Lenexa, Kansas Passes Anti-Smoking Law !!!!!

I prefer more stringent enforcement of the DUI laws especially since I live within 1/2 mile of 4 bars.

The choices that these folks make affects me when I am in my home, in my yard or driving up to the store. I don't have a choice as to when I am around someone who makes the choice to be intoxicated.

Someone smoking on the other hand.... I do have that choice. I can avoid that particular restaurant or bar (I don't drink so this is a non-issue), I can sit away from someone who is smoking. I can opt to not work in a smoking environment.

We all have the freedom of choice and if someone goes to a smoking establishment, this is their decision, they will suffer whatever consequences occur because of it but if I am sitting in my home and a drunk smashes into my home I have lost that freedom of choice.... I have passed it off into the hands of a stranger and law enforcement.

Below is a summary of the Lenexa, Kansas anti-smoking law:

"City Council passes law to protect public health
Lenexa’s smoking ordinance goes into effect Jan. 2, 2008

After nearly two years of discussion and study, the City Council passed a smoking ordinance to protect the public by minimizing health risks associated with second-hand smoking.

The new law bans smoking in all enclosed public places and places of employment in the city, including restaurants, bars, and clubs. The law also prohibits smoking within 10 feet of a public building’s entrance. Exceptions are outdoor dining areas and tobacco shops. The law does not regulate private homes except those that operate daycares and health care facilities. The law goes into effect on Jan. 2, 2008, to provide business owners and employers time to prepare.

The City Council gathered input from members of the community and took into consideration a study that measured the possible impact of smoking restrictions at restaurants and bars in Johnson County. According to the study, which was commissioned by Johnson County last year, 80 percent of those surveyed said they typically request “non smoking” seating at restaurants; and 35 percent said they would eat at full-service restaurants more often in Johnson County if smoking restrictions were implemented.

During the period of study and discussion, the council also heard overwhelming evidence regarding the dangers of second hand smoke."

Rush Limbaugh IS AN IDIOT

So tell me why Don Imus (who I did not listen to) was booted of the radio waves and a known drug addict, liar and idiot like Limbaugh is till blowing hot air into a radio microphone?!?!?

I just heard the man insult Hillary Clinton using terms much more offensive to women than what Imus said.

The man likes to hear himself talk and he doesn't care who he insults in the process. I would love to see him and Donald Trump locked up in a New York Taxi together having a chat. Can you imagine the gossip and bullshit that would take place. Neither one contributes anything positive to this earth. They are negative, pompous asses.

Limbaugh has a letter on ebay reprimanding him for blasting a human for stating that he was a veteran when he was not. I guess that Limbaugh read him the riot act and insulted all veterans in the process..... one of which is my daughter.

Rush, you state you are "just a boy from small town Missouri" go the hell back into your sunflower field and shut your trap.

Hillary for president!!!

Families, Death and Stupidity

Death can bring out the best in a family or the worst. It can bring the survivor's closer and make the previously sweet and kind... nasty and evil.

The later in all cases is what has happened to my husbands family with the death of their sister. It was a suicide, a horrible tragic suicide, after many years of attempting to kill herself. We were told by her numerous MD's that if she were not hospitalized, she would eventually succeed. It was a matter of time.

I am now the villain after 3 months of cleaning out her house, shutting down utilities and taking care of everything except the funeral arrangements. The youngest sister has decided I am evil incarnate and I have had all that I can take.

I let it go because I knew she was grieving but enough is enough. She is know acting like a 5 year old child and I have had it.

I have written her and her sister a letter telling both of them to get over whatever is bothering them, get some counseling for their guilt (they didn't like the fact that their sister was gay) and they were very outspoken about it.... of course, that is the Christian thing to do. Make your already suicidal sibling feel like shit because of who and what she is.

So please, stay close to your family especially in times of sorrow. Be kind to the in-laws that are doing all the dirty work you don't want to do. If you do happen to have something to say, please say it to their face, don't play little school games and go home and call all the family members and tell them what a shitty bitch so and so is because the story will get back to that person and of course it will be all screwed up. Remember high school???

Be adult, this is hard for everyone, in-laws included. Pull together and love one another.

