my view on politics...

Local politics versus national politics- you can have both!, I can't take the mud slinging that goes on within a political party never mind what happens between the 2 opposing parties. My son loves all of this political who-ha where as I prefer to read a good book, work in the garden or to watch a movie on DVD. I'd sooner wash the cat or learn how to change the oil in my car before I got sucked into watching any of that political garbage that my son seems so drawn into.

Now for me to get on with my 3 day weekend, hopefully one that's free of political discussion.


The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
~Larry Hardiman

Quote of the Day

Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense. ~Gertrude Stein (1874 - 1946)

foreseeing the future...

With the Democratic National Convention now over I can only imagine the who-ha that is about to start with the Republican National Convention. Our teenage son (whom we predict will have a career in politics) has been glued to the Television and has listened to everything Obama and McCain has said. Andrew was over joyed by Obama's choice of VP. Andrew has done his home work on this election- I think my 16 year old son would be a HUGE asset to the Obama campaign in getting his message across to young first time voters.

My friend Cindy has a son who is into politics just like our Andrew. We're going to get these boys together to talk about this campaign, this should be great! (insert parent laughter here) We (Cindy and I) had a good chuckle at lunch yesterday. Our sons are so similar, both being glued to the TV with this campaign, talking about foreign and domestic policies, and the similarities between the two go deeper than their like of politics. They have similar likes and dislikes in school too. Even though they are a few years apart in age, I think that both of our sons have a future in politics, be it as political advisers, political annalists or as members of congress or even in the senate. Both wanting a better America.

I'm always telling my children that they can be anything that they want to be when they grow up. Andrew has always had such a strong sense of what is right and wrong. I could see this in him from such an early age. Hannah is much like that too, but a little more carefree and not so uptight, LOL! I can see Hannah going to MIT, Harvard or even Boston University and having an engineering degree. Andrew, I now see him going to UC Berkeley, having a political science degree, LOL!

Quote of the day

Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962)

A Clean Home is a Happy Home

...Okay so for me that's true,since I don't know how anyone else feels on the subject, but it's true for me. Yes, I do happen to know of 4 different women of my acquaintance that are quiet content to sit in the middle of a chaotic mess and read a book, or work on some sort of crafting project. Oh my gosh, when things aren't where they're supposed to be, I think that I start to develop some sort of a twitch and then I have to get up and start organizing and cleaning.

Now sometime between your teenage messy years and becoming an adult this sort of messy behaviour changes, okay for most of us anyway. So here I am scrubbing and cleaning away and my children are looking at me like I'm from Mars. "Mom, why are you cleaning it? it's only going to get dirty again"- "IT" being the bathroom. I shake my head in disbelief at times on the kinds of things my children comment on. Germs, bacteria and then general stinky smell compel me to disinfect and scrub down the bathrooms- if teenagers only realized how bad they smell at the end of the day, LOL!

Here's another funny thing- why is it that kids are happy to have sheets on their beds until they are crunchy from sweat? I'm seriously grossed out with this! It's Friday and I'm finally getting around to changing the sheets on my kids beds- I feel like such a slouch for not getting this done earlier in the week. But alas having a baby here ALL day long 5 days a week makes it nearly impossible to get everything done that you want to get done. And lets face it, things start to get put on the back burner and my kids aren't helping me as much around the house as I'd like them to. I'm tired of having to get on them about cleaning things so I do it myself. I was such a neat freak as a kid/teen and I'm surprised that my kids aren't even a little bit like me in that regard. I'm now beginning to think that my husband was a slob as a teenager, LOL!

I'm going to take before and after pictures of their bedrooms and show it to them...maybe this will wake them up.

Movies...

Did I make you laugh or scratch your head with my quote today? I got a pretty good chuckle out of it myself.

What was the last movie you saw or rented? Last night I laughed like a lunatic it was the most stupid yet funny movie I've seen in ages- Bubble Boy. Depending upon the ages and maturity levels of your kids, you may not want them watching it. The kids and I laughed so hard we almost peed on ourselves! There's some crude humor but of my gosh is it ever FUNNY!!!

I also watched Transformers, that was a fairly intense movie. The part that gets your heart pumping is how all the action first takes place in the gulf- where US service men and women are currently stationed. Anyone ever having a loved one there will immediately bond with this film or at least this part. The movie has fast cars in it, and lots of action- which is why this movie is perfect for teens and men. I liked it even though it wasn't a so called chick flick.

I watched the movie Fear, it came out 12 years ago, but it still will scare the socks and shoes right off of your feet! My heart was pounding and it had me on the edge of my seat! Not a movie to see with your kids that's for sure!

The Jane Austen Book Club- I LOVED that movie! I highly recommend this movie to all of my girlfriends! The movie is about the 6 people in the book club and how their lives are a lot like the books they are reading. You'll be able to pick out the "Emma Woodhouse" and "Fanny Price" characters right away- that is...if you've read all of Jane Austen's books. The ending of this movie was fabulous! It's a must see chick flick! My 13 year old daughter LOVED the movie!

Rent a movie or two this long Labor Day weekend or if you have HBO, Stars or any other premium movie channel on demand check out what they have to offer. Call in a pizza order and watch something funny or not so funny. Having pizza picnic style in front of the TV on the living room floor an old blanket- it's such a great way to reconnect with your kids, your husband or your girlfriends.

Quote of the day

Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.
~Albert Einstein

Quote of the day

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)

too busy for my own good

I've been so darn busy taking care of my friends baby, managing my household, taking care of HOA business, getting all kinds of back to school stuff together for the kids and so forth that I've not sewn or created one darn thing in nearly 2 weeks! Needless to say I'm itching to make something- maybe I'll bake a batch of exotic little cheesecakes :-)

My last day to take care of little Amelia is tomorrow. After that I'm going to be sewing up a storm! I've got at 8 medium sized tote bags ready to be sewn together and put on Etsy for sale. I want take my time and to put together a quality tote bag. Since having a baby here 5 days a week from 7 am until 5:30 pm, well it's put a major cramp in my sewing. By the end of the day I'm just plain beat!

