One of my favorites

This movie is one of my favorites. I don't know why Disney doesn't produce more of this type of thing.

If you have never seen Newsies, you are definitely missing out. It is worth the few bucks to rent it. Let me know what you think. Have you seen Newsies?

What are you doing today.

We took down the Christmas decorations and now we are settling into a Deadliest Catch marathon. There are some episodes here that I had not seen before. Yeah. This is one of my favorite shows.

Around the bloggin world

You may have noticed that my blogroll has increased in the past few weeks. I have been reading these sites for sometime but didn't have them in my roll.

There is one new site Walking On, that has quickly become one of my personal favorites. If you visit the site be sure to have a box of tissues handy. Cynthia's way with words brings tears to my eyes each time.

The Life and Times of a Butterfly Wife always has good new from IRAQ. It is so hard to hear good news these days because the MSM doesn't want us to think we are doing good over there. I want to take a moment to thank all of the families that have given up their children/husbands/wives and loaned them to the American People for a time.

Reflections by Kris has something very funny you should all look at.

Pamibe has a very specialize request for you. I frankly do not know of anyone so maybe some of my readers might know. While you are there look around this site is another one of my personal favorites.

One for the Road has something that I want. SNOW. The last snowfall for us brought about 8 to 12 inches, but that was over a week ago. We have only received rain for a few days now and that poor snow is just about gone. ArGGG I hate rain. I LOVE snow.

Not Exactly Rocket Science has been reading my mind again. I am so tired of the "stories" (and that is all they are) at Christmas time about how poor sales are. Every year it is the same thing. They project this doom and gloom so that Americans will run out and try to help the economy -- then they will tell us how greedy we are because we spend so much at the holidays. We have this never ending assault. We don't spend and they tell us the world will end. We spend and then they blame us for the China incident because we are so materialistic.

OK kids now go and be merry. "Can you tell that I didn't have of my own material today?"

How do you know,

who to donate your money to. Not a day goes by that my phone doesn't ring, and on the other end is some organization looking for money. The names they tell you all sound so worthy, but really how do you know.

My family usually adopts an organization at the beginning of the year and they are the recipients of our donations for the year. Now don't get me wrong this is not a cast in stone policy but I NEVER give a donation over the phone.

One organization that we have all heard of is Toys for Tots. They are in desperate need of cash donations right now. Yes they still need donations even though Christmas is over. The whole mess with China has really hurt their toy drive this year.

One way that you can help is to send free (yes I said free) eCards from Month2Month.com. You have nothing to lose, and it doesn't cost you a thing. Here's where to get the month2month free eCards go now and send a card to everyone you love.

Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

Bill Grein
Marine Toys for Tots
V: 703-640-9433
F: 703-640-0917
wjgrein@toysfortots.org
http://www.toysfortots.org

Steven Marcus
Month2Month.com
V: 914-933-2638
F: 501-325-9147
smarcus@month2month.com
http://www.month2month.com


Marines Toys for Tots Needs Last Minute Help

Quantico, VA. December 21, 2007 / PR Newswire – The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is making a nationwide last minute appeal for more toys. Since time is critical as they go into their toy distribution phase this weekend the Foundation is encouraging people to make cash contributions because it allows them to purchase the toys they need to fill in gaps and match the remaining needs.

One novel way to get cash immediately into the hands of the Marines is to send lots of holiday eCards to everyone you know. Month2Month.com, a free eCard website has agreed to contribute up to $50,000 when their cards are sent and received.

Bill Grein, Vice President for Marines Toys for Tots, said: "Cash contributions are critical for us at this time because we can purchase the toys we need and can place them where they are needed most at the last minute. It will help us close a gap in many areas where the economy, toy recalls and even bad weather have caused us to come short of our goals so far. We urge everyone to take advantage of this wonderful offer from Month2Month."

John Aslanian, CEO of Month2Month.com said: "We are expecting to have 1 million cards sent in the next few days that could result in a contribution of up to $50,000. We know that for some the economy might be putting a crimp in their generosity. But what this can do is to save them the cost of buying cards and the postage. We are asking everyone to send these cards, even if they already sent other cards, to help make this a merry Christmas and happy holiday for many more needy children."

Month2Month.com cards are all produced by top-notch artists working in a loft studio just outside of New York City. The cards show great care in design and detail and often take weeks or months to complete. They are all professionally animated often requiring hundreds of frames to get the motion to look smooth and flowing. Month2Month.com is a privately held online greeting company founded in 2005. The site offers free high quality online greeting cards and can be found at http://www.month2month.com.

This year marks the 60th anniversary for the Toys for Tots tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 2006, Toys for Tots delivered more than 19.2 million toys to over 7.6 million children.

Strange Day

I woke up very motivated and got to work quickly. I accomplished so much I was shocked. CAL did some work for me that helped clean up some messes. THEN..... I ran into a small problem that before I knew it ate up hours of my time. By the time that I "resolved" the silly little thing, I was drained. I hate when that happens. I was totally obsessed. It was so small that it was a silly issue but I just could not let it go. Sorry I don't have more to say I am drained (did I say that already?)

The loot

CAL received the following:

Guitar Hero III for Wii
Remote control car (from his grandmother)
Wii Game (grandmother)
R/C Palm Helicopter
High School Musical
Wii Game - Thrillville
PJ bottoms
Spiderman DVD
A Cell Phone

My mom saved our Christmas. She allowed us to put her gifts under the tree so that he appeared to have more gifts. NOT that CAL even noticed. He is very good at Christmas. He is happy with just a few things. I bought more than we thought because we were not sure about the Guitar Hero until the last second. It was almost impossible to find. My Mom came through again.


The hubby didn't make out very well:

Crocs (the new slipper kind)
The Commish DVD Season One
T-Shirts/and unmentionables
R/C Palm Helicopter

I made out like a bandit:

2 pairs of PJ's
A bulb garden
Nuts (I love nuts)
Pop Corn Popper
Facing the Giants DVD
A wireless mouse
A Birdfeeder
A hummingbird feeder (from CAL)
T-Shirts (CAL bought him and me matching t-shirts, that say Amazing Grace. They are in the shape of American Idol. Under the logo it says "I don't need an Idol.... I have a Saviour. He bought it because as he said "Mom you and I have never had matching shirts and Amazing Grace is the Christmas song that I am trying to learn". I started crying. He is so sweet.)
And a HUGE stocking with nuts, dish towels, oven mitts and more.


I was quite upset on Christmas Eve. Hubby and I agreed that we would keep Christmas simple. I didn't charge anything and paid for everything with my blog money. I didn't go into debt for Christmas.

Hubby did not keep out end of the agreement. He charged almost everything. I was not happy.

Then...... I thought to myself. Hey it is better to give than to receive.... so..... he actually had the better Christmas.

Search Engines

My company has turned to a search engine as a way to market our product. Yahoo has been the most successful. Google and MSN have been very ineffective and difficult to work with. Google has been the worst. We currently run a pay per click program. Google would like you to pay much higher than the minimum bid of $.10 per click. Yahoo has no problem with this.