A Sweet Memory Floods Back

I lived in Singapore for a few years when I was a teen, and on tonight's Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Travel channel show... he was in Malaysia. For those of you not up on geography, Singapore is at the southern tip of Malaysia so we made many trips up to Kuala Lampur, Penang and a little resort that I can't remember the name of.

But I do remember the food. We ate in nice restaurants with our parent's but us kids ate at the 'stalls' these are little street restaurants more or less. A bunch of folks cooking just about anything you can imagine and I loved and ate it all. We drank rice wine... homemade and toxic. I don't know if there was a drinking age or not over there? We got served and it went well with our mish-mash of luscious food.

I still have an Indonesian curved blade jungle knife from living over there as well as many fond memories of the people the places and the food.

Kathy Griffin... If you read this please leave a comment

I love Kathy Griffin, she says things outloud about the snobby stars and folks listen. I say the same thing and I am just a cranky middleaged woman ragging on people that no one really cares about anyway.

But while watching Tyra tonight, someone else I like and admire, Kathy Griffin says that she googles herself often.

So, Kathy Griffin, if you read this, drop me a line. Visit my online antique shop - My Granny's Attic Antiques and Collectibles, fly me out to visit... I need a vacation and I am a fun and fairly sane person.

My Child Has Gone to Iraq

I do not believe in whatever it is "we" are fighting for or against. Does anyone even know what it is?

Is it solving anything? No!! We are creating enemies worldwide. More evil leaders are cropping up ready to kick American butt.

We are sending our young people to die so George Bush can make more money on oil.... this is my take on George's War.

This has nothing to do with supporting the troops, they are doing their job. Something they signed up to do. Actually most probably signed up to get money for school, line up a career, earn some extra money in the reserves (this is what my daughter did) and they get sucked into the war that a sicko man has to wage.

Now my child is on her way over there. I have said my "see you laters, write often, I will send a care package a week, I love you, be careful, I will miss you, be safe, be safe, be safe, be safe."

I have cried so much in the past month with the senseless suicide of my sister-in-law, a child off to war and the recent abduction and murder of an acquaintances 19 year-old daughter that my eyes hurt. I have a constant knot in my stomach and throat.

I can barely work or function, but it will get better. I am just so sad and worried it is hard to focus.

Greed and Stupidity

And the fun begins.

The greed and stupidity have hit with full force.

Why when someone passes away does everyone go crazy? They start pillaging, plundering and stealing. It makes me absolutely insane.

I detest greed and in this situation where the "estate" must go into probate their acts are illegal. These folks don't have the authority to take anything from the home or give anything away, yet, day by day more items are missing from the home.

I think that my husband and I are going to file a paper with the court stating that we do not have any interest in the house, we don't have a key to the house and all visits have been accompanied by other family members. We are afraid that if we don't and items like the car... are given away.... we will be held responsible if a creditor comes back on the family.

I was personally attacked tonight by some weird neighbor when I went over to give one of the cats away. She was zoned out on Zanax because she is "so distressed" over the death of my sister-in-law, and did not feel it appropriate for us to be giving the cats away.... not that she wanted one.

I'm done and my husband is done. We are pulling away from the entire situation and they can do what they want to do without us.

Another family torn apart by greed. What a shame.

My Soul Aches

My husband just slammed out of the house, we never fight. In 21 years of marriage we may have had a dozen arguments and what might be considered fights.

He is angry and very upset over the incident with his sister but the 5 surviving siblings (he is the oldest) are causing him great heartache now.

All new information we have received about my sister-in-laws suicide has come from the TV news, not from the sister's that were at the hospital. This was upsetting to us both and to my youngest daughter. I finally called one of the sister's and spoke to her husband, who didn't have any information to offer up about arrangements, etc. But he did say that they have all spent their day at the deceased sister's house taking her possessions. And taking the animals to the pound.

I had made it clear last night that I would take the dog, he is an older dog and probably not adoptable from the pound so now I will have to track him down and buy him back. This hurts, I guess that they would rather have the dog put down than let us have him.... for whatever sense that makes.

My husband is upset that he has been excluded from any decision making and I think being a part of the group family grieving process. They did this when both of their parent's passed away too, they all got together and made the plans then told us when and where and OH.... we need $500 to help pay for all of this.

I made it clear that this time we are not ponying up any money to pay for anything when we were not a part of the decision making process. And out the door he went. She did have life insurance but the suicide made it null and void.