Here's something funny- a good of mine asked me if having a baby in the house 5 days a week has made me want to have a baby of my own. I had to laugh! My reply- "not on your life". Oh my word, having a baby at my age first off as far as I'm concerned, it's not an option! Plus I like the fact that my kids can cook, clean, do laundry, mow lawns, drive a car and I can send them out to buy groceries when needed. I have no desire what so ever of having another child.

I'm off to try to get some work done around this house...the baby is finally sleeping!

Quote of the day

"When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt."
~Henry J. Kaiser

1930's wife test

I got this from Kate's blog (scrapnknit) and I cracked myself up with my test results- enjoy!

111 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Friendship

We secure our friends not by accepting favors but by doing them.
Thucydides (471 BC - 400 BC), Peloponnesian War

Friends are a gift that you give to yourself- I truly believe that with all my heart!

Do something totally unexpected for a friend today! Send them a note via snail mail (USPS) letting them know how much you cherish their friendship. Better yet send a note card that YOU made yourself. Your girlfriends will appreciate the time and effort that you put into making a card just for them. Maybe it's making and giving a set of note cards that they (the gift recipient) can use to write notes to family and friends. It's a gift that could in all reality could -go all around the world- how wonderful!

Quote of the day

"Friendship...is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."
~ Muhammad Ali

testing
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Open House

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter and I went to an "open house". The realtor was showing a new home here in our subdivision. This was a home built by a different contractor than the one who built our home. Nice house on a corner lot, loads of potential. I see the "potential" in just about every home I walk into. I can look past the color of paint on the walls or the kind of carpet on the floors and envision other things-apparently that's a gift and not everyone is capable of looking past "things" when looking at a home. I can look at a poorly landscaped yard and envision rose gardens, wildflower gardens and patio furniture. For the most part I'm an optimist :-)

So as I'm going through this newly constructed house the realtor is telling me-oh this is an extra feature and that is an extra feature, this is only $500 extra and that is only $1,200 extra and to add knobs on the cabinets is only $350 extra. Holy Catfish!!! 99.9% of those "extra" fees are things that new home owners can do themselves and save themselves thousands of dollars off the price of the house. Adding things like phone jacks, cable jacks and extra outlets are things best left to the professionals everything else- DO IT YOURSELF!!!!

There was a fee of over $200 for a simple upgrade on the thermostat the contractor puts into all of the homes. I'm here to tell you it makes good sense to upgrade to a digitally programmable thermostat, that they can save you hundreds of dollars on heating and a/c costs in just the first year. I'm also here to tell you that you can replace that yourself and it'll cost you under $50 to do it! Our friends/neighbors in Virginia were taken in by having the contractor upgrade their thermostat, Jane had to take a half day off from work and paid $350 for the same thermostat we bought and put in ourselves and we paid $39.99 for ours. We immediately saw the savings, Jane and Tim saw savings a year later, they had to get past the $350 point - that they paid for someone else to spend less than 20 minutes total time spent in their house taking out the old thermostat and putting in a new one not to mention that the contractor didn't even give them a fresh battery for the thing! Needless to say our friends Tim and Jane were less than happy with that contractor

Even with the crown moulding on the cabinetry there was something lacking- knobs and drawer pulls. The cabinets were very blonde and to me it looked and felt like they were laminated, the only thing I could see that was maple about them were the doors. The white appliances although they were of good quality, they were giving the kitchen a dated look. Black or Stainless Steel appliances in my honest opinion would have given the kitchen a more modern updated look which is preferred by today's consumer. White is best left for other appliances such as freezers, dryers, and washing machines and even that is questionable.

Home Improvement stores have all kinds of workshops for Home Owners and most of them are FREE! I highly recommend checking them out before you have anything "extra" added by your contractor.

Quote of the day

"Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them".
~Matthias

Ellsworth AFB and Box Elder

We've been stationed out here at Ellsworth since 2003, bought a house in the sleepy town of Box Elder in 2007 and really have come to enjoy this area . Through the process of making friends with such wonderful people like my friend Peg (see her blog in my Blogs of Note) and Joan I've gotten involved in local things like the Central State Fair and the Black Hills Quilters Guild. There are the lovely ladies that I get to hang out with for a few hours once a month in our little crafting group, all are more precious to me then they will ever know.

Most military spouses stick to getting to know other military spouses. Myself, I try to get involved in my local area as much as possible. I want to get to know those around me in my local community, I suppose that makes me a little different.

The little town of Box Elder is growing in leaps and bounds. With 6 new subdivisions having sprung up in the last 3 years. There are 7 subdivisions (that I know of) all of which have new construction going on as I type. There are starter homes being built for those that are purchasing their first home and it goes up from there. Whether you are buying your first home or your 3rd, there's something for everyone in our growing town. The subdivision where I live has a few homes for sale that are "resale" homes. There are 2 houses on my street being offered for sale by military families that have orders to move to another assignment and a 3rd military home owner who plans on renting out his home.

One of the great things about our area is the school district. If it wasn't for the schools, we wouldn't have bought a house in this area. I do feel that our kids are getting a top notch education here. Class room sizes are smaller (in the elementary school it was 16 kids max to a class). That means more time for the teacher to teach versus having to spend that time telling Bobby, Johnny or Suzie to behave. Another plus, we have busing for our high school students! I was so surprised to learn that the Rapid City school district does not bus their high school students. Um hello! Not every parent can afford to have a high school-er driving to school! That to me is just plain nuts! Our teachers actually take the time get to know the kids which I think is great! Even the school bus drivers take the time to get to know the kids on their bus route- another huge plus! The kids that live on base also go to the Douglas Schools. Ever since the birth of our children, where ever we've lived has been all about the schools our children will attend.

