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.

George Bush and His War.... What a Fool You Elected, Again

I am a Texan and lived under this man's rule once. I knew better than to vote for him as leader of an entire nation. But you elected him anyway. You elected him because he is pro-life yet he has murdered more people than all the abortion doctor's in the U.S. , and they are just siphoning off unliving tissue. Bush is directly involved in the murder of live human beings. This is not very "pro-life." How many children has he killed in Iraq? How many children has he taken a parent away from?

You elect anyone based on such a narrow view of things and this is what you get, besides incompetence.

Then the opportunity to go to war fell into his lap and he ran with it. He used lies, fear and anything else that he could pull out of his cowboy hat to convince a wounded America that war against Iraq was the answer. I tend to think that his dad is still pulling the strings but this is only my opinion, and since his chance at Iraq failed he took this opportunity.

Now George Bush, very insincerely, admits that all is not going as planned so he is going to send in MORE troops to make more of a mess of the horror he has created. He is also trying to divert our attention by going into Somalia. Yet the man responsible for 9/11 is just skipping around without a care in the world.

We as the voting public made our voices heard in the last election and his smugness cannot bear it so he is acting the bully and attacking anyone and anything that will hold still. Do I feel safer with Saddam dead.... um.... NO. Would I feel safer with Bin Laden dead or captured, you bet your ass. Do I feel safe now that we are attacking Somalia... I think that it is a diversion tactic by his dumbness. He will do what he wants to do despite what Congress, the American people and his cabinet (Condi doesn't count she is a suck up) wants done.

I think that it is time to look at impeachment, the man is out of control and is becoming as dangerous to the world as he says they are to us.

With Bush's new enlightenment that he screwed up and is going to send more American kids to be slaughtered... my step-daughter will now be sent to Iraq. She is not prepared for this mentally or physically, thank you U.S. military. Why don't the spend some of their TV advertising money and buy our military the safety equipment that they need.

I want to go on record that if something happens to her I hold George W. Bush responsible. He already goes to bed at night with the blood of thousands of American citizens on his slimy little hands. I'm sure that he sleeps well as you have to have a brain to feel emotion.

I am furious, she has been in limbo for over a year. I just knew that someone with some sense would bring a halt to this before she was sent over there. It is my contention that if the U.S. pulls out, the "insurgents" would not feel the need to defend their property, the police force could gain control because they would bring in the old army, the government would work itself out... in their way... not the American way.

Someone has got to rein in the loose cannon in Washington. There is no winner or loser in this atrocity just a lot more dead people.

My Stop Smoking Progress

Well, I have to be honest, I am not doing so great on this venture. On my target date I ended up getting a cold/flu/bronchitis and was in bed for a week. Even though I could not smoke because I was coughing up a lung anyway, the urge was still there. The nicotine gum tasted like shit and the patch was making me feel worse than I already did. So I decided to push my start date back to when I am well again and start over.

I am not smoking as much as I did but I think it is because I feel so wretched. But cutting down is a good thing. I am not beating myself up over this either. Guilt gets you nowhere, I have not failed I have just hit a bump in the road.

The past two days I have started to feel a bit better, at least I have been able to get up and move around some without feeling like I am going to end up in a heap on the floor. I have also been able to socialize with my family. I sequestered myself to the extra bedroom so as not to share my germs with the whole house, my only company was the dogs and the occasional someone poking their head in the door to make sure I was still alive.

Hopefully by next week my taste buds will be functioning again, the snot will have gone away and this severe cough will have diminished. Then I will give it another go.

Boy am I glad I got my flu shot this year.

Stay healthy.

I am going to quit smoking... Jump Aboard

I decided the other day that I am going to quit smoking on Jan. 1, 2007. I am pretty nervous about this decision too.

Only once before have I attempted to give up cigarettes and that was several years ago. I had my Wellbutrin (to kill the craving and save my sanity) and some little faux cigarette looking things to help the hand to mouth fixation. I was set. My mind was made up.

All went well for the first 3 weeks and then the holiday season crept up on me. You can read my previous posts for my thoughts on the holidays. The stress began piling up and I was around my mom who smokes like a chimney. She was not supportive of my decision. She may have been supportive but she did not offer encouragement nor did anyone else in my family.