They are also having a memorial service at a church, the same church that brought her problems to the forefront 3 years ago. She went to church with me, I don't know why they don't have the service at the church where she felt welcome and comfortable. I guess that they may not know that she and I went to church together and by excluding my husband from their planning.... they will never know.

I guess that these things are to make the living feel better, comfort them but you would think that all living parties would be included in the decision making. Why exclude the eldest living member of the family? He is a nice, sensible, responsible person. When he hurts, I hurt and these folks have hurt us both for many years.

The one sister that has taken it upon herself to handle the arrangements and all details is on medication for clinical depression. Is it in her best interest to be doing this alone? Is she capable of making the best possible decisions?Is she going to be next?

We still haven't called our daughter that is getting ready to be shipped to Iraq. She is currently in training in California or she might be in Mississippi by now. I told my husband that she needs to know about this as she will be angry if she isn't informed. She needs to have the option of coming home for the service if she wants to. Withholding this information will not do her any good.

I have a concern about a situation my mother found herself in as the only surviving close relative when my uncle passed away a few years ago. He had no money other than his Soc. Sec. check. My brother made the cremation arrangements and had his cremains shipped up to us. The bill was paid in full. Then about a month later I start getting calls from creditors wanting money, one of which was the funeral home. I explained that I was just his niece and should not be responsible for anything. They then started calling my mother, debt collector's started harassing her and we found out that in some instances in the case of death without a will, any unpaid bills fall to the oldest surviving blood relative. In the case of my sister-in-law, that would be my husband. Mom told them to take a hike that she wasn't paying his bills and after several years they did quite calling and writing but it was horrible.

My husband is well aware of this situation and has some concerns about it too especially since he has no involvement in decision making or bill paying. Hopefully, the brainiacs in charge have heard of probate and will get this into probate so the court can appoint someone to deal with everything.

I guess the best thing to do is keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself, something I am not good at but for the sake of family peace and harmony I will do it.

My Sister-In-Law Killed Herself Tonight

Life is so fragile. You never know what demons a person carries around inside their head and heart.

My sister-in-law is my age and she has had suicidal tendencies for about 3 years now. We know what jump started all of this, an unskilled person trying to 'counsel' her on her 'evil homosexual' ways at a church retreat she went on with one of her sisters.

She has been in and out of hospitals but she would not take her medication or follow-up with out patient treatment. About once a month she would make an attempt on her life but this time she meant business.

She lit herself on fire in her car sitting in the parking lot at her job.

I cannot imagine the emotional pain that a person has to be feeling in order to do something this drastic. She had also undergone several pretty severe stress factors recently that had me concerned for her mental health.

With her first hospitalization her brother's and sister's were told that someone needed to get a medical power of attorney... out of 6 people not one took the initiative because they did not want to make her mad. I offered, but since I am 'only' an in-law the family decided that I did not need to have that responsibility.

Would that have changed anything? I would like to think that she would have been hospitalized for longer than a week at a time and quite possibly would have received the treatment that would have made a difference in her quality of life.

I want to cry and feel sorry but I know now that she is at peace with herself. Plus I have to save my energy for dealing with the 'emotional sister' the one that can't handle day to day upset in her life, now I fear for her mental health. She at least has a husband and older children to help keep her on her feet.

PLEASE, if you have a loved one that is screaming for help the way my sister-in-law did for several years, get a medical power of attorney so that you or someone else is in charge of their medical care and if you notice them slipping into an abyss you can have them put into a facility or hospital. Let them get angry with you.... this just might save their life.

My Daughter is Going to Iraq

I have been in a bad funk for a couple of months. We found out that my step-daughter is going to Iraq this summer.

She was supposed to go last year but "she wasn't ready" according to her CO. but now she is going ready or not.

She will be in some sort of special advanced recon unit, she will be going out looking for those "we" are trying to knock off. I am scared to death for her and ever since she told us about this I have had a hole in my stomach and my heart.

It is somewhat of a soap opera like story but we did not know that she even existed until 7 years ago. Her mother never told my husband that she had a baby and 'mom' would never tell the daughter who her father was, or who she suspected the father was.

Then one day out of the blue my husband gets a phone call from a young lady "looking for her father." FYI.... she was conceived and born about 8 years before we met and married.