I'd highly recommend this area to any newcomer to Ellsworth AFB. There are several housing areas/subdivisions to choose from, some have big houses with big yards and some are smaller starter homes but there is something for everyone that's for sure! I love where I live, it's a great community that's growing. I'm hoping to see more commerce merge into this area. One of my goals is to see a real honest to goodness grocery store open in Box Elder. Not everyone here in Box Elder is military and not every military affiliated person wants to drive on base to pick up groceries- not to mention that the commissary isn't always open at convenient times for people to shop, like before or after work. That's just one of the many things I want to see happen for our little town. Given time I see this town growing in a wonderful way!

Quote of the day

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration."
~ Ansel Adams

Menopause- is it happening to me?

As I read my friend Gina's blog and know what she's been going through, I've come to realize that life is a bit ironic at times. Here I am having some similar issues with my own body, having a period that is now on it's 3rd week, yes I'd say that it's time to call my doctor and make an appointment to be seen.

I've looked up and read extensively on the signs of menopause- Menopause I can't believe that I'm talking about it on my blog. Since there aren't any females relatives for me to talk to about this- my mom had a hysterectomy at 42 and so did my mother-in-law, so they're no good for answering my questions. It's off to the internet -I went in hopes of finding answers for my questions. Well now I'm left with a handful of answers and I know that I need to talk with my doctor who will in turn send me to a gynecologist (or at least I hope that he will). The Chronic Fatigue that I've been experiencing these past few months, yup it's just another one of the 30+ signs of menopause that I've been experiencing- nice huh? Hot Flashes- heck I've been experiencing them for a solid 8 years, nothing new there, LOL! But I've also been experiencing the brittle nails and there are also a few other signs that I have but I won't bother to go into detail , LOL!

Now if anyone who is reading my blog has any information that they think would be helpful please post it me a note on my blogs comment section!

consumer fraud

It took 8 weeks for the replacement of the stone on my wedding ring but now it's back on my hand. The unfortunate part is that I have to take it back as Zales put the wrong stone in my setting. The gem stone they replaced mine with is not of the same GIA standard that I sent out with (even with the chip). Actually, I find myself rather peeved about this entire situation. This should have been checked on many levels before it was given back to me. They (Zales) as according to the replacement insurance policy) was supposed to replace the stone with one of the same quality levels but instead they replaced it with one of a much lesser quality. I know for some a diamond is a diamond so what's the big deal. Read this on the 4 C's of diamonds from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) which will explain a lot more. When you pay for an F quality which is a colorless stone and get an "I" quality which is at the tail end of near colorless scale and in all reality is obviously more yellow than an "F" quality stone well you'd be peeved too. Then there's the clarity, another part where I was given something of much lesser value than what I had brought in, taking in an SI1 and getting in exchange an I2- well that is just not right! My question is this- how many times does something like this go on and the consumer doesn't look at their paper work and takes in on trust or worse the consumer knows they were ripped buff but for whatever reason doesn't say or do anything about it? I'm not one of those consumers that's about to let the big names take advantage of me- I want what I paid for and that's all there is to it. Now another question is this- How long will this take? It took 2 months for the stone replacement the first time around- how long will it take for them to give me the correct stone? Another 2 months perhaps? I'm NOT happy with this situation AT ALL! You know what pissed me off, it was how I was treated when picking up my ring- how the store manager tried to make me feel that I needed to be grateful to her for doing this stone replacement -"Um, hello that's what insurance is all about" and then how she went on and on trying to talk me into buying buying $1,200 diamond earrings telling me to "just charge it, your husband will never know". OMG what a manipulator! Do other people fall for this sort of thing? Sheeesh! I just want the quality of stone that my husband bought for me oh so many years ago- is that such a wrong thing to ask for? I don't think it is.

Quote of the day

I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
Jackie Mason (1934 - )

more back to school shopping...

I've got another title to add to my long list of accomplishments, this one being "Personal Shopper". My son has never really liked to shop for clothes, I think that guys in general just don't care to shop for clothes. So yesterday afternoon after he came home with his list of needed supplies for school, I thought that I would kill 2 birds with one stone and get what he needs at the mall.

Target is one of our big anchor stores along with Sears, JC Penney's and Herberger's. I deem Sears the place to find and purchase the better to best quality men's clothing in this area. I was very pleased to have found some terrific buys on Men's Wear at our local Sears store yesterday. I was able to get a good assortment of polo shirts and other men's wear items for my boy- of which I was prepared to take back anything that he did not like. To my total amazement he LOVED everything! He even gave me a hug and a kiss and thanked me for buying him such nice clothes-WOW! And I didn't even have to hint at him thanking me, LOL! I was able to get all of his school supplies at Target which also made me VERY happy!

Quote of the day

Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of.
Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

Happy 1st day of school!

The long awaited and much anticipated day is finally here- the 1st day of school! From the looks on my children's faces it's obvious who is looking forward to school starting and who is looking forward to it ending.


Andrew just isn't sure.
Hannah's ready to crack open the books and get started!

Quote of the day

The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears.
Ellen Goodman (1941 - )

Boys

There's a saying "There's a special place in heaven for mothers of boys", I can only hope that it's true for my mother-in-laws sake as she raised 4 boys and with her husband that made 5 males and 1 female. I'm sure that the toilet seat was always up too-eeew! Man that had to be rough!

I encouraged my son to invite his friends over for a burger burn- I don't know what I was thinking, LOL! So as the boys are on the deck Andrew is trying to get the grill lit, I HAD to intervene before my son blew up the grill and burnt down the house, LOL! Here's a mistruth "men are the kings of the grill". Who started that saying anyway? I can be sure that it wasn't a woman, okay unless she was being sarcastic which sounds more like it, LOL! As I'm watching these teenage boys grilling burgers coming in asking for all kinds of things- seasoning salt for one (I don't use that stuff since it's filled with MSG and isn't good for you AT ALL). The look on Drew's face was "what? YOU don't have THAT seasoning?". When I tried to explain to him what it was he let let me know that was his Mom's only seasoning at home. Well with that remark I had a quick flash back to my own childhood- you see, it was the only seasoning my mom ever used too- YUCK! I gave the boys my sea salt and pepper grinders and let them "cook" their burgers. In the end I was the one to get the cheese on the patty's, put the meat on the buns and serve them up. It seems that teenage boys quickly lose interest if it can't be done in 2 minutes or less- the time it takes to heat up a hot-pocket in the microwave oven.