I am not one for pats on the back and lots of "way to go" bs. I do what I do because I enjoy doing it and I also try to make a difference each day that I am on this earth, not for back pats. But giving up a 30 year habit deserves a "thata girl" everyonce in a while. I failed anyway. It didn't take and the pills made me bonkers.

This time I am not using pharmaceuticals I will get some nicotine gum and cross my fingers. I will not count on encouragement from my family (not even my husband who has bitched for 20 years about my smoking). I am doing this for me, I will get selfish about the whole ordeal.

This is for me, I want this. I will take my weekly cigarette money and stash it away for a nice trip. I know it will not be easy and I am prepared for that but I have to do it and I can do it.

Holidays Suck....

I have had it with the holiday season. Next year I am going on strike and I am leaving town with or without my kids and grandbaby.

As I stated in an earlier post, I have had problems with the holidays for a few years. I just can't get into the holiday spirit due to the stress the holidays reign down upon my little shoulder's. I volunteer year-round so the "spirit of giving" is nothing new to me. I work with those in need on a day to day basis. The impoverished have needs all year not just for 1 month out of the year.

Now due to all of the stress and strain of the holidays I am sick. I have a horrible head and chest cold that has put me in bed for 3 long days. The stress wears down the body, a germ crosses your path and WHAM... it gets you.

So instead of relishing the fact that I have survived another holiday season with my sanity. I am laid up in bed reliving each moment.

We did change things up a bit this year and rented a nice hotel room on the Plaza.. as in the Kansas City Plaza. If you aren't familiar with the Plaza, it was the first open aired shopping center in the U.S. built in the 1930's in a Spanish style with loads of architectural detail and numerous water fountains. It is wonderful down there during the holidays with the buildings lit up, carriage rides, beautiful shop windows and great shopping. This is where we have some of the more exclusive shops, Armani, Tivol, Tiffany, Williams Sonoma, BCBG and many more.

When I got to the hotel they did not give us the correct room with enough beds in it. Yes they did move us but when your reservation is for 4 adults and 2 kids common sense dictates that you need more than 1 king sized bed and a single fold out sofa bed.

My oldest daughter's car broke down on the way to the hotel and delayed their arrival 2 hours, plus stressed out my daughter.

We also treated the family to what was to be a very nice dinner in a posh restaurant. The posh and wealthy are as loud as Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs have the ball. It was so damn noisy in the former Bristol that we could not even carry on a conversation at our table. The service was crappy too. I noticed that several tables around us were getting excellent service but it also appeared that they knew someone that worked there or were regular's. We sat without a glass of water, a speck of bread or our $40 bottle of wine for 25 minutes after we placed our order. I was ready to get up and walk. I complained to the server but he couldn't hear me..... It was hot, stuffy and obnoxious. This is one place I will never darken the door of again. This is probably where we all got sick from. Both of my daughter's have colds too.

Then you throw an alcoholic parent in on top of this, shake well and you have my Christmas Eve. It rolled over into Christmas day to the point that I was ready to throw myself out the window of the hotel.

I was then looking forward to my husband and I spending some quality time together, as he has this week off. I am so germy he won't come near me.

Next year I will close the shop a week before Christmas and I am going to the beach. I love the sound of the waves. Everyone is game except the drinker but I think that majority rules.

Merry Christmas To All

I just want to wish you all a happy holiday season, whatever it is that you celebrate may it be the best, the healthiest and happiest ever.

From my family to yours.....

Happy Holidays and All That Stuff

I have been a real scrooge the past few years, I don't know why and I have quit worrying about it. I do believe it is the stress that the holidays bring.

So... this year I decided to give. I was going to withdraw some money and hand out $50 bills to folks I felt could use it. I don't have the money to give, we have a pile of bills to pay and barely make it from month to month but I thought this might help ME. But the little voice kicked in and started saying things like "they will use the money for drugs," " you will be enabling," etc. Therefore, for the moment that option is out.

Hey, I will buy a Christmas tree and decorations for 5 different families. I called the local Social Services with the idea with the criteria that the family, preferably a single parent family, must be working. No can do, you can't be that specific and it would be too time consuming for "them" to find me ONLY 5 families. So much for that idea.