We did the DNA testing and yes, she is my husband's daughter. They look just alike. We accepted her with open arms and have done everything to make her feel like one of us. When she was 12 and being abused by her step-father, she was sent to live with her grandparent's. By this time my hubby and I were married and my daughter is only a few months younger than she is so it would have been a perfect situation for her to come live with us, but..... we didn't know she existed and well, it is what it is. We have her in our lives now and I want to keep it that way.

The "Privileged" Can Kiss My Poor Ass

I have had it with the privileged folks getting off with not even a slap on the wrist. If ole Paris goes to jail I will be shocked and amazed, the powers that be will find someway to keep her skinny ass out of jail just because of who she is even though I do admire the judge for making the initial gesture of tossing her in the poky.

I have been a child support advocate for 20+ years and recently came across the following article on the ACES leaders board.

Deadbeat ex-judge gets break in court
BY NANCIE L. KATZ DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, May 7th 2007,NY Daily News

"A Manhattan judge dropped her arrest warrant last week against a deadbeat dad who owes $250,000 in child support because the father - a former judge himself - said he was poor and depressed.

Justice Joan Lobis' decision, just a month after approving the warrant, enraged the ex-wife of disgraced former jurist Reynold Mason. "There is no justice! There are no laws!" fumed Tessa Abrams Mason, who has had to raise three kids without her ex-husband's help and now faces eviction from her Long Island home. "He knows how to work the system, and she's letting him do it. She's failing my kids."Lobis refused to explain her actions to the Daily News.

Mason, now a real estate agent in Georgia, said in court papers that he had declared bankruptcy and become depressed after he was kicked off the bench in 2003 for dipping into a legal client's escrow account. "All of my resources and energy were given to coping with the shock of the life-altering events swirling around me," Mason whined. He claimed he earned $68,000 over two years selling real estate - far less than his $136,700 annual salary as the first Caribbean-born state Supreme Court justice. That prompted Lobis to revoke the warrant Wednesday, ordering him instead to post $150,000 bond.

Lobis was far more harsh the following day - ordering sheriffs to her courtroom in an unrelated case to arrest a mom who owed $5,000 in child support. The woman dodged jail by borrowing the cash."

You know what, I would be depressed too if I screwed my kids over as badly as this man did and I hope that he ends up in jail one way or the other.

As for the Hilton chick, she is in her upper 20s and needs a wake-up call. She doesn't read her own mail when she knows that important papers might just be on their way to her?!?!? Come on, even if she doesn't read her mail I don't believe for a second that her wrangler's did not inform her that she was not supposed to be driving. I feel pretty sure that she was instructed of this in court and / or by her lawyer.

If any of us normal folk were to do what she did we would be under the jail. What an ignorant impossible fool. Both of them.

Tornado Season in Kansas

If you don't live in "Tornado Alley" you have no clue as to how scary it can be and the total devastation wrought upon an area if it is hit by an F3, F4 or God forbid F5 tornado.

Recently, Greensburg, Kansas was destroyed, and I do mean wiped out by a massive tornado. We don't get a weeks notice as to when a tornado is going to hit. If you are lucky you get about 15 minutes notice and then WHACK it is on top of you.

Sure, they sound sirens and the newscaster's are following the route but no one knows for sure where it will hit or how big it will be. Sure, they have a general idea of where it is tracking but where that sucker drops down out of the sky is a surprise to everyone.

I'm a chicken so the second they sound the alarms, I have my purse and dogs and I am down in the basement. We keep water, a first-aid kit and some canned goods down down there just in case the walls fall in and we are stuck for a few days.

But the kicker is.... you don't hear all the wailing, bitching and complaining like you did with Hurricane Katrina. Oprah doesn't rush in with the NFL and all the other $$ people to rebuild and wipe tears. We are on our own except for each other. And we manage to get the job done.

A couple of years ago a youth group I volunteered with sent about 50 boxes of books to a town whose library had been destroyed, along with most of the town.

In Greensburg not just a portion of the town was destroyed... it was the entire town. People are still unaccounted for. And this will happen in several other towns up and down Hurricane Alley each season. Also, to make things worse right now we are also under flood conditions. My backyard is a swamp but that goes back to a city engineering issue as well as the torrents of relentless rain we have had.

