Shake rattle and roll....

Not really but we had an earthquake here last night(or early this morning). It was a 3.3 magnitude. Now for many of you in CA this is not a big deal but for us, it was huge. We live in South Central PA.We were standing in our bedroom and the entire house shook and rumbled. And it did seem to go on for a long time. Longer than a shake made from say, teenagers wrestling in the living room. (which is what we thought it was). So pretty crazy huh?

Anyway, we are still in the middle of Christmas parties and visiting so this weekend will be a busy one for us. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your weekend.

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

It's Christmas Eve!!! I have a couple of errands to run and woke up with freezing rain and icy streets. Figures right? But it will all be OK. We plan to spend a quiet evening with the kids tonight. Planning to have their favorite finger foods for dinner and hopefully they will go to bed and actually fall asleep within a reasonable amount of time so we can play Santa.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a new year full of good health, happiness, love, joy, and everything your heart desires. Many of us will be traveling over the holidays and I pray for your safety as you travel. My niece had this video on her facebook page and all though my children are all past the car seat stage, I know many of yours are not. Please take a minute to watch the video because it could save the life of someone special in your life.

Just for Leeann

Since Leeann was nice enough to drive me crazy with the hamster song(keep reading to post below this one) I thought I would repay her by posting this one.(you have to watch the first 3 minutes before you get to the song) This is the other song that my kids tortured me with this weekend while I was held captive in their rooms cleaning and sorting and throwing out a ton of crap.

Crazy dreams and a menu

My friend Kathy keeps emailing me to tell me all about these crazy dreams she has been having about me lately. They are very strange dreams that make no sense to her or me. So in response, I have been having some crazy dreams of my own the last couple of nights. They are very strange and wake me up several times through the night. I cant actually remember anything of them except that our cat apparently was sick in one of them and shrunk down to the size of that darned hamster here

(which thanks to Leeann, I can't get out of my head).




Monday: Cheeseburgers, fries
Tuesday: Spaghetti, meat sauce
Wed:Shrimp, crab melt aways,potato skins, veggies and dip(Christmas eve finger food)
Thursday: Christmas day-we will be going to Baltimore
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: going to a wedding
Sunday: Party in Baltimore(husbands side of the family)

Christmas Cookie Palooza

Last weekend the kids and I made some Oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies,butter spritz cookies and ginger molasses cookies. Well, all of the oatmeal raisin cookies are gone, half the chocolate chip cookies are gone and the ginger molasses cookies are still around.- but, they liked them it is just that we have a lot and they pigged out on oatmeal raisin. So the problem is, I am assigned the task of bringing cookies to my parents on Christmas day and now there are not enough cookies left so today, I baked. I baked, and baked, and baked. All. Day. Long. But I am done! We have cookies!

First let me again say that I made butter spritz cookies over the weekend and they are cute and little bits of buttery goodness.

I also made these ginger molasses cookies. They are yummy if you like spicy cookies. We apparently do.

Today I made your typical toll house chocolate chip cookies-about 5,963 of them.

Then I made Pioneer Woman's chocolate candy cane cookies. I saved the dipping candy coating part until the kids got home from school and Brooks helped me. He enjoyed decorating and eating them. I thought the chocolate cookie tasted OK. Not great but not bad at all. Just sort of bland.(I think I may have mentioned that I like spicy cookies). But the candy cane crunchies were a nice surprise.

I also made more (crazy) oatmeal raisin cookies. This is the recipe I used. It is pretty much your typical oatmeal raisin recipe with the addition of ginger to the dough. Yum! Spicy! See? I told you.. I also reduced the amount of white sugar to 1/3 cup instead of the 1/2 cup and I added some craisins just to be crazy.Crazy oatmeal raisin!

Next I made snow balls which are kind of a pain in the ass but they are delicious and look good on a cookie platter.

Next I made something completely new Honey Peanut butter cookies. ( saw the movie The Secret Life of Bees over the weekend and it got me thinking honey..) I liked them. I added some chocolate chips to some of them and it was a good addition. I also put less sugar in and more peanut butter because I tend to like my cookies less sweet and when you are putting 1 cup of honey in I don't think you really need a full cup of sugar too. Right? RIGHT? Oh and instead of white sugar, I used brown sugar. I don't know why. I just felt like it. Rebel? Maybe...

So, I think that is it? I usually make sugar cookies because the kids like cutting them out but I don't think I will this year. We have a boat load of cookies and really, we don't need any more.

So what kind of cookies did you make this year?

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Sweet Italian sausage with sauce and pasta

Tuesday: homemade chicken nuggets with seasoned potatoes

Wednesday: Roast beef, cole slaw

Thursday: Hot beef sandwiches, fries

Friday: Dinner with friends (kids get pizza)

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner(french toast or creamed chip beef)

Sunday: crock pot chicken, potatoes, spinach

The Secret Life Of Bees

We went to the movies this afternoon and saw The Secret Life of Bees. It was really good. I think a great family movie that will most certainly open the lines of communication among the members of your family who are not growing up during a time when such extreme and repulsive racism exists. I would suggest you all go see it or rent it when it comes out. It was really good.

Holiday Eating Tips

This list found its way ino my email box and it was too good not to share!
These tips will enhance your holiday!

Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holidaybuffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you seecarrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving chips & dip.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can'tfind it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that ithas 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turninto an "eggnog-aholic" or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Haveone for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the wholepoint of gravy. Gravy does not stand-alone. Pour it on. Make a volcanoout of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano.Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made withskim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's likebuying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effortto control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party isto eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello???

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between nowand New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else todo. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling thebuffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat ofeggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffettable, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa,position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you canbefore becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pairof shoes. If you leave them be hind, you're never going to see themagain.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and sweet potato - have aslice of each. Or, if you don't like apple, have two sweet potatoes andone pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more thanone dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded withthe mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean,have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.

Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive andwell preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways,
chocolate in hand,body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO what aride!"