So I turn to eBay, I will buy something from a non-profit organization. I am not a fan of the Red Cross or United Way, they siphon off way too much money for staff and admin costs (United Way 17+%) and the upper management makes in the 6 digits. I find some items for auction by a group helping Hurricane Katrina "Victims".

I go to their website to learn about them and they have a nice site, but some of the info like homes for rent... in New York City, jobs available in Ohio, seemed odd. I thought they wanted to rebuild New Orleans, by the way they are only working with New Orleans folks.

Then I start reading the news articles on their website pertaining to the hurricane. In the article one of New Orleans officials was quoted as saying "... this is the first time in American history that a whole town has been destroyed." That stopped me in my tracks. 1) the whole town was not destroyed and 2) most of the f**** death and destruction was preventable.

I am from that area and I recall discussion back in the 1970s on the failure of the levee. This is just when I began paying attention to that kind of stuff, I am sure they were talking about it way before that, like when the sucker was built and officials pocketed $$$ instead of doing the best job possible. Common sense tells you that when you are at sea level things shift and change and without proper maintenance and vigilance you get the levee that broke during hurricane Katrina. DUH.

Back to #1, I started looking for other American town disasters.....

Jacksonville, Florida: "By 1900 the city had a population approaching 30,000 people. The new century dawned with the Great Fire of 1901 when embers from a stove ignited materials at the Cleveland Fiber Factory. Before it was extinguished, the fire had destroyed nearly 2,400 buildings, decimated 146 city blocks, killed 7 people, left 10,000 people homeless, and destroyed $15 million worth of property. Fortunately, the city was once again quickly rebuilt and the population grew to more than 91,000 people by 1920." http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Jacksonville-History.html


1888
March 11–14, East Coast: the “Blizzard of 1888.” 400 people died; accumulation of up to 5 ft of snow. Damage estimated at $20 million. (The town wasn't destroyed but this is pretty horrible considering the time period, resources and availability to warmth.)

1889
May 31, Johnstown, Pa.: collapse of South Fork Dam left more than 2,200 dead.

How about the drought in the mid-1930s. The "great dust bowl" covered 50 million acres in the south-central plains during the winter of 1935–1936. I have not seen any number on how many died and the number of towns destroyed and abandoned but I imagine it is well into the thousands.

Hurricane - 1900 Sept. 8, Galveston, Tex.: an estimated 6,000–8,000 dead, mostly from devastation due to tidal surge.

1906 April 18, San Francisco: earthquake accompanied by fire razed more than 4 sq mi; estimates range from 700 to 3,000 dead or missing. For more, see The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

I live in tornado alley and there have been some horrendous tornado's that have destroyed towns. An interesting note by looking at the information on this website ... I noticed that for the most part the lose of life decreases as FOLKS LISTEN TO THE WARNINGS BEING GIVEN. We get about a 5 minute warning to get into the basement, if you have a basement. You bet your butt I am in mine and have my supply closet stocked at all times.

1840 May 7: Natchez, MS. A tornado ravaged the heart of the city, killing 317 and injuring over 1,000. The northern and central portions of the city were destroyed. 269 people perished on riverboats on the Mississippi River.

1908 April 24: Purvis, MS. The majority of the town of Purvis, MS. was leveled as a tornado moved from Amite, LA into Purvis. 55 people died as a result of this tornado in Purvis alone. People reported that the tornado was “2 miles wide” at times.

1925 March 18: Ellington, MO. to Princeton, IN. The “Tri-State Tornado” is the most deadly single tornado in history. Murphysboro, Illinois was the hardest hit by the tornado, where 234 lives were claimed. Several cities in the tornado’s path were obliterated, including: Annapolis, MO; Gorham, IL; Parrish, IL; and Griffin, IN.

1936 April 6: Gainesville, GA. A pair of tornadoes converged inside the city on the morning of April 6th, 1936. 203 people were killed and most of the city’s buildings lay in ruins. Damage estimates from the tornado were around $12.5 million.

1947 April 9: Woodward, OK. An F5 tornado moved through the northern portions of Woodward, OK. Over 100 city blocks were demolished from the tornado and over 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. 107 people were killed, 1,000 people were injured, and over $6 million in damage occurred.