Google will not make your ads active unless you agree to a higher rate. So I finally agreed to pay $.25 per click. Within one day I received a notice from Google that my spot had been outbid and my ads were going to be place inactive again until I agreed to pay $.30 per click. Ok! I went through and made sure that the important items were at the $.30 each. Guess what I received the very next day? You guessed it. Another notice telling me that my ads were going to be placed inactive unless I raised the price. I cancelled my account.

Needless to say I am not a fan of Google. I also think that their pagerank systems is seriously flawed. With Google it seems that money is the only way to get a good rating.

I have noticed in the past that some companies are unchangeable in their ways until competition meets them face to face. I am hoping that will be the case with EarthFrisk.org. I am hoping that this will be a reason for celebration at our company.

What are you doing today.

Are you at work, home, or returning items? I am pretty lucky. I am working at home and only have one item to return so that can wait. We have promised ourselves to put in a full days work and so far we are doing pretty good. That is not saying that we don't normally put in a full days work but with it being the day after vacation we would normally take the entire week off.

Juice Media Worldwide

As I have blogged about several times before. We are self employed. We have been in business for almost 18 years.

One of the most challenging things, in regards to running the business, is marketing. We have done a good job for 15 years in that area. The last three have been difficult. My husband is very good with print marketing. The Internet is a different story. It is a totally different animal.

I was glad when I saw the following:

Press Release:
Juice Media Worldwide, LLC, a leading provider of on‐demand Marketing 2.0 software services and solutions has moved to new San Diego headquarters at 591 Camino de la Reina on the 11th floor of the prominent Valley Corporate Center building.

Located just 10 minutes from downtown San Diego, the nearly 4,000 square foot state‐of‐the‐art offices are double the size of the previous headquarters. The new office equips Juice Media with enough space for the company to grow its software development and client management staff by an additional 50 percent in 2008.

“Managing rapid growth is always a challenge for successful start‐ups. We evaluated several options for new offices to accommodate our growth and Valley Corporate Center was an ideal location for us,” said Rick Enrico, CEO, Juice Media Worldwide, LLC. ”The office tower’s expansive features and centralized location made it a great solution for our needs as we expand our staff and client roster.” Juice Media employees have access to a number of benefits with the move including an on‐site deli, gym, ocean view offices, and a park next door. The additional meeting space also enables Juice Media to develop even stronger relationships with its clients with more frequent and productive onsite meetings.

‐more‐

About Juice Media Worldwide, LLC: Based in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Minnesota, Juice Media Worldwide develops JuiceMetrIQs™, a Marketing 2.0 enterprise marketing management platform that is Software as a Service (SAAS) application. JuiceMetrIQs™ streamlines the marketing process by allowing companies to store customer interaction data (sales transactions, demographics, website data, email addresses, etc.) and segment that information to build relevant targeted marketing campaigns. Customer data is housed in a single data warehouse that is tied to a concise central reporting dashboard.

JuiceMetrIQs™ provides seamless integrations with top enterprise vendors from online and offline marketing channels such as Email, Direct Mail, SMS Messaging, and Voice Messaging. JuiceMetrIQs™ empowers marketers with the ability to analyze, maximize, and measure cross channel customer purchase behavior across all distributed marketing channels for greater marketing success. Juice Media Worldwide is a portfolio company of Petters Group Worldwide, which includes companies such as Polaroid, Sun Country Airlines, and uBid.com. For more information please visit http://www.juicemetriqs.com

Press Contact:
Morgan Witt

I immediately visited http://www.juicemetriqs.com/ to see if this is something that our company might be able to utilize. I am very impressed the the professionalism of their web site. This company really focuses on your relationship with your customers, which is an area that our company truly has to concentrate on in the upcoming year.

I will have to look more closely at this site to see if it is good for our type of business. If you might be in the same situation that I am in I would like to recommend this site to you also.

I bet you cannot wait to hear about....

all the loot that we received this Christmas. First let me tell you about our family tradition. We accept no guests nor do we go anywhere for any reason. Christmas is a day for family and our family is the most important so we try to concentrate on immediate family, Hubby, CAL and myself. OK here goes........ Oh sorry I became very busy and didn't get a chance to finish this post. Now that it is buried I will have to start all over.

I know you can't tell but.......

I went to college, really I did. Now for something that won't surprise you. It was a two year business school. I graduated but it was only because they didn't want me to enroll for another year. I went to college for one reason and one reason only...... To party. I succeeded in what I attempted to do. As a matter of fact I did quite well.

My "degree" was in executive secretarial. Boy I would have been great in that job. I mean with my spelling and grammar I was guaranteed to be a total flop.

When I was in high school, I was very good on the field. I cannot type as fast as WB but I could hold my own. I have lost most of what little talent I had. Since I have started blogging I have noticed that my spelling and WPM have increased significantly. My grammar? Well I am not sure there is any hope for that.

I have often thought about going out and getting a job to help tide us over until business gets back to normal. But what can I do? I could be a receptionist but that doesn't really pay enough to justify being away from the business. Frankly I can create more business here per week than what I could make at that job. Our problem is that we have too many bills. I know this sounds stupid but, if we didn't have so many bills we would be ok. What that means is we make enough to live comfortably but not as extravagantly as we have become accustom to.

Anyway back to my point. I have been looking for way to increase our income but still have me available at home for our real business. I started advertising on this blog. That is OK but frankly it is not enough. The company that I write for does not have enough business to keep their customers happy.

In my search to make money I have come across a company that claims you can make money typing data online. I have looked at the site quite extensively and frankly it looks like something I might take advantage of. I am very leery of companies that promise to tell you their "secrets" for a small fee. But then again I have spent more than the $47.00 they are asking for, on gadgets to make my life easier, and then they don't work.

If any of my readers have tried this service or know anything about it please let me know. If I decide to take the plunge and sign up I will be sure to give you my review in a few months.

Patriots

OK I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I love the Patriots and it makes me upset to think that I might not be able to watch them on December 29th because the NFL is a greedy, money hungry, crappy organization.

BUT

I do not think that this situation is something that a Senator should be involved in. Is this what tax payer dollars are being spent on.

Leave it to democrat John Kerry: Now he's saying that if immediate action isn't taken, he will ask the Senate Commerce to hold hearings on "how the emergence of premium sports channels is impacting the consumer, as well as to determine if any legislative action will be necessary to ensure consumers are treated fairly."

Do you really think that not being able to watch a football game is that important. If it is that important you have several options. Find some who has paid to have the NFL network. Pay for the network yourself. Try a local pub. You don't have to drink just watch the game.

This is really a democrat's way of thinking. Mr. Kerry thinks that it is everyone's "right" to watch the game. What? You do not have the right to watch the game. Again a democrat's way of looking at things, that you should be able to have luxuries and someone else should pay for them.

Now for the real question, when will the people of MA wake up and get rid of these crack pots? (John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, just to name a few) I personally think that John Kerry has abused his power/office once again.

Boston

When it was apparent that we would be moving from upstate NY to another location, the only place we looked was in New England, and to be more specific within an hour of Boston. We love Boston. Oddly enough we don't visit as much now that we live only 40 miles away, as we did when it was a six hour drive and we stayed the weekend. I guess you start to take things for granted when they are close.

