside. According to a CNN opinion poll, 74% of Americans want offshore drilling. Well, I'm sure these 74% aren't all Republicans. And, why isn't this issue affecting Obama's campaign? He's against offshore drilling, he wants us to use less. Hmmm, should we not drive to work or the grocery store? He's so out of touch with reality on the average American family.

Men and women working in the Government should be the smartest people we've got. Why are they all so stupid? If they could set partisan politics aside for a minute or two and do what's best for the American people, well that would be historic, and it would get us going in the right direction.

BFF

Friendship is a crazy thing. I haven't spoken to my dearest friend Janice, in a week or two. Last night I resorted to sending her an email. This morning I had two emails back from her with pictures of her kids at the beach. It made me really miss her even more. I've been thinking about this lately and realized that married women, especially married with kids, just don't have the time for a best friend. After all, best friends talk every single day and see each other several times a week. With husbands, kids, laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, and even a job, when do we have time to be best friends with someone?

Well, that was a fleeting thought in my head. What I realized is that a best friend will be there for you even if you haven't spoken in a week. She'll be there when you need a last minute babysitter or need help with a family emergency. What's great about my friendship with Janice, if we don't speak for a week or two, we'll pick up right where we left off. We understand that both of us are busy. We'll say we're going to get together and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.....but we don't get mad. We understand that life happens and we try for another day. Well, it's been weeks since I've seen Janice and I really miss her. I realized we can be best friends even if we don't talk every single day. As a matter of fact I think this proves how good and strong a friendship can be.

Ok, that's my thought for the morning. Don't be too hard on your friends if they are busy. Doens't mean they don't care. Life get's busy and get's away from you so fast. You can be going along and not realize it's been weeks since you've hung out with your friend. Find an hour or two and reconnect and be understanding if it doesn't work out.

DOL Update

What on earth is happening on Days? Lucas slept with Cloe (yuck) and EJ slept with Nicole! Both of these guys should be checked for STD's! Plus, Lucas is gone. I don't know for how long, but I'm happy. I don't like his character and I don't like him. Of course, Sami had to call him the "love of her life" again yesterday. Ugh! Lucas has sex with Cloe and Sami really doesn't seem to notice that it happened. She isn't upset. She isn't really saying anything about it. Isn't that odd? Wouldn't you be upset if the "love of your life" had sex in an elevator with some skank?

Well, I guess some women don't mind it when their men do that.

I know that Days got some new writers a while back. I don't really care for whoever they have in there. All of the sudden they spend an awful lot of time showing "memories" of recent happenings. I should watch the clock and add up how much time they waste on that. And just when things were getting good they tore apart EJ and Sami and they changed Marlena's character. Then they put John with Ava. I really don't get it.