Almost there

Finals are finally over. Thank you lord! And I am almost finished shopping. I have just a couple more things to pick up and of course I still need the ingredients for holiday baking and a few special things we like to make around the holidays. Santa shop at school is finished. I just dont know what I will do with all of this free time? Oh wait, I guess I will be wrapping the gifts, shopping for special items for baking and such and cleaning. Yea, sad to say I never got around to going through the kids rooms this year. I have done that every year for, well, as long as I can remember. I go through their rooms, change their clothes over and purge the toys, etc. that they have outgrown. But I have not done it yet this year so that is what is on the agenda for next week. Hopefully I will get it all done before the new year!

How many days until Christmas?

Am I the only one feeling like this month is just flying by? Holy crap! Just 16 days until Christmas! That is just a little bit more than two weeks! Are you ready? I am kind of ready. The halls are decked and most of my shopping is done. I need to do some baking and wrapping sill but for the most part I am feeling pretty confident I will have it all done in time, without feeling like I am in the middle of a hurry up frenzy.

So, on to more important stuff...

Menu Plan Monday! Exciting right?

Monday: Chicken parm
Tuesday: hot dogs, mac and cheese, sugar beans
Wed: chicken tacos, red beans and rice
Thursday: meat loaf, mashed potatoes
friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: tomato soup and grilled cheese
Sunday: Who the heck knows?

Whatever you like...

OK, I have to admit I like this song. Granted, I only like the censored version. The uncensored version is crazy nuts. But I like Weird Al's version 1000% more. I mean, who doesn't like weird Al? Check it out.

Worth a second or third or fourth look...

I swiped this from Lori at the Simple Life at Home. She is awesome and you should definitely check her blog out. This video is very touching and definitely something I needed to be reminded of. To stop ignoring others in need. To really look at them and remember that they are our brothers and sisters and we should be there for them just as Jesus would be. When we ignore those in need, we are turning our backs on Jesus. Really. I needed this reminder. Too often this time of year especially, we are too wrapped up in how to obtain stuff for our loved ones while walking right by people in genuine need. Or even just walking by someone ringing a bell outside of a store. I am going to try to shift my focus a little bit more to how I can help others.I am not sure exactly in what capacity I will do this or how well I will do at it, but that is my goal. I suppose an early new years resolution.

Menu plan Monday

You know how the days before Thanksgiving, all you can think about is turkey, and stuffing, and pumpkin pie? And then the day arrives and you pig out on all of the above? Then even though you totally pigged out, you still think about and yea, go ahead and indulge in a nice yummy turkey sandwich or three over the next couple of days? Oh and dont forget all the leftover pie, you cant let that go to waste. Well before you know it, it is five days after Thanksgiving and you have eaten turkey in some form or another just about every meal since Thursday? And, and, you are sick of turkey? And you wonder how in the world that happened? Well, yea, that is pretty much how my family is feeling right now. In fact, they were pretty ticked off when I put hot turkey sandwiches and french fries on the table for dinner. So, even though we still have turkey left, there will be no more hot turkey in the menu for a few weeks. I cant guarantee there wont be cold turkey on the menu though. You know, nothing like a yummy turkey sandwich on white bread with mayo. Yum!

But before I get to the menu, I will share that I took the kids to the movies today. They were off school today because hello, first day of hunting season and of course school closes for that! Anyway, Brooks was at a friends house so he missed out but I took Caitey and her friend and Mikey. Caitey of course wanted to see......you guessed it, Twilight. Mikey wanted nothing to do with that so he and I saw Four Christmases. It was OK. Pretty funny most of the time but nothing to write home about. The girls enjoyed Twilight. I guess all in all a nice day off. OK, onto the menu.
Monday: Hot turkey sandwiches, fries
Tuesday: French toast, bacon,eggs
Wed: roast beef, cole slaw, mashed potatoes
Thursday: chicken tacos, red beans and rice
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: manwich, fries
Sunday: oven fried chicken, spinach, potatoes

Oh Oprah, how you disappoint...

I am not a huge Oprah fan anymore. Sure, my Tivo still records every show. This is primarily so that if something or someone truly special is on the show, I can watch it. More often than not it is just deleted unwatched. But I do occasionally tune in. Normally, Oprah's favorite things show would be one of those times when I would tune in. Not because I think Oprah is so smart or more cutting edge than the rest of us. No, I like to watch it because I love to see the audience acting like freaking idiots over the freebies she gives out. It is fun and exciting, and heck, I would love to be one of those people in the audience on that fave things show. Who wouldn't? Well that is until today. Today was a huge disappointment. All of us are capable of wracking our brains, researching, and searching out cheap things we can give to others that will be special for the recipient. But Oprah, honey, we look forward to your higher priced options. Not because we can afford all of them, but because maybe we can afford one or two things on your list. If I was in your audience I would have been really bummed. Come on, you can do better than this. The least you could have done is given everyone a Kindle. Really. The economy is your reason for this? Buying all those items for your audience and then endorsing them would actually serve as a boost to the economy. The way I see it, you owe us. You are hurting the economy.

Six secrets/six tags...

Gina tagged me and this meme is all about secrets. Actually, it is six secrets. I am supposed to divulge six secrets about myself then tag six people to do the same. Anyway, I figured what the heck? Actually though, I think this may be more difficult than it looks because I am not sure there are many secrets about myself that most everyone or at least someone who reads my blog doesn't already know about me. But I will give it a shot!

1. I take a bubble bath in my great big jacuzzi tub almost every night. I am sure I am using up way more than my share of the worlds water and my carbon footprint is probably huge, but I don't care. It is what keeps me grounded. And really, really clean.

2. I would like to have another baby or adopt one in the near future.

3. Tonight when I made dinner, I substituted beef with venison. What they don't know wont hurt them. All though in all honesty, I am the only one that really cares. They all like venison!

4. My room is a mess. There are two baskets of clean clothes that need to be put away, it has not been dusted in two weeks and there is a bin with summer clothes still sitting in the corner next to the treadmill which has clothes that need to be hung up in the closet. hanging on it. A mess.