1953 May 11: Waco, TX. 114 people died when an F5 tornado moved through downtown Waco, TX. A six-story brick furniture store was destroyed. The main street was filled with bricks from the building, in some instances nearly five feet deep. Some people were buried under brick for nearly 14 hours.

1979 April 10: Wichita Falls, TX. $400 million in damage occurred when an F4 tornado moved through Wichita Falls. Nearly 3,100 homes were destroyed and about 20,000 people were left homeless. 42 people were killed and 1,740 were injured.

1984 June 8: Barneveld, WI. An F5 tornado struck around 1 a.m. in the small community of Barneveld, WI. Nine people were killed, 197 were injured, and 90% of the community was destroyed. Over $40 million in damage was caused from this tornado.

2002 November 10: Van Wert, OH. An F4 tornado moved through Van Wert, Ohio around 3:30 PM local time, destroying the entire northwest corner of the city. This tornado was part of one of the largest November tornado outbreaks in history, with 70 tornadoes occurring within two days. Total damages from the outbreak totaled $490 million.

This was/is to date the most devastating to America and Iraq -
2001 Sept. 11, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead numbered 2,992, including the 19 hijackers. Islamic al-Qaeda terrorist group blamed.

My conclusion is, I am a scrooge and I guess I will remain that way until whatever happens, happens, to turn me around. In the mean time I think that New Orleans needs to flush the pity pot and clean up the mess. The other devastated areas seem to be doing okay.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Jolly Kwanzaa and a Most Joyous Whatever You Celebrate

Baby It's Cold in Kansas

I knew I should have gone to the grocery store today. The news just said that we are in for 10" -20" of snow. That is a lot of snow for those of us here in Kansas! I think that is a lot of snow no matter where you hang your mittens.

I'm sure that we will be okay ... because every household in the county is at the grocery at a quarter of eleven at night.

I have to find my furry snow boots. I love the snow. I work from home so I can say that. I always have the first snowperson on the block, I get out and romp with the dogs in the snow. This will be my puppy's first snow.

I will take photos to share.

I wonder if they will cancel school?

Thieves Are the Scum of the Earth

Tonight some punk ass, stupid idiots broke into my daughter's car. We live in the Suburbs of Kansas City, this is not a bad part of town by any means. For those of you familiar with this area, she was at the AMC Bowling Alley aka King Louies on Metcalf in Overland Park, Kansas.

This occured between the hours of 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm. Metcalf is a very heavily traveled street and by the looks of things these worthless little punk twerps were on the scene for quite sometime doing their thing.

They carefully went through the CD's in her visor and glove box to pick the ones they wanted, they placed others in different CD holders. They took a CD holder of 400 CDs. They took her amp and sub from the trunk of her car but they did not rip these out, they took their time and gently pulled both of these pieces from their plugs. The kicker is.... they stole her entire cosmetology school kit, all of the hot irons, hair dryers, $200 scissors, products, I don't know what all. The stupid fools probably did not know what was in the black suitcase so they took it. All totaled we are talking in excess of $6000 in goods stolen from her car. This does not include the damage done to the vehicle so that they could gain entry.

I hate nobody, I don't even like to use that word. I don't hate the man I lived with and who beat me daily for 4 years. I don't hate my ex-husband (I feel sorry for him). But I hate thieves and liars. If you have to stoop so slow as to steal from another person or place of business, then you need to rethink your life choices, the same goes for lies. If you can't be honest with others, you have no place in my world.

So now we have these punks who have commited felony thief, they will probably get away with it as far as the law goes. They will give their sleezy girlfriends all of the cosmetology items and they will either keep the stereo equipment and music CDs or sell them. I do have serial numbers on the stereo items but if they sell them to a friend or on ebay (who doesn't require serial numbers to post easily stolen items or proof of ownership), we are just SOL. We will be out time and more money because of some little chicken shit punks who are too lazy to get a job, or too strung out on drugs to be productive member's of this society. As is often the case in this area, these are over privileged, bored teens with 2 parent's working 16 hour days (orphaned by over worked parent's) who will toss the cosmetology items and give the other stuff to their friends.