One thing that we seem to have a problem with is finding something new and exciting to do in Boston. We know the city quite well and have a hard time finding new places to explore. One of the tools that I use is the HotelsbyCity.net. This is an excellent resource. It not only gives you hotel information (which we still use even living so close. There is nothing better than spending a weekend in Boston), event information, and tourist attractions.

Our most common place to stay in Boston is at the Seaport Hotel. It is usually the most affordable. I notice that this site has very good rates for this hotel. It is not the cheapest hotel in Boston, but we like it. If you are looking for Cheap Hotels I am positive there is something for you in this city guide.

Some of the events that we have taken advantage of are the Boston Pops Esplanade Concerts, North End Italian Feast Days (OH my Gosh this is such a wonderful event. We try to do this each year.), and of course Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall.

National Treasure 2

My husband shocked both CAL and I by suggesting a movie on Friday. First of all he NEVER suggests a movie. He hates to go to the movies. Second it was a Friday night and it has to be pretty important for us to leave the house on a Friday night in the winter. Third it was opening night for the movie National Treasure. We have only seen two movies on opening night in our 18 year history. Polar Express, and now National Treasure.

I was very pleased. I didn't really care for the first movie. I thought it was so far fetched. I don't really enjoy those type of movies. I need for it to be believable. I am all about "real". I will confess that I enjoyed this movie. It was not believable but it was very fast paced and funny. Much funnier than the first. Anyway now on to important matters......

Now WB has complained in the past about talkers, phone users, and just plain rude people. Well..... We arrived to have my husband down the first bag of popcorn before the movie started. While he was gone getting a refill, I started noticing an incredibly strong "curry" smell. I could not believe how strong it was because the closest people to us were about 8 to 10 feet away.

Now my head is taking over and the only thing I can smell is curry. I was hoping that my husband would return soon so that I could have the popcorn smell to take my mind off the curry. He arrive I requested that I hold the bag. Didn't help. For two hours I had to sit there with this horrible smell invading my nostrils.

At one point I became so obsessed with finding the source that I stopped watching the movie and shouted "oh my where is that curry smell coming from" I was hoping that maybe if someone brought it to their attention they might move. In the end they were one row in front of us about 5 to 6 seats to my left.

Honestly people do you have any idea how bad the smell of curry is when it seeps out of your pores with your sweat. Do you not smell how bad you and your children smell, or how bad your house must smell. I mean I notice the smell of my house when I arrive home after being gone for a short period of time.

It is revolting! I know so many of these kids (our school has a HUGE Indian/Asian population) that have stomach issues. Do you think it might be all the curry you use. They stick curry in everything, and I do mean everything.

I have even noticed that during car pool times that their cars smell bad. How in the heck do you not notice the smell when everything you touch turns to curry.

When is enough, enough

I want to give you a quick summary of the following story: This poor baby was taken away from mom at birth because they both tested positive for drugs. They gave her back. Then she was taken away again for neglect. They gave her back again. This poor child was only 10 months old and had already been removed twice.

When are judges and DSS people going to be held accountable for their poor decisions. If you or I make a bad decision we are held accountable. Why should judges and lawyers get immunity.

Mom Charged With Shaking, Killing Infant Daughter

Mom Had Several Run-Ins With D.S.S.BOSTON (WBZ) ― A Peabody mother is accused of shaking her infant child to death, according to the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Jennifer Ward, 37, was arrested on Sunday in connection to her 10-month-old daughter's death. Officials say Jocelyn Ward Anderson died on November 21 -- three days after she was allegedly shaken by Ward. Jocelyn was allegedly taken away from Ward at birth after both mother and baby tested positive for drugs, according to the D.A.'s office. Officials would not specify what kind of drug was detected. A spokesperson from the Department of Social Services tells The Salem News that the baby was given back to Ward shortly after the incident when she agreed to undergo outpatient therapy. Jocelyn was then put back in DSS custody after a report of neglect, the paper reports. After going through drug treatment and parenting programs, Jocelyn was given back to Ward. Officials with the DSS would not say how long the baby was back with her mother before she was injured. Ward was arrested at her parent's house and is now being held at York County Jail in Maine. If convicted of murder, she could receive a life sentence.

Something to ponder.

If B.C. stands for before christ and A.D stands for Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord) how can there be no Jesus. Christians are not the only people to use the B.C., A.D to measure time. Now don't bother telling me the history of BC, AD I know it already. BUT it is the most widespread numbering system in the world today. For decades, it has been the unofficial global standard.

Home Grown Terrorists.

We have been tricked into thinking that other religions are our "enemies" when in fact these people are not the ones that are attacking our religious rights, it is the good ole American ATHEIST! Home grown terrorists.

Hey Jason

Real men do not hip a baby. What is wrong with you? We received your Christmas card in the mail yesterday. Ethan and Getta look great.

On another note: During a conversation regarding snow the other day Jason said "I hate you" (because we had more snow than he did) I quickly responded "the feeling is mutual" (because well........) hahahahahaha

ahhhhhh such a loving relationship we have.

Match-0-Matic

I found this little quiz Match-o-Matic over at BostonMaggie. It is much more detailed than the last quiz we took at Select a Candidate. Give it a whirl and let me know your results. My top three were.

1. Mitt Romney
2. Rudy Giuliani
3. Fred Thompson

I am pleased with the results. I don't think I could vote for Rudy unless I had to. (Had to would mean if he was running against Hilliary.)

Merry Christmas from MVP Healthcare

You might remember my post from last year Merry &^%ing Christmas from Blue Cross. I just do not understand why insurance companies insist on sending these notices days before Christmas. My policy does not expire until Feb 1. Now come on, would those extra four or five days really matter. The good news is... my insurance is only going up $60 a month. I have been so stressed about receiving the renewal notice. My husband actually hid the letter from me so that he could open it and prepare me.

Oh this is priceless

• TOP Grinch-o-Meter Award: The 17 congressmen who supported a
resolution recognizing Islam and Ramadan but voted “no” or “present”
(that is, there but wouldn’t vote) on a similar resolution introduced by
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) recognizing Christianity and Christmas.
Lawmakers who voted “no” for Christianity and “yes” for Islam are:
Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Diana DeGette
(D-CO), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Bobby Scott
(D-VA), Fortney Stark (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Those who
voted “present” on Christianity and “yes” on Islam include: Reps. John
Conyers (D-MI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Donald
Payne (D-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA),
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT) and John
Yarmuth (D-KY). [Grinch-o-Meter: 10-Plus]

If the congressman from your state is listed maybe you should write them a love letter.

Please Note: They are all DEMOCRATS. Isn't it time to send a clear message to them. Write your letter. And then show your disgust at the polls.

But the fire is so delightful.....

Oh the weather outside is frightful

Around the bloggin world

Kris gives Al Gore the bitch slap he deserves. This is a must read.

Pamibe talks about the ridiculous "theory" of evolution, which I always love to hear about. I don't know how I would make it through my day if I didn't have GOD to talk to. I wonder.... Who do atheists talk to?

I have a special message that I tried to post on VW Bug's blog but it wouldn't accept it. Sooo I will embarrass myself here. Are you ready VW........diarrhea,(fart noise with mouth twice) diarrhea, (fart noise with mouth twice) some people think it's funny but it's really wet and runny. diarrhea,(fart noise with mouth twice).