5. I love a quickie!

6. Reading fiction is my favorite activity to just relax and chill out. It is an escape.

So I know I am supposed to tag 6 people but instead, I am going to allow you dear reader to decide if you want to participate or not. No pressure!

Just who are those Obama voters?

For those of you who like me, were wondering just how on earth Obama actually managed to get elected, this may shed some light on it for you. I can't say that I am surprised.



Granted this is not a scientific poll but apparently Zogby also ran the same questions via telephone poll and got the same results. Which just goes to show you that Obama voters are painfully ignorant.

Zogby Poll
512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points
97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates
Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions
57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).
And yet.....
Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes
Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.
Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)
For further information on this project, or to schedule an interview with the producer, please e-mail us at: questions@howobamgotelected.com

Menu Plan Monday!

Here we go again. Another week. This week is the book fair at school, which I run, so I will be crazy busy this week. Hopefully I will still be able to stick with the menu plan since ultimately that really does help keep me organized.

Monday: Ravioli lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread
Tuesday: stuffed pork chops, spinach, potatoes
Wednesday: chicken salad sandwiches, homemade chicken soup from freezer
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Dinner with friends-kids eat pizza
Saturday: family game night so we are having kid fun food, potato skins, chicken nuggets etc.
Sunday: pork roast with sour kraut, mashed potatoes, spinach
Monday: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad
Tuesday: pork fried rice(using left over pork roast), mini egg rolls
Wednesday: BBQ sandwiches, oven fries
Thursday: Thanksgiving!(going to moms house)
Friday: Black Friday (mike and I are going out)
Saturday: Turkey dinner at our house(because Mike likes the leftovers)
Sunday: turkey leftovers

The morgue, Danny Devito, T-bagging and more

I admit, this is going to be one of my more senseless posts, but I am writing it anyway cause I am bored and you probably are as well if you are sitting there reading this. So my question for you is, what are you watching on television these days?

Now I know many of you will say you don't watch TV because you are way too busy to do anything as mind numbing and senseless as watching TV. But I say you are lying! Yes, that is right. I know you are secretly watching the good ole boob tube. So watcha watching? What is the dumbest, most senseless, mind numbing show you just have to tune into every week?

For me it is It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. That show is so freaking funny, I about crack a rib every week when I watch it. It is so sick that the parental controls on my TV actually request the code more than once during the program. It is also the most politically incorrect show ever created. If you thought Archie Bunker was bad, try watching a show where they routinely break all of the rules.

I cant actually say what happened on the show this week, but hunting humans, the morgue, t-bagging, homeless people, cannibals, Rambo, raccoons, monkeys, and a hot plate all came into play. Just let your imagination go and try to wrap your brain around all of that. Oh and Danny Devito. Come on, how can you resist anything that Danny Devito is in?

The List

This is a pretty cool meme that I got from Leeann and Gina. Looked like fun so I thought I would play along.

Bold or color the things you have already done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance(rode along with my sister when she was hit by a car)
47. Had your portrait painted(does a caricature count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person(I flew over it)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Lobster, crabs, etc.)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

How about you? How many have you completed?

What a week!

OK, so needless to say, I am quite disappointed by the results of the election. That said, I am hoping and praying that I was completely wrong and that Obama is not actually going to be the ruination of our country. I really do hope I am wrong and that his plan to "change" the country actually turns out to be the kind of "change" I want. Not very hopeful but bottom line is he is our president elect and unless I want to move out of the country, I may as well get on board and support him. Or try to. Anyhoe, time will tell...OK so lets move on, shall we?

Between kids and school and well, life, things have been a little bit crazy around here. But I think we are over the hump and things will get better. My goal is once again to try to get a little more organized. In an effort to be more organized, we spent a couple of hours today cleaning out and inventorying our freezers. I have a boat load of meat and frozen veggies in there so I plan to try to eat out of the freezer for a few weeks at least. I also want to make some soup because it is getting cold again and nothing is better than a steaming hot bowl of homemade soup when it is cold out. So there you have it!

So on to my menu for the week.

Monday: spaghetti, meat sauce, garlic bread
Tuesday: Breaksfast for dinner-french toast, bacon, eggs
Wed: tuna casserole
Thursday: meat loaf, mashed potatoes
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: pork chops, scalloped potatoes
Sunday: Moms house

Who are you Obama?

This is a great video that really does say it all.

Are you ready?

With only 6 days left to go before we vote, thngs are not looking great for McCain. Which has me worried, very very worried. Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would choose to vote for Obama. I mean, really. All you have to do is a little bit of research and you will see how scary a choice he truly is. And I know, you say you watch the news and watch the View and you feel informed. Well, if your watching network news, reading liberal newspapers and watching shows like Saturday Night Live or The View for your news, you are not informed. You are brainwashed. That said, just read the following article. It pretty handily sums up Obamas socialist plans and why they wont work.