I have put the word out to various kids in quite a few high schools in the area about this, just in case they hear anything. I just don't have much faith that law enforcement will put any effort into this after a previous and much more serious experience we had with them.

I think that if they are caught, and since the law will not chop off one finger for every $1,000 in loss, we should ship these punks off to Iraq and let them play with the big boys.

WAY TO GO AMERICA

For the first time since Sept. 11, I feel safe.

It was just announced that Donald Rumsfeld is "cutting and running." As I type this "the idiot puppet" is speaking on the radio. He is "going to protect me", he has run my family into the poor house, he has seen to it that many young American's have been murdered in the name of war.

The "idiot puppet" is making a good choice in picking a Aggie to serve in Rummy's place. Listening to him speak on the radio he is pissed off, you can hear it in his tone of voice, he is mad. In essence the American People are idiots and don't know what we want or what we are doing. I felt that way when he was elected, no I did not vote for him either time. I am a Native Texan and lived under his rule once, I knew better.

On a different note:

Missouri passed the Constitutional amendment allowing Stem Cell Research - http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15954317.htm
Lives can be saved with stem cells and hopefully with more research.... more lives can be saved. There are a myriad of illnesses that benefit from stem cell therapy/ My ex-husband passed away 3 years ago at the age of 46 from ALS, this is one illness that can benefit from stem cell therapy and who knows, with further research possibly cured.

Everyone hollers about cloning, in the name of God of course. What are you doing when you fertilize a baby in a Petri dish? Or use other artificial means of impregnating oneself? Aren't you cloning yourself since God obviously does not want you to reproduce in a natural way? And all of those extra eggs that are tossed in the trash, couldn't they atleast be recycled for use in stem cell research? You aren't going to use them. Is that considered abortion when you toss the extra fertilized eggs? I know a "good Christian" lady who went through the artificial impregnation ordeal and found that she was going to have 5 children, she and her husband then "deleted" (she really used that word) 3 of them. She was very much "pro-life" but this didn't count. I guess it fell into that Bible small print or selective Bible reading section that the religious right is so fond of.

Before you get your panties in a bunch and write weird comments, the above a very simplified and stupid way to state the issue. But I just don't understand why a group of people who are supposed to be filled with love and concern for mankind would raise such a fuss about something, stem cell research, that could prolong the life of another human being. I am not thrilled about cloning and those that are going to use it in a Hitler like manner are already doing so, therefore this is not much of a concern.

Kansas elected Paul Morrison as Attorney General and ousted Phil Kline. On this I have mixed emotions. I did not like Phil Kline but I am currently not sure that Morrison can do the job either. Ego seems to be an issue with him and a big one at that. At one time I felt that he was a fair and just man but my opinion on that has changed a great deal in the past months. I also have some concerns over who will replace him as the Johnson County District Attorney.... rumor has it that it could be Kline.

It is not a perfect world and politics is one of the most imperfect. You get someone in office that has less than a sincere ability to work for the people and you are in deep dodo. But I think that all in all, we needed a change and America spoke up and made that change. Way to go!!!

Bad, Bad Heather Mills

It takes a lot of balls to accuse a world icon of abuse. No, I don't know Paul McCartney personally... I wish we were good buds. I would call him up and say;

Me: Hi Paul my friend. How are you?
PM: Good. It is so amazing to hear from you. It has been so long! Have you heard about all of the shit that crazy one legged woman is saying about me?
Me: You know the American newspapers, I have read bits and pieces but I have also read some of the London rags to get the "real scoop." In other words... that's why I'm phoning, I want to know what is going on across the pond.
PM: She just sees me as a human bank. I don't think that she loved me to begin with. No one else would have her, I was still reeling from the death of my lifes love Linda and fell into the black widow's web.
Me: Your children told you she was no good and to stay away from her.
PM: I know, I know. But I was lonely.
Me: Heather wanted a baby and a bank account and she saw both in you. I also think that she heard about Anna Nicole and figured that was a pretty sweet deal... not that you are quite as old as ole Mr. Whatshisname.
PM: I am the "fool on the hill" ... jokes on me.
Me: Paul, you know that I was in 2 very abusive relationships and you do not have the characteristics of an abuser. Also, Linda never said anything about you popping her upside the head, or pushing her into a bathtub when she was pregnant... oh and I love the knife in the belly. You don't become an abuser when you are well into your 60s when you weren't one in the 1960s.
PM: You and I know the truth but do you think that the rest of the world and my fans believe what the peg leg is saying?
Me: I don't think that anyone believes that Sir Paul would lift a finger to a woman, don't you worry your pretty little head. Her true colors are coming out as are her original intentions. You are loved and adored by millions of people and she is detested by millions.
PM: I don't want hate and anger to come out of this just Love Love Love only not with her.
Me: I know, and it will all turn out okay. It would be nice if the court would give her child support only. I think that this is all she has coming to her. You are a good and decent man. I gotta run, work is waiting. I don't have some wonderful man I can tell lot's of lies about and screw over for millions of pounds or dollars. Hugs and kisses to all.
PM: Thank you for calling. Come to visit anytime, we miss you. TaTa.