The Lemon Stand is looking for someone to help make the lemonade for awhile. Click over and see if you would be interested. I don't think I am positive enough for this type of thing. My blog is all about getting things off my chest.

Amanda at Brandon's Puppy has some really great news regarding her boys. They are both growing with leaps and bounds and she has proof.

And last but not least, WB at Pereiraville has a really cute picture of herself. Boy I hope looks do NOT run in the family.

Another snow day

This is the second snow day this school year. I am so excitied. There is nothing I love more than to be inside with a fire and watching the snow fall outside. I really really want a gas fireplace for Christmas. Do you think it is to late to tell santa now?

You made me think of a rant

I was over visiting The Lemon Stand when I remembered that I didn't tell you why I was such a jerk the other day. Well here goes.

I was at my son's school and this "very nice man" (that is code for idiot) decided to park in the middle of the road, in the middle of a hill. I didn't realize he was parked and pulled right up close and the car behind me did the same. When the "very nice man" finally decided to move I was STUCK. I could not get the Jeep to go into 4wheel drive. I just sat there and spun.

Of course, everyone started honking at me. I could not go forward or backward. I just sat and spun. I had no options. Then the other cars tried to pass me as I am burning rubber. A few even made some gestures. I had to stop every time some passed me because I was so afraid that that would be the split second that the tires found some payment and would shoot me like a bullet right into their side.

I was so angry I was using all sorts of "nice" language. When I finally got going I was driving too fast for road conditions (not out of anger but because of all the spinning) My neighbor rolled down her window because she wanted to talk to me (she didn't see the entire incident) I stopped and just started screaming every four letter word that I could think of. We both knew the person that had stopped in the middle of the road to wait for a child, instead of getting in line like everyone else.

I didn't know (but I should have) that she had a car full of kids. OPPS. That didn't really look good. A person they consider to be a "teacher" at the school using that language and being that angry. I am quite the jerk sometimes.

I called her when I got home and apologized every which way. Then I sent a very nasty email to the "nice man". I am sure that I will be the "bad guy" of the neighborhood again. That is a role that I play often. I am very vocal.

Does anyone remember 21 Jump Street?

WB keeps talking about Sweeney Todd, so I followed her suggestion to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site, and I also visited Sweeney Todd on Myspace to learn more about the movie she is so excited about.

I have not seen all of Johnny Depp's movies, but as the mother of an eleven-year-old boy, I am familiar with his Captain Jack Sparrow role. There is no denying that Depp is a talented actor: Sparrow was a superbly-created character that could not exist without Depp's unique spin. CAL loves any scene in which Sparrow outsmarts the British soldiers. Depp also played an eccentric character as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. When he is examining the tools he will use for his investigation, we're left feeling like he's overwhelmed with his new assignment and the prospect of investigation beheadings. You can tell he has fun with his roles, and it certainly seems like the weirder the character, the more likely Depp will accept the role.

That must be why he's playing the part of a wronged man bent on revenge in Sweeney Todd. I am interested to see what kind of singer he is, since this is a Broadway musical.

Because it is rated R, and because it has a dark theme, I probably won't see it opening weekend. We try to see movies CAL can see with us. So if you get a chance visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site. Then let me know if this is a movie that you are interested in seeing.

Every once in a while

WB will do something that makes me take back all the nasty things that I say about her on my "other" blog. She has helped me so much with this whole blogging thing and even more since I have started the paid blogging. I wish I had the ability to "pay" her. Hopefully my life will get back to normal real soon and I will thank her the way you should always thank people $$$$.

Oh Deer!

That is one of a handful of things that I miss about living in Loon Lake, the deer. When hubby and I would go snowmobiling you would see twenty or thirty every time. There were several places that would feed the deer. You would drive by and there would be hundred's of them eating. They would just stand there and look at you. Most of the places that fed them did it out of the goodness of their heart. Some on the other hand did it to have a slaughter when it came time for deer season. That I always thought was wrong. If you want to hunt the deer give them a fair chance. They are such a beautiful animal. I do understand the need to hunt them, however, especially in that area. There are so many of them if you didn't they would starve over the winter.

One year my hubby and I were walking through our 43 acres and noticed that someone had built their own Hunting Blinds in one of our trees. We notified the hunting club that had property close to ours. They responded with something to the effect that the stand had been there for "x" numbers of years and they did not feel that had to remove it. It was a funny situation and finally in the end they did remove the stand.

You know sometimes

I can be a total JERK. I have apologized to the appropriate people but I just don't feel like it is enough.

Opps I think she forgot

On Friday after attempting to pick our son up at school (he decided that he wanted to walk home and play in the snow until we got home - I feel safe doing this because we have several neighbors real close and I knew they would be home) Hubby and I headed to the food store to get some things for the weekend.

Half way through the store I ran into CAL's first grade teacher. Now this is one of the two teachers that I have noticed are angry with me because I voiced an opinion that was different from theirs regarding the contract dispute in our town. She immediately started talking to us like she always does (we have know her for 5 years), after a few minutes a light seemed to go off/on (depending on how you want to look at it) and she remembered she was angry. She quickly turned away from me and pretended to be looking at juices.

I knew what had happened. I gave her the out and started to walk away. The problem.... Her husband obviously didn't read the same message that I did and he continued to talk to both my husband and myself. I tried my best to end the conversation because I could see she was upset with him but .... MEN they have no idea. Both my hubby and hers continued to talk and talk and talk. I continued with my shopping. I am sure he got a royal chewing out after they left us.

Many Moons Ago

I lived in Syracuse in this cute little apartment. It was one of three in this average size house. I had a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and a living room. The entire space of the apartment would be about the size of my living room/kitchen in my current house. When I think back about my time there, one thing sticks out more than any. WINTER. It was cold. The biggest apartment on the front of the house controlled the heat. It was a boyfriend/girlfriend and they were NEVER home, therefore the heat was never on.

It didn't take me long to buy a space heater. I bought this cute unit at JC Penney (I did 90% of my shopping at JC Penney because that was my first credit card). I would sit on top of the unit, wrap a blanket around both me and it, and have my own toasty igloo. Then I would just camp out in front of the TV on a snowy weekend.

The bad part was about once every few weeks I would flick the breaker and my entire apartment would be without electricity. Then I would have to hide the heater in my car and call Lou, he would have to come over and turn it back on. He was no dummy, every time he would ask me: "do you have a space heater in there" and of course my answer would be "no of course not, you can look, but it is very cold can I have some more heat?"

Ahhhh the good old days alone, poor, and cold.

On a side note: My mother came to visit a couple weeks ago. Now we keep our house very cold, not out of necessity, but because I cannot sleep in a warm house. On the phone the other day I made the comment that I was cold. What a mistake I then had to hear her rant about how we keep this house too darn cold, we are all going to be sick for as cold as we keep our house, and on and on. I think the next time they come I just might invest in a vent free heaters just to keep their room warm. Of course my husband had the best idea when I told him about our conversation..... The local hotel is probably just the right temperature.