Defining Problems With Socialism For The Post-Cold War Generation
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Monday, October 27, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Election '08: John McCain has finally called Barack Obama's agenda by its proper name. But if he assumes voters understand what he means when he uses the word "socialism," he assumes too much.
IBD Series: The Audacity Of Socialism
To slap a label on it isn't enough. Sadly, most people under 60 in this country went to schools and universities where socialism isn't considered a bad thing.
McCain has to educate them about what socialists believe and how they want to rebuild "the world as it should be," as Obama quotes his socialist hero, Saul Alinsky.
In this final week of the campaign, McCain should draw contrasts between socialism and capitalism and free enterprise. He should also explain in detail what economic freedoms are at risk if liberal socialists get their way in reshaping the country from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
McCain has smartly seized on Obama's revealing side-comment to Joe the Plumber about his plan to "spread the wealth around." The GOP hopeful says it smacks of socialism, and he's right. But socialist sympathizers in the punditry have pooh-poohed his sound bites as passe or even racist.
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, for example, argued that socialism no longer has the evil connotation it had during the Cold War, when the right used it to bludgeon the left. Kansas City Star columnist Lewis Diuguid, meanwhile, dismissed the "socialist" label as merely a "code word for black."
Many economists would equate what Obama has in mind with socialism. Among them is the late F.A. Hayek, a one-time socialist, who wrote a book on the dangers of socialism titled "The Road to Serfdom." When it debuted in the final days of WWII, socialism unambiguously meant the state control of the means of production and central economic planning.
But decades later, in a new preface, the Nobel Prize winner wrote that "socialism has come to mean chiefly the extensive redistribution of incomes through taxation and the institutions of the welfare state." Yes, that's Obama's economic plan.
He concluded that even this softer socialism means reduced economic liberties, opportunities and living standards for all.
According to Marxist theory, socialism is the stage between capitalism and communism where private wealth is distributed for the benefit of all. It's a romantic notion because hardly anyone is willing to share their wealth with strangers.
So to get from theory to practice, force must be used. Wealth must be taken by the state — and not by a faceless bureaucratic machine, but rather by flawed humans with their own selfish ambitions and ulterior motives. They decide who gets what, taking cuts for themselves and their cronies in the process.
Think ex-Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and ACORN.
Socialism is centralized power. That's why socialist movements, which often begin as cults of personality, usually end in fascism. Witness Stalinism, Maoism, Castroism — and, yes, Nazism, which, as Hayek noted, stands for "National Socialism."
Again, almost every major society that started with socialism has ended badly. Socialism has been refuted repeatedly, yet that hasn't stopped neo-Marxists — hiding now behind the title "community organizer" — from dreaming their dreams of collective sacrifice for collective good.
They see capitalism with its profit motive as vulgar and immoral because it's at odds with altruism — the idea that the general welfare of society is the proper goal of individuals.
What they fail to realize is society is the greatest beneficiary of our system of rational self-interest. The poorest of the poor and the laziest of the lazy still benefit from the genius of the entrepreneur and the risk-taking of the venture capitalist.
Almost every modern-day invention, from lifesaving drugs to computer software, was inspired by profit, not public welfare. Yet everyone shares in the greater efficiencies, cost savings, life expectancies and job opportunities created by the inspiration and perspiration of money-hungry individuals.
No system in history has created more wealth, per capita, over a shorter time than unbridled American capitalism.
In fact, America has led what economist Angus Maddison calls the "capitalist epoch" — a 17-decade period in which workers saw their hours cut in half and life expectancy doubled. In a seminal study last decade, Maddison calculated the aggregate output and population growth in the U.S. and 15 other advanced capitalist nations since 1820. He found a 14-fold explosion in combined per capita product, dwarfing the living standards of communist and other nations.
Ignoring this history, the left uses the current financial crisis to redefine capitalism as "dangerous" to the welfare of mankind, and to justify greater government economic controls.
"Market capitalism is a dangerous tool, like a machine gun or a chainsaw or a nuclear reactor," former Clinton budget chief Alice Rivlin last week told Democratic Rep. Barney Frank's finance committee. And she's a moderate in her party.
The left wrongly asserts that unregulated capitalism caused the financial crisis; in fact, government overregulation of banks distorted market incentives and corrupted capitalism.
Wielding a socialist-inspired cudgel called the Community Reinvestment Act, government forced banks to make loans to uncreditworthy minorities who couldn't repay them.
It didn't matter that banks weren't racist. The assumption was they might be, and it was government's role to enforce "fairness." The same assumptions are made about the rich.
"The problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed are . . . rooted in societal indifference and individual callousness — the desire among those at the top of the social ladder to maintain their wealth and status whatever the cost," Obama wrote in his 2006 autobiography. "Solving these problems will require changes in government policy."
In other words, people get rich on the backs of the poor, even take from the poor. It's therefore up to the state to take from the rich and give to the poor. In a feudal or colonial society, such a sentiment might be noble. But capitalism is a system in which one person lives well and another person lives better.
The idea that whole classes of people are exploited or oppressed in this country is a figment of the left's class-obsessed imagination. And it's refuted by Federal Reserve data showing constant income mobility even between the lowest and highest quintiles. Policy shouldn't be built on such fantasy.
Still, Obama insists that spreading the wealth is "good for everybody." But as the rich shelter capital or reduce their work to avoid higher taxes, all Obama will end up "spreading" is poverty and all he'd redistribute is more power to Washington.
He argues that raising taxes is not socialism, and he's right: By itself, it is not. But it is socialism when the motive is "for purposes of fairness," as Obama explains it, which is simply class-warfare jargon for punishing the rich.
"Was John McCain a socialist when he opposed the Bush tax cuts?" Obama asks. No, McCain wanted spending cuts first. His motive was fiscal restraint, not restraint on society's most productive members. Obama further argues that redistributing wealth to the needy is better than redistributing it to greedy bankers as the Bush administration has done. Actually, both policies are wrong, since both favor groups over individuals.
Obama denies having socialist designs. But it's no coincidence he virtually always votes with socialist pal Bernie Sanders, as the two most liberal members of the Senate.
Nor is it a coincidence that nearly all of Obama's mentors and close advisers supported Marxism, including: James Cone, Dwight Hopkins, Jeremiah Wright, Frank Marshall Davis, Jim Wallis, John McKnight, Cornel West and William Ayers.
It's also no coincidence that Obama devoted his first memoir to the memory of his late father, a communist, who proposed massive taxes and redistribution of income in Kenya.
"What is more important is to find means by which we can redistribute our economic gains to the benefit of all," wrote Barack Hussein Obama Sr., a Harvard-educated economist, in a 1965 policy paper. "This is the government's obligation."
Make no mistake: Sen. Obama isn't a liberal in the tradition of Jimmy Carter or John Kerry. He envisions a bloodless socialism, where IRS agents take wealth and where the Justice Department dictates contracts between labor and management.
But while force isn't used for murder, it's force nonetheless. And it does violence to the American promise of a right to pursue your own life, your own riches and your own happiness without government interference. America promises a chance at success, yet Obama and other neo-Marxists twist that to mean America guarantees success through equal outcomes, and that it's government's role to do the equalizing.
"What would help minority workers," Obama wrote in 2006, "are tax laws that restore some balance to the distribution of the nation's wealth."
"It may sound noble to say, 'Damn economics, let us build up a decent world,' but it is, in fact, merely irresponsible," Hayek wrote. "Our only chance of building a decent world is that we can continue to improve the general level of wealth."
If Obama wins, he can claim a national mandate for his socialist agenda. If he gets a filibuster-proof majority of Democrats in the Senate, he might get major planks in that radical agenda passed in the first 100 days. It's shaping up as a battle between those who create wealth and those who loot it.