So tonight before you go to sleep please say a little prayer for those in Greensburg, Kansas and all the other towns that have been destroyed by these terrors of the sky.

Oh, and please toss in a prayer for those of use having to fill sandbags to keep our homes from washing away due to the deluge of rain.

Someone has pissed off Mother Nature and her wrath is hitting us all hard.

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Spring Has Sprung... Yipee

I love and adore Springtime!! I want to frolic in the grass, play in the dirt, dance around the fairy ring. I am out of hibernation at last.

The rebirth of nature is all around. I get excited the minute my crocus poke their little heads up through the still frozen ground... Spring is on its way. I love taking my morning coffee out onto the patio and watching the birds play in the bird bath, everyone needs at least one bird bath in their yard.

My granddaughter and I have already made one trip to the nursery and purchased 2 of our favorite flowers, the heliotrope and stocks. The little toot scooted home with a few of those I had bought for myself so I need to get back up there and pick up a few more.

If you have never buried your nose in Heliotrope you don't know what you are missing. It is an amazing fragrance. I fill several pots full of it and set them around by front and back porch so that I can smell them every time I am outside.

It is way too early for tomatoes to be planted but I am counting the days.

Happy Spring.

So, How Stupid Is This.....

1) Ok, so I live in Kansas... Johnson County Kansas no less. Today the temperature was in the 60s, it was beautiful. Here we are at 10:30 p.m. in the midst of of horrible thunderstorm, hail, tornadoes dropping from the sky all over the place and they are predicting snow for tomorrow.

In Lenexa, Kansas the city engineers and the great minds don't believe in storm drains, they build lakes. It is their "Rain to Recreation" program. If I shop in this shit hole city I pay an extra sales tax for these wonderful lakes. My backyard is a lake due to the rain and the lack of adequate storm drainage. My next door neighbor is, as we speak, sandbagging the back part of his house because of the retention pool in his backyard. 6 years I have fought the city to put a stupid storm inlet on a cul de sac to prevent this... but no...

The real kicker is that now I-35, a major interstate, is underwater at 87th & I-35 because when the city sunk millions of dollars into the 87th Street renovation... they didn't put in a fucking storm drain. An entire section of a major U.S. interstate is now shut down because of stupid people and their lack of common sense. They make the big bucks for being idiots and I make piss and I at least have common sense.

2) Why don't people use spellcheck??? My grammar may suck but I use my spellcheck.

I am so tired of reading stuff online and every other word is misspelled. The emails I get from folks relating to my business, supposed business letters in fact are filled with misspellings.

Come on people you look like dolts when you misspell the easy words.... it pisses me off too. Not that this matters to anyone but think about your "first impression" I am not going to hire you to do squat if you can't spell or at least use your spellcheck.

3) A gal dropped by today and said that she has been trying to call me for a month, according to her, my phone has been disconnected or I am never home.

What do you say to something like that other than... are you calling the right number? I have had the same phone number for over 20 years, I work from home, my home phone rolls over to my cell phone when I do leave for 5 minutes and I have an answering machine. I haven't received any messages from her, I have received other phone calls and my bill is paid in full.

She seemed really annoyed that she "had" to drive all the way to my house because she was probably dialing the wrong number.

4) Why is Anna Nicole Smith still hogging the news? Do you really care that much about her? Nobody gave a rats ass when she was alive so what is the big ho ha now that she overdosed on drugs and in a horrible depression.

5) I read an interesting article the other day about the religious right and the war in Iraq. http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/20158/, this article made a lot of sense to me. Remember, I live in Kansas where it has been legislated that evolution does not exist. I cannot be taught in schools... BUT, our new legislative body is trying to overturn this decision made by the former aka ousted legislators.

So, why is it that the "moral, religious right" loves war, don't want our kids taught proven scientific fact backed up by archaeological finding and studies, (they prefer abstract fiction based on 1 book), pick on folks for their genetic makeup, deny constitutional rights to all, no religion is the right religion unless it is their religion, try to intrude on personal issues of others?

The better question is... why do WE let THEM do these things? I guess it is because they have the money backing them up and we have facts and common sense.

Don't get me wrong, I am a so called Christian I just don't believe in war (for religious purposes or $$$), hate, bigotry (race, religion, sexual orientation) so I guess I am not a very good Christian.