All in all, it was a good evening and the guys had fun. Today is the last day of summer vacation as school officially starts tomorrow.

Quote of the day

We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.
Maxwell Maltz, Communication Bulletin for Managers & Supervisors, June 2004

More back to school shopping-ugh!

I've got 2 children, a 16 year old son and a 13 year old daughter. My son is content with me bringing home clothes for him to try on where my daughter wants to try on everything she sees at the store. My son refused to go with us the other day so I'm stuck picking up things here and there for him and hoping that he likes what I picked out. Hannah on the other hand needs a few more items- but they're school supplies not clothing items (thank the Lord).

At my sons request, I'm now on the hunt for the elusive black zip up hoodie sweat jacket. I think that I'll try JC Penney's, I'm hoping that they have them since Kohl's did not (and they usually have everything). Next stop Old Navy and American Eagle Outfitters- these stores sell tons of nice looking clothes that my teenage kids like. My question is this- do I dare bring Hannah in there? If so how much will is cost me? LOL!

Yo quiero Taco Bell?

Science and technology have made our lives so much easier- or so we've been lead to believe (insert small chuckle here). I finally have given up on trying to get my Kodak program back to the "English" version- it's been on Spanish since one of the Kodak Company's so called "up dates" a few years ago. So try as I might, I've decided to throw in the towel and have now given up all hope on ever being able to fix it. So this is where my "Taco Bell" Spanish comes into play- that and the wonderful Spanish/English translation section on my google home page, LOL! Maybe my next digital camera won't give me the migraines that my Kodak one has... I can only hope.

Quote of the day

Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
~Unknown

We've got it pretty good

Lets face it, we've got it pretty good here in the USA. Life in other countries is not as pleasant as it is here. When you consider that girls and women here in the USA are allowed to attend grammar schools and colleges, have careers that are less traditional (race car drivers, fire fighters, and tattoo artists come to mind) and we can say what ever it is on our mind (even in public). Oh yeah we've got it pretty good!

There are countries where girls and women are horriffically beaten, maimed or killed on a daily basis just for turning down a marriage proposal. There are places in the world where we females are treated as such inferior beings that we are valued less than a prized dog or chicken. There's a news story over at Fox News that really brings this tragic reality to the masses. My heart goes out to every single one of these women, all of whom are trying to pick of the pieces of their shattered lives and make a new start on life. My life nor the lives of any woman I know, in no way shape or form mirrors what these women have gone through.

It's reading news stories like this one over at Fox News that has me on my knees thanking the Lord for the life I have here in the USA. Maybe that's part of what makes me be so drawn into community service, the desire to help people be the best that they can be.

Quote of the day

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world".
~Lucille Ball

The "To Do" List

Getting up early and cleaning house was #1 on my "to do" list for today, #2 wash clothing, #3 grocery shopping and #4 set mouse traps in garage and #5 take out the paper recycling.

Well...I got the grocery shopping done, I have 2 skinny chickens baking in the oven, two loads of laundry done with at least 5 more to go, LOL! Mouse traps are set- none of that live trapping stuff here as I want that mouse DEAD! Paper recycling is outta here and I'm rearranging some stuff on a shelf in the office.

Some extra stuff- I've gone through my clothes once more and have decided to part with some skirts and tops, it's part of my purge 2 (or more) for every single clothing item. I'm proud of myself for keeping up with things I started like my 2 for 1 purge of my wardrobe. Now Andrew has some "seeds" for his JROTC clothing drive (whenever that is).

Hannah fell down and hurt her knee this morning. It's quite bruised up and shes in a bit of pain. So it's pamper your daughter time over here with some ice cream, Tylenol and a pedicure. Andrew is off somewhere in the Black Hills hiking with friends. Which leaves us girls hanging out on the sofa folding laundry and watching more Olympic sports on the TV. It is possible to spend quality time with your children and still manage to get your chores done :-)

At the Central States Fair

The first day of the Central States Fair kicked off yesterday. Hannah and I went for a couple of hours to look at all of the exhibits.

One the neatest things I've ever seen was the huge crocheted framed piece- a picture of the Last Supper. I can only imagine the many hours of work that went into making such a lovely work of art. The next one that caught my eye was the orange and black crocheted pumpkin afghan, that was pretty cool!

The quilting division was something to behold- I am in awe at all of the beautiful quilts on display. All I can say is that I aspire to be :-) I had entered 2 items in the quilting division- my chocolate dreams quilt that came in 3rd place in the medium sized quilts and my orange and pink cone-flower quilted table runner that came in 3rd place in table runners. I feel honored to have been awarded a ribbon, especially so with some many wonderful quilted items on display.

On to the Scrapbooking division- it's hard to say what goes through the mind of someone judging the work of another. I know that it must be a very hard job to try and decide who gets top choice and who doesn't. Then there's awarding the Judges Choice awards and the Best in Show awards. I entered several layouts in the various categories, 15 in all. I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the building that held the scrapbooking entries and was surprised to find a small crowd gathered around in that area. Hannah and I wondered and said to one another "what are they all looking at?" we went over to check it out and someone said to me "that's you in that picture, isn't it?". Okay that felt weird, so I replied "excuse me? I'm not sure what you mean"... then I was show what everyone was gathered around- the layout of me and my Dad. It had won the judges choice award. Since it's hidden journaling I had printed it out and had it available for everyone to read in a separate page protector. Needless to say I was quite surprised with the reactions to my layout. It also made my heart soar that I could honor my dad in such a wonderful way!

Quote of the day

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the fine line between sanity and madness gotten finer?
~George Price

never assume anything

Before I begin my story, I have to say that I have been blessed by God with a wonderful daughter. We/I had, um I don't know what to call it beyond an insult beyond all insults- so I'll just tell you what happened...