I must confess I am shocked at the price on some of these heaters. I have wanted a natural gas fireplace since the first day we moved into this house. I never thought they could be this cheap. They are also offering free shipping until Christmas. Nothing says love like a space heater.

I deserve everything I get.

I should have thought about this more 17 years ago.

The following conversation just took place.

me: Wanna watch a movie?
Hubby: *with a raised voice* What?? Watch a movie is it 8 o'clock I am going to get ready for bed.
me: *blink, stare, chuckle*
Hubby: *voice raised more than the first time* Don't laugh at me and give me that look, we both like to read and you are always asleep before me.

Now for an explanation. Hubby goes to bed usually no later than 9:00. He will go lay down with CAL and then sleep for an hour or two and then we will come into our room. Yes by that time I am asleep. He views that as me going to sleep before him.

Do you need?

A toboggan, a Sony digital camera, Home Interior wall sconces, a truck load of VHS movies. These are the items that I have on Craig's list trying to get a little extra Christmas cash. Come on people I am cheaper than anyone else on there. BUY MY JUNK!

CAL's Tree

This is the tree that we bought in May of 97. We have always called the tree CAL's tree because that is why we bought it. CAL was born December of 96. We fell in love with the tree the moment we saw it. When we purchased the "blue spruce" tree he stood about 3 feet tall, and was so cute and full. We bought the tree from a nursery that was across the road from where my mother lived in Painted Post, NY. We both saw the tree the minute we pulled into her driveway. It was funny but I think the tree was actually screaming to us.

At that time we lived 400 miles away in Loon Lake, NY. The little tree made the 8 hour drive to LL ok. We planted him in the back yard and built an island of flowers around him. He lived comfortably until Jan 1998 when an ice storm hit our area and we were without power for 22 days. Most of the trees in that area were damaged. It looked like a atomic bomb went off. There were trees down every where. CAL's tree was not damaged.

It was then we decided to move. We loved the Boston area so we headed to Southern NH. We had a customer here that recommend we try here first. We fell in love with the area and in May of 1998 we moved. There was NO WAY that we would leave CAL's tree behind. (our dog got left behind, but not the tree - in our defense our dog was an outside dog and where we were moving was not a place that she could roam like she did in NY. Our neighbor loved her more than we did. They were a bunch of old timers and I don't think they could smell her like we could. That dog was weird. She had the worst body odor. You could not have her in the house it was that bad.) Anyway I digress.

My Dad and his wife helped us move and they recommend that they take the tree home with them and care for it until we were ready for him. GREAT. The poor little tree returned home ,yes that is right, it went back to Painted Post, NY. I never thought it would make it. My Dad took excellent care of the tree and a couple months, yes it was months that the tree survived being un-planted (is that a word?) in a HUGE tub. After getting settled in NH, he brought the tree out to us. Painted Post to NH is another 400 miles. Now you have to remember that this tree is driving 400 miles in the back of a pickup unprotected, for a total of 1200 miles.

We immediately planted the tree in an island and began nurturing it. My husband decorates the tree every year at Halloween. He doesn't turn the light on until November 1st when we have our lighting. I never help with the tree because it is his "thing" and have you ever decorated a blue spruce before. It is like 100,000 needles poking you. When he is done he is always bleeding from no less than five places. It is horrible, I would never do it.



Each year he estimates that the tree grows about 1 1/2 to 2 feet in height and about the same in diameter.

Last year he had the most lights on the tree that he had ever put on. It didn't look as nice. All you could see were the red and yellow. This year I asked him to take it easy on the lights. How do you think he did? It is hard to tell but the tree is about 22 feet tall. Next year I am sure that we will have to rent a cherry picker to decorate. The thing that scares me is how in the world are we going to dig him up if business doesn't turn around and we have to move again.

As you know it is virtually impossible to get a good picture of Christmas lights with a digital camera. All things considering I think these came out quite well. There is quite a bit of snow on the tree, which makes the lights look uneven in the photo but NOT in real life. The snow makes it GLOW!

The other thing that we noticed is that the front of the tree is perfectly formed. The back side is fighting with the other trees in the small wooded section behind our house, and doesn't look as nice, but isn't that the way it always is. One side of the tree is beautiful and you place the other side against the wall.

Update

Judge Says Parents Can't Pull Teen From Special EdCOHASSET (AP) ―

A state judge has ruled that the Cohasset schools can keep a 13-year-old boy in special education against his parents' wishes.

The ruling by Norfolk County Judge Patrick Brady has not been filed in writing, so the reasons Brady sided with the school district were not immediately clear.

The boy's parents tried to pull their son from the program, arguing it wasn't working and the school was harassing their son by monitoring him too closely. They wanted to provide their own tutor.

The district argued they were trying to provide the teen with his constitutional right to a free education.

Cohasset superintendent Denise Walsh praised the ruling and said it reinforced the decisions of the district's staff.

The boy's mother, Peggy Lewis, said the ruling was a setback for parental rights.


Again I will say that this child must be a handful. I worked with a child who didn't want the "special services" and the school was fine in not giving him them as long as it was ok with his parents. It cost money to have these kids in special services and they try their hardest NOT to give services. They have not come out with any details that this point. But I am sure when they do we will all understand the ruling. If this parent is so sure she is correct - HOMESCHOOL. Then she can have her choice of "tutors".

CAL's Birthday

CAL wanted an ice cream cake for this pre birthday. When my Mom was here she bought him a Carvel. I am not a big fan of the ice cream cake. On his real birthday he wanted a "real" cake so we let him pick out one from Hanafords. This is what he chose. We loved it. The cake was awesome, the picture does not do it justice. The taste was one of the best cakes I have ever had. The frosting was a little too much but that is just me.

What's your opinion

This is a "headline" story in the news today. You can tell it must be a slow day. I am interested to hear what your take on the matter is. My take? Well I must confess that this little angel must be quite the handful for the school/teachers to be taking this stand. My guess is that the time that he is out of the classroom must be the only time the other kids can learn. The boys mother was quoted as saying "It's obvious we have no rights," Peggy Lewis said. My question is this. When are we going to stop worrying about the "rights" of one child out of 30? What about the "rights" of those other 29 children? Do they not count? Right now my son is in class with a disruptive child. He comes home with stories almost daily. This child should not even be in a public school program. He needs to be in a "special" program. CAL says that he thinks it's fun because when this child acts up, class stops for about 15 to 20 minutes while the teacher deals with him. Now CAL is 11 and I am sure that a couple minutes is all that class truly stops for, but to an 11 year old it feels like 15 to 20. What about the rights of my child?

Parents Fight To Remove Son From Special Ed
Sparks First Of Its Kind Legal Battle In Massachusetts

We have all heard stories about parents suing a local school, trying to get extra help for a special needs child. But Thursday the parents of a Cohasset student are in court demanding their school stop giving special help to their son.

The eighth grader receives special counseling for organizational skills and behavioral issues. The problem is, his parents say he doesn't even have a learning disability, so all the Special Ed is just unnecessary.

"He hates it and I hate it for him," Peggy Lewis told WBZ-TV's Christina Hager. "He works better by himself."

And Peggy Lewis says she should know. She has raised five sons and says she knows what is best for her youngest, a 13-year-old at Cohasset Middle School. To her surprise, the school rejected the request to remove her son from special ed, saying he needs the extra help to get the quality education the state is required to give him by law.