6) What's up with Oprah? She has turned from the poor little girl made good to martyr and kiss ass to the stars. I quit watching her after the hurricane Katrina mess. She just pissed me off. Claiming to have been so poor and then saying she did know people lived like "that," like those who lived in the lower ninth ward. Oprah, honey, that's being poor.

Then she goes and relocates those people to another hurricane ridden area, Houston. Why did she boost the economy in overcrowded, crime ridden Houston instead of recently destroyed needs the money New Orleans? She must know the people that work for the city of Lenexa..... common sense people!!!!

I think that Oprah wasn't really poor they were able to pay the bills, eat do what had to be done.... kinda like me now. So I gave her another chance on her recent Oscar special which preempted one of my regular TV shows, and she was horrible. She was so uppity.

She builds schools in Africa but lots of kids in Chicago go hungry and don't have running water, according to one of her very own hidden camera, Lucy Lu documentaries. What is their school system like? She gets filthy rich off of her loyal viewers and then takes that money overseas. Are those kids that she educates going to stay in Africa or are they going to come to the U.S.? Will they take their education and help their fellow man or cut and run.

It makes me sad because I loved the old Oprah. Now she is cloning with Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray, and that dating guy.

I guess that is it for the night, whew I feel better getting all of that off my chest. The thunderstorm has quieted somewhat.

Television Sucks.....

What has happened to the good TV shows?!?!?!?

I don't have "extended cable" in my bedroom so I usually end up watching the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet and the DIY shows, because there is nothing else on. I have enjoyed the Ted Turner station lately because they have been showing old Academy Award winning movies. Sci Fi has a few good shows left.

A&E has abandoned the Arts component and actually the Entertainment portion of their call letters, it should be the "Reality Show" channel. I loved them when they were the old A&E. Now they have this line-up of reality shows, each with the same MO just a different theme.

The major networks are horrible, they need to get some new show writers in place. Love Monkey was a great show. Not everyone likes Yuppie Drama or Yuppie Comedy TV. To tell you the truth, I don't get most of it because I don't run in those circles. The attempts at comedy are horrible. I don't like bratty kids and I am not going to watch bratty, snotty kids on TV, there is way too much of that in real life.... like the grocery store. The same goes for backtalking teenagers who are out of control, I have lived through that and didn't like it all that much. Why would I want to watch it on TV?

All of the paparazzi TV shows like E Network.... I don't give a shit what the "beautiful people" are doing. Most of them are way out of control and if any of my children acted like some of these young slutty stars they would find themselves in a heap of hurt, I don't care how old they are. People who are looked up to my kids are running around calling others names.... like fags.... and the N word, you folks need to get a grip and go get a job at Taco Bell, get out of the public eye. The drugs and alcohol .... please. These folks get away with murder without any penalties (Brandy killed a woman in an MVA), they rape, pilage and plunder without any consequences, yet us normal folks jay walk and we get written up. And Anna Nicole, what a tragedy.... for her baby, the woman should have been under a doctor's care and had 24/7 supervision by loves who supposedly love her. For pete sakes, she just lost a son, she was depressed and on more drugs that most pharmacys even carry. You never heard her speak when she was sober. They way the media has jumped on this you would think that George Bush Jr. had picked up a gun and was fighting hand to hand in the war he created..... now that I would watch.

If you try to watch VH1 during this time of night you are hit with some crappy show about a whore named "New York", who is this woman? I turned on VH1 tonight to listen to some music and here is this loud mouthed, nasty looking person AND HER MOTHER?!?!?!? Come on, have the powers that be who create these shows become so desperate for something to fill up time slots that they are creating TV shows around street walker's and their families? She is just sleazy looking, loud mouthed and .... I don't even have words for her. Can't VH1 just create more of those 'I Like the 70s' shows?

I have cable and movie channels on other televisions in the house and occasionally we will watch a movie on one of the movie channels but for the most part we listen to the radio or watch one of the channels I listed above. I can't imagine having hundreds of channels and all of them showing crap.

I guess that I am the only one who feels this way, there must be a market for this mess or it would not be on the air. But, then again, that tells you something about the mentality of the American population.