I went to the Fairgrounds to drop off my entries with Hannah my trusty baby sitting assistant and of course our little charge Amelia. As I'm dropping off my scrapbooking layouts at the judges table one of the sponsors says to me- "Oh is this your grand baby"? I almost died, she was referring to Hannah as being baby Amelia's mother and me as the baby's grandmother. I know that I'm in my 40's but I've never had anyone ever assume or even hint at the very idea that I could be a grandmother, especially since my kids are still in school! If you were to see my willowy thin just turned 13 year old daughter you would laugh at the very thought of the entire conversation. Unbeknown to me, apparently there are a lot of teenage mothers out here in this area- although I've not seen any myself. I had to hold myself back from shedding a few tears at the thought that someone would assume and instantly jump to the conclusion that Hannah was a teenage mother. It took every bit of my being not to jump down this persons throat for assuming such a thing. "I" would have assumed that Hannah was the child's sister before I ever thought that she was the mother. Has everyone gone insane or what?

So what does my daughter do? After we leave the building, she hugs me, tells me she loves me and gives me comfort through some very thoughtful words. She tells me point blank that the woman is an idiot and that I look nothing like a grandmother not to mention that there's no way on this planet that she would ever be a teenage mother. Hannah also reminded me that she hasn't even had her first kiss.

Today, my darling daughter was an awesome source inspiration for me. Telling me that she has been given a most wonderful gift from God- having me as her mother. I have to tell you, I feel that I have truly been blessed by the Lord. With my daughter's assistance, I was able to update my wardrobe with a couple of fresh and groovy new outfits which served as an aid in my recovering from the major shock I had yesterday. I of course, returned the favor and helped her pick out her new school wardrobe, including new shoes ;-). Shopping therapy works wonders!

In case you're wondering... yes, I'm still upset over the fact that this woman thought that my young daughter was a teenage mother. And yes, I'm still peeved at her thinking I was a grandmother too! The nerve of some people! Let this be a lesson to never assume anything!

Clothes shopping weekend- ugh!

Here it is the weekend- WOW the week went by rather quickly! Last night when talking to my son (we were talking about the fact that school starts next week) he told me that summer vacation is not long enough (don't we all think that when we were kids?). I let him know that 3 months is plenty of time to get over whatever trauma he thinks that his teachers did to him during the school year, LOL!

So that leaves me shopping for school clothes with my kids this weekend- ugh! I used to love shopping for school clothes for my children- that was before it became "uncool" to have your Mom picking out your clothes. So Lucien started taking them out for the Back to School stuff and by November/December time frame our kids were wanting "me" their Mom to pick them out jeans and sweaters. Same goes in the spring, it's me then too but then it switches back to the kids wanting to shop with their Dad for their summer clothes- go figure, LOL! I've done it before- brought my camera on one of these shopping expeditions and documented our outing. I've even made a detailed layout about one of our trips- including the pitching a fit scenes of things too tight, too loose or too itchy (I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my face). Now why haven't I shared this layout? Only because my daughter would have a royal cow is I ever posted it to the internet and to preserve our family harmony I have kept it private :-)

But it's things like this that make for great scrapbooking pages- personal ones that you would only share with the person you made the layout about. It's these kinds of personal feelings that should fill your journaling- this is what makes a scrapbook a more than just a lovely coffee table book, it makes it an heirloom. Many years from now when future generations of our family look back through the pages of the many volumes of albums, I hope that they get a good idea of who I was and who my children were when they were younger. I hope that they get to know us through pictures and the journaling- the memories shared will last a lifetime!

Now for me to get it together, to have some more coffee and pour over the sales fliers in today's news paper-wish me luck!

Quote of the day

"That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing".
~Simone de Beauvoir

A "just girls" afternoon

All this week I've been staying up way too late (watching the Olympic Games) and getting up very early- and today well I HAD to take a nap! It was only a half day with my little charge today due to the base wide picnic (of which I did not attend). Amelia's daddy came and pick her up today (she looks so much like him too) which freed up my afternoon. Hannah and I did some "girl stuff", had lunch out at our favorite noodle place Mongolian Grill. If you haven't been you must go! YUMMY food, great service and it's very family friendly too!

After stuffing ourselves with veggies and noodles we went to another favorite store of ours "Someones in the Kitchen". I've been saving up for a special piece of cookware and the sale price on the piece of Le Creuset that I've been wanting was too irresistible to pass up! I love the colors of Le Creuset (it goes so well with my collection of Fiesta ware pottery). Which color did I get? Once I saw the color Kiwi, I knew that it was destined to be in my kitchen! So now here's my newest addition to my kitchen ☺ How can you not be happy when cooking in a pretty pot such as this?

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Last night I went to church to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I know that it's today but our church celebrated it a day early). Our new priest Father José did a wonderful job with his homily, he put his own twist to it and really brought it into perspective for all of us. I enjoy his fresh approach to things and find myself being able to relate to what he says in his homilies. Our parish is blessed to have a man such as Father José as our Priest- it was worth the wait to be able to have a Priest like him lead us, a little flock on the prairie:-)

Olympics- have you been watching?

I've been watching the Olympics every night with my children. It's amazing to watch these athletes from every country in the world who are the best of the best in their sport. We ooh and aah, cheer on our favorites and applaud for the winner. We're cheering for Michael Phelps and hope to see him win a 7th Gold medal in swimming- wouldn't that really be something?!!!

Gymnastics last night all I can say is WOW! Way to Go Nastia Liukin! WooHoo!!! We were on the edge of our seats last night watching the athletes perform their routines. Here's the Summer Games medal stats- USA is in the lead (for now) with 44 medals with China hot on our tails!

Quote of the day

Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings.
- Evan Esar

Picture a Day

Starting in September I'm going to once again pick up my "picture a day" or what others might think of as "a day in my life" kind of album and being working on adding to it's pages. Having gone digital a few years back has made this really easy for me- doing the picture a day thing while using a 35mm camera , well this would have been a tedious task to say the least! Waiting to get the film developed would have put me over the edge, LOL! But the digital age has made this very easy for me plus with my handy dandy little picture printer, I can print out pictures every day and work on my journaling every day. Who knows, I might just back it up and start on the 10th of this month :-) Heaven knows that I have enough pictures!