The Slippery Slope of Sloppiness

I posted the below on the crazy hip blog mamas blog. They had a question asking when you thought you were dressed nicely and later found that you had totally blown it.

This is what I wrote:

I used to dress to go to the bathroom, I had to look GGGOOOOOOODDDD no matter what. But oh how times have changed.

I work from home, I have a teenager that drives and the only "people" that see me during the day are my two dogs. He That Rocks My World doesn't get home until 5:00pm, so at 4:30 I slap on something that matches, spritz with lavender spray and a dab of lipstick.

I didn't realize how frumpy I had become (I'm 46) until I had to run some errands one morning, I don't do mornings. And while walking by a very large reflective window I caught a glimpse of myself. HORRORS, I had on my warm, wooly footies, mismatched, grey sweats with a hole in the crotch that was visible and had paint all over them. And a lime green sweatshirt with 3 big stains of some sort down the front. I still had on my grey felt houseshoes. It's not over yet, I have naturally curly hair that I am growing out to go with my 50 lbs weight loss... and I looked like Napoleon Dynomite crossed with Don King.

I am not easily embarrassed but this sent me running back to my car, I had that AHA moment where I realized I had gone down the slippery slope of sloppiness/motherhood/work at homeitis.

I came home and tossed everything with stains, holes, (not my favorite jeans) seasonal sweatshirts with cute faces, mismatched fuzzy warm footsies and socks. Now I am basically without clothes..... I refuse to purchase new clothes until I am down another 10 lbs, size 16. Pre-menopause and chocolate cravings aren't helping much.

Whew... that was close.

You can see more comments on this post here

The Joys of Pre-Menopause.... The Devil Within

This post is not for the faint of heart.

I will reveal a secret... I am 46 years young and 3 months ago I went stark raving mad.

It has been a painful process as it involves an ovarian cyst and raging hormones. Almost 19 years ago they took out 1 ovary due to a cyst. I functioned normally with only one ovary, I even became pregnant 6 month post-0p... while taking birth control pills. My youngest daughter is a high school graduate and is currently attending Cosmetology school.

It was a shock to get pregnant with that kind of odds against it, and the fact that we had not planned on having more wee ones, but we adapted, loved our little surprise (my other daughter is 11 years older) and life went on.

Then, in 1995ish I had a hysterectomy, they took my uterus but left the one little ovary "due to my age" I guess I was considered too young to not have any parts that would give me problems later in life.

Then one night about 3 months ago I was rudely awoken with a horrible pain in my side. The pain persisted and radiated down to my knee. It became worse and finally after 2 weeks (I don't rush into things) I went to the doctor. The Dx, an ovarian cyst "but it should resolve itself in about a month." The pain continued and I got very cranky, weepy, my boobs ache, my hair is falling out, I growl at people and things ( I didn't know that I could growl), I can't sleep at night, my hot flashes have become worse and now I have night sweats too, I can't remember anything either, I am also very tired during the day.

I attempt to go back to the doctor but my doctor of 15 years has had a death in the family and will be gone for a month and the Dr. I end up seeing doesn't want to do anything, like order lab work, because she isn't my usual treating physician. She says that my hormones are out of whack. NO S#**! I scream. I want to know why all of a sudden they went wonky. Well, it is the cyst on my ovary. Either it has caused the hormone inbalance to occur or the hormone inbalance caused the cyst. But I am pretty much SOL until my doctor returns in a month.