On Premarin and Now My Face is Breaking Out... Help Me

This is just pathetic... I don't want to be a whiny baby but I am getting desperate. I have NEVER had a pimple problem. I have never used soap on my face, I use cold cream or Nozema. Then I put on a moisturizer, that's it and it has worked very well for me. At 47, I have few lines or wrinkles and my skin is or WAS nice and clear. I hate to brag but it has never even been blotchy which is a good thing because I really dislike foundation makeup.

But... that has all changed. I started on Premarin 2 months ago and for the past 3 weeks or so I have had red blotchy, welt, itchy, nasty hivey looking things on the upper parts of my cheeks and neck. It is very dry and no matter what I put on it or clean my face with, it will not go away. I have talked to my doctor... no help, the pharmacist.... bought several kinds of moisturizers. I have done everything except make my own and I now have the goods to do just that. I make my own body butter and lotion so now I am going to mix up my own facial moisturizer.

My question is, has anyone else on HRT experienced this and if so, what did you do about it?

I am about ready to go back to the severe hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings to get rid of this mask on my face. PLEASE let me hear from you if you know the answer.

I will be waiting.

Enough Anna Nicole Smith! How Many Died At War ?

Oh my gosh.... what is wrong with this picture? You turn on the news and all you hear about is how a known substance abuser, who suffered the devastating loss of her son and probably had severe depression, is dead. Yet there is a scroll ... A SCROLL ON THE NATIONAL NEWS about the three Americans who died in this f*^&$ war today.

Face it folks, this woman contributed nothing to mankind to be so "famous." She showed her tits in a magazine, you never saw her sober or sane, she married an old man for his $$, has a child who will never know her mother and probably not her biological father. She has a son who died of a drug overdose. This is sad, tragic and pathetic.

Why does she get media attention and our soldiers are fighting for whatever it is and they get a scroll when they die.

I don't read tabloids and don't watch "celebrity TV." I DON'T CARE what the rich, famous and beautiful are doing. As far as I'm concerned most of them need nice normal folks like us to keep them in line and in touch with reality. Look at the pathetic heir to the Hilton fortune, if she were my daughter... she would get her assed whipped and credit cards taken away. I have not stayed at a Hilton Hotel since this skank came on the scene. Rock princess and bayou whore Spears... where are her children while she is sleazing around? If one of them dies because of their stupidity are the going to preempt REAL NEWS??

I can't even watch Oprah anymore because she has become a tad too self-serving and star driven. I used to love her but haven't watched since hurricane Katrina and all that hoopla.

This is just sickening. I feel bad for the child of this woman because she is the one that suffered a true loss but the rest of us.... who cares.

I guess I will go back to PBS TV and NPR radio for real news.

What Is Up With Religion????

I am troubled, I really can't go into much detail about the depth of my worries over two different family members and how religion has affected them in different ways. Neither of them I think are healthy.

The youngest family member was a normal 18 year-old boy until 4 months ago, then something happened. His father has been a weird fundamentalist preacher for about 3 years "preaching" hate, exclusion and other very offensive "theologies." Of course all come from the Bible, according to him. It is that selective Bible reading crap.

This young person has now picked up on some of these "teachings" but he has become obsessed with the "sins" of America. He feels that he, and he alone, must right all the wrongs in the U.S. My biggest fear is that he will find out that he cannot right all the wrongs, become more depressed than he is and harm himself. You read this child's myspace page and it is frightening. He is setting himself up for failure.

I have tried discussing this with his parent's but I am a heathen, according to them, and don't know what I am talking about. they don't care that I worked with teens for over 15 years, I have training in suicide and suicide prevention.

To the older family member who has been traumatized by religion... she is doing her second stint in a psychiatric hospital. A couple of years ago at a religious retreat she was "counseled" by someone not trained in counseling and supposedly trauma from her childhood surfaced. They had to take her from the retreat to the hospital. She has had numerous suicide attempts since then, in patient and out patient treatment. The odd thing is... this church that held the retreat and one she had been a member of for years, has not made contact or inquired about her since.

We know very little about what happened at the retreat but the person doing the counseling did tell me that since she, the family member, was homosexual, he was trying to let her know that it was a sin and that she was damned to hell if she did not change her ways. She is an abomination. Excuse f****ing me?!?!?

I have a very hard time with this selective religious teaching. What does it say about those who hate others for who or what they are? I am very pro-choice but this does not make me a bad person but those who bomb and kill in the name of pro-life are what.... living by the Bible?