Quote of the day

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
John Howard Payne (1791 - 1852)

Globe-trotting lawn gnome returns home

I subscribe to a variety of news sources and one of my favorites is Bizarre News. I LOVE this story and I hope that you will too!

--------- Globe-trotting lawn gnome arrives home ----------

GLOUCESTER, England - An English couple said a 10-inch
gnome statue that disappeared from their home has returned
with photos of its travels in 12 countries. Eve and Derrick
Stuart-Kelso of Gloucester said they assumed the 8-pound
leprechaun with a green hat had been stolen 11 months ago
by college students and would never be seen again. To their
surprise, the missing lawn ornament reappeared on their
doorstep Thursday with pictures showing it in front of the
Sydney Opera House in Australia, swimming in the Great
Barrier Reef, atop a glacier in New Zealand, touring the
ruins of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple and visiting other
exotic locations, the Daily Mail reported. The photo album
was accompanied by a note that claimed to be from the gnome
explaining its world tour was a result of "itchy feet."
"I came to the conclusion that the world is a big place
and there is more to life than watching the daily commuter
traffic, and allowing passing cats to urinate on you," the
note said. "So I decided to free myself from the doldrums
of the shire and seek adventure. My travels have taken me
across three continents, 12 countries and more time zones
than I can possibly remember."

Scrapbooking 101

When you sit down and take your pictures in hand what do you see? You see the people, the place or the object you took a picture of. Now putting it on paper shouldn't be all that difficult or complicated, right? Wrong!

Selecting colors-
For years I never realized that I had a gift, an ability to select colors that make pictures pop from the page. It wasn't until I started teaching classes on color theory and how to make your pictures pop at a scrapbooking store in Virginia that I realized that I really did have a "gift". Actually I was surprised at first, I never realized that most folks don't have an eye for color, that some people no matter how hard they try can not seem to get the appropriate color pallet going on- not just in scrapbooking but in the clothing they wear, LOL! Hence the reason why most folks wear jeans because they figure that everything goes with denim- wrong answer! But we'll discuss fashion later (Clint and Stacy are you watching?)☺

Layering-
Another HUGE mistake waiting to happen! I've seen dozens of trends come and go but nothing takes away more from a photo than over layering of patterned paper. My philosophy is to KISS the layout, now you're wondering "I've heard that before but what does that mean"? KISS- keep it simple sweetie! I still to this day love Becky Higgins approach to scrapbooking, keeping it clean. You don't needs tons of embellishments or 5 different patterned papers piled on a page to make a beautiful and eye catching layout.

The Photo(s)-
What to do when all we have to work with are crappy blurred pictures? For me this is especially true when I'm working with older pictures -ones my Mom took back in the 1970's. You make the best of it! That's when you embellish with your journaling! Not everyone can have those beautiful pictures that look like they've been taken by a professional photographer, but we can give it a good try! Basically we work with what we have- there's no point in 'wishing" the pictures were better because it just isn't going to happen.

Stayed tuned as I will add more to all of this...

Quote of the day

Like religion, politics, and family planning, cereal is not a topic to be brought up in public. It's too controversial."
~ Erma Bombeck

What the pied piper is to rats...

...the vacuum cleaner is to little Amelia. Oh my gosh turning on the vacuum was like turning on the calm baby switch- it worked THAT fast! WOW! She drank about an ounce of baby milk at 3pm and then got very fussy, I had Hannah grab a vacuum and turn it on and WOW it worked immediately!

Plans...

What ever my plans for yesterday were, those were put aside for a fussy baby. Even good babies go through fussy moments and yesterday was Amelia's "fussy moment". So how do you soothe a fussy baby? Lots of love, cuddling, classical music and time together in a rocking chair. The poor thing for what ever reason could not seem to be able to get comfortable or able to fall asleep without being startled. So it was quality time in a rocking chair together :-)

Now with all that said, I hope today will go much smoother.

Quote of the day

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.
Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine

Looking forward to a great week!

I don't know about you, but I love Mondays! There's always something new and exciting to look forward to during the week. Here's my week in a nut shell-

*Monday- I've got stamping group fun this afternoon

*Tuesday- work on Fair Entries

*Wednesday- Andrew has an orthodontic appointment and he just might be done after 2 years in braces!

*Thursday- time for me to finish up projects for the fair
drop off entry items for fair 4 pm-7 pm

*Friday-Take daughter clothes shopping for school
drop off items for fair 9am until 12:34 pm

*Saturday- Rapid City Central States Fair kicks off@ 12noon!


In between all that there's my husband leaving for a TDy, I want to start on Hannah's bed skirt and quilt for her room, put at least one of the borders on the quilt for the twin bed in the guest room/home office and work some more on a Fleur DI Lis counted cross stitch project (for Hannah's French Country Chic room). And of course there's the every day things of doing the laundry, cooking meals, taking care of Amelia, pulling weeds in the garden, etc. Looks like I've got a full week ahead of me ☺

Quote of the day

For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965), speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet, London, November 9, 1954

Scrapbooking

In case you're wondering if I do scrapbook any more...fear no more because yes I do! I started working on some new layouts yesterday afternoon. I was really feeling inspired and ready to create something fun. I've told myself that I've got to get through this stash of patterned paper before I allow myself to bring any more into my scrapbook nook. I've got "3" one gallon cracker jars filled with chipboard letters and shapes to use up, more Prima flowers than anyone I know in this area and a ribbon collection that is almost sinful. Yesterday I let the Genie out of the bottle and I'm ready to start Scrapping!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, be they ever so poor, or ever so imprudent, or ever so little likely to be necessary to each other's ultimate comfort.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Persuasion


Today my husband and I celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. To be with the one you love on your special day no matter where you are in the world is like heaven on earth. Just a few short months ago we weren't sure if he (my husband) would be here in South Dakota or if he would be far away on a deployment when it came for our anniversary. I can say with all of my heart that I'm glad that we're together.