Menu plan Monday and a contest

This fab family is having a terrific fundraiser with great prizes. Just check out her site. They are trying to raise funds to bring their son Owen home from China. So go to her site, enter and help them out in the process. And hey, if you win, share the love OK?





OK, so on to My menu. It is not very exciting but whatev.



Monday: crock pot chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, corn

Tuesday: spaghetti and italian sausage

Wed: chicken fajitas, red beans and rice

Thursday: cheeseburgers, oven fries

Friday: Halloween party at our house so all kinds of goodies!

Saturday: Halloween party at a friends house!

Sunday: Road trip to Baltimore so dinner at Moms.

Aunt Jane

My aunt passed away last night. She was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. She had surgery but never really recovered from the surgery. I have to hope she is in a better place now.

In some ways she had a pretty sweet life. Never had to work. Never had to worry about money, a roof over her head, etc. But in other ways, her life was somewhat rough. She was retarded. Born premature she received too much oxygen and it rendered her brain damaged. Or that is the theory. So she stopped developing intellectually at around age 12. Maybe a little younger. Part of her knew that she was different. I think that is the saddest thing of all. When a person is retarded and they don't realize they are different, they just lead this happy go lucky life. But when they are intellectually there enough to know that they are retarded, they always have that hanging over their head. Jane knew she was different. It frustrated her. So in that respect, she had a rough life.

I just hope that now she is with her parents in heaven and as Mike said, her heaven is probably just like Disney World (a place she was looking forward to visiting again this spring). At Disney she would ride the boat across from Ft. Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom All - Day - Long . She never tired of it and she would talk to everyone she met. She loved everything Disney. In fact, last Christmas I gave her a toaster. It was a Disney toaster. The toast would cook and Mickey Mouse would be cooked onto the toast and when the toast popped up, it would play that song from the Mickey Mouse Club. "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me. M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E". Anyway, I think that toaster may have been her prized possession. My mother told me one day she was at the doctors and she told the doctor or a nurse that she has a toaster and it talks to her. My mother said they were like, O.....K..... They must have thought she was a nut job. But her toaster really did talk to her!


Jane could be quite frustrating at times. Much like your average 12 year old. But she had a heart of gold. She loved her nieces and nephews and she crocheted every single one of us blankets. They were often crazy blankets. Too long and skinny, crazy colors, etc. But they keep us warm and we loved her for them.

Another hobby of Jane's was taking pictures. She captured all of us over the years. Many times completely off center or minus the tops of our heads. But she got pictures at times when no one else was taking them. So we are grateful for those pictures she snapped through the years.


A couple of years ago she met a man at an adult daycare place she was going to. We did not care for that guy too much. He was, well he was just weird. But Jane loved him and we knew it was good for her to have someone like him in her life. They would spend lots of time together. They had a standing date every weekend at the Baltimore Harbor where they would "greet" the tourist. I am thinking they may have scared some tourist away. But she loved people and loved talking to them. I have no doubt she is probably in heaven taking a boat back and forth between the pearly gates and the check-in point for newcomers. And she will be there greeting all of us when we get to heaven.

We will miss you Jane but we will see you again. Love you!

Menu Plan Monday...a day late. Sue me

OK, so I have not been blogging lately. Too much going on. Sick relatives, kids, school, midterms. It is all a little too much. I can't guarantee I will be any better in the future but oh well. Here is my menu a day late.

Monday: Spaghetti with sausage
Tuesday: Beef tips, mashed potatoes, corn
Wed: chicken in crock pot, beans, mashed potatoes or cous cous
Thursday: hot dogs, homemade mac and cheese and sugar beans
Friday: homemade pizza-cheese and pepperoni for kids, veggie for me and everything for mike
Saturday: steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, peas
Sunday: artichoke chicken, angel hair pasta, spinach (also this is Brooks 10th birthday so cake too)!

Menu Plan Monday

Here we go again. This week is going to be a b----h. I have midterms this week and well, lets just say I am not happy about it. Math just sucks. I just do not get it. I am awe of people who actually get math. Why can't I remember this crap? Why do the formulas not stick in my mind? OK, so we have determined that I am math deficient. Whatever.... But that does mean that meals this week are subject to change and are going to be, well, easy. Quick. Maybe even a little bit boring. What can I say? It is what it is...

Monday: Spaghetti and Italian sausage
Tuesday: manwich, oven fries
Wed: crock pot chicken, potatoes, beans
Thursday: potatoes and kelbasa
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: steak and shrimp (held over from last week) (again)
Sunday: going to a crab feast

Today I had a Tastefully Simple party. It was lots of fun. If you want to order anything, feel free to follow this link to place an order. It will be delivered right to you and I will get credit. Hey, pretty good right? Anyway, lots of good stuff so if you are a Tastefully Simple lover, check out their new Fall line of products. They are delish!

https://pomm.tastefullysimple.com/pomm/loginhost.aspx?pxid=167104&key=962436eb-22c0-4f18-8d99-0ca57913d84f

Menu Plan Monday!

Woo hoo! I am actually managing to post this on a Monday. I think I deserve a prize for that. Or a pat on the back. Or a virtual high five. Or something... Anyway, here ya have it.

Monday: Balsamic chicken and cous cous (held over from last week)

Tuesday: hot dogs, mac and cheese, sugar beans

Wed: pork chops, apple sauce, green beans, potatoes

Thursday: chicken cacciatore in crock pot, salad

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: steak, shrimp, salad, baked potatoes(held over from last week)

Sunday: Tastefully simple party so some sort of chicken in the crock pot. Not sure what yet.