The Bible cannot be taken literally, noted theologians agree on this. But it does tell us to live with compassion, love, kindness and goodness in our hearts. yet I see the opposite and I see it ruining good people, killing wonderful people.

I don't want to debate this. I don't want your preaching. I am very frustrated by what is happening to people I love and care for and common sense is not prevailing.

My Debit Card Was Hacked at Home Goods aka TJX Corporation

I am so angry I could spit bullets.

I shopped at Home Goods during Dec. 2006. On Jan. 16, 2007, I received a letter from my bank that my debit card was one of the ones which had been "compromised" due to a database hack. My debit card would be canceled and a new one issued.

So today... still no new debit card, I call this TJX Corporation. The operator hangs up on me when I tell her why I am calling. Oh... good customer relations. I call back and ask for customer service, I hold for 23 minutes and I am told that they are not making any type of reparations for those whose information was hacked.

This company owns the following stores. I advise staying away from them.

• Marshalls
• TJ Maxx
• Homegoods
• Bob's Stores
• A.J. Wright
• Homesense
• Winners

I also read their "Corporate Responsibility" statement, which I have quoted below;

"TJX is committed to fostering integrity, openness and honesty in conducting all aspects of our business. At TJX, acting with integrity means managing our business for consistent, steady growth, while maintaining financial strength and achieving excellent returns for our shareholders. It also means keeping our contract with our customers, placing integrity at the center of our corporate culture, maintaining trust with our vendors and other business partners and doing the right thing by supporting our communities. "

Yeah, right. They are responsible only to themselves and screw the customer. I love these false mission statements and when you try to hold them to it they back themselves into a corner and go into the fetal position.

I guess my $200 was nothing to them and you can bet your ass I will not spend another penny in their corporate irresponsible establishments. Give me a $50 gift certificate and keep me as a customer. Blow me off and I will tell the world what dicks you really are.

In this day and age safety of the information of others should be the first concern. Apparently, that is not the case with the TJX Corporation.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Yesterday was my 47th birthday.

I love having birthdays. I love having a day where I am honored just for being brought into this world. I don't mean to imply that my family isn't good to me all the time but your birthday is ... your day.

Complete strangers send you email birthday cards. Pepsi sent me one and I don't even like Pepsi. I had about 25 birthday email cards yesterday from websites I have visited. But hey, it's my day and the world knows it.

I get phone calls from family member's (my in-laws) that I don't hear from any other time of the year unless I call them.

We always take the family out to dinner, last night we ordered Oklahoma Joes B-B-Q (yummy) and had everyone over. Of course we had cake afterwards. My daughter's work and school schedules were too crazy to go out to eat but this worked well.

And gifts, my youngest daughter bought me a beautiful bouquet of tulips and my oldest got me a brick of bees wax (for my crafts) and the neatest journal.... it has questions about my childhood and growing up years that I am to respond to and then give her the journal back. She said that she gave one to her dad and my mother. Neither of whom have returned theirs. Her dad passed away 3 years ago from ALS and his little wifey-poo returned the journal still in the plastic wrap to her. I have already started working on mine.

I have never had any "traumatic" age crisis birthdays. To me age is a state of mind. I have been on this earth for 47 years but I certainly don't feel as if I am closing in on a half century of age. What does age feel like anyway?

I have barbie knees, when I get down on the floor and then stand up my knees sound like when you bend the knees on a barbie doll. I do have some aches and pains. Menopause has set in. BUT, I cannot get pregnant, my kids are out of diapers and can feed themselves (18 & 28), I am happy with what I do for a living, I adore my husband and he feels the same about me even after 20 years. I still look pretty good even though I am a bit more Rubenesque, I have always taken care of my skin (soap has rarely touched my face, I make my own cleanser and cream) so I don't have any horrible lines and wrinkles.

Women get too bogged down with age. I wear my few character lines proudly, I have earned them. No botox or plastic surgery for me thank you. I actually think that an almost 50 year old woman who artificially looks like a 20 year old looks rather ridiculous. In my humble opinion if you are not proud of your age and wear it like a badge of honor then you have a huge self-esteem issue and your age is the least of your problems.

Be healthy, be happy and raise great children.