Quote of the day

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Pride and Prejudice (opening lines)



Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1811

And it's over...

It's obvious by the very loud and continuous amount of noise coming from the highway that the Sturgis Bike Rally is over. To be perfectly honest, noise from the highway is never this loud. It's funny how the majority of those on motorcycles all leave during the same 2 day period. The noise started around 5 am and that means that people had to start leaving leaving the Spearfish/Deadwood/Lead/Sturgis area around 4 am-ugh! I hope that the roads are safer to drive on by Monday, I've only gone out once this week and that was to the local Post Office which is about 3 miles from my house. If it wasn't for the fact that I really needed to get some packages shipped out, I would not have gone out at all this week. I've had NO desire to be out and about with so many tourists on motorcycles darting here and there through traffic. I was on edge every time my boy set out in his car to visit one of his friends.

Quote of the day

"If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach".
Margaret Cho

good morning!

Today's quote has nothing to do with anything - it just gave me a good chuckle and I wanted to make everyone laugh.

Taking care of little Amelia all week has kept me quite busy and grounded here at home. This morning I got her stroller and I plan on taking her out on a walk after her morning nap. I did manage to get to the post office on Wednesday - I wonder if anyone has received their packages yet, I'll have to send out some inquiries.

In yesterdays mail, I received 3 Thank You letters- WOW! The first one I opened was from our dentist, I actually thought that it was a bill. It was a thank you for referring a new client and they gave me a gift certificate for a free deluxe car wash- woohoo!

The 2nd and 3rd thank you notes were from friends telling me how they loved their handmade by me goodies. Nothing makes me smile more than friends enjoying goodies that I made for them!

Quote of the day

What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good on this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
British scholar & novelist(1892 - 1973)

My life...or something like it

Ahhh the Air Force way of life, where would I be without it? Probably living in my beloved home state of California working in a forensic laboratory studying knife marks on human remains OR better yet working out in the field in Egypt doing my life long ambition of working with mummies (I know- what a dream job right?☺). But the good Lord had other plans for me and thus he brought my fly boy husband into my life. With that very man, I have lived in numerous places across the USA, we have 2 beautiful and intelligent children and I have had the chance to dive deeply into my creative side, I've also been able to do philanthropic work and to be a community activist. Through God and my husband I've learned that life is not all about books and field work it's about giving of yourself to others.

I figure that the Lord has given me a wonderful opportunity - being not just for the chance of being a wife and mother (which truly is a gift) but the ability to do things that give people comfort and to make people happy. From my ability to envision something better for our community and work towards making it a reality, to have an idea about creating a specific item then to make my ideas come to life by drawing out my pattern and making them come to life - window treatments and tote bags being my favorites. And of course there's being able to cook and to cook well, I tell ya- there's something to be said about the satisfaction that a good sharp knife and a bamboo cutting board can bring☺. Where some people tend to get so stressed out when trying something new that they miss the most important part- enjoying the process.

Scrapbooking, card making, embroidery, cooking, sewing and gardening-I enjoy everything and anything just as long as I'm being creative and am actively doing something. Nothing came easy (it just appears that way), trust me when I say that I've had to work at it all- but the rewards, those were/are worth every moment of my time!

There are some of us who have the gift of compassion while being to listen and give comfort to those in need. To help give comfort to a spouse whose partner is away on a deployment is one of the most worthwhile things I feel that I can do in my military community while here at Ellsworth. I feel that I've gained something from all of that - for my own self the ability to find strength to deal with the health related issues of my aging parents. From my Dad having Alzheimer's and advanced Parkinson's Disease to my Mom living alone, all the while I'm praying that her cancer stays in remission and doesn't come back for a 3rd round (uterine cancer 1976, vaginal and rectal cancer 2005).

I made the right decision when I decided to cut back on my volunteering and I feel better for doing so. I'm no longer volunteering 30+ hours a week at the Base Thrift Shop and I've decided not to take a position on the OSC board. I've found myself feeling like I used to- at peace and little things no longer leave me feeling stressed out. I'm once again enjoying being at home and am not having panicked feelings of urgency at getting things done NOW. I feel that I'm much better prepared for if and or when my husband is deployed. I think my foot injury earlier this year was Gods way to helping me to come to the decision to cut back and concentrate on my family and our home life. Do I feel blessed? Yes, and I feel it every single day!

That's it for the insight of my life...time for some coffee before little Amelia comes over for the day.

Quote of the day

"Flying may not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price".
~Amelia Earhart

What a storm!

We certainly had one heck of a storm system blow through her last night! Our rain gauge measured 2 inches! We experienced major lightening strikes in the area had 60+ mph winds and of course our evening wouldn't be complete without a power failure.

Okay, so we were a little freaked out by the storm that blew in from nowhere and we were in a nice safe house... I can only imagine how freaked out those folks that are camping in tents and pop up trailers here in the Black Hills area were last night. My husband had heard on the radio that someone was struck by lightening- I've yet to read anything confirming that it really happened but the news here is rather slow, LOL!

This morning I could hear the hum of motorcycles all going off to tour the Black Hills area... places such as Custer National Park, Wall Drug, The Black Hills National Park or any one of a dozen scenic destinations.

Quote of the day

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

The folly of men

The things that make me laugh... there are days in which anything and everything can have me shaking my head and wondering how we humans have gotten as far as we have in the food chain, putting aside evolution (insert laughter here). I have to admit it, I have a neighbor that just continues to amuse and amaze me with his constant ignorance of the responsibilities of being a home owner. He's put out this collection of flower pots on his front walkway months ago, but he's never put anything in them...could it be that he's been waiting all this time for the gardening fairy to put something in those pots? I've actually witnessed this person going out into the field behind our homes digging up weeds and planting them in his own yard- no joke. I'm curious to know what "that" is all about. This is where my quote of the day comes into play☺

Quote of the day

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former".
~Albert Einstein

Hill City, South Dakota

After our drive through the hills, we stopped off in Hill City to have lunch. We've heard so much about the Alpine Inn that we figured that we were way past due to dine there. It was a wonderful meal, the service is top notch and they kept the place deliciously cool! Heads up- they don't take credit cards, but they do have an ATM in the lobby which is quite convenient☺

Upon exiting we saw this...