Water

Check out this video. It is an amazing fountain in Japan that is a referred to as a smart fountain. I would have to say I agree. Check it out, it is way cool!

Menu Plan Monday....er Tuesday...

Once again I neglected to post this on a Monday but oh well. What the heck. Better late than never.

Monday: Homemade spaghetti and meatballs (prepared in crock pot) and zucchini
Tuesday: Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wed: Pioneer woman enchiladas and red beans and rice
Thursday: pretzel sandwiches from school fundraiser, soup
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: steak n shrimp, baked potatoes and salad
Sunday: balsamic chicken, cous cous, spinach

Letter to Barbara Walters

Dear Barbara,

I am so very disappointed with you, Barbara, for your recent behavior on the view. In particular, the way you hammered on John McCain as if you absolutely HATE him. What is up with that? You are supposed to be a seasoned, professional journalist. Not another Joy. I mean, from people like Joy and Rosie, we expect this sort of unprofessional behavior but from you? I will not be watching the View any more. I really think you all need to take a step back and reevaluate how you are acting. Whether you are for McCain or not, you are not supposed to be so unprofessional that you treat him with such disdain. I can only imagine the uproar that would be caused if you would have treated Obama that way. Which, of course you did not. You all practically got down on your hands and knees in praise of him. And by the way, I thought Elisabeth as usual showed great professionalism as did Sherri. You could learn a thing or two from them.


If you missed the View that day (lucky you), here is the segment I am referring to.


Now whether you like McCain or not, you have to admit they were pretty unprofessional. Barbara couldn't even bring herself to LOOK at him!

Ok, so in contrast, here is how Obama was treated on the View. Intersting isn't it?



I seriously doubt that I will get a response from anyone at the View, but if I do, I will be sure to post it here.

Menu Plan Monday!

I know, I know...It has been awhile since I posted my menu. Not because I have not been making a menu. Yea, I have to make one or else I totally will end up serving hot dogs every night or will order out. Seriously. I have to have a menu to stay on track. But lately it has been just boring. Well, it is always somewhat boring. I am quite frankly, sick of cooking, sick of planning meals. In fact, nothing really tastes very good to me. But of course I still manage to eat just fine thankyouverymuch. So anyway, here ya go. In all its glory!



Monday: Crock pot chicken, corn, potatoes, green beans

Tuesday: chicken soup(from leftover chicken) and grilled cheese (unless it is freaking hot, then, I don't know)

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner-french toast, bacon-peaches

Thursday: teriyaki chicken, rice, salad

Friday: homemade pizza

Heard around the dinner table...

OK, so we are eating a nice dinner. Just Mike and I and the boys. Caitey is at a friends. Lucky her. So we are watching the National Geographic channel about time travel. Nice and educational so we allowed them to keep the TV on while eating. So, the nice educational show about time travel ends and some show called Taboo comes on. The show today(this is the first time I have actually watched this) was about strange food people eat. So what is the strangest food you can imagine eating? Well, imagine you are in China, (I know, those Chinese eat anything) What would be the strangest thing you could imagine to eat? If you said cat, well you would be wrong. No, these crazy Chinese eat none other than penis! Yes, penis. Dog, sheep, even, well, I don't even want to think about all the different penises they were serving up(none human thank you very much!) but they did show how they skin them and burn the hair off. Eek!

So you are wondering what was said while watching this? Well, I will tell you. My son asks,in all seriousness, "I wonder in what part of the world they eat vagina's?" Ack! lol

Yup, dinner at the Rogers. Always interesting conversation.

How many books have you read?

Found this awesome meme on Growing Up Mo

How many have you read?? I have read 42 and tried a couple more but couldn't get into them.

Apparently, the National Endowment for the Arts believes that the average American has read only 6 of the books on the list below. I find that hard to believe!


1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.

2) Italicize those you intend to read.

3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE

4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien -I tried to like this book but couldn't finish it.

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series-I read the first two and lost interest after that.

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger-I have this one in my pile of to be read books.

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams-another book in my pile to be read

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert-I may have read this but cant remember...

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Give a little, get a lot

It is interesting how a little idea can grow into something really huge. It is also wonderful how a small donation, can change or even save a life. Check out this group. It is really something else and it is a place where you can truly make a difference. And the best part is, it wont hurt a bit. Just cut out those expensive starbucks this month. That's it. Easy!

I am happy to say my kids have all decided that since they don't have September birthday's, we will just take $33.00 that we would have spent on their gift, and donate it instead. I think they came up with a pretty great idea.







The September Campaign Trailer - www.borninseptember.org from charity: water on Vimeo.

Remembering...

Remembering what happened on 9/11/2001 is not something any of us really wants to do. It is way too sad and terrifying to think about for long. But remember we should because it happened once, it could happen again. Luckily we live in a place that takes these threats seriously and we have armed forces, police and firemen; friends and neighbors, sons and daughters, who are willing to lay down their lives to protect us and our families. So lets not forget what happened those short years ago and let us remember to thank the soldiers and public servants who risk their lives for ours, on a daily basis.

A good day

Yesterday, my family and I had the great fortune to attend the McCain-Palin meeting in Lancaster, PA. I was very happy to have been able to snag tickets, especially after I got there and saw hundreds?? of people standing in line hoping that they would be able to get in

(they were not lucky enough to get tickets). It was standing room only, which pretty much sucked as we were standing for hours, squashed together like sardines. Think mosh pit without the music. But it was all worth it in the end.

We were a few people back from the front and we were positioned front and center of the podium. So we had a great spot. But Brooks being short, couldn't see a thing. So I told him to just crawl between people's legs until he got to the front. Because he is so little, he wasn't blocking anyones view and a nice lady took him under her wing and let him stand in front of her. Which was wonderful because he was able to not only shake the hands of John McCain, Sarah Palin and Todd Palin, he also got his picture taken by a photographer and Sarah told him he was a little sweetheart. Which was very sweet of her.

The meeting itself was more of a rally so it was not exactly what I was expecting(it was supposed to be a Town Hall Meeting which is much better) but it was still exciting and great to hear them in person once again.