"It would put him on sort of an unfair playing field if he was not able to access the special education services he needs in order to access the curriculum," explained Cohasset school attorney Mary Ellen Sowyrda.

T he school took its argument to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals and then got an injunction to actually force the special education on the teen.
"It's obvious we have no rights," Peggy Lewis said.

Now she is prepared to argue for her rights and for her son in a trial Thursday - a first of its kind in Massachusetts.

"I don't need my kids to be picked apart. I like them just they are," Lewis said.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Education, there are more than 163,000 public school students enrolled in some kind of special education program. That's sixteen percent of all the kids in public school.

I must confess

I am really beginning to hate this paid blogging thing. If I didn't feel like I needed the money I would not even bother. I have been sitting here hitting refresh every few minutes only to see a $65, 50, and several $10 go by. They are gone within seconds. They are gone so quickly they are gone before they even show up on my screen. This company does NOT have enough business to go around. I wish that Payu2blog would approve me or even Linkworth.

Falalala

Well even though my "depression" seems to be slightly better (i have stopped crying and trying to strangle myself) I still cannot seem to kick it all together. I don't blame the holidays. For me they are no stress at all. We have a "family rule" that we accept no house guest on Christmas and we don't visit others. We have only broken that once in the past 17 years.

I have had very successful holiday shopping. I don't know if it is more successful than years past or it is the fact that I have very little money to spend so I make sure the gifts perfect. CAL is going to be very happy, even though I spent more than expected. My mom is really helping me out. She is allowing me to put her gifts under our tree. That will take away empty tree look that I was worried about. She was also able to acquire a gift that I have wanted to give CAL for sometime. I saw my mom at CAL birthday so I won't see her for Christmas and she didn't want CAL to have to wait to receive his present. I am pleased.

OK Hubby just left for the bank and I have to make one more purchase for him so I need to do that now.

No time to proofread I hope you can understand my ramblings.

HELP

I need a coupon for best buy. The best ya got. I have to purchase two items that are $50.00 each and I need every cent of savings that I can muster.

I just cannot

seem to kick my depression today. I don't know how people live with this on a daily basis. I tried shopping, working, and reading. Nothing has worked. I have not felt like blogging and I just hate ppp right now. They don't have enough business to go around. I am tired of being tied to their site all day. I can check them every 10 mintues but let me step away from my desk for 15 minutes and 8 opps come and go.

Blogging

I will blog on just about anything. I will blog about payday loans, t-shirts, beach cruisers, debt, insurance, I even blogged about goth dating (believe me when I say this, it was in error - it was before I realized that you were not penalized if you didn't complete the opp after taking it-which was also an error). But I draw the line at human fighting. There is an opp for a "boxing match". It is a good paying opp too, $23.00. I blogged a few days ago about this "sport". We are all up in arms over cock fighting, dog fighting, any type of animal fighting. WHY do we support human fighting? I think most justify that it is because they don't fight until death. Well...... Think about that for a moment will you............OK how does that make it right. Michael Vick killed some dogs because they didn't perform well..... That means that they don't fight until death. If they didn't perform well they would already be dead.

Thanks to

Pambie I have spent my entire day over at Elfyourself.com. My first few tries were much more successful than this one but I kept losing it and it will only let you watch a few seconds. I don't know if it is them or me but I give up. It was a lot of fun.

Bruce Springsteen

It should be illegal for Bruce Springsteen to record a song live. There is a Christmas song that he does, I think it is called Merry Christmas Baby. I HATE it and will literally hit the mute button to avoid hearing it. While his band is playing the intro for the song he says, four times, "I just wanna to say". By the fourth time both my husband and I are screaming "JUST SAY IT".

He does another live song where I think he forgets the words half way through because he just starts giggling. Springsteen is the worst ad-libber that I have ever heard. It is like is tries to carry on a personal conversation/joke in the middle of the song. He is saying things that the audience has NO IDEA what he is talking about.

What Christmas songs drive you up the wall? Come on there are tons of them that should have NEVER been recorded.

After the first of the year

We are going to make a decision about our financial future. We are now, down to the wire. Our web site seems to be doing OK but we need it to do GREAT. Great has not happened yet. We need the customers we have, to start buying. I have the product, they need to buy it.

One of the options that we have, that seems to be looking better each and every day, is debt consolidation. We definitely qualify because we have over $9,000 in debt. We make enough money to life comfortably, we just have too many bills in addition to our "needs".

One of the areas that we differ from others is that a good portion of our debt is business related. Someone recently recommended that we just walk away and start a new company. To me that is the cowards way out. I made the purchases, I mismanaged my money, and I need to pay my bills.

Frankly I wish there was a way to put all of our bills on hold. You know, take 6 months off (without interest accruing). I think in 6 months our business will have turned that corner and we will be back on track. But.... I don't think that option exists so I better take advantage of what is available.

I have worked so hard on our web site I am just praying that it takes off quickly.

Christmas Shopping

I have finally started my Christmas shopping. I placed a few online orders today for my hubby. I have a few stocking stuffers to buy for him and then he is done. I know what I want to get CAL but it probably won't happen. Too much money and I cannot find it anywhere. Last year he wanted the Wii but I don't believe in participating in "the game" at the holidays. There is no logical reason why a company cannot produce enough of their product to cover the demand. It is their game. I refuse to play it.

Update on my attacks.

Several weeks ago I told you about "my attacks".

For years I have had these "attacks". I can feel them coming on after eating. Usually it is only a few minutes after I have finished a meal. Nine out of ten times it is dinner.They start with pressure in my stomach that goes to my back. The most painful part is in the back. It is a high back ache. Basically it feels like I have not stopped eating.

They are extremely painful. Again the pressure on my stomach and back is unreal. I cannot sit, stand, lay down, or sleep. The pain becomes increasingly worse as the night wears on. I usually sleep in 20 to 30 minute intervals. MOST of the time the pain peaks about 3 to 4 in the morning. Then I get a few hours of sleep.I have tried every type of antacid, I even tried drinking vinegar (thinking maybe I didn't have enough acid), I take Tylenol (like it is candy), but NOTHING helps. I have not found anything (medicine or behavior) that makes it slightly better.

Since telling you about these they have increased. I have been suffering almost everyday for a week straight.

I have tried a couple different pain relievers since then and I am happy to report that I have found something that has given me a little relief. Pepcid Complete. It does not solve my problem it just makes it a little more bearable. The other day I had an attack that was so bad I took all the Pepcid I could and I was on the verge of making my husband take me to the emergency room. Now if the Pepcid is working (sometimes) chances are it has something to do with gas. I would feel real stupid going to the hospital for GAS.....

Now there is a product that I would love to try when I have an attack. The Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair is suppose to be excellent for back pain and a long list of other aliments. So if you have not bought me my Christmas gift yet, and just need something for my stocking....... I would really really like it.

Omaha

Once again some "trouble" person has decided to be famous he must kill several innocent people.