The street had begun to fill with motorcycles on both sides of the street plus down the middle of the road was one lane of bikes. Main street is "bikes only", no cars period!

I'm not one for riding motorcycles really, but I sure can appreciate the art and design work that goes into making custom bikes and the custom leather saddle bags. I like to think of it as an art show on wheels.

And to think, this is just a "little" example of how this week will be because today is the kick of of Sturgis Bike Week 2009.

Pigtail Bridges

Of course Wilson the Travel Pig HAD to pose with this sign☺

This past Saturday my husband and I took the Corvette out on a scenic drive in the Back Hills. My husband had heard about and wanted to see the Pigtail Bridges- which are a series of curved wooden bridges. We printed out a map of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway- I highly recommend this to everyone! Great scenery, fun twisty curves and take a "skinny" car as you do go through some pretty narrow one way underpasses cut into rock laden hills. I fear if your car is too wide that it could end up getting it's side mirrors scraped off- eek! The views from the various points of interest and along the road in general are breathtakingly beautiful! Vast fields of purple wildflowers were set amongst the tall grasses. It was pretty remarkable how you could catch many different views of Mount Rushmore while on our scenic drive- there are a vast many picture taking opportunities on this trip so be sure to bring your camera!

Here's a picture of one of the many fields of purple wildflowers that we saw




Some wildlife
Just one of the many fantastic views of Mount Rushmore
This natural rock formation is one of the many wonders you will see on this little drive through the Black Hills.
This is the small lake that you saw in the movie National Treasure 2, isn't it lovely?




Last but certainly not least, here's the car we took on this scenic trip through the Black Hills.

Quote of the day

"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future".
~Franklin D. Roosevelt

A wonderful evening!

The dinner honoring Colonel Alexander was wonderful! The tributes and the roast had me crying and laughing at the same time. What a wonderful send off for such a great military leader and friend.

While at the dinner my husband and I had the opportunity to sit near people-that we did not know. You know me, I saw it as a chance to make new friends. Lisa is the spouses name and they've been at the base for a year. First thing I asked is if she planned on joining OSC- yet another spouse of a military member letting me know right off the bat that "OSC is not her thing". Okay by me but personally I think that she's losing out on making new friends and opportunities to broaden her social network - especially if her husband is suddenly deployed. I found her to be interesting and would like the opportunity to get to know her better.

I got to see some friends at this dinner that I have not seen since before my foot surgery in May. I was happy to see them and to catch up on what's been going on in their lives.

Quote of the day

You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Pride and Prejudice

Breast Cancer

These days it seems as if we all know at least 1 person who has been affected by Breast Cancer. Five years ago this month my friend Tonya Waters died from breast cancer, she was a mother of 2 small children, she was 30 years old. My friend Robin Houdek is a breast cancer survivor but I've heard through the grape vine that her cancer might be back- I'm still waiting to hear how she is doing. And now I've recently learned that my Mother's best friend and next door neighbor Belinda Beckman has breast cancer and is scheduled for a double mastectomy in the next 2 weeks. Belinda is really frightened, she's had so many other health related problems over the years and this has her through the roof. Please keep her in your prayers.

I can't begin to say this enough...get a mammogram! Early detection is the key to a longer life! I'm calling on Monday and am scheduling mine!

This also reminds me that I need to start planning my Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit for October☺

Quote of the day

"Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren't bad people; they're just acquaintances".
~Jay Leno

It's HOT!

It's way too darn hot for me to do any weeding in my flower gardens today! Whew! The a/c has been running since 7:30 am and it's still going strong! I've got the blinds closed and am trying to keep the heat out of the house. I don't know how you handle the heat but when Hannah and I are hot, we're just plain ole CRABBY! So I've got the a/c cranked, have laundry going (washing machine only- I've got clothes drying on racks throughout the house) and doing low key activities to stay cool. The whole house smells like Downy- Mm clean laundry sure does make ones house smell good☺

I had ordered some thread from All Threads and they arrived while I was away on vacation. Everything looks great! I plan on ordering all of my future thread purchases through them. They have an excellent customer service department that answers questions quickly and the shipping is super fast too! Did I mention that they have FREE SHIPPING??? Oh yeah! Prices better than I can find locally, no sales tax (because I'm out of state) and free shipping...and it's brought to my front door, now that's my kind of shopping! I don't have to leave my house, deal with traffic, spend money on gas and deal with rude sales clerks.

Quilting event in Lowell, MA

Oh how I wish that I could attend this event,

Aug. 28, 2008 - Nov. 2, 2008

Metrotextural Exhibit

The New England Quilt Museum

Lowell, Mass.nequiltmuseum.org

but alas geography has me firmly planted in the Midwest. One of my brothers-in-law resides in Dracut and is a graduate of U-Mass Lowell. Lowell has a history rich in the textile industry. A few years back we (me and my entire family including Wilson the Travel Pig) went on the tour given by the Parks and Recreation Department of one of the Textile Mills, it was VERY interesting! I highly recommend it to everyone! Lots of hands on stuff for the kids and you really get a good tour and detailed history of the place.

Happy Retirement Renita!

Renita Alexander is a woman I highly respect and admire is retiring from the Air Force and her change of command ceremony is today. Colonel A. has served as an officer is the Air Force for over 20 years, has been married and divorced (I can't go into details but the guy was an ass) and raised a child on her own plus she put that child through college. As I said before, Renita is a woman of whom I have the highest respect for and admire greatly! I wish her much success on the next part of her life and may she find that retirement IS all it's said up to be :-) Happy Retirement Renita!

Quote of the day

"Because you are in control of your life. Don't ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made".
~Barbara Hall


"Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward".
~Patricia Sampson