OK so I am not going to expound on the message of the meeting, you all have heard it before. Nah, I am going to keep it light.

First, Sarah Palin is beautiful. I thought she was attractive on TV but in person, she is a real knock out.

Todd on the other hand is a hottie. Really. She is very lucky to have such a handsome man by her side.

John, well lets face it, he is an older man and I wouldn't necessarily say he was hot anymore, very distinguished maybe, but not a hottie. I do however, think looking at the pictures of his youth, that he was a very handsome man.

I was incredibly impressed by the fact that John McCain reached back 4 or 5 people deep to make some sort of contact with people in the crowd. Now for anyone, that is a very nice thing. And I have no doubt that all politicians would try to do the same thing. But the fact that he can not lift his arms up easily makes me wonder if all of that reaching into the crowd with crazy people grabbing at him, isn't somewhat painful. Or at the very least a little bit scary. But he did his best to make eye contact with everyone and show his appreciation for their support.

After the meeting/rally, the kids were full of excitement over the experience and they were quite thrilled to be able to say that they have met George W. Bush, John McCain and Sarah Palin. Pretty cool!

Oh and we were also interviewed by a reporter for Fox Philadelphia. If you fast forward to the end, you will see yours truly.

Here are a few pictures Brooks took.

Brooks self portrait.

Pride

I have not kept secret the fact that I am a conservative and that I am a McCain/Palin supporter. In fact, it is no secret that I really do not care for Obama at all. Well, maybe I think he is a smart guy. And I agree that he is probably a good person that wants his view of what is best for the country. I also know that many people are supporting him simply because he is a democrat-because many people will not cross party lines, no matter what. I have in the past so I do not fall in that category-I know, hard to believe. I also believe that many are voting for him simply because he is black. I mean, I heard one poll was that he has like 90 something approval ratings from black Americans. So that right there must tell you they are voting for him because he is black.

Yesterday, I worked for a friend. It was at a community fair for Labor Day. They have a concession trailer and I often help out. At this fair, which was held in the city, there were a lot of Oboma supporters. In fact, they were there registering voters. One thing that struck me as I observed them is they are proud. They gladly put Obama stickers on their toddlers t-shirts. I saw that they were happy. They were excited. And that, believe it or not, made me happy for them. I really am glad to see that black Americans have a black man running for president. It is a huge thing for them. They have a really good, positive role model, that isn't a sports hero, for their children to look up to. So it made me really happy to see so much excitement about this election. So many people handing out stickers and fliers to support their man. Now don't misunderstand, I still do not feel he is the best man for the job, I wont be crossing party lines for this election. But I am happy that we can say that there really is no racism in this country. Sure you have your pockets of idiots but if a black man can be nominated to hold the highest office in the country (world), then how can it be said that white Americans are racist?

Michael Moore...A freaking idiot

Just when I thought there was no way Michael Moore could top himself in the stupid comment category, he went and did it anyway! I mean, what is wrong with this guy? He has got to be about the stupidest person on earth. Plus, lets face it, he is just gross. Here is what he recently had to say....

“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”

Whatever! Read it for yourself. I am sure all of the people running for their lives trying to get away from Gustav really appreciate his wit. Not!
http://http//www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080830000004.aspx

Yes!

I am so so so happy right now! Never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that John McCain would pick Sarah Palin as a running mate but he did and wow! What a great choice. I just can't even express what this means to me as a woman and what it will ultimately mean for our country. These are two of the most moral and upstanding individuals to lead our country. Hang on to your hats people, we are about to embark on the ride of our lives!

It's that time again...

Yup, it is that time again, the beginning of a new school year. Now if I were a normal parent, or at least one with half a brain, I would be rejoicing about the fact that my kids are about to go off to school which would leave me with a lot of free time and peace and quiet. But nope, I chose to drop out of college and get a job and ultimately married. Shortly after marrying, I started breeding and well, that leads to now. Now I am the mother to three kids and a college student. This leads to some issues that complicate my life. For one thing, unless you are on welfare, college is damn expensive. So not only are we forking out thousands a year for kids activities, clothes and well, food, we are also paying for my education. If I had half a brain, I would have "let" my parents pay for it. Another complication is time. I just do not have any real free time anymore. School takes way too much effort and energy. Oh I know, it will be worth it in the end *sure, then I get to go to WORK!* Yea, totally worth it. But the pay check will be good especially since it will come just when my oldest are ready to start college. So yea, I need to do this but man, it is really a bitch. Especially the math. I am just math retarded. I don't know why, mental block? But I just can not seem to get algebra. I thought last year I had taken my last algebra class but no, I am now required to take Algebra 103 which totally sucks. My prof told us yesterday that if you received a c in the previous algebra class, only 8% of those people taking this class will pass. SO, since I was GRATEFUL for the C I got in the last class I guess I will be rejoicing to even pass this one. Grrr!!!! If anyone has any helpful suggestions for doing better or even just understanding algebra, I would love to hear from you. I have a feeling I may be taking this class again in the Spring. Which will NOT make me very happy.

Oh! And I almost forgot, I am also on a diet! I mean, I am freaking starving myself (not really but since I am not eating any junk food AT ALL, I feel like I am starving). Now don't you feel sorry for me? I know I do.

Getting with it

People, I am so out of shape! I mean, seriously. I really need to get my act together. Mike finally bought that treadmill that he wanted. It was $1999.00 reduced to $949.00. So he got it and I plan to walk on it as well but when we were looking at treadmills, I kind of fell in like (not love because hello, it is still exercise) with a recumbent bike. So after debating it, researching them, etc. I decided to bite the bullet and buy one(it was only $179.00 and I had a $20.00 off coupon so really $159.00). I got it last night and after almost 2 hours spent putting the damn thing together, I went to bed. Ha! You thought I was going to say I took it for a spin right? Really, you don't know me at all. Anyway, I did take it for a stationary spin today and my lord! It is not so easy. After the first mile I thought I was going to die so I decided to stop there lol. I am letting my muscles recover and then I will try again. Maybe not going uphill this time. I am thinking I should start out a little slower. But it felt good and my butt did not hurt at all. So my goal is to either walk or ride at least 30 minutes 5 days a week and hopefully work up to an hour 3-5 days a week. I read that if you ride for 1 hour you can burn 1000 calories. That is pretty darn good. Plus it said that the recumbent bike works the same muscles as if you were doing squats so heck, that is a very good thing without the knee stress. So what do you do for exercise?