AND once again the media has given this "monster" his dying wish. Why? Why do we need to know every little details in this kids life. He lost his girlfriend, his high paying job at McDonald's, and he was a troubled child. I don't give a shit if he was beat everyday of his life. There are people living in this world today that have lived much harder lives and they are not out at the shopping mall killing people. I feel no sympathy for this animal or any past, present or future animal.

Do you remember what any of the Columbine victims look like, how about VT, or even in Omaha? But I bet that each and every one of us knows the killers. We need to start making our voices heard. We do NOT need to know each and every detail about these animals.

WB posted about this a few days ago. She did a much better job with expressing her feelings than I did here.

What's better than.....

juicy Hollywood gossip. I love to hear about the latest "star" to be arrested for a variety of crimes from DUI to murder. Why do I love the gossip so much? Because it makes me think that my life is normal.

Sometimes I wonder, when these stars get arrested, just how strong the case is against them or if they are going to do an OJ (walk).

Now there is a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Blog California Criminal Attorneys Law Blog by a former LA Prosecutor. Dmitry Gorin is a highly qualified lawyer that provides commentary for Court TV. He discusses the cases, strategies in defense, along with analysis.

So if you are curious to find out if Phil Spector has a chance to go to jail or the latest with Lindsey Lohan, this site is for you.

Can someone explain this to me?

Dog fighting is illegal and rightfully so..... BUT then we support UFC Wired?

Animals fighting is wrong but humans fighting is entertainment? Where are all those people who want to hang Michael Vick up by his "sack of lumber"? I bet some of them are watching UFC Wired.

I know some are going to say that the humans are not forced to do this. Well the way I look at it is this. If the humans are so stupid that they don't know better maybe someone needs to step in and take care of them. These people are obviously not capable of making good decisions.

Falalala Lifetime

I know that I run the risk of being politically incorrect here but..... Lifetime TV has been running these promotions for a couple weeks now. It is called Falalala Lifetime. They have a man and woman dressed for winter and talking about holidays. The man is obviously gay. Each and every commercial they have to make some disgusting remark accentuating the fact that he is gay.

I don't want that shoved down my throat or down my families'. I know I can just turn the station but my family really enjoys the shows on the station and the station is suppose to be "for women". I have logged my complaint and I hope that you might agree and take the time to voice your concern. I am tried of the constant attacks on our "family" from Hollywood and the media.

Role Reversal

Sometimes I think that my husband and I have switched roles. He does the laundry and I cut the grass.

He loves to give/get flowers and I love to get power tools. You could buy me just about any power tool and I would be happy. There is one restriction, however, I want MAN tools. I am not interested in these tool wannabes. I don't do pink, or smaller to fit my hand, or whatever. I want the full force equipment for professionals.

I have a cordless set very similar to this Bosch set. I love it. I used it to tear down a deck this summer. There is no better stress reliever than tearing something apart, with the right tools of course.

My favorite power tool has to be the Reciprocating Saw. You can cut almost any type of material. I have cut metal, wood, plastic, and more. It is such a "destructive" tool. I am all about destruction.

I love the versatility of cordless but you do give up power. During the summer you can drive by our house and see me using a table saw, reciprocating saw, power drill, chainsaws, and I LOVE my air compressor. The guys at Ohio Power Tools seem to really know their products. I enjoy dealing with a company that has knowledgeable staff. Have you ever walked into Home Depot or Lowe's and found someone who really knows what they are talking about? I don't think so.

Ohio Power Tools carries all kinds of tool including Ridgid Plumbing Equipment. They even have a parts and repair department.

Punishments

I am looking for any and all ideas regarding punishments. My eleven year old is not going to make twelve unless I can come up with some really good ideas. Nothing seems to work with this kid. You would think that he has a learning disability. NOPE. He is driving me out of my mind. He got himself into trouble at school today. (recess of course)

The first thing he is going to do when he gets home is clean every drop of ice of my driveway. Then he will go next door and do the same. I don't care if the temp is suppose to go up and melt everything away tomorrow. He needs to do some "hard labor".

Global Warming

I am sure that most of you have already heard about this, but for those of you have not heard yet:

Weather Channel founder John Coleman's charge that the Global
Warming craze is the "greatest scam in history."

In an article appearing in ICECAP, Coleman took aim at Al Gore
and called out politically motivated scientists who have teamed
with extreme eco-environmentalists to manipulate data to
"create an illusion of rapid global warming."

The worst part, according to Coleman, is that "their ridiculous,
manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a
cornerstone issue"--affecting conscientious citizens.

I think that Republicans have been stating this for months. Global Warming is this decades "Acid Rain". It is funny because in about 10 years there will be some new "end of the world" craze. When will people see these scams for what they really are: Democratic CRAP. It is just another PORK project for them. Another reason to spend our tax dollars.

As for me and my house we will follow the Lord.

We “try” to be the best Christians that we can. We fail miserably, of course, but God is a very important part of our everyday life. This does not mean we are perfect or better than anyone in anyway. It simply means that we believe that Jesus is the way to Heaven. The only way for us to spend eternity with Him, is to believe in Him, and trust Him. Simple isn’t it?

The trusting in Him is in regards to “eternity”. God never ever told us that everything on Earth was going to be easy, fair, or even OK. As I have stated before, our business is struggling. I would love to believe that God will make everything OK but I am starting to question that. I do think that He is testing our faith right now.

I believe that God is “punishing” us, if you will, because of our past financial sins. We have made a truck load of money and we didn’t “take care” of God’s money like we should have. I also believe that if we get our act together, maybe just maybe, God will turn things around for us.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine just what God wants. What is biblically correct when it comes to finances? I don’t know but in doing research I ran across a web site called ChristianMoney.com. The founder of the site James L. Paris has some very interesting advice. The site is user friendly and very easy to navigate. We are trying our best to “get right” with God again and take care of our Christian Money, our future, and the future of our son.

I feel like I let him down part 1

This story actually started last year when CAL was in 4th grade. It was about mid year and a new kid (we will call him Jeff) moved into his school. CAL was very excited because he remembered that Jeff played basketball in the same league that he did. He was sure they were going to be instant friends.

The first few weeks went well and even CAL’s teacher had commented to us that he was very excited to have a new friend.

Then CAL came home with concerns about Jeff and his behavior. I asked questions and kept getting the same answers, he’s a poor sport, he lies, and he tends to be mean. The stories became more frequent and I could tell that CAL was getting very frustrated with Jeff.

It was about two months after Jeff arrived that I heard through our custodian (who loves to be the source of information) that CAL was in trouble. I waited for him to get home and he (without being asked) promptly told me that he and Jeff had gotten into an argument and Jeff swore at him so he told the lunch monitor. Jeff then in return claimed that CAL said “Mother Trucker” only with an F. I said there is no way that CAL said that word. He might have said damn, shit, or something of that nature but NEVER Trucker. CAL said his teacher wanted to speak with us. The next day we went in for a talk. The teacher then explained that she didn’t think CAL said that word either and Jeff is known for being a liar but…. she didn’t have proof either way so both boys were being punished. CAL went nuts. He was so upset.

Now I have to explain CAL to you. He is a hand full at home, he has his issues with being too rough on the playground, but in class he is an angel. If the teacher has to speak with him in any way he views it as getting in trouble and panics. When any adult other than mom or dad speaks to him he tends to tear up and almost cry. I like this. I want him to “fear” trouble.