Then the stupidity really kicks in ... I get on the Internet and start talking to friends. I refuse to take synthetic hormones and die of a heart attack or stroke. So with all of the information I gathered from the above sources I am currently on 10 different vitamins, herbs and supplements plus a progesterone cream.

Good ole doc that I have seen for 15 years returns... I see her. She concurs with the Dr. I saw a month prior... hormone inbalance, that damned old cyst. So we draw some blood to see what the hormones are doing. I wait another week. At this point 3 months have passed. I am now having migraine headaches and only sleeping about 3 hours a night. I live on chocolate and carbs. Plus I have gained 8 lbs in 3 months. I am not a happy camper.

A week later, I get the phone call, they are worried about my glucose level, it is 99 (non-fasting) the normal range is 70-99. Of course I am talking to a "phone nurse" who cops and attitude when I insist on talking about hormone levels and she won't get off the glucose. I told her that I had 3 Pop Tarts for breakfast when I usually eat Cherrios. So as concerned as they may be about the glucose I will deal with that after the hormones get in check. I got so pissed off at my doctor of 15 years for turning this little twit loose on me that I finally used a very inappropriate explicative and hung up the phone.

Finally I had a lucid moment and before the thought had a chance to escape my brain, I took action. I called my Ob/GYn that I had seen for 10 yrs. he delivered my grandaughter as well. His wife and I are good friends. I quit seeing him about 6 years ago just because it was easier to see one doctor for everything. I called and talked to her, his wife, and explained what is going on. She put good ole Dr. F. on the phone and I think we have a plan.... the ovary will go. If I keep it, there is a very good chance that I will continue to get these cysts that will throw my hormones into the ozone. I have a history of these cysts anyway and as "we get older" the problems become worse. Then, if my hormones are still really out there he will have natural hormones formulated for me and throw in a few herbs and supplements.... but not the 10 that I am currently taking.

I am sssssooooo looking forward to a resolution to this matter. I have endured many things in my life but this really sucks. I have been robbed of 3 months of my life because of my body.

It is truly amazing how hormones and the adrenal gland can affect all parts of your mind and body when they are not functioning properly. It is equally amazing how many "reputable websites run by Doctor's" are out there to take advantage of women in this situation. I found one that charges $93 "payable in 3 monthly installments" for progesterone cream and supplements. After that you only pay for the price of the cream and supplements but they don't tell you how much those are. Oh, and you get a newsletter filled with stories from othe women. I purchase all of my vitamins from Puritanspride.com, they often have a buy 1 get 1 free and for my whole family I don't spend $100 a year.

I relish my aging process, I have earned every wrinkle on my face and grey hair, strike that auburn hair. I exercise, eat right (the past 3 months don't count), take care of my spirit and mind. And I encourage you to do the same. Aging is not to be feared, it is a state of mind but when your state of mind has been altered just make sure that your loved ones understand what is going on.... it too will pass.


FYI:

I dress in layers so that I can strip off clothes when the dreaded hot flashes hit me. Now, if you see a woman in a store pulling off sweaters and stripping down to a T-Shirt ... don't gawk and pull your children away. She isn't going to strip down to nothing, as much as she would love to, she will stop at the jeans and T-Shirt. Because in 15 minutes the clothes will go back on, as soon as the hot flash ends.

Compiling a Book of Blog Sites - Let me know if you want your site listed

I am compiling a book of blog sites. It is in the final stages of being written and I have loads of sites but I want more.... I always want more.

If you would like to have your Blog considered for publication in this .... publication please email me or leave a comment and I will check out your Blog.

Current Categories Are:
Funny
Politics
Sad
Inner Beauty
Informative
Internet Related
Computer Related
War / Veterans (I might have to break this down into the different wars if I get enough for each
Music
Art
Poetry
Recipes
Medical
Decorating
Antiques and Collectibles
Hobbies
Gaming
Sports
Family Blogs - they must be great
Lifestyles
... Open to suggestions ....

Please be sure to give me a way to contact you and please don't submit a site that will not be maintained and will be offline in 6 months.

Thanks for your help on this.