Superstar!~

So I know I told you I was busy watching the Olympics this week, and I am. But I did take a little break today to go see John McCain in York, Pa. Now I have to admit he was not my first choice to represent the party, but my opinions about him have changed. He really is someone to be proud of. The sacrifice he made for our country is well, amazing. I also realized today that he is damned funny. I mean, really funny. It was a pleasure to be there and be able to listen to him speak and listen as he answered audience questions in a thoughtful and engaging manner. I would encourage everyone to give him a chance and really listen to what he has to say. He seems to be very sincere and really, his experience speaks volumes to me. So I am quite glad I chose to leave my Olympics for a few hours and got to meet, in person, and shake his hand, the future President of the United States. That is why I am.....A....Superstar!(at least in my own mind) Amen.

Forgive me?

Forgive me for not being around much. I am very busy. Very busy indeed with......The Olympics! I totally love the summer games so I will be busy with gymnastics, and swimming, and soccer, and well, just about everything. So catch you later alligator.

Monday Monday........

It is Monday and we are home. All of our travelling is for the most part, over for this summer. And while I had a great time on vacation, there is always some sort of relief to be had to have it over with. Anyone else feel that way? I mean, all of the saving and planning and packing and driving and stressing about everything sort of puts a slight damper on your vacation. And we were lucky. We didn't forget anything important, we had enough money, everyone stayed safe and no one was sick and the weather was great; so really we were very lucky. But there is still something to be said with being home. So home is where we are. I plan to spend the next few weeks alternating between relaxing by the pool, preparing for my classes to start, reading trashy novels, organizing stuff around the house, sleeping a little later, maybe painting mine and Brooks bedroom, staying up a little later, canning some fresh peaches, etc.... The list could go on and on but you get the picture. I don't want to be a complete sloth so I am going to try to mix some productive stuff in with my relaxing. Oh, and I almost forgot, I also want to start working out again. So there ya have it!

On to Menu Plan Monday....

Guess it is time to get back to a schedule of some sort for meals.

Monday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, zucchini or salad
Tuesday: Pork chops, scalloped potatoes, apple sauce, spinach
Wed: Roast beef, slaw, mashed potatoes
Thursday: manwhich, oven fries
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: BBQ chicken, corn on cob, spinach salad
Sunday: leftovers

Alive!

Yea, I am still alive and kicking. We just got back from a 2 week trip to Chincoteague Va which is absolutely one of the most glorious places on earth. Or at least on the East coast. We spend just about every single day at the beach. The waves were huge and actually, a little scary at times, but the weather couldn't be any better. Sunny and warm every day. When we weren't on the beach, we were on the boat or exploring Assateague Island clamming, fishing and crabbing. Lets just say we had our fill of seafood and well, the sea. No, that isn't actually true, I could have stayed there another few weeks, or days at least.

Got home on Monday and spend the day doing laundry. Camping with 6 people for 2 weeks generates a boat load of dirty clothes. Brooks and Caitey went to North Carolina to visit their cousins for the week so I just have Mikey here. He is a huge help and managed to get the Denali cleaned out(a boat load of sand) and cut the grass. So I rewarded him with a movie. We saw the Happening which was OK.

Today we went to a local farm market Roots, where I bought some fresh produce including some delicious blueberries which I used to make jam. I never made blueberry jam before and it turned out really well. I was a little worried because I cut the sugar in half but it all set up well and is definitely sweet enough.

Tomorrow I am getting a hair cut and packing for a weekend trip to North Carolina to pick up the kids.

Here are some pics of our vacation. Enjoy!

Brooks looking like Mr. Sunshine...

Not the best picture of Mikey but at least he is looking at the camera. It's the little things that excite me....Mr. Sunshine and his cousin. He was not happy about stopping to get a picture taken. Brat!


Can you believe we let all of the kids get on this? It went upside down and was one of those rides where when it was over, I was actually relived that they made it through alive. Wouldn't you know that as soon as it was over the little buggers ran right back on? Brats! After about 3 or 4 consecutive rides, they were all feeling a little sick so we called it a day.

Caitey looking all beachy and pretty with her tan.

Menu Plan Monday

Ok, I realize it has been awhile since I last posted. I was just really busy with Caitey going to Creation, planning a dinner party with friends, going to a crazy hill billy 4th of July party, then going to a somewhat more normal 4th of July party, going boating, swimming, eating and drinking way too much food/alcohol and working. Oh and we are getting ready to go away for a couple of weeks so I am planning, packing, shopping, etc. for all of that. So yea, crazy stuff going on around here but it is all par for the course. Summertime.

This week I am going to try to keep things simple since I am packing for our trip. We leave on Thursday and I am actually planning meals for this week but aso the following 10 days while we are away camping. Anyway, here it is, our menu for the next few days. I doubt I will be updating much before we leave but there are some fun pics I need to share. Just need to get around to it. which could be a problem. So maybe I will update and maybe you will just have to wait. All three of you. lol

Monday: spaghetti with meat sauce and fried zuccini
Tuesday: Whole roasted beer up the butt chicken, salad, corn
Wed: BBQ sausage and potatoes
Thursday: steak, potatoes, corn
Friday: BBQ chicken, salad
Saturday: manwich sandwiches, potato chips
Sunday: sausage and peppers
Monday: Pizza
Tuesday: pork tenderloin, potatoes, mixed grilled veggies
Wed: chicken and pasta salad
Thursday: eat out at boarwalk in OC
Friday: seafood
Saturday: leftovers, soft crab sandwiches, oysters etc.(at carnival)
Sunday: on way home probably mcdonalds