Anyway back to the story. From that point on CAL and Jeff were enemies. CAL would come home several times a week with stories about how no one likes Jeff because he cheats, lies, and so on. I begged CAL to just stay away. CAL also mentioned that Jeff would push him down, or other mean things, during a playground game and then claim it was all part of the game. I recommended that CAL just immediately tell a teacher/monitor when Jeff was doing this but CAL said that Jeff would just lie and then he would be in trouble just like the swearing incident. I felt so bad and I talked to his teacher about the situation. She didn’t think it was a problem and she assured me that she would keep an eye on things. (to be continued.)

Gift baskets galore

I love Gift Baskets. When business was different (when we had customers that would call us for all their needs) we would purchase gift baskets to give our customers. I enjoyed shopping for those baskets. At that time (before the heyday of the Internet) we would purchase our gifts at Sam's Club and then ship the packages to our customers. Now I would use DelightfulDeliveries.com. Below is there recent press release.

Press Release:

DelightfulDeliveries.com Recognized as Hot 100 Retail Website

Internet Retailer Ranks Website Among Best in Nation for 2008

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DelightfulDeliveries.com, the premiere Internet Gift Retailer and America’s #1 Gift Basket Website, today announced it has been named one of The Hot 100 Retail Websites for 2008 by leading industry magazine, Internet Retailer. The Hot 100 list represents the best of what retailers are doing online, highlighting innovation and setting the standards in online for what the rest of the industry should be doing.

DelightfulDeliveries.com, a privately-held company, with one of the largest and most unique selections of gourmet gifts, ranked alongside larger sites such as Dell, Nike and Amazon.com, by building its award-winning site on selection, functionality, speed and the complete customer experience. A recent re-design has improved the customer’s shopping experience to make holiday gift-giving easy and enjoyable, including rating and reviews, behavioral recommendations and free shipping offers. “We are extremely honored to be recognized as a pacesetter in online retailing,” said Eric Lituchy, Founder and CEO of DelightfulDeliveries.com.

“We pride ourselves on using the latest technology to make gift-giving fun and easy. Being named among the best in the nation validates we are succeeding in our efforts to deliver the best possible customer experience.”

In addition to making Internet Retailer’s The Hot 100 list for 2008, DelightfulDeliveries.com was recently recognized by Inc. Magazine as part of its Inc. 5000, which highlights the fastest growing private companies.

DelightfulDeliveries.com offers over 2000 unique and delicious gifts from America’s best brands to the finest boutique shops. Consumers can easily shop the site by gift or food category, occasion, type and best-seller. Corporate gift-givers can choose from hundreds of customized gourmet treats.

For additional information, and to see a complete selection of gifts available, visit http://www.delightfuldeliveries.com/.

About Delightful Deliveries

DelightfulDeliveries.com is an award-winning website that began in 1998 and quickly established itself as one of the premier Internet gift retailers. Its mission is to bring great products to gift-givers, while providing world-class service. The company selects its offerings from a broad variety of fine food gift products for consumers and for corporate gifts, and gathers them in one place to make the selection process quick and simple.

I hate long posts

I just don't have time to read them.

I have a story to tell but it is a long one. What I am going to do is break the story down and tell a little bit of it each day. It will only be a few days long but.....I will label the story "BULLY" and it will be to the left in the side bar.

I will try to start the first part of it later tonight.

Right now I have to play a game of RISK with my eleven year old. Sounds like fun doesn't it. We have never played before and his friend just showed him how and if I don't play soon he is going to drive me out of my mind.

If you have been reading my blog for long

you know that I have a weight problem. I am 5 ' 5" and weigh almost 200 lbs. Sick I know. I know what my problem is..... I love food. I also have come to accept the fact that food is more important to me than being a size 7. I know for a fact that diets don't work. They won't work for me and they won't work for you. Yeah sure, you might take the weight off for a period of time but it won't be a permanent situation.

The only way to take weight off and keep it off is a change in lifestyle. You have to make exercise a part of your life. Several years ago I took a kickboxing class. I enjoyed it for a while but it was HARD work. I didn't really cut back on my food intake but I still lost about 50lbs. When I stopped the kickboxing I gained the weight back at a record pace. I would have had more success if I would have trained myself to eat less during that time. Again a change in lifestyle. Eat less exercise more. That is the key to success.

When I stopped the kickboxing I tried to keep doing the routines at home. I did ok for a while but what I really needed was to have someone create a workout routine for me. Something that I could change-up to keep it fresh. Actually what I needed was a free workout routine. Kickboxing is expensive. Just like any gym membership.

In my quest to lose weight I have come across a site called Muscleandstrength.com. The site allows it visitors to easily select the best workout routines to help you reach all your goals whether they are muscle building or weight loss. They have a huge workout routine database along with a good selection of workout training routines.

Someday soon I am going to start my change in lifestyle and I will blog about it. If you are interested in embarking on this endeavor together let me know and we can keep each other company.

12 Days of Christmas

It would be against the law (and punishable by immediate death) to change the words to "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Do you have any idea how many STUPID songs are on the radio right now to that tune. I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

Ornaments

WB had a little craft project on her site today.

We made these ornaments last year in CAL's class. I was very impressed when I found them yesterday. I was afraid that the color would dull or crack. Neither happened and they are just as bright as the day we made them. They are so simple to make.

You will need clear glass bulbs. I found mine at Michael's. We bought them for the entire class and if I remember they were fairly inexpensive. Then buy some paint. I think we used just cheap and dirty "kids" paint. Pour about a teaspoon (don't measure just squeeze) into the bulb and "swish" around the glass. Then repeat with any and all colors you like.

CAL got a little excited and ended up with more brown then he would have liked. Don't go crazy. In this case, less is better.

As I said very simple.

My son has the travel bug...

Since his "vacation" to TN before Thanksgiving, my son has talked about flying here, there and every where. He wants to take flights to Washington to see the "history". He loves to use that phrase because he thinks that if he puts an educational slant on it, he will have a better chance of it actually happening. I have to be honest. I would love to go to Washington or even take a flight to New York. BUT!!! (i know but is not a complete sentence-if you are looking for a grammatically correct site this is not the place for you) The number one place that the three of us want to go is to Florida. I see that DialAFlight has very affordable flights to Florida. We all miss WB very much and would love to visit for a few weeks. What da ya think WB, could you handle us for a couple weeks?

DialAFlight also has great price on Flights to USA. If you have friends or relatives that would want to spend the Holidays in the USA. You can call and speak directly with a travel consultant to be sure that your holiday is tailor-made to suit your needs.

I would love to be able to take advantage of some of their Holiday Offers. Maybe when things get back to normal around here we can take advantage of the great offers at DialAFlight.

Happy Birthday

CAL. I hope you have a great day, buddy. I love you very much.

Where have you been young lady?

Your Father and I have been worried.

Me: Gosh I didn't even realize it had been that long since I last blogged. I have been "trying" to spend less time on the computer and more time with my family. Yesterday was a snow day so CAL was home from school and the Christmas tree was put up. I am so pleased with the tree this year. I promise I